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HISTORY 01F COVENTRIY.
CHAPTER IIntroduction. Charter. Boundaries. Speculation in lands. Elias Buel, the
principal grantee. First settlement. The Cobbs. Feats of strength. tlard
ships of the settlers.
Until the very last year of the eighteenth century, the township of Coventry was uninhabited by civilized man.  An unbroken forest, luxuriant with the growth of centuries, crowned
its hill-tops; swamps, black and noisome, occupied its vallies;
and no foot-fall disturbed its solitudes, save that of the wild
beast or of the wandering Indian. The lapse of sixty years
has changed the whole aspect of nature.  Where dense
woods once shadowed a luxuriant but useless soil, the hand
of industry has made broad clearings, where abundant harvests
annually repay the labors of the husbandman; instead of the
rank and gloomy verdure of the swamp are green and Ifertile
meadows; and instead of the cry of wild beasts or the whoop
of.Indians are heard the cheery voices of honest toil, the
laugh of happy children at their play, the morning prayer,
and the evening hymn.
To review the successive stages of this transformationl can
be no other than a pleasing task.  There are, indeed, no remarkable events to record.  The town has been the theater
of no extraordinary occurrences. Its soil has upheld no
Plymouth Rock, has given birth to noo Charter Oak, has furnished no field on which patriots have fought for liberty; yet




it cannot be uninteresting to trace the footsteps of those,
who, though they may have but slightly affected the destinies
of the State or Nation, have, nevertheless, converted the
desert into a garden, and made the wilderness to rejoice and
blossom as the rose. Posterity will wish to know by whom
civilization was introduced here, and what was the progress
of affairs, what household was first gladdened by the birth of
a child, and into what family death first brought bereavement
and sorrow. There is advantage too, as well as pleasure, in
calling to remembrance and perpetuating such facts as these.
To trace the mature oak back to the acorn, to follow the
broad river up to its fountain-head, will suggest to the
observant and thoughtful mind not a few profitable reflections.
The charter of Coventry was granted November 4th, 1780,
to Maj. Elias Buel and fifty-nine others. Its boundaries,
as defined by the charter, were as follows: —" beginning at a
beech tree, marked' Irasburgh Corner, September 26, 1778,'
being the Northwesterly corner of Irasburgh, and running
North 36~ East, six miles and sixty-three chains, to Lake
Memphremagog; then Southeasterly on the shore of said
Lake, about twenty-seven chains, to a hemlock tree, marked
Salem Line, 1778;' then South 45 O West, two miles and two
chains, to a great hemlock tree, marked' Salem West Corner,
September 30, 1778;' then South 450 East, six miles and
twenty-one chains, in the Southerly line of Salem, to a stake
five links North West from a cedar tree marked' Coventry
Corner;' then South 360 West, four miles and four chains,
to the North line of Irasburgh; then North 540 West, five
miles and sixty chains, to the bounds begun at." Within
these limits were supposed to be contained 16,767 acres, or
about 26 1-5 square miles. To make up the six miles square
usually included in a township, there were granted two




thousand acres of land directly South of Newport, called
Coventry Gore, and four thousand two hundred and s eventythree acres in Chittenden County, East of Starksboro, called
Buel's Gore. The North part of Buel's Gore was annexed
to Huntington, in 1794.
That part of the town which bordered on Lake Memphremagog, being in the -form of a slip, one hundred and
eight rods wide on the Lake and two miles and four rods
long, was annexed to Newport. It was called Coventry Leg,
somewhat inappropriately, as it was narrowest where it
joined the body of the town and widened as it extended
North.  This left the town in the form of an irregular quadrangle, no two of its sides being of equal length. It is bounded
North East (6 1-4 miles) by Newport and Salem, South-East
(43-4 miles) by Brownington, South-West (5 3-4 miles) by
Irasburgh, and North-West (4 1-2 miles) by Newport. Five
rights were reserved by the charter, one for the benefit of a
College in this State, one for the benefit of a County Grammar School, one for the benefit of schools in town, one for
the first settled minister, and one for the support of the
ministry as the inhabitants should direct. Buel, the principal
agent in procuring the charter, was a native and resident of
Coventry, Ct., and, in honor of his birth place, the same name
was given to the new township."*
At the time of the chartering of Coventry and for many
years after, Orleans County was destitute of inhabitants and
inaccessible by roads, and lands were of no value except for
speculative purposes. Buel purchased the rights of his associates, one by one, as he had opportunity; paying from five
to twenty pounds, and, in a few instances, as much as thirty
* In 1841 the Legislature changed the name to Orleans. About that time an
attempt was made to constitute it the shire-town of Orleans County, but the effort
was unsuccessful, and, in 1843, the original name was restored.




6
pounds, for each right; until, in 1788, the title to fifty-four of
the sixty rights was vested  in him.  His deeds, however,
were not put on record till 1801, and, in the mean time, sales
for taxes and levies of executions against the original proprietors had created conflicting titles to  much of the land.
In 1791, all the lands in town were sold by Stephen Pearl,
Sheriff of Chittenden County, to satisfy a land-tax of a half
penny an acre levied by the Legislature of Vermont. Ira
Allen purchased most of them, and forty-nine rights, which
were not redeemed within the prescribed time, were deeded
to him.  Buel afterwards quitclaimed to Allen his interest
in those rights, and appears to have had little or no more to
do with the township.*
Allen made few, if any, sales of his Coventry lands till
1798.  In March of that year he was in London, where he
met Stephen Bayard of Philadelphia, and sold him the two
thousand acres comprised in Coventry Gore for the round
sum of sixteen hundred pounds sterling, ($7104.) There
is something ludicrous in the minute particularity of English
forms of conveyancing as exhibited in the deed, six pages
long, by which Allen transferred these two thousand acres of
woods and mountains, "together with all and singular houses,
outhouses, edifices, buildings, paths, passages, commons, fishing
places, hedges, ditches, gates, stiles, fences, ways, waters,
water courses, lights, liberties, easements, privileges, profits,
-* Concerning Elias Buel, the founder and principal original proprietor of Coventry, it is suitable to put on record a few facts. He was a son of Captain Peter
Buel, one of the first settlers of Coventry, Ct., at which place he wasborn, October
8, 1737. He married, August 6th, 1758, Sarah Turner, by whom he had 1st. Anna,
born January 12th, 1759; 2d, Solomon, born April 12th, 1760; 3d, Jesse, born
January 4th, 1778. His first residence in Vermont was Rutland. He afterwards
removed to Buel's Gore, and resided on that part of it which was annexed to
Huntington. In 1798 and 1801, he was an Assistant Judge of Chittenden County
Court; in 1799, a member of the Council of Censors; 1801, 1802,1804 and 1814,
the representative of Huntington in the General Assembly of Vermont; and in
1814, the delegate from that town to the Constitutional Convention. In 1819he
removed to Albany, N. Y., where he died May 17th, 1824, at the residence of his
son Jesse.




commodities, advantages, hereditaments, and appurtenances
whatsoever."  If Bayard paid the purchase money or any
part of it, it was a dead loss to him, for in the following
July a direct land tax was assessed by the Congress of
the United States, to satisfy which, Coventry Gore was
sold at auction, by James Paddock of Craftsbury, the collector, for $4,80, and was never redeemed. Jabez- G. Fitch
of Vergennes was the purchaser. He also made large purchases in the main town.  William C. Harrington of Burlington had a color of title to eight rights, Reed Ferris of
Pawlington, N. Y., to nine, Alexander Schist of Canada to
fifteen, Thaddeus Tuttle of Burlington to fifteen, and James
Seaman of the city of New York to sixteen. Fitch bought
the interests of them, and on the 14th of December, 1801,
he took a conveyance of Ira Allen's entire title. By these
means he became the ostensible owner of the whole township, and had a valid title to nearly all of it.
It was through Fitch's agency that the settlement of the
town was effected.  He offered lands at moderate prices
-to: actual settlers, promised gifts of land to some, (which
promises, however, were fulfilled in few, if any, instances,)
and encouraged immigration as much as possible. Two
dollars an acre was the current price of land, with a liberal
credit, and cash was seldom required. Most of the early
ptrchasers made their payments in "good clean wheat," or
"merchantable neat cattle, (bulls and stags excepted) not
exceeding eight years old."  In many of the conveyances he
reserved to himself "two thirds of the iron ore being and
growing on the land," a reservation which never proved of
any value. Notwithstanding the pains he took to purchase all
outstanding claims, the titles to some of the lands afterwards
proved defective, and subjected his grantees to serious loss.




About the year 1800, settlements were commenced almost
simultaneously in several towns in Orleans County. With
the exception of Craftsbury and Greensboro, no towns in the
county had made any progress in population, and several of
them were entirely' uninhabited. In that year, beginnings
were made in Brownington, Morgan, Newport, Troy, and
Westmore. In March of the same year the first settlement
of Coventry took place. The pioneer settlers were Samuel,
Cobb and Tisdale Cobb, father and son: Samuel accompanied
by his children, Samuel, Jr., Nathaniel, and Silence; and
Tisdale by his wife. They came from Westmoreland, N. H.,
traveling on horseback as far as Brownington, which being
the end of the road, they left their horses there, and made
their way on foot through the dense woods, marking the trees
as they went, till they reached the East part of Coventry.
Samuel Cobb pitched on lot No. 11, now owned by Martin
W. Davis, and built a log cabin directly opposite the present
site of Mr. Davis's house. Tisdale Cobb pitched on lot No.
12, now occupied by Jesse Miller, and built a cabin just East
of the present grave-yard. Samuel Cobb, Jr. made an opening on lot No. 6, now occupied by Dennis Sabin, but, being
disappointed in some of Fitch's promises, he did not locate
permanently. The cabins of these first settlers were exceedingly rude in appearance; built of spruce logs hewn only on
the inside, and pointed with mud and moss, roofed with bark,
having one door and one or two small windows, and enclosing
only a single room, which was made to answer all the purposes of kitchen, dining-room, bed-room, and parlor. Boards
were not to be procured nearer than Barton, where Gen.
Wm. Barton, the founder of that town, had, in 1796, built a
saw-mill. From that mill, boards sufficient to floor the
cabins were drawn a distance of ten miles through the path



less woods.  In the following June, Samuel Cobb's wife,
(Silence Barney, b. Feb. 21, 1756,) and his younger children,
who had remained in Westmoreland while preparations were
making for their reception, joined their husband and father
in the wilderness, and the first settlement of Coventry was
made complete.  Tisdale Cobb's family consisted only of
himself and wife (Sarah Pierce;) and Samuel's of himself,,
his wife, three sons, and four daughters.*
These fathers of the town were noteworthy men, and itwill be amiss not to give some detailed account of them.
Samuel Cobb was a native of Taunton, Mass., born Sept. 3d,.
1753.  He learned the blacksmith's trade, in which he became'
an ingenious and skilful workman.  In early life he removed
to Westmoreland, N. H., where he was one of the pioneer
settlers. On the breaking out of the revolutionary war, he
enlisted in the army of independence, and rendered efficient
service as a soldier and a gunsmith. While in the army he
acquired much distinction for his prodigious strength and his:
great skill in wrestling, an exercise in which our athletic
ancestors very freely indulged. Tradition says that on one
occasion when a wrestling match was held to determine the
championship of that division of the army to which he
belonged, he was victorious over all competitors.  He was
connected with Stark's army at the battle of Bennington, but
did not engage in the fight, being occupied in repairing the,
disabled guns of the other soldiers.  At one time, he and his
brother Simeon were enrolled as minute men, and Simeon:
having been summoned to the field, had prepared his knap —
*The sons were Samuel Jr., Hanover, and Nathaniel;: tlie daughters were
Silence, Lattice C., Arabella, and Sabrina. After the lapse of nearly sixty years;.
eight of the eleven persons constituting these two pioneer families still survive;
Samuel Cobb, his wife, and Samuel Cobb, Jr. having,, in the mean time, deceasedoTwo of them, Mrs. Isaac Parker, (Arabella Cobb,) and.widow (Luke) Day, (Lattice:Carlisle Cobb,) reside in Coventryo
2




sack and gun and was about to start, when Samuel thought
he discovered some hesitation in his brother, and asked him
if he would rather stay at home, to which he frankly replied
that he would. Samuel caught up the equipments and started
instantly, not even stopping to bid good-bye to his newly
married wife, who from the window watched his departure.
Inquiry was afterwards made of her how she felt to see her
husband going on such a dangerous expedition. Her reply
was in the spirit of a Spartan woman —"I didn't cry a bit:
let him do his duty."  He continued in the army till nearly
or quite the close of the war.  When he emigrated to
Coventry, he was the very model of a pioneer-in the prime,of life, with an iron constitution, inured to all sorts of hardships, fatigue, and exposure, and endowed with strength,
activity, and energy, adequate to any emergency. His hands
made the first inroads upon the forest and raised the first
dwelling-house of civilized man in this town. Hel lived to
-see his infant settlement become a populous and thriving
community; and, having lived a long and useful life, he died
Dec. 19th, 1839, at the ripe, old age of eighty-six. His
remains rest in the grave-yard near where he lived, and by
his side reposes his wife, who died April 6th, 1814.
His children inherited their father's strength and activity
and their mother's spirit. Samuel, -Jr., even surpassed his
father in physical power, and was possessed of a strength
truly gigantic. He was six feet and two inches tall, weighed
230 pounds, was perfectly proportioned, and had not an
ounce of surplus flesh. Tradition tells of many of his feats
and some of them are not unworthy of a more,permanent
record.  At the raising of Jotham Pierce's barn, young
Cobb, then only eighteen years old, took one of the corner
posts, a green beech stick, twelve feet long, fourteen inches




