TINMOUTH lies in the southern part of the county, in lat. 43°
27' and long. 4° 2' east from Washington, and is bounded north by Clarendon
and Ira, east by Wallingford, south by Danby, and west by Wells and Middletown.
It was chartered by the Governor of New Hampshire, Sept. 15th, 1761, to
Joseph HOOKER and others. The following is an extract copy of the charter-deed,
which we insert for the reason that it is about the form used in chartering
all the towns, and may be an object of interest to many:
“PROVINCE
OF NEW HAMPSHIRE,
GEORGE
THE THIRD,
By the
Grace of God, of Great Britain, France and Ireland, King,
Defender
of the Faith, &c.
TO ALL PERSONS
TO WHOM THESE PRESENTS SHALL COME GREETING:
"KNOW YE,
That we of our special grace, certain knowledge, and mere motion for the
due encouragement of settling a new Plantation within our said Province,
by and with the advice of our trusty and well beloved Benning Wentworth,
Esq., our Governor and Commander of our said Province of New Hampshire
in New England, and of our Council of the said province, have upon the
conditions and reservations hereinafter made, given and granted, and by
these Presents for us, our Heirs, and successors, do give and grant in
equal shares, unto our Loving Subjects, Inhabitants of our said Province
of New Hampshire and our other Governments, and to their Heirs and assignees
forever, whose names are entered on this grant, to be divided to and among
them into seventy equal shares; ail that tract or Parcel of land, situate
Lying and being within our said Province of New Hampshire, containing by
a measurement twenty-three Thousand and forty acres, which tract is to
contain six miles square. and no more, out of which an allowance is to
be made for High Ways and unimprovable Lands by Rocks, Ponds, Mountains
and Rivers, One Thousand and forty acres free, according to a plan and
survey thereof, made by our said Governor's orders and returned into the
secretary's office, and hereunto annexed, butted, and bounded as follows
:
"Beginning
at the North-East corner of Pawlet and running from thence due east six
miles, from thence Turning off at Right Angles and running due South six
miles to the North East Corner of Danby, thence running due West by Danby
six miles to the north-west corner thereof, Being the Bounds began at.
And that the same be, and hereby is incorporated into a Township by the
name of Tinmouth and the Inhabitants that do or shall hereafter inhabit
the said Township, are hereby declared to be enfranchised with and Entitled
to every and all the Privileges and Immunities that other Towns within
our Province by law exercise and enjoy: And further, that the said Town
as soon as there shall be fifty families resident and settled thereon,
have the Liberty of holding two fairs, one of which shall be held on the
____ And the other on the ____ annually, which Fairs are not to continue
longer than the respective ____ following the said ____ and that as
soon as the said Town shall consist of Fifty Families a market maybe opened
and kept one or more days in each week, as may be thought most advantageous
to the inhabitants. Also that the first meeting for the choice of Town
Officers, Agreeable to the, laws of our said Province shall be held on
the Second Monday of October next, which said meeting shall be notified
by Jared LEE, Esq., who is hereby also appointed the Moderator of the said
first meeting which he is to notify and govern agreeable to the laws and
Customs of our said Province; and that the annual meeting forever hereafter
for the choice of such offices for the said town, shall be on the Second
Tuesday in March annually. To HAVE and to HOLD the said tract of land as
above expressed, together with all Privileges and Appurtenances, to them
and the irrespective Heirs and Assigns forever upon the following conditions,
viz:
"I. That
every Grantee, his Heirs or Assigns, shall plant and cultivate five acres
of land within the term of five years for every fifty acres contained in
his or their share or proportion of land in said township, and continue
to improve and settle the same by Additional Cultivations, on Penalty of
the forfeiture of his grant or share in the said township, and of its reverting
to us, our Heirs and successors to be by us or them Regranted to such of
our subjects as shall effectually settle and cultivate the same.
