RutlandTownHist01  

 

[The history of this town is placed at the beginning of the town histories chiefly on account of its paramount importance in the county in comparison with the other towns. In the arrangement of the annalsof the other towns, they will be taken up in alphabetical order.]

 THE town of Rutland is centrally located in the county of the same name, and is the shire town of the county. It is bounded on the north by the town of Pittsford; on the east by Mendon; on the south by Clarendon and Ira, and on the west by Ira. Its north line is seven and 92/100 miles in length; its' east line six and 39/100; its south line seven and 5/100 and its west line six and 39/100 miles. A large portion of its surface is hilly or mountainous, but along the valley of the Otter Creek and its tributaries are intervales of considerable extent especially adapted to cultivation and affording the choicest farming lands. The eastern part of the town is bordered by the Green Mountains, the western slopes of which descend to the Otter Creek valley; and the Taconic Range extends north and south across the western part. The Otter Creek enters the town at about the middle of the south line, runs northward and divides the town into two nearly equal portions. Tributary to it are East Creek, which enters the town in the northeast corner, flows southwesterly, and joins Otter Creek near Rutland village; and Tinmouth River, which flows northward into the town and joins Otter Creek at Center Rutland; besides these there are scores of smaller streams in various parts of the town that find their way into Otter Creek. Castleton River, which rises in the town of Pittsford, flows south into the town near the northwest part, and at West Rutland bends sharply to the west, leaving the town near the middle of its western line. Moon Brook flows westerly and enters Otter Creek a little south of Rutland village. On all of these streams are favorable sites for manufactories where ample water power is developed; this is particularly true at Sutherland Falls, in the extreme north part of the town, and at the falls at Center Rutland, formerly well known by the name of Gookin's Falls.

  The soil of the town is varied in character. In the valleys and on the level portions a warm, rich loam is found, which gradually takes on a lighter and more sandy character as the uplands are reached, finally becoming rocky and barren on the mountains.

  The town lies in latitude 43° 37' and longitude 4° and 4' east from Washington, and contains about 26,000 acres of land. Its geological features have already been described in another chapter, while its inexhaustible and valuable marble deposits will be properly treated a little farther on. In natural picturesqueness and beauty of situation, the town can scarcely be surpassed. Lying at the foot of the loftiest peaks of the Green Mountains, the towering summits of Killington, Pico and Shrewsbury look down upon the valley of the Otter; the beautiful and thriving village of Rutland and its surroundings rest almost in their shadows and are apparently surrounded by an amphitheater of hills or mountains; but there are winding valleys that break away among the ranges, giving access to highways and railroads from various directions. Over these pass the immense resources of the town and vicinity, bringing wealth and general prosperity to her energetic people.


CHARTER, GRANTEES, ETC.

  The town of Rutland was chartered to the original grantees over twenty years before America became a free country. Her part in the struggle which led up to that grand consummation has been pictured in earlier chapters; but long anterior to that event the town was probably a sort of center of Indian travel and traffic, and its soil was trod by a white man, who can be identified fifty years before the end of the Revolutionary War. Otter Creek was a highway from north to south, and Castleton and Cold Rivers from east to west across this territory, the convenience of which was appreciated by Indian traders, whose goods passed from Fort Dummer, in Massachusetts, to Lake Champlain. Goods were purchased in Massachusetts cheaper than they could be bought in Canada, and Rutland lay in the direct line of travel. As early as 1730 James Cross, with twelve Caughnawaga Indians, left Fort Dummer, and in seven days reached Rutland, via Black River, Plymouth Ponds and Cold River. They reached Otter Creek on Sunday evening, May 3, 1730. Other white men may have set foot on this soil at an earlier date; but no person can make such positive statement. On Monday the party manufactured canoes, and Wednesday rowed thirty-five miles down Otter Creek. A poetic imagination may picture the beauty of the scene which greeted their gaze at every bend of the stream as they drifted through the unknown wilderness. Cross left a brief journal, in which is mentioned the two falls, Sutherland and Gookin's, in this town; and he wrote of the creek as being black and deep, and spoke of the soil in flattering terms.

  Eighteen years later, when the Massachusetts trade with the Indians had been crushed by the French and Indian Wars, a party of sixty scouts came from Black River, and forty of the number passed down on the east side of Otter Creek, while the remaining twenty went north on the west side; the latter thus exposed themselves to the enemy at Crown Point, were driven back up the creek and down West River, only to be taken off their guard and terribly defeated in Windham county.

