USA > Vermont > Washington County > Montpelier > Addresses delivered before the Vermont Historical Society and the Vermont Historical and Antiquarian Society > Part 8
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14
When his term in Congress expired, he did not deem it expe- dient to return to Vermont to reside. So much of his time had been devoted to politics, that his business, once thriving and profitable, had run down, and he was on the verge of bankruptcy, if not actually insolvent. His enemies, moreover, were lying in wait for him with suits and prosecutions, which, whether finally
--
قار
IN
24
successful or not, would be a sore annoyance during their conti- nuance. He therefore made a tour to the West and South, in search of a new home, passing through Virginia, Kentucky, Tennessee, and the North West Territory, and every where receiving marked civilities, public and private. He selected what is now Eddyville, in Lyon County, Kentucky, as the place of his future residence. Here, he removed a part of his family with some other Vermont families, which he had persuaded to emi- grate, and commenced building the town; which having fairly started, he brought out the rest of his family and a number of other families. He engaged in business and politics, with his usual ardor. He established the first printing office in Kentucky, transporting the type, on horseback, across the Alleghanies. He engaged in merchandise and ship building, but in nothing so suc- cessfully as in politics. In 1802, he was elected to the Legisla- ture of Kentucky, and in 1803 or 4, to the Congress of the United States, where he retained a seat, by repeated re-elections, till 1810. He was an active and influential member, and did his full share in dispatching business.
In 1812, he contracted, with the United States Government, to build certain sloops and gun-boats, for use in the war then pend- ing. His ship-yard was on the Cumberland River, down which, and the Mississippi, the vessels were dispatched, to be delivered at New Orleans, Some of them were wrecked on the way, and the rest were not delivered within the contract time, so that the speculation proved disastrous. His other business had also suffered, through his devotion to politics, and he was, at length, obliged to make an assignment of his property, for the benefit of his creditors. His son, Chittenden Lyon, was the assignee, and he not only performed his duties as such with the strictest integrity, but advanced not less than $28,000, (at that time, a large sum,) from his own resources, to supply the deficiency of his father's assets, in order that no reproach of unfulfilled pecuniary obliga- tions might rest upon the family.
In 1820, Lyon applied to Congress for a refunding of the money he had paid, as fine and costs, on his prosecution, under the sedition law, and a compensation for his loss of time in jail, and detention from his seat in Congress, for 123 days. After some
٢٠
25
delay, he succeeded in obtaining a committee's report in favor of compensating him for his pecuniary loss ; but the report was not adopted by Congress, and it was not till 1833, several years after his death, that the fine and costs were refunded to his heirs.
About the year 1820, he procured, from Mr. Monroe's Adminis- tration, an appointment as Factor of the United States with the Cherokee Indians, in Arkansas. That territory was then unor- ganized ; but not long after he entered on his duties as Factor, an organization took place, and he was elected the first delegate to Congress. He did not live, however, to take his seat under that election. His death occurred on the 1st of Angust, 1822, at Spadre Bluff, on the Arkansas River, near Little Rock, in the 76th year of his age. Nine years after, his remains were convey. ed to Eddyville, and re-interred among his kindred.
His son, Chittenden Lyon, was one of the most popular and honored men in Kentucky. He was elected to the Legislature of Kentucky, as the representative of some who desired to erect a part of Cumberland County into a new county. In this move- ment he was successful, and the new county was named for him : Lyon County. Having served acceptably in both branches of the State Legislature, he was elected to Congress, where he held a seat for eight years, ending March, 1836. He then voluntarily retired from public service, and died in 1842, at the age of 56.
The distinguishing traits in Matthew Lyon's character were boldness, energy, perseverance, and a resolute will. No under- taking was too hazardous for him to enter upon, no obstacle too great for him to encounter, no delay long enough to weary him out. From every defeat he rose, like Antaus from the mother- earth, strengthened for another trial. Once having fixed his eye upon an object to be acquired, he never lost sight of it. The prize at which he aimed might repeadly elude his grasp, but he pursued it none the less steadily and persistently. His success was remarkable, when we consider his lowly origin, and the hind- rances he every where had to meet.
What were Lyon's abilities as a speaker, it is not easy to deter- mine, save that he was a ready and frequent debater. The reports of his speeches, which come down to us, are too brief and fragmentary to form the basis of an opinion as to their merits.
