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SOME OF ITS PROMINENT MEN AND PIONEERS.

BY ELLIOT G. STORKE.
ASSISTED BY
JAS. H. SMITH.

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F'ublished by ID. ls/LA.SOI<T &c CO.,
SYRACUSE, N. Y.

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1879.

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Truair. Smith & Bruce, Printers, Journal Office, Syracuse, N. V.

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Entered according to Act of Congress, in the year 1879,
By D. mason &. CO.,
In the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington, D. C.

CONTENTS.

HISTORY OF CAYUGA COUNTY.

PAGE
INTEODUCTION,  7
CHAPTER I. — The Iroquois Confederacj' — Perfection of
its Organization — Tradition of its Origin —
Hiawatha's Address to the Council — Extent of
their Sway — Sources of their Power — Their
Civil, Social and Political Codes,  S
CHAPTER II.— The IroqiTois and Early Colonists-
French, Dutch and English Settlements — The
various Wars between the French and the
Iroquois from the first settlement to the close
of the Revolution  12
CHAPTER III.— .Tesuit Missions among the Cayugas—
The Jesuit Relations — Duration of the Mis
sions — Details of the variotis Cayuga Mis
sions,  20
CHAPTER IV. — Indian Habits and Usages— Indian
Dwellings — Indian Towns — Social Usages —
Dances and Feasts — Burials  28
CHAPTER v.— Land Titles— The Mihtary Tract-
Congressional and State Land Bounties — Sirr-
vey of the Mihtary Tract — Conflict of Claim
ants,  32
CHAPTER VI.— Early Civil Divisions— Formation of
Cayuga Co. — Fu-st Town Meetings and
Elections — Formation of the Towns — General
Topography of Cayuga Co.,  34
CHAPTER VII.— Geological Formation- The Dairy
Region — The Grain Growing Region — Com
parative Statistics  ;  .'58
CHAPTER VIII.— Early Modes of Travel— AVestcru
Inland Lock Navigation Co. — Early Roads —
Stages — Erie Canal — Railroads,  41
CHAPTER IX. — History of the Press— Newspaper and
Book Pubhshing — Men of the Press,  49
CHAPTER X.— Progress of Education— Schools  57
CHAPTER XI. —Art and Professional Artists,  64
CHAPTER XII.— Valuation and Taxation- Support of
the Poor— of Lunatics— County Poor House, 71

PAGE
CHAPTER XIII.— Agricultural Societies— Patrons of
Husbandry — Fire Relief Association — Agri
cultural Statistics,  74
CHAPTER XIV.— Cayuga Co. Medical Societies,  85
CHAPTEE XV.— Early Courts, Counsellors and Cases —
Cayuga Co. Civil List  90
CHAPTER XVI.— Cayuga in the AVar of the RebelUou
— Organization of the various Regiments and
Batteries,  99
CHAPTER XVII.— Cayuga in the ^Vav of the Rebelhon
—19th New York Volunteers,  107
CHAPTER XVIIL— Cayuga in the War of the Rebel
lion— 19th New York Volunteers  107
CHAPTER XIX.— Cayuga in the War of the Rebellion—
3d New York Artilleiy,  113
CHAPTER XX.— Cayuga in the AVar of the RebeUion—
7r)th New York A''olunteers,  125
CHAPTER XXI.— Cayuga in the AVar of the Rebellion
— Captain Kennedy's Battery — Bounties paid
in Cayuga Co. — Amormts paid by the
several Towns,  134
CHAPTER XXII. — Am-chus and Hardeubergli's Corners
— Early Settlers — Col. Hardenbergh — First
Mill— The "Corners" in 1800— County Seat
located here— Clinton's description of Auburn, 138
CHAPTER XXIII.— History of Auburn— Village Incor
porated — First Officers — Visit of LaFayette —
Owasco Canal — Railroads — Auburn College —
A'^isits of Clay, VanBureu and Adams,  14G
CHAPTER XXIA^— History of Auburn— Incorporated
as a City— First City Officers— Fort HiU
Cemetery — Merchants' Union Express Com
pany — Aubuni Prison — Asj'lu'm for Insane
Convicts,  151
CHAPTER XXV.— Auburn Manufactures  162
CHAPTER XXA'^I.— Aubm-n AVholesale Business- Banks
and Bankers,  ,  177
CHAPTER XXA^L -Auburn Schools,  '.  184
CHAPTER XXVIII. —Churches of Auburn  197

IV

HISTORY OF CAYUGA COUNTY.

CHAPTER XXIX.— History of Auburn— First Library—
The Water AVorks Co.— The Auburn Gas
Light Co— The Auburn Steam Heating Co.—
Fire Department- Bench and Bar — A'illage
and City Organizations and Officers,  212
CHAPTER XXX.— History of Aubxu-n— Biographical
Sketches of Prominent Citizens,  22.")
CHAPTEE XXXL— History Town of Sterling  2r,2
CHAPTER XXXIL— " " " A'ictor)',  267
CHAPTER XXXIIL— " " " Ira  273
CHAPTER XXXIV.— " '¦ " Conquest,  281
CHAPTER XXXV.— " " ¦' Cato,  288
CHAPTER XXXVI.— '  Montezuma  298
CHAPTEE XXXVIL— ¦" " " Mentz,  308
CHAPTER XXXVIII. — " " " Brutus  322
CHAPTER XXXIX.— " " " Throop,  334

PAGE
CHAPTER XL. -History Town of Sennett  340
CHAPTER XLL— " " " Aurelius,  346
ChIpTERXLIL- " " '• Springport  358
CHAPTER XLIIL— " " " Fleming  376
CHAPTER XLIV. " " " Owasco,  382
CHAPTER XLV.— " " " Ledyard,  390
CHAPTEE XLVL— " " " Scipio,  417
CHAPTER XLVIL— " " " Venice,  43^
CHAPTER XLA'IIL— " " " Niles  443
CHAPTER XLIX.— " " " Moravia,  4,51
CHAPTER L.— " " " Sempronius,  475
CHAPTER LL— " " " Genoa  484
CHAPTEE LIL— " " " Locke  507
CHAPTER Lin. — " " " Summer Hill,.... .512
CHAPTER LIV.— Addenda.,  517

ILLUSTRATIONS.

Armstrong D. H., Auburn, portrait  facing 186
Austin Sedgwick, Sennett, portrait  " .346
Auburn, view of Genesee Street,  ¦' 138
Aurora, view of St. Patrick's Church  " 322
Bundy AV. L., Auburn, view of store  " 212
Briggs Lansingh, Auburn, portrait, (steel,)  " 230
Benson Mrs. E. A. , NUes, portrait  " 444
Baker Abel, M. D., Owasco, portrait  " ?>85
Court House  Frontispiece
Chedell John H., Auburn, portrait  facing 222
Claiy. Joseph, M. D., Auburn, portrait  between 250-251
Claiy Mrs. A. M. B., Aubui-n, portrait  " 250-251
Castuer Richard, Throop, view of residence  facing 339
Castner Richard, and wife, Throop, portraits  " 339
Cndy Curtiss C, Sennett, portrait  " 344
Cady C. C. Jr., Sennett, portrait  " 314
Coburu Rev. KeyeA, Sennett, portrait  " 310
Courtney Brothers, Springpor-t, view of mills  " 308
Courtney John F. , Springport, portrait  " 368
Courtney Charles E., Springport, portrait  " 368
Cascade House, Venice, Malcolm Taylor, Proprie
tor  " 442
Cayuga County Map  " 9
Chamberlain James, Owasco, view of residence.... " 382
Cooke AVilliam C, M. D., Moravia, portrait  " 475
Chamberlain David, Owasco, portrait  between 384-385
Chamberlain James, , " " " 384-385
Chamberlain Margaret, Owasco, portrait.... " 384-385
Chamberlain PoUy, " " " 384-385

Curtis AV. H., M. D., Moravia, portrait  facing 463.
Cuykendall Solomon, Owasco, portrait  " 383
Dunning Heniy Silas, Aubrn'n, portrait  " 142
Drew M. D., Cato, portrait  " 290
Drew M. D., Cato, view of residence  " 290
Dugan Hugh, Sterling, vie\\' of residence  " 254
Ellery AViUiaiu, Mentz, view of residence  " 322
Erity E. B., Mentz, view of residence  " 314
Ellis Cyrus, Niles, view of residence  " 445
Ellis Cyrus, and wife, Niles, portrait  " 445
Fosgate Blanchard, M. D., Auburn, portrait  247
Fyler S. B. , Conquest, view of Howlands Island,
 between 286-287
Fitch Jeremiah, Aurelius, view of residence, " 350-351
Fitch Jeremiah, Aurelius, portrait  " 350-351
Frye Moses McKiiister, and wife, Owasco, por
traits  facing 388
Greenfleld Elondo, Moravia, view of residence.... " 418
Gutchess Stephen & AV. AV., Mentz, view of resi
dence,  facing 32]
Grant J. Lewis, Auburn, portrait,  " 153
Genesee St., Auburn, looking east,  " 138
Hurlburt Amos and wife, Moravia, portraits . ,  " 403
Howland Aug., Ledyard, view of residence,
 between 392-393
HaiTiK Esther, Conquest, view of residence  facing 284
Hunter John, Sterling, view of residence,... between 204-206
Hunter John, Sterling, portrait (steel)  " 264-205
Hunter Thomas, Sterling, portrait (steel)  facing 262
Hunter James C, Sterling, view of residence  " 264
Healy Ebenezer, Sennett, portrait  " 345
Healy John Mason, Sennett, portrait,  " 84C.

HISTORY OF CAYUGA COUNTY.

PAGE
Howland's Island, Conquest, residence of S. B.
Fyler  between 286-287
Hubbard "John AV., Auburn, portrait,  243
Henry John J. , Mentz, portrait,  facing 318
Hunsiker Hoyt, M. D., Owasco, portrait,  " 475
Irwin James H. and wife, Sterling, porti'aits, between 260-261
Irwin .James H., Sterling, view of residence, " 260-261
JaiTod Mrs. Terrissa, Auburn, view of residence,
 between in.M-l!)!)
Jarrod Candeld, Auburn, portrait,  " J98-199
Jarrod Mrs. Terrissa, Aubimi, portrait  " 198-199
Johnson Robert, Sterling, view of residence,  facing 274
Jumii Isaac, Scipio, view of residence  facing 418
Kmqip John Turner, Cato, portrait  facing 294
Kellet John and wife, Springport, portraits,
 between ,'!'64-365
Letchworth Josiali, Auburn, jjortrait, (steel.)  facing 2."4
Legem •!. C, Locke, view of residence  " 512
Legem J. C. and wife, Locke, portrait  " 612
Morgan Col. E. B. , Ledyard, view of residence,
 between 400-401
Morgan Col. E. B., Ledyard, portrait, (steel)
 between 400-401
McCuUen Thomas, Mentz, view of residence  facing 318
Myers M. S., Aubiu-n, portrait,  " 220
"Mount Pleasant," residence of Elondo Green
field, Moravia, view  " 418
Moreland Moses, Sennett, portrait,  " 341
McCrea Thomas, Auburn, ijortrait  " 462
Mead E. A. , Moravia, portrait  " 475
Nicholson EUzabeth, Mentz, view of residence,  " 310
Newland Lemuel A. and wife, Niles, portraits, betw. 446-447
Newland Lemuel A. and wife, Niles,view of residence,
 between 446-447
Post Geo. I. , Sterling, portrait  facing 253
Patee Ehi^halet and wife, Owasco,, portraits  " 386
Powers Cyrus, Moravia, portrait  " 460
Rich Geo. R., Cato, portrait  '.  " 296

PAGE
Richardson Naomi, SiDriugpoi't, view of residence. facing 442
"Eooks Nest" view of the residence of the late
John Rooks, Niles  " 444
Rooks John, Niles, jiortrait  " 444
Seward AVni. H, Aubm-n, portrait, (steel)  " 229
Sprague C. B. , Ira, view of residence  " 281
Searls AVm., Auburn, portrait  " 248
Searls Theodore J. , Auburn, portrait  243
ScUncli Louis, Aiilmrii, portrait  facing 251
Schuch Louis, view of hotel  " 261
Sunderlin Horace, Sennett, portrait  " 342
Sjiencer J. 0., Springport, portrait  " 874
Spencer J. 0., Springport, view of Agricultural
AVorks  " 374
Sheldon Daniel and Eliza, Bnitus, portraits  " 324
St. Patrick's Church, Aurora  " 322
Sj'lvester Josei^h H. , M. D. , Moravia, portrait  " 462
Taylor Malcolm, A'enice, Cascade House  " 442
Titus AVilliam and wife, Moravia, portraits  " 458
Upcraft John, Sterling, view of "Lakeside Farm," " 274
Van Petten Jacob, Sterling, view of residence  " 266
A^au Patten Frederick, Aubum, portrait  " 165
Van Etten Abraham, Niles, view of residence  " 451
A'an Etten Abraham, Niles, portrait  '  " 451
Van Etten Henry N., Niles, i^ortrait  " 451
A'^an Etten Mrs. Clara J., Niles, portrait  " 451
AVooden AVm. D. and wife, Scipio, portraits  " 423
AVhite Robert, Auburn, j^ortrait  " 177
AVilcox Robert E. , Conquest, view of residence  " 284
AVilcox Harry J., Conquest, view of residence  " 282
AVilcox Harry J. and wife, Conquest, portraits  " 282
AViUard Sylvester, M. D. , Auburn, view of residence " 181
AVorden AVan-en T. and wife, Auburn, portraits,
 .....between 244-245
AVorden AVarren T. , Aubum, view of residence, ' ' 244-245
AValdron Jacob N., and wife, Sennett, portraits  facing 343
AVebster N. E., Scipio, view of residence  " 428
AVinslow AVilliam B. Springport, portrait, ...between 364-365

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.

Aekerson Cornelitis, Sterling  ,  207
Andrews Thomas, Sterling  207
Armstrong D. H., Aubm-n  facing 186
Austin Elisha Sedgwick, Sennett  " 346
Baker Abel, M. D., Owasco  " 3.85
Bundy AVm. L., Auburn  ¦  247
Briggs Lansingh, M. D., Aubm-n  237
Cady Curtiss 0., Sennett  ,'  facing .344
Cady 0, C, Jr., Sennett  " 344

Castner Richard, Throop  339
Chedell John II. Auburn  facing 222
Clary Joseph, M. D., Auburn  .'.. 251
Cobxirn Rev. Keyes, Sennett  facing 340
Cooper AVilliam, Sterhng  267
Courtney John F. & Charles E  375
Cuykendall Solomon, Owasco  facing 383
Chamberlain Ninian, Owasco  between 384-385
Curtis AV. H., M. D., Moravia;  47C
Cooke AVm. C, M. D., Moravia  475
Dugan Hugh, Sterling  265

VI

HISTORY OF CAYUGA COUNTY.

Dunning Henry Silas, Aubm-n  facing 142
Ellery William, Mentz  322
Frye Moses McKinster, Owasco  facing 388
Fosgate Blanchard, M. D., Aubm-n  246
Fitch Jeremiah, Aurelius  between 350-351
Grant J. Lewis, Auburn  facing 153
Gutchess Stephen, Mentz  321
HaU BenjaminF., Auburn  238
Healy Ebenezer, Sennett  facing 345
Healy John Mason, Sennett  " 345
Hewett Ralph, Sterling  266
Hurlburt Amos, Moravia  475
Hunsiker Hoyt, Owasco  517
Howland's Island, Conquest,  286
Hubbard John AV., Auburn,  242
Hunter James, Sterling,  263
Hunter John, Sterling,  264
Hunter Thomas, Sterling  264
Ii-eland John, Sterling,,  266
Irwui James H., Sterhng,  between 2C0-261
Irwin WiUiam, Sterhng,  265
JaiTod Caniield, Aubui-n  between 198-199
Johnson Robert, Ira,  280
Knapp John Tui-uer, Cato,..;  facing 294
Kellet John, Springport,  between 3(;4-365
Letchworth Josiah, Auburn,  234
Lookwood Ilomor, A'ietory,  273
Legei-n John C, Locke,  512
McCrea Thomas, Auburn,  facing 462
McCullen Thomas, Mentz,  322
Miller Ehjah, Auburn,  226
Moreland Moses, Sennett,  facing 341
MyersM. S., Aubm-n,  " 220
Morgan Christopher, Ledyard,  399
Morgan Col. Edwin B., Ledyard,  400
Newland Lemuel A., Niles,  between 446-447

PAGE
Post Geo. L, Sterling  facing 253
Powers Cj'ms, M. D., Moravia,  " 1<56
Patee Eliphalet, Owasco,  " 386
Rich George E., Cato,  " 296
Rooks John, Niles  l-^l
Schuch Louis, Auburn,  ii51
Scott John, Sterling,  267
Searls Theodore J. , Aubum,  243
SearlsRev. AVilliam, Auburn,  243
Seward AVilliam H., Auburn  229
Sheldon Daniel, Brutus  facing .324
Sprague C. Burton, Ira  281
Storke Elliot G. , Anbui-n  2.50
Sunderlin Horace, Sennett  '.  facing 342
Spencer J. O., Springport  374
Sylvester Joseph H., M. D., Moravia  facing 462
Throop Enos Thompson, Auburn  225
Titus AVilliam, Moravia  facing 458
Upcraft John, Sterling  206
A''an Patten Frederick, Auburn  f acin g 105
Van Petten Jacob, Sterhng  200
A'^an Petten Peter, Sterling  260
A'an Etten Abraham, Niles  451
AValdron Jacob N., Sennett  facing 343
AVorden AVarren Thatcher, Auburn  244
AVhite Jonas, Auburn  252
AVhilc Robert, Auburn  facing 177
AVilcox Hai-ry Jellerson, Conquest  287
AVinslow AVarren B. , Sin-ingport  between 304-305
AVooden AVilliam D., Scipio  ,..,..,......  423

MISCELLANEOUS.

List of Citizens who assisted in the publication of
the History of Cayuga County with
Personals  519

INTRODUCTORY

The authentic records of Cayuga County are generally supposed to be limited to the present
race of settlers, embracing a period of about one hundred years, and that all its anterior history was
involved in the doubt and obscurity of vague Indian traditions.
But civilized and thoroughly educated men dwelt here more than two centuries ago. As early
as 1656, French Missionaries resided in this County, arid instructed the Redmen, not only in the
mysteries of their Holy Faith, but also in some of the arts and improvements of their age, of which
interesting remains have, from time to time, been found by subsequent settlers.
Those Missionaries wrote out full and minute accounts of their experiences with the Indians,
including more or less of their habits and modes of life. The latter, however, were most minutely
given in respect to the Huron and other Canadian tribes, who where first visited, and those details
are not repeated in their account of the Cayugas. The latter are chiefly confined to a description
of their efforts to Christianize the savages. These Missionary reports, denominated " Relations,"
were sent to France and hidden away in the musty alcoves of French libraries, and, so far as they
relate to the Cayugas, have not, until quite recently, been accessible to the general reader. For the
translation and publication of the latter we are indebted to the thoughtful efforts of one of our own
citizens,* for the earliest and most interesting facts in the history of the County.
Until the present undertaking, the history of this County has not been written. The materials
for such a work were widely scattered. They laid in the imperfect town, county, society and private
records, and in the vague and faded memories of individuals. The written records were often
fragmentary and, sometimes, entirely wanting ; and of the first generation of settlers, but few only
remain. The great labor and difficulty of collecting and collating such material into systematic order, and
in reconciling conflicting statements, can, therefore, be readily apprehended. Much time and diligent
research have been required. Competent men have visited every locality in the County ; public and
private records have been carefully examined ; well-informed residents consulted, and information
obtained from every other available source.

*Rev. Charles Hawley, D. D., President of the Cayuga County Historical Society.

v"» INTRODUCTORY.

An earlier preparation of this work would have lessened the labor and produced more satisfac
tory results ; would have given access to the personal experience and relations of the very first set
tlers, with whom have died facts and incidents which are now beyond recall.
It must, therefore, be obvious that the time for the publication of such a work had fully come,
and a longer delay would only have added to the obscurity of the facts, and the difficulty of their
acquisition. Atthis date, though we have not the personal experience, and the incidents in the lives
of the very first settlers, as detailed by themselves ; we still have their " oft told tales " from the lips
of their immediate descendants and can thus collect and chronicle, with a close approach to accuracy,
the facts of early history.
In our researches for those facts we have been greatly aided by the intelligent, industrious and
successful efforts of the Cayuga County Historical Society in the same field, to whose interesting
and valuable collection of historical records and papers, we have kindly been given access, and from
which we have derived much valuable material. The following papers read before the society and
on file with it, have especially aided us in the preparation of the chapters to which they respectively
relate : " Travel and Transportation," by the late J. Lewis Grant ; " Art and Professional Artists,"
by Major T. J. Kennedy ; " Medical Societies," by Theodore Dimon, M. D. ; " Homeopathy," by
Horatio Robinson, M. D. ; and the elaborate and scholarly " Biography of the late Hon. Elijah
Miller," by the Hon. Benjamin F. Hall.
We have also consulted the following, among many other similar works ; Smith's History of
New York ; Colonial, Documentary and Natural Histories of New York ; Colden's Five Nations ;
Kipp's and Parkman's Jesuits ; Schoolcraft's Notes ; Bancroft's and Lossing's Histories of the
United. States ; Abbott's and Greeley's Histories of the Rebellion ; Clark's Onondaga ; New
York Civil List, 1879 ; and files of the New York and local journals.
The data for the several town histories have been derived from the various town, society and
private records, and from gentlemen well informed in local history. To the latter, who are too
numerous for individual mention, we hereby express our grateful acknowledgments.
That errors have in all cases been avoided we do not expect ; so far as we have relied upon the
perfection of memory, our statements are subject to its lapses ; but such verbal and traditionary
statements have in all practicable cases been verified by records, and are, in the main, believed to be
substantially correct.
E. G. STORKE.
J. H. SMITH.

HISTORY

OF

Cayuga County.NewYork

CHAPTER I.
Native Inhabitants.
The Iroquois Confederacy — Perfection of
its Organization — Tradition of its Origin
— Hiawatha's Address to the Council —
Extent of their Sway — Sources of their
Power — Their Civil, Social and Political
Codes.
THE first inhabitants of Cayuga County, of
whom authentic records have been pre
served, were the Cayugas, one of the five nations
that formed the famous Iroquois Confederacy.
That Confederacy was the best organized, and the
most powerful of any on the Continent. Its
history is not only very interesting in itself, but
is also very closely connected with the early
settlement and development of this part of the
State, and may, therefore, in a brief form appro
priately introduce the general history of the
County. The history of the five nations is, also,
the history of the Cayugas, as their interests
were always closely allied and their habits and
usages essentially the same.
The Confederacy, at its first formation, com
prised five separate nations, — the Mohawks,
Oneidas, Onondagas, Cayugas and Senecas.
Territorially, the Onondagas were the middle
nation. The Oneidas and Mohawks lying to
the east, and the Cayugas and Senecas to the
west of them. The seat of their government
was upon Onondaga Lake, where their wise
men, — the civil rulers of the league,— assembled
to deliberate upon and determine all questions of

national concern ; and here their council fires
burned for many generations.*
The union of the separate nations was formed
anterior to authentic history ; its date rests only
upon the authority of vague Indian traditions,
which are legendary and fabulous. Like all rude
nations, they trace their origin to supernatural
agencies. Divested of the hyperbole of their
language, the following is a brief account of
their origin :
Hundreds of years ago, Ta-oun-ya-wat-ha, the
deity that presided over the fisheries and streams,
visited the earth to clear the streams, point out
the best fishing and hunting grounds, and bestow
good gifts upon the people. He crossed Lake
Ontario at Osh-wah-kee, Oswego, and disclosed
to two hunters, whom he there met, the object of
his mission. They, at the invitation of the vis
itor, accompanied him over all the lesser lakes,
when he made a full provision for the sustenance of
all good men. He taught the people the art of irais-
*The council fire at Onondaga was finally extinguished January
19, 1777, in the following speech of the Oneida chiefs to Colonel
Elmore : " Brother — We are sent here by the Oneida chiefs, In con
junction with the Onondagas. "they arrived at our village yesterdiy.
They gave us the melancholy news that the grand council fire at
Onondaga was extinguished. We have lost out of their town by
death ninety, among whom are three principal sachems. We, the
remaining part of the Onondagas, do now inform our brethren
that there Is no longer a council fire at the capital of the Six
Nations. However, we are determined to use our feeble endeavors to
support peace through the Confederate nations. But let this be kept
In mind, that the council fire Is extinguished. It is of importance
to our well being, that this be immediately communicated to Gen
eral Schuyler, and likewise to our brothers, the Mohawks. * * "
The reasons for this step have never been satisfactorily explained,
and still remains a mystery.

lO

HIAWATHA'S ADDRESS TO THE COUNCIL.

ing corn and beans, made fishing and hunting free,
and distributed liberally the fruits of the earth.
Having done all this, the spirit man decided to
live as man, among the children of men, whose
habits and character he henceforth assumed. He
was given the nanie of Hi-a-wat-ha,'— very wise
man, — and was consulted by multitudes. After
a few years of quiet, a ferocious band of warriors
from the north of the great lakes, attacked them
and slaughtered many of their people. Hi-a-
wat-ha, being consulted, advised a grand council
of all the tribes, which was held at a spot on the
banks of the Oh-nen-ta-ha, (Onondaga Lake,)
believed to be near the present site of Liverpool.
Three days had the council fire burned, but Hi-
a-wat-ha was absent. He was sought and found
in great dejection and informed the messengers
that he had concluded not to attend the council,
for, he said, he had a fearful " foreboding of ill
fortune." But the business of the council awaited
his presence. After repeated solicitations and
communion with the Great Spirit, he consented
to attend the council, accompanied by a favorite
daughter, where he was received with great re
spect. Soon after he was seated, a monster bird,
of such size as to darkeir the sky, descended with
the speed of lightning, piercing with his monster
bill the body of Hi-a-wat-ha's daughter, killing
her instantly ; the bird being also killed. The
father was greatly dejected, and remained for
three days prone upon the earth, during which
no business was transacted. Finally recovering,
he joined the council and its deliberations pro
ceeded. At the second days' session, he made
them the following address :
" Friettds and Brothers — You are members of
many tribes and nations. You have come here,
many of you, a great distance from your homes ;
you have convened for one common purpose, to
promote one common interest, and that is to
provide for our mutual safety and how it shall
best be accomplished. To oppose these hordes
of northern foes by tribes singly and alone, would
prove our certain destruction ; we can make no
progress in that way ; we must unite ourselves
in one common band of brothers. Our warriors
united, would surely repel these rude invaders
and drive them from our borders. This must be
done, and we shall be safe.
" You, the Mohawks, sitting under the shadow
of ' the great tree,' whose roots sink deep into
the earth, and whose branches spread over a vast
country, shall be the first nation, because you
are warlike and mighty.

" And you, Oneidas, who incline your bodies
against ' the everlasting stone,' that cannot be
moved, shall be the second nation, because you
give wise counsels.
" And you, Onondagas, that have your habi
tation at 'the great mountain,' and are over
shadowed by its crags, shall be the third nation,
because you are greatly gifted in speech and
mighty in war.
" And you, Cayugas, a people whose habitation
is ' the dark forest,' and whose home is every
where, shall be the fourth nation, because of your
superior cunning in hunting.
" And you, Senecas, a people who live in ' the
open country,' and possess much wisdom, shall
be the fifth nation, because you understand better
the art of raising corn and beans and of making
cabins. " You, five great and powerful nations, must
unite and have but one common interest, and
no foe shall be able to disturb or subdue you.
" And you, Manhattans, Nyacks, Metoacks and
others, who are as ' the feeble bushes ;' and
you, Narragansetts, Mohegans, Wampanoags and
your neighbors, who are ' a fishing people,' may
place yourselves under our protection. Be with
us and we will defend you. You of the South
and you of the West may do the same, and we
will protect you. We earnestly desire your
alliance and friendship.
"Brothers, if you unite in this bond, the Great
Spirit will smile upon you, and we shall be free,
prosperous and happy ; but if we remain as we
are, we shall be subject to his frown ; we shall
be enslaved, ruined, perhaps annihilated forever ;
we shall perish, and our names be blotted out
from among the nations of men.
" Brothers, these are the words of Hi-a-wat-ha.
Let them sink deep into your hearts. I have
said it."
The great Confederacy was immediately formed
and it continued until its power was broken by
the war of the Revolution. Such is a summary
of the tradition of their origin, current among
the Onondagas, and given on the authority of
two of their head chiefs.
But, however or when its origin, the success
of the union was complete. Not only did it end
the internal wars of the separate nations, but it
enabled the Confederacy to exterminate, or effect
ually subdue, their troublesome neighbors. They
assumed the title of the " People of the Long
House," and started upon the war-path, to re
venge themselves upon their enemies, in which
they were remarkably successful, becoming, in
time, the dictators of the continent, holding
practical sway over a territory estimated tp be

EXTENT OF THE SWAY OF THE IROQUOIS.

II

twelve hundred miles long by eight hundred
broad, embracing a large part of New England
and reaching thence to the Mississippi; while
the Cherokees and Catawbas in the far south
were humbled by their power.
From the conquered nations they exacted
tribute, and drew conscripts for their armies.
They adopted the Tuscaroras, who resided in
Carolina, into the Confederacy in 17 13, and were
thereafter known as the Six Nations. From the
extent of their conquests, the number of their
subject nations, and the tribute and military aid
rendered to them by the latter, they have been
called the " Romans of the New World."
This Confederacy, so widely controlling in its
influence, held in actual possession a territory
extending only from the Hudson to the Niagara,
and from Lake Ontario to the Susquehanna ;
and of their own warriors could bring into the
fight barely two thousand brav-es.
The westernmost nations, the Cayugas and the
Senecas, occupied the most inviting part of the
Confederacy, — the beautiful " lake country," and
the equally beautiful but more fertile valley of
the Genesee. Here the greatest improvements
had been made in the building of houses, and
the cultivation of the soil. Their traditions
credited the Senecas with a residence in " the
open country," and as " best understanding the
art of cultivating beans and corn," and of " build
ing cabins." The correctness of these traditions
is fully verified by the account given by General
Sullivan when passing over this region in the
Fall of 1779, on his famous campaign, just one
hundred years ago, and nearly fifty years before
the settlement of the present people. Whether
the improvements described by him were the
result of early missionary instruction or made by
an anterior race is an unsolved question. The
trees had been removed from thousands of acres ;
old orchards existed, and evidences of long cul
tivation abounded. General Sullivan reports
that in 1779, " the Indian town of Genesee con
tained one hundred and twenty-eight houses,
mostly large and elegant. It vvas beautifully
situated, encircled by a clear flat extending a
number of miles, over which fields of corn were
waving, together with every kind of vegetable
that could be conceived of." Similar towns were
also found at other points of his march. The
whole valley presented the appearance of having

been cultivated for generations, and the farms,
orchards and gardens were cultivated with care.
Apples, pears and peaches were among the fruits
produced. It is, perhaps, difficult for the generation of
young readers to now fully credit the accounts
of the degree of civilization to which the Senecas
had attained at that early date ; yet. Colonel
Stone, in his life of Brant, says, " that they had
several towns and many large villages laid out
with considerable regularity. They had framed
houses, some of them well finished, having
chimneys and painted ; they had broad and
productive fields." The "howling wilderness"
and the " dark forest," usually associated with
all Indian life, had here given place to cultivated
fields, fruitful orchards and gardens, and comfort
able houses. The sources of the great power
and influence of the Five ]S[ations may be found
in their habits and modes of life, and in the rare
wisdom of their social and political systems.
They were forest tribes, subsisting mainly by
the chase.
Between the various Indian tribes of this
country there were marked physical differences.
The figure of the Iroquois was erect and com
manding ; he was reserved and haughty; cool,
deliberate and cunning. The prairie Indians,
with very different habits, were more nervous,
social and excitable. Charles T. Hoffman, Esq.,
thus traces the cause of these differences: "The
Pawnees, following the buffalo in his migrations,
and having always plenty of animal food to sub
sist upon, are a much bettfer fed and a larger race
than those who find a precarious subsistence in
the forest chase ; while the woodland tribes,
who, though not so plump in form, are of a more
wiry and, perhaps, muscular make, have again a
decided advantage in figure and gait over the
fishing and trapping tribes of the North-west that
pass most of their time in canoes. This differ
ence in character and physical appearance, be
tween the different Indian races, or rather be--
tween those tribes which have such different
methods of gaining a livelihood, has not been
sufficiently attended to by modern authors,
though it did not escape the early French writers
on this country. And yet, if habit have any
effect in forming the character and temper of a
rude people, it must of course follow that the
savage who lives in eternal sunshine upon flowery

12

SOCIAL SYSTEMS OF THE IROQUOIS.

plains, and hunts on horseback with a troop of
tribesmen around him, must be a different
being from the solitary deer-stalker who wanders
through the dim forest, depending upon his single
arm for subsistence for his wife and children."
But the Iroquois differed more from the other
nations in their civil, social and political systems.
Their Confederacy was a very efficient though
simple plan of union. The entire control of all
civil matters affecting the common interest was
vested in a national council of about fifty
sachems, — though in some instances as many as
eighty, — chosen at first from their wisest men in
the several nations, and afterwards hereditary in
their families. All the nations were represented.
Each nation had a single vote in the council,
and no measure could be adopted except by the
concurrence of all the nations. To produce this
unanimity, the persuasive powers of reason and
eloquence were constantly employed, and here
were trained their famous orators.*
In his own nation, each sachem was a local
civil magistrate, and decided the differences be
tween his people, in public audiences of his
tribe. In military matters he had no control;
these were confided to chiefs of tribes. If he
engaged in war, he held only the rank of a com
mon warrior. This national council met as often
as their exigencies required, on the shore of
Onondaga Lake, and discussed and decided all
questions relating to peace or war; negotiations
with other nations, and all matters of common
interest relating to the internal affairs of the
Confederacy. Every question was fully dis
cussed with dignity and courtesy.
Each nation was divided into eight clans or
tribes, each having a specific device or totem.
These devices were wolves, bears, beavers, tur
tles, deer, herons, snipes and hawks. The first
four, in all the nations, were accounted brothers
of each other ; the last four, though brothers of
each other, were cousins only to the first four.
Each tribe composed a family, but, while all its
*The orators studied euphony in their words and in their arrange
ment. Their graceful attitudes and gestures and their flowing
sentences rendered their discourses, if not always eloquent, at least
highly Impressive. An erect and commanding figure, with a blanket
thrown loosely over the shoulder, his naked arm raised, and address
ing. In impassioned strains, a group of simitar persons sitting upon
the ground around him, would, to use the Illustration of an early
historian of this State, give no faint picture of Rome In her early
days. — Smith's History of New Tori,

members were accounted brothers and sisters of
each other, they also were brothers and sisters
of the members of all the other tribes having
the same device.
Here was an ingenious linking of all the
members of each tribe to all the others in the
Confederacy. That bond of union was also
further strengthened by the laws applicable to
marriage. No one of the brothers, — that is, no
one bearing either of the first four devices, wolf,
bear, beaver or turtle, — could seek his bride from
any tribe having those devices ; but must take
her from cousins, — that is, from one of the tribes
bearing one or the other of the last four devices.
The tribal brothers and sisters could not inter
marry. It will thus be seen that in forming their social
and political codes, the Iroquois displayed much
shrewdness and wisdom. They bound their
people together, not only by the strong ties of
political interests, but of affection ; linking to
gether the separate parts of each tribe and nation,
and also each nation to every other.

CHAPTER II.

Native Inhabitants, (Continued.)
The Iroquois and Early Colonists — French,
Dutch and English Settlements — The
Various Wars Between the French and
the Iroquois from the First Settlement
to the Close of the Revolution — Failure
of the French — Triumph of the English.
FRANCE, Holland and Great Britain sup
plied the first colonists of Canada and
New York. The first permanent French settle
ment in Canada was made in 1608, on the site
of Quebec, by Governor Champlain. The Dutch
built a fort on Manhattan Island in 1614, and
one at Albany in 161 5 ; but they had sent out
ships to traffic with the natives as early as 1610.
In 1664 the English supplanted the Dutch and
rapidly colonized the eastern coast. These dates
are important as showing the first opportunities
of intercourse with the whites which the natives
had enjoyed.

CHAMPLAIN'S INVASION.

13

The French maintained friendly relations with
the Canadian and Western Indians for nearly
one hundred and fifty years, with whom they
carried on a large trade, supplying the natives
with such merchandise and commodities as they
needed, in return for furs and skins. But for
nearly that entire period, the French were at war
with the Iroquois, the Dutch or the English,
always aided by their Indian allies.
When the French built, their fort at Quebec
in 1608, the Adirondacks — a very powerful band
of Indians — had been defeated by the Iroquois
after several severe contests, and were not only
driven from their lands in northern New York,
but were pursued into Canada and driven to the
vicinity of the French settlements. Champlain
supplied the Adirondacks with arms, and joined
them in an expedition against the Iroquois, and
here began that horrible series of barbarities
which continued for more than a century and a
half, from which the French in Canada and the
colonists of New York suffered beyond descrip
tion. The former much more than the latter,
a just punishment, as thc originators of the
horrid work.
The French justly expected to produce great
terror among the Iroquois by their fire-arms, and
to force them to easy terms of peace. They met
and easily routed a few hundred of them on the
shore of Lake Champlain, and then returned to
Canada. But though greatly frightened at the
noise and the destruction wrought by the French
guns, the Iroquois were not induced to make
ignoble terms of peace, but contented themselves
for the time by hiding in the wilderness. This
occurred in 1609, and was the first meeting of
the Iroquois with the white men.
¦ The next invasion was in 16 15, when Governor
Champlain led an expedition, consisting of a few
Frenchmen and four hundred Huron allies, in an
attack upon an Iroquois fort, situated in the
country of the Onondagas. According to
Champlain's account, the village was enclosed by
four rows of interlaced palisades thirty feet high.
It was near a body of unfailing water, and con
ductors had been so arranged along the palisades
as to lead the water for extinguishing fires.
Inside were galleries protected by ball -proof
parapets. At the first fire the Indians fled into the fort ;
Champlain then constructed a movable tower of

sufficient height to overlook the palisades and
moved it near to the fort, placing marksmen
therein to fire over the palisades, while the men
themselves were protected by the tower. Un
successful attempts were made to fire the palis
ades, but Champlain's forces, consisting mainly
of undisciplined Hurons, could not be controlled
and they suffered severely from the arrows of
those in the fort. Champlain himself was
severely wounded, and many of his allies were
killed and wounded. The latter became so dis
orderly as to compel the abandonment of the
expedition, which, after lying before the fort for
six days, started on its return to Canada,*
The Five Nations now artfully sued for peace.
To this the French consented on the condition
that they might send Jesuit priests among them,
their object in this being to win over the Five
Nations to French allegiance ; but on the arrival
of the priests, the Indians held them as hostages
to compel the neutrality of the French while
they made war upon the Adirondacks. This
they did, and severely defeated them within a
few miles of Quebec. So severe were the losses
of the Adirondacks, and so terrified were the
Indian allies of the French, that several of the
tribes fled to the remote South-west beyond, as
they believed, the reach of their terrible enemies.
The Adirondacks, however, remained, and on
them the Five Nations planned another raid.
They gave out that they would pay the Governor
of Canada a friendly visit, and set out upon it
with a thousand warriors. Meeting on their way
a leading chief of the Adirondacks, they com
pletely deceived him and secured his confidence.
They learned from him that his people wer.e
scattered into hunting parties, whose precise
localities they also ascertained. They then
murdered the unsuspecting chief, and, dividing
their own forces, fell upon the scattered parties
* The precise location of this fort hna been for some tiiVic in
controversy. It had been considered as located upon the shore of
Onondaga Lake, yet General John S. Clark, of Auburn, N. Y.,
who has carefully examined the question, says: "That the east
branch of the Limestone is the dividing line absolutely between the
historic and pre-hlstoric town sites of the Onondagas ; and that
Champlain's narrative contains Internal, evidence, In statements of
fact, unquestionably, that the fort was within a few miles at least,
and south of Oneida Lake. ** General Clark designates *,' a well-
known town site in Madison County on the farm of Rufus H,
Nichols, on what is known as the Mile Strip, about three miles east
of Perryville, as the home of the Onondagas at that period, and as
being the identical posldon of the fort attacked by Champlain.''

14

CONFLICTS BETWEEN THE FRENCH AND IROQUOIS.

of the Adirondacks, who became their easy prey.
That brave and powerful nation, — the only one
that had hitherto successfully resisted them, —
were thus annihilated by the strategy of the
Iroquois. In 1650 the Hurons and the Utawawas who
had fled, as they supposed, beyond the reach of
the Five Nations; were sought out by the latter ;
but, being advised that their dreaded enemy was
on their trail, they made their home with the
Pottawatomies. Yet, even here, they were com
pelled to make peace with their old conquerors.
In 1665 the French colony at Quebec received
a reinforcement of some fifteen hundred soldiers.
The Governor, now feeling himself sufficiently
strong, resolved to punish the perfidy of the Five
Nations by an attack upon the Mohawks. This
he attempted the ensuing Winter, but the ex
pedition failed for want of supplies, the troops
suffering greatly. The following year, 1666, the
effort was renewed with all the available force of
the French with the view of breaking the power
of the Five Nations ; but, with their usual sagacity,
the Mohawks not being strong enough to suc
cessfully contend against so powerful a force,
fled to the forest on its approach, and left the
enemy to exhaust himself in a contest with priva
tion and hardship in the wilderness, which he
soon did, abandoning the expedition after des
troying a few hamlets. The losses suffered in
this expedition so humbled the pride of the
French that they negotiated a peace in 1667.
Between the Dutch and English in New York
and the French in Canada there was a constant
rivalry for the Indian trade in furs and skins,
which was very lucrative. The Dutch and
English maintained a nearly unbroken friend
ship with the Five Nations, and the latter by
their great prowess exercised such control over
the Western Indians as greatly to interfere with
the French trade with them. The frequent col
lisions of the colonists with each other, and with
the Indians, grew out of the rivalry for this
trade. In, these contests for the Indian trade,
the French were the most adventurous and suc
cessful, sending their traders far into the wilder
ness, and protecting them by forts and garrisons.
But the Five Nations were a great hinderance to
their success. They often interrupted supplies
of goods and ammunition destined for their
trading posts, as well as the furs and skins in

their transit to the East, and made them their
own. The Senecas were the most prominent
in these raids, and held the French in less respect
than any other of the Five Nations. They were
less controlled by the Jesuit priests, who had but
little influence with them. From the English
they received supplies of arms, ammunition and
other goods, and their relations to the latter were
intimate and friendly.
In 1685 the Marquis de Nonville succeeded
as Governor of Canada, and, coming with strong
reinforcements, he resolved to divert the Five
Nations from their inroads among the river In
dians by giving them employment at home ; and
especially to overawe and punish the Senecas.
Accordingly, in 1687 he invaded them with a
force of two thousand French and Indians.
The Five Nations were aware of the strong
force sent against them, and made every possible
arrangement for defense. In the first and only
encounter with the Senecas, M. de Nonville's
army was completely routed with severe loss,
being unexpectedly attacked by the Senecas
lying in ambush. The French did not risk an
other engagement, but contented themselves
with destroying a few hamlets and corn-fields
and left for home, disappointed and chagrined at
their failure.
On their way they built a strong fort at
Niagara, garrisoned it with one hundred men
and provisioned it for eight months. This fort
the Five Nations closely besieged, and the gar- .
rison nearly all perished by hunger. This bold
inroad into the most powerful nation of the Con
federacy alarmed them, and they applied to the
Governor of New York for protection, which
was promised them. They were advised not to
make peace with the French, and supplies of
arms and ammunition were promised them.
But M. de Nonville called a meeting of the
chiefs of the Five Nations at Montreal, with the
object of arranging terms of peace, and they
decided to send representatives for that purpose.
Adario, chief of the Western Indians, having a
distrust of the French and anxious to prevent
the intended peace, ambushed the embassy and
killed or made prisoners the whole body, pre
tending to be acting for the French Governor
without a knowledge of the object of the mission ;
when informed of its object by his prisoners, he
manifested great indignation at the treachery

RETURN OF COUNT FRONTENAC.

IS

and dismissed them with presents. They re
turned, burning with indignation, completely
deceived by the crafty manner of Adario.
War followed. The French knew nothing of
the cruel treachery of Adario, nor of the advance
upon them of a strong Indian force. Twelve
hundred warriors thirsting for revenge, on the
26th of July, 1688, landed stealthily on the island
of Montreal and began their horrid work with
nothing to impede them. They " burned,
plundered, sacked and laid waste the country on
all sides," slaughtered its inhabitants without
mercy, to the estimated number of one thousand,
and returned glutted with vengeance, with but
insignificant loss. In October the Five Nations
repeated their visit to this ill-fated island, and
ravaged, murdered and burned the lower part of
it, taking many prisoners.
These successes of the Five Nations were
spread widely among all the Indian tribes, lessen
ing French influence with them, and inspiring
still greater dread of the Iroquois. The French
colony was in great disorder, and the Western
Indians were seeking to ally their interests with
the English. If that should be effected, the
destruction of the colony appeared inevitable.
They could not endure burdens much more
oppressive than those under which they now
suffered. They had lost several thousand of
their people by stealthy savage inroads'; no one
left his home without fear of a lurking foe, while
the torch was liable at any moment to be applied
to his cabin, and the tqmahawk to fall upon the
defenseless heads of his wife and children. Crops
were planted and cultivated in constant fear, and
when grown were often doomed to destruction.
Provisions were, therefore, in short supply, and a
threatened famine was added to the other
horrors of the situation.
In 1689, Count Frontenac, whose management
of the colony had been sagacious and much more
successful than any of the other Governors, was
again sent to arouse its flagging spirits. He sought
to convene a council of the Five Nations and ne
gotiate a peace with them. This they declined.
He then employed force to terrify and induce
them to remain neutral in the war existing
between the French and English. Accordingly,
he sent out three separate parties to attack the
English settlements, one of which attacked and
desolated the village of Schenectady. The

purpose of these expeditions was to lessen the
influence of the English with the Five Nations,
but they failed of their object. This was in the
Winter of i689-'90.
Count Frontenac still continued his efforts to
bring about a peace with the Five Nations, send
ing ambassadors to them for that purpose ; but
they made them run the gauntlet and then
delivered them to the English. The Iroquois
kept up their raids upon the French settlements,
inflicting serious injury and producing constant
alarm. A combined land arid naval force, under the
command of Major Peter Schuyler, made attacks
upon Quebec and Montreal ; but they were re
pulsed, and the expedition proved a failure. The
Indians, however, still continued their stealthy
raids, which were more dreaded and really more
destructive to the French interests than the
more imposing efforts of their English allies.
In the Summer of 1691, Major Peter Schuyler
led a party of the Five Nations in a successful
attack upon the French settlements, which they
despoiled. The Five Nations also took posses
sion of the passes between the French and their
allies, the Western Indians, and captured the
traders and others going over those routes.
They also made another bold incursion into the
territory about Montreal, carrying everything
before them except the fortresses, to which all
who could retired, and in which, while the In
dians remained, they kept themselves imprisoned.
On their return this expedition was pursued by a
French and Indian force, and suffered a consid
erable loss.
In June, 1692, a formal treaty of alliance and
friendship, was entered into between the English
and the Five Nations, meanwhile Count Frontenac
was not inactive. In January, 1693, he set out
with a force of seven hundred French and In
dians on snow-shoes, for a Winter campaign
among the Mohawks, and after suffering terrible
hardships in their long march through the forests,
succeeded in capturing three of their castles and
about three hundred prisoners. Though pursued
on their return by a party of Albany militia, they
escaped without serious loss. This successful
raid greatly alarmed the English settlers, and
dispirited the Five Nations. They saw that
surprises could be made by their enemies as well
as by themselves, and the Iroquois were now

i6

p-AILURE OF PEACE NEGOTIATIONS.

more inclined to listen to the French proposals
of peace, and the latter, having been the greater
sufferers from the war, were quite anxious that it
should cease.
Through the next two years, 1693-94, peace
negotiations were, carried on, to which the
Cayugas, Onondagas, and Oneidas were more
inclined than the Senecas and the Mohawks.
The Senecas hated the French and were not
so much influenced by the Jesuit priests as the
Middle Nations, while the Mohawks were the
immediate neighbors of the English, and much
influenced by them in favor of continuing the war
although they had been the greatest sufferers
from it.
While the question of peace was under dis
cussion, a prominent chief who had visited
Canada to confer with the praying Iroquois who
resided there, and having there learned the
French conditions of peace, reported them to a
general convention in Albany, composed of com
missioners from New York, Massachusetts, Con
necticut and New Jersey. The French terms
were found to be inadmissible. They were that
the English should not trade with the Canada
Indians, or the other Indian allies of the French ;
that the French might rebuild and garrison the
fort at Cadaraqui, and their Indian allies should
be included in the peace. To these terms the
Five Nations would not consent ; and the nego
tiations failed.
The Governor of Canada now proposed to
force them to submission, and made arrange
ments to attack the Mohawks in force. But his
plans being reported by an escaped prisoner, and
learning the preparations made to repel him, he
abandoned the purpose. In 1695 he sent a party
to repair the fort at Cadaraqui which was im
portant to the French trade with the Western
Indians, as a place for supplies and deposit for
the men in the trade to and from the West and
of security in time of war with the Five Nations.
The fort was repaired and garrisoned and named
Frontenac, in honor of the Governor. He now
began preparations on a large scale to effect the
subjugation of the Five Nations. He collected
all his regular troops, the whole body of the
militia of the colony, and all the Western Indians
whom he could muster ; prepared cannon and
mortars, and every destructive military device
known to the times, and began his march on the

fourth of July, 1696. Their destination was the
Onondaga Nation, which they finally reached ;
but the Onondagas, informed by an escaped
Seneca prisoner of the host of the enemy and
of the destructive engines they used, burned
their castle and bark cabins and fled with their
families to the forest, leaving only their fields of
corn for the French to ravage. The Onondagas
are said not to have lost a single man by this,
the most formidable expedition which the French
had ever brought against the Five Nations. It
was a signal failure. It was, however, a great
drain upon the feeble resources of the colony.
In it had embarked the great body of the agri
culturists, and at a season of the year when their
labors were required to cultivate and secure their
crops. A famine was the result, producing great
suffering, aggravated by repeated inroads of small
bodies of the Iroquois who carried away many
captives and much property, keeping the settle
ments in constant alarm. The French, at the
same time made similar attacks upon the English
in the vicinity of Albany and, as most of the
men engaged in these predatory raids on both
sides, were Indians, the horror and terror which
they produced can be easier imagined than
described. The Western Indians, hitherto in close alliance
with the French, and from whom the main part
of their trade had come, now concluded a peace
with the Five Nations, desiring to avail them
selves of the benefits of a trade with the English,
from whom they believed they could procure
goods on better terms than from the French.
The Cayugas in September, 1697, made applica
tion to the English at Albany for ammunition, in
order to defend themselves from the French.
By the treaty of Ryswick, signed September
10th, 1697, peace was established between the
English and French, but a question subsequently
arose as to the Five Nations. The French were
not willing to include them in the settlement, but
the English so strongly insisted upon it, that the
point was finally conceded, and a general peace
for the time prevailed, both between the French
and English, and also between the other Indians
and the Five Nations. Still the old rivalries
and jealousies between the F"rench and English
continued. The former, through the great
influence of the Jesuit priests that resided
with the Five Nations, had an advantage which

FRIENDLY RELATIONS BETWEEN THE ENGLISH AND IROQUOIS. 17

the English did not possess. The priests
induced very large numbers of the Iroquois to
locate in Canada, where they were clothed and
maintained by the French, instructed in the
Roman Catholic faith, and taught to regard the
English as enemies and the French as their best
friends. So large had been the flow of the
Iroquois into Canada, that Robert Livingston,
the English Secretary of Indian Affairs, in 1700
reported that " more than two-thirds of them had
removed." This alarmed the English, as they saw the
domestic treatment of the Indians by the French
was not only rapidly alienating them from the
English, but secured them as residents of their
country and in every way allying them to their
interests. The most active steps were, there
fore, taken to counteract French influence and
to win back the Five Nations to their former
allegiance to the English crown. For this pur
pose repeated councils were held with them, their
wants and grievances fully ascertained, and im
mediate steps taken to supply and redress them.
The fullest assurances were given the Indians at
these councils that the King would protect them ;
that the English had always been their friends,
while the French had constantly sought to
destroy them ; that the Jesuit priests had filled
their ears with false stories only to cheat them ;
that the English would build them forts for their
protection and supply them with arms and am
munition, and that they would supply them with
clothing and necessary utensils, and send and
maintain protestant priests among them for their
instruction. The result of the several councils held with
the English, was a pacification of the Indians.
In a council of the Cayugas, Onondagas, Oneidas,
Senecas and Mohawks, held August nth, 1700,
they declared through their chief speakers, that
"they would discredit the idle tales of the
French, continue firm to the crown of England,
if it will protect them from its enemies, and were
thankful for the promise of protestant ministers,"
and that, though the French had promised them
Jesuit priests, they were determined to "stick to
the religion of the King." Earl Belmont respon
ded, " we have a law for seizing and securing all
Jesuit priests, and I would gladly put the law in
operation against these disturbers of mankind."
The Indians promised to seize, and bring them

before him, and not allow them in their country.
A fort was to be built for them at Onondaga,
and, in case of war, one hundred English soldiers
to be placed therein with the necessary arms
including cannon. While the fort was building,
Earl Belmont " gave the sachems two hundred
bags of balls of one hundred pounds each, two
hundred fusees, two hundred pounds of lead, two
thousand flints, one hundred hatchets, two
hundred knives, two hundred shirts, forty kegs
of rum of two gallons each, sixty-three hats,
three barrels of pipes, with tobacco, etc."
As showing the effect of religious instruction
upon some of the Indians at this early day, we!
quote the following answer of one of their
principal chiefs, Sadekanaghtie, to the proposition
to furnish them with protestant' ministers :
" God hath been pleased to create us, and the
sun hath shined long upon us. We have lived
many years in peace and union together and we
hope, by. your instructions, to be taught to be
good Christians and to die in the Christian faith.
Let us, therefore, go hand in hand and support
each other. We were here before you, and were
a strong and numerous people, when you were
but young and striplings. Yet we were kind
and cherished you, and, therefore, when we pro
pose anything to you, if you cannot agree to it
let us take counsel together that matters may be
carried on smoothly, and that what we say may
not be taken amiss. When we are to be
instructed in the protestant religion, pray let not
such severity be used as the Jesuits do in Canada,
who whip their proselytes with, an iron chain,
cut off the warriors hair, put them in prison,
and when they commit any heinous sin, the
priest takes his opportunity when they are asleep
and beats them severely. Now, as a token of
our willingness to be instructed in the protestant
religion, we give nine beaver-skins."
The peace and good-will established by these
various acts of kindness toward the Five Nations
bound them permanently to the English ; but
lest the Jesuit priests should again seduce them
from their allegiance, a stringent law was passed
in 1700 by the Colonial Assembly of New York,
by which the penalty of hanging was imposed
upon every Jesuit priest that came voluntarily
into the province. The English were most
assiduous in their efforts to keep bright the chain
of friendship with their Indian allies, for on that
depended the success of their trade with them,
and the security of their frontier settlements.
'They distributed liberal presents to their chiefs,
five of whom were taken to England to give

i8

TUSCARORAS ADOPTED BY THE IROQUOIS.

them an idea of the splendor and power of the
government that protected them. By the treaty
of Utrecht, concluded March 31st, 171 3, the
French relinquished all claims to the country of
the Five Nations, which thereafter became an
appendage of the English crown.
There being now no war-paths in the North or
West for the Five Nations to traverse, they
turned their attention to the Southern Indians
who had been engaged in hostilities against the
white settlements in that locality ; they chastised
their old enemies, the Flatheads, living in Caro
lina, and returned with many scalps and prison
ers. While on this expedition, 171 3, they
adopted the Tuscaroras as their Sixth Nation.
That nation had been one of the most powerful
of the Southern Indians ; but had been severely
beaten in a terrible war just before the arrival of
the Iroquois, in which they had lost one thousand
warriors. The Iroquois took them under their
protection and finally located them among the
Senecas, in the now County of Niagara, where
a remnant of them still remains.
From 1744 to 1748 the French and English
were again at war, which was concluded by the
treaty of Aix La Chapelle, April 30th, 1748.
This contest had been for the possession of the
Mississippi Valley, which the English claimed as
an extension of their coast discoveries and settle
ments, and the French by right of occupancy,
as their forts extended from Canada to Louisiana,
and formed a " bow of which the English colo
nies were the string." At this time the English
colonists numbered over one million, while the
French had only about sixty thousand. But
this war had settled nothing, the question was
still undecided.
In 175 s the contest was renewed and what
was called the " old French war " began, which
was continued for eight years and was concluded
by the treaty of Paris in 1763. In this war the
Canadian and Western Indians adhered to the
French, and the. Six Nations to the English.
The French were vanquished and the sovereignty
of the country conceded to England.
The differences hitherto existing between
France and England and their colonies were now
finally settled ; but the English colonists and
the parent country were soon to engage in a war
of equal duration with the "French war," and-
attended with greater sufferings and sacrifices.

The Iroquois that had so long and so faithfully
adhered to the colonists and the King in all their
contests with the French, were now to be
divided, the larger part siding with the King
against their white neighbors. One thousand
eight hundred of their warriors engaged during
the war of the revolution in the British service,
while but two hundred and twenty adhered to
the colonists. The Cayugas, Onondagas and
Senecas were of the former, and were often on
the war-path rendering the crown very import
ant services.
Their atrocities at Wyoming and along the
frontiers of New York aroused Congress to
earnest efforts to so effectually cripple them as
to prevent the recurrence of similar outrages.
Accordingly in the Summer of 1779, a formidable
expedition, under the command of Generals
Sullivan and Clinton, was dispatched into the
territory of these nations with instructions " to
cut off their settlements, destroy their crops, and
inflict upon them every other injury which time
and circumstances would permit."* This order
of the commander-in-chief was most successfully
executed. A force of five thousand men well
armed, including artillery, and every way pre
pared for the work in hand, invaded the terri
tories of the Cayugas, Senecas and Onondagas,
defeated the combined forces of the British and
Iroquois, driving them from a strongly intrenched
position about one mile from Newtown, now
Elmira, creating the wildest panic among them.
The following extracts from the journal of an
officer that accompanied Sullivan's expedition
will show some of the more interesting incidents
of the campaign :
"August 31st, 1779. — Decamped at eight
o'clock, marched over mountainous ground until
we arrived at the forks of Newtown ; there
entered on a low bottom ; crossed the Cayuga
branch and encamped on a pine plain. * * «
Here we left the Tioga branch to our left. * *
" September 2d. — Came up with the army at
the town (Catharine's Town) and encamped.
" September 3d. — Destroyed it together with
the corn, beans, etc., and decamped at eight
o'clock in the morning ; after marching three
miles fell in on the east side of Seneca Lake.
* * At two o'clock passed Apple-tree
Town, situated on the bank of the lake. This
day marched eleven miles over high, though
level, ground. * *
* Washington's letter to Governor Clinton.

INCIDENTS OF SULLIVAN'S CAMPAIGN.

19

^ " September 4th.— Marched twelve miles,
* and encamped in the woods beside
the lake. This day and yesterday passed sevferal
corn fields and scattering houses, which we
destroyed as we passed along. * *
" September Sth.— Decamped in the morning,
and about twelve o'clock arrived at Kandaia, a
fine town, lying about one-half mile from the
lake; here we found a great plenty of apple
trees ; it evidently appears to be an old inhabited
town ; their houses were large and elegant, some
beautifully painted ; their tombs likewise,
especially their chief warriors, are beautifully
painted boxes, which they build over the grave,
of planks hewn out of timber. * *
" September 7th. — * * Arrived at
sundown at the north-west corner of the lake
where we destroyed a town and some corn and
proceeded to Kanadaseago, the capital of the
Senecas. This town lies on a level spot of
ground about one mile and a half north of the
lake and consists of about sixty houses and great
plenty of apple and peach trees. * *
" September 8th. — The army employed this
day in destroying the corn, beans, etc., at this
place, of which there was a great quantity. The
rifle-men were detached this morning to Kash-
anguash, about eight miles south.
" September loth. — * * About two
o'clock fell in with a small lake at the outlet of
which lies the town of Canandaigua, consisting
of upwards of twenty houses, which we set fire
to and decamped. This town, from the appear
ance of the buildings, seemed to have been in
habited by white people ; some of the houses
have very neat chimneys, which the Indians
have not, but build a fire in the center around
which they gather.
" September nth. — * * Reached Han-
neyaye. * * This town lies at the
head of a small lake in a rich valley, consisting
of thirteen or fourteen good houses and neatly
built. Here, likewise, we found a great quantity
of corn, beans, etc:
"September 13th. — * * Marched to
the town where we were employed in destroying
the corn, etc., until noon ; from this place
Lieutenant Boyd of the rifle corps was detached
with fifteen or twenty men to reconnoiter the
next town seven miles distant. Killed and
scalped two Indians in the town. On his return
found his retreat cut off and surrounded by five
or six hundred savages ; defended himself until
his men were all cut off but himself and one
man, when he surrendered; whom we afterward
found in Chennessee Castle tortured in a most
cruel manner."
The horrid death of this young and gallant
officer is thus related by Colonel Stone in his
life of Brant :

" From the battle-field. Brant conducted Lieut.
Boyd and his fellow captive to Little Beard's town,
where they found Col. Butler with a detachment
of (British) rangers. While under the supervision
of IBrant, the Lieutenant was well treated and safe
from danger ; but the chief being called away in
the discharge of his multifarious duties Boyd was
left with Butler, who soon after began to examine
him, by questions as to the situation, numbers
and intention of General Sullivan and his troops.
He, of course, declined answering all improper
questions ; whereat Butler threatened that if he
did not give him full and explicit information he
would deliver him up to the tender mercies of the
Indians. Relying confidently upon the assur
ances of the generous Mohawk chieftain, Boyd
still refused, and Butler, fulfilling his bloody
threat, delivered him over to Little Beard and
his clan, the most ferocious of the Seneca tribe.
The gallant fellow was immediately put to death
by torture, and in the execution there was a re
finement of cruelty of which it is not known
that a parallel instance occurred during the
whole war. Having been denuded, Boyd was
tied to a sapling, where the Indians first practiced
upon the steadiness of his nerves by hurling
their tomahawks apparently at his head, but so
as to strike the trunk of the sapling as near to
his head as possible without hitting it, groups of
Indians in the meantime brandishing their
knives and dancing around him with the most
frantic demonstrations of joy. His nails were
pulled out, his nose cut off and one of his eyes
plucked out. His tongue was also cut out and
he was stabbed in various places. After amus
ing themselves sufficiently in this way, a small
incision was made in his abdomen and the end
of one of his intestines taken out and fastened to
the tree. The victim was then unbound and
driven around the tree by brute force until his
intestines had all been literally drawn from his
body and wound around the tree. His suffer
ings were then terminated by striking his head
from his body."
" September 14th. — * * After fording
the river, raised a considerable hill timbered
chiefly with white oak and entered on another
flat on which stands the capital of the Chennes
see, consisting of upward of one hundred and
twenty houses, and vast quantities of corn,
beans, pumpkins, potatoes, etc.
"September 15th.-— This morning the whole
army paraded at six o'clock to destroy the corn,
etc., which could only be done by gathering the
corn in the houses and setting fire to them.
"September i6th. — This morning' after de
stroying the corn, etc., on the south-east corner
of the flats, recrossed the branch of the Chen- •
nessee River on logs. * *
" September 20th. — * * This morning
detached Colonel Zebulon Butler, of Wyoming,

20

THE FINAL DEFEAT OF THE SIX NATIONS.

with the rifle corps and five hundred men to
Cayuga Lake to destroy the settlements there. *
"September 21st. — This morning detached
Lieutenant-Colonel Dearborn, with two hundred
men, to destroy the corn and settlements along
the south side of Cayuga Lake. * *
" September 28th. — Colonel Butler with his
detachment arrived, having destroyed a vast
quantity of corn, beans, apple-trees, etc., on the
east side of Cayuga Lake, and burnt three
towns, among wliich was the capital of the
Cayuga tribe. This day Colonels Cortland and
Dayton were sent with large detachments to
destroy corn."
This was the most terrible blow the Iroquois
had ever received, and from which they never
recovered. The whole country of the Onon
dagas, Cayugas and Senecas was overrun, their
towns, orchards and crops destroyed, and them
selves compelled to seek refuge for support
among other nations, as their own supplies were
destroyed. They fled in large numbers to
Niagara and were supported by the English, and
few only of the whole number ever returned to
their lands.
The great severity with which they were
treated may be criticised ; but the cruelties
which they had inflicted upon the settlers at
Wyoming, Cherry Valley and elsewhere, were
the most horrid and wanton, and so long as they
had the power their repetition was feared. The
Indians scattered over their wooded country
could not be taken, and the only way, therefore,
by which they could be conquered was the one
resorted to— the destruction of their means of
living. When we read the story of Indian
barbarities practiced upon the scores of thousands
of New England and Eastern New York settlers,
and the dread and fear in which they lived for a
generation, and compare it with the quiet and
peace that attended the early settlement of
Central and Western New York, from which
this campaign drove the red man, we can then
see its beneficent results and the far-seeing
wisdom that planned and executed it.
The modern descendants of the ancient
Iroquois are now largely located at ForestVille,
Wisconsin. They are said to number six thou
sand at that point, of whom the Cayugas form
the larger part. Two thousand of their number
can read and write, and they have twenty-nine
day and two riianual-labor schools. They support
themselves by cultivating the. soil, and display

their superiority over the other tribes in the arts
of civilization in as marked a degree as they did
in their old prowess in savage warfare. They are
not dying out. Their numbers rather increase
than diminish. The number on this reservation,
and the descendants of the Six Nations in Can
ada, are believed to nearly equal the census of
the Confederacy before its power was broken by
the whites.

CHAPTER III.

Native Inhabitants, (Continued.)
Jesuit Missions Among the Cayugas — The
Jesuit Relations— Duration of the Mis-
sjoNs— Details of the Various Cayuga
Missions— Their Results— Why the Mis
sions Failed— Results of the Failure.
IN the preceding chapter incidental reference
has been made to the influence of the French
Jesuit missions among the Five Nations. In the
present chapter a more detailed description will
be given of their early missionary operations
among the Cayugas which embodies the earliest
information concerning them, dating back more
than two hundred and twenty years, and more
than a century before the present race of white
men occupied our soil.
The history of their operations in this County
had not until about three years since been
accessible to our citizens. At that time,
Rev. Charles Hawley, D. D., President of the
Cayuga County Historical Society, a gentleman
thoroughly informed in aboriginal history, con
ceived and executed the plan of supplying the
deficiency. After considerable research, he ob
tained a copy of the " Relations des Jesuits," in
the old original French, and translated and pub
lished so much of those " Relations " as applied
to this county from 1656 to 1672. A copy being
forwarded to Dr. John G. Shea, the eminent
Indian historian, he replied, under date of New
York, November ist, 1876, thanking Dr. Hawley
" for his admirable translation," and for the happy
idea of "thus giving to the present residents of
the old land of the Cayugas these records of
intelligent and devoted men laboring there two

JESUIT MISSIONS AMONG THE IROQUOIS.

21

centuries ago." Dr. Shea at the same time
offered to translate from the old " Relations " all
that he could find applying to the Cayugas, and
did so, carrying the history forward to 1679. It
is from these " Relations " thus supplied by the
courtesy of Dr. Hawley that we make up the
record contained in this chapter.
It will be noticed that in the relations respect
ing the Cayugas, very little is said of their habits
and modes of life, except as connected with their
religious instruction. The reason for this" is
that full and minute descriptions, bearing upon
the former subjects, had been given in previous
" Relations " of the Huron missions.
These missionaries were educated men. They
took careful notes of what they saw and heard ;
made maps and drawings and made out full and
elaborate reports of their operations, published
in large and expensive volumes, which are
exceedingly rare and interesting, as containing
the first accounts we havfe of our native inhabit
ants.* The "first missionaries arrived in Canada in
1625. They came for a very different purpose
from that which had actuated the previous set
tlers. The latter had come to traffic and make
gain, and in carrying on their operations often
deceived and swindled the red man. But the
missionaries came to teach and christianize the
heathen. ' The traders had come with guns and
swords to inspire terror and to enforce obedience ;
the missionaries were heralds of peace and good
will. They came from the most enlightened
nation of Europe to dwell among barbarians, —
to learn their languages and usages so as to be
able to instruct and influence them. They came
from an old to a new country ; from a mild to a
rigorous climate, and exchanged a life of com
parative ease and refinement in France for the
privations and hardships of the wilderness
among savages.
As showing the discomforts of the Indian
homes of the fathers, we quote the following from
the "Jesuits in North America," (Parkman's,)
being a synopsis of the relation of Le Jeune, the
first Indian missionary :
" Here among the lodges of bark were stretched
innumerable strings of hide, from which hung to
* On ancient worm. eaten pages, between covers of begrimed
parchment, thc dally life of this ruined community (thc Hurons
its firesides, its funeral rites, its festivals, are painted with a minute
and vivid fidelity. — Parkman's Jesuits.
3

dry an incredible multidude of eels. A boy in
vited him into the lodge of a withered squaw,
(his grandmother,) who hastened to offer him
four smoked eels on a piece of. bark, while the
other squaws of the household instructed him
how to roast them on a forked-stick over the
embers. All shared the feast together, bis enter
tainers using as napkins their own hair, or that
of their dogs."
But the discomforts of a Winter lodge, as
described by the same author, were very great:-
" Enter the hut, there in a space of thirteen
feet square were packed nineteen savages, — men,
women and children, with their dogs,— crouched,
squatted, coiled like huge hogs, or lying on their
backs, with their knees drawn up perpendicularly
to keep their feet out of the fire. The bark
covering was full of crevices, through which the
icy blasts streamed in upon him from all sides,
and the hole above, at once window and chimney,
was so large that as he lay he could watch the
stars, as well as in the open air; while the fire in
the midst, fed with fat pine-knots, scorched him
on one side, on the other he had much ado to
keep himself from freezing. At times, however,
the crowded hut seemed heated to the tempera
ture of an oven ; but these evils were slight
when compared with the intolerable plague of
smoke. During a snow storm, and often at other
times, the wigwam was filled with fumes so dense,
stifling and acrid that all its inmates wercforced
to lie flat on their faces breathing through mouths
in contact with the cold earth."
So much for the discomforts of the missionary
homes with the Indians. Another extract from
the same excellent and graphic author, will show
the horrid barbarities to which they were at all
times exposed. Father Bressani, a missionary
among the Hurons in 1644, was taken prisoner
by the Iroquois and compelled to endure their
relentless cruelties, which Mr. Parkman thus
describes : " They split his hand with a knife
between the little and ring finger, beat him with
sticks until he was covered with blood." They
then stripped him, and, though the weather was
very cold, exposed him to it on the torture scaf
fold for two hours compelling him to sing. They
then permitted the children to torture him by
thrusting sharpened sticks into his bruised flesh,
and also compelling him to dance, pulling out
his hair and beard and burning .his flesh with
fire-brands, accompanied with thc cry, " We will
burn you to death." This was continued every
evening for a week. After this they burned
him with live coals and hot stones, greatly enjoy
ing his agony for hours. In this condition,

22

SUFFERINGS OF THE JESUITS.

bruised, burned, and lacerated as he was, they
compelled him to undergo a march of several
days, when they suspended him by the heels,
and afterwards placed food for the dogs upon his
body that cruelly hurt him in biting it off. He
was finally liberated, sold to the Dutch, regained
his strength and reentered the missionary field.
Theirs was a rare and heroic self-sacrifice, and
they devoted themselves to their appointed work
with marvellous zeal and fidelity. They were,
in a large degree, successful in winning the con
fidence of the red men, though some of them
were submitted to the torture and the flames and
most of them carried their lives in their hands.
While they were sincerely and enthusiastically
devoted to the work of evangelizing the Indians,
it cannot be denied that many of them exerted
a strong political influence in behalf of his most
catholic majesty, the King of France, by allying
the various savage tribes among whom they
dwelt, to the French interest.
The French missions were maintained for
nearly a century, and of many of the tribes, little
has been or can be known, except what is sup
plied by their " Relations."
In 1645-6, Father Jerome Lallemant, compar
ing the different Iroquois Nations, said that " the
Cantons of the Cayugas and Senecas surpass
them all by the excellence of the soil, the beauty
of the country and the mildness of the climate.
The inhabitants, being influenced by these super-
inducements, have always shown themselves the
most tractable of all the Iroquois."
The first mission founded among the Cayugas
was in 1656, and soon after the establishment of
the Onondaga mission. The latter was the first
Iroquois mission and had had a favorable begin
ning ; a chapel had been built, a school opened,
and a fort projected for the defense of the nation
from its enemies.
The missionaries at Onondaga now arranged
to extend their labors to the Cayugas and Senecas.
The Cayugas had been represented in the first
missionary council at Onondaga, where they
were received with much formality. The coun
cil, though engaged in important ceremonies,
adjourned them until the following day in honor
of their distinguished guests with whom they
exchanged complimentary presents. Saonchi-
ogwa, the head chief of the Cayugas, was very
cordial to the "Black Robes," as the priests

were called, and assured them of his desire to
take them as brothers, understood to be a mark
of the highest confidence, and was so accepted
by the missionaries. The next day the several'
nations represented in the council, engaged in
formal replies to the speeches and presents of
the missionaries, and with their songs of wel
come.* After the Onondagas had bestowed and ex
plained the presents, Saonchiogwa, chief of the
Cayugas, replied in a long, eloquent and saga
cious speech. In behalf of his nation and him
self, he thanked the French for having adopted
them, and pledged himself that they should
never dishonor the proud distinction. They had
never been adopted except by persons of rank ;
but adoption by the French was the crowning
glory of all their alliances. He closed by striking
up a song, both new and pleasing, in which all
his companions joined, keeping time by striking
their mats, while he danced violently. The im
port of his exclamations was a warm approval of
the whole proceedings, which he emphasized by
a present of beads.
In pursuance of the wishes expressed by this
council, six Jesuit fathers left Quebec, May 17th,
1656, and with them came also several laymen.
A council was convened at Onondaga soon after
their arrival and the alliance heretofore made, was
confirmed by the distribution of additional pres
ents. A few weeks later a representative Cayu-
gan, in behalf of his nation asked thatone of the
fathers might be sent to them. He assured them
that such was the desire of all his people, and
that a chapel would be built for their use.
This request was granted. Father Menard
was sent to the Cayugas, and Chaumanot to the
Senecas. They arrived among the Cayugas in
August, 1656, from whence, after a short stay,
'Chaumanot proceeded to his work among the
Senecas, Menard remaining among the Cayugas.
To preserve the alliance which had been formed
with the French at Onondaga, " to keep bright
* " They sang,.-" Happy Land I Happy Land I in which the
French arc to dwelt I" which was responded to by the Ono'ndagas,
led by their chief; "Glad Tidings! Glad Tidings ! It is well
lliat we have spoken together, It is well tliat wc have a heavenly
message. I salute thee. My brother, I salute thee. It is -well you
have come to us. O, the charming voice. O, the charming voice
thou hast." They added this; " Farewell to war ! Farewell to the
hatchet I Until now we have been enemies ; henceforth we are
brothers, yes, we are truly brothers,"

FIRST MISSION AMONG THE CAYUGAS.

¦23

the chain of friendship" with the Indians, annual
presents must be exchanged. This Menard con
sidered a very agreeable necessity, as, in the dis
tribution of these presents, it opened the way for
him to proclaim to them the faith here, in a way
similar to that which had so well succeeded at
Onondaga. He found, however, in fact, great antipathy
not only against the faith but against their own
persons also. These dislikes had come to the
Iroquois through the Hurons, among whom the
black-robes had labored for many previous years.
The Hurons insisted that the missionaries
brought with them sickness and misfortunes.*
And so strong were their antipathies that the
first presents which Menard bestowed were una
vailing, and worthless, but the principal men of
the nation, from motives of policy, did not break
with the missionary ; but set their Huron slaves
at work to build a bark chapel, which at the end
of two days was completed and ready for occu
pancy. The fathers spread the floor with " beautiful
mats," and arranged two images in the chapel,
one of our Lord and the other of our Lady. The
effect, Menard relates :
" So greatly surprised our barbarians that they
came in crowds to consider it, and gaze upon the
countenances and movements of the two images.
I thus had abundant opportunities to explain our
mysteries ; and so inquisitive were they about the
images, that each day was but one asking and
answering of questions from morning till night ;
the result of which was that they were so sub
dued in spirit, that in a few days we had many
converts, not only of the Hurons and slaves, but
also from the natives of the country.
" Many brought their children to me for bap
tism, and aided me in teaching them the prayers
by repeating them after me ; and, in a short time
grace brought such marvellous changes that the
*" The persecutions of the Jesuit priests among the Hurons, Ijad
been marked by deeds of peculiar cruelty, originating mainly in a
belief in their power as sorcerers and conjurers. Pierre Chaumanot
was emerging from a house at the Huron town called by the Jesuits
St. Michael, where he had just baptized a dying girl, when her
brother, standing hidden In the doorway, struck him on the head
with a stone. Chaumanot, severely wounded, staggered without
falling when the Indian sprang upon him with his tomahawk. The
bystanders arrested the blow. Francois Le Mercier, in the midst
of a crowd of Indians at thc town of St. Louis, was assailed by a
noted chief, who rushed In raving like a mad man, and, in a tor
rent of words, charged upon him all thc miseries of thc nation.
Then taking a brand from the fire, he thrust It Into the Jesuit's
face, and told him that h? should be burned aVive."— Parkman on
yesuitf.

little children, who, at the first, made me the con
stant object of their ridicule and sport now ren
dered me the offices of good angels, conducting
me into the cabins, attending me wherever I vis- •
ited, and giving me the names of those I baptized,
as well as those of their parents, that which these
barbarians are accustomed to carefully conceal
from us, believing that we record their names
that we may send them to France and there pro
cure their death by magic."
The first person whom father Menard deemed
worthy of baptism was a man eighty years old, and
as he relates, "nigh unto death," and in whom he
found " all the dispositions of a soul chosen for
heaven." The second was a cripple deformed
by a cancer, by whom the father was received
with joy, and who was so assiduous in his appli
cation to the work assigned him by the priest,
that he speedily administered to him the sacred
rite. The chief interest, however, which sur
rounded this second case, was that the now suffer
ing Iroquois had been a renowned warrior, and
was one of the party one thousand strong who, on
the i6th of March, 1649, had attacked, captured,
and burned the Huron town of St. Ignace, and
on "that same day had slain with his own hands
eight Hurons and taken five others prisoners,"
and had bought of the Mohawks the two captive
fathers, Brebeuf and Lallemant, who were in the
town at the time of its capture, in order to restore
them to liberty. They returned the wampum
belts, however, which had been the price of the
freedom of the captives who were " burned with
all imaginary fury.*
This second convert was much esteemed by
the Cayugas, and his conversion to the Christian
faith led many others to embrace it ; not only by
his influential example, but " through the zeal of
his discourse." But Menard met the diflficulties
* Brebeuf was led apart and bound to a stake. He seemed more
concerned for his captive converts than for himself, and addressed
them in a loud voice, exhorting them to suflfer patiently, and prom
ising heaven as their reward. The Iroquois, Incensed, scorched him
from head to foot to silence him ; whereupon, \t^ the tone of a
master, he threatened them with everlasting flames for persecuting
the worshipers of God j as he continued to speak with voice and
countenance unchanged, they cut away his lower lip and thrust a
red-hot iron down his throat. He still held his tall form erect and
defiant, with no sign or sound of pain ; and they tried another
means to overcome him. They led out Lallemant, that Brebeuf
might see him tortured. They had tied strips of bark, smeared
with pitch, about ills naked body. When he saw the condition of
his superior, he could not hide his agitation and called out to him
with a broken voice, in the words of St. Paul, " we are made a
spectacle ot the world, to angels and to men." Then he threw

24

SUPERSTITIONS OF THE INDIANS.

common to all the early French missionaries.
He said :
" Our faith is accused of being the murderer
of all who profess it ; and the death of several
christians of Onondaga, having given occasion
for this delusion of the savages ; and the speech
of a certain chief, an enemy of our religion, made
at a council, served to excite still more their
prejudices. So that not only many natives of
the country, judging it was safer to believe what
this man of authority among them said, than to
put faith in the totally opposite experience of our
ancient Hurons, have begged me to regard it well
for them to omit attendance at prayers until their
fear of me should abate ; but also they accuse the
faith of the French of all the evils, both public
and private, with which they are afflicted. Thus
it is, that a certain apostate endeavored to make
these barbarians believe, citing the Hollanders
for proof of what he said, when he asserted, that
the children of the Iroquois died two years after
their baptism ; and that the christians, either
broke a leg, or pierced their foot with a thorn, or
became emaciated, or vomited up the soul with
the blood, or were attacked with some other
signal malady."
In learning the Iroquois language, father Me
nard had for teachers three brothers, given him
"by the providence of God," of good natural dis
positions, kind, patient and assiduous as teachers ;
and he was so rapidly instructed in the language
by them as soon to be able to reciprocate their
kindness by giving them religious instruction, of
which with the aid of the images, he was able to
give them an apprehension.
The superstitious notions of the Indians often
put the lives of the missionaries in jeopardy.
Menard was accused of being a sorcerer, that he
had over the people the power of life and death ;
that he could if he so willed, heal the sick, and
if they died he was responsible for their death.
Some of the more suspicious sought to rid the
himself at Brebeuf's feet ; upon whicli the Iroquois seized him,
made him fast to a stake, and set fire to the bark that enveloped
him. As the flame rose, he threw his arms upward with a shriek
of supplication to heaven. Next they hung around Brebeuf's neck a
eoUar made of hatchets, heated red-hot; but the Indomitable priest
stood like a rock. A Huron in the crowd who had been a convert
of the mission, but now was an Iroquois by adoption, called out, with
the malice of a renegade, to pour hot water on their heads, since
they had poured so much cold water on those of others. The ket
tle was accordingly slung and the water boiled, and poured slowly on
the heads of the two missionaries. " We baptize you," they cried,
*' that you may be happy in heaven, for nobody can be saved without
a good baptism." Brebeuf would not flinch ; and in a rage they cut
strips of flesh from his limbs and devoured them before his eyes.
Other revolting cruelties followed and the horrid scene closed. —
Condensed from Parkman's Jesuits.

nation of so powerful and dangerous a guest, but
were restrained by others. Menard, at this his
first visit, gained many converts, but at the end
of two months, for reasons not explained in the
"Relations," left for Onondaga. He, however,
returned to the mission after a brief absence,
accompanied by several Frenchmen, and also by
many prominent Cayugas, who had visited him
at Onondaga to urge his return. He found his
chapel in the same condition in which he had
left it and at once resumed his labors and reported
that his prospects of success were as good as
those of Onondaga. The first missions among
the Cayugas and Onondagas were, however,
of short duration. The Mohawks became jealous
of the French, and the Oneidas murdered three
of the colonists. The French retaliated and ill
blood was excited. A conspiracy, involving the
complete destruction of the colony, was disclosed
to the French by a christian Indian, and in Feb
ruary, 1658, the colony secretly fled to Canada.*
A war followed between the French and the
Five Nations, lasting about two years. Through
the influence of Garacontie, the chief sachem of
the Onondagas, and a firm friend of the mission
aries, an embassy headed by the chief of the
Cayugas, Saonchiogwa, was dispatched to Mon-
treal to negotiate a peace. They arrived in July,
1660, without previous notice to the French that
they wished for peace. Presents were brought
¦* The colony was under the command of Dupuys, who, relying
implicitly upon the good faith of the Indians, had neglected to pre
serve his canoes. To construct new ones in view of the Indians
would advertise them of his intentions and bring their hatchets upon
the settlements at once. He, therefore, had small batteaux made
in the garrets of the Jesuit's houses, and kept them concealed
when finished. A young Frenchman had been adopted Into the
family of a chief and acquired great Influence over the tribe. By
their customs an adopted son had all the privileges of a son by
birth. When Dupuys had a sufliclent number of batteaux finished,
this young man went to his foster father, and. In a solemn manner,
related that he had dreamed the previous night that he was at a
feast where the guests ate and drank everything that was set before
them. He asked the old chief to permit him to make such a feast
for the tribe. The request was granted and the feast was spread.
Many Frenchmen were present, and with horns, drums and trum
pets, kept up a continual uproar. The French, meanwhile, were
diligently embarking and loading their batteaux, undisturbed by the
feasting savages. At length the guests, who had been eating and
drinking for hours, ceased gormandizing to take some repose. The
young Frenchman commenced playing upon a guitar, and, in a few
minutes, every red man was In a profound slumber. He then
joined his companions, and before morning the whole colony was
far on the way toward Oswego,— iojj/ng'j Field Book of tie Re-vo
lution, Vol. I, p. 129.

FATHER ETIENNE DE CARHEIL.

25

as pledges of the desired peace, and they were
explained in an eloquent and adroit speech by
Saonchiogwa, which he concluded thus : " A
black-gown must come with me, otherwise no
peace, and on his coming depend the lives of
twenty Frenchmen."
The proposals were accepted and Father Le
Moyne who seven years before had first visited
Onondaga and subsequently all of the Five Na
tions and was therefore well known to them, was
sent with them. He was received at the mis
sion house of the Onondagas, by the sachems of
the Onondaga, Cayuga and Seneca nations. The
proceedings of the embassy were ratified, and Le
Moyne visited different parts of the missionary
field, spending a month with the Cayugas, where,
by the aid of a French surgeon who accompanied
him, he successfully treated patients sick with
the small pox.
Le Moyne thus speaks of the reasons which
led him to -visit the Cayugas : "The Iroquois, of
Cayuga, who are less cruel and whom we have
found more affectionate (than the other Iroquois
nations,) especially in view of our sympathy for
the remnant of the Huron church among them,
were moved with compassion at our troubles, and
in order to give protection to the father, invited
him to come and instruct them until the danger
should have passed. The father was rejoiced at
this offer, more for the sake of the salvation of
these barbarians, than for any consideration of
personal safety, and went to serve them for some
weeks. He was received with public acclama
tion, and found an ample field for the exercise of
his zeal."
The missions were now interrupted by eight
years of war between the Iroquois and the
French at the end of which the faithful Garacon
tie succeeded in his desire for the reestablish-
ment of the missions. He went himself to Que
bec on this errand, and, in October, 1668, re
turned with fathers Milet and de Carheil. Father
Etienne de Carheil arrived at Cayuga on the 6th of
November, 1668. A chapel was built for him
and the mission dedicated to St. Joseph. Of this
mission he writes : " The church begins already
to grow. It numbers among its converts not only
women and children, but also warriors, two of
whom are among the most noted, one because he
bears the name of the Burgh of Cayuga, which
he maintains with honor, and the other in conse

quence of his riches and valor.' * ¦*- Beside
the town of Cayuga, which is the seat of the
mission, there are two others under his charge,
one four leagues from there, and the other nearly
six leagues. The last two are situated upon a
river (Seneca,) which, coming from the region of
the Andastague, descends at four leagues distant
from Onondaga, on its way to empty into Lake
Ontario." Father de Carheil found it very difficult to
overcome their superstitions. He framed a
prayer in ridicule, "according to their notions,"
addressed to the beaver, which the Cayugas re
garded as the " Master of their life."
" We must pray," said he, " to the Master of
our life ; and since this beaver is the Master of
thy life, let us offer him a prayer: Thou, O,
beaver, who canst not speak, thou art the Master
of the life of me who can speak ! Thou, who
hast no soul, thou art Master of my life, who has
a soul." Visiting a sick person, with the design of bap
tizing her, he is invited to a feast, the Indian
panacea for disease, at which everything must be
eaten as a means of curing the invalid. He thus
rebukes the practice : " I do not see, my broth
ers, that I can heal her by making myself sick
by over eating, and by a remedy which the mas
ter of our lives forbids ; since it would make two
persons sick instead of one."*
After these rebukes, the father was often re
pulsed, driven from the cabins while attempting
to offer consolation or aid to the sick. They
believed that by pouring water upon their heads,
as in baptism, he caused their death, and the
most determined opposition was made to his
ministrations. His death was resolved upon,
and those intent upon it were only restrained by
the active influence of his friends. He was
chased from one cabin by a young warrior for
refusing to admit that in " roasting an ear of
Indian corn in the ashes, he was roasting the
master of his life."
But this danger soon passed, and Father de
Carheil lived and labored among the Cayugas for
sixteen years from 1668 to 1684. He had had
much previous experience as a missionary, having
been sent twelve years before, 1656, as a mission
ary to the Hurons, and could speak their language
* These feasts often lasted for days, accompanied by howlings and
dances and all sorts of extravagant actions.

26

INDIAN FAITH IN DREAMS.

and that of the Iroquois with fluency, and com
posed valuable works in both languages.
Father de Carheil writes from Cayuga, under
date of June, 1670, that this Canton has three
principal bourgs or villages: Cayuga, Thiohero
and Ontare, or St. Rene. The Indian reverence
for, and faith in dreams, gave Father de Carheil
much anxiety and trouble. It was with them a
very controlling superstition and the main source
of their error. They regarded dreams as rev
elations of the Divine will, to which they must
yield implicit obedience.
Father Chaumanot, who came to Cayuga with
Father Menard, in 1656, and proceeded thence to
the Senecas, relates a few illustrative cases :
" It is not long since, that a man of the bourg
of Cayuga, dreamed one night that he saw ten
men plunge into a frozen river through a hole in
the ice and all came out of a similar opening a
little way beyond. The first thing he did on
awakening, was to make a great feast, to which
he invited ten of his friends. They all came, it
was a joyous occasion. They sang, they danced
and went through all the ceremonies of a regular
banquet. 'This is all well enough.' At length
said the host, 'You give me great pleasure, my
brothers, that you enjoy the feast. But this is
not all. You must prove to me that you love
me.' Thereupon he recounted his dream, which
did not appear to surprise them ; for immediately
the whole ten offered themselves for its prompt
execution. One goes to the river and cuts in the
ice two holes, fifteen paces from each other, and
the divers strip themselves. The first leads the
way, and plunging into one of the holes, fortu
nately comes out at the other. The second does
the same ; and so of all of them, until the tenth,
who pays his life for the others, as he misses his
way out and miserably perishes under the ice."
But a more cruel sacrifice was sometimes made
in compliance with the demands of a dream.
This too happened, as Chaumanot relates, to a
Cayugan. He dreamed that he had made a can
nibal feast, and thereupon invites the chiefs of the
nation to assemble in council, and informs them
of his dream, and states that if not executed it
will cost the life of the nation. One offers his
brother as a sacrifice ; but the dreamer demands
a woman ; a maiden is offered and prepared for
the cruel ordeal ; but, while all are expecting the
sacrifice of the innocent victim, the dreamer ex
claims, — " I am content, my dream is satisfied,"
and the offered victim is released.
Among the converts to the faith in 1670, was
the famous chief of the Cayugas, Saonchiagwa.

He, next to Garicontie of the Onondagas, was the
most influential of the Iroquois chiefs, and a sin
cere and devoted friend of the missionaries. He
was baptized 'by the Lord Bishop of Canada,
whither he had gone as the head of a commis
sion to negotiate a peace. The ceremonies at
tending his baptism were very elaborate and im
posing, and calculated to make a deep impression
upon the minds ofthe ignorant savages. They
were concluded with a magnificent feast at which
were present large numbers of Iroquois, Algon-
quins and Hurons, all of whom were liberally
entertained, and, on their departure, loaded with
supplies for those left at home.
In 1671, Father de Carheil, on account of ill
health, was obliged to take a rest from his labors,
which he did for a year. Father Rafeix, of the
Seneca mission, supplying the place in de Car-
heil's absence; the latter returned at the end of
the year 1672, and remained with the mission
until 1684.
Of Father Rafeix's labors, de Carheil writes
in his relation of 1672-3 :
" The number baptized this year is fifty-five, of
whom eleven are adults, the rest are children;
of whom thirteen received baptism in the chapel
with the ceremonies, the others without cere
monies. I had not yet until this year been able
to baptize anyone, except secretly and without
any one being cognizant of it, except those from
whom I could not conceal it, when necessity and
an evident danger of death obliged me to prepare
them for this sacrament by a previous instruc
tion, with which I could not dispense, on ac
count of their too advanced age. I was com
pelled to act in this manner, to avoid the calum
nies which hell raised up against me and against
baptism, by the universal idea which he had im
printed on all minds that this first and most
necessary of all sacraments had not the advan
tageous effects which I had declared to them ;
but others, quite contrary, which I concealed, in
order to bring them to it more easily, and of
which the chieir two which sprang from it as their
source, were a speedy death, and an eternal cap
tivity after death, under the dominion of the
French. As the rage of the demons could in
vent nothing more contrary to the salvation of
the souls of my dear mission than this thought,
therefore, I could hope to do nothing for the
establishment and advancement of the faith, ex
cept by banishing it from their minds ; or, at
least, gradually diminishing it, although with the
efforts I had made in this direction in previous
years, I could not see any success, and this even, I
could hope for it still less than ordinarily ; because

"RELATIONS,*' 1674— 1679.

^7

sickness and death had been more frequent than
before. * * As for the eleven adults
whom I baptized, they are all dead, inasmuch as
I no longer baptize any who are not in danger of
immediate death, apart from which I find none
who are susceptible of all the dispositions neces
sary to baptism. License in marrying and un-
marrying at their option, the spirit of murder and
human respect prevent their becoming docile to
instruction. Of the children baptized, eighteen
are dead, who, added to the adults, make in all
twenty-nine. * *"
The "Relations" of 1674-5 are mainly con
fined to a description of de Carheil's missionary
instruction and their results, similar in charac
ter to those already quoted.
The "Relations" of 1 676-'7 are quite brief in
respect to the Cayuga mission. A noticeable
change of opinion in reference to the Senecas and
Cayugas is expressed. Le Moyne, it will have
been noticed, gave as a reason for visiting the
Cayugas, that they were " more tractable and af
fectionate'-' yet here we have the opposite opinion
given, thus : "The upper Iroquois, that is to say
those that are the most remote from us, as the
Sonowtowans, (Senecas,) and the Ouoguens,
(Cayugas,) are the most haughty and the most
insolent, running after the missionaries with ax
in hand, chasing and pelting them with stones,
throwing down their chapels, and their little
cabins, and, in a thousand other ways treating
them with indignity."
But the apostolic zeal of the fathers supports
and consoles them; "knowing well that the
apostles did not plant the faith in the world oth
erwise than by persecution and suffering." They
say they had baptized within the year three hun
dred and fifty Iroquois, and that the spiritual gain
among the Cayugas was fifty persons.
The notice of the mission of iS'/y-'S is also
very brief and ofthe same general tone ; "Father
de Carheil, who had experienced most of the
effects of Iroquois fury, and who for the last two
years had been in aproximate danger of death,
had not failed to administer at Ouoguen, (Cayu
ga,) baptism to fifty persons, and to send to
heaven more than forty children who had died
with baptismal grace."
Father Dablon thus sums up the condition of
the several Iroquois missions, for the six years,
from 1673 to 1679:
"By all that we have related, it may bejudged
that the Iroquois mission render great glory
4

to God, and contribute largely to the salva
tion of souls. This encourages the missionaries,
amid the evident danger of death in which they
have lived constantly for three years, that the
Iroquois speak of making war upon us ; so that
they have not been willing to leave their mis
sions, although they were urged by their friends,
who warned them of the evil designs formed
against their persons. They accordingly per
severe in laboring for the conversion of these
peoples ; and, we learn that God has rewarded
their constancy by a little calm, which he has
given them, and by more than three hundred
baptisms which they have conferred this last year
to which I add that the preceding year they had
baptized three hundred and fifty Iroquois. The
year before Father Gamier had baptized fifty-
five in one of the towns of the Sonowtowans ;
Father de Carheil as many at Ouoguen ; Father
Milet forty-five at Onelout, (Oneida); F'ather
Jean de Lamberville more than thirty at one of
the towns of Agnie, (Mohawk), and Father
Bruyas, in another, eighty; Father Jacques de
Lamberville, seventy-two at Onnontage, and
Father Pierron ninety at Sonowtowan. It is
estimated that they have placed in heaven more
than two hundred souls of children and sick
adults, all dead, after baptism."
Nothing further is now accessible bearing upon
the Jesuit missions among the Cayugas, resident
in New York. A colony of this nation had lo
cated in Canada, at the western extremity of
Quinte Bay, in fear of the Andastes, and among
them missions were established ; but it is not
within the scope of this work to trace their op
erations there, and we close this subject with the
following succinct, able and eloquent summary
of the causes of the failure of the Jesuits :
"The cause of the failure of the Jesuits is
obvious. The guns and tomahawks of the Iro
quois were the ruin of their hopes. Could tliey
have curbed or converted these ferocious bands,
it is little less than certain that their dream would
have become a reality. Savages tamed, not civ
ilized, for that was scarcely possible, would have
been distributed through the valleys of the great
lakes and the Mississippi, ruled by priests in the
interests of Catholicity and of France. Their
habits of agriculture would have been developed
and the instincts of mutual slaughter repressed.
The swift decline of the Indian population would
have been arrested, and it would have been made
through the fur trade, a source of prosperity to
New France. Unmolested by Indian enemies and
fed by a rich commerce, she would have put forth
a vigorous growth. True to her far-reaching and
adventurous genius, she would have occupied the
West with traders, settlers and garrisons and cut
up the virgin wilderness into fiefs, while as yet

28

INDIAN DWELLINGS.

the colonies of England were but a weak and
broken line along the shores of the Atlantic ;
and when at last the great conflict came, Eng
land and liberty would have been confronted, not
by a depleted antagonist, still feeble from the
exhaustion of a starved and persecuted infancy,
but by an athletic champion of the principles of
Richelieu and Loyola.
" Liberty may thank the Iroquois, that by their
insensate fury the plans of their adversary were
brought to nought and a peril and a woe averted
from her future. They ruined the trade which
was the life-blood of New France ; they stopped
the current of her arteries and made all her early
years a misery and a terror. Not that they
changed her destinies. The contest on this con
tinent between liberty and absolutism was never
doubtful ; but the triumph of the one would have
been dearly bought, and the downfall of the
other incomplete. Populations formed in the
habits and ideas of a feudal monarchy and con
trolled by a hierarchy profoundly hostile to free
dom of thought, would have remained a hindrance
and a stumbling block in the way of that majes
tic experiment of which America is the field.
"The Jesuits saw their hopes struck down and
their faith,- though not shaken, was sorely tried.
The providence of God seemed in their eyes
dark arid inexplicable ; but, from the standpoint
of liberty, that providence is as clear as the sun
at noon. Meanwhile let those who have pre
vailed, yield new honor to the defeated. Their
virtues shine amidst the rubbish of error, like
diamonds and gold in the gravel of the torrent."*

CHAPTER IV.

Native Inhabitants, (Concluded.)
Indian Habits and Usages — Indian Dwell
ings — Details of their Construction and
Uses — Indian Towns — How Built and
Fortified— i-SociAL Usages — Law of Mar
riage — License— Experimental Marriages
— Family Discipline — Employments at
Home — Gambling Universal — Dances and
Feasts — Five Stated Annual Festivals
Described — The War Dance — Medical
Feasts — Dreams — Wizards and Witches
— Burials — Iroquois Superiority.
WE shall close the part of our work de
voted to " Our Native Inhabitants,"
with some of the more striking usages which
prevailed among them when first visited by the
¦* Parkman's Jesuits,

whites. These usages will throw much light in
a concrete form, upon their character and capa
bility, and show them to have been "as patient
and politic as they were ferocious."
Indian Dwellings. — These, though rude,
were generally built with considerable labor and
care. They usually were about thirty feet
square. The sides were formed of thick sap
lings set in two parallel rows, the tops bent. in
ward toward each other to form the roof, the
upper ends fastened together, and the sides bound
together by cross poles or guides. In some
cases separate poles formed the rafters. An open
space about one foot wide extended the whole
length of the ridge, securing at once the double
purpose of window and chimney. Transverse
poles were bound to the uprights and over the
roof, the whole covered with bark overlapping
like shingles and held in place by smaller poles
bound to the general frame. At each end was
an enclosed space for the storage of supplies of
Indian corn, dried flesh, fish, etc., which was
kept in bark vessels. Along each side ran wide
scaffolds, some four feet from the floor, which,
when covered with skins formed the summer
sleeping places, while beneath was stored their
firewood gathered and kept dry for use. In some
cases these platforms were in sections of twelve
to fourteen feet, with spaces for storage between
them. Overhead poles were suspended for va
rious uses, to smoke and dry their fish and flesh,
hang their weapons, skins, clothing, Indian corn,
etc. In cold weather all the inmates slept on
the floor, huddled about the fires, which were
built upon the ground floor, up and down the
centre of the house.
The interiors of all these houses were thickly
covered with smoke and soot, arising from the
large fires maintained for warmth or for cooking.
The effect of living in such dense and acrid
smoke was to produce weakness of the eyes, and
in the aged often blindness.*
The foregoing was the general style of the
Iroquois and Huron houses. But many of them

* " He who entered on a winter night, beheld a strange specta
cle i the vista of fires lighting the smoky concave ; the bronzed
groups encircling each, cooking, eating, gambling, or amusing them
selves with Idle badinage ; shrivelled squaws, hideous with three
score years of hardship ; grisly old warriors scarred with war clubs;
young aspirants whose honors were yet to be won ; damsels, gay
with ochre and wampum; restless children pell mell with restless dogs
each wild feature in vivid light." — Parkman.

INDIAN TOWNS — SOCIAL USAGES.

29

were much longer ; some are described that were
two hundred and forty feet in length, and ten
anted by as many as twenty families, each with
their wolfish dogs, the latter as regular occupants
of the cabins as the children.
Indian Towns. — The Indian towns were but
an irregular and confused aggregation of Indian
houses, clustered together with little regard to
order, and covering from one to ten acres. They
were often fortified with palisades about thirty
feet high. Large trees were felled by burning,
the process being aided by hacking off the coals
with stone hatchets. By a similar process the
trees were separated into suitable lengths for
the palisades, which were set on an embankment
surrounding the town, formed from the earth
cast from a deep ditch. The palisades were set
in several rows, and often interlaced with flex
ible branches, to prevent their destruction by
fire, a common effort of an enemy. Wooden con
ductors were so placed as to conduct water to
any part of them ; interior galleries and parapets
were formed of timber, for the protection of those
within the enclosure ; ladders and a supply of
large stones completed the means of defense.
In building and fortifying their towns, large
quantities of timber were consumed, and about
their villages, therefore, large tracts were cleared
and opened to their rude cultivation. In that
work the squaws were employed with their bone
or wooden hoes, in planting and cultivating corn,
beans, pumpkins, tobacco, sunflowers, hemp,
fruit trees, etc. When the soil in one locality
became exhausted, and the timber so far con
sumed as to be at an inconvenient distance from
the towns, the latter were removed to a new lo
cality, these removals occurred at varying in
tervals of from ten to thirty years. Hence the
numerous remains of Indian towns, orchards, etc.,
found scattered throughout the country.
Social Usages. — The laws of marriage were
exceedingly lax. There was no form or ceremo
ny. The acceptance of a gift from a suitor, by
the intended wife, and the return on her part of
an armful of fuel and a dish of boiled maize,
sealed the compact. Marriages were dissoluble
. at the pleasure of the parties and separations oc-
cured for trifling causes. Among the Hurons
experimental marriages were common, which
usually were of short duration, and sometimes a
score of such experiments were made before a

final settlement was concluded ; great license was
tolerated without loss of reputation to either party.
Notwithstanding the entire freedom of the par
ties to separate at will, the great majority of Iro
quois marriages were permanent. The wife when
married entered the lodge of her master and, in
accordance with the customs of her nation, be
came thenceforward a drudge. She tilled the soil,
prepared the firewood, gathered the harvest,
dressed the skins, prepared the hemp for, and
made the nets and rush mats. She cooked the
food, and when on the march, bore the burdens
of the party, the men built their houses, made
their pipes and weapons and were otherwise
mainly employed in bunting or war.
Family discipline was little resorted to, Fill
ing the mouth with water and spurting it over
the refractory urchins, or denuding and plunging
them into cold water, were the principal means
employed. Taciturn, morose and cruel as the Indians were
usually in their hunting and warlike expeditions,
in their own cabins and communities they were
very social, patient and forbearing ; in their fes.tal
seasons, when all were at leisure, they engaged in
a round of continual feasting, gambling, smoking
and dancing. In gambling they spent much of
their leisure and staked all they controlled on
the chances of the game, their food, ornaments,
canoes, clothing and even their wives. Various
devices were employed, plum stones or pieces of
wood, painted black on one side and white on
the other, these were put into a wooden bowl,
which, being struck heavily upon the ground,
caused the balls to bound upward, and the betting
was upon the white or black faces that were up
permost when they fell. The game had a pecu
liar fascination, in which two entire villages some
times contended, and cases are related where
some of the contestants lost their leggings and
moccasins, and complacently returned home
barefooted through the snow. Some of the Iro
quois believed that they would play this game in
the spirit land.
Dances and Feasts. — The Iroquois had five
stated annual festivals or thanksgivings, each
conducted in a manner appropriate to the espe
cial event commemorated.
The first, in the Spring, in gratitude for thc
abundance of the sap and quantity of sugar, in
which the aged chiefs pointed out to their young

30

DANCES — FEASTS.

men the paths which they should pursue to se
cure the continued favor of their ruUng deity,
Ha-wah-ne-u. The second, after corn-planting, when thanks
were rendered for a favorable seed time ; instruc
tions were given for the care and cultivation of
the crop, and the great spirit was invoked to give
to it a healthy growth and an early maturity.
The third, when the green corn was ready for
use, in which thanks were rendered for this valu
able gift, which was prepared and consumed in
great quantity and in a variety of ways, boiled,
roasted, in succotash, etc., closing with songs
and dances, the head men smoking the pipe of
peace. The fourth, at the close of the corn harvest, in .
which thanks were returned for its abundance,
followed by the usual festivities.
The fifth, the crowning and concluding fes
tival of the year, is held immediately after the
return of the hunters from the chase, with their
wealth of game and skins. This is celebrated
with peculiar pomp and ceremony. The whole
nation is invited to assemble at the council house,
by runners, who visit every cabin. Immediately
the fires are extinguished in every wigwam, the
houses purified and new fires kindled. This oc
cupies the first day. The managers then visit
each house, to gather the gifts of the people, and
all must give something, or receive a rub, from
the managers, which leaves a mark difiScult to
erase and which remains a signet of disgrace.
The gifts consisted of various articles of food, or
necessary supplies. These gifts are supposed to
represent the sins of the people, which will be
expiated by the sacrifices soon to be made.
Meanwhile many have met at the council house,
and have been engaged in leaping, running, danc
ing, and their various national sports. When all
the gifts of the people have been gathered, and
which they call the illsof the nation, preparations
are made for the great sacrifice, which is the of
fering of two white dogs, to which the sins of the
nation have, by a formal ceremony, been trans
ferred. These' dogs are suffocated and brought
with much ceremony into the council chamber and
laid upon the platform. Meanwhile each gift had
been presented by the giver to the master of
ceremonies, who had received it, ejaculated a
prayer, and then hung it up in the council house.
The dogs were now to be sacrificed by fire,

which was ready outside the house. After chants
and prayers the dogs were, in turn, cast upon the
fire, with tobacco and sundry herbs, and were
consumed, the whole ceremony concluding with
the War Dance.— This War Dance was intended
to represent the return of a war party, in which
thirty young braves, fully armed, painted and
adorned, with representations of scalps, rushed
into the council house and were cordially received
by the chiefs and aged men, by whom they were
questioned, and to whom they recounted their
exploits in detail, with all the earnestness and
gesticulations of actual transactions, showing how
and where they had met the foe, how many they
had slain, the fortitude of prisoners under tor
ture, and their own willingness to again enter the
war path. Then followed the thrilling war
dance. Their bodies were almost naked and
painted with striking and fantastic figures. A
rude, but conspicuous head dress, ear and nose
jewels, deer hoofs dangling from their ankles,
with hatchets, war clubs and bows with full
quivers, gave the warriors a most grotesque, yet
warlike appearance, akin to real life. One of the
party was bound to represent a captive, and told
that his career as a warrior was now over, that he
must be tortured by fire, and that his courage
would be shown by the fortitude with which he
should endure his sufferings. This was followed
by a wild war-whoop. The victim manifested
total indifference to his fate. They danced vio
lently about him, made continual feints as if to
dispatch him with their hatchets or war clubs,
the victim remaining calm and taunting them
with their ignorance of the arts of torture, and
lauding his own exploits. This dance lasted
more than two hours, during which the warriors
had exerted themselves to the utmost, were
drenched with perspiration, their breasts heaving
with their violent efforts. The cord binding the
prisoner having been cut he peered slyly about
him, and seeing an opening in the ring, darted
for it like an arrow ; but the gleaming of hatch
ets, the thud of war clubs, mingled with deafen
ing yells, told that the effort was vain, and he
sank, imitating perfectly the struggles of the
dying, the slow and solemn death song, chanted
as they marched around the dead, closed the
scene.* * Condensed from Clark's Onondaga.

MEDICAL FEASTS — WIZARDS AND WITCHES.

31

The foregoing is an accurate description of the
war dance of the Onondagas, which is the same
as that of all the five nations. These dances are
intended to represent actual events relating to
peace or war, generally the latter, and are said to
be such perfect representations of the scenes
depicted as to give the beholder a knowledge of
them, merely by the pantomime, though ignorant
of the language. If they are going to war, the
dance delineates the preparations for it and all
the common incidents attending it, their arming,
departure, arrival in the enemies' country, the
encampment, the attack, the struggle, the victory
and the torture of captives ; and so vivid and
natural are all the personations, that the beholder
believes them real transactions, shuddering at
the horrible and life-like representations.
Prodigality of Feasts, — Some of their
feasts were extremely profuse, in which the whole
village, or even several villages were entertained.
Cases are cited by the early missionaries where
twenty deer and four bears were served up. The
invitation was concise, " come and eat," and the
guests, furnished with dish and spoon, responded.
Songs preceded the repast, the host announcing
the contents of each kettle, which were served
by the squaws.
Medical Feasts. — These were for the cure
of the sick, and every guest must eat all that was
set before him. If he did not, the host was
offended, the community in great peril, for the
vengeance of the spirits would be aroused, and
death to the invalid and disaster to the nation be
likely to follow.
Other Medical Practices. — The Indians
believed diseases resulted from supernatural
agencies, and the curative means which they
employed were mainly spiritual and extremely
nonsensical. They beat, shook, pinched and bit
their patients, and sought to expel the evil spir
its by deafening noises and various incantations.
Their physical remedies were limited mainly to
the process of sweating, which was a general and
very efficacious resort. The reputed skill with
which the Indians are credited in the use of
herbs for the cure of diseases, is a mere fable.
Dances, feasts, games, and unearthly din in the
cabin of the invalid, kept up for hours, sufficient
to make the well sick, strewing ashes about the
hut, rolling one of the number in skins, and nu
merous other superstitious mummeries. These
were their chief remedies.

Dreams. — These were the great oracles of
the Indians, and were implicitly obeyed. They
believed them to be direct emanations from the
Great Spirit, and as such, were immutable laws
to them. From this source many of their evils
and miseries arose. In them were revealed their
destiny, and their duty clearly pointed out, war
and peace, health and sickness, rain and drouth,
all were revealed by a class of professional
dreamers. Wizards and Witches. — These were the
great bane of the Iroquois. Murderers were in
nocents compared to them, for murder could be
atoned for by presents. Witchcraft was punish
able with death in all cases. Any one might
kill a witch on sight. They believed that witches
could transform themselves at will into any one
of the wild animals or birds, or even assume the
shape of logs, trees, rocks, etc., and, in forms in
visible, visit public assemblies or private houses
and inflict all manner of evils. The delusion
was at one time so prevalent and the destruction
of wizards and witches so great as to seriously
lessen the population.
Rattlesnakes. — These the Indians never
destroyed, because they believed them to be the
offspring of the devil, and their destruction would
so anger the evil spirit that he would destroy
their success in hunting.
Burials. — The Indian corpse was fully clad,
including a fur cap, deer skin leggings and moc
casins, and was thus well prepared for his long
journey. The graves were about three feet deep,
lined with polished bark, into which the body
was laid. An Indian woman brought a kettle of
provisions, deer skin and sinews of the deer to
sew patches on his moccasins which would, they
believed, be worn out in his long journey to the
spirit land. These the squaws carefully laid in
the grave ; an Indian followed, laying his weapons
and often other. valuables in the coflfin, when it
was covered with a large piece of bark and the
grave filled with earth. For twelve successive
days the grave was visited by friends twice daily,
before sunrise and after sunset, and great lamen
tations made and mournful songs chanted.
Among the Hurons, once in ten to twelve
years, thc skeletons and bodies of their dead of
the entire people, were gathered together in one
immense sepulcher embracing several acres in
extent, for which cleared areas were chosen. At

32

MILITARY LAND TITLES.

such times might be seen the mournful processions
from every village of the Hurons, bearing the
skeletons or bodies of their dead relatives to a
common burial place. The ceremonies attending
the event lasted for days, and were very im
posing. The subsequent discovery of these
immense deposits of bones has elicted much
curious inquiry on the part of those not familiar
with the old French Relations. Father Brebeuf
saw and fully explained one of these burials in
1636. The . Iroquois' Superiority. — When com
pared with any other of the savage tribes of the
country, the Iroquois stand at the head. He
was said to be " the Indian of Indians," by whom
were systematized and unified the elements
that among the other nations were crude and
disjointed. They had larger 'brains than any
others of the race, the internal capacity of which
were larger than that of the Mexicans or Peru
vians, an average of five heads giving a capacity
of eighty-eight cubic inches, only one forty-
fourth less than the Caucasian men.*

CHAPTER V.
Land Titles — Military Tract.
Uncertainty of Military Land Titles' —
Congressional Land Bounties — Bounties
TO Higher Officers — State Bounties —
Conditions of the Grant — Survey of the
Military Tract — Its Location and Ex
tent — Names of the Original Townships
— Distribution of the Grants — Conflict
OF Claimants — Litigation — Deeds to be
Recorded in Albany — Commission of
Awards — Reports on File in Clerk's
Office.
AS the first settlers of this County and of
this part of the State suffered greatly
from the uncertainty of their land titles, being
frequently ousted from their possessions by pre
vious claimants, a brief history of the tenure by
which the first lands were held, becomes neces
sary. * Crania Americana.

Cayuga County formed a part of what was
called the " Onondaga Military Tract," embracing
the present counties of Cayuga, Seneca, Onon
daga, Cortland and parts of Wayne, Steuben
and Oswego, which was set apart for the pay
ment of land bounties to the soldiers of the Revo
lution under the laws of Congress and of this
State. The Congress of the United States, on Sept.
i6th, 1776, enacted :
" That Congress make provision for granting
lands in the following proportions to the officers
and soldiers who shall engage in the military
service of the United States and continue therein
to the close of the war, or until discharged by
Congress, and to the representatives of such
officers and soldiers as shall be slain by the
enemy. " Such lands to be provided by the United
States ; and whatever expense shall be neces
sary to procure such lands, the said expense
shall be paid and borne by the United States,
viz :
" To a Colonel, 500 acres.
"To a Lieutenant-Colonel, 450 acres.
" To a Major, 400 acres.
" To a Captain, 300 acres.
" To an Ensign, 200 acres.
" To each non-commissioned officer and pri
vate, 100 acres."
By an Act of August 12th, 1780, Congress
made the following provisions for the higher
officers, viz :
"To a Major-General, 1,100 acres.
"To a Brigadier-General, 850 acres."
The Legislature of this State, on March 27,
1783, after referring to the above action of Con
gress, resolved as follows :
" And, whereas, the Legislature of this State
are willing to take upon themselves the said en
gagement of Congress, so far as it relates to the
line of this State, but likewise as a gratuity to
the said line, and to evince the just sense this
Legislature entertains of the patriotism and vir
tue of the troops of the State serving in the
army of the United States :
''Resolved, therefore, that besides the bounty
of land so provided as aforesaid, the Legislature
will, by law, provide that the Major-Generals and
Brigadier-Generals now serving in the jine of the
army of the Uriited States, and being citizens of
this State ; and the officers, non-commissioned
officers and privates of the two regiments of
infantry, commanded by Colonels Van Schaick
and Van Cortlandt, such oflficers of the regiment
of artillery commanded by Colonel Lamb, and
of the corps of sappers and miners as were, when

LAND BOUNTIES GRANTED TO SOLDIERS.

33

they entered the service, inhabitants of this
State ; such of the non-commissioned officers
and privates of the said last mentioned two
corps, as are credited to this Stale as parts of
the troops thereof ; all officers designated by any
acts of Congress subsequent to the i6th of Sept.
1776 ; all officers recommended by Congress as
persons whose depreciation of pay ought to be
made good by this State, and who may hold com
missions in the line of the army at the close of
the war ; and the Rev. John Mason and John
Gano shall severally have granted to them the
following quantities of land, to wit :
"To a Major-General, 5,500 acres.
" To a Brigadier-General, 4,250 acres.
" To a Colonel, 2,500 acres.
" To a Lieutenant-Colonel, 2,250 acres.
" To a Major, 2,000 acres.
"To a Captain and Surgeon, 1,500 acres.
" To a Chaplain, 2,000 acres.
"To every Subaltern and Surgeon's Mate,
1,000 acres.
" To every non-commissioned officer and pri
vate, 500 acres "
On the 20th of March, 1781, the Legislature
of this State authorized the raising of two regi
ments for the defense of the frontiers and of
fered a bounty to the officers and men equal to
five times the grant of the United States.
The Act of March 28th, 1783, further pro
vided :
" That these lands so to be granted as bounty
from the United States, and as a gratuity from
this State, shall be laid out in townships of six
miles square ; that each township shall be divided
into one hundred and fifty-six lots of one hundred
and fifty acres each, two lots whereof shall be
reserved for the use of a minister or ministers of
the gospel, and two lots for the use of a school
or schools ; that each of the persons above de
scribed shall be entitled to as many such lots as
his bounty and gratuity lands as aforesaid, will
admit of ; that one half of the lots each person
shall be entitled to shall be improved at the rate
of five acres for every hundred acres within five
years next after the grant, if such lots are sold
by the original grantee, or within ten years from
such grant, if the grantee shall retain possession
of such lots ; and that the said bounty and gra
tuity lands be located in the district of this State
reserved for the use of the troops by an act en
titled ' An Act to prevent grants or locations of
the lands therein mentioned,' passed the 25th
day of July, 1782."
Delay ensued in surveying the land and in
awarding the grants, and the soldiers became
clamorous for the promised bounties. After
various modifications of the law, the act of Feb.
28th, 1789, finally directed:
, 5

"That the Commissioners of the Land Office
shall be, and they are hereby authorized, to direct
the Surveyor-General to lay out as many town
ships in tracts of land set apart for such pur
poses as will contain lands sufficient to satisfy
the claims of all, such persons, who are or shall
be entitled to grants of land by certain concur
rent resolutions, and by the eleventh clause of
the act entitled ' An Act for granting certain
lands promised to be given as bounty lands by
the laws of the State and for other purposes
therein mentioned,' passed the eleventh day of
May, 1784, which townships shall respectively
contain 60,000 acres of land, and be laid out as
nearly in squares as local circumstances will per
mit, and be numbered from one progressively to
the last inclusive ; and the commissioners of the
land office shall designate every township by such
name as they shall deem proper."
The several townships were to be mapped,
subdivided into' six hundred acre lots, and con
secutively numbered from one upward. The
quantity oi fifty acres in one of the corners of
each lot was made subject to a charge of forty-
eight shillings to meet the cost of survey, and
if not paid within two years, the same was to
be sold.
By the Act of February 28th, 1789, six lots
were reserved in each township, one for pro
moting the gospel and public schools ; another
for promoting literature ; and the four others to
equalize fractional divisions, and to meet the
cases of such as drew lands covered with water.
One million eight hundred thousand acres were
set apart for this purpose on the Indian lands in
the western part of the State, their title to which
had previously been extinguished. It was sur
veyed and mapped as speedily as possible, and
on the third day of July, 1790, the following
twenty-six towns were reported as surveyed,
mapped and numbered, and they were desig
nated by the following names :
" Township No. one, Lysander.
" No. two, Hannibal.
No. three, Cato.
" No. four, Brutus.
" No. five, Camillus.
" No. six, Cicero.
" No. seven, Manlius.
" No. eight, Aurelius.
" No. nine, Marcellus.
" No. ten, Pompey.
" No, eleven, Romulus.
" No. twelve, Scipio.
" No. thirteen, Sempronius.
" No. fourteen, Tully.

34

COMMISSION OF AWARDS.

" Township No. fifteen, Fabius.
" No. sixteen, Ovid.
" No. seventeen, Milton.
" No. eighteen, Locke.
" No. nineteen. Homer.
No. twenty, Solon.
" No. twenty-one, Hector.
" No. twenty-two, Ulysses.
" No. twenty-three, Dryden.
" No. twenty-four, Virgil.
" No. twenty-five, Cincinnatus.
" No. twenty-six, Junius."
" Galen " was added in 1792, to comply with
the law requiring grants to hospitals, and " Ster
ling" in 1795, to meet the still unsatisfied claims
for bounty lands, so that the military townships
reached the aggregate number of twenty-eight.
On the first of February, .1791, the commis
sioners began to draw the lots for the claimants.
There were ninety-four in each town. One lot
was drawn for the support' of literature ; one,
near the center of the town, was set aside for the
support of the gospel and common schools. The
balance went to compensate the ofiScers and to
those who drew lots covered with water. This
distribution extended at intervals over two years,
and great embarrassments arose from conflicting
claimants. The soldiers, in some cases, had sold
their claims to different parties, and ?. large
amount of litigation resulted, extending over
many years. In January, 1794, an act was
passed to prevent in the future the frauds, by
which so many titles to the military lands had
been decided to be illegal. It required all the
existing deeds, conveyances and contracts for
the military lands, to be deposited with the clerk
of the county at Albany, and those not so de
posited, after a specified date, were declared
fraudulent. The names of the claimants were
posted in the clerk's offices in Albany and Her
kimer counties.
So general and widespread was the confusion
and uncertainty as to the titles to lands, that the
courts could not dispose of the accumulated
cases, and a commission was appointed by the
Legislature consisting of Robert Yates, James
Kent and Vincent Matthews, to hear and finally
determine all cases of disputed military land
titles. After years of tedious and laborious in
vestigation, the docket was cleared and the mili
tary land titles finally settled.
The "balloting book" in which are entered
the names and lots respectively drawn by the

several claimants in the entire military tract ;
the " book of awards," in which are entered the
awards of the commissioners and the " dissents "
therefrom, are all filed in the county clerk's ofifice
of this County, and date back to 1798.

CHAPTER VL
Formation and Topography.
Early Civil Divisions — Formation- ofthe
County — Size of the First Towns — First
Town Meetings and Elections — Rapid
Settlement of the County — First Set
tler — Situation — General Topography —
Lakes, Rivers and Streams — Formation
OF the Several Towns — Topography of
the Southern Towns — Of the Northern
Towns.
FORMATION OF THE COUNTY.— The
earliest civil division in this part of the State
wasTryon county, formed in 1772, and changed to
Montgomery in 1784. It included the entire State
west of a north and south line drawn through
the center of Schoharie county. Ontario county
was next formed, January 27, 1789, and included
all that part of Montgomery county lying west of
a north and south line drawn through Seneca
Lake, two miles east of Geneva. Herkimer county
was formed in 1791, extending from Ontario
county to Montgomery. Onondaga was formed
from Herkimer, March 5th, 1794, and included
the original military tract, the present counties
of Cayuga, Seneca, and Cortland, and parts of
Tompkins, Wayne and Oswego. Cayuga was
formed March 8th, 1799, and then embraced
Seneca and a part of Tompkins county.
The early towns were very large. Whitestown,
formed in 1788, embraced the entire State west
of Utica, and there were in it when formed, less
than two hundred inhabitants. The town ofificers
were scattered from Geneseo on the west to
Utica on the east. This large town was after
wards divided into Mexico, Peru and Whites-
town, Mexico embracing the eastern half of the
military tract. The first town meeting in Mexico,
was held at the house of Seth Phelps, in the

FIRST SETTLEMENTS — GENERAL TOPOGRAPHY.

35

town of Ledyard, and the first general election
in the town of Whitestown, was held at the
Cayuga Ferry. If the voters residing as far east
as Utica came to Cayuga to vote, traversing over
eighty miles of forest roads, they paid a full
equivalent for the right.
The first settlement* within the present limits
of Cayuga County was made in 1789, and the
subsequent influx of emigrants into the County
was very rapid. In 1800, twelve years after the first
settler had fixed his home here, Cayuga County
had 15,097 inhabitants, the accessions thus
averaging for eleven years, over 1,200 per year ;
while Onondaga had then but 7,698.
The tendency of early emigration was, there
fore, to the " lake region," the reputation of
which for health and fertility, had been widely
circulated by the officers and soldiers of Sulli
van's army,f whose reports were confirmed by
the subsequent surveyors and land seekers.
Situation. — Geographically this County lies
about equi-distant from Albany on the east and
Buffalo on the west. It is the easternmost ofthe
lake counties, having Skaneateles Lake on its
eastern boundary, Owasco Lake in the interior,
and Cayuga Lake upon the west, with Lake On
tario on its northern boundary; the counties of
Oswego, Onondaga and Cortland, bound it on
the east, Tompkins on the south, and Seneca
and Wayne on the west. It extends from north
to south a distance of 55 miles, with an average
breadth of about 14 miles, embracing an area of
760 square miles, exclusive of 160 square miles
of the waters of Lake Ontario, or 486,400 acres.
General Topography of the County. —
The inclination and drainage of the County is in
a general northerly direction ; the table lands
near the center of the town of Scipio, being the
source of the principal streams which flow south
erly through the towns of Venice and Genoa ;
*Roswell Franklin, from Wyoming, was the first settler, locating
at Aurora, In 1789, He had been In the battle of Wyoming, in
which his wife was killed and one of his children taken captive by
the Indians. He Is said to have been so much depressed by his mis
fortunes, as to lead him to self destruction.
-)• In the first address upon thc subject of agriculture delivered in
this County before an Agricultural Society, by Humphrey Howland,
he stated that Sullivan's soldiers, in 1779, while destroying the im
mense mass of corn which they found growing and ripened, or
ripening, in thc Genesee Valley, were so impressed by thc size and
perfection of the ears, that they carried samples of them to their
homes in their knapsacks, and thus widely advertised the fertility of
the region.

but, with this exception, and a part of Sempro
nius and Summer Hill, the waters of the
county are discharged into Lake Ontario.
Surface. — The surface of the county is, gen
erally, susceptible of easy cultivation, being
either flat, or its ascents gradual. The hills that
border the valleys of the Salmon creeks in the
towns of Venice and Genoa, and those in Niles,
Moravia, Locke, Summer Hill and Sempronius,
form the principal exceptions, the comparative
elevations of which will be given in the " topog
raphy of the towns."
Lakes. — Lake Ontario, lying on tjje extreme
northern boundary of the County, is 130 miles
long and 55 miles wide. It is 232 feet above
tide-water, and its greatest depth is 600 feet.
The only harbor on this lake in the county, is
Little Sodus, elsewhere fully described.*
The surface of this lake, as also of our other
great lakes, is subject to variations of level, that
of Lake Ontario varying about four and three-
fourths feet between the extremes, and the period
of variation extends through several years, caused,
it is believed.by long prevailing winds and unequal
amounts of rain and evaporation. Sudden and
unaccountable variations of several feet in the
level of the surface of this lake, have, at different
times occurred and given rise to much specula
tion as to the cause.
Cayuga Lake, on the south-western border of
the County is 387 feet above tide, 40 miles long,
and at and^ above Aurora, exceeds three miles
in width. Owasco is 770 feet above tide, has an
extreme width of one and one-fourth miles and
a length of ten and three-fourths miles. This
lake receives the drainage of the eastern parts
of the towns of Fleming, Scipio, Venice and
Genoa, the whole of the surface of Moravia and
Locke, the north-western part of Summer Hill,
nearly two-thirds of Sempronius, and fully three-
fourths of the town of Niles, the entire surface
drained into the lake, being over 100,000 acres.
Cross Lake, about five miles in length by
one mile in breadth, is formed by the discharge
of Seneca river into a shallow basin, out of
which it flows, the lake receiving little other
drainage. A large swamp borders this lake on
the west, and another on the north.
Besides these larger lakes, there are Duck Lake
and Mud Pond in the north-western part of Con-
* See History of the town of Sterling.

36

FORMATION OF THE TOWNS.

quest, Otter Lake and Parker's Pond in Cato, and
Summer Hill Lake, in the town of that name.
Rivers. — Seneca is the principal river of the
County. It receives the entire drainage of the
immense, water-sheds that drain into Canan
daigua, Seneca, Cayuga and Skaneateles Lakes,
and hence bears a large and, with the seasons, a
greatly varying body of water. Besides the out
lets of these lakes it receives, as has been shown,
the principal drainage of Cayuga County in a
multitude of streams, of which the larger are
the Owasco Outlet, Cold Spring, Cayuga, Crane's,
and Bread Creeks. The principal streams in
the south part of the County are the Cayuga In
let, having its source in the hills of Locke and
Moravia, and the Big and Little Salmon Creeks,
rising in the hills of Venice and Genoa, and flow
ing southerly. .
Formation of the Towns. — A town of Aure
lius was formed in the county of Ontario, by the
Court of General Sessions of that county, Jan
uary 27, 1789. This town, it should be remem
bered, was outside of the territorial limits of
what afterwards became Onondaga and Cayuga
Counties, and should not be confounded with the
Aurelius in Cayuga County, which was one of
the " Military Townships,'' formed January 27,
1789, but was enlarged by an act passed March
5th, 1794, " to divide the State into counties and
towns," and described as containing "all the
townships of Cato, Brutus and Aurelius and all
of the reservation north of the town of Scipio
and west to the center of Cayuga Lake. Auburn
was fortried from Aurelius, March 28th, 1823.
Brutus and Cato, original military townships, but
merged in Aurelius by the act of March 5, 1794,
were detached and formed into separate town
ships on March 30, 1802 ; Conquest,* from Cato,
March 16, 1821 ; Fleming, from Aurelius, March
28, 1823 ; Genoa, from the "Military Tract," as
"Milton," January 27, 1789, name changed Apil 6,
1808 ; Ira, from Cato, March 16, 1821 ; Ledyard,
from Scipio, January 30, 1823 ; Locke, from Mil
ton, now Genoa, February 20, 1802 ; Mentz, from
Aurelius, as Jefferson, March 30, 1802, name
changed April 6, 1808; Montezuma, from Mentz,
April 8, 1859 ; Moravia, from Sempronius, March
20, 1833 ; Niles, from Sempronius, March 20,
1833 ; Owasco, from Aurelius, March 30, 1802 ;
* So named from the conquest or success of the party favoring
the division over their opponents.

Scipio, from the Military Tract, March 5, 1794;
Sempronius, from the Military Tract, March 9,
1799; Sennett,* from Brutus, March 19, 1827;
Springport.t from Scipio, January 30, 1823 ;
Sterling,:}: from Cato, June 19, 1812 ; Summer
Hill, from Locke, as Plato, April 26, 1831, name
changed March 16, 1832 ; Throop, from parts of
Aurelius, Mentz and Sennett, April 8, 1859;
Venice, from Scipio, January 30, 1823 ; Victory,§
from Cato, March 16, 1821.
Topography of the Towns. — In the town of
Sempronius is the highest land in the county,
rising to the height of 1,700 feet above tide.
The hills ascend sharply from the shores of Skan
eateles Lake to a height above the valley, of
from 800 to 1,000 feet. Deep valleys have been
cut through the drift and shales in this town, by
Mill, Swamp and Fall Brooks.
In Summer Hill, the surface lies from 1,000 to
1,100 feet above tide, and the valley of Fall Brook
is from 300 to 400 feet below.
In Niles the highest elevation is 1470 feet above
tide and 700 feet above Owasco Lake. The
hills of Moravia rise between 300 and 400 feet
above the flats and their sides are' often steep
and precipitous. The mean elevation of the
hills of Locke, is about 1000 feet above tide, while
they rise from 300 to 400 feet above the valleys,
through which the Cayuga Inlet flows ; but they
spread out into fine undulating uplands. In
Genoa, the highest land is 1000 feet above tide,
and 670 above Cayuga Lake, from which it grad
ually rises. The ridges, running north and south
through the town, are divided by the two valleys,
through which flow the Big and Little Salmon
Creeks; the ridges rising from 50 to 150 feet
above them.
In Owasco, the land rises gradually from the
lake to an extreme height of about 500 feet.
Scipio has a high rolling or level and generally
feasible surface for cultivation, lying on the sum
mit of its range of towns, the drainage from it
being both to thp north and south. It rises
gradually about 500 feet above Owasco Lake at its
* So named in honor of Judge Daniel Sennett, an early and enter
prising settler of the town.
\ So named from two celebrated springs, which unite and form
the water power of the village of Union Springs.
\ So named In honor of Lord Sterling, of Revolutionary fame.
§ So named because of the success, or victory, of the party favor
ing the division, over their opponents.

TOPOGRAPHY OF THE TOWNS.

3;

highest points, except near its shores, along which
extends a steep bluff.
In Ledyard from its eastern boundary, where
it rises about 500 feet above the lake, the land
gradually declines to its shores. Numerous small
streams flow through it into the lake.
In Venice are deep valleys running north and
south, near the center of the town, and through
which the Big and Little Salmon Creeks flow.
Its highest summits rise from 300 to 400 feet
above Owasco Lake. Its general surface is a roll
ing upland, but on the lake and the west bank of
Salmon Creek the declivities are abrupt.
P'leming has a northerly and easterly incli
nation sloping towards the lake for three-fourths
of a mile with a rolling surface, easily cultivated.
Its ridges run north and south, and rise from 150
to 250 feet above the lake.
Springport rises gradually from Cayuga Lake,
to an elevation between 400 and 500 feet, with a
generally plane or moderately rolling surface.
Such is the general topography of the twelve
towns lying south of the city of Auburn. We
will now present the topography of the northern
towns ofthe County, with some contrasts between
them and the southern towns.
Lake Ontario, on the northern border, is 232
feet above tide water, and 155 feet lower than the
surface of Cayuga Lake.
The highest ridges in the town of Sterling, rise
200 feet above the lake, and are therefore 532
feet above tide, or about 1200 feet below the
highest elevation in the County in the town of
Sempronius; and 350 feet below the tablelands
of Scipio. Sterling has a slight northerly incli
nation, and its streams flow into the Little and
Big Sodus Bays. Courtright Brook and Little
Sodus Creek are the principal streams. Little
Sodus Bay is two miles long and one mile wide,
and furnishes one of the finest harbors on the
shore of the lake. The water is of ample depth,
it is thoroughly land-locked by the high lands on
three sides, and its entrance has been improved
by liberal appropriations by the general govern
ment. It is elsewhere fully described.*
East of the bay is a large swamp, embracing
several hundred acres, and also another in the
south part ofthe town. Some parts of the town
are exceedingly stony and difficult of cultivation.
The surface of the town of Victory is but mod-
* See History Town of Sterling.

erately uneven, the hills not exceeding fifty feet
in height. In the south-west part is a large swamp.
As in Sterling, so in this town, some parts of ijt
are very stony.
In Ira, also, the surface is gently undulating,
the hills rising from fifty to seventy-five feet
above the valleys.
Cato has no elevation exceeding fifty feet above
the valleys, and not above two hundred feet above
Lake Ontario. Seneca River bounds the town on,
the south, along which the land is flat and subject
to overflow. Cross Lake is a body of shallow
water, five miles long by one broad, into, and
from which, the Seneca River flows. Otter Lake
is about two miles long and Parker's Pond, of
circular form, is about one mile in diameter, the
outlets from both, flowing into Seneca River.
Along the river, in this town, the ground is low
and swampy and subject to inundation. That
part ofthe town of Conquest which borders upon
Seneca River, is low and swampy and subject to
overflow, and a swamp about eighty rods wide
extends from the river through the town.
Duck Lake, in the north-west part ofthe town,
is about one mile in diameter. The general sur
face of the town is rolling upland. Howland's
Island, in the south-west corner of the town,
formed by a branch of Seneca River which sur
rounds two thousand seven hundred acres, was
owned by Humphrey Howland, and descended
to his son Penn. It has now passed into other
hands. Nearly one-third of its exterior surface
bordering the river is low and swampy and the
balance rolling and fine upland.
The north-western and northern parts of Bru
tus are level, rising but a few feet above the level
of Seneca River, by which considerable portions
are overflowed. It is exceedingly rich and pro
ductive. In the southern and south-eastern parts
rise frequent and very fertile drift-hills, from fifty
to seventy-five feet above the general surface.
Cold Spring Brook, in the western part of the
town, rising in the Tyler Spring in Auburn, and
Bread, or Putnam Brook, flowing centrally
through the town, and having its head-waters in
the town of Owasco, are the principal streams ;
the latter is a canal feeder, and both empty into
the Seneca River.
That part of the town of Mentz, which lies
upon the Seneca River is low and more or less
swampy ; in the south rise fertile drift-ridges.

38

GEOLOGICAL FORMATION OF THE TOWNS.

The Owasco Outlet flows through the center of the
town, and furnishes a very valuable water power.
The town of Montezuma is enclosed on its
western and northern sides by the Seneca River,
which at the north-western corner of the town,
turns sharply to the east, sending a northerly
arm around Howland's Island. The surface of
this town is generally low and flat, but where it
is susceptible of cultivation it is exceedingly fer
tile in the grasses and all the grains that are cul
tivated. This town is rich in its exhaustless
deposits of alluvium, drained for thousands of
years from the surface of Cayuga, Seneca, Yates,
Ontario, and Wayne counties, and stored here
for the use of man, and which, it is believed, will be
utilized to restore the exhausted fertility of the
bordering upland, and as in Holland and Belgium,
be converted, with less labor than there, into one
of the most valuable and productive regions of
the globe.
The "Cayuga Marshes," extending along the
Seneca River in Aurelius, Montezuma and
Mentz, embrace about forty thousand acres, and
in the opinion of the State Geologist, are under
laid by shell marl.*
This marl is an excellent fertilizer, being ex
ceedingly rich in animal and mineral phosphates ;
and efforts are now being made to utilize it and
give it a commercial value. The deposit extends
in places to a great depth, and covers immense
areas, being practically inexhaustible. Along the
canal in the town of Mentz, a little west of Port
Byron, works have recently been erected for the
purpose of preparing it for the market. Similar
works have been in operation for a longer period
just across the Seneca River, in Seneca county,
a little above Montezuma, and qonsiderable
quantities have been shipped to New York both
in the crude and manufactured state.
Montezuma also abounds in salt springs, from
which large quantities of salt have, at different
periods, been made ; but its manufacture has
been abandoned owing to the superior strength
of the Onondaga brines. The town of Aure
lius is flat or gently undulating, with many drift-
hills, gradually inclining to the north and west,
and is one of the best agricultural towns in the
County. Owasco Outlet, and Cayuga and Crane
Brooks, are the principal streams.
*See History of town of Montezuma, where this subject is more
fully considered.

Sennett has a level or gently rolling surface,
the slojDes of the hills being long and gradual,
rising from 50 to 100 feet above the valleys.
There is very little swamp or waste land, and it
is one of the most fertile and best cultivated
towns in the county.

CHAPTER VII.

Geology, Soil, Climate and Productions.
Geological Formation of the Several
Towns— Soil of the Central and North-
fun Towns — Formation of our Best Wheat
Lands — Soils of the Southern Towns —
The Dairy Region — The Grain Growing
Region — Effect of Lake Ontario on the
Snow Fall — Comparative Statistics in
Different Towns — Agricultural Rank
OF Cayuga County in the State.

c

"* EOLOGY.* — The lowest rocks of the
JT County are the Medina sandstone, out
cropping on the shore of Lake Ontario in the
town of Sterling ; and the highest are the Por
tage and Ithaca groups, crowning the tops of the
hills in the south part of the county. Between
them successively appear, in an ascending order,
the Oneida conglomerate, and Clinton groups in
the south part of Sterling ; in Victory is the
Lockport group ; in Cato, Brutus, Conquest and
Mentz, the red shales of the Onondaga salt
group ; in Auburn, Aurelius and Springport,
and along the Cayuga Lake and its outlet, are
gypsum beds of the same group ; in Owasco,
Auburn, Fleming and Springport, the water-lime
and Oriskany sandstone ; and above them suc
cessively appear the Onondaga and corniferous
limestone, the Marcellus and Hamilton shales,
Tully limestone, Genesee slate, and the Portage
and Ithaca groups.
In Sterling, the Medina sandstone and the
Oneida conglomerate are quarried for building
purposes. In Victory, the blue limestone and red
shale are covered by deep drift. Ira is under
laid by the Medina sandstone, and Conquest and
* The geological peculiarities of the several towns, will be found
in connection with their local history.

SOILS OF THE COUNTY.

