History of Newbury, Vermont, from the discovery of the Coos country to present time, Part 15

Author: Wells, Frederic Palmer, 1850- ed
Publication date: 1902
Publisher: St. Johnsbury, Vt., The Caledonian company
Number of Pages: 935

USA > Vermont > Orange County > Newbury > History of Newbury, Vermont, from the discovery of the Coos country to present time > Part 15

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As early as 1800, there was a considerable immigration, and many families went up to the north part of the state and the southern townships of Canada, and took up land. About that time it begun to be complained that the young men were "going west," which meant the valley of Lake Champlain and the Mohawk valley. Several, before 1810, had gone to Ohio, the frontier of civilization.

There seems also to have been a shifting of population within the town. It has been stated, on good authority, that there were about fifty houses in 1800, between the mouth of Cow Meadow brook and Col. Robert Johnston's tavern, where Mr. Hibbard now lives. Any one who will take the trouble to count those now standing which were built subsequently to 1830, will see that most of those standing in 1800 have disappeared. It is probable that, in spite of the growth of the village, there were more residents between the upper curve of the Ox-bow, and Bradford line, a hundred years ago than there are now. Those who came to settle here in the first twenty years of the century, made their homes in the back parts of the town.

The war of 1812 was not popular in this town, which was no longer in the place of danger, as it had been in the struggle for independence, a generation before. The embargo which President Madison had laid upon commerce bore heavily upon New England, even in these remote quarters. A clause in the warning for a special town-meeting in July, 1809, ran as follows: "To see what morey the town will raise for the payment of this town's quota of Soldiers from the time they march to the time of their discharge, in addition to what is allowed by the United States."

Voted: "That this town do not think it expedient or proper to raise any money for the payment of any soldiers which may be called into service by authority of Congress."

"That if Congress suppose it necessary to call for the militia for the purpose of carrying into effect or enforcing such laws as are by them made, and more particularly a host of acts laying EMBARGO, which are considered by us as oppressive and unconstitutional, they will provide means for the payment and support of such militia."

Voted: "That it is the sense of this town that if there are any persons therein who are in favor of the present measures of the General Government, and especially the late acts laying an Embargo, these people are in duty bound, and will, undoubtedly lend their aid and assistance into carrying into effect those laws, with whatever compensation the United States see fit to provide."

These terse and vigorous resolutions were probably drawn up by

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HISTORY OF NEWBURY, VERMONT.

Benjamin Porter Esq., who, it is said, sat with his brother-in-law, Mills Olcott, of Hanover, in the Hartford convention. It would seem, however, that the town took some measures for defense, as at a special town-meeting held in September, 1810, it was voted, "To raise $150. to purchase ammunition to furnish the Town Magazine." This magazine, commonly called the "old powder house," was a small brick building which stood among the pines on the summit of Montebello. It was standing forty years ago, and traces of it may, perhaps, still be seen. The first powder house was built in 1809. It was struck by lightning and destroyed while empty and rebuilt in 1836.

For a special town meeting in September, 1812, the warning ran; "To see if the town will raise any money in addition to the present wages of the men detached from the militia in this town, if they are called into actual service, and if so, how much." (Voted: not to raise any money for that purpose. )

"To see if the town will give said soldiers a bounty when they are called to march, if so, how much, and vote to raise the same." (Voted: Not to give any bounty.)

Voted: "To raise $100 to defray the expense of procuring equipments for those soldiers who are not able to equip themselves."

There is only one further record of action or want of action of the town which was at a special meeting, July 6, 1813.

"To see if the town will raise money to pay sundry contracts made by the selectmen the year past for provisions, equipment, etc., for the drafted militia." (No record of any action.)

It would seem, notwithstanding these, that the town did its duty in the matter, and a considerable number of men enlisted and served for longer or shorter periods. The records of the war of 1812, at Washington, are not now accessible, and no attempt has been made to collect the records of soldiers of that war. A company of detatched militia, under Capt. Levi Rogers, served in Col. Fifields' regiment of state troops. Several men were from this town.

