USA > Vermont > Addison County > Shoreham > History of the town of Shoreham, Vermont, from the date of its charter, October 8th, 1761, to the present time > Part 13
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In the year 1772, Ethan Allen and Seth Warner put up for the night at the house of Mr. Richards, * in Bridport. In the evening six soldiers from Crown Point, all armed, as were Allen and War- ner, stopped also for the night, having come with the intention of apprehending them, and securing the bounty which had been offered by the Governor of New York. Different versions have been given of the manner in which those two men effected their escape. One
*Richardson is said to have had a soldier's grant of one hundred acres in what is now Bridport, four miles south of the Fort at Crown Point. Of these grants, made for military service, under the crown, there were many on both sides of the Lake. The late Mrs. Markham of Middlebury, a s'ster of Judge Kellogg of Ti- conderoga, whose father, Benjamin Kellogg. settled in Addison about 1770, was, when very young, a foster child of the family, and for years afterwards a favorite with Kate Richar Ison, the warm hearted Irish wife of the soldier. During the war the family removed to St. Johns. Eli Roberts of Vergennes, is sometimes said to have been Allen's companion in the adventure,
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is, that being lighted to bed, they passed out at a window; the other, that Mrs. Richards set the guns of Allen and Roberts by the side of a window, with their hats placed on them. While the lady was busy about the house and the company engaged in conversation, Allen stepped out without taking either hat or gun, and in a short time Warner followed in the same manner, without attracting atten- tion. In a short time the Yorkers remarked to each other, "They hav'nt their hats ; they hav'nt their guns," and went to talking again. As they did not return, they at length examined into the matter, and found both hats and guns gone. The latter is the ver- sion of the story as given by Moore to his family and to others, and is probably the true one. Whatever might have been the way in which they effected their escape, they fled immediately to Moore's in Shoreham, who hospitably furnished them with bear's meat for supper, and with a bed of corn stalks, in another apartment, to sleep on. The next day with the daring and jubilant spirit of the men and times, outlaws, as they had been proclaimed to be, and the Yorkers seeking for them every where, they went out into the pas- ture and fired at a mark, each report of their guns saying as loud as it could speak, " Here we are, and enjoying ourselves finely too; come and take us if you can."
The cause of Mr. Moore's lameness which prevented him from engaging in the active duties of the soldier's life, as related by his children, and others who had heard the story from him, was this. He was sawing alone in his mill, and while attempting to run the carriage back, his ancle was caught by the saw block, and badly broken. As he could avail himself of no assistance, he crawled out of the mill and called to him his mare, which was accustomed to come to him on hearing her name pronounced. He mounted her and rode to his house a half a mile distant, and as there was no surgeon near, he afterwards rode to Vergennes, or to Crown Point, it is uncertain which, and had it set by a doctor, whom he after- ward called a butcher. It was so badly managed, that the main bone, and part of the shin bone, came out below his knee, and a new substance formed. This accident made him a cripple for life, though it did not wholly incapacitate him for labor. In the latter
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years of his life, it became much more troublesome, and before his death, the foot and ancle were separated entirely from the leg.
Mr. Moore was twice taken captive by the Indians, during the war of the Revolution.
