USA > Vermont > History of eastern Vermont, from its earliest settlement to the close of the eighteeth century with a biographical chapter and appendixes > Part 22
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81
* The petition, of which a synopsis is given in the text, was sent by Elijah Grout of Windsor, to Samuel Wells, Noah Sabin, Nathan Stone, Benjamin Butterfield, Samuel Gale, Samuel Knight, and Jonathan Stearns, who, previous to March 13th, 1775, were the principal officers in the courts of the county. Grout's letter accompanying the petition, was dated April 15th, 1775, and at that time, those whom he addressed had just reached New York, after having been detained in prison nearly a month .- Brattleborough Semi-Weekly Eagle, Thurs- day, December 6th, 1849.
CHAPTER IX.
THE " WESTMINSTER MASSACRE."
An Ante-Revolution Event-Westminster-The "Street"-The Old Meeting- house-The Pulpit-The Sounding-board-The Powder-hole-The Whips- The Collection-box-The Choir-The Foot-stove-The Burying-ground-The Grave of William French-The Epitaph-Condition of the Colonies before the Revolution-The Feeling in Cumberland County-Distrust of the Courts-Re- monstrance with Judge Chandler-The Whigs assemble at Westminster- Scenes of the Night of March 13th-Norton's Tavern-The Sheriff's Posse-The Attempt to enter the Court-house-The " Massacre"-The Frolic-The State- ment of Facts-Couriers-The Gathering-Appearance of the Court-house- Inhuman Suggestions-Excitement of the Yeomanry-Robert Cockran-Treat- ment of the Tories-Sketches of the Liberty-men-William French-His Character-Reminiscences concerning him-His Death-The Inquest-The Burial-Daniel Houghton-Jonathan Knight-Philip Safford-Tory Deposi- tions-Weapons of the Whigs-Incidents connected with the "Massacre"- Joseph Temple-John Hooker-John Arms, the Poet-The "Massacre" in Rhyme-Thomas Chandler, Jr .- The Punishment of the Court Officers-Their Imprisonment-Their Release-Action of the Legislature of New York-Lieu- tenant-Governor Colden's Message-Appropriation of £1,000-Colden to Lord Dartmouth-The Influence of Massachusetts Bay in producing the "Massacre" -What justifies an Insurrection ?- Claims of William French to the title of the Proto-martyr of the Revolution.
AMONG the important events immediately preceding and connected with the war of the Revolution, which served to show the feelings of the great mass of the American people, and prognosticated the impending struggle, none has been buried in deeper obscurity than that which occurred at West- minster, on the night of the 13th of March, 1775. In some minds, the words "Westminster Massacre" may perchance awaken recollections of the venerable grandsire, who, with his descendants gathered around him,
" Wept o'er his wounds, and tales of sorrow done, Shouldered his crutch, and showed how fields were won;"
210
HISTORY OF EASTERN VERMONT.
[1775.
or who, during the long winter evenings, was wont to depict, in his own expressive language, to the listening group, the scenes of the battles of Bennington or Saratoga, or, it may be, those of the night to which allusion has been made. The descendants of a revolutionary ancestry who have been thus favored, will not forget the glow which burned on the counte- nance of the old patriot, nor the enthusiasm with which he referred to these and similar events, as the greatest eras in his own life and in the history of his country. To the minds of others, these words may convey but little meaning beyond their etymological signification.
When we consider the hardy character of the early settlers on the western banks of the Connecticut, their uncompromising hatred of oppression, and their holy love of freedom-which principles, originating in Massachusetts and Connecticut, had, among the hills of the adopted province, attained their full strength and reached their complete proportions-when we reflect on these considerations, we need look no further for the cause which obtained for Vermont the honor-though late accorded, yet none the less real on that account-of being the State which gave to the American States the proto-martyrs of American independence.
The most casual observer, as he passes through the towns in the south-eastern part of Vermont that border the shores of the Connecticut, cannot but notice the picturesque beauty which distinguishes, in so marked a degree, the location of West- minster. The east village, to which particular reference is made, stands principally on an elevated plain, nearly a mile in extent, divided by a broad and beautiful avenue, along whose sides are built the comfortable and commodious dwellings of the inhabitants, back of which to the hills on the one side, and the river on the other, extend rich farms and fertile meadows. Seldom is there any noise on the " Street" at Westminster. It does not resemble Broadway, nor does it find its representa- tive on State street at Boston. The schoolboy, it is true, shouts at noon-time and even-tide, and the shrill whistle of the engine screams through the neighboring valley, a reminder of the whoop of earlier days. But these appertain to almost every place, and tell of the universality of steam and the schoolmaster.
