USA > Vermont > Addison County > History of Addison county Vermont, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 26
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1 Goodhue's History of Shoreham.
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HISTORY OF ADDISON COUNTY.
A majority of the foregoing named men who were illustrious in the sheep interest are now dead ; the others are still successfully engaged in the busi- ness. Pre-eminently at the head of all sheep breeders, by common consent, stood, while he lived, Mr. Edwin Hammond. He and Reuben P. Hall started the Atwood variety, as a flock, first in the county, in substantially the follow- ing manner : In 1841 Charles B. Cook, esq., of Charlotte, Vt., bought and brought to his home quite a number of sheep of Mr. Atwood, of Watertown, Litchfield, Conn., thus introducing them into the State.1 Several Addison county breeders, hearing of them, visited Mr. Cook, saw the sheep and noted their good qualities. Among them was Mr. Hammond, who saw an oppor- tunity which resulted in his and Mr. Hall's large purchase in 1884, and other purchases from time to time. From this introduction has grown the present success of the Atwood variety.
For further description of eminent and successful breeders it is believed it will be sufficient for this history to add a succinct and happily worded para- graph from Child's Gazetteer of Addison county, substantially as follows : "It is remarkable that since 1850 to the beginning of the last decade, and in a single county, so many skilled breeders and so many flocks of such excellence could be found as those of Hammond, Sanford, R. J. Jones, Wright, Saxton, Jewett, Ellithorp, Robinson, Rich, Stickney, Gregory, A. L. and M. Bingham, and Stowell, with others that might be named. It is mainly owing to these men and others that Addison county gains the reputation, which it still retains, of being the center of the Merino sheep interest of the world."
It would be superfluous, and space will not permit the mention of the flocks, or the names of anything like a moiety of the three hundred and forty-seven breeders of improved Merino sheep that are now engaged in the industry in this county ; but it becomes necessary as a matter of history, and to show im- provements made, to name a few of the men who are prominent breeders, and their excellent flocks, that the present industry may be comprehended, as com- pared with its beginning ; we add the remark that there are many other flocks of at least equal merit, and which show as much thoughtful care in breeding as those named.
As standard flocks that tell their own story of breeding may be mentioned the following : Those of V. Rich, E. N. Bissell, J. P. Stickney, H. C. Burwell, C. P. Crane, J. J. Crane, C. D. Lane, J. L. Buttolph, Cherbino & Williamson Company, G. D. Bush. The above represent mixed blood, or Cock stock, with crosses of Jarvis and Atwood blood intermingled therewith. The following are standard breeders whose flocks represent the Atwood variety alone : R. J. Jones, George Hammond. F. D. Barton, A. A. Farnsworth, L. P. Clark (de- ceased), W. R. Sanford & Son.
1 Mr. Cook guarded the blood of his flock with great care until the fall of 1881, when he sold his entire flock of ewes to R. J. Jones, of West Cornwall.
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SHEEP HUSBANDRY AND LIVE STOCK.
In the flocks named, and the many others, will be found all the improve- ments that constitute the beauty and real intrinsic merit of the modern sheep in the two great branches of improved American or Addison county Merinos, over their ancestral parentage. It is pertinent to the history of this industry to say, before summing up its beneficial results, that it has had, and will proba- bly continue to have, periods of spasmodic inflation and contraction ; and wider still will be the margin between the two extremes when, as on all stock animals kept for breeding purposes, there must inevitably be more of a fictitious or nominal value than an intrinsic one, which not only makes them more sensi- tive to the great law of supply and demand, but to every incidental circum- stance that goes to the enhancing or shrinkage of values. But when the world consumes annually 1, 121,519,000 pounds of wool (as per census of 1870), and the United States import, manufacture and consume 51,044,444 pounds more than is raised in this country (as per census report of 1880), and when we con- sider that the vast majority of the sheep of the world need improving in quan- tity and quality of wool, to keep pace with increased consumption, the plain inference is that all the improved sheep we can raise for very many years to come will be wanted at an average of remunerating and satisfactory prices. The poor years for prices are good ones in which to cull and improve flocks.
