USA > Vermont > Windham County > Gazetteer and business directory of Windham county, Vt., 1724-1884 > Part 7
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desired a Federable newspaper to be published in Brattleboro, Mr. Fessen- den was induced by them to embark in the undertaking. He obtained a press and other necessary materials in Boston, at second hand, established the Reporter, and remained proprietor of it until his death, in 1815. Becoming largely interested in the publication of books, the editorial charge of the paper, after the first few years, was largely left to other hands, being for some time in care of his brother, Thomas Green Fessenden, who was a lawyer by pro- fession, a writer of note, and who afterwards went to Boston and established the New England Farmer. The Reporter, soon after the death of Mr. Fes- senden, passed into the hands of his father-in-law, Dea. John Holbrook, who continued it until it was merged into the Messenger, about 1826.
The Independent Freeholder and Republican Journal was the next paper established after the Reporter. It was started at Brattleboro by a printer named Peter Houghton, in 1808, he being backed by Judge Chapin, father the late Dr. Charles Chapin. The paper was continued only a short time.
The Bellows Falls Intelligencer appears next, its first number being issued in January, 1817. It was owned and published by Blake, Cutler & Co., and edited by Thomas G. Fessenden. This company occupied a building upon the corner of Westminster and Mill streets, at Bellows Falls, where they car. ried on an extensive printing and publishing business. They had also a paper mill, where they manufactured writing and printing paper; also a book bindery and wholesale book store. Bill Blake was the founder of the busi- ness, and at one time the company had from thirty to forty hands in their employ. In 1822 Mr. Fessenden was succeeded by William Masters as editor, who came from Concord, N. H. The next editor was Cyrus Barton, who had studied law in the office of Hon. William C. Bradley, and who after- wards became associated with Isaac Hill, as one of the editors of the New Hampshire Patriot. The Intelligencer was afterwards edited by Edmund Burke, also a student from the office of Mr. Bradley. Dr. John Wells suc- ceeded Mr. Burke as editor. After Dr. Wells, Samuel Taylor purchased the paper and continued it until it fell into the hands of Benjamin B. Cook, in 1835, who changed its name to the Vermont Intelligencer. It was discon- tinued not long after.
The American Yeoman was commenced at Brattleboro in 1817. The pub- lisher, Simeon Ide, had worked as pressman on Webster's spelling book the greater part of the year 1813. for William Fessenden. In 1816 he had printed "the first New Ipswich, N. H., edition" of the New Testament, in his father's blacksmith shop in that town ; but the work proved unremunerative, and hav- ing disposed of most of the edition to pay his debts, he found himself pos- sessed of a good Ramage press, a font or two of types, and a few other nec- essary utensils of the trade, and so resolved upon publishing a 'newspaper. Failing in his efforts to find necessary encouragement at Keene, N. H., Mr. Ide turned to Brattleboro, where he issued the first number of the Yeoman, February 5, 1817. Hon. John Phelps, of Guilford, Hon. James Elliot, Hon.
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Royall Tyler, Dr. Allen, Dr. J. P. Warren, and other men of considerable note, were occasional contributors to its columns. A circulation of 300 copies, however, seems to have been insufficient to satisfy Mr. Ide's ambition, and at the end of one year he removed to Windsor, Vt., and united his paper with the Vermont Republican, in the office of which paper he had commenced his apprenticeship in the autum 1 of 1809. Mr. Ide is still living, at a serene old age, in Claremont, N. H.
The Brattleboro Messenger, a Whig paper, was established by Alexander C. Putnam, who learned the printer's trade at Windsor, Vt., and married a sister of the late Dea. Anson Barber, of Brattleboro. After continuing the paper about four years, Mr. Putnam, in 1826, sold out to George W. Nichols, whose first wife was a sister of the Fessenden printers, and who had for some time been employed as foreman in the Reporter press room. Mr. Nichols was born at Stowe, Vt., in 1782, and learned his trade at Walpole, N. H. In politics he was a Democrat. He continued the Messenger until it was merged into the PHOENIX, in 1834
The Vermont Chronicle, was established at Bellows Falls, by Rev. E. C. Tenny, in April, 1826. The paper was only continued here about two years, however, when it was removed to Windsor, Vt., in October, 1828.
