Burlington weekly free press. [volume] (Burlington, Vt.) 1866-1928, 1877-03-09
The Vermont Historical Gazetteer, Vol. Ill.

We are glad to welcome, from the press
of the Claremont Manufacturing Company.
the third volume of Miss Hemenway's Ga
zetteer, which has been for five years and
more in preparation. 1t is devoted to or-
leans and Rutland counties, and makes
thick book Of 1850 compact pages. The
dedication brings together gentlemen not
always seen arm in arm, and is worth copy
ing To our legal counsellors, Hon. Dan
iel Roberts. of Rutland county, contributor
to our first book and to our last; to Ed
ward j. Phelps. Esq. eldest son oil Hon.
Samuel Sheather Phelps, United States SEN
ator. Middlsbury; E R. Hard, ESD. and
Hon. William G. Shaw, all of this city,
Burlington, this volume is most courteous
ly dedicated.
The general character Of the work is too
well known to our readers, to need particu-
lar description. We wish to record afresh,
however, our sense of the value oil the pub
lie service which Miss Hemenway has rem
dered and is rendering in her work. With
all its faults of manner and method, it forms
a reservoir of authentic historical and per-
sonal information, of the utmost value to
Vermonters For Miss Hemenway has been
able to bring to her aid the pens best fitted
for such service in the State, and has Sc
cured and placed On permanent record
treasures OF local history, which If she had
not collected them would have passed
away beyond recall. To show to what e1-
tent this is is true, it is only necessary to
note the number of contributors to this
third volume, who since their contributions
were furnished have passed from earth.
Among these are the late Pliny Ii. White,
the late Hon. B. ii. Steele, the late Hon.
Loyal C. Kellogg, the late Rev. B. D..
Ames. the late Rev. Joseph Steele. the late
Gen. F. W. Hopkins, and others These
have gone leaving none behind them who
could have done Just these tasks as well as
they have done them.
The Introductory chapter on Orleans
county was written by Rev. Pliny ii. White,
and an excellent likeness of Mr.. White faces
the title pages. Steel engraved likenesses Of
the late Hon. Portus Baxter. (whose biog-
raphy is written by Mrs. Mary Clemmer
Ames. or Mrs. Clemmer, as she now calls
herself and of the late Ira ii. Allen, OF
lrasburgh, arc also given.
Rutland county, strange to say. contrib
utes no portrait; but the town histories are
noticeably full, and the county occupies
over 500 pages. The Rutland historians,
Henry Hall, Chauncey X. Williams and
| Henry Clark, are of course among the con-
tributors: and the editors were fortunate
enough to secure from the antiquarian col
lections of the late Henry Stevens, com.
plete list of the Revolutionary officers and
soldiers from the county.
We cannot praise the indexes, which ap-
pear to have been made in patches and
tucked in here and there through the sever
al volumes. as happened to be convenient
but we trust the final volume will contain a
reasonably complete index to the entire
work. and which will supply the omissions
and remedy the imperfections of the present
fragmentary and scattered indexes.
One more volume, comprising Washing,
ton, Windhnm and Windsor counties, will
complete the Gazetteer as originally pro-
jected. This. the preface informs US, is al,
ready nearly ready in manuscript; and we
trust it will be issued without prolonged
delay.
We urge Vermonters once more to supply
themselves with these volumes. while they
are obtainable. Thompson's Vermont has
long been out of print. and is now scarce
In very few years Miss Hemenway's Ga
zetteerwil be all in private hands and pro,
durable only upon lucky chances, and al
high prices. Address the publishers. the
Clsremont Manufacturing Company, Clare
mont, n H.