USA > Vermont > Windsor County > History of Windsor County, Vermont, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 67
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Proprietors' Meeting .- The original proprietors were mostly residents of Worcester, Mass., and the adjacent towns, and according to the con- ditions of the charter held their first meeting on the third Tuesday in December, 1761. The meeting was held at the house of Luke Brown, in Worcester, the organization of the town was completed and a full board of town officers elected as follows : Luke Brown, John Goulding and Cornelius Stowell, selectmen ; John Goulding, town clerk; Palmer Goulding, treasurer and collector; Cornelius Stowell, constable.
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HISTORY OF WINDSOR COUNTY.
At the regular annual meeting held in March, of the following year, the same officials were re elected. Several of the meetings were held, and at the annual meeting held March 22, 1763, the name of Thomas Chandler, sr., first appears on the records. This man was interested at this time in the settlement of Walpole, N. H., and soon after this turned his attention to the colonization of New Flamstead. At the meeting held in 1763 Thomas Chandler, sr., Jabez Sargeant and John Chandler were chosen selectmen and assessors ; Thomas Chandler, jr., town clerk and constable ; John Chandler, surveyor of highways ; Thomas Chand- ler, sr., hayward.
The next annual meeting seems to have been held in Walpole, N. H., and the following changes were made in the town officials : In place of John Chandler, Joshua Warner was elected selectman and assessor ; David Warner was elected constable in place of Thomas Chandler, jr .; Jabez Sargeant, hayward, and Joshua Johnson, sealer of weights and measures.
The first town meeting held within the limits of the town was in March, 1765, at the dwelling of William Warner. In the warrant for the meeting we find propositions for the location of a suitable place for a meeting-house and burial-place, the granting of a tax for making and clearing highways, and to prevent obstructions from being placed in the water courses of the town. There seems to have been no action taken on any of these matters by the town, which was, no doubt, on account of the land difficulties at that time. This was, in fact, the last meeting held under the New Hampshire charter, or by the town of New Flam- stead. The following were elected to fill the town offices at the above meeting : Thomas Chandler, sr., Jabez Sargeant, Edward Johnson, Josiah Farwell and Nathan Earle, selectmen; Thomas Chandler, jr .. town clerk ; Thomas Chandler, sr., town treasurer ; John Chandler, constable.
Under the New York Charter .- The land difficulties having been decided by George III. in favor of New York, Gov. Tryon, of that prov- ince, on July 14, 1766, granted a third charter for the territory then known as New Flamstead. Under this charter Thomas Chandler and thirty-four of his associates became proprietors of the town, and its name was changed to Chester. Under this charter, or by authority
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TOWN OF CHESTER.
derived from it, the lands of Chester are now held. The first meeting held under this charter was on the first Monday in June, 1767, when the town was organized, and a full quota of officers elected. Thomas Chandler was elected supervisor and town clerk. From this time until 1772 there is no record of the election of any town officers, but during that time the records are in the handwriting of Thomas Chandler, and he, no doubt, occupied the position of town clerk and supervisor.
The county of Cumberland was erected by the provincial govern- ment of New York, July 3, 1766, and the act made provision for a court-house and jail. At a meeting of the supervisors it was voted to levy a tax of two hundred pounds on those residing or sojourning in the county for constructing a court-house and jail. Chester being consid- ered the most convenient town in the county, and being centrally located, it was chosen for the shire town. By another act a Court of Common Pleas and General Sessions were established to hold two ses- sions yearly in Chester ; Thomas Chandler, sr., was appointed chief judge of the County Court, and his son, John Chandler, clerk.
