Middlebury register. (Middlebury, Vt.) 1886-1937, 1894-05-25


lustrate the way of living in those days,
his daughter, Mrs. Loomis, says her
father : family mad become at one time
quite destitute of all kinds of -four and
meal aud her father took a bag of grain
on his shoulder and carried it on foot
to Ticonderoga to be ground, and was
absent several days, the family mean
time living wholly on milk One Incl
dent relating to Mrs. Chapman is worthy
of notice. Searching one night in the
loft of her log cabin for an article she
wanted, the half-inch end of her tailO
candle fell out of its socket, and, as If
sault and stood blazing end up in the
top of an uncovered keg of powder.
With GOODNESS that positively staggers
belief, she drew back, gave a single
look and u single thought, then stopped
cautiously, laid hold of the burning
stub, lifted it from the keg and neither
screamed nor tainted in the act that
saved herself, her family and home from
instant destruction. Mrs. Chapman
was woman of remarkable character.
Thrifty, economical, managing, cheer
full, industrious, energetic, and of un-
usual intelligence, she was helpmate
in the truest sense OF the word. She
was a woman of great good nature,
too; could appreciate joke, and once
upon time perpetrated one that has
come down to us. a pompous, all-suf-
ficient, sef-suflicient, insufficient youth
was one evening to be taken into the
Masonic lodge, which that evening held
its meeting at the grand masters, Col.
Chapman. He came at dusk and sat
down in the kitchen awaiting his sum-
mons to the appointed room. Mrs.
Chapman quietly placed the gridiron on
the Goals. 1t was after all meal hours.
The candidate for Masonic honors was
not little disturbed all over, perhaps
by the proceeding, and sat cycling the
gridiron, which, in turn, eyed the can
didate. At last he ventured to ask the
use to which the heating iron was to be
put. Mrs. Chapman quietly replied that
an aspirant for Masonic immortality was
that evening to be initiated into the
fraternity and her husband had request
ed her to have all the implements ready.
The kitchen door suddenly opened and
out bolted the collapsed youth. He
didn't ride the goat that evening and
suspect he never did at Mrs. Chapman 5
house. Mrs. Chapman was daughter
of Abisha Washburn, a native of Sails
bury, Conn, afterwards a resident OF
Middlebury. He was founder and
used to cast cannon for the Revolution
airy war. a neighbor coming into his
furnace one day asked him, "Mr. Wash
burn, which fire do you think is the hot
test, this one here in the forge or that
fed by the evil one in the regions below
"Jump in, Sir, jump in and you can try
them both in half a minute, was hi;
instant response.
Col. Chapman was high sheriff of the
county for II years. During this period
the penalty for certain crimes against
the laws of the State was to stand in
the pillory and to bear certain num-
Der of lashes at the whipping post. \
very old citizen stated some years ago
that when he was six years old, at the
beginning of the present century, in a
large gathering assembled for the Occa-
sion, seated astride his fathers should.
ers, he saw three persons publicly
whipped in the park near the Congrega-
tional church. \ marble post indicates
the place where those instruments of
torture were located. Another story
of this nature coming down to us is that
when the penalty of crime was to cut
off a persons right ear, the culprit would
sometimes have it replaced and healed.
On one occasion, when Chapman ofiiciat-
ed in this capacity. the severed member
was ground into the earth with his feet
with the remark, "rhat will never be
spliced on his head
The grand lodge of Vermont was or
ganzed in August, 1874, and Col. Chip
man was its first grand senior warden
four years, when he was elected grand
master, which exalted position he held
for is years. He was charter member
of Dorchester and Union lodges and
was aid to Vermont's first governor,
Thomas Chittenden. Col. Chapman was
courteous, hospitable, kind-hearted, af-
fable, of good breeding and culture, in
eXorablS just and intleXibly honest. lie
died In Middlebury in 1929, aged So.
Joel Linsley, senior warden, was the
son of Abiel Linsley and was born at
Woodbury., Conn, Feb. I, 1856. Early
in 1875 he settled in the adjoining town
of Salisbury, VT. When Ticonderoga
was abandoned to the British in III, the
settlers all fled to the south and did not
return until after the war. In the win
ter of 1874 about 30 families came into
that township from Connecticut and the
town was organized March 2. Joel Lins-
ley was the first town clerk, which
bo hold Co. ,,aa.s uo ,o,>.o