USA > Vermont > Chittenden County > Jericho > The history of Jericho, Vermont > Part 24
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THE BROWN MARKER AT RIVERSIDE, A TANGIBLE RESULT OF THE GREAT CELEBRATION, 1913.
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HISTORY OF JERICHO, VERMONT.
which has ever since been known as "Brown's River." The father shot a nice fat deer which was peeping through the bushes to satisfy his curiosity in regard to the new settlers and they were thus well provided for. While they were cooking their supper, they were very much surprised to see a man coming along from the mountain following the line of marked trees and leading a horse which had a bridle on, and a saddle with a few small bundles tied to it. The man was much surprised to see them camped there in the wilderness and was very glad to accept their hearty invitation to take supper with them and rest over night. He proved to be a well known land speculator from Albany, New York, who had purchased a large quantity of land in Stowe and had been over there for some time looking it over and also owned quite a quantity of land in Jericho where they then were. He had a plan of all the lots in Stowe with a short description of each lot which he had secured from the original surveyor of the town. So when Mr. Brown told him the number and grade of the lots they had purchased, they found they were joining some of his lots. He did not give a very encouraging description of these lands, said much of it was rough, rocky and thin soiled and not as good as the lands they were then camping on. He finally offered to give them two hundred and fifty acres of his land which they could see right there on the river for the three hundred of theirs in Stowe. They were so tired with their long journey and discouraged by the rough look of the mountain range before them and also by the description given of the Stowe lands, that they offered to give him their land there for two hundred and fifty acres in Jericho and fifty dollars in money, but he said he would not put any more money into the wild lands. But as he was about starting off in the morning he said he would give them the horse, saddle, and bridle, instead of the fifty dollars in money, and thus they closed a trade. So the Browns became the first settlers in Jericho, Vermont. They very soon made a comfortable small log house and barn, cleared up several acres of the best land, made a garden, planted some corn, sowed some wheat and oats and were quite contented in their wilderness home. They continued to clear up the land as fast as possible, got in an acre of winter wheat in the fall, and, when the first little snow came, the boys put the yoke of cows on the sled and the horse on a light sled they had
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HISTORY OF JERICHO, VERMONT.
made for him and went down to Williston and procured some few things they must have for winter. They bought two sheep and a few hens of Capt. Barney and three five pailed iron kettles of a man who had come up to Williston from Bennington. They worked hard all winter clearing up the land and in the spring tapped one hundred and fifty maple trees, caught the sap in little troughs they had dug out during the winter, and boiled it in the little five pailed kettles. The second year they had made such good progress that they felt quite independent. They had become good huntsmen and kept the family well supplied with all kinds of choice game and secured quite a number of dollars' worth of nice furs which they sold to a merchant from Vergennes. But during the latter part of the summer the Indians became quite trouble- some, coming in their canoes on the lake from Canada, and fol- lowing up the rivers to the Vermont settlers and taking them prisoners to get a bounty from the British at Montreal.
Chittenden and Capt. Barney considered it dangerous to stay at Williston and so went to the south part of the state remaining there until the end of the Revolutionary War. Brown thought he was back so far in the forest that the Indians would not be apt to find him, but in this he was mistaken, for one day a party of them dropped in upon him and took him and the boys captives to Montreal. They could not get any bounty for Mrs. Brown and so left her to care for herself. She was a strong resolute woman and determined to do the best she could by sticking to her home and taking good care of the wheat they had, having strong faith that Mr. Brown and the boys would find some way of es- cape. For two months she stayed there alone, took care of the garden and corn patch, milked the cows and saw that the stock was all fastened up securely in the barn every night, so that the bears, wolves, foxes and other wild animals could not get them, and after a long time of hard work and dreary waiting had the glad privilege of welcoming her husband and sons home again. They had been kept in prison in Montreal until the British officers decided they would not give a bounty for an old man and two boys, as they wanted men able bodied, young men, able to do military duty and as they did not answer the requirements of the service they were finally told to go, which they were very glad to do. They immediately commenced clearing up more land and
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Wrought this in 18
This Place my name Shall ever have Till I am dead laid in my grave d Sreedy Wormsmxboddy ere You may See my namecomplet
AN UNFINISHED SAMPLER. The work of Mrs. Lucy Martin Brown, at the age of nine years, mother of H. M. Brown.