The first winter after the other inhabitants left, he and Elijah Kellog lived together in the same log hut. Early the next winter, there were a few soldiers, probably a scouting party, who turned in to spend the night with him. A large party of Indians surrounded the honse, which Moore and the men defended. The night was very dark, and while the Indians surrounded the house so as to ren- der escape impossible, Moore slipped outside, and took a side shot at them, by which it was thought two of their number were killed, from traces of blood which appeared upon the ground in the morning. When day light came, a large body of the Indians broke down the door, and rushed into the house. One of their chiefs, whom Moore had known, rushed toward him, as if to kill him. He at once bared Iris bosom, and looking him in the face, dared him to strike. Another chief interfered, and proposed to burn him. The Indians had previously taken his horse, and had put on the saddle and bridle. Before starting they had a dispute about the ownership of the property, one claiming the horse, another the saddle, and another the bridle. One finally took the horse, and mounted it, with a strip of bark for a bridle ; another took the saddle and carried it on his back, and a third person took the bridle in his hand, and set forward on their march, after having set fire to Moore's house, and burnt the saw-mill, and killed his hogs. The singular appearance of a man riding without a saddle and bridle, and the other two carrying those two articles in triumph, made the old sailor laugh. In this way they proceeded on with the prisoner. Pretending to be more lame than he was, they finally put him on the horse, and the same day they arrived at Crown Point, and encamped for the night. Some of the young men were set to guard him, but as he was lame they did not take the precaution to bind him. Being weary, his guard fell asleep. Moore regarding this as a favorable opportunity to escape, took his gun and blanket, and some Canada biscuit, and set off for the lake, in a direction different from that in which he
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came, through a thick growth of young saplings, bringing into exercise his sailor habits, making his way for some distance by swinging along from one sapling to another, without touching the ground, until at length he reached the lake. There was at that time snow on the ground, but none on the ice upon the lake. On the shore there was a log reaching out to the ice, he placed himself upon this, and put on his creepers, and walked down the log, and jumped off on the glare ice, leaving no tracks behind him by which he could be traced. After walking far on the ice, he came to one of those cracks which are made by the change of temperature between day and night, being open in the day, and slightly frozen over in the night. Not being able to cross there, he made marks upon the ice with his creepers, and then took them off, and follow- ing down the crack, until he could step across, he went back on the other side until he had arrived opposite to the marks he had made, as if he had crossed there, and putting on his creepers again he walked off just out of gun shot, and lay down on his blanket as if asleep. When the Indians awoke in the morning, and discovered Moore had escaped, they sent two or three of their number in pur- suit. On coming to the crack in the ice where Moore had made the marks, they concluded if he had passed over at that place safely, it would be safe for them to pass. One attempted it and fell in, when Moore with his long gun shot one, and reloaded and shot the other. Having thus disposed of his pursners, he came to the lake shore in Bridport, so weary that he could go no further. There he concealed himself under a stack of straw, and slept through the night. On awaking the next morning, he was pleased on finding that as it had snowed during the night, no other party could follow his tracks. From thence he proceeded to the place of his former residence, dug out his dried beef from the snow and fled for safety to Brown's camp, which was situated near Miller's bridge in Sudbury, on a high rock nearly perpendicular on the east side, from the base of which issues a large spring. He returned the next season early, and built him a log house.
Some time in the year 1780, as nearly as can now be ascertained, Mr. Moore went on business to the Scotch settlement, at the outlet of
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Lake George, where he was taken by a band of Tories and Indians. He was told by them that his head would be a button for a halter, because he had killed the Indians who were sent after him the year before. He was taken by them to Quebec, and held a prisoner for about six months. While there he learned of the Squaws to make baskets. He sold his rations to them, and got them to sell his baskets, by which means he purchased milk and such other food as he could eat. While there he wrote a letter to the provincial Gov- ernor, requesting new straw and more blankets for himself and the other prisoners, who were suffering. The Governor sent him an unkind answer, accusing him of impudence. A second letter of Moore, in terms still more decided and bold, induced the Governor to send the straw and blankets.
During his captivity, Mr. Moore wrote a letter to Gov. Chitten- den, giving an account of the suffering condition of the prisoners. This, with an application of their friends, induced the Governor to send a flag, with a letter to the commanding officer in Canada, requesting their release or exchange. A favorable answer was returned by Gen. Haldimand, who came up Lake Champlain with great force, and sent a flag at the same time to Ethan Allen, pro- posing a cessasion of hostilities with Vermont, during the negotia- tion for the exchange of prisoners. This proposal was acceded to by Allen, on condition that the adjacent territory of New York should be included. Early in 1781, Ira Allen was appointed to settle a cartel with the British for an exchange of prisoners. This was effected, and Moore and his fellow prisoners were released, and an arrangement was entered into between the authorities of Ver- mont and Canada, by which hostilities ceased to a very great extent, and an army of ten thousand men in Canada was kept in a state of inactivity for the space of nearly three years. If that force had been sent forward to co-operate with the British army in New York, the result of the effort to establish American Independence might have failed entirely, or have been delayed to a longer period.
