USA > Vermont > Addison County > Cornwall > History of the town of Cornwall, Vermont > Part 4
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The year following, 1775, Ebenezer Stebbins, Joel Linsley, and John Holley made their pitches, and in 1776 Jonah Sanford, Oba- diah Wheeler and James Marsh Douglass, settled their locations. None of these names except those of Solomon Linsley and Jonah Sanford are endorsed on the Charter. With these exceptions, and two or three others who came after the war, the surveys uniformly specify certain "original rights," on which their claims were leased.
Eldad Andrus located himself on the farm new occupied by Tru- man B. Holley, and there remained until he removed to a farm in the west part of the town bounding on Lemon Fair, which he obtained by exchange with Zechariah Benedict, who succeeded him in the occupancy of his first pitch. The surveys of Mr. Andrus originally covered much more land than is embraced in the present farm, of which he sold parcels to his brother Ethan and others .- Ilis first house was erected some rods cast of the present buildings. He afterwards erected the house which Mr. Holley has recently remodeled and greatly improved.
The pitch of Samuel Blodget of one hundred acres, was upon the great east and west road from Charlestown, No. 4, through Middlebury and Bridport to Lake Champlain. It also lay upon what, in 1700, was made the main north and south road from Corn-
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HISTORY OF CORNWALL.
wall to Middlebury, which, in 1810, when the direction of the road from Cornwall to Middlebury was changed to its present loca- tion, ceased to be much travelled, and several years since was dis- continued. The farm of Mr. Blodget after bis decease in 1838, was divided, the eastern portion of it, at present belonging to the farm of S. & J. F. Bolton, of Middlebury, and the western portion to the estate of his son-in-law, the late Abraham Williamson, since whose decease the land has been subdivided among his heirs. The build- ings of Mr. Blodget were located on a beautiful site, where the house still remains, though at present unoccupied. This was the birth-place of Rev. Luther P. Blodget.
The first pitch of Solomon Linsley, of one hundred acres, em- braced the farm now owned by Milo Williamson. IIis first cabin was built eastward of the present dwelling, which was also built by Mr. Linsley, and was occupied by him as a residence.
Aaron Scott, of Sunderland, Mass., made his first pitch of one hundred acres, west of Solomon Linsley. The survey covered the farm of Reuben T. Samson, and other land lying west and south. - His first cabin was erected southwest of the site on which Mr. Samson now lives. ตัว
A survey of a lot of one hundred acres for Jesse Chipman, directly south of Aaron Scott, bears date Oct. 24, 1774, the same day as that of Mr. Scott; but I can find no evidence that he ever settled upon it.
Sardius Blodget also made a pitch of one hundred acres on the north line of the town, probably near Mr. Linsley. Its precise location, on account of the indefiniteness of the boundaries named in the survey, it is impossible to determine.
Dr. Nathan Foot from Watertown, Conn., made his first pitch on the farm afterward owned by his son Nathan, and now owned by his grand-daughter, Maria Foot and her son-in-law, Wm. Turner. In connection with this pitch, he acquired a title to some five or six hundred acres of land, of which he gave, according to the testimony of his daughter, fifty acres to each of his sons, several of whom early located themselves neor their father, as there will be occasion elsewhere to notice. His first log cabin built in 1774. was located
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on the verge of the swamp, balf a mile cast of the present dwelling. After the war he built a second log house on the west side of the present highway, near the south-cast corner of Mr. Turner's orchard. ITis first framed house was built on the corner just south of Mr. Turner's dwelling.
These surveys were all dated in 1774, and were made by Judge Painter of Middlebury. Most of the men subsequently made sev- cral other pitches. The year following, several settlers arrived and selected lots.
John Holley, from Salisbury, Conn., made his pitch in 1775, surveyed also by Judge Painter, on a lot south of that afterward selected by David Parkill. In making his selection Mr. Holley was influenced, as was Mr. Parkill, by the supposition that the main north and south road would pass through his lot, and when some years later, it was otherwise determined, he effected an exchange with his brother Stephen, who had purchased the lot directly- west. Stephen settled on his brother's original pitch, and John removed to that which Stephen had owned -- the same, with slight variations, which is now occupied by Benj. Parkill. John Holley was tho father of Philo Holley, Esq.
The same year, Ebenezer Stebbins made a pitch and settled upon the farm now occupied by his daughter, Mrs. Roxalana Peet, and his grand-son, Loren W. Peet. Mr. Stebbins had purchased an entire share of an original proprietor, and located it in a body. His first house was near that in which he afterward lived and died, and which is now occupied by his daughter, Mrs. Peet.
