USA > Vermont > Orange County > Braintree > The history of Braintree, Vermont, including a memorial of families that have resided in town > Part 9
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WAITE, FORD, NICHOLS.
DANIEL WAITE
Came to Braintree in 1788 or 1789. He first purchased lot 22-2, paying thirty pounds therefor. July 22, 1791, he bought lot 6-1 on which he thereafter lived. At the time of its purchase a log house and a small barn had been built and only a few acres were cleared. Uncle Daniel, as he was familiarly called, was thorough and successful, and wholly devoted to his calling, never seeking any office nor holding any above highway surveyor. In his practice he demonstrated the fact that intelligent farming pays. He early imbibed the principle that no farmer can afford to raise corn, oats and hay to sell. He should sell horses, not oats; sheep, cattle and pork, not corn. In common with other pioneers he endured many hardships. Once he was obliged to bring his seed wheat on horseback from Middlebury with only marked trees to guide him over the mountains. All the Waites were strictly temperate. Not one of them has ever been known to be intoxicated or to use tobacco in any form.
He was any great grandfather; my mother MAJ. WILLIAM FORD father's father.
Possessed shrewdness, energy and perseverance. He never faltered in the Ruth face of obstacles even though they appeared insurmountable. His business sagacity led him to see and utilize advantages few men would ever think of. Wilson For instance, he once turned the head waters of Dog River at Roxbury summit into the branch, thereby materially increasing the water power for his mills. The fact became known to Roxbury mill owners, who required him to undo the job. Maj. Ford served long and did much for the town. He gave land for and built the Baptist meeting house; erected numerous mills, some at West Randolph; and when Jacob Spear sold his property he bought what has since been known as the Maj. Ford place and put up a hotel there. When his youngest son, Samuel, was a child, Maj. Ford's fortune was told, and one of the prophecies was that he would lose a large share of his property through the agency of his son. The major laughed and, turning to Samuel, said: "I think you'll be the one, sir." Of course he had no faith at all in it, but it was by Samuel's advice that he erected the buildings which were swept off by freshet, involving a loss in one night of $75,000. The loss was overwhelming, and having caught cold, it is thought, working in the water and trying to save something from the wreck, he took to his bed and died in about two months.
JOHN S. NICHOLS,
Like his father, has long been identified officially with the interests of the town. Both together have held the office of town clerk seventy-two consecu- tive years, and each has served a long term as treasurer. By his constancy and uprightness, his zeal and faithfulness in business and all other matters, Dea. Nichols has won popular confidence and respect. Few have left so good a record or enjoy so fair a name.
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PERSONAL SKETCHES.
GEORGE W. FLAGG
Has won some notoriety as a collar and elbow wrestler. He began wrestling at fourteen and was soon champion of his town and vicinity. He served four years in the union army, was in twenty-two battles, was mustered out 1st lieutenant and champion of the army of the Potomac. In different parts of New England he has wrestled about fifty matches in the few years past.
STRAY ITEMS.
Henry Brackett is now the oldest person in Braintree. He passed his 90th birthday on the 9th of May, 1883. Col. Rufus Hutchinson stands second in age, being just 40 days younger.
In November, 1862, the northeastern part of the town was roused by the news that Francis F. Thayer had seen a bear and three cubs in Ira Mann's woods. About two hundred people were gathered together in a few hours, and made "demonstrations" around those woods, and lady Bruin and her family soon lay low. They were sold and the proceeds and bounty money were divided among those in attendance. Jacob A. Spear bought the skins and made a sleigh robe of them, which is still in use.
As many as three colored families have lived in Braintree, if report is true, perhaps more than that. There were Zebedee and Samuel Dunbar, probably brothers, or father and son. Zebedee tended saw mill a long time for Brackett or Maj. Ford, or both, and we think owned at one time the "Brackett" mill or some other, as there are in the early records references to Zebedee Dunbar's mill. Zebedee had a family of children, some of whom married in town. There was a family named Freeman, and a Dolbe family or two belonging to Exeter or Peter Dolbe, or both. We think Exeter lived some time on Riford's brook.
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THE CENTENNIAL.
VI. THE CENTENNIAL.
The pamphlet published soon after the Centennial celebration reported quite fully the exercises and doings of the day, and is here reproduced in full with only such changes as were necessary to make needed corrections. The following were the
OFFICERS OF THE DAY:
Victor I. Spear, President; William H. Nichols, Vice-President; George W. Flagg, Marshal; H. Royce Bass, Secretary; Rev. Elbridge Gerry, A. M., Chaplain.
