USA > Vermont > Caledonia County > Ryegate > History of Ryegate, Vermont, from its settlement by the Scotch-American company of farmers to present time; > Part 3
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On the 16th of February, 1792, he conveyed to Robert Hunter of the City of New York, 2,07534 acres, and on Dec. 24th of the next year all his remaining land in Ryegate, "described on a map of Ryegate Township made by William Hammond, surveyor of lands in October and November, 1775, on a scale of 60 chains to an inch," to William Neilson, d merchant, of New York. These with some minor transfers complete the ownership of land to those by whom it was sold to actual settlers.
a Newbury Town Records.
b Rvegate Land Records, Vol. II., pp. 142-149.
c Deed now owned by Vermont Historical Society, Ryegate Land Records, Vol. II., pp. 107-112.
d Many early deeds of land in the north part of the town are signed by this William Neilson. From "Old Merchants of New York" we learn that he came from the north of Ireland before the Revolutionary War, and became very wealthy. After the war he took his sons into partnership and the firm name was "William Neilson & Sons." They founded a Marine Insurance Company, of which Mr. Neilson was first president, and which was very successful. This was the first company in America to keep a complete register of all vessels trading at American ports. He had a country seat near Greenwich, now covered with buildings. Mr. Neilson was an elder in the Second Presbyterian church, and at his death left a large sum to it. Many of his letters are among the Whitelaw papers.
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A CERTAIN PARCEL OF LAND CALLED RYEGATE.
We will now consider the circumstances which led to the formation of the Company under whose auspices the town was settled, and the condition of the classes in Scotland from which the first settlers came.
The country had been in a state of profound peace since the suppres- sion of the rebellion of 1745, and probably for a longer time than ever before in the history of Scotland, and with the happiest results. With peace came prosperity, the accumulation of wealth, and an improvement in the condition of all classes. The increase in general intelligence was great; schools were multiplied and the facilities for obtaining a univer- sity education had never been so good. People read more, and the desire of every Scotchman for knowledge was gratified and increased by the extension of the means of obtaining it. In 1740, there were but seven- teen newspapers published in all Scotland. In 1774, the number had increased to fifty-six, and the circulation of one of them, the Caledonian Mercury, exceeded the entire circulation of all the newspapers in Scot- land in 1740 combined. People learned about foreign lands, and the opportunities for advancement which were offered in the colonies of North America. The return to Scotland of several regiments which had seen service in the colonies during the late war, still further spread the knowledge of the country, and awakened a condition of unrest. In thousands of homes, the subject of emigration, its cost and its advan- tages, was the constant topic of conversation. Every true Scotchman desires to better his condition, and to secure advantages for his children, which he has not had for himself, and they felt also, that the small far- mers and artizans were not receiving their share of the increased pros- perity of the country. The wealth of Scotland was mostly in the hands of the nobility and the landed proprietors, while the common people were poor. The condition of the laboring classes is nowhere more clearly set forth than in the writings of Burns. At best, with most people it was a hard struggle to keep the wolf from the door. The wages of an unskilled laborer were so low and his work so uncertain, that it was rare that any one of their class accumulated enough to make himself and his wife even barely comfortable in old age. It required only a little misfortune to bring a laboring man and his wife who had toiled all the days of their lives to poverty and want The wages of skilled laborers, in the few trades which were then pursued, were higher, and their condition a little better. Carpenters and masons, according to so good an authority as Adam Smith, received in 1770, about twice the wages of a plowman or a reaper and the family of a carpenter or a mason, with good health and steady employment for all old enough to work, might have a little left over at the year's end.
More prosperous than these were skilled husbandmen, who were often large tenant farmers, or were employed as managers of the estates of
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HISTORY OF RYEGATE VERMONT.
merchants or the nobility. The tenant farmers of the Scottish lowlands were excellent managers and usually accumulated some property. The first settlers of Ryegate and Barnet were drawn from all three of these classes. Sir Walter Scott has left us pictures of all classes in Scotland whose fidelity is attested by the memories of those who could, fifty years ago, recall the conditions which prevailed in the latter half of the 18th century.
