USA > Vermont > Windsor County > History of Windsor County, Vermont, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 26
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In the year 1741 Benning Wentworth became governor of the prov- ince of New Hampshire. He must have known of the controversy be- tween his own province and Massachusetts, and of its determination the year before his appointment; and there are very good reasons for the belief that he understood the provincial government of New York to claim the right of jurisdiction over the lands north of the Massachusetts north line, and eastward as far as the Connecticut River, although the governor of New York had made no considerable grants in this territory, and therefore, not being occupied, no direct acts of jurisdictional exercise could well be made. But Benning Wentworth, if his biographers' state- ments are to be relied upon, loved gain as he loved power ; performed acts sometimes questionable in character and took the chances of results, and made grants of towns for consideration and reserved to himself considerable tracts in each for his own personal emolument. But it must in no manner be assumed that his grantees were parties to his methods, for such was not the case; but that he enriched himself at their expense cannot be disputed.
On the 3d of January, 1749, Governor Wentworth made a grant of a town of land on the extreme western boundary of what he assumed. to be his territory, making a continuation of the Massachusetts west line the western boundary of the tract, and this he named " Bennington," in allusion to his Christian name. This being done, he acquainted the governor of New York with his action, asking that officer in brief what he thought about it. This was followed by a controversy between these
Leland of Graves M.D.
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provinces that was continued until the year 1764, at which time the decree of the king fixed the eastern boundary of the province of New York at the west bank of the Connecticut River; and from. that time forth Benning Wentworth took no part in the controversy that ensued between the actual settlers under his charters and the aggressive prov- ince of New York. He offered them no protection or assistance ; gave them no advice nor comforting assurance ; but left them to work out their own salvation as best they could After the charter of Bennington town, Governor Wentworth made occasional grants of other towns, but not many until about 1760 or 1761, when, fearing the influ- ence of New York with the king, he went boldly and rapidly into this business, chartering towns right and left, despite the protests from New York, so that, by the time the king's order of 1764 was promulgated, nearly all the then inhabitable lands west of the Connecticut had been granted by him.
Charter of Windsor .- On the 6th of July, 1761, Governor Wentworth issued charters for three towns of land on what was then and for years afterward known by the general name of New Hampshire Grants, which three towns were respectively named Windsor, Reading and Saltash, the name of the latter, however, being subsequently changed to Plymouth. These towns embraced a strip of land approximately six miles wide, north and south, and extended from the west bank of the Connecticut River to the mountainous region of the interior, for of such is the charter of Plymouth.
The charter by which the town of Windsor was brought into exist- ence was not 'materially different from the great majority of the towns granted by Governor Wentworth, and contained the customary reserva - tions of land: the five hundred acres for the use of the grantor himself, which was to be accounted two shares; one whole share for the incor- porated society for the propagation of the gospel in foreign parts; one whole share for the first settled minister of the gospel ; one share for a glebe for the Church of England as by law established ; and one share for the benefit of a public school in said town. In the charter fifty-nine grantees were named, and the lands of the town were to be divided into sixty-five shares, inclusive of those reserved for the purposes set forth above. Another provision of the charter was to the effect that the first
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meeting of the proprietors " for the choice of town officers, agreeable to the laws of our said province, shall be held on the first Wednesday of August (1761), which said meeting shall be notified by Samuel Ashley, esq., who also is appointed moderator of the first meeting," etc.
The first movement on the part of the worthy proprietors after re - ceiving their charter was to meet and organize and choose town officers according to the grant; but it is hardly thought that the first meeting was held as directed by the charter, for there is no record of such meet- ing, and the general tenor of the records of a meeting held in September, 1761, would lead to the impression that this was the first meeting. And these old prorietors had a rather loose manner of recording the trans- actions of their meetings, the minutes being made on any sheet or scrap of paper that happened to be most convenient, and it was not until the year 1769, or about that time, that the proprietors made any move in the matter of procuring a record book in which to enter their proceed- ings ; and it was not procured then, apparently, as the minutes are found on pieces of paper until the year 1771, after which and well on toward 1789 no records of proprietors' or town meetings are to be found.