39

Cato are underlaid with disintegrated red shales.
Montezuma is underlaid with the rocks of the
Onondaga salt group, in which appear the red,
green and yellow shales. In this group are found
all the gypsum masses of Central New York.
In Mentz, the underlying rocks are red shale,
gypsum and limestone of the Onondaga salt
group. In Brutus, plaster beds exist and have
been worked to some extent. In Sennett, lime
stone has been quarried for building purposes,
and burned into Hme. In Auburn, the Onon
daga limestone has been extensively quarried for
the construction of its public and private build
ings. It underlies the whole region, and its out
crop appears in various places covered with thin
layers of earth and easily accessible. The same
is true of Aurelius and Springport. Water-lime
also abounds in Auburn, and has been consider
ably used as cement. In Springport are found
and worked the most extensive plaster beds in
the county, and there too are extensively quarried
the best varieties of limestone both for building
purposes and for quick-lime. This is the south
ern boundary of the limestone region of the
county. Soil. — The soil of the different parts of the
County is exceedingly various. From the allu
vial lands, and extensive flats that border the
Seneca River, to the lofty hill ranges in the south
and south-eastern parts of the county, there is
found nearly every variety of productive soil,
yielding a varied and rich return to the cultiva
tors. The central and northern towns abound
in drift-hills, the soil of which is mainly formed
from the decomposition of the shales that under
lie them, and are composed of very similar mate
rials. They are, generally, of gradual and mod
erate elevation and all are highly productive.
The soil of these hills, generally, is a fine quality
of sandy and gravelly loam,* with a due admix
ture of clay. Their texture is such as to permit
the free admission of air and percolation of
water. Our best wheat lands are those over which
the materials worn off in the geologic ages from
our limestone formation have been most largely
deposited Aurelius and Springport furnish,
* Loams are composed of sand, clay and lime, and of animal and
vegetable matters In a state of intimate mixture, the clay varying
from twenty to fifty per cent., and the lime rarely exceeding five per
cent. They are our richest and best colli.
6

perhaps, the most complete illustration of this
statement of any of the towns of the County ;
although the composition of most of the drift
hills in the northern and central towns, is
such as to produce large crops and a fine quality
of wheat, the same being true of Ledyard, Venice
and Genoa.
In Springport and Ledyard there are but little
waste lands and their natural drainage is good.
Ledyard has a general north-westerly aspect, in
clining to and bordering upon Cayuga Lake.
The lake is here about three miles wide, the water
deep, seldom freezing in winter, thus modifying
the climate and affecting the productions of the
lands that border upon it. The soil of Ledyard
is a sandy and clayey loam and very fertile. The
soil of Genoa along the lake is. clayey, but else-
wljere consists of a rich sandy and gravelly loam
which is very productive. The soil of Venice is
of a fine quality of clayey and gravelly loam ; in
that of Summer Hill the clay predominates. In
Sempronius we find a good quality of clayey,
sandy and gravelly loam, with a mixture of dis
integrated slate and limestone. In Niles, the
soil is a gravelly and clayey loam, producing fine
crops of grain and grass. In Locke and Mora
via, the soil among the hills consists of a gravelly
loam, mixed with clay; in the valleys, it is a deep
rich loam formed of gravel and disintegrated slate
and limestone.
The soil ofthe County, from its great variety,
is, consequently, adapted to the various products
which are successfully cultivated in Central New
York. The four south-eastern towns, Moravia,
Locke, Summer Hill and Sempronius, and a part
of Niles, are better adapted to pasturage and
dairy products than to the production of grain.
All the towns of the County north of, and in
cluding Owasco, Fleming and AureUus, except
ing the Seneca River basin, are largely composed
of drift hills, having a generally northerly and
southerly range ; nearly all have a deep soil and
were originally covered with a heavy growth of
forest trees. Some of them have now been under
cultivation for three-fourths of a century, and
with undiminished productiveness. They give
rise to springs of pure water and produce rich
and sweet grasses, and grains of the finest quali
ty. Those who dwell upon them are above the
" fogs of the valleys," breathe a pure and whole
some atmosphere, and are thus physically invigor-

40

CLIMATE AND PRODUCTIONS.

ated, while their minds are elevated and enlivened
by varied and beautiful landscapes.
This is the great grain producing section of the
County. The dairy region is mainly in the towns
of Moravia, Locke, Summer Hill and Sempronius.
The fruit producing section, in its greatest excel
lence, is found on the borders of the lakes, al
though fine fruits are grown in nearly all the
towns. All the grains, grasses and fruits of the
region,' excepting the peach and winter wheat,
are successfully grown, the latter failing in a few
localities only.
Climate. — The great difference in elevation
of the different parts of the County, and their
proximity to, or distance from the lakes, make
quite a variation in climate. The difference is
especially manifest in the greater depth and
longer continuance of snow in winter, and the
later maturity of crops in the more elevated towns.
In the entire south-eastern section of the County,
including the towns of Scipio, Niles, and a part
of Owasco and Moravia, Locke, Summer Hill, and
Sempronius, the snows of winter fall earlier, are
deeper and longer continued, than in the central
towns, while in the towns of Sterling, Ira, and
Victory, and to a less extent in Conquest and
Cato, a greater fall of snow also occurs, than
in the central towns ; but, in this case, from a
different cause than increased elevation. Lake
Ontario is always open in winter, and its waters,
warmer than the air, are constantly discharging
vapors that, when driven by the prevailing north
westerly winds over the land, are congealed and
descend upon it in snow. These snow storms
gather over the lake, on gusty days, like sum
mer thunder showers and pour their fleecy con
tents over the land in the range of the winds,
intermitting with them.
The difference in altitude between the Cayuga
Lake basin and the Sempronius summit, is thir
teen hundred and thirteen feet, and of the Lake
Ontario basin, fourteen hundred and sixty-three
feet. Experiments have shown that every three
hundred feet of elevation, produces a variation of
about one degree in temperature ; the difference
in temperature, therefore, between these locali
ties arising solely from the comparative elevation
should be over four degrees ; but the deep, broad,
unfrozen and comparatively warm waters of On
tario and Cayuga Lakes exert a modifying in
fluence upon the air passing over them, thus

keeping its temperature at a higher range, which
is shown in the earlier maturity of grains and
fruits, and in the less quantity, and earlier disap
pearance of snows. In thehigh tablelands rising
from 500 to 600 feet above the lake in Scipio,
Venice, Genoa, etc., the average temperature is
several degrees lower, and in consequence, more
injury to vegetation results from frosts while
there is a greater depth and longer continuance
of snow and a later maturity of crops.
Productions. — These differences in Geologi
cal formations, elevation, soil and climate, result
necessarily, in marked differences in the kinds,
qualities and quantities of the crops grown in the
several towns. In the following towns, the lead
ing interest is dairying, as shown by the census
of 1875. In the five towns of Niles, Moravia,
Locke, Summer Hill and Sempronius, there were
in 1875. 6,987 cows, and but 4,416 sheep, neariy
twice as many cows as sheep ; while in the five
larger towns of Ledyard, Scipio, Springport,
Aurelius and Fleming, there were but 3,5 14 cows,
and 13,309 sheep, or a proportion of sheep to the
cows, eight times greater than in the five former
towns. The five south-eastern towns raised but 54,491
bushels of winter wheat in 1 874,while the five other
towns named raised 233,782 bushels, or a quantity
more than four times greater. Sempronius and
Summer Hill together raised but 250 acres of win
ter wheat in 1874. The five south-eastern towns
raised a larger proportion of Indian corn, 141,310
bushels, while Scipio and the four other towns
raised 257,23 1 bushels. Sempronius, though one
of the smaller towns, mowed 4,736 acres, and
plowed but 2061 acres. Springport mowed but
1,782, and plowed 3,366, mowing less than half
as much ground as Sempronius. Niles had the
greatest number of milch cows, 1,686, Moravia
next, 1,519, while, of the country towns. Spring-
port had the smallest number, 483. Of wheat
Aurelius produced the largest quantity, 71,359
bushels, over one-tenth of the entire product of
the County; Cato ranked second, with 53,331
bushels ; Springport third, with 50,273. Con
quest leads in the production of Indian corn, pro
ducing 107,412 bushels ; Genoa next, with 82,945
bushels; Cato third, with 72,981 bushels. Ster
ling produced the greatest quantity of oats,
83,160 bushels; Genoa, 78,377; and Venice,
74,606. Of potatoes, Steriing produced a much

COMPARATIVE STATISTICS.

41

larger quantity than any other town, 88,846
bushels, and Sennett, 62,207 bushels.
• Ira produced the most apples, 80,471 bushels;
Victory next, 67,940; Sterling next, 64,116;
while the otherwise agriculturally rich town of
Springport is credited with but 8,971. Moravia
is credited with the largest production of hay,
6,094 tons; Niles, with 6,086; and Steriing, with
5, 806 tons. Scipio leads in the production of
bariey, with 37,569 bushels ; Aurelius, with 33,-
628 ; and Cato, with 33,197. Ira .sent to the cheese
factories the milk of 535 cows ; Moravia, 458; and
Sempronius, 291. Conquest made in her fam
ilies 17,381 pounds of cheese; Owasco, 9,250; and
Sennett, 8,299 ; while Moravia made but 525
pounds. Niles leads in the production of butter,
234.973 pounds; Moravia next, 195,195 ; Sem
pronius, 194,435, and the small town of Summer
Hill, 186,613, more than the two large towns of
Brutus and Cato combined.
In comparison with the other grain growing
counties of the State, Cayuga holds a very high
rank as to the quantity produced per acre of
land, which is the true test of agricultural excel
lence. Of the four great staples, winter wheat,
Indian corn, oats and hay, she stands at or near
the head of all the grain-growing counties, and
the few counties that excel her do so but in small
degree. In winter wheat Cayuga is fifth, in In
dian corn, fourth, in oats, fourth, and in hay, fifth.
Of winter wheat the State at large averages 16. 16
bushels per acre, Cayuga, 18.55. Of Indian corn
the average of the State is 32.33; Cayuga pro
duces 40.77. Of hay the State average is 1.13
tons per acre, Cayuga, 1.27. Of oats the State
averages 28.59 bushels, Cayuga, 34.13. Wheat,
Indian corn, hay and oats, constitute thc source
of nine-tenths of the wealth annually drawn
from the soil. The corn, aside from the quantity
annually marketed, is largely fed to animals, and
forms the basis of the pork, beef, fowls, etc.;
while the hay, an index also of pasturage, is the
great source of the dairy interest of the County.
The study of the census of 1875, one of the
most careful ever made in the State, will we be
lieve, deeply interest the agriculturists of the
County, and convince them that their lines have
indeed fallen in pleasant places ; that they occupy
a section of the State as fertile and productive as
any within its borders. That the farmers ofthe
County are disposed to keep up the fertility of

their lands is shown by another short but com
prehensive paragraph in the census, viz.: that
Cayuga County used more fertilizers in 1875
than any other two of the rural counties of the
State. In a succeeding chapter we shall give a his
tory of the efforts made to improve the agricul
ture of the County, and a full detail of its pro
ductions from the census of 1875.

CHAPTER VIII.
Travel and Transportation.
Early Modes of Travel — Difficulties En
countered — Western Inland Lock Navi
gation Co. — Canal Projected — Surveys —
Early Roads — Stages — Freight Wagons
Erie Canal — Its Importance — Railroads
— Compared with Canals.
THE routes over which the early settlers
came to Cayuga County, and by which
their families and their household and other
goods were transported, were circuitous, rude and
toilsome in the extreme.
The first summer route was by water from
Schenectady to Cayuga and Seneca Lakes. The
Hudson River furnished a feasible means of reach
ing Albany; but between that point and the
mouth of the Mohawk so many difficulties were
to be met, that the river was abandoned and the
land route taken, a distance of sixteen miles over
the sand-barrens, very difficult to traverse, At
Schenectady the Mohawk was taken to near the
Little Falls, fifty-six miles distant ; and on this
part of the route the navigation was compara
tively easy, the current was gentle and the
water sufficiently deep for the flat-bottomed
boats used upon it.
At Little Falls a portage of three-fourths of a
mile was encountered, through a rocky gorge,
over the jagged surface of which a rude and
crooked way was made, and over it were carried
by men the canoes and light boats, while the
heavier boats were drawn by oxen. These larger
boats were from twenty to thirty feet long, and
from four to six feet wide, flat-bottomed and of

42

EARLY MODES OF TRAVEL.

light draft. Upon the upper edge and on both
sides ran a wale or plank, the entire length,
upon which the boatmen walked as they slowly
poled the boats up stream. This was done by
placing one end of a long pole on the bottom of
the river and the other against the shoulder, and
thus, by pushing, the boat was propelled.
After passing Little Falls there was a free
passage of six miles, to the " German Flats,"
where, by reason of shoals, a short portage was
made. From thence to Utica, fifteen miles, the
passage was again free. Between Utica and
Rome the water was shallow and obstructed by
trees felled into it by the settlers. At Fort Stan-
wix, now Rome, immigrants left the Mohawk
and passed into Wood Creek by a portage of
about two miles. This was a small, yet naviga
ble stream, that flowed into Oneida Lake after a
course of about thirty miles. From Oneida
Lake the route lay through the Oswego and
Seneca Rivers to the outlets of the Cayuga and
Seneca Lakes. On the latter, at Seneca Falls,
their last obstruction was met.
The time required to make this journey from
Schenectady to Seneca Lake was from fifteen to
twenty days, and the bateaux then used were
propelled by three men, and would carry about
one and a half tons. A single family with
few effects would, therefore, constitute a full
load. This was the summer route of travel. In
winter, the immigrants came on rude sleds drawn
by oxen, through an unbroken forest, over a rude
pathway made by widening the Indian trails, and
often upon routes the only guides to which were
blazed trees.
The summer route referred to was under the
control and management of the Western Inland
Lock Navigation Company, incorporated in 1791.
This Company rapidly improved the navigation of
their line, by constructing locks at Little Falls,
removing the oth'er obstructions in the Mohawk,
and connecting that river with Wood Creek by a
canal, straightening the former and shortening
the distance over it nearly one half Boats were
now put upon the route propelled by five men,
that would carry twelve tons, and ten days only
were then required to go from Schenectady to
Seneca Lake.
These improvements, limited as they were, are
said to have doubled the value of the contiguous
lands. For many years the route was liberally

patronized by the flood of immigrants that were
seeking homes in Western New York. It was
the great popular line to the West, passing through
Cayuga County. It bore thousands of the early
settlers to their new homes, brought to them
their merchandise, and carried their produce to
the eastern markets.
Erie Canal. — As settlements increased, the
shoulders of men were found inadequate to push
through the tortuous channels of the natural
water courses the needed supplies and produc
tions of the people, and as early as 1803, Gouv-
erneur Morris sounded the key note when he
said "Lake Erie must be tapped and its waters
carried over the country to the Hudson." The
project of an artificial canal between the Hudson
and the lakes, was vigorously canvassed from
1807 till the conclusion to build the work was
reached. The survey was ordered in February,
1 808. James Geddes, of Syracuse, was entrusted
with the preliminary surveys, and instructed by
the Surveyor-General as follows :
" As the provision made for the expenses of this
business is not adequate to the effectual exploring
of the country for this purpose, you will, in the
first place, examine what may appear to be the
best route for a canal from Oneida Lake to Lake
Ontario, in the town of Mexico, and take a level
and survey of it ; also whether a canal cannot be
made between the Oneida Lake and Oswego, by
a route in part to the west of the Oswego river,
so as to avoid those parts along it where it will
be impracticable to make a good navigation.
The next object will be the ground between
Lakes Erie and Ontario, which must be examined
with a view to determine vi'hat will be the most
eligible track for a canal from below Niagara
Falls to Lake Erie. If your means will admit of
it, it would be desirable to have a level taken
throughout the whole distance between the
lakes." The whole expense of this preliminary survey
was only ^675. Mr. Geddes submitted his re
port on the three different routes in 1809. He
most favored the interior route without passing
through Lake Ontario.
These surveys established the practicability of
this interior route for a canal, and the next step
was to secure the means to build it An effort
was made to secure the aid of the General Gov
ernment in 1809, ^"d the surveys and plans were
laid before President Jefferson, who carefully ex
amined them, but regarded the scheme as in the
highest degree chimerical and disposed of it in

THE ERIE CANAL.

43

the following summary way: "You talk of
making a canal three hundred and fifty miles
through the wilderness ; it is little short of mad
ness to think of it at this day." But there was
"order" and energy in the "madness" of the
canal men at that day ; they persevered and tri
umphed. In i8roa commission was appointed, consisting
of DeWitt Clinton, Stephen Van Rensselaer and
seven others, to explore the inland navigation
route. They did so, and made a favorable re
port the next year. James Geddes and Ben
jamin Wright were then employed as engineers,
and a second and fruitless effort was made to se
cure Congressional aid. In 1812 the commis
sioners reported that "the canal should be built
by the State of New York on her own account."
The war of i8i2-'i5, suspended operations
relating to the canal ; but the Legislature of
1 8 16 authorized the loan of a million dollars,
and the section from Rome to the Seneca River
was to be the first completed. This conclusion
was based upon the possible contingency that
the full plan might not be executed, and if not,
the completion of this section would, with the
Mohawk River, furnish greatly increased means
of interior communication.
The report of the engineers, Messrs. Geddes
and Wright, was made in 18 16, embracing a
careful survey of the line from Rome to Black
Rock and revised estimates of the cost of the
entire canal, placing it at ;^5,ooo,ooo.
On June 27th, 18 17, the first contract was
made, and July 4th of that year the first spade
ful of earth was lifted at Rome from the grand
Erie Canal with appropriate ceremonies. The
first contractor was John Richardson, of Cayuga
County. Ninety-four miles of the canal were
completed in the autumn of 1820, and in Novem
ber, 1825, the entire work was finished from the
Hudson to the Lakes, at a cost, including the
Champlain Canal, of ;^8,273, 122.66.
In July, 1820, boats commenced running be
tween Utica and Montezuma three times a week,
the trip requiring two days, and the fare on the
packet boats, including board, was $4. Stages
ran from the principal interior villages for the
transportation of passengers, and freight wagons
for goods and merchandise. In 1821 the boats
ran from Montezuma to Schenectady.
In the completion of the Erie Canal our citi

zens took a lively interest and made arrange
ments to celebrate the event. On the 29th day
of September, 1825, a meeting of the citizens of
Auburn was held at the Western Exchange, then
kept by Holt & Curtis; Dr. Erastus Humphreys
was Chairman, and William H. Seward, Secre
tary. The following resolution was passed :
" Resolved, That we hail with great satisfac
tion the approaching completion of the Erie
Canal, the most splendid work of internal im
provement undertaken in any country, and that
we will heartily cooperate with our fellow-citi
zens in other parts in celebrating the same."
Elijah Miller, Erastus Humphreys and S. W.
Hughes were appointed a committee to arrange
for the celebration. That event occurred at Port
Byron — then Bucksville— on the 27th day of Oc
tober, 1825, and was an occasion of great festivi
ty. An ox was roasted, cannon fired, speeches
made and toasts given ; one of the latter, as ex
hibiting the enthusiasm excited by the event, we
reproduce. By James Lucky, Esq.:
"The grand Erie Canal; a monument of
wonder, which at its commencement was looked
upon by its friends with fear, and by its foes as
an impossibility. But fear has been lost in joy,
and impossibilities have been overcome; the
work is completed and it is ours to ' rejoice with
exceeding joy,' "
" Weed's Basin " and " Bucksville " were sharp
rivals for the honor of being the port of entry for
the more pretentious village of Auburn, and of
the business of the county to and from the
canal. Stages were run over both routes, and a
lively freight and passenger traffic was main
tained for fourteen years, until the construction
of the Auburn & Syracuse Railroad.
Early Roads — Stages. — The first roads
through our County followed quite closely the
Indian trails. In 1790, General Wadsworth and
a party of immigrants, widened the trail from
Whitestown to Canandaigua. In 1797, ^45,000
were raised by lotteries, under the authority of
the State, to improve its various roads, the great
Genesee road receiving J52,200, of this sum.
That road through this County was, substantially,
the old road through Skaneateles and Mottville,
through Franklin street in Auburn, and
thence westerly nearly on a line with Genesee
street, to Cayuga Ferry, which was about one
mile north of the present Cayuga Village,
In 1797, the Cayuga Bridge Company was in-

44

EARLY STAGE LINES.

corporated, comprising John Harris, Thomas
Morris, Wilhemus Mynders, Charles Williamson
and Joseph Annin, the latter the Sheriff of the
County in 1800. The bridge was completed in
that year, at a cost of ;g25,ooo.oo. Its length
was one mile and eight rods.
The Seneca Turnpike Company. — This
company was incorporated in 1800, to construct
a turnpike road six rods wide, from Utica to
Canandaigua ; twenty-five feet of it, in the cen
ter, to be covered with gravel, or broken stone,
to a depth of fifteen inches. They were permit
ted to place gates ten miles from each other, and
to exact twelve and one-half cents toll for two-
horse teams, and twenty-five cents for four
horses. The Cherry Valley Turnpike was also
laid out in that year, running from Cherry Val
ley, in the county of Otsego, to the outlet of
the Skaneateles Lake, where it connected with
the great Seneca Turnpike.
In 1804, an act was passed giving Jason Parker
and Levi Stevens the exclusive right to run
stage wagons for seven years, on the new turnpike
between Utica and Canandaigua. These were
the first stages which ran through Cayuga Coun
ty. The number of passengers to each coach
was limited by law to seven adults, and the stages
made two trips per week. In 1805, John Post
fitted up three stage boats, or bateaux with seats
and oil cloth coverings, to run between Utica and
Schenectady. The current would carry the
boats down the Mohawk ; but they were poled
up by men, the same as were the other boats of
the " Navigation Company."
The population of Cayuga County and of the
entire Military Tract was, at this time, increas
ing with wonderful rapidity, and the supplies of
merchandise which they required and the ship
ment eastward of their surplus productions, so
over-taxed the public means of transportation,
that they were supplemented by private freight
wagons, carrying farm products to Albany and
returning laden with merchandise. A caravan
of teams from a neighborhood would go in com
pany and assist each other, by doubling teams
up heavy hills or. through the deep sloughs.
These long journeys, the round trip often oc
cupying two weeks, were thus cheered by mu
tual aid and sympathy, and were rather interest
ing episodes in the routine of early farm life. At
the hospitable inns., which arose by the way-side

every few miles, these hardy and happy teamsters
would pass a noon, or night, as cheerfully as any
modern traveler in the pretentious hotels of to
day. Besides these farm-teams heavy transpor
tation wagons were regularly run over the Seneca
Turnpike, often drawn by from seven to nine
horses, and carrying a proportionate load. The
wagons were massive, with very broad tires, to
prevent them from penetrating the road-bed.
The writer well remembers the interest with
which in early boyhood he viewed the broad and
distinctly marked paths left in the highways by
the wheels of these " big wagons," and the great
difficulty which they encountered in passing
through the miry road south of the " Bottsford
Tavern," three miles north of Auburn.
The Sherwood's and other Stage Lines. —
In 1809, Isaac Sherwood, of Skaneateles, became
a partner of Jason Parker of Utica, in the stage
line through this County, carrying the United
States Mail. In 18 16, a line of stages left Canan
daigua every week-day, and ran to Utica in thirty-
six hours. The proprietors were Thomas Powell,
J. Parker, J. Wetmore, Aaron Thorpe and Isaac
Sherwood & Co. From Utica east, a tri-weekly
line ran to Albany, under the control ofthe same
parties. This "old line mail," held the exclusive
control of the passenger transportation over the
great central line of travel, until 1828, and their
business was large and remunerative.
In that year the "Pioneer line" of stages was
put upon the route. It was intended to further the
reforms ¦ demanded by a large public sentiment
opposed to Sunday traveling. A national society
"to promote the due observance of the Sabbath,"
had been formed. The members of this society
were required to sign written or printed pledges
to patronize only those lines of stages, steam, and
canal boats, that ran only on secular days. Aux
iliary societies were formed throughout the coun
try, and liberal subscriptions made to carry out
the plan of running "six day lines." The old
stage companies offe'red to sell their stage prop
erty to the new organization ; but their offer was
rejected and the gauntlet thrown down for a ter
rible Btage war.
The old companies were financially strong ;
understood their business fully ; had, by an ex
perience of years of successful business, mastered
all its details, and were, of course, prepared to
maintain a sharp contest with their inexperienced

RAILROADS.

45

rivals. They had but one interest over the prin
cipal lines of travel in the State, and they united,
as one man, in the fight. The old contestants at
this time were : Jason Parker, A. Shepard, S.
D. Child, and T. S. Faxton, of Utica ; Isaac
Sherwood, of Skaneateles ; J. M. Sherwood, of
Auburn ; C. H. Coe, of Canandaigua ; Adams &
Blinn, of Rochester ; B. D. Coe, of Buffalo ; E.
Phillips, of Syracuse; S, Goodwin, of Madison;
William Storey, Cherry Valley ; Asa Sprague,
of Schenectady ; and A. Thorpe, of Albany.
Many stage lines then converged at Auburn,
from Homer, Ithaca, Oswego, Aurora, &c., and
hence the struggle for passengers at this point
was sharp. The " Pioneer line" obtained control
of the Western Exchange, then the leading hotel
of the village, where the old line horses had been
kept, and hoped thus to embarrass and defeat their
rivals ; but a new place was quickly fitted up
opposite the Bank of Auburn; entitled the " Bank
Coffee House," and made the general head-quar
ters here of the " old line."
The citizens of Auburn and. of the county gen
erally were not idle spectators of the contest.
They came in large numbers to the aid of the
old stage interest, and to defend, what they
believed to be a sacred individual right, attempted
to be forcibly wrested from them by a class of
men whom they denominated fanatics. At a
very large public meeting, at which it is said one
thousand were in attendance. Rev. John Jeffreys,
of Mentz, stated the object of the meeting, and
the following is one ofthe resolutions adopted.
" Resolved, as the sense of this meeting, that
all associations and combinations of men, formed
to prescribe and dictate to others in what man
ner they shall observe and keep the Sabbath, are
subversive of the free exercise of the rights of
conscience ; and that this meeting hereby enters
their solemn protest against the forming, or or
ganizing any religious party in politics."
Archibald Green, William H. Seward, and Dr.
Campbell, were appointed a committee to publish
the proceedings ofthe meeting in pamphlet form.
The opponents of the "Pioneer line" did not
object to legitimate competition in running
stages, or in other business ; but they did object
to combining the religious opinions of a portion
of the community, to coerce those who differed
from them.
To secure a more rapid transit of passengers,
and thus increase patronage, J. M. Sherwood &
7

Co., caused to be built for them, a sufficient num
ber of light, yet strong, coaches, to carry six pas
sengers only, drawn by their fleetest horses, and
driven by their most reliable men, and denomi
nated the "Telegraph line."
The building of the "American Hotel," now
St. James, was an outgrowth of the stage con
test. It was commenced in 1828 and finished
and occupied in 1830, by J. M. Sherwood & Co.,
and was the head-quarters of their stage business.
The hotel was kept by Thomas Noyes, and the
agent of the large stage business, was the ever
bland and courteous Consider Carter, kindly
remembered, by all that knew him. The new and
rapid "Telegraph line"; the building of the
"American"; the failure to secure the carriage
ofthe United States Mail ; but above all the fail
ing support of their enterprise by the great body
of the people, were so many broken links in the
chain of their hopes, that the " Pioneer" speedily
waned, withered and died ; leaving the field
again free to the " old line," which they held until
January 28th, 1838. On the completion of the
Auburn and Syracuse Railroad, the eastern
bound stages were hauled off; and many of the
horses were employed for about a year and a half
in drawing the cars upon wooden rails between
Auburn and Syracuse.
Railroads. — The first movement towards the
construction of a railroad from Auburn to the
canal was made in 1828, in which year the com
mittee of the Legislature on Canals and Internal
Improvements, reported favorably upon the sub
ject of lending State aid to the construction of
the road from Auburn to Weed's Basin. Their
reasons for favoring the measure were first: it
would be a feasible and cheap experiment, and
furnish a model for improvements of a similar
kind; second: the needed accommodations of
the people, and third: the advantage it would be
to the interests of the State represented in the
Auburn prison.
The same committee add : " That in particular
districts, and for particular objects, improvements
by railroads can be usefully extended ; but that
they can bear a fair competition with well located
and well supplied canals, remains to be proved ;
and while railroads are of minor consideration,
yet as tributaries to the canals, they will be of
vital importance." The committee add, "that un
employed convicts could be engaged in the con-

46

AUBURN & SYRACUSE RAILROAD.

struction of the road," and they unanimously
agreed upon a bill for the purpose. Francis
Granger was the chairman of the committee, and
the presumed author of the report, but the meas
ure failed.
Auburn and Syracuse Railroad. — Pursuant
to the action of a public meeting held at the
Western Exchange in January, 1832, an applica
tion was made to the Legislature, then in session,
to incorporate a company to construct a railroad
to the canal. The charter was finally obtained
May 1st, 1834; (Chapter 228 Session Laws.)
The corporators were : Daniel Sennett, Ulysses F.
Doubleday, Bradley Tuttle, David Munro, Grove
Lawrence and William Porter, Jr. The following
named gentlemen were appointed commissioners
to receive subscriptions of stock, viz. : Daniel
Sennett, Ulysses F. Doubleday, Bradley Tuttle,
John Seymour, Halsey Phelps, Stephen Van
Anden, David Munro, John Wilkinson, Grove
Lawrence, Hezekiah Earll and William Porter,
Jr. The organization was perfected in January,
1835, 3S follows : Elijah Miller, President; A.
D. Leonard, George B. Throop, N. Garrow, J.
M. Sherwood, S. Van Anden, Richard Steele,
John Seymour, Abijah Fitch, E. E. Marvine and
Allen Warden, of Auburn, and Henry Raynor
and Vivus W. Smith, of Syracuse, Directors ;
E. F. Johnson, Engineer, and Levi Williams,
Assistant Engineer ; Levi Lewis, Superintend
ent. About six months were spent in surveying
and locating the road, and . work was begun
upon it in December, 1835. The first payment
to contractors was in January, 1836.
The construction of this road was met with
unexpected embarrassment. The very severe
financial panic of 1837, and the general suspen
sion of banks and the failure of business men,
rendered it difficult to negotiate the necessary
¦funds ; but the energy and perseverance of the
directors overcame these obstacles, and on Jan
uary Sth, 1838, the road was open from Auburn
to Geddes, the cars being drawn by horses until
June 4th, 1 839,when the first locomotive was used.
Amos Sherwood, Alfred Conklin, J. H. Che
dell, Thomas Y. How, Jr., John Wilkinson, C.
C. Dennis, and George H. Wood, have been
prominently connected with its management.
' ' This road was first intended to be a part of a
line of communication extending to the head of
Owasco Lake, and its depot terminus was to

have been near the stone mills of Messrs. Burr
& Thorne, and there connect with the projected
Owasco Canal. A freight depot was secured on
the south side of Genesee street, and used for
some time. This road had the exceptional privi
lege, at that day, of carrying freight. Wil
liam G. Fargo commenced his eventful life in
transportation, in the capacity of freight agent in
this depot. Silas W. Armett and George C.
Skinner, were, in turn, his successors.
The freight cars then used had but four wheels,
and three tons constituted a full load. These
freight cars were hauled to and from the car
house, then on Van Anden street, to the freight
depot, one at a time, by horses owned and driven
by Jabez Gould. " Uncle Nat Williams," long
the prince of freight men between Auburn and
the Erie Canal, was the freight conductor on this
road. He was succeeded on the 5th day of Sept.,
1841, by J. Lewis Grant, this being his first expe
rience in railroad business in which he sub
sequently became distinguished as the superin
tendent and manager of several important lines.
The depot was fixed, at its present location by
law, after a long and bitter controversy.
The early passenger cars rested on four wheels,
had three compartments, with seats running
lengthwise upon the sides like those of an omni
bus, and each compartment would seat eight per
sons. There was no room to move about, or
stand upright, any more than in the late stage
coaches. Side doors opened into each compart
ment through which " collector," as he was
called, could enter. He passed from one com
partment and car to another, by hanging to a
hand rail near the top of the car, and walking on
a foot piece extending the length of the car on
the outside, and about four or five inches wide.
Collector Wilkinson lost his life by slipping from
his frail foot-hold one snowy night and rolling
beneath the cars.
The first eight-wheel coach, with center aisles
and end platforms, was put upon the Auburn
road in 1839, and it was, for several years, the
only eight-wheeled car upon the entire line to
Albany. The locomotives then used were about
one-fourth the present weight.
The Auburn and Rochester Railroad was com
pleted November 4th, 1841, finishing the chain
of roads from Albany to Buffalo, then comprising
seven separate companies, as follows : Albany

THE "DIRECT" ROAD — SOUTHERN CENTRAL.

47

and Schenectady, Utica and Schenectady, Syra
cuse and Utica, Auburn and Syracuse, Auburn
and Rochester, Rochester and Attica, and Attica
and Buffalo. Each of these roads was operated
separately and, at the terminus of each, the pas
sengers and baggage changed cars, the check for
the baggage being a chalk mark upon it, indi
cating its destination. Seven different tickets
must be procured by each through passenger,
and there were the same number of conductors
to " punch," not the tickets, but the sleepy and
irritated travelers, who could take but little rest
between the terminal stations. This annoying
practice was soon superseded by through tickets
and through cars. The Auburn and Syracuse and
Auburn and Rochester Railroads, were consoli
dated in July, 1850, and a general consolidation
of all the roads was effected under the general title
of the " New York Central," on May 17th, 1853.
The Direct Line of the New York Cen
tral Railroad. — The line from Syracuse to
Rochester, composed of the Auburn & Syracu.se
and the Auburn & Rochester Railroads, was one
hundred and four miles over a crooked route with
heavy grades. In 1849, the attention of Mr.
John Wilkinson, of Syracuse, and others was
called to the necessity of constructing a more
direct and level railroad between Syracuse and
Rochester, and with that object in view they
organized the Rochester and Syracuse Direct
Railroad Company, August ist, 1850, with a
capital of .;^4, 200,000. The surveys were made
by O. C. Childs, and showed that a level railroad
could be constructed twenty-two miles shorter
than the old line. This road was built in the
ensuing years under the direction of James Hall,
engineer, and opened in 1853. In 1855 it
was consolidated with the New York Central
Railroad Company which was formed under
the Act of April 2d, 1853, authorizing the con
solidation of the several roads in operation and
in contemplation between Albany, Troy, Buffalo
and Niagara Falls. The stock of the company
was received at ^130, and each stockholder re
ceived a like amount of stock of the new com
pany at par, and for the difference, certificates or
premium bonds bearing six per cent, interest, and
payable May ist, 1883.
Southern Central Railroad. — This road
extends from Fair Haven, on Lake Ontario, to
the village of Sayre, Pa. It is one hundred and

twenty miles in length, opening a very direct and
easy communication between the great centers of
trade, New York and Philadelphia, and the fertile
and productive region bordering upon, and
tributary to the road, including the western
part of the Dominion of Canada. It has not
only opened to much of this region a means
hitherto wanting, of railroad communication with
the commercial centers ; but has also been the
means of cheapening transportation over all the
competing lines ; and, when we take into ac
count the large annual shipments both ways
over these several routes, and the gain to the
shippers in the reduction of freights, the neces
sity and value of the road can be clearly seen.
It is largely a coal road, penetrating the
Pennsylvania coal region and connecting it by a
short and direct route with central and western
New York and Canada ; its coal carriage is im
mense. The fisheries of the lake, the lumber
of Canada, and the merchandise and grain of the
tributary region furnish a large and increasing
volume of business, for the proper transaction
of which the officers of the road have assiduously
prepared, by a careful ballasting and improve
ment of the road-bed, supplying rolling stock,
reconstructing bridges, erecting warehouses
and elevators, and by improved facilities for
handling coal and grain.
Like most of our early efforts in the construc
tion of railroads, those directed to the work of
building a road over this line were a failure.
As early as 1852 an effort was made by the
organization of a company entitled the " Lake
Ontario, Auburn and New York Railroad
Company," with a capital of ;g 1,500,000, of which
the directors were : President, Thomas Y. How,
Jr. ; Secretary, B. F. Hall ; Treasurer, Joshua
Burt ; Directors, Roland F. Russell, Worthing-
ton Smith, Hiram S. Farrar, Moses T. Fell, O. C.
Crocker, Lyman Murdock, Isaac Bell, David
Cook, Robert Hume ; Engineer, Levi Williams.
The route was surveyed and established upon
what is familiarly known as the Murdock Line,
its southern terminus being Pugley's Station and
Fair Haven its northern. - The right of way was
procured over most of the line, contracts made,
and about ;^375,ooo expended in grading. So
many of the original subscribers defaulted that
funds for its continuance could not be procured
and the enterprise collapsed.

48

CAYUGA SOUTHERN.

The effort was renewed in 1858 and a company
organized to construct the road and work began
on the line from Weedsport to the lake, on
which about ;^45o,ooo were expended. Opera
tions were suspended by the rebellion, and not
efficiently renewed until 1865, when a reorgani
zation of the company was effected, and the loca
tion ofthe southern line of the road changed by
adopting the route through Moravia, Groton and
Dryden. The several towns on the line issued
the necessary amount of bonds to secure the
completion of the road, which was rapidly
effected. The officers were then as follows :
Cyrus C. Dennis, President ; J. J. Taylor, Vice-
President ; William H. Seward, Treasurer;
George I. Post, Secretary ; Thomas C. Piatt of
Owego, William Lincoln of Newark Valley,
Hiram W. Sears of Dryden, H. K. Clarke of
Groton, William Titus of Moravia, Charles P.
Wood, William C. Barber and George J. Letch
worth of Auburn, and John T. Knapp of Cato,
Directors. The road was completed and trains moved
over it in 1869. The business of this road is
constantly and largely increasing. For the year
ending December ist, 1877, about 240,000 tons
of coal were transported over it, and the passen
ger and general freight traffic was also large.
Its facilities have been greatly increased and its
advantages as they become more widely known
are better appreciated, and its patronage thereby
extended. It is the policy of the managers to keep the
road in perfect order. In extensions and repairs
they have used during thepast year over ;^ 1,000,-
000 feet of lumber, 50,000 ties and four miles of
steel rails. The company has now sixteen loco
motives, nine passenger coaches, five baggage
cars, eight cabooses, forty-nine box cars, eighty-
two flat cars, twenty gondolas, and two hundred
and forty-eight coal cars. The rolling stock is
mostly new and in good condition. The road
has always been operated with exceptional care
and accidents upon it have been of rare occur
rence. The advantages of this road to the people of
the County, by whose funds mainly it was con
structed, have already yielded a full return for
the investments made in it, and its permanence
is fully assured;
The following are its present officers : Elmore

P. Ross, President; T. C .Piatt, Vice-President ;
J. N. Knapp, Secretary ; C. L. Rich, Treasurer ;
Henry D. Titus, Assistant Treasurer ; J. G.
Knapp, General Superintendent ; and Charles
A. Warden, General Freight and Passenger
Agent. Cayuga Southern Railroad. — This road
extends from Cayuga to Ithaca, a distance of
thirty-eight miles. This company was first or
ganized in 1865, as the Cayuga Lake Railroad
Company, with the following directors : Henry
Wells, E. B. Morgan, T. Delafield, J. J. Thomas,
D. Anthony, A. Beardsley, C. H. Adams, L A.
Pelton, Samuel Adams, J. H. Burr, H. J. Grant,
Joseph Esty, B. B. Howland, Henry Wells,
President ; C. H. Adams, Secretary ; and T.
Delafield, Treasurer.
The line was surveyed by George Geddes, of
Syracuse, who recommended the shore-line, on
account of its favorable grades, and as dispens
ing with one line of fencing. Work was begun
upon the road in 1 871, and completed and trains
run over it in 1873. But the panic of the latter
year embarrassed the finances of the company,
and the property was sold by a foreclosure of the
second mortgage bonds. The company was
then reorganized as the Cayuga Lake Railroad
Company, with a capital stock of ^400,000, and
a bonded debt of ^800,000. The President of
this company was T. Delafield ; Vice-President,
F. Collins ; Secretary and Treasurer, James
Stillman. Directors : James Stillman, D. B.
Coe, F. Collins, G. C. Morris, James R. Cox, A.
H. Goss, E. H. Patterson, Horace T. Cook, J.
J. Thomas, T. Delafield, J. Lewis Grant, H.
Grant. Under this management the road was run un
til 1877, when, as the earnings of the road were
only sufficient to meet its running expenses,
there was no alternative except the sale of the
road by a foreclosure of the first mortgage bonds,
and it was bought in by the bondholders, who
sold the property to Judge Packer for ^425,000
of the stock of the Geneva, Ithaca & Sayre Rail
road. An organization was then made under the
title of the Cayuga Southern Railroad Com
pany, and is run by R. A. Packer in the interest
of the Lehigh Valley Railroad Company. The
length of the road is thirty-eight miles, and its
original cost, including equipments, was 1^1,450,-

RAILROADS AND CANALS, COMPARATIVE RESULTS.

49

coo. Of this sum the bonds of the town of
Springport were issued for ;^ 100,000, and the
town of Lansing for 1^75,000, in exchange for the
stock of the company. The latter was blotted
out by the sale of the road. The failure of this
enterprise was due to a non-fulfillment of the
original plan of a connection with the Ithaca &
Athens Railroad.
The Erie Canal has now been in use a trifle
over a half century, and it has been a work of
national importance. It opened a cheap and
capacious means of communication between the
populous East and the nearly unoccupied West,
by which the manufactures of the former and
the productions of the latter could be readily
exchanged. The settlement of the West was
by that means, rendered not only possible but
profitable. To its broad and fertile prairies, the
labor and the capital of the East and of Europe
was speedily turned, and its settlement and gen
eral improvement was rapid beyond all former
example. Beyond reasonable question, the set
tlement and development of the country was
advanced a full quarter of a century beyond what
it could have been without the Erie Canal. With
out it, the same settlements and improvements
would doubtless have been made ; but at a much
later period. Railroads, after experience had
perfected them, would have produced similar
results, but their construction would have been
delayed. The passengers and the freight to be
transported between the East and the West,
were the outgrowth of the Erie Canal improve
ment, that had populated the latter.
In 1827, the Hon. Francis Granger, a man of
large experience, and so far as time had devel
oped results, of generally sound views, predicted
that railroads could never successfully compete
with canals, but would become valuable tribu
taries to them. He could not, however, foresee
the changes which a half-century would produce,
and in the light of present facts would doubtless
have revised his conclusions.
The New York Central Railroad in 1877, car
ried 6,803,680 tons, of which 4,300,000 was
eastern bound freight, a quantity sufficient to
load one of the largest canal boats of to-day
every fifteen minutes, day and night during the
entire season of canal navigation. The New
York Central is but one of six trunk lines run
ning from the West to the seaboard, and their

united eastern bound freight would require a fully
loaded boat to depart every two and a half
minutes. Were all these lines but tributaries of
canals like the Erie, they would over-tax the
capacity of a full half dozen of them ; but the
present facilities for the transportation of passen
gers, have not only kept fully even with those for
the movement of freights, but, in many respects,
have surpassed them. Wherever the face of the
country will permit it, air-line railroads have been
constructed — connecting the main points oi the
country by the shortest practicable routes ; the
road beds are carefully graded and firmly ballas
ted ; steel rails have taken the place of iron,
securing safety and durability ; strong locomo
tives with an extremepower of movement of little
less than one hundred miles per hour ; coaches
that combine comfort and even luxury, wherein
days and nights may be spent, the lodging and
the larder nearly equaling those of a good hotel,
in which may be reached in a few days the farthest
bounds of the continent. In 1817, four days
were required to reach Auburn, by stage, from
Schenectady, 157 miles. In 1879, in the same
time, the passenger can travel over 2,500 miles.

CHAPTER IX.

History of the Press — Newspaper and
Book Publishing — Men of the Press.
Growth of the American Press — Improve
ments — American and European, Com
pared — Perfection of the Modern Press —
Press History of the. County — Number of
Local Journals — The First Newspaper —
The Levanna Gazette — The Western
Luminary — The Aurora Gazette — The
Cayuga Tocsin — The First Newspaper in
Auburn — The Various Newspapers Pub
lished — Book Publishers — Books Pub
lished — Men of the Press.
THE Press of this country has had a marvelous
growth. In 1840 there were in the whole
United States but sixteen hundred and thirty-one
newspapers, of all kinds, now we have over seven
thousand. The circulation, of all the newspapers

so

THE EARLY PRESS.

in 1840 was one hundred and ninety-five million
copies a year, but it is now over two thousand mil
lions. More than ten times greater than in 1840,
and an average annual increase, for nearly forty
years, of about 30 per cent. ; but in the gain in the
size of the sheets now published, in the amount,
quality and variety of the matter, in the number
and character of the illustrations, in the quality of
the paper and the perfection ofthe letter-press, the
progress has been greater still. In the number
of newspapers published, the United States are
far in advance of any of the old nations. We
issue more newspapers than four principal nations
of Europe, viz : Great Britain, France, Germany
and Italy. This fact is important as indicating
the comparative reading habits of our people and
those of Europe.
The mechanical facilities for the neat and rapid
production of press-work, have kept even pace
with, if they have not led, the other departments
of mechanical progress. The contrast is sur
prising between the rude presses of seventy years
ago, and the marvelous perfection of the press of
to-day. The former would print a few hundred
small sheets daily, by the severe toil of two strong
men ; the latter 20^000 mammoth sheets in a
single hour, and fold and direct them ready for
the mails, all by mechanism, aided only by the
slender fingers of delicate girls.
The Press history of Cayuga County extends
through a period of eighty-one years. Since the
issue of the first newspaper, there have been pub
lished in it over sixty different local journals, and
hundreds of thousands of standard and miscel
laneous books issued by the two publishing
houses which flourished here from 1848 to 1856.
The first settlements made in the County were
at or in the vicinity of Aurora, Levanna and
Cayuga. The early courts were located at one
or the other of these places, and in this part of
the county — then part of Onondaga — the first
newspapers were published.
The first newspaper, was the Levanna Gazette
and Onondaga Advertiser, issued at Levanna on ¦
the 20th of July, 1793, by John Delano. With the
exception of the Ontario Gazette, issued the year
before at Geneva, it was the first paper printed
in the State west of Whitestown.
The Western Luminary, was started at Wat-
kins' Settlement, now Scipioville, on March 24th,
1801.

The Aurora Gazette, edited and owned by the
brothers Henry and James Pace, was issued at
Aurora on April 30th, 1806, and continued less
than two years.
The Cayuga Tocsin was started at Union
Springs in 181 2 by R. T. Chamberiain.
These four were the only newspapers issued
in the county, outside of Auburn, until after the
completion of the Erie Canal, in 1825.
The First Newspaper in Auburn. — The
Paces, not having succeeded at Aurora, and the
county seat having been removed to Auburn,
came hither and started
The Western Federalist, on June 7th, 1808.
It was printed on a blue tinted sheet, not much
larger than cap paper, and very coarsely executed.
The type had seen service in England, whence
it had come with the owners, and was very
badly worn. On the questions which led to the
war of 1812, these Englishmen sided with the
mother country, oflending many of their readers ;
but as theirs was the only local paper, in which
all legal advertisements must be inserted, they
continued the publication until compelled to
yield by the decline of federalism and the rivalry
of the Cayuga Patriot and the Auburn Gazette.
The Cayuga Patriot was first published at
Auburn by J. G. Hathaway, in 18 14. He was
succeeded by Samuel R. Brown. The Patriot
was politically opposed to the Federalist, defend
ing the supporters of the war, and sustaining
Daniel D. Tompkins, in opposition to DeWitt
Clinton! It was the organ of the party of which
Enos T. Throop was a leading representative.
It was a small quarto, coarsely printed ; but
conducted with fair ability and well sustained.
Its office was over a wagon-maker's shop on the
west side of the river, near what is now Me
chanic Street, and here that veteran journalist,
Thurlow Weed, was a type-setter in 18 14. James
Beardsley published the Patriot in 18 17 and
David Rumsey — father of the present Justice of
the Supreme Court of that name — in 1819. At
the later date, U. F. Doubleday bought the
establishment. Isaac S. Allen became a partner
eight years later, and on April ist, 1827, bought
out Mr. Doubleday, who had been elected a
member of Congress. Willett Lounsbury be
came a partner December 30th, 1833, and so
continued until his death, May i8th, 1843. Mr.
Allen then became the sole owner. On June

EARLY AUBURN PAPERS.

- SI

1 2th, 1845, Mr. Doubleday bought the paper,
and on November 17th, transferred it to Henry
A. Hawes and Henry M. Stone who published
it under the firm name of Hawes & Stone, until
June, 1847, when it was consolidated with the
Tocsin, under the title of the Cayuga New Era.
The Patriot was published here over thirty
years. The Auburn Gazette was first issued in June,
1816, by Skinner & Crosby, — Thomas M.
Skinner and William Crosby. It was published
as a neutral paper, pending the reorganization of
parties, after the decline of federalism. After two
years it was changed to the Cayuga Republican,
Mr. Skinner being really the sole owner and
publisher ; yet, for political reasons, appearing
only as printer of the paper. It soon became a
leading and thorough party organ, advocating
the principles of the " Clintonians." Mr. Skinner
conducted the Republican for fifteen years, when
in May, 1863, it was united with the Free Press.
The peculiarity of the Republican was that its
editors were seldom announced, and local depart
ments not regularly maintained. The latter
feature was a general characteristic of the
country press of that day. There were also few
original articles except when important elections
were pending, the journals being made up mostly
of extracts from eastern city papers.
The Evangelical Recorder, a weekly religious
magazine, was started in January, 18 18, by Rev.
Dirck C. Lansing, and continued for one year.
The Advocate of the People was issued in 18 18,
and discontinued at the end of a year.
The Free Press was the next paper issued in
Auburn, in 1824, by Richard Oliphant. His
•brother Henry bought the paper five years later,
and published it till its union with the Republican,
as stated above, the combined papers taking the
name of the Auburn Journal and Advertiser.
The Free Press was an influential, a well
managed and successful journal. It was the
largest newspaper in the State west of Albany,
and a strong rival of the Cayuga Patriot, to
which it was politically opposed.
The Gospel Messenger was started in Auburn
in 1826, by Rev. John C. Rudd, D. D., rector of
St. Peter's Church, and principal of the Auburn
Academy. It was a weekly paper, devoted to
the advocacy of the doctrines of the Episcopal
Church, but was liberal to all sects. It was

ably edited. Dr. Rudd having been one of the
clearest and most forcible of writers. From
Auburn the paper was removed to Geneva, and
from there to Utica.
The Gospel Advocate was started in Auburn
by Doubleday & Allen, January ist, 1828, Rev.
L. S. Everett, Universalist, editor. It was 8vo.
in form, published semi-monthly, and continued
for three years. Rev. O. A. Brownson was one
of the contributors, then of the Universalist
denomination ; he subsequently joined the
Catholic Church, and became a distinguished
writer and editor of a review. He was a man
of vigorous talents, but of changeable views,
having been first a Presbyterian, then a Univer
salist, and finally a Catholic.
The Diamond was commenced in 1830, and
continued for a short time only.
The Cayugax Democrat was started by Fred
erick Prince in 1833, but was succeeded in 1835
by The Auburn Miscellany, by the same pub
lisher. In 1839, he discontinued the 7I/w<:^//fl«j/,
and became foreman in the office of
The Western Banner, started in that year with
Francis S. Wiggins as editor. Its name was
changed in 1841, to
The Auburn Banner, and sold to the Metho
dist Book Concern in New York.
The Primitive Christian, by Rev. Silas E.
Shepard, Disciple, was started in 1835, and con
tinued for six years. It advocated the religious
views of that sect. For nearly a year a discus
sion was maintained through this journal of the
tenets of the Disciples and Universalists, by
its editor and the Rev. G. W. Montgomery.
The discussion was able, courteous and quite in
teresting. Mr. Shepard was the author of
The Prison Chronicles, which were published
here anonymously at this time, and in which the
alleged cruelties practiced in the Auburn Prison
were scathingly rebuked, and their authors most
severely reprobated ; but who wrote or published
these articles could not be discovered, although
the most vigorous and searching efforts were
made by the victims to discover the author.
Suits were instituted against the supposed pub
lishers without discovering the true originator of
them, and the matter remained a mystery for over
forty years. In the biographical notice of Mr.
Shepard, who died at Troy, Pennsylvania, in Oc-

,52

AUBURN PAPERS, i837-'48.

tober, 1877, the fact of his authorship of the
chronicles was confessed. The chronicles were
ably and vigorously written, in the Biblical style,
and were very personal and scathing.*
The Conference Record was commenced in Au
burn by Rev. J. S. Chamberiain in 1837.
The Cayuga Tocsin, second, was started April
Sth, 1839. It became the organ of the Free Soil,
or Barn-burner division of the Democratic party.
The Patriot, sustained the Conservative or
Old Hunker division. These distinctions were
kept up until 1847, when a partial truce was
made, and the two papers were united under the
name of the Cayuga Nevu Era, which will be de
scribed in its proper place.
The Tocsin was first published by Miller &
Hine, into which the Genoa Spy was merged,
Gelam Hine having published the latter paper at
Genoa. Miller & Stowe, and Merill & HoUett
were successively its publishers and Thomas Y.
How, editor.
The Northern Advocate, Methodist Episcopal,
was first started by Rev. John E. Robie, in
April, 1841, with Revs. F. G. Hibbardand Wil
liam Hosmer, editors, and continued as a private
enterprise until May, 1844, when it was pur
chased by the Methodist General Conference,
and continued here as
The Northern Christian Advocate for twenty-
eight years, under the following editors : Rev.
Nelson Rounds, from 1844 to 1 848 —four years ;
Rev. William Hosmer, from 1848 to 1856 —
eightyears; Rev. F. G. Hibbard, from 1856 to
i860 — four years; Rev. Isaac S. Bingham, from
i860 to 1864 — four years; and from 1864 to
1875, by Rev. D. D. Lore, D. D., — eleven years,
and until his death. The paper was, however,
removed to Syracuse two years before his death.
William J. Moses was the agent and business
manager of the paper here for twenty-eight
years. The Star of Temperance was started here by
L. H. Dewey, in 1845, and removed to Roches
ter in 1848.
T^i^ Auburn jFournal and Advertiser, Weekly,
was first issued here in May, 1833. In March,
1846, Mr. Oliphant issued the weekly under the
title of the Auburn yournal, and the daily under
that of the Daily Advertiser, the second daily
paper issued in Auburn.
*See article. Auburn Prison.

The telegraph wires were first brought into
Auburn in May, 1846, and made a great change
in the transmission and pubhshing of news.
Hitherto several days had. been required to bring
news from the seaboard, which now required only
as many minutes, and if the news was sent, it
must be distributed promptly, creating the ne
cessity for a daily paper at all important business
centers, and the Daily Advertiser was quickly
followed by the Daily Tocsin. The telegraph
gave a great impulse to interior newspaper pro
gress. On September 14th, 1846, Mr. Oliphant sold
his papers, the Weekly Journal and Adver
tiser, to Henry Montgomery, who, in about
twenty months, assigned .to Charles T. Ferris.
Mr. Ferris afterwards bought the papers and
published them until August 22nd, 1849, when
he sold them to George W. Peck, Oscar F. Knapp
taking a one-half interest therein, Mr. Mont
gomery and Mr. Peck, editors, and Mr. Knapp
business manager, the firm being Knapp & Peck.
Afterwards Mr. Peck became the editor-in-chief
That arrangement continued, the former gentle
man being aided, in later years, by his son Hor
ace J., and the latter by his two sons, Henry D.
and George R. The firm so continued until the
death of George W. Peck, in July, 1878, when
his sons succeeded to their father's interest in the
two papers, under the same firm name.
These papers have been published the longest
of any in the County under one ownership, and
have been signally prosperous. They hold a
prominent place amongst the larger and more
important journals in the interior cities of the
State. The Cayuga New Era, formed in I847 by the-
union of the Patriot and Tocsin, the two Demo
cratic rivals, was designed to heal the old di
visions in that party on the subject of slavery
extension ; but time only widened the breach and
increased the bitterness of the contest, which
finally culminated in the terrible and disastrous
events of a four years' war. This journal was
published for neariy ten years, first by Merrill,
Stone & Co., and afterwards, successively, by
Stone, Hawes & Co. Finn & Hollett, and William
L. Finn, and discontinued in 1857.
The Aubum Daily Bulletin, the first of that
name, was issued as a campaign journal, in 1848,
by Stone, Hawes & Co.

AUBURN PAPERS i849-'74.

S3

Auburns Favorite was first issued by N. P.
Caulkins, in 1849, and the Masonic Union by
Finly M. King, in 1850. A few monthly numbers
only of the latter were issued. The Spiritual
and Moral Instructor in 185 1, the Farmer and
Mechanic'xn 1856, changed in 1857 to the Teach
er's Education Journal, both by P. B. Becker, and
the Spiritual Clarion, in 1856, were unsuccessful
experiments and of little public importance.
The Cayuga Chief ^as commenced January 4th,
1849, ^y Thurlow W. Brown. It was an origi
nal, vigorous and outspoken temperance journal,
continued here for eight years, when it was re
moved to Wisconsin, and there continued under
the same ownership. Emma, sister of Thurlow
W., was early associated with her brother in the
literary and business management of the paper,
for which she evinced peculiar qualifications.
The Christian Ambassador was first established
in New York City as the successor of the Christian
Messenger, on the 4th of December, 1850, and
Rev. J. M. Austin, of Auburn, appointed editor.
Early in January following, it was removed to
Auburn and conducted here for about twelve years
under the supervision of Mr. Austin. It was
published in the interest of the New York Con
vention of Universalists, by a stock company,
and was very successful.
The Auburn American, Daily and Weekly, was
issued by William J. Moses in February, 1855,
and continued until June 20th, 1859, when the
name was changed to
The Auburn Daily and Weekly Union, Moses &
Vail, publishers. The American was the organ
of the political party of that name, while the
latter existed, and vigorously and ably advocated
its principles. The Union was continued until
March 6th, 1861, when it was sold to Knapp &
Peck, and consolidated with the Advertiser and
Journal. The Northern Independent was established in
August, 1856, by Rev. William Hosmer, aided
by a publication committee. It had its origin in
the anti-slavery zeal of its projectors, by whom
the regular church journals were considered as
too conservative, and not sufficiently out
spoken on the slavery question. When slav
ery died the paper was discontinued.
The Orphan's Friettd was started in 1857,
edited by J. W. Wilkie and printed by Knapp &
Peck, and is still continued.

The Auburn Democrat, weekly, was started by
Stone, Hawes & Co., in August, 1857, 3-"d con
tinued about five years, until Mr. Stone entered
the army. William S. Hawley succeeded and
issued The Spirit of the Times for about one year
and a half, when it was discontinued.
The Peoples Union and Advocate of Political
Reform, was published during the local canvass
of 1862, the contributors to which were Michael
S. Myers, Warren T. Worden, C. L. Adams and
others. The McClellan Banner was published during
the Presidential campaign of 1864, by P. W.
Rhodes and C. L. Adams.
.The Semi- Weekly Herald, Democratic, was be
gun in 1865 by N, T. Hackstaff and G. E. Bost-
wick, and continued for about six months.
The Cayuga County Democrat, issued in Sep
tember, 1866, by Charles F. Durston & Co,, was
transferred the next year to J. N. Bailey, who
published it for four years, when the paper was
sold to William J. Moses.
The Auburn Morning News, daily and weekly.
Republican, was issued in July, 1868, by Dennis
Brothers & Thorne. William H. Barnes, editor-
in-chief; Theodore H. Schenck, literary editor;
and Charies A. Warden, city editor. It was dis
continued in January, 1871.
Th^ Auburn Daily Bulletin was started Feb
ruary i6th, 1870. K. Vail & Co., editors, pub
lishers and proprietors. It is independent in all
things, and liberally supported. Its local depart
ment is conducted by Charles A. Caulkins,
whose contributions are often quaint and humor
ous. The Atiburn Daily News was started by the
Auburn Printing Company, William J. Moses,
President, and H. Laurens Storke, Secretary'and
Treasurer, on July i6th, 1872, and
The Weekly News and Democrat, on August
1 2th, of that year. The Daily News is a morn
ing paper, and is a well conducted journal.
These are the only Democratic papers in the
county. The Cayuga County Independent, was first
issued February 8th, 1874, J. N. Bailey & Co.,
publishers ; A. B. Hamblin, printer. It is
published weekly, is well conducted, and, as its
name implies, is independent in its treatment of
men and things.

54

THE LATER COUNTRY PRESS.

The Aubum Daily Item was started in June,
1877, by Urban S. Benton & Co., G. H. Wheeler,
editor, November 8th, 1877, \\\&Item was merged
in The Evening Auburnian, which was then
enlarged and published by a stock company, of
which Homer N. Lockwood is President ; U. S.
Benton, Secretary ; M. C. Cuykendall, Treas
urer ; A. W. Lawton, Chairman of the
Executive Committee. Its title is the " Auburn
ian' Printing Company," and the enterprise has
been successful.
The Later Country Press. — Since 1827
the following papers have been published outside
of Auburn, namely :
The Port Byron Chronicle, in 1844, by Fred
erick Prince.
The Port Byron Gazette, in 1849, by Charles
T. White, sold in i860 to B. W. Thompson,
also sold to William Hosford in 1861, and
in 1862, to Charles Marsh who changed the name
to The North Cayuga Times.
The Port Byron Chronicle was started in Oc
tober, 1 86 1. In July it was sold to Edward Clarke,
and in November, 1873, to Ransom & Johnson.
Charles E. Johnson is now the sole owner.
The Cayuga County Courier, was first issued at
Moravia in October, 1863, by A. O. Hicks, who
was succeeded in 1865, by W. M. Nichols ; and in
March, 1867, by A. J. Hicks and A. H. Living
stone. In December following A. H. Living
stone became the sole editor and owner, and so
continued until December 31st, 1870, having
changed its name to
The Moravia Courier. At the latter date M.
E. Kenyon, became the sole owner and editor,
and changed its title to
The Moravia Valley Register, improving both
its literary and mechanical departments.
The Weekly News, by Uri Mulford, was started
at Moravia in January, 1872, and removed to
Auburn in 1875, and, for a few months, pub
lished here in the interest of the Prohibition
party. The Moravia Citizen, a religious, temperance
and political sheet, begun by Rev. Charles Ray
in June, 1876, is still continued.
There have been two newspapers printed at
Meridian, viz :
The Meridian Sun, in June, 1854, and

The Meridian Advertiser, one year after, each
continued about one year.
The Weedsport Advertiser, started in 1827, by
Frederick Prince, was changed three years
later to
The Northern Phoenix, by the same publisher.
The Weedsport Sentinel was started in Feb
ruary, 1867, by John Gibbs & Son ; sold to S.
D. Lee & Bro., four years later, and on October
1 2th, 1872, it was bought by George R. Nash.
J. B. Rogers then purchased a half interest
therein, and it has since been published by them,
under the firm name of George R. Nash & Co.
The Cayuga Chief, second, started on June
i6th, 1877, by Dr. I. D. Brown & Co., editors
and publishers. It is independent and
" Pledged to no party's arbitrary sway ;
We follow Trutti where 'er she leads the way."
The Cayuga Tocsin, first, was started at
Cayuga in 1812, and has already been noticed.
The Cayuga Telegraph, was started by William
Clark, in 1850.
The Union Spritigs Advertiser, begun in
April, 1865, by James B. Hoff, editor and pub
lisher, is still continued.
The Central New Yorker, started in April,
1865, by F. F. De Wolf, was continued about
one year only.
The Central New Yorker, second, started at
Auburn in 1878, and published in the interest
of the " National" party, is still continued.
The Book Press. — The firm of Derby, Mil
ler & Co., was organized in March, 1848, and
was the first regular book publishing firm in the
County. It consisted of James C. Derby, Nor
man C. Miller, general partners, and James B.
Thomson, special partner. The firm was reor
ganized in May, i860, Mr. Thompson retiring^
and Elliot G. Storke, Edward Munson and Chas.
F. Coffin, becoming members, Mr. Storke as
general partner. They soon established their
wholesale house in Buffalo, retaining their manu
factory in Auburn. William Orton was at this
time a partner, and was the head of their New
York house when the latter was established, and
so continued while the firm was in business.
Alden & Markham and Alden, Beardsley & Co.,
were also extensive book publishers here between
1852 and 1858, and their business was large and
flourishing. Derby & Miller were, at one time,
, the largest miscellaneous book publishers of any

THE BOOK PRESS.

SS

in the State, out of the city of New York, and
Alden, Beardsley & Co., held the second place
among such houses. In 1857, both firms went
into liquidation.
The contrast between the sale of books in the
nine years between 1848 and 1857, and similar
sales now, is very striking. Notice the following
sales of books made at the former period by
Derby, Miller & Co. :
History of the Mexican War, 35,000 copies. •
Life of General Taylor, 40,000 "
Life of John Quincy Adams, 40,000 "
, Life ofthe Empress Josephine, 50,000 "
Lives of the Three Misses
Judson, - - 50,000 "
Fern Leaves, by Fanny Fern, 70,000 "
Cayuga County has been distinguished above
any other of the interior Counties of the State,
not only for the production of the greatest num
ber of books, but also for the number of local
authors, of whom the following are a part only :
Rev. Josiah Hopkins, D. D., Rev. Laurens P.
Hickok, D. D., Rev. Henry Mills, D. D., Rev.
Edwin Hall, D. D., Rev. D. K. Lee, Rev. D.
Holmes, Rev. William Hosmer, Rev. J. M.
Austin, Hon. William H. Seward, Hon. Samuel
Blatchford, Clarence A. Seward, Esq., P. Ham
ilton Myers, Esq., David Wright, Ef q , Hon. B.
F". Hall, John S. Jenkins, Esq., Henry Mont
gomery, Esq, Thurlow W. Brown, Esq., Mrs.
Helen F. Parker, and Miss Margaret Conklin.
The first book written and published in the
County was in 18 15, by Samuel R. Brown, en-
tilled a " History of the Late War',' in two i2mo.
vols,, published by J. G. Hathaway, Auburn, and
printed at Manlius, by Kellogg & Beardslee.
Elliot G. Storke, in 1858, edited and published
at Auburn the Family, Farm, Garden and Do
mestic Animals, in one large octavo volume, and
in 1864 wrote and published a complete history of
the Great American Rebellion, in two octavo vol
umes. In 1869, Henry Hall prepared a " His
tory of Auburn," in one 121110. volume, and Henry
and James Hall, in 1873, prepared "Cayuga in
the Field."
We will close the Chapter on the History of
the Press, with brief, characteristic sketches of a
few of the " men of the press," who, by long and
conspicuous connection with it, have won a place
in its annals.
The Cayuga Patriot was the first paper pub
lished in the County that became thoroughly es

tablished and continued for a long series of years,
under the management, for the most part, of the
same persons. The first publisher of that
paper of whom recollections are preserved, was
Samuel R. Brown, with whom in 18 14, that
veteran journalist, Thurlow Weed worked, and
of whom he writes : •
" Nor shall we ever forget the upper story of
a wagon-maker's shop, where the Cayuga Patriot
was printed ; for there we worked, and laughed,
and played away the winter of 18 14. Samuel R.
Brown, who published the /'a/;'2£'/, was an hon
est, amiable, easy, slipshod sort of a man, whose
patient, good-natured wife, was 'cut from the same
piece.' Mr. Brown the year before had been
established at Albany with a paper called the
Republican, under the auspices of Governor
Tompkins, Chief Justice Spencer, and other dis
tinguished Republicans, with whom Mr. South-
wick of the Register, and then State Printer, had
quarreled. This enterprise, like every thing in
our old friend Brown's hands, failed, and he next
found himself at Auburn, then a small village
without a sidewalk or a pavement, and, save
Sackett's Harbor, the muddiest place we ever
saw, Mr. and Mrs. Brown were originals.
Neither of them, so far as we remember, ever
lost temper, or even fretted. The work in the
office was always behind hand, and the house al
ways in confusion. The paper was never out in
season, and neither breakfast nor dinner was ever
ready. But it was all the same. Subscribers
waited for the paper until it was printed, and we
for our meals till they were cooked. The office,
was always full of loungers, communicating, or
receiving news."
Ulysses F. Doubleday, long connected with
the Patriot as editor and proprietor, was distin
guished for the strength, originality and accuracy
of his mind ; for purity of purpose, and integrity
of character. His readers, therefore, were great
ly influenced by his writings, regarding him as
right in the positions he assumed, because of the
soundness of his judgment ; and honest in the
expression of his opinions, because of the ac
knowledged purity of his character. He was
one of the most prominent journalists of the
County. Willett Lounsbury, also of the Patriot, was
too difiSdent and retiring to succeed at the bar,
for which he had been educated ; but he won
success as a journalist, and, for nearly ten years,
was the responsible editor oi the Patriot, hold
ing that position at the time of his death.
Isaac S. Allen, also of the Patriot, was
business manager of that paper while connected

:S6

PROMINENT JOURNALISTS.

¦ with it, and its success was largely due to his
careful prudence, of which his whole business life
has furnished a conspicuous example. He lives
in his green and happy old age to enjoy the
fruits of careful industry, temperance and fru
gality, and is with a single exception, the only
living representative of our eariier press.
Thomas M. Skinner, the oldest survivor of
the men of our early press, at the age of nearly
ninety, resides at his home on North street.
Though physically feeble he has yet clear mental
perceptions. His first connection with our press
was sixty-three years ago. He opened the first
book-store in Auburn, and was a newspaper pub
lisher here for twenty-six years.
Frederick W. Prince had a press experience
here and elsewhere, running through thirty-two
years. He established, on his own account, ten
different newspapers, in six different localities,
and his experience was the most varied and
eventful of any publisher in the County. He was
a good writer, and an exemplary and highly
respected citizen, but an unsuccessful journalist.
Thaddeus B. Barber has been connected
with the press of Auburn for over thirty years, in
the various departments of the business. For skill
and artistic neatness as a printer, he has never
been excelled by any one of his local compeers.
Andrew Shuman, the present editor of the
Chicago Evening Journal, and Lieutenant-Gov
ernor of the State of Illinois, was a printer boy in
Auburn in 1846, was interested in the publica
tion of two papers here before he attained his ma
jority, was remarkable for self-reliance and indus
try, educated himself thoroughly in a preparatory
school, by his own exertions, and has won his
way to success, in his chosen field of journalism,
and is also equally successful as a politician.
Kendrick Vail, an associate printer's appren
tice with Andrew Shuman, has subsequently and
creditably filled every position in the business,
fncluding that of foreman, pressman, editor, and
publisher, and is, at present the publisher of the
Anbum Daily Bulletin.
George W. Peck, was connected with our
local press for twenty-eight years, from 11849
to 1877, as editor and one of the proprietors of a
very , flourishing daily , and weekly .journal, to
which he assiduously devoted his time and talents,
and thereby won a liberal competence. ; He died
on the ;2nd day of July, a 877.; ,  ;

Oscar F. Knapp, senior partner ofthe firm of
Knapp & Peck, publishers and proprietors of the
Auburn Daily Advertiser and Weekly Journal,
was born in Groton, N. Y., February 19, 18 19.
At seven years of age he was left an orphan, and
at the age of fifteen, entered the office of the
Jeffersonian and Tompkins County Times, to
learn the art of printing, continuing there about
one year. He then spent four years in the office
ofthe Coy\\and Republican, completing his trade,
and came to Auburn in the Spring of 1839. Here
he engaged as foreman in the office of the Auburn
Journal and Advertiser, then owned and pub
lished by Oliphant & Skinner, and continued four
years. His salary was small, yet by prudence
and economy he accumulated sufficient to pay for
and stock a fifty acre farm, bought at the low
rates then ruling for farm lands. Having married,
he settled upon, and cultivated it for three years,
when, feeling satisfied with rural life and farm
experience, he decided to return to his case and
press, and the spring of 1846 found him estab
lished in the job office of the Journal and Ad
vertiser in Auburn, where he remained until
August, 1849, when, as related, he became joint
purchaser, with the late Geo. W. Peck, of the
paper now published by his firm.
Mr. Knapp has been engaged as practical prin
ter and publisher for over forty years, and for the
past thirty years as publisher of a leading daily
and weekly journal in Auburn. He has made
his art the means of the most complete and grati
fying success and secured an ample fortune. It
has been no sudden gain ; but the accretion of
years of patient and assiduous toil, in which un
tiring industry, prudence and economy have been
important factors. The story of his life but adds
force to the maxim : "Wealth arises more from
the savings than from the gains of business."
John S. Jenkins, was an elegant and forcible
writer, the author of several valuable works which
were published here, and as editor of and contrib
utor to our local press,held a prominent position. .
Thurlow W. Brown, editor of the Cayuga.
Chief, author of the Temperance Tales'and Hearth
stone Reveries, and a lecturer of distinction upon
temperance, , was a , bold, vigorous and effective
writer and speaker, . entirely devoted to his fa
vorite cause. He worked here energetically for
eight years, when he removed to Wisconsin, and
there continued the same benevolent work. .

PROGRESS OF EDUCATION.

57

Rev. William Hosmer, editor of the North
ern Christian Advocate and of the Northern In
dependent, and also the author of several works
of merit, was connected with our local press for
abouttwenty years. He was distinguished for
great independence, earnestness and zeal in the
advocacy of his opinions. As a reformer he
stood in the front ranks, and boldly confronted
his opponents. Like Phillips he scorned the
hissing mob, by whom the earlier reformers were
assailed. He is now weakened by disease, and
calmly awaits the final summons.
Benjamin F. Hall, as editor and author, has
rendered valuable services to our local press.
He has prepared many valuable works, chiefly
relating to legal subjects, and is a ready and fluent
writer. Of the book publishers of the County, James
C. Derby and Norman C. Miller were the
most conspicuous. They were partners in the
business. The former was' really the originator
of regular book publishing here. By his pecu
liar aptitude for trade, he was well fitted to bring
business to his firm, and in that way contributed
largely to its success. In the manufacturing
and accounting department, Mr. Miller had supe
rior efficiency, and their united efforts were, for
many years, crowned with complete success.

CHAPTER X.

Progress of Education — Schools.
Physical and Mental Progress Compared —
Effects of Pioneer Life — Early Disad
vantages — School Buildings — Books —
Teachers and Teaching — School Dis
cipline — Its Barbarous Modes — Incen
tives TO Study — County Supervision —
Improved School Books — Teachers' Asso
ciations — Institutes — Normal Schools —
Public Schools of Auburn.
THE historic records of our County would
be incomplete if there were not found in
them some account of the means and agencies
employed for the intellectual and moral develop
ment of the people. If there has not been as
9

manifest and decided progress in the means for
the mental, as for the physical improvement of
our people, there have, nevertheless, been very
decided advances made in the former, as will
clearly appear in a review of the early history of
our schools.
Physical progress, the world over, has always
outrun the mental. For this the reasons are
obvious. Physical wants are imperious and their
supply is necessary to existence. Life depends
upon attention to them. Moreover, physical
progress is easily seen and appreciated by the
simplest observer and its necessity and import
ance acknowledged. All can see it, for it is
manifest to the external senses. The millions
that crowded to our Centennial Jubilee, saw with
wonder and admiration, understood and appre
ciated the marvellous creations of the mechanical
and artistic genius of the world. In that display,
where the genius and skill of cultivated minds
were manifested in external and sensible objects,
all were interested, as they could appreciate the
results of skill and toil applied to material things.
But mental and moral progress are less apparent
and the means and agencies by which they are
affected are not so easily seen. They operate so
slowly and so obscurely, and their results are so
widely separated from their causes, as to appear
only in the lives and characters of the developed
man and woman.
It has been well said that " the pulsations of
a nation's heart are to be counted not by sec
onds, but by years ;" and so the formative effects
of culture are fully manifested only in matured
lives, and those effects are so far removed from
the causes which produced them that their con
nection is rarely traced except by the educated.
It really requires culture to understand the needs
and advantages of culture.
But our early settlers were surrounded by cir
cumstances quite unfavorable to mental progress.
The country was new, the people poor, and all
their surroundings demanded close attention in
order to meet the absolute wants of their physi
cal natures. While nearly all of the descendants
of New England ancestry in this County and in
the State, and their number was relatively large,
brought with them a love of learning, as they
understood it, their conception of the import
of the word was very different from ours. To be
wholly unlettered was a disgrace ; but to be able

58

EARLY DISADVANTAGES.

to read, write and cipher, was regarded as amply
sufficient, and all beyond that, except for the
learned professions, was held to be a mere waste
of time and money.
Of culture, of that discipline and training of
the faculties by which the thorough student of
to-day is prepared, solely by the unaided exercise
of his own disciplined powers, to go on almost
indefinitely in the attainment of knowledge, they
knew little. Such was the popular estimate of
education among the masses seventy-five years
ago. It was the " dark age" in our intellectual
history ; dark by reason of the inevitable exclu
sion of intellectual light. The dense trees of
the unbroken forest excluded the sunlight from
the soil not more fully, than did the unfavorable
surroundings of the settler shut out from his
children the light of intelligence ; and this was
the common condition of education in the cen
tral counties of the State, where the same gen
eral causes, the same hinderances and helps
operated to produce kindred results.
Why our Early Schools Were Poor. — The
energies of the first generation were so severely
taxed to remove the forests and all the other di
versified obstacles which beset them as to leave
little opportunity for mental improvement. Dis
cipline of muscle, rather than of mind, was the
great demand, imperious physical wants engrossed
and compelled attention for many years.
The first generation in this County were, nev
ertheless, thoroughly educated in many very im
portant respects, in lessons not sufficiently taught
in the vaunted schools of to-day. They were
taught many of the nobler lessons of true man
hood. Their education gave them sound bodies,
sterling common sense, pure minds and indus
trious and economical habits. They were thor
oughly schooled in self-denials. A sense of
mutual dependence cultivated in nearly all a
mutual sympathy and helpfulness. To aid the
needy, was a common characteristic, whether in
sickness or in the common affairs of life. They
were, moreover, homogeneous, had similar habits,
tastes and aspirations, and were, mainly, of simi
lar nationalities,
As communities, they were kind, social and
orderly ; quite unlike the gold-hunters and other
speculating adventurers of to-day, or the recent
immigrants of diverse, and often opposing nation
alities and creeds, who have since thronged our

shores, filled our towns, or spread over our broad
domains. The early settlers of this County and
State also differed greatly both from the settlers
of Plymouth and from those who have recently
formed, and now form, the great bulk of our
western settlers.
The settlers of Plymouth comprised a large
proportion of thoroughly educated men, capable
of organizing the State, the church and even the
university. The leading minds in that commu
nity were men of marked individuality, distin
guished alike for boldness of thought and inde
pendence of action. They had fled from tyranny
at home to seek freedom of opinion here, at the
cost of privation and hardship ; and New Eng
land owes to those bold, brave spirits, much of the
prestige which she has always maintained in
politics, religion and learning.
But the struggles and privations of a new
country for a century and a half, while they did
not lessen the enterprise and vigor of their de
scendants who successively tenanted new regions,
took from them the means of mental culture,
so that, for several generations, instead of pro
gress, there was really a retrogression of learning.
But the West was mostly peopled by those who
lived at the East after the "revival of learning,"
and had carried with them, and planted along
our western parallels, a more enlightened and
liberal system of instruction, perfected during the
period from 1830 to i860.
Early Disadvantages. — The children ofthe
first settlers of this County opened their eyes
upon rude surroundings. Those settlers lived in
log houses and, generally, were descendants of
pioneers in other places, who for a generation or
more had combated similar difficulties. Their
own education was limited. They themselves
felt the need of more thorough instruction, and
were anxious to give it to their children. But
how could this be done ? Where were the books,
or the teachers ? Suitable books, for the instruc
tion of children and youth had not been intro
duced and competent teachers were not in the
County. But schools they must, and schools
they did, maintain, for longer or shorter periods
each year.
A brief glance at the early school buildings,
school books, the teachers at their daily work,
and their method of discipline and instruction,
will show the early condition of our schools.

EARLY SCHOOL BUILDINGS.

<59

Our Early School Buildings, likethehomes '
of the children, were generally of logs. Thewin- :
dows were small and. far between, the otherwise
deficient light being supplied by the capacious
chimneys, and by crevices in the walls and ceil
ings. This is no fancy picture ; nor need we go
any further back in our history than 1844 to find
full counterparts of just such school buildings,
still in use in this County. They were fully
described in the reports of the supervisory offi
cers of that day. In such buildings our ancestors
in this County received their first lessons ; among
them was one who became president of the
United States.*
On dark days the pupils would be arranged
before, and around the base of, the large chimney,
utilizing the light which poured down its capa
cious throat, and without which, study would
have been impossible. The floor, and ceiling
were of loose, rough boards, through the joints of
which the wind would freely circulate, affording
an abundance of fresh air. The seats were often
formed of riven portions of forest trees, or, where
saw mills existed, of planks or slabs, supported at
either end by roughly formed and acute angled
legs, and without backs. Those legs would often
seek in vain for a secure rest upon the uneven
floor, but without doing so. From such seats,
sufficiently high for adults, dangled for six tedious
hours daily, the uneasy limbs of children from four
to six years of age, with no support for either the
legs, arms or backs. Here they must cling to
the plank, or slab, and keep quiet, under the pen
alty of a blow from the whip, or ferrule, of the
master, or mistress, of ceremonies. When weary,
and they would soon become so, sleep would over
take, not only their limbs, in which the circulation
was impeded by the sharp-angled seats, but also
their entire bodies, and a careless rock of the un
easy seat would precipitate the sleepers to the
floor. But the broad open fire-places of those
primitive school rooms were objects ofthe highest
interest. It was, not alone the light which they
supplied, grateful and necessary as that often
was ; they were miniature bon-fires, on which
the otherwise underlighted eyes of the, pupils
rested with pleasure. They would gorge^, at.
once, and without crowding, a full quarter of a
cord of wood, and, when in full blast, glowed like
the log heaps of the settlers' fallow ground.
* Millard Fillmore. . . .'

. Around the blazing pile, the pupils- on their
entrance would range , themselves, and by re
peated turnings, would at length so saturate
with warmth their thick, home-made clothing
as, for a short time, to be comfortable upon their
seats, but for a short time only ; for " may I go
to the fire ? " was, on cold days, the constant cry
ofthe pupils. In summer those open fire-places
were beautifully adorned by the skill and taste
of the sylvan mistress, with various green
branches from the near forest.and with such
wild flowers as the season afforded. Carving was
one of the arts into which the school boys of that
day were thoroughly indoctrinated, and the use
of the pocket-knife was well understood by them ;
for ¦ i
" The Yankee boy before he's sent to school
Well knows the uses of that magic tool,
The pocket-knife," '
and the benches and forms of all the early
school rooms were honey-combed by his industry.
Not having congenial employment for his head,
he sought and found it for his hands. Such
were the general condition of the school houses
of the County, for a full generation after its first
settlement, and very many of the same sort
existed as late as 1840.
The School Books. — It should be remem
bered that at the time, and for many years after
the first settlement ofthe County, books of any
kind were a luxury rarely seen in the homes of
of the people, excepting the family Bible and
hymn book, and the annual calendar, or almanac.
School books were then very few, and confined
to the three subjects, of reading, spelling and
arithmetic ; the latter for the boys in all cases,
but not always for the girls. The girls, it was
thought, were sufficiently educated if they were
taught to read and write. Their fathers,
brothers, or husbands could do the" reckoning '.'
for them. The first books were of English pro
duction. Dilworth's spelling book and arithmetic
had been generally used in New England, and
many of them found their way into the early
schools of this County, having descended to the
children from the parents, who had used them.
Webster's Spelling Book, published in 1783, was
the first American school book printed in this
country, and it soon found its way into our schools
to the exclusion of nearly every other spelling
.book, and became thcjconstant companion of . all

6o

TEACHERS AND TEACHING.

the pupils, from their entrance to their exit, and
they were so long and so thoroughly drilled upon
it that some pupils would recite half the words
contained in it.
The New Testament was a common reading
book in the eariier periods into which the pupil
graduated directly from the spelling book.
There were then no "grades " in the schools, or
any first, second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth
readers, as at the present day. Usually one
reading book sufficed ; but pupils would read in
whatever book the parents might send, no matter
what its title or subject. It might be Robinson
Crusoe, or Pilgrims Progress ; and it was all the
same, if there was but one book of the kind in
the school. Webster's Spelling Book, however,
soon became nearly universal. Murray's Eng
lish Reader and the Columbian Orator followed,
and were fixtures in the schools for a full quarter
of, a century.
These books comprised the finest classical
productions of the men of the age ; but were
utterly unsuited for the children into whose
hands they were placed, and who mumbled and
stumbled through their classic paragraphs, with
as little comprehension of them, as though they
had been written in a dead language. But it
should be remembered that comprehension of a
lesson, at that time, was not considered impor
tant ; that was not the object. The pupils were
then taught simply to read, not to comprehend.
They were too young to understand the lesson,
but would do so when they were older. This
false and pernicious error ran through every
study. Lessons were put into the hands of a
child of eight years of age, which developed
minds only could comprehend.
Teachers and Teaching. — It will be con
ceded that the teachers of that day, as a class,
were not competent to their work, nor their in
struction guided by any intelligent rules. They
had been very imperfectly educated, and could
not teach others what they did not know them
selves. The very perfect text-books of to-day
supply largely the deficiencies of teachers ; but
then both teachers and' text-books were deficient,
and the result was what we have described. But
all the schools and teachers of the first genera
tion were not equally inefificient. There were in
the hamlets and villages a few well educated
teachers, who were good instructors ; and fine

scholars have graduated from even our early
backwoods schools ; geniuses, whom no obstacles
could repress, and whose peculiar mental vigor
led them on to conquer every obstacle in their
paths. The early school discipline was but a counter
part of the prevailing errors of the time. It was
mainly physical. The whip and the ferrule were
as constant companions to the teacher as the
book, or the pen. The book in his hand, the
whip or ferrule under his arm, and the pen over
his ear, all were equally intended for use.
The pupils were urged to be orderly and dili
gent by pungent and often painful persuasion.
A goodly store of well seasoned switches was al
ways ready for extra occasions, when, as often
happened, wholesale floggings were to be in
flicted. The whip in the hand of the teacher
fell frequently upon the mischievous or the idle,
and generally without warning or explanation.
This impromptu discipline and the thorough
preparation of the teachers for offense or de
fense, created in many schools a state of merely
suspended warfare ; the relations between the
teacher and the pupils being essentially bellig
erent, and liable at any time to break out into
open warfare.
In the teacher, therefore, strong physical pro
portions and firm courage were very necessary to
success. On the entrance of a new teacher, he
would be as carefully scanned as competitors in
the prize ring, not to estimate his mind, manners,
or morals, but the power of his muscles, and the
probable chances of success if a conflict should
arise. With young pupils the whip and the ferrule
were supplemented by many ingenious yet cruel
devices, a gag in the mouth, a most barbarous
punishment, standing on one foot, holding an
object in the extended or uplifted hand, resting
one hand and one foot upon the floor,' holding a
heavy weight kte^.fesrth hands, the body inclined
forward. These and' many other cruel tortures
whiph the law forbids to be inflicted upon the
felons in our prisons, were regularly used for
more than a generation in Cayuga County, to in
cite in children the love of order, of books and' of
schools. Is their general failure a wonder .?
Incentives to study, as we have just shown,
were mainly coercive, but emulation and rewards
were also employed ; emulation mainly confined

SCHOOL DISCIPLINE.

6i

to the spelling exercises, and rewards to the pri
maries, place-taking- in spelling, and simple gifts
to the small children. The post of honor, the
head of the spellingclass, was eagerly sought for,
and, in the absence of other proper incentives,
doubtless benefited the brighter pupils, who
usually would carry off the palm ; but the less
gifted were depressed by thus constantly pub
lishing their inferiority in the little community in
which they daily moved.
Emulation was also employed in an interesting
and exciting form in the process termed "spell
ing down," an exercise still continued ; but the
greatest interest centered in the spelling schools
'of the time, which for the lads and lasses, had
connected with them more pleasant and endear
ing associations than any or all of the other
school exercises.
Of all the studies pursued in our early schools,
reading was the most imperfectly taught. The
unnatural, listless, drawling monotone in prose,
or the sing-song in poetry, was nearly universal.
It was the result of a habit formed in childhood,
continued and confirmed in youth, and im
movably fixed in manhood. So general was this
habit of expressionless reading that a good reader
was seldom heard. The schools tended only to
form and fix the habit, and books and nevvspapers
were so rare that home reading, except of the
Bible, was little practiced, and the idea that thc
Bible must be read in a peculiarly solemn tone did
not help to form good readers. Among the masses
of the people of this County for about a quarter
of a century, good reading had nearly become
one of the "lost arts." It was, at least, but im
perfectly preserved, amid the rigid demands and
privations of forest life.
Arithmetic was better taught. Its utility was
apparent to all, and every boy was initiated into
its mysteries, or rather, its mummeries, for its
mysteries were seldom revealed. Its operations
were largely mechanical, yet so long and con
tinuous was the drill that most of the boys could
"do the sums" as far as the "rule of three," be
fore they left school. Each pupil was taught
singly without classes or blackboards. Indeed,
in 1842, there were but two blackboards in the
entire County. It was a .slow and laborious op
eration for the teacher to " work out" the various
" sums " for the pupils on their slates as models
for them to imitate, for the progress was chiefly

one oi imitation, the pupils, by long practice
learning to follow their teacher's model or method
of solving the questions under the different
" rules." " Please show me how to do this sum T
was a question constantly repeated in all the
early schools.
It would be interesting to compare the copy
books and the facilities for acquiring the art of
writing, existing in our schools fifty to seventy-
five years ago, with those of to-day. The pupils
came with home-made copy-books of coarse, un
ruled paper, varying in quantity from one to a
half dozen sheets, home-made inks compounded
of domestic dyes, a flat lead pencil formed of
hammered lead, a goose quill and a ruler. Ready-
made writing books, ruled paper and steel pens
were yet in the future. Pens were " made" and
copies "set" by the teacher. "Please make"
or " Please mend my pen," were regular appeals
to the teacher. In cold weather, the fire-place
would, each morning, be surrounded by ink
stands to thaw their frozen contents. The teach
ers generally were clumsy penmen, and being
changed every few months, there were very few
decent chirographers among the pupils.
This rude condition of our popular schools was
gradually changed. The rapid increase of our
population, averaging for the first thirty years
more than twelve hundred per year, led to a cor
responding improvement in the means and con
dition of the people. Hamlets and villages arose
and educated men in large numbers became resi
dents of them. The professions and most of the
employments soon had in them men of liberal
attainments, whose children were to be educated.
Nearly all of this class were the organizers and
patrons of private schools, the popular schools
not being at that time, in their judgment, or in
fact, worthy of intelligent patronage. Hence,
though there were a few educated and competent
teachers thus employed in the instruction of the
children of the more intelligent, the public
schools were still neglected, and in them very
little improvement was made.
p-rom 1789 to 1838, the State from time to
time, from the sale of lotteries, appropriations of
public lands, and from revenues derived from
United States deposit funds and other sources,
had been' accumulating a fund, the income of
which was annually appropriated to the support
of common schools. This fund in 1838 amount-

62

SCHOOL LEGISLATION.

ed to over three-fourths of a million of dollars.
From the administration of Governor George
Clinton, every Governor and Secretary of State
has advocated and recommended a liberal en
couragement of common schools, and laws for
their internal administration have been enacted,
and from time to time changed. The first gener
al law was passed in 1795. It appropriated
^50,000 annually, for five years, to the support of
the common schools. Each county was required
to raise by tax an amount equal to one-half its
distributive share of this sum, and town com
missioners and district trustees were authorized
to be appointed. On this subject, at that time.
Governor Clinton said :
" While it is evident that the general estab-
Hshmentand liberal endowment of academies are
highly to be commended and are attended with
the most beneficial results ; yet it carinot be de
nied that they are principally confined to the
children of the opulent, and that a great portion
of the community are excluded from 'their need
ed advantages. The establishment of common
schools throughout the State is happily calculated
to remedy this inconvenience, and will, therefore,
engage your early and decided consideration."
The same liberal support was given to the
common schools by Governors Jay, in 1800, Clin
ton, in 1802, Lewis, in 1805, and Tompkins, dur
ing his administration, and defects in the laws
were sought to be corrected. In 181 1 a com
mission was appointed by the Legislature, con
sisting of five persons, to revise the system of
common school organization, whose report in
18 12 was adopted, and Gideon Hawley was ap
pointed State Superintendent, which position he
held until 1 821, when the Secretary of State was
made ex-officio Superintendent of Schools.
But the practical operation of the school sys
tem of the State was far from satisfactory. At
tempts were regularly made to correct defects.
Eight academies, one in each Senatorial district,
were designated in 1835, for the instruction of
common-school teachers. District school libra
ries were established in 1838; and in 1841 the
supervision of the schools was confided to Deputy
or County Superintendents. In 1843 Town In
spectors and Commissioners were superceded
by one Superintendent of Schools in each
town. A State Normal School was organ
ized in 1844, especially intended for the in
struction of common-school teachers, and opened
on the 1 8th of December following.

The office of County Superintendent was con
tinued for six years, and had been the means of
effecting important improvements in the schools,
but the appointments, made by the County Su
pervisors, were, in some instances, injudicious,
and the office was brought into disrepute and
abolished in 1847, against the earnest protest of
the best friends of education in the State. It
was, however, practically restored in 1856, by the
institution of the ofifice of School Commissioner,
which is still continued. Free schools throughout
the State were established in 1849, the act being
submitted to the people, by three-fourths of whom
it was approved. Its practical operation was
found to impose unequal taxation and a re-sub
mission of the law to a popular vote was de
manded. In 1850 the vote was taken, and the
law again sustained, but by a lessened majority.
The free school law was abolished the year
following, and the provision was made to raise
J^8oo,ooo annually, by State tax, which was af
terwards changed to a three-fourths mill tax, by
which the country schools were mainly relieved
from rate bills. The establishment of free,
union, or high schools was permitted by law in
1853. There has, therefore, been no lack of
interest in education on the part of the State,
and it has, from first to last, liberally contributed
to its support and advancement. But the great
difficulty has been amongst the people them
selves, as to the right use and application of the
means provided, and a lack of intelligent com
prehension of the best method of giving to their
schools the highest efficiency.
Between 1830 and 1850 is the period during
which thorough improvements in our schools
had their origin ; and the first important impulse
was given by the introduction of improved
school books, prepared by intelligent educators.
In that period, also, the range of studies was
greatly enlarged. Grammar, geography, natural
philosophy and algebra found their way into the
common schools, and chemistry, botany, astron
omy, geology and mental and moral philosophy,
into our public high schools.
Much of the credit of this reform must be con
ceded to that now troublesome and importunate
class, the authors and publishers of school books.
There was a great need of better books, and
authors and publishers came in swarms to supply
it. Each author, or publisher, acting as critic

IMPROVED METHODS OF EDUCATION.

63

of the defects of rival books, and as instructor
in the great method of teaching the subjects
embraced in his own. This gradually led to a
more careful consideration of the whole subject
and was the first step in educational reform.
There was a coincident and great change in
the educational literature for children and youth,
of which the " Peter Pariey " and the " Abott's
Books" were examples, and of which millions of
copies were sold, and whose influence upon the
young was most wholesome. S. G. Goodrich,
the author of the Peter Parley books, who wrote
more books for youth than any other American,
and who has been called the " Napoleon of the
Pen," gave, in four lines, the " Golden Rules "
which should be the guide of the educator,
whether parent or professional teacher.
"Begin with simple lessons — things
On which the children love to look ;
Flowers, insects, pebbles, birds on wings.
These are God's spelling book."
Between 1830 and 1850 was also the period
during which education and the best means for
its improvement formed the great subject of
discussion, in which were engaged the ripest
scholars and soundest educators of the age : Em
erson, Mann, Woodbridge, Alonzo Potter, David
P. Paige, and scores of others. They prepared
masterly papers or books, which were widely dis
seminated over the country, enlightening the
public and leading to the institution of the county
supervision of our schools in 1841, the estab
lishment of teachers' institutes in 1842, of the
State Normal School for the special training of
teachers, in 1844, followed by seven other simi
lar institutions in different parts of the State,
and of provisions for the free education of all the
youth of the State a few years later.
The county supervision of the public schools,
established in 1841, was the most efficient agency
that had theretofore been employed to reform
their great deficiencies. The officers entrusted
with this duty, became among the people educa
tional missionaries, carrying into all the schools
the usages and practices of the best educators
and acting as the instructors of both teachers
and patrons. The people of the several districts
were frequently convened, and the wants and de
ficiencies of the schools and the means of sup
plying them carefully pointed out. The teachers
themselves were separately convened in county
meetings and practical teaching discussed. Regu

lar teachers' associations arose from these meet
ings and have been continued to the present
time, forming important links in the chain of
reform ; but the limited time to which these
meetings were restricted, prevented a satisfactory
consideration of the various topics presented.
Teachers' institutes were a direct and necessary
outgrowth of these associations in which the
teachers of a county were held in an annual ses
sion of about two weeks and carefully instructed
by competent educators in the science and art of
teaching. The first teachers' institute in the
State was held in 1842. They were held in
Cayuga County among the earliest, and at the
first three sessions there was an attendance of
over five hundred teachers. These institutes so
enlisted the public favor that they have been
regularly maintained for the last thirty-five years,
have been recognized, and in part sustained by the
State, and organized in most of the counties.
They were held in 1877 in fifty-five counties, at
which there was an attendance of 11,892 teach
ers. In 1845, coincident with or very soon after the
formation of teachers' associations and institutes
in the counties, the State teachers' association
was formed and has since been maintained.
The County and State association and teach
ers' institutes were accompanied by the organiza
tion in 1843, of a State Normal School, located
at Albany, and specially designed for the training
of public school teachers. It was so satisfactory
in its results that it was afterwards followed by
seven similar institutions in other parts of the
State, and they are to-day in active and efficient
operation. The free school system of the State
and of its cities and villages, was also the direct
outgrowth of the educational activity during the
decade from 1840 to 1850.
The results of all these agencies have been a
marvelous change in many of the common and
high schools of the State, and Cayuga County
has not fallen behind in the march of improve
ment. Her public schools, especially in the city
of Auburn and in the principal villages, that in
1840 were " a by-word and reproach," not patron
ized by the wealthy and the intelligent, nor worthy
of it, are now the recipients of the patronage of
all classes, and, for the right instruction of chil
dren and youth, are, beyond question, the best
scJiools in the County. In the city of Auburn,

64

ART AND PROFESSIONAL ARTISTS.

the change has been the most marked and de
cided, and is mainly due to the intelligent and
persistent efforts of a few devoted men, amongst
whom C. P. Williams, long a teacher in the
city and officially connected with the administra- .
tion of the schools holds a conspicuous place. B.
B. Snow, under whose quiet but thorough course
as superintendent for many years, the schools
have constantly improved, deserves special men
tion for the important aid which he has rendered
and is rendering in school reform.
The board of education of the city, to whom,
by law, are confided the care and management of
the schools, are so soon convinced of their efficien
cy by personal inspection, as to lead them cheer
fully to adopt the measures necessary to maintain
it. The greatest improvement arose from the
institution of the academic high school, which is
the rallying point of the hopes, and goal of the
ambition of all the grades below it. , Few, in
deed, may enter it, yet most of the pupils hope
and strive to do so, and it is a constant stimulant
to all in the public schools. Much has been done
for the improvement of popular education in
Cayuga County ; yet " eternal vigilance " is nec
essary to maintain and perpetuate it.

CHAPTER XI.
Art and Professional Artists.
Architects — Sculptors — Engravers — Por
trait and Landscape Painters — Lady
Artists — Eminent Local Artists.
THE large number of artists who were na
tives, or have been residents of Cayuga
County, and the eminence to which several of
them have attained, were a surprise to us as the
long fist has gradually been unfolded, and as our
readers examine it, we believe that they too will
find it greatly to exceed their expectations.
Architects.
The architects of this County have, for the
most part, been also practical builders, their genius
and taste leading them so to cultivate their natur
al powers as to give them leading positions as
designers and draughtsmen.

Lawrence White, judging the genius of the
man by the perfection of his work, was not only
the first in point of time, but also the first in
skill in his line, in this County. He designed
and erected the old First Presbyterian church in
Auburn, said, by experts, to have been as pure an
exemplification of the Corinthian order of archi
tecture as existed in the State, and was so com
plete an illustration of the skill of the man that
no other example need be cited.
Deacon John I. Hagaman, from a carpenter's
apprentice, became a thorough expert in archi
tectural drawing and designing, and was an in
structor in the art in Auburn for many years as
well as the designer of many of its public and
private buildings, including the Second Presbyte
rian church, the court house and the town hall.
He projected the map of the city of Auburn,
published in 1836, and the buildings illustrated
upon it.
William B. Olmstead followed the business
of architect and builder in Port Byron and in
other parts of the County, and at present ranks
among the first architects of the city of Brooklyn.
Calvin Otis was a pupil of John I. Haga
man in 1841, and attained distinction as an archi
tect, practicing his profession in Geneva and in
Buffalo. John Maurice practiced architectural drawing
successfully in Aurora, in 1858, and afterwards
in St. Louis, Mo., and was a designer and builder
of good reputation.
Munroe Hamlin is one of the very few men
now working at his trade as a carpenter and
joiner, who served in it a regular apprenticeship.
He is not only an excellent practical workman
but a good architectural designer and draughts
man. Nelson Hamblin, a native of the County,
learned the trade of a carpenter here ; studied
and practiced architectural drawing in the city
of Brooklyn for twenty years, and recently in
Auburn for a few years, designing several im
portant buildings hpre. Pie now resides in
Brooklyn. Samuel D. Mandell, a native of Aurora, in
this County, began architectural drawing in
1848, studied it thoroughly, and became distin
guished. He designed Wells College, E. B.
Morgan's residence, and two churches in Auro
ra, and afterwards many elegant and costly build-

ENGRAVERS — SCULPTORS.

65

ings in California, and in Kentucky. He now
resides at Aurora.
Blanchard Fosgate, Jr., perfected himself
in architectural drawing and designing by careful
study and practice, and now devotes himself suc
cessfully to the work in the city of Elizabeth,
New Jersey.
Charles Frederick Schweinfurth, could not
well avoid being an artist, as his parents, on both
sides, are such. After carefully studying archi
tecture, under a competent master, he received
an appointment in the office of the Supervising
Architect at Washington, where, for five years
he has been perfecting himself in his art, in
which he is destined to attain preeminent dis
tinction. Engravers.
Of engravers we may mention :
George Whitfield Hatch, who was a half-
brother of Governor Enos T. Throop, with whom
he began the study of the law in Auburn. His
tastes led him to study engraving, and he en
gaged with A. B. Durand, of New York. He
became one of the great firm of Rawdon, Wright
& Hatch, celebrated for their perfect bank note
engraving, and as the originators of the "Ameri
can Bank Note Engraving Company," which
executed the larger share of the engraving of the
notes and bonds of the Government. Mr. Hatch
was reputed to be one of the best plate engravers
in the country. His remains repose in Fort Hill
Cemetery. John Chester BuTTREisa native of Auburn,
born in 1821 ; he received an academic educa
tion, and a few private lessons in drawing from
which his own genius led him to painting, in
which he received casual instruction. Not suc
ceeding in his first efforts at painting to his satis
faction, he tried wood engraving, for penny toy
primmers, and persevered under many disadvan-
ges, in various forms of that work.
At twenty-one years of age, by the kindness
of Mr. Hatch he was given desk-room in the
engraving department of Rawdon, Wright &
Hatch. Here he so rapidly perfected himself as
an engraver as very soon to secure remunerative
orders ; and from that day to this he has followed
his chosen profession, and has attained in it
eminent success, professionally and financially.
Sculptors.
In native professional sculptors, Cayuga County

has been deficient, being credited with but one
such, though Erastus D. Palmer honored us by
a residence in the County of about two years.
Byron N. Pickett, son of a Port Byron bar
ber, was a born sculptor, and developed such
marks of genius and perfection of work, without
instruction, as to arrest the attention of Mr.
Palmer who kept him for several years in^his em
ploy. He is now established in New York, and
has produced several valuable works, including a
model of the bust of Professor Morse, cast in
bronze, and erected in Central Park, New York.
Erastus D. Palmer, though not a permanent
resident of the County, was nevertheless employed
here about two years in the execution of orders
from prominent citizens, of Aurora and Auburn,
and in the production of ideal pieces. He is a
sculptor of great and deserved celebrity.
Walter G. Robinson, from the business of
grave-stone cutting, developed the true genius of
a sculptor. A bas-relief of Secretary Seward
executed by him, is an excellent likeness, and a
marble bust of the Secretary, cut by Mr. Robin
son, is considered by the family superior to all
others. Portrait and Landscape Painters.
With these, Cayuga has been exceptionally
favored as will be seen in the following brief
sketches. William Dickinson, residing in Auburn, in
18 16, and Daniel Steele, a native of Aurelius,
were our earliest portrait painters. Mr. Steele
and his wife were both artists. They have prac
ticed their profession in Washington, D. C, and
in the West and South.
Jehu Knapp was born in Connecticut in 1801,
took his first lessons in arabesque painting from
William Dickinson, of Auburn, and subsequently
studied in New York and Philadelphia, after
which he established himself in Auburn. He
here painted a portrait of William H. Seward,
now in the possession of the family. Though
Mr. Knapp was a good artist, he was compelled
to supplement his artistic with practical work in
house and sign painting to gain a livelihood.
Charles Loring Elliott, one of the most
distinguished artists that our country has pro
duced, was born in a rude dwelling near Scipio
Center, in 18 12. He removed with his parents
to Auburn, His father, who was a builder.

66

PORTRAIT AND LANDSCAPE PAINTERS.

erected a house on the corner of William street
and Love Lane, and here the boyhood of the
great artist was passed. He was a natural me
chanic, and fond ofthe pursuit. He early mani
fested a fondness for drawing and painting, from
which his father and friends sought to dissuade
him, as a poor paying employment. But his love
of art grew, which his father sought to overcome
by placing him first in a store, and next at school.
It was, however, all the same in both places ;
neither business nor books would draw him away
from his pencil and his brush. Seeing this, his
father sought to direct the boy's genius to archi
tectural drawing, as more profitable. That work
he could do, but it did not please him ; he wanted
to paint. At length he was placed under the
instruction of Colonel Trumbull, the eminent
painter, and president of the Academy of Fine
Arts in New York. He next studied with
Onidor. But his means failing, he left the city,
and, for the next ten years, took his lessons in
the school of nature. In 1845 he returned to
New York, and for the rest of his life, was emi
nently successful, and had the reputation of being
the best portrait painter of his time in the coun-
try. Edwin W. Goodwin was an artist of good
reputation, resident in Auburn in 1835. He was
expelled from a Methodist Church here for his
anti-slavery views, in the expression of which
he would not be restrained. He died at Ithaca,
New York, in 1845..
Charles W. Jenkins was born, in Owasco,
July 9th, 1821, a son of a house painter, which
business he pursued in Auburn for a time, until
he entered the studio of E. W. Goodwin. He
practiced his profession here until 1837, when he
removed to Syracuse, thence to Utica, and in
1848 removed to New York city, where he has
since practiced his art.
Randall Palmer located in Auburn in 1839.
Among the portraits which he painted here
were those of that notorious hero ofthe " Patriot,''
or "Rheuben" war, William Johnson, and of the
bold and devoted daughter of the latter. He
painted well, and was an artist of merit. He
died about 1842, from the effects of a fall.
T. J. Kennedy, was born at Saratoga Springs,
New York, October 13th, 1820. He began the
work of painting, as an apprentice, in Troy, N.
Y., at the age of twelve years, was soon employed

in ornamental coach painting, decorating them
with landscapes, and allegorical pictures, many
of which were fine works of art. Here he also
received, for the six years of his apprenticeship,
lessons in drawing and painting landscapes, and
in portrait painting, from the best artists in those
branches in Troy. He came to Auburn in 1838,
at the instance of Col. J. M. Sherwood, then a
large stage proprietor here, and has since resided
here. He has executed several large and fine
pieces, "Mazeppa" and the "Last Arrow,"
among them, and many landscapes that have
received favorable notices of art critics. He is
an amateur artist of much merit, though the
business of paint merchant and sign and house
painting, has engaged his principal attention. He
was the first man in the County to practically
prepare for the great rebellion, by enlisting men,
and was actively and efificiently engaged in the
service during the war.
George L Clough was born in Auburn
September i8th, 1834. His father died while
George was yet an infant, leaving a widow with
slender means and six dependent children. As
early as ten years of age he developed a taste
and tact in art, and his first picture, executed
about this time, on a fragment of a board, is still
preserved. From ten to eighteen years of age
he was employed in compounding medicines,
working by the piece for Dr. Blanchard Fosgate,
and finding time to practice his favorite art.
The excellence of his work arrested the attention
of the artist Palmer, and the latter induced the
mother to let her son go into his studio, where
his chances of improvement were much increased.
Here he continued until 1844, when he opened
a studio of his own. About this time Charles
L. Elliott came to Auburn to paint the portrait
of Governor Seward, and fortunately for Clough,
selected his room for the purpose. He was
much benefited by the example and kindly
hints of this great master. But his patrons
were few, and the young artist was severely
taxed for the means of support. William C.
Barber generously gave him an order for six
pictures, paying him one-half in advance. These
were followed by other orders, and he soon
found himself able to spend a few months with
Elliott in New York, there perfecting himself in
portrait painting. When he reopened his room
in Auburn, he met with fair success, and married

PORTRAIT AND LANDSCAPE PAINTERS,

67

a daughter of Robert Peat, in 1848. Under the
patronage of the Barbers and other friends, he
visited Europe in 1850, spending about a year in
the principal art galleries of Germany, France
and Italy. Since his return he has devoted his
time mainly to landscape painting, to which his
taste has always inclined him, and in which he
is a close and severe imitator of nature.
There are, it is said, in the city of Auburn
alone, over four hundred of his paintings, indi
cating clearly that as a painter, George L.
Clough has been highly honored and liberally
patronized by those among whom he has chiefly
resided. William E. McMaster came to Cayuga
County with his parents when a lad, worked at
carriage painting at Weedsport with his father,
and evinced an early and great fondness for
portrait painting, receiving therein some instruc
tion from Miss Munson of that place, and also
from the artist Palmer. He was afterwards a
student of Charies L. Elliott, and of the great
painter, Vanderlin. In his habits he has been
cosmopolitan, practicing his art in the various
cities, towns and villages of this country and
in Europe. He is an artist of genius and has
executed a vast number of portraits of eminent
personages, including those of President Buchan-
nan, and of Marshal McMahon, President of the
French Republic. He has also been prominent
as a political writer and speaker, and as a pro
fessional sportsman.
Joseph R. Meeker was a native of Newark,
New Jersey, born in 1827, and came with his
parents to Auburn about 1836. Here he
engaged first in a printing office, and next with
T. J. Kennedy in painting, being anxious to be
come an artist. In the preliminary lessons he
was instructed by Mr. Kennedy. In 1845, he
went to New York to perfect himself in art
studies, depending for his support upon the
¦practice of plain painting. Here he spent three
years of struggle and toil, when he returned to
Auburn, greatly improved in his chosen art. He
roomed with Mr. Clough in cheap quarters,
they boarding themselves and studying together
about a year, when Mr. Meeker established his
easel in Buffalo, N. Y. Here, after a hard
struggle, he won gratifying success, 'In 1852,
he removed to Louisville, Ky., where for seven
years his success was indifferent, and he re

moved to St. Louis, Mo,, where he " pitched his
tent," in 1859. ^""^ "^^^ ^^*' ^°°" followed and
broke up his business. He then secured the
position of paymaster in the navy, and there con
tinued for four years. On the steamboats upon
the Mississippi he had a fine opportunity to see
and delineate the interesting natural scenery
upon its shores, and he improved it, carrying
, back with him to St. Louis, at the close of the
war, much material for future use. He has
since steadily pursued bis profession, and won in
it abundant success. Mr. Meeker is not alone
distinguished as a successful and accomplished
artist ; he is an able writer on art, and is dis
tinguished for his general culture. He was the
originator, and is the President of the St. Louis
Art Society, among the most successful of such
associations in the country.
Henry Wells, the son of a shoemaker in
Clarksville, was, at the age of fourteen, bound an
apprentice to T.J. Kennedy,to learn plain and sign
painting. Mr. Kennedy soon discovered the boy's
genius in art, and instructed him in its elemen
tary principles, for about three years, when he
gave the boy his indenture, and advised him to
go to Philadelphia, to pursue and practice art,
and support himself meanwhile by plain paint
ing. There he found an opportunity to draw on
wood, and was well paid for it. Going to Mount
Vernon, he drew the house and tomb of Wash
ington, had them engraved and published on his
own account. Being novelties, the picture had
a good sale, five hundred copies having been
purchased in Auburn alone, and the enterprise
paid well. He continues his designs on wood for
the magazines and other publications, and also
paints fair pictures in oil. He has been a dili
gent student and is a cultured and refined gentle
man, now about forty years of age.
John R. Page, was born in Elbridge, Onon
daga county, in 1821 ; was first a cabinet-maker
and next a farmer, and is still engaged in the lat
ter pursuit. He took up art at the age of thirty,
as an aid to his judgment of cattle, though al
ways fond of delineating animals. In that spe
cialty he has become so thorough an expert in
the critical judgment of blooded horses and cat
tle, that he has few, if any, equals in the country.
He will read off the points and pedigree of an
animal on first sight with great rapidity and with
surprising accuracy, being rarely incorrect in his

6S

PORTRAIT AND LANDSCAPE PAINTERS.

judgment. He paints cattle in oil, giving nearly
perfect representations of the originals, and
executes neat engravings of them on wood or
stone. In 1851, he prepared all the illustrations
for the Catalogue of Cattle issued by Col. Morris,
of Fordham, the first one of the kind issued in
this country. The excellence and perfection of
that work gave to Mr. Page a national reputa
tion, and the claim upon his time and talents for
similar work has since been very great from all
parts of the country, including California and the
Pacific Coast. He illustrated the American Herd
Book of Short-Horn Cattle, in sixteen volumes,
and also the Canada Herd Book. His services
have been sought in England. As an auctioneer
in the sale of valuable animals he has no supe
rior. He sold the famous York Mills herd, one
cow in which brought the fabulous price of forty
thousand dollars. He owns and neatly cultivates
a farm in Sennett, rears choice animals and good
products, is a genial and social gentleman, a fine
specimen of genius practically and usefully ap
plied. Frederick M. Coffin, a native of Nantucket,
born in 1822, came to Auburn with his parents
in i84S,andis the only surviving son of his wid
owed and aged mother, with whom he resides, and
to whose comfort he administers with true and ex
emplary filial affection. He early manifested a
genius for art by drawing and grouping animals.
In 1846, he engaged as clerk in the store of F.
L. Griswold & Co.', in Boston. We next find
him engaged in sketching and drawing figures
for a fresco painter in Boston. He returned to
Auburn and engaged again as merchant's clerk,
but keeping up his habit of sketching and draw
ing, producing striking representations of groups
of people whose portraits were readily recog
nized. In 1849, he drew on wood for engravers
and executed portraits in crayon. He next spent
a year in the collector's office in Buffalo, and
three subsequent years in designing and drawing
on wood for the publishers. He illustrated sev
eral of the books published in Auburn by Derby,
Miller & Co., as well as works for Buffalo, and
New York publishers. In 1854, he took up his
residence in New York and devoted himself ex
clusively to drawing and designing for the maga
zine and book publishers of that city and Boston.
Too close application impaired his eyes and he
traveled for a season as a means of restoration.

He enlisted and served three years in the war of,
the Rebellion, sketching many military and natu
ral scenes. He then directed his attention to
painting cattle in oil, locating himself with his
parents in Sennett, where he industriously applied
himself to painting horses, cattle and pastoral
scenes, adding greatly to his already large store
of art productions. But the death of his father
and brother devolved upon him the sole care of
his aged mother and aunt, for whose comfort he
generously relinquished his art studies and duti
fully devoted himself to his relatives — an inter
esting and forcible illustration of the beauty of
his character.
George H. Matthews, a native of Utica,
born in 1834, removed in early life to Buffalo, N.
Y., where he pursued art studies under various
masters, and came to Auburn at nineteen years
of age. He has been principally engaged here
in portrait painting, and has probably executed
more portraits of the citizens of Auburn than
any other resident artist, and his portraits are
all faithful likenesses of their subjects. His
merits as an artist are appreciated, and he is so
liberally patronized that he makes his profession
a financial success, which is a rare thing in a city
the size of Auburn. Notwithstanding his com
plete success as a portrait painter, he has con
tinually expressed a wish to change his employ
ment. Pie has a great fondness for the works of
the dramatists, and the facility with which he can
recite their productions is a marvelous illustra
tion of the power of his memory. It is said that
he can repeat verbatim fifty entire plays, of
Shakspere, Bulwer, Sheridan and Knowles,
and, when on his walks, is often so absorbed in
their silent recitation, as to pass his most familiar
friends unnoticed.
Joseph Haskill, son-in-law ofthe late Joseph
Choate, has painted portraits in Auburn, and
elsewhere in the County for many years, and in
New York City, Detroit, &c. He now resides
and practices his profession in Syracuse.
Frank R. Rathbun, a native of Burlington,
Vermont, was early inclined to sketch mechanical
objects, and those relating to natural history.
After preliminary studies, he was engaged in the
geological survey of Vermont, in sketching the
scenery and animals to illustrate that work. He
went out with the Nineteenth Regiment and
made drawings of the birds of the Chesapeake.

PORTRAIT AND LANDSCAPE PAINTERS.

69

Subsequently he was mechanical draughtsman
for a firm of manufacturers of cotton machinery
in Worcester, Mass. He is now engaged in
this city in painting objects of natural history,
drawings of birds, various designs for book
publishers, and artistic ornamentation generally.
Nicholas B. Kittell was a resident in
Auburn in 1865, and for several years painted
portraits here quite satisfactorily, and is now con
tinuing his profession in New York City, and
maintains a fine reputation, both as an artist and
a social and pleasant gentleman.
Mr. and Mrs. William B. Gifford are
natives of Aurora, N. Y., the latter, grand
daughter of Humphrey Howland. They possess
ample pecuniary means, and are both enthusi
astic lovers of art. They are yet young, and
have been, and are, carefully perfecting them
selves in art studies in the best schools in this
country and in Europe, devoting to them their
time and all the necessary means. They both
paint portraits, and are now pursuing . their
studies in New York City, with every prospect
of attaining eminence in their profession.
George W. King was born in Auburn in
1836, and worked at the carpenter's trade until
twenty-five years of age. He had a natural
taste for art which was early and constantly shown
by the use, first of his pencil, and subsequently of
crayons. He would employ nearly every frag
ment of leisure in delineating some animal or
other object upon a board or box, or whatever
was at hand, on which he could construct the
image of his fancy.
His mechanical employment did not please
him ; but his love of art was controlling, and it
impelled him to it^ pursuit against strongly
opposing obstacles. Pie had slender means,
without influential friends, and was of amiable
and modest disposition, and not calculated to
push his way to success through an adverse and
jostling crowd. His early struggles, between the
strong promptings of his taste and his inability
to gratify it, were therefore severe ; yet he
decided to go to New York at a venture, and to
test what might come of it.
He accordingly went thither and entered the
drawing class at the Cooper Union. Fortun
ately for him he soon made the acquaintance of
the kind-hearted and distinguished portrait
painter, Page, who became his firm friend and

benefactor ; and when Mr. King's means failed
he aided him in procuring work in coloring
photographs, which partly relieved his necessities.
His generous patron went farther and invited
Mr. King to accompany him and his family to
Eaglewood, N. J., and to make his home with
them, and he did so.
Here he had the good fortune to meet and se
cure the warm friendship of the artist, Innis,
who became so much interested in' Mr. King as,
for nearly a year, to give him voluntary and val
uable instruction in landscape painting, and to
compliment him for his skill in that department
of art, in which his progress was rapid. He was
greatly encouraged by the flattering approval of
so competent a master, with so full an oppor
tunity for critical and careful judgment.
In 1864 he returned to Auburn and opened a
studio; but like most young artists, he did not
secure satisfactory patronage. Returning to New
York, he worked at a salary on crayon heads, for
which he was well paid. He again came to Au
burn, and went thence to Oswego, where, for
three years, he found liberal patronage, and, ob
taining commissions, he went to California,
made numerous sketchesof the Yo Semite valley
and has finished several fine paintings of that re
markable region, which are much admired.
In the spring of 1873, he went to Europe and
devoted about a year and a half to a careful study
of its works of art. He then returned to Au
burn, and in 1876 removed to Philadelphia which
has since been his home.
Alexander F. Loamans, a French artist of
genius and ability, and a connoisseur in his pro
fession, came to Auburn in 1854, and painted
here for about two years. He had many marked
peculiarities. He could paint with great rapidity,
and could with little apparent effort make showy
. pictures, which he could, and did sell cheap ; yet
realizing a full equivalent for the time devoted to
them. He would frequently arise from his bed
at night, and by the light of a lamp lay his ideal
subject rapidly upon the canvas'for future study,
and at other times, for weeks together would
work with a peculiar zest, as if inspired with a
supernatural enthusiasm. Like most artists he
was a wanderer and his whereabouts and sub
sequent career are unknown to us.
Sanford Thayer, the son of a small farmer,
was born in the town of Victory, in this County,

70

LADY ARTISTS.

July 19th, 1820. At the age of fourteen his
father died, leaving his family in such poverty as
broke it up, and scattered its members, and
young Thayer was left to shift for himself For
four years he worked at farming, barely support
ing himself, his art genius burning for gratifica
tion. At this time, slender in purse and ward
robe, he came to Auburn to learn to paint. He
was directed by the artist Goodwin, to whom he
applied for a position, to go to a carriage painter,
to take lessons in plain painting, and this he did;
but failing of employment, he returned to his
old work upon the farm and in the smithy. He
was finally employed in Skaneateles in ¦ car
riage painting. Fortunately, Elliott, the great
painter, then resided in Skaneateles, engaged in
the execution of a design on a fine carriage.
Thayer watched with great eagerness the work
of this master, and attempted to copy it when
completed. While absorbed in the effort he was
surprised by Elliott, who kindly criticised and
complimented the rude, yet promising effort of
the young man, giving valuable practical hints to
the great joy of the would-be artist, who was
thus firmly fixed in his purpose to become an ar
tist, and he fully executed it. He applied him
self diligently to his work, and years after he
again met Elliott in Syracuse, to whom he ex
hibited a portrait of a boy which he had painted,
and was delighted and encouraged by words of
commendation. The friendship thus formed be
tween these two geniuses continued till Elliott's
death. The latter painted two splendid portraits
of Thayer, which were said to have been his
finest productions. He was selected to complete
the orders left unfilled when Elliott died, a com
pliment of significant import. Mr. Thayer still
resides in Syracuse and, as health permits, still
executes fine works of art.
Lady Artists. — Miss Celia Murdock resides
with her father in the town of Venice in this
County. She is an artist of much merit, and has
practiced and taught art successfully for many
years. She is now traveling in Europe.
Miss Carrie Woodruff Noyes, is a cultivated
lady, a professional and accomplished artist, con
ceded by art critics to draw and paint better in
water-colors than any other resident lady artist.
Mrs. Mary Vigus, was a native of Port Byron
and a self-taught artist. She became an instruc
tor in art at a ladies' seminary in Memphis,

Tenn. ; married, and on the death of her hus
band supported, and still supports, herself and
two boys by her profession.
Miss Lou Ann Munson, when a resident of
Weedsport in 1841, and afterwards, painted por
traits in oil with much acceptance. She is novv
Mrs. Sunderlin, and resides in Philadelphia. She
is a sister of Mrs. James Henderson of Auburn.
Miss Gertrude L. Stone, daughter of Col.
Henry M. Stone, late of Auburn, early evinced
an excellent taste and tact in drawing, and has
taught pencil and crayon drawing for many years
in schools of her own, and in young ladies'
seminaries. She is now an instructor of art in
a ladies' school in Ohio.
Miss Elizabeth M. Bemis, a native of Auburn,
is a lady of good general culture, and has been
specially instructed in drawing in the New York
Academy of Design. Her work is strongly com
mended by art critics, as indicating skill, culture
and care. She is now acceptably teaching draw
ing in the public schools of Auburn.
Miss Fannie Bemis, sister of the foregoing,
was educated in pencil drawing and crayon work,
in Cooper Institute and the New York Academy
of Design, and was the recipient of the first prize,
a gold medal for the best drawing, a compliment
well merited, as evinced by the excellence of her
work. Her crayon portraits are much com
mended by competent critics, and give full satis
faction to her patrons. For some three years she
taught drawing in the Howland school at Union
Springs. It will thus be noticed that Cayuga County has
been the home of a very large number of pro
fessional artists, of varying ability and success,
most of whom contended against poverty and
adverse circumstances, and won their reputations
by following their own native impulses for art,
which no obstacles, however severe, could repress.
They were born artists, and their birthright they
claimed and won.
Of engravers, we may well be proud of George
Whitfield Hatch and John Chester Buttre ; the
former, the foremost of bank note engravers, and
the latter the peer of any in steel portrait engrav
ing ; while Elliott, in portrait painting, won a
national reputation, and Meeker, Thayer and
Page, with the long list of other artists, whose
careers we have briefly chronicled, won deserved
distinction in their several fields of labor.

VALUATION AND TAXATION.

7i.\

CHAPTER XII.
Valuation and Taxation.
Valuation from i8oo to 1877 — Study of the
Table — Comparative Valuation of Farm
Lands — Of Real and Personal Property
— Comparative Taxation — Support of the
Poor — Lunatics — County Poor House.

1800181118,8131814181518161817181818191820 i8zi 182Z
1813 1S241825182618271828
1829l8}o1831i8;2
183318341835183618371838 1839

I

en ri

',8J9, ,
948,835;
1,382,616
4,780,8304,534,8694,534.8694,5'3,<J994,346,3294,346,319 4,346,319 3,284,793
2,463,6931,463,703 3,311,501 3,311,501
4,768,555 3,557,5743,517,574
3,S'7,5743,517,5743,5>7,S74
3,517,5743,517,5743,517,574
3,516,6283,516,0283,516,628
4,546,251
4,S46,»3>0,546,231
84010,964,546
l841iio,324,4';2 184210,749,043

1843

1844184518461847 1848
1849 185018511851
1853J854185s
1856 1857
1858 1859
i8601861 1862
18631864186518661867
18681869

ncliided in
Real,
106,422384,896330,440J63
1)2,35! 186,357139,98 s
123,395127,843 > 3 5,267
527,229
580,533
490,538 577,435546,729
609,560
620,192636,500679.015700,205
652,378 836,539
927,146
,480,446 ,459,400
1,385,868 1,604,529
1,548,110 1,617,358 1,548,160
No record No rec'd

8,431,670 8,153,1048,492,8368,760,2218,920,781
9,803,286 9,345,257
I 17,828,008
117,677,368(17,681,138( 17,642,905
J 17,629,461
'I7,7H,17S' 17,346,141
15,821,228
) 15,562,727
> 15,407,559
I 15,234,595
115,332,756I '5,437,247
M5,7>',353115,758,778J 1 5,904,886
7 16,019,177
i 16,182,342
; 16,281,821
l87o!l6,373,62l1871 16,574,621
187216,940,5341873 17,046,521
187434,271.2171875131,502,2401876119,5)5,5401877128,497,684

1,272,2461,325,021 1,415,998
1,640,9061,611,763 1,702,8451,809,384

¦3 S
> s

1,839,111 948,856
1,382,616
4,887,252 4,918,7654,911,3094,876,8104,578,6924,5)2,636 4,486,314 3,408,188
2,591,536 2,598,97° 3,8)8,7)03,792,034
4,259,0764,135,0094,064,3034,227,1344,137,7664,154,0744,195,589
4,217,7794,169,9524,452,1674,443,174 4,497,074
6,005,631 5,931,899
12,150,762
12,512,656 11,941,83012,690,873
No record
9,703,9169,478,1259,908,834
10,401,129 10,532,534 11,505,931
11,154,641

None.

9,7309,7529,1574,533 4,534 3,408
2,5012,7324,07s
9,609 2,796
None,

3, 275,o8l]2l, 103,089
3,098,12720,775,945
3,216,10520,897,34) 3,068,45920,711,364

3,052,7483,299,1033,448,9423,733,4923,633,2283,265,573),4l8,)99),47S,7783,784,806
4,348,2414,293,6974,244,124 1,311,950
4,167,7944,008,608 3,520,4353,132,1613,011,177
2,735,368
4,587,8344,371,7824,095,810 3,203,440

20,682,20921,033,47820,795,083 19,554,710
19,195-95518,674,13218,652,99418,798,53919,222,052
20,059,594
20,051,47520,149,01020,331,12710,850,13610,350,519 19,894,05619,706,78519,961,71119,831,889
38,857,95135,875,01233,631,350) 1,3 18,078

11,87s 15,58810,681 5,856
5,891 5,971
10,858 5,3985,581
10,401 5,101
10,909 15,34)
15,853
11,03)
46,788 34,220 33,62559,245
60,046 87,768
94,7498,03181,159
100,833133,236 96,14696,906
126,682 92,887
163,578
112,512114,342 98,667
49,082 54,868

oco
None. 1,6791,680 1,710
2,201 1,6711,921
2,3792,37°
2,341 2,36c 2,3672,375
2,29s2,7832,797 2,7631,8631,39)
2,78)2,6192,6282,6231,6)52,4902,620
6,5526,2256,7919,999 5,978
5,9455,978 5,6995,1415,24
5,434 5,6165,4)9
11,166
14,667 14,28713,012
12,1715,775 15,095
14,666 14,4
14,411 14,41116,45616,71916,338
15,55715,714
16,13326,41227,687
26,33525,335 25,16514,673
23,82125,96517,782 30,1)3

1,192
6,585 3,621
3,8545,027
4,293 3,805
6,6437,)i°7,6367,7S8 8,885
6,426 8,511
9,480
15,01415,31513,3)111,63812,99211,99412,37916,06916,09 s
18,23717,707
26, 307
30,670
28,50027,651
28,803 19,27918,15115,4)811,265 19,184
13,822 14,47°
10,741 19,946
28,459 31,440 30,29633,962
39,504
43,23348,20248,15146,72641,519 38,309
48,501
47,040
211,139 306,520318,739
207,500
201,65c 172,615
212,581 49,786 59,685
67,815 52,43658,366
53,634S5,9'0

g

E
<!

390
2,108 3,759
4,195 3,4°)
4,4516,1964,93° 5,1195,563
4,556 3,648
5,582
6,5444,87s 5,827 3,4933,)883,118
7,4)) 5,6)0
4,470 5,Sofi 5,719
6,986 5,080
6,8816,41)6,019 7,147
6,7196,202 6,5006,90
6,374 6,225 8,35°8,8128,34°8,315 8,8088,627
9,840
10,653
20,961 16,83317,888
11,24812,79012,87111,89210,31717,785
64,674
195,773 '11,596 36,85
43,81373,071
100,364 91,173
111,538
138,599 145,144
1)6,315119,879 161,060
147,919

EM

84) 867
9)4
1,11l,'731,3201,3691,090 1,240',3311,180 794
938
1,035 l,)6)
1,217 982
1,129
i,)7S1,2501,4721,7971,607
1,968 1,7641,6081,6)1,705
1,411
2,100 1,774
1,5431,4952,086 1,878
2,711 3, '08 3
2,8152,884 3,58'
4,720 3,0593,057
3,149

r

3,582
8,6937,3819,728
10,197
20,18722,046
22,402 18,985
20,104 18,00517,46617,101
21,642
21,474 23,19721,602 19,51717,520
23,14920,018 19,630
24,50s24,444 27,847
25,424 35,67939,704
41,07141,35141,71441,632 53,68153.51$
44,299 36,964
43,296 35,857
46,591 38,197 50,011
59,847
61,15076,147 83,479
94,362 97,91°
112,8)7109,828107,634127,103123,265170,511
221,175
621,283 514,815
5°3,5li
411,001 398,867 309,109
461,667 184,811 391,670)S7,))9
))8,070 314,357308,765
289,172

111 iSoo, the towns in Cayiiga County were Milton, (now Genoa,) Sempro
nius, Ovid, Romulus, Ulysses, Aurelius and Scipio, liaviiig 1,947 iiiliabilaiits.
In 1862, thc County bounties paid to volunteers amounted to $12,230.
Town jjounlies, including the town expenses that year, amounted to $7,517-
In 1853, the County bounties charged to the towns, and included in the
town expenses, amounted to $31,400. There was included in the County tax
of 1863, on accouut of bounties, $2,371.

Study of the Foregoing Table; ¦
IN a single year from 1 8 1 2 to 1 8 1 3 there was a,
sudden increase in the valuation ofthe County
of more than three-fold. That increased valua
tion from jSi, 382,616, to {84,887,252 was main
tained with slight variation until 1821, when a
large reduction was made, from an average of over ,
^4,000,000 to about ^2,500,000. From 1825 to
1836, eleven years, it stood at between ^4,000,000
and 1^5,000,000. In 1837 it was raised to over
jS6,ooo,ooo, in 1839 to over ;^ 1 2,000,000, the
valuation being doubled in two. years. In 1845
it was reduced to less than ;^9,5oo,ooo, in 1851
it was advanced to over ^21,000,000. The
amount varied from 5819,000,000 to ;^ 2 1,000,000
for the next twenty-three years until 1874, when
the valuation was raised to nearly ;^39,ooo,ooo.
This amount was reduced in 1877 to 1^32,000,000.
We state the amounts here in round numbers,
the exact figures will be found in the foregoing
table. The following was the assessed valuation of
the farm lands of the County in 1837, and in
1877: 1837. 1877.
Aurelius  ;?i2,oo ;^S7-52 per acre.
Brutus  5.88 41-32
Cato  6.00 48.83
Conquest  4,75 39.06
P'leming  10.75 52. 85
Genoa  11.25 49-73 "
Ira  6.00 48.83
Ledyard  14.00 50.95 "
Locke  6.90 29.96 "
Mentz  9.50 45.71
Moravia  8.00 32.20 "
Niles  9.00 37-4S "
Owasco  12.00 39.23 "
Sempronius  5.00 23.83 "
Sennett  11,00 52.05 ^ "
Springport  14.00 59-77 " ,
Scipio  12.00 53-74 "
Steriing  4.75 31.89
Summer Hill  4.04 22.08 "
Venice  11.50 4S.96 " ' ;
Victory  5.75 34.59
The above equalization of 1877 includes the
farm lands only, excluding village and railroad
property ; in 1837 all the property of the towns
was included. The very great advance in the
estimated value of farm lands will arrest atten
tion. It will be noticed that in 1837 the prices
ranged from 5S4.04 per acre for the lowest to
$14.00 for the highest, and that in 1877 the same

n

EARLY SUPERVISORS.

towns had been advanced from four to eight- fold,
while the personal property of the County had
in the same period increased only about two
fold. Comparative Valuations OF Real and Per
sonal Property.— The foregoing table furnishes
, a guide as to the relative estimated value of the
real and personal property at the difierent pe
riods from 1814 to 1822. The personal property
of the County was assessed at one-seventeenth
of the value of the real property. But, for the
next two years, from 1822 to 1825, it was sud
denly raised to one-fifth, an increase in two
years in the assessed value of the personal estate
of the County of more than three hundred per
cent. From 1835 to 1838 it was still farther ad
vanced and reached the highest relative amount
at any period in the whole history of the County,
and was rated at one-third of the real estate.
Here the increase ended. From 1838 to 1850
the personal property fell off one-half and was
rated only one-sixth the real. From 185 1 to
i860, very nearly the same proportion was main
tained, but from 1873 to 1877 the proportion was
lower than at any other period during the last
fifty years and was less than one-seventh of the
real property.
Taxation. — The foregoing table also supplies
some interesting facts relating to taxation. In
1840, but thirty-seven years ago, (the table
closes with 1877,) the gross tax upon the County
and the towns for all purposes, was but $41,632.
The population was then in round numbers
50,000 ; the taxation, therefore, was about eighty
cents /^r capita of the population, and that was
the highest tax which up to that time, a period
of more than forty years, had been levied upon
the County.
The amount for the next ten years did not
greatly vary from that, and in 1850 the gross tax
was but $50,000, about the same per capita as in
1840. The gross tax upon the County between
1850 and i860 was more than doubled, arising
mainly from the large increase during that de
cade, of the State tax, which, it will be noticed,
had arisen from $5,581 in 1850 to $59,245 in
i860, the increase from all other sources during
those ten years being only $28,092. But the
great flood of taxation rolled in upon us from
1863 to the present time. At the former date
the war claims were being paid, and the gross

taxation reached its climax in 1864, when we
paid $62 1,283, about $10 for each man and woman
and child in the County. From that time it has
been gradually lessening until now. During
these fourteen years the County of Cayuga paid
$5,431,623 in taxes, an amount greater than the
entire property valuation of the County at any
time during the first forty years of its existence.
An examination of the foregoing table will
show the sources of the trouble and also our
gradual release from it. Up to 1863 our County
and town taxes had been relatively light, less
than $50,000 for the former, and an average' of
about $12,000 for the latter. But they suddenly
arose to hundreds of thousands in consequence
of the military expenses of the time, and, in re
spect to the towns, the added burden growing out
of their indebtedness for the construction of rail
roads. The State tax, owing to the same gen
eral causes, was enormously increased, rising in
1872 to $163,578 ; but the latter has been re
duced to $54,868 in 1877, only about $9,000
more than it was in 1857, twenty years before.
The County taxes have fallen to $55,910, but the
town taxes still aggregate high figures, $197,919,
owing mainly to liabilities incurred for railroad
construction. Early Supervisors.
The Supervisors of the County of Cayuga in
1818 were the following: William Allen, Scipio ;
William Clark, Genoa ; Nehemiah Wisner, Au
relius ; James Leonard, Mentz ; Charles Cham
beriain, Locke ; William Satteriee, Sempronius ;
Elijah Devoe, Owasco ; Rufus Sheldon, Brutus ;
Augustus F. Ferris, Cato; John McFadden,
Sterling, — representing ten towns.
The town of Auburn was first represented in
the Board of Supervisors in 1824, Elijah Miller
being the first Supervisor from that town. There
were then eighteen Supervisors, as follows :
Auburn, Elijah Miller ; Aurelius, Robert Cook ;
Brutus, Sylvester Sheldon ; Cato, John Jackway;
Conquest, William Crowell ; Fleming, Lyman
Loomis ; Ira, William H. Noble; Genoa, Wil
liam Wilber; Locke, Silas Bowker ; Ledyard,
Ephraim C. Marsh ; Mentz, James Leonard ;
Owasco, Geo. R. Brinkerhoff; Springport, Asa
W. Burnham ; Scipio, John Daniels ; Sempro
nius, William Satteriee ; Venice, John Beards
ley ; Victory, Roswell Enos.

PAUPERISM.

73

The fact is disclosed by the proceedings of our
eariy Supervisors that the principal sources of
local taxation were damages paid to land owners
for new roads laid through their lands ; bridging
streams, for the support of the poor, and for
bounties paid for the destruction of wild beasts.
Pauperism. — Contrary to the common belief,
we have had the poor with us always. The early
settlers were not all self-supporting. The hard
ships and privations ofthe early emigrants caused
much sickness amongst them ; many heads of
families died, leaving sick and dependent mem
bers who required temporary support from the
more favored. There were not then many
chronic paupers, but the aggregate assistance re
quired was relatively large.
Before the erection of the County Poor House,
in 1825, the amount paid by the towns for the
support of the poor, was nearly equal to all the
other town expenses.
Aside from the maintenance of the paupers
and the expenses incident to opening new roads,
the other town expenses were very light. The
town of Aurelius, which in 1818 included the
village of Auburn, paid in the four years from
18 18 to 1 82 1 inclusive, for all local purposes
$3,244.04, of which sum $2,354, or more than
two-thirds, went for the support of the poor, and
a similar expense, for the same purpose, was im
posed upon the other towns of the County. We,
therefore, had indigence and pauperism sixty
years ago, relatively to the numbers of the peo
ple, nearly as great as at the present time.
In 1823 the town of Auburn was formed and
in 1824 the entire town expenses were but
$302.21, or excluding damages incurred for lay
ing new roads, it amounted only to about one
hundred dollars. In 1825 the town paid $200
to improve highways and the same amount for
the support of the poor, and for all other local
expenses $47.36. In 1827 it was still less. We
append the items as found in the records of the
Supervisors proceedings of that year.
Asa Munger com. of schools three years, $11,25
Hackaliah Burt, " " two " 7.50
John Patty, " " one " 3.75
Samuel Dill, com. of highways, i.oo
Collector's commission, 1.59
Total, $25.09
It is quite apparent from the early records of
the bills audited by the Board of Supervisors of

the County, that official incumbents did not then
depend upon ofifice for their support.
In further demonstration of the poor expenses,
before the erection of the County Poor House,
we append the following : The town charges of
Scipio in 1824 were $380.41, of which sum $250
was for the support of the poor ; Ledyard
$288.68, of which $250 was "poor money";
Owasco, $182.37, of which $100 was "poor
money " ; Locke, $2 1 2, of which $ 1 50 was " poor
money " ; Sempronius, $447, of which $250 was
appropriated for the support of the poor, and so
on through the list of towns and the records of
years. These heavy expenses for the support of the
poor, led the Supervisors at their session in 1825
to take measures for the erection of a County
Poor House, a site for which, comprising seventy-
nine acres, was procured on the farm of Thomas
Stevenson, then in the town of Brutus. George
Casey, Daniel Sennett, Henry Polhemus and
Salmon Tyler were appointed superintendents
for the erection of the building and superintend
ing the general object of County pauperism.
Two thousand dollars were appropriated in 1825
to this object, and three thousand dollaVs in
1826. The building was completed in the latter
year, during which fifty-two paupers were re
ceived, and in 1827 the number had risen to
one hundred and fifty, a number of inmates
exceeding the present average.
The first lunatics were sent to the Insane
Asylum from this County in 1843, when four
were taken to Utica by Dr. J. D. Button. The
present number of insane maintained by the
County in the two asylums of Utica and Willard
is seventy, — fifty -two at the latter who are fcon-
sidered incurables, and eighteen at the former
many of whom are considered as curable cases.
The whole number of insane persons in the
County in 1875, was 157, an increase in this un
fortunate class within twenty-five years of about
three-fold, and nearly equaling the aggregate
number of the blind, idiotic and deaf and dumb
in the County. The cost to the County of
maintaining the insane in the asylums, exclusive
of clothing, is four dollars per week at Utica, and
two dollars and sixty cents at Willard, thus im
posing in the support of these unfortunates, an
annual tax exceeding $12,000.
Sylvester Willard, M. D., was the first physi-

74

EARLY AGRICULTURAL SOCIETIES.

cian to the poor house. Dr. Boyce has 'held that
position for the past seventeen years, receiving
a salary of $250. In 1843 the cost of maintain
ing the ppor of the County outside of the poor-
house was $7,224.55, and at the poor house
$3,707.62, a total cost of -$10,932.17. In 1877,
at the poor house the cost amounted to $7,741.94
and outside of it $31,407.21, an aggregate cost
for the maintenance of the poor of $39,149,15,
nearly four times the aggregate of 1843. The
present average weekly cost of the maintenance
of the paupers at the County Poor House is one
dollar and fifty-six cents, independently of the
annual products of the farm. E. L. Phelps held
the position of Keeper of the Poor House for
seventeen years, and 'Morris M. Olmstead that
of Superintendent of the Poor for twenty, and
is the present incumbent of that office.