by nine at one end and slightly tapering, which he shouldered,
carried to its place, and setting the foot tenon in its mortise,
raised the post to its proper position. On another occasion,
several persons were testing their strength by lifting fifty-six
pound weights strung on an iron bar. The strongest of them
was able, by using both hands and exerting all his power, to
raise eight of these weights a very slight distance from the
floor. At this moment, Cobb came in, and seeing what was
going on, took hold of the bar, and, making some preliminary
trials, that he might get it well balanced, raised it with one
hand and carried it about the room, "as easily," to use the
words of an eye-witness, "as a common man would carry a
pail of water." The whole weight was not much less than
475 pounds. In wrestling, no man could stand before him.
It is said that he was never thrown but once. A Montreal
wrestler came a long distance to try a grapple with the
Yankee champion. Cobb underrated his antagonist, and, handling himself carelessly, was thrown, to his infinite chagrin and
the equal elation of his adversary. He soon, however, took
ample redress for his temporary defeat. The Canadian, confident of winning new laurels, said to him, " The trip that I threw
you with was a new one, that you probably never saw before.
If you're a mind to take hold again, I'll show you how I do it."
This was just what Cobb wanted. Planting himself squarely
on the ground, he stood up, straight and immoveable, while his
opponent tripped, and twitched, and jerked, all to no purpose,
except to show his own incompetency. " That's the way you
do it, is it?" said Cobb at length, "now I will show you how
I do it;" and, suiting the action to the word, with a single
touch of his foot he hurled the Canadian to the earth, and
repeated the operation as often as the prostrate man arose,
till the crest-fallen wrestler was glad to cry "enough."




Silence Cobb, the oldest daughter, was also of extraore
dinary strength. She lived for a while with Hon. Elijah
Strong of Brownington.  One day, William  Baxter, Esq.,
then a young lawyer, boarding at Mr. Strong's, attempted to
roll into the house one of those huge back-logs, with which
our ancestors were wont to lay the foundation of their fires,
but he was not equal to the task. Silence laughed at him
for his weakness, and said " If I was a man, I'd pick up that
stick, and bring it in."  Somewhat nettled by her jeers, he
replied, "If you'll carry it in, I will give you a new silk
dress." She took him at his word, seized the stick, easily
carried it in, and deposited it in the fire-place. The dress,
however, was not forthcoming for many years. After she
had married and removed from Coventry, she returned for a
visit and was invited to Mr. Baxter's. As she was about to
leave the house, he put in her hand a slip of paper, which
proved to be an order on the Brownington merchant for the
best dress pattern to be found in his store.
The other children of Samuel Cobb, though of less remarkable strength, were of more than ordinary physical ability,
and, being off thletic frames and rugged constitutions, were
admirably qualified to encounter the hardships of a settlement in the wilderness. Hardships Ithey had to endure, and
those neither few nor small. It was no light task to conquer
the primeval forest, nor was it easy even to procure needful
food for themselves and their animals while the work of
clearing was going on. There were no roads, no neighbors
within two miles, no gristmill nearer than West Derby, and
facilities for procuring the most ordinary necessaries, not to
say comforts, of life were scanty indeed. By most diligent
toil, in which all members of the families bore their parts,
each man made a small clearing, in the season of 1800, and




13
raised grain and potatoes enough to secure them from fear of
actual want. Each family had a cow, which gained its living
as best it could in the forest. It was the work of the
younger girls to find the cows at night and drive them home,
oftentimes a laborious task, requiring them to search the
woods for miles around. To provide for the cows during
the winter was a problem of no easy solution. No hay was
raised, but a scanty supply was brought from Barton, and
with the help of browse, which was abundant and close at
hand they were comfortably wintered, So ended the first
years of the infant settlement.




14
CHAPTER 1I.
Sawmill and Gristmill built. First child born. Increase of population in 1801
and 1802. Locations of the immigrants. John Ide, Jr. Organization of the
town. First school. Another sawmill. First Freeman's Meeting.
In 1801, Samuel Smith of Brownington built a sawmill on
the Day brook, near the site of the present mill. This was
a great convenience to the settlers, as it obviated the necessity of going to Barton for boards and planks, or of using
planks roughly split from logs, which was a not unusual kind
of flooring in the early days. A grist-mill was lacking for
some years longer, and, in the mean time most of the grain
was sent to Arnold's mill at West Derby, being floated down
Barton river  and through South Bay in canoes.  At length,
David Kendall built a small gristmill on the Day brook.  The
stones for this mill were made of the nearest granite, and as
there was no bolt in the mill, the meal which it made was of
the very coarsest kind. Pudding and milk was the principal
food of the settlers, and this mill, which furnished the more
solid part of their fare, was called "the pudding-mill," a
name by which its site is known to this day.  The ruins of
this ancient mill are still traceable, a little Westerly of where
the road, running North by Benjamin Thrasher's crosses the
Day brook.  As soon as the Cobbs had fairly established
themselves, they built a log shop, in which they carried on:the business of blacksmithing.  They'were the only men of




that trade in the Northern part of Orleans County, and they
had customers from all the region round about.
The first birth in Coventry took place in July, 1801, when
a daughter, Betsey, was born to Tisdale Cobb.
Many of the former townsmen of the Cobbs soon came to
visit them and their new settlement, and several families
were added to the little colony in 1801 and 1802. Among
those who immigrated from Westmoreland were Jotham
Pierce, Asa Pierce, William Esty, Simon B. Huestis, John
Farnsworth, and John Mitchell. All the settlers prior to
1803 were, in the strictest sense of the phrase, "squatter
sovereigns," having no deed of any land, but taking possession where they pleased and procuring deeds when they
could. Deeds were executed to them early in 1803. Jotham
Pierce pitched on lot No. 15, on which William B. Flanders
now lives; William Esty on lot No. 13, now owned by the
Day estate; Simon B. Huestis on. lot No. 50, where Lewis
Nye lives; John Mitchell on lot No. 51, still owned by him;
and John Farnsworth on lot No. 52, where J. W. Mitchell
lives. Farnsworth brought with him the first oxcart ever
seen in town. Previous to that time, all teaming had been
done on sleds or drags. Jotham Pierce was a man of great
energy, and became an influential citizen of the town. He
was the first captain of militia, and magnified his office not a
little, as it was suitable he should in those days when a
captain was of more consequence than a brigadier-general
now is. Daniel B. Smith came in the fall of 1802, and made
an opening on lot No. 53, which was the first clearing West
of Barton river. He took an active part in town affairs, but
remained only till 1805, when he sold to Samuel Boynton,.
and removed.
About 1802, Joseph Marsh and Timothy Goodrich, both




16
from Addison County, made the first opening in the West
part of the town. A log cabin was built by Jabez G. Fitch,
a few rods South of the present residence of George Heer.
man, near the Upper Falls, and in this cabin Goodrich resided,
having as boarders Marsh and his family, and some other
persons who like himself, were employed by Fitch in clearing
and building. Fitch also made Goodrich's house his home
during his occasional visits. Marsh was a man of more intellectual ability than any other of the early settlers. He was
a native of New Milford, Ct., and studied law with his uncle,
Amos Marsh of Vergennes, a lawyer and politician of some
eminence, but did not enter into practice. IHe was Fitch's
agent for the sale of lands and had a general supervision of
his affairs in Coventry.  Marsh had respectable literary
attainments, but was no financier, and though he became
owner of some lands he was obliged to transfer them in
payment of old debts, and at length he removed to Brownington. Timothy Woodbridge, from Waltham, Vt., came in
the fall of 1802, and purchased lots No. 23, 24, and 47, near
where R. W. Peabody now lives. Woodbridge was the
gentleman of the little colony. He was a son of IHon. Enoch
Woodbridge of Vergennes, Judge of Supreme Court of Vermont, and married a niece.of Hon. Nathaniel Chipman, another
Judge. He held himself in good esteem, as became one -so
respectably connected, and he was always ready to occupy
any place of which the position was honorable and the duties
light. After a few years he sold his first purchase, and
bought a part of lot No. 156, on which he made a clearing
and built a cabin; but in 1807 he sold out and left town.
His last clearing is included within the grave-yard near the
village. Amherst Stewart pitched on lot No. 3, now owned
by Albert Day, and resided there a few years, after which he




removed to Brownington.  John  Wells!, Jr., commenced', on
the. farm now" owned by R., W. Peabodyr and built a- cabin on
the, hillside- West of Barton river.  He was the first: justice
of tlie peace appointed in to wn., Perez Gardner' from St4
Joisburry came in; 1802,- and pitched on parts; of lots: Noi 9
and 10, now owned, by Zebulon Burroughs.
In March 1803, John Ide; Jr'., fiom West'minster, purchased
lots No. 55 and 56, being the farms now own.ed; by Amasa
Plastridge, Thomas Baldwin, and Mrs. Sophron-ia Guild, and
made the first clearing at Coventry Center- His house was
situated about forty rods. North-Westerly of Mr.. Plastridge's
present residence.  For many years he was a leading man. inr
town-, and. did as much as: any one- else to, give it form and.
character.  Though he had had no educational advaritages,. he
possessed strong,- unfailing, common. sense, and an: integrity of'
character which was not. only above reproach, but above. 5a-S
picion. By these qualities he won and retained the: unwaverig eionfidence of his fellow. eitizenas,  Ten years he served
the tow.n in its most important municipal offices, Ten yearshhe
represented. it in the Legislature, and one in the- Constitu',
tional Convention., He also held some. county offices.- AtI
length he entered. into the ministry of the gospel, and became
pastor: of: the Baptist Church in Coventry.  He was the first
settled minister.. In this sphere of duty his labors were
maby, arduous,. and. successful, and he' well deserves a long~nd grateful- remembrance as the, religious father of the towni.
Ther settlers whose- names, have- now been. mentioned, six,teen in number, constituted the: adult male population of the
townF in, March. 1803, Until that time there wasi no municipal
orgdanization, as indeed. there was; little need of any.  What-,
everi of a public nature was donie, not much at the most, was
a':cemplished by voluntary private effort.  But it was novw3




18
thought desirable- that the town should be organized, and
accordingly application was made to Luke Chapin, Esq. of
Duncansboro, (now Newport,) who issued his warrant for a
town meeting, to be held at Samuel Cobb's house, on Thursday, March 31st, 1803.- At that time and place the town
was organized by the choice of officers as follows:
JOHN WELLS, JR., Moderator.
JOSEPH MARSH, Clerk.
TIMOTHY WOODBRIDGE, First Constable.
SAMUEL COBB, Treasurer.
SAMUEL COBB, DANIEL B. SMITH, and JOHN IDE, JR.,
Selectmen.
PEREZ GARDNER, JOHN  WELLS, JR., and JOSEPH
MARSH, Listers.
JOSEPH MARSHa SAMUEL COBB, JOHN WELLS, JR., and
DANIEL B. SMITH, Highway Surveyors.
PEREZ GARDNER, Grand Juror.
It was voted that each inhabitant should work on the roads
four days in June and two days in September. A tax of
twelve dollars was raised to defray current expenses of the
town. The grand list of 1803, the first taken in town, and
on which this tax was assessed, amounted to $608. The
highest tax payer was John Wells Jr., who paid a town
tax of $1,39, and a state tax of ninety-six cents.
Most of the early settlers were uneducated men, but they
were not insensible to the value of education, nor deficient
in desire that their children should know more than themselves. They had no schoolhouse however, were too poor to
build one, and there was no spare room in their cabins where
a school might be held. At length, Samuel Cobb's corn-barn
was temporarily converted to the purposes of a schoolhouse,
and here, in the summer of 1803, Temperance Vincent, taught




19
the first school in Coventry, for the moderate compensation
of one dollar per week. A ruder building was perhaps never
devoted to educational purposes. It was small, not clapboarded, and lighted only by the open doorway and the
cracks between the boards. The seats were rough boards
laid upon blocks of wood, and the desks were constructed in
the same way. In this unsightly building the rudiments of
education were imparted to some who are now among the
most valuable citizens of the town.*
- In the summer of 1803, a saw-mill, the second in town and
much better than the first, was built on the upper falls of
Black River, by Jabez G. Fitch. This and the adjacent cabin
of Goodrich and Marsh constituted a center of civilization
in the West part of the town, as the Cobb settlement did in
the East.
The first Freemen's Meeting was held Sept. 6th, 1803,
when sixteen votes, the unanimous vote of the town, were
given for Isaac Tichenor for governor.  Joseph Marsh had
the honor of being the first representative; receiving nine
votes against two for John Wells, Jr., -and one each for
Samuel Cobb and D. B. Smith.
*Miss Vincent, the first teacher of the youth of Coventry, was a daughter of
Joseph Vincent from Stonington, Ct., one of the early settlers of St. Johnsbury,
Vt. She married-Ist, Riverius Burt; 2d, Joseph Lawrence, and, as the widow
of the latter, is yet living in Glover at the good old age of eighty-two.




