USA > Vermont > Windsor County > History of Windsor County, Vermont, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 34
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97 | Part 98 | Part 99 | Part 100 | Part 101 | Part 102 | Part 103 | Part 104
At that time the Legislature was in session at Windsor. The first act changing the name of the town was passed June 15, 1782, and by it the name of Waterford was given, and this act was concurred in and ap- proved by the Governor and Council ; but, on the 17th thereafter, this action was reconsidered, and the name Hartland substituted for Water- ford, as will be seen from the following extract from the journal of the executive body of the State : "The act mentioned in yesterday's jour- nal (meaning Saturday's, for 'yesterday' was Sunday), altering the name of Hertford to Waterford as concurred by this council, was this day re- considered, and proposed to the Assembly by Paul Spooner, esq., from the council, to be altered from Waterford to Hartland." By this name the town will hereafter be designated in this chapter, whether referring to events that occurred before or after the act was adopted.
On the 23d of July, 1766, under the authority of the provincial gov- ernor of New York, the New Hampshire charter was confirmed to Oliver Willard and his associates, the result of an application made to New York, for the purpose of quieting in their possession those holding under the original charter; and for the further purpose of preventing New
360
HISTORY OF WINDSOR COUNTY.
York from granting the lands of the town to another and independent set of proprietors, which, had it been done, would undoubtedly have re- sulted in an internal controversy in the town.
Hartland is one of the six towns of Windsor county that enjoys the benefits of having an eastern frontage on the Connecticut River, which fact implies that the town possesses some of the most fertile and pro- ductive agricultural lands to be found in the county ; and further, that the lands, generally, are reasonably level and easy of cultivation, and especially so when placed in comparison with a majority of the towns further to the interior. Still, Hartland is by no means destitute of hill lands, and the fact is that she is abundantly well supplied with them, and some pretentious ones, too, but they are the exception, and not the rule, the reverse of the case with many other localities. The town con- tains 23,350 acres, approximately, or its equivalent in square miles of thirty-nine and sixty-hundredths. It is bounded north by Hartford ; east by the Connecticut River; south by the towns of Windsor and West Windsor ; and west by Woodstock.
The town has two principal water-courses, the Otta Quechee River in the northern, and the Lull Brook in the southern part, the former much the larger stream. These drain the portions of the town through which they pass, and on their course receive the waters of several tributaries. Both discharge into the Connecticut on the east border of the town.
The town of Hartland, as has already been stated, was chartered in 1761, but the earliest meetings of the proprietors were held at such places, not, however, in the town, as would best suit the convenience of the majority of them. The first record looking to the holding of a town proprietors' meeting within the limits of Hartland is found among the papers on file in the town clerk's office, and that appears to be an order made by Oliver Willard, then the proprietors' clerk, based upon the ap- plication of proprietors representing more than the necessary one-six- teenth of shareholders, requesting a meeting in Hertford (Hartland) at the dwelling house of Captain Oliver Willard, on the 15th day of March, 1763, for the purpose of choosing a proprietors' clerk, town officers, and to ascertain whether the proprietors would raise a sum of money for the purpose of cutting and making roads in the town. The order bears the date of February 21, 1763, and is signed by Oliver Willard, proprietors' clerk.
361
TOWN OF HARTLAND.
From this ancient document, being, as it was, an order based upon the petition of right owners representing more than one-sixteenth part of the proprietors, which was the number necessary to en- title the owners to hold a meeting in the town and choose town officers, it would appear that the settlement of the town must have commenced earlier than has been understood and reported by previous writers, or that Timothy Lull and the other first settlers came to the town very early during the year 1763. The meeting called for by Oliver Willard's order was to have been holden on the 15th of March, 1763, but it hardly seems possible that it could have been held in accordance with it. The order itself is written on a half-sheet of paper, and is found inclosed within the pages of the first record, but is not attached to the book. And there is nothing in the town records to indicate that a meeting was held in pursuance of the order, or that there was any town meeting earlier than 1767.
