USA > Vermont > Lamoille County > Morristown > History of Morristown, Vermont > Part 2
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He died in 1783 in a fit of apoplexy and his body was borne to its resting place by Revolutionary soldiers. "The coffin in which he was carried burst open on the shoulders of his neighbors before they reached the grave -
which was nearly a mile from his residence, causing the corpse to roll upon the ground, and manifesting, as one of the soldier bearers quaintly expressed it, that 'habitual contrariness which was so characteristic of him'."
Whatever may have been the doctor's political views, he entered heartily into the opening up and settling of the undeveloped land. £ Having made his home in what was then a frontier town, he became interested in the still more
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HISTORY OF MORRISTOWN
remote Republic of Vermont. Perhaps the very inde- pendence which the new state had shown in its dealings with Congress and its neighbors appealed to his pugnacious temperament. At any rate, he and his family became closely concerned with one of the new townships. Rights were made out to the doctor himself and to at least four other members of his immediate family. Family names were perpetuated among the Morses so it is impossible to tell whether the Sarah Morse mentioned among the grantees was his wife or daughter. Joshua and Samuel were his sons and Daniel may have been either his son or his brother. John and Willard Morse of the grantees were not in his immediate family, but Willard was at one time a resident of Worthington so was possibly a relative.
The doctor's death in 1783 occurred before the dispo- sition of rights had begun to any great extent, but his son, Samuel, was made the administrator of his estate and the records show he not only handled the lots belonging to his immediate family, but also bought freely from the other grantees. For a time his name appeared more frequently in the real estate transactions than that of any other. At the first meeting of the proprietors he was chosen Moderator and in 1794 he came to inspect the township. He was so favorably impressed with it that during his stay he deeded land to his grand- . son, Ansell, who later moved to Ohio, and to another grandson, Rufus, who died in Worthington when but a young man. Again in 1804 he and his two sons, Elijah and Elias, were in town to attend to the disposition of some of their property, but in 1812 they gave the power of attorney to their townsman, Samuel Cooke, who had now moved to the new settlement. So far as we know
- the direct connection of the family ceased soon, but four generations of the family were land owners here and played their part in the development of the township.
So Morristown is probably the lineal descendant of Worthington, Mass., more than of any other one place and if, as generally supposed, it was named from Dr. Morse and his family it was a fitting recognition of their influ- ence in its inception and settlement.
Some time elapsed after the granting of the charter before the proprietors took active steps to develop their new grant, but on May 19, 1784, they called a meeting at Pownal at which they chose Samuel Morse Moderator and
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HISTORY OF MORRISTOWN
Joseph Hinsdale Clerk and elected a committee "to go and take a view of said town and report at the next meeting the quality thereof, and adjourned to meet at this place at ten o'clock in the forenoon, on Wednesday the first of July next." Various meetings were held either at Pownal or Bennington, at one of which held August 10, 1784, they voted to lay out the town of Morristown under the direc- tion of a committee of three, but no report of such a com- mittee is recorded. Two and a half years later at Ben- nington they voted to make a division, to lay out 105 acres to each right to make and number the corners and make
out a plan. They also voted to give Lieutenant Hinsdale twenty-six shillings for each right, except public rights, to complete the survey.
On February 2, 1789, they again met at Bennington and voted to make a second division and that it consist of 200 acres to each proprietor's right and gave Joseph Hinsdale one pound, thirteen shillings on each right to complete the survey. At Cambridge on the first Wednesday of June, 1794, they voted to lay out the third division, consisting of land not included in the other two, the lots of which were of smaller size. They adjourned until the third Monday of July, 1794, at Aaron Hurd's, "in said town of Morristown," the first gathering of the proprietors held within their domain.
Even before the laying out of the rights had been accepted, a sale in grants had begun, the first one occurring on April 1, 1782, when Daniel Kinne of Patridgefield, Mass., sold two rights, to one of which he was the original grantee and the other belonged to his brother, Jacob; and again on March 17, 1784, we read, "I, John Norton of Worthington, Mass. Gentlemen, in consideration of 12 £ do acquit my Rite or Share of land in the town of Morris- town in the State of Vermont in County of Rutland being granted to Doct. M. Morse and his associates to John Stone of Worthington, etc.".
