USA > Vermont > Orleans County > The history of Orleans county, Vermont. Civil, ecclesiastical, biographical and military > Part 22
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In January, 1823, the first school-house in the village was built by the voluntary contri- butions and labor of the inhabitants. The top of a very large hard-wood stump was lev- eled and smoothed to supply a solid founda- tion for one of the corners. This house stood upon a part of the present site of Hartford Hancock's house. In the winter of 1823-24, the first school in it was taught by Loring Frost. This school-house was used till 1835, when another was built near the same site. The present school-house was built in 1857- 58, at an expense of $2000.
The Rev. Lyman Case and family moved into Coventry March 10, 1823, bringing with them the first cooking-stove ever seen here. In 1823 Eber K. Hamilton built a two-story house, 40 by 30 feet, on the present site of C. R. Dailey's house, and began keeping tavern
there. The Hamilton house was destroyed by fire Sept. 3, 1859. Calvin Harmon built a blacksmith's shop on the river bank a little below the falls, and furnished it with a trip- hammer. Jonas Cutting was the first occu- pant of the shop. The business of a black- smith was much more laborious, as well as broarder in its scope, than it is now. His stock consisted mainly of Swedes or Russia bar iron, 3 or 4 inches wide, and this he had to split, hammer and draw into shape for all purposes, even to the making of horse-shoe nails. He was expected to make any iron article which was wanted. and he did make axes, hoes, edge-tools, hand-irons, shovels, tongs, and many other iron articles, each of which is now regarded as the work of a dis- tinct trade. Samuel Cobb even made darning needles.
This shop was occupied successively by Jo- nas Cutting, Holland Witt, Daniel Bartlett, and Holland Thrasher, and was burned April 16, 1834. Mr. Thrasher then built a shop standing partly on the ground now occupied by the post-office, and partly east of that .- This was burned April, 1843, and he then built the shop now occupied by him. He has been a blacksmith in the village since April, 1832.
Calvin and Daniel Harmon gave the land for a village common, on condition that the citizens should clear it of stumps, and smooth the surface. They were slow in complying with the condition, and, to expedite matters, it was agreed that whoever became "the worse for liquor" should do public penance, by dig- ging out one stump. This proved to be much more effectual in clearing the land than in preventing drunkenness. A pint of rum afterwards came to be regarded as a fair compensation for digging out a stump.
The first permanent settlement on West Hill was made in 1823, by Aretas Knight from Westmoreland, N. H., who commenced on the farm now owned by Amos K. Cleve- land. Calvin Walker had previously made a clearing and built a cabin on the hill, but he became discouraged and abandoned his improvements. When Mr. Knights first went to his farm the forest was so dense that he spent half a day in going from the village to the spot where he pitched. Calvin Har- mon assured him that he would by and by see the stage passing over the same route
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which he had traversed with so much difficul- ty, and this prediction was fulfilled.
Knights built a small house, which was for some time the only dwelling on the hill. It served as a house of entertainment for such as came to examine lands before purchasing, and a boarding house for settlers till they could build for themselves, There was quite a rapid immigration into that part of the town, and his house was sometimes crowded to the utmost. It was inhabited several months by 23 persons, 8 of whom were mar- ried couples, with 14 children under 7 years of age. The little building which contained so large a population is now one of Mr. Cleve- land's out-houses. Tyler Knight commenced in 1823 on the farm now owned by George W. True. In February, 1825, Sidney White began a clearing on the farm now owned by John Armington, and in the fall he built a house near the present site of Mr. Arming- ton's house, of which house it now consti- tutes the back part.
Hollis Dorr moved on to lots No. 117 and 118, April 1, 1825, and built a log cabin on No. 118, on the site of James Goodwin's pres- ent residence. The cabin was in the very heart of the woods, and so near that the branches of the hemlock trees could be reach- ed from the windows. In 1825 John M. Fair- banks began on the farm still owned by him, -John H. on the farm now owned by Silas H. True, and Walter Bowen on the farm now owned by William A. Peacock.