In 1768 a new charter was granted to Cumberland county, and Ches- ter was again decided upon as the location of the county buildings. Although there were objections to Chester as the county town, both on account of its distance from the Connecticut River and its backwardness as compared with other settlements, yet these objections were for the time effectually silenced by Judge Chandler, who promised that he would, " at his own expense, build a good and sufficient court-house and jail at Chester." How well his promise was kept will appear by the annexed extract from an old document. The time to which the description applies is the latter part of the year 1770. That which " then was called a jail," says the old document, " was a place made in the corner of a dwelling, or hut, the walls of which house were made of small hackmatack poles locked together at the corners by cut- ting notches into the poles and laying them notch into notch, so as to bring the poles as near together as conveniently might be. The cracks, or vacancies between pole and pole, were filled with tow, moss, or clay. The chamber floor was laid with shingle boards, which were not nailed, but laid loose. Such was the house, a corner of which then had the name of jail, which jail corner may be justly described as follows : Small palisades, or poles of the diameter of about six inches each, were
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HISTORY OF WINDSOR COUNTY.
set up, one end of them on the lower floor, and the other end reaching one of the joists, on which rested the upper floor. These poles resting against the joists hindered them from falling forward into the jail part, and another pole at some inches distant was pegged up with wooden pegs, which pole was fixed about parallel with the joist, and prevented the palisades from falling outward from the jail apartment ; and as many of the palisades were not fastened at the top or bottom, nor the chamber floor nailed, it was always in the power of any man who might be put in the jail apartment to push away the loose upper floor boards and move away the palisades and be at liberty." The jail stood where the late Coleman Sanders resided.
In the summer of 1771 the inhabitants began the erection of another jail, which was never finished, but the old jail was strengthened. Judge Chandler, in 1771, began the erection of a court-house, which, accord ing to his description, was " 30 feet long, 16 feet wide, and II feet posts," and was planned so as to be " convenient " when finished. This building was provided with a " sufficient lobby, or room fit for a jury, with a fire-place in it," and was covered with the same kind of roofing. It was leased to the county for a term of ten years, and as much longer as they might choose to use it. But the people, who liad become dis- pleased with Chandler's efforts at jail building, were now doubly in- censed at his failure atcourt-house construction. Before the commence- ment of this last failure efforts had been made to remove the shire town from Chester, and, after much agitation, some rioting, etc., the supervis- ors, at a meeting held at Chester, May 26, 1772, chose Westminster for the shire town of Cumberland county. Thus ended the history of Ches- ter as a county seat, and we conclude the history of this period with a sketch of the man who was, without doubt, one of the most prominent citizens of Vermont at this time.
Thomas Chandler, sr .- Among those who bore an active part as pio- neers of Vermont, not many endured such hardships and overcame so many of the difficulties of the wilderness as Thomas Chandler. He was a son of John Chandler, and was born at Woodstock, Conn., July 23, 1709. At the close of the French war his attention was turned to the rich lands lying between Lake Champlain and New Hampshire, and from 1761 to 1763 he was a resident of Walpole, N. H., his name appearing
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TOWN OF CHESTER.
on the records of that town as selectman. In 1763 he removed to New Flamstead (now Chester), accompanied by his two sons, John and Thomas, jr. From this time he was identified with the early history of the town, and held important political positions. He was moderator of the last meeting held by the proprietors on March 12, 1765, and it was mainly through his efforts that the new charter was secured from the province of New York. Early in 1766 he received a commission em- powering him to administer oaths of office, and was probably at the same time made justice of the peace. He was appointed colonel of a military organization on the "Grants" in the same year. On the formation of Cumberland county he was appointed (July 17, 1766) the first judge of the Inferior Court of Common Pleas of Cumberland county ; also surro- gate for the same. He was the first town clerk, and held the office until March 3, 1777. Owing to the position taken by Judge Chandler at the time of the "Westminster Massacre," he made enemies, but in looking back, and taking into consideration the excitement prevailing among the inhabitants at that time, we are led to believe that his actions were gov- erned by what he thought was his duty. Whatever his faults may have been, he deserves to be remembered as one of the earliest and most in- fluential settlers of eastern Vermont.