These first transactions involved no thought of settle- ment which was not to come for some time yet. They were rather speculative in character and involved some risk for the purchasers, since, in addition to the price paid for the grants, the owners met some expense in connection with the development of the new township. Aside from the taxes levied by the proprietors the state made its demands. In October, 1788, for example, Morristown, together with some other towns, was required to pay
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HISTORY OF MORRISTOWN
twenty-three pounds, three shillings, eight pence for sur- veying the town lines, which survey was made under the general direction of Ira Allen, Surveyor General. When improvements such as the making of roads and bridges or the building of a state's prison were undertaken, a tax of from one to three cents per acre would be levied. Some of the proprietors were unwilling to meet these recurring assessments and rather than pay the price of progress they let their lands lapse. On June 6, 1805, a vendue was held at Elisha Boardman's tavern for the sale. of land to pay such taxes as were not met and such auctions were not infrequent in the early days.
In New England the county as a unit of government does not play the part it does in the South and West, yet some explanation as to why the early deeds place Morris- town in four different counties may be desirable.
When the state was organized, it was divided into two counties, Cumberland to the east and Bennington on the west, with the Green Mountains forming the dividing line. This division lasted about two years when the County of Rutland was incorporated from Bennington, while Windsor and Orange Counties were taken from Cumberland, the name of which changed to Windham. When the first deeds were recorded, Morristown was in Rutland County. In 1785 Rutland County, which had extended to the north- ern border of the state, was divided and Addison County was formed, which in turn was divided to form Chittenden in 1787. Five years later Orleans County was incor- porated, which included the towns of Eden, Hyde Park, Morristown and Wolcott from this section. For more than forty years this division remained, but there began to be agitation for the formation of still another county.
At first the movement had little following in the state, then a bill for such a change passed the House only to be defeated in the Council, and years of contention followed. The story of this struggle forms an interesting chapter of local history. While Morristown was only one of the group of towns thus battling for what they thought were their rights, its representatives were instructed to work for the project at the Legislature, and, although opposition to the movement existed in some of the towns, particularly Stowe and Elmore, there seems to have been none here.
In the fall of 1834 a convention was held which drew up a petition to be presented at the coming session of the
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HISTORY OF MORRISTOWN
Legislature. Previous to this, the towns had acted indi- vidually. It was probably the work of a committee, but there is no way of determining who they were. The document is too long to be given in full, but its line of argument is so logical and its language is so characteristic of the century that produced the Declaration of Inde- pendence, that excerpts are given at some length as indicative of the spirit of the people who had settled the region and the manner of life they lived. The petition was signed by 234 delegates, of whom fifty-nine were from Morristown and included its leading men from all walks of life:
"To the honorable General Assembly of the State of Vermont to be holden at Montpelier on the second Thurs- day of October, 1834.
"A portion of your fellow citizens having assembled in Convention as delegates from the towns of Cambridge, Johnson, Waterville, Sterling and Belvidere in the County of Franklin; Hyde Park, Eden, Morristown, and Wolcott in the County of Orleans; Stowe and Elmore in the County of Washington; and Mansfield in the County of Chittenden for the purpose of consulting for the common good and devising means for the redress of grievances which they have suffered in times past and are still oppressed with, beg leave before they separate to address you. And we feel confidence in our cause, inasmuch as the 20th article of our Bill of Rights declares, 'that the people have a right to assemble together to consult for their common good; to instruct their representatives; to apply to the Legis- ture for redress of grievances by address, petition, or remonstrance'.
"We are instructed by the people of the several towns which we represent, and under whose delegated authority we act, to ask your honorable body to constitute a new County of the foregoing towns with all the rights and privileges of other counties in this state and as reasons therefor we respectfully ask your attention to some of the prominent facts in support of our petition.
