Granby Living Dec2018

GRANBY HISTORY
This Month in Granby History
By Ken Kuhl
GRANBY
December 4, 1786 — In early America, the first
Monday of December was Election Day. When
Granby broke off from Simsbury in 1786, Dec.
4 at 10 a.m. was a special day. At that time, a
new group of Granby citizens gathered, and the
first order of business was to elect officers to
the jobs needed to run a happy and harmonious
community.
The population of Granby in 1790 was
around 2,500, and the number of men needed
to fill the slate of positions was approximately
80 elected officials. A few of these offices
remain into the 21st century, such as the selectmen,
but modern commissions like Planning
and Zoning, Inland Wetlands and Watercourses,
Board of Finance and the Board of Education
did not exist then. There was no assessor
but there were Listers, as several men held this
position each year.
In place of the town attorney, each year a
man was elected town agent and was responsible
to represent Granby in court. The town
collector was the official who collected town
and state taxes (there were no federal taxes at
this time).
As I reviewed this curious list of offices, I
noticed many we no longer elect. It seems that
a discussion of them would help shed a little
light on the everyday life of Granby in the 18th
century.
Justice was a very important matter to the
early American who had recently removed
himself from the shackles of life under a king.
In the newly formed Granby, men were elected
to three distinct law enforcement positions:
the Constable, the Tythingmen and the Grand
Jurors.
As the chief law enforcement officer in the
town, the Constable was similar to today's
police chief. Meanwhile, the Tythingmen were
citizens who led a small group of approximately
10 neighboring families (in early England this
was referred to as a "tything") in what was an
early form of community policing. If a citizen
was accused of a crime, the Grand Jurors would
determine whether there was enough evidence
found that the accused had indeed committed
the crime and should therefore be indicted and
brought to a trial before a jury of his peers.
Another important area of early Granby life
was fairness and equity in the marketplace.
Since currency was rarely used at this time
and bartering was the way one purchased and
sold a product, the job of the Packer was to
certify the contents of containers marketed in
town. The Sealer of Weights and Measures was
the official elected to inspect and place an official
seal on scales and other measuring devices
to ensure accuracy and fairness. The Gauger
was the official elected to ensure proper measurement
of saleable items such as firewood,
lumber and nails.
In some years the position of Surveyor of
Lumber was even a distinct office. The Sealer of
Leather was the town officer who had authority
to see that all sales of leather were made honestly
as to quality and quantity. This sealer was
authorized to put his seal or stamp of approval
on items he inspected, tested and certified.
Travel in the 18th century could be challenging.
The Surveyors of Highways were officials
elected to supervise the construction and repairs
of roads in a district. A compulsory labor
statute authorized financial penalties on those
men who failed to meet their annual road work
obligation of two days per year: “If any refuse
or neglect to attend the service in any manner
aforesaid He shall forfeit for every dayes neglect
of a mans worke two shillings sixpence, and of a
Teame, sixe shillings."
Another office that is recorded occasionally
is the Chimneyviewer. This position may have
been held for a longer period of time because
it does not appear as an office filled at each
annual meeting. Before the days of the town
building inspector, the chimneyviewer was
elected to inspect chimneys for fire hazards.
In my opinion, one of the most interesting
aspects of everyday life in rural New England
was the issue surrounding the care and husbandry
of livestock.
Two important officials elected in this regard
were the Fenceviewer and the Howard or Key
Keeper. The fenceviewers were elected to enforce
the upkeep of fences in a district in order
to prevent damage by errant livestock. They
were also the "fence police." If there was a dis-
Ken Kuhl is a board member of the Salmon Brook Historical Society in Granby.
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14 | DECEMBER 2018