USA > Vermont > Orange County > Topsham > Sketches of the town of Topsham, Orange County, Vermont, 1929 > Part 1
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TOPSHAM SKETCHES
By FRANK H. CRAIG 1929
Gc 974.302 T62c 1277089
M. L.
GENEALOGY COLLECTION
GEN
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 01188 0256
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Sketches of the Town of Topsham Orange County Vermont 1929
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F. H. Craig
THE GREEN MOUNTAIN PRESS, BRADFORD, VERMONT
VERMONT
1
/09/6/11
1277089
$10,00
Dank H Craig,
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INTRODUCTION
HE NEW HAMPSHIRE GRANTS, now the State of Ver- mont, declared its independence January 15th, 1777. A constitution was adopted July 2nd, 1777. The State remained independent till March 4th, 1791, when it was admitted to the Union, the first State to be ad- mitted after the independence of the American colonies.
The State is about 1571/2 miles from north to south, 90 miles wide on its northern border, and 41 miles wide on its southern border, with an average width of 5712 miles. Its area is 9,565 square miles, including a water surface of 430 square miles.
Vermont has 14 counties, of which Orange County lies along the Connecticut River about midway of the State north and south. Orange County was organized in 1781. At that time it included besides the towns that it now contains, the towns of Barre, Ber- lin, Northfield and Roxbury. In December, 1810, the last named towns were cut off from Orange County and given to Washington County.
Orange County is divided into 17 towns or townships, of which Topsham lies on the northern border and one tier of towns west of the eastern border of the county.
TOPSHAM
Under skies of purest blue Where silver streams of water flow Lies old Topsham, happy land, With her hearth-fires all a-glow.
Tree-clad are her many hills. And her famous maple trees Stand like friendly sentinels Nodding low in every breeze.
Wealth in gold she may not have, Fields of corn nor meadows fair, Yet to her has Nature given Fern-clad hills and mountain air.
Here one finds a sturdy race, Proud of town as well as state, Each one striving with a zeal That the world might emulate.
Lovely land among the hills, May you ever stand for right Just as long as water runs, And the stars look down at night.
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THE NAME, THE GRANTS, ETC.
THE NAME, THE GRANTS, ETC.
THE NAME, TOPSHAM.
Topsham, Vermont, got its name from Topsham, Maine. Wheeler's History of Topsham and Harpswell, Maine, has the fol- lowing to say of the first named town:
' "The Town of Topsham first received its name legally in the year 1717, when a vote passed in the House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, 'That the other Town Plotted In a square of a Mile to ye eastward of Androscoggin River front- ing to Merry-meeting Bay be allowed and accepted by the name of TOPSHAM, and be Plotted and Laid out the quantity of Six miles Square as the Land will allow'."
This tract of land was mainly settled by English emigrants, the greater number of whom are supposed to have come from the town of Topsham, England, and to have named the place in mem- ory of their former home. The town was incorporated December 21st, 1764. Before that time they had been under Pejepscot Pro- prietors.
Several of the original proprietors of Topsham, Vermont, were natives of Topsham, Maine. Among these were the Randalls and some of the Frosts. These men suggested the name Topsham for the new town in the wilds west of the Connecticut River. The name was adopted and became the name, not only of the town or township, but of two villages in the town.
BOUNDARY.
The Town of Topsham, Vermont, is bounded on the north by the Town of Groton in Caledonia County; on the east by the Town of Newbury; on the west by the Town of Orange, and on the south by the Town of Corinth. It is in 44 degrees and 8 min- utes North latitude and 4 degrees and 45 minutes East longitude from Washington.
THE ORIGINAL GRANT
August 17, 1763, the Town of Topsham, Vermont, was grant- ed by King George III, of England by and with the advice of Ben- ning Wentworth, Esq., Governor and Commander-in-Chief of New Hampshire, to George Frost, Esq., and his associates. This tract of land, containing 23,040 acres, was to be divided into 88 equal shares. Said tract was to contain six miles square and no more.