It is generally conceded by all writers of Hartland town history that the first settlement in the town was made during the month of May, 1763, and that Timothy Lull and his family were the pioneers. Con- cerning this settlement the present writer quotes from Thompson as fol - lows: "The settlement of the town was commenced in May, 1763, by Timothy Lull, from Dummerston, in this State. At this time there were no inhabitants on Connecticut River between Charlestown, then (Fort) No. 4, and Hartland. A few families had, however, settled in Newbury, about forty miles to the north of this place. Mr. Lull moved into the town in the following manner: Having purchased a log canoe, he pro- ceeded in that up the Connecticut River, with his furniture and family, consisting of a wife and four children. He arrived at the mouth of a considerable brook in Hartland, where he landed his family, tied his canoe, and, breaking a junk bottle in the presence of his little family, named the stream Lull's Brook, by which name it has ever since been known. He proceeded up the brook about a mile, to a log hut which had been previously erected, near the place now called Sumner's village (Hartland). Here he spent his days and died at the advanced age of eighty-one years."
And upon this same point, the first settlement by Timothy Lull, an- other and more recent writer, evidently a resident of the town, says :
46
362
HISTORY OF WINDSOR COUNTY.
" The first settlement in Hartland was made in May, 1763, by Timothy Lull, who had previously been living at Dummerston. Having con- cluded to settle in Hertford, as it was then called, he purchased a log canoe, and taking with him his family, which consisted of a wife and four children, and such furniture as they needed, paddled up the Connecticut River. Arriving at the mouth of a stream just north of the south- ern line of the town, he anchored his boat and landed his family. Taking then a junk bottle, he broke it in the presence of his wife and children, and named the stream Lull Brook-the name by which it has since been known. Proceeding up the brook about a mile, he came to a deserted log hut, situated upon the farm now (1882) owned by E. M. Goodwin. Here he commenced a settlement. For many years he suffered privations and hardships, 'but possessing a strong constitution and a vigorous mind he overcame all obstacles, accumulated a handsome property, lived respected, and died at the age of eighty-one years, generally lamented.' He reared a family of nine children, of whom Timothy was the first male child born in the town. This birth occurred in December, 1764, on which occasion the doctress was drawn on the ice twenty-three miles from Charlestown, N. H., on a hand-sled."
Aside from the fact that the second account is somewhat more full and extended than that first quoted, there appears to be no material difference in the statements. Both agree in saying that Mr. Lull pro- ceeded up the brook, but the first states that he came "to a log hut which had been previously erected," while the second narrative says " he came to a deserted log hut." From both statements it is fair to assume that somebody had been to the region in advance of Mr. Lull; or how shall we account for the log hut previously erected ? No account asserts that Mr. Lull had ever visited the place before, while the latter infrequently, at least, states that he had not by these words: "Having concluded to settle in Hertford," etc. This is not an important subject for consideration here, but it is apparent that some attempt at effecting a settlement, either temporary or permanent, had been made before the coming of Timothy Lull in May, 1763.
The settlement made by the family of Timothy Lull was soon followed by others, and with such expedition that in 1771 the population of the town, according to the enumeration made then by the New York author-
363
TOWN OF HARTLAND.
ity, reached one hundred and forty-four, showing the presence of some- thing like twenty-five families. At all events, in 1767, within the brief period of three years from the time of Timothy Lull's coming, the town was permanently organized; and organized in accordance with the usages and laws of the province of New York, for the year preceding this, in 1766, that province, through its governing officers, had confirmed to the grantees under New Hampshire, or to their agents and repre- sentatives, their rights under the charter from the last named province. At that time Hartland was a part of the county of Cumberland, which county had been organized under the authority of New York, and there was manifested here but little if any disposition on the part of the towns- people to resist the authority of New York, however much they may have preferred remaining a part of New Hampshire. The disturbances that were rampant in the district west of the mountains had no effect upon the people in this valley. The Green Mountain Boys were then but an embryo organization, acting in what was considered by many a local matter, possibly unjustifiable, and the subject of forming a new State had not then been suggested to the people. Being thus a part of a New York county, and having their charter rights, privileges and possession confirmed by that province, it was perfectly natural that the town should be organized in conformity with the laws of the controlling power.