THE VERMONT PHOENIX was first published September 12, 1834, by George W. Nichols and William E. Ryther, Mr. Nichols being also publisher of the Brattleboro Messenger, and Mr. Ryther, publisher of the Independent Inquirer, a liberal paper in religious matters, owned by an association of gentlemen. It was first published for the proprietors, by Hiram Tupper, for a short time. The Inquirer having been published one year, the association sold it to E. H. Thomas. The proprietors of the two papers then agreed to let both die, and from their ashes resurrect another paper, to be called the VERMONT PHOENIX. The PHOENIX was published by Nichols & Ryther until September 30, 1836, when they transferred their interest to G. C. Hall and J. C. Hol- brook, the politics of the paper not being satisfactory to some of its patrons. The paper was then put in charge of Mr. Calvin Walton, from Boston. whom the proprietors engaged for the purpose, Mr. Ryther being retained in the office, and the paper advocating the election of William Henry Harrison for President. Mr. Walton's name, however, appears in only four numbers of the paper. Five weeks afterward, Mr. Ryther, having purchased the paper of the proprietors, assumed its publication, and continued the same until July 8, 1847, when a partnership was formed with Mr. O. H. Platt, which lasted until April 18, 1851, when Mr. Platt, having purchased Mr. Ryther's interest, became sole proprietor. The PHOENIX was enlarged in 1845, eleven years after its first publication. June 5, 1851, Mr. Platt, having purchased the Bellows Falls Gazette, united the same with the PHOENIX, announcing that the paper would be published simultaneously at Brattleboro, Bellows Falls and Ludlow. How long this arrangement lasted we do not know. The PHOENIX was again enlarged in January, 1852. About this time the name of
Livingle
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the paper was changed to The Statesman. January 1, 1855, it was merged with the Eagle, published by B. D. Harris, and the combined paper was called The Republican. George W. Nichols, publisher of the Windham County Democrat, having given up his paper and gone West, the type and fixtures were purchased by Dr. Charles Cummings, who had had some con- nection with the Eagle, and February 3, 1855, he revived the VERMONT PHOENIX, with which The Republican was merged in 1857. Mr. Cummings remained editor and proprietor of the PHOENIX until he went to the war, in 1862, as Lieutenant-Colonel of the 16th Regiment Vermont Vols. At this time the publishing of the paper was in charge of Charles S. Prouty, and the editorial charge was assumed by Rev. Addison Brown, formerly pastor of the Unitarian church of Brattleboro. Cummings was killed before Rich- mond, September 30, 1864, while in command of the 17th Vermont Vols., which he had recruited on the expiration of the time of the 16th Regiment, and in December, 1864, Messrs. Brown and Prouty purchased the PHOENIX of the Cummings estate. January 1, 1868, Daniel B. Stedman purchased a third interest in the establishment, and the paper was enlarged. Mr. Brown died May 11, 1872, and September 1, 1873, Mr. Prouty sold his interest to Olin L. French, who had formerly been editor of the Keene, N. H. Sentinel the present firm being French & Stedman. .
The Vermont Free Press was established at Fayetteville, June 7, 1834, by James A. Tenny and Z. Eastman. They sold the paper to E. C. Church, who changed the name to the Green Mountain Democrat, February 6, 1835. During the following year he again changed the name to the Mountain Dem- oerat ; but the paper finally died, for want of support, during the autumn of 1837 or spring of 1838.
The Windham County Demoer at was started at Brattleboro in November, 1836, by an association of Democrats. It was run about one year under the editorial management of Joseph Steen, when it was purchased by George W. Nichols. Mr. Nichols' second wife, Mrs. C. I. H. Nichols, who was a sister of Judge Howard, of Townshend, was for some years the real and accredited editor of the paper. Under her administration the Democrat became one of the earliest champions of Woman's Rights in the country, and took a promi- nent position among the newspapers of the State. The paper was discon- tinued in the autumn of 1853, and in the spring of 1855 Mr. Nichols removed with his family to Kansas, where he died the same year, at the age of seventy- three years. Mrs. Nichols is now living in California.
