History of Royalton, Vermont, with family genealogies, 1769-1911, Part 28

Author: Lovejoy, Mary Evelyn Wood, 1847-
Publication date: 1911
Publisher: Burlington, Vt., Free press printing company
Number of Pages: 1280

USA > Vermont > Windsor County > Royalton > History of Royalton, Vermont, with family genealogies, 1769-1911 > Part 28

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

It will be observed that in choosing committees for the church building Zebulon Lyon, who was one of the most prom- inent men in town matters, had been left out in the cold, per- haps because they had suffered too much from the cold in his meeting-house. But somehow the new meeting-house did not materialize. The frame was to be up and covered by Novem- ber, 1789. In the fall of 1790 they were still discussing whether or no they should build that year. It is not to be supposed that Mr. Lyon would subscribe very liberally, if at all. Perhaps others followed his example. At any rate, by August, 1790, it was deemed expedient to add him and Dea. Daniel Rix to the building committee.

The committee now went ahead, and no other action by the town was needed, so we find no further mention of this new meeting-house in the town records. No records of the Society have been found earlier, than about the middle of the last cen- tury. In the probate records at Woodstock pertaining to the settlement of Calvin Parkhurst's estate, the administrators had a claim of £12 on the committee of Royalton for building and furnishing the meeting-house. This was dated Dec. 9, 1791, so it is quite certain that the house was built or completed in 1791, as it could scarcely have been built in 1790 after the meet- ing in August. To strengthen this assumption there is found the town record of the selectmen in 1835. They had investigated the condition of the public lands, and the right of the town in the meeting-house. They say that no appropriation was ever made by the town, that in the year 1791 the town clerk warned a meeting of the First Congregational Society, to see about the building of a meeting-house, and from that time the Society took upon itself to build and complete the house. The probate record referred to shows that a committee of the town was chargeable for debt to Calvin Parkhurst deceased. No such item is found in the town record of that year, and why the town clerk should have called a meeting of the Society is not easily explained, unless he chanced to be also the clerk of the Society. This does not seem likely, since his name is not found anywhere on the church books. An examination of the church records fails to show any action in building a meeting-house. Such

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action would be entered in the Society records, which are lost. The selectmen who made the report may have secured informa- tion from some persons then living, who remembered how the church was built, but two things are quite certain, that the church was built by subscription, and mostly, if not wholly, in 1791.

In view of the fact that the town used the meeting-house for holding its meetings, it was voted in 1823 to spend $200 in repairing the building. As new people came to town, and those who had helped to build the house had died or moved away, some question arose as to whether the town had any right in the building, and in 1835 a committee was appointed to investigate the right of the inhabitants in the house, and it was this com- mittee of selectmen whose report has already been noted.

In fixing the form and location of Lieut. Lyon's meeting- house, and also that of 1791, dependence has rested mainly on tradition. Dr. Drake in his centennial address said that the first building stood just "this side of the passenger depot." When he spoke those words he was standing in the Congre- gational church in Royalton village, and that meant that the first church stood very nearly where the freight depot stands, about opposite the old Dr. Lyman residence. No doubt some one was living who was able to satisfy him on this point. The church built in 1790-91 stood about where the present one stands, only nearer the road. The road, however, had two courses, one running through the present yard of the Old Deni- son House, and the other some distance below at the foot of the incline.

From Asa Perrin's diary it is learned that the first meet- ing in the new church was held July 10, 1791. It is said that there was never any real dedicatory service, that Deacon Joiner stood on the gilded dome and made a dedicatory prayer. Mr. Perrin says that Lyman Potter preached from Matthew 22:4 in the forenoon, and from Colossians 3:14 in the afternoon. Mr. Potter was a graduate of Yale, and was probably located at Norwich at this time. Mr. Perrin has preserved the order of service.

The meeting-house of Mr. Lyon was doubtless a very simple structure, not more than one story in height. It was probably framed, as other framed houses are known to have been erected in town before this time. No one has been found who recalls ever having heard it described. There is so much contradictory evidence as to the way the new building stood, that it is impos- sible to say just what its position was. In deeds mention is made of a north porch and a south porch, and once of a south- west porch, and of pews north and south of a broad aisle. This

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would indicate that the side of the church stood next to the street, with a broad entrance there, and perhaps the porches were at the ends in front, with entrances from each. Mrs. Eliza Denison Jameson was positive that the building stood just as the present one does, with the end next to the road. When the repairs were made in 1823 it is probable that some changes were made, and it may be that one or both porches were removed. Those now living who remember the building were very young when it was burned in 1839. Very few can minutely describe a building with which they are daily familiar, to say nothing of going back to early childhood for mental pictures. All agree that the building was two stories high, that it had two porches, a cupola over one, that it had a bell and a gilded dome with a spire tipped with a ball.

