USA > Vermont > Orange County > Bradford > A history of Bradford, Vermont : containing some account of the place of its first settlement in 1765, and the principal improvements made, and events which have occurred down to 1874--a period of one hundred and nine years. With various genealogical records, and biographical sketches of families and individuals, some deceased, and others still living > Part 3
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Provided also, That in case the said Moses Hazen shall not pay or cause to be paid into the hands of the said com- mittee said sum of two shillings, lawful money, in silver or gold, for each acre of the three thousand four hundred acres named as aforesaid, by the rising of the Assembly of this State in October next, or in case any or all of the settlers, or claimants to said lands, exclusive of said four thousand acres, shall not pay into the hands of said com- mittee, by the First day of April, A. D. 1792, the said sum of nine pence per acre, for each acre they claim, as aforesaid, it shall be the duty of said committee to pro- ceed to advertise said lands for sale ; or any part thereof that shall so remain unpaid for, in the Vermont Journal ; and shall thereupon proceed to sell, at public vendue, to the highest bidder, all, or any part of said lands, so re- maining unpaid for : and shall be accountable to the Treas-
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urer of this State for all the monies they receive for said lands. And it is further enacted that said committee, be- fore they proceed on the business of their appointment, enter into a bond of Two Thousand Pounds to the Treas- urer of this State, for the faithful discharge of their trust. See M. S. Laws of Vermont, Vol. ii, p 363.
Roads at public expense. In the years 1784 and 1786, as John McDuffee, Esq., states in his manuscript already mentioned, by act of the Legislature, and at the expense of the State, a road was cut out, under the direction of General Allen, from the falls in Wait's River, where Brad- ford village is now located, by the most feasible route to Onion or Winooski River: and thence to Burlington ; , which is one of the most direct and eligible highways from Connecticut River to Lake Champlain ; and which was for many years occupied as a stage route. The course was almost the same as that now in use as the most direct stage route from Bradford to Montpelier, and is thence taken by the Central Vermont Railroad, to Bur- lington.
By an act of the General Assembly, at Manchester, Oc- tober 26, 1789, a tax of one penny on every acre of land in Bradford, (public rights excepted) was assessed, for the purpose of building highways and bridges in said town.
The grant of this Township, made in trust, to Smith, Harvey and Whitelaw, having failed to settle all matters of difficulty among the inhabitants, especially among those on the Hazen tract, further legislation was demanded, and an act, entitled, An act for the purpose of quieting the settlers on a certain tract of land in the western part of Bradford, was passed by the General Assembly, at Rut- land, November 6, 1792, as follows :
" Whereas the Legislature of this State, at their session in Bennington, in the year of our Lord One Thousand Seven Hundred and ninety-one, passed an act granting the Township of Bradford to Israel. Smith, Alexander.
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Harvey, and James Whitelaw, Esquires, upon certain con- ditions, and restrictions, therein expressed ; and, Where- as, a tract of land of three thousand four hundred acres -. of land lying in the western part of said Township was by said grant reserved for General Moses Hazen, with the following condition, viz: that the said Moses Hazen should pay into the hands of the before named grantees, as a committee for that purpose, for the use of this State, the sum of two shillings for each acre of land contained in said tract, and that the same should be paid by the ris- ing of the General Assembly in October next; and that if the said Moses should not make part payment, that then the before named committee should proceed to sell the said tract of land, at public vendue-And, Whereas the said Moses has failed to fulfill the condition of said grant, and the said tract of land is now advertised for sale, agreeably to the direction of the said act; and it being now made to appear to this Asssembly that there are a number of settlers who have made considerable improve- ment on the said tract of land, who will be greatly injured by the sale thereof ;
" Therefore, it is hereby enacted by the General As- sembly of the State of Vermont, that the said Israel Smith, Alexander Harvey, and James Whitelaw be, and they are hereby, directed to notify to the said settlers living on said tract of land, by setting up one advertisement, and one other advertisement on the Sign Post in the said town, at least one fortnight before the time of their meeting, notifying the said settlers to appear and state their claims to said committee; and the said committee shall then proceed to deed to such persons as appear actually to be settled and making improvements on said tract of land, the land on which they live, not exceeding one hundred acres to each settler; upon their paying into the hand of such committee, for the use of this State, the sum of two shillings for each acre of land
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so deeded ;- and their proportion of the necessary ex- pense of said committee. 1136471
"And it is further enacted by the authority aforesaid, that all the remainder and residue of said tract of three thousand four hundred acres which shall not be deeded to the settlers as aforesaid, shall, by the said committee, be . deeded to JOHN BARRON, of said Bradford, upon his pay- ing into the hands of said committee, for the use of this State, the sum of two shillings for each acre of land so deeded to him, and his proportion of the necessary ex- pense of said committee :
" Provided, always, that no deed shall be made of this land in pursuance of this act, unless all the money, for the whole of the aforesaid tract, shall be paid into the hands of the aforesaid committee, before the first day of June next."
