iiMi ^^.s- 'V- -^^ .^ rj. V' ■'':. .<^ n^ V SARATOGA COUNTY: An HistoFvICAl Addep^ss By GEO. G. SOOTT. AND A CENTENNIAL ADDRESS By J. S. L'AMOREAUX. Delivered at Ballston Spa, N. Y., July 4, 1876. OPINIO Jijf ^tJ K^Aijjy ^/O. BALI.STON SPA, N. Y. PUBLTSIIEl) BY WATEllBUKY & INMAN. 18TG. SARATOGA COUNTY ^^ "^ AN HISTORICAL ADDRESS. By GEO. G. SCOTT. AND A CENTENNIAL ADDRESS By J. S. L'AMOREAUX. Delivered at Ballston Spa, N. Y., July 4, 1876. (PIllO'E, ^& CEJ^QIB. BALLSTON SPA, N. Y. PUBLISHED BY WATERBUBY & INMAN. 1876. >^vv- ^ « SARATOGA COUNTY: An Historical Address Delivered at B. O. 8coU. Fellow Citizens : In compliance with an invitation of the commit- tee of aiTaugements and our county officials, sug- gested by the proclamation of the f^resident of the United States, I have, with some diffidence, con- sented to assist in filling out the ceremonies of the day, with an imperfect sketch of our local history. The brief limits required for an address upon an occasion of this character, will necessarily permit no more than a general reference to that portion of our history with which the civilized world is famil- iar — which T shall endeavor to supplement with some facts and incidents, confined chiefly to the Colonial and Revolutionary period, that have es- caped the notice of the general historian, or have not been deem<^d worthy of his attention. Having already been somewhat instrumental in furnishing some of these facts and incidents that have been 4 SARATOGA OOUNTY : published, I shall feel at liberty to reclaim them, so far as shall be necessary for my purpose, Tlie territory comprised within the limits of the c tribes of the Mohawks ; Aviicieas ittj validity required the concurrence of their three tribes, the Wolf, the Turtle and the Bear. Those who f^xecnted the dd had no authority to bind their tribes. It was procured upon the representation that it conveyed no more land than was sufficient for two or three small farms on the river above Saraghtoga, when it contained several hundred thousand acres, and the patent embraced much more than the deed purported to convey. The pretended consideration was £60 to be paid in goods, which were never delivered ; the excuse (which was believed to be a sham) being that they had been sent from Albany to Schenecte,dy for the [ndians, and there accidentally destroy by fire. Sir William Johnson, always the true friend of the Indians, from time to time urged the necessity and importance of doing justice to the Mohawks in this regard, not only upon principle, but as a mat 10 SAEATOGA COUNTY : ter of policy ; for they were a formidable military power, and the other nations of the Indian confed- eracy would inevitably take up their quarrel, and tLe peace and security of the province be endan- gered. In vain he urged that proceedings be taken to vacate the patent for fraud, either by a scire facias, or an act of the Colonial legislature. In writing to the Lords of Trade, Oct. 30, 1764, Sir William says : "From the date of the Kaya- derosseras patent in 1708 to 1754, no settlement whatever was made thereon, nor hath the same ever been surveyed or any partition made thereof as yet by the patentees ; and this notorious neglect, to the prejudice of the colony (had the grant been equit- able) can only be attributed to their consciousness of its iniquity. Since then some of the proprieta- ries without knowing their own shares, have very lately encouraged some families, who, according to the best information, do not exceed a dozen in number, to settle on some parts of the patent towards Fort Edward, and in the neighborhood of Saraghtoga lake, but the Mohawk hunters, having come across their huts last year warned them off, with which some have complied.'- In 1768 the Mohawks were persuaded into what was called a settlement, wliereby, in consideration of $5,000 a»d the relinquishment of a small portion of the tract as claimed under the patent, they re- leased all their interest in it, according to the sur- vey then made. They never forgave the injury. Upon the break- ing out of hostilities soon after, between Great AN HISTORICAL ADDRESS. 11 Britain and her colonies, they cast their fortunes with the Johnson family, and followed Sir John Johnson to Canada. Availing themselves of their familiar acquaintance v^rith this region, they eagerly seized the opportunity of gratifying their revenge, by accompanying the regular forces in their fre- quent raids from Canada — to one of which I shall presently refer. In 1769 and 1770 the patent was partitioned. Tt was subdivided into twenty-four divisions or allot- ments, and each allotment again divided into thir- teen lots, so that each patentee, his heirs or assigns, would have a share in each allotment, and these lots were distributed by ballot. The commission- ers of partition were Christopher Yates and John Glen, both of Schenectad}^, and Thomas Palmer of New Cornwall in the county of Orange, and Charles Webb was the surveyor. A tract five miles square, constituting the present town of Ballstou, except a few hundred acres at the south end, together with what is known as the Five Thousand acre tract in the south part of Charlton, was set apart by the commissioners for defraying the expenses of the partition and survey. From its proximity to the Mohawk valley, and the general appearance of the land, this reservation was re- garded as the most valuable and salable in the patent. It was immediatel}^ sub;iivided into lots and thrown upon the market. Before this partition took place, settlements upon the river patents already referred to, had been made to some extent, but were almost exclusively con- 12 SARATOGA COUNTY : fined to the river valleys. Along the valley of the Hudson, they had been partially retarded, by reason of its being the highway for the passage of the armies engaged in the wars between Great Britain and France. Before the middle of the last century there was a number of wiiite inhabitants, two or three saw mills, and a log fort at Saraghtoga. In November 1745, the settlement was attacked by a party of French and Indians. The fort, which had been permitted to go to decay, the mills, and about twenty houses, were burned, and about thirty persons were killed and scalped, and about sixty more taken prisoners. In 1689, Harman Leversee had a house and barn at Halfmoon, surrounded by a fort, and in 1714 the place contained 101 inhab- itants, mostly of Dutch descent, and scattered for several miles along both rivers. In the early part of the last century, two brothers, Michael and Nicholas McDonald, natives of Ireland, when mere boys, were enticed on board of a vessel, lying in the Liffey, brought to Philadelphia, and there sold for a tei m of years, in accordance with a barbarous practice then in vogue, for a sum suffi- cient to defray the expenses of their passage, and taken into the back -woods of Pennsj^lvania. In process of time they found their way to Schenec- tady, and having acquired a taste for life in the wilderness, settled down on the west shore of Long hike, and <;onstructedarude cabin. On their route thither they passed over a tract which had been recently burned over by Mohawk hunters for a deer pasture, to which thej' gave the name of "Burnt AN HISTORICAL ADDRESS. 