USA > Vermont > Rutland County > Pittsford > History of the town of Pittsford, Vt., with biographical sketches and family records > Part 6
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Timothy Barker was one of the early settlers of Neshobe- now Brandon-and, for a few years, was quite a prominent man in that township. At a general convention of delegates
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,
ABEL STEVENS-RICHARD S. ADAMS.
from the towns in the New Hampshire Grants, held at Dorset, Sept. 25th, 1776, "Capt. Timothy Barker" was one of the delegates from Neshobe. In 1778, he married the widow of Isaac Buck, and removed his residence from Neshobe to Pitts- ford, and occupied the house already mentioned as having been built by Mr. Buck. An adjourned Proprietors' meeting was "held at the house of Timothy Barker, on the west side of the Creek, October 12th, 1779."
This year Abel Stevens, son of Roger, married Eunice, daughter of Isaac Buck, and on the 21st of November bought of his father one hundred and forty-five acres of land, bounded on the north by land of Benjamin Cooley, on the east by land of Col. E. Doolittle, on the south by land of Eleazer Harwood, and on the west by the Creek. The consideration was £400. This included the farm recently owned by the late Deming Gorham. Mr. Stevens built the low part of the present house and resided there till 1796,* when' he removed to Bastard, County of Leeds, Canada, where he died in 1816. We are informed that he was a man of earnest piety, and a preacher of the Methodist doctrine.
Richard S. Adams, from Connecticut, located here in 1779, making his first pitch April 9th, on the right of John Loomis in the third division of lots. This included what has since been known as the Beals place, now owned by John Eggleston. He made the first improvements on that farm, and the house built by him stood on the east side of the east-and-west road, and about half-way between where Mr. Eggleston's house now stands and the four-corners-so called-a short distance west- ward. Before coming to Pittsford, he had married Lucy Matson, half-sister of Dea. Caleb Hendee's wife. He resided here till 1798, when he sold his farm to Solomon Purdy, of Rutland, and soon after moved to Bastard, Canada, with all his children, whose names were Saxton, Daniel, Joshua and Lucy.
* Mr. Stevens sold his farm to Ichabod Cross March 4, 1793,
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HISTORY OF PITTSFORD.
CHAPTER III.
Origin of the Land-title controversy ; Rapacity of the Colo- nial Governors of New York; Charter of Socialborough; Attempts of the Grantees to enforce their claims; Resist- ance to the New York officials; Conventions of the peo- ple of the New Hampshire Grants.
The early settlers had scarcely become established in their new homes, ere they found themselves involved in a contro- versy which had, for some time, existed between New Hamp- shire and New York, respecting their division line. The history of this "Land-Title Controversy"-for such it truly was- belongs no more to Pittsford than to other towns in the State; but it will be needful to glance at some of its more prominent features, in order to understand some important events, which took place in the early settlement of this township.
It should be remembered that the Dutch first colonized New York under the name of New Netherland, and that between them and the English colonies of Connecticut, there was not the most friendly feeling. Jealousies and animosities were frequently springing up between them, and as their settle- ments extended, their boundaries became a source of serious contention. By an agreement, however, entered into on 19th Sept., 1650, by representatives of the two parties, their division- line was defined as "beginning at the west side of Greenwich Bay, being about four miles from Stamford, and running a northerly line twenty miles up into the country, and after as it: should be agreed by the two governments of the Dutch and of New Haven, provided the said line come not within ten miles of Hudson's river. And it was agreed that these bounds and
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GRANT TO THE DUKE OF YORK.
limits should be observed and kept inviolate, both by the English and United Colonies, and all the nation without any encroachment or molestation, until a full and final determina- tion be agreed upon in Europe, by the mutual consent of the States of England and Holland." This treaty-boundary was formally approved and ratified, under the seal of the States General of the United Netherlands, Feb. 22, 1656, as the line of division between New Netherland and New England.
But the English government, regarding the Dutch as intruders upon their territory, resolved upon the conquest of New Netherland. As a preliminary measure King Charles the Second, on the 12th of March, 1664, issued to his brother James, the Duke of York, a grant of all the land from the west side of Connecticut river to the east side of Delaware Bay, and the Duke was authorized to employ the necessary force to make his grant available.