This was done at a meeting of the inhabitants held on the 11th day of March, 1767, " being assembled," says the record, "according to patent, on the day appointed for holding annual town meetings," upon which occasion officers were chosen as follows: Moderator, Oliver Will- ard; supervisor, Oliver Willard ; assessors, Captain Zadock Wright and Lieut. Joel Matthews ; treasurer, Timothy Lull; overseers of highways, Ensign Laiton and Lieut. Joel Matthews; overseers of the poor, Oliver Willard and Joseph Harwood ; collector, Nathan Call; constables, Cap- tain Zadock Wright, Timothy Lull, Ebenezer Call and Joel Matthews. The records of this meeting do not disclose the name of the person chosen town clerk, if indeed one was elected; but it is presumed that Oliver Willard acted in that capacity, the first record of his election, however, appearing in the proceedings of the annual meeting held in March, 1769.
From this time forth for several years the records of the town disclose
364
HISTORY OF WINDSOR COUNTY.
nothing of special importance except the annual meetings for the election of officers, but when the affairs of the district of the New Hampshire Grants began to assume some tangible form, the inhabitants began to take considerable interest in what was then going on. The town does not appear to have been represented in any of the Dorset conventions, nor at the Westminster convention in January, 1777; but at the ad- journed session held at Windsor on the 4th of June, 1777, the town was represented by two of its then leading citizens,-Major Joel Matthews and Mr. William Gallup,-both of whose names were subscribed to the revised declaration of rights, and to the articles by which the name of the new State was changed from New Connecticut to Vermont.
Although there does not 'appear to have been a representative from Hartland in any convention previous to that of June 4, 1777, there is evidence tending to show that William Gallup was in attendance at all of them, as will be seen by the following extract taken from the "Governor and Council ": " William Gallup, of Hartland, was a delegate in the Con- vention at Windsor, June 4, 1777, as appears from the printed record. His son, Doct. Joseph A. Gallup, in a memoir dated August 14, 1846, states that his ' father, William Gallup, was one of the seventy-one dele- gates, members of the Convention that met at Dorset and Westminster and Windsor in 1776, 1777, and declared Vermont a free and independent State. Although only of the age of eight years, I well remember the time of these transactions and the great solicitude and excitement that prevailed and seemed to pervade the minds of all classes of society. He died August 13, 1803, aged sixty-nine years. He had been a delegate of the convention which met at Windsor to frame a constitution for the State of Vermont; was also for many years a member of the General Assembly.'"
On the 3d of March, 1778, prior to the first election under the consti - tution, a number of men of Hartland took the freeman's oath. They were Dr. Paul Spooner, Major Joel Matthews, Ensign Matthias Rust, William Gallup, Thomas Rood, Jonah Loomis, Ensign Daniel Spooner, Oliver Rust, Moses Squire, Jonas Matthews, John Dunbar, Oliver Tay- lor, Nathan Harvey, Zebulon Lee, John Goldsbury, Isaac Stevens, Thomas Richardson, Ensign Saul Taylor, and George Burk.
Soon after this, on the 10th of the same month, the annual town meet-
A LITTLE
365
TOWN OF HARTLAND.
ing was held at the dwelling house of William Gallup, and officers chosen in accordance with the constitutional provisions of the State of Vermont, as follows: Moderator, Dr. Paul Spooner ; town clerk, Dr. Paul Spooner; selectmen, Lieutenant Jonathan Burk, Ensign Daniel Spooner, and Zebu- lon Lee ; constable, Captain Aaron Willard ; assessors, Captain Aaron Willard, Dr. Paul Spooner and Robert Morrison. Also Captain Aaron Willard and John Barrell with the selectmen were chosen to be the sub- committee for the year. The sub-committee was undoubtedly the Com- mittee of Safety for the town. On the 7th of July, of this year, Captain Elias Weld was elected justice of the peace.
The mention of the name Paul Spooner brings to mind one of the lead ing men of his time, and one who, perhaps, was the most prominent and influential of Hartland's early residents. He was in his day just what David H. Sumner was in his day, although the latter's connection with the town was of comparatively recent date.