FLINTLOCK MUSKET, AMMUNITION BOX, WOODEN CANTEEN, ETC., USED IN THE BATTLE OF PLATTSBURG. THE PROPERTY OF H. M. BROWN.
PLURI
By George Ty low Esquire,
Colonel Commandant of
the 30 Regiment, in the 2" Brigade and Division of the Militia of the State of Vermont.
TO Joseph Brown Jinn GREETING.
YOU being elected Forth sergeant in the First Company in said Regiment, by virtue of the authority to me given, reposing speci il trust in your pat- riotism, valor and good conduct, I do by virtue of these presents, authorise and ewpower you the said Joseph Bromin to act as forth sergeant in said company.
You will, therefore, carefully and diligently discharge the duty of forth sergeant in said company, according to military discipline and the laws of this state And you are hereby required to pay due obedience to your superior officers, and all officers and soldiers under your command are hereby directed to obcy you as their forth sergeant, for which this shall be your sufficient warrant.
Given under my hand, this
day of one thousand eight hundred and 19
Received for record, this Fifth
George Tyler Cal
A. D. 1819
day of June
and made entry, of the same in the Regimental Book, page as the law directs. Attest,
Adjutant of said Regiment.
JOSEPH BROWN'S COMMISSION.
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HISTORY OF JERICHO, VERMONT.
securing the crops. They enlarged their house and barn and the third year were quite comfortably situated, except that they were in continual fear of the Indians. After working quite hard for a long time, the boys decided to take a day or two off and go hunt- ing and fishing for a change. Accordingly one fine morning they started for the woods. A few days before a tailor by the name of Olds came to their house to make up some clothes and was at work by one of the windows where he could see out over the cleared land and looking up from his work he saw a party of twelve Indians coming from the woods towards the house. He immediately opened a window on the other side of the room and jumped out into the garden where Mr. Brown was at work and said, "Indians, Indians, run for your life," and, taking a course that would keep the house between him and the Indians, Olds succeeded in reaching the forest. and escaped without the Indians seeing him. Mr. Brown used to say he never was more pleased in his life then he was to see Olds run. He said, "he was a little fat short legged man and being very scared every step he took his heels flew up against his coat tails so that they stuck out like streamers. But Brown did not propose to run and leave his wife. She was up stairs and when she heard a great noise, came down and found a dozen great Indians dancing around the room. When they saw her they all gave one of their dreadful war whoops, and the leader of the party came up to her with a long sharp knife in his hand to cut her throat as she supposed, but in- stead of doing that he gave a loud laugh and cutting a string of gold beads she had around her neck he went dancing around the room and was greatly pleased that he had found such a rich treasure.
Mr. Brown had two fine hunting dogs, one of them was very large and fierce, as he expected he might have to fight for his life he called the dogs to him and started to get his gun which was hanging up under the stoop at the backside of the house, but several of the Indians came rushing out of the back door and took him prisoner. They formed a ring around him, gave several war- whoops, brandished their knives, and tomahawks, and seemed to be enjoying themselves very much, but did not show any desire to injure him. So he thought from their actions and by the experi- ence he had had with the first party that very likely they hoped to
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HISTORY OF JERICHO, VERMONT.
get more money by taking them prisoners then by taking their lives, so he offered no resistance. They then began looking around to see what they could find. They killed both his cows, his hog, and all the hens. They saved the best of the meat to take with them. They then cut open the straw and feather beds and took the ticks and blankets to tie up the things they wanted to carry with them. Mrs. Brown had been doing up a week's bak- ing in the great stone oven and had set out the loaves of bread, pies, and cakes, on shelves in the back stoop to cool. The Indians ate what they wanted and then cut up the rest of the bread and spread butter on it and fed it to the dogs. After they had eaten all they wanted, one old Indian suddenly jumped at the smallest dog and knocked him over with his tomahawk, this enraged the large dog very much and he sprang at the Indian, bit him through his throat and threw him on his back. Then all the other Indians sprang for the large dog, and seeing they were too much for him he ran for the woods, and that was the last they ever saw of the old dog. After taking every thing they could carry, they set the house and barns on fire and burned everything up. They then started with their prisoners for Malletts Bay where they had left their canoes. These Indians were only a few of a large party who had come up the lake from Canada. The rest went on up the Winooski River, down the White River to the Connecticut River and then down to the east part of the state. Between Winooski and Williston they captured an old hunter who had been up to Mr. Brown's a few weeks before. He was taken sick and kindly cared for at Mr. Brown's for some time. When he became strong enough to go on he did so, leaving without even thanking them for their kindness.
