USA > Vermont > Windsor County > History of Windsor County, Vermont, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 32
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Had this been the only organizing or preliminary proceeding on the part of the proprietors it might easily be construed into a regular pro- prietors' meeting and not intended to be a town organization within the usual meaning of the term. But it appears, and the fact was, that the proprietors conducted two separate proceedings, and made entries in separate books, the one entitled " a book of town votes for the town of Hartford, in the province of New Hampshire," and the other entitled " Proprietors' Record."
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TOWN OF HARTFORD.
The next meeting at which town officers were chosen was held on the 9th of March, 1762, at which time these officers were elected : Modera- tor, Elijah Brigham ; town clerk, Prince Tracy ; selectmen, Samuel Will- iams, Prince Tracy and James Flint.
Officers elected in March, 1763: Moderator, William Clark; town clerk, Prince Tracy ; selectmen, Prince Tracy, William Clark and Sam- uel Terry. At this meeting it was voted " That for the future a warning in writing under the hands of the selectmen of said town, set upon the sign-posts in the towns of Windham and Lebanon, in the colony of, Con- necticut, ten days before any town meeting, appointing time, place and business of such meeting, shall be a warning to hold such meeting upon, until such town shall agree otherwise."
The records relating to the next meeting state : At a town meeting of proprietors of the town of Hartford in the province of New Hampshire, legally warned and holden at Windham, in the colony of Connecticut, March the 13th, 1764, for the electing of town officers. The officers chosen were : Moderator, Jonathan Marsh; town clerk, Prince Tracy ; selectmen, Elijah Strong, Jonathan Marsh and Prince Tracy ; constable, John Bennett ; surveyor of highways, Benjamin Wright.
The next town meeting was held March 12th, 1765, and these officers were chosen : Moderator, Jonathan Marsh ; town clerk, Benajah Strong; selectmen, Elijah Strong, Solomon Strong and Benjamin Wright ; con- stable, John Bennett ; surveyor of highways, Ebenezer Gillett. " Voted, that for the future the town meeting shall be held by the inhabitants of said Hartford, within said town, and that a warning in writing under the hands of the selectmen of said town, appointing time, place and busi- ness of such meetings set up in said town on the sign-post or some other public place six days before said meeting, shall be a legal warn- ing for to hold such meeting, until the town shall agree otherwise."
The result, of course, of this " vote " was a transfer of the " town meet_ ings " from Connecticut to the territory of this town, and they were subsequently, and for all time, held here. But, unfortunately, Benajah Strong, the worthy successor in the clerkship to Prince Tracy, did not exercise much care in keeping the records of the town meetings during the period of his incumbency, and from this neglect or omission we cannot give the names of the first town officers elected at a meeting held, or
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HISTORY OF WINDSOR COUNTY.
that should have been held, in the town in March, 1766 and 1767. But Benajah Strong was succeeded in the clerkship by Elijah Strong, prob- ably in March, 1768, and the latter made the proper entries in the town meeting books in due form and order.
The omission to enter the names of officers elected in 1766, and the succeeding year, together with the oversight on the part of most writers, was the same that led to the understanding that the town organization of Hartford was not effected before the year 1768 ; and this might have been natural enough, for the records show only that the first town meet- ing held in the town was that recorded for the year named, while in fact the original meeting occurred in 1761, in Connecticut, and subsequently was held there until 1765, and then transferred to the town, the first to be held therein in 1766, of which there is no record.
The minute book for the year 1768 shows as follows: At a town meeting warned and holden by the proprietors of the town of Hartford, March the 8th, A. D. 1768. Chosen, Benjamin Wright, moderator ; Elijah Strong, town clerk; Christopher Pease, Solomon Strong and John Marsh, selectmen ; Daniel Pinneo, constable; Abel Marsh and Solomon Strong, surveyors of highways ; Abel Marsh and Elijah Strong, tithingmen ; John Marsh and Benjamin Wright, " Dear Reafs."
In 1769 John Strong was elected clerk. The proceedings of the meeting held that year, on account of their unique grammatical and or- thographical construction, are copied literally :
" Att a town meting Legally warned and Holden. Chosen Mr. John Marsh Moderator. Chosen John Strong Town Clerk. Chosen Christifer Peas John Marsh Israel Gillett Select Men. Chosen Liomy Udall Con- stable, Elezur Robenson Benjamen Burch (Burk) Benjah Strong survaors of the hiway, William Bramble John Bennet, Granjury men.