In 1824 came Argalus Harmon, who bought the mills at the upper falls, and built a store and a two-story house on the level east of Jo- seph Kidder's present residence. Both these buildings were afterwards taken down and converted to other purposes. The site of the house is indicated by a row of shade trees, and the store stood directly opposite. In Feb- ruary, 1825, Calvin and Daniel W. Harmon sold their stock of goods to Elijah Cleveland & Co., who commenced business with a larger and more varied assortment than had before been offered for sale in this part of the coun- try. They also sold at much lower prices than any of their competitors, and soon se- cured an extensive custom. Molasses was sold at $1 per gallon, bohea tea at 58 cents a pound, and young hyson at $1,50, loaf sugar at 28 cents, brown sugar at 14 cents, allspice at 50 cents, cinnamon at 10 cents an ounce,
pound, cast iron at 10 cents a pound, pins at 25 cents a paper, shirting at 25 cents a yard, calico at prices varying from 25 to 50 cents a yard, and all other goods at proportionate prices. Two circumstances conspired to en- hance the value of merchandise in those days. One was the great expense of transportation, which, in the case of heavy articles, much ex- ceeded the original cost of the goods, Port- land and Boston were the nearest places at which merchants could supply themselves .- From Portland goods were drawn by horse- teams over a long and difficult road. Trans- portation from Boston was accomplished gen- erally in the same way ; but sometimes mer- chandise was sent on vessels, by New York, Albany and Whitehall to Burlington, and thence conveyed by horse teams. Another circumstance which increased prices was that goods were sold mainly on credit, and for bar- ter pay. The almost invariable terms were, that payment should be made in produce ir. the January following the purchases, which if the customer failed to do, he was required to pay cash and interest within the succeed- ing year. January was always a busy month with the merchant. All the teams in the vi- cinity were put in requisition to carry pro- duce to market, and when ten, fifteen or twen- ty two-horse teams were loaded and started for Portland, the merchant took stage or pri- vate conveyance, and reached the city in sea- son to sell the loads and make his purchases, so that on the arrival of teams they might be immediately loaded for the return trip .- If a satisfactory price could not be obtained, the produce was shipped from that place to Boston ; but the former city was the place of resort in the first instance, and so continued till the opening of a railroad from Boston northwestwardly turned the current of trade towards that city, and as the expenses of transportation diminished, the prices of goods decreased in proportion.
The first capital operation in surgery was performed Feb, 27, 1825, by Dr. F. A. Adams of Boston, who amputated Jonathan Bald- win's leg, which had been crushed the day before by a falling tree. Within less than a year from that date Dr. Adams amputated 3 other legs in Coventry ; one of Francis Siscoe, a lad whose ancle had been crushed ; one of Isaac Baldwin, on account of a fever-sore ; and one of Nathaniel Dagget, Feb. 14, 1826, salt at $2,25 per bushel, nails at 14 cents a lon account of a white swelling. Isaac Bald-
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win had sufficient strength of constitution and will to use his leg till the very day it was cut off. He made all the necessary prepara- tions, and even took care of the horse of the surgeon, when he came to perform the op- eration.
In June, 1825, Nathaniel Daggett came to the Centre and commenced shoemaking in the front room of Daniel Ide's house, (now occu- pied by Mr. Putney.) He was the first shoe- maker who pursued the business as a regular trade. Others had done some shoemaking with their main employment-and one per- son, John Hamilton, had " whipped the cat" from house to house. Daggett at once enter- ed upon a good business. In the fall of 1826 he built a shop on the spot where the brick church now stands. In the fall of 1825 John C. Morrill built a shop in the village, and was the first shoemaker there. His shop was af- terwards converted into a dwelling-house, and is now occupied by M. L. Phelps.
During the same year William Miner and Amasa Wheelock commenced the business of tanning, on the site of the present tannery. The apparatus for grinding bark was efficient though simple. A round, flat stone, some- what like a millstone, about 8 feet in diame- ter, and as many inches thick, was set on edge. Through the centre passed a spindle, one end of which was inserted into an up- right shaft, and to the other end a horse was attached. The stone was thus made to de- scribe a circle around the shaft, about 50 feet in circumference, at the same time revolving on its own axis, and crushing the bark be- tween itself and the plank floor beneath.
