Gazetteer and business directory of Addison County, Vt., for 1881- 82, Part 6

Author: Child, Hamilton, 1836- cn
Publication date: 1882
Publisher: Syracuse, Printed at the Journal Office
Number of Pages: 1148


USA > Vermont > Addison County > Gazetteer and business directory of Addison County, Vt., for 1881- 82 > Part 6


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It was well known in New York that these lands had long been granted by New Hampshire, and were actually occupied under such grants, and that the new patents were procured in utter disregard of the rights and claims of the settlers. It was also well known by them that the king, in commissioning Benning Wentworth Governor of New Hampshire, had described his province as reaching westward "until it met his other governments," thus bounding it westerly by New York, and that the eastern boundary of New York was a line twenty miles easterly from Hudson River, extending from Lake Cham- plain south to the western line of Massachusetts, was proven by the charter of the Duke of York upon his accession to the throne in 1685. But notwithstanding all this. New York insisted that not only was the juris- diction changed thenceforward, but also, the grants made were vacated. and that the titles acquired under them were made void. The settlers were required to re-purchase their lands, which some of them did, but the great majority peremptorily refused. The lands of such were granted to others, who brought actions of ejectment in the New York courts, and invar- iably obtained judgment against the original proprietors. It was easier, however, to obtain the judgments than to enforce them. The officers who attempted to serve the writs of possession were forcibly resisted and some- times very roughly handled.


Thus the controversy with New York continued in one form or another for full a quarter of a century, and was conducted on both sides with great spirit and animosity. It brought out, on the side of the settlers on the New Hamp- shire Grants, an extraordinary amount and variety of talents, both civil and military. Their leader was Ethan Allen, a bold, energetic, self confident man, and associated with him, Seth Warner and Remember Baker, fully his equals in daring and bravery.


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ADDISON COUNTY.


During the period of the controversies the affairs of the settlers were managed by committees in the several towns, who met in general conven- tion, when occasion required, to provide for the common defence and welfare. The decrees of these conventions were regarded as law, and violations of them were punished with extreme severity. On the 24th and 25th of Septem- ber, 1776, one of these conventions was held at the house of Cephas Kent, in Dorset, at which it was resolved "to take suitable measures as soon as may be, to declare the New Hampshire Grants a separate district." This was the germ which soon expanded and grew into the free and independent State-the only State, except Texas, which has been admitted to the Union by petition of her people. The delegates to this convention from Addison County were Samuel Benton, from Bridport ; David Vallance, from Addison ; Gamaliel Painter, from Middlebury, and John Gale, from Panton, four in all.


During the Revolutionary war the controversy between the people of the Grants and New York was partially dropped, the common trouble between them and the mother country engrossing all their care and attention. The close of the war found Vermont an independent State, to which New York relinquished all right and title upon the payment of $30,000.00. Thus ended the scenes "that tried men's souls," the trials which nerved the "Green Mountain Boys" to declare and maintain their independence, and to emerge a free and sovereign State. We will here leave the subject to be taken up again only as necessary in detailing occurrences happening in the respective towns.


THE REVOLUTIONARY WAR.


Parricidal as it may appear, this war was as but a deadly quarrel between parent and child. The infant colony had come out to America as a child to a new home, receiving help, if need be, for a time, but with an undoubted looking forward, even from the beginning, to future separation and independ- ence in the fulness of time. Here the infant grew to sturdy manhood, where, by the sweat of its brow, it gained wealth and power. But it was enough for it to support its own institutions, to build its own State, pay its own lawyers, ministers, and soldiers, if they were wanted, without supporting the idle gentry of England, who did nothing for them without being exorbitantly paid. It was this, strengthened by the tyranny of the British Parliament, by the folly of George III., who, in his name, allowed his servants to grant his lands twice over, and persecute his first grantees as felons and outlaws, to- gether with the thousand leagues of ocean that rolled between parent and child, that caused the estrangement and revolt in 1775, which took practical development at Lexington, at Bunker Hill, at Boston, in the expedition of Arnold through the wilds of Maine, in the taking of Ticonderoga, and in the co-operation of Montgomery, by the way of Lake Champlain, Montreal and St. Lawrence, with Arnold under the frowning walls of Quebec.