  The year 1759 saw the opening of a passage way across this county which has passed into history under the name of the Old Military Road. It extended from what is now Charlestown, N. H., to Crown Point, and its route was substantially from Charlestown through to Nott's Ferry, Springfield; on through Wethersfield, reaching Charles Button's tavern on Mill River in Clarendon; thence six miles to Colonel James MEAD's tavern at Center Rutland; crossed the Otter Creek, and continued northward six miles to Waters's tavern in Pittsford; thence through "Brown's Camp" in Neshobe (Brandon) twenty miles to Moore's tavern in Shoreham, and thence to Crown Point. This old road, and the one cut out in 1776 from Mount Independence, in Orwell, to Hubbardton, and thence to Center Rutland, were thoroughfares of great importance in the War of the Revolution. Over the first one mentioned Rogers and his brave band passed to Crown Point, after their terrible experiences in destroying the Indian village of St. Francis, and its track was also trodden by ancestors of, many Rutland county families while the State was yet a wilderness. At the time of the opening of the second road spoken of (1776), a bridge was built over Otter Creek at Center Rutland, giving that point still greater importance. 

  There were two forts erected in this town for the protection of the settlers during the troublous times of the Revolution. One of these, built about the time of the commencement of the war, stood on what is now the "burnt district," in Rutland village. The meager details of its character that are known give it a length from north to south of ten rods and a width of eight rods, its south side being nearly on a line with the north side of the DANIELS store. It was, like all of the Vermont forts of that day, made of pickets, generally of maple, sunk about five feet in the ground and fourteen feet high above ground, the sides of the pickets where they came together being hewn straight. At each corner was a redoubt, or "flanker," about eight feet square. At a convenient height for effective shooting were port-holes, that were pierced at distances of about six feet apart; these holes radiated inward and outward, being just large enough at the centers to admit a musket, and extended around the fort. On the west side was the gate. Inside was a small building for provisions and ammunition, which was afterward used as a dwelling. In the south part of the enclosure was a well, over which in later years a large flat stone was placed and earth thrown on top. According to the Vermont Historical magazine, as other forts to the north and south were erected, this one soon be came of little consequence, and the pickets were gradually carried off for fuel. 

  Another fort was built at Gookin's Falls (Center Rutland) soon after the organization of the government of Vermont in March, 1778, when it was decided to make Rutland the headquarters of the State troops; Captain Gideon BROWNSON was made commander of the force stationed at this point. It was situated on the hill east of the falls. Its construction was substantially the same as the one above described, except that the pickets were hemlock and a little higher above the ground; and inside of the outer row was driven another, alternating in position with those of the outermost ones, thus rendering it bullet proof. It was elliptical or oval in form and had portholes like those already described; it enclosed two acres, or a little more. On the east and west sides there were large plank gates for the admission of teams, and on the south side a small gate through which water was carried from Otter Creek. In the northwest part of the enclosure was a block-house of hewn logs, thirty or forty feet square, two stories high, roofed and shingled; in the lower story were port holes and others through the eaves of the roof, which projected two feet, thus raking all the grounds surrounding the house. The north and west sides of this building formed a part of the wall of the fort, and the door was on the east side of the house. In the northeast and south west corners were sentry boxes, elevated on poles so as to overlook the approaches to the fort; they were boarded up as high as a man's chin, covered at the top to protect from snow and rain, and a ladder ascended to the little door of each. Near the northwest corner of the enclosure was a guard-house of rough boards, roofed and floored, in which the sentry slept during relief from the two hours' watches. Along the north side were the officers' barracks, the roofs of which sloped against the outer pickets. The soldiers' barracks extended along the south side, while the intervening space was used as a parade ground. The fort was supplied with a nine pound cannon, and it is related that one of the soldiers once remarked to a visitor that as they had then a stock of twelve cannon cartridges, the fort could stand a pretty heavy siege. The ground to the south and east of the fort was originally covered with scrub oaks, but these were cleared away south to the creek and east a distance of fifteen or twenty rods, so as to guard against stealthy attack. This fort was called Fort Ranger, as will be seen in subsequent pages of the town records; some of the town meetings were held here and it was the headquarters of the State troops until 1781, when the presence of the British in large force on Lake Champlain caused the removal of headquarters to Castleton. This fort, MEAD's saw-mill and grist-mill, John H. JOHNSON's tavern, and the meeting-house, made that point an important rendezvous for the town; it promised in that early day to become the center of business and traffic. In spite of the frequent alarms and rumors of Indian incursions during the Revolutionary War, and the fact that other towns to the northward did actually become the scene of warfare, Fort Ranger was never attacked by the enemy, and the only danger its inmates incurred was from stray shots of Indians or Tories aimed at the sentries in the darkness of night. On the 27th of March, 1781, the town meeting was convened in the meeting-house, according to notice; thence it adjourned to the tavern of John Hopson JOHNSON, and thence, as the records inform us, "for necessary reasons" it adjourned to the "store-house in Fort Rainger."
 

[The description of these forts is condensed from the account in the Vermont Historical Magazine.]