There were Committees of Arrangement and Invitation, on Finance and Programme and Exercises.
PROGRAMME AND ORDER OF EXERCISES.
" Little of all we value here Wakes on the morn of its Hundredth Year."
FIRING MORNING SALUTE AT SUNRISE.
At 10 o'clock A. M., procession will form at the Old Church, in the following order: 1st, Marshal of the day-George W. Flagg.
2d, West Randolph cornet band. 3d, Officers of the day. 4th, Former citizens. 5th, Citizens and visitors. March to the Grove; Social Hour; Music, etc.
DINNER.
In memory of the past
" Let us sit and dine with our hats on."
EXERCISES-1 P. M. Music-Band.
PRAYER,
READING OF THE CHARTER,
HISTORICAL SKETCH, -
by the Chaplain. Music-Glee Club. Amasa W. Ferry. Music-Band. H. Royce Bass. Music-Band.
ADDRESS, - - Col. F. V. Randall, Brookfield. Music-Glee Club. Sentiments and responses, speeches, remarks and reminiscences by former citizens, members of committee, townsmen and visitors generally.
Music-Band.
Antiquarian relics will be on exhibition in the town hall, and in charge of a responsible committee.
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THE CENTENNIAL.
BRAINTREE CENTENNIAL. 1781-1881.
REPORT .*
One hundred years ago last Monday (August 1, 1781) the town of Braintree came into existence under a charter granted by the Governor-Thomas Chittenden-and the Council of the State of Vermont. The people of Braintree assembled on Monday of this week to observe the one-hundredth anniversary of that event. The idea of such an observance seems to have been taken up quite recently by some of the younger citizens independent of any corporate action of the town, and carried out against the indifference of a large proportion of the people with a good degree of success. Wlien the thing became assured there was a more hearty co-operation, and all seemed to enter into the spirit of, and to greatly enjoy, the occasion. The day was pleasant; the people laid aside their work and began to gather at an early hour from all parts of the town and from adjoining towns, in which natives of Braintree have found homes, in carriages and on foot, and soon after the appointed hour, from 2,500 to 3,000 people had assembled at the grove where the exercises were to be held and near the town house where the procession was to form. And here we might speak of the large number present from abroad. There were more from Randolph than from any other town. There are twenty-five families or more in West Randolph one or several members of which were born in Braintree, or who liave at some period of their lives lived in Braintree. A large proportion of these were present on this occasion. The children of the town came back to exchange greetings with one another and with those who remained behind on the old homesteads, from Brookfield, Roxbury, Bethel, and places more remote. They came from beyond the borders of the State, from Mass., New York, Washington, and the West, and with them hundreds of others as witnesses of the centennial ceremonial. There were present old men and women who now seldom go out of sight of their homes, and children so young that the early events of the town are with them passing into the region of mythology. But among all who were present there were none old enough to tell the story from the beginning. The first settlers are all dead, and the graves of some, even, are forgotten. Not many of the children of the first settlers linger behind the fathers, and the present active generation is made up of the grand-children and the great-grand children of those who passed through the trials and hardships of pioneer life.
One feature of the day, and one not observed by a majority of those present, was the antiquarian exhibition at the town hall. The collection was not large but the relics were genuine and some of them were decidedly rare and ancient. Among other things was a tea-kettle almost 200 years old, once used by the great-grand-mother of Mary (Battles) Brown, which is now, and has been for 58 years, in nse in William H. Brown's family; a hat once worn
* Published August 4, 1881, in Herald and News.
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TIIE CENTENNIAL.
by George Washington; a set of pewter spoons and the moulds in which they were run; several old hand forged forks; a flint lock musket, captured at Bennington, that has been in the family of Leonard Holman 46 years; an ancient sword; wall paper used in 1774; powder horns; spinning wheels; ancient books; a dictionary owned by Mrs. Samuel Riford, 104 years old; " History of the Christian Religion," owned by George Hutchinson, 189 years old; another book 145 years old, and still another 159 years; an earthern pepper box, by C. C. Grow; lace over one hundred years old, made by hand by Nancy Gooch; a quantity of Confederate money owned by A. W. Ferry; a chemise over one hundred years old, spun, woven and made by Mrs. Sally Hunt, and owned by Mrs. Samuel Riford. There were several very old pewter plates, combs, free-stone holders, etc. The town can certainly make a fair showing in the matter of relics.
