USA > Vermont > Windsor County > Rochester > History of the town of Rochester, Vt. > Part 3
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ROCHESTER.
1824.
November 10. All that portion of Brain- tree lying north of, and contiguous to Roch- ester, and west of the mountain, (not divid- ing lots), containing about fifteen hundred acres was annexed to the town of Rochester.
Another portion of Pittsfield from the northwest corner of said town, commencing about the middle of the south line of lot No. 3, by the Whitlaw survey, and running southerly, three tiers of lots, then turning westerly, parallel to the town line, and run- ning through to the line of Chittenden, con- taining eighteen lots and the gore abutting on Chittenden, being about eight hundred and fifty acres, was annexed to the town of Rochester, November 15.
1825.
The belfry and steeple of the Congrega- tional meeting-house was built by subscrip- tion, and the bell was given to the town to be placed in said belfrey, and there used. The bell was the gift of Mr. Elias Lyman, of Hartford. 5%
54
HISTORY OF
1827.
At the March meeting, John Trask, Esq., was elected town clerk and was annually re-elected for a period of twenty-seven years, holding the office continuously from the time of his first election until near the time of his death.
During the year, the Methodist meeting- house was built by a union of the Methodist and Universalist Societies, each Society to be entitled to the occupancy of the same in proportion to the amount paid by each to- wards its erection, and in this proportion the Universalist Society was entitled to occupy it two Sabbaths in the year more than the Methodist Society.
1829.
In May, Joshua Ingalls, while ploughing upon the old Isaac Wing farm, turned up a tomahawk, the handle of which was rotted, but the remains of it were visible. The tomahawk was of steel with a thick coating of rust upon it, but otherwise perfect, and was carried by Mr. Ingalls to Wisconsin, and by
55
ROCHESTER.
him kept as a memento. Heads of arrows of stone, and flints for guns have been found at times, which are considered as indications of Indians having passed through the valley of White River in early times, though there is nothing to warrant the opinion that there ever was a settlement of any tribe in this vicinity. 1830.
The population of the town was 1392. Number of scholars returned as of school age, 494. The amount divided among the different religious societies, $101 01. School money divided among the several school dis- tricts $285 51. Grand list, $10,296 89. Town tax, $561 76. State tax, $275 00.
At the freeman's meeting, the vote for Governor was as follows :
William A. Palmer, 143
Samuel C. Crafts, 47
Ezra Meach, 1
For Member of Congress,
Royal M. Ransom, 93
Horace Everett, 78
Alden Patridge, 2
56
HISTORY OF
1834.
October 28, an addition was made to Roch- ester from Hancock, of two lots containing about one hundred and sixty acres. The said lots are now owned by Stillman B. Jones and Rufus Towle, and included in what is now the village of West Rochester.
1840.
The number of inhabitants was 1396. Number of school districts thirteen. Num- ber scholars of school age, 469. Returns from the several religious societies as fol- lows :
Congregational Society, 109
Methodist Society, 80
Universalist Society, 85
It appears that the Baptist Society had become extinct as an organization, no records can be found of any returns later than 1839.
Amount of town tax, $946 49. Amount of State tax, $323 18. Amount of school money divided among the several school dis- tricts, $193 13. Amount divided among the several religious societies, $101 00.
57
ROCHESTER.
At the annual March meeting, it was voted that a discount of six per cent. should be made on all taxes paid on or before June training day, and on all that remained un- paid on that day, there should be no dis- count, but the six per cent. should go to the collector for collecting the tax.
The vote for Governor was as follows :
Silas H. Jennison, 209
Paul Dillingham, Jr., 71
For Member of Congress :
Horace Everett,
205
Truman B. Ransom, 67
Electoral vote for President :
Whig or Harrison ticket, 207
Democratic ticket,
61
Liberty party, 8
1845.
It appears from the records that two re- ligious societies were organized during this year, the Protestant Methodist, and Episco- palian.
1847.
At a town meeting holden March 2, the
58
HISTORY OF
question of License or No License, was pre- sented for the action of the people, and the vote stood: No License, 132; License, 91. There being no further record of the Protest- ant Methodist and Episcopal societies, it is supposed they failed to keep up their or- ganization.