CHAPTER XIII.

Agricultural Societies and Statistics.
Early Disadvantages — First Society and
its Proceedings — Second Society — Its
Officers and Proceedings — Moravia Ag
ricultural Society — North Cayuga Agri
cultural Society — General History of
THE Patrons of Husbandry — Cayuga
County Patrons — Fire Relief Associa
tion — Agricultural Statistics.
INa County naturally so favorable to so varied
• and abundant agricultural productions as
Cayuga, associations might be expected among
the farmers for their own mutual improvement ;
but for nearly a quarter of a century the early
emigrants had to maintain a stern contest with
rude nature and had little time or means for any
thing else. The forest had to be removed, roads
constructed, streams bridged, mills erected and
most of their own clothing prepared. Those
who enjoy the improved facilities of the present
day, with all the arts and conveniences of life,
can but feebly conceive the difficulties and em
barrassments under which the first settlers
labored. They had a fertile soil to cultivate, when
once the trees were removed, which needed no

phosphates to enrich it, yet mowers and reapers
tedders and hay-rakes, had they then been known,
could not have been used among the knolls and
stumps of the early farms. The old " bull
plow" with its wooden moldboard, and wrought
iron and steel-pointed share ; the home-made
drag, supplied with wooden teeth, and formed of
the forked branch of a tree ; the native cattle,
pastured in the woods in the summer and often
" broused" in winter upon buds and branches of
forest trees ; the swine, fed upon the native roots
and nuts and running free and wild in the woods,
all as nimble as the other wild animals ; all
these rude accompaniments were not suggestive
of public exhibitions.
The "art and science of agriculture" was not
then known to, or thought of, by the early farm
ers. "What they knew about farming," was to
clear the land and cast and cover the seed ; pro
tect its growth from the ravages of beasts and
vermin ; harvest and secure the products, and
then to find some means to grind enough grain
for the family supply, and to find a market for
the remainder, which for a few years was sup
plied by the needs ofthe new comers.
In 1818, however, a successful effort was made
to form the Cayuga County Agricultural Society.
On the fourth day of February in that year a
a meeting was held at the house of Amos Adams
in Scipio, and an organization completed. David
Thomas, was made President; Silas Holbrook,
Vice-President ; John Tifft, Treasurer ; and
Joshua Baldwin, Recording Secretary. On Sep
tember 7th following, David Thomas delivered an
address before the society, which is believed to
have been the first address upon agriculture
delivered in the County.
In that address Kir. Thomas said : " Cayuga
County, which we have to cultivate, contains 697
square miles with less than one square mile of
waste land ; nearly every other part is suitable
for a garden."
David Wright, Esq., of Auburn, also addressed
the same meeting and said : " If the farmers of
Cayuga County do not march in the van of the
agricultural host, the fault must be theirs.
Nature has been no step-mother to them. With
a soil of great fertility and well adapted to the
growth of the principal agricultural productions
of this latitude we have, in addition, inexhaust
ible beds of gypsum, quarries of lime-stone,

CAYUGA COUNTY AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY.

75

swamps of marl and a fair promise of an abun
dance of salt."
On the 20th of October ensuing, the first Fair
and Cattle Show in Cayuga County, was held at
Auburn. The animals were exhibited in a field
on the farm of WiUiam Bostwick, south of the
Court House, and the other articles in one ofthe
stores of the village. The fair was held for two
days and was an occasion of great interest, being
largely attended. The church bells were rung
for a half hour in the morning of each day, an
expression of the jubilant satisfaction of the
people of the village at the presence of their rural
friends. The exhibition was closed by a long
and formal procession from the Court House to
the Presbyterian church. Here prayers were
offered, hymns sung and an address delivered by
David Thomas, full of sound practical thoughts.
Twenty-five prizes were awarded, consisting of
silver cups and teaspoons, ofthe aggregate value
of two hundred and thirty-one dollars. One of
these cups then awarded is still in the possession
of H. H. Bostwick, Esq., of Auburn.
These Fairs were annually held for many years,
and were a decided benefit to the farmers of the
County. But the burden of maintaining them
fell upon a few who became weary of bearing it
and, after about fifteen years, the enterprise was
abandoned. Another society was organized on the 22d day
of July, 1841, of which Humphrey Howland was
the first president, and the following gentlemen
were the Vice-Presidents : John M. Sherwood,
of Auburn ; Loring Willard, of Aurelius ; Isaac
Bell, of Brutus ; Luke HoUister, Cato ; Levi
Colvin, Conquest ; David O. Durkee, Ira ; Wil
liam F", Tompkins, Fleming; Mathias Hutchin
son, Genoa ; Wing Tabor, Moravia ; Samuel
Bell, Mentz ; Isaac Sisson, Locke; John I,
Brinkerhoff, Owasco ; Jonathan Richmond,
Ledyard ; Mr. Fuller, Sempronius; John W. Mc
Fadden, Sterling ; E. A. Howland, Venice ;
Mathias Vanderheyden, Victory ; John Sittser,
Sennett; U. F. Doubleday, Scipio; Luther Ful
ler, Niles ; Plenry Crane, Springport ; and
Martin Barber, Summer Hill.
The following were the Presidents of the
Society from 1841 to 1855 inclusive, namely:
Humphrey Howland,  1841
John M. Sherwood,  1842-1845
Ezra W. Bateman,  1846
IZ

Chester Gridley,  1846-1849
Lyman Sherwood,  1850
William Howard,  1 851-185 2
E. W. Sheldon,  1853
John S. Clark,  1854
Abraham Burlew,  1855
The following were the Secretaries of the
Society for the same period :
William Richardson,  1841-1845
Benjamin F. Hall,  1  1845-1848
JohnB. Dill,  1849
T. M. Pomeroy,  1850
H. H. Bostwick,  1850-1853
Luman W. Capin,  I  1854
John B. Dill,  1855
There was a reorganization of the Society
under the act of April 15th, 1855, when new
articles of association were formed under the
name of the Cayuga County Agricultural and
Horticultural Society. The first associates were
Thomas S. Bentley, Charles P. Wood, David
Wright, Abraham Burlew, Harrison Hopkins,
Henry Fellows, Benjamin Ashby, Plenry S.
Dunning, John B. Dill, Harvey A. Lamphere,
Hiram O'Hara, Henry H. Bostwick, .1. W.
Quick and others.
The first directors were Thomas S. Bentley,
of Brutus, President ; Horace T. Cook, of Au
burn, Secretary ; H. H. Bostwick, Treasurer ;
William D. Osborn, of Mentz ; Abraham Burlew,
of Springport ; Henry Conklin, of Owasco ;
Charles P. Wood, of Auburn ; and Mathias
Hutchinson, of Genoa.
The Presidents ofthe Society from its reorgani
zation until the present time have been as follows :
Thomas S. Bentley,-..  1856
Grove Bradley,  1857
Henry W. Dwight,  1858-1859
William Webster,  i860
Alanson M. Clark,  i86i-'2-'3-'4-'5-'6-'7-'8
Allen D. Morgan,  1868- 1869- 1870
Jay Lewis Grant,  i87i-'2-'3-'4
John B. Shank,  i87S-'6-'7-'8
The Secretaries of the Society since its reor
ganization have been the following :
Horace T.Cook,  1856
Lamed C. Mann,  i8S7-'8-'9
B. B. Snow,  i860
John G. Hosmer,  i86i-'2-'3-'4-'5-'6-'7
A. S. Hamblin,  1868-9
John G. Hosmer,  i87o-'7i-'72
A. B. Hamblin,  i873_'4_'5_'6-'7-'8
The Vice-Presidents were Henry Willard, of
Aurelius ; Harvey A. Lamphere, of Brutus ;
Moses Robinson, of Cato ; Hardy Cole, of Con-

76

MORAVIA AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY.

quest ; Calvin Leach, of Fleming ; Henry Pardee,
of Genoa ; John E. Terpening, of Ira ; J. Hewitt,
of Moravia ; John S. Clark, of Mentz ; M. D.
Murfey, of Locke ; George Thomson, jr., of
Owasco ; Elijah Brown, of Niles ; Samuel C.
Crowley, of Ledyard ; Hector C. Tuthill, of
Sempronius ; Morell S. Fitch, of Scipio ; Henry
Fellows, of Sennett ; George W. Truesdell, of
Springport ; J. Barber, of Summer Hill ; Joseph
Eldridge, of Victory ; Mason White, of Venice ;
and George B. Cole, of Sterling ; Horace T.
Cook, Secretary.
Earned C. Mann has held one or the other of
the responsible offices of secretary or treasurer
of this society since its reorganization twenty-
three years ago. H. H. Bostwick held the office
of treasurer for six years, John G. Hosmer that
of secretary for ten years, and A. B. Hamblin the
same ofiBce for eight years. It is a compliment to
the capacity and fidelity of these officers that
they continued so long to discharge, for a trifling
consideration, so arduous a duty, and that the
records and accounts of the society, for so long
a period, have been so faithfully kept.
Among those who have delivered addresses
before the society are David Thomas, David
Wright, Plumphrey Howland, B. P. Johnson,
Nathan Burchard and A. S. Divens.
In 1856 a new departure was taken by the in
troduction of riding, driving and trotting matches.
In the "ladies' riding match" in 1856, nine
prizes were offered and awarded to as many dif
ferent ladies, and in the " ladies' driving match "
seven prizes, Mrs. Henry taking the first
prize in both. Miss Smith, the second prize in
the " riding match," and Miss Cuykendall, the
second prize in the "driving match." It was
the first and only experiment of the kind.
In 1856 the conclusion was reached to pur
chase permanent exhibition grounds and to erect
thereon buildings and show-pens, and grade a
half mile track. Nineteen acres were bought for
this purpose of Henry S. Dunning, at $150 per
acre, and the ground fenced and improved with
the track, show-pens and necessary buildings,
costing in the aggregate about $6,000 and forming
ample and very complete accommodations for
the intended purpose. An effort was made to
change the location of the grounds to the eastern
part of the city, provided a sale of present
grounds could be made on satisfactory terms.

They were accordingly advertised ; but satisfac
tory offers for the same not being made the con
templated change was not effected. This offer
to sell the property created the false impression
among many that the society was about to dis
band, which was not contemplated.
Among the novelties and objects of interest
often shown at the annual fairs, was an old and
unique clock, shown in 1859 by James Law,
which was owned by an English sovereign three
hundred years ago, a card upon which bore the
following inscription :
" Three hundred years have nearly fled
Since my royal owner lost her head ;
Amid her country's pomp and power,
I marked the time and told the hour."
Moravia Agricultural Society. — The con
stitution of this society was adopted September
20th, 1858, and its by-laws on the 26th of the same
month. Sidney Mead was the first president of
the society ; M. W. Alley, secretary, and E. P.
K. Smith, treasurer. Its first purpose was to
perfect a town organization for social and agri
cultural improvement. The first fair was held
October 12th, 1858, and annual fairs have now
been held for twenty years with very gratifying
success, both as respects its financial receipts,
which indicate the attendance, and the display of
the animals and agricultural and mechanical pro
ducts, which have regularly increased.
The entire receipts of this society the second
year of its existence, from all sources, was but
$114, while the total receipts for 1877 were
^1,229,01. It was early found that the residents
in the ten southern towns of the County took a
hvely interest in this organization, to the admin
istration of which they were admitted in 1 859, with
the following Vice-Presidents : G. L. Mead, Mo
ravia ; E. W. Bateman, Venice ; J. C. Smith,
Scipio; I-I. C. Tuthill, Sempronius; E. E.
Brown and II. W. Lockwood, Niles ; Grover
Stoyell, Summer Hill ; Jonathan Conklin, Locke;
Albert Lester, Genoa ; and Thomas Gould, Led
yard. The Directors appointed at the same time
were Sidney Mead, James H. Jewett, P. M. Stod
dard, John Cortright, E. P. K. Smith, and P. D.
Livingston. The southern towns of the County
were this year cordially invited to participate in
all the operations of the society and the invi
tation, was generally accepted. This coopera
tion has since been uniformly maintained, so that,
though bearing the local name of the town in

NORTH CAYUGA AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY.

17

which the enterprise originated, and to which is
due the credit of its institution, it is still in its
practical operations the "South Cayuga Agri
cultural Society," which as the antithesis of the
" North Cayuga Society," would be now its ap
propriate name.
As the means of the society increased, suitable
buildings and show-pens have been provided in
cluding a track for the trial of the speed of
horses. The history of this society, as shown by
its records, presents a very gratifying exhibition
of progress, indicating that the locahties which
for twenty years have sustained it with increasing
interest, will continue to do so, and that it will
remain a fixed and permanent organization.
The following gentlemen have been the Presi
dents of the society : Sidney Mead, C. C. Jewett,
John Stoyell, James H. Jewett, C. S. Jennings,
and E. Greenfield. The latter gentleman has
held the office from 1866 to the present time.
The following have been the Secretaries of the
society : M. K, Alley, William Tallman, John L.
Parker, M. L. Everson, Henry Cutler, Jr., A. PI.
Livingston, B. Alley, M. E. Kenyon, W. H.
Day and Edward Thomas, the latter gentleman
having held the office for four years. The fol
lowing have been the Treasurers : E. P. K.
Smith, B. F. Everson, PI. H. Tuthill, B. F, Ev
erson, Thomson Keeler, three years, M. L. Ev
erson, C. S. Jennings, M. R. Allen, S. Edwin
Day, L. D. Sayles, William E. Keeler, the latter
for the past four years.
The society has had in its Board of Directors
and as vice-presidents and patrons, many of the
best practical farmers of the towns which patron
ized it. Thc present Directors, 1879, ^""c : C. S.
Jennings, Moravia ; J. Grant, Locke ; J. H.
Holden and M. Rooks, Moravia; V. S. Richard
son, Sempronius ; O. Snider, Moravia ; John
Tifft, Genoa. The Vice-Presidents are : D. B.
Satteriee, Locke ; Emmett Leghorn, Locke ;
Walker Wood and Chauncey Plamblin, Genoa;
Delos Kimball and Plarmon Mosher, Venice ;
Calvin Tracey, Scipio ; G. B. Wyckoff, Owasco
Lake ; Henry A. Morgan, Aurora ; John R.
Austin, Owasco ; A. W. Ellis and E. Brown,
Niles ; Julius Fitts and Gardner Mason, Dress-
erville; F. Mix and B. Robbins, Summer Hill ;
Lorin Smith, Fleming.
North Cayuga Agricultural Society. —
This society was organized in 1878 with the fol

lowing officers : President, Harvey A. Putnam ;
' Vice-President, Millard Colburn ; Secretary, E.
C. Bryant ; Treasurer, D. Seward Sheldon,
Directors : Brutus, W. G. Pierce, William Hen
derson, Phillip Martin and C. A. Wilson ; Cato,
W. E. Robinson and John W. Smith ; Con
quest, T. E. Montayne and Grover Lane ; Ira,
Plarvey Ferris and W. H. Carr ; Mentz, Orrin
Paddock and O. V. Lewis ; Montezuma, John
Mills and James D. Ney ; Sennett, John R.
Page and Fred. Fellows ; Sterling, H. C. Curtis
and Isaac Turner ; Throop, Chauncey Wethey
and Egbert Hadden ; Victory, John D. Lane and
N. Jones ; General Superintendent, Charles
Dixon. The first annual fair of this society was held at
Weedsport in October, 1878, and was well patron
ized and attended notwithstanding the inclemency
of the weather. The ten towns embraced in this
society are among the richest in the County and
their, varied and fine productions of grain, fruits,
animals and vegetables and the handicraft of
their households and mechanic shops, furnish
ample material for exceedingly interesting public
exhibitions, which, it is believed, now that they
have been inaugurated, will be permanently
maintained. General Considerations. — Agricultural so
cieties were early fostered and patronized by the
State. Its contributions to this purpose v/ere not
large and were conditioned upon the raising of
an equal amount by the societies to which the
State patronage was extended. The small pit
tance bestowed by the State stimulated the
activities of the farmers so generally as to lead
to the formation of such associations in nearly
all the counties and a large number of towns and
districts of the State.
Their great utility, when properly managed,
cannot be questioned. The best skill and the
greatest success of the practical farmers of the
section represented at the fairs, are brought to
the notice of all who attend them. Proper emu
lation is excited by seeing what others have done
and an ambition is aroused in many observers
to imitate their examjple, whether it be in the
production of grains or fruits, the rearing of ani
mals, or in the utilizing of the improved tools
and implements which are thus brought to their
notice. Agricultural fairs have not only an economic,

78

PATRONS OF HUSBANDRY.

and a"money value in the direction intimated ; but
when instituted in and conducted by a rural popu
lation, and confined to the exhibition of farm and
household 'products, and the tools and imple
ments appropriate to their production, they are
¦occasions of pure and pleasant social inter
course. Counting the several annual County Fairs,
from their first institution to the present time,
they cover a period of over fifty years, and the
interest in them is greater to-day than at any
former period of our history. Under the pres
ent County Society, they embrace a period of
thirty-eight years^ in which the organization has
been maintained intact, and exhibitions continu
ous. ¦ The district associations which had been
formed, independently of the central society,
have withdrawn some of the patronage which the
latter would otherwise have enjoyed ; yet these
local societies have done, and are doing great
good. They have brought nearer home the ex
hibitions of agricultural progress and success ;
and a larger number can therefore conveniently
patronize and attend them, than could be induced
to gather at a County center. Large and deeply
interested throngs attend them, the premiums
offered are satisfactory, and the receipts equal or
exceed the expenses.
The town, district and County associations,
are auxiliary to the State Agricultural Society, to
which they report. The State society was formed
in 1832; revived and extended in its scope in
1 84 1, when the first State fair and cattle show
was held. Since the latter date, annual fairs
have been held, and a large and exceedingly
valuable volume of the "transactions" of the
-¦ society annually published. That work has now
reached its thirty-eighth volume. These trans
actions have been published in large numbers
- and widely circulated in this County and through
out this State. They comprise papers of great
value to our farmers, and have tended greatly to
improve the agriculture of the State.
Cayuga County has supplied but one president
of the State society. Col. John M. Sherwood, of
¦Auburn. Col. Sherwood began his agricultural
career at 50 years of age. He had spent his life
till then in management of the great stage lines
running from Albany to Buffalo, of which a full
account is given under the head of transportation
and travel. He carried to his farm the same

energy and force of character which had marked
his management of the great stage lines of John
M. Sherwood & Co., but not with equal success.
His large farm was finely improved and thor
oughly cultivated and stocked with the choicest
of flocks and herds. He reared none but the
finest animals which he spared no care nor cost
to procure. In that respect he benefited his
County and State more than himself. The flocks
and herds which have descended from those of
his introduction still remain and some have been
exported as very superior animals. Col. Sher
wood was president of the first reorganized
agricultural society of the-County in 1842.
Patrons of Husbandry.
General History of the Order. — This
association of the tillers of the soil originated
with O. H. Kelly, a farmer of Minnesota, his
purpose being to unite and secure the cooperation
of the various agricultural societies of the coun
try, for their mutual aid and benefit. He sub
mitted his plans to various gentlemen in Wash
ington, D. C.,and elsewhere, in cooperation with
whom the draft of the first degree of the Order
was completed on August 6th, 1867.
In September following, a circular was pre
pared by the leader of the movement, and sent
to individuals, prominent in agriculture, by whom
the plan was very cordially and generally ap
proved. Some fifty different names were sug
gested ; yet " Patrons of Husbandry " was chosen
as the most appropriate name and the word
"Grange" selected to designate the place of
meeting. These facts then should be borne in
mind, — the individual is a " Patron of Husband
ry," the place of meeting is a " Grange."
The National Grange was organized, Decem
ber 4th, 1867, at the office of Master Wm. B.
Saunders, at Washington, D. C, there being less
than twenty members present.
The following were the first oflHcers : Master,
William B. Saunders, Washington, D. C. ; Over
seer, Anson Bartlett, of Ohio ; Lecturer, J. R.
Thompson, of Vermont ; Steward, Wm. Muir,
of Pennsylvania ; Assistant Steward, A. L.
Moses, of New York ; Chaplain, Rev. A. B.
Grosh, of Pennsylvania ; Treasurer, Wm. M.
Ireland, of Pennsylvania; Secretary, O. H.
Kelly, of Minnesota ; Gate-Keeper, Edward P.
Farris, of Illinois. ;

PATRONS OF HUSBANDRY.

79

The Patrons of Plusbandry embrace the fol
lowing subordinate organizations : First degree,
Laborer, (man). Maid, (woman) ; second degree.
Cultivator, (man), Shepherdess, (woman) ; third
degree. Harvester, (man). Gleaner, (woman) ;
fourth degree, Husbandman, (man). Matron, (wo
man). State Grange — fifth degree, Pomona,
(hope). National Grange — sixth degree, Flora,
(charity) ; seventh degree, Ceres, (faith).
New York State Grange was organized in
November, 1873, first Master, George D. Hink-
ley.
Cayuga County Patrons of Husbandry. —
The first introduction of the Order into this
County, was made January 12th, 1874, by the
organization of Cayuga Grange, No. 47, at
Meridian, in the town of Cato. This was fol
lowed, at different times, by the organization of
the following in the different towns : Brutus, No.
48 ; Mentz, No. 49 ; Throop, No. 70 ; Union,
of Owasco, No. — ; Scipio, No. 74 ; Union, of
Springport, ' No. 86; Logan, No. 107; Kings
Ferry, No. 125 ; Springport, No. 182 ; Levanna,
No. 187; Moravia, No. 201; Sherwood, No.
208 ; Home, No. 232 ; Fleming, No. 258 ;
Owasco, No. 271 ; Aurelius, No. 371 ; Sennett,
No. 383 ; Genoa, No. — ; making a total of 19
Granges with a total membership of about
1,500. Embraced in the number are very many ofthe
best agriculturists of the County, and by frank
intercourse with each other in the Grange, very
interesting social and business acquaintances
have beeti made.
Among the many worthy gentlemen who have
served in the several offices of the Order, may be
mentioned, Milton Rude, M. C. Remington, Milton
Munroe, H. H. Treat, J. E. Hadden, H. A. Put
nam, E. B, Marvin, Abraham Brinkerhoff, from
the north, and J. W. Shank, J, and A. Baker,
John Shank, J. C. Peckham, Wm. Peckham, J.
L. Searing, Wm. P. Sisson, D. C. Gould, L C.
Goodyear, J. Corwin, from the south part of the
County, together with a large number of other
gentlemen, equally active and efficient, whose
names vve have not the space to record.
In the spring of 1876, the National and State
Granges recommended the counties to organize
the Pomona, or fifth degree. This was not sat
isfactory to the delegates in Cayuga County ;
but the latter determined to reorganize the local

council, and appointed a committee to draft a
constitution and by-laws. This constitution was
adopted by the council on June ist, and the
following officers elected : Master, Wm. Sisson ;
Overseer, Abraham Brinkerhoff; Lecturer, J. C.
Peckham ; Chaplain, Milton Rude ; Steward,
William Peckham ; Assistant Steward, Edgar
Howell ; Secretary, C, W. Brown ; Treasurer,
A. House ; Gate-Keeper, Millard Coburn ; Ceres,
Sarah Van Sickle ; Flora, Mrs. E. Culver ;
Pomona, Catherine Eaker; Lady Assistant
Steward, Minerva Hadden. Executive Commit
tee, E. B. Marvin, H. H. Treat and J. W.
Shank. Purchasing Agent, M. C. Remington.
The annual meeting of this council is held in
the city of Auburn, on the first Tuesday in June,
and quarterly meetings are held in June, Sep
tember, December and March, at the different
Granges, as may be determined, and special meet
ings are called at the pleasure of the council.
Though this council was not strictly regular,
or in full compliance with the rules of the Order,
it was nevertheless of much practical benefit in
the purchase of agricultural implements, grocer
ies and fertilizers. The executive committee ar
ranged with dealers in Auburn and elsewhere, to
procure goods for awhile at highly satisfactory
discounts ; yet from neglect, or other cause, the
members of the Order did not generally avail
themselves of the full benefits thus offered them.
The purchasers were too generally anxious to
avail themselves ofthe advantage of wholesale dis
counts on the purchase of single articles, or goods
in small quantities ; and dealers soon saw that
in a trade so conducted, the advantages were all
on one side, and the measure, for the time, was,
to a large extent, a failure. At present there is
no organized system of trade existing in the
Order in this County, though purchases are
made by some of the Granges, through systems
successfully maintained in other counties, and an
indirect and decided benefit has resulted, particu
larly in the purchase of fertilizers.
In this item alone there has been saved by the
farmers of the County many thousands of dollars,
and intelligence has been gained, which will inure
to their future benefit In the sale of their products,
in the purchase of implements and tools, in the
benefits of the Patrons' Fire Relief Association,
in the social and educational influence ofthe Or
der, by which each of its members become pos-

8o

PATRONS' FIRE RELIEF ASSOCIATION.

sessed of the information of all, consists a
part of the advantages which the Patrons of
Husbandry confer upon its members. It is
more comprehensive than the Farmers' Club, in
that it embraces both sexes and is rendered more
attractive by a pleasing ritual, and the subtle
charm of secrecy.
Patrons of Husbandry Fire Relief As
sociation. — This association was the happy
thought of the Hon. Milton Rude, of Weeds-
port, and first made known at a meeting of the
County councils of the " Patrons " on the first
day of March, 1877. A committee was ap
pointed to draft articles of association, consisting
of Milton Rude, H. H. Treat, Elisha Cook, J. J.
Ammerman, and J. L. Giles. These articles
were adopted by the council on the seventh day
of June following. On June 30th, 1877, pursuant
to request of the council to send one representa
tive from each grange to perfect their organiza
tion, there met in convention in Auburn the fol
lowing representatives :
P. O. Address. No. of Grange.
Milton Rude  Weedsport, N. Y. 48
J. L. Searing  Poplar Ridge, N. Y. 208
H, H. Treat  Box 80, Auburn, N. Y. 70
J. L. Giles  Skaneateles, N. Y. 271
Pardon Brown__ Aurora, N. Y. 187
D. B. Post  Owasco Lake, N. Y. 258
S. C. Van Sickle Cayuga, N. Y. 86
J. H. Baker  Aurelius, N. Y. 371
George W. Bell__ Montezuma, N. Y. 107
C. H. Corwin__ Five Corners, N. Y. 132
Alfred Lanterman Kings P"erry, N. Y. 125
Joseph Eldridge. Union Springs, N. Y. 182
L..W. Treat  Port Byron, N. Y. 49
Upon consultation it was found that there were
fifty-six applications for insurance in the pro
posed organization, of property to an amount ex
ceeding $100,000, and that the plan was received
with great favor. By-laws were adopted and
the following officers chosen :
Milton Rude, President, Weedsport, N. Y.,
Grange No. 48.
J. L. Searing, Vice-Pres't, Poplar Ridge, N.
Y., Grange No. 203.
J. H. Baker, Secretary, Aurelius, N. Y.,
Grange No. 371.
H. H. Treat, Treasurer, Auburn, N. Y., Box
80. Grange No. 70.
The members present were declared directors
of the association. The members reassembled
pursuant, to adjournment, on July 28, at which
applications, for insurance were reported,'amount-

ing to $133,611, and the decision was made to
carry out the purpose of the organization. The
rates fixed in the first instance were one-ninth
of one per cent, on the less hazardous, and one-
seventh on the more hazardous risks, the money
thus obtained being intended to meet the few ex
penses incident to the organization and main
tenance of the business.
The necessary books and blanks were procured
by the treasurer, the cost of which was $1 13. 12,
and the association was now ready to commence
business. The first policies were issued on the
eleventh day of August, 1877, and at the next
annual meeting on September 19th, $197,412
worth of property had been insured owned by
eighty-one persons.
The compensation of the ofificers is two dollars
per day for necessary services, and the secretary
is allowed fifty cents additional for the issuing
of each policy. The local directors are each
allowed one dollar for survey and application.
On the 27th of July, 1878, one year after the
organization of the association, there had been
one hundred and twenty-one policies issued on
property to the amount of $302,921, with no
loss during the year, nor any assessment.
No one can become a member of this associa
tion who is not a member in good standing, of
the Patrons of Husbandry. All the farm prop
erty usually insured is embraced in the policies
of the association.
The successful initiation and progress of this
association is certainly remarkable. It is entirely
voluntary, without legal sanction, and bound to
gether only by the honor of its members. The
principle on which it is founded is clearly a sound
one. It is a mutual insurance company in which
the risks and benefits are as neariy equal as it is
possible to have them. The members are all
engaged in the same pursuit and their property is
about equally exposed to destruction by fire, and
when so destroyed, the associates are united to
mutually bear the loss in proportion to their re
spective interests in the common organization as
represented by their several policies.

The following tables taken from the census of
1875, will show by towns the area of farm lands,
the value of farms, of farm buildings, of live stock
and of implements, the area of crops and the
amount of agricultural productions :

AGRICULTURAL STATISTICS.

8i

AREA OF LAND IN

FARMS.

present cash value.

Cost of
Fertilizers bought in
1874.

Improved,

Unimproved.

Of Farms.

Of Farm
Buildings
other than
Dwellings.

Of stock.

Of Tools and
Implements. Dollars,

Gross Sales
from Farms

Cml Di-visions.

Woodland

Other.

in 1874,

Acres.
Acres.
Acres,
Dollars.
Dollars,
Dollars.
Dollars,
Dollars.
City of Auburn .
Aurelius 
Brutus 
Cato 
2,643
16,614
10,234 15,854 13,895 12,403
20,222 17,134
18,34211,819 7,246 7,528
12,424
18,15211,112
20,206 13,17416,07011,885i8:343
11,82210,002
20,956 16,085
96
1,314 1,242
3,797 3,831 1,267
3,8053,026 2,5442,179 991 844
2,722
3,863 1,606
2,297
4,3°8 1,801
1,222
5,017 2,489 821
3,8544,641
848942
1,001 837
2,643 40
315996 3
677
1,8451,1781,8361,202 544 775206
3,388 1,764 640 186
508
608,100
1,743,472 918,292
1,444,735
1,195,952 1,330,4541,828,5751,467,7631,423,365 727,065762,800
625,440
1,144,1351,368,610 792,505
1,507,580 779,420
1-594,973 1,416,035
1,696,350 672,605
1,014,115
1,544,8001,257,129
66^250
202,659 134,825
244,360 141,830153,750
211,010 174,730
211,264
. S4,o6o
94,625 72,545
126,559
211,540 165,225
196,040 118,515195,225147,19s
187,900 92,110
115,310
205,800 159,150
37,100
158,607100,79s
158,843141,093 130,106
172,615
177,778 190,623 92,247 70,185
74,054
145,795
181,919 94,555
164,019
117.950154,005 126,077
202,018 109,613 99,909
171,33s
144,172
12,180
56,19037,52880,11845,40763,34565,236
81,53480,243 18,877
26,333
26,431
44,844 56,984
34,921
45,902 38,56742,137
39,124 63,537 24,126
35,35354,68553,826
7.34
1,778 571
476 S38
5,7425,442 31
7,968 550
38S356
409
2,9312,5912,854 I-24S1,484 261 218
1,243
7,020 191
31,336
184,442
ii5,£et
174,3^5 170,154
116.549
. 153,228
i57,7Ji 132,343 67,623
63,13867,594
105,471
, 161,372 86,228
157,543 76,103
140,462
134,949132,753 88,146
104,654144,805 99,685
Conquest 
Fleming 
Genoa 
Ira 
Ledyard 
Locke 
Mentz 
Montezuma. . . .
Moravia 
Niles 
Owasco . .....
Scipio 
Sempronius. . . .
Sennett 
Springport 
Sterling 
Summer Hill.. .
Throop 
'Venice 
Victory 
Total 
336,165
59,667
22,373
28,864,270
3,682,477
3,215,413
1,127,428
45,018
2,866,435
Civil Di-\risions.
area plowed, I
GRASSLANDS.
In 1874,
Acres,
Area in Pasti;re,
In 187s
Acres,
In 1874. In 1875.
Acres. Acres. Acres.
Area Mown,
1874.
187s-
Acres
Hay
produced
1874.
Tons.
Grass Seed
prod'd 1874.
Bushels
BARLEY.
Area.
1874. 1875
Acres. - Acres.
Produced. 1874.
Bushels,
City of Auburn .
Aurelius 
Brutus 
Cato 
Conquest 
Fleming  •
Genoa 
Ira 
Ledyard 
Locke  •
Mentz 
Montezuma 
Moravia 
Niles 
Owasco .,,..,..
Scipio 
Sempronius 
Sennett 
Springport 
Sterling — . . . ..
Summer Hill. .. .
Throop,.,. . , , , . •
Venice  
Victory....! 
897
1,000
5,730
5,231
3,423
3,319
5,552
5.371
4-903
5,010
4,729
4,880
7,015
6,530
5,024
5,051
7,053
6,833
2,792
2.872
2,541
2,400
2,810
2,744
3,189
3,223
5,590
5,554
3,601
3,192
5,297
5,733
1-9.53
2,061
4,878
4,859
4,990
3-336
7,062
7-477
1,872
2,035
3,251
3,135
5,969
5,645
5,184
5,005
698
3,160 2,622
3-515
4,218 2,5055,076
4,0643,570 5,145 1,894
2,265
4,729 5-356 2,558
3,111 Sio95
4,204 2,353
5,613 5-3462,49?
5,2485,057
657
3,319 2,602
3,5104,124 2.5525,5"
4,065
3,589 5-072 1,876
2,197
4,703 5,389 2,561
3,606 5,090
4,198 2,389 5-489
5,1642,419
5,204S,i8i
Total. .. ,...  y. . . 105,3051102,526189,899190,4167 79,534|75-957
828
3,902 2,529
2,8782,8702,718
4,380 3,4543-5703-279 1-7131,731
3,966
4,710 2,442
3,7464,7513,727 .1,969
4,4944,556 2,526
4,9553,840
755
3,5862,430 2,767
2,717
2,482
4,2173,4343-3443-131 1-6731-570
3-856
4705 2,249
3-1964,7363-479 1,782
4,6534,444 2,347
¦4-523 3-881
1,128
4-7463,585
4,0643,6813,549 5,196
5,330
4,0223,661 2,692
¦ 2,241
6,0946,086 2,9105,004
5-5254,554 ^.519
5,8065,388
3,1455,826
4,514
10
1,085
1,244 280 147
360 182
J20
729140 99
144
364 2216 7079 17
229 9 7
478 180
101,266
6,011
142
181
1,209
1,5071
664
808
1,520
1,875
492
508
915
1,204
1,071
1,333
767
1,031
1,051
1,499
53
96
143
280
541
662
200
214
1,058
1,386
472
626
1,710
1,568
50
61
888
936
977
1,174
160
313
33
19
223
223
1,017
J, 206
133
.180
15,489
18,890
3,743
33,628 16.322
33,197 11,106
21,51824,818 17,736
23,398 1,285
3,349
15-378 5,214
25-385 11,196
37,569 1,057
22,78429,318 3,707
¦ 765
5,683
25,587
¦ 2,8^5
1376,608
82

AGRICULTURAL STATISTICS.

Ci-vil Di-visions.

BUCKWHEAT.

1874.

Acres.

1875.

Acres.

Produced.

1874.

INDIAN CORN,

Area.

1874.

Bushels.

Acres.

1875.

Produced,

1874.

Acres.

Bushels.

OATS.

'Area,

1874.

Acres.

187s.

Acres.

Produced,

1874.

Bushels.

RYE,

Area Sown. Produced,

1873.

Acres.

1874,

Acres.

1874,

Bushels,

City of Auburn,
Aurelius 
Brutus 
Cato 
Conquest 
Fleming 
Genoa 
Ira 
Ledyard 
Locke 
Mentz 
Montezuma. . . .
Moravia 
Niles 
Owasco 
Scipio  ,
Sempronius . . . ,
Sennett. 
Springport 
Sterling 
Summer Hill. . ,
Throop 
Venice 
Victory 
Total 

8645
127 165
220
383 208 211 '83 59 76
125175175
336
-139 133 28
376 183 49
312
414

4
60 23
38
"3
200 85
203221 174 79
90
no 99 10
153 41 59 17
369 171 3439
216

4,216

2,608

184
1,630 529
2,0782,4055,002
8,629 2,877
3,897 2,882 897
1.243
2,243
3.134 2,881 7,0082,5902,015 535
4,936
3,116 678
6,484
6,104
73.978

27s
1,323 goo
1,8411,5471,080
2,022 1,532 1,631 702
657633 612
1,076 750
1,688 314
1,1721,0261,564 285
867
1,5241,554
26,575

262
i,5'6 1,026 1,828
1.620 1,181
2,116 1,633
1.803 790751 709769
1,191 892
1,325 298
1,2851,0671,65s 285
979
1,690 1,577

28,249

12,220
48,20531.569 72,981
107,412 42,11082,945 54,84559,10045-436 19,454
42,655 24.83343,267 25,026
60,793 17-505
39,54247-02357,606 10.269
32,040 56,54650,160

158
1,615 730
1,1631,7841,071
2,392 1,485 1,6371.255 918 734
1,264
1,7881.098 1,762
1,062
1,297 848
2.626 974
1,156
2,165 1,939

208
1,828 840
1,090
2,074 1,328
2-398 1.407
1,6711,374 909 725
1,315
2,13s 1,185 1,4771.1591.453 853
2,613 1.1381,289
2,469 1,992

1,083,548

32,921

34,930

6,035
62,974 24,471
45-887
62,997 35.055 78,377
51.62551.205
40.583
32,079 27.589
44,062 57,416
3S,ioo 57-417
35.73741-371
37,222 83,160
32,22243,410 74,606
63343

II
9
117

33 44
19 4 1

II I
3122 2
1615

128

55

5
"67 62

1,123.643

38X

15
IS
155
1,162

578 42
40
100 2520

97
1.556 923

237 4,72!:

Civil Divisions.

SPRING WHEAT. | WINTER WHEAT.

Area.

J'174-
Acres.

1875.

Acres.

Produced. ¦ 874-

Bushels.

Area Sown.

1873-

1874-

Acres,

Produced. 1874-

Bushels.

CORN
SOWN FOR
FODDER.

1874. 1875.

Acres, Acres

BEANS. 
[EA. Produced.

>874. I '875-
Acres. I Acres.

i?2il.

Bushels,

PEAS,

Area,

1874-

1875-

Produced. 1874.

Bushels.

City of Auburn .
Aurelius 
Brutus 
Cato 
Conquest 
Fleming 
Genoa 
Ira 
Ledyard 
Locke 
Mentz 
Montezuma. . . .
Moravia 
Niles  J.
Owasco 
Scipio 
Sempronius. . . .
Sennett 
Springport.,, ,
Steriing 
Summer Hill .
Throop 
Venice 
Victory 

13
74
84 8
51
39 79 19
x8i 25 7

29
144 20 13
97
105 57
160 39 3
93
31

41 25 I
1314
11
35 15 4

Total  |i37i

24
48 5 I
5286
103 29 3
27 IS

150
1,0701,166 93
5 '4
489891 229
2,597 369

379
1,992 253 i6s
1.414
1,337 718
1.949 521 45
1,084 371

560 17,896

251
3,297 1-556
2,5642,308 1,509
2,344 1,813
2,364 585
1,0751,276 793
1,6061,277
2,442 95
1,811
2,951 1,329 121
1.444
1,8331,609

38,253

277

5-594

3,563

7',359

1,570

31,560

2,709

53-331

2,266

41,438

1,521

27,903

2,666

38,064

1-925

33,418

2,690

39-605

674

8,939

1,111

20,653

1,433

29,069

750

15,010

1.78s

27,009

1,371

23,290

1,803

44,642

123

1-475

1,850

37,878

3,018

50,273

1,436

17,395

127

2,058

1,563

27,333

2,112

34,144

1,630

28,002

39,973

709,442

14
26 86
32 29
29 19
S3
49 28 19
5173 13

91 79 II
SO
132 3369 26

940

13
27 7
2
2127 16
10
71
4337 22
73
76 3

885358
41
125 36 58 26

933

2
21
34 24 14
21
26 131316
II10
41 86
10
36 13
31 57 7
59

428

2
21 18
20 6
9
21 II 5
16
46 11
24 5
8
27 14
27 4 7
'38

340

20
352549
303 219
433400 223209 190
206 168
492 107 8980
451 241
393 62
129 loi
672

6,089

4565 10
"3120

12 8 7

85
33 6

129

122

17 6
4

177
113148

69
4
32

no
120

46s 230 21

14

371

124

2,242

AGRICULTURAL STATISTICS.

83

HOPS.

POTATOES.

TOBACCO

1 APPLE ORCHARDS.

Area.

Produced, 1874,
Pounds.

Area.

Produced. 1874-

Area

Produced,

Trees,

Fruit
produced. 1874-

Cider
made.

Civil Divisions.

.J8_74-. Acres.

1875.
Acres,

1874.

._i875. Acres,

1874.

1875.

1874-

1874.

Acres,

Bushels.

Sq. Rods.
640
10400 4,160
18240 1,280 640 80
3.040

Sq. Rods.

Pounds.

Number,

Bushels,

Barrels.

City of Auburn 
Aurelius 
Brutus 

54
229 255
381319 183
212305 134127158
139159
255 168194
152
489 130
878 170
224 163
365
48
236
314447351 163
191
479 106
12319s
233 159
242 160108
167
661 124
1,106 163
248 143
505
8,105
25,21929,349
448,2133,961 21,150
25,892
36.367 14,816 13.419
16,682
22,559 18 927
27,76718,805
21,261 18,797
62 207
16,190
88,846 22.415
27,08720,936
35645
720
8,640 5,120
15520. 160
1,120 160
1,280
4,300
86,970
34,710
142500

9.6314,900 500
23,02^
3,685
18,15413,38615,749
17,00818,234
21,882 19,360
18,990
11,521 12,659 8,522
15,196
2 0,949
•16,071 19,319
15,120
18,981 12,765
39,900 11,890 11,242
28,358
27,264
5,028
20,779 20,085
37,29136,446 24,241 21,025
80,471 17,410
18,765
22,855 13,346
21,043
23,87423,.546 10,62411,130
12,463 8,971
64,116 13,454
25,30924.577
67,940
281
.698
1,7211.557 988
638572
1,471 567
345677665
444 548
631 279
241
1,282
Cato 
Conquest 
6
7
5,212
Fleming 
Genoa 
Ira 
Ledyard 
Locke 

Mentz 
Montezuma . . .
Moravia 
6
6 7
3,200
Niles 
Owasco 
Scipio 
Sempronius . . .


Sennett 
8
13
2,500
Sprinenort 
408
1,065 253
672
411
1-259
Sterling 
3
Summer Hill . ...
Throop 
Venice ' 
Victory 
...


Total 
20
36 1
10,912
5,893
6,672
670,683
38480
32720
306535
414205
632789
17,673
Civil Divisions.
City of Auburn
Aurelius 
Brutus 
Cato 
Conquest 
Fleming 
Genoa 
Ira 
Ledyard 
Locke 
Mentz 
Montezuma. . . .
Moravia 
Niles 
Owasco 
Scipio 
Sempronius 
Sennett 
Springport . . .
Sterling 
Summer Hill..
Throop 
Venice 
Victory 
GRAPES.
Fruit
produced. 1874.
Total
5,6752,320
3,950 820
2,750 1,560
1,450
45-700 112
3.430 970
2,960 1,326
510
28,600 1,535 365
5.070 150
6.375
Wine
made, 1874.
Gallons.
252 182 TOIS s
4
3.650 1
127 80
100 31
MAPLE SUGAR.
Sugarmade, 1875,
115,628
5
14
196
105
300 269
1,182 105
606
6,338
4,3855,300 90
15,346 150
898
26.363 2,310 600
Syrup
made. 187s.
4,677 64,347
Gallons. so ,3 8
64
32
i8t 82
180'53 20
193
183 81
400 10
'63
392 144
659
Honey
collected in 1874.
Pounds.
150
850 285
2,023
4574 1,890 320
4,595 2,041 1,918 789
675
4,072 920
1,810 47
i-iSS
3,225
4,905 715
1.295
2,0707,124
HORSES ON FARMS.
June 1, 1 875^ 
Colts of
1875-
Number,
2,8981 47,448
7
42 22
57
38
44499165
39 22 IS
3135 20
44 21
27
44
55
35 25
2771
Colts of
1874.
926
7
45 27
62
413454
87 SO
4537 24
35
46 21
6225
40
4061
38 22
58 75
Mules on
Two years farms,
old and June i,
over. *y75*
Number.
84
748
430 741
591557
835 764747
436
342357537 736
443678
430 712
617
863381
463689679
Number.
1,036 13,860
6 2
13
4
20 5
8 2
II 1
14 2
21 6 2
2
8
POULTRY.
Value,
owned, 1875.
Dollars.
600
4,3203,0124.6583,9063.6674,838 5,219
5,468 2,264
2,4372,1322,761
4,229 2,598 1,849
2,070
3,4813,074 7,3831,914
2,998
4,237
5,214
164 84,329 59,609
Value sold.
1874.
Dollars,
270
2,632 1,660
2,662 2,839
2,794
3-3613,3245,154 1,562 957
1,788
2,014
3,776 2,6812.186 1.2471,928
2,126
3.413 1-324
2,613
4,521 2,787
Value ol
eggs sold.
'874-
Dollars.
222
2,702
3.0884,4984,859 2,992
4,7495>i54
4,146 1,9741,638
1,226
2,765
4,998 2,466 1,364
1,841
2,139
2,091 7,384 1,728
3,216
3,8706,201
77,311
84

AGRICULTURAL STATISTICS.

Civil Di-visionS'

City of Auburn
Aurelius 
Brutus 
Cato  ,
Conquest 
Fleming 
Genoa  ,
Ira 
Ledyard ....
Locke 
Mentz 
Montezuma. .
Moravia 
Niles 
Owasco ....
Scipio 
Sempronius. .
Sennett 
Springport . .
Sterling 
Summer Hill.
Throop 
Venice 
Victory 

SHEEP.

NuMDKK Shorn.

1874-.

Total

Number, 236
2.314 1,462
2,144 1,793 1538
6493 2,502
6,097 i-SSS 422 652 549
1,4641,637
3.796 498 974
1,6831,914 917 857
4-846 2,479

Number.

Weight of Clip.

1874.

139
2,237 1-307
2,172 1,728 1-256
3-992 2.4435.689 1.576 409 638
45'
1-1791.647
2,522 326903
1,605
2.146 884672
1.689
2,807

1875.

Pounds.

Pounds.

1.196

700

11,656

10.803

7463

6,783

9.047

9,688

8,416

8053

7.787

6,335

36,083

23,068

12,1 18

11,850

34.824

32914

7.041

7,184

2,079

1-947

2.922

3,030

2,991

2,135

7,664

6,240

7,858

7-435

21,182

14.370

2377

1,609

5.250

4.77s

8.506

8.536

7,815

8,940

4,458

4:546

4.287

3,200

28,442

10,266

11.714

13581

48822 40,417253266207988 19,842 20,644

Lambs Raised.

1874-

Number.

48
1,102 598
1,006 993 703
1,849 1.274
2.058 830 245
346 2567,6
601 632358692 637
1,1 10
658420
1,5641,146

187s.

Number,

33
954 704
1,128 98.6>5
2.062 1-339
2,042 959 252
390 261
641699 506313571 725
1,328 659364
1.799i.3'9

Slaugh tered. 1874.
Number.

7
157 3584
157 7'
147 62
238 30 29
5'30 75
46 40 24
66 54 73
109 30
104 71

Killed by
Dogs. 1874.
Number,

46 9 5
27
6233 22
108 20 •7
48 5
14
22

6
1212
22 17
IS 1319

SWINE.

On Far.ms.
June i, 187s.
Of 1874

Pigs of
l8fS.

Number,

144
661
485804 767
398811 708
520 237
296266243
636 280
424 246549 787
998347431 65s892

1,790! 544 12 585 14886

and older.
Number.

145
965
929
1,029 500
413 649
1,444 453 203242
387 265
656 180
427 161
397
1,030 853 393
816
1-037 1.312

Slaugh'd
on Farms.
1874.

Number. 120
803529 783
909659
962872 759
336
345 458
414 703
421646304 793711
953322 581 737
823

Pork made
on Farms.
¦874-

Pounds. 29.250
181.996
118,593167.369
204,216 159.896
232,448
232,382 175-730 87,43381,851
107,898110,346178082 98,115
152,570 84.947
167,509157,369
225,556 82.209
133925185.300 193579

14,943 3.548.569

NEAT CATTLE ON FARMS, JUNE

1, 1875.
Working

Milch Cows, Av

DAIRY PRODUCTS,

Cows WHOSE Milk
Hei fers.
Bulls of
oxen and
erage No. Kept.
WAS SENT TO FAC
Butter made
Cheese made Milk sold in
Civil
3ll_ages.
steers.
TORY.
in families.
in families.
market.
Divisions.
Two
Yearlings.
Calves.
years old.
1874.
¦87s.
.874.
187s.
1874
¦874.
1874.
Number,
Number.
Number,
Number, 13
Number.
Number.
Number. 291
Number. 40
Number. 40
Pounds. 7,265
Pounds.
Gallons.
Auburn . .
13
19
17
5
286
200
81,925
Aurelius..
132
161
152
47
91
793
770
19
88,002
230
32,890
Brutus . .
116
120
138
126
162
610
614
12
12
75,921
70
1,750
Cato 
235
261
283
133
22 1
890
892
82
29
87.763
125
Conquest.
122
202
265
103
145
1,056
1,013
186
115
106.072
17.381
483
Fleming .
108
I'S
102
39
63
633
652
95
98
78,908
1,274
482
Genoa . . .
202
256
3I'
101
68
1,022
1,043
10
127,120
100
580
Ira 
2';3
307
367
170
137
1 233
1.255
60s
535
•07,178
816
Ledyard. .
182
198
194
lOI
78
642
654
....
93.340
1,018
3.500
Locke . . .
133
195
251
101
66
913
910
9
11
126,917
Mentz . . .
107
97
1 10
50
42
493
467
16
IS
42,072
140
12,075
Montezu'a
106
120
148
70
119
545
556
217
207
40,395
100
Moravia..
285
281
340
240
48
1,466
1.519
424
458
195,195
525
7,014
Niles ....
194
342
407
288
63
1,725
1,686
....
....
234973
2,040
Owasco . .
84
104
132
96
87
607
602
65,342
9,250
Scipio . . .
38
157
149
47
8
882
955
17
18
84,660
360
IS
Sempron's
215
240
284
115
8
1,526
1,510
197
291
194.435
420
150
Sennett . .
109
133
151
78
18
1,032
1,011
156
98
85.633
8,299
51.734
Springpo't
193
228
224
56
86
472
483
....
56,935
5.085
10,520
Sterling..
225
387
471
228
213
1,296
1,416
176
193
140,134
400
Sum. Hill
211
203
309
102
4
1.344
1,362
....
186,613
4,448
55
Throop.. .
84
109
134
lOI
70
802
782
253
214
76,168
305
17.475
Venice....
217
262
306
124
154
1,109
1,108
114
109
136,772
140
247
Victory. . .
222
211
253
160
• 197
954
974

117,545
710
Total . .
3,786
4,708
5,498
2,689
2,153
22,341
22,525
2,628
2,443
2,555,361
53.436
220,89s
STUDY OF THE CENSUS.

85

Study of the Census.
Proportion of Wood-Land. — The census
shows the entire County to contain 418,205 acres
of land. , Of this 336,165, or more than three-
fourths, is improved, while there are in wood-land
59,667 acres, and 22,732 acres, or an average of
. nearly one thousand acres to a town, which is
reported as not being wood-land and as "other
wise not improved." There are in the County
an average of two acres of wood-land to fifteen
acres of cleared-land. Sempronius and Sterling
have nearly one-third of their soil covered with
wood ; Conquest and Cato nearly one-fourth ;
Victory more than one-fourth ; Niles and Mora
via more than one-fifth ; while Springport has
less than one-tenth, and Sennett less than one-
twelfth, and the least proportion of wood of any
town in the County.
Cash Value of Farms. — The census reports
the average value of farms in Springport at about
^109 per acre, Aurelius ^91, Sennett ;^83, Cato
;^76, Owasco $6\, Summer Hill ;^5i, and Sem
pronius ;^45,and the average value ofthe County
at ^69.
Value of Stock. — The gross sales from all
the farms of the County in 1874 were ^2,886,435,
of which Aurelius supplied the largest amount,
$184,442 ; Cato next, $174,375, and Conquest
third, $170,154.
Use of Fertilizers. — Ledyard used the
most fertilizers, the cost being $7,968 ; Venice
ne.xt, $7,020. Fleming expended $5,742 for fer-
tiirzers, and Genoa $5,442. All the towns in the
County used fertilizers more or less, the least
being used in the town of Ira — but $31 worth.
Plowed Land. — It will be seen that the
grain-growing towns of Aurelius, Springport,
Sennett, Cato, etc, plowed an average of about
one-third of their improved lands, while the dairy
towns. of Niles, Summer Hill, Sempronius, etc,
plowed about one-sixth only.
Grapics. — Two towns, Ledyard and Spring-
port, supplied two-thirds of the grapes grown in
the County, while the northern towns, in which
they would succeed finely, show a very small
product. Maple Sugar. — Two towns. Summer Hill
and Sempronius, supply two-thirds of all the
maple sugar produced in the County.
Rye. — There was but 381 acres of rye grown
in the County, of which three-fourths was pro
's

duced in the towns of Conquest, Sterling and
Victory. Tobacco. — There were 32,720 pounds of
tobacco grown in the County, of which Ledyard
supplied nearly one-half, and in sixteen towns
the plant was not cultivated.
Hops. — There were but 36 acres planted to
hops in the County.
Farm Buildings. — Of the rural towns, Cato
shows the greatest value in farm buildings, $244,-
360; Niles next, $211,540 ; Ledyard third, $211,-
264, and Genoa fourth, with $211,010.

CHAPTER XIV.
Cayuga County Medical Societies.
First Society — Its Members and Proceed
ings — Society Library — Disbandment
AND its Cause — Formation and Proceed
ings of THE Second Society — Membership
IN Auburn— History of Homeopathy — Its
Introduction and Progress in the County
— Homeopathic Society and Physicians.
THE Legislature of 1806 authorized the
formation of county medical societies
upon which certain powers were conferred and
duties imposed. Previously, all persons desiring
to practice physic and surgery, were required to
present evidence of their competency to the
Chancellor of the State, to a Judge of the Su
preme or Common Pleas court, or to a Ma.ster in
Chancery, and on receiving a certificate entitling
them to practice, to file it in the county clerk's
office, under penalty of receiving no remunera
tion, or in case pay was received, to be fined $25
each time it was received. The law authorizing
medical societies conferred authority on them to
grant licenses and recognize diplomas from
other States and countries, but such licenses and
diplomas were required to be filed in the county
clerk's office under like penalty.
At that time there were not more than forty
physicians in the County, which was then con
siderably larger than now. One-half of them ttiet
at the tavern of Daniel Avery in Aurora, August
7, 1 806, and organized the Cayuga County Medi-

86

CAYUGA COUNTY MEDICAL SOCIETIES.

cal Society. They were Nathaniel Aspinwall, and
Ebenezer Hewitt, of Genoa, David Annable, of
Moravia, William C. Bennett, of Aurelius, Josiah
Bevier, and Jacob Bogart, of Owasco, Nathan
Branch, Joseph Cole, of Auburn, Asahel Cooley,
of Fleming, Frederick Delano, of Aurora, Isaac
Dunning, Luther Hanchett, Silas Holbrook,
Barnabas Smith and Ezra Strong, all five of
Scipio, Consider King, of Venice, Parley Kinney,
of Sherwood, and James McClung, John Post
and Matthew Tallman, of Scipioville. Frederick
Delano was elected President, James McClung,
Vice-President, Jacob Bogart, Secretary, and
Consider King, Treasurer. At a meeting held
in Levi Stevens' tavern, in Scipio, the first Thurs
day in November of that year, by-laws were
adopted, five censors were elected. Doctor Bar
nabas Smith elected delegate to the State Medi
cal Society, the present seal ofthe society ordered,
and a tax of $4 a year levied on each member,
to procure a library and provide medical appara
tus. The anniversary meetings were fixed to
be held on the first Thursday of November, and
the quarterly meetings on the first Thursday of
February, May and August, and dissertations
and discussions upon medical and surgical topics
were provided for. The licentiates of the society
were required to sign the following declaration,
and the society archives contain a long file ofthe
declarations signed by men honored in their day
and generation for a faithful compliance there
with :
"I  do solemnly declare that I will hon
estly, virtuously and chastely conduct myself in
the practice of physic and surgery, with the
privileges of exercising which profession I am
now to be invested ; and that I will with fidelity
and honor, do everything in my power for the
benefit ofthe sick committed to my charge."
As the law required societies to enforce its
provisions in their respective counties, Enos T.
Throop was appointed law-counselor in August,
1807 ; thereafter the records show that prosecu
tions were numerous against irregular practi
tioners. The by-laws required then, as now, that
the place of meeting should be determined from
year to year. In November, 1806, the ofifice of
Doctor Barnabas Smith, of Scipio, was selected
as the place of meeting for the succeeding year.
The library also was directed to be kept there,
and Doctor Smith was appointed librarian. The
selection of the place of meeting occasioned much

strife between Auburn and Aurora, (Scipio being
accepted as a compromise,) from this time until
1818, when the southern towns relinquished their
claims, and the meetings have since been held at
Auburn by a tacit consent, and until 1 848, at Coe's
or Hudson's tavern or the Western Exchange.
The library ceased its peregrinations and settled
there also.
The membership of the society was large, and
included most of the leading physicians in the
County ; many of whose names recall recollec
tions of active, useful and honorable lives. That
they maintained a creditable professional stand
ing is evidenced by the following citations from
the society records entered in the words of Doc
tor Silas Holbrook, of Scipio:
"August 3, 18 16, Doctors B. King, Silas Hol
brook, August Miller, Andrew Groom, and Fred
erick Delano met at the house of Mr. Roger
Kinney, of Scipio, where Doctor Delano per
formed lithotomy on the daughter of William
Kinney, aged 7 years; the stone weighed 13
pennyweights, 14 grains. They then proceeded
to Jonathan Winslow's, where Doctor Delano
performed the same operation on a daughter of
Mr. Winslow, about the same age ; the stone
weighing 5 pennyweights, 5 grains. The stone
in the last mentioned case appeared to be a light
porous substance and composed of difTerent
laminae, with an intermediate diploe, and nearly
the size of the former."
In 1834, Doctor Frank H. Hamilton was ap
pointed to report on the botanical and agricul
tural products of the County ; Doctor Hum
phries, on its mineralogy and geology ; Doctor
Ira H. Smith, on its diseases, and Doctor Lan
singh Briggs, on its statistics, &c. In 1836, the
society offered a $25 prize for the best essay on
the endemic fevers of the Western country. Doc
tor Frank H. Hamilton obtained the prize, and
the essay was published in the medical periodi
cals of that day.
At the annual meeting in November, iSii, a
committee of three was appointed to act in con
cert with the trustees of Cayuga Academy, at
Aurora, to devise the best means to obtain from
the Legislature a grant to the academy for the
purpose of erecting and continuing an anatomic
al, surgical and chemical school in said acade
my, and the committee were empowered to use
the authority and influence of the society for
that purpose. The project failed at that time,
but was not given up. At the annual meeting

CAYUGA COUNTY MEDICAL SOCIETIES.

87

in 1817, Doctors Pitney, I. H. Smith, and Cole
were appointed a committee to consider the pro
priety of a medical school, at Auburn, and in
1819, the society petitioned the Inspectors ofthe
State Prison, at Auburn, to give the bodies of
deceased convicts for dissection. The Legisla
ture subsequently by law appropriated all such
bodies unclaimed by friends for that purpose. A
special meeting of the society was held in Jan
uary, 1820, to further the project of a medical
school in Auburn, a committee was appointed to
circulate a petition to the Legislature in its be
half, and Doctor Erastus D. Tuttle, then physi
cian to the prison, was delegated to go to Albany
at the expense of the society to promote this ob
ject. These efforts were put forth more es
pecially with a view to utilizing the prison hospital
for clinical instruction, and the unclaimed bodies
of deceased convicts for instruction in anatomy.
At the society meetings of 1825 to 183 1, the un
dertaking was continuously prosecuted, but with
out avail. Hobart College, of Geneva, founded
in 1825, finally succeeded in diverting the pro
jected institution to that place. But meanwhile,
aided by the grant of unclaimed deceased con
victs for dissection, and the prison hospital for
clinical instruction. Doctor E. D. Tuttle, the
prison physician, assisted by Doctor James
Douglass, of Philadelphia, and Doctors Jedediah
and Ira H. Smith, as lecturers and teachers, and
Doctor Thomas N. Calkins as anatomical dem
onstrator, opened and conducted a medical
school, in a building erected by Doctor Tuttle for
that purpose, next above the Bank of Auburn,
on Genesee street, and from 1825 to 1829 classes
of students were yearly instructed there, while
the Legislature was annually besieged for a
charter. At the death of Doctor Tuttle, June
22d, 1829, at the age of 39 years, Doctor John
G. Morgan was appointed physician to the pris
on, and, associating with himself Doctor Thomas
Spencer, Frank H. Hamilton and others, con
tinued the school in a building on North street,
on the west side, between Genesee and Water
streets. The lectures and course of instruction
at these schools were of a creditable character,
and Doctors Spencer and Hamilton here com
menced careers, which were so signally distin
guished elsewhere, as professional instructors and
practitioners. The North Street School was at one time the

subject of a popular outburst on account of the
dissections carried on there, which, however,
subsided without much harm. When Geneva
secured the charter for which Auburn had
striven, the voluntarily maintained Auburn
School received its death blow, and Doctors
Spencer and Hamilton became professors at
Geneva. But Geneva, not possessing the advan
tages of a hospital for clinical instruction, was
obliged at length to yield the coveted prize to
Syracuse. The spirit and standing of the society is fur
ther illustrated by the adoption at the January
meeting in 1842, of a resolution appointing a
committee of five, of which Doctor S. Gilmore,
now of Fleming, was chairman, to publish at the
expense of the society, a journal of medical news
and papers prepared by members of the society.
One number of this paper was published in
pamphlet form, at a cost to the society of $80,
and proved too expensive to be continued. This
number contained a paper on Asiatic cholera,
and several others, among which was one by
Doctor Consider King, of Venice, on Acute
Peritonitis, in Which he advocated the use of
efficient doses of calomel and opium in its treat
ment, an early recommendation of what is now
considered a standard practice. In 1841, Doctor
Joseph T. Pitney, who died in Auburn, April
20th, 1853, performed successfully on a woman
in Scipio, the capital operation of tying the sub
clavian artery on the left side above the clavicle,
in the second part of its course, for aneurism.
To American surgery very much is due for es
tablishing the propriety of successful operations
upon the large arteries, and to American surgery
is exclusively due the credit of originating the
operation of ovariotomy. Doctor Lansingh
Briggs was the first to perform the latter opera
tion in this County — October 3d, 1867 — and was
successful in the result. He has performed the
operation thirteen times, in eight of which he
was successful. These evidences of a high
standing of professional intelligence and skill
might be largely added to. Previous to 1806,
when the evidence of qualification to practice
was certified by the courts, the following inter
esting incidents are recorded : October 6th,
1797, Judge Wm. Stevens, of the Court of Com
mon Pleas, certified that Doctor John H. Fris-
bee had exhibited to him a certificate from the

88

CAYUGA COUNTY HOMEOPATHIC SOCIETY.

Chevalier St. George, Surgeon-in-Chief of Kifigs
Hospital, at Port Au Prince, of Doctor Frisbee's
service under him at said hospital and of his
qualification to practice medicine and surgery in
any part of. the world. A certificate of license
for another member of the society was based
upon the diploma granted by the College of
Physicians and Surgeons of London, England ;
and one, decidedly Hibernian, was upon the cer
tificate of two gentlemen, who each stated that
the other was a physician in Galway, county
Galway, without stating from what source their
own right to be deemed physicians was derived.
The number of members who have joined the
society, is about 230, who have held diplomas
granted by the Medical Colleges of this State,
of Massachusetts, Vermont, New Hampshire,
New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and by the State and
County Societies.
The society library was commenced in 1806,
from the support derived from a yearly tax on
the membership of an amount equal to $20. It
grew to a respectable size and was valuable in
its composition. Its books and journals were cir
culated throughout the County and it continued
to flourish till 1848, when the society virtually
disbanded and sold the library at auction. The
explanation of this action is to be found in the
act of the Legislature, passed in 1845, affecting
the practice of medicine in this State, and which
it was thought would prove detrimental to the
interests of the profession. It has, however,
worked beneficially, in resting the prestige of the
profession upon its real rather than its assumed
merits ; but it was not until 1864 that the society
aroused from the torpor which followed this
action and renewed its career of Usefulness. It
now numbers thirty-six members, who are drawn
from all parts of the County.
The following are the. members who resided
in Auburn at the time of joining the society,
with the date of joining :
David H, Armstrong, June 6, 1866; Chester
Bradford, May i, 1828; Asahel M. Bennett, May
5, 1 8 14; Leander Bigelow, August 7, 1828;
Lansingh Briggs, May 5, 1831 ; J. D. Button,
February 3, 1831 ; Truman S. Brinckerhoff,
August 3 1, 1864; C.C. Bates, Septemberio, 1873;
Joseph Cole. August 7, 1806; A. H. Cogswell,
May 6, 1824; A. L. Cooper, August i, 1833 ;
T. N. Calkins, August 7, 1834; J. Ambrose

Crane, June i, 1837; Edward C. Cadwell, Jan
uary 4, 1838; Walter Channing, May 10, 1876;
R. H. Chase, June, 1871 ; J. P. Creveling, June,
1871 ; Theodore Dimon, June 3, 1841 ; David
Dimon, June 2, 1842;  Dirker, September
12, 1871; Iddo Ellis, November 6, 1806; Charles
E. Ford, January 6, 1820; Walter Fosgate, Au
gust 7, 1828; Blanchard Fosgate, June 2, 1843;
C. L. George, October 3, 1866 ; Cornelius Groot,
June 6, 1866; John Gerin, October 7, 1872;
Erastus Humphreys, August 6, 1824 ; Frank H.
Hamilton, August i, 1833: Charles A. Hyde,
January 7, 1841; Edward Hall, August 31, 1864;
C. M. Hobble, June 2, 1871 ; Burton B. Hoxie,
June 2, 1871; William O. Luce, November 10,
1875; Stephen Mosher, May i, 1817; John G.
Morgan, February 3, 1825; O. Munson, June 8,
1838; Daniel Monroe, June 3, 1869; Francis
O'Brien, October 12, 1864; Joseph T. Pitney,
November 5, 1812; Aaron Pitney, February 6,
1824; Ira H. Smith, November 5, 1812; A. R.
Shank, January, 1868; C. J. Spratt, June 2,
1S69; Charles P. Sanford, June 2, 1869; Erastus
D. Tuttle, August 6, 1818; Anna H. Searing,
January 14, 1874; Amanda Sanford, June, 1871;
Charles Van Eps, August 7, 1828; Charles E.
Van Anden, January 18, 1861 ; Joseph M.Wood,
August 7, 1827; Sylvester Willard, May 6,
1824; Andrew D. Wood, February 2, 1832;
Noel Weaver, June 4, 1838 ; J. W. Wilkie, June
1,1865; H. L. Wood, June 2, 1875, John I.
Brinckerhoff, Jr., June 2, 1869.
Only two women have been members of this
society. Their names are included in the above
list. Cayuga County Homeopathic Society. —
The therapeutics of the Homeopathic school of
medicine is founded on the theory of similia •
similibus curantnr. The principle was discovered
and applied by Samuel Hahnemann, an accom
plished and skillful German practitioner ofthe old
school of medicine, who abandoned a lucrative
practice under Government patronage, at Gom-
meon, near Magdeburg, on account of conscien
tious scruples against administering drugs ac
cording to the vague formulas then in use. Hav
ing proved certain remedies upon himself and
others, he commenced the practice of his new
theory at Leipsic, whence he was soon driven by
the bitter opposition he encountered to Paris,
where he met with success and secured converts,

CAYUGA COUNTY HOMEOPATHIC SOCIETY.

89

among whom was Doctor Gram of Copenhagen,
who, having won the highest grade of merit in
the Royal Academy of Surgery in that city, came
to New York in 1825, and introduced the new
practice into America. It spread rapidly, not
withstanding the prejudice and bitter opposition
against it, and was first introduced into Cayuga
County, in May, 1 841, by Doctor Horatio Robin
son, sr. Dr. Robinson commenced the practice
of allopathy in 1826 in the towns of Stonington,
Conn., and Westerly, R. I., which he continued
there 12 years, in company with his father-in-law.
In 1838, he removed to the town of Potter, Yates
county, N. Y., and in the fall of 1840, having
been called in consultation with Doctors Wil
liams, Heath and Childs, residing at Seneca
Falls, he became acquainted with Doctor Biegler,
who removed that fall to Rochester, from Albany,
?having settled there some five years previously
from Germany. Doctor Biegler was a disciple of
Hahnemann, and after a consultation with Doc
tor Robinson, furnished him with books and
medicines and gave him directions to guide him
in his experiments with the latter. Doctor Rob
inson became a convert to the new system of ther
apeutics and removed to Auburn in May, 1841,
where he commenced practice. He formed a
copartnership with Dr. E. Humphrey, then
physician to the prison, whom he accompanied
by invitation the next day after his arrival, to
see a patient, a son of Sherman Beardsley,
then one of the wealth)' and influential mer
chants of the place. The patient was a boy
about 10 years old, who had been sick seven
weeks with fever, supervening measles and
whose case Doctors Pitney and Bigelow, who
had been in consultation with Doctor Humphrey,
had considered a doubtful one. " The patient,"
says Doctor Robinson, "had no pain, but a dry,
hot skin, dry, tickling cough, no expectoration, no
soreness about the chest, constipation, constant
thirst, no appetite, and extreme emaciation.
The second day from this visit Doctor Humphrey
left for New York, and I took charge of the pa
tient. On visiting him in the morning, there be
ing no change in his condition, I dissolved a few
globules of aconite in a half tumblerful of wa
ter and directed a tcaspoonful every four hours.
In thirty-six hours the fever was entirely sub
dued. Hepor. sulph. soon removed the cough,
and Pulsatilla and chammomilla completed the

cure, and in eight days he was dismissed cured."
This was the first case in Cayuga County treated
homeopathically. Doctor Robinson's first con
vert to homeopathy was Doctor McCarthy, of
Throopsville, the determining cause being a suc
cessful treatment by Doctor Robinson of a pa
tient who had been treated by himself and Doctor
Clary, and consigned to Doctor Robinson's care
because considered incurable. Doctor McCarthy's
duties were excessive as his ride extended over
the northern part of the County. In 1858 or
1859 he was thrown from his carriage and re
ceived a severe contusion upon the right side of
the head and face, which resulted in a corcinnm-
atous tumor, involving the parotid gland, the
submaxillary, and a portion of the thyroid gland.
This injury so much impaired his naturally strong
constitution that he sank into a premature grave
in 1863. The second convert to homeopathy
in this County was Doctor Cator, of Moravia,
who was led to make inquiries concerning it from
the effect of Doctor Robinson's treatment of a
patient of his — a daughter of Judge Smith, sister
of the late Doctor Smith, of Auburn — who,
though suffering from tubercular phthisis in an
incurable form, was so much improved as to be
able to visit around the village, and inspired her
friends with the hope of her recovery ; and upon
his, Cator's wife, who was suffering from a se
vere case of gastritis, which yielded to the
remedies successfully. This was in the fall of
1841. Doctor Hiram Bennett, a partner of Doc
tor Cator's, ventured an investigation with like
result. Doctor Cator removed about this time
to Syracuse, and introduced . homeopathy
into Onondaga county, and Doctor Bennett,
to Rochester, where he died. The late Doctor
Smith, of Auburn, who was then pursuing his
studies with Doctors Bennett and' Cator, being
thus left without a preceptor, took up the home
opathic practice, and continued in Moravia till
1862, when he removed to Auburn. During the '
first four years' practice in Auburn, Doctor E.
C. Witheral, a brilliant student, graduated and
settled in Cincinnati, where he worked up a
splendid practice, and continued until he died,
much lamented by both schools of medicine.
Doctor C. E, Swift, now of Auburn, and Doctor
George Allen went from Doctor Robinson's office
and pursued a successful practice, although Doc
tor Allen's life was a short one. He "was cutoff

90

EARLY COURTS.

by consumption after about two years' practice.
Doctor Peterson, of Union Springs, a lawyer by
profession, turned his attention to the study and
practice of homeopathy, but having no diploma,
suit was brought against him before Squire Bost
wick, of Auburn, and after a full trial the jury
brought in a verdict of three-fourths of a cent to
the plaintiff and donated their fees to the defend
ant. Doctor C. W. Boyce came to Auburn and
commenced the practice of his profession in the
winter of 1847. In the spring of 185 1, Doctor
Horatio Robinson, Jr., graduated from the West
ern Homeopathic College, in Cleveland, Ohio, and
commenced practice in Auburn. A little later,
Doctor Hewitt located in Genoa, where he still
resides ; Doctor Gwynn, at Throopsville ; Doctor
Parsels, at Weedsport ; Doctors Frye, Sprague
and T. K. Smith, at Auburn ; and others in vari
ous parts of the County. Doctor Strong, a con
vert from allopathy, was located at Sennett. He
subsequently removed to Owasco, where he re
sided several years, then left for the west.
Thus the, new system of therapeutics con
tinued to spread ; the literature of the school, to
increase ; and new remedies, to multiply. In
1862 the Legislature of this State granted a char
ter to the State Homeopathic Society and in the
following May, the Cayuga County Homeo
pathic Society was formed according to the re
quirements of the statue. In 1825, when Doc
tor Gram introduced homeopathy into New
York, he stood alone in this country. In 1841,
when Doctor Robinson introduced it into this
County, there were not more than thirty to thirty-
five practitioners in the country. But now the
State numbers them by the thousands, the coun
try, by tens of thousands. Within the last twenty
years the system has made rapid progress. Its
literature has been largely increased by the addi
tion of new works on pathology, therapeutics,
and a new materia medica ; eight or ten colleges^
one State insane asylum and numerous hospitals
have been established under its auspices ; and
the intensely bitter opposition which heralded its
inception and marked its early growth, has
measurably diminished, although a strong pro
fessional prejudice against it still exists.
Following is a list of the physicians of all
schools now practicing in Auburn ; Loyal W.
Allen, David H. Armstrong, C. C. Bates, C. W.
Boyce, Lansingh Briggs, J. S. Brinkerhoff, James

D. Button, Thomas N. Calkins, Joseph P.
Creveling, David Dimon, Theodore Dimon, Geo.
S. Everts, Blanchard Fosgate, Charles A. P'os-
ter, Moses M. Frye, C. A. George, Edward Hart-
man, B. K. Hoxie, James N. Jenkins, W. O.
Luce, David Munroe, Horatio Robinson, Horatio
Robinson, Jr., Amanda Sanford, Charles P. San
ford, Alexander R. Shank, Truman K. Smith,
William M. Sprague, Charles E. Swift, Daniel
M. Tournier, Henry D. Whitbeck, T. J. Wilson,
and A. A. White.

CHAPTER XV.

Early Courts, Counselors and Cases.
First Courts in Onondaga— In Cayuga —
Proceedings — Court Rules — Jail at
. Cayuga — Grand Jurors — Jail at Aurora —
Trial, Conviction and Execution of Indian
John — Trial of David Williams — County
Seat at Auburn — Court Houses— First
Court at Auburn — Cayuga County Civil
List.
IN 1794 Onondaga County included also
Cayuga, Seneca and a part of Tompkins.
The first court was held in a corn-house owned
by Asa Danforth ; Seth Phelps of Scipio presided,
assisted by John Richardson, Silas Halsey and
William Stevens, Judges. Two lawyers only
attended this court, Thomas R. Gould and Ar
thur Breese. There were then no lawyers resident
in the county.
The first session of the court of Oyer and Ter
miner, for the County, was held at the house of
Asa Danforth, on the 21st day of July 1794, at
which the presiding Judge was the Hon. Egbert
Benson, a Justice of the Supreme Court, assisted
by Seth Phelps and Andrew Englis. Attorneys
were present from Herkimer and Whitestown.
James Fitzgerald was the only criminal tried, and
was found guilty of assault and battery and at
tempted robbery. The petit jurors on this trial
were John Brown, William Linsley, Thomas
Morgan, Henry Watkins, Benjamin Depuy, Nehe
miah Smith, Isaac Strong, John A. Thompson,
Noah Olmstead, Jr., Isaac Bailey, William Stev-

FIRST COURTS IN CAYUGA COUNTY.

91

ens and Thomas Osman. Several of these jurors
were from this section of the County, two from
Aurelius, whose attendance upon the court must
have required a very tedious journey through the
wilderness. That John Stoyell of.; Moravia, a
justice of the peace, should have been fined thirty
shillings for non-attendance, was no wonder, for
it was a cheap means of relief
Seth Phelps, County Judge, held a Court of
Common Pleas, at Aurora, on the 4th Tuesday
in December, 1795, at which the Assistant Jus
tices 'were John L. Hardenbergh and Benajah
Clark. The attorneys and counselors present at this
court, were Thomas Mumford and Daniel Shep
ard, Thaddeus M. Wood and Benjamin Hall
were admitted as attorneys and counselors.
In 1796 the courts were held at Manlius, in
Onondaga County ; in 1797, at Ovid, in the
County of Seneca; in 1798, at the house of Com
fort Tyler, in Manlius, and also at Ovid.
In the latter year James Kent, a justice ofthe
Supreme Court held a court of Oyer and Termi
ner at the house of Seth Phelps, at Aurora, as
sisted by Seth Phelps and William Stevens,
Judges. At this court the following persons
were admitted to practice in the Supreme Court
as attorneys and counselors : Hermanns H. Bo
gart, Daniel Shepard, Vincent Mathews, Thad
deus M. Wood, Glen Cuyler, Thomas Mumford,
Elijah Miller, George Hall, Robert W. Stoddard,
Nathaniel W. Howell, Eben F. Norton and
Silas Marsh.
On the 3d Tuesday in May, 1799, Seth Phelps,
County Judge, held the first court in Cayuga Co.,
at Cayuga Ferry. At this court it was " ordered
that John Harris have the liberty faithfully to
keep and attend a ferry at Cayuga Village across
the Cayuga Lake." The following rates of toll
were permitted :
One wagon or cart, with four horses or
oxen,  $ .88
One wagon or cart, with two horses or
oxen,  .66
Each person,  -09
Man and horse,  .25
Horses and horned cattle, each,  . 12I
Sheep and hogs, __  .02
At this court it was also ordered, " that the
follovving rules be observed by all and every of
the officers, counselors, attorneys and ministers
hereof and by all other persons in any wise con-
16

nected therewith." Here follows thirty-five spe
cific rules, which many years since were copied
verbatim from the originals by the late Hon.
Christopher Morgan. This copy has been depos
ited in the collection ofthe Cayuga County His
torical Society, by Michael S. Myers, Esq. Those
rules furnish a clear compend of the practice of
our courts three-fourths of a cfentury ago.
At this court it was also ordered, that the
"liberties of the gaol" in and for the County of
Cayuga, be established at Cayuga Village. This
was done in conformity to an act which gave to,
the County Courts authority to fix the " gaol lib
erties " in the several counties of the State and
determine the places at which the courts were to
be held.
The County courts were mostly held at Cayuga
until 1804, when the "gaol liberties " were form
ally transferred to Aurora. Seth Phelps held
County courts at Cayuga in 1799, 1800, 1801,
1802, 1803, and 1804, at which, at different times,
theAssociate Judges were: Seth Sherwood, John
Tillottson, William Brewster, and Joseph Annin;
and the Justices were: Elisha Fitch, Ezekiel
Crane, John L. Hardenbergh, and John Beards
ley. At Cayuga was the easiest passage over
the lake, and it was nearly central to the then
territory of the County, which included parts of
what are now Wayne and Tompkins counties,
and all of Seneca county.
A log jail was erected at Cayuga near the
shore of the lake and against the bluff bank,
which at that point arose to the full height of the
building. It was built of hewn logs and located
at the east end of the Cayuga bridge, the toll
house of which was erected directly over it, the,
top of the jail being the floor of the toll-house.
Prisoners were let down by ladders through a
trap door.
Among the attorneys that were then prominent
in the practice before the courts, were Elijah
Miller, Daniel Shepard, Thaddeus M. Wood,
Walter Wood, Thomas Mumford, Vincent Math
ews, Glen Cuyler, Silas Marsh and Eleazer
Burnham. Morgan Lewis, afterwards Governor of the
State, held a Circuit Court at Cayuga Ferry, on
the 3d day of June, 1800, at which the following
were the grand jurors :
Jabez Bradley, Amos Rathbun, Israel Smith,
David Avery, Augustus Chidsey, Wilhemus

92

EARLY TRIALS.

Mynders, Grove Smith, Adonijah Tillottson,
Elijah Price, Samuel Crossett, Jonas Ward, Ben
jamin Hutchins, Salmon Buck, Jacob T. C. De-
Witt, Ansell McCall, Noah Olmstead, Jr.
At a court of Common Pleas, held by Seth
Phelps, at Cayuga Ferry, on the third Tuesday
in January, 1802, Amaziah Hutchinson was
licensed to keep a' ferry across Cayuga Lake, on
lot No. 75, in the township of Milton, at the fol
lowing rates of toll :
Double team and loaded carriage,  $1.25
Single " " "  1.00
Man and horse,  .50
Single team,  .75
Single horse, or cutter,  .25
A sheep,  .06
A hog,  .04
In 1801 the Court licensed James Kidder to
keep a ferry across Cayuga Lake in the County
of Cayuga, at the following rates of toll :
Double team and loaded carriage,  $1.25
Single " " "  1.00
Single " without a load,..  .75
Man and horse,  .50
Single horse, or cutter,  .25
A sheep,  .06
A hog  .09
Jonas C. Baldwin was also licensed to keep a
ferry at the Jonathan Brownell landing, at the
last preceding rates of toll.
Joseph L. Richardson was admitted to prac
tice in 1802.
In 1807 the court licensed David FoUett to
keep a ferry across Seneca River, opposite his
dwelling house, at the following rates of toll :
One span of horses, or yoke of oxen,  $ .25
Man and horse,  .12
One man,  :  ' .06
Cows, steers, bullocks two years old, each,_ . 1 2 J
Yearlings,  .06
Hogs or sheep,  .03
Jail Changed to Aurora. — At a court held
at the school house at Cayuga, in January 1804,
the "gaol liberties" at Cayuga were vacated
and they were removed to Aurora in the town
ship of Scipio.
Ambrose Spencer held a court of Oyer and
Terminer, at the Aurora Academy in 1804, at
which the Indian "Delaware John," was arraigned
for the murder of Ezekiel Crane. The prisoner
plead guilty to the indictment, and thereupon the
court ordered " that the said John, a Delaware
Indian, otherwise called Delaware John, for the
felony aforesaid, be hung by the neck until he be

dead, by the sheriff of this County, on Friday the
17th day of August next, between the hours of
one and three in the afternoon of that day ; and
further, that the body of the said John be deliv
ered over by the said sheriff to Frederick Delano
for dissection." The sentence was duly executed,
the Indian pleading earnestly to be shot, which
the law would not permit. The Indian carried
with him upon the scaffold pipes and tobacco, and
in answer to the question why he did it, replied
that they were to smoke the "pipe of peace"
with Mr. Crane in the spirit world. Why he
wished to do this the sequel will show.
Ezekiel Crane, the murdered man, was killed
by mistake, the Indian supposing him to be
another man. Crane was one of the earlier and
more prosperous settlers in the town of Tyre,
now in Seneca, but then in this County. At
that time the settlers were sparse and widely
separated, and the Indians frequently came to
their cabins in quest of food, tobacco, or " fire
water," Among them was an old Indian called
Delaware John who lived in the vicinity. He
was of irascible temper and a full believer in the
superstition of witch-craft, so common among
the natives. He was a very skillful, and, hith
erto, had been a successful hunter.
Late in the autumn of 1803, a settler of the
name of George Phadoc and Delaware John
agreed to go out together to lay in their winter
supply of game. Phadoc was very successful,
killing a large number of deer and other game ;
while the Indian, from some unexplained cause,
failed in nearly every shot he made. He was
sulky and silent, his anger arose to an uncon
trollable degree under the belief that Phadoc had
bewitched his gun, and the old superstition that
it was allowable to kill witches, took posses
sion of him. He planned Phadoc's death. They
returned home on the nth of December. On the
following morning Phadoc brought home a deer
which he had killed the evening before, and when
near his cabin, and as he was about to lay it
down, the Indian fired and only slightly wounded
him, the ball first passing through the game.
Phadoc fled to the house of Asa Smith, a neigh
bor, and gave the alarm. Meanwhile Ezekiel
Crane, followed by his man Ezra Degarm^^o, ap
proached Phadoc's cabin to get some venison,
ignorant of what had happened. Supposing Crane
to be Phadoc returned home, the Indian pierced

COURT HOUSE LOCATED IN AUBURN.

93

him with a ball, which proved fatal a few days
after. Degarmo fled and carried the news to the
family of Mr. Crane. The alarm spread, and
toward evening, the neighbors gathered and sur
rounded the hut of " old John," who, after consid
erable bluster, consented to a parley. He was then
disarmed, bound and confined in the log jail at
Cayuga until the intensely cold weather set in,
when he was removed to the jail at Canandaigua,
whence he was taken to Aurora for trial. This
was the first. homicide in Cayuga County, but not
committed by a settler. It resulted from the im
pulses of a wild Indian superstition and was the
only Indian murder of the settlers of the County.
The second homicide in the County was com
mitted by a man named David Williams who was
finally decreed to be insane. The case was tried
before Daniel D. Tompkins at a court held at
the Academy in Aurora in 1805. He was at first
declared sane by a jury impanelled to try the
question, and convicted and sentenced to be
executed, but on a review of the case on appeal,
Williams was adjudged to be a lunatic, and con
fined in the Bloomingdale asylum where he died.
The victim of his mania was James Lane.
Seneca county was detached from Cayuga,
March 27, 1804, which so materially changed the
location of the people relatively to the places
where the courts had been held, as to necessitate
a change to a more central position. A law was
surreptitiously enacted by which the site of the
Court House was fixed at Sherwood Corners in
the town of Scipio and a provision was inserted,
directing the raising of $1,500 for building a
Court Plouse at that point, and appointing John
Tillottson, Augustus Chidsey and John Grover
commissioners to build it.
This action of the Legislature was very unsat
isfactory to a large part of the people of the
County and their opposition to the location was
so decidedly manifested, that the commissioners
above named suspended action and the obnoxious
law was repealed.
On the 1 6th day of March, 1804, three other
commissioners were appointed with power to lo
cate the county seat. They were Edward Sav
age, James Burt and James Hildreth, men resid
ing in other parts of the State and free from per
sonal bias. In June following, they designated
Hardenbergh's Corners as the site of the court
house, much to the gratification of its citizens

and equally to the disappointment and disgust of
their many rivals,, Aurora, Sherwood, Cayuga
and Levanna.
The condition of the location required the
gift by the locality, of an acre of land on what
was then the farm of William Bostwick, which
was readily acceded to, he receiving from a few
citizens $200 for the plat on which are now lo
cated our county buildings.
From the location of the site for several years
a controversy was maintained with the super
visors, who refused to levy the tax for erecting
the necessary buildings. The citizens were,
however, determined and finally began the erec
tion of a court house with their own funds, taking
meanwhile the necessary steps to compel the su
pervisors to raise the tax by procuring the pas
sage of a law imposing a fine of $200 upon each
supervisor refusing to levy the tax. This legis
lation was effective, the tax was raised, and the
court house completed in 1809, at a cost of
$t 0,000. It was built of wood, the jail in the first, and
the court room in the second story, the latter
consisting of hewn logs. As yet no clerk's office
had been erected. While the work of building
the court house had been suspended, the courts
were continued at Aurora. The records of the
County were brought to Auburn in 1807, by the
then county clerk, Peter Hughes, and kept in
his house, now the residence of C. L. George,
M. D., and they were so kept until the clerk's
office was built in 18 14.
The present stone court house was projected
in 1835, during the wildest period of the " flush "
that immediately preceded the panic of 1837.
It was of course intended to be a magnificent
affair, in harmony with the spirit of the times,
for the city and County, in the estimation of the
people, were then rich and able to gratify all their
ambitious tastes. It had been intended to sur
mount the already overcumbered dome with a
statue of Justice, and Liberty and Temperance
were to adorn the portico, but the financial crash
of 1837 changed the plan.
The building cost about $30,000 and is an
architectural deformity, a continual bffense to the
educated eye. It was, for many years, an equal
offense to the auditors, as its internal arrange
ments were such as to produce a perfect medley
of sounds, impossible of comprehension ; its in-

94

CAYUGA COUNTY CIVIL LIST.

terior has been so changed as to obviate most of
the old acoustic difficulties.
The first County Court in Auburn was held in
the new and unfinished Court House in May,
1808. The preceding January term had been
held at Aurora. The presiding Judge was Elijah
Price ; Barnabas Smith and Charles Kellogg,
were the justices.
At this court the following were the Grand-
Jurors :
Moses Lyon, Edward Stevenson, John Walters,
Dan. Hyde, John Patty, Noah Olmstead Jr.,
Shadrach Terry, Robert Dill, Ebenezer Hig-
gins. Parsons Clarke, Ruben Bierg, William
Branch, Amos Tyler, Nathaniel Garrow, Epaph-
roditus Strong, Calvin Cole, Edward Wheeler,
Roswell Franklin, Samuel Chidsey, Jonathan
Russell, Gilbert Tracy.
The first circuit court was held in Auburn
by Ambrose Spencer, in July, i8o8.
Cayuga County Civil List.
Cayuga County holds a distinguished position
in the civil list, having furnished a President of
the United States, Millard Fillmore, who was
elected Vice-President in 1848, and succeeded
Zachary Taylor, as President, on the death of
the latter, July 9, 1850, holding the office the re
mainder of the term ; two Governors of New
York State, Enos T. Throop, elected in 1830,
and Wm. H. Seward, elected in 1838, and re
elected in 1840, the latter of whom was also ap
pointed Secretary of State in President Lincoln's
cabinet, March 5, 1861, and held that office till
1869; two Canal Appraisers, Allen Warden,
who was appointed April 18, 1840, and held the
office three years, and Wm. Wasson, who was
appointed April 5, 1855, and again April 27,
1865 ; a Diplomatic Officer, Enos T. Throop,
who was appointed Charge d' Affaires to the Two
Sicilies, February 6, 1838 ; an Associate Judge
of Colorado, Benjamin F. Hall, who was appoint
ed March 25, i86r ; a United States Marshal
for the Northern District of New York, Nathan
iel Garrow, who was appointed February 25,
1837, and again June 27, 1841 ; a Quarter
master-General on the Staff of the Commander-
in-Chief of the State of New York, John N.
Knapp, who was appointed January i, 1873 ; a
Secretary of State, Christopher Morgan, who
was appointed November 2, 1847; a State

Treasurer, Charles N. Ross, who was appointed
November 2, 1875 > and a State Assessor, John
S. Fowler, who was appointed February 19,
1873-
Justices of the Supreme Court.
Cayuga County has been represented in this
court by three judges only — Enos T. Throop, in
1823; John Maynard, from January 7, 1847, till
his death, March 24, 1850; and Charles C.
Dwight, appointed in place of Judge Wells, de
ceased, in 1868; elected for full term in 1869,
and reelected in 1877.
County Judges.
While Cayuga County formed a part of On
ondaga county, Seth Phelps, residing at Au
rora, was appointed County Judge in 1794, and
on the organization of Cayuga County, was con
tinued in the same ofifice here. His successors
have been as follows :
Walter Wood, February 26, 18 10.
Elijah Miller, March 13, 181 7.
Gershom Powers, January 31, 1823.
Joseph L. Richardson, January 8, 1827.
In 1846, the county judges were made elective
and their terms of office four years. Since then
the following have been the judges :
John P. Hulbert, June, 1847; George Hum
phreys, November, 1851; Charles C. Dwight,
November, 1859 ; William Hughitt, November,
1863 ; S. Edwin Day, November, 1877.
Special Judges.
The office of Special Judge is authorized by
the State Constitution, and was created in this
County by an act of the Legislature passed April
loth, 1849, the term being three years. It is an
elective office and has been filled by the follow
ing named individuals, who were elected in No
vember, as follows: Charles J. Hulbert, 1852;
Fayette G. Day, 1857; Amzi Wood, 1863; Wil
liam B. Mills, 1872; Reuben F. Hoff, 1874;
Frank M. Parsons, 1877.
Surrogates.
These ofificers, previous to 1821, were desig
nated by the Council of Appointment ; from 1821
to 1846 by the Governor and Senate ; and since
the latter date have been elective by the people.

CAYUGA COUNTY CIVIL LIST.

95

Moses DeWitt, appointed March 14, 1794,
and Thomas Mumford, October i, 1797, were
the Onondaga County Surrogates!
Cayuga Surrogates.
Glen Cuyler, March 14, 1799; Eleazer Burn
ham, February .5, 1811 ; Glen Cuyler, February
26, 1813 ; Eleazer Burnham, February 28, 1815;
Seneca Wood, June 7, 1820 ; Benjamin L. Cuy
ler, February 14, 1821 ; John Porter, March 12,
1828 ; Thomas Y. How, Jr., March 18, 1836;
George H. Wood, April 14, 1840; Charles B.
Perry, February 15, 1844 ; Jacob R. How, June,
1847; William B. Woodin, November, 1859;
John T. M. Davie, November, 1871.
Special Surrogates.
The office of Special Surrogate, like that of
Special Judge, is authorized by the State Con
stitution, and was created at the same time, in the
same manner and for a like period as the latter.
It also is elective and has been held by the fol
lowing named persons, who were elected in No
vember, as follows : Solomon Giles, 1852 ; Camp
bell W. Haynes, 1855 ; John T. M. Davie, 1861;
Gardiner C. Gifford, 1867 ; John T. M. Davie,
1870 ; Richard C. Steel,. 1871 ; James A.
Wright, 1877. District Attorneys.
These officers are now elected by the people
for three years, one in each county. Previous to
1818 the district in charge of a single attorney
was large, including several counties. The fol
lowing have been the attorneys for Cayuga
County at the specified dates :
William Stuart, appointed March 2, 1802;
Daniel W. Lewis, March g, 1810 ; William Stu
art, February 12, i8ti; Vincent Matthews,
March 12, 1813 ; Daniel Conger, April 17, 181 5 ;
Joseph L. Richardson, January 11, 18 18; John
Porter, February 14, 182 1 ; Theodore Spencer,
1828; Richard L. Smith, January 21, 1832;
Michael S. Myers, January 25, 1838; Dennison
Robinson, January 27, 1841 ; Luman Sherwood,
June 3, 1844 ; Ebenezer W. Arms, January 1847 ;
Theodore M. Pomeroy, November, 1850; Solo
mon Giles, November, 1856 ; George I. Post,
November, 1859; Richard C. Steel, November,
1862 ; Charles C. Dwight, (appointed) March 27,

1866; Wm. B. Mills, November, 1866; Sereno
E. Payne, November, 1872.
Sheriffs.
While Cayuga formed a part of Onondaga,
previous to March 8, 1799, the following were
the sheriffs : John Harris, appointed March 14,
1794; Abiather Hull, P^ebruary 9, 1796; Com
fort Tyler, February 27, 1798.
Cayuga County. — Joseph Annin, appointed
March 14, 1799; Peter Hughes, August 10,
1801 ; Solomon Buell, January 13, 1804; John
S. C. Dewitt, March 13, 1806; Jonathan Rich
mond, February 24, 1S08 ; Zenas Goodrich, Feb
ruary II, 1812 ; Charles E. Morrell, March 3,
1813 ; Nathaniel Garrow, February 28, 1815;
Archibald Green, February 13, 1819; Nathaniel
Garrow, February 12, 1821. At the latter date
the ofifice was made elective, and the term three
years, the incumbent being ineligible to the office
for the next succeeding term.
Nathaniel Garrow, elected November, 1822 ;
Archibald Green, November, 1825 ; Peleg Gal
lup, November, 1828 ; Peter Yawger, November,
1831 ; Warren Parsons, November, 1834; George
H. Carr, March 30, 1838, to fill vacancy; Au
gustus Pettibone, November, 1844; Joseph P.
Swift, November, 1847 ; Stephen Fancher, No
vember, 1850; John T. Knapp, December, 1852,
to fill vacancy ; John T. Knapp, November, 1853 ;
Edwin P. Hoskins, November, 1856; Daniel D.
Buck, November, 1859; James Mead, Novem-'
ber, 1862 ; Sidney Mead, November, 1865 ; John
E. Savery, November, 1868 ; John G. Hosmer,
November, 1871 ; Andrew J. Sanders, Novem
ber, 1874; Thomas Reed, 1877.
Clerks of Cayuga County.
County Clerks are now elected for three years
and their seals are declared to be those of the
Supreme Court in their respective counties.
Onondaga Countv. — Benjamin Ledyard, ap
pointed March 14, 1794.
Cayuga County. — Benjamin Ledyard, ap
pointed March 14, 1799 ; Peter Hughes, January
13, 1804 ; Enos T. Throop, February 5, 1811 ;
Elijah Miller, February 26, 1813; Enos T.
Throop, February 13, 1815 ; James Glover, -
March 2, 1819; George B. Throop, February
14, 1821 ; George B. Throop, Noyeniber, 1822 j

96

CAYUGA COUNTY CIVIL LIST.

Abraham Gridley, November, 1825; Michael
S. Myers, November, 1828; William Richard
son, November, 1837; Philip Van Arsdale, No
vember, 1843 ; Ebenezer B. Cobb, November,
1846; Edwin B. Marvin, November, 1852 ; Ben
jamin B. Snow, November, 1858; John S. Lane-
hart, November, 1864; Lyman C. Comstock,
November, 1870; Sidney J. Westfall, November,
1876. State Senators.
The Counties of Cayuga and Wayne now form
the Twenty-fifth Senatorial District, and Sena
tors are elected for two years. Under the sec
ond Constitution, that of 1821, Cayuga formed a
part of the Seventh District, which included the
Counties of Cayuga, Onondaga, Ontario, Yates,
Wayne and Cortland, and senators were elected
for four years. Under the first Constitution,
Cayuga was in what was called the '' Western
District," embracing a territory which now con
tains over twenty counties. Under this Consti
tution the territory of Cayuga County supplied
but four Senators, namely: John Richardson,
Aurelius, 1797 ; Seth Phelps, Scipio, 1798 ; Jo
seph Annin, Aurelius, 1803 ; and Lyman Paine,
Auburn, 1820.
In 1823 the following were the Senators from
the Seventh District : Silas Bowker, Bryan Green,
Jesse Clark, Jonas Earll, Jr.; in 1824, the Sena
tor elect was Jedediah Morgan; 1825, John C.
Spencer; 1826, Truman Hart; 1827, William
M. Oliver ; 1828, George B. Throop ; 1829, Hi
ram F. Mather; 1830, Thomas Armstrong;
1831, William H. Seward; 1832, Jehiel H. Hal-
• sey ; 1833, Samuel L. Edwards ; 1834, Thomas
Armstrong; 1835, Chester Loomis; 1836, John
Beardsley; 1837, Samuel L, Edwards; 1838,
John Maynard ; 1839, Robert C. Nicholas ; 1840,
Mark H. Sibley; 1841, Elijah Rhoades ; 1842,
Lyman Sherwood and William Bartlit ; 1843,
John Porter; 1844, Albert Lester; 1845, Henry
J. Sedgwick ; 1846, Richard H. Williams; 1847,
Abraham Gridley; 1848, William I. Cornwell ;
1849, William Beach; 1853, William Clarke;
1855, Samuel C. Cuyler; 1857, Alexander B.
Williams; 1861, Chauncey M. Abbott; 1863,
Stephen K.Williams ; 1869, William B. Woodin;
1877, Theodore M. Pomeroy.
Members of Assembly.
As the ratio ofthe population of the County to

that of the rest of the State was varied, so has her
representation in the Assembly, the extremes
having been one and four. She has now two
members, elected annually by districts.
Onondaga County. — 1797, Silas Halsey, Com
fort Tyler; 1798, same; 1799, Edward Paine,
John Richardson.
Cayuga County. — 1800, and i8or, Silas Hal
sey; 1802, Salmon Buel ; 1803, Salmon Buel,
Silas Halsey, Thomas Hewitt ; 1804, Silas Hal
sey, Thomas Hewitt, Amos Rathbun ; 1805,
John Grover Jr., Amos Rathbun; 1806, the
same; 1807, the same; 1808, Elijah Price,
Richard Townley ; 1809, Henry Bloom, Ebene
zer Hewitt, Charles Kellogg; 1810, Henry
Bloom, Charles Kellogg, Stephen Close ; 1811,
Stephen Close, Ebenezer Hewitt, EHsha Dur
kee ; 18 1 2, Sfephen Close, Humphrey Howland,
Thomas Ludlow ; i8i3,Wm. C. Bennett, Thomas
Ludlow, William Satteriee; 1814, William C.
Bennett, William Satteriee, Silas Bowker ; 1815,
John H. Beach, Silas Bowker, Barnabas Smith ;
1816, John H. Beach, John Brown, Jr., John Mc
Fadden, Barnabas Smith; 1817, John H. Beach,
John Brown Jr., John McFadden, Rowland Day ;
1 8 18, William Clark 2d, Thatcher I. Ferris, Isaac
Smith; 1819, William Allen, Elijah Devoe,
Henry Polhemus ; 1820, William Allen, Samuel
Dill, John Haring ; 1821, John Haring, Charles
Kellogg, Henry Polhemus ; 1822, Samuel Dill,
Charles Kellogg, Ephraim C. Marsh ; 1823, Jo
siah Bevier, Elijah Drake, John Jackway, John
O'Hara; 1824, Josiah Bevier, Silas Bowker,
Asahel Fitch, Augustus F. P^erris ; 1825, Elijah
Devoe, Roswell Enos, John W. Hulbert, Eph
raim C. Marsh; 1826, Eleazer Burnham,
Aaron Dennis, Thatcher I. Ferris, Camp
bell Waldo ; 1827, James Kenyon, Gardner
Kortright, Andrews Preston, Peter Yawger ;
1828, Henry R. Brinckerhoff, Philo Sperry,
Gardner Kortright, William H. Noble; 1829,
Henry R. Brinckerhoff, William H. Noble,
Wing Taber, Ephraim Hammond ; 1830, Eph
raim Hammond, Solomon Love, William H. No
ble, Richard L. Smith; 1 831, Solomon Love,
Elias Manchester, George S. Tilford, Peter Yaw
ger ; 1 832, John Beardsley, George H. Brincker
hoff, John W. Sawyer, George S. Tilford ; 1833,
John Beardsley, George H. Brinckerhoff, John W.
Sawyer, Simon Lathrop ; 1834, Dennis Arnold,
Cornelius Cuykendall, Andrew Groom, Noyes

CAYUGA COUNTY CIVIL LIST.

97

Palmer; 1835, Cornelius Cuykendall, Andrew
Groom, Noyes Palmer, Andrews Preston ; 1836,
Dennis Arnold, Charles E. Shepard, Richard L.
Smith, William Wilbur; 1837, Curtiss C. Cady,
Charles E. Shepard, William Wilbur ; 1838,
Henry R. Filley, Isaac S. Miller, Nathan G.
Morgan; 1839, Nathan G. Morgan, Henry R.
Filley, John Mcintosh ;¦ 1840, Artemas Cady,
John W. McFadden, Andrews Preston; 1841,
Darius Adams, Osman Rhoades, John W. Mc
Fadden ; 1842, John L. Cuyler, Vincent Ken
yon, Alvarez Tupper ; 1843, Vincent Kenyon,
Alfred Lyon, Darius Monroe; 1844, Ashbel
Avery, Benj. F. Hall, Robert Hume; 1845,
David Gould, Leonard Searing, William Titus ;
1846, Samuel Bell, William I. Cornv/ell, John
T. Rathbun ; 1847, Samuel Bell, William I.
Cornwell, John T. Rathbun ; 1848, Ebenezer
Curtis, John I. Brinckerhoff, Hector C. Tuthill ;
1849, James D, Button, John I. Brinckerhoff,
Hector C. Tuthill.; 1850, Hiram Coon, John
Richardson, Ashbel Avery ; 1851, Levi Colvin,
George Underwood, Delos Bradley; 1852, Wil
liam Hayden, George Underwood, Delos
Bradley; 1853, William Hayden, Terance J.
Kennedy, Mathias Hutchinson ; 1854, Justus
Townsend, Moseley Hutchinson, Mathias Hutch-
'inson ; 1855, Moore Conger, David L. Dodge,
William B. Woodin; 1856, Sardis Dudley,
Leonard Simons, Tolbert Powers; 1857, James
J. Owen, Theodore M. Pomeroy, Hiram Tifft ;
1858, David B. Baldwin, Chauncey M. Ab
bott ; 1859, William W. Payne, Chauncey M.
Abbott; 1860, William W. Payne, Allen D..
Morgan ; 1861, Heman Benton, Smith An
thony ; 1862, William A. Halsey, Smith An
thony ; 1863, George I. Post, William P. Robin
son ; 1864, Benjamin M. Close, Wm. P. Robin
son ; 1865, Benjamin M. Close, John L. Parker ;
1866-67, Homer N. Lockwood, John L. Parker ;
i868-'69, Charles H. Weed, Sanford Gifford ;
1870, Wm. H. Eaker, Stephen S. Hewitt; 1871,
Charles H. Curtis, Stephen S. Hewitt ; 1872, Ira
D. Brown, Elijah E. Brown ; 1873, Leonard F.
Hardy, Elijah E. Brown; 1874, Leonard F". Hardy,
Erastus H. Hussey ; 1875, C. S. Beardsley, jr.,
Erastus H. Hussey ; 1876, George I. Post, John
S. Brown ; 1877, George I. Post, John S. Brown ;
1878, Howell B. Converse, William L. Noyes.
Delegates to Constitutional Conventions.
Silas Halsey represented Cayuga County in
'7

the first Constitutional convention in 1801. In
1821, the second convention, Cayuga had three
delegates, namely :
David Brinckerhoff, Rowland Day, Augustus
F. Ferris. In that of 1846, the County had also
three delegates : Daniel John Shaw, Elisha W.
Sheldon, and Peter Yawger. A fourth Consti
tutional convention was held in 1867, and over
six months devoted to the consideration of pro
posed changes in the fundamental laws, but it
did not complete its work, In that convention
the delegates were Charles C. Dwight and George
Rathbun. Presidential Electors.-
Cayuga County has been represented in the
Electoral college as follows : 1812 Jotham Jayne ;
1816, Richard Townley; 1824, Eleazer Burn
ham ; 1828, Asaph Stowe ; , 1832, Seth Thomas ;
Elector-at-large, same year Nathaniel Garrow ;
1836, Peleg Slade ; 1840, Albert Crane; 1844,
Daniel Hibbard; 1848, Stephen Fancher; 1852,
William C. Beardsley ; 1856, Eleazer Burnham ;
i860, William Van Marter ; 1864, John E. Seeley;
1868, James McLean; 1872, John H. Camp;
1876, George W. Knowles. >
Representatives in Congress.
The following have been the representatives
from Cayuga County in the Congress of the
United States at the times and for the periods
named :
Silas Halsey  i8o6-'o8, two years.
Daniel Avery  i8u-'i3,
Enos F. Throop — i8iS-'i7,
Nathaniel Garrow___ 1827-29, "
Gershom Powers  1829-31, "
Ulysses F. Double-
day  i83i-'33-'35-'37, fouryears. '
Thomas Y. How, Jr., 1833-35, two "' '
Christopher Morgan __ 1839-41, two
George Rathbun  i843-'47,four "
Edwin B. Morgan  1853-59, six
Theodore M. Pomeroy. 1 86 1-69, eight "
Clinton D. McDougall. 1873-77, four "
School Superintendents and Commis
sioners.
By an act passed April 17, 1843, the Boards of
Supervisors of the several counties were directed ,

98

CAYUGA COUNTY CIVIL LIST.

to appoint County Superintendents of Common
Schools, and Elliot G. Storke was selected for
the ofifice in Cayuga County. The ofifice was
abolished March 13, 1847, and in 1856, (chapter
179, Laws of 1856,) the ofifice of School Com
missioner was created and made elective. The
first election under the act creating the ofifice,
was held in November, 1859. The ofifice has
been held in Cayuga County by Jordan R. Chap-
pell, Joshua C. Goodrich, David Currie, Howard
Thompson, Israel Wilkinson, Robert L. Drum-
mond, Samuel A. Cole, Hulbert Daratt, Albert
W. Morehouse, Ezra Dean, William Hart, Wil
liam G. Ellery, John S. Bristol, Leonard F. Har
dy, Charles H. Greenfield, Wesley Mason, Eli
N. Botsford, Alanson Eoughton, Phineas B.
Young, Archibald Mc Intosh, Jr., Lewis V.
Smith, Lauren M. Townsend, Albert W. More
house, Wesley Mason and Benjamin B. Snow,
the latter three of whom are the present in
cumbents.

County Treasurers.
County Treasurers are elected, under the Con
stitution of 1846, for a term of three years.
They were formerly appointed by the Boards of
Supervisors in the several counties. Horace T.
Cook was elected to that ofifice in November,
1848, and has been reelected every subsequent
term.

Inspectors of Auburn Prison.

Name.
Ashby, Benjamin appoin
Brown, Samuel "
Cady, Artemas "
Cook, Robert
Dennis, Seneca B. "
Doubleday, Ulysses F. "
Fitch, Charles D.
Fosdick, Peter G.
Garrow, John "
Gilmore, Samuel "
Goodwin, Stephen A. "
Hardenburgh, John H. "
Haskins, Joshua "
Hills, Horace

Date of Appointment.
ted Febr'y 7, 1840.
March 2, 1843.
April 16, 1822.
April 23, 1839.
April 10, 18 1 8.
Febr'y 25, 1834.
May 3, 1845.
Febr'y 7, 1840.
Febr'y 25, 1834.
May 3, 1845.
March 2, 1843.
March 28, 1848.
April 10, 1838.
March 13, 1824.

HilLs, Horace appointed April 2, 1830.
Hills, Horace " April 6, 1832.
Hinriian, Hervey " April 6, 1832.
How, Thomas Y. Jr. " Febr'y 25, 1834.
Howland, Ellery A. " Febr'y 7, 1840.
Ivison, Henry Jr. " ' ' April 18, 1840.
Jewett, Freeborn G. " April 10, 1838.
Lounsbury, Willet " April 10,, 1838.
Lyon, Harvey " Febr'y 7, 1840.
Myers, Michael S. " March 2, 1843.
Noble, William H. " March 2, 1843.
Palmer, Eleazer R. " May 3, 1845.
Polhemus, Henry " May 8, 1839.
Potter, John " April 6, 1832.
Powers, Gersham " April 2, 1830.
Rice, Woodin " March 13, 1824.
Rice, Woodin " April 16, 1827.
Sherwood, Luman " May 3, 1845.
Tuttle, Bradley " April 6, 1832.
Tuttle, Bradley " Febr'y 25, 1834.
Van Duzen, Horatio " April 10, 1838.
Weed, Walter " March 13, 1824.
Weed, Walter " April 16, 1827.
Weed, Walter " April 2, 1830.
Wheeler, Elijah " March 2, 1843.
Williams, Ezekiel " March 13, 1824.
Williams, Ezekiel " April 16, 1827.
Williams, Ezekiel " April 24, 1830.
Williams, Ezekiel " April 6, 1832.
Williams, Ezekiel " Febr'y 25, 1834.
Wilson, Jared " May 10, 1835.
Previous to 1846 the office of Prison Inspector
was appointive, the power of appointment having
been conferred on the Governor and Council of
Appointment, April 2, 1819, andon the Governor
and Senate, April 19, 1823. The Constitution
of 1846 made the ofifice elective, and provided
for the election of three Inspectors ; to hold
ofifice for three years, one of whom was to be
elected annually. Only two from this County
held the ofifice under this law, viz : David D.
McNeil, who was elected November 3, 1868, and
Thomas Kirkpatrick, who was elected November
7, 1871. The ofifice was abolished on the ap
pointment of Superintendent of Prisons, Feb
ruary 16, 1877, in pursuance of an amendment
to the Constitution, approved and ratified at the
general election, held November 7, 1876. This
amendment makes the ofifice appointive, and
relegates the power of appointment back to the
Governor and Senate.

THE WAR OF THE REBELLION.

99'

CHAPTER XVI.
Cayuga in the Rebellion.
Cause of the War — First Call for Troops
— Captain Kennedy's Efforts — First
Public Meeting— Enthusiasm of the Peo
ple — Rapid Enlistments — 19TH Regiment
— Kennedy's Battery — 75TH Regiment
—Careful Provisions — Call for More
Troops — Military Districts Formed —
iiith Regiment — i6oth Regiment —
Drafts — Immense Bounties — Final Ef
forts — Close of the War.
THE war of the Rebellion was forced upon
the nation, to maintain its unity, and,
as was generally believed at the North, its very
existence. It was a war of one section of the
country against another, of the slave States of
the South, against the free States of the North.
It arose from a fierce conflict of opinion between
the two sections as to the place which the insti
tution of slavery should hold in the government,
a conflict which had continued from the origin
of the government.
The bitterness of the discussion and the an
tagonisms of the parties to it, increased with
time, until, on the election to the Presidency of
Abraham Lincoln in the autumn of i860, a ma
jority of the slave States of the Union resolved
to sever their political connection with the free
States, and to form a Southern Confederacy, in
which the institution of slavery could have free
and full development.
That bold step was accordingly taken. The
Confederacy was formed and the most active
military preparations made to sustain and defend
its pretensions. Dominion was claimed over all
the national property within its territory, which,
so far as possible, was seized and garrisoned.
Its claims were resisted, and a long and terrible
war followed.
The events and consequences of that great
struggle, are too recent, have been too fully re
corded and are too well known to need repeti
tion here. But its local incidents, the part which
Cayuga bore in it should, so far as the plan and
limits of this work will permit, be spread upon
the pages of our local history. We shall give a
succinct account of the efforts and sacrifices

made by our citizens in enlisting their quota of sol
diers, and a brief review of the field operations
of our earlier regiments, regretting that the time
within which this work must issue, and the diflfi
culties and delays attending the collection of re
liable information of the specific services of each
regiment in the field, prevent a fuller notice.
President Lincoln had been inaugurated on
the 4th of March, 1S61 ; Fort Sumter was at
tacked on the 1 2th and surrendered on the 13th
of April, following ; Congress was convened in
extra session and the President called for 75,000
volunteers. Within the next fifteen days three
hundred and fifty thousand had offered them
selves, of whom only the number called for could
be accepted.
Cayuga County came promptly forward to aid
the government. Indeed, one of her citizens,
Captain T. J. Kennedy, had anticipated this ac
tion of the government by several months, and
had written to Governor Morgan as early as Jan
uary 6th, 1 86 1, for permission to raise troops, to
which the Governor replied on the 17th of that
month, that "if the necessity arises your services
will be accepted." This is believed to have
been the first offer of military service in the re
bellion made by any of our loyal citizens. Cap
tain Kennedy believed that the " necessity" al
ready. existed and acted accordingly. He sent
out at his own instance and personal cost, re
cruiting sergeants to the different villages in the
vicinity, Jordan, Skaneateles, Seneca Falls,
Springport and Aurora, and also opened a re
cruiting ofifice in Auburn, thus liberally devoting
his time and limited means to this patriotic ser
vice. He wrote stirring articles for the press
and sought by every means in his power to im
press his countrymen with the reality of the ex
isting danger. Our citizens were, however, slow
to believe that the rash act of secession would be
followed by a real war, and Captain Kennedy was
considered by some as crazed by his enthusiasm.
He proceeded nevertheless, andon the day of the
attack upon Fort Sumter, had one hundred and
seventy-five recruits drilling in an open field near
the city. The events thus justified the sagacity
and wisdom of his preparations.
Captain Kennedy now applied to the Governor
for arms and equipments ; but the "necessity"
for them had not been anticipated, and they were
not ready. The South had been actively pre-

100

CAYUGA COUNTY IN THE REBELLION.

paring for war for more than six months, while
the North had reposed in idle and fancied se
curity. Had our people generally been as
" crfizy " as Captain Kennedy was thought to be,
and as orderly and intelligent in their madness,
the war of the rebellion, it is believed, would
have made for our record quite a different his
tory. There were for this splendid company of re
cruits no guns, no harness, no general equip
ments. What vVas to be done ? The Governor
stated the simple facts and inquired if the men
would accept rifles and go out as infantry. This,
forty only consented to do ; yet by energetic ef
forts on the part of the Captain and his assist
ants, a full infantry company was enrolled which
joined the 19th regiment at Elmira.
Efforts were made to recruit the 49th regi
ment to ten full companies, pending which, the
Legislature authorized the enlistment of thirty
thousand volunteers and voted three million
dollars to arm- and equip them. This compelled
the abandonment of the plan to fill up the old
regiment, and efforts were at once directed to
perfect organizations under the Slate call.
First Public Meeting of the Citizens of
Auburn. — On the 20th day of April, the citi
zens of Auburn met at the Court House to de
vise plans in aid of enlistments. While the peo
ple were assembling, the news reached them of
the attack upon the Massachusetts troops in
their passage through the city of Baltimore.
The effect upon the people was electrical.
Rarely has there been seen deeper or more in
tense feeling than at that hour swayed the laige
audience. General Jesse Segoine, C. S. Burtis,
C. C. Dennis, T. M. Pomeroy, S. Willard, Rich-
arc! Steel, Rev. D. K. Lee, E. B. Lansing and
others addressed the assembly, and their earnest
and impassioned utterances aroused the people,
stirring them beyond the power of language to
express. They resolved to maintain the Union,
arid yielded to it every possible support. They
raised an impromptu fund of four thousand
'dollars for the support of the families of the vol
unteers, the distribution of which was entrusted
to Charles P. Wood, John H. Chedell and the
M^ydr of the City, George Humphrey, a trust
involving much difficult labor, devolving largely
"bn Mr. Wood, but which was faithfully and judi
ciously executed.

The following Sunday presented a scene of
patriotic enthusiasm, never before paralleled in
the history of the County, and rarely in that of
any community. The late sleepers were aroused
by the thunder of cannon, and the streets were
filled by squads of soldiers under drill of their
officers. At the several recruiting stations large
crowds assembled, and the number of enlist
ments was very large. The national emblem
was everywhere displayed, not excepting the
churches, wherein patriotic discourses were de
livered, to intensely interested auditors. At the
Second Presbyterian and the Catholic churches,
the pastors were especially earnest and eloquent in
behalf of a cause which then thrilled all hearts.
Sixty recruits left the latter church in a body,
under the influence ofthe stirring appeal to their
love for their adopted country, and enlisted under
Captain Gavigan. Three full companies were
that day completed. Captain Kennedy had a
surplus of fifty-six men, who were transferred to a
company being organized by Captain Theodore
H. Schenck. Captain Charles H. Stewart, in a
single day, April 24th, recruited his company to
the maximum standard. Captain Solomon Giles,
of Weedsport ; James E. Ashcroft, of Seneca
Falls ; Nelson T. Stephens, of Moravia ; and
James R. Angel, of Union Springs, were each,
at this time, recruiting a company for the regi
ment then organizing.
A mass meeting of the citizens ofthe County
was held at the court house on the 24th of April,
presided over by the Hon. John Porter, who
made a patriotic address. Four military com
panies entered the building, whose presence pro
duced great enthusiasm. A committee on reso
lutions was appointed, and stirring addresses
were made by Clarence A. Seward and Rev. B.
I. Ives. The closing resolution was as fol
lows :
"Resolved, That in this hour of our country's
peril, we know no flag but that of our fathers;
and in one solid phalanx, we will march under
the stars and stripes, to victory or death."
The popular sympathy for the volunteers found
expression in various ways. Banners, books,
flags, swords and pistols, were presented with
formal ceremonies, to the several ofificers. Cap
tain Baker was presented by the Sons of Terri-
perance, with a fine brace of pistols. Major Thad.
B. Barber was honored by the gift of a splendid

DEPARTURE OF THE FIRST TROOPS.

lOI

sword. Captain Kennedy, also with a brace of
elegant pistols accompanied by a presentation
address, from which we extract the following :
" You, sir, were among the first to hear and
the readiest to respond to the patriotic call ;
home, family, and friends, with all their endear
ing associations, could not hold you back ; a
prosperous business, dependent for its success on
you alone, could not hold you back ; but with
alacrity and enthusiasm, you were first at the
muster, as no doubt you will be, in the coming
encounter." . Captain Kennedy also received an elegant
Bible from the Board of Education. Cap
tains Gavigan and Schenck and their subal
tern ofificers, received swords and pistols from
their friends, and the ladies of Auburn presented
Captain Stewart with a fine Bible, Doctor Hun
tington making the presentation address.
The early preparations were now nearly com
pleted. P^ive full companies had been mustered
into the service and were awaiting orders to,
move. The movement began April 24th.
Departure of the First Troops. — It
was a novel and exciting scene. Few of the
generation, then beholding it, had ever seen a
force marshalled for real war. Here, however,
were seen husbands and fathers, sons, brothers
and lovers, bearing arms, and bound for fields of
carnage, from which many would never return.
Crowds were present from city and country, all
actuated by deep feeling, some with the glow of
patriotism, but more by the deeper emotion of
affection ; while in the eyes of thousands trem
bled the tear of affectionate solicitude for the wel
fare of those with whom their hopes of happiness
were closely allied.
It was estimated that eight thousand specta
tors witnessed the departure of the first battal
ion from Cayuga County for the seat of war.
The companies that formed the battalion were
those of Captains Baker, Kennedy, Schenck,
Gavigan and Ashcroft, and their first destination
was the military depot at Elmira. The compa
nies of Captains Stewart and Ammon were mus
tered into the service May 6th, and- moved also
to Elmira.
The igrH Regiment. — This regiment, com
prising the foregoing companies, was mustered
into the United States service on the 22d day of
May, as the 19th New York State Volunteers,
and ofificered as follows :

Field and Staff Officers.
Colonel, John S. Clark ; Lieutenant-Colonel,
Clarence A. Seward ; Major, James H. Ledley ;
Adjutant, Henry M. Stone ; Surgeon, Theodore,
Dimon ; Quartermaster, John Chedell ; Quarter
master-Sergeant, Dennis Scheil; Sergeant-Major,
Charles Tomlinson. Company Officers.
Company A — Captain, John T. Baker ; Lieuten
ant, Charles White ; Ensign, Martin Laughlin ;
Sergeants, Charles Tomlinson, John T. Potter,
David McCreary, Barnett Nagle.
Company B — Captain, T. J. Kennedy ; Lieu
tenant, John Poison ; Ensign, Henry C. Day ;
Sergeants, Andrew Cowan, William H. Genett,
David C. Hutchinson and William H. Barnes.
Company C — Captain, James E. Ashcroft ;
Lieutenant, Samuel C. Day ; Ensign,'Charles B.
Randolph ; Sergeants, Charles C. Graves, Adol-
phus W. Newton, Alonzo Jordan, and Edward
Manning. Company D — Captain, Owen Gavigan ; Lieu
tenant, William Boyle; Ensign, Luke Brannock ;
Sergeants, Patrick Dwyer, Daniel Downing, Pat
rick Handlen, and Daniel McCarten.
Company E — Captain, Theodore H. Schenck;
Lieutenant, David A. Taylor ; Ensign, Edward
C. Burtis; Sergeants, Henry F. Rider, Austin
Haynes, Charles A. Henry, and James Harris.
Company i^— Captain, Nelson T. Stephens ;
Lieutenant, Watson C. Squire ; Ensign, Edward
D. Parker; Sergeants, Edward B. Warren, Da
vid F. Bothwell, Barha C. Goodrich, and Robert
Haynes. Company G — Captain, Charles H. Stewart ;
Lieutenant, John Wall ; Ensign, Antonio E;
Robinson ; Sergeants, Lewis Manders, John
White, Charles B. Quick, and George E. Sher
wood. Company H — Captain, Solomon Giles ; Lieu-^
tenant, Augustus Field ; Ensign, Marquis D;
Nichols; Sergeants, Charles M. Whiteside, Wil
liam A. Hedges, Willis Watson, and Montra-
ville M. Hedges.
Company /—Captain, John H. Ammon ; Lieu
tenant, George W. Thomas ; Ensign, Randolph
B. Kimberly ; Sergeants, Horace Silsby, Wil
liam A. Kelsy, Thomas J. Lomore, and James
S. Fuller. .)

102

CAYUGA COUNTY IN THE REBELLION.

Company K— Captain, ]ames R. Angel ; Lieu
tenant, A. H. Carr ; Ensign, Lester W. Porting.
The uniforms which were supplied to this reg
iment were composed of that miserable shoddy
material with which many of our first volunteers
were clothed, but it called forth such an earnest
remonstrance from our citizens to the authorities
as led to a correction of the shameful abuse.
Elegant regimental and national flags were pre
sented to the regiment at Elmira in behalf of the
ladies of Auburn ; the former by the Hon.
Charles C. Dwight, and the latter by Hon. B. F.
Hall. The 7STH Regiment. — The first seventy-five
thousand men had been called into service for
only three months, but it soon became evident
that their time would expire before they could
be fully armed and equipped. On the 4th of
May, therefore, the President issued his call for
volunteers to serve for three years, or during the
war, and on the first day of July following,
two hundred and eighty regiments had been
accepted. Congress met on the fourth of July
and voted five hundred millioris of money and
five hundred thousand more troops. The quota
of New York, under this call was twenty-five
thousand men which were called for on the 25th
of July, after the disastrous battle of Bull Run.
Preparations were, therefore, at once made to
organize a second Cayuga regiment at the in
stance of Col. John A. Dodge, who unfolded his
plans to a meeting of citizens on September 2,
1 861, at which Chas. P. Wood presided. He
would form a military depot in Auburn and arm,
equip and drill the soldiers here, and thus secure
them from the gross impositions inflicted upon
the 19th regiment by heartless contractors. The
plan was reasonable, and permission to execute
it was obtained from Governor Morgan by a com
mittee of citizens, consisting of Dr. Willard, T.
M. Pomeroy, Wm. C. Beardsley and Col. Dodge,
who visited Albany for the purpose. Col. Dodge
was fully authorized to raise, equip, supply and
drill a regiment here. These careful and authori
tative proceedings, gave confidence to both
ofificers and men ; and the work of recruiting
proceeded rapidly under the following company
commanders : Captains, Charles C. Dwight, Wm.
Hart, John Choate, Wm. H. Cray, C. D. Mc
Dougall, Luther. Goodrich, E. A. Thomas and
Charles Hayden.

On Sept. 10, Capt. McDougall reported a full
company ; on the 12th Truman K. Fuller, a com
pany from Port Byron, and William H. Gray one
from Auburn. On October 9th, Lansing Porter,
reported a full company. Mr. Hart having ac
cepted the chaplaincy of the 19th, transferred his
men to Capt. Cray.
So rapidly had the regiment been recruited
that the barracks were not prepared for them,
and temporary quarters were, meanwhile pre
pared for them in the city, until the 9th of Octo
ber, when they took possession of the barracks.
The regiment was raised to nine hundred men
and was designated as the 75th N. Y. V. On
the 30th of November, the regiment, pursuant to
order, left camp to report at New York.
As on the departure of the 19th regiment, so
now, the crowd was immense. The personnel of
the regiment was much superior to the average
of military organizations. It contained very
many of the best citizens of the County ; thor
oughly educated and cultured men, who were
voluntarily casting themselves upon the altar of
their country and trusting their lives to the for
tunes of war.
The following were its officers :
Field and Staff.
Colonel, John A. Dodge ; Lieutenant-Colonel,
Robert B. Merritt; Adjutant, E. B. Lansing;
Surgeon, Michael D. Benedict ; Quartermaster,
Lewis E. Carpenter ; Chaplain, Thomas B.
Hudson. Company Officers.
Company A — Captain, Clinton D. McDougall ;
Lieutenants, Robert B. Merritt, James H. Hin-
man ; 2d Lieutenants, Erastus E. Brown, and
Benjamin F. Thurber.
C(?w/rt/y i?— Captain, Truman K. Fuller; ist
Lieutenant, Wm. H. Stevenson ; 2d Lieuten
ant, Anson TuUer.
Company C— Captain, William H. Cray ; ist
Lieutenant, Chas. Wilson Drew ; 2d Lieutenant,
Augustus W. Benedict.
Ci?;«/««_j/ Z>— Captain, Chas. C. Dwight; ist
Lieutenant, Andrew S. Corning ; 2d Lieutenant,
George D. Robinson.
Company E—Za'ptaAn, Luther Goodrich; ist
Lieutenant, Wm. L. Stanford ; 2d Lieutenant,
Francis A. Hopping.

KENNEDY'S INDEPENDENT BATTERY.

103

Company i^— Captain, Henry Bates Fitch ; ist
Lieutenant, William Elias Avery ; 2d Lieuten
ant, Horace B. Fitch.
Company G — Captain, John E. Savery; ist
Lieutenant, Lewis E. Carpenter ; 2d Lieutenant,
William D. Hamilton.
Company H — Captain, John Choate; ist
Lieutenant, Elbridge C. Miles; 2d ^Lieutenant,
James E. Whiteside.
Company I — Captain, Lansing Porter ; ist
Lieutenant, E. B. Lansing ; 2d Lieutenant, Wm.
H. Hosmer.
The regiment was assigned to duty in the de
partment of the south. The field operations of
this regiment will be considered in a future chap
ter. Kennedy's Independent Battery. — Coinci
dent with the recruiting of the 75th regiment.
Captain T. J. Kennedy had received permission
to raise an independent battery of artillery ; and
in less than two months had one hundred and
twenty-five men on his rolls. It was entitled,
" Kennedy's ist Light Battery N. Y. S. Volun
teers," and was mustered into service, for three
years on the 23d day of November 1861. Its
ofificers were : Capt., T. J. Kennedy ; First Lieu
tenants, Andrew Cowan and William P. Wright;
2d Lieut., James A. Woodruff. The under ser
geants were, H. C. Vaughn, Nathaniel Thomp
son, O. Van Etten, James B. Wood, J. E. John
son, and H. S. Steele. Capt. Kennedy left with
his Battery, for the seat of war on December 2d.
Rapid Enlistments. — Thus in about seven
months Cayuga had sent into the field two full
regiments and a battery of artillery.
The 19th regiment had, meanwhile, been re
organized as the 3d artillery, and to fill it to its
desired size required some three hundred men ;
an effort was made to recruit them, but for
nearly two months little was effected. In Feb
ruary and March ninety men were recruited who
went forward under Lieuts. Boyle, .Allen, and
Kirby of the 3rd artillery.
Other Calls — Military Districts formed.
— The military disasters of the summer of 1862,
induced the President early in July, to call for
three hundred thousand men for three years, or
during the war, and, on August 4th, for another
three hundred thousand. This of course meant
very earnest work, and it came home to the
hearts and sensibilities of our people, and aroused
18

them to corresponding action. Cayuga was not
backward in her responses to these calls.
Military Districts were formed, Cayuga and
Wayne being one. The Governor appointed the
following persons as the district military com
mittee, Wm. C. Beardsley, Dr. S. Willard, Wm.
H. Seward and N. T. Stephens, of Auburn ; C.
M. Abbott of Niles; and E. B. Morgan, and
Smith Anthony, of Ledyard. To this commit
tee was confided the entire control of the recruit
ing service of the district. The committee was
soon enlarged by adding thereto the names of
W. H. Adams, Joseph Welling and J. B. Gavitt
of Lyons ; G. W. Cowles of Clyde ; J. E. Walker,
 Pomeroy, and W. C. Nottingham of Pal
myra. At a meeting of the committee on the
I2th of July, the following gentlemen were added :
S. K. Williams, E. A. Thomas, L. S. Ketchum,
Geo. W. Cuyler, Wm. T.Barney, W. T. Gaylord,
of Wayne ; and Theodore M. Pomeroy, Henry
W. Dwight, Wm. A. Halsey, Geo. B. Gillespie,
Wm. P. Robinson, A. L. Smith, William Hosford,
Chas. Near, Philo Camp, Amzi Wood, William
C.Cramer, and D. J. Van Auken, of Cayuga.
Formation of the i i ith Regiment. — The
committee designated General Jesse Segoine as
regimental commander, and appointed sub-com
mittees to promote enlistments ; these committees
called war-meetings in different parts of the dis
trict, which were well attended, and at which
spirited addresses were delivered. A mass-meet
ing was called at Auburn, on the 17th and at
Lyons, Wayne county, on the 19th of July. Both
were largely attended, the one at Auburn was
especially enthusiastic, and stirring appeals
were made by Gen. Segoine, Theodore M. Pome
roy, Rev. Mr. Warner, and others. E. E. Mar-
vine offered ten dollars each to ten volunteers ;
and Col. E. B. Morgan said he was authorized to
offer two hundred dollars to the first company
organized under the call, one hundred to the
second, and fifty to the third. The authorization,
it was believed, came from Col. Morgan's own
patriotic and liberal impulses.
These efforts ofthe war committees, gave a new
impulse to enlistments, which, especially in
Wayne county, were rapidly progressing. The in
ducement of a national bounty of one hundred
dollars, of a State bounty of fifty dollars, and a
town, or ward bounty of twenty-five dollars, the
latter paid by individual subscriptions, filled the

104

CAYUGA COUNTY IN THE REBELLION.

quota of the regiment in about four weeks. Its
official organization was as follows :
Field and Staff.
Colonel, Jesse Segoine; Lieutenant- Colonel,
Clinton D. McDougall ; Adjutant, Henry PI.
Segoine ; Surgeon, William Vosburgh ; Quarter
master, James Trulan.
Company Officers.
Company A — Captain, Aaron P. Seely ; ist
Lieutenant, Samuel B. Mclntyre ; 2d Lieuten
ant, Ezra A. Hibbard.
Company B — Captain, John S. Coe ; ist Lieu
tenant, Jacob T. Van Buskirk ; 2d Lieutenant,
John Tremper.
Company C — Captain, Ed. A. Thomas; ist
Lieutenant, Ira Jones ; 2d Lieutenant, Theodore
Lamson. Company D — Captain, Sebastian D. Holmes ;
1st Lieutenant, Hasseltine S. Moore ; 2d Lieu-
tenant, Erastus M. Granger.
Company E — Captain, Isaac M, Lusk ; ist
Lieutenant, Andrew D. Soverill ; 2d Lieutenant,
John A. Lanig.
Company F — Captain, Benjamin W. Thomp
son ; 1st Lieutenant, Robert C. Perry; 2d
Lieutenant, John H. Drake.
Company G — Captain, Lewis A. Husk ; ist
Lieutenant, John I. Brinkerhoff; 2d Lieutenant,
Edgar J. A. Hueston.
Company H — Captain, Ezra H. Northrop ; ist
Lieutenant, Frank Rich ; 2d Lieutenant, Reuben
J, Myres. Company /^Captain, Sidney Mead ; ist Lieu
tenant, Merrill W. Murdock; 2d Lieutenant,
Arthur W. Marshall.
Company K — Captain, S. A. Tremaine; ist
Lieutenant, George M. Smith ; 2d Lieutenant,
A. B. Capron.
Another Call, 138TH Regiment Formed. —
The call of Aug. 4th for "three hundred thousand
more" quickly followed ; and full and prompt com
pliance therewith, was the only condition by which
a draft could be avoided. Efforts were, therefore,
at once directed to the formation of a fourth regi
ment, for which authority was obtained, on the
application of Wm. H. Seward, Jr., Gen, Segoine
and Capt. N. T. Stephens, who had proceeded to
Albany for that purpose.
Joseph Welling, of Wayne county, was selected
as regimental commander, and enlistments were

made with great rapidity. Ten full companies
were mustered in, within eighteen days from the
issuance of the order, of which number, about
three hundred were enrolled before the order
was made. Its ofificers were :
Field and Staff.
Colonel, Joseph Welling ; Lieutenant-Colonel,
Wm. H. Seward, Jr.; Major, Edward P. Taft ;
Adjutant, Wm. R. Wasson ; Sergeant-Major,
Lyman C. Comstock ; Quartermaster, Henry P.
Knowles. Company Officers.
Company A — Captain, James W. Snyder; ist
Lieutenant, James H. Hyde ; 2d Lieutenant,
Rufus M. Campbell.
Compatiy B — Captain, Truman Gregory ; ist
Lieutenant, Nelson F. Strickland ; 2d Lieuten
ant, William E. Greenwood.
Company C— Captain, Loyal W. Alden ; ist
Lieutenant, Harvey Follett ; 2d Lieutenant,
Marshall B. Burke.
Company D — Captain, Charles L. Lyon ; ist
Lieutenant, Anson S. Wood ; 2d Lieutenant,
Samuel C. Redgrave,
Company E — Captain, Selah Cornwell; ist
Lieutenant, Seth F. Swift ; 2d Lieutenant,
George C. Stoyell.
Company /^—Captain, Charles Burgess ; ist
Lieutenant, Geo. W. Bacon ; 2d Lieutenant,
Sullivan B. Lamereaux.
Company G — Captain, William Wood; ist
Lieutenant, Wm. Hawley ; 2d Lieutenant, Sey
mour Woodward.
Company //—Captain, John L. Crane; ist
Lieutenant, Tunis Vosburgh ; 2d Lieutenant,
Daniel B, Harmon.
Compa?ty I — Captain, Hugh Hughes; ist
Lieutenant, Orson Howard ; 2d Lieutenant,
Philip R. Freeoff.
Company K — Captain, Irwin Sawyer ; ist Lieu
tenant, Dennis E. Flynn ; 2d Lieutenant, Geo.
P. Knapp.
160TH Regiment. — Although this military
district, Cayuga and Wayne counties, had now
sent into the field four full regiments and a bat
tery of artillery, besides supplying many recruits
to the old regiments, her quota on the call of Au
gust 4th was not yet full, and a dreaded draft was
therefore impending. To avoid that the most
strenuous efforts were now made. The super-

i6oth regiment — a DRAFT ORDERED.

105

visors of Cayuga County, convened, by whom a
bounty of fifty dollars was offered to volunteers.
The stores in Auburn were, by agreement, closed
at four o'clock each afternoon, that the energies
of all might be directed to filling our quota. The
mayor, by proclamation, urged the cooperation
of all our citizens. Public meetings were held
on the streets, and the flags of recruiting stations
waved in all parts of the town. War commit
tees were appointed to aid the work. The gen
eral committee decided to raise a full regiment,
and selected Capt. Charles C. Dwight, of the 75th
regiment, then in New Orleans, as its Colonel.
He reached Auburn on the 20th of October, was
received with flattering honors and took com
mand of the camp, in which the enlisted men
were quartered. The regiment was completed
and mustered into service as the i6oth New
York Volunteers, November 22d, 1862, with the
following ofificers :
Field and Staff.
Colonel, Charles C. Dwight ; Lieutenant-Col
onel, John B. VanPatten ; Major, William H.
Sentell ; Adjutant, Gordon W.Allen ; Surgeon,
Cyrus Powers ; Assistant-Surgeon, David H.
Armstrong ; Chaplain, William Pultman ; Quar
termaster, Dighton H. Winans.
Company Officers.
Company A — Captain, William Potter; ist
Lieutenant, William J. VanDeusen ; 2d Lieuten
ant, James B. Vaughn.
Company B — Captain, H. P. Underbill; ist
Lieutenant, L. L. Wheelock ; 2d Lieutenant,
James Kelly.
Company C — Captain, B. B. Rogers ; ist Lieu
tenant, Robert B. Ennis ; 2d Lieutenant, James
V. D. Westfall.
Company D — Captain, J. D. Bunerd;. ist
Lieutenant, Myron H. Shirts ; 2d Lieutenant,
E. H. Sentell.
Company E — Captain, Henry Moore; ist
Lieutenant, James Gray ; 2d Lieutenant, Nicho
las McDonough.
Company /^—-Captain, Josiah C. Jewett; ist
Lieutenant, Gideon F. Moorey ; 2d Lieutenant,
Edwin Kirby.
Company 6^— Captain, Malcom Wright; ist
Lieutenant, Horace Silsby; 2d Lieutenant, A.
S. Stillman.

