USA > Vermont > Rutland County > The history of Rutland county, Vermont; civil, ecclesiastical, biographical and military, pt 1 > Part 15
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He was a devoted husband, an affectionate father, an ardent and generous friend. Was ready to give to the last dollar to relieve the destitute and suffering who sought his aid. Had he united the courtesy of a Seward towards his opponents with his own devoted- ness to his friends, it would have been to his advantage, but still multitudes of hearts were ardently attached to him, and thousands mourn for his untimely fall as for a father or a brother.
On his visit to Middlebury College, al- ready mentioned, he made that institution a donation of $500, and he founded a noble institution near Chicago, and enriched it with a princely donation.
"How are the mighty fallen in the midst of the battle." Yes, in the midst of the bat- tle of life and in the midst of the battle for our national existence, a chief pillar of the State has fallen. May the hearts that beat warmly for him in his lifetime, and that grieve for his early fall, now turn with a stronger affection to our loved father-land which he spent his last and dying efforts to save.
Death, that comes with equal pace to the palaces of the rich and the hovels of the poor, has claimed for his own the Senator, the husband, the father, the friend, and all that was mortal of Stephen A. Douglas now sleeps on the banks of Lake Michigan, in his adopted State, near the institution founded by his benevolence, which is his noblest monument.
PROPHETIC FORESIGHT OF SENATOR DOUGLAS.
A remarkable exhibition of foresight by the late Senator Douglas-a native of Bran- don, and the bones of whose ancestors rest in the old Cemetery back of the Congregation- al Church in this village-has been lately made public. In a speech in the House of Representatives, Mr. Arnold of Illinois made these interesting statements :
" Here I will pause a moment to state & most remarkable prediction made by Doug- las in 1861. The statement is furnished to ine by General C. A. Stewart of New York, a gentleman of the highest respectability. Douglas was asked by General Stewart, (who was making a New Year's call on Mr. Doug- las,) " What will be the result of the efforts of Jefferson Davis and his associates to divide the Union ?" Douglas replied : " The cotton States are making an effort to draw in the border States to their schemes of secession, and I am too fearful they will succeed. If they do succeed, there will be the most terri- ble civil war the world has ever seen, lasting for years. Virginia will become a charnel house ; but the end will be the triumph of the Union cause. One of their first efforts will be to take possession of this capital, to give them prestige abroad, but they will never succeed in taking it; the North will rise en masse to defend it; but it will become a city of hospitals ; the churches will be used
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for the sick and wounded, and even the Min- nesota block (now the Douglas hospital) may be devoted to that purpose before the end of the war." General Stewart inquired, " What justification is there for all this ?" Doug- las replied. "There is no justification nor any pretense of any. If they will remain in the Union I will go as far as the Constitu- tion will perinit to maintain their just rights, and I do not doubt but a majority of Con- gress would do the same. But, "said he, rising on his feet and extending his arms, " If the Southern States attempt to secede from this Union, without further cause, I am in favor of their having just so many slaves and just so much slave territory as they can hold at the point of the bayonet, and no more !"- Vt. Record of April, 1864.
BRIEF HISTORY OF THE PROTESTANT EPISCO- PAL CHURCH OF BRANDON.
June 15, 1839, Messrs. Royal Blake, Benja- min F. Greene, Charles Backus, Edward Sher- man, Francis Webb, James Briggs, and Charles Blake, met at the house of Royal Blake in Forestdale-east part of Brandon. Rev. Dr. John A. Hicks, then Rector of Trinity church, Rutland, by request, being present. The parish of St. Thomas church, Brandon was duly organized, the following elections being made :
Charles Backus, Senior Warden ; Edward Sherman, Junior Warden; Royal Blake, Francis Webb, Benjamin F. Greene, Charles Blake, Vestrymen.
Edward Sherman, Secretary.
Edward Sherman first represented the parish in Diocesan convention at Middle- bury, September, 1839. Services were held for many years at the house of Royal Blake, Forestdale.
1841. The few at the Village interested in the church united with those at Forest- dale and elected
Charles Backus, Senior Warden ; D. W. C. Clark, Junior Warden ; E. N. Briggs, Ben- jamin F. Greene, Dana Barnes, Edward Sherman, Francis Webb, Vestrymen.
E. N. Briggs, Treasurer.
Edward Sherman, Secretary.
After this, services were held alternately at the Village and Forestdale.