See M. S. Laws of Vermont, 1787 to 1792 ; vol. ii, p. 453.
In accordance with this legislative enactment, the anx- ious settlers on lands to which they before had no legal claims, were quieted ; valid titles to lots unoccupied given to those who were wishing to possess them ; and the gen- eral settlement of the Township accomplished. How the three hundred acres appropriated to the first settled min- ister or ministers, and the like amount for the support of schools, were finally disposed of, we shall see when we come to look into the state of ecclesiastical and educa- tional matters.
The physical topography of this township is, in the main, like that of most others in the Connecticut valley. The climate in the course of each year varying from the piercing cold of Winter, to the intense heat of Summer, with all degrees of intermediate alternations ; the rich in- tervales, with their annual inundations; the high lands, easily cultivated, and good alike for grass or grain; the tracts of forests, charmingly variegated with birch, beech, elm, maple, and evergreen trees, now too rapidly disap-
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pearing; the various productions which richly reward the cultivator's toil; the argillaceous ledges here and there cropping out, and offering abundant material for cellar walls and the underpinning of houses ; the inexhaustible stores of clay and sand of the best quality for the making of brick, to be used in the erection of buildings ; and the unfailing water-privileges with which the town is blessed ; all combine to give animation, courage, and energy, to its enterprising population. From some of the high places in this town the prospect on all sides, but especially as one looks away to the East on the mountains of New Hampshire, throwing back in a flood of glory the beams of the declining sun, is not only surpassingly beautiful, but truly sublime. An admired American author, who had then recently returned from a tour in Europe, while sit- ting in his carriage and contemplating this scenery, re- marked that he had never seen anything of this nature either in England or France, which seemed to him so charming.
A well informed resident of the town, more than twen- ty-five years ago remarked that there were not more than two one hundred acre lots within its limits which were not cultivated, and that these were on Wright's Mountain; and further, that even on that mountain there were not more than twenty or thirty acres which might not be im- proved as pasturage or woodland.
The small mountain just mentioned, occupies the north- western corner of Bradford, and its summit, according to Horace G. McDuffee's measurement, is about seventeen hundred feet above Connecticut River, some three or four miles distant, towards the East, and two thousand one hundred above tide water. The sides of the mountain, West and South, are precipitous, consisting of almost per- pendicular ledges of argillaceous slate, from which, espec- ially on the South side, where there is a deep ravine, huge . fragments of rock in ages past have fallen down, one on
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another, forming various cavities, the largest of which has been called " Devil's Den," but most inappropriately, since t hat evil personage, there can be no doubt, greatly pre- fers the society of kindred spirits congregated in cities, and even country villages, above any such solitary cave or den among wild beasts. Be that as it may, it is said that a singular transaction once occurred in that cave, which attached to the mountain the name which it still bears. The story is, in substance, this-One of the ear- liest settlers on the tract now called Bradford, was a re- ligious fanatic by the name of Benoni Wright, who con- ceived it to be his privilege and duty to prepare himself for the distinguished honor and service pertaining to a prophet of the Lord, by letting his beard grow to a great length, and by keeping a strict fast of forty days and nights in the wilderness, devoting the time to meditation and fervent prayer. When about to retire he prepared himself with a leathern girdle, with a buckle on one end and forty-two progressive holes in the other, designing to gird himself, day by day, one degree closer, as his size should diminish. For this purpose it is said he took up his abode in the cave above mentioned. This process went on till the imperious demands of appetite became too strong for his resolution, and in the darkness of night he was detected far away from his place of concealment in quest of food to satisfy his hunger, for if he stayed where he had intended to remain, he was convinced he must die ; and so his sanctimonious attempt proved a ri- diculous failure. Still he immortalized himself, as his name has been permanently attached to the mountain which witnessed his effort so painful to become a distin- guished prophet of the Most High. Let the place of his retirement be also called by his name-Wright's Cave .*
* A carriage road, not a very good one, was once made to the top of the mountain, and two celebrations of the 4th of July have been held there. The prospect from that elevation is truly magnificent; and if to be obtained in some parts of the country, less affluent in beautiful scenery, would be highly appre. ciated by crowds of visitors.