Company //— Captain,'.Daniel S. Vaughn ; ist
Lieutenant, Charles R. Caltord ; 2d Lieutenant,
Miles I. Jones.
Company I — Captain, Allen L. Burr; ist
Lieutenant, Newton Dexter ; 2d Lieutenant,
Robert R. Seeley.
Company .^—Captain, L. B. Hunt ; ist Lieu
tenant, George L. Merrill ; 2d Lieutenant, John
H. Shaver.
This ended the efforts at recruiting in this
district, for 1862. Great efforts had been made
and they had been crowned with gratifying suc
cess. A Draft Ordered. — In April, 1863, John N.
Knapp, Esq., of Auburn, was appointed provost-
marshal for this military district ; James M. Ser-
vis, of Wayne, commissioner of enrollment ; and
D. R. Davis, M. D., of Seneca Falls, surgeon.
They proceeded to make a complete enrollment
of the entire district. A draft was ordered to
take place on July 23, to fill the places of the t\yo
years' men whose term of service would soon ex
pire. While the dreaded ballots were being drawn
at the Court House in Auburn, the terrible New '
York riots were in progress, and intense agita
tion prevailed. Precautions were taken against
apprehended resistance here but the draft was
quietly concluded, resulting in drawing about two
thousand conscripts. On the payment of three
hundred dollars each, they could be relieved, and
all but about four hundred and fifty did so.
The general failure of this draft to supply men
led to another call for three hundred thousand
men. On October 17th, 1863, another draft was
ordered, and the most vigorous efforts were made
to escape it by filling the quota with volunteers. '
Cayuga County offered a bounty of three hun
dred dollars, issuing its bonds to raise the neces
sary funds ; the effort succeeded and by the loth
of January the quota of the district was filled.
But two hundred thousand additional troops wqre
called for on February ist 1 864, and our quota was
filled within twenty days. The recruits realized
from the last two calls went mainly to supply
deficiences in the old regiments.
Two other calls were made, the first for five
hundred thousand one year's men in July 1864,
and the second, and last on December 19th of that
year, for three hundred thousand men, and fifty
days were given in each case to fill the quotas
by volunteering.

io6

CAYUGA COUNTY IN THE REBELLION.

Immense Bounties. — The times were very
eventful. Organizations were making for what was
believed to be the closing movements of the war,
which were to finally crush armed rebellion.
On August I Sth the Supervisors granted a
bounty of three hundred dollars to each volunteer,
and the common council of Auburn one hundred
and fifty dollars for each recruit credited to the
city. On the 19th the Supervisors raised the
bounty to six hundred, six hundred and fifty and
seven hundred dollars respectively, for one, two
and three years' men. Individuals, expecting and
dreading a draft, offered and paid enormous sums
for substitutes, as high as ten, twelve and even
fifteen hundred dollars. It was the golden harvest
for bounty brokers, and they vigorously plied
their vocation.
All these various and energetic efforts, the
enormous bounties offered, and the conviction
that the war would soon close, succeeded in filling
the quota under the call of July, by Sept. loth.
Final Efforts. — Another struggle was yet
to be made, the final call of December 19th, for
three hundred thousand men, followed ; final, as
we afterwards knew it to be, but then known only
as*bne of a mighty series of exhaustive drafts,
the end of which could not then be determined.
It produced great depression. The energy and
spirit of the people had, for nearly four terrible
years, borne them up and there had been no sign
of faltering ; but after all they had done, after all
the sacrifices of time, money and life which they
had made, each effort in raising troops having,
for sometime, been regarded as the last which
they would be required to make, and, after hav
ing put forth nearly all their remaining strength
in raising their quota of the last five hundred
thousand men, the immediate call for another three
hundred thousand was very disheartening.
Renewed, but relatively unsuccessful efforts
were made to recruit another regiment by vol
unteering. In the city of Auburn efficient and
active ward committees were formed as follows :
First ward, J. M. Hurd, E. C. Selover, and
William Lamey ; Second ward, Richard C. Steel,
E. H. Avery, Albert H. Goss, John S. Fowler,
B. B. Snow, and Wm. B. Woodin; Third
ward, John Choate, E. G. Miles, Rolin Tracy,
Enos Bostwick, Josiah Field, Chas. Wellner,
William J. Moses, William B. Stevenson, Chas.
A. Myers, and John S. Brown ; Fourth ward,

Myron Cowell, Chester Wier. In the country
towns, corresponding efforts were made.
Draft Ordered. — Every preparation for a
draft had, for some time, been in complete readi
ness, and the fated ballots must again be drawn.
Captain John N. Knapp had resigned the ofifice
of provost-marshal of the 24th district on January
1st, 1865, and was succeeded by B. B. Snow.
Volunteering was continued until March 15th,
when Capt. Snow began the draft at the Court
House in Auburn, in the presence of a deeply
interested audience. The draft was continued
about ten days, for a few hours each day, recruit
ing filling the intervals, and drafting resorted to
only when the ofificers were not engaged in the
business of mustering recruits.
Richmond fell on the 2d of April and volun
teering was thereafter greatly increased until
ordered closed on April 14th, 1865, just four
years after news had reached us of the fall of
Sumter. The 1930 Regiment was rapidly organizing in
camp, and very soon had its full complement of
one thousand men and several hundred had been
sent in squads to the general military camp at
Elmira. The 193d regiment was formed as follows:
Colonel, J. B. VanPetten ; Lieutenant-Colonel
John C. Gilmore ; Major, Alfred Morton ; Ad
jutant, Thurlow B. Wasson ; Quartermaster,
Chas. H. Bailey ; Surgeon, David H. Armstrong;
Chaplain, W. D. Chase.
Captains, John Jones, Edwin C. Knapp, Wm.
H. Porter, Archibald H. Preston, Joel Reed,
James H. Hitchcock, Sidney W. Ainsworth,
Orrin D. Staplin, Wm. L. Yeckley and Wm. H.
Harris. The fall of Richmotid on the 2d of April and
the surrender of the Confederate forces on the
1 8th, necessarily closed all enlistments here, and
led to the speedy closing of the office of the
provost-marshal " and all other military prepara
tions. For four full years, the people of this County, in
common with those of the entire country, had
suffered as never before in all their history. Nearly
two million men had been enlisted and there
were on the rolls and in the actual service of the
United States, at the close of the war one million
one hundred thousand men. Nine hundred thou
sand had fallen from the ranks, of which number

19TH NEW YORK VOLUNTEERS.

107

two hundred thousand filled soldiers graves, four
hundred thousand were disabled, or rejected on
second examination, or deserted, and three hun
dred thousand were honorably discharged, dur
ing or at the end of the war. Of this number,
this military district supplied about six thousand.

CHAPTER XVIIL

Cayuga in the Rebellion, (Continued.)
19TH New York Volunteers — Term of
Enlistments — Misunderstandings — Un
pleasant Results — In Camp at Washing- -
ton — With Patterson — Military Expe
rience — With General Banks — New Uni
forms — Held for Two Years — Recusants
Punished — Reduced to a Battalion —
Changed to 30 Artillery — Subsequent
Services.
IN the preceding chapter, we have given a
connected account of the enrollment of the
six regiments from this military district, and of
Kennedy's battery, and of their departure for
their respective fields of duty in the service of
the State and of the United States. In the en
suing chapters devoted to this subject, we shall
subjoin as full an account of their field and camp
service as our limits will permit.
19TH New York Volunteers. — The com
panies comprising this regiment, pending its full
completion, had been quartered at the military
depot at Elmira, where they were initiated into
the earnest and severe experiences of camp-life,
as contrasted with the home quiet, and the con
veniences and comforts to which most of them had
been accustomed. The rough barracks, the
coarse and poorly cooked food, and the beds of
straw had to he accepted as the inevitable lot of
the soldier and was borne with varying degrees
of patience, corresponding to the individual tem
peraments. The first five companies of the regiment
reached Elmira on the 29th of April ; Captains
Stewart, Giles and Ammon, arrived on the 9th of
May; and on the 14th, all the companies having
arrived, orders were issued by the State military

board "that the several companies commanded
by Captains John T. Baker, Owen Gavigan, Theo
dore H. Schenck, Chas. H. Stewart, John H.
Ammon, Solomon Giles, Nelson T. Stephens,
J. E, Ashcroft, T. J. Kennedy, and J. R. Angel,
be severally accepted and formed into a regiment
to be numbered 19, and that orders be forthwith ¦
issued for the election of regimental ofificers
thereof" A brisk and spirited canvass followed,
in which were considered the names of Colonel ¦
John M. Dodge, H. V. Howland, Gen, Segoine,
and Major John S. Clark, resulting in the choice
of the latter for Colonel, by a nearly unanimous
vote, and of the other ofificers as stated in the
official organization of the regiment in the pre
ceding chapter.
Attention had been called to Major Clark for
the reason of his general qualifications for the
position, and particularly by a voluntary, perilous,
and successful act of heroism in running the rebel
blockade between Baltimore and Washington a
few weeks before, wherein several previous mes
sengers had been turned back. He, by his
perseverance, skill and boldness, succeeded, con
veying dispatches to our forces, with which he
returned to Washington. ^
Regular and thorough drills were maintained,
though the weather was rainy and inclement,
and the men not sufficiently clothed to comforta
bly resist the chills and damps of the season.
The men of this regiment had enlisted for two
years and doubtless felt themselves bound to that
term of service should the war continue so long.
The military board of the state, as early as May
1st, 1861, had offered to furnish thirty-eight regi
ments for two years' service and the offer had
been promptly accepted on May 3d. The Nine
teenth regiment having enlisted for two years and
the military authorities of the stale having offered,
for two years, the services of thirty-eight regi
ments, of which the Nineteenth was one, which
offer had been accepted, it was clearly the duty of
the mustering officer to have sworn them in for
that period. But a bad blunder was made, and
the men of the Nineteenth regiment were sworn
into the United States service, on May 22d, for
three months only.
As might have been expected if the war con
tinued, trouble came of it. We had sanguine men
who at that time believed the war would be short,
and their council may have governed in thenius-,

io8

CAYUGA COUNTY IN THE REBELLION.

tering of the 19th for three months. However that
may have been, the error was committed and
unpleasant results followed. The rank and file
were ignorant of the real facts in the case, were
not informed of the action of the State and Na
tional authorities, and when sworn into the ser
vice for three months regarded the contract as
binding. On May 24th, the men received their uniforms,
which by a most shameful fraud ofthe contractors,
were composed of that miserable shoddy ma
terial, and the color, instead of the regulation
blue, was a dingy gray, the cloth, of which they
were composed had no inherent strength and the
garments very soon fell to pieces. Our spirited and
proud boys were therefore clothed in uncomforta
ble and unseemly rags, mortifying to their feel
ings, and an affront which deeply wounded them.
In this affront to the regiment, their friends at
home fully participated ; a public meeting of citi
zens was called, and a deputation sent to Albany,
to protest against the outrage and to seek to
right the wrong which, after long delay, was
finally done.
Meanwhile on May 31st Colonel Clark ap
plied, for marching orders, and was directed by
the Secretary of War to proceed to Harrisburgh,
Pa., for which place the regiment started on June
6th, 750 strong. On their way through Pennsyl
vania, they received flattering and grateful ova
tions from the people, who lavished upon them
the most generous and liberal hospitality.
At Harrisburgh, Col. Clark received a dis
patch from General Patterson, to proceed at once
to Chambersburg, but before doing so, the for
mer telegraphed both to General Scott and Pat
terson, and the former ordered the command to
Washington, whither it immediately proceeded.
This proceeding of Colonel Clark gave offense to
General Patterson who afterwards remembered,
and resented it to the prejudice of Colonel Clark.
At Baltimore the regiment prepared for antici
pated trouble from the rebel and rowdy elements
of the city ; the bayonets were fixed and rifles
loaded, each with a ball and three buck shot and,
formed in column of half companies, they reso
lutely and firmly marched through the rebel city
amid the taunts and jeers of a rough and excited
populace, from whom an attack was momentarily
expected. But the demonstrations proceeded
no further than taunts, vile imprecations upon

the "hated Yankees," and repeated jostlings
of the regiment, which passed unharmed on to
Washington, arriving at three o'clock P. M.
The regiment was soon ordered into a camp
of instruction, located on the hills north of the
city, whither it proceeded on the loth of June.
Cayuga was the name given to their quarters.
The camp was soon arranged in systematic order,
tents floored with boards, and thorough military
rules enforced. Regular drills were instituted and
maintained, and the hitherto novices in tactics
soon became familiar with the manual and ma
neuvers. The season of the year was inviting,
the weather pleasant, and the health of the regi
ment generally good, though measles were to
some extent prevailing.
The regiment remained here nearly a month,
when, a decision having been reached to advance
upon Richmond, orders were given to Colonel
Clark, by Major-General Sandford, on July 5th to
be ready with his command to march by noon of
the day following.
The plan was, that General McDowell, who
lay with his army opposite Washington, was to
proceed directly upon Richmond, while General
Patterson was to demonstrate from Williamsport
upon the army of General Johnston, then near
Winchester and detain the latter, while the for
mer movement was being made. General Pat
terson had under his command a force of over
20,000 men ; but he had so hesitated and delayed,
that General Sandford with four New York regi
ments, of which the 19th was one, was sent to
reinforce him.
The 19th promptly executed the order and
filed out of camp before noon of the loth. Gen
eral Sandford with the balance of the regiments
following the next day. .Colonel Clark proceeded
by the way of Baltimore to Harrisburgh and
Chambersburg to Hagerstown, where the com
mand debarked. Orders were met here to follow
General Patterson, who had gone on to Martins-
burgh, sixteen miles from Winchester ; and also
to bring with them a thirty-pound rifled gun,
which was expected to have reached Hagerstown
before the arrival of the regiment,, but as it was,
it did not reach there until thirty-six hours there
after. From Hagerstown to Williamsport is six
miles, and the heavy ordnance must be trans
ported on trucks over the common highways.
Col. Clark decided not to wait for the arrival of

THE 19TH UNDER GENERAL PATTERSON.

109

the gun with his full command, but detached
Capt. Kennedy with his company to await its
arrival and to bring it forward, the balance of the
regiment making a night march to Williamsport.
Early the following morning the march for Mar-
tinsburgh was resumed. The Potomac, which at
the crossing was about three feet deep, was
reached and forded, giving the regiment its first
experience of the kind.
Captains Schenck and Stewart with their com
mands were left at the ford to aid Capt. Kennedy,
when he, with his cumbrous freight, should
arrive ; but when the regiment had advanced to
Falling Waters, six miles from the ford, those
two companies were ordered to rejoin the regi
ment, and thc whereabouts of Capt. Kennedy
were sought for.
The long delay had not been anticipated, and
when finally the gun came, there were also with
it a large quantity of stores ; the gun required ten
horses to transport it, and the whole train com
prised seventy-five wagons. It was put under way
as soon as possible to join the regiment. This
is but one of a long series of mistakes which
characterized the earlier movements of our armies.
It was a very hazardous movement to entrust so
large and valuable a train in the enemy's country
to the escort of a single company, but it reached
its destination without interference. Meanwhile
the regiment had reached Hagerstown, and were,
with a battery and three other regiments, on the
nth of July, brigaded as the 8th brigade, and
placed under the command of Col. Schwarzwal-
der, and constituted a part of the 3d division of
Gen. Patterson's command. Gen. Sandford com
manding the division, about 8,000 strong.
Gen. Patterson's forces now exceeded 23,000
men, with two batteries, and lay, for about one
mile, along the hills south of Martinsburgh, con
fronting the rebel force under Gen. Johnston of
20,000 men, that lay at Bunker Hill, a few miles
distant ; so close indeed were the two armies
that their respective pickets were in immediate
proximity, and rebel cavalry scoured our out
posts. The 19th was posted on the extreme
right, the post of danger, and a nightly fusilade
was kept up from the rebel picket line upon our
outlying post. Here the regiment lay for several
days. Corporal Martin Webster and private S. J.
Tobias sought to vary the monotony of camp
19

life by a short foraging expedition ; but were
captured by a squad of rebel cavalry, after a
sharp skirmish with them, which the boys main
tained from behind a stone-wall, and in which one
of the assailants was killed, and Tobias wounded.
They were taken to Libby prison, where the latter
died, and the former, after being taken, first to
Tuscaloosa, Alabama, and next to Salisbury, N.
C, was exchanged, and rejoined his regiment in
June, 1862.
Colonel Clark led out repeated foraging ex
peditions in quest of army supplies. On the 1 1 th
of July, he took out on such an errand, seven
companies from the 19th, and three from the 28th
N. Y. While engaged in gathering supplies he
sent a company up the road, with directions to
lie in ambush, and to permit all that came, to
pass, but to intercept their return. Soon about
forty cavalry came dashing down the road, and
discovered some of the decoy party, who had
strayed into view and were fired upon. The main
body, too eager to wait, returned the fire. The
other companies under the lead of their Colonel,
rushed upon the scene ; but the assailants, firing,
wheeled and fled. In this affair one of the 12th
New York was killed and three of the cavalry
were wounded.
Before leaving Washington, disaffection toward
their Colonel had arisen among several of the
officers of the 19th, and they had drawn up
formal charges against him, among which were
those of harsh and ungentlemanly treatment of
officers and men, and profanity. These were
laid before General Patterson, at Martinsburgh,
who had not forgotten Col. Clark's neglect of his
first order, nor his failure to escort the heavy gun
and the accompanying stores with his full com
mand. The General suspended Colonel Clark
from the command of the regiment, which then
devolved upon Lieutenant-Colonel Clarence A.
Seward. Col. Clark was put under arrest to be
tried by court-martial ; but though he repeat
edly demanded to be tried, his demand was never
granted. It is perhaps a sufficient commentary
upon the merits of this whole question, to state
the view taken of it by Gen. Banks, who suc
ceeded Gen. Patterson, and who, after a full ex
amination of the facts, voluntarily relieved Col.
Clark from all the disabilities growing out of his
suspension from command, and gave him his
choice of. the old position in the regiment, or a

no

CAYUGA COUNTY IN THE REBELLION.

position on the staff of the Major-General com
manding. Col. Clark accepted the position of
aid-de-camp on the staff of Gen. Banks, and held
it through all that General's campaigns, render
ing, on several occasions, signally important
services. After lying four days at Martinsburgh, the
order was given on July 14th to advance to
Bunker- Hill, which was reached with only a
slight skirmish of the advance with six hundred
of Stewart's cavalry, but who were speedily
stampeded by our artillery. The New York
troops encamped that night in a wheat-field, the
sheaves of which supplied them with pillows and
couches. Foraging had been forbidden ; yet the
army would not go hungry with an abundance
of supplies within reach. They took the liberty to
help themselves, and fed bountifully upon the
various productions of old Virginia, including
poultry, pigs, mutton, beef, vegetables and fruits
and whatever edibles came within their reach.
Patterson halted here, hesitating what to do.
He had received peremptory orders from Gen
eral Scott, either to fight Johnston, or so demon
strate against him as to prevent his junction with
the rebel General Beauregard, against whom
McDowell was advancing ; but he did neither.
His dilatory and unsoldiery conduct greatly in
censed General Sandford ; but, as a subordinate,
he could only advise, not direct the operations to
be made. On the 17th of July, Gen. Patterson
moved, not toward, but away from the enemy,
toward Charlestown, opening an easy and undis
puted pathway for Johnston to unite his forces-
with those of General Beauregard, and thus de
termined the issue of the bloody field of Bull Run
on the 2 1 St of July.
On his march to Charlestown rebel cavalry
watched and reported the movements, and when
they found them to be no feints, but a direct re
tirement of the army, the enemy unmolested,
quickly marched through the gap thus opened
for him and accomplished his awful work. What
a fearful responsibility rests upon the cowardly,
or traitorous head of the vascillating General.
Patterson reached Charlestown on the evening
of the 17th, the 19th regiment encamping in a
field near that in which John Brown had been
hung, many of the men visiting the scene ofthe
tragedy. Here the army lay idly for four days,
until the morning of that fatal Sunday, on which

was fought the disastrous battle of Bull Run,
when it moved to Harper's Ferry, and encamped
upon Bolivar Heights. On the 25th of July, Pat
terson was superseded by General N. P. Banks,
and sent home, followed by the execrations of the
army and the country.
General Banks found his army so weakened
by the expiration of the terms of service, as to
make it necessary in the then defeated and dis
organized condition of Mc Dowell's forces, to
withdraw across the Potomac. In preparation
for this movement, and to guard the passage,
General Banks despatched Captain Kennedy with
his own company and those of Captains Schenck,
Gavigan, and Stewart, with two guns of the
Rhode Island battery to occupy the heights on
the Maryland side of the river. The army moved
over and encamped on this side, picketing its
shore for some forty miles up and down the river.
The rebels occupying its opposite banks.
Here the army lay for three weeks pending its
reorganization and was thoroughly drilled and
disciplined. In the reorganized army the 19th
regiment formed a part of the eighth brigade
which was commanded by Colonel George H.
Thomas, who soon became here very popular and
efficient as he afterwards was in more trying and
responsible positions.
The shoddy rags which till now had dangled
from, and deformed the bodies and mortified the
spirits of the men of the 19th Regiment, were, on
the 30th of July, duly exchanged for neat and
substantial uniforms, which were at once the com
fort, pride and joy of the long abused soldiers.
While lying here. Captain Kennedy proceeded
with a detachment of about one hundred men in
a night march to Lovettsville, three miles from
the river, to attempt the capture of a rebel cav
alry patrol that was in the daily habit of recon-
noitering in the vicinity. But on this occasion
the cavalry came by a different route from that
usually taken by them, and fled so quickly when
they discovered our detachment that only a long
range shot could be obtained, resulting in wound
ing a few of them and in capturing trifling sup
plies. The incident was not important in itself,
except as a relief to those engaged in it from the
tedium of camp life.
While lying idly in camp, and the three months
limit of their time of service rapidly approaching,
the men matured their plans for returning home,

THE 19TH N. Y. S. V. HELD FOR TWO YEARS.

in

to which, so far as they knew, there was no ob
jection. The 5th and 12th New York regiments
brigaded with them, returned home on the 30th
of July and the first of August, forcibly reminding
the members of the 19th that on the 22d of the
latter month they too would leave for their homes.
Rumors were, however, circulated that they were
to be retained for the full period of their enlist
ment, two years, and an appeal was made to Gen
eral Banks for his judgment in the premises. He
expressed the opinion that they could be -held
only for three months, the period of their muster.
Lieutenant-Colonel Seward, then in command of
the regiment, and an able lawyer, coincided with
General Banks.
But special orders No. 323 issued at Albany,
August 2d, 1861, finally settled the matter. It
directed that Colonel Clark should " report with
his command to the Adjutant-General of the
army for duty under the orders of the United
States government, for the remainder of the term
of the enlistment of the regiment, into the service
ofthe United States."
On the 1 2th of August the order was an
nounced in camp producing great surprise and
indignation. The men were greatly disappointed,
they had made every arrangement to return, and
had been cruelly kept in ignorance of their legal
obligations. Had section 3d of the New York
act of April 1 6th been promptly read and fully
explained to them, they would have clearly seen
their obligations and obeyed them. The phrase
ology of that act was as explicit as words could
be, thus :
" They," the enlisted men, " shall be at all times
liable to be turned over to the service of the
United States, on the order of the Governor, as
a part of the militia of the State, on the order of
the President &c."
That was the obligation which the men of the
19th assumed on their enlistment and special
orders 323 legally bound them to service for the
full two years. But the 22d of August had not
yet come. The regiment moved with the army
to Hyattstown, ten miles south of Frederick, and
encamped. Here the subject was thoroughly
canvassed by ofificers and men, all of the former
and the great body of the latter, though disap
pointed in their expectations, still accepted the
inevitable, against which they clearly saw it was
useless to contend.
The 22d of August came at length and the

test of compliance with, or resistance to the order
was to be made. The 19th was formed and over
it was placed a strong body of armed men, includ
ing a battery of artillery, to quell instantly any
and all attempts at mutiny or insubordination.
Major Ledlie, in a few words, informed the regi
ment that they were turned over to the service
of the United States for the remainder of the
two years. Adjutant Stone read the special
order 323. Their arms were then stacked. Major
Ledlie then commanded the men to advance and
take their arms. All the ofificers at once did so,
as did all of the men in the companies of Cap
tains Kennedy and Stewart except a single-
recusant in the latter. Companies C, H, and K,
stepped forward with few exceptions ; but the
larger part ofthe others held back. There were
280 who refused to obey. In Captain Gavigan's
company, but one of the men obeyed, and he,
because his time would soon expire, as his term of
enlistment had been special. The recusants who
were put under arrest, finally numbered 203. Cap
tains Kennedy and Stewart were congratulated by
Colonel Thomas on the noble conduct of their
respective commands, but on hearing a full ac
count of the case declared the men free from
blame, and that they had not " been treated
right," a conclusion to which all dispassionate
men must arrive.
General Banks, understanding the great griev
ances of the men, gave them time to consider the
matter. They were labored with by their offi
cers, and the whole case, its causes and necessary
consequences, was fully explained to them. Gen
eral Banks and Father Creedon, of the Holy
Family Church in Auburn, earnestly pressed upon
them their obligations, and all but twenty-three
finally returned to duty. The recusants were
tried by court martial and sentenced to the Dry
Tortugas for two years. They were pardoned
the following November on condition of serving
out the remainder of their time honestly and
faithfully, and they did so.
The men, who manifested such remarkable
firmness in their resistance to what they believed
to be a great wrong were " Michael Ban-ett, Wm.
Buckley, Thomas Burke, Daniel Doyle, James
Downell, James Dwyre, Wm. Galvin, Thomas-
Green, Thomas Head, John Hogan, Patrick Kel-
laher, Michael Lacy, Francis McCarthy, John Mc-
Kean, John O'Brien, and James Tracy of Co. D ;

n2

CAYUGA COUNTY IN THE REBELLION.

John L. Crounce and James Gaffney, Co. E ;
Morgan L. Joslyn, Co. G ; Samuel Barr, John
P. Barber, Walter M. Fowler and Morris Ryan
of Co. I.
The camp of the regiment was now changed
to Seneca Creek, in the vicinity of Hyattstown,
where it remained until the 24th of September.
Meanwhile the brigade commander had been
changed. Colonel Biddle succeeding Colonel
Thomas, who was transferred to a command in
the West. At the latter date the regiment was
ordered to Muddy Branch, to guard the depot of
supplies established there, where from ten to fif
teen hundred wagons were daily loaded and
despatched. In this duty great vigilance was
required to protect the very valuable freight from
rebel raids upon it, and heavy picket and patrol
duty was exacted. The regiment remained here
through October and November and fitted up
their tents with comfortable fire-places of their
own invention, consisting of a covered ditch ex
tending outwards a few feet from the tent and
connecting with a fire-pit within it, the latter cov
ered or nearly so with a flat-stone, while the
outer terminus of the flue surmounted with a
barrel, or other arrangement for a short chimney,
finished the work ; such fire- places, very quickly
constituted, became common in all our armies
during the rebellion.
By furlough, discharges on account of disa
bility, and other causes, the regiment was reduced
in September ist to 639 men, and on the 2d
Capt. Kennedy was detached for the recruiting
service in Cayuga County. Lieut. -Colonel Sew
ard resigned his commission on the 13th, owing
to impaired health, and was succeeded by Major
Ledlie, Capt. Stewart being elected Major. It
was expected that Colonel Clark would soon
resign his commission and the command of the
regiment devolve upon Lieut-Colonel Ledlie.
In the frequent absence of the latter, the com
mand and drill of the regiment mainly devolved
upon Major Stewart, who from that time forward,
in an especial manner, displayed his admirable
military and soldierly talents and won the deserved
esteem of ofificers and men. The regiment was
reduced to a battalion by consolidation of com
panies, and Captains Stephens and Angel, and
Lieutenants Squires, Parker, Carr, Posting, and
Field were at their own request mustered out
Capt. Angel raised a new company.

On Sept. 25th, the 19th Regiment was trans
ferred to the third brigade under command of
Colonel G. H. Gordon, and on the 8th of Octo
ber, that brigade was placed under the command
of Gen. A. S. Williams, who instituted a thorough
course of military instruction. In October and
November a large number of desertions occurred,
which the vigilance of the ofificers could not pre
vent ; sixty-seven deserted in October and
November, fifty in a single night On Decem
ber 1st the regiment numbered but 425 effective
men. Capt. Baker resigned and left Nov. 5th.
The plan of consolidating the 19th Regiment
with the 28th N. Y. Volunteers was now broached,
but a display by its ofificers before Gen. Williams
of the thoroughness of its drill and the zeal and
capacity of its ofificers, defeated the scheme and
new and vigorous efforts were made to replenish
the regiment. Capt. Giles, Lieut. Boyle, and
Sergeant Barrus were detached on recruiting
service. Col. Clark having been relieved by Gen.
Banks from all disabilities arising from his sus
pension from command and been offered and ac
cepted a position on his staff, he resigned the
command of the 19th Regiment. Major Ledlie
then became Colonel, Major Stewart, Lieuten
ant-Colonel, and Captain Giles, Major.
The plan of converting the igth Regiment
into artillery v/as now formed and successfully
executed. The singular and sad fortune of the
regiment, the zeal, fidelity and admitted capacity
of its ofificers, and the fact that it had come from
the home of Secretary Seward, had not only
drawn public attention to it, but had prepared the
way for successful appeal in its behalf Justice,
long deferred, was soon to be awarded to it. Col.
Ledlie visited Washington, had an interview
with Secretary Seward, and proposed his plan,
which was cordially endorsed by the Secretary.
The latter accompanied Col. Ledlie on a visit to
Gen. McClellan, the result of which was that an
artillery regiment 1.900 strong was authorized
to be raised, of which the 19th was to form a
part The order for this purpose was dated De
cember nth, 1861, and in addition to directing
the formation of the regiment of heavy artillery,
the design of which at that time was to defend
the Capital, there was this significant clause :
"And any companies which may now be serv
ing as light artillery, will be detached, and mus-

THE THIRD NEW YORK ARTILLERY— ORGANIZATION.

"3

tered as independent companies, and their places
in the regiment will be supplied by other compa
nies." This clause was interpolated to do justice to
Captain Kennedy, who, when detached on re
cruiting service as theretofore related, had raised
a battery of artillery that had been mustered
into the United States service on November
23d, as the 1st Independent N. Y. Battery.
This gave a new and strong impulse to re
cruiting, in which all heartily joined. On De
cember 1 8th, Captain Angel reported with a full
company, K, William Richardson, First, and T.
J. Messereau, Second Lieutenants.
The autumnal rains and the heavy trafific over
the roads, rendered them so heavy as to compel
Gen. Banks, on December ist, to change his
base of supplies from Muddy Brook to Frederick.
Here they established winter quarters. The
march of thirty miles to this point over horribly
muddy and half frozen roads, was extremely fa
tiguing, but it was accomplished in two days.
A camp was here selected in a piece of woods,
through which ran a fine stream. Substantial
huts were built, with a base of logs three to four
feet high, the crevices filled with mud, surmount
ed with tents, and then floored and supplied with
fire-places. Here the regiment remained in com
fortable quarters, until January 6th, when the
threatening movements of the enemy under
Stonewall Jackson, in the vicinity of Hancock,
demanded attention. That village, where was
.stationed a Union brigade, was shelled on the
13th of December, and the attack vigorously re
pelled by our artillery. Jackson had concentrat
ed along the Upper Potomac a force of some
20,000 men, and to strengthen our lines there, it
was decided to forward thither the 3d Brigade,
then consisting of the loth and 28th New York,
5th Connecticut and 46th Pennsylvania Regi
ments, Gen. Williams, commanding. The march
was through snow several inches deep, and the
first night, while under the temporary command
of Col. Donnelly, it was compelled to encamp in
the open fields without the protection of tents,
and suffered intensely. The cruel commander was
severely reprimanded by Gen. Williams for his
harsh treatment of the men. The third night
the regiment found quarters in Hancock.
Here they were subjected to all the privations
and hardships incident to a winter campaign, un
til February i8th, 1862. Heavy patrol, picket

and engineer duties were required of the men.
The village was small, and its accommodations
insignificant. Exposure brought on colds and
fevers, including the dreaded typhus, attended
with many fatal results. As a sanitary measure
the camp was removed to the open fields, and the
men supplied with Sibley tents, holding fifteen
men each, warmed with the Sibley stoves, and
well ventilated.
At the date mentioned, pursuant to the order
ofthe War Department, the. regiment started on
its return march to Washington, in furtherance
of Special Order No. 584, issued on the 30th of
December, reciting that " the 19th Regiijieht of
New York State Volunteers is hereby organized
into an artillery regiment, to be known and des
ignated as the 3d Regiment of New York Vol
unteer Artillery." Before leaving, the Brigadier-
General commanding complimented the regi
ment, officers and men, for their good order, dis
cipline and their marked improvement in drill.
A three days toilsome march over very bad roads
brought them to Frederick, where cars awaited
them, and in which they reached Washington on
the22d. Here closed the career of the "Old Nine
teenth " without a battle, after much toil and
many sacrifices on the part of both ofificers and
men, and with little of that eclat usually attach
ing to successful military achievements. Subse
quently, in another organization, and under a new
name, the same officers and men won many lau
rels upon sharply contested fields, and earned
the undying gratitude of the country.

CHAPTER XIX.

Cayuga in the Rebellion — (Continued.)
The Third New York Artillery — Organ
ization — In Fort Corcoran — Changed to
Light Artillery^ Service in New Berne
— Expedition to Goldsboro — Battle of
Whitehall— Attack on New Berne — Iron
Clad Albermarle — Various Military
Operations — Services of the Several
Batteries — Membership and Losses.
THE Special Order, No. 584, directing the
formation of the 3d New York Heavy
Artillery, bore date December n, 1861. At;

"4

CAYUGA COUNTY IN THE REBELLION.

that time the efforts which had been made to re
cruit for the 19th Regiment by Captains Ken
nedy, Giles and Angel were supplemented by
the personal efforts of Colonel Ledlie and
others. Recruiting for the 3d Artillery was not, how
ever, confined to the 21st Military District.
Accessions were obtained from various sources.
Captain Edwin S. Jenney, of Syracuse, raised in
his vicinity one hundred and forty-two men ;
Battery H of the regiment was formed from
skeleton companies from Utica and Rome ; Bat
tery M came from Cortland and Battery B from
New York City, and all these recruits concen
trated at the latter point, and were clothed in
heavy artillery uniforms and supplied with, and
drilled in the use of rifles, a requirement of the
arm of the service for which they were destined.
They numbered five hundred and thirty men and
were accompanied to Washington by Major
Giles, where they arrived on the 21st of Febru
ary, joined the camp of the "Old Nineteenth."
They were assigned by General William F.
Barry, commanding the defences of Washing
ton, to Fort Corcoran, on Arlington Heights.
This was one of the series of five forts, on the
west side of the Potomac, intended for the pro
tection of the Capital. It was on the plantation
of the Rebel General Lee, whose elegant and
costly mansion was occupied for his headquarters
by Lieutenant-Colonel Stewart. It was an ele
vated, healthy, and in every way, a very pleasant
location for an army. With the Sibley tents well
floored, warmed and ventilated, the camp well
laid out and supplied, the men of the 3d Artil
lery began a very agreeable military experience.
At this time the official organization and nu
merical force of the regiment were reported as
follows: Colonel, James H. Ledlie, November
18, 1861 ; Lieutenant-Colonel, Charles H. Stew
art, December 23, 1861 ; Majors, Henry M.
Stone, December 23, 1861, Solomon Giles, Jan
uary 23, 1862, T. J. Kennedy, January 23,
1862 ; Adjutant J. Fred. Dennis, December 23,
1861 ; Quartermaster, John H. Chedell, May 29,
1861 ; Surgeon, Theodore Dimon, May 20, 1861;
Assistant Surgeon, William H. Knight, October
,17, i86r; Chaplain, William Hart, November 14,
1861; Commissary Sergeant George E. Ashby ;
Sergeant-Major, Frank G. Smith.
Company A — Captain, Charles White, 35 men;

Company B — Captain, J. J. Morrison, loi men;
Company C — Captain, James E. Ashcroft, 63
men ; Company D — Captain, Owen Gavigan, 95
men; Company E — Captain, Theodore H.
Schenck, 64 men ; Company F— Captain, Edwin
S. Jenney, 142 men ; Company G — Captain, John
Wall, 89 men ; Company H — Captain, William
J. Riggs, 102 men ; Company I — Captain, John
H. Ammon, 96 men ; Company K — Captain,
James R. Angel, 96 men; Company M — Cap
tain, James V. White, 145 men ; a total of
1,091. On the 23d of the previous November, Cap
tain Kennedy's Independent Battery had been
mustered into the United States service and had
up to this time been attached to the army of the
Potomac, rendering important service. Colonel
Ledlie desired to attach it to the 3d Artillery and
to secure the revocation of the order constituting
it an independent command, in which he suc
ceeded, and it was entered on the rolls as Com
pany L, and as such a few reports were made by
Captain Kennedy, but when he was elected Ma
jor in the 3rd Artillery the command of the bat
tery devolved upon Captain Cowan, who, for
reasons never fully explained, maintained its
independent existence to the end of the war.
In Fort Corcoran the 3rd Artillery were thor
oughly instructed in the heavy artillery exercise
in all its parts, the men being divided and drilled
in the different forts. They were nearly all raw
recruits in this arm of the service, and its very
alphabet had to be taught them, but they had
intelligent and thorough commanding ofificers,
and rapid progress was made. Accessions were,
from time to time, made to the regiment so that
by April it numbered 1,350 men. So many new
men brought together during the inclement sea
son, subject to heavy guard and patrol duty, was
attended by much sickness, the veterans of the
old 19th mostly escaping.
The old acqueduct bridge over the Potomac
was strictly guarded and no one permitted to
pass unchallenged. One night, however, an at
tempt was made to do so by the driver of a heavy
carriage from the Maryland side, on the plea that
it contained distinguished ofificial persons, a prob
able ruse to test the fidelity of the guards ; but
their pretensions were useless. The carriage and
its inmates were promptly arrested and brought
into the presence of Lieutenant Stewart, who

IN AND ABOUT NEW BERNE.

IIS

found he had as prisoners. President Lincoln,
Secretary Seward, and General McClellan who,
having sufficiently assured themselves of the
vigilance of the watch, retired, proceeding to
General Porter's headquarters.
The cruel and blundering heartlessness with
which men in authority sometimes treated our
soldiers, was exemplified at Fort Corcoran. Doc
tor Lyman, medical director of Porter's division,
ordered all the sick to report to Surgeon Dimon
without previous notice, and for whose comfort
no proper accommodations existed. In a few
days five hundred invalids were thrust upon his
care without any reports of their previous treat
ment, without nurses, sufficient medicines, or any
suitable place for them, and this in the inclement
month of March, with good hospitals one and a
half miles distant As soon as possible tents
were erected in which to shelter the sick, and all
the aid administered which was possible by the
daily and nightly attendance of the Surgeon.
Here the suffering men remained until the 24th
of March, notwithstanding the continued efforts
of the Surgeon to secure their transfer to hospi
tals. They were then transferred to the hospital
at Georgetown.
The regiment was now to be changed to light
artillery, for which purpose, on the 22d of March,
they drew new uniforms, and on the 24th re
ceived matching orders. They had been selected
as one of four regiments destined to reinforce
General Burnside, then successfully operating on
the coast of North Carolina. On the 25th they
broke camp at Arlington and proceeded to An
napolis, whence, with three other artillery regi
ments, they embarked in transports for Hatteras
Inlet, on the 28th. They were accompanied by
the 2d Maryland, 17th Massachusetts, and 3d
New York, the whole under command of Col.
T. C. Amory, of the 17th Massachusetts. The
entire 3d Artillery Regiment with its 1,300 men,
its 700 horses, and several companies of the 103d
New York, were stowed away in the capacious
steamer Fulton, which proceeded with its con
sorts bearihg the other regiments to the place of
destination. After an experience of sea-sick
ness rarely equalled, the expedition arrived at
Hatteras Inlet on the 30th of March. They
were here transferred to lighter vessels and as
cended the river Neuse about one hundred miles
to. New Berne, which had on March 14th, been

captured by General Burnside, and which lies
above the confluence of the rivers Trent and
Neuse and contains about 8,000 inhabitants.
Camp was formed on the western bounds of the
city, where they were visited by General Burn
side, who was very much delighted with the fine
personnel of the regiment and its complete equip
ment, which he highly complimented. Burn
side arranged to fortify New Berne strongly on
its western side by the erection of forts ; the
strongest was named Fort Totten, and became
identified afterwards with the heroic achieve
ments of the regiment.
Captain Ammon, at his own request was per
mitted with his company armed as infantry, to
participate in the siege of Fort Macon, which
guarded the entrance to Beaufort harbor, then
proceeding under General Parke. His company
was landed eighteen miles below New Berne,
whence they marched to their destination and
joined the forces operating against the fort. Fort
Macon was a very strong fortress and had been
early occupied by the rebels. It mounted sixty
ten-inch columbiads and was garrisoned by a
force of four hundred and fifty men.
Captain Ammon, with Company I, were now
to put into practice some of the lessons in the
use of heavy artillery which they had learned at
Fort Corcoran. They proceeded to Bogue Is
land opposite the fort, under fire of its batteries,
but fortunately, owing to the imperfections of
their range, no casualties occurred. At night
they moved over to the side ofthe island nearest
the fort, and began the erection of a battery
within four hundred yards of it, an earthwork on
which to mount ten-inch mortars. They raised
the loose sand eight feet high and kept it in
place on the inside by sand bags wired together.
Lieutenants Kelsey and Thomas erected another
battery in the vicinity and there was erected
in front and in advance of the others another
earthwork on which were mounted four parrot
guns. Nearly two weeks were spent in the
erection of these works and mounting the guns
and mortars; eight mortars and four parrot guns.
The latter were brought up and placed in posi
tion at night ; a fusilade of shot and shell was
kept up from the fort while the work was pro
ceeding, yet the men learned to listen to the re
ports of the enemy's guns and to watch and
dodge the approaching missiles.

n6

CAYUGA COUNTY IN THE REBELLION.

The fort was summoned to surrender on the
24th, and our batteries opened upon it the 25th,
the blockading fleet cooperating. General Parke
had posted a strong picket line to protect the
batteries from assault At five o'clock a. m.,
the parrot battery opened on the fort followed
instantly by all the eight mortars. After about
twenty minutes the fort responded vigorously
with eighteen guns, one of them a 128 pounder
columbiad. Such an armament industriously handled would
hurl an immense amount of metal at the works
of the besiegers, and it did so, casting up im
mense clouds of sand, which would sometimes
nearly bury the men without materially inter
fering with the operation of the batteries, which
soon obtained an accurate range and maintained
a very destructive fire. About nine o'clock four
of our gunboats steamed up and commenced an
enfilading fire ; but the water was too rough for
effective work and they were compelled to re
tire. The effect of the fire upon Captain Ammon's
works finally began to tell, and, pending repairs,
it was for a short time silent; but the mortars
were soon again at work with their former accu
racy of range and destructive effect, manifest
in the growing weakness of the fire from the
fort, whose guns, one after another, had been dis
mounted until at three o'clock, p. m., all but one
had been disabled and silenced. The end was
close at hand.
At four o'clock a white flag was displayed from
the fort and after a parley, an armistice was agreed
upon until the following day; when the fort sur
rendered with all it contained. In the fort eight
men were killed and twenty wounded, and four
hundred and thirty prisoners were captured, also
four hundred stands of arnjs, twenty horses, and
one ton of powder. One man only of the be
siegers' was killed, William Dart, of Ammon's
Battery, who had imprudently exposed himself
and was struck by a solid shot.
The success of the siege and the freedom of
our men from casualties was certainly marvelous.
The fort was reputed second in strength only to
Fort Sumter, was heavily armed and sufificiently
garrisoned, while it was assailed and carried by
hastily erected sand batteries, made under the
direct fire of the fort. That men in such a posi
tion, under the fire of such a fort, should escape

with a single fatal casualty and yet capture the
fortress, was so signal an instance of military
success as to crown the participants in it with
deserved renown. General Burnside gratefully
acknowledged the service in a special order, and
Captain Ammon received from the field and staff
of his regiment a rich and beautiful flag, in
scribed " Fort Macon, April 16, 1862," with a
very complimentary note.
During April, work on Fort Totten was con
tinued and several acres were enclosed by a sand
wall eight feet high and from 12 to 1$ feet thick,
in which 28 heavy guns were mounted, compris
ing 32, 60 and 100 pounders. These were all in
position and the fort in a good defensive state by
the first of June.
The 3d Artillery hitherto had been unsupplied
with field guns. General Burnside had with him
but one other field battery, the First Rhode Is
land, and was therefore anxious to complete the
armament of the 3rd Artillery at the earliest
possible moment. Major Kennedy had come on
from the Army of the Potomac and been placed
in command of one of the three battalions into
which the regiment was now divided, the other
commanders being Majors Giles and Stone. The
batteries were but slowly supplied, and, at first,
with guns of various calibres, entailing much
trouble to supply them with the requisite ammu
nition, as they ranged from 12 to 24-pounders.
The full complement of a battery is six guns,
six limbers, six caissons, forge, baggage-wagon
and one hundred horses. In the work of sup
plying and drilling the several batteries both in
light and heavy artillery practice, the summer
and autumn of 1862 was mainly spent. Several
details were made however. Battery G, Captain
Wall, on the 28th of May, was sent to garrison
the fort at Washington, North Carolina ; Battery
K was sent to General Reno ; and Battery M,
Captain White, was sent to garrison Fort Reno,
on Roanoke Island, but was soon transferred to
Fort Hatteras.
General Burnside's Coast Division, aggregating
nearly 15,000 men, was now in a condition, it was
believed, to strike effective blows by advancing
into the interior of North Carolina and cutting
the rebel communications between that State
and Virginia, supplementing the advance of the
Army of the Potomac under General McClellan.
Orders were accordingly given on July ist for an

AT WASHINGTON, N. C.

"7

advance in the direction of Kinston, for which
full preparations were made, but the disas
ters which had befallen the Northern army
in the Chickahominy caused a sudden change
of plan. The advance was arrested by tele
graph from Washington, and orders given to
General Burnside to forward the brigades of
Generals Parke and Reno to Fortress Monroe, to
provide against threatened disaster from that
quarter. They were speedily sent, General
Burnside following on the 4th of July. Thus
was withdrawn fully tWo-thirds of the forces
operating in North Carolina, and the small force
left to hold our various positions there was put
on the defensive. General Foster was entrusted
with the command of the Department Lieu
tenant-Colonel Stewart was made Chief-Engi
neer of the Department on General Foster's
Staff, on the loth of August, and was especially
entrusted with the defenses of New Berne, which,
with its diminished garrison and the offensive
demonstrations of the rebels, required close and
intelligent care. Strong defensive works were be
ing erected about the town, which in January, had
been so far completed as, it was believed, to se
cure the place from capture. The work was
mainly done by contrabands, hundreds of whom
were employed.
As illustrating one of the thousand forms of
swindling to which the temptations of the war
gave birth, it should here be noticed that these
contrabands knew nothing of the value of the
money in which they were paid and a trifling
part only of what was their due was paid to them,
while their marks were affixed to vouchers for
the full aggregate, the balance going to enrich
the miserable swindlers. This practice was con
tinued for months, before it became known and
was arrested.
On June 27th, Capt John Wall, ofthe 3d Artil
lery, with ninety men, had been sent, armed as
infantry, to strengthen the garrison of Washing
ton, North Carolina, a town of three thousand
inhabitants, situated on the north bank of the
Tar River. Here they were employed in per
fecting, through the months of July and August,
the defenses of the place, and in drilling. The
swamps surrounding them produced so much
sickness in August, as to bring into the hospital,
an old academy building in the town, nearly two-
thirds of Captain Wall's men.

At four a. m., August 6th, a cavalry force of
four companies and a battery of four guns of the
3d New York Artillery, Captain William J.
Riggs, marched through Washington, on a re-
connoitering expedition to Rainbow Bluff. At
this time a dense fog prevented the rebels from
discovering this movement. Just at this time a
raiding party of the enemy, five hundred strong,
and two companies of cavalry, came suddenly
into the town through a corn-field, the fog ob
scuring all observation, capturing our sentinels.
Two regiments from their barracks were prompt
ly on hand, and, hearing the firing, Captain
Riggs and the four cavalry companies returned
and joined in the defense of the town. The
rebels, with dogged obstinacy maintained a
street fight for hours, the obscurity of the dense
fog aiding their operations. The four guns of
battery G, stored in the hospital grounds, the
men being too sick to use them, were the first
object of attack and capture, showing that the
party was posted as to the enfeebled condition of
the garrison. They had horses ready harnessed
to hitch to the captured guns, which were
speedily turned upon our men. The gun-boats
Picket and Louisiana steamed up and rendered
what aid they could ; but the former exploded
her magazine and retired, an accident by which
nineteen men were killed. The assailants, after
a loss in killed and wounded of nearly one-fourth
their number, fled the town pursued by the
cavalry. The 3d Artillery lost four killed, eight
wounded, nine prisoners and four guns.
Both batteries engaged in this affair, B and H,
inscribed " Washington, North Carolina, Sep
tember 6th, 1862," upon their flags.
Captain Kennedy, with four batteries and
tvventy guns, was sent with an expedition ten
thousand strong, designed to cut the Weldon
Railroad. It started on the 3d day of Novem
ber, but on reaching Tarboro, so strong a force
of the enemy was' found concentrated in their
front, that the expedition returned, leaving the
batteries at Plymouth to protect the town.
The next important movement in which the
3d Artillery participated was the expedition to
Goldsboro, twelve thousand strong, intended to
engage the enemy in that quarter and prevent
his concentrating against General Burnside, who
was then moving upon Fredericksburgh, Va.
Lieut -Colonel Stewart accompanied the expedi-

n8

CAYUGA COUNTY IN THE REBELLION.

tion, with several contrabands, ready for rough
engineering, and they found ample employment
in removing fallen trees and other obstructions
from the path of the army. On the I2th, slight
skirmishes with the enemy took place with no
damage to us. On the 13th, at the passage of
South West Creek, opposition was met, but it
was speedily dispersed. On the 14th the army
had neared Kinston, and, two miles in advance
of the town, the enemy six thousand strong was
encountered, strongly fortified, holding the route
of our advance. The position was assaulted and
a severe action followed, in which the 3d Artillery
played a conspicuous part. After a persistent
defense in which they received and inflicted severe
losses, the enemy fell back to Kinston, which
was abandoned as our forces proceeded. Our
loss was thirty-eight killed and one hundred
and eighty-five wounded. The 3d Artillery had
no killed and only ten wounded. The rebel loss
was 250 killed and wounded, 400 prisoners, 500
small arms, 1 1 cannon and other stores. Burn-
side's defeat at Fredericksburgh left a large rebel
force free to resist Foster's contemplated advance
to Goldsboro. He decided, nevertheless to pro
ceed, and at Whitehall next day he met a force
of the enemy, 10,000 strong with ten pieces of
artillery. A brisk artillery and infantry fight
ensued. Our batteries of thirty guns were
brought to bear on the enemy's position for over
two hours, by which his guns were silenced.
General Foster had no time to lose, and has
tened on his march to Goldsboro. Our loss in
this engagement was 75 killed and wounded.
The 3d Artillery had but two killed and thir
teen wounded.
That day the army came within two miles of
the railroad bridge, over the Neuse, to destroy
which was one of the objects of the expedition.
The bridge was sharply defended, but fired and
burned, and the railroad torn up, thus severing
the main line of rebel communication in this
quarter. The purpose of the expedition being
accomplished, a return march began. The rebels
had already massed a large force in the vicinity,
and the army was, at first, threatened with an
attack, but it safely returned to New Berne.
Colonel Ledlie was promoted to the rank of
Brigadier- General on December 24th, and the
command of the regiment devolved upon Lieut. -
Colonel Stewart, who, in 1863, was promoted to

the Colonelcy. Major Stone was made Lieuten
ant-Colonel and Captain Jenney became Major.
The forces in North Carolina were increased to
an army corps and Major-General Foster placed
in command.
The Confederate government was greatly an
noyed by General Fosters's energetic move
ments, and resolved to drive him from the State,
sending for this purpose General D. H. Hill with
fully 20,000 men. The first demonstrations of
this force were against New Berne, on March 13th,
at three different points ; an actual attack being
made only on Fort Anderson, an unfinished earth
work. This was vigorously assailed by General
Pettigrew, but was so resolutely and skillfully de
fended that the assailants retired. They could
not capture the weakest of our defenses and
therefore abandoned the hope of capturing New-
Berne. But Washington was less strongly fortified,
and that town. General Hill believed, could be
regained. He proceeded thither, planted his bat
teries, and bombarded it for ten consecutive days,
wasting an immense amount of Confederate
ammunition. The Tar river, on which the town is situated, is
three-fourths of a mile wide and navigable. The
enemy erected heavy batteries below the town on
the river, intended to prevent communication
with New Berne ; but General Foster neverthe
less cast himself into the fort and directed its
defense. As ammunition or provisions grew short
they were supplied by running the batteries at
night. In the fort were 2,200 men, assailed by
20,000 commanded by an able General, well sup
plied with artillery and every means of offense.
The persistence of the siege, induced General
Foster to raise it, and running the batteries, he
proceeded to New Berne to prepare for it ; but
General Hill, anticipating his purpose, retired,
abandoning the siege.
In May the two years' limit of the enlistment
ofthe members ofthe old 19th would expire, and
on the 20th of that month they sailed for home,
reaching Auburn on the 26th. They were
received at the depot by military and civic escort,
conducted to the Western Exchange, where they
were welcomed by a patriotic address by John
N. Knapp, the provost-marshal, and supplied
with a bountiful collation. They were mustered
out the 2d of June and paid off on the 6th.

RETURN OF THE TWO YEARS' MEN.

119

The companies that returned and the number
in each were as follows :
Battery A — Captain White, and Lieutenants
Tomlinson and Potter ; 75 men.
Battery C— Lieutenant Randolph ; 83 men.
Battery D — Captain Gavigan and Lieutenants
Boyle, Bran nick and Dwyer ; 63 men.
Battery E — Lieutenant Dennis ; 80 men.
Battery G — Captain Wall and Lieutenant
Thompson ; 56 men.
Battery I — 78 men.
Battery K — 7% men.
A total of 524 men. Surgeon Dimon return
ed with this section of the regiment. On the
withdrawal of these two years' men, the 3d Ar
tillery was reduced to 889 men, comprising the
following companies :
Battery B — Captain Ashcroft ; 142 men.
Battery E — Captain Schenck ; 105 men.
Battery F — Captain Taylor ; 133 men.
Battery H — Captain Riggs ; 133 men.
Battery I— Zai^tam Ammon ; 113 men.
Battery M — Captain Howell; 131 men.
Colonel Stewart's request to recruit for the
regiment was granted, being cordially endorsed
by General Foster, who added that from ¦ the 3d
Artillery had been drawn "all the excellent light
artillery batteries we have formed in this depart
ment, * * * nine in number."
The enlistments added about 300 recruits to
the regiment The two departments of Virginia
and North Carolina were, on July i8th, placed
in command of General Foster, with headquarters
at Fortress Monroe, General John J. Peck com
manding the District of North Carolina. Gen
eral Peck made a careful inspection of his effec
tive forces, and of the difficulties and dangers of
his position, and became fully convinced that it
was the resolute purpose of the enemy to drive
him from North Carolina and rescue the State
from Federal control. He therefore diligently
strengthened his defenses, and prepared for the
expected attack, which came on February ist,
1864, when, about two o'clock a. m., in a thick
fog, the rebels, 12,000 strong, attacked one of the
outposts of New Berne, nine miles from the city.
The garrison defended themselves bravely, and
fell, back in good order, reinforcements being sent
to their support. Beach Grove, another outpost,
one and a half miles distant from the position
first attacked, was occupied by Lieutenant Kirby
and a strong force of the enemy was interposed
between him and our main works, rendering his

position untenable, and obliging the garrison to
surrender. The ofificers were sent to Libby
Prison and the men to Belle Isle, where the latter
nearly all died. The former were successively
transferred to Macon, Charleston and Columbia.
While engaged in cutting wood at the latter
place Lieutenant Kirby, Colonel Sidney Meade
and Lieutenant Oliphant made their escape and
safely reached our lines at Knoxville, Tennessee.
The assailants, after two days' vigorous efforts,
became convinced that New Berne was too strong
ly fortified for successful assault, and retired,
having lost 35 killed, 100 wounded and 1,000 de
serters. Our loss was 100 killed and wounded,
and 280 prisoners.
This raid upon New Berne was a warning which
led General Peck to immediately erect more and
stronger defensive works. The enemy remained
in the vicinity, threatening every assailable point,
inciting constant alarm, and compelling unceas
ing vigilance.
The rebel iron-clad Albermarle was at length
ready and came forth to aid in the rescue of the
State. It drove our wooden vessels out of the
Roanoke, and, acting in concert with General
Hoke with 7,000 men, on April 20th captured
Plymouth and 2,000 prisoners.
General C. N. Palmer succeeded General Peck
on April 25th, the latter being called to Virginia.
Washington was evacuated, fearing that the fate
of Plymouth w-ould, otherwise, befall it, as we had
then at this point, no vessels which could resist
the formidable Albermarle.
On the 4th of May, New Berne was assailed
by the rebel General Hoke, who drove in our
pickets toward night, and demonstrated strongly
the next day, waiting for his formidable ally,
the Albermarle ; but that craft was so severely
handled by our war vessels at the entrance of
the sound that she withdrew altogether from
the fight and in October was sunk by a torpedo.
General Hoke, relying upon that vessel, sum
moned the city to surrender on the 6th, but was
sternly refused, and, learning the fate of the
Albermarle, retired from New Berne.
The Confederate necessities at this time in
Virginia caused the withdrawal from North Caro
lina of its forces, and left it open to new inroads
by our troops, which were frequently made.
The forces which General Foster had collected
for a contemplatedattack upon Wilmington were

120

CAYUGA COUNTY IN THE REBELLION.

diverted to aid in the reduction of Charleston,
and sailed for Hilton Head, arriving there at dif
ferent dates during the first week in February,
1864. They numbered about 11,000 men. Ac
companying the force was a brigade of light and
heavy artillery, commanded by Brigadier-Gen
eral Ledlie, a large battalion of which, from the
3d Artillery, was commanded by Major Ken
nedy, comprising 400 men, 22 guns, and 400
horses. On the 9th of February, the artillery had en
camped on the Island of St. Helena, on the
north side of Port Royal harbor. General Hun
ter was then in commandat Charleston, and to him
General Foster reported. The latter was coldly
received, and, on communicating with Commo
dore Dupont, found him not ready to cooperate,
and that there was an evident " hitch " in the plan
of operations. General Foster left for Fortress
Monroe ostensibly for siege guns, but he did not
return. General Hunter embodied the entire
corps as as reinforcements, against which many
of its officers protested. General Ledlie, at his
request, was permitted to return to New Berne.
Major Kennedy's battalion of the 3rd Artil
lery was retained and lay in comparative idle
ness for nearly two months ; but on April 3d set
sail with the fleet, bearing the troops from St
Helena, destined for Stono Inlet to aid in the
contemplated attack upon Charleston.
During the attack of the fleet upon Fort Sum
ter on the 7th, Batteries B and F of the 3rd Ar
tillery and 4,000 troops, were landed on Folly
Island, commanded by General Seymour, ready
at the proper time with pontoons, to sieze Mor
ris Island.
The attack upon Charleston failed of success,
and on the 12th of April the fleet with the loth
Army Corps, returned to Port Royal. The 3rd
Artillery, excepting Batteries B and F, was re
tained at Beaufort and St. Helena until near the
end of May, when it was ordered to New Berne.
Batteries B and F were retained by General Hun
ter, and by his successor in command. General
Gilmore. These two batteries participated act
ively in the several operations of the army on
Folly Island, in the capture of Morris Island and
p-ort Wagner and Fort Gregg, and in the long
continued bombardment of Fort Sumter, The
batteries led the advance of the army, supporting
the pickets, and were much exposed in the erec

tion and working of batteries covered by the ene
my's guns. They performed much valiant and
efficient work.
On the loth of July, the attack on Morris Is
land was made, in which about fifty guns were
brought to bear upon the enemy's works. The
batteries had been so quietly placed and so thor
oughly covered that their position and force were
a surprise to the enemy, who soon replied vigor
ously. The iron-clad fleet consisting of five
monitors, steamed up and so effectively seconded
the land batteries that, after a contest of three
hours, the rebel' works were assaulted and car
ried by the infantry, capturing nine cannon, two
mortars, a variety of stores, and many prisoners.
The victory was promptly won and with trifling
loss, placing our forces within six hundred yards
of Fort Wagner. In the attack, Batteries B and
F were distinguished for their rapid and accurate
firing. On the following day an attempt was made to
storm Fort Wagner by the brigade under com
mand of General Strong. It was resolutely and
bravely made, but repulsed with the loss of 150
in killed, wounded and prisoners. The work was
found to be stronger than was anticipated, and
Gen, Gilmore resolved to silence it by heavy bom
bardment and then assail it with an overwhelm
ing force. Seven days were spent in the erec
tion and mounting of batteries, and on the i8th
of July the fleet in the harbor and the batteries
on the island opened upon the fort a furious can
nonade, which had few parallels during the war.
This was continued for twelve hours, when, at
evening our troops gathered on the beach for the
terrible assault. It was made in force, pushed
with fruitless bravery and failed ; the assailants,
in their approach, to the fort were exposed to a
terrific fire and the enemy came out of their
strong bomb-proofs, uninjured by the heavy bom
bardment. For three terrible hours the assail
ing column persevered in the desperate work and
was finally compelled to retire with a loss in
killed, wounded and missing of 1,530.
A siege followed ; twenty-nine days and nights
were spent in incessant toil, and formidable bat
teries were completed. Batteries B and F of
the 3d Artillery occupied the right of the line.
The wall of Fort Sumter facing our batteries was
strengthened by sand bags to the height of forty-
five feet, and fifteen feet thick, which, with the

BOMBARDMENT OF FORT SUMTER.

121

brick wall made a total thickness of thirty-six
feet. The fort was in range of our batteries over
two miles distant, and the purpose of our prep
arations was thought by the enemy to be a proba
ble attack upon it, and they judged rightly ; on
the i6th of August experimental shots were dis
charged at the fort, and an effective range secured.
The iron-clad fleet joined in the bombardment of
Sumter. The batteries for seven days, gave
their undivided attention to the rear wall, which
was pierced and crumbled into ruins, and the fort
practically disabled. Its surrender and that of
the works on Morris Island were demanded and
refused, and notice given that the bombardment of
the city of Charleston would speedily follow, which,
although five miles distant, was found to be within
effective range of Gil more's heaviest guns, the mis
siles from which reached the heart of the city.
Coincident with the preparations for the bom
bardment of Sumter, General Gilmore had vig
orously prosecuted the work of his approaches
to Fort Wagner, on which he was employed from
the 1 8th of July to the 6th of September, when
the long and difficult work was completed and
orders given for the assault on the following morn
ing. The enemy, however, evacuated both Wag
ner and Gregg during the night, leaving in our
hands nineteen heavy guns, a large supply of
ammunition and seventy prisoners. This placed
the city and harbor of Charleston directly within
the sweep of our guns.
The fame of the 3d Artillery had become so
noted, that it was the great rallying point for
recruits. It had upon its rolls in June, 1,700
and in October, 2,500 men and 1 1 full batteries,
forty guns and 1,000 horses.
In October the dreaded and fatal typhus fever
prevailed to an alarming extent and several ofifi
cers of the 3d Artillery were attacked and two
died, Lieut. -Colonel Stone and Lieut. Hilles, and
also sixty men. The death of Colonel Stone
was deeply lamented and was a serious loss to
the regiment. He was a very active and efficient
officer and his many excellent qualities of head
and heart, greatly endeared him to his comrades
in the army, and his friends at home.
Various and relatively unimportant details from
the 3d Artillery were sent out during Decem
ber and January, whose contests and captures
were mainly with and of pigs and poultry, which
we cannot take the space to chronicle.

Battery F, Captain Day, had been sent on
September Sth, with an expedition to Jackson
ville, Florida, where it remained over two months.
Captain Day, in October, returned home on a
furlough, when the command of the Battery de
volved upon Lieutenant Titus, who, with Cap
tain Messereau of Battery B, was ordered to join,
under General Foster, an expedition intended to
cooperate with General Sherman in his great
march to the sea. The final point of destination
was Grahamsville, ten miles inland from Boyd's
Neck, where General Foster's forces were landed.
The object was to blockade the railroad there.
The force comprised S.ooo men, largely composed
of colored troops. A brisk skirmish with the
enemy took place within a few miles of Grahams
ville, in which both of the Batteries actively par
ticipated, and in which Lieutenant Wildt of Bat
tery B was killed. The Confederates fell back
to Honey Hill, where strong fortifications had
been erected. They were here attacked, and,
for the rest of the day a desperate and bloody
battle was maintained with great bravery and at
a fearful sacrifice of life by our troops. The two
Batteries, B and F, were engaged in the fight
and were more exposed to the fire of the infantry
and sharp-shooters than is usual with artillery,
and suffered correspondingly. Lieut. Crocker
was wounded in the right eye, but kept his place
for a full hour after receiving his wound; many of
the men were also wounded, but none killed.
Our efforts to open the way to Grahamsville failed.
The rebels held the Hill, and our army, sadly
depleted, fell back toward the Landing, having
lost in killed and wounded 746 men.
On the 6th of December a new and successful
attempt was made to reach the railroad at
another point, this time from Devaux's Neck,
whither they proceeded in gun-boats. The rail
road was ten miles distant from the Landing.
The advance of the army was resisted by a strong
force of the enemy, and on the 7th a four hours'
engagement was maintained, in which we lost
80 killed and wounded. Battery F, one wounded.
The railroad was reached and carefully guarded,
preventing the passage of trains.
Here news was received that General Sher
man had reached Savannah, and General Foster
opened communication with him by sea, strongly
fortifying the railroad with heavy guns to pre
vent the rebel General Hardy from escaping

122

CAYUGA COUNTY IN THE REBELLION.

over it from Savannah ; but he fled the city in
another direction. Sherman's and Foster's
forces now took the necessary rest and made
preparations for further movements. Savannah
was placed under the command of General Fos
ter, who was also to cooperate in the movement
upon Charleston, while General Sherman was to
continue his triumphal march until its final close
at Spottsylvania Court House.
General Foster's movements began on the ist
of February, with four army corps, and with them
were the fighting Batteries, B and F. But they
had little else to do than march, watch the move
ments of the enemy, stop, or advance, as the
general events of the campaign required. The
fall of Savannah on the 21st of December, and
the combined movements of Sherman and Fos
ter, led also to the fall of Charleston on the i8th
of February, after as gallant, successful and pro
tracted resistance against the mightiest enginery
of modern warfare, as was ever made by a belea
guered town.
Little else now remained for the army in this
quarter to do, except to " hold, occupy and pos
sess the places and the property belonging to the
Government," and this it proceeded to do. Bat
teries B and F, after their long and arduous ser
vice, accepted with gladness the order " to help
occupy, hold and possess," the city of Charles
ton, where they remained until the conclusion of
peace. While Batteries B and F, and those at New
Berne, had been employed as we have related,
other portions of the 3rd Artillery had been em
ployed in other and equally important fields of
'duty, for the several batteries composing the regi
ment were, as necessity demanded, detached on
special service. Battery H, Captain Riggs, and
Battery M, Captain Howell, were, in October,
1863, ordered to Fortress Monroe, in which vi
cinity they were chiefly employed in guard duty,
until General Butler's plan of proceeding to
Richmond had been matured. In April, 1864,
those batteries were attached to Butler's forces
in the attempt to capture the rebel city, as were
also two other batteries drawn from New Berne,
Battery E, Captain Ashby, and Battery K, Cap
tain Angel. The four batteries were under com
mand of Major Schenck.
Battery E proceeded to Bermuda Hundreds
and participated in the bloody battles at Drury's

Bluff on May 13th and 14th, and was in the hot
test of the fight. Captain Ashby displayed
great coolness and bravery under the most trying
circumstances, his battery contributing largely
to the escape of our army from capture in the
battles of the 14th. By some blunder his bat
tery was left without infantry supports, and the
enemy charged upon it. Two charges were re
pulsed by the rapid volleys of the artillery, pro
tected by the obscurity of a dense fog, which
prevented the contestants from seeing the posi
tion or judging the number of their foes.
At the third and most furious assault, the bat
tery was overcome and three of its guns cap
tured, the horses being shot. Captain Ashby
and Lieutenant Fuller were wounded and one of
his men was killed and several wounded. Under
the circumstances, the small number of casualties
was a marvel. Our losses in these terrible bat
tles were 4,000 killed, wounded and prisoners ;
and the rebel loss was 3,000. Battery E, during
the battle, fired 419 rounds. For the next two
weeks there were almost daily battles between
Butler's forces and the enemy. While Battery
E had been winning laurels in the Peninsula,
Battery M had been in garrison at Fort Powhat-
tan, resisting rebel attacks; in an expedition to
Spring Hill, resulting in the capture of the place ;
at Wilson's Landing, repulsing a desperate rebel
charge ; after which they came to the front and
shared in the toils, conflicts and dangers of the
long and bloody siege of Petersburg. Battery
K joined in the siege on May i6th, building, gar
risoning and defending a fort at Spring Plill, from
repeated rebel attacks. The battery participated
in the attack upon Petersburg June 14, 1864,
opening the first fire upon the enemy's line of
defenses, resulting in its capture, including its
material, and 300 prisoners. • But the city was
not captured ; like Richmond and Charleston, it
was destined to be one ofthe "last ditches"
wherein the rebellion was to die, and for ten long
and fearfully tragic months it successfully resisted
all our efforts to capture it, and surrendered only
on the collapse of the rebellion.
We have not the space to chronicle in detail
the varied services of Batteries B, K, M and H,
in the numerous and important parts borne by
them in that long siege. The thorough experi
ence of both the ofificers and men, their expert-
ness in handling and firing their batteries, and

THE MARCH TO GOLDSBORO, N. C.

123.

their coolness and good judgment under the most
trying circumstances, were so well known and so
highly appreciated in the army that they were
actively engaged in responsible positions during
nearly the whole progress of the siege, attended
by almost daily battles, suspended only during
the inclement winter weather. On the night of
April 2d, both Richmond and Petersburg were
evacuated, and the several batteries of the 3rd
Artillery, which so long had lain before and
about the latter city, proceeded to and occupied
Richmond, whence they were ordered home for
final muster out.
It now only remains for us to trace the opera
tions of Batteries A, Captain Russell ; C, Cap
tain Mercer ; D, Captain Van Heusen ; G,
Captain William H. Kelsey ; and I, Lieutenant
Richardson, each having about 180 men.
These several Batteries on March 3d, 1865, ac
companied an expedition from New Berne, 6,000
strong, under the command of General Cox,
destined for Goldsboro, which place in the then
condition of our military affairs, it was important
to take and hold ; and this expedition was but a
cooperative force acting in concert with Major-
General Schofield, then commandant of the de
partment, having, under his comrhand an aggre
gate force of 21,000 men.
Colonel Stewart had been so fortunate, as to
have found a map ofthe region over which they
were to go, carefully drawn by rebel engineers
from accurate surveys, and so minute in its data
that he could and did prepare, in advance, suita- .
ble bridges for the several streams over which
they, were to pass, in anticipation of their destruc- ,
tion. This enabled the army to advance with
less delay at the streams, though the roads were
blocked by fallen trees. At a tributary of the
Neuse, its passage was on the 7th, strongly con
tested,, both by infantry and artillery, holding a
fprtified position. After feeling the position of
the enemy, and believing it. to be a strong one.
General Cox decided to entrench and await re
inforcements, which were soon to arrive. .The
position was in a heavy and dense wood; and the
entire night was industriously and, events showed,
very wisely spent in perfecting defensive works
by felling the trees, lopping the branches and
throwing up breast-works of earth and timber.
In the morning, the enemy appearing quiet, a
retohnoissance was made by two regiments .of

infantry, a squad of cavalry and a section of Bat
tery I, Lieutenant Seymour. The artillery
opened on the enemy, and eliciting no response
the firing was kept up at intervals for nearly
three hours without any reply, when they sud
denly found themselves flanked, and enveloped
by three rebel brigades, that had made a wide
detour. Our force was overpowered and one of
its guns and seven hundred prisoners captured ;
including five from Battery I. One man. from
the latter was killed.
General Hoke, commanding the rebels, then
attacked our position with great violence; but
the men had so thoroughly protected themselves
by fallen trees and earthworks that they held
their ground and kept the enemy at bay, though
they outnumbered us two to one. Pending the
fight, General Ruger arrived from New Berne
with a division of infantry, and, joining in the
battle, quickly drove the enemy from our front.
Our men were so well protected that notwith
standing the large force of the enemy and the
fury and persistence of the attack, our losses in
killed and wounded were small. The 3d Artil
lery lost but one man killed, William A. Foster,
of Battery I, and five wounded. Batteries C. and
D did very effective work in this engagement,
and though much exposed, they fired their, dis
charges so rapidly upon the assailing columns as
to check and repel them. Batteries G and I
were also briskly engaged in the work of repel
ling the eager assaults of the enemy.
The next day it rained incessantly and it was
spent in comparative quiet ; the enemy had been
reinforced and occupied a carefully entrenched
position, which we did not care at that time to
assail, as we were waiting the arrival 6f General
Couch with reinforcements. On the morning of
the loth, Hoke, relying on his superior numbers,
threw a heavy force suddenly upon our rear, but
he found us prepared to receive him. Here the
batteries again displayed their effective skill and,
united to the destructive infantry fire, after a
short, but to the enemy a very destructive cori-
test, they fled in disorder. After a short inter
val, heavy masses of men were again rushing
upon our works determined to take them, this
time entering the heavy abatis by which our po
sition was defended, but it was useless, they only
came into the "jaws of death," and after a half-
hour's effort, retired. Our loss was less than two

124

CAYUGA COUNTY IN THE REBELLION.

hundred ; that of the Confederates, over two
thousand; four hundred of their dead and wounded
were found in the abatis after the fight. As il
lustrating the comparative safety of artillerists in
action, it may be stated that the 3rd Artillery
had but two men wounded in this hotly contested
battle. On . the nth General Couch arrived, swelling
Schofield's army 20,000 men. When Hoke de-
caqiped to reinforce Johnston in his final strug
gles with Grant and Sherman, Schofield was in
communication with the latter, and they were to
combine their forces at or near Goldsboro. Scho
field proceeded by the way of Kinston, leaving
a brigade and Batteries A and B, 3rd New York
Artillery, to hold the town, he proceeded with
the balance of his forces, including Batteries C,
D and I, on his way to Goldsboro, living upon
the country, as Sherman's policy was : " If any
body must suffer. let the rebels suffer." The
army made the first day eighteen miles, more
than half the distance to Goldsboro. The next
day, March 2 1st heavy skirmishing was maintain
ed and a large force of negroes employed in repair
ing roads and bridges ; but Goldsboro was
reached and the army commenced entrenchment
at once. Signal guns were fired by Battery I to
advise Sherman of their arrival, until responses
were received, when a courier was sent to Sher
man. The latter reached Goldsboro on the 23d
of March, and was received with a Major-Gen
eral's salute from Battery I. He proceeded on the
2Sth, to City Point and held a conference with
General Grant, returning on the 30th to Golds
boro. On the 22d, the army of the Ohio had been
reinforced. General Schofield appointed Lieu
tenant-Colonel Kennedy his chief of artillery,
comprising thirteen batteries. General Sher
man's army, after its terribly exhausting march
of over six hundred miles perpetually harrassed
by the enemy, sadly needed rest and refitting.
Most of the men had worn out their shoes, were
barefooted, and their clothing tattered. To rest
and refit this army, the time from the ist to the
1 0th of April, was spent. On the latter day,
the whole army, 70,000 strong, set out for Smith-
field, in pursuit of Johnston, who had about 35,000
infantry and 10,000 cavalry. Smithfield was en
tered on the nth, and here the news was re
ceived of Lee's surrender, and especial efforts

were to be made to arrest the further retreat of
Johnston ; but that officer had also received the
news, and seeing the folly of any further effusion
of blood, made overtures of surrender. Terms
were finally agreed upon, ending the great rebel
lion and the toils and sacrifices, not only of the
3rd Artillery, but of all our soldiers in the field.
Final Review, — The light batteries encamped
at Raleigh until early in June. Here the whole
army was reviewed, and the splendid artillery
brigade, commanded by Lieutenant-Colonel Ken
nedy, especially attracted the attention of the
commanding General, and the 3rd New York
Artillery received his particular commendation.
In the latter part of June they were paid off,
mustered out, and returned to their several
homes.
Membership of the Third Artillery. —
When mustered out the 3rd Artillery numbered
2,200 men. The lowest number at any time had
been 600 men, and its highest, 2,550, and it had
connected with it in the aggregate, at different
times, 4,408 men.
Losses. — The losses by disease were 247, in
battle, 15, in rebel prisons, 70, wounded, 233, by
desertion, 347 ; ten guns were lost in action.
The number killed and wounded was, therefore,
less than one in ten of the average number of
the regiment while the number that died of dis
ease, independent of the prisoners, was nearly
equal to the killed and wounded.
When we know that the regiment engaged in
sixty-four battles, sieges and skirmishes, the fore
going list of casualties seems surprisingly small.
It is, however, due to causes that fully explain
the reason. Artillery generally engages its
enemy at long range, and its guns and gunners
are usually protected by natural or artificial hills,
or works of their own erection. Unlike infantry,
they occupy a small space ; to shell a position
successfully, test shots are required and a change
of position prevents the enemy from obtaining an
accurate range. It is with artillery the same as
with general ofificers; it occupies positions re
mote from the center of conflict and, except
when flanked, surprised, or in the confusion of
defeat, is much less exposed than infantry, as the
very instructive experience of the 3d Artillery
repeatedly and abundantly proved. For the
most part they had an excellent equipment; they
had been most thoroughly drilled by ofificers who

THE 75TH NEW YORK VOLUNTEERS — SANTA ROSA ISLAND.

125

knew and conscientiously performed their duty,
and the men therefore knew how to handle their
guns with telling effect ; and when a" body of
grays came within the sweep of their guns, they
suddenly bit the dust or retired before them.
Their exceptional freedom from casualties was,
therefore, due to their less exposure, to the skill
and efificiericy of the ofificers and men ofthe reg-
imetit, and to the further fact, that on very few
occasions, were they engaged where our forces
Were defeated, and where, in the confusion of re
treat and the swoop of cavalry, artillerymen often
greatly suffered.

CHAPTER XX,
Cayuga in the Rebellion, (Continued.)
The 75TH New York Volunteers — Organi
zation — Service on Santa Rosa Island-
in New Orleans— La Fourche Expedi
tion — Attakapas Expedition — Siege of
Port Hudson — Expedition to Texas — Its
Various Military Services in the South
west—Ordered to Washington — In the
. Shenandoah Valley — Mustered Out.
THE organization of this regiment has been
given in a previous chapter ; its camp and
field operations were as follows : The regiment
was destined for the defense of Fort Pickens,
Florida, where they arrived on the 14th of De
cember, 1 86 1, and encamped on Santa Rosa Is
land, in " Camp Seward."
Opposite to theircamp, across the channel, and
a little over a mile distant, stood Fort Mc Rae,
which, with the navy yard and all thc other gov
ernment property in that vicinity excepting Fort
Pickens, had been seized by the rebels. The
latter fort had been defended and held by a loyal
and brave officer, Lieutenant Slemmer, until
reinforced in July by the 6th New York regi
ment the Billy Wilson Zouaves. Colonel Harvey
Brown, of the regular army, at this time com
manded the post
This position of the 75th was, in many respects,
a very trying one. The island on which they
encamped was composed of barren sand, without

any vegetation whatever. From its white sur
face the glaring rays of the sun were reflected as
from a field of snow, and the ocean winds which
swept over it, would carry its.fine sharp particles
into the nostrils and eyes and cover the bodies
of the men. Its loose and yielding particles
made the traveling through it very laborious and
it was besides the abode of innumerableand very
large fleas hungering and thirsting for Yankee
blood, which they drew as eagerly as ,the hotr
headed rebels themselves. Water could be
obtained only by sinking barrels a few feet in the
sand, when the sea water that filtered in; could
be used for a few days, when if would become
brackish arid new pits were sunk. .. v .'.-^
In the vicinity, occupying Fort Mc Rae, in
and on the adjacent mainland, lay General
Bragg, with a force more than double our own,
While, therefore, we had a strong fortress for
our protection we could only act on the der
fensive, and keep ourselves in close proximity
thereto. The health of the regiment sufr
fered greatly from the change of climate and
of habits, giving the surgeons active employment
in attentions to the sick, and . many deaths
occurred. The command lay quietly in the camp for about
two weeks, when a rebel flag on a passing
steamer, presented a too tempting target not to
be fired upon, and a salute from battery Lincoln
was given it and a shot thrown into the :navy
yard. This provoked a return fire both upon
the fort and the camp. One ofthe earliest shots
had struck so closely to the head-quarters of the
75th as to compel the removal of the regiment
farther back. The two forts and all the batteries,
on both sides, kept up an artillery duel until
4 o'clock A. M, of the next day. Fort Mc Rae
was seriously damaged by our fire, and several
buildings in the navy yard set on fire. Very little
injury was inflicted on Fort Pickens, and, but
one man seriously hurt. The abandoned camp
even remained uninjured. The night fpllowing
the "long roll" was sounded and the line quickly
formed, but it was a false alarm. Theregiments
were called out repeatedly in that way, and kept
in constant preparation to resist night attacks
which were feared from the superior force of the
enemy lying near. Frequent reconnoissances
were made up the island to be assured that .all
was right, and great vigilance was maintained.

126

CAYUGA COUNTY IN THE REBELLION.

In January regular and thorough company £ind
battalion drills were instituted and maintained,
and the regiment soon became as expert as regu
lars. Here the regiment lay through the winter.
On the 9th of May 1862, the rebqls evacuated
and burned Pensacola, including the navy yard.
New Orleans had been captured, and General
Butler could now easily obtain forcible possession
of Pensacola, with its valuable stores. These, so
far as possible, the enemy removed, the balance
was abandoned and burned. The main force
from Santa Rosa then moved over to Pensacola
and established themselves there in comfortable
quarters, without opposition, gladly exchanging
the Sahara-like island, for the cheerful inland
verdure. Here they found solid earth to tread
upon, welcome shade to exclude the fierce rays
of the sun and, as regarded physical comforts, the
men were well provided for. Here they remained
nearly four months. Major Babcock was provost-
marshal and Captain Dwight served on General
Arnold's staff, as Assistant Adjutant-General and
Assistant Inspector-General ; and Chaplain Hud
son took possession of the Episcopal church edi
fice 'in which to hold the regimental services.
With a wily General in his vicinity, having a
force superior to his own. General Arnold knew
the hazards of his position and took the precau
tion to fortify it carefully. He sent out frequent
reconnoitering parties in search of information,
and foragers for whatever would contribute to the
sustenance of the army. He acted on the con
viction that he was in an enemy's country and
that it was all right to sustain his men upon its
available resources. Cattle, sheep, pigs, poultry,
and the fruits of the region were therefore liber
ally appropriated. The various expeditions sent
out from Pensacola during the four months of
encampment there, though successful in captur
ing supplies, did not encounter the enemy.
Lieutenants Stevenson and Miles, who had
been home on recruiting service, returned on the
24th of June with forty-one recruits, who were
organized as Company K, placed under the
command of Captain Stevenson and sent over to
garrison Fort Pickens, relieving Company I,
which, with a Company of regulars, had formed
the previous garrison. Here their discipline and
drill were thorough, being instructed by ofificers
of the regular army.
The climate, as the hot season came on, began

to tell on the health of boih ofificers and men,
producing much debility and sickness. Chaplain
Hudson resigned in July, and Sergeant Powers
obtained leave of absence. Colonel Dodge was
also so severely affected by the climate as to ask
leave of absence, for recovery, but General Hun
ter denied it The Colonel was therefore com
pelled to offer his resignation, which was accepted,
and he returned home. Captain Mc Dougal,
who had received a flesh wound in the thigh, by
the carelessness of a picket, returned home for
recovery and there accepted the position of Lieu
tenant-Colonel of the nith New York Volun
teers. On the 31st of August, the 75th em
barked for New Orleans, where they arrived on
the 3d of September, and were placed under com
mand of General Butler, who mustered out the
regimental band. Here Captain Dwight took
formal leave of the regiment to return and assume
command of the i6oth New York Volunteers,
much to the regret of his associates of the 7Sth,
to whom he was greatly endeared. Illness com
pelled Captain Choate to resign. Lieutenant
Corning succeeded Captain Dwight. Lieuten
ant Miles became Captain of Company H, and
Lieutenant Stanford of Company K.
On the 28th of September, General Butler
organized a reserve brigade, the 25th, compris
ing four regiments, of which the 7Sth was one,
two batteries and several companies of cavalry,
intended for the celebrated " La Fourche expe
dition" into the interior of Louisiana to secure
control of the railroads in that section, and of the
large supply of sugar and cotton there produced.
The brigade was under the command of Gen
eral Godfrey Weitzel, a competent and gentle
manly officer ; Major Lewis E. Carpenter acted
as Brigade Quartermaster.
On the 25th of October the brigade landed a
few miles below, and marched to Donisonville,
occupying the town which, the night before, had
been abandoned by the rebels. Here a levy was
made by Quartermaster Carpenter on what horses
and mules could be found, and the men on such
poultry and pigs as came in their way.
On the next day the army was put in motion
down the eastern side of the Bayou La Fourche,
between which and the river was the levee or
artificial embankment. Abundant stock was
secured and crowds of slaves came within the
lines, the planters generally retiring, as our

THE LA FOURCHE EXPEDITION.

127

soldiers advanced. In the afternoon they were
advised by a negro that there was a large force
of the enemy down the Bayou and scouts con
firmed the report. They did not however make
a stand until the next day, when in a favorable
position for them, near Labadieville, they dis
puted our passage ; but after a sharp action of an
hour's duration, they were flanked and put to
flight, losing 60 killed and wounded and 150 pris
oners. The 75th was so posted in this action as
to lose but a single man, Abram Terwilliger, yet
the brigade lost 18 killed and 74 wounded. Af
ter the action the dead were buried, and the
wounded cared for, when the army encamped
near the field.
Next day the march was renewed and, except
ing slight skirmishing, met no opposition, and in
the afternoon the army entered and occupied
Thibodeaux, a village of about 5,000 inhabitants.
The 75th went into camp, with the Brigade,
one mile below, and remained here for more than
three months. Here was the center ofthe sugar
producing region, and Captain T. K. Fuller of
the 75th was especially charged by General But
ler with the duty of securing it for the govern
ment. Very large quantities were taken ; libera
ted negroes, confiscated mules, and wagons being
used for the purpose. It is stated that General
Butler confiscated over a million dollars worth of
sugar while at New Orleans. Pie believed in
the war maxim " that to the victors belong the
spoils " and he took them without stint
While in camp here scenes of not unusual
occurrence elsewhere during the war were daily
presented. The masters had left, and the slaves,
for the time, had taken their places, and were
greatly elated at the eminence so suddenly at
tained. The mansions were deserted by their
owners and many things about them were appro
priated by the darkies and brought into camp,
including every variety of clothing and provisions,
and even personal and household ornaments.
Three miles from the camp was the residence
of General Braxton Bragg, commanding the rebel
forces in that quarter. His mansion and the
grounds had been extremely elegant, but the
vandalism of the soldiers had made a wreck of
the mirrors, pictures, carpets, and costly furniture,
and transferred its useful articles as chairs, stoves,
&c, to the Quartermaster's department.
Early in November, Chaplain Q. S. S. Goss

arrived to supply the place made vacant by Chap
lain Hudson's resignation.
On December 7th, commissions were received
for Lieutenant-Colonel Merritt, who was made
Colonel ; Major Babcock, Lieutenant-Colonel ;
and Quartermaster Carpenter, Major. Lieuten
ant J. H. Hinman was made Captain of Com
pany I. Camp rest was soon to be broken and
an active campaign begun.
On December i6th, 1862, General Banks as
sumed command of the Department of the Gulf
and, receiving large reinforcements, formed the
19th Army Corps. Among the reinforcements,
was the i6oth New York, which was brigaded
with the 7Sth, and was included in the First Di
vision, Second Brigade.
On the loth of January, General Weitzel, with
the Second Brigade, was sent on an expedition
designed to capture the rebel iron-clad gunboat
Cotton, then in Bayou Teche. Four small gun
boats, Calhoun, Kingsman, Estella and Diana,
were to cooperate in the attack. The troops
reached on the afternoon of the 13th the ham
let of Pattersonville, on the bank of the Atcha-
falaya. Here the brigade was formed in order of bat
tle, and advancing two miles, reached the Teche,
when skirmishing commenced with the cavalry
posted here, ending in a volley of musketry, and a
few shells, which dispersed the enemy. Our army
encamped here for the night. In the morning.
Captain Fitch was detailed by General Weitzel,
with sharp-shooters, to pick off the gunners on
the Cotton, and Captain Savery, with Company
G, and Lieutenant Thurber, Company A, were
sent out on the picket line to push the enemy
lying in the earthworks.
The gunboats now came up as near the Cot
ton as the obstructions in the river would per
mit, and opened on the vessel and the rebel bat
teries further up. The foremost ofthe boats ran
upon a torpedo and was disabled, and Commo
dore Buchanan was killed. The boats took no
further part in the action. Captain Fitch, with
sixty sharp-shooters, now came up on a run and
poured such a fire upon the gunners on the Cot
ton as to kill or drive them all below. The boat
tried to escape, and finally cut the hawser and
proceeded up the stream. Our soldiers followed
closely. In this service. Lieutenant Whiteside,
a brave and noble young officer, fell mortally

128

CAYUGA COUNTY IN THE REBELLION.

wounded, urging on his boys to finish their work
and not to mind him as he was past help. The
gunboat Cotton finally came under the protec
tion of an artillery redoubt which drove off our
sharp-shooters. Further effective work at that
point was discontinued ; but between the rebel
infantry and Captain Savery's skirmishers during
the forenoon, a brisk affair occurred in which the
Captain and his men drove the rebel line from
ditch to ditch across the cane field, for over two
hours, occupying in succession the ditches from
which they drove the foe when, the latter being
reinforced, our boys retired.
We lost in this day's engagement in killed,
Lieutenant James E. Whiteside, and private
John Noble ; wounded, i6. The brigade en
camped on the field expecting further work in
the morning, but before daylight the enemy set
fire to the gunboat and retreated. The object of
the expedition, the destruction of that vessel, was
thus accomplished, and the expedition returned
to camp where, for the next three weeks, little of
interest occurred.
Early in February, the 75th and the i6oth,
were sent to Brashear, and were here joined by
the n4th New York. The post was called
Camp Reno, and commanded by Colonel. Smith
of the n4th. The time was here spent in drills
and reconnoissances, in guarding the gunboats at
night, and various expeditions in the boats to
look after the movements of the enemy in that
quarter. On one of these expeditions, a party
from the i6oth New York, on the Diana, were
captured with their vessel.
Learning from deserters that the rebels from
the vicinity of the Teche, 5,000 strong, were ar
ranging to attack Camp Reno, Colonel Smith
called for reinforcements, and two regiments and
a battery were added to his force.
Major Carpenter was assigned to the Quarter
master's department in New Orleans ; Colonel
Merritt was made Brigade Inspector. Their
places were supplied by Captains Cray and Sa
very. Surgeon Benedict had been promoted to
chief medical officer of the brigade. Assistant
Surgeon Powers was Surgeon of the i6oth, and
Doctor D. M. Root was his successor. Captain
Fitch, on the 9th of March, was detailed as pro
vost marshal at Brashear, and afterwards as acting
Commissary of Subsistence. Lieut. Fitch was
made acting ordnance officer on Weitzel's staff.

Negro troops were now being rapidly enlisted.
Captain Luther Goodrich was made Colonel of a
colored regiment, the 17th, and Lieutenant Fran
cis A. Hopping succeeded to the command of
Company E. Willis G. Goodrich, Silas R. Bar
ber and C. S. Bentley, held commands in the
17th colored regiment.
Chaplain Goss, who had been very sick, resigned
his commission early in March, unable to endure
the effects of the climate. Captains Miles and
Porter, for the same reasons, resigned their
commissions ; the former was succeeded by
Lieutenant George H. Curtice, and the latter by
Lieutenant Frank Silsby.
No event of especial importance in which the
75th was engaged, occurred until General Banks
began his famous expedition for the conquest of
what was called the Attakapas country, one prep
aration for which had been the destruction of the
gunboat Cotton, as we have related. This coun
try was the garden of Louisiana. Its planters
were rich and rabid secessionists. It was a flat
region, filled with bayous, and sluggish though
navigable streams.
General Banks' forces exceeded 12,000 men,
including Weitzel's brigade, in which was the
75th and i6oth New York. The forces reached
Burdick on the 9th and loth of April, and on the
nth an advance was ordered to Pattersonville,
nine miles above, skirmishing continuing nearly
all the way, the 75 th being deployed. The
next morning, April 12th, General Banks made
a careful reconnoissance and then moved forward
in force. General Weitzel's brigade in the advance.
The enemy soon appeared in numbers and drew
up in line of battle in front of a large sugar
house. The Union cavalry was sent forward to
attack them, but on their approach the rebels
fled across the Teche.
The enemy had constructed a strong line of
earthworks, extending on both sides of the river,
some three-fourths of a mile, in which were
mounted about thirty guns, defended by a strong
rebel force, commanded by Dick Taylor, son of
the ex-president. The river had been obstructed
by an old bridge, and the now rebel Diana, with
her powerful armament, patrolled it above the
obstructions. One brigade, Goodwin's, crossed
the river on pontoons and were to operate in the
rear of the works. Four of our gunboats on the
river cooperated.

THE ATTAKAPAS EXPEDITION.

129

During the afternoon of the 12th, from three
o'clock till dark, there was heavy firing on both
sides, the commanding General having advanced
his men sufificiently near the enemy's works to
draw their fire, and thus learn their position and
the strength of their batteries, the Diana also
joining on the rebel side.
On the 13th the battle was renewed and rein
forcements crossed to the opposite side of the
river. The contest was mainly with the artillery.
The charges which had been made by the enemy
met so valiant and strong resistance as each
time to repel them. The Diana was soon dis
abled and compelled to withdraw, and our strong
and sustained fire began to tell upon the works of
the enemy, many of whose guns were dismounted,
and the fire of their batteries lessened.
General Banks had learned that General
Grover was advancing on Franklin, but ten miles
above them on Bayou Teche, and that, therefore,
his plan of attacking the rebel front and rear
would be likely to succeed. Pie was by no
means inclined to abandon it. Thc severe re
sults to the enemy's works of the firing on the
13th had assured them of the extreme doubt of
their withstanding another day's siege, so they
quietly withdrew during the night and escaped.
The casualties in these series of contests were
not large, when the exposure of the men and the
duration of the fight are considered ; it did not
exceed 250 killed and wounded, and the 7Sth lost
but 3 killed and 15 wounded.
On the 14th the army advanced to Franklin
with no other interruption than slight cavalry
skirmishing, and encamped a mile beyond the
town. The main reliance of 'the enemy, in this
quarter, had been their defensive works and their
gunboats on the river, all of which were now
destroyed. Little other opposition here was
therefore expected.
On the morning of the 14th of April the
march was resumed and continued for eighteen
miles, and on the 15th extended to twenty miles,
passing two miles beyond the town of New
Iberia, a few miles to the west of which were
salt works of great value to the Confederacy.
These the cavalry destroyed. Here Lieutenant-
Colonel William H. Seward brought dispatches
to General Banks from Washington, and he was
a very welcome guest in the camp.
The army had now reached a rolling region

away from the swamps and morasses over which
they had been so long marching, and large fields
of cane and herds of cattle abounded.
The advance continued on the 17th until two
o'clock, when they found the bridge over the
Bayou Tortue destroyed ; but in two hours it
was repaired and passed, and the march contin
ued without much interruption to Opelousas,
which was reached on the 20th of April, coinci-
dently with the capture of Butte la Rose by
the navy. General Weitzel's brigade was posted
in the vicinity of Opelousas. Here some two
weeks were spent in gathering together and
shipping the vast amount of cotton stored in the
vicinity. Some had been burned, but the
amount collected was large ; all the transporta
tion and negroes that could be found were im
pressed into the service of collecting and ship
ping it
On Monday, May 14th, the march was renewed
and, after four days of continuous and toilsome
tramping in the heat but without opposition from
the enemy, the army reached Alexandria, and
rested until Saturday, when Generals Weitzel's
and Dwight's brigades were sent in pursuit of the
enemy who had fled up the Red River. After
a two days' march, during which the enemy fled
before our advance, orders were received from
General Banks to return to Alexandria, as the
decision had been made to attack Port Hudson,
abandoning for that purpose the Red River ex
pedition. The movement upon Port Hudson
was in cooperation with General Grant's opera
tions against Vicksburg ; Generals Weitzel and
Dwight therefore returned to Alexandria.
On Sunday, May 17th, Gen. Weitzel's brigade
began its march for Port Hudson, and Gen. Banks'
entire forces had concentrated in its vicinity by
the 25th and were so disposed as to make upon
the place a simultaneous attack. On the 27th
General Weitzel's brigade, which included the
two Cayuga regiments, was on the right of the
army, General Grover commanding.
At the appointed time Gen. Weitzel's brigade
was in position, but the time of attack had been
changed from five to six o'clock, a. m. Between
our lines and the enemy's work, lay a line of
woods. Through this screen, promptly at the ap
pointed hour, General Weitzel advanced, meeting,
as he emerged from the woods, a fierce fire from
the rifle pits, and a storm of grape and cannister

ISO

CAYUGA COUNTY IN THE REBELLION.

from the enemy's batteries, on a hill beyond.
This checked his advance for a time, when the
second line advanced and stormed and captured
the first line of rifle pits ; but there now appeared
before them a deep gorge or valley, loo rods
wide, broken by numerous ravines and obstruct
ed by trees, forming a nearly impenetrable abat
is hidden in which were two regiments of sharp
shooters. Beyond this, rose an eminence, on
which were the nearly finished works of the ene
my, in which batteries were placed. Into such
a terrible jungle the 75th Regiment, led by Col.
Babcock, plunged on the run. The color-bearer
was the first to fall, but his place was quickly
filled. Lieutenant Avery was killed, and many
of the men wounded. In this valley, for hours
a contest was maintained with the sharp-shoot
ers, many of whom were killed and hundreds
captured. The ravine was wooded and a sort of
Indian combat was maintained from tree to tree
and from stump to stump. Gradually and in scat
tered groups, they ascend the slope toward the
main work of the enemy, maintaining throughout
the day their position, and keeping by their accu
rate firing, the heads of their enemies behind
their parapets, and the gunners from their batter
ies. Heavy batteries were, during the fore
noon, placed in position, and these maintained a
furious and effective bombardment upon the forts
of the enemy; and from the river flats a simul
taneous bombardment was kept up upon the
town into which were dropped hundreds of 13 and
15-inch shells.
At nightfall the army held the positions it had
gained during the day. In this encounter, the
75th bore the brunt of the battle and suffered
severely, having 15 killed, including four ofificers.
Lieutenant William E. Avery, First Sergeant,
William H. Storke, Color-Sergeant Lyman Hill,
and Sergeant A. H. Earll, and 86 wounded.
From this time, until the 14th of June, Port
Hudson was closely invested ; the 75th was re
lieved from duty at the front in consideration of
its valor and sacrifices on the 27th. Heavy siege
guns and mortars were brought round from the
river flotilla and placed in commanding positions;
in all 103 pieces of ordnance were brought to
bear upon the enemy. These, with the coope
rative fire of the fleet, kept up a nearly incessant
roar, and cast into the enemy's works a vast num
ber of shot and shell.

It was believed that the enemy was short of
artillery ammunition as, for some time past,
their artillery fire had greatly slackened. To
test this. General Banks ordered and main
tained for thirty-six hours a continuous bombard
ment but nothing was developed by it A feigned
attack was then made along the entire front
about midnight on the 9th of June, and a fire of
infantry and artillery was delivered, to which the
besieged replied vigorously with their infantry,
but feebly with their artillery. This done, the
infantry was ordered to lie down and the fight
was continued over them by sharp-shooters in
the rifle pits, and by the artillery. A rain began
and the advance withdrew. Few casualties re
sulted from this night attack ; none in the 75th.
On the night of Saturday, June 13th, another
attempt was made to take the works by assault
and in this, as in the first assault the 75th were
assigned a responsible and dangerous part ; they
executed it bravely but without success, and after
an entire day of resolute and fierce combat,
which fully convinced the commanding General
that the works in his front were too strong to be
taken by assauU, he withdrew his men.
Our losses were severe, numbering in the 7Sth,
1 1 killed and 74 wounded, amongst whom were
Lieutenant Hutchinson, Sergeants Orville W.
Munroe, P. D. Olmsted, and Corporals Albert
O. Remington and Charles Hilliard, killed; and
Lieutenant-Colonel Willoughby Babcock, severe
ly wounded in the thigh ; also Captain John E.
Savery in the arm and knee, severely; First Lieu
tenant Benjamin E. Thurber, in the knee, seri
ously ; First Lieutenant Anson Fuller; Second
Lieutenant Charles W. Crocker.
After this repulse little effective work v/as
done, except to keep up at intervals the bom
bardment and the duel of sharp-shooters, driving
saps, and talking of a third assault to which the
army, in view of recent experience, were not much
inclined. But news came on the 7th of July
that Vicksburg had surrendered, with its 27,000
men and 125 guns. Port Hudson followed as
soon as the terms could be settled, and over 6,000
prisoners were secured.
The 7Sth led the column, into the captured
town, a post of honor, won by its distinguished
gallantry and purchased by the blood of so many
of its comrades. At night the troops were put
aboard transports in the river.

TEXAS EXPEDITION.

131

While our army had been engaged before Port
Hudson, the enemy had regained Alexandria,
Opelousas, Thibodeaux, Berwick and Brashear.
Donaldsonville had been attacked, but success
fully defended. The next movement was to regain
the lost ground, no longer tenable to the rebels
since Vicksburg and Port Hudson had fallen and
the Mississippi was opened for its entire length.
The army proceeded with no important oppo
sition to Donaldsonville, which it occupied on the
10th of July. In the absence of General Weitzel
in New Orleans the command of his brigade
devolved upon Colonel Merritt, whose Acting
Assistant Aid-de-Camp and Provost-Marshal was
Lieutenant Lansing, whose place as Adjutant was
filled by Lieutenant Hosmer. Lieutenant-Col
onel Babcock was called to New Orleans to act
as Provost Judge.
Three weeks were spent here with but a single
feeble effort of the enemy, on the 13th, upon two
of our brigades, Dudley's and Morgan's, which
was promptly repelled and with small loss. On
the 30th of July, the 2d brigade, Weitzel's, was
placed in charge of La Fourche district as far as
Brashear, and moved its camp thirty miles to
Thibodeaux, on the 3d of August
Furloughs and leaves of absence were here
granted many of the men and ofificers under the
belief that active operations would during the
intensely hot weather be suspended. But on
the 31st of August they were started on an ex
pedition, the object of which was to regain at
least possession of the seaports of Texas. The
Sabine Pass, at or near the mouth of that river,
was to be the first point of attack.
The force sent on this expedition was about
4,000 men from the 19th corps, and General
Weitzel's brigade ; the force to be under the
command of Major-General Franklin. Commo
dore Bell, commanding the West Gulf Squad
ron, was to reduce the fort, when the troops were
at once to occupy the town. But in attempting
to land, the troops were barred by an impassable
swamp, the Granite City protecting them in their
attempts to find solid ground. The other three
steamboats drew up towards the fort and threw
into it their huge shells, without eliciting any
response. They finally opened on the gun
boats with eight heavy guns. The Sachem, the
lightest draft of the four gun-boats, was gradually
working into a position where she could attack

the fort in a weaker part when she had her steam
chest penetrated by a shot, completely disabling
her, and compelling her to surrender. The Clif
ton, approaching the Battery to deliver her broad
sides with more effect ran aground directly
under the guns of the fort, of which she became
a still target, and her boiler was pierced when
Captain Crocker fired a nine inch shell through
the vessel from stem to stern, so-disabling her as
to render her of no value to the enemy. The
other two vessels retired from the now fierce con
test. Our killed, wounded and prisoners in this
engagement were 250 ; in'the 75th, 92 men, in
cluding six killed. The expedition was an utter
failure, and the 75th returned to Algiers.
A land expedition to Texas was next attempt
ed, and a force of about 20,000 men was placed
under command of General C. C. Washburn.
The 75th formed a part of this command, and
left for Brashear on the 15th of September,
whence, by easy marches, the army proceeded to
New Iberia, where it arrived on the 6th of Octo
ber, the enemy retiring as we advanced with but
little skirmishing. During the 7th and 8th the
army moved on to the crossing of the Vermillion
River, where the enemy had erected some de
fenses, which, when flanked by the cavalry, were
quickly abandoned by them, and the command
reached the Bayou Carrion-crow, where ten days
were spent in refitting the army with new shoes,
clothing and blankets. While here, an effort was
made to mount the 75th Regiment by levying
horses, saddles, &c., upon the planters, and with
partial success. It required all the ingenuity of
the Yankee boys to find the hidden animals and
equipments which were concealed with all possi
ble care. Many pathetic appeals were made by
the plundered inhabitants to spare the much
needed family horse, but the boys, anxious to be
relieved from the toils of the long marches before
them, did not heed the appeals, but took all they
could find which would possibly answer the pur
pose. Not only were horses and their equipments
thus taken from the rebels, but army supplies of
all descriptions, forage, flour, sugar, groceries, cat
tle, pork, etc., so far as the region afforded them;
but the supply obtainable was small. Two large
armies had already traversed this region and an
other was now a third time gleaning from its
scanty supplies. The vigorous men, tjQth white

132

CAYUGA COUNTY IN THE REBELLION.

and black, were in or with the rebel army, and
only the women, old men, and a few slaves were
left ; and the latter, as our army advanced, fol
lowed it. The people were generally helpless
and could only plead for the protection of their
property. The rainy season had set in; the roads became
nearly impassable; and the question of supplying
so large an army became a very serious one, so
serious as to lead to the abandonment of the
campaign, and the army fell back to New Iberia.
The 75th, being now mounted, was detached
from General Weitzel's brigade and ordered to
report to General Lee of the cavalry, at New
Iberia. They were here brigaded with two
other cavalry regiments, the brigade being com
manded by Lieutenant-Colonel Redfield, and the
7Sth by Captain Thurber. Adjutant Lansing
had resigned and returned home.
Foraging expeditions, a few brushes with the
scattered rebel forces without loss to the regi
ment, the reenlistment for three years of most of
its members, about eighty only excepted, and
supplying themselves with cavalry uniforms,
formed the principal incidents during its stay at
New Iberia.
On the 8th of January, 1864, the regiment
started on its return home on a furlough of thirty
days, granted as one of the conditions of their
reenlistment. The prisoners from the. 75th, about eighty in
number, who had been captured at the unfortu
nate attack upon the Sabine Pass, were confined
about three months in a stockaded prison near
the town of Hempstead, fifty miles north-west of
Houston. Their fare and treatment here were
much better than had been accorded to our men
in the more northern prisons. They were pa
roled on the I Sth of November, 1863, and es
corted by a guard over a march of three hundred
miles, occupying nineteen days, and lodged in a
camp nine miles from Shreveport Here they
passed three very disagreeable months, often tan
talized with the hope of exchange, which Colonel
Dwight, the exchange commissioner, finally effect
ed, and the men relieved from a captivity of ten
months' duration.
Upon the expiration of their furloughs the
75th, numbering about 400 men, started for the
front and reached Washington on the 5th. Here
a great disappointment awaited them. The con

dition of being mounted, on which they had en
listed, was to be denied them. They were re
manded to the infantry service under the com
mand of Colonel Merritt.
On the 19th of May, in the steamer Daniel
Webster, they again set sail for the Department of
the Gulf, reaching the mouth of the Mississippi on
the 30th. At Morganza Bend they were brigad
ed with five other regiments, as the ist brig
ade, 2d division, and 19th corps, under the com
mand of General Franklin. The division was
commanded by General Grover, and the brigade,
temporarily, by Colonel Merritt At Morganza
Bend were about 15,000 troops. Here they lay,
comparatively inactive, from the 4th of June to
the 3d of July, when, with their division, they em
barked for New Orleans, destined to reinforce
the army of Virginia. The command of the
brigade was transferred to Brigadier-General
Birge. On June nth Major Carpenter resigned
and returned home, much to the regret of his
associates. On July 13th they sailed for Bur-
muda Hundreds, reaching their destination on
the 22d and encamping in close proximity to the
rebels. Here they were held in various defens
ive duties, without engaging the enemy, until
the 31st, when with their own and another bri
gade, they were ordered to Washington, to pro
tect it from raids with which it was threatened.
They remained in its vicinity for two weeks.
Lieutenant-Colonel Babcock here joined and
assumed command of the regiment Colonel
Merritt owing to ill health, had been transferred
to hospital duties at Washington.
On the 14th of August the 2d division was
ordered to join the army operating in the Shen
andoah Valley. After a week's march the army
reached Charlestown and encamped in its vicinity,
where, expecting an attack, earth-works were
constructed ; but the camp was changed nearer
Plarper's Ferry during the night, encamping on
Bolivar Heights. The 75th was sent out on a
reconnoissance the next day, the 23d, and skir
mished the entire day with the enemy's pickets.
Colonel Babcock on the 24th, was sent out with
three regiments, and skirmished briskly with the
enemy. On the 28th the 75th moved to its old
camp near Charlestown, resting two or three
days to strengthen its old defenses. On the
29th, in a cavalry skirmish, 500 of the enemy
were captured. The camp was next moved to

THE VALLEY OF THE SHENANDOAH.

133

Berryville, twelve miles distant, and fortifications
constructed. Here the troops remained for two
weeks, with an active and close watch over the
wily rebel General Early, by his equally vigilant
foe. General Sheridan, who, when the proper
time should come, was prepared to " send him
flying through Winchester."
Winchester was eleven miles from our camp
at Berryville, and here and in the vicinity Gen
eral Early's force lay, the pickets of the two
armies being not far apart. On the morning of
September 19th, the two armies came in collis
ion and the furious and bloody battle of Win
chester was fought. By a stratagem, Early at
first succeeded in routing and stampeding a por
tion of our army, which indicated its complete
defeat ; but, stimulated by the magnetic presence
of General Sheridan, the escaping fugitives were
reformed and returned to their work with such
bravery and persistence as to transform what
threatened to be a rout, into a complete victory
for our troops, and Early was thrown into even
greater disorder than were our own forces earlier
in the day. He fled through Winchester to a
defensive and fortified position, at Fisher's Hill,
three miles south-east of Strasburg, pursued on
the following morning by our army. Here we
flanked the enemy's position and by a concerted
and simultaneous charge drove him from his
position in great disorder and pursued his
shattered forces for several miles, inflicting a
loss from the 19th to the 25 th of fully 10,000
in killed, wounded and prisoners. Our losses
were severe, numbering in the 7Sth a total of
81, of whom 16 were killed, 51 wounded and
14 prisoners. Colonel Willoughby Babcock was
mortally wounded.
The Valley of the Shenandoah is an exceed
ingly fertile region, producing wheat of excellent
quality and in great abundance, as well as other
grains, hay, vegetables, &c. Its productions
went to supply the hordes of guerrillas that
preyed upon our sick and wounded or any of our
men on whom they could pounce and carry off.
The rebel army were largely fed and supplied
from this " Garden of Virginia," therefore, after
Early's defeat, General Sheridan's army was in
structed to destroy the barns, stacks and stores
of hay and grain, wherever found, reserving only
what was necessary to supply Our own forces.
The rich valley of the Shenandoah and its

affluents were swept as with a devouring fire,
and became, in the track of the army, a scene of
desolation. The Confederates were unwilling to see their
fair fields thus desolated and their supplies cut
off, and were determined to drive General Sheri
dan from the valley. General Lee, therefore,
sent Early a reinforcement of 16,000 veterans to
accomplish that object. General Early's forces
on the 1 8th of October were concentrated near
the base of Fisher's Hill ; General Sheridan oc
cupied an entrenched position on Cedar Creek.
The night of the i8th was foggy and dark and
by taking a wide detour. General Early envel
oped the left flank of our army by three full di
visions, captured our pickets and suddenly and
fiercely fell upon our camp before the men could.
be formed. It was utterly dark, and our unform
ed lines were swept back in confusion and dis
order. The surprise was so complete that many
of our men left their tents hatless and shoeless.
The 8th Corps was thoroughly routed, their ar
tillery and camp captured, their guns turned upon
the disordered fugitives that rushed in wild dis
order upon the 19th Corps, which also gave way.
The 6th Corps was also forced back, losing heavi
ly in killed, wounded and prisoners, and twenty
cannon. The Army of the Shenandoah was
thus driven back nearly three miles, forced off
the turnpike, and stragglers were scattered along
the way to Winchester, twelve miles distant,
where General Sheridan had staid the night be
fore. He was quickly in his saddle and dashed
forward to the scene of the disaster. Facing the
stragglers he rallied them with the encouraging
words : " We are going back to our camp. We will
lick them out of their boots." And he did it
The enemy, supposing the foe completely rout
ed, had made no disposition for defense, but were
occupied in plundering our camp. General Sheri
dan gathered his scattered forces in order with
magic celerity, returned, fell furiously upon
Early's forces, and completely routed them, fol
lowing them with his cavalry sixteen miles. He
compelled them to abandon everything that
would impede their flight — cannon, small-arms,
knapsacks and clothing. Forty cannon, incliid^'
ing the twenty captured from us in the morning,
sixteen hundred small-arms, fifteen hundred pris
oners and two thousand of the enemy's killed
and wounded, were left in our hands.

134

CAYUGA COUNTY IN THE REBELLION.

Our losses in the morning had been heavy,
but were trifling in the evening, aggregating al
together 3,000 killed and wounded and 800 pris
oners. The' 75th had three killed, sixteen
wounded and thirty-one missing.
History records no more remarkable instance
of the retrieval of a lost battle, without rein
forcements, solely by the energy and ability of
the commanding general. General Grant,
in communicating the intelligence of the victory
to the War Department said, " It stamps Sheri
dan, what I always thought him, one of the
ablest of Generals."
For the next six weeks there was some skir
mishing with Early's cavalry, but he carefully
avoided a general engagement. General Sheri
dan fulfilled his instructions in a further and most
thorough destruction of supplies in the Blue
Ridge valley. On the 9th of November camp
was. moved to Winchester, where the now veter
ans were mustered out, including Surgeon Bene
dict, Chaplain Worth, Major Thurber, and Cap
tains Fuller and Silsby, and a consolidation of
the regiment into five companies followed with
many changes in the company ofificers.
The battle of Cedar Creek was the last en
gagement in which the 75th participated, and
here really closed their active military history,
but not. their military organization. That battle
was fought on the 19th of October, 1864, and
the regiment did not reach home until Septem
ber 24th, 1865. Meanwhile they were ordered to
various points and changed as the demands of
the service required ; to Stephenson's Depot on
the 19th of December ; to Baltimore on the 6th
of January, 1865 ; and to Savannah on the nth of
January, where they remained six months, acting
chiefly as police to maintain order in the city.
The regiment was sent on July 24th, 1865, to
Hawkinsville, 200 miles west of Savannah, but
ordered back to be mustered out on the 9th of
August following.
The regiment very gladly received the intelli
gence. The war had really closed four months
before, and both officers and men were very
anxious to bid adieu to the sunny, suffocating and
malarial South, and to breathe once more the
peaceful and pure atmosphere of their native
latitude. They longed for home with its affec
tions, its freedom, its peace and quiet. P"our full
years in camp ^nd field, had given them a satia

ting experience of war, its discomforts, toils, sac
rifices and horrors ; but they had the satisfying
conviction that the land which they had helped
to save was now " all ours,"
" Ours from the North Lake's crystal waves,
'J'o the silver Southern foam ;
Ours by the changeless right of graves.
Ours by the lives to come."

CHAPTER XXI.

Cayuga in the Rebellion, (Continued.)
Captain Kennedy's Battery — War Ex
penses — Bounties Paid by Cayuga County
FROM 1862 TO 1865, Inclusive — Cayuga
County War Loan Bonds — Amounts Paid
BY the Several Towns.
CAPTAIN Kennedy, it will be remembered,
first raised an independent battery of
artillery, but, for want of guns and equipments,
was compelled to change it to an infantry
company. He still cherished his first idea
and sought to realize it. He had, while absent
on a recruiting service, been supplanted in
the line of promotion by junior ofificers, and felt
a strong desire to disconnect himself from, a
regiment in which he believed his just claims
had been disregarded. Through .the influence of
the Secretary of State, he finally secured an or
der authorizing him to raise a battery of artillery,
to be attached, " until otherwise ordered," to the
19th Regiment ; one condition of which was that
it was to be completed in 30 days. By very en
ergetic efforts it was completed in 28 days. Col.
Nichols, of the regular army, one of the staff of
Governor Morgan, being at this time in Auburn
to muster in the 75tb New York Volunteer In
fantry, was consulted by Captain Kennedy, who
made known to the Colonel his military grievances
and expressed his wishes to be organized into an
independent command. Colonel Nichols admit
ted the justice of Captain Kennedy's claims and
instructed him as to the course to be pursued to
be mustered out of the 19th Regiment and into.
an independent battery, which was. carried out
The commissions were forwarded to the company
officers and Captain Stevenson, of the regular

KENNEDY'S BATTERY IN MARYLAND AND VIRGINIA.

135

army, then recruiting at Seneca Falls, duly mus
tered the company as an independent battery of
artillery. This is a concise, and is believed to
be a correct account of the organization of Ken
nedy's Battery.
On the 2d day of December, 1861, orders were
received by Captain Kennedy to report with his
battery at Washington, D. C, which was prompt
ly executed. The battery was here inspected by
Major-General Barry and Staff, and orders given
for mustering it General Barry became and
continued a warm friend of the battery. It was
ordered to Camp Barry near Washington, for in
struction. The battery while here was honored
by a visit of the Secretary of State and also with
an invitation to visit the White House, which
was accepted. President Lincoln, and Secreta
ries Seward and Chase, each addressed the mem
bers of the battery, to which Captain Kennedy
responded. Major-General Doubleday, a native of Auburn
and an artillery officer of distinction, rendered
the battery kindly assistance. The first battery
of Rodman guns distributed to our army was to
Captain Benson of the regulars, and the second,
to Captain Kennedy's Battery. There was a
great deficiency of guns at this time, and to re
ceive their equipment, while even the batteries of
the regular army were unsupplied, was a flattering
compliment. Being fully equipped. Captain Kennedy ap
plied for marching orders to General Barry, and
was directed to report at Baltimore, to Captain
Ayers of the Regular Army, then commanding
a battalion of light artillery attached to the 6th
army corps, commanded by General W. F.
Smith. • At this time the battery was in perfect
trim in every respect, supplied with every needed
requisite and the men and animals in fine condi
tion. The battery was reviewed on its depar
ture by General Barry. In Camp Grififin, at Bal
timore, the time was passed in routine camp du
ties, company and battalion drills and in target
firing. The 6th corps was composed of veter
ans and the men of the battery found their posi
tion here very pleasant.
Orders were given to march some fifteen miles
to join the head of General Hancock's command.
The day was rainy and the marching very heavy.
The battery encamped on Flint Hill, near Fair
fax Court House. Here the army remained sev

eral days and was reviewed by General Mc
Clellan. The next movement was toward Fall's
Church, six miles distant. There were eleven of
the battery then on the sick list, and these were
left behind in a hospital tent with a nurse to care
for them. They could not be moved for want of
proper transportation. The distance was rapid
ly made over a very muddy road and through the
rain. The army encamped at Fall's Church at
night and the following day advanced to near
Fairfax Seminary and encamped. The soil here
was a quicksand, thoroughly saturated by the.
protracted rain, which continued to fall in torrents,
accompanied by a fierce wind, which blew, down
the soldiers' tents, and compelled them to pass a
night of extreme discomfort In the morning
the stream over which the army was to pass Was
found to be greatly swollen by the rains. The
attempt to ford it was made, but the ambulances-
were capsized and many sick and wounded men
were drowned. The camp on the following day
was changed to a more favorable locality, where
the soil was firmer. In sight of the camp were
quartered one hundred thousand soldiers. Here
the battery was drilled in the manual of the
piece and saw a review of the " Grand Army " by
Generals McClellan and McDowell.
Here Captain Kennedy was offered the com
mission of Major in the 3d Artillery, and Colonel
Ledlie and Lieutenant-Colonel Stewart through;
whom the offer was made, claimed the battery as
part of the 3d Artillery. Captain Kennedy de
nied the claim and refused to be sworn as Major,
and foi: the time remained with his battery, par
ticipating in the varied movements, at that time
being made by our army, to Alexandria City,
Fortress Monroe, Hampton City, Newport News,
Youngstown and Warwick River, where the bat
tery fired upon the rebel gunboat Teaser,and where
an artillery duel was for two days maintained with
the enemy, the nights being devoted to the con
struction of earthworks, in which service both
ofificers and men were greatly exhausted. The
third day, after a march of six miles through deep
mud, the battery was posted at Lee's Mills, in
front of the enemy's works, and were held in rcr
serve, exposed to the enemy's fire for six hours,
' when they were ordered forward to join , the bat
tle. They were ordered to fire upon certain works
of the enemy, preparatory to their assault, which;
was gallantly and effectively done. ,, As a mark

136

CAYUGA COUNTY IN THE REBELLION.

of honor. Captain Kennedy was directed to hold
his ground and discharge half-hourly guns
through the night. The battery remained in the
trenches several days, and moved forward with
the army from before Yorktown.
While lying before Yorktown, which is not far
from'Lee's Mills, Captain Kennedy, acting under
the advice of Major-General Sumner, accepted
the proffered commission of Major in the 3d Ar
tillery, on the i6th day of April, 1862. The bat
tery was then formally turned over to Lieutenant
Andrew J. Cowan, who was its commander dur
ing the remainder of the war. Captain Kennedy
left his battery with much reluctance; between
him and hiscommandtherelations were mutually
pleasant. A striking evidence of the attachment
of the men to their commander is found in the
fact that a petition to Secretary Seward to use
his influence to secure the transfer of the battery
to the 3d Artillery, was signed by all the officers
and men then connected with it, excepting two
lieutenants. The battle of Williamsburgh was about to take
place and Major Kennedy applied to Major-Gen
eral Smith for permission to remain until it was
over, which was granted. He was placed upon
the General's staff, and during the three days of
that desperate battle he rode along the lines col
lecting and reporting information at head-quar
ters. In that battle his Battery did effective
work. After the battle the Major bade adieu
to his old command, and left for his new field of
duty. His old Battery remained with and shared
the varied fortunes of the army of the Potomac,
and won for itself imperishable honors.

WAR EXPENSES.
It will be seen from the following tables and
statistics that Cayuga County's part in the war
of the Rebellion was one of which she has just
reason to be proud, one to which her sons in fu
ture ages will recur with pride and satisfaction.
Her commendable promptitude and generous re
sponses to the successive calls for men and her
lavish expenditure of means, alike evince a high
order of patriotism and a keen appreciation of
the merits of the question which that fearful and
desperately sustained contest settled forever ;
forever, because in the interest of truth and jus
tice, which, though " crushed to earth will rise

again." She aided not more by her contributions
of men and means to the successful issue of the
war than by the statesmanship and sagacity of
her Seward, whose voice in the highest councils
of the nation, and whose shrewd diplomacy,
holding at bay the hostile armies of unfriendly
nations, made easier and more certain the victo
ries gained by our armies in the field.
The following three tables, for which we are
indebted to Horace F. Cook, Esq., the very care
ful and accurate County Treasurer, will show the
sources and amounts of the "war taxes" paid by
our citizens for bounties to volunteers, dur
ing the Rebellion ; to which should be added the
large sums paid by individuals for substitutes,
and also the immense " Internal Revenue taxes,"
imposed upon the various objects and industries,
and for which large sums are still paid, fully
equalling, it is believed, the bounties paid to vol
unteers. The startling aggregate of these vari
ous " war taxes and expenses," sufificiently ex
plain where the resources of the people have
been expended.
Bounties paid by the County, from 1862 to
1865, inclusive :
Two Calls of 1862 for 600,000 Men.
In 1862 the bounties paid were $50 and $100,
and in the following proportions :
Number of men paid $50 each 196, amount  J 9,800 00
" " " 100 " 167, "  26,70000
Calls for 1863 and 1864 Aggregated
800,000 Men,
To whom bounties, on our quotas were
paid as follows :
Number of men in 1863 paid $100 each 48, amount  $ 4,80000
" " 1864 " 300 " 1144, "  343,10000
" " " 600 " 918, "  556,80000
" " " " 650 " 5, "  3,25000
" " " " 700 " 127, "  ¦ 88,90000
Call OF 1 864 for "300,000 Men.
In the year 1865, $500 and $300 were
paid to one year men, $400 to two years'
men, and $600 to three years' men ;
the number in each class was as fol
lows :
Number paid $500 each r, amount  $ 50000
" " 3°° " 39, "  n, 700 00
4°° 5i  2^000 00
*' ** 600 " (ids, "¦  399,000 00
r,., ¦^¦ Of r ¦ ¦ $1HA650 00
Ihere was paid m 1804 for procuring recruits. ... $1,005 00
In 1865 '^'linnd money"   68,025 00
Incidentals  11,31013 80,34013
$1,516,990 1 3
Thus making the total number of men receiving bounties 3,415, and the
total amount paid, $1,516,990 13.

WAR EXPENSES.

137

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Cayuga County War-Loan Bonds.
Principal and interest which have been paid
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The money for the payment of the foregoing
sums has been received from the following
sources, namely :
From the Stale of New York in bonds and money and reimburse
ment of bounlic!;  .$ 500,80000
Interest received on State bonds  30,577 63
Premium received on State bonds sold  1 1,163 75
$542,641 38
Loss on State bond of $87,000, sold by direction of Supervisors 1,740 00
$540,901 38
Interest on deposits and other items   - . 3,638 39
Bonds charged to towns  31,400 00
T.. , , $575,939 77
Directtax    1,146,711 73
Total war exiiensesof the County 
Total war expenses of the lywns 
— $1,812,651 50
.— . 384,134 97
$2,206,786 47
138

CITY OF AUBURN.

CHAPTER XXII.
Aurelius and Hardenbergh's Corners.
Favoring Circumstances — Character of the
Settlers — Formation and Changes of the
Town — Territorial Description and
Early Settlement of Hardenbergh's Cor
ners — Col. Hardenbergh — His Habits
and Characteristics — Why the Indians
Dispersed — The First Mill — Roads —
Early Colonies — The First Sermon — Bu-
rial-Ground — First Inn — Jehial Clark —
First Tannery — Town Government — The
" Corners" in 1800 — Slaves — First Post-
Office — Progress — Wild Animals — Coun
ty Seat — Name Changed — Clinton's De
scription of Auburn — War of 1812-15.
UNTIL June, 1803, Hardenbergh's Corners
had been the name of the hamlet out of
which grew the village and city of Auburn. The
settlement formed a part of the town of Aurelius
and was under its government.
The circumstances attending the settlement of
Aurelius, ofthe County of Cayuga, and of western
New York, were peculiarly favorable as com
pared with those attending the settlement of the
eastern portions of the State, and of the country
generally. Sullivan, in his famous campaign
against the Six Nations in 1779, had whipped
them into such thorough submission that they
had left, or were about leaving their lands, which,
for the most part, they had ceded to the State.
The settlers, therefore, could safely penetrate
the wilderness and establish their homes " with
no one to molest or to make them afraid ;" with
out any dread ofthe tomahawk, gun and scalping-
knife of the savage, which in the East, the South
and the West had been the terror of the settlers,
whose cabins were often consumed and their
families slain by the lurking foe. We, happily,
had no Indian wars to fight, and the settlement
and development of this part of the State was
thus exceptionally favored.
The difficulties, toils and dangers which our
early ancestors in this region encountered, were
those only which are common to a densely wooded
region and a rigorous climate, where abounded
numerous and ferocious wild beasts, and where,
for nearly a generation, few of the comforts of

civilization could be enjoyed. But the men and
women who first peopled this region were equal
to the task before them. They were brave of
heart and strong of hand. They were hopeful,
vigorous and enterprising. Present self-denials
were cheerfully borne as the price of future good,
and one of the most interesting facts in the lives
of the pioneers of this region is the admission
made by nearly all of them, that those early years,
notwithstanding their hardships and privations,
were, nevertheless, the happiest of their lives.
In 1789 the territory of Cayuga County was
divided into townships, and opened for settle
ment. Aurelius and Milton, the latter changed
to Genoa, were formed Jan. 27th, 1789. Aurelius
was then in the county of Montgomery, which, at
that time, included all the western part of the
State, from a line drawn north and south through
the center of Schoharie county. Its name had
been changed from Tryon after the Revolution.
Herkimer county was formed from Montgomery,
February i6th, 1791 ; Onondaga, from Herkimer,
March 5th, 1794, and Cayuga, from Onondaga,
March Sth, 1799.
Aurelius was at first a military township, but
was so enlarged as to include several townships.*
That part of Aurelius which became the village
of Auburn, comprised six town lots, viz : thirty-
seven, thirty-eight, forty-six, forty-seven, fifty-
six and fifty-seven. Lot number thirty-seven
lies in the north-west section of the plot and be
came the property of Robert Dill, who held and
improved it, though before his purchase it had
passed through several hands from the soldier to
whom it had been awarded. His title is dated
December 12th, 1791 ; he sold in 1796 to Amos
and Gideon Tyler, one hundred acres to each
from this lot, Amos paying 40;^ and Gideon
86£ for their respective purchases.
Lot number thirty-eight, in the north-east cor
ner of the city, was purchased after the comple
tion of the survey, on February 27th, 1789, by
Garrett Van Wagener, and the sum paid for it is
not stated, the title having also previously passed
through several hands.
Noah Olmstead, Jr., bought the south half of
this lot in December, 1794, paying for it 120.;^,
about $2 per acre, a part of which is now the
beautiful farm of Charles Standart, Esq.
Lot number forty-six lies in the west part of
* See " formation of towns," page 36.

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FIRST SETTLEMENTS AT HARDENBERGH'S CORNERS.

139

the city. Five hundred acres became the property
of Robert Dill, for ^1,200, and 100 acres lying in
the south east corner of the lot, in what is now
the heart of the city of Auburn, was bought by
William Bostwick for $750, in 1794.
Lot number forty-seven embraced the south
eastern section ofthe city, and on it was the main
water-power of this locality. It was purchased
by John L. Hardenbergh. He paid 90;^ —
about 75 cents per acre — for his purchjise. The
bond he gave for the purchase money is dated
February 20th, 1792, and a receipt of its full pay
ment, is dated July 17th, following. This bond is
on file in the collection of the Cayuga County
Historical Society.
Mr. Hardenbergh had been one of the survey
ors of the military lands. He had marked this.lot
in his field notes as " a good mill site," and had
evidently fixed his mind upon its acquisition.
Captain John Doughty, had drawn the lot, and
sold it to Martin and Josiah Ogden Hoffman, of
whom it was purchased by Mr. Hardenbergh.
Lot number fifty-seven was awarded to Peter
Gansevoort, who, rightly estimating its prospect
ive value, held it until 1805, when he sold it for
about six dollars per acre to Samuel Swift.
Colonel John L. Hardenbergh, the founder
of the settlement which bore his name, was ol
Dutch descent and a native of Ulster county, in
this State. He had more than the ordinary cult
ure of the times, was a good practical surveyor
and engineer and a captain in the Revolutionary
army. In the latter capacity he accompanied
General Sullivan in his expedition against the
Six Nations, and when the military tract was sur
veyed he was employed in that work. He wrote
up a daily journal ofthe movements of the army,
as did many of the officers of the expedition.*
The Owasco Outlet particularly attracted
his attention as furnishing ample waler-power ;
also the beautiful and fertile regions border
ing upon it. Hence his efforts to secure lot 57,
in which he succeeded.
He came on to improve his property in 1793.
The records which he left behind him, show him
to have been systematic and methodical in his
habits. His "Journal," " Orderly Book," and the
" Field Notes," and other books and papers, novv
•General John S. Clark, of Auburn, by diligent and careful
research has gathered together and copied some twenty of these
military journals, which throw much light upon the previous ac-
. count of General Sullivan's campaign.
24

carefully preserved by the Cayuga County His
torical Society, attest this.
In his " Field Notes " of the surveys of the
towns of Aurelius, Brutus, Cato, Scipio, Locke
and Sempronius, he carefully notes the size,
density and quality of the timber, the kind of soil,
the rivers and streams, and the general topogra
phy of the region surveyed.
His had been just the experience to fit him for
being the, founder of a new settlement. He was
capable, hardy, and enterprising. He had long
dwelt in, and traversed the woods, and was so
inured to their hardships and discomforts that for
him, a new country had no terrors.
When he came, the old Indian trail from Utica
to Canandaigua had been widened, and upon
this rude way the first settlers of Auburn built
their cabins.*
Colonel Hardenbergh built his cabin in the
rear of the present City Hall. The first tree
felled on the site of Auburn was chopped by the
competent and faithful slave ofthe Colonel, Harry
Freeman, and the first acres were cleared by him
and Gilbert Goodrich.
His cabin was strongly built to resist the in
gress of wild beasts, which were then bold and
abundant, and was without a fire-place, or chim
ney. A " Dutch back," against which the fire
was kindled, and a large opening in the roof for
the discharge of smoke, comprised the simple
arrangements for warmth and cooking.
But rude as was the home of the first settler
of Auburn, it was, nevertheless, the seat of a wide
and generous hospitality, dispensed alike to the
native Indian and the hardy emigrant. A few
red men yet lingered here, without disturbances,
either among themselves, or between them and
the whites. -
But an enemy soon appeared which quickly
and effectually gained a complete mastery over
them and drove them from their village. Stores
were started at the "Corners" about 1797, at
which the Indians procured such articles as they
desired, and among them was strong drink, the
deadly foe of the savage, as it is also of the civ
ilized man. Its effects upon them were quickly
manifest in repeated brawls and fights, which, for
a time, the friendly influence of the whites so
restrained as to avoid serious results. But on
*The Indian trails, it has been shown by careful investigation
passed over the most feasible routes, and were generally followed in
laying out the earlier roads.

I40

CITY OF AUBURN.

one occasion, their village was the scene of a
severe and terrible combat. So drunk and crazed
were the Indians, that the whites could not ap
pease them and they were left to fight off their
debauch. In the morning, it was found that
they had nearly all deserted their village ; the
great body of them, it so proved, had left the
region altogether, and of the remaining few nearly
all went upon their reservation near Union
Springs. Those that remained here dwelt in
their village on the site of the Auburn Prison.
The great western trail led through the " Cor
ners" and crossed the outlet just below North
street. Large stones at proper distances
had been placed in the stream, and these
tradition represents to have been once so con
nected by bark as to form a bridge.
The P'irst Mill. — One of the greatest dis
advantages to which the earliest settlers were
exposed, was the want of mills for grinding grain
and sawing lumber. The more thrifty and en
terprising pioneers early directed their attention
to supplying this imperious want. Colonel Har
denbergh had located his lot with the special
aim of supplying that demand. As soon as pos
sible he began the work of building a grist-mill.
He threw across the Outlet a log dam just above
the present stone dam of the Lewis mill, td-
ward Wheeler and Eldad Steel were the builders
of the mill, which was made of logs and covered
with boughs, When finished the mill would
grind with its single run of stones about one
bushel an hour.
Hitherto the nearest mill had been at Seneca
Falls, or at Ludlowville, the latter now in
Tompkins county, and the journey to either place
over the forest roads by plodding ox teams, was
long and toilsome in the extreme. Many ofthe
settlers had extemporized domestic and very
simple mills, consisting of huge mortars, formed
by hollowing out large stumps with fire and
gouges, and suspending from spring-poles huge
pestles, by which the grain was reduced to coarse
flour, nutritious and healthy.
The erection of Colonel Hardenbergh's mill
was, therefore, the great event of the settlement.
It drew hither most of the settlers in the vicinity,
whom it relieved from long journeys, or laborious
poundings of their own grain. They came not
only to the Corners to mill, but for general sup
plies and general business purposes as well. It

brought his property into immediate notice and
greatly increased its value. It was the center of
business of a large bordering area.
Roads, as a means of access to the country
and as aiding or retarding its settlement, as they
were good or bad, form a proper subject of in
quiry. The old Genesee road from Utica to Can
andaigua, was the first one built and the most
used. It had been so improved in 1793, when
the first settler came to the Corners, as to be
passable with sleighs and wagons. This im
provement had been made by the State. The
" old Chenango road " leading from Chenango
county along the east side of Owasco Lake to the
"Corners," is believed to have been the next
road built. A road was also constructed to
Montezuma as early as 1794, and after 1797 was
much used by the settlers in procuring salt from
that place.
All these early roads were necessarily very
rude. They ran through dense woods, the swamps
and sloughs but little improved and most of the
streams unbridged. In summer streams were
forded, and in winter they were bridged with ice.
In the latter season the families and goods of
the early settlers were mostly transported over
such roads ; and into a densely wooded region
our first settlers came, literally hewing for them
selves a pathway to success.
The vicinity of Gettysburg, Pa., supplied an
early colony consisting of ten families, amongst
whom were Roeliff, Jacob and Luke Brinker
hoff, Charles and James VanTyne, Philip O'Brien,
Thomas and Abraham Johnson, and Albert De-
maree. They left their homes in 1791, des
tined for what is now the town of Owasco, but
were detained at Ludlowville in perfecting their
land titles for two years, not reaching their con
templated home until 1793. Another party from
the same place, consisting of David, Isaac and
John Parsell and two sisters, came on the same
year and settled in the same town.
Solomon Tibbies came on in 1794. Jacob Van
Doran settled upon the lot on which is now the
residence of Peter Sittser, and Mrs. Van Doran
planted the poplars in front of this dwelling in
1800. She lived to the remarkable age of 103
years. The First Sermon. — Elder David Irish is
said to have preached the first sermon to white
men in the County of Cayuga, in 1794. In 1795,

EARLY INSTITUTIONS— TOWN ORGANIZATION.

141

Major Noah Olmstead, Jr., Zenas Hoggins, Gid
eon Tyler and his sons Elliot, Warren, Salmon
and Gideon, settled here.
The First Burial Ground was on the lot
on which is now the residence of C. M. Hewlett,
and for a time was the only burial place. In 1795,
three-fourths of an acre was cleared in the north
west corner of the North Street Cemetery and
fenced with logs. Gideon Tyler, Jr., was the
first person buried there.
The First Store at Hardenbergh's Corners,
was opened in a log building on the site of the
town hall, by James O'Brien, in 1795. Dr. Sam
uel Crossett soon after opened another store,
also in a log building, on the site of the First
Church chapel.
The First Physician. — Dr. Samuel Crossett
was the first physician, and Dr. Ellis the second,
Dr. Burt read medicine with Dr. Crossett in
1796. The First Inn. — Samuel Bristol opened the
first Inn in 1796, on the corner of North and
Genesee streets, where is now the store of H. J.
Brown. It was a small log cabin in which a store
was also kept. A framed addition to it was built,
and it was retained for many years as a public
house. Nehemiah Smith built in 1796, a log
house where is now the residence of James Sey
mour, on North street. Mr. Smith planted the
poplars which were last year (1878) removed by
Mr. Seymour and which, therefore, had stood
there over eighty years. St. Clair Smith settled
the same year in Aurelius, and Jehial Clark in
Clarksville, the year before ; the latter en
gaged largely in milling in opposition to Colonel
Hardenbergh, in the eastern part of the settle
ment. They were both vigorous and enterpris
ing men and between them there was a sharp ri
valry as to which should draw to his locality the
greatest number of settlers and secure the most
business. Clark's Village was the name which
first designated the western settlement. It was
afterwards changed to Clarksville.
Mr. Clark had a fine water power on the stream,
which he utilized by the erection of a substantial
saw and grist mill, the latter with two run of
stones. He also opened and improved the roads
leading to his mills and the prospective village,
of which he regarded his property as the center. '
His mill is yet standing and forms a part of the
Mayflower Mills.

