Orleans County monitor. [volume] (Barton, Vt.) 1872-1953, 1900-11-05
AN HISTORICAL SKETCH OF THE
TOWN OF COVENTRY.

SAT the outset it is proper that Indicate
what this address purports to be. 1t pur-
ports to be a resume of the earliest history
of Coventry as recorded by those long
since gone to their reward, together with
some added facts and incidents CLEANED
from the few now living who have per-
sonaI knowledge of the Coventry of
early times. 1t is only fair to state that
for the historical data presented I am in
debted largely toIthe Rev. PIiny H. White,
for ten years the loved and honored pastor
of this church, and whose death here in
the prime of his manhood was lamented
by all.
The name Coventry" as related to our
town first appears in history in 1850, w hen
on the fourth day of November of that
year charter for the town of Coventry
was granted to Major Elias Buell. and fifty
nine others. This charter defined in the
main the present boundaries of our town.
But although Coventry was chartered in
1850, it remained wilderness for twenty
years. Major Buell. was a native of Cow
entry, Connecticut, and when he procured
the charter for his new township he named
it for the town of his birth. Buell. evil
IDENTIFY had some faith in the future of his
wilderness possession for he proceeded to
purchase the rights of the fifty-nine others
until in eight years he had secured the
rights of all but five, and SO became prac-
tically the owner of the township. He did
not place his deeds on record until 1901 only
to find that in 1871 the sheriff of Chitten-
den county had sold his lately acquired
property to satisfy a tax of half penny an
an acre. Ira Allen was the man who
bought this title and when Major Buell.
found out the state of affairs he quickly
arranged with Allen to give him quit
claim deed, whereby Allen became the
sole owner. Allen went to Europe in
1898 and sold Coventry Gore to one Stephen
Bayard for $71O4.OO; at least that is what
the deed says. If Bayard actually paid
this sum, or any part of it, he must have
soon realized that he had been skinned,
for in July of 1899 Coventry Gore was sold
by Sheriff Paddock of Craftsbury to Jabez
g. Fitch for $3.50, and was never redeem
ed. Fitch at an early day bought out Ira
Aliens interest and became the iowner of
the township. 1t was by Fitch that the
settlement of Coventry was secured. He
advertised lands cheap to actual settlers,
two dollars per acre being the current
price, payable in good clean wheat or
neat CATTLE"
Among the first to come were the Cobbs
of Westmoreland, n. H. Samuel Cobb as
early as 1899 made journey to Coventry,
built log house and returned for his
family. Early in the next year (1sO0) the
Cobbs left Westmoreland for their future
wilderness home. Arriving in Browning
fnn in off boi
horses and started out to make pathway
through the then untrodden forest. The
company consisted of Samuel Cobb and
TinsdaIe Cobb, father and son, three of
SamuePs older children and Tinsdale's
wife; SamuePs wife together with the
three youngest remained at Westmoreland
until the following June when they Joined
their husband and father in the new set
Element. The settlement was only made
complete when the wife and little ones had
arrived, ard SO appropriately we celebrate
in June the one hundredth anniversary of
the settlement of Our town. Most of you
know doubtless better than do the spot
where the first settlement was made but
was interested in having this spot pointed
out to me by Mr.. Luke Day, the grandson
of Samuel Cobb himself. Samuel located
on lot No. IL, now owned by Albert Estey,
and Tinsdale on Lot No II also owned by
Mr.. Estey and on which ne now lives.
Samuel's log house, the first dwelling
house reared by the hand of man in Gov
entry, was situated on the highest point of
land in the field just beyond the burying
ground in the Day neighborhood. The
frame house above mentioned was built by
Coh RI foly ho of he Loo
hut and some say that this is the oldest
frame house in town. However this may
be, the Cobb house certainly dates back to
the early years of this century. Samuel |
Cobb was blacksmith by trade and soon
after the log hut came the blacksmith |
shop. Horseshoeing was, 1 imagine, but |
small part of his work; he made almost |
every thing that could be constructed out |
of iron, from a darning needle to crow
bar. The Cobb pitchforks were known
far and wide and we have secured one of |
them for exhibition today. The Cobbs
were great, hearty, giant framed men, /
toughened by many hardships, well adapt /
ed to be pioneers in making the wild |
erness to bloom like the Garden of God. |
Samuel had served in the Revolutionary |
war and had gained enviable distinction
for his feats of strength and endurance. |
History is more silent about Tinsdale as to |
strength, but Samuel had another son,
Samuel, Jr., who was noted far and wide
for all but superhuman strength. This
youth stood six feet two in his stockings,
and weighed go pounds. All sorts of pro-
digious feats are recorded of him, and it is
told of him that he had been seen to pick
up 475 pounds of iron and carry it off with
one hand as easily as you or I could carry
q pail of water. The Cobbs were not long