"Dr. Paul Spooner," says the " Governor and Council," "appears first in Vermont history as a delegate from Hartland, in a convention at West- minster, Oct. 19, 1774, called to condemn the tea act, the Boston port bill, and other kindred measures of the king and parliament of Great Britain. Doctor Spooner was one of the committee which made a written report expressing surprise that the king and parliament should dare to assert 'a right to build the colonies in all cases whatsoever,' and to take, 'at their pleasure, the properties of the king's American subjects without their consent,' &c. He again appeared as a delegate at a convention of Whigs at Westminster, Feb. 7, 1775, and was secretary. Still again, June 6, 1775, he was a delegate at a Cumberland County Congress, so called, and was chosen one of three delegates to represent the county in the New York Provincial Congress. He served as such for the remainder of the session which commenced May 23, 1775, was re-elected Nov. 7, and served in the session which commenced Nov. 14. May 5, 1777, he was chosen sheriff of Cumberland county under New York, but declined ac- cepting the office in a letter dated July 15. Just one week before writ- ing that letter he had been appointed one of the Vermont Council of Safety, which office he accepted, and was appointed deputy secretary thereof in the absence of the secretary, Ira Allen. He was a member of the first Council under the constitution, and was re-elected five times,
366
HISTORY OF WINDSOR COUNTY.
serving from 1778 till October, 1782. when he was elected lieutenant- governor, and annually re elected until 1787. Twice he was agent from Vermont to Congress, in 1780 and again in 1782. For nine years he was a judge of the Supreme Court, in 1779 and 1780, and again from 1782 to 1788. During the same period, in 1781 and 1782, he was judge of probate for Windsor county. He died at Hartland, September 5, 1789."
In the first book of Hartland town records there appears in the plain and bold characteristic handwriting of Paul Spooner the record of his marriages, for he was twice married, and the dates of the births of his children. From the record there made it appears that on April 15, 1770, Paul Spooner was married to Asenath Wright of this town, by Oliver Williams, justice of the peace of Cumberland county. His children were, as shown by the records, Betty, born December 22, 1770; Paul, born September 19, 1772; Amasa, born December 11, 1774. Also, that on the 10th of March, 1777, Asenath, daughter to Amasa and Mary Wright, and wife to Paul Spooner, died, aged 22 years, 9 months and 23 days ; and further, that on January 5, 1780, at Oxford, Paul Spooner was mar- ried to Mrs. Ann Post.
In addition to the persons already mentioned as having taken the free- man's oath just prior to the town election under the Vermont authority, there may also be named the following persons, each of whom took the oath on September 4, 1781: Seth Moseley, Joseph Evens, Eleazer Bishop, Francis Cabot, James Williams, Eleazer Paine, Daniel Bugbee, Timothy Waters, Joseph Grow, Joseph Grow, jr., Daniel Short, John Grow, Samuel Grow, Ambrose Grow, Joseph Olmstead, Marston Cabot, Elisha Gallup, John Laiton, Samuel Williams.
Throughout the long and dreary years of the war with Great Britain that resulted in American independence, the residents of Hartland, with but very few exceptions, were earnestly interested in the contest, and the records show that meetings were frequently held at which measures were taken for sending men into the service from the town; but it is impossible to name them, as they are nowhere recorded. At that time Hartland was practically a frontier town and required the maintenance of an armed force of minutemen, ready for any emergency that might arise, but fortunately they were not called into action on account of an invasion of their own town, although a number joined in the expedition
367
TOWN OF HARTLAND.
against the party of Indians that attacked and burned the northern town of Royalton, and committed other depredations on the frontier.
But loyal as was the great majority of the people of Hartland, the town was entirely free from that class usually called Tories, and in accordance with the custom of the period it became necessary for the State to make some disposition of the lands of inimical persons. For this purpose William Gallup was made commissioner of the confiscated lands, to effect their sale and devote the proceeds thereof to the benefit of the town. His appointment was made by the Assembly March 24, 1778. But before the lands were sold the commissioner was required to place one thousand dollars in the State treasury, not as payment for the land, but in the nature of a loan for the term of one year, as a guaranty fund to be repaid to the persons buying the confiscated estates in case the sale should not prove to be regular and justifiable, and the persons whose lands were sold should eventually prove not to be inimical within the meaning of the term.
In accordance with his duty Captain Gallup appointed Matthias Rust and Charles Spaulding appraisers, and to conduct the sales. The report of the appraisers was as follows: " We, the subscribers, being appointed by William Gallup, of Hartland, in the State of Vermont, to appraise certain lots, or parcels of land belonging to Whitehad Hicks, (and gone over to the enemy,) agreeable to a vote of the honorable House of Representatives of said State, in March last, have viewed and appraised sundry lots as follows : being sworn to the faithful discharge of the trust, etc., viz .: One lot, the property of 'Stiversant,' (either Stuyvesant, or Sturtevant,) No. 6, second range, 300 acres, price 6 shillings per acre, purchased by John Sumner and Nehemiah Liscomb."