  In 1779 this fort was in command of Captain Thomas SAWYER, and on the 14th of May he received the following orders:


" The design and object of a garrison being kept at your post is to prevent the incursion of the enemy on the northern frontier and to annoy them should they come within your reach; as there are two other Forts, one at Castleton, and the other at Pittsford, dependent upon yours, you are to take care that they are properly manned and provided proportionable to your strength at Fort Ranger. You will keep out constant scouts toward the lake, so as to get the earliest intelligence of the motion and designs of the enemy. You will keep the command of Fort Ranger and other forts depending until otherwise ordered by me or until some Continental Officers shall take the command. You will post the earliest intelligence of the enemy to me and guard against surprise. Given under my hand.

" Thos. CHITTENDEN, Capt. Gen."

  The charter of Rutland was one of the sixty issued by New Hampshire in 1761. New York had set up her claim to the territory of the State in 1750, an unjustifiable measure which led to the historic controversy which has been described in earlier pages of this work. The charter of Rutland was dated September 7, 1761, three years before the French and Indian war was wholly ended. Governor Benning WENTWORTH, of New Hampshire, from whom the charters of towns in Rutland county emanated, did not forget his personal interests and reserved for himself five hundred acres of land in the township; but the grantees had little of which to complain, as they obtained their lands substantially free; or, as they themselves claimed, "as a reward for their great losses and services on the frontier, during the late war." The charter was procured by Colonel Josiah WILLARD, of Winchester, N. H., and the first named grantee was John MURRAY, an Irishman. The latter was a prominent citizen of Rutland, Mass., and it is thought gave the same name to this town. Most of the grantees lived in New Hampshire and none of them ever settled permanently in Rutland. Following are the names of the original grantees of the town, as they appear in the records: Ephraim ADAMS, John ARMES, Eliakim ARMES, Elijah ARMES, John ARMES (probably John 2d), Thomas BARDWELL, Thomas BLANCHARD, Joseph CASS, Oliver COLBURN, John DANDLY, Thomas DAVIS, Jonathan FURNELD, Nathaniel FOSTER, Joseph HANNUM, George HART, Asa HAWKS, John HINSDALE, Nehemiah HOUGHTON, Caleb JOHNSON, Elijah MITCHELL, Benjamin MELVIN, Reubin NIMBS, Enos STEVENS, William SMEED, Abraham SCOTT, Samuel STEVENS, jr., Wing SPOONER, Zedekiah STONE, Nathan STONE, Joel STONE, Samuel STONE, jr., Abner STONE, Samuel STONE, Josiah WILLARD, jr., William WILLARD, and Governor Benning WENTWORTH (500 acres).

  A second grant was made in the same year, covering the territory of Rutland, under the name of "Fairfield," the grantor being Colonel John Henry LYDIUS, then of Albany. His claim was founded on a deed from the Mohawk chiefs, confirmed by Governor SHIRLEY, of Massachusetts. He commenced surveying and preparing to dispose of his easily acquired territory, while other speculators also began to turn their attention to this locality. In the meantime, John MURRAY sold his right in Rutland, containing about three hundred and fifty acres, for two shillings -- at the rate of about ten acres for one cent! Other sales were also made; speculators, those vampires that caused the pioneers more trouble than their descendants can appreciate, were active; the woods began to resound with the echoes of the axe, and the era of settlement began.


EARLY SETTLEMENTS

  James MEAD was the first white man to permanently settle in the town of Rutland. He removed from "Nine Partners," to Manchester, Vt., accompanied by several other men and their families. MEAD was probably something of a leader among them, and while acting as their agent he became acquainted with this town. On the 30th day of September, 1769, he made his first purchase here, which embraced twenty "rights"; ten of these he sold on the same day. As there were about three hundred and fifty acres in a right, he retained about 3,500 acres. His purchase was made of Nathan STONE, of Windsor, and his sale of one-half was made to Charles BUTTON, of Clarendon. The price is stated in the deeds of purchase as one hundred pounds, and the price of half to BUTTON as forty pounds; which transaction would have been a losing one for Mead. The deeds describe MEAD as of Manchester, in the county of Albany, New York. The twenty rights of MEAD and BUTTON were located in the southwest part of the town. In the same fall Mr. MEAD built a log house which stood on or near the site of the present residence of Chapin WILCOX, about half a mile west of Center Rutland, near the banks of the West Creek. Here was an ancient beaver meadow, which saved the pioneer the necessity of making a place for his dwelling in an unbroken forest.

