USA > Vermont > Orleans County > Coventry > A history of Coventry, Orleans County, Vermont > Part 2
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removed to Brownington. John Wells, Jr., commenced on the farm now owned by R. W. Peabody, and built a cabin on the hillside West of Barton river. He was the first justice of the peace appointed in town. Percz Gardner from St. Johnsbury came in 1802, and pitched on parts of lots No. 9 and 10, now owned by Zebulon Burroughs.
In March 1803, John Ide Jr., from Westminster, purchased lots No. 55 and 56, being the farms now owned by Amasa Plastridge, Thomas Baldwin, and Mrs. Sophronia Guild, and made the first clearing at Coventry Center. His house was situated about forty rods North-Westerly of Mr. Plastridge's present residence. For many years he was a leading man in town, and did as much as any one else to give it form and character. Though he had had no educational advantages, he possessed strong, unfailing, common sense, and an integrity of character which was not only above reproach, but above sus- picion. By these qualities he won and retained the unwaver- ing confidence of his fellow citizens. Ten years he served the town in its most important municipal offices. Ten years he represented it in the Legislature, and one in the Constitu- tional Convention. He also held some county offices. At length he entered into the ministry of the gospel, and became pastor of the Baptist Church in Coventry. He was the first settled minister. In this sphere of duty his labors were many, arduous, and successful, and he well deserves a long and grateful remembrance as the religious father of the town.
The settlers whose names have now been mentioned, six- teen in number, constituted the adult male population of the town in March 1803. Until that time there was no municipal organization, as indeed there was little need of any. What- ever of a public nature was done, not much at the most, was accomplished by voluntary private effort. But it was now 3
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thought desirable that the town should be organized, and accordingly application was made to Luke Chapin, Esq. of Duncansboro, (now Newport,) who issued his warrant for a town meeting, to be held at Samuel Cobb's house, on Thurs- day, March 31st, 1803. At that time and place the town was organized by the choice of officers as follows:
JOHN WELLS, JR., Moderator.
JOSEPH MARSH, Clerk.
TIMOTHY WOODBRIDGE, First Constable.
SAMUEL COBB, Treasurer.
SAMUEL COBB, DANIEL B. SMITH, and JOHN IDE, JR., Selectmen.
PEREZ GARDNER, JOHN WELLS, JR., and JOSEPH MARSH, Listers.
JOSEPH MARSH, SAMUEL COBB, JOHN WELLS, JR., and DANIEL B. SMITH, Highway Surveyors.
PEREZ GARDNER, Grand Juror.
It was voted that each inhabitant should work on the roads four days in June and two days in September. A tax of twelve dollars was raised to defray current expenses of the town. The grand list of 1803, the first taken in town, and on which this tax was assessed, amounted to $608. The highest tax payer was John Wells Jr., who paid a. town tax of $1,39, and a state tax of ninety-six cents.
Most of the early settlers were uneducated men, but they were not insensible to the value of education, nor deficient in desire that their children should know more than them- selves. They had no schoolhouse however, were too poor to build one, and there was no spare room in their cabins where a school might be held. At length, Samuel Cobb's corn-barn was temporarily converted to the purposes of a schoolhouse, and here, in the summer of 1803, Temperance Vincent, taught
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the first school in Coventry, for the moderate compensation of one dollar per week. A ruder building was perhaps never devoted to educational purposes. It was small, not clap- boarded, and lighted only by the open doorway and the cracks between the boards. The seats were rough boards laid upon blocks of wood, and the desks were constructed in the same way. In this unsightly building the rudiments of education were imparted to some who are now among the most valuable citizens of the town .*
In the summer of 1803, a saw-mill, the second in town and much better than the first, was built on the upper falls of Black River, by Jabez G. Fitch. This and the adjacent cabin of Goodrich and Marsh constituted a center of civilization in the West part of the town, as the Cobb settlement did in the East.
The first Freemen's Meeting was held Sept. 6th, 1803, when sixteen votes, the unanimous vote of the town, were given for Isaac Tichenor for governor. Joseph Marsh had the honor of being the first representative; receiving nine votes against two for John Wells, Jr., and one each for Samuel Cobb and D. B. Smith.
* Miss Vincent, the first teacher of the youth of Coventry, was a daughter of Joseph Vincent from Stonington, Ct., one of the early settlers of St. Johnsbury, Vt. She married-1st, Riverius Burt; 2d, Joseph Lawrence, and, as the widow of the latter, is yet living in Glover at the good old age of eighty-two,
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CHAPTER III.
