USA > Vermont > History of eastern Vermont, from its earliest settlement to the close of the eighteeth century with a biographical chapter and appendixes > Part 71
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In 1796 he was appointed state's attorney for Windham county, and held the office until the year 1800. He presided as side judge of the Supreme court of Vermont from 1801 to 1806, when he was chosen chief judge. This position he re- tained until the year 1812. Party strife and ill health com- bined were the causes which prevented him from being chosen to fill this office for a longer period. From the year 1815 to the year 1821 he was register of probate for Windham county, and this, it is believed, was the last public station he was called to occupy. An idea of the originality of his style and manner in arguing a case, under circumstances calculated to produce embarrassment, may be gained from the following anecdote.
At a court held in Newfane, he undertook his first case after he left the bench. He had not practised for a long time, and
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many of the lawyers at the bar had never heard him address a jury. At the period referred to, the disease of which he died -a cancer on the left side of the nose, near the eye-caused him to wear a patch of black silk on his face, which did not tend to improve his appearance. The case was one of impor- tance, involving the property of his client, a certain Mr. Rich- ardson. The opposing. counsel, in presenting their pleas, made frequent reflections upon the ex-chief-justice, declaring that his faculties were failing, that he had a disease about him, and that he had been turned from the bench for incapacity. During the delivery of these sentiments Judge Tyler sat within the bar, taking no notes, and apparently entirely oblivious of what was passing around him. When the time came for him to address the jury, he rose in his place, and turning his back upon the twelve men whose minds he was desirous of influencing, called out to his client :- " Richardson ! come here!" Richardson started up in great astonishment, and made his way through the crowded court-room to the railing within which the lawyers sat. "Richardson !" said Judge Tyler, turning to that indi- vidual, who was exceedingly surprised at the oddity of the pro- ceedings, "go home! There is no use of your staying here ! I thought you had a case, a good case !" He then went on, with his back to the jury and judge, to tell his client all the strong points of his case, making it very plain, or, at least, making it appear, that Richardson had been basely abused by the lawyers on the other side. "But," said he in conclusion, " I was mistaken in supposing you had any rights that could be maintained. It appears you have no case because my faculties are failing, and, what is worse, you have no case at all, because I have this patch on my nose. Go home! Go home ! I can't be expected to say a word to the jury under such circum- stances !" With these words Judge Tyler sat down. The op- posing counsel were dumbfoundered at this mode of attack, but the jury were only out long enough to make up for Rich- ardson a most satisfactory verdict.
Social in his disposition and possessing a mind well stored with information derived both from books and their prototypes, men, he was the delight of all who knew him, and was the lead- ing spirit on those occasions when the witty, the learned, and the wise were assembled. To high mental ability there was joined in his character an uncommonly benevolent and friendly disposition, which gained him the love and respect of many
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BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF ROYALL TYLER.
attached friends. As a judge he was conscientious, clear-minded, and just, both by a natural sense of right and an extensive know- ledgeof precedents. His humanity, though naturally unbounded, was so guided as to produce the most beneficial results. As a citizen, he was public-spirited and liberal ; as a neighbor, thoughtful and unobtrusive; as a husband, kind and attentive. His widow still survives him, in the enjoyment of all her mental faculties, though advanced in the octogenarian rank. The remains of Judge Tyler repose in the burial-ground at Brattle- borough. A white marble stone, which marks the place of his sepulture, bears upon its face the following inscription :
ROYALL TYLER Reip. V. Mont. Cur. Sup. Jurid. Princ. MORTEM OBITT Die XVI. Aug. Anno Domini " MDCCCXXVI. Etatis Suæ LXVIII.
Uxor et liberi ejus Hoc saxum ponendum Curaverunt.
As a contributor to the early literature of this country, Judge Tyler deserves to be held in honorable remembrance. The annexed account of his writings, is taken from that most valuable and tasteful work, the "Cyclopedia of American Literature."
