William C Chase

Some of the first known settlers in the Carvers Rock area in Bradford Township were William C Chase, born in 1804, his wife Mary Gilson Chase born in 1807, their two sons William B. 1831-1845, Kimball 1834-1836, and daughter Mary Ann 1829-1911.

William having arrived in 1835 spent the first winter living under an overhanging rock. The family arrived in the area in 1836 from  Bradford, Orange County, Vermont. 

They had three more children George 1837-1916, Mason 1840-1881 and Manly 1842-1915. Mary Gilson died in 1843, their son William died in 1845 of influenza. At their deaths they were buried in a small cemetery at the top of the rocks overlooking a beautiful stream. It is not known where Kimball is buried. The graves were marked originally by two marble headstones. A newer headstone was placed, by the Hyzer family of Janesville, descendants of Mary Ann Hyzer. 

The headstone is an easy climb from the corner of Carvers Rock Road and Creek Road. Other settlers were reported buried in the same area and their markers have been destroyed by the elements of time. William eventually left the area moving to northern Wisconsin after losing heavy in the cattle business. Following the panic of 1857  he sought to regain his fortune by gold-seeking at Pike's Peak, Colorada He passed away on July 21, 1963, in Central City, Gilpin County, Colorado.