20
CHAPTER 111.
First birth of a male. First marriage, and death. New settlers in 1804. A
political heretic.'Taxes payable in wheat.'Immigrants in 1805.'First phyisiei~a. ]Loads,and!trav eling. "'"Shark:Thompson?.'
The year 1804 was signalized  by  the first birth of a
male  child, the  first marriage, and the first death.   On'the 17th of February, a son, George B., was born to John
Ide, Jr. That son is now the Rev. George B. Ide, D. D.
of Springfield, Mass., one of the most eminent Baptist divines
in the country.'The marriage -was that of Silence Cobb to
Col. David Knox of Tunbridge, which was solemnized Mard
11th, by Elijah Strong, Esq., of Brownington.  The death
was that of Mrs. John'Farnsworth, which took place Dec.
4th.  There being then no public graveyard, she was buried
-n )her!husband's farm, - an: d a her gr.avfe-,t. ne  tsv  stjl.  e i'een
at Tfhe fojr porners:on'Sou;th W.Jf;*
Among  the  new  settlers in  1804 were  George Dorr,
Benjamin Walker, Charles Bryant, Thomas Baldwin, Daniel
*As the stone that marks this lonely grave is crumbling under the touch of
time, it is well to perpetuate the epitaph which it bears. It is as follows:In memory of
Polley, wife of Mr
John Farnsworth, daughter
of Mr Charles Church,
Westmoreland, N. H.
died
4 Dec 1804.




IJde., John Gardner, and Aris.tides iluestis..  Dorr bought
of J. G. Fitch lot No. 75, where Azro Gray now  lives.
JHis title iafterwards proved defective, and  Fitch having
in t-he mean itime become kbankrupt, he was compelled to
pt~r:Whase the lot of the legal owner. Bryant pitched on
doit No. 42, now occupied by Ira -Sessions; Walker on lot.  49~, now owned by Amos Kinne; Huestis on lot No. 76,
iow owned by iHubbard Gray; and Baldwin on lot No. 57now o-wned by Thomas H. Baldwin. Ide pitchedi on lot No.
89, where Daniel True now lives, and made the first opening.in the North Neighborhood.  Gardner was the first house-,earpenter.
The political harmony which had hitherto prevailed, as
w-i:itnessed by the unanimous vote for Tichenor in 1803, was
~alightly disturbed in 1804, when Jonathan Robinson was the.pposing candidate.'One vote was given for the Robinson
itickeit.;:and at an -election. for member of Congress, the same
independent voter cast his solitary suffrage for James Fisk,
in opposition -to William Chamberlain, who was the choice oof,,l his townsmen. It is quite probable that Charles Bryanat
as~ this voter.:One vote was also given for Robinson in
1805, but in 1806, after Bryant had sold out and left town),
i'the vote' was again unanimous for Tichenor.
At the town meeting of 1805, a tax:of twelve dollars
r  -th of wheat was raised for the purpose of defraying town
~hr.ges. Wheat, then and for a long time after, was the.pyrincipal,currency in Orleans:County.  Town and school:isatr.ict.taxes -were eassessed in wheat much more frequently:tmin in,cash.  A;cash tax, however small, was considered
quitea calamity, and, in.fact, was such. An individual was:onle:obliged to go more than fifty miles, to procure less than
a 4dollr fo:the purpose of paying a tax. -On account of the




2
scarcity of money it often happened that no tax whatever
was assessed, the officers choosing to render their services
gratuitously, and the people in general to do with their own
hands whatever needed to be done, rather than to pay their
proportion of a tax. On one occasion, when two bridges
were to be built, the town voted "that the inhabitants turn
out voluntarily to build the bridge at Burroughs' mill, and
that $45 be raised to build the bridge across Black river,
payable in labor at 67 cents per day, the person finding himself, or in grain the first of January next."
Solomon Pierce immigrated in 1805, and pitched on lot No.
82, being the farm on which Rev. A. R. Gray now lives. In
June of the same year came Dr. Peleg Redfield, and purchased lot No. 44, on the Eastern border of which he made
a clearing and built a house. The farm still remains in the
ownership of his family. Dr. Redfield was the first settled
physician in Coventry, and the third in Orleans County; his
only predecessors being Dr. Samuel Huntington of Greensboro and Dr. Luther Newcomb of Derby. He was a native
of Killingworth, Ct., (born June 24th, 1774) studied his
profession with Dr. Samuel Ware of Conway, Mass., and
commenced practice at Weathersfield, Vt., from which place
he removed his family to Coventry, in February, 1806. His
practice immediately became extensive and arduous. His
journeys to the scattered cabins in which his patients resided
were performed mainly on horseback, but not unfrequently
he was obliged to thread his way through the forests on foot.
He was a man of vigorous mind and great force of character,
and was held in high esteem not only for professional skill
but for business qualities. A large amount of town business
-was allotted to him, and he sometimes held at the same time
three of the most important offices. He was representative




23
in the legislature for nine successive years, 1812 —20.  He
is entitled to be remembered for his own abilities, and as
the father of sons who, in another profession, have won
eminent distinction for themselves, and have reflected honor
upon the town from  which they went forth.*
In October and November 1805 the first public roads were
laid out. Until that time the roads were mere paths cut
through the woods, with reference mainly to private convenience, and no wider than was absolutely necessary for a
single team, not always so wide as that. When John Farnsworth came into town with his ox-cart, the whole population
had to perform extra work on the road from Brownington,
to allow the passage of so wide a vehicle. The public roads
now laid out were three rods wide. Their general direction
was North and South, but alterations and discontinuances
have so changed the state of things that it is difficult now to
identify more than one of them, which was, in the main, the
road from Irasburgh line over South hill to the Center.
Little more was done to roads then and for many years after
than to clear them of trees, leaving stumps, and stones, and
mud-holes, for the traveler to avoid as best he could. Sometimes a by-path was cut around an unusually formidable
slough, or logs were laid in it; but, at the best, the going
was very uncomfortable, not to say dangerous. Traveling
was performed principally on horseback, both men and
women taking long journeys in that way.  Frequently a
man and woman rode on the same horse, and sometimes a
Dr. Redfield was the only resident physician till the winter of 1823-04, when
Dr. Samuel S. Kendall, from Derby, commenced practice here, and continued,
except a short absence, till the winter of 1851-52. Dr. Ezra S. Trask came Nov.
18th, 1828, and remained till April 30th, 1830. Dr. Henry Hewitt came Jan. 24th,
1830, and remained till 1836. Dr. David W. Blanchard came March 25th, 1847,
and is now the only resident physician. Besides these there have been some
irregular practitioners, and two or three physicians who have remained each a few
months.




24
woman took two or three children on the; horse withm herself
A sled drawn by oxen was- almost the, only other moder of
conveyance known in the early days. Oxen were trained to
travel as well as to draw loads, and sometimes would perform
a pleasure-trip at a speed of more than four miles taln hour.
In 1,806 came Isaac Baldwin from Westminster, Samuel
Boynton from Westmoreland, N. H., and Eben Hosmer from
Concord, Mass. Baldwin and Boynton bought lots already
improved. Hosmer made a commencement on lot No. 88,
now owned by Erastus Wright. In 1806 came also Samuel
Thompson, and purchased lot No. 139, which he afterwards
sold, and then bought of Joseph Marsh parts of lots No. 136
and 13 7. He lived in a log cabin built by Marsh, near where
Isaac Hancock now lives. He was a most original and eccentric character, and was familiarly called "Shark Thompson."
His moods were various and contradictory. At times he
was irritable in the extreme, and the slightest provocation
would rouse him to ungovernable wrath which vented itself
in the most horrid profanity and most brutal conduct. One
of his cotemporaries said that "he could swear the legs off
from an iron kettle in less than two minutes."  He ruled his
family with a rod of iron. A son of his was once the innocent cause of the death of a cow, and for nine successive
days Thompson administered to him a severe whipping every
morning and evening. HIe was poor to the very last degree
of penury.  Very often his wife and children suffered
severely for want of suitable food and clothing. Sheriffs
constantly harassed him with attachments and executions,
and were sometimes greatly harassed in returnm. Jotham
Pierce once attempted to serve a process on him by driviing
away some cattle, which Thompson prevented by putting up
the bars as often as Pierce could let them down. Duriqng




25
the struggle, Thompson, having a favorable opportunity,
caught one of Pierce's fingers between his teeth, and fixed
them into it with a vigor and tenacity of grip, which, in the
officer's estimation, fully justified the appellation of "Shark."
But there was another side to his character. He was very
kind and obliging to his neighbors, and would divide his last
morsel of food with any one who was in need. He was full
of sympathy for the sorrowful and suffering. Tears would
flow copiously down his sun-burnt cheeks as he stood by the
bedside of a dying neighbor, and from the depths of his soul
would come up the consoling expression, "By Judas, it's too
bad," which was his unvarying formula on such'Oecasions.
Hie had by nature a str-o:ng mind, though it was nhever cultivated. There being 1oX lawyer in the immediate vicinity, The
tobok up i' pettifogging," in which he achieved a good deal of
eelebrity.  MHe had a gift of extemporizing law to meet the
eme:fgencies of a case, and the fluency and vigor  of speech
With Which he maintaTied his positions,:renderead him anl
antagomnist not to bie despised even by the regul;ar practitioners of the law.'In afer- life, he moved to Potten, C. r.,>
where he made a  profession of religion, and became an active,
exhorter. Row well he succeeded in that capacity lnay b'
inferred fron. the account he himself gave of:one of hi.
peFformanees-,,I attended an evening meeting, and foundt
them Bll dull And sleepy. The spirit didn't move a bit.
Proetty soon I thought I would see whit I could do, -alad I got
up, and in less -than fivre minutes, by Judas, i had'em alt
afire.'"




26
CHAPTER IV.
Roads. School Districts. First Schoolmaster and first Graduate. War of 1812.
"' The Swamp Angel." Hard times. Manufacture of Salts. Accidental Death.
The first road from East to West was laid out in June
1806. It extended from the upper falls of Black River,
through the Center, "to the West side of Jotham  Pierce's
opening," near the present residence of William B. Flanders.
As it went Eastwardly from the Center, it diverged, at an
angle of about 45  South from the present road, passed the
lowlands on a log causeway about thirty rods long and four
feet high, and crossed Barton River near where Willard Fairbrother now lives, with the first bridge built over that stream
in Coventry. On the 6th of June 1810, the waters of Runaway Pond carried off the bridge and causeway, covered the
meadow with several inches of soft sticky mud, and compelled
a change of the road to its present location. Miss Betsey
Parker was crossing the causeway on horseback, as the flood
approached; and, hearing a frightful noise, though she could
see nothing, she quickened the speed of her horse, but had
hardly reached Dr. Redfield's house, a few rods West of the
causeway, when the rushing torrent overwhelmed the road
she had so recently passed. The Westerly end of the road
has also been quite changed in location, but across the hill
it remains as at first. At the same time this road was laid,




a road was laid from South Hill Westerly in a bee-line to a
junction with the first-named road, being mainly the road as
now traveled.
At the March meeting in 1806, the town was divided into
-two school districts, Barton River being the dividing line,
The first clerk's return, made in September 1807, showed
that there were seventeen scholars in each district.
Among the new comers in 1808 was Isaac Parker from
Cavendish. In the winter of that year he taught the second
school ever kept in-town, and the first which was taught by
a male teacher. His school-house was a log-cabin near Samuel Cobb's, and his pupils came from all parts of the town.
While imparting to others the rudiments of knowledge, he
was himself making acquisitions in the higher departments
of learning, and to so good purpose, that in the Spring of
1813 he entered Middlebury College considerably in advance,
and was graduated in 1815, the first graduate from Coventry.
He continued to teach, and as there was at that early day no
institution in the county at which a full preparation for college could be made, he established a school at his own house,
where for several years young men were taught the classics
and higher mathematics. Among those who laid the foundations of a liberal education under his tuition were Isaac F.
Redfield, George B. Ide, Jonathan Clement, and several
others who have attained eminence or respectability in the
learned professions. His influence was long and happily
exerted in the developement of intellect in his adopted town,
where will be held in lasting and honorable regard as the
father of education in Coventry.
The war with Great Britain in 1812 occasioned great
alarm in all the frontier settlements, and the inhabitants of
Coventry shared in the general-panic. Lake Memphremagog