Early in 1775, Hon. Joel Linsley, from Woodbury, Conn., made. a pitch on the lot on which he continued to reside until bis death. Ilis first dwelling, like those of his neighbors, a log cabin, was some sixty or eighty rods cast of that in which he afterward lived, and which is now occupied by Abel J. Benedict, the owner of a part of the original farm. Judge Linsley became an ex- tensive land-owner, having acted as surveyor, and having thus become familiar with anoccupied lands. Ilis labors as surveyor commenced early in 1775. We shall have occasion again to allude
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to him in connection with the arrival and location of his relatives after the war.
Judge Linsley belonged to a class of men, whose energy, entor- prise and intelligence, go far in forming the character of a town. He was, indeed, formed by nature to exert a controlling influence in any community in which he might reside. Ile was appointed Town Clerk, at the organization of the town, and held that office, with the exception of two years, until his decease in 1818. He represented the town several years in the State Legislature; was assistant Judge, and afterward Chief Judge of the County Court. ITis wisdom was often called into requisition by his fellow-citizens in cases where special executive tact was needful. In every office, his duties were discharged with marked ability, and to universal acceptance.
Few men enjoy, with keener relish, the pleasures of social inter- course. Possessing an inexhaustable fund of anecdote andl humor. and unusual conversational powers, he was the life of every circle with which he associated. The aged and the young alike found him an agreeable companion. To the unfortunate he was a sympa- thizing friend ; to virtuous indigence a cheerful benefactor ; and of every judicious scheme of benevolent effort, a munificent patron.
Judge Linsley was the father of Rev. Joel II. Linsley, D. D., and of Charles Linsley, Esq.
Several surveys are dated in 1776. Jonah Sanford pitched a lot of one hundred acres, lying west of that above named as located by Aaron Scott. He probably did not settle upon it.
A survey of one hundred and fifty acres is also recorded as hay- ing been made by Obadiah Wheeler. Though the boundaries are given, there are no landmarks which enable us to fix the location. Probably it was in the south-west part of the town, as allusion is made to "Wheeler's lots" in "the survey of a road by Daniel Samson's, to meet a road laid out by the people of Whiting."
The same year, James Marsh Douglass pitched a lot where Eli Stevens now lives, together with other lots in the vicinity, amount- ing to five hundred acres.
Truman Wheeler also made a pitch previous to 1778, the precise
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date of which cannot be determined, as it was made and recorded before the burning of the records. That now extant upon the Proprietors' records, claims to be a resurvey. It embraces the lot afterward owned by Timothy Baker, and now by Wm. Hurlbut.
These settlers, most of whom had families, were employed as is the usage of pioneers, in clearing their lands, and in endeavors to provide the means of support for those depending upon them .- Though exposed to the ill will of tories, they felt comparatively secure from molestation, so long as the Americans held possession of Ticonderoga and Crown Point, which was the case from their capture by Allen in 1775, to their recapture by Burgoyne in 1777. This occurrence rendered the stay of the settlers utterly unsafe, as they were exposed to marauding parties of British soldiers, of Indians, and of tories, who, if not more the objects of dread, were more the objects of intense hostility. The news of the surrender of Ticonderoga to Burgoyne, was a signal to the settlers that they might be compelled to abandon their farms, and seek safety in re- tiring to the southern and more densely populated parts of the State. Some of them immediately retired with their families ; others remained till the following year. The country north of Rut- land, was, at this period, mostly an unbroken wilderness. Ethan Andrus, Esq., one of the retiring settlers, in relating the story of their flight, informed me that they placed their women and children in canoes, or on rafts, upon which also were placed their most val- uable effects which they could not conceal ; and these were propelled up the stream by a part of the men, while others drove the cattle along the shore, much of the way a swamp impassable by women or children. Though severe the service, affection and indomitable energy achieved the undertaking.
Such articles as could be concealed, or could not be carried, were, of course, left behind. The aged Mrs. Peet, daughter of Mr. Stebbins, has shown me a duodecimo Bible, and a looking-glass, which her mother covered with pillows and concealed under some logs, where they remained undisturbed until her return after the restoration of peace. The Bible, though somewhat discolored by exposure to dampness, is legible, and contains the family record .-
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The chief injury sustained by the glass, is the loss of some of the ornamental parts of its frame. Both are invaluable to their possessor, as mementos of sacrifices, which, as a child scarcely advanced beyond the period of infancy, she shared with her parents.