1845. The Diocesan Missionary Com- mittee designated Brandon as a Missionary Station and aided it by pecuniary appro- priations for some years. The first Rector was Rev. J. Perry. He was succeeded by Rev. Samuel B. Bostwick who remained 2 years.
Sept. 20, 1846, Rev. A. H. Bailey, who a few days before had been ordained deacon, commenced his ministerial labors here, which continued till 1850. He was succeeded by Rev. Thomas S. Randolph, who resigned, Easter, 1836, from which time till Nov. 1857, Rt. Rev. Bishop Hopkins, who always evinced a deep interest in the parish, gave it much time and fostering care, when Rev. H. H. Loring became Rector, resigning at the close of one year. At Easter, 1863, Rev. J. Newton Fairbanks became Rector of St. Thomas Church and labored for its extension till his death September, 1871.
The present Rector, Rev. William Schouler, Jr, took charge March, 1872, and was insti- tuted July 3, following. .
Since the organization of the parish some 300 have been baptized into the Church, and 220 confirmed; present number of communi- cants, 125 (about). A good church has been built at Forestdale, consecrated in 1853; and one of stone at the village consecrated in 1863 ; a pleasant rectory has been purchased. The growth of this church is vigorous. The following are the present officers of the parish :
Rev. William Schouler, Jr., Rector.
E. N. Briggs, Senior Warden, J. E. Higgins, Junior Warden ; J. A. Conant, C. W. Conant, J. Smith, George Bliss, J. H. Blake, E. J. Ormsbee, Vestrymen.
J. D. HIGGINS, Secretary and Treasurer. Brandon, August, 1872.
ST. THOMAS CHURCH, BRANDON-COMMENCED, 1860; COMPLETED, 1862.
" The church, of which the Bishop (the Rt. Rev. John H. Hopkins) was the architect, is in the pointed Gothic style, with open dec- orated spandrel roof painted light blue, chan- cel proper, main and side alleys. It is built of blue limestone, quarried in the vicinity. The nave is 56 by 33 feet, chancel 15} by 16, wainscoted, after the old English. The wainscoting, as also the reading desk, lec- terns, stall, open seats, (not pews), and doors of the church (which are handsomely carved), are all of butternut, oiled. The tower is 16 by 14; height, 62 feet; and is surmounted by pinnacles and battlements. It encloses that indispensable necessity (which speaks for itself), a fine-toned steel bell, the gift of a parishioner. The tower is soon to be she- mounted by a massive stone cross. The en- trances are through porches on each side. The tower opens into the church an l is used for the choir and organ. The windows are by Doremus, and reflect great credit upon his taste and workmanship. They are all
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of stained glass. The chancel window rep- revents the four Evangelists, and the large circular win low in the tower represents the Lamb triumphant. The altar is 3 feet high, by 4 feet 6, covered with a crimson cloth, with gold fringe. the monogram I. H. S. worked upon it, being the handiwork of a friend outside the parish.
The Bible and Prayer Books for the altar, lectern, and reading-desk, the Bishop's chair, the windows, the bell, and the font ( of beau- tiful white marble), are all the gifts of indi- viduals, members of ( or interested in) the parish." *- Church Journal.
CATHOLIC CHURCH IN BRANDON. FROM RT. REV. L. DE GOESBRIAND.
The Catholic congregation of Brandon numbers 225 families ; The frame of their church edifice was erected in 1853. They have been attended at different times from Middlebury, Rutland and Burlington until the fall of 1853, when a clergyman was sent to live amongst them. The church was much enlarged and embellished in the spring of 1858 through the care of Rev. W. Hal- pin, who then attended this mission from Middlebury. Rev. G. Caissy, the first resi- dent priest erected a. large and substantial parsonage on Carver St. in the year 1870. The present pastor is Rev. J. Mc'Loughlin, who from this place attends to the Catholic congregation of Pittsford.
BRANDON TOWN CLERKS.
BY GEORGE BRIGGS, ESQ.
1784 and 1785,
Gideon Horton.
1786,
1787,
Hiram Horton. James Ambler.
1788 and 1789,
Hiram Horton.
1790 to 1794,
Joseph Hawley.
1794 to 1795, James Sawyer.
1795 to Sept. 1809,
Joseph Hawley. Samuel Mott.
1$11 to 1815
Daniel Pomeroy. Nathan Pierce.
1822 to 1827, Isaac F. Merriam.