In 1825 Mr. Cleveland built an ashery, in which he began to make pearlash in Decem- ber. The ashiery stood just south of J. Doug- lass' blacksmith's shop. It was burned two or three years after, and another was imme- diately built on the same spot. In the sum- mer of 1856, the building having become ru- inous, it was taken down, and the materials used to make the embankment at the south end of the bridge.
and his wife moved a few weeks after, and there they long resided without neighbors, and seeing bears much oftener than human beings. Wild beasts infested that part of the town more than any other. In those days it bore the name of " bear ridge." Higgins had many stirring adventures with his savage companions, 14 of which he killed, 3 in a sin- gle day. One night as he was walking home from Troy a bear followed him 3 miles through the woods. Some of the time Hig- gins sung, some of the time he scolded, by which means and the help of a stout cudgel he kept his pursuer at bay, though he was not able to kill him or to drive him off. At another time he was confronted by a she-bear with cubs. She stood on her hind feet and disputed his passage. Higgins was unarmed, save with such stones and sticks as were near at hand, but he maintained his position till his dog came to help him, and with that as- sistance he put his adversaries to flight. Bears have not yet been utterly exterminated from the Gore, though they are now quite rare. In the fall of 1858, Higgins had sight of one which he thought to be the largest he ever saw. [In the body of the town wild beasts have not, since the settlement, been very nu- merous nor mischievous. Growing crops and flocks of sheep have suffered somewhat, but not extensively, from their depredations. No bear has been killed since 1831. On the 20th of Jan. 1838, three wolves were seen, and a wolf hunt took place. Another hunt occur- red March 1829, which resulted in killing of one wolf. Other wild animals of the cat tribe have been seen occasionally and at long in- tervals. A lynx was killed, Jan. 9, 1862, by Cephas R. Lane and others. In this connec- tion it is not unsuitable to record that, in June, 1868, Charles Eaton caught in a trap a grey eagle, measuring more than 6 feet from tip to tip of wings.] The progress of af- fairs in the Gore has been quite slow. The cleared land does not much exceed 300 acres.
The first death of an adult in the west part of the town was that of Mrs. Mary Hamilton, wife of Eber R. Hamilton, which took place Oct. 14, 1825. She was the first person buried in the graveyard near the village.
The settlement of Coventry Gore was begun Oct. 7, 1825, by Archibald W. Higgins, who, with three other persons, went out into the woods nearly three miles from any house, At the March meeting in 1827 the town voted to hold its future meetings alternately at the Center and the Village. For some and began a clearing. They had not so much as a path to guide them, but found their way by following marked trees on the lines of lots. years previous meetings had been held at the A log cabin was built, into which Higgins Center school-house, which stood just North
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of Mrs. Mary A. Holton's present residence ; [ and earlier still, at a school-house on South Hill, standing in the north-east angle formed by the crossing of the roads ; also at Dr. Red- field's, John Ide's and various other private houses. They now became more permanent- ly located at the two principal centers of pop- ulation and influence, and since Sept. 1837, they have been held exclusively at the vil- lage. For some years the village bore the name of Harmonville, which has now gone into disuse. Its boundaries were legally es- tablished to be a circle with a radius of half a mile from the center of the common, except that southwardly it was limited by Irasburgh line.
In the Fall of 1827, John W. Mussey built a shop just south of S. F. Cowles' present res- idence, and in the following Spring he com- menced the cabinet business there. He was the first cabinet maker in Coventry. During the same Fall, Jesse Cook, from Morristown, built a fulling-mill on the ground now occu- pied by the starch-factory, and furnished it with machines for carding wool and dressing cloth. He also built a dwelling-house on the hill north-eastwardly from the fulling-mill. This house, to which a second story has since been added, is the one now occupied by Sam- uel Burbank. The same year Elijah Cleve- land & Co. built a grist-mill on the site of the present mill. Grinding was commenced there in Jan. 1828. Loring Frost was the miller for some months, and was succeeded by Emore Dailey, who bought the mill, Dec. 20, 1835, and in the Fall of 1854 built a new mill on the same site. He continued the busi- ness till his death, Aug. 9, 1868, and was suc- ceeded by his son, Charles R. Dailey.
In the Spring of 1828, Dr. S. S. Kendall built a house, which with alterations and large additions, is now the tavern of M. N. Howland. Dr. Kendall removed from the Center, to the village during the following Fall, and opened his new house as a tavern, Nov. 30, 1829.
The post-office was removed to the village in the Summer of 1828, and Loring Frost was appointed postmaster. His commission bore date June 12, 1828, but he did not take pos- session of the office till July 1. His succes- sors were Elijah Cleveland, Holland Thrasher, (1837-'41,) Calvin Harmon, Holland Thrash- er, (commissioned Mar. 22, 1845,) and Green- leaf Boynton, (commissioned April 6, 1861.)