“II. That
all white and other Pine trees within the said township fit for Masting
our Royal Navy, be carefully preserved for that use, and none to be cut
or felled without our Special License for so doing first had and obtained,
upon penalty of the forfeiture of the right of such Grantee, his Heirs
and Assigns, to us, our Heirs and successors, as well as being subject
to the penalty of any such act or acts of Parliament that now axe or hereafter
shall be enacted.
“III. That
before any division of the land be made to and among the Grantees, a tract
of land near the centre of said Township as the land will admit of, shall
be reserved and marked for Town lots, one of which shall be allowed to
each Grantee of the contents of one acre;
"IV. Yielding
and paying therefor to us, our Heirs and successors for the space of ten
years, to be computed from the date hereof, the Rent of one ear of Indian
corn annually, if lawfully demanded, the first payment to be made on the
Twenty Fifth day of December, 1762.
“V. Every
proprietor, settler, and inhabitant shall yield and pay unto us, our Heirs
and successors yearly, and every year forever, from and after the expiration
of ten years from the aforesaid 25th day of December -- namely, on the
25th day of December, which will be in the year of our Lord 1772, one shilling
proclamation money for every hundred acres he so owns, settles or possesses,
and so in proportion for a greater or lesser tract of the said land, which
money shall be paid by the respective persons above said, their Heirs or
Assigns
in our Council Chamber in Portsmouth, or to such officers as shall be appointed
to receive the same, and be in lieu of all other rents and services whatsoever.
In testimony whereof we have caused the seal of our said Province to be
hereunto affixed.
“Witness,
BENNING WENTWORTH, EsQ., our Governor and Commander-in-Chief of our said
Province, the fifteenth day of September, in the year of our Lord CHRIST,
One Thousand Seven Hundred and Sixty-one, and in the first year of our
Reign.
B. WENTWORTH."
“By His
EXCELLENCY'S
Command
with Advice
of Council.
THEODORE
I. ATKINSON, Secretary." |
The township was granted in seventy shares, with the following five
shares reserved: "One tract to contain 500 acres, marked on the map B.
W., for His Excellency, Benning Wentworth, Esq." One share for the incorporated
society for the "Propagation of the Gospel in foreign parts," one share
for a glebe for the Church of England, one share for the first settled
minister, and one share for the benefit of schools in said town. A part
of the township was taken off in forming Middletown in 1784, and a part
given to Wallingford in 1793, so that the township now contains only about
17,280 acres, or about three-fourths of its original area. Although the
charter says that, the first town meeting shall be held in 1762, it was
not obeyed, and the town was not organized until March 8, 1774, at which
meeting Charles BREWSTER was chosen town clerk.
The surface of Tinmouth is rather broken and mountainous. Extending
across the whole length of the town from north to south, is a range of
mountains which forms a natural division into "East" and "West Town." In
the east part of the town this range is called West Mountain, while in
the western part it is called East Mountain. West of this range is a fertile
valley, affording fine farming and grazing land, while to the east of it
lies the valley of the Tinmouth River, which is very fertile. This is the
principal stream of the town, rising in a little lakelet, called Tinmouth
Pond, in the southeastern part of the township, and flows a northerly course
through Clarendon and unites with Otter Creek in Rutland. There are numerous
streams throughout the town that have their sources among the mountain
springs, but none of them of much importance except to irrigate the soil.
In the east part of the town there are found considerable deposits of iron
ore and some good grades of marble, but they cannot be practically worked
on account of their distance from a railroad. There was a furnace located
here at one time for smelting the ore, but was abandoned in 1837.
The timber of the town is mostly beech, birch, maple and white ash,
with some spruce, cedar, etc. The soil is varied between slate, loam and
cobble. In the western part farming is the principal pursuit, while in
the eastern dairying exceeds the grain-growing interests. Nearly all the
inhabitants are in comfortable circumstances, and many wealthy; there being
but very few poor people in the town. Maple sugar and products of the dairy
form the principal exports. In 1880 Tinmouth had a population of 532, and
was divided into seven school districts and had six common schools, employing
four male and eleven female teachers, at an aggregate salary of $7331.38.