Mrs. Peet was old enough when her father returned to Cornwall, to remember distinctly events as they occurred. She relates that they arrived in March, while the ground was still covered with a great depth of snow. Her father had procured a team to convey his family from Asa Blodget's, on the Creek, to his place of abode, and they were obliged, as the swamp was impassible, to travel around the north end of it, near the present residence of the writer. This was on the Sabbath, and the first inhabitants they met after leaving the Creek, were assembled at the house of Dr. Nathan Foot for religious worship. They remained till the close of the service, and as necessity was laid upon them to reach home that day if possible, they proceeded. As they passed over the hill west of the house, and came in sight of it, the snow-drifts were so deep as effectually to prevent further progress with the team. By a vigorous use of a shovel, the men cleared a path so that Mrs. Stebbins made her way to the cabin, which she found dilapidated, cold and cheerless. The roof of the main room had fallen in, and it was filled with snow, and the only apartment where they could find shelter, was a little bedroom in one corner. Here they kindled a fire, and having procured some meal from the sled blockaded with snow, the mother prepared a "johnny cake," rendered doubly sweet by fasting and fatigue. With such accommodations was passed the first night, by this family, after their return to Cornwall. Mr. Stebbins lived to the extreme age of 96 years.
A few of the settlers above mentioned attempted to remain on their farms, hoping to escape molestation, but two of their number suffered from their imprudence.
Eldad Andrus was taken captive, in May or June, by the In- dians and tories, and carried to the British camp across Lake Cham- plain, where he was held for several months. During his detention the Indians several times visited his house, and though they offered no violence to his family, they consumed his stock of provisions ;
led he lot S
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destroyed his young fruit trees, and carried away his only animals of the horse kind, a mare and colt. These remained absent some two years, when, as I am informed by his son from whom I have this narrative, the mare returned accompanied by her colt, and another which matched it well, from which Mr. Andrus made a valuable team. Having discovered an opportunity to escape, ho fled. Perceiving that he was followed by an Indian, he secured a heavy club, and concealed himself under a log, over which the Indian would pass. As he was clambering over unaware of his danger, Mr. Andrus struck him a blow which felled him to the ground. Without waiting to ascertain what harm he had done, he hastened his flight, and saw nothing more of his pursucr.
Samuel Blodget was also taken prisoner at the same time, by the Indians and tories. He was bound to a tree by the Indians, and threatened with death, but escaped this fate by making himself known, as a free mason, to a British officer who commanded the party. Ilis son, Rev. Luther P. Blodget, relates that " his father was taken to Ticonderoga, where he suffered all the abuse and tor- tures usual to captives, and was imprisoned on board an old vessel which abounded with vermin and filth, until he obtained permission to go on shore, and drive team and perform other duties which fell to the lot of captives. He was liberated in the fall, and returned to his family, who, by this time, had removed to Bennington or Arlington, where they remained until the announcement of peace."
Mr. Blodget continued to reside on his original pitch, after the return of his family, until his death in 1838, at the age of 87 years. He was for many years active and useful in various town offices, and was accounted a very worthy man. He reared a large family of sons and daughters, all of whom, except the aged widow of Abraham Williamson, have removed from town.
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CHAPTER VI.
RETURN OF SETTLERS-IMMIGRANTS AFTER THE WAR, AND THEIR LOCATIONS - ORANGE THROOP-SAMUEL INGRAHAM AND MAT- THEW LEWIS-ETHAN ANDRUS-SONS OF NATHAN FOOT -- SAMUEL BARTHOLOMEW.
At the carliest moment after the close of the war in 1783, the fugitive settlers who had been impatiently waiting for an opportu- nity to return to their farms, hastencd back, most of them to find their cabins destroyed, and their improvements laid waste. During their absence they had not been idle spectators of the struggle in which their country was engaged, but several of them, like many others who afterwards became fellow settlers, were for longer or shorter periods, in military service. That prudence, which is always characteristic of true courage, had led them to avoid exposure on the frontier, which was likely to be productive of more harm than good. They now commenced anew with assured confidence that the war-whoop should not disturb their slumbers ; that detested teries should no longer offer them insult and defiance ; that they shoukl be permitted to reap in peace the fields they might plant, and tell for those they loved, with none to "molest, or to make them afraid."
