In 1688, the Governor of New York issued the Hoosick land grant. The grant covered part of the present townships of Bennington and Pownal.

In 1750, the Governor of New Hampshire issued his own grants to the very same land, establishing the township of Bennington. These two states issued more than 200 competing grants in present day Vermont prior to the Revolutionary War. The competing grants were more than a clash of territorial egos. It was conflict of values. On one side was the old Dutch patroon system of New York with its system of large landowners and tenant farmers. In stark contrast was the New England system of independent family farms. Independent minded New Englanders populated the newly established Republic of Vermont. After the Revolution, Vermont declared all New York land grants invalid and all New Hampshire grants valid. This set the stage for legal actions to oust those claiming under New York titles. By 1785 the character of the grants was no longer as simple as patroon versus family farm. Many of the Dutch grantees had evolved into family farmers indistinguishable from their New England neighbors. Other holders of New York grants were not even Dutch but pioneers of New England stock who had purchased the land from Dutch title holders.

Dutchmen Petrus Vosburgh, Bastian Deal and Henry Young were long time Pownal Vermont residents who joined with non-Dutch Amos Potter, William Brown and Amos Fischer to petitioned the legislature for recognition of their New York grants. These men argued that they had pioneered the Vermont wilderness under the threat of hostile Indians. Fifty years later they were still under threat, not by Indians, but by lawsuits. The legislature decided to end the competing grant uncertainty with a compromise. Those living under New York grants could be secure in their land title if no one brought suit against them during the next three years. Public opinion tended to favor the underdog. When the issue was large land holding patroons competing with New England farmers, Vermont public opinion stood with the New Hampshire grants. When many of those New Hampshire grants fell into the hands of wealthy New Englanders intent on ejecting poor family farmers, public opinion shifted.

In the book Pownal: a Vermont Town's Hundred Years and More by Joseph Parks, re-counts a story which illustrates how Yankee ingenuity and a little vigilante justice managed to tilt the scales in favor of the underdogs. According to local legend, on the last day of the court term in the final year you could bring suit against a New York grantee for ejectment, wealthy plaintiffs Josiah Wright and Mr. Page of Pownal, Vermont, sought to enforce their New Hampshire grants against the a popular and hard working family farmer Amos Potter.

Things did not look good for poor Amos Potter. Not only was he hauled into court 24 hours shy of a deadline that would have saved his farm, but the judge would be none other than Isaac Tichenor.

Tichenor was man who had been given the moniquer "Jersey Slick" by his enemies. He was not known to be above reproach. As a Continental quatermaster, he had been court-martialed for misappropriating public funds. Despite his dubious past, Tichenor had made a remarkable political comeback by earning the friendship of the powerful and wealthy.

"Powerful and wealthy" were appropriate words to describe the Page and Wright families of Pownal. The Pages had a dominant influence in town affairs from its very early days. The other plaintiff, Josiah Wright was not only a political force himself, but he was also the son of Pownal's well to do tavern owner Charles Wright and the brother of another powerful politician, Solomon Wright.

Many of the town's folk were apparently sympathetic to poor Amos and unwilling to see him lose his home so close to the statutory deadline. The local militia under Captain Stanwood had a plan and proceeded to disguise themselves as Indians.

Later that day, Judge Tichenor and Sheriff Nathan Clark were heading from Burlington to hold court in Pownal. On the way they were waylaid by a previously unknown tribe of Indians who held them for a day and released them once the time for holding court was past. Potter kept his farm.

For those interested in the history of one of Vermont's earlier settlements, I recommend the following: