USA > Vermont > Addison County > Cornwall > History of the town of Cornwall, Vermont > Part 2
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
*Slade's Vermont State Papers p. 69. ..
19
HISTORY OF CORNWALL.
York, and the several other governments claiming jurisdiction in this territory ;--
" This Convention, whose members are duly chosen by the free voice of their constituents in the several towns, on the New Hamp- hire Grants, in public meeting assembled, in our own names, and in behalf of our constituents, do hereby proclaim and publicly declare, that the district of territory, comprehending and usually known by the name and description of the New Hampshire Grants, of right ought to be, and is hereby declared forever hereafter to be considered, as a free and independent jurisdiction, or state ; by the name, and, forever hereafter to be called, known, and distinguished by the name of New-Connecticut, alias Vermont : and that the inhabitants that at present are, or that may hereafter become resi- font, either by procreation or immigration, within said territory, shall be entitled to the same privileges, immunities, and enfranchise- ments, as are allowed ; and on such condition, and in the same manner, as the present inhabitants in future shall, or may enjoy : which are, and forever shall be considered to be such privileges and immunities to the free citizens and denizens, as are, or at any time hereafter, may be allowed. to any such inhabitants of any of the free and independent States of America : and that such priviliges and immunities shall be regulated in a bill of rights, and by a form of government, to be established at the next adjourned session of this convention."
It would not be expected that the pioneers in a region thus sit- uated would be timid men, or that many timid men would be found among their number. The timid would naturally prefer abodes rendered secure by the presence of a more dense population, The actual settlers were men whom no obstacles could discourage ; no disappointment could dishearten ; no perils could intimidate .--- Allen and Baker and Warner, and Fay and Fasset and Chitten- Jen were only representatives of the community to which they belonged. They differed not from their compatriots in the spirit they cherished. They differed only in being assigned to posts of greater prominence and influence. Those who desired them to lead were ever ready to follow.
rer ks ci n
1
20
HISTORY OF CORNWALL.
No community was ever more deeply impressed with the indis. pensableness of law ; and owning no power as authorized to dictate laws to them, they were a law unto themselves. Their feelings were aptly expressed by one of their poets, some of whose stanzas have already been quoted.
" We owe no allegiance ; we bow to no throne: Our ruler is law, and the law is our own Our lea lers themselves are our own fellow-men, Who can handle the sword, and the scythe, and the pen.
" Ours are the mountains which awfully rise Till they rest their green heads on the blue of the skies. And ours are the forests, unwasted, unshorn Save where the wild path of the tempest is torn.
" Though wintry and cold be this climate of ours, And brief be our seasons of fruits and of flowers; Far dearer the blast round our mountains which raves; Than the sweet summer zephyr which breathes over slaves.
" Come York, or come Hampshire-come traitors and knaves, If ye rule o'er our land, ye shall rule o'er our graves; Our vow is recorded-our banner unfurled; In the name of Vermont, we defy all the world."
Of these men Gen. Burgoyne, when inditing a dispatch to the British Government, after the battle of Bennington writes :-
" The Hampshire Grants in particular, a country unpeopled. and almost unknown in the French war, now abounds in the most active and rebellious race on the Continent, and hangs like a gath- ering storm on my left."
21
HISTORY OF CORNWALL.
CHAPTER III.
CHARTER, WITH THE NAMES OF THE ORIGINAL PROPRIETORS, OR GRANTEES --- PLAN OF THE TOWN -- BOUNDARIES.
The original Proprietors of the township of Cornwall, were mostly, probably wholly residents of Litchfield County, Connecti- cut. Their names are endorsed on the back of the Charter, which is still preserved among the archives of the town, in a legible but dilapidated condition. This document has been kept with commend- able solicitude, though by oft repeated examinations, by folding and refolding, it has become divided into numerous portions, like the lands to which it secures a title. On the Records both of the Pro- prietors and of the town was entered an early transcript of the names of the Grantees, lest by the destruction of the original, they should be irretrievably lost. The names read as follows :
NAMES OF GRANTEES :
Mr. Elias Reed,
Samuel Chipman,
Thomas Chipman,
Thomas Tuttle,
Jabez Tuttle,
Murry Lester, Samuel Lec, Josiah Heath,
John Skinner,
Samuel Hulburd,
James Nichols, Josiah Dean,
Hannah Austin, Ruluff White,
2
idis itate 'ere are
22
HISTORY OF CORNWALL,
Ebenezer Fletcher,
David Averill,
Samuel Keep,
Amos Chipman,
Roswell Steel,
Jabez Williams,
Alexander Gaston,
James Smith,
George Nichols,
Andrew Brownson, ?
one right.