William Bostwick and Dan Hyde, arrived
in 1798. The former was a builder and
erected a large double log house on the north
side of Genesee street where now stands the
Beach block. Here he opened a tavern. The
building was made conspicuous by a coat of
whitewash both inside and out. A stump in the
rear yard supported the family oven.
The First Tannery. — Mr. Hyde built a tan
nery on the site of the Knight block, which in
1805, became the property of Elijah Esty; the
former engaging in the mercantile business with
Dr. Burt. The latter, two years later, became the
sole owner of the business, and the former en
gaged in milling.
Organization of the Town. — The town gov
ernment of Aurelius was first formed in 1794.
The town meeting was held at the house of Col.
Hardenbergh. The voters that attended that
meeting were an honest, hardy, and weather-
beaten band, in strong contrast with similar gath
erings of to-day. They selected their super
visor, town clerk, school committee, overseers of
the poor, highway commissioners, and all the
other town officers.
These elections were held annually for nine
years at the house of Colonel Hardenbergh, and
afterwards at some tavern or school-house in the
town, at the "Corners," or the "Openings," as
the light timbered lands to the west of the Cor
ners were called.
Early Town Clerks. — The early town clerks
of Aurelius were as follows : Colonel John L.
Hardenbergh, from 179410 1802; Samuel Cros
sett, M. D., from 1802 to 1803 ; John Harring,
from 1803 to 1807; Dr. Hackaliah Burt, from
180710 1810; John Harring, from 1810 to 181 1;
David Brinkerhoff, from 1811 to 181 3 ; Nathan
iel Garrow, from 18 13 to 1814 ; David Brinker
hoff, from 1814 to 1822; and David Calkins,
from 1822 to 1823.
In 1800, the "Corners" were really yet "in
the woods ;" there were only about 150 acres of
cleared land, and the general appearance pf the
place was far from inviting. Large and„.dense
hemlock, covered all the lower parts bf the ham
let, and bogs, ponds and small streams covered
large areas. The roads through the place were
generally wet, very muddy and difficult of pas
sage. Through the hamlet passed the great flood of

142

CITY OF AUBURN.

western emigration and its appearance rather
repelled than invited settlers ; other sections pre
sented to the emigrants more inviting prospects.
The " Openings" or light timbered lands in the
western part of the town, and the fertile and ap
parently more favored regions bordering on Ca
yuga Lake, were strong rivals.
Slaves. — Slaves were at this time held by
such of our citizens as could afford their cost,
and slavery was tolerated by law and upheld by
public opinion. One of Colonel Hardenbergh's
slaves purchased his freedom by clearing for his
master eighty acres of heavily timbered land ;
and two slaves of Peter Hughes purchased their
freedom in the same way. Liberty, to those who
paid for it so great a price, must have been highly
prized. Slaves were then advertised and sold as
other chattels. Such advertisements may be
seen in the early newspapers of the village.
The First Bikth of a white child at the
" Corners," was that of John H., son of Colonel
Hardenbergh, in 1798. The Colonel is said to
have made the acquaintance of the lady he mar
ried, a daughterof Roeliff Brinkerhoff, of Owasco,
while she was waiting for a grist to be ground,
which she had brought on horseback several
miles through the forest. Harriet and Polly,
daughters of William Bostwick, were the first
girls born at the Corners, of white parents.
The First Post-Office was established in
1800, at which time a mail was received once in
two weeks. Stages were run over the Genesee
road the same year, traveling only in the day time
and making exceedingly slow progress. As late
as 1817, four days were required to reach Al
bany. In 1804 stages ran twice a week, and four
years later, three times per week. Isaac, father
of the late Colonel John M. Sherwood, and
Jason Parker, were the first mail carriers, the
mail being borne on horseback.
The first bridge across the outlet was built of
logs, in iSoo. Teams had previously forded it,
and footmen had passed over it on the trunks of
trees felled across the stream.
A broad and substantially built plank bridge
was thrown across the outlet in 1802 and was a
favorite place of resort of the citizens for various
athletic sports. Hard as they toiled, they yet
had sufficient vigor to enjoy physical sports.
In 1800, Daniel Grant, Zenas Goodrich, Fran
cis Hunter and Elijah Esty became residents

The latter, in 1805, bought the tannery on North
street, of David Hyde. The large elm now in
front ofthe property was soon after planted when
a mere shrub, by his daughter, the late Sally
Wood. This tree has now had a growth of over
70 years, and is a conspicuous monument ofthe
past. Abner Beach, John Kellogg, Moses Saw
yer, Bradley Tuttle, and Richard L. Smith, all
prominent and useful citizens, took up their resi
dence here in 1801. Messrs. Kellogg, Sawyer
and Smith were lawyers of distinction. Bradley
Tuttle bought and conducted the Goodrich
tavern for many years ; but subsequently fol
lowed his trade as a builder, in which he became
conspicuous. The First Hatter in the place was Seth
Burgess, in 1803. Nathaniel Garrow came the
same year, and Lyman Payne and Henry Am
merman in 1804. The latter, for about twelve
years, kept the leading hotel of the jjlace. the
Centre House, in the long room of which for
several years public and religious meetings were
held ; dancing parties, mountebank shows and re
ligious meetings succeeding each other.
The brothers Robert and John Patty began
business here in 1805. They had been traveling
peddlers. They first opened a general store and
afterwards engaged also in tanning, carrying on
a large and prosperous business.
Wild Animals.— The early settlers of Auburn
and of the County at large, were both favored
and annoyed by the great abundance of wild
game. They were annoyed by foxes destroying
their poultry and lambs ; wolves were destruc
tive to sheep, lambs, calves and other small do
mestic animals, and children and even adults
were not safe from their ferocity, when they
roamed in packs. Deer, bears, squirrels, and
raccoons were great plunderers of the growing
crops ; yet the flesh of many of these animals
served a valuable purpose for food and their
skins were utilized for various domestic purposes,
those of the deer, bear and wolf serving the
double purpose of bedding and clothing.
To guard against the entrance to their houses
of the voracious wolves and the bold and greedy
bears, some of their cabins were entered through
high windows by means of ladders, and their
-^domestic animals corralled in high log pens at
night. The township of Aurelius, in 1797, voted a

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[Photo by Squyer & Wright]

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Nf\Y S

iLAs Punning,

Henbt Silas Dunning, was born in Aurelius, Cayuga Coun
ty, New York, September Gth, 181G, on the farm were his
grandfather Silas Duuniug settled in 1790. "When a young
man he learned the machinist's trade which he followed some
eight or ten years, becoming very expert and was often sent
away to the Southern States and other distant places to su
perintend the erection of machinery. His health faiUng
through overwork on one of these expeditions, he was obhged
to resort to the out-door life of farming, and commenced in
the year 1842, on the farm then owned by his father-in-law,
.Toseph Wadsworth, on Genesee street, near the western
limits of the city of Auburn.
He soon afterpurchasedother lands adjoining this farm and
afterwards from time to time otheradjoining farms until he
finally acquired a farm of some 300 acres, which became through
his careful and successful management one of the finest
in New York State. He was always foremost among farmers
in introducing and employing labor-saving machinery in
farming operations, and in improving his farm by a thorough
system of tile draining (which at that time had few supj)ort-
ers,) and in improving his cattle and horses by the introduc
tion of improved breeds. He was very successful in intro
ducing and growing the best varieties of apples, in some
years seUing one thousand barrels from his orchard of twen
ty-five acres. His views were often sought by other farmers
and he was an occasional contributor to the agricultural press
on various topics. Mr. Dunning was prominent in many
connections outside of his farm. He was the first alderma;ti (
elected to rejjresent the new territory known as the 7th ward j

after its annexation to the city. He was connected with the
Cayuga County Agricultural Society from its organization,
and dtiring most of the time in official capacity.
He was elected a Director in the Aubum Gas Light Com
pany in 1863 and in 1805 was elected its Superintendent and
Treasurer. Through his enterprise and activity the business
of the company was largely extended and imj^roved. Not
possessing a strong constitution the excessive labor again told
upon his health and he was obliged to relinquish the charge
of the company in 18G9 to one of his sons. The death of his
wife August 7th, 18G9 was a severe blow from which he nev
er recovered, and his health gradually failed from that time
until his death April 22d, 1871.
Mr. Dunning was man-ied October 7th, 1840, to Jane
Wadsworth, daughter of Joseph Wadsworth, then a promi
nent manufacturer of agricultm-al" hand imijlemeuts in the
western part of Aubuni. She was a person of extraordinary
energy, yet of quiet and unassuming character ; her influence
was felt far and wide through the Church, the Orphan Asy
lum, towards the poor, always in the cause of charity and
humanity, and toward the improvement of her fellow-beings.
They both became members of the Baptist Church at Au
bum, at an early period, and were always afterward among
the most active and influential members thereof, contributing
Uberally towards its support. Mr. Dunning was a life mem
ber of the American Baptist Home Missionary Society. They
both died at a comparatively early age and left a large family
of childi-en, six sons and one daughter, to mourn their un
timely loss.

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CHANGE OF NAME — COUNTY SEAT.

143

bounty of " three pounds for the head of every
full grown wolf" taken in the town. This bounty
was continued until those terrible and destruc
tive beasts were exterminated, to accomplish
which required nearly a generation. The town
bounties were, for many years, supplemented by
County bounties. The hand and purse of every
settler were enlisted in this work, and large sums
were expended for their destruction.
Long after the settlement was made at the
Corners, the bears and wolves would enter the
hamlet in search of food, and the houses were not
secure from their depredations. For years the
settlers went armed in the woods for self-protec
tion., Venison was a common article of food, for
.deer were so abundant as to be easily taken.
Corn and wheat fields were generally seriously
damaged by squirrels, a pest which continued
much longer than the larger animals, and they
are yet abundant in our more wooded towns.
They long furnished very interesting sport to
gunners in the trial of skill in what was called
" squirrel hunts ;" a neighborhood, and sometimes
an entire town, engaging in the sport for a fixed
period. Competing sides were chosen, compris
ing equal numbers, and numerical scales agreed
upon for the heads or scalps of the different
kinds of game. This done, the hunters entered
the woods in pursuit of game. The grand aggre
gate of the scalps were counted by the captains
of the contesting companies, at a time and place
agreed upon, and the defeated party supplied re
freshments to the entire company. The quan
tity of game thus obtained was often very large,
extending to several thousand squirrels, with
large numbers of hawks, owls, crows, foxes, &c.
It was very fine sport for the hunters and
greatly reduced the number of depredating birds
and animals. Fish in the lakes, rivers, and
brooks were also very abundant, and were easily
taken in large quantities, largely supplying with
food the tables of the early settlers.
The early pasture grounds were the unbroken
forests, and the animals fed on the succulent
branches of young trees and such herbage as the
woods afforded. Cattle of the same herd would
usually keep together and take wide ranges in
search of food. The bells which were attached
to nearly every cow had each its peculiar tone,
and every owner could distinguish the sound of
his own bells, which could be heard for long

distances. They guided the search of the owner
of the herd, whose milch cows would generally
return to the cabins at evening, though long
rambles were frequently necessary to find them.
Along the Seneca River were the best natural
pastures and here the young animals were driven
in the spring and remained until autumn.
The tavern long known as the Western Ex
change, was continued as such for over 60 years.
It was first erected by William Bostwick, in 1803.
It was two stories high and had in its second
story a ball or long room, as it was generally
called, which was used for all kinds of public as
semblages. Canfield Coe became the owner in
1 8 16, and made an addition to the eastern side.
E. D. Hudson succeeded Mr. Coe, and added a
third story and a rear wing, greatly enlarging its
accommodations. It yielded in 1863 to the
march of improvement and an elegant block of
buildings was erected on its site.
In this tavern was held the first public ball of
the village, the great feature of which was the
time at which it opened and closed. It was held
in the daytime, opening at three o'clock p. m.,
and closing at night-fall.
The first celebration of the anniversary of the
nation's birth was on July 4th, 1804. A liberty-
pole was raised, and red silk substituted for a
banner. The " red " was regarded as symboliz
ing England, and gave great offense ; an effort
was made to shoot it down, and the excitement
ran so high as to break up the celebration. The
following year the effort was successfully renew
ed, and the day celebrated in a manner common
to the period, by reading the Declaration of In
dependence, an oration, a public dinner, toasts
and firing of cannon.
In June, 1803, the " Corners" were given the
shorter and more euphonious name of "Auburn."
The place had been designated as the county
seat, and a more dignified name than " Corners "
was desired, which, after considerable discussion
they found in that of Auburn.
County Seat. — The selection of the county
seat was attended with difficulties and delays.
Until 1803 the courts had been held at Cayuga
and Aurora, but efforts were made to establish
the county seat elsewhere. It was first, changed.
to Sherwood Corners, but so earnest and decided
was the opposition, that the local commissioners
to whom was. confided the erection of the court

144

CITY OF AUBURN.

house, withheld action, and a new commission of
disinterested men, resident in other parts of the
State, was appointed to settle its location, and by
them Hardenbergh's Corners was designated as
the site, much to the gratification of its residents
and to the disgust of rival claimants. The funds
for the erection of the County buildings were re
fused by a majority of the Supervisors, and the
erection of the buildings delayed. A law was
then passed imposing a fine of 1^250 upon each
Supervisor refusing to vote the tax, which was
effective. The tax was raised, and a wooden
court house and jail erected — the latter on the
first floor of the building, the court room on the
second floor. The court house was located in
1803, but not finished until 1809.
Rapid Settlements, Taverns. — The popu
lation of the County at this time was increasing
at a rate exceeding 1,200 a year, and the central
and western counties were also rapidly settling.
The main line of travel was the old Genesee turn
pike, which was constantly lined with emigrants,
for whose accommodation inns or taverns were
greatly multiplied. At one period there were
fifteen of these public houses between Cayuga
village and Skaneateles, one to a mile, and they
were all liberally patronized. The canal and rail
roads of a later day destroyed the business of
these country " taverns," and the patronage of
the traveling public was crowded into the more
imposing city and village "hotels." In 1805
there were four taverns in Auburn and the "Cen
tre House " was building, on the site of the store
now occupied by Kerr & Devitt. It was built by
David Horner, and, for the time, was an elegant
structure. Its ball room was used for various
public assemblies. It was occupied by the First
Presbyterian Society as a place of worship for
several years.
The County records were brought to Auburn
in 1807, by the County Clerk, Peter Hughes, and
kept at his residence, a Clerk's office not being
erected until 18 14.
In 1810 there were in operation in Auburn,
five saw-mills, four grist-mills, two carding and
fulling-mills, two distilleries and one oil-mill.
D. M. Hyde built a dam and grist-mill in 1808
on the site of the present " big dam," and Ro
bert Dill the next year erected a dam, saw-mill
and forge on the site of Barber's factory. The lat
ter were built in a thick wood. Jehial Clark

had in operation at this time, in Clarksville, a
saw and grist-mill.
In 1810 Auburn contained about 100 houses
and was a very active business place. There
were very few idlers ; industrial pursuits engaged
the active attention of nearly all the people, who
were ambitious and hopeful. ' '
The following very interesting and minute de
scription of Auburn is from the pen of DeWitt
Clinton, who, in that year, visited the village,
while making the tour of the State. We give it,
as a very interesting description in itself, and as
showing the inquisitive and careful habits of that
distinguished statesman :
"Auburn derives its name from Goldsmith.
It contains three tanneries, three distilleries, one
coach maker, two watch makers, four taverns,
two tailors, six merchants, three shoemakers, two
asheries, two wagon makers, three blacksmiths
two chair makers, three saddlers, three physi
cians, a Presbyterian clergyman and an incor^
porated library of 220 volumes. It is the County
town, and has about ninety houses, three law
offices, a post-office, a Court house and the Coun
ty Clerk's office. It is a fine growing place, and
is indebted to its hydraulic works and the Court
house for its prosperity. There are sixteen law
yers in Cayuga County. Auburn has no church.
The Court house is used for divine worship. .
" It is situated on the Outlet of Owasco Lake,
on Nos. 46 and 47, Aurelius. One hundred
acres of 46 belong to William Bostwick, inn
keeper, and the remainder to Robert Dill. The
former has asked ^150 for half-acre lots, the
Court house, being on his land ; and the latter
has asked ^300 for a water lot on the Outlet,
which is not navigable. No. 47 belongs to the
heirs of John L. Hardenbergh, and covers the
best waters of the Outlet, a fine rapid stream.
Auburn is eight miles from Cayuga Lake, three
from Owasco Lake, and not seventy-five from
Utica. Owasco Lake is twelve miles long and
one wide. The Outlet is fourteen miles long, and
on it are the following hydraulic establishments :
nine saw-mills, two carding machines, two turner
shops, one trip-hammer and blacksmith shop,
two oil-mills, five grist-mills, three fulling mills,
one bark-mill and several tanneries. At the
lower falls Mr. Dill has a furnace, in which he
uses old iron, there being no iron ore.
" At this place there is a federal newspaper
published by Pace, the former partner of James
Thompson Callender. Pace settled first at Au
rora, being attracted there by Walter Wood, and
being starved out, came here and is principally
supported by advertisements of mortgages, which
must, if there be a newspaper in the county .

LITERARY ASSOCIATION — MILITARY ORGANIZATIONS.

145

where the lands lie, be printed in it, and this is
the only one in Cayuga County.
" The machine for picking wool, Jehial Clark's,
is excellent. The carding machine is next used,
and turns out the wool in complete rolls. It can
card 112 pounds per day, and one man attends
both. Four shillings per pound is given for
wool. Carding, picking and greasing wool, the
grease furnished by the owner of the wool, is
eight pence per pound. There are upwards of
twenty carding machines in this County, and
great numbers of sheep are driven to the New
York markets. The Linseed Oil Mills, Hyde
& Beach's, can press fifteen gallons of oil in a
day, and with great effort, a barrel. The flax
seed is broken by two mill-stones, placed per
pendicularly, like those of bark-mills, and follow
ing each other in succession. Seed costs from
two to seven shillings per bushel, and each bushel
produces three or four quarts. The oil sells at
the mill at nine shillings a gallon. Oil is also
expressed from the seed of the sunflower. One
bushel makes two gallons. It is excellent for
burning and makes no smoke. Oil is also made
here from Palma Christi.
"At a mill north-west from Auburn, on Lot 37
Aurelius, a spring rises perpendicularly out of
the level earth. It produces two hogsheads a
minute and immediately forms a mill stream, A
few yards below is a fulling-mill. The water is
uncommonly good and cold. I found in it a
honey-comb fossil, like those at the Sulphur
Springs, at Cherry Valley, and near Geneva.
This spring is called the Cold Spring. There
are two or three others near it, and the creek
formed from them, called the Cold Spring Creek,
contains excellent trout ; about a mile from the
Cold Spring there is a sulphur spring. From
the fossil found at the Cold Spring and the cold
ness of the water, it must run over sulphur.
There is a sulphur spring on the margin of Cay
uga Lake."
A Literary Association was formed in Auburn
in 1 8 12. A small library was procured and
meetings held for the discussion of previously
assigned topics. John Sawyer was the first
President, and A. H. Howland, David Brinker
hoff and Eleazer Hills, the first trustees. A
similar association was also formed in 1838, of
which Stephen A. Goodwin was the first Presi
dent, William Richardson, Vice-President, S B.
Dennis, Secretary, and B. F. Hall, Reader ; Dr.
Frank H. Hamilton, Peter Myers, Dr. Erastus
Humphreys, William Hopkins and S. S. Dennis,
were the Executive Board. In 1841 the associa
tion was duly incorporated, and was efficiently
continued for about ten years, and its organiza
tion maintained until the war of the Rebellion.

Lectures and the discussion of assigned topics
were regularly maintained, the lectures mainly
delivered by our own citizens, and the discussions
were by the members of the association. They
were largely attended. It was before the era of
lecture bureaus or of professional star lecturers,
and the main purpose of the association was the
edification and improvement of its members.
The debates were free and so also were the lec
tures as a rule ; but when, as was sometimes the
case, expenses for foreign lecturers were incurred,
a fee was charged to meet them. So unused were
our people then to pay for literary entertainments
that the attendance was usually so small as to
discourage their continuance, even at the small
admission fee of twelve and a half cents, and the
interest in the association so rapidly declined
when the public was charged for admission to its
meetings that its discontinuance followed.
Military Organizations. — On the declara
tion of war in 1812, the military organization of
the County was very imperfect. In the town of
Aurelius a regiment was enrolled, commanded by
Colonel John Harris, of Cayuga. The men were
unprovided with suitable arms or equipments,
and undisciplined. Three of the companies of
this regiment were organized in Auburn and
were better disciplined and supplied than the bal
ance of the regiment. Captain Bradley Tuttle
commanded an independent cavalry company.
Captain Henry Ammerman an infantry company,
and Captain John H. Compston a company of
artillery ; the latter was supplied with two six-
pounder brass pieces.
Soon after war was declared the regiment was
mustered and volunteers called for, resulting in
the formation of two volunteer companies, com
manded by Captain David Eldridge and Captain
Henry Brinkerhoff. Those two companies and
Captain Compston with his artillery, were soon
after forwarded to the army commanded by Gen
eral Stephen Van Rensselaer, near Niagara. The
infantry companies participated in the attack by
our forces upon the village of Lewiston, and a
party volunteered to cross the river into Canada
under Colonels Scott and Wool ; but so many
refused to do so that those who did cross were,
after heroic resistance, overcome and captured.
Captain Compston did not arrive in time to par
ticipate in the battle. The battery remained
about three months on the frontier and engaged

146

CITY OF AUBURN.

in several skirmishes, in one of which a gun was
lost. Its term of service was three months, at
the end of which the battery returned to Auburn.
During the war the roads through Auburn were
frequently traversed by troops and heavy supply
trains. The great western turnpike passing
through Genesee street, which was then unim
proved, was the great line of military travel and it
was rendered nearly impassable during the wet
seasons by heavy truckage over it; yet the passage
through the village of large masses of troops to
and from the West, that often encamped here
and procured supplies, made the business of the
place active and profitable while the war lasted.
Buffalo was captured and burned by the ene
my in the winter of 181 3 and the interior of the
State was thus laid open to their incursions.
They were expected to invade Western and Cen
tral New York and a wild panic seized the people.
Fugitives fled eastward and spread intense
alarm : and the " loveliest village," it was expect
ed, would be one of the objects of the enemy's
attention and consequently it participated in the
general fear. The news reached them in the
evening that the " British were coming," and a
.sleepless and very active night followed. Major
Noah Olmstead ordered out the companies of
Captains Ammerman and Tuttle, to march on the
following day westward, and a general search
was made throughout the village for every availa
ble fire-lock, of which, in proper order for efficient
use, few only could be found. The cavalry com
pany was better supplied, and was soon formed
and put under way, followed in the morning by
two infantry companies, in which very many of
our citizens were volunteers. At Cayuga they
halted to await the mustering of the regiment,
which, under the excitement of the occasion was
promptly effected, and the rude, undisciplined and
poorly armed force moved forward to meet the
veteran red coats. A voluntary reconnoissance
had been made as far as Canandaigua by public-
spirited citizens, who found the alarm groundless,
that there were no movements of the enemy to
ward the east and the patriotic band gladly re
turned to civil life. A company of regulars was
recruited in Auburn for service in the war of
i8i2-'i5, and also a company of riflemen com
manded by the brave and impetuous Captain John
Richardson. The latter company participated in
several severe battles and incited by the daring

heroism of their captain, were, at all times, distin
guished for bold and resolute deeds on the Niag
ara frontier and especially at the sortie from Fort
Erie, in which the advance works of the enemy
and a large body of prisoners were captured.
At the close of the war of 18 12, Auburn con
tained about 200 buildings and 1,000 inhabitants.
For the population of the place there was rela
tively a very large number of stores and taverns,
there being some thirty of the former and six of
the latter. The taverns were Demaree's, Farm
ers' Inn, the Centre House, Tracy's, the Western
Exchange and Pomeroy's, and among the stores
were those of Hyde & Beach, Robert and John
Patty, store and tannery, Joseph Colt, Samuel
Compston, Horace Hills, and George Leitch.
Between Genesee street and the Outlet, at this
time, was a nearly unbroken wood, and an apple
orchard occupied the space between the Exchange
and the court house. State, Dill and Water
streets were then a swamp and covered with
shrubs and bushes, which were being gradually
removed and the sloughs reclaimed by drainage.
Few of the present residents unfamiliar with the
condition of Water, Dill and State streets, at that
time, can form any true conception of their for
bidding aspect, nor did those who then saw the
morass, anticipate that, within a single life-time,
neatly laid and thoroughly drained streets and
large and imposing buildings, would adorn the
wild and forbidding swamp.

CHAPTER XXIII.
History of Auburn, (Continued.)
Village Incorporated — First Officers —
Improvements — Bible Societies — Sabbath
Schools — Cotton-Mill — Paper-Mill —
Militia System— First Market — Visit of
LaFayette — Growth of the Village —
Speculative Progress — Extravagant Ex
penditures on Streets, Buildings and Pub
lic Works— Owasco Canal — Railroads —
Auburn College — Crash of 1837 — Its Con
sequences—The Patriot War— Visits of
Clay, Van Buren and Adams — Woolen-
Mill.
IN 1815, Auburn was the largest village in
Central or Western New York. Rochester
and Syracuse had not then been incorporated as

CAYUGA BIBLE SOCIETY — COTTON AND PAPER-MILLS.

147'

villages, Buffalo had been reduced to ashes and
Geneva and Canandaigua were behind the " love
liest village " in population and general business
activity. Hitherto it had been under the town govern
ment of Aurelius ; but in April, 1815, it was in
corporated as a village, with ample powers for the
necessary improvement of the place. The first
president was Joseph Colt, and the first trustees
were Enos T. Throop, Bradley Tuttle, Lyman
Payne and David Hyde.
Protection of the village from fire and the im
provement of the streets and walks were among
its first official acts. A fire engine was purchased
in New York and shipped by boat up the Hud
son. At Newburgh the boat was ice-bound, and
the engine brought thence by team, which re
quired fifteen days.
Auburn had a notorious reputation for mud.
Its walks, where any were found, consisted of
slabs irregularly laid in the spring, but regularly
consumed for fuel in the winter, and her streets
were a sea of mud during thc wet season ; hence
the ordinances of the trustees for the protection
and improvement of the place were seconded by
the hearty cooperation of the citizens. For a
further view of this subject see " Village Govern
ment." The Cayuga Bible Society was formed
at a public meeting, in Auburn, February 22d,
18.15, more, than one year before the formation
of the American Bible Society, and the auxiliary
Bible Society, in June, 18 17. The object of the
latter was the gratuitous distribution of the sa
cred Scriptures among the poor of the County.
In 1818 the first Sabbath School in Auburn was
begun by Dr. Richard Steel, Plenry Ammerman
and Noble D. Strong, for the religious instruc
tion of the colored people of the village. It was
organized in the face of much ridicule and oppo
sition, but the men having the enterprise in
charge, were not to be turned aside by the idle
badinage of the thoughtless or prejudiced crowd.
They were men of clear heads and pure hearts
and their enterprise led not only to the success
of the colored schools, but one for the white
children as well, which was speedily followed by
others. The hearty approval of the whole
religious public was soon secured, and Sabbath
Schools were soon instituted by the churches
generally.

Cotton-Mill. — The first manufactory of cot
ton goods in Auburn is due to the enterprise of
Elijah Miller and John H. Beach, who in 1814
began the erection of the cotton-mill at Clarks
ville. It went into operation in 1817. The mill,
in 1822, was sold to a company, of which Alvah
Worden was President, and Robert Wiltsie, Sec
retary. It was chiefly occupied in the manufac
ture of ticking. Robert Muir, George B.
Throop and Nathaniel Garrow, bought the
property in 1827. Though for a time the mill
was operated profitably, its financial affairs final
ly became so embarrassed as to necessitate its
sale. It then passed through several hands, by
none of whom was its prosperity restored until
it was purchased in 1853 by L. W. Nye, by
whom and the lessees, Howlet & Bailey, it was
run with highly satisfactory results.
The First Paper-Mill. — Thomas M. and
George C. Skinner and Ebenezer Hoskins, erect
ed, below the cotton-mill just described, the first
paper-mill in Auburn, which was put in opera
tion in 1829. It made chiefly fine writing papers,
which found a ready market for several years ;
but in 1837 they, in common with nearly all busi
ness men, were forced to close out their business
and their interest in the property was transferred
to the Cayuga County Bank in 1840. The sub
sequent lessees of the mill were L. W. Nye and
Charles Eldred, who were succeeded by David S.
West, Henry Ivison and Chauncey Markham. A
company was formed in 1849 with a capital of
$20,000, the trustees of which were David S.
West, L. W. Nye, John C. Ivison,' David Foote,
Henry Ivison, Aurelius Wheeler, Asahel Cooley
and Russell Chappel. The business department
of the company was placed in charge of S. H.
Henry, and William H. Barnes superintended
the manufacturing department. In 1854 there
was a reorganization of the company with an in^-
creascd capital, and its business was greatly en
larged. The two large publishing houses here
of Derby & Miller and Alden, Beardsley & Co.,
were large consumers of the paper produced by
this company. In 1858 the mill was destroyed
by fire and the business discontinued.
The first Auburn Bank was organized in 1825,
the instruments being procured by the liberal
subscriptions of our citizens.
In 1828 a memorable effort was made in Au
burn and throughout the country, to promote the

148

CITY OF AUBURN.

due observance of the Sabbath by organizations,
the object of which was to prevent Sunday
travel. State, central and local auxiliary socie
•ties and a large combination of individuals were
formed to effect this object. The incidents and
results of this movement are given in the article
relating to "Travel and Transportation," to which
the reader is referred.
The militia system of the State was, at this
time, very imperfect. It was regarded by our
citizens as the merest farce, and unsuccessful
efforts were made to reform it by a change in the
laws of the State. Failing in that, a few public-
spirited men attempted to supply the deficiency
by voluntary efforts to raise, equip and drill an
artillery regiment, to comprise five companies,
one from each of the towns of Auburn, Brutus,
Scipio, Locke and Genoa. The Auburn company
was commanded by Captain William H. Seward.
The regiment was finally organized in 1829 with
Mr. Seward as Colonel ; John Wright, Lieuten
ant-Colonel ; Lyman Hinman, Major ; Oscar S.
Burgess, Adjutant ; John H. Chedell, Quarter
master ; Nelson Beardsley, Paymaster ; Frank
L. Markham, Surgeon ; Dr. Blanchard Fosgate,
Surgeon's Mate. The regiment was denomina
ted the 33d Artillery. The organization was kept
up about 13 years, when it was disbanded.
Fusileering. — The military system of the
State was regarded as so farcical and inefficient
that an attempt was made to so scandalize it as
to shame the authorities into the adoption of
measures for its improvement. For this purpose
bodies of Fusiieers, so called, were formed and
rigged out in the most fantastic style. They
were mounted, the better to carry and display
their bulky and varied trumpery of immense
wooden swords six to eight feet in length, their
straw valises the size of small cotton bales, their
bedaubed and clay faces and calico uniforms of
every conceivable size and shape, the whole form
ing a most ridiculous burlesque when mounted
and piled upon nags, that were as unique in de
formity as were the loads they bore.
These Fusiieers exhibited their fantastic drill
and discipline and their ridiculous uniforms, on
occasions of the militia parades, drawing im
mense crowds of spectators, and so incensing the
legal " trainers " as, in some cases, to lead to
their expulsion from the field. Though the bur
lesque was ridiculous in the extreme, it led to the

revision of the laws and to the improvement of
the militia system.
The First Market in Auburn was opened
in 1820, by Edward Patten, and the business is
still continued here by his descendants.
La Fayette made a tour of the country in
1825, accompanied by his son George Washing
ton LaFayette. His reception in Auburn was
very enthusiastic. Vast crowds from the village,
the County and adjoining counties, came to greet
him. He was met at Cayuga by a reception
committee in carriages, and an escort of cavalry
and mounted citizens. He rode in a barouche
drawn by six beautiful chestnut horses, supplied
for the occasion by the Sherwoods, who were
then the great stage proprietors of this route.
An imposing display of military companies, Revo
lutionary soldiers and Free-Masons lined the road
in front of Fort Hill, across which an evergreen
arch was thrown, bearing the words :
" Hail Patriot, Statesman, Hero, Sage !
Hail Freedom's Cliief ; hail Gallia's Son !
Whose laurels greener grow with age.
Won by the side of Washington."
On passing the arch a salute of artillery was
fired from the hill above them, the bells of the
village pealed their welcome, and deafening cheers
were given by the thousands that lined the way
side. It was a bright and beautiful day in June,
and everything conspired to give eclat to the im
posing event. It is related that on reaching the
Western Exchange, the General recognized in
the crowd an old soldier who had served under
him and rushing to him, he threw his arms about
him and heartily kissed him, to the great amuse
ment of the crowd.
Pie was received by Colonel John W. Hulbert,
in an elegant and patriotic speech, to which the
General made a graceful and fitting response.
Introductions and greetings followed, succeeded
by a repast, served in a shaded 'field in the rear
of the hotel. Toasts were drank from the wine
cups, and, as was the usual practice of the times,
accompanied by volleys of artillery and martial
music. A ball followed in the evening which
was visited by the Marquis, from which at eleven
o'clock, p. M., he departed in a carriage for Syra
cuse, escorted as far as Elbridge by a committee
of citizens. It is now easy enough to take a
midnight train to Syracuse ; but at that time it
was no special luxury to drive twenty-six miles
after eleven, p. m., over the hilly and rough roads

EXTRAVAGANT IMPROVEMENTS — AUBURN COLLEGE.

149

which then formed the thoroughfare to Syracuse;
yet the General was due there on the following
day, and he kept his engagement. From Syra
cuse eastward, he traveled by way of the grand
Erie Canal, whose packet boats were then re
garded as the perfection of luxurious travel.
Preparing for a Panic — In the fifteen years,
between 1820 and 1835 Auburn had rapidly in
creased in population, having risen from 2233 in
the former, to 5363 in the latter year, and im
provements of all kinds had increased in a still
greater ratio. As before the panic of 1873, there
was scarcely any limit to the expenditures for
public or private improvements, so, for several
years before that of 1837, the expenditures for
buildings, street and other improvements, and in
the purchase of real estate, had been on the most
extravagant scale. Every one believed himself
rich, or at least, that he would soon be so. Money
was abundant, easily obtained, and very liberally
used. As usual, at such times, credits were
readily granted, and indebtedness largely in
creased. The streets were graded and mac
adamized, and shade trees planted by the con
current action of the citizens. The wooden
bridge over the Outlet on Genesee street was
replaced by a costly stone bridge, so imperfectly
constructed, that when the supporting wooden
arches were removed it fell into ruins. Eighty
new residences were erected in 1835, and the
same year, the eleven stone stores comprising the
Exchange block. The old market and present
City Hall, costing about ^30,000, was erected in
1836. The plan had been to locate in the first
story all the butcher's stalls, and to confine their
business exclusively to this building ; but John
E. Patten, under legal advice, refused to obey the
ordinance, which the courts declared illegal, and
the plan was abandoned. The building has re
cently been refitted for the several city offices.
The court house was erected in 1836, costing
about the same as the town hall. The Auburn
House and Merchants' Exchange, completed in
1839, w^s another expensive enterprise of this
year, undertaken by an association of our citizens.
But the ambition, enterprise and resources of
our citizens were not bounded by merely local
improvements, extensive and magnificent as
these were. In 1835, The Owasco Canal Com
pany engaged their earnest attention and they
resolved to go forward with the work, to lay, on

the 14th day of October, the foundation stone of
the " big dam," which was to raise the waters of
the Outlet to a level with the surface of the lake,
and that the Hon. Wm. H. Seward be requested
to deliver an address on the occasion. Arrange
ments were made for a grand and imposing pro
cession in which a special and interesting feature
was the appearance of the several trades, plying,
on appropriate cars, their respective arts. The
day was fine and the attendance very large. Mr.
Seward's address was one of his happiest, and
the liveliest enthusiasm was aroused.
The exercises were followed by a dinner at the
American, with toasts, and concluded by a ball
in the evening. The construction of the dam
was at once commenced and carried up as the
water permitted during the next three years to
the height of 25 feet. Thirty-eight feet had
been the proposed height of the dam. In the
meantime the financial collapse of 1837 had come
and borne down many, on whom the progress of
the work depended, and it was suspended. Had it
been otherwise, and had no " Mill River" disaster
resulted from the giving away of the big dam, it
would have largely added to the water-power of
the city, estimated at 700 horse power, and would,
in that view alone, have been an important and
paying investment, while the proposed naviga
tion of the Outlet would, in the light of subse
quent improvements, have been of no practical
consequence. The project of a railroad to the canal at Weeds-
port and to Syracuse were also suggestions of
the vigor and enterprise of our citizens, resulting
in the building of the latter. Of the ;^400,ooo of
authorized capital of the latter road. Auburn
and its immediate vicinity supplied $350,000.
Auburn College. — The ambition of the
" Loveliest Village" was by no means satisfied
with the public, private and internal improve
ments in which she had so liberally engaged.
She also aspired to the honor and literary advan
tages to be derived from the location of a college
here, under the patronage and direction of the
Methodist Episcopal Church.
It was suggested by the Oneida Conference
and approved by that of Genesee. The plan also
met the hearty approval of our principal citizens,
including such influential and substantial men as
Seward, Garrow, Throop, John Seymour and
others. The purpose was really entertained and

ISO

CITY OF AUBURN.

earnest and hopeful efforts at one time made to
carry it into practical effect. At a meeting called
to consider the subject and held at the Methodist
Church, in Auburn, ;^ 18,000 were subscribed,
a committee to solicit additional subscriptions
appointed, and a board of trustees organized.
So encouraging were the prospects that the trus
tees obtained the consent of the Regents of the
University to charter a college whenever the pro
posed conditions were complied with, viz. : A
building erected of the value of ;^30,ooo and an
endowment of 1^50,000, which the trustees be
lieved, in the then condition ofthe country, could
be readily procured. Such, doubtless, would
have been the case if the season of prosperity,
so called, had been continued a year longer. As
it* was, $40,000 was pledged, a fine site, compris
ing ten acres, donated, plans prepared and every
preparation made for building. But the crash
came and the plan of the Auburn College sank
in the general ruin.
The Financial Crash of 1837. — As we have
seen, the business prosperity of Auburn for sev
eral years previous to 1837 had been unchecked
and, on the approach of the new year, the peo
ple were animated by the same golden visions by
which the last few years had been gladdened.
" A Happy New- Year '' had come, and the dis
tant rumbling of the coming storm was soon
heard. The banks of the State manifested symp
toms of distress. On them rested the risks of
the general business of the country. They were
the idispensers of mercantile and business credits
and were sound only as their customers were so.
In the fancied prosperity ofthe previous years
and the visionary wealth which floated before the
minds of the people, the latter had freely in
dulged in expensive luxuries, and the large
amount of foreign goods which had been con
sumed had drained the country of specie to meet
the large balances of trade ; and when, as was now
speedily manifest, the banks saw that the large
discounts to their customers could not be paid,
further accommodations to them became impos
sible and a general suspension of specie pay
ments by the banks followed, as Veil as the gen
eral stoppage of payment by creditors of all
classes. The suspension of specie payments by
the banks of the State for one year was author
ized by law, and the circulation of bills of a less
denomination than five dollars was prohibited.

This latter measure was a source of great in
convenience and compelled corporations and in
dividuals to issue their checks of small denomi
nations, varying from five cents to three dollars,
and these checks and notes were the principal cir
culating medium for years, of which at one time
their amount was estimated at J? 150,000. A part
was lost or worn out and the balance redeemed.
The depression in its worst form continued
about five years, during which the decline in real
estate was very large, sales being made at one-
sixth of the fictitious valuations of 1836. It fol
lowed necessarily that large fortunes were swept
away, enforced economy in expenses induced,
projected enterprises abandoned, and the progress
of the village arrested, throwing large numbers
out of employment and producing much distress.
The village recently so active, so full of hope and
visions of greatness, was suddenly deserted, and
disappointment and despondency reigned in their
stead. Several of our citizens took an active part in
what was called the " Patriot War," tjie object
of which was to revolutionize the government of
Canada. The leader of the movement was an
enthusiastic Canadian of the name of W. L. Mc-
Kenzie, an editor of more zeal than discretion,
though a good writer and effective speaker. He
secured a large number of followers in Canada
and made an unsuccessful military demonstration
upon Toronto. He then came to the United
States with the view of organizing here a military
force of sufficient strength to accomplish his pur
pose. In furtherance of his plans he visited the
region bordering upon Canada and organized se
cret lodges of Patriots or Reubens, one of which,
in Auburn, is said to have comprised 700 mem
bers pledged to his cause. After perfecting his
plans, the proposed invasion was attempted on
the 7th day pf November, 1838, with a small
force, of which about 40 were from the Auburn
lodge. They landed at Windmill Point, and
after a short conflict with the Canadian forces,
were overpowered, and such of them as had
landed were taken prisoners, four of whom were
Auburn men, namely, E. P. Senter, Oliver Law-
ton, Asa Priest and Bemis Woodbury. The
prisoners were tried and sentenced to death, but
Senter and Lawton were pardoned, and the sen
tences of Priest and Woodbury, commuted to
twenty-five years banishment.

INCORPORATED AS A CITY.

151

Auburn was honored, at different periods, by
visits from three eminent statesmen, Henry Clay,
President Martin Van Buren, and John Quincy
Adams ; the two former in 1839, ^^^ the latter
in 1843. Mr. Clay was welcomed by an elo
quent address by Parliament Bronson, Esq., to
which he responded in his own peculiarly happy
and eloquent style. Mr. Van Buren was ad
dressed by George Rathbun, Esq., and the re
sponse from the President was forcible and pleas
antly expressed. Ex-President Adams was wel
comed to Auburn by Governor Seward, in a class
ical and beautiful address, and the reply of " the
old man eloquent" engaged the fixed attention
of an immense audience. The ex-President
while here, was the guest of Governor Seward.
The First Woolen-Factory. — The site for
the mill was selected on the property of the
Owasco Canal Company, by the Auburn Woolen
Company, of which the following were the offi
cers : John Porter, President ; Henry G. Ells
worth, Manufacturer ; Joseph T. Pitney, John
H. Chedell, Abijah Fitch, E. P. Williams, Wil
liam C. Beardsley, Bradley Tuttle, and C. D. Mc
lntyre, Directors. The capital was fixed at
j^ioo.ooo, but was increased to ;^I58,400 in
September, 1851, in order to finish and properly
supply the mill.
While the first results of the operation of the
business were satisfactory, it soon proved unre-
munerative to the owners, by whom it was sold
to Philadelphia parties at a heavy loss to the
stockholders. The mill passed afterwards into
the hands of Samuel Bush and an associate. In
1859, C. N. Fearing bought the establishment.
Of the present organization of the company,
which has existed since 1864, Mr. p-earing is
the President, associated with Benjamin L. Swan
and William G. Wise, as Trustees. The latter
,is the Secretary and Treasurer of the Company,
and Samuel Laurie is the Superintendent, The
capital of the present company is ;^20o,ooo and,
under the existing management, the mill has
been steadily and successfully operated, and has
greatly aided the settlement of the eastern por
tion of the city and, by its large pay roll, con
tributed to the advancement of the place.
, The Company have a branch mill in the western
part of the city, upon the Outlet, which is under
the same management, and has added largely to
the growth and prosperity of that locality.
z6

CHAPTER XXIV.
History of Auburn, (Continued.)
Incorporation of the City — First City Of
ficers — Population — Interest in Educa
tion — P'ort Hill Cemetery — Business
AND THE War of 1 861 — Merchants' Union
Express Company — Its First Successes —
Causes and Results of its Failure — First
State Prison — Auburn Prison — Its Erec
tion AND History — Convict Labor — Silk
Culture— Causes of Its Failure — The
Asylum for Insane Convicts.
ON the2ist day of March, 1848, Auburn
was incorporated as a city, having then a
population of 8,^00, the first Mayor being Cyrus
C. Dennis.
Eleven years had now passed since the crush
ing ordeal of 1837, and the wounds of that dis
aster had healed slowly, yet but few disabling ef
fects remained, and despondency and inertness
had given place to "hope and activity. Aside
from the general interest felt and manifested in
improving the means for public education and
those for the institution of the seminary here for
the higher education of young ladies, measures
were taken for the organization of the Fort Hill
Cemetery Association. Twelve Trustees were
chosen, namely : E. T. Throop Martin, Thomas
Y. How, Jr. , Jai?ies C. Derby, Benjam.in F. Hall,
William C. Beardsley, Isaac S. Allen, Cyrus C.
Dennis, Z. M. Mason, Nelson Beardsley, John
H. Chedell, M. S. Myers and John W. Haight.
The grounds were duly consecrated with solemn
ceremonies on the 7th of July, 1852, Michael S.
Myers, Esq., delivering the introductory address.
Two odes were sung, one composed by Henry
Oliphant, and the other by Rev. J. M. Austin,
and a concluding ,and very appropriate address
delivered by thc Rev. Prof L. P. Hickok, D. D.
The grounds were neatly graded and improved
and have since been the general burial place of
the city, in which repose the remains of many of
our honored citizens, including those of two ex-
Governors — William H. Seward and Ehos T.
Throop. Business and the War oif 1861. — The im
pulse given to the business of the country by the
war of 1 86 1, had been unparalleled in all its

»S2

CITY OF AUBURN.

previous history. The immense sums which
were loaned and disbursed during the decade
from 1862 to 1872 for various purposes, by the
general government, the loyal States, counties,
towns, cities, corporations, individuals and asso
ciations, have been estimated at ten thousand
million dollars.
This vast sum was rapidly and widely distribu
ted to the families of soldiers in bounties and
wages, to producers of all kinds to supply the
necessities and the waste of war, to laborers of
all kinds engaged in the production of supplies,
to manufacturers for who.se productions the de
mand exceeded the supply, to railroads and ship
pers, whose facilities for transportation were
generally inadequate, necessitating new roads
and rolling stock, new boats and ships to meet the
extraordinary demands. Every miner of coal and
worker in iron or wood was constantly employed,
as well as those engaged in the manufacture of
fabrics and clothing. There was apparently no
limit to the demand, and arrangements to supply
it were constantly and largely augmented.
Manufacturing centered* in the villages and
cities, wherein the demand for all sorts of labor
ers was constant, and to them they flocked from
the country in crowds. It is shown by the State
Census of NewYork, that during the period under
review, the cities and villages ofthe State gained
seventeen inhabitants where the country gained
but one ; a convincing proof, if such were needed,
of the abnormal condition of the industry of the
country, wrought by the incidents ofthe war.
Accommodations must of necessity be provided
in the villages and cities for this vast influx of
population, for whom buildings must be provided,
and their erection in large numbers gave addi
tional activity to the already over-excited indus
tries, and dwellings, stores and shops of all kinds
were augmented in proportion to the increase of
customers. The extreme demand for labor and all its pro
ducts, advanced their prices to rates hitherto un
known, and the liberal compensation made the
laborers free purchasers and good customers of
the several dealers, whose business was corres
pondingly large and profitable.
The ten years under consideration brought a
marvelous change in all our cities and villages,
and Auburn shared in the general change. Dur
ing that period her population and material

wealth were doubled, and her churches, balls and
stores assumed palatial magnificence. The habits
of our citizens had also greatly changed, and
their average living expenses had more than
doubled. Taxes had increased more than four
fold, and to meet the large augmentation of ex
penses, required a corresponding increase of
receipts, or a radical change of habits.
When the reaction of 1873 occurred, a sud
den and general check was given to the recent
business activity, followed either by a general
stoppage or the unprofitable use of the wheels of
industry, and throwing out of employment much
of the labor hitherto fully employed and liberally
rewarded. Few of that class had expected or
were prepared for the emergency of enforced
idleness. Although for years they had received
fully double the usual compensation, their current
expenditures had, in nearly all cases, equalled
their current receipts, and want and distress im
mediately followed the stoppage of work.
A rapid decline in property followed from the
fabulous values of the ten years of inflation, and
many fortunes were thus blotted out, or largely
diminished. The general effect has been to
amass the wealth ofthe city and country in fewer
hands, in those of the cautious and conservative
class, who, familiar with the laws of business and
the reactions inseparably following excessive
overtrading, kept themselves aloof from the haz
ardous and speculating ventures in which v/ere
engulfed the fortunesof the less cautious and dis
criminating. Auburn suffered much less from the reaction
of 1873 than from that of 1837, mainly for the
reasons of the greatly increased wealth of her
citizens, their less relative liabilities for works of
public or private improvements and the generally
sound condition of the banking institutions of
the country. Hitherto the banks ofthe country,
being on a specie basis, felt, and generally gave
way from the effects of commercial distress
among the first, and withheld from the manufac
turing and commercial classes their usual accom
modations at just the times when those accommo
dations were indispensable to them. The banks
in 1873 were non-specie paying and by carrying
their customers over the tidal wave of reaction,
saved very many of them from commercial ruin.
The Merchants' Union Express Co.— This
enterprise originated in Auburn. It was based

-~-'<:h'

[Photo by Krnsberger & Bay.]

¦¦^^^y^ti^^^^^Z:^  --

P" Justus Lewis Grant was descended from NewEnjland an
cestors. His father. Justus Fales Grant, was bora at Wrentham,
Mass., July 4th, 1799. The maiden name of his mother was
Hannah Hale, and they were married at Dunstable, now Nash
ua, New Hampshire, about 1816. Mr. Grant's father was an
edge tool manufacturer, and a superior mechanic. Justus Lewis
was bora at Nashua, N. H.. November 4th, 1818. When he was
eleven years of age. in 1839. his father located in Auburn, and
en^ged in the establishment of Joseph Wadsworth, in the manu
facture of scythes, hoes. &c., with whom, and his son Samuel, he
continued until his death, in 1845. He died suddenly of paralysis.
The writer of this sketch has often heard Mr. Grant, when re
ferring to the sudden death of his father, express the fear that
he too might die suddenly and of a similar disease. J. Lewis Grant
was twice married. His first wife was Miss Betsey Allen, whom
he married Dec. Sth, 1835. They settled in Michigan where, in
the fall of 1838. his wife died, and the same year he returned to
Auburn. On Oct. 37tb, 1839, he married Abbey Janctte Mills.
Mr. Grant was systematic and methodical in his habits. He
kept a diary, from which we take the following extract :
" During the four years succeedin;^ our arrival in Auburn, I
passed most of my time at school, under the kind and intelli.^ent
teaching of Mr. Jonah J. Underbill. At the age of fourteen', my
father desired me to assist him in the support of his family.
With assurances from him that I might choose any other trade or
Erofesslon in the spring, I entered the trip hammer shop under
is instruction. My proficiency was even greater than I had
dared to hope. I was well pleased witti the business, and was
satisfied to adopt that trade in preference to any other."
Here he continued until he was twenty-ttiree years of age.
Mr. Grant was a natural mechanic, and rapidly became an ex
pert worker in metals. His subsequent successes as a railroad
man are largely due to the practical knowledge thus obtained,
which supplemented and perfected his natural 'genius. His first
.', r^Uroad experience was on the Auburn and Syracuse Railroad,
in September. 1841, under the superintendency of E. F. Williams,
as freight conductor. His capabilities as a mechanic were soon
no manifest that he was appointed locomotive engineer of that
road, and was afterwards entrusted with the charge of its entire
motive power, a very responsible trust, but one which he dis
charged with singular acceptance and success.
In August, 1850, be was appointed " Superintendent of motive
power " of the Rome and Watertown Railroad and took up his
residence in Some, where be remained some six years ; when, In
February, 1856, he was called to Toronto, Canada, to take charge,
as General Superintendent, of the Northern Railway of Canada.
Here he remained and successfully discharged his duties until
December.Slst, 1808, when the bitterness of feeling which grew

out of our civil war led to the demand that he should take the
oath of allesiance to the British Crown. This he refused to do,
and resided his position and returned to Auburn, purchasing
the Van Tuyl farm, intending to devote his life to rural quiet.
But that was not to be. He was too thorough an expert in
railroad affairs and the value of bis services as such too widely
known, to permit his retirement. On the importunity of the
late Dean Richmond, he consented to take the Superiutendency
of the Buffalo & Erie Railroad, on May 6th. 1864. That position
he was induced to resign in August of that year, to assume the
General Superintendency of the Merchants' Union Express Com
pany, whose business was then widely extended. This position,
chlelly oflice Avork, and very different from his previous expe
rience, was not congenial to him, and he ro-slgncd to enter again
his chosen field, as President of the Southern Central Railroad,
an enterprise which had engaged, from its inception, his live
liest interest, and to the success of which he had devoted his
time and means. His next and last railroad experience was as
Superintendent of the Cayuga Lake Shore Road. He was at the
time of his death, and for some time previously had been. Su
perintendent of the Auburn Water Works Company.
The death of Mr. Grant was sudden and sad. He was return
ing from the west accompanied by his wife and daughter. Mrs.
Parish. He was apparently in his usual health and geniality of
spirits. The train had passed Rochester, and, expecting his son
Hei-bert, and son-in-law, Air, Parish, to pass them, was standing
in the rear doorway to greet them. He was there stricken with
apoplexy, and immediately expired, Oct. 19th, 1878, aged 60 years.
Mr. Grant left; a widow, three sons, Julius Horljei-t, J. Lewis
and Albert Edward and one daughter, Ivola Janette, Mrs. Par
ish. He had lost by death one son and two daughters.
It was in his social relations in his home and the commu
nity, that the beauty and excellence of his character conspicu
ously shone. He was eminently social, kind and generous.
No one could know him Intimately, who had a mind to perceive
and a heart to feel, and not be Impressed with his kind and genial
spirits. Blessed with a peculiarly happy temperament himself, it
was his dellaht to make others happy, and few if any of our
citizens had more or warmer friends. For one who throu»-h
life had been engrossed with other pursuits, he possessed aud
cultivated In an unusual degree a literary taste. He was fond
of poetry and has written and published many pieces of merit.
To the interests of the Universalist Church, of which he was a
member, he devoted all the activities of his generous nature, and
there his loss will be more deeply felt than anywhere else outside
of his own family. It Is rare Indeed that we find united in one
person the same business capacity, and the same genial and hap
py social temperament that distinguished J. Lewis Grant.

¦Hhr

r

MERCHANTS' UNION EXPRESS COMPANY.

IS3

upon the conviction that the merchants of the
country, being the principal patrons and sup
porters of the express business could, by a con
cert of action, establish and successfully maintain
an express company in their own interests and
greatly lessen the exorbitant charges which had
hitherto been exacted by the old express com
panies controlled by few men whose profits had
been very large.
At a conference of Elmore P. Ross, William
C. Beardsley, John N. Knapp, and Elliot G.
Storke, a prospectus was adopted, in which the
necessity, plans, purposes and benefits of the pro
posed organization were fully set forth, and the
proposal made to form a joint stock association,
under the laws of New York, of the merchants
and business men of the country. The plan was
received with great favor and was carried into
effect in the spring of 1866 by the following or
ganization : Elmore P. Ross, President ; William
H. Seward, Jr., Vice-President ; John N. Knapp,
Secretary ; William C. Beardsley, Treasurer ;
Theodore M. Pomeroy, Attorney ; the Executive
Committee comprised the following gentlemen :
H. W. Slocum, Elmore P. Ross, Elliot G. Storke,
William C. Beardsley, Clinton T. Backus, William
H. Seward, Jr., John N. Knapp and John A.
Green, with sixteen prominent merchants, located
at the principal commercial cities of the country
as local trustees of the company.
The nominal capital was fixed at ;^20,ooo,ooo,
on which such assessments only were to be made
as might be necessary to meet the demands of
the business as it developed.
The plan was submitted to the business men of
the country and the subscriptions were so liberal
as to compel the limiting of the amount of indi
vidual subscriptions and to the speedy closing
of the books. The stock was widely distributed,
and the number thus interested in making the
enterprise successful was very large.
Equipments were speedily supplied and con
tracts for transportation upon the railroads made.
Agents, messengers, superintendents and other
necessary .officials were procured, largely from
the experienced men of the old companies, and
the business of shipping goods by express began
in the autumn of 1866.
The old express companies, the Adams,
American and United States, had long held the
monopoly of express transportation. They had

worked in harmony, each company having par
ticular routes, the goods received by either com
pany were, when necessary, forwarded to their
destination by transferrence to the others.
The new company had, therefore, to meet the
competition of three thoroughly organized and
wealthy companies, entirely familiar with the busi
ness, and determined to retain it by crushing out
the proposed competition. The competition was
therefore sharp from the beginning. That com
petition was manifested in the extremely low
rates at which the old companies offered to
transport goods, so low indeed that before the
struggle ceased goods were transported by ex
press on passenger trains, at about the rates of
ordinary freight carriage, and the mass of goods
thus thrown upon the express lines was so enor
mous as greatly to embarrass and delay the pas
senger trains, by overloading them and by the
delays at stations in discharging and loading
goods. The number of coaches loaded with ex
press goods often exceeded those occupied by
passengers. The managers of the principal railroad lines
soon saw that they could not long sustain the
draft thus made upon them for freight carriage
and that they must adopt some method to close
the fio'ht. They shrewdly adopted a method of
doing so and at the same time one that, while it
lasted, paid them well. They advanced the rates
of transportation of express goods from three to
six hundred per cent., the effect of which in
creased enormously the losses of the several com
panies and made it a question of time only, when
ruin or a compromise must ensue. After a
plucky and resolute contest of over two years
during which the Merchants' Union had covered
with its express lines nearly all the Northern
States, and had drawn from the stockholders and
expended some five millions of dollars, and the re
sources of the competing companies were also
greatly depleted, a compromise and final union
was effected, by which the Merchants' Union
and American Express Companies were merged
under the name of the American Merchants'
Union, and a satisfactory division of assets and
shares in the profits were mutually arranged.
The combined companies are how Operated under
the old title of the American Express Company.
The plan of the Merchants' Union was at once
bold in conception and vigorous in execution. It

154

CITY OF AUBURN.

was a very strong organization, composed as it
was of some ten thousand of the principal mer
chants and shippers of the country ; men of
means, whose patronage was regarded as a surety
of success. It would clearly have been so but
for the difficulty not fully anticipated, of trans
portation. That difficulty was fatal, and ren
dered the contest a hopeless one from the time of
the imposition of such enormous freight charges.
No organization which has originated in Au
burn, has ever given to the city a wider public
reputation, or, while it lasted, engaged more gen
erally the interest of our citizens. It was an ear
nest and zealous effort to breakup the control of
powerful and exacting monopolies, and has effec
tually demonstrated the dangers of their exist
ence and the difficulties of their eradication.

THE AUBURN PRISON.
The prison system of this State was first in
stituted eighty-two years ago, by the erection, in
the city of New York, of the Newgate Prison,
first brought into use in 1797. Previously
thereto various severe punishments had been in
flicted upon the criminals of the State, the stocks,
public whippings and brandings, and the death
penalty were inflicted forsome sixteen enumerated
offenses. This extremely rigorous and cruel code,
an inheritance from the barbarous statutes of
England, was offensive to the enlarging humane
spirit of the age and the suggestion to substitute
for it confinement in the State Prison was re
ceived with satisfaction. Such confinement, it
was believed, would accomplish a three-fold ob
ject : the humane treatment of felons, the relief
to society from their depredations, and, in many
cases, their reformation.
But the plan of organization first adopted, ow
ing to inexperience, was by no means perfect.
It included the employment of the convicts at
hard labor during the day, and their confinement
at night in squads of from ten to twenty in one
apartment. It was soon found that the great
leniency with which the convicts were treated
and the abundant comforts with which they were
supplied, rendered their. confinement of no par
ticular terror to evil doers. The social inter
course of their lodgings, in which were mingled
old and hardened offenders with tyros in crime,

had the effect to deprave the latter, becoming to
them schools of vice, with expert teachers, who
gloried in instructing them in the arts and de
vices of criminal practice. Such prison disci
pline did not deter from crime nor reform the
convicts. The contrast between the sanguinary code
which had recently existed and the freedom and
comforts of a prison home as then supplied, made
the latter utterly ineffectual. Convictions were
greatly increased, and within ten years, Newgate
Prison was filled, and the necessity existed of
pardoning the less notorious criminals to make
room for the newly convicted, and to such an
extent was this necessary that the reports
show the pardons and convictions in 1809 to be
equal. This large number of criminals regularly let
loose upon society created alarm and led to the
adoption of measures for the erection of a new
prison, the site of which was fixed at the village
of Auburn. It was commenced in 18 16 and
completed in 1820. The main building and
cells and apartments were, however, so far com
pleted in 1817 as to admit of the reception of
convicts, but the work-shops were yet incom
plete. The convicts first received were employed in
the erection of the prison and when that was
finished, in job work of various kinds, the same
as that done by the jobbing shops of the village,
and under the supervision and in behalf of the
State. The contract system had not then been
instituted. Defective as the first experiment at Newgate
had proved it was, nevertheless, continued in
Auburn, and was followed by the same results,
the insubordination and demoralization of the
convicts. The prisons of the State were not re
alizing the public expectation, and a change was
demanded. The trouble, it was believed, arose
mainly from the laxness of discipline and the
promiscuous mingling of convicts in their lodg
ing rooms. These were the convictions of those
most thoroughly conversant with the practical
workings of the system then existing. There
was, nevertheless, in the public mind a morbid
sensitiveness upon the subject of rigid convict
discipline and much controversy over the ques
tion. As to the seclusion of the convicts in
separate cells at night there was great unanimity

THE AUBURN PRISON.

1.5$

and the north wing of the prison was, therefore,
constructed on this plan, and each convict com
pletely isolated from his fellows at night. In the
day time he was kept at work by the careful sur
veillance of his keepers, and enforced silence
maintained. The rules of silence, diligence and
order were enforced by the thorough use of the
" cat." The " cat-o'-nine-tails" was the instrument
chiefly used in flogging convicts. That em
ployed in the prison had, however, but six tails,
lashes or strands. These were distributed along
the broad edge of a triangular piece of flexible
leather, which, at its point, was fastened to a
handle about two feet long. The lashes were
about eighteen inches long and were formed of
hard waxed shoe thread and would cut the flesh
like " whips of steel." In the hands of a mus
cular officer, anxious to subdue refractory con
victs, they were cruel instruments, but effectual
in securing obedience. A bath of brine, applied
to the lacerated skin after flogging, was not, at
first, a very soothing anodyne, though its ultimate
effects might be beneficial.
This arrangement of cells and change of dis
cipline was made by William Britton, the first
agent, who died in 182 1. He was succeeded by
Captain Elam Lynds, by whom the most rigor
ous discipline was enforced. Under his adminis
tration the whip was not spared and the " ways
ofthe transgressors were emphatically hard." He
abolished the table system, compelling the con
victs to take their meals in their cells, and the
manner of marching to and from the shops now
in use was of his introduction. Under his ad
ministration the experiment was made of classi
fying the prisoners into three divisions — those
who were serving second, or more terms, formed
the first class, and were doomed to solitary con
finement ; the second class, the next in hardi
hood, were alternately confined and permitted to
labor ; and the least hardened were regularly
employed. It was a very dangerous experiment
to make, and one, the result of which, led to its
speedy abandonment. Of the eighty-three men
of the first class, who were immured in solitary
cells, five had died in less than a year, and an
other, in a fit of delirium, had leaped from the
upper gallery to the floor of the wing.
Such a system, so destructive of the. mental
and physical powers, could not long be maintain

ed, and the law authorizing it was repealed in
1825. The outside public, influenced by distorted
and exaggerated accounts of the cruelties prac
ticed in the Auburn Prison, became much excited
and the influence of the popular sentiment pene
trated the thick walls of thc prison itself, and led
to the positive refusal of some of the officers to
inflict upon certain convicts the punishment de
manded of them. This humanity was, however,
exceptional ; the rule being a ready compliance,
on the part of subordinates, with the exactions
of their superiors. In December, 1825, a female
convict died, as was alleged, from the effects of
brutal whipping, leading to the appointment of
a Legislative Committee of Investigation and to
a change in the agency of the prison. Gershom
Powers became the agent.
Mr. Powers took the middle ground between
the extremes of lenity and severity, and the pru
dence and wisdom of his administration won the
popular approval, while the discipline and effi
ciency of the prison was fully maintained. In
order that the officers and the public might at any
time and unobserved by those in the shops, see
what was going on within them, he caused pas
sages to be constructed around them with narrow
slots, through which those in the passages could
see the convicts and the officers while they were
themselves unseen. Through these passages ,
only the visiting public were admitted. Two
benefits were claimed for this, a satisfaction of
the public suspicion, and a secret scrutiny of. the
interior affairs of the prison, the latter leading to
a more faithful discharge, by subordinates, of their
duties. Thc prison for the ten years from 1828 to 1838
was very satisfactorily managed by the agents,
Levi Lewis and John Garrow. At this latter date
Elam Lynds, to the great surprise and indigna
tion of the people, was again appointed agent.
He at once signalized his advent by the introduc
tion of very obnoxious changes ; he again abol
ished the table system of feeding the convicts,
took from them knives and forks, and compelled
them to adopt the Turkish mode of eating with
their fingers. This unnecessary and barbarous
exercise of tyranny aroused anew public indigna
tion. Public meetings were held and denuncia
tory resolutions passed ; a serial publication, en
titled the Chronicles, was anonymously issued, in

iS6

CITY OF AUBURN.

which the barbarities practiced in the prison were
severely rebuked.
Agent Lynds was indicted by the grand jury
and strenuous efforts were made for his removal.
About this time a convict was choked to death
by a piece of meat lodging in his throat, attribu
ted to eagerness to cat, impelled by extreme
hunger, and hence that the convicts were not
properly supplied with food ; or, that not having
a knife and fork to properly divide his food, the
accident arose from that cause.
The public clamor now rose louder than ever
and was so decided and emphatic in its tone as
to compel the resignation of Captain Lynds and
those of the inspectors who had been his special
advocates and supporters. He was succeeded by
Dr. Noyes Palmer, by whom the old order of
things was restored, and the public agitation
quieted. The use of the " cat "* in our prisons was abol
ished in consequence of the death, from whipping,
of a convict, who, it was claimed, had feigned
sickness to avoid labor. The excitement which
grew out of it led to the substitution of the show
er-bath, yoke, paddling.f and other forms of pun
ishment. Government of the Prisons. — For twenty-
eight years, from 1818 to 1846, the control and
management of the prisons was invested in a Board
of five local inspectors, appointed for two years
by the Senate, cn the nomination of the Gover
nor. Those inspectors appointed all the subor
dinate officers of the prisons, and directed their
general management. By the Constitution of
1846 this plan of government was changed, and
the prisons of the State, were placed in charge
of three State inspectors, holding their offices
for three years, one of whom annually retired
and a successor was chosen. In practice this
change was really no improvement over the pre
vious system. The prisons that had hitherto
been self-sustaining and had often shown balances
in favor ofthe State, were, from year to year exhib
iting increasing deficiences, and large annual ap-
* Under the present prison system thc Superintendent of Prisons
can employ any method or degree of punlshmenc which he may
deem necessary. The existence of this power is, of itself, a check
upon disobedience
\ Spanking with a paddle, or flat piece of wood, three feet long,
two feet of which is used as a handle. The blade part ofthe paddle
is about three and a half inches wide and one foot long, covered with
leather, with which the convicts were punished upon their naked
bodies by blows of from twelve to eighteen in number.

propriations were required lo meet them. These
deficiences at length attained alarming magni
tude and so clearly indicated dishonesty and fraud,
that a very capable committee of investigation
was appointed by the Legislatu e with full power
to probe to the bottom the prison affairs of the
State. That committee consisted of Louis D.
Pillsbury, George R. Babcock, Sinclair Tousey
and Archibald Niven. They commenced their
investigations in June, 1876, and made their re
port to the Legislature in December following.
Their report embraced over eight hundred pages,
containing the questions propounded and the
answers given by the various officers and con
tractors in the different prisons, and corroborat
ing testimony of convicts.
They summarize the sources of the pecuniary
losses of the State as follows :
"First — In the great lack of discipline among
the convicts, which put it in their power to do
much or little of the labor required of them in a
given time.
"Second — This state of things prevented the
agent and warden, or other authorized officials,
from making contracts for convict labor on terms
as favorable to the State as if the convicts were
under proper discipline.
"Third — Contractors of doubtful pecuniary re
sponsibility were thus enabled to contract labor
because a lack of discipline lessened the compe
tition for such labor.
"Fourth — Contractors were not required to pay
promptly for convict labor ; nor was ample se
curity, in many cases, required of them.
"Fifth — Property belonging to the State has
been sold on credit to irresponsible persons,
without security.
"Sixth — Purchases for the prisons have been
made at large and even exorbitant prices.
"Seventh — Extravagant prices have been paid
for work done at the prison and for materials
furnished, in and about the manufacture of lime,
iron, &c.
"Eighth— Too many employ(;-s have been re
ceiving pay for services which were unnecessary
and could have been dispensed with.
"¦Ninth — A general want of economy in nearly
everything connected with the prison.
"Tenth — Prison officials have received and ap
propriated State property to their own use with
out making compensation therefor.
"Eleventh— 'Extra services and traveling ex
penses, unauthorized by law and unnecessary,
swell the indebtedness."
These several specifications were fully sustain
ed by the testimony, and so strong a case was
presented in the general facts of the deficiencies

THE AUBURN PRISON.

157

and in the preliminary report of the commission,
that the proposal to so change the Constitution
of the State as to confide the care of the prisons
to one superintendent was triumphantly endorsed
and Louis D. Pilsbury was appointed Superin
tendent of the prisons of the State. Mr. Pils
bury had long been connected with the manage
ment of the Albany penitentiary, of which his
father had been the founder, and which had won
and held the reputation of being one of the best
managed penal institutions of the country.
The superintendent appointed the wardens,
physicians and chaplains who were removable at
his pleasure ; the comptroller appointed the
clerk, and the several wardens appointed their
subordinates in their respective prisons and were
held responsible for their internal administration.
Thoroughly informed of the previous mal
administration of the prisons by months of the
closest scrutiny into their affairs as a member
of the committee of investigation, and prepared
by education and experience to correct existing
defects and abuses, Mr. Pilsbury entered vigor
ously upon the work. He had no untested ex
periments to make ; he was an expert, a thorough
professional in prison management and discipline,
which was quickly manifest in the improved
regularity and order with which the prisons were
in all respects managed. There were no divided
councils. He alone was umpire, and he assumed
and, so far, has judiciously discharged the great
responsibility. In the two years of his adminis
tration he has reduced the annual prison deficit
nearly ;g500,000, made the Sing. Sing Prison,
which had been the greatest leech upon the
treasury, self-supporting, and Auburn Prison, it
is believed will, during the ensuing year, show a
balance in favor of the State.
The tax levied upon the people of the State to
meet the deficiencies in the several prisons for
the last ten years, has been as follows :
In 1869  ^595,774-45
1870  461,304.99
1871  ^  470,309-23
1872  405,881.84
1873  597,289.01
1874  588,537.42
1875  545.549-69
1876  704.379-85
1877  369,688.08
1878  229,971.83
27

Thus reaching in 1876 the enormous aggre
gate of $704,379-85-
The two months of December and January
indicate that, under the administration of Hon.
William J. Moses, the present Agent and War
den, Auburn Prison will yield a revenue instead
of showing a deficit, as the receipts for those
two months exceed the disbursements by over
;^ 1,700. The average cost of every description
per convict in the Auburn Prison for the month
of December, as compared with the prisons at
Sing Sing and Clinton, was as follows:
State Prison Expenditures :
Auburn  ^10,429.63
Average per convict  8.94
Sing Sing  15,888.19
Average per convict  9.49
Clinton  10,643.02
Average per convict  I7-I4
For Ordinary Support : —
Auburn  $5,527-07
Average per convict  4.75
Sing Sing  9.30I.OO
Average per convict  5-56
CHnton  7>339-37
Average per convict  1 1.85
The prison at Sing Sing offers, in its superior
facilities for cheap transportation, advantages to
the contractor not possessed by the Auburn
Prison, and for that reason, with equal economy
and efficiency of internal administration, should
make the better exhibit, but instead, the
foregoing figures indicate the reverse, and
show that the cost of maintaining a convict in
Sing Sing during December, was 1^14,85, in Au
burn, iSi3,69, a difference in favor of the Auburn
Prison, $1,16 per convict. "Reform" in prison
administration is thus clearly shown to have been
inaugurated and the efforts of officials in our
penal institutions are directed earnestly to secure
both their economical and efficient management,
enforcing discipline and order and as a concomi-
. tant, securing profitable industry, profitable to the
contractor and the State. The great need and
the real progress of prison " reforms " are shown
by the following expressive figures, which need
no comment :
Statement of Earnings, Expenditures and
Deficiencies of the Auburn Prison for the years
i875-'76-'77 and '78, together with a statement

158

CITY OF AUBURN.

of the Earnings, Expenditures, Deficiencies and
Surplus for January 1876-77-' 78 and '79 :

Years, 18751876 1877
1878

Earnings.

557.20
78,025.99 80,615.22
116,641:18

Expenditures,
5192,944.50 194,505.28 179,865.13 150,820,42

Deficiency,
¦$116,387.30 I 16,479,29
99,249.91 34,179-24

Years. Earnings. Expenditures. Deficiency.

18761877 1878 1879

$6,568.74 6,730.86 9,170.87
11,411.47

$17,189,31 16,038.16 13,298.95 9.749-53

$10,620.57 9.307-30
4,128,08

Surplus,

$1,661,94
Convict Labor. — When the Auburn. Prison
was erected the village contained only about one
thousand inhabitants, of whom a sufficient num
ber were mechanics and artisans to meet the de
mands of the business which centered in the
place. The convicts, who exceeded them in
number, were mainly employed upon the same
kinds of work, and were, so to speak, employes
of the State, gathered from the entire prison
district, and their labor put in direct competition
with that of a small village. That competition
took the bread from the artisan class, and was
.too serious to be patiently borne. It drove
many of them to other localities, or employments,
as a means of livelihood.
At first these complaints were local only, for
the effects of the competition were local; but with
the increase in the number of convicts and the
introduction of the contract system a greater
amount and variety of goods were manufactured,
which were sold in the general wholesale markets,
when a broader and more general complaint
arose, and efforts were made to employ the con
victs upon such work as would not compete with
the general industry of the country. The manu
facture of silk, it was believed, would meet the
case and prove advantageous to those employed
in it directly, and indirectly to the country and
State in the production of cocoons.
In 1841, under the agency of Henry Polhemus,
the test was made and continued for several
years. It was entered upon with much hopeful
ness and enthusiasm. The measure had been
urged upon the Legislature by Governor Seward
as one calculated to relieve the embarrassments
attending the question of convict labor, and the
experiment was fully authorized by law. The
results of the limited tests which had been made

in the production of silk in this country had
been satisfactory. The quality ofthe article and
the profits of its production were alike encour
aging- John Morrison, an expert in silk pro
duction, was, at this time, in partnership with
Josiah Barber in the carpet business in Auburn
Prison. Pie strongly favored the enterprise and
his knowledge and experience had much influence
in settling the question of silk production in the
prison. He could intelligently direct the several
necessary processes from the culture of the mul
berry on which to feed the worms to the final
preparation of the article for market. The pro
duction of the mulberry was, of course, the first
step to be taken ; buds ofthe trees were procured
and their culture at once commenced, and as rapid
ly extended as the shrubs could be procured.
Cocooneries were erected and the feeding of the
worms began. The first results were entirely
satisfactory, the operations being directed by the
intelligent advice of Mr. Morrison. The silk
produced was of good quality, met a ready sale
and gave a good profit to the producers. The
experiments so far made were on a small scale
only ; but the first successes stimulated en
terprise. Bounties on cocoons were offered by
the Legislature and agricultural societies and
their production extended with marvelous rapidi
ty. In 1 84 1 a sufficient supply of cocoons had
been produced to justify the authorities of the
prison in beginning their enterprise. The prices
first paid for cocoons were from three to four
dollars per bushel. The product per acre of the
trees was estimated at one hundred bushels, and
the pecuniary promise of the new industry was
very flattering. The facilities for the manufac
ture of silk at the prison were from lime to time
increased and the vacant prison grounds devoted
to mulberry trees. So far everything promised
the most complete success and the liveliest
hopes were excited. All the cocoons offered
were promptly taken, and their cultivation' was
rapidly and largely extended. Cocooneries were
multiplied. Breeding and feeding silk worms be
came a general occupation— a real mania, and
speculation in the eggs and plants ran wild.
Single buds were said at one- time to have been
sold at a dollar. The furor extended from coun
ty to county and from State to State, and the sup
ply of cocoons offered was very large.
The silk produced at Auburn was at first of

THE AUBURN PRISON.

159

excellent quality and found a ready market at
seven dollars per pound, yielding a profit of
twenty-five per cent, to the manufacturers. But
with an increase in the business difficulties were
encountered in the peculiar character of pri.son
labor. The convicts were continually changing
and it was difficult to secure a sufficient number
of faithful and skillful men. The quality of the
product of such labor could not fully be main
tained, and from that cause and for other reasons
not explained, the Auburn silk lost favor and
was reduced in price from seven to five dollars
per pound. At the latter price it could not be
produced except at a loss, and the experiment of
silk manufacture in the prisons of the State, from
which so much had been expected, was reluc
tantly abandoned. The inflated bubble of specu
lation in the mulberry was thus suddenly burst
and very heavy losses were sustained by those
who had engaged in it.
With the abandonment of silk culture the au
thorities settled upon the old and varied indus
tries, in which the convicts of thc State have
since been employed. Complaints against it are
still heard in the resolutions of political conven
tions; but the necessity for its continuance is so
imperious and the difficulties of employing the
thousands of convicts, except in the usual me
chanical industries, are so great, that the discon
tinuance of the present system can only take
place when some practical substitute for it shall
have been tested and its success fully estab
lished. Prison Discipline. — As the Superintendent
of Prisons is at full liberty to employ any method
of discipline which he may deem best, this fact
of itself operates as a check upon insubordina
tion, and, with the other judicious changes which
have been introduced, have reduced the cases of
discipline to one-tenth their former number, while
better order and greater industry and fidelity
have also been obtained. The rules as to com
mutation of the time of service in the prison for
good conduct, or the forfeiture of that favor for
misdemeanors, are rigidly enforced, and consti
tute the strongest incentive to good conduct.
Insubordination or mischievous behavior, is sure
to lengthen their confinement which, being well
understood, insures general obedience. The
" hard cases " are confined for short periods on
short rations of bread and water in dark cells.

The cell in which the murderer Barr hung him
self, is an especial terror to such, and confine
ment in it twenty-four hours humbles them more
than severe physical chastisement. The average
period of confinement in such cells before full
penitence, is less than two days, and in very
obdurate cases it is extended to eight or ten days.
The " cap," not a source of pain, or physical
discomfort, but a badge of dishonor, is also, for
certain offenses, effectually used. Severe physic
al discipline is very seldom required. The pre
vailing sentiment among the convicts is strongly
in favor of good order as the best means of se
curing their own comfort and lessening their
terms of confinement.
The spirit of riot and mischief, so prevalent a
few years ago, has been checked by the strict yet
just and humane rules now in force, and by the
regular employments to which the convicts are
now subjected. The chaplain. Rev. William
Searls, who holds toward the convicts more inti
mate and confidential relations than any of the
other officers, expresses his decided conviction
that the work furnished the prisoners " has done
more to produce the good order we now see in
this prison than anything else that can be
named." He adds that " labor is as much an
auxiliary to virtue as it is a means of support,"
and that "work is the cure for the unrest and
disorder in the prisons of the land." .
The following will show that the panacea of
labor is thoroughly applied.
Employment of Convicts, — There were few
idle convicts of the 1,146 confined in Auburn ,
Prison on the first day of January, 1879; 876
were on contract, 231 on State work, 22 sick, or
infirm, and 31 unemployed. At that date 562
convicts were employed at fifty cents per day,
1 13 at forty-two cents, and 184 at forty cents.
Prison Officials and Salaries.— The num
ber of officers now (January, 1879,) in charge of
the Auburn Prison is 61 ; in October, 1876, it was
80. There are now
I Agent and Warden, salary,  $3,500
I Physician, > >¦ , "  2,000
I Chaplain, "  2,000
I Clerk, "  2,000
I Principal Keeper, "  1,500
I Store Keeper, "  1,200
I Kitchen Keeper, "  1,200
I Hall Keeper, "  1,200

i6o

CITY OF AUBURN.

I Yard Master and
Engineer, "  1,200
32 Keepers, each, "  900
I Sergeant of Guard, "  900
19 Guards, each, "  780
The Educational Condition of Convicts.
— Academical, 38; collegiate, 13 ; high school,
32; common school, 531; no education, 149;
read and write, 270; read only, 160.
Habits. — Intemperate, 416 ; moderate drink
ers, 342 ; temperate, 435. The number less
than 35 years of age is 803. In the present
prison family Cayuga has twelve representatives.
Of the inmates 309 are of foreign birth ; En
gland supplying 48 ; Germany, 58; and Ireland,
95- Prison Building. — This is situated on the
west side of State street, bordering the Owasco
Outlet on the south and Wall street on the north.
It is in the form of a parallelogram, one thousand
feet from east to west, with a breadth of five hun
dred feet. The central building fronting State
street is three hundred and eighty-seven feet
wide. The walls on State street are fourteen
feet eight inches high. On Wall street they vary
from twenty to twenty-six feet ; west wall twenty-
eight to thirty-one feet; south wall, inside, thirty
feet six inches, outside, thirty-five to fifty-one
feet. The thickness of the walls varies from four
to five feet. The offices of the agent and war
den, the clerk and the superintendent, the dwell
ing for the warden, and the main and keepers'
hall are in the main building. The walls are sur
mounted by a wide stone coping, bordered by an
iron hand-rail. On this coping during the day
the guards patrol over designated sections, bear
ing loaded rifles.
The workshops and interior buildings are ar
ranged in the form of a hollow square, inclosing
a spacious court-yard, in which are walks and
drives, leading to the several shops. The inte
rior shops and buildings are separated by a drive
way from the outer walls. The cells occupy the
intermediate space in both wings, facing toward
the outer walls, and the latter are supplied with
windows, affording light and the means of ven
tilation. The cells are constructed of solid ma
sonry, are three feet eight inches by seven feet,
and seven feet in height. From each cell ven
tilating tubes extend to, and connect with pipes
in the roof, effecting thorough ventilation. There

are five tiers of cells, access to which is obtained
by galleries. The number of cells in the north
wing and its extension, is eight hundred and
thirty, and in the south wing, four hundred and
forty-two, a total of twelve hundred and seventy-
two. The mess-room is sixty-seven by one hun
dred and ten feet, with a seating capacity for
twelve hundred and forty-three. The chapel is
of the same size and will seat an equal number.
Ample arrangements have been perfected
within the prison for extinguishing fires by the
proper distribution of twelve hydrants, a supply
of hose, and the organization of afire brigade.
The sanitary condition of the prison has re
cently been much improved and the general
health of the convicts is excellent. At this writ
ing (F'ebruary 8th, 1879,) there are but six inva
lids in the hospital, less than one-half the yearly
average. How the Pkisoners are Fed. — The follow
ing will show the great variety and liberal amount
of food supplied to the convicts, for which we
are indebted to the Hon. William J. Moses, the
agent and warden of the Auburn Prison :
Gross daily consumption of meats, breadstuffs,
vegetables, &c,, based upon the number of in
mates, which, at present writing, is 1,140.
Sunday. — i,goo lbs. flour, 30 lbs. coffee, 60
lbs. sugar, 30 gals, milk, 8 gals, molasses, hash,
200 lbs. corn beef, 15 bushels potatoes and 6
barrels of apples.
Monday. — 1,300 lbs. corn beef, 34 bushels po
tatoes, 5 bushels onions, i.goo lbs. flour, 12 gals.
molasses, 5 gals, vinegar.
Tuesday. — 600 lbs. pork, 22 bushels potatoes,
22 bushels turnips, 15 bushels beets, 6\ bush
els beans, i bushel carrots, 1,900 lbs. flour, 12
gals, molasses, 5 gals, vinegar.
Wednesday. — 1,100 lbs. fresh beef, 28 bushels
potatoes, 1,900 lbs. flour, 6 bushels onions, 3
bushels turnips, 2 bushels carrots, 40 lbs. rice,
12 gals, molasses, 5 gals, vinegar.
Thursday.— 600 lbs. pork, 39 bushels potatoes,
6\ bushels beans, 1,900 lbs, flour, 25 heads cab
bage. 12 gals, molasses, 5 gals, vinegar.
Friday. — 300 lbs. codfish, 17 bushels potatoes,
5 bushels onions, 1,900 lbs. flour, 15 gals, milk, 400
lbs. corn meal, i bushel turnips, i bushel carrots,
12 gals, molasses, 5 gals, vinegar.
Saturday. — 1,100 lbs. fresh beef, 35 bushels
potatoes, 40 lbs. rice, 1,900 lbs. flour, 3 bushels

NEW YORK STATE ASYLUM FOR INSANE CONVICTS.

i6r

turnips, 2 bushels carrots, 12 gals, molasses, 5
gals, vinegar.
In addition to the ordinary daily rations there
are also furnished for the use of the inmates the
following articles :
Per month. — Pepper-sauce, 12^^ pepper-pods,
210 lbs. mustard, 210 lbs. pepper, 20 bbls. salt,
50 lbs. hops, 100 lbs. malt, 60 lbs. saleratus.
Per ration. — 1,000 pickles, 15 bushels pickled
beets. During the season they are also supplied with :
Per ration. — 2,800 ears green corn, 1,700 lbs.
beet greens, 40 bushels tomatoes, 600 heads cab
bage, 20 bushels parsnips, 450 doz. eggs (Easter
Sunday.) Upon the three holidays during the year the
following extra rations are issued :
4TH OF July. — 1,100 lbs, ham, 700 lbs. hali
but, smoked, 350 lbs. cheese, 400 lbs. crackers,
40 lbs. coffee, 80 lbs. sugar, 25 gals, milk, gin
gerbread, (in the making of which is used 1,000
lbs. flour, 40 gal^. N. O. molasses and 35 lbs.
spices,) 10 barrels apples.
Thanksgiving. — 90 gals oysters, 30 lbs. but
ter, 400 lbs. crackers, 350 lbs. cheese, 40 lbs.
coffee, 80 lbs. sugar, 25 gals, milk, 10 barrels ap
ples, and gingerbread of same quality as above.
Christmas. — 1,200 lbs. chickens, 400 lbs.
crackers, 350 lbs. cheese, 40 lbs. coffee, 80 lbs.
sugar, 25 gals, milk, 10 barrels apples, rusks,
(in the making of which is used 1,000 lbs. flour,
160 lbs. sugar and 10 gals, of milk.)

NEW YORK STATE ASYLUM FOR
INSANE CONVICTS.
This institution is situated, in theP'ourth ward
of the city of Auburn, on a tract of land contain
ing about eight acres, fronting on Wall street,
and enclosed on all sides by a stone wall, twelve
feet high. The original structure was commen
ced in 1857, and opened for the reception of pa
tients February 2d, 1859. ^^ 'h^" comprised a
center, or administration building, with a wing
on either side for patients, accommodating about
forty each. An additional wing has since been
attached to the west end of the building, making
the present total capacity of the asylum one hun
dred and sixty. The front of the building is of
stone and the rear of brick, the whole presenting
an imposing structure, consisting of a central

building, forty-four by sixty-six feet, three stories
high and a basement, with wings on either side,
one hundred and twenty feet in length, and ter
minating in their extremities in a transept sixty-
six by twenty-five feet. The wings and transepts
have each two stories and a basement.
The enlargement, commenced in 1873, is a con
tinuation of the south transept of the west wing,
except that it is wider ; it is about one hundred
feet long and terminates in a transept, which is
about seventy-five feet in length. In its external
appearance the new wing corresponds, approxi
mately, to that of the original structure, but varies
somewhat from the old building in iis internal
arrangement. It comprises three stories, in the
lower one of which are located the patients'
kitchen, employees' dining-room, store-rooms, &c.,
and a small ward for working patients. On the
first floor of the central building are located the
offices, reception room and dispensary ; the sec
ond and third floors comprise the superintend
ent's apartments ; and the basement is devoted
to a business office, waiting-room, kitchen, etc.
The wings and transepts are set apart entirely
for the use of patients. They consist of a corri
dor, or hall, about twelve feet wide, running the
entire length, with single dormitories opening
therefrom, on one side in the old wings, and both
sides in the new one. These dormitories are about
eight by ten feet, and about thirteen feet high,
having an average of about one thousand and
forty cubic feet or space, and each is lighted by a
large window, protected by an iron grating, and
looking out upon the beautiful flower garden and
grounds. The basement halls underneath, the
corridors of the old wings serve as passage-ways,
and contain the main steam and water pipes
leading to the wards and kitchens.
Immediately in the rear of the central building,
and connected with it by corridor, is a two-story
brick structure, ninety feet in length by forty in
breadth, in the lower story of which are located
the bakery and dormitories for the employes
who are not occupied in the wards ; the second
story contains the chapel, sewing room, store
room for goods, and the officers' quarters. Vege
table cellars are located beneath a portion of this
building. The out-buildings, excepting the coal
shed, are of brick and comprise a laundry, boiler-
house, repair shop, meat and ice-house, barn anc}
wagon house, green-house and piggery.

1 62

CITY OF AUBURN.

This institution was created as an asylum for
insane convicts and received only that class of
patients up to 1869, when its corporate name
was changed, by the Legislature, to that of "State
Asylum for Insane Criminals ;" the object of the
change being to provide for the confinement
therein of an additional class, namely, the so-
called " criminal insane," i. e. " Persons accused
of arson, murder, or attempt at murder, who shall
have escaped indictment, or who shall have been
acquitted on the ground of insanity." By the
same act provision was made whereby persons of
this class could be transferred to this institution
from the other asylums of the State. This in
stitution was an experiment, being the first and
only one of the kind then, or now, in the United
States. The first superintendent was Dr. Edward Hall,
of Buskirk Bridge, Washington county, N. Y.
He was appointed in November, 1858, and con
tinued until June, 1865, when he was superseded
by Dr. Charles E. Van Auden, of Auburn, N. Y.,
who in turn was superseded by Dr. J. W. Wilkie,
alsoof Auburn, February 17th, 1870. The latter
died in office, March 13th, 1876, and the vacancy
thus created was filled by the appointment ofthe
present superintendent. Dr. Carlos F. Mc Don
ald, formerly superintendent of the Kings county
lunatic asylum, near Brooklyn, N. Y.
The scope and aim of the institution is, the
protection of society from the violence of dan
gerous lunatics, the relieving of the inmates of
ordinary asylums from contact with objectionable
associates, and, at the same time, to secure kind
care, and proper hospital treatment for the insane
of the criminal class.
The present standard of the institution, as a
hospital for the criminal insane, not only proves
its utility, but has demonstrated the complete
success ofthe experiment.
The present number of inmates is one hun
dred and twenty-one, one hundred and nine men
and twelve women, of whom ninety-three are con
victs and twenty-eight unconvicted.
The buildings used for the confinement of in
sane convicts are in the same general inclosure
as the prison proper, to the west of which they
are located, being separated therefrom by a high
wall. The grounds surrounding them are beau
tifully laid out and adorned with trees and
shrubbery.

The following table shows the annual per capita
cost of maintaining patients since the opening of
the Asylum :
Avcrnijc No. '
Present Dur- Total Current Tol.->l Cost
Year. iuR llic Year, iLxpciulilurcs. Per C.-ipi(a,
1859  271-73 $16,387.07 $606,615
i860  481-2 17,491.50 360.649
1861  62 14.173-85 228,610.
1862  782-3 12,674.01 161. no
1863  801-10 12,035,80 150.259
1864  791-12 13,942.07 176.296
1865  722-3 16,699.18 229.542
1866  701-5 15.937:15 227.024
1867  746-17 16,93394 227.974
1868  755-8 17,876.61 230.146
1869  791-2 13,95492 17S-546
1870  78 19.879-39 254.864
1871  676-100 19,332.66 288.288
1872  84 22,17437 263.976
1873  905-100 22,354.08 248.240
1874  9512 23,200.73 242.938
1875  105 25,163.60 239.653
1876  100 1-2 29,511.23 293.644
1877  -981-2 23,979.37 243.445
1878  113 3-4 23,027.30 202437
The present officers of the Asylum are : Louis
D. Pilsbury, Superintendent of Prisons, Manager ;
Carlos F. MacDonald, M. D., Superintendent ;
W. A. Gorton, M. D. Assistant Physician ; John
Grant, Supervisor ; Rev. William Searls, Chap
lain.

CHAPTER XXV.
Auburn Manufactures.
Their Extent and Importance— Description
OF THE PuINCIPAL MANUFACTORIES.
THE manufacturing interests of Auburn are
varied and important as to value and mag
nitude. They furnish the staple of its commerce,
and give life and activity to its other industries.
They give direct employment to nearly one-sev
enth of its entire population, besides requiring
the services of about nine hundred convicts in the
State Prison; thus demanding the labor of a num
ber equal to nearly one-fifth of the population,
or, taking the statistical average as a basis of

MANUFACTURING INTERESTS.

163

calculation, of one from each family. With these
facts before us it is not difficult to understand
how vitally is the prosperity of Auburn affected
by the activity or depression of its manufactures,
which, from its position with respect to the great
highway of travel and commerce, must continue
to be its great dependence.
The Owasco Outlet, which flows centrally
through the city and has a total descent within
its limits by a succession of falls and rapids of
about 180 feet, furnishes a splendid hydraulic
power, which has been very largely utilized, there
being no less than ten dams within the limits of
the city, each furnishing power to one or more es
tablishments. The New York Central and the
Southern Central railroads open up accessible
markets, and furnish avenues of transportation
not only for the products of the manufac
tories, but also for the raw material consumed
in them, and coal from the Pennsylvania mines,
which is used in some of the larger establish
ments to generate steam, as an additional motor
to thc water from the Outlet, which, in some
instances, is found to be inadequate.
Auburn, besides furnishing the capital for these
enterprises, also furnishes a very large proportion
of that employed in conducting the operations of
the Oswego Starch Factory, which is by far
the largest establishment of its kind in the world,
and which may very properly take the lead in this
chapter on the manufactures of Auburn, which
is and has been from the inception of that enter
prise the headquarters of the concern ; the finan
cial office and a majority of the directors being
located here.
The Oswego Starch Company was the first
company organized under the law of I'"ebruary
17th, 1848. Their organization and incorporation
date from March 29th of that year. The incor
porators were Erastus Case, Sylvester Willard,
M. D., Roswell Curtis, Nelson Beardsley, A. H.
Goss, Alonzo G. Beardsley, Theodore P. Case
and Augustus Pettibone of Auburn, and Thomas
Kingsford of Oswego, of whom Dr. Willard, Nel
son and Alonzo G. Beardsley and Theodore P.
Case are living and connected with the company.
The capital, which at the organization was $50,-
000, has been increased from time to time to
$500,000. Dr. Willard was elected president at
the organization of thc company and has per
formed the duties of that office with singular ac-
28

ceptance ever since. At the twenty-fifth annual
meeting of the Board of Directors, he was unex
pectedly presented with an elegant and costly
epergne, as' an evidence of the esteem in which he
was held by his associates and in recognition of
his services in that capacity for a quarter of a
century. He also acted as treasurer from the
organization till January, 1858, when the duties
of that office devolved upon Alonzo G. Beardsley,
who succeeded Albert H. Goss in the secretary
ship, January 20, 1849, and who is still the in
cumbent of both offices. Nelson Beardsley has
held the office of vice-president from the date of
organization to the present time. In 1874, Wm.
P. Bcardsley'of Auburn, was appointed assistant
treasurer of the company, which office .he now
holds. The present directors are Sylvester
Willard, Nelson Beardsley, Alonzo G. Beardsley,
Wm. Allen, Theodore M. Pomeroy and Wm. H.
Seward of Auburn, Thomson Kingsford of Os
wego, Edwin B. Morgan of Aurora, and Edward
C. Chapin of New York city.
The manufactory was established in Oswego
in the spring of 1848, and went into operation in
the fall of the same year. The works were placed
under the supervision of Thomas Kingsford and
his son Thomson, to whose energy, perseverance
and business capacity the great success which
has attended the enterprise is mainly due. Since
the death of his father, the supervision of the
works has devolved entirely upon Mr. Thomson
Kingsford, who possesses in an eminent degree
those qualities which distinguished his father's
management. At the Centennial exhibition this
company made an elaborate display of its pro
ducts, which, for the elegance and expensiveness
of the cases inclosing their exhibit attracted more
attention than any other thing of that character.
D. M. Osborne & Company's Mower and
Reaper Works. — This is decidedly the most im
portant industry in the city of Auburn as respects
the number of hands employed, the amount of
local material used, and the amount regularly dis
tributed to the labor and commerce of the city.
Its eight hundred and fifty employes, many of
them heads of families,' would with those depen
dent upon them, form a village of respectable
size, and constitute a very important factor in the
progress and prosperity of the city.
The funds disbursed by this company are
drawn mainly from distant States, or from for-

164

CITY OF AUBURN.

eign countries, and are, therefore, so much added
to the wealth of the locality. Unlike the com
mercial exchanges of one citizen with another,
which is mere change of possession without any
increase of the local aggregate, this establish
ment brings in and locally distributes funds,
which otherwise would never reach us. The
future growth and prosperity of the city are
mainly dependent upon the continued success of
this and its other industrial establishments,
whose products are sold in distant markets.
When, therefore, as in this case, the history of
an enterprise, running through twenty years,
shows a constant, and, for the last decade especial
ly, a marvelous progress, it should be to us a
source of gratification.
This company was started in 1858, with the
manufacture of the Kirby reaper and mower, by
David M. Osborne and O. I. Holbrook, and but
twelve men were employed and one hundred and
fifty machines made in that year. During the
year the firm of D. M. Osborne & Co. was
formed, which comprised D. M. Osborne, C. C.
Dennis and Charles P. Wood. The latter re
tired in 1862, and Mr. Dennis died in 1866.
After Mr. Dennis' death, John H. Osborne and
Orrin Burdick were admitted to the firm. Mean
while its business had rapidly increased. The
single building at first used had been supple
mented by several others ; the twelve men with
which the enterprise started had been increased
to several hundred ; the machines annually made
had arisen from hundreds to thousands, and
every needful manufacturing- facility had been
correspondingly increased. This was then but
one of three establishments engaged here in the
same business, each with large capital and each
producing several thousand machines per year.
The Cayuga Chief and the Dodge & Stevenson
manufacturing companies were rivals for the
trade. The latter company went into liquida
tion, and there was a consolidation of the Cayuga
Chief with D. M. Osbor,rie & Co., under the
latter name.
This was a very judicious movement and
brought under one general organization abundant
capital, and superior business and mechanical
talent. William M. Kirby, C. Wheeler, Jr., and
Orrin Burdick were each distinguished for supe
rior inventive and mechanical skill and each had
given many years attention to the improvement

of mowers and reapers. It was therefore a very
strong company, financially, mechanically and
commercially. There was no lack of vigor or
energy in the development of their business.
They extended it over the United States and
Canada, and into the following countries : South
America, Great Britain, France, Germany, Aus
tria, Italy, Russia, Norway, Sweden, Australia
and New Zealand. They sell to foreign nations
annually two thousand five hundred machines.
This company now make annually about fifteen
thousand machines, averaging while at work over
five completed machines an hour, or one in twelve
minutes ; they consume annually five thousand
tons of coal, or over sixteen tons per diem ; an
equal amount of pig iron and two thousand tons
of bar iron and steel ; of lumber they consume
two and one-half million feet, and disburse an
nually about one million dollars. They employ
eight hundred and fifty men, to whom thirty-five
thousand dollars are paid monthly.
These expressive figures so emphasize the
magnitude and importance of this enterprise as
to render further comment superfluous. The
officers of the present consolidated company are :
President, D. M. Osborne ; Treasurer, A. G.
Beardsley ; Secretary, John H. Osborne. The
Trustees are : D. M. Osborne, A. G. Beardsley,
John H. Osborne, C. Wheeler, Jr., William A.
Kirby, H. Morgan and O. H. Burdick.
Auburn Manufacturing Company. — This
important enterprise was organized as the E. C.
Tuttle Manufacturing Company in 1867, with
the following officers : Charles P. Wood, Presi
dent ; Israel F. Terrill, Vice-President ; Delos
M. Keeler, Secretary and Treasurer ; James
Henderson, Agent ; and E. C. Tuttle, Superin
tendent of the manufacturing department.
The capital of the company was $300,000,
which was promptly subscribed, chiefly by the
citizens of Auburn. The buildings were erected
on the west side of Division street, corner of
Clark, and cost at first $120,000, to which large
additions have since been made to meet the de
mands of the continually increasing business.
In 1 87 1 the title of the company was changed
as above, with E. C. Denio, as Superintendent,
and Charles M. Howlet, Treasurer. Under the
management of these gentlemen the manufac
turing and commercial departments of the com
pany were vigorously prosecuted in the face of

K

.^R^;-

fPhoto by Sqnj-er H, Wright,]

Fi^EDER^cK Van Patten.

Frederick Van Patten, of Auburn, was born
in the town of Victory, Cayuga County, N. Y.,
September 22d, 1836. At an early age he at
tended district school, and later was sent to Syra
cuse, where he made rapid progress for the limi
ted time there. At the age of sixteen he became
an apprentice with Mr. Joel G. Northrup, of Syra
cuse, to learn the machinist's trade, remaining
three years. He then went to Hartford, Conn.,
where he found employment in Colt's Armory.
Soon his ability was recognized and he was placed
in charge of one of the most important depart
ments of that estabhshment. Here he remained
until 1861, when he was induced to accept a po
sition with the Remingtons,' the celebrated man
ufacturers of fire-arms, of Ilion, N. Y. He re
mained with them until 1864, when he went to

Auburn, and was made Superintendent of the
celebrated E. D. Clapp manufactory, or the
Fifth Wheel Works, of Auburn. In 1867 he be
came a partner in that establishment, but still
continues the superintendency. He has aided in
the development of the works, and the quality of
their productions is now unequalled by any other
similar establishment in the world. In 1857,
Mr. Van Patten married Miss Caroline Hass, of
Bridgeport, Conn., who died in 1871. The fruit
of this union was two daughters. In Septem
ber, 1876, Mr. Van Patten married Miss Libbie
Steel, of Ilion, N. Y.
Mr. Van Patten's life has been sedulously de
voted to his business and he has consequently
gained a thorough knowledge of it in all its
branches.

-^-fm^

?S-i,-

MANUFACTURING INTERESTS.

i6S

strong competition ; the business annually in
creased, and the mechanical neatness and per
fection of their goods gave them precedence over
their rivals. Markets were sought for their pro
ducts throughout this country, and their home
trade largely increased. At the same time suc
cessful efforts were made to sell abroad, and a
large and profitable trade was established.
The goods which they manufacture embrace
nearly every variety of agricultural hand imple
ments, extending to several hundred varieties,
and including hay and manure forks, and straw
and spading forks, grain, grass and bush scythes,
socket, shank, planters, cotton, mortar and street
hoes, cast-steel and malleable iron garden rakes,
hay, straw and corn knives, grain cradles, scythe
snaths and hand rakes. All the implements
made by this company are of the latest and neat
est designs, combining beauty of appearance and
convenience and durability in use. The stock
used and the mechanics employed are the best of
their class, and thc goods produced deservedly
rank with the best anywhere made.
The company have ample facilities for the
rapid, cheap and perfect production of stock.
Their buildings have been from time to time ex
tended and now cover several acres. They con
trol two water-wheels equaling four hundred
horse-power; and the most complete machinery
is employed, adapted to each special class of
work. The goods of this company are very widely
distributed throughout the United States and
Canada, the principal nations of Europe, in
South America, New Zealand and Australia.
It is an interesting fact that thc forks, hoes,
&c., made by this company, are sold to the old
and mechanically famous nations of England,
France and Germany, and are preferred by their
farmers to the clumsy and heavier tools of their
own production.
When put in competition with similar produc
tions of the world, as the goods of this company
have been on two notable occasions — at our own
Centennial and the Paris Exposition — they re
ceived on both occasions medals of the highest
merit. At all the fairs where an exhibit of their
goods has been made they have been awarded
first premiums ; but a more significant proof of
their superiority is found in the continually in
creasing orders from the same locality, where,

after having been thoroughly tested by practical
use, they have been approved and " more of the
same sort" called for. " The annual product of
this company of hand tools is believed to be the
greatest in variety and quantity of any factory in
the world."*
The present officers of the company are T.
M. Pomeroy, Vice-President ; C. M. Howlet,
Treasurer ; E. C. Denio, Superintendent.
The E. D. Clapp Mfg. Co. — This business
was commenced in a small way in 1865, by E. D.
Clapp & Co., in a part of the City Mills, on Me
chanic street. The mechanical supervision of
the work was in charge of Mr. F. Van Patten, a
mechanic of rare ability and large experience in
the armories at Springfield, Hartford, and Ilion.
Mr. Clapp had been a carriage maker, and was
familiar with the wants of that trade.
The first articles made were thill couplings,
and to these were soon added fifth wheels, Mr.
Van Patten and M. S. Fitch were admitted to the
firm, and the business, within the first four years,
had outgrown the limited quarters on Mechanic
street. The firm, in 1869 erected a large three-
story factory on Water street, ample, it was be
lieved, to meet the demands of their business for
many years to come.
Here new lines of goods were added, including
stump-joints, kingbolts, and the Miner, Stevens'
and Saunders' patent coupling, the latter being
the only patent thill coupling of the hundreds
invented, that has ever become a standard arti
cle in the trade. Their business so increased as
to demand the work of two sets of hands, the
factory running, for the most part, night and day.
Mr. Intch retired from the firm in 1873 and
the business was continued by Messrs. Clapp and
VanPatten. '-
The factory, ample as it had been considered,
was found inadequate to meet the demands of
•their augmenting business, and they erected, in
1874, a much larger factory, on extensive grounds,
on the corner of Genesee and Division streets,
directly on the line of the Southern Central R. R.,
affording facilities for the convenient receipt and
distribution of their large amount of freight.
The rapid growth of the business now necessi
tated a further enlargement and, in 1875, an
addition was erected 40 by 100 feet. A growth
so rapid and continuous, for so long a period, and
* Great Industries of the United States, page 698.

i66

CITY OF AUBURN.

during such severe and general commercial and
manufacturing depression, resulted from potent
and peculiar causes. The manufacture of forged
carriage irons by machinery is of comparatively
recent origin. Before i860, the forging of small
pieces of iron in dies, by drop-hammers had been
done in New England to a limited extent only.
The war gave a great impetus to the science of
drop forging for gun-work, and at its close, the
experience thus gained, was directed largely to
improvements in the manufacture of carriage
hardware. Mr. Van Patten was entirely familiar
with that form of forging and die-sinking and
prepared to successfully adapt it to the new in
dustry ; while the practical experience of Mr.
Clapp in carriage-building, enabled him wisely
to direct the kind and style of work to be done.
Hitherto this work had been done by hand,
with less perfection and at much greater cost.
A blacksmith shop and carriage shop had been
necessary complements of each other. Now,
very little hand forging for carriages is done, and
only in remote localities.
This radical change in the methods of ironing
carriages, is largely due to the persevering and
intelligent e'fforts of Messrs. Clapp and Van Pat
ten, who have made and generally introduced a
more varied and practical assortment of carriage
forgings than any other manufacturers in this
country. They have introduced and are continu
ally introducing new lines of goods ; have invent
ed and patented new articles and processes of
manufacture, and secured the control of patented
articles, which. have acquired great popularity in
the trade. Their Centennial exhibit embraced
nearly four hundred pieces, which were the most
complete and perfect of their kind exhibited, and
were models of practical utility and mechanical
perfection. Fifth wheels have been a specialty
of their business, of which they can produce over
100,000 per year, without diminishing the pro
duction of their other goods.
A stock company was organized August ist,
1876, comprising some of the most conservative
and substantial citizens of Auburn. The paid
up capital was $150,000, and the management
of the business remained with the old firm, who
were the largest stock-holders. The following
named gentlemen comprised the first board of
trustees : E. D. Clapp, F. Van Patten, Charles
Standart, Byron C. Smith, James G. Knapp,

William B. Woodin, C. C. Dwight, J. N. Knapp,
L. E. Carpenter, D. E. Clapp, P. S. Hadger,
and W. PI. Meaker. The officers were. Presi
dent and Treasurer, E. D. Clapp ; Vice-Presi
dent, L. E. Carpenter ; Secretary, D. E. Clapp ;
Superintendent, F. Van Patten. The same trus
tees and officers have since been continued.
The business of the company soon demanded
further accommodations and, in 1878, a large
store-house was erected over the trestle-work at
the north end of the company's grounds, and the
foundations laid for new buildings, both on Gene
see and Division streets, and brick offices were
erected. Work is in progress on a three story
brick building, 40 by 80 feet, fronting on Genesee
street. When the buildings now in process of
erection are completed, the factory will be of the
following dimensions : Main building used for
forge room and iron house, 281 by 40 feet; machine
shop 40 by 80, three stories high and basement ;
office and warehouse, 70 feet on Genesee street,
and extending back on Division street, 236 feet,
to the track of the Southern Central Railroad,
store-house and pattern-rooms on the north side
of lot, 50 by 40 feet. The quadrilateral will be thus
enclosed by building.s, the exterior frontage of
which will exceed 800 feet.
The company have a large wholesale and retail
coal trade and a trestle about 250 feet long, apart
of which is covered and used as a freight depot.
Huge drop hammers, which vary in weight from
500 to 1,500 pounds, and rise and fall by means
of friction rollers, from seventy to ninety times a
minute, executes their work with great perfec
tion and dispatch. These drops and the dies
which form the pieces, are all made in the fac
tory. The red-hot iron is pressed by the blows
of the drops Into steel dies or moulds, which give
the shape intended. Of some kinds from 3,000
to 4,oco pieces can be thus forged in a day.
They are afterwards finished and fitted ready for
use. The company employ about 150 men and finish
fully double the product which was possible but
a few years ago. Hayden and Smith are the sole
agents for the sale of their goods, which are sold
in all parts of the United States, in Canada and
Australia, and which include every piece of forged
iron used in ironing a carriage, in a form and
finish ready for application to the wood-work.
Among the principal pieces are thill couplings.

MANUFACTURING INTERESTS.

167

fifth wheels, king-bolts, axle clips, perch plates,
stump-joints, joint-ends, steps, shifting-rails,
body-loop ends, slat-irons, king-bolts, and axle-
clip ties, fancy-bolts, top-props, etc. These are
supplied in complete sets, or in detached parts as
desired. No other manufacturers supply, as do
this firm, complete sets of forged iron work for
carriages. The sets for top buggies contain over
one hundred pieces of hardware.
Empire Wringer Company. — In April, 1872,
a copartnership firm was organized to manufac
ture and sell clothes-wringers, under the above
title. The copartners were : C. M. Howlet,
H. N. Lockwood, John S. Fowler, Jacob Brink
erhoff, J. N. Starin, H. V. Quick and L. G,
Barger. C. M. Howlet was appointed manager
and the firm commenced the business of manu
facturing clothes wringers under the patents
obtained by J. Brinkerhoff.
Subsequently Messrs. Starin and Quick sold
their respective interests in the business to C.
M. Howlet, N. B. S. Eldred and A. S. Lee.
In 1S74, Mr. Itldrcd sold his interest to L. W.
Ney and Mr. Lee to C. M. Howlet. On Sep
tember 1st, 1876, C. M. Howlet and E C. Denio
purchased the entire business pursuant to the
conditions ofthe original copartnership.
In December, 1876, a company was incorpo
rated under the laws of this State, with a capital
of $64,000. The president and manager was C.
M. Howlet and the secretary, E. C. Denio ; Jacob
Brinkerhoff, general sales agent and Henry J.
White superintendent of the manufactory.
During the year, 1876, 24,000 wringers vv-ere
made and sold. During the same period, patented
folding cots arid washing benches were added to
thc product, and in 1877 the manufacture of the
Empire steel-band, barbed fencing was intro
duced. Of the features which have given de
served popularity both to the wringers and steel
band fencing of this company, they have the
monopoly, under exclusive and definite patents.
The special merits of the Empire Wringer and
the enterprise of the company in making them
known have led to their rapid and wide introduc
tion, not only in this country, but also in many
foreign countries, in South and Central America,
New Zealand, Australia, Sweden, Norway, Rus
sia, France and Austria and to England and
Germany. Large shipments are made monthly,
upon regular standing orders.

The development of this business to its present
magnitude has, it will be noticed, taken place
during a period of general commercial depression,
indicating at once unusual merit in the goods
produced and skill in their commercial manage
ment. The power is derived from the Outlet, in the
seventh ward. The capacity of the manufactory
is one hundred wringers and five miles of fencing
per day ; force employed from forty to forty-five
hands. Messrs. Sheldon & Co., are very extensively
engaged in the manufacture of the anchor brand
axle. This business was established by Barber,
Sheldon & Co., in 1865, in the prison, at which
time they employed one hundred convicts in the
manufacture of axles and the Cayuga Chief reaper
and mower. In 1866, this company, Burtis &
Beardsley and Reynolds & Co., each of whom
were manufacturing the Cayuga Chief, consoli
dated and formed a stock company under the
name of the Cayuga Chief Mfg. Co., with a capi
tal of $500,000, and carried on business in D. M.
Osborne &Co.'s shop No. 2, opposite the prison,
where the castings and malleable iron used in the
construction of the machines manufactured by
the latter firm are now made. In 1869, Charles
L. Sheldon, Franklin L. Sheldon (deceased,) and
Henry Morgan, members of the firm of Barber,
. Sheldon & Co., purchased Eugene C. Barber's
interest, and in 1875 the reaper and mower es
tablishment was merged into that of D. M. Os
borne & Co.
Messrs. Sheldon & Co. employ 240 convicts
and 100 citizens, the latter of whom are mostly
engaged in their rolling mill, forges and machine
shop, located at Hackney Falls, now in the
Seventh Ward of the city. The rolling mill is
situated on the west side, and the machine shop
and forges directly opposite, on the east side of
the Outlet. The machine shop was formerly oc
cupied by the Auburn Tool Co., and owned by
Geo. Casey, of whom it was bought in 1870, by
the present firm, who added some sixty feet, re
paired it, and at the same time erected a large
forge shop. They havejust completed (1878) a
second forge shop, 100 by 40 feet, to meet the re
quirements of their increasing business, which
now probably exceeds that of any other three
similar establishments in the world. They con
sume daily about twenty tons of iron and steel,

i68

CITY OF AUBURN.

the former of which is made in their own shops,
and make 180,000 sets of axles per annum.
Their works in the prison are propelled by power
furnished by the prison dam, which has a fall of
eight feet, and a 150 horse-power engine. In
March, 1877, they put a 250 horse-power engine
into their machine and forge shops, the heavy
machinery, to which additions have recently been
made, requiring more power than was furnished
by the water from the Outlet, which has, at this
point, a fall of twelve feet. The goods made by
this firm have, from their excellence, gained for
them a good reputation in the markets of this
and other countries.
Dunn, Salmon & Co., of Syracuse, com
menced the manufacture of boots and shoes in the
prison in 1865, in which year they succeeded
McDougal, Fenton & Co. They have an invest
ed capital of $250,000. They contract for the
labor of 200 convicts at fifty cents per day. They
give employment to 250 persons, twenty-five to
fifty of whom are resident citizens, and are mak
ing sixty-five cases of goods per day.
Josiah Barber & Sons, manufacturers of
woolen goods and carpeting, on Washington
street and the Outlet. This is one of the oldest
business establishments in the city. It was
started in 1829, by Josiah Barber, who came in
that year from Pludson, Columbia county, where
he had carried on the woolen business some
twenty years, having been preceded in the same
business by his father. Pie commenced opera
tions in the prison, where he continued till 1857,
being associated for several years with John
Loudon. In 1846-47 he erected the buildings
he now occupies, on the site of the saw and card-
ing-mills of Samuel Dill. The carpet-mill is 150
by 50 feet, five stories high, and the woolen-mill
238 by 54 feet, four stories high, both being built
of brick, and standing one on either side of the
Outlet. The woolen-mill contains ten sets of
cards and forty-eight broad looms, and the car
pet-mill six sets of cards and twenty-six power
carpet looms. The machinery is driven by wa
ter from the Outlet, which furnishes a power
equivalent to 500 horses. In 1859, his sons Wm.
C. and Geo. E. Barber, were admitted to partner
ship, and the business has since been conducted
in the above name. The capital invested is
$350,000. They employ 250 to 280 hands,
about two- thirds of whom are females. Their

pay roll amounts to $8,000 per month. The
product of their looms in 1877 was 340,000
pounds of woolen goods and 150,000 pounds of
carpets ; 520,000 pounds of wool being consumed
in the manufacture of the former, and 180,000
pounds in that of the latter.
Hayden & Smith, manufacturers of and deal
ers in carriage and saddlery hardware. This
business was established in 1830 by C. & P. Hay
den, and was probably the first manufactory of
saddlery hardware of any importance in the
United Slates. Previous to 1830, and indeed
for several years thereafter, nearly all these goods
were imported from England. In 1833, Cotton
Hayden died and the business has since been
conducted by Mr. P. Hayden, who resides in New
York. He has been associated with different
partners, the principal of whom have been Wm.
A. Holmes, who became a book-keeper in the es
tablishment in 1836, and a partner in 1840, which
relation he held till 1850; Geo. J. Letchworth,
who became clerk in 1844, and succeeded Mr.
Holmes in the partnership in 1850, and continued
till 1873, when Byron C. Smith, the present
resident and courteous manager, who entered the
establishment as clerk in 1852, succeeded to
the partnership. O. P. Letchworth, son of Geo.
J. Letchworth, who was also a member of the
firm, dissolved that connection in January, 1876,
by selling his interest to the remaining partners,
at which time the firm name was changed from
Hayden, Letchworth & Smith to Hayden &
Smith. The firm have employed prison labor almost
uninterruptedly since the business was com
menced, beginning with only six men. They
now employ the labor of 125 convicts, for which
they pay fifty cents each per day, besides that of
twenty-five persons, in various capacities, outside
the prison. The value of their manufactured
goods is about $100,000 per annum. Their fac
tory is in the prison ; and their office and ware-
rooms at No. 9 East Genesee street. They make
a specialty of wood hames, of which they manu
facture annually about 100,000 pairs, comprising
some two hundred varieties. They are shipped
to all parts of the civilized worid.
This firm are also the exclusive agents for the sale
of the carriage hardware made by the E. D. Clapp
Mfg. Co. Their capital has been increased from
time to time to meet the requirements of their

MANUFACTURING INTERESTS.

169

increased business, till at present about $200,000
are invested.
In 1876 they increased their facilities and have
since then done their own brass founding and
nickel plating. Julius Robbin is foreman in the
hame shop and N. S. Possons, in the foundry and
buckle shop ; the former having an experience of
eight years and the latter of ten. Mr. P. Hay
den, one of the founders of this establishment,
has since established similar enterprises in New
York city, Newark, N. J., Columbus and Cin
cinnati, Ohio, Detroit, Mich., St. Louis, Mo.,
Syracuse, N. Y., San Francisco and Sacramento,
Cal., and Galveston, Texas, all of which, except
the latter, are still in existence, and some of them
doing a much larger business than the parent
firm. The Galveston enterprise was started just
before the war, and the stock, valued at about
$40,000, confiscated by the Confederate govern
ment and worked up into confederate harness.
Several who have been educated in this estab
lishment as clerks have started the business else
where. Among these are Messrs. Olmsted &
Jones, who are now proprietors of the establish
ment in Syracuse.
Sartwell, Hough & Co., manufacturers of
and dealers in boots and shoes, at Nos. 2 and 4
E. Genesee street. This business was com
menced in 1866, by Elbridge G. Miles, D. M.
Plough, PI. J. Sartwell and Wadsworth Plollis-
ter, under the name of Miles, Plough & Co., at
No. 6 State street. In 1867 Mr. Hollister sold
his interest to W. Crocker, when the firm became
and has since remained Sartwell, Hough & Co.,
Mr. Miles having also severed his connection
with it. In 1872, feeling the need of more room
and power than their old quarters afforded, they
removed to their present location. They use a
capital of about $100,000, give steady employ
ment to about one hundred hands, about one-
half of whom are females, manufacture a general
line of ladies' wear, to the extent of $150,000 to
$200,000 worth per annum, and do a jobbing
business in all kinds of boots and shoes to the
amount of $250,000 to $300,000 per annum.
Foxell, Jones & Co., commenced the manu
facture of stove hollow ware in the prison, about
the middle of October, 1877, Messrs. Foxell &
Jones having previously carried on the business
at Troy for ten years. The capital invested is
about $50,000. They employ 160 convicts and
29

seventeen citizens, and are doing a business of
about $100,000 per annum. The motive power
is furnished by a sixty horse-power engine. They
first contracted for 100 convicts, and subsequently
for 165.
Nye & Wait, carpet manufacturers, located
on Factory street, between Wall and Clark streets.
In 1852, Carhart & Nye leased Josiah Barber's
factory and run it till 1858, in which year they
dissolved, and L. W. Nye bought the building
erected in 18 16 by Elijah Miller and John H.
Beach, who, in 18 14, purchased of Samuel Dill
ten acres, including the fall, on lot 46 ofthe mili
tary tract. This building was used as a cotton
factory and was continued as such by Mr. Nye
till 1868, in October of which year he leased it to
Plowlet & Bailey. April ist, 1869, it caught fire
and was partially burned. In 1870 it was rebuilt,
the portion not burned, the walls of the north
part, being retained and forming a part of the
four story stone building used by this firm as a
carpet factory, for which purpose it was then fitted
up. It is 40 by no feet. In 1868 a second
building, 48 by 85 feet, also of stone, was erected,
the main floor of which is used for the manufac
ture of worsted for the carpets made by Messrs.
Nye & Wait, the latter of whom (Wm. F. Wait)
was admitted to partnership March ist, 1871.
Geo. N. Nye, son of L. W. Nye, became a partner
October ist, 1876, without any change in the firm
name. They use a capital of $80,000, employ
100 hands, and make 177,000 yards of extra su
perfine ingrain carpets and over 65,000 pounds
of worsted per annum. The motive power is
furnished by water from the Outlet, with a fall of
26.9 feet.
George Corning, Sr., having contracted for
lOO convicts for five years, at forty cents each per
day, commenced the manufacture of shoes in the
prison, January 1st, 1874. He also employs six
citizens who act as foremen. He uses a capital
of about $50,000, and is making about 300 pairs
of shoes per day. Mr. Corning was formerly
from St. Louis, where he carried on the same
business. David Wadsworth & Son, scythe manufac
turers, on the Outlet, near the west line of the
city. This is one of the oldest of Auburn's
manufacturing establishments. It was started in
1818, onthe site subsequently occupied by the
Dodge & Stevenson Manufacturing Company, by

170

CITY OF AUBURN.

Joseph Wadsworth. In 1829, Mr. Wadsworth
bought of Benjamin Sweet the tract of land he
now occupies, upon which was an old carding
mill. This he converted into a scythe factory
and soon after removed his establishment to that
locality. He continued till about 1845, when his
sonj Joseph Wadsworth, rented the property and
carried on the works till 1 849, in which year it
was willed to David Wadsworth, who has since
carried on the business, having been associated
as partner with Nelson P'itchfrom 1867 till July,
1872, and with his son, David Wadsworth, Jr.,
since July ist, 1876. The present buildings were
erected from 1860-67. These works give employ
ment to 65 men and annually turn out about
30,000 dozen scythes, hay, corn and straw knives,
and grass hooks.
The Auburn Tool Company is the outgrowth
of an enterprise started in the prison in 1823, by
Truman J. McMaster and Hon. Nathaniel Gar
row, who then commenced the manufacture of
carpenters' planes and plane irons, and carried on
the business till about 1833, when Alonzo Mc
Master and Jacob Young bought the establish
ment and continued the business under the name
of Young & McMaster till 1838, when the prop
erty was bought by the firm of Z. J. McMaster
& Co., which was composed of Z. J. McMaster
Paul D. Cornell and Aurelius Wheeler, who, in
1847, sold to George Casey, Adam Miller, Josiah
Douglass and Nelson Kitchell, by whom the bus
iness was conducted till 1858, under the name
of Casey, Kitchell & Co. In 1858, Mr. Casey
bought the interest of his partners and admitted
to partnership J. N. Starin, Nelson Fitch, Abijah
Fitch, Noah P. Clark and Alonzo G. Beardsley,
who carried on the business under the name of
Casey, Clark & Co., till October 8th, 1864, when a
stock company was formed and incorporated, with
a capital of $7S,ooo, which was subsequently in
creased to $100,000, and the business has since
been carried on under the name of the Auburn
Tool Company, the parties last named being the
incorporators and the first trustees. George
Casey was elected President and has held that
office to the present time. Nelson Fitch was
elected Secretary and held that office till April
22d, 1868, when he was succeeded by N. P. Clark,
who still holds the office. George Casey also
acted as Treasurer till June 2d, 1867, when N. L.
Casey, who has since held the office, was elected.

The works were removed from the prison August
ist, 1877, and now occupy a depression on the east
bank of the Outlet, on Aurelius Avenue. This
company employ thirty hands and make about
100,000 planes and plane irons per annum. The
motive power is furnished by the Outlet, which
has a fall at this point of 171^ feet. George Casey
came to Auburn from Dover, Dutchess County,
in 181 3, and, with the exception of Jasper Trow
bridge, has lived here longer than any other resi
dent. The Auburn Collar Company manufacture
horse collars of various designs in the prison.
The business was commenced in 1871, by Craw
ford Parks and Charies Pomeroy, under the title
of the Durant Flag Collar Co., and continued by
them till April 5th, 1872, when Byron C. Smith
bought Mr. Pomeroy's interest, and C. C. Du
rant and S. B. Roby were admitted to partner
ship. In 1873 William PI. Meaker bought Mr.
Park's interest. Previous to the fire in the pris
on the company were engaged exclusively in the
manufacture of the Durant flag collar, but after
the fire, being unable to immediately procure
flag with which to resume that business, and hav
ing a number of convicts on their hands to pro
vide work for, they began the manufacture of
leather collars, and soon after changed their name
to the Auburn Collar Co. The partnership was
dissolved by limitation in April, 1877. S. B. Roby
and Byron C. Smith withdrew previous to this
time, the former's interest having been bought
by James Gorsline in the spring of 1876, and the
latter's by the company. The partnership was
continued without further change till Nov. ist,
1877, when Mrs. Chloe Wasson acquired an in
terest. July 1st, 1878, Jas. Gorsline retired from
the firm and Mrs. Wasson also acquired his in
terest. The company employ a capital of about
$20,000, and make about a hundred leather and
fifty flag collars per day. They contract for
fifty convicts, at fifty cents per day, but usually
employ a number in excess of that.
The Auburn Iron Works were built in 1853,
by Chas. Richardson, who ran them till 1868.
They remained idle till February, 1870, when
they were bought by Messrs. Tuttle, Reed and
Dennison and put in operation. In March, 1878,
Messrs. Tuttle & Reed, the present proprietors,
bought Mr. Dennison's interest. The works
were built for the manufacture of car axles and

MANUFACTURING INTERESTS.

171

were used for that purpose till 1859, when they
were changed to a manufactory of bar iron
and horseshoes, which was continued till the close
of 1868, horseshoes being the principal article
of manufacture. Thirty men are now employed
in the manufacture of merchant iron. The
capacity of the works is 1500 tons per annUm.
Their product in 1877 was 1 100 gross tons.
The motive power is furnished by two engines,
one of eighty horse-power and thc other of twenty
They are supplied with a fifty horse-power steam
hammer. Beardsley, Wheeler & Co., manufacturers
of the Dodge mower and reaper at 19 Water
street. These works were formerly occupied by
the Dodge & Stevenson Mfg. Co., who com
menced the manufacture of these machines in
1858, and continued till 1875, when they went
into liquidation. They were bought at sheriff's
sale by the above firm, who employ some twenty
men about six months of the year, principally in
thc manufacture of parts to the machines now in
use. During thc prosperity of the Dodge &
Stevenson Mfg. Co., these works gave employ
ment to 300 to 400 hands.
Card Clothing Establishment. — In 1824
Isaac C. Bradford came to Auburn from Coop-
erstown,N. Y.,and commenced the manufacture
of card clothing by hand, on Exchange street,
nearly opposite the post-office. In 1829 he went
East and bought three card-setting machines,
and employed a workman here the same year to
make others like them. About 1834 his brother
became interested with him and they continued
the business in company some two or three years.
In 1840 the establishment was removed to a
wooden building erected for the purpose, which
occupied the site ofthe present three story brick
building, which is 54 by 30 feet, was erected in
" 1853, and is situated near the "big dam." In
1841 Rufus Sargent, the present proprietor,
bought an interest in the business and was asso
ciated with Horace Hdtchkiss, under the name
of I-Iotchkiss & Sargent. In 1842, Edmund
Mortimer bought a halfof Hotchkiss' interest, and
the name was changed to Hotchkiss, Sargent
& Co. In 1843, John G. Hopkins bought Hotch
kiss' remaining interest, when the firm became
Hopkins, Sargent & Co. In 1845, Hopkins sold
his interest to the remaining partners, who car
ried on the business under the name of Sargent

& Mortimer, till February, 1855, when Mr. Sar
gent bought Mr. Mortimer's interest and has
since conducted the business alone. Mr. Sar
gent uses a capital of about $20,000, and gives
employment to nine hands, the work being done
mostly by machinery. There are in use twenty-
four card- setting machines, of different styles,
adapted to all the kinds of cards in use. They
are unique, complicated and ingeniously con
structed machines, and perform their work with
rapidity and accuracy like intelligent automatons.
The capacity of the establishment is about 24,000
square feet of cards per annum. The annual
product is valued at about $35,000. The motive
power is furnished by water drawn from the east
race, with a fall of twenty-four feet. This is the
only estabhshment of the kind in the State, and
there is only one other outside of the New Eng
land States, at Philadelphia. There have been
fifteen in the State within forty years, but all ex
cept this have succumbed.
Isaac W. Quick, manufacturer of thc im-.
proved Hussey combined mower and reaper, on
Mechanic street. This machine was the first one
to successfully cut grain. It was invented by
Ovid Hussey and patented by him in 1837, the
same year in which Cyrus H. McCormick took
out his patent for the Virginia Reaper. McCor-
mick's machine proved a failure, owing to a de
fect in the cutters. The Hussey machine had
from the first the same style of cutters at present
in use on all machines. Its manufacture was
first begun in Baltimore by Ovid Hussey, and
was continued there by him till his death during
the war. About 1840, Thomas R. Hussey,
brother of Ovid, commenced its manufacture in
Auburn, in the old oil-mill which stood on the
ground now occupied by the establishment of
D. M. Osborne & Co. He subsequently re
moved, to the site of the Osborne House, where
he was in partnership with Charles Eldred.
After a short time he returned to his original lo
cation, where he was burned out, when he re
moved to Mr. Quick's present location in 1864.
November 22d, 1849, Isaac W. Quick and Geo.
S. Hall, who were carrying on the grocery busi
ness under the name of Quick & Hall, bought a
half interest with Hussey & Eldred. In 1850,
Eldred sold his interest to the remaining part
ners. At the death of Hall, in 1854, Mr. Quick
bought his interest ; and in 1868 he bought that

172

CITY OF AUBURN.

of Mr. Hussey, since which time he has carried
on the business alone. He uses a capital of
about $15,000 ; gives employment to twelve to
fifteen men ; and makes about 100 machines' per
annum. Robert Peat, furniture manufacturer, on
Franklin street. In 1825, Robert Peat, father of
the present proprietor, who came to Auburn
with his father's family from Hull, England, in
18 19, commenced the manufacture of furniture
where his son's warerooms now are, on Market
street, opposite the city hall, and continued there
till his death in 185 1, when his sons Robert and
Edward Lawrence succeeded him, under the
name of R. & E L. Peat. In 1861, Robert
bought his brother's interest and has since con
ducted the business alone. In 1848, the facilities
for manufacturing were increased by renting a
place on the site of E. C. Selover's brick building
on East Genesee street, where, in February,
1866, they were burned out. The present brick
factory on Franklin street, which is 96 by 30 feet,
with two stories and basement, was erected and
occupied July 4th of that year. The office and
warerooms occupy three adjoining buildings, with
a frontage of 1 12 feet on Market street, and ex
tending back forty feet. One is of wood, two
stories, and forty feet ftont ; the others are of
brick, each three stories high. Mr. Peat em
ploys twenty to twenty-five hands, and annually
turns out goods valued at $25,000. He also
deals in furniture manufactured elsewhere. The
machinery in the factory is propelled by a ten
horse-power engine.
W. W. Crane, founder and machinist at 27
and 29 Water street. This business was estab
lished in 1839, by John Gaylord, who erected the
foundry that year and the machine shop soon
after 1846, the latter being used by him for fit
ting up plows, in the manufacture of which he
was extensively engaged. Mr. Gaylord contin
ued the business till 1862, when he rented the
• property to Merrill, Wilder & Co., who first made
use of the latter building as a machine shop-
In 1875, W. W. Crane, W. C. Locke and Isaac
Richardson rented the property, and carried on
the business under the name of W. W. Crane &
Co. till 1876, when Messrs. Locke and Richard
son retired from the firm, and Mr. Crane has
since conducted the business alone. Pie has
about $16,000 invested in the business, and em

ploys some twenty-four men, about one-half of
whom are engaged in the foundry. His monthly
pay roll foots up to about $1,000. He makes
steam engines, and Jones' Little Giant Water-
Wheel, both to order, of the latter about twenty
per annum, for Geo. H. Jones, the patentee.
Plis principal business is jobbing and general
mill work. For the last seven months the casts
have averaged three to four tons per day.
L. M. Woodcock & Co.,' founders and ma
chinists, commenced business in October, 1876.
They occupy thc basement of L. W. Nye's car
pet factory for a machine shop, and a building 40
by 60 feet, also owned by L. W. Nye, and erect
ed by him in 1876, for an iron and brass foundry.
The capital is $10,000, and is furnished by Nye
& Wait, who are members of the firm. They
give employment to thirty or forty men, and
make a specialty of gear cutting, besides doing
a general jobbing business.
The Stevens Thrasher Works were start
ed in the village of Genoa about 1838, by A. W.
Stevens, a native of Genoa, where thirty to thirty-
five men have been employed in the manufacture
of thrashing machines, of which about fifty have
been made per annum. These works were
moved to Auburn, October ist, 1878, into the
buildings formerly occupied by the Dodge &
Stevenson Mfg. Co., which have been leased for
a term of five years. With the increased facilities
here afforded, they give employment to fifty men
and turn out about lOO machines per annum. It
is an important acquisition to the manufacturing
interests of Auburn.
J. PI. Woodruff's Button P'actory. — This,
though a comparatively recent, is a very impor
tant and valuable accession to the manufacturing
interests of the city. Mr. Woodruff, who is a
native of Auburn, commenced the manufacture
of composition and pearl buttons in New York
city, in the summer of 1876. The following fall
he transferred his works to Auburn, to the build
ing in the rear of the post-office, formeriy occu
pied by the Auburn Paper Bag Company, em
ploying at first only ten hands. Such has been
the rapid development of this business that, at
the expiration of the second year, we find him
not only giving steady employment to 200 per
sons, about one-half of whom are females, but
reaching out for additional room and increased
facilities ; the present condition of his business,

MANUFACTURING INTERESTS.

173

he assures us, warranting the employment of an
additional hundred hands. When we reflect that
this business has been wholly built up during the
prevalence of an almost unprecedented financial
crisis and business depression, its results are
simply astounding, and challenge the annals of
manufacturing enterprise for a parallel. Mr.
Woodruff is erecting on Logan street, a three
story brick building, with basement, 132 feet
front, with a wing running back 75 feet, and an
independent boiler house 20 by 30 feet. Plis
monthly pay roll exceeds $2,500; and the pro
duct of his factory 5.000 gross per month, all of
which are shipped to a distant market. The pro
cess of manufacture is an interesting one, but the
limits of this work will not admit of a descrip
tion of it.
The Auburn Glove and Mitten Company,
No. 80 Genesee street. The proprietor is Ed
win R. Fay, who, in 1869, commenced the manu
facture of all kinds of gloves and mittens. He
employs thirty persons, about two-thirds of whom
are women. The average sales are about $45,-
000 per annum.
Throop's Grain Cleaner Company, was in
corporated in 1867, and the business established
in Syracuse in that year with a capital of $100,-
000, which has been reduced to $35,000. In
1869, G. E. Throop, the present proprietor, ac
quired the whole interest, and in 1875 he removed
the works to their present location, in the rear of
Barber's south factory, by means of a shaft from
which the motive power is furnished. Ten men
are employed, and from 150 10400 grain cleaners
for flouring mills made per annum, besides con
siderable custom work in perforating sheet metal.
Calvin W. Conklin, boiler maker. No. 38
Water street, commenced business in 1872. He
employs nine men, and makes about thirty boil
ers per annum, besides repair work. He was
associated as partner with Alex. Forbes during
thc first two years. Mr. Conklin is reputed to
be one of the best boiler makers in the State.
CoNNiFF & Yantch, manufacturers of agri
cultural implements, 43 State street. This busi
ness was established some twenty-five years since
by Milton Alden & Son, who carried it on about
fifteen years, till the death of the elder Alden,
when it was sold to Merrill & Wilder, who con
tinued it for two or three years, and sold to S. D.
Wackman & Co., by whom it was conducted two

and a half years, till January 27th, 1876, and sold
to the present proprietors, John Conniff and
Godfried Yantch, who employ a capital of about
$10,000, give employment to ten men, and make
a specialty of Alden's patent horse-hoe and cul
tivator, of which about 400 are made per annum.
The Stone Mill, at the junction of Genesee
and E. Genesee streets, is owned and occupied
by Orlando Lewis, who, in company with E. C.
Hall, bought the property of Wm. Hills, May ist,
1865, for $32,500. In 1870, Mr. Lewis bought
his partner's interest, and has since been alone
in the management. Pie came here from Spen
cer, Tioga county, in 1857, and Was engaged in
the lumber business previous to purchasing the
mill property. The present mill was built in
1825-6, by John H. Hardenbergh, son of Col.
John L. Hardenbergh, the first settler in Auburn.
It occupies the site of the old log mill built by
the latter soon after his settlement here, and the
plank mill, with which that was soon after
replaced. The log mill was twenty-one feet
square, and is variously stated to have contained
one and two run of stones. Its attendant was
accustomed, it is said, to gauge his grists, and
leave the mill to do its own grinding, allowing it
to run in this manner night and day. The second
and third mills on this site were each built to
meet the increased demands which were in excess
of the capability of their predecessors. The pres
ent mill contains six run of stones, four for wheat
and two for feed, which are propelled by water
from the Outlet, with a fall of twelve and a half
feet. It gives employment to eight men. Its
capacity is 1 10 to 120 barrels of flour per day of
twenty-four hours. Mr. Lewis has twice rebuilt
the interior, the last time in 1875, when $10,000
were expended in supplying the most improved
modern mill machinery and adapting it to the
manufacture of flour by the new process. It is
both a custom and flouring mill, about one-third
of its business being custom work.
The Auburn City Mills, on Mechanic street,
were built in 1838, by Sherman Beardsley, who
run them several years. In 1870, Chas. P. Burr
bought a half interest of John Y. Selover, who
had run them some five or six years.. In 1871,
Mr. Burr bought Mr. Selover's remaining interest,
and formed a copartnership with Chas. E.Thorne,
under the name of Burr & Thorne. The mill is
a substantial stone structure, containing four

174

CITY OF AUBURN.

stories besides basement. The main part is
strictly a flouring mill, and was provided in 1873
with an entire new set of machinery, with espe
cial reference to the manufacture of flour by the
new process. It contains five run of stones,
which are capable of grinding about 200 barrels
of new process flour per day of twenty-four hours;
flour made by the new process requiring about
double the time consumed in its manufacture by
the ordinary process. In 1875, the addition
formerly used as a wheel-house, when an over
shot wheel was employed, was converted into a
grist-mill, and two run of stones put in, one for
flour and one for feed, the former with a capacity
of converting 100 bushels of wheat into flour, and
the latter of grinding 400 bushels of feed per day.
The motive power is furnished by means of a
race, which draws water from the " big dam,"
and gives a fall of twenty-six feet. Five men and
a capital of about $75,000 are employed in operat
ing the mills. This firm were the first to do a
strictly flouring business in Auburn. They
started that enterprise in 1873, when their mill
was supplied with new machinery, and have suc
ceeded in placing Auburn flour in markets in
which it was previously unknown. They have
thus been instrumental in largely improving the
local wheat market. They are buying about
100,000 bushels of wheat per annum ; and made
in 1 877 a little over 20,000 barrels of flour.
The Aurelius Avenue Mills, owned by
John S. Bristol, who acquired possession in April,
1878, consist of a grist and flouring mill, with
four run of stones, and a saw mill, containing one
muley saw, which are operated by water from the
Outlet. They occupy the site ofthe mills erected
by Jehial Clark, in 1798; indeed the massive
timbers used in the frame-work of those struc
tures enter into the composition of the present
ones, they having been used in the construction
of the " Mayflower Mills," by which name they
were formerly known. This property has passed
through the hands of several different owners,
among whom are Edward Allen, Llewellyn and
James Davis and Messrs. Coe & Slee.
Francis Ditton, tanner and currier and har
ness maker and dealer, Nos. 16 and 18 Mechanic
street, commenced the harness business in 1858.
In June, 1877, he formed a copartnership with
his nephew Thomas Ditton, and in that year they
erected the building now occupied as a tannery,

at a cost of $2,000, and commenced the manu
facture of harness leather to be used by them in
the manufacture of harness. The tannery con
tains thirteen vats and turns out about six hun
dred sides per annum. Two men are employed
in the tannery and ten in the manufacture of
harness and trunks. In July, 1878, Francis
Ditton bought his nephew's interest. Pie pur
poses soon to enlarge the capacity of the tan
nery. S. W. Palmer & Co., manufacturers of snow
shovels and laundry machines, the latter consist
ing of washer, wringer and mangle combined,
are located on Mechanic street, near the Auburn
City Mills. In 1855, S. W. & J. F. Palmer com
menced the manufacture of bench planes. In
1863, J. F. Palmer sold his interest to Charles
Coventry. In 1871 the partnership was dis
solved, S. W. Palmer continuing the business in
company with C. M. Palmer, who compose the
present firm. Their capital is about $10,000.
They usually employ ten hands, but have em
ployed twenty during the larger portion of the
past year. In 1877 they made 30,000 snow
shovels and 10,000 ash sieves. They made during
the year 1878, 20,000 wash boards and 1,000
churns. They have made about 50,000 washing
machines. They occupy the building erected by
Sherman Beardsley, shortly previous to 1840, for
a distillery, for which purpose it was used till
soon after the beginning of the war, when Wil-
ham H. Halladay converted it into a machine
shop and erected the addition now occupied by
Isaac W. Quick, and C. J. Schweinfurth.
D. P. G. & W. O. Everts & Co., contractors
and builders, and proprietors of the sash, door
and blind factory, at the " big dam." The busi
ness was commenced in 1864, by D. P. G. & W.
O. Everts, in the old Selover building, which
stood on the site of the brick block now occu
pied by Sartwell, Hough & Co., on Genesee St.
After two or three years they formed a copart
nership with Joshua Burt, David Simpson, James
E. Tyler, Israel Shoemaker, Josiah Douglass and
Adam Miller, under the name of Burt, Simpson
& Co., and took a prison contract for the manu
facture of sash, doors and blinds, which business
was continued under various names till 1873. In
the winter of 1868-9, the Everts withdrew from
the firm and bought the property formerly owned
by the Auburn Tool Company. In August,

MANUFACTURING INTERESTS.