In the interior box pews with doors were arranged on three sides of the room, with seats on three sides of the pews. Pews or slips were set also in the center. It had the usual high pulpit with sounding board, and a communion table was in front of it hung on hinges, so as to be out of the way when not in use. The seat of the deacons was in front of this communion seat. By the arrangement of seats in the pews some sat with their backs to the minister, and roguish boys would have to keep an eye on the tythingman, if they would not be taken off guard. If wary, they could bump heads with their neighbors sitting backs to them in the pew behind. The gallery ran around three sides of the church, and had three rows of seats, elevated one above the other. The seat of the singers was in front, facing the pulpit, which faced the street. The backs of the square pews on the main floor were finished with turned spindles. These

spindles had a habit of turning with a squeaky noise, which one who remembers it, says "gave a naughty child great pleasure."

Mrs. Jameson in describing the interior wrote in October, 1909, "All was unpainted, I am sure. I cannot remember any heat but of footstoves. From a seat in a gallery pew, where my mother used to sit, just behind and above the singers' seats, just opposite the pulpit, I recollect seeing distinctly the Rev. Daniel Wild giving the right hand of fellowship to the young minister, Rev. Cyrus B. Drake on the occasion of his ordination as pastor of the Congregational church - - - - The entrance of the meeting-house was opposite the entrance of the old academy, on the other side of the common. There was quite a slope beyond the road-now smoothed away-and steps were cut in the gravelly earth, and a kind of walk existed from one entrance to the other."

It is to be regretted that the church kept no record of the sale of the pew ground. It would be very interesting to know

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who the original owners were, though not of so much importance as it would be if the house were still in existence. It is likely that a few of the most "forehanded" bid off considerable space, to aid in raising money to finish the building, or with an eye to future gain. The earliest recorded sale of floor space is Jan. 11, 1794, when Samuel D. Searle sold to Daniel Gilbert two pew grounds, Nos. 14 and 29, for £40. He states that he bid them off at vendue. The lower floor seems to have had a broad aisle extending from the front door to the deacons' seat in front of the pulpit, and to have had north and south alleys leading from the north and south porches to the broad aisle. The same num- bers seem to have been given to seats on the left of the aisles as to those on the right. The highest number observed is forty- one. The entrances into the gallery were from the two porches.

No deeds from the officials of the church to pew-holders have been found. A few of the records that give some idea of the seating of the church, and a picture of the worshippers, as they sat drinking in the sound orthodoxy of the early pastors follows.

In 1796 Zebulon Lyon sold Nathaniel Morse No. 10, lower floor, "on the right as you go in from the north porch." Dr. Silas Allen was original owner of a wall pew in the gallery, facing the pulpit. Peter Mills was also original owner of a gallery pew, which he sold to Levi Mower. Jacob Safford was the first owner of Nos. 22 and 24, lower floor. In 1805 John C. Waller sold one half of No. 5, and Daniel Havens sold No. 2 at the left. Elkanah Stevens had No. 26 at the left. Cotton Evans owned No. 35 in the "southeast corner," and sold it in 1812. Godfrey Richardson had one half of No. 7, and sold it in 1816, and the same year Ebenezer Dewey sold Stafford Smith one half of No. 38. Salmon Joiner, in 1824, sold one half of No. 25, lower, "south of the broad aisle." When Jedediah Pierce sold No. 40 in 1826, he stated that he had occupied it for years. Samuel Clapp the same year sold one-half of No. 37, saying it joined Staf- ford Smith and John Hutchinson, "on the alley from the S. W. porch to the broad aisle." In 1815 Amasa Dutton sold one half of No. 31, lower. Partridge and Lincoln had one half of No. 20 in the gallery, "the north pew in the body adjoining the alley from the north porch into the front seat." In 1829 Moses Cut- ter sold No. 26, joining a pew owned and occupied by Jacob Collamer.

This meeting-house satisfied the needs of the people until 1837. On the first of February of that year a committee was appointed by the church "to take into consideration the ex- pediency of building a new Meetinghouse or repairing the old." This committee reported Mar. 1st that it was not expedient to remove or repair the building. About two years later they de-

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cided to build a new church, and sold the old building to the town for $125. No record of this action is found on the church books.

