GRANBY. 987
VOLUNTEERS
FOR THE RECENT WAR.
3rd Regt.: John M. Hudson, Lyman Hudson, Henry McMiller,
Elam White, Hollis Coe, Eli Horsford. 8th Regt.: Hanson White. 9th Regt.:
Robert Murry, Wm. Murry.
————————————
GRANBY.
BY LOOMIS WELLS, ESQ.
This town was named, tradition says, in honor of Lord or
Earl Granby, and was chartered Oct. 10th, 1761, by King George III, to Elihu
Hall and 63 others.* Divided into 70 equal shares, containing by admeasurement
23040 acres, and to be 6 miles square and no more, out of which an allowance
was to be made for highways, and unimprovable lands by rocks, ponds, mountains,
and rivers, 1040 acres free.
The charter is in the usual form of the Benning Wentworth
New Hampshire charters, containing conditions and reservations of no importance
to the present inhabitants of the town, since the successful rebellion of the
colonists. The "Governor's farm of 600 acres is in the S. E, corner of the
town, and the public rights of "Glebe" and "Incorporated
Society" are pretty much all that is left to remind the inhabitants—unless
one looks at the copy of the charter in the Town Clerk's office—that their
homesteads were once English property, and were granted to past generations by
the special grace and mere motion of a British king.
Granby is bounded N. E. by Ferdinand and Maidstone, S. E.
by Guildhall, S. W. by Victory, and N. W. by East Haven, in lat. 44° 35´N. and
long. 5° 5´ W., 47 miles N. E. of Montpelier.
The surface of the town is broken and hilly, not to say
mountainous. The soil is mostly of the granite order, and is better adapted to,
grazing, and the growing of the coarser grains and vegetables, than for wheat
and corn, which require the selection of the best fields, and a favorable
season; and even then are more or less uncertain crops.
Rocks are abundant, affording an available material for
fences; and there are some specimens of interest to the geologist.
Good clay is very scarce, and of minerals nothing of
practical importance is known.
Cow Mountain in the S.E., and Mud Pond in the southerly
part of the town, both rather small, are all the ponds known with any
certainty to be within the limits of the town. Unknown Pond, also small, near
the N. W. corner of the town, is believed by some to be in Granby, and by others
in Ferdinand.
The streams too are small. Moose river or Gaswell's
stream, as surveyor Gen. Whiter law calls it, runs across the S. W. corner of
the town, from East Haven to Victory, and two or three of its branches rise in
the southerly slope of Granby. One brook runs easterly through Guildhall to
Connecticut river, and with Paul's stream and its branches drain the northerly
slope of the town, and these streams afford a pretty good supply of water
power.
Of timber the white pine was quite plenty in the north
part of the town, but a considerable portion of the best quality has been cut.
Spruce and balsam however are abundant, as but a small part of the town has as
yet been cleared, and hemlock, tamarack and cedar are found in a few
localities. A few elms also are found growing on and near the streams, while
maple, birch and beech are the principal varieties of hard wood.
There are no existing indications that the Indians ever
inhabited any part of Granby, and who was the first white man that penetrated
this wilderness region probably none of the present or future generations will
ever know.
Henry Stevens the antiquarian writes, "I have heard
Daniel and Levi Hall, early settlers of Barnet, tell of going up Passumpsic,
and Moose rivers and through the woods to Nulhegan river, hunting. This was
before the settlement of St. Johnsbury, and before and after the Revolutionary
war." Perhaps the fact that Elihu Hall, Elihu Hall, Jr., John Hall 5th,
Benjamin Hall 2d and Abel Hall were original grantees, makes out probability
that these old hunters first ex‑
—————
* GRANTEES OF GRANBY.—Elihu Hall, Joshua Ray, Samuel
Mansfield, Thomas Rice, Thomas Ray, Joshua Ray, jr.,, Edward Carter, Elisha
Whittlesey, Timothy Barker, Sam'l Baker, John Willowsby, Jonathan Barker, David
Hubert, John Hall, 5th, Medad Dudley, Abraham Kimball, Samuel Sharp Beadeel,
Elihu Hall, jr., Daniel Hubbart, John Stevens, Nathaniel Parker, Thomas Howell,
Francis Wooster, jr., Jonathan Johnson, Joshua Cullen, Jonathan Butterfield,
Joseph Atkins, Jesse Parker, Samuel Ives, Jonathan Ives, Samuel Whittlesey,
Chauncy Whittlesey, Nath'l Chauncy, Esq., James Drake, Timothy Hardy, John
Thompson, Charles Whittlesey, Thebis Doolittle, Eben Ball, John Phillip,
Nath'l Merrill, Hezekiah Handet, Ebenezer Hartshorn, James Blanchard, Daniel
Warner, Esq., Joseph New, Isaac Cook, Oliver Dudley, Jos. Bartholomy, Benj.
