USA > Vermont > History of eastern Vermont, from its earliest settlement to the close of the eighteeth century with a biographical chapter and appendixes > Part 54
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This timely warning tended to allay the malevolent feelings which had already arisen in the breasts of the inhabitants of northern Massachusetts against the people of Vermont, and placed in its proper light the conduct of those, who, situated in other respects similarly to Spicer, had escaped his unhappy fate .*
Among the acts passed by the Legislature of Vermont dur-
* Thomas's Massachusetts Spy, April 8th, 1784, No. 676.
534
HISTORY OF EASTERN VERMONT.
[1784.
ing the February and March session, was one giving, as had been given on former occasions, power to the Governor and Council, during the recess, to pardon those persons, residing in Windham county, who had " traitorously taken up arms against, and otherwise opposed " the authority of the state. Numerous applications for pardon were presented, in consequence of this provision, and many who had been noted as " violent Yorkers," seeing that all attempts to oppose the established government would be in vain, quietly submitted to the jurisdiction which they had opposed with so much determination, and became citizens of Vermont.
Although the settlement of the river towns had not been perceptibly retarded by the civil dissensions which had dis- turbed the peace of a portion of the community, yet the prospect of a settlement of difficulties seemed to give new life to society, by infusing into its composition the element of a healthful competition. In Windsor county, the want of an appropriate building for holding the courts had for some time been acknowledged, but the rivalry existing between the inland and the river towns had prevented the selection of a location. A meeting was finally called by the authority of the county, at the town house in Windsor, for the purpose of deciding in what town a court house and jail should be erected. In answer to the call a few were present at the meeting on the 17th of March, but nothing was accomplished, from the want of a quorum. Aware of the difficulties which would arise from a discussion of the eligibility of different localities, and convinced that Windsor, already a county town, afforded the greatest advantages for the erection of a county building, a number of the citizens of that place assembled, and subscribed upward of £100 towards defraying the expenses of erecting an edifice fifty feet in length and thirty-four in width, to be finished in a man- ner appropriate to the uses for which it was designed. A com- petent builder was immediately engaged, and the structure was commenced within three days after its erection had been resolved on .*
For the purpose of inciting the Legislature of New York to action, Governor Clinton laid before the Senate, on the 27th of March, a number of letters containing accounts of the disorders prevailing " in Cumberland county," and of the " disagreeable
* Acts Gen. Ass. Vt., March, 1784. Thomas's Massachusetts Spy, April 14th, 1784, No. 677.
535
ABILITY OF CHITTENDEN AND ALLEN.
1784.]
situation " to which many of the citizens of New York had been thereby reduced. This information was soon after transmitted to Philadelphia, and Charles De Witt and Ephraim Paine, two of the delegates in Congress from New York, represented to that body, on the 24th of April, and in the plainest terms, their views and those of their constituents respecting the course which had been adopted to drive the Yorkers either into submission or from their homes. But Governor Chittenden and Ethan Allen, though not the most polished rhetoricians, possessed by nature a forcible style of expression, and proved themselves on paper, as well as in the field, a match for their antagonists. While the New York delegates, on the floor of Congress, were depre- cating the condition to which many of the inhabitants in Windham county had been reduced, and were calling on the " impartial world " to bear witness to the "rectitude, modera- tion, and liberality " of the measures they had adopted to effect a settlement of the question of jurisdiction, Chittenden declared that Vermont would act on the defensive, and invoked the twelve states to "observe a strict neutrality, and let the two contending states settle their own controversy." Allen, too, urged his fellow-citizens to combine to support the "liberty and independency " of the state, and in the columns of the Vermont Gazette laid before the public his own views as to the policy which should obtain in the formation and establishment of a nation. During the summer, the congressional committee to whom the representation of Paine and De Witt had been re- ferred, reported favorably to the admission of Vermont into the Union. An effort was made, on the 3d of June, to take into consideration the views embodied in the report, but Congress refused to devote their time to the subject, and the question of the controversy, so far as the representatives of the United States were concerned, without any agreement as to the time when it should be fairly met and definitely settled, was left un- decided, to the great detriment of all parties concerned in its final disposition .*
At the session of the Superior court, held in February last, official notice had been taken of the injury done to Sergt. Sil- vanus Fisk, and a presentment had been made of those who it was supposed had been concerned in the attack in which he suffered. Some of the delinquents had been punished at the
* Vermont Gazette, November 18th, 1784. Journals Am. Cong. June 3d, 1784. Journal Senate, N. Y., 7th session, p. 71.
