Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1871-09-28
From the Burlington Free Press e. Times. !
Vermont Census of 1871.
COMMUNICATION FROM Ex GOV. HAIL


L notice that in your paper of Wtdues.
day question is made in regard to the
correctness Of the statement of "HJ.R.'
the Washington correspondent of the n.
! L. IFt6uHe, that the printed report of the
/ Vermont census Of 1891 was erroneous
In charging sixteen slaves 10 the State
There is no doubt that the printed
report was wrong, and that the TTtbune's
correspondent is right
The report of the population Of the
State ty that census, by counties, will be
found in the history Of Vermont by Dr..
William, edition of 1894. H. page All,
and also III his second edition. from which
| it will be seen that the column for all free
cOJOred persons in the Stale fonts up Al
900, of which mum Der 20 are credited 10
Bennington equity, and that there i.
charged to that county 16 syares In no
other county is single slave found,
which is quite incredible if slavery really
did exist in the State.
But the evidence recently brought to
light is entirely conclusive, that the stste.
ment of there having been IS slaves in
Bennington county was q blunder in the
census office in making up the summary
reports, as afterwards published. l have
carefully examined the original returns OF
the census for 1901 of Bennington county,
which is certified by Daniel Robinson.
assistant to the Marshal, with whose hand
writing | am familiar, and there is no
doubt whatever of its geRuineness-ofI
this, it must be sufficient further to state,
that the humble of Inhabitants la each of
the sixteen towns in the county agrees |
exactly with the reported number found |
in Williams History of 1894.
The return of the marshal is wholly in |
manuscript, plainly written on sheets OF
foolscap, pasted together, forming roll |
over seven yards in length. The names
of the heads of families are given, and |
against them the number Of persons, In
six seperste columns. The fret column
is for Free white males of IS years and
upward ;" the second for Free white
males under sixteen years." and the third
for Free white females" of all ages
The other three columns are headed
Free Blacks" the first of which is for
those ''oyer sixteen of males" the second
for those "under sixteen" and the third
for "femalee." Of these free blacks there
are found in the whole country-17 males
over sixteen, 4 males under sixteen, and
15 females, making 36 in the whole.
These three last columns are plainly
beaded Free Black" and there is
20 columns for slaves and none are re-
turned.
1t is beyond question that the 1G slaves
thus reported from the census Office of
1871 were returned by the marshal as free
'LackS, and were carelessly inserted in the =
column of slaves in preparing the general
report. They were doubtless made up of
he Is females in the last column, and one
male under sixteen, at the close of the re-
urn from Winhall, which was marked so I
rear the last column that it was hastily Q
AIKEN as belonging to it. L
For the discovery and exposure of this a
rror in the census of 1891 we are indebt- :,
d to Col. g. ID. Harrington of the Census
Bureau. He is native of this State, a
ormer resident of Bennington county,
nd well deserves the thanks of its in C
abitants. b
In the communication to the Tribune
be name of Heman Allen was given as
be marshal who made the return of 1871,
,hich was calculated to cast distrust up y
n it, as he was not marshal till 1918.
his was an error, as the name of Mr.. !
Hen nowhere appears in connection with e.
be return. The marshal in 1871 was b
.ewis M. r. Morris, to whom David Rob-
,son, who witnessed the return, was an
ssistant. HILAND HALL. p
North Bennington, Sept. 81, 1871.