Hall, 2d, Abel Hall, Stephen Ives, Stephen Andrus, Philemon Johnson, Andrew
Parker, Abraham Parker, Jacob Parker, Gamaliel Parker, Isaac Parker, Didemus
Parker, Samuel Parker, James Marks, Jonathan Marks, Joseph Doolittle.
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HISTORICAL MAGAZINE.
plored this locality, and procured a charter of Granby for
the benefit of their family connections. Yet all that pertains to the first
settling of the town must in the main be left to conjecture, as the first
settlers and their descendants are all dead or moved beyond the knowledge of
the writer: and there is not a tradition, much less a memorandum or scrap of
record, of anything that transpired in town before 1777, and it appears to have
been more than 10 years after this date before the first settler came into
town; for the first census taken in 1791, shows Granby blank. So says Henry
Stevens.
SURVEY
AND ALLOTMENT.
Gen. James Whitelaw, of Barnet, surveyed the town line in
1785, commencing at Guildhall Corner, thence N. W. between Victory and Granby
six miles, noting the mile marks and place of the streams with his usual
accuracy. Then N. E. between East Haven and Granby 6 miles to a large rock.
The line was then run between Guildhall and Granby, then
between Maidstone, Ferdinand and Granby.
Edward Bucknam, and Thomas Darling, under Gen. W.'s
direction, surveyed the range lines and made the corners in Sept. 1787,
according to a plan in Henry Stevens' possession, but their field book is said
to be lost.
A few particulars from the proprietors' book of records
for Granby, may be of interest.
By the way, the old parchment-covered book was bought by
Lieut. Timothy Andrews of New Haven, Ct., "as the first book to record all
the proceedings of the Propriety," and the Propriety voted to assess
themselves 26 shillings to pay for above book, and for carrying the same to
upper Coos.
On the fly leaf of this book is the following entry:
We, the subscribers, being appointed a committee, in the
year A, D. 1777, to survey and lot out some land at the Coos, especially the
township of Granby, which we undertook to do but could not accomplish, for well
known reasons; therefore, gentlemen, we think it not improper to give you an
account of our expenses:
Our expenses on the road for each, £4 12 6
To horse hire, 230 miles, at 2½d per mile for each, 2 18 2
To 20 days, at 6s per diem for each one, 6
0 0
AMOS
MORRIS, jr. 13
10 8
ENOS
HEMINWAY, 13
10 8
—————
£27
1 4
BENJ.
ANDRUS, 13
10 8
—————
£40
12 0
East Haven, June 29, 1777.
On the next leaf is a vote of the proprietors of Granby,
No. 1:
Voted, That a tax is
laid on us by a vote of the proprietors, at the rate of fifteen shillings, hard
money, to defray the former charges that have arisen or may arise on account
of locating and laying out said town.
September, 27th day, 1779.
Attest: AMOS MORRIS,
Proprietors'
Clerk.
A line and a half of the sentence have a heavy black line
drawn across them. Ten pages are then left blank, then comes a regular
notification of a meeting of the proprietors of Granby, which was called by
Eben Curtis, Esq., Aug. 17, 1783, to meet at the house of James Rosebrooks, in
Guildhall, on Monday, the first of September, one o'clock P. M., to see if the
proprietors will tax themselves to defray the expense of locating and lotting
out the town, and raise a committee for that purpose.
The meeting was duly organized, and adjourned to Ebenezer
Rice's dwelling-house in Lunenburgh, Sept. 5th, when a committee, consisting of
Timothy Andrews and six others, was appointed to locate and lot the town as
soon as circumstances will permit, and into such sized lots as they think
proper.
They also voted an equal tax on each right to pay Amos
Morris, E. Heminway and Benj. Andrews, £48 and 12s for their services as a
committee, appointed at a former meeting, to locate and lot the town.
At the same meeting voted to assess $10 on each right to
locate and lot the town and other necessary expenses.
A meeting of the proprietors of Granby, in the County of
Orange, was notified and warned by Elisha Burton, Esq., of Norwich, May 9,
1787, to meet at the house of the late Ebenezer Rice, in Lunenburgh, on the
second Tuesday of September next, at 1 o'clock P. M. to raise a committee
necessary to procure and promote the settlement, to locate and bound out said
town and agree upon some suitable encouragement to be given for building a mill
or mills, either by surveying land for the purpose or by grants of money, and
agree upon an allotment and division of said land to and among the proprietors,
GRANBY 989
either in whole or in part, as may be most convenient. At
this meeting Jonah Clark, Esq., Capt. Thomas Darling, Capt. Timothy Andrus and
Edward Bucknam were chosen a committee to lot out the said town of Granby into
such division lots as they shall judge most convenient for the proprietors of
said town, as soon as conveniently may be done, agreeably to Mr. Whitelaw's
survey, and where the said Whitelaw has run the outlines and made the corners
thereof. Also voted a tax of 3 pounds 6 shillings and 7 pence on each right, to
pay expenses.
