From The Connecticut River Valley in Southern Vermont and New Hampshire: Historical Sketches by Lyman S. Hayes, Tuttle Co., Marble City Press, Rutland, VT., 1929, page 256:
LAFAYETTE'S VISIT TO VERMONT IN 1825–SOCIAL CUSTOMS OF EARLY DAYS
Interesting recollections of the visit of General Lafayette to this vicinity in 1825 were given to the writer in 1898 by Mrs. Lucia Maria ( Campbell) Wheaton, then 86 years old. She was born in this town December 31st, 1811, daughter of Dr. Alexander Campbell and Rhoda Corey, one of the earliest families of this town in the 18th century.
"I remember well seeing General Lafayette," she said "in 1825, when he made a visit to the United States and was the lion of the day. I was 14 years old. I lived in Bellows Falls. He was expected to dine with my uncle, Euward R. Campbell, at the neighboring town of Windsor. I went over there to see him. It was a pleassant summer day, and the street in front of the place where the general was to speak was crowded. He apppeared on a balcony of the second story of a store. I was across the street in a shop looking out of a window. Governor Cornelius Van Ness of Vermont was with the general. I could not hear what Lafayette said but I do recall that he seemed to me like a small common man. His hair was rather long, and he had on a coat that was rather longer than those worn by the other men. Lafayette did not take dinner with my uncle as had been expected. He was making many towns and hadn't time to stop. So the nearest view I got of the great French soldier was from across a New England village street."
When 6 years old Mrs. Wheaton went to school in the village of Rockingham to a teacher 16 years of age. She essayed the study of Latin at a tender age, but did not make a go of it, as the teacher knew no more of it than she did. From reading a primer with pictures and Southern Vermont and New Hampshire [257] hymns in it, she changed and "began to read Shakeespeare and Milton's 'Paradise Lost and Regained.' Before I was 13 years old I had read the big poem and I understood all of it that was proper for me to know. Next I read Scott's novels and poems."
Added local interest is given to her description of the drinking habits of the leading families of that day from the fact that the old Campbell mansion, in which she was born and resided during her childhood, was the same stately old dwelling still standing across the street in Rockingham village from where the village hotel used to be, on the north side of the road leading to Saxtons River village. It is now owned by Natt L. Divoll and in a very dilapidated condition, but is a fine example of the architecture of a century and a quarter ago. It was built by Mrs. Wheaton's father in 1804.
"My father, Alexander Campbell, always dispensed liquors at home with a free hand" she said. "At Rockingham, during political campaigns, he had a large square table in one of the rooms, covered with decanters of various spirituous liquors. Then there were essences to flavor the drinks, particularly peppermint and. checkerberry, and lemon and sugar. When a guest arrived he would go into the room and help himself. Rum was a favorite drink. A person would take a large glass, pour in about an inch of New England rum, then put in a spirit of essence, after that a cube of loaf sugar, and then fill up the glass with boiling water and drink it. The men in those days seemed to stand the liquor better than their descendants do now. I can remember of seeing only one drunken man during any political campaign.
"I remember that in the campaign of Jackson for president much was made of his shooting six soldiers after the battle of New Orleans. My father and his [258] family were Whigs. A brother kept a general store. A friend of his, a Mr. Taylor, who was a Baptist minister, was a Democrat and a warm supporter of Jackson for the presidency. This minister wrote to my father's brother in a jocular vein and ordered from his store a pound of ' ackson. ' My uncle, having in mind the shooting of those six men, sent him a pound of gunnpowder. I was quite a child during all this discussion about shooting six soldiers and I got the idea into my head that if Jackson were elected president we would all be shot too. I suppose this was because my family was so bitterly opposed to him."
" Thanksgiving," Mrs. Wheaton said, "was a family festival. We had roast turkey, every kind of vegetable, pies and plum pudding, cider and plenty of New England rum, and other spirits. People could eat then and digest a big meal. They did more manual and less brain work. Christmas differed from Thanksgiving in that strangers were invited in to dine. We used to have regular course dinners–soup, oysters and so on. Sometimes the Christmas dinners were only for men–that is, specially served for parties of men. The Christmas tree and Christmas stocking are comparatively new instiitutions in New England. I was 16 years old before people began to hang up stockings on Christmas eve in Vermont. The custom was borrowed from Germany. So was the idea of the Christmas tree."