1827 to 1868,
B. Davenport.
1868 to present date,
George Briggs.
THE FROZEN WELL OF BRANDON.
BY PROF. A. D. HAGER. EX-STATE GEOLOGIST OF VT. AND LATE STATE GEOLOGIST OP MISSOURI.
This well is situated in the western out- skirts of the village of Brandon in " modified
* The bell was given by Wm. T. Blodgett, N. Y .; the font by Rev. Chas. S. Hale; the Bishop's chair by Chas. Y. Dana. nephew of Dr. A. G. Dann ; a chair correspond- ing to the Bishop's by Mrs. Hutchins; the windows were contributed by parishoners .- Ed.
drift" consisting of alternate strata of grav- el, clay and water- washed pebbles. It is about 35 feet deep, the bottom being in a stratum of pebbles so free from dirt or sell- ment that the water is not roiled by the i:p- ping of the windlass bucket even if the wi- ter is so shallow that it strikes upon the bot- tom. It is evident that the drift moteris in which the well is located occupies a basin ce- tween two nearly parallel ridges or walls of limestone on the east and west, about che eighth mile apart, and unbroken bels of the same rock on the north. At the south en i of this rock basin are deep beds of clay nearly or quite impervious to water.
The drift strata are not horizontal bo: osa- ally dip towards the south-east at an angle. in some places, of 25°. This was proved in dig- ging wells as well as in a gravel pit porta- west of the well and about 130 paces listass. At the time the frozen well was dug consider- able excitement was caused and much discos- sion followed the announcement that trizes earth had been found at a depth of 25 fees below the surface. The Boston Naturii His- tory Society manifested great interest in the subject and Dr. Chas. T. Jackson, Prof. Roig- ers and Mr. W. Blake were appointel a committee to make investigations and re- port to the society the cause of frost at such depths. What their report was I never knew, but was informed that some members of the committee believed. for a time. the frost to be the result of chemical agencies. Many experiments were made and new wells were dug with the hope of finding a solo :. : a of the interesting problem. If ice had not ap- peared in the well after it was dug and wall- ed up, the report that frozen earth hai been found would doubtless have been believei by few, except those who saw it. During the winter following 1858, and every wister since, ice has accumulated in and around the well and remained generally till the ensuing autumn. The frozen well was dug in So- vember, 1858.
In September, 1869, a well was sunk to the depth of 29 feet and water renchei. sev- enty feet south east of the frozen well, bu: 20 ice or frozen earth was found. This was ing under the direction of the Boston Nat. t.s: Society. The society also ordered one dns seventy feet north-west of the frozen ==... towards the gravel pit before allai-i :). On the 22d day of October at a depth of
Sept. 1809 to 1811,
1815 to 1822,
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33 feet. frozen earth was tound. Other wells were dug by citizens in the immediate vicini- ty for the purpose of getting water, but in no instance did they encounter frozen earth. In the clay alluded to, south of the rock ba- sin, and about 100 rods south west of the frozen well, is a well only 5 feet deep.
The surface of the land at this place is much lower than at the frozen well, the dif- ference being about the same as that between the depths of the two wells. The same is true of the first well dug by the Boston Nat- ural History Society.
In a slight depression about ten rods north of the frozen well, and at least 25 feet high- er than the water in it, there was a spring that furnished water except in very dry sea- sons. This spring was located on a bed of compact clay that came to the surface at this place. -
From the gravel bank to the frozen well there is a surface slope nearly corresponding with the strata-or about 20°. As this grav- el bank may have been, or is likely to be re- moved, it seems proper in writing an arti- cle for a historical work that a description of it be given. The road running from Brandon village to Sudbury was cut, about 10 rods, through a high knoll to the depth of a dozen feet or more and revealed strata as follows :
At the bottom was a stratum of pebbles as free from dirt as those found on a sea beach. Upon this rested a stratum of compact clay more or less contorted and not of uniform thickness, but varying from six inches to three feet. Upon this was a stratum of gravel two feet thick containing large and small pebbles. Next above this were strata containing small pebbles some of which were free from dirt like those below the bed of clay. From these to the top of the bank the material was made up mainly of sand and small pebbles, rarely larger than a robin's egg.
On the 25th of June 1859, in company with the late Prof. Edward Hitchcock, who was then State Geologist, I visited the fro- zen well for the first time.