William Nichols,
John Scovill,
John Judd,
Samuel Judd,
Timothy Brownson,
Eleanor Smith,
Solomon Linsley,
Benj. Woodruff,
Andrew Esquire,
Jonah Sandford,
Moses Buck,
William Reed,
David Cowles,
Nathan Benton,
Moses Read the 3d,
Abiel Linsley,
Zuriel Jacobs.
John Everts,
Wm. Trumbull,
James Landon, Esq.,
Stephen Benton,
James Landon Jun ,
Sarah Nichols,
Ezekiel Landon,
Benj. Smalley,
Thomas Landou,
John Willoby,
John Hutchinson, Esq ,
Joel Reed,
William Ham,
Joseph Williams,
David Reed,
James Nichols, Jun.,
David Stevens,
Enoch Slawson,
Richard Wiberd, Esq.,
Phinehas Holdcom,
Joseph Newmarch, Esq.,
Josiah Willoby
Samuel Bcebee,
Isaac Benton.
Though the Charter granted to these persons, was the same in form, boundaries excepted, as those issued to the other towns in the vicinity, it may be interesting to those not conversant with such documents, to have the opportunity of perusing it. I therefore copy it in full.
CHARTER. PROVINCE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE. GEORGE THE THIRD,
[L. S.]
By the Grace of God, of Great Britain, France and Ireland, King, Defender of the Faith, S.c.
TO ALL PERSONS TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME,
Greeting :
KNOW XE, That we of our special grace, certain knowledge and
1
28
HISTORY OF CORNWALL,
were motion, for the due encouragement of settling a new Planta- tion within our said Province, by and with the advice of our trusty and well beloved Benning Wentworth, Esq., our Governor, and Commander-in-Chief of our said Province of New Hampshire, in New England, and of our Council of the said Province; Have, upon the conditions and reservations herein after made, given and granted, and by those presents, for us, our heirs and successors, do give and grant in equal shares unto our loving subjects, inhabitants of our said Province of New Hampshire, and our other Govern- ments, and to their heirs and assigns forever, whose names are entered on this Grant, to be divided to and amongst them, into seventy equal shares, all that tract or parcel of land situate, lying and being within our said Province of New Hampshire, containing by admeasurement, about 25000 acres, which tract is to contain something more than six miles square, and no more ; out of which an allowanco is to be made for Highways, and unimprovable lands by rocks, ponds, mountains and rivers, one thousand and forty acres free, according to a plan and survey thereof made by our said Governor's order, and returned into the secretary's office, and here- unto annexed ; butted and bounded as follows, viz :
Beginning at a tree standing on the bank of the westerly side of Otter Creek, so called, which is the south-easterly, corner of Wey- bridge, and from thence running west by Weybridge, about four miles and one-half mile, or until it meets with a township lately granted by the name of Addison; thence beginning at the first bounds and running up the Creek aforesaid southerly till it comes opposite to the south-west corner of Salisbury, thence turning off and running west about four miles, or till it intersects the easterly side-line of Bridport, a town also lately granted, and is to contain the land between the said towns of Addison and Bridport and Otter Creek aforesaid, and that the same be and hereby is incorporated into a township by the name of CORNWALL; and the inhabitants that do, or may hereafter inhabit the said township, are hereby declared to be enfranchised with and entitled to all and every the privileges and immunities that other towns within our Province by law exercise and enjoy : and further, that the said town, as soon as
2.1
HISTORY OF CORNWALL,
there shall be fifty families resident and settled therein, shall have the liberty of holding two fairs, one of which shall be held on the and the other on the annually, which fairs are not to continue longer than the respective- following the said and that as soon as the said town shall consist of fifty fam- ilies, a market may be opened and kept one or more days each week, as may be thought most advantageous to the inhabitants. ---- Also, that the first meeting for the choice of town officers, agreeable to the laws of said Province, shall be held on the first Wednesday of January next, which said meeting shall be notified by Elias Reed ; who is hereby also appointed the Moderator of said first meeting, which he is to notify and govern agreeable to the laws and customs of our said Province ; and that the annual meetings forever hereaf- ter, for the choice of such officers for the said town, shall be on the second Tuesday of March, annually.