Owing to causes which cannot be ascertained he became impoverished in his old age, and in October, 1784, a petition was presented to the General Assembly, expressing a willingness on his part to deliver up his estate for the benefit of his creditors, and prayed, in view of his advanced age and infirmities, that he be discharged from the common gaol at Westminster, where he was confined as a prisoner. The act releasing him was passed June 16, 1785, but on the 20th of the same month he died in prison.
Owing to the prevailing belief that any person who should remove his body would thereby become liable on the judgment under which he was confined, and an illegal intermeddler with his estate, the body lay sev- eral days in the cell. It was finally buried in the night in a grave which was begun within the jail limits, and extending obliquely under the in- closure so as to receive the body in the old Westminster church-yard-an excusable violation of the law.
Early Settlements -The first settlement in this town was begun in the early part of 1764, by Thomas Chandler and his sons, John and
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HISTORY OF WINDSOR COUNTY.
Thomas. They were soon afterwards followed by Jabez Sargeant, Ed- ward Johnson, Isaiah Johnson, Charles Mann, William Warner, Ichabod Ide and Ebenezer Holton. These persons were from Woodstock, Conn., and Worcester and Malden, Mass. From this time forward the settle- ment increased so rapidly that on the 16th of January, 1771, the town had one hundred and fifty-two inhabitants, and was the fourth largest town in what is now Windsor county. Among those who afterwards settled in the town was Daniel Heald, who came from Concord, Mass., where he resided at the beginning of the Revolutionary war and was a soldier in the battle at Concord Bridge. In 1776 he built a log house in Chester, and was a resident of the town until his death in 1833.
William Atwood came from Rhode Island and located on a farm where Chester village now stands in 1774. Hugh Henry became a resident of the town prior to 1780, locating about a mile east of Chester village. He kept the first tavern in town, and was also engaged in mercantile busi- ness. The Field family were from Rhode Island, and located in town after 1785. Major Abner Field became prominently identified with town affairs. Abraham Sawyer came from Templeton, Mass., to Ches- ter in 1778 and soon afterwards built a saw-mill, and in 1800 a grist mill. In 1789 he traded farms with his son-in-law, Daniel Davis, a Revolu- tionary soldier who had settled in what is now Grafton, and in that year the latter became a resident of Chester. John Putnam came from Farm- ington, Conn., and located in the northwestern part of the town in 1783.
In 1785 there were only three frame buildings in the South village and during that year Johnson Fuller, a former resident of Rhode Island, moved into town. Abram Fullerton engaged in mercantile business about 1790 and was accompanied by his sons, Nathaniel and Thomas S. In the same year Ichabod Onion purchased one hundred acres of land at $1.50 per acre, where the South village is now located. He was from Dedham, Mass., and he soon afterwards established a tannery. Paul Tobey, a native of Massachusetts, came to Chester in 1788.
It is impossible within the limits of this work to mention every settle- ment and when made, but we append a list of freemen of the town dated September 7, 1778, which is the first found in the records : Jabez Sar- geant, Ezra Sargeant, Amos Sargeant, Samuel Sargeant, Jabez Sar- geant, jr., John Stone, Will Atwood, Abraham Sawyer, Thomas Stone, Israel Stone, David Brooks, Thomas Chandler, jr., Daniel Ranney, Jo-
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TOWN OF CHESTER.
seph Holton, Daniel Heald, Thomas Chandler, George Earll, John Chandler, Caleb Church, James Robinson, John Stone, jr., John Smith, Will Hosmer, Joseph Smith, William Gilky, William Gilky, jr., Joseph Sumner, Esick Earll, Joseph Hewlett, Ebenezer Johnson, Thomas Caryl, Job Gilson, John E. Chandler, Asahel Johnson, Oliver Atwood, Nicho- las Smith, Eli Brigham, Moses Gill, Moses Gill, jr., Ezekiel Colburn, John Caryl, Joshua Turner, Amos Gille, Thomas Ruggs, Amos Hosmer, Nehemiah Field, Timothy Olcott.
