Mary Cabot - Brattleboro Historical Society

Annals and Mary Cabot- (1921-1922)

The “Annals of Brattleboro” was printed by the local company, E. L. Hildreth and Company. The Vermont Phoenix said the publication was “by far, the most important history of Brattleboro ever published”. The “Annals of Brattleboro” is a two volume-1100 page-set of books that encompasses Brattleboro’s history through the 1800’s. The first volume was published in late 1921 and the second volume came out in early 1922. In 1922 H.S. Wardner, a reviewer of the “Annals” wrote, “In this handsome two-volume publication from the press of E.L. Hildreth & Company of Brattleboro, profusely enriched with illustrations, Miss Mary R. Cabot has revealed much of the pleasanter and gentler side of Vermont life from the time of Fort Dummer to near the close of the nineteenth century.” “Of peculiar interest is the fact that Brattleboro is the oldest of Vermont towns in point of settlement. At and around the fort or block-house called Fort Dummer, within […]

William French and the Westminster Massacre

William French lived on Old Ferry Road. He was born in 1753 and died in 1775, 8 days shy of his 22nd birthday. His early death arrived in a hail of gunfire at the Westminster courthouse. His body was struck by five bullets fired by his neighbors. How does a community get to the point where neighbor will shoot neighbor? The early days of Brattleborough were contentious. Some settlers were loyal to New York, some to New Hampshire, some liked British rule, and some despised it. In those first years, those loyal to New York and the King of England controlled town government. Land speculation was a driving influence along the Connecticut River. In 1764 the King’s Council gave control of all land west of the Connecticut River to the colony of New York. Under Massachusetts and New Hampshire oversight, settlers had been in the area since the 1720’s but now, forty years later, Great […]

Early local government (1753-1803)

The town of Brattleboro was chartered as part of the New Hampshire Grants in 1753. European settlement took hold in the region after French Indian War hostilities ceased around 1760. Then, in 1764, the King of England fixed the boundary between NH and NY at the Connecticut River and the grants of land established by the New Hampshire colony came into question. As a result, twenty settlers in the area petitioned the New York colony for township recognition. New York Governor Moore granted the township of Brattleboro and this area began to function as part of the British colony of New York. To complicate matters, in 1767 the King of England ruled that New York authorities could not harass people who produced a valid land deed from the NH government. This meant that deeds granted by both NY and NH were considered valid, even if they were in conflict with one another. People on the […]