The accounts for surveying Granby were presented and
allowed at North Haven, Ct., Dec. 5, 1787, and the allotment of the township,
as made by the committee in three divisions, was approved at a meeting held at
Guildhall, Dec. 9, 1789.
At a proprietors' meeting held at Guildhall June 10, 1790,
Eben W. Judd, Joseph Herrick and Benoni Butler were appointed a committee to
make a draft of lots agreeably to the laws of Vermont. A report was made at the
same meeting, which was accepted, approved and recorded. See page 26 Proprietors'
Records.
It was alledged at a meeting of the proprietors of
Granby, in the County of Caledonia, held at the dwelling-house of Joseph
Herrick, in said Granby, that the draft of the town and the survey of Messrs.
Darling and Buckman was incorrect and unequal. Joseph Herrick and Eben W. Judd
were appointed a committee to examine and measure several of the lots and lines
in said town as heretofore run by Messrs. Darling and Bucknam, and if, in the
opinion of said committee, they conceive it expedient to make a new allotment,
they proceed at the expense of the proprietors to complete three divisions of
lots in said town, of one hundred acres to each right—to follow the original
design, and not disturb the settlers' lots without their consent.
A proprietors' meeting was warned to meet at Joseph
Herricks, Granby, Jan. 20, 1801:
"To accept of and ratify the several divisions or
declare them void; to agree on the mode of making divisions; the number of
acres to each right, and appoint a committee to make such division."
A vote was taken at the meeting and recorded, after a
preamble, that
"We therefore declare the several divisions and
drafts of lots to be void, and the lands
in said town to be in common, except lots voted to the several settlers,
and that we will proceed to make a legal division of the lands in said
town."
The meeting was adjourned to May 25, 1801, when the vote
taken Jan. 20, 1801, was reconsidered, and tho proprietors then voted
"To ratify and confirm the divisions and drafts of
lots in said town, and that the proprietors will rectify any mistake that has
taken place in the records at a future meeting;" which appears to have
been done by interlining the record of the draft, and here the contest about
the survey seems to have ended, except a petition to the general assembly for a
re-survey about 1845 or 1846. Some of the corners found near the openings have
the numbers marked upon the bark of the trees by the side of the spottings, and
the spottings are not as old as those back in the woods, and the original
corners have the numbers made on the spottings with a marking iron. But as the
range lines only were run by Darling and Bucknam, and the corners were made by
measuring on tho range lines through the forests and over high and steep hills,
they are of course almost necessarily more or less incorrect; and as the lines
appear to have been run from alternate sides of the town, either singly or in
pairs, hence, when a corner rots away, controversy naturally ensues, as there
is no apparent rule established or agreed upon to fix the locality of the
missing corner.
FIRST
SETTLEMENT OF THE TOWN.
The proprietors of Granby appointed Lieut. Timothy Andrews
their agent, Sept 1, 1783,
"To transact all and every matter whatsoever for and
in behalf of said proprietors, as he shall think beneficial to bring forward
the settlement of said township."
and a similar vote was taken Oct. 1, 1787. A committee was
appointed Dec. 8, 1789, consisting of Nathaniel Herrick, William Amy, Joseph
Herrick and Sherman Hemberly, to lay out and complete a road through the town,
and Jonah Clark was appointed agent to give leases of tracts of land, not
exceeding 150 acres, to each of 12 first settlers who will engage to settle and
improve under the proprietors.
"Guildhall, June 14, 1790. The proprietors voted
that Joseph Herrick and Benjamin Cheney, being the first settlers in Granby,
that each of them have, as inducement for
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HISTORICAL MAGAZINE.
settling, two lots (ever); that is to say, the said
Herrick lots No. 7 and 8 in the 5 range, and the said Cheney the lots No. 7 and
8 in the range 4, being the lots on which they have begun improvements, which
is to include all grants heretofore made, provided that each of them pursue
and prosecute their improvements as fast as could reasonably be expected."
At a meeting held at Guildhall, June 21, 1791, the
committee appointed to lay out and clear a road through the town of Granby were
directed to complete the same as soon as possible.
At the same meeting an offer was made to any person or
persons that would build a saw-mill and grist-mill, and keep them in repair for
10 years, should have the land on which they were built and 300 acres of public
land.
Provision was also made for supplying teams in making
bridges, and "that the price of each yoke of good oxen so employed shall
be the same price per day as a man's labor," which was 5s per day.
