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 24
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Johns; from thenee they were marched to Sorel, and it was the in- tention of the captors to have continued their march down the St. Lawrence to Quebec. At Sorel they crossed the St. Lawrence, and soon after a heavy snow storm came on, which making it impossible to continue the march, trains were seized in all directions, and on these they were driven to Quebec. Here they were confined in pris- on. Soon after some of them having contrived to escape, they were divided, and about one hundred of them were sent down the river one hundred miles and employed in getting out timber for building barracks. Mr. Ferris and his son were sent among this number in the month of January 1779. In the spring following nine of thep ris- oners, among whom were Mr. Ferris and his son, seized a batteau in the night, in which they crossed to the east side of the river, where it was fifteen miles wide. On landing they set the batteau adrift, separated into two parties, and made the best of their way up the river. They had brought provisions with them, and avoid- ing the settlements, and traveling only in the night, the party, with which the two Ferrises remained, arrived opposite the Three Rivers on the fourth day. They crossed in the night, but were discovered and retaken. The remainder of the party did not get so far, hay- ing been retaken by a body of Indians in the neighborhood of Que- bec. The party of the Ferrises were put into jail at Three Rivers, where they remained eighteen months. During this time they made one attempt to escape, but were discovered and were then placed in a dungeon for seventy-two days. At this time the father and son were separated.
" Squire Ferris, the son, describes the dungeon where he was confined, as an apartment eight feet by ten, and so low that he could not stand up in it, and that the one occupied by his father adjoined it, and was of the same character. The only light was admitted by a small hole about eight by ten inches in size, which was crossed by iron grates. The hole which admitted this light was level with the ground, and the water from the caves of the jail poured through it into the dungeon, whenever it rained. The straw given them to sleep on was frequently wet in this way, and the confined air, dampness and filth, not to be avoided, made their suffer-
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ings of the severest kind. While they were confined here, another place was prepared for them, to which they were transferred after the dungeon suffering of seventy-two days. This place was oppo- site the guard room, and upon being removed to it, they were told, ' you damned rebels, you can't get out of this.' Here the father and son were again put together in the same room. The place was not however so impregnable as was supposed, for in about six weeks the prisoners made an excavation under the wall, in the night, and made their escape. There were six prisoners in the room at this time. Upon escaping, the parties separated, Mr. Ferris and his son remaining together. They went up the river nearly opposite Sorel, where, two days afterwards, they crossed the St. Lawrence in a canoe, and took to the woods. Their design was to reach New Hampshire, but having lost their way in the woods they struck Missisque River, down which they went a few miles, and were again retaken by a British guard, who were with a party getting out timber, and by them were carried again prisoners to St. Johns. They were taken twenty-one days after their escape, and had been nineteen days in the woods, during all which time they had only a four pound loaf of wheat bread, one pound of salt beef and some tea for food. They made their tea in a tin quart cup, and produced fire by a flint and the blade of a jack-knife. For four days before they were retaken, they had nothing for food but tea, and were so weak they could hardly walk. The forces at St. Johns were then commanded by Col. St. Leger, a brutal drunk- ard, who ordered the prisoners to be ironed together, and put them in a dungeon for fourteen days. At the end of which time, and ironed hand in hand to each other, they were sent to Chamblee, and from there by the rivers Sorel and St. Lawrence to Quebec. At Quebec they were returned to their old prison, in which they remained until June 1782, when they were brought from thence to Whitehall and there exchanged for British prisoners. From their capture to their exchange was three years and eight months.
After the escape of the Ferrises from below Quebec, the prisoners, which remained in prison at Quebec were divided, and a part placed on board a prison ship in the river. Soon afterward, camp fever, as
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it was then called, broke out among them, and many of them died. Of the two hundred and forty-four prisoners taken in the neighbor- hood of Lake Champlain, in November 1778, and carried to Canada in the schooners Maria and Carleton, only forty-eight were known to have returned. The elder Ferris died in the year 1811, at the age of ninety-two; and of the other forty-seven, Squire Ferris, of Vergennes, his son and fellow prisoner, is supposed to be the only survivor. * Several of these prisoners received pensions from the general Government, but Squire Ferris, their companion in sufferings, though poor and needy, and though an applicant for many years, has never received the bounty of his country." Besides those mentioned above, the following persons, of whose captivity we have no definite information, were taken and carried to Quebec at the same time : Benjamin Kellogg and Joseph Everest, of Addison.