Accordingly an expedition was fitted out which, being joined by troops from Connecticut, appeared before New Amsterdam, and made a formal demand for its surrender to the English crown. Terms favorable to the Dutch having been agreed upon, New Amsterdam, with all its dependencies, was surrendered to the English, Sept. 8, 1664.
The boundaries of this grant were probably never intended as definite limits, since this would interfere with former grants, "but rather as outer limits within which New Netherland, the object of the grant, was supposed to be included."* The natural inference from all the circumstances attending the issue is, that the description was designed to indicate New Netherland as the object of the grant, leaving its extent and limits, then imperfectly known to the Crown, to be afterwards ascertained and determined.
Accordingly, within less than two weeks after the conquest of New Netherland, the Assembly of Connecticut appointed
* Early history of Vermont.
6
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HISTORY OF PITTSFORD.
five commissioners, to settle with the King's commissioners the boundary-line. These commissioners convened at New York, and after a full hearing, made their decision in regard to the conflict of boundaries in the two charters as follows, viz .: "that the creek or river called Mamaroneck which is reputed to be about thirteen miles to the east of Winchester, and in a line drawn from the east point or side where the fresh water falls into the salt, at high water mark, north-northwest to the line of the Massachusetts, be the western bounds of the said colony of Connecticut, &c." This decision of the commissioners was accepted for a time by both parties, but it was soon found that there was a great defect in the language by which the division-line had been defined in 1664, especially in the direc- tion of its northern line, which, running north-northwest, would cross Hudson's river instead of being parallel to its general course.
The King's commissioners asserted that they never intended the line to come within less than twenty miles of that river, and by further negotiations it was surveyed and established* at a distance of twenty miles from the Hudson.
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The adjustment of this boundary-controversy between New York and Connecticut, in terms applied only to the boundary between those two provinces; but there is abundant evidence to show that the line running parallel with the Hudson at the distance of twenty miles eastward was understood at the time to apply to the whole eastern boundary of the Duke's patent. Agreeably to this understanding Massachusetts proceeded to make grants of townships west of the Connecticut river, and this territory was rapidly filling up by immigration from the easterly part of the State. Very soon it was dotted with flourishing settlements. But in 1753, the government o New York, for the first time, notified the government of Massa- chusetts, that under the charter to the Duke of York, she
* This was established in 1731.
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REPORT OF THE BOARD OF TRADE.
claimed the territory eastward to the Connecticut river. The disturbances growing out of these conflicting claims soon became so serious as to attract the attention of the Board of Trade who summoned before them the agents of the respective provinces, then in England, and having heard what they had to say upon the subject, on the 25th of May, 1757, made a representation of the case to the King.
In their report they say "we are of opinion that a line to be drawn northerly from a point on the south boundary line of Massachusetts Bay, twenty miles due east from Hudson's river, to another point twenty miles distant due east from the said 1 river, on that line which divides the province of New Hamp- shire and the Massachusetts Bay, would be a just and equitable line of division between your Majesty's provinces of New York and Massachusetts Bay. They therefore recommend the establishment of such boundary line by his Majesty's order in council." The line thus recommended not being satisfactory to the government of either province, no further attempt was made at that time to settle the pending controversy.
But the disturbances continuing, the Earl of Shelburne by command of the King addressed letters to the governors of the respective colonies recommending that effectual measures be taken to settle every difference relating to their boundaries by commissioners appointed from each for that purpose. Accord- ingly commissioners were appointed who met at New Haven, October 1, 1767, but after a session of several days, separated without coming to an agreement. In 1773, other commissioners appointed and duly authorized by the respective provinces, met at Hartford and executed in the presence and with the approval of the governors of the two provinces an agreement by inden- ture in which it was declared that, " A line beginning at a place fixed. upon by the two governments of New York and Con- necticut, in or about A. D. 1731, for the northwest corner of a tract of land commonly called the Oblong or equivalent land,
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HISTORY OF PITTSFORD.
and running from the said corner north twenty-one degrees ten minutes and thirty seconds east, as the magnetic needle now points, to the north line of Massachusetts Bay, shall at all times hereafter be the line of jurisdiction between the said province of Massachusetts Bay and the said province of New York, in all and every part and place where the said province of New York on its eastern boundary, shall adjoin on the said province of the said Massachusetts Bay." This line though described in different language was substantially the same as that recom- mended by the Board of Trade in 1757.