TO HAVE AND TO HOLD the said tract of land as above express- ed, together with all privileges and appurtenances, to them and their respective heirs and assigns forever, upon the following con- ditions, viz :
I. That every Grantee, his heirs and assigns, shall plant and cultivate five acres of land within the the term of five years, for every fifty acres contained in his or their share, or proportion of land in said township, and continue to improve and settle the same by additional cultivations, on penalty of the forfeiture of his Grant or share in the said township, and of its reverting to us, our heirs and successors, to be by us or them regranted to such of our sub- jects as shall effectually settle and cultivate the same.
II. That all white and other pine trees within the said township, fit for masting our royal navy, be carefully preserved for that use, and none to be cut without our special license for 'so doing first had and obtained, upon the penalty of the forfeiture of the right of such Grantee, his heirs and assigns, to us, our heirs and successors, as well as being subject to the penalty of any act, or acts of Parlia- ment that now are, or hercafter shall be enacted.
III. That before any division of the land shall be made to any
-------
0
25
HISTORY OF CORNWALL.
among the Grantees, a tract of land as near the centre of the said. township as the land will admit of, shall be reserved and marked out for town lots, one of which shall be allotted to cach Grantee, of the contents of one acre.
IV. Yielding and paying therefor to us, our heirs and successors for the space of ten years, to be computed from the date hereof, the rent of one ear of Indian corn only, on the twenty-fifth day of December, annually, if lawfully demanded, the first payment to be made on the twenty-fifth day of December, 1761.
V. Every proprietor, settler or inhabitant, shall yield and pay unto us, our heirs and successors yearly, and every year forever, from and after the expiration of ten years from the above said twenty-fifth day of December, namely, on the twenty fifth of De- cember, which will be in the year of our Lord, 1771, one shilling Proclamation money for every hundred acres he so owns, settles or possesses, and so in proportion for a greater or lessor tract of the said land ; which money shall be paid by the respective persons abovesaid; their heirs or assigns, in our Council Chamber in Portsmouth, or to such officer or officers as shall be appointed to receive the same : and this to be in lieu of all other rents and services whatsoever.
In testimony whereof we have caused the seal of our said Province to be hereunto affixed Witness Benning Wentworth, Esq., our Governor and Commander- in-Chief of our said Province, the third day of November, in the year of our Lord Christ, one thousand seven hundred and sixty-one, and in the second year of our reign.
By His Excellency's Command,
with advice of Council,
B. WENTWORTH.
THEODORE ATKINSON, Secretary.
Province of New Hampshire, November 3d, 1761. Recorded in the Book of Char- ters, page 309-310. Pr. THEODORE ATKINSON, Secretary.
Upon this document is the following endorsement, with the an- hexed plan of the town.
"His Excellency BENNING WENTWORTH, Esq., a tract of land to contain five hundred acres, as marked B. W. in the plan, which is to be reckoned two of the within shares. One share for the In- corporated Society for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign
.
26
HISTORY OF CORNWALL.
parts. One share for a Glebe for the church of England, as by law established. One share for the first settled minister of the Gospel, and one share for the benefit of a school in said town. "Province of New Hampshire, November &d, 1761. Recorded in the Book of Charters, page 311.
"Pr. THEODORE ATKINSON, Secretary.
West about 4 1-2 miles,
By Addison.
Otter
Plan of Cornwall.
Creek.
By Bridport.
B. W.
West about 4 miles.
Pr. THEODORE ATKINSON, Secretary." " Province of New Hampshire, Nov. 3, 1761. Recorded in the Book of Charters, Page 312.
27
HISTORY OF CORNWALL.
The reader who notes the boundaries of Cornwall as specified in the charter, will observe that Addison is represented as, in part, our western boundary, whereas our north-western limit does not reach Addison by some distance. Again the south-cast corner of Cornwall is said to be the south-west corner of Salisbury, which gives us as an eastern boundary, the entire west line of Salisbury, and that of Middlebury as far as the south line of Weybridge. Our south-west corner is said to be in the east line of Bridport, making our western boundary Bridport and Addison, while it is in fact Shoreham and Bridport.
Whether these errors were the result of carelessness on the part of the Secretary, who was rapidly filling out charters for all who called for them, from day to day, and in some instances several on the same day,* or whether it was the result of ignorance of the geographical location of the several towns, it is not important for us to attempt to decide. The correct boundaries of Cornwall when chartered, must have been Weybridge on the north ; parts of Mid- dlebury and Salisbury on the east ; Whiting on the south, and Shoreham and Bridport on the west.
