USA > Vermont > Caledonia County > St Johnsbury > The town of St. Johnsbury, Vt. ; a review of one hundred twenty-five years to the anniversary pageant 1912 > Part 11
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RIGID REQUIREMENTS
An important feature in the history of the times relates to the prevalent standards of conduct and morals. This church found itself facing a dominant and popular irreligion which had gone on for many years without restraint. To oppose this the church must have an approved standard of its own and strictly maintain it ; one result of which was that personal conduct became, as every where in those days, not wholly a matter of individual liberty but of church control. This accounts for the large attention and mi- nute detail given to cases of discipline; they were treated with forbearance and brotherly love, but also with a most serious pur- pose to correct whatever were held to be misdemeanors. An illustrative case occurred Sept. 19, when a young member was on trial "for Sabbath-breaking by traveling and visiting; for disre- spect and disobedience of his parents; for conformity to the world in conduct, conversation and dancing ; for unreasonably correcting a lad who lived in his father's house; and for challeng- ing Mr. Sargent to a fight." Other matters which the church took up for action and discipline were intoxication, betting, gambling, violation of the truth, unkindness, taking unlawful interest, ex- tortion in deal, attempt to pass counterfeit money.
THE SABBATH
Observance of the Lord's Day was made very urgent. In all the former history of the town there had been no Sabbath for anything but visiting, traveling, idling, or even worse, except as individuals in some quiet way kept the day worshipfully. Now the church set itself to have a Sabbath of the Lord their God, and went so far as to lay down rules after the old Hebrew type which condemned traveling, going-a-visiting and other things, "but if traveling without baggage and public worship may be attended by pursuing our journey a few miles, something like five or six, then, if our reckoning be settled on Saturday evening, it shall be justifiable for us to go on for the sake of joining a worshiping as- sembly .. " To such convictions and usages the church held itself rigorously, and in the course of time a new day began to dawn in St. Johnsbury. In 1818 it could be said that
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"Sabbath breaking is less general than formerly, and those who have been inhabitants from the first settlement have seen many outbreaking sins, gambling, drinking and profanity, which once were our disgrace now for- saken or driven into a corner. And such is the public sentiment now that our magistrates would refuse to recommend for license a house that was known to be a resort for tipplers."
For the changed conditions indicated in the above statement the town was indebted chiefly to the Christian sentiment and in- fluence of the old First Church in shaping public opinion. The process was slow and undemonstrative, but gradually the force of wholesome example and a right spirit won the respect and assent of the community.
PUBLIC CONFESSIONS
One can not read the early church records without being im- pressed by the spirit of sincerity and solicitude with brotherly kindness then prevailing, and these left their sure mark on that generation. To illustrate : A man somewhat prominent in the town made public confession before the church of regret for a thing he had done, not because he considered it improper, but solely because it had wounded the feelings of his fellow Chris- tians ; and this confession he wished made known to the world, also his intention to hereafter avoid anything that would give pain to the feelings of others. Again, at one time, July 13, 1823, after two months serious preparation, "the whole church went forward on the Sabbath Day to make their confession before the world." They publicly asked forgiveness of all whom they had offended ; with sorrow of heart they confessed their faults, and forgave others for their faults; they solemnly promised never to allude to any past differences, and prayed that they might be kept from wound- ing the feelings of others. This remarkable confession was not only read aloud but attested by the signatures of seventy-two members of the church. It is easy to believe that the prevalence of such a spirit of candor and considerateness could not fail to impress the popular mind and secure more wide and cordial ac- ceptance of Christian principles in the life of the town; the results of which have been manifest in all after years. The in-
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cident above given assumes greater significance considering the situation at the time. There was no pastor and had been none for five years, would be none for ten years more. It was the sim- ple, sturdy manhood and devout womanhood of the church in every day contact with life that gave it dignity and spiritual quality and growing influence in the town.