536
HISTORY OF EASTERN VERMONT.
[1784.
time, while others had been allowed to remain unapprehended. On the 28th of June, warrants founded on the indictments of the grand jury were issued, and Henry Evans, Samuel Bixby, William White, Joseph Eliot, Samuel Melendy, and Giles Roberts were brought before a court of inquiry, held at West- minster on the 9th of July, at which John Sessions, chief judge of the county court, presided. As the result of this examina- tion, the delinquents were bound over to take their trial on the charges alleged against them, at the next session of the Supe- rior court. Worn out by the indignities to which for a long time they had been subjected, and aware that a continuance in their present course would only sink them deeper in trouble, they presented their grievances to the General Assembly of Vermont on the 25th of October. In the form of a petition, they stated that they had for several years owed and paid allegiance to the United States and the state of New York, and in conse- quence of their loyalty had suffered by imprisonment, confisca- tion of estates, etc. Referring to the apathy of Congress, they acknowledged that they had lost all confidence in "public faith." Though expressing their willingness to stand the trial at which they had bound themselves to appear, they asked for pardon, and to be received as citizens of the state.
Another petition of a similar import, signed by twenty of the "late disaffected inhabitants," was presented to the General Assembly on the same day. Both papers were referred to a committee, who, on the 27th, reported favorably to the prayer of the petitioners. A bill was accordingly prepared and passed, granting a free pardon to twenty-six persons, who had previously been open and avowed opponents of the government of Ver- mont. Of these, seven were citizens of Brattleborough, eight- een of Guilford, and one of Marlborough. By the terms of the act, forgiveness was extended to them for all the crimes they had committed, and all their property, real and personal, which had been taken from them, as forfeited to the state, and which had not been disposed of, was to be returned, provided they should appear before some justice of the peace in the county of Windham, within two months from the time of the publication of the act, and take the oath of allegiance to the state.
In answer to a petition from Charles Phelps for " a full par- don," and a reversion of the sentence of the Supreme court, re- specting the confiscation of his property, a joint committee of the Council and Assembly stated in their report, that he had
537
FULL PARDON OF CHARLES PHELPS.
1784.]
acted meritoriously in former times, in endeavoring to prevent the state of New York from re-granting the lands on the New Hampshire Grants, and in opposing a union and association of the people of Cumberland county with New York ; that he had been "very serviceable to his country, by procuring and sell- ing, without profit to himself, a quantity of arms, ammunition, and salt ;" that, on the other hand, he had for a number of years past, been "exceedingly obstinate against and troublesome to" the government; and had had the sentence of imprison- ment and confiscation passed upon him as the punishment of the crime of treason. On account of "his former merit, his advanced age, and the bad circumstances of his family," they recom- mended that his request should be granted. By the act which passed the Assembly on the strength of this advice, the attain- der of treason with which he had been disgraced at the last session of the court was removed, and directions were given that all his estate, both real and personal, with the exception of such as had been already disposed of, should be restored to him on the payment of £35 lawful money, as an indemnification to the state for the costs of prosecuting the various actions which had been brought against him. Satisfied with the terms of this act, Phelps accepted the pardon for which he had asked, and became, nominally, a citizen of Vermont. In feeling and prin- ciple he remained devoted to the cause of New York until the day of his death. His last will was dated at "New Marl- borough, in the county of Cumberland and state of New York." In this instrument, referring to the people of Vermont, he stated that they had deprived him of his possessions, and thereby re- duced him to poverty, but expressed a faint hope that relief would be found for his descendants in the legislation of coming years. However mistaken he may have been in the means by which he sought to manifest his loyalty towards New York, yet the sincerity of his professions in behalf of that state, during the time in which he avowed them, cannot be doubted, and in the report of the committee of the Legislature of Vermont, on which was based the act of pardon which was passed in his favor, even his enemies acknowledged the good services he had done in behalf of American freedom, and bore witness to his strenuous endeavors in past periods, to advance the interests and increase the comforts of the early settlers on the New Hampshire Grants .*
* Journals Gen. Ass. Vt., Oct. 26th, 1784. Slade's Vt. State Papers, pp. 494, 495.