1
Major Orin Field, of Cornwall, has furnished us with a detailed and interesting account of the capture and imprisonment of the late Benjamin Stevens, of that town, as he received it from Mr. Stevens, a relative, in whose family he resided. He was captured with three others, in a boat on Lake Champlain, near Split Rock, in Charlotte, in May, 1779. Being pursued by the tories and Indians from the shore, and one of the men, Jonathan Rowley, being killed by a shot from the pursuers, they surrendered. Ste- vens was then seventeen years old and resided in Rutland County. He not then residing in this County, and therefore not strictly within our province, we give only an abstract of Major Field's narrative. The prisoners were taken to Chamblee, " thrust into a small prison, ironed two together and fed for nine days on no other food than dry peas uncooked. From thence they were taken to Quebec, where Mr. Stevens spent three New Year's days in one room."' Twice they made their escape, and after traveling a long time in a destitute and suffering condition, at one time in the dead of winter, and a part of the time living on roots and the bark of trees, until one of the party died, they were retaken and recommitted, and in June, 1782, were exchanged at Whitehall. Mr. Stevens settled in Cornwall in 1792, and died June 16, 1815, aged 53 years.
* SQUIRE FERRIS died at Vergennes, March 17, 1849, aged $7 years.
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HISTORY OF ADDISON COUNTT.
CHAPTER IX.
AGRICULTURE-WHEAT-TRANSITION FROM GRAIN TO STOCK-SHEEP.
THE tract of land west of the mountains, embracing the valleys of Lake Champlain and Otter Creek, when first cleared up, was as celebrated for the production of wheat as Western New York has since been. It was the principal staple among the productions of the County. The following facts will give some idea of the value of this crop. At the close of the last war with Great Britain, the people of the County were almost hopelessly in debt. At the June term of the County Court in 1817, the number of civil causes en- tered at that term, amounted to more than five hundred, and nearly all for the collection of debts. This pressure of indebtedness was wholly relieved by the crops of wheat raised in the County. The very cold, dry and unproductive season of 1816, had rather in- creased than diminished the pressure. But the following season of 1817, brought to the relief of the farmers more luxuriant crops, especially of wheat, than any other within our recollection. The excessive drouth of 1816 had prepared the stiffest soils to be thoroughily pulverized by tilling. Large fields were sown; the season, with its gentle and frequent showers and genial sunshine, was most favorable, and the crops singularly abundant. The winter following, the price of wheat in Troy, the principal market, was from two dollars to two dollars and twenty-five cents a bushel ; the sleighing was excellent, and was faithfully and industriously improved by the farmers, and the large returns brought great relief to them. The favorable crops which followed had, three years after, in June, 1820, reduced the whole number of new causes entered, to ninety-eight.
But the insects, rust and frost have, in late years, greatly dimin-
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ished the crop and discouraged the farmers. But it is thought the farmers might, without much trouble, raise sufficient for the bread of the County, if they did not choose to direct their attention to more profitable husbandry. Good crops of corn and potatoes, and large crops of beets, carrots and other roots for stock are produced, and the latter are becoming common among the farmers. Except on the hills and rising grounds, the soil is generally too stiff to be advantageously cultivated for these crops. But most farmers have patches of land suitable for raising them in sufficient quantities for their own use. Oats are produced on almost any of the lands, which the farmers have courage to till sufficiently. Ryc, barley and buckwheat are also raised to some extent.
