Hatch Meets Brooks

Date: [unknown] [unknown]
Location: Burlington, Chittenden, Vermont, United States
Surname/tag: hatch, brooks,

Hatch meets Brooks? January 15, 2020 By jenbumann

This newspaper find got me thinking about my great great grandparents (see image at right of newspaper article).

Dillon F. Hatch was just installed as an officer in this Templars group. He was all for temperance, (as was seen a few years earlier where he was in the same group as his mother in Grand Isle).

In this same group, just under his name, is listed a young lady by the name of Miss Kate Brooks. Kate was Almyra’s older sister, by about 7 years. Hmmm.

In 1870 Dillon was in Louisiana working as a clerk:

Hatch H. F. 55, male, white, Banker, value of estate 10,000 born in Vermont [likely a relative of Dillon's unknown as of yet; b1815ish] Hatch, Frank D. 21, male, white, Bank clerk, born in Vermont Hatch, Joseph R. 16, male, white, attending school, born in Vermont (Details of 1870 federal census Louisiana, Jefferson Parish, 4th ward: page 4, enumerated 10th June 1870, lines 1-3, house 16, family 31)

A year later he is living in Burlington, and working as a pharmacist (his occupation as it appeared on his marriage record and in city directories). So sometime between June 10th of 1870, and August 8 of 1871, he moved back to Vermont.

He joins the Templars group because of his interest in temperance, meets Miss Kate Brooks, who introduces him to her family, and then he meets Almyra, who is the same age as himself. BAM! They fall in love, marry just over a year later, and live happily ever after. Well, that wasn’t in the paper, so I am definitely making that part up.

Almyra Brooks and Dillon Franklin Hatch were married 19 Feb 1873. (Mr. Dillon Frank Hatch and Myra Brooks marriage notice, Newspaper: Vermont Farmer, Saint Johnsbury, Caledonia, Vermont, USA; Date: Feb 28 1873 (found @myheritage newspaper search).)

She married him in spite of that hairdo too! (See photo on right!)

I don’t actually know how these two met, but it does seem a very likely scenario. Although, Dillon’s job as a clerk in a pharmacy/apothecary could also have been their origin story. If only I had a time machine.