On the east side of the highway, about sixty rods south of Samuel Blodget, whose location we have already noticed, Orange The p settled and erected a house, which was afterwards occupied by sous of Mr. Blodgett, aul was subsequently owned by Isaac Landon
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deceased, to whose estate it still belongs, though at present in the occupancy of his daughter, Mrs. Stone.
Nearly opposite the dwelling of Orange Throop on the west side of the road, was the School House called No. 1, in the first division of the town into School Districts in 1787. This building was after- wards used as a dwelling house, and was occupied successively by various transient families.
About sixty rods still further south, on the west side of the road, was erected the first log house of Samuel Ingraham, who in 1786, in company with Matthew Lewis, purchased one hundred acres of Frederic Ford, sen. and his wife, and of Wm. Douglass and Eldad Andrus. Mr. Ingraham afterwards built and occupied, until his death, the house lately vacated by Wm. R. Remelee. Mr. Lewis built his first house south-west of Mr. Ingraham, near the orchard, a portion of which remains. After a few years he sold to Mr. Ingraham and removed to the north-west part of the town, where he died.
Samuel Ingraham was born in Hebron, Conn., and removed with his father to Washington, Mass., at the age of twenty-one years .--- With the spirit which animated every patriotic bosom at that period, he enlisted in the army when only sixteen years old, in response to the first call for volunteers after the massacre at Lexington. Tho company to which he belonged, was stationed on one of the eminen- ces in the vicinity of Charlestown, during the battle of Bunker Hill. Though panting, as he used to say, to take part with their comrades, they were not ordered into action. His company remained in the vicinity of Boston until the evacuation of the city by the British, after which they were employed in different localities, as their ser- vices were needed. Mr. Ingraham was in the army for a consid- erable period, and when, at last, he was honorably discharged, he received, as the writer has heard him remark, "the balance then due for his services, in continental currency, so nearly worthless, that at the first place on his way homeward, where he could procure any food to satisfy the cravings of hunger, he paid sixteen dollars of his hard carnings-two months' pay-for two pounds of green cheese."
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Among the incidents of Mr. Ingraham's military service, he used to relate the following : On one occasion when he, as a corporal in charge of two or three men, was ordered to do picket Juty near a convenient bothing place, his men expressedl a strong desire to be indulged with the opportunity of enjoying & betb. IIe remonstrated, lest the officer of the guard should find them absent from their post :. Ile at length, however, yielded to their impor- tunity, but while they were enjoying their buth ho discovered the officer approaching, and called to his men to hasten to their places. They begged a moment to dress, but he said " No. take your places as you are." They seized their muskets, and each took his station as he came from the water. The officer arrived, stopped a moment, surveying the men, and then turning to Ingraham, said, " Corporal, I see your men are naked, how is that ?"" The reply was, "They were born so, sir." With a smile the officer passed on. Though Mr. Ingraham enjoyed but slight advantages for early education, his natural endowments were superior. Possessing quick discernment, wonderful retentiveness of memory, and an insatiable thirst for knowledge, he acquired extensive general intelligence ; was often called to fill town offices: was a safo adviser ; peculiarly. sociable and amiable in all his relations; and lived and died an honest man and a humble Christian. He was the father, and this farm was the birth-place of Rev. Ira Ingraham.
The next farm southward of Mr. Ingraham, as originally settled, was that of Ethan Andrus. It is not easy to determine when. He was here as early as 1777, as intimatel on a prece ling page, where he is spoken of as one of the company of settlers who retired after the surrender of Ticonderoga to Burgoyne. But he probably was not a land-holder earlier than 1734. Between that date and 1700, he purchased lands from his brother Eldad, Nathan Foot Jr., Abijah and Uri Foot and James Douglass, amounting collectively to more than three hundred acres. Of this purchase, he exchanged, in 180S, "two hundred and twelve acres, exelusive of highways," with Darius Matthews. This farm, with some variations, is the same on which the writer now lives. Mr. Andrus erected upon it Itis first framel house about sixty rols north of one which he after-
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wards built, and which still remains, occupied by the writer's fam- ily. HIcre, for several years, Mr. Andrus kept a tavern. actively participated in the religious and secular affairs of the town, and was an enterprising and influential citizen. He was the father, and this was the birth-place of Rev. Joseph R. Andrus, the first agent of the American Colonization Society to Africa, of whom a brief biographical sketch will be found on another page.