November 10, all that portion of the old town of Philadelphia which was chartered March 16, 1780, being the northern half of said town, was annexed to the town of Goshen, November 9, 1814, containing eleven thousand acres ; also three lots of old Goshen, containing about three hundred acres, was annexed to Rochester, and com- prise that portion of the town known as West Rochester. Rochester being the nat- ural centre of business for certain sections of territory, has led the inhabitants of ad- joining towns which lay on the side of the mountains, and hills whose natural outlet was by the valley of White River, and whose business accommodations were more easily effected at Rochester than any other place,
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ROCHESTER.
to be desirous of being included in the town where their business was most easily trans- acted, and this probably has led to annexa- tions of territory from nearly all the adjoin- ing towns. The following is a brief state- ment of the territoral extent of the town in acres.
Number of acres by charter, 23,040
Annexed from Pittsfield in 1806, 1,175
Braintree in 1824, 1,500
66
Pittsfield in 1824, 850
66
66 Hancock in 1834, 160
"
Goshen in 1847, 11,300
Total number of acres, 38,025
1848.
The town being called upon to give an ex- pression of their wishes on the subject of Li- cense or No License, voted as follows :
No Licence 130 License 49
At a town meeting holden October 14, it was "voted that the town direct the select- men to lay out and survey a public highway, on and over all that part of the Centre
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HISTORY OF
turnpike road, lying and being in the town of Rochester, and that the town pay therefor to the Centre turnpike, such damages and costs as are assessed to said town by a Court committee appointed on a petition to make said section, and other sections of said turn- pike a free road."
1849.
At a town meeting holden March 6, the town was again called upon to vote upon the the question of License or No License, and expressed the sense of the town by the em- phatic vote of No License 173, License 36.
The town came to an agreement with the Congregational Society by which they se- cured permanently the lower portion of the Congregational meeting-house and fitted it up for a town hall ; the interior arrangement of the house being so altered as to have a church room above and a town hall below.
The Methodist Society entered into an agreement with the Universalist Society by which they purchased their interest in the Methodist meeting-house, and the Univer-
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ROCHESTER.
salist Society built their present meeting- house.
1850.
The number of inhabitants was 1493. Number of school districts 16. Number of scholars of school age 522. Amount of money divided among the school districts, $428 50. Amount of town tax bill, $2,223 57. Amount of State tax, $516 46. Amount divided among the several religious societies, $107 00. Returns of the several religious societies as follows :
Congregational Society, 92
Methodist Society,
124
Universalist Society, 113
Amount of grand list, $3,447 05. The vote on the question of License or No Li- cense, as follows :
License, 35 No License, 174
Vote for Governor as follows :
Charles K. Williams, 162
Lucius B. Peck, 93
John Roberts, 2
6
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HISTORY OF
Vote for Member of Congress :
William Hebard, 169
Jefferson P. Kidder, 84
Scattering, 2
During the year the Methodist meeting- house was altered and repaired, a steeple built upon it, and the interior arrangements much improved.
1851.
During the year a religious society was organized of the Second Advent persuasion. The organization was kept up but two years, and then became extinct.
CHAPTER V.
1860-1868.
1860.
UMBER of inhabitants was 1509.
Number of school districts, 16. Amount of money divided among the sev- eral districts, $495 00. Amount of town tax, $1,560 80. Amount of State tax, $752 09. Divided among the several religious socie- ties, $107 00. Grand list, $4,288 13.
Vote for Governor :
Erastus Fairbanks, 177
Robert Harvey, 13
John G. Saxe, 6
For Member of Congress :
Justin S. Morrill, 169
Asa M. Dickey,
11
C. M. Davenport, 6
1861.
The commencement of the war of the re-
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HISTORY OF
bellion, as might be expected with a people so truly loyal and patriotic as the inhabitants of Rochester, fired the public mind and brought it to fever heat. The anxiety of the people to learn the progress of events led them to seek eagerly for all the information that could be obtained relating to affairs transpiring at the seat of war; and in order that all might hear, and have an oppor- tunity of judging for themselves, a daily paper was subscribed for to be read publicly at the town hall, whither the people repaired in crowds, coming from distant parts of the town nightly, and while the intelligence was being read, the almost breathless attention of all present testified to the intensity of inter- est prevailing among the masses.
The suppresed breath, the compressed lips, and that peculiar sternness in the ex- pression of the countenance, on the receipt of intelligence unfavorable to the cause of freedom, told plainly the deep feeling and determination of the spirit within, while the enthusiastic outburst of feeling broke forth
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ROCHESTER.
upon the receipt of intelligence favorable to our cause, and which could not be repressed, was evidence sufficient that the people had entered with their whole heart into the work ..