Soon after the appointed hour the procession was formed near the church on Quaker Hill, as previously announced on the programmes, headed by the West Randolph Cornet Band, and from thence marched to the grove north- west of Henry Bass's house, which was to be the scene of the day's festivities and exercises. The place was a very pleasant one, affording needed protec- tion from the heat of the sun. 'The day was delightful under the shade of the trees, Seats were provided, a platform erected for the officers and speakers, and another a little to the left for the band. Cool water was supplied, tables erected and spread with an abundance of provisions for invited guests and others. An hour or more was passed in renewing old acquaintance and list- ening to the music of the band and satisfying the wants of the inner man.
At 1 o'clock p. m., the people were called to order by Victor I. Spear, the president of the day, from the grand stand, and the exercises began with music by the band. Then followed prayer by the chaplain, music by the West Randolph Glee Club, followed by the reading of the charter of the town by A. W. Ferry. We give in this connection this important document through which the town of Braintree came into being:
THE CHARTER. LA literal copy ] The Governor Council & General Assembly Of The Freemen of the State ยท Of
Vermont
To All People to Whome these Presents Shall Come Greeting Know ye that
Whereas Messrs. Jacob Spear Levi Davis and their Associates our Worthy Friends have by Petition requested a Grant of a Tract of unappropriated Land within this State in order for Settling a New Plantation to be erected into a Township; We have therefore Thought fit for the Due Encouragment of their Laudable Designs, and for other Valuable Considerations us hereunto moveing: And Do by These Presents In the Name and by The Authority of the Freemen of The State of Vermont, give and grant a tract of Land here-
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THE CENTENNIAL.
after Described and bounded, unto The said Jacob Spear Levi Davis and their Associates as Follows, Viz James Brackett David Holbrook Stephen Penni- man Ebenezer Bracket Samuel Brackett Job Bracket Richard Newcomb Wil- liam Bracket Joseph Richards Joseph Allen Ebenezer Weston Isaac Niles Samuel Spear Henry Bracket James Brackett Junior Ebenezer Bracket Charles Bracket Eli Hayden Reuben Coats Joseph Hulet, Isaac Spear Junior Samuel Spear Junior, Joseph Spear James Holbrook Jonathan Holbrook Nathan Leonard Ephraim Wales Thomas Wales Samuel Wales Moses Hol- brook Caleb Holbrook Benjamin Hayden, Benjamin Hayden Junior Zeba Hayden Thomas Hayden Ezra Wells, Thomas Chittenden William Ward, Daniel Davis, Ephraim Mann Benjamin Mann Thomas French Nathaniel Spear Isaac Spear Edward Putnam Peter Putnam Andrew Elliot John Elliot Jonathan Woodbury Archelas Putnam. John King, John Putnam Reuben Davis, Bartholomew Hutchinson Jonathan Holman Samuel Harwood William King Thomas Harback Edward Davis Daniel Holman Elijah Galusha Noah Chittenden and William Emerson
Which together with the Five Following Rights reserved to the several uses in manner Following Include the whole of said Township Viz.
One Right for the use of a Seminary or Colledge.
One Right for the use Of County Grammar Schools in said State Lands to the amount of one Right to be and Remain for Settlement of a minister and Ministers of the Gospel in said Township forever, Lands to the amount of One Right, for the Support of the Social Worship of God in said Township and Lands to the amount of one Right for the support of an English School or Schools in said Township. Which said Two Rights; for the use of a seminary or College and for the use of County Grammer Schools as aforesaid and the improvements Rents, Interests, and profits arising therefrom shall be under the controul order Direction and Disposal of the General Assembly of said State forever and the proprietors of said Township are hereby authorised and impowered, to locate said two Rights Justly and equitably, or Quantity for Quality in such parts of said Township, as they or their Committee shall Judge will least incommode the general settlement of said tract or Township and the Said Proprietors are hereby Further impowered to Locate the the lands aforesaid amounting to three Rights assigned for the settlement of a minister and ministers for their support, and for the use and support of English schools in such and in so many Plases as they or their Committee shall Judge Will best accommodate the Inhabitants of said Township When the same shall be Fully settled and improved-Laying the same Equitably or Quantity for Quality, which said Lands, amounting to the three last mentioned Rights when located as aforesaid shall together with their Improvements Rights, Rents Profits, Dues and Interest remain inalienably appropriated for the uses and purposes for which they are respectively assigned, and be under the Charge Direction and Disposal of the Inhabitants of said Township forever
Which Tract of land hereby given and granted as aforesaid is Bounded and Discribed as Follows Viz; Beginning at the Northwesterly corner of Randolph then Southerly in the westerly Line of Randolph about Six Miles and an half to an angle thereof, Then North sixty one Degrees west in the
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THE CENTENNIAL.