Another reason which induced the desire to leave the country, was the growing unrest over class distinctions in Scotland. The hereditary aristocracy considered themselves made of better clay than farmers and mechanics, and between these classes there was a great gulf fixed. All the land was in the hands of the aristocracy; all the offices in the king- dom were held by them; no poor man could aspire to own a little land all his own. In America all this would be changed. In America a man would be his his own "laird," and there the toil and frugality which in Scotland would secure only the means to live, would be rewarded by com- petence and even wealth. In America too, the Presbyterian faith, and manner of worship, could be enjoyed as well as at home. In America there would be no landed aristocracy to lord it over them, and the poor man's son had an equal chance with the rich man's. These were some of the considerations which led hundreds of families and individuals to break all the ties that bound them to their native land; to brave the ter- rors of an ocean voyage; to incur the hardships and unknown conditions of settlement in the wilderness.
Not only were there emigrations of families and individuals, but asso- ciations were formed in various parts of Scotland to purchase land for settlement in America, and there form communities whose members would be bound together by ties of previous acquaintance or relationship. Many towns in Nova Scotia, New York, Pennsylvania and the southern states were settled by colonies so organized. Sometimes these associa- tions were assisted by some nobleman or wealthy merchant, but generally they were joint stock companies, in which the adventurers, as they were called, took shares. Such an association, called the Scotch-American Company, was organized at Inchinnan in Renfrewshire, Scotland, on the 5th day of February, 1773, and articles of agreement drawn up by Rob- ert Nairns, a " writer" of Port Glasgow, were signed by 137 persons.
From the circumstance that Inchinnan was chosen as the meeting place of the members of the society, the association is often called the "Inchin- nan Company," to distinguish it from other Scotch colonies in America, notably that which settled Barnet under the leadership of Col. Alexander Harvey.
CHAPTER III.
INCHINNAN .- HISTORY .- ANTIQUITIES .- THE KNIGHTS TEMPLARS .- INCEPTION OF THIE SCOTCH-AMERICAN COMPANY .- REGULATIONS .- COMMISSIONERS .- "BOND OF ASSOCIATION."-NAMES OF SUBSCRIBERS.
I NCHINNAN, formerly called Killinan, one of the smallest parishes in all Scotland, lies on the south side of the Clyde, about mid-way between Glasgow and Greenock. It is separated by the river, which a little below becomes an estuary, from Old Kilpatrick, through which pass several lines of railway and the Forth and Clyde canal.
On the east a small river called the White Cart separates it from Renfrew, and a narrow burn divides Inchinnan from Houston and Erskine. Paisley, Dumbarton, Johnston, Kilmalcolm, and a number of smaller places from which the members of the company came, are from eight to fifteen miles distant in different directions, north and south of the Clyde.
Inchinnan seems to have been selected as the place of assembly because of its central location and accessibility. Although situated on the Clyde, in the near vicinity of some of the largest cities in Scotland, Inchinnan is a very retired place, and its population, which in 1770 was about 300, has hardly doubled in a century and a third. The land is low and very level and large portions are overflowed by unusually high tides. The climate, although damp, is very healthy, and the soil, a rich loam, is carefully cultivated, the annual rent averaging £2 sterling, or about $10 per acre. Dairying and the raising of horses are the principal pur- suits; the chief crop is hay, with an average of four tons to the acre. Inchinnan has no manufactures and was never the scene of any important event; its only mention in the annals of Scotland is that it was the place where the unfortunate Earl of Argyle was taken prisoner in 1685.
It is a very ancient town, and the name implies "The Island of the Rivers." Its history is traced back to the 6th century, when the first Archdeacon of Glasgow established the Christian religion there, not far from the year 590 A. D.
In 1158, King Malcolm IV. granted the lands to the Stewart family. In 1511, one of the Stewart noblemen became the second Earl of Lennox and received a charter or grant of land, which included the parish of Inchinnan. The title became extinct in 1672, and the lands reverted to the Crown in 1680. Charles II. granted the lands to his natural son, whom he made Duke of Lennox and Richmond, which by purchase became the property of the Blytheswood family in 1737. The present
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HISTORY OF RYEGATE, VERMONT.
Lord Blytheswood is Lord Lieutenant of the County of Renfrew, and is the owner of nearly all the parish of Inchinnan. Portions of the lands, as well as certain of Houston and Erskine, are the property of the Douglas family.
The parish church of Inchinnan has a very interesting history. The patronage was granted by King David I. to the Knights Templars, a military order, whose headquarters were at Jerusalem, and who were sometimes called the Red Cross Knights. This grant was made about 1153. This Order had a branch at Greenend, and owned large tracts of land. Their church was at Inchinnan; the Knights were buried under the church which was founded about 1100, and stood till 1828, when it was taken down. This Order took a prominent part in the Crusades, and its members became so wealthly and powerful that they excited the fear and envy of the King of France and the ecclesiastics of Rome, who united to suppress them and confiscate the Order. Their lands in Renfrewshire were given to the Knights of St. John, who were displaced in their turn by the Hospitallers, a Catholic order. These lands and religious titles were united by purchase and grant with the crown lands in the present Blytheswood family. This history is here given because nearly all the first settlers of Ryegate came from these parishes, thus held, and the narrative is taken from "The Church and Parish of Inchinnan," by Robert McClelland, and published in 1905. Mr. McClelland is the minister of the Parish of Inchinnan.
