Looking at that terrazzo for Frances Stores made me pay closer attention to what else had come before in downtown Brattleboro’s many incarnations. I don’t yet know what HW Sargent did…

But now (a few days later) I do, thanks to my crack research staff. According to an entry in Industries and Wealth of the Principal Points in Vermont, for which I have Google Books to thank, he was a cabinetmaker and dealer in fancy woods. He seems to have been a hardworking family man, a regular guy, although it also says he was a member of the “K. of H.” And what, you might reasonably ask, is the K. of H.? Well, you wouldn’t be expected to know, because it’s a secret. A secret society, just like the I.O.R.M., discussed elsewhere on this blog, and some unknown (it’s a secret…) number of  others that flourished and apparently passed on during the 19th century.

My team also found the location of Mr. Sargent’s grave on findagrave.com… which turns out to be pretty fascinating site in its own right. But wait… I know that cemetery! and so I’m able to add these photos to the mix. Next up, to walk down to Mr. Sargent’s old residence on Elliott Street and see what’s there today.