The people of the grants entered with an especially hearty zeal, not to say animosity, into this contest for American independence, owing not only to


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their deep love of liberty, but to a just hatred and distrust of King George, whose decree they had only nominally obeyed from the first, having never recognized the jurisdiction and authority of New York, but obeying only the decrees of committees and conventions, and of their own town meetings. The bitter schooling they had passed through during the few years previous to the opening of the war, had rendered them an experience that made the " Green Mountain Boys" a foe by no means despicable, and one that the British soldiers soon learned to respect as well as fear.


Addison County furnishes but few incidents of the war which can properly be said to constitute a part of its history ; not that its people were deficient in patriotism, but for the reason that there were few permanent settlers in the territory at that time. A great portion of these, to their credit be it said, early took up arms and fought bravely for their homes and freedom, while their families were removed farther south to places of greater safety. Some had the temerity to remain upon their farms, and were taken prisoners by the enemy. The lake and its forts being in the possession of the British, the whole country opposite was exposed to foraging and marauding parties of Eritish, Indians, and Tories, who plundered and carried off all such movable property as was desired by them. Still, the county was never the scene of a battle nor any extensive affray where blood was shed, yet the forests that covered the beautiful sweep of land along the lake shore and valley of the Otter, often waved their green branches over the red coats of the British, and echoed the shrill whoop of the savage, mingled with the despairing cry of some luckless captive as they were borne away to a Canadian dungeon, or to a captivity worse than this, or even death. Two hundred and forty-four of these unhappy ones were taken during the fall of 1778, and imprisoned in Quebec ; and tradition says that forty-eight were brought back in June, 1782, and exchanged as prisoners of war at Whitehall. Among those captured during the month of November, in the north and west portions of the county, were the following : Nathan Griswold, taken in that part of New Haven which is now Vergennes, John Griswold, and Adonijah Griswold, in that part of New Haven which is now Waltham, and David Griswold, of New Haven. These four men were brothers. Eli Roberts and Durand Roberts, father and son, were taken at Vergennes ; Peter Ferris and Squire Ferris, father and son, of Panton, were taken on the west side of Lake Champlain, while hunting ; Joseph Holcomb, Elijah Grandy, and - - Spaulding, at Panton ; John


Bishop, at Monkton, and Hopkins, at New Haven, all of whom re- turned but one. The trials and vicissitudes, escapes, recaptures, and final release of these men would furnish materials for a tale rarely exceeded in in- terest in the annals of fiction. The taking of Ticonderoga, its recapture by the British, and the subsequent retreat of the Americans towards Castleton, are matters of general history, and not necessary to repeat here. Suffice it to say that the surrender of Cornwallis, at Yorktown, October 19, 1781, virtu- ally put an end to all the troubles. The families who had been driven from


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ADDISON COUNTY.


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the county once more returned to their peaceful homes, and e'er long the waving grain was bending gracefully in the place of the stately forests, and the savages' yell changed to " the busy hum of the mill-stones grinding corn."


WAR OF 1812.


For nearly thirty years this interval of peace and prosperity was enjoyed by the people of Addison County, during which time the troubles between New York and Vermont had been most amicably adjusted, and one more star added to the proud flag of the Union. But still, England, notwithstanding the lesson she had received, and all the years that had intervened, seemed not to appreciate the fact that her American colony had grown to an inde- pendent nation ; and though in March, 1782, Burke and Fox had raised their voice in Parliament, and the House of Commons formally declared that it " would consider as public enemies all those who should advise a further prosecution of war with America," she still persisted in acts of tyranny until they became unendurable. Accordingly, on the 18th of June, 1812, an act was passed in the House of Representatives, by a vote of seventy-nine in the affirmative and forty-nine in the negative, and in the Senate by a majority of nineteen to thirteen, declaring war against Great Britain ; the message of the President containing these as the prinicipal reasons,-" The impressment of American seamen by the British, the blockade of her enemies' ports, in con- sequence of which the American commerce had been plundered in every sea," etc.