The freedom, ability, and earnestness, with which the various measures and acts of gov- ernment, and officials, the movement of troops, the care, or as sometimes happened, the want of care, of the wounded and suf- fering were discussed and commented upon, was no idle prattle, but such as might be ex- pected from a thinking, reading, and reflect- ing people, and proved theirs was no blind zeal but an intelligent earnestness, a high toned patriotism burning within them.
On the morning the 4th of September, a company of forty volunteers for the war left town for their appointed place of rendezvous. The occasion was one of interest. A large number of the inhabitants assembled to wit- ness their departure, and with banners wav- ing amid the cheers of the multitude, and with many a " God bless and prosper you," they departed. 6*
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HISTORY OF
How earnestly they were followed by the prayers and good wishes of those they had left behind, and their interest looked after, the record of subsequent events will testify.
1862.
The spirit manifested by the inhabitants of the town in raising troops for the field, was truly commendable. They did not wait for their quota to be assigned them before pro- ceeding to raise volunteers, but were ever on the alert.
August 15, at a special town meeting warned for the purpose, the town " voted to pay a bounty of fifty dollars each to the twelve persons who had enlisted, (in consid- eration of said bounty.")
Also resolved, that the town authorize the selectmen to offer a bounty of fifty dollars each to those who volunteer to fill the quota of militia called for by the draft in this town, and also to pay the seven dollars per month guaranteed to each volunteer, in case the State shall neglect or refuse to pay the said sum of seven dollars per month
67
ROCHESTER.
as extra pay, being the same as former vol- unteers received.
Under the call of the President for 300,000 men, July 2, the order being dated August 4, the quota assigned to Rochester was nineteen men. A circular from the Adj. and Insp. Gen.'s office, September 18, gives the whole number of three years men furnished by the town of Rochester up to that time as seventy- five, being an excess of nine men over her quota, leaving but nineteen men to be fur- nished by the town under the call of August 4, for 300,000 militia for nine months.
Under the above call twenty men were drafted, of whom thirteen paid commutation, four procured substitutes, and three entered the service.
1863.
Under the call of October 17, for 300,000 men, the quota assigned to Rochester was twenty-two. Owing to some misunderstand- ing and the mixing up, or overlapping of quotas under the different calls, it was claimed that a deficiency existed under the
68
HISTORY OF
call raised by draft, of ten men, and a claim was made upon the town for thirty-two men as its aggregate quota.
November 27, at a special meeting warned for the purpose the town voted as follows : To authorize the selectmen of this town to pay each volunteer under the last call of the President for 300,000 men, the sum of two hundred dollars as soon as such volunteer is mustered into the U. S. service.
1864.
Under the call of the President dated. February 1, to draft 500,000 men on the 10th day of March next after, the quota assigned to Rochester was thirty-three, and notwith- standing but about four months had elapsed since it was claimed that Rochester was defi- cient ten men, we find a credit February 20, of fifty-seven men, giving the town a surplus of twenty-four men to apply on future calls, so that when the day of draft arrived, March 10, we find the town in excess of her quotas.
At the annual meeting holden March 1, the town voted to pay a bounty of two hun-
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ROCHESTER.
dred dollars each to nine re-enlisted men who are now in the army of the Potomac, three from the Gulf, and three from the 17th regiment, when mustered into the U. S. service and credited to the town.
Also " voted a bounty of two hundred dollars each to eight persons mentioned by name, as volunteers and drafted men."
It should here be noticed that although three men left town as drafted men, and so recorded in reports, yet they were not mus- tered into the U. S. service as such, but enlisted before leaving the State. The town also resolved, to direct the selectmen of the town to consult with the authority of said town, relative to future enlistments, and transactions concerning the same, and offer bounties and act their best judgment rela- tive to it for the coming year.
Under the call of the President March 14, for 200,000 men for three years, the quota assigned the town was fourteen, and a credit to the town of twenty-one, leaving a surplus
,70
HISTORY OF
of seven men, over and above the quota as- signed.
Under the call of July 18, for 500,000 men, the quota assigned the town of Rochester was thirty-three, with a credit of eleven, leaving the number to be raised under the above call twenty-two.