The first meeting of the proprietors, just referred to, was held at the house of Hilikiah Grout, innholder, in Winchester, New Hampshire, " agreeable to an act passed in said province of New Hampshire, em- powering proprietors to call meetings." Upon this occasion the as- sembled proprietors chose Colonel Josiah Willard, moderator ; Dr. Thomas Frink, proprietors' clerk ; Lieutenant Joshua Lyman, Lieuten- ant Samuel Ashley and Dr. Thomas Frink, assessors ; Colonel Josiah Willard, collector ; and Lieutenant Samuel Ashley, treasurer. Also, Colonel Josiah Willard, Captain Zedekiah Stone, Lieutenant Samuel Ashley, Philip Mattoon, Josiah Willard, jr., Josiah Willard, Samuel Stone and Simeon Alexander were chosen a committee " to view and lot out said town." And it was voted to pay Colonel Josiah Willard three dollars on each right to defray the charges of the charter and plan ; also voted to raise three dollars on each right to defray the charges of "lotting out said land and other incident charges."
The next meeting of the proprietors was held at the house of landlord Hilikiah Grout on the 12th of April, 1762, at which time Lieutenant Samuel Ashley was chosen moderator. From the fact that it was then
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voted " to draw house lots and meadow lots as laid out on the plan," it is to be assumed that the committee chosen at the former meeting had completed the work of viewing and laying out the town, at least far enough to permit the first drawing of lots. But at this meeting Captain Zedekiah Stone and David Page were added to the committee " for the building of mills and laying out roads," which committee was the same referred to as authorized to view and lay out the first division of town lots. At a meeting held August 24, 1763, at Hilikiah Grout's house. Seth Field was chosen moderator. The principal business of this meet- ing was the proceeding by which it was voted "to grant Israel Curtis fifty acres of land adjoining the Mill Brook, so called, in the town of Windsor, in what form he thinks best, leaving the common land in good form; and leaving ten acres between said brook and house lot number forty-one for a meeting-house place, training field and burying yard ; reserving suitable roads in said land for the use of the town, six rods wide. Said ten acres to be left adjoining the south side of the house lot number forty-one. This done in case the above named Israel Curtis shall give a bond to the committee to see that mills are built, of one hundred pounds sterling money of Great Britain, to build a saw-mill in said town of Windsor by the Ist day of August, 1764, and to build a grist mill as soon as there shall be twenty inhabitants that shall raise one acre of grain apiece in said town ; and that said Curtis shall have the privilege of said Mill stream, so called."
Thus the reader will observe that the proprietors were industriously engaged in preparing the way for settlement in the lands of the town, by laying out lots, cutting roads, constructing bridges and building mills, even before there was a single occupant upon the soil, holding under color of title. During this and the preceding year these pre- liminary measures were arranged for, and the work of carrying them . into effect was performed as soon as practicable. In 1764 the first set- tlement in the town is generally understood as having begun; and that by the arrival of Captain Steele Smith and his family. This is accord- ing to the statements of nearly all past writers of the town's history ; and since the most recent publication on the subject no new facts are de- veloped that would incline to a different view of the matter. It may be remarked, however, that a recent authority has stated that Captain Steele
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Smith was accompanied by two other pioneers, one of whom was Joab Hoisington and the other Solomon Emmons, and that their coming here was in company ; that on arriving, Captain Smith did leap from the canoe and cut the proverbial first tree in the town. But it is quite questionable whether the honor, if such it be, of cutting the first tree properly belonged to the worthy captain, for the proceedings of the proprietors' meetings would tend to show that the committee must have made some improvements before 1764, that in their performance would have necessitated the cutting of a number of trees. But the tradition of Captain Smith having cut the first tree is so long established that it is come to be looked upon as a fixed fact, and we are not disposed to de- stroy so romantic and pleasant an allusion by the advocacy of an oppos- ing theory, however strong may be the facts in support thereof.
