USA > Vermont > Caledonia County > Ryegate > History of Ryegate, Vermont, from its settlement by the Scotch-American company of farmers to present time; > Part 12
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94
HISTORY OF RYEGATE, VERMONT.
Newbury, Aug. 11, 1789,
This day agreed with John Petty of Ryegate to let him six Ewe sheep to be returned in three years from this date, and to receive from him one pound of well washed wool per year for each sheep, and one third part of their increase, also three wether sheep for which the said Petty is to give one pound and one quarter of wool each per year.
The food of the first settlers was plentiful, although till they had cleared land and raised grain they had to depend upon supplies from Newbury, where corn and wheat were plenty. The meat of domestic cattle was seldom tasted in Ryegate in the first years, as all the cattle were young, and were kept for their work or their increase. But game was plentiful in the woods, and fish abounded in the brooks and ponds.
Mary, daughter of Col. Timothy Bedel of Haverhill, who first settled in Bath, and lived there till about 1774, stated in some reminiscences written in her old age, that when they lived in Bath, about two miles below the present site of Lisbon village, they could, at any time, catch all the salmon they wanted out of the Ammonoosuc.
The first dwellings were built of logs, and there were log houses still occupied as late as 1865. A log house could be put together with scarcely any use of metal, and where iron was so hard to be had, and money so scarce, it was necessary to get along with as few nails as possible. The floors were made of split pieces, or logs hewed on one side, and worn smooth by constant use. The door hinges were of wood, and the latches also. A string, or strip of leather, attached to the latch, passed through a hole above it, by pulling which the latch was lifted from the outside. The door was made fast by the simple process of pull- ing in the string. Hence arose the saying, as an emblem of hospitality- "his latch-string was always out !"
A log house is frequently alluded to in these days as a comfortless sort of habititation, but there were old people fifty years ago who were wont to say, in their prosperous after life, that they were never so happy as when they "lived in the old log house."
Everything made of metal was costly, as iron had to be brought from a distance, and all articles made from it were wrought by hand. The Company's book shows that in 1774, 1 M. of 20ª nails cost £2.1.71/4, and 1 M. of 10d nails £1.8. Nails were then made by hand, and for many years afterwards.
The solicitude felt by the people at the old home in Scotland for the Ryegate colonists is best illustrated by the following extract from a letter by William Houston to Mr. Whitelaw dated at Renfrew, May 4, 1783. *
* Whitelaw papers.
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THE EARLY DAYS.
In the first place you and us have been for a long time in a state of Annihilation to one another, through the means of a long and unprofita- ble war. But thank Godfor it, it is over now, and Peace, that Blessing to mankind, is again restored. However, by our long war the country has suffered much, for through its means we have got an amazing increase of debt, and consequently of taxes, all which is attended with a decrease of trade, for except the silk trade in Paisley, almost every business is at much of a stand-still.
We earnestly wish you may find opportunity of letting us know how matters are going with you-if the lands of Ryegate are answering your expectations in any tolerable degree,-if the people are healthy, and what deaths have happened among our acquaintances-if you were molested or suffered much by the war. And chiefly if a report be true that we have amongst us, viz .: that Vermont, in which it is said Ryegate is included, is declared by Congress to be a free and independent state. and it is also told that you are an Assemblyman of that Sovereignty ?
We will be glad to know if your new code of laws be yet settled, and if it be on equitable and liberal principles, such as tend to the security and satisfaction of the people. If people from this country will be acceptable among the American states. If lands about you are rising in value as we think presumable now that America has become independent they will rise. If you sow any Barley yet, and if there be any malting or distil- ling done, or prospect that a demand for it may take place.
We hope that in a short time you will have more settlers in Ryegate for this end to the war has been long wished for by the common people here, who have been long confined, and greatly against the oppressive Meas- ures which have been carried on, against their interest in almost every respect, and they have added to all our other calamities that of dear Markets, the last season being very backward, and provisions of all sorts exceedingly high. Lands are not much fallen in rents here yet, but if some stop be not put to emigration, farms may not again be so scarce, so many begin to think of selling off, and half the people here would go to America had they the money to go with.