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The township is well watered, not only by innumerable springs and rivulets richly refreshing the hill sides, but by larger streams. On its eastern border flows the Con- necticut ; through its, northeastern corner, Hall's Brook, from Newbury, passes quietly along ; then as you go South, Roaring Brook, over its rocky precipices comes dashing down, to mingle with the other at its confluence with the Connecticut ; and from the Southwest, Rowell's Brook makes haste to reach the principal stream, which from West to East runs though the town, and is dignified by the name of Wait's River. The two main branches of this stream soon after entering Bradford unite, and con- stitute a respectable river, which at Bradford Center af- fords a fine privilege for mills, and, on passing through a rocky channel about a half a mile above its entrance into the Connecticut, its course becomes so swift and forcible that three dams, at a moderate distance from each other, have been built across it, affording rare advantages for grinding, sawing, paper-making, and various other kinds of business requiring water-power. These falls have con- tributed largely to the prosperity of the enterprising and flourishing village which has grown up around them.
The incidents which gave name to this river, as by tra- dition received, are too interesting and affecting to be silently omitted. In the course of the old French war a military force of New England men, under command of Major Robert Rogers, in the year 1759, was sent to chas- tise and subdue the St. Francis tribe of Indians in Cana- da, who had for a half a century been in the practice of perpetrating acts of violence and barbarity on the colo- nists. These men of war, styled Roger's Rangers, on the 5th of October, of that year, struck the fatal blow; but were forced to commence a speedy retreat which proved disastrous to many, on account of the manifold hardships to which they were reduced while traversing the vast wilderness between Memphremagog lake, on the border
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of Canada, and No. 4, in New Hampshire. Several, we know not how many of them, are said to have perished by absolute starvation. They had hoped to find supplies on reaching the Lower Coos, but were disappointed. The men, in their great distress, were there disbanded, and directed to seek sustenance for themselves, by hunting, or in whatever way they could. Captain Waite, with a small squad, pushed on down the river, and within the dis- tance of some ten or twelve miles was so fortunate as to kill a deer, which gave good refreshment to himself and his famishing men ; and having reserved a small portion for themselves, he hung up the remainder conspicuously on a tree, or trees, for the relief of their suffering associ- ates, who were expected soon to be passing that way. That there might be no misunderstanding, he cut his name, Waite, on the bark of a tree from which he had suspend- ed a portion of his life-saving venison; and as this tree stood on the bank of a small river, just above its union with the Connecticut, the grateful men, in remembrance of their kind benefactor, called it Wait's River, by which . name it has ever since been known.
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CHAPTER II.
Transactions of Early Town Meetings-A list of Town Clerks and Representatives from the First-Roads Surveyed, with Distances from Place to Place-Bridges Built-Freshets-Army of Worms.
The first town meeting of which any record has been preserved, was held at the house of Samuel McDuffee,-in the year 1773, probably in the Spring of that year ; when the requisite officers were chosen, and the machinery of a regular township was put in working order. The list of officials was as follows : John Peters, Moderator ; Stev- ens McConnell, Clerk ; Benjamin Jenkins, Supervisor ; Hugh Miller and Noah White, Overseers of the Poor ; Ben- jamin Jenkins, Treasurer ; Jesse McFarland, Lieut. Jacob Fowler, and Hezekiah Silloway, Surveyor of Highways ; Hezekiah Silloway, Constable; Amos Davis, Collector ; Samuel Gault, and Amos Davis, Tythingmen.
The Samuel McDuffee, at whose house this first town meeting was held, was unfortunately drowned in Connect- icut river in 1781. He was an uncle of Samuel and John McDuffee, Esqrs., of later dates.
The first deed recorded in this town, dated August 13, 1773, thus begins : "Know all men by these presents, that I, Benoni Wright, of Moorstown, so-called, in the County of Gloucester and Province of New York." This deed was made to Stevens McConnell, of Newbury, in the same County.
The next annual town meeting was held May 1, 1775, at the house of Stevens McConnell ; when, in addition to the choice of officers, it was voted to expend $300 worth of labor on the highways; allowing each man 4s. 6d. per day for his own labor, and 3s. per day for a yoke of oxen. Business of a warlike nature was also transacted. The battle of Lexington, Mass., which decisively opened the momentous drama of the Revolutionary war, had been
١
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fought but a few days before ; and the state of the coun- try had become alarming. Therefore,
Voted, To raise a Town stock, to be kept in the Treas- ury, of one pound of powder, three pounds of lead, and a dozen flints, to each man in said town of Mooretown, from sixteen years to eighty.
Chose Benjamin Jenkins and Haines Johnson, a commit- tee to look out, and procure a stock of powder, lead, and flints as the above vote directs.
