USA > Vermont > Bennington County > Manchester > The early history of Manchester : an addess delivered in Music Hall, Manchester, Vt., on Monday evening, December 27, 1875 > Part 1
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Gc 974.302 M31m
Gc 974.302 M31m 1137199
GENEALOGY COLLECTION
J. H. GUILD, M. D., RUPERT, VT.
LIBRARY.
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 01100 2679
THE EARLY
HISTORY OF MANCHESTER.
AN ADDRESS
DELIVERED IN
MUSIC HALL, MANCHESTER, VT.,
ON
MONDAY EVENING, DECEMBER 27, 1875.
BY
LOVELAND MUNSON, OF MANCHESTER.
JOURNAL PRINT MANCHESTER, VT. 1876.
Mendoza - 3.50
INTRODUCTORY.
1137199
In response to an invitation of many citizens of Man- chester, the following address was delivered before the inhabitants of the town. After its delivery, a resolution was adopted requesting its publication. That request is now complied with ; in the hope that the address may, in a published form, more fully subserve its immediate pur- pose, and perhaps aid some future laborer in the rich field of our local history. This review of early times, com- pressed within the limits of an evening's entertainment, and published substantially as delivered, is of course but an incomplete account of the period to which it relates, and can in no sense supply the want of a town history. But, although the scope of the work is very limited, every effort has been made to secure historical accuracy - with what success future examination and criticism can best determine. None but those who have tried the task can fully understand the difficulty of a work of this kind, un- dertaken at so late a day, and after so long a period of general apathy on the subject. I had fortunately pre- served some memoranda of conversations had with the late Judge Pettibone not long before his death; and a few manuscript pages concerning the early history of the town, evidently prepared in the later years of his life, were
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kindly furnished me by his family. The account of Man- chester written by Henry E. Miner, Esq., fifteen years ago, and published in the Vermont Quarterly Gazetteer, has pre- served some traditions which might otherwise have been lost. I am under obligations to the Hon. E. P. Walton, of Montpelier, for many valuable suggestions. I am also indebted for assistance to Ex-Gov. Hall, Hon. R. S. Taft, H. A. Huse, Esq., State Librarian, James S. Peck, Adju- tant and Inspector General, and Chauncey Smith, Esq., of the Post Office Department at Washington.
ADDRESS.
The inhabitants of Manchester have suffered the hun- dredth anniversary of its organization to pass without notice. Its second centennial, no one now present can hope to see. The last survivor of those whose memory reached baek to the early days of the township, has already passed away. A few decades more, and there will be no one living who ever heard a tale of the olden times from the lips of actor or witness. If the matters of local in- terest, now resting in tradition, are to be given a perma- nent and reliable form, the work must be done by this generation. Should these traditions be left to pass into uncertainty and oblivion, those who come after us will know little of the early history of their town, beyond what can be gathered from the public records and the general history of the state. Of that more interesting portion of a local history which is seldom written by contemporary pen, we have already lost too much ; and unless some- thing is done to gather and preserve the fragments that remain, it will soon be impossible to present anything like a vivid picture of the Manchester of our fathers. That task I do not undertake to-night. I shall be content if, in the use of such material as is convenient to my reach, I can perform the humbler service of awakening new interest in the history of our town, to the end that some other and
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better historian may be encouraged by your sympathy to do full justice to the theme.
In August, 1761, two months after the settlement of Bennington, Governor Wentworth, of New Hampshire, granted a tract of land six miles square, within the sup- posed limits of that province, and incorporated it into a township by the name of Manchester. The original pro- prietors, residents of New Hampshire and Massachusetts, obtained their grant for purposes of speculation, and awaited the application of any who might desire to settle in the township. Their acquisition remained in their hands withont improvement, and probably without inspec- tion, until some two years after the date of their charter, when an incident occurred which led to the purchase of their rights and the speedy settlement of the town.