--
-------
3
W
26
Of his abilities as a writer, there is more abundant evidence. The extant productions of his pen are quite numerous, and show him to be master of a good English style, clear, racy, and idiomatic. He held the pen of a ready writer, and was fond of using it. If occasion required, and it seemed to require quite often, he could handle the weapons of invective almost as murderously as Junius. His letters to John Adams, to William Duane, and to Elias Curtis, are worth reading by all who wish to know the full powers of the English language. His addresses to his constituents, at various times, will also repay perusal. There are frequent sen- tences in them which have the terseness and pungency of epigrams. He was never lavish in the use of words, but gave his readers an idea in every sentence.
The career of Lyon furnishes another illustration of the value of republican institutions. In no other country but this, could the poor Irish boy, leaving home without a penny, and sold to pay his passage money, have risen to such positions and maintained him- self so well in them. There were discreditable circumstances, it is true, in his life. In whose life are there not some ? They were occasioned, for the most part, by infirmities which were incident to his national character, and aggravated by the savage opposition he so often had to encounter. That, in spite of those circum- stances, he succeeded so well, is to be set to the credit of our free institutions ; institutions which we, more favorably circumstanced than he, ought to prize all the more highly, because to all per- sons, however differently situated, unfortunate or prosperous, Irish or American, low-born or high-born, they offer alike a home, a field for usefulness, and an opportunity to gain distinction.
THE MARBLES OF VERMONT.
AN DRESS
MA
PRONOUNCED OCTOBER 29, 1858,
BEFORE THE
VERMONT HISTORICAL SOCIETY,
IN THE PRESENCE OF
THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF VERMONT ·
BY
ALBERT D. HAGER.
Published by Order of the General Assembly.
.
BURLINGTON : TIMES JOB OFFICE PRINT, 1858
THE MARBLES OF VERMONT.
MR. PRESIDENT :-
When I call to mind the fact, that the Vermont Historical Society has heretofore, had for its Speakers, some of the greatest, the best, and the most talented sons of Vermont, and when I reflect upon my own inexperience as a public speaker, and appear before you, while yet the eloquent oration * of last evening is fresh in your minds, as well as the highly interesting address just delivered, t I can, under these circum- stances, but fec lembarrassed, and there arises within me a lurking fear that I shall fail to discharge the duties incumbent on me in a manner creditable to myself, or satisfactory and acceptable to this intelligent audience. But inasmuch as you have manifested your confidence in my ability, by inviting me to address you, and appearing before me this evening, I shall enter upon the performance of my task, craving your indulgence while I present a few matter-of-fact statements in relation to the marbles of Vermont, and call your attention to the beautiful specimens which the proprietors of quarries have kindly furnished me, for the State Cabinet.
The Marbles of Vermont may be divided into six distinct classes ; viz : the Verd Antique, or Roxbury Marble ; the Dove Colored, or Swanton ; the Isle La Mott; the Variegated, of Plymouth; the Winooski and Mosaic of Colchester, and the Vermont Marble. Each of these, and especially the latter, present almost an infinite variety, varying in color, structure and composition, but retaining the peculiar characteristics of its class.
* Hon. Edward Everett's Oration on the Life and Character of Washington. t By Rev. P. H. White.
£
4
I shall speak of each class separately, and lest I may tire the patience of the audience, shall be very brief in my remarks.
The " Verd Antique Marble,*" so called, will first claim our atten- tion. Properly speaking this is a Serpentine or an Ophiolite, and not a marble ; for all marbles are limestone, but all limestones are not marble, the difference consisting in this : those limestones that occur in extensive beds, from which large blocks can be obtained,-free from stratification seams -open or close joints or " cuts,"-and also free from impurities, in the form of slate, quartz, or spar, and suscep- tible of receiving a polish, are called marbles; but where they are cut up with numerous joints, or seams, or have a broken or slaty structure, so as to be obtained only in fragmentary masses, they are called limestones.