On the subject of pioneer settlement Zadock Thompson, a recognized authority, says: "The first permanent settlement in the town was com- menced by Captain Steele Smith, who removed his family from Farm- ington, Conn., to this town, in August, 1764. At that time there was no road north of Charlestown, N. H. The next season Major Elisha Hawley, Captain Israel Curtis, Deacon Hezekiah Thompson, Deacon Thomas Cooper, and some others, came on and began improvements. There was, however, a man by the name of Solomon Emmons, and his wife, who had erected a hut, and were living here when Captain Smith arrived, but had not purchased the land, or made any improvements with a view to a permanent settlement. Mrs. Emmons was the first and for some time the only white woman who resided in the town."
Whether or not Joab Hoisington and Solomon Emmons were with Captain Smith when he came to the town is a question that cannot be settled at this time; nor is it a matter of any considerable importance. Joab Hoisington, whenever his coming may have been, was at all events a pioneer, and as such one of the foremost of the town and county. During his stay in the town, it is said, there occurred an unfortunate ac- cident, in this manner : He and a companion named Bartlett were hunt- ing in the forest, and for the purpose of covering as much ground as pos . sible they separated. After a time Hoisington heard a rustling among the leaves and branches in the dense woods, and saw what he supposed was a bear, at which he fired with fatal result, but the victim of his shot
equal green
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was his companion, Bartlett. About the year 1771 Joab Hoisington left Windsor and took up his abode in Woodstock, where he purchased lands to the extent of something like a thousand acres, and on which the pleasant village of Woodstock is now situated. His log house stood on the corner at the east end of the park, where is now the large white dwelling known as the Major Nathan Churchill house. Hoisington was an officer of the upper regiment of militia, and stationed at Newbury, where, in 1777, he died. Returning briefly to the proprietors' proceed- ings relating to the town, it is found that on the 25th of July, 1764, a meeting was held at the house of Samuel Stevens, in Charlestown, N. H., at which time nothing of importance was done, and the meeting ad- journed until the 28th of August, of the same year, then to assemble at the house of Captain Israel Wyman, innholder, at Keene. But it ap- pears that on the 29th of July another meeting was held, at which time Dr. David Taylor was chosen proprietors' collector, and Lieutenant Sam- uel Hunt, Steele Smith and Enos Stevens, assessors.
A Change of Jurisdiction .- As is already very well understood, the town of Windsor was brought into existence by the charter of Governor Wentworth, of date the 6th of July, 1761 ; and under the authority and power of that charter the proprietors acted and did all that has been re- ferred to and narrated on the preceding pages. But at the time that charter was made, and prior and subsequent thereto, the province of New York had claimed the ownership in and right to jurisdiction over all the lands and territory of the Green Mountain region west of the Connecti- cut River. This claim was of course disputed and contested by the pro- vincial authorities of New Hampshire, and the result was a long and bit- ter controversy, a war of words between the governors of the respective provinces, with the final result of an appeal to the king by the governor of New York, which proceeding was consented to and acquiesced in by the governor of New Hampshire. As far as these provinces were concerned the controversy was terminated by the royal decree of July 20, 1764, by which the west bank of the Connecticut River was determined upon as the eastern boundary of the province of New York.
This action of itself would have worked no injury to the proprietors of Windsor, for it could not be a matter of much importance to them whether they belonged to the jurisdiction of New Hampshire or to that
36
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of NewYork, but had the preferences been consulted they unquestionably would have preferred remaining a part of the former province, as they were largely from that locality, accustomed to its forms of government, and bound to its people by the ties of relationship and affection. But, upon the receipt of the royal determination, the governing authorities of New York took it upon themselves to attempt to annul and set aside the New Hampshire charters, and to make new grants and patents of the lands to parties allied to the New York interest, without any offer even of compensation to the original proprietors, without consulting their wishes or inclinations, and having not the slightest regard for them, or for their grantees, in actual possession of the chartered lands.