During the Revolutionary war the town did not gain rapidly in popu- lation. When the first United States census was taken, in 1791, Chester had a population of 981. It rapidly increased and in 1800 there were 1,878 inhabitants; in 1810, 2,370 ; in 1820, 2,493. This was the most prosperous period in the history of Chester. There were at this time four grist-mills, nine saw-mills, three fulling-mills, one oil-mill, one cot- ton and two woolen factories, three carding machines, five stores, six taverns, one distillery and four tanneries within the limits of the town. From this time the population has steadily decreased, as the annexed ta- ble shows : 1830, 2,302 ; 1840, 2,305 ; 1850, 2,001 ; 1860, 2,126 ; 1870, 2,052; 1880, 1,901. Thus Chester had only twenty-three more inhabit- ants in 1880 than she had at the beginning of the nineteenth century.
Chester during the Revolutionary War .- The patriotic spirit of the early settlers of Chester was aroused by the action of the English gov- ernment toward the American colonies in 1774. At a special town meeting held October 10, 1774, the following resolutions were unani- mously adopted :
" Resolved, firstly, That the people of America are naturally entitled to all of the privileges of free-born subjects of Great Britain, which privi- leges they have never forfeited.
" Resolved, secondly, That every man's estate, honestly acquired, is his own and no person on earth has a right to take it away without the proprietor's consent, unless he forfeits it by some crime of his commit - ting.
" Resolved, thirdly, That all acts of the British Parliament tending to take away or abridge their rights ought not to be obeyed.
" Resolved, fourthly, That the people of this town will join with their fellow American subjects in opposing in all lawful ways every encroach - ment on their natural rights."
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HISTORY OF WINDSOR COUNTY.
At a county convention held at Westminster, Vt., November 30, 1774, Chester was represented by John Smith and Thomas Chandler. The delegates to the convention held at Westminster, February 17, 1775, were George Earll and Moses Gill; and to one held June 6, 1775, Lieu- tenant Jabez Sargeant and Thomas Chandler. The town was repre- sented at the convention held at Westminster in the latter part of 1775 by Abraham Sawyer. At a town meeting held May 23, 1775, John Chandler and George Earll were appointed a committee to go to Albany to purchase arms and munition for the town. In the latter part of 1775 Lieutenant Jabez Sargeant and Thomas Chandler, jr., were ap- pointed a Committee of Safety. Chester was represented by Lieuten- ant Jabez Sargeant at the convention held at Windsor, July 2, 1777, to draft a constitution for the independent State of Vermont.
Members of the Constitutional Convention .- Daniel Heald, 1793; Aaron Leland, 1814; Joshua Leland, 1822 ; Rufus Bruce, 1828, 1836 ; Phineas O. Sargeant, 1843; H. E. Stoughton, 1850.
Senators .- Ptolemy Edson, 1838-39 ; Thomas T. Barrett, 1844-45 ; Dearborn H. Hilton, 1846-47; James A. Pollard, 1862-63 ; H. H. Henry, 1864; Luther Adams, 1872 ; Hugh Henry, 1880.