On the 15th of July, I communicated to him, in an article published in the "Green Mountain Freeman," my views concerning the cause of the frost in the ground and the ice in the well, and, although many years have passed, yet I have not been able to form a more plausible theory.
Prof. Hitchcock did not fully eadorse my theory, but suggested, 1st, that "These fro- Zen deposits may have been producei during the glacial period that accompanied the formation of the drift, and continued far down into the subsequent epochs of molded drift."
2d. "We maintain that in porous deposits. especially when interstratified with those nearly impervious to air, ice may be formed at any depth, and remain unmelted for a great length of time."
I suggested, in the theory which I pre- sented, that the occurrence of ice in the well and the frozen earth were occasioned by the peculiar conditions of that drift deposit-the alternation of clay and porous strata of gravel or pebbles, the dip of the same, the opening made at the gravel bank, by which the edges of the strata were laid open so that cold air could enter them, and also the iso- lated position of the drift deposits, it being wholly surrounded by rock and compass clay. Were it not for the internal beat of the earth all wells, out of doors, like the one under consideration, would freeze in winter, for it is a well established fact that cold air seeks the lowest points. When frozen, the wells would always remain so, for the beat from the sun would not be sufficient to melt the ice in them. If a great depth of snow falls upon frozen ground in the fall and re- mains till spring, it is usual to find no frozen earth in the spring, although it might have been four feet thick when the snow fell orca it. Neither the sun nor the snow " draws out" this frost, but the internal heat of the earth is the agent that removes it. Being protected from the cold by the great depth of snow. the frozen mass is melted, first at the bottom, then continuing to the top the frost disappears and oftentimes vegetation starts its growth beneath the deep snow. This heat is com- municated by air and water, both of which move in currents beneath, as well as upon the surface of the earth.
Any one who has visited deep caverns in the earth need not be told that currents of air, as well as water, exist there. The Blow- ing Cave of Virginia is the outlet of a largo current of air, and the Mammoth Care in Kentucky furnishes instances of large streams of underground currents of water. These are extreme cases. Ramifications from these and other large currents permeate every por-
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BRANDON.
tion of the earth's crust where fissures or interstices in the strata exist. When cur- renta of water laden with internal heat break through the surface they are called cold springs. Cold as they seem in the hot weather of summer, they never freeze in win- ter. In a cold winter morning a frozen mist of fog may often be seen rising from these springs, and if bushes or other objects are over the spring they will become incrusted with a drapery of frost crystals. Now we will sup- pose that one of these currents, just before it reaches the earth, is tapped by digging a well and it becomes a well instead of a cold spring. Precisely similar results would fol- low. As soon as the water, having a higher temperature than the air, comes in contact with it, the latter becomes heated and at once rises up the well. In its ascent it meets the cold air, to which it imparts so much heat as to prevent its farther descent; other- wise the cold air would descend, and the water would freeze.
As a rule, all wells are supplied more or less by these subterranean streams of water, which act as equalizers of the temperature of the earth's crust near the surface.
But the frozen well at Brandon is an exception to this rule. As we have seen, it is an isolated basin of drift, cut off from other deposits by the limestone on three sides and by clay on the other. It is evi- dent that all the water in the basin is sup- plied from the surface. No ascending current of warm air rises in that well to prevent the descent of cold air in the winter, but the temperature is the same at the bottom and top. The water in the spring north of the well was not like that of a "cold spring," for it would become covered with snow in winter. It was supplied only with surface water, and this contained no extra heat to melt the snow as it fell. But snow never remains over a "cold spring," nor does the ground freeze around one. I will remark in this connection that the spring alluded to has disappeared. To make it larger, a hole was dug entirely through the stratum of clay, and the water, ever since, has run into the gravel below, and the water that other- wise would have continued to run from that spring now helps to supply the frozen well.
We will next consider why it was that
THE FROZEN GRAVEL was found when the well was being dug.
The isolated condition of the drift deposit was one of the agencies that helped to pro- duce it. But if there had been no communi- cation through which the cold air of winter could have descended into the earth, there would have been no frost, or frozen grave !. The opening of the gravel bank, and the exposure of the edges of those strata of wa- ter-washed pebbles afforded an opportunity for the cold air to descend. The alternating of clay and pebble beds and their inclination also aided in the production of the frozen earth. Assuming that there was internal heat in this rock basin, and there doubtless was a little that had been conducted through the solid earth without the agencies of water and air, it would, when coming in contact with the air in the interstices between the pebble bed below the clay, heat it and cause it to rise and escape at the gravel pit. As an evidence that some heated air, laden with moisture, did escape from this bottom bed of pebbles, I will state that on a cold winter day, I saw the edge of it covered with a crust of frost crystals that had been pro- duced by frozen vapor that had come to the surface and was congealed. No such incrus- tation was visible on the edge of the pebble bed above the clay. All the heated air arose and escaped from under the clay. As the clay was impervious to air, there was none to ascend through the stratum above the clay.
