USA > Vermont > Caledonia County > Ryegate > History of Ryegate, Vermont, from its settlement by the Scotch-American company of farmers to present time; > Part 25
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Much has been written about these famine years, but no adequate explanation of their cause can be found. There has been no recurrence of such a period. It must not seem strange that some became discouraged,
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and, selling what they had in Ryegate, sought a more genial clime. Some of these prospered, others made their way back, poorer than they went.
On May 15th, 1834, came the great snow storm, from which old peo- ple dated the events of years before and after. The season was an early one, plum and apple trees were in full bloom, and much corn had been planted. Trees were in full leaf. On the 13th in the afternoon, it sud- denly began to grow cold, the next day was cold and about daylight on the 15th it began to snow, and continued till ten o'clock, gathering at the rate of an inch in each ten minutes for two hours. Hon. John Bailey says that on Jefferson Hill in Newbury three feet fell, and there could hardly have been less on the Ryegate hills. Mr. Mason mentions a num- ber of instances where people who went out to get horses, cattle and sheep from the hills became bewildered in the storm, and were rescued with difficulty. The next day was so cold that water froze in the houses, and it was not till the 17th that bare ground appeared. We should naturally suppose that all the apple and plum blossoms would have been killed, yet all the old people said that 1834 was a great fruit year. How little we understand the laws of vegetation ?
Mr. Whitelaw, writing to Scotland on the 25th of June, 1780, made no mention of the "Dark Day," which was on the 19th, by which we may suppose that the phenomenon was not so remarkable in this part of the country as to cause him to write about it. We could wish he had observed, and given us some account of it in his precise and graphic man. ner, as it was observed and commented on in Newbury and Haverhill. The darkness was here supposed to be caused by smokes from clearing land, and it was not very dark at any time. Mr. Mason only says that people could not see to read in the houses without candles. In this local- ity the morning was fair with a light shower, and the day was very still. About ten o'clock it began to grow dark, and remained dark till evening.
In southern New England at noon it was too dark to see to read in the open air, and at four o'clock it was as dark as it usually is at mid- night when there is no moon. Birds went to their nests, and some species flew into the houses, as if seeking human protection, while cattle came home from the pastures, uttering strange cries of distress. People thought that the end of the world had come, and in places where there were churches, people gathered in them and held services. It was the night of the full moon, but it was intensely dark, while all lights burned with great brilliancy. With sun rise the darkness passed away.
Scientific men have differed as to the cause of this strange occurrence. It has been thought that some meteor, or other wanderer through space came between the earth and the sun. The darkness was not observed
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west of the Hudson. In his poem of Abraham Davenport, the poet Whittier has embalmed in literature an incident of that day.
The "Yellow Day," of September 6, 1881, will not be forgotten by those who are old enough to remember it.
The metoric shower of Nov. 13, 1833, when thousands of meteors, some of them of dazzling brilliancy, fell in a few hours, was a wonderful occurrence and seen in all parts of the country.
Several buildings have been burned by lightning in this town, but it is believed that only one person has ever been killed by it. Elizabeth, daughter of Wm. McKindley, was killed by lightning Aug. 1, 1857, while raking hay. Some years ago a horse in the barn of Y. D. Nelson was killed by lightning, and a man who was caring for it was severely shocked, and injured by the horse falling upon him. Many years ago the barn of Wm. N. Gibson was struck and burned, after it was filled with hay and grain, a heavy loss. Thunder storms in winter are rare, but such have been. On the 18th of January, 1817, there was a thunder storm in the night which lasted two hours, and buildings were struck and burned in different parts of New England. While this chapter was being revised for the press, on the 2d of February, 1911, at 7.30 in the morning, with the mercury at 10°, there was brilliant lightning and heavy thunder, but no rain or snow. Buildings were struck in various places and a large barn was burned at Haverhill Corner.
We have mentioned in an early chapter that on the 14th of May, 1776, the inhabitants met to choose their military officers and chose James Henderson, Captain; Robert Brock, Lieutenant; and Barthole- mew Somers, Ensign. This was the beginning of the old militia service in Ryegate, which lasted more than seventy years. We have no further information regarding this company, which comprised all the able-bodied men between the ages of sixteen and fifty, but the men were probably drilled regularly during the revolutionary war.