There were 120 pupils attending common schools, and the total cost of the
schools for the year ending October 31st, was $806.29. Mr. Clark NORTON
WAS superintendent.
TINMOUTH (p. o.) is a hamlet, near the centre of the town, and contains
one store; the mail leaving and returning by the way of Wallingford, three
times each week, Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays.
H. CLARK's cheese factory, located in the southwest part of the
town, on road 33, was built in 1867. Mr. CLARK employs two men, uses the
milk from 200 cows, and manufactures 60,000 pounds of cheese per annum.
Union Cheese Factory, located in West Tinmouth, on road 313, is
operated by a stock company. They use the milk of 250 cows and manufacture
60,000 pounds of cheese per annum.
PACKARD's saw and grist mill is located near the centre of the town,
on road 19. The grist-mill has one run of stones, and the saw-mill one
circular saw, which cuts five to eight thousand feet of lumber per day.
Mr. PACKARD does mostly custom work in both mills.
Cold Spring Cheese Factory, located one-half mile east of the centre
of the town, on road 19, was organized in 1873 by a stock company, with
$2,450 capital. It uses the milk from 400 cows and manufactures 100,000
pounds of cheese per annum.
HOADLEY's saw and grist-mill, located about one mile south of the
centre part of the town, on road 22, operates one run of stones and one
saw; doing Only custom-work.
MARANVILLE's saw mill, located in the north-west part of the town,
on road 11, is a custom mill, and uses only one saw.
Eureka Cheese Factory, located in the northeast part of the town,
on road 7, was built in 1875 by a stock company. It uses the milk of 230
cows and manufactures 65,000 pounds of cheese per annum.
VALENTINE Cheese Factory, located in the eastern part of the town,
owned by Linus E. and Edmund VALENTINE, was built in 1875, and uses the
milk from eighty cows.
STINEHOUR 's saw and grist mill, located near the centre of the
town, owned by Nelson STINEHOUR, has one run of stones and tile capacity
for cutting 2,000 to 3,000 feet Of lumber per day.
West Tinmouth Cheese Factory, located in the southwestern part of
the town, owned and operated by Elkanah PARRIS, uses the milk from 175
cows per year.
Many of the first settlers of Tinmouth came from Salisbury, Conn.
Just at what date they came we are unable to state, but probably not long
after 1761, when the town was chartered. At the first settlement a number
of families came simultaneously, so there is no particular family that
can claim the honor of having the first inhabitant as an ancestor. Among
these families were those of Charles BREWSTER, John SPOFFORD, John McNEAL,
John TRIM, Samuel CHIPMAN, James ADAMS and Benjamin CHANDLER. At the first
town meeting, John McNEAL was chosen moderator; Charles BREWSTER, clerk;
and these two, with James ADAMS, selectmen. A short time after this, Ebenezer
Allen and Stephen ROYCE came into the town, and were subsequently appointed
delegates from Tinmouth to the first convention that was assembled to declare
the New Hampshire Grants an independent State, and which was held in Dorset,
at the House of Cephas KENT, July 24, 1776. Ebenezer ALLEN and Chas. BREWSTER
were delegates to the convention that assembled at Windsor in July, 1777,
and adopted the Constitution of Vermont. About 1778, Elihu CLARK, Jonathan
BELL, Thomas PORTER, Obadiah NOBLE, Samuel MATTOCKS and Ebenezer MARVIN
moved into the town. Charles BREWSTER was the first Representative sent
to the Legislature. He was also appointed a judge of the Special Court
which was created for the Rutland shire of Bennington County, before Rutland
County was organized. Col. John SPOFFORD was a member of the convention
that shaped the Constitution of the U. S. preparatory to admitting Vermont
into the Union. Benjamin CHANDLER was killed at the Battle of Bennington,
the only one from Tinmouth killed at that battle. On the 17th of February,
1777, the inhabitants of Tinmouth held a meeting at which was "voted not
to raise money towards paying Seth WARNER's regiment." This led to the
following oath of allegiance being imposed upon the town:
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"You
each of you swear, by the living God, that you believe for yourselves;
that the King of Great Britain hath not any right to command, or authority
in or over the States of America, and that you do not hold yourselves bound
to yield any allegiance or obedience to him within the same, and that you
will, to the utmost of your power, maintain and defend the freedom, independence
and privileges of the United States of America, against all open enemies,
or traitors, or conspirators whatsoever; so help you God."