  In March, 1770, when Colonel MEAD was forty years old and had a wife and ten children, the eldest of whom was Sarah, wife of Wright ROBERTS, the family, including the son-in-law, thirteen in all, came into the town to take up their permanent abode. Three days were occupied in the removal from Manchester, stopping the first night in Dorset and the second in Danby, and passing through Tinmouth and West Clarendon. In Chippenhook, in the town of Clarendon, while Sarah and Mercy were riding on a horse and ROBERTS was driving the cows, the three being in rear of the others, they lost their way; but they were put upon the right track after wandering about for some time, by Simeon JENNY, whose dwelling they had reached. He was a noted Tory and "Yorker," but his counsel was, doubtless, none the less welcome at that time. Late in the evening of the third day the little party reached their log house; but it had no roof and the cold and snows of the early spring made it entirely untenable. Not far distant were camped a party of Caughnawaga, Indians, their wigwam and its glowing fire looking very tempting to the way-worn travelers. MEAD applied to them to share their rude quarters. After a brief consultation in their own tongue, they arose, threw their hands apart and cried "welcome;" they then gathered up their traps, gave up their hut to the family and quickly constructed another for themselves. There the MEAD family lived until late in the succeeding autumn, when they built a substantial log house, in which they wintered.

  It behooves us to add a little further record of this man who first took up his residence in this, the most important town in the most important county of Vermont. He was born at Horseneck, N. Y., August 25, 1730, and died January 19, 1804. He was a member of the Dorset Convention of September 25, 1776, and one of the committee appointed by the Windsor Convention in June; 1777, to arrange with the commander of Ticonderoga for the frontier defense. He was also colonel of the Third Regiment of militia. His wife was Mercy HOLMES, who was born at the same place April 7, 1731. Their children were Sarah, born in 1753. James, 2d, born 1754; drowned in the flume at Center Rutland in 1773. Abner, 1st, born 1756; lived on the farm at West Rutland now occupied by A. J. MEAD, his grandson; and died there in 1813, at the age of fifty-seven years. Samantha, born in 1757; married Keeler HINES, and for her second husband a Mr. COGGSWELL; she died in 1814. Stephen, born in 1759. Mercy, born in 1761; married John SMITH, 2d, and lived about one and one-half miles south of West Rutland on the farm now occupied by John BREWSTER; one of their daughters is the widow of Harvey CHAPMAN, now living in Clarendon. Dorcas, born in 1763. Hannah, born in 1764; married Silas SMITH, and for her second husband, Darius CHIPMAN; died in 1821. Dimeas, born in 1766; married Dr. James REED and lived a little west of Colonel James MEAD's. Tameson, born in 1768. William, born September 24, 1770. James, 2d, born in 1773 (the year in which his brother James was drowned), died in 1813 in a western State.

  Zebulon MEAD, a brother of the pioneer, came into the town from Nine Partners in 1774 and purchased land including farms now owned by Rollin and Horatio MEAD. Zebulon MEAD's son Henry was then thirteen years old. He remained in the town until his death; married Mary MUNSON and had ten children, seven of whom were sons. Horatio MEAD, now living north of Rutland village, is the youngest of the sons except one. Joel M. MEAD, one of Horatio's brothers, passed his life on the farm north of Horatio's, now occupied by Rollin MEAD, who is a son of Joel. Horatio MEAD is now eighty years old; has but one son, Stephen, at present one of the selectmen of Rutland. Joel MEAD's widow still lives at eighty-five years of age. He died in 1880.

  We cannot follow all of the many descendants of these pioneers except in the briefest manner. Abner, 1st, had as children, Ira, born in 1779. Elizabeth, born 1781; married Israel HARRIS, 2d. Truman, born 1783; was a farmer at Center Rutland. Abner, 2d, born 1785. Laura, born 1787; married Solomon COOK. Abial, born 1789; was a physician and practiced in Essex for many years. Philena, born 1771; married Charles HUNTINGTON and died 1817. Peter Philander, born 1793. The mother of these children was Amelia, daughter of the Rev. Benajah ROOTS, and died June 17, 1800.

  The children of Abner Mead, 2d, were Harriet, born 1808, married Jedediah PARMALEE, a preacher; for her second husband she married Henry W. PORTER, son of Dr. James PORTER, and died in Rutland, Charity, born 1810, married Benjamin Franklin BLANCHARD, a farmer of West Rutland; he is dead and his widow lives on the homestead. A. J. MEAD, born 1815, lives on the old homestead at West Rutland. Roswell R., born 1818, was a merchant at West Rutland, where he died; his children are John A., lives in Rutland, where he is a successful physician; Mary L., wife of Professor METZKE, of Rutland; and R. R. MEAD, chief of the Rutland police, The other child of Abner, 2d, was John W. H., born 1820, and died in 1840 while attending Middlebury College. The mother of these children was Nancy ROWLEY, daughter of Roswell ROWLEY, who lived where Cyrus JOHNSON now resides, between Center Rutland and Sutherland Falls. Abner died in 1859. The other descendants need not be traced into the present generation; they have been given thus far in detail, being entitled to whatever of honor attaches to descendants of the first settlers in any important community.