But the soil of the County is best adapted to the production of grass and the raising of stock. And no County perhaps, in this or any other State can exhibit & finer or more abundant display of horses, cattle or sheep. It is the common opinion of farmers, that grass, grown on the clay or marl lands of the County, is much more nutricious, than that which is grown on lighter soils. The editor of the Albany Cultivator, in the number for July, 1845, after visiting Addison County, says : " Judging from appearances, it is our opinion, that we have never seen any other land, which is capable of sustaining as much stock to the acre." "Stock of all kinds will and do actually fatten on this hay. It is a fact that oxen bought in the fall, in only store condition, if properly sheltered and fed on this hay, become in the spring fit for slaughter, and are sent to Brighton market without any other feeding." For this reason, and because of the failure of the wheat crop, the farmers have, for the last twenty or thirty years, directed their attention to the raising of stock, and especially of sheep. One evil has resulted from this change in the agriculture of the County. The business of grazing requires large farms to satisfy the ambition of the enterprising ; and the large profits have enabled the more wealthy to crowd out the smaller land owners and send them to the west. The result has been, that, in several of the principal agricultural towns, the number of the farmers, and of course of the population has con- siderably diminished.
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Instead of going into a detailed history of the transition from the former to the present branch of agriculture; or the cause of the change, we take the liberty to quote several passages from an excellent "address delivered at the annual fair of the Addison County Agricultural Society, October 1st, 1844," by Hon. Silas HI. Jenison, late governor of the State, then a resident of Shore- ham, but since deceased. Ho was a practical farmer and well acquainted with the subject.
Referring to the earliest history of agriculture in the County he says : " Among other products of the soil, it was found as favora- ble to the production of wheat as any other section of the country then open to the agriculturist. Wheat consequently early became the staple product of the county." " Addison County became noted for the quantity and quality of the wheat. The whole force of the farm was directed to the increase of this crop." "During the third period of ten years, extending to 1820, the high price of wheat continued to influence the business of the farmer. Many fields had been by successive cropping, exhausted of their native fertility. Wheat, when sowed to the extent it had been raised for years before, became a less profitable crop. Farmers were awaking to the importance of manuring their old fields." And this conviction, Governor Jenison represents, was a reason that the farmers gave more attention to the raising of cattle for the purpose of providing manure for their wheat crops, and he adds :
" The number and quality of our cattle was increased and im- proved. With many farmers, the raising of cattle for market became the leading business. The cattle from the County began to be prized in market, and Addison became as noted for the excel- lence of its cattle, as for its wheat. The excellent grazing qualities of the soil were known and appreciated. Indeed, I have heard it remarked, that the butchers of Brighton could distinguish, by the appearance and feel, the fat cattle from this part of Vermont, from those in market from other places; and that cattle from this part of the State, of the same apparent flesh, had the preference with them, opening better, having a greater quantity of tallow and beef of superior quality and flavor."
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" A circumstance, referable to this period, has had great influence on the subsequent pursuits and prosperity of the farming interest of the County. Several individuals, awakened to the wants and capabilities of the country, by privations and embarrassments expe- rienced during the interruption of our commerce with foreign countries before and during the war with Great Britain, did, at great expense, and incurring the penalty of all innovators-being laughed at by their neighbors-introduced into the County the Merino sheep. Among thie foremost in this beneficent work, were Refine Weeks, Daniel Chipman, George Cleveland, and Horatio Seymour."
"During the next period of ten years, bringing us to 1830, the agriculture of the County appears to have been in a transition state." "While some of the farmers had, as a main business of the farm, embarked in rearing cattle, and others in increasing their sheep, many had not abandoned the idea, that wheat might still be a staple product of the County for exportation. They still per- sisted in the business, notwithstanding the increasing failures of the crop, caused by the exhaustion of the soil, ravages of the Hessian fly, spring killing, blight or rust. But in 1827 or 1828, an ene- my to the wheat erops appeared, which baffled all the efforts of the farmer to evade. The insect commonly, but improperly, called the weevil-that name belonging to an insect that preys on the wheat after it is fully ripened and harvested. The insect alluded to is a small, orange-colored maggot, and commits its depredations on the berry, while in the milky state, leaving the head and almost disap - pearing from the grain, when ripe. By a late writer in the Cul- tivator, it is called the wheat midge. As early as 1829, its rav- ages had increased so that, in some towns, in the County, scarcely a field escaped."