In October and November of that year nine orders were drawn by the selectmen for removal of the town house, amount- ing in all to two hundred dollars. There appears to have been considerable gratuitous service rendered in the removal of the old church to the other side of the common. George Harvey recalls that as a boy of eleven he went with his father and a yoke of oxen to aid in this undertaking. The hill between the church and the old academy was steeper then than it is now, and it had first to be leveled down. The evidence of this rather steep incline still remains in front of the Denison house. The poor old church was first shorn of its glory, the gilded dome and ball, the cupola itself being removed before it started on its migra- tion. The long string of oxen was brought up and hitched to the undergirding, the boys' halloos drowning the men's calls to the patient beasts, the decrepit old structure trembled a mo- ment loath to leave, almost preferring to drop then and there, but life was dear, and after a moment of hesitancy it resignedly started on its travel eastward. Little by little it was prodded on, until finally it stood on the northeast corner of the common near the old academy. A "sorry spectacle" indeed, crowded into a small space, out of harmony with its surroundings. It had not long to mourn over departed days, for in the spring of 1840 a stray spark from the near-by forge of Bela Hall lighted upon its dry covering, and with a glad cry of release, the worn- out, mourning edifice yielded up its life to the ravaging flames. One correspondent writes, "This fire was incidentally the cause of the death of Eleanor Skinner, who joined the young people at that fire in a line to the river to help pass buckets of water. She took a cold from which she never recovered. She was mar- ried to George Rix April 28, 1840, went immediately to the South, and died there June 16, 1841."

The building of the new church went on, and it is recorded under date of Mar. 18, 1840, "New Meeting House was this day dedicated to the Father, Son, and Holy Ghost." The first change of any importance in this building was the moving of the singers' seats from the gallery, which was on the end next to the street, to the main floor near the pulpit. This was in 1869. Minor repairs were made from time to time, but in 1906 the inside of the church was thoroughly renovated, and the steeple repaired, the whole costing about $1212. It was re- dedicated in 1907.

Provision for building sheds was made Mar. 14, 1797 in town meeting, when it was "Voted to choose a committee of

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three to direct the mode of Building sheds by the meeting house & direct the places where each Person that has a desire to build a shed shall build." This seems to imply that each was to build his own shed. In 1802, a committee of three was chosen to "fix on a place for horse sheds." If these sheds are the ones standing today, they are over a century old, and they certainly looked decrepit enough for that age, until very recently. Dilapidated, dry as tinder, for years they have been a blot upon the fair appearance of the church lot, and a menace to the build- ing itself, having caught fire now and then from sparks flying from the railway engines. In 1910 a new metal roof was placed on the sheds, to the great satisfaction of all concerned.

FIRST CONGREGATIONAL CHURCH, ROYALTON.

TOWN CLERK'S OFFICE, ROYALTON.

RAILROAD BRIDGE, ROYALTON.

RAILROAD DEPOT, ROYALTON.

CHAPTER XVII.

ROADS.

The Indians, who had been in the habit of following the First Branch to White river, and then passing down the river to the Connecticut, must have made some sort of a trail, before white men reached the wild region now known as Royalton. If, as is asserted by some, they had a summer camp at North Royal- ton, and then went on up the Second Branch in their migrations to Canada, there would naturally be a trail along these streams. The white settler would at first avoid these trails for his high- way, on account of greater exposure to the foe, so we may sup- pose that all the roads of the first settlers were made through unbroken forests. There was no machine for pulling stumps, and there were too many of these headless trunks to make it an easy matter to get rid of them by burning. Possibly they were split or sawed close to the ground in some cases.

Whatever the method of making highways, concerted effort would be needed. Roads were a necessity, and some one must be responsible for their making and maintenance. The first recorded action of this nature is found under date of Mar. 23, 1779, when Nathan Morgan, Joseph Havens, Esquire Morgan, probably Isaac, and Benjamin Parkhurst were chosen surveyors. Mr. Parkhurst was at North Royalton, Nathan Morgan down the river on the Barnard side toward Sharon, Mr. Havens at the Phineas Pierce place as later known, and Isaac Morgan at the Mills. There was, then, a road up the First Branch to Tun- bridge, one from Sharon on the south or west side of the river as far as the fordway at the "Handy lot," doubtless, and one on the Tunbridge side from Sharon to the Second Branch, at least. John Hibbard was living in town then toward Bethel, but may have had only a bridle-path to the main road. Bethel was as yet a wilderness, a prospective town with a covetous eye on the western part of Royalton.