  During the year 1770 three other families are known to have settled in the town, possibly one or two others. These were Simeon POWERS, whose son William was the first white child born in the town; the event occurred on the 23d of September, 1770. On the following day William MEAD, son of James, was born. On the 3d day of October, of the same year, Chloe JOHNSON, daughter of Asa JOHNSON, was born; these first three births in the town thus occurring within ten days. Simeon POWERS settled in the spring of 1770, on the west side of Otter Creek, on what has been lately known as the KELLEY farm. In the succeeding fall William DWINELL came in with his wife and took up his temporary residence with Mr. POWERS, who was his relative. These four families are all who are positively known to have settled before 1771; but during 1770 and as early as May, Thomas ROWLEY had begun surveying lots in the town and mentioned a clearing made by a Mr. BROCKWAY.

  On the 3d of April, 1771, Governor DUNMORE of New York, issued to a number of petitioners a charter for a new town under the name of "Socialborough," embracing the towns of Rutland, Pittsford and a part of Brandon. This action was in direct antagonism to the order of the king, of July, 1767, and entirely without authority, a fact undoubtedly known to the petitioners.

  Following is the text of a petition relative to making this great town the county seat: 


"To His Excellency Wm. Tryon, Captain General and Governor in Chief in and over the Province of New York and the Territories depending thereon in America, Chancellor and Vice Chancellor of the same.
 

"The petition of the subscribers who are interested in the townships of Socialborough, Halesborough, Neury, Richmond, Kelso, Moncton, and Durham in the county of Charlotte,

"Most Humbly sheweth

"That your petitioners being informed that the appointment of the township or place for holding the courts in the County of Charlotte will soon come under your excellency's consideration, they beg leave most humbly to suggest

"That the township of Socialborough is nearly central to that part of the country which will probably remain a separate county when the northern part of this province becomes populous, to-wit, from the Battenkill to an east line from the mouth of Otter Creek, comprising a district about seventy-five miles in length. That the roads leading North from the Massachusetts Bay and westward from New Hampshire both pass through the said township, which your petitioners conceive a strong proof of its being easy of access.

"That the township and the lands in its immediate neighborhood are remarkably fertile and pleasantly situated on a fine river called Otter Creek which for many miles is navigable for bateaux and would be throughout but for the obstruction of the falls.

"That from the best information your petitioners are able to collect, though the settlement began within three years, there are already thirty-five families in Socialborough, and twenty more have made improvements and are expected to remove thither the ensuing spring -- the chief of whom have agreed to take titles for their farms under this government.

"That in the three townships of Durham, Grafton and Chesterfield, which adjoined each other and extended from Socialborough southward there are ninety-six families actually settled who hold all their estates under this government.

"That in Chatham, which is the next town adjoining Chesterfield towards the south there are settled fifteen families, and in Eugene which adjoins it on the west, forty. In Princeton, which adjoins Chatham on the south, seventy families, and in West Cambden which adjoins it on the west twelve families.

"That these making in the whole near two hundred heads of families, chiefly live at a convenient distance from Socialborough and the most remote of them not exceeding forty miles, and have already the advantage of a tolerable road, through which loaded carts have passed from Socialborough to Albany the last summer.

"That Col. REID's settlement which is further North, and which consists of about fifteen families is at no greater distance from Socialborough than thirty miles and Major Skene's within twenty miles.

"That from these circumstances your petitioners hope it will appear that this township is well situated for the county town and not only convenient to the greater part of the present inhabitants, but will continue to be so to the county in general (as far as to the said east line from the mouth of the Otter Creek) when it becomes populous and fully improved.

"That the present inhabitants of the said country are very poor and unable but by their labor to contribute anything toward a Court House and Gaol nor is any provision made for that purpose by law.

"Your petitioners therefore humbly pray that unless your Excellency shall judge some other place to be more proper the county town of the said county may be fixed at Socialborough in which case your petitioners are willing and do engage to raise and pay all the money which shall be necessary for erecting a convenient Court House and gaol for said County.

"And your petitioners shall ever pray, &c.
 

"Charles NEVERS, William SHIRREFF, William WALTON, Hamilton YOUNG, Rich'd MAILLAND, Atty, Jacob WALTON, Theophilact BACHE, W. MCADAM, Jno. Harris CRUGER, Henry VAN VECK, G. MAZZUZIN, Gerard WALTON, Wm. LUPTON, Stephen KEMBLE, John DE LANCY, Theod'r VAN WYCK, James THYN, Fred DE PUYSTER, for self and Dr. Jno. JONES, Isaac ROOSVELT, Adam GILCHRIST, Jacobus VAN ZANDT, Sam'l DEALL, Fred'k V. CORTLANDT, Wm. COCKBURN, GARRETT    

  By order."

  It will be observed that among these names are many of those belonging to the old and thrifty Dutch families of New York State. Jacob WALTON was member of the Colonial Assembly of New York in 1769 and William was secretary to the superintendent of police in New York city. William MCADAM was a New York merchant. Samuel DEALL was the owner of a tract of land in the southern part of Essex county, N. Y., and one of the first settlers there.