That Paul Moore was looked to by his fellow prisoners as the most suitable person to be employed to write to Gov. Chittenden on their behalf, there can scarcely be a question. He was personally
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acquainted with Allen, and other leading men in Vermont at that day. He was a conspicuous character at that time for his boldness and intrepidity, and probably better qualified to conduct such a correspondence than any other one of the prisoners. Many of his letters were preserved for years by his friends, addressed to his brother James Moore, then living in Massachusetts, in which he described many of his exploits and sufferings ; but they are now irrecoverably lost. They are said by those who have read them, to have been written in excellent penmanship, and in vigorous style. He is described by the surviving members of his family, and others who knew him, " as a man of more than ordinary mind, of a good practical education, as well read, and a close observer of men and things ; and though brave and daring, his sympathies were easily awakened, and he was generous even to a fault." The part which he performed in writing to Gov. Chittenden, and his correspondence with his friends, to enlist them in efforts to obtain a release from captivity, formed an element in that chain of causes, whch secured to this nation the recognition of its independence. On his return from captivity, it is said that he revisited the place of his former residence, and in taking a survey of the desolations around him, as he walked up back from his former dwelling, he fixed his eye on a singular looking object, which upon more careful observation he found to be a colt, which being very poor, presented a nondescript appearance, its hair shaggy, and lying in every direction ; and at a little distance from the colt, what should he see, but his old pet mare. Ile called her by her name, and as soon as she heard the old familiar voice, she ran to her master, and laid her head on his shoulder as if she would most fondly embrace him, who was dead but now alive. This affected him to tears. The old favorite beast, that he thought had perished, had not only supported herself by pawing through the snow for grass, but had sustained the life of the strange looking colt, which was seen by her side.
Moore's life was one of bold adventure, and marked with singular perils and vicissitudes. While at sea, it is said he often made a competence and lost it again. More than once he suffered shipwreck with the loss of all he had. He was in perils in the wildnerness,
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both by savage beasts, and more savage men. It is said there were, among the papers which he left. several letters from a lady, to whom he had been warmly attached for thirty years, and though more than once they were just on the eve of marriage, yet on account of his frequent losses, the matter was deferred and never consumma- ted. He lived to an advanced period of life a bachelor, and was married when past fifty years of age. He was once a large pro- prietor of lands, which if he had retained, 'would have made him wealthy. Some of these he gave away at an early day, as an inducement to settlement, and others he sold for a merely nominal sum. His sacrifices of time and property for the sake of the pub- lic welfare, and the expences of a long sickness preceding his death, left little for his family, consisting of a wife and four children. He died in 1810 aged 79.
Colonel JOSIAH POND, was one of the most eminent and influential men among the early settlers of this town. He was born in Brad- ford, Conn., and from thence came to Lenox, Mass., and from Lenox to Poultney, Vt. At the age of twenty-six he came to this town, in 1783. He possessed niany of those qualities, both physical and mental, which at first sight attract attention. He was tall in per- son, over six feet high, of a large robust frame, erect in stature, and with features indicating a noble and generous disposition, and at the same time an ability to command. He possessed a sound judgment, united with uncommon energy and perseverance, tempered with prudence and discretion. These qualities secured to him some of the most important offices in the town, at an early day. He was the first militia Captain, and was the Colonel of the first regiment of militia in Addison County. He was chosen to represent the town in the General Assembly in 1788, and was the second person elected to that trust in town. Six times his fellow citizens con- ferred on him the honor of that office. In 1791, he represented the town in the General Convention, called by the Council of Censors for revising the Constitution of the State. He was at the Battle of Bennington, and served his country for a few months after in the army of the Revolution. He became a member of the Congrega- tional Church, in 1810, and was soon after chosen one of its deacons,
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and until made infirm by age, was active in all the concerns of the church and society. He died in this town August 8th, 1840, aged 83.