"Nov. 4, 1791, then surveyed the road through Granby,
beginning on the S. E. line of said town, 3 miles and 10 rods from the N. E.
corner, and running," &c.
Here follows tho courses and distances through the town,
the last 2½ miles of the road next to East Haven run due N. W.
"Granby, Nov. 11, 1791, then completed the road
through the town of Granby, and surveyed the same, according to the vote of
proprietors.
Attest by us,
WILLIAM
AMY,
JOSEPH
HERRICK,
CHARLES
CUTLER."
"Voted, 2d, to accept of road through Granby as it is
now surveyed, cleared and bridged."
The bill brought in for building this road amounted to
£174 13s 6d, and has this certificate appended:
"The within is a true account of the labor done on
Granby road.
Attest:
WILLIAM
AMY,
JOSEPH
HERRICK, Committee."
CHARLES
CUTLER,
This road was re-surveyed as a county road, leading from Memphremagog
Lake in Derby, Orleans county, to Connecticut river in Guildhall, Essex county,
Sept. 1810.
Attest, NEHEMIAH WRIGHT, Surveyor.
CHALLES
CUTLER,
ABNER
COE, Committee.
JOSEPH
HERRICK,
Distance seven miles one-quarter and 34 rods. The first
proprietors' meeting as per record held in Granby, was held at the house of
Joseph Herrick, October 27th, 1795. At this meeting they voted:
"That whereas the proprietors at their meeting holden
heretofore, have given as encouragement to the 12 settlers who shall first
settle in said town, a tract of public land, not exceeding 150 acres to each,
and whereas the following persons have made improvements according to said
vote, and are considered as settlers, and to hold and enjoy, to themselves and
heirs and assigns forever in fee, the lands as hereafter voted to them
respectively, viz: "To Mr. Nathaniel Herrick lot No. 6, range 4th,
containing one hundred acres, and the half of lot No. 5 in the same range
adjoining to the other, to him, his heirs and assigns forever."
The names of the others and their allotments were as
follows: Joseph Herrick (200 acres) Benjamin Cheney, Samuel Ward, Nathaniel
Herrick junior, Robert Pike, John Crawford, Joseph Roberts, Jeremiah Harris,
Charles Curtis, John Cook, and Enos Cook, and voted to extend the time for
building mills two years from the meeting.
The last entry upon the proprietors' records bears date
April 19, 1802, when the meeting was adjourned one month, but here the curtain
falls and the remainder of the page is blank paper.
After a careful examination of all within my reach that
pertains to the first settlement, I have come to the conclusion that Joseph
Herrick and Benjamin Cheney moved into the town in 1790 or 1791, probably the
former.
In the first book of town records, under the head of
"Births and Deaths and Marriages" on page 11, is the following:
"Herd Cheney, son to Benjamin and Eunice Cheney born
September 16, 1791, the first child that was born in town."
On page 8 of the same book the record says:
"Samuel Hart married to Susanna Herrick March 31st,
1796—also on page 9, Anna Pike died July 13th, 1795, and these are understood
to be the first marriage, birth, and death that occurred in town.
For about 20 years, up to 1810, the settlement of the town
appears to have gone on favorably if not prosperously, and there were 24 or 26
families in town. About 1810, for some cause, to the writer unknown, several
families removed to Canada, some to northern New York and some to adjoining
towns; and the famous "cold seasons," 1813 to 1818, produced a
general stampede, so that in 1816 or 1817 there were but three families left
ESSEX
GRANBY. CHAPTER. 951
in town, viz:—Nathaniel Bell, Zacheus Cook and James Waid,
and they were hardly near enough to each other to be neighbors. After a year or
two some who had removed to adjoining towns, returned, and others moved in, so
that in 1825 or '30, about the standard of 1810 for number of families was
attained, and has kept along to the present time (1863) very uniform."
ORGANIZATION
OF GRANBY.
William Amy, Esq. of Guildhall, warned the meeting for the
organization of the town Feb. 27th, 1798, and the meeting was held on the 2d
Tuesday of March following, at the dwelling-house of Joseph Herrick. Nathaniel
Herrick was chosen moderator,—Samuel Hart town clerk,—Nathaniel Herrick junior,
Robert Pike and Benjamin Cheney, selectmen ,—Samuel Hart treasurer,—Zadock Herrick
constable,—listers same as selectmen. James Morehead, surveyor of highways
Those who were chosen to town office and four others,
Elijah Bugbee, John L. Crawford, James Morehead junior, and Eben Johnson, took
the freemen's oath, and the town officers down to highway surveyor, took the
oath of office.
Joseph Herrick's dwelling-house was voted the place for
putting up advertisements, and September following Clarke Curtis was chosen the
first representative.
For some reason that does not appear on the record, no
town officers were chosen in 1799, nor any representative.