First birth of a male. First marriage, and death. New settlers in 1804. A political heretic. Taxes payable in wheat. Immigrants in 1805. First phy- sician. Roads and traveling. "Shark Thompson."
The year 1804 was signalized by the first birth of a male child, the first marriage, and the first death. On the 17th of February, a son, George B., was born to John Ide, Jr. That son is now the Rev. George B. Ide, D. D. of Springfield, Mass., one of the most eminent Baptist divines in the country. The marriage was that of Silence Cobb to Col. David Knox of Tunbridge, which was solemnized March 11th, by Elijah Strong, Esq., of Brownington. The death was that of Mrs. John Farnsworth, which took place Dec. 4th. There being then no public graveyard, she was buried on her husband's farm, and her grave-stone may still be seen at the four corners on South Hill .*
Among the new settlers in 1804 were George Dorr, Benjamin Walker, Charles Bryant, Thomas Baldwin, Daniel
* As the stone that marks this lonely grave is crumbling under the touch of time, it is well to perpetuate the epitaph which it bears. It is as follows :- In memory of Polley, wife of Mr John Farnsworth, daughter of Mr Charles Church, Westmoreland, N. H. died 4 Dec 1804.
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Ide, John Gardner, and Aristides Huestis. Dorr bought of J. G. Fitch lot No. 75, where Azro Gray now lives. His title afterwards proved defective, and Fitch having in the mean time become bankrupt, he was compelled to repurchase the lot of the legal owner. Bryant pitched on lot No. 42, now occupied by Ira Sessions; Walker on lot No. 49, now owned by Amos Kinne; Huestis on lot No. 76, now owned by Hubbard Gray; and Baldwin on lot No. 57, now owned by Thomas H. Baldwin. Ide pitched on lot No. 89, where Daniel True now lives, and made the first opening in the North Neighborhood. Gardner was the first house- carpenter.
The political harmony which had hitherto prevailed, as witnessed by the unanimous vote for Tichenor in 1803, was slightly disturbed in 1804, when Jonathan Robinson was the opposing candidate. One vote was given for the Robinson ticket ; and at an election for member of Congress, the same independent voter cast his solitary suffrage for James Fisk, in opposition to William Chamberlain, who was the choice of all his townsmen. It is quite probable that Charles Bryant was this voter. One vote was also given for Robinson in 1805, but in 1806, after Bryant had sold out and left town, the vote was again unanimous for Tichenor.
At the town meeting of 1805, a tax of twelve dollars worth of wheat was raised for the purpose of defraying town charges. Wheat, then and for a long time after, was the principal currency in Orleans County. Town and school district taxes were assessed in wheat much more frequently than in cash. A cash tax, however small, was considered quite a calamity, and, in fact, was such. An individual was once obliged to go more than fifty miles, to procure less than a dollar for the purpose of paying a tax. On account of the
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scarcity of money it often happened that no tax whatever was assessed, the officers choosing to render their services gratuitously, and the people in general to do with their own hands whatever needed to be done, rather than to pay their proportion of a tax. On one occasion, when two bridges were to be built, the town voted "that the inhabitants turn out voluntarily to build the bridge at Burroughs' mill, and that $45 be raised to build the bridge across Black river, payable in labor at 67 cents per day, the person finding him- self, or in grain the first of January next."