Vermont, thinking that the difficulties of the times required its sentiments to be known among the other States, adopted the following resolution : "We therefore pledge ourselves to each other and to our government, that with our individual exertions, our example and influence, we will support our government and country in the present contest, and rely on the great Arbiter of events for a favorable result." This resolution Addison County maintained to the letter, many of its old Revolutionary heroes again going to the front in support of the common cause, while some of the 1812 veterans still are residents of the county. The preparation for the battle of Plattsburgh, N. Y., etc., and, in- deed, all the events of the war, are too well known to require mention here, while the record of some of the heroes during this time will be found in con- nection with the history of the towns wherein they resided. Two years sufficed to quell this storm, and, in 1815, the victorious soldiers again returned to their quiet avocations, where, for another period of thirty years, peace reigned supreme. Then the trumpet of war again called them, this time to confront Mexico.


THE MEXICAN WAR.


Texas, analogous to Vermont, had declared herself a free and independent State, and by petition of the people was annexed to the United States. Out of this annexation grew the war with Mexico. The old southwestern


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ADDISON COUNTY.


boundary of Texas had been the Neuces River, but the Texans had claimed to the Rio Grande ; and when the United States offered to adjust the bound- ary by negotiation. Mexico rejected the proposal with contempt. The United States government, therefore, directed Gen. Zachary Taylor, "Old Rough and Ready," to occupy the disputed territory. This he did with a small force, tak- ing post at the mouth of the Rio Grande-a movement which Mexico ac- cepted as a declaration of war.


The necessity of this war was not, as is well known, generally concurred in by the people of Vermont, and consequently did not arouse any great degree of sympathy or enthusiasm. But soon after the first battle was fought,-Palo Alto, May 8, 1846, in which the Americans were so victorious,-the martial spirit of the Green Mountain boys was aroused from its apathy, and the re- cruiting of a regiment was soon after commenced. A list of Addison's loyal sons who took part in this difficulty, we are sorry to say, we cannot furnish ; but, from the fragments of their record we have been able to glean, we learn that, though small in numbers, they sustained well the reputation of their county, and did their full share towards annexing to the United States the rich territory of California and New Mexico, of which California alone yielded, during a period of twenty years, $900,000,000.00 worth of gold. Soon after the battle of Mexico a treaty was agreed on at Guadalupe Hidalgo, and on July 4, 1848, peace was proclaimed.


THE WAR OF THE UNION.


For a period of thirteen years, sweet Peace exorcised grim War, and he quietly reposed among the fertile valleys of Vermont. Youths had grown to manhood, coy maidens to comely matrons, whose children, as they rested up- on the knee of gray-haired grandsire, loved best to hear the tales of martial days-of the blood-red field of Buena Vesta, of the deeds of the brave Mc- Donough, and "Old Ethan," at Ticonderoga. Prosperity asserted herself in the hum of machinery, telling of the increase of manufacturing interests, in the silver threads that were branching in all directions, proclaiming the route of the "iron horse" as it conveyed to prosperous marts the harvests' surplus. The sun arose each morn upon a prosperous, happy, contented people ; but, alas, as its rays tipped the Green Mountain summits with splendor on the morn of April 12th, 1861, it awakened no answering smile in the hearts of that people. The first shot upon Sumter had frightened away the brooding Peace, and War again asserted his rights. The hearts of the Green Mountain Boys were again touched with the old fire of martial ardor ; the dreams of peace were forgotten ; naught was remembered but their insulted flag -- the flag purchased with the blood of their fathers-to which they owed their homes and the plenty which surrounded them.