When the Indians had captured him, and he saw he would most likely be taken into Montreal he told them if they would let him go he would tell them where there was a man, his wife, and two boys. This they agreed to and he showed them the line of marked trees which led from Williston up to Brown's clearing. They then let him go, but very shrewdly sent three of their num- ber over the other side of a hill, and when he came over in that vicinity they captured him again. So he did not gain anything by his act of treachery.
The Indians concluded the boys must be out in the woods and so left three of their number to secure them when they re-
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HISTORY OF JERICHO, VERMONT.
turned. The boys did not get back to the clearing until dark and were of course very much frightened when they found every thing burned up. The Indians hid behind a log in the fence, and when the boys came up they jumped up and gave a loud war- whoop. The boys immediately ran for the woods and as they were well acquainted with the place they succeeded in avoiding the Indians for some time. . There was a piece of low brushy swamp land down near the river, and the boys hid under some trees that were turned up by the roots there, but after hunting for some time the Indians found them and immediately started with them for Malletts Bay. After an all night's tramp they came up with the rest of the party where they were camping on the lake shore. The party with Mr. and Mrs. Brown had reached the bay soon after dark and immediately made up a large fire on the shore.
The Indians ate quite freely of their raw pork, and one of them cut out two large pieces and brought them to Mr. and Mrs. Brown with the grease running down between his fingers, they could not eat the raw meat but did not dare to refuse it, and so held it for some time until another old Indian came up and took it, saying "good, good me eat." Mr. and Mrs. Brown had managed to hide some bread and cakes in their clothing and ate it after the Indians were asleep. In the morning the Indians caught some nice fish and roasted them with some of the meat and gave it to the prisoners ; this was very good and they enjoyed it very much. They then packed all their things in their canoes and the whole party started for Montreal, which place they reached in a few days, where the Indians turned their prisoners over to the British officers, who paid them eight dollars bounty for each of their prisoners. The Browns were confined in a prison near the officers' quarters and had to wait on them most of the time for about three years. They had very little to eat except the waste from the officers' tables. At the close of the war of the Revolution, they were set free and told to go home. But they were all very nearly starved and their clothes all worn out and they had no home to go to. Mr. and Mrs. Brown were too feeble to start off on the long tramp to Jericho. So the boys found a place where they could stay and do some light work to pay for their board, while they found some work for themselves
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HISTORY OF JERICHO, VERMONT.
and earned enough to get some good stout clothes, some boots, a couple of good guns, and a good stock of ammunition, some fish hooks and lines, a couple of good axes, and a few light necessary things which they could carry in a bundle on their backs. They then told their father and mother to keep up good courage and they would return for them as soon as they could get a log house built and things in such shape that they could live at their old home. They then procured each of them a good heavy woolen blanket to sleep in and packing up their things in as small com- pass as possible started on their tramp through the woods to their desolate old home in Jericho.
After two weeks of hard tramping and living on the game they could secure, getting what rest they could at night on soft boughs, they at last came to the old clearing. They at once went to work building a small log house, planted a little corn, made a good garden, and then went down to Williston and found Chittenden and Barney had returned to their farms with quite a little stock, and many things for the comfort of their families. They let the boys have a couple of cows, two sheep, a pig, a few hens, a little flour, some corn-meal, and salt.
They made a light sled and yoke for the cows, packed what they could on the sled and went back home feeling quite rich once more.