Voted, to raise three dollars in cash, as present expense, to the Committee for raising said stock; and the assessors shall, or may, lay an assessment on each man, as they shall judge right : and the Collector of said town of Moore- town shall, and is hereby empowered to, collect each man's proportion, as so assigned.
Voted to pay in wheat, at the price the Committee shall engage, for the town stock.
May 7, 1776. Voted to meet on the 14th inst. to choose military officers. Adjourned.
At a later date. Voted to raise 16 pounds, lawful money, for the purchase of powder and lead.
May 29, 1777. Voted to send Bildad Andross and Ben- jamin Baldwin to the Convention at Windsor to take measures for the organization of a new State.
These acts of the town indicate the state of feeling prevalent among its earliest inhabitants, in regard to the public affairs.
A deed, bearing date Feb. 1, 1781, purports to be from Joseph Thurber, of Mooretown, County of Cumberland, and State of Vermont, to Robert Hunkins, of the same County and State.
Another deed, dated Jan. 24, 1782, from Obededom Sanders, of Mooretown, County of Orange, and State of Vermont, is given to John Simons, of Piermont, in the same County and State, and the acknowledgment is made be- fore Thomas Russell, Justice of the Peace in Piermont, 4
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Orange County, Vt. Here we see how unsettled for some time were the names and civil relations of this town, towards some others in its vicinity. Piermont, at one time, claimed to be in Vermont.
That domestic police regulations, for the restraint of misbehaving boys, men, and other animals, were not neg- lected, appears from the appointment of tything men to keep order in religious assemblies, and such other votes as these :
" 1786, June 12th. Voted to build a Pound, at the town cost, by order of the Selectmen; also Stocks and a Sign- Post."
This Sign-Post seems to have answered the double pur- pose of holding forth advertisements and warnings regard- ing public matters, and of serving as a Whipping Post for the castigation of criminals. These instruments of ter- ror to evil-doers, the Stocks and Sign Post, stood on the East side of the highway, near where you now turn to go -down to the stone paper mill ; and in a few instances were employed in the punishment of notorious transgressors.
, " March 31, 1794. Voted that swine may run in the highway, having a yoke ón the neck, of the following di- mensions : the depth of the neck above, and half of the depth below; and the thickness of the neck on each side ; with a sufficient ring in the nose." Stray cattle and horses were to be impounded; and thus due order be preserved.
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TOWN CLERKS,
WITH THE PERIODS OF THEIR SERVICES.
I773
Stevens McConnell,
1794-1797, Moses Chamberlain,
1774
No record,
1798-1815, Andrew B. Peters,
1775
Jacob Fowler,
1816-1820, John H. Cotton,
1776
Stevens McConnell. .
1821-1837, Andrew B. Peters,
1838 Horace Strickland,
1777-1780, No record, 1781 Stevens McConnell, 1782 Benjamin Baldwin,
1839-1845, A. B. Peters,
1846-1853, Geo. P. Baldwin.
1783-1785, No record,
1854-1855, Geo. L. Butler,
1786 Stevens McConnell,
1856-1862, Adams Preston,
1863 Charles H. Harding,
1787-1788, No record, 1789 Benjamin Baldwin,
1864-1869, Edward Prichard,
1870-1874, John B. W. Prichard,
REPRESENTATIVES FROM BRADFORD,
TO THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY, WITH THE PERIODS OF THEIR .
ELECTION.
1788 1790 Asher Chamberlain, and Col. John Barron
to assist him in oh- taining a Charter.
1838
Arad Stebbins, jr.,
1792
Nathaniel White and M. Barron.
1840
J. W. D. Parker, Adams Preston,
1793 -- 1794, John Barron,
1843 -- 1844, Geo. P. Baldwin,
1795 -- 1797, Micah Barron,
1845
No choice,
1800
A. B. Peters,
1848 -- 1850, Hubbard Wright,
1802
Daniel Kimball,
1851 -- 1853, No choice,
1803-1804, A. B. Peters,
1854 Richard R. Aldrich, Hubbard Wright, 1855
1806-1813, Daniel Kimball
1814-1818, John H. Cotton,
1819 -- 1821, John Peckett,
1822
Geo. W. Prichard, John Peckett,
1862-1865, Hubbard Wright,
1866-1867, Barron Hay,
1824-1826, Jesse Merrill, 2d, 1827
1869
Asa M. Dickey,
1828
Jesse Merrill, 2d,
1870 -- 1873, Henry C. McDuffee,
1829
Joseph Clark,
1830 Jesse Merrill, 2d,
1831
John B. Peckett,
1832-1833 Jesse Merrill, 2d,
1834 -- 1836, Arad Stebbins, jr.,
1837
J. D. Parker,
1791
John Barron,
1839
1841-1842, Alvin Taylor,
1798-1799, Andrew B. Peters, William Simpson,
1846 Arad Stebbins, jr.,
1847 Geo. P. Baldwin,
1801
1805 Arad Stebbins,
1856 -- 1857, Horace Strickland,
1858 -- 1859, George Prichard,
1860 -- 1861, George L. Butler,
1823
1868 Hubbard Wright,
George W. Prichard,
1874 -- 1875, Joseph W. Bliss.