Wells River was made a depot of supplies for the army, and great numbers of cattle were brought and dressed there, as Mr. Leslie relates in his chapter upon that village. In those years, also, nearly all the famous men of the early settlement and the war of independence, passed away. James Abbott died in 1803; Jacob Kent in 1812; Jacob Bayley in 1815; and Thomas Johnson in 1819. Only Robert Johnston and Frye Bayley, of the more distinguished remained in 1820. In Haverhill, also, their contemporaries were nearly all gone at the latter date. John Hazen died before the revolutionary war; Timothy Bedell in 1787; Charles Johnston in 1813; Moses Dow in 1814; Asa Porter in 1818.

On the 19th of February, 1819, dicd Indian Joe, or "Joe Indian," as he is often called, the last of the Coösuck Indians, of whom not

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THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.

much but tradition remains. He was considered a remarkable man, and rendered services to the early settlers, and to the American cause, whose nature and extent cannot now be ascertained. He served in Capt. John Vincent's Co., of St. Francis Indians in 1777-'78, and was often employed as a scout by Gens. Bayley and Hazen. He knew, thoroughly, all the country between Coos and Canada, and the value of his services was very great. He evidently was held in high estimation by the settlers, and as he grew old there appears to have been no difficulty in obtaining a pension for him from the state. This pension, at first small, was increased at different times, until, for several years before his death the state appropriated seventy dollars, annually, for his support. Col. Frye Bayley was made his guardian, and after Col. Bayley's removal to Chelsea, his son was appointed in his stead. It was at the latter's house that he died. He lay out one night when hunting, on the 1st of February, and froze both his feet, and was nearly exhausted when discovered by the party which was in search of him. Most of the principal men in town attended his funeral, and his gun, which was found loaded, was discharged over his grave. "He was," says David Johnson, "remarkably amiable and pleasant in his disposition when sober, and even when intoxicated was never known to quarrel with any one."

Many amusing stories used to be told about Joe, and Molly his wife. "Molly's Pond" in Cabot, and "Joe's Pond," which is partly in Danville and partly in Cabot, are named for them. The remains of a log canoe, made and used by Joe, were to be seen, a few years ago, on the shore of Round Pond in this town. Joe and Molly once visited Washington at his headquarters at Newburgh, N. Y., and were introduced to the General and dined at his table, after the officers had withdrawn. They were gratified by the marked attention paid them, and it was the great event of his life. "He was" to again quote Mr. Johnson, "a shrewd man, and a close observer of men and manners. He praised his friends with genuine warmth, and reproached those who used him ill with the bitterest terms of sarcasm which his imperfect knowledge of the English language could supply." A few years ago, his grave in the Ox-bow cemetery was suitably marked.

CHAPTER XXII.

THE OLD MEETING-HOUSE.

ACTION OF THE TOWN .- THE BUILDING COMMITTEE .- SALE OF THE "PEW GROUND."- DESCRIPTION OF THE BUILDING .- REGULATIONS FOR CONSTRUCTION .- PRICES OF PRODUCE .- LEVI WEBSTER .- THE COST OF FINISHING THE INTERIOR .- THE LIGHTNING ROD .- BELL .- STOVES .- HISTORICAL NOTES .- A NEW MEETING- HOUSE .- THE END OF THE EDIFICE .- MRS. PEASLEE'S REMINISCENCES .- TWO SESSIONS OF THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY .- OCTOBER, 1787 .- A LOST GOVERNOR .- THE SESSION OF 1801 .- THE OLD COURT-HOUSE .- ELECTION DAY .- AFTER HISTORY OF THE BUILDING.

C ONSIDERABLE space is given in these pages to the erection of this structure, as it was a very important building in its day, and many details of its construction still remain. These indicate many of the customs of the time, and incidentally show the cost of the labor and material employed.

Soon after the war there arose a demand for a larger and more suitable building for religious worship than the one which served the double purpose of a church and court-house. This matter was for several years dismissed by the town, but at a special town meeting held August 14, 1787, the work was taken up. Two of the articles of warning read as follows: "First, to see if the town will fix on a place to build a meeting-house; second, to see if the town will build a meeting-house, if so, how large, and where; to choose a committee to prosecute said business, and also what measures will be most expedient to prosecute and facilitate the same." At this meeting it was voted to build a meeting-house on the "little plain," the material for which should be provided by the first of the ensuing May.

Thomas Johnson, William Wallace, Dudley Carleton, Robert Johnston and John Haseltine, were chosen the committee, to whom were afterward added, Jacob Kent, John Mills, Remembrance Chamberlain, and Frye Bayley. A plan of the meeting-house seems

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THE OLD MEETING-HOUSE.

to have been prepared, and at an adjourned town-meeting held September 6, 1787, they "proceeded to sell the Pew Ground to the highest bidder."

