The Barre daily times. (Barre, Vt.) 1897-1959, 1918-07-08
INDEX OF VERMONT SURVEYORS
Has Been Prepared BY F. H. Dewart and
Placed on File.

Franklin H. Dewart of Burlington, who
year upon the index to the papers of the
surveyor general of Vermont, has filed
the same with the secretary of the state,
pursuant to the order under which he
was engaged, and the index was on Sat
urday placed in the hands of the custo-
dian of public documents, who is the
state librarian, in the new state build
ing.
This volume is published by the secre-
tary of state and is of great interest.
Probably many citizens are not aware
that Vermont had state surveyor tl779
through 1881, much less what his duties
were. Primarily this officer became nee
essary in order to determine and to in
form the legislature what lands had al
ready been chartered before the state set
up for herself, and even more, what lands
remained on hand and could be granted.
This state, it will be remembered, in
spite of defending itself as we'll as part
OF New York throughout the Revolution
airy war, managed 80 ceverly, chiefly
from selling wild land TO influential citi-
zens Of New England as well as to actual
settlers and from selling the confiscated
estates of those former residents who
supported the state of New York or the
crown, that, greatly to the envy of the
other states, she practically met the war
charges without levying taxes therefor.
This desirable end was largely due to
the courage and resourcefulness of Ira
Allen and kindred spirits, who dared and
did To the surveyor general fell the
duty to survey the outlines Of the YER
mont grants which our legislature began
| TO make in l770, and hence these papers
are of great Importance, being the orig
| inal records of the location and survey of
most town lines north of Rutland and
| Windsor.
| And, as for the remaining towns, they
were required between lTS0-l7S4 to fur
nish plans and reports of those towns
not surveyed by this state, as the basis
of the first state map showing town
| lines, which was published by James
Whitelaw, then surveyor general, in 1895.
The papers from this Office were taken
home to be indexed by one of the late in
cumbents, who soon after died, and the
result was that the papers disappeared
from 1910 to the early seventies, when
the noted antiquarian, Henry stevens oil
Barnet, when negotiating for the sale to
the state library of the only known com
plete files of the Windsor Journal and
the Rutland Herald tlong the only pub
lished papers in Vermont) blandly offered
to throw in the papers of the surveyors
general to help on the deal. This elected
hot shot at once, for the legislature nat
urally asked what business he had with
state records. Mr. Stevens retorted by
selling the most valuable Of his colec'
ton, including these papers properly on
file in the secretary's Office, to the state
library of New York. Here they reposed
until in 1900 Governor Stickney and
State Librarian Huse we're appointed tc
either secure the return or make copies
of these records Through the magnan.
unity of New York, they were returned
May Is, 1902. It took some casting
about to find anyone with the taste and
the inclination to attempt the indexing
of the papers, for, by some misfortune
they had been permanently bound in in.
discriminate fashion 50 that related pa.