USA > Vermont > History of eastern Vermont, from its earliest settlement to the close of the eighteeth century with a biographical chapter and appendixes > Part 11
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* Petitions from Oliver Partridge and others, dated November 12th, 1764, October 7th, 1765, and August 5th, 1766; also from Charles Phelps and his asso- ciates, dated October 15th, 1765, and October, 1766, in Land Papers, in office Sec. State, N. Y., vols. xvii., xx., xxi. Records in Town Clerk's office, Marl- borough.
t The first birth in Marlborough was that of Aaron Stockwell, son of Abel Stockwell Jr. and Patience his wife, which took place July 9th, 1768. Abel Stockwell Jr. was the son of Abel Stockwell, the first settler.
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98
HISTORY OF EASTERN VERMONT.
[1750-1770.
one another without becoming acquainted, each supposing that his own family was the only one in the town. On account of their distance from other settlements, the families suffered severely from the want of the necessities and conveniences of living. Capt. Whitmore was accustomed to bring all his grain on his back, through the woods, from Deerfield and Col- rain, a distance of from twenty to thirty miles. With difficulty a cow was kept through the first winter, upon browse and wild grass gathered in the preceding summer. During another winter, Capt. Whitmore supported his oxen with the hay he had previously cut from a beaver meadow .* To this spot he drove his oxen at the commencement of the cold weather, built for himself a camp, and there remained performing the duties of an oxherd until the following spring. The winter of the year 1765 was a lonely one to Mrs. Whitmore. Her husband pursuing his calling as a tinker, was absent in the older settle- ments, earning something for the support of his family. During the short unpleasant days, and the long, cheerless nights of that dreary season, she saw no human being but her little daughter. Once, it is true, a party of hunters visited her dwelling in their wanderings, but the shortness of their stay only added to her loneliness. In this situation she displayed that force of mind, and power of contrivance, which in a more public situation would have earned for her the name of a heroine. Her hands were not employed in performing simply the lighter duties of the household. In order to supply her fire with fuel she felled the trees of the forest, and on the twigs which the branches afforded she supported her little stock of cattle. She procured water for them, and herself, and daughter, by melting snow, it being easier to pursue this method than to seek for the springs through the deep snow. In this manner she spent the winter, and although her sufferings were occasionally severe, yet con- stant employment left her but little time for unavailing com- plaints. +
* This meadow is now covered with a mill-pond. It is situated about half a mile north of the meeting-house, on the west side of the New Fane road.
+ " Mrs. Whitmore was exceedingly useful to the early settlers, both as a nurse and midwife. She possessed an uncommonly strong constitution, and frequently travelled through the woods upon snow-shoes, from one part of the town to another, both by day and night, to relieve the sick and afflicted. On one occasion in the night, she went on show-shoes through the woods, keeping the path by the assistance of blazed trees, from her own house to that of Col. William Williams, situated at the mills known as the Underwood mills, a distance of not
99
TOWNSHIP OF NEWFANE.
1750-1770.]
In 1764, the year following the arrival of Stockwell and Whitmore, Charles Phelps, a lawyer from Hadley, Massachu- setts, removed with his family to Marlborough. He and his sons Solomon and Timothy, though men of eccentric mental conformation, bore a prominent part in the history of the country, and their names will be frequently met with on these pages. A beginning having been made, the population of the town increased gradually, and before the close of the year 1766, the number of settlers amounted to twenty-seven .*
The town of Wilmington was chartered by New Hampshire, by that name, on the 29th of April, 1751, to Phinehas Lyman and fifty-seven others. As the conditions of the grant were not fulfilled by the grantees, the charter, by its own provisions, became void. When the town received its second charter from New Hampshire, on the 17th of June, 1763, its name was changed to Draper, and its proprietors were His Excellency Francis Barnard and sixty-six others. The name Draper being disliked, the old name of Wilmington was subsequently revived by the common consent of the inhabitants, and has been re- tained to this day. Before the close of the year 1765, seven families had become inhabitants of the township, and others not yet residents had cleared and improved many acres of land. Although these inceptive measures gave promise of enterprise and activity, there were but seventy-one inhabitants in the town, in the year 1771.