There is even greater carelessness or ignorance manifest in a resurvey of the boundaries of Cornwall in 1784-86, as certified by James Whitelaw, the Surveyor-General of the State. The work was done by his deputies, but the return was signed by himself .-- Whatever may be plead in palliation of the errors in the Charter already mentioned, it is difficult to conceive an apology for blunders so palpable as are contained in this return of the Surveyor-General, especially as adjacent towns were being surveyed about the same time. I copy the document.
" SURVEY OF THE TOWN LINES OF CORNWALL.
"The south line begins at a maple tree on the west bank of Otter Creek, bearing south SO degrees west from the south-west corner of Salisbury on the opposite side of the Creek ; said tree is
*The Charter of Cornwall was dated the same day as that of Salisbury. Elias Reed the agent for procuring it, acted in connection with John Everts who was agent for Salisbury, Middlebury, and New Haven. The cases were numerous in which three or four or more were granted in one day. In one case even ten char- re:s hear the seme date.
28
HISTORY OF CORNWALL.
.
the south-easterly corner of Cornwall, and is marked Cornwall corner 16th April, 1786 : thence runs S. 89º W. at 1 mile a cedar tree marked in a cedar swamp; thence at 23 chains a stream of water, 40 links wide, course north-east. At 2 miles a black ash tree marked in a cedar swamp : thence at 78 chains crosses a road that runs north and south. At 3 miles a hard maple tree marked ; thence at 41 chains to the east line of Orwell, 23 chains and 43 links south of the north-east corner of said Or- well. At the intersection is a white ash stake bearing 3 links south of a small maple tree marked Cornwall corner, 17th April, 1786. Said stake is the south-west corner of Cornwall.
" The west line begins at the aforesaid stake, and runs north 1º west 23 chains and 43 links to the south-east corner of Shoreham, being a stake and stones bearing south 75° east, 16 links from & tall yellow pine tree marked Shoreham '29th August, 1784; thence north 9- 38' west 1 mile to a hard maple tree marked 5 M. at 2 miles a maple staddle marked 4 M. at 3 miles a white ash stake marked 3 M., thence at 56 chains crossed a small stream, corner south-west at 4 M. a small ironwood tree marked 2 .M. at 5 miles a beech tree marked 1 M. then at 6 mlies a beech stake and stones bearing north 6 links from a beech tree marked Shoreham and Bridport, Augt. 28th, 1784. Thence north 8º 21' east in the east line of Bridport, at 1 mile a basswood tree marked, at 2 miles an ironwood stake by a hard maple tree marked ; thence at 75 chains Lemon Fair river course N. 40° E. at three miles & white ash tree marked on the west side of said Fair, at four miles a large beech tree marked; thence at 31 chains and 50 links to a beech tree marked Weybridge corner, April 17th, 1786.
" The north line begins at the aforesaid stake and runs N. 89º E. at 1 mile Lemon Fair river; at 2 miles a beech staddle marked, at 3 miles a maple tree marked ; at 69 chains and 44 links a bass trec marked Weybridge corner, Cornwall corner, April 19th, 1786, standing on the bank of Otter Creek .- East line Otter Creek.
" STATE OF VERMONT, SURVEYOR GENERAL'S OFFICE, Sept. 25, 1784. The preceding is a true copy of the lines of Cornwall, as returned by James
20
HISTORY OF CORNWALL.
Savage, Esq, and William Earl deputies to the Surveyor General. The North Mine was surveyed in 1784, and the other line in 1786."
Attest, JAMES WHITELAW, Surveyor-General. "
With such discrepancy between truth, and the boundaries named in the Charter, and between the boundaries in the Charter and those of the resurvey, it is not surprising that controversy arose espe- cially between Cornwall and Whiting. It could have required but little prophetic ability to predict with certainty that trouble would arise from this source. A controversy, between the Proprietors of Cornwall and Whiting, almost coeval in its origin with the settlement of the towns, in 1789, ripened into a law suit, which the year fol- lowing was decided against Cornwall, with a considerable award of damages. The decision was unsatisfactory to Cornwall, and the Proprietors applied to the Legislature in 1790 to authorize a rehearing. Of the result of this application we are not informed, as there is no reference to it among the acts of the Legislature of that session, and the Proprietors' records are silent on this subject. We infer that the rehearing was granted, as in April, 1791, the Proprietors voted that they were willing to submit the matter in dispute to arbitration, and chose a committee to name the time and place, and referees, in concurrence with the Proprietors of Whi- ting. In September, 1791, the Proprietors again voted, "to prefer a petition to the General Assembly in October next, for the purpose of obtaining a rehearing in the former action of ejectment in favor of the Proprietors of Cornwall against the Proprietors of Whiting." Of the result, the records of Cornwall leave us in ignorance.