Side by side with her sister States, Vermont endured the weary marches and bore the brunt of battles, and side by side their sons sleep the long sleep .- some where the wave of Mexico's Gulf chants an endless requiem to their


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silent graves, some 'neath the sun-kissed plains of the willful South, and some rocked in the bosom of the broad Atlantic, " held in the hollow of His hand." Others have been borne to rest among their kindred, by sympathizing friends, who, year by year, to muffled drum-beat, wend their way to the consecrated places to deck their graves with beautiful spring flowers,-a national tribute to the memory of the gallant dead, 5, 128 of whom Vermont sacrificed as her share toward the preservation of the Nation's unity, freed from the curse of slavery, so long a foul blot upon her fair fame. And the thousands of parents, wives. sisters and brothers, that still weep o'er the graves of those they loved, still have a valuable legacy left to console them-a legacy of glory, bequeathed by a nation's honored dead !


Vermont promptly filled every quota, and every dollar needed was furnished with alacrity. Of her treasure, $9,087,352.40 were expended in furnishing the 34,238 loyal sons and representatives who went out to fight the battles of their country, 5,022 of whom were discharged from service with shattered constitutions, or maimed in body, to renew the peaceful avocations of life as circumstances would permit, and it is but lately that these stricken defenders have, by increase of bounties and pensions, received proper acknowledgment by a grateful nation, for their heroic deeds and sacrifices. The following com- plete roster of men who went from Addison County as commissioned officers, and of those, who enlisting in the ranks were subsequently promoted to a commission, is compiled from the Adjutant and Inspector-General's report of 1866, -and from other sources. For convenience sake, the names are arranged in alphabetical order, the dates referring to commissions, the date of muster being omitted :-


Terms of Enlistments.


FIRST REGIMENT, Infantry, mustered into service May 2, 1861, and mus- tered out August 15, 1866.


SECOND REGIMENT, Infantry, mustered into service June 20, 1861. Original members, not veterans, mustered out June 29, 1864. Recruits for one year and recruits whose term of service would expire previous to October 1, 1865, mustered out June 19, 1865. Remaining officers and men mustered out of service July 15, 1865.


THIRD REGIMENT, Infantry, mustered into service July 16, 1861. Orig- inal members, not veterans, mustered out July 27, 1864. Veterans and re- cruits consolidated into six companies, July 25, 1864. Recruits for one year and recruits whose term of service would expire previous to October 1, 1865, mustered out June 19, 1865. Remainder of Regiment mustered out July 11, 1865.


FOURTH REGIMENT, Infantry, mustered into service September 21, 1861. Original members, not veterans, mustered out September 30, 1864. First, Second and Third Companies of Sharp Shooters transferred to Fourth Regi- ment, February 25, 1865. Veterans, recruits and men transferred from Sharp Shooters, consolidated into eight companies, February 25, 1865. Recruits for


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ADDISON COUNTY.


one year, and recruits whose term of service would expire previous to October 1, 1865, mustered out June 19, 1865. Remainder of Regiment mustered out July 13, 1865.


FIFTH REGIMENT, Infantry, mustered into service September 16, 1861. Original members, not veterans, mustered out September 15, 1864. Recruits for one year, and recruits whose term of service would expire previous to Oc- tober 1, 1865, mustered out June 19, 1865. Remainder of Regiment mus- terd out June 29, 1865.


SIXTH REGIMENT, Infantry, mustered into service October 15, 1861. Orig- inal members, not veterans, mustered out of service Oct. 28, 1864. Veterans and recruits consolidated into six companies, October 16, 1864. Recruits for one year, and recruits whose term of service would expire previous to October 1, 1865, mustered out June 19, 1865. Remainder of Regiment mustered out June 26, 1865.


SEVENTH REGIMENT, Infantry, mustered into service February 12, 1862. Original members, not veterans, mustered out August 30, 1864. Regiment mustered out March 14, 1866.


EIGHTH REGIMENT, Infantry, mustered into service February 18, 1862. Original members, not veterans, mustered out June 22, 1864. Recruits for one year, and recruits whose term of service would expire previous to October I, 1865, mustered out June 21, 1865. Remainder of Regiment mustered out of service June 28, 1865.


