On March 4, 1791 Vermont officially became the 14th state. How did that happen? There were a few steps involved before Vermont could join the United States.
First, New York laid claim to Vermont and opposed Vermont’s petition to join the union. Westminster’s Stephen R. Bradley was one of six negotiators who met with New York’s delegation to resolve conflicts between the two governments. New York demanded compensation for its legal claim on Vermont, and also wanted clear boundaries established between the two states. These negotiations went on for ten months and ended when Vermont agreed to pay New York $30,000 for its land claim. Boundary disputes were also settled and New York negotiators signed a document relinquishing any claim to the lands of Vermont on October 7, 1790.
Second, the Congress of the United States met in Philadelphia to consider Vermont’s admission to the union. In order for this to happen, Vermont needed to agree to the recently created United States Constitution. Green Mountain officials assured Congress that Vermonters were eager to join the United States. On December 6, 1790 Congress passed a bill which stated that Vermont would be “admitted into the union as a new and entire member of the United States of America on the fourth day of March, 1791.”
Third, on January 10, 1791, delegates from Vermont towns met in Bennington to debate whether to accept the US Constitution and join the United States. Gardiner Chandler was Brattleboro’s representative at the convention. He was one of 105 delegates who voted in favor of joining the United States. Four delegates voted against the motion.
Fourth, President George Washington signed the Congressional bill on February 18, 1791 and Vermont became the 14th state a few weeks later. It had taken many residents of this corner of Vermont a long time to come around to the idea that joining the United States was a good idea. Many Brattleboro residents had been loyal to Great Britain and it took some convincing for them to change their opinions. Gardiner Chandler, the Brattleboro delegate who voted in favor of accepting the United States Constitution, is a good example.
Gardiner Chandler was originally from Hardwick, Massachusetts, about twenty miles northwest of Worcester. Chandler’s family was well-established in Worcester county and well-connected. His father’s family had been in New England since 1637 and were very loyal British citizens. His mother’s family had traveled from England on the Mayflower, back in 1620. A Hardwick history wrote that the Chandlers had experienced almost continual prosperity since their arrival in New England.
In 1772 Gardiner Chandler was a merchant and married Elizabeth Ruggles, daughter of a prominent Tory who had served in the British Army during the French and Indian War. A history of Worcester, Massachusetts wrote that the fortunes of the Chandler family began to change in 1774, when the colonists first rebelled against English control. The Chandlers found themselves on the wrong side of popular opinion and Gardiner’s father, who was known as “Tory Tom”, eventually fled to England. Gardiner’s older brother, a prominent lawyer, also remained loyal to the King and moved to England.
In 1775, at a Hardwick Town Meeting, a resolution was passed which stated that Gardiner Chandler was considered, “unfriendly to the common cause of liberty.” It was expected that patriotic citizens would not trade at Gardiner’s store. By 1778 his name was also on a list of citizens who were banished from the United States by the Massachusetts legislature because of their loyalty to England during the American Revolution. Many of Gardiner’s relatives were also on the list; including his father, older brother, and father in law.
In 1779 Gardiner’s Hardwick property was confiscated by the government and sold to help support the war effort. Records indicate that Gardiner Chandler, and his immediate family, moved to Brattleboro around that time. Vermont was not part of the United States.
Initially, Gardiner, his wife and three children, lived on Main Street, about where Epsilon Spires is now located. He opened a store across the road, on the east side of Main Street, at the junction of High and Main Streets. Later he built a house and barn on the corner where the Brooks House is now.
Gardiner became a fixture in Brattleboro politics. He served as Justice of the Peace from 1789 to 1795. He also was chosen as Brattleboro Representative to the state government in 1790 and 1791. That is how he became the Brattleboro Representative who voted in favor of Vermont joining the United States.
Gardiner’s daughter married one of the first doctors in Brattleboro, George Hall. They lived next to the Chandlers on land that is now Pliny Park. One of Gardiner’s sons became a clerk in John Holbrook’s Main Street store. John Holbrook was another former Tory from Massachusetts who found a new beginning in the early days of Vermont.
Later, Gardiner Chandler bought land that used to be part of Fort Dummer and farmed along the Connecticut River. In his last years he moved across the river to a Hinsdale farm just north of the Fort Dummer Cemetery and passed away in 1811. It is believed that he may be buried in the cemetery.
In twenty years, Gardiner Chandler’s political views certainly changed a great deal. He went from being a member of one of the most pro-British families in the colonies to become the Brattleboro member who voted for Vermont to join the rebellious United States.