Vermont phÅ“nix. [volume] (Brattleboro, Vt.) 1834-1955, 1900-11-30
WANTED-A HISTORY.
HlnsdaIe is Rich in Local Lore, But
No Authentic Compilation Has
Been Made.

NO Authentlc Compilation Has
Been Made.
The question has often been asked
why no authentic history of Hinsdale
has ever been written. The town
was chartered in 1854, and in four
years the 150th anniversary will be in
order. Many other towns in Cheshire
county have published reliable histo-
ries that will increase in value as the
years go by, for example, Chesterfield,
Marlboro, Rindge, Gilsum and others
that might be named. Hinsdale
seems to have been content to let her
early records grow dim and gradually
fade out without a single effort to
preserve them in a permanent vol
ume A great majority of the old
residents who were familiar with the
early history of the town have passed
away making the task more difficult.
More than this, the town records of
a few years in the latter part of the
last century are missing The
records were made in a separate book
and the late G. J. Amidon used to
say that he saw the book prior to 1850
when he came from Chesterfield in
search of some historical facts, before
he became a resident of the town.
Soon after this the book disappeared
and it was his idea that it was stolen
by some one, but by whom was never
certainly known.
1t is true there are fragmentary
bits of the towns early history scat
tered through the gazetteers; for ex-
ample, Belnaps old volume gives a
brief outline of the early settlement
of the town, and one gets glimpses of
Hinsdale's part in the Indian warfare
all through the Northfield history.
Some Is years ago Childs's Cheshire
County Gazetteer contained a brief
and imperfect history of Hinsdale and
about the same time was published
volume called "a History of the Two
Counties" Cheshire and Sullivan
which contained a very reliable and
accurate church history of Hinsdale
by the late Judge Mills Stebbins of
this city, together with biographical
sketches of some of the prominent
men of the town in the middle of
the century, such as ex-Gov. William
Halle, DR.. Frederic Boyden, George
Robertson, John Stearns and others,
written by another biographer.
The Washburn history of Vernon
incidentally brings out many interest
ing facts of colonial history relating to
the killing of Caleb Howe by the In
dams, the captivity of his wife, Je-
NINA Howe, known as "the fair cap
tive" and also has much to say of Rev.
Bunker Gay, the first minister of the
town, who wrote the epitaphs by the
score, and had stately elegance of
diction that was the fashion of the
day. Caleb Howe and two others
were buried on the hill which over
looks the old Liscom mansion; their
gravestones may be seen there today,
but the inscriptions are nearly oblit-
Grated, and they stand there in the
open field with no Enclosure. The
site of Fort Hinsdale was close by
the Liscom mansion, an old colonial
| house that was built in 1865. No
stone marks the site of the spot but
| it is understood that State Senator
| l.. F. Liscom intends in the near flu
ture to erect there a granite monu-
ment that will designate the exact To-
cality of the fort, so that coming gen
erations may be able to point out the
place where their forefathers fought
for life and liberty.
The town two years ago did a gra-
cious act in voting sum of money to
rescue from neglect and oblivion the
old town cemetery, where are buried
Col. Ebenezer Hinsdale, the founder
of the town, his wife and many other
of the early settlers. The slab over
| the tomb of Col Hinsdale was relet-
tered, the grounds cleared of under
brush, a fence built to inclose the
ancient graves and such other repairs
made as seemed needful. AS has
been said, the early history of Hins-
dale is intimately interviewer with
that of Mortified and is available by
means of that history. The fight of
Sergeant Taylor with the Indians,
which the late Lewis Taylor common
GRATED with a monument near the site
of the battle, the tragic death of Caleb
Howe and the abduction of his wife,
the traditions of Fort Hinsdale and
| the Shattuck fort, and what of colonial
history can be even now gathered from
various sources, ought to enable some
one who has the time and the patience
to collect the scattered fragments,
together with events more recent
and make a town history that
would be reliable and worthy the name
-[Hinsdale letter in Springfield
Sunday Republican.
The ladies connected with the Con
gregational church will serve a corn
chowder supper at the vestry on Wed
nesday evening, Dec. 5, to be followed
by short entertainment. Every