The next week they made another trip to Williston for some seed corn, some wheat, and oats, etc. They then sowed an acre of wheat, a couple of acres of oats, and planted an acre of corn and more garden seed. After building a log barn so that they could have a place to keep their stock safely, Charles went to Montreal for their father and mother while Joseph, Jr., stayed and took care of the things at home. He worked hard every day cutting brush and scrubbing up the land and preparing another piece for a fall crop of wheat so as to be in as good shape as pos- sible for the long Vermont winter which he knew would try their resources severely.
At the end of nearly a month he was rejoiced to welcome the family home once more. They did not have any more trouble with the Indians, and as peace was declared with England they were relieved of the dreadful fear of capture and the destruction of their home.
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HISTORY OF JERICHO, VERMONT.
They all worked very hard in clearing up the rest of their land and every year saw many new improvements on the farm. They built many rods of stonewall, and rail fence, and bought one hundred acres more land, part of which they cleared for pasture. In the meantime quite a number of new settlers came in to town, and soon the great forests were being rapidly cleared up and new houses built. Charles and Joseph, Jr., soon married and divided the farm, Charles took the northeast part from the town line to the Brown's River bridge and Joseph, Jr., the south part. The father and mother lived with Charles, and Joseph, Jr., built him a house on the hill where the roads intersect from Rich- mond and Jericho Corners with the old county road from Winooski River to Underhill.
Joseph Brown, Jr. and Elizabeth Daily m. March 18, 1788. Their first child, David Brown, b. May 4, 1792; Truman Brown, b. Oct. 11, 1795; Joseph 3rd, b. Oct. 9, 1797; Tryphena, b. Oct. 15, 1799; Bela, b. Nov. 16, 1801.
After about 14 years of a hard working but happy life the mother was taken away, and about a year after the father mar- ried Polly Cady of Cambridge. She was a nice young lady who had worked in the family and made a most excellent mother for the children and also raised five children of her own: Elizabeth, Lovica, Rufus, Polly and Lucius B. She lived to see all these children grow up to manhood and womanhood and all were m. except Lovica whose health was not very good. This woman Polly Cady Brown was a most excellent specimen of a Vermont mother of the early days, strong and resolute, but lov- ing and kind. She kept all the children in their happy home un- til they were of age and ready to go out for themselves, and was always ready to give them a hearty welcome to the old home whenever they could return. She also took a little son of Truman Brown whose name was Eleazer and kept him until he was of age. She was an earnest working member of the Methodist Church, and she and Mr. Brown who was a member of the Episcopal Church were careful to bring up the children in the nurture and admonition of the Lord, and had the satisfaction to see them all become men and women who could always be relied upon in every good work, and highly respected wherever they went. The Brown family were industrious, and learned to do
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HISTORY OF JERICHO, VERMONT.
all kinds of work in the house and outdoors. Joseph Brown, Jr., always raised a nice piece of flax and prepared it in the best manner for making up into household garments, and the mother and girls were skilled in the manufacture of fine linen and woolen cloths. This work all had to be done by hand in those days and they all took much pride in seeing how nicely they could do it.
Mr. Brown learned to tan hides of all kinds and to make shoes and boots for the family. He also had a blacksmith shop, and could shoe his horses and oxen, and do many jobs of work needed on the farm. Thus much which others paid out was saved and helped to make the family independent and comfortable. The boys and girls were not idle, and running about the streets, but were always engaged in doing something for the comfort and enjoyment of the family. The boys were good carpenters and could put up a good house or barn, shingle and clapboard a building or mend any kind of wood utensils, etc., and spent many rainy days and winter evenings in the little carpenter's shop in making things for use and comfort in the home. Mrs. Brown always took great pride and comfort in having the largest and best flocks of hens, geese, turkeys, ducks, and fowls of all kinds, for which she received many dollars and also supplied her own family with much of the choicest eating. She had a full supply of the very best feather beds for her own home and some for each of her children when they commenced house-keeping. When there were children enough in the vicinity of the Brown's settlement to need a school, they put up at first a good log schoolhouse, and, as quite a number of the people were members of the church, they called it "Church Street School- house" and held meetings there quite often. Old Elder Fay lived where the Gleason farm now is, and being a minister of the Freewill Baptist denomination he often preached at this school- house. One of the ministers of the Methodist denomination generally had a preaching service there once a month, and Rev. Breek Bostwick, an Episcopal minister, whose father and brothers and sister lived there, often held service in this same Church Street Schoolhouse, and these meetings were always well attended by people from all parts of Jericho and Underhill.