538
HISTORY OF EASTERN VERMONT.
[1785.
The strenuous measures of the government of Vermont, exerted for several years with determination, had at length silenced effectually the open opposition of those who acknow- ledged the jurisdiction of New York. The inhabitants of the "separate and independent" state, who for eight years had maintained a civil and political existence, began now to look forward with assurance to the period when they should be recognized as an integral part of the confederated states, and permitted to enjoy the benefits arising from the Union which they, to a certain extent, had helped to create and maintain .* Though Congress refused to encourage them in the hope that Vermont would be admitted, as an equal, to a share in the fede- ral government, yet the report had gone abroad that no diffi- culty would be experienced in effecting the long-desired con- nection. Alarmed at this rumor, Jotham Biglow, Timothy Church, William White, and Samuel Bixby, in behalf of a number of the "loyal subjects" of New York, residing in Guil- ford and Brattleborough, wrote to Governor Clinton on the 18th of March, 1785. "We would inform you," said they in this communication, "that it is commonly reported that there are now twelve states convened at Congress in the city of New York, besides the agents from Vermont, who we do hear have reported that all those people that called themselves the sub- jects of New York, have yielded quiet submission unto Ver- mont, and that they have taken the oath of fidelity unto it; and also, how that the Vermonters have obeyed Congress in restoring and in making good all our damages ; and also, how that thay have relinquished the large fines that they have laid on many of us for obeying Congress, or rather, for disobeying Vermont. Now, kind sir, we have great reason to bless the great God of truth, that we and many others, not only here on the Grants, but also our neighbors in the Bay state, can with truth say, and do dare to say, that there is no color of truth in such a report. We say that there is not one man of the York party who has taken the oath of allegiance unto Vermont, ex- cepting only such of them as have been taken and confined in
* " The Vermonters seem much' elated at the idea of their being admitted into the confederation of the United States: and indeed they have reason for exulta- tion, since they will participate in the advantages, and have borne but a small part of the expenses attending the late Revolution. Their delegates have arrived at Congress, and presented their credentials, but whether they have taken their seats, we are not informed." Salem (Mass.) Gazette, January 4th, 1785.
539
A DENUNCIATORY LETTER FROM THE YORKERS.
1785.]
gaol, and fed with the bread and water of affliction, and made to suffer both with cold and hunger, being in iron chains and fetters."
Continuing in this strain, they declared the statement that restitution had been made to them for damages, " a right-down falsehood ;" that, on the contrary, their opponents were " lay- ing heavy fines and taxes" on them, "yea, very heavy indeed ;" that his "only cow" had been taken from many a poor man ; and that several citizens had been obliged "to quit their farms and flee into the Bay state for protection, with their families, there to get their bread as they can." They assured the Go- vernor that it was the fixed determination of some of their num- ber who were "somewhat low in the world," to "leave these regions of horror as soon as the spring doth open, and fly away, that they may be at rest from these Vermonters." Every day we are "in jeopardy of our lives and fortunes," said they. " We are taken for every offence, let it be ever so small ; and as certainly as that we are taken and tried by the Vermont au- thority, we are obliged to pay all costs and damages-whether just or unjust, it makes no matter." Having made known their condition by the presentation of facts which no one pretended to deny, they concluded their memorial with a petition, which Governor Clinton would have been rejoiced to grant, had he possessed the power. "It is the hearty prayer and wish of all your good subjects here, that his Excellency would exert him- self unto the uttermost of his power to deliver this distressed people out of the hands of these wicked tyrants."*
Though Congress studiously maintained silence on the ques- tion of the admission of a new state, the legislators of Vermont deemed it best to be prepared to meet any proposals to that effect which might be offered. On the 18th of October, the General Assembly, then in session at Windsor, elected Moses Robinson, Ira Allen, and Stephen R. Bradley, their agents to Congress. No opportunity was afforded these gentlemen of initiating negotiations for a friendly union between Vermont and the United States ; yet there were but few in the state who could have conducted a transaction of this nature with greater dignity and effect than they.