28
and the adjacenti country had been a favorite resort of the
Indians, for purposes, of fishing and hunting; and although
they had almost entirely abandoned that region just before
the year 1$00, leaving only a few scattered individuals whose
relations to the settlers were always friendly, it was supposed that they still remained in great numbers near the
outlet of the Lake, ready,. whenever opportunity offered, to
exterminate the civilization before whose oQward march they
had been  melled to retire.  Tales of Indian cruelties
were fa-miliax to. every ear, and the knowledge that Great
iBritai' had made alliance with the savages carried dismay
to many a heart which would fearlessly have met. the fortunes
oQf,a warfare conducted in a less atrocious manner.  Each
little settlement imagined that itself would be first to experieu.ce the assault of a secret and blood-thirsty foe,. The
dwtellq-rs in the Black River valley were sure that the ndians
would avail thems.eles of the facilities of approach afforded
by that stream;-  e qually certain were the inhabitants: along
tle bans- of iaxrton River that they should be surprised in
A 5imfilar- manAner. The, trrrQr whieh prevailed was, extreme.
prmeq of the most fear-ful sought safety in flight, abandoned
their clearings, and, hastily gathering tQogther such of their
per9,al1 possessiQons as- were most  aluable and most p-rtable,. fled tDo the! older settlements.  Others, more corageous,.tetrmi  ed to abide the result, and mad4e all p9osibJl  preprration for the expeqted OttcEk.  Rusty Q14 mnskets wer
cotqred and kept. constantly loaded,: axes were put into fight,
img cpndition, and bitcher-knives were sharpene: to; be. ged
by men or women in the last desperate resrt oQf hand.-tq.:bnd struggle.  In the West part of the town, tea inhabitants, a.ssembled at the  house of Samupel c.Curqdy,.QaeA
-where James Haucpck now lives, and im the Eagt par-t Qf the




29
town Isr-ael Ide's was the place of refuge.  These were
strongly built houses, more defensible than most of tlhe
others, and about- them guards were; stationed, while scouts
wte: kept, at watch for the approach of the enemy. For
some time there was constant apprehension of an attackl
Thle eracking of a limb in the forest or the midnight hoot of,a owl were sufficient to alarm the little garrisons. But as
time passed away and no foes made: their appearance, the
panic su-bsided and the settlers returned to their former
avocations, which they pursued without molestation and
without further fear.,
The evils which were. occasioned by this temporary suls;
pension of peaceful employments did not all cease when the
fears of the people were allayed. It was difficult for the
British forces in Canada to procure provisions, and their
commissaries often came secretly into: the border towns of
t e.iUnited States to purchase supplies. They found some
in Coventry, as well as in other towns, whose covetousness
was greater than their patriotism, and from them cattle were
bought at enormous prices and driven to Canada by night to
feed the enemies of America. The detection of some of
these unpatriotic men aroused, no little indignation, and
esused alienations of feeling which lasted for many years,
smuggling was also greatly increased by the war.  The un-.tled state of affairs. along the borders made this crime
easy and profitable.  To suppress that, and; to guard against
hQstile approaches which might possibly take place, a corps
of soldiers was raised), and stationed at Derby Line.  Of
this company Hiiraa  Mason of Craftsbury was Captain, and.Tisdae,Cobb of Coventry, Lieutenant.  Five citizens of
Qovyenury Ziebulon Burroughs, Joseph Priest, Timothy Heerman,, Rufus Quild, and Benjamm Baldwin, were among the




30
privates.  This company remained in service six months,
from September 16th, 1812 to March 16th, 1813, but had no
opportunity to do anything more than to prevent smuggling.
The town held a special meeting, June 16th, 1812, to take
action respecting the war, and voted a tax of one cent on the
dollar, to be expended in ammunition. The grand list that
year amounted to $2857, so that the sum raised by this tax
was $28,57, a small sum in modern estimation, but by no
means insignificant to those who had to pay it from their
almost empty purses. Nineteen militia men were returned
as "armed and equipped according to law."  "Cornet"
Daniel Huestis and horse are also on record as obedient to
the requirements of the statute in that regard.  Huestis
belonged to a small company of cavalry, the members of
which were scattered throughout the county.
About the year 1813 came Ammi Burrington from Burke,
and purchased the tract of land on which stood the puddingmill and saw-mill; which however, he soon sold and moved
into the West part of the town. He was familiarly called
"the swamp angel," and if the domains of actual or imaginary zoology contain any such being as that, he was probably
not unworthy of the sobriquet. He was nearly seven feet
in hight, broad-shouldered, long-limbed, gaunt, skinny, and
crooked; with dark complexion, wide mouth, large teeth, and
other features to match. Tradition says that the name was
given him by a Yankee peddler, whom he asked to give him
a ride. The peddler told him that if he would ride within
the box as far as the next tavern and remain in the box for
an hour after arriving there, he should have not only a ride
but his keeping over night. Ammi readily accepted the proposition and took his place among the tin-ware. Upon arriving at the tavern, the peddler announced himself as the




31
exhibitor of "a very rare animal-the swamp angel," and
proceeded to exhibit Ammi for a certain price, to his own
good profit and the great amusement of the spectators.
Hardly had the town recovered from the injuries inflicted
on it by the war of 1812, when it was visited by calamity
from another source. The year 1816 was memorable in all
the new settlements as a year of extraordinary privations
and sufferings.  An unusually early Spring had created
expectations of a fruitful season and an abundant harvest,
but on the morning of June 9th there occurred a frost of
almost unprecedented severity, followed by a fall of snow,
which covered the earth to the depth of some inches, and
was blown into drifts two or three feet deep. All the
growing crops were cut down. Even the foliage on the
trees was destroyed, and so completely as respected the
beeches that they did not put forth leaves again that year.
No hope or possibility of a harvest remained, and the settlers
had before them the gloomy prospect of extreme scarcity if
not of actual famine.  Their forebodings were more than
realized. Not a single crop came to maturity. Wheat alone
progressed so far that by harvesting it while yet in the milk,
and drying it in the oven, it might be mashed into dough and
baked, or boiled like -rice. There was neither corn nor rye
except' what was brought from abroad, sometimes from a
great distance. One person went to Windsor County and
procured a load of those grains, which he sold for three
dollars and upwards per bushel.  A peck of corn was
regarded as a. good compensation for the day's work of a
man. Salt commanded $4,50 per bushel and could be procured only with cash. All other kinds of provisions were
held at prices proportionately high. The inhabitants prepared themselves as best they could for the fearful winter




32
which they saw before them. Flesh, fish, and vegetables of
every kind that could possibly be used as food were eonverted to that purpose.  To what straits they we're reduced
may be judged from the fact that hedgehogs " were made
great account of" and nettles, boiled as igreens, somnetim-es
constituted the entire dinner of a family..Often it occurred
that the last morsel of food in a house was consumed, whilea
the householder neither knew where to procure more nor had
the means of paying for it. Frequently the father or miother
of a family was compelled to start in the morning without
breakfast, go on foot to Barton, Browni-ngton, or Derby,
procure a little pittance of rye'or corn, and return home,
before any of the family could have a mouthful of food. Ono
morning, Abijah Knight found that his whole stock of provisions, for a family of seven persons, amounted to ionly half
a loaf'of bread. His neighbor, Matthias Gorham, with a
family of equal:number, had no bread at all.. He:shared
the half loaf with his more destitute neighbor, and then both
of them:started for Lyndon with a load of salts which they
hoped to exchange:for food. Mr. Knight was fortunate
enough to effect his object at Barton, where he procured
three pecks of corn, and about twenty pounds of fish, rice,
and other groceries, all of which he carried on his bahk,
through Brownington, to his home in the North Neighbor.
hood, a -distance of about twelve miles. This being done,
the two families were -able to make amends for a scanty
breakfast and scantier dinner by a hearty supper.  This Was
one of many such cases.
The manufacture of "salts" was then, and, in fact, during
the whole early history of the town, an important branch of
business. Almost every one engaged in it more or less
extensively.  "Salts" were madb by boiling the 1ley of'hardL




33
wqod ashes to agsch a consistency that when cold it mlight.be
carried in a basket.  In this condition they werqe sold to the
manufacturers of pearlash. Bartn was the nearest market fir
them.  To this place they were carried sometimes on sleds,
but as sleds were rare, a less expensive vehicle was usu:ally
employed.  A forked "staddle" was cut down, the body of
which was used as a tongue to enter the ring of an 9x-yosle,.pd across the forked part, which was somewhat bent so g$
to be easily dragged over the ground, a few slats were nailed,.
and on these was deposited the box or basket of salts. If
a horse was to be used, a pair of thills was made of poles,
turned up at the hinder end like a sled-runner, and conne ted
by strips of board.  One of these vehicles seldom performed
more than a single journey, the owner,choosing to leave At
on the wood pile near the ashery rather than to.drag it home.
A yet ruder mode of conveyance than:either of these wwa:.
sometimes adopted. A log, longer or shorter according t9,
the quantity to be,arried, was holowed out like a trough,
rounded up at the end which was to go forward, and dragged
by a chain and horse.  To prevent the log from Trolling over
and spilling its contents, a stick was inserted in the hinder
end and held constantly by the driver, as one would hold -
plowtail.  The.market value of splts was very variable,
ranging from $3 to $5 1-2 per hundre~d pounds, but they coul,d
always be sold at a fair price and for cash. Leather, salt,
flour, and other sta,ple articles which were held for-cash were
freely given in exchange for salts.  Sometimes they would
buy what money could not. During this season of famine
they were the main -reliance of the people of Coventy, and
had -the demand for salts ceased -many a family would have
been brought to actual starvation.
TIere were some circumstonces which rendered the scar —




34
city of bread stuffs a less intolerable calamity than it would
otherwise have been.  It was a time of universal good
health. Hardly a single case of severe sickness occurred
that year. The rivers and brooks afforded a considerable
supply of fish.  The trouts, weighing three pounds and
upwards, which in the early years of the town were so
numerous that they mi&,ht be caught by hundreds, had indeed
been almost exterminated, but other species were somewhat
abundant, and it was not a time to be dainty in the choice of
food. Suckers sometimes constituted the entire living of a,
family for days in succession, and happy were they who fared
as well as that. Winter, however, prevented a resort to the
rivers, except in extreme emergencies, when a scanty supply
of fish was caught, through holes cut in the ice. During the
whole period of distress, the settlers cordially befriended
each other, and rendered mutual assistance as their means
allowed. Each man was neighbor to every other man. He
who had little shared it with him who had none. Some who
would not sell their previous years' crop of corn lest themselves might be straitened for food, freely gave to the poor
and destitute the grain which they had refused to exchange
for money.  By exercising the most pinching economy of
food, all were able to meet the crisis; and although there
was extreme suffering, and starvation seemed almost inevitable, not an individual perished.
In August 1816, occurred the first death by accident.
Franklin Bartholomew of Brownington, a lad about twelve
years of age, was going home from the pudding mill on horseback with a grist. He had put the bridle over his head, and
when near the present residence of Benjamin Thrasher, the
horse took fright and run, throwing him to the ground, where




35
he was drawn by the bridle and beaten by the horse's feet
till life was extinct.
During the five years including 1812 and 1816, there was
almost no increase of property. The grand list of the latter
year exceeded that of the former by less than forty dollars.
The influx of population seems also to have nearly ceased.
There were fifty-one tax payers in 1812, and just the same
number in 1816. Contrary to what was expectable, the year
of famine was signalized by more than the usual number of
marriages. Previously, marriages did not average -more than
one a year, but in 1816, three couples put their sufferings
and sorrows into common stock.