The Serpentine of Roxbury and Cavendish, shows, by an analysis, as determined by Dr. A. A. Hayes, of Boston, that no lime enters into its composition but it is composed of Silica (43.34,) Magnesia (39.55), Protoxyde of Iron (5.32) and Water (11.79), and combined in such proportions as to render it one of the most indestructible rocks in nature. The Verd Antique of the ancients, and that of Europe, which in Germany and Spain is now wrought into table tops, mantles, pillars, pilasters, &c., has in its composition ten per cent. or more, of carbonate of Lime, which renders it softer and more easily worked, but when placed in exposed situations it is less durable then the Serpentine of Vermont. It is quite abundant in the State, and outcrops of it are generally found in the Eastern limits of the talcose slate, extending from Massachusetts to Canada ; and it often forms the dividing line between the talcose and mica slate formations.
It is near this line that the gold of Vermont is found. Wherever the talcose slate is found east of the Serpentine (or Soapstone, which is generally associated with it,) gold is usually found, but seldom if ever in workable quantity, except there be a deep eroded valley in the immediate vicinity, with an open slate rock at the bottom, for a " bed rock," in the cavities of which the gold is found.
Two quarries of Serpentine have been opened and worked in the State-one at Cavendish and one at Roxbury ; but in consequence of the great expense of quarrying and working it,-the difficulty in sell-
* Cubic blocks of Serpentine from the quarry at Roxbury, and a slab from the Cavendish quarry, were exhibited.
---
5
ing it for remunerative prices,-want of sufficient capital,-bad management, or from some other cause, both quarries are now aban- doned.
It is to be hoped, however, that a greater demand for the article will .soon be created, and such advances made in the arts as to enable men to work the Serpentine with the same case and facility that common white marble is now worked, when both quarries, and perhaps others in the State, will again be opened and successfully wrought.
Many beautiful specimens have been sent abroad, from the works at Roxbury and Proctorsville, among which may be noticed the block, forming the base of the Franklin Statue, in Boston, Mass. This block was sent from Roxbury, and will be looked upon and admired by thousands, and if suffered to remain unmolested by the hand of man, will effectually resist the corroding influence of atmospheric agencies, and will remain as long as the American people delight to honor the name of Franklin.
The Dove colored Marble of Swanton is a very compact and fine grained limestone, being composed of nearly 95 per cent. of carbo- nate of Lime .*
It has only been quarried at Swanton, for a marble, but in several places it is used for burning into quicklime, as at Colchester, Win- ooski Falls, &c., and for a quicklime it is equal to any thing in the State.
I will remark, in this connection, that in order to secure good material for quicklime, nothing must be used but rock that is of a compact and close grained structure ; for it is found that the coarse grained marbles, that often have 98 per cent. of carbonate of lime, make but a poor ashy colored quicklime, while a compact rock, that has not more than 60 per cent. of the carbonate of lime, will often make a good white quicklime ; hence, as much seems to depend upon the structure as the composition of the material used.
The color and fineness of the Swanton Marble seem to fit it admira- bly for the purpose of floor tiling. When used alternately with the Isle La Motte, or Black marble, it makes one of the best floor pave- ments that can be produced. Some varieties of it, as that found at
* Analysis of Swanton Marble : Carbonate of Lime (94.66), Carbonate of Magnesia (0.23), Alumina and Iron (1.09), Insoluble matter-mostly Silica (2.39), Water and loss (1.63). Olmstead.
-
6
Whiting, are admirably suited to the purpose of being used as an ornamental marble, for table tops, &c., it being traversed by stripes and concretionary masses, of what seems to be a variety of red jasper. The great obstacle presented in working this variety of marble is the occurence of numerous " cuts," and close joints, which are generally very numerous, and often prove a serious drawback, where large sound blocks are desired.
The Isle La Motte marble * is found in the Champlain valley and was the first marble ever worked in the State. It derives its name from the Isle La Motte, in Lake Champlain, where several quarries are now successfully wrought, some of which were opened prior to the Revolutionary War.
It is nearly black, of a compact structure, and is susceptible of receiving a good polish. When sawed, it makes an excellent marble for floor tiling, and specimens of it may be seen in the public edifices, and costly mansions, of the principal cities of our Union.
The facility with which it can be quarried, and the case with which it can be split and wrought into blocks, render it valuable for the purposes of a building stone, and in the construction of abutments and piers for bridges. At the Fiske quarry alone, on Isle La Motte, there are this year quarried about 240,000 cubic feet of this stone, which is mainly used in constructing piers for the " Victoria Bridge," at Montreal. t
This marble is found on many of the islands of Lake Champlain, and upon its banks in several places.
