Arunah Waterman, son of Arunah and Hannah (Leffingwell) Waterman, was born November 8, 1778 in Norwich, Connecticut. The family moved to Johnson, Vermont in 1778, the year Arunah Jr.was born. Arunah moved to Montpelier in 1814, where he worked as a lawyer, a grist and woolen mill owner, a farmer, and a surveyor. He served several terms in the Vermont House (1821-1823, 1826) and one in the Senate (1836). He bought a farm and water rights on the north branch of the Winooski River by the falls, and in 1820 he built and co-owned a mill. After the mill burned, in 1826, he spent much of his time farming. He was one of three members of the state commission designated to study the feasibility of building a canal from Lake Champlain at Burlington, up the Winooski River, and down to Wells River on the Connecticut River. Arunah surveyed much of the proposed route.
Arunah Waterman married first Rebecca Noyes in 1804 and second Mehitable Dodge in 1813. Four children were produced from the first marriage, two sons, Vernon and Loring, surviving, while seven children resulted from the second. Arunah Waterman died January 31, 1859.
From the description of Arunah Waterman papers, 1825-1858. (Vermont Historical Society). WorldCat record id: 60448304
