USA > Vermont > Windham County > Guilford > Official history of Guilford, Vermont, 1678-1961. With genealogies and biographical sketches > Part 15
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55
Admission of Vermont: The objection of New York to Vermont's admission as a member of the federal union was difficult to overcome, but by the help of Washington, Jefferson, and finally that of Alexander Hamilton, then a member of the New York Assembly from the City of New York, in the spring of 1787 a bill was sponsored providing for the recognition by New York of the independence of Vermont as a separate state. Hamilton believed this to be a more reasonable pro- cedure than to go to war against the Vermonters and undertake to compel them to submit to New York authority and domination, and one war on hand at a time appeared to him to be plenty. Gov. Clinton of New York was much opposed to Hamilton's plan, but his most able leaders recognized the folly of the attitude of the governor. At a meeting of prominent Vermonters in the next year, 1788, they arranged to correspond with Alexander Hamilton, who again took up the matter and explained the suggestions of compromise to the Conven- tion, which was engaged in that session which ratified the Constitution of the United States. Hamilton agreed that the time for the admission of Vermont had arrived, as Kentucky also was about ready for admis- sion.
The New York Assembly was appealed to in February, 1789, with the result that later in that month the Assembly passed a bill granting its consent to the admission of Vermont as a state, but the Senate defeated the bill and later, in July, a bill was passed and became a law providing for the appointment of Commissioners for arranging details of plans for settling boundaries, etc.
HEADS OF FAMILIES IN GUILFORD IN 1790, WITH TOTAL NUMBER OF PEOPLE IN EACH FAMILY
Akeley, John
4
Ashcraft, Daniel 8
Aldrich, Jonathan
15
Avery, Nathan
6
Aldrich, Jonathan
2
Ayers, Daniel
10
Aldrich, Joseph
7
Ayers, Levi
1
Aldrich, Peter
10
Ayers, Solomon 3
Allen, Samuel
11
Aylesworth, Job
1
Alvord, Seth
5
Aylesworth, Robert
5
Andrews, Nehemiah
8
Baker, Samuel, Jr.
9
Armsbee, Caleb
1
Balch, Samuel 10
148
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Balch, Samuel, Jr.
4
Bullock, Joseph
6
Ballard, Benjamin
9
Bullock, Lovell
14
Barnard, Samuel
6
Bullock, Widow of William
8
Barney, Edward
13
Burrows, James
4
Barney, John
5
Camp, James
3
Barney, John, Jr.
11
Camp, John
7
Barney, Sylvanus
4
Carpenter, Asaph
7
Barrey, James
10
Carpenter, Benjamin
9
Barrey, John, Jr.
11
Carpenter, Caleb
11
Barron, Nathan
4
Carpenter, Edward
8
Barrows, Solomon
4
Carpenter, Joseph
8
Battle, John
9
Carpenter, Rufus
2
Bayley, Richard
5
Chadwick, William
1
Belden, Augustus
6
Chamberlain, Benjamin
4
Bemis, Edmond
9
Chapin, Joel
1
Bennet, Aaron
2
Chase, Dean
9
Bennet, Moses
8
Chase, James
6
Bigelow, Joel
13
Chase, Paul
11
Bigelow, Josiah
6
Chase, Rufus
9
Bigelow, William
8
Chase, Seth
4
Bixby, David
5
Chase, Stephen
9
Bixby, Menasseh
5
Chickering, Timothy
8
Bixby, Manassah, Jr.
8
Coats, Charles
10
Bixby, Younglove
1
Cole, Amos
8
Blanchard, Elisha
7
Cole, Caleb
3
Blanchard, Jonathan
7
Cole, Caleb, Jr.
5
Blanchard, Lemuel
10
Cole, Daniel
5
Bolster, John
5
Colgrove, Reuben
7
Bond, Jonas
3
Collins, John
7
Bowker, Gideon
6
Cook, Benjamin
4
Bowker, Isaac
3
Crandall, Sylvester
9
Bowker, Isaac, Jr.