Military service in the colonies was necessary on account of the fre- quent Indian wars, and especially along the frontiers which were posts of danger, where it was desirable that all the people should have some ac- quaintance with military tactics. Militia service in Scotland was also compulsory, so that our colonists were doing no more than had been their custom at home.
The Ryegate company eventually became a part of the Fourth Regi- ment of the militia. Among the Johnson papers in the library at New- bury, is a petition to Governor Chittenden, written about 1785, which bears the signatures of the officers in this vicinity and which gives a little of its history.
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It was organized in 1763, when there were scarcely any settlements in what is now Vermont, under the colony of New Hampshire, embrac- ing the settlements on both sides of the river. In 1766 the Grants came under the authority of the colony of New York, and the few settlers on the west side of the river became part of the New York militia. In 1777 Vermont declared its independence, and the militia came under the authority of the new state. In 1785 the regiment comprised the com- panies in all the towns north of Thetford, in which there were settlers enough to form a company. The names of the companies in this petition indicate the progress of settlements in 1785; Fairlee, Moortown alias Salem, [Bradford], Newbury, Ryegate, Barnet, Littleton [Waterford] Lunenburg, Guildhall, Peacham, Corinth and Vershire. The staff officers of the regiment were, Thomas Johnson, Colonel; Frye Bayley, Lieut .- Col .; John Taplin, Major; Thomas Smith, Quartermaster. The commis- sioned officers of the companies in this vicinity were, Newbury-Remem- brance Chamberlain, Capt., Joshua Bayley, Lieut., Moses Chamberlain, Ensign. Corinth-Abner Fowler, Capt., Mansfield Taplin, Lieut., Jona- than Lovewell, Ensign. Ryegate-John Gray, Capt., William Neilson, Lieut., Willoughby Goodwin, Ensign. Barnet-James Stuart, Capt., James Cross, Lieut., Moses Hall, Ensign. Peacham-Abiel Blanchard, Capt., John Skeels, Lieut., Jonathan Elkins, Ensign. The regiment was afterward commanded by Col. William Wallace of Newbury.
The old militia service was a great institution in its day, and had its political aspect also, and its social side. A captain in the militia was a great man in those days, and the title was a life estate, which he bore as long as he lived. All the able-bodied men, with few exceptions were enrolled and their only compensation for their time, travel and equip- ment, was exemption from poll tax. The state militia numbered about 25,000 from 1815 and was divided into four divisions, ten brigades, and thirty-five regiments, with from eight to twelve companies each. Most of the regiments had also a company of artillery, one of cavalry, one of light infantry, and sometimes more than one of each. "Each division was commanded by a major-general, with a division inspector, division quarter-master and two aids; each brigade by a brigadier general with a brigade inspector, quarter-master and one aid; each regiment by a colonel, lieutenant-colonel, and major with the customary staff, and each company by the captain, lieutenants and ensign, with the usual non- commissioned officers."
It will be seen that taking the state through there were a good many men bearing military titles-indeed in those days when you met a smart, enterprising stranger it would be the proper thing to address him as
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"Captain;" if he had a military air you made your obeisance to the "Colonel"; if he "surveyed the field with eagle eye," you bowed down before the "General !"
Each regiment had its band, and each company a drum corps. Every man must be enrolled in the militia, but those who had time and money to spare formed themselves into independent companies, which were uni- formed, and their equipments were of superior quality, while the regular companies were not uniformed, and were derisively styled "floodwood companies." The cavalry was spoken of as "The Troop," and its mem- bers as "troopers." These select companies usually bore some fine name like the "Lafayette Guards." They were very exclusive and as they drilled often, they were the crack companies, and held the places of honor at general muster. In the month of June the company met for "June training," and after haying came the "brigade muster," a great day indeed, when the entire brigade assembled for inspection, evolution and review by the governor and staff.
As a matter of curiosity we reproduce from the North Star of August 26, 1828, the regimental orders for the muster of that year :
STATE OF VERMONT Head Quarters. St. Johnsbury, Aug. 18, 1828. BRIGADE ORDERS.
The Field Officers and Regimental Staff, the commissioned, non-commissioned officers and music of the First Regiment in the Second Brigade in the Fourth Division of the Militia of this State, are hereby ordered to rendesvous with the men under their command, armed and equipped as the Law directs for Military exercise at Maj. J. Kelsey's Inn, in Danville, on Friday the 12th of September next at 9 o'clock, A. M. After the inspection of arms and standing and passing reviews, the following manœuvers will be executed: For an explanation of which the officers are directed to the discipline established by law.