  The chief value of this petition is its account of the first settlements in this part of Vermont. It is thought to have been presented as early as 1769.

  The charter covered about 4,800 acres, the nominal grantees being forty-eight in number; but within a few days after the patent was issued the lands were conveyed to a party of New York speculators, who subsequently became the chief instigators and promoters of the efforts to eject the New Hampshire claimants. But the settlers of the territory designated as "Socialborough" did not purpose to sit down and tamely submit to injustice; hence the surveyor sent on by the land pirates (Will COCKBURN) found his field of labor a decidedly unpleasant one, as the following extracts from one of his letters will indicate: 


                                                                       " ALBANY, September 10, 1771. 

"SIR: -- Your favor of the 16th of August, and the $60 2s. 9d. of Mr. Robert YATES, I received on my return here, after being the second time stopped in Socialborough, by James MEAD and Asa JOHNSON in behalf of the settlers in Rutland and Pittsford. I have run out lots from the south bounds to within about two miles of the Great Falls. I found it in vain to persist any longer, as they were resolved at all events to stop us. There have been many threats pronounced against me. Gideon COOLEY, who lives by the Great Falls [SutherlandFalls], was to shoot me, . . . . . and your acquaintance, Nathan ALLEN, was in the woods with another party blacked and dressed like Indians, as I was informed. Several of my men can prove TOWNSEND and TRAIN threatened my life, that I should never return home, etc. . . . . . . 

"The people of Durham [now Clarendon] assured me, these men intended to murder us if we did not go thence, and advised me by all means to desist surveying . . . . . . . . I found I would not be allowed to go north ward, as they suspected I would begin again, and therefore intended to convey us to Danby and so on to the southward, and by all accounts we should not have been very kindly treated. I was advised by no means to go that road. . . . . . . . . . . . 
 . . . . . . . . On my assuring them I would survey no more in those parts, we were permitted to proceed along the Crown Point road, with the hearty prayers of the women, as we passed, never to return. . . . . . . . 

" I have not been able to fix Kier's location and Danby people have been continually on the watch always . . . . . . Since I have been here, several have visited me, asking questions, no doubt to be able to know us, should we venture within their territories, and at the same time warning us of the danger, should we be found there.

"MARSH's survey is likewise undone, as I did not care to venture myself that way. I shall be able to inform you more particularly at our meeting, and am 
Sir, your most obedient servant,
                                                                                      "WILL COCKBURN.
" JAMES DUANE, New York."

  This shows one feature of the monstrous controversy for the territory included in the State of Vermont -- a controversy ended only by her final payment of tribute money for admission to the Union in 1791, as heretofore fully set forth. COCKBURN surveyed what is now Main street in the village of Rutland, among other lines; but he pursued his labor under difficulties. Mead and Johnson ordered him to cease his work, and others dressed as Indians threatened him with their vengeance, until he was fain to leave their vicinity. (See subsequent history of Clarendon.)

  Settlement progressed. MEAD maintained a primitive ferry across Otter Creek, until the bridge was built, by keeping a boat on each side of the stream, which must have been a great convenience to the pioneers. By the end of the year 1773 thirty-five families had located in the town, as clearly shown in a deposition made by Charles BUTTON, in that year. This deposition so vividly indicates the spirit that animated the settlers in the contest with New York and their manner of dealing with settlers under grants from the New York government, that it merits a place here: 

"County of Cumberland ss. - 

      Charles BUTTON of a place called Durham on the bank of Otter Creek on the west side of the Green Mountains, in the county of Charlotte and province of New York, of full age duly sworn on the holy evangelists of Almighty God deposeth and saith, that the deponent with others to the number of thirty-five families, seated themselves upon the said tract, and hold a title derived from the province of New York, that the deponent has lived with family upon the same tract since the eighth day of February 1768, has cleared and improved a large farm, built a good dwelling-house with other out houses, and was lately offered a thousand pounds current money of New York for his improvements. That about eleven o'clock at night on Saturday the 20th instant, as the deponent is informed and verily believes, Remember BAKER, Ethan ALLEN, Robert COCHRANE, and a number of other persons, armed with guns, cutlasses &c., came to the house of Benjamin SPENCER esq., of said Durham, who holds his farm under a title derived from the government of New York and brake open the said house, and took the said SPENCER and carried him about two miles to the house of Thomas GREEN, of Kelso, and there kept him in custody until Monday morning. The heads of the said rioters then asked the said SPENCER, whether he would choose to be tried at the house of Joseph SMITH in said Durham, or at his the said SPENCER's own door. To which SPENCER replied, that he was guilty of no crime, but if he must be tried, he would choose to have his trial at his own door: The rioters thereupon carried the said SPENCER to his own door and proceeded to his trial before Seth WARNER of Bennington: the said Remember BAKER, Ethan ALLEN and Robert COCHRANE who sat as judges. That said rioters charge the said SPENCER with being a great friend to the government ofNew York, and had acted as a magistrate of the county of Charlotte, of which respective charges his said judges found him guilty and passed sentence that his the said SPENCER's house should be burned to the ground, and that he should declare that he would not for the future act as a justice of the peace for the said county of Charlotte. SPENCER thereupon urged that his wife and children would be ruined, and his store of dry goods and all his property wholly destroyed if his house was burned. WARNER then declared SPENCER's house should not be wholly destroyed, that only the roof should be taken off and put on again, provided SPENCER would declare, that it was put on under the New Hampshire title and purchase a right under the charter from the last mentioned government. These several conditions SPENCER was obliged to comply with, upon which the rioters dismissed him.