4
Crouch, James
7
Boyden, Daniel
11
Crouch, William
10
Boyden, Daniel, Jr.
3
Crowningshield, David
2
Boyden, James
5
Crowninshield, James
7
Boyden, Joseph
4
Cudworth, James
4
Bradford, Noah
7
Cudworth, Samuel
5
Briggs, Peter
10
Culver, David
2
Brooks, Ephraim
4
Culver, John
3
Brooks, Jonathan
2
Culver, Joshua
5
Brooks, Widow
2
Culver, Nathan
7
Brown, Ebenezer
7
Culver, Sanderman
3
Brown, Isaac
8
Culver, William
5
Bucklin, Benjamin
8
Cummins, William
4
Bullock, Elkanah
8
Curtis, Abijah
4
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Curtis, Samuel
10
Forrist, David
8
Cutler, Abner
1
Fox, John
8
Cutler, James
7
Franklin, Aaron
5
Cutler, Joel
11
Franklin, Aaron, Jr.
4
Cutler, Silas
8
Franklin, Jabez
6
Cutler, Thomas
12
Franklin, Philip
9
Cutting, Jonah
3
Gains, David
9
Davis, David
10
Gains, Joseph
7
Davis, Joseph
6
Gale, Ephraim
7
Dean, Benjamin
17
Gallop, Joseph
5
Dean, Perdy
4
Gallop, Joseph Jr.
6
Dean, Samuel
4
Gilson, David
3
Demander, James
3
Goodenough, David
8
Denison, David
7
Goodenough, Ebenezer
9
Denison, Edward
1
Goodenough, Isaac
4
Denison, Jabez
1
Goodenough, Ithamer
2
Denison, Samuel
4
Goodenough, Levi
5
Dennis, James
2
Goodenough, Samuel
5
Dennis, John
1
Goodspeed, Gideon
4
Densmore, Joseph
13
Goodspeed, Joseph
7
Densmore, Oliver
1
Goodwin, Joseph
5
Devonport, Paul
4
Gould, John
6
Dyer, John
8
Gould, Stephen
11
Eddy, Benjamin
3
Grice, Samuel
4
Eddy, Joel
2
Grover, Eleazer
7
Eddy, William
4
Grover, Jacob
9
Edwards, Joseph
4
Hager, Simeon
2
Edwards, William
5
Hager, Simeon, Jr.
5
Elliot, Joseph
2
Hammond, John
6
Ellis, Caleb
8
Harrington, Jonathan
6
Esterbrook, Thomas
3
Harris, Stephen
5
Evans, Henry
8
Harris, Uriah
4
Evans, Henry, Jr.
3
Haynes, Vine
8
Farnsworth, Joseph
2
Haynes, Vine, Jr.
4
Farnsworth, Zachariah
7
Hayward, Ebenezer
4
Ferril, Isaac
8
Hayward, Nathaniel
4
Ferril, Widow of Simeon
3
Healy, Comfort
1
Ferril, William
4
Healy, Ithamer
4
Field, Elihu
11
Healy, John
6
Fish, Amos
7
Hide, Denny (Dana)
7
Fisher, Edmond
2
Hill, Asahel
6
Fisher, Isaac
1
Hinds, William
7
Fisher, Nehemiah
6
Hinster, Elisha
4
Fisk, Rufus
10
Hix, Ezra
4
Fitch, Ebenezer
6
Hix, Henry
6
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Hix, Peleg
6
Morgan, Henry
11
Hix, Peleg Jr.
