History of Windsor County, Vermont, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers, Part 35

Author: Aldrich, Lewis Cass. ed. cn; Holmes, Frank R
Publication date: 1891
Publisher: Syracuse, N. Y., D. Mason & Co.
Number of Pages: 1260

USA > Vermont > Windsor County > History of Windsor County, Vermont, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 35

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Subsequent to the period of these local disturbances the history of Hartland was an uneventful one. The people of the town were, of course, interested in the controversy with New York, and were also in- terested in having Vermont recognized as a State of the Union ; and the people of the town were interested in what was known as the eastern union, with the New Hampshire towns, and in the further proceedings looking to the union with New Hampshire on the part of towns west of the River Connecticut. But in the main the part taken by the town was the discussion of these events at the fireside and the usual places of resort in the town.

During the period of the War of 1812-15 the town furnished her

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HISTORY OF WINDSOR COUNTY.

quota of volunteers for the service, and, judging from the records at that time and just before, it is fair to assume that the whole number of the ambitious young men of Hartland, and some older, perhaps, were among the enrolled militia, although but comparatively few entered the army.

But it was during the late war, that of 1861-65, that the town of Hartland made its best record. The names of its volunteers will be found in an earlier chapter of this work, and it is a fact that there was hardly a command raised in the State or county but had at least a few representatives from Hartland on its muster roll. The record of the volunteers from the town, and the county as well, will be found in the chapter referred to, so that it will be necessary in this connection to furnish a brief summary of the representatives from the town in the service. The reports of the adjutant-general of the State show that the aggregate of men sent from Hartland, and with which the town was credited, exclusive of three months' men, was 208, under the following divisions and branches of the service : Recruits for three years credited previous to the call of October 17, 1863, 39; recruits for three years under call of October 17, 1863, and subsequent calls, 45 ; volunteers for one year, 21 ; for nine months, 39; miscellaneous credits, not named, II ; re-enlisted, 10 ; furnished under drafts and procured substitutes, 15 ; enrolled men who furnished substitutes, 7 ; entered United States Navy, 21.

A somewhat singular fact in connection with the history of Hartland is that the population of the town at the present time is less than that of one hundred years ago, being the only town in the county, save one, concerning which this can be said. Comparing Hartland with her sister town on the north, it is seen that in 1771 Hartland had a population of 144, while Hartford had 190. In 1790 this town's population was 1,652, while that of Hartford was only 988. In 1880 the census gave Hart- ford 2,954, and Hartland only 1,598. This is not the result of rivalry between the towns, but rather the result of circumstances. The natural resources of the towns have been about equal, Hartford having the larger streams and better water-power, while Hartland has the lesser water privileges, but the better agricultural lands. But still, Hartford has been susceptible of greater development than this town, added to

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TOWN OF HARTLAND.

which are the several railroads centering at a single point in the pioneer town, the benefits of which have been almost incalculable.

The town of Hartland has three small villages or trading centers, called respectively Hartland, but better known as Hartland Three Cor- ners, and formerly as Summerville; Hartland Four Corners, and North Hartland, each of which is a post town. The two first named are separated by a distance of but little more than one mile. At Hartland the mercantile business is done by two well appointed general stores, W. R. Sturtevant and B. F. Labaree being the respective proprietors. At the Four Corners the main mercantile business is conducted by Leonard Brothers. The merchants at North Hartland are W. D. Spauld- ing and J. O'Neil & Co. In addition to the mercantile houses the vil- lages have the usual contingent of shops and smaller business enter- prises incident to such localities.

Soon after the settlement and organization of the town it became one of the first duties of the townsmen to make some provision for a place for holding church or religious meetings, but in this town, the same as in many others, the erection of a meeting-house was the subject of more discussion than actual construction. In Hartland this subject began to be agitated as early as, if not before, 1779, but the first record upon the matter appears in the minutes of the year named, and at a meeting held May 10, at which time the town voted to hire Rev. Martin Tuller to preach two Sabbaths more, (indicating that he had preached even before that time,) one-half of the time in Dr. Paul Spooner's barn, and the other half in Colonel Lyme's barn. On the 3Ist of May, 1779, Mr. Laiton, Elias Weld and Mr. Gallup, a committee chosen for the purpose, decided to " set the meeting-house " in the center of the town, on lands that Mr. Bugbee had offered to donate for that purpose. At a meeting held February 7, 1780, the freemen voted to divide the town into two societies, the north and south, but this was afterward reconsidered, much to the dissatisfaction of a part of the towns-folk. The first church was built at Hartland in 1785, for the Congregational society, but this edifice was replaced by another in 1834. The Methodists have two societies in the town, one at Hartland and the other at North Hartland, each being provided with a church home. The Universalist church building is at Hartland Four Corners.

