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PO Box 472 Cavendish, VT 05142
802-226-7807 margocaulfield@icloud.com
Fall 2025 Vol. 20, Issue 4
This coming year is the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, The Cavendish Historical Society (CHS) has begun the honoring of the events leading up to the Declaration and the start of the Revolutionary War and it will be a primary focus in 2026. You can look forward to a lot more “taste of history” recipes from the Revolutionary era and of course a variety of “hands on” activities such as making “mob caps” and playing 18th century games.
For Women’s History Month, March, we will hold a talk on the incredible women of this era, including Hannah Lovell, buried in Cavendish’s Revolutionary Cemetery and recognized as a patriot for her role in the war.
We plan on offering tours, using the Jeep Tour guide CHS developed in 1976 for the 200th anniversary of the Declaration. Ken Burns documentary on the “American Revolution” begins on PBS, and Passport, Nov. 16. If there is interest, we will be happy to screen segments followed by discussions. Please let us know your interest and suggestions of how you’d like to see CHS mark this important anniversary.
We’re spending a lot of time studying Families of Cavendish, Volume 1, by Linda Welch, which focuses on Cavendish’s first settlers. Thanks to wills, diary entries and much more, we’re learning about day to day life during that time period. Vol. 1 is the perfect holiday gift for anyone interested in the first settlers of Cavendish. Copies are available for $40 plus $5 shipping and handling. Other books that the Cavendish lovers may enjoy include:
• Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn: The Writer Who Changed History: Written for students in grades 4-7, but suitable for all ages $15 plus $5 S&H
• Cavendish Hillside Farm 1939 to 1957 written by Sandra Stearns who died this past summer $15 plus $5 S&H
• Chubb Hill Farm and Cavendish History: Copies include the Cavendish Historic Timeline $30 plus $5 S&H
• Carmine Guica’s Autobiography: $15 plus $5 S&H
ENGLISH TRANSLATION OF THE RED WHEEL APRIL 1917
The University of Notre Dame Press is excited to announce the publication of April 17: The Red Wheel, Node IV, Book 1. Translated into English for the first time, April 1917, Book 1 shows the intractable divisions that would lead Russia to catastrophic Communist dictatorship and civil war. Not only does the novel provide unparalleled insight into the vast political turbulence of 1917 Russia, but it becomes a prescient warning to
modern times about the dangers of power left to fester in greedy hands.
"The Red Wheel and The Gulag Archipelago have been called Solzhenitsyn’s two 'cathedrals,'" states the New York Journal of Books. "You cannot fully understand the horrors of communism and the history of the 20th century without reading them."
CHS now has a lending library where you can borrow selected works of Solzhenitsyn. Please call 802-226-7807 or e-mail margocaulfield@icloud.com to learn more about this program.
LETTER TO FLETCHER & INGALLS
Adding to our understanding of Cavendish in the early part of the 19th century, is a letter donated to CHS by Chris Wuttke that was written in 1815 to Mefs Ingals & Fletcher. A special thank you to CHS board members Amy Davis and Bruce McEnaney who helped to transcribe the letter as well as provide other pertinent information.
Fletcher and Ingalls were Cavendish Merchants in Duttonsville at the “Brick Building,” which stood on the corner of what is today Mill Street and Route 131. According to Cavendish Families, Volume 1, “Addison Green Fletcher was born in Cavendish Aug. 25, 1790. He married Maria Ingalls (daughter of Edmund and Dorothy) in 1819. He was a merchant of Mt. Holly, Vermont and in later years in Cavendish, living in the Duttonsville District next to his father-in-law Edmund Ingalls, and was in business in the “brick store.” His first wife died in 1823, she was 21, and he re married in 1825 to Mary Stevens Ingalls. Addison died January 8, 1832 at 41 years of age. He is buried in the Cavendish Village Cemetery along with Edmund and Dorothy Ingalls.
Boston July 1, 1815
Gentlemen:
We have sold your ashes at $186 per ton for cash-Vi 99…0.13-925 for: cut is …916.86
Deduct hoops chimes & storage______________________________ 12.80
$904.6
Net amount of sales nine hundred and four dollars and 6 cents, which is we have received and [paid] to your credit under note of June 17th, 1815__ the particulars of which and account of sales we will hand you when you come to town.
