The Vermont watchman. [volume] (Montpelier, Vt.) 1883-1911, 1900-09-12
A HOMESTEAD CENTENNIAL
A Reunion Of the Descendants of the
Gail Clan.

The 29th OF August 1900, was red letter
day for the Gail" clan at Barre. 1t was
no less than the centennial day of the Gale
homestead. 1t was not much heralded
muster, but none the less a happy success
Iu the early morning began the arrivals
and at about nine O'Clock almost half a
hundred had reported themselves ready for
duty.
The scene was beautiful, highly animat-
ed, inspiring. The weather was periec-
| ton OF early autumn in Vermont. This
certainly Is a description that describes
| Tor those who know the real thing. And
the place-one of Vermont's dear old
homes, crowning fertile slopes amidst nest
ling hills and clustered mountains, whose
azure rim makes the circular boundary of
the wide landscape. The approach, the
country road, is long lovers lane of ma
pies overarcAing and interlacing. The
birthday naples (plsnted upon the sons
achieving their majority and the old To-
Gusts still shade the ample yard of the
house in which the happy, old-time large
family was reared. And here, too, in all
reality are THE orchard, the meadow, the
deep tangled Wildwood"
This house is the irst farm house, the one
that followed the original log cabin built
few rods away near the spring which still
keeps the upland meadow green. In feet
here is the whole outfit OF we'll regulated
Vermont farm, barns about as old as the
house and always IN good repair and never
empty; ample corncrib and woodshed in the
same satisfactory category with the barns,
and the well with its old-time sweep, also
the cold oaken bucket" and 10 forth
Here dwels the farmer, at seventy five,
rugged and brisk, himself riding the mower
and reaper over these ancestral acres, al
most as ripe as the grain he cuts. "Uncle
Si' is OF the third generation from the
Josiah who was here one hundred years
ago, drove down his stake and lifted up his
axe TO let the sunlight into his cabin and
cornfeld. This present incumbent of the
old homestead, which has never been alienat-
ed from the name and the direct line, and
his offspring in two generations, with few
kin who had secuted in day or two in adj
vance of the main column, gave greetings,
hearty, you may imagine, and joyous and
: tender.
The clan in this country begins in 164C
at Watertown, Mass, with Richard Gale
and his wife Mary. After Richard ~ came
Abraham (2), Abraham, Jr., (3), Josiah (4)
9 and, in the next, the fifth generation
Josiah, Jr., (5), born in 1874, who settled
first in Warwick, Mass, and then, in 1900
removed to Barre, Vt, and settled upon the
2 very site where this centennial day is cele
. brated Here he occupied till his d cease
o in 1920
This Josiah, the first generation in Barre
was accompanied by his only son, John (2)
who was born in ITS, and who, in 1902
brought to this home as his bride Rebecct
i Boutwell,.
Z To John and Rebecca here were bor1
i twelve children, the third generation il
Barre, who lived to maturity, and of whom
the three survivors were present These
!. were Des. Sullivan Gale of Plainfield, 10
4 siah Gale, the possessor of the cd home
stead, and Ira L. Gale, also of Barre.
Their ages are in the above order, eighty
four, seventy-ive and seveDty-one. Will
this remnant of the third were gathered
y representatives of the fourth children o.
e the third,) of the fifth grandchildren an(
= of the sixth (great grandchildren) Those
o of the latest generations were joined will
! the Barre progenitor by the personal recol
Il lection of Deacon Gale Of Plainfeld. Here
: they met in one large family, though unde
: the various names of Gale, Blanchard, Web
ster, Penniman, Spencer Sherburne, Doyle
and Allen. With three or four exception
[ each generation in every line of descent wal
represented.
Besides the g)odly number of those resi-
dent in Barre, they are now to he found il
I the Vermont towns of Barton, Berlin
Hardwick, Montpelier, Painfield Ran
9 dolph, St. Johnsbury and Williamstown
and in the States of New Hampshire
- Massachusetts, Connecticut, New York
Wisconsin, Florida, California and in the
Philippine Islands. The one representa-.
, tive in the last named quarter of the globe
= is son of j. W. Gale Of st. Johnsbury and
is there as a soldier in lis country's service
These facts are a few OF the many which
were set forth in the centennial roll-call
upon this occasion. 1t is evident that there
are ample sources Of information about the
past and the clan and that the genealogles
have been well preserved
A gathering of tits kind and under these
circumstances must be shared in to be
understood. 1t has too much of enchant.
, ment for ordinary reporting The abandon
that ruled the whole while that autumn sun
climbed to high noon could not possibly
have been programmed. Amongst the
: elders, memory, refreshed as with a
, draught OF old wine. almost ran riot. The
youngest, with all the glee and witchery OF
childhood, enjoyed the bright hours OF
varied and innocent frolicking. The COM
mittee of the whole on inspection Of the
premises did their full duty and found ev.
cry "fond recollection" perfectly justified
and, moreover, they found everything
; "spick.span" from garrett to we'll bottom.
| Young eyes saw all that was before them
old eyes, with tesr-washed vision, saw the
mantling and clustered associations. 1.-THE
old familiar faces" that are "gone" seemed
to appear upon the scene. All day there
was. somehow, "hallowing" presence