USA > Vermont > Bennington County > History of Bennington County, Vt. : with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 52
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For several years next succeeding this there appears to have been but very little change in the officers of the town. But there is one circumstance in con- nection with one of the officers of the town, that of clerk, that is somewhat sin- gular, and that in the fact that in more than one hundred years of time there
' Contributed by Myron Barton, esq., clerk of the town of Shaftsbury.
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TOWN OF SHAFTSBURY.
i've been but four incumbents of the office, although it has been continuously presented. As near as can be ascertained Thomas Mattison was the first Jerk, and held up to 1784, when Jacob Galusha was elected, and served in that . apacity until March, 1825, (over forty years), and was then succeeded by iliram Barton, who was clerk from March, 1825 until October 6, 1880, (about nifty- five years). Myron Barton, son of Hiram, next succeeded, by appoint- ment first, and subsequently by election until the present time.
Among the old records there appear some strange resolutions, one of which at least that was passed in 1787, to this effect : "Tliat none of the public money be applied to the maintenance or support of any school within the town taught by a woman." From this it is safe to presume that the sentintent of the "town meetings" has undergone a radical change during the last one hundred years, for there is hardly a district school in the town, or county, for that mat- ter, that is not now taught by one or more of the gentler sex.
The town of Shaftsbury is now, or was in 1877, laboring under an incum- brance of about $53,000 of indebtedness, for the great part of which town bonds are extant. In 1888 it was voted to raise $1.50 on the grand list to meet the expenses of the ensuing year.
The present town officers, elected March 6, 1888, are as follows : Modera- tor, Solomon Howard ; clerk, Myron Barton ; selectmen, Ist, George P'. Mont- gomery, 2d, Milo Pierce, 3d, S. Warner Munroe ; treasurer, Nathan Bottom ; overseer of poor, Simeon Dean ; first constable and collector, Frank HI. Matti- son ; second constable, Charles C. Gordon ; listers, Myron Barton, George E. Buck, Myron Clark; auditors, Byron F. Mattison, W. P. Montgomery, George A. Bruce; trustee, George P. Montgomery ; fence viewers, Milo' Mattison, L. J. Barton, Richard Mattison ; grand juror, Solomon Howard ; inspector of leather, Paul Taft ; pound keepers, Solomon Howard, Otis Howard, Russell Stone; town agent, George P. Montgoniery : superintendent of schools, George P. Montgomery ; representative to General Assembly, (elected in September, 1888), H. Merle Bottom.
CHAPTER XXVI.
HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF SANDGATE.
ANDGATE was the eighth town of those now forming Bennington county S that was chartered by Governor Wentworth, the grant bearing the date of August 11, 1761, and by calling this the eighth chartered town of the county the reader must assume that Manchester was granted first, although both char-
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HISTORY OF BENNINGTON COUNTY.
ters were of the same date. But Sandgate has hardly achieved a prominen . in the history of the county equal to Manchester, or perhaps some other tot .: but still her people are progressive, and thrifty, and reliable. The geogra i :. ical position of the town in the county, and its physical features are such as :. preclude the probability of the town's ever playing an important part in the county's affairs.
Sandgate occupies a position in the extreme western part and in these. ond tier of towns, counting from the north. Rupert lies to the north, M.t. chester on the east, Arlington on the south, and New York State to the west Communication with the other towns of the county is difficult except by ti ... highway leading south into Arlington, which may be considered a reasonably fair route of wagon travel. With Manchester the town connects by two road-, the one in the extreme south part passing around the south base of Mount Equinox, and the other in the northern part through the "notch" as it is called. Another road communicates with Rupert on the north, and still an- other with New York State on the west, the last named being probably the most used of any, for it is in New York State that the bulk of the town's pro- ducts finds a market.
Sandgate is an exceedingly hilly and mountainous region, the greatest al- titude being reached on Mount Equinox, which is something like three thous- and feet higher than the level country to the west of it. Mount Equinox, on the Taconic range, occupies a large proportion of the lands in the eastern part of the town, while the other prominent peaks, Swearing Hill and Minister Hill, likewise make their portion of the town practically useless for general agricul- ture. Generally throughout the whole north part of the town, as well as else- where, high hills prevail thus making farm labor expensive and unprofitable. But Sandgate is not without excellent farming lands, for through the valley of Green River there are as fertile tracts as can be found in the county, but the flat lands are quite limited in extent. The latter are of course more easily cultivated and produce better results, perhaps; but the rolling lands are more easily drained and can be broken and tilled earlier in the season.