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In the same year John IRISH was shot by the Revolutionary soldiers
Elisha CLARK, John TRAIN and Mr. CLEFF, he having been suspected by them
of being a Tory and spy. He was buried in the north east part of the town.
At the surrender of Ticonderoga to the British, on the 1st of July,
1777, a greater part of the inhabitants of Tinmouth moved into Arlington,
Shaftsbury and Bennington, and indeed to any place where they could find
safety, returning again, most of them, when Burgoyne left this section.
The first marriage that is recorded in the record of marriages is
that of Daniel BURR and Flora WARRENNER, July 9, 1804. The first birth
was that of Hannah, daughter of Rachel and Solomon BINGHAM, born July 8,
1774. The first death was that of an infant of Thomas and ____ PEAK, in
1770.
At the organization of Rutland County, in 1781, Tinmouth was selected
as the county seat, which dignity it retained until. 1784; after this the
courts were held at Rutland. The first State treasury was also located
here, at the residence of the treasurer, Mr. MATTOCKS. The room used for
this purpose is twenty feet long and six feet wide, lighted by two windows.
It is still in a good state of preservation. The building is located in
the northeast part of the town, on road 7, and is now owned and occupied
by Mr. J. H. ROUND.
Nathaniel CHIPMAN was born in Salisbury, Conn., Nov. 15, 1752, and
his father removed to Tinmouth among the first settlers. Nathaniel was
educated at New Haven, and admitted to the Bar in Connecticut some time
during March, 1779. He was married in March, 1781, and went immediately
into possession of his father's farm in Tin mouth, where he built a forge
for the manufacture of bar iron, but finally sold out to his brother, Darius,
and removed to Rutland, where he resided until 1803, when he rebought the
Tinmouth farm, where he resided until his death, Feb. 15, 1843. He represented
the town of Tinmouth in the Legislature eight years, was two years judge
of the District Court, six years judge of the Supreme Court of this State,
and six years a senator in Congress. Judge CHIPMAN, as a jurist, was not
surpassed by any of his contemporaries. He lived to the age of 90, his
mind strong and vigorous to the last. On Oct. 3, 1873, a monument was dedicated
to his memory, furnished by the State of Vermont. The monument is 22 feet
high from bottom of base to top of shaft, the base being of white and the
column of clouded marble. It stands on a commanding eminence, about one-half
mile east of the hamlet, and is surrounded by a handsome iron fence. It
bears the following inscription:
"State
of Vermont, to
NATHANIEL
CHIPMAN,
Born in
Salisbury, Conn.,
November
15, 1752.
Died in
Tinmouth, Vt.,
February
15th, 1843.
A principal
founder of the civil institutions of
this State,
and framer of its fundamental laws.
Eminent
as a Lawyer, Judge, Legislator and
Statesman,
for his ability, learning and fidelity,
and as
a citizen for his purity of life.
Graduated
at Yale College, 1777.
An officer
in the war of the Revolution.
Came to
Tinmouth, April 10, 1779.
A member
of the Rutland County Bar.
Chief Justice
of Vermont for five years.
U. S. District
judge two years.
U. S. Senator
six years.
One of
the commissioners who negotiated
the admission
of Vermont into the Union, 1791."