A party of explorers from Amenia, in Dutchess county, New York, while visiting the present locality of Salem in that state, were attracted by the high land to the east, and turned their steps in that direction to obtain a better view of the surrounding country. They pursued their course from summit to summit until they stood upon the top of a lofty mountain between whose base and the range beyond was a broad and apparently level valley. De- seending the mountain side, they gave the valley a closer examination to ascertain its advantages as a place of settlement. They returned home with impressions suffi- ciently favorable to lead to an inquiry after the owners of the land ; and a few months later we find nearly all the rights of the original proprietors of Manchester held by residents of Amenia and vicinity.
The first recorded meeting of the proprietors of the
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township was held at Amenia in February, 1764. Samuel Rose, the pioneer of our settlement, was chosen moderator, and Jonathan Ormsby, proprietors' clerk. Other meet- ings were held soon after, at which there seems to have been considerable difficulty in securing the prompt attend- ance of the proprietors. On one occasion, it was voted that any proprietor not present at the hour named for the next meeting should pay a bowl of punch. It may perhaps be conjectured that many of the proprietors were behind the hour, and that too much punch was paid for the good of the proprietors' clerk ; for he has given us no account what- ever of the proceedings of that meeting. The space which was left to receive the record is a blank to this day.
Early in May, 1764, a committee of the proprietors visited Manchester to lay out the first division of lots. There was at that time no settlement on the west side of the mountain north of Arlington. Having ascertained the boundaries of their township, the committee proceeded to lay out sixty-eight lots of one hundred acres each, which were afterwards assigned by lot to the different rights. The section thus divided extended nearly from the north- ern to the southern line, and embraced more than one- third the width of the town. The present villages of Manchester and Factory Point are located on that division.
The first settlement in Manchester was made in the summer or fall of 1764, in that part of the town now known as the Purdy district. The first house was built by Samuel Rose, on the premises long occupied by John S. Pettibone. It is believed the houses built in 1764, were permanently occupied the same year ; but possibly the settlers, after completing their buildings, returned to Amenia for the winter, and first brought their families to the township
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in the spring of 1765. Of the precise time of their arrival, of the number of families that came together, of the cir- cumstanees which attended their journey and settlement, there is no record or tradition.
In December, 1764, the proprietors voted to have a highway laid out through the town, and Jeremiah French and Gideon Ormsby were appointed a committee for that purpose. This road was undoubtedly surveyed in the spring of 1765, and some labor was probably expended upon it the same year. Its general location was that of the present road from the Judge Pettibone place to the vil- lage, and thence past the Wheaton house to South Dorset. It was the first road made in the settlement, and was known on the records for several years as " the main road through the town."
And now, as the settlement is approaching its second winter, let us briefly consider its appearance and condi- tion. Winding around the base of the west mountain, far above the low lands of the river valley, is the newly esta- blished road. It is as yet nothing but a rude path, run- ning among the stumps and trees. At intervals along this road, and in its vicinity, are the little clearings of the settlers, scarcely perceptible in the unbounded forest. In the south-west part of the town are the log-houses built by the settlers of the previous year. These are now doubt- less furnishing temporary shelter to the families of settlers recently arrived, whose own houses are not yet completed. Those whose buildings are already finished and occupied are hard at work clearing land for the crops of the com- ing year. Perhaps as many as fifteen stalwart men have brought their families and effects to Manchester, and commeneed their chosen task of converting a section of
.
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the wilderness into a cultivated farm. We shall find the names of some of them in the record of the first town meeting held the following spring.
The town was organized on the second Tuesday of March, 1766. Benjamin Johns was the first moderator, and Stephen Mead the first town clerk. Eliakim Weller, Benjamin Purdy, James Mead, Ezra Mead and Samuel Soper, were among the residents at that time. Benjamin Purdy, Jr., Gideon Ormsby, William Emes, Charles Bullis and Thomas Soper, had already settled in town, or did so soon after. Benjamin Johns removed to Claren- don in 1768, but resumed his residence here after an ab- sence of several years. Stephen Mead located on the premises now owned by William A. Purdy, but a few years later he conveyed to Thomas Barney, a son-in-law of Gov. Chittenden, and removed to Pittsford. Benjamin Purdy settled on land which has always remained in the possession of his descendants, and is now occupied by Daniel Purdy. Gideon Ormsby located on the premises afterwards owned by Gov. Skinner, and still known by his name. Eliakim Weller built where the house of Joseph I. Sheldon now stands, and was probably the first inn-holder in town. James Mead invested largely in Manchester lands, but soon removed to Rutland, where he became a prominent man in the affairs of the Grants.