13 Hills," which it has ever since retained. This was in 1763. In 1767, Sir William Johnson having heard through the Indians of a wonderful "medicine spring" flowing from the summit of a rock, and being in ill health, procured a party of them to con- duct him thither. They passed a night in McDon- ald's cabin, and Michael, the next day, accom- panied his guests to the spring (now known as the High Rock spring at Saratoga Springs)— Sir Wil- liam being transported on a litter — and returned with them to his cabin It was owing to Sir William's influence with the Mohawks that the McDonald's remained undis- turbed in their occupancy, and upon the subdivis- ion of the Five mile square they obtained a deed from the proper source. Michael McDonald died on his old homestead June 28, 1823, in the 96th 3^ear of his age. The next arrival, after this, was that of the Rev. Eliphalet Ball (from whom Ballston derives its name) with his family consisting of three sons, John, Stephen and Flamen, and a daughter Mary, who subsequently became the wife of James Gordon. This was in 1770. Mr. Ball had been a Congregation- al minister at Bedford, Westchester county and sev- eral of his congregation, which extended into Stam- ford, tlie adjoining town in Connecticiit, came with him. A tract of 400 acres, upon the south line of which the ' 'red meeting house' " was subsequently erected, was donated to him by the propriet jrs of the Five mile square, as an inducement for this removal. They were soon followed by several ,14 SARATOGA COUNTY : families from Connecticut and emigrants from Scot- land and the north of Ireland. On the 22d of September, 1775, such of the inhabitants as had been members of churches in their former homes, met, and united as a society under the mhiistry of Rev. Mr. Ball, and sub- scribed a paper containing among other things, this article of faith : ' 'We believe the Gospel as it is explained and held forth in the assembly of Divine' s shorter catechism, and the directory of the church of Scotland, as our plan of church govern- ment, so far as we may find it agreeable to the WordofGrod;" thus reserving, to its full extent, the right of conscience and private judgment. Measures were soon taken to build a house of wor- ship, which resulted in the erection within a few years of the "Red Meeting House," known to some of the present generation as the "old Academy." When iiidependence was declared, the Ballston settlement had extended into what are now Charl- ton, Gal way, and Milton, but then, and until or- ganized as towns in 1792, known respectively as Freehold, Galloway, and Mill Town or Kayaderos- seras. The war did not entirely prevent, but it seriously checked, the influx of settlers. In regard to the controversy witli the mother country there was here, as elsewhere, a diversity of sentiment. The choice was not entirely free from perplexity. The issue of the struggle was uncertain. The Tory or Royalist was assured protection from the strong arm of that government which had never failed to AN HISTORICAL ADDRESS. f shield its obedient or to punish its rebellious sub- ject. Some remembered how, thirty years previous, the rebellion against the British crowi', headed by the son of the lineal heir of the house of Stuart, and wliich collapsed on the disastrous field of Cul- loden, was followed by the merciless and indis- criminate slaughter of the vanquished— which fast- ened upon the commander of the royal forces — a son of the king — the appellation of the "Butcher of Cumberland." Others, composed of the timid and conservative, the friends of law and order, those whose loyalty to the king they deemed an essential part of their religion, and who dreaded the disgrace of being stigmatized as "rebels," adhered to the royal cause. The majority, which included the most influential and intelligent inhabi- tants, instead of being intimidated by the oppro- brious epithet, gloried in it. They were aware of the penalties of treason. But, as men of sagacity they could not fail to perceive that it was repug- nant to the dictates of reason and humanity that this vast country, with its boundless prospects of greatness, should remain an appendage to a little island, at the distance of 3,000 miles, across a vast waste of waters ; and that the question of Ameri- can independence was merely a question of time, and the time had come. There were enough loyal subjects scattered through the settlement to "aid and comfort the enemy," and harbor their scouts and spies. Col. Robert Van Rensselaer, in a letter to the provincial congress sitting at Kingston, dated S SARATOGA COUNTY : April IH, 1777, writes that he has received a letter requesting the assistance of the militia to quell an insurrection of the tories in Ballston. Hezekiah Middlebrook, chairman of the Balls- ton committee of safety, writes a letter to the com- mittee of Saratoga, dated May 2, 1777, stating in detail, the suspicious movements of a party of men who had encamped between Charles Merrick' s and Ebenezer Sprague's (now on the road^between Fac- tory Village and James Thompson's) and adds that the morning previous, thirty or forty men were discovered marching up the Kayaderosseras, and returned the same way in the evening and further adds ' 'There is reason to think there is a large body of them, more than we are able to cope with, and a good many from this settlement have absconded, and it is thought have joined them. We look upon ourselves at their mercy, if they choose to attack us, which we hope will incite you to be as expedi- tious as you can to assist us." The explanation of this alarm would seem to be this : Several of the tories in this vicinity having received the offer of bounty lands in Canada, marched off in an armed body at about the date of Middlebrook' s letter to join the British forces at Crown Point. They struck the well known Indian trail, leading over the Kayaderosseras mountain, across the Sacandaga river near Daly's creek, and west of Lake George to Crown Point, which I shall hereafter refer to. They encamped the first night on the bank of a lake on the summit of the moun- tain, to which, (either from its surroundings or AN HISTORICAL ADDIIKSS. 