Representatives .- 1 Thomas Chandler, March and October, 1778-79, 1780, 1787 ; Reuben Jones, 1781 ; Thomas Carroll, 1782; Daniel Heald, 1783, 1785-86, 1788-91, 1793, 1795-97 ; William Gilkey, 1784; Abner Field, 1792 ; Waitstill Ranney, 1794; Jabez Sargeant, 1798- 1800, 1826-27 ; 2 Aaron Leland, 1801-07, 1809-10, 1813 ; Thomas S. Fullerton, 1808; William Hosmer, 1811-12; Joshua Leland, 1815; Amos Heald, 1817 ; William Strong, 1818 ; Abner W. Field, 1819-21, 1829, 1837 ; Abiel Richardson, 1822, 1830; Stephen Field, 1823-25, 1833-34; Rufus Bruce, 1828; David Bates, 1831-32; Dearborn S. Hilton, 1835 ; Ptolemy Edson, 1836; Horace Onion, 1838 ; Hugh H. Henry, 1839, 1841-43, 1861-62; Gideon M. Lee, 1840; Haskell Wes- ton, 1844-45 ; Rodney Sherwin, 1847; A. E. Prescott Heald, 1850 ; M. C. Richardson, 1852-53; Andrew Rankin, 1854; Granville P. Spaulding, 1855-56; William Rounds, 1857-58, 1863-67 ; A. C. How- ard, 1859-60; Merrick Wentworth, 1868-69 ; Hugh Henry, 1870-76, 1884; N. Adams Edson, 1878; Daniel W. Davis, 1880; Fred P.
' Speaker of the House, October, 1778-80.
" Speaker of the House, 1804-07.
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TOWN OF CHESTER.
Mather, 1882; Norman A. Smith, 1886; Herbert R. Barney, 1888. Town was not represented in 1851.
Selectmen .- Jabez Sargeant, 1777-78 ; George Earll, 1777, 1779-80, 1784; Thomas Chandler, jr., 1777, 1783-85 ; William Atwood, 1777 ; Timothy Olcutt, 1777-80, 1782, 1788-89; Daniel Heald, 1778, 1781- 82; John Stone, 1778; William Gilkey, 1779-81, 1784; Jabez Sargeant, jr., 1781-82, 1785-86; Daniel Ranney, 1783 ; Amos Gill, 1783 ; John Smith, 1785-86, 1796; William Hosmer, 1785-86; Nehemiah Field, 1787 ; Elias Watkins, 1787 ; Abner Field, 1788-89; Jonathan Caryl, 1788-89; Thomas Kimball, 1790; Abel Duncan, 1790-92, 1797-1800; Thomas Warren, 1790-93, 1797-99; Amos Sargeant, 1791-95; Ezra Sargeant, 1793-95 ; Lucius Hubbard, 1794-95; Waitstill Ranney, 1796, 1807-08; Josiah Heald, 1796; Otis Gould, 1797-98, 1818; Jeremiah Rounds, 1799, 1800-01 ; Amos Heald, 1800-01, 1808-09, 1820, 1829- 33 ; Oliver Atwood, 1801-03; Ichabod Onion, 1802; Joshua Leland, 1802-04, 1823 ; Pardon Field, 1803-06, 1818-19; Aaron Leland, 1804- 10, 1815-17, 1821-22; Jonathan Caryl, 1805-07 ; Thomas C. Olcott, 1809-10, 1814-17, 1838-40; James Miller, 1810; William Hosmer, 1811-13; Othniel Williams, 1811 ; Nathaniel Fullerton, 1811-17, 1821- 22 ; Abner W. Field, 1812-14 ; James Robinson, 1818; Hugh Henry, 1819; Jeremiah Atwood, 1819; Solomon Willson, 1820; William Rounds, 1820-22, 1836; Robert W. Field, 1823-24; Ezekiel Davis, 1823-24; Henry Chandler, 1824; Stephen Field, 1825-26, 1834 ; Jere- miah Kibling, 1825-26, 1835-42, 1844-45, 1851-52; William Henry, 1825 ; Josiah Barnes, 1826-27; Ezra Sargent, jr., 1827-28, 1838-39 ; Joshua Prouty, 1827; Jesse Stedman, 1828-30; Abiel Richardson, 1828-33 ; Thomas T. Barrett, 1829-30; Solomon Willson, jr., 1831-32; Phineas O. Sargeant, 1831-33 ; Holland Wheeler, 1831; Dearborn H. Hilton, 1834-35; Charles Lee, 1834, 1842, 1844; Ptolemy Edson, 1835-37; Josiah Dana, 1837, 1848-49; Amos E. Heald, 1840-41; Orion Lock, 1841 ; Herman Guild, 1842, 1850-51, 1853-64; Marvel Johnson, 1843, 1847; William Mason, 1843-50 ; Herschel Davis, 1843, 1856-59 ; Hugh II. Henry, 1845-47 ; Horace Onion, 1846, 1849 ; Rod- ney Sherwin, 1848 ; Albert Onion, 1850; Gideon M. Lee, 1851-52 ; David A. Sherwin, 1852-65; Denter Field, 1853-54 ; Samuel A. Wes- ton, 1855 ; William W. Martin, 1860-61, 1865 ; Horace Deming, 1862-
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HISTORY OF WINDSOR COUNTY.