36
CHAPTER V.
Shocking death. Post-office established. Origin and progress of the village. First
store, and first ashery. Fourth of July. First tavern. Settlement of West
il.: Afi6thei+i erchadit. Tih firikt shoemake r. settlement of Coventry' Gore
First tannery.
On the 12th day of June 1818, there occurred a singular
and horrible casualty, resulting in the death of Mr. George
Dorr. He was in the woods alone with his oxen, drawing
logs. In passing over a fallen tree the chain caught fast, and
as he disengaged it, the oxen started suddenly, jerking the;chain-hook into the calf of his leg just below the knee, and
throwing him to the ground. He vainly endeavored to stop
them by speaking to them. They went at a quick pace, dragging him on his back, over logs, stumps, and stones, a distance of about a hundred rods to his own barn yard, where
they stopped. In the mean time, the hook had worked its
way down his leg, tearing the flesh from the bone, till its
farther progress was arrested by the strong tendon of the
heel. His whole back was covered with wounds and bruises.
Surgery was of no avail, and he lingered four days in great
agony, when death came to his relief.
In 1821 a post office was established, and Isaac Parker,
who resided where Lebbeus Babcock now lives, was appointed postmaster. Until that time, residents of Coventry
had their mail accommodations at Brownington office. The




ooutet by wVhich the iiew office was Supplied had its termini at
BIrlington and Derby, between which points the mail was
carried once a week each way, by Daniel Davidson of Craftsbiry.  This was quite sufficient to meet the necessities
of the people at that time, as may be judged from the fact
that the whole receipts of the office for the first year did not
exce-ed six dollars.
The tofwn had slowly increased in population and property
till, in 1821, there were about three hundred inhabitants,
many of whom  were in comfortable circumstances.  But
capital and enterprise were lacking. At that date there
were only two saw-mills and those quite dilapidated; there
was no grist-mill deserving the natme, no store, mechanic's
Shop, public house, nor house of worship.  There was no
semblance of a village except at the Center, where there
were four or five dwelling-houses, and a schoolhouse, and the
roads for forty rods each way were laid one rod wider thati
thr ough the rest of the town. All the trade went to Barton,
Brownington, or Derby, occas:~oiing great inconvenience and
labor, and much loss of time. But a inw condition of things
was about to take place. At a sale of lands for taxes; in
1 813, Calvin Harmon and Arg alus Harmon, of Vergennes,
bought ftor $3 lots No. 41 and 107 and a part of lot No. 111.
Lot No..: 101 is, now the site; of the village.  When the
Harmdis purchased it, it was a mnete wildernessi and the
Level part of it was a cedar swamp.  They were men of intelligence, energy, wealth, and business habits, and all these
they put in exercise to advance the interests of the town in
which they took up their residence.  They engaged actively
in business themselves, encouraged frmers and mechanics to
riigratey and gave a- poerfil fmpetvs to the prosperity of
th*e place.  Well knowing tho tVoae of Such a water power




as is furnished by the:falls of Black River, they decided to
lay the foundation of a village beside those falls, and to that
work they now directed all their energies.
In 1821, the Harmons employed Thomas Baldwin to
clear five acres of land near where the Congregational meeting house stands. He underlet a part of the job to Ammi
Burrington, who felled the first tree in the village, and built
the first house, a small log cabin, near the spot now occupied
by Mrs. Mary Persons's house. Two other log cabins were
built soon after, one of them on the present site of Holland
Thrasher's house, the other on the spot now occupied by
Loren Soper's house. Eber R. Hamilton occupied the former,
and kept a boarding house for those who were employed by
the Harmons in clearing and building. Jonas Cutting lived
in the other, and carried on the blacksmith's business in a
shop immediately adjacent to his house. These houses were
built merely to subserve temporary purposes till better ones
could be erected. In 1822 Calvin Harmon and his brother
Daniel W. moved in and immediately commenced operations
on a somewhat extended scale. A store was speedily built
and stocked with merchandize. It still occupies its original
site and is a part of the store of Messrs. Soper & Bean.
The variety of goods was not great, but it was sufficient to
supply the wants of the people, and the store was in truth a
great benefit to the town, not only by furnishing articles for
which the inhabitants must otherwise have gone abroad, but
by providing a home market for grain, salts, and whatever
else they had to sell. During the same season a saw-mill
was built, on the site of the present mill.
In the fall, Calvin Harmon built a two-story dwelling
house, the same in which D. P. Walworth resides. Daniel
]W. Harmon lived for a while in a small framed house close




39
by Burrington's cabin, and afterwards built and occupied the
house in which Charles Thrasher lives. An ashery for the
manufacture of pearlash was built on the river bank Eastwardly from the store.  It fell down in a few years, and the
ground where it stood has been almost entirely washed away
by the river.
The anniversary of our national independence was celebrated in Coventry for the first time in 1822.  The celebration took place at the Center, and George B. Ide, then a little
more than eighteen years old, was the orator.
In January 1823 the first school-house in the village
was built, by the voluntary contributions and labor of the
inhabitants. The top of a very large hard-wood stump was
leveled and smoothed to supply a solid foundation for one of
the corners.  In the following winter the first school was
taught in this house by Loring Frost. The building, with
some alterations, and additions, is now occupied as a dwelling by Hartford Hancock.*  Eber R. Hamilton built in 1823
the house in which Jacob Hurd lives, and commenced keeping tavern there.  Calvin Harmon built a blacksmith's shop
on the river bank a little below the falls, and furnished it
with a trip-hammer. It was occupied successively by Jonas
Cutting, Holland Witt, Daniel Bartlett, and Holland Thrasher,
and was burned April 16th, 1834.t  Calvin and Daniel Harmon gave the land for a village common, on condition that
the citizens should clear it of stumps and smooth the surface.  They were slow  in complying with the condition, and
*This school-house was used till 1835, when another was built, which is still
standing just South of Hartford Hancock's house. The present school-house, one
of the best in the county, was built in 1857-8, at an expense of $2500. The bell
upon it was a gift from Dea. Loring Frost.
t Mr. Thrasher then built a shop, standing partly on the ground occupied by
John R. Thrasher's store and partly East of that. This was burned April Ist,
1843, and he then built the shop now occupied by him. He has been a blacksmith
in the village since April 1832.




40
to expedite matters, it was agreed that whoever became
" the worse for liquor" should do public penance by digging
out one stump. This proved to be much more effectual in
clearing the land than in preventing drunkenness.
The first permanent settlement on West Hill was made in
1823 by Aretas Knight from Westmoreland, N. EH., who commenced on the farm  now owned by Amos K. Cleveland.
Calvin Walker had previously made a clearing and built a
cabin on the summit West of Sylvester Cass's house, but te
became discouraged and abandonledhis improvements. When
Mr. Knights first went to his farm  the forest was so dense
that he spent half a day in going from the village to the spot
where he pitched.  Calvin Harmon assured him that he'
would by and by see the stage passing over the same route
which he had traversed with so much difficulty, and this prediction was fulfilled. Knights built a small house, which was
for some time the only dwelling on the hill. It served as a
house of entertainment for such as came to examine lancds
before purchasing, and, a boarding house for settlers till they
could build for themselyes. There was quite a rapid immigration into that part of the town, and his house was sometimes crowded to the utmost.  It was inhabited several
months by twenty-three individuals, eight of whom were married couples with fourteen children under seven years of age.
The little building which contained so large a population is
now one of Mr. Cleveland's out-houses. Tyler Knight commenced in 1823 on the farm now owned by Moody Soper;
John M. Fairbanks and John Mills, in 1825, on the farms still
owned by them. -Sidney W4hite ibegan where John Arming-'ton now lives, and Walter'Bowman on the farm now:owed
by Dexter Wood.
In 18-24 came Argalus Harmton, who'bought the mills atthe




41
upper falls, and built a store and a two story house on the
level East of Joseph Kidder's present residence. Both these
buildings were afterwards taken down and converted to other
purposes. The site of the house is indicated by a row of
shade trees, and the store stood directly opposite. In February 1825, Calvin and Daniel W. Harmon sold their stock of
goods to Elijah Cleveland & Co., who commenced business
with a larger and more varied assortment than had before
been offered for sale in this part of the country. They also
sold at much lower prices than any of their competitors, and,soon secured an extensive custom. Molasses was sold at a
dollar per gallon, bohea tea at fifty-eight cents a pound and
young hyson at a dollar and a half, loaf sugar at twenty-eight
cents, brown sugar at fourteen cents, allspice at fifty cents,
cinnamon at ten cents an ounce, salt at two dollars and a
quarter per bushel, nails at fourteen cents a pound, pins at
twenty-five cents a paper, shirting at twenty-five cents a yard,
calico at prices varying from twenty-five to fifty cents a yard,
and all other goods at proportionate prices. Two circumstances conspired to enhance the value of merchandise in
those days. One was the great expense of transportation,
which in the case of heavy articles much exceeded the original cost of the goods. Portland and Boston were the nearest
places at which merchants could supply themselves. From
Portland goods were drawn by horse teams oyer a long and
difficult road. Transportation from Boston was accomplished
generally in the same way; but sometimes merchandise was
sent on vessels, by New York, Albany, and Whitehall to Bur*
6




42
lington, and thence conveyed by horse teams. Another circumstance which increased prices was that goods were sold
mainly on credit and for barter pay. The almost invariable
terms were that payment should be made in wheat in the
January following the purchases, which if the customer failed
to do he was required to pay cash and interest within the
succeeding year.  January was always a busy month with the
merchant. All the teams in the vicinityT were put in requisition to carry wheat to market, and when ten, fifteen, or
twenty two-horse teams were loaded and started for Portland, the merchant took stage or private conveyance, and,
reached the city in season to sell his grain and make his pur
chases so that on arrival of the teams they might immediately be loaded for the return trip. If a satisfactory price
could not be obtained, the grain was shipped from that place
to BQston, but the former city was the place of resort in the
first instance, and so continued till the opening of a railroad
from Boston Northwestwardly turned the current of trade
towards that city, and as the expenses of transportation
diminished, the prices of goods decreased in proportion.
In June 1825, Nathaniel Daggett came to the Center-and
commenced shoemaking in the front: room-of Daniel Ide's
house, (now occupied by Thomas Baldwin.)  He was the first
shoemaker who pursued the business as a regular trade.
Others had done some shoemaking as incidental to their main
employment, and one individual, John Hamilton, had "whipped the cat" from house to house. Daggett at once entered
upon a good business. In the fall of 1826 he built a shop
on the spot where the brick meeting-house now stands. In.the —fall of 1825, John C. Morrill built a- shop in the village




4i3
and was the first shoemaker there.  His shop was afterwards
converted into a dwelling-house, and is now occupied by,
J. M- Vezey.*   During the same year, William  Miner and
Amasa Wheelock commenced the business of tanning, on the
site of the present tannery. They built a dwelling house and
currier's shop, still standing in a dilapidated condition.  The
apparatus for grinding bark was efficient though simple.  A
round flat stone, somewhat like a millstone, about eight
feet in diameter and as.many inches thick, was set on edge.
Through the center passed a spindle, one end of which was
inserted into an upright shaft, and to the other end a horse
was attached.  The stone was thus made to'describe a circle
around the shaft, about fifty feet in circumference, at:the
same time revolving on its own axis, and crushing the bark
between itself aPd the plank floor Ibeneath.t  In 1825 Mr.
Cleveland built an ashery, in which he began to make pearlash in'December.   The  ashery  stood just South iof the
"Union'' bl-ackssmith's shop.  It was burned two or three
years?after, and another immediately built on the -same spot.
In the summer of 1856 the building having become;ruintous,
it was taken  down:and the materials used to make the embankment at the South en;d of the bridge.
The settlemeen:t of Oovenitry Gore wa8 commenced October
7th 1:825, by Archibald W. Higgins, who, with three other
* Mr..Moyrrill continled in business till the fall of 1827, when he was succeeded
by Austin Stevens. Stevens built an addition to the shop and carried on business
till the spring of 1844. In the fall of 1843, Eli Revore commenced business in the
lovwer part of the ho6use now occupied by H. H. Frost Esq. and continued till the
winter of 1846. In August 1847, Childs Brooks commenced business, on a larger
scale than any of his predecessors, and he remains in business at the present
time.,'tIn'the summer,of 1828'Messrs. Whieelock'an Minet sold iner to Sylveter and
Piulaider'S.'and, who carried' on the business till the spring of 1831, when Sylirester Riand soldt his interest to Joseph N. Savage. In January 1834, Rand'and
Savage ~sold to Lewis Nye,'and in.May -i836, Jacob Hurd bought the premises and
ieaie'd bi tihe'bis' ess till thie s 3ring'of 1838, when Benjamin F.'erbert became
ptletdr and has continued until how. The tannery, with almost-all itso' toiints
was destroyed by fire January 7th, 1852, but it was promptly rebuilt.




44
persons, went out into the woods nearly three miles from any
house, and began a clearing. They had not so much as a
path to guide them, but found their way by following marked
trees on the lines of lots.  A log cabin was built, into which
Higgins and his wife moved a few weeks after, and there
they long resided without neighbors, and seeing bears much
oftener than human beings. Wild beasts infested that part
of the town more than any other. In those days its bore the
name of "bear ridge."  Higgins had many stirring adventures with his savage companions, fourteen of which he killed,
three in a single day. One night as he was walking home
from Troy a bear followed him three miles through the
woods. Some of the time Higgins sung, some of the time he
scolded, by which means and the help of a stout cudgel he
kept his pursuer at bay, though he was not able to kill him or
to drive him off. At another time he was confronted by a
she bear with cubs.  She stood on her hind feet and disputed
his passage. Higgins was unarmed, save with such stones and
sticks as were near at hand, but he maintained his position
till his dog came to help him, and with that assistance he put
his adversaries to flight. Bears have not yet been utterly
exterminated from the Gore, though they are now quite rare.
So lately as the fall of 1858, Higgins had sight of one which
he thought to be the largest he ever saw.* The progress of
affairs in the Gore has been quite slow. The cleared land
does not much exceed two hundred acres.  On this there are
three dwelling houses, occupied by four families, whose whole
number of members is eleven.
* In the body of the town wild beasts have not, since the settlement, been very
numerous nor mischievous. Growing crops and flocks of sheep have suffered
somewhat, but not extensively, from their depredations. No bear has been killed
since 1831. On the 20th of January 1838, three wolves were seen, and a wolf-hunt
took place. Another hunt occurred March 30th, 1839, which resulted in the killing
of one wolf. Other wild animals of the cat tribe have been seen occasionally and
at long intervals.




