Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1911-07-17
q pretty good idea Of the experience Of
the party.
Outlines Party's Experience.

| EeneInper the morning OK our stAft-
ing for Ohio. Mr.. Burlingame's family.
and was one Of them. went to Gen.
Putnam's the evening before. The next
morning. after family prayers and break
fast, they began to tackle up the teams.
and Sardine. with my mothers wagon
ana family and Grandmother Barrett
came along. Here my grandmother took
leave OF us all and returned.
Putnam's family consisted Of himself
and wife. two sons and five single daugh-
tiers, viz. Elizabeth. Persis (who married
Perley Howe), Abigail (who married
William Brauning). Patty (who married
BENJAMIN TuppeD. and Katherine (who
married Ebenezer Buckingham). The
sons were William. Rufus and Edwin
Gen. Putnam had two hired men. Will
liam Brauning and Samuel Porter. both
natives of Rutland. Burlingame. whose
wife was a daughter of Gen Putnam
| had two children at that time-Maria
who married to Benjamin Hubbard Miles,
! and Susanna, who married to George
Corner
My mothers family that were there
then were Sardine. Matilda, Lydia. Israel.
Augustus. myself. Christopher Columbus
and Polly Buckley. Samuel Bridge
single man Of Rutland, and Charles Mills.
were also of the party-tWenty-six in
all.
There were three ov wagons. with two
yokes of oxen to each. and Gen. Put
mans two-horse carriage and one sad
| we MY mOtner mao one COW, anu
Putnam had three or four neat cattle.
Including bull of choice breed
Rutland did not realize its own fame
| until the centennial anniversary of the
| city of Marietta in 1888. when the story
Of the origin Of the Ohio Society was re-
| vived and the historians Of Worcester.
| with Senator Hoar as their oracle and
| guide. organized an association pur-
chased the residence of Gen. Putnam. re-
| stored it to it's original condition and
q
man who first undertook the settlement
| of Ohio and the principles he represented.
The house stands on the edge of the
| village. about quarter of mile from
| the hotel 1t is a square dignified man
| sion of the period when it was built:
| heavy frame structure covered with clap
boards and pyramid roof. There are
hundreds Of such houses in New Eng
| land. equally plain and severe. but none
has such a glorious history.
Village Dates Back to 1886.
The village of Rutland was settled In
1886. when party Of pioneers from Lam
caster purchased a tract of land twelve
miles square from the Indians, and re-
| ceived a deed dated December -, 1885.
and executed by Puagastion, Pompama-
may. Wananapan Sawssawannow and
| Qualipunt, Indians who claimed to be
| lords of the soil.
The Putnam house was built by Daniel
Murray In 1855. The property was con-
| 1scated by the government in In De
cause of the disloyaty of the owner. and
the premises were used as quarters for
British officers who surrendered AT the
battle of Saratoga and were brought to
Rutland as prisoners. The soldiers were
quartered in barracks built around the
| barns. In 1871 the house was sold by the
| government to Rufus Putnam, and was
his home until he removed to Marietta,
| Ohio. He sold the property to Stephen
SibIey. From Sibley it passed In turn to
Benjamin Mead. Deacon William Mead
| and Josiah Mead. whose widow in 1889
conveyed it to three trustees to become
memorial to Gen. Putnam.
| The house is now completely furnished
| with colonial furniture of great beauty
and value, and every room contains
relics Of old Rutland. Marietta and the
| families which went out there with Put
| nam. Senator Hoar seems to have taken
| a deep interest in the place. More than
| half the contents, according to the cata-
| logue. were presented by him.
| Among the most interesting objects In
the room that is devoted to books. maps
| and autographs is ticket in a lottery
emitting the bearer to a lot or tract of
| land drawn by the number thereof at
| Marietta. 1t Is signed by Rufus Putnam.
There are several sketches and engrav-
| ings Of old Marietta and number of
| autograph letters of Putnam. Manasseh
Cutler and others identified with the Ohio
Company, but no other personal relics
| of the leader Of the Ohio pioneers.
Bronze Tablet With Inscription.
| On the outside wall of the house. beside
the front door. is a bronze tablet, bearing
| the following inscription, which was writ
ten by Senator Hoar:
Here
From ISL to 1883
Dwelt
General Rufus Putnam,
Soldier Of the Old French War.
Engineer Of the Works
Which compelled the British Army
To evacuate Boston,
And Of the Fertilization OF
Founder and Father
In this House
He planned and matured
The scheme Of the Ohio Company
And from it issued the call 70: the
| Convention
Which led 70 its Organization.
Over this Threshold
He v vent to o.i Lead the %.. Company
April {. 1853.
To Him
Under God 1t is Owing
That the
Great Northwest Territory
Was dedicated forever to
Freedom. Education and Religion
And that the
| Is not now
Great Slaveholding Empire.
Rufus Putnam is not the only famous
character associated with Rutland. While
| he was organizing the Ohio Company
miserable, lazy. drunken tramp named
Jonathan Clark, lived with his wife
| Phoebe and his stepdaughters. Polly and
Betsy Bowen. in a dugout near the gate
| of the cemetery. The father of Betsy
Bowen was a sailor Of Weymouth and
| was lost at sea in $780, when her mother
| married Jonathan Clark Of that place.
| He and his family were driven out of
| the town by the stern regulators Of Puri
| tan morals. and were driven from several
| other towns also, both because Of Clark's
| dissolute habits. which were a bad ex
ample and scandal to the community.
and because the authorities were afraid
| that his wife and children would become
| public charges.
Betsy Brown Reappears.
| About the time Rufus Putnam and his
pioneers were leaving for Ohio. Betsy
Bowen disappeared from Rutland, and
nobody in that town ever thought Of her
again until thirty years after, when DAN
iel Webster. Rufus Choate and other IA
| nous lawyers were contesting the will
| Of that brilliant and eccentric belle Of
old New York. Nine Jumel. Then it was
| disclosed that she was no other than
Betsy Bowen. and the lawyers came to
Rutland for evidence to establish her
| identity.
1t appears that when she first appeared