Line of Rochester so far as turning North Thirty Six Degrees East about six miles and an half then south Sixty one Degrees east to the Bounds began at. Will encompass the contents of six Miles Squar
And that the same be and hereby is incorporated into a Township by the Name of BRAINTREE And the Inhabitants that Do or shall hereafter inhabit said Township are hereby Declared to be infranchised, and entituled to all the Privelidges and Immunities that the Inhabitants of other Towns within this state Do and ought by the Law and Constitution of this State to exercise and enjoy To liave And To hold the said Granted Premises as above expressed with all the Priviledges and Appurtenances thereunto belonging and appertain- ing, to them and their respective Heirs and assigns forever upon the Follow- ing Conditions and Reservations; Viz, That Each Proprietor of the Township of Braintree aforesaid, His Heirs or assigns shall Plant and Cultivate Five acres of Land, and build an house at least Eighteen Feet Squar, or have one Family settled on Each respective Riglrt within the Term of three Years next after the Circumstances of the War Will admit of a settlemnt with safety on penalty of the Forfeiture of Each Right of land in said Township, not so improved or settled, and the same To Revert to the Freemen of this state. To be by their Representatives Regranted to such Persons as shall appear to settle and Cultivate the same
That all pine Timber Suitable for a Navy be reserved for the use and Benefit of the Freemen of this State
In Testimony Whereof I have hereunto set my hand and Caused the seal of this state to be affixed In Council This First Day of August Anno Domini One Thousand Seven Hundred and Eighty One-And In the 5th Year of Our Independence
THOS. CHITTENDEN.
By His Excellencys Command
THOS TOLMAN Dep. Secr'y .
Braintree March 9th 1792
Recorded the above
ELIJAH FRENCH propr. Clerk
After the reading of the charter the next thing in order was music by the band. Then H. Royce Bass gave a very interesting account of the first settle- ments of the town, which we are permitted to publish in this connection. The following is the paper presented:
HISTORICAL SKETCH.
The object of this paper is to present a few facts relating to the settle- ment and first history of Braintree, and first it may be interesting to know how and when this town became a town. The civil organization of the State of Vermont was effected March 12, 1778, the first General Assembly meeting on that day, making choice of Thomas Chittenden, the first Governor, and electing other State officers. In 1779 the charter of Braintree was petitioned for by Jacob Spear, Levi Davis, and others. The petition was granted by the
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THE CENTENNIAL.
General Assembly, November 2, 1780, and on August 1, 1781, one hundred years ago to-day, Gov. Chittenden signed the charter, by which act Braintree became a town.
Thus the proprietors named in the charter were incorporated into a body politic, having the power and authority for self-government, and the undis- puted right under state jurisdiction to the exercise of all those privileges and immunities which liberty in its largest sense confers. But liberty was not yet an established fact; for it must be remembered that these events occurred in the midst of the trying times of the Revolutionary War, and England did not acknowledge our national independence until 1783. Vermont, too, in the meantime, was struggling for her individual independence against the encroachments of New Hampshire and New York, and after a lusty contest gained it.
So in the course of these events Braintree had its origin, born, indeed, in the midst of public trial and perplexity, of private hardship and necessity. Little can we appreciate that necessity which in those early times compelled men to push into the unbroken wilderness in the face of tangle-wood and savages -- the vanguard in the onward march of civilization; nor the hardships, which the hardy pioneers of one hundred years ago encountered in meeting and overcoming the natural barriers in their path, and in smoothing the way for us who "have entered into their labors."
One hundred years ago this infant town was an almost unbroken expanse of forest. Its swaddling clothes were the perennial green of these everlasting hills. The sound of the woodman's axe, save here and there, had never echoed through its sylvan shades. It lay as nature made it, in all its wealth of virgin soil, of sparkling streams, of woody slopes and glens, of beanty everywhere. Throughout its trackless domain resounded the howl of the wolf, the screech of the owl, the twitter of the song-birds; but no human being felt aught of joy or fear in the dismal harmony. We see Braintree, then, a forest town with no human occupants. But soon the sturdy wood began to yield to a mightier force than nature. Invincible will made the sinews of the rustic's arm like steel. No sentiment like "Woodman, spare that tree!" stayed its power. It was nerved for conquest. And conquest came anon; for acre after acre bared its bosom to the sky, kissed the sunlight, embraced the storm, and drank the dews and rain, till at last the whole expanse became dotted with green fields and happy homes, the arena of enterprise and thrift.