4v
The first death of an adult in the West part of the town
was that of Mrs. Mary Hamilton, wife of Eber R. Hamilton,
which took place October 14th, 1825. She was the first person buried in the graveyard near the village.




CHAPTER VI.
Place of town meeting established. Cabinet shop, fulling-mill, and grist-mill
built. Suicide. Temperance movements. The first lawyer. Another store.
Growth of the village in 1829. Meeting house built. Starch factory. Great
sickness in 1843. Health and longevity. Infanticide.
At the March meeting in 1827 the town voted to hold its
future meetings alternately at the Center and the village.
For some years previous, meetings had been held at the
Center school-house, which stood just North of Lebbeus Babcock's present residence; and earlier still, at a school-house
on South hill, standing in the North East angle formed by the
crossing of the roads; also at Dr. Redfield's, John Ide's, and
various other private houses. They now became more permanently located at the two principal centers of population
and influence, and since September 1837 they have been held
exclusively at the village. For some years the village bore
the name of Harmonville, which has now gone into disuse.
Its boundaries were legally established to be a circle with
a radius of half a mile from  the center of the common, except that Southwardly it was limited by Irasburgh line.
In the fall of 1827 John W. Mussey built the shop which
is still occupied by him, and in the following spring he commenced the cabinet business there.  IHe was the first cabinet
maker in Coventry. During the same fall, Jesse Cook, from
Morristown, built a fulling-mill on the ground now occupied




by the starch factory, and furnished it with machines for
carding wool and dressing cloth.* He also built a dwelling
house on the hill Northeastwardly from the fulling-mill. This
house,.to which a second story has since been added, is the
one now occupied by Dr. D. W. Blanchard.  The same year,
Elijah Cleveland & Co. built a grist-mill on the site of the
present mill.  Grinding was commenced there in January,
1828. Loring Frost was the miller for some months, and was
succeeded by Emore Dailey.t
On the night of April 1st 1828, Enoch P. Ide, a clerk in
the  store  of E. Cleveland &  Co., committed  suicide by
drowning himself in Black River. When he was missed on
the following morning, a memorandum, " water is my grave,"
gave a hint where to look for him. His body was recovered
at evening, and the appearances indicated that he had tied a
rope around his neck, attached a stone to it, and plunged into
deep water just below the mill-dam. Three days before,
William Dexter had drowned himself in Irasburgh by jumping
from a bridge, which probably suggested to Ide the manner of
his death.  This was the first and hitherto the only suicide
in Coventry. For the good fame of the town, it deserves to
be added that this self-murder was not committed by one of
its permanent citizens, but, by a temporary  resident.  His
remains were conveyed to St. Johnisbury, which had been his
home.
* Samuel Boynton bought an undivided half of the fulling-mill, November 17th
1828, and carried on the business in company with Cook till January 28th, 1830,
when a reconveyance of the property was effected. On the 20th of April, 1830,
Cook sold to Thaddeus H. Flint and Daniel Bean, both from Sutton. Avery great
freshet occurred March 31st 1831, which undermined the mill and destroyed it.
Flint and Bean then built another mill afew rods down the river. This was
D)uned.ip Deember 1848, and was nat rebuilt.
t:Mr. Dailey purchased.the mill December 20th, 1835, and in the fall of 185
built a new mill to take the place of it.




48
In the Spring of 1828, Dr. S. S. Kendall built a house,
which, with alterations and large additions, is now the tavern
of Daniel Bean.  Dr. Kendalliremoved from the Center to
the village during the following. Fall, and on the 30th of
November 1829 opened his new house as a tavern.
The post office was removed to the village in the summer
of 1828, and Loring Frost was appointed Postmaster. His
commission bore date June 12th, 1828.  The office was kept
in the store of E. Cleveland & Co.*
During the first quarter of the nineteenth century intemperance prevailed everywhere, and the people of Coventry were
not uninfected by the universal vice. Seventeen hogsheads of
whiskey constituted a part of the first stock of goods brought
into the village; at a time, too, when the population of the
town hardly exceeded three hundred. There was none too
much, however, to meet the demand. A customer, whose
rule was to settle his account yearly, used to say that " almost
every item in the account from one end to the other was
nothing but whiskey, whiskey, whiskey." But in 1828 a
change in opinion and practice took place. On Sunday,
September 14th, the Rev. Nathaniel Hewitt preached a temperance sermon, the first discourse on that subject ever pronounced here. The novelty of his views secured attention,
and the vigorous arguments with which he enforced them carried conviction to many minds. A Temperance Society was
organized July 11th, 1829, as the result of whose efforts and
of other appropriate means a decided reformation was ef* Mr. Frost held the office about nine years. His successors were Elijah Cleveland, Holland Thrasher, Calvin Harmon, and Holland Thrasher. Mr. Thrasher's
second commission was dated March 22d, 1825, since which time he has held the
office, through all the changes of government.




49
fected, and the town  will now  compare favorably, in  that
respect, with any other town in the State.*
On the 13th of November 1828, Samuel Sumner from  St.
Albans established himself in the practice of the law at
Coventry. His office stood on a part of the present site of
George II. Walworth & Co.'s store, and is now occupied as
a dwelling-house  by Moses Labelle.  Mr. Sumner remained
only till the succeeding May, when he removed to Troy.t
In the Fall of 1828, another store was built. Its original
site is now a part of the school-house yard. In the summerof 1843 the store was removed, and it is now occupied by
G. II. Walworth & Co.  The first merchant who stocked it
with goods was Ebenezer Clement, who commenced business
in December 1828.4
During the Summer and Fall of 1829 several of the largest
* Under the statute of 1844, authorizing the election of County Commissioners
with authority to grant or refuse licenses, the town, in 1845, gave 56 votes for antilicense Commissioners and 33 for license Commissioners. In 1846 the vote was 45
to 29. Under the statute of 1846, submitting the question, "License or No
License?" to the annual vote of the people, the vote in 1847 was 54 for License and,
53 for No License. This did not, however, truly express public sentiment, for in
1848, only 34 votes were given for License against 78 for No License, and in 1849,,,
the vote stood-16 to 78. On accepting the statute of 1852, the vote was 53 for accepting and 89 for rejecting. This vote was the result of a transient excitement..
The town re-elected a representative wJio had voted for the passage of the law,..
and in 1858 and 1859 gave a nearly unanimous vote for a County Commissioner
favorable to the strict enforcement of it.
t Mr. Sumner was succeeded by Charles Story, who commenced practice at Cov —
entry in the Spring of 1830, and continued till the winter of 1849, when he removed-to Newbury. H. W. Weed, from Sheldon, went into partnership with him
November 13th, 1834, and continued some years. Oliver T. Brown commenced
practice May 1st, 1842, and remained till March 1848, when he removed to St.
Johnsbury East. William M. Dickerman commenced practice in the fall of 1847,.
and removed to Derby early in 1854. Henry H. Frost, a native of Coventry, commenced practice in the summer of 1850, and is now the resident lawyer.
+ Mr. Clement soon took Nathan Lamb into partnership, and after continuing
in business two or three years they sold to Dr. Henry Hewitt, who sold to Joseph
Baker in March, 1832. Baker had little or no capital, but bought goods largely,.
and early in July his stock was attached and sold at auction by his creditors. It
deserves to be mentioned, to the credit of the Coventry merchants and of their
customers, that this was the only failure of a merchant that has occurred. He
was succeeded by Ezra and Madison E. Sanger, who remained in trade till April
28th, 1834. Daniel P. Walworth and Abial M. Smith commenced business September 22d 1834; and continued in partnership till the Spring of 1840, when
Walworth sold to Smith, who carried on business till the Spring of 1842. He then
discontinued trade, and:on the 22d of the following October, Walworth resumed
business. In June 1855, he took into partnership Augustine C. West, who re —
mained till September 1858.
7




50
buildings in the village were raised. Seth F. Cowles and
Leonard Cowles built the house now occupied by the former,
and commenced business as hatters. The shop in which they
made hats was the same in which S. F. Cowles now does
business, and their sales-room was the South front room.*
Work was commenced on the meeting-house in July 1829.
The raising of that edifice was a fortnight's job. It was
begun on Monday, August 24th, and not completed till Saturday of the following week. On the 3d of October the frame
of a dwelling-house for Daniel W. Harmon was raised. The
same house is now occupied by Charles Thrasher. On the
10th of October the frame of Elijah Cleveland's present residence was raised, and by the following August the house was
finished sufficiently to be occupied. During the same season,
Calvin Harmon built the house in which Henry H. Frost lives.
It was originally designed for mechanics' shops, and so divided as to furnish two such shops in each story. Its foundations were at first about six feet lower than they now are.
The whole street along the bank of the river, has been raised
from three to six feet. Before that was done, the river, in
times of freshet, not only overflowed the street, but invaded
the cellars in that vicinity, filling them sometimes to the depth
of three feet.
In the summer of 1831, the Rev. Ralden A. Watkins built
a dwelling house, the same in which Benjamin F. Herbert
now lives. During the same season, Calvin P. Ladd built a
two-story shop just below  the grist-mill.  Here he did
business as a general machinist; and manufactured, among
other things, a large number of winnowing-mills. The shop
* S. F. Cowles and L. Cowles continued in partnership about eight years. S.
F. Cowles then carried on the hatting business alone, till 1849. In 1842 he also
commenced business as a watchmaker, and as this business increased, the other
was brought to a- close.




51
was afterwards removed and modified, and is now occupied
by Childs Brooks as a shoe-shop.
The starch-factory now owned by Samuel Burbank and
Jonathan Aldrich was built by Elijah Cleveland in the summer
of 1837, and the manufacture of starch was commenced Noveinber 27th. This factory was a great advantage to the
farmers, furnishing a ready and sure market for one of their
most important crops. Its business increased from year to
year, and the production of potatoes kept even pace with the
increasing demand for them. About thirty thousand bushels
are now annually converted into starch.
The year 1843 was one of great and peculiar sorrow in
Coventry, as well as throughout this whole region of country.
Erysipelas, in its most malignant form, raged epidemically,
and committed fearful devastation.  So great were its ravages as almost to compel a suspension of all business, except
ministering to the necessities of the sick and rendering the
last offices to the dead. Sometimes its victims died within
two days from the attack, in other cases they lingered for
several weeks. Those who recovered did not for months
fully regain their previous health. The disease was fatal
alike to the very young, the middle-aged, and the old. In
one instance, a whole family, husband, wife, and child, was
destroyed by the pestilence. It was equally dangerous in
the most healthy localities and in those which ordinarily
would seem more assailable by disease. The efforts of physicians to arrest its progress were futile, till, having apparently spent its force, it disappeared. During that year the
list of dead numbered forty-one: more than six times the
average number, and more than a twentieth of the whole
population.
Notwithstanding the numerous deaths in that year, the




52
mortality in Coventry has been less than is usual in towns of
equal population. The whole number of deaths within fiftynine years from the first settlement of the town was three
hundred and seventy-six, an average of six and one third
annually. This includes deaths by crime and casualty as
well as by disease. Two deaths were occasioned by crime,
namely, one by suicide and one by infanticide; and twelve
were occasioned by casualties of various kinds. The person
who attained the greatest age in town was Mary Fairbrother.
She died October 25th, 1843, at the age of ninety-five. Next
in seniority was Salmon Wright, who died April 14th, 1857,
aged ninety-three.
On or about the 14th of June 1846, a male child of a
year's age was murdered by its mother, Hannah Parker, alias
Stickney. The, murder was effected by throwing the child
into- Black River near the bridge which crosses it in the
North Neighborhood. The mother had been married once
or twice, but there was considerable uncertainty as to the
paternity of the child. She had no home nor means of support, and the child was a hindrance in the way of her procuring assistance or employment. These circumstances over-,came the maternal instinct, and persuaded her to the murder.
Before throwing in the child, she disabled it from making
e:fforts to escape, by tying together its neck and one leg with
her garter. She was arrested, confessed her crime, and was
committed to jail. In due season she was indicted, and on the
second trial was; found guilty; but exceptions being taken to
some rulingsof the: Court, the judgment wasreversed, and after
she had remained in jail about eight years, she was allowed
to go at, large, the: long confinement being regarded as severe
a punishment as public justice required to be inflicted upon
an offender who, in great weakness of mind and extreme




53
desperateness of circumstances, had committed crime. Although this transaction took place within the limits of Coventry, the morality of the town is not thereby impeached, as
the criminal was never a resident of the place for any time
however short.