This extraordinary procedure it was that. led to that famous organiza- tion known as the Green Mountain Boys-a band of determined men, who refused to yield to the New York authority and allow themselves to be dispossessed of their lands without payment therefor, or for the im- provements put upon them at the expense of years of toil and hardships. But we have little or nothing of the deeds of those men to record as transpiring within the limits of this town. That was a part of the his- tory of the region of the State west of the mountains, for the locality of the Connecticut valley country was so far removed from the scenes of actual strife and contention that its inhabitants were not called upon to participate in the events then transpiring, nor were the people here di- rectly attacked in their possessions. Be it said, however, to the honor of the proprietors of the town of Windsor, that they were in full sympathy with the cause for which the Green Mountain Boys were battling, al- though they were powerless to render that cause any substantial assist- ance; and being so singularly situated, they were compelled to resort to more peaceful methods in order to secure to themselves and their grant- ees the quiet and peaceable possession and enjoyment of the lands of the towns.
For the purpose of accomplishing this object some of the leaders of the proprietors at once began to bestir themselves, with the result that on the 29th of October, 1765, a petition signed by Zedekiah Stone, Nathan Stone and David Stone, in " behalf of themselves and twenty other persons," says Governor Tryon's charter, was " presented unto our trusty and well-beloved Cadwallader Colden, Esquire, our Lieutenant-
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Governor, and then our commander-in-chief of our said province of New York, and read in our council for our said province of New York, on the 29th day of October, which was in the year of our Lord one thousand seven hundred and sixty-five," etc. And further this formidable docu- ment, relating to the matter of the petition, says: "That the petitioners and their associates held the same by the said pretended grant of the government of New Hampshire, and thinking their title good, settled about sixteen families thereon. That they were willing and desirous to secure their property, possessions and improvements, by holding the same under the government of our said province of New York, and make further settlements upon the said tract; and therefore the petitioners did, in behalf of themselves and associates, humbly pray that our said Lieut .- Governor would be probably pleased by our Letters Patent to grant to the petitioners and their associates, their heirs and assigns, the said tract of land containing upwards of 23,600 acres, and that the same might be erected into a township by the name of Windsor, and vested with the same powers and privileges as other towns in our said province of New York had and did enjoy. Which petition having been thus referred to the committee of our council for our said province of New York, our same council did, afterwards, on the same day, in pursuance of the report of the said committee, humbly advise our consent that our said Lieut .- Gov- ernor should by our Letters Patent, grant to the said petitioners, associ- ates and their heirs, the tract of land aforesaid, under the Quit-rent pro- visos, limitations and restrictions prescribed by our royal institutions."
But it appears that letters patent were not issued to Zedekiah, Nathan and David Stone, in behalf of themselves and their associates, as contem- plated by the petition presented on the 29th of October, 1765; nor were any letters patent granted, that became operative, until the 28th of March, 1772. By an indenture deed bearing date the 9th day of October, 1776, the lands of the town of Windsor were conveyed by the associated pro- prietors and their grantees to Nathan Stone, which conveyance, it is un- derstood, was in the nature of a deed in trust to Nathan Stone, that he might act as sole owner of all except the reserved rights in the town, in the matter of procuring the charter from the provincial governor of New York; but nowhere in the body of the instrument does it appear that Colonel Stone became vested with a title other than one in fee simple
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absolute. This deed was signed and sealed by Enos Stevens, Martha Stone, Willard Stevens, David Stone, Joshua Willard, Samuel Hunt, Israel Curtis, Zedekiah Stone, Samuel Stone, Thomas Cooper, Joab Hois- ington, Joel Stone and Steele Smith ; and it purports to have been signed, sealed and delivered in the presence of Andrew Norton, John Evarts, John Benjamin, Benjamin Wait and Caleb Stone. The deed was ac- knowledged by John Benjamin, one of the subscribing witnesses before Joseph Lord, one of the judges of the Court of Common Pleas of the county of Cumberland, and one of his majesty's justices of the peace. Martha Stone and Willard Stevens signed the deed, but are not named in the acknowledgment.
In addition to the conveyance itself the receipt of the consideration money, ten pounds, is acknowledged to have been paid by Colonel Stone to the persons following, each signing for himself, or herself, viz .: Andrew Norton, John Evarts, John Benjamin, Benjamin Wait, Caleb Stone, Will - iam Shepard, Thomas Sargeants, Samuel Stone, Joel Stone, Joab Hois- ington, Israel Curtis, Zedekiah Stone, Steele Smith, Samuel Hunt, Martha Stone, David Stone, Joshua Willard, Enos Stevens and Willard Stevens.