17 their own situation, or perhaps botli,) they gave the name of ''Lake Desolation," which it still retains. Col. James Gordon, with a detachment of militia (among whom were Edmund Jennings and David How) followed in pursuit, and on the 6tli of May, overtook them, thirty-one in number, in the present town of Luzerne, and brought them back. They were tried by a court martial and fined fifteen dol- lars each. On the approa(;li of Burgoyne's army, several of the Connecticut families returned to that state, and did not come back until the close of the war. The centennial celebration of the event which has givt'U immortality to the name of Saratoga, will no doubt be observ^-d in October, 1877, with all the pomp and circumstance befitting the occasion, and the event itself illustrated by the best oratory of the country. Although it took place upon our soil, it is the property of the whole country. It fills the brightest page in its annals ; and the name of Saratoga occupies as conspicuous a place in English history, though not as flattering to Eng- lish pride, as Blenheim, or Ramillies, or Quebec — I had almost said Waterloo. It has been classified b}"^ historians as one of the decisive battles in the history of the world. Before it occurred, defeat and disaster had for the most part followed the American arms, and hope had well nigh given place to despair. At no time since the commencement of hostilities, had our cause seemed so full of peril. On the one side, the British troops were in the occu- pation of New York city and the adjacent country. Sir Henry Clinton, with a fleet of transports, was 18 SARATOGA COUNTY : about to sail up tlie Hudson. St. Leger, with a' body of regulars and Canadians, landing at Oswego, Avas joined bj^ a force of Mohawks under Brant, and' had proceeded as far as Fort Stanwix to march down the Mohawk valley. From the north Gen- eral Burgoyne, who had won laurels for the crown, by his distinguished successes in Spain, connnand- iug a large army, composed mostly of veterans of the seven years war, was moving down the upper Hudson to effect a junction with Clinton and St. Leger. The plan of the campaign was, incident- ly, to prevent reinforcements to the American army, under the command of Schuyler and subsecpiently of Gates, and then to concentrate their forces at Al- bany, and with that city for their headquarters, and a chain of military posts, stretching from the sea coast to the St. Lawrence, to cut off all com- munication between New England and the other colonies, and thus dismember the confederacy. Nor was this all. We were carrying on a war against a power, "with which,'' in the words of America's greatest statesman and orator, "Imperial Rome, in the heighth of her glory is not to be compared — a power which has dotted over the surface of the whole globe with its possessions and military posts — whose morning drum beat, following the sun and keeping company with the hours, encircles the earth daily with one continuous and unbroken strain of the martial airs of England.'' It was calculated on both sides — and such probably would have been the result— that if success should attend this expedition, it would terminate the contest. AN Ii[S.'i(»RI('AL ADDRESS. 19 Sir Heiiiy Clinton la^-ged behind; St. Leger's progress was blocked at Fort Stanwix ; and upon the plains of Saratoga, within twelv^e miles of the spot where we are now assembled, the compara- tively undisciplined troops of the Colonies, re-in- forced by detachments of militia from the back settlements, achieved a l)ril]iant and decisive vic- tory. One of the most gallant of the British officers, the only general officer of the British forces killed in the war, fell on the held, and the splendid army, with its munitions and stores and ordnance, were finally surrendered to the Americans. The (confi- dence inspired by this triumph of our arms, com- municated a new impulse to our cause, which had its influence until our flag floated in triumph on the field of Yorktown. After the surrender of Burgoyne, no event of im- portance occurred within our borders until 1780. In the early part of October in that year, an expe- dition was sent out from Canada under the com- mand of Major Carlton, by way of Lake Cham- plain. Landing about 200 at the head of Bulwagga bay, which forms the west shore of Crown Point, the remainder, consisting of about 800 proceeded up the lake, landing at South bay, moved forward rapidly to Fort Anne, where they arrived on the 10th of October, and on demand the fort was sur- rendered, and then burnt, and the garrison made prisoners. They then with their prisoners marched across to Fort George, where they arrived October 11th. After a short skirmish outside of the fort, between Gage's Hill and Bloody Pond in which the 20 SAKATOGA COUNTY : enemy were successful, and a brief investment of the fort, our troops surrendered themselves as pris- oners, and the fort was destroyed. Major Carlton, with his forces and prisoners thereupon returned to iiis vessels on Lake Champlain. The other party which landed at Bulwagga Bay, was made up of a part of Sir John Johnson's corps, and some rangers, (among whom were refugees from the Ballston settlement) and Mohawk Indians, led by "Captain John," and all under the com- mand of Captain Munro, formerly a trader at Schenectady. The object of this part of the expe- dition was to attack Schenectady, but if that ex- periment, upon reconnoitring should be deemed hazardous, then to make a descent upon the Balls- ton settlement. The orders to Munro were, to plunder, destroy property, and take prisoners, but not to kill, unless attacked or resisted, or to prevent escapes. They proceeded by the Indian trail already mentioned, and encamped in the northwest part of the present town of Milton, where they remained a few days, concealed from all but some tories in the neighborhood, by whom they were supplied with provisions. Having learned through their scouts that it would be unsafe to make an attempt on Schenectady, and that the "fort" in Ballston had just been garrisoned by about 200 militia men chiefly from the former place, they con- cluded to advance no further than Col, Gordon's. The "fort," as it was called, stood on the south- west corner of the square, at the Red Meeting house, which was then nearly completed^ The fort AN ni8T0RI«AL ADDRESH. 31 was constructed of oak logs, with loop lioles for musketry, and surrounded with pickets. The massacre at Cherry V^alley, and the more recent Indian barbarities in the Mohawk valley, had excited the worst apprehensions of the Balls- ton inhabitants, who had for two qi three months previous been expecting an invasion of tiie enemy. Some of them had frequently abandoned their dwellings at night, taking with them their most valuable effects and lodged in the woods ; but as no danger appeared, their vigilance rehixed, and they slept in their dwellings. Col. Jamefe Grordon, then the commanding officer of a regiment of militia, arrived home October 13th, from Poughkeepsie, where he had attended as a member of the legislature, at an extra session con- vened by Gov. Clinton, which adjourned October loth. His residence was on the Middle Line road, upon the farm now owned by Henry VViswall, jr. and his capture was deemed of considerable impor- tance. Some of the escaped tories, who had been brought back by him three years previous, had not forgiven him, and one of them, in communication with Munro, informed him of Gordon's arrival. In the evening of October 16th, the enemy came to a halt at the dwelling of one I:.mes McDonald, a tory living at the first four corners west of what has since been known as the Court House hill. Mc- Donald piloted the party through the woods to the rear of Gordon's