From the letters, recently discovered, which were written to James Whitelaw by his father in Scotland, it would seem that the project of forming a company for the purpose of purchasing and settling land in North America had been discussed during several years in different parishes of Renfrew and Lanark shires. It appears also that several meetings of the associates were held before any plan was decided upon and that they solicited advice from persons who had traveled in America. On the 1st of February, 1772, the first decisive step was taken, and at successive meetings the articles of association were considered and elaborated till they were reduced to writing, and at a meeting of the company held at Inchinnan, Feb. 5, 1773, they were approved and adopted.
The preamble to the regulations then and there agreed upon is as follows:
" Having some time ago formed ourselves into a society or copartner- ship for purchasing lands in any of His Majesty's Dominions in America : That the major part of the Company shall direct where they can be got most commodious for the purposes after mentioned, and having each of us advanced certain sums of money toward carrying the intended plan into execution, and having had several meetings with each other there anent, it was unanimously condescended and agreed upon that the fol-
17
THE INCHINNAN COLONY.
lowing rules and regulations shall be the stated fundamental rules and regulations of the said Company, or Society. Subject nevertheless to be altered or amended as circumstances may require, as shall be thought proper by two-third parts of the partners, which rules and regulations we the subscribers hereby bind and oblige ourselves, our leirs and succes- sors to observe and inviolably perform to each other in all time coming."
The rules and regulations which follow are very formal, and fill fifteen closely written foolscap pages in the "Journal of the Proceedings of the Scotch American Company of Farmers." Any one who undertakes to follow their antique legal phraseology, the words and phrases which are now obsolete; its endless repetitions and involved style, will probably understand less of their meaning at the end than before he began. Their general tenor can be summed up in a few sentences.
After specifying the purposes of the organization, its officers and their respective duties, they proceed to declare that the joint stock of the Company consisted of 400 shares, whose value appears to be £2.10s., sterling, each shareholder having one vote, and if the purchaser of £10 in stock, two votes. The funds of the Company were to be deposited in some bank in Glasgow, under the direction of the "Precess," [President] and Board of Managers. The Company was to send two men to America, who were called Commissioners, empowered to purchase a suitable tract of land, which they were to lay out in lots corresponding to the number of shares held in the company, and the smallest sums paid. A map or plan of these lands was to be transmitted to the Company in Scotland. They were to lay out a portion of the tract as a town (i. e., village) divided into lots 40 x 100 feet, with sites for storehouses, markets, churches, schoolhouses, and other public buildings. All who took lots in the town site were to build houses upon them within ten years. The commissioners were empowered to clear lands and erect public and pri- vate buildings and provide accommodations for settlers, till they were able to build houses for themselves. They could clear a space on each lot and erect dwellings on them, these expenditures of the Company to be repaid before a deed was given.
Any of the Company who had been reduced to poverty by shipwreck or other calamity were to be aided from the general funds, till they could care for themselves. With practical good sense they provided for the set- tlement of difficulties, and regulated the financial concerns of the colony, and the form of government to be set up somewhere in the region known as North America. With true Scotch prudence they directed the settlers to conform their local government to the laws and customs of the province where they should settle.
It is to be observed that this was in no sense a religious colony ; noth- ing in its regulations confined citizenship to the adherents of any sect or creed. With wisdom these projectors of a new commonwealth in America,
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HISTORY OF RYEGATE, VERMONT.
in their deliberations upon the banks of the Clyde in far-off Scotland, left untouched and unmentioned all its domestic relations. They only con- templated the planting of a colony in America whose members should be supported by a common bond of inter-dependence and where provision was made for the unfortunate.
It is interesting to consider what changes time has wrought with these anticipations. The Scotch American Company long ago ceased to exist ; the "city," so carefully laid out on "Fairview," has no existence now even on paper; all that was formally prescribed in these closely written pages long ago gave place to the customs of New England, but the spirit which animated the founders of the town in that old day is here still. All the changes of one hundred and thirty-five years have not materially altered the character of the town, and within the present year a well known clergyman declared at a public gathering that the only parts of Scotland he had ever visited were Rvegate and Barnet.