By the name of Fane, the township now known as Newfane, was granted by New Hampshire on the 19th of June, 1753, to Abner Sawyer and sixty-seven others, his associates, many of whom were inhabitants of Shrewsbury, Massachusetts. At- tempts were made in the following year to comply with the terms of the charter, by clearing a certain amount of land and allotting it in severalty, but the state of the times forbade a suc- cessful prosecution of the work, and the charter was forfeited. A new charter was issued by New Hampshire, on the 3d of
less then six miles. Capt. Whitmore died May 31st, 1790, aged about seventy years. Mrs. Whitmore was afterwards married to Isaac Pratt, an early settler, from Shrewsbury, Massachusetts. She died after a lingering sickness, May 24th, 1814, at the advanced age of eighty-seven years. During her life she officiated as midwife at more than two thousand births, and never lost a patient." MS. History of the Town of Marlborough, by the Rev. Ephraim H. Newton, written in 1824.
* Thompson's Vt. Gazetteer, p. 174. Thompson's Vt., Part III., pp. 110, 111. Appendix to Deming's Catalogue, p. 159.
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HISTORY OF EASTERN VERMONT.
[1750-1770.
November, 1761, to Benjamin Flagg and sixty-four other gran- tees, and its present name was given to the town .* In May, 1766, a settlement was commenced by Deacon Jonathan Park, Nathaniel Stedman, and Ebenezer Dyer, who emigrated from Worcester county, Massachusetts. "For several years, they suf- fered all the hardships and privations incident to the settlement of a new country. Without roads, horses, or oxen, they were under the necessity of conveying, by their own strength, all their provisions from Hinsdale, a distance of twenty miles, through a pathless wilderness." Lucy, a daughter of Deacon Park, whose birth took place on the 15th of August, 1769, was the first child born in the town.
That the township which now bears the name of Rocking- ham was first granted by Massachusetts, is not a fact establish-
* On the 10th of July, 1765, Ebenezer Morse, Ephraim Doolittle, and Job Cush- ing, a committee of the proprietors of the township of New Fane, sent from Shrewsbury, Massachusetts, a memorial to Lieut .- Governor Cadwallader Colden, of New York, containing an account of the situation of the township of New Fane. Referring to the second charter issued by New Hampshire, they said : "Your petitioners have, agreeable to the demands of said Charter, made all possible efforts in order effectually to settle said Lands so granted, and have already ex- pended Six Dollars upon Each Right or Share, in making Publick Roads, and in other Publick Services, and cleared upon the several Lots in said Township more than fifteen hundred acres of Land (as we judge), and were vigorously prosecut- ing the settlement of said Township, When Your Honor Issued a Proclamation, Laying Claim to all the Land West of Connecticut River (then chartered out by the Governor of New Hampshire) as belonging to the Government of New York." They also stated that the doubts which had arisen in their minds in regard to the validity of the New Hampshire charter, had retarded the settlement of the town- ship. In order to remove all obstacles, they asked for a confirmation grant ; and that they might not be compelled to pay more than the usual fees, they prayed that the confirmation might be made before the stamp act should become obliga- tory. For a long time, no notice appears to have been taken of this petition, and when, finally, the attention of the Governor was directed to the subject, instead of confirming the New Hampshire charter, he, on the 11th of May, 1772, made a grant of the township to " Walter Franklin and twenty other persons, principally residing in the city of New York." On the day following this transaction, Frank- lin and his associates conveyed their right to Luke Knowlton and John Taylor of Worcester county, Massachusetts. The titles to all the land in Newfane are by consequence derived from the New York charter. In the conveyances which were made to Knowlton, allowance was, without doubt, made for the lands which he then owned in the township. That his title to a portion of the lands ante- dated that derived from Franklin, appears by a memorial presented to Governor Moore of New York, dated Jan. 28th, 1767, in which it is stated, that at that time New Fane was partially settled and improved, and that Knowlton held land there of which he had got possession, by deed .- New York Colonial MSS., Land Papers, May 2d, 1765, vol. xviii. ; July 10th, 1765, vol. xix .; January 28th, 1767, vol. xxii. ; Thompson's Vermont, Part III., p. 126.