INCIDENTS
Susanna Mansfield mistook Sunday one time for Saturday and wove all day at her loom. She wondered what was going on as she saw people passing toward the center of the town. The next morning when Mrs. Higgins called, she was sitting quietly by the window, her work all put away. "O," she said, "what will people think of me ; they must have seen me at my loom yesterday, breaking the Sabbath Day!" On the contrary they would infer that she had missed a day in the reckoning, for her principles were well known. It was at her house that the few Christian women of the neighborhood used to meet for prayer meetings. Among them was a woman, mother of eleven children. She did her best to bring them up religiously. Her husband was, at that time, in a mood of opposition to this. He took occasion to hide her Bible. On coming home one night he saw a light in the chil- dren's room and hastily concluded that she had found it and was reading to the children. "He tore into the room, pulled the chil- dren out of bed and made a great fuss." But she meantime kept quietly on her way and by her gentleness and tact succeeded pres- ently in winning him to a changed mind and better life.
Neighborhood meetings in one of the districts were held in a barn. A pulpit was built up with boxes on the barn floor. Mrs. Frinda Graves said that there when a child she learned to sing two hymns : "Come, Holy Spirit, Heavenly Dove" was one, the other was "Hark, from the tombs a doleful sound." What partic- ular cheer and inspiration this last was intended to awaken in the old barn, she did not say. But very interesting in her remem- brance was the riding up to the old church on the hill behind her mother on the saddle, her Sunday dress nicely tucked up so as not to get soiled or crumpled. Other girls who had to walk,
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would go barefooted till near the church and then get into their shoes.
On the road lived Bethiah Shorey, who had scripture verses neatly written out and pinned up on the walls of her house. When a young fellow who had fought in the Revolutionary Army was sick and dying, Bethiah Shorey was the one he sent for, to come and read and pray with him.
WEEKLY OFFERING
One man of the old First Church read I Corinthians 16 : 2, as for himself ; procured a tin box and put into it each first day of the week the Lord's money, according as God had prospered him. That was the personal application of Scripture that Hubbard Law- rence made for himself-more than fifty years before the alleged "discovery of the weekly offering system," now in common use.
THREE SHEEP FOR PREACHING
St. Johnsbury, 7 June, 1826.
"For value received, I promise to pay Lewis Snell, Isaac Wing and Ezra Ide, Committee of the Congregational Society in the North part of St. Johnsbury, or their successors in office-three midling likely Ewe Sheep as to age, size and quality, on demand ; and I promise to keep the said Three Sheep five years free from expense to said Society; and I promise to pay the Wooll to the Committee in June, and the Lambs on or before the first day of November yearly, the first Payment to be made in June and November 1827 -all the Wooll and all the Lambs and all the proffits ariseing from said Sheep is to be laid out yearly for Congregational Preaching."
CALVIN STONE.
A PIOUS OLD HORSE
Old Whitey, the family horse of Hubbard Lawrence, went regularly every Sabbath day up to the Meeting House three miles away to carry that family and as many others as could be stowed into the great pung sleigh, together with the foot stoves carrying hot coals in cold weather. One day the deacon was sick and the family remained in the house. "But at the proper time the pious old horse seeing other horses going by on the way to church, leaped the fence and gravely trotted after them, taking his usual
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place in the shed till the services were over, when he gravely trotted back again, an edifying example to non-church goers."
THE UNIVERSALIST SOCIETY
A constitution for the Universalist Society of St. Johnsbury was drawn up under date of Sept. 3, 1813, to which the names of 210 men of the town stand appended on the Record book. It reads as follows:
"We whose names are hereafter subscribed, being encouraged by the Holy Bible, prompted by Reason, Judgement and the love of Order, being fully satisfied that well established and well regulated Religious Societies are of the highest importance in Communities as well as to individuals, and have a natural tendancy to promote Piety, Morality, and Virtue, and to ex- cite a spirit of Brotherly Love ; we do therefore for the above named laud- able purposes hereby enter in to Social Compact and Covenant to and with each other to form ourselves in to a Society by the name of the Universalist Society of St. Johnsbury, and do mutually pledge ourselves to each other to conform to and be governed by the following articles.
1. There shall be a meeting of the Society on the first of October at which all necessary officers for year ensuing shall be chosen.
2. Persons of any religious denomination may be admitted as mem- bers, they complying with the regulations of the Society.
3. All persons may have the privilege of hearing preaching in the Society, but none unless persons of good moral character shall be admitted to full fellowship.
4. Any member of the Society who shall be guilty of base and immoral conduct, shall be liable to reprimand and expulsion; but no member shall be expelled unless by a vote of two-thirds of the Society present at the meeting called with the knowledge of the member so to be dealt with, if living in the vicinity.