Thus clothed with a deed in fee simple of all of the town's lands, Col- onel Nathan Stone again paid court to the government of New York, joined hands with William Swan and others, and finally succeeded in ob . taining letters patent for the township of Windsor, which bore the date of March 28th, 1772, and were issued to said Nathan Stone and William Swan, and their associates, as follows: " Waldron Blair, John Abel, Will- iam Puntine, Michael Nan, John McGinnis, Richard McGinnis, Robert McGinnis, Patrick Walsh, James Abel, Edward Collum, Marinus Low, Edward Patten, Andries Reigher, George Klein, Thomas Lupton, Dun- can Robertson, Samuel Stevens, John Pessenger, George Luncom, Fran- cis Groome and James Cobham."
The area of the town as mentioned in Governor Wentworth's charter was 23,500 acres, while according to the New York charter the entire area was placed at 24,500 acres, or 23,000 acers exclusive of all allow- ances and reservations. Subsequently in making a survey of the town, in order to acquire the prescribed acreage, it was found necessary to overlap the lands of the town of Reading on the west. This led to a dispute between the respective proprietors, which was finally terminated
W. M. HUNT, PINX.
W. J. LINTON. DEL. ET SC.
PORTRAIT OF MR. ALLAN WARDNER.
Original in the Possession of Mrs. W. M. Evarts, New York.
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in the acquisition to Windsor of a considerable tract of Reading's ter- ritory.
The charter granted by Governor Tryon reserved what was known as " the Governor's lot," a parcel of five hundred acres, which was distin- guished by the name of the "first lot "; also a lot "for the use of the incorporated society for the propagation of the Gospel in foreign parts," known as the "second lot," containing three hundred acres of land with the usual allowances ; also a lot " for a glebe for the use of the minister of the Gospel," to be known as the " third lot," containing three hundred acres and allowances ; also a lot to be known as the " fourth lot," for the use of a school-master, but the poor pedagogue was cut off with a single hundred acres, with allowances; also a lot for the first settled minister, the " fifth lot," having an area of three hundred acres. These public rights were designed to be chosen from the average lands of the town, but there came a time when one plan or survey was missing, and another substituted in its place; and on the latter the reserved tracts were found to be located on the almost inaccessible heights, Ascutney Mountain, in a locality noted for the general worthlessness of its lands.
On the 31st of March, 1772, three days later than the date of Gov- ernor Tryon's letters patent of the town, Colonel Stone secured a deed of conveyance of the interests held by his associates under the charter, all of whom were residents of the city of New York. The moving con- sideration of this conveyance was the sum of ten shillings paid by Stone to each of the grantors. And on the 19th of April, 1774, Goldsboro Banyar executed to Nathan Stone a lease of a tract of land in the north- west corner of the town, embracing eleven hundred and forty- five acres. This lease is believed to have been in the nature of a contract for the sale of the land to Stone, for the rental consideration was but a nominal sum, five shillings and one pepper-corn, the latter if demanded. On the next day, April 20th, Goldsboro Banyar deeded this rented tract to Nathan Stone, the consideration of the conveyance as expressed in the indenture being the sum of four hundred and thirty-five pounds.
It will be seen that the conveyance from the New York proprietors to Nathan Stone vested in the grantee the greater part of the lands of the town of Windsor, the same lands that had been previously deeded to Colonel Stone by the associated proprietors under the New Hamp-
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shire charter ; which last named conveyance was understood as being a trust deed for the benefit of the grantors therein ; in fact an instrument that virtually made Colonel Stone the trustee or agent of the proprietors for the purpose of enabling him the better to obtain the New York patent, which was finally executed and issued on the 28th of March, 1772. Then, true to the trust reposed in him, Nathan Stone reconveyed to those interested in the lands of the town, either as proprietors or as grantees of the proprietors, and to others, actual settlers on the lands of the town, various parcels according to the several and respective inter- ests of each in the lands. These conveyances were made during the month of November, 1772, and the names of the persons to whom the deeds were executed were as follows :
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