Annual Plant Sale
While it may be the dead of
winter, plans are underway for the annual Cavendish Historical Society (CHS)
Plant Sale, which will take place at the Museum on Saturday, July 2. If you are
a local gardener and have plants you would like to donate for the sale, please
contact us by calling 802-226-7807 or e-mailing margoc@tds.net Since the
tomatoes were such a success this past year, we will be growing more for this
sale along with herbs. With several “nurseries” in place now, we’ll know in the
next few months what we will have for sale. Check the CHS blog for updates.
The Writer Who
Changed History
We’re hoping that by the time
you read this newsletter, the long awaited biography-The Writer Who Changed History: Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn- for
students in grades 4-7, will be available for sale. You will be able to
purchase the book from Amazon.com, which you can link to from the book's website. It’s been a long process but we think it’s
worth it. There are many pictures, thanks to the Solzhenitsyn family as well as
to past members of CHS who carefully documented his time in Cavendish by clipping
newspaper and magazine articles from 1976 until 1994. Particular thanks to
Julia Gignoux for her outstanding job with the book’s layout and design. This
was truly a community effort. All proceeds from the sale of the book will go to
the CHS Solzhenitsyn Project.
Happy 225th Birthday
Vermont
CHS’s
Archivist PJ Pollard
We couldn’t be
more thrilled to have PJ Pollard organizing the CHS archives. Having just
completed her master’s degree in criminology-in London no less-PJ was looking
for something to do while she job searches. With a background in consolidating
current and archived information for NewsBank in Chester, VT, she has an eye
for detail and is making short work of an amazing backlog of photographs,
letters etc.
If you recognize the last name and are wondering if she’s related to the
Proctorsville Pollards, she is married to the great nephew of Ermine Pollard
and they live in one of the houses in Proctorsville that have been in the
Pollard family for many generations.
Welcome PJ and many thanks for your much needed help and talent.
Detecting
Cavendish History: Peter Tumbo (Tumber)
In honor of Black History
Month, Margo Caulfield wrote another short story based on information from Phyllis Bont about a runaway slave who
found a home in Cavendish. She and her husband Dr. Gene Bont once owned
property off the S. Reading Rd. that was
between the old Cady Farm, also known as the Five Sees, and the Coffeen
property (now known as Forxford Farm or Durkins). According to Hazel Cady, who
related the story to Phyllis, a runaway slave had come to Cavendish, became
pregnant, and was given a town woodlot for a homestead.
Cady related similar
information to Sandy Stearns but also included the names of Charlotte Tumbo and
her father Peter, who were referred to as Tumber in Cavendish records. Sandy believes
that Hazel learned about them from her parents and grandparents, who might have
known Charlotte.
While the short story Safe at Last in Cavendish provides considerable factual information about
Cavendish’s abolitionist history, the writing of it piqued our interest about
what might be factual about the runaway slave.
Sandy and Margo started
digging into town records and making inquiries. Below is the information
they’ve found to date.
• Peter Tumbo (referred
to in legal documents as Peter Tumber) purchased land from Lake and Zilpah
Coffeen in 1805. In 1823 this land was transferred to Cavendish. Source:
Cavendish Town Records
• On Jan 30, 1832, Peter
Tumbo, “colored man”, aged 106 died in Cavendish, VT. Source: “The Vermont
Watchman & State Gazette” as well as “The Liberator,” an abolitionist
newspaper printed from 1831-1865.
• In 1850, Charlotte Tumber
filed a petition with the US Government for her father’s pension. Could this
have been for service in the Revolutionary War? Source: Cavendish Town Records
• Estimated to have been born
in 1804 in Windsor, VT, Charlotte Tumber was born to Peter and Philasta Source:
Charlotte’s Death Certificate
• According to records from
the Dedham Historical Society & Museum’s, “The Diary of Nathaniel Ames of
Dedham Massachusetts 1758-1822, a Peter Tumbo or Tumber worked for Dr. Ames. A “Free Negro of Roxbury” as Dr. Ames
subtitled him on his ledger account: married at Dedham (1780) Phyllis Vaughn:
multiple children were delivered by Dr. Ames, according to his ledger, but most
of said birth are (curiously) recorded in neither Dedham nor Roxbury: Peter’s
medical account runs from 1781 to 1795 and payment were made in ditching,
cutting wood, mowing, planting, weeding corn, “dressin 11 lb. of flax,” etc.
The Dedham Board of Selectmen issued a warrant 3/25/1795 to have him, his wife
and his children warned out.” This same Peter Tumbo (Tumber) appears to
have served in the Continental Army for three years, mustering out of Dedham, MA.
Boston Globe “Recalling Black Role in Revolution”
• According to Mary
Churchill, the person who wrote “Cemeteries of Cavendish, Vermont 1776-1976
Bicentennial Project,” her father Walton Green, related the following
information “In the Coffeen
Cemetery are buried Capt. John Coffeen and wife and several others. 2 others
are Charlotte Tumbo, an escaped slave who first settled on the road through the
Densmore (Cady) back pasture, and her sister are buried there...”