NINTH REGIMENT, Infantry, mustered into service July 9, 1862. Original members and recruits whose term of service would expire previous to Oc- tober 1, 1865. Remaining officers and men consolidated into battalion of four companies. Battalion mustered out December 1, 1865.


TENTH REGIMENT, Infantry, mustered into service September 1, 1862. Original members and recruits whose term of service would expire previous to October 1, 1865, mustered out June 22, 1865. Remainder of Regiment mustered out June 29, 1865.


ELEVENTH REGIMENT, Infantry, (First Regiment Heavy Artillery, from De- cember 10, 1863,) mustered into service September 1, 1862. Original mem- bers, recruits for one year, and recruits whose term of service would expire previous to October 1, 1865, mustered out of service June 24, 1865. Re- maining officers and men consolidated into battalion of four companies, June 24, 1865. Battalion mustered out August 25, 1865.


TWELFTH REGIMENT, Infantry, mustered into service October 4, 1862. Mustered out July 14, 1863.


THIRTEENTH REGIMENT, Infantry, mustered into service October 10, 1862. Mustered out July 21, 1863.


FOURTEENTH REGIMENT, Infantry, mustered into service October 21, 1862. Mustered out July 30, 1863.


FIFTEENTH REGIMENT, Infantry, mustered into service October 22, 1862. Mustered out August 5, 1863.


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ADDISON COUNTY.


SIXTEENTH REGIMENT, Infantry, mustered into service October 23, 1862. Mustered out August 10, 1863.


SEVENTEENTH REGIMENT, Infantry, mustered into service by companies in 1864. Mustered out July 14, 1865.


FIRST REGIMENT U. S. SHARPSHOOTERS, Company F, (First Vermont Company,) mustered into service September 13, 1861. Original members, not veterans, mustered out September 13, 1864. Regiment disbanded and veterans and recruits transferred to Second Regiment U. S. Sharpshooters December 23, 1864.


SECOND REGIMENT U. S. SHARPSHOOTERS, Company E, (Second Vermont Company,) mustered into service November 9, 1861. Original members, not veterans, mustered out of service November 9, 1864. Regiment disbanded, and veterans and recruits transferred to Co. G, 4th Vt. Vols., February 25, 1865. Co. H, (Third Vermont Company,) mustered into service December 31, 1861. Original members, not veterans, mustered out of service Decem- ber 31, 1864. Regiment disbanded and veterans and recruits transferred to Company H, 4th Vt. Vols., February 25, 1865.


FIRST BATTERY LIGHT ARTILLERY, mustered into service February 18, 1862. Original members mustered out of service August 10, 1864. Recruits transferred to Second Vermont Battery Light Artillery, August 10, 1864.


FIRST REGIMENT CAVALRY, mustered into service November 19, 1861. Original members, not veterans, mustered out of service November 18, 1864. Recruits for one year, and recruits whose term of service would expire pre- vious to October 1, 1865, mustered out June 21, 1865. Remaining officers and men consolidated into battalion of six companies. Battalion mustered out August 9, 1865.


FRONTIER CAVALRY, mustered into service January 10, 1865. Mustered out June 27, 1865.


Roster of Field, Staff, and Company Officers.


Abell Charles E., of Orwell, age 26, Capt. Co. D, 14th Regt., Oct. 21, '62. Mustered out of service, July 30, '63.


Allen Lewis J., of Ferrisburgh, age 21, private Co. F, Ist Regt. U. S. S. S., Sept. 2, '61. Sergt. Sept. 13, '61. Ist Sergt. Re-enlisted Jan. 2, '64. Wounded May 5, '64. Honorably discharged as Ist Sergt., Oct. 9, '64, for wounds.


Allen Solomon T., of Panton, Capt. Co. I, 14th Regt., Oct. 21, '62. Mus- tered out of service July 30, '63.


Atwood Henry C., of Salisbury, age 25, Assist. Surgeon, 5th Regt., May 10, '63. Resigned June 25, '63.