175

1870, the building was burned and their present
brick structure, 56 by 45 feet, two stories and
basement, with an engine room 28 by 40 feet,
was erected the same year at a cost of about
$5,000. In 1869, William S. Everts was ad
mitted to partnership and the firm name was
changed to D. P. G. & W. O. Everts & Co.
They give employment to nine men. They draw
water from the " big dam," and have a fall of
twenty-one feet.
JoHN-L. Selover, proprietor of the planing
mill on East Genesee street, opposite Seminary
Avenue, commenced business in 1874. The
capital invested is about $2,000. Three men are
employed. The motive power is furnished by
a twenty horse-power engine.
Anderson & Dyer, proprietors of the planing
mill at 1 8 Market street, commenced business in
1 866, on the site of Sartwell, Hough & Co.'s shoe
factory, where they were burned out the same
year. They then bought the site they now occu
py of Robert Peat, paying therefor $1,500, and
erected the two story brick building the same
year. They have a capital of about $6,000, and
employ four men. The motor is a twenty horse
power engine.
H. G. Thornton, proprietor of the file factory,
at 19 Market street, commenced business in 1865.
He occupies a brick building 22 by 120 feet, the
front half being two stories and the rear half,
one story high, erected by him in 1866. He has
a capital of $25,000 invested in the business,
employs 25 hands, and makes about 25,000 files
of all sizes per annum.
Reynolds & Co., manufacturers of steel cul
tivator teeth and workers in all kinds of sheet
metal, are located on Washington street near
Barber's mills. The business was established in
1861, on Mechanic street, near the Auburn City
Mills, by Asa R. Reynolds and his sons Samuel
F., Mark and Napoleon. Mark died in 1862.
The business was continued till 1868, when their
father withdrew, and C. Eugene and William C.
Barber were admitted to partnership, the name
was changed to Reynolds, Barber & Co., and the
manufacture of the clover leaf plane-irons v/as
added to the business and continued till 1871.
In 1869, Samuel F. Reynolds and C. Eugene
Barber bought the interest of Napoleon Rey
nolds, and the following year that of William C.
Barber. In 1871 the partnership was dissolved,
3 0-1

and Barber went to Europe as agent for the
Champion reaper, of Springfield, Ohio, in which
business he is still engaged. Samuel F. Rey
nolds resumed the business in 1875, and in 1877,
C. C. Trowbridge became his partner, and the
business has since been conducted under the
name of Reynolds & Co. In the latter year they
removed to their present location. They em
ploy a capital of about $10,000, and give employ
ment to some ten men during the winter.
Charles F. Guion, manufacturer of sash,
doors and blinds, corner of Aurelius avenue and
Wadsworth street, commenced business in 1866,
in company with C. G. Milk, under the name of
C. G. Milk & Co., who carried on the business
till the death of Milk in 1870, when Guion bought
his interest. Pie employs a capital of about $15,-
000, and generally about twenty persons. The
motive power is furnished by the Outlet, which
has a fall of eleven feet.
Thomas Peacock, wood worker, at 20, 22 and
24 Dill street, commenced business in April, 1877,
at which time he took a prison contract for one
year. At the expiration of that time he removed
to his present location. Pie bought the building
of the heirs of the late John H. Chedell, paying
therefor a little less than $4,000. The capital
invested is about $10,000. Pie employs twenty
hands, and manufactures 10,000 children's sleds,
15,000 snow shovels, 60,000 wash-boards, and
100,000 fork, hoe and rake handles per annum.
Charles H. Shapley, pattern maker, 25 Wa
ter street, came to Auburn in the spring of 1865,
having served nearly four years in the army,
where he was wounded at Winchester, Va., by a
rifle shot in the hip, and left unattended upon the
field under the supposition that he could not live.
After working four years under instructions with
Merrill Brothers and B. B. Snow & Co., he com
menced business for himself at his present loca
tion, February ist, 1874. He employs one man
besides himself and occasionally two.
Charles J. Schweinfurth, carver, turner
and pattern maker, on Mechanic street, com
menced business in 1858, at 89 State street, and
in 1866 removed to his present location. He
employs three men, and is largely engaged in
making pulpits, church furniture, baptismal fonts,
&c. Wm. Sutcliffe, brewer and maltster, 88 and
90 Clark street, commenced business in i860, in

176

CITY OF AUBURN.

company with his father, Henry C. Sutcliffe, and
his brother, John, under the name of Sutcliffe &
Sons. Henry C. Sutcliffe died January ist, 1876,
and John, in October of the same year, since
which time the business has been conducted in
the above name. The brewery and malt house
is 200 by 60 feet, three stories, and built of brick.
The capacity of the brewery is forty barrels per
day; and of the malt house 15,000 bushels. This
building was erected in 1868, on the site of the
one erected in i860, which had become too small
to meet the demands of the increased business.
A brick beer vault, sixty feet square, two stories
high, Was erected in 1874. An addition 86 by 30
feet is now being built to the malt house, which
will increase its' capacity to 20,000 bushels.
Eight men are employed, and about 5,000 barrels
of ale and lager made per annum, requiring a
capital of $70,000.
Burtis & Son, brewers and maltsters, 32 and
34 Water street. The business was started some
thirty years ago by Thomas W. Cornell and
Cary S. Burtis, under the name of Cornell &
Co., who carried on the business some ten years,
when Robert Syme bought Cornell's interest and
the name was changed to Burtis & Co. After
four or five years Burtis bought Syme's interest,
and in 1867 admitted his son Edwin C. to part
nership. The brewery is 40 by 140 feet, and
the malt house 30 by 100 feet, with a capacity of
about 20,000 bushels ; both are two stories high.
Eight men and a capital of $40,000 are employed,
and 2,000 to 3,000 barrels of ale and lager made
per annum.
G. S. Fanning, brewer and maltster, 3 and 5
Garden street, commenced business in 1864, in
company with Norman H. Kennedy, whose in
terest he bought in 1868. He employs a capital
of $65,000, and thirteen men. The brewery is
88 by 35 feet, with three stories and basement;
and its capacity 7,000 barrels of ale per annum.
An addition of 82 by 35 feet is being built for
the manufacture of lager, with a capacity of 10,-
000 barrels per annum. The malt house is 119
by 55 feet, with two stories and basement, and is
provided with patent iron kilns. Its capacity is
50,000 bushels. He is now making twenty-five
barrels of ale per week.
Wm. Koenig, brewer and maltster, corner of
State and Grant streets, commenced business in
1868, in which year his brewery was erected.

He employs three men, and makes about twenty
barrels of lager per day.
Edwin B. Parmelee, maltster, Barber street,
near Washington, erected his malt house in 1875.
It is a large stone structure, with a capacity of
about 40,000 bushels per annum.
Mrs. M. j. Sciiicht, manufacturer of paper
and cigar boxes, 13 Ploffman street, office 76
Genesee street, 2d floor. The business was
commenced in 1868, by R. Schicht & Co., and
conducted by them about six years, when it came
into the hands of the present proprietor. The
capital invested is about $4,000. Fifteen to
twenty-five persons are employed, mostly giris,
and about 1,000 boxes made daily:
The Auburn Oil Works, Corner of Clark and
Monroe streets, J. A. Cook, proprietor. The
works were erected in 1864, for an oil refinery,
by Burgess Bros., who failed in 1868. In 1869,
Mr. Cook leased the property, in company with
Enos Laney, whose interest in the stock and
fixtures he bought in the fall of that year. In
April, 1875, he bought the buildings, and has
since increased the capacity of the works four
fold by the introduction of additional machinery.
Mr. Cook is also a dealer in oils of various kinds,
and is handling about 8,000 barrels per annum.
For the last eight years, with but two or three
exceptions, each month's business shows an in
crease as compared with the corresponding
months of previous years, and during the whole
period has increased from 2,200 to 8,000 barrels
per annum. The capital invested is about $15,-
000 ; the number of men employed, four.
Coventry & Co., (P. V. R. Coventry and N.
H. Kennedy,) cigar manufacturers, Genesee
street. This firm commenced business in July,
1874, Mr. Coventry having been engaged in the
business some thirty-five years, a part of the time
in company with his uncle, Chas. Coventry.
They give employment to nineteen persons, and
make 200,000 cigars per annum.
The Centennial File Works, 15 Garden
street, were established in 1876, by Wm. A.
Dolphin and Frederick Tesh, the present pro
prietors. They employ three persons and make
about $60 worth of files per week. Their prin
cipal business is recutting
John Elliott, proprietor of soap and candle
factory, 27 Garden street, commenced the busi
ness in 1854. He employs three persons, and is

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"'¦"'^;:fii^;^ '^'''"

[Photo by Ernaherger A Ray.]

RoBERj White.

Mr. Robert White was born in Aurelius,
Cayuga County, N. Y., June 27th, 1829, and is
the eldest son of William and Elizabeth White,
who had six children, of whom but three are now
living. Robert, during his boyhood days, worked
on the farm a large portion of each year, attend
ing district school in the winter until arriving at
the age of nineteen, when he a|-.prenticed himself
to Mr. S. S. Worden of Skaneateles, to learn the
carriage and sleigh business. He remained with
him for two years and then completed his trade
under other instructors. He then came to Au
burn and engaged with the firm of J. & G. Clapp,
remaining with them for three years. In the

spring of 1855 he purchased the business of Ap-
plegate & Seymour, and took his brother William
as partner, continuing the business under the
firm name of R. & W. H. White. In 1858, the
business not being successful, the firm dissolved,
W. H. retiring. Robert continued the business
alone until 1878, when R. G. Rowe entered into
partnership with him under the hrm name of
White & Rowe, located at No. 22 Dill street.
Auburn, N. Y.
In 1 862, he married Mary A. Dougall, daughter
of George and Margaret Dougall, of Fleming.
They have had four children,. Gertrude E.Mary
E., Margaret and George Robert.

IN

WHOLESALE BUSINESS.

177

making about 8,000 pounds of soap and 60,000
pounds of candles per annum.
The manufacture of wagons and carriages en
gages the attention of several individuals and
firms, prominent among whom are :
Charles E. Mills, 20 East Genesee street.
James A. Stevens, i Seminary avenue.
B, Cook & Co., 22 and 24 Dill street.
S. Warburton, State street, opposite thc
Prison. White & Rowe, 22 Dill street.
HoRNE & Slayton, 20 Water street.
Although the business consists largely in re
pairing, the capital invested aggregates about
$12,000; about thirty men find employment, and
over one hundred wagons and carriages are made
yearly. Sometwenty-sixindividualsfind employment in
the manufacture of cigars under various proprie
tors, among whom are :
Edwin D. Parker, 14 State street.
Vanderbosch Bros., 21 Dill street.
John E. Percy, 82 Slate street.
Jno. B. Richardson, 69.!- Genesee street.
W. PI. Zepp, 5 North street.
H. B. Fay, 5 Exchange street.
W. H. S. Hurlbert, 121 Genesee street.
Martin Bricks, State street, near Water.
Some $20,000 capital is used in this business,
and 77,ODO cigars made per month.
A. McCrea, 12 State street, employs nine
persons in the manufacture of confectionery, of
which from ;?3S.ooo to $40,000 worth are made
per annum.
Trowbridge & Jennings and Senter & Car
penter, the former at 9 Exchange street, and
the latter at 127 Genesee street, each employ
two men in the manufacture of frames, in which
business some $18,000 are invested.
John B. Gaylord, iron founder, at the head
of Mann street, is agent for his daughter, Mary
Ann Gaylord, in thc manufacture of plows and
all kinds of job castings, which business he com
menced the latter part of P'ebruary, 1878, the
building he occupies having been erected the
preceding January. Mr. Gaylord first com
menced the foundry business in 1839, in the
buildings now occupied by W. W. Crane, which
were erected by him, and rented in 1862, to
Merrill, Wilder & Co. He did an extensive busi
ness there, and in 1872-4 built the Gaylord

House. He lost a handsome property by ex
tending pecuniary accommodations to his friends.

CHAPTER XXVI.
History of Auburn, (Continued.)
Wholesale Dealers — Bank of Auburn —
James S. Seymour — Cayuga County Bank —
Auburn Savings Bank — National Ex
change Bank OF Auburn — Wm. H. Seward
& Co.'s Banking House — Fikst National
Bank of Auburn — Cayuga Co. Savings
Bank.
THE wholesale business of Auburn is not
extensive, aside from that which is inci
dental to its manufacturing interests, and which
has been noticed in that connection.
Dunning & Co., are the most prominent whole
sale dealers. They deal in hardware and mer
chant, bar and pig iron, and are located at 102
and 104 Genesee street, corner of Exchange.
The business was established in 1836, by I. F.
Terrill, who conducted the business till 1850,
when A. W. Johnson was admitted to partner
ship, and the business was carried on under the
name of Terrill & Johnson, till 1864, when F.
M. Terrill, son of I. F. Terrill, became a partner
and the firm name was changed to Terrill, John
son & Co. In 1867 J. W. Dunning, who had
been with the concern since i860, was admitted
to partnership, without any change in the firm
name. In 1871, Mr. Johnson retired from the
business, but the name was retained till the ex
piration of the partnership in 1873, when a new
partnership was formed under the style of Ter
rill & Dunning, the parlies interested being F. M.
Terrill and J. W. Dunning, general partners, and
S. J. Terrill, special partner. This partnership
was renewed by the same parties at its expiration
March ist, 1876, for three years. At the death of
F. M. Terrill, June 5th, 1877, a new partnership
was formed by J. W. Dunning and A. W. John
son, general partners, and S. J. Terrill, special
partner, under the name of Dunning & Co., to
last for five years from March ist, 1877. The
business was first begun in the Exchange Block,
in the store now occupied by A. T, Miller. In

178

CITY OF AUBURN.

1869-70 their present fine four-story brick build
ing was erected and occupied by them in Novem
ber of the latter year. They employ a capital of
$60,000. The business rapidly increased from
$60,000 in i860 to $500,000 in 1866, and con
tinued at the latter figures two or three years ;
but as prices declined it diminished to about
$300,000 per year, which it averaged till 1877,
when, by the addition of some lines, it increased
to $400,000.
They occupy the entire four floors of their large
store, besides a large adjoining iron warehouse
on Exchange street.
Edward D. Parker, wholesale liquor dealer,
7 State street, commenced business in 1870, in
company with Wm. M. Thomas, under the name
of Thomas & Co. At the death of Mr. Thomas,
April 15th, i878,Mr. Parker acquired his interest.
The capital invested is about $25,000. The an
nual sales are about $48,000, but the business
has declined as compared with former years.
Adam Eckert, wholesale liquor dealer, 27
Genesee street, commenced business in the
spring of 1871, in company with his brother,
Francis Eckert Jr., whose interest he bought in
August, 1875, since which time he has conducted
the business alone. Me employs a capital of
$8,000. The sales, which were between $19,000
and $20,000 the first year, increased till 1873,
since which time they have diminished to about
what they were the first year, by reason of the
necessity for a more rigid scrutiny of the con
dition of those to whom credits are extended.
Charles F. Smith, wholesale and retail dealer
in crockery, 83 Genesee street, commenced busi
ness in March, 1877, with a stock valued at $6,-
000, which he has since increased to $12,000 to
$15,000. Plis sales have been largely increased
and necessitated the fitting up of a basement for
storage and the accommodation of his wholesale
trade.

BANKS OF AUBURN.
The banking business of Auburn was an out
growth of its manufacturing and commercial in
terests, to the convenient and successful transac
tion of which banks were indispensable. The
business of the village had been transacted for
about twenty years without them and their
necessity was so apparent as to unite the wealth

ier men ot the County in a project for organizing
a bank. The National Bank of Auburn, on Genesee
street, opposite State street, was incorporated
March 31st, 18 17, as the Bank of Auburn, with a
nominal capital of $200,000, which was not paid
in full till 1835. At a meeting held at the house
ofCanfield Coe, July 7th, 1817, Nathaniel Garrow,
Enos T. Throop, George Leitch, John Bowman,
James Porter, Archy Kasson, Hezekiah Good
win, Plorace Hills, Walter Weed, David Brincker
hoff, Wm. McCartey, Joseph Cott and Thomas
Mumford, all of whom are dead, were elected
directors. Thomas Mumford was elected Presi
dent and held the office two years, when Daniel
Kellogg was chosen and performed the duties of
the office till 1835. He was succeeded by John
H. Beach, who retained the office till 1839,
when choice was made of George P"". Leitch, who
served in that capacity till Dec. 24th, 1845, when
Cornelius Cuyler was elected. He was succeeded
in 1849 t>y James S. Seymour, who performed
the responsible duties of the office till his death
Dec. 3d, 1875. C. H. Merriman was President
one year, and was succeeded by S. L. Bradley, the
present incumbent. The first cashier was James
S. Seymour, who performed the duties, of that
office till he was chosen president in 1849. C. H.
Merriman succeeded to the cashiership, and he
also retained that position till he was promoted
to the presidency in 1875. He was succeeded
by James Seymour, who still holds the office, and
who performed the duties of teller of this bank
from 1850 till promoted to the cashiership. With
the exception of Thomas Alcott of Albany, Mr.
James S. Seymour was, at the time of his death,
the oldest bank officer in the State, he having
performed the duties of cashier and president in
this bank a period of fifty-eight years. To his
energy, prudence and ability, is the success ot
this institution very largely due. Plis memory
is redolent of good deeds and kindly acts.
He needs no other monument to endear his
memory to posterity, than his own beneficent
gifts. His noble charities evince at once, the
purity of his character and the wisdom of his
judgriient. Religion and learning, the. orphans,
the dependent poor, and the sick, were all re
membered, and he made a wise and liberal pro
vision for each and all. Calvary Church, the
Seymour Library, the Orphan Asylum, the Old

BANKS AND BANKERS.

179,

Ladies' Home, and the Auburn Hospital were
but a part of the objects upon which he bestowed
liberal proportions of his large estate, furnishing
in his beneficence, and in his wise discrimination
of objects, an admirable model for the imitation
of the opulent.
Mr. Merriman held the positions of teller,
cashier and president of this bank forty-two
years, and until ill health compelled him to retire.
This was the first bank in Auburn, and it has
exerted a vast and beneficial influence upon the
material interests of the community, although it
was its misfortune, at an early day, to experience
much bitter opposition from certain of its share
holders, who contended for its control, and sought
to accomplish that purpose by efforts to depress
its stock. But, happily, it outlived that antago
nism, and although it has passed through many
hard struggles and sustained many losses, it has,
upon the whole, been very successful. The total
amount of dividends paid to its stockholders to
July, 1 878, is $ 1 ,290,202, wh ich is a little more than
ten and a half per cent, per annum on the present
capital, which was not paid in full till 1835. The
change in name occurred Aug. 17th, 1865, when
it became a National Bank. The bank first oc
cupied a room in Demaree's tavern which was
fitted up for its use, and removed thence to the
handsome brick building now occupied, which
was erected for its use in 1818. Following is the
official report to June 29th, 1878 :
Resources.
Loans and Discounts  $442,514 72
Overdrafts  1,87s 57
U. S. Bonds to secure circulation,
(par value)  172,000 00
U. S. Bonds on hand, (par value)__ 30,000 00
Other Stocks, Bonds and Mortgages, 7,540 00
Due from approved Reserve Agents, 3 1,072 49
Due from other National Banks  4,067 98
Due from State Banks and Bankers. 278 94
Real Estate  $3.4o8 15
Inirniturc and Fixtures, 500 00 3,908 15
Checks and other cash items, includ
ing stamps  490 57
Billsof other Banks  -— '3.455 00
p'ractional Currency, (including
nickels)  132 SO
Silver Coin  '.774 91
Legal Tender Notes  21,750 00
Redemption Fund with U. S. Treas
urer, (not more than five per cent.
on circulation)  7.740 00
$738,600 83
3i-»

Liabilities.
Capital Stock paid in 
Surplus Fund 
Undivided Profits 
Circulating Notes received from
Comptroller  $154,800
Less amount on hand with
Comptroller for burning- i,ooo

$200,000 00
40,000 00
49,286 06

153,800 00
lO.iii 00

Dividends Unpaid 
Individual Deposits subject
to Check  $178,488 97
Demand Certificates of
Deposit  77,380 23 255,869 .20

Due to other National Banks 
Due to State Banks and Bankers.
Bills Payable 

4,208 81
325 76
25,000 00
$738,600 83

The Cayuga County National Bank, 43
Genesee St., was incorporated March 14th, 1833,
under the safety fund banking law of the State
of New York, with a capital of $250,000, which
was reduced in October, 1874, to $200,000. As
an evidence of the prosperity of the village at
that time, the abundance of money and the con
fidence in banking, it may be stated that five
times the amount required for the capital of this
bank was subscribed, of which each subscriber
could hold but \i\s pro rata share. The first Di
rectors were Geo. B. Throop, Nathaniel Gar
row, John Seymour, Robert Muir, Eleazer Hills,
Isaac S. Miller, Levi Lewis, Stephen Van Anden,
Rowland Day, Peter Yawger, Wm. H. Noble,
Sherman Beardsley, and Charles Pardee, all of
whom have long since passed away, except the
last, who died a few. months since, while residing
at Skaneateles. Nathaniel Garrow was elected
President and held that office till his death, in
1839. He was succeeded by John Beardsley,
who performed the duties of that office till 1843,
when, having been appointed agent and warden
of Auburn Prison, he resigned, and his son. Nel
son Beardsley, was elected to that position and
has since held it. The latter gentleman accepted
the position at a time when its duties were ex
tremely onerous, and with the full expectation of
speedily resuming his professional duties. The
interests of the bank were very much depressed,
and he came into office as the representative of
a party who realized that its condition required
heroic treatment to restore it to a sound financial

I So

CITY OF AUBURN.

basis. The task was a herculean one, but Mr.
Beardsley's persistent and well-directed efforts
have been rewarded with a most gratifying suc
cess, though he has not felt at liberty to resume
legal practice until it was too late to be desirable
to do so. Geo. B. Throop was elected cashier
and held that ofifice till late in 1840. In January,
1841, Josiah N. Starin was selected to fill the
position vacated by Mr. Throop, and performed
the duties it devolved upon him, till June, 1873,
when he resigned and was succeeded by A. L.
Palmer, the present incumbent, who had pre
viously acted in the capacity of teller, succeeding
Geo. Pomeroy. On Mr. Palmer's promotion to
the cashiership, Chas. C. Button, who for four
teen year's previously had been discount clerk,
became teller, a position he still occupies. Jan
uary 1st, 1863, the bank was reorganized under
the general banking law of the State, with the title
of Cayuga County Bank, under which it did busi
ness tfll 1865, when it became a national bank,
under its present title. The building now occu
pied by the bank was erected in 1834, at a cost of
$35,000. It is a plain, substantial structure,
built of Cayuga limestone. It was repaired dur
ing the year 1878, at a cost of $5,000, and is
now commodious and convenient. The upper
rooms have been fitted up for offices.
Following is an official report of its condition
June 29th, 1878 : Resources. •
Loans and Discounts  $528,674 51
Overdrafts  413 18
U. S. Bonds to secure circulation. 200,000 00
Other Stocks, Bonds and Mort
gages  8,040 00
Due from approved reserve agents, 57,577 20
Due from other National Banks__ 5,167 80
Due from State Banks and Bank
ers  r-  3,448 89
Real Estate, furniture and fixtures, 23,500 00
Checks and other cash items  6,618 13
Bills of other Banks  7,365 00
Fractional Currency, (including
nickels)  70 28
Specie, (including gold Treasury
Certificates)  1,017 60
Legal Tender Notes  27,000 00
Redemption P'und with U. S.
Treasurer, (five per cent, of cir
culation)  9,000 00
Total  $877,892 59

Liabilities.
Capital Stock paid in  $200,000 00
Surplus Fund  7,000 00
Undivided Profits  7,070 22
National Bank Notes outstanding. 180,000 00
Dividends unpaid  ,  40 00
Individual deposits subject to
check  174,224 61
Demand Certificates of Deposit  252,155 94
Due to other National Banks. . . . 13,478 60
Due to State Banks and Bankers- 1,923 22
Notes and Bills re-discounted  42,000 00

Total  $877,892 59
The present Directors are: Nelson Beardsley,
A. G. Beardsley, M. S. Myers, W. E. Hughitt, T.
J. Munro, David Titus, R. A. Nelson, Chas. N.
Ross, Elmore P. Ross, and D. Warren Adams.
The bank has sustained some serious reverses,
but on the whole has enjoyed a very fair degree
of prosperity. The average annual dividend dur
ing the whole period of its existence is eight and
one fourth per cent.
The Auburn Savings Bank was organized
under a charter granted by the Legislature of
New York, March 19th, 1849, ^^ the Aubum
Savings Institution, and its name changed by act
of the Legislature, April 24th, 1869. The first
trustees were Charles B. Perry, Nelson Beards
ley, Daniel Hewson, Thomas Y. How, Jr., C. C.
Dennis, John Olmsted, John L. Watrous, Syl
vester Willard, James O. Derby, Spencer Par
sons, Samuel Blatchford and J. N. Starin ; Wil
liam Beach, the thirteenth trustee, being absent.
Judge Charles B. Perry was elected President,
and Charles P. Wood, Treasurer, each of whom
filled his respective position till his death, the
former, December 30th, 1859, ^"d the latter Oc
tober 7th, 187S. The Institution began business
on Saturday, May 19th, 1849, '" ^'i*^ fi'ont room,
second story, north side of Genesee street, over
the store then occupied by A. W. Hollister &
Co., and owned by Eleazer Hills, the room being
now a part of the carpet room of Charles A. Lee.
The rate of interest allowed on deposits to Janu
ary, 1854, was four per cent. At that date it
was increased to five per cent., and subsequently
to six per cent, per annum ; but the statute now
provides that it shall not exceed five per cent.
per annum. In 1859, having outgrown its sec
ond story office, it was removed to the south side
of Genesee street, occupying the ground floor of
No. 72, a building erected for it by Alonzo G.

BANKS AND BANKERS.

i8i

Beardsley. January i8th, i860, Sylvester Wil
lard, M. D., was elected President, in place of
Charies B. Perry, deceased, and still continues in
that office. In 1869, purchases of ground were
made and plans arranged for the erection of the
handsome and commodious banking house on
the corner of Genesee and South streets. This
building was completed in 1871, and occupied by
the Bank on the 19th of May of that year, the
twenty-second anniversary of its business exist
ence. From the date of its removal to 72 Gene
see street, where it first assumed the outward
appearance of a bank, it grew rapidly in favor,
its deposits steadily increased, and in 1876,
reached the aggregate of $2,042,253, including
surplus. The aggregate deposit, including sur
plus, July 1st, 1878, the date of the last report
to the Bank Department, was $1,660,975. Since
its organization, it has dealt with 22,800 deposi
tors, and has paid them, in interest alone, more
than $1,100,000. The present number of open
accounts is about 6,600. The present trustees
and officers are : Sylvester Willard, M .D., Presi
dent ; John Olmsted, first Vice-President ; Jos.
Osborn, second Vice-President ; Nelson Beards
ley, Attorney ; David Wright, Isaac S. Allen,
Lorenzo W. Nye, John W. Haight, S. L. Brad
ley, I. F. Terrill, D. M. Osborne, Dennis R. Al-
ward and William C. Beardsley. Edward PI.
Townsend, the Assistant Treasurer, has held that
position nineteen years.
The National Exchange Bank, corner of
Genesee and South streets, was organized Jan
uary 30th, 1856, as The Auburn Exchange Bank,
under the law of April i8th, 1838, entitled "an
act to authorize the business of banking," with a
capital of $150,000, which was increased to $200,-
000 in February, 1857. The first directors were
W. T. Graves, W. C. Beardsley, Sedgwick Aus
tin, Charles G. Briggs, Nathan Burr, Cary S.
Burtis and J. Ives Parsons. W. T. Graves was ¦"]'
unanimously elected President, and W. C.
Beardsley appointed Cashier, March 5th, 1856.
Hezekiah Earll of Skaneateles was elected
Vice-President, April 21st, 1856, and was suc
ceeded by Nathan Burr, June 24th, 1862. Jan
uary 26th, 1863, C. S. ]3urtis was elected Vice-
President, and A. G. Beardsley, Director, to fill
vacancies occasioned by the death of Nathan
Burr.

The resignation of W. T. Graves as President,
was tendered January 26th, 1864, and accepted
January 30th, 1864, with highly complimentary
resolutions. At the latter date Wm. C. Beards
ley, the former Cashier, was elected President,
and John Y. Bostwick, Cashier, to fill the vacan
cy occasioned by the promotion of Mr. Beards
ley. Lyman Soule was elected Director and
Vice-President in June, 1865. June I2th, 1865,
the Directors were authorized to take action un
der the name of The National Exchange Batik of
Auburn, to secure the benefits of the Assembly
act of January 19th, 1865, enabling the banks of
this State to become associations for the purpose
of banking, under the law of the United States,
entitled "an act to provide a national currency,
secured by a pledge of United Slates bonds, and
to provide for the circulation and redemption
thereof," approved June 3d, 1864. The bank
was authorized to do business under that name
and act of June 28th, 1865. J. Y. Bostwick
resigned as Cashier, February 19th, 1866, and
Charles A- Myers was elected to that position
June 14th, 1866. September 27th, 1867, W. C.
Beardsley resigned as President, and Lyman
Soule, as Vice-President, to take effect October
2d, 1867, and W. T. Graves was elected to fill
the vacancy occasioned by the former, and W.
C. Beardsley, that occasioned by the latter.
Julius Earll was elected Vice-President, January
nth, 1870, and was succeeded by O. Lewis,
January 16th, 1872, Wm. B. Woodin, January
14th, 1873, and Cary S. Burtis, January 13th,
1874. Charles A. Myers resigned the position
of Cashier October 14th, 1874, and Edwin S.
Newton, the present incumbent, was appoinfted
to fill the vacancy October i6lh, 1874. The
present Directors are : Lyman Soule, Charles G.
Briggs, Cary S. Burtis, Orlando Lewis, W. T.
Graves, Robert G. Stewart, and Gurdon S. Fan
ning. The bank commenced business in the
Colonnade Block, and was removed thence to its
present location. May ist, 1877. The dividends
paid by this bank have averaged eight and one-
half per cent, per annum for the whole period of
its business. This fact evinces the excellent
business qualifications of its managers, and dis
closes the secret of thc deserved popularity of
this bank. The following is a report of its
condition June 29th, 1878 :

l82

CITY OF AUBURN.

Resources.
Loans and Discounts  $313,921 40
Overdrafts  1,560 31
U. S. Bonds to secure circulation 137.000 00
Other Stocks, Bonds and Mort
gages  4,000 00
Due from approved reserve agents J 6,562 55
Due from other National Banks.- ' 10,433 50
Due from State Banks and Bank
ers  496 77
Checks and other cash items  7,323 25
Bills of other Banks  1,237 00
Fractional Currency, (including
nickels)  234 27
Specie, (silver coin)  1,267 10
Legal Tender Notes  ,  6,165 00
Redemption Fund with U. S.
Treasurer, (5 per cent, of circula
tion,)  10,000 00
$510,201 15
Liabilities.
Capital Stock paid in  $200,000 00
Surplus Fund  11,00000
Undivided Profits  12,426 64
National Bank Notes outstanding- 123,300 00
Individual deposits subject to
check  104,702 82
Demand certificates of deposit — SS,277 54
Due to other National Banks  3,279 77
Due to State Banks and Bankers- 214 38

$510,201 IS
Wm. H. Seward & Co.'s Banking PIouse
was organized in i860 as a private bank, under
the name of Wm. H. Seward Jr. &¦ Co., by
Genl. Wm. H. Seward Jr., in copartnership with
Hon. Clinton D. McDougall. It was organized
for the purpose of transacting a strictly banking
business, and the prosperity which has attended
this House is due largely to the fact that such
purpose has been rigidly adhered to. The origi
nal copartnership was continued till 1869, when
Plon. Theodore M. Pomeroy, at present a mem
ber of the firm, was admitted to an interest in
the business. In 1870 Mr. McDougall withdrew
and the business has since been conducted by
the remaining partners. In 1876 the firm name
was changed to Wm. H. Seward & Co. The
original capital has been steadily increased from
tinne to time as the wants of the business de
manded, until now, in capital, deposits, discounts
and business generally it takes rank with the
best chartered banks in Central New York, and
its credit is unquestioned with all banking insti

tutions in the United States and Canada. This
House early recognized the necessity of meeting
the demand for foreign exchange more efficiently
than had been done, and has established such
relations for that purpose as now enable it to
draw its own drafts upon all the principal com
mercial centers of thc civilized world. This
branch of its business has proved of great ad
vantage to the citizens of Auburn and .vicinity in
making foreign remittances. The banking house
of the firm is located at the corner of Genesee
and Exchange streets, in a new and elegant
building erected especially for the purpose by
Mr. Seward, and furnishing one of the most com
modious and best arranged banking offices to be
found in the State. Its vaults and safes are all
new and ofthe most approved patterns, thorough
ly fire proof, with as perfect protection in all
respects as the present attainments of mechanical
skill can provide. Mr. George M. Watson, the
teller, Mr. Josejjh C. Anderson, the book-keeper
and Mr. S. Cady Titus, the discount clerk, have
been long connected with this institution and are
widely and most favorably known throughout the
County.
The First National Bank of Auburn, 106
Genesee street, was incorporated Jan. 15th, 1864,
with a capital of $100,000, which was increased
in 1875 to $300,000, by consolidation with the
Auburn City National Bank, which was organized
July 8th, 1853, commenced business on North
street, under the Academy of Music, subsequent
ly removed to the corner of Genesee and North
streets, to the place now occupied by H. J. Brown,
and thence to the building erected for it and oc
cupied since the consolidation by The First Na
tional Bank of Auburn, ¦which commenced busi
ness at 123 Genesee street. The incorporators
and first directors of the latter bank were Nelson
Beardsley, E. P. Ross, Alonzo G. Beardsley,
Josiah N. Starin, Wm. Hills, and Charies P.
Wood. E. P. Ross was elected President and
held that office till January, 1876, when he was
succeeded by Charles N. Ross, the present in
cumbent, who was President of the Aubtim City
Natiofial Bank on its consolidation with this.
Alonzo G. Beardsley was elected Cashier, and was
succeeded July 8th, 1864, by Chas. N. Ross, who
held the office till the consolidation, when Charies
O'Brien, the present incumbent, who was cashier
of the Atibum City National Bank at the time of

BANKS AND BANKERS.

183

the consolidation, was appointed to that position.
The present Directors are, E. P. Ross, Nelson
Beardsley, Augustus Howland, A. G. Beardsley,
Charies N. Ross, I. F. Terrill, James Kerr,
Samuel D. Otis, Benj. A. Fordyce, W. E. Hewitt
and James Fitch. This bank, with a single ex
ception, has uniformly paid a four and five per
cent, semi annual dividend.
Following is an official report of its condition
June 29th, 1878 : Resources.
Loans and Discounts  $731,898 79
Overdrafts  10,303 66
United States Bonds to secure
Circulation  257,000 00
Other Stocks, Bonds and Mort
gages  17,941 30
Due from approved reserve agents 17,816 84
Due from other National Banks.- 3,422 05
Due from State Banks and Bankers 1,716 29
Real estate, furniture and fixtures 30,659 87
Current expenses and taxes paid 4.327 65
Checks and other cash items  6,742 36
•Bills of other Banks  5,757 00
Fractional Currency  556 59
Specie  ... 1,100 00
Legal Tender Notes  29,000 00
Redemption Fund with United
States Treasurer, (5 per cent, of
circulation)  ",S6s 00
Due from United States Treasurer
(other than 5 per cent. Redemp
tion Fund)  1,500 00
$1,131,307 40
Liabilities.
Capital Stock paid in  $300,000 00
Surplus Fund  15,00000
Undivided Profits  39.897 55
Circulation  231,300 00
Dividends Unpaid  122 00
Individual Deposits subject to
check  217,754 67
Demand Certificates of Deposit- _ 270.949 06
Due to other National Banks  ',784 12
Notes and Bills rediscounted  S4,5oo 00
$'.131,307 40
The Cayuga County Savings Bank, corner
of Genesee and State streets, was incorporated
by special act of the Legislature, in 1864, as The
Mutual Savings Bank of Auburn, with the fol
lowing named incorporators, who were the first
trustees, viz., James S. Seymour, Augustus How
land, Cyrus C. Dennis, Elmore P. Ross, Hon.

Edwin B. Morgan, Corydon H. Merriman, Hon..
Christopher Morgan, Benjamin B. Snow, William
PI. Seward, Jr., Plon. Theodore M. Pomeroy,
Plorace T. Cook, Samuel Adam.s, Guernsey Jew
ett, Ploratio J. Brown, David Tompkins, Daniel
Hewson and Morell S. Fitch, and perfected its
organization February ist, 1865, by the election
of the following-named officers: Cyrus C. Den
nis, President ; PI. J. Brown, Vice-President ;
W. H. Meaker, Secretary and Treasurer ; and
Richard C. Steel, Attorney. The name was
changed July ist, 1875. The Bank commenced.
business on the corner of Genesee and North
streets, with the Auburn City National Bank, and
removed with that bank to their new building
in March, 1869. They bought the property
where they are at present located, January ist,
1872, and occupied it July 31st, 1875. H. J.
Brown was elected President July loth, 1866, on
the death of Cyrus C. Dennis, in May of that
year, and Horace T. Cook was elected Vice-
President the same date, to fill the vacancy occa
sioned by Mr. Brown's promotion to the Presi
dency. Both these gentlemen still hold the
offices to which they were respectively elected.
On the change of the law in 1875 requiring two
vice-presidents, Daniel Hewson was elected Sec
ond Vice-President, which office he still holds.
Mr. Meaker has been Secretary and Treasurer
since the date of its organization, and July- loth,
1866, he was elected Trustee to fill the vacancy
occasioned by the death of C. C. Dennis. July
loth, 1866, David Tompkins resigned as Trustee,
and his son, Henry G. Tompkins, was elected in
his stead. On the death of the latter, Hon,
Charles C. Dwight was elected July 27th, 1875,
to fill the vacancy thus occasioned. November
23d, 1875, Cyrenus Wheeler, Jr., was elected
Trustee to fill the vacancy occasioned by the res
ignation of Samuel Adams. December 28th,
1875, Charles Standart was elected Trustee to
fill the vacancy occasioned by the death of James
S. Seymour. April loth, 1876, Hon. E. B. Mor
gan and M. S. P'itch, resigned the Trusteeship,
and William C. Barber and William G. Wise,
were elected to fill the vacancies. April 25thi
1876, Oscar P". Knapp was elected Trustee to
fill the vacancy occasioned by the resignation of
Augustus Howland. June 26th, 1877, Edward
H. Avery and Joseph W. Dunning were elected
Trustees to fill vacancies occasioned by the deaths

1 84

CITY OF AUBURN.

of C. H. Merriman and Hon. Christopher Mor
gan. The following is a copy of the official re
port to the Bank Department July ist, 1878 :
Resources.
Bonds and Mortgages  $309,335 00
Stock Investments at cost  206,978 58
Amount Loaned on Stocks  6,700 00
Banking house and adjoining store,
at cost  27,000 00
Other Real Estate, at cost  n,747 16
Cash on deposit in Banks or Trust
Companies  $44,213 25
Cash on hand  5,871 75
 50,085 00
Amount of other assets  ...  28,333 63
$640,179 37
Liabilities.
Amount due Depositors,
principal  $583,899 12
Interest for six months
ending July ist  i3,376 33
 597,275 45
Interest on Deposits to July ist,
1S78, on outstanding certificates, 481 86
Surplus  42,422 06
$640,179 37

CHAPTER XXVII.
History of Auburn, (Continued.)
Schools — Imperfection of the Early Rec
ords — Action of the Legislature — Early
Schools — School Association — First
Academy — Miss Bennett's .School — Other
Schools of the Village — Progress of Im
provement — County Supervision — Female
Seminary — Free Schools — Academic High
School — Progress and Present Condition
of the City Schools — Theological Semi
nary — Young Ladies' Institute — Orphan
Asylum.
IT is to be regretted that the materials for a
complete history of the early schools of Au
burn are not now attainable. The actors in
them are dead, and no satisfactory records of
them have been preserved.

Thc schools in this locality were always par
tially under State patronage, the first step in a
system of State education having been taken in
1784, by the creation of the Board of Regents,
which was organized in nearly its present form
in 1787. By an act of the Legislature passed
P'e'bruary 28th, 1789, one lot of 600 acres was set
apart in each township of the Military Tract for
thc support of public schools. In 1795, at the
suggestion of the Regents, made first in 1793
and renewed the two succeeding years, a com
mon school system was established, and $50,000
annually for five years was appropriated from the
public revenues for encouraging and maintaining
schools in the various cities and towns.
In April, 1796. the third year of settlement
here, the settlers took the initiatory step toward
securing the benefits sought to be conferred by
these acts. A meeting was held at the house of
Col. John L. Plardenbergh, and that gentleman
together with Ezekiel Crane, Joseph Grover
and Elijah Price, were appointed a town com
mittee on schools. This year a log school house
was built on the west side of North street, in the
locality of the Church of the Holy Family, and
was taught by Benjamin Phelps, who was suc
ceeded by Dr. Plackaliah Burt. A second
school was soon after opened in Clarksville, in a
log cabin which stood on the south-east corner
of Genesee and Division streets. A frame
school house, with one room, and painted yellow,
was erected in 1801, on the east side of South
street, and was taught first by a Dr. Steadman,
subsequently by David Buck, and in 1806, by
Benjamin Phelps, the pioneer teacher. When
South street was straightened in later years this
building was found to stand in the center of the
street. It was removed and subsequently used as
a store. Benjamin Phelps opened a fourth school this
same year (i 801) in a log building which stood
on thc north side of Franklin street, between
Holley and Fulton streets, and was accustomed
to assemble his pupils by means of a cow bell.
This school was continued only a year or two,
when the'building was used as a dwelling house.
In 1 80 1, an act was passed authorizing the es
tablishment of four lotteries, to raise the sum of
$25,000 each, one-half of which was to be paid
to the Regents, and the other to the Slate Treas
ury, to be applied for the use of common schools.

:/

EARLY SCHOOLS.

185

This was the foundation of the literature and
common school fund. In 1S05, the net pro
ceeds of 500,000 acres of the public lands, and
3,000 shares of bank stock, were appropriated as
a fund for the use of common schools, the inter
est of which, after it had accumulated to $50,000
per annum, was to be distributed as the Legisla
ture should direct. But the provisions of this
act measurably impaired its usefulness and effi
ciency, by deferring its benefits to a future day.
As a consequence, the schools, left to local en
terprise, languished, and the wealthier classes
withdrew their patronage and encouraged the
establishment of select schools.
In the fall of 1810 the project of starting an
academy was mooted, and in December of that
year subscriptions for that object to the amount
of $4,110 were secured. Jan. 5th, 181 1, the sub
scribers formed themselves into the Auburn
School Association, with Hon. Elijah Miller, Da
vid Buck, Major Noah Olmstead, Hon. J. L, Rich
ardson, John PI. Compston, John Sawyer, Jehial
Clark, David Horner aud David Plyde as the first
board of trustees. Jan. 31st, i8n, Robert Dill,
who had otherwise contributed liberally toward
the enterprise, deeded a tract of five and three-
fourths acres for a building site for an academy,
to Rev. David Iliggins, I'^lijah Itsly, Thomas
Wright, Wm. Bostwick, and Dr. Hackaliah Burt,
who were to hold the same as a committee of
trust till an incorporation was effected, when they
were required to convey it to the trustees of such
corporation, which they accordingly did Sept.
15th, 1817. February 22d, i8n, articles of agree
ment were entered into by Noah Olmstead, Joseph
L. Richardson, David Buck, John Sawyer, David
Horner, John PI. Compston, Elijah Miller and
David Plyde, trustees of the Atcburn School As
sociation, and Bradley Tuttle and Jehial Clark,
by which the second party agreed, on or before
Jan. 20th, 18 1 2, to build "one house or mes
suage," sixty feet long and twenty-five feet wide,
the foundation to be built of stone, sunk thirty
inches below the surface of the ground and ele
vated the same distance above the surface, to be
thirty inches thick, and three feet of the upper
part of the foundation to be laid in lime mortar.
The residue of thc building was to be made of
brick, which were to be not less than eight inches
in length and otherwise proportionate, and laid
in good lime mortar. The building was to be three
32-z

stories high. The first and second stories were
to be ten feet in the clear, and divided into two
rooms of equal size, with a hall ten feet wide
passing through the center ; the third was to be
eleven feet, arched overhead, and finished in one
room. The floors of the first two stories were
to be made of oak plank one and one-half inches
thick ; that of the third, of one and one-half inch
pine, all planed and matched. The rest of the
joiner work was to be of pine. Each room, .to
gether with thc hall, was to be ceiled up to the
surbase. It was to be provided with two panel
doors, made of two inch pine, one at each end of
the lower hall. The wall of the first story was
to be of thc thickness of the length of two and a
half bricks ; the second, not less than the length
of two bricks ; and thc third not less than one
and one-half bricks. The front and rear were to
contain fourteen windows, each to contain twen
ty-four lights, nine by eleven inches, and be
placed, four in the first, and five each in the
second and third stories. A semi-circular win
dow, with dead light, was to be put over the front
door, which was also to have two side windows,
each containing ten lights, nine by eleven inches.
There was to be six windows of same size as the
above in each gable end. It was to be provided
with two pair of stairs, with cherry hand rail, run
ning up to the respective halls. The doors and
windows were to be cased and roped in "fash
ionable style." The top was to be ornamented
with a cupola with open belfry pointing from the
center of the roof An iron spire with vane was
to be erected from the roof of the cupola, which
was to be proportioned to the building and of
sufficient strength to support a bell of 250 pounds
weight. It was to be furnished with twenty-one
movable writing desks of six and one-half feet
length and three and one-half feet width, with a
shelf underneath with a partition board running
lengthwise through the center between the shelf
and lid, and a similar partition running cross
wise ; also with forty-two substantial movable
benches, each six and one-half feet long, and six
teen movable benches of twelve feet. A perma
nent seat was to be fixed quite round the sides
and ends of the upper room. They were also to
affix a lightning rod, providing the parties of the
first part furnished one ready to be put up before
thc expiration of the contract. In consideration
of which the trustees agreed to pay $3,700

1 86

CITY OF AUBURN.

from the moneys subscribed by the stockholders
in the Auburn School Association, as soon as the
money could be collected by virtue of such sub
scriptions. This contract is signed by all the before-mention
ed persons, except David Buck and Elijah Miller.
February 3d, 181 2, an acceptance of the build
ing and contract as being completely fulfilled is
endorsed thereon. It would be interesting to
trace the varied experiences of this institution,
which played so important a part in the educa
tion of Auburn's youth, were the means at hand;
but unfortunately its records were twice destroyed
by fire and hence the data is not attainable. The
building above described was destroyed by fire
in 1816. Another was erected on its site in 1827,
and was advertised Nov. 28th, 1827, as being
so far completed as to permit the schools to com
mence there on Monday, Dec. 3d, 1827, at which
time John C. Rudd was the principal. After the
fire the academy was continued in the north
wing of the Theological Seminary. It was
removed thence, after 1822, to a two story build
ing which had been previously used as a dry
goods store: and grocery, and which occupied the
site of the City Hall. It was continued there
till the completion of the new building, which is
the main part of the present one on Academy
street, occupied by the High School, and which
was transferred to the Board of Education in
1866, for a nominal rent ; two-thirds ofthe trus
tees, viz : P. P. Bishop, S. H. Boardman, John
Brainard, Henry Fowler, A. H. Goss, F: L.
Griswold, Charles Hawley, PI. Robinson, H.
Woodruff and R. Fisk, favoring, and one-third,
viz : M. S. Myers, who was then the president of
the board, Charies G. Briggs, Wm. Hosmer, C. H.
Merriman and Blanchard Fosgate, who was then
the secretary ofthe board, opposing the transfer.
There were, in the construction of the first
academy, some peculiarities which indicated the
educational and disciplinary views of that day,
and which it may be interesting to chronicle. To
guard against the propensity to whittle the desks,
which then so generally prevailed, they were
sanded, which, it was believed, would repel the
attempt. But our youth were ingenious and en
terprising and were not to be debarred of their
favorite school employment by so flimsy a device.
They soon found a way to raise the sanded wood
and to freely use their knives, in which they found

unusual pleasure, as a triumph over the older
heads, who had thought to outwit them. The
desks were whittled and haggled into deformity.
Compare the desks of that period with those of
our schools of to-day and the contrast is very
striking. The latter are kept as free from
scratches and injury as the furniture in oiir dwell
ings, and the effort necessary to protect it, edu
cates the pupils in habits of neatness and care.
In the first academy dark cells were provided in
which to confine the ugly boys, a method of dis
cipline which our laws will not now permit to
be used, except upon the most obdurate of our
convicts. In 18 II, preparatory steps were taken by the
Legislature to organize the common school sys
tem, which, though established in 1795, lacked
efficiency from its imperfect organization. Five
commissioners, viz., Jedediah Peck, Samuel Rus
sell, John Murray, Jr., Roger Skinner and Rob
ert Macomb, were appointed to devise a plan of
organization, and June 19th, 18 12, an act was
passed embodying the features of their recom
mendations. In 1813, Gideon Plawley was ap
pointed superintendent of common schools, an
oflice which was abolished in 1821, when the
care of the schools devolved upon the Secretary
of State. This action of the Legislature gave
the State a supervisory control of the common
schools and held those immediately entrusted
with their care to that degree of responsibility
which gave them an importance in the public
estimation, which hitherto they had not enjoyed.
It stimulated local enterprise and numerous new
schools were established, the most prominent one
of which in this locality was the one on the site
of the Fulton street school, known as the bell
school, from the fact that it vvas the only one in
the village provided with a bell. It was a brick
structure, containing only one room, erected in
1818, and was conducted on the Lancasterian
plan, which was then quite popular. It was
taught by a Quaker named Stephen Estes. A
second Lancasterian school was opened in the
winter of 1822-3, i" what was then known as
the western district. It was also built of brick,
contained one room, and occupied the south-west
corner of St. Peter's Episcopal church-yard.
The third quarter's school was opened there
Monday, July 21st, 1823, by Isaac Mott, "who
came highly recommended by Mr. Dale, the pre-

¦ r.Y-?

-^ )^-

D. H. ARMSTRONG, M. D.

David H. Armstrong was born in Hebron, Washington County,
IJ. Y., January 27th, 1827. When he was four years old his father,
Robert 0. Armstrong, sold his farm in the town of Hebron and
moved to the town of Argyle in th5 same county, where he bought
the farm ot his brother. William Armstrong, There Robert raised
his family, which was six in nnraber After receiving a dis
trict school education, a portion of the time under the tutorship of
Rev. Alonzo Flack, A, M.. the present acoomplished principal of the
Ctaveraek College and Iludnon Hirer Institute, in Columbia County,
David was sent to the Argyle Academy, and i\t the age'of twenty
commenced teaching school at South Argyle. The following year
he went to Wayne County. N, Y.. and attnnderi school in the acad
emy at Red^Creek,in I hat

county. During the fol
lowing winter he taught
Hchool In the nortlicin
part of Cayuga Count \
The succeeding spun..
he returned east an 1
commenced the study of
medicine witli Orvllle P
Oilman, of Salem, N Y
a graduate of Dartmouth I
Medical College. He
pursued his medical
studies that year, and
then attended Jectnies
in Dartmouth Medical
College, where E 11
Peaslee and D Crosby
were at that time pro
fessors. He subsequently, for
Ave months, taught
school in Whitehall, in
his native county, and
while there spent his
evenings in the office of
Dr. Adrian T. Wood
ward, who was a son of
one of the founders of
CastUton Medical College
The following year he
¦relumed to Salem and
again pursued his stud
ieswlth Dr. Oilman, and
attended lectures in
Castleton, Vt.
In the spring of 1S52, at
the age of twenty five jj
years, he graduated and
commenced the practice
of medicine at West Ar
lington, Yt,. in one of the
numerous valleys among
theVerraont hills. There
little opportunity was af
forded him for an oxten
sive practice, and he
removed to East Green.
wicb, in his native coun
ty, ffe removed thence
at the expiration of one
year to Red Greek,
Wayne County, N. Y., where he practiced his profession until the
breaking out of the war of the Rebellion.
Dr. Armstrong took an octive part in recruiting the regiments
raised in this locality, and on the 27th of September, 1802, he was
mustered into the U. .S. service by Capt. John N. Knapp, in the old
armory, on the corner of State and Dill streets, now being remod
eled by Mr. Chappell for a restaurant and saloon. He entered the
160th Regiment, N. Y, Vols,, raised in the district composed of
Cayuga and Wayne counties, as Assistant Surgeon, and served in
that capacity till his promotion, in the fall of 1804, to the ofQce of
surgeon of the same regiment, Dr, Armstrong also held the latter
position in the 193d Regiment, N, Y. Vols., which was also raised in
this locality.
Dr. Armstrong's professional sorvloos during the war wore of a
high order and elicitod warm oommeudation from his nssoolntes In
anna, who give abundant testimony of his medical and surgical
skill and his untiring devotion to the unfortunate sufCerers placed
under hie care. The highly cultured Dr. Cyrus Powers, of Moravia,
then Surgeon ot the IGOth Regiment, in a communication to I, V, P,
Quackenoush, Surgeon (leneral of New York, dated Franklin, La,,

-p^-^^l^j^Ci.^^,^^^^^

March 6, 1864. testifies to his exemplary conduct in the discharge of
his duties, and says: "Last summer, during the siege of Port Hud
son, when I was unavoidably [absent] from illness, and being on
detached service, he had the sole surgical care ot the regiment,
and acquitted himself with great credit," A petition recommend
ing his promotion, dated in Camp near Franklin. La., March 7, 1864,
is numerously signed by the offlcers of the 100th Regiment, from the
Colonel down, and bears evidence of the esteem in which he was
held. After citing his worthiness for promotion, it says : "While we
would regret to have him taken from the regiment, we would still
rejoice to see him promoted to a place he is so well qualified to fill."
\ petition similar to thc Ift-^t w"^cir"ulated while the regiment lay
near Charleston, Va..
August 20, 1864, whenDr,
Powers tendered his res
ignation as surgeon ot
the regiment, and bears
the approval ot C, B.
Hutchins, Chief Sur
geon ot the 1st Division,
19th A. 0. Under ,the
same date, William B.
Brownell, Medical Direc
tor of the leth A. C, in a,
communication to J. B.
Van Petten, Lt. Col.
Comdg. the Regt., rec
ommending Dr. Arm
strong for promotion,
says : " I bear witness to
his faithful and untiring
exertions whilst he has
been with your regiment
ana would call to your
mind particularly his pa
tience and untiring zeal
during the siege of Port
Hudson, when the
strongest and firmest
wore, nearly ready to
yield from heat and fa
tigue. No one can de
serve promotion more
than he."
August 24, 1(64. while
the regiment lay near
Harpers Ferry, Lt. Col.
Van Petten made appli
cation to Brig, Gen. J. T.
Sprague, A. G.. ot New
York, for Dr. Arm-
strong's promotion to
the position vacated by
the resignation ot Dr.
Powers ; and In a com
munication the follow
ing day to Dr. Quacken-
bush. Surgeon General
of New York, he says of
Dr, Armstrong : " I re
gard his claims and mer
its of a superior order.
He had experience in
Oen. McClelland's army,
and consequent upon Dr, Powers' ill health, which made it necessary
for him to be detached,Dr, Armstrong has been our Surgeon in charge
nearly two years, in seven battles and all our field service. At the
battle of Blsland and the siege of Port Hudson, he was so eminently
useful that Gen, Wirtzel gave him a letter, strongly urging his pro
motion, and advised him to endeavor to secure it, and at the same
time he was also recommended for promotion by all the field officers
and surgeons ot the Brigade, As there was no vacancy on wbioh
he had special claim, he was not promoted. He has been very faith
ful to our regiment, and we have great respect for him as a talented
and excellent surgeon and physician," , .
A memorial drawn up on the steamboat Champion, on the Missis
sippi River, and signed by forty-two olfla^ra ot various grades and
oominands, boars grateful tribute to Dr. Armstrong's vfrtUBS ns a
man ; to his faithfulness, while himself an Invalid, in mlnleterlng to
the bodily infirmities of the passengers on that steamer ; to his
solicitude tor their comfort ; and generosity in supplying with his
own means such medicines as they needed.
In March, 1806, Dr, Armstrong located In Auburn, where he now
enjoys an extensive practice.

^.^;

:;M

EARLY SCHOOLS.

187

ceptor of the celebrated Lancasterian School at
Albany." The tuition at this school, and indeed
at most of the schools of that period, was $1.50
per quarter.
John Grover, Zenas Huggins and Cromwell
Bennett, were elected the first board of commis
sioners, and Plon. Elijah Miller, Hon. John H.
Beach, David Hyde, Reuben S. Morris and Ste
phen Wheaton, the first board of trustees of Au
relius, (which then embraced the city of Auburn,)
under the provisions of the law of 181 2, which
was amended in 1814, to give it greater effi
ciency. In addition to the district schools, private and
select schools were opened about this period.
The first of which we have any account was
opened by Miss Bostwick, who kept it a few
years and closed it in 1815. In 1816, Miss Al-
mira M. Bennett, (now Mrs. Dr. Clary,) who
came to Auburn in 18 14, in company with her
brother, Hilem Bennett, from Sheffield, Berkshire
Co., Mass., opened a select school for young la
dies where the Cayuga County Bank now stands,
which she kept till the fall of 1823, when she re
moved to the foot of Owasco Lake, in the present
town of Fleming, to which locality her father's
family had moved in 18 19, and opened a boarding
school there, which she kept twelve years, com
mencing with twelve pupils and closing with
about fifty. Miss Bennett was married May 28th,
1837, to Dr. Joseph Clary, then a resident of
Throopsville, where he died in 1863. Mrs. Clary,
now nearly ninety-two years old, (was ninety-one
in January, 1878,) is living in Auburn, in excel
lent health, and with mental faculties wonder
fully preserved.
A Miss Parrott kept a select school a few years
subsequent to Miss Bennett's departure, on Gene
see street, in the old Underwood building. E.
Howard was teaching a school here in 1822, and
advertised that "he would open an evening school
in his school room on the academy green, Jan. 5th,
1823, for the instruction of young ladies and gen
tlemen in writing, arithmetic and English gram
mar." A Mr. King opened a school Monday, De
cember I St, 1823, in the yellow building opposite
the Presbyterian meeting-house. The stone dis
trict school house in Clarksville was built in 1824.
A small brick school on North street, was erec
ted in 1827, and a similar building was erected
in 1828 on School street, which derived its name

from" that building. It has since been enlarged
and altered and is now used as a dwelling-
house. From 1819 to 1827 various appropriations of
lands, stocks and money were made for the in
crease of the school fund; and $100,000 were or
dered to be annually distributed, while an equal
sum was required to be raised by lax. In 183S,
teachers' departments were first established in
academies. In 1838 the common schools were
reorganized and assumed the form, which, with
few exceptions, they retained till 1849. An an
nual appropriation from the United States de
posit fund of $110,000, an amount equal to the
revenue then derived from the common school
fund, was provided for, and an additional $55,000
annually from the same fund was granted to be
expended in the purchase of suitable books for
district libraries, the establishment of which was
recommended in 1830. This $220,000 was ap
plied to the payment of teachers' wages, and was
apportioned among thc several counties, towns
and wards, according to their population, and
paid over to the treasurer of each county for dis
tribution. The Supervisors were required to
raise annually by tax a sum equal to the amount
thus received ; and were empowered to raise an
additional amount, not exceeding twice that sum,
which the electors of a town might vote for
school purposes.
In 1841 the office of Deputy Superintendent
in counties was established ; and in 1843 the
offices of Town Inspectors and School Commis
sioners were abolished, and that of Town Su
perintendents created. In the latter year El
liot G. Storke, then a resident of Sennett, was
elected County Superintendent, and through his
indefatigable efforts, ably seconded by those of
Philo H. Perry, who was elected the same year
Town Superintendent of Auburn, great improve
ments were made in the condition of the com
mon schools of thc city and County, and valuable
information obtained, which ultimately led to
official recognition of existing defects, and the
establishment of a free school system. Mr.
Storke's investigations disclosed the fact that out
of the 226 district schools in this County at that
time, only one contained more than one room ;
and that while many of them were so rudely
built and sadly out of repair as to cause the
wealthy classes to shun them, they were also

i88

CITY OF AUBURN.

neglected by the poorer classes, who were unable
to pay their children's tuition and unwilling to
bear the reproach of being exempted therefrom
by the trustees.
Ift this year also (1843) permission was grant
ed, under certain restrictions, to expend thc ap
propriation for school libraries, for maps, globes
and other school apparatus. This diversion and
the insufficiency of local aid greatly impaired the
usefulness ofthe district libraries, which, in 1866,
were consolidated and made the nucleus of the
Central Library in the High School building.
Previous to this, in June, 1837, Mr. and Mrs.
E. Hosmer started the Auburn Female Seminary
on the corner of Genesee and Washington Sts.,
on the site of the house now owned by Charles
M. Howlet. It had a large attendance from the
beginning, not less than 140 pupils, the unsatis
factory condition of the common schools securing
for it a liberal patronage. The Hosmers re
moved after a few years to Moravia, where they
also kept a school, and were succeeded here by
John Wilson, who kept the seminary a number
of years. Mr. Scribner succeeded, but remained
a short time only, when Rev. Mr. Rudd, a grad
uate of Auburn Theological Seminary, under
took its management, and during his occupancy,
in 1849, the building was destroyed by fire and
the seminary abandoned.
In September, 1846, a school was opened in
the wooden building on Washington street, occu
pied by the A. M. E. Zion Church, for the benefit
of thecolored children who were numerous, but ex
cluded by prejudice from the other schools, to
which they were admitted in 185 1.
In 1847, the office of county superintendents
was discontinued, and Teachers' Institutes, which
had previously existed as voluntary associations,
the first having been held at Ithaca in 1843, were
legalized. The agitation in favor of free schools
culminated in their establishment March 26th,
1849. This action was submitted to popular
vote and sustained by a large majority, but its
unequal operation excited discontent, and a vote
taken in 1850 showed a largely reduced majority
in its favor. The act was repealed in 185 1, and
the rate bill again introduced. April i6th, 1867,
' a free school act was again passed. April loth,
1850, an act was passed to regulate free schools
in the city of Auburn. It provided that the
offices of the several trustees, clerks, collectors

and librarians of the districts of the city, should
cease on the third Tuesday of April, 1850, and
on that day each district should elect one trustee ;
that the common council at their last regular
meeting next prece<iing the above date, should
appoint a superintendent of common schools to
hold for two years, and a school commissioner for
each ward in the city ; and that these trustees
and commissioners, together with the mayor and
the superintendent, should constitute " the Board
of Education for the City of Auburn," of which
the mayor was constituted the president and the
superintendent the clerk. The trustees were to
hold office. for one year; the commissioners, for
four years, and were to be divided into classes by
lot. The first Board was composed of the fol
lowing members : Hon. Aurelian Conklin, Presi
dent ; Levi Johnson, Superintendent and Clerk;
E. N. Kitchell, trustee of District No. i ; I. S.
Allen, trustee of District No. 2 ; Z. M. Mason,
trustee of District No. 3 ; J. S. Bartlett, trustee
of District No. 4 ; and Isaac Sisson, Jr., trustee
of District No. 5 ; S. W. Arnett, commissioner
of the 1st ward; B. Fosgate, commissioner of
the 2d ward ; I. T. Marshall, commissioner of
the 3d ward ; and C. P. Williams, commissioner
of the 4th ward. The classes of commissioners
were arranged by lot as follows : I. T. Marshall,
to serve one year ; C. P. Williams, two years ;
S. W. Arnett, three years ; and B. Fosgate, four
years. The office of " City Superintendent of Com
mon Schools," was abolished in 1866, and the
Board empowered to appoint their own secretary,
but the office was reestablished in 1871.
In 1869, three new wards and one district were
established and the Board consequently increased
by three commissioners and one trustee. In
1866, provision was made by an amendment to
the act of 1850, for the establishment of The
Atiburn Academic High School, and the Board of
Education were constituted a body corporate un
der that name, with " power to establish, organize
and maintain a classical department or school un
der their charge," " and purchase a site and erect a
building therefor, in their discretion." It was made
subject to the visitation of the Regents of the
University, and to all the laws and regulations
applicable to incorporated academies, and was
endowed with all the privileges of such acade
mies, including a share in the distribution of the

PUBLIC SCHOOLS.

189

moneys of the literature fund. The Board was
empowered, " with the consent of two-thirds of
the trustees of the Auburn Academy, to use and
occupy the said Auburn Academy property for
the purposes of said Academic Pligh School," and
to take a transfer of said property, " and thereaf
ter the same shall be used and occupied as an
Academic High School, pursuant to the provis
ions of this act ; and tuition in the said Aca
demic High School shall be forever without
charge to all children residing in the city of Au
burn." Negotiations for the transfer of the prop
erty of the Auburn Academy were at once be
gun and terminated successfully October 8th,
1866, when, at a full meeting of the trustees of
that Institution, the following resolution was
adopted by the bare two-thirds majority re
quired :
"Resolved, That we hereby consent to the
transfer of the Auburn Academy property to the
Board of Education of the city of Auburn, to be
occupied for the purposes of an Academic High
School, as set forth in the act of the Legislature
of the State of New York entitled 'an act to
amend an act to regulate- Free Schools in the
city of Auburn,' passed April 10, 1850."
Pending the negotiations for ¦ the Academy
property, arrangements were progressed for the
opening of the school, which convened the first
Monday in September, 1866, and was held dur
ing the term in school-house No, 4. Warren
Pligley was selected as Principal, and also Clerk
of the Board of Education and Superintendent
of Schools. His assistants were Miss Sarah E.
Sedgwick, who was appointed preceptress, and
PI. S. Barnum and Henry A. Duboc, the latter
of whom taught P'rench only. Charles M. Davis
was appointed associate principal, but ill health
prevented his acting as such. The school opened
very auspiciously with seventy-seven pupils,
which number was increased during the term to
one hundred and seven. The next term of school,
which commenced Jan. 2d, 1867, was held in the
Academy building, and opened with 132 pupils.
March 14th, 1871, the Legislature passed "an
act to amend and consolidate the several acts
relating to the public schools of the city of Au
burn, by which provision was made for the elec
tion of district clerks, whose duties are therein
defined ; and thc trustees and commissioners
constituted the Board of Education, with power
to choose a president from their own number

and to appoint a secretary and superintendent of
public schools, both to hold oflice during their
pleasure. The board was constituted a body cor
porate and vested with the title to all property
acciuired or which should thereafter be acquired
for the schools, and with power to sell and dis
pose of such property, under certain restrictions.
It was left discretionary with the board to charge
tuition for instruction in the Greek, Latin, French
and German languages, and they were empowered
to pass ordinances for the government and man
agement of schools, school officers and school
property, and to impose penalties for their viola
tion ; to determine annually the amount neces
sary to defray the ordinary expenses ofthe schools,
which should in no case exceed six times the
amount apportioned by the State for the year
next preceding, and to demand not to exceed
$8,000 in any one year for the erection of new
schools ; and it was made the duty of the Com
mon Council to levy and raise such sum as was
demanded. It was made the duty of the board
"annually to raise such sums as may be neces
sary for the employment of necessary teachers in
the Cayuga Asylum for destitute children, and to
employ all such teachers in the same manner
and under the same regulations as teachers of
other public schools of said city are employed,
and said school shall be subject to visitation and
regulation by said board, or its officers, the same
as any of the public schools of said city." The
composition of the first board under the provis
ions of this law was as follows : Miles Perry,
trustee of Dist. No. 3, president ; David H.
Schoonmaker, trustee of Dist. No. i ; Theodore
M. Pomeroy, trustee of Dist. No. 2 ; James Kerr,
trustee of Dist. No. 4 ; Wheelock H. Derby,
trustee of Dist. No. 5 ; Byron C. Smith, John
S. Fowler, Wm. J. Moses, Wm. Hayden, Charles
P. Williams, John S. Clark and John Under
wood, commissioners of the ist, 2d, 3d, 4th, 5th,
6th and 7th Wards respectively ; and Benj. B.
Snow, secretary, In June following the Board
decided to charge tuition for those studies for
which the law made it permissible, but such dis
approbation of this action was made manifest in
the various district meetings which followed, that
it was rescinded, thus virtually removing the last
barrier to complete free education in Auburn.
In 1874, the Legislature passed "an act to
secure to children the benefits of elementary

I go

CITY OF AUBURN.

education," or what is populariy known as the
"compulsory education act," which, as appears
from the report of the Secretary for the year
1877, "has been practically a dead letter, so far
as its operation in [this] city is concerned. This
has been the result of no disposition on the part
of the Board to ignore the provisions of the law,
but from a well considered conviction of the in-
practicability of executing them." Tardiness is
not permitted in the public schools in Auburn.
Each pupil who is late is excluded from that ses
sion and charged with a half day's absence. It
is interesting to note the effect of the enforce
ment of this rule on the general attendance,
which is exhibited by the following figures from
the report of the Secretary for 1877 : The num
ber of cases of tardiness reported for the respect
ive years from i874-'77, both inclusive, were
1,554 in 1874, 368 in 1875, 47 in 1876, and none
in 1877. The per cent, of attendance on the
basis of total attendance and absence was 91.87
in 1874,93,41 in 1875, 94.09 in 1876, and 94,42
in 1877. The per cent, ofthe whole number
registered, who attended more than twenty
weeks, or one-half of the school year, was 64.36
in 1874,71.13 in 1S75, 73.45 in 1876, and 75.^9
in 1877. In 1874, thirty-seven pupils only were
neither absent nor tardy for the year ; while for
the year 1877 the number reached 149. In 1871,
of something over 2,500 pupils enrolled in the
public schools for the year, four only were neither
absent nor tardy, viz. : Ella M. Gridley, Sarah A.
Olmsted and C. Eugene Kirkpatrick of the High
School, and Kittle Wheaton of School No. 5,
now Seymour Street School, the Board having
decided in July, 1877, to designate the schools
by the names of the streets on which they are
located, instead of by numbers. By this ar
rangement No. I is known as Fulton Street
School, No. 2, as Genesee Street School, No. 3,
as Grover Street School, No. 4, as North Street
School, No. 5, as Seymour Street School, No. i.
Primary, as Bradford Street Primary, No. 5 Pri
mary, as Division Street Primary, and the new
school since established on Franklin street, as the
Franklin Street Primary.
June loth, 1875, the several acts relative to
public schools in the city of Auburn were again
revised and consolidated. The several districts
were consolidated and formed into one district ;
the schools were put under control and manage

ment of nine commissioners, to be known as
"The Board of Education of the City of Au
burn," and elected on the third Tuesday of May
in each year, in three classes, to serve for one,
two and three years respectively. The duties of
secretary and superintendent were devolved
upon one person to be elected by the Board.
Permission was given to raise an amount in ex
cess of $8,000 in any one year for building pur
poses by and with the unanimous consent of the
Board. The Board was clothed with general
powers similar to those enumerated in the pre
vious act.
The school year consists of a fall term, com
mencing the first Monday of September, con
tinuing sixteen weeks, and followed by a vacation
of one week ; a winter term, commencing the
first Monday in January, continuing fifteen
weeks, and followed by a vacation of two weeks;
and a summer term, commencing at the expira
tion of the spring vacation, and continuing nine
weeks. Rates of Tuition for Non-Resident Pupils.
Fall 'I'crni. winter 'I'urm. Sinnincr 'i'erm.
High School  $11 50 $10 50 $6 50
Second four years . 6 50 6 00 3 75
Pirst four years  4 00 3 50 2 50
The tuition in the Pligh School for common
English studies is $9.00, $8.50 and $5.25, for the
terms respectively.
The financial report for the year ending July
31st, 1877, sufficiently indicates the liberality
with which the schools are supported. We pre
sent it below :
Balance on hand per last report  $14,255 09
Received from State.
Apportionment according to dis
tricts  $2,387 60
Apporlion'ent accord
ing to population. . 7,681 87
Apportionment for li
brary  195 32
Apportionment for su
perintendent's sal
ary  800 00
Literature Fund .... 759 02
 $11,823 81
Received from Local Sources.
City Tax  $'9,734 9*5
Tuition, &c  742 09
Interest on Deposits. 385 98
 _ 20,863 03
Total  $46,941 93

PUBLIC SCHOOLS.

191

Disbursements.
Salaries of teachers and superin
tendent  $26,259 00
Janitors and Janitors'
supplies  1,554 17
Repairs  1,078 25
Fences, yards, &c  168 26
Furniture, stoves, &c. 775 46
Fuel  1,544 69
Stationery  192 1 1
Insurance  300 00
Books for indigent
children  120 76
Taking census  7->^ 00
Apparatus for High
School  49 63
Printing and advertis
ing •• •.  387 52
Encyclopedias  395 75
Gas  13 39
Rent for secretary's of
fice  250 00
Election expenses .... 66 40
Franklin St. Primary, ,
lot and building. .. . 2,651 00
Sheriff's fees in Quick
suit  18 29
High School Com
mencement expenses 53 00

Balance .

35.951 28
$10,990 65

These disbursements were apportioned among
the different schools as follows :
High School.
Teachers' wages  $4,5 So 00
Other expenses  941 04

Fulton Street School.
Teachers' wages  $4,636 50
Other expenses  1,238 72

Genesee Street School.
Teachers' wages  $3,59' 25
Other expenses  893 1 1

Grover Street School.
Teachers' wages  $2,691 25
Other expenses  755 06

North Street School.
Teachers' wages. .  $2,700 00
Other expenses  674 57
33-z

5,491 04

5,87s 22

4,484 36

3,446 31

3,374 57

Seymour Street School.
Teachers' wages  $2,840 00
Other expenses  960 71

Bradford Street Primary.
Teachers' wages  $800 00
Other expenses  351 90

Division Street Primary.
Teachers' wages  $800 00
Other expenses  265 36

3,800 71

1,151 90

1,065 16

Franklin Street Primary.
Lot and building, erected in 1877. 2,651 00
Orphan Asylutn.
Teachers' wages  $450 00

Fuel, $53.73; Books, $8. 6173

5" 71

Contingent and general expendi
tures  4.099 08

Total  $35,951 28
The cost of tuition for each pupil,
on basis of total registration,
was  $13 74
The cost of tuition for each pupil,
on basis of average number at -
tending  '9 44
Or deducting the cost of the Franklin St. Pri
mary, which does not properly belong to the cur
rent expenses of the year, it was $12.72 for the
former, and $18.00 for the latter. The total num
ber of pupils registered for the year 1877, was
2,616, an increase of 73 over the previous year,
and fifty-one per cent, of the school population ;
to which if we add the number claimed to have
been enrolled in parochial schools, we find that
seventy-five per cent, of the school population at
tended school some portion of the year. The
average attendance for the year was 1,849, ^s
against 1,696 the preceding year. The number
of teachers employed was fifty-two, twenty-two
of whom were graduates of the High School.
High School. — The main portion of the
High School building is 57 by 37 feet, inside.
The study room on the third floor is provided
with desks for 118 pupils. The other two floors
contain halls, cloak rooms, three recitation rooms,
a laboratory and the office of the City Superin
tendent of Schools. In the wing, which was
added in 1873, and first occupied September 30th

I go

CITY OF AUBURN.

education,'' or what is populariy known as the
"compulsory education act," which, as appears
from the report of the Secretary for the year
1877, "has been practically a dead letter, so far
as its operation in [this] city is concerned. This
has been the result of no disposition on the part
of the Board to ignore the provisions of the law,
but from a well considered conviction of the in-
practicability of executing them." Tardiness is
not permitted in the public schools in Auburn.
Each pupil who is late is excluded from that ses
sion and charged with a half day's absence. It
is interesting to note the effect of the enforce
ment of this rule on the general attendance,
which is exhibited by the following figures from
the report of the Secretary for 1877 : The num
ber of cases of tardiness reported for the respect
ive years from 1874-77, both inclusive, were
1,554 in 1874, 368 in 1875, 47 in 1876, and none
in 1877. The per cent, of attendance on the
basis of total attendance and absence vvas 91.87
in 1874,93,41 in 1875, 94.09 in 1876, and 94.42
in 1877. The per cent, of the whole number
registered, who attended more than twenty
weeks, or one-half of the school year, was 64.36
in 1874, 71.13 in 1875, 73.45 in 1876, and 75,/|9
in 1877. In 1874, thirty-seven pupils only were
neither absent nor tardy for the year ; while for
the year 1877 the number reached 149. In 1871,
of something over 2,500 pupils enrolled in the
public schools for the year, four only were neither
absent nor tardy, viz.: Ella M. Gridley, Sarah A.
Olmsted and C. Eugene Kirkpatrick of the High
School, and Kiltie Wheaton of School No. 5,
now Seymour Street School, the Board having
decided in July, 1877, to designate the schools
by the names of the streets on which they are
located, instead of by numbers. By this ar
rangement No. I is known as Fulton Street
School, No. 2, as Genesee Street School, No. 3,
as Grover Street School, No. 4, as North Street
School, No. 5, as Seymour Street School, No. i.
Primary, as Bradford Street Primary, No. 5 Pri
mary, as Division Street Primary, and the new
school since established on Franklin street, as the
Franklin Street Primary.
June lOth, 1875, the several acts relative to
public schools in the city of Auburn were again
revised and consolidated. The several districts
were consolidated and formed into one district ;
the schools were put under control and manage

ment of nine commissioners, to be known as
"The Board of Education of the City of Au
burn," and elected on the third Tuesday of May
in each year, in three classes, to serve for one,
two and three years respectively. The duties of
secretary and superintendent were devolved
upon one person to be elected by the Board.
Permission was given to raise an amount in ex
cess of $8,000 in any one year for building pur
poses by and with the unanimous consent of the
Board. The Board was clothed with general
powers similar to those enumerated in the pre
vious act.
The school year consists of a fall term, com
mencing the first Monday of September, con
tinuing sixteen weeks, and followed by a vacation
of one week ; a winter term, commencing the
first Monday in January, continuing fifteen
weeks, and followed by a vacation of two weeks;
and a summer term, commencing at the expira
tion of the spring vacation, and continuing nine
weeks. Rates of Tuition for Non-Resident Pupils.
r'all 'I'crm, winter Tiirin. Slniinicr 'I'unu,
f-Iigh School  $11 50 $10 50 $6 50
Second four years . 6 50 6 00 3 75
I'^irsl four years.... 4 00 3 50 2 50
The tuition in the Pligh School for common
English studies is ^9.00, $8.50 and $5.25, for the
terms respectively.
The financial report for the year ending July
31st, 1877, sufficiently indicates the liberality
with which the schools are supported. We pre
sent it below :
Balance on hand per last report__ $14,255 09
Received from State.
Apportionment according to dis
tricts  $2,387 60
Apporlion'ent accord
ing to population. . 7,681 87
Apportionment for li
brary  195 32
Apportionment for su
perintendent's sal
ary  800 00
Literature Fund.... 759 02
 $n,823 81
Received from Local Sources.
City Tax  $19,734 96
Tuition, &c  742 09
Interest on Deposits. 385 98
 ^ 20,863 03
Total  $46,941 93

PUBLIC SCHOOLS.

191

Disbursements.
Salaries of teachers and superin
tendent  $26,259 00
Janitors and Janitors'
supplies  1,554 17
Repairs  1,078 25
Fences, yards, &c. . . . 168 26
Furniture, stoves, &c. 775 46
Fuel  1,544 69
Stationery  192 1 1
Insurance  300 00
Books for indigent
children  120 76
Taking census  73 00
Apparatus for High
School  49 63
Printing and advertis
ing  387 52
Encyclopedias  395 75
Gas  13 39
Rent for secretary's of
fice  250 00
Election expenses .... 66 40
Franklin St. Primary,
lot and building .... 2,65 1 OO
Sheriff's fees in Quick
suit  18 29
High School Com
mencement expenses 53 00

Balance ,

35.951 28
$10,990 6s

These disbursements were apportioned among
the different schools as follows :

High School.

Teachers' wages.
Other expenses .

4,550 00
941 04

Fttlton Street School.
Teachers' wages  $4,636 50
Other expenses  1,238 72
Genesee Street School.
Teachers' wages  $3,59' 25
Other expenses  893 1 1
Grover Street School.
Teachers' wages  $2,691 25
Other expenses  755 06
North Street School.
Teachers' wages  $2,700 00
Other expenses  674 57

33-

5,491 04

5,875 22

4,484 36

3,446 31

3,374 57

3,800 71

1,151 90

Seymour Street School.
Teachers' wages  $2,840 00
Other expenses  960 71
Bradford Street Primary.
Teachers' wages  $800 00
Other expenses  351 90
Division Street Primary.
Teachers' wages  $800 00
Other expenses  265 36
 1,065 36
Franklin Street Primary.
Lot and building, erected in 1877. 2,651 00
Orplian Asylum.
Teachers' wages  $4SO 00
Fuel, $53.73; Books, $8. 6173
 5" 73
Contingent and general expendi
tures  4.099 08

Total  $35,951 28
The cost of tuition for each pupil,
on basis of total registration,
was  $13 74
The cost of tuition for each pupil,
on basis of average number at -
tending  '9 44
Or deducting the cost of the Franklin St. Pri
mary, which does not properiy belong to the cur
rent expenses of the year, it was $12.72 for the
former, and $18.00 for the latter. The total num
ber of pupils registered for the year 1877, was
2,616, an increase of 73 over the previous year,
and fifty-one per cent, of the school population ;
to which if we add the number claimed to have
been enrolled in parochial schools, we find that
seventy-five per cent, of the school population at
tended school some portion of the year. The
average attendance for the year was 1,849, ^s
against 1,696 the preceding year. The number
of teachers employed was fifty-two, twenty-two
of whom were graduates of the High School.
High School. — The main portion of the
High School building is 57 by 37 feet, inside.
The study room on the third floor is provided
with desks for 118 pupils. The other two floors
contain halls, cloak rooms, three recitation rooms,
a laboratory and the office of the City Superin
tendent of Schools. In the wing, which was
added in 1873, and first occupied September 30th

194

CITY OF AUBURN.

Central and Western New York, which was the
first and immediate demand of the Seminary, but
for the new States and Territories of the West,
and for missionary service abroad.
It is expected that each class will supply sev
eral laborers both for the home and foreign field.
The students while still in the Seminary engage
in evangelistic labors as far as possible ; teaching
the convicts in the State Prison, conducting Sun
day schools and Bible classes, and supplying
feeble and destitute congregations in the neigh
borhood with the preaching of the gospel.
Course of Instruction. — The Presbyterian
Church, as is well known, favors a thorough prep
aration for the work of the Christian ministry.
The classes in the Seminary are divided into
juniors, middle and seniors, and the course of
instruction extends over three years. Most of
the candidates are graduates of our best colleges ;
and either a college diploma, or a corresponding
evidence of acquaintance with the languages, arts
and sciences is usually required in order to secure
admission. The following is an outline of the
course of study :
Junior Year. — Hebrew and Chaldee ; Canon
of the Scriptures ; Biblical Criticism ; Critical
Reading of Old and New Testaments ; Church
History begun ; Natural Theology ; Questions
in Mental Philosophy ; Exercise in Lecture
Room Talks throughout the year, extempore.
Middle Year. — Evidences of Christianity ; In
spiration of the Scriptures ; Christian Theology ;
Hebrew and Greek Exegesis continued ; Bibli
cal Interpretation ; Church History continued ;
Lectures on the Sermon and on Style; Exercise
in the Preparation and Criticism of Plans ; Ex
tempore Preaching.
Senior Year. — Lectures on Preaching and Pas
toral Theology ; Exercise in the Criticism of
Plans continued; Preaching — Extempore and
from Manuscript ; Critical Analysis of Sermons ;
Personal Drill and Sacred Oratory ; Greek Exe
gesis continued ; New Testament Literature ;
Church Plistory continued ; Church Polity ; The
form of Government and History of the Presby
terian Church ; Church Parliamentary Law.
Government of the Seminary. The Au
burn Theological Seminary is regarded as the
property of the Presbyterian Church. Its finan
cial administration is vested in a body of trustees
who hold the real and personal estate under the
provisions of the charter. The trustees are elected
by the commissioners, composing the coordinate
body administering the affairs of the Seminary.
This body consists of a representation of two

clergymen and one layman from each of the
Presbyteries comprised in the bounds of the sy
nods of Albany, Central New York, Geneva and
Western New York. These Presbyteries are at
present eighteen in number, and the Board of
Commissioners therefore consists of fifty-four
members. The commissioners appoint the pro
fessors and, with the concurrence of the trustees,
fix the salaries and make all necessary appropria
tions of funds. Each commissioner holds his
office for three years, one going out of office and
the Presbytery supplying his place by a new
election each year. A body of examiners, com
posed ofthe senior commissioner of each Presby
tery, attend at the annual examination of the
classes in May, at the end of the Seminary
year. Professors. — The board of instruction in the
seminary consists at present of five professors in
the several departments of Christian Theology,
Church History and Government, Biblical Criti
cism, Study of the Hebrew Language and Lit
erature, and Sacred Rhetoric and Pastoral The
ology. Each professor, at his inauguration, de
livers an address and subscribes to the following
pledge :
" In the presence of the omniscient and heart-
searching God, I do solemnly and sincerely af
firm and declare that I believe the Scriptures of
the Old and New Testaments to be the Word of
God and the only infallible rule of faith and prac
tice ; that I do receive and adopt the Confession
of P"aith and the Catechisms of the Presbyterian
Church in the United States of America as con
taining the system of doctrine taught in the Holy
Scriptures ; that I do approve of the government
and discipline of the Presbyterian Church as pre
scribed in the form of government of the Pres
byterian Church in these United States ; and I
do solemnly promise to maintain with zeal and
fidelity the truths of the gospel, and to be faith
ful and diligent in all such duties as may devolve
on mc as a professor in this seminary, according
to the best of my knowledge and abilities."
The present faculty of the seminary are the
following : Rev. Samuel M. Hopkins, D. D.,
Hyde Professor of Ecclesiastical History and
Church Polity; Rev. E. A. Huntington, D. D.,
Taylor, Seymour and Ivison Professor of Bibli
cal Criticism ; Rev. Willis J. Beecher, D. D.,
Professor of Hebrew Language and Literature ;
Rev. Herrick Johnson, D. D., Bellamy and Ed
wards Professor of Sacred Rhetoric and Pastoral
Theology ; and Rev. Ransom B. Welch, D. D.,

AUBURN THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY.

195

L. L. D., Richards Professor of Christian The
ology. Seminary Library. — The Seminary Library
consists of about 12,000 volumes, mostly theo
logical, but many also critical, historical and
philosophical. These have been judiciously
arranged by the librarian, with reference to sub
ject and time, according to the method of many
of the best European libraries. Interesting ad
ditions lately made are the great fac-simile of
the Tischendorff Ms. of the New Testament, (the
Sinaitic Ms.) and the Abbe Migne's splendid
edition of The Fathers, (the Latin and Greek
Patrologia) in four hundred volumes. The library
is freely open for the use of clergymen and citi
zens of every denomination. Several hundred
volumes are annually added ; but as the building
is shelved for 60,000 volumes, many of the al
coves are still empty and suggest a splendid op
portunity for generous benefactions, as an indi
vidual possessing the means and disposition to
aid the cause of sacred learning, can scarcely do
better than adopt one of the vacant alcoves to
bear his name and fill it with appropriate books,
which, in this elegant fire-proof building, would
no doubt remain a safe deposit to bless many
coming generations.
Auburn Young Ladies' Institute. — This
educational institution is located at 68 and 128
North street. In the winter of 1853, on the in
vitation of prominent citizens, Mr. Mortimer L.
Browne, then a teacher in Syracuse, and Emer
son J. Hamilton, a teacher in Bath, N. Y., visited
Auburn with reference to establishing a seminary
for the higher education of young women. Great
interest was manifested by the citizens and the
expectation was awakened that substantial aid
would be given to the enterprise. About the
time that an effort was to be made to procure
subscriptions, such a stringency occurred in
financial matters that it was deemed wise to defer
the attempt until it could be made under more
favorable circumstances. Meantime, Mr. Browne
unexpectedly received the appointment of super
intendent of public instruction in Syracuse, and
Mr. Hamilton was cafled to the principalship of
the High School in Oswego, and the Auburn en
terprise was indefinitely postponed.
In the autumn of 1854, Mr. WinthropTappan,
from Augusta, Maine, came to Central New
York seeking a suitable location for the estab

lishment of a select school for young ladies. On
reaching Auburn he received such encourage
ment that he opened a small school in Corning
Hall block. This experiment v/as so successful
that Mr. Tappan soon visited Syracuse and in
vited Mr. Browne to become associated with him
in establishing a school to be known as the Au
burn Young Ladies' Institute, to be located, in
the City Hall, which the citizens of Auburn had
engaged lo remodel for educational purposes, and
make free of rent for the first three years of the
school. The proposition was accepted by Mr.
Browne, who resigned his office in Syracuse, and
became associated with Mr. Tappan in organizing
the Institute in May, 1855. These gentlemen
were thus associated for three years, during which
time the reputation of the Institute became so
extended that an urgent demand existed for the
accommodation of pupils from abroad.
Their joint principalship and proprietorship
having expired by limitation in 1858, and Mr.
Tappan preferring to retire from the institution,
his interest was purchased by Mr. Browne, under
whose sole management and control it has since
remained. His residence on Genesee street be
ing insufficient to meet the demand for boarding
facilities, Mr. Browne purchased the " Goodwin
Place," 128 North street, which he so remodeled
and enlarged as lo accommodate twenty or more
young ladies. Three or more acres of grounds
are connected with the residence, and are so ar
ranged and adorned as to produce the most beau
tiful landscape effects. Their attractiveness, the
daily walk to and from the residence to the day
school and the provisions for carriage and sleigh
riding, promote that high physical culture without
which the best intellectual development cannot
be secured.
In 1871, after occupying the City Hall over
sixteen years, Mr. Browne purchased the north
building of the Knight block, 68 North street,
erected a large addition thereto, and converted
the whole to the purposes of the day school. Its
long occupancy of the City Hall forbade the in
corporation of the Institute by the Regents, and
it has thus been debarred from any share, in the
annual school appropriations by the Slate. In
consideration of this disability, and in deserved
recognition of its usefulness in the cause of edu
cation, a f)etition was numerously signed by the
best citizens of Auburn, and through Hon. Wm.

196

CITY OF AUBURN.

B. Woodin, Senator from this district, was pre
sented to the Legislature of 1871, asking that
$3,000 be appropriated to it, to be applied to the
purchase of apparatus, library and cabinet. The
appropriation was made, and expended for the
purposes stated, and has thus added to the effi
ciency and reputation of the Institute. With this
exception, since its establishment in 1855, this
institution received no assistance from any
source, and whatever reputation or success it has
achieved is due alone to its intrinsic merit. From
the last circular, issued in 1878, we summarize
the characteristics of this Institute as follows :
The most liberal provision for physical comfort ;
facilities for thorough and symmetrical mental
culture ; unusual attention to individual develop
ment ; and, paramount to all other considera
tions, the formation of elevated moral and re
ligious character. From the same circular it ap
pears that the patron references are from thirteen
different States. Its present Board of Trustees
comprises Sylvester Willard, M. D., Elliot G.
Storke, Miles Perry, Jno. W. Haight, Alonzo G.
Beardsley, Oscar F. Knapp, Wm. Allen, David
M. Osborne, and Plon. Theodore M. Pomeroy.
Cayuga Asylum for Destitute Children.
— This asylum, which occupies a pleasant site,
ornamented with shade trees and shrubbery, on
Owasco street, between Walnut and Bradford
streets, was founded by the unwearied efforts of
a few benevolent ladies, in the spring of 1852,
and incorporated by act of the Legislature the
same year. Its object, as stated in the act of in
corporation, is " to provide a temporary home for
orphan, half-orphan and destitute children, sup
ply their necessities, promote their moral, intel
lectual and religious improvement, and fit them
for situations of usefulness." Its corporate pow
ers, as regards its property, are vested in a board
of nine male trustees ; and as regards the ap
propriation of its income^ the care and manage
ment of its children, and of its internal and do
mestic concerns, in aboard of female managers,
consisting of a first, second and third directress,
a treasurer, a secretary and twenty-seven other
female managers, residing at the time of their
election or appointment, in the County of Cay
uga. The first trustees, as named in the charier,
were John H. Chedell, John W. Haight, Franklin
L. Griswold, Zebrina M. Mason, Henry Under
wood, J. Ives Parsons, Charles N. Tuttle, Ros

well Curtiss and Ebenezer B. Cobb ; and the
first board of managers, Harriet T. Pitney, First
Directress ; Mrs. Zebrina M. Mason, Second Di
rectress ; Mrs. Jesse Segoine, Third Directress ;
Caroline P". Blatchford, Treasurer ; Harriet S.
Conklin, Secretary; Mrs. John W. Haight, Mary
C. Morgan, Florence Mcllen, Mrs. Crane, Fran
ces M. Goodwin, Margaret R. Watson, Mrs.
Rice, Charlotte P. Underwood, Sally N. Bacon,
Mrs. John McFarian, Julia C. Clark, Mrs. W. I.
Preston, S. Maria Reed, Abbey Warden, Henri
etta Parsons, Melila Chedell, Mrs. S. L, Bradley,
Deborah Ann Bronson, Lydia H. Young, Caro
line Ross, Mary Fowler, Jane H. Woodruff, Mary
Ann Robinson, Eliza Lewis, Andalusia Starin,
Celuta Cook and Mary Kipp.
The managers are empowered " to govern the
childi'en committed to their care, and prescribe
the course of their instruction and management
to the same extent and with the same rights as
exist in the case of natural guardians ;'' to bind
out such children " to some suitable employment
in the samev manner as overseers of the poor are
authorized to bind poor and indigent children,"
but to see that provision is made whereby they
shall be secured " an education proper and fitting
to the condition and circumstances in life of such
a child, and instruction in mechanical or agricul
tural pursuits." The amended act authorizes
the board of supervisors " to instruct the super
intendents ofthe poor * * * to annually contract
¦ with the managers of said asylum, to board and
clothe all children thrown on the county for sup
port, who are of a proper age to receive its bene
fits, at a price not exceeding eighty cents each
per week ;" and the board of supervisors are
" authorized to levy and collect annually, in ad
vance, in the same manner as other county
charges are levied and collected, such sums of
money for the above purpose " as they " may
deem necessary and expedient." Article IX of
the by-laws provides, that ¦' no person shall be
considered eligible to the office of superintendent
who is not a professed believer in the doctrines
ofthe Bible, and competent to give religious in
struction to the children, abstaining also from all
sectarian influence."
The school law of the city of Auburn passed
June loth, 1875, authorized the board of education
" to employ a teacher or teachers in the asylum
for destitute children of said city, and to pay

ORPHAN ASYLUM.

197

therefor: out of the public school fund, in like
manner as other teachers arc paid; and said
board is authorized to supply said asylum with
fuel for school purposes, in like manner as other
schools are supplied ; and the said board shall
have the same care, oversight and direction of
said school as of the other public schools of said
city ; but nothing in this act shall be construed
to give the board of education any control over
the management of said asylum except as herein
provided. The board of managers of said asy
lum, with the concurrence of said board of edu
cation, may at any time discontinue such school,
in which case the pupils therein shall be entitled
to all the privileges of any other of the public
schools of said city."
The first meeting of the ladies, on record, was
held May 5th, 1852, when the society was organ
ized, and the managers elected as named in the
act of incorporation. The asylum was first
opened in 1852, in a wooden house on the cast
side of James street. In 1853 the lot on which
the asylum now stands was purchased for $3, 500.
With the additions subsequently made, at a cost
of $3,200, it comprises about two acres. In
1857, the main asylum building, which is a fine,
three-story brick structure, was erected at a cost
of over $8,000 ; and in 1858, a rear addition, for
a school-room and other purposes, was built at a
cost of $6,000. In 1870, a flag-stone walk was
laid and curb set at a cost of $1,400. In 1871
the main building and fence were repaired and a
new and more desirable walk from the street to
the front steps laid, at a cost of about $2,000.
P'rom the report of the Secretary for 1877, 't
appears that thc number of children in the asy
lum during ihcycarwas 167; of whom 107 were
boys and 60 girls. The number of children
then in the asylum was 98. The smallest num
ber in the institution at any time was 78. The
number who have found homes was 57. Thc
present number bf inmates, (October ist, 1878,)
is 95. The receipts from all sources in 1877, in
cluding an appropriation of $3,000 from the Su
pervisors and the balance on hand at the begin
ning of the year, were $4,937-74 J the expendi
tures, $4.85 5-89-
Thc board of managers issue monthly a pa
per called The Orphan's Friend, which is a great
assistance to the asylum in enlisting the sympa
thy and aid of the public, while it gives informa-
34-»

tion to the friends abroad of its management,
and thc history of the children committed to its
care. On the death of Mr. James S. Seymour, who
was the president of the board of trustees of
the asylum from its organization, and a liberal
benefactor, the asylum received a bequest of
$10,000 as a permanent fund, the interest only to
be used. It has been the recipient of legacies
from other individuals from time to time, among
them $2,700 from Dr. Healy, of Syracuse ;
$5,000 from Laban Ploskins, of Union Springs ;
$1,440 from Mr. Baker, of Fleming ; $300 from
Mrs, Mary Miller, of Auburn ; $100 from Mrs.
Dr. Rudd, of Utica ; $1,059 f^n^ Kittlewells;
and $1,310 from Plugh McDowell, of Niles ; be
sides innumerable donations of various sums.

CHAPTER XXVIII.
PIisTORY OF Auburn, (Continued.)
Churches jn Aurelius and Auburn — Early
Religious Teachers — First Religious So
ciety — P'lRST Congregational Church in
Auburn — Its Changes and History — St.
Peter's Church — First Baptist Church —
P'lRST Methodist Episcopal Church —
Other Church Organizations.
REV. David Thatcher, from Orange, N. J.,
made, in 1795, a missionary lour through
this region, and held religious services at thc
scattering settlements. Rev. Asa Plillyer, also
from New Jersey, engaged in a similar work at
Aurora, in the town of Milton, now Genoa, and at
Hardenbergh's Corners, in 1798. Elder David
Irish, is said lo have preached here in 1794, and if
so, his was probably thc first sermon to white men
at the hamlet.
New Jersey must be credited with the honor of
an early religious culture of this , wilderness field,
and it is worthy of remark, that three young min
isters from that State itinerated over this ground,
when most of their routes were either well trod
den Indian trails, or in the absence of these, the
freshly blazed trees of the forest. Their names
were Matthew La Rue Perrine, James Richards

1 98

CITY OF AUBURN.

and Henry Mills; they in after years, became emi
nent and honored professors in the Auburn Theo
logical Seminary. The father of a fourth profess
or, Aaron Condit, was also an early missionary
from New Jersey, and held services at Aurelius.
Seth Williston and Jedediah Bushnell labored
here in 1799, and aroused a deep and abiding re
ligious interest. .
The first religious society incorporated in this
vicinity was the Reformed Protestant Dutch
Church in Owasco, organized September 23d,
1796. In the same year a Baptist Church was
organized in Fleming, and in 1799 another of the
same denomination in Brutus, now Sennett.
These were followed in 1801 by the organization
ofthe "First Congregational Society of Aurelius,"
consisting of five members, namely : Samuel Col-
ver, Gilbert Weed, Josiah Mix, Rebecca Mix and
Jacob Shaw.
The place of meeting, was at the house of Icha-
bod Wilkinson, on the Poplar Ridge road. ' Its
trustees were drawn from different and, when the
facilities for traveling are considered, from widely
separated settlements. They were : Thomas
Mumford, of Cayuga ; Joseph and John Grover,
of Fleming Hill ; Henry Moore, residing on the
road to Union Springs ; Hezekiah Goodwin-, one
mile from the Half Acre ; William Bostwick, of
Auburn; Jesse Davis and Joseph Taylor, residing
in the south part of the town ; and Moses Lyon,
near the Half Acre. David Higgins was called
to the pastorate, in May, 1802, and his salary was
fixed at $500. His family comprised ten mem
bers. For the annual support of each of whom
there was thus the pittance of fifty dollars only.
In 1809, a partially finished church at the Half
Acre, was occupied by this society where they
worshiped until November, 18 10, when Mr.
Higgins, tired ofthe neglect of the congregation
to finish the house, and being offered the pas
toral care of a congregation in Auburn, resigned,
to serve the " First Congregational Society" of
that place. This society was organized Sep
tember 17th, 1810, with the following trustees :
Robert Dill, Silas Hawley, Henry Ammerman,
Moses Gilbert and Noah Olmstead, Jr. The so
ciety soon after its organization adopted the Pres
byterian form of government. The sum sub
scribed for the salary of Mr. Higgins was less
than $500. A regular church organization was
not effected until January 14th, 181 1. It

comprised nine persons, namely : David Herring,
Silas Hawley, Oliver Lynch, Eunice Higgins,
Sarah Gilbert, Betsey Tyler, Rachel Parker,
Sarah Plawley and Anna Coggswell. Within the
first year of its organization the membership had
risen to seventeen.*
In February, 1 8 13, Mr. Higgins resigned and
was succeeded by Hezekiah N. Woodruff, who
had officiated for nine years at Aurora. In his
letter of acceptance, he expresses the fear that
the provision made for his support " will not be
fully adequate to free him from worldly care and
embarrassment." When Mr. Higgins resigned,
the Church consisted of twenty-seven members,
twenty-four of whom were women. Mr. Wood
ruff was installed June 22d, 1813, and continued
until August 29th, 1 8 16. During his pastorate
the first church edifice was erected, at a cost of
$16,000 and dedicated March 5th, 1817. Its
cost had been fully paid and the prosperity of
the society was not checked by the burden of
debt. Hitherto their meetings had been held in
the school-house on South street and in the
"long room" of the " Centre House."
Mr. Woodruff was succeeded March 3d, 181 7,
by Rev. Dirck C. Lansing, of Onondaga, where
he had held a pastorate for eight years. He con
tinued here until June i6th, 1829, over twelve
years. He then assumed the charge of the Sec
ond Church of Utica.
Dr. Lansing's services with this Church were
signally successful, in which he had very little
assistance from any of the evangelists, excepting
Mr. Finney. He was aided by him for a short
time only, in 1826. The accessions to the Church
in the first four years of his ministry were four
hundred and seventy-five. Dr. Lansing, by his
great influence over all with whom he came in
contact was well calculated to win converts, not
only to his faith, but also to its successful propa
gation by means of an educated ministry. He
suggested the establishment of the Theological
Seminary in Auburn, and it received from him a
* On one occasion in the absence of Mr. Higgins, William Bost
wick, an Episcopalian, was invited to read the Episcopal service and
a sermon, which he did, without objection by any one. On thc
Sunday following the return of the pastor, the act was severely con
demned from the pulpit, which led to the secession of the Episcopal
attendance, and to their organization of a society of their own faith.
This occurred while Mr. Higgins was in charge of the religious ser
vices of several settlements and while he was only an occasional mirt-
istrant here, to a society composed of different religious beliefs.

^p-^^^^

L

tV^ti"

pANFiELD Jarrod.

M.E\s. Terrissa Jarrod.

CANFIELD JARROD.

Mr. Canfield Jarrod was born November
21, i8oi,in Warren, Dutchess county, N. Y., and
soon after removed with his parents to Salisbury,
Litchfield county, Conn,, where he remained
¦until 1820, when he removed to Wolcott, then
in Cayuga county, N. Y.
His employment was farming, though he en-
¦gaged in wool buying and as an insurance agent.
His attachment to a particular spot was not very
¦strong, and he frequently changed his residence.
In 1858 he came to Auburn, where, until his
death in 1867, he chiefly resided. His widow
survives him arid now resides on North Street.
Mr. Jarrod married Miss Terrissa Skeel in 1823.
She was born in Warrensburg, Rensselaer
county, N. Y., February 22, 1800, and with her
parents moved to Steriing, in Cayuga county, in
1 8 1 7. Mr. and Mrs. Jarrod have had no children.

but have made their house a pleasant home for
five orphans, whom they reared, educated and
assisted to business employments. Four survive,
some of whom are in the Government service in
Washington, D. C. Mr. and Mrs. Jarrod united
with the Wesleyan Methodist Church in 1846.
Politically, Mr. Jarrod was a firm Republican,
using his influence for the liberation of the
slaves, and his house was one of the stations
on the " underground Railroad," where many
a sable traveller, bound for Canada, found refuge,
sympathy, rest and refreshment. Their sym
pathy for the unfortunate and care for their
wants are proverbial, and Mrs. Jarrod now en
tertains and befriends the Onondaga women,
who are selling Indian trinkets in this vicinity.
A view of her residence may be seen in another
part of this work.

,x.

uih^-

''^¦'

¥

Residence OFJVlRs.jrERR i SSA JARROD. Auburn, N.Y.

CHURCH ORGANIZATIONS.

199

support at once so earnest, forcible and persist
ent as to win to its support, not only his own so
ciety, but secured, so generally, the cooperation
of the Presbytery of Cayuga and of the Synod,
as to secure the object Jsought. The seminary
was located and completed and between that insti
tution and the First Presbyterian Society of Au
burn, there has always existed the most intimate
relations, resulting in reciprocal benefits. Most
of the ample grounds and neariy one-half of the
sum raised in the country for the erection of the
first buildings, were contributed by members ot
this society.
Recently the same beneficent spirit led to the
bestowal of $80,000 upon that institution as a
condition of its retention in Auburn. This large
gift to the seminary was added to the heavy bur
den then recently incurred in the erection of their
magnificent church edifice the cost of which was
$140,000. It is worthy of remark that this so
ciety has expended upon its church edifices and
the seminary buildings and endowments' about
equal sums, aggregating the large amount of
over $240,000, more than one-third of which has
been contributed by two wealthy and liberal citi
zens, Sylvester Willard, M. D., and Theodore P.
Case, Esq.
Rev. Josiah Hopkins, D. D., succeeded Dr.
Lansing, and was installed September 28th, 1830.
He continued until April 21st, 1 846, fifteen years
and eight months. The Church, under his min
istry, greatly prospered and large accessions were
made to it. He was aided at different times by
eminent evangelists ; by Charles G. Finney, for
six weeks, in the winter of 1831, the result of
whose labors is said to have been over five hun
dred conversions ; by Rev. Jedediah Burchard, in
1833, a theatrical and very eccentric preacher,
who drew immense audiences, that came both
from the city and country and the influence of
whose labors were widely extended over the
country; by Rev. Mr. Avery in 1838; and by Rev.
Samuel G. Orton in 1840.
Dr. Hopkins resigned April 21st, 1846, be
cause of failing health, and Henry A. Nelson
was installed July 29th, 1846, soon after his
graduation from the Auburn Seminary, and con
tinued in the pastorate for over ten years.
To succeed two such experienced and very able
and eloquent men as Drs. Lansing and Hopkins,
was certainly a very trying ordeal for a young

minister; yet Mr. Nelson fully sustained himself
by his talents and great industry, and ably and
acceptably filled the responsible position until
September Sth, 1856, when he accepted the call
of an important church in St. Louis.
Rev. Charies Hawley, D. D., succeeded Mr.
Nelson, November 5th, 1857, and still holds the
position, having now served the congregation over
twenty-one years.
The church has a peculiarly interesting histo
ry, embracing a period of about seventy years,
over sixty years of which the society has been
served by four pastors only, and for more than
one-third of that long period it has been under
the care of the present pastor. Whoever will
compare this record with that ofthe other church
es of the county as contained in this volume, will
be forcibly impressed with the remarkable con
trast. The present officers of this church and society
are as follows :
Pastor — Rev. Charles Hawley, D. D.
Elders — Richard Steel, Sylvester Willard, Is
rael P". Terrill, PI. Woodruff, James Hyde, Ebe
nezer B. Jones, PVanklin L. Griswold, Charles
A. Lee, Mortimer L. Browne, James Seymour,
Jr., William E. Hughitt, Richard H. Bloom.
Deacons — Eliphalet F. Putnam, H. Brooks,
Chas. P. Williams,* Edward C. Selover, Richard
S. Holmes, William H. Meaker.
Trustees — John S. Fowler, H. Woodruff, John
Olmstead, Horace T. Cook, B. C. Smith, Ed
ward C. Selover, Warren Crocker.
Communicants, 650, as reported May, 1878.
St. Peter's Protestant Episcopal Church.
— The following very interesting notes on the
origin, progress and present state of this society
is from the pen of its accomplished and respected
rector. Rev. John Brainard, D. D.
It is now nearly three score and ten years since
this parish was organized. For nearly all that
time, its church, with its beautiful enclosure, has
formed one of the objects of interest in this, the
" loveliest village" of the plain. Compared with
religious establishments of the old world, or even
with many in New England, its history may seem
brief and uneventful, yet it extends back almost
to the beginning of the settlement of this region
by a band of men as noble and devoted as
ever leveled the forest and tilled the soil of any
* Deceased January 14th, 1879.

200

CITY OF AUBURN.

new country. They were men of religious train
ing, and no sooner had they marked out the
places for their homes than their thoughts were
turned to the worship of Almighty God and the
building of temples in honor of His name. It
was not strange, considering the strength of the
Episcopal Church in Connecticut and in many of
the eastern counties of this State, that among the
early settlers of this region there should be many
whose training and education would lead them to
desire the privileges to which they had been ac
customed in their Eastern home. These feelings,
so natural and commendable, were doubtless
strengthened, as from time to time opportunities
of public worship were afforded them by some
devoted missionaries from the East ; or when, at
intervals less rare, they gathered together to hear
the service of the Prayer Book read by some in
telligent layman. In that company of zealous
laymen towards whom the Church of this day
turn with gratitude and affection, were two
whose zeal and liberality had very much to do
with the foundation, growth and prosperity of
this parish. Their names were Hackaliah Burt
and William Bostwick, and the parish records
bear abundant tokens of their loving interest.
It was not, however, until the iSthday of July,
1805, when the missionary visits of Rev. Daven
port Phelps had become more frequent and regu
lar that St. Peter's Church was organized. The
meeting for this purpose was held at the house
of Mr. Burt, and Rev. Davenport Phelps pre
sided. Toward the erection of a church edifice,
no steps were taken until January 7th, 1811,
when William Bostwick, Ebenezer Phelps and
Hackaliah Burt were appointed a committee for
that purpose. The location of the church was
settled by the generous gift to the parish by Wil
liam Bostwick of a noble lot. The work upon
the church progressed with little interruption
and on the 22d day of August it was duly con
secrated to the worship of Almighty God, by the
Right Rev. John Henry . Hobart, Assistant
Eishop of the Diocese of New York. Within
this church the flock was gathered and fed by
several successive pastors, until February 5th,
1832, when the church, having been recently en
larged and improved, was destroyed by fire. The
destruction of the church was a great loss to the
little band of Episcopalians in Auburn. Yet
they met the crisis with a degree of heroism,

which speaks well for their constancy. They de
termined to build of stone a larger and more ex
pensive church than the one they had lost, and to
accomplish this acommittee was early appointed.
To Trinity Church, New York, the parish did
not look in vain, receiving from that corporation
the sum of $2,500.
It is proper to speak at this point of the death
of Bishop Hobart, which occurred in the rectory
of St. Peter's Church, on the 13th of September,
1830. lie came to Auburn in the regular dis
charge of his official duties, and after an illness
of several days entered into rest. His name and
influence in the American church will never be
forgotten. Allusion has been made to the rectory. It was
in the year 1828 that the lot and brick house
east of the church were purchased as a home for
the rectors, thus adding greatly to their comfort
and convenience. The new church was conse
crated on the 8th day of August, 1823, by Bishop
Onderdonk. It was here, on Ascension Day,
May gth, 1839, that Rev. William Heathcote
Delancey, D. D., was consecrated the first
Bishop of Western New York.
In 1849 steps were taken for a very decided
improvement and enlargement of the church,
consisting of a recess, chancel and transepts.
This is the best indication that could be given of
growth and progress. During the next twenty
years no great change occurred. Several rectors
in turn served the parish. In 1864 extensive
improvements in the rectory changed that edifice
to its present condition, affording- one ofthe most
complete and inviting parsonages in the land.
In 1868 steps were taken for the building of
the present church, and the parish entered upon
the work with most gratifying unanimity. Henry
Dudley was chosen architect, and Easter Sunday,
1870, was rendered more joyous by the fact, that
the new and beautiful church was ready for occu
pancy. Its cost had been about $70,000. Its con
secration was delayed until the i8th of October
following, when the Right Rev. P'rederick D.
Pluntington, D. D., assisted by the Right Rev.
Arthur Cleveland Cox, D. D., in the presence of
a large congregation, dedicated the church to the
service of the Almighty God. The sermon on
this occasion was preached by Rev. William F.
Morgan, D. D., of St. Thomas' Church, Nevv
York city. In April, 1873, through the gener-

CHURCH ORGANIZATIONS.

20 1

osity of General John H. Chedell, the tower and
spire were completed. This was but one of a
lengthened series of beneficent acts on the part
of this gentleman, who was never weary of well
doing for St. Peter's Parish. This noble gift of
$10,000, was followed by a bequest of a similar
sum, which relieved the parish from all indebted
ness growing out of its costly pile of buildings.
In July, 1875, by the praiseworthy exertions of
Edward Davies, a superior chime of ten bells
from thc foundry of Messrs. Meneely of West
Troy was secured and placed in its tower. The
cost was $5,000, and was secured by the gener
ous subscriptions of a large number of persons.
It is well lo notice that at Easter, 1868, a new
parish was formed in Auburn, under the name of
St. John's. Willi thc most commendable dili
gence they are seeking to carry forward the work
of our Divine Lord, and it is hoped and believed
that the day is not far distant when they will en
joy the reward of their labors in the completion
of a parish church.
The following is a list of the rectors who have
officiated here :
Rev. Davenport Phelps, from 1805 to i8n.
. •• William A. Clarke, D. D., from 181 1 to
1812. Rev. D. McDonald, D. D., from 181310 1817.
William H. Northrup, from 1817 lo  .
Lucius Smith, from 1819 lo 1823.
Samuel Silgreaves, from 182410 1826.
" John C. Rudd; D. D., from 1826 to
1833- Rev. William Lucas, from 1S33 to 1839.
Charles W. Plackley, D. D., from 183910
1840, Rev. William Croswell, D. D., from 1840 to
1844, Rev. Samuel Planson Coxe, Jr., D. D,, from
1844 to 1846.
Rev. Walter Ayrault, D. D., from 1847 to
1852. Rev. E. PI. Cressy, D. D., from 1853 to 1859.
Charies H. Pratt, from i860 to 1861.
Joseph W. Pierson, from 1862 101863.
John Brainard, D. D., from 1863.
Pie is the present rector, having now occu
pied the position for sixteen years.
This parish embraces about two hundred and
eighty families and about one thousand indi
viduals. The number of communicants is ov?r

four hundred. The Sunday School includes over
three hundred children and the Industrial School
two hundred.
Its present officers are :
Rector — Rev. John Brainard, D. D.
Wardens — Joseph Osborn and Samuel Lyon.
Vestrymen — William Allen, James A. Suydam,
Edward H. Groot, John N. Knapp, Noah P.
Clarke, D. M. Osborne, Nicholas L. Casey and
Charies A. Noble.
Parish Clerk — Charles A. Noble.
Avery gratifying fact in respect to the first Pres
byterian and Episcopal Churches should be em
phasized, that while they have, at very heavy cost,
put their church buildings and properly in per
fect order, they have been entirely relieved from
indebtedness by the liberal benefactions of a few
of their wealthy members.
The First Baptist Church of Auburn was
organized February 17th, 1819, by a council com
posed of delegates from the First Church in Au
relius (now Fleming,) and the churches in Mentz,
Brutus and Owasco, convened for that purpose.
As a preliminary step lo the formation of a
church, a number of brethren had met in the
house of James Randall, September 4th, 18 17,
and formed themselves into a body, afterwards
known as the " Auburn Baptist Conference."
About two weeks subsequently delegates were
appointed and a letter addressed to the associa
tion, which met in Camillus. The foUowing is
an extract from that letter :
" The brethren and sisters composing the Au
burn Conference, beg leave respectfully lo repre
sent to the Association, the motives which actu
ate us in endeavoring to maintain a visible ap
pearance in this part of the Zion of God, our
present state and circumstances and our desire
and wishes relative to our future spiritual welfare
and the welfare of the brethren and sisters in this
vicinity. " Viewing ourselves under the highest obliga
tions to embrace and defend the great doctrines
as revealed to us in ihe Word of God, and deeply
impressed with a sense of the importance of
watching over each other in love, and maintain
ing the worship of God in this place, and consid
ering our local situation is such as renders it in
convenient, if not impossible, for us lo attend the
meetings of Baptist churches in this town [Aure
lius] or elsewhere, we, therefore, on the 4th of
September, in a meeting appointed for that pur
pose, voted to form ourselves into a Conference
to be Styled the Auburn Baptist Conference.

202

CITY OF AUBURN.

"We also at the same time agreed to adopt
the Confessions of Faith adopted by the Associa
tion at its last annual meeting, September, 1816.
We would further state that the number compos
ing our conference is twenty, and from many cir
cumstances we are induced to believe that our
number will increase. Such, dear brethren, are
our motives and such our present condition and
prospects. " As a standard, therefore, is erected in this
place for the worship of God, you will readily
perceive the necessity of our having such minis
terial assistance from time to time as shall be
calculated to promote the cause of Christ in this
place. " From some recent appearances we cannot but
hope that the Lord will continue His glorious
work among us, and make bare His arm in the
salvation of many precious souls.
" Sensible of present weakness, our earnest de
sire is that you would make such arrangements as
shall be thought most proper in regard to sup
plying us with ministers as often as it can be
done consistently. We are persuaded that such
efforts may be abundantly blest and that num
bers will yet flock to our little society, and that
through the Divine blessing, we shall so become
an organized church of Christ."
Signed, "James Buck,
" James N. Seaman.''
The conference thus formed, continued its
meetings for prayer and praise till December
17th, 1818, when, meeting as before at the house
of James Randall, they agreed that the time had
come when it was their duty to be known as a
church of Christ ; and at a meeting held the
26th of the same month, a council was called lo
meet with them February 17th, 1819, at which
time, after a proper examination, they were recog
nized as a church . At that time they numbered
thirty-six, fourteen males and twenty-two females,
twenty-one of whom were dismissed for the pur
pose, from the church in Throopsville. In Sep
tember, 1819, they were received lo membership
in the Cayuga Association, and reported sixteen
baptized and a total membership of fifty-five.
From their organization in 18 17, till Decem
ber, 1818, they were without a stated ministry;
but about that time afi arrangement was made
with Elder Elkanah Comstock to supply them
half the time, which he continued to do about ten
months. Their first pastor was Elder C. P. Wyckoff,
who was called to the pastoral care of the church
in 1820, and preached his first sermon in the
court-house, then occupied as their place of wor

ship, June 4th of that year. At the close of a
ten years' pastorate he left them in possession of
a convenient place of worship, with a character
established and influence largely increased. He
was succeeded by Elder John Blain, who entered
upon his labors in 1830, and continued them three
years. During Mr. Blain's pastorale a powerful
revival was experienced, as the result of which
157 were added to the church by baptism. So
large an addition to the congregation made in
creased accommodations necessary, and these
were supplied in i833-'4, by the erection of a
new stone edifice, eighty by sixty feet, which was
opened for worship in March of the latter year.
During the entire lime of Mr. Blain's pastorate,
which vvas terminated by his resignation in the
fafl of 1833, 191 were added lo the Church by
baptism. He was succeeded that fall by Rev. I.
M. Graves, who became so unpopular before the
close of his second year as lo make it necessary
for him to leave. He afterwards became a Uni
versalist minister. During the winter following
his settlement with the church, a protracted
meeting was held, in which he was assisted by
Elder Jacob Knapp, and sixteen were received by
baptism. Their next pastor was Elder S. S. Parr, who
commenced his labors in the fall of 1835 and
closed them in 1838, having been greatly blessed
in all his efforts to promote the interests of the
church and the Redeemer's cause. During the
winter of i835-'36, a revival was experienced, by
which thirty were added by -baptism ; and during
the winter of 1837, another protracted effort, in
which the pastor was assisted by Elder J. S.
Backus, resulted in the addition of forty by bap
tism. After Mr. Parr left, the pulpit was supplied
forsix months by Brother Wilson, whose labors
proved both acceptable and profitable.
Their next pastor was Elder James Johnson,
who took the pastoral charge in 1839, and re
mained a little more than a year. During his
short pastorale the church passed through a severe
trial of faith, which resulted in a division and the
organization of a new interest; but the new body,
failing to secure a recognition from the council
which convened for that purpose, finally disbanded
and returned to the church. Elder Johnson was
succeeded by A. Pinney, who commenced his la
bors with the church as a licentiate in 1841, but
was afterwards ordained pastor, and continued

CHURCH ORGANIZATIONS.

203

with them two years. Plis labors were blessed
by another powerful revival, by which 95 were
added by baptism. He was succeeded in the
spring of 1843 by Elder J. S. Backus, whose
pastorate covered a period of seven years, and
was blessed with four seasons of revival and 86
baptisms. He left them in the spring of 1850,
united and prosperous, having relieved them from
heavy pecuniary embarrassments, and allayed the
differences of opinion upon subjects connected
with the labors of former pastors.
The next pastor was W. P. Pattison, who com
menced his labors in 185 land closed them in
1855, having received during his ministry, by pro
fession of faith, 79. A. McGregor Plopper, who
was a very acceptable preacher, and especially
popular with the congregation, served them as
pastor from 1857 to 1859, and added 82 lo the
!membership. Pie was succeeded in 1861 by P.
P. Bishop, who was a good scholar, a sound rea-
soner and acceptable pastor, and during whose
seven years' ministry 75 were added.
Rev. Dr. W. II. Maynard was called to thc
pastorate in January, 1869, and served as such
seven years. The addition to the church during
his ministry was 124. A revival was enjoyed
duringthe winter of 1874, and a series of meet
ings held for several weeks, the pastor being aid
ed largely in the work by Rev. PI. G. Dewitt, an
evangelist. As a pastor and preacher few, if any,
of his predecessors surpassed Dr. Maynard. As
pastor he sought out the sick and afflicted and
rninistered to their wants ; as preacher, his ser
mons were characterized by research in church
and Biblical history. They were marked by orig
inal thought and enforced by original illustra
tion, and were therefore instructing and edifying.
The present pastor, Rev. Willard H. Robinson,
who graduated from Yale College in 1872, entered
u^on his pastoral relations with the church in
June, 1876: This is his first pastorate, under
taken at the completion of a post-graduate year
at Rochester Theological Seminary. Under his
ministrations the church is united and prosper
ous. Some six years ago their church edifice was
thoroughly rejuvenated, at a cost of about $15,-
000; and in October, 1877, they paid off an in
debtedness of $6,300, leaving the church entire
ly free from debt. Thc present house, a plain,
substantial stone structure, erected in i833-'34,
3S-Z

stands on the south side of Genesee street, a
little west of Mechanic street, and took the place
of the first, a brick structure, erected in 1825, at
the junction of South and Exchange streets, which
was afterwards occupied by the Universalist So
ciety, and at present by the furniture establish
ment of Messrs. D. C. & G. W. Richardson.
Since the organization of the church there has
been expended in houses of worship about $50,-
000 ; for pastoral salary, $43,500. They have
received by baptism, letter and experience 1698
members; dismissed, 88 1 ; excluded, 113;
dropped, 41. The number who have died is 162.
The present membership is 501.
The Sabbath School work connected with the
church and society has received increased atten
tion during the last few years. Thc school is in
a flourishing condition, numbering in attendance
200 to 225. It is under the supervision of
Messrs. O. F. Knapp and E. Stanton Perry,
who are aided by an efficient corps of teachers.
The Owasco Chapel School, sustained by this so
ciety, has a membership of 150, and an average
attendance of 120. It is under the superintend-
ance of Charles A. Cobb, and is doing a good
work. The following named persons have officiated
in this church, viz.: John Ward, John Jeffries,
— — Muier,  Randall, Dudley Everts, Gar
diner Jeffries, George Covert, Freertian Richard
son, Joseph Choate, Oliver Chappel, Abizur
Pierce, Nelson Payne, Z. M. Mason, Samuel C.
Lester, Paul D. Cornell, O. F. Knapp, T. B.
Brown, S. B. Harlow, Jabez Whitnee and John
S. Bristol, as Deacons ; and Nathaniel Garrow,
David S. Sears, Henry Polhemus, Dudley Everts,
Aurelius Wheeler, ,RusseU Chappell, James E.
Tyler, Daniel Woodworth, E. B. Cobb, Z. M.
Mason, Harrison Plopkins, Edward Allen, Paul
D. Cornell, Miles Perry, W. W. Payne, Henry
S. Dunning, Wm. E. Vail, James M. Gale, Geo.
S. Westlake, Joseph H. Dunning, S. E. Payne
John Choate, J. Y. Bettys, D. M. Hough, Dr!
W. O. Luce and PI. J. Eddy, the last seven of
whom, except Hough, are the present trustees.
Among the earliest members, in addition to
those already named, are Seth Burgess and wife,
Mrs. Plannah Wadsworth, Mrs. Cyria White,
Mrs. Thankful Lewis, Mrs. Urania Catlin, My
ron Strong, U. F. Doubleday, Peter Doty, Mrs.
Susannah Culver, Jonathan and Martha Hawes,

204

CITY OF AUBURN.

Mrs. Webster, Milo Webster, Mrs. Daniel Wood-
worth, Lydia Reynolds, and Lois Sexton.*
First Methodist Episcopal Church. — This
society was first organized April 24th, 18 19.
Auburn was then included in the " Cayuga Cir
cuit." In 1820 it became a separate charge and
its first pastor was Gardner Baker. The society
then comprised fifty-one members and they erect
ed a plain wooden chapel on the site of the pa
rochial school building on Chapel street, in which
they worshiped until 1834.
In 1832, John Seymour and Tallmage Cherry
erected with their own funds a substantial stone
church on the corner of North and Water Sts.,
at a cost of $13,000, which was dedicated Feb
ruary 6th, 1833. Rev. John Dempster officiated.
The society bought the building one year later.
In April, 1867, the church edifice was destroyed
by fire and the loss was a serious one to the so
ciety, as they had just completed extensive re
pairs and paid off all indebtedness upon it. Rev.
Wifliam Searls had just been assigned to this
charge, and he found his people without a place
of worship. The loss was promptly supplied.
A lot was purchased on the west corner of South
and Exchange Sts., and a beautiful church edifice
erected upon it at a total cost of about $40,000.
The society also owns a parsonage of the esti
mated value of $4,000. There remains an in
debtedness of $11,000 on the entire church
property. The new church was dedicated Jan.
7th, 1869.
The following are among the regularly appoint
ed pastors of this society ;.
Gardner Baker, John C. Cole, John E. Robie,
George Peck, Z. Paddock, James Richardson,
Joseph Castle, H. F. Row, Selah Stocking, Thos.
H. Pearne, A. J. Crandall, D. W. Bristol, Wm.
H. Pearne, David Plolmes, A. J. Dana, B. I.
Ives, Wm. Ready, A. S. Graves, D. W. Thurs
ton, D. A. Whedon, W. C. Steele, Wm. Searis,
E. Horr, Jr., William Annable and John Ala
baster. Present Officers — Bishop, Gilbert Haven.
Presiding Elder— Piev. U. S. Beebe.
Pastor — John Alabaster.
Members of Annual Conference — Rev. B. I.
Ives and Rev. Wm. Searls.
•Compiled from the History of the Cayuga Baptist Association and
from an article from Mr. O. F. Knapp, published in the Auburn
Daily Ad-vertiser, December 2d, 1876.

Local Ministry — Rev. Julius Robbins, Rev.
Frank Plouser, Rev. A. B. Benham, Rev. A. J.
Sanders, and Rev. Allen E. Atwater.
Trustees — John W. Haight, President ; John
F. Driggs, Secretary and Treasurer ; John Elli
ott, Andrew J. Sanders, George H. Evans, D. H.
Schoonmaker, and William J. Moses.
This society embraces about four hundred and
twenty-five members, and the scholars of all ages
in the Sabbath School, are three hundred and
fifty, under the superintendence of Mr. Elmer
Houser. The Church of the Holy Family on North
street near Chapel, was organized as the Fourth
Roman Catholic Church of Western New York,
August 3d, 1820, with Hugh Ward, John Con
nor, James Hickson, Thomas Hickson and David
Lawler, as trustees. They worshiped first and
for several years in the court-house and the school
house on thc academy grounds. In 1834 they
bought the wooden building on Chapel street,
then recently abandoned by the Methodist socie
ty, by whom it was erected in 1821, and dedi
cated it October 23d, 1834. The pastors from
this period were Revs. F. Donohue, Grace, Brad
ley, and Thomas O'Flaherty, the latter of whom
officiated from 1845 to 1856. He was succeeded
by Martin Kavanagh, from 1856 to 1857, and by
Michael Creedon, from 1857 to 1862. During
Father Creedon's pastorate, in 1859-61, the pres
ent brick church on North street was erected, at
a cost of $35,000. Their next pastor was James
McGlew, who commenced his labors in 1862 and
closed them in 1864, when he was succeeded by
Thomas O'Flaherty, whose second pastorate con
tinued till 1869. He was succeeded in that year
by Martin Kavanagh, which was also a second
pastorate, and continued till 1874. During Fa
ther Kavanagh's second pastorate, in 1873, the
present brick school on Chapel street was built,
at a cost of $15,000, the old church, near the
same site, having till then been occupied as a
school-house. Edward McGowan succeeded
Kavanagh and remained three years, till 1877,
in September of which year Wm. J. Seymour,
the present pastor, commenced his labors. The
parsonage belonging to this church is valued at
$7,000, and the convent occupied by the Sisters
of Mercy, at $ 5 ,000. Both are located on Chapel
street. The present membership of the church
is about 3,500. The parochial school connected

CHURCH ORGANIZATIONS.

205

with the society is taught by the Sisters of
Mercy. It has ten teachers and five hundred
scholars.
The Second Presbyterian Society of Au
burn was organized at the Western Exchange,
January 2d, 1829, by persons who were formerly
members of the First Church, and who were ir
reconcilably opposed to the demonstrative meth
ods which characterized the spiritual ministra
tions of Rev. Dirck C. Lansing, who was then,
and for thirteen years previously, pastor of the
First Church. The name then adopted was The
Second Presbyterian Society of the Village of Au
burn, and the following named trustees were duly
elected :
First Class — Bradley Tuttle, John Patty and
Stephen Van Anden; Second Class — Walter
Weed, John M. Sherwood and Abijah Fitch ;
Third Class — Wm. Brown, James Little and Hor
ace Hills.
The reasons for separating from the parent
church and forming a new society are set forth in
the following resolutions, adopted at a meeting of
a part of the P'irst Presbyterian Society of Au
burn :
" Resolved, That, in the opinion of this meeting,
the organization of a second Presbyterian church
and society in this village would, under the pres
ent circumstances, conduce to the advancement
of the Presbyterian interests and to the promo
tion of real and genuine religion ; for the follow
ing reasons among others :
"First — In any large community like ours,
there will, from the nature of the human mind,
be such a discordance of taste and opinion on
religious subjects, as that no minister can be ex
pected, for any great length of time, to meet the
views and feelings of the whole.
"Secondly — The course pursued by our present
minister under the sanction of a part of his ses
sion for the last two or three years, (whether
right or wrong we pretend not to decide,) has
produced a complete division in the public opin-
To a portion of the Church and Session

ion

and to a portion of the sober and respectable
members of the society, that course has seemed
ill-advised, and calculated in its very nature, to
sow division in the church, and to banish peace
and charity, and to excite in the breasts of young
or weaker and less experienced and less informed
brethren, the feelings of spiritual pride and spir
itual domination.
"Thirdly — In consequence of the above, so
many have been grieved, so many have been
prejudiced, so many have been disgusted, that
the number of those who assembled with us to

hear the preaching of the Gospel has greatly
diminished, and is constantly diminishing, while
at the same time the population of the village
has been constantly increasing.
"Fourthly — By the organization of , a new
church and society, and under the administration
of a second minister, we would hope to arrest the
minds ofthe wandering, and bring them again un
der the influence ofthe true Gospel, preached with
power and accompanied by the Holy Spirit ; that
so their souls may be saved.
"Fifthly — By the organization of a new church
and society we would further hope to lay the
foundation of permanent peace and brotherly-
love among ourselves, by placing the two great
divisions into which a diversity of taste and
judgment has divided us, each under their own
chosen miitister; so that all occasion of collision
and crimination shall be removed ; and the only
strife shall be, which shall best exemplify the re
ligion we profess, and most advance the King
dom of our Redeemer, and the salvation of our
fellow men."
At a meeting of the citizens of Auburn, friend
ly to the formation of a second Presbyterian So
ciety in this village, held at the Western Ex
change, December nth, 1828, the following pre
amble and resolution were adopted :
" Whereas, The public sentiment in favor of
organizing a second Presbyterian Society in this
village has been clearly expressed by a subscrip
tion for purchasing a site and. building a church,
to the amount of $8,000; and
" Whereas, Most of the leading members of
the first society, who do not join us, have ex
pressed themselves in favor of said object ; there
fore, "Resolved, As the sense of this meeting, that
a second church and society be organized with
all convenient speed; and that the chairman and
secretary of this meeting be requested to give
the necessary notice of the time and place of
holding a meeting for the purpose of organizing
a Second Presbyterian Society under the statute
in such cases made and provided."
In conformity with this action the meeting of
January 2d, 1829, at which the organization was
perfected, was held. March 2d, 1829, a plan for a
church, presented by Messrs. Tuttle & Hagerman,
was adopted, and the trustees agreed to raise on
their joint security the balance necessary to com
plete the house, not exceeding $3,000.
Aug. I2th, 1830, a call was extended to Daniel
C. Axtell, who was ordained and installed pastor
Nov. xoth, 1830, by the Cayuga Presbytery, met
at the church of this society, which then came
under its care and recognition. Mr. Axtell re-

206

CITY OF AUBURN.

quested the church to unite with him in asking a
letter of dismission Jan. 2d, 1836, which the
church assented to Jan. 4th, 1836. A call was
extended to Leonard E. Lathrop, D. D., Aug.
29th, 1836. July 7th, 185 1, the resignation of
Dr. Lathrop was accepted, to take effect Sept. ist,
1851. Jan. 26th, 1852, a call was extended to
Richard S. Dickinson of New York city, but
declined. May 12th, 1852, the services of Edward
D, Morris were engaged for one year from June
1st, 1852. His ministry proved satisfactory, and
a call was given him Jan. 6th, 1853, to become
their settled pastor. Pie continued to discharge
those duties with ability and fidelity till Novem
ber, 1855, when his pastoral relations were dis
solved. The church enjoyed the ministrations
of Ezra A. Huntington, D. D,, from 1855 till
1858. July, I2th, of the latter year a call was
extended to Henry Fowler, of Rochester, and
Sept. 6th, 1 86 1, the church decided by a vote of
forty-one to thirty-six to ask the Presbytery to
dissolve the pastoral relations. June i6th, 1862,
a call was extended lo S. W. Boardman, D. D.,
of Westboro, Mass., whose pastorate covered a
period of more than fifteen years, the longest the
Church has enjoyed, and was marked by a " sys
tematic^ and unflagging industry," "deep, warm
and heartfelt sympathy with the sick and afflict
ed," and an- "ardent zeal for revivals of religion
and for the conversion of sinners." Sept. I7lh,
1877, at his request, the church united with him
in asking the Presbytery to dissolve the pastoral
relations. Rev. Herrick Johnson, D. D., sup
plied the pulpit during the six months ending
May 27th, 1878, since which it has been supplied
by casual comers. In the summer of 1878 a
fund was raised sufficient to pay off an indebted
ness of $5,000, and to make repairs on the church
to the amount of $1,500. Their house of worship
is situated on South street, between Lincoln and
Genesee streets. The present membership of
the church is 320; the average attendance at
Sabbath school, about 130.
The First Universalist Society in Au
burn. — The Universalists in Auburn first be
came an organized body Aprfl 12th, 1821, at
which time a meeting was held in the school-
house on Academy street, and was attended by
Lyman Paine, Azer Brown, Geo. Standart, James
Francis, Michael Nicholson, Jacob Chrysler, Jar-
vis Swift, Aaron Clough, Benj. Wright, Geo.

Crowl, Joseph Dresser, Geo. Church, Daniel
Shields, Jno. P'ollct, Matthias Calkins, Jno. A.
Brown, Wm. Paine, Elijah Swift, Noah Taylor,
Henry Roberts, (afterwards a preacher,) Samuel
Hunter, Francis Plunter, Rodman Sargent,
Wilder Pierce, Michael Bowers, Chancey Plowe,
Nathan Webster, Wm. G. Burt and Ulysses F.
Doubleday, now nearly or quite all deceased.
Another meeting was held Dec. i8th, 1S22, at
the house of Jarvis Swift, to devise ways and
means for obtaining funds to obtain a lot and
erect a house of worship. Another meeting was
held for the same purpose Jan. nth, 1823, but it
was not until ten years later that this wish vvas
consummated. During this interval the society,
which for some lime held meetings in the court
house, academy and various other places, had
practically disbanded or ceased to have a recog
nized existence. Tuesday, April gth, 1833, a
preliminary meeting of Universalists in Auburn
was held at the school-house occupied by Josiah
Underbill, to take steps to organize a religious
society. Wednesday, April 24th, 1833, the or
ganization was perfected ac the Western Ex
change, under the statutes of New York for the
organization of religious societies, and the follow
ing named trustees were elected : Allen Wor
den, Ezekiel Williams and Wm. H. Coffin, first
class ; Josiah Barber, Salmon Tyler and John G.
Paul, second class, and Stephen Lombard, Jr.,
Ethan A. Worden and Jarvis Swift, third class.
May nth, 1833, the church bought of Capt. Geo.
B. Chase, the brick building at the junction of
South and Exchange streets, formerly occupied
by the Baptists, the consideration being a due-
bill for $ 1 ,000, and a bond and mortgage for $3,400,
to be paid within two years. It was repaired,
repainted and re-dedicated in the spring of 1833,
the dedicatory sermon being preached by Rev.
Dolphus Skinner of Utica.
There were services conducted by ministers of
this denomination as early as 1821, among whom
were Revs. Whilnell, Flagler, Miles and Root.
The first settled pastor of whom there is any ac
count was Rev. L. S. Everett, who came here
from Buffalo in 1827, and remained about a year,
returning to Buffalo in December, 1828. Pie
was followed by Rev. O. A. Brownson, whose
ministry terminated in 1829.
The first pastor employed under the organiza
tion of 1833 was Geo. W. Montgomery, D. D.,

CHURCH ORGANIZATIONS.