Now, sir, your sending an answer to these above questions, and any other things that you may inform us of will much rejoice me and you may believe it true that it was only the want of opportunity that held us back from writing, for we understand that few of our letters have reached you, and they all had to be sent by way of Holland.
Are masons in demand among you ? brick-makers ? carpenters ? tan- ners? We have such who can go, with a little help. Give our compli- ments to all our friends. Tell James Neilson that his mother is dead 24 months ago, that his father is yet alive, and his brother Archibald is mar- ried, and has got a new tack of his farm. My oldest son hath bred him- self to the stocking trade. Do you think that a stocking frame would be a business of any consequence with you ? Please deliver the enclosed to Colonel Jacob Bayley.
WILLIAM HOUSTON.
Mr. Whitelaw writing home to Scotland under date of Oct. 16, in the same year gives a fair account of the condition of the colony in the tenth year of its settlement :
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HISTORY OF RYEGATE, VERMONT.
As I understand there are numbers of the Company and others of the mind to come here if the advices from us are favorable, I will give you a short account of the country from the experience I have had of it, and first as to the face of the country. It is in some places pretty level, in others hilly and uneven, but even in the most uneven places the soil is generally fertile, and fit for producing all the kinds of grain you have in Scotland. The prices of grain are about the same as when Mr. Allan was here, viz .: wheat about one dollar a bush., corn 1/2, and oats 1/3. Flax we can raise in great plenty, and it sells at 6d sterling a pound, butter and pork at the same price; cheese 4d the pound, beef about 2d, and we always have a good market for all the above we can raise in a year with- out carrying it over the barn door, and though we seldom have our pay in money, we can have something of the same value which answers the same end. I think it is much better living here than in Scotland; the peo- ple here are all in pretty good circumstances; there has none less than 15 acres cleared and some have 50; the lowest can raise enough to make a comfortable living, and the rest in proportion. The country is very healthful, and agreeable to British constitutions, there having been scarcely any sickness in the town since it was settled; only 3 of the peo- ple who came here from Scotland and only 4 children have died and all are at present in good health. The Constitution and laws of the State of Vermont are generally allowed to be the best on the Continent; taxes are very light, while in the other states they are very high.
The years which succeeded the revolutionary war, while they witness- ed great improvement in Ryegate, were yet times of trial, in forms of which we know nothing in these days. The continental currency, which began to be issued early in the war depreciated rapidly in value. The Spanish milled dollar was the chief coin in circulation and the deeds for many parcels of land in Ryegate and Barnet specify the price in that coinage. The continental money had depreciated in value to such an extent, that the General Assembly sitting at Newbury in 1787, found it necessary to fix by law the value of paper money expressed in contracts made at different times after September, 1777, when the paper dollar began to fall below the milled silver dollar. On the 1st of January, 1780, the silver dollar was held to be equal to twenty paper dollars, and eight months later, the Spanish milled dollar was declared equal to 72 paper dollars. The currency, much of which was counterfeit, became so worthless that no one would take it, and disappeared from circulation.
Thus while Ryegate was rapidly gaining in those conditions which were afterward to make the town prosperous, the years which followed the war were rather hard. There was very little money in circulation. There were no banks in the country till several years after the war; so there were no bank notes, and the United States did not begin the coinage of gold and silver till 1792, consequently all the money in circulation was of foreign countries, and in a sum of money of no very large amount there would be coins of five or six nationalities. There
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THE EARLY DAYS.
were many counterfeits, and the Coos County had notoriety as a residence of a counterfeiting gang. One Glazier Wheeler, of Newbury and Haverhill, a man of wonderful ingenuity, who had been engaged in various unlawful transactions, became the tool of men who obliged him to make Spanish dollars and "Half Joes," which contained only one- fourth as much gold or silver as the geniune. With him was associated the notorious Stephen Burroughs. Wheeler was caught in the act of making dies, and imprisoned on Castle Island in Boston Harbor, while the men who profited by him, escaped all punishment.
The scarcity of money in the country, and various conditions which caused people to think that the wealth of the country was being concentrated into the hands of a few, led to great troubles and there were those who hoped to thrive upon the distress of the country. Among the Johnson papers at Newbury is one which recalls a peculiar episode in Ryegate history.