101
1750-1770.] THE OLD TOWNSHIP OF HINSDALE.
ed beyond dispute. There is, however, a strong presumption that at the time when Westminster was granted, by the name of "Number One," Rockingham received similar privileges from Massachusetts, under the name of "Number Two." Pre- vious to the year 1750, the township was known as Goldens- town. A charter having been obtained from New Hampshire on the 28th of December, 1752, a settlement was commenced in the following year by Moses Wright, Joel Bigelow, and Si- meon Knight, who emigrated from Massachusetts. Like other towns, similarly situated, it was deserted during the war which soon after followed, and on the restoration of peace was organ- ized about the year 1760. "The attention of the first settlers was principally directed to fishing for salmon and shad, which were then taken in great abundance at Bellows Falls. For this reason, agriculture was, for many years, much neglected, and the settlement advanced very slowly." Notwitlistanding these drawbacks, Michael Lovell and Benjamin Bellows Jr., two of the principal proprietors, declared, in the year 1765, that there were at that time twenty-five families settled in the town, and further, that they had made sufficient improvements to fulfil the conditions of their charter.
Townshend, although chartered by New Hampshire on the 20th of June, 1753, was for many years unvisited and uninha- bited. In the year 1761, the first settlement was commenced by Joseph Tyler of Upton, Massachusetts. He was soon joined by John Hazeltine, and others from the same town; but of the progress which they made in reducing the wilderness and in advancing the growth of the new settlement during the six years succeeding the close of the war, there are no means of judging.
The old township of Hinsdale,* which included lands on both sides of the Connecticut, was granted by Massachusetts at a very early period. Even after the river had been declared the boundary line between the provinces of New Hampshire and New York, and the township had in this manner been divided, the different parts, although under distinct organizations, still retained their original name, and were thus known until the 21st
* It derived its name from the Rev. Ebenezer Hinsdell or Hinsdale, who was probably one of the original proprietors. This excellent man, of whom an account has already been given, served for many years as chaplain to the neighboring garrisons, and by his sound judgment and excellent counsels, wielded a healthful influence over all with whom he was brought in contact.
102
HISTORY OF EASTERN VERMONT.
[1750-1770.
of October, 1802, when the name of Hinsdale, in Vermont, was changed to that of Vernon. The date of the first grant is not accurately known. In a petition, still extant, from Samuel Hunt, by his attorney Oliver Willard, which was presented to the provincial government of New York on the 3d of Novem- ber, 1766, it is stated, that the tract of land comprised in this township, "was purchased of the native Indians and granted by the province of the Massachusetts Bay, near one hundred years ago, and soon afterwards cultivated and settled ; and that it was afterwards found to be in the province of New Hamp- shire, and was then confirmed to the proprietors by power dated the 3d of September, 1753." The "power " referred to, was the charter issued by Governor Benning Wentworth, by which the township of Hinsdale, including land on both sides of the Con- necticut, was regranted to Ebenezer Alexander and ninety-four others. An alteration was made in this charter or a new one was issued on the 26th of September, 1753, by which the grant was divided into two towns. The west bank of the river formed the line of separation, and each town was known as Hinsdale. Portions of the town since known as Vernon were subsequently chartered by New York, under the names of Hins- dale and Fall Town Gore.
In a "Narrative of the Controversy" between New York and New Hampshire, by Ethan Allen, reference is made to the early history of Hinsdale in these words: "This township had first been granted by the government of the Massachusetts Bay, and upon the settlement of the boundary line between the Massachusetts Bay and New Hampshire in 1739, it fell within the latter, and by that government was granted and fully ratified to the inhabitants and proprietors, who, in addi- tion to their title, had also the Indian right." The earliest inhabitants were emigrants from Northfield and Northampton, Massachusetts. They encountered with spirit and resolution the dangers to which they were exposed from their enemies, the Indians, and some of the incidents in which they were participants have already been recorded. Previous to the King's decision of the boundary line between New York and New Hampshire, which decision was made on the 20th of July, 1764, the Rev. Bunker Gay was settled at Hins- dale, in the "work of the gospel ministry." As "an encou- ragement" to him in his labors, "the inhabitants of Hinsdale, then living on both sides of Connecticut river, voted" to give
103
1750-1770.]
THE REV. BUNKER GAY.
him three hundred and fifty acres of land. Whether the zeal of his parishioners became cool as their worldly prospects bright- ened, or whether they deemed it wrong for a servant of heaven to be a landholder on earth, does not appear. The land, how- ever, was not allotted; and when there appeared no prospect of a better state of affairs, Bunker Gay prayed the government of New York for the gift of a thousand acres in the west part of the town, in lieu of the old promise, on which he had ceased to rely. No records have yet shown the fate of his petition.
CHAPTER V.
FIRST SETTLEMENTS.