" Voted to Bild a Brig over warter quechy river nere the sawmill and do it as hiway work, and voted that Abil Marsh should be oversere about giting the timber and bulding said Bryge."
The town officers for the next year, 1770, were as follows : Moderator, John Marsh ; town clerk, John Strong ; selectmen, John Marsh, Christo- pher Pease and Elijah Strong ; constable, Eleazer Robinson ; surveyors of highways, Daniel Pinneo and John Marsh; tithingmen, David Bliss and William Bramble.
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TOWN OF HARTFORD.
Extracts from minutes of town meeting, March 12, 1771 : Abel Marsh, moderator ; John Strong, town clerk ; Israel Gillett, Abel Marsh and Lionel Udall, selectmen ; Eleazer Robinson and Thomas Wood- ward, constables ; Thomas Savage, Thomas Miner, Henry Woodward aud Lionel Udall, surveyors of highways; John Strong, Abel Marsh and Lionel Udall, " comite (committee) for to lay out an alter highways where theay (they) are wanted in said town of Hartford."
At a town meeting legally warned and holden on the 10th day of March, 1772, at the dwelling house of Elijah Strong, in Hartford, in the " county of Cumberland and province of New York." Officers : Daniel Pinneo, moderator; John Strong, town clerk; Daniel Pinneo, Lionel Udall and Elisha Marsh, towns men (selectmen) ; Daniel Pinneo and William Bramble, constables; John Strong, Daniel Pinneo and Benja- min Burch, commissioners of highways; Israel Gillett, Daniel Pinneo, Jonathan Burch and Abel Marsh, surveyors of highways.
It will be observed from the foregoing extracts that the meeting was held in Hartford in the " county of Cumberland, and province of New York," thus recognizing and acknowledging the authority of that province, and its right to divide the territory of the "New Hampshire Grants," as it was then called, into counties. In this same year the county of Cumberland was newly erected, and Hartford formed a part thereof. But this was not all. The freemen of the town, in recogni- tion of the authority above referred to, on the third Tuesday of May, 1772, called another meeting, at which officers were chosen in accord- ance with the laws and custom of New York. They were as follows : Moderator, Benjamin Wright ; town clerk, John Strong; supervisors, Stephen Tilden and Lionel Udall ; collectors, Samuel Pease and Amos Robinson ; overseers of the poor, Benjamin Wright and Elisha Marsh ; commissioners of highways, Abel Marsh, Elijah Strong and Daniel Pinneo; path masters, Abel Marsh, John Marsh, Thomas Richardson, Israel Gillett and Daniel Pinneo ; fence viewers, Elisha Marsh and Ben- jamin Wright; constables, Daniel Pinneo, Israel Gillett, Joel Marsh and Thomas Richardson.
But it must be stated, in this connection, that it was not that the peo- ple then residing and owning lands in Hartford were particularly friendly to the New York interests, or that they had any special desire to become
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HISTORY OF WINDSOR COUNTY.
a part of that province. They held their lands under and by virtue of a charter granted by the governor of New Hampshire, the latter acting under the belief that the lands and jurisdiction of his province carried west to a line twenty miles east from the Hudson River, and that he had perfect authority to grant them at his pleasure. But this right was dis- puted by the provincial authorities of New York, and that dispute was the subject of a deal of correspondence between the two governors ; and, in order to reach an understanding, was finally referred to the royal authority. With this power New York happened to hold the greater in- fluence, which, re-enforced by forged documents, purporting, however, to be signed by numerous residents on the disputed territory and ex- pressing a desire to be a part of that province, the royal decree of 1764 was issued in favor of New York. This was followed, even as it had been preceded, by the granting of lands and towns on the disputed strip, some of them east of the mountains. Thus threatend with evic- tion were the settlers in this town and others in the region. Here had they made their homes, and here were all their worldly possessions. How else then, in the name of reason, could they hope to remain in quiet possession and peaceful enjoyment of their lands, than by seeking a confirmation of their charter privileges, or the granting of another, at the hands of the New York authorities ? But the efforts of the settlers in this direction were of earlier origin than would appear from the records of the meeting of May, 1772, for no sooner had the royal determination become known than steps were taken in this matter of procuring a char- ter from New York, and agents even had been sent to treat and arrange for the same; and the meeting referred to, and subsequent and prior ones as well, were but a part, it is believed, of the diplomatic or strategic measures employed by the settlers in bringing about the desired con- summation. To be sure there was a well organized and determined opposition to New York on the part of a large number of settlers under the New Hampshire charters, but the power of that famous band- the Green Mountain Boys-did not extend east of the mountains, and had it reached to this region the settlers hereabouts had no thought that such few numbers would prevail against so great a power as New York was supposed to wield, nor would it have been so but for the fortunate (for Vermont) interference of the war for American independence, by
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TOWN OF HARTFORD.