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HISTORY OF JERICHO, VERMONT.
At one time during the War of 1812, it was necessary to convey a large number of troops from Burlington to Sacketts Harbor and it became necessary to press all those who had good teams into the service. Mr. Joseph Brown, Jr., had a good span of horses and a large double sleigh, and was therefore among the number who were obliged to go. It was very cold winter weather, the snow was deep, and there were so many teams on the road that it was very difficult to find comfortable places to stop, and therefore it was very uncomfortable for all who had to go, but there was no other way to do, as the government must have the teams, and no one wanted to let his team go without be- ing with them to see that they were fed and cared for as well as possible. Mr. Brown went and had a very long cold journey, dur- ing which he was often very hungry and could with great diffi- culty get enough to keep his horses from suffering.
Referring to himself Mr. Barney says, "I think perhaps I may be now the oldest of the Brown and Barney families who has spent most of his life in Jericho, and I think Henry M. Brown is the oldest bearing the Brown name who has spent all his life there."
In looking over the list of the Brown and Barney families and their descendants, I find that about 70 of the Browns and their descendants and over 60 of the Barneys have lived in Jericho at sometime."
Concerning the Browns, Wallace B. Fish writes as follows:
"In my opinion from researches made in the past, I believe that the Brown family, which located in Jericho, were direct descendants of the Browns that settled in Maine in 1617. They had a Joseph and Charles; I traced a Nathaniel to this family. Later a colony settled on the coast of Maine in 1617, coming from the same section of England as the first, three years before the Pilgrims landed, and assisted them in many ways especially in the way of food. They had a trading post with the Indians. The colony came from England with a fishing and trading outfit and Joseph Brown was their leader.
About 1647 a part of the Brown family started out on an exploring trip, they first landed in Portsmouth, N. H., from there went to Boston and in time drifted to Rhode Island. Here one of them Charles remained, the others went to Stonington and 20
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New London, Conn. After a while a part of them started north, and in this party was a Joseph. This was a number of years after they reached Boston. No dates to go by until in 1740 or about that time a Joseph died in New Haven, Conn., and left a Charles, Joseph, and Nathaniel, also two daughters. Joseph and Nathaniel left for the North following the Connecticut River. Nathaniel was married at the time they located in Middletown, Conn., about 1741. Here I lost them as a combination, unless a John Brown that located near Meriden, Conn., was of this family. Some eighteen years ago I made the acquaintance of an old gentleman by the name of Charles J. Brown, on a Newport boat, who was very interesting and liberally educated. He was 88 years old and had the Browns down to a fineness. I gave him my card, W. B. Fish, he at once wanted to know what the B. was for. I told him for Brown, and that my grandmother, on my father's side, was a daughter of Joseph Brown one of the early settlers of my native town in Vermont. He at once replied that I must have been born in Jericho, and asked me if I ever knew Zina Brown. I said I did very well. He then told me that Zina was a distant relative of his, and that my grandmother must have been Zina's aunt and that he and I were of the same blood, and then he gave me much of the foregoing information and said that the Providence Browns were a direct line of the Browns that settled in Maine, in 1617, and that the Brown Uni- versity of Providence was founded by the same strain of Browns.
I had much of their history before I met him, but his knowledge helped to corroborate it."
The differences of opinion among the descendants regard- ing the origin of the family, the route pursued to get to the settlement, and other matters, are in the mind of the editor, more in appearance than in reality. Then, knowledge was disseminated from father to son, by word of mouth rarely by record, and traditions through different families might easily become diversi- fied. The essentials, however, seem to be confirmed in the minds of all. Only matters of minor importance vary. Mr. B. H. Day and Mr. Truman Barney trace the family ancestry to Connecticut. Mr. Wallace B. Fish attempts to go back still farther to Browns that came to Maine in 1617, and his assumption seems reason- able. Again, Mr. Day pictures their coming up the Connecticut
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