"Ist The distance from the various county seats to which we belong,
"2nd The natural situation of our territory,
"3rd The inconveniences to which we are subjected in order to obtain the rights and immunities enjoyed in common by the rest of our fellow citizens.
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HISTORY OF MORRISTOWN
"It cannot be supposed that we shall be able to go very minutely into detail as to the distances, but we deem it necessary previously to remark, that all the towns here enumerated are on the borders, or extremities of four counties (to wit) Franklin, Orleans, Washington, and Chittenden."
Then follows the different distances which each town is from its county seat, which is summed up as follows :
"So that it will be seen that the common distance of the several towns from their various county seats is about twenty-nine miles. We leave these facts without com- ment here only to add that the distances as here enumer- ated are on the nearest public roads.
"2nd The natural situation of our territory.
"And to this part of the subject we invite the partic- ular attention of your honorable body. Although the distances from our county seats are great, yet if we may be permitted so to say, the God of nature himself has so formed our situation and shapen our territory, and marked the boundaries of a distinct county, we apprehend that you have only to become acquainted with its situation in order to be fully convinced of the justice of our claims which entitle us to a favorable decision. The river Lamoille passes through the interior of our territory from an easterly to a westerly direction. The north, northeast, south, and south westerly parts of our county are bounded by mountains some of which are totally impassible nearly enclosing a tract of several hundreds of square miles of land of as good a quality we hesitate not to say as any other portions of the state. The most prominent outlets from this territory are by the valley along the banks of the Lamoille on the road that leads from Burlington to Danville. The county lines, as they are now formed, pass through the most fertile part of our territory and instead of giving us a common center for the transaction of our business draw us off four different ways, through a moun- tainous country and over rough roads thus constantly detracting from our growth and prosperity.
"With these facts thus briefly enumerated, we invite your attention in the third place to the inconveniences to which we are subjected in order to obtain the rights and immunities, enjoyed in common by the rest of the citizens of the state and here beg leave to set forth
"That our County and Superior Courts are so far
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HISTORY OF MORRISTOWN
removed from us that we are compelled to purchase justice in order to obtain it.
"That our roads to the various county seats are not only rough and impassible, but the face of the country through which they pass is such that it is impossible by ordinary means, ever to make them good.
"That many of our citizens from the great expense which attends it, are compelled to sacrifice their rights rather than attempt to obtain them; thus giving the rich an ascendancy over the poor.
"That jurors and witnesses are compelled to attend courts at considerable pecuniary and personal sacrifice.
"That our inhabitants are obliged to travel from twenty five to forty five miles to attend Probate Courts and obtain the settlement of estates, many times taking a large portion of the widow's substance to protect her in the enjoyment of the rest of it.
"That we are compelled to pay our proportion for the administration of the government while we are denied the common rights and privileges guaranteed to us by the Constitution.
"It is for the purpose of obtaining a redress of these inconveniences under which we are laboring as a com- munity and many others of a lesser consequence that has called us from our several occupations at the busy season of the year, together in convention in order that some means may be devised to get our true situation before your honorable body.
"It is true that this is no new subject to the Legis- lature; yet we apprehend very many of you have not become acquainted with all the evils that oppress us. For the last seven years this subject has been before the House of Representatives and as many times our rights have been passed by. But. our cause has strengthened every year with our fellow citizens, and each succeeding Legislature has contained an increased number in favor of granting the prayer of the people which we have the honor to represent in Convention. This gives us one consolation and furnishes us with a hope that our rights will be eventually regarded. When this subject was first brought before the Legislature, it was generally regarded as chimerical and although it was referred to a Committee, vet it was passed upon almost without examination. We cannot refrain from mentioning the opinion of the Hon.
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HISTORY OF MORRISTOWN
Henry Olin who was once Chairman of a committee to whom this subject was referred. He says after examin- ing it, 'I have been disposed to think unfavorably of any alteration of our County lines; but the claims of these petitioners are peculiar and striking. Here are county lines formed by the God of Nature and a sense of justice will soon compel the Legislature to grant their request'.