1st Passage of Lines.
2d Charge forward 1st company.
3d Change front to rear on 1st company.
4th Change front on 5th company, the left being thrown forward.
5th Column of attack.
6th Column of attack from line to front.
7th Close column of companies and deploy them.
8th By grand division and deploy them.
9th The line will advance in direct echelons of companies from the right flank with a parallel distance of six paces between the echelons.
10th Columns form line, faced to the rear.
By order of,
STEPHEN HAWKINS, Brig. Gen.
By G. W. WARE, Aid-de-Camp.
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HISTORY OF RYEGATE, VERMONT.
Mr. Miller has preserved many particulars regarding the old militia some of which we can use :
"Capt. John Gray was one of the earliest militia captains, and if I remember rightly the name "Capt. John Gray, 1779," was on the flag formerly used in Ryegate. William Nelson was probably made a captain of militia at some time."
The captains of the old militia company as near as can be ascertained were: James Henderson, John Gray, John Nelson, James Nelson, John Miller, George Nelson, Abraham Page, Andrew Warden, Robert Symes, Moses White, John Bigelow, WV. M. Brock, Wm. G. Nelson, Wmn. P. Page, John J. Nelson, Thos. Nelson, John Buchanan, Amos Noyes, William Hall, and John Cameron. Some of these served several years. Alexander Harvey was captain in the cavalry.
At the brigade muster held at Sutton in 1825, the Ryegate company was one of the largest and best drilled. In the following year an inde- pendent company of light infantry was organized, with Robert Symes, captain. It was called the Grenadier Company, and Mr. Miller says :
"The Light Infantry Company dressed in uniform, with glazed high leather caps, blue coats with bullet shaped buttons and white panta- loons, and composed of the choicest soldiers of the town, made a fine appearance on parade. For the four or five last years of its existence they had 'Pioneers' in it, dressed to resemble Indians, who were each armed with a large horseman's pistol, and a tomahawk. They gener- ally marched in the front of the company, or on the wings, or next to the music, and often went scouting about. They began with about six pio- neers, and afterwards increased to ten or twelve. About 1837 the Gren- adiers were dissolved and the members had to return to the old flood- wood militia. Its captains were: 1826, Robert Symes; 1827-'28, John Cameron, Jun .; 1829-'30, William Hall; 1831-'32, John Bigelow; 1833- '34, William Page; 1835, Robert Gibson 3d; 1836, Robert Cochran." About forty-five men were enrolled in this crack company.
John Cameron, Jun., Josiah Page and perhaps one or two more, were colonels. But Ryegate was never conspicuous in the old militia, none of the higher officers ever living here. The reason was that the early and more prominent commands in the militia were held by men who had been officers in the revolutionary war. Ryegate was not settled by revolu- tionary soldiers, while in other towns, Peacham and Danville for exam- ple, most of the early settlers had seen military service, and the officers of the war becoming prominent in the militia, their sons succeeded them in the possession of military titles. The Covenanters also, while not evad- ing military service, would not take oaths, and were thus excluded from
-
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commands. But the records will show that when the country was in danger the men of this town did their part, but it was mainly in the rank and file, where hard work had to be done, rather than in conspicuous positions where they might have achieved fame.
Not many years after the Light Infantry was disbanded the militia system began to come into disfavor, and at last became unpopular. A new generation with new ideas and different views of life had come upon the stage, and cared less for the military display which had charmed the fathers. It had outlived its usefulness, and militia service was felt to be a burden both useless and harmful. Farmers and laboring men re- belled against being called away from their own affairs for several days in each year, and undergo long marches and absence from home, at their ownexpense, and apparently without any good coming from it. The tem- perance reform, beginning in the early '40's to make itself felt, attacked the musters and trainings as schools of vice of all kinds. These great assem- blages which drew all the inhabitants of a wide circuit together to wit- ness the manœuvers of the militia, and hear the music of the bands, had an irresistable fascination for all the rough elements within reach. It was the custom for the men to meet at the captain's house and fire a salute, when the captain appeared and treated the men, and the mere drop thus imbibed in the early morning required frequent repetition dur- ing the day. Boys and young men learned there their first lessons in intemperance, and wise parents regarded the June training and annual muster with well grounded apprehension. Liquor of all kinds was more than free, it was even pressed upon boys hardly in their teens. The evolu- tions of the troops were usually concluded with a sham fight, in which several melancholy accidents resulted from the careless use of firearms in the hands of drunken men; and the disorderly scenes which closed the day disgusted sensible people. Mr. Miller mentions several instances of this character and the session records of both Ryegate and Barnet indi- cate how the churches were affected by the evils which accompanied the occasions of military display.