Because names were often
misspelled, it is very possible that Peter Tumbo’s wife’s name was spelled
Philasta in Vermont and Phyllis in Mass. It would have also made sense for
Peter to bring his family to Vermont, which had a very strong anti slavery movement
and to Cavendish specifically, which was known for its abolitionist community.
Many questions remain.
President’s
Report for 2015
• Stone Church Preservation (Belfry, Cupola, Painting and Roof)
• Museum (Painting, repointing of bricks, door replacement)
• Civil War Memorial (cleaning)
• Cemeteries (Cleaning of grave stones; building a stone wall for Twenty
Mile Stream Cemetery). Note that cleaning takes place as long as the cemeteries
are open-May through Columbus weekend. The building of a stonewall for the
Twenty Mile Stream Cemetery will be a volunteer effort taking place in July. This
is a great opportunity for those interested in learning how to build a mortar
less wall.
Replacing the door of the Museum has been an on going concern. Fortunately,
we found the original doors to the Museum this summer. They are being restored
over the winter and scheduled for installation spring/summer 2016. We did
purchase a “back up” set of double doors from a salvage company, just in case
we encounter a problem.
The CHS Young Historians program at Cavendish Town Elementary School (CTES)
continues as a way to teach town history as well as encourage stewardship. New
this year was the 6th graders participation in RiverSweep, where
they cleaned a “beach” on the Black River dating back to the 1800s. Special
thanks to Pang Ting, Sandy Stearns, Jessica and Craig Goodman and Bruce
McEnaney for their help with this program.
The “Pick Your Own Blueberries,” sponsored by Bruce and Betty McEnaney, provided
sufficient funds to take the 6th graders to Sturbridge Village in
November. In 2016, we hope to expand the program so that there can be trips for
4th and 5th graders to historic sites that fit with their
respective curriculum.
From February to September, Philip Tiemann’s “Memoirs of Coming into Vermont (Cavendish),” his family’s experiences of moving to Cavendish
from New Jersey during the height of the Depression, were serialized on the CHS
blog. This was the inspiration for the past year’s theme “Yankee Thrift”-Use it
up, wear it out, make it do, or do without” and for the day long workshop at
CTES in December. Every grade engaged in an activity that Depression era
children would have made as part of their holiday celebrations.
Thanks to the help
of incredible volunteers, particularly Pieter van Schaik, the tradition of the
CHS Plant Sale, which dates back more than 35 years, is back in full swing.
Special thanks to Kem and Svetlana Phillips who have been volunteering their
time to eliminate the orange mold problem in the Cavendish Village
Cemetery.
Cavendish Historical
Society: Financial Report 2015
Income 1/1/15-12/31/15
Source
|
Amount
|
Endowment & Savings
|
Amount
|
Donations
|
3,742
|
Checking (end of year)
|
12,490
|
Jeld Wen Grant *
|
7750
|
Williams Fund
|
22,488
|
Plant Sale
|
1,044
|
||
Town
|
1800
|
||
Pick U Own Blueberries
|
400
|
||
Total
|
14,736
|
34,978
|
* The Jeld Wen Grant is for
the restoration/preservation of the Cavendish Stone Church.
CHS’s finances have improved since
2014. It’s taken a while to re establish
the Plant Sale, which was once a major fundraiser. However, with new nursery
beds established, the goal is to double our profits this year. We are
continuing to write grants to help the various restoration activities
It’s difficult to put a price
on the incredible in-kind donations that take place throughout the year.
Without volunteers like Bob Naess, who keeps the Museum’s water system going
and is our “go to guy” for general repairs, Hollis Quinn who is working with
Bruce McEnaney to restore the original doors to the Museum, and Pang Ting who
reorganized the Museum this past summer, with some muscle from Bob Naess and
Etienne Ting, it would be hard to keep the doors open to the Museum. The
on-going work in the cemeteries, which our school children help with, is
restoring an important part of our history. The Young Historian’s program at
Cavendish Elementary, which teaches not only history but also stewardship,
wouldn’t be possible without the help of our guest speakers and volunteers.
Linda Welch, our genealogist, spends considerable time helping people discover
their Cavendish roots. And the list could go on.
Special thanks to the CHS
Board [Dan Churchill, Jen Harper, Bruce McEnaney, Kem Phillips; and Gail Woods],
Linda Welch, the Solzhenitsyn family, Sandra Stearns, Pang & Etienne Ting,
Rich Svec, Rolf, Pieter, and Ernestine van Schaik, Betty McEnanney; Svetlana
Phillips, Seymour Leven, Jim Hasson, Norma Randall, Bob and Cooper Naess,
Hollis Quinn and to all those who make a donation every year.
Expenditures 1/1/15-12/31/15
Contractual
|
7,200
|
Contractual: Web Design
|
421
|
Printing
|
120
|
Postage
|
333
|
Utilities
|
357
|
Sturbridge Village Trip
|
240
|
Museum Doors &
Materials
|
470
|
Other (Gas/Membership Dues etc.)
|
95
|
Total
|
9,236
|
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