Under the call of December 19, for 300,000 men, the quoted assigned to towns was com- puted in years of service. The quota as- signed the town of Rochester was seventy- seven years. On the 31st of December, the town was credited with an excess of nine- teen men, making the excess of years of ser. vice furnished by the town under all calls previous . to December 31, eighty-one years of service, and in the month of January, 1865, three more men are credited to the town, being three years men. After Decem- ber 31, the number of men are counted. November 8, at a special town meeting warned for the purpose, the town voted to raise a tax of two hundred and ninety cents on the dollar of the grand list of the town
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ROCHESTER.
to pay bounties to volunteers under the last call of the President for 500,000 volun- teers, said sum to include the amount guar- anteed to volunteers by the selectmen, and also the amount raised by subscription of citizens for said purpose.
In the Adj. and Insp. General's report, September 30, 1865, in the table showing the standing of each town in reference to all calls for troops from April, 1861, to Septem- ber 30, 1865, the town of Rochester is cred- ited with a surplus of eight men, over and above her quotas upon all calls made by the general government for troops.
The following is a summary of the num- ber of the men furnished by town, for the suppression of the rebellion :
Volunteers for 3 years,
99
" 1 year, 20
66
" 3 years, (re-enlisted,) 12
66
" 9 months, .16
Enrolled men who furnished substitutes, 20
By draft and afterwards enlisted, 3
Paid commutation, 13
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HISTORY OF
Not credited by name,
10
Navy,
2
Rep. recruit,
1
Southern recruit, 1
Total, 197
Of these, one hundred and fifty-three were citizens of the town of Rochester. Boun- ties were paid before the close of the war, as high as seven hundred dollars per man. Quite a number of the citizens of Rochester enlisted in other towns.
Am't p'd by the town for bounties, $29,250 00 Subsistence, 2 96
Services of recruiting agents, 202 81
Commutation paid by individuals, 3,900 00
Contributed by individuals, 344 75
Paid by inviduals for substitutes,
3,725 00
Contributed for the relief of the
sick and wounded, 1,049 13
Total, $38,474 65
These large taxes were paid with a prompt- ness which indicated an earnestness of pur-
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ROCHESTER.
pose and a determination to succeed, and no sacrifice necessary on the part of the people was too great to ensure success. The efforts of the citizens were not confined to the rais- ing of troops for the field. A constant, anxious, and kindly care for the brave who had gone to fight our battles, ever followed them wherever they were called to act.
A Soldiers' Aid Society was organized by the ladies of the town, who solicited sub- scriptions, and often met, and with willing hands wrought articles of necessity and comfort for the sick and wounded, in field and hospital.
The wants of the soldiers were eagerly inquired into. Large supplies were contin- ually being contributed and forwarded where most needed, especially to those from Roch- ester, though their benefactions were not confined to our own boys, but with liberal hand were furnished to any whose necessi- ties they could relieve.
No appeal was made in vain. The inhabi- tants seemed to vie with each other in their 7
7.4
HISTORY OF
efforts to relieve the sufferings of the sol- diers. Numerous well filled boxes contain- ing pillows, bed-quilts, blankets, bed-ticks, puffs, linen and cotton sheets, pillow-cases, shirts, drawers, sacks, slippers, towels, hand- kerchiefs, bandages, lint, dried fruits, etc., etc. Anything that it was thought would contribute to the necessities and comfort of the sick and wounded, was freely contributed and forwarded to various destinations in the field, to the surgeons, to the hospital at Brattleboro, to the New England Women's Auxiliary Aid Association, and to the wife of our esteemed Representative in Congress, Mrs. Justin S. Morrill, at Washington. The value of the varied contributions forwarded by the Soldiers' Aid Society amounted to the sum of eight hundred and thirty-two dollars and sixty-four cents. Money was raised by the several religious societies, and from the schools in town, to the amount of two hun- dred and sixteen dollars and forty-nine cents, and forwarded to the Sanitary and Christian Commissions.
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ROCHESTER.
Drs. Huntington and Belknap, of this town, attended upon nearly all the sick and wounded who were allowed to come home on furlough, and furnished medical assis- tance free of charge, until they were able to return to duty in the field ; and their gener- ous aid was not confined to volunteers from this town, but extended to the suffering sol- diers in adjoining towns within the range of their extensive practice.
They also made several journeys to Wash- ington, to take charge of, and assist on their way home, those who could not have been conveyed without such care. Their gener- osity is worthy of all praise.