.
10
THE NAME, THE GRANTS, ETC.
Allowance of 1,040 acres was made for highways, unimprovable lands, ponds, rocks, mountains and rivers.
The survey began at the southwesterly corner bounds of the Town of Newbury, from thence running north 65 degrees West 6 miles to a stake and stones, thence turning off and running north 20 degrees East 6 miles to a stake and stones, thence turning off again and running south 69 degrees East about 6 miles to the northwesterly corner of Newbury, thence south 20 degrees West about 61/2 miles to the bonuds began at.
A plot of the town was made by Major Caleb Willard. . By this plot the town was divided into 90 lots or shares. The num- bering begins at the southeast corner of the town. There are 9 north and south rows of 10 lots each. Later the Groton Line cut off several lots and portions of lots at the north end of the town.
To each grantee was given one lot or share. To Benning Wentworth was given Lot No. 1, consisting of 475 acres in the southeast corner of the town. One lot was given to "The Incor- porated Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts"; one lot was set apart as "A Glebe for the Church of Eng- land"; one lot was given to the first settled minister, and one lot for the support of schools.
TERMS TO EACH GRANTEE, OR HIS HEIRS.
(1) To plant and cultivate 5 acres within the term of five years for every 50 acres in his share and to improve and settle the same by additions and cultivations. These conditions, if not fulfilled, were to cause the forfeiture of his or their shares to the crown.
(2) All white pine and other trees suitable for masting the Royal Navy were to be carefully preserved and none to be cut and felled without a special license for so doing was first obtained.
(3) A tract of land near the center of said Town was to be reserved and marked out for Town Lots, each containing one acre to be allotted to each grantee.
(4) For the space of 10 years each proprietor was to pay one ear of Indian corn on December 25th, beginning December 25th, 1763.
(5) Each Proprietor, Settler or Inhabitant was to pay, be- ginning December 25th, 1773, one shilling for every 100 acres he owned, settled or possessed, and in the same proportion for a greater amount of land.
Till 1764, one year after Topsham had been granted to Ben- ning Wentworth and his associates, the territory in which Tops- ham lies was claimed by New Hampshire, and Topsham was a part of what was known as the "New Hampshire Grants."
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THE NAME, THE GRANTS, ETC.
On July 20, 1764, King George III. of England set the west- ern boundary of New Hampshire at the west bank of the Con- necticut river. This placed Topsham under the jurisdiction of New York, who now claimed all the territory that on March 4th, 1791, became the State of Vermont.
As soon as the New Hampshire Grants were given to New York the chief magistrates of that province began to treat the grants made by Governor Wentworth of New Hampshire as so much waste paper.
On January 12th, 1775, Governor Tryon of New York granted a patent to Samuel Holland of Quebec, Canada, and his associates for two-thirds of the lands in the Town of Topsham. This was twelve years after Topsham had been granted to George Frost and his associates.
The granting of this land to Samuel Holland of Quebec was evidently a move on the part of Governor Tryon to encourage peo- ple from Canada to settle in the New Hampshire Grants and thus hold these Grants in allegiance to the British crown. On Sep- tember 28, 1784, Samuel Holland for 550 pounds lawful money of Quebec sold his rights to land in Topsham and Corinth to Asa Porter of Haverhill, Grafton County, New Hampshire.
ORGANIZATION OF THE TOWN OF TOPSHAM.
The grant of the Town of Topsham specified that the first meeting for town officers should be held on the second Tuesday of November, 1763, and all following meetings on the first Tues- day in March of the following years.
Captain George Frost, Esq., was appointed by the grant as the first moderator. If this meeting was ever held it must have taken place in the Province of New Hampshire or Massachusetts, for no settlers had arrived in Topsham at that time.
Lemuel Tabor was elected proprietors' clerk in 1786, and held that office till the town was organized. On March 15, 1790, the proprietors or their proxies and other owners met at the dwelling- house of Lemuel Tabor and the Town of Topsham was organized by Samuel Hazeltine of Corinth, under the charter given by Ben- ning Wentworth.