In the fall of 1861 a post office was established at East Coventry, and Isaac Parker, Jr., (commissioned Oct. 21, 1861,) was appointed postmaster.
As late in the spring as April 14, 1829, the snow was 4 feet deep on a level, in the woods.
TEMPERANCE.
During the first quarter of the nineteenth century intemperance prevailed everywhere, and the people of Coventry were not unin- fected by the universal vice. Seventeen hogs- heads of whisky constituted a part of the first stock of goods brought into the village; at a time, too, when the population of the town hardly exceeded 300. There was none too much, however, to meet the demand. A cus- tomer, whose rule was to settle his account yearly, used to say that "almost every item in the account from one end to the other was nothing but whisky, whisky, whisky." But in 1828 a change in opinion and practice took place. On Sunday, Sept. 14, the Rev. Nathaniel Hewitt preached a temperance ser- mon, the first discourse on that subject ever pronounced here. The novelty of his views secured attention, and the vigorous argu- ments with which he enforced them carried conviction to many minds. A Temperance Society was organized July 11, 1829, as the result of whose efforts and of other appropri- ate means a decided reformation was effected. In August, Elijah Cleveland, then the only merchant, discontinued the sale of alcoholic liquors. Though the town has not been free from the vice of intemperance nor from the crime of rum-selling, it will compare favorably in those particulars with other towns in the State. Under the statute of 1844, authorizing the election of County Commissioners with authority to grant or refuse licenses, the town in 1845, gave 56 votes for anti-license Com- missioners and 33 for license Commissioners. In 1846 the vote was 45 to 29. Under the statute of 1846, submitting the question, "Li- cense or No License ?" to the annual vote of the people, the vote in 1847 was 54 for Li- cense and 53 for No License. This did not, however, truly express public sentiment, for in 1848, only 34 votes were given for License against 78 for No License, and in 1849, the vote stood-16 to 78. On accepting the pro- hibitory law of 1852, the vote was 53 for ac- cepting and 89 for rejecting. This was the result of a temporary excitement. The next Fall, the law was put distinctly at issue in the
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election, and Horace S. Jones, who had voted for the law, was re-elected representative by a vote of 87 against 35 for an anti-law candi- date. At several other elections temperance has been made an issue, and the temperance candidate has never failed of an election. Picciola Lodge of Good Templars was organ- ized in March 1863, and has maintained a vigorous existence for 7 years, and is still in a highly prosperous condition.
BUSINESS.
Samuel Sumner from St. Albans established himself in the practice of the law at Coventry, Nov. 13, 1828. His office stood on a part of the present site of D. P. Walworth's store, and is now occupied as a dwelling-house. He re- mained only till the following May. Charles Story commenced practice in the Spring of 1830, and continued till the winter of 1849, when he removed to Newbury. H. W. Weed, from Sheldon, went into partnership with him. Nov. 13, 1834, and continued some years. Oliver T. Brown commenced practice May 1, 1842, and remained till March 1848, when he removed to St. Johnsbury East. Wil- liam M. Dickerman commenced practice in the fall of 1847, and removed to Derby early in 1854. Henry H. Frost, a native of Coventry, commenced practice in the summer of 1850, and continued till his death, Nov. 25, 1859. He was succeeded by Enoch H. Bartlett, who had been his clerk, and who continued prac- tice till the spring of 1861. Leavitt Bartlett began practice July 15, 1861, and remained about a year. Elijah S. Cowles immediately succeeded him, and continued practice till Feb. 13, 1866, since which date the town has been without a lawyer. In the fall of 1828, another store was built. Its original site is now a part of the school-house-yard. In the summer of 1843 the store was removed, and it is now occupied by D. P. Walworth. The first merchant who stocked it with goods was Ebenezer Clement, who commenced business in December 1828.
During the summer and fall of 1829, sev- eral of the largest buildings in the village were raised. Seth F. Cowles built the house now occupied by him and he and Leonard Cowles, commenced business as hatters. The shop in which they made hats was the same and their sales room was the south front room in which S. F. Cowles now does business.