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HISTORY OF WINDSOR COUNTY.

In manufacturing industries the town has not been particularly prolific, but there have been a few that were at one time quite important. On the site of what was known as the Sturtevant mills, recently burned, originally stood the Jonathan Chase grist-mill, erected some time prior to the year 1795. This was unquestionably the first grist-mill in the town. The property finally, in 1840, passed to the Sturtevants, and was changed to a woolen- mill. It afterward was sold to J. E. Ashworth & Co., and was still later destroyed by fire.

The town now has two sash, blind and planing-mills, owned respect- ively by Martin & Stickney and A. A. Martin; the saw-mills of Asa Merritt, J. F. Lyman and S. C. Jenne; the foundry of Francis Gilbert ; and the Otta Quechee woolen- mills, an extensive industry at the north village, and the pail factory of D. S. Willard at the same place.

Hartland was first divided into school districts about 1799, and there was then created nineteen districts. This number has frequently changed by consolidation and discontinuance. The greatest number at any one time was twenty- two, whole, joint and fractional. At present there are but sixteen. The school-buildings are fully up to the average in the county, some quite pretentious, while others are less so.

The present principal town officers of Hartland are as follows : Clerk, W. R. Sturtevant; treasurer, E. W. Billings ; selectmen, Asa Weed, J. H. Eastman, C. C. Gates ; listers, E. S. Ainsworth, George W. Spear, Wilson Britton ; constable, O. W. WValdo; superintendent, C. E. Bill- ings ; overseer, C. P. Burk ; agent, E M. Goodwin.

Succession of town Representatives : 1778, William Gallup ; 1779, Elias Weld; 1780, Daniel Spooner ; 1781, Elias Weld; 1782, Roger Enos and Elias Weld ; 1783, William Gallup ; 1784, Roger Enos and William Gallup; 1785, William Gallup; 1786-87, Elias Weld ; 1788, William Gallup; 1789, George Denison ; 1790, Oliver Gallup; 1791, Roger Enos; 1792 to 1796, Oliver Gallup; 1797, Ebenezer Allen ; 1798, Oliver Gallup; 1799, Samuel Perkins; 1800, Oliver Gallup; 1801 to 1809, Elihu Luce ; 1810, Laban Webster; 1811-12, Elihu Luce ; 1813-14, David H. Sumner ; 1815-18, Elihu Luce; 1819-22, Simeon Willard; 1823-24, Isaac N. Cushman; 1825-26, Robert Bartlett; 1827, Albi Lull; 1828-29, Simeon Willard ; 1830-31, Elihu Luce ; 1832, Isaac N. Cushman ; 1833-34, Wells Hadley ; 1835-36, John S Marcy ;

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TOWN OF WEST WINDSOR.

1837-39, Daniel Ashley ; 1840-41, Hamden Cutts; 1842-43, Daniel Dennison ; 1844-45, Lewis Merritt; 1846, Henry Shedd ; 1847, Ham- den Cutts; 1848, Eben M. Stocker ; 1849, Ward Cotton; 1850, Pas- chal P. Taft; 1851-52, Daniel Dennison ; 1853-54, Jonathan Hodgman; 1855, George C. West; 1856, none ; 1857, John Colby ; 1858, Ham- den Cutts ; 1859-60, John Colby ; 1861-62, Nathaniel Weed ; 1863-65, John Colby; 1866-67, Lewis Emmens; 1868-69, Oliver Smith; 1870- 71, Edwin H. Bagley ; 1872-73, Charles C. Thornton; 1874-75, El- mer M Goodwin ; 1876-77, Charles C. Thornton ; 1878-79, Charles C. Thornton ; 1880-81, Elmer M. Goodwin; 1882-83, James G. Bates ; 1884-85, Asa Weed; 1886-87, W. R. Sturtevant; 1888-89, H. R. Miller.

CHAPTER XVIII.

HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF WEST WINDSOR.

1 HE town of West Windsor is the youngest of the civil divisions of Windsor county ; likewise it is one of the smallest towns of the county. An act of the Legislature of Vermont, passed and adopted Oc- tober 26, 1848, divided the old and historic town of Windsor, by a north and south line, thus creating a new town which was called West Wind- sor. But prior to this act the town had been divided, first. during the preceding century, and again in the early part of the present century, concerning which division mention will be made later on.