Of those objects in this quiet village which would most naturally attract the attention of an admirer of the infant civilization of the past century, none is more prominent than
211
THE OLD MEETING-HOUSE.
1775.]
the old meeting-house. This building was commenced in 1769, and was completed in the year following. The superintendence of the work was given to a man named Brown, who dwelt at Westmoreland, New Hampshire, and who fulfilled his contract to the satisfaction of his employers. The church was formerly placed, as was the custom of the times, in the middle of the high road, but it was afterwards removed, and now stands on the line of the street. For many years the people of the village, united in faith and doctrine, were accustomed to assemble within its walls, for the purpose of worship- ping in conformity with the usages of the New Eng- land Congregationalists,*but when, in the lapse of time, some of the people had em- braced an oppugnant belief, vexatious disputes arose as to which of the two denomina- tions should have possession of the building. In the end, a new edifice was erected by The Westminster Meeting-honse. the Congregationalists, and their opponents, after retaining pos- session of the original structure for a few years, left it tenantless. Thus it remained for years undisturbed, except on town-meeting and election-days, and by the occasional visits of the peering antiquarian, the summer loiterer, or the leisurely-going traveller.
* The first minister settled in Westminster, is said to have been a man by the name of Goodell, and the year 1766 or 1767 is generally regarded as the time of his coming. Tradition affirms, that his wife was the daughter of a man dis- tinguished in the annals of New Hampshire. In the year 1769 his faithlessness to her became known, and this discovery was soon after followed by his secret departure from the town. Mrs. Goodell's brothers, on being informed of these circumstances, took her and her two children to their home in New Hampshire, and made provision for their future support. It is not known who first occupied the pulpit of the " old meeting-house." Mice-those lovers and digesters of literature of every kind, sacred and profane-have destroyed the early records of the church, and the memory of the oldest inhabitant is at fault to supply the blank thus occasioned. The division in the church at Westminster is, with a few modifications, the history of almost all the religious societies in New England The causes which led to the formation of Christian unions were identical, with a few exceptions, in all, and the same is also true of the causes which in the end created dissensions and division.
212
HISTORY OF EASTERN VERMONT.
[1775.
Although lately used for educational purposes, it still stands a model of its kind, a monument of former days. Its archi- tecture is simple, and the soundness of its timbers bears wit- ness to the excellence of the materials which were used in its construction. Within, all is strange to the eye of a modern. The minister's desk, placed directly in front of the huge bow- window, is overshadowed by the umbrella-like sounding-board, from which, in former days, words of wisdom and truth were often reverberated. Our ancestors were a frugal people. They regarded the air, not as an element in which to waste words, but as a medium by which ideas were to be conveyed; and in order that nothing, especially of a sacred character, should be lost, they fell upon this contrivance, designed to give to the hearer the full benefit of all that the preacher might choose to utter. As one stands beneath this impending projection, a stifling sensation will steal over the senses, and a ludicrous dread lest its massiveness may descend and crush him as he gazes, is not entirely absent from the mind. One might also feel like comparing it in situation, with the sword of Damocles. But otherwise, the comparison fails, for the hair which holds it is a bar of iron, and the structure itself bears a striking resemblance to a stemless toadstool. Modern theologians might find in it a personification of the cloud which in ancient times overhung the mercy-seat, and this, perhaps, is the most orthodox view in which it can be regarded.
Underneath the pulpit is a small apartment, in which the powder and lead belonging to the village were usually stored. Who can describe the feelings which now and then must have shot across the mind of the preacher, or imagine the nature of his secret thoughts, as Sunday after Sunday he warned his hearers of the dangers of this world and besought them to seek for safety in the next, while latent death lay barrelled beneath his feet ? Immediately in front of and below the desk, are arranged the benches where once sat the deacons. Beside them, stood long whips, with which they were wont to drive from the temple the farmers' dogs which would sometimes in- trude during the protracted service. Terrible instruments were these long whips to the little boys, and the least wriggle of their utmost tip, although caused by the breathing of some kind-natured zephyr, was more potent to them than the most pointed denunciations winged with fire and sulphur, and im- pelled by the breath of " brazen lungs." Above the deacons'
213
THE CHOIR.