Some articles of goods in our line are lower than they were when you was here__ White rum common proof 145 a 160__4thproof D 160 a 170 Dark Rum 112 a 115, Brown Sugar $16 a 19 Dollars Molasses 75 a 80, loaf sugar 33 a 34, cotton 20 a 22__Hyson skin {? } 130 a 133 ¢ Bohea D 85 a 90-/ These have risen. Brandy is very scarce and high best 350_ first quality. Butter in shipping order. Sells readily at this time at about 20 cents per pound-ashes are again 180 or 185 dollars for [?]. We have understood that some have been sold at 190$ some days since for further particular respecting prices or we refer you to Mr. Sprague, the bearer of this.
Respectfully yours
David W. Child (Jr?)
Vermonters sold a great deal of ash to Boston in the early 1800s. Settlers would cut down trees “rolled them into piles and burned them. ,, The hardwood trees were separated from the spruce, fir, and pine and the hardwood ashes leached to form lye. This lye formed potassium carbonate, or potash. Potash was used in the making of soap and glass. When refined it became pearl ash, carbonate of potash, or saleratus, used for the same purpose as we now use soda. Potash was the first Vermont produce to have a money value. Proceedings of the Vermont Historical Society Vol.VIII No.4 December 1940
“In the 18th century England imported potash from the American colonies and Russia. The best yields came from “elm, ash, sugar maple, hickory, beech, and basswood” trees that grew well in New England and southern Canada and west to Minnesota. But in New England by the end of the 18th century “farmers and householders were down to cooking and heating ashes…Moreover to assure [their] firewood supply, one-fifth of the typical farm had to be kept wooded. People began to try to extract more salts from these ashes and even to obtain potash from previously discarded waste ash. The potash industry was in crisis. Enter Samuel Hopkins.” Hopkins’s patented process called for furnace burning raw ashes and reburning the residues. As new hardwood lands were opened and as village asheries using the Hopkins methods under license began to replace processing by individual farmers, “the United States remained the world’s leading producer of potash,” until the 1860s.”– Potash in Early Western New York by Robert G. Koch
The hardwood forests in the northeast were the best producers of potash because they contained a higher percentage of natural salts than trees found in other regions of the world. Giant elms were the most highly prized, followed by oak, beech and ironwood. People could sell their fireplace ashes, and ashes from burning trees to clear the land, to the ashery for cash. The hill towns were dotted with these asheries, with ashes supplied by most hill town families. At the height of the potash industry a bushel of dry ash varied in price from 25 cents to 75 cents, depending on the quality. This became a “cash crop” for families to help make ends meet. It took 450 to 500 bushels of hardwood ash to make a ton of potash. The greatest potash productivity was in the late 1700’s and early 1800’s. “Colonial Asheries in the Valley “Ralmon Jon Black.
So how were the tons of ash coming out of Cavendish shipped to market, particularly to Boston and England?
Prior to the arrival of the railroad in1849, goods were shipped, as well as received, by a combination of horse drawn carts as well as rivers and canals. According to Lyman S. Hayes’ “The Navigation of the Connecticut River,” written in 1917, to meet the needs of the growing population along the Connecticut River by 1791, flat-bottomed boats were built. Approximately 70 to 75 feet long and 12 to 14 feet wide, they could carry some 30 tons. Fully loaded, they drew only about 12 to 18 inches of water, making them perfectly adapted for travel north of Massachusetts into the shallow reaches of the upper Connecticut River. According to Hayes, in the early 1800s the river was navigable as far north as Wells River, Vermont.
Between 1802 and 1829, canals were built to reduce hinderances along the rivers reducing costs and increasing efficiency. The first canal built in the United States was the Bellows Falls Canal in 1802. Flat boats operated from points in Vermont, brought goods to Hartford, CT where they could be transferred to larger ships. While steamboats improved speeds, they could only operate on the lower Connecticut River in MA and CT.
Ferry boats between Vermont and New Hampshire shores operating out of Springfield, Ascutney and Windsor, Coming from Cavendish, many probably used the Springfield ferry to send goods to market in New Hampshire but for destinations like Boston, items would have gone by horse drawn carts to Bellows Falls or even Rockingham, the latter would have avoided the Bellows Falls Canal toll. However, various factors would have impacted method used for shipping including road conditions, time of year, availability of rest stops and product being shipped.