The town of Sandgate, as has been stated, was chartered August 11, 1761 to John Park and sixty-five other grantees, but its settlement did not com- mence until some ten or more years afterward. The first settler is said to have been Joseph Bristol, but of him there appears no record, in fact the old record books that should contain the transactions of the early residents are in such a deplorable condition as to be practically useless. The first deed for the conveyance of land in the town appears to have been executed in 1778, and recorded in 1782. Abner Hurd was the first town clerk and justice of the peace. George Peck was justice of the peace, town clerk, and surveyor from 1801 to 1828. Walter Randall was clerk of the town for twenty-five years. Reuben Thomas and were likewise early justices of the peace, the
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TOWN OF SANDGATE.
atter in 1786. Reuben Thomas was the first representative from the town, chosen in 1778.
Among the pioneer residents of this town was Captain Lewis Hurd, who came here in the winter of 1783. He became at once one of the leading men of the town and vicinity, enjoying the esteem and confidence of all who knew him. An additional interest attaches to the life of Captain Hurd from the fact of his having been a soldier in the American army during the Revolutionary War, and as such, having served under the immediate command of General Washington. "His first term of service continued about six months but this period saw him with the army in New York City in July 1776. He was with Washington in his memorable retreat from Long Island, but soon after was taken sick with camp fever, and was carried across the North River into New Jersey where he was left some six weeks. In May, 1777, he enlisted to serve during the war, and was at the taking of Fort Montgomery, was at Valley Forge in the winter of 1777-78, at the battle of Monmouth in 1778, with Mad Anthony Wayne at the storming of Stony Point in 1779, and at Jamestown in July, 1781. Captain Hurd was on General Wayne's staff for a time, and also with Marquis de LaFayette during his journey through Virginia, and at the' famous battle of Yorktown." Captain Hurd lived in Sandgate from 1783 un- til the time of his death in December, 1848, he then being ninety years of age. He was one of the Congregational Church at Sandgate and one of its most lib- eral and devoted members. The descendants of Lewis Hurd, and his kins- man, Abner Hurd, are still numerous in the town and among its leading citi- zens. . Another of the old families of the town was that of Rev. Charles Nich- ols, who was a prominent minister here many years ago. But little is known of his family, except that Charles, jr. was one of his children. The latter mar- ried into the old Bristol family of the town, and had several children, as fol- lows: Marshal, Burton, Gaylord, Harry, Chloe, Ann, and possibly others. Sherman and Ezra Nichols, both now residents of Dorset, are sons of Gaylord Nichols by his marriage with Polly Dayton, of Sandgate, she being also of an old family of the town. Among the other old and respected families and per- sons of Sandgate the names of some can be remembered, such as Proban, Hamilton, Woodward, Robinson, Randall, Covey, Hoyt, Wyman, Beebe, Ben- nett, Peck, Smith, Draper, and others equally prominent; and while all of these may not be of pioneer descent, they nevertheless represent an element of entire respectability and as worthy of mention as pioneers.
During the Revolutionary period and preceeding that time, while this whole region of country was in dispute between the New Yorkers and those holding under the New Hampshire charters, the township of Sandgate was un- inhabited save by a very few persons; and therefore this section was not dis- turbed, or at least there is no record of any disturbance on the part of the claim- ants from the west of Hudson's River. In the proceedings of the governor 57
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HISTORY OF BENNINGTON COUNTY.
