USA > Vermont > Rutland County > Pittsford > History of the town of Pittsford, Vt., with biographical sketches and family records > Part 2
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ELEAZER MELVEN." Coll. N. H. Historical Society, Vol. V., Page 207.
* It was afterwards found that Severance and Petty were killed by the Indians.
11
ORIGIN OF THE FRENCH AND INDIAN WAR.
Such were the two earliest explorations of this territory of which we can find an authentic account, but it did not begin to be generally known till 1754, when began a series of operations which, as we shall see, were destined to change its whole physical aspect and to bring in a race of men bearing the stamp of civilization.
The eastern portions of North America were settled by men of different nationalities. The French colonized Canada and Louisiana ; the English, New England, New York, to a great extent, and parts farther south ; and the colonists in each of these regions acknowledged allegiance to, and acted in the interest of their respective sovereigns. At first these colonies were widely separated, but by continual accessions to their numbers, they soon spread over a large territory, and as their settlements began to approximate, it was easy to foresee that the two nations, equally jealous, would sometime come into collision respecting their boundaries. By the construction of charters and grants from the crown of England, her colonies . extended indefinitely westward. The French in attempting to connect their northern and southern settlements, by a chain of forts and posts from the St. Lawrence to the Mississippi, necessarily interfered with the claims of the English. In execution of this purpose, the French took possession of several important posts upon the Ohio river, and declared their inten- tion to seize every Englishman within the valley. Thus originated the struggle between the powers of France and England, in which the avarice and ambition of these two mighty nations worked themselves out in a war for conquest-"the game of kings."
At that time the colonies of New England were separated from the French settlements by the belt of wilderness which mutated into the State of Vermont ; and during the ensuing struggle, this was frequently passed through by military expedi- tions to the lakes and Canada, and consequently became much +
12
HISTORY OF PITTSFORD.
better known. A large proportion of the New England soldiers who served in the war, had to traverse this wilderness, and as no public highway had been opened, the passage was attended with no little difficulty, and the army stores could be transported only on pack horses. The route taken lay partly in an old path made by the Indians in their expeditions from Canada to Fort Dummer, and was by way of Lake Champlain, Otter Creek, and Black and Connecticut rivers. From the time of the earliest English settlements, this path was known as the "Indian road."
Early in the spring of 1756, the government of Massachu- setts discussed the feasibility of constructing a road between a point on the right bank of Connecticut river, opposite Charles- town, and a point on the right bank of Lake Champlain, opposite Crown Point, for the purpose of facilitating military operations in that quarter. As the result of these deliberations the following vote was passed in the House of Representatives on the 10th of March, and met with the approbation of the Governor and Council :
" Whereas, it is of great importance that a thorough knowl- edge be had of the distance and practicability of a communication between Number Four on Connecticut river and Crown Point, and that the course down Otter Creek to Lake Champlain should be known; therefore, voted that his Excellency the Governor be, and he is hereby desired as soon as may be, to appoint fourteen men upon this service, seven of them to go from said Number Four the direct course to Crown Point, to measure the distance and gain what knowledge they can of the country ; and the other seven to go from said Number Four to Otter Creek aforesaid and down said creek to Lake Champlain, observing the true course of said creek, its depth of water, what falls there are in it and also the nature of the soil on each side thereof, and what growth of woods is near it. Each party of said men to keep a journal of their proceedings and observations
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MILITARY ROAD.
and lay the same, on their return, before this Court. They to observe all such directions as they may receive from his Excel- lency. One man in each party to be a skillful surveyor, and the persons employed shall have a reasonable allowance made them by the Court for their services."
It was also proposed to build a strong fort on the height of land between Black River and Otter Creek. A military post there was deemed important, as it would furnish an opportunity to prevent the advance of the enemy from Lake Champlain, facilitate operations against Ticonderoga and Crown Point, and afford a safe retreat for scouting parties from Connecticut river.
