This document in our archives is the deed of sale for a 125 acres of land sold by Samuel Pennock to Titus Goodall of Lyme for twelve pounds, in September, 1775. By this time, Pennock was already identified on a list of suspected Tory sympathizers in what was then Gloucester County, New York. He and his brothers and fellow Loyalists, James Jr. and Aaron, would have property in Strafford confiscated in the 1780s. Selling the land was perhaps a stopgap measure on Pennock’s part to gain some sort of income on the property before it could be seized. Read more about the Pennocks and this property here.

A cenotaph is a tombstone that has been relocated and no longer rests in place on the original burial site. The Strafford Historical Society has received two cenotaphs: (1) the Pennock family tombstone (James Pennock, died Nov. 2nd, 1808, aged 96 years: and Thankful Pennock, Esq., died Dec. 23rd, 1798, aged 81 years), and (2) a white marble tombstone that commemorates George Day, a Union soldier from Strafford who was captured in the Civil War and sent to the infamous Confederate prison in Andersonville, Georgia.

Adapted from John Freitag’s Historical Note, “Why Justin Morrill Got His Stamp”, printed in the 2023 Strafford, Vermon Town Report.

This week in Strafford two events shined a light on our community and warmed the hearts of those present. On Sunday, June 4, there was a Celebration of the Life of longtime Newton School Principal Robert Murray, and on Tuesday, June 6, The Preservation Trust of Vermont held a day-long event in Strafford focusing on the importance of our rural communities. Both events were inspiring. The following two speeches give a bit of a sense of both days and a feel of how and why Strafford is so special to so many.

The first is by Joey Hawkins an educator and colleague of Mr. Murray's. The second is by Sonya Schumacher who went to the Newton School worked around the country and then brought her family back to Strafford.