News and citizen. [volume] (Morrisville, Vt. ;) 1881-current, 1900-01-24
VERMONT A LEADER.
In Forming the Liberty Party, the Free
Soil Party and the Republican Party.


Will the press of Vermont kindly
publish this inquiry: Are there any
survivors in this state who voted
the Liberty Party" or anti-slavery
ticket, James G. Birneyfor President,
in 1910?
Their number which afterwards
became famous in connection with
the growth of the Liberty Party in
Vermont was 319. They cast no
vote at the state election of that
year, and it was very remarkable
that in the few weeks intervening to
the presidential election and the
great excitement prevailing between
the Wing and Democratic parties,
that they should have polled the first
distinctive anti-slavery vote in our
state. With no state organization,
it was really the spontaneous ex-
preston of few independent voters
of that day. Among them there
could not have been one who had
the remotest thought that slavery
in this country would be abolished
in little more than two decades.
1t is not probable there is living to-
day any of that number. 1t is pos
sible that the late Hon Daniel Rob
erts of Burlington was thelast surviv-
or. 1t so happened that the writer
hereof addressed and mailed a note
of inquiry to Mr.. Roberts on this
point, and, as it proved, the note
was written at the hour of his death.
Later a member of his family kindly
answered the note but could not
give the desired information. Nor
could the Hon. L. E. Chittenden of
New York, the former friend and
partner OF Mr.. Roberts. These cir
cumstances favor the idea that he
may have been one of the 319. In
1910 he was a resident of Manches-
ter. One vote was cast for Birney
in that town and he was one of those
who had no fear of voting alone.
The total official vote of our state
at that election was: Harrison, 3d.
40; Van Buren,, 18,007; Birney,
319, and only seven scattering. This
vote will be found in Walton's Yer
mont Register of 1841, and is the
only presidential vote by towns
which | now recall as ever having
been publishedin a Vermont Register.
Apparently there are some errors as
to towns but the official canvass as
to totals is no doubt correct.
More than one-third of the Liberty
Party vote was polled in the two
counties of Orange and Washington,
II and 65 respectively. The largest
vote in any one town was Randolph,
%, but Brookfeld gave Is and Straf-
ford 16. In Washington county,
Waitsfeld cast IS, Barre II, Water
bury 10, Fayston 8, Montpelier 8.
In other sections of the state Dorset
gave II, SALISBURY 8, Westford IA,
New Haven II, Berkshire II, St.
Adams 10, Weybridge 10, London
derry 9, Waterville 9, Putney 7,
Brookline 4, Mt Tabor 4, Lowell 8,
Albany 6, Barton 5, Bethel 4, Wood
stock 8, a number of towns 2 to
each, and % towns one each; &c
towns were represented.
The growth in our state of the
anti-slavery sentiment, or Liberty
Party, as it was called, was rapid
and in the next year, 1941, they cast
3091 votes for Titus Hutchinson Of
Woodstock for governor, 1922 fo1
Shafter for governor in 1914, but
could not quite reach that for Birney
against Henry Clay, for whom Yer
monters had great admiration. Ii
1S4S there was a landslide in New
England and New York of Demo
Gratis and some Wings to the Free
Soil party, largely caused by the tive
Democratic factions in the latter
state, known as Hunkers and Barn
Burners, and in that year the Ere,
Sellers in Vermont polled 1888
votes.
Preceding and following this de
cade, such men as John Ouinc,
Adams of Massachusetts,, William
Slade of Vermont, Joshua r. Gid
dings of Ohio and John P. Hale o
New Hampshire, were fighting tn
anti-slavery battles in Congress OF
such questions as the Seminole wa,
in Florida, the Amistad slave case
the Right of Petition, etc.
| have been led to the above inquir,
and Renaissance by reading the pro
ceedings of a Free Soil reunion helc
last summer at Greenfield, Mass, fo
Franklin county of that state. l
appeared that this reunion associa
ton was formed II years ago, will
nearly 200 members, though only 1,
were present at their last meeting
and this reminds me that the frs
political organization known as Ere
Sellers was formed in this state, ant
| refer to it as showing another ad
vance step of the anti-slayerv senti