"Royall Tyler was a wit, a poet, and a chief justice. His life certainly deserves to be narrated with more particularity than it has yet received. His writings, too, should be collected and placed in an accessible form. American literature cannot be charged with poverty, while it has such valuables uninvested, in its forgotten repositories." .. ... In the year 1786 while at New York, for the purpose of conducting some negotiations con- nected with the suppression of the Shays rebellion, "a comedy which he had written during his military service was produced on the stage. It was entitled 'The Contrast,' and has the dis- tinction of being the first stage production in which the Yankee dialect and story-telling since so familiar in the parts written
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for Hackett, Hill, and others, was employed. It was more than that. It was the first American play which was ever acted on a regular stage by an established company of comedians. It was played at the old John Street Theatre in New York, under the management of Hallam and Henry, April 16th, 1786 .* Its success was such as to induce the author to produce a second, entitled ' May Day, or New York in an Uproar,' for the benefit of the actor Wignell in the May following.
" The Country Jonathan, in the ' Contrast,' on a visit to town, drops into the theatre with the expectation of seeing 'a hocus- pocus man,' and sits out a performance of the 'School for Scandal' without any notion that he has visited a play-house. On being asked if he saw the man with his tricks : 'Why, I vow,' says he, 'as I was looking out for him, they lifted up a great green cloth, and let us look right into the next neighbor's house.' 'Have you a good many houses in New York made in that ere way ?' he asks; and is told, not many. To an in- quiry whether he saw the family, and how he liked them, he replies : ' Why, I vow, they were pretty much like other fami- lies. There was a poor, good-natured curse of a husband, and a sad rantipole of a wife.' At the close, he asks for his money, as he has not had the show. 'The dogs a bit of a sight have I seen,' he says, 'unless you call listening to people's private business a sight.'
"Tyler not long after gained considerable reputation by his contributions to that very pleasant newspaper and miscellany, one of the very best of its kind ever published in this country, the 'Farmer's Weekly Museum,' published at Walpole in New Hampshire, by Isaiah Thomas and David Carlisle. When Dennie became its editor, Tyler was called in to assist him with his contributions 'from the shop of Messrs. Colon and Spondee,' an amusing melange of light verse, and entertaining social and political squibs, which he had already opened in the journals, the 'Eagle' at Hanover, the 'Federal Orrery' at Boston, and the 'Tablet.'
"Tyler also published a series of papers with the title, 'An Author's Evenings,' in the 'Port Folio' for 1801, and subse- quently. A liberal collection of the 'Colon and Spondee' pa- pers is included in a volume published by Thomas and Thomas
* He gave the copyright to the principal actor in the piece, Wignell, who pub- lished it by subscription.
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BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF ROYALL TYLER. .
at Walpole in 1801, entitled 'The Spirit of the Farmer's Mu- seum, and Lay Preacher's Gazette.' His facility in verse in these compositions was remarkable. He had great command of versification and an abundant fund of impromptu humor. His 'Colon and Spondee' articles are divided between federal politics, attacks on French democracy, the Della Cruscan lite- rature, and the fashionable frivolities of the day. The para- graphs in prose show the author's wit, taste in literature, and strongly marked opinions of the federal school in politics.
"In 1797, he wrote a comedy in three acts, 'The Georgia Spec, or Land in the Moon,' in ridicule of a speculating mania for wild Yazoo lands. It was repeatedly performed in Boston with success. He wrote some other dramatic productions, but none of them have been published.
"In 1797, appeared from the press of David Carlisle, at Wal- pole, in two volumes, his ' Algerine Captive, or the Life and Adventures of Updike Underhill : Six Years a Prisoner among the Algerines.' It is dedicated to the poet Humphreys. This work is said to have been mistaken by an English critic for a narrative of actual adventure. It is a fictitious book of me- moirs, in which the author ventilates his opinions on various topics of American society, paints the horrors of the slave- trade, and the now almost incomprehensible grievances which the European and American powers for a long time endured from the assumptions of the Algerines. In the close of the work, there are some sketches of Mahometanism. The book is written in short chapters, with spirit and neatness of style. There is quite enough of ingenuity in the thought, coupled with the de- scriptions of the manners of the times, to redeem this work from the neglect into which it has fallen. Though printed in, at least, a second American edition, it is now exceedingly scarce.
" In 1799, he composed a Fourth of July ode for the public celebration of the day at Windsor, Vermont, and a convivial song for the same occasion. He was frequently called upon for these services, and for the occasional prologues in vogue at charitable and other theatrical benefits.