  "That a party of the said rioters came to the deponent's house on the night of Saturday, the 20th instant, as the deponent is informed, and broke open the doors and sacked the house for the deponent, which they did not find as he has gone to Crown Point, to take Stephen WEAKLY upon writs issued against him at the suit of Samuel GREEN and one SPRAGUE. That upon the deponent's return home with the said WEAKLY in custody, another party of the said rioters took the deponent, obliged him to discharge the said WEAKLY, and one SMITH and others of the said rioters the next day declared they would pull down GREEN's house and give him the beach seal. (Meaning that they would flog him unless he consented thereto) which he accordingly did.

  "They then obliged this deponent to give the said WEAKLY six shillings current money of New York, for taking him the said WEAKLY into custody; and declaring for the debts due from him, the said WEAKLY to the said GREEN; and SPRAGUE as aforesaid, and afterwards made this deponent promise that he would never serve as an officer of justice or constable to execute any precept under the province of New York, and then gave him a certificate in the words and figures following to wit:

                                                                           "' PITTSFORD, NOV. 24, 1773.

  "'These are to satisfy all the Green Mountain Boys that Charles BUTTON had his trial at Stephen MEAD's, and this is his discharge from us.

"' PELEG SUNDERLING, 
"' Benj. COOLEY.'
 

  Which certificate they declared would be a sufficient permit or pass among the New Hampshire claimants, Green Mountain Boys and further the deponent saith not.
 " 1773.                                                                                CHARLES BUTTON."

        (See also history of the town of Clarendon).
 

  BUTTON came from Connecticut, and lived on Mill River in Clarendon. The Benjamin SPENCER mentioned was one of the earliest settlers in that town; under date of April, 1772, he wrote from Durham to James DUANE, among other letters relative to the prevailing troubles, as follows:


  "Sir: -- The people of Socialborough decline buying their lands, saving four or five, and say they will defend it by force -- the people that settled under Lydius' title, and those that have come in this spring, have agreed for their lands. The New Hampshire people strictly forbid any further survey being made of Socialborough, or any settlements being made only under the New Hampshire title; which riotous spirit have prevented many inhabitants settling this spring. You may ask why I do not proceed against them in a due course of law -- but you need not wonder, when I tell you that it hath got to that, the people go armed, and guards yet in the road to examine people what their business is and where they are going, and if they do not give a particular account, they are beaten in a shameful manner; and it is got to that, they say they will not be brought to justice by this province, and bid defiance to any authority in the province. We are threatened at distance of being turned off our lands or our crops being destroyed. I have this opportunity of writing by way of Major SKEENE, and have not the opportunity of informing you of the number of lots, and men's names that you may draw the deeds, but will send them the first opportunity, as it will take some time to view the lots and give a particular account; I hope the survey of our patent may not be stopped on account of this tumult, as we shall labor under a great disadvantage if our lands are not divided this spring. I look upon it to be dangerous for Mr. COCKBURN to come into the country until these people can be subdued, he may come here by way of Maj. SKEENE, but he cannot do any work only what he doth for us; if he attempts any further, I am afraid of the consequences, but if he does not care to come, I desire that some person may be employed hereabout that we may know where our land is, which I should be glad you would inform me of, as soon as possible. One Ethan ALLEN hath brought from Connecticut, twelve or fifteen of the most blackguard fellows he can get, double armed in order to protect him, and if some method is not taken to subdue the towns of Bennington, Shaftsbury, Arlington, Manchester and those people in Socialborough, and others scattering about the woods, there had as good be an end of government. I am with all due regard.

                                                           " Your humble servant,
                                                                                    "BENJAMIN SPENCER."
 

  The above two documents allude to what were but mere examples of scores of similar occurrences for the protection of the rights and homes of the settlers of Vermont, as the reader of this work has learned. But nothing has ever been powerful enough to stay the progress of settlement in America, and the pioneers came into Rutland with a steadily growing influx that was only partially retarded by the Revolutionary War.