The Bellows Falls Gazette, a Whig paper, was established by John W. Moore, in November, 1838. Mr. Moore was a practical printer, a brother of Jacob B. Moore, who was postmaster-general of California when the pos- tal service was first established there. Mr. Moore was an ardent antiquarian, especially in the line of music, and about 1840 he added to the Gazette a musical department called the " World of Music," which, in 1842, became a separate publication, and which he soon after sold to a Mr. Silsby, of Chester,
Lasingle
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Vt. In June, 1843, S. M. Blake and G. F. Bailey purchased the Gazette and continued its publication until June 5, 1844, at which time S. M. Blake became sole proprietor, Mr. Bailey having removed to Fitchburg, Mass., where he entered upon the study of law, and was subsequently sent to con- gress from that district. Mr. Blake edited the Gazette until 1846, when he sold out to Green & Fleming, who re-purchased the concern for J. W. Moore, who in turn sold to a Mr. Colby. June 5, 1851, the Gazette was sold to O. H. Platt, when it was united with the Brattleboro Statesman, and published at Brattleboro, Bellows Falls and Ludlow, simultaneously. This arrangement being discontinued, Mr. Platt started a separate paper at Bellows Falls, which, shortly after, was purchased by A. N. Swain, and is now edited by him, known as the BELLOWS FALLS TIMES.
The Whig, a campaign paper, was published during the campaign of 1840, at Brattleboro, by Joseph Steen.
The Perfectionist was established in Putney, February 15, 1843, by J. H. Noyes and J. L. Skinner. The paper issued on this day was styled No. 1, Vol. 3, an editorial explaining as follows: "We style this volume 3 because it is a continuation of the Witness, the name only being changed. However, if anyone chooses, he may consider it also a continuation of the original Per- fectionist, of which the first volume and part of the second were published in New Haven, Conn., in 1834 and '35." We cannot find, however, that the Witness was ever published in Putney. Noyes was a leader of the religious sect who styled themselves " Perfectionists," being identical with the present Oneida Community, at Oneida, N. Y. The paper was published on the Ist, and 15th of the month, at $1.00 per year. It was temporarily discontinued at the end of the first year, but was later re-established, at Oneida, N. Y.
The Water Cure Journal, a thirty-two page journal, was published several years, from about 1845, in the interest of the hydropathic institution that flourished at Brattleboro at that time. It was edited by William Wesselhoeft.
The Republican Standard was commenced at Bellows Falls, after the Gazette was established, by William J. Mack ; and the Bellows Falls Argus, owned and edited by Hiram Atkins. The Argus, since changed to the Argus and Patriot, was removed to Montpelier, where it is now published. The Standard was discontinued.
The Semi- Weekly Eagle was started in Brattleboro, by B. D. Harris and William B. Hale, in 1847, a Whig paper with strong partisan proclivities, and decidedly belligerent. The first number was issued August 10, 1847, and its publication was continued about three years before passing into other hands, the establishment being, in the spring of 1851, sold to a party of gentle- men in the county who were interested in maintaining the paper, and its management was committed to the hands of Pliny H. White, then a young lawyer, residing at West Wardsboro, whose letters and occasional essays had already attracted attention, and who, in after years, as Rev. Pliny H. White, became well-known throughout the State. Mr. White, not finding editorial
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WINDHAM COUNTY.
pursuits, as developed in a country newspaper office, entirely congenial to his tastes or his talents, remained in charge of the Eagle only a little more than a year, when Mr. Harris having returned from Utah, whither he had been as secretary of the territory, was persuaded to resume control of it. He en- larged and changed it to a weekly sheet, and continued to conduct it until 1855, at which time, an adjustment of local political differences having taken place, the paper was united with the Vermont Statesman, conducted by O. H. Platt.
The Brattleboro Hydropathic Messenger was commenced by J. Davison, in 1858, with Dr. C. W. Grau, editor, and J. H. Capen, printer. It was a monthly journal, published in the interest of the Water Cure, and was dis- continued in 1860.
Capen's Independent Advertiser, a monthly journal edited and published by J. H. Capen, was issued during the years 1859, '60 and' 61.
The Vermont Record and Farmer .- In July, 1863, Daniel 1. Milliken, ed- itor of the Brandon Monitor, at Brandon, Vt., changed the name and char- acter of his paper, with the view of better adapting it to the wants of the whole State, and styled it The Vermont Record, making it a weekly and semi-weekly. January 1, 1865, he removed the establishment to Brattleboro. Here he had with him for a time H. M. Burt, publisher of a paper printed on Mt. Washington, and who was also connected with the New England Home- stead, at Springfield, Mass. Soon after the removal to Brattleboro, another departinent was added, with a separate heading, entitled The Vermont Far- mer. In April, 1867, Mr. Milliken sold out to Ed P. Ackerman, of Newark. N. J., who conducted the paper for nearly two years. In January, 1868, the two departments were united under the title of The Vermont Record and Far- mer. In March, 1869, Mr. Ackerman sold out to F. D. Cobleigh, a Brattle- boro printer. In May, 1874, Mr. Cobleigh died, and for the following year the paper was under the editorial charge of J. M. Tyler, Esq., administrator of Mr. Cobleigh's estate. In April, 1875, Rev. A. Chandler purchased the paper of Mr. Tyler, and in January, 1879, H. L. Inman, of Ballston, N. Y., formerly one of the proprietors of the Ballston Democrat, purchased a half interest, the name of the firm being Chandler & Inman. On March 27, 1880, Mr. Chandler died, and May ist of the same year the concern was pur- chased by the propritors of the VERMONT PHOENIX, into which paper it was merged.