" When the wheat crop failed, those engaged in the business had to resort to some other branch of farming. The tenacious quality of much of the soil of the County, forbid the cultivation of hoed crops, and the raising of pork, as a substitute. I have before remarked, that the Merino sheep had been spread through the County with wonderful rapidity. Indeed, so rapidly was the char-
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acter of the flocks changed, that as early as 1824, in many towns, a considerable flock of native sheep could not be found. "
Of the raising of horses, as a department of agriculture, Gov. Jenison has not particularly treated. In what we have further to say. we propose to speak, separately of sheep, horses and cattle. And first of
SUEEP.
In the address from which we have so largely quoted, Governor Jenison says, "The increased prices obtained for wool, and the avidity with which it was sought in market, after the passage of the tariff act of 1828, pointed to that business as more lucrative than any other. A majority of the farmers eagerly engaged in increasing their flocks of sheep. The result has been, that Addi- son County had in 1840, in proportion either to territory or popula- tion, a greater number of sheep, and produced more wool than any other county in the United States. To show the truth of this remark, I refer to facts drawn from the statistical tables ac- companying the census returns of 1840, and from other sources. There are nine States which had more than one sheep to each in- habitant, to-wit : Pennsylvania, Virginia, Maine, Kentucky, Con- necticut and Ohio, with a portion more than one ; New Hampshire and New York had about two and one-fourth, and Vermont had five and three-fourths to each inhabitant. Should territory be regarded, Vermont will be found to have 185, New York 112, and New Hampshire 65 to the square mile."
" Addison County, when compared with the other counties in the State, will be found to have eleven and six-hundredths, Rut- land eight and cighty-five hundredths, Grand Isle seven and four hundredths, and Bennington six and nineteen hundredths to cach inhabitant. If territory be regarded, Addison has three hundred and seventy-three, Grand Isle three hundred and thirty-four, Rutland two hundred and eighty-three, Windsor two hundred and sixty-one, Orange two hundred and forty and Chittenden two hun- dred and twenty-one to a square mile." "This array of figures is no idle speculation. They represent facts, which show the immense
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stake the farmers of Addison County possess in this branch of husbandry."
If we had the time and the resolution, we should like to draw a similar comparison from the census of 1850. But we have neither. In order, however, to give as good an idea as we are able, of what has been and is the amount of transactions in this department, wo have collected from a few of the principal farmers, who are engaged in this business, some facts relating to their operations. The design of them all has been to improve their flocks, as well by breeding as purchasing, that they may be able to supply the market with the best wool and best sheep-
Rollin J. Jones, Esq., of Cornwall, having decided in 1844, to engage in sheep husbandry, proceeded to make careful selections from several of the best pure blood Spanish Merino flocks in New England, in every instance paying for a first choice. In his first purchase, hic expended about two thousand dollars. From these have been bred his present flock, and those he has sold of that breed. And his experience in breeding this class of sheep, has more and more confirmed him as to their value. Sales have been made of these in most of the New England, Middle and Western States. In many places, where they have been introduced, they have ob- tained premiums at State and County fairs over numerous compet- itors. In 1849, S. B. Rockwell, Esq., of the same place, now re- siding in Middlebury, became associated with him as a partner.
Messrs. Jones and Rockwell, since their connection, have been em- inently successful. In 1852, owing to repeated applications for French Sheep, which had been introduced into the country about six years before, they invested in the purchase of these shecp $2,200 ; a part of which included a first choice from the flock of Merrill Bingham. These sheep, they say, were the most perfect of the kind they had ever seen. In 1853, they purchased of Soloman W. Jewett, of Weybridge, one entire shipment of French Sheep, imported by him in April of that year. These purchases, with some subsequently made, cost $18,000. For several years previous to the spring of 1855, when this information was communicated, their annual sales varied from eight to twelve thousand dollars. For
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HISTORY OF ADDISON COUNTY.
the eighteen months next preceding, they amounted to $36,000. They have been in the practice, as many of the principal dealers have heen, of taking their sheep for sale to the Western States, es- pecially to Ohio. Their flock on hand, at the date above mentioned, numbered six hundred, one half imported French Merinos, and their descendants. They have a high opinion of the French as well as Spanish Merinos, and think a cross between these breeds would be advantageous.