Solomon Pierce immigrated in 1805, and pitched on lot No. 82, being the farm on which Rev. A. R. Gray now lives. In June of the same year came Dr. Peleg Redfield, and pur- chased lot No. 44, on the Eastern border of which he made a clearing and built a house. The farm still remains in the ownership of his family. Dr. Redfield was the first settled physician in Coventry, and the third in Orleans County ; his only predecessors being Dr. Samuel Huntington of Greens- boro and Dr. Luther Newcomb of Derby. He was a native of Killingworth, Ct., (born June 24th, 1774) studied his profession with Dr. Samuel Ware of Conway, Mass., and commenced practice at Weathersfield, Vt., from which place he removed his family to Coventry, in February, 1806. His practice immediately became extensive and arduous. His journeys to the scattered cabins in which his patients resided were performed mainly on horseback, but not unfrequently he was obliged to thread his way through the forests on foot. He was a man of vigorous mind and great force of character, and was held in high esteem not only for professional skill but for business qualities. A large amount of town business was allotted to him, and he sometimes held at the same time three of the most important offices. He was representative
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in the legislature for nine successive years, 1812-20. Hc is entitled to be remembered for his own abilities, and as the father of sons who, in another profession, have won eminent distinction for themselves, and have reflected honor upon the town from which they went forth .*
In October and November 1805 the first public roads were laid out. Until that time the roads were mere paths ·cut through the woods, with reference mainly to private con- venience, and no wider than was absolutely necessary for a single team, not always so wide as that. When John Farns- worth came into town with his ox-cart, the whole population had to perform extra work on the road from Brownington, to allow the passage of so wide a vehicle. The public roads now laid out were three rods wide. Their general direction was North and South, but alterations and discontinuances have so changed the state of things that it is difficult now to identify more than one of them, which was, in the main, the road from Irasburgh line over South hill to the Center. Little more was done to roads then and for many years after than to clear them of trees, leaving stumps, and stones, and mud-holes, for the traveler to avoid as best he could. Some- times a by-path was cut around an unusually formidable slough, or logs were laid in it; but, at the best, the going was very uncomfortable, not to say dangerous. Traveling was performed principally on horseback, both men and women taking long journeys in that way. Frequently a man and woman rode on the same horse, and sometimes a
* Dr. Redfield was the only resident physician till the winter of 1823-04, when Dr. Samuel S. Kendall, from Derby, commenced practice here, and continued, except a short absence, till the winter of 1851-52. Dr. Ezra S. Trask came Nov. 18th, 1828, and remained till April 30th, 1830. Dr. Henry Hewitt camc Jan. 24th, 1830, and remained till 1836. Dr. David W. Blanchard camc March 25th, 1847, and is now the only resident physician. Besides these there have been some irregular practitioners, and two or three physicians who have remained each a few months.
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woman took two or three children on the horse with herself. A sled drawn by oxen was almost the only other mode of conveyance known in the early days. Oxen were trained to travel as well as to draw loads, and sometimes would perform a pleasure-trip at a speed of more than four miles an hour.
In 1806 came Isaac Baldwin from Westminster, Samuel Boynton from Westmoreland, N. H., and Eben Hosmer from Concord, Mass. Baldwin and Boynton bought lots already improved. Hosmer made a commencement on lot No. 88, now owned by Erastus Wright. In 1806 came also Samuel Thompson, and purchased lot No. 139, which he afterwards sold, and then bought of Joseph Marsh parts of lots No. 136 and 137. He lived in a log cabin built by Marsh, near where Isaac Hancock now lives. He was a most original and eccen- tric character, and was familiarly called "Shark Thompson." His moods were various and contradictory. At times he was irritable in the extreme, and the slightest provocation would rouse him to ungovernable wrath which vented itself in the most horrid profanity and most brutal conduct. One of his cotemporaries said that "he could swear the legs off from an iron kettle in less than two minutes." He ruled his family with a rod of iron. A son of his was once the inno- cent cause of the death of a cow, and for nine successive days Thompson administered to him a severe whipping every morning and evening. He was poor to the very last degree of penury. Very often his wife and children suffered severely for want of suitable food and clothing. Sheriffs constantly harassed him with attachments and executions, and were sometimes greatly harassed in return. Jotham Pierce once attempted to serve a process on him by driving away some cattle, which Thompson prevented by putting up the bars as often as Pierce could let them down. During
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the struggle, Thompson, having a favorable opportunity, caught one of Pierce's fingers between his teeth, and fixed them into it with a vigor and tenacity of grip, which, in the officer's estimation, fully justified the appellation of "Shark."
But there was another side to his character. He was very kind and obliging to his neighbors, and would divide his last morsel of food with any one who was in need. He was full of sympathy for the sorrowful and suffering. Tears would flow copiously down his sun-burnt cheeks as he stood by the bedside of a dying neighbor, and from the depths of his soul would come up the consoling expression, "By Judas, it's too bad," which was his unvarying formula on such occasions. He had by nature a strong mind, though it was never culti- vated. There being no lawyer in the immediate vicinity, he took up "pettifogging," in which he achieved a good deal of celebrity. He had a gift of extemporizing law to meet the emergencies of a case, and the fluency and vigor of speech with which he maintained his positions, rendered bim an antagonist not to be despised even by the regular practition- ers of the law. In after life, he moved to Potten, C. E., where he made a profession of religion, and became an active exhorter. How well he succeeded in that capacity may be inferred from the account he himself gave of one of his performances-" I attended an evening meeting, and found them all dull and sleepy. The spirit didn't move a bit. Pretty soon I thought I would see what I could do, and I got up, and in less than five minutes, by Judas, I had 'em all afire."