Prudent people devised expedients for evading military service, and in the last years of the system many openly defied the law compelling attendance. Mr. Miller says that the last training held in this town was in 1844, when only about one-half of those liable to do duty were in evidence. In the following year, the captain had urgent business out of the state at the time of June training, the men were not summoned, and a year or two later, all the militia laws were repealed. So passed ignominiously away one of the great institutions of old days.
After the St. Albans raid in 1864, a regiment of militia, composed
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mainly of veterans, was organized for the defense of the northern fron- tier, and Wm. J. Henderson of Ryegate was appointed Major. This organization was not long needed. After the war a militia system was again organized, and eight regiments of 500 men in each were provided for, in which service was voluntary, but the men were equipped by the state, and paid for their time. A company was made up from Ryegate, Groton and Peacham, in which Albert M. Whitelaw was captain, and A. Park Renfrew, lieutenant. This company was soon disbanded, the law having been repealed.
So far as can be ascertained, although there have always been mem- bers of the Masonic fraternity in Ryegate, there has never been a lodge of Masons in this town. General Whitelaw was a Mason in Scotland and some others as well, but they were connected here with lodges in other towns. An attempt, however, to make Ryegate the scene of the earliest exemplification of Masonry in this state has been made known to us by the kindness of Dr. J. M. Currier. We will give and analyze the state- ment.
In an address delivered by Hon. Henry Clark at the dedication of Hiram Lodge at West Rutland, May 28, 1879, he stated that Rev. Dr. John Witherspoon, "President of the Scotch-American Land Company which settled the town of Ryegate," visited that place in May, 1774, and remained until July of that year. He professes to quote from a diary of Dr. Witherspoon's as follows, respecting this visit : "I have been on a "visit to my possessions in New Connecticut or New Hampshire Grants, "in the town of Ryegate, and there I convened my Masonic brethren in "informal Lodge and held a delightful re-union. There were present "brothers James Whitelaw, John Gray, Hugh Laughlin, Archibald Park, "William Gibson, James Nelson, John Cameron, Jonathan Coburn, and "my beloved brother in the ministry, Brother David Goodwillie." Mr. Clark says that "these were undoubtedly Scottish Masons as they were all emigrants from Scotland and this was probably the first assemblage of Masons, although not in organized form, held in this jurisdiction. It indicates at least their love of Masonry, whose mysteries they had re- ceived in their early home. In June, 1782 Dr. Witherspoon again visited this section of country and made the following memorandum in his diary : "June 24, 1782, my Masonic brethren assembled at the tavern, 'and without working tools or aprons, marched to the Presbyterian 'church, where I endeavored to portray the tenets of the Masonic order, 'as exemplified in the life of our great patron, St. John the Baptist. The ' Masons marched back to the tavern, where we all sat down todinner.'"
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This is a very interesting statement, which if true, is a most valuable contribution to the history of this town; if not true it is no history at all. This address was printed in pamphlet form, and this statement went the rounds of the press at the time. Let us look into this matter a little.
First. Dr. Witherspoon was never President of the Scotch-American Company, or even a member of it. He owned land which he sold to the Company.
Second. Mr. Whitelaw's letters to Scotland during the period named, make no mention of Dr. Witherspoon's visit, but speak of receiving let- ters from him. There were only a few settlers here in 1774 and they had just begun to clear land.
Third. Of the brethren whose names he gives as participators in these Masonic observances in 1774 :- Hugh Laughlin came here from Ire- land in 1799, Archibald Park was not born till 1780, William Gibson came here from Scotland in 1802, and Rev. William Gibson from Ireland in 1798. John Cameron came here in 1782, Rev. David Goodwillie did not leave Scotland till 1788, Jonathan Coburn was not born till a year later. It is a singular co-incidence, however, that these nine men men- tioned are the subjects of brief biographies in the article upon Ryegate in Miss Hemenway's Gazetteer of Vermont and the veracious narrator of this event seems to have assumed their presence upon an occasion which happened before the birth of two of them.