The record of Rochester during the war is a noble record, and the sacrifices made abundantly testify to the valor of her sons. It is from the daring, the truly brave, who were ever at their post when duty called, who shrank from no danger, who scrupled not at any sacrifice necessary, that the largest proportion of heroic dead are numbered ; and the sons of Rochester who have braved
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HISTORY OF
the toils and endured the hardships and perils of the war, have nobly, though dearly, won a title to that proud distinction. For full twenty-five per cent. of all that gallant band who went forth in the full vigor of man- hood, in the flush of health, and bouyant in spirit, have passed from earth. Their names are chiseled in enduring granite on the beautiful monument erected, in grateful re- membrance of their names and heroic deeds, by the town of Rochester.
Of those who live, a number are maimed for life, and our country owes to all who sur- vive, a debt of gratitude which can never be paid.
1865.
During this year the town purchased the new cemetery ground on the plateau of land a little over one-fourth of a mile south of the village, on the east side of the main road.
1867.
At the annual meeting holden March 5, the town " voted to procure and erect a sol.
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ROCHESTER.
dier's monument, the cost not to exceed the sum of fifteen hundred dollars."
1868.
The monument is of Vermont granite, from the quarry in the town of Barre. Being completed, it was erected in the Summer, on the centre of the Park in the village. It is about twenty-three feet in height, and is to be surmounted by an eagle of the same ma- terial, the whole being executed from a draft of the most approved pattern.
The following is a list of the names on the 1
monument.
Lieutenant Colonel Henry A. Eaton,
66 Ransom M. Towle,
Charles G. Newton,
Sergeant Varnum B. Whitney,
Erastus W. Ward,
Corporal Charles C. Beckwith,
Dexter Crossman, Joseph Huntington,
Norman A. Brink, William H. Jones,
Erastus S. Austin, Jacob Messer, Henry T. Goodyear, Delos Parmenter,
Theodore H. Hall, 7*
Franklin Pillsbury,
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HISTORY OF
Fred Richmond, Henry Simons, Ira A. Stevens, Harry A. Washburn, Charles F. Van Gilder, Edward Morse, Charles E. Alexander, Charles Morse, jun., Stillman B. Smith, Malcolm G. Kinsman, Volney R. Flanders, Elmer J. Leonard, Andre M. Washburn,
Charles J. Bisbee,
Willard J. Bisbee, Alfred M. Richardson, Nelson J. Thrasher,
George E. Whitcomb, George S. Laird, John F. Pearson, John O. Whitney, George Allen, Elbridge S. Williams, Charles A. Keith.
£
CONCLUSION.
N tracing the history of the town, and noting its progress from its first begin- ning, under all the difficulties with which the early settlers had to contend, through its various stages up to the present time, with its great facilities for the transaction of busi- ness in all its departments ; one cannot but wonder at the success which attended the efforts of those hardy pioneers in the wil- derness; and it is difficult at the present day, rightly to appreciate the sterling worth, the indomitable perseverance exercised, the patient endurance manifested, and the heroic efforts put forth to overcome the many ob- stacles in the way of their success.
Attention was early turned to the manu- facture of sugar from the sugar maple, which
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HISTORY OF
abounded in the forest, and was considered as the source from which all their sweets must flow. Their method of extracting the sap and making sugar was primitive. With some, in selecting a place for boiling, their first care was to find a suitable tree for a holder or reservoir for holding sap. White ash was preferred, but spruce would answer. If they could fall a tree in the right direc- tion, and so nearly level as to answer the purpose, without cutting it off, a great object was gained; but if they failed in this, a log was cut off, raised with a pry to the required level, and secured with blocks or stones. As it required a tree of the largest growth, they did not attempt to move it oth- erwise than to get it level. A huge trough was then dug out sufficient to hold, in some instances, fifty buckets of sap.