March and Freemen's meetings were held regularly until
Sept. 1814 when but 41 names appear on the check-list, and state officers only
were voted for. In March, 1815, the town failed to choose town officers, and
the organization was abandoned, and the records delivered to the county clerk
at Lunenburgh. The town was re-organized Jan. 10th, 1822, and at the March
meeting following, was for the first time divided into school and highway
districts, which had the same bounds and designation of North and South.
Gen. Seth Cushman of Guildhall built the first saw and
grist-mill about 1810. During the "cold seasons" the grist-mill
entirely run down. The granite mill-stones lay near the old mill site, and the
people go "out of town" to mill, and have for nearly 50 years. The
saw-mill held out until 1826 or 1827. About this time Martin Joslyn built
another sawmill and sawed a few thousand feet of boards, but the dam proved to
be on a clayey foundation, and Joslyn failed in health and financially, so the
mill went to ruin without ever being inclosed or covered. About 1845 Gershom
Carpenter built a saw-mill near the main road on the same stream, which has
some years done good business, but is now badly out of repair.
About the year 1810 or 1811 a Mr. Green, blacksmith, from
Connecticut, moved in and built him a blacksmith shop, and commenced to carry
on his business, but in the course of a year or two Green had some difficulty
with the boys in town, and the boys took retributive justice into their own
hands, and one day when Green was away to dinner rolled his anvil out of doors,
and carried his tools into the woods and hid them where he never found them,
but a part of them were found more than 30 years afterwards in a hollow log in
the vicinity of the old shop in a pretty good state of preservation. Green soon
after moved back to Connecticut; and all who ever attempted to start the
blacksmith business in town since, have for some reason entirely failed to
accomplish their object.
The inhabitants have up to the present time been dependent
on adjoining towns generally for shoemaking and most mechanic work done in
shops.
But as an offset in part for these disadvantages—such as
going so far to mill, getting mechanic work done and getting goods from stores
for family use (for there has never been anything like a store of goods kept in
town), the town has never been cursed by a tippling shop and its surroundings,
so that the people are generally temperate and frugal in their habits, and
there are no internal police expenses for the detection and punishment of
crime, and there has not been a pauper on the town since the re-organization in
1822, and the whole expense for transient poor and incidental charges during
the period just named has been less than $25.
The hard wood was cut from large tracts of land and burned
to obtain ashes, which the early settlers leached and boiled into salts, and
carried to Guildhall, Vt., or Lancaster, N. H., a distance of 10 to 20 miles.
Yet "where there is a will, there is a way." Those that had a horse
would make what they called a "car," by pinning cross-pieces to two
light poles of suitable length, putting the horse in as into the thills of a
wagon,
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the hind part dragging on the ground, and the load fastened
on just behind the horse. Those that had oxen got up a similar arrangement
with a wide spread crotched stick like a cart tongue, this they called a
"go cart." And those who had no team either drew their load by hand
or carried it on their backs; and, in fact, the man that could not carry a
hundred pounds on his back ten or twelve miles was hardly fit to begin a new
settlement. And, let it be borne in mind, money was so scarce the most the
people could get went for taxes. Besides, the rum bottle stood on every
merchant's counter, and even those of small means were urged to "take a,
drink," and perhaps take a jug full home. Then of course they would feel
rich, buy what they could have done without, and if they could not pay up, the
sheriff would "walk in" with "greeting" and relieve the
poor man and his family of what little property they might have, and then
"for want thereof take the body" to jail until he or she should pay
"the uttermost farthing," with costs. Hence by far too often poverty
was the rule and plenty the exception.
During the cold seasons the snow fell fearfully deep, and
the few families that stayed in town found it next to impossible to keep a road
open in the winter. Mr. Bell has told me that he had worked hard to break a
road two miles from his house towards Guildhall for two entire days. In the
winter of 1816, I think it was, when the roads were blocked up with snow, his
bread stuff failed, and he started with a bushel of wheat on a horse to go to
Guildhall to mill, leaving a family of small children alone with their mother,
and one or two of them so sick that he hardly expected to find them alive when
he should get home; and, after wallowing about two miles through the snow
drifts, had to turn his horse back, put on his snow-shoes and take his grain on
his back and go on his gloomy way to mill. The mill owner, Gen. Cushman, sent
his hired man with him the next day, and helped him back with his grist home to
his family, who were better. In December previous Mr. Bell's mother, a woman in
the prime of life, started from Guildhall for Granby one very cold day on
horseback. The next morning her horse was found in the barnyard and the woman
in the road, within a hundred rods of home, dead. Apparently chilled too much
to sit upon a horse she fell or got off, and after crawling a rod or two in the
road on her hands and knees, sunk down in despair on her bed of snow and slept
the "sleep that knows no waking."