In trying to sum up the beneficial results of sheep husbandry, or of the great industry connected therewith, statistics are very meager. If we could have the number of annual sales, with the prices obtained, for the last twenty- five years, we could, after estimating the cost of keeping and other expenses, and deducting the sum total from sales of sheep and wool, state with a degree of certainty the value derived from this source; but in the absence of proper data it is more a matter of opinion formed from the surrounding circumstances ; but the conclusion forced on the mind by the bettered condition of those en- gaged in the business as a whole, the improvement on the farms, the better buildings, both house and out-buildings, and the general thrift everywhere no- ticeable ; the added facilities for education and general intelligence is, that all these are circumstances going to show that a fair share of the substance of an enterprising and wealthy farming community is due to this industry.
In the Vermont M. S. B. A. Register, second vol., page 106, is the follow- ing record : "At page 70, vol. one, we stated that during 1877 twenty-nine and one-half car loads of improved Merino sheep were shipped from one sta- tion (Middlebury) to points west and southwest. The demand for these sheep has yearly increased since the association was organized. In 1880 over twice the number of car loads were shipped from the same station than were shipped in 1877, and in 1881 seventy-one car loads, containing six thousand seven hundred and seventy-seven sheep, were shipped from the same station. The shipments do not include quite a large number shipped in small lots and by express."
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HISTORY OF ADDISON COUNTY.
The Merino sheep interest of this county has assumed such proportions that a fuller account of this trade seems to be required.
Previous to 1843 the sales of Merinos were made at the farms where they were bred, and chiefly to breeders in our own State. As there were no rail- roads in Vermont at that time, men came in wagons and bought rams for about ten dollars a head, fifty dollars being an exceptionally high price. It was as- certained that many breeders were deterred from buying on account of the lack of convenient transportation. The Saxony fever had spent its force and there was a general demand for what was then called " Old-fashioned Merinos " or " Regular Merinos." The names of the Spanish flocks, as Paular, Escurial, etc., had not then come into use.
The business of exporting Merinos for sale, which has since grown to such magnitude, was commenced by R. J. Jarvis and S. S. Rockwell, of Cornwall. About the year 1843 they took a small flock, which were disposed of in the north part of this county and in Chittenden and Franklin counties. Flocks were taken to Rutland and Windsor counties, Vt., and to Essex, Franklin and St. Lawrence counties, N. Y. The prices obtained were about ten to fifteen dollars per head. Others engaged in the enterprise, but for several years the business was chiefly in the hands of Cornwall men. S. B. Rockwell, H. A. Pinney, C. W. Foot, M. S. Keeler and others were exporting Merinos previous to 1850.
The business soon extended to Central and Western New York, where better prices were obtained. The flocks were generally driven from this county to Whitehall, or taken there by steamer from Frost's Ferry and Larrabee's Point. From Whitehall they were shipped, at first by canal, to their destina- tion. The railroad was prohibited by law from carrying freight during the season of navigation.
Notwithstanding the inconveniences of transportation, Addison county Me- rinos were taken to Michigan and Ohio as early as 1846. Many flocks were taken by steamer from Buffalo to those States before a railroad had been con- structed on either side of Lake Erie. New men became engaged in the busi- ness and large numbers of sheep were taken to other Western States. Ohio has undoubtedly invested more money in Vermont Merinos than any other State. An intelligent gentleman of that State estimates that the sheep-breed- ers of Ohio have paid two million dollars for Vermont Merinos.
Previous to 1860 the trade was almost wholly confined to States east of the Mississippi River. In January of that year A. L. Bingham, of Cornwall, shipped a considerable number to California by way of the Isthmus and put them on the Brannan ranch at Nicolas.
During the same month the firm of Jones & Rockwell, which had been foremost in distributing Merinos in the States, shipped about an equal number to California. This firm made eight other shipments during the next three
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years and disposed of them all along from San Luis Obispo to the Umpuya and Willamette Valleys, in Oregon. The prices ranged from two to five hun- dred dollars in gold.