Others, in selecting a location, were anxious to find some giant tree which they could fall in a favorable position for boiling purposes, it being necessary in all cases to avoid low or wet places, and it was an object to get on
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ROCHESTER.
some knoll or swell of ground. Having a favorable position, a couple of forked stakes were stuck near the butt end, and a pole laid on from one to the other, from which to hang their kettles. The tree furnished a back-log to their fire, and as often as it burned through the stakes were moved along sufficient for another fire, and so on. Others still preferred a perpendicular ledge or rock, against which to make their fires, if they could find such a place in close prox- imity to their trees. Troughs were used to catch the sap. In making troughs for the purpose, trees of the right size to halve or split through the middle, each half being of suitable size for a trough, were selected. Balsam was preferred if it could be ob- tained. White ash was the next in prefer- ence. Spruce would answer, by burning or charring the ends, to prevent checking. In cutting the timber of suitable length for troughs, care was taken to cut the kerf so that each end would be alike. Having cut them and split through the middle, each half
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HISTORY OF
was dug out as smoothly as possible with an axe. When all was ready to " box the ma- ple," as it was termed, a cut was made in the tree with an axe at an angle slightly above the horizontal, and a chip taken out. Sometimes two cuts were made, the hewn points being nearly together.
Spouts were made of soft wood, not far from two inches in width, and worked out in a concave form on the upper side ; the end being brought to an edge, and made to con- form to the shape of the gouge used to make an incision in the bark for the reception of the spout, which incision was made just be- low the lowest point of the box or cut.
The method of boiling was to suspend their kettles from a pole with chains, then roll up huge logs as near the kettles as prac- ticable, and smaller wood was inserted under the kettles from the spaces at the end of the logs. Evaporation was rapid, but with such rude fixtures, it could not be expected that very nice sugar would be made. In color, the sugar was dark and forbidding; but
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ROCHESTER.
"sweet" was the main thing they were after, and that they obtained. When through for the season, the troughs had to be placed in low places, bottom side up, and the ends . covered with leaves to prevent cracking. Before Winter, with its snows again, made its appearance, the troughs had to be placed endwise against the trees where it was in- tended to use them the next season, in order that they could be found beneath the snow.
The scarcity of money, and the difficulty with which it was obtained, compelled them to almost entirely dispense with it as a cir- culating medium for the transaction of busi- ness, and led to a system of exchange of commodities or barter, the extent of which those of the present day can form no ade- quate idea.
The first article of commerce or that which supplied the place of a circulating medium was known as " Black Salts," the manufac- ture of which was entered into by nearly all the inhabitants.
In clearing land it was the practice care-
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HISTORY OF
fully to save the ashes, gathering and then covering with bark to protect them from rain. Many, after chopping a piece, logged it off, piling their logs and making it work for the winter season to burn them for ashes, while others made it a business to cut and burn for ashes at all seasons of the year.
Their method of manufacturing " black salts " was as follows : after gathering their ashes, they were leached by having a num- ber of leeches arranged in a row, and a long trough placed in front to collect and hold the ley from the several leeches.
The ley was then boiled down to a thick paste, and when of sufficient thickness, was taken from the kettle and cooled, and when thus prepared formed the leading article of commerce for a season, in fact, took the place of legal tender with the merchants, who took them freely in exchange for goods at the stores, and was for a season almost the only article that could command money, and that only in small sums. Merchants were in the habit of refining these "black salts," and
85
ROCHESTER.
forming "pearl-ash," then taking them to market to buy goods with.
Pearlash was kept by the merchants to sell to their customers for culinary purposes.
Potash was also manufactured, the process being somewhat different from the manufac- ture of pearl-ash. From twenty to twenty- five bushels of ashes, would make about one hundred pounds of black salts, which sold at from three and one-half to five, and some- times as high as six cents per pound.
As the land was cleared, wheat was sown and the land stocked with clover. The yield of wheat being as the area of the land cleared increased, there began to be surplus of wheat, which was increased from year to year, and with the clover seed raised, became promin- ent articles of export, adding considerable to the pecuniary resources of the town. Wheat and clover seed were transported by ox and horse teams to the city of Troy, N. Y., a distance of one hundred and ten miles, for a market.
Grain soon became current as a medium 8
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HISTORY OF
of exchange, and was generally received in payment of debts. Taxes were sometimes made payable in wheat. The salary of the minister was payable in wheat. Contracts for building bridges, &c., were made payable in wheat at a stipulated price, and in some instances, damages for non-fulfillment of con- tract were assessed in wheat. The culture of wheat at the present day is much neg- lected and tens of thousands of dollars are annually expended for flour to the shame of the agriculturist, for the soil which formerly yielded so abundantly of wheat, can, with proper culture, be made to yield it now, and the fact that there are individuals now living in town, who have lived long and been suc- cessful in life, who never bought a barrel of flour for use in their families, having always raised and now raise wheat sufficient, proves the correctness of the assertion.
