USA > Vermont > History of eastern Vermont, from its earliest settlement to the close of the eighteeth century with a biographical chapter and appendixes > Part 13
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118
HISTORY OF EASTERN VERMONT. [1750-1770.
dated July 20th, 1764, had declared the New Hampshire Grants to be within the province of New York. On this infor- mation the original settlers, in a petition dated November 13th, 1764, prayed Lieutenant-Governor Cadwallader Colden for a grant of Springfield, or in case this request was too great, that they might "be permitted still to inhabit those lands, and in some measure reap the benefit " of their past labor. In reply, the governor stated that he should " always be disposed to favour those who had settled and cultivated the lands, especially such as had been in possession for a considerable time." At the same time he informed them, that before proceeding further in the matter, he should be obliged to receive his Majesty's orders. Another petition was presented, on the 15th of August, 1765, by Nathaniel Powers and twenty-nine others, of whom a portion were the original settlers, asking a recognition of their rights, but, like the former, it met with a similar reception. A few days subsequent to the presentation of this last petition, Gideon Lyman and his associates informed the Governor of New York that the township of Springfield had been granted to them by New Hampshire. "In faith of this grant," said Lyman, "your petitioner and the other persons interested therein, have already made considerable improvements and set- tlements" in Springfield, " and are willing and desirous to com- pleat the settlement thereof." These conflicting petitions seemed for a time to puzzle the Governor of New York, but in the event the grant of Springfield was confirmed to Gideon Lyman and his associates on the 16th of March, 1772 .*
As to the organization of this town, little is definitely known. There are still extant two notifications for town meetings, from which the following information is derived. One is dated, "Province of New Hampshire," March 1st, 1764, and is signed by Samuel Scott, Simon Stevens, George Hall, Timothy Spencer, Taylor Spencer, and Abner Bisbee, inhabitants of Springfield. It is directed, "To Simon Stevens, Constable of Springfield and Province aforesaid," and requires him " In his Majesty's name" to "Notifie and warn ye Freeholders and other Inhabitants of sd Town that are Duely quallified by Law to Vote in Town Meetings, that they assemble and meet at ye House of Joseph Littles in Springfield afores'd on Tuesday ye
* N. Y. Colonial MSS., Land Papers, Nov. 13th, vol. xviii. 1764: vol. xix., Aug. 15th, Sept. 19th, 1765.
119
THE GRANTEES OF WEATHERSFIELD.
1750-1770.]
13th of this Instant, at 10 of ye Clock in ye forenoon." The object of the meeting is stated to be, " 1st, to Choose a Modera- tor to govern sd meeting-2dly, to choose Town Officers agreeable to Charter." At the foot of this paper is a note by the constable, declaring that he read the warrant in town meet- ing on " March ye 13th," and on the back is an endorsement of the same date, showing that George Hall was chosen modera- tor, and that the meeting was then adjourned to the 26th of the same month. " The other notification, similar in form, is dated July 13th, 1764, and is signed by Simon Stevens and Abner Bisbee. It is directed to Jehiel Simmons, and at the meeting to be held on the 22d current, the business to be attended to, is "1st, to Choose a Moderator to Govern said meeting-2dly, to see whether the Town will accept of the Roade, known by ye name of Crownpoint Roade, which leads Through sª Town-3dly, to see whether the Town will Repair said Roade." From these statements it may be reasonably concluded that the town was organized before the year 1764 .*
The grantees of Weathersfield were principally from New Haven, Connecticut, and the charter of the township was issued by New Hampshire, on the 20th of August, 1761. From a report made by the proprietors of the town in Septem- ber, 1765, it appeared that they had been "at great charge and expense in laying out the township into allotments," and further that they had cleared and cultivated a portion of the lands which they owned, and erected a number of houses. In a petition addressed to the Lieut .- Governor of New York, on the 17th of October, 1766, they expressed a sincere desire to be protected while engaged in accomplishing the work incident to the commencement of a settlement. Their pioneer history, were it known, would, it is probable, resemble that of the early inhabitants of most of the towns situated along the valley of Con- necticut river. The colonizers of the New Hampshire Grants were men and women who were aware that their future lives were to be lives of toil and self-sacrifice, and for this reason they were prepared to grapple with adversity in whatever form it might appear. On the 8th of April, 1772, the town was regranted by the government of New York, to Gideon Lyman and his associates.
The township of Fairlee, which formerly included the towns
* Old MSS. in possession of Hon. William M. Pingry.
120
HISTORY OF EASTERN VERMONT.
