Heritage

Nate is a seventh-generation Vermonter who is proud of his family heritage of self-employment in the businesses of furniture, farming and photography, leading all the way back to the founding of Sandwich, MA in 1635.

While the 190 acre scenic Freeman Farm was sold in the late 1990's, Nate grew up on his parent's adjacent property and worked on the farm throughout his teen years. On the farm Nate enjoyed the chores, heritage and physical challenges of agriculture. In his early twenties upon his return to Northfield, Nate worked two seasons on Ellie's Farm in nearby Berlin, helping in the cultivation of produce and the annual Great Green Mountain Pumpkin Show.

Nate's middle name, Charles, was given in honor of his great-great grandfather, Charles Howe Freeman, a civil war veteran, a noted photographer who kept a studio in Montpelier's Rialto Building, and Vermont State Representative. Charles' name is inscribed in the Civil War monument in Moretown, Vermont; his daguerreotypes are a significant part of the Vermont Historical Society Museum's image collection; and his hard-cover Vermont Legislative Directory from 1894 has been passed down to Nate.  

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