Fourth. In regard to Dr. Witherspoon's visit in 1782, there was no church building in Ryegate at that time, or within many miles of it except the one at Newbury.
Fifth. The officials of the Boston Public Library know nothing of any diary of Rev. Dr. Witherspoon.
Taking all these facts into consideration theentire statement appears a little doubtful. Of the position of Ryegate in the Anti-Masonic con- troversy, we shall have occasion to speak later.
CHAPTER XXII.
POLITICS AND LATER MATTERS.
EARLY POLITICAL HISTORY .- THE NORTH STAR .- ANTI-MASONRY .- THE CIVIL WAR.
R YEGATE has never been a center of state politics. A purely agri- cultural community containing no large village, inhabited by industrious farmers, with no families of wealth and leisure to form a political aristocracy, is no field for an aspiring politician. There- fore, although citizens of this town have occasionally held county offices, such have been rather incidental than the results of ambition. In the whole history of the town only one name, that of James Whitelaw, stands out prominently in the annals of the state, and his, not as a poli- tician or office-holder, but because of his remarkable ability in a single field of usefulness. It must also be remembered that a large and highly intelligent portion of the citizens have, from conscientious scruples, de- clined to mingle in the politics of the state by exercising the suffrage, or holding office. Consequently the town has been deprived of the public services of a large body of its most substantial citizens, and, in this respect, has been much like communities in other states where a large portion of the inhabitants are members of the Society of Friends.
But the Covenanters, although refraining from political strife, were, and are still, a most influential body, with very decided convictions, and their moral influence has been a power to be reckoned with where ques- tions of right or wrong were concerned.
Mr. Mason says that in the earlier part of the last century the town was about equally divided between Democrats and Federalists. The former, of whose opinions Thomas Jefferson was the exponent, and of which he was the leader, held to universal suffrage, short terms of office, and state rights. The Federalists, of whom Alexander Hamilton was the exponent and John Adams the leader, believed in a suffrage with a property qualification, centralization of power in the Federal govern- ment, and internal improvements under the direction of Congress. Other questions some of which were of present or future importance, and others of so little consequence as to have been long forgotten, divided the peo- ple. James Whitelaw was the leader of the Federalists in this town ; his
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clear and decided opinions concisely and forcibly expressed, together with the weight which his high character and position gave him made his influence very great. But he cared little for politics as such, while James Henderson was a shrewd and sagacious politician. John Cam- eron, the leader of the other party, was a ready and fluent speaker, well-informed as to all the political questions of the day, and willing at any time to give well grounded reasons for his political faith. When he was in the legislature he was considered one of the best speakers in that body, and although his broad Scotch accent was new and unfamiliar to his audience, they were compelled to give closer attention to his speeches.
The list of representatives shows that Cameron represented the town for fourteen years between 1797 and 1832; at two elections there was no representative chosen, and in the remaining years the Federalists elected their candidates. Mr. Mason says that in 1819, Cameron and James Henderson were the opposing candidates, when the people were so evenly divided that balloting continued till midnight, when the clerk and constable left the house, leaving the town without a representative.
We must understand that in those days people were influenced politi- cally in other ways than they are now. Personal influence was every- thing. Jefferson, Jackson, Clay and Webster represented certain princi- ples and people followed their leaders without hesitation. In those days there was not probably a daily paper taken in this state; now every intelligent family has its daily paper. In those days a Boston paper was several days old when it got here; now the morning papers are in our hands before noon. There were several short lived attempts at news- paper publication in eastern Vermont, but none lasted long or had much influence till 1806, when Ebenezer Eaton began at Danville the publica- tion of the North Star. Mr. Eaton was a most worthy man, person- ally, but a bitter partisan who believed that the welfare of the country depended entirely on the success of his particular party. He was hon- est and fearless, and when he believed a thing was wrong he fought it with all his might, without calculating the effect upon his subscription list, an example generally avoided by country editors at the present time. Danville, from which diverged several lines of stages, was then the county seat, and the center of considerable trade. For many years, be- tween the Connecticut River and Lake Champlain, north of Windsor, there was no other permanent paper, except at Montpelier, and the North Star had pretty much to itself, a field comprising a population of twenty-five thousand, two-thirds of which was in Caledonia County, Orleans and Essex supplying the rest. Almost every family of any con- sequence took it. The late Merrill Goodwin learned to read from the
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