"In 1804, we notice Tyler as a contributor of verses to the ' Columbian Sentinel.' In 1809, he published two volumes of ' Reports of Cases in the Supreme Court of Vermont.' He still continued to write for the journals, in the Port Folio, and in other quarters. Some of his latest productions appeared in the 'New England Galaxy.' In 1806, he was a contributor to
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Buckingham's monthly periodical, 'The Polyanthus,' of the papers entitled 'Trash,' and a number of fugitive poetical pieces, and again, on the revival of the publication in 1812."
Though the writings of Judge Tyler are but little known at the present day, yet his ability has been warmly eulogized by those best acquainted with his scattered productions. "Tyler's contributions to the Farmer's Museum," observes the Hon. J. T. Buckingham, " were numerous, and, if collected, would fill several volumes. He wrote rapidly, and could vary his style 'from grave to gay, from lively to severe,' as easily as he could draw on his glove. Most of the articles, purporting to be 'from the Shop of Messrs. Colon and Spondee,' were written by him ; the poetical pieces, I believe, are all of his composition. These he generally threw off with a dash of the pen, seldom taking any pains to revise them. They are noted for inaccuracy of rhymes-a defect which he thought hardly worthy of his atten- tion,-but they are remarkable for sprightliness of thought and expression, and an easy flow of language. They embraced topics of all sorts, local and general, temporary and permanent, and were well charged with wit and humor. The complexion of the political articles was purely federal." The remarks of the Rev. Hosea Beckley respecting the literary efforts of Judge Tyler, though a little adulatory, are worthy of notice. “His Algerine Captive is one of the best works of the kind which our country has produced, and is evidence of great invention and versatility of talents in the writer. Several of his charges to juries and condemned criminals were published, and are specimens of elegant composition, as well as evidence of his professional knowledge. He was a man of ready wit and great facetiousness. So innate was his vein of humor, that in his last days, under the painful and melancholy inroads of a cancer, scintillations from his happy genius would occasionally burst forth. His pen was often applied to correct and polish manu- scripts designed for the press."*
The limits of this sketch will not allow of the introduction of
* Harv. Coll. Triennial Catalogue. Yale Coll. Triennial Catalogue. Thomp- son's Vt., Part II. pp. 149, 150. Deming's Catalogue Vt. Officers, passim. Ira Allen's Hist. Vt., p. 248. Beckley's Hist. Vt., p. 274. Cyclopedia of Am. Lit., by E. A. and G. L. Duyckinck, i. 415-420. Dunlap's Hist. Am. Theatre, London ed., 1833, pp. 135-141. Monthly Anthology, Boston, ix. 344-347. Buckingham's Specimens of Newspaper Literature, i. 161, 162; ii. 177, 197, 199-210, 226. The Spirit of the Farmer's Museum and Lay Preacher's Gazette, Walpole, N. H., 1801, passim.
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but one extract from his writings. That selected is a chapter from the Algerine Captive. The author, in this instance, ap- pears as a surgeon on board of a slaver. The title of the chap- ter is-
" TREATMENT OF THE SLAVES ON BOARD THE SHIP .- Of one hundred and fifty Africans, we rejected seventeen, as not mer- chantable. While I was doubting which to lament most, those who were about being precipitated into all the miseries of an American slavery, or those whom we had rejected, as too wretched for slaves, Captain Russell was congratulating the slave con- tractors upon the immense good luck they had, in not suffering more by this lot of human creatures. I understood that, what from wounds received by some of these miserable creatures at their capture, or in their violent struggles for liberty, or at- tempts at suicide ; with the fatigue of a long journey, partly over the burning sands of a sultry climate, it was usual to esti- mate the loss in the passage to the sea-shore, at twenty-five per cent.