2
Morton, Abraham
6
Hoit, William
9
Morton, Benjamin
6
Horton, Hezekiah
5
Newell, John
9
Horton, Nathan
7
Newell, Joshua
4
Horton, Stafford
7
Nichols, Asa
1
Houghton, Edward
5
Nichols, Ephraim
9
Houghton, James
8
Nichols, James
8
Jackson, Widow
2
Nichols, Paul
6
Jacobs, Joseph 8
Noyes, John
13
Jacobs, Nathan
4
Olden, Joseph
6
Jacobs, Nathaniel
4
Olden, Joseph, Jr.
5
Jacobs, Peter
5
Packer, Ichabod
5
Jacobs, Stephen
7
Packer, James
7
Johnson, Asa
1
Packer, James
6
Johnson, Jedediah
1
Packer, Jeremiah
6
Johnson, Jonathan
8
Packer, William
5
Jones, Eliakim
1
Paine, Miller
7
Joy, Abel
7
Palmer, Charles
7
Joy, Abiather
10
Palmer, Henry
8
Joy, David, Jr.
8
Partridge, David
3
Joy, Jesse
6
Partridge, Jasper
8
Kimball, Ebenezer
9
Paul, Henry
6
Kimpton, Samuel
7
Peck, Elisha
5
King, James
7
Peck, Seth
10
Kingsley, Jonathan
6
Penny, Jonathan
11
Knight, Daniel
10
Pierce, Ichabod
2
Lamphier, Isaac
3
Porter, Elisha
7
Larrabee, Samuel
3
Powers, Manassah
7
Larrabee, Timothy
3
Prentiss, Samuel
3
Leonard, David
10
Putnam, Adonijah
10
Littlefield, Asa
5
Putnam, Jesse
8
Littlefield, Thomas
3
Ramsdel, William
9
Lynde, Daniel, Jr.
9
Ramsdel, William, Jr.
1
Lynde, Joshua
11
Reed, George
9
Lynde, Lemuel
4
Reed, Ithamer
5
Lynde, Samuel
10
Reed, Samuel
6
Marsh, Osborn
4
Rice, Asa
4
Marsh, William
6
Rice, Ezekiel
8
Marsh, William, Jr.
3
Rice, Jasper
2
Martin, Cyrus
5
Rice, Josiah
9
Maxwell, Philip
5
Rice, Micah
7
Mellendy, Samuel
12
Rice, Nathan
3
Melvin, Samuel
5
Rice, Phinehas
1
Miles, Jehiel
4
Rice, Phinehas, Jr.
9
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Richardson, William
4
Stafford, Isaac
5
Roberts, Ebenezer
1
Stafford, Job
3
Roberts, Giles
8
Stafford, Obadiah
3
Roberts, Giles, Jr.
5
Stafford, Stukeley
6
Roberts, John
1
Stafford, Thomas
5
Rogers, Abijah
8
Stanhope, Joseph
8
Rogers, Josiah
5
Stanton, Benjamin
3
Root, Elisha
10
Stanton, Joseph
8
Root, Timothy
7
Stanton, Moses
10
Roxby, Daniel
7
Stark, Abijah
6
Russell, Amasa
7
Stark, Nathan
10
Russell, Jonathan
4
Starr, Comfort
7
Russell, Widow
3
Stebbins, Abner
8
Salisbury, Edward
5
Stevens, Simon
8
Salisbury, James
8
Stowell, David
11
Salisbury, Job
6
Streeter, Joseph
8
Sawyer, Lemuel
7
Streeter, Rufus
4
Severance, John
5
Taylor, Elias
3
Shepardson, Alfred
1
Thayer, Esick
5
Shepardson, Daniel
4
Thompson, Charles
7
Shepardson, Jerard
1
Thurber, David
6
Shepardson, John
2
Thurber, Edward
3
Shepardson, Noah
6
Thurber, Squire
2
Shepardson, Samuel
7
Tisdale, Seth
8
Shepardson, Seth
4
Toby, Eleazer
9
Shepardson, Stephen
5
Torry, Abel
5
Shepardson, Stephen, Jr.
6
Torry, Abel, Jr.