Brattleborough-Fulham or Dummerston-The " Equivalent Lands"-Frauds- John Kathan-Chester-Guilford-Peculiarity of its Organization-Grafton- Hartford-Norwich-Plymouth-Reading-Windsor -Pomfret -Hartland- Woodstock -Thetford-Sharon-Springfield-Weathersfield-Fairlee-Guild- hall-Cavendish-Andover-Bradford-Lunenburgh-Newbury - Col. Jacob Bayley-Immigration,
THE first civilized settlement within the boundaries of Ver- mont was made at Fort Dummer, in the south-eastern corner of the township subsequently known as Brattleborough, in the year 1724. The charter of Brattleborough was issued by New Hamsphire on the 26th of December, 1753, but several years elapsed before any attempts were made to colonize those portions of the town which are now comprised within the limits of the east and west villages. One of the principal proprietors was Col. William Brattle of Boston, and to him the town owes its name. Josiah Willard, Nathan Willard, David Sar- geant, David Sargeant Jr., John Sargeant, Thomas Sargeant, John Alexander, Fairbank Moore and son, Samuel Wells, and John Arms, were among the first settlers, and were all from Massachusetts, with the exception of John and Thomas Sar- geant, and John Alexander, who were born at Fort Dummer. John Sargeant is believed to have been the first white person born in the state. His father and his brother David were ambushed by the Indians, and the former was killed and scalped. The latter was carried into captivity, and adopted the Indian habits and manners, but subsequently abandoned his savage pursuits and companions, and returned to his friends. Governor Wentworth manifested much interest in the early set- tlement of this town and of Rockingham, and in both of them, according to his own statement, he was at " considerable ex-
105
1750-1770.] ALLOTMENT OF THE "EQUIVALENT LANDS."
pense in erecting mills." Brattleborough was at an early period a flourishing settlement, and prosperity has at all times subse- quent characterized its condition.
The township of Dummerston includes within its limits a por- tion of the territory which was formerly known, and has been previously spoken of, as the " Equivalent Lands." After these lands had passed from the hands of the government of Connec- ticut, in the year 1716, they were held by gentlemen from Connecticut, Massachusetts, and London. Application having been made by five of the proprietors to Samuel Partridge of Hatfield, Massachusetts, one of His Majesty's justices of the peace, desiring him, in his official capacity, and in accordance with the laws of the province, to appoint a meeting of all the proprietors, Major John Stoddard of Northampton was, on the 26th of March, 1718, directed to make the appointment. In obedience to this order, Major Stoddard issued the following notification on the 28th, which was posted "at some public place" in the county of Hampshire :
"These may certify all persons concerned, but more especially the several and respective proprietors of the Equivalent Lands, so called, lying in the county of Hampshire :-
"That pursuant to a law of the province, and at the desire of five of the proprietors of the said lands, the Honorable Samuel Partridge, Esq., hath appointed the first Wednesday of June next, at two o'clock in the afternoon, at the Green Dragon Tavern, in Boston, to be the time and place for a meeting of the said proprietors, in order to the choosing of a proprietor's clerk, the appointing a committee to be selected out of their number for such purposes as shall be agreed on, the dividing or disposing of their said propriety or any part thereof, the choosing an agent or general attorney to represent, manage, and act for them, to regu- late meetings for the future, etc. I do, therefore, hereby, in obe- dience to a warrant directed to me for that end from the said justice, inform and give notice to all the proprietors of said Lands, that there will be a meeting at the time and place, and for the ends aforementioned, and they are hereby desired to give their attendance accordingly."
The "Equivalent Lands" were afterwards allotted by mutual agreement, and it is probable that the allotment took place at the meeting notified by the above warrant. The tract situated above Northfield, including portions of the present towns of Put- ney, Dummerston, and Brattleborough, fell in the partition to
106
HISTORY OF EASTERN VERMONT.
[1750-1770.
William Dummer, afterwards Lieutenant-Governor of Massa- chusetts, Anthony Stoddard, William Brattle, and John White, " and a deed thereof" was made to them by Gurdon Saltonstall and others, "as their part and proportion."