54
CHAPTER VII.
Ecclesiastical History. Rise and progress of the Baptist Church. Congrega
tional Church. Freewill Baptist Church. Univeralist Society. Conclusion.
The death of Mrs. John Farnsworth in December 1804,
produced a profound sensation in the little community, not
only by reason of its being the first death, but on account of
the distressing circumstances which attended it. In addition
to severe bodily pain she experienced great anguish of spirit.
She earnestly desired that prayer might be offered for her,
and that she might be assisted in preparing for her departure
from the world. But there was neither man nor woman in
the town who could pray with her. None of the early settlers were religious persons, but it was an unpleasant thought
to them all that there was not an individual among them who
could offer prayer with the dying, or perform a religious rite
at the burial of the dead. Several years elapsed, however,
before there were any systematic efforts to maintain the institutions of the gospel.  There was no house of worship, nor
was there the pecuniary ability to provide one, and when
public worship was observed, it was in a barn, a log-cabin, or
some equally inconvenient place.
It was in the barn of John Ide, Jr., now owned by Amasa
Plastridge, that the first sermon was preached.  Nathaniel
Daggett, a Baptist, was the preacher. The first church estab



55
lished in Coventry was a Baptist church. On the 7th of
October 1.809, ten persons, five of whom were males and five
females, some of them living in Irasburgh and some in Coventry, were organized by Elder Samuel Smith and Dea. Jon.
athan True of Derby, into a church, which took the name of
"the Baptist Church in Coventry and Irasburgh."  Nathaniel
Kellam of Irasburgh was chosen Deacon, and John Ide, Jr.,
Clerk. The subsequent growth of the church being mainly
in Coventry, the title was altered, in 1815, to "The Baptist
Church in Coventry." For several years there was no
preaching except, at long intervals, by missionaries of the
Massachusetts Baptist Missionary Society, among whom were
Elders Ariel Kendrick, Samuel Churchill, Barnabas Perkins,
and Jabez Cottle. Twenty-one were added to the church
during the first three years of its existence. On the 4th of
April 1812, the church voted a tax of two mills on the dollar
of the grand list of its members, payable in wheat, one half
by the first of June and the other half by the first of January
then next. On the 23d of February 1815, John Ide Jr., was
called to the pastorate. The church voted " to give him for
his services twenty-five dollars for the first year, payable in
grain in the month of January next, and to add to that sum
annually as our grand list shall increase, so long as he
remains our minister." In addition to this, he was to receive
so much of the minister's right of land, and of the income
from the lot reserved for the support of the gospel, as the
town should by vote assign to the Baptist Society.
Mr. Ide accepted the call, and was ordained June 28th,
1815.. The services of the occasion were as follows: Sermon
by Elder Amos Tuttle; Consecrating Prayer by Elder Silas
Davison of St. Johnsbury; Imposition of Hands by Elders
Silas Davison, Amos Tuttle, David Boynton of Johnson, and




56
Daniel Mason of Craftsbury; Charge to the Pastor by Elder
Mason; Right Hand of Fellowship by Elder Boynton; Coneluding Prayer by Dea. Nathaniel Kendall of Derby.  In
1816, a revival occurred, and twenty persons were added to
the church. On the 2d of November in the same year seven
persons were set off to constitute a church in Irasburgh.
Revival influences continued in 1817, as the result of which,
thirty additions took place.  Twenty-three persons were set
off, September 24th, 1817, to constitute a church in Newport.
Eight persons were set off, April 13th, 1818, to, constitute a
church in Troy.  In 1825, twenty-two individuals united with
the church, and Thomas Wells and Thomas Baldwin were
elected deacons. Elder Ide's pastoral relation to the church
continued nearly sixteen years. YHe was dismissedin January 1831, and preached his farewell sermon on the last
Sabbath in that month.
In 1830-31, a meeting house was built at the Center.*  It
contained fifty-two pews, and by the constitution of the
society in which the legal title was vested, each holder of a
pew was authorized to have the pulpit occupied one Sabbath
in a year by a preacher of such denomination as he preferred.
A very large majority of the pews was held by Baptists, and
the house became practically a Baptist meeting-house.
On the 22d of June 1831, Alvin Bailey and Gardner Bartlett, members of this church, and George B. Ide, then a
member of the Baptist Church in Derby, were ordained to
the ministry of the gospel.  Rev. Joseph MI. Graves preached
the sermon. Early in 1832, Elder Prosper Powell was
engaged as Stated Supply, and remained about two years.
* This house and the school-house near it are the only brick buildings in the
town. In 1829, Amasa Wheelock commenced building a two-story tavern of
brick, on the site where Nathaniel West's house now stands; but he had such ill
success in burning his kiln, that the undertaking was abandoned.




In August 1834, Elder Prosper Davison was called to the
pastorate.  His ordination took place September 9th, with
services as follows: Sermon by Elder Edward Mitchell of
Eaton, C. E., from Acts 11: 24; Consecrating Prayer by
Elder Silas Davison; Charge to the Pastor by Elder Jonathan Merriam of Passumpsic; Right Hand of Fellowship by
Elder Prosper Powell; Charge to the People by Elder E.
Mitchell; Concluding Prayer by Elder William M. Guilford
of Derby.  Within a month after the ordination, twelve
persons united with the church. Elder Davison continued
Pastor till the Spring of 1837, when he was dismissed.
On the 22d of September, 1839, A. H. House, a member
of this church, was licensed to preach the gospel; and on the
23d of June 1840, he was ordained to the ministry.
After the dismissal of Elder Davison, the church remained
without a pastor, and was supplied with preaching only for
brief periods, with long intervals between. The tendency
was downwards. Deaths, excommunications, and emigration
deprived it of a large majority of its members. In 1851, an
effort was made to strengthen the things which remained,
that were ready to die. Elder Henry I. Campbell was
employed as preacher, the church covenant was renewed, and
during the year of Elder Campbell's ministry, five persons
were added to the church. But the attempt at resuscitation
was unsuccessful, and this church, once the strongest of that
denomination in the County, has become extinct. But its
existence was not in vain. It was the parent of three other
churches which are still living and flourishing, and of six
ministers of the gospel who have been active and successful
in their profession.
The first sermon in Coventry by a Congregational minister
8




58
was preached at William Esty's house in the summer of 1807.
It is probable that Rev. Chauncey Cook was the preacher.
He visited the town that season as missionary of a society
in Connecticut.  On the 2d of October 1810, seventeen
persons, six of whom were males and eleven females, were
organized into a church by the Rev. Seth Payson, D. D., of
Rindge, N. H., a missionary of the Monadnoc Association.
At the same time, the ordinance of baptism was administered
to twenty-two children of believing parents. Perez Gardner
was elected Deacon, and Dr. Peleg Redfield, Clerk. In
June, 1811, an assessment. of twenty-five cents on each
member was made, " to be laid out in religious tracts. and to
defray church expenses."  For several years there was no
preaching except occasionally by missionaries, who preached
a few weeks or a few months as circumstances would allow.
Among those who thus ministered to the church in its infancy
were Rev. Messrs. Jonathan Hovey, Jonathan Hovey, Jr.,
Samuel Goddard, Silas L. Bingham, John Truair, and James
Parker. In 1816 the Rev. Luther Leland, then pastor of the
church in Derby, was employed one fourth of the time. A
revival followed, and on the 13th of October sixteen were
added to the church. As yet there was but little pecuniary
ability, and no attempt was made to settle a pastor, but
meetings were regularly maintained at various school-houses
and dwelling-houses, and printed sermons were read.
In September 1822, Rev. Lyman Case commenced preaching as a candidate for settlement. On the 7th of October, a
Congregational Society was organized, which concurred with
the church in calling Mr. Case to the pastoral charge. The
stipulated salary was one hundred and fifty dollars, payable
"in money or other property, for his labors one half of the
time,'" in addition to which the society voted to give him one




59
half of the land reserved for the first settled minister.  Mr.
Case's ordination took place March 19th, 1823. Rev. James
Parker of Troy offered the Introductory Prayer, Rev. Benl
jamin Wooster of Fairfield preached the Sermon; Rev.
James Hobart of Berlin offered the Ordaining Prayer; Rev.
Messrs. Wooster, Hobart, and Thomas Skelton of Enosburgh
imposed hands; Rev. T. Skelton gave the Charge to the
Pastor; Rev. William  A. Chapin of Craftsbury gave the
Right Hand of Fellowship; Rev. Elderkin J. Boardman of
Bakersfield gave the Charge to the People; and Rev. Jacob
N. Loomis of Hardwick offered the Concluding Prayer. In
1825, an extensive revival took place, as the result of which
there were thirty-three additions to the church. Mr. Case's
pastorate continued till February 7th, 1828, when he was
dismissed by a mutual council.
In 1829-30, a Congregational meeting-house was built, at
an expense of $2750.*  It was dedicated October 7th, 1830.
Rev. David Sutherland of Bath, N. H., preached the Dedication Sermons
Rev. Ralden A. Watkins commenced preaching in the
Summer of 1830, and was soon engaged as Stated Supply.
Seven members were set off, February 23d, 1831, to constitute a church in Newport. In 1831, a great revival occurred.
A  meeting, continuing for six days, was attended by an
assembly estimated to number five hundred. Rev. Messrs.
William A. Chapin, Elias WV Kellogg, Otis F. Curtis, James
Robertson, Reuben Mason, and Alexander L. Twilightt took
part in the services. As a result of this and other means
thirty-two were added to the church during that year. Mr.
Watkins remained about six years, and preached his farewell
* A bell was put in the belfry of this house November 29th, I841. About the
same time, through the munificence of Elijah Cleveland, a public clock, hitherto
the only one in the County, was placed in the tower, at an expense of $260.




60
sermon, May 15th, 1836. Rev. Lyndon S. French commenced
preaching in the fall of 1837, and remained as Stated Supply
seven years. During his ministry, twenty united with the
church by profession, and fifteen by letter.
On the 5th of February 1844, the church, by a unanimous
vote, called Asahel R. Gray to the pastorate. Mr. Gray was
a native of Coventry, a member of this church, and, at the
time of the call, a Senior in the University of Vermont. He
was ordained November 13th, 1844. The exercises were as
follows: Invocation and Reading the Scriptures by the Rev.
George Stone of Troy; Introductory Prayer by the Rev.
Ora Pearson of Barton; Sermon by the Rev. John Wheeler,
D. D., of Burlington; Ordaining Prayer by the Rev. James
Johnson of Irasburgh; Charge to the Pastor by the Rev.
Samuel R. Hall of Craftsbury; Right Hand of Fellowship
by the Rev. Robert V. Hall of Stanstead, C. E.; Charge to
the People by the Rev. William A. Chapin of Greensboro;
Concluding Prayer by the Rev. Elias N. Kilby of Albany.
Mr. Gray's pastoral relation continued nearly fourteen years,
and was terminated by a mutual council June 29th,>1858.
During his ministry, there were seventeen additions by
profession. and nineteen by letter. On the 8th of August
1 858, Pliny H. White commenced preaching as Stated Supply.
In the Winter of 1858-9, a revival took place, and resulted
in about. thirty hopeful conversions. During the first year of
Mr. White's ministry, fourteen united by profession and six
by letter.
On the 14th of August 1840, a Freewill Baptist church
was organized by Elders David Cross and Daniel Quimby.
It consisted of seven persons, four males and three females.
DIexter Currier was chosen Clerk, and it was voted to hold
monthly meetings on the second Saturday in each month.




61
John Wilson, a member of this church, was publicly set apart
as an evangelist, at the August term, 1840, of the Wheelock
Quarterly Meeting.  The growth of this church has been
principally in Brownington, and its public worship is now
maintained in that town.
A society for the support of Universalist preaching was
organized, July 16th, 1859, by the choice of Daniel P. Walworth as Moderator and John M. Vezey as Clerk and
Treasurer. For several years previous to that date, Universalist preaching, once in four weeks, had been maintained.
Rev. George Severance of Glover preached in 1858-9.
The history of Coventry in the past relates to only a brief
period of time, and records events comparatively unimportant. The foundations have been laid, the superstructure
remains to be built. Its true history is in the future; to be
wrought by the heads, and hearts, and hands of its inhabitants, and to be written by some future annalist who shall
record more rapid and far greater progress in all that makes
a community happy, prosperous, and useful.