"No sooner was the purchase completed, than these wretched Africans were transported in herds aboard the ship, and imme- diately precipitated between decks, where a strong chain, at- tached to a staple in the lower deck, was riveted to the bar, before described; and then the men were chained in pairs, and also handcuffed, and two sailors with cutlasses guarded every twenty : while the women and children were tied together in pairs with ropes, and obliged to supply the men with provisions, and the slush bucket; or, if the young women were released, it was only to gratify the brutal lust of the sailors : for, though I cannot say I ever was witness to an actual rape, yet the fre- quent shrieks of these forlorn females in the berths of the sea- men, left me little charity to doubt of the repeated commission of that degrading crime. The eve after we had received the slaves on board, all hands were piped on deck, and ordered to assist in manufacturing and knotting cat-o'-nine-tails, the appli- cation of which, I was informed, was always necessary to bring the slaves to their appetite. The night after they came on board, was spent by these wretched people in sobbings, groans, tears, and the most heart-rending bursts of sorrow and despair. The next morning, all was still. Surprised by this unexpected silence, I almost hoped that Providence, in pity to these her miserable children, had permitted some kindly suffocation to put a period to their anguish. It was neither novel nor unex-
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pected to the ship's crew. 'It is only the dumb fit come on,' cried every one; 'we will cure them.' After breakfast, the whole ship's crew went between decks, and carried with them the provisions for the slaves, which they one and all refused to eat. A more affecting group of misery was never seen. These injured Africans, preferring death to slavery, or perhaps buoyed above the fear of dissolution by their religion, which taught them to look with an eye of faith to a country beyond the grave, where they should again meet the friends and relatives, from whose endearments they had been torn, and where no fiend should torment, or Christian thirst for gold, had, wanting other means, resolved to starve themselves, and every eye lowered the fixed resolve of this deadly intent. In vain were the men beaten. They refused to taste one mouthful; and, I believe, would have died under the operation, if the ingenious cruelty of the clerk, Randolph, had not suggested the plan of whipping the women and children in sight of the men ; assuring the men they should be tormented until all had eaten. What the tor- ments, exercised on the bodies of these brave Africans, failed to produce, the feelings of nature effected. The negro, who could undauntedly expire under the anguish of the lash, could not view the agonies of his wife, child, or his mother ; and, though repeatedly encouraged by these female sufferers, un- moved by their torments, to persevere unto death ; yet, though the man dared to die, the father relented, and in a few hours, they all ate their provisions, mingled with their tears.
" Our slave dealers being unable to fulfil their contract, unless we tarried three weeks longer, our captain concluded to remove to some other market. We accordingly weighed anchor, and steered for Benin, and anchored in the river Formosa, where we took in one hundred and fifteen more slaves. The same process in the purchase was pursued here; and, though I frequently assured the captain, as a physician, that it was impracticable to stow fifty more persons between decks, without endangering health and life, the whole hundred and fifteen were thrust with the rest, between decks. The stagnant confined air of this infernal hole, rendered more deleterious by the stench of the fæces, and violent perspiration of such a crowd, occasioned putrid diseases ; and even while in the mouth of the Formosa, it was usual to throw one or two Negro corpses over every day. It was in vain I remonstrated to the captain. In vain I enforced the necessity of more commodious berths, and a more free influx
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of air for the slaves. In vain I represented, that these miserable people had been used to the vegetable diet and pure air of a country life; that at home they were remarkable for cleanli- ness of person, the very rites of their religion consisting almost entirely in frequent ablutions. The captain was, by this time, prejudiced against me. He observed that he did not doubt my skill, and would be bound by my advice, as to the health of those on board his ship, when he found I was actuated by the interest of the owners; but, he feared, that I was now moved by some Yankee nonsense about humanity.
" Randolph, the clerk, blamed me in plain terms. He said he had made seven African voyages, and with as good surgeons as I was; and that it was their common practice, when an infec- tious disorder prevailed among the slaves, to make critical search for all those who had the slightest symptoms of it, or whose habits of body inclined them to it; to tie them up and cast them over the ship's side together, and thus, at one dash, to purify the ship. 'What signifies,' added he, 'the lives of the black devils ? They love to die. You cannot please them better than by chucking them into the water.'
" When we stood out to sea, the rolling of the vessel brought on the sea-sickness, which increased the filth. The weather being rough, we were obliged to close some of the ports which ventilated the space between decks; and death raged dreadfully among the slaves. Above two thirds were diseased. It was affecting to observe the ghastly smile on the countenance of the dying African, as if rejoicing to escape the cruelty of his oppres- sors. I noticed one man, who gathered all his strength, and, in one last effort, spoke with great emphasis, and expired. I understood by the linguist, that, with his dying breath, he invited his wife, and a boy and girl to follow him quickly, and slake their thirst with him at the cool streams of their Great Father, beyond the reach of the wild white beasts. The captain was now alarmed for the success of his voyage; and upon my urging the necessity of landing the slaves, he ordered the ship about, and we anchored near an uninhabited part of the gold coast, I conjecture not far from Cape St. Paul.