But, you will ask, who were those sturdy pioneers through whose grit and muscle difficulties and obstacles almost insurmountable gave way to pros- perity and success? Let ns glance from the picture to the reality, from the dream to the dry facts which are the outcome of hard necessity and toil and the stern discipline of circumstance.
It was in 1778 when the first chopping was done within the limits of the town. At the request of the proprietors of Roxbury and Northfield, who were also petitioners for the charter of Braintree, Reuben Spaulding made an opening at the place where the railroad enters the town from Randolph, on the farm owned by A. B. Tewksbury of West Randolph.
THE CENTENNIAL.
A meeting, warned by an "Advertisement In the Publick Prints," was held August 6, 1783, at the house of Ebenezer Baker in Brookline, Mass. This was the first proprietors' meeting, the beginning of the town's history. It was adjourned to meet at Jonathan Dana's, at one o'clock the same day. James Brackett was chosen chairman and David Holbrook proprietors' clerk, Jacob Spear and Jonathan Holman were appointed a committee to lay out the five rights reserved by the charter, each to receive 4s. 6p. per day and find his own horse. The first proprietors' meeting in Braintree was held Sept. 19, 1786. The officers elected were James Brackett, chairman; Elijah French, clerk; Jacob Spear, treasurer; Samson Nichols, collector.
The town was organized April 7, 1788, upon a warrant issued by Asa. Edgerton, Justice of the Peace, of Randolph, he serving as first moderator. Elijah French was elected first clerk and treasurer; Jacob Spear, Ebenezer White, and Stephen Fuller, selectmen and listers; and Edward Bass, constable and collector. Freeman's meeting was first held Sept. 2, 1788, but it was voted not to ballot for state officers, only town business being considered.
The town was laid out in three divisions, and the surveys were made by Ebenezer Waters and his assistants, Jonathan Holman, Samson Nichols and Jacob Speal.
Silas Flint was the first man to settle in Braintree. He came from Hampton, Conn., but before moving into town he lived some time about two miles north of Randolph Center. In February, 1785, he brought his goods in on a hand sled; he lived in a log cabin built near the present site of Geo. W. Adams's house, and owned that farm. This is believed to be the first dwel- ling place in town. His wife was the first woman to come into Braintree, and she received in consequence 100 acres of land from the proprietors. Mr. Flint was one of the substantial, enterprising men of his time.
Samuel Bass settled in town about the last week in May, of the same year, 1785. He built a log hut near the spot where he afterwards put up a frame dwelling house-the same now being owned by Apollos Sharpe. He was. originally from Old Braintree, Mass., now Randolph, whence he went to Old Hadley, Mass., thence to Cornishi, N. H., and finally to this town. Hiram, his son, was the first child born in town, for which the proprietors voted him 100 acres of land, which Nelson Scott now occupies. Anna, wife of the late Joseph Flint, is the only surviving member of Dea. Bass's family [she has since died].
Jacob and Samuel Spear were among the next earliest settlers. They came from Braintree, Mass. Jacob was the principal agent in procuring the charter, and in honor of him, it is said, the town was named after his first residence. Nathaniel Spear, from the same place, came to Braintree in 1790. Three years after he built a saw mill on Spear's Brook. Though rather eccentric, he was prominent among the early settlers. He used to remark of himself that he was "the wonder of every wise man and the derision of fools." Once he drove a horse and an ox together for his team. Some believed that. he buried his money, and were foolish enough to dig for it. He first lived where Daniel V. Page does. About the same time, or sooner, Isaac Nichols, Henry Brackett, John Hutchinson, Maj. Wm. Ford, Ebenezer White, and others, became residents of Braintree. All were prominent, substantial men.
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THE CENTENNIAL.
Isaac Nichols came from Sutton, Mass., and moved into Braintree in October, 1787. He was the first representative, elected in 1791. Maj. Ford is described as being an active, ambitious man. He built a large hotel where Jarvis Tilson lives, known as the Maj. Ford place. At West Randolph he built a factory where the grist mill stands, and a hotel; also a carding and clover mill near where Ira Ford lives. But the freshet of July, 1830, swept away his mills and factory, and he died the same year. Fire subsequently destroyed the hotel.'
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