As neat stock increased and became plenty it entered largely into the general exchange, and was soon current in the payment of debts. A large portion of accounts and contracts
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ROCHESTER.
were payable in neat stock, to be delivered on the first day of October, or grain de- livered the first of January. When pay- ment was made in neat stock, if the price could not be agreed upon between the par- ties, it was to be appraised by disinterested persons.
The first day of October became a day of considerable importance. Large numbers of cattle were driven to the village, as a general payment of debts contracted during the year were to be settled; consequently, quite a number of citizens were assembled, and it not unfrequently happened that a single lot of cattle would pass through the ownership of quite a number of individuals, each pay- ing a different debt, until at last it would appear that a single lot had paid from one to five or ten. It also furnished a good opportu- nity for those who wished to buy, as frequently those who took stock for debts were anxious to dispose of it at the first opportunity. It amounted, in fact, to a general market day, and the occasion was not suffered to pass un-
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HISTORY OF
. improved by those who wished to mismate or swap cattle, and it proved a great time for matching steers so that the day was one of excitement and lively interest. Since the railroads have made the markets easy of access, and a ready market is found for nearly all the products of the farm or shop, business transactions are carried on princi- pally in money. The period of "truck and dicker " seems nearly to have passed away. A cash value is affixed to all articles of com- merce, and horses, cattle, sheep, swine, wool, hops and sugar, form the principal articles of export, each bearing a cash market value.
Names of Representatives
From the organization of the Town, in 1788, to 1868.
1788 Enoch Emerson,
1808 Enoch Emerson,
1789
66
1809 Lemuel Richardson,
1790 66 66
1810
66
1791 Benj. Eastman,
1811
66
1792 Enoch Emerson,
1812 Enoch Emerson,
1793 66
66
1813 Oliver Mason,
1794 66
66
1814 66
66
1795 Benj. Eastman,
1815 66
66
1796 Enoch Emerson,
1816 Enoch Emerson,
1797
66
66
1817 Daniel Huntington,
1799
66
66
1819 William Powers,
1800
1820
66
. :
1801
66
1821
66
66
1802
66
66
1822 Enoch Emerson,
1803 66
66
1823 Ephraim D. Briggs,
1804
66
66
1824
66
1805
66
66
1825 Lyman Emerson,
1806
6.
66
1826
66
1807 Oliver Mason,
1827 Daniel Huntington,
1798
66
1818 Enoch Emerson,
90
NAMES OF REPRESENTATIVES.
1828 Lyman Emerson,
1849 John W. Chaffee,
1829
1850
1830 Ephraim D. Briggs, 1851 David Eaton,
1831 Stillman Emerson,
1852 66
1832 66 66
1853 William B. Henry,
1833 Lyman Emerson,
1854
1834 John Trask,
1855 James Wing,
1835 66 66
1856
1836 Joseph F. Tilden,
1857 Sumner A. Webber,
1837
66 66
1858 66 66
1838 John Trask,
1859 Joseph L. Morse,
1839 Thomas Barnes,
1860 66
1840 66 66
1861 Artemas Cushman,
1841 Barney Cooper,
1862
66
60
1842
66
1863 Wm. M. Huntington,
1843 Thomas B. Martin, 1864 "
1844
66
1865 Chester Pierce,
1845 Thomas B. Harvey, 1866
66
1846 William B. Henry,
1867 Chris. A. Webber,
1847 no choice,
1868 66
1848 James Wing, 2d,
APPENDIX.
Table showing the amount of Produce raised in 1868.
Hay,
6,749 tons.
Corn,
10,446 bushels.
Wheat,
884 1-2 "
India and Buck wheat, 2,697 "
Oats,
10,713
66
Rye,
269
66
Potatoes,
31,044
Apples,
11,907
66
Wool,
53,383 pounds.
Butter,
70,115
Cheese,
13,771
Honey,
2,278
66
Maple Sugar,
142,676
Hops,
43,944
66
·Valerian,
3,100
Amount of live stock, January 1, 1869 :
Number of Horse kind, 474
92
APPENDIX.
Number of Sheep,
9,889
Hogs, 173
Oxen over 3 years old, 205
66
Cows,
674
Cattle under 3 years old, 984
Population in 1790,
215
1800,
524
1810,
911
1820,
1148
66
1830,
1392
1840,
1396
1850,
1493
1860,
1509
1951
1
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