The pitches of Dr. Nathan Foot, amounting to about six hundred acres, have already been alluded to, but are again mentioned, that we may note more particularly the location of his sons, Daniel, Nathan, Abijah and Uri. He had three other sons, Isaac S., Thomas and William, who probably did not settle in Cornwall .- One of his daughters, Parthenia, a maiden lady, still living in Cayuga, N. Y., informs me that her father gave each of his sons fifty acres of land. Daniel, after the war, made a pitch for him- self on the east side of the highway, embracing land now owned by Ilenry Lane, and much of the homestead of E. R. Robbins. His first log cabin was located by a spring, a few rods east of Mr. Lane's house.
Daniel Foot was in Cornwall before the war, but early enlisted into a company of mounted rangers, and was often employed in extremely perilous service. Ho was a fearless man, exceedingly fond of adventure, and always ready to encounter any danger to which his duty as a sollier exposed him. He used to relate that, on one occasion, after a severe skirmish, in which his companion" were cither killled or dispersed, he was reduced to the necessity of cooking his moccasins for food, supplying their place with others made from a part of his blanket. Being in the vicinity of Ticon- deroga, when it was surrendered to Burgoyne, he and one of his comra les were despatched to warn the settlers of Cornwall of their danger, and aid them in escaping to a place of safety. After the war, Mr. Foot returned to Cornwall, settled on the land above named. and became a permanent resident, employed during a life protracted to extreme age in the peaceful pursuits of husbandry. Ile died August, 24th, 1848, aged eighty-nine.
Nathan Foot Jr. accompanied his father to Cornwall, and in
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addition to his father's donation of land, purchased of him one hun- dred and twenty-five acres, besides pitching some lots ou his own account. Hle built upon the beautiful site still occupied by his daughter, Maria. For many years he kept a tavern, his house be- ing very conveniently situated for the accommodation of travellers. HIe died Nov. 16th, 1829, aged sixty-seven. He was the father of Lucius C. Foot, Esq., late of Cayuga, N. Y.
Abijah Foot built on the corner just above the present dwelling of Charles R. Ford After occupying the house a few years, ho sold to Daniel Campbell, a physician, who also kept a store north of his house, on or near the site of the cider-mill. Uri Foot ap- pears to have been joint owner with Abijah, as the deed to Camp- bell was signed by both-a joint conveyance. Campbell also pur- chased, of the Foots, the land north to the line of A. A. Fisk, and the land east of the main road to Middlebury, now owned by C. R. Ford. In 1797, Campbell sold this property to Dr. Fred- eric Ford, sen., who occupied the house until 1817, when in con- nection with his son, the late Dr. Ford, he built the spacious man- sion now occupied by his grandson above named. Abijal Foot died in Cornwall in 1795. Uri died in 1841, at Cayuga, N. Y., whither he removed after having resided a few years in Charlotte in this State. The other sons of Dr. Foot died-Jesse at Chittenango. N. Y., in 1848 ; William in 1815, at St. Albans, Vt .; and Thomas was lost at sea in 1819.
Millicent, a daughter of Dr. Foot married Jedediah Durfey, who settled on a fifty acre lot on the west side of the road, a little south of Eldad Andrus.
North of Abijah Foot, Samuel Bartholomew from Watertown, Conn., in 1786, bought of Nathan Foot Jr., a fifty acre lot on the east side of the road, on which A. A. Fisk now lives. IIe also purchased at a later date a few acres of Ephraim Andrus, on the west side of the road, which still belongs to Mr. Fisk's farm. Having cleared some fifteen or twenty acres, he devoted himself exclusively to the raising of fruit-apples, pears, peaches, grapes and chestnuts. , Ilis whole clearing was thus employed, except three
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or four acres reserved to furnish bay for his cows. His orchards abounded in fine apples, especially in the Early Bow and Golden Sweet varieties, which perhaps he should have the credit of having introduced into this vicinity. His peaches were, for a few years, productive, but soon decayed, either because of the ephemeral char- acter of the fruit, or of the rigor of the climate. His pears were more permanent, and some of his grape vines continue to this day. His chestnut trees, though maintaining a thrifty growth, have never proved very productive. In the dense forest which covered most of his farm while he remained its owner, he cleared several little patches of a few rods each and planted them to fruit trees and vines. The intent of this proceeding probably was to ascertain, by experiment, whether the protection thus afforded by the sur- rounding forest might not be favorable to the growth of peaches and grapes ; two kinds of fruit which he was especially anxious to raise.
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