3
Shepardson, Zephaniah
8
Torry, Abner
6
Shepardson, Zephaniah, Jr.
9
Torry, James
1
Slate, -
4
Travatt, Benjamin
8
Slater, John
11
Tubbs, Isaac
11
Slater, Joseph
12
Tyler, Jeremiah
3
Slater, Stephen
8
Tyler, John
7
Smalley, David
7
Wallace, John
5
Smith, Amos
7
Ward, Henry
6
Smith, Amos, Jr.
5
Waterhouse, Nathan
8
Smith, Cornelius
4
Weatherhead, Joseph
6
Smith, Daniel
8
Weatherhead, Widow
4
Smith, Isaac
6
Weld, Calvin
5
Smith, Jonathan
4
Weld, Daniel
8
Smith, Simeon
3
Weld, Isaac
6
Smith, Solomon
8
Weld, Luther
1
Smith, Widow
3
Weld, Noah
5
Spears, John
4
Wellman, Abiel
1
Spelman, John
4
Wellman, Jebediah
7
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Wells, Ezra
4
Williams, Richard
6
Wells, Thomas
6
Willis, Beriah
4
Wells, Thomas, Jr.
4
Willis, Slaughter
1
Wheeler, Daniel
7
Wilson, James
10
Whitcomb, Samuel
4
Wilson, John
7
White, William
9
Woodward, Joseph
4
Whiting, Jonathan
1
Woolley, Jonathan
9
Whiting, Michael
5
Woolley, Theophilus
8
Whitney, Abel
9
Woolley, Thomas
2
Whitney, Ephraim
5
Wright, John
1
Whitney, Job
8
Yaw, Amos
4
Wilder, Aaron
9
Yaw, Moses
4
Wilkins, Andrew
4
Yaw, Widow
3
Wilkins, Daniel
3
Yaw, William
8
Williams, Davis, Jr.
4
Younglove, John
8
Williams, Israel
1
TOTAL 2432
Settlement of Difficulties: In the year 1790, to expedite the settle- ment of difficulties between New York and Vermont, Commissioners were appointed by both states for the purpose, first, of settling the boundary lines between them.
A meeting of these Commissioners was held in the city of New York in October of 1790, and a treaty was consummated, whereby New York ceded to the state of Vermont all the lands, including islands in Lake Champlain lying Eastward of a line beginning at the Northwest corner of Massachusetts, then running westward along the south line of the town of Pownal to its southwest corner, thence north- erly along the west line of Pownal, Bennington, Shaftsbury, Arlington, Sandgate, Rupert, Pawlet, Wells and Poultney, to Poultney river, thence down the same, through the deepest channel of East Bay to Lake Champlain, through deepest channel of that lake to the eastward of the Four Brothers Island and westward of Grand Isle and Long Isle, or the two Heroes, westward of Isle La Motte to the 45th degree of North latitude-or midway between the Equator and the North Pole-in the consideration that Vermont pay to the State of New York thirty thousand Spanish Mill Dollars on or before June 1, 1794. This payment was divided among 76 claimants, to reimburse them for supposed losses sustained by these claimants, and attributed to the hostilities of the opposing parties.
A great part of the claimants were settlers along Champlain, but we recognize the names of a few of the early settlers of Guilford and vicinity, including Jonathan Hunt, $948.28; John Hinsdale, $49.91; Luke Knowlton, $249.53; Samuel Partridge, $49.91. It was found that
Williams, Davis
8
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sufficient silver money could not be found to pay the whole at once, so two payments were arranged for on different years.
Muster Reunion: When Capt. Edward Barney 2nd and his men were mustered out of war service at the Westminster Courthouse in the late 1790's, Capt. Barney invited his men to celebrate muster the following year at his farm in Guilford. The soldiers thought his house would be too small for them but he replied that he'd have one big enough the following year.
Upon his return home he contacted a Boston architect and made plans to start at once to build a large Georgian type farm house. The family had lived in a Cape Cod house southeast of the present dwelling.