Mr. Whitelaw wrote Col. Johnson asking confidentially, concerning one Henry Tufts, who had been ingratiating himself in the place, and of whom Mr. Whitelaw evidently had his doubts. This was the same man who, many years later, published an autobiography entitled, "The Life, Public Service, and Sufferings of Henry Tufts." Col. T. W. Higgin_ son has given him some fame as the type of "A New England Vagabond," and who appears to have been as many kinds of a rascal as one man could well be. He came to this part of the country several times, claiming to be, or to have been, a clergyman, and preached more than once, and at another time he stole a horse. He could do both equally well. His real object was to profit by stirring up strife, but without success here, as he found none to follow him, and had to sit in the Newbury stocks for a day, as punishment for violent speech.
In the absence of a stable currency, the standard of value for many years, before and after 1800, was a bushel of wheat, the staple product of the farms, for which there was a steady demand and a more nearly average value, one year into another, than anything else. Taxes were paid in wheat, the minister's salary and the school master's wages were computed in it, and notes are extant to be paid in wheat, which some- times amounted to hundreds of bushels. It is impossible to state, or even to estimate, the amount of wheat raised in Ryegate, but it amounted to many thousands of bushels. On some of the large farms hundreds of bushels were raised annually. When we consider that all the work was done by hand, the seed covered as best it could be among the stumps and logs of newly cleared land, the grain reaped with a sickle, threshed and cleaned by hand, we can comprehend what the work was. Women were, generally, better reapers than men, and sometimes labored in harvest from early dawn till the stars appeared at night.
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HISTORY OF RYEGATE, VERMONT.
Salem was the great market for export wheat, which was, usually, taken to market in winter. Some farmers made the trip several times in the season, and a number of teams would go at the same time. The route was along the old turnpike from Haverhill Corner to the Merri- mack valley. When Robert Brock, an experienced miller, bought the mills at Boltonville, he introduced improved machinery, which produced a superior brand of flour, much of which was exported. In 1792, he ground, and sent to Glasgow, a large quantity of very fine flour. Oat- meal was unknown in this part of New England, until its manufacture was introduced by the settlers of Ryegate and Barnet. In the "famine years" of 1815-17, people blessed the Scotch "for they invented oat- meal!"
There were no banks in Vermont, prior to 1817, as the majority of the people were opposed to their establishment, and the issue of paper money. In New Hampshire another policy prevailed, and the Coös bank, the earliest in this part of New England, was organized in 1803 at Haverhill, then the most important place in the north country.
Since the establishment of the national banking system the country has had the advantage of a stable currency. The holder of a five dollar bill knows that bill to be worth just five dollars, neither more nor less, anywhere in the country, and does not trouble himself to notice the name of the issuing bank. But our fathers had not this security, and on tak- ing money, were careful to ascertain the value of each bank note. Bills of certain banks whose resources were beyond question, were at a pre- mium. Others were at a slight discount, and many were of uncertain value. There were also many counterfeits, something almost never seen at the present time.
Every merchant subscribed for a "Bank Note Detector," a publica- tion issued at stated intervals, in which each issue of every bank in the country was described, and its counterfeits were minutely indicated. The uncertainty about the value of bank money made it necessary, when one man sent money to another to send a minute of the bills, retaining a copy. In the Whitelaw papers in Ryegate, and the Johnson papers at Newbury, the largest collections of early business transactions in this vicinity are many papers like the following :
List of Bills paid by Jona. Gates to John Holden for James Manderson.
Vermont-Burlington ditto ditto No. 1574, July 4, 1808, One Dollar
No. 1853, July 4, 1808, One Dollar
Hillsboro
No. 766, May 2, 1807, Ten Dollars
Northampton Berkshire
No. 2661. Sept. 9, 1806, Five Dollars
Springfield
No. 1665, June 4, 1806, Five Dollars
Coos, No. 756, Oct. 4, 1805, Five Dollars
Massachusetts No. 10350, July 3, 1804, Ten Dollars
Hallowell and Augusta No. 2902, Sept. 2, 1805, Five Dollars
I hereby promise that if any of the above mentioned bills prove to be bad and are returned, to take them back, and pay other current bills in lieu of them.
