Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1886-05-14
THE REGlsTER's" SEMlCENTENNlAL.


day. June 10, 1896. is the earliest of
which a copy is in existence. a. F.
Perry was the editor, and it was pub
lished under the direction of the Addison
County Anti-Masonic Committee, by O.
Seymour" As newspapers go in our
time, this old sheet would not be thought
much of an affair. The first of its four
pages is filled up with speech in Con-
gress on the sale of public lands and with
the report of the national anti-Masonic
convention. On the second page is a
little news, chiefly about the Indian
troubles in the South; list of the anti
Masonic mnations-Willam II. Harri-
son for president, Francis Granger of
New York for vice-president: Silas ii.
Jenson for governor, etc. Then follow
editorial articles and the report of the
county anti-Masonic convention. On the
last page is an original poem and some
selected matter, together with the report
of the committee that had been appoint
ed to ''prepare statement of the facili-
ties possessed by the village of Middle
bury for the prosecution of mechanical
and manufacturing pursuits" There is
not line of local news in the sheet; and
the advertisements are few and brief
1t is hard to realize the changes that
the world has passed through since the
year 1896. Then William ". reigned in
England, Louis Philippe sat upon the
throne of France, Pope Gregory XVI.
ruled at Rome. and in Spain the partiSans
of Don Carlos and of Isabella, children
of Ferdinand VII, who had Just died,
were fighting over the claims of each to
the throne. 1t was only seven years be-
fore-in lS29-that the "ROcket." the
first successful locomotive, made her IA
nous trial trip in England; and in 1896
there were but 1900 miles of railway in
the United States. The telegraph had
not been invented. Prof. Morse not an
nouncing his discovery till 1897. An
drew Jackson was President over about
fifteen millions of people. The western
boundary of the country, in the South,
was the Sabine river; in the North, the
main range of the Rocky mountains.
Texas had declared her independence of
Mexico, with whom her people. led by
Sam Houston, were then fighting. Web
ster, Clay, Calhoun and Silas Wright
were among the prominent political
leaders of the country.
Silas II. Jenison was governor of Yer
mont; Samuel Prentiss of Montpelier
and Benjamin Swift of st. Adams, Uni
ted States Senators. The State was di-
vided into five Congressional districts,
Hon. VIM. Slade representing this one.
But great as are the changes in the
world at large since 1896, they are equal
ed by those in Middlebury. OF the per-
sons whose names appear in the local
business directory of 80 years ago only
two now live in town, Hon. Calvin Hill
and Justus Cobb, Esq; three others are
still living, but not here-Edwin Law
renee, attorney; c. II. Doolittle, mer-
chant, and Frank c. Fletcher, jeweler.
OF the seventeen merchants and mercan-
tile firms of that day two survive-Beck-
with & Co., founded in 1927, and the
business carried on by DR.. w. II. Shell
don, whose father succeeded Jas. McDon-
aid, who started in the Henshaw store,
near where +. h. Clay is located. in 1926.
making an unbroken term of 20 years.
l., Est pf ha I,,,
of the town in 1886;
Ira Stewart, Asa Chapman, Jas. Mcdonald
z. Beckwith, Geo. W. Cutter, +. B. Goddard a
Co., Cyrus Birge, Asa Francis, A. B. Crane
C.. ii. Doolittle, Joseph Andrus, Joseph c.
Ketchum, Slade, Sears a Co., Nathan Wood
merchants; Jonathan Hagar books; Brews
ter & Fish, Chas Bowen, drugs; X. Il J. Vain
wright, Anon Wilcox, stoves Nahum Parker
Horace Nichols, cabinet makers; Joseph Dy
ar, f. c. Fletcher jewellers; John S. seymour
halter; q. NJ. Brown, X. l.. Fuller taiIors
James Emory, Jr., NJ. Phinney, Hill & Sher
man, saddlers; T. o. Flanagan, oil; IL. Rich
ardson, binder; Saml B. Bent, cards Harvey
Wilcox, boots and shoes; James Jewett
clothier; Middlebury Manufacturing Co..
woolens; Shirza Adams, Lois Matthews, mil.
liners; Spooner Il Cobb, printers.
Ira Stewart traded where Beckwith &
Co. are located; Asa Chapman, in the
Chapman house, north of the town clerk
office; James Mcdonald, in the Allen
block where Sargent's tin shop is; Z.
Beckwith, in Sheldon's block where Hol-
ton and Boylan are; Geo. w. Cutter, in
Nichols block where SHELLS billiard
room is; 4. b. Goddard, where Riders
drug store is; Cyrus Birge, where Val
lette's store is; Asa Francis, in Nichols
block where Earl & Smith now are A.
B. Crane in a store five rods east of the
Addison House; Charles ii. Doolittle, in
a brick store where W. S. Alden trades
Joseph Andrus, in the old bank block
! which stnnd where the Y NJ q 4