At the next March meeting the same number of surveyors was chosen, showing that settlements did not yet require new roads. Lieut. Durkee, Daniel Havens, and Lieut. Parkhurst were the surveyors that year. In September, 1781, they voted that each man should work four days on the highways, and

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elected five surveyors, John Billings, living not far from John Hibbard, looking after the road in their direction. Bethel was now chartered, and settlers were coming in, which necessitated the extension of roads leading to that town.

At a meeting of the selectmen June 25, 1782, they divided the town into eight highway districts; first, from the (river ?) to the Second Branch; second, from the Second Branch to the First Branch; third, from Sharon line to the fordway at the "hendy lot," probably just north of Stevens bridge; fourth, from Sharon on the north side of the river to the First Branch; fifth, from White river up the First Branch to Tunbridge line; sixth, from Bethel line on the south side of the river to Lieut. Durkee's fordway; seventh, from Bethel line down the Second Branch to Esquire Sever's; eighth, from Barnard line to Lieut. Durkee's fordway. By means of the map these divisions can easily be traced. Esquire Sever was in II Town Plot, and Lieut. Durkee in the southeastern part of 53 Town Plot. As nearly as can be judged, Benjamin Parkhurst was surveyor for the first dis- trict, Lieut. Durkee for the second, Joseph Parkhurst for the third, Josiah Wheeler for the fourth, Huckens Storrs for the fifth, Samuel Clapp for the sixth, Godfrey Richardson for the seventh, and Lieut. Wilber for the eighth. Benjamin Wilber and Aaron were in town about this time. Benjamin owned no land then, as the records show. He was an ensign in 1780 in Capt. Benjamin Cox's Company of Barnard. This company followed the Indians to Brookfield Oct. 16, 1780. Aaron in 1783 bought M. 25 Large Allotment.

In 1783 the selectmen were instructed to raise a tax for re- pairing roads as they should judge best. The width of the roads was decided upon at a January meeting of the next year, when they voted that they should be two rods wide. They changed this to three rods in the March meeting following. At a proprietors' meeting held Aug. 19, 1783, it was voted that each proprietor should give five acres out of every hundred for pub- lic highways. The first recorded survey of highways took place May 24, 1783. No survey of the road to Tunbridge is found. As the pages of records are loose, badly torn and worn, it may be that some of the surveys have been lost. It is not thought best to give them in full, for lack of space and of inter- est to the general reader.

The survey of the river road on the north side began on the Bethel line. The number specifying the distance of the starting point from the river is torn off. The first mile ended with John Hibbard's house, the second mile tree was near the tan yard at North Royalton, 200 rods from the bridge over the Sec- ond Branch, the third mile ended with Heman Durkee's house,

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the fourth mile with "Sargents' house," the fifth at the bridge place, the sixth at the old fort fordway, the seventh at Nathaniel Morse's house, and the eighth on Sharon line about forty rods from the river.

On the south side of the river the survey began where the Sharon line crosses the stream, and the first mile ended south of Lieut. Benton's; the second one was in Joseph Parkhurst's field, then the road extended 208 rods to the river, and across to the third mile tree at the fordway on the Brewster lot. This makes the river road on the south side end with this fordway.

The third survey began up the Second Branch on Bethel line at the northwest corner of the Hutchins lot, and crossed the branch one mile and twenty-three rods from the Bethel line. It then followed the branch on the west side, joining the river road at Esquire Sever's, two miles and thirty-six rods from where it crossed the stream. This is the original Second Branch road.

The fourth survey began on Bethel line at Daniel Tullar's lot, and extended through lots 38 and 34 Large Allotment, winding down a valley to the river at the "head of Dr. Allen's island." This road terminated at the old fordway near John Marshall's in later days.

In 1785 it was decided to make an alteration in the road between the mouth of the Second Branch and Bethel line, and a committee was appointed to see if it was advisable to alter the road from Storrs' mills up the First Branch. This com- mittee reported Aug. 24th in favor of changing from the west to the east side of the First Branch, which report was accepted. The survey was to go through the land of Mr. Storrs and Mr. Curtis. At this time there was a road extending from the First Branch to Brookfield.