The settlers of Manchester had scarcely commenced to clear their lands when they learned that the New Hamp- shire titles were likely to be seriously called in question. They had purchased their rights in ignorance of any ad- verse claim on the part of New York, and were contem- plating an early removal to the town, when the pretensions of that province were formally announced by a proclama-
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tion of its executive. The fears and doubts excited by that document were, however, soon dispelled by a counter proclamation of Gov. Wentworth, and the settlement of the town was undertaken without delay. The king's order placing the territory now known as Vermont under the jurisdiction of New York, was promulgated a few months later ; but the settlers did not at first suppose that that order could receive any construction which would affect existing rights. Deriving title from a royal charter, issued by the governor of a province whose jurisdiction of the territory had long been recognized, they could not readily believe that the subsequent recognition of the conflicting claim of another province would ever be suffered to im- peril their homesteads. But it soon became apparent that the authorities of New York proposed, not only to assume jurisdiction of the territory, but to regrant the lands pre- viously disposed of by New Hampshire, and drive out the settlers already in possession.
In May, 1765, Lieut. Gov. Colden issued the patent of Princeton, which was the first grant made by New York in conflict with the previous charters of New Hampshire. It extended along the valley of the Battenkill from Ar- lington to Dorset, embracing all the land of any value in the township of Manchester. Under this patent, Attorney- General Kempe of New York, James Duane, a distin- guished lawyer of New York city, and Walter Rutherford, a merchant of the same place, claimed to own the lands which the settlers of Manchester had bought, paid for and improved.
Other settlers were placed in the same unfortunate situation by this and similar patents, and the towns united in various efforts to avert the impending danger. In
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December, 1765, the settlers sent a committee to New York to present their case to the governor and seek relief. One of the committee was Jeremiah French, a large owner of rights in Manchester, and then or soon after a settler in the town. In November, 1766, the inhabitants of Man- chester, together with their brethren of other towns, peti- tioned the king for a confirmation of their titles. Three years later, a committee of the settlers, of which Benjamin Purdy was a member, petitioned the governor of New Hampshire to interpose with the crown in their behalf.
These various appeals of the New Hampshire grantees produced no decisive results. The New York parties continued to assert their claims, and in some instances made actual attempts to dispossess the settlers. Certain lands in Manchester having been awarded the New York claimants by the courts of that state, an effort was made in the winter of 1770-71, to put the successful litigants in possession. Ten Eyck, sheriff of Albany county, ac- companied by Munro, the noted Yorker of Shaftesbury, and a small party of men, visited the premises of Samuel Rose in his absence, and got possession of the house. Seeing the neighbors approach in force, the sheriff thought best to retire, having first directed Mrs. Rose to hold possession for the plaintiffs. This was followed by a more warlike attempt in Bennington, in which the defeat of the New York sheriff and his posse was not less complete.
Meanwhile the settlers, confident of ultimate success, have continued to clear and improve the lands in question. Emigration and settlement under the New Hampshire title have steadily gone on, in spite of the hostile attitude of New York. Our own town has received its share in the general increase of population, and there are now scattered
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clearings in almost every part of the valley. The northern forest has been penetrated by hardy emigrants, and the old highway through Manchester has become a part of the road which leads from Bennington to the new settlements on the Otter creek and the shore of the lake.
We shall better understand the growth of Manchester during these years if we describe, by names of our own time, the location of two roads which date from this period. In 1768, a road was laid, extending in a northerly direction from the south-east part of the valley, passing west of the hills which rise from the west bank of the Battenkill, to the bridge at Factory Point, and thence to the premises of E. B. Smith. The central portion of this road has long been discontinued. In 1769, a road was laid by a line of marked trees from the bridge at Factory Point to the Deaeon Ames place, and thence over the hill towards Barnumville. Portions of that road are now en- braced in the main street of Factory Point.