From the records now attainable it seems that there was some question as to the legality of the organization of the town. To rectify this mistake, if any, the following act was passed by the State Legislature:
"'An Act to Rectify Certain Proceedings of the Town of Tops- ham."
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THE NAME, THE GRANTS, ETC.
"Whereas it appears to the general assembly that there are doubts entertained as to the legality and validity of the vote and proceedings of the Town of Topsham in the County of Orange at their first meeting holden at said Topsham by virtue of a warrant issued by Samuel Hazeltine, Esq., then a justice of the peace in and for said County of Orange, by reason of said Hazeltine not presiding in said meeting until the Moderator and Town Clerk were chosen, which meeting if hereafter found illegal may prove very injurious to the inhabitants of said town-
To Prevent Which-
It is hereby enacted by the general assembly of the State of Ver- mont, that the several votes and proceedings of said meeting be and they are hereby ratified and confirmed in as ample a manner as though the said Samuel Hazeltine had presided in the same un- til a Moderator and Clerk had been chosen."
A true copy. Attest:
DAVID WING, JUN., Secretary.
The first votes in the Town of Topsham after its organization were cast by the proprietors or their proxies and the owners of the various lots on the first day of November, 1792. By the rec- ords of Johnson Smith, clerk of that meeting, the allotment of the town according to a plan exhibited by Major Caleb Willard was adopted.
This plan made 90 lots and named SO as the original pro- prietors. The proprietors' names and the number of the lot be- longing to each is given below. The disposal of the other lots is given farther on. (The spelling of the proprietors' names is given as on the original plan.
William Tredick. 61
Edward Sargeant 65
John Card 14
Williah Frost, Esq. 20
Thomas Bell 33
Mesheck Bell, Jun 25
John Odiorne 86
Rev. Stephen Chase 90
Richard Jenness, Esq. 42
Henry Trefethen 11
Alcock Stevens. 23
Richard Yeaton 41
Abraham Trefethen, Jun 51
Society Lot. 60
Robert White. 30
George Trefethen 73
John Crown 4
Edward Card 10
William Trundy 37
John Seavy 26
John Peirce. .
S
Capt. William Branscomb. 38
John Neal 52
Joseph Amaseen 28
Henry Tucker 67
William Jones 49
Mark Randall. S2
Daniel Warner, Esq. 29
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THE NAME, THE GRANTS, ETC.
WILLARD'S PLAN
North, 65 degrees West,
90
71
70
51
50
31
30 -
11
10
89
72
69
- 52
49
32
29
12
9
-
-
88
73
68
53
48
33
28
13
8
87
74
67
54
47
34
27
14
7
86
75
66
55
46
35
26
15
6
85
76
65
56
45
36
25
16
5
3.00 'N
84
77
64
57
44
37
24
17
4
83
78
63
58
43
38
23
18
3
82
79
62
59
42
39
22
19
2
N. 1
1
81
80
61
60
41
40
21
20
1
--
S.
-
-
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THE NAME, THE GRANTS, ETC.
William Trefethen
William Neal.
74
Jolın Trefethen 71
Robert Lapish. 54
George Frost, Esq. 63
Ministerial Lot.
32
Nathan White, Jr
36
Capt. Zachery Jones
SO
Richard Wibard, Es 27
Samuel Wallis
85
Benjamin Randall 6
John Simson
40
Joseph Sargeant. 47
Christopher Amaseen
18
John Tuckerman 6 8
John Colefox 16
William Blunt.
15
Robert Neal 75
Stephen Batson
31
Noah Sherburne. 5S
Benjamin Underwood
62
Henry Foss 13
Andrew Pepperell Frost. 72
Henry Tredick. 22
Solomon White
3
George Frost, Esq.
76
Joseph Frost, Esq. 43
John Skinner
21
Robertson Jones.