[1750-1770.
now known as Fairlee and West Fairlee, was chartered by patent from New Hampshire, on the 9th of September, 1761. Josiah Chauncey, Joseph Hubbard, and their associates, were the grantees. In the year 1766, a certain Mr. Baldwin, who before that time had been a resident of Thetford, removed to Fairlee, and commenced a settlement within the limits of the town. According to the account of Mr. Thompson, the author of the "Gazetteer of Vermont," Samuel Miller, Samuel Bentley, Noah Dewey, Joel White, and William and David Thompson, were inhabitants of the town in 1768. This statement is par- tially controverted by Grant Powers, on the authority of one of the early settlers of Orford, New Hampshire. The town was probably organized in 1775, when Samuel Smith was chosen town clerk .*
The charter of Guildhall was issued by the government of New Hampshire, on the 10th of October, 1761. The grantees were Elihu Hall and sixty-four associates. In 1764, a settle- ment was commenced in the lower part of the town, which was then supposed to be a part of Lunenburgh, by David Page, Timothy Nash, and George Wheeler. In 1775, Enoch Hall, Micah Amy, and James Rosbrook became residents of the town. Eleazer Rosbrook and Samuel Page joined the little band of settlers in 1778, and in the following year David Hopkinson and Reuben and Simeon Howe were added to the number. " The first settlers," observes Thompson, " suffered severe pri- vations and hardships for a number of years. They brought their grain and provisions, in canoes, from Northfield, Massa- chusetts, a distance of more than one hundred and fifty miles. During the revolutionary war, they were in continual alarm, and were frequently annoyed by the Indians and Tories, who killed their cattle, plundered their houses, and carried a number of the inhabitants into captivity." The first town meeting of which record is made, was held in March, 1785.
The town of Cavendish was chartered by the Governor of New Hampshire, on the 12th of October, 1761. The principal grantee was Amos Kimball. In the following year a number of the proprietors visited the township, surveyed it, allotted the shares in severalty, and, according to their own account, " were in great forwardness, when disputes arose," which caused them to abandon the undertaking. A disposition to renew this
* Thompson's Vt., Part III. pp. 70, 71. Powers's Coos Country, pp. 162, 163.
121
TOWNSHIP OF ANDOVER.
1750-1770.]
attempt was manifested in 1765 ; but no settlement was actually made until 1769, when, in the month of June, Captain John Coffein located his farm and built a dwelling in the north part of the town. During the war of the Revolution his hospitable residence afforded shelter and refreshment to the American soldiery while passing from Charlestown to the military posts on Lake Champlain. In the north-west part of the town was a similar stopping-place, known as the "Twenty miles encamp- ment." Noadiah Russell and Thomas Gilbert settled in Caven- dish in 1771, and shared with Captain Coffein his wants and privations. "For several years they struggled hard for a scanty and precarious subsistence." So few were the mills at this period, that they were sometimes obliged to travel sixty miles to procure " the grinding of a single grist of corn." The town received a charter from New York, on the 16th of June, 1772.
On the 29th of December, 1760, soon after the conquest of Canada had been completed, a number of the inhabitants of Lebanon and of other towns in Connecticut decided to petition the Governor of New Hampshire, for a grant of land on the west bank of Connecticut river. Having assembled on the 12th of June, 1761, and obtained the names of those who wished to engage in the project, they chose a clerk, and a committee to regulate their mode of procedure. At a meeting held on the 7th of September following, they selected two men "to repair to that part of the country," in which they wished to obtain a grant of land, and instructed them, in case they should find a situation which they deemed acceptable, to make their wishes known to Governor Wentworth. A location having been selected, a charter was issued by New Hampshire, on the 13th of October, granting the township of Andover to Nathaniel House and his associates. In accordance with the charter, a meeting of the grantees was convened at Lebanon on the 4th of November following, and a clerk for the town and proprietors was chosen, " who was sworn to a faithful discharge of his duty." On the 10th of March, 1762, another meeting was held in the same place at the house of Joseph Clark, one of the grantees, and officers were chosen for the ensuing year. A committee were also selected to survey the town, and on the 25th of August a resolution was passed, instructing them to proceed with the business which had been assigned them. This they were able to perform only in part, " by reason of bad
-
122
HISTORY OF EASTERN VERMONT.