The wife of Mr. Waid, who lived at the outside clearing
towards East Haven, who had long been in feeble health, died unattended by any
kind neighbor, in one of the winters when there were but three families in town
(1816, probably), and Mrs. Cook went on snow-shoes two or three miles and
helped lay her out, she being the only woman that could get to the funeral.
In the month of March, 1835, Mr. Wm. Griffin, a resident
of Granby, aged 72, who had been at work in Guildhall, started for home during
a very severe snow storm, perished in the snow, and was found by those who were
breaking out the road one or two days afterwards nearly opposite to where the
dwelling-house of Chas. Gleason now stands. But I will not enlarge in this
direction, for hardship and suffering were the lot of all who commenced new
settlements, which we that enjoy the fruits of their toils and privations can
hardly realize or fully appreciate.
I shall perhaps be pardoned if I make some allusions to
the reckless manner that the agents of the proprietors did the business
entrusted to them. Proprietors' meetings were called very frequently, adjournment
piled upon adjournment, committees and agents appointed, schemes started, pursued
awhile, then reconsidered and abandoned, roads cut in various directions by
committees who would let jobs to each other, so that all could make a rich
thing out of it; tax was voted on tax, and land sale followed land sale, until
the original proprietors were worn out or became bankrupt;* speculators bought
up there lands and in turn failed and made assignments to trustees for the
benefit of creditors; the trustees managed dishonestly; rival claimants under
different land sales were in convention; Daniel Boardman, of New York city,
laid claim to a large quantity of land in Granby, and to perfect his title a
suit in chancery was commenced,
—————
* The taxes on each right, up to 1802, had run up to £16,
and after a national currency of dollars and cents was adopted by Congress,
nearly $36 is to be added to the first named sum; and, for the next 10 or 15
years after 1802, somebody besides the proprietors and land owners of Granby
must have been growing rich.
GRANBY. 993
and in 1814 a decision was made in his favor, which
quieted the controversy about title, and to a great extent accounts for the
land in Granby being so generally owned by a very few individuals, and mostly
by one who claims under the Boardman title.
The first mail route through Granby was established in
1832. Martin Joslyn was the first P. M. In three or four years the route was
discontinued by reason of the representations of rivals for the contract to
carry the mail.
In 1849 a mail route was established from East Burke, Vt.,
to Northumberland, N. H., through and back once a week. John Wooster was the
first postmaster on this route, he held the office until October, 1854, when he
resigned in favor of Loomis Wells, the present incumbent.
MILITARY.
In 1811 a military organization was formed. Capt. Timothy
Fairchild held the post of commander until he left town, about the time the
"cold seasons" commenced, when the company run down for want of
material.
When the military system of Vermont was remodeled and
attempted to be revived in 1842 and '43, a company was formed in Granby and
Victory, and Jonathan Matthews was 1st Lieutenant.
In the war of 1812 James Elliot went as aid for Gen. Seth
Cushman, and others took part in guarding the road from Connecticut river
through Granby to Canada against smugglers.
During the war of 1861 Benj. McDaniels, the first in town
to respond to the call for soldiers to put down rebellion, enlisted Sept. 9,
1861, in Co. G, 4th Vt.; died in Verginia, near camp Griffin, Feb. 7, 1862, of
diphtheria.
Alonzo L. Ford enlisted Dec. 14, 1861, Co. K, 8th Vt.;
taken prisoner in Louisiana, Sept. 4, held about 3 months; died, Sept. 6, 1863,
at New Orleans, of chronic diarrhea.
George O. Ford enlisted December, 1861, Co. K, 8th Vt.;
was taken prisoner Sept. 4, 1862, in Louisiana, held about 3 months; served
under Gens. Butler and Banks in the department of the Gulf with distinction,
was several times promoted, and Dec. 1863 was 1st Lieut. and acting Captain.
Ethan P. Shores enlisted Dec. 9, 1861, in Co. K, 8th Vt.;
was wounded Sept 4, 1862, at Bootee Station, La., when the detachment were
returning from the sacking of the Taylor estate, by a buckshot in the head,
another in the foot, and a ball through the left leg near the knee; was taken
prisoner, escaped, during the melee, to the woods; eluded the vigilance of his
pursuers, procured some food once, sucked water from old logs, traveled more
than 30 miles, and the third day got into camp more dead than alive, so haggard
that his companions did not recognize him; had his wounds dressed for the
first time. Refused a discharge after his recovery; served with credit in the
assaults and seige of Port Hudson, and was appointed corporal.
Paschal P. Shores enlisted with his brother Ethan; was
taken prisoner at the same time the Fords were. A ball wounded him severely in
the right shoulder at the first assault on Port Hudson, June 14,1863; refused a
discharge, and returned to his post when able, and when fit for duty was always
ready.