5. The proceedings of the Society shall be recorded, each member hav- ing the privilege of perusing the records. Any member may withdraw him- self from the Society at the annual meeting.
6. The foregoing articles shall be subject to amendment, revision or alteration at any annual meeting by vote of a majority of those present.
The names set to this Constitution do not appear in auto- graph, but as entered by the hand of the Secretary. They include a large number of the most prominent men of the town, as may be seen by these names taken from the list-Joel Roberts, Thomas Pierce, David Goss, Martin Wheeler, Ariel Aldrich, R. W. Fen-
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ton, John Barney, John Armington, Reuben Spaulding, Gardner Wheeler, Abel Butler, Nahum Stiles, Elkanah Cobb, Walter Wright, Jubal Harrington, Stephen Hawkins, Charles Stark, Phineas Page, Jonas Flint, Lemuel Hastings, Nathaniel Stevens, Enoch Wing, and 187 more, a notably strong body of men, with large possibilities of influence in the town.
From the fact that the first entry on the book of records, Oct. 12, 1825, is twelve years after the date of the Constitution, it may be inferred that there was an earlier book now lost. It does not appear that there was any church organized. Little in- formation is found on the records; they are mainly the brief minutes of the annual meetings, recording the choice of officers for the year. It is to be regretted that the material on record for historical mention is so scant. Now and then there is an item about the minister; Rev. Hollis Sampson is the first one named; Rev. Mr. Vose, another. In Oct. 1827, it was voted to pay Jonas Flint two and a half bushels of wheat for going to Haverhill after the Rev. Mr. Wright. Preaching services were held, alternately with the Congregationalists, at the old Meeting House on the Hill, in which house the members of this Society held the first choices and largest number of pews. The early records of the old First Church and of the Universalist Society are now preserved at the Athenaeum.
UNIVERSALIST MEETING HOUSE
At the annual meeting of October 1837 a proposition to build a Universalist Church at the Center Village was successfully car- ried. Subscriptions amounting to $1062 were made; the larger subscribers were Abel Butler and Ira Armington, $125 each, the smallest were $5 by several men. It was therefore "voted to build a meeting house to cost from ten to twelve hundred dollars, of wood and good materials, finished in good stile, and with a belfry sufficient to hang a bell of the heft of 1000 pounds; the avails of the pews to be given quarterly for preaching." A vendue of the pews was held October 6, 1838, at which time the first choice was bid off by Thomas Pierce for $10; the second, third, fourth, and fifth by John Armington, Jonas Flint, David Goss and Abel Butler
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at $8.50 each; total sales of pews $285.87. The building was erect- ed in 1843, standing at the north west corner of the Center Village burial ground, where it remained till destroyed by fire in July 1876. The first recorded meeting in this house was May 13, 1843. At this time Rev. B. M. Tillotson was minister; he afterward mar- ried the daughter of Abel Butler-in 1873 he secured the build- ing of the Universalist Church on Eastern Avenue and was min- ister there for thirteen years.
The new belfry soon received its furnishment of a bell, more or less "of the heft of a thousand pounds." On the 27th January 1844, Jonas Flint and Thomas Pierce were made a committee to see to the ringing of the bell. This bell had a useful life of 33 years until it was fused in the fire of 1876 which destroyed the building and all appertaining to it.
This Universalist Meeting House was in frequent use for pa- triotic and temperance meetings. It also had the distinction in 1846 of the first public observance of Christmas held in St. Johns- bury. This was long before such a thing as the Christmas Tree had been heard of in this part of the world. But for the purpose of decoration fir trees were planted in each corner of the house and in the top of one them was tethered a white dove which sat quietly perched on its green bough as if conscious of being the symbol of peace on earth and good will among men.
Note. The first appearance of the "Christmas Tree" as such, in the town was in the auditorium of the South Church on Christmas Eve of 1863. Two fir trees fifteen feet in height were erected on the platform; these were suitably dec- orated andloaded with gifts for the Sunday School, under direction of Supt. Ephraim Jewett, who had made a trip to Boston to obtain the most approved equipments. There was something for everybody, including copies of Mother Goose Melodies for Principal Colby, Judge Jonathan Ross and other grown up boys. The fiftieth anniversary of this occasion was observed in the same place in a graceful and dignified manner; the illumination was from colored electric lights which flashed from the shapely spruce tree rising some twenty feet from the floor.