William R. Sanford, Esq .. of Orwell, and Messrs. William S. and Edwin Hammond of Middlebury, have, for several years, been extensively engaged in breeding and dealing in sheep. For our convenience we treat of the operations of these parties together, as they have been, to some extent, connected, and much of our infor- Ination relating to both, has been obtained from Edwin Hammand, Esq. They both breed the pure Spanish Merinos, descendants of the flock, which Col. Humphreys, who was at the time American Minister to Spain, imported into Connecticut in 1802, or of the flocks, which William Jarvis, Esq., then American Consul in Spain, imported in 1809, 1810 and 1811. These they greatly prefer to any more recently imported, or to any other breed. The usual flock of Mr. Sanford numbers from 250 to 500. Messrs. Hammond's flock, at this time, (1855) numbers 400, including lambs. The sales of both have been uniformly made at home.
In a communication from Mr. Sanford, published in the Albany Cultivator, for September 18-44, he says : "In 1829, I purchased of Messrs. Grant and Jenison of Walpole, N. II., twenty old full blood Merino ewes, which were purchased by them, when lambs, of Hon. Mr. Jarvis, and warranted full blood. These I have kept dis- tinct and pure, and from them have reared a flock. The cwes yield an average of four pounds and over to the fleece of clean, hand- some wool. Messrs. Grant and Jenison, bought these sheep from Mr. Jarvis before the Saxony sheep were introduced into the coun- try, and were of course pure; and since I have had them, I have taken a good deal of pains and trouble to keep them so. I have purchased three superior bucks from Mr. Jarvis, and by using them and my own rearing have kept them pure." Since the above, Mr.
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Sanford has made several purchases, to a large amount, of descend- ants of Col. Humphrey.' flock. At the National Exhibition of cattle and horses, at Boston, in October 1855, Mr. Sanford obtained the second premium on Spanish Merino bucks, two years old and over ; the first premium on bucks under two years old, and on ewes the two first premiums : and at the Vermont State Fair at Rutland, in September of that year, the first premium on Spanish Merino buck lambs and ewe lambs.
In 1844, Messrs. Hanmond. wishing to improve their flock and extend their operations, examined the most important flocks in several New England States, and among others, that belonging to Stephen Atwood, of Watertown, Conn., and selectedl and purchased from his flock, thirty, and in the next four years several more. These Mr. Atwood had from Col. Humphreys' flock, under such circumstances, that he had satisfactory assurance that they were pure and free from Saxony and other breeds. From these their present flock has been bred.
Mr. Sanford and the Messrs. Hammond, having for several years increased and improved their flocks by breeding " in and in," were desirous of finding other sheep, at least as good as theirs, to cross with them, and Mr. Sanford, in behalf of both parties, went to Europe for the purpose of examining the best flocks in the different countries, and of purchasing the best he could find. IIc examined the most distinguished in Spain and France. In the former country he found none which he was willing to import: in the latter he purchased twenty French Merinos. He went then into Germany, and, with the advice and aid of the American Consul, at Stuttgard, who had made himself thoroughly informed on the subject, and who accompanied him for a fortnight, he examined the most celebrated flocks in the different States of Germany, and extended his examina- tion as far as Prussia, and there purchased twenty Silesian sheep. These and the French sheep he imported. The French are much larger than the Spanish Merinos, or their descendants, with fleeces in proportion. But Mr. Hammond states, that the wool is not so even, varying in different parts of the body. The Silesian sheep are smaller than the Spanish. but the wool is fine. They did not
11
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HISTORY OF ADDISON COUNTY.
regard either of these as an improvement of their flocks and imme .: diately sold them.
Mr. Edwin Hammond thinks the Spanish sheep have improved greatly since their importation into this country. and especially in this County; and that there are better sheep in the County of Addi- son than in any other part of the world. This opinion is founded on his own personal examination of many of the best flocks in this country, and the examination by Mr. Sanford and others of the most celebrated flocks in Europe. He offered, he said, to Mr. Sanford, on his going to Europe, one thousand dollars for a pair of imported sheep, as good as his, with a view of crossing them with his present flock ; but Mr. Sanford found none such during his tour.
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