On the 6th of July, 1761, Governor Benning Wentworth, of New Hampshire province, issued charters for the three towns of Windsor, Reading, and Plymouth, each of which was estimated to contain thirty- six square miles of land, with allowances, being each six miles square or thereabouts. To all intents and purposes these charters were simulta- neous. Settlement of course commenced earlier and progressed more rapidly in Windsor than in the other towns named, it being on the Con- necticut River, more easily accessible, and an altogether more desirable body of land. But when the king's order was issued, by which all the lands west of the Connecticut River were declared to belong to the ju-

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HISTORY OF WINDSOR COUNTY.

risdiction of New York province, the proprietors of Windsor, fearing that their lands might be taken away from them, at once made applica- tion to that province for a new charter, which was granted July 7, 1766, making the petitioners proprietors, not only of the same town formerly granted by Governor Wentworth, but enlarging its territory a little, to the extent of some eight hundred acres. A discussion or controversy arose between these new proprietors, or rather between the new and former proprietors, and a second charter was taken from New York in 1772, March 2d ; and still a third on March 28th thereafter, granting, however, the same lands as by the first charter, including the eight hun - dred acres additional lands to the New Hampshire charter. Reading, too, was granted by New York on March 6th, 1772, but included only the same extent of lands as contained in Governor Wentworth's charter.

Under these charters or grants subsequent surveys were made ; but in running the lines of Windsor to conform with the New York charter that gave the additional land, it was found that the town would lap over and include some of the Reading territory, which the proprietors of Windsor insisted upon claiming and taking, notwithstanding the protests of Read- ing's proprietors. Nathan Stone seems to have represented the Wind- sor side of this controversy ; and he said, singular as such action may appear to have applied to Governor Wentworth for such relief as would enable the claimants to hold the strip, but that the governor declined to interfere unless notice of the proceeding should be given to the Reading proprietors, that they might defend their claim. This controversy, it is understood, occurred somewhere about the year 1780; and if at that time it appears somewhat remarkable that application should have been made to New Hampshireauthority, when the jurisdiction of that province had been extinguished at least sixteen years before, by the decree of the king in 1764. Had the application for relief been made to New York's provincial governor there could be nothing strange in the action, for it was that power that made the charter for the enlarged town, and it was the duty of that government to make the matter right.

But, without discussing this subject at any further length, it is suffi- cient to say that a compromise was effected, by which the strip of land, half a mile wide and extending the whole north and south distance of the towns, was equally divided between Windsor and Reading by running a

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line from the southeast to the northwest corner of Reading as it origi- nally was, but setting its northeast corner mark half a mile to the west- ward. This in a measure accounts for the singular formation of Read- ing town, which was supposed to be a block of land six miles square. The town of West Windsor, as at present formed, is bounded north by Hartland and Woodstock; east by Windsor; south by Weathersfield ; and west by Reading.

The early history of the town of West Windsor, and in fact its whole history prior to the year 1848, with brief exceptional periods, is the his- tory of the town that originally comprised the whole territory ; it is the his- tory of the town of Windsor, from which the events of its early existence cannot well be separated. Therefore, being deemed inadvisable to sepa- rate them, the reader will refer to the chapter devoted to the history of the town of Windsor for the pioneer and early events of this town, ex- cepting, of course, that branch of West Windsor's history that belongs particularly to its own chapter.

During the period of the early history of Windsor, the same as in other towns of the county, all of its affairs, civil and religious, were vested in the hands of the proprietors ; and here, as well as elsewhere, it was the custom and law that the support of the minister should be a town charge, payable from the public funds. And the meeting-house, too, in case there was one, should in the same manner be erected at the town's expense, and at a point as near the geographical center of the town as the character and situation of the land would admit. Such was the law and the custom, but the lots that were reserved for public purposes, res- ervations made in every charter at that time, instead of being located in advantageous or proper places, were selected from the, lands compre- hended by the inaccessible heights of Ascutney Mountain. This was the result of design rather than accident. Former charters, it is well under- stood, had made provision for these public lands according to the usages of the period, but in carrying out the conditions of the last charter these undesirable and wholly valueless lands were pitched upon. In fact, one of the plans had become mysteriously lost, and another replaced it ; and on the last the public "rights" were found so undesirably situated.