The bricks for the seven fireplaces, two Dutch ovens and the foundations were hauled from Boston by four-horse teams. When they arrived at the "junction", now known as the Aldrich place, a pair of big oxen were sent down from the Barney farm and hitched on as "lead" team ahead of the horses to draw the heavy load up the steep hill, a distance of at least a mile. The road to the farm then went south of the present cement bridge on the south side of the brook. Stib Gallup put in the present road after he bought the Boyden place.
Capt. Barney chose a house which has very large rooms, a big front hall both upstairs and down, a picturesque window in the upstairs hall which faces the East. The framework of the house was put together with wooden pegs and hand-made square spikes and nails were used.
The mantel pieces in two of the upstairs bedrooms were designed and made by Boston carpenters. The mantel in the parlor, the door and window casings and mopboards were hand made by a carpenter in the Barney family. The mantel design is nearly the same as the mantels at Independence Hall in Philadelphia which was designed at about the same time. Many children's stockings have been hung at the Barney mantel for Santa Claus and five nail holes for stockings have been kept intact.
The dining room mantel was made by a craftsman from Leyden named Severance. It too is of elaborate design. Neither the Severance nor Barney carpenter was to see the other's work until it was com- pleted then the men working on the house were to decide which was the prettier. They chose the one in the parlor.
The house was finished and elaborate plans were completed for the men to spend a few days with their Captain. A huge ox was barbe- cued in front of a big ledge southeast of the house in the East mowing. Two big forked posts were set, one for the head and one for the tail and a green log connected the two posts. The ox was suspended from this. The cooking went on day and night for a week with constant fire-
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tenders. Some sort of derrick was arranged from the top of the ledge to move the carcass so it would not burn. Oak logs are said to have been used in the cooking.
The autumn day finally came. The men arrived for two days as some came a considerable distance. It must have been a colorful scene as they reached the hilltop-some on foot, others riding horseback and oxen drawing carts loaded with cider brandy. (Wish the family record had some of the more intimate details!) At any rate it was a house warming of the finest tradition and we venture to say a good time was had by all especially by Grandfather Barney.
LEILA GALLUP SHAW
Washington's Message to Congress: On Feb. 9, 1791, President Washington set this message to Congress:
"I have received from the Governor of Vermont authentic docu- ments expressing the consent of the Legislatures of New York and of the Territory of Vermont that the said Territory shall be admitted to be a distinct member of our Union, and a memorial from Nathaniel Chipman and Lewis R. Morris, Commissioners from the said Terri- tory, praying the consent of Congress to that admission, by the name and style of the State of Vermont; copies of which I now lay before Congress, with whom the Constitution has rested the object of these proceedings."
The Senate ordered the president's message and the accompanying papers to be referred to a Committee composed of Senators Rufus King of New York, James Monroe of Virginia, Oliver Ellsworth of Con- necticut, John Langdon of New Hampshire, and Benjamin Hawkins of South Carolina.
On the next day, February 10, 1791, Senator King reported a bill for the admission of Vermont into the Union, and it was ordered to a second reading. On February 11th a supplementary bill was reported apportioning two Representatives for the states Vermont and Ken- tucky, and unanimous consent was given to a third reading, and on February 12th the Senate passed both the bill admitting Vermont to the Union, and the measure providing for the election of Representa- tives to Congress.
Two days afterward the House of Representatives passed the bills in concurrence. The Act so passed, for which Vermont had struggled for fourteen years, was very brief, as follows:
"BE IT ENACTED BY THE SENATE AND HOUSE OF REP- RESENTATIVES OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA IN CONGRESS ASSEMBLED, and it is hereby enacted and declared on the fourth day of March, One Thousand Seven Hundred and Ninety
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One, the said State by the name and style of the "State of Vermont" shall be received and admitted into this Union, as a new and entire member of the United States of America."