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XI
EARLY INDUSTRIES
"And by these Industryes they do most depely vnderstand in al affayres how sonest to exployte them." Tyndale.
SPINNING WHEEL AND LOOM-27,733 YARDS-HATS-BRICK IN 1812-POTASH-SUNDRY SMALL INDUSTRIES-ARNOLD FALLS -RAMSEY'S MILLS-PADDOCK IRON WORKS-MOOSE RIVER POWERS-MILLS AT THE CENTER-THE FAIRBANKS MILLS- WARNED OUT-FIREPLACE TO COOK STOVE-HEMP. WORKS- THE OLD COUNTING ROOM.
The very earliest industries were as a matter of course clear- ing the forest, log-house building, cooking the family mess. This last was done in a big iron kettle swinging on a crane over the open fire. A woman in her ninety-first year told me how she used to start early in the morning, get breakfast for the men folks, do up the morning work, go out with her axe and chop trees till about 11 o'clock, then in again to get dinner for the family. What diversions filled the rest of the day, I neglected to ask; hoeing potatoes perhaps or knitting footings, or slicking up the premises. Apparently her pioneer occupations promoted longevity and stored up pleasing recollections for future years.
SPINNING AND WEAVING. These were necessary accom- plishments in the department of woman's industry. As soon as wool and flax could be raised on the clearings the spinning wheel was started and later the loom, and all the clothing of the settle-
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ment was of homespun made in the family kitchens. After 1800 nearly every well to do family would have either wheel or loom or both, the girls became skilled spinners and the mothers wrought firmly woven fabrics on their heavy looms.
An average day's work would be to card and spin four skeins of seven knots each, forty threads to a knot, two yards in length. Flax spun on the little wheel would be two double skeins of four- teen knots each. When enough was spun for a web of twenty yards it was boiled out in ashes and water and well washed; then spooled and warped ready to weave into cloth, for various gar- ments. Table cloths and towels were woven in figures, dress goods from flax, colored and woven in checks.
The volume to which this family industry attained is express- ed in the returns given for the year 1810. During that year the women of St. Johnsbury turned off from their looms 16,505 yards of linen cloth, 9,431 yards of woolen, 1,797 yards of cotton cloth. A total of 27,733 yards. During the decade 1800-1810, Vermont is reported to have exceeded every other state of the Union in the amount of hand made household products.
CARDING, DYEING, CLOTH-DRESSING. At first these processes were all carried on in the home with simple hand instruments and common dye stuffs. Twenty-nine different materials for dyeing are noted in 1831. By combining various sorts of barks and herbs such as butternut, sumach, smart-weed, etc., with chemicals, the house-wife managed to get any desired shade or color, and the dye pot with tight fitting cover sitting near the fire place was an important article of kitchen furniture, a handy little seat withal for the youngsters. Patterns were mostly in checks or stripes ; a standard product was the blue and white frocking, furnishing material for the long loose frock that hung in comfortable folds from the shoulders of the men.
After some years mills began to be set up in different parts of the town. Percival dressed cloth in a mill below Fair- banks Village ; there was another mill at Goss Hollow; Kimball and Stoughton had clothier's mills at the Center Village in 1825 ; wool carding was done by Silas Hibbard at the East Village 1830, for $3 per cwt. or four cents per pound cash down, six cents in
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grain the next winter. Many of the women however continued to manufacture their own cloth. One of the cloth dressers gave out a bit of advice to the women about their spinning :
"You will do well to have the filling spun one skein coarser to the pound than the warp; back-banded, slack twisted and wove in the grease. Then if brought to me, it shall not only be handsome when it goes from my hands, but it will wear as handsome as any English cloth."
This was said in the Farmer's Herald of July 28, 1830. Two weeks later another clothier announced that
"one skein coarser in pound is too much ; you will do well to spin it about one knot in twelve coarser. Also it should not be wove in the grease, unless you have a power loom with spring shuttle ; for with common looms it will be difficult to close the threads sufficiently not to become very narrow in the filling. I will say to the ladies that they will do well to follow their own good judgment guided by experience rather than the suggestion in the Herald of two weeks ago."