The following year at the March meeting it was voted to extend the district for roads up the river on the south side as far as Capt. Clapp's lot, and they chose eleven surveyors, increased to thirteen in 1787. In 1787 Calvin Parkhurst was given leave to hang a gate for the summer "at the croch of Road at His House & leading to the White river." Mr. Parkhurst had bought the west 100 acres in 10 L. A., and this may refer to the "croch" at the old fort fordway, or, if he were living on 16 L. A., it might refer to the bend at the Handy fordway, which is the more probable, as there would be less travel on the south side of the river.

In June, 1787 a road was laid out from Jesse Dunham's in Barnard line to Bethel line, probably the road seen on the 1869 map, passing by H. Dunham's and J. Robinson's in the southwestern part of the town. Before Nov. 14th of that year

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a road had been laid from the house of John Hibbard to that of his son John, Jr., as on that date it was decided to which dis- trict this road should belong. This year they voted to lay out a sum not to exceed £10 on the roads, said sum to be taken from the penny tax granted by the Assembly at Bennington. Before 1788 a road was laid out leading by Silas Williams' to Barnard.

In 1792 the selectmen were thus instructed: "to proceed immediately and authenticate such roads in town as they think proper where they find they are not laid out according to Law," and it was voted that the selectmen lay out the river roads four rods wide, if there was sufficient land in the lots. The next year twenty surveyors were chosen.

In accordance with the foregoing vote, a survey of the river road on the south side was made. No special difference between this and the survey of 1783 is observed. It ran past Gen. Stevens' house to "Pierce's" barn, by Daniel Rix's to the bank of the river by the "Great Bridge." The river road on the north side was also surveyed. It began on Bethel line 100 rods north of the river, onward to the bank of the river, about twenty rods above the fordway to Mr. Pinney's, then to within ten rods of the Second Branch bridge, on past Isaac Morgan's, Nathaniel Morse's, Jeremiah Trescott's, to Sharon line. These river roads were now laid out four rods wide.

A road was laid out from Squire Cleveland's to Nathaniel Perrin's, a distance for nearly two miles, April 16, 1793, and the next day another was laid out from Bethel line, beginning twen- ty rods from Thomas Anderson's (30 T. P.) onward to the river, the east side of the Second Branch bridge by Benjamin Park- hurst's. This was over three miles in length.

The first recorded survey of the road to Tunbridge is dated May 25, 1793. It began about three rods north from the lower side of the south end of the bridge at the mouth of the First Branch, running thirty-three rods to about two rods south of the southerly corner of Capt. "Gilbert's red house," then 156 rods to where the road turns down to the grist mill ("Here a road turns down to the Grist mill running from ye last station N 11 W 9 rods to the southwest corner of ye Grist mill"), then 317 rods to the bank of the branch, on the bank of the branch fifty-four rods, diverging from the branch for ninety-six rods, then on the branch 18 rods, then sixty-nine rods to Tunbridge line, the road to be three rods wide. On the same day a new road was laid from "Gilbert's red house nigh ye mouth of the first branch of white river toward Nat. Morses &c-Beginning two rods from the red house at ye root of a pine stump which is ye corner of a road going up ye branch to Tunbridge-thence S 34 E 34 rods thence S 52 E 26 rods into the old road."

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In July of this year a road was laid out, which began the west side of the road from Lieut. Benton's to Nathaniel Pierce's, south of Jonathan Benton's corner, then 150 rods to Samuel Curtis', thence 283 rods to Experience Trescott's, then 158 rods to a road on the south side, then 92 rods to a road on the north side, then 154 rods to a road by Ebenezer Parkhurst's, then 98 rods to the south bank of White river. This was a hill road which ran by the houses on the hill in the rear of the Oliver Curtis and George Cowdery houses, and on to the Salmon Joiner hill farm, and by the Harvey houses, considerably dif- ferent from the present course of the road, and probably reached the bank of the river at a fordway in the village. The present road from South Royalton to Broad Brook runs over a part of this survey, and traces of the unused portion can still be seen.

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History of Royalton, Vermont, with family genealogies, 1769-1911, Part 28

Author: Lovejoy, Mary Evelyn Wood, 1847- Publication date: 1911 Publisher: Burlington, Vt., Free press printing company Number of Pages: 1280

Author: Lovejoy, Mary Evelyn Wood, 1847-
Publication date: 1911
Publisher: Burlington, Vt., Free press printing company
Number of Pages: 1280