In the early 19th century, Vermont farmers did walk their turkeys to Boston, crossing the Connecticut River by ferry. They could average about 10 miles a day so it would take three weeks to get to Boston. Sending goods by horse drawn cart or by river, would have cut transport time down to a matter of days.
18th CENTURY HYGIENE
We’re spending a lot of time exploring what life was like during the Revolutionary period and one of the biggest myths we’ve uncovered so far is that people of that time period smelled bad.
Historically people have either tried to avoid bad smells or mitigate them somehow. The “Miasma Theory” was popular during this time. This theory held that disease such as cholera, plague were caused a noxious form of “bad air,” sometimes called night air, the source was thought to be rotting organic matter.
To the 21st century mind, where showers are a daily occurrence, the 18th century custom of not bathing must have led to some very smelly people. However, a sweet smelling environment was considered a key to good health, which would include a body that didn’t smell.
Prior to the ease of having readily available hot water, many cultures wore an undergarment made of linen, a naturally absorbent cloth, that would have been changed regularly. The linen, which comes from flax, would draw sweat, dirt, and natural oils away from the skin and leaving one “clean, neat, and sweet-smelling. The experimental historian Ruth Goodman, author of “How to be a Tudor: A Dawn-to-Dusk Guide to Tudor Life,” experimented with not bathing, replacing it with only linen touching her skin. As she wrote about filming Tudor Monastery Farm, Although I was working mostly outdoors, often engaged in heavy labor and also lurking around an open fire, I found that just changing my linen smock once a week proved acceptable to both me and to my colleagues — including those behind the camera, who had more conventional modern sensibilities. … There was a slight smell, but it was mostly masked by the much stronger smell of woodsmoke.
The wash basin and pitcher was a common household item. Typically, the set consisted of a large bowl (the basin) and a matching jug (the pitcher) used to hold water. Whether a simple or ornate design, they served the same purpose. The pitcher was filled with water, which was poured into the basin for washing hands and face,
CHS YOUNG HISTORIANS ARE DIGGERS!
Since the Jackson Gore Paleo Indian dig in 2007, CHS has been actively involved in archeology, providing volunteers on digs, conducting digs in town and making sure our young historians at Cavendish Town Elementary School (CTES) have a hands on experience. We have two screens at the ready should anyone in Cavendish find an area where they’d like to screen for artifact.
Recently, the 6th grade students had a full day with the archeology program at Castleton University. Not only did they meet Roger Longtoe Sheehan, chief of the Elnu, but they had a chance to work along side archeologists participating in a dig.
One student noted, “I used to think archeologist only dug up fossils. But now I know they dig up large variations of stuff. Another wrote, “My favorite part of my day was digging but I don’t like dirt. I was hoping to find something like gold. Instead I found coal.
The CHS Young Historians program has already produced one archeologist, who volunteered on her first dig the summer after her freshmen year of high school. Em Benoit was one of the first graduates in archeology from Castleton and is now on a dig in Yosemite.
The CTES 5th and 6th graders, as part of the “serve and preserve” portion of Young Historians, worked alongside volunteers from the Black River Action Team (BRAT) in helping to mediate Greven Field so it can be a more efficient flood plain, helping to reduce the damage in town from future floods. It was hard work digging up knot weed and removing debris. As the CTES principal, Emma Vastola noted, “team work makes the dream work.”
BECOME A MEMBER, RENEW YOUR MEMBERSHIP, DONATE
If you have not joined the Cavendish Historical Society, need to renew your membership, and/or would like to be a volunteer, please complete the form below and sending a check, payable to CHS, to CHS, PO Box 472, Cavendish, VT 05142. All contributions are tax deductible.
Name: _______________________________________
Address: _______________________________________________
Phone Number: _____________________ E-Mail: ____________________________
Membership Level
__ Individual Member $10 __ Senior Member 65+ $5 __ Sustaining Member $500
__ Household Member $15 ___ Contributing Member $250
Volunteer
___ I would be interested in serving, as a volunteer .I would be interested in serving on the following committee(s):__ Program Planning __ Fundraising __ Building (Museum)
__Archives _ Budget –– Cemetery __ Carmine Guica Young Historians
Donations are always welcome and can be designated as follows:
__ For general purposes __ Young Historians __Publications
__ Archaeological Activities _ Museum & Archival __ Special Events
__ Rankin Fund __ Williams Fund __ Solzhenitsyn Project
__ Other (please specify) __ Cemetery Restoration __ Preservation Projects
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