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CHAPTER IV.
Roads. School Districts. First Schoolmaster and first Graduate. War of 1812. " The Swamp Angel." Hard times. Manufacture of Salts. Accidental Death.
The first, road from East to West was laid out in June 1806. It extended from the upper falls of Black River; through the Center, "to the West side of Jotham Pierce's opening," near the present residence of William B. Flanders. As it went Eastwardly from the Center, it diverged, at an angle of about 45° South from the present road, passed the lowlands on a log causeway about thirty rods long and four feet high, and crossed Barton River near where Willard Fair- brother now lives, with the first bridge built over that stream in Coventry. On the 6th of June 1810, the waters of Run- away Pond carried off the bridge and causeway, covered the meadow with several inches of soft sticky mud, and compelled a change of the road to its present location. Miss Betsey Parker was crossing the causeway on horseback, as the flood approached ; and, hearing a frightful noise, though she could see nothing, she quickened the speed of her horse, but had hardly reached Dr. Redfield's house, a few rods West of the causeway, when the rushing torrent overwhelmed the road she had so recently passed. The Westerly end of the road has also been quite changed in location, but across the hill it remains as at first. At the same time this road was laid,
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a road was laid from South Hill Westerly in a bee-line to & junction with the first-named road, being mainly the road as now traveled.
At the March meeting in 1806, the town was divided into two school districts, Barton River being the dividing line. The first clerk's return, made in September 1807, showed that there were seventeen scholars in each district.
Among the new comers in 1808 was Isaac Parker from Cavendish. In the winter of that year he taught the second school ever kept in town, and the first which was taught by a male teacher. His school-house was a log-cabin near Sam- uel Cobb's, and his pupils came from all parts of the town. While imparting to others the rudiments of knowledge, he was himself making acquisitions in the higher departments of learning, and to so good purpose, that in the Spring of 1813 he entered Middlebury College considerably in advance, and was graduated in 1815, the first graduate from Coventry. He continued to teach, and as there was at that early day no institution in the county at which a full preparation for col- lege could be made, he established a school at his own house, where for several years young men were taught the classics and higher mathematics. Among those who laid the founda- tions of a liberal education under his tuition were Isaac F. Redfield, George B. Ide, Jonathan Clement, and several others who have attained eminence or respectability in the learned professions. His influence was long and happily exerted in the developement of intellect in his adopted town, where will be held in lasting and honorable regard as the father of education in Coventry.
The war with Great Britain in 1812 occasioned great alarm in all the frontier settlements, and the inhabitants of Coventry shared in the general panic. Lake Memphremagog
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and the adjacent country had been a favorite resort of the Indians, for purposes of fishing and hunting; and although they had almost entirely abandoned that region just before the year 1800, leaving only a few scattered individuals whose relations to the settlers were always friendly, it was sup- posed that they still remained in great numbers near the outlet of the Lake, ready, whenever opportunity offered, to exterminate the civilization before whose onward march they had been compelled to retire. Tales of Indian cruelties were familiar to every ear, and the knowledge that Great Britain had made alliance with the savages carried dismay to many a heart which would fearlessly have met the fortunes of a warfare conducted in a less atrocious manner. Each little settlement imagined that itself would be first to expe- rience the assault of a secret and blood-thirsty foe. The dwellers in the Black River valley were sure that the Indians would avail themselves of the facilities of approach afforded by that stream; equally certain were the inhabitants along the banks of Barton River that they should be surprised in a similar manner. The terror which prevailed was extreme. Some of the most fearful sought safety in flight, abandoned their clearings, and hastily gathering together such of their personal possessions as were most valuable and most porta- ble, fled to the older settlements. Others, more courageous, determined to abide the result, and made all possible prep- aration for the expected attack. Rusty old muskets were scoured and kept constantly loaded, axes were put into fight- ing condition, and butcher-knives were sharpened to be used by men or women in the last desperate resort of hand-to- hand struggle. In the West part of the town, the inhabit- ants assembled at the house of Samuel McCurdy, near where James Hancock now lives, and in the East part of the
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town Israel Ide's was the place of refuge. These were strongly built houses, more defensible than most of the others, and about them guards were stationed, while scouts were kept at watch for the approach of the enemy. For some time there was constant apprehension of an attack. The cracking of a limb in the forest or the midnight hoot of an owl were sufficient to alarm the little garrisons. But as time passed away and no foes made their appearance, the panic subsided and the settlers returned to their former avocations, which they pursued without molestation and without further fear.