Soon after the establishment of the line between Massachu- setts and New Hampshire in 1740, Benning Wentworth of Portsmouth was appointed Governor of the latter province ; and his commission in defining the limits of his jurisdiction states that it was to extend westward till it "meets with our other governments." After the establishment of the boundary between New York and Connecticut in 1731, it was generally understood that the eastern boundary of New York was a line beginning at the northwest corner of Connecticut and running at a distance of twenty miles from the Hudson to Lake Cham- plain. And that such was the understanding of the British government, is evident from the fact that the maps of the British American provinces which were used for reference by the government, contain such a distinctly marked line. The evidence upon this subject was so convincing that Gov. Went- worth did not hesitate to grant townships on the west side of Connecticut river though careful to avoid encroaching upon the territory of New York. But as this line had not been definitely established, on the 17th of November, 1749, the Governor wrote Gov. Clinton that he had it in command from his majesty to make grants of unimproved lands within nis government to such persons as would obligate themselves to improve the 'same; that applications were coming in for the laying out of some townships in the western part of it; and that wishing to avoid,
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N. H. GRANTS ANNEXED TO NEW YORK.
as far as he could, interfering with the government of His Excellency, he enclosed a copy of his commission from the King, and desired to be informed how far north of Albany and how many miles east of Hudson's river, to the northward of Massachusetts line, his (Gov. Clinton's) government, by his majesty's commission, extended.
This letter having been laid before the New York council, they advised Gov. Clinton to acquaint Gov. Wentworth "that this province is bounded easterly by Connecticut river; the let- ters patent from King Charles the Second to the Duke of York, expressly granting all the lands from the west side of Con- necticut river, to the east side of Delaware Bay.". This advice being communicated to Gov. Wentworth an earnest corres- pondence ensued between the two governors, the one claiming to the Connecticut river, and the other to a line twenty miles from the Hudson, but reaching no satisfactory result they mutually agreed to refer the matter to the decision of the King.
The subject having been brought before the Board of Trade, the New York claim was urged with so much skill and vehe- mence, that in July, 1764, an order was obtained of the King in council, declaring "the west bank of the river Connecticut, from where it enters the province of Massachusetts Bay, as far north as the 45th degree of north latitude, to be the boundary- line between the two provinces of New Hampshire and New York. The territory thus annexed to New York comprised the whole of the State of Vermont, and having up to this time been considered a part of New Hampshire, a large proportion of it had been granted in townships of six miles square by Gov. Wentworth and in a few of these were quite flourishing settlements. This change of jurisdiction had been made with- out consulting the inhabitants, who were to be most affected thereby, and even without their knowledge. Had the change been confined to jurisdiction only they would have submitted
2
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HISTORY OF PITTSFORD.
without any serious opposition, though the most of them would have preferred to remain under the laws and institutions of New Hampshire. But when the New York government went farther, and, disregarding the claims of the settlers, proceeded to grant their property to other parties, it aroused the most serious indignation.
The order of the King annexing the New Hampshire grants to New York, though dated July 20, 1764, was not made known to the settlers till the following year, 1765. On the 10th of April of that year, Lieut .- Gov. Colden laid it before the New York council, and in pursuance of their advice, issued a proclamation giving notice of the same-"to the end that all his Majesty's subjects within the provice might conform thereto and govern themselves accordingly." No sooner was this proclamation made known to the Proprietors of Pittsford than they adopted such measures as they supposed would insure to them a confirmation of their charter, and the follow- ing address and petition were presented to Lieut .- Gov. Colden: Dated at Shrewsbury in the Province of Massachusetts Bay, June 24th, A. D. 1765.
To the Hon'ble Cadwallader Colden, Esqr., Lieut. Governor and Commander in Chief in and over his Majesties Prov- ince of New York, &c., and the Hon'ble his Majesties Counsel.