JONATHAN GATES.
Berkshire
No. 584, Sept. 7, 1806, Ten Dollars (defaced ) June 4, 1806, Five Dollars
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THE EARLY DAYS.
An institution of some importance in the early days, when fences were weak and cattle ran at large, was the place of detention for unruly and wandering beasts known as the town pound, and the keeper thereof, who was sometimes also "hog constable," was an officer of considerable responsibility. In 1796 it was voted to let the town remain in one pound district, and to erect a pound on the school lot near the road that goes to Hugh Gardners', John Gray, James Whitelaw and Josiah Page to superintend its erection, and have it completed by May 1, 1797. By 1817, this structure seems to have fallen into decay, as the town voted to build a pound of stone, the site to be chosen by the selectmen. These officials close the " old ground," on which to erect the new structure, "to be built 33 feet square within, 51/2 feet high, with a triangular log on top one foot thick, and 14 inches high, to taper to a sharp point, the walls to be 4 feet thick on the bottom, gradually tapering to 11/2 ft., to have two wooden posts, with a strong door three feet wide, to be complete to the acceptance of the selectmen by July next." Its construction was bid off by Kimball Page for $29.50. In 1829 the town voted "Not to move the pound." Looking at it one would think they were wise not to try. It has long passed into disuse.
"Tything men" were among the officials chosen by the town for many years-from one to six or seven, and were a sort of local police and were intrusted with many duties which now fall to other offices. One of these was to preserve order in public gatherings, especially at public worship on the Sabbath, and to arrest and detain travelers upon that day.
The memories of aged people a half century ago returned with pleasure to the early and primitive days, which seemed more real to them than the scenes of their later years. If all the tales and traditions which then lingered among the hills of Ryegate and Barnet had been gathered, they would form a volume, which in humor, pathos and appeal to the deepest emotions of the heart would be hard to surpass. Most of them passed with the forms that uttered them. A few, only, are rescued from oblivion.
A tale related very circumstantially by Mr. Mason is concerning a young daughter of John McCallum, an early settler on the Harvey tract in Barnet, whose name is on the call extended in 1789 to Rev. David Goodwillie. The child, who was a general favorite, and remarkable for her lovable disposition, was sent by her father on horseback, to the liome of John McNab, in the east part of the town, a distance of several miles, her journey lying mainly through the woods. On arriving at her desti- nation she related that in passing through the forest, at a spot which she described with great minuteness, her progress was arrested by strange and beautiful music, which seemed to come from every direction
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HISTORY OF RYEGATE, VERMONT.
above and around her, filling the air. She remained fixed to the spot till the music died away. In the afternoon she set out on her return but not appearing at nightfall, her father and neighbors went in search of her, and found her lying dead at the spot which she had so minutely described. No marks or bruises were found on her body, or anything to indicate the cause of her death. In the old church yard at Barnet Centre her grave is thus marked :
Elizabeth, dau. John and Ellen McCallum Died July 28, 1812, aged 14 years.
An anecdote related about forty years ago, to the editor of this work by an aged man who had known in his younger days the early settlers of Ryegate and Barnet, was to the effect that an old man, in one town or the other, had been reaping wheat with his sons, in a field at some distance from home. They had finished their reaping before night, and the sons went home, leaving their father to bind up some sheaves. He had not returned home at night fall, and one of the sons went to look for him, and found that he had left the field, put up the bars, and was partly leaning over them, dead, with his face turned toward the field. At his funeral Mr. Goodwillie preached from the text-" And behold there came an old man from his work, out of the field at even." Inquiry among the older people in both towns fails to find any one who could recall hearing of this circumstance. But as it may have occurred a century or more ago, it has long passed from the minds of men.
CHAPTER XII.
ECCLESIASTICAL HISTORY.