The evils which were occasioned by this temporary sus- pension of peaceful employments did not all cease when the fears of the people were allayed. It was difficult for the British forces in Canada to procure provisions, and their commissaries often came secretly into the border towns of the United States to purchase supplies. They found some in Coventry, as well as in other towns, whose covetousness was greater than their patriotism, and from them cattle were bought at enormous prices and driven to Canada by night to feed the enemies of America. The detection of some of these unpatriotic men aroused no little indignation, and caused alienations of feeling which lasted for many years. Smuggling was also greatly increased by the war. The un- settled state of affairs along the borders made this crime easy and profitable. To suppress that, and to guard against hostile approaches which might possibly take place, a corps of soldiers was raised, and stationed at Derby Line. Of this company Hiram Mason of Craftsbury was Captain, and Tisdale Cobb of Coventry, Lieutenant. Five citizens of Coventry-Zebulon Burroughs, Joseph Priest, Timothy Heer- man, Rufus Guild, and Benjamin Baldwin, were among the
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privates. This company remained in service six months, . from September 16th, 1812 to March 16th, 1813, but had no opportunity to do anything more than to prevent smuggling. The town held a special meeting, June 16th, 1812, to take action respecting the war, and voted a tax of one cent on the dollar, to be expended in ammunition. The grand list that year amounted to $2857, so that the sum raised by this tax was $28,57, a small sum in modern estimation, but by no means insignificant to those who had to pay it from their almost empty purses. Nineteen militia men were returned as " armed and equipped according to law." " Cornet" Daniel Huestis and horse are also on record as obedient to the requirements of the statute in that regard. Huestis belonged to a small company of cavalry, the members of which were scattered throughout the county.
About the year 1813 came Ammi Burrington from Burke, and purchased the tract of land on which stood the pudding- mill and saw-mill; which however, he soon sold and moved into the West part of the town. He was familiarly called " the swamp angel," and if the domains of actual or imagin- ary zoology contain any such being as that, he was probably not unworthy of the sobriquet. He was nearly seven feet in hight, broad-shouldered, long-limbed, gaunt, skinny, and crooked ; with dark complexion, wide mouth, large teeth, and other features to match. Tradition says that the name was given him by a Yankee peddler, whom he asked to give him a ride. The peddler told him that if he would ride within the box as far as the next tavern and remain in the box for an hour after arriving there, he should have not only a ride but his keeping over night. Ammi readily accepted the pro- position and took his place among the tin-ware. Upon ar- riving at the tavern, the peddler announced himself as the
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· exhibitor of "a very rare animal-the swamp angel," and proceeded to exhibit Ammi for a certain price, to his own good profit and the great amusement of the spectators.
Hardly had the town recovered from the injuries inflicted on it by the war of 1812, when it was visited by calamity from another source. The year 1816 was memorable in all the new settlements as a year of extraordinary privations and sufferings. An unusually early Spring had created expectations of a fruitful season and an abundant harvest, but on the morning of June 9th there occurred a frost of almost unprecedented severity, followed by a fall of snow, which covered the earth to the depth of some inches, and was blown into drifts two or three feet deep. All the growing crops were cut down. Even the foliage on the trees was destroyed, and so completely as respected the beeches that they did not put forth leaves again that year. No hope or possibility of a harvest remained, and the settlers had before them the gloomy prospect of extreme scarcity if not of actual famine. Their forebodings were more than realized. Not a single crop came to maturity. Wheat alone progressed so far that by harvesting it while yet in the milk, and drying it in the oven, it might be mashed into dough and baked, or boiled like rice. There was neither corn nor rye except what was brought from abroad, sometimes from a great distance. One person went to Windsor County and procured a load of those grains, which he sold for three dollars and upwards per bushel. A peek of corn was regarded as a good compensation for the day's work of a man. Salt commanded $4,50 per bushel and could be pro- cured only with cash. All other kinds of provisions were held at prices proportionately high. The inhabitants pre- pared themselves as best they could for the fearful winter
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