[1750-1770.
weather;" but being instructed on the 8th of March, 1763, to complete the survey, they renewed their undertaking, and three hundred acres were laid out for each of the proprietors, " on the east side of the town, by carefully marking the trees at the corners." These lots were distributed on the 21st of November, by an indifferent person appointed by the proprie- tors, and an account was taken of the result. At the next regular meeting of the town, held on the 13th of March, 1764, officers were chosen for the year ensuing; "accounts were adjusted, and each person's demands carefully and justly allowed him for services done." On the 5th of November, a resolution was passed, by which an offer of fifty acres of land was made to each proprietor who should settle in the town during the spring of the year 1765. Pending this offer an- other meeting was held on the 12th of March, 1765, and a com- mittee were chosen to mark out and clear a road to the town. Measures were accordingly taken to carry this proposition into execution, and a party of twenty persons had already made preparations to remove into the new township, when the publi- cation of his Majesty's Order in Council, on the 20th of July, 1764, declaring the western bank of Connecticut river to be the eastern boundary of New York, caused them to abandon the project.
Judging it prudent " to consider what might further be need- ful to be done, to maintain good order and submission" in their changed circumstances, the proprietors met on the 29th of April, 1765. After some discussion they decided to acquaint the Governor of New York with the state of their circum- stances, and ask for his "approbation and protection." In the memorial which they sent to Lieutenant-Governor Cadwallader Colden, dated at Lebanon, Connecticut, May 6th, 1765, in addi- tion to the facts which have already been detailed, they stated that they had expended in improvements more than four hun- dred and sixty-two dollars, that they had " vendued and sold" several of the rights of negligent proprietors, and had inserted the names of new proprietors in the place of some of those whose names were to be found in the original charter from New Hampshire. "Therefore," said they, "if it be consistent with your pleasure to incourage us, his Majesty's Liege sub- jects, in the settlement of so wilderness a Land as that is, and grant us also your Protection, as there are many more under the Like Circumstances, it may much inlarge the Province,
123
THE TOWNSHIP OF BRADFORD.
1750-1770.]
and his Majesty's English settlements." " And we cannot büt Rejoice," they continued, "when we so fully persuade our- selves that your Excellency's highest ambition is to strengthen and enlarge all our late acquisitions by Regular and Industrious Inhabitants ; and when once you shall please to make your Pleasure known to us, we shall with all Readiness Comply therewith ; and if it be your Pleasure to ratify to us those Lands we once supposed stood fair for us to settle, we shall un- doubtedly soon (as some other Towns have Done) Make consi- derable Improvements thereon. But, notwithstanding our ear- nest wishes, we do Heartily and Freely submit the same to your Wisdom and Prudence." For a long time this petition re- mained unnoticed, and although the Council of New York, on the 15th of June, 1772, recommended the issuing of a confirma- tory grant of this and several other townships, whenever "his Majesty's Instructions" should allow of such a course, yet the patent was never conferred .*
In the year 1768, Shubael Geer and Amos Babcock, with their families, became residents of the town. During their stay, which was short, William, son of Shubael Geer, was born. After the departure of these families no attempt to effect a set- tlement in Andover was made until after the commencement of the Revolution.
The charter of the township of Bradford was issued by Sir Henry Moore, Governor of New York, on the 7th of Novem- ber, 1766. John French and his associates were named as the grantees in the patent. After the death of French, William Smith and his associates applied for a grant of the township and received a new charter on the 28th of March, 1770. At the same time the name of the town was changed to Moore- town, as a compliment to the governor. On the 23d of Octo- ber, 1788, the name was again altered to Bradford by an act of the Legislature of Vermont. The first settlement within the limits of the town was made in 1765, before the first charter was issued, by John Hosmer or Osmer, who located his cabin near the mouth of Wait's river, on the north bank. During the following year Samuel Sleeper and Benoni Wright com- menced a settlement near Connecticut river, about a mile and a half from the north bounds of the town. According to some
* N. Y. Colonial MSS., Land Papers, May 6th, 1765, vol. xviii. Doc. Hist. N. Y., iv. 786.
124
HISTORY OF EASTERN VERMONT.
[1750-1770.
statements it would seem that there were but ten families in the town in 1771. In an account of the condition of Bradford, communicated to Governor Moore in 1770, it is stated that at that time the town contained thirty families. In the same ac- count particular mention is made of " Sleeper's house," on Con- necticut river. Andrew B. Peters became a resident of Brad- ford in 1771, and in the following year the first grist-mill was built by John Peters, on the south side of Wait's river. In consequence of the careless manner in which the lands in this township were surveyed and granted, much trouble and vexa- tious litigation arose. The history of many of the neighboring towns discloses similar disputes concerning boundary lines and conflicting grants. An account of proceedings of this nature, although it might prove entertaining to those curious in disen- tangling the intricacies of land titles, would not possess an inte- rest sufficiently general for these narrative pages, and is there- fore omitted.