With the two foregoing pieces of wisdom and advice should be quoted a third which appeared about the same time :
"Ye Carders and Spinners and Weavers, attend ! And take the advice of Poor Richard your friend ; Stick close to your looms and your wheels and your card, And you'll need have no fear of the times being hard."
Also
"Ye HATTERS, who oft with hands not very fair Fix hats on a block for a blockhead to wear!"
St. Johnsbury had two hatters: Stiles the hatter who blocked out hats at South end of the Plain, and Groom the hatter on the west side of the street farther up. They made napt hats of approved and fashionable style, using felts prepared from lamb's wool and other furs.
Straw hats were braided by the women in their homes; the art of braiding was not difficult, but the process of shaping the crown so as to bring out a good looking hat required some skill and experience.
BRICK MAKING IN 1812
"Samuel French was the first man to start a Brick Yard in the Center of the town, which was very different from the way now. In the first place
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a spot was made level and smooth, then two thicknesses of Boards so as to break joints and then boards or plank were set up edgeways and fastened there. The bin was about 14 to 16 feet long and 7 to 8 feet wide. Then clay and sand were put in what they wanted for a batch and water what was needed. Then the grinding Proces began which was quite different from now a days. They put in from one yoke to 2 yoke of oxen yoked up and a man to drive them around till all was jamed fine enough to work for the mould. The striker had a table for his mould and then he had another table for the morta; and then taken off enought for a Brick and put in to a mold and pressed with the hand in to the mold one at a time, and so on till the molds were filled, and with a straight edge scraped over the whole and then carried away on to the yard to dry, when dry, burnt as usual, a great con- trast then and now." H. N. R.
ASHES AND POTASHERIES From the earliest settlement the making of potash and pearlash was carried on and it came to be an important industry. The hard woods of the forest yielded val- uable ashes; these were leached and boiled down into potash, then still further refined into pearlash. At first, before barrels were plenty, a section from a hollow tree trunk was set up for a leach ; the lye obtained from this was boiled down in small kettles, and the resulting salts of lye would bring from three to four dollars per hundred weight.
In process of time asheries or potasheries were built for carrying on the process more extensively. There were several in this town. "Phelps' Potash" was near the head of the Plain ; another operated by John and Luther Clark was in the gulley where Church street now comes in to Main. This building was set against the bank so that ashes could be unloaded from the road into a window under the ridge pole. To this place ashes were brought from all the surrounding country ; as often as once a week a load was hauled in from Lunenburg. The ashes mixed with quick lime were put into large casks, covered with water, stirred thoroughly and left to settle. A day or two later the clear liquor was drawn off and evaporated ; the residue was salts of lye or potash. To form pearlash this was again dissolved in water and filtered thro straw in a barrel. After evaporation it was stirred so as to break up in to small lumpy bits of a pearl white color ; this contained about fifty per cent of pure potassa. For many years the products of these asheries were a principal article
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for barter ; in fact ashes alone were always in demand. In 1830, Clarks and Bishop on the Plain kept out a standing call for 10,000 bushels of ashes ; much of the trade at their store was with ashes instead of money. At that time it was not doubted that "Ver- mont would supply wood for centuries to come, and the pearlash manufacture be here carried on with greatest perfection and profit"-as quoted by Theodore N. Vail.
STARCH. Extensive starch factories were set up at the East and Center Village water powers. Loads of potatoes brought in from the farms were dumped into capacious troughs where they were washed, after which they were run thro the grinding ma- chine, then strained and put in to vats to settle. After the water had been drawn off the pulpy starch was spread on the drying racks, and when sufficiently hard and dry was broken in to lumps suitable for use.
SOAP. In almost any back yard might be seen in early spring the old-time leach, originally a section cut from some hol- low tree trunk, later a stout barrel, filled with ashes, on a sloping seat. From this the lye was drained off and poured in to the great iron kettle together with the year's accumulations of grease. The process of boiling, stirring and skimming was a long one carefully attended to by the thrifty housewife ; the product ob- tained was a strong, vicious, grayish brown soft soap, vigorous and effective in the warfare for cleanliness. This constituted the annual family supply of soap for ordinary purposes ; it was stored in large barrels with a square hole in the head, of a size sufficient to admit the long handled dipper-also the family cat that one day pushed her investigations a bit too far, a sorry cat when fished out.
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