Previous to the time of the Civil War the home trade had made large gains. The increased facilities for travel and transportation, the desire of western breeders to see the original flocks from which the sheep purchased at their own doors had been taken, constantly brought new customers to our county. Dur- ing the War of the Rebellion a large number of new men engaged in breeding and exporting Merinos. The trade became immense, and prices were even higher than during the War of 1812. E. C. Eells sold a single ram in Ohio for six thousand dollars. Mr. Hammond sold one ewe for three thousand dol- lars. A good lot of ewes would readily sell for one hundred dollars per head and upwards, reaching in some instances five hundred. During the time of low prices succeeding the war many breeders abandoned the business, but since the revival of the sheep trade many thousands have been sent to Kansas, Col- orado and Texas. F. D. Boston, of Waltham, sold forty ram lambs for ten thousand dollars to parties in Australia, and E. N. Bissell, of Shoreham, took a small number of sheep to that country. An enterprising gentleman, Everard C. Eells, of Cornwall, took a number of Addison county Merinos to the Ar- gentine Republic, South America, in the summer of 1885, where they were sold at remunerative prices. Judging by the fulfillment of the prediction made in 1845 by an Addison county breeder that the time might yet come when our sheep would be wanted in Ohio and Western Pennsylvania, may we not expect that in the near future our Merinos will be taken back to the land of their origin and find ready sale in nearly every country of Europe ?
Mention should be made of the coarse-wool or mutton breeds of sheep. But few of these that are known to be of pure blood have been brought to this county. No breeding flocks of any considerable size have been established here. At an early day wealthy gentlemen brought in a few, which they kept chiefly to supply their own tables with mutton. Some of these were from the importation of Corning & Satham, of Albany, and from the flocks of E. P. Prentice and Mr. McIntyre. In 1845 Paris Fletcher, of Bridport, had a small number of Leicesters, which descended from the flock of Mr. Norton, of Greenwich, N. Y. The Leicester breed gradually gave way to the more hardy Cotswold and South Down sheep. Even these are valued chiefly for forming crosses with grade Merinos. Other coarse-wooled sheep of less pretension to purity of blood have been obtained in Canada. For a number of years suc- ceeding 1840 large numbers of grade Merino wethers, three or four years old, were fattened for market. This business afforded a small margin of profit. At the present time those engaged in fattening sheep prefer lambs, which they usually buy in October. Lambs that weigh seventy pounds in October have attained the weight of ninety to one hundred pounds by the next April.
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HISTORY OF ADDISON COUNTY.
An increase of twenty-five pounds in weight and two cents a pound in price is considered by those engaged in the business as more profitable than feeding cattle. Grade Merinos are found to be as profitable to feed as those having more of the blood of the English mutton breeds. Among those who are en- gaged in breeding or feeding sheep for market may be named E. D. Wilcox, of Bridport, A. T. Smith, of Vergennes, Henry and C. D. Lane, of Cornwall.
Mr. Wilcox is an extensive dealer in sheep and cattle, and breeds about 200 lambs a year for market. While the profits of mutton sheep are compar- atively small, the market is not so fluctuating as that for the pure-bred Merino for which this county is so celebrated.
The large shipments from year to year tend to show that the statement of Mr. Hammond, made twenty-five years ago or more, is now being fulfilled : That " if we improved our opportunity and advantages, Addison county must be the great depot from which the stock must be drawn to rejuvenate and re- plenish the flocks of the world."
The question has been asked again and again, and still returns, whether the special feature of this enterprise is long to continue. It is believed it will. The reasons for this belief are numerous and need not be entered into here; but it is reasonably certain, in the rapidly growing country, and the constant widen- ing field of demand for the best and purest products of the sheep breeders of Addison county, they need not fear the approach of stagnant markets.
HORSES.
The breeding and raising of horses in Addison county runs parallel and contemporaneous with the sheep and cattle industry; all of which were rapidly developed when the products were in a great measure changed from wheat growing (from 1825 to 1830) to that of stock raising, a change caused mostly by the failure of wheat by the destructive little insect, the weevil.
The peculiar adaptation of our climate, soil, and easy production of hay of the best quality, with rich and succulent pasture feed, rendered this county a fit starting point for the intelligent farmer to begin the raising of stock; and the persevering industry of the people in pursuing the enterprise has rendered the county famous for its beautiful horses ; animals embodying every good quality, especially quick and graceful movement, with docility and kind temperament, coupled with quiet endurance as workers and roadsters, and of almost human intelligence. These qualities make them sought after over the whole country, and profitable returns are received, making them one of the three great inter- ests to the farmer of this agricultural community, viz., sheep, horses and cattle. The original horse stock was constituted of such as were common in the States from which the immigrants came.