In making provision for building a meeting house or organizing a church society in the town of course the convenience of the people was

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HISTORY OF WINDSOR COUNTY.

to be consulted. All the conditions being favorable the natural site for a meeting-house would be near the center of the town ; but, at that time, the village of Windsor held a considerable population, and up and down the river the lands were fairly well cleared, improved and settled. Also, the western part of the town had a goodly number of residents, while the middle or central portion was comparatively unsettled, on account of its hilly and mountainous character. Ascutney Mountain, the highest point of land in the entire county, was situate in the central southern part of the town, while to the northward from it there extended a considerable range of hills practically separating the western from the eastern part of the town. Therefore, to build a meeting-house in either the east or west part of the town would work an injustice to the dwellers on the side which was so unfortunate as not to have it.

This led to a division of the town, so far as its religious existence was con cerned, into two societies or parishes, by an act of the Legislature passed and approved October 17, 1783, and entitled, " An Act for the division of the town of Windsor into two distinct societies." On the same day, and probably at the same hour of the adoption of the above mentioned act, the General Assembly passed an act entitled, " An Act to enable Towns and Parishes to build Meeting Houses & support Ministers of the Gospel." The latter was the enabling act, while the former was an act passed in pursuance of it.

It is understood that church societies of the Congregational denomina- tion were organized in both the east and west parts of the town even before the acts were passed. On this point Thompson's "Vermont " says : " At an early period two religious societies of the Congregational order were formed in Windsor, one in the east and the other in the west parish of the town. About the year 1778 the Rev. Martin Tuller and the Rev. Pelatial were ordained the first ministers over their respective churches in those parishes. . The Congregational Church in the west parish has been some time vacant."

During this period there was a diversity of opinion among the people of the town, growing out of the location of the meeting-house, which the division into parishes had not the effect of entirely quieting. Other subjects entered into the matter, which need not be discussed here, but which finally assumed such proportions that the State Legislature was

A.LITTLE.

M. F. Morrison

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TOWN OF WEST WINDSOR.

appealed to, with the result of a division of the territory of the town by an act passed November 4, 1814, as follows :

" An Act dividing the east and west parishes of Windsor into separate and distinct towns.

" It is hereby enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Ver- mont : That the east and west parishes of Windsor, from and after the first Monday of March next, be and they hereby are incorporated and made into two distinct and corporate towns ; the east parish by the name of Windsor, and the west parish by that of West Windsor, with all such privileges and immunities as other corporate towns in this State have and enjoy any law, usage or custom to the contrary notwithstanding."

Under this act the newly made town elected its officers, and sent a representative to the General Assembly in 1815, Jabez Delano being the representative chosen. But upon the passage of the act above men- tioned people of the locality discussed their differences and agreed upon terms of reconciliation and compromise ; and the General Assembly, at its next session in October, 1816, repealed the dividing act it had passed during the preceding year. So the town of West Windsor, after an ex- istence of but a single year, again became united to the mother town.

However in 1848 the people for a third time had recourse to the Leg- islature, and the town was again divided, this time permanently. The act that then separated West Windsor from the older town was passed October 26, 1848, and was as follows :

" It is hereby enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Ver- mont :

" Section I. The town of Windsor is hereby divided and incorporated into two distinct towns by a line drawn from the northerly to the southerly line of said town, between the seventh and eight ranges of lots, in said town, as allotted and marked upon the original plan of said town, now in the town clerk's office thereof.

"Section 2. That portion of said town lying easterly of said line, shall hereafter be called and known by the name of Windsor; and that por- tion lying westerly of said line, shall hereafter be called and known by the name of West Windsor. And each of said towns hereby created, shall have and possess, and enjoy the same powers, privileges and im- munities as all other incorporated towns in this State.

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HISTORY OF WINDSOR COUNTY.

"Section 3. The paupers now supported by the town of Windsor, and such persons as have removed, and may hereafter become chargeable to said towns as paupers, shall hereafter be supported at the equal expense of the towns of Windsor and West Windsor, in proportion to their re- spective grand lists.

" Section 4. All property now owned and possessed by the town of Windsor, shall be owned and enjoyed by the said towns of Windsor and West Windsor, in proportion to the grand lists of the persons residing within the territorial limits of said towns of Windsor and West Windsor, respectively, for the year 1848; and the debts now due from the town of Windsor shall be paid by the said towns of Windsor and West Wind- sor, hereby incorporated, in the same proportion.