A quarry was opened in 1851, and worked for a time at Larabee's Point, by the Shoreham Marble Co., but it is now abandoned .- Button Harbor Island, West of Ferrisburgh, is mainly composed of the Isle La Motte marble, of excellent quality.
It has never been used at this place as a marble, but is exten- sively quarried by some of the proprietors of Iron Works, in Essex County, N. Y., for a flux, to be used in their iron furnaces.
* Composition of La Motte marble : Carbonate of Lime (87.94). Carbonate of Magnesia (4.56). Alumina and Iron (2 60). Insoluble matter, mostly Silica (4.80). Water and loss (0.10)-and a trace of protoxide of Manganese. Olmstead.
t Last year 243,000 eubic feet were quarried and 4-5 hamered into blocks, -the two preceding years, they sent off 520,000 cubic feet, emplying from 60 to 100 men.
7
Immediately on the top of the Isle La Motte marble at this place, there is a stratum, 22 inches thick, of what is called the " Black River Limestone," being principally composed of a fossil coral (the columnaria sulcata and columnaria alveolata,) which, if sawed and finished, would produce one of the finest fossil marbles extant. ' This fossil* is usually called a petrified hornets nest, or honey comb, from the strong resemblance that the pentagonal columns have to the cells of the comb of a bee or wasp. Large and sound blocks of this fossil marble could easily be procured at this island, and be transported by water to market.
The Brecciated or Variegated Marble, of Plymouth, t seems to be of a distinct class, and by analysis, as determined by T. Sterry Hunt, Esq., is found to be a dolomite, composed of carbonate of Lime (53.9), carbonate of Magnesia (44.7), Oxide of Iron and Alumina (1.3).
Unlike most dolomites, this marble resists the action of atmos- pheric agencies in a remarkable degree, and is durable when exposed to the weather.
It is susceptible of a high polish, and were it a foreign produc tion, would doubtless be highly prized as an ornamental marble.
It occurs in the talcose slate formation, near the center of the town of Plymouth, at an elevation of about 250 feet above Ply- mouth Pond, and is well situated for drainage, and about six miles from the Railroad Station. This quarry was opened about 25 years ago, and was worked for a while ; but as white marbles were in demand, to the exclusion of all others, at that time, the enterprise was abandoned, and the quarry has been used since, only for the purpose of obtaining material for the manufacture of quicklime. Having in its composition less than 54 per cent. of carbonate of lime, still being of a compact structure, it produces, when burned, a nice quicklime, known in the market as the " Plymouth White Lime."
Could some enterprising man now engage in the business of quarrying and working this marble, success would doubtless attend his efforts; for the marble is sound, the formation extensive, the
. Specimens of the coral limestone were exhibited.
t Specimens were exhibited which had been presented to the State, by Isaac A. Brown, Esq., of Proctorsville.
----
الحـ
-
8
quantity inexhaustible, and the facilities for quarrying are unsur- passed by any in the State.
The Winooski and Mosaic Marbles are evidently of the same formation, possessing the same general characteristics, but differ- ing somewhat in their composition and structure.
The Mosaic, so called from its resemblance to artificial Mosaic work, is found near Burlington. Like the Winooski, it usually has a reddish color, and for many purposes it must be regarded as a very beautiful marble for ornamental work. Upon examination, it is found to be principally composed of fragments, varying in size from a barley corn to blocks a foot or more in diameter, which appear to have been promiscuously piled together, after which they were cemented with a substance having much more lime in its composition than the fragments themselves.
This cement, too, has a lighter color than the other portions of the mass, which gives it the beautiful sparry and variegated appearance which is observed in the Mosaic Marble.
It equals in beauty the artificial Mosaic work of Herculaneun and Pompeii, and it is equally interesting to the man of thought, when he looks upon that marble, and contemplates the changes that must have been wrought upon the crust of the earth, to thus reduce to fragments, and collect together again, such masses of the shivered rocks.
The angles of the fragments are seldom rounded, which proves that they were not transported far by water, but remained in a quiet state, in tranquil water charged with a calcareous substance, which, upon being deposited, filled the cavities, and converted the whole again into a solid mass.
The Winooski Marble* is more extensively distributed than the Mosaic, being found to extend from Canada line to Sudbury, but in no place is it so well developed as at Mallett's Head, in Col- chester.