The commissioners selected were James Whitelaw of Whiteinch in the parish of Govan, and David Allan of Sandylands in the parish of Inchin- nan. Mr. Whitelaw was then twenty-four years of age, was well edu- cated and had acquired a thorough knowledge of the art of surveying. He became Surveyor-General of Vermont, and one of the best known men in New England. He wrote much and his style is a model of clear- ness and precision. From his journal and letters we have nearly all that is known concerning the early days in Ryegate.
David Allan was ten years older, and appears to have been a man of excellent business judgment, sound sense and considerable experience in the valuation of lands. The journal of their travels in search of a suita- ble tract in which to settle a colony, is given in the following pages.
NOTE. The "Bond of Association for the Company" was signed by the fol- lowing persons: William Houston, in Craigend; David Smith, farmer in New- mains; David Allan, farmer in Sandylands; William Hall, Freelands; William Blackwood, farmer in Boltone; John Young, servant to William Hall of Free- lands; Matthew Killock, in Old Mains; William Neilson, wright, in Gateside ; John Hall, tenant in Barsale, Agnes Ilall, in Barsale; Duncan MeKeith, flaxdresser in Gateside, all in the Parish of Inehinnan; Donald MeKenzie, James McCaie, Norman McDonald, Alexander McDonald, Donald Sutherland, John McKey, James and Alexander McPherson, and Alexander Grant, quarriers; James Henderson, wright; John and Lewis MeEwens, labourers; James Blackwood, smith; William Blackwood, smith; and William Blackwood, servant, with John Whitehill, all in Inchinnan, and Lewis MeEwan, Innkeeper at Bridge of Inchinman ; Robert Semple, farmer, and Hugh and John Semple, residenters, both in Mossend in the parish of Kilbarchan; James Allison, servant to Lord Semple at Bishops- town; John Wilson, servant to William Craig, in Ditch; Jean Hall, tenant in Longhaugh; John Blair, servant to the said Hall; John Ritchie, smith in Longhaugh; William Craig, farmer in Ditch; Jean Napier, spouse, and Jean Bryden, daughter of David Bryden of Kilmaken, residing in Freelands; James Neilson in Calside; William Lang, farmer in Inglestone; John Hamilton, servant to Isabel Clark in Richiestone; William and James Kings, and James Glassford, farmers in Portoun; Alexander Jack, grieve to Lord Blantyre ; William Graham, servant to William Glen in Ferry : Walter Alexander, farmer in
19
THE INCHINNAN COLONY.
Kiltoun ; John Laird, cooper in Cartimpan ; James Laird, in Cartimpan ; William Clark, wright in Dryknows; Alexander Craig, servant to Rev. Walter Young, Minister of the Gospel at Erskine; John Waddel, mason in Slateford; Nicol Cowan, servant to Mlr. David Bryden in Freeland; William Neilson and John Walker, farmers, and Hugh Gardner, smith, all in Glenshinnoek; Archibald Taylor, cooper in Kilts; John Cooper, son of James Cooper, farmer in Milhill; John Whitehill, smith in Erskine, and James Laird at Millbank, all in the Parish of Erskine; William Semple, farmer in Brickhouse; John and William Donalds, Agnes and Mary Burnside, residenters, and Robert Burnside, farmer, all in Gavinsburn : John Donald in Laigh-Gavinsburn; James Donald of Burnbrae, and Robert Watson, mason, all in Kilpatrick Parish; Andrew Baird, merchant; John Tennant, maltman; John Gardner, mathematical instrument maker, and Robert Arthur, merehant, all in Glasgow; Alexander Symes, gardner, and William Dunn, residenter, both of North Kenmuir, in the Barony Parish of Glasgow; Thomas Campbell, workman; John Allen, weaver; Matthew McGown, mer- chant; Robert Blackwook, bleacher, and William Blair, weaver, in Paisley ; William and Alexander McKeys, quarriers at Stanley in the Parish of Paisley ; William Tassey, farmer in Halehouse; John Graham, servant to James White ; and Thomas Young, in Chappleshill, all in the Abbey Parish of Paisley; Robert Orr, farmer in Hardrigg, and John Wilson, farmer in Blackholm, both in the Parish of Kilmalcolm; John and Andrew Arthur, farmers in Boaghall; and John Erskine, farmer, in Raillie, all in the Parish of Kilallen, William Stewart, school- master in Houston ; Robert Brock and John Paterson, farmers at Barns of Clyde ; Walter and Matthew Roben, farmers at Third-part-Miln; Alexander