In order to understand the proceedings, it will be well to give some idea of the completed building. It stood on the west side of the street, and very near it, about half way between Mr. Farnham's and Mrs. Catharine Atkinson's, with the side of the building toward the street. On the south end was a tower, about twelve feet square, which projected its full width from the end of the building, and rose several feet above the apex of the roof, supporting the belfry, which was not quite as large, and open on all sides. Above the belfry rose the tapering steeple, surmounted by a gilded weather cock, which was about eighty feet from the ground. This was the first steeple erected in Vermont. At the foot of the tower was one of the entrances, a door which opened into the body of the church, and stairs which gave access to the galleries above. On the opposite end of the building, next to Mrs. Atkinson's, was a similar projection, with entrance doors, and stair-cases, but which did not rise above the roof. The main entrance, "the front door," was on the east side next the street, exactly in the middle, and from it ran the "broad aisle" to the pulpit, which was on the west side of the house. A narrower aisle, which crossed this precisely in the middle of the church, extended the whole length of the house, between the doors at the ends. The galleries were built around three sides of the house, that over the main entrance being reserved for the singers.

The pulpit was high, that the minister might see his hearers in the galleries; it was reached by winding stairs, and above it hung the "sounding-board," suspended from the ceiling by an iron rod. In front of the pulpit was an elevated seat for the deacons, and before them was a wide board which was hung on hinges, and formed a communion table. The pews were about seven feet square, each having its door; there were seats on three sides of each pew. These seats were hung on hinges, and were raised against the sides of the pews when the congregation stood up during the long prayer, and were let down again at its close with a clatter which sounded like the discharge of small artillery. There was a row of pews around the sides of the house, called the "wall pews," and in front of them ran a narrow passage, crossing each of the intersecting aisles. The rest of the pews, considered the most desirable, were called the "body pews," and opened either into one of the main aisles, or into this narrow passage. Above the partitions of the pews ran a rail, supported by many small turned posts which were the delight of children to twirl in sermon time.

There were three windows on each side of the main door, and seven in the upper part, which lighted the galleries, on the east side. There were as many on the west side, and several at each end, so

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HISTORY OF NEWBURY, VERMONT.

the church had plenty of light. Some of these windows, with their many small panes, may still be seen in Mr. Farnham's building. The meeting-house was a dignified, substantial edifice, painted white and considered one of the best church buildings in rural New England in its day. At this sale the pews upon the ground floor of the projected house, forty-eight in number, were sold at auction, and realized £495, 7s. or $1,650.00. Four of them brought more than fifty dollars each and were bid off by Thomas Johnson, John Mills, Jacob Bayley and Joshua Bayley.

The sale of the pews seems to have realized a sufficient sum to justify the committee in proceeding to build, and on the 1st of January, 1788, they agreed to "certain regulations for the purpose of building a meeting-house in Newbury and for finishing the same," which were as follows:

*Art 1. That each holder of a pew shall have the liberty of turning in One Thou- sand of Good Merchantable White Pine Boards to be delivered on the little Plain where said House is to be Built, By the first Day of April next. Also each Pew is taxed with Four Bushels of wheat and Three Bushels of Ingian Corn, and as much more as is found convenient for each Person to turn in. The wheat for the lower end, and back part of the town, to be Delivered at Col. Robert Johnston's, and the Middle and Upper District to Deliver their Wheat at Col. Thos. Johnson's.

The whole Wheat and Corn to be delivered by the first of February, and as there will be considerable Pork wanted for carrying on the Building, such persons as choose to, pay in Pork. Beg that they will give Timeous Notice of the Same, or turn it in at the aforesaid place and Time, and the two shillings on the pound that is to be paid in cash are Requested to pay it Immediately, or Give information what of each article they will procure.

Good Rye will be accepted at four shillings per bushel; Wheat at five shillings; Corn at three shillings; Clear Salt Pork at eight pence per pound; By the Hogg, Fresh at five pence per pound; Seasoned Boards at 20 shillings per 1000; Clapboards 42 shillings per 1000, and short shingles at 9 shillings per 1000."