"Thus it was viewed in its primary stages by many more that might be mentioned but so strongly have been our Legislatures prejudiced against any alterations that it was referred year after year to the next session without much examination until 1832."
In 1832, and also in 1833, the matter was again referred to the Legislature and in one case was considered by the Judiciary Committee and in the other by the Ways and Means Committee, both of whom after careful investi- gation recommended the passage of the bill, thus bearing out the contention of the petitioners that "the facts of our cause need but to be examined in order to convince every impartial mind of its justice."
In answer to the argument brought forward by the opponents of the measure that it would put the state to more expense, the petition states "It would cost no more for judges or jurors. No officers are created in counties with salaries but they are all paid by fees or perquisites and the only possible effect it could have in a pecuniary point of view would be to lessen the state expenses and divide the fees between five instead of four." Then follows a discus- sion in regard to the saving to the residents of the section under consideration. In answer to the argument that it is dangerous "to alter ancient landmarks," they reply : "Let justice be done and the consequences will not be evil. What then we ask is to interpose and deprive us of justice long sought by an oppressed people ? Who would still make us tributary to our more wealthy neighbors ? Have we not served long enough in this land of boasted liberty and equal rights now to have our freedom ?"
The petition closes with the affirmation that they will not despair so long as the Bill of Rights forms a part of the Constitution, and will persevere in their request until it is finally granted. Whether it was the line of reason- ing or the determined and persistent spirit shown that began to weigh with the members of the Legislature can- not be known, but on October 26, 1835, the measure was passed and the county incorporated.
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HISTORY OF MORRISTOWN
Thus came into being the youngest and, with the exception of Grand Isle, by far the smallest of the fourteen counties. It contains only 431 square miles, which is just half the area of Rutland County and less than half that of Windsor. What it lacked in size and population it made up in other ways, for early in its history it was referred to as "Spunky Lamoille," spunk being a quality to which it owed its existence.
There have been many conjectures as to the origin of this appellation and the following was given in the "News and Citizen" in 1895 by Joshua Merriam, a former resident of Morristown and grandson of Capt. Joshua Merriam, one of the early settlers. He states that in the War of 1812 live hogs and poultry were taken from the Hubbell and McDaniels farms to supply the fleet on Lake Champlain. They were in charge of Jack Virginia, a negro captured from the British when Ticonderoga was taken by Allen. During the battle of Plattsburgh, there came a shot which killed one of the hogs, knocked a hencoop to pieces, thus liberating a rooster which flew into the rigging and stood there crowing loudly. Negro Jack Virginia, seeing the bird, yelled, "Hurrah for Spunky Lamoille." He composed several songs about the Battle of Plattsburg, among others being this one:
"Macdonough on his knees a-crying While British balls around his head were flying
The river boys, they fear no noise In the battle hotly going,
Their 'Spunky Bird' was heard
In the rigging loudly crowing, When every red coat that got loose Ran for Canada like Joe's moose."
This may or may not have been the reason why the county has been termed "Spunky" Lamoille.
The act which incorporated the county also provided that when some town should erect a suitable courthouse and jail, the county should be deemed organized. There naturally followed keen competition as to which of the towns should have the honor and the advantages which would belong to the county sent. The southern portion wanted Johnson and the northern part favored Morris-
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HISTORY OF MORRISTOWN
town. It was left to a committee to settle and partly through the efforts of Joshua Sawyer, a prominent lawyer and influential citizen of Hyde Park, the decision was made in favor of that town. The county buildings were erected at once and Court convened there in December, 1836, for the first time.
Thus it happened that the early deeds placed Morris- town in Rutland County, then in Chittenden, later in Orleans, and then in Lamoille.
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CHAPTER III
PHYSICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF THE TOWN
0 NE wishes that the report of the committee which was appointed in 1784 "to go and take a view of said town" was extant or, better yet, would be diaries in which they recorded their impressions of their new possessions. But only in imagination can one accompany them as they left the older settlements of the south and pressed their way, probably on horseback, into the unbroken wilderness where thousands of acres lay awaiting the woodman's axe and the settler's plow.