Paterson, farmer in Drumry; Joseph Edmond, miller at Wheatmiln; William Kerr at Milltown; George and William Moriston, farmers in Kilbanie; Matthew White, farmer in Garneland; John Malcolm, farmer in Townhead, Drumrie; David Ferry, clothprinter at Dalquhurn; Walter McLea, residenter at White Crook; Angus McKellar, dykebuilder at New Kilpatrick; Thomas White, farmer at Whitehill in East Kilpatrick; John Cross, Senior, miller at Braediesholm Miln, and John Cross, Junior, at Braehead, both in Old Monkland; Thomas Weather- spoon, farmer in Shirrel; William Russell, smith in Cornbrae; Michael Thomp- son, weaver in Haining; William Reid, residenter in Atherstone; John Selkirk, weaver in Brae; John Jack of Patonswells; John Scot, bleacher in Hillheadsholm ; William Kirk, weaver there; James Whitelaw, land surveyor in White Inch in the Parish of Govan; Peter Craig, farmer in Boghouse in Neilstone Parish ; James Jackson, farmer in Eastwood Parish; Alexander Barnhill, brewer; James Watson, merchant; William Fulton, Alexander MePherson, merchants; John Wallace, grocer; John Menzier, bookbinder; Andrew Killock, cooper; Robert Nairn, writer; John Lang, brewer; Robert Lang, residenter, Alexander MeLish, sailor, and Duncan Ritchie, porter, all in Port Glasgow; James Nicol, cooper in Greenock; John Dennie, maltman in the townend of Dumbarton; John Jamison, farmer in Cloagh in the Parish of Inverkip; John MeKenley, miller at Bonhill; John MeKenley, farmer in Twomarkland of Bonhill; William Smith, smith at Cameron of Bonhill; and MeKenley at Millburn of Bonhill.
CHAPTER IV.
THE JOURNAL OF JAMES WHITELAW.
THE VOYAGE .- PHILADELPHIA .- NEW YORK .- ALBANY .- MOHAWK RIVER .- RYE- GATE .- CHARLESTOWN TO NEW YORK .- SUSQUEHANNAH RIVER .- PENNSYL- VANIA .- SIR WILLIAM JOHNSON .- DARTMOUTH COLLEGE.
M R. WHITELAW'S narrative of their journey through the seaboard states as far south as Halifax, North Carolina, is one of the best descriptions of a portion of the American Colonies just before the revolutionary war, which we possess. The original manuscript volume was, in 1878, presented to the Vermont Historical Society by Oscar L., and Robert H. Whitelaw of St. Louis, great-grandsons of James White- law. In 1907 the journal was printed among the collections of the Society. In the manuscript volume as preserved at Montpelier, the first leaf is missing, which we are able to supply, errors have been corrected, and from Mr. Whitelaw's letters and other data, a few notes are added. His spelling of proper names has been retained.
JOURNAL OF JAMES WHITELAW.
On Friday, March 19. We went to Greenock.
March 25, sailed on the Brigantine Matty, Capt. Thomas Cochran, commander, and about 6 o'clock in the evening passed Ailsa Craig. The weather was mild and the wind brisk from the N. W.
March 26, we continued on our way and passed along the Irish coast which here seems very beautiful.
On Sat. March 27, we had our last view of Scotland, just before sunset.
Sun. March 28, we had a very hard gale of wind which made most of our female passengers wish themselves on shore again. We were a little sea sick ourselves, but not long.
March 30, a ship was in sight going N. W. but at a great distance. From March 30 to April 8, we had fair weather and a good breeze. The captain is a very sensible and discreet man, and the sailors are merry fellows, and a great deal more sober than they are commonly represented. We have had very sociable young men for our companions.
Thursday, April 8th, on the morning the weather turned calm, by which time we were in Lat. 40° and Lon. about 18° during which time nothing passed worth remarking, excepting that we saw the main mast of a ship go along our side one morning.
It remained calm till Saturday, the 10th, on the morning of which the wind shifted N. E., from which point we had a good breeze,
21
THE JOURNAL OF JAMES WHITELAW.
and continued a S. W. course till Sunday, the 25th, when we were in Lat 30° and Lon. 46° 30'.
Sunday, the 9th of May, we spoke a sloop from Virginia, bound for Nevis, John Robertson, Master, fifteen days out, and in Lon. 62º 30' by his account, though by ours we were only in 61º 48'. We had not seen any other vessel since Saturday, Aprile 10th.
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