This Act was signed by Frederick A. Muhlenbergh, Speaker of the House of Representatives, George Washington, President of the United States; John Adams, Vice-President of the United States, and was attested by Thomas Jefferson, Secretary of State, and was dated Feb- ruary 18, 1791.
On March 8th, 1791, a grand celebration was observed in Rutland, Vermont, where fifteen cannons were fired and a new flag hoisted there bearing fifteen stripes and fifteen stars, to include one each for Vermont and Kentucky, although Kentucky was not admitted until June, 1792.
Packer Corners: Stories from Packer Corners have been chosen from the research done by J. C. L. Clark of Lancaster, Mass. The auto- biography of Nathan Noyes furnished much material. Stories have been handed down of the alleged uncanny performance of a woman who, probably late in the eighteenth century, bore the reputation, on the Guilford and Leyden borders, of being "a witch". It is not known for sure whether the Guilford witch, known as "Old Mother Honeywell," was, as supposed, a member of the Noyes kindred. She was a product of the super-religiousity of that border region, where the dwellers on adjoining farms-Denison, Packer Billings, Belden Noyes- were holding meetings in barns and schoolhouses, where deluded souls saw as visions the mirage in the fog and mist of Weatherhead Hollow, and a mile or two away the followers of William Dorrell received the doctrine of their false prophet.
The stories have a familiar ring but probably all witches belonged to a union and had to follow a general pattern in their activities. The first tale is about some householder who bought a pair of sheepshears and laid them on a closet shelf, done up in paper. A few days later he took them down to show to a friend nad found them rusty and apparently old. No one could account for it, and he put them back in the closet, thinking he had been cheated. A day or so later another friend, who had heard the rumour of these strange doings, dropped in to offer sympathy. The shears were taken down again-all bright and new. Mother Honeywell!
Another tale was the load of hay which was halted unaccountably. The oxen couldn't move it. It was discovered that a mouse had her shoulder under the hind wheel. Mouse removed. No more trouble. Of course Mother Honeywell suffered about that time from a lame shoulder!
Another story concerned the time that someone shot a white owl
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one night, and Mother Honeywell fell down stairs and received severe injury at the same moment. "You may imagine the thrill I got"', writes the lady who recalled this tradition, "the only time I ever went into the old Noyes' 'mansion' in the southern part of Guilford to find a stuffed white owl on the mantel."
The Nathan Noyes referred to was born Dec. 18, 1784. He married Susanna Riddell in 1807 and soon afterward moved to Preston, N. Y. later to Michigan. He gave an account of a strange happening when he was about twelve years old. He and his brother went to visit a neighbor family and spent the night. One of the boys there was asked to go on an errand to his grandfather's. Nathan's brother and one of the others went with him. Those left behind went to bed in the hay. When the boys returned they were apparently much frightened and told a story of seeing old Mr. Spears, who lived on the marshes of Weather- head Hollow, and had been very ill, standing on the top bar of the gate with a coverlet about his shoulders and a white cravat around his neck. He was bowing all the while they were passing. After going a short distance they stopped, looked back, and saw the old man pass across the road turn and return to the bars, several feet from the ground all the while. Nathan refused to believe them, thinking they had made up the tale to frighten the younger boys. Several days later, however, he was fishing near the Spear place and saw the man dressed as he had appeared to the others. The man was in the middle of an open field but as he turned away for a moment the old man disappeared. . . . That was in broad daylight not moonlight as when the other boys had seen him. The story was told many years later when he had been a Baptist minister for years.
Although not now generally known, Guilford had a vital part in the presidential election of 1800, one of its citizens, John Noyes, being a member of the Vermont electoral college, which supported Thomas Jefferson, who was opposed by Aaron Burr, each receiving the same number of electoral votes.
Under the constitution the election then went to the House of Representatives, which after balloting for six days elected Jefferson upon the 36th ballot.