A large portion of the lots sold were formerly the property of White- head Hicks, mayor of the city of New York, and a person whose conduct was considered highly inimical. The extent of the Hicks lands so sold amounted to 1,422 acres, and that owned by the person called " Stiver- sant " amounted to the aggregate of 1,488 acres. From this sale Cap - tain Gallup paid into the treasury more than 1, 118 pounds.
The years of 1782 and 1786 witnessed the occurrence of certain events in the history of Hartland town that were decidedly out of the regular order of things; events riotous and tumultuous in their nature, being
368
HISTORY OF WINDSOR COUNTY.
acts of unwarrantable and unjustifiable assumption of power, the one case the administration of supposed justice by individuals, and the other an attempt to resist the laws of the county. It appears that in 1782 one John Billings was charged with a crime, or misdemeanor, and was tried and convicted, and punished to a degree commensurate with his offense. But, not being satisfied with the visitation of justice upon the offending Billings, certain of the men of the town took upon themselves the au- thority of administering further punishment upon the culprit, according to their own notions of what would be appropriate for the offense in ad - dition to what the law had already done. These men took the offending person, secured him astride the back of an exceedingly lean horse, tied heavy weights to each of his feet, and then compelled him to ride a considerable distance in this extremely awkward and uncomfortable position; in fact, a somewhat ancient and novel application of that method of punishment called " riding on a rail."
This visitation by the pioneer vigilantes of the town rendered them amenable to the law, and they, in turn, were arrested, upon the com- plaint of their victim, and made to answer in damages before the bar of justice of the county. The names of the participants in this event were Jedediah Leavens, Phineas Killam, James Williams, Timothy Lull, jr., Aden Williams, Timothy Banister, Simeon Williams, Joab Belden and William Miller of Hartland, and Amos Robinson and Moses Morse of Windsor.
The second unlawful proceeding in which persons of Hartland were charged with being participants occurred during the year 1786, and proved to be a series of attempts at outlawry rather than a single act ; and these were the outgrowth of just the condition of affairs mentioned in a preceding chapter1 of this volume, relating to the enforcement of the law in the collection of debts.
Concerning these disturbances the " Governor and Council," upon the authority of the Vermont Gazette of November 13 and Vermont Journal of November 20, 1786, says: "The Windsor paper of November 6 mentions that on the Tuesday before, being the day assigned by law for the sitting of the Court of Common Pleas, for that county, in that town, a Mob, about thirty, under arms, headed by Benjamin Stebbins
I See Bench and Bar chapter.
369
TOWN OF HARTLAND.
(farmer, of Barnard) and Robert Morrison (blacksmith, of Hartland), assembled, supposed with a design to stop the court. The Sheriff, Ben- jamın Wait, and State's Attorney, Stephen Jacobs, waited on them, or- dering them to disperse, read the riot act, etc. The insurgents, finding their views baffled, dispersed, and the court proceeded to business with- out molestation.
"The same paper of the 20th instant mentions, that at their last ses- sion (November 14, 1786) of the Superior Court, Robert Morrison was taken for riot. He plead guilty and threw himself on the mercy of the court, who sentenced him to suffer one month's imprisonment, procure bonds of one hundred pounds for his good behavior for two years, pay a fine of ten pounds and costs of suit. The mob hearing of the matter, sent to their friends and assembled at the house of Captain Lull, in Hartland, to the number of 30 or 40 under arms, intending a rescue. The court being informed of this, ordered the sheriff to collect assistance, proceed to the place and conduct the insurgents to prison, which, after a short scuffle with bayonets, the breeches of guns, clubs, etc., was hap- pily effected without the loss of life." (State's Attorney Jacobs and Sheriff Wait, however, were both slightly wounded.) "Twenty-seven of the insurgents were taken and brought to gaol, most of whom plead guilty and were sentenced to pay fines, cost of court, and procure bonds for their good behavior for one year.
"On hearing of other hostile movements, the militia were called for and turned out in such numbers that the insurgents did not think proper to make their appearance."
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.