The Bennington evening banner. (Bennington, Vt.) 19??-1961, 1919-10-28
IN MEMORY Of
ETHAN ALLEN AND
GOV. CHITTENDEN
Bronze Tablets Dedicated in
Arlington
GUY w. BAILEY PRESIDES
Historical Address Delivered by HqS~
j. X. Batchelder of
Arlington

Two bronze tablets were dedicated
to the memory OF Thomas Chittenden
and Ethan Allen, Saturday afternoon.
In Arlington. These tablets are to be
fastened to native boulders which
will be placed on the lawn in front OF
the station there.
The weather was fine, and large
crowd was in attendance. The eXer-
cises were under the auspices OF the
Sons of Revolution with Guy w. Bail
ey Of Burlington presiding.
Miss Sarah Cleghorn of Manches-
ter read an original poem suitable TO
the occasion. Mrs. Dorothy Canileld
Fisher was called upon for few eX-
temporaneous remarks, and respond
ed in pleasing manner, Walter H..
Crockett and Byron N. Clark of Bur-
lington unveiled the tablets.
The principal address, which was
historical in character, was delivered
by Hon. j. X. Batchelder in his usual
forceful and eloquent manner. Fol-
lowing is his address in full:
The history of Vermont before and
during the Revolution, as also in the
years following, is replete with names
of men, whose love of justice, whose
devotion to the cause Of liberty and
their rights, and their courage and
patriotism displayed in defence OF the
same, has never been surpassed in any
age.
Even in the darkest hours of her
existence when, in her contest with
New York the Continental Congress
seemed about to step in and decide
the question at issue, Vermont by her
chief executive, respectfully but firmly
reminded Congress that she was an
independent nation, and that it should
leave her and New York to settle their
own disputes.
Such was the bold spirit, the lofty
courage that animated the early set
tiers of Vermont, when contendng
for their rights.
AT the same time they were ever
willing and constantly asking to be
admitted as separate state into the
union, on equal terms with the thir
teen original states. AS part of the
state of New York, never.
The first settlers OF what is now
Vermont came largely from Massachu-
sets and Connecticut; some from
Rhode Island and New Hampshire, and
their ancestors came mostly from Eng.
land and other sections of the British
Isles.
They came to America as we all
know that they might enjoy the free
dom OF thought and speech, and liberty
of action that was denied them in the
"Old Wcrld," and which, during the
hal hot
fore the settlement of Vermont, had
developed year by year, and become a
part of theic very nature, so that the
distant mutterings OF the Revolution
had already begun to be heard And
when their descendants came to Yer.
ment, and settled upon her green
hills and fertile valleys, and breath
ed her pure air they seemed to have
imbibed even larger spirit of free.
dom than the parent stock from
which they sprang.
We have come today under the aus
pices of the Sons of the Revolution to
perpetuate the achievements and do
honor to the name of two cf those
early settlers by erecting these beaut-
iful tablets to their memoTy.-Thom-
as Chittenden and Ethan Allen
Governor Chittenden was born in
Guilford, Connecticut, January 6, 1880,
and in early life moved to Salisbury in
that state and lived there until 1774.
and was a prominent citizen of that
town. He was for several years a
member of the Connecticut legislature
was Colonel of regiment, and held
OFFICES there. So when he moved to
Vermont on May 1774 he was we'll
equipped for the part he was to take
in the contest between the Colony of
New York and what was then known
as the New Hampshire Grants. now
constituting the present state of Yer.
mont.
IL was also in connection with that
contest that we first hear of Ethan
Alien He was born January TO- 1887
ana moved from Salisbury. Connect
cut. to the New Hampshire Grants
probably in 1859
lie nrst came to Bennington where
he lived for while; then he moved to
arlington and later to Sunderland. and
again came to Arlington and represent
that town in the General Assembly.
He at one time lived at Tinmoutb for
a short period. After the Revolution
he moved to Burlington and there
died in 1889.
1t may be we'll at this time to recall
the political conditions that arose in
what is now the state of Vermont and
called forth the activities of those two
men and their compatriots and which
after years of strife and contention led
to the organization of Vermont first
as an independent nation, exercising
all the powers of sovereignty for years
and then in 1891 her admission into
the Union.
Before 1851 no permanent settle
ments had been planted within what
are now the boundaries of this state
except at Fort Dummer, located on
the Connecticut river, in what is now
the town of Brattleboro, and military