207-

who commenced his labors in September, 1833,
and closed them in 1843. He was succeeded in
October, 1843, by H. L. Hay ward, who served
them one year, when, in September, 1844, failing
health compelled him to leave, and finally to leave
the ministry and seek a home in the far west,
where he is still living, though in' feeble health.
J. M. Austin assumed the pastoral care of
this church in October, 1844, and discharged
those duties till June 29th, 1851, when he re
signed and became editor of the Christian Am
bassador, a denominational journal of this per
suasion, then published in Auburn, in which du
ties he was engaged twelve years, till 1863, when
he became United States Paymaster. At the
close of the war he returned to Auburn, where
he now resides, and has been engaged until re
cently in missionary labors.
The next pastor was W. R. G. Mellen, who
served them from July, 185 1, till July, 1855, and
was succeeded by D. P. Livermore, who re
mained from November, 1855, to October, 1856.
His accomplished wite, who has since become so
distinguished as a public lecturer, was here with
her husband during that period and removed
with him to Chicago,
Rev. D. K. Lee, D. D., took the pastoral
charge in July, 1857. He remained eight years
and removed to New York in 1868. He was
succeeded July 7lh, 1865, by Richmond Fisk, D.
D., who remained till the fall of 1868, and is now
in charge of the church in Syracuse.
Rev. J. G. Bartholomew, D. D., commenced
his labors with this church October 29lh, 1868,
and, after a very eminent and successful minis
try of three years, was released September 17th,
1S71, at his own request and that of the church
in Syracuse, which represented that his presence
as pastor was necessary to harmonize difficulties
which then existed in that society.
November 27th, 1871, a call was extended to
J. J. Twiss, who commenced his pastoral labors
P'ebruary ist, 1872, the pulpit having been sup
plied from October ist, 1871, by C. B. Lombard,
L. W. Price, G. W. Montgomery, E. J. Canfield,
J. H. Himes, J. J. Twiss and Brothers Mont
gomery, Saxe, Crane, Goodenough and Barber
successively. Mr. Twiss' resignation was ac
cepted October i6th, 1872, to take effect Novem
ber nth, 1872. A call was extended to J. W.
Keyes, February 3d, 1873. He entered upon his

duties as pastor in April following, and continued
them till the last of September, 1876, when iU
health compelled him to resign. The pulpit was
supplied from October ist to December 31st,
1876, by Revs. Allen P. Folsom, of Boston ;
O. A. Rounds, of Bridgeton, Me. ; G. S. Weaver,
D. D., of Akron, Ohio; L. L Briggs, of Bos
ton; S. L. Beals, of Brockton, Mass.; T. F.
Dean, of Afton. N. Y.; G. W. Montgomery, D.
D., of Rochester, and Mr. Pullman, of New
York city.
A caU was extended to L. L. Briggs, D. D,,
the present pastor, December 22d, 1876, and he
commenced his pastoral, labors February ist,
1877. Mr. Montgomery may be called the founder
and builder of this congregation. For ten years
belabored with zeal and faithfulness, and suc
ceeded in laying its foundations deep and endur
ing. His good work was perpetuated by Mr.
Lee, whose kind deeds, piety and Christian fideli
ty are still remembered by a grateful people.
Mr. Keyes came in a time of greatest need.
Through his instrumentality to a good degree the
church has been remodeled, rejuvenated and
beautified at great expense, in the midst of a
financial crisis of an intensity unknown in many
years. Messrs. Lee and Bartholomew are dead.
Their present church edifice was erected in
1846-7, and was dedicated July 2 ist of the latter
year. In 1876, the front portion and the steeple
were added, and the interior of the old portion
repaired. The Sunday School room and parlor
were built in 1870, at a cost of $6,727.81.
The Sunday School connected with this church
was started in 1834, by Rev. G. W. Montgom
ery, in the old red brick church, opposite to
where they now are. Mr. Montgomery was su
perintendent during his pastorate of ten years,
and had with him as teachers Mr. and Mrs. Ethan
A, Warden, Ira Curtis, Miss Angeline Warden,
Mrs. Bacon, Mrs. Sheldon and others. The
first Sunday School exhibition occurred December
24th, 1844, and consisted in speaking and singing
by the children, led by Olive Drake, the chorister,
and accompanied on the piano by Miss Winnifred
Coflfin, the present efficient organist. Among
those who took part in the former were Misses
Cornelia Barber, Margaret and Elizabeth Robin
son, the daughters of Messrs. Backus, Fosdick,
Standart and Austin j and among the boys Svere

208

CITY OF AUBURN.

Horatio and Wm. Robinson, Amos, Charies and
John Underwood, Henry and Clement Austin,
B. B. Snow, now superintendent of public schools
in Auburn, Rufus Sheldon and Charies A. War
den. The Sunday School has not only sustained it
self, but in many instances it has contributed lib
erally toward supporting the church. Rev. W.
R. G. Mellen was made the recipient of a gold
watch by the teachers and scholars of the Sun
day School.
Foflowing Mr. Livermore's pastorate there was
an interval when there was neither pastor nor
church services, and few if any gentlemen at
tended the Sunday School. Its fate was left to
the faithful and persevering women of the society,
who carried it through its trials, until D. K. Lee
was called to the pastorate and revived the former
interest in it ; an interest which, through the
persevering efforts of the successive pastors, su
perintendents and others interested, has contin
ued to the present time.
The a. M. E. Zion Church, on Washington
street, between Genesee and Orchard streets, was
organized about thirty-five years ago, by Rev.
Mr. Johnson, with only two or three families.
Their house of worship was erected about thirty-
two years ago. It is a wooden building, and has
thrice undergone slight additions and repairs.
Their first pastor was Rev. Mr. Johnson. They
have since enjoyed the ministrations of Revs.
Joseph P. Thompson, John Thomas, Inskipp,
Anderson, Wm. Cromwell, James Green, Bosley,
Solomon Jones and Singleton H. Thompson, each
of whom served them three years, and G. W.
Lacey and H. R. Phoenix, each one year. Rev.
James A. Wright, the present pastor, commenced
his labors with them September 12th, 1876. At
an early period in the history of the church its
membership had been reduced to a single indi
vidual. The present membership is thirty-six.
Sixty members are enrolled in the Sabbath School,
which has an average attendance of thirty. Their
church will seat about two hundred. The con
gregation are improving in everything pertaining
to their mode of worship, and quite an interest
is manifested in Sunday School work.
The First Congregation of Disciples in
Auburn was organized December nth, 1849, as
The First Congregation of Disciples of Chi ist of
Auburn and Clarksville, at the stone school-house,

which occupied the site ofthe present brick school
house on the corner of Van Anden and Division
Sts., and D. C. Goodrich, J. C. Worden and Wm.
Allen elected trustees. Immediate steps were
taken to build a church edifice, and the present
wooden structure on Division street was erected
in 1850. December igth, 1865, the name was
changed to The First Congregation of Disciples of
Auburn, and January 14th, 1873, the trustees
were authorized to change the name ofthe church,
as recorded in the clerk's office, to The First Con
gregation of Disciples in Auburn. The records
of the church, which are very meagre, do not
give the names of the successive pastors who
have served them, but we have been able to
obtain them from those at present belonging to
the church. The church is at present without a
pastor. Their last pastor. Rev. James Hart,
commenced his labors among them October ist
1876, and closed them October ist, 1878. The
present number of members is about two hun
dred. The pastors have been as follows : Rev. J. M.
Bartlett, from i84g-'5o; Rev. W. W. Clayton,
from x8S4-'5 ; Jesse PI. Berry, from 1861-2 ; J.
C. Goodrich in 1865 ; D. C. Calderwood in 1866;
L. F. Bittle, from 1866-8 ; A. B. Chamberiain,
1871-4; John Encell, from 1874-5 ; W. H.
Rogers and James Hart, from i876-'8. During
the intervals between these pastorates the pulpit
has been supplied.
St. Alphonsus' German Catholic. Church,
located on Water street, near North, was organ
ized in 1853. The first meeting was held in May
of that year, at Frank's Hotel, Water street, and
was attended by Wm., Henry and Max Koslers,
Prof. Stupp, B. Schmienk, Aug. Kern, Wm.
Vanderboush, Johannes Kirst, Matthias Linen-
bach, Edward Phillipson, Martin Gallvan, 
Mahoney,  McGarr, Peter Shields,  Mc-
Guin, and J. H. Frank. They were attended
first by the Redemptorist Fathers of St. Joseph,
Rochester ; their meetings being held on Wall
street, in a building previously occupied as a
cooper shop, and bought in 1853 for the use of
the church for $400.
The first regular settled priest was Rev.
Zacharia Kunze, who entered upon the duties of
pastor in August, 1854. Pie was succeeded by
Rev. M. O'Laughlin, who served them from
June, 1855, to November of the same year; by

CPIURCH ORGANIZATIONS.

209

Rev. Dominick Geymer, from November, 1855,
to November, 1856; and by P.J. Byrne, till Oc
tober, 1857. p-rom this time to 1868, the church
was attended monthly by Rev. Fathers I. De-
Dycken, Joseph Wissel, N. Van Emstede, M.
Schaffler, Thaddeus Alexander, Michael Dausch,
T. Majerus, M. Steissberger, L. Plolzer, C.
Wenscerski, Julius Kuenzer, Bernard Beck, B.
Klaphaka and P. Cronenberg, all from St.
Joseph's, Rochester. November 12th, 1865,
Rev. Father Xavier Kofler was sent by Rt. Rev.
Bishop Timon, but changed the next Sunday.
During this time, March 26th, 1 861, they bought
for $1,900 the house formerly occupied by the
" Millerites," erected in^ 185 5, and owned by Eras
mus Curtis, who gave that society its use, and
gave in part pay the property on Wall street, val
ued at $1,100. Rev. Charles Vogcl became
their pastor in August, 1868. He built the pres
ent parsonage in 1869, the site having been
bought the year previous for $1,200. He also
greatly improved the church by the addition of a
steeple, new roof and gallery, in which he was
aided by the kindness and liberality of the citi
zens generally. Rev. C. Ulrich, the present pas
tor, commenced his labors with this church Au
gust 6th, 1873, in which year he bought the
building afterwards used as a parochial school
by this society, for $2,400. Mr. Ulrich also
bought a new organ for $650 and started a so
ciety for improvement in church music.
The membership, which at first comprised
about thirty families, has increased to 130 or 140
families, with an average of about fifty baptisms
per annum, and 380 to 400 communicants. The
attendance at Sabbath School is about 100.
The first canonical visitation by the Bishop
took place September 3d, 1878.
The Wall Street M. E, Church, located
at the corner of Wall and Washington streets,
was organized August 26th, 1856, with about
twenty members, prominent among whom were
Rev. R Berry, class leader and local preacher,
Wm. Jones, Supt. of Sabbath School, Alonzo
Munsell and wife, Hannah Berry, Esther M. Cook,
Elizabeth Goodsefl, Emma Godden and Mary A.
Wills. The application was made by Alonzo
Munsell and F. M. Wilson. The following named
persons were elected the first trustees : Wm. PI.
Barnes, A. Munsell, Wm. PI. Halliday, T. I.
Francis, and John W. Plaight. This society is
36-2

an offshoot of the North Street M. E. Church,
and its first meetings were held during the pas
torate of B. I. Ives, then pastor of that church,
in the school-house on the corner of Washington
and Seymour streets. After a while, meeting
with opposition from some of the neighbors
whose sympathies were not with the church, the
building was bought, and used until the erection
of the new church in i860, during the pastorate
of Rev. E. C. Curtis, at a cost of $3,500, exclu
sive of lot.
This church has enjoyed the ministrations of
the following named pastors : B. I. Ives, from
1856-8; E. C. Curtis, from 1858-60; L. M.
Kern, from 1860-2; Wm. N.Cobb, from 1862 -'4;
R. Townsend, from 1864 -'6 ; S. Stocking, from
1866-7 ; S. M. Fisk, from i867-'8 ; J. PI. Bar
nard, from i868-'9; T. B. .Shepard, from i869-'72,
T. R. Green, from 1872-5; U. S. Beebe, from
1875-7 ; and Thomas Stacey, the present pas
tor, who commenced his labors here in 1877.
During these years all these ministers have been
assisted by Revs. Wm, Hosmer and Wm. Searis,
who have filled vacancies and in many ways aided
the church, which, from the beginning, has
worked earnestly, and enjoyed revivals of religion
in almost every pastorate, notably in those of B.
I. Ives, R. Townsend, T. B. Shepard, T. R.
Green and U. S. Beebe. During the present
pastorate their house of worship has been re
paired and beautified at a cost of $800 ; and the
spiritual condition of the church is very satisfac
tory. The present membership is 200 ; the
number of Sunday school scholars, 279, and the
average attendance of the latter during the past
year has been 180.
One of the members of this church. Miss Mary
A. Priest, has just gone to Hakodadi, Japan, as
missionary of the " Woman's Foreign Missionary
society of the M. E, Church."
This Church has an honored past, and a pros
pective /?//«/r^ of usefulness, honor and success.
St, John's Church, (Prot. Epis.,) on East Gen
esee street, between Hoffman and Fulton streets,
was organized April 13th, 1868, the meeting to
secure the incorporation having been held in the
school-house of Dist. No. i, where services were
also held until the completion of their present edi
fice in December, 1869. The meeting was pre
sided over by Rev. John Brainard, then rector of
St. Peter's Church, from'which this is an off-

210

CITY OF AUBURN.

shoot, and Harvey Wilson and Wm. Lamey were
elected wardens, and Wm. F. Gibbs, John M.
Hurd, Rufus Sargent, Henry Hall, Edward C.
Marvine, Isaac L. Scovill, Charies M. Knight
and George F. Brown, vestrymen.
Previous to this, in 1854, efforts were made at
the instigation of Rev. E. H. Cressy, then rector
of St. Peter's Church, to establish a church of
this denomination in the eastern part of the city.
Rev. John M. Guion, relying for a portion of his
support upon the chaplaincy in Auburn prison,
which Mr. Cressy. was able to obtain for him,
came to Auburn and conducted services some
five months in a large room over Kerr & Devitt's
store, the rent of which was paid by Mr. Cressy
and A. Hamilton Burt ; but he removed to a more
promising field of usefulness, and the project was,
for the time being, relinquished.
Their first pastor was Rev. James Stoddard,
who commenced his labors with them in Octo
ber, 1868, and remained till February, i86g, ser
vices having previously been held, until Mr.
Stoddard took charge, and conducted by Mr.
Brainard, rector of St. Peter's. In i86g, their
house of worship was erected at a cost of about
$2,200, and was first occupied in December of
that year. The lot on which it stands, 200
feet on East Genesee street, and 1 10 on Fulton
street, was donated to the society, June ist, 1868,
by Gen. John PI. Chedell, who also bequeathed
them $10,000 for the erection of a new church
edifice, which has already been begun, on the site
of the present structure, the estimated cost of
which iis $17,000. It is to be built of stone,
84 by 52 feet, and when completed wifl be a
sightly structure.
Rev. Charles R. Hale succeeded Mr. Stod
dard in the rectorship in October, 1870, and of
ficiated in that capacity till October, 1873. Rev.
E. B. Tuttle commenced his labors with them
the following November, and continued them till
October, 1876. Rev. W. H. Lord, the present
pastor, entered upon his labors as rector in Au
gust, 1877, having previously supplied the pulpit
five months. The church is in a prosperous con
dition. The congregation has doubled within a
year ; and the membership, which now comprises
eighty-five communicants, has largely increased
under Mr. Lord's pastorate. The average at
tendance at the Sabbath School is about 100
with 140 scholars enrolled.

Central Presbyterian Society. — This so
ciety was organized in 186 1. It was an offshoot
of the Second Presbyterian Society of Auburn,
then under the pastorate of Rev. Henry Fowler.
Mr. I'owler was an earnest and forcible advocate
of the freedom of the slaves, and in his pulpit
ministrations gave frequent and full expression
to his convictions. It was a time of intense ex
citement, when armed rebellion confronted the
nation and when party lines were tightly drawn,
producing wide division in churches as well as in
secular organizations. With the anti-slavery
views of the pastor the great majority of the con
gregation participated, resulting in the secession
of the colony that formed the Central Presbyte
rian Society. ;
The first organization comprised the following
officers : Elders, Lewis Seymour, -Peter Burgess,
and Josiah P. Bailey ; and the first Trustees were :
D. M. Osborne, E. G. Storke, PI. W. Dwight,
Rufus Sargent, Charles P. Wood, D. T. Fowler
and David P. Wallis.
The first meetings of the society were held in
the rooms of the Young Men's Christian Asso
ciation, then on Genesee street, where they wor
shiped until their chapel was erected on West
Genesee street, costing about $5,000. The pur
pose had been to carry up the walls of the chapel
as means to do so could be secured ; but in 1869
the plan was changed, the properly sold, a lot
procured on William street, and the present
church edifice erected. The corner stone was
laid August i2lh, 1869, and thc church was dedi
cated October 24th, 1870. Thc cost of the
building and grounds was about $40,000, and of
the organ $5,000.
Rev. Plenry Fowler retained the pastoral care
of this church about ten years, when his failing
health compelled him to resign, which he did
October 31st, 1871. Rev. Plenry F. Hickok, of
Orange, N. J., was the next pastor, installed Oc
tober i2th, 1872. He occupied the pulpit with
great acceptance until June 30th, 1875, when he
resigned and resumed the pastorate of his society
in Orange. Rev. Samuel W. Duffield was chosen
acting pastor November ist, 1876, and continued
until May, 1878, when Rev. C. C. Hemenway,
a licentiate of the Auburn Theological Semi
nary, was called to the pulpit, and is the pres
ent pastor.
The present membership of the church is 331;

CHURCH ORGANIZATIONS.

211

in Sabbath School 230, with an average attend
ance of 150.
The present officers of this society are the fol
lowing :
Pastor— Rev. C. C. Hemenway.
Elders— Teter Burgess, J. T. M. Davie, T. S.
Gage, Zenas Howland, Charies M. Howlet and
Samuel S. Smith.
Deacons— George Anderson, Wm. S. Shourds.
Trustees— WiWis J. Beecher, Chas. C. Dwight,
Charles M. Howlet, Theodore M. Pomeroy, Wm.
PI. Seward, George H. TenEyck, Wm. F. Wait
and Frank D. Wright.
St. Mary's Church, (Roman Catholic,) was
organized in September, i868,by Thomas A. Ma-
her, the first pastor, who was sent here by the
Bishop of Rochester, in July, 1868, and held
meetings a few weeks in his house, and subse
quently in Tallman's Hall, on the corner of State
and Dill streets. A temporary wooden building
was erected in 1869, ^"^ in this rough, unsightly
structure they held their meetings till the erec
tion of the present house was begun in 1870, on
the same site, when they occupied the Academy
of Music till the basement was finished, after
which their meetings were held there. Father
Maher was succeeded in September, 1869, by
Rev. M. J. Laughlin, whose pastorate continued
till September 2d, 1877, when W. Mulheron, the
present pastor, commenced his labors with them.
P'alher Laughlin's ministry gave a great impulse
to the growth of the church, which, within ten
years, has increased from the mere handful who
separated from the Church of the Holy Family to
constitute this, to a present membership of about
3,500. Their church edifice was begun in 1870, in
September of which year, the corner stone was
laid by the Bishop of the Diocese, and was con
secrated May 1st, 1877, by Rt. Rev. Bishop Mc-
Quaid, assisted by numerous church dignitaries.
It is situated on the corner of Clark and Green
streets, and is a fine specimen of French Gothic
architecture. The interior is admirable. The
windows of the south transept bear the follow
ing names, "Gift of C. D. S.;" "In Memoriam,
Jos. A. Keeler;" gifts of Joseph P. Carrigan,
John Hocy, Daniel O. Carr, Jr., Eliza and
Bridget Scully, M. D. Kavanaugh ; those in the
south aisle include these names, James Bryan,
James Driscoll, Patrick Reagen, W. H. Reilly

and John Delaney. In the vestibule are the fol
lowing names : Thomas Murphy, W. Chapman,
Hugh Smith, Margaret and Mary Quinn, Michael
P. Plolmes and Mary T. O'Hara. The center
window of the organ loft bears the names of the
Rosary and Scapular Societies. The side win
dows were given by the Socie.ties of St. Joseph
and Children of Mary. In the north aisle are
recorded the names of Mary O'Neil, Patrick Kel
ly, Daniel Tehan, and Mrs. A. M. Doyle. The
windows of the north transept bear the names
of Matthew and Catharine Byrne, Michael
Hughes, Daniel Kelly, Mrs. Mary Sullivan,
Harry Reagan, Frank Byrne and Jno. Keely.
The confessional at the north-east corner of the
transept is a room by itself and completes the
list with the gifts of Wm. Jos. O'Neil and Eliza
Ferris. Connected with the church is a Parochial and
Sunday School, the former of which was estab
lished in September, 1873, is under the super
vision of the resident pastor, and is taught by the
Sisters of St. Joseph, who were established here
the same year by the Mother School in Roches
ter. It is the province of these Sisters to teach
as it is that ofthe Sisters of Mary, connected with
the Holy Family Church to attend to the sick
in hospitals, &c., though they also visit the sick
and are a charitable institution of the church.
The convent comprises ten inmates, nine of whom
are teachers. The number of scholars attending
the Parochial School is 500, but the average at
tendance is somewhat less.
The church properly consists of the church
and parsonage, which, together are valued at
$125,000; the Convent ofthe Sisters of St.
Joseph, which is adjacent to the church on Clark
street, valued at $7,000 ; and the school house,
on Clark street, near Washington, valued at
$5,coo. St. Mark's A. M. E. Church was organized
with sixteen members, July 6th, 1870, by Rev. J.
G. Mowbray, who was the first pastor. The
first trustees were John Pernell, Nelson Davis,
Jno. H. Waire, Isaac White and J. H. Sanford.
Mr. Mowbray's pastorate lasted only one year.
He was succeeded by E. B. Davis, who also re
mained but a year. The next pastor was N. W.
Bowman, who served them two years, and was
succeeded in 1874 by Rev. Mr. Frisbee, who re
mained only two months. A. S. Amos sue-

212

CITY OF AUBURN.

ceeded Mr. I'risbee and continued his labors
with them till May, 1878, when William B. F.
MarshaU, the present pastor, took charge of their
spiritual interests. The present membership is
twenty, and the attendance at Sabbath School
about the same number.
Their services were first held for nearly a year
in, Markham Hall, afterwards in the City Plall.
In 1872 they were held over 80 Genesee street,
and in 1874 the society removed to a room over
Richardson's livery, near the corner of Genesee
and South streets. Since the fall of 1877 their
meetings have been held in the court-house. In
1870, the church bought a lot on Mechanic St.,
near the Big Dam, on which, in 1874, they built
the stone foundation for a church edifice, but they
have not been able to gather sufficient funds to
further their object beyond that point.
Calvary Presbyterian Church. — This, the
fourth and youngest of the Presbyterian churches
in Auburn, received from the elevated ground on
which it stands the name of Calvary. The lot
was the gift of the late James S. Seymour. It
forms the western apex of a triangle between
Franklin and Capitol streets. The neat and
pretty church building which looks down Frank
lin street, consists ofthe identical materials which
composed the First Presbyterian Church before
it was taken down to make room for the splendid
Gothic structure which succeeded it. These ma
terials Mr. Seymour transported to the lot he had
donated and put them up at his own expense on
a somewhat reduced scale. A religious society was
formed and the lot and building made over to the
elected trustees by the generous donor. The
building received in his honor the name of Sey
mour Chapel. On the 20th of November, 1870,
a church was organized with a membership of
twenty-five persons, by Rev. Dr. Charles Plaw
ley, who preached the sermon, and religious ser
vices were regularly held. The church has en
joyed the pastoral services of Revs. H. S. Hun
tington, M. Woolsey Striker, and J. B. Stewart,
the latter of whom is the present pastor. The
present membership of the church is about one
hundred. Mr. Seymour, by his will, endowed
the chapel bearing his name with the sum of
$ 1 2,000. The name was changed as above at the
organization of the church.
St. Lucas' Church, (German Evangelical Lu
theran,) on Seminary avenue, was organized

March iClh, 1873, by Rev. Charies Shopflin, of
Syracuse. The first members were P'rederick
Harlmann, Charles Strohmenger, H. Traub, Jno.
Smith, William Rabtto, Peter Lambert, Peter
Jeckel and Jno. Miller. Their first pastor was
Charies Shopflin, who served them one year, and
was succeeded by Adam Burkhard, whose pas
toral labors covered a period of one and one-half
years. Their next pastor was Zur Nedden, who
served them a like period. George Teld, their
present pastor, came from Buffalo, and com
menced his labors with this church February ist,
1878. Their meetings were held first for a year
and a half in the rooms of the Y. M. C. A., and
for a like period in St. George's Hall. They
now worship in the seminary building. Their
church edifice is in process of erection, and will
cost, when completed, about $6,000. The stones
used in the basement of this church composed
the west wing 'of the old Auburn Theological
Seminary building, which was bought by Mr. H.
Traub in 1877, and generously donated to this
society. The superstructure is of brick. The
dimensions of the building are 80 by 38 feet, and
will have a sealing capacity for 450 persons. The
church comprises about thirty families. The
average attendance at Sabbath School is fifty.

CHAPTER XXIX.
History of Auburn, (Continued.)
First Library — School Libraries— Seymour
Library — Organization and History of
THE Water Works Company — The Auburn
Gas Light Company — The Auburn Steam
Heating Company — P""ire Protection as pi-
Was AND Is — Distinguished Members of
the Auburn Bar — Present Lawyers— Vil
lage AND City Organizations and Offi
cers.
TPIE diary of Gov. DeWitt Clinton, who vis
ited Auburn in his travels in 1810,'shows,
in connection with his description of the settle
ment at that time, that Auburn then had an in
corporated library of 220 volumes.
School Libraries. — Notwithstanding the

'>!MiiiL^i^S^,i^lJm-^-iii-.iit^P^ij^i:^,SM^'vi'i*l7i:r^

^

-e--^

JEwaRY_ Store of W. L.BUNOY. No. 90 Genesee St. Auburn, N.Y

SEYMOUR LIBRARY.

213

excellent nucleus for a public library thus early
established, Auburn has not enjoyed for a long
series of years any better accommodations
in this respect than those afforded by the dis
trict school libraries, though the excellent library
connected with Auburn Theological Seminary,
and the less extensive academy library, together
with the many extensive and valuable private: li
braries, may have compensated for and measur
ably supplied this want.
Legislative provision for the establishment of
district school libraries was made in 1838, and
notwithstanding their necessarily limited and
imperfect character and the many abuses to
which they have been subject, they have been
very serviceable to many whose means did not
enable them lo cultivate their literary tastes in a
more desirable way. In accordance with the
amended school law of 1866, the district libraries
in this city were consolidated and placed in a
room in the High School building, which was
open for the withdrawal of books one hour every
Friday afternoon during school term. The libra
ry then contained upwards of 2,oco volumes,
many of which were valuable works, in addition
to the 300 volumes which originally belonged to
the Auburn Academyand comprising many books
valuable for reference. It was largely patronized
by school children, and to some extent by adults;
and if the annual appropriations made by the
State for additions to it had been scrupulously
applied to that object, its usefulness and popu
larity would have been largely enhanced ; but
they were usually misapplied or not applied at all,
and although this application toother and foreign
purposes was not an unmixed evil, the interest
in the library as a consequence materially dimin
ished. Seymour Library Association. — The mu
nificent benefactions of the late James S. Sey
mour, which have provided for so many of Au
burn's necessities, were considerately extended
to this. Among his many public bequests was
one of $18,000 with residuary, and the store No.
80 on the south side of Genesee street, with the
lot in the rear, valued at $8,000, " for the purpose
of founding a public library in the city of Au
burn." The residuary has thus far increased the
monetary part of the bequest to $25,500, and an
additional $1,500 will probably be realized. This
bequest was made without any other restriction

than the naming of a portion of the first trustees,
as follows: Hon. Charles C. Dwight, J. B. Con
dit, D. D., C. PI. Merriman, and the pastors of
the First, Second and Central Presbyterian
churches, and ofthe Baptist, St. Peter's and South
street Methodist churches. An organization
was perfected and incorporated under the above
name May 20th, 1876, and the above indicated in
dividuals, except Dr. Condit, who had died, and
the pastor of the Central Presbyterian church,
which then had no pastor, together with six other
citizens of Auburn appointed by the Association,
were constituted the Board of Trustees, who met
in August, 1876, and elected Hon. Charles C.
Dwight, President, Charles Hawley, D. D., Vice-
President, Benj. B. Snow, Secretary, and James
Seymour Jr., Treasurer, each of whom stUl holds
his respective office. They soon after secured
the services of Wm. L. Poole of Chicago, the
leading American librarian, to aid them in the
selection of books. Since then rooms have been
rented over the Auburn Savings Bank, and books
obtained by gift and purchase to the number of
62,066 volumes, 1,617 of which are the gift of
the citizens of Auburn. It was found to be a
work of considerable magnitude to select and
catalogue the books, the latter of which was done
under the supervision of the librarian, Miss M.
A. BuUard. The Association have realized in
addition to the bequest, $1,400 from life members,
and about $500 for membership dues. The
library was opened to the public October 1st,
1878, and starts off with the number of well se
lected books above mentioned all paid for, a store
bringing in an income of $800 per annum, and
$20,000 of invested funds, thus having a fixed in
come which exceeds its present running expen
ses. At present $2 per year is charged for en-^
joying the privileges of the library, but it is hoped
that sufficient additions wiU be made to its funds
to make it a free library, as Mr. Seymour designed
it should be.
The Library committee is composed of Hon.
C. C. Dwight, D. M. Osborne, W. G. Wise,
Rev. C. Hawley, D. D., and Rev. John Brain
ard, D. D.
The store bequeathed by Mr. Seymour towards
the establishment of this library, is the one
purchased by him in 1830, for the establishment,
with capital furnished by him, of a suitable " book
store, which should meet the demands of that

214

CITY OF AUBURN.

))ranch of trade in Auburn, and at the same time
to be a healthy moral and even religious center,"
and occupied, at his instigation, during the six
teen years of his residence in Auburn, by Mr. Hen
ry Ivison, whose name now stands at the head of
one of the largest and most honorable publishing
houses in this country — Ivison, Blakeman, Tay
lor & Co , New York.
The Auburn Water-Works Company was
incorporated April igth i85g, Wm. Beach,
Benj. F. Hall, Theodore Dimon, Geo. W. Peck,
P'ranklin L. Sheldon, Albert II. Goss, Wm. II.
Goss, Jno. S, Clark and Paul D. Cornell were
the corporators and first directors. The capital
stock was $100,000, with the privilege by char
ter of increasing it to $300,000. It was subse
quently increased to $150,000. Their organiza
tion was not perfected until December, 1863,
when Edward H. Avery was elected President,
and Albert H. Goss, Secretary and Treasurer.
A new set of directors was elected, consisting, in
addition to Messrs. Avery and Goss, of Elmore
P. Ross. S. Willard, M. D., Theodore M. Pome
roy, Cyrus C. Dennis, Josiah Barber, Harmon
Woodruff and Geo. W. Peck. Construction was
delayed till 1864, by reason of the difficulty ex
perienced in obtaining a suitable location with
sufficient elevation for reservoirs. At this time
attention was directed to the Holly system of
water-works, which resulted in the abandonment
ofthe idea of using reservoirs. With this obsta
cle overcome, active operations were begun in
April, 1864, and prosecuted with such vigor that
by December of that year water was distributed
through 22,930 feet of mains, traversing the city
through its principal streets.
The source of supply is the Owasco Lake,
twelve miles long and nearly one mile wide, and
the Outlet one mile down to the pump works
and dam, which are on a level with the lake, and
about a mile distant from the center of the city.
The area of water-shed is reported by the State
Engineer to be about 100,000 acres, including
the lake, which has an area of 7,400 acres. The
southern boundary or limit of the water-shed is
about twenty miles to the south of the head of
the lake, near Fall Creek, which discharges into
Cayuga Lake, near Ithaca. Several minor tribu
taries find their way through lateral valleys into
the Inlet and the lake, while springs flowing from
the hillsides and hidden in the bosom of the lake
are a valuable and fruitful source of supply.

Skaneateles Lake, on the east and Cayuga
Lake on the west, are at an average of eight to
ten miles from the Owasco, the former 150 feet
above, and the latter 250 feet below its level. A
ridge of high land and hills running nearly north
and south, at an elevation of some four or five
hundred feet, bound the Owasco valley almost
the whole length of the lake, broken on the east
erly side in only two or three instances, to allow
the passage of small tributary streams. The
highest elevation of land varies in distance be
tween these lakes from one to four miles. The
hills are underlaid with rock of a slaty nature,
that decomposes into a loose shale upon exposure
to the elements. Owasco Lake is above the
level of the lime rock formation, which underlies
the greater portion of this part of the County,
and which shows itself upon the surface in many
places in the vicinity of Auburn. There is very
little low or marsh land through which the water
passes in reaching the lake, and were it not for
the small area of low land or swamp at the head
of the lake, say not more than one hundred acres,
none would be touched by the Owasco water.
The hill-slopes and lands generally are, or were,
wooded with maple, beech, chestnut, basswood,
and hemlock, while thc low land at the head of the
lake is thickly wooded with ash and soft maple.
.The record of the rain fall on the water-shed
was accurately kept in Auburn, from 1836 to
1849, 1^°*^ inclusive. The maximum, in 1843,
was 50.06 inches, and the minimum, in 1838,
21.74 inches. The average for the time was
35.6 inches. The average outflow of the lake
during these fourteen years was 8,541 cubic feet
per minute, or 12,300,000 feet per day. It is
claimed that the clearing up of the country and
drainage of low lands has materially reduced the
aggregate annual outflow of the lake.
The analysis of the water flowing from the
Owasco, shows it to be of excellent quality, and
of purity almost unequalled. It is as follows :
Chloride of Potassium  0.39 grains.
Sulphate of Potassa  0.32 "
Sulphate of Soda  0.37 "
Sulphate of Lime  ^_ o.oi "
Carbonate of Lime  5.43 •>
Carbonate of Magnesia  1.57 "
Silica  0.16 "
Oxide of Iron and Alumina  trace.
Organic Matter  1.28
Total per gaUon  9.53 '•

AUBURN GAS LIGHT COMPANY.

215

The original cost of the works and additions
was about $225,000. The cost of their mainte
nance, beyond the compensation of its general
officers and office expenses, the payment of a
mechanical engineer, superintendent of pipes and
hydrants, is a moderate sum, as the power in ac
tual use is obtained from water-wheels, and the
pipes and machinery are comparatively new.
There are about twenty-six miles of mains laid,
and 225 hydrants distributed throughout the city.
There are nearly two miles of twelve-inch heavy
iron mains, and about half a mile of cement pipe
of the same caliber, forming two parallel lines,
one on the east and the other on the west side of
the river, leading from the pump works directly
into the heart of the city, from which branch out
laterally, mains often eight, six -and four inches.
The average daily distribution of water, exclu
sive of that used for extinguishing fires, is about
2,000,000 gallons. The supply is ample for the
present wants of the city, and is furnished by
pumps driven by three turbine wheels. One
wheel drives a gang of six vertical pumps, which
are almost sufficient to supply the ordinary wants.
The two other wheels drive a capacious rotary
pump each. There is in reserve, in addition to
the power above mentioned, one of Holly's two
hundred horse-power steam engines, which drives
one of his No. 14 rotary pumps.
In connection with the above is a fire alarm
telegraph line, having nineteen stations, from all
of which an alarm can be instantly conveyed to
the engineer at the works. The ordinary average
daily pressure maintained in the mains is forty
pounds to the inch ; but with the reserve power,
no difficulty would be experienced in obtaining a
pressure of thrice that amount.
Distribution is made generally through cement
pipes, having a sheet iron center lined and cover
ed with a strong and hard cement. Cast iron is
adopted for future use, and is being substituted
where an increase of size is required. The
cement pipes for ordinary pressure have given
good satisfaction, but under fire pressure, in a few
instances where corrosion of the iron through
imperfection of the cement coating has existed,
they have failed.
The Ludlow & Eddy gates and stop-cock, and
Matthews' patent hydrants and mains are used.
The water is not filtered, but forced through am
ple gates and screens,
37_2

The present officers and directors are : Alonzo
G. Beardsley, President; Josiah Barber, Vice-
President; Nelson B. Eldred, Secretary, Superin
tendent and Treasurer ; A. G. Beardsley, Josiah
Barber, E. H. Avery, Wm. H. Seward, T. M.
Pomeroy, Nelson Beardsley, Wm. Allen, and S.
L. Bradley, Directors. The engineer at the
pump-house is Orrin Carrington ; the foreman of
mains and hydrants, William Jago.
Auburn Gas Light Company. —The manu
facture of illuminating gas was commenced in
Auburn by the Auburn Woolen Company to sup
ply their extensive mill, at the big dam, about
thirty years ago. Tallow dips, and wax candles
had supplied the principal fights of the period,
and the proposal to introduce gas met the oppo
sition common to all innovations upon long-estab
lished usages. A few enterprising citizens con
cluded, nevertheless, to organize a company to
supply the city with illuminating gas. The
original act of incorporation bears date Decem
ber 4th, 1848, and is on file in the office of the
County Clerk. The capital stock was fixed at
$20,000 and the following were the incorpora
tors : Benjamin, F. Hall, Ethan A. Warden,
William W. Shepard, George B. Chase, Thomas
Y. How, Jr., Roland F. Russell, Albert G. Smith,
William PI. Van Tuyl and Joseph P. Swift.
The delays usual with new enterprises followed,
and it was not until January 14th, 1850, that the
affairs of the company were put into working
shape. The first recorded business meeting was
held at the office of Benjamin F. Hall, at the
latter date, when the following Directors were
chosen : George B. Chase, Philip R. Freeoff,
Henry G. Ellsworth, Paul D. Cornell, Zebrina
Mason, Adam Miller, Roland F. Russell, Willam
H. Van Tuyl and Benjamin P"". Hall. George B.
Chase was elected President and Benjamin F.
Hall, Secretary. The services of Thomas Hoad-
ly, a competent gas engineer, and of Michael
Kavcnagh, a practical gas manufacturer, who had
built and managed thc gas works of the Woolen
Company, were secured, the former as superin
tendent, the latter as foreman.
A site for the Works, south of the Prison dam,
was procured, and in the summer of 1850, build
ings were erected, mains laid through the princi
pal streets and the gas turned on during that
same year. Refuse of whale oil was first used
in the manufacture ; but it was soon succeeded

2l6

CITY OF AUBURN.

by rosin, which produced a heavy gas of great
illuminating power. The new light became at
once popular and its use so rapidly extended as
to put the company to heavy expense for en
larged and new mains. In 1 86 1 the use of rosin was
discontinued, in response to the general demand
for cheaper gas, and new works were erected for
the manufacture of coal gas. The change, though
made at a most opportune time, was not made in
view of the probable effect of the impending war,
which soon after cut off the supply of rosin ; the
cost of the little which could be obtained was in
creased more than ten fold.
The success of the company from that time for
ward has been uninterrupted. Gas is now sup
plied to over fifty streets, and there are about
nineteen miles of mains in use. Gas is furnished
to five hundred and eighty-nine street lamps and
the number of consumers is over seven hundred.
The original capital has been increased with the
growth of the business, and now amounts to
$150,000, $50,000 of which is in the form of scrip.
Dividends have been and are regularly paid, and
the economy and uniform success of the enter
prise, speaks well as to the fidelity and intelli
gence of the management.
• During the last ten years it has been managed
by I. F. Terrill and Edward H. Avery, as Presi
dents, and for that period David S. Dunning has
been the Superintendent and Treasurer, on whom
the details of business management have chiefly
rested. Within that time the mains have increased
from nine to nineteen miles, and nearly all the
old mains have been replaced by those of larger
caliber ; new gas holders ; purifiers, &c., have
been buflt, and the.facihties for the production of
gas doubled. Within the past year the consump
tion of gas has increased neariy twenty-five per
cent., and there has been a diminution of price cor
responding to the diminished cost of production.
' The following have been the officers of the
company at different periods since the organiza
tion to the present time : From the first organ
ization of the company until January ist, 1877,
Michael Kavenagh acted as foreman of the com
pany, a period of twenty-six years, without being
charged with one hour of lost time, a length and
continuity of service, it is believed, with few par
allels in the records of industrial service ; he is
very properly a pensioner of the company, now
that he is disqualified by age from further service.

Presidents — George B. Chase, 1850-53; Adam
MUler, 1853-54; Benjamin F. Hall, 1854-57;
Albert H. Goss, 1857-58; Z. M. Mason, 1858-
'Sg; Paul D. Cornell, i85g-'6o; Israel F. Ter-
rfll, 1860-61 ; George PI. Plarbottle, 1861-62;
Richard Slccl, 1862-63; lulward Avery, 1863-
'67; Israel P\ Terrill, i867-'6g; and Edward H.
Avery, i86g to the present time.
Superintendents — Thomas Ploadly, 1850-56;
George B. Chase, 1856-60; Paul B. Cornell,
1860-62 ; Albert PI. Goss, 1862-65 ; Henry S.
Dunning, 1865-71 ; David M. Dunning, 1871
to the present time.
Secretaries and Treasurers — Benjamin F. Hall,
1850-54; Sullivan N. Smith, 1854-55 ; Philip
R. Freeoff, Treasurer, 1854-56; Geo. R.Chase,
Secretary and Tteasurer, 1856-60; A. H. Goss,
1860-65 ; Henry S. Dunning, i865-'6g; David
M. Dunning, i86g to the present time.
The Auburn Steam PIeating Co., Limited,
was incorporated June 6th, 1878, and completed
their organization June 26, 1878, by the election
of the following named Directors, M. L. Walley,
President ; Chas. A. Smith, Secretary and Treas
urer; Calvin Young, J. H. Osborne, C. M. How
let, H. J. Sartwell and J. A. Cook. Calvin
Young, J. A. Cook and M. L. Walley were con
stituted an executive committee. The object
of- the company is to introduce the Holly sys
tem of steam heating into public and private
buildings. A one story brick building, 50 by 32
feet, is being erected on the Outlet, in rear of
the Cayuga Co. National Bank, into which the
company purpose putting six fifteen feet boilers.
The laying of 4,500 feet of mains, all that it is
designed to put down immediately, is in progress,
and it is expected they will be brought into use
by the middle of October, 1878.
Auburn Fire Department. — The first fire
department was instituted in 18 15, the year in
which the village was incorporated. The presi
dent was authorized to procure "a good sized
fire engine" and one hundred fire-buckets for the
use of thevfllage. November 20th, 1815, Anselm
S. Plowland, Abijah Keeler, Abel Terry and
Ezekiel Williams, Jr., were appointed fire-ward
ens ; and John Patty, Henry Porter, Francis M.
DeKlyne, Samuel Compston, Richard Skinner,
Conrad TenEyck, Plelim Bennett, Samuel D.
Lockwood, Abraham Gridley, Philip Grandin,
Wm. R. Gregory, Jno. W. Hunter, Abraham

AUBURN FIRE DEPARTMENT.

217

Smock, Benjamin F. Young, Benjamin R. Yard,
Wm. Norton, Reuben Porter, Robert Muir, Gib
bons P. Mather, Henry Reynolds, Barker Lovefl,
Caleb Woodworth, James Minten and Garret
Bennet, firemen. This was Auburn's first fire
company. The same date it was ordered, "that
every dwelling house, store or mechanic shop less
than three stories high within said village, shall
be supplied with a good substantial ladder of suf
ficient length to reach from the ground to the
height of four feet above the eaves of the build
ing ; and that every dwelling house, store or me
chanic shop of three stories high or upwards shall
have a scuttle hole through the roof at least three
feet square, with a convenient pair of stairs lead
ing to the same ; and it is further ordered, that
the occupant of every dwelling house, store or
mechanic shop, shall provide the necessary ladder
or scuttle hole as above directed before the first
of January next, and every person who shall fail
to comply with this order shall forfeit the sum of
$5, to be recovered with costs of suit."
On September 12th, 1816, it was "ordered by
the trustees of the village of Auburn, that the
owner or owners of every dwelling house, store,
office or mechanic shop, situated in said village,
do furnish the said buildings respectively with
good substantial leather fire buckets, with the
owner's name printed on each bucket, on or be
fore the 1st day of November next, after the fol
lowing manner, to wit : to each dwelling house
having either one or two fire-places, one bucket ;
to each dwelling house having three fire-places,
two buckets ; to each dwelling house having five
fire-places, three buckets ; and to each dwelling
house having seven or more fire-places, four
buckets ; to every store, two buckets ; and to
every office and mechanic shop having either a
stove or chimney in the same, one bucket ; and
that the owner or owners of every such dwelling
house, store, office or mechanic shop, who shall
fail to provide the necessary buckets agreeable to
this order, shall forfeit and pay for each bucket
that shall be wanting the sum of four dollars, to
be collected with costs of suit for the benefit of
the corporation."
A fire engine was ordered in December of this
year (1816) and received the following January.
The building in which it was kept stood on thc
south side of Market street nearly opposite the
house of Neptune Hose Company No. i, in rear

of the City Hall, to the site of which it was sub
sequently removed. This addition to the equip
ments of the department was made the occasion
for the passage of a series of ordinances for its
government. January 20th, 181 7, it was ordained
that in all cases of fire happening in the village,
it should be the duty of the president and trus
tees to immediately repair thither, each wearing
a white belt around his body, and the president,
or trustee acting in his stead, who was constituted
the "commanding officer," was required to wear
upon his hat or cap a white badge and to carry a
speaking trumpet. It was made the duty of the
trustees to form ranks for carrying water, to pre
serve order, and generally to aid the president
The fire wardens were required to equip them
selves with white belts ; procure ladders, fire-
hooks and other "necessary utensils," to aid in
checking and extinguishing the fire, and charged
with the proper care of the same ; and "to ex
amine the state of the fire buckets, and of every
chimney and stovepipe, and place for depositing
ashes," the first week in every month from Octo
ber to Aprfl, and in July of each year, and report
their condition to the president. If either of
these officials refused or neglected to faithfully per
form the duties enjoined on him, he was to for
feit and pay for each offense the sum of $5, to be
recovered with costs. Firemen were required to
provide themselves with leather hats or caps, in
such form and with such devices as the president
should prescribe, and wear thern "at all times
when called out on actual duty or for exercise ;
and to repair immediately on alarm of fire to the
engine, convey it to or near the fire, and work
and manage thc said fire engine, hose and other
instruments and implements thereto belonging
with all their skill and power." If any fireman
"willfully or negligently" failed to attend any fire,
or to perform his duty when there, or left his en
gine without permission, or failed to "do his duty
in washing, working or exercising his engine
when lawfully required," he should "for the first
offense forfeit and pay $3, and for the second"
" be removed from his station, and such removal
and the cause thereof be published in all the
newspapers printed in said village."
May 2d, 181 7, the ordinance passed November
20th, 18 1 5, appointing a fire company, was re
pealed, and the following were appointed fire
men, viz : Samuel L. Dunham, Richard Skin-

2l8

CITY OF AUBURN.

ner, James Dunscomb, D. Campbell, Ralph De
camp, Samuel D. Lockwood, Wm. TenEyck,
James Beardslee, Jesse Smith, John Osborn,
John Patty, Philip Grandin, Archy Kasson, John
Hunter, Josiah Porter. Chauncey Coe, Robert
Muir, Geo. PloUey, Palmer Holley, Heman Wal-
bridge, James Randall, PI. F. Mather, Tall madge
Cherry, and Conrad TenEyck. This company
is perpetuated in A'i?//////^ //i?i-^ Company No. \,
the name having been changed from Neptune
Engine Company No. i, in November, 1868.
Archy Kasson was chosen Foreman; John W.
Hunter, Assistant-Foreman, and C. TenEyck,
Secretary and Treasurer. Ralph Decamp, who is
living near Fosterville in the town of Aurelius,
is believed to be the only surviving member of
this company.
At a meeting of the company at the house of
Henry Amerman, the first Wednesday in May,
18 1 7, to " attend to the washing," when " the en
gine was taken out. played and found in good
order," the following named members were " ab
sent and subject to fines :" Samuel C. Dunham,
James Dunscomb, Ralph De Camp, Wm. Ten
Eyck, Jesse J. Smith, Richard Skinner, David
Campbell, Samuel D. Lockwood, James Beards
lee, and John H. Osborne.
In 1820, the facilities for subduing fires were
increased by the addition of a second engine,
which was furnished by the State and kept in the
lower story of the prison armory. It was man
aged by a company of citizens and was available
in case of fire in the village. The burning of
the north wing of the prison in 1820 led to this
precaution on the part ofthe State.
Until 1854, what is known as the "goose
neck"! fire engine was used by the department.
A Smith fire engine was ordered ior Neptune En-
o-ineCo. No. i, December loth, 1853, and received
in the spring of 1854. This was the first engine
of its kind received in the city. The other com
panies were supplied with engines of the same
pattern as changes became necessary. But these
appliances, which had always been hand engines,
were discarded on the introduction of the water
works, which obviated the necessity for engines,
of which, at that time, there were three, in addi
tion to the one in the Prison.
The Auburn Fire Department was incor
porated May 2 1st, 1873, and "authorized to pur
chase by gift or otherwise, hold and convey any

real or personal property, for the use of said cor
poration, not exceeding in value the sum of $10,-
000." Its object is thus stated in section 6 of'the
charter : " The board of trustees shall apply the
funds of said corporation, which shall arise from
fines collected in pursuance of this act, or of by
laws made in pursuance thereof, certificates of
membership, money paid by insurance companies
in pursuance of law and donations, or such parts
of said funds or of the income thereof as they'
may deem proper, to the relief of indigent and
disabled firemen or their families, and also to de
fray such contingent expenses as may be neces
sary in the transaction of the business ofthe said
board of trustees." Article g of the by-laws em
powers the relief committee to grant relief, "when
deemed necessary and just," " the stated sum of
five dollars per week, for and not to exceed ten
weeks, and one dollar per week for all time after
that ; and the torch boys of the company shall
receive the sum of three dollars per week, for the
same length of time as a fireman."
The first trustees were Ralph B. Stalker, Geo.
Wflson, John Dower, George Friend, Nicholas
D. Kirst, Edward Ryan, Lansing D. Wilder,
Hilem B, P'ay, George W. Saulsbury, Charles
Tallowday, Austin S. Brooks and George Smith ;
and the first officers, George H. Battams, Presi
dent ; Benj. J. Milk, First Vice-President ; Jo
seph H. Morris, Second Vice-President ; Lan
sing D. Wilder, Secretary; and Horace T. Cook,
Treasurer.
Fire Department — Organization of 1878.
C7//^— Joseph PI. Morris.
First Assistant — Thomas B. Foley.
Second Assistant— David S. Pearson.
President— Isaac Moore.
First Vice-President — Vacan t.
Second Vice-President — Wm. C. Burgess.
Secretary-^George W. Wilson.
Treasurer — Hilem B. Fay.
Tmstees of Neptune Hose No. i — Geo. W. Wil
son, Ezra Hamilton.
Tmstees of Letchworth Hose No. 2 — Isaac
Moore, John McAlpin.
Tmstees of Niagara Hose No. 2— P. J. Cashan,
Bartley Planning.
Tmstees of Cayuga Hose No. A— H.M.Va^v S
L. Paddock. ^
Trustees of Ross Hose No. 5— John C. Healey,
J. Burdette Graves.
Trustees of Alert Hose No. 6— E. W. VanAl-
styne, James T. Hooper.

AUBURN FIRE DEPARTMENT.

219

Trustees of Logan Hook and Ladder— Thos.
Speares, Wm. C. Burgess.
. The department comprises seven hose compa
nies, equipped with 6,450 feet of linen hose,
(4,850 feet in good, and 1,600 feet in poor con
dition,) 100 feet of leather hose, and 155 feet of
rubber hose, and one hook and ladder company
with the usual equipments. The several com
panies are officered as follows :
Neptune Hose Co. No. i — Jno. C. Winsor, fore
man ; Jno. PI, Stone, first-assistant ; Edward
Miles, second-assistant ; Joseph Russell, presi
dent ; Henry L. Snook, vice-president ; Byron
R. Witham, secretary ; George Youngs, treas
urer. The company was organized May 2d, 1817,
and contains seventeen members.
Letchworth Hose Company No. 2, reorganized in
1873, Cleophas Corbett, foreman ; Henry Kinch-
ley, first-assistant ; Frank Devitt, second-as
sistant ; W. R, Paige, president ; Nicholas Plahn,
vice-president ; A. Stupp, recording secretary ;
F. N. Mosher, financial secretary ; Isaac Moore,
treasurer ; James O'Neil, steward.
Niagara Hose Co. No. 3, consists of seventeen
members; John Byrnes, foreman ; E. Jones, first-
assistant; Jno. McCarthy, second-assistant ;
Frank F"lynn and P. J. McCabe, secretaries ;
Daniel McCarthy, treasurer; Michael Kinchley,
president ; P. McGovern, vice-president.
Cayuga Hose Co. No. 4, organized June 28th,
1872, and consists of eighteen members ; James
Bowen, foreman ; C. L. Griswold, first-assistant;
James French, second-assistant ; S. L. Paddock,
president ; G. W. Plolden, vice-president ; Jno.
E. Davie, secretary ; John D, Crayton, treas
urer. C N. Ross Hose Co. No. 5, organized in 1868 ;
George Brill, foreman ; Ed. Hallis, first-assist
ant ; J. Hughes, second-assistant ; Jno. B. Kel-
land, president ; Burt Graves, vice-president ; H.
E. Derby, recording-secretary ; S". O. Colby,
Jr , financial-secretary ; J. C. Cheatham, treas
urer. Alert Hose Co. No. 6, organized as Good Will
Hose Co. No. 6, in 1874 ; PI. L. Storke, foreman;
Chas. Albrighter, first-assistant ; Nicholas Kirst,
second-assistant; George Webber, president ; P,
Plefferman, vice-president; Dennis Burke, secre
tary ; H. Ward, Jr., treasurer; Frank Roach,
steward. Exempt Hose Co., was organized in May, 1867,

and consists of ten members ; Henry Ivison, fore
man ; S. Cady Titus, first-assistant ; Chas. W.
Jones, second-assistant ; Thomas Graham, presi
dent ; Julius Kroft, vice-president ; Jno. Brumel-
kamp, treasurer.
Logan Hook and Ladder Company, with twelve
members ; Wm. C. Burgess, president ; W. H.
Bell, foreman; George Adell, first-assistant ; Jno.
H. Rawson, second-assistant ; C. Q, Day, secre
tary and treasurer ; and L. Morris, steward.

BENCPI AND BAR.
The Bar of Auburn was early distinguished for
the ability, influence and success of its members.
Prominent among its earliest representatives were
Enos T. Throop and Elijah Miller, and more re
cently Wm. H. Seward, of whom more extend
ed notices will be given in, a succeeding chapter.
In 1806, Mr. Throop formed a copartnership
with Joseph L. Richardson, who came from
P'rederick, Md., about that time, and removed
his office, established the previous year in a log
house on the ground afterwards occupied by Mr.
Morgan, to Horner's tavern. This partnership
continued till about 1815, on the 17th of Aprfl
of which year, Mr. Richardson, who had pre
viously held the office of Assistant Attorney-
General, was appointed District-Attorney for the
gth District, which was formed March 29th, 1809,
and until 1817, comprised the counties of Cayu
ga, Chenango, Madison, Onondaga and Cort
land. Mr. Richardson was Brigade Paymaster dur
ing the war of 1812-14. He was appointed
District-Attorney of Cayuga County, June nth,
1818, and held the office tfll 1821. He succeed
ed Gershom Powers, as First Judge of the Court
of Common Pleas of this County, January 8th,
1827, arid retained that position till the Constitu
tion of 1847 went into effect and made the office
elective. Both he and Throop were able and
successful lawyers, and established and maintain
ed a high reputation in the profession.
Judge Richardson died in 1855, Sged seventy-
nine years. A strong, upright, plain granite
monument marks his grave in Fort PliH Ceme
tery, a monument characteristic of the man, who
was as firm as the granite itself in adhering to
what his judgment pointed out as right. ^

220

CITY OF AUBURN.

Other lawyers of this period, but of less promi
nence, were Moses Sawyer, Walter B. Nichols,
the first post-master at Hardenbergh's Corners,
and Zephaniah Caswell.
Geo. B. Throop was born in Johnstown,
Montgomery Co,, in about 1793. He removed to
Auburn about i8i5,and studied law in the office
of his brother, EnosT. Throop, having previously
pursued his legal studies in Johnstown. He soon
after formed a law partnership with Samuel
Drake Lockwood, a counselor of high standing,
which continued tfll i8ig, when the latter re
moved to Vandalia, III. Mr. Throop represented
the 7th Dist. in the State Senate from 1828 to
1831, both inclusive. When the Cayuga County
Bank was started, in 1833, he became its cashier,
a position he held till late in 1840. He after
wards removed to Detroit, Mich., where he died
some thirty years ago. He ranked with Auburn's
best counselors, but had not been in full practice
for several years when he left here.
John Porter came to Auburn from Mass.,
about 1 8 12, and practiced awhile in connection
with Geo. B. Throop. He was appointed Sur
rogate of Cayuga County, March 12th, 1828, and
held the office eight years. Pie was elected to
the State Senate in 1843, and served that and
the three succeeding years. He was appointed
District Attorney of Cayuga County, February
14th, 1 82 1, and held that office till 1828. He was
a close student and an excellent office lawyer,
and although he tried cases at nisi prius, he was
not a good forensic speaker. He was diminutive
in stature and feeble in voice. His specialty was
the law of partnerships and corporations. He
possessed great familiarity with reported cases.
He was proverbially a book-lawyer, rather than
an original one. In 1834, he formed a law part
nership with Nelson Beardsley, which continued
till 1838, when Benj. F. Hall was admitted as a
third partner. The three practiced in company
tin January, 1843, when Mr. Porter withdrew in
consequence of his election to the State Senate.
At the expiration of his senatorial term he re
sumed practice, in connection with his son-in-law,
Alonzo G. Beardsley, and continued to act as
counsel in that office till he lost his eye-sight ;
and from that time tfll his death, in October,
1873, he lived in retirement.
Hon. Jno. W. Hurlbert, who was a Repre
sentative in Congress from Mass., from 181410

1817, came to Auburn the latter year from Berk
shire in that State, and took high rank from the
first as an eloquent jury lawyer, especially in
criminal cases. His ability to electrify a jury
into sympathy with his purpose has not been
equaled in this County. He was employed
chiefly in criminal cases in Central New York,
and was retained on the side ofthe defense in al
most every criminal case that arose during his
residence here, During the later years of his
life he was engaged almost exclusively in defend
ing criminals. Pie was a genial, public-spirited,
patriotic man, and was generally selected to act as
orator forAuburnon all public occasions. Hegave
utterance to Auburn's welcome to La Fayette on
the occasion of his visit here in 1825, and his ef
fort on that occasion was considered equal to
those of Jno. Quincy Adams or Daniel Webster.
He died suddenly of appoplexy October igth,
1831. Wm. Brown, known as Bishop Brown, from
his having been a minister of the gospel, came to
Auburn soon after the war and practiced here till
about 1830, when he discontinued practice and
removed to Brooklyn, where he lived in a state of
comparative retirement till his death, about i860.
He was a sound lawyer and a leading member of
the Bar. His son, Wm. H. Brown, removed in
i8ig, when a young man, then but recently ad
mitted to the bar, to Kaskaskia, III., in com
pany with Samuel Drake Lockwood, and both
were eminently successful., Brown's health be
came impaired after a long residence in Illinois,
and he went abroad, hoping for restoration, but
he died across the ocean,
Michael S. Myers was born in Waterford,
Saratoga county, April 15th, 1801, and was edu
cated in the common schools of that place and
the Academy at Fairfield, Plerkimer county.
Pie commenced thc study of law in 1816, with
John Cramer, of Waterford. In 1817, he re
moved to Auburn and continued his studies in
the office of Lockwood & Throop, and subse
quently, after the removal of Mr. Lockwood to
Illinois, in i8ig, in that of Mr. Throop. He was
admitted to the bar in the spring of 1825, and
commenced practice in company with Mr. Throop,
with whom he remained tifl September, 1826,
when he formed a partnership with Glen Cuyler
of Aurora, where he resided till the fall of 1828,
when, having been elected County Clerk he re-

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[Photo by Squyer & Wright,]

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MicuABL Van Scuoonuoven Myers was bora at Waterford,
Saratoga county. New York, April 1.5th, 1801. His father. Peter
M, Myers, was a son of General Michael Myers, of Heilcinier,
New Tork. and his mother, a daughter of Jacobus Van Schoou-
hoven j on the father's side German, and on the mother's Hol
lander. Both of his grandfathers served in the war of the
Revolution and both were State Senators under the First Consti
tution, Myers for six years and Van Schoonhoveu for ten years.
They were men of great energy and force of character. General
Myers was a large land-holder, had a beautiful residence aud
Huely improved grounds in the village of Herkimer, and, as
slave-holding was then common, he was distinguished above his
neighbors as the owner ol the largest number of colored ser
vants. He owned besides other large landed estates, nearly the
entire grounds on which thc village of Herkimer is built. But
In this, as in nearly every other similar case, whether in Auburn
or elsewhere in the State, the property of a wealthy grandfather
did not descend to his grandchildren. It became scattered and,
for the most part, fell into other hands than those of the lineal
descendants. The father ot Mr. Myers was a lawyer in good standing, but
died in the thirty-seventh year of his age, leaving to his large
family a comfortable home in the village of Herkimer, but iio
other source of income. They were therefore compelled to re
sort to some means of self-maintenance. The subject of this
sketch was the oldest of the family, and his school advantages
were limited to the public schools and two years at the Academy
at Fairfield, one of the best conducted institutions ol the kind
then in the State, It was decided that ho should study the pro
fession of law, and au opportunity being open to liim to earn a
Cart of his nocossary cxjicnBOH liy duties In iho iioRt-olIIco at Au-
iiru, lie ciupio hero In 1817 and cntciud Uia liiw-olllco of Thi-oop
& Lockwood, beiug then sixteen years of age. There he re
mained two years, and afterwards in that of George B. Throop.
After seven years study, he was admitted to the bar in 182.5, be
ing then twenty-four years of age. On December 31st, 1826, he
married Miss Susan Cornell, with whom he lived about forty-
eeven years. Soon after his admission to the bar, he removed to
Aurora, and for two years Was the law-partner of Glen Cuyler.
In 1828, he was elected County Clerk and removed to Auburn,
where he has ever since resided. He was elected to that oflice a
second aud a third time, holding it lor three consecutive terms,
— nine years, the only instance in the Couuty of au election to
that office for the third time. In 1838 he was appointed District-
Attorney, by the Court of Common Pleas, now the Couuty Court,
and held the office for three years. He was Inspector of the
Auburn Prison in 1843, and has held several other official and
responsible positions.
He has discharged the duties of every public position which

he was called upon to All efficiently and faithfully, and won the
deserved conflclence of those whom he served, whether in an
official, or professional capacity, and secured the sincere regard
of all that made his acquaintance. He has frequently been called
upou to deliver public addresses, in which he always acquitted
himself witli honor and distinction, and his address upon the oc
casion of the dedication of Fort Hill Cemetery was especially
happy and appropriate.
In person Mr, Myers is above the medium height, of symmetri
cal form, with a completeness and perfection^of physical de
velopment seldom equalled, and his mental, moral and social
qualities are but counter-parts of his physical. He is eminently
social and genial iu his temperament, and delights to listen to,
or relate, anecdotes and incidents, of which he has > an ample
store. Blessed with unusually vigorous and even health, age has
made upou him much less than the average impress, and in
cheerfulness of spirits and agility of movement he is equalled
by few of his age.
Though nearly seventy-eight years of age, he is yet regularly
ou the street and in his office, and has many companions, who
delight iu ills society. He is very companionable, aud has al
ways been so. He has, and has had, many intimates, among
them the venerable and lamented Governors Throop and Sew
ard. With the latter especially, from their first acquaintance
until the death of Mr. Seward, there existed the most confidential
social relations. These wei-e made manifest in the most sacred
affairs of life. He was groomsman at Mr. Seward's wedding ;
one of the small party that attended him ou his wedding tour ;
was selected to welcome home the travel-worn statesman on two
occasions from his long and flnol wanderings ; and was one of
the licarors at his fiiiioral.
There was uo political alllllatlou hotweon them. They be
longed to opposite parties aud were each strong partisans ; yet
their social attachments were not tliereby weakened, nor their
respect for each other lessened. There could have been there
fore no other tie which bound tlrem together than pure, sincere
personal regard ; and, when we consider ilje sagacity and care
with which Mr. Seward selected his personal fi-iends, it is no
slight compliment to Mr. Myers that be held throughout his life
the firm friendship of Mr. Seward.
Mr. Myers had two sons and three daughters, of whom one
daughter only survives. Of his early acquaiutances among the
young men of the village, and he knew them all, he alone re-
maius. There are still living here men that were then residents,
who are older than he, as the venerable gentlemen Dr. Richard
steel and Abijah Fitch, but they were in a social circle com
posed of meu of riper years. Mr. Myers has therefore outlived
nearly all his own family, and also the generation that sixty-
two years ago, formed the village of Auburn.

ii

--^

BENCH AND BAR.

221 ¦

turned to Auburn, and opened an office in con
nection with his brother, P. Hamilton Myers,
who soon after removed to Little Falls. He re
tained the position of County Clerk nine years
successively, and is the only person who has held
that office more than two terms. January 25th,
1838, at the expiration of his clerkship, he was
appointed District-Attorney, and held that office
three years. He was Inspector of Slate Prison
from 1842 to 1844, during Gov. W. C. Bouck's
administration. Pie was Postmaster one year
during President Polk's administration, and from
time to time has been Commissioner of Deeds,
Notary Public, &c. Mr. Myers was the con
fidential friend of the late Gov. Throop and the
leading man herefrom the time of his settlement
among the politicians of the VanBuren and Ed
win Croswell order, through all the period in
which Throop. Marcyand that class of politicians
held public office. He is a good office lawyer,
and safe counselor. He is a man of great can
dor and strict integrity. The intrinsic excel
lence of his character, his amiability and fidelity
to friends, have secured for him the profound re
spect of all who know him. Pie survives in most
excellent physical and mental condition, and is
still practicing in company with W. W. Hare of
Groton, who spends a portion of his time in the
office in Auburn.
Richard L. Smith came here from Washing
ton county about 1820, and practiced law in con
nection with James Porter, (who subsequently
removed to Skaneateles and became Registrar in
Bankruptcy,) and afterwards with John W. Hurl
bert. He was an active Democratic politician and
very popular with thc masses, especially those
who angled for trout in the brooks of the neigh
borhood. Pie was a remarkably bright man, and
a rapid writer and talker. He was a Member of
Assembly in 1830 and 1836, and was appointed
District-Attorney January 21st, 1832, which
office he held tfll 1838, in which year he died.
His fondness for piscatorial sports caused him to
neglect his business very much during the latter
years of his life, and so improvident was he in
providing amusements of that character that he
never accumulated any property in excess of his
immediate needs.
Parliament Bronson came here from Ver
non, Oneida Co., about 1825, and formed a law
partnership with Richard L. Smith, in connec-
38-2

tion with whom he practiced a few years. He
afterwards went into the office of Joseph L. Rich
ardson, who threw most of his business in Bron-
son's hands. He was a'tall, stately, genteel, pre
cise person of the Lord Chesterfield stamp, who
over-topped most of his associates in stature and
outshone most of them in dress. He was neat
without being foppish, and his great exactness in
dress and manner won for him the epithet of he-
ir)g very parliamentary. He was a highly edu
cated, exact, conscientious, and indeed a profound
lawyer in every line of information to be derived
from books ; but he seldom mingled with the
people in their ordinary business affairs, and con
sequently was not familiar with the artifices of
trade. Pie was proverbially a safe counselor in
every department of the law he assumed to ex
pound. Pie never had an extensive law practice,
but always a remunerative one, as those who em
ployed him at all and became acquainted with
his talents continued to do so as long as they had
anything for him to do. His briefs were made
up with remarkable precision and fullness, and
his arguments before the bench, although laconic,
were forcible and convincing. He never under
took a case for a client without being first con
vinced that he was right in his legal premises,
and he was therefore generally successful. He
had an extensive library of very choice works,
and was noted from his habit of annotating their
margins. His circle of intimate acquaintances
was smafl, but among them he was highly es
teemed. He seldom condescended to mingle in
politics, or in anything which involved associa
tions with the lower classes of people ; but he at
tacked his political opponents with vindictiveness
and asperity. He never entertained much re
spect for the election laws which make places of
honor and trust dependent upon the caprices of
the masses ; he was therefore opposed to the Con
stitution of 1846, which made the office of judge
an elective instead of an appointive one. He
died June 20th, 1857.
Theodore Spencer, son of Ambrose Spen
cer, came to Auburn about 1825, and opened an
office in connection with Jno. W. Hurlbert. He
practiced law some six years, and removed to
Utica, where he studied divinity.
Nelson Beardsley was born in Oxford, Ct.,
May 30lh, 1807. He graduated at Yale College
in 1827, and immediately thereafter removed to

222

CITY OF AUBURN.

Auburn and commenced the study of law with
Col. Jno. W. Hurlbert. After about six months
he entered the office of Wm. H. Seward, with
whom he completed his studies, and with whom,
after his admission to the bar in 1830, he formed
a partnership, which continued some ten years,
until Mr. Seward assumed a land agency in
Chautauqua county. Pie then associated himself
with John Porter, and continued that connection
tifl 1843, when his connection with the Cayuga
Co. Bank, as President, necessitated a discon
tinuance. He has since occupied thp position of
President of that Bank. Pie was Master in
Chancery from 1831 to 1840.
Warren T. Worden was born in Milton,
Saratoga county, November 7th, 1806. Pie grad
uated from Union College, came to Auburn in
1822, and in 1828 commenced the study of law
with Wm, H. Seward. Pie afterwards pursued
his studies with William Brown, and was admit
ted to the bar in the same class with Preston
King and Henry R. Seklen. He commenced
practice first in company with Robert Campbell,
of Bath, Steuben Co., afterwards Lieut.-Gover-
nor, with whom he continued two or three years.
He was associated five years with Paris G. Clark
and a like period with W. W. Shepard, of Wa-
verly. Pie is a good counselor, a sound lawyer,
and an industrious worker.
James R. Cox was born in New York City
January 15th, 1821. He was educated in the
common schools of New York City, Canaan, Ct.,
Pittsfield, Mass., and Whitesboro, N. Y. Pie
commenced the study of law with Wm. PI. Sew
ard, in Auburn, in 1842, and remained with him
till admitted to the bar in the latter part of 1845,
when he commenced practice here. About
1850, he formed a law partnership with Parlia
ment Bronson, which continued a year and a
half, when he became associated with George
Underwood and Edward PI. Avery, with the
former of whom he continued till his death in
iSsg, and with the latter till 1874, when the part
nership was dissolved. He was admitted to the
United States courts in i860; to the Supreme
Court, on motion of S. S. Cox, in 1875 ; to the
courts of Louisiana and Texas in 1872 ; and to
the courts in Mexico, in which he has practiced
chiefly the last eight or nine years, in 1873.
William E. Hughitt was born in Genoa, Oct.
22d, 1832. He graduated at Amherst Coflege

in 1855, and commenced the study of law the
same year in Auburn, with Underwood Sc Avery.
Pie was admitted to the bar in 1858, and com
menced practice that year in the office he now
occupies. Pie was associated with E, B. Lan
sing about a year and a half, till 1861, when the
latter, who is now in Brooklyn, enlisted as adju
tant in the 75th N. Y. Vol. Infantry. He was
elected County Judge in 1863 and held the office
fourteen years.
Hon. MiLO Goodrich was born in Homer,
Cortland county, January 3d, 1822, and was
educated at Plomer Academy and at Oberlin Col
lege, Ohio. He commenced the study of law in
1840, at Worcester, Mass., with Judge Barton,
with whom he remained four years. He was ad
mitted to the bar in 1844, and commenced prac
tice at Dryden, N. Y., in 1845 and continued
there tfll the spring of 1875, when he removed to
Auburn, where he is now practicing. He was a
member of the Constitutional Convention of
1867-8, and a member of the 42d Congress.
Wm. B. Woodin was born in Genoa, Septem
ber 25th, 1824. Pie graduated from Homer Acad
emy and studied law. He represented the 2d
District of Cayuga County, in the Assembly in
1855. Pie was elected Surrogate of the County
in November, i85g, and was twice reelected to
that position. Pie was elected to the State Sen
ate in 1 86g and reelected in 1871 and 1873. In
1872 he vvas chosen president pro tem. In the
session of 1872-3 he was chairman of the com
mittee on Cities, and retained that position in the
following session. He is a lawyer of considerable
abflity, but has retired from practice.
Hon. Theodore M. Pomeroy was born in
Cayuga, N. Y., December 31st, 1824. He was
educated at Elbridge Academy and Plamilton
College, graduating at the latter institution. He
studied law with Wm, H. Seward. Pie was Dis
trict-Attorney of Cayuga County, from i8so-'s6.
He was Member of Assembly in 1857. He was
a Member of the House of Representatives from
i86i-'g, and served on the Committee on P'oreign
Affairs in the 3.7th and 38th Congresses, in the
latter of which he was chairman of the Committee
on Expenditures in the Post-Office Department.
l-le was a member of the Committees on Banking
and Currency, and Unfinished Business in the
3gth Congress, and chairman of the former Com
mittee in the 40th Congress. Since leaving

--^-5

II-

^J^i^ ''

GitNEnAL John ITatcti CiiEDitr.i,, the subjoot of this memoir, was
bom In tbe town of Coventry, 'I'olland county. In tiio State of Con
necticut, on the 24th day of April, IHllG, and died in Auburn, Oayu.
pa County, in the State of Now York, on the inth day or Juno,
1875, aged sixty-nine yeairs. When he was at the apo of ten years
his father died, leaving bis mother, two sisters and himself in re-
duood ciroumstances, or, in his own words, '* without the means of
support." In the winter of 1817-'18, the family removed to Otsogo county, in
the State of New York, where he attended pchool at a small aoad-
omy in the town of Hartwink, for about eighteen months. At the
age of twelve years he entered a country store in llartwick, as a
clerk, and about two years therealter he apprenticed himself to
William Nichols, of Cooperstown, to learn the watch and silver
smith business, and served as such apprentice nearly seven years.
Oil arriving at the age of twenty-one years, ho took up his resi.
donee in Auburn, in the year 1837, and engaged in business as
watchmaker, jeweler and silversmith, and continued in such busi
ness until lani. Ho was prosperous in business, and soon com
menced investing in stocks ot banks and railroads, and in real es
tate. He was one of the contractors for building a large section of
tile New York and Erie Railway, and the capital. l)ilsiiiess skill and
energy ot Gen. Chedell and his associates, aided the company ma
terially in the construction ot tlio road. He was for many years a
largo stockholder, and one of the directors ot tlio Now York Cen
tral and iludson River Railroad, and a director in banks at Auburn
and Syraouflo; and In all Ills various public positions, hlHdiitles wei-o
RO discharged iiH to eoiimiand the a|ipi-(>val and oonndoiico ofthe
public. Til the year IHIKI. tloii, (!liodell was elected to the Pi-esl-
doiicy of the Syracuse National Bank, aUliough he was at that time
a resident of Auburn.
The following brief extract from the proceedings of the directors
on his death is worthy ot notice horn :
" From Mr, Chedell's earliest connection with this in,stltution Iio
took an interest in its affairs far aliove any consideration of a self
ish character. The honor ot tbe institution, its high standing
among mon whoso opinions are justly to be valued, the preserva
tion nf its perfect soundness in tlio midst of the late civil war. a
pnrlod hardly liiss trying llnancliilly than iiollllcally, these wni-e the
olijeetsol hlB care and couiiBBl."
Mr, Chedell was, In every souse of the word, a practical, pulillc-
splrlted man. Ills great biisliiess energy proniptRd him to actlvo
and continuous ofTort in all he undertook, whether in his private
and personal matters, or those tor the public benefit. He wa,s not
merely a theorist in regard to matters of public improvement in

our city, Itut his time, his practical business talent, and his purse.
wore freely and most liberally given, Aubiiru lias many mouii- ¦
meets ot his munificence. All our various religious and moral so
cieties liave from tirae to time been the recipients ot his bounty.
In the year 1873, he cimpleted the tower and spire ot St. Peter's
church, at the cost ot about ten thousand dollars, and gave to that
corporation further important suras for various purposes ; and to
St. John's Church he gave with equal liberality as to St. Peter's,
Among his gifts to St. John's, was their church lot on which they
have a chapel built, in which the society now worship. By his will.
dated in 187,5, he gave to St, Peter's and St, John's, each, subject
to certain conditions, an additional ten thousand dollars; to the
Oaynna County Asylum tor Destitute Children, and to the Home
fortho Friendless, the sum ot three thousand dollars each. We
need not further follow his tracks in his acts of charity and benev
olence. Enough has been cited to show his kind heart and gener
ous, unseliish liberality in all matters tending to the public good
that were submitted to him, where his assistance by personal
effort, or by pecuniary aid was required, or asked for. His wealth
was iihe product of his labor, personal effort and prudent and
careful husbanding of his earnings, commencing when working at
his trade, at a time when, as he expressed it. he was " not worth
a dollar, and did not know that he ever would be.'.'
lie accumulated a fine fortune, and, so far as wealth was con
cerned, was prospered, and favored beyond his expectations; while
in his domostic life lie was called to boar iillllctlons that fall to the
lot ot but tew. He married In January. 1838, Mellta, daughter ot the
late Philip Cook, ot Hteiibnn county, N. Y, The fruit ot thiR union
wiifl seven clilldi-iui, three amis and four danglitors. Ills oldost bou,
John, served In the war of the llohelllnii, and while In the army
lie waB Btrlcken with slckncaa that eventually, after his discharge
and return home, proved fatal. I'lve others of his children pre-
coded liim to the grave, Ihe only survivor being his daughter
Laura. His wife died iietoro him, and on June lUth, ]H7rj, he
passed away, after having survived and buried his entire family,
with the single exception above noted, Hia burden was heovy. but
he bore it with the patience and fortitude of a Christian, who.
strong in the faith, believes that all things work together for good
lo tlioao who cast tlinir cares upon one who alionndfl In innroy and
conipaBBlnii, and la mighty to nave, lie was for more than twenty
years a ninnibor of Ht, I'ctei-'B (Utilflno|ial) (!hui-nh, at Auburn, and
allowed his faltli by his works. While devoted to the prosperity of
the church ot hia choice, others will bear witness to his regular.
consistent liberality, free from bigotryand sectarian bias, and with
charity toward all.

VILLAGE AND CITY GOVERNMENT.

223

Congress he has been engaged in banking and
express business and the practice of law, and is
now a member of Wm. H. Seward & Co.'s Bank
ing House. He was Auburn's first City Clerk,
which office he held three years continuously,
and was Mayor in 1875 and '76.
Clinton Dugald Mc Dougall was born in
Scotland, June 14th, i83g, and came to America
with his parents in 1842. Pie received an aca
demic education and studied law. In 1861, he
raised a company for the 75th N. Y. Vols., and
went with his regiment to Florida. He was made
Lieut.-Colonelof the i nth N.Y. Vols. inAugust,
1862, and Colonel in January, 1863. He com
manded a post at Centerville, Va,, to June, 1863,
when he joined the Army of the Potomac, in
which he commanded the 3d Brigade, 3d Divis
ion, 2d Corps at Gettysburg, and afterwards the
3d Brigade, 1st Division, 2d Corps, till the close
of the war. He was brevetted Brig.-General in
1864. He returned home at the close of the
war and resumed banking business. Pie was ap
pointed postmaster in Auburn, in March, i86g.
Pie was elected to the 43d and 44th Congresses
as a Republican, and was appointed U. S. Mar.
shal for the Northern District of New York near
the close of Grant's administration.
The present lawyers are, Chas. L. Adams,
Wm. Allen, Mortimer V. Austin, E. H. Avery,
Chas. M. Baker, E. E. Cady, Chas. E. Cootes,
James R. and Wm. C. Cox, J. T. M. Davie, P.
Fred. Deering, Robert L. Drummond, Chas. F.
Durston. Wm. Fosgate, Milo Goodrich, Benj. F.
Hall, W. R. Hallock, W. W. Hare, Wm. E.
Hughitt, James Plunter,  Hulbert, E. D.
Jackson, Fred PI. Kennedy, James Lyon, Patrick
McLaughlin, Edward C. Marvine. Henry A.
Maynard, Michael S. Myers, S. L. Paddock,
Amasa J. Parker, S. E. Payne, (the present Dist.
Attorney,) N. Homer Potter, Lavern A. Pierce,
Geo. O. Rathbun, John Rosecrans. C. N. Sitt
ser, Richard C. Steel, F. P. Taber, John D. Tel
ler, Rollin Tracy, Geo B. Turner, Geo. Under
wood, Herman Van Laer, James White, Oliver
Wood, Edwin A. Woodin, Wflliam B. Woodin,
Warren T. Worden, Warren A. Worden, Frank
D. Wright, and David Wright.

VILLAGE AND CITY GOVERNMENT.
In 1805 the population of the Corners was
about two hundred and fifty, and a shorter and

more euphonious name was desired, which, after
much discussion by the citizens in public meet
ings, was found in the classic name of Auburn.
By 1815, the general desire for the benefits con
ferred by corporate powers was met by the char
ter obtained Aprfl i8th of that year. The meet
ing at which the first village officers were elected
was held at the Court House, on Monday, May
1st, 1815, and Enos T. Throop, Joseph Colt,
Bradley Tuttle, David Hyde and Lyman Paine,
were elected Trustees ; Ebenezer S. Beach,
Eleazer Hills and David Brinkerhoff, Assessors ;
Wm. Bostwick. Treasurer ; John Plaring, Clerk;
and Dr. Hackaliah Burt, Overseer of Highways.
At that meeting the trustees were authorized to
levy and raise a tax on the inhabitants of the vil
lage, not less than ;^ 1,000, nor more than ;^ 1,500,
as they in their discretion might think proper.
At a meeting held at Reading's Inn, May 3d.
1815, Joseph Colt was unanimously elected Presi
dent ; and the trustees decided to raise ;^ 1,500
for the improvement of the streets. At a meet
ing held two days later, at the same place, it was
" ordered that sidewalks be laid out on the turn
pike, eight feet in width from the line of the
turnpike, and that at least five feet of the outer
part of the walks be laid in the following manner,
to wit : along the outer side of the walk a sill of
timber, and the residue of the five feet to be
flagged with flat stone at least two and one-half
inches thick, or good hard brick, descending to
wards the road in the proportion of one inch to
three feet, and elevated at least one inch above
the sifl ; and that posts be set on the outer side of
the walk at least five inches square, and three
and one-half feet high, and not more than ten
feet apart, and that a railing four inches square be
framed in the posts, the top of the railing to be
just three feet above the sill." This presents a
picture which many of the present citizens of
Auburn wifl recognize. At the same time it was
" Resolved, That whenever any individual is
desirous of making sidewalks in front of his house
or lot in conformity to the above orders, and shall
obtain permission to do so under the hand of the
President, he shall be allowed his reasonable
charges and expenses for making such sidewalks,
out of such moneys as shall be in the hands of
the trustees for purposes unappropriated."
The foflowing action taken May 20th, 1815,
may be revived with interest just at this time
when the discussions upon the currency question

224

CITY OF AUBURN.

are so general and prominent. The President
was ordered to procure, sign and issue in the
name of the corporation, small bills, not exceed
ing fifty cents in value, to the amount of ^2,500.
July 6th, 18 1 5, authority was given to increase the
issue by ^1,500, in bills less than one dollar ; and
October 3d. 18 15. it was stfll further increased by
$6,000. March gth. 1836, the town of Auburn.
which was formed March 28th. 1823, was merged
in the village, and additional powers conferred
upon the trustees.
The growth of Auburn from a village to a city
had not been rapid, as the chief element con
tributing thereto was its manufactures, which de
veloped graduaflyand healthily. The opening of
the ErieCanal in 1825. had a depressing influence
for a time, but was measurably compensated for by
the construction of the Auburn & Syracuse Rail
road some ten years later. In 1848, the popula
tion had increased to about 6,000, and March
2 1 St, of that year, it was incorporated as a city,
with four wards, which have since been increased
to ten, partly by the accession of new . territory
and partly by the division of other wards.
The first city officers were. Cyrus C. Dennis,
Mayor; Theodore M. Pomeroy, Clerk; James PI.
Bostwick, Police Justice; Joseph White, Marshal;
Charles A. Parsons, Superintendent of Common
Schools ; Lawrence White. Collector; Horace
G. Van Anden and Elisha White, Overseers of
the Poor; Clark Mastin. Samuel Eddy and Jacob
Shimer, Constables ; John Richardson, Super
visor, ist Ward; Joseph Morris and Shubael
Cottle, Aldermen, ist Ward; Edmund Mortimer,
Assessor, ist Ward ; James V. Palmer. Lyman
Paine, and John M. Dates, Inspectors of Elec
tion 1st Ward; John Olmstead. Supervisor, 2d
Ward ; Joshua Burt and Chas. P". Coffin, Alder
men, 2d Ward ; Wm. PI. Coffin, Assessor, 2d
Ward ; Ebenezer Catlin, Lester V. Keyes and
Wm. Sunderiand, Inspectors of Election, 2d
Ward ; Josiah N. Starin, Supervisor, 3d Ward ;
Edward Barber and Jno. B. Gaylord, Aldermen,
3d Ward ; Henry R. Gariick, Assessor. 3d
Ward ; Asahel C. Munger, Wm. Goodwin and
Edward N. Ketchell, Inspectors of Election, 3d
Ward ; Wm. Beach, Supervisor, 4th Ward ; Ste
phen S. Austin and Wheaton Sanders, Aldermen,
4th Ward ; Jno. H. Hiser. Assessor, 4th Ward ;
Phflo Halladay, Abram A. Vanderhuyden and
Asa Spencer, Inspectors of Election, 4th Ward.

The successive mayors and clerks of Auburn
have been :

Clerks.
Theodore M. Pomeroy.

Wm. V . Segoine.
P'rederick Prince.

James Lyon.
Albert L. Sisson.
Sereno E. Payne.

Edwin Baldwin.

Mayors
1848. Cyrus C. Dennis,
i84g. Daniel Hewson,
1850. Aurelian Conklin,
1851. 1852. Benj. F. Hall,
1853. Thos. Y. Plow, Jr.,
1854. Geo. Underwood,*
1855. John L. Watrous,
1856. Sylvanus H. Henry, "
1857. Lansingh Briggs, James Seymour.
1858. " Theodore PI. Schenck.
i85g.i860. Christoph'r Morgan, Amasa B. Hamblin.
1861. George Humphreys. Wm. PI. Meaker.
1862. " Amasa B. Hamblin.
1863. Jonas White, Jr., Charles P'. Cootes.
1864. Chas. G. Briggs. Charles F. Durston.
1865. Geo. Plumphreys, Daniel O'Sullivan.
1866. John S. Fowler,
1867. 1868. James E. Tyler,
i86g. John M. Hurd,
1870. Thos. Kirkpatrick,
1871. Eli Gallup,
1872. Edward Thomas,
1873. John S. Brown, "
1874. Charies N. Ross, "
1875. Theo. M. Pomeroy, Urban S. Benton.
1876. . "
1877. Alexander McCrea, Sumner L. Paddock.
1878. Martin L, Walley,
The present city officers are :
Mayor— Yiav\^ M. Osborne.
City Clerk — Sumner L. Paddock.
City Treasurer — Jay E. Storke.
City Judge — Edwin A. Woodin.
Assessors — Hiram PI. Rhodes, Wm. S. Bills.
Wm. Gibbs.
Commissioner of Charities and Police — (3 yrs.)
David H, Schoonmaker.
Commissioner of Charities and Police — ( i yr.)
Edwin Downer.
Constables — (3 yrs.) Artemas W. Boclman and
John Mulvey.
" (2 yrs.) Richard Adams and Nor
man L, Parker.
" (i yr.) Charles D. Stephens and
Frank Rich.
Game Constable — George F. Brown.
Aldermen — ist Ward — B. Frank Andrews.
2d " Allen McKain.
3d " F". Van Patten.
4th " H. M. Whipple.
sth " Thomas J. Bell.
6th " C. W. Miles.
* George Underwood having resigned, Joshua Burt was chosen in
June at a siicclal election to fill the vacancy.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.

225

Aldermen — 7th Ward— P. E. Donnelly.
8th " PI. J. White.
gth " Charies P. Burr.
loth •' B. H. Leonard.
Supervisors — 1st Ward — John Murray.
2d " Robert Peat.
3d " Alexander Stephens.
4th " Eli Gallup.
5th " L. S. Goodrich.
6th " Edward Selover.
7th " Wm. Q, White.
8th " Charles F. Guion.
gth " Leonard D. Leach.
loth " Wm. Lamey.
City Attorney — James Lyon,
Street Superintendent — Lewis Paddock.
Chief of Police — Chas. W. Jennings.
Captain " George P^uUmer.
Police Justice — John D. Teller.
Fire Commissioners — Lansing D, Wilder, Rob
ert Peat.
Keeper of City Hall — Michael Barry.
City Surveyor — Vacant.
Board of Health — Samuel Titus, David Wilder,
Robert Bell, Jr.
Physician to Board of Health — Truman K.
Smith. City Sexton — Jacob Wride.
City Scavenger — Robert Hazlitt.
Sealer of Weights and Measures — Corydon
Haynes. Door-Keeper of Common Council Chamber —
Alonzo M. Plurd.
Postmasters — A post-office was established
at Hardenbergh's Corners in 1800, and Walter
D. Nichols, an early lawyer, was the first post
master. He was succeeded by Dr. Samuel
Crossett, who held the office till i8og ; Enos T.
Throop, from i8og-'i5 ; Geo, B. Throop, 18 15-
'33 ; Hiram Bostwick, 1833-37; Geo. Rathbun,
1837-41 ; Wm, C. Beardsley, 1841-45 ; Amos
S. Rathbun, 1845-47; Michael S. Myers, 1847-
'4g ; Ethan A. Warden, i84g-'55 J Elmore P.
Ross, 1855-57; Charies W. Pomeroy, 1857-61 ;
Wm. Allen, i86i-'6g; Clinton D. McDougall,
i86g-'73; John B. Richardson, 1873-77, when
he was followed by Noah P. Clark, the present
postmaster.*

CHAPTER XXX.
History of Auburn, (Concluded.)
Biographical Sketches of Prominent
Citizens.
ENOS THOMPSON TPIROOP.
Enos Thompson Throop was the oldest son
of George Throop. and was born at Johnstown,

Fulton county, on the 21st day of August,
1784. He derived his name from Enos Thomp
son, his maternal grandfather. His father was
liberally educated and capable, but was early dis
abled by an accident, resulting in his early death.
leaving his family, consisting of two sons, Enos
T. and George B., and two daughters, without in
heritance. Mehitable, the eldest sister, married
Thaddeus Martin, of Johnstown, who died early,
and their son, Enos T. Throop Martin, found his
home with his uncle, Enos T. Throop. The
youngest sister married David Akin, who sub
sequently settled at Throopsvifle in this County.
The mother of George Throop married a sec
ond husband, George W. Hatch, then of Johns
town. By this marriage the pecuniary circum
stances of Mrs. Hatch were not much improved,
though she had a good home, and the aid and
counsel of a husband. Her son Enos had profit
ed by the instructions of his father while the lat
ter lived, and was ambitious and aspiring. But
he had mainly to educate himself, aided by the
inferior schools of the place. His father had de
signed him for a profession, and it was the aim of
the mother and the hope of the youth to carry
out the plan. But they were poor and the means
by which he could accomplish the object not clear.
In this dilemma a friend appeared in a cultivated
and wealthy lady, the wife of George Metcalf, a
lawyer of fine attainments who, being appointed
District-Attorney for four counties, including
Albany county, removed to and took up his resi
dence in the city of Albany. Mrs. Metcalf made
known to her husband the wishes of Mrs. Hatch.
and he kindly offered to take the lad into his
family. The latter accompanied the family to
Albany and began his legal studies on the 17th
of October, I7g8, at the age of fourteen. Of the
classics he had no knowledge, and the legal term
of study was seven years. His patron was a
thorough classical student, and under his instruc
tion Mr, Throop entered upon and pursued the
study of the Latin language.
Associated at the State capital with an emi
nent lawyer, Mr. Throop had rare opportunities
for improvement which he faithfully and indus
triously improved. His patron was also an ac
tive politician and his young student was rapidly
learning the lessons of party politics. His pat
ron was removed from office on the triumph of
the Republicans in 1800, and, in the spring of
1801, Mr. Throop returned to Johnstown and for-
the following year pursued his legal studies in the
office of David Cady, an eminent lawyer and ju
rist. He then spent eight months in the study.
of the classics, and completed his legal clerkship
in the office of Matthias Plildreth. of Johnstown,
in 1805. He was admitted an attorney in the
Supreme Court in January, 1806. He had prer
viously visited Auburn at the instance of Mr.
Hildreth's father, who had been one of the com

226

CITY OF AUBURN.

mission that had located the court house at that
village, and had concluded to settle there.
He borrowed of his kind preceptor, on his own
note, two hundred dollars, and on the first day of
March, 1806, reached the village of Auburn. In
the winter of 1807 he formed a paT-tnership with
Joseph L. Richardson, which continued three
years, when Mr. Throop was elected County
Clerk. The parties which divided the electors at that
time were " Federal " and "Republican." Mr.
Throop adhered to the latter. He was a firm
and zealous partisan, and no one could misun
derstand his political position. He held the of
fice of County Clerk from the Republican Coun
cil of Appointment, but in 18 13 that body was
composed of Federalists and Mr. Throop was re
moved, Elijah Mfller, a prominent P'ederalist,
being appointed to the place. Two years later
the Republicans triumphed and Mr. Throop was
restored to the office.
Mr. Throop married Miss Evelina Vreden-
burgh, of Skaneateles, in July, 18 14, by whom he
had'three children, all of whom died in infancy.
Mrs. Throop died in 1834.
In 1 8 14 he was elected to the 14th Congress
as a friend of the war. representing the counties
of Cayuga, Seneca, Tioga and Broome, a double
district sending two members. In Congress his
restless activity led him to take a conspicuous
and influential part in its deliberations. He sup
ported what was called the " compensation act,"
by which the salaries of the members were raised
from about thirteen hundred to eighteen hundred
dollars per year. This was a very unpopular
measure, and led to the defeat at the next elec
tion of nearly all its supporters, including Mr.
Throop. This manifestation of disapprobation
led him to resign his seat ; which he held for a
single session only. In the election to fill the
vacancy caused by his resignation, Mr. Throop
received a majority of six hundred in Cayuga
County, but it. was overcome in the balance of
the district. The vote showed the popularity of
Mr. Throop with those who best knew him.
In i8ig the councfl of appointment was favor
able to the friends of Mr. Clinton, and Mr. Throop
was removed from the office of county clerk, after
which he devoted his attention to his private af
fairs untfl 1833, when he was appointed judge of
the Seventh Circuit, the duties of which position
he discharged with signal acceptance.
Mr. Throop always had strong rural tastes,
and in 1826 he purchased and removed to the
beautiful farm of Willow Brook, on the shore of
the Owasco Lake, intending to pass there the re
mainder of his life. But in 1828 he was induced
to accept the nomination of Lieutenant-Gover
nor on the ticket with Martin Van Buren, the
candidate for Governor, the understanding being
that the latter would be called into the cabinet

of President Jackson if the latter were elected.
Pie was elected, and Mr. Van Buren resigned to
accept the office of Secretary of State of the
United States, Mr. Throop becoming acting Gov
ernor. He discharged the duties of the office with
such satisfaction that he was nominated for and
elected Governor in 1830. In his second official
term he was supported by friendly majorities in
both branches of the legislature, and his measures
generally endorsed. Yet the jarring and disso
nant wrangles of party strife were becoming
more and more distastef^iil to him and he decided
not to be a candidate for reelection. He longed
for the peace and quiet of his lake-shore farm.
He had made an honorable political record, but
his private fortune had not been augmented.
Plis wife dying in 1834, and being childless, he
had no family ties lo bind him to his home, and
for these reasons he was induced to remain longer
in public life than he had intended. He accepted
the position of naval officer of the port of New
York tendered him by President Jackson, hold
ing the office untU 1838, when he was appointed
Charg^-de-Affairs to the kingdom of the two
Sicilies, by President Van Buren. Here he re
mained until the election in 184001 General Har
rison to the presidency, when he returned and
retired to his Willow Brook farm. He was now
fifty-six years of age, with his mental and physic
al powers yet vigorous and active. Pie had pur
chased a large farm near Kalamazoo, Michigan,
and improved and put under cultivation about
two hundred acres. To this farm he removed.
disposing of his Willow Brook property to his
nephew, and for several years devoted his atten
tion to agricultural pursuits. But with the ap
proach of age he returned to his old beautiful
home on the shores of the Owasco, living with
his nephew and enjoying the society of his kin
dred and of the many dear friends who were hos
pitably entertained in his rural home. His old
age was free from many of the disabilities to
which that period is usually subject, and his end
was peaceful. Pie died November ist, 1874.

ELIJAH MILLER.
PIoN. Elijah Miller, one of the early aftd
distinguished residents of Auburn, was the son
of Captain Josiah and Paulina Titus Mfller, and
was born in the town of Bedford, Westchester
Co., New York, Aprfl nth, 1772. His ances
tors on both sides were of English origin. His
father was an industrious and respected farmer
in Bedford, and a captain in the Revolutionary
army. Pie was also an active member of the lo
cal " Committee of Safely," and pledged to " pro
tect the American colonies against the hostile
attempts of the'British fleets and armies."
In his farm operations he was aided by two

BIOGRAPPIICAL SKETCHES.

227

slaves ; and Mrs. Miller, aided by the same num
ber of female servants, performed the diversified
labors of the household, which at that time in
cluded spinning, weaving, and the preparation of
the family apparel. They were Quakers in be
lief, manners and habits of dress, yet it would
seem from the mflitary service of the Captain,
that he was not averse to bearing arms in de
fense of the liberties of his country. In person,
both the father and mother of Judge Miller were
about the medium size, of imposing presence,
and held a highly reputable social position in the
community of which they were members.
Their farm was in the immediate vicinity of
the rival armies, and the husband and father in
the field. On the wife and mother rested the
responsibility of managing both the farm and the
household, and of so hiding movable property as
to save it from the plunderers who would appro
priate whatever fell in their way. But all her
vigilance and care could not prevent the theft of
the products of the farm or even the food pre
pared for family use, and, for years, ibis heroic
woman maintained this life-struggle uncomplain
ingly, as her part of the purchase price of national
freedom. At the close of the Revolution they
had six children, the oldest twelvcyears. and four
were born subsequently. Elijah was their sec
ond child and he received his elementary instruc
tion from his mother, during the dark days of the
Revolution. Captain Miller, about i7go, removed to Rens
selaer county, in this Stale, and soon after bought
the soldiers' rights to several 640 acre lots in the
military tract, the lands lying in what was after
wards Cayuga and Seneca counties. One of
those lots was located in the town of Romulus,
whither he removed, and on which he died in
1 8 1 7, at the age of sixty-eight years. His widow
survived him and died in Auburn in 1835, 3t 'he
age of eighty-four years.
Elijah Mfller was mainly self-educated. The'
instruction given him by his mother, a few years
in a select school in his native town, and one lo
two years in an academy in Pitlstown, Mass.,
constituted his school advantages. While at
Pitlstown he made the acquaintance of Miss
Hannah Foote, whom he afterwards married.
In I7g6, at the age of twenty-four years, he
came to Romulus, and soon began the study of
thc law in the office of Daniel Shepard, in Aurora.
Between the preceptor and student there were
formed the most intimate relations, which after
wards extended to their respective families.
The study of the law pleased him. .He had
that plodding perseverance necessary to work his
way through the dull and ponderous books of
that era and his capacious mind could retain, di
gest and assimilate their crude contents.
His admission to the bar was at the first ses
sion ofthe County Court, after the organization of
39-2

Cayuga County, in May, I7gg. On the first day
of January foflowing he married Hannah Foote
of Williamstown, Mass. They removed to Cayu
ga Ferry and began house-keeping in a dwelling.
which, having been improved, is now occupied
by Edwin PI. Whitney, Esq. In October. 1802,
he was admitted to practice in the Supreme
Court. He was now fully prepared for the successful
practice of his profession in the different courts.
He soon became especially distinguished as a real
estate lawyer, to which he gave particular atten
tion. Pie began his land speculations in I7g6,
and continued them so actively that in fouryears
he had purchased over 6,000 acres of land, in
parcels varying from 50 to 640 acres each, and
he was generally successful in his purchases and
sales. In I7gg he joined Joseph Annin and Thomas
Mumford in the purchase of 1200 acres of land at
Cayuga. Mr. Miller's interest being one-third.
The courts were then held there, and in the ex
pectation of its becoming the County seat, this
purchase was made. The lands were speedily
cut up into lots, offered at low rates, and mostly
sold to speculators, the projectors realizing a good
profit. Thc sale and transference of these lots
were made in Mr. Miller's law office at Cayuga,
as well as that of other real estate in which he
was interested.
Mr. Miller was a man of few, yet of terse and
expressive words. Pie had no patience with the
old and verbose legal forms. " Brevity," he said,
was "the soul of wisdom as well as of wit." He
set himself to eliminating every useless word
from the various legal forms then in use. and
caused the revised blanks to be printed, reducing
them about one half, and reducing to that extent
the labor of recording and other clerical work.
These concise forms are now in general use by
the profession.
As one of the earlier and most active of the
pioneers of this region he made many, and to him,
interesting acquaintances, among whom were
Judge Silas Plalsey, Daniel Shepard, Benjamin
Ledyard, Walter Wood, Thomas Mumford, Wil
hemus Mynders. Garry V. Sackelt. and many
others. These, all solid men intellectually, dis
tinguished as the incumbents of important offi
cial and social positions, were frequent visitors at
his office, house and table. Mrs. Mifler was a
lady of refinement and culture yet of delicate
constitution. The bleak position of their home,
exposed to the winds from the lake, so affected her
health that she passed the winters of i8og-'ii, at
her father's in Williamstown, and died there of
consumption in the latter year, in the twenty-
seventh year of her age. She left two daughters,
Lazette Maria, wife of Alvah Worden, and Fran
ces, aftewards the wife of. William H. Seward.
Mr. Mfller never again married.

228

CITY OF AUBURN.

As a lawyer he was successful and was en
gaged, as the records of the courts of that day
attest, in fully one-fourth of the cases that were
tried, indicating the public confidence in him as a
lawyer and his financial success in his profession.
He was counsel in the trial of " Indian John."
and sought to induce the court to modify its
opinion that the plea made was one of " guilty."
Pie was unsuccessful and the Indian was execut
ed.. In the following year he was also counsel
in the trial of David Williams, who, like ' Indian
John," had mistaken his man, and killed one
against whom he had no grudge. In this case
the same line of argument was pursued, and in
addition, a plea of mental unsoundness was in
terposed. Pie was tried by jury and declared
sane. The trial proceeded and Williams was
found guflty of murder and sentenced to be ex
ecuted. But on the review of the case, he was
declared to be of unsound mind and was sent to,
and died in the insane asylum. These cases are
chiefly interesting as showing that in both instan
ces Mr. Mfller maintained the ground now uni
versally accepted by enlightened jurists, and also
indicating the great care with which he prepared
his cases. His brief in the Wflliams case em
braced over twenty thousand words, equal to two
solid pages of our large city journals, and con
tained citations of authorities from more than
one hundred different books. It was so com
plete and exhaustive of the subject as to engage
the general attention of the profession. Many
copies of the brief were called for and supplied,
and they were largely instrumental in settling
the law of murder.
From I7gg. when Cayuga County was formed.
to 1804 the courts had been held at Cayuga and
Aurora. Seneca county, during this period, was
a part of Cayuga County, and the village of Cay
uga was most convenient to the inhabitants and
the natural place for the county seat. But in
1804, Seneca county was detached from Cayuga,
leaving the hamlets of Aurora and Cayuga on the
margin of the latter county and making a change
of the county seat necessary. This Mr. Miller
clearly saw, and although his pecuniary interests
were to be unfavorably affected by the change,
he did not resist it, but sought to secure for the
court house the most favorable locality. This he
considered to be Hardenbergh's Corners, which
he favored, and where, after a contest of several
years, the court house was erected.
In 1808 he removed to Auburn with his fami
ly and soon after took Mrs. Miller and their two
children to her father's in Williamstown, Mass.,
for the benefit of her health, as she was threat
ened with consumption, he, meanwhile, boarding
at the Centre House, using his room there as his
law office.
In i8og, he erected a residence and office on
the east side of South street, on a lot lying be

tween the present Universalist and Second Pres
byterian churches, where he resided for twenty-
five years. Here he accumulated a large and
Valuable library.
He contributed liberally for the support of
churches and schools. He contributed two hun
dred dollars toward the erection of the first Epis
copal church edifice and eight hundred dollars
toward the erection of an academy building. On
the death of Mrs. Miller, tbe 22d of February,
i8n, he brought his two motherless daughters
to Auburn, under the matronly care of his sister
Martha, and commenced house-keeping. In 1813
he was appointed clerk of the council of appoint
ment and held the office two years. In 1816 he
was appointed one of the three commissioners to
select the site for and erect the Auburn prison.
In 1817 he was appointed Inrst Judge of the
Court of Common Pleas of Cayuga County, the
duties of which he discharged with signal abflity
and acceptance for six years. At no other period
in the history of the County has the bar been
represented by more able counsel than the courts
held by him, and it was their united testimony
that his rulings and charges were among the
most prompt, clear and correct, of any of our
judges, and were given mainly from the capacious
store-house of his memory, with little aid from
his notes, which are said to have been " prover
bially clumsy." Pie had a wonderful power of
condensing the points of a case in a few expressive
words, often to the wonder and surprise of astute
but " many worded " counsel. He drafted and
adopted new rules of practice for his court, which
are said by experts as sufficient of themselves to
establish "his judicial greatness."
A PIisTORic Dwelling. — Between William
and South streets in the city of Auburn, is lo
cated the house of the late Wm. H. Seward, dis
tinguished for the hospitable entertainment of
eminent official guests from many nations. This
home was founded and erected by Judge Miller
in the years 1816-17, and although in the center
of the vfllage the Judge did not wish to be " pent
up." Ample grounds, comprising four acres,
were procured and improved by tree planting and
garden culture. The late notorious Brigham
Young was a journeyman painter and employed
in painting Judge Miller's house.
On the death of Judge Miller's father, in 18 17,
it became necessary for his mother and sister
Clarinda to reside with him, while Martha re
turned to Romulus. The presence in his house
hold of his mother and sister and two sprightly
and blooming daughters, relieved him of domes
tic cares and added much to the cheerfulness of
his home. It was the general custom of the time
to entertain those with whom there were impor
tant business relations, and, as Judge of the
County courts and commissioner for building the
State Prison, he had many occasions for dispens-

^n^^-hy-All.-Ritdii^'

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.

22g

ing that hospitality for which he was distinguished
and which to all concerned was a source of inter
est and pleasure.
Judge Miller was ceaselessly active. In 1817,
with John H. Beach, he projected and built the
first cotton-mfll in Auburn. In 1823 he formed
a law partnership with William H. Seward, who
the year after, became his son-in-law, and, at his
request, resided with him.*
In 1826, he was nominated a candidate for rep
resentative in Congress ; but in the disorganized
condition of his party failed of the election.
The next important public enterprise in which
he engaged was the Owasco Canal project, which,
in various forms, engaged his attention for some
ten years, resulting finally in the conclusion to
build on the site of the present big dam, a mag
nificent structure sufficiently high to form a slack
water communication with the lake, and. by a
canal from the dam along the western side of the
river, to add immensely to the hydraulic power
of the latter. The enterprise was commenced
in 1835. by laying the corner stone of the dam
with much ceremony and with high hope of com
plete success. The dam was carried up to
its present height. v;hen further progress was
arrested by the financial crash of 1837.
He had always been a warm friend of internal
improvements of every kind and the project of
a railroad to the canal commanded, and for five
years received, his active support. The Auburn
and Syracuse railroad found in him an active
supporter. He contributed to it ^10,000 and much
of his time and great influence. This was the
crowning and really the concluding public effort
of his eventful life.
Judge Miller enjoyed company and visited and
received visitors with pleasure and cordiality.
He was the honored patriarch of every circle, and
by his geniality contributed to the common en
joyment. He had great individuality of charac
ter and, in his later years, was very systematic
in his habits, retiring between eleven and twelve
at night and rising before six o'clock in the morn
ing. His meals were served and partaken with un
varying regularity. Daily rides and walks were
taken by him in pleasant weather. In his rides he
often chose a companion whom he entertained
from the great store-house of his memory with an
ecdote and incident, and in his short walks rested
his capacious palm upon the shoulder of some
friend, whom he would use to steady his steps.
Plis last will is such a model of terseness and
brevity that we reproduce it entire :
" I, Elijah Mfller of Auburn, in the County of
Cayuga, do hereby make this my last will and
testament^ 
»rhc bridal tour of the happy pair will show thc prevailing (a?hiona
of thc time In such cases among social leaders, " Thc married pair
with seven friends proceeded in one great barouche to Rust's hotel,
Onondaga Hill, where they supped and remained for the night," re
turning in the morning.

"First-rl hereby give and devise to my daughter,
Frances A. Seward, wife of Wm. H. Seward, and to
her heirs and assigns, my dwelling house, in which
I now reside, and the lot on which it is situated in
the city of Auburn, containing about three acres
of land.
"Secondly — I give, devise and bequeath one-
third part of the rest and residue of my real and
personal estate, subject to the payment of my
debts, unto my daughter, Lazette M. Worden,
wife of Alvah Worden ; and I devise and be
queath the rest and residue of my real and per
sonal estate, subject as aforesaid, to my daughter
Frances H. Seward.
"Thirdly — I appoint William H. Seward, of Au
burn, executor of this my last wifl and testa
ment. "Lastly— 1 authorize and empower my said
executor to sell and dispose of the residue of my
estate, and after the payment of my said debts, to
apportion the avails thereof between my said
daughters, according to their respective shares.
I revoke all former wills.
"In witness whereof I have hereunto set my
hand and seal this fifth day of November. 185 1.
" E. Miller, [l. s.]
"Attested by
"James C. Derby, Norman C. Miller."
The execution of this will, he said. " entirely
fulfilled the purposes of his life." and it so proved.
for eight days after, in the eightieth year of his
age, he sank quietly and peacefully to rest. His
ashes repose in a beautiful spot in Fort Hill
Cemetery, which he was chiefly instrumental in
establishing, and where he had selected the spot
in which he is buried.

HON. WILLIAM H. SEWARD.
A life like that of the Honorable William H.
Seward, whose services for nearly half a century,
commanded the attention of the nation, and for a
long period, of the civflized world, and whose
biography has been written by scores of able
pens, and published in full and ample volumes.
can be but imperfectly presented within the
limits to which, in this sketch, we are necessarily
confined. But this is the less lo be regretted,
since his public life is already a public possession,
understood and appreciated by nearly every
American. What we shall say therefore will be mainly
confined to his early domestic, scholastic and pro
fessional experiences, in which may be traced the
budding and development of the germs of his
future greatness.
Hon. William Henry Seward was the third
son of Dr. Samuel S. Seward, and was born at
Florida, Orange county, N. Y., May i6th, 1801.

230

CITY OF AUBURN.

His ancestors, on both sides, were of English or
Welch extraction, excepting his maternal grand
mother, who was of Protestant-Irish descent.
His father was the physician, merchant and farm
er of the hamlet, and a man of great energy, pei^-
severance and decision of character. Plis con
victions were controlling, and adhered to with
much pertinacity. He was a man of substance,
yet of frugal habits. Pie was a good scholar for
the time, a friend and patron of institutions of
learning, and the founder of the Institute of
Florida that bears his name. He held several
local offices, and for many years was First Judge
of Orange county.
Seward was of delicate physical organization,
though his mind was unusually active and pre
cocious. This fact led to his being early set
apart for a collegiate and professional education,
a distinction which the economical and industrial
spirit ofthe times usually limited to one ofthe fami
ly. At nine years of age he was sent to the academy
at Goshen, the county capital, where he remained
but one term, when he entered the academy of
his native town, which had, meanwhfle, been
erected. Here his preparation for college was
chiefly made. In his studies he was remarkably
diligent, even enthusiastic. Plis time, however.
was not wholly devoted to his books. He had
ample physical exercise ; not in the artificial
forms of to-day. in the gymnasium, at the oar, or
the ball club, but in the diversified duties of the
farm and the household. What they were, wc
will permit him to say in his own frank and sim
ple language, contained in his autobiography,
from which we derive most of the incidents of
his earlier domestic, scholastic and professional
career, and which hitherto have been overshad
owed by the brilliancy of his political fame. As
the boy is but the miniature man, wc can, we
think, trace in the discipline and habits of the
earlier years of the future lawyer and statesman,
the sources of his great influence and power. Of
his habits of study he says :
" My daily studies began at five in the morn
ing and closed at nine at night. The tasks were
just the utmost that I could execute, and every
day a little more; even the intervals allowed for
recreation were utilized."
This extract shows how intensely he applied
himself to mental culture in his boyhood and we
shafl find that the same application distinguished
him in college, in the study and practice of his
profession, and in his political and public efforts
of every kind. It was his great industry, his in
domitable perseverance which formed the ground
work of his successes.
Of his industrial habits in boyhood, we will
also permit him to speak :
" It was my business to drive the cows morn-
in and evening, to the distant pasture, to chop and
carry in the fuel for -the parlor fire, to take the

grist to mill and fetch the flour, to bring the lime
from the kfln. and to do the errands for the family
generally, the time of my elder brothers being
too precious to permit them to be withdrawn
from their labors in the store and on the farm."
This extract shows the rigid and systematic
physical discipline to which he was subjected and
by which the health and vigor of his body were
maintained. His father held slaves in accordance with the
usages and laws of the times. The kitchen and
the garret above it was their household empire.
In the former glowed the capacious wood fire,
around which gathered the sable circle, with their
traditionary stories of evil spirits, witches, ghosts
and of men that had been hanged. Here the
future statesman loved to linger and listen to
their weird tales. Two ofthe younger ones attend
ed school, and. he adds, "sat by my side if they
chose." He had no repugnance in childhood, as
he had none in manhood, to the colored race.
At fifteen years of age he had finished his pre
paratory studies and was ready, he believed, to
enter college in the Sophomore or second year's
class, application for which was made at Union
College. Schenectady. He was successful and
entered the Sophomore class. Here began his
first real experience as a writer, and when we
know the grace, elegance and force of style to
which he afterwards attained, anything which re
lates to his earlier efforts in this field is interest
ing. Of this he writes : " I wrote with difficulty
and confusedly, and, it seemed to me, that diffi
culty was incurable, for I had no generous supply
of facts or knowledge."
As a speaker, his first effort was a humiliating
failure, of which his own description is as com
plete an illustration as need be given. " The
first time I arose to speak, I encountered a gen
eral simper, which, before I got through, broke
into laughter. On inquiring the reason I found
I had a measured drawl. Moreover, the dress I
wore was not of sufficiently fine material, and it
was awkwardly cut by the village tailor, who came
annually to my father's to provide the wardrobe
for the whole rustic family."
Plis elocutionary defects were corrected by
diligent personal efforts and the coarseness and
awkwardness of his apparel by running in debt
with the local tailor for a regulation outfit. In
dependently of the tailor's bill, his other expenses
exceeded the parental quarterly allowance.
Trouble finally arose from this cause.
In college he had set his mark high, and was
determined to reach it. He resolved to be the
valedictorian of his class, an honor lo be awarded
at the close of the senior year to him against
whom the fewest failures in recitations were re
corded during the entire course. We will let the
ambitious student describe his methods of study
in his own language. " We," (young Seward

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.

231

and his room-male,) " rose at three o'clock in the
morning, cooked and spread our own meals,
washed our own dishes, and spent the whole time
which we could save from prayers, recitations and
the table in severe study, in which we constantly
and unreservedly aided each other. The fruits
of this study were soon seen in our work."
He had finished his junior year in July, 1818,
with fine literary success, and his senior and
final year would begin the following September ;
but that fated tailor's bill was not paid. It had
been repudiated by the father as an unauthorized
use of credit by the minor son, which the former
would neither justify nor allow. The tailor was
importunate; the young student, keenly mortified.
Goaded to desperation by the humiliating circum
stances in which he found himself placed, the
latter resolved to make a bold push for personal
liberty and independence. Pie decided to ac
company a class-mate to Georgia, where the lat
ter was to engage in teaching. On the first of
January, 18 19, stealthily and without informing
any of his family, he left Union College, took the
stage for New York, and a schooner thence to
Savannah, Ga., where, in due lime, he safely ar
rived, having eluded the diligent search instituted
for him by his father. His class-mate engaged
in an academy in Augusta, while young Seward
sought employment elsewhere. He went to Put
nam county, where he learned a new academy
vvas about to be opened, traveling lo reach it,
thirty miles on foot. To this he was compelled,
for he had but nine shillings and sixpence in his
pocket, and was among strangers.
Pie was successful in securing an engagement
here at eight hundred dollars a year, paying for
his board one hundred dollars. He was then a
happy youth. Plis way to self-support was open.
Pie was really independent, the great object of
his young ambition. The new building would
not be ready for occupancy in less than five or
six weeks, and. meanwhile, he was freely enter
tained by his courteous and hospitable patrons.
His father having learned his posl-officc ad
dress, had written him, urging his rclurn. and
offering lo supply him with the necessary funds.
He declined the request and forwarded a paper
containing a flattering description of the school
and its principal. This brought from his father
to the president of the board of trustees an in
dignant letter, in which that officer was threat
ened with prosecution if he continued to harbor
the truant son. This letter was kindly and c^ui-
etly shown to young Seward, who made full and
satisfactory explanations of the reasons which led
him to leave college. A knowledge of the mat
ter was judiciously and kindly kept to himself by
the president, and the school was opened and
successfully conducted.
A letter at length came from his mother and
elder sister, burdened with grief and sadness and

with reason, for William was the third son who
had left the parental roof One had enlisted in
the army and the other was seeking a precarious
fortune in the West. The affectionate and earn
est pleadings of the mother and sister, produced
in the young teacher a strong conflict of emo
tions. He desired to earn enough before his
return to pay off his debts, which, he well knew
he would have to pay ; yet, in him, filial affec
tion was even stronger than his love of indepen
dence. He arranged with the trustees to supply
his place in the school, and the following sum
mer returned home. He came, however, not as
a penitent prodigal, but solely to relieve the
anxieties of his mother and sister whom he ten
derly loved. His spirit was unbroken, and he
looked fondly forward to his majority and the
acquisition of his profession when that indepen
dence which he had prematurely sought, might
be securely claimed and maintained. Of this esca
pade he thus tersely speaks ; " I would by no
means imply a present conviction that the fault
in the case was altogether with my father. On
the other hand, I think now that the fault was
not altogether mine. However that may be, he
declined to pay bills for me which he thought un
reasonable, and I could not submit lo the shame
of credit impaired. I resolved thenceforth upon
independence, and self-maintenance."
It was decided that he should reenter Union
College, which he did, and, by renewing his for
mer diligence, earned, and was crowned on his
graduation, with its highest honors.
His literary success under the embarrassing
circumstances which surrounded his readmission
to the college strikingly illustrates his force of
character, his self-reliance, his capabilities and
the marked influence which he always exerted
upon his associates, whether at the bar, on the
platform, or in the councils of the State or Nation.
Pie was now a thoroughly educated and an ac
complished student and well prepared to pursue
his legal studies. These he commenced in
Goshen, his own county town. Here he remained
about a year, when he entered the office of John
Anthon, Esq,, an eminent lawyer of New York
city. Here, though but twenty years of age, he
joined a society of young lawyers entitled the
" Forum," where cases were tried in a mock court,
a fine preparation for the young aspirants, who
were soon to engage in practice in the real courts.
He here became more and more impressed with
the imperfections of his elocution, and by careful
and diligent culture, mainly overcame them.
Ogden Hoffman, a young and eloquent advo
cate, located in Goshen in 1822, and invited Mr.
Seward to join him. Though not yet admitted,
he could practice injustices' courts and be useful
in various ways in thc advocate's office. He was
offered satisfactory terms, which were gladly ac
cepted, as a means to reduce his college debts.

232

CITY OF AUBURN.

which had been increased during his last year in
the institution.
In October, 1822. he considered himself fitted
for admission to the bar, applied and was suc
cessful. His examination was at Utica. N. Y.,
and he availed himself of the occasion to visit
Auburn, ostensibly in quest of a business engage
ment, but really for a more interesting purpose, as
we shall see. Pie was offered and accepted a
partnership with the Hon. Elijah Miller, then
County Judge, one stipulation of which guar
anteed five hundred dollars for the first year,
which his actual receipts exceeded. He was now
able to pay off all his old and annoying debts,
and, for the rest of his life, found fifll occupation
and maintained his independence. He knew he
must rely for support upon his profession, and
he applied himself diligently to the faithful and
prompt execution of every trust confided to him.
At the same time he neglected none ofthe duties
which the good citizen owes to the community in
which he lives. He was not a lawyer only ; he
was a citizen and neighbor as well, and freely de
voted his spare time to the social, material and
moral improvement of his adopted village. He
was social and courteous and won many per
sonal and warm friends, and the esteem and ad
miration of all that knew him. Connected in
business with one of the best lawyers in the Coun
ty, who had also much other business to transact,
the legal business of the firm gradually devolved
upon Mr. Seward ; but a more interesting, case
than any which had occurred in his professional
experience was soon to be tried, the circumstan
ces of which are thus related by himself
" I had, in the spring of 182 1. whfle on a visit
to Florida, N. Y., met there my sister, who was
a pupil in Mrs. Willard's popular seminary at
Troy, and was then at home, accompanied by her
school-mate, Miss Frances A. Miller, of Auburn.
A partiality that I conceived for her was ray in
ducement to slop at Auburn, when afterwards
exploring the West; our intercourse now ripened
into an engagement of marriage." They were
married on the 20th of October, 1824. The
bride was the daughter of Elijah Miller, senior
partner of the firm. Mr. Miller v^ras a widower,
and his con.sent to the marriage had the condi
tion that the daughter should not leave her father's
home for a permanent residence elsewhere while
he survived, and she did not. but lived and died
in her childhood's home.
Mr. Seward took an active interest in political
affairs. He attended conventions, wrote resolu
tions, and delivered addresses. To this he was
led by his habit of thoroughly investigating pub
lic questions, on which he formed decided opin
ions, and the impulses of his nature led him to
defend and propagate them. As yet. at least, he
was not ambitious of public office. The highly
honorable social and professional position which

he had attained was satisfactory, and for the time
he appeared fully content with them. In 1828,
the office of Surrogate became vacant by the res
ignation of Seneca Wood, and the name of Mr.
Seward was presented to but not confirmed by
the Senate, This led him to say that, " I saw
at once, how much the desire for or the holding
of such a place tended to compromise my per
sonal independence, and, resolved henceforth, on
no consideration other than the safety ofthe State,
to seek, or accept a trust conferred by executive
authority." He adhered to this resolution throughout his
life, except when armed rebellion assafled the
"safety" of the nation, when, under President
Lincoln's and Johnson's administrations he held
the office of Secretary of State of the United
States. The abduction and alleged murder by Free
Masons, on the 14th of September, 1826, of Wil
liam Morgan, of Balavia, for revealing their se
crets, created widespread and intense excitement,
especially in the western counties of New York,
and to a considerable extent also throughout the
Union. It led to a political organization entitled
the Anti-Masonic party, to which the great ma
jority of the electors in Western New York be
came attached, including Mr. Seward. Of this
party Mr. Seward became a distinguished leader,
and to it he owes his first political preferment.
He was nominated for and elected State Senator
of the Seventh District by a large majority. Pie
took his seat in the Senate in January following.
there being in that body of thirty-two members,
but seven anti-masonic representatives. Mr.
Seward was then but thirty years of age, with no
legislative experience; a member of a party domi
nant only in a few counties of a single State, and
hated and scorned by its opponents as an insig
nificant faction. Pie was confronted by old, tal
ented and experienced opponents. In his first
service in the Senate of this State, as afterwards
in that of the United Slates, he had a difficult
part to perform, and in both instances his pru
dence, tact and talents were conspicuouly dis
played. As a member ex-officio of the court for
the Correction of Itrrors. he was active, indus
trious and influential. Legislation for the gen
eral interest of the Stale engaged his careful at
tention. In State and national politics, he act
ively participated, and won in his first public ser
vice that respect for his superior acuteness, dili
gence and prudence which has been accorded to
him in all the various and responsible public
trusts which he has held. In the summer of
1833, he accompanied his father, who was an in
valid seeking restoration of health, in a journey
to Europe. While there he contributed very in
teresting letters, which were published in the
Albany Evening Journal, and widely copied by
the press of the country, adding to his reputation

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.

233

as a clear and forcible writer, and close observer
of men. manners and events. He returned in
season to resume his seat in the senate.
In 1834 he was an unsuccessful candidate for
Governor, being defeated by Wm. L. Marcy.
Mr. Seward's increasing popularity with the peo
ple of the State was shown by his triumphant
election to the same office, over the same com
petitor, in 1838, and he was reelected in 1840.
As Governor, his administration was eminently
popular, and his Slate papers were dignified, for
cible and original. His official acts were stamped
with that boldness and vigor of thought which
distinguished his entire public career, and re
ceived the enthusiastic endorsement of the great
body of the people of the State.
At the close of his gubernatorial service, for
the ensuing years he practiced his profession
with success and distinction. In i84g he was
appointed Senator of the United Slates and re
appointed six years later, holding the office for
twelve years. He entered that body in the full
maturity of his powers, with deliberately formed
and thoroughly grounded political opinions, and
with capacities for their forcible and logical de
fense. The period of his service in the United
States Senate was that of the incubation of se
cession, when the arrogance and dominance of
its friends were offensively manifest. Mr. Sew
ard at once took firm ground against their pre
tentions. His independent, and, as some of his
friends thought, his ultra course was offensive to
some of the leading members of his parfy, as.
Webster. Clay and Fillmore, — while no epithets
were sufficiently expressive to characterize the
Southern hatred of his policy. Pie was bitterly
denounced by pro-slavery men ; every effort was
made to bring him in disrepute, destroy his in
fluence and deter him from his course ; but in
vain. He had carefully laid his plans and de
liberately pursued them. To their railing and
bitter invective he never retorted. Personalities
he scorned. He met and overcame his opponents
in argument, which was the only triumph he de
sired, leaving to time and events the vindication
of the wisdom of his acts. His calm, unswerv
ing course finally won the regard, even of the
hotheaded Southerners themselves, who. though
they hated his measures, could not but respect
the man. His career in the Senate, while it was
one of thc most difficult which any of our states
men had attempted, vvas crowned by the most
complete triumph. Pie won the hearts of our
loyal citizens, brought them into harmony with
his views, and. prepared them when the final trial
came, to sacrifice life and fortune in 'defense of
the union. He was strongly opposed to slavery,
both from its injustice to the colored race, and its
injurious effects upon the whites themselves.
With the mind of a philosopher he saw in the
jarring and dissonance between the freemen ofthe
40-a

North, and the slave-holders of the South, such
a wide separation and bitterness of feeling, as to
render hopeless the effort to induce harmony of
action. The government must, in his judgment,
be either free or slave, and this led him to an
nounce that ever memorable sentiment, that the
conflict between the sections was " irrepressible,"
for which, at the time, he was severely criticised;
but which subsequent events proved to have been
prophetic. In the National Republican Convention of
i860, he was a prominent candidate for the presi
dential nomination which his friends regarded as
certain. On the second ballot he received one
hundred and eighty-four and one-half votes ; but
on the third Mr. Lincoln received the nomina
tion. In the organization of his Cabinet, Mr. Seward
was made Secretary of State, a position which
he held during Lincoln's and Johnson's adminis
trations, discharging its delicate and embarrass
ing duties with signal ability and success.. New,
grave and complicated questions of domestic and
foreign policy arose during the Rebellion, which
must be met and decided, and the vast number
of able papers which were issued from the Slate
Department attest, at once, his great industry,
wisdom and sagacity.
Early in April. 1865, while riding in his car
riage, the horses becoming frightened, ran, and in
jumping out, he was thrown violently lo the
ground, his right arm broken and both sides of
his lower jaw fractured. He was completely
prostrated by the injury and fatal results were
feared. While thus lying enfeebled upon his bed.
at ten o'clock on the evening of Aprfl 14th, a
would-be assassin forced his way into his cham
ber, armed with a heavy horse pistol and a large
knife. His son, Frederick W., Assistant Secre
tary of State, who sought lo prevent the assassin
from entering the chamber, had his skull crushed
by a fierce blow of the pistol, and his life was, for
a long time, despaired of ; Augustus, another son.
Paymaster in the United States Army, and two
male nurses, who came to the rescue of the in
valid Secretary, were all severely wounded.
The assassin made repeated thrusts with his
knife at the throat and heart of Mr. Seward, but
thc latter instinctively rolled himself in the bed
clothing which shielded his body from the effect
of thc thrusts, and thc wire-netting used to sup
port the broken jaw warded off the blows directed
to his throat, the Secretary rolling himself from
the bed to the floor. His daughter, Fanny, had
now entered the room and it was her agonized
cries, as the assassin himself afterwards admitted,
which caused him to desist. He fled, but was
subsequently arrested and executed. Though
Mr. Seward was severely cut in the face and bled
profusely, he recovered as did afl the parties who
were wounded^in this terrible struggle.

234

CITY OF AUBURN.

Mr. Seward continued to discharge his official
duties to the close of President Johnson's admin
istration when he cast off his official robes, never
after to assume them. It was believed by his
friends that after a life of such incessant toil, and
having reached nearly the allotted limit of hu
man life of " three score and ten years," worn.
wounded and scarred, he would retire to his own
beautiful and quiet home, there to enjoy that
rest which he had so richly earned, and the pleas
ant society of his warm and faithful friends. But
this was not his purpose. His mind was yet clear,
and his spirits elastic. His life had been one in
cessant round of activities, and he had constantly
borne a heavy load of cares and responsibilities,
which he knew it would not be best for him to
suddenly cast off. " Rest," he said, for him,
" was rust." and he preferred, while he lived, to
keep himself bright by the attrition of action.
His reputation was international. He was
favorably known both to the Occident and the
Orient, the West and the Itast. He therefore
proposed to make a "journey around the world,"
to visit the most noted nations of the globe and
renew or make the acquaintance of eminent men
in both hemispheres. He arranged to record and
fully illustrate the observations and scenes made
and observed on his route and did so. publishing
the result in one of the most beautiful, interesting
and really instructive books of travel which has
ever emanated from the American press.*
He left Auburn August glh, 1870, with his
adopted daughter, Olive Risley Seward, and her
sister, Mr. Alexander W. Randall, Mrs. Randall
and Mr. George F. Seward and Mrs. Seward.
They proceeded to California, thence to Japan,
China and Cochin China, the Eastern Archipel
ago, British India, Egypt, Palestine, and the prin
cipal nations of Europe, returning after an ab
sence of about fourteen months.
It would now seem that the purposes of his
life were so far fulfilled that he could and would
seek repose, but he still found his highest en
joyment in mental work, to which, soon after his
return, he applied himself in the preparation of an
autobiography addressed to his children. The
completion of this work f- was arrested by his
death, which occurred quietly and peacefully at
his home in Auburn, on October lolh, 1872.
His ashes repose in Fort Hill Cemetery among
his kindred and friends. Plis monument bears
the expressive words :
"He Was P-aithful,"
words, which, i^n the famous trial of Freeman,
while standing between the friendless prisoner
and the gallows, he said he hoped might be said
of him. His wish has been gratified and affec-

One vol-

* William H. Seward's Travels Around the World.
ume octavo pp. 778: D. Appleton & Co.
+ Thi9 work was completed by his son Frederick W. Seward, the
scholarly and accomplished present Assistant Secretary of State, in

tion and truth alike bear witness to the fidelity of
the inscription.

JOSIAH LETCHWORTH.
No history of Cayuga County would be deemed
complete without brief mention of Josiah Letch
worth, a man who, neither renowned as stales-
man, logician, lawyer or priest, nevertheless might
be said to have filled to a limited degree the
place of each in the prescribed circle of his ac
quaintance. Eminent alike for his private vir
tues, and the native force of a clear and vigorous
intellect, his influence was not the result of
wealth, but perhaps the more potent, because the
outcome of a pure and nobly spent life, superior
to selfish impulses, or low ambitions.
Mr. Letchworth was a native of Philadelphia,
Pa., where he was born November 22d, I7gi.
and in the neighborhood of which city he resided
until after his marriage to Ann Hause, Oct. 12th,
181 5, when he settled at Burlington, New Jer
sey, and there established himself in the business
with which he had become familiar by apprentice
ship, that of a saddler. It was at this time,
when, desiring to know by personal observation
something of the Great West of which he heard
so much, that, in company with a friend, he trav
eled, much of the way on foot, to the city of Pitts
burgh; there purchasing a small row-boat, the two
proceeded by the Ohio river as far as Cincinnati,
at night pulling their boat to land and encamp
ing on the shore. Arriving at the last named
city they disposed of their boat and repaired to
their hotel — this being a not uncommon proced
ure on the part of travelers at that time. His
journal kept during this tour is possessed of
much interest, describing as it does these then
embryo cities, and the impressions made upon
his mind. Contrasting with the present, it seems
more like the vagaries of a fitful dream, than the
realities of a life whose span might reasonably
have extended lo the present moment. Inspired.
perhaps, somewhat by the new world of thought
and enterprise which this journey had awakened,
he the more readily became imbued with that
spirit of emigration which continues unabated
even to our time.
About the year i8ig, with his little family of
wife and two children, he entered upon the then
long and wearisome journey, by private convey
ance, to the newly settled district known as Black
River, in our own State. After a residence there
of several years, during which he held important
and responsible positions in connection with ex
tensive manufacturing interests, he removed to
the form of a memoir, containing full and very interesting extracts
from his private letters, in which is contained a pretty full history
ofthe times in which he lived.

'"ngravta by J C IliitLrc

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.

235

this County and settled first at Moravia, and sub
sequently at Sherwood, where he resided for
a period of twenty years, during which lime he
identified himself with many of the popular re
form movements of the day. He was vigilant
in the temperance reform, which then was a new
movement, and lo this cause he continued faith
ful and devoted through the various stages of the
Washingtonian movement. Sons of Temperance,
Good Templars, &c., often lecturing upon the
subject, arousing the latent sentiment of the
County, and strengthening the convictions of the
wavering or indifferent.
He was a strong anti-slavery man at a time
when those sentiments were not so popular as
they became at a later period, when to be known
as holding such views well nigh amounted to
ostracism from thc friendship and good will of a
considerable and very respectable portion of com
munity. He at one lime, without solicitation and indeed
without previous knowledge to himself, received
the nomination of the Whig parly, of which he
was an enthusiastic supporter, for the State As
sembly. This nomination, however, he after
wards declined to accept, though had he done so
his friends thought, in view of his general popu
larity and well known reputation for honesty and
sincere desire for the best interests of the com
munity, he would have proven a successful can
didate ; but his tastes were of a domestic rather
than public character, and the greatest pleasure
of his life he found in those simple joys that cen
ter in thc domestic circle. There surrounded by
those most dear, he labored to give such direc-'
tions to the impressible minds of his children as
would most directly serve to fit them for the act
ive arena of life. For this work his fine literary
attainments and capabilities eminently fitted him.
With his mind well stored with the most elevating
sentiments of poets and standard authors, he had
an ever perennial fund of entertainment and in
struction at hand.
In the year 1852, Mr. Lclchworlh closed his
business at Sherwood, and removed with his
family to Auburn, purchasing the homestead on
Fulton street, where he continued to reside dur
ing the remainder of his active and useful life.
Relieved from all business cares and anxieties, in
the daily intercourse with more than one
of his chfldren, who had now grown to man
and woman-hood, he found additional time for the
exercise of those benevolent impulses of his na
ture in which he took delight.
Mr. Letchworth was a warm personal friend of
many of the prominent men of this County, and
the beautiful tribute paid to his memory by the
beloved and lamented Hon. Wm. H. Seward, in a
speech made November 2d. 1857, upon the occa
sion of his return to Auburn, shortly after the
decease of Mr. Letchworth, is a striking evidence

of the warm place he held in the hearts of all
who knew him. To repeat these words here
renders all other eulogy unnecessary and puerile.
Mr. Seward spoke as follows :
" Fellow Citizens — I spoke to you ten years ago
to night in this place on questions identical with
those I am now to discuss. I had then recently
left the cause of human rights prostrate in the
Halls of Congress. I came home expecting that
here, at least, I should witness a speedy and gen
erous and effective rally for its restoration. I
found, however, to my inexpressible mortification.
no such effort, but. on the contrary, the whole
body of this community bewildered and delirious
ly excited about the relative virtue, intelligence
and patriotism of Catholic and Protestant. Not
even the questions of the day. much less the
mighty and absorbing question of the age, seem
ed at stake. Prejudices intense, and passions
strong, ruled the hour. I spoke, as you may
perhaps remember, with sorrow aggravated to
the verge of impatience. When I descended
from the platform, a fellow citizen, venerable in
years, and beloved by us all, gently asked me
whether I was not becoming disheartened and
despondent. He added that there was no occa
sion for dejection, and what I had seen was but
the caprice of a day. ' Go on and do your duty.
and we, your neighbors, will come around you
again right soon, and sustain you throughout.'
Do you ask who it was that administered that
just, though mild rebuke .'' Who else could it be
but Josiah Letchworth, a man whose patience
was equal to his enthusiastic zeal in every, good
cause, and to his benevolence in every good
work .? His prediction is fulfilled, and I am here
to speak with more boldness and confidence
among you than ever before. But my faithful
monitor no longer has a place in our assemblies.
Josiah Letchworth, the founder of our charities,
the defender of truth and justice, is no more.
You deplore his loss as I do. for he was not more
my friend than a public benefactor. I do in
justice, however, equally to my own faith and to
that which was the inspiration of his life, when
I say that I miss his benevolent smile, and the
cordial pressure of his hand to-night. No — he
yet lives, and his shade is not far frotn us when
ever we assemble in places where he was once
familiar, to carry on a good work in which he was
accustomed to labor. He has. indeed, passed the
inevitable change. But we all know as he knew,
that that
' * * * eternal change,
But grasps humanity with a quicker range,
And they who fall, but fall as worlds will fall.
To rise if just, a spirit o'er them all.' "
The interest Mr. Letchworth manifested in
thc Cayuga Orphan Asylum when in its infancy,
as also in the public schools, and the affection
which he inspired in the children, will be remem-

236

CITY OF AUBURN.

bered by hundreds who have years since entered
upon active life. His death, which took place at
his home on Fulton street, in the city of Au
burn, April 14th, 1857. was peaceful, and a filling
close to his sweet and beautiful life. There, sur
rounded by his family and his friends, his spirit
calmly passed into the great unknown, sustained
by these comforting words which it was his delight
to repeat, contained in the 23d Psalm, commenc
ing, " The Lord is my Shepherd I shall not
want." The children flocked to visit his remains.
and shed their honest tears about his pall, and af
terward that they might have his cheering face,
with its tender smiles of sympathy, in more en
during form than that of memory, employed the
celebrated artist, Mr. Buttre. to execute in his
best style a fine steel engraving of him. prints of
which are to be seen in hundreds of homes to
day, and the same which accompanies this notice
of him in the present volume. It will be recol
lected with interest by those who engaged in this
pleasant tribute, that the money remaining after
the expense of engraving was paid was employed
by the chfldren in the purchase of the marble
tablet at the asylum, which bears the name of
the institution and dale of its erection, commem
orating both the affectionate interest of the chil
dren, and the sympathy of one who was the or
phans' friend.
Perhaps no more satisfactory close could be
made to this brief biography than extracts from
the obituary notice which appeared in the Au
burn Daily Advertiser upon the occasion of the
decease of Mr. Letchworth, as follows ;
"It is our painful duty to record the death of
this estimable and highly respected citizen, who
died at his residence on p-ulton street at g o'clock
this morning.
" The intelligence will be received by his
friends and fellow citizens with profound grief, for
Mr. Letchworth was a man both respected and
beloved. He had only resided in this city about
five years ; but had been a resident of the Coun
ty for a quarter of a century, having lived in
Scipio some twenty years, where he had a large
circle of friends, and had been long known to our
principal citizens in this city.
" He was a Friend by birth-right, and enter
tained the general views held by that class of
Christians ; though in matters of religion he al
ways refused to be restricted by creeds or sec
tarian shackles, claiming for himself and accord
ing to others the largest liberty in all matters of
conscience. One of the marked traits in his
character was his profound deference to the right
of private judgment, with which he believed
God had invested every man.
" Mr. Letchworth had long been known as a
genuine reformer and philanthropist, and was ac
counted among the staunch friends of freedom,
temperance and edvicatjon. The oppressed had

in him a true friend, and the fugitive slave was
never refused aid and comfort at his hand. The
rum traffic was his especial abhorrence, and at an
early day he engaged in the temperance re
form, to which he continued firmly devoted. He
was deeply interested in the cause of education ;
he loved thc young, and had a happy faculty of
talking lothem. He had been for several years
trustee of his district, and was but recently re
elected. " In former times Mr. Letchworth was well
known in the political affairs of our County. He
vvas a devoted friend of Henry Clay, and during
the presidential contests of those days was a
somewhat voluminous correspondent of the
Journal and Advertiser, over the signature of
' Old Cayuga,' which our older citizens will re
member. " Pie was not, however, a man ambitious of po
litical honors, and was quite satisfied to render
service to his country and lo his fellow men in
the sphere of a plain citizen. A man of a high
order of native intellect, but of unassuming char
acter, he secured universal respect without pro
voking envy. He had a family of four sons and
four daughters.
" Mr. Letchworth had not been in health since
last July, when he had a severe illness. The
sickness of which he died, however, was only of
a week's continuance, and he was not considered
so near his end until last evening. Yesterday
he . was dressed and was up most of the day ;
about 1 1 o'clock last evening, after being con
ducted to his room and assisted to bed, he said to
his family, ' I shall not be with you much longer,
I feel that my decease is near. I want you lo
bury me without parade, let all be quiet, and in-
vile my friends of all denominations to the
funeral' He added, ' I have endeavored lo
bring up my children as Christians, and I am
now quite willing to die, and as to my property
you will find what I wish to say on that subject,
in my drawer.' All this was said in a calm and
intelligent manner, though previously he had
seemed quite bewildered at limes.
" He appeared anxious lo have his family keep
near him. which they did, though, he soon be
came insensible, and never recovered conscious
ness up lo g o'clock this morning, when he
quietly breathed his last."

LANSINGH BRIGGS. M. D.
Lansingh Briggs. M. D., the son of Gilbert
Briggs. was born in Washington county. N. Y..
December 5th, 1807. In December, 1808, his
father removed lo Scipio in this county, locating
on a farm on lot No. 16, purchased of Amos Rath
bun, father of the late George Ratbbun. Esq., of
Auburn.

¦^T-i'.

'¦"««• .^ ./fto^ i"*^-

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.