The early improvement began in 1810 by the introduction and keeping in Middlebury by E. P. Jones, esq., for three or four years, a beautiful full-blood
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SHEEP HUSBANDRY AND LIVE STOCK.
Arabian horse called the "Young Dey of Algiers"; his descendants formed an excellent breed. Among the more notable in the early history of the, county since that time was " Old Messenger," an imported English horse, from which, and his descendants, the stock has been from time to time improved.1
General Timothy F. Chipman became the owner of him at an advanced age, and kept him for eight or ten years. He was said to be of the hunting breed, of a red and roan color, fifteen and a half hands high ; in every point well pro- portioned, and in form and movement was regarded as a perfect model of his race. In activity and gracefulness he was never excelled by any horse ever kept in the State. With General Chipman mounted on him he would leap almost any fence or ditch, enjoying such feats as a pastime. He left much of his blood here, traces of which the writer has frequently seen within the last twenty-five years. To him, as a sire, we attribute that superiority in the race for which the town of Bridport was noted at an early day. He was as cele- brated at the time for his qualities as the Black Hawk Morgans are now.
Bishop's Hambletonian was introduced about seventy years since, and was kept several years. His progeny were of a dark bay color; well formed, rather tall in proportion to the weight of the body; were good travelers and high spirited ; among the best horses for the road, and were favorites in the market in their day. Much valuable stock in the county originated from him. " Post Boy," introduced by Colonel Joel Doolittle, was kept in Shoreham and Bridport for several years. He was the sire of a race compact in form, of hardy constitution, which were regarded as a valuable stock for all purposes, and by some they are thought to be excelled by no other.
The "Sir Charles " was introduced about the year 1825 by Abraham Frost, and was kept in Shoreham and Bridport by David Hill, esq. "Tippo Saib " was brought to Shoreham soon after from Long Island by Abraham Frost. The progeny of both of these horses were generally dark bays, well formed, stout, capable of performing much service, good for carriage and the road, and were highly esteemed for their many valuable properties ; their sires were of pure English blood.
About 1825 Allen Smith, of Addison Town Line, introduced into Bridport and Addison his celebrated horse "Liberty," who, for beauty of shape, grace of movement, and endurance, has never been excelled, especially as a saddle- horse. Mr. Smith (as many old inhabitants well remember) rode him at one time from Troy, N. Y., to his home in Addison Town Line, a distance of one hundred miles, in one day, between sunrise and sundown, or in twelve hours' time. It is to be regretted that no definite pedigree of this horse can be found, but circumstances, together with marked traits and family resemblance, tend to show that but a few removes backward would trace him to the noted saddle-
1 From Goodhue's History of Shoreham we learn that a horse named " Brutus," of pure English blood, was brought to this country by a British officer in the time of the War of the Revolution.
15
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HISTORY OF ADDISON COUNTY.
horse "Brutus," owned by General T. F. Chipman, before described. Allen Smith also introduced and kept for considerable time a pure English bred horse called " Pone "; both of these early celebrated horses left much valuable stock which, with the others before described, laid the foundation for the reputation and valuable qualities of the horses of Addison county.
There were some other horses of more or less good qualities, but not of equal note as the foregoing, scattered through the county, which, mingled to- gether, comprised the stamp and style of horses at the time of the introduction of the Morgan horses with their branches, which are the overshadowing and widely prevailing stock of the present time. They originated from the horse generally known by the name of "Justin Morgan." There is no difficulty in tracing this horse in pedigree through "True Button " to "Traveller," an im- ported horse owned by General Delancy, on the sire side. The dam of Justin Morgan, with equal probability, goes back to the Arabian horse "Godolphin," in England. The noted studs sired by Justin Morgan were "Woodbury," "Sherman," "Bulrush," and "Revenge."