Among those who arrived in Manchester during this period were some who afterwards became prominently connected with our local affairs. In March, 1769, the name of Martin Powel appears for the first time in the record of town proceedings. While yet a resident of Amenia he purchased the lots which are now the farm of Noble J. Purdy, and there was doubtless his place of settlement. There are indications, however, that a few years later he kept a tavern stand where the village is now located, on premises owned by William Marsh. Marsh has been considered one of the earlier settlers, but his name does not appear in the records of the town until 1770.
As early as 1771 a few framed houses were to be seen - low buildings, with huge timbers and immense chimneys,
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which in our day would be considered anything but ele- gant, but which, to those who moved into them from the hastily constructed log-house, seemed quite palatial. The first framed house in town was built by Samuel Rose in 1769. Its location was on the side of the hill, a few rods north of the present school-house in the Purdy district. It remained standing until a comparatively recent period, and a rough inscription on a stone in the chimney pre- served the date of its construction.
Nearly all who had settled in Manchester up to this time came from Amenia in New York, while the settlers of neighboring towns were mainly from Massachusetts and Connecticut. In view of this circumstance, some have expressed surprise at the perfect accord which always ex- isted between the early settlers of Manchester and the inhabitants of the towns around. It must be remembered, however, that Amenia was largely settled from New Eng- land, and it is quite probable that the early settlers of Manchester were mostly of New England stock. Although emigrants from New York, they held their lands under a New Hampshire title, and common interest, as well as a common origin, bound them closely to the residents of adjoining towns. They were doubtless people in humble circumstances, who had settled in a new country in the hope of improving their condition. They probably were not overburdened with household goods on their journey hither, and they were not sufficiently supplied with ready money to be inclined to pay twice for their lands. They were more at home with the axe than the quill, and were not dismayed at the idea of defending their rights with powder and ball. Of their promptness in patriotie action and their strict fidelity to the common cause, the history
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of the early struggles of the New Hampshire Grants fur- nishes ample evidence.
In the winter of 1771-2, the people of the New Hamp- shire Grants residing on the west side of the mountain, established a regular military organization for the defense of the settlements. Several companies of militia were enrolled, and were formed into a regiment, of which Ethan Allen was colonel. This organization soon became known as " the Green Mountain Boys." Its members were thoroughly armed, frequently met in small detach- ments for drill and practice, and were ready to respond to the call of their leaders at a moment's notice. Man- chester undoubtedly had its quota in this organization, but the names of the men who filled it are lost beyond recovery. Gideon Warren, of Sunderland, was a captain in the regiment, and it is probable the Manchester men were in his company.
This military organization received its instructions from the committees of safety, which, by the common consent of the settlers, were charged with the protection of the Grants. The committees of the several towns were often called together in convention for the determination of important matters. The town of Manchester, central in location and ardent in defense of the common rights of the settlers, was frequently chosen as the place of their meeting. The lists of membership in those earlier con- ventions have not been preserved, but the names of the more prominent members could readily be supplied. Allen, Warner, and their associates, were often in attend- ance, and must have become well known to the residents of our town.
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Early in 1772, certain New York claimants, established at the lower falls of Otter creek, who had driven out the New Hampshire grantees to get possession, were in turn summarily ejected by a band of Green Mountain Boys. When the news reached Gov. Tryon, he addressed a letter to the settlers, requiring them to reinstate the New York claimants without delay. On the 27th of August, the com- mittees of eleven townships assembled at Manchester and replied to the governor's letter. Their answer was signed by " Ethan Allen, clerk for said committees, " and was evidently prepared by him in advance, and adopted by the convention. It approved the action of the settlers without equivocation, and declined a compliance with the gover- nor's requisition. The New York council considered the document " highly insolent, " and expressed an opinion that the opposition had become too formidable to be over- come without the aid of regular troops.
