The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1884-12-24
The Chelsea Centennial.

The Keene On. H. Sentinel has long and
appreciatlve review of the pamphlet just is
sued containing the proceedings of the cele-
bration of the one hundredth anniversary of
the settlement of Chelsea, together with the
Orange County Veteran Soldiers Reunion,
which occurred on September 4. We make
as extended extracts as our space will permit:
The work comprises a minute descrip-
ton of the celebration, with the literary eX-
ercises in full, including the address of well
come by Hon. Lyman G.. Hinckley of Chel-
sea; poems by Rev. Edward E. Herrick of
Chelsea, and Mrs. Caroline Dana Uhl of
Yonkers, n. Y; concluding with the histor-
ical address of Thoma. Hale of Keene, who
is native of the town. The his
tory of Chelsea, admirably outlined in this
address, surprises even the Indifferent
reader. Quietly nesting among the fertile
hills secluded geographically from the paths
of travel and commerce, its situation would
strike the visitor as eligible for an academy
or college. Yet here, far from the mad
ding crowd, some of the bright minds of the
nation have claimed birthplace and res
idence; and the history of its citizens as it
has come down to us, is that of a sturdy,
patriotic, God-fearing, God-blessing race of
earnest men and women. The township
was first called Turnersburg, after one of
the original grantees, the charter bearing
date of August 4, 1881 The first warrant
for town meeting, warning the inhabitants
of Chelsea, was posted in 1888, but no good
reason for the change, and more particularly
for the selection Of the name it now bears,
is given. Bella Turner, who headed the pc
tition for the grant of the township, proba-
bly, resided in Winchester, this county, and
this, perhaps, explains how it came to pass
that the settlement of the plantation was
made by three men from Winchester whose
names are not found in the list of grantees.
Samuel Moore, Thomas Moore and Asa
Bond, brothers and brother-in-law, respect
lively, made improvements on the plantation
in the spring of 1884, and the next year
brought their families with them These
men and their descendants occupy consid-
cradle space in the early records of the town,
and seem TO have been prominent and useful
citizens. Chelsea became the
shire town of Orange county in 1896. This
seems an overwhelming honor, il we judge
by the number of votes cast for governor
that year-ffteen. But indifference or ina
bility to get to the polls was the cause of
this, for the town had two hundred thirty
nine population five years before, and eight
hundred nine in 1900 The increase of pop
ulation seems to have been steady in both
town and county, though not rapid. Chel-
sea has reason to be proud of her sons--a
long and illustrious line are they. The bio
graphical sketches given in these historical
recollections are extremely interesting.
They comprise names well-known in state
and nation. The most widely known of the
living sons are Colonel William Il. Villas of
Madison, Wis, president of the recent dem
ocratie convention at Chicago; Matthew
Henry Buckham, president of the Univer-
sity of Vermont; Thomas Scott Buckham, a
brother, who is now honored by a seat on
the bench of one of the higher courts of
Minnesota; Alden Speare, ex-mayor OF New
ton, Mass, who recently gave $4,000 to
Boston University to found professorship;
George IL. Bixby, editor of the Plattsburg
a. " Repubhcdn; and the proprietor of
Hoods Sarsaparilla claims Chelsea as his
birthplace A very honorable
list of volunteer soldiers in the late war is
also ublished-honorable because it num-
beers one hundred ninety-eight in ALL or
nearly one-half OF the legal voters in the
town. But what has Chelsea done in addi-
ton to what has been mentioned and which
forms a noteworthy and praiseworthy rec
ord? To quote the language of the author
In addition TO all this, Chelsea has sent
forth some dozen or fifteen ministers of the
gospel and has furnished some eighteen or
twenty ministers with wivesl But the good
farmers, physicians, merchants, mechanics,
teachers lawyers, editors, presidents and
professors in colleges, and bankers that the
town has sent over the land, who can num-
Der them or estimate their inhuence?