Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1880-08-20

three years, or the grant Is to be void. he grant
Is also made void IL any one OF the grantees cut
down OF destroy preserved" pine tree. The ques-
tiun might he raised as to who would he u witness
against his neighbor II he knew It would result In
the reNerslCn Oi ais farm.
This elaborate document closes In the following
manner: ain testimony whereof We have caused
these our letters to be made patent, and the great
seal Of our sad Province Of New York to be here
unto u1iXcd. Witness our said trusty and we'll
beloved CudwalHdcr Golden, Esquire, our said
Lieutenant Governor and Commander-ln-Chief Of
our said Province OF New York, and the territories
depending thereon In America, at our Fort IN our
wear Of our Lord one thousand, seven hundred aud
and seventy, aud Of our reign the icnth "
II Is thus made clear tina this town created,
erected aud chartered by the STATE OF New YoIk,
without inIruding rpon any other charter or grant;
aud ON the l2ih day Of March, lIO, 1t WAS with the
restrictions have alluded to, the properly Of the
following named persons
Grantees Date u Gruut. No. Of acres.
James EdSiugtou oct. ~, liG6 1000
John NUrbCrgh Dec. ,l1C6 2uOO
Thomas ElherinEiUu bee. 5. 1To6 /, 900
Thomas Gamble Feb. 4, i7TU g,u0O
Dennis Carleton Feb. " l17U yWO
john walker f. b. y, l1IO 5000
Nathan Whiting March ,lT1O 5000
Nathan Whiungd as.
Samuel Fitch
Eleazer FtCn
James Snrdlty Marc. Il l1TD C go
Andrew Myers
Robert Alton
SAMUEL bUl Cr,
Total n 700
Ihtse ptoprictuis were tffcoIs iu the couiluru
tai army ana were rewarded by these grants for
contained 20 Inhabitants Oh the l2h Of MaTth h. lis3
who had complltd with the spec ned RESTRICTIONS
The 'Lile Tds Then complete icy oudany contingent
Cy, except the danger Of forfeiture Of the wro!e
township IN case somebody should cut one Of the
"t,sciNcd' pines The pine trec- in this town
suitable for masis for The royal navy Werr not uu-
meGous, ana the ~ otkera" being mu Xperieuced IN
''gunmlug,' were not us familiar with The spruce
as they afterwards became with the beech mint
ed history says that This town settled or that
the settlement was begun by two men, Silas Ham
lton aud Moses Bratun, ana 1t also say that Rob
Fftlrt Ng flfa4
Instead OF Moses. This was IN i7I0, and there Is
nothing said about any further arrivals TN 1913 II
this Was true there were not enough Inhabitants IN
Whtiupham IN lIIS to prevent the forfeiture Of tn,
Whole town. But ] am able TO show coGclusycly
that there were more than these two families In
town In 100, but cannot mud the number In 1913,
therefore am not certain thgt the title OF the nrst
proprictors was eve + perfected. have copy Of
the census for ITO, dated JAr. leth, III, which
iiscluscs the following facts:
White males under lG
- " over " and under G.
{" females undcr''
- g over " /"
Head, OF famllcs,4
There were no colOrd Grsous in town q; that
time. There Is no evidence that have been able
to nLd showing whether The Two families not men-
uoutd III history came 10 he town before OF after
Hamilton ana Brutton. At this time Westminster
had population Of as, ana was the largest town
IN Cumberland county. GHlford had 45o Halifax
329 Wilmington Il. The population Of the county
was 4o:4. Al me present time Westminster has
pUIuatl,h ut 1877; GmlioTd 1897 Halifax so
" llminetou 1850; WMtilgham 1910; Wiudham
Wilmington was charter,dby New Uamp.hlrc.
Apri 49, 1881. This charter was forfeited and
new charter was issued June lIth, l16S, changing
the name 10 Draper. This name was not salisfaC-
tory, ana by general consent the original name was
adopted without legal measures. Halifax was
chartered by New hampshire May II, 1880. A Pc
luou, OF memorial, dated ut Wilmington, oct. .,
llIer was presented 10 the legislature uf Vermont,
then convened at Windsor, IN behalf Of The rrupTi-
ctOrs and Others, inhabitants OF the town Of VII
mltgtou and towns adjoining, alleging that the
public road leading fTOm said Wilmington 10 Ben
nington was greatly out Of repair, and that the
bridges were broken aud dangerous. 1t also repre-
stntcd that most Of The lands between these towns
belonged 10 Tories and other inimlcal persons " no
have Joined the enemy; that the road was inds.
prnsahe IN marching troops, driving drOycs Of cat
tie and Tor other public purposes. II also repre-
scented that the petitioners had al they could do 10
mGnage their own farms, support their families
and Keep their own roads IN repair. The petition
ers prayed that wise aLd Jud!clous committee be
an onicd to repair said road and make sale Of the
lands Of said nnical persons to pay the expense.