From these four, and principally from "Woodbury " and "Sherman," sprang all of the Vermont Morgans, and hence those of Addison county. It might be interesting to some to trace the pedigree of all the branches of this race of noble animals, but in doing so it would soon be discovered there would be wide discrepancy in their pedigree as traced by different and sometimes par- tisan persons, over which there has been considerable pen and ink controversy. We think the people as a rule will be more interested in the record of the qual- ities of the different branches of this famous stock as introduced into this coun- ty, and their improvement since and results obtained therefrom. In their early introduction, or soon after, Mr. Weissinger, one of the editors of the Louisville (Kentucky) Journal, who made a tour through Vermont and other Eastern States and took pains to examine the best horses of the general Morgan breed, as quoted by the Cultivator, says: "There is no doubt whatever of this, that the breed of the Morgan horse was and now is, in the instances where found, far the best breed of horses for general service that was ever in the United States, probably the best in the world. And it is remarkable that this breed was, and is now, known by many striking peculiarities, common to nearly every individual." From the " Woodbury " branch of this stock many years ago the sales were seldom made for less than two hundred dollars, and from that to fif- teen hundred.
The " Black Hawk " and his descendants are more generally found in this county. He was bought of Benjamin Thurstin, of Lowell, Mass., by David Hill, esq., of Bridport, and introduced here in the year 1844. Mr. Weissinger, before quoted from, says of him : " I think he deserves all the praise that has been bestowed on him. He is the finest stallion I ever saw. His legs are broad and flat ; shoulders well set back; loin and backbone very strong;
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length of hip beyond anything I ever saw; as quick as a bullet from the rifle, in breaking; head and neck faultless ; in motion mouth open, crest sub- lime, legs carried finely under him, square and even, and fore legs bending beautifully."
The introduction of these horses has proved highly beneficial to the county. Many have been raised by the farmers and found a ready sale at from $150 to $2,500 each, and that before the services of the stock horse became so high. Several years before the death of "Black Hawk," so popular and valuable did his stock become, his services were extensively sought for at $100 the season ; and still later several of his get, viz., " Ethan Allen," "Sherman," bred by B. J. Myrick ; " Ethan Allen, jr.," " Delong Horse," "Dan Lambert," and "Hero," stood at from $80 to $100 the season, and fast bloods of these horses have sold at fabulous prices.
In relation to sales and prices it is pertinent to say there has not been so much fluctuation in the prices of good horses as in those of other kinds of stock, or property of other industries. When railroads began to be built, two rival lines running through Addison county, it was by many predicted that the sale of horses would be ruined and the interest in raising them would conse- quently die out ; but the reverse has been true ; the demand has been largely increased. The facility of taking them readily and easily to the great sea- board marts, and the fact that the use of oxen for team work has become ob- solete, with the increased desire of inhabitants to rush along at railroad speed, and other circumstances, have combined to keep up a steady and increased de- mand for horses, with consequently increased prices for the average good horses.
As trotting horses enter largely into the profits of horse-breeding, history must needs record enough to give a fair idea of this branch of the business. The American Cultivator of January 23, 1866, states the number of horses that had made better time than 2.192. We have not space to record the names of all, but of the number the Vermont Black Hawk family is represented by nine performers. The Vermont "Black Hawk " strain is also found in the dams of some of the representatives of each of the other families above named. The writer in the Cultivator, in summing up his article, pays the following compliment to Vermont " Black Hawk ": " Among trotters in the vicinity of New York city that have gained notoriety for their excellent qualities as gentlemen's roadsters are two very handsome daughters of 'Daniel Lambert,' that can trot in 2.35 to pole ; a pair by Delong's ' Ethan Allen ' that can show a good rate of speed, and the old veteran 'Captain Emmons,' 2.194, by ' Con- tinental,' grandson of 'Ethan Allen.' For beauty and style, combined with a good degree of speed, the descendants of Vermont 'Black Hawk,' especially the Ethan branch of the family, have no superiors."
The people of Addison county are slow to fall in with every new notion
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HISTORY OF ADDISON COUNTY.
recommended as an improvement, either in farming machinery or new and highly extolled stock; still they are quick to detect real merit in modes and methods that will make an acre of land bring to its owner the greatest amount of profits, and to discern any growing demand for new kinds of stock caused by the ever-changing surrounding circumstances; and some one of character- istic, far-seeing energy and pluck will, in spite of prejudice, boldly enter the arena of competition and pluck the coveted prize.
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