The strata at this point are nearly horizontal, and in many places form the bank of the lake. One of the best quarries is so situated that a vessel can be brought up alongside, and loaded
* The speaker here exhibited fifteen specimens of the Winooski Marble in cubic blocks, which had been presented to the State, to be placed in the State collection, by Hon. David Read, of Winooski Falls.
a
with blocks, with as much ease as they are usually loaded upon carts or cars at inland quarries. The marble occurs in beds, or strata, varying in thickness from one to six feet, and being a good marble to split across the bed, or grain, blocks of any required size can very readily be obtained.
The marble is susceptible of a high polish, and will resist, in a remarkable degree, the corroding influence of atmospheric agencies. Its composition, as determined by an analysis by C. H. Hitchcock, Chemist of our Geological Survey, is, carbonate of lime (35.31), carbonate of Magnesia (42.23), Silica (10.30), Alumina and Iron (12.25).
Like the serpentine, and the variegated, of Plymouth, this marble is hard to be worked, and consequently, when polished, is hard to deface by scratches or acids, and this fact of its hardness should attach to it additional value.
Its color seems to admirably fit it to the purpose of ornamental work, for pier and centre tables, and no marble can excel it in beauty or durability. The rich colors of the Rosewood or Mahogany frames, do not exceed, in beauty or variety, those to be found in a slab of the Winooski Marble. A few openings have been made in Colchester, but quarries have never been extensively wrought; but with the increased facilities that are likely to be presented for working hard marbles, the Winooski and Mosaic will not be neglected, but will doubtless be successfully worked, and yield a rich reward to those so fortunate as to own a quarry.
The most extensively developed, and thus far the most profita- bly worked, marble of Vermont, is that found in the so called Stockbridge Limestone formation, and which bears the name of Vermont Marble. Of this marble there is a great number of varieties. They are usually nearly pure carbonate of lime, and white is the prevailing color.
This formation is found on the West side of the Green Mountains, and extends nearly the entire length of the State. The most profitable quarries, yet worked, are found in the Counties of Rut- land and Bennington.
It generally occurs in strata, varying in number from two to twenty-five, placed one above another, with seams between them, corresponding with the planes of stratification.
in
10
At these seams, called by quarrymen " floor beds," " bed seams," or "riving seams," the strata are readily parted, by inserting wedges, after channels are cut around the block to be removed. The channeling is done with drills, made for that purpose, and from two to ten square feet per day is a day's work for a quarryman, the amount varying with the hardness of the marble, and the skill of the workman. In some quarries, the riving seams are a stratum of very fissile slate, an inch or more in thickness, and often so much disintegrated that an open space occurs between the beds, in which case channeling is unnecessary, as large blocks can easily be split off by drilling holes and using riving wedges.
As a general thing, the riving seams are open at the surface, but upon penetrating the quarry, they grow closer, and often nearly disappear, and render the labor of removing large blocks more difficult and expensive ; but the proprietors are amply remu- nerated, in finding the marble correspondingly . more compact and of better quality, as the quarry is penetrated.
The strata of marble vary in thickness from eight inches to six or eight feet,-the thickest beds being usually found where the marble is coarse grained and friable. From observations made, it is quite apparent, that the marble beds thin out, as they approach the North from Dorset, where the thickest beds in the State are found. In tracing the beds to the North, it is also found, that the marble is finer grained and more compact, than at the points farther South on the same beds.
From the statistics obtained at twenty quarries, where there were employed 989 men in quarrying, it appears that there were quarried, last year, 3,063,240 feet of Vermont marble, which if sawed into slabs, would cover more than seventy acres with marble two inches thick.
There are in the State 27 mills, with 176 gangs of saws, where there are annually sawed 1,788,000 feet of marble, or enough to cover 41 acres with sawed marble.
At these mills there are employed 312 men, which, added to the number engaged in quarrying, shows that more than 1300 men were employed, last year, in this leading enterprise in our State. The sad reverses which have fallen with such heavy hand upon
£
11
the manufacturing and industrial interests of our country, have reached the marble dealers, in some cases, and compelled them to curtail the amount of help this year, as the demand for marble has not been as great as heretofore. But as business again revives, the marble quarries will again resound with the musical click of the quarryman's drill, and the proprietors will again reap the rich reward which they so justly deserve for their energy and perse- verance.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.