The School Journal, a monthly publication, was also published by D. L. Milliken during his stay in Brattleboro.
THE HOUSEHOLD .- In 1866 George E. Crowell came to Brattleboro, from Hopkinton, N. H., to edit the agricultural department of The Vermont Rec- ord and Farmer, and two years later, in January, 1868, he commenced the publication of THE HOUSEHOLD, with a subscription list of thirteen. This is a monthly periodical, and was a pioneer in its class, being for several years the only journal published in this country entirely devoted to domestic affairs.
Lanogle
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WINDHAM COUNTY.
It was founded in the belief that the literature furnished by the various " ladies' magazines, " and kindred publications, though well adapted to the needs of a large portion of its readers, was not such as to meet the require- ments of those earnest working women who constitute so large a portion of the wives and daughters of our land; and THE HOUSEHOLD, reared and schooled in hardships and privations, with no capital to sustain it, and but little experience in newspaper life to direct its course, amid doubts and fears, gaining a little firmer foothold every year, has solved the problem of success, and has to-day the largest circulation of any monthly published in New Eng- land, standing at present at 70,000. Four pages were added to its original sixteen, in the early part of 1869, the publisher having offered to make such an enlargement when the circulation of the journal should reach 12,000, and at the same time promised to make another and equal enlargement when the subscription list should number 20,000. The latter promise he was able to redeem with the commencement of the third volume, two years from the time the first number of the paper was issued; and since that time it has contained twenty-four large and well-filled pages, making it considerably the largest dollar monthly issued from an American press.
The WINDHAM COUNTY REFORMER was established at Brattleboro, in Au- gust, 1876, as a weekly, by Charles H. Davenport, its present editor and pro- prietor. In April, 1880, he added an issue under the name of the BENNING- TON COUNTY REFORMER ; in August, 1883, he began to issue the FRANKLIN COUNTY ( Mass.) REFORMER, and in February, 1884, he commenced to issue the BRATTLEBORO REFORMER, all of which he is now publishing, at Brattle- boro, aggregating a circulation of 10,500 weekly.
WOMAN AT WORK, a literary monthly, was established by its present editor, Mrs. E. T. Housh, in the city of Louisville, Ky., in 1877. Being national in character, it was thought best to change its location to New England, and finding a welcome from the good people of Brattleboro, removed here in July, 1882, whence it has been regularly issued, reaching a wide circulation, and rapidly growing in favor wherever known. Since its removal, Frank E. Housh, son of the editor, has been its publisher. It contains thirty-two large pages, with finely engraved cover, and is filled with choice biographies, stories, sketches, poems, etc., and special departments of " Our Girls," "The Home" and "The World, " comprising the whole range of woman's work.
The ASSOCIATION NEWS, a small four-page monthly, published by the Young Men's Christian Association, was established at Brattleboro in De- cember, 1883. and has been issued monthly since.
THE LONDONDERRY SIFTER was established at South Londonderry by George E. Shanks, in November, 1883, and has been issued each Friday since. The SIFTER is an "independent Republican" paper, fearless in its tone, and its youth promises a vigorous growth.
THE WEST RIVER REPUBLICAN SPY, under the motto of " Be just and fear not," was established at Jamaica, by H. E. Mundell, in April 1884. The Spy is a monthly, sold at fifty cents per year.
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This completes our list of the newspapers that have been published in Windham county, and, we believe, it covers them all, unless, perhaps, it be some small amateur publication or a campaign paper gotten out for partisan purposes during the heat of an approaching election.
ABORIGINAL OCCUPANCY.
Of the aboriginal inhabitants of that part of Vermont which borders the banks of the Connecticut, very little is known. The Iroquois Indians whose hunting-ground comprehended the whole of what is now the western portion of the State, seldom extended their wanderings across the mountains, and have left few vestiges of their presence, even in the places which were most frequented by them. The country in the neighborhood of Lunenburg and Newbury, and on the side of the river opposite the latter place, was called by the Indians "Coos," which word, in the Abenaqui language, is said to signify "The Pines." At these localities, and at other points on the upper Connec- ticut, there formerly resided a branch of the Abenaqui tribe of Indians.