The petition of a number of persons who, as they thought, obtained his Majesties Grant of a Township or tract of land by the mediation of his Excellency Benning Wentworth, Esqr. Governour and Commander in Chief of his Majesties Province of New Hampshire, the Honourable his Majesties Council of said Province, situate West of Connecticut River, on Otter Creek. Beginning at the Northwest corner of the Township of Rutland so granted, from thence extending North four degrees West six miles, from thence East five degrees south six miles, from thence South twenty degrees East to Rutland
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PROPRIETORS' PETITION.
North East corner, from thence West five degrees North by Rutland to the bounds first mentioned, by the name of Pitts- ford, and that your Petitioners have surveyed said Township, and have made some improvements thereon with raised expect- ations of making good settlements for ourselves and Familys, but on reading your Honours former Proclamation in the year A. D. 1764, laying claim to the land West of Connecticut River, great scruples årose in our minds with regard to the validity of our aforesaid grant, whereby the prosecution of our settlements hath been retarded in a great measure, and by yours Honours late Proclamation we are informed, that his Majestie and Council have actually established Conecticut River as the boundary line between the Governments of New York and New Hampshire, by which we are ascertained of our Grants being in the Government and jurisdiction of New York, & being desireous of obtaining a confirmation of our Grants and of becoming inhabitants in said Government of New York, and being informed by Gents. who have been with your Honour for instructions, with regard to such Grants there can be no grant given as yet, and that our conduct which will be most agreeable to recommend us to the obtaining such grants will be to pursue our settlements with the utmost vigour; we pray that your Honour will receive this our hum- ble adress, and while we are pursuing our settlements, bear in mind our sinsear endeavours to become a respectable part of your Honours government, and in proper time will give us oppertunity of not only knowing our duty in complying with the Constitution of the government of New York, but of attending to those measures as shall be requisite in procuring a confirma- tion of our Land; and until which may be accomplished we ground our hopes on your Honour and Honours Wise adminis- tration of his majesties Government, and the humane disposi- tion which we doubt not but your honours are Possest of towards your fellow men. We would further inform your
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HISTORY OF PITTSFORD.
honours, that the greatest part of us have obtained the knowl- edge of those lands by our services in the late war at the reduction of his Majesties enemies, and as we have been at considerable expence already on act. of our grant, and most of us are unable to loose such cost without destresing ourselves and familys, we are the rather encouraged to hope and as in Duty Bound shall ever pray.
JOSHUA JOHNSON,
PETER JOHNSON, Proper
SAMUEL BREWER, Committee.
This petition was unheeded, though the Proprietors had been encouraged by Gov. Wentworth to believe, that if the King should see fit to change the boundary, the title to their lands legally obtained from the government of New Hamp- shire would be respected. But as the value of these lands became more generally known, they were eagerly sought, not by those who wished to cultivate and improve them, but by New York speculators. And Gov. Colden finding this a favor- able opportunity for enhancing his private fortune by the fees, carried on a lucrative business in the granting of townships, till his career was suddenly arrested by the notorious Stamp Act of the British Parliament, which required all instruments of contract, such as bonds, notes, deeds, &c., to be executed upon stamped paper, for which a duty was to be paid to the Crown; and any contract not thus executed was to be null and void. This act produced great agitation throughout the country, and so excited the populace that, in some instances, they assaulted the stamp officers and compelled them to give up the stamps. Some of these odious stamps were destroyed, and others were either re-shipped to England or carefully guarded, so that none found their way into the places of business. As all land patents were to be void unless stamped, and as the stamps could not be obtained, their further issue was necessa- rily suspended.
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ORDER OF GOV. MOORE.
Up to this time the patents of Vermont lands issued by Colden covered over one hundred and seventy-four thousand acres, nearly all of which had been previously granted by New Hampshire.