1775.]
seats, on a couple of nails, rested a pole, at the end of which was attached a silken pouch. This was the collection-box, which, like the spear of Ithuriel, brought forth from those whom it touched, solid, though not always willing confessions, to the cause of truth.
If there were any exercises of the sanctuary, which more than others received attention, it was those which were under the care of the village choir. There sat the young men clad in homespun and the young women gay in ribbons, occupying the whole front of the long gallery, and at the announcement of the hymn, the confusion into which they would be thrown, might have appeared to a stranger to be almost inextricable. The loud voice of the choragus proclaiming the page on which the tune was to be found in the selection " adapted to Congre- gational Worship by Andrew Law, A.B.," the preparatory scraping of the fiddle with a "heavenly squeak," or the premo- nitory key-note of the flute as it went
"- cantering through the minor keys,"
always afforded infinite amusement to the young children, and were regarded by the old men as necessary evils, to be endured patiently and without complaint. Then would succeed a mo- ment of silence, to be broken by the discordant harmony of ear-piercing falsettos, belching bassos, and airs, by no means as gentle as those which float
"- from Araby the blest."
But the music was inspiriting, if not to the listeners, yet to the performers ; and when the excited fiddler, who was also the leader, became wholly penetrated with the melodies which his vocal followers were exhaling, regardless of the injunction of the minister to "omit the last stanza in singing," he would, with an extra shake of his bow and a resonant, Young America " put her through," conclude the hymn as the poet intended it should end, winding up with a grand flourish, the intensity of which was sure to excite, even in the breasts of the " oldest fogies," the most ecstatic fervor.
For years, every old lady used regularly to bring her foot- stove to meeting, and the warmth of her feet was of great ser- vice, no doubt, in increasing the warmth of her heart. But
214
HISTORY OF EASTERN VERMONT.
[1775.
when a new-fashioned, square-box, iron stove was introduced within those sacred precincts, with a labyrinth of pipe, bending and crooking in every direction, the effect was fearful. Two or three fainted from the heat it occasioned, and shutters sufficient would not have been found to convey the expectant swooners to more airy places, had not an old deacon gravely informed the congregation, that the stove was destitute of both fire and fuel.
Just beyond the meeting-house lies the old burying-ground, crowded with the silent dwellers of the last hundred years. These tenants pay no rent for their lodgings, and shall never know any reckoning day but the last. The paradises of the dead which are found to-day in the suburbs of almost every American city, speak well for the taste and refinement of the age ; but beautiful as they may be, there is a coldness around them of which the marble piles that adoin them are fitly em- blematic. More acceptable to a chastened taste, is the village graveyard with its truthfulness and simplicity. The humble stone, with its simple story simply told, conveys to the contem- plative mind a pleasanter impression than the monument with its weary length of undeserved panegyric. There is a quaint- ness, too, in the old inscriptions, which is more heart-touching than the formality and stiffness of the epitaphs of a modern diction. Sometimes, too, there is noticed an original or pho- netic way of spelling ; and again, when poetry is attempted, the noble disdain of metre which is often seen, is sure evidence that Pegasus was either lame or was driven without bit or bridle.
Enter now this old burial-place. At the right of the path, but a short distance from the gate, stands an unpretending stone, not half as attractive by its appearance as many of its fellows. Some there are, who, like Old Mortality, take a certain innocent pleasure in endeavoring to preserve these milestones to eternity from the decay of which they are commemorative. Such may be the inclina- tion of the rea- der. Stop then for a moment in this conse- crated spot. Brush off the moss which
has covered
with verdure
The Grave of William French.
the letters of this simple slatestone. Put aside the long grass which is waving in rank luxuriance at its foot, and now read its pa- triotic record :
215
1775.] CONDITION OF THE COLONIES BEFORE THE REVOLUTION.