and council the first mention made of the town of Sandgate appears in . nection with the organization of military companies for the Fifth Regiment. : which the sixteenth company was to have been recruited in that town; ;.. . the names of officers or men do not appear, from which it is fair to assun that the town had not sufficient population to furnish a company, howe ... small. This theory would seem correct from the tenor of a subsequent or ! ! issued to Colonel Gideon Warren of the Fifth Regiment by which he was .... rected to "draft twenty-seven good, effective men," "to be drafted" out of ti .. towns of Rupert, Dorset, Sandgate, and Manchester; a similar order was di. rected to Colonel Samuel Herricks also in 1778, by which that officer ::. commanded to raise thirty men from the towns of Sandgate, Manchester, Do :- set, Rupert, and Danby. In the proceedings of the Board of War, that body. by an order dated at Arlington, May 11, 1780, directed the selectmen of tl.c several towns in general and of Sandgate in particular "to collect thirty pounds of salt pork for each man raised in your town, or ordered to be raised for the defense of the frontier," etc .; and further, "you will use your utmost discretion in collecting said pork, and as it is of absolute necessity you will not fail to carry this order into execution, for which this shall be your sufficient warrant. You will keep accounts of the pork you furnish and the expense of transportation, for which your town will be paid by this State." Signed by Thomas Chittenden, governor. It seems from subsequent records that the town of Sandgate furnished two men for the service, consequently the quantity of pork to be raised amounted to sixty pounds. This was collected, as will be seen from the following communications:
"SANDGATE, March 6, A. D., 1781."
"We raised our Cate of Pork according to orders, and sent it to headquar- ters, being sixty weight of Pork." TIMOTHY HURD,
"This we attest. REUBEN THOMAS, Selectmen."
"Pay table office, 2d of May, 1781. The treasurer is directed to pay to the selectmen of Sandgate three pounds for the above pork, and eighteen shil- lings for transportation. Pr order.
"THOMAS CHITTENDEN, JOIIN FASSETT, Committee."
"Recieved on the above twenty shillings and eight pence. Recieved more twelve shillings. REUBEN THOMAS."
" 5th of June, 1781 recieved two pounds twelve shillings, the remainder of the above order. Pr me. REUBEN THOMAS."
So far as the records show this was about the extent of the transactions that the town took any part in during that period. It had at that time a pop- ulation of perhaps a hundred persons, or about fifteen or twenty families-not more. After the War of the Revolution had ceased, and the proceedings which preceded Vermont's admission to the Union were terminated, the town
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TOWN OF SANDGATE.
.new rapidly, so that in 1791 the population amounted to 733. In 1800 it reached 1,020; in 1810, 1, 187; in 1820, 1, 185. Then begun a general decline in numbers, the falling off between the last year named and 1830 being 252; in 1840 it had fallen to 777; by 1850 it had increased to 850, and then drop- ped again ; in 1860 reaching 805; in 1870, 705, and by the last census of 1880 the population was only 681.
The town of Sandgate is not exclusively devoted to agriculture, as it enjoys a reputation for the production of lumber and other commodities made from wood that is somewhat surprising, when we consider the fact that it has no means of transportation other than by teams. Green River, as it courses rap- idly down through the town, furnishes an abundant water power, and this is utilized to a large extent for various manufacturing purposes. Several mem- bers of the Hurd family have been engaged in milling industries for a long time. Then there was Dr. Smith's oyster keg factory, Covey's brush-back factory, Provan's grist-mill, Conkey's saw-mill, and others; but the largest, perhaps, of the mills along the river is that now operated by Stickle Brothers, who came up here not long ago from Shaftsbury, and are doing an extensive business. But there was a time when Sandgate was an important town in the sheep and wool growing industries, the rolling and mountainous country being admirably adapted to this use; but, like many other things, this has declined, not that the land is by any means exhausted, but rather owing to the decline in the price of wool.
The town of Sandgate has a central or trading point that takes the form of a hamlet, although its houses number not more than half a dozen. This is Sandgate Center, the post-office being Sandgate. Some two or three miles further west is another cluster of houses, less, perhaps, in number than the first named, that is commonly known as West Sandgate. On driving from one to the other the traveler is obliged to pass through what is called the "notch;" a very narrow defile between almost perpendicular walls of rock, and some- thing like fifty rods in length. The walls on either side rise to a height of thirty feet. This is Sandgate's greatest natural attraction, and a source of wonder and admiration to all visitors. The most beautiful works of nature abound throughout the township, but this is unquestionably the chief attrac- tion of all.
In matters pertaining to the spiritual welfare of the people the town of Sandgate is as forward as any in the county in proportion to respective pop- ulation There are two organized church societies, the Congregational and the Methodist Episcopal, the former formed in 1792, and the latter in 1830. The Congregational Society built their church edifice in 1827, and repaired it in 1846. The M. E. Church now used was built in 1878. Neither of these are structures of elaborate design, but plain, modest appearing buildings, de- signed for the use and occupation of humble worshipers, rather than for osten- tatious display.