This project had also attracted the attention of Lord Loudon, the commander-in-chief of the English forces, who desired that the route should be surveyed and the result reported to him. By request, Col. Williams drew up a topographical sketch and a description of the country, compiled from the journals of men who had traversed it, and presented the same to his lordship ; but this not being quite satisfactory, he was ordered to make an accurate examination of the country with the assistance voted by the General Court, and to give such additional information as might appear to him necessary. But the number and hostility of the Indians in that region rendered the undertaking too hazardous. Accordingly, though surveys were made as far as the height of land, there was no attempt at this time to build either the road or the fort.
In 1759, General Amherst projected the construction of a military road from Number Four (now Charlestown) on the Connecticut river to Crown Point. This was for the purpose of transporting troops and baggage from Charlestown, it being the rendezvous for men enlisted in New Hampshire and Mas- sachusetts. Capt. Stark, with two hundred Rangers, entered upon the work. Commencing at Crown Point, they con- structed a good wagon road to Otter Creek, and thence Lieut .- Col. Hawks cut a bridal path over the mountains, but, for some
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HISTORY OF PITTSFORD.
reason, did not complete the work. The following spring, Col. John Goffe, with a regiment of New Hampshire soldiers, marched from Litchfield by way of Peterboro' and Keene to Number Four. Beginning at Wentworth's ferry, two miles above the fort, they constructed a new road twenty-six miles in the course of Black River, as far as the present town of Ludlow, where terminated the path' which had been made the year before by Col. Hawks. In this they passed over the mountains to Otter Creek and thence proceeded to Crown Point. Their stores were brought in wagons as far as the twenty-six miles extended and thence transported on horses. A drove of cattle for the supply of the army went from Number Four by this route to Crown Point. While the soldiers were engaged in cutting this road, the trails of Indians were occasionally seen in the adjoining woods, but no hostilities ensued.
The road passed through the present township of Pittsford. It entered from the south by two branches which united a little west of Otter Creek. The first and older branch, and probably the only one travelled prior to 1759, leading north from what is now known as Center Rutland, entered this town a little west of what has since been known as Sutherland Falls. Passing near the present residences of Artemas C. Powers and Chapin Warner to where the Gorham bridge now stands, it thence turned a little westerly, and running past where Roger Stevens afterwards lived, and past the Rice, Mead and Barnes places to the Buck place, it there took a northwesterly course and passed near the Waters place-now Abel Morgan's-and pur- sued about the same course by where Benjamin Stevens and Asa Blackmore once resided to the site of Bresee's mills, and thence on to Crown Point.
The second or later branch, opened in 1759 or 1760, leading north from the site of the village of East Rutland, entered this town near where the present highway, leading south from Abner T. Raynolds', intersects the town line. From that point it
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MILITARY ROAD.
pursued a northwesterly course through land now owned by S. B. Loveland, F. Manley, Marshall Wood, and G. N. Eayres, and near the present residence of Amos C. Kellogg it turned westerly and crossed Mill brook. Near where Ebenezer Hop- kins afterwards lived-now S. B. Loveland's-it turned north, passed a little west of the site of the present Village to the Olmstead place, where it turned more westerly and crossed Otter Creek at a ford* just at the mouth of what is now known as the Stevens brook, and continuing westerly, passed about three rods west of the present residence of Benjamin Stevenst and united with the branch formerly described about one hun- dred rods south, or perhaps a little southeast, of where Benja- min Stevens, sr., afterwards resided.
The following description of this road, written by one whose father had travelled it, may be worth quoting; : "I have thought it might interest some of your readers to see some account of the old French track or road from old Crown Point Fort to No. Four, (now Charlestown, N. H.,) previous to the peace be- tween England and France in 1763. My attention was called to this subject by Mr. Hager, the State Geologist, calling on me to inform him where it was. I said to him I had a general knowledge of the route, but could not answer the direct ques- tion. He then said he must give up the finding it on the west side of the mountain ; he could trace the road to Mount Holly and no further. He then told the object of the inquiry, which was that a new State Map was in progress, and he wanted to have the track of the old French road appear on it across the State from the two points named. And it excited my mind at once, for the following reason : My father, Elias Hall, then of New Cheshire, New Haven county, Connecticut, enlisted into the army of Lord Amherst at Hartford, and the
* This, the best ford on the Creek, was named Pitt's Ford in honor of William Pitt, the celebrated English statesman and friend of the colonies.
t Mr. Stevens' corn barn stands in this road.