JAMES MOORE, from Worcester, Mass., spent much time in this town, both before and after the Revolution, with his brother Paul Moore, in catching beaver. Ile made considerable improvements, and built a house and represented the town, before he brought his family, in 1787. That he was held in high estimation by his fel- low citizens, appears from the fact, that he was their choice first for representative of the town, and was thrice chosen to that office afterwards. He was for several years select man, and Justice of the Peace. He was confided in as a man of superior discretion and judgment, and maintained the character of a peace-maker, and con- sistent christian. IIe took a deep interest in the settlement and prosperity of the town, was a liberal patron of civil and religious institutions, and before his death bequeathed the sum of one hun- dred and fifty dollars to the Congregational Society.
The records, kept by him for many years while he was Justice of the Peace, confirm what is elsewhere said respecting the frequency of suing for small demands, and the large number of petty law- suits previous to 1800. During the years 1794, and 1795, suits were brought before him for a considerable portion of the time, as often as once in four or five days, and in a majority of cases for sums ranging from one shilling and six pence to eight shillings. It was Esqr. Moore's practice, in all cases of litigation which came before him, to endeavor before the trial to effect a settlement, and generally he succeeded. In order to effect his object, he would kindly advise the parties, and suggest terms of reconciliation, after propo- sing to relinquish his own fees if the parties would agree to a set- tlement before trial. To show the confidence which was placed in his judgment and integrity, it may be stated that in only one case among many tried by him in two years, did I find on a hasty peru- sal of the record, was a jury called for. He was regarded by all as eminently a peace maker. He was quick of perception, kind and genial in his dispositoin, benevolent to the poor, sometimes facetious in conversation, sound in judgment, and regarded by all
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as a consistent christian, and a worthy member of the church, with which he united in 1810.
Esqr. Moore had a poetic turn of mind, and often indulged in his leisure hours in writing short pieces of poetry, on a great variety of subjects, most of which are irrecoveraby lost. Only a few verses have I been able to obtain, from the recollections of others, which, like most which he wrote, were of a humorous character.
The following scene is thus described by him. John Smith, who went by the name of "Hatter Smith," one day shot a fox, and thought he would have a little sport with three young men, who were engaged by him in building a house. As they had to pass a pair of bars on their way home, after their day's work was done, Smith took the dead fox, and placed his head between two of the bars, in such a position as to face them on their approach. Their names were Joshua Johnson, John Smith Jr., called little John, and David Pratt. On coming in sight of the bars, espying Rey- nard, and supposing hiim alive, they consulted how they might take him. The manner in which they proceeded to get him is thus hu- morously described by Esqr. Moore, only partially, because two or three of the stanzes, cannot be recalled to the memory of the person, who furnishes the following :
Three valiant folks once saw a fox, Caught in a pair of bars, Two did not run, it was such fun. Each was a son of Mars.
John being spry, he first came nigh, And seized him by the tail, The next came on was little John, Whose courage did not fail.
David they say did sheer away, For fear the fox would bite, He curst and swore, and did no more, He was in such a fright.
When home they'd got and found him shot, They hung their heads in a pout ; The family all both great and small, Did raise a hearty shout.
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At an early day it was the custom in the district in which Esqr. Moore lived, to close the school by a public exhibition, in which dialogues and single pieces, either original or selected, were spoken by the scholars. He had two daughters in the school, one about five and the other seven years old. As they were both bright scholars, he wished that they should have some part assigned them in the exhibition, and the little girls expressed their father's desire to the teacher, who declined on the ground that they were too young, to their great disappointment. On being told the result of their application to take parts in the exhibition, Esqr. Moore sat down in the evening and wrote two pieces for the little girls, and sent them next day to the teacher, who readily assigned them as parts in the exhibition, and they were so well spoken as greatly to amuse the audience.
The closing part of one of the little performers, was as follows :
As learning is my chief delight 'Twas that which brought me here, And those who think I am not right, I wish they'd disappear.
But those that with me do agree And think me not a fool, I wish they constant here might be Or in some other school.
For learning serves to make us bold And scares away our fright, So all of those who me behold, I wish you now good night. 21
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CHAPTER XXVII.