81
Benjamin Yeaton 64
Joshua White, Jun
44
Willianı
Clark
83
John Talton.
5
Henry Langmaid.
48
Capt. William Vennard
39
Benning Wentworth
1
School Lot
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Asa Porter was chosen agent for the proprietors and owners to apply to the General Assembly of the State to ratify or confirm this plan. The following is a part of the proceedings of the meet- ing of November, 1792:
4th : Voted to pay the expense of surveying and plotting said Town, estimated at $300.00.
5th : Voted to pay Asa Porter the sum of $170.00 for his expenditures in surveying and plotting said Town.
6th : Voted to pay said Porter the sum of $280.00 for his time and expenditures in carrying on the lawsuit against Captain William Boyes and attending the General Assembly at three ses- sions for the purpose of ascertaining and establishing the boundary line between said Topsham and Newbury.
7th: Voted to pay said Porter his expense of ten dollars paid the printers for notifying this meeting.
Steplien Barton
19
Ephraim Amaseen
34
Joseph Frost.
57
James Leavy
50
James Randall
35
John Amaseen
69
Shadrach Bell
66
Glebe
Lot
77
Samuel Peirce.
2
Paul Randall
88
Capt. Abraham Trefethen 7
Walker Lear
9
Capt. Simon Branscomb 84
Joseph Newmarch, Esq 89
John Shannon
70
Samuel Wallis, Jun
53
Gersham
Lambert
59
Francis Jenness
S7
Capt. John Blunt. 17
David Mitchel 79
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THE NAME, THE GRANTS, ETC.
Sth : Voted to raise the sum of six hundred dollars by a tax on the lots or shares of land in said Topsham (public lands ex- cepted) to defray the expenses which have occurred for laying out or allotting said Township amounting to three hundred dollars. also for carrying on lawsuits for the purpose of ascertaining the boundary line between said Topsham and Newbury and other ex- penses-which services have been performed according to the di- rections of the proprietors and voted to be paid.
9th: Voted and chose Asa Porter, Esq., their agent to apply to the General Assembly of the State to levy a tax on the lots or shares of land in said township (public rights excepted) to raise the sum of six hundred dollars aforesaid or any part of it and to authorize the person appointed to collect the late road tax, to col- lect the tax now contemplated.
It seems that the petition to the General Assembly was grant- ed. The tax, known as the half-penny tax, amounted to 13 shill- ings and 9 pence on each whole lot of 330 acres. The assessment was made April 25, 1793, but the work of collecting was not fin- ished till the fall of 1794. The following statement by Adam Dickey, collector, shows the expense of collecting the tax:
Cost of sheriff's and goaler's fees. .2 pd. 9 sh. 1 d. Collector's trouble of imprisonment and getting bail, 2 pd. 2 sh. For S days attending the vendue on adjournments, 1 pd. 16 sh. Interest due on money collected 1 pd. 4 sh. Cost of getting the petition through the Assembly 12 sh. Cost of house for vendue 6 sh. Total S pd. 19 sh. 1 d.
The earlier town meetings were held at the home of David Barnett After the town was organized Lemuel Tabor was made Town Clerk and the town meetings were held at his dwelling-house till the Town Hall was built.
Mr. Willard's plan left Lots 24, 45, 46, 55 and 56 unappro- priated. About 190 acres of lot 24 was given to Lemuel Tabor on condition that he would build a grist mill and keep it in repair for 14 years. The rest of lot 24, probably the lot originally planned to be divided into acre lots, and lots 45, 46, 55 and 56 were sold at subsequent tax sales.
By purchase from Samuel Holland, by purchase from the orig- inal grantees and by tax-titles, Colonel Asa Porter became owner of nearly all of the Town of Topsham. Mr. Porter sold the lands he owned in Topsham to bonafide settlers in lots of from forty to three hundred acres each or so large as the buyer desired. The price per acre was from three to five dollars.
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THE NAME, THE GRANTS, ETC.
