Molly Stark (1737 – 1814)
Elizabeth “Molly” Page was born in Haverhill, New Hampshire, the daughter of the first Postmaster of New Hampshire. She married John Stark in 1758; they had eleven children.
What is now Vermont Route 9 between Brattleboro and New York State west of Bennington was the route taken by General Stark as he led his troops from present-day Charlestown, New Hampshire across Vermont to defeat the British in the Battle of Bennington in August 1777. To confuse the enemy, General Stark referred to the route they were taking as the “Molly Stark Trail” and it is identified as such on the official Vermont Highway Map.
Molly was both nurse and doctor to her husband’s troops during a smallpox epidemic; her house functioned as a hospital. The Daughters of the American Revolution have a chapter named for her.
For not having done or said anything of any outstanding historic significance, she is honored with a dizzying array of schools, parks, streets and businesses of every description bearing her name.