But while the settlers were prepared to defend their possessions, they still hoped for a peaceable solution of the difficulty. In October, 1772, a convention of the several towns on the west side of the mountain was held at Man- chester, and agents were appointed to repair to London with a petition to the king. The agents found matters at court in a favorable condition, and returned to their peo- ple with encouraging reports. They were soon followed by a communication from the king's council to the go- vernor of New York, proposing that the titles of the New Hampshire grantees be confirmed, and that the New York grantees receive compensation out of other lands.
The New York authorities protested against this action of the king's council, and encouraged their friends to continue their opposition to the New Hampshire party.
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Their principal strength on the Grants was in the town of Clarendon, where there were many settlers who held under a New York title. These settlers were active in their efforts to support and increase the New York interest in their immediate locality, and were only kept from more extended operations by their dread of the people of the southern towns. One of them wrote his patron in New York that the condition of things from Bennington to Manchester was such that he could not travel there with safety, and assured him that unless those and the interme- diate towns were subdued, there was an end of all go- vernment.
The settlers from Bennington to Manchester knew that one party or the other must be subdued, and preferred it should be their opponents. Early in the fall of 1773, a large number of them visited Clarendon, and demanded a complete submission to the authority of the conventions. Those who held New York commissions were directed to abstain from any further exercise of official power; and all New York grantees were ordered to acknowledge the New Hampshire title by repurchasing their lands. Com- pliance was required within a certain time, on pain of the severest penalties. The warning was unheeded, and at the expiration of the specified time the Green Mountain Boys returned in force to carry their threats into execu- tion. One unoccupied house was burned, and one or two others unroofed. This intimidated the New York party, and the New Hampshire settlers in the vicinity were after- wards left in comparative quiet.
These transactions were brought to the attention of the New York authorities, and in February, 1774, the assem- bly requested the governor to offer a reward for the ap-
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prehension of the leaders of the " Bennington mob," and directed the drafting of a bill for the suppression of riot- ous proceedings. When the news of these preliminaries reached the settlers, a general meeting of the committees of the several towns was called to consider the situation. This convention met at the house of Eliakim Weller in Manchester, and an adjourned meeting was afterwards held in Arlington. A committee was appointed to pre- pare a defense of the conduct of the settlers, and their report was adopted by the convention. It was resolved to protect the proscribed leaders at the expense of life and fortune, and to be in readiness to hasten to their defense at a moment's notice.
This was in anticipation of the expected aetion of New York. The governor soon issued a proclamation offering rewards for the apprehension of Allen and his comrades, and the assembly passed an act which provided that such persons as might be indicted for certain riotous proceed- ings, and failed to surrender themselves on the published order of the governor, should be sentenced to imprison- ment or death, as the case might be, without trial or con- viction. As soon as these documents found their way to the settlements, another meeting was held at Manchester, which reaffirmed the action of the previous convention in the strongest terms, and declared that any person in the New Hampshire Grants who should accept a commission of the peace under the authority of New York, should be deemed an enemy to the country until his majesty's pleasure was further known.
An appeal to arms seemed the only course left open to New York, and some may be inclined to consider the cause of the New Hampshire grantees at this period quite des-
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perate. They were but a handful of men in weak and scattered settlements, while their opponents were the au- thorities of an opulent province. But the match was not as unequal as it seemed. The settlers were among the strongholds of the mountains, and under the cover of path- less forests. A common and unavoidable peril made them earnest, vigilant and united. On the other hand, the people of New York had no sympathy with the schemes of the land ring, and were not disposed to follow their au- thorities up the Walloomsac or the Battenkill to be shot at by men who scarcely went out of doors without a gun, and who considered themselves disgraced if they missed their aim. The former experience of the sheriff of Albany county seems to have satisfied the governor that no reliance could be placed on the citizens of New York for this service, and he applied to Gen. Gage, the king's command- er-in-chief in America, for a force of British regulars with which to subdue the Grants. A compliance with his request was respectfully declined, and the New Hampshire grantees remained comparatively undisturbed.
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