63 ; A. C. Howard, 1864-65 ; S. Sherwin, 1866; Jerome O. Kingsley, 1866-67 ; Norman A. Smith, 1866-70: Walter P. Richardson, 1867-73 ; Norman F. Shedd, 1868; Lewis Hill, 1869-72 ; Ira H. Adams, 1871, 1874-76, 1878-84, 1887-88; Daniel Davis, 3d, 1872-76; Roswell H. Chandler, 1873-74; Albert F. Baldwin, 1875-76, 1878-81 ; Norman O. Johnson, 1877; Coleman Sanders, 1877-78; Calvin L. Hinds, 1877, 1879-83, 1885-86; Nathan F. Hall, 1882-88; Jacob H. Marsh, 1884- 89; Clarence Adams, 1889; Atwood Sargeant, 1889. There were five selectmen elected in 1777; in all other years three. Selectmen elected in March and held over to the following March.
Town Clerks .- Thomas Chandler, jr., 1777-78 ; Daniel Heald, 1779- 98; Aaron Leland, 1799-1819, 1821-25 ; Amos Heald, 1820, 1826-48 ; Abel E. Prescott Heald, 1849-71; Norman A. Smith, 1872; Charles Robbins, 1873-87 ; A. D. L. Herrick, 1888-89.
Town Treasurers .- Jabez Sargeant, 1777; Thomas Chandler, jr., 1778; Daniel Heald, 1779-98; Aaron Leland, 1799-1820; Thomas S. Fullerton, 1821-22; Amos Heald, 1823; Ichabod Onion, 1824-28 ; Nathaniel Fullerton, 1829-49; Amos E. Heald, 1850-66; Abel E. Pres- cott Heald, 1867-71 ; Norman A. Smith, 1872 ; Charles Robbins, 1873- 87 ; A. D. L. Herrick, 1888-89. Annual elections were held in March, and the officers held until March following.
Early Religious Efforts .- The same momentous question that was a source of trouble to her sister towns also caused dissensions in Ches- ter. The center of the town had to be found so a church could be built. As early as February 15, 1773, a special meeting was held, and a com- mittee appointed to locate the center. But little progress seems to have been made, for it was not until 1779 that there was any attempt towards building a church In the latter year a church was framed, but two years afterwards this was disposed of at public auction for nine pounds. It was then determined to build a church sixty feet long, forty feet wide, and twenty feet deep, and one hundred pounds were appropriated for the work. But two years later it was voted to divide the town for religious purposes in the center, thereby making a north and south parish. The territory north of what is now known as North street constituted one parish, and that part adjacent to what is now called South street the other. In 1788 a meeting-house was built at South street and the fol-
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TOWN OF CHESTER.