Work was commmenced on the church in July 1829. The raising of that ediffce was a
fortnight's job. It was begun on Monday, 24 August, and not completed till Saturday of the following week. On the 3d of October the frame of a dwelling-house for Daniel W. Harmon was raised. The same house is now occupied by Charles Thrasher. On October 10 the frame of Elijah Cleveland's present residence was raised, and by the following August the house was finished sufficiently to be occupied. During the same season Calvin Harmon built the house in which Simon Wheeler lives. It was originaly designed for mechanics' shops, and so divided as to fur- nish two such shops in each story. Its foun- dations were at first about 6 feet lower than they now are. The whole street along the bank of the river, has been raised from three to 6 feet. Before that was done, the river in times of freshet, not only overflowed the street but invaded the cellars in that vicinity, filling them sometimes to the depth of 3 feet.
In the summer of 1831, the Rev. Ralden A. Watkins built a dwelling house, the same in which Thomas Guild now lives. During the same season, Calvin P. Ladd built a two story shop just below the grist-mill. Here he did business as a general machinist; and manufactured, among other things, a large number of winnowing-mills. The shop was afterwards removed and modified, and is now occupied as a dwelling house, just east of Simon Wheeler's.
In the summer of 1837, Elijah Cleveland built a starch-factory on the site of the pres- ent factory, and the manufacture of starch was begun November 27. This factory was a great advantage to the farmers, furnishing a ready and sure market for one of their most important crops. Potatoes then brought only 10 cents a bushel, and were slow of sale at that price. The business of the factory increased from year to year, and the prodnc- tion and price of potatoes kept even pace with the increasing demand for them. In the summer of 1860, the factory was enlarged, and the following Fall and Winter, 36,000 bushels of potatoes were made into starch. In October, 1862, it was consumed by fire, but was immediately rebuilt. It converts into starch an average of about 30,000 bnsh- els annually.
MORTALITY.
The year 1843 was one of great and pecul- iar sorrow in Coventry, as well as throughout this whole region of country. Erysipelas, in
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its most malignant form, raged epidemically, and committed fearful devastation. So great were its ravages as almost to compel a sus- pension of all business, except ministering to the necessities of the sick and rendering the last offices to the dead. Sometimes its vic- tims died within two days from the attack ; in other cases they lingered for several weeks. Those who recovered, did not for months fully regain their previous health. The disease was fatal alike to the very young, the middle- aged, and the old. In one instance, a whole family-husband, wife, and child-was de- stroyed by the pestilence. It was equally dangerous in the most healthy localities and in those which ordinarily would seem more assailable by disease. The efforts of physi- cians to arrest its progress were futile, till, having apparently spent its force, it disap- peared. During that year the list of dead numbered 41; more than six times the aver- age number, and more than a twentieth of the whole population.
Notwithstanding the numerous deaths in that year, the mortality in Coventry has been less than is usual in towns of equal popula- tion.
The person who attained the greatest age, in town, was Mary Fairbrother. She died, Oct. 25, 1843, at the age of 95. Next in seniority were Salmon Wright, who died, Apr. 14, 1857; and Abel Hammond, who died Apr. 6, 1868 ;- each at the age of 93. Ruth Wright, the widow of Salmon Wright, died, July 30, 1866, at the age of 90 years, 6 months. John Mussey, who died, Dec. 18, 1866, was 91 years and 4 months.
On or about the 14th of June, 1846, a male child, of a year's age, was murdered by its mother, Hannah Parker, alias Stickney. The murder was effected by throwing the child into the Black River, near the bridge which crosses it in the North Neighborhood. The mother had been married once or twice, but there was considerable uncertainty as to the paternity of the child. She had no home nor means of support, and the child was a hin- drance in the way of her procuring assistance The officers of the company, however, and many of its members, did good service, either as recruiting agents or as soldiers, or in both capacities, during the war of 1861-65. In fact they constituted the nucleus, around which there was afterwards gathered another company of "Frontier Guards," which, under or employment. These circumstances over- came the maternal instinct, and persuaded her to the murder. Before throwing in the child, she disabled it from making efforts to escape, by tying together its neck and one leg with her garter. She was arrested, con- fessed her crime, and was committed to jail. | that name, went into the service with full
In due season she was indicted, and, on the second trial was found guilty ; but exceptions being taken to some rulings of the court, the judgment was reversed, and, after she had remained in jail about 8 years, she was al- lowed to go at large; the long confinement being regarded as severe a punishment as public justice required to be inflicted upon an offender who, in great weakness of mind and extreme desperateness of circumstances, had committed crime. Although this trans- action took place within the limits of Coven- try, the morality of the town is not thereby impeached, as the criminal was never a resi- dent of the place for any time, however short.
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