Essex County herald. [volume] (Guildhall, Vt.) 1873-1964, 1916-01-28
HISTORY OF COUNTY
TAKEN FROM VERMONT GAZATEER PUBLISHED in
The YEAR 1862

Wooster each 100 acres of land, as a
reward for beginning a settleme mt
in Maidstone in 1772, agreeable to
the aforementioned vote.
Micah Amy, John Sawyer, J. Saw
yer. Jr., Deliverance Sawyer, Benz.
Sawyer, Mr.. Merrill, Enoch Hail,
Benz. Whitcomb, John French, and
Jeremy Merrill, who had settled in
said township and begun improve
ments, were each allowed 100 acres.
to be proportional in intervals and
uplands together; provided they
paid their proportion of taxes, and
consented to hold the same under
the proprietors and for them, and
that they continue their respective
settlements and improvements from
year to year at least five years. AS
above, we have the names of twelve
settlers in town commencing in 1772
and prior to 1774, besides the Col.
Bailey whom the said committee is
directed to take the advice of, is
supposed to be Ward Bailey, who
was one of the first settlers. There
were others, of a still earlier date of
whose names we have no record
One, Mr.. Mardeen, lived near the
small brook still bearing his name,
which rurs across the highway be-
tween Mr.. Beattie's and DR.. Dewey's,
probably as early as ITO. He might
have been the first mechanic in
town, as he was basket maker. A
son Of his, born about ITO, " elgh-
ing about two and a half pounds
at birth, attained at full maturity
to the very respectable weight of
two hundred and some odd pounds
perhaps was the first child born in
town.
Mr.. Jeremy Merrill, above named,
lived in town but few years, on the
farm now owned by E. McDade, and
at last met sudden death: He went
to a neighbours to borrow fan for
separating chaff from grain; elevat-
ing the fan over his head, he started
for home-on the way a limb from
a tree fell on the fan, killing him in
stantly. He was probably one of
the first buried in the lower public
burying ground in this town. Many
may remember, some Is or 80 years
ago, seeing human bones washed out
by heavy rains from the east side of
the burying ground near the river.
1t is supposed they were his.
Messrs. David Gaskill, Abraham
Gle, Benjamin Byron, John Hugh,
E. Torrey, Jos. Wooster, Reuben
Hawkins and some others came into
this town about the year 1850 and
81.
The Indians in this part of the
country were Of the St. Francis
tribe in Canada. This country was
called by them Coos" which sig.
nifes THE Pines" They had 6
trail from the territory Of that
tribe in Canada, to the Perobscot
river in Maine. After crossing the
Memphremagog, they would take
the Clyde river, which would leaC
them to Island Pond, then cross tt
the Nulhegan river and down that t
the Connecticut, thence to the up
per Ammonoosuc, and up this rive
to some point in the present town o
Milan, N. H., where they crossed t.
the Androscoggin, thence down tn
last named river. On this trail the,
passed through the settled portion
of Maidstone, and were source O
great annoyance to the inhabitants
During the Revolutionary war tn
Indians received SIS bounty for eacl
8 captive alive, or scalp that was TAX
, en- by them.
:. The Tories were leagued with tn
Indians in opposition to the Revolu
tionists, and as the latter could ge
no assistance from government, the
, were obliged to rely entirely upo
, their own resources for self-defenc
against this internal enemy.
, The inhabitants of both sides O
, the Connecticut river, in this vicir
r ity, united together for the purpos
G of self-protection, and chose a CON
, mittee of safety and built forts 70
the protection of the women an
+ children. There were three fort
built--two in Northumberland. on
at the mouth of Ammonoosuc rive,
opposite Jacob Rich's home ia m