Of the other towns comprised in the eastern section of Ver- mont, to which reference has not been made, none, it is be- lieved, were settled before the year 1770, with the exception of Newbury .* The arrow-heads and domestic implements of a rude manufacture, which have been found within the limits of this town, afford conclusive evidence that it must have been at an early period the site of an Indian village. Gen. Jacob Bay- ley of Newbury, Massachusetts, was probably the first white settler. In a letter written by him from Newbury, Vermont, on the 3d of October, 1768, he remarked :- " 'Tis but seven years since I struck the first stroke here, at which time there was not one inhabitant on the river for seventy miles down, none eastward for sixty, none between us and Canada, and now almost all the Lands are settled and settling in almost every town on the east side of the river." It does not appear that Gen. Bailey was a resident of the town until 1764. In October of that year he brought his family to Newbury, and thence- forward until the time of his death, at the age of eighty-nine, in March, 1815, he devoted himself with cheerfulness and assiduity to the service not only of his adopted town but of his country.
* Attempts were doubtless made at an early period, to effect settlements north of Newbury. In 1766, Jonathan Grout of Petersham, Massachusetts, declared that he and his associates had cultivated lands in the town of Lunenburgh, which town, according to his statement, was "Thirty Miles Higher up Connecticut River than any other Settlement on Said River."
125
SETTLEMENT OF NEWBURY.
1750-1770.]
In March, 1762, Samuel Sleeper, a Quaker preacher from Hampton, New Hampshire, moved with his family into New- bury. He was in the employ of Gen. Bailey, and seems to have borne the character of a good citizen, until being unduly "moved by the spirit," he began to create disturbance by interrupting the minister while preaching, with laudatory and condemnatory exclamations. Various persuasive means were employed to in- duce him to alter his behavior, but without success. One of his followers, a certain Benoni Wright, was even more obstreperous than his master. Punishment was at last resorted to, and was followed by good effects. Wright received "ten lashes, well laid on." Sleeper was confined in a cellar, and when releas- ed, was informed that he would "receive thirty lashes in full tale" should he continue to exhibit his peculiar propensions. Finding that they could not enjoy the license to which they deemed themselves entitled, Wright and Sleeper removed to Bradford in 1766. Three other persons, with their families, came into the town from New Hampshire during the year 1762, namely, Thomas Chamberlain of Dunstable, Richard Chamber- lain of Hinsdale, and John Hazleton of Hampstead .*
The charter of Newbury was issued by Governor Benning Wentworth of New Hampshire, on the 18th of March, 1763. The grantees were Jacob Bayley and seventy-four associates. The first meeting for the choice of town officers was held at Plaistow, New Hampshire, on the 13th of June, 1763. Jesse Johnson was chosen town clerk, Caleb Johnson, constable, and Jacob Kent, Benjamin Emerson, and John Hazen, selectmen. The proprietors, also, voted to unite with the inhabitants of Haverhill "in paying a preacher for the term of two or three months," during the following "fall or winter." The arrival of Noah White, Thomas Johnson, and Jacob Kentt in this year,
* Betsey, daughter of John Hazleton, was the first child born in the town. Her birth took place in 1763. In the same year was born the first male child, Jacob Bayley Chamberlain, son of Thomas Chamberlain. Agreeable to a promise of the original proprietor, that the mother of the first male child should be entitled to a bounty of one hundred acres of land, the premium was awarded to Mrs. Chamber- lain. Betsey Hazleton " was the wife of the famous Nehemiah Lovewell, who bravely fought at Bunker Hill and other places." She died Nov. 19th, 1850, aged eighty-seven years .- Thompson's Vt., Part III. p. 124. Appendix to Deming's Catalogue, p. 165.
+ Col. Jacob Kent was born at Chebacco, Mass., June 11th, 1726, and Mary White, his wife, was born at Plaistow, N. H., August 14th, 1736. Mrs. Kent sur- vived her husband many years, and lived to a great age .- Powers's Coos Country, p. 50.
126
HISTORY OF EASTERN VERMONT.
[1750-1770.
gave a new impetus to the settlement ; James Abbott, John Taplin, Frye Bayley, and Ebenezer White, were also among the early settlers, and rendered valuable assistance in advancing the interests of the town. The first meeting in Newbury for the election of town officers, was held on the 12th of June, 1764. Jacob Kent was chosen town clerk, John Hazleton, constable, and Jacob Bayley, Jacob Kent, and James Abbott, selectmen. Through the instrumentality of the Rev. Peter Powers, of Hol- lis, New Hampshire, a church was organized in Newbury dur- ing the fall of 1764. On the 24th of January, 1765, Mr. Powers was solicited to "take the spiritual charge of this newly consti- tuted church and society in the wilderness." He accepted the call on the 1st of February following, and on the 27th of the same month, preached his own installation sermon at Hollis, New Hampshire.