The committee had already fixed upon a carpenter of approved skill, in the person of Levi Webster, of Enfield, N. H., whom they agreed to pay five shillings a day, in wheat or neat stock, who came about the middle of March, and seems to have found the lum- ber on the ground, and labored with such skill, and good assistance, that the frame was raised on the 25th of June, 1788. It is said that every able-bodied man in both Newbury and Haverhill was at the raising, and the town seems to have provided a sumptuous dinner, the bills for which are still in existence. Veal was 3p. per 1b., pork 8d., butter 8p., cheese 7p., bread 2p. per lb., and rum 4 shillings a gallon.

It seems that the house was not completed at once, as the bills for plastering are dated August 27, 1790, and specify the various portions of the interior which were plastered, aggregating 659 square yards, at 3d. per square yard. The ceiling contained 2,668 square feet, which gives us an approximate idea of the size of the house, which was probably about 45x60. The bill of Maxi Haseltine, a blacksmith, includes "two and one-half davs work of

*Johnson Papers.

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THE OLD MEETING-HOUSE.

myself drawing the lightning rod, at 6 shillings a day, making five pr. of hinges at two and sixpence each, making pulpit hinges and fixing Brass for the Door 8 shillings, and putting up the rod, one shilling." The meeting-house was painted in eleven days by Joshua Ward at 6 shillings a day, which was done in November, 1790.

On the 21st of September, 1789, the gallery pews, thirty-five in number, were sold at auction, to be paid for in wheat, and brought from twenty to forty-five bushels, according to location, the town receiving therefor 903 bushels, valued at £228, 7s. 6d. The amount received from the sale of all the pews was about $3,250. and as Col. Thomas Johnson stated in 1806, that the house cost between five and six thousand dollars, that left $2000, or more to be raised by tax. According to receipts still extant, it seems that the "meeting-house tax" was paid mainly in material, supplies and labor.

A large square door stone, which required four yoke of oxen to draw from the Catamount in Haverhill, was placed in front of the main entrance by Capt. Jacob Bayley. The completed meeting- house was regarded with commendable pride by the people of Newbury, who possessed for some years the best building of the . kind in the state, and the contracts for building more than one church in this vicinity stipulated, that it should be "equal to the one at Newbury." It was a large building and, with its wide galleries, would seat nearly 1000 people. In pleasant weather it was well filled, as it was for many years the only place of worship on the Sabbath in town. Now there are seven or more places where Sabbath services are held. There is no record of its dedication. It was occupied as a place of worship by the First Congregational church for fifty-two years. In it were held the commemorative services upon the death of President Washington, and in it the election sermon was preached before the General Assembly in 1801. In that house were ordained Rev. Nathaniel Lambert, Rev. Luther Jewett and Rev. Clark Perry and Rev. George W. Campbell was installed. The building was also occupied for town-meetings and other large gatherings. In 1801, the year in which the bell was cast for the Ladd street meeting-house in Haverhill, Col. Thomas Johnson and Col. William Wallace contracted with a bell-founder at Hartford, Conn., for a bell weighing 600 lbs., and were notified that it would be ready by June. What became of that bell is unknown. A bell was purchased and hung about 1828, Dea. Swasey thinks. This bell was removed to the "new meeting-house" in 1840.

There was no provision for warming the house until about 1816, and it must have been a cold place, in its exposed location, on a winter's day. But cold or heat made little difference with the attendance. The introduction of the stoves met with considerable opposition. They were inadequate to heat the great building, with its many loose windows. The late Dea. George Burroughs used to

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HISTORY OF NEWBURY, VERMONT.

remark that at best, it "wasn't quite so chilly." One man was heard to say that they did more harm than good, for they "drove the cold into the back seats, so it was colder there than before." In 1791 the town voted "that John Foster have twenty shillings if he take care of the meeting-house, and keep it well swept for one year." In 1792, Joseph Chamberlin was voted one pound for similar service.

For the March meeting in 1794, Article 7 in the warning reads : "To see if the town will appoint a Chorister or Choristers to lead the singing, also what encouragement they will give Masters to teach the art of singing in the town, and give directions how often to meet for that purpose." Jeremiah Ingalls, Jacob Bayley and Simeon Stevens were chosen.

In 1795, it was voted "to sell so much of the ground as to make one pew on each side of the Broad Alley," and William Wallace was chosen to sell the ground for two pews for no less than thirty pounds for the ground, for each pew.

In March, 1802, it was voted, "not to allow Mr. Joseph Chamberlin anything for the ground where the meeting-house stands."