# See Rutland HERALD, Jan. 16, 1861.
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HISTORY OF PITTSFORD.
colonel's name was Whiting. He was at Crown Point* and acted as Sergeant and was on fatigue duty some of the time in digging the big well in the northeast angle of the fort. * When I was nineteen years old, I went to look over my father's ancient scenes. *
Crown Point Fort and Chimney Pointt being only half a mile apart, the old French road started at the latter point to cross what is now Vermont and across the mountain. My father, late in the fall of 1759, was taken with the rheumatism, and had permission from Lord Amherst to return home, and went in the old French road, before there was a family in this section of the country except what I have named ; and he is the only individual I ever knew that walked it.
The first night on his way he stopped at Camp Cold Spring, near the eastern part of the town of Shoreham, and six miles west of Whiting depot, and ten miles southwest of Middlebury. I have forwarded to Mr. Bissell, who owns the farm where the spring is, a monument, to be placed there to mark one spot on the old French road and to designate the spot where my de- ceased parent rested his weary limbs in the wilderness, one hundred and eleven years since ; and have suggested two other places to mark the road, of some importance to history, from Lake Champlain to Connecticut River. I understand that Mr. Hager, the Assistant State Geologist, followed the information I communicated to him soon after his application, and it appears on the new map as desired. There is no doubt that Pittsford
* Mr. Hall was with Amherst's army when it crossed the lake to invest Ticon- deroga. The army landed at what has since been called Amherst's Landing, just east of the outlet of Lake George, Lord Howe's Landing being in the rear near a mile, and where the steamboats now stop.
t In speaking of Chimney Point, Mr. Hall says : "In what was called the French Burying Ground, I saw a slatish-appearing grave-stone, in a leaning position, with the figures 1720 on it; and I think this was the place the first old settlers of what is now the town of Addison used for the dead. The old French settle- ment extending, perhaps, five miles on the east side of the lake from Chimney Point, was entirely abandoned between 1760 and 1763 ; and several of the hardy and enterprising farmers who removed from Connecticut and Massachusetts, took possession of well improved farms ; and I am inclined to think that place was the first settled in Vermont ; and I am confirmed in this opinion by a Mrs. Sarah Mark- ham, a daughter of Benjamin Kellogg, who was among those who came there first."
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MILITARY ROAD.
Stockade Fort* was on the track; it then went south three or four miles, turned southwesterly from the place where old Capt. J. Fassettf lived and by where E. Drury, J. Warner and A. Ladd lived, in Pittsford ; in Rutland by where Joe Keeler lived more than twenty years since, by Seth Keeler's to the old Maj. Cheney place, and then south to Rutland Union Store, near which are the marks of the Rutland fort ; then it went south over four miles, turning easterly passed the Bowman place and to the north of Crary's Mills, then east to the road going to Shrewsbury Centre to where Mr. White lived eighty years since, from there to the twenty-mile camp, three miles from the old Dutton Tavern Stand, and thence to No. Four. The brave and celebrated Major Rogers, after incredible sufferings and hardships, with what men were not starved on his return, after the destruction of the St. Francis Indians, returned in this road to Crown Point in 1759, a hazardous expedition.
ELIAS HALL."
In the foregoing, Mr. Hall terms this the "Old French Road," for what reason we do not understand, as it was not built by the French, but by the British Provincials for the transportation of military stores from Number Four to the troops sent to invade Canada, while Mr. Hall's description of the road is undoubtedly, in the main, correct, yet it is not strictly so in respect to that section of it which is included within the limits of Pittsford. Fort Mott was more than half a mile, and Fort Vengeance was nearly one and a half miles north of Pitt's Ford, the point at which the road was nearest the forts. The distance from this ford to Capt. Jonathan Fassett's was less than two miles. The road already mentioned, as passing from Center Rutland through this town, on the west side of Otter Creek, left the road mentioned by Mr. Hall at East Rutland, the fort there being the junction.
