Herald and news. [volume] (West Randolph, Vt.) 1878-1943, 1895-12-05
CHELSEA--THE COUNTY SEAT.
BY HALE X. DARLING.

Although no son, daughter or inhab-
liant of Chelsea can find anything in
the history of the town of which he
or she need be ashamed, yet it cannot
be claimed that its record as town is
any more honorable than that of scores
of towns all about us. In fact our his
tory is barren of many OF the striking
incidents that mark the settlement and
early history of many towns in this
state. We cannot boast of great prior
ity of settlement, of Indian massacres,
of British raids or of Councils of Safe
ty. Neither does our entire history
record any particular event of more
than local Importance.
Our history as town is but the his
tory of hundreds of other New England
towns, settled by honest, hardy men and
women and peopled by their descend
ants.
There is, however, one phase of Chel-
seas past that has given to the town an
importance and an influence more than
local refer to its record rs the shire
town of Orange county. The design of
the present sketch is to give history
of the town with sole reference to its
position as the county seat, and the
subject is one that would ordinarily
admit of and demand extensive research
and ample detail of narration. But the
writer is confronted with two condi-
tons tending to prevent either, One
is the meagre results that can be OBJ
tanned in searching for the earlier facts
upon this subject, and the other is that
drawback of prolix writers (and that
frequent blessing to weary readers)
commonly known as ''lack of space
Although this purports to be a sketch
OF Chelsea, and not of the county gen
orally, it seems necessary, in this con-
nection, to refer briefly to some of the
main features of the history of the
courts for this section, prior to the Sc
lection of this town as the county seat
From 1865 to l77O, the territory ont
of which Orange county was suisse
quently formed was included in the
county of Albany On. W, the county
seat being the city oithat name, From
the fact OF our extreme distance from
the seat ofustice,i it may readily be i'm
agined that litigants Were not very nu-
merous in this vicinity, and that the
disputes OF our people, if any they had,
were settled in some other way than 10y
the arbitrament of judges and jurors.
In l770, the county OF Gloucester was
established by the New York authori-
ties, and included all the territory now
within the limits of Orange county.
now the town of Washing
Ton, was selected as the county seat,
md the first session OF court was held |
here May 20, l770. There were pres
ent John Taplin, Samuel Sleeper and
Thomas Sumner, rs judges appointed
~ the governor of New York, and
James Pennoc, Abner Fowler and John
Peters as justices of the Quor'm.
John Taplin, .Jr., high sheriff. was also
present
No business appears to have been
lone at this term, and an adjournment
vas taken to Aug. %, when the court
gain met at the sumo place. The only
business it transacted at this time was
he appointment of several constables
nd the adoption ofthe following ORDER
That the Plaintiff filing Declaration in
ne Clerks office eight days before the
ourts should be Barr to the Del'd's
leading an Importance" 1t does
OF appear where the clerks office was.
ut those interested in the order proba-
~ knew.
The next session of the court was
cid Nov. q, l770. Eight actions APP
ear upon the docket at that time, all
t which were continued to the next
erm, and the court adjourned to the
'st Tuesday in February.
The record of the court which con-
ened, or attempted to convene, Feb.
J, HI, is of interest AS illustrating
OF only the primitive condition of the
ountry, but the perseverance and
deity of the "court" under difficulties.