Jabez Bennett: A Verbal Portrait
By Jennie Shurtleff
When looking at our local history, invariably a few names emerge as the movers and shakers who were responsible for much of the early settlement and industry. In Taftsville, on the south bank of the Ottauquechee River, it was the Taft family who established a metal tool factory which became the economic engine for that community. In the hamlet of South Woodstock, the Cottles were not only early settlers, but they also jumpstarted the area’s early industry by setting up a grist mill, fulling mill, and clothier’s works. And in West Woodstock, Jabez Bennett was the main force behind setting up the area’s first mill complex, which became the nucleus of what was then known as “Bennett’s Mills.” This area encompassed what is now the Woodstock Farmers Market and the lower flat close to the Ottauquechee River.
Mid 19th-century view of what had formerly been known as Bennett’s Mills. The grist and saw mill built by Jabez Bennett were located on the Ottauquechee River. © Woodstock History Center.
So, who was Jabez Bennett? The facts about his life are well documented through databases such as Ancestry.com.
Jabez Bennett was born in Middleborough, Massachusetts, in 1753. He and his brother, William, moved to West Woodstock around 1776, and they built a log house, in which they resided. Eventually, Jabez built a frame house to replace the log structure. Jabez returned to Middleborough in 1781, and stayed at least long enough to marry Abigail Thomas. He brought his new bride back to the frontier community of Woodstock. Their first child, a daughter, was born the following year. In all, the Bennetts had six children, five of whom survived to adulthood.
On May 12, 1788, Jabez Bennett and three other men purchased land from Jesse Safford for the purpose of setting up a saw and grist mill, with Jabez holding a seven-sixteenths interest in the venture. He was the principal builder of these mills and, over time, as the other partners dropped out, he was left as the proprietor of the mill complex that bore his name. He ran the mills until 1824.
In addition to Bennett’s Mills, Bennett has a long list of construction projects to his credit including building three bridges in West Woodstock (two near the mill complex and one two miles upstream near the “Williams Place,” which he built when he was 80 years old). Jabez passed away in 1848 at the age of 94.
Such facts and figures paint a portrait of Jabez Bennett as an industrious and talented man who lived a long life, but they don’t tell the full story. The “portrait” of Jabez can be further augmented when viewed in conjunction with several 19th-century anecdotal accounts. For instance, an article published in a local newspaper in 1867 notes that Jabez was “solid and strong, looking none the worse for having scaled the Green Mountains in the depth of winter” and walking “all the way to Bennington on snow-shoes to get a deed of his land.”
In his book History of Woodstock, 19th-century historian Henry Swan Dana notes, “Where solid and substantial work was to be done, there Jabez Bennett was found busily employed. Under his direction Bennett’s Mills and English Mills were erected; also mills in Barnard and other places. If a bridge was to be built anywhere about, he commonly had a hand in the business; quite frequently as contractor for the job. Mr. Bennett was a man who never indulged in speculations and dreams, and consequently his idea was that work of this kind should be constructed so as to stand all reasonable shocks to be expected in the course of human events… The more fastidious class of carpenters and joiners did, indeed, make themselves merry sometimes at the expense of “Uncle Jabez,” averring that he gave directions to his workmen to “measure off three paces and make a mortise,” and that in his smaller measures he had “a large inch, a small inch, and just an inch.” But however that might be, his stone work and his wood work partook of the style and structure of his own staunch physical frame, and were to be admired and commended more for their durable character than for architectural beauty.”
Dana goes on to note that:
“Squire Bennett,” in his general appearance and make-up, including his gait and the very tone of his voice, was wholly unique…. A certain style of dress or way of life, a special mode of conveyance along the highway, which seemed good to him, he adopted without regard to popular opinion or the ways and methods of other people in the same matters, and once adopted, he adhered to them through life… His particular style of dress was good for him, but another might not be suited by it, and was free to adopt a different style. When a new church was built in this vicinity he chose a pew by the wall, and had a nail driven in a convenient place over his head where he could hang his hat. How other people disposed of their hats during divine service he did not consider; it was not any concern of his; yet of one thing he was sure: up there, hanging on that nail his hat was in the right place.”
In a different section of his book, Henry Swan Dana, in reference to a wooden bridge that Jabez erected, states the “abutment was laid eighty years ago, and a bridge put up here by Jabez Bennett, whom the present generation has well-nigh forgotten.” Perhaps, therein, lies one of the clues as to why “Squire Bennett” is mentioned so often in Dana’s work. It appears that Dana was paying homage by remembering a man who spent much of his life building and serving his community. The stories that we preserve through such accounts go far beyond facts and figures. They help to capture a person’s essence and provide a way of remembering and honoring those who have come before us.