house. Gordon was awakened by the breaking of the windows of his sleeping room, by bayonets thrust through them. He sprang from 22 SATJATOGA COUNTY : liis bed, in wlii -h \¥tt*liis wife and little daughter, and partly dressing himself, went into the; hall, Avliich was by this; time tilled with the enemy. As he opened the door, a gigantic savage raised his tomahawk, and as the blow was descending upon Gordon's head., the arm of the savage was caught by an officei-. At this moment the brass clock, which stood in the corner of the hall, struck twelve, whereupon an Indian shattered it into pieces with his tomahawk exclaiming: "you never speak again !" A scene of indiscriminate plunder then ensued, which was chiefly carried on by the squaws, who accompanied the party, and who were the most heavily laden with the spoils. The Indians attempted to Are the house and barn, but were prevented. Besides Gordon, Jack Calbraith and John Parlow, servants, and Nero, Jacob and Ann, three negro slaves were carried off as prisoners. As they proceeded towards the main road, where Gordon's miller, Isaac Stow, lived, he came run- ning toward them, exclaiming "Col. Gordon, save yourself! the Indians!" He turt:ed and ran a short distance, when he was intercepted by an In- dian, who pierced him in the side with his spontoon and Stow fell, The Indian then dispatched him with his tomahawk and took off his scalp. In the meantime, a party had proceeded to the house of Captain Collins, across the Mourning Kill. They broke open his door and captured him and his female slave. His son, Mannasseh, escaped through an upper window and ran to the fort, a mile and a half distant, and gave the alarm. The enemy AX iriSTOKKAL Al>l)KK>>. 23' then piucct'ded up the Middle Line road and made prisoners of Thomas Barniim, John Davis, Elisha Benedict, and his three sons, Caleb,Elias and Felix, and Dublin, his slave ; Edward A. Watrous, Paul Pierson and his son John, a boy, John Higby and his son Lewis, George Kennedy, -Jabez Patchin, • Josiah Hollister, Ebenezei- Sprague and his sons John and Elijah : Thomas Kenned}', Enoch Wood and one Palmatier, living near what is now known as Milton Center, and who was the last one taken. But one man lived north of Palmatier. Being a tory, he was unmolested. Several houses and barns were burned. Between Higby' s and George Kennedy's, about fifty under the command of Lieut. Frazer, a refugee from the vicinity of Burnt Hills, left the main body and advanced to the dwelling of George Scott. Aroused from sleep by the violent barking of his watch dog, he, with his musket in iiis hand opened the door, and saw the column advancing in the moonlight. He heard some one exclaim : "Scott, throw down your gun, or you are a dead man !" Not hastening to obej^ he was felled to the floor, by three tomahawks simultaneously thrown at him by Indians of the party, who rushed up to take his Bcalp. The}^ were prevented by Frazer and Ser- geant Springsteed, another refugee and formerl}" Scott's hired man, who, with their swords, kept the savages at bay. The party pillaged the house and left Scott, as they believed, in a dying con- dition ; — so they informed Col. Gordon, his brother- in-law — but he recovered. 24 8AKATOGA COUNTY : The enemy crossed tlie Kayaderosseras, at what is uow Milton Center, about daylight and soon came to a halt Each prisoner was placed between two of the enemy in Indian file. Their hands were tied, some of them were barefooted and most of them but j)artly dressed. George Kennedy was lame from a cut in his foot, and had no clothing bnt a sheet. Munro thereupon addressed his men. He said he expected they would be pursued, and that on discovering the first sign of a pursuit, evnn the firing of n gun, nach man must kill his prisoner. In this order, thf march was resumed ; the prison- ers ex])e(^ting that the troops from the fort would overtake them, and that each moment would be their last Anothei' source of apprehension was that some Indian would fall ))ack and fire his gun for the purpose' of having the ord<'r carried into execution, a reward for scalps having been offered. For this inhuman order, Munro was afterwards dis- missed from the service. The first man in front of Gordon was a British regular, a German, who was next behind Captain Collins and had charge of him. Gordon was the piisoner of a ferocious savage imniediateh' in his rear. He lieard the soldier say to Capt. Collins : "I have been through the late war in Europe, and in many battles, but I never before have heard sucli a bloody order as this. I can kill in the heat of battle, but not in cold blood. You need not fear me, for I will not obey the order. But the Indian in charge of Gordon is thirsting for his blood, and the moment a gun is fired Gordon is a dead man." AN HlrtTORICAL ADDRESS. 25 On arriving at the foot of the Kayaderosseras mountain, tley halted for breakfast, and slaugiiter- ed the sheep and catth^ which they had driven along ot. their retreat. In the afternoon, they Btruck the trail up the mountain by which they had descended, and halted for the night about two miles beyond Lake Desolation. Alunio here discharged Ebenezer Sprague and Paul Pierson, both old men, together with John Pierson and George Kennedy. Gordon had privately, by some means sent l^ack a message, advising that all attempts at a rescue should be abandoned. The messenger met Capt. StepluM) I'all with a detachment of militia trom the fort, at what has siu(;e b(;en known as Milton meet- ing house, and they returned. The enemy with their prisoners, on tlie 24th day of October, arrived at Bulwagga bay and there, joining Carlton's party, they all proceeded down the lake to St. Johns and thence to Montreal. 'I'he prisoners were at first lodged in the JR.ecollet convent, anl afterwards con- fiRf^d in a jail. Gordon was bailed in the sum of £3,000 by James Ellice, with whom he had formerly been connected in business, in Schenectadj'. After a few months, for wliat reason he never knew, he, alone of all the prisoners, was removed to Quebec and kept there in prison for about two years, when he was transferred tir former owners. Joe Bettys, to whom 1 have alluded, was the son of respectable parents Residing in thn Ballston dis- trict. His fatlier, Joseph Bettys, during and subse- quent to tlie wai', kept a tavein b^low what is known as the Delavau farm, upon the farm now occupied by Mr. Lewis Trites. The old man's gravestone may be seen in the cemetery at Burnt Hills. The career of Joseph Bettys jr. is an im- portant item in the early history of Ballston. His name, for several years towards the close of the war, was a terror to its inhabitants. The followino- account of Bettys is mostly compiled trom Simms's Border Wars, and a statement of Col. John Ball : Col. Ball, a son of Rev. Eliphalet Ball, as early as 1776, held a lieutenant's commission in a reo-i- ment of New York forces commanded by Colonel Wynkoop. Being acquainted with Bettys, and knowing him to be bold, athletic and intelligent in an uncommon degree, he succeeded in enlisting him as a sergeant. Bettys was soon reduced to the ranks by reason of some insolence to an otficer, who, as he alleged, had wantonly abused him. To save him to the cause, Ball procured him a sergeantcy in the fleet commanded by Gen. Arnold on Lake 28 SARATOGA COUNTY : Champlain, in 1776. Bettys was in the desperate fight between the Britisli and American fleets on the Lake, and being a skillful seaman, was of sig- nal service during the contest. He fought until every commissioned officer on board of his vessel was killed or wounded, and then himself assumed the command, and continued to light with such reckless courage that General Waterbury, who was second in command under Arnold, preceiving that the vessel was likely to sink, was obliged to order Bettys and the remnant of the crew on board of hia own vessel. 'He stationed him on the quarter de tk by his side, and gave orders through him, until the vessel having become disabled, and the crew nearly all killed. Gen. Waterbury wounded and only two officers left, the colors were struck, and the rem- nant made pi-isoners. They were soon discharged on their parole. General Waterbury afterwards informed the Rev. Mr. Ball that he never saw a man behave with such deliberate desperation as did Bettys on that occasion, and that the shrewdness of his management was equal to his courage. For some reason his gallant services were not recognized to his satisfaction, and this neglect his proud spirit and ungovernable temper could not brook. He afterwards went to Canada, joined the loyalists, and receiving an Ensign's commission in the British army, became a S'py and proved him- self a most dangerous and subtle enemy. He was at length captured and sentenced to be hung at West Point, but the entreaties of his aged parents, and the solicitations of influential whigs, induced AN IIISTOHIGAL ADDRESS. 39 General Washington to pardon him. But it was ill directed clemency. He was more vindictive than ever, and the vvhigs in this part of the state, and especially in Ballston, soon had oiicasion to regret the lenity they liad unfortunately caused to l)e extended to him. He recruited soldiers for " the king in our very midst, planned and guided many of the raids from, the north, and was at the same time in the (Huployment of the king's officers as a most faithful and successful messenger, and cunning and intelligent spy. There had been many attempts to apprehend him, but he eluded them all. In the early spring of 1782, in the present town of Clifton Park, about a mile west of Jonesville, one Jacob Fulmer was engaged in making maple sugar in the woods, and after remaining there as usual over night, was relieved in the morning by his daughter while he went to his breakfast. The morning was very foggy, and she, without being observed, saw a man, upon snow shoes, bearing a pack and a gun, pass near by and proceed toward the house of a widow named Hawkins. This house was upon the farm now belonging to L. W. Crosby. The girl immediately informed her father, who at once suspected the stranger might be Bettys. Call- ing upon two of his neighbors, Perkins and Corey, and all being well armed, tii.;^ stealthily approach- ed the house, and suddenly burst open the door. They discovered Bettys with his back towards them, eating his breakfast, with his rille by his side. He seized it, but not having taken the pre- caution to undo the deer- skin cover that protected 30 SARATOGA COUNTY : the lock, was unable to discharge it. They seized him and tied him securely. He asked leave to smoke, and was partially unbound to afford him the opportunity. He went to the lireplace to light his pipe, and took something out of his tobacco box* and threw it into the fire. Corey noticed this and immediately snatched it out with a handful of coals. It was a small leaden box about the eighth of an inch in thickness, and contained a paper in cypher, which afterwards proved to be a dispatcli to the British commander in New York, and also contained an order on the mayor of New York for £80 sterling, in case the dispatch should be safely delivered. Bettys begged for leave to burn the papers, and offere.L 100 guineas for the privilege, but his captors refused. He then despairingly said : '*I am a dead man." He was taken to Albany, tried by a court martial and convicted and hung as a spy ; to the great relief of the whigs in this section of the state. A few weeks after the capture of Bettys, a small party of St Regis Indians, having spent the winter in hunting and tishing in the northern wilderness, attacked Joseph Gonzalez a.:d his sons, living in that part of the Ballston district which is now Charlton, while they were burning brush in the field. Gonzalez and his son Emanuel were killed and scalped. John, a younger son fifteen years old and a hired man were carried off as prisoners and taken to St. Regis village. John was subse- quently forced to enter the British service, and re- turned in 1785. He was the father of the late Emanuel Consahis of Charlton. AN HISTORICAL ADDRESS. 31 AVhile Gen. Wasliington was waiting at New- burgh, in the summer of 1788, for the definitive treaty of peace, he concluded to while away a part of the time by a trip to tlie northern part of the state. Accordingly, accompanied by Gov. Clinton, Gen. Hamilton, and others, he proceeded by water to Albany. From thence the party on horseback moved up the river, and visited the scene of the late battle above Stillwater, and the spot of Burgoyne's surrejider. They continued on to Lake George, passed down the lake in boats which had been pro- vided for them, and examined the fortifications of Ticondei'oga and Crown Point. On their return they came by the way of the High Ro(?k spring, where they halted, and then with some difficulty found their way to the mineral spring (at the foot of what is now Front street) Avhich first gave to Ballston Spa its celebrity as a watering place. The spring then flowed through a tube iriade from the section of a hollow tree. No building had then been ei-ected or clearing made within our present corporate limits. From here they proceeded to the residence of Col. Gordon, who had recently returned from his captivity, where they dined. Towards night they left for Schenectady, Col. Gordon'attired in his regimentals escorting them, and riding at Washington's right. For just one hundred years our territory formed a part of Albany county;, which was established in 1691,. Until the erection of Tryon and Charlotte counties in 1772, it embraced all the northern and western portions of the province, and for a time, i^ 8AKATOOA COUNTY: the whole of Vermont By an act of the colonial legislature, pa.