For many years Guilford remained loyal to the tenets of true democracy. In his noted Gazetteer of Vermont, published in 1842, Zadoc Thompson states "From that time (1791) the inhabitants of Guilford have supported the character of free and independent farmers, very jealous of their rights, and for many years noted for their strong prepossessions in favor of the political school of Jefferson." General Andrew Jackson, "Old Hickory" as he was familiarly called, a firm friend and supporter of Jefferson, gained a strong hold upon the suffrages of the growing republic through his signal victory over the British in the war of 1812, and his complete subjugation of the
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Cherokee Indians soon afterward. He was elected president in 1828 and again in 1832, during which term he vetoed the bill to extend the charter of the United States Bank, which he believed to be detrimental to the best interests of the country.
In spite of the great influence brought to bear Jackson prevailed and the bank was liquidated. Its surplus of ten millions of dollars was ordered by Jackson to be distributed among the states, according to the terms of its charter. Vermont's share was divided among the several towns according to population, Guilford's share being $2671.
This was appropriated to the use of schools, and finally all funds of this nature were turned over to the state as a permanent school fund. President Jackson's opponents claimed that this surplus never really existed, and if it did that he had no right to order its distribution, but the fact remains that the states and town got the money.
As a matter of national politics, for the past fifty years or more the alignment of partisans in Guilford has been about average of that in Vermont as a whole, three Republicans to one Democrat. No attention is paid to partisanship in town meetings, but no candidate for state or county office has received a majority of the Guilford votes unless his name appeared upon the ballots of the majority party. (Note: Mr. Gale would have been glad to know that a member of his own family was one to "break the barrier.")
Guilford Flag: On the 21st of October, 1803, Samuel Shepardson, of Guilford, then a member of the Council, obtained leave "to bring in a bill" entitled "An Act establishing the Flag of the Militia of this State", and the same being read, it was ordered, That it lie on the table. The text of the bill was as follows:
"An Act establishing the Flag of the Militia of this State.
It is hereby enacted by the General Assembly of the State of Ver- mont, that from and after the first day of May, A.D. one thousand Eight hundred and four, the flag of this State be seventeen Stripes, alternate red and white; that the union be seventeen Stars, white, in a blue field, with the word VERMONT in Capitals above the said Stripes and Stars."
On October 24th the bill was again read, passed and ordered to be engrossed and sent to the House for their revision, etc. One week later, the following written message was received from the House:
"In General Assembly, October 31st, 1803.
'An Act establishing the Flag of the Militia of this State' sent down from Council, was read and concurred in.
Attest, A. Haswell, Clerk."
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Official History of Guilford
The original act can be found in the office of the Secretary of State; it was repealed in 1837, the old Guilford flag having been the official emblem of Vermont for thirty three years.
1792: Situations as well as names remain about the same. The fol- lowing advertisement appeared in the Centennial Gazette in Green- field.
Please to Read It
To all concern'd this tiny Note I send: Bring in your debts and help a needy friend- Bring what you have-a little cash will do:
Who pays, I'll them discharge, who fails, I'LL SUE.
EDWARD HOUGHTON
Guilford, Vt., March 20th, 1792
Town Whipping Post: In the absence of a convenient jail, for the punishment of petty offenses-or possibly serious ones-a whipping post was erected on the hill near the old white meeting house.
The location was about half way between the cemetery and the fork of the roads leading toward the Bullock and Wilder farms, and on the south side of the road. It is related that in 1780, in a matter between Ephraim Nichols and Henry Hix, tried before Henry Sher- burne and Timothy Root, Hix was found guilty and sentenced to receive fifteen stripes on his naked back, which were "laid on" by Job Whitney. The last person whipped there is said to have been one Eddy, who received his punishment at the hands of Constable Car- penter, who used a whip with lashes made of woolen cords. One woman is said to have been whipped there, a "cat-o'-nine-tails" being used.
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