George W. Shores enlisted Jan. 1, 1862, in the 8th Vt.,
Co. K; was discharged July 4, 1862, by reason of hernia, produced while on
service at Ship Island.
Solon D. Buzzell enlisted Dec. 1861, in Co. K, 8th Vt.;
died at Ship Island, April 28, 1862, of typhoid dysentery.
Richard T. Boyce enlisted Jan. 3, 1862, Co. K, 8th Vt.:
taken sick at Brattleboro, Vt., while in camp; furloughed and discharged after
a few months. Re-enlisted as a 9 months man, Sept. 16, 1862, in Co. G, 15th
Vt.; mustered out Aug. 6, 1863. Detailed for hospital duty most of the time.
John W. Boyce enlisted Jan. 3, 1862, with his father, R.
T., Co. K, &c.; died in the hospital at Brattleboro, Vt., Feb. 28, 1862, of
diphtheria.
James M. Boyce enlisted Aug. 1862, in Co. B, 10th Vt.;
died Oct. 6, 1863, of typhoid fever in Virginia.
Otis E. Griffin enlisted Jan. 5, 1862, Co. K, 8th Vt.;
died at Fort Hubbard, La., Aug. 14, 1863, of dysentery; was always a faithful
soldier.
John W. Buzzell enlisted Sept. 20, 1862, as a 9 months
man, in Co. G., 15th Vt.; mustered out Aug. 6, 1863. Not brought into action at
any time, but took to soldiering naturally.
EDUCATION.
At the second town meeting provision was made for schools.
The first schools were
994 VERMONT
HISTORICAL MAGAZINE.
kept in private houses. Miss Cheney, daughter of Benj.
Cheney, taught the first in the east part of the town, and a Miss Howe in the
west part. The first log school-house was built in the east part of the town,
about 50 rods westerly of the present house. The first frame school-house was
built by Martyn Joslyn in 1825, near Gershom Carpenter's. There are at present
two whole districts in town, and one fractional. School-houses ought to be
better.
The writer believes, from a careful examination of all the
facts within reach, that there never has been a child raised to maturity in
Granby that could not at least read and write. Nearly all have had a fair
common school education, while many have aimed to excel, and being uniformly
encouraged and assisted to the extent of the means of their friends have made
attainments that will lose nothing by a comparison with scholars in the more
favored portions of the state. We are, it is true, and always have been
destitute of an academy; but those in neighboring towns have been as largely
patronized as by any other section of country so thinly peopled.
The two accompanying "original specimens" from
two young ladies born and raised in Granby, written impromptu, will speak for
themselves.
RELIGION.
Previous to 1806 nothing is known of the religious history
of the town.
Capt. Timothy Fairchild, who moved into Granby in 1806 and
left in 1813 (moved to Guildhall), wrote me just before his death:
"There was no organized religious society in the town
during the time that I resided there, but religious meetings were held on the
Sabbath and very well attended. During most or all of that time there was no
recognized leader; but they used to sing, and some one would read a sermon,
and another would offer prayers. They had preaching occasionally by ministers
from the neighboring towns and also by missionaries.
There was a revival of religion in the town in 1810-11.
What the number was that finally made a profession of religion I do not know,
as there was no church organization in the town. Some joined the church in
Guildhall (Congregational), and some embraced Baptist sentiments. I recollect
one couple, a man and wife (Bugbee), over 70 years of age who were baptized by
immersion."
Dining the cold seasons, which lasted some five or six
years, commencing about 1813, increasing to 1816, and then becoming less and
less severe, meetings for religious worship were held at uncertain intervals;
but, as the population increased they became more frequent and regular, the
people being assisted and encouraged by ministers from adjoining towns; and
after Dea. Joel Basset moved into town, which was about 1820, meetings were
held every Sabbath, the deacon taking the lead if there was not a minister
present; and as he was a man of considerable energy of character and enjoyed
uniform good health, no matter how inclement the weather, the deacon was sure
to be "at his post."
The Congregational church was organized June 8, 1825, by
Rev. Samuel R. Hall, then pastor of the church in Concord, Vt. There were but 8
members, 3 males and 5 females. Joel Basset was chosen moderator, and officiated
as deacon, having been previously chosen to that office in Guildhall, Vt. He
left town in 1835, and in 1836 Silas Buck was chosen clerk of the church and
officiated as deacon. Ashley Appleton was the first deacon chosen by vote of
the church on June 30, 1843. Aug. 31, 1843, Ansel Hannum was chosen by the
church second deacon. He died March 1, 1850.
In 1836 Rev. James Tisdale was settled over the churches
of Guildhall and Granby for 5 years. After his time was out Rev. Mr. Smith, of
Guildhall, and Rev. Mr. Duncan, of Burke, were hired a portion of the time.