^sfMi March 24, 1772. a district in Albany county, by the name of Halfmoon, was ere(!ted, which included the present towns of Half- moon, Waterford and Clifton Park. By the same act, all the residue of our territory, including the Saiatoga patent, wjis organized as a district by the name of Saratoga. By another act, passed April 1, 1775, th(^ distri(^t of Ballston was taken from Saratoga. Tlie Ballston district embraced the pres- ent towns of Ballston, Charlton, Galway, Milton, Providence, Edinburgh, Day, Hadley, and the most of Greenii(^ld and Coiinth. In 1788 the dis- tricts of Halfmoon and Ballston were organized as towns in Albany county. The Saratoga district was divided into two towns in the sam*^ county, to wit : Stillwater, which <-nibraced th(^ south part of the Saratoga patent on both sides of the river; and Saratoga, which included the residue of the district. These four towns, except the portions of Saratoga and Stillwater Ijnng east of the river, constituted the county of Saratoga, which was cj-eated by an act of the legislature, passed February' 7, 1791. This brings us down to our separate existence as a county,' and affords a convenient stopping place. But a brief sketch of the semi-centennial celebra- tion of Amej'ican independence in this village on Tuesday, July 4, 1826, will, I trust, be not deemed inappropriate. It surpasseAin interest and pageant- ry all Fourth of July observances in this county, that preceded it, or have followed it. The most prominent feature of the procession was AN HISTORICAL ADDRESS. 33 a car 42 feet long and 14 feet wide named ''The Temple of Industry." It was drawn by thirteen yoke of oxen, each yoke in charge of a driver clad in a tow frock, and all under the command of Jacob Near of Malta. Upon the car, were thirteen repre- sentatives of so many branches of the mechanic arts, plying their vocations. Among them was the printer, striking off semi-centennial odes; the black- smith, with his anvil, keeping time with the music ; the cooper, making more noise tlian all tht? others ; and Mr. William A'an Ness, who, while the pro- <;ession was moving, made a paii- of shoes for the president of the day, to whom they were presented with an appropriate address and response. Another interesting feature of the procession was a band of thirty-semn Bevolutlonary nderans, who kept step to the music in a way that indicated they had not forgotten their military discipline. Lemuel Wilcox, a soldier of the revolution, bore a standard inscribed, ''Declaration of Independence.'" John Whitehead, another i-evolutionary veteran, bore a standard inscribed "Constitution of the United States." And another veteran. Jeremiah Pierson, carried the national standard. Anothei- atti*active feature was the "Corps of Union Cadets," composed of two tine looking and admirably drilled uniformed companies from Union college ; one commanded b}^ Captain Knox and the other by Captain Jackson, now the senior professor in Ihat institution. The corps was under the com- mand of Major Holland, the register of the college, and a veteran of the war of 1812. 34 SAEATOC+A (BOUNTY : The procession moved through the principal streets amid salvos from a brass six pounder cap- tured from Burgoyne, to the Baptist church, which stood upon the lot now occupied b}^ the railroad water tank. Samuel Young, then speaker of the assembly, presided. >*rayer was offered by Rev. Eliphalet Nott, the president of Union college. The declaration of independence was read by Anson Brown, a young lawyer of this village, who died while our representative in the twenty-sixth con- gress. The oration was delivered by John W. Taylor, then speaker of the House of Representa- tives. His concluding remarks were addressed to the revolutionary soldiers, who arose in a bod}^ and the scene was quite dramatic. The Union Cadets dined at the Sans Souci hotel, and the regular dinner and toasts were at the Vil- lage Hotel. Among the regular toasts was the fol- lowing : John Adams, Thomas .leflerson and Cliarle? Carroll of Carroll- ton ; The surviving signers of the declaration of independence. As the measure of their daj^s, so is that of their fame — over flowing. Wh-n this sentiment was iittored. it was not known, that since the sun had risen on that day, two of those illustrious patriots had been numbered with the dead, leaving Charles Carroll the sole sur- vivor. By previous arrangement, the cadets marched into the room, when the president of the day ad- dressed them in highly appropriate and compli- mentary terms. Major Holland responded, reading from a manuscript, in the familiar liand writing of Dr. Nott, which I hold in my hand : AN HISTORICAL ADDKEvSS. 35 Gentlemen : In behalf oi tbt- corps 1 have the huuor to com mand, permit me to teuder their acknowledgement for your polite attentions. If our humble exertions to :iid in the duties of the day have met the approbation of this patriotic assemblage, it is the highest gratification we can receive. In retiring, permit me to propose as a toast : TuE COUNTY OF Sak.\toga. Its hills, monumeutt; of valor; its springs, resorts of fashion ; its hainlets, signalized bj' patriots and statesmen. Union college and its distinguished president were complimented by two of the r/7?/w/// as fol- low^s : By Thomas Palmer, Esq. Union Coi-lege. C'revit — crencit — rrencut. By Anson Brown, Esq. The President of Union College. '''^Dignumluutk >nriim musa vetat moi'i." If these sentiments were not duly appreciated by" all present, tlie following was expressed in such plain spoken, unmistakable English, that there was no doubt as to its meaning : By Edward Watrous, Esq. The LEGiTiMA'rEs of Europe. May they be yoked, poked and Ju>ppled, cross fettered^ tied head andjoot and turned out to browse on the pine plains of old Saratoga. In regard to the remaining festivities at the table^ and the exuberance of patriotic feeling manifested, the truth of history, perhaps, requires the state- ment, that temperance societies had not yet been organized. The committee of arrangements consisted of James Merrill, David Cory, Wm. Clark, JohnDix, Jerry Penfield, Charles Field. Alexander Russell, Robert Bennett, Roswell Herrick, David F. White, Geo. W. Fish, Hiram Middlebrook, Joseph Bar- ker, David Derrick, Sylvester Blood, Samuel R. Grarrett and Abraham Middlebrook. Tlie general 36 SARATOGA COUNTY : manager of this superb celebration was Lyman B. Langworthy, then the sheriff of the county, now living at Rochester, and almost a nonagenarian. The only, survivors of those who officiated on that occasion besides sheriff Langworthy, and Prof. Jackson, are Joseph Barker, Hiram Middlebrook and our fellow citizen, Samuel R. Gariett. And now. Time in its "ceaseless course,'' has ^brought us down to the semi-centennial anni\'ersary of the deaths of Adams and Jefferson, and to the centennial of American Independence, which they were so instrumental in establishing. When the Persian monarch more than 2,000 years ago, looked down upon the Hellespont cov- ered with ships, and the shores and plains of Abydos swarming with men composing his grand army for the invasion of Greece, he, with tears gave utterance to the thought, which has been deemed worth}' of mention b}^ the historian, that in a hun- dred years, not one of that vast multitude would be alive. How brief indeed is the life of man, when compared with the duration of his race I It is a solemn reflection, however obvious and common place it may seem, that of the millions who are this da}^ (^elebrating the commencement of the second century of our national existence, probably not one will live to usher in the third. Let us indulge the hope, tliat when the Sun rises on the Fourth of July, 1976, it will shine upon a free, prosperous and ehappy land, still known as the United SrATp:s of Ameiuoa. I OENTENNIAL ADDRESS Ddkemi at BalUton Sjja, K. Y. July 4, 1876, by J S. L'Amoreaux. 