Internal dissensions having been brought to an end, the dan- gers of invasion from a foreign foe having long since ceased to
* George Clinton Papers, in office Sec. State N. Y., vol. xx. doc. 5563.
540
HISTORY OF EASTERN VERMONT.
[1785.
be expected, the inhabitants of Vermont began to turn their attention with great assiduity to the improvement of the moral and civil condition of the state. Permission having been granted by the General Assembly, taxes were levied in various towns for the purpose of obtaining the means of building churches and grammar schools. Old county houses were re- paired, and new ones erected. Communication between the different towns was rendered more easy by the construction of roads. Rivers were spanned by bridges built with the proceeds of lotteries authorized by law. Ferries were established at available points on the Connecticut. The farmer cultivated his land with greater care and more persevering labor. The arti- zan toiled at his occupation cheerfully, and with good hope of the future. One cause for disquiet alone remained. The incu- bus of debt brooded over many like a threatening cloud. Pay- ment, if enforced at this time, could not be made without pro- ducing the direst want. When, at a later period, judicial authority was invoked to enforce the execution of the laws against debtors, results followed which showed but too plainly the remoter effects of the revolution, which for seven years had wasted the energy and expended the treasure of a nation.
CHAPTER XX.
THE ADMISSION OF VERMONT INTO THE UNION.
Petitions of citizens of New York who had suffered loss in Vermont-Statement of their losses-Report of committee of the New York Legislature on the petition -Commissioners of the Land Office appropriate lands for the sufferers, situ- ated in Clinton, now Bainbridge-Governor Chittenden's address to the people of Vermont-Insurrection at Windsor-Trial of insurgents-Another disturb- ance-Military called out-Obedience to law enforced-Laws relieving the distresses of the people-Disposition among prominent citizens of New York, favorable to the acknowledgment of Vermont as an independent state-Bill for this purpose introduced into the Legislature of New York-Hamilton's speech in its behalf-It fails-Bounds of Cumberland and Gloucester counties-Adop- tion of the constitution of the United States-Correspondence between Na- thaniel Chipman and Alexander Hamilton-Commissioners appointed by New York to declare Vermont a separate state-Commissioners appointed by Ver- mont to meet them-Other commissioners appointed by New York-Delibera- tions of the commissioners of the two states-Report of the New York com- missioners-Is approved of by the Legislature of Vermont, who pass an act for paying $30,000 to New York, as an indemnity-Convention at Bennington for considering the expediency of asking for Vermont admission into the Union- Negotiations-Vermont becomes one of the United States-Division of the $30,000 among the New York claimants.
BY their opposition to the government of Vermont, the sup- porters of New York residing in the southern part of Windham county had lost many of their personal effects ; had been obliged to neglect, to a certain extent, the cultivation of their farms, and the care of their premises ; and had suffered incon- veniences, serious and without number. These causes, com- bined with the fines and imprisonment to which they had been subjected, had reduced them to a condition of poverty from which they could not well recover without assistance. On the 24th of February, 1786, Timothy Church, William Shattuck, and Henry Evans addressed a petition to the Legisla- ture of New York on the subject of the losses which they and their fellow-sufferers had sustained. In this paper they stated
542
HISTORY OF EASTERN VERMONT.
[1786.