And if there was not a minister of any denomination,
deacon meetings were uniformly held, and a Sabbath school has been kept up
always in the summer since 1825, and for the last few years we have had one the
year round.
Rev. John Wooster, the first settled minister of Granby,
was settled in 1843 for 5 years, and installed Aug. 9, of the same year. He was
hired from year to year, after the first contract, until 1858, when he was
dismissed by an ecclesiastical council from the pastoral care of the church.
Since that time Rev. Jeremiah Glines has been acting
pastor, the church having been assisted every year since 1843 by the Home
Missionary Society.
The Congregational meeting-house (first in town) was built
in 1845, dedicated Jan.
GRANBY. 995
15, 1846. The church has now, I believe, 28 members.
Since my first acquaintance in Granby, in the spring of
1825, there has been a portion of the inhabitants in favor of Methodist
principles, and clergymen of that denomination have from time to time preached
in town. In 1836 Elder Wells preached regularly about half of the time. Elder
Williams, of Lancaster, N. H., organized a church in Granby the same year. At
that time there was no Methodist church in Victory, and some from the northerly
part of Victory united with the Granby church. The members found themselves
unable to sustain preaching regularly, and after a few years the members were
transferred to the Lunenburgh church. For several years past there has been,
for a portion of the year at least, Methodist preaching in town, and a separate
Sabbath school has been sustained portions of the time, and several have been
baptized and joined the Methodist church; but whether they stand connected with
the church in Lunenburgh or Victory, or exist as a distinct organization, I do
not know, as there are no meetings of are church or class of late in town to my
knowledge.
In closing this humble effort at compiling the fragmentary
historical sketches of Granby, my acknowledgments are due to Henry Stevens,
Esq., of Burlington, Miss A. M. Hemenway (the editor), Capt. Timothy Fairchild,
of Guildhall (deceased), John Shores, of Victory, Mrs. Nancy M. Appleton, Mr.
Nathaniel Ball, of Granby, and to several others who have very kindly assisted
me.
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IMPROMPTU.
Written during an evening Military Parade.
BY MARY W. RICE.
O sweetly sound the merry bells
So bold and
clearly ringing!
And sweet the harp's soft music swells,
Its gentle
murmurs flinging;
Sweetly the lute's soft voice may greet
The organ's
swelling anthem come;
But there's no music half so sweet
As the
"rub-a-dub-dub of the drum."
No wonder that the soldier's heart
With brave and
noble daring fills.
That purposes heroic start,
As on his ear that
music thrills;
No marvel at its stirring notes,
That thoughts
sublime roll on their tide,
While over him there proudly floats
The banner of
his country's pride.
Now clearly on the night air calm
That martial
strain is loudly swelling;
Its echoes wake a strange alarm,
And seem of
conflict fearful telling;
Insults, too long and tamely borne,
Now loudly call
for stern redress;
And 'twill be given—that warlike tone
And arum's deep
cadence answer Yes!
Oh, in this wild, conflicting hour!
In thrilling
accents it shall speak,
And onward roll with startling power,
"From vale
to vale and peak to peak,"
Till thrilling with the kindling word,
Each soul shall
glow with purpose high,
And grasping stern the ready sword,
The hearts of
oak shall make reply.
The opening cannon's mouth in vain
May threaten
with its living fire;
In vain spread out the blood-drenched plain,
Where friend
and foe in death expire;
They feel no throb of quailing fear,
Their noble
souls think not of death,
And willing at their country's call,
They yield to
her their latest breath.
GRANBY, May, 1861.
—————————
"GOOD BYE."
BY JEAN WELLS.
Borne along on wings as lightning
Swift the
fleeting moments fly,
And the hour is drawing nearer
When we each
must say "good bye."
Scarce we dare to break the silence,
Bound as by a
magic spell;
One fond, lingering look is given,
Speaking more
than words could tell.
Tear drops on the eyelids glisten,
Hands are
clasped in silent woe,
Each sad, earnest look is telling,
"O! cannot
let thee go."
Still we linger, loth to sever,
Still the hour
is drawing nigh,
When we part, perhaps forever,
Bid one last,
one fond "good bye."
Tender let the word be spoken,
Let its music
thrill the soul,
Lest that magic spell be broken—
Binding us in
sweet control.
Oft that hour will be remembered,
Oft will memory
love to dwell
On each look, each parting token,
From the friends
we loved so well.
Like a cadence in the music,
Like the low
wind's gentle sigh,
Lingers in our hearts the echo
Of that parting
word, "good bye."
Sweet yet sad will be its memory,
And we scarce
suppress a sigh,
As the thought comes startling o'er us,
"This may
be our last good bye."
GRANBY, VT.