Bennington semi-weekly banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 1894-1902, 1894-12-07
Vermont Archleves az ALBANY.

The Legislature adopted resolution
authorizing the governor to purchase the
so called Stevens collection of Vermont
documents, now preserved in the New
York State Library at Albany. These
| documents, says the Free Press, were
collected by the late Henry Stevens, and
were offered by him to the State of Yer
mont for $500, This was some twenty
odd years age. An attempt was made
to secure an appropriation for the pur-
chase of the papers; but 1t failed and In
1875 Mr.. Stevens sold them to the State
of New York for $4,000 as it was under
stood; and they were deposited in the
New York State Library. Mr.. Howell,
the archivist of that Library, has re-
Gently been arranging the collection. 1t
is reported that he found it of less his
torical >alue to the State of New York
than had been supposed to be the case;
and it has been intimated that an arrange
ment might be made for transferring the
bulk of the collection to the Vermont
State Library at Montpelier, the New
York Library reserving the documents
which have special reference to the his
tory OF New York.
The collection comprises 292 volumes,
among them being the following:
Papers of Ethan Allen, one volume.
Papers of Ira Allen, seven volumes,
Papers of Heman Allen, ten volumes.
Burlington custom house documents,
and papers of Archibald Hyde, who was
for many years special deputy collector
of customs under Collector Van Ness,
thirty-three volumes.
Papers and account books of Timothy
FOllett of Burlington, seventy volumes.
Papers and correspondence of Gov.
Isaac Tiohenor, governor 1791-1SO7, three
volumes.
Papers of Gov. Silas II. JenniSon, gov
ernor 1885 lS4l, thirteen volumes.
Field books of the surveyor-general OF
Vermont, with index; records of land
grants and surveys, charters and maps
of towns, four volumes.
Diary of Beverly Robinson, one vol
ume.
Letters of Gen. Phillip Schuyler, one
volume, and hundred or more volumes
of miscellaneous and military docu.
ments.
1t is probable that the collection coD-
tains, besides the Allen papers, State
documents and official records which
ought never to have been considered pri-
vate property. Mingled with these are
probably many papers and letters of lit
tie historic value.
Timothy Follett whose papers and &C
count books are in the list, was lead
ing merchant in Burlington, of the firm
Follett & Bradley, which occupied the
stone store at the head of the south
wharf forty years and more ago. He was
chief promoter and first president of the
Rutland railroad. Archibald Hyde was
also prominent citizen of Burlington in
his day. Ira Allen held the Office of sur
veyor general of Vermont for nine years,
but whether the field books and papers
of that office in the collection date back
to his time, we do not know. Beverly
Robinson was a New York Tory, who
undertook to persuade Ethan Allen and
the Vermonters to take the side of Great
Britain in the Revolutionary war, under
promise that Vermont should be made a
separate British province. He was af
terward engaged in Benedict Arnold's
plot to deliver West Point to the enemy.
Gen. Schuyler had a regiment of
Green Mountain boys under his com
mand in the Continental army, and he
subsequently took the part of Vermont
inner controversy with New York. 1t
is probable that the New York State
library will wish to retain his letters and
Robinson's diary. The great mass of
the documents in the collection, how
ever, relating as they do solely to Yer
mont men and matters, can be of but
small value at Albany, while they would
have considerable value at Montpelier;
and we trust that under some satisfac-
tory arrangement they may be returned
to this State, from which they ought
never to have been taken.