The Middlebury register. [volume] (Middlebury, Vt.) 1850-1882, 1850-02-19
Gov. Chittenden and his Biographer.

The Hon. Daniel Chipman has, the past
season, written, and the present winter pub
lished and sent out from his seclusion among
the mountains OF Ripton, " 4 Memoir Of
Thomas ChWcndcn, lie First Governor Of
Vermont. ,rM History Of lie Constitution
during lis 1dminisirafion.' Both the cir
cumstances and character of the writer and
the subject of lis work, are of a kind cal
culatcd 10 invest its appearance with pc
cular interest for the people OF Vermont.
The venerable writer las he himself told
us, Mt the late Constitutional Convention, Of
which he was all honored membcr) is now
over eighty-iour years Of age, the greatest
age, probably, at which any other person in
New England ever wrote and published Il
book. And aside from this interesting cir
cumstnnce, Mr. Chipman's close acquaintance
with the times OF which he writes and in
which he was himself youthful actor, and
his well known intelligence and powers Of
investigation, all combine to make him the
best historian of the oden time now living
and, consequently, to impart an especial his
toric value 10 all he publishes. The uhject
Of the present work, also,-lhe distinguished
Thomas Chitcndcn, who was unquesionably
the leading founder Of our State lndepcn-
dencc, and who was then to Vermont what
Washington was 10 America-is one, the con-
temptation of which grows yearly more aud
more interesting and useful to the descend
ants Of those men Of Roman virtues TO whom
we arc indebted for the cnviabc position We
now hold among the sister States.
Mr.. Chipman has drawn Gov. Chitcn-
den's character with skill and accuracy, and
has made it, we think, the most valuable and
a., ,,f "a ,v,, H., ,,Il, 80.
Chltcndcn was elected the first Governor of
Vermont in 1913, and held the Office tlll
1897, with the exception of one wear; but
he does not tell us how the Governor lost his
election that year. We will venture to sup
ply the omission. 1t was lost by the one po-
litical error Of that upright and intui!iyely
wise and sagacious statesman-that OF grant
ing charter without the required author
ity Of the Legislature 10 Ira Allen and 9th
ers, of the township 1--WE ihink) of Wood
bury, which grant, after fiery debate in the
succeeding General Assembly, in which the
blunt old Scotchman. Harvey, declared that
the Governor. seal in that case carried no
more authority with it than if it had been
stamped on his (Harvey's) shirt ilap-which
grant we say was annuled, in favor, il would
seem, Of previous grantees or applicants,
Wood and others. The Governor, however,
after being doomed 10 the pcnance OF re-
naming one year in private life, for his error,
was the next year restored TO public favor
aud again elected to the Office which he held
till his death.
in conclusion we repeat the idea already
advanced that Mr. Chipman in this, as well
as in all his late works, has rendered tue
people Of his State Il valuable service, we
say valuable, because his range OF mind a7d
discrimination have enabled him TO survey the
whole historic field, and, unlike many other
narrators Of the oden time, who are led into
error by local traditions and family preju-
dices separate the reliable from the uhrclia-
bic portions Of our history. We have long
been aware OF the extent and accuracy OF
his knowledge OF our early history, and fire.
qucntly availed ourselves Of it. And we
trust the writer Of this article will be par
doned the egotism, while he here takes occa
sion TO say, that if his own poor efforts to
create an interest in our history by illustrat
| ing It's more romantic portions, possesses
aught OF value, or are in aught worthy of
the kind reception which they have had a.
mone the people OF his own State, and which
has made him SO proud and so grateful, they
are mainly indebted for it to the materials
taken down from the lips Of such men as
Daniel Chapman. d. I.
- Green Mountain FresmGn.