We may well wonder how the people endured the two long . services in that building in the cold winter days. But Mr. Farnham's house was then an inn, and the people who could not go home at noon, warmed themselves at its hospitable fireside, or at those of the other houses which were near. Such repairs as were necessary were made by the town for many years, but in 1828 it was repainted and reshingled by subscription.

About that time began an agitation in favor of a new meeting-house. The Methodist society, then rapidly increasing in number, had laid claim to the use of the house a part of the time, a few years before, and there arose some contention about the relative shares held in it by the town and the Congregational church.

On the 14th of February, 1840, a meeting of the Congregational society was held in Judge Berry's office, at which the report of a committee previously chosen to inspect the condition of the meeting-house, and estimate the cost of re-modeling and refitting it, and of ascertaining upon what terms the claims of the town and individuals could be secured to the society, was heard. The report was adverse to the further retention of the house. Certain pew-owners, who were no longer connected with the society, declined to sell their shares except upon exorbitant terms, and the society decided to build a new church, and James Brock, Freeman Keyes, William Bailey, A. B. W. Tenney, Joseph Atkinson and William Burroughs were chosen a committee to build a new meeting-house.

The last service was held in the house on the 8th of November, 1840, and the new church was dedicated on the Friday following.

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THE OLD MEETING-HOUSE.

Thus abandoned, the building stood for eight years, occasionally used for public gatherings. Its end was inglorious enough. In 1848, the town sold it to the Connecticut and Passumpsic Rivers Railroad Company to be made into a depot, the windows and pews were taken out, and an attempt was made to lower the great building, steeple and all, down the high bluff in its rear, an undertaking which would be considered rather formidable even in these days. In getting it down the hill, some of the rigging employed in the operation, gave way, and the whole structure fell with a great crash. It has been thought that there were those who were opposed to having the old meeting-house turned into a railroad station, who contrived its downfall. In its day it was the most important building in town, and a landmark of the Connec- ticut valley. It was considered a fine building, but no picture was ever made of it, and there is nothing to show where it stood.

One to whom every memory of the old house is dear, has kindly communicated the following brief reminiscence :-

I hardly know how to convey the memories which are mine of "the Old Meeting-house." My first recollection was being taken there Sundays-winter and summer. In summer time, of women in gay attire carrying cinnamon roses and caraway sprigs, according to age. In winter, of a bitter cold atmosphere, two box-stoves, one at each end of the longest aisle, which was from north to south, and of the "foot-stoves" which individuals brought to their pews-only the wealthier ones had these-there was none for our pew, much to my sorrow.

In later days, after a new church was built, where the Congo' stands at the present time, the "Old meeting-house" was the "play-house" of the neighborhood children. We climbed the rickety stairs to the belfry-swung on the "lightning-rod," which descended from that to the ground, just within our reach-played meeting in the body of the house-sung in the "singing-seats"-sat in the "deacons-seat"- marched up the broad aisles, of which there were two, from north to south, and from east to west-entered the grandest pews, which differed from others only in having a three cornered shelf for the hymn books-sat in the seat of the deacons- and grandest of all, ascended, with all dignity and solemnity, as we had seen done, to the pulpit and "preached" under the "sounding-board" with the ornament on its top decorated with red, white and blue and gold stripes. I never could understand why it did not fall. I really expected it would.

Nothing would give me greater pleasure than to be able to sketch all these pictures as they live in my memory, but it seems to me that there are many in our land and on foreign shores that must remember just how it all looked.

In later years, I cannot give the date, there was a revolt among the students of Newbury Seminary, and the disaffected ones got up an independent "exhibition" there, on a large stage erected for the occasion; the "Witches cauldron" boiled- "Clan Alpine's" hosts were marshalled-"Roderick Dhu"-"Lochiel" was enjoined to "beware." A few weeks since I met one of these heroes-there must be others-but alas many, many, are, I know not where.

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History of Newbury, Vermont, from the discovery of the Coos country to present time, Part 15

Author: Wells, Frederic Palmer, 1850- ed Publication date: 1902 Publisher: St. Johnsbury, Vt., The Caledonian company Number of Pages: 935

Author: Wells, Frederic Palmer, 1850- ed
Publication date: 1902
Publisher: St. Johnsbury, Vt., The Caledonian company
Number of Pages: 935