"IN Memory of N Memory of WILLIAM FRENCH. Son to Mr, Nathaniel French. Who Was Shot at Weftminfter March ye 13th, 1775. by the hands of Cruel Miniftereal tools. of Georg ye 3d, in the Corthoufe at a II a Clock at Night in the 22d, year of his Age.
ERE WILLIAM FRENCH his Body lies. For Murder his Blood for Vengance cries. King Georg the third his Tory crew tha with a bawl his head Shot threw. For Liberty and his Countrys Good. he Loft his Life his Deareft blood."
Starting with the indignant language of this epitaph as a text, it will not be amiss to explain its meaning, and collate some of the circumstances connected with the tragedy to which it refers. A correct estimate of the feelings of many of the inhabitants of Cumberland county, may be formed from the conduct of the peo- ple of Dummerston in the rescue of Lieut. Spaulding, as related in the preceding chapter. The fuel which success on that occasion added to the flame which before was not dimly burning, did not fail to increase a desire to attempt other and more important deeds.
By the old French War, and by the depreciation of bills of credit consequent thereupon, many, in all the colonies, had become reduced in their circumstances. The sufferers were
mostly those who had been officers or soldiers in the colonial service, and who now returning from their toils and struggles, found themselves weakened by suffering, their families starving around them, parliamentary acts of unusual severity enforced in the cities, creditors clamoring for their dues, and their own hands filled with paper-money worthless as rags, to pay them with. "In Boston," remarks an historian of those times, "the presence of the royal forces kept the people from acts of vio- lence, but in the country they were under no such restraint. The courts of justice expired one after another, or were unable to proceed on business. The Inhabitants were exasperated against the Soldiers, and they against the Inhabitants ; the former looked on the latter as the instruments of tyranny, and the latter on the former as seditious rioters."* In Cumberland
* MS. History of the American Revolution, among the papers of Governor William Livingston, of New Jersey, chap. iv. p. 75, in N. Y. Hist. Soc. Lib.
216
HISTORY OF EASTERN VERMONT.
[1775.
county, the higher civil officers had received their appointments directly from the Legislature of New York, and still remained, as they had ever been, loyal to the King. For these reasons, and because the Colonial Assembly had refused to adopt the " non-importation, non-consumption, and non-exportation" asso- ciation, there were many in the county who mingled with their enmity to Great Britain a dislike to the jurisdiction of New York and to the officers of her choice. The unfriendliness of these feelings was in no wise diminished by the disputes in regard to land titles, which since the year 1764 had at times disturbed the equanimity of the people.
As may have been already inferred from the reforms which had been proposed, the maladministration of the courts of justice in the county had become almost insufferable. So un- happy was the feeling between the people on the one hand, and the judges, sheriff, and other officers of the court, and their adherents, on the other, that the former were generally stigma- tized as " the Mob," while the latter assumed the title of "the Court Party." But the time had now come when the Whigs, as the mob preferred to be called, must assert their rights as free- men, or submit to the oppressive sway of the Tories, as they chose to call their opponents. Already had the Tories begun to plan in secret measures by which "to bring the lower sort of the people into a state of bondage and slavery." "They saw," says a narrator of the events of this period, "that there was no cash stirring, and they took that opportunity to collect debts, knowing that men had no other way to pay them than by having their estates taken by execution and sold at vendue." By an abuse of law whose object was to afford just protection, they were endeavoring to obtain an unlicensed sway in the management of the affairs of the county. Vexatious suits ensued, and many were imprisoned, contrary to the laws of the province and the statutes of the crown.
Of the acts and resolves of Congress the office-holders in the county would on some occasions express approbation, and ad- vise obedience to them until the General Assembly should otherwise order. Anon, they would declare that it was well enough for " the Bay Province" to pursue such measures, but " childish" for the people of Cumberland county "to pay any regard to them." A few going a step further, would assert that the King "had a just right to make the revenue acts, for he had a supreme power ;" and would denounce those who said
217
THE FEELING IN CUMBERLAND COUNTY.
1775.]
differently, as "guilty of high treason." The " good people" were of opinion that men who held such sentiments "were not suitable to rule over them."