which local strifes were laid aside, and all joined in the common cause against Great Britain.
But it can hardly be considered essentially within the province of this chapter to discuss this subject, however important it may have been, at greater length. Although the controlling influence of the town pushed the matter of obtaining a charter from New York to a reasonable ex- tent, the document itself was never granted ; but the labors in that di- rection had the effect of leading New York to the belief that this people were wholly devoted to her interests, that they considered themselves her subjects, were submissive to her authority, and, as a consequence, the lands of the town were never granted to another set of proprietors.
But it required no great effort on the part of the inhabitants of Hart- ford to throw off whatever allegiance they owed the province of New York, and this they did as soon as the policy of the " new State" be- came fixed, and even before that time, during the progress of the first Dorset convention, although the town was not represented there, nor in any similar gathering prior to that held at Westminster on January 15, 1777. And even before the independence of Vermont was declared, the delegates assembled in the Dorset convention became desirous of learn- ing something of the sentiment existing in the towns cast of the mount- ains relative to the State organization ; and in order to obtain an ex- pression from those towns the subject was arranged to be brought before the people in town meeting. The result in Hartford was largely in favor of the new State.
In the convention at Westminster on January 15, 1777, Stephen Til- den was a delegate from Hartford. At this time the independence of the State of Vermont was declared. And at the adjourned session held at Windsor, June 4, 1777, upon the occasion of changing the name of the State from New Connecticut to Vermont, this town was represented by Colonel Joseph Marsh and Mr. Stephen Tilden, both of whose names were signed to the revised declaration there adopted. Also, in the Windsor convention of July 2-8, 1777, the occasion upon which the sub- ject of the first constitution was being discussed, Colonel Marsh repre- sented the town of Hartford. It was during the progress of this con- vention that the disastrous news of the evacuation of Ticonderoga by the American forces was received, and was followed by the information
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HISTORY OF WINDSOR COUNTY.
that Burgoyne was invading the northern and western frontier of the State, all of which had the effect of disconcerting the convention almost before the constitution was adopted ; but the friendly intervention of a thunder-storm gave the delegates the opportunity of regaining their composure sufficiently to complete the business in hand, after which they adjourned and hastened to their homes.
During the period of the Revolutionary war the part taken by the local authorities of Hartford was much similar to that of the other large and comparatively well settled towns in the region of the State west of the mountains. At that time the military authority and power was mainly vested in the Committees of Safety of the counties organized by New York, viz .: Cumberland and Gloucester ; and the military supplies, arms and ammunition, were largely furnished by the province or State last named. In this town the men most prominently identified with the military organization, especially during the early part of the war, were Thomas Hazen, Stephen Tilden, Joel Marsh, Joseph Marsh, Joshua Ha- zen and others, perhaps of less prominence, but whose services were no less valuable.
Prior and subsequent to the year 1777 the region of the town was a frontier, and it was necessary to have an established force ready for any emergency of war, whether in aggressive or defensive operations; and upon occasion the troops were called into other fields for service. In the organization of forces Joseph Marsh was made colonel of one of the regiments, and other men of the town were likewise chosen to offices of rank. In the year named the town had a number of men in the service, among whom were known to be these: Asa Emerson, Jonathan and Eddy Burch, Becket Chapman, Mitchel Clark, William Curtis, Barry Damon, Hezekiah Hazen, Jonathan Hill, Abel Marsh, Elisha Perkins, Phineas Strong, Seth Savage, Elkanah Sprague, Stephen Tilden, An- drew Tracy, Josiah Tilden, William Udall, Benjamin Wright and possi- bly others. But, as the years of the war progressed, nearly every man in every town, capable of "bearing arms," or subject to militia duty, was in some manner connected with a military company, but their serv- ice was mainly confined to guarding the frontier outposts on the north. Once, however, they were threatened with service of a more active char- acter, and that the occasion of the Indian invasion of the neighboring
D. O. Gillette
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TOWN OF HARTFORD.