RETROSPECT .- PRESBYTERIANISM .- THE CHURCH OF SCOTLAND .- THE STUARTS. -THE RESTORATION .- RISE OF THE COVENANTERS .- ORIGIN OF "TOKENS."- THE PERSECUTION .- ANECDOTE .- REV. JAMES RENWICK .- THE REVOLUTION OF 1688 .- PATRONAGE .- THE ASSOCIATE SYNOD .- BURGHERS, AND ANTI-BURGH_ ERS .- THE RELIEF CHURCH -THE UNITED PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH .- REV. PETER POWERS .- ACTION OF THE TOWN .- THE OLD MEETING HOUSE .- EARLY MINISTERS .- REV. WM. FORSYTHE .- REV. WILLIAM GIBSON.
T HAT which more than anything else distinguishes Ryegate from all other towns in Vermont, or indeed in all New England, has been its adherence to the Presbyterian form of faith and practice. Although there are, and have ever been divisions in minor matters, yet the religious system brought from Scotland has been completely ingrained into the very life of the people, and after all the changes of the years, it is still the strongest influence in its life, and no other denomination has ever obtained an organization here. But our inquiries into the religious history of the town reveal the interesting historical circumstance that certain divisions originating in far-off Scotland have been perpetuated here in Ryegate. This subject is well worthy of our careful study, and the religious history of the town cannot be understood without some knowledge of the conditions which caused these divisions in Scotland and in America.
Many who will read these pages are not familiar with the Presby- terian form of church government, and a little explanation is necessary. In each local congregation the government is vested in the minister and elders, the latter being set apart for their office by ordination. The min- ister and elders constitute the "Session," which is not only an integral, but a very important part of the polity of the church. It was intended to be a check and bar to the rise of priestly assumption in the reformed Scottish church. The session, which meets at stated times, controls the affairs of the church; hears and determines cases of discipline. One of the members who records the proceedings of each meeting, is called the session clerk. Appeal from the decision of the session is to the Presby- tery, which consists of all the ministers and elders within a certain terri- tory. A still higher court of appeal is the Synod, which is constituted of the minister and one elder from each session. The synod has many
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HISTORY OF RYEGATE, VERMONT.
responsibilities in the general oversight of the churches, and may review, confirm or reverse the decision of the presbyteries. The General Assem- bly, which is the highest court of appeal, is constituted from the synods, and its decision is final. In the Presbyterian church all the ministers are of equal rank; the moderator of the General Assembly, the great tri- bunal of the church, is merely a presiding officer, and has authority only during its session. It will then be seen that eminence in the church is attained only by virtue of talent and piety.
The Church of Scotland had its origin with the reformation, about 1527, and fifty years later, the Presbyterian polity was introduced into the country by Andrew Melville, who had studied the workings of the system at Geneva. Its introduction, and the teachings of John Knox, were opposed by the King and the priesthood, but many of the nobility embraced the cause of the people. But the Stuart kings hated the Pres- byterian church because it was in its very nature independent of the crown and they aimed to make the Episcopal church the church of Scot- land, and compel obedience to their demands. They desired to establish in Scotland the same form of church government as had been established in England, in which the king is the head of the church, and under him in their order are the descending grades of the clergy, from arch-bishops down through a host of minor officials to the laity. Thus to the king, whatever his character or fitness may be, all the clergy and laity are bound in obedience.
But the system introduced into Scotland by John Knox and his fol- lowers held the very opposite view. They proclaimed an equality of the clergy; that Christ, and not the king or the Pope of Rome was the supreme head of the church, and that the Holy Scriptures, and not the decrees of bishops and councils, are the only rule of faith and practice.
Notwithstanding the opposition of the king and his adherents, the Presbyterians increased in numbers and influence, attaining such strength that it was not safe to attack them openly. James VI of Scotland who afterwards became king of England, was intent upon the restoration . of Episcopacy in the former country, and was able to enforce the passage of laws which made the Episcopal church, the only church recognized by law in Scotland. His son, Charles I, went still further, and attempted to force the liturgy of the Church of England upon the Presbyterians of Scotland, and established a set of canons which abolished the control which kirk sessions and presbyteries had held in ecclesiastical affairs.
These measures were resisted by the multitude, and those who were opposed to them entered into a combination known as the "Solemn League and Covenant," which was generally signed throughout Scot- land, and which bound its supporters to resist all measures tending toward the establishment of prelacy. They lent their aid to the meas-
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