Baker Perry A., of Whiting, age 22, private 3d Bat. L't Art'ly, Oct. 9, '61. Sergt. Dec. 16, '61. Sergt. Major, Dec. 1, '62. 2d Lieut. July 17, '63. Ist Lieut. Aug. 22, '64. Mustered out of service July 31, '65.


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ADDISON COUNTY.


Barney Edwin A., of Monkton, age 27, private Co. A, 6th Regt., Sept. 25, '61. Corp. Oct. 15, '61. Sergt. Aug. 22, '63. Re-enlisted Dec. 15, '63. Wounded May 5, '64. Ist Sergt. Nov. 1, '64. 2d Lieut. Nov. 12, '64. Ist Lieut. June 4,'65. Mustered out of service as 2d Lieut. June 26, '65. Barrett Daniel E., of Middlebury, age 19, private Co. B, Aug. 20, '61. Cor- poral Sept. 16, '6t. Sergt. Re-enlisted Dec. 16, '63. Wounded Oct. 19, '64. ist Lieut Co. K, Dec. 4, '64. Capt. Co. G, June 7,'65. Mus- tered out of service June 29, '65.


Beach Watson O., Salisbury, age 29, private Co. F, 5th Regt., Aug. 26, '61. Sergt. Sept. 16,'61. Ist Sergt. 2d Lieut. April 14, '63. Ist Lieut. Nov. 1, '63. Killed in action at Wilderness, Va., May 5. '64.


Begor Peter, of Monkton, age 23, private Co. A, 6th Regt., Oct. 2, '61. Re- enlisted, Dec. 15, '63. Corporal June 1, '64. Sergt, Nov. 1, '64. 2d Lieut. June 4, '65. Mustered out of service as Sergt. June 26, '65.


Bird Elijah W., of New Haven, age 23, private Co. C, Dec. 14, '63. Cor- poral Oct. 25, '64. Transferred to Co. A, by reason of consolidation of regiment, June 13, '65. Sergt. June 14, '65. Ist Lieut. Sept. 2, '65. Mustered out of service Dec. 1, '65.


Bird Riley A., of Bristol, age 25, Ist Lieut. Co. A, 6th Regt., Oct. 4, '61. Capt. Nov. 1, '62. Killed in action at Wilderness, Va., May 5, '64.


Bogart William E., of Weybridge, age 25, Chaplain 11th Regt., Sept. 1, '62. Resigned Nov. 29, '62.


Bolton James F., of Middlebury, age 40, private Co. C, 9th Regt., May 30, '62. Ist Sergt. July 9, '62. Wounded Feb. 2, '64. Ist Lieut. Jan. I, '63. Honorably discharged Nov. 22, '64, for wounds.


Branch Charles F., of Orwell, age 23, private Co. C, 9th Regt., June 23, '62. Corporal July 9, '62. Sergt. Jan. 27, '64. Ist Sergt. Feb. 1, '64. 2d Lieut. Co. H, Dec. 21, '64. Ist Lieut. Co. C, May 20, '65. Trans- ferred to Co. A, by reason of consolidation of regiment, June 13, '65. Capt. Aug. 31, '65. Mustered out of service Dec. 1, '65.


Briggs Gordon N., of Whiting, age 31, private Co. F, 9th Regt., Feb. 25, '65. Transferred to Co. B, by reason of consolidation of Regt., June 13, '65. 2d Lieut. Sept. 1, '65. Mustered out of service Dec. 1, '65.


Carroll Henry, of New Haven, age 37, private Co. K, 2d Regt., May 15, '61. Ist Sergt. June 20, '61. 2d Lieut. July 23, '62. Wounded July 10, '63. Prisoner May 6, '64. Paroled. Mustered out of service Jan. 6, '65. Cheney Ozro F., of Bridport, age 22, private Co. K, Frontier Cav., Oct. 7, '61. Corporal Nov. 19, '61. Sergt. Re-enlisted Dec. 31, '63. Ist Sergt. Nov. 1, '64. 2d Lieut. April 14, '65. Mustered out of service as . Ist Sergt. June 21, '65.




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