John Barron,
1790-1793, John Underwood,
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ROADS SURVEYED.
It may be a matter of curiosity and satisfaction, to Bradford people, to know the distances from place to place along several of the roads which they are accustomed to · travel; as stated in authentic surveys, in times past. Ac- cordingly, I will give a condensed statement, taken from an old volume of the Town Records, several years ago ; which since seems to have strangely disappeared.
I. RIVER ROAD, from North to South ; survey by Caleb Willard, in 1795. Distance from the North line of Bradford to Roaring brook, 188 rods, that is, one-half mile and 28 rods ; thence to Daniel Collins' house, Sawyer place ? one mile and 18 rods; thence to Meeting house, near the Peters' place, one mile ; thence to Wait's River bridge, one mile, lacking 20 rods; thence to the Peckett house, Har- vey Nourse place ? one mile and 24 rods ; thence to John Barron's, or Waterman place, one-fourth of a mile ; thence to Fairlee, North line, 52 rods; making the distance through the town, on this road, five miles, three quarters, : and 16 rods.
II. THE SOUTH ROAD-Surveyed by Aaron Shepherd, 1786. From Peckett's blacksmith shop, near the corner where the road to Goshen turns off, in the central part of the village, to the Hazen land, which begins at the brook a little East of Ira Low's house, four miles and 50 rods ; thence through the Hazen land to the East line of Cor- inth, one-half of a mile and 74 rods; making the whole distance from the village to the West line of Bradford on that road, four miles and three quarters, and 44 rods, or five miles, lacking 36 rods.
III. GOSHEN ROAD-Surveyed by Aaron Shepherd, in 1788. Beginning at the School house in the village, near the falls on Wait's River, by the Tabor place to the junc- tion with the Goshen North road, three miles and 19 rods.
IV. ROAD UP THE BROOK FROM ROWELL'S CORNER-
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Surveyed by Benjamin P. Baldwin, in November, 1837. From the guide-board in said corner, to the crossing of the Brushwood road, called the Four Corners, one mile and a quarter, lacking one rod; thence to the John Un- derwood place, one-half of a mile and 36 rods; in the whole, from Rowell's Corner's to the Underwood house, one mile, three-quarters and 35 rods.
V. WAIT'S RIVER ROAD-Surveyed by Benjamin P. Baldwin, October, 1821, under the direction of a commit- tee appointed by the State Legislature. This is the East- ern section of the stage road, and great thoroughfare from Bradford village, through East Corinth, Topsham, Orange and Barre, to Montpelier, and so on to Burlington; also by the South Branch of Wait's River, through Cor- inth and Vershire, to Chelsea. The old roads had been over the high hills, and to this road decided opposition was made, at first, by a majority in Bradford, on account of the expense of making it; but owing to a strong pres- sure from within, and a stronger from without, it was put through, greatly to public convenience.
SUMMARY .- From Farnham's Corner (near Mr. Cyrus Stearns',) on the River Road, across the Saddle Bank to the West end of the Baldwin bridge, one mile and 34 rods ; thence to John Moore's house, now Russ', three- quarters of a mile and 11 rods. From the Baldwin bridge to Cass bridge, at Bradford Center, two miles and one- half and 9 rods. From Baldwin bridge to Colby bridge, the next above Bradford Center, four miles and 25 rods ; thence to the Northwest line of the town, as you go to- wards Corinth, East Village, one mile and 62 rods, making the whole distance from Baldwin's bridge to that point, five miles, one-quarter and 7 rods; and from the great river road, at the place of beginning, six miles, one-quar- ter, and 41 rods. From Connecticut River, at Piermont bridge, through the town of Bradford, in this direction, is six miles, three-quarters and 35 rods ; and thence to Wat-
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son's Mills in Barre, on the Chelsea turnpike, it is sixteen miles further, lacking 54 rods:
FROM COLBY BRIDGE, a few miles below the confluence of the North and South principal branches of Wait's River, up the latter to the East line of Corinth, is about one mile and a half. These several places are at the same distance from the central part of Bradford village as from Farnham's Corner, lacking about one-fourth of a mile.
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