Between the years 1744 and 1750, when attention was first aroused to the subject of settling the lands on Connecticut river, situated between the north line of Massachusetts and Number Four, the idea was prevalent that Governor Wentworth of New Hampshire had received advices from Great Britain, instructing him to give to the inhabitants of Massachusetts who were pro- prietors under that province within the specified limits, the privilege of the first choice of lands ; and in case they should re- fuse to take out charters under New Hampshire, then to extend the privilege to whoever should next apply. In the year 1750 Joseph Blanchard of Amherst, New Hampshire, was sent to sur- vey the territory which it was in contemplation to grant. His examination having been completed, the old proprietors of the " Equivalent Lands " petitioned the Governor of New Hamp- shire for a grant of that tract, and a portion of the adjacent ter- ritory. Accordingly, on the 26th of December, 1753, the "Equi- valent Lands," together with a "considerable quantity of other lands, was formed into three townships, beginning at the north bounds of Hinsdale, on the west side of the river, and extending back about six miles, and so far up the river" as to enclose the required amount. Previous to this, the whole of the " Equiva- lent Lands" had been known by the name of Dummerston. The proprietary of Dummerston, with the territory added by New Hampshire, was now divided into the townships of Ful- ham, Putney, and Brattleborough. The name Fulham * was afterwards changed to Dummerston, but at what time no record shows. As late as 1773, the town was called by both names.
In the charters of the three towns, the names of several new proprietors were admitted, but particular care was taken that the rights of the original grantees should not be infringed. In a peti- tion presented by these grantees to Governor Wentworth, in the year 1760, he was requested to confirm to Anna Powell, who held the share formerly belonging to Governor Dummer, one quarter part of the "Equivalent Lands," and to the heirs of Anthony Stod- dard, to the heirs of John White, and to William Brattle, each, a
* In old documents, the name is spelled Fullum, Fullham, and Fulham
107
ALLEGED FRAUDS.
1750-1770.]
like portion. The confirmation was made in accordance with these instructions, and it was generally supposed that satisfaction had been given to all concerned. At the close of the war, when Governor Wentworth had recommenced his prodigal system of apportioning lands, there came to Portsmouth from Pomfret, Connecticut, one Isaac Dana, who stated that "a certain Mr. White " had an interest in the "Equivalent Lands," but that no portion had been given him in the allotment which had been made seven years previous. To compensate for this neglect, Dana asked for the grant of a township. Col. Josiah Willard of Winchester, New Hampshire, who was present, told him that if any wrong had been done, the blame lay with Col. Brattle, who had acted as agent for the proprietors of the "Equivalent Lands," and had ordered all matters "to his liking." Notwith- standing this declaration, Dana received, on the 8th of July, 1761, a patent for the township of Pomfret, on the New Hampshire Grants, and departed satisfied. It is doubtful whether the heirs of White ever received any benefit from this transaction.
A few days passed, and there appeared at Portsmouth " one William Story, a gentleman from Boston." He also complained of the injustice which had been done White's heirs in the dis- tribution of the "Equivalent Lands," and prayed for redress or compensation. Col. Theodore Atkinson, the Governor's secretary, was very merry when this claim was proffered, deem- ing it as fraudulent. But his laugh was no more effective than had been the reasoning of Willard, and to Story and his associates was set off the township of Bernard on the 17th of July, 1761, though the application had at first been made in the name of the injured heirs of the injured White. On the 11th of August, 1766, one Joseph Bryant discovered that in the charter of the township of Putney, "only about two thirds" of the names of the heirs of White had been inserted. He also ascertained that other names had been substituted for those of the unlucky one third, by which a great wrong had been committed. A memorial containing this and kin- dred information, was in consequence dispatched to Henry Moore, Governor of New York. Whether that official ex- hibited on this occasion a disposition as yielding as that which characterized the conduct of Governor Wentworth, it is impossible to say. As to the frauds which were afterwards practised by means of John White's neglected title, old
108
HISTORY OF EASTERN VERMONT.
[1750-1770.
manuscripts, soiled land papers, and formal depositions are silent .*
Soon after the charter of Fulham was granted, John Kathan, who had resided within the limits of the town since the year 1752, united with a number of persons, purchased in conjunc- tion with them, from the New Hampshire proprietors, a part of the township, and in the year 1754, according to his own account, removed there, "with his wife and seven or eight helpless chil- dren." Possessing the qualities of industry and perseverance -qualities especially necessary to the successful management of a new settlement, he addressed himself with energy to his task, and " did actually clear and improve above a hundred and twenty acres, and built a good dwelling-house, barn, and all necessary offices, and also a saw mill, and potash works." In order to guard his improvements, he was "at a considerable expense in building a fort round his house," and was "under the disagree- able necessity of residing therein during the course of a tedious and distressing war." Misfortune rendered his toil more severe.
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