On the 12th of November, Sir Henry Moore arrived from England and superseded Colden in the government of New York. At once there came pouring in upon him from the Proprietors of the New Hampshire grants, complaints against the acts of his predecessor in granting their lands to other par- ties ; and he was petitioned to confirm to them their titles. While he pretended to listen to these petitions with some degree of respect, he gave no assurance of protection against the land patents issued by Colden, nor any security against future grants. But the excitement ran so high that he felt compelled to make some show of conciliation; and he therefore had an order passed by his council and published, allowing three months from the 6th day of June 1766, for all persons holding or claiming lands under grants from the government of New Hampshire, to appear by themselves or their attorneys and produce the same, togther with all deeds, conveyances or other instruments, by which they derive any title or claim to the said lands, before his Excellency in council, and that the claims of such person or persons who should not appear and support the same as aforesaid, within the space of three months, be rejected .*
While this procedure made some pretension of favor tow- ards the New Hampshire charters, the fees demanded by the New York officials for a confirmation of the same, virtually amounted to a prohibition. The fees to the Governor of New Hampshire for the granting of a township, were about one hundred dollars, while under the government of New York, two thousand, or two thousand six hundredt were demanded for a confirmation of one of those charters. This unreasonable
* Doc. His. of N. Y., Vol. IV., page 587.
+ Williams' History of Vt., Vol. II., page 19.
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HISTORY OF PITTSFORD.
demand could hardly be complied with, inasmuch as most of the early settlers were men of slender means who had expended what they had, in acquiring the New Hampshire title to their lands and in making improvements upon them.
Failing to obtain relief from the government of New York, the Proprietors of the New Hampshire grants resolved to apply for the redress of their grievances to the good sense of the King. Accordingly a petition was prepared and signed by over one thousand settlers and grantees, and Samuel Robinson, Esq., of Bennington, was appointed their agent to lay it before His Majesty. Mr. Robinson landed in England on the 30th of January, 1767. Deeming it advisable to set forth the griev- ances of the claimants in greater detail than was stated in the petition of which he was the bearer, he drew up a new petition and subscribed it, in behalf of himself and more than one thousand other grantees, and this was delivered to Lord Shel- burne, principal Secretary of State for the colonies, the 20th of March, to be laid before His Majesty in council .*
The action of the King in council is stated in a letter from Lord Shelburne, to Gov. Moore, dated April 11, 1767, in which he says: "I am to signify to you His Majesty's command that you make no new grants of these lands, and that you do not molest any person in the quiet possession of his grant who can produce good and valid deeds for such grant under the seal of the province of New Hampshire until you receive further orders respecting them. You are directed to take care that the inhabitants, lying westward of the line represented by the Board of Trade, as the boundary of the two provinces, be not molested on account of territorial differences or disputed juris- diction, for whatever province the settlers may be found to belong to, it should make no difference in their property, provided that their titles to their lands should be found good in other respects, or that they have long been in the unin-
* Early History of Vermont, page 88.
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ORDER OF THE KING.
terrupted possession of them. The power of granting lands was vested in the governors of the colony, originally, for the purpose of accommodating, not distressing settlers, especially the poor and industrious.
The unreasonableness of obliging a very large tract of country to pay a second time the immence sum of £33,000 in fees, according to the allegations of this petition, for no other reason than its being found necessary to settle the line of boun- dary between the colonies, is so unjustifiable that His Majesty is not only determined to have the strictest inquiry made into the circumstances of the charge, but expects the clearest and fullest answer to every part of it .*
To this letter Gov. Moore made an elaborate reply, full of quibbles and evasions, which produced no change, however, in His Majesty's determination, as expressed in Lord Shelburne's letter ; and on the 24th of July following an order of the King in council was made, commanding the Governor of New York upon pain of His Majesty's highest displeasure, to make no grant whatever of any part of the controverted lands, until His Majesty's further pleasure should be known concerning the same .¡ This order was afterwards strictly observed by Gov. Moore; but his death, which occurred Sept. 11, 1769, brought Mr. Colden again to the head of the New York government, who, disregarding the King's order in council, resumed the work of issuing patents of the controverted lands, and pro- ceeded therein 'as fast as parties could be found who were willing to advance the patent fees. At the close of his administration, Oct. 18th, 1770, (it had continued more than a year,) his patents covered more than six hundred thousand acres of gov- ernment lands, and he had realized from the same about $25,000 in money besides reserving to himself in the name of others, more than twenty thousand acres.
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