  Among the thirty-five families which had settled in the town prior to 1774, were those of John SMITH and Joseph BOWKER, both of whom were men of prominence. Joseph BOWKER and his wife, Sarah, were among the organizing members of the first Congregational Church formed here in October, 1773, and his name appears frequently in the early town records. It is believed that he came from Sudbury, Mass., but the exact date of his arrival in this town is lost. He then enjoyed the title of "Captain" and was elected moderator of the first meeting of proprietors of Rutland of which there is an existing record -- the second Tuesday in October, 1773. The first vote at this meeting was "that Capt. Boker be a Comt'ee man with the old comtee to find the sentor of the town." This meeting was "held to the Meeting House in said Rutland." Joseph BOWKER soon became a general office-holder for the town, county and State; one of the Committee of Safety, town, treasurer (1784), selectman, town representative, member of the governor's council, etc., and finally judge of probate and the County Court, and chief judge of Special Court, appointed by the first Legislature. About 1780 Mr. BOWKER, John SMITH, Henry STRONG and James CLAGHORN built a saw-mill on Moon's Brook, about eighty rods from the north and south road at Rutland. Indeed, during the whole of the period of his life in this town Mr. BOWKER seems to have been a man of great activity, conspicuous in the public service as connected with the war, and prominent in all things. From a paper read by Henry HALL before the Vermont Historical Society in 1863, we take the following extract, showing the nature of some of Mr. BOWKER's services for the State, and the pay received therefor: 


"State of Vermont, to Joseph BOWKER, Dr.

      No. 1777, to attending vendue one day, 6s.
      July, 1778, to attending vendue one day, 4s.
      To writing three leases, 3s.
      To one day in leasing Rockwell's lot, 2s.
      To cash paid Gideon COOLEY for boarding and transporting
      the families of PERRY and SHOREY to the lake,  £2 6s.
      Sept., 1778, to cash paid Daniel WASHBURN for boarding the 
  family of Robert PERRY five weeks, £2
      To journey of myself and horse to Tinmouth and attending the 
  trial of John MCNEAL, 9s.
      Jan., 1780, to journey to Manchester of myself and horse, 38 miles,
  13s. 4d.
      To eight days service drawing a lottery,  £2 9s.
      To two dollars paid to Widow WELLER, for house room and 
  firewood, 12s.
      To six bushels Indian corn for use of State, 18s,
      To journey to Sunderland to attend the council, 42 miles, 13s.
      To one day's services, 7s.
      To one day of myself and horse to Castleton, 9s.
      To one day weighing. bread and forwarding proyisions,   4s.
      To one day of man and horse to transport provisions to 
  Pittsford, 9s.
      To cash paid Nathan PRATT for transporting Tory women 
  to the lake £2 2s. 2d.

      April, 1780, to paper to Capt. Parmlee ALLEN,   £5 3s. 2d."

      On the 20th of October, 1779, Mr. BOWKER received from the State treasurer £8 8s, "for examining accounts of a committee to build a fort at Pittsford," and on the 22d of February, 1781, 6s., "for examining a muster roll."

  The following item in his account throws some light on the dealings of loyal settlers with the Tories:


"CLARENDON, Jan. 21, 1778.

"Received of Joseph SMITH, commissioner of Sequestration, four pounds one shilling and five pence, L. M., for my time settling with the committee to try Tories. 
                                                                                     JOSEPH BOWKER."

  BOWKER's charges for his services seem insignificant at the present day; but money was a scarce article during that period; State orders and individual paper constituted a large part of the circulating currency. BOWKER made his purchase of one hundred and fifty acres in Rutland in 1774, which appears to have been his only real estate operation; this fact may account for his exemption from outlawry on the part of the New York government, to which many of his neighbors were subjected. His farm, according to Mr. HALL, was situated on the east side of Main street, extended one hundred rods south from about Green street, to and including part of Handpole or Moon's Brook; half a mile east of the road he located his dwelling, fronting the south and about half way down the pleasant slope. He died in the summer of 1784 and is supposed to have been buried in the old ground at Center Rutland, then the only burial place in the town; but no stone marks the place of his rest. 
 

[** The map above is a detail from: 
A survey of Lake Champlain including Crown Point and St. Iohn's on which is fixed the line of forty five degrees north lattit. terminating the boundarys betwe[e]n the provinces of Quebec and New York agre[e]able to his Majesty's proclamation done by order and instruction of the Honourable James Murray, esqr., Governor of the Province of Quebec and the Honourable His Majestys Council by Iohn Collins, depy. surv. genl., May 21th 1765. Charles Blaskowitz, draughtsman. (Courtesy of the Library of the Congress)]
 
 

History of Rutland County Vermont with Illustrations and Biographical 
Sketches of Some of Its Prominent Men and Pioneers
Edited by H. Y. Smith & W. S. Rann
Syracuse, N. Y.
D. Mason & Co., Publishers  1886
History of the Town of Rutland
Chapter XIX.
(pages  302-317)

Transcribed by Karima, 2002