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HISTORY OF BENNINGTON COUNTY.
The schools, too, of the township are in keeping with all other appoi ... ments, generally small but comfortable buildings, and the teachers are as go as can be found in any other rural district of the county. In this selection .:. trustees have acted for the best interests of the scholars, and have not sough .: to employ instructors with sole reference to economy of expenditure.
CHAPTER XXVII.
HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF RUPERT.
T HE town of Rupert occupies the northwest corner of the county of Ben- nington, having for its west boundary New York State line, and its north the Rutland county line. Sandgate lies to the south, and Dorset to the east. The character of the surface of the land, like that of many of the towns of this county is generally rough, high mountains being frequent, and the general range of the Taconic Mountains crossing the castern part of the township from south to north, gradually diminishing in height at the northern part. The most mountainous region, perhaps, of the whole township is the southern and east- ern central parts, where stands Shatterack Mount, Masters Mount, Hay Stack Mount and Mount Antone, but the country east of Shatterack and south of Hay Stack is quite level and fertile.
It is a long, slow journey through the "notch" from East Rupert to the west side of the Taconic range, but the beauty of scenery in a great measure com- pensates for the tedium of travel. The northeast corner of Rupert through the valley of Pawlet River is a most delightful section in which to live; the scenery is grand and the section abounds in large and productive farms. While prac- tically cut off from intercourse with the great bulk of the township and com- pelled to unite and trade with the Pawlet and Dorset residents, these people of East and North Rupert have by no means alienated themselves from the balance of their town's citizens, but enjoy the same reputation for thrift and enterprise as do the others. In fact as a progressive agricultural town Rupert is second to none in this or any other county in Vermont. The farms are in as high state of cultivation, and are as productive, and the houses and other build- ings are in as good condition, and the farmers are as enterprising as those found in any similarly situated town in the East.
In the town are three small villages-East Rupert, Rupert and West Ru- pert-while North Rupert is hardly of sufficient size to be called such, never-
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TOWN OF RUPERT.
:::: less a post-office is established there for the convenience of the people of that .inity. But the three first named have quite a number of houses and indus- tries as well as a post office each. Of these the hamlet of Rupert is, perhaps, the largest and most important, and to it attaches an additional importance from the fact of its being something of a resort for summer visitors, although no special effort has ever been made to attract pleasure-seekers to the place.
Rupert is among the older towns of the county. It was chartered by Gov- ernor Benning Wentworth on the 20th of August, 1761, under the same gen- eral form of grant as that by which other towns were brought into existence, and which needs no reproduction here. During that unfortunate and unhappy period in which the people of Vermont were struggling for existence as well as independence, and were opposed by the New Yorkers and the Britishi, by the latter the least, however, there was not much attempt at settlement in this par- ticular locality from the fact of its close proximity to the New York line and the defenseless condition of its people; but, fortunately for those that were here, the New Yorkers were too closely occupied and hard put in attempting to subdue and conquer Allen and his companions to give much attention to the people in this then northern and remote locality; still the people here residing were by no means exempted from outrages and persecutions from the contest- ants for the soil, as instances may be recalled in which New York's governor made grants or warrants of dispossess against inhabitants hereabouts, but these cases are not many.
The first mention of Rupert in the "old proceedings" seems to have been made in January, 1776, when the representatives to the famous Dorset Con- vention were arranging for the future safety and protection of the inhabitants of the grants, and the sub-committee of the convention allowed this town two votes on the question then under consideration. At the Dorset Convention, held on the 24th of July following, Reuben Harmon and Amos Curtis repre- sented the town of Rupert. Reuben Harmon afterward became quite a noted personage, he having been granted authority to coin money for Vermont under her separate independence. His mint was in the northeast part of the town, not far off the road leading from Pawlet to Dorset. The act that gave Reu- ben Harmon authority to coin coppers for the State was passed in 1785, and under it he did an extensive business for himself and the State. Of course all this came to an end when Vermont came into the Union, or about that time.