town of Royalton, the call to arms in this town being sounded through the medium of Landlord Stephen Tilden's famous " Queen's Arm " gun. The militia were quickly assembled, and at once started in pursuit of the already retreating savages and English soldiers that accompanied them. But, on account of the threatened murder of the captives, prisoners of the Indians, Colonel House, the commander of the mititia forces, did not force an engagement, and soon afterward gave the order to return. Among the militia that participated in that "campaign" was Captain Joshua Hazen's Hartford company, comprised as follows: Joshua Ha- zen, captain ; William Bramble, lieutenant ; Elkanah Sp rague, ensign ; Elias Chapman, Asa Hazen, Andrew Tracy, David Wright, sergeants ; William Dunham, John Gillett, Hezekiah Hazen, Stephen Tilden, cor- porals; and privates : Elnathan and William Allen, Jonathan Bennett, David Bliss, William Burch, Erastus, Joseph and Simon Chapman, John Cheney, Daniel Clark, Nehemiah Closson, Simeon Curtis, Barjom and Levi Damon, John Dutton, Enoch Eaton, Enoch Emerson, Daniel O., Ezekiel and Israel Gillett, Jacob, Jonathan and Willis Hall, Daniel, Sol- omon, Thomas, jr., and Thomas Hazen, Thomas Holbrook, Timothy Johnson, Abel, Samuel, John, Joseph, Joseph, jr., and Roger Marsh, Elijah Mason, David Newton, Christopher and Daniel Pease, Samuel Pinneo, Elliott Porter, Calvin Luther, Rowland, jr., and Rowland Pow- ell, Jonathan Reynolds, Jehial Robbins, Francis W. and Seth Savage, Solomon Sitzel, Ashbel Smith, Ignatius Sprague, Benajah, Phineas, Solomon, jr., and Solomon Strong, Josiah Terry, Josiah and Stephen Tilden, Barnabas Tisdell, James and Thomas Tracy, Lemuel White, Joseph Williams, Benjamin and Jonathan Wright.
These militiamen with those who were in other commands, notably Captain Hodge's company, must have comprised nearly the whole able- bodied male population of Hartford at that time. Captain Hodge's company formed a part of Colonel Joseph Safford's regiment.
As has already been stated, the principal service of the companies in which this town was represented was along the northern and western frontier, sometimes at stockade forts, such as Fort Fortitude on the site of the flourishing little village of Bethel; but the men were not infre- quently called to march to the relief of some distressed settlement in New Hampshire, and in this State to the northward as well. As often
44
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HISTORY OF WINDSOR COUNTY.
as their services were demanded, so often did they respond, but their service was more a continuous marching campaign than of actual war- fare. But there were men, and a number of them, from the town who were with the armies on the western borders of Vermont and elsewhere, and engaged in actual strife.
The war with Great Britain was practically at an end during the year 1782, but it was not until the fall of 1783 that the treaty of peace was signed. Then the people of the towns of Vermont were at full liberty to return to the peaceful arts of agriculture and manufacture, the genera building up of homes and villages throughout the length and breadth of the entire State. But, during the period of the war, and especially dur- ing its later years, this State had been shaping a political policy with a view of obtaining admission to the federal Union. This, of course, New York opposed, strenuously and bitterly. The subject was an absorbing one, and in it the people of Hartford took the greatest interest, for it was practically a renewal of the old and long existing controversy be- tween the two States. While this was an interesting and important pe- riod for this State, and its several towns, it is hardly a proper matter for comment in this place, being fully presented in the earlier chapters of this volume, to which the attention of the reader is directed.
The second war with Great Britain, that known among Americans as the War of 1812-15, was another period of agitation and discussion among the people of this town, for there did not exist, at that time, the greatest possible unanimity of sentiment among the townsmen regard - ing the policy of waging a second conflict against the mother country. There were the Loyalists and Federalists who championed the cause of their respective representatives in Congress, but in this locality the former were in the ascendency. During the war the town was again called upon to furnish troops for the service, and responded nobly. Some went to the front who never returned, but of the whole body we have no reliable record upon which to make a statement of individual or com- pany service, nor would such a recital if made be considered of much interest at the present day.