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Hon. Obadiah NOBLE died in 1864, aged 87 years. He was a justice
of the peace in Tinmouth for thirty-eight years; was register of probate
in 1799, was judge of probate from 1814 to 1828, assistant judge of the
county court from 1839 to 1842 inclusive, and represented the town of Tinmouth
in the years 1811, 1812, 1815, 1816, 1820 and 1830; was Senator from this
county in 1838 and 1839; was member of the Council of Censors in 1827,
and member of the Constitutional Conventions of 1828 and 1836. He was a
man of eminent good sense and practical judgment, of retentive memory,
and possessed of genial and kindly feelings and a spotless character.
John SPOFFORD, one of the first settlers, was born August 31, 1752,
and married Mary BALDWIN, of Salisbury, March 19, 1772. He died April 24,
1823, aged 71. Mary, by whom he had twelve children, died September 9,
1842, aged 92.
Samuel L. VALENTINE came to this town from Massachusetts in 1814,
locating in the southern part, on road 24, where he resided until his death,
in 1856. Five of his eleven children are now residents of the town.
Neri CRAMTON, born in Litchfield, Conn., in 1743, came to Tinmouth
a short time previous to the Revolution, locating about one mile north
of the hamlet. He was a revolutionary soldier, and much respected by his
fellow citizens. Several of his descendants are still residing in the town.
Ebenezer CAMPBELL came to this town at an early date, where he practiced
medicine most of his life, dying May 2, 1849. His son, Dexter, was born
in the southeast part of the town, in 18o9, where he has resided up to
the present time.
John WOODS came from Rhode Island to this town in 1805, locating
in the southern part, where he resided until his death, in April, 1861.
His son, John C., still resides near the old homestead.
George CAPRON came to Tinmouth in 1798, settling near the center
of the town, where he resided until his death, in 1861, at the age of 83.
He held the office of town clerk forty years. His son, George, is still
a resident of the town.
John COBB came to Tinmouth in 1814, locating near the hamlet, where
he resided until his death, in 1875. Lyman COBB, son of John, is still
a resident of the town.
George ROUND, born in Rhode Island, February 12, 1746, emigrated
to Clarendon in 1775, where his son Nathan was born, May 24, 1786. Judah
H., son of Nathan, was born in Clarendon in 18o8, and came to Tinmouth
in 1815, where he still resides.
Stephen RICE came to this town at an early date. His grandson, Levi,
is still a resident, being proprietor of the only store in town, having
been in the business thirty years.
Payne GILBERT came to this town from Brookfield, Mass., in the early
part of the present century, locating in the east part of the town. His
son, Leonard, born October 30, 1804, resided in the town all his life,
dying October 27, 1877.
Alvin HOADLEY came to this town in 1805, locating at the hamlet,
where he resided until his death, in 1863. His son, Evander, is still a
resident of the town.
Jared IVES came to this town with his father in 1789, locating upon
the farm now owned by Orson IVES, where he resided until his death, in
1852.
Archibald NORTON came to this town from Connecticut about the year
1800, locating in the west part of the town, where he resided until his
death, in 1868.
During the late war of 1861 and 1865, Tinmouth furnished 56 soldiers,
most of them in the 5th, 7th, l0th, 11th and 14th Regiments, four of them
in cavalry and one sharp-shooter. All of them, except four, lived to get
home.
At a town meeting held November 3d, 1779, it was "voted that the
inhabitants of this town build a church, 30 feet wide, 50 feet long, and
9 feet high, to be built of black spruce logs and covered with four-feet
shingles, to be completed by the first of June, 1780." This was accordingly
done, and the building subsequently followed by the present edifice, a
comfortable structure, capable of seating about 300 persons. In the early
part of 1837 it was given the name of St. Stephen's Church of Tinmouth,
(Episcopal.) William NOBLE was the first pastor, the church having very
few members. It now has forty members, with James L. SLASON, pastor.
Gazetteer
and Business Directory of Rutland County, VT.;
1881-82,
Compiled and Published by Hamilton Child;
Syracuse,
N.Y.; Printed at the Journal Office
August
1881, Part Two, Pages 245-252.
Transcribed
by Karima Allison 2004
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