* Fort Mott.
t The farm now owned by the heirs of the late David Hall.
3
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HISTORY OF PITTSFORD.
During the French war, the New England soldiers engaged in it had a favorable opportunity of becoming acquainted with the country in the vicinity of this and other military routes. Among these soldiers many of the young men were so charmed with the valley of the Otter Creek, that they resolved to make it their future abode. These lands were claimed by New Hampshire, and had been promised to the soldiers as a reward for their services in conquering the country from the French. But no sooner was peace restored by the conquest of Canada in 1760, than a great crowd of adventurers and speculators made application for them. Benning Wentworth, then governor of New Hampshire, had already granted several townships on the west side. of Connecticut river, and thinking this a favorable opportunity for filling his coffers with the fees, con- tinued to make grants, and so rapidly were the surveys extended, that in 1761, no less than sixty townships of six miles square, were granted on the west, and eighteen on the east side of the river. Besides the fees and presents this avaricious governor reserved in each township, five hundred acres of land to himself, which was to be free from all taxation. Within two years the number of these townships on the west side of the river num- bered one hundred and thirty-eight, each of which was usually divided into seventy shares, of which sixty-four were granted to that number of individuals whose names were entered upon the back of the charter. In this transaction the claims of the soldiers were entirely disregarded, and the lands passed into the hands of a class of men who sought to enhance their fortunes by selling out their rights to those who wished to become actual settlers.
Pittsford was granted October 12th, 1761, to Ephraim Doolittle and sixty-three others, and the charter, in the usual form of the charters granted by New Hampshire, was as follows :
19
CHARTER OF THE TOWNSHIP.
PROVINCE OF NEW HAMPSHIRE,* GEORGE THE THIRD, By the Grace of God, of Great Britain, France and Ireland, King, Defender of the Faith, &c.
TO ALL PERSONS TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME : GREETING :
KNOW YE, that we of our special grace, certain knowledge and mere motion, for the due encouragement of settling a new Plantation 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 Province of New Hampshire in New England, and of our Council of said Prov- ince, have upon the conditions and reservations hereinafter made, Given and Granted and by these Presents for us and our Heirs and successors, do Give and Grant in equal shares unto our Loving Subjects, Inhabitants of our said Province of New Hampshire and of our other Governments, and to their heirs and assigns forever whose names are entered on this grant, to be divided to and among 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 a measurement twenty-five Thousand acres, which tract is to contain something more than six miles square and no more : out of which an Allowance is to be made for High Ways 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 hereto annexed, butted and bounded as follows, viz : Beginning at the northwesterly corner of Rutland, thence Running North four Degrees west Six Miles, Thence East five Degrees South Six Miles, thence South Twenty
* The charter, still to be seen at the Town Clerk's Office, was printed with large type, on the kind of paper in common use at that time, but it has been so often folded and unfolded, that it is now broken into twelve pieces.
20
HISTORY OF PITTSFORD.
Degrees East to Rutland afore said, thence West five Degrees North by Rutland, The North westerly Corner Thereof The Bounds first Above Mentioned, And that the same be and hereby is incorporated into a Township by the Name of Pitts- ford,* And the Inhabitants that do or shall hereafter inhabit the said Township are hereby declared be Enfranchized with and Intitled 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 there shall be Fifty Families resident and settled thereon, shall have the liberty of holding Two Fairs, one of which shall be held on the second t And the other on the annually, which Fairs are not to continue longer than the said
And that as soon as the said Town shall consist of Fifty Families, a Market may be opened one or more days in each Week, as may be thought most advantagious to the Inhabitants. Also that the said Meeting for the Choice of Town Officers, agreeable to the Laws of our said Province, shall be held on the second Thursday of December next, which said meeting shall be notified by Capt. Ephraim Doolittle, who is hereby also appointed the Moderator of the said first Meeting which he is to Notify and Govern agreeable to the Laws and customs of Our said Province, and that the annual Meeting forever hereafter for the Choice of such Officers for the said Town shall be on the second Tuesday of March annually, To HAVE and HOLD the said Tract of Land as above expressed, together with all the 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 Term of five Years for every fifty Acres contained in his or their Share or Pro-
* Named from its principal ford. See note, page 15.
t The charter was originally a printed blank, and the spaces indicated by the dash were not filled.