The next event of importance in the military history of the town was the war of 1861-65, but more commonly known as the war of the Re- bellion. A preceding chapter of this work has recorded at length the
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TOWN OF HARTFORD.
various regiments and commands that were, in whole or in part, raised and recruited in the towns of this county ; and has, furthermore, given the individual names of company members, by towns, who entered the service during that war. Therefore it will not be necessary in this chap- ter to furnish more than a general summary of the number of men en- listed in the town under the several calls, and for the various branches of service.
According to the reports of the adjutant-general of the State for the years 1864 and 1865, it is found that the town of Hartford stands credited with having contributed the aggregate number of two hundred and twenty-four men, exclusive of those who were in service for three months under the President's call for 75,000 men in April, 1861 ; and making no account of the " enrolled men who furnished substitutes," of whom there were three; nor of the men who were " furnished under draft and paid commutation," of whom there were three; nor of those who procured substitutes, of whom there were twenty-five. Of the aggregate number mentioned, one hundred and twenty-seven were enlisted for three years' service, eighty-three of whom were enrolled prior to the call of October 17, 1863, forty-two under that call and subsequent calls, while two more were enlisted for the same term, but for whom no designation is given. For the one year service there were twenty-eight recruits ; for nine months' service there were forty-four; in the naval service, seventeen ; volunteers re-enlisted, eleven ; entered service, two; in Veteran Reserve Corps, two. Added to these were thirteen men, not named, who were credited to the town miscellaneously.
Churches of Hartford .- The charter by which the town of Hartford was brought into existence made all the necessary and customary pro- visions for setting apart lands for the first settled minister of the gospel in the town; and in 1762, in providing for the second division of the lands, it was directed by the proprietors that a hundred-acre lot be re- served for the first settled minister, all of which was accordingly done. The first recorded disclosure of any steps looking to the erection of a meeting-house in the town is found in the proceedings of a proprietors' meeting held May 17, 1774, at which time it was voted " to build a meet- ing-house as near the center of the town as is convenient for a building spot, and the dimensions of the house to be 35 feet by 50, and two-story
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HISTORY OF WINDSOR COUNTY.
high "; also Darius Sessions was chosen to make a survey and find the center of the town ; and further, Darius Sessions, Captain Joseph Marsh and Amos Robinson were made a committee " to set down the stake where the meeting-house shall be." This being done, the sum of one hundred and fifty pounds was voted by the town for the purpose of erect- ing the edifice, and Joseph Marsh, Jonathan Burch and Amos Robinson were made a building committee to superintend the construction of the building, which was to be completed by the Ist of September, 1775, but which was not done; nor was there a meeting-house erected in the town until a number of years later. But, notwithstanding that, church serv- ices, or preaching, was had in the town soon after the year 1774. Rev. Aaron Hutchinson appears to have been the first minister to officiate, although the minister's lot seems to have fallen to Rev. Thomas Gross, who was said to have been ordained somewhere about the year 1786. Both of these clergymen were ministers of the Congregational church, and were hired and supported at the public expense. Also the Congre- gational society was the first to be formed in the town, at what was known as the Center. In 1812 Rev. Austin became its settled pastor and so continued until 1829.
The second society of the Congregational church was formed during the year 1827, and a church home was built very soon thereafter at White River village. This society virtually superceded the first organi- zation and the members of the latter became united with the second soci- ety, under invitation, in January, 1829. The White River society first took the name of the Congregational Society of White River village ; but upon the accession of the former members of the old church the consoli- dation resulted in changing the name to the Second Congregational Society. Rev. Austin Hazen was the first employed minister, but his relation with the church ceased after about three months. Rev. John K. Lord became pastor in 1841, and in 1847 was dismissed, after which, March Ist, 1848, Rev. Josiah Merrill was ordained. The latter resigned in 1856, and was succeeded by Rev. Benjamin F. Ray, who continued pastor from February, 1860, to July, 1870. Five years later Rev. S. In- gersoll Briant was called and ordained.
The next church society of this denomination was the result of pre- liminary meetings commenced in 1829, although it was not until the suc-
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