lowing year one was constructed at North street. The history of relig- ious matters of the town from that year is as follows :
The First Congregational Church .- This was the first church estab- lished in Chester. An organization was effected as early as 1773, when the Rev. Samuel Whiting was settled by the towns of Chester and Rockingham for five years. He officiated one-third of the time at Chester and the remainder at Rockingham. The first church building was erected in 1789, the structure being 40 x 50 feet, and was located on North street, in the center of the common. After the Rev. Mr. Whiting's time expired the society had no regular pastor for thirty-six years. In 1825 Rev. Uzziah C. Burnap was settled over the society, which position he continued to hold until 1837. During the years 1828-29 the Congregationalists and Universalists built a union meet- ing-house, 66 x 44 feet, on South street, which is now the Congrega- tional church, and is valued, with its lands, at about $10,000. The old church was repaired in 1825, a tower being placed upon it, and was used for religious and town meetings previous to 1840, and soon after- wards was destroyed by fire. The next minister was Rev. Silas H. Hodges, who came in July, 1837, and continued until December, 1840 ;
followed by Rev. A. Rankin, installed in May, 1841 ; Rev. Samuel M. Stone, from 1846 until 1851 ; J. De Forrest Richards, installed April 29, 1853, and resigned September 8, 1857 ; Rev. C. D. Jefferds, ordained October 5, 1861, resigned October 30, 1862; Rev. C. C. Terry, installed May 26, 1864, dismissed in 1866; Rev. Edward T. Fairbanks, who remained about a year ; Rev. Charles E. Lord, settled August I, 1867, dismissed March 6, 1869; Rev. John G. Hale, 1870 to 1877; Rev. Henry L. Slack, ordained October II, 1877, resigned February 25, 1883. During his pastorate the church in 1879 was thoroughly re- modeled. Rev. W. J. Murphy, installed October 31, 1883, remained one year. The pulpit was then supplied from January 18, 1885, to December 17, 1887, by the Rev. John Cowan. The present incumbent, Rev. W. L. Noyes, began as supply July 1, 1888, and was installed as pastor June 25, 1889. The present membership of the church is about one hundred and sixty.
The Baptist Church .- The first step taken to form a Baptist church in Chester was in 1789, at which time fifteen inhabitants of the town
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HISTORY OF WINDSOR COUNTY.
addressed a letter to Rev. Aaron Leland, who was living at Bellingham, Mass. Mr. Leland had just entered upon the gospel ministry, and in response to a request visited Chester. The church was finally organ- ized August 10, 1789, the following, as far as it is possible to ascertain, being the original members: Nehemiah Fields, David Johnson, William Gilkey, jr., Uriah Johnson, William Atwood, Ruth Whitmore, Sybil Farmer, Hannah Hulit, Rebekah Smith, and Ede Johnson. The coun- cil convened on that occasion was composed of delegates from Canaan and Lebanon, N. H., and Windsor, Westminster, Cavendish, Wood- stock, and Rockingham, Vt. The Rev. Thomas Baldwin was chosen moderator, and Rev. Jedediah Hebbard, clerk. The articles of faith and the church covenant adopted at this time were orthodox to the back-bone. Upon the organization of the church Nehemiah Fields was chosen both clerk and deacon, and Rev. Aaron Leland became the settled pastor. The first church edifice was built in 1788 and was 40 x 50 feet. It stood near the present site of the church, and con- tinued to be occupied until 1835. From the outset the church pros- pered. On May 31, 1792, three members living at Cavendish were received by letter from the Baptist church of Chelmsford, Mass., and were allowed the privilege of receiving members as an independent church. In the year 1799 a revival of great power swept over the community. Almost every Sunday from July to the end of that year there is a record of baptisms, and the membership at the close of the year numbered ninety-three. On August 31, 1803, churches were formed at Andover, Cavendish, Grafton, and North Springfield, the members of which, previous to this, had been under the jurisdiction of this, their mother church. From this time until 1811-12 there were few baptized. The latter year may be said to have been a revival year. From this time until 1821 only a few became members of the church. From 1820 to 1826 differences arose between different members of the church, and between the pastor and people. But at length a change came, the pastor deciding he must spend less of his time in public life. In 1830 eleven baptisms are recorded. The spirit grew stronger and stronger, old animosities were dissolved, mutual confessions were made, and in 1831-32 came the greatest religious revival ever known in this community. In fourteen months one hundred and fourteen were bap-
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