21
CHARTER OF THE TOWNSHIP.
portion 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 Subjects 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 pre- served for that Use, and none to be cut or felled without Our special Licence for so doing first had and obtained, upon the Penalty of Forfeiture of the Right of Grantee, his Heirs and Assigns, to Us our Heirs and Successors, as well as being subject to the Penalty of an Act or Acts of Parliament that now are, or hereafter shall be enacted.
III. That before any Division of Land be made to and 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 each 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 1762.
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 Day of December, in the Year of our Lord 1772, one Shilling Proclamation Money for every Hundred Acres he so owns, settles or possesses, and so in proportion for a greater or lesser Tract of the said Land ; which Money shall be paid by the respective persons abovesaid, their Heirs or Assigns, in
22
HISTORY OF PITTSFORD.
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 Twelfth Day of October, in the Year of our Lord CHRIST, One Thousand Seven Hundred and Sixty-one, And in the first Year of Our Reign.
B. WENTWORTH.
By His Excellency's
Command With Advice
of Council.
THEODORE ATKINSON, Secretary.
Province of New Hampshire, October 12, 1762. Recorded in the Book of Charters, Page 249 and 250.
THEODORE ATKINSON, Secretary.
The Names of the Grantees of Pittsford.
EPHRAIM DOOLITTLE, LUCIUS DOOLITTLE,
WILLIAM NUTTING,
EBENEZER HARVEY,
SAMUEL BOWERS,
JOJEPH BURT,
JOSHUA HUTCHINS,
AARON BURT,
ABRAHAM NORTON,
AARON DENIHO,
JOHN HUBBARD,
DAVID FIELD,
ALEXANDER SCOTT,
JOHN ARMS,
ANDRED POWERS,
JOSIAH ARMS,
NATHANIEL MORE, Jun.,
ELISHA HALL, Jr.,
ROBERT CROWFORD,
CHARLES WHITTLESEY, EsQ.,
EDWARD FLINT,
NATHANIEL CHANCY, EsQ.,
DANIEL MCFARLING,
LUCIUS HALL,
GEORGE ROBINS,
SAMUEL WHITTLESEY,
PHINIAS HAYWARD,
CHANCY WHITTLESEY, JEDEDIAH WINSLOW,
EZRA SANGER,
JOHN OAKS,
TIMOTHY PATTERSON,
23
NAMES OF THE GRANTEES.
.
DAVID OAKS, JOHN JENKS,
JOHN BENHAM,
DANIEL THOMAS,
ELISHA WHITTLESEY,
ASHBEL STILES,
PHINEAS NEWTON,
ELISH HALL,
SAMUEL MANSFIELD,
JOHN HALL the 5th, LENT MERIMAN,
ELISHA FULLER, SAMUEL FULLER, Jun., ELKANAH FOX,
DANIEL LORD, JOHN LOOMIS,
ELISHA HARVEY, WILLIAM STEWARD, DANIEL WARNER, EsQ.,
RICHARD WIBERT, Esq.,
DANIEL BOYDEN,
PETER JOHNSON, SAMUEL BREWER,
THEODORE ATKINSON, Jun., Esq., SAMUEL JOHNSON,
JOSHUA JOHNSON,
JACOB HEMMINGWAY.
DAVID PURPAW, NATHAN JEWETT, BENJAMIN HUNTLEY, DANIEL DREGGS, AMOS JONES,
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 accounted two of the within shares. One share for the Incorporation for the Propagation of the Gospel in Foreign Parts. One Share for the 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.
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