Orin Field, Esq., who was born near the border of Whiting, and whose early life was spent among those most active in this contro- versy, informs me that he distinctly recollects their conversations on the subject, and that the facts are these :--
*It is perhaps worthy of notice, that on a map of Vermont, published Jan. 1, 1789, by William Blodget, and " dedicated to His Excellency, Thomas Chittenden, Governor of Vermont ; the Honorable Council, and House of Representatives," the boundaries of Cornwall are given very nearly as they now exist ; of course, differing, both from those of the Charter, and of- the survey. That these blunders should so soon have been correctedl, is explicable only on the supposition that they were too palpable to Heal any consi lerate man astray.
----
.
20
HISTORY OF CORNWALL.
The Proprietors of Whiting claimed about two miles of the south part of Cornwall, i. e. as far as the north line of Daniel Scovel's farm, extended eastward and westward to the limits of the town ; while Cornwall claimed about the same breadth of territory in the north part of Whiting, and both interpreted their Charters as substantiating their demands. After the litigation above described, the controversy was settled by a compromise, which assigned about two-thirds of the territory to Cornwall, and the balance to Whiting.
A question also arose about the same time respecting that portion of Cornwall which lies North of the line of the road running from Mildlebury to Bridport. The claim of Weybridge to this torri- tory was warmly urged by a portion of the inhabitants occupying the soil, but the peaceable jurisdiction of Cornwall was finally acknowledged on the ground of priority in the date of its Charter. "Weybridge Old Corner," which is several times alluded to in deeds, and in the records, appears from the most reliable information I have been able to obtain, to have been the point on Otter Creek, where the line of the road above mentioned, extending eastward, meets that stream. This line is very nearly the boundary between the lot of the late Judge Phelps, and that of Col. Storrs, doccased, now occupied by George Chapman, Esq. That this was 'Weybridge Old Corner,' is understood by Judge Swift, and James McDonald, Esq., Town Clerk of Middlebury, both very familiar with the records of that town, and was so understood and stated by Judge Phelps to Mr. McDonald.
In reference to this point Judge Swift remarks in his history :- " There are on record, several deods, referring to "Weybridge Old Corner." It is obvious that a different line was originally recog- nized, [claimed by Weybridge, ] as dividing the towns of Cornwall and Weybridge, and far enough south to include the Falls in the latter town ; and by persevering examination, we find that it forms the division line between Foot's mill lot, and the home farm of the late Col. Storrs. There is no record of the time and manner of altering this line, nor have I found any living man who had any knowledge of such a line. But it is probable that the change was made by the Surveyor-General in 1781, when the town lines of
31
HISTORY OF CORNWALL.
Middlebury were resurveyed and corrected. Among the records of Cornwall town meeting in November, 1787, is the following : 'A petition from Weybridge for setting off from Cornwall to the for- mer old line was read and rejected.' "> Whatever may have been the time and manner of altering this line, the peaccable jurisdiction of Cornwall was finally acknowledged on the ground above men- tioned-priority in the date of its Charter.
32
HISTORY OF CORNWALL,
CHAPTER IV.
ORGANIZATION OF THE PROPRIETORS - DIVISION OF THE LANDS BY "PITCHES" - "QUIETING ACT" -- PROPRIETORS' RECORDS- INDEFINITENESS OF DEEDS AND CONVEYANCES-LAND SURVEYS.
The Grantees and their successors, the Proprietors of Cornwall, organized under their Charter, and adopted the name of a town in Litchfield County, to which some of their number were attached. They held their early meetings in Salisbury, Conn., where many of them resided. It is probable that like the proprietors of other towns in this vicinity, they complied with the condition of the Charter which required the laying off town lots, but the record of their proceedings in regard to this matter was burned in Connecti- cut in 1778. If, therefore, town lots were surveyed and allotted, it is impossible at this time to tell when and where, as there are only indefinite allusions to such an arrangement in any existing records, and probably no living person has any knowledge of it .-- If such a town plot was ever surveyed, it was no doubt in the vicin- ity of the school-house in the second district, as that is "near the centre of the town, the most eligible place for a village:"-there, in the survey of a lot for the first settled minister, was a reservation of two and a half acres for a "meeting-house green," which reser- vation has never been surrendered or alienated by the town : and there was erected the first meeting-house.
That there was some general survey of Cornwall previous to the arrival of many settlers, is probable, from occasional allusions in
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.