APPENDIXES.
A.
RESIDENTS OF COVENTRY WHO HAVE BEEN GRADUATED AT COLLEGE. NATIVES MARKED WITH A *.
ISAac PARKER,    -    -    -    -    - Middlebury-1815.
ISAAC FLETCHER REDFIELD, -    -    -   Dartmouth-  1825.
*GEORGE BARKER IDE,   -    -    -    - Middlebury-1830.
*TIMOTHY PARKER REDFIELD,     -    -   Dartmouth-  1836.
MOSES ROBINSON, -    -    -    -    - Middlebury-1839.
*ASAHEL REED GRAY, -    -    -    -   Burlington-. 1844.
IRA OSMoua MxILER,    -    -          - Burlington —-1848.
B.
RESIDENTS OF COVENTRY WHO HAVE ENTERED PROFESSIONAL
LIFE.
MvCINISTERS.
JOHN IDE, GEORGE B. IDE,* ALVIN BAILEY, GARDNER BARTLETT, JONATHAN
BALDWIN, Baptist. ASAHEL R. GRAY,* MOSES ROBINSON, Congregational.
-ATTOR NEYS
ISAAC F. REDFIELD, TIMOTHY P. REDFIELD,* DON A. BARTLETT, AMASA
BARTLETT, LEAVITT BARTLETT,* HENRY H. FROST,* IRA O. MILLER.
CASSAN-DER IDE,* LUTHERE F. PARKER.*
Co
MEMBERS OF CQNSTITUTIONAL CONVENTIONS FROM COVENTRY.
1814,     -    -    -    -    -       PELEG REDFIELD.
1822,  -    -    -    -    -    -    -    JOHN IDE.
1828,    -    -    -.    -       ARGALUS HARMON.
1836,.  -.-    -  -        PHILIP FLANDERS.
1843,    -    -    -    -    -    -   CHARLES STORY.
185.  -    -    -                       ISAAC PARKER.
1867,   -             -       -     ELIJAH CLEVELAND.




D.
IREPRESENTATIVES OF COVENTRY IN THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY
OF VERMONT.
1803 and 04,..            JOSEPH MARSH.
1804,   -    -      -. -     -      -  JOHN IDE, JR.
1806,     -      -     -      -     -      -       NO Election,
1807 and 08,                           -      -  JOHN IDE, JR1809, 10 and 11,  -    -      -     -     -        No Election.
1812 to 1820,  -    -      -     -      -    PELEG REDFIELD.
1821 to 1827,    -     -      -     -     -      -   JOHN IDE.
1828,  -     -                                 CALVIN HARMON
1829,     -     -      -     -      -     -  PHILIP FLANDERS.
1830,  -     -      -     -      -     -      CALVIN HARMON.
1831,     -      -     -.   -      -     -      ISAAC PARKER.
1832, -     -      -                           CHARLES STORY.
1833,    -     -     -      -     -      -       ISAAC PARKER.
1834,         -     -      -     -         -  CHARLES STORY.
1835,   -     -     -      -     -      - HOLLAND THRASHER.
1836 and 37,           -      -     -       ARGALUS HARMON.
1838,  -                                  SAMUEL S. KENDALL.
1839 to 1841,   -      -     -      -      ELIJAH CLEVELAND.
1842 and 43,.-.  -                -        THOMAS GUILD.
1844 and 45,    -      -     -           JOSIAH B. WHEELOCK.
1846,  -     -     -            -   -      ELIJAH CLEVELAND.
1847 and 48,    -     -      -     -.      ISAAC PARKER.
1849 and 50,            -      -     -    WM. M. DICKiRMAN.
1851,    -     -     -            -       SAMUEL S. KENDALL.
1852 and 53,      -     -  -                 HORACE S. JONES.
1854 and 55,   -     -            -     DAVID W. BLANCHARD.
1856 and 57,     -      -            -     -    LORING FROST.
1858,   -     -     -                   RICHARD W. PEABODY.
RESIDENTS OF COVENTRY WHO HAVE HELD COUNTY OFFICES.
JOHN IDE, Assistant Judge,                                 1824.
JOHN IDE, Road Commissioner,                               1828.
~ISAAC PARKER,         "                       1833, 1839 to 1842.
ELIJAH CLEVELAND,  -"                               1844 to 1846.
CHARLES STOREY, States Attorney,                    1836 and 37..WM. M. DICKERMAN,  "                                1851 and 52.
SILAS G. BEAN, Sheriff..1857.




F.
TOWN OFFICERS.
CLEIZI S1803 and 04, Joseph Marsh; 1805, John Ide, Jr.; 1806 to 1811, Peleg Redfield;
1812, John Ide, Jr.; 1813 to 1826, Peleg Redfield; 1827 to 1834, Elijah Cleveland;
1835, Isaac Parker; 1836 to 1844, Samuel S. Kendall; 1845, Oliver T. Brown;
1846, S. S. Kendall; 1847, Greenleaf Boynton; 1848 to 1851, S. S. Kendall; 1852
to 1859, Henry H. Frost.
1803, Samuel Cobb; 1804, Perez Gardner; 1805, Samuel Cobb; 1806, John Ide,
Jr.; 1807, Peleg Redfield; 1808 to 1812, John Ide, Jr.; 1813 to 1817, Samuel
Boynton; 1818, Rufus Guild;. 1819 and 20, Isaac Parker; 1824, Samuel Boynton;
1825 and 26, Peleg Redfield; 1827 to 1834, Elijah Cleveland; 1835, Isaac Parker;
1836 to 1846, Samuel S. Kendall; 1847, Greenleaf Boynton; 1848 to 1851, S. S.
Kendall; 1852 to 1859, H. H. Frost.
PIEIST CON'STABfLhES1803 and 04, Timothy Woodbridge; 1805,. John Mitchell; 1806, Solomon Pierce;
1807, Simon B. Heustis; 1808, John Farnsworth; 1809, Simon B. Heustis; 1810
and 11, Jotham  Pierce; 1812, Aristides Heustis; 1813, Solomon Pierce; 1814 and
15, David Huggins; 1816 and 17, Daniel Heustis; 1818 and 19, Peleg Redfield;
1820, Hanover Cobb; 1821 and 22, Daniel Heustis; 1823, Thomas Guild; 1824 and
25, Daniel Heustis; 1826 and 27, Thomas Guild; 1828 and 29, Daniel Heustis;
1830, Silas Sears; 1831 to 1833, Thomas Guild; 1834 and 35, Silas Sears; 1836,
Thomas Guild; 1837, Seth F. Cowles; 1838, Holland Thrasher; 1839, Abner Sylvester; 1840, Silas Sears; 1841 to 1844, Josiah B. Wheelock; 1845, Horace W.
Root; 1846, J. B. Wheelock; 1847, Samuel F. French; 1848, H. W. Root; 1849,
S. F. French; 1850, H. W. Root; 1851, Dan Guild; 1852, Silas G. Bean; 1853 and
1854, Dan Guild; 1855 and 1856,. Silas G. Bean; 1857, Dan Guild; 1858 and 1859,
Isaac Parker, Jr.
1803. Samuel Cobb,                   1806. Joseph Marsh,.
Daniel B. Smith,                      John Farnsworth,
John Ide, Jr.                        George Dorr,
1804. John Ide,. Jr.,                 1807. John Ide, Jr.,
Amherst Stewart,                     Peleg Redfield,
Winm. Esty.                           Amherst Stewart.
1805. Perez Gardner,                  1808. Joseph Day,
Solomon Pierce,                       Joseph Marsh,
Jotham Pierce.                        Jotham Pierce.




iv
1809. Joseph Day,                   1825. David Huggins,
Perez Gardner,                      Isaac Parker,
David Huggins.                      Silas Sears.
1810. John Ide, Jr.,                1826. Isaac Parker,
Samuel Boynton,                     Thomas Guild,
Jotham Pierce.                      E. M. Gray.
1811. Ira Clark,                    1827. Thomas Baldwin,
Thomas Guild,                       Philip Flanders,
Jasper Johnson.                     E. M. Gray.
1812. Thaddeus Elliott,             1828 to 1831. Argalus Harmon,
Tisdale Cobb,                       Thomas Baldwin,
David Huggins.                      David Huggins.
1813. Samuel Bailey,                1832. Argalus Harmon,
Israel Ide,                        David Huggins,
Daniel Ide.                         Isaac Parker.
1814. Thomas Guild,                 1833. David Huggins,
Ebenezer M. Gray,                   Isaac Parker,
Samuel Heustis.                     Ebenezer Clement.
1815. David Huggins,                1834. Isaac Parker,
Peleg Redfield,                     Samuel Boynton,
Samuel Boynton.                     Loring Frost.
1816 &'17. Perez Gardner,          1835. Thomas Guild,
Thomas Guild,                       Philip Flanders,
Ebenezer M. Gray.                   E. M. Gray.
1818. Peleg Redfield,               1836. Philip Flanders,
Samuel Boynton,                     Elijah Cleveland,
David Huggins.                      E. M. Gray.
1819. Peleg Redfield,               1837..E. M. Gray,
Isaac Parker,                       Thomas Baldwin,
Timothy W. Knight.                  Thomas Guild.
1820. David Huggins,                1838. Thomas Guild,
Thomas Baldwin,                    BE. M. Gray,
Timothy W. Knight.                  Argalus Harmon,
1821. Perez Gardner,                1839. Isaac Parker,
Thomas Baldwin,                     Holland Thrasher,
E. M. Gray.                         Benjamin Thrasher.
1822. David Huggins,                1840. Philip Flanders,
Samuel Boynton,                     Daniel P. Walworth,
Philip Flanders.                    Moody Soper.
1823 and 24. Calvin Harmon,         1841. Philip Flanders,
David Huggins,                      Moody Soper,
E. M. Gray.                         Loring Frost.




1842. Loring Frost,                          Amasa Plastridge.
D. P. Walworth,                 1852 & 53. Joseph S. Kidder,
Oren Alton.                            Amasa Plastridge,
1843. Loring Frost,                          Azariah Wright.
Oren Alton,                     1854. Azariah Wright,
Holland Thrasher.                     J. S. Kidder,
1844 to 1846. Holland Thrasher,              Lewis Nye.
Ira Boynton,                    1855. Lewis Nye,
Joseph W. Mitchell.                   Nathaniel W. Gray,
1847. Holland Thrasher,                      Erastus Wright.
Isaac Parker,                   1856. Elijah Cleveland,
John Armington.                       Azariah Wright,
1848. Josiah B. WVheelock,                   Richard W. Peabody.
J. W. Mitchell,                 1857. Richard W. Peabody,
Ira Boynton.                          Abel W. Fairbrother,
1849. J. B. Wheelock,                        Isaac Parker, Jr.
J. W. Mitchell,                 1858. A. W. Fairbrother,
Horace S. Jones.                      Isaac Parker, Jr.,
1850. H. S. Jones,                           Charles Thrasher.
Holland Thrasher,               1859. A. W. Fairbrother,
J. W. Mitchell.                       Sylvester Cass,
1851. J. B. Wheelock,                       Ezra Guild.
Joseph S. Kidder,
S UPESRINT:ENDENTS  OFS CHIOOLS.
1846 &'47. Isaac Parker.             1851 to'55. Henry HI. Frost.
1848 &'49. Asahel R. Gray.           1856 to'58. David W. Blanchard.
1850. William M. Dickerman.           1859. A. R. Gray.
G.
SCHOOL DISTRICTS.
No. I includes the North half of lot 3, lots 4 to 14 inclusive, 30 to 39 inclusive,
62, 63, and 64. Number of scholars in 1859, 26.
No. II includes lots 40 to 58 inclusive, (except lot 49, which belongs to District
No 9 inIrasburgh,) the Southerly part of lot 70, lots 71 to 78 inclusive, so much of
lot 81 as lies North of the road, and lots 82 and 83. Number of scholars 44.
No III includes lots 59, 60, 61, 65 to 69 inclusive, the Northerly part of lot 70,
lots 84 to 101 inclusive, so much of lot 102 as lies East of Black River, and lot 121.
Number of scholars 47.
No IV includes lots 79, 80, so much of lot 81 as lies South of the road, so mnch
of lot 102 as lies West of Black River, lots 103 to 113 inclusive, 136 to 143 inclu-.sive, 168, 169, 170, and 171. Number of scholars 116.




vi
No V includes lots 114 to 120 inclusive, 130 to 135 inclusive, 144 to 149 inclusive,
162 to 167 inclusive. Number of scholars 27.
No VI includes the South half of lot 1, (the North half belonging to district
No 6, in Brownington,) lot 2, the South half of lot 3, lots 15 to 29 inclusive.
Number of scholars 28.
No VII includes lots 122, 123, 125 to 129 inclusive, 150 to 154 inclusive, 157
to 161 inclusive. Number of scholars 18.
The Gore constitutes a district of itself, except lot 1, which belongs to a district in Irasburgh.
POPULATION ACCORDING TO THE U. S. CENSUS.
A. D. 1800,                                                           7
1810,  -      -.                                             178
1820,         -. -                                282
1830,  -      -      -      -            -                  -735
1840,                  -              -                      796
1850,  -      -     -      -      -      -      -            867
1860,     -
1870,  -      -             -      -            -




Vii
AUTHOR'S NOTE.
The author gratefully acknowledges his obligations to many citizens of' Coventry for assistance rendered him in preparing this work; particularly to Hon.
Isaac Parker, Hon. Elijah Cleveland, and Dea. Loring Frost, for copious information, and to Henry H. Frost, Esq., for free access to his valuable manuscripts.
No small pains have been taken to secure accuracy in the statement of facts,
and exactness as respects dates; but the author is not insensible of his liability to
mistake, and will take it very kindly of any person who will detect an error and
furnish the means of correcting it, or will communicate additional facts of importance or interest, to be put on record for the use of a future historian.