that they and their friends, " by their attachment, zeal, and activity in endeavoring to support the just and lawful authority of New York," had incurred the displeasure of those "who styled themselves freemen of Vermont ;" that they had been led to believe by the resolutions of Congress-especially those of' the 5th of December, 1782-and by the laws and declarations of the Legislature of New York, that " the lawless and ungrate- ful usurpers" of the jurisdiction of that state " would be brought to submit to its lawful authority ;" that they had been deceived in these reasonable expectations ; and that their oppo- nents had "risen in arms to the number of four or five hun- dred" against them, had killed one and wounded others of their number, had driven some from their habitations or imprisoned them, and had confiscated the estates and sold the effects of many. "Your petitioners cannot but hope," they observed in conclusion, "that having thus sacrificed their all ; suffered such exquisite tortures, banishments, imprisonments in loath- some gaols, half-starved and threatened with being put to ignominious deaths, but that your honors will take their case into your most serious consideration, and grant them some relief in their deplorable situation. And your petitioners, as in duty bound, will ever be good citizens of the state of New York."*
This petition was read in the Senate on the 27th, and was committed to Messrs. Williams, L'Hommedieu, and Douw. On the 28th, Church, Shattuck, and Evans prepared a verified list, containing not only the names of those who had suffered on account of their attachment to New York, but also a statement of the amount of damages they had sustained. By this it appeared that of those who had been either imprisoned, banished, or deprived of their effects, four were civil officers, twenty-one military officers, and nearly a hundred private soldiers. It was also shown that their losses amounted to £16,663 13s. 8d. On the 1st of March, Mr. L'Hommedieu, from the committee to whom was referred the petition, pre- sented the following report :-
" It appears to the committee, that the petitioners, with many others holding offices, both civil and military, under the authority of this state, with other inhabitants of the county of Cumberland, have greatly suffered in their persons and estates,
* Papers relating to Vt. Controversy, in office Sec. State N. Y., p. 51. Doc. Hist. N. Y., iv. 1014, 1015.
543
GRANTS TO CHURCH, SHATTUCK, AND OTHERS.
1786.]
and are still subject to heavy fines imposed by the authority of the assumed state of Vermont, for no other crime than support- ing the lawful authority of this state in the said county, which they from time to time have done, in pursuance of sundry reso- lutions of Congress, the several laws of this state, and the directions of their superiors in office. That the petitioners, with others whom they represent, being deprived in a great measure of the means of subsistence, and having become odious to the present government of the said assumed state, by reason of their supporting the laws of this state in the said county, are unable to continue longer in the said county without the great- est inconvenience to themselves and families, and are desirous of removing immediately into the western parts of this state, provided they could procure vacant lands fit for cultivation. That in the opinion of your committee, the said petitioners and others whom they represent, have a claim on the state for some compensation for their sufferings and losses, and that it will be proper for the state to grant to the petitioners and the persons they represent, a quantity of vacant land equivalent to a town- ship of eight miles square."
After reading the report, Mr. L'Hommedieu delivered it in " at the table," where it was again read, and agreed to. There- upon, the Senate resolved "that the Legislature, during their present meeting, will make provision for granting to Colo. Ti- mothy Church, Major William Shattuck, Major Henry Evans, and about one hundred other persons whom they represent, a quantity of vacant lands equal to a township of eight miles square." A copy of this resolution was immediately sent to the Assembly, and on the same day a resolution of concurrence was returned to the Senate .*
Soon after these proceedings, measures were taken to com- ply with the determination expressed in this concurrent resolu- tion. The result of these efforts was seen in the twentieth clause of "An act for the speedy sale of the unappropriated lands within the state, and for other purposes therein men- tioned," passed on the 5th of May. By this clause, it was enacted that "it shall, and may be lawful to, and for the said commissioners [of the land office], to appropriate a tract of land equal to eight miles square, in any of the townships to be laid
* Journal Senate N. Y., 9th session, pp. 32, 35, 36. Journal Assembly N. Y., 9th session, p. 64. Papers relating to Vt. Controversy, in office Sec. State N. Y., p. 53. Doc. Hist. N. Y., iv. 1015-1017.
544
HISTORY OF EASTERN VERMONT.
[1786.
out in pursuance of this act, for the use of Colonel Timothy Church, Major William Shattuck, and Major Henry Evans, and such other persons of the counties of Cumberland and Glouces- ter, as shall be deemed by the said commissioners to be suffer- ers in opposing the government of the pretended state of Ver- mont, and to grant the land in such township, in such propor- tion to each of such sufferers, as to the said commissioners shall seem meet and proper, and to direct letters patent to be pre- pared accordingly, and, having approved of the same, the Governor, or person administering the government of this state for the time being, shall cause the great seal of this state to be affixed thereto."*
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