For the purpose of securing the title to the lands in the town- ship of Newbury, Gen. Bayley obtained from Governor William Tryon of New York, a confirmation charter. By the terms of this instrument, which was dated March 17th, 1772, Bailey and twenty-four associates were constituted grantees in trust for the proprietors and settlers under the New Hampshire char- ter. The whole trust was afterwards assigned to Bailey, who gave a bond to deed the lands to those to whom they belonged.
With the cessation of French aggressions, Indian hostilities had now come to an end. The adventurer, as he paddled his canoe up Connecticut river, with his little stock of baggage and provisions, feared no longer the ambush on the shore; and the emigrant in his new home, lay down to sleep, feeling sure that no midnight foe was near to plunder and destroy. Induce- ments to settle in the new territory were, it is true, not as great as they had been represented by unprincipled specula- tors. The soil on the banks of the Connecticut was fertile, and the mountains were well wooded, but the climate was severe, and for many years nothing but a bare subsistence could be expected in return for the most painful toil. Still the men and women who left their homes in Massachusetts and Connecticut, to extend civilization and the arts of peace, knew well the nature of their undertaking. Though some quailed beneath the burdens which want compelled them to bear, there were but few who by reason of their sufferings relinquished their design, or who, from their own experience, warned their friends,
127
AUTHORITIES.
1750-1770.]
who were hesitating whether to join them or abide at home, to pursue the latter course .*
* New York Colonial MSS., in office Sec. State, N. Y., Land Papers, November 13th, 1764, May 7th, 1765, vol. xviii. : August 15th, 17th, 23d, September 19th, 28th, 1765, vol. xix .: October 9th, 28th, 30th, 31st, November 2d, 1765, Febru- ary 3d, July 18th, 1766, vol. xx .: June 25th, July 14th, 15th, 16th, September 5th, October 6th, 1766, vol. xxi. : October 17th, November 3d, December 2d, 1766, vol. xxii. Council Minutes, in office Sec. State, N. Y., 1764-1772, October 7th, 1766, vol. xxix. Thompson's Vt. Gazetteer, ed. 1824, pp. 230, 260. Thomp- son's Vt., ed. 1842, Part III., pp. 3, 29, 47, 53, 74, 79, 80, 87, 88, 124, 130, 140, 142, 147, 150, 160, 171, 176, 194, 198. Appendix to Deming's Catalogue of Vt. Officers, pp. 135, 147, 151, 168, 173, Doc. Hist. N. Y., iv. 586. Powers's Coos Country, passim.
CHAPTER VL
ORGANIZATION OF CUMBERLAND COUNTY
Early Boundaries of New York-Controversy concerning the New Hamp- shire Grants-Proclamations of Lieut .- Gov. Colden and Gov. Wentworth- Order in Council-" Unlimited County of Albany"-Proposals to establish Counties on the "Grants."-Additional Officers appointed in Albany County- Cumberland County established by Charter-Provisions of the Charter-Road Law-Bradford-Extravagant Grants by the Crown-Repeal of the Act esta- blishing Cumberland County-Cumberland County re-established by Letters Patent from the King-Observations of Cadwallader Colden-Laws to prohibit the cutting of Masting Timber-Conduct of Gov. John Wentworth, the Sur- veyor-General-Arrest of Willard Dean and William Dean Jr .- Arrest of Ebenezer Fisher-His Release-Voluntary Surrender of Capt. William Dean- Friendly Interference of Col. Samuel Wells and John Grout-The Deans im- prisoned in New York-Gov. Wentworth's Letter and Memorial-Report of the Committee of the Provincial Council of New York.
WHILE New Netherland was a Dutch province, its northern limit had been placed at the river St. Lawrence, and the Fresh* river had washed its eastern boundaries. When Charles II. gave the province of New York to his brother James, its area included "all the land from the west side of Connecticut river, to the east side of Delaware bay." The governments of Massachusetts and Connecticut had in several instances en- croached upon the territory claimed by New York, but the difficulties resulting from these trespasses had usually been ami- cably settled or at least temporarily adjusted. Never until now had there been an attempt to deprive New York, by syste- matized action, of rights and domains which she claimed as her own. As has been previously stated, Governor Wentworth of New Hampshire had, as early as 1750, made grants of land west of Connecticut river and north of the Massachusetts line. At the close of the French war he renewed the same course,
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