In Windham county are left picture writings by the Indians that prove that this section was at one time frequented by them, even though they may not have been permanent residents. At the foot of Bellows Falls, on the west side of the channel of the Connecticut, are situated two rocks, on which are in- scribed figures, the meaning of which it is difficult to determine. The larger rock presents a group of variously ornamented heads. The surface which these heads occupy is about six feet in height and fifteen feet in breadth. Promi- nent among the rest is a figure occupying nearly a central position in the group. From its head, which is supported by a neck and shoulders, six rays or feathers extend, which may be regarded as emblems of excellence or power. Four of the other heads are adorned each with a pair of similar pro- jections.
On a separate rock, situated a short distance from the main group, a single head is sculptured, which is finished with rays or feathers, and was probably intended to designate an Indian chief. The length of the head, exclusive of the rays, is fourteen inches, and its breadth across the forehead in its widest part is ten inches. These sculpturings seem to have been intended to com- memorate some event in which a chief and a number of his tribe performed some noted exploit, or met with some sad disaster. The former supposition, is, however, undoubtedly correct, as it is well known that the Indians were usually careful to conceal the traces of their misfortunes, and eager to pub- lish the evidence of their successes.
On the south bank of West river, in Brattleboro, about one hundred rods west of its confluence with the Connecticut, is situated another "Indian rock." Nearly the whole surface of the rock, measuring ten feet in width and eight feet in height, is covered with hieroglyphics, representing birds, dogs, reptiles, etc. The chiseling of these sculptures is deeper and more easily traced than that of the inscriptions at Bellows Falls. There are also
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WINDHAM COUNTY.
some other sculptures in this vicinity. But no positive evidence exists that Windham county was ever the permanent home of the red men. Still, for many years the settlers here were annoyed and harrassed by Indian attacks and depredations, and not a few tragedies were enacted by the rapacious savages. The principal of these sanguinary events occurred in the towns of Brattleboro, Vernon, Jamaica, and other towns, and will be found noted in connection with the sketches of the several townships, to which we refer the reader.
WHEN FIRST SETTLED BY THE WHITES.
Nearly sixty-three years after Samuel Champlain entered upon the blue waters of Lake Champlain, a township was granted on the banks of the Con- necticut river, in 1672, to John Pyncheon, Mr. Pearson and others, at Squakheag, afterwards Northfield, Mass., just south of the present limits of Windham county. The township was laid out on both sides of the river, and inclosed an area of six miles by twelve, extending several miles into the pres- ent States of Vermont and New Hampshire, and including a valuable tract of intervale land, all of which, the northern boundary of Massachusetts being undetermined at that time, was supposed to be within that province. A few months later, in 1673, a few people removed there from Northampton, Had- ley and Hatfield, and commenced the settlement of Northfield, the first settlement in the vicinity of Windham county.
Previous to this settlement, and later, up to the year 1713, the Province of the Massachusetts Bay granted other tracts of land which were supposed to be within the provincial limits, many of which had become the centers of per- manent and flourishing settlements. But on determining the boundaries be- tween this Province and the colony of Connecticut, in 1713, 107,793 acres of the land so granted were found to be without the true provincial limits. Massachusetts then, wishing to retain all the territory which she had hitherto supposed her own, entered into an agreement with her sister colony, in ac- cordance with which it was determined, "that the said colony of Connecticut should have 107,793 acres of land as an equivalent to the said colony for lands allowed and granted to belong to the said Province, that fall to the southward of the line lately run between the said Province and colony." Still, though the southern boundary of Massachusetts was fixed by this deter- mination, it was yet uncertain how far her territory extended north. The "equivalent lands " were located in four different places, one of the portions, containing 43-943 acres, being situated above Northfield, on the west bank of the Connecticut, within the bounds of the present towns of Putney, Dum- merston and Brattleboro, and bounded as follows :-.
" The northeast corner boundary is the mouth of the brook, at the north- ward end of the Great Meadow [in Putney], where said brook emptieth itself into Connecticut river at the foot of Taylor's island, from whence it bounds upon Connecticut river (as the river runs), eastwardly down the mouth of the brook that emptieth itself into Connecticut river at the lower end of the
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