SILAs HAMILTON,
DAVID DNKEEsCS,
WM. WILLIAMS,
GIDEON GRANGER,
BBEJA' WILLARD.
This was two years before Whitingham was or
Eanized, but some Of those who sigued II were Of
this IOWA. The cOunscaliOu Of the lands OF "inim-
ica persons"b by acommitec, for the purpose Of re-
pairing The roads, diyulged IL streak Of economy
equal 10 that Of any modern fcformer.
petition dated Oct. ye Il, \. d. lIIg, to the Gen
eral Assembly Of Vermont signed by John Hamil-
ton ana his associates, was presented to that body
setting forth That there was tlaCt Of land twelve
miles IN length ana tuur miles IN With, IN inc
south part OF Vermont, bounded south on the Bay
state, East On Whilngham ana Wilmington, north
on Somerset and West ON WOodfOrd aud Stamford
that II nat been IN Part granted 20 Malor robert
Rogers Of New Hampshire, aus In part 10 General
Lyman nLd others that IL had been since granted
by New York Ito taN OIite land iOhbt rs without any
regard 10 the New Hampshire Grants, and known
Uy the name Of RtadsburOugh;" that many OF the
pTLtees have "IOiued our british adyercafie>" aud
others were "unfIindly to Amaraca and the Slate
Of Vermont :" that said wild land many he convert
cd into good ialms, which Will greatly help pay
the publick taxes OF Vermont that the public roads
may be constantly aud eifectually maintained; that
all Inc NuratCus wild Beasts Of Pray may be for
liver DlsiuheIitcd and destroyed" The petitioners
then requested 81 hat Four miles squair OF the sen
ter Of said ReadsbOrOugh he granted to them in
manner following, viz: with Resarve OF the orig
iual Grants to General Lyman aud Mai. Robert
Rogers, and also Of those Of said lands Necccaryly
Disposed Of for making Public Road from Ben
nil gtOu to Wilmington through said ReadsnOTOugh,
ana Of these Lands Labured on 10y William Brace,
uud also one hundred acres LabOred on by one
Whlppeu, Now in the Continental Sarvice and as
said Lands are Greatly Deluged with Snow the
most part Of the year, and Vastly Heavy llmbered,
and Of consequence Very Dear at the cultivation
thereof, your Humble Petitioner Prays your Hon
Ors TO Giant him the same, Not Requiring any large
Fcas, hut with strict lujunclons and lncOTegments
for The Speedy Cultivation and Populallng sad
land, and also incorporate the same and Let II be
known by the name OF Brace"
John Hamilton, James White, Asa Williams,
Vim. Williams, John EOttOn, Simeon Hathaway,
James Roberts james Williams, Levi Hamilton,
Sias Hamilton, John Rand, John Whitney, lienja-
min Lyman, Josiah Lock, Matthew Lyon, Aseph
White, Judah MOors, David Dickinson, Thomson
Maxheld Amos Peabody, Daniel carr, william
Brace, Jeremiah Williams, Jesse Bclknap, John
Hamilton, 2d,
ON the 18TH day of March, 1880, three thousand
of land granted to slas Hamilton, Thomas
Sterns, John Butler, James Roberts, Abner Moore,
James Angel, Charles Dodge and Elphalet Hyde,
bounded follows, viz: "Begnnng at the southeast
of Wilmington and northeast corner of WhitinghAm,
at q beech marked PPM thence bounded on Will
mngton, north, 80 degrees west, l76 chains and 20
links to small maple tree mark PPM thence south,
ten degrees west Ill chains and % links to large
beach tree marked NJ. @. - thence south, 80 degrees
east 76 chains and 25 links to large hemock tree
Halifax ne north, ten degrees east, III chains and
| % links to the aforementioned bounds" This was
probably the hrst grant of land in Whtngham under
authority of the state of Vermont, and was the
land covered by the grants of Lieut.. John Rarbury
| and Lieut.. Thomas Etherington, granted by New
| York in Dee I7G6. What became Of Norbury and
Etherngton does not appear but they probably found
employment after the 18th Of April, 1915.
1t will be discovered by the petitioners and grants
| issued, that Vermont recognized not only the Now
York charter but the land grants OF that State, so
far as Nottingham was concerned, and the charter
granted in 1870 the charter of this town. recog
ni2ed by the State and in full force. Its provsions
we're violated when the town organized, and have
been every year since 1t ought to be amended at the
next session Of the legislature and made to conform
10 the present methods of transactng public business
The town records of Whtngham have have gene
rally been well kept, and with the exception Of
A. ausu... II - .N..wua a