Johnson and Cambridge to the west were already settled, Cambridge the year before and Johnson the same season. To the south. Waterbury had received its first family in 1784, but at the most probably less than a half dozen families could have been found in all Lamoille County.
The original grant embraced 23,040 acres and to this was added in 1855 a part of the township of Sterling, which was divided among Johnson, Stowe, Cambridge, and Morristown. In 1898 the boundaries between Hyde Park and Morristown were altered and the net result of these changes has been to increase the size of the town to 29,238 acres. The surface is moderately uneven except in the western part, where the Sterling range of mountains separates it from Cambridge. Here Whiteface Peak rises to the height of 3,715 feet and lies about four miles to the northeast of the Chin of Mansfield. No attempt has been made to develop the scenic attractions of this region except that the Long Trail traverses this mountain barrier and through it thousands of nature lovers from all parts of the United States have become familiar with the beautiful panorama which spreads out, a view very similar to the one obtained from Mansfield.
When this committee saw the district, it was covered with a rich stand of maple, birch, hemlock, and spruce. When cleared, the soil is for the most part fertile and well adapted to agriculture. They must have been impressed by the numerous streams which could furnish power for mills of all kinds. The Lamoille, traversing the northern
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HISTORY OF MORRISTOWN
section, was soon harnessed and put to work. It receives three tributaries from the south, East Brook, or the Ryder Brook; West Brook, or the Kenfleld Brook, flowing west of Morristown Corners through a gorge of great beauty; and Boardman's, or Joe's Brook. The last two streams were soon busily turning mill wheels. In the southern part of the town the Shaw, or Sterling Brook, was to become known as Mill Brook because it furnished water power at four different points. On this stream Luther Bingham built the second saw mill in town on his farm now known as the Coan place. He also ran a starch factory nearby. A short distance above his plant another mill was located just above the Red Bridge; farther west was the site of the Billings mill and still nearer the source of the stream was a mill known in later years as the Gregg mill.
No lakes of any importance lie within the borders of the town, but Joe's Pond and Molly's Pond, situated between the LaPorte and Randolph roads, are rich in interest for the botanist who penetrates their swampy environs. Here in their season abound the Sarracenia purpurea or Side-saddle flower and the Cassandra caly- culata or Leather leaf; while the orchid enthusiast will delight in the Arethusa bulbosa or Indian pink, the Calopogon pulchellus or grass pink, and the Cypripedium acaule or pink ladies slipper. Protected by their sur- roundings which do not invite the casual picnic party, these shy beauties bloom undisturbed.
If the grantees hoped for mineral wealth in the new tract, they were destined to be disappointed, since no deposits of sufficient quantity to warrant their being worked have been found. Thompson, in his "Gazeteer," refers to veins of lead which occur on a hill in the eastern part and promise to be productive, but that promise was never fulfilled, although lead has been found on the farm occupied in 1935 by Carl Mudgett and occurs in some amount on Elmore Mountain.
The geographer has long been familiar with the fact which the average person does not fully realize, that the differences in climate in Vermont are determined not so much by latitude as by the relative positions of the moun- tain ranges and the Champlain and Connecticut Valleys which effect the rain and snowfall as well as the tempera- ture. Lamoille County, enclosed within in the Y of the Green Mountains, is included in that section of the state
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HISTORY OF MORRISTOWN
where the average snowfall is, according to official records,
126 inches. These same conditions determine the rainfall in the summer so that droughts seldom occur here.
Nothing is more unreliable than general impressions about the weather from year to year, but the following items were taken from the diaries of two of the early set- tlers and record not later memories, but contemporaneous accounts. It is a well attested historical fact that the year 1816 was one of great hardship in northern New England and New York. There were practically no crops raised because of the unseasonably cold summer and the two years previous were cold and unfruitful. These conditions fol- lowing the War of 1812 caused sufferings which would have entirely discouraged less persevering settlers. The following extracts taken from a diary kept in the Hadley family in 1816 record local conditions :
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