4 Fellow Citizen's : The nation which w<* are proud to call our own lias had one hundred years of life. This is its cen- tennial birth-da}'. Its history has been one that has attracted the attention of the civilized world. Born out of oppression, cradled in libert} , it has breathed an atmosphere full of political principles, which i-ecognize the individual rights of man as nowhere else recognized ; which guaranteed a lib- erty to all that is elsewhere impossible ; that insist- ed upon the education of the masses as the sure protection of the principles upon which it is found- ed ; which foster in every way the best and high- est interests of the whole people. To found such a nation — to perpetuate such a government, presu])- poses sacrifices of no small value, and a watchful- ness incessant and vigilant. We have benUESS. 39 unknown. It was far from being understood that the war was for the purpose of revolt. Jefferson, the author of tlie declaration of independence, said : "I had never heard a whisper of a disposition to separate from the mother country until after April 19, 1 776. ' ' Washington said : * 'When I lirst took command of the army, July 8, 1775, 1 abhorred the idea of independeiice." It was an idea, at tlie period named, in its infancy, if indeed it had life at all. It was not until the succeeding year, 1776, that it began to take permanent shape, and the people began to consider the possibility of a sepa- late sovereignty, and to be made more enthusiastic and devoted by a grand and definite aim. Histo- rians .say tliat : "As Americans, they were called upon as free subjects of Great Britain, to relinquish theorcitically and practicall}^ some of the dearest prerogatives guaranteed to them by ancient laws and customs, prerogatives in which were enveloped the most precious kernels of civil libert}-. They arose as (me family to resist the insidious progress ot oncoming despotism, and yearned for union to give themselves strength commensurate to the task. Leading minds in every colony perceived the necessity for a general council, and in the spring of 1774 the great heart of Anglo-America seemed to beat as with one pulsation with this sublime idea. That idea found voice and expression almost sim- ultaneously throughout the land. Rhode Island had the distinguished honor to be first to speak out publicly on the subject. A general congress was proposed at a town meeting in Providence on May 40 SAEATOGA COUNTY : 17, 1774. A committee of a town meeting held in Philadelphia on the 21st, four days afterward, also recommended such a measure, and on the 23d a town meeting in New York city uttered the same sentiment. The lionse of Burgesses, dissolved by Lord Dunmore, assembled at the Raleigh tavern in Williamsburgh on the 27th, and on that day warm- ly recommended the assembling of a national coun- cAl ; and Baltimore in county meeting also took action in favor of it on the 31st ; on the 0th of June a town meeting at Norwich, Conn., proposed a general congress ; on the 11th a county nu^eting at Newark, N. J., did the same. On the 17th the Massachusetts assembly and at the same time a town meeting in Faneuil hall, Boston, strenuously recommended the measure, and a county meeting at New Castle, Delaware, approvt-dof it Oii the 2yth. On the Otli of* July, the committee of correspon- dence at Portsmouth, New Hampshire, expressed its approl)ation of the measure. A general province meeting held at Charleston, S. C, on the 6th, 7th and 8th of that month urged the necessit}^ of such a congress ; and a district meeting at Wilmington. N. C, heartily responded affirmatively. Thus we perceive that within the space of sixty- four days, twelve of the thirteen colonies spoke out decidedly in favor of a continental congress, Georgia alone remaining silent. The Massachusetts assem- bly designated the 1st of Septenibei-, 1774, as the time, and Philadelphia as the place, for the meet- ing of the congress. Other colonies acquiesced and at Philadelphia the delegates convened. AN HISTORICAL ADDRESS. 41 . Says Bancroft : 'This congress in the earlier months of 1776 had been steadily drifting on towards the distinct assertion of separate sover- eignty, and had rendered it irreconcilable with reason and good conscience for the colonies to take the oaths required for the support of the govern- ment under the crown of Great Britain."' But it was not until the 7th of June, 1776, that Richard Henry Lee, of Virginia, arose and read the resolution : ''That these united colonies are, and of right ought to be, free and independent states ; that they are absolved from all allegiance to the British Crown and that all political connection between them and the state of Great Britain is, and ought to be, totally disolved.'' The morning of July 1 was the day set apart for considering this resolution, and at the appointed time the members, fifty in number, appeared in their places. Every colony was found to be repre- sented and the delegates from all but one had re- ceived full power to act. As early as January, Massachusetts had instructed her delegates to act for independence. South Carolina in March, and Georgia in April. North Carolina, on the 12th of April was the first to direct expressly its represen- tatives in Congress to concur in a declaration of independence. On the 4th day of May, Rhode island made its delegates the representatives of an independent republic. For two days the resolu- tion was earnestly and solemnly debated, and on the 2d day of July, 1776, in the words of John Adams, "the greatest question was decided which 43 SARATOGA COUNTY : was ever debated in America, and a greater, per- haps, never has, nor ever will be, decided among men. I am surprised at the suddenness as well as the greatness of this resolution. It may be the will of heaven that America shall suffer calamities still more wasting, and distresses yet more dreadful ; but, I submit all my hopes and fears to an over- ruling Providence in which I firmly believe. I am well aware of the toil, and blood, and treasure, that it will cost us to maintain the declaration and sup- port and defend these states, yet through all the gloom I can see the rays of ravishing glory." The vote of July 2 changed the thirteen depen- dent colonies into thirteen independent states ; but the terse, ringing sentences of Jefferson in the Declaration of Independence, put the resolution of Lee with such force before the country and the world that the birth of the American republic is considered to be, not the day on which the resolu- tion passed, but the day on whi -h the declaration Avas promulgated. Looking back upon the work of these men, we can scarcely conceive the solemnity of the discuss- ion, the perils that environed those few patriots, the earnestness with which the}- devoted their lives, their treasure, their sacred honor, to the principles they believed to be above all price. They were not thoughtless, reckless men. The wisdom, the states- manship and prudence of the country, were there assembled. And the men who laid all upon the altar of their country were those who weighed well the peril of their cause, and the suffering and pos- AX HISTORICAL ADDRESS. 