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES CONTINUED-THOMAS ROWLEY, ESQ., THE POET.
THOMAS ROWLEY was originally from Hebron, Conn. He came first to Danby, some time before 1769, and was somewhat conspicu- ous as one of the leading men in resisting the New York claimants. He was the first town clerk of the town of Danby in 1769, and was its first representative. He also represented that town in the State Legislature, twice in 1778, also in 1779, 1780, and in 1783 was chairman of the Committee of Safety. He lived also for a time in Rutland, and was first Judge of the special court for the county of Rutland, elected by the people. He was associated with Chit- tenden, Allen and Warner, that noble band of men, who acted so conspicuous a part in vindicating the rights of the people against the aggressions of New York ; and participated largely in the delib- crations of those who declared Vermont a free and independent State, and aided in forming its first constitution. While a member of the General Assembly, he was appointed to serve on the most important committees ; and frequently he was made chairman when a resolution was referred with instructions to report a bill. He came to this town before the Revolution, in what year it is impos- sible now to ascertain, but as early as 1774, and settled first at Larabee's Point, and with his son Thomas, belonged to Allen's party. He returned to Danby in 1775, and remained there till near the close of the war. He then returned to the farm at Lara- bee's Point, on which he had settled before the Revolution. The place for some years was called Rowley's Point. He built there
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two log houses, and made some improvement. He lived there with his son Nathan for several years, and about 1790, settled on the place now owned by Lot Sanford.
Daniel Chipman, in his life of Warner, states that " in the Sum- mer of 1775, a man by the name of John Hart, went to Albany and took out a capias against another man by the name of Roger Williams, also of Danby, and put it into the hands of a deputy sheriff, who with Hart, and some assistants from New York, arres- ted Williams in his bed, and started for Albany City Hall. An alarm was immediately given, and settlers in Danby and Tinmouth were one after another armed, mounted and in eager pursuit of the Yorkers, whom they overtook at White Creek, (now Salem, N. Y.) and brought back, Hart among the number. The Committee of Safety had previously assembled with a great concourse of Green Mountain Boys, myself among the number. As soon as the shouts which burst forth on the arrival of the prisoners had subsided, and the echoes from the mountains had died away, the Judges took their scats on the bench in the bar-room, the prisoner was arraigned, and without loss of time convicted ; and by Thomas Rowley, chairman of the committee, was sentenced to receive thirty-nine stripes, with the beach seal on the naked back." "As this was the first punishment of the kind which I ever witnessed, I felt it was inflicted with the most cruel severity."
He was clerk of the Proprietors of Shoreham till 1786, then Town Clerk two years, and surveyor to set off the Proprietors' rights, and surveyor of the town, several years after it was organi- sed. He had then arrived at that age when men usually cease to be active in public affairs, and afterwards held no important office in this town. For several years he led a quiet and peaceful life in this town, till about 1800, when worn out with age an infirmities he went to reside with his son Nathan, at a place called Cold Spring, in the town of Benson, where he died about 1803.
His remains were interred in a small burying ground, which once constituted a part of his own farm, which was given by him to his son Thomas. There is a small stone erected to his memory which
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records nither the day of his birth nor that of his death, nor his age when he died.
In the early vigor of life he acted no unimportant part in the history of Vermont, among its public men ; but he was chiefly dis- tinguished in those times as a wit and poet. If Ethan Allen roused up every Green Mountain Boy in his log cabin, and called him forth armed to the teeth, in defence of his hearth and home, by the vehemence of his appeals in his homely prose, Rowley set the mountaius on fire by the inspiration of his musc. The writings of both were circulated every where among the people. Though much of the success which attended the efforts of the friends of Vermont against New York, is now attributed to the writings of Ethan Allen, it is by no means certain that Rowley's poetry, which was every where read and every where sung, effected less. The stir- ring appeals of the former have been carefully collected and made permanent in history, and his name rendered imperishable in the annals of his country ; the poems of the latter, nearly faded out of the memory of men, mostly scattered and lost, his verse and name are almost forgotten and unknown.
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