Some of these buyers were allowed to pay for their land in potatoes' at twelve and one-half cents per bushel. Mr. Porter had a still on what became the "Nick Fellows" place. Here the po- tatoes were boiled in kettles and from the mash thus obtained alcohol was made. It is said that three gallons of alcohol was ob- tained from one bushel of potatoes. The alcohol was shipped down country.
Though owning much of the land in Topsham, the Porter family lived at Haverhill, Grafton County, New Hampshire. Mr. and Mrs. Porter were considered "very close" by their neighbors. The following story is told by John Fellows, father of T. D. Fel- lows, now living at Waits River:
One day Mr. Fellows and another young man, both of whom were working for Mr. Porter, had been washing sheep. The young men got back after the folks at Mr. Porter's had finished eating dinner. They found the leavings, which at best usually consisted of warmed-over beans and peas with brown bread, not very invit- ing to the stomachs of hungry men.
As the young men had passed through the kitchen they saw Mrs. Porter taking some loaves of white bread from the oven. The young man with Mr. Fellows looked over the meagerly supplied table and as he sat down whispered, "I'm going to have some of that white bread."
Mr. Fellows, who had been longer at the Porter home, said "I'll bet you don't get any of it."
The young man turned to a girl about fifteen years old who was waiting on the table, and said, "Jennie, you go out to the kitch- en and tell Mrs. Porter that we want a loaf of that white bread."
"Mrs. Porter says," replied the girl when she returned from the kitchen, "that she doesn't like to cut bread when it is just taken out of the oven."
The "I told you so" from Mr. Fellows brought in return from the young man, "I'll have some of that bread anyway."
At suppertime there was only brown bread on the table. The young man who had tried to get some of the new bread at dinner- time, said to the girl waiting on the table, "You go out and ask Mrs. Porter if that white bread is cool enough to cut yet?"
Mr. Fellows says that they got "white" bread for supper and that it was the only white bread he ate in all the time that he worked for Mr. Porter. In those days brown bread was thought good enough for the help.
The records of Topsham, at present, are kept in three safes in the Town Clerk's office at Waits River. There is a record of a vote to buy one of these safes in 1883. The last safe was bought
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THE NAME, THE GRANTS, ETC.
in 1929 at a cost of $450.00. These safes will furnish for some time a place for the safe-keeping of the town's most valuable books.
Should the town ever be able, a fire-proof building should be provided for the safe-keeping of the town's most valuable records. The loss of these records would prove a source of much confusion and trouble to the people of the town.
Quite a number of years ago the town voted to buy Hemen- way's Gazetteer of Vermont. These books are a valuable addition to the town's library. There are five books in the set. Only four volumes, two, three, four and five can be found. If the town pur- chased Volume One of the set it has been lost. A fairly complete list of the legislative proceedings since Vermont became a state is also on file in the Town Clerk's office.
SURFACE AND ELEVATION.
The surface of the whole town is hilly, consisting of narrow, fertile valleys, cultivated hillsides and "hill farms."
There are several hills in the northern part of Topsham hav- ing an elevation of 1,800 feet or more. Galusha Hill in the north- east part of the town has an elevation of over 2,000 feet. This last mentioned elevation was formerly known as George's Hill, af- ter the first residents of the farms on and near that hill. In 1811 during the political fight for governor, the freemen in the neigh- borhood of George's Hill cast so many votes for Governor Elijah Galusha that the name was changed from George's Hill to Galusha Hill.
That part of the village of West Topsham situated above the river has an elevation of from 900 to 1,000 feet; the village of Waits River has an elevation of about 800 feet, and East Topsham village has an elevation of about 900 feet.
One of the most important questions before the people of Tops- ham is what to do with the vacant hill farm. It is easily seen that every farm left vacant reduces the taxable property of the town and places a heavier burden in taxes on the farmer who remains. This question is worthy of serious thought on the part of every citizen in Topsham.
ROADS.
The earlier roads usually led over the hills to avoid the swampy lowlands along the streams. These roads were little more than trails through the woods. Later the main roads were made along the streams to avoid the hills.
