Whiting in Addison County, Vermont — The American Northeast (New England)

Major Samuel Beach

1752-1829

— The Paul Revere of Vermont —

Major Samuel Beach Marker image. Click for full size.

Photographed By Steve Stoessel, July 3, 2019

1. Major Samuel Beach Marker

Inscription. He lies buried in this cemetery. He walked 64 miles to recruit men to aid Ethan Allen in the capture of Fort Ticonderoga, May 10, 1775.

Erected 1956 by Vermont Chapter, National Society Daughters of Founders and Patriots of America.

Topics. This historical marker is listed in this topic list: War, US Revolutionary. A significant historical date for this entry is May 10, 1775.

Location. 43° 51.873′ N, 73° 12.035′ W. Marker is in Whiting, Vermont, in Addison County. Marker is on North Main Street (Vermont Route 30) north of Shoreham Whiting Road, on the right when traveling south. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Whiting VT 05778, United States of America. Touch for directions.

Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 7 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies. Shoreham Covered Railroad Bridge (approx. 2.7 miles away); Brandon Training School (approx. 6 miles away); Levi P. Morton (approx. 6.1 miles away); War Memorial (approx. 6½ miles away); World War Memorial (approx. 6½ miles away); Cornwall Remembers (approx. 6.7 miles away); Mt. Independence Military Road (approx. 6.7 miles away); William Slade / The Gag Rule (approx. 6.7 miles away).

Also see . . .
1. Capture of Fort Ticonderoga. (Submitted on July 10, 2019, by Steve Stoessel of Niskayuna, New York.)
2. New Hampshire Grants

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. The presence of trained men in sufficient numbers in this area to attack British regulars was due to the New Hampshire Grants. Benning Wentworth, Royal Governor of New Hampshire, had illegally sold lands in Vermont, first in 1749 and on a much larger scale after 1757, in small plots to mainly Connecticut settlers. Wentworth had sold nearly half of Vermont before he stopped, and in the process, he had enriched himself and his family to the modern day equivalent of $1M. New York also claimed the land, and equally corrupt New York Royal Governors William Tryon and Cadwallader Colden, were selling (against royal prohibition) large tracts to themselves and major landholders such as James Duane and the Livingston family in New York. In an effort to force the "freeholders" to pay rents or for new titles from New York, New York had been sending armed sheriffs and eventually Royal troops to the area. Ethan Allen and others organized and trained the small settlers into local militias for more than ten years before the Revolution to drive off the New York officials.

The corruption of Royal officials in land sales and grants was a large cause of American Revolution. (It explains the presence of many rich men in the American cause.) The New York manor system won't be broken up until after 1849, after the Anti-Rent Wars where once again, small landowners and tenants battled the patroons

Photographed By Steve Stoessel, July 3, 2019

2. Major Samuel Beach Marker

and sheriffs. This had a large effect in New York politics, and therefore national politics , during this period in the run-up to the Civil War. (Submitted on July 10, 2019, by Steve Stoessel of Niskayuna, New York.)

3. Anti-Rent War. (Submitted on July 10, 2019, by Steve Stoessel of Niskayuna, New York.)

Credits. This page was last revised on November 4, 2020. It was originally submitted on July 10, 2019, by Steve Stoessel of Niskayuna, New York. This page has been viewed 239 times since then and 20 times this year. Photos: 1, 2. submitted on July 10, 2019, by Steve Stoessel of Niskayuna, New York. • Bill Pfingsten was the editor who published this page.