At the adjourned session of the Windsor Convention, held June 4, 1777, the town was represented by Dr. Gaius Smith and Mr. Moses Robinson; and when the declaration of Vermont's independence was ready for signing the names of both of these worthies appear. There might have been, and unquestionably was, a little element of Toryism in the town about this time, as will be seen from the proceedings of the Council of Safety in session at Bennington on Au- gust 27, 1777, from which this extract is taken: " Whereas this council has re-
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HISTORY OF BENNINGTON COUNTY.
ceived a letter from Captain Burrows, at Arlington, acquainting us that o: scouts had taken all the stock of every kind from Anger Hawley's wife, of Ka- pert, and she had made application to him for a cow, as her children were in a: suffering condition. These are therefore to require you to let her have one cow for the time being out of the first cows you take from any disaffected person. ' During the days in which the acts of many persons were viewed with suspicion and a special permit was about the only safeguard one could have, it was or- dered that "Jonathan Smith is permitted to pass from this to Rupert and return with his family to this place;" this place meaning Bennington. A somewhat similar document was issued thus: "Agur Hawley is permitted to pass from this to Rupert."
By an order of the Council of Safety, dated January 23, 1778, Moses Rob- inson, of Rupert, was appointed a commissioner of sequestration of his town. This Moses Robinson should not be confused with Judge Moses Robinson of Bennington; the latter was councilor in 1778, and the former was in the General Assembly for the same and several succeeding years. When it became neces- sary in May, 1778 for the governor and council to have more perfect military organizations in the State, for defensive and offensive operations, one company of the Fifth Regiment was officered by Rupert men, and in fact a part of the company, the third, was raised in the town. The officers were Tapan Noble, captain ; Enoch Eastman, lieutenant, and Moses Robinson, ensign. Among the justices of the peace chosen in pursuance of the acts of the Legislature at the session held at Bennington June 17, 1778, Reuben Harmon was appointed to that office for the town of Rupert.
During the latter years of the Revolutionary struggle the people of Vermont were not seriously troubled by the British, owing to the celebrated " Haldimand correspondence " and negotiations, but notwithstanding that it was necessary for each town to maintain an armed defensive attitude, for which service men were either volunteers or drafted. Rupert had a number of each class of soldiers. To sustain them the authorities established storehouses in various quarters, and one of these was in Rupert. At that time Captain Joseph Farnsworth was commissary of purchases. It will be noticed from the foregoing extracts from the State journal of proceedings that the town of Rupert or its people did not play a very exciting part in the great theater of events that were transpiring in rapid succession during the early history of Vermont ; but, according to her means, the town did all that could be done by any body politic. The popula- tion was small and exceedingly scattered, and of the few that lived west of the mountains many were compelled to cross over to the east side or go to other places for safety. The unsettled condition of civil affairs that prevailed gener- ally throughout the State from 1765 or thereabouts until the close of the Revo- tion had as much to do with retarding the growth and development of Rupert as of any other town, and the exposed condition of her frontier, bordering as
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TOWN OF RUPERT.
: did on New York State, rendered her position peculiarly embarrassing, and made settlement absolutely unsafe
As has already been said the town was chartered in August, 1761, but its settlement did not commence with that date. The first meeting of proprietors was held in Bennington on the 16th day of April, 1765, nearly four years after the grant was made ; and at that meeting a proposition was carried to lay out the first division of lots in fifty acre tracts, one tract for each proprietor. This survey and division was made of that part of the town lands that lay in the north part thereof and east of the mountains, that is in the vicinity of what is now East and North Rupert. Settlement followed soon but not immediately after the survey and division above mentioned, and in order to encourage im- provement in this locality the proprietors offered to donate one fifty-acre tract to the person who would make the first settlement. Of course the offer was accepted, but neither record nor tradition has preserved the name of the donee. But the first settlers in this locality are believed to have been Reuben Harmon, Amos Curtis, Isaac Blood, Jonathan Eastman, Barnabas Barnum, and perhaps some others whose names are now lost. This locality the reader will under- stand is that that lies nearest Dorset, and the settlement of Dorset was com- menced at an earlier date than this; and to this day the inhabitants of North- eastern Rupert transact the greater part of their ordinary business at Dorset on the east, and Pawlet on the north, rather than to cross the mountain to the main part of the township.
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