Up till about thirty years ago the roads in Topsham were very poor ones. More attention was given to them with the coming of
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THE NAME THE GRANTS, ETC.
the automobile. The hill roads, many of them, are in need of more work than the present condition of the town's finances war- rants.
With the exception of a few weeks in spring, when the frost is leaving the ground, the main roads are dry and hard. The road entering the town on the west and passing through West Topsham and Waits River is a state-aid road and is patrolled throughout the year. This road is graveled, and it held up well under traffic till the coming of the heavy automobile truck and the fast driving pleasure car. The past summer has proved that no merely gra- veled road will ever stand the heavy traffic to which this road is now and will be subjected to in the future.
THE OLD STAGE ROAD.
The Old Stage Road through the Town of Topsham was cut out through the virgin woods by General Allen in 1784-1786. He began at the falls of Waits River near Bradford, passed through the towns of Bradford, Corinth and Topsham, thence over Orange Heights to the head waters of the Winooski River, thence to Mont- pelier and Burlington.
This road was over the hills after reaching the point where East Topsham now stands to the site of West Topsham. It was not till 1821 that the present road along Waits River was sur- veyed. This road was for many years a stage route from east to west across the state. Hotels at West Topsham and at Waits River furnished good stopping places for the stage driver and his passen- gers.
The story is told that in the 40's Daniel Rowland, a resident of Waits River, bid off the stage route for $28.00 and did well at the job. A four-horse stage was used and it carried mail, passen- gers and freight.
REMOVAL OF SNOW IN WINTER.
In early times the snow-blocked roads were broken out by ox- teams dragging a sled or part of a sled. As every able-bodied man was willing to help "break roads" as it was called, it cost the town nothing.
At the March meeting in 1889 the first mention of snow-rollers was made, and on March 6, 1894, it was voted to build four snow- rollers and to buy a road machine. At the present time the main roads are kept open to traffic all winter by means of a snow ma- chine pushed by a tractor.
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THE NAME, THE GRANTS, ETC.
RAILROADS.
The town has never had a railroad or a street car system. In 1872, however, the town voted to issue bonds for the "so-called" West Fairlee R. R. provided that it went through Topsham. This road was to pass from Fairlee up Waits River through Topsham, then through Waterman Gap to South Barre. For some reason the plans for this road never matured.
WAGES
In 1828 75 cents was being paid for a day's work of nine hours. In 1892 15 cents an hour was the common wage per hour for a man, or for a good team of horses or yoke of oxen. At the present time $3.00 per day for man or team is the common wage and this is for a nine-hour day.
The mason, the carpenter and the blacksmith in early days were satisfied with a dollar for a day's work. The common wage today in these and allied occupations is from 80c to $1.25 per hour.
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THE SCHOOLS OF TOPSHAM
THE SCHOOLS OF TOPSHAM
The Town of Topsham has had 21 school districts and five partial districts. These districts are now consolidated or united into a Town System so that at present school is kept only in the following districts: East Topsham District, No. 2; Galusha Hill District, No. 4; Waits River District, No. 10; Four Corners Dis- trict No. 11; and West Topsham District, No. 17.
The first records attainable of the schools of Topsham begin with 1805. About that time several school districts were organ- ized and within the next five years a number of school houses were built. Before this time schools were kept in private houses.
In early times there was a Prudential committee in each dis- trict. This committee looked after the schoolhouse and the fuel and hired the teacher. By 1857 a town superintendent was ap- pointed by the freemen of the town at their March meeting. This superintendent examined those who wished to teach and gave the successful applicants certificates.
The town superintendent visited schools. In 1865 L. C. Pow- ers received at the rate of $1.00 per day for time spent in examin- ing teachers and visiting schools. His bill for one year was for $15.75. He says in his report: "No one can afford to travel through snow and mud as I have done for $15.75." It is to be remembered that he used his own team, or he used "Shank's Horses," and boarded himself.
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