As has been previously said, the General Assembly of the province had rejected the Association of the Continental Con- gress. On the other hand, the inhabitants of the county had, in open convention, adopted it. By its fourteenth article, they had resolved to have "no trade, commerce, dealings, or inter- course whatsoever, with any colony or province in North Ame- rica" which should not accept of, or which should in the future violate the association, and had promised to hold such as should act thus, " as unworthy of the rights of freemen, and as inimical to the liberties of their country." For these reasons they judged it " dangerous to trust their lives and fortunes in the hands of such enemies to American liberty," or to allow men who would betray them to rule in their courts of justice. Thus was their deter- mination taken. In duty to God, to themselves, and to their pos- terity, they resolved "to resist and to oppose all authority that would not accede to the resolves of the Continental Congress."*
Such was the state of feeling in Cumberland county immedi- ately previous to the commencement of the Revolution. De- termined to evince by action the principles which they had openly avowed, the Whigs resolved that the administration of justice should no longer remain in the hands of the Tories, and the 14th of March, 1775, the day on which the county court was to convene at Westminster, was fixed upon as the time for carrying into execution their plans. Anxious to free them- selves from the charges of haste and rashness, and to proceed as peaceably as possible, they deemed it prudent to request the judges to stay at home. For this purpose, on the 10th of March, " about forty good, true men" from Rockingham, visit- ed Col. Thomas Chandler, the chief judge, at his residence in Chester. To their expostulations he re- The Chandy plied that "he be- lieved it would be for the good of the county not to have any court, as things were," but added, that there was one case of murder to be tried, which should be the only business transacted, if
* Slade's Vt. State Papers, 56. Journals Am. Cong. i. 25.
218
HISTORY OF EASTERN VERMONT.
[1775.
such was the wish of the people. One of the company then remarked that the sheriff would oppose the people with an armed force; and that there would be bloodshed. The colonel declared, "he would give his word and honor," that no arms should be brought against the people, and said that he should be at Westminster on the day previous to the opening of the court. His visitors informed him that they would wait on him at that time, "if it was his will." He assured them that their presence would be "very agreeable," returned them "hearty thanks" for their civility, and parted with them in a friendly manner. Noah Sabin, one of the associate judges, firm in the performance of what he deemed his duty, was very desirous that the court should sit as usual. Many of the petty officers of the court were of the same opinion. Samuel Wells, the other associate, was, as representative, in attendance on the General Assembly at New York. Among the leaders of the Whigs there was much debate as to the course they should pursue in carrying their plans into execution. Depending on the statements of Judge Chandler, they at first decided to let the court assemble, and then to lay before it their reasons for not wishing it to sit. But having heard that the Tories were resolved to take possession of the court-house with armed guards, they changed their plans, and determined to precede them in occupation, in order that they might make known their griev- ances before the session should be regularly opened.
The intentions of the Whigs soon became known, especially in the southern towns of the county. On Sunday, March 12th, the day previous to the night of the " massacre," William Paterson, the High Sheriff, in conformity with the views of Judge Sabin and others, went to Brat- own Paterson tleborough, and desired the people to accompany him on the following day to Westminster, that he might have their assistance in preserv- ing the peace, and in suppressing any tumult that might arise. To his proposal a number assented, and on the 13th, about twenty-five of the inhabitants unarmed, except with clubs, attended him to Westminster. On the road they were joined by such as were friendly to them, and the destructive power of the company was increased by the addition of fourteen muskets. On the afternoon of the same day, a party of Whigs from Rockingham arrived at Westminster. On their way down to
219
THE COURT-HOUSE OCCUPIED BY THE WHIGS.
1775.]
the Court-house they halted at the house of Capt. Azariah Wright. But the log dwelling in which the captain resided was too small to accommodate them. They therefore repaired to the log school-house, which was situated on the opposite side of the " street," and there entered into a consultation as to the best manner in which they could prevent the court from sitting. Having finished their conference, they armed themselves with sticks, obtained from Capt. Wright's wood-pile, and continued their march. On their way they were joined by a number of the inhabitants of Westminster, armed like themselves with cudgels, and having gained the point of destination, the whole party numbering nearly a hundred entered the Court-house between the hours of four and five, with a determination to stay there until the next morning, that they might present their grievances to the judges at an early hour, and endeavor to dissuade them from holding the court. Soon after this, and a little before sunset, Sheriff Paterson marched up to the Court- house at the head of a body of sixty or seventy men, some of whom carried "guns, swords, or pistols," and others clubs or sticks.
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.