" Section 5. The town records of the present town of Windsor, and all papers and files now by law kept in the town clerk's office of said town, shall hereafter be deposited and kept in the town clerk's office of the town of Windsor, hereby incorporated ; and all copies of said records, which shall hereafter be made and certified, in due form of law, by the town clerk of the town of Windsor, shall have the same credit and effect that are by law given to copies and certificates made by the other town clerks in this State.

" Section 6. The said towns of Windsor and West Windsor shall be- come organized, and their first meetings, respectively, shall be called and holden in the manner prescribed by section eight, of chapter thir- teen of the Revised Statutes."

By this act of the State Legislature West Windsor became an entirely distinct and separate town from Windsor, of which it had hitherto formed a part; and as such became entitled to elect its own officers and admin- ister its own affairs, and have a separate representation in the General Assembly of the State. This division of Windsor gave to the new creation over half the lands of the old town, with a full proportion of the mountainous region in the south part, known as the Ascutney Mountain, while that called Little Ascutney lay entirely within the new town.

After the division the first election for town officers was held in Janu- ary, 1849: Gilman H. Shedd was chosen town clerk; Daniel Read, Joel Hale and Thomas Bagley, selectmen ; and Marcus Wooster, constable.

Frank S. Hale

ALITTLE.

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TOWN OF WEST WINDSOR.

In the fall of 1849 Daniel Read was elected representative in the Gen- eral Assembly of the State.

But West Windsor has never achieved any special prominence among the towns of the county, nor have her people ever had any desire that their town should become one of great importance ; they desired a sep- arate existence that they might govern the town in their own way and in accordance with their own ideas, and this much accomplished, the summit of their ambition was reached.

West Windsor is an agricultural rather than a manufacturing town ; still, some effort has been made in the direction of the latter industry, the waters of Mill River affording excellent mill privileges for the pur- pose, and this has been utilized more in the vicinity of Brownsville than elsewhere. The most important, perhaps, of the industries of the town was the so-called Perkins woolen-mill, which was established by Josiah Perkins in 1831, for the manufacture of woolen and flannel goods. In 1850 this and the grist-mill were about the only industries of the locality. In 1860 the woolen-mill was in operation, and A. A. Pierce was en- gaged in manufacturing leather. Ten years later the Perkins mill was running, M. B. & S. W. Perkins, proprietors, and Ira C. Small run the saw and lumber-mill. The latter was afterward converted into a grist, cider and saw-mill, and became quite an industry. In 1880 the Sykes mill was still operating, and L. C. White was making hosiery at the woolen-mill.

In 1850 the town of West Windsor had a population of 1,002; 1860, 924; 1870, 708; 1880, 696; and at present the number of inhabitants cannot vary much from 650.

Reference has already been made to the old Congregational society of the West Parish, as this part of the town was then called. Some time after the organization of that society, and probably about 1800, a Bap- tist society was formed in the West Parish, but that, too, is now extinct. Elder Samuel Lawson was its first pastor. The Methodist society, the church of which is at Brownsville, was formed about the year 1810, with Rev. Chester Leavens as first pastor. The first church edifice was of brick, and built in 1831, and the present frame building in 1860. The only other church building in the town is the Union at the hamlet called Sheddsville.

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HISTORY OF WINDSOR COUNTY.

Representatives in General Assembly from West Windsor: 1815, Jabez Delano ; 1849-50, Daniel Read ; 1851-52, M. Worcester ; 1853, Daniel Read; 1854-55, Jonas B. Bartlett ; 1856-57, Orange Leavens ; 1858-59, D. F. Hemenway; 1860-61, G. H. Shedd; 1862, M. N. Lin - coln ; 1863, Micah N. Lincoln; 1864-65, M. F. Morrison ; 1866-67, Gilman H. Shedd ; 1868-69, Eugene H. Spaulding ; 1870-71, Daniel Benjamin ; 1872-73, Moses P. Perkins; 1874-75, Eugene H. Spaulding; 1876-77, Allen Savage; 1878-79, Eugene H. Spaulding; 1880-81, M. F. Morrison ; 1882-83, Eugene H. Spaulding; 1884-85, F. S. Hale; 1886-87, J. C. Taylor ; 1888-89, F. S. Hale.

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History of Windsor County, Vermont, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers, Part 35

Author: Aldrich, Lewis Cass. ed. cn; Holmes, Frank R Publication date: 1891 Publisher: Syracuse, N. Y., D. Mason & Co. Number of Pages: 1260

Author: Aldrich, Lewis Cass. ed. cn; Holmes, Frank R
Publication date: 1891
Publisher: Syracuse, N. Y., D. Mason & Co.
Number of Pages: 1260