48 aible disaster that awaited them. Seeing all and dreading the worst, the}^ boldly defied the greatest power on earth. Congress in its wisdom saw fit to conceal the name of the mover of the resolution, but when the Declaration was to be signed, the enthusiasm of that hour tired every heari. and with defiant pen they put their immortal names to the paper. Said John Hancock : "There, John Bull ma}^ read my name without spectacles." Franklin remarked : "We must hang together, or else most assuredly we shall all hang separate- ly-" Harrison remarked that Gerry, afterward vice- president, would be hanging in the air long after his own fate would be settled. From the work of these devoted men and the principles they promulgated, have grown all the results of the past century. The tj-ee which you plant to-day is an emblem of the tree of liberty they planted then, imbedding its roots firmlj'- in the soil of their loft}^ devotion and watering it through the terrible years of war with the best blood of the land. Under the protecting shade of that tree we have enjoyed a hundred years of unexampled prosperity, a century of marvelous growth in all that makes ar nation sti'ong and beneficent to the world. The results of the century are almost beyond tlie con- ception of the human mind. The inventions and discoveries of the age, in all the appfiances that almost annihilate space and time, show us how 44 SARATOGA COUNTY : poor and weak our fathers were a hundred years ago. We numbered then 3,()00,()0() of people scat- tered from Massachusetts to Georgia, occupying hardly more than the sea coast. Most of the coun- try was a wilderness, the towns widel}- separated, the roads almost impassable. New York state to-day alone has a mucli larger population, and is stronger in all the elements of power. In a hundred years we have doubled our territory many times. We have increased from 3, 000, ()()() of poor people to our 50,000,000 of the wealthiest people on the globe. And this growth, with all that is suggested has onlj' been rendered ])0ssible by the discoveries which have been made during the last hundred years. This has been the wonder-century of the christian era, and so far as known in the histoiy of the world. Steam has revolutionized the world. Our own noble Hudson was first plowed by the parent of steamers, and to-day no clime u[)on the face of the earth that does not bow in homage to its royal sway. The locomotive has built a net work of roads, traversing every se(?tion of country, and has constructed in 50 years more then 78,000 miles of railway, 25,000 more than all Europe has laid in the same time ; and our roads carry their passen- gers with a comfort and speed unknown in tlie old world. By the side of every railway is that lightninu' pulse of the world, the electric telegraph, stretching over vast tracts of country, joining hands with the old world under the sea, bringing us into familiar acquaintance with all the doings of the earth, and AN HISTORICAL ADDRE88. 4o with news of the most minute occurreuces of the present day from tlie most distant parts of the globe. What fifty years ago would be considered a mira- cle is to-day a fact of common occurrence, and yet the telegraph was first brought into practical use in 1844, and in 30 years 700, Ooo miles of telegraph have been constructed, 150,000 in the United States alone. Add to these the stationary engine, as a manu- facturing power, which has entirely changed the face and form of labor. Our rapid development has only been • made possible by our multiplied application of discover}^ Machiner}' has sup- planted labor and become the bone and sinew of the country. The cotton gin ; the machiues for planting, sowing and thresliing ; the sewing ma- chines and the knitting machines ; by which one man does the work of ten in the varied fields of labor : oil drawn from the depths of earth to light our homes ; gold and silver and iron mines ; all thc^se present the face and beauty of the country. All these wonderful inventions and developments are made to please and benefit man. The printing press, placing 2,500 volumes annu- ally in the hauds of the people, giving life blood to the nation, with our periodicals, secular and relig- ious, make us the admiration of the world. The system of public instruction which gathers 6,000,000 of our children in the best public schools in the world, nd sending them out prepared for American citizenship, is the highest evidence of our substantial and permanent progress. 46 SARATOGA COLfNTY : The inventions of the people sliow the wonderful fertility of American ingenuity and imagination. In 1874, one year, 13,o99 patents were granted to the American people for their inventions, exceeding many times that of all other nations combined. These years are behind us ; on them we stand as on vantage ground, and from tliem we look into the future. While wonders have been accomplished in the century past, much beyond the conception of our fathers, still there is work to do. Let us glean from the experience of the past, and with an intelligent and cultivated intellect, and conscience, may the principles of our country, like the tree our fathers planted, be blessed of heaven and nurtured by our favored country. May the iidelity of her sons, and the earnest, sterling, uncompromising integrity of her people be her mark of distinction ; and, as the tree this day planted shall grow in grandeur and beauty, so may we as a nation grow in moral and intellectual strength and power, ever remembering the highest exhibition of a nation's glory is to battle for the riglit. '•Who'll press for gold this crowded street A hundred j-ears to come? Who'll tread yon church with willing feet A hundred years to come ? Pule, trembling age,und tiery youth. And childhood with his bruw of truth, The rich and poor, on land and sea, Where will the mighty millions be, A liundred years to come ? AN JIISTORICAL ADDRESS. 47 "We all within our graves shall sleep A hundred j-ears to come. No living soul for us will weep A hundred years to come. Hut other men our land will till, And others then our streets will till, And ©ther words will sing as gay, And bright the sunshine as to-day, A hundred years to come." EHHATA. Page 9, Line 38, read "destroyed" for "destroy." Page 33, Line 39, read "surpassed" for "surpasses. Page 38, Line 30, read "county" for "country." \ •^ >t.. V ■^n ":j> '<^ :^^ % .^^^ X^^ '^^ -->, .^^^ ■.^^'^ './'^C^ 4^ LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 014 108 304 1 ^