“His mother died when he was about eight years old, and he was sent to live with Mrs. Cochran, a widow of Ryegate, with whom he made his home for many years.

“When he reached manhood he felt a great desire to see the sights beyond the green hills of Vermont, so he made a bundle of necessary clothing, tied it to a stick, swung it over his shoulder and started out. As he did not own a horse he had to walk. Eventually he reached Boston and was present when General Lafayette laid the cornerstone of Bunker Hill Monument on June 17, 1825, with Daniel Webster as the orator of the day. Hiram Meader visited all the places of interest in Boston: the mighty ocean, Fanueil Hall, the Common, the Old Elm and Washington's Headquarters. After a few months' rest he picked up his stick and bundle and headed homeward, viewing the scenery and the fine farms along the way. He acquainted himself with the methods of farming and the agricultural implements then available (which at that time were few). This was the main education of his life.

“When he reached his father’s home in Wells River, footsore and weary, it was 1826. After a few months’ rest he returned to Ryegate, where he was welcomed as a son by Mrs. Cochran. He soon took a farm to manage for a widow, Mrs. Nutter. Finding himself capable as a manager, he shortly married Phebe Maxwell Hatch, They commenced housekeeping on the Craig Farm, one mile west of Ryegate Corners. This farm he rented from the Edward Millers, a Scotch couple, for a term of five years, paying $50 per year. By diligence and economy he had $500 saved at the end of the five years, and two sons had been added to the family. The Millers would not lease the farm again, so Hiram Meader purchased a farm of 140 acres in Walden, Caledonia, VT in March, 1837. This farm was mostly timber land but did have a small house and barn on the lot.

“Hiram Meader removed his family to Walden and commenced the work of clearing his new land. By hard work he cleared enough to make a good farm. He put up entirely new buildings and lived on the place thirty-five years. After his wife's death in 1866 Hiram Meader lived on the farm with his son, Stephen Volney Meader. Hiram Meader died May 27, 1872 and was buried beside his wife in the cemetery at North Walden, where his son Stephen Volney Meader erected a fine monument to the memory of his parents.”