Therefore, as there was no ascending cur- rent of warm air rising to check the descent of cold air, it followed its natural course by sinking down through the porous stratum above the clay, and froze the earth that was found there by the well-diggers.
SINCE THE WELL WAS DUG,
the cold air has settled into it, and doubtless has passed out more or less through the bei of pebbles, freezing the ground above and below it, thus producing a large quantity of ice and frozen earth during the cold weather. As the warm air of spring and summer will not settle down into the well, and, as we have seen, it is nearly or quite shut off from the internal heat of the earth by its isolated position and by its inclined strata, the frost remains till late in the summer or fall. I will suggest that in a very wet summer the surface water coming in contact with the ice would have a tendency to inelt it, provided my theory is true. In other words, the ice
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will remain longest when a dry summer succeeds a very cold winter, and melt the quickest when these conditions are reversed. Another condition calculated to aid in the production of ice will be named. As the surface water descends into this basin through the porous beds of pebbles, the moving cur- rents of air through them produce evapora- tion. This alone is sufficient, when rapidly produced, to cause congelation. It is there- fore evident that this is one of the agents employed to create and perpetuate this inter- esting phenomenon.
BRANDON PAINTS. BY J. E. HIGGINS.
Geologists tell us there are more than four hundred kinds of simple minerals in the earth; but that five only of these minerals constitute about nine-tenths of the crust of the earth.
The study of the geological position of the useful minerals is interesting-and the im- portance of developing the sources of our mineral wealth has long been duly appre- ciated.
Among other minerals, brown hematite iron ore is abundantly found along the west- ern base of the Green Mountains, in Vermont; and in certain localities it is found in a dis- integrated, or decompresed state. In the east part of the town of Brandon, there is found an immense bed of decomposed hematite in connection with a mass of decomposed feld- spar. This decomposed hematite, called yel- low ochire, is being manufactured into a val- uable paint, of different shades, known as the "Brandon Paints." The decomposed feldspar is being manufactured into kaolin, called paper clay, and is used to give body and finish to paper.
Mr. Samuel Spaulding, of Brandon, was the first to discover and utilize this bed of yellow ochre, in the manufacture of paint, about twenty years ago. He was succeeded by Mr. O. A. Smally, who for several years manufactured a limited amount.
This Company have made and sold each year, from 500 to 1000 tons of paint, which
they claim possesses, in an eminent degree, ail the qualities requisite for the protection of wood or iron ; and they present it with great confidence to the public. This paint being composed of protoxide and peroxide of iron, and deutoxide of manganese in variable pro- portions, there are a variety of shades, from a light yellow to a dark brown, including also two or more shades of red. As they are ground very fine, and contain a large per cent. of manganese, which makes them dry quicker when spread in oil, they are, on this account particularly, preferred to foreign ochres.
The eminent geologist of England, Prof. Lyle, examined this locality some years ago and pronounced it a geological wonder, on account of the regularity of the formation, and the quantity of decomposed minerals.
The Ex-State geologist of Vermont, Prof. A. D. Hager, examined this bed in 1864, and from his report we quote :-
" The extensive beds of ochre and kaolin belonging to the Brandon Kaolin and Paint Co., cover an area of 80 acres. These beds form a portion of the highly interesting de- posits belonging to the tertiary formation which occur near the western base of the Green Mountains, and are exhibted at and near this locality on a more extensive scale than any other place in New England.
The formation consists of alternate beds of brown hematite, black oxide of manganese, yellow ochre and kaolin, and occasionally, lignite, or brown coal.
The inexhaustible supply of kaolin and ochre known to extend under nearly, if not quite, the entire surface of 80 rods square, should be a sufficient inducement for the in- vestment of a capital sufficient to thoroughly develope these extensive and valuable min- eral deposits."
DEACON ASAHEL JUNE.
FROM THE BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH READ AT HIS FUNERAL APRIL 20, 1862, BY REV. WX. FORD.
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