"Tents were erected on the shore, and the sick landed. Under my direction they recovered surprisingly. It was affecting to see the effect gentle usage had upon these hitherto sullen, obsti- nate people. As I had the sole direction of the hospital, they looked on me as the source of this sudden transition from the
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filth and rigor of the ship, to the cleanliness and kindness of the shore. Their gratitude was excessive. When they reco- vered so far as to walk out, happy was he, who could, by picking a few berries, gathering the wild fruits of the country, or doing any menial services, manifest his affection for me. Our linguist has told me, he has often heard them behind the bushes, pray- ing to their God for my prosperity, and asking him with earn- estness, why he put my good black soul into a white body. In twelve days all the convalescents were returned to the ship, except five who staid with me on shore, and were to be taken on board the next day."*
SAMUEL WELLS.
SomWell's WITH the history of Cumberland county, the name of Col. Samuel Wells is closely connected. He was the son of Jonathan Wells and Mary, his second wife, and was born at Deerfield, Massachusetts, on the 9th of September, 1730. He had three brothers, Jonathan, David and Oliver, and two sisters, Mary and Rebecca. He married Hannah Sheldon, and in July, 1762, settled in Brattleborough on a farm of six hun- dred acres, situated about a mile north of the East village. Here was born his family of thirteen children, two of whom died in infancy. The remaining five sons and six daughters, all, with the exception of one daughter, married in Brattleborough. A grant of twelve hundred acres of land in Canada having been made to each of them by the Crown, as a compensation for the losses which Colonel Wells had suffered during the Re- volution on account of his adherence to the King, they all removed thither between the years 1798 and 1802. The daugh- ters were married to Samuel Gale, Ephraim Nash, Micah Townsend, Jonathan Gorton, Nathaniel Church, and Ephraim Stimpson. None of Col. Wells's children, bearing his name, were ever prominent men, nor yet of his sons-in-law, with the exception of Samuel Gale, who married Rebecca, his first daughter, and Micah Townsend, who married his third daughter.
* The Algerine Captive, ed. 1797, i. 195-204.
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SAMUEL WELLS.
At the time of his removal to Brattleborough, the population of that portion of the New Hampshire Grants, was small and sparse, and many of the pioneers of civilization were contented when they were so fortunate as to secure a roof for shelter and food to sustain life. The condition of Colonel Wells was, how- ever, superior to that of most of the early settlers of Vermont, and the influence of his character and position was for many years extensively acknowledged. Upon the establishment of Cumberland county by the government of New York, he was appointed a judge of the Inferior court of Common Pleas, a justice of the peace, and was authorized by a dedimus potestatem commission, to swear all who should take office in the county. The commissions issued in conformity with these appointments, were all dated the 17th of July, 1766, and he served under them until the authority from which they were derived ceased to be acknowledged by the people. During the same period he was the chief military man in the southern part of the county. When, in answer to the petition of the inhabitants of this dis- trict, the Council of New York, by an order dated the 23d of December, 1772, authorized them to choose two representatives to the General Assembly, Samuel Wells and Crean Brush were returned, and took their seats in the latter body on the 2d of February, 1773. As a memento of this election there is still preserved a note, written to Colonel Wells by John Bolton, who was probably a successful wire-puller, dated at " Westminster, June the 11th, 1773." It is to be regretted that the items covered by the word "Nesesares" were not stated. The note is in these words :
"Sir : I have paid unto Jont. Safford nine Shillings and Six pence Lawful money of the Bay Province, for Nesesares the People of Halifax had when they Come to Lextion if you wold be so good as to pay ye same to Mr. Whipple ye Bearer by next thursday so as he may bring it to me, you will much oblige your Humble Servt."
At the time of the " Massacre" at Westminster in 1775, Co- lonel Wells, although one of the court judges, was in attend- ance upon the General Assembly at New York, and was not aware of the circumstances connected with the development and results of the affray, until the arrival of the messengers who had been dispatched with the tidings. In connection with his colleague Brush, he is supposed to have been instrumental in preparing the depositions which were signed by the messen-
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