Rutland weekly herald. [volume] (Rutland, Vt.) 1859-1877, 1871-09-14
Vermont Never had "a slave.

ton or gross error In the census ietuthe
of Vermont for the year 1890, by which
the county Of Bennington was set down
as possessing sixteen slaves. BY this
correction the record CT Vermont is fully
cleared frora the stain of ever having pos
sesssd q slave:
To tie Editor Of the Tribune,
SIR: Col. Harrington, the Acting Su-
perintendent of the Census, in poking
about among his fgues, has discovered an
important historical factor rather, an
important fact that corrects an outrageous
historical blunder. This blunder has
been nursed, and fed, and kept warm by
statisticians, Tistoriyns, essayists, news
paper writers and public speakers for
more than three quarters of century,
notwithstanding it involved the fair name
of one of the purest of the sisterhood OF
States. The error, which has outliVed
the systen which brought it into exist
ence. places Slavery in the rugged hills Of
Vermont! Col. Harrington, jealous OF
the fair name of his native State and OF
the country of his birth. took it into his
head that he would look into the fact, &C.
| kuowledged as such from one end OF the
| country to the other, of the existence OF
Slavery IN that old Common wealth, and
he succeeded in pulling from the dusky
cobwebs of ages, the truth. which is, that
Vermont never owned a slave, that there
was never slave owned within her Dor
ders, and that she has suffered the od1um
through the carelessness of some blunder-
ing arithmetic man of the eighteenth
century.
As the reader well knows, the frat
census of the United States was taken in
1890. and one has been taken every sue
ceeding ten years down to the present
time. After conversation with Col. Har-
ringtop, went in search of copies of the
first census, which I found almost as
scarce as slaves in Vermont. Mr.. Spot
ford. however, the universal refuge for
all befogged inquirers, readily supplied
the copy sought, reminding me that it
was the only one in the Congress Library,
and that he did not know of another in
primitive in appearance. 1t is a pam
phlet of 56 pages, of the size of school
primer probably inches long by 1-2
wide, and bears the following on it's title
pages Return of the Whole Number
| or PERSONS WlLnlu Tue several biatlACtH VI
the United States. According to an Act
providing for the enumeration Of the in
habitanls of the United States, passed
March the first, 1870. Philadelphia a:
printed by Chllds and Swaine, 1891"
The paper is rough, of light brown
color, the letter-press Is in long-primer or
small-pica type, with the eccentric shaped
"s' and other letters common in that day,
and the edges are stained yellow From
the tables, it appears that South Carolina
was slow in sending in her returns, for
the book was printed leaving blanks for
| the figures in her case, which were suhse-
quently supplied with pen and ink. The
volume was the property Of Oliver VOL
colt of Connecticut, who succeeded Alex
ander Hamilton az Secretary of the Treas
ury, and it bears his autograph as well rs
that of Thomas Jefferson, then Secretary
of State. Mr.. Jefferson certified to the
accuracy of this census in the following
words:
"Truly stated from the original returns
deposited in the Office of the Secretary of
State.
October "a, 1901" TIL. JEFFERSON.
He knew as little of that which he GER
titled as many of our later government
officers, for neither were the returns accu.
rate nor was the transcript certified a cor
rect one The plan of the first census
was to give the population Of the United
States by towns and counties. together
with the sex, age and color by each
State and counties The towns are given
alphabetically in q table containing five
columns or subdivisions, showing in each
town the following facts: In the first col
umn lFree white males of 16 years and
upwards including heads of families >
the second column is headed, Free white
males under 1G years" the third column
contains, Free white females, including
heads of families" the fourth, "All other
free persons ;" the fifth has the numb9r of
slaves :" and the sixth, the total" Page
II of the census contains the table of Yer
mont, in which Bennington county is
credited with - slaves. These are dis
tributed in the following towns: Arling-
ton has ! Bloomington, 8 Manchester, 3;
Pownal, l ; Salisbury, l; Wrndhall, l
and in each case they are placed in the
column headed ''slaves." Thus the record
was made, and thus it has been continued
for eighty years.
| returned to the census cfiee, and was
!, shown the original returns for the State OF
Vermont, in columns, by towns and by
towns and by counties.
The returns were in greasy and fad
ed roll, worm eaten in places, and meas
uriug, should think thirty feet in length
and twenty inches in width. The sheets
had been pasted together for convenience,
making the length as stated. SOiled and
h yellow, as the paper upon which the r.
do -, t-.pl4
was remarkably clear and distinct, and in
that beautiful, round and legihe hand
which is so often met with in old papers
and documents.
The ink had faded somewhat, bat il
was still as distinct es any document pre-
pared five years ago; and in all that re-
turn, filled as it was with names and
figures, there is not a word, or d letter
or a figure, that is not as plain as
print. The ruling, lettering, etc, was
all done by hand. Running carefully
down the columns in which the number
} of slaves is entered, one dies not ind Tx
record Of Il single one in the tot0,6 Sttt6 o.
Vermont! nor any entered in the celusnu
of totals. But in the next column, head
ed clear and distinct in heavy letters
FREE BLACK with directions az tc
age, &c.,) there Is the following record
Arlingto l Bennington, 8 Manchester
3; Pownall, l ; Shaftsbury, /; Wlndhall
1-these being in the County of Benuing
ton. In making up the population of tho
counties in the State, the return still show
no slaves, but, on the contrary, show IL
" Free Blacks" of given age, with nc
> mention of the word slave" This return
is signed David Robinson, assistant tC
, Marshal, and by Heman Allen, United
States Marshal of Vermont" and is fair
workmanlike, and carefully prepared
table. In transcribing this table for the
printer, somebody got the figures in the
: wrong column. and thus the blunder
passed into the book, and into history. 1t
has been perpetuated by the census.
makers, and 80 Vermont is set down in
history, as having had in 1890 Is slaves.
All works on slavery acknowledged the
: existence of slavery in Vermont in that
bae