237

Scipio, though the earliest settled of any of
the townships in the County, was stfll, in that
part of it where Mr. Briggs located, comparatively
in a state of nature, the only improvements or
" betterments." consisting of a small clearing and
a log-house and barn, made by a previous occu
pant. The subject of this sketch was then an
infant, and he received his early impressions
beneath the shadows of the primeval forest,
" The dark umbragious woods,"
in removing which, and in planting and reaping
grain for sustenance, and in preparing flax and
wool for raiment, his family, and the settlers gen
erally, both old and young, were for many years.
employed. In due time young Briggs was dis
ciplined and cultured in the same earnest and
wholesome lessons, supplemented, at the proper
age, by instruction in thc common schools of the
period during thc winter. P'arm work occupied his
summers, and in autumn he assisted his father
in his cooper shop.
In the winter of 1823, when but sixteen years
of age, he was examined by the school inspectors
of the town, the late Doctor John Thompson of
Sherwood, and the Rev. W. Johnston, still liv
ing in Owasco, and was by them duly certified to
be, in respect both to his literary attainments
and moral character, fully competent to teach a
common school, and he immediately engaged
therein in Deacon Daniels' district in Scipio.
This occupation he continued during the win
ters, vyorking on the farm in summer ; and in
the spring of 1825, he became a student in the
" Auburn Associated Academy," Rev. Noble D.
Strong, principal. This was a private unchar
tered institution, but under the care of a very
competent teacher. It occupied the ground
floor of the old Theological Seminary building.
and was a rival of the regulariy chartered "Auburn
Academy," which was at the same time, in suc-
cessfifl operation, in a building on the corner of
North and Academy streets, afterwards long
known as the " stone bottom." Among Doctor
Briggs' associate students, at this lime, were
Deacon Henry Willard, of Cayuga ; Doctor PI.
P. Peterson, of Union Springs ; Charies Loring
Elliott, the eminent artist ; Matthew La Rue
Perrine Thompson and the Rev. Wm. Wyckoff,
late professor of the New York University.
He continued his vocation of teaching during
the winters, and at the same time studied medi
cine under the direction of Doctor Phineas Hurd,
late of Scipio.
In the spring of i82g, he entered the office of
Doctor Joseph T. Pitney, late of Auburn, who
had a large general practice, and was the prin
cipal surgeon of the County. In the succeeding
autumn he attended his first course of lectures in
the Berkshire Medical Institution, at Pittsfield.
Mass.. and graduated from the same school the
year following.

In June, 1831, forty-eight years ago, he com
menced the practice of his profession with Dr.
John G. Morgan in an office at No. I, North St.
Among their students was Dr. PVank H. Ham
ilton, since a distinguished professor of surgery,
and the author of several deservedly popular sur
gical works, that are authorities on both sides of
the Atlantic. The same year he was made a
member of the Cayuga County Medical Society,
an association organized in 1806. and continued
uninterruptedly to the present lime. One gen
eration of members has already passed away, and
very few only of his then associates now re
main. Medicine is an inexact, a progressive science,
with the progress of which Doctor Briggs
has kept fully abreast. Of tbe two modes
of practice, which have prevailed from time im
memorial and now prevail, the active and the
expectant, the one relying on the potency of
drugs in the treatment of the sick and the other
more on the recuperative powers of nature. Doc
tor Briggs inclined to the latter ; and within the
last fifty years, it has become a largely prevailing
view with the medical profession generally. Very
many of the most potent medicines, though still
in use, are rarely resorted to, and bleeding has
become a nearly " lost art." Among the causes of
the great change in medical practice, are the
varying character of diseases ; a more thorough
knowledge of the means of preventing them ; in
creased facilities for dissections and vivisections ;
improvements in the microscope and its practi
cal use ; progress in chemical science ; discov
eries of new and valuable remedies ; and a much
more general interchange and diffusion of knowl
edge by means of periodicals, books and public
lectures. Doctor Briggs was a diligent and earnest stu
dent in his profession and kept himself fully in
formed of the improvements in it. and as a medi
cal expert has been much consulted in difficult
cases. In the summer of 1832, on the advent of the
Asiatic cholera in America, he was commissioned
by the Board of Health of Auburn, to visit Roch
ester and other places wherein the disease was
then prevailing, in order that he might, by per
sonal observation, learn something of its peculi
arities, and assist in keeping the scourge at a dis
tance, or in alleviating its horrors should it appear
in our midst. We were then spared that afflic
tion ; but, in the summer of 1850. it invaded the
city, and claimed for its first victim a resident and
prominent physician. Doctor L. B, Bigelow, fol
lowed by Anson Vanderheyden.  Parsons,
and a few others.
In June, 1834, he formed a partnership with
Ira Pi. Smith, which continued untU the death of
the latter in i83g. Their office was on the site
ofthe residence of C. S. Burtis, Esq. In thelat-

238

CITY OF AUBURN.

ter year he married Miss Angelina Warden,
daughter of Capt. Allen Warden, of Auburn,
She died in 1841, leaving one child which survived
her only five years. On December 30th. 1836,
he contracted a second marriage with Miss Ma-
tflda C. Lfllie.
In 1848 he went to Europe with a view to im
provement in his profession, and for the general
advantages to be derived from foreign travel.
Visiting foreign countries thirty years ago. a
practice now " more honored in the breach than
in the observance," was then supposed to afford
peculiar and exclusive advantages to physicians
and surgeons in the practice of their profession.
Doctor Pitney had up to this time, monopolized
the surgery practice of all this region of country ;
but his health was failing, and that practice
gradually fell into the hands of Doctor Briggs.
where most of it still remains. The latter, with
less practice, proved himself a more expert and
successful operator than his predecessor.
About this time anaesthetics were introduced,
and their use in Auburn, in painful operations,
was inaugurated by Doctor Briggs. Their use
was universally regarded as the most important
improvement that had been made in operative
surgery, and tended, in no small degree, to en
hance the reputation and extend the practice of
Doctor Briggs. He also introduced here the
practice of Ovariotomy, by a successful operation,
which he has often repeated, and generally with
success. The subject of this sketch, though no politician,
in the common acceptation of the word, nor a
seeker of public office, is still thoroughly in
formed in political affairs, and was elected mayor
of the city of Auburn for three successive terms,
i857-'8-'g, and discharged its duties with signal
acceptance. As ex-officio President of the Board
of Education, he manifested equal zeal and intel
ligence in behalf of popular education.
Doctor Briggs, it will have been noticed, prac
ticed medicine twenty years before he made sur
gery a specialty, and was unusually trustworthy
and successful in that capacity. For the past
twenty-eight years he has made surgery a promi
nent feature of his practice, fully supplying him
self with all the improvements in the art as ex
perience has developed them. Of these the most
important is conservative surgery, aiding the pro
cesses of nature, and, whenever practicable, sav
ing the wounded or diseased organism ; but when
operations must be performed, he renders them
comparatively painless by the use of improved
modes and instruments, and especially of anes
thetics, which his large experience enables him
to safely and successfully employ.
The increase of population, the rapid introduc
tion of machinery and the use of railroads has
so multiplied surgical cases, that, at first view.
surgery would appear a very lucrative field. Yet

Dr. Briggs has never made it so. It has been with
him an invariable rule to answer all such calls.
from all ranks and conditions ; and he is prover-
Toially inattentive to collections, so that his life
in that direction has been a busy rather than
a profitable one. He has nevertheless made for
himself and his profession a useful and highly
honorable record, which is largely due to his great
industry and the devotion to his work of his time
and talents. This he owes largely to his early
training in the lessons of industry and self-
reliance, which included also many necessary
self-denials. In youth " he paddled his own
canoe" successfully over rough waters, and in
manhood, that experience has enabled him to
manage successfully a larger craft on the broader
sea of life.

BENJAMIN F. HALL.
Judge Benjamin P". Hall, now one ofthe old
est inhabitants of Auburn, came from Whitehall,
in the county of Washington, in this State, to
Auburn, a young man of one and twenty, three
years advanced in a course of law studies, in the
autumn of 1835, and, except when away in the
performance of official duties, has resided there
ever since. He belongs to the seventh genera-
lion in the male line of descent, from Francis
Hall, one of the English founders of the colony
of New Haven, and one of the original framers
and signers of the famous covenant in Newman's
barn in i63g, and one of the founders of the town
of Fairfield, on the Sound, in 1640. His ances
tors, therefore, were Connecticut people, with
Connecticut residences, traditions, principles,
habits and manners. They were enterprising,
intrepid and hardy, and the most of them were
thrifty and well-to-do in thc places where they
lived. During the French war and the Revolutionary
war, their families were conspicuously and hon
orably represented in the field, and nearly all the
while from 1640 to the commencement of the
present century, in the councils of the colony and
that State. They were also well represented in
the professions of divinity, medicine and law.
In the genealogical tables of the descendants of
the pioneer settlers of the State of Connecticut
bearing the surname of Hall, the male descend
ants of the pioneer Francis are mentioned as be
longing to "the Fairfield line."
The immediate male ancestor of the Judge,
Asbury Plall, like the rest of the descendants of
Francis, was born in Fairfield county, Connecti
cut, but he removed out of that State into the
Lake Champlain region, then so called, in 1808.
In the year 1812, Asbury Hall married Nancy
Foster, a daughter of Dan Foster, a lineal
descendant of the pioneer Fosters of Wind-

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.

23g

ham county, Connecticut, so that his conju
gal relations were essentially a perpetuation of
Connecticut relations with all their train of tra
ditions, ideas, principles, habits and manners.
The same year he enlisted in an artillery com
pany raised to resist the then threatened British
invasion of the Slate from Canada — an invasion
subsequently attempted and defeated by our army
and navy at Plattsburgh. Asbury lived to the
ripe old age of eighty-seven, and died in the town
of Aurelius, in this County, on the 13th of P^eb-
ruary, i87g, highly respected by all who knew
him. His ashes repose beside those of his wife,
who died several years before, near the Logan
monument on Fort Hill.
According to the data derived from his family
records, his eldest son, Benjamin Franklin, now
generally known by the title of Judge, was born
in the town of Whitehall, in the county of Wash
ington, on the 23d day of July, 1814. From the
time he was large enough to wield a hoe and guide
a plow until he was one and twenty, he worked
during the planting and cropping months for his
father upon his father's farm, and spent the rest
of the time in attending or teaching school and
in studying law with thc Hon. John H. Parker.
With the aid of the late Salem Town, then prin
cipal of Granville Academy, and the late Allen
Msk. then principal of the Auburn Academy, he
was enabled to master the arts and sciences,
usually denominated classics, sufficiently to be
voluntarily recommended by those distinguished
linguists and by every learned professor in the
college at Geneva, for the honorary degree of
Master of Arts ; and a year or two after he came
to Auburn to reside, he received that degree
from the trustees and faculty of that institution.
That circumstance rewarded him for his industry.
perseverance and fortitude in " climbing the hill
of science alone." outside of college walls, by ad
mitting him to fellowship with thealumni as their
peer. Upon the invitation of the alumni of Ho
bart, he attended the next commencement and
delivered an address upon the political and ju
dicial economy of the Hebrew commonwealth,
which pleased and surprised the trustees and fac
ulty so greatly that the late Rt. Rev. Bishop De-
Lancey, then the president of the trustees, com
plimented him at its close with the remark that,
" instead of the degree of Master of Arts, the
trustees and faculty ought to have made him a
Doctor of Laws."
That recognition of his ability to develop from
ancient scriptures and other ancient records
and monuments and analyze the political and
judicial economy of the Hebrew Commonwealth
was an' encouragement by learned men which
gave a new bent and direction to his ambition
and a new feature and complexion to his subse
quent life. Finding that the fruits of his earliest
researches in fields of antiquity attracted the
41-a

notice of the ripest of those who enjoyed the ad
vantages of a full course of college instruction.
and elicited commendation from such eminent
scholars as the late Bishop De Lancey, and being,
withal naturally fond of Oriental history and lit
erature, he determined immediately to explore
those fields more thoroughly, and if possible to
make Orientalism more interesting and instruct
ive to the modern readers, by employing his pen
as opportunities should offer, as a journalist and
author. In conformity with that determination
he at once engaged to write historical articles for
the Auburn Journal, the Cayuga Patriot, the New
York Observer, the Neiv York Mirror and Evening
Post, and began to gather from all accessible quar
ters unpublished materials for historical books.
He commenced his authorship of books by en
larging his Geneva address upon the political and
judicial economy of the Plebrew Commonwealth
into a treatise of upwards of 300 pages and having
a small edition of the same printed and published
by Thomas M. Skinner. When the edition had
been sold by Doubleday and Ivison, then the
only book-sellers in Auburn, the copy-right was
purchased by Professor E. C. Wines of Washing
ton College, Pennsylvania. A year or two after
this, Mr. Plall gathered the materials for a fresh
but condensed history of the Canadas. and put
them in shape for publication in a small octavo
for schools, and then for a moderate price sold
the Ms. to Derby, Miller & Co.. to be inserted
by them in Goodrich's Universal History, with
Goodrich as nominal author. The credit for the
substance of both of these volumes, however, be
longed to the Judge as their real author, and they
constitute volumes I and II in a series of four
teen volumes of his principal works on his own
shelves and in the Library ofthe House of Rep
resentatives at Washington. The subjects of the
rest of the series respectively, are indicated by
their titles. Volume HI is entitled " The Land-
Owners Manual ;" volume IV, " The Trial of
Freeman;" volume V, "The Republican Party;"
volume VI to XI inclusive. " Cabinet Decisions"
and volumes XII to XIV inclusive "Our Com
mercial Relations with the rest of Mankind."
He prepared and published those volumes at in
tervals along for thirty years following 1836 as
his other avocations permitted or occasions re
quired, by patient but intense and thorough re
searches, and for the most part over " midnight
oil." Those volumes speak for themselves that
they contain a vast amount of historical, political
and judicial information useful to mankind ; and
they stand, and are likely to stand for ages to
to come as a monument more enduring than
brass of the intellectual depth and strength, and
of the political and judicial learning of their au
thor. He expects to complete the series before
he dies with a volume of his own personal obser
vations of men and things.

240

CITY OF AUBURN.

He completed his five years of law studies with
the late Judge Elijah Mfller, and with his suc
cessors in practice, Seward and Beardsley, at the
end of the year 1837, and was admitted to the
bar of the Supreme Court and Court of Chancery
immediately thereafter. In January, 1838, he be
came the junior partner in the law firm of Porter
& Beardsley, altered to " Porter. Beardsley &
Hall," and continued in that business relation
down to the end of 1841. He then withdrew
from that firm and formed a law partnership with
the late John P. Hurlbert, which continued to
the end of 1846. From that dale down to March,
1 86 1, he practiced alone. He never liked his
profession very well, for the principal reason that
it involved so much perplexity with the troubles
and quarrels of others. He liked to investigate
difficult cases, liked to prepare elaborate briefs,
and liked to submit delicate and intricate ques
tions of law and equity to the courts ; but he
shrank instinctively from vindictive and wrang
ling litigation. That class of law business was
uncongenial to his feelings, habits and tastes.
But he practiced his profession with fair success
for nearly five and twenty years, during all of
which he enjoyed the confidence of a large and
remunerative clientage, and became as popular
and eminent as the average of his peers.
Besides several local offices of inconsiderable
importance, he held at various times during the
period referred to the following official positions :
In the year 1840, he was appointed by the Gov
ernor and Senate, Examiner in Chancery, and
discharged the duties of that office during the
term of three years. In the year 1844, he rep
resented this County in the State Legislature,
and set the ball in motion in that body which re
sulted in the Constitution of 1846. In the year
1850, he was appointed by the President of the
United States, Commissioner to rescue from ob
livion and arrange in volumes like the Reports of
the Decision of the Courts, the official decisions
of the Attorney-Generals of the United Slates
and Federal Cabinets, from the foundation of the
government down to that time, and he performed
that duty by the preparation of six volumes of
them to the satisfaction of the President and
Congress. In the year 1852, he served as Mayor
of Auburn one year, and signalized his adminis
tration by vetoing all measures involving expendi
tures unauthorized by the charter; by refus
ing to issue the bonds of the corporation to aid
in the construction of the Lake Ontario, Auburn
and New York Railroad, for the reason that the
personal subscriptions to the work were uncol-
lectable and otherwise insufficient to construct it;
and by a public reception of the patriot-exile.
Louis Kossuth, of Hungary. In March. 1861,
he was appointed by the President of the United
States, Chief-Justice of the then new Territory
of Colorado, and specially instructed to go there

speedily, to qualify its other officers, to organize
the governmental machinery, inclusive of its
courts, to instruct its officers in their duties, and
if possible, to restrain the disloyal portion of its
primitive inhabitants from aiding the Southern
Rebellion. As the territory covered the travel
ed passes in the Cordilleras, which served as chan
nels of overland communication with California,
and as it contained a garrison of United States
troops under the command of the disloyal Col.
Sibley, President Lincoln deemed it a vulnerable
region, which needed to be carefully watched and
guarded. Judge Hall was at first disinclined to
accept a duty so responsible, difficult and peril
ous ; but at the urgent request of Secretary
Seward, who would not listen to his excuses, he
accepted the appointment and went there over
burning bridges and through disloyal towns in
Missouri, and through the Indian country beyond
to perform the duties. Upon his arrival at Den
ver he found secession flags fluttering from flag-
staffs in various parts of that so-called city, and
was informed that the secessionists, if not in ma
jority, were so numerous that they controlled the
sentiment of the place. It was an exigency
which demanded the exercise by the officials of
the territory of the coolest courage, and the
nicest strategy, in order to obtain possession of
the territory without provoking resistance, so as
to be afterwards able to suppress by force the
treason among the people. But the judge and
the territorial governor, who had been a colonel in
the Mexican war, and knew the location and stra
tegic value of the passes to be guarded,, were
equal to the emergency. They put their cool
heads together, contrived the way to obtain arms
and munitions from Fort Laramie, put some of
them into the hands of trusty men, and instituted
a viligant watch of the movements of suspected
rebels. The secessionists of Denver plotted
their treason inside of what was called Blue
Lodges, and succeeded, for awhile, in keeping
their proceedings secret. But in September.
1 86 1, a Texan named McKee came to Denver
with a commission from the rebel General Sib
ley, and commenced the business of recruiting
for the rebel service. As the Governor was
charged by the organic act with the duty of pre
serving the public peace, he issued an executive
warrant on the 2gth of September, 1861, to the
marshal to arrest him. The marshal took with
him a posse of armed men and arrested him and
his recruits, to the number of thirty or forty, and
put them into a temporary guard-house. That
affair produced great excitement, and naturally
enough brought on a crisis. The secessionists
not then under arrest assembled in their lodges,
threatened the governor and marshal and resolved
to rescue McKee and his party of recruits by
force. But in order to effect the rescue accord
ing to their plan of operation decided upon, they

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.

241

needed to have them outside of the place where
they were. At length, by the advice of lawyers,
they hit upon the expedient of applying to the
Judge' for a writ of habeas corpus, in order to get
them before him in a court room, where they ex
pected to overpower the marshal and his posse
and get them away. They employed counsel,
presented their petition for the writ to Judge
Hafl on the 14th of the ensuing October, and
expected it to be granted, a's a matter of course,
as nothing had then been done at Washington to
suspend its operation in that territory. But
the Judge surprised them with a prompt and well
considered decision, based upon the meaning im
puted to that clause in the Constitution by those
who framed it, that being in rebellion against the
government, they had forfeited the privilege of
having it granted to them.
The Judge then ordered a grand jury of twen
ty-three men to be summoned and empaneled,
and laid the cases before them. That body in
dicted them all for overt acts of treason, and
thereby enabled the Governor and the Judge to
suppress the rest of the rebellion in Colorado.
Finding that they could not rescue Capt. Mc
Kee and his party the majority of the rest of the
secessionists of thc territory took warning and
fled to Sibley's camp in Texas. The Governor
then proceetled with his work of organizing his
department ; and the Judge proceeded with the
work of organizing his without hindrance or mo
lestation. Judge Hall remained there over three
years, established an excellent judiciary, outlived
the early prejudice against him on account of his
course with the rebels, and resigned on account
of the insufficiency of his salary. When it be
came known to the members of the bar that he
had resigned and was about to leave them, they
prepared an address to him containing the fol
lowing passages, read it to him, and had the clerk
record it in the minutes of his court.
" The results of your administration of the law
here for nearly four years fully vindicate your
policy and judgment. It devolved upon you
when you came here to lay the foundations of a
future civilization and to erect upon it the edifice
of a systematic and enlightened judiciary. That
you have succeeded in this to a remarkable ex
tent, the records of this court attest. You leave
behind you the evidence of unusual foresight,
untiring industry, great legal ability, purity of
intention, and of an inflexible purpose to be faith
ful to your trust."
That testimonial was supplemented by another
of the same import, by a daily journal called the
Denver Commonwealth, as follows :
" Chief Justice Hafl carries with him the best
wishes of the best portion of this community to
his new field of labor. A few of the lawyers and
speculators complained some of his early decisions
before they understood his judicial policy. But

ever since they comprehended his ideas in re
spect to our lands they have approved it. We
think we are warranted in stating that at no pe
riod of his administration here has there been a
single voice lifted against his legal ability, pa
tience, patriotism and purity. He has been an
industrious, patient, politic, able and upright
Judge. By those whose ante-territorialranche
and mining titles have been upheld and confirmed
by his decisions as against tbe rapacity of jump
ers and speculators he will long be regarded as a
public benefactor."
It appears from these testimonials that the
Judge performed the difficult duties of Chief Jus
tice of that territory to the satisfaction of the
lawyers there and all others who were able to
appreciate them. There are very few ex-judges
in the country who have left behind them a bet
ter record than his.
He left a similar record there in religious mat
ters. He organized an Episcopal church in 1862.
in Denver, and with the assistance of a few oth
ers, fitted up a large brick building on the public
land in Denver for a church edifice, and had it
consecrated by Bishop Talbot. He served as its
senior "warden as long as he remained there.
When he left Denver he resigned his warden-
ship in a writing left with the Rev. H. B, Hitch-
ins the Rector. Soon after he left, the Rector,
other warden and vestrymen met and among
others passed the following resolution and had
the same published in the Denver papers and
Church journals elsewhere :
" Resolved, That, as it was through the untiring
exertions of Senior Warden Hall that we came
possessed of this edifice in which our praise and
prayers are offered to Almighty God, it is with
profound regret that we feel obliged to accept his
resignation. " Resolved, That we bear willing and grateful
testimony to the salutary influence during his
residence here, of his consistent walk and con
versation as a private Christian man, of his in
tegrity and incorruptibility as a Judge, and to
the inestimable vvorth of his exertions to estab
lish and maintain in this Territory, the Apostolic
Church of Christ."
After retiring from the Supreme Court Bench
of Colorado, he was appointed to the office of
Consul General of Valparaiso. But for reasons
mostly of a domestic character he declined to ac
cept it. He was then tendered the to him more
agreeable position of Superintendent of Com
mercial Statistics in the State Department under
Secretary Seward. While holding that position
he compiled from documents in the State De
partment volumes XII, XIII and XIV, of his
works above referred to. entitled " Our Commer
cial Relations with the rest of Mankind." and as
sisted the Secretary in preparing the famous
treaties with Russia and China.

242

CITY OF AUBURN.

His conjugal and domestic relations are
unusually happy. Early in the year 1843 he
married Abby Farnham. a daughter of the late
John I. Hagaman, an eminent architect and
builder, then of Auburn, and their union was
blessed with a dutiful and amiable family of three
sons and seven daughters, at this writing all liv
ing in health and comfort. Plis sons, named
Henry. James and lidward inherited the tastes
and talents of their father, and are journalists and
authors. The former is well connected with the
New York Tribune and the others with a daily
paper in Connecticut. Five of the daughters
are married, one of whom resides with her hus
band in Western East India. The others are
stfll in school.
In political matters he acted with the old
Whig party until it disbanded, and since that
time with the Republicans. He framed the
platform of the Republican party in this State,
and wrote a book to demonstrate that its prin
ciples descended from Jefferson. For more than
five and twenty years he was the intimate and
trusted friend of William PI. Seward, and stood
by him and his policy, through good and evil re
port to the end of his illustrious life.
In all local measures and enterprises to increase
the business and promote the prosperity of Au
burn, he has been by disposition and habit among
the foremost of men of his means. He was never
rich, but was generally able to command money
enough to help forward such enterprises as he
himself originated. Among other things, he origi
nated and helped to start the Gas Light Com
pany, the Water Works, and Fort Hill Ceme-
tery.and lastly the monument to Logan. He
has left his mark at home and abroad.

JOHN W. HUBBARD.
John W. Hubbard was born in the town of
Onondaga, Onondaga county, N. Y. His pa
rents being farmers, his first work was that of a
" farmer boy," and at the early age of seven years
proved of great advantage to his father, who,
about this time, had been intrigued into signing
notes with friends to the amount of several
thousand dollars, which soon after necessitated
the disposition of his farm, when he removed his
family to Syracuse. N. Y. His father, having in
early life learned the carpenterand joiner's trade,
thought to follow this avocation for the mainte
nance of his family; also the superior advantages
of educating his children in the city, where teach
ers and discipline far exceeded those of his own
town. Here he prospered, but not long. Not
content with doing well, he invested in " patent
rights," and soon his financial foundation floated
from under him and he was obliged to again use

the " chisel and mallet " and shove the jack plane.
But his oldest child, Johnny, as he was familiarly
cafled. a lad of twelve summers, thought, in view
of his father's embarrassment, he would try the
world, for better or for worse ; accordingly he
sought, for an experiment, the farm of Mr. Geo.
Secjy. of DeWitt. in the same county, and hired
out to him for five dollars per month, working
days and studying nights during the summer
season, and in the fall went to live with another
farmer where he did chores for board, and attend
ed school at Onondaga Valley Seminary dur
ing the winter.
In the spring he hired out again to Mr. Seely
for fifteen dollars per month, and, by studying
nights, was able the following winter, after a
strict examination by the trustees, to enter the
same class that he left in the spring, thereby ,
losing no time. In this way, working summers,
studying nights and attending school in the win
ter, he was able at the age of eighteen years to
graduate at this seminary. Then he began his
life as a farmer in earnest — having worked for
Mr. Seely for some six years— was again engaged
in the capacity of superintendent of farm and
twenty-five acres of nursery, which was no small
trust, certainly a great care, and proved too much
for the boy, who had worked so hard for the past
six years. After seven months in this capacity,
he was taken with typhoid fever, which ended
his career as a farmer. After a confinement of
some eleven weeks he was able to ride out with
the family physician who had charge of him ;
and one day while out riding, was asked if he
would like the study of medicine .¦• After weigh
ing the matter carefully and taking all things into
consideration, he, after a few weeks from that
time, repaired to the doctor's office and in
formed him of his decision, and signed a con
tract to attend to the office and study for
the space of two years when he was to at
tend lectures at some medical college. At the
expiration of this time, becoming tired of study
and office work, he removed to Auburn, N. Y.,
and, with his father, engaged in the fruit trade,
in which business he remained for the space of
five years, when an opportunity to change his
business occurred, and a copartnership was formed
between David M. Bulkley and John W. Plub-
bard, for the purpose of carrying on the under
taking business in Auburn.
In person Mr. Hubbard is about five feet seven.
wefl buflt. perfectly healthy. He is blessed with
that pleasing manner which instantly commends
him to new acquaintances and makes him popu
lar among his friends. Pie is dignified in his
bearing and careful to avoid everything that will
cause unjust remarks or criticisms. He is inde
pendent in his manner, except when attending to
the wants of those in aflfliction, and there you
discover his true nature. He sympathizes with

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCPIES.

243

the afflicted and strives by kind words and strict
attention to their wants, as far as lies in his pow
er, to lighten the burden of their sorrow. He is
a much respected member of Auburn Lodge No.
431, F. and A. M., and Auburn Tent of Recha-
bites No. 27, I. O. of R.

THEODORE J. SEARLS.
Theodore J. Searls was born in Weedsport,
Cayuga County, N. Y., May 20lh, 1851. His
father. Rev. William Searis. was born in Geddes.
Onondaga county, N. Y., in November, 1827, in
the 'midst of formidable difficulties, which sur-

and in less than one year graduated at Brown's
Business College. At the age of 17 he entered
the law office of Honorable J. T. M. Davie, now
Surrogate of Cayuga County, with whom he re
mained one year. He then entered the office of
Hon. E. A. Thomas, late Judge of Wyoming
Territory, and remained with him nearly a year,
when, on account of a change in his father's ap
pointment to the 1st M. E. Church of Rome. N.
Y., and desiring lo remain with his parents as
long as possible, he concluded logo with them and
immediately entered the office of Hon. B. J. Beach,
Member of Assembly in 1848, and Hon. A. H.
Bailey. M. C. in 1868 and County Judge in 1871.
both men of ability.
While in their office he was not only a regular

THEODORE J. SEARLS.
rounded him at the very gates of life. His pa
rents being poor and his father intemperate, the
returns from his labor were therefore very small,
and seeing this he made a solemn pledge, which
has never been broken, never lo drink intoxica
ting liquors as a beverage so long as he lived.
When about twenty-one years of age he united
with the M. E. Church and in a few years en
tered the ministry of that church, and at once
rose to the front rank in the conference, filling
the first appointments and ever preaching lo
large congregations. For several years he has
been, as he is now. the very acceptable chaplain
of Auburn prison.
While stationed as pastor of the ist M. E.
Church of Ithaca. N. Y., his son Theodore fin
ished his academic education. He soon after re
ceived an appointment at the ist M. E. Church
of Auburn, N. Y. Theodore went with him.

JOHN W. HUBBARD.
correspondent for two papers but composed some
very beautiful pieces of poetry.
After studying with these noted preceptors for
two years, on the 7th day of June, 1 872, at the Buf
falo General Term of the Supreme Court, he was
admitted lo practice in all the Courts of this
State. He received the following complimentary
notice from the Utica Morning Herald of June
loth, 1872 :
"At the General Term of the Supreme Court,
now in session in Buffalo, Mr. Theodore J. Searls,
of Rome, was admitted to practice law in all the
Courts of this State. Mr. S. is a young man of
talents, integrity and of correct habits ; he has a
fine future before him, and his friends will be glad
to hear of his success. He is a son of Rev. Wm.
Searls of that place. It is understood he has
made business arrangements in Auburn, and wifl
at once commence the practice of law there.

244

CITY OF AUBURN.

And the following from the Roman Citizen of
Rome, N. Y., of June 12th, 1872:
"Admitted to the Bar. — Mr. Theodore J.
Searls of this city, was last week admitted at the
General Term ofthe Supreme Court, held at Buf
falo, to practice law in all the Courts of this State.
We congratulate our young friend on his success
in passing an examination which was close and
searching, and continued over four hours ; and
his many friends will be glad to learn of his going
through the ordeal so triumphantly.
" He is a talented and honorable young man,
and has the entire confidence of all who appre
ciate modest, yet real worth. He has formed a
business connection with an old praclilioncr at
Auburn, and it is understood he will at once com
mence the practice of law in that city. We wish
him abundant success. He is the son of Rev.
Wm. Searls of this place."
Mr. Searls immediately returned to Auburn
and commenced the practice of the law. But
this did not seem to be his forte, and he was oft
en told by the older members of the bar that
he was cut out for a minister and not a lawyer ;
in other words, he was too tender-hearted and
could not crush as well as cure the afflicted, and
scorned every attempt on the part of his clients
to take advantage oi their opponents, and inherit
ing his father's fire and spirit, love, money, fear
or favor never could influence him to vary one
hair's breadth from what he considered lo be the
right way — that to him was the only way.
During his practice he was several times re
quested to enter the political field but always re
fused and never held but one office, and that by
appointment, for one year as assistant to his father
in Auburn Slate Prison. The people have the
utmost confidence in him and prominent men in
the County have transferred very valuable real
estate and other property to him to hold in trust,
without a single line to show that they had any
thing to do with it, knowing that it would be
ready for them whenever called for. Mr. Searls
is always ready to sympathize with and speak
words of cheer and comfort to those in affliction.
To pass him on the street the stranger would
say he appears rather cold and dignified, but
when conversing with him you at once discern a
genial disposition and warm heart. He is strictly
temperate, having taken his father's pledge, which
never has been broken, and by the firm and de
cided manner in which he speaks of his hatred
of liquor and the liquor traffic we have faith he
never will.
He is an honored and much respected mem
ber of Auburn Lodge No. 431, Y. & A. M., Da
vid's Chapter No. 34. and Salem Town Com-
mandery No. 16, K. T.
The 2ist of March, 1876, he purchased Mr.
Bulkley's interest in the undertaking business of
Bulkley & Hubbard ; the firm name being
changed to Hubbard & Searls.

Their rooms, No. 7 Exchange street, opposite
the Post-office, are elegantly fitted up and on ac
count of the central location are easy of access.

WARREN THATCHER WORDEN.
Warren Thatcher Worden, son of Nathan
Worden, was born in the town of Milton, Sara
toga county, in this State. November 7th, 1806.
The maiden name of his mother was Sarah Pull
ing, to whom the subject of this sketch was very
tenderly attached, and by whose side it. is his de
sire his remains shall be buried. She died June
i8lh, 1812. She was highly esteemed by the
congregation of the Episcopal Church, of which
she was a consistent and devoted member, and,
also, in the language of an obituary notice, she
was " a benevolent neighbor, and a lover of vir
tue, justice and humanity." They had four chil
dren, three sons and one daughter. One son
died young, and Alvah, Warren Thatcher and
the daughter attained mature life. Alvah mar
ried a sister of Mrs. William H. Seward.
Mr. Worden was left an orphan at twelve
years of age. without inheritance and was sub
jected to all the disabilities incidental to that con
dition. Fortunately for him. and for all similarly
situated, the common schools were open to him,
and he enjoyed, at intervals, the advantages which
they afforded, until he was sixteen years of age.
At that time, 1822, his elder and only brother,
Alvah, took him into his store in Auburn, where
he remained as a clerk for a few years, attending
also an excellent classical school, taught by the
Rev. Noble D. Strong.
He next attended the academy at Geneva.
supporting himself while there by writing and
taking care of the office of Messrs. Whiting &
Butler, the latter a brother of Benjamin F. But
ler, of Albany, one of the revisers of the statutes.
Mr. Butler had a large chancery practice, and,
by copying the papers in such cases, young Wor-
den's retentive memory held for future use the
main points in the papers copied, and thus, while
yet an academic student, he became familiar with
the chancery practice of that lime.
Mr. Worden remained in thc academy at
Geneva, untfl, and for some two years after, it
was merged into Hobart College, when he re
turned to Auburn and entered the law-office of
Mifler & Seward — Plon. Elijah Miller and
William H. Seward. But, being soon after
offered a place in the law-office of Mr. Brown,
where he could not only pursue; his legal studies,
but be compensated for taking care of the office,
he accepted the offer and remained two years,
when he entered Union College in the  ¦ 
class. Here he could meet his necessary ex
penses only by his own personal earnings, but

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BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.

245

having the wfll, he soon found the way by doing
clerical work in the law-office of Abraham Van
Ingen, of Schenectady. Pie was graduated in
i82g, at the age of twenty-three years, and ad
mitted to the bar the year following.
After graduating here he reentered the office
of Mr. iSrown accepting a small share of the
profits of the business, the control of which fell
mainly into his hands. Here he remained untfl
1830, when he applied for admission to the bar.
At that time Mr. Worden's appearance was very
youthful, and after the examination was con
cluded and the class appeared to receive their
diplomas. Chief Justice Savage, calling Mr. Wor
den to the bench, handed him his license un
signed, and directed him to stand aside. This
was a trying moment for the young candidate for
legal honors. The Judge, after ascertaining his
real age. signed his license with the remark that
he appeared quite young for one of his age.
It will thus be noticed that at twenty-four years
of age Mr. Worden, by dint of personal industry,
had become a well-read classical and legal stu
dent, the latter, under the old chancery practice.
a much more difficult task than that of the law-
students of to-day, and he had done all this
with means supplied by his own industry. That
industry he had wisely directed to business in
law-offices, where, while he was earning the means
with which to pursue his literary studies, he was
at the same time gaining a knowledge of his in
tended profession. It involved long, continuous
and severe toil and many self-denials ; yet he
persevered and finally triumphed.
Very few students of to-day, with every ad
vantage of wealth and leisure, and with no dis
tracting cares as to " what they shall eat, or
wherewithal they shall be clothed." or as to how
their school, college or other bills shall be paid.
do as much in the same time as did this self re
liant and self-dependent young man, who. against
apparently insurmountable obstacles, worked his
own way into an honorable profession, wherein he
won gratifying success. It was then and has
ever since been a characteristic of Mr. Worden,
that when he undertook a case, or the execution
of other plans, he pursued them with indomita
ble perseverance, giving to them all his time and
thoughts ; and while intensely anxious, he never
permitted the thought of failure to check or lessen
the ardor of his pursuit.
On the i6th day of August, 1832, he married
Miss Nancy Emily Iknnett, daughter of Dr. Abel
Bennett, of West Bloomfield, in this State. They
have one son, Warren Augustus, a member of
the Auburn bar.
Mr. Worden has always been distinguished
more as a man of thought than of words. He is
proverbially indifferent to the "rhetorician's rules,"
and while his oral arguments have been clear and
effective, he has never studied or cared for the
42-2

ornate in language. His first case was at Utica,
and when he had concluded it a "criticism was
made that the young man had " sadly murdered
the King's English," to which Azor Taber re
plied : " No matter, he made it up in ideas." As
a man of ideas and of clear comprehension of the
salient points in the cases at issue, and the skill
to discover and successfully assail the weak
points in adverse cases, he had few superiors.
The ingenuity and success with which he man
aged difficult cases was ,illu'strated in the libel
suits brought against thc Cayuga Patriot in i83g,
for publications reflecting upon the agent, phy
sician, and other officers of the prison, for their
alleged abuse of convicts. Three suits were
brought against the publishers, each represented
by able counsel, Mr. Worden appearing for the
physician. The excitement in Cayuga County
was so great that the venues were changed to
Onondaga. The cases were all founded upon
the same article and involved substantially the
same facts, and hence a decision of one might
reasonably be supposed to conclude the other
two cases also. The defendants were represen
ted by very able counsel, including James R.
Lawrence, Mark H. Sibley and Samuel Beards
ley. Thc suit represented by Mr. Worden was
the last tried and verdicts in both the other cases
had been given for the defendants. But a differ
ent decision was rendered in the case represented
by Mr. Worden and was produced by his ingen
ious management. His declaration was very
long, containing several causes of action, to all of
which the defendants pleaded the general issue
and several special pleas of avoidance to all the
counts except one, that of the publication of the
article. The defendants had some sixty witnesses.
On opening the case Mr. Worden surprised the
defendant's counsel by waiving all the counts
except one, that being the count to which there
was no plea. He then called a witness, proved
the libelous publication, the number of copies is
sued, the reputable character of his client and
the damage to him professionally of the publica
tion, and there rested. The opposing counsel
asked time for consultation and finally for an ad
journment until morning, which was granted.
The case proceeded the next day. the defense
calling several witnesses; but their evidence was
excluded, on the ground that the plaintiff had
waived all claims for damages on those subjects.
The verdict of four hundred dollars was rendered
for the plaintiff. The decision in these cases
prove how much the issue of legal contests de
pends on the skill and ingenuity of counsel.
Numerous cases could be referred to wherein
Mr. Worden displayed similar adroitness in cir
cumventing the most able counsel and winning
important suits. He left no stone unturned in
order to win. His eagerness -for success was
even greater than that of his clients. He would

246

CITY OF AUBURN.

debar himself of rest and even of food when nec
essary to increase his chance of success. In the
Tupper case, in which the indictment was for
forgery, and, if the trial proceeded, the issue was
likely to be against his client ; Mr. Worden. by
various pretexts, had the trial delayed until the
statute of limitations applied, when the case was
thrown out of court.
It is a noteworthy circumstance, that Mr. Wor
den never argued a case at General Term, after
Judge Cowen was promoted to the Supreme
Court Bench, in which the former did not write
an opinion.
One other instance of an important legal con
test in which he was engaged must suffice in this
connection. Hotchkiss & Smith were carpet contractors at
the Sing Sing Prison, employing about two hun
dred convicts. Difficulties arose between them
and the prison officers, cross actions were com
menced, and the suits were to be tried at the West
chester County Circuit. John VanBuren. then
late Attorney-General, J. Warren Tompkins.
Judge and Ralph Lockwood and M. L. Cobb,
represented the State, and Mr. Worden alone ap
peared for his clients. Mr. VanBuren's presence
in the case had drawn to see and hear him an un
comfortable crowd of both sexes. On the day of
the trial, seeing the great array and eminence of
the opposing counsel, Lieutenant-Governor Wil-
kins advised Mr. Hotchkiss not to trust his case
to any one. Mr. Hotchkiss replied : " we are
poor and have not the means to employ any one to
assist." One of the causes was opened with much
ability by J. Warren Tompkins. It proceeded
slowly, the interest of the audience being kept
.up by the discussions of counsel. Judge Morse
was frequently vacillating in his decisions under
the scorching remarks of Mr. VanBuren. The
feeling of the audience in the struggle began to
manifest itself, and found expression in words
like these, " I feel sorry for that little fellow, there
are so many on him. I hope he will beat ;" and
he did -beat. Mr. Worden soon left the court
room, followed by VanBuren, Mr. Wells, the In
spector in charge, and Col. Pomeroy. then agent
of the Auburn Prison. Mr. Wells enquired of
Mr. VanBuren " what is to be done next .?" Point
ing his finger toward Mr. Worden, he said,
" shoot that little cuss !" a remark implying that
there was no hope in their case whfle he lived to
resist them. The other cases were referred, and
verdicts rendered in favor of Hotchkiss &
Smith. Pares G. Clark and Henry C. Bronson were
students in Mr. Worden's office, thc latter, son of
the late Chief-Justice Greene C. Bronson, and the
former became one of the ablest advocates in the
State. Mr. Clark and Mr. Worden subsequently
,were law-partners, and their business was very
large and lucrative.

Their partnership continued about four years,
when Mr. Clark formed a partnership with ex-
Judge Whiting, of New York City.
The more important suits in which Mr. Wor
den has lately been engaged have been those in
behalf of the towns of Venice and Genoa against
the holders of the bonds of those towns. The
cases were carried through the several courts of
New York, including the Court of Appeals and
the views of Mr. Worden were affirmed. The
bonds were then sold out of the State, and suits
brought in the United States Circuit Court and
taken thence to the Supreme Court by writ of
error, and argued by Mr. Worden for the towns.
That court declined to follow, the decision of the
Court of Appeals on a State statute, and, with a
divided court, gave judgment against the towns.
In the argument of those suits before the Su
preme Court, Mr. Worden was very highly com
plimented by several eminent members of the bar
who were in attendance.
In 1867-68, Mr. Worden. wife and son made
a tour of Europe, visiting Naples and Rome and
the principal places of interest in Great Britain
and on the continent.
Mr. Worden always took a lively interest in
political affairs and criticised with great freedom
the short-comings of politicians. He was too
independent and out-spoken to be a favorite of
mere partisans. Formerly a Whig, and always
an anti-slavery man, he insisted that all should
be equal before the law and enjoy the same po
litical rights. He subsequently became a Demo
crat, and, on the currency question, now holds
the views of the National party and. in 1877, was
their candidate for Attorney-General of the Slate.
He has also been twice a candidate for Justice of
the Supreme Court of the Seventh District, and
both times received a large majority of the votes
of Cayuga County, notwithstanding it gave large
opposing majorities for the other candidates.
Mr. Worden has been a frequent and volumin
ous contributor both to law and political journals,
in which he discussed legal and political ques
tions, with that originality, boldness and abiHty,
by which he has always been distinguished. In
his profession he has been successful ; his busi
ness has been large and he secured a comfortable
fortune. Both Mr. and Mrs. Worden are mem
bers of the Protestant Episcopal Church, as were
also their ancestors before them.

DR. BLANCPIARD FOSGATE.
Doctor Blanchard Fosgate was born Jan
uary 5 lb, 1 8og in the county of Montgomery, State
of New York, being about the sixth in descent on
his paternal side in this country from an Anglo-
Saxon family, and on his maternal, from about the

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCPIES.

247

fourth generation of Highland Scot and Hiber
nian Celt.
In company with his parents he moved from
Herkimer, his second home on the banks of the
Mohawk, and arrived at Auburn in the spring of
1822, where he stifl resides.
When thirteen years old he left the district
school to learn the drug and medicine business
under instruction of his father and, with the ex
ception of a single year spent in study at an acade
my, he followed that and thc compounding of
drugs for support, pursuing at intervals the study
of medicine.
At twenty-five he attained at a medical col
lege the degree of Doctor of Medicine, and in
1835. the succeeding year, married Maria Re-

Photo by Ernsberger & Ray.

e/J* Ao^JiicX^

becca — daughter of Henry R.Abbott, Esq., of
London, England, since which, in connection
with his former occupation, he has practiced for
most of that time his profession, holding several
positions of considerable importance in that call
ing and has been an active member in most of
the scientific and literary associations of Auburn
during the past half century.
In i84g he was appointed Physician to the
New York State Prison at Auburn ; in 1853,
elected a member of the "American Association
for the Advancement of Science ;" was Medical
Attendant for a decade at the County Asylum ;
Secretary of Cayuga County Medical Society for
twenty-two years ; for twenty years a trustee of
Auburn Academy ; has published on several oc
casions essays — historical, professional, social and
scientific — and practiced his profession and fol
lowed steadfly, throughout, his original occupa

tion. His life has been one of laborious indus
try and careful economy, and any respite from
the former, or departure from the latter, has been
so rare as to be luxuries in a life thus far passed
in temperate sobriety.
Without an inheritance of wealth, or assistance
from its possessors, either in material or sympa
thy, he has, though neither pampered with sur
plus gains nor afflicted by indigence, maintained
in his intercourse with mankind, a respectable
independence and sustained an unimpeached in
tegrity.

WILLIAM L. BUNDY.
William LeGrand Bundy was born atOtego,
Otsego county, N. Y., in 1846, and in 1848 re
moved with his parents to Auburn, where he
attended the public schools untfl 1861. occupying
his leisure time in selling papers, to add to the
scanty means of his parents. From 1861 to
1863 he was variously employed, his mechanical
genius finally finding in the jewelry business a
congenial vocation. He entered the store of
Messrs. Hyde & Betty, jewelers, of Auburn, and
in 1868 commenced the jewelry business on his
own account, in company with W/n. Covell.wilh
whom he was associated one year. He employs
five persons in the manufacture and repair of
jewelry, and in gold and silver plating, most of
which is made to order.
Mr. Bundy displays in his show window. No. go
Genesee street, an ingenious piece of mechanism
of his own design and construction. It consists of
a clock, the works of which are beautifully engrav
ed and gold and silver plated, and all of which are
visible. Arranged in a three-quarter circle around
the works, is a chime of eight bells, which strike
sixteen times at the quarter hour, thirty-two
times at the half hour, and forty-eight times at
the three-quarter hour. A gong strikes at the
hour. Beneath the works is an arrangement
which gives the moon's phases, and a calendar
designating its different quarters. A perpetual
calendar under these gives the day of the week,
the month, and the day of the month. Below
the barrel which operates the chimes, are two
musical attachments, one of which plays every
hour, five minutes after striking, and the other,
at five minutes past noon. To the left is a cal
endar showing the day of the year from the first
of January of each year, and on the opposite side
is one giving the seasons. Another attachment
consists of a calendar of the year run by four
wheels, one of which wfll make a revolution in
ten years, the second, in one hundred years, the
third, in a thousand years, and the fourth, in ten
thousand years. Opposite the calendar of the
year is a silver grotto through which automaton
figures move every quarter hour. The total num-

248

CITY OF AUBURN.

ber of pieces which enter into its composition
exceeds 3.100. It is just three feet in height
from the base to the top of the upper bell. The
time occupied in its construction did not exceed
three months.
P'ebruary 22d, 1871, he was united in marriage
with Miss Ella Sweet, of Auburn.

,REV. WILLIAM SEARLS.
Rev. William Searls was born in the town
of Geddes, Onondaga county, N. Y., in Novem
ber, 1827, and moved with the family to Auburn,
N. Y., the following year. Plis father, Samuel
Searls, had enjoyed the very best literary advan
tages the New England schools could give.
He tame from the old and honored Searls
family of North Hampton, Mass.
Mr. Searls has now in his possession manu
scripts more than one hundred and fifty years
old, showing the wealth and standing of his fa
ther's ancestry. His father, soon after coming
into possession of his "portion," fefl into dissi
pation, and in a course of prodigality, wasted all
that fell to him, and was. when Wflliam was born,
a poor intemperate man. William, seeing this.
made a solemn pledge, which has never been
broken, never to drink intoxicating liquors as a
beverage so long as he lived.
Ikfore Wflliam was ten years old. his father
died, leaving his mother with four chfldren on her
hands, and the fearful winter of 1837 and 1838
before her. It soon became a question with the
family as to how they should pass through the
winter. He often saw his mother weeping, and
on one occasion he urged her to tell him the
cause of her tears. On learning from her that
it was her inability to keep the chfldren to
gether and support them through the win
ter, he resolved to take care of himself In
a few days, with afl that he had of this world's
goods tied up in a bandana handkerchief, he left
his home.
The parting from his mother gave him the
keenest pangs his heart ever felt. With the
" parting kiss," he urged his mother to " cheer
up ; in a little whfle I will be able to provide for
you a home." In the town of Sennett, contig
uous to Auburn, he found a place to live, where
he could do chores for his board and go to
school. Two objects he now had before him, the ac
quisition of knowledge and to provide a home
for his mother. Overcoming formidable difficul
ties, he was able on the day he was twenty years
old, to move his mother into his own home, which
he had buflt with his own hands. His mother's
happiest day had come and the promise of the
boy was fulfilled.

He was soon thereafter united in marriage
with Miss Catherine Spingler, of Weedsport, a
noble woman and devoted wife. When about
twenty-two years of age he united with the M.
E. Church, of which his wife was a member.
Being a thorough student and a most indomitable
reader, and feeling it a duty to proclaim lo others
the grace that had saved him, he entered the
ministry of the church of his choice and at once '
rose to the front rank in the conference, filling
the first appointment, and ever preaching to
large congregations, and remaining the full disci
plinary term on each of the appointments.
The first M. E. Church edifice in Auburn wfll
ever bear mute but eloquent tribute to his devo
tion to his work, it being built under his admin
istration. It may be well to note the voice of
the press at the close of his pastorate in Au
burn :
" Rev. William Searls, the able and energetic
pastor of the First M. E. Church, closed his la
bors in this city last evening with a farewell ser
mon to his congregation. The church was so
densely packed witli those who had assembled to
hear him for the last time, the aisles and all other
avaflable space were occupied. Mr. Searls wfll
leave a bright record behind him in this city.
He will be remembered as the genial friend, the
able preacher, the indomitable laborer in the cause
of church erection, and the fearless advocate of
temperance. He assumed the pastorate of the
Methodist congregation here when it was- pros
trated in finance and spirit by the conflagration
which destroyed its sanctuary. He leaves it in
possession of a stately capacious temple, and
strong in numbers and means. These facts
speak his praise better than can any words of
ours. We shall regret equally with his friends
here his departure from Auburn."
His ability as a preacher was fully, tested on many
important occasions, but he was never found
wanting. On one occasion at conference, Bishop
Foster preached in the morning and Mr. Searis
was to follow in the afternoon. Of that effort
the following was reported at the time for the
daily press :
" The hour of three having arrived thc house
was again crowded to hear a sermon from Rev.
Wm. Seari,s, from Auburn. This gentleman has
long been known as one of the leading ministers
of the Oneida, afterwards Central New York
conference. Mr. Searis called the attention of
the congregation to Rom. viii : 3, 4 : ' P'or what
the law could not do in that it was weak through
the flesh, &c. ' In view of the thrflling grandeur
of the morning sermon and the high pitch of
feeling to which the audience had been raised,
some feared that it would militate against the suc
cess of Brother Searis in the afternoon, but their
fears were groundless. In the name of his great
Master, with majestic steps; onward he went in-

-'H,>

[Plioto by Squyer & Wright,]

Chaplain of Aul)U7-n Prison.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.

24g

creasing in power as he advanced. The drift of
the discourse, as may be inferred from the text.
was the superiority of the law of love under the
gospel, to the dispensation of the law under the old
covenant. The speaker felt the Divine unction,
and the same spirit rested on the audience. The
sermon ended amid shouts of rejoicing."
Mr. Searls stands second to but very few in
the lecture field. He handles literary and popu
lar subjects with the skill of a master.
An editor wrote the following after listening
to Mr. Searis lecture on " self-culture :" " The
lecture of Rev. Wm, Searls. on Tuesday evening
last, was fully up to the high anticipations of the
public. Those who go to New York to secure
great lecturers, will rarely, indeed, fare so well as
the audience which listened to Mr. Searis last
evening. Mr. Searls is a deep and original
thinker, a fine scholar, and a speaker second to
but few in the United Slates."
In a course of lectures delivered in Auburn
some years ago by " home talent," Mr. Searis
came on the ninth in the course, and the follow
ing from the city papers, wifl tell how well he
performed the task assigned him :
" One of the largest audiences that ever gath
ered in our city was not disappointed in thc lec
ture last evening, delivered by Rev. Wm. Searls,
at the Universalist church, the ninth in the tem
perance cause. The masterly manner in which
he treated his theme, " Temperance and the
Home." established his position as one of the
most effective pulpit orators in our State. If elo
quence consists in playing upon the feelings of
an audience, now convulsing with laughter, then
filling all eyes with tears, now moving every heart
with sympathy, then arousing with righteous
indignation, while every eye is fixed on the
orator and every ear is open to catch the faint
est whisper, then, surely, Mr. Searls may be
placed among the most eloquent speakers of the
day. "Those passages in Mr. Searls' lecture that
referred particularly to his childhood's home.
thrilled the audience with their beauty and force
and touched every heart with the tenderest sym
pathy. None but born orators could paint such
vivid pictures as that of the boy's leaving home,
his fervent prayer by the roadside on the hill
overlooking the old home, and the mother linger
ing in the yard; we witness the whole scene as
perfectly as if painted on canvass, in the colors
of the master.
" Those who were present will not accuse us of
exaggeration when we claim that Gough, in his
palmiest days, never secured the- attention and
sympathy of an audience more completely than
did the orator last evening. Such speeches can
not fafl in establishing the most profound con
victions and arousing the public to the highest
resolves for the right."

During the war Mr. Searls was indefatigable
in rallying the people around the flag.
During the great excitement arising from the
question of the Bible in the schools, he wrote a
pamphlet on " English Martyrology." which was
widely read, and had great influence in Central
New York.
He justly feels that the citizens of Auburn
paid him a very fine comphment, in inviting him
to be their orator for their great celebration, July
4th, 1876. He proved himself equal to the occa
sion, and delivered what was everywhere pro
nounced " a masterly oration, * * sound in po
litical philosophy, deep in historical research, and
practical in its admonitions."
For several years he has been, as he is now,
the very acceptable chaplain of Auburn prison.
Pie is deeply interested in every good work.
Having lived in Auburn in his childhood, he has
ever regarded it as his home, and takes pride
and pleasure in the growth of the " lovely city."
He is not without honor though a prophet in his
own country.
Such a life as that of Mr. Searls supplies a
valuable lesson, and shows what may be accom
plished by the right use of our powers in the face
of strongly opposing obstacles. Left father
less and penniless at ten years of age, he was
compelled to seek a home with strangers. He
paid his board with his own labor, with the priv
ilege of attending school. He was a quicSf stu
dent, his memory tenacious and his heart so fully
in his work, that he very soon "learned how to
learn," and his whole after-life became to him a
constant school, without vacations, and his in
structors were books, men. and events, his at
tainments becoming general and broad.
He was capable, self-reliant, industrious, pru^
dent and faithful. Those excellent qualities won
for him friends, home and employment. He was
reliable and useful to those he served ; and as
" God helps those who help themselves," he
gradually won his way not only to self-support,
but, at twenty years of age, had provided a home
and support for his widowed mother, a striking
and noble example of filial affection. He labored,
as he could, on the farm or in the work-shop,
instructing himself in the use of tools, with
which, as a wood-worker, he could earn more than
in farming, and to that pursuit, for a time, hegave
his chief attention, until he entered the holy call
ing, which, thereafter became the business of his
life. Here, as our record abundantly shows, he
quickly attained not only to distinction, but to
eminence, ranking among the most popular and
effective public speakers of our time. Possessing
an unusually firm and elastic physique, a genial
and highly social temperament, a pleasant voice,
a quick and very active intellect, and pure and
thoroughly grounded moral perceptions, his pub
lic efforts were, in a high degree, interesting and

250

CITY OF AUBURN.

magnetic. What he says is a clear reflex of his
own strong common sense and his intimate knowl
edge of men and things, and his manner of say
ing it, is at once logical and interesting. Such a
boyhood developing into such a life it is pleasant
and profitable to record.

ELLIOT G. STORKE.
Elliot G. Storke was the second son and
the eighth child of Daniel Storke, and was born
June i8th, i8il,in the old township of Aurelius,
near Auburn, on what is known as the Washing
ton White place. His father who was of Welch
and his mother of EngHsh descent and both na
tives of New England, had located on that farm
in the winter of I7g6, three years after Col.
Hardenbergh had settled at the " Corners." The
year previous he had erected a house and cleared
and sown a field of wheat, returning to bring in
his family consisting of himself, his wife and an
infant child, their first born. They had care
fully prepared to meet the vicissitudes of their
long winter journey through the forest and of
tlieir residence in a new country. P'or the for
mer, among the provisions taken was a large sup
ply of mince pies, which were frozen and care
fully packed for future use, but which were stolen
from their ox-sled one night by the Indians, who.
with characteristic shouts, bore their plunder to
the forests, beyond recovery. Provisions for
one year and clothing and bedding for several
years had been carefully prepared. Yet during
the second year of their residence here, their
home with all it contained was consumed by fire,
inflicting a loss difficult to repair. But pending
the erection of another dwelling. bosjDitable quar
ters were tendered by a benevolent neighbor, and
the immediate wantsof an utterly destitute family
generously supplied.
The farm on which they had located had been
chosen because of its level surface, in strong con
trast with the rough aspects of their native New
England hills ; but after clearing and cultivating
it for eighteen years, it was sold and a farm se
lected on lot g6, on the drift hills in the town of
Brutus, now Throop. the great fertility of which
has been established by more than seventy years
of profitable culture. Here he passed the re
mainder of his life. It had been mostly cleared
when he came ; on it were two comfortable log-
houses and a framed barn, the latter stfll in use.
The family comprised nine children, three sons
and six daughters, all of whom attained maturity,
married and settled in different parts of the
country. They were all thoroughly trained in
the industrial habits of the time, the girls in
domestic work and in the preparation of flax and
wool for raiment, and the boys in the diversified

labors of the farm. Work, systematic, regular,
hard work were the " standing orders " of each
day, in which each and all took part. There were
then no foreign servants, on whom to shift the
drudgeries of the farm or the household.
Mr. Storke received the usual instructions in
the very common schools of the period, until ten
years of age during both the summer and winter
terms, and for four years following during the
winters only, working on the farm in summer.
The studies which he pursued were spelling,
reading, grammar, arithmetic and geography. He
then entered the Auburn Academy, then under
the able direction of the Rev. John C. Rudd, D.
D., principal. Here he "learned how to learn,"
and his subsequent progress was made by the
careful study of books, unaided by teachers.
From his earliest youth he was very fond of
reading, but there was no family library to refer
to. Its place was supplied by a circulating
library, three miles distant, from which he drew
books weekly, and their contents were eagerly
devoured. He could and did for years procure
all the books which he had time to read. While
at the academy and for years after, he had free
access to the large and excellent library of Dr.
Rudd, who also prescribed for him a valuable
course of general reading, which he afterwards
followed. At the age of sixteen he engaged in teaching,
and, for the most part, followed it during the
winters until twenty-one, when the spirit of ad
venture and self-care led to the resolution to "go
West." But for domestic reasons, involving
the care of his aged parents, the plan was changed,
and he was induced to remain at the old home
stead, purchasing the interest of the other heirs
in it, where he remained until the death of his
parents. In 1838 he married Miss H. Sophia,
daughter of Alfred Putnam, Esq , of Herkimer,
N. Y. They have two sons and three daughters.
In 1842, he was appointed County Superin
tendent ofthe Public Schools of Cayuga County,
and reappointed two years later, serving four
years, when he resigned to engage in other pur
suits. He gave to that trust his time and best
talents, and introduced into the schools of the
County important and enduring reforms.
He next engaged with Mark H. Newman &
Co., book publishers of New York City, and so
continued until the spring of 1850, when he be
came a general partner with J. C. Derby and
Norman C. Miller, in the general book publish
ing business in Auburn, which was successfully
continued until 1856, when, by the fraudulent
use in his private afl'airs of the credit of the com
pany, by Eugene Mulligan, who had been admit
ted to the partnership, the company was involved
in heavy liabilities, which they were rapidly pay
ing, when the panic of 1857 suddenly engulfed
most of their customers, and involved the firm in

'Ci'

¦••'- >,

^ ¦

DR. JOSEPH, CLARY
Auburn, N.Y
( \
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MRS. A,M.B.CLARY

AUBURN, N.Y.

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' '¦rwm>MWf^'i'''i'^?'''""' '
LOUIS SCHUCH.

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Hotel & Restaurant of L, SCHUCH. Auburn, N

,Y

H-

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.

251

other and crushing losses, brought their busi
ness to a complete stand-still and forced them
into liciuidation, sacrificing for a nominal consid
eration property which had cost over one hundred
thousand dollars.
Mr. Storke then organized, by the aid of kind
friends, the Auburn Publishing Company, acting
as its agent, continuing here the publication of
subscription books, and making the enterprise a
financial success. In 1857 he prepared a heavy
8vo. volume on domestic and rural affairs, which
had a large sale. When the Rebellion began he
accumulated material for a complete history of it,
which he completed in over 1,600 octavo pages,
and of which over 20,000 copies were sold.
In 1866, with others, he engaged in successful
efforts to organize the Merchants' Union Express
Company, acting as one of its executive com
mittee, and as its supply agent during its exist
ence. In 1867. he established the Melalic Plane Com
pany in Auburn, for the manufacture of iron
bench and block-planes, an industry which has
been rapidly extended, and that has resulted in
very decided and useful improvements in those
tools. That enterprise is still continued.
It will thus be seen that Mr. Storke has had an
exceedingly varied experience, and if he has not
gained wisdom by it, the opportunities to do so
have not been wanting. As farmer, teacher.
school superintendent, author, publisher and
manufacturer, he has tried a sufficient variety of
employments to give him an active, if not a use
ful or profitable life. Financial necessity first
led him to teach, and afterwards to engage in the
instruction of teachers ; a love of books led him
to engage in publishing ; a belief that the mer
chants of the country could, and should do their
own express carriage, led him into the express
business, and whfle actively engaged therein he
was induced to engage in manufacturing, which
he still continues. The proposition to publish a
complete history of the County met his hearty
approval, and thc proposal made to him to write
the general history of the County, and to edit the
histories of the several towns he reluctantly ac
cepted and has executed the difficult task with
care and fidelity, and. it is believed, to the full
satisfaction of its numerous patrons.

LOUIS SCHUCH.
Louis Schuch was born in Landau Rheinpfals,
Germany, the 6th of March, i82g. He is the
son of Frederick and Magdalene Schuch.
His father was a potter by trade, and was en
gaged in that business for about thirty-five years
and untfl his death, which occurred in 1845. His
wife died ten years afterwards.
43-z

Louis learned his father's trade, and followed
it for many years in his native place and in
France, Russia, Austria and Switzerland. He
came to America in 1853, landing in New York
on the 1 6th of December of that year. He was
employed in a hotel in the last named city for
about two and one-half years. He was then en
gaged about a year on the steamship Empire
City, running between New York and New Or
leans. In 1858 he was employed in the Hotel St.
Louis in the latter city, and remained there untfl
about six months before the war ofthe Rebellion
broke out. He then went to Syracuse. N. Y.,
where he remained until the first call for troops,
when he went to New York city and enlisted in
the 20th New York Turner Rifles. He remain
ed in the service two ¦years and three months.
On being mustered out he came to Auburn and
engaged in the hotel and restaurant business, in
which he is still engaged.
In the year 1876. he commenced the erection
of his fine hotel building, situated on the corner
of State and Clark streets, a view of which may
be seen on another page of this work, and com
pleted it in 1878. It is one of the handsomest
buildings in the city.
Mr. Schuch was married in 1864 to Madaline
Keil. of Auburn, a native of Reichenberg, Aus
tria, who came to this country in 1863. There
have been born to them six children, one of
whom died in infancy. In 1874 Mrs. and Mrs.
Schuch visited Landau for the purpose of edu
cating their chfldren, and remained there two
years.

JOSEPH CLARY.
Dr. Joseph Clary, son of Deacon Abel Clary,
was born in Massachusetts in 1787. He studied
medicine in New Plartford, and at the age of
twenty-five years he came lo Cayuga County, set
tling at Throopsville, near Auburn, where he
practiced his profession during a period of fifty-
four years. He attained a high professional
standing and became one of theleading physicians
of the County. He was distinguished for the
care and accuracy with which he diagnosticated
diseases, and was rarely mistaken in their char
acter and location. He possessed in a high de
gree the moral qualities of a good physician, and
his attention to the patients under his care
was characterized by a conscientious fidelity.
Even to within a week of his death he performed
his professional duties with the zeal and enthusi
asm of earlier years. His great virtue and con
sistent piety won for him universal respect atid
confidence. While a man of large ambition and less merit
would have sought a wider sphere, his character
istic modesty made him content with the circum-

252

TOWN OF STERLING.

scribed field of labor he first selected, though the
changes of more than fifty years were constantly
opening more inviting fields for the exercise of
his talents. It is doubtful, however, if he could
have been more useful in any other field.
In 1837 he married Miss A. M. Bennett, who
was born in Massachusetts in Jan., 1787, and came
to Cayuga County with her brother in 1814. Miss
Bennett, immediately after coming to this County
gave her attention to teaching, and was for sev
eral years previous to her marriage principal of a
select school for young ladies, which she con
ducted first in. Auburn, and afterwards at the foot
of Owasco Lake, to which locality her father's
family had removed. She stfll survives her hus
band in excellent health and with mental facul
ties unimpaired, though in her g3d year. She
is strongly attached to her friends, with whom
she loves to mingle and converse.
Dr. Clary was blessed with seven chfldren,
five sons and two daughters, five of whom, four
sons and one daughter, survived his death at
Throopsville. in May, 1863.
The following extract from an obituary of Dr.
Clary, published in the Neiv York Observer, suf
ficiently indicates his excellent qualities of head
and heart :
" Dr. Clary connected himself early with the
First Presbyterian Church in Auburn, and for
many years was one of its ruling elders. By an
arrangement in that Church which commits a cer
tain number of families to the oversight of each
member of the Session, he shared with the pas
tor that spiritual care of that portion of the con
gregation residing in Throopsvflle. He was
very faithful to his charge, beloved of his breth
ren, and of good report with all. Rarely was he
absent from the sanctuary, though he resided
some three miles distant. His extensive prac
tice as physician never seemed to interfere with
the punctual and diligent discharge of all the du
ties of a Christian in the church and in the
family. " He had clear views of doctrines, and a most
conscientious regard for all the great interests of
Christ's kingdom.
" He took a deep interest in the struggle now
going on in the land, [the war of the rebellion,]
and preserved a calm and loyal confidence in its
issue. He had been at his place at church as
usual on the Sabbath, visited patients for whom
he felt much solicitude in the after part of the day,
when he was seized with violent fever, and died
the early part of the following week. He pro
nounced calmly upon his own case, and quietly
awaited the result.
" His death was precious in our sight, as it no
doubt was in the sight of the Lord. He was
greatly sustained by the grace in which he had so
long trusted. The promises, to use his own ex
pression, all clustered around him, and the good

man left us, glorifying Christ in his death not less
than in his life.
" His remains were followed to the grave by a
large concourse of people who sincerely mourned
his departure. It was a most impressive scene
and a very appropriate tribute of respect to his
memory."

JONAS WHITE.
Among. the old and prominent residents of
Auburn was ex-Mayor Jonas White. Here-
sided here over half a century, twenty-eight years
of which he conducted leading hotels, including
the American, now the St. James, the old Ex
change Hotel and the Gaylord PIouse, having
also been clerk for his brother-in-law, Ira Curtis,
when the latter was proprietor of the old Ex
change Hotel. He was therefore well-known to
all our citizens, and universally respected for his
frankness and urbanity, and the uniform consist
ency and purity of his life and character. P'ew
of our residents had more or warmer friends.
Pie died November 20th, 1876, aged sixty-three
years..

CHAPTER XXXI.

Town of Sterling.

STERLING, named from Lord Wflliam
Alexander Sterling, of Revolutionary mem
ory, lies upon Lake Ontario, in the extreme north
part of the County, and is bounded north by the
lake, south by the town of Victory, east by Os
wego county, and west by Wayne county.
The surface is rolling and inclines slightly to
ward the north. The highest elevations, in the
south, are from 200 to 300 feet above the lake.
Big Bluff, on the lake shore, rises somewhat
abruptly from 100 to 200 feet above the surface
of the lake. The streams are Little Sodus Creek
and its branches, flowing north through the cen
tral part to Little Sodus Bay, and the headwaters
of Cartright Creek, in the south-west part,
emptying into Blind Sodus Bay. Little Sodus
Bay is about two miles long and one mfle wide,
and is one of the best natural harbors on the
south shore of the lake. A swamp, covering
several hundred acres, extends along the lake
shore, east of the bay, and another lies on the
south border of the town.

t

^

HON. GEORGE I. POST.

Hon. Gborge L Post, son of John G. Post, was bom in the town of
Fleming^ in this Countyi April ?d, i8z6. His ancestors were descendants of
four nationalities,— German, tlollnndcr, Scolcji and English. His Rreat-
grandfather, Christopher Post, came from New Jersey in i70» <ind took up
a large tract of very valuable land on the west shore of Owasco Lake, and the
iarmSf into which it was afterwards divided, are'still occupied by his descend
ants, and are among the most fertile and productive lands in tbe County.
Their occupants have always been men of honorable character, substantial and
thrifty.* , The subject of this sketch received such early instruction as the public
schools of the time afforded ; was brought up in habits of industry, and sub
jected to the wholesome discipline of farm-life, thus developing his naturally
vigorous constitution, and rendering him capable of enduring, with impunity,
great physical and mental labor. His public school education was supple
mented by that of private schooli and by attendance at the Lima Seminary..
' At the age of seventeen he engaged in teaching. At twenty-nne he married
Miss Esther C. Wyckoff, daughter of Peter Wyckoff, and bought, and for
' eight years cultivated a farm, engaging also in kind surveying. A friend and
intelligent advocate of popular education, he was called to the superintendency
; of the schools of his lown.
His mental aspirations were not fully satisfied with the routine of farm-life.
He engaged in a thorough
course of general reading,
'^ and his retentive memory
-¦grasped and held the facts
'*lhus brought to his knowl-
^ edge. Procuring elementary
Jaw books, he began at home
their st.-dy, not with a view to
making law his profession,
; but for personal culture. The
'.* study pleased him, and he
i contmued it. In 1854 he en-
¦ tered the law office of George
^ Rathbun, and afterwards that
of Porter, Allen & Beardsley,
and was admitted co the bar
in i8S5>
In 1857 he went to Kansas
on a tour of observation, as
president of an organization,
whose object was the promo
tion of the settlement of that
territory. While there he saw
the efforts of pro-slavery men
to retain control of ths region
and the violent measures to
which they resorted to drive
nut the Free-state immigrants.
He was threatened with niob-
vlolence, and his impressions
of the barbarities of slavery
were deepened by observation
and personal experience
Having taken up his resi
dence in Aubum in 18?^, he
represented the Third Ward
in the Common Council in
i8S8-'59, and was Chairman
of the Board in the laborious
and .difficult work of revising
the charter of the city.
In 1 8 59 he was elected Dis
trict - Attorney, holdmg the
' position for three years. That
year he commenced his long
and eventful railroad career in
behalf of the Lake Ontario,
Aubum & New York Railroad
. Company,work on whose road
was suspended for want of
. - means to prosecute it. He
, procured an extension of the
,;, charter, by which the corpor
ate rights of the Company
were continued, and was inde
fatigable in his efforts, through
the press and in public nieet-
ings, to secure the construc
tion of the road, devoting
thereto, it is believed, more
time than any other friend of
, the enterprise. He abandon
ed it 'only when there was no
' hope of success, when he
transferred his energies to the
construction of the Southern
Central Railroad.
", In the Fall of 1862 he was elected Member of Assembly from the first dis
trict, and was a participant m the three weeks' struggle tor the organization
ofthe House. Mr. Seymour was then Governor. The darkest clouds ofthe
Rebellion were hovering over us, and intense and bitter party feeling actuated
the Members. The famous tie of 64 and 64 was maintained for weeks, and
when 65 and 6j were reached, filibustering and anarchy interposed. The vote
¦ was finally reached, and the Hojise duly organized.
^ ' During this session, Mr. Post made an elaborate speech, in review of the
-A Governor's message, especially crilicisinghis war-pohcy and that of his ad-
''- vocateSf in the course of which he said : —
' , "We must have war or disunion, that is the issue. Is peace desirable at
; .such a price? God forbid I Peace at the price of disunion? No I never I
' : nev£r J never I Better perish than submit to disunion. War is the only way
¦ to peace. Let us then have war upon war principles ; war until treason is
y discomfited; * • war until the union is completely restored."
^gV Of this speech the correspondent of the New York Worlds a political
,'.; opponent, thus wrote :--
'Mr. Post made a vigorous speech last evening in favor ofthe policy ofthe
' ¦ President, Mr. Post is strong and earnest, and the President ought to be a
'.grateful man, that he has friends so bold."

' * 8I1 EUU dMcendftsti beKrlng th« tmmilj nnme aio
ouli VNtliig uver levm liuudrtd !.«.«¦.

« leitlod Id that looolUf, oocupjing and

In the general legislation of the body, to which his time and energies were
assiduouslv devoted, he was a close and careful participant.
At the cloao of his legislative term he renewed the rnilroad agitation, and
in the Fall of 186s called a public convention to consider the question of
organizing a Company to construct the Southern Central Railroad, for which
he had drawn Articles of Association. _ The result of his efforts was the or
ganization of the Company and the building of the road. Mr. Post was one
of the Directors, and the Secretary of the Company on its organization, and
subsequently in turn Vice-President and President thertof. He resigned the
latter position in the Spring of 1871. He had the merited honor of driving
the last spike on the completion of the road in 1877. From 1859'to 1871 he
devoted himself to the enterprise, in public meetings, reports in tlie legisla
ture, and wherever the interests of the road could be promoted, by an active
interest in its behalf. ;
In the Autumn of 1867 he took an active and a leading part in the organi
zation of a company to construct a railroad from Uswego to Lewiston, 14^
miles in length, entitled the Lake Ontario Shore Koad, which is completed
and in successful operation. Of that Company_ he was a Director, and a
member for four years of the F.xecutive Coinmit.ee, of which he was the
Chairman for two years. He was also for two years the legal advisor of the
Company ; during which time the legal and financial condition of lhei;,road
-^jr-g,  were firmly established.
, '^•7 *.^C^ * ^^^- P**st represented this
i "i^*-* district in the Convention
which ncminated Gen. Grant
for the second term, in i87i.
In the Autumn of 1875, he
w.is again elected to the As
sembly, and took his seat on
the first day of January fol
lowing. He was placed on
the important Committees of
Ways and Means, General
Laws, and i'rivileges and
Elections, of the latter of
which he was Chairman. Dur
ing this session he drafted and
secured the passage ofthe act
which placed the State Re-
lormatory at Elmira under
a Board of Managers, con
sisting of Louis D. Pilsbury,
a thorough expert in the man
agement of penal institutions ;
Sinclair Tousey, one of the
^ommittee for investigating
I he prisons of the State;
Rufus H. King, a talented
and honorable lawyer ; and
William C. Wey. an eminent
physician, — thus combining in
the Board just the variety of
talent to secure the most in
telligent and upright adminis
tration. This was the first
important step in prison re
form. The managers were
non-partisan and served with
out pay.
The prisons of the State, at
that time, had become notori
ous leechers upon the public
iieasury, demanding large an
imal appropriations to meet
their deficiencies. Mr. Post,
cliiring this session, devoted
himself to a careful consldera-
tiiHi of the important and en-
giossing question of prison
I c form. As he had, by the
unanimous assent of the As-
sem bly and nearly so of
the Senate, secured a Board
of Managers of the El
mira Retonnatory of rare
and admitted fitness, so he
soughi to place each of the
prisons uncler the care of sim
ilar Boards of Managers, and
supported his proposition by
a carefully prepared argument.
The result ot the discussion
was the appointment of a com
mission to minutely investi
gate the prisons of the Stale
and report the result.
Mr. Post was elected to the
Assembly, for the third time,
in the Fall of 1876. As he represented a district in which was located one of
the most important State prisons, he was made the Chairman of the Com
mittee on that subject, and continued on those of *' Ways and Means," and
*' General Laws." As Chairman of the Committee on Prisons, he prepared
the legislation necessary to give effect to the constitutional changes in their
official management, and which have already resulted in an annual saving to
the State of neariy $500,000. _ Mr. Post was a leading Member of the Assem
bly, in which he was recognized as a power. All nis public undertakings
were actuated by an exalted sense of justice. He was a clear, consistent
worker, frank and above-board, voting on all occasions with a boldness
evinced only by independent men.
During the Winter of 1877 was organized the Boston, Hoosac Tunnel &
Western Railroad, in which Mr. Post took a lively interest, and is one of the
Directors of the Company. This is the last and most important railroad en
terprise m which he has been engaged. He may with propriety be denomin
ated the \ Railroad-builder," for he has devoted thereto twenty ofthe prime
years of his life. Physically, Mr. Post is large, being over six feet in height,
and hnely formed. He is remarkably vigorous, and ceaselessly active. He is
indomitably persevering ; a great lover of liberty of thought, speech and action ;
and candid almost to bluntness. He is honorable iu a high degree. He is
hopeful, expectant and buoyant. Tn politics he is a Republican. He has three
sons and two daughters: Jane Elizabeth Hawes, T. Benton, Henry C, Cora
W. and George L, Jr. '

J ^..-^

GEOLOGICAL FORMATION.

253

The underiying rocks are the Medina sand
stone, which covers the northern halfof the town,
and the Oneida conglomerate and the series of
the Clinton group, in the south part. An inter
esting locality showing the super-position of
these rocks is at Bentley's quarry, on the road
from Martville to Hannibalville, where the red
sandstone and the Clinton group are within a few
feet of each other, having a gray sandstone in
tervening, intermixed with the green shale of that
group. The junction between the red and gray
sandstone is concealed by drif.. &c. The two
former have been quarried for building stone.*
The red sandstone is well exposed in the bot
tom of the creek at Sterling Center, and in its
sides, extending along the creek a mfle south, the
mass exposed being twenty-five feet thick. It
appears again in the road near the place formerly
owned by Robert Hume, about two and one-half
miles from Steriing Center, and four from Mart
ville ; also at the quarry between Martville and
Hannibalville, where it is of two kinds, the hard
and variegated, which shows the diagonal struc
ture, and the more coarse and friable, of a darker
color. The red sandstone is geologically the
lowest rock of New York which contains brine
springs of sufficient purity and quantity to be
manufactured into salt. From this fact and its
red color it was for a long time confounded with
the red shale ofthe Onondaga salt group. At Ster
ling Center a brine spring rises by the side of
the creek, through a fissure in the sandstone ;
another exists a mile further south, and a third
near Little Sodus Bay. The salt from all these
springs was said to have had a sharper taste than
common salt, owing probably to a more soluble
muriate with an earthy base.
Conglomerate appears at Bentley's quarry and
at the farm formerly owned by Robert Hume, both
previously referred to. In the former locality it
is a light greenish-gray, fine-grained sandstone,
in places mottled with green shale, and in a few
places with reddish purple spots of ferruginous
shale. It was quarried for the mill at Martville,
the thickness excavated being four or five feet.
The latter locality was opened for Wolcott furnace.
* Tlie Medina sandstone is much used for under-pinnings of
houses .md farm buildings. It ii.ns been observed tli.nt hogs are very
fond of licking it whenever they liavc access to it, that it causes
them to foam at thc mouth, and renders it dirticult to fatten them.
Franklin B. Hough, A. M., M. D., Gaxetleer of the State of New
York, 1871.

The Clinton group, so well characterized by its
iron ore beds and its marine plants, rests upon
the conglomerate. At Bentley's quarry it ap
pears on the top of the sandstone, which corres
ponds with the Oneida conglomerate, showing a
series of their grayish-green sandstone and shale,
the former containing numerous fucoids and other
forms, with the Clinton lingula, besides some
other fossils, the mass exposed being about ten
feet thick. It appears again on the creek, ex
tending from the vfllage of Martville to the mill
about half a mile below. At the vfllage are seen
alternations of shale and calcareous shale, the
latter somewhat solid. The whole is fossilifer-
ous, thc Clinton retepora being abundant. Here
was found a specimen of the Niagara delthyris,
and, in the green shale of the higher part of the
group, a nearly complete specimen of the Caly-
mene Clintonii. At the mill, in the bed of the
creek, rising for about eight feet in the bank, is a
yellow-green shale. It contains some fossils
among which is the Broad agnotis, and an Avicula
yet unnamed ; above which are thin layers of
limestone composed entirely of Shining Orthis,
(Orthis nitens.) This mass is covered with
about fifteen feet of alluvion, at the bottom of
which were fragments of light-colored hard lime
stone with ore adhering to it, showing that a de
posit exists in the vicinity.
Lenticular clay iron ore, also called argiflaceous
exists on the land of Peter Van Petten, a little
south of Hume's quarry, and a little west of Ster
ling Station, from which latter place considerable
quantities of ore have been taken.
This ore consists of lenticular or flattened
grains of various sizes, which apparently have
been made to cohere 'by the pressure applied to
the mass. It frequently contains joints or disks
of the encrinite, and fragments of other organic
remains. Its usual color is brownish-red, its
powder being more red. It is very friable, soils
the fingers, has but little lustre, and is often stud
ded with minute grains of iron pyrites. All the
samples examined effervesce freely in acids, which
is probably due to the admixture of carbonate of
lime. By some its formation is ascribed to the
decomposition of carbonate of iron ; and by
others to that of iron pyrites. The infiltration
of water, acting in a slow and imperceptible man
ner, is supposed to be the cause which has pro
duced this decomposed form of the ore. It yields

254

TOWN OF STERLING.

an iron which is highly valued for various pur
poses, especially for castings ; and when mixed
with other ores, it greatly improves their quality.*
The soil is a sandy and gravelly loam, and in
some places is stony and difficult to cultivate.
We noticed a good deal of sorrel growing in va
rious localities in the town.
The town has an area of 26.748 acresj of which
18,343 ^ffi improved ; 5,017, woodland ; and 3,388,
otherwise unimproved.
The population in 1875 was 3.042 ; of whom
2,668 were native ; 374. foreign ; 3,038, white ;
4, colored ; and 605, owners of land, f
The Southern Central R. R. crosses the town
diagonally from south to north, its northern ter
minus being at Little Sodus Bay. The Lake
Ontario Shore R. R. crosses it in the northern
part from east to west.
Sterling Center.
Sterling Center, (Sterling p. o..) is situated
on Little Sodus Creek, in the central part of the
town, and is two miles north-east of Sterling
Junction, and one mfle east of Sterling Valley
station on the L. O. S. R. R. It has a popula
tion of 237, and contains three churches, (Baptist,
M. E. and Reformed Presb.,) a union school,
three stores, one hotel, one grist-mill, one tan
nery, a furnace, three blacksmith shops, a har
ness shop, tin shop and shoe shop.
Wm. Bver, who keeps a general stock of mer
chandise, commenced business in Sterling Cen
ter, about thirteen years since, in company with
James D. Church and Nicholas Byer, under the
firm name of Byer, Church & Co. About three
years thereafter he bought the interest of his
partners, and has since conducted the business
alone. The buflding he occupies was erected in
1848, by John P. Hunter, who opened a general
store at that date, and failed ten years after. It
stood idle till about 1863, when Plumb & Duel
opened it. They sold out in the spring of 1865
to Wm. Byer.
James Green occupies the store built by Sam
uel Crawford about fifty years ago. Crawford
put in a stock of goods and kept it till about 1832,
when he rented the store to William Graham &
* Natural History of New York. — Lardner Vanuxem, Geology; Jas.
C. Beck, Mineralogy ; James Hall, Paleontology; E. Emmons, Ag
riculture. ^f Census of 1875.

Co.; Bonesteel, of Oswego, Graham's partner,
furnishing the goods. After two years it was
again kept by Crawford, who. in the fall of 1835,
sold his stock to John Gilchrist, who had former
ly been his clerk, and who ,took in as partner
Franklin Soulhwick. About a year after. John
Plunter bought a portion of the stock and kept
the store some two years, when a Mr. Jenkins,
for whom Hunter had acted as clerk in Penn
Yan, became associated with him. About 1840,
Wm. Bruce became a partner with Hunter.
About 1837 Crawford died, and the store went
into the hands of his father-in-law, Liva Peck,
who sold it to Wm. Kevill about 1848. At this
time Hunler built the store now occupied by Wm.
Byer, and moved into it. The store now occu
pied by Mr. Green was used some eighteen
months as a dwelling, after which he and Wm.
Kevill used it for a boot and shoe store. In the
spring of 1852, it was occupied by Wm. Longley
as a general store. Longley, being the postmas
ter at that time, kept the post-office there. About
two years after he sold to his brother Freeman.
who removed the goods to the store now occupied
by J. B. Chappell. About 1854 James Green.Wm.
McKnight and James D. Church. (Green having
previously bought the building.) put in a general
stock and continued about two years, when
Church sold his interest to the remaining part
ners. About a yeai: later McKnight sold to
Green, who still carries on the business.
In 1839, there being then but one store in the
village, the citizens formed a stock company,
with a capital of about ^400, the shares being $25
each, and built the store now occupied by J. B.
Chappell. It was finished in the spring of 1840,
and sold to Chas. Comstock. brother of Judge
Geo. F. Comstock, of Syracuse, who put in a
general stock of goods. In 1847, he sold it to
Luther and Wm. Longley, who occupied it to
gether about five years, when they dissolved,
Wm. opening a store where James Green now
is. About 1853 or '4, Freeman Longley, from
Adams, Mass., a brother of Wm. Longley, bought
out Luther Longley. his cousin. Wm. Longley
made an assignment, his stock eventually coming
into the hands of his brother Freeman, who re
moved them to his own store, the one now occu
pied by J. B. Chappell. Wm. Wood, a brother-
in-law of Freeman Longley, subsequently became
his partner, the two continuing the business two

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RESIDENCE or HUGH DUGAN STERLING CAYUGA CO N.Y

.RE8IDENCLQEJAME,.S.CJiyNTniSTERUN.GyA^^^^ CAYUGA 00. N.Y.

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JCC

STERLING CENTER — FAIR HAVEN.

2SS

or three years, when they sold the goods at auc
tion and the building to J. B. Chappell. Wood
returned to Albany, whence he came, and Free
man Longley removed to Wisconsin.
The Cayuga House, Ethan Aflen proprietor,
was buflt in 1833, by Samuel Crawford, and was
first occupied as a hotel about 1838, by Samuel
Beattie. having been used previously as a dwell
ing. It was the first hotel in the vfllage. Beat-
tie kept it three or four years, and was suc
ceeded by several individuals who kept it only
for a short period. In 1876, Jno. C. Shaw,
uncle of the present proprietor, bought the
property and put it in good condition.
The grist-mill, owned by Edwin Clark, and
run by James Mizen, was built in 1813, by a man
named Ireland, whose sons, though not practical
millers, managed it several years. He buflt a
saw-mill about the same lime. The grist-mill
and some three acres of land were bought by
Samuel Crawford, who operated it several years,
and in 1835 gave it a thorough over-hauling and
put in new gearing. Soon after it passed into
the hands of Liva Peck, and others. Edwin
Clark is the present proprietor. It contains
three runs of stones. The saw-mill and 225 acres
of land were bought by Asa Cary from Vermont.
who came into the town in 1831, and whose
son Nathaniel C. Cary, now resides here. Edwin
Sanford, now owns it, and has converted it into a
shop for cutting out stuff for cabinet ware.
The creek, which furnishes the motive power
for all the manufacturing establishments in the
village, except the foundry, has a fall of ten and
one-half feet, but the supply is not constant of
late years.
The tannery which is owned and operated
by Wemple Halliday, was built in 1859. '^y
John Halliday, father of Wemple, on the site of
one buflt in 1832, by Vflas, White & Co., and
burned about 1852.
The foundry owned by Nathaniel C. Cary and
Alex. C. Sturgis, was buflt about 1846, by Wm.
Kirk and A. C. Sturgis. who, in 1848, finding it
too small for their business, erected an addition.
About 1861, Kirk sold his interest to Sylvanus
Ferris, who, about 1864, sold to Nathaniel C.
Cary. It has since been conducted by Sturgis
& Cary. Plows and cultivators are the principal
articles manufactured. The works are operated
by steam.

Fair Haven.
P'air Haven (p. o.) is situated in the north-'
west corner of the town, on Little Sodus Bay,
and is the northern terminus of the S. C. R. R.
It contains two churches, (M. E, and Reformed,)
a district school, two hotels, eight stores, two
saw-mflls. a planing-mill, brick-yard and a popu
lation of about 700. The village extends ' the
whole length of the Bay and to some distance
above it. It is prosperous, and new enterprises
are being rapidly undertaken. The gently slop
ing shores of the Bay, which is a pretty sheet of
water, presents many fine sites for residences.
The Barrus House was built in 1875. by Giles
C. Barrus, who had previously, for about six years,
kept a hotel at the head of the Bay, in a build
ing now in a dilapidated condition and used as a
dwelling-house, and erected about fifty years
since by Abijah Hunt, who kept in it for a good
many years the first hotel in P"air Haven. Hunt
was succeeded by Emer S. Sayles, who kept it
four or five years, when Benj. S. Patty followed
him and kept it a like period, being succeeded by
James M. Crozier. Thos. Harsha kept it after
wards for five or six years, until it came into the
hands of Giles C. Barrus. Barrus, who was from
Hannibal, kept the present house till his death in
the winter of 1877-78, when he was suc
ceeded by his son. Gfles F". Barrus, the present
proprietor. The Meyers House, a fine large hotel, situated
at the " Point," was opened in the spring of 1873,
by R. J. Meyers, the present proprietor.
Mrs. Jane Hitchcock opened a hotel just east
of the old Hunt hotel, which she kept a good
many years, till her death during the war.
The first store at Fair Haven was started by
Garrison Taylor, about 1825. in the building he
now occupies, on Lake street.
Seth Turner was next to Taylor. He opened
a store about twenty years ago in the building
subsequently used as a hotel, at the head of the
Bay. He kept it some three or four years, when
he went west. David Cole and a Mr. Oakes
succeeded him, but neither of them continued
long. Isaac Turner and Rufus S. Welch then opened
a store near where the brick block of Mendell &
Hitchcock now stands. After a short, time
Turner went out and Welch continued it alone,
but only for a short time.

256

TOWN OF STERLING.

Oscar F. Mfller was the next merchant. He
opened the store he now occupies.
Robinson & Mendell opened a store in the
east part of the village about 1873. They sep
arated in the spring of 1877, Robinson opening
the grocery store in the east end of the Mendell
& Hitchcock block, which was built in the fall
and winter of 1876, and Mendell a stock of ready
made clothing and boots and shoes, in the store
in the west end of the same block. Both are
still in the business.
J. B. Chappell &Son opened the central store
in the Mendell & Hitchcock block iri the spring
of 1877, and stfll carry on business there.
Isaac P. Welch opened the grocery store he
now occupies in the spring of 1878.
E. E. Austin and Geo. B. Knapp, under the
firm name of E. E. Austin & Co., opened their
store of general groceries and ship supplies, at
the Point, in the spring of 1878.
The steam planing-mill, owned and operated by
Knapp & Hemingway, was buflt by Post, Knapp
& Hemingway, in 1872. It is 70 by 50 feet, two
stories high, and is capable of planing 20,000
feet of lumber per day. The motive power is
furnished by a fifty-five-horse-power engine.
Connected with the mill property is a dock, on
the Bay, 528 feet in length. The annual sales
are about 2,000,000 feet of lumber. In the
spring of 1875, the senior partner, Mr. Post, with
drew, his interest being bought by the remaining
members. The first saw-mill in Fair Haven was built by
Seth Turner, some twenty-five years since, who
sold it after three or four years. It has passed
through several hands, and is now owned by Mrs.
Bottsford, whose husband acquired possession of
it some four years since.
R. S. Welch built the saw-mill now owned by
him about four years ago.
Both mflls are located at the head of the Bay.
Jacob Hemingway and Wm. Van Hoesen com
menced the manufacture of brick a little south of
the village, on the line of the railroad, in the
spring of 1877. They give employment to eight
or ten men, and make 15,000 per day.
Floyd Kelsey, of Auburn, was the first to make
brick in this locality. Pie commenced about
1856, and continued four or five years. Nothing
more was done till about four years ago, when
David Lester, now of Oswego, manufactured for

about one year. The works then remained idle
till operations were resumed by the present pro
prietors. Messrs. Reed & Conger built an ice-house of
large capacity at the Point in the winter of 1877-
•78. C. W. Austin and the S. C. R. R. are jointly
building a steam transfer elevator at the Point,
with a storage capacity of 30,000 bushels, and a
transfer capacity of 3,000 bushels per hour.
Peo & Rice are engaged in shipping foreign
fish, and are doing an extensive business. Sev
enty-five tons offish were entered at this port in
1877, when several parties were engaged in the
business. Several coal companies are doing business at
this place, viz : Moser, Hoole & Co , organized
in April, 1878, with headquarters at Buffalo; the
Lehigh Valley Coal Co. ; the Butler Colliery
Co., with headquarters at Elmira; Wheeler &
Co., with headquarters at Oswego ; for all of
which C. W. Austin is shipping agent ; and E.
M. Ford, with headquarters in Oswego, for whom
C. L. Bloodgood is shipping agent. The railroad
company have a coal trestle at the Point, with a
stock capacity of 45,000 tons, and a pocket capac
ity of r.300 tons. They also own the steam tug
E. P. Ross, which is named after the president of
the road.
The following statistics showing the magni
tude of the business done at this port were kindly
furnished by Mr. George P. Knapp, Deputy Col
lector of Customs of Fair Plaven : The receipts
at this office from June 30th to December 4th,
1877, were ^24.000; and from March 20th to
June 8th, 1878, ^729. There were received and
forwarded during the year 1877, 140,000 bushels
of barley, 1,500,000 feet of lumber, 75 tons of
fish, 2,000,000 lath, 1,000 cords cedar posts,
3.000 tons of iron ore, and 65,000 tons of coal.
From Aprfl nth to December 4th, 1877, the
number of vessels coming into the port was 360,
with an aggregate tonnage of 68,5 16 tons.
Little Sodus Plarbor is naturally a good one,
and has been improved by the general govern
ment and the residents of the place. In 1828
Congress appropriated 1^400 for making a survey
and examination of the southern shore of Lake
Ontario, between Genesee and Oswego rivers,
with a view to the improvement of the most ac
cessible and commodious harbors on the frontier.

FAIR HAVEN.

257

Capt. T. W. Maurice, Corps of Engineers, was
placed in charge of the survey, and com
menced work in October, 1828. His report,
submitted in January, 1829, adjudged Little
Sodus to be of secondary importance, but recom
mended its improvement and submitted a plan
therefor. The entrance to the bay was closed, except at
two narrow openings, by a gravelly beach, out
of water. The plan proposed to make this beach
answer the purpose of a breakwater, to con
struct two channel piers, each 290 yards long,
and close one of the openings by a dike 130 yards
long, the whole work to be done at an estimated
cost of ;SS32,327.S9.
A resurvcy was made in 1845, when the en
trance was found to be in about the same condi
tion as in 1828. With this exception, nothing
was done till 1852, when the first appropriation
of ;^ 10,000 was made; but the beach which cross
ed the entrance and formed the basis of the plan
had been swept away since 1845. thus necessi
tating a new project. Another survey was
made in 1853, and it was decided to build piers
from the crown of the bar to deep water, and to
connect the south ends with the adjacent shores
by rip-rap. Work was begun in 1854, and sus
pended in 1858 for want of funds. In 1858, the
people locally interested formed a company,
known as the " Ontario Bay Plarbor Improve
ment Company." It proposed to aid the general
government in improving the harbor, and had on
hand ;^6,ooo in money and materials, with which
to build, under the supervision of the engineer
in charge. 300 feet of pier. It is presumed that
this was carried out, for in i866, 284 feet of pier
was still in existence, although a portion of thc
outer end had evidently been destroyed. Nothing
further was done till 1866, when Congress made
a further appropriation.
The following appropriations have been made
for the improvement of this harbor :
In 1852, there was appropriated  $ 10,000.00
In 1866,  '  33.840.41
In 1867, " " "  50,000.00
In 1870, " " "  5,000,00
In 1871, '2, '3 and '4. in each ;^i5,ooo 60,000,00
In 1875, there was appropriated  10,000,00
In 1876, " " "  5,000.00
The total appropriations to date are, 1^173,840.41
At the close of the year ending June 30th,
44-1

1877, there had been constructed of the west pier
1.070 feet ; of tbe west breakwater 500 feet ; of
tbe east pier 512 feet; and of the east break
water 780 feet. The only work remaining to be
done under the original scheme of improvement
is the connection of the inner end of the east pier
with the shore. The unexpended balance of ap
propriations available for that purpose was
^5.856.57. Revenue collected during the fiscal
year ending June 30th, 1877  $ 3,154.68
Value of imports  22,544.00
Value of exports  86,111.00
Number of vessels cleared  226
Their tonnage, tons  18,258
Number of vessels entered  213
Their tonnage, tons  I3.4I7
The harbor is lighted by a fixed white light of
the fourth order, placed near the head of the
west pier. A vessel drawing twelve feet can en
ter the harbor and go up to the coal docks of the
S. C. R. R.*
The first physician to locate permanently at
Fair Haven was Dr. Crounce, who practiced a
good many years. He removed to Guilderland,
Albany county, some twenty years ago. The
next was Byron Dewitt, who came about 1850
and practiced till about 1859, when he removed to
Sterling Center, and subsequently to Oswego,
where he is now practicing. Truman F. Brink
erhoff succeeded Dewitt and remained several
years. He moved to P'ulton some fifteen years
ago, and subsequently to Auburn, where he is
now practicing. Some ten years elapsed, during
which there was no physician here. Dr. R. S.
Fields came in 1873 and remained about a year.
He was succeeded by Dr. Oliver Bloomfield, the
present physician, who came about 1875.
Dr. Marsh came to the village in the spring of
1878. The first lawyer was A. R. Willey, who was
born in the town of Victory, and moved into this
town some forty years ago. He was admitted to
the bar about twenty years ago, and is still prac
ticing in the vfllage.
Geo. I. Post, a native of Fleming, in this
County, who came into the town from Auburn
some sixteen years since and has acquired
distinction in his profession, is living at the
Point. He was elected District Attorney in
* Annual Reports of the Chief of Engineers, U. S A., for 1876
and '77.

258

TOWN OF STERLING.

November, 1859, and was Member of Assembly
in 1863, 1876 and 1877.
Thomas C. Bridges, ex-Supervisor of the Town
of Sterling, was born in tbe eastern part of the
town, and in the spring of 1878 moved into the
village, where he is reading law with Mr. Post.
Sterling Valley.
Sterling Valley, (p. o.,) locally known as
Pelham, is situated on the north branch of Little
Sodus Creek, one and one-third miles north of
Sterling Valley station. It contains one church
(United Presbyterian), a district school, one
store, a flouring and grist-mill, two blacksmith
shops, two saw-mills, a shoe shop, taflor shop.
wagon shop, and a population of 107.
John Hunter, John Cochran and James C.
Hunter opened a store in 1859, under the firm
name of John Hunter & Co., in the buflding
built by John Cooper and previously occupied by
him as a tavern. In 1862 John Cochran sold
his interest to the Hunters, and in 1863, James
Hunter sold his interest to his brother John,
by whom the business was carried on alone till
1867, when James C. Hunter again acquired a
half interest, and the firm became and has since
remained James C. Hunter & Co. Thc post-
office is in the store, and James C. Plunter has
been postmaster since 1861.
A. Allen and Andrew Daggert, proprietors of
the grist-mfll, commenced the milling business
here about four years since, under the firm name
of A. Allen & Co. The mill was built in 1869,
by Wifliam Stevenson, who sold it to the present
proprietors. It stands on the site of the original
mfll built here by John Cooper, and is the third
mfll on that site, two having been burned. It
contains three run of stones. The motive power
is furnished by water from the creek, which has
a fall here of fourteen feet.
Martville.
Martville (p. o.) is situated in the south
east part of the town on Little Sodus Creek, and
on the S. C. R. R. It contains two churches,
(M.. E. and Adventist, only one society having a
building,) a district school, a hotel, (kept by Nor
ton S. Snyder,) one store, a saw-mill, a grist
mill and saw-mill combined, a tannery, (which is
not in operation,) three blacksmith shops, one
wagon shop, a shoe shop, and 124 inhabitants.

The first store in Martville was opened by
Robert L. Lay, about 1825, in the hotel now
kept by Norton Snyder. He remained about
three years, and was succeeded by Daniel Mc-
Gilvrey, who remained about a year. A Mr.
Lyon next kept it a year or two, when William
Hawley rented the building and put in a stock
of goods. Plawley continued about six years,
and was succeeded by Benjamin Conger & Son,
who bought the building and stock, and sold to
Snyder, Conger & Reed, who then owned the
mfll property. The store was discontinued when
they sold the mill property, but Hough, who
bought that properly, opened a store, which he
continued till he disposed of the mill property,
when it was closed out.
Lay also opened an ashery, the first one here,
and about two years later he opened the first tav
ern in the house where George A. Desbrough
now lives. Hough started a distillery at the time
he owned the mill property. It was burned after
being in operation about five years. A distillery
was in operation about 1828, kept by Nathaniel
Watts, and stood where Pliram C. Curtis' gar
den is.
Floyd F. Allen opened a general store in 1872,
in the building erected about 1861 or '62, by Miles
Allen, who died a few years after, and was suc
ceeded in the business by his son Charles, who
carried it on about two years, till his death.
Stiles Allen, his brother, succeeded him, but re
mained only a few weeks, when the property came
into the hands of Miles' widow, now Mrs. Norton
Snyder, who conducted the store about a year,
when she sold to the present occupant, who is a
nephew of Miles.
Miles Allen commenced business about 1855,
in the store erected by Abram Van Auken, some
few years previous. Van Auken rented the
store to a Mr. Comstock, who carried on business
about two years, when he sold his stock to Ste
phen Tflford, who, about 1855, moved the goods
to Sterling Valley.
The tannery at Martville, owned by Hiram C.
Curtis, was built about 1849, a previous one in
the same locality, of small capacity, having been
pulled down by reason of decay.
The grist-mifl and saw-mifl stands on the site
of one buflt in 1823. by Chauncey Hickock and
Timothy Austin, from Marcellus, who were the
first to settle on the site of Martvflle, in that

EARLY SETTLEMENTS.

259

year. In 1840 it was burned, and in 1841 Wfl
liam C. Hough erected the present structure.
The grist-mill is buflt of stone, is 30 by 40 feet,
four and one-half stories high, and contains two
runs of stones. The saw-mill is a wooden addi
tion, built at the same time. Charies N. Ross
now owns and leases the mill to George A. Des
brough, the present occupant, for a term of five
years. The creek, which furnishes the motive
power, has, at this point, a fall of eleven feet.
A man named Colton, started a carding and
cloth-dressing mfll about 1828. Josiah Bidwell
started similar works on the site of Barnes' saw-
mifl. About 1835, he buflt a new mill on the
opposite side of the creek and sold to Amasa P.
Hart about 1840. Lot Lannson and Ira A.
Pease followe^ for five or six years, when they
sold to Alvah Lund, who took the building down
and sold the machinery.
The first physician in Martville was Dr. Uriah
Beder. who came to the village about 1826. The
present physicians are W. M. Wells and Wm.
Kyle. Sterling Junction,
Sterling Junction, (p. o.) in the north-west
part of the town, about one and three-fourths
miles south of Fair Haven, at the junction of the
S C. R. R. and L. O. S. R.R.. contains a store.
owned by Frank German, and established by him
some five years since, and a storehouse, erected
in 1874, by Allison J. Albring and Floyd H.
Kevill. produce dealers. Both Albring and Kevill
are employed by the two railroad companies, the
latter as station agent.
North Sterling,
North Sterling, in the south-east part of
the town, on the old State road, is a hamlet con
taining a district school, a small store, kept by
Wm. Pasells, a hotel, blacksmith shop, and two
or three houses.
Sterling Valley Station,
Also known as Crockett's Station, is on the
line of the L. O. S. R. R., in the north-east part
of the town .
Thf First Settlement in Sterling was made
at the Valley, by Peter Dumas, a Frenchman, who
came to this County with LaFayette and served

through the Revolution. He drew lot 13,, and set
tled on its south-west corner in 1805. The Dumas'
famfly were in destitute circumstances, and so se
verely did they feel the rigor of pinching want, that
their son, Ezra, who was convalescing from a fever
and had recovered his appetite, died of starvation,
while members of the family were absent in search
of food. This death, which occurred July 21st,
1806, was the first in the town. Dumas died in
the town in 1825. Plis sons Peter, John, Na
than and Jasper, resided in the town many years.
Peter, the eldest, lost four children, all he then
had, under peculiarly distressing circumstances.
Whfle he and his wife had gone to his father's
one Sunday evening to milk for his mother, who
was sick, their house caught fire, and it, together
with their four children, were consumed. De
scendants of the family stfll reside in the town.
Captain Andrew Rassmusen settled the
same year near the lake, in the north-east
part of the town. He was killed on board an
American vessel on Lake Ontario in 1812. His
wife died in the town many years ago. His
children were Andrew, who died in the town
some ten years ago ; William, who removed to
Michigan after a residence here of many years ;
and Mary, now Mrs. John Ireland, who is living
with her son in the north-east part of the town.
A family named Hoppins settled in the south
west part of the town in this or the following
year, and many of their descendants still live in
the town. Isaac M. Hoppins, who was born
March i6th, 1807. was the first white chfld born
in the town. He is stfll living about one and
one-half miles north-west of Martville. He is
the father of Hoppins recently tried for murder
in this County and acquitted.
Francis DeCamp settled near Martville in
1806. He was a bachelor, and his sister Nancy,
who came with him, kept house for him. Both
have long since passed away.
William Devine settled on the farm now occu
pied by Augustus Green, near the center of
the north border of the town, in 1807. He had
a large family, none of whom are living in the
town. Joseph Devine, brother of William, set
tled adjoining him the same time. He, too, had
a large family, but they, like Wflliam's, mostly
removed to the west at an early day. Nathan
Wilmot settled on the farm now occupied by
Joshua Cosbut, in the north central part, and

26o

TOWN OF STERLING.

Jehial Parks in the same locality, in 1807. Wil
mot and his wife died in the town at an early
day. Nathan, his son, removed west soon after
his father's death. Parks bought fifty acres on
lot 26, about 1820, and lived there for many
years. He afterwards went west, with his fam
ily, which vvas quite numerous, and there died.
Jacob Wilsey, from Saratoga county, settled in
the north-west corner of the town, in 1808.
John Cooper, John Dusenberry, Curtis Stod
dard and John McFariand and his sons, Wflliam,
Robert, James and Thomas, came in from Wash
ington county, in 18 10. Cooper settled at the
Valley, which was for many years known as
Cooper's Mills, from the saw and grist-mills built
there by him. It is not certain in what year
these mills were erected, as authorities differ,
but there is no doubt that these were the first
mflls of their kind built in the town. Both were
burned. Cooper built the house now occupied
by James Hunter & Co. as a store. It stands
near the site of his first log hut, in which, the same
year, he opened a tavern, which was the first in
the town. This old cabin contained but one
room, which answered the purpose of kitchen,
bar-room, dining-room and family sitting-room,
sleeping-room and parlor ; but many of the early
settlers enjoyed its rude accommodations while
their own homes were being built. William and
George Cooper, brothers of John, settled, the
former on the farm now owned by Mr. Fry, and
the latter, from Saratoga county, in 18 12, on the
opposite side of the road, a little west of him.
on the farm now occupied by Frank Duel. The
Coopers have numerous descendants living in
the town. Dusenberry settled at what is known as
Galey's corners, and died in the town. Stoddard,
who was an Englishman, settled in the east part,
where Thomas Manning now lives. He removed
long since to Ohio. The Mcl-'arlands settled on
lot 27. John died in the town, about 18 13, of
typhoid fever. William is living in Illinois.
Robert, who served in the militia in the war of
18 1 2, was drowned in Nine Mile Creek, a little
west of Oswego, while returning home with his
company. The water in the Creek was high
and the current strong. Thomas Vaughn, also a
resident of this town, was drowned while try
ing to rescue him. James removed to Illinois,
where he died in the winter of 1876. Thomas is
living about half a mile south of Steriing Center.

Of McFarland's daughters, who came with him,
Margaret, afterwards Mrs. Alexander Beattie ;
Nellie, afterwards Mrs. Samuel Stevenson; Isabel,
afterwards Mrs. Charles Crawford and later Mrs.
Charles Williams ; and Jane, afterwards Mrs.
John Daniels ; all are dead.
John and Matthew Plarsha also came from
Washington county in 1810, and settled at Mart
ville. John died in Oswego, to which place his
children removed ; and Matthew removed to
Michigan, where he died. The marriage of
Matthew Harsha to Charity Turner, was the first
marriage celebrated in the town.
Joseph Bunnell and .John Turner, from Long
Island, settled in 181 1, the former a little west of
Peter Dumas, and the latter at Fair Haven.
Turner traded his possessions in L. I. for a farm
of 140 acres in Sterling, in 1804. and induced his
son, Isaac, who was then becoming of age to ac
company the family in making the settlement.
They came on iu P'ebruary, on the ice from a
point one and one-half miles west of Sterling Val
ley, where the road terminated, and where they
stopped several days with an acquaintance who
had preceded them. The family found^ shelter
from the bleak winds in a shanty with bark roof
and split floor which had been erected on the
premises by squatters. At this time a family
named Ramsdell resided at the head of the Bay ;
and Peter Simmons' family and two others named
Myers and Wiltsey, on the shore of the lake in
the vicinity. All were squatters, and subsisted
mostly on fish and wild game, both of which
were abundant.
The nearest grist-mill was at Oswego, and the
most convenient route by water, as there were no
public highways, nothing but paths through the
woods along lines of blazed trees. Ofttimes the
settlers would get out of provisions, the rough
waters of thc lake making it too perilous to at
tempt to reach Oswego in their white-wood ca
noes. While returning from one of these jour
neys to Oswego, Isaac Turner was overtaken by
a storm, which compelled him to pull his canoe
and grist to the shore and make his way home on
foot. When he reached home he was taken sick,
and the next day his father and younger brother
set out to recover the cargo. When they reached
the locality where it was stored they observed
several deer, which, taking alarm, plunged into
the lake, were pursued and four captured, They

J 1 1,

-t-^

James ff. If^win.

M-F^. James M. |f\wiN,

JAMES H. IRWIN.

Among the large land owners and prominent
agriculturists of the town of Steriing, Mr. Irwin
occupies a conspicuous place. His father, James
G. Irwin, was born in Washington county, in
1790. In the year 1817, he moved to the county
of Oswego, and settled on one hundred acres of
Government land, on lot No. 30, in Oswego
town. His wife. Mary White, who was also a native
of Washington county, accompanied him to
Oswego county, and shared with him the trials
and privations of pioneer life. He was a
soldier in the war of 1812-14, and died upon the
old homestead, March 6th. 1863. His widow
stifl survives him. To ihem twelve children
were born, six of whom are stfll living.
James H. Irwin was the third child of James
G. and Mary Irwin. He was born March 25th,
1820, and passed his childhood with his parents
in Oswego county. In 1845. he married Miss

Mary Ann Armstrong, daughter of Robert and
Rebecca Armstrong, natives of Washington
county. Mr, Armstrong died at DeKalb, Illinois,
in 1872. Mrs. Armstrong is stfll living at the
advanced age of 76 years.
The same year of his marriage, Mr. Irwin
removed to Sterling and settled on lot No. 5,
where he has since resided.
Mr. and Mrs, Irwin have had nine children,
named in the order of their ages as follows :
Mary B., (deceased,) born March 17th, 1846;
Emerson S.. born June 14th, 1847; Alice A.,
born October 28th, 1850; Emerette. born May
9th, 1856; George A., (deceased,) born June
i8th. 1858; Jane E,, born March 15th, i860;
Wflliam D,, born November 15th, 1862; Robert
B,, born November 8th, 1864; Clara L„'born
November I7lh, 1866.
On another page of this work may be seen' a
view of Mr. Irwin's home.

W^

-^^Cir

RESIDENCE OF JAS.H. IRWIN • STERLING N.Y

EARLY SETTLEMENTS.

261

were thus able to take home with their grist a
bountiful cargo of venison. Isaac was a soldier
in the war of 1812. He has filled nearly every
town office ; and seen neariy every improvement
which the last sixty years have produced.
Benjamin Clark taught the first school in
1812. June 19th. 1812, the town was set off from
Cato. The first town records are lost; hence we
are unable lo learn the names of the first officers.
Town officers elected at the Spring election
of 1879 :
Supervisor — E, Randolph Robinson.
Town Clerk — Daniel C. Sanford.
Justice of the Peace — James C. Irwin.
Assessors — L. Nathan Calbcrt. Ilcrsen J.
Lewis, to fill vacancy.
Overseers of the Poor —Warman Van Petten.
George A. Cleaveland.
Commissioner of Highivays — Orville E. Curtis.
Collector — William Stevens.
Inspectors of Elections — Shelden D. Cole, Isaac
Borst, Frank Jones, appointed to fill vacancy.
Constables — Christopher Pluntley. Wm. But
ler, Ira Ward, Edward Floyd Snyder and H. J.
Coalman. Game Constable— 'Lewis Tebedo.
7 own Board Justices of the Peace — Wm. Ke
vill, A. S. Douglass, James C. Irwin.
John Ingersoll. from Scipio, came in 1812,
and settled where James Bennett now lives.
Silas and Elijah Marsh and a man named Bothel
were among the first settlers at Fair Haven.
Bothel kept a small tavern there a good many
years. William Miller. Samuel Stewart and Alexander
McFadden. from Argyle. Washington county.
and Benjamin Lyons came in 1815. Miller came
in the fall, and settled in the south-west corner
of lot 26. He is now dead. Stewart also came
in the fall, and settled on lot 27. He subsequent
ly removed to Michigan, where he died. Lyons
settled on the State road from Oswego to P^air
Haven. He has numerousdescendants living in the
town. McFadden settled on lot 26, a little south
west of Sterling Center. He brought with him
his wife, Jane, and seven children, viz : William
who died on the old homestead in 1834 ; Mary
S.. who is living with her brother. John H., in
Steriing Center; Margaret, afterward Mrs.
Daniel Hoy, with whom she removed to Mis

souri, and on whose death she returned here, and
subsequently became Mrs. Robert Hume, and
who died in the town May 5th. 1869 ; Jane, who
is also living with John PI. ; Sarah, the widow of
William Calvert, with whom she removed to
Cortland county, where she now lives ; and Al
exander, who is now living in Lexington City,
Missouri. Thomas McFadden, who was born
after the family moved into the lown, is living in
Michigan. Hugh McFadden and Robert M. Stewart, from
Argyle, Washington Co., came in the spring of
1816. McFadden was a brother of Alexander
and John W. McFadden. He settled on a farm
adjoining that of Alexander's, and died in the
town several years since. Stewart came on foot,
arriving in the town on the 7lh of May, and set
tled on twenty acres, on lot 27, near the center
of the town. He vvas the first blacksmith in the
town. Plis shop was about a mile east of Ster
ling Center. He busied himself at farming when
not employed in the shop. He was a noted
hunter. John Winchell was a blacksmith at Fair Haven
at an early day. He was fond of fishing and
spent much time at that when not engaged in bis
shop. Joshua Barnes located on the creek below
the bridge crossing the creek on the State road.
Pie used to fish for salmon while his wife rowed
their log canoe.
Big Bluff was, at an early day, a great cattle
run in the summer, and was the scene of the
destruction of a good many cattle. Its elevation
secured it a breeze which attracted the cattle to
the edge, whence they were frequently precipi
tated below from the caving of the embankment,
which was then almost perpendicular. About
1820, an ox belonging to a Mr. Eno, who was an
early settler upon the shore, vvas precipitated over
the bluff and lodged on a ledge about half way
down. It remained there several days before be
ing discovered. It was rescued alive by means
of ropes, which served lo guide it and prevent its
falling while making the steep descent.
When the first settlers came the marshy
tract bordering the lake was covered with cran
berry bushes, and the fruit was gathered in large
quantities and marketed at Oswego and Onon
daga Hollow. A few years later they were killed
by a rise in the water which covered all that tract.
The water has receded somewhat, but the tract

262

TOWN OF STERLING.

is subject to frequent inundation from the back
ing of the lake water.
The Associated Reformed Presbyterian
CHURCH,the first church in the town, was organized
at Sterling Valley in 1 8 1 7 or ' 1 8, in the old log tav
ern kept by John Cooper, the most prominent
ones then connected with it being David Mc
Fariand and Samuel King. Elders, and John and
George Cooper, John and Plugh McP'adden and
Isaac Turner. Their church edifice was built
in 1828, and an addition buflt to it some two
years since. The first settled pastor was Rev.
David Curry, who maintained pastoral relations
with the Church for fifty years, and died in the
town a short time since, having previously given
up the ministry. He was succeeded by Rev.
John Edgar, who remained about ten years, and
gave place to the present pastor. Rev. Mr.
Hume, who entered upon his duties about two
years since. The Church is in a prosperous con
dition and has a membership of 1 50. It has a
flourishing Sunday school, with an attendance of
about 125.
The Reformed Presbyterian Church of
Sterling Center, was organized about 1820,
with some thirty members, among whom were
Alex. McCrea, Alex. McFadden. John Scott,
Robt. M. Stewart, James Erwin. Thos. Cox,
Samuel King and Andrew Galey. The organi
zation was effected in a school-house which stood
where the Methodist church now stands. The
first meetings were held in 18 15, in a school-
house in Sterling Valley, and were conducted by
Revs. Alex. Mflligan, Cannon and others. Even
after the organization the meetings were held in
the valley for many years. Their first house of
worship was built in 1828. It is now owned by
" Big" Smith, and used as a dwelling-house. In
1851, the present house in Sterling Center was
erected, at a cost of ;^ 1,600. It will seat 250 per
sons. The first settled. pastoj was Rev. Wm.
L. Roberts, who previously supplied the pulpit
at an early day. He was succeeded by Rev.
Matthew Wilkin in 1856, having served a faith
ful pastorate of thirty years. He removed to
Ohio, where he died. Wilkin remained about
twelve years, and was succeeded by Rev. Samuel
R. Gilbreath, who remained only a year and a
half, when he was appointed missionary to Assy
ria, where he died. The present pastor, Rev. J
T. Allen, succeeded him in the fall of 1876. The

society numbers seventy ; and the attendance at
Sabbath -school is about seventy-five.
The M. E. Church of Martville was or
ganized about 1830, and built their house of wor
ship about 1842. The latter was torn down in
1875 with a view to rebuflding, but no building
has yet been erected. Meetings are held in the
school-house. The present pastor lives in Bethel,
in the town of Ira.
The Baptist Church of Sterling, at Ster
ling Center, was organized October 2d, 1841, in
the school-house in Sterling Center. A society
known by the above name was organized several
years previously, at the house of Joseph Bunnefl,
one and one-half miles north-east of the Cen
ter, and a few years thereafter their place of
meeting was changed to the town of Hannibal,
after which it took the name of that town.
Forty-one members were dismissed from the
church in Hannibal to form this. The first pas
tor was Rev. T. H. Green, who perfected the or
ganization. During the first year of the exist
ence of the society twenty-five were added to its
membership by baptism, ten by letter, and one
by experience. The building of their church edi
fice was commenced in the spring of 1842, but
owing to pecuniary embarrassments and the loss
by fire of a quantity of lumber, which was a seri
ous hindrance, it was not completed till 1845, the
first meeting being held in it on the first Sabbath
in Aprfl of that year. In January, 1845, the pa.s-
tor was assisted by Revs. I. Lawton and D.
Foot, in a series of revival meetings, which re
sulted in the addition of eleven by baptism and
fifteen by letter. Elder Green closed his labors
with the church May 26lh, 1850, and was im
mediately succeeded by Rev. A. R. Palmer, who
was granted a letter of dismission July 5lh, 185 1.
During the remaining halfof 185 1, the church
was ministered to by Elders M. Shaw, Plumb,
Green and I. R. Nesbit, the latter from Roch
ester University. The pulpit was afterwards
filled for a short time by Elder Peevit, who ten
dered his resignation March 6th, 1852. June
6th, 1852, a call was extended to Elder G. A.
Ames, and September i2lh, 1852, he commenced
his labors among them. He was succeeded
Aprfl 5th, 1856, by Elder Ira Dudley; and in
August, 1858, by Rev. Samuel Smith. Septem
ber I7lh, 1859, a caH was extended to Rev.
Thomas H. Green ; and in October, 1864, to

''-^^^OT-^y^^

CPIURCHES.

263

Rev. J. P. Simmons, the latter of whom main
tained pastoral relations with them fourteen
years. He left in the spring of 1878, and his
place has not yet been filled. The present mem
bership is eighty ; and the attendance at Sabbath
school, about thirty.
The First M. E. Church, at Steriing Cen
ter, was organized in 1856, with about thirty
members, among whom were John N. Smith,
Isaac M. Ploppin and family, and Mrs, Rhoda
Duel. Previous to this, an organization had
existed and fallen into decay, and meetings were
held by circuit preachers during a period of sev
eral years. Rev. David B. Smith, father of Gary
Smith, was one of the early preachers. Their
house of worship was erected in i860, at a cost
of about ;^2,ooo, and will seat about three hun
dred persons. Previous to the buflding of the
church, meetings were held in the school-house ;
and, during one summer, by invitation of the
Baptists, in the church of that society. At its
organization, the church became an appointment
on the Fair Haven charge. It 1 869 it separated
from that charge, and attached to itself Martville
as a second appointment. It then first became
known as Sterling charge. In 1872, Martville
vyas detached, since which time the church has
stood alone. Following is a list of the pastors
since the organization in 1856, with the year in
which they came to the charge : Pliram Wood
ruff, 1856; Samuel Salisbury, 1858; E. W.
Pierce, i860;  Paddock, 1862; O. C.
Lathrop. 1863; J. Barns, 1864; F. A. O'Far-
rcll, 1866 ; D. Stone. 1868 ; A. Mfller, 1869 ; R.
O. Beebe, 1870; P. T. Plughston, 1871 ; R.
Ploughton, 1873; Z. Wilco,x, 1876; George P.
Avery, thc present one, 1877. In 1869, during
the pastorate of Allen Mifler, but under the
evangelical labors of D. W. Thurston, of Syra
cuse, and H. Giles, a remarkable revival occurred
in this church, which resulted in the conversion
of about a hundred and in adding sixty to the
membership. The Advent Christian CHURCH.^at Mart
ville, was organized August 17th, 1873, with six
ty-seven members, among whom were A. H.
Dunbar, John Tappan, D. R. Childs, Wm. PI.
Barr, S. Stum, S. H. Bradford, Oliver Blanchard,
George Timeson, S. D. Crofoot, Nelson Palmer,
Orin Barnes and Elkany Baker, and as the re
sult of a series of a meetings, during a period of
45-1

six weeks, held in a tent, and conducted by El
ders M. R. Miles arid B. P. Stevens, who at
tracted large numbers, some from great distances,
and expounded the doctrines peculiar to this de
nomination, whifth " were new and strange to
many who listened." and with such effect as to
convert between thirty and forty individuals. In
1875 they built their church edifice, at a cost of
^2,300, and dedicated it Aug. 15th of that year,
the sermon being preached by W. J. Hobbs, of
Honeoye Fafls. N. Y. Elder M. R. Miles was
called to the pastorate in 1874, and served them
that and the two succeeding years. In 1877,
Elder James E. Wells, of Ontario, N. Y., ac
cepted a call from this Church, and served them
with such acceptance as to be chosen pastor in
1878. The membership June 15th, 1878, was*
ninety. There is a large and interesting Sunday
school, of which James Barnes has been super
intendent for a number of years. The attend
ance at the school is eighty-six. Communion is
observed once a quarter. The form of govern
ment is Congregational.
A little distance from Sterling are Kevill's
grist, cider and shingle-mills and apple-jelly fac
tory, all of which. were buflt and are owned and
conducted by William Kevill. The grist-mill
was built in 1851, contains three run of stones,
and has a capacity of 200 bushels per day. The
cider-mill was built in 1 861, contains three presses,
and expresses the juice usually from 10,000 to
15,000 bushels of apples per season. The shin
gle-mill was also built the latter year. It con
tains one self-setting machine, with a capacity of
5,000 shingles per day, and is in operation only
about four months in the year. All three are
propelled by water. The jelly factory has a ca
pacity of 400 pounds of jelly per day. This is a
new industry, having been established here in
1870, and is developing into a large business.
The jellies manufactured from apples are reputed
to be superior to all others.

BIOGI^APHIGAL SKETCHES,

JAMES HUNTER.
James Hunter was born in Ireland in 1796.
His early youth was passed on his father's farm,

264

TOWN OF STERLING.

where he acquired the habits of industry that
marked his subsequent life.- His educational ad
vantages were somewhat limited, but being at
tentive and studious he obtained a good common
education. Ambitious to acquire a competency
he left his native land at the ag'e of nineteen and
sailed for America. He found a home in Balti
more, Md., where he learned the stone-cutter's
trade. He advanced rapidly in his business and
became ere long foreman for a prominent firm.
In 1826 he married Miss Isabella Crockett. This
union resulted happily, and to them were born
five children, four of whom are living. In 1838
he came with his family to Sterling, where he
purchased a farm on lot No. 8. There he spent
the balance of his life and died November 4th,.
1851. He was an honest and useful member of
society, and his children and friends still cherish
his memory. His wife still survives him at the
good old age of eighty years.

JOHN HUNTER.
John Hunter is the oldest child of the late
James Hunter and was born in Baltimore, Md.,
in the year 1828. In 1830, he came with his
father to Sterling, where, during his youth, he
was employed through the summer months.
while his winters were passed in the district
schools in a faithful effort to obtain an education.
He was not permitted after the age of 18 to con
tinue his studies in school.
The demand for barrels in this fruit-growing
country seemed to open to him the cooper trade,
and for two years after he had reached the age of
20, he was engaged in that business. When 22
years old he returned to his native State and was
for one year occupied as a stone cutter in a soap-
stone quarry.
In the summer of 1850, Mr. Hunter was em
ployed on the Orange and Alexandria railroad,
in the capacity of foreman, thus commencing his
career on public works, which he has carried on
so extensively in after years. After one year's
service on the O. & A. Railroad he went to
Fauquier county, Va., where he accepted a simi
lar position on the famous Manassas Gap Rail
road. In 1852 Mr. Hunter made a contract
(his first,) with the last named road, for con
structing a certain distance and was engaged on
that road as contractor till the spring of 1858. He
then returned to Sterling, where he has since
resided. Soon after his return he purchased the flour
ing and saw-mills, at Sterling Valley, which he
operated till quite recently, carrying on at the
same time an extensive lumber business. In 1859
he built the store at Steriing Valley. After the
war of the Rebellion his brother, James, became

his partner in the mercantile business. The
firm of John Hunter & Co. is widely and favora
bly known, their house being one of the most
prominent in their section of the County.
In 1871, Mr. Hunter contracted for the grad
ing and masonry on about seven mfles of the
Lake Ontario Shore Railroad. Since that time
he has built, and laid the track on about 70 miles
of that road, now a part of the Rome & Water-
town Railroad.
In 1873 he did the grading and masonry on
38 miles of the New York Central and Hudson
River Railroad. He also built the Railroad
bridge over the Oswego river at Oswego. N. Y.,
and the tunnel through the Park in that city.
Mr. Hunter was one of the contractors for grad
ing and building the locks on sections 8 and 9
on the Welland Canal enlargement. This work
was commenced in 1874 and completed in 1878.
He had also a half interest in the contract for
enlarging the Lachine Canal. At the present
writing (September, 1878,) Mr. Hunter is en
gaged on his largest and most difficult con
tract, the widening and deepening of the new
canal at Port Colborne, the building of the
new entrance lock and race-way at that place,
and the building of a new aqueduct across the
Chippewa River, which is the most extensive and
difficult work on the Welland Canal enlargement.
The estimated cost of the work on the two sec
tions, is nearly one and a half million dollars.
Mr. Plunter was united in marriage to Miss
Mary Conrad, April 10, 1855. To them eight
children have been born. All are living but one.
For twenty years Mr. Hunter has been a mem
ber of the Reformed Presbyterian Church, in
which, for 18 years, he has been a ruling elder.
A view of his beautiful home, together with a
steel portrait of him.self, appears in this work.

THOMAS HUNTER.
Thomas Hunter, the fourth chfld of James
Hunter, was born in Baltimore, Maryland, the
nth of September, 1834. He came to Cayuga
with his parents in 1838, and lived at home with
them until after his father's death. He attended
the district school winters till the age of twelve
years, and from that time to the age of nineteen
his attendance at school amounted to nine
ty-three days. In 1852 Mr. Hunter went to
Virginia and worked on the Manassas Gap Rail
road for his brother John, who was a contractor,
on that line, for one dollar a day. In the fall of
1853 he returned to Steriing and attended school
during the winter and went back to Virginia in
spring of 1854. He remained there till June,
1857, when he again returned to Steriing, and,
in connection with his brother John, bought the

'^

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Residence of JOHN HUNTER, Sterling Valley, HY.
"¦'«¦»; iy S,,niul Scu-K"^' ^''

^^^--^^::p=^'^4^''^?^ /^^^

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.

265

grist and saw-mfll at Sterling Valley. He took
charge of and run themifls tifl Sept., i860, when
he went back to Virginia, where he remained until
the war broke out in 1861, working for
his uncle, who was a contractor on the Manassas
Gap Railroad. Hostflities put a stop to further
work on that road and Mr. Hunter, like many
other northern men, was virtually a prisoner dur
ing the first few weeks of the war. Pie was
called by the rebel authorities before the court to
take thc oath of allegiance to thc Confederate
States of America. Pic obeyed the summons,
but declined to take the oath. Pie was also en
rolled in the State milida and ordered to muster,
which he refused to do. On the morning of the
Sth of August he started for the Potomac river
with a view to escaping through the rebel lines,
and in the vicinity of Lovettsville, Virginia, he
was so fortunate as lo meet Captain T. J. Ken
nedy, of Auburn, N. Y.. in command of a de
tachment of thc 19th N. Y. Volunteers, which
was raised in Cayuga County. Mr. Plunter
reached Sterling with seven and a half dollars
and the clothes on his back, which comprised his
earthly possessions. From that time he dates his
start in life. After about one year's rest in Ster
ling he enlisted as a private in the i loth N. Y.
Volunteers, company " P"," the 7th day of August,
1862. He was commissioned 2d lieutenant the
lOth of September. 1862. and promoted to captain
the 19th of April. 1864. In 1864 his regiment was
ordered to garrison P"ort Jefferson at Dry Tor
tugas. and Captain Plunter was detached and
sent to St. Vincent Island, P'lorida. While there
he organized a regiment of Union refugees and
deserters from the rebel army, which was known
as the 2d Florida cavalry.
Mr. Plunter remained with his regiment until
it was mustered out of service on the 30th day
of August, 1865. He then came again to Ster
ling, where he was engaged with his brother
John in the lumbering business until 1871.
In thc last named year he, in company with
his brother John, took a contract to grade a por
tion of the road bed of the Southern Central
Railroad. They also contracted for the grading,
masonry and bridge building of five miles of the
Lake Ontario Shore Railroad. In 1872, they
built about the same distance. In 1873, they
contracted with the N. Y. C. & H. R. R. R.
Company, for grading and masonry for the third
and fourth tracks of that line between Syracuse
and Clyde, a distance of thirty-five miles. In
1874, they built the R. &. W. R. R., from On
tario to Charlotte, entire distance eighteen miles.
In 1875 and 1876, they built on the same road
from Kendall to Lewiston, sixty-five miles. The
same year they built thc substructure of the rail
road bridge over the Oswego river. In 1877,
they did the track laying and ballasting of the
Syracuse, Geneva & Corning Railroad. In Sep

tember, 1877, they took the contract for the en
largement of sections 27 and 35 of the Wefland
Ship Canal in Canada, which includes the build
ing of the aqueduct across the Chippewa River
and the lift lock from the river to the canal, also
the guard lock at the Lake Erie end. This con
tract includes a large amount of rock and earth
excavation. The total estimated cost of these
two sections is one and a half millions of dollars.
In the year 1867, ^r. Hunter married Marga
ret Ann Duguid. She is the daughter of Alex
ander and Maria Duguid. Her father is a native
of Schenectady county, and her mother of Wash
ington county. Mrs. Hunter was born in 1841,
August 31st. They have had four children, all
of whom are living.
In politics Mr. Hunter is a staunch Republi
can, and takes a deep and lively interest in the
affairs of his town and county. Pie is not a
member of any religious organization, but attends
the Reformed Presbyterian church.
Mr. Hunter is preeminently a self-made man.
Beginning life with only his natural resources
and the limited education afforded by the district
schools of his town for his capital, he has worked
himself up step by step to an altitude in business
attained by but few in a generation. He is a
man of quick perception and strong convictions,
frank and fearless in their expression, and ener
getic in their execution. He possesses strong
common sense, and uncommon sagacity in busi
ness ; ever ready to meet and strong to overcome
the difficulties in the way of self-made men. He
is a good neighbor and warm friend, and has, in
the fullest, the respect and esteem of his fellow
citizens.

WILLIAM IRWIN.
William Irwin, father of Sophia Jewett,
James C. Irwin, George B. Irwin. Esther E. and
Minnie E. Irwin, was born in Washington coun
ty, March 3d, 1799. He came to the town of
Sterling in 18 16. Pie took up sixty acres of
land on lot No. 3. He was married in 1833 to
Betsey Irwin, who was also a native of Washing
ton county, where she was born in 1812. She
came to this county in the year of her marriage.
Mr. Irwin died May 8th. 1876. His wife is
still living with her son, James C. Irwin.

HUGH DUGAN.
Hugh Dugan, son of John and Margaret
Dugan, was born in Ireland in 1841. He came
to this country with his parents in 1849. The
family settled in Sterling, where the father died
in 1863.

266

TOWN OF STERLING.

Hugh became a farmer at an early age, and by
close application to business finds himself, whfle
comparatively young, the owner of one of the
most productive farms in the town of Steriing,
consisting of 102 acres. A view of his residence
is shown on another page.

JOHN IRELAND.
John Ireland, a native of the State of Penn
sylvania, was born in 1793. and came to Sterling,
Cayuga County, in 1 8 14. He died in 1868. His
wife. Polly Rasmussen, was born in Genesee coun
ty, in 1796, and came to this town about the year
1815. They were married in 18 16, and have had
six children, four boys and two girls, William,
Andrew, John. Joseph, Catharine and Margaret
Jane. Mrs. Ireland is still living, wonderfully
active for one of her years.

PETER VAN PETTEN.
Peter Van Petten was born in Washington
county in 1797. He came to this County in
1824 and settled on lot No. 34. in the town of
Sterling. In 1820 he married Miss Catherine
Myers, a native of Albany county, where she was
born in 1803. Eleven children were born to
them, nine of whom are still living. Mrs. Van
Petten died November 3d, 1877. Mr. Van Pet
ten is still living with his son George.

JACOB VAN PETTEN.
Jacob Van Petten is the oldest child of Nicho
las N. and Mary A. Van Petten. Plis father was
a native of New York State and was born June
3d, 1800. He came to the town of Sterling in
1817. He married Miss Mary Grinnell. of Al
bany county, who was born May 14th, 1809.
Mr. Van Petten was for many years a much
esteemed citizen of this lown, and died July 9th,
1876. His aged wife still survives him,
Jacob Van Petten was born in the town of
Sterling, August 25th, 1828. His youth was
passed at home in working on his father's farm
during the summers, and attending the district
school winters. At the age of 21 or 22 he left
home and began life for himself, working for the
two years following a farm " on shares." After
that he spent another year at home. Then he
was employed by the contractors on the South
ern Central Railroad as foreman, during the year
1853. From that time to the present Mr. Van
Petten has been exclusively engaged in agri

cultural pursuits. Thc spring of 1855 ^^ P"-"""
chased 48 acres of land, on lot number 67, town
of Sterling. He has from time to time added to
his original purchase until now his farm lands
comprise 360 acres. October 25 lb, 1855. 'le
married Miss Margaret A., daughter of William
and Maria Follett. To them four children were
born. His wifedied May 13th, 1863. Mr. Van
Petten lost his wife and three children, all within
two years. October 4th, 1863, he was united in
marriage to his present wife. Miss Nancy J. , daugh
ter of Ashley and Julia A. Bowen, of the town of
Ira. Cayuga County.
In politics Mr. Van Petten is an earnest Re
publican. Three times has he been elected su
pervisor of the lown. serving during the years
i87i-'2-'3. He has often served his town and
party on committees and in other capacities.
He is in every sense a self-made man and has,
by his own unaided efforts, risen to the prominent
and influential position he holds in society. An
engraving of his beautiful home adorns this work.

JOHN UPCRAFT.
The town of Sterling can boast of few, if any.
farms so well improved as Lake View farm.
Those who knew the place twenty-one years ago
would not recognize it to-day. It has changed
from a neglected, dilapidated place lo. perhaps,
the model farm of the town. Its present owner,
John Upcraft, Esq., was born in Norfolk county,
England, in 1S30. He was the third child of
Henry Upcraft. He came with his father to this
country in 1840, and located in the city of Os
wego, where for three years he was employed by
the late P". T. Carrington and Myron Pardee.
I-Ie left their employ and was a lumberman for
the next three years. Then for a long period
(18 years) he vvas engaged in mercantile busi
ness and farming, for Filzhugh and Littlejohn.
In March, 1858, he purchased Lake View farm,
consisting of over one hundred acres, on lot
No. 3.
December, 1854, Mr. Upcraft was joined in
marriage to Elizabeth Read. Their union was
of short duration. Mrs. Upcraft died in June of the
following year. He was again married in Octo
ber, 1856, to Annie E. Briggs, daughter of Jere
miah and Mary Briggs. Mrs. Upcraft was born
in Glens Falls. N. Y.. in 1832.
On another page of this work we show a view
of Mr. Upcraft's buildings.

RALPH HEWETT.
Ralph PIewett, a native of Northumberiand
county, England, was born October i6th, 1800,

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.

267

and came to Cayuga County in 1823. He set
tled on lot No. 8 in the town of Steriing. Mr.
Hewett was married four times, as follows:—
Plis first wife was Mary Scott, who died in 1834 ;
the second was Rebecca McCoy, who died in
1844; the third. Jane McCoy, who died in 1846;
his present wife, Lydia Redfield, was born in
Connecticut, in 1800. Mr. Hewett is a highly
respected citizen of this town, and is passing the
evening of his days with his son, Walter S.
Hewett, Esq.

THOMAS ANDREWS.
Thomas Andrews, father of John and Jo
seph Andrews, of this town, was born in Ireland,
in 1786, and died in 1862. He emigrated to this
country and settled on lot No. 13, in Steriing, in
1806. Plis wife, Jane, was born in Ireland, in
1801. They were married in 1818. They were
the parents of four children, three of whom are
living. Mrs. Andrews is still living with her
son John.

WILLIAM COOPER.
William Cooper was born in Ireland in 1777.
He, came to this country in 1804. He was a
soldier in the war of 1812, and was in the battle
of Oswego. He died in 1843. He married Sa
rah Craig, who was born in Washington county
in 1783, and died in 1871. They were the pa
rents of seven children.

CORNELIUS ACKERSON.
Cornelius Ackerson was born in Rockland
Co.. N. Y., in 1756. He was a soldier of the
Revolutionary war, in which he served seven
years, three months and eight days, with the rank
of Lieutenant. Pie was on two occasions taken
prisoner by the English. At the close of the
war. for his valuable services, the government
granted him five hundred acres of land situated
in the present town of Sterling, on which he
moved with his family in 1815. After an event
ful life he died in 1845. Many of his descend
ants are residents of this town.

JOHN SCOTT.
John Scott, father of Mr. Henry Scott, of
this town, was born in Northumberland county,
England, in 1775. Pie was by trade a carpenter
and joiner. He came to America in 181 1; set
tled in Steriing, Cayuga County, in 1814; and

died in i860. The day after the battle, of Os
wego, which occurred in 18 15, Mr. Scott visited
thc bailie field and assisted in the burial of the
dead. Plis second wife was Plannah Spollswood,
who was born in Northumberland county in 1768,
and came with her husband to this County, where
she died in 1853. By this marriage there were
three children. Plis first wife, by whom he had
four chfldren, died in England.
Mr. Scott has three children living, Jas. Scott,
of Grand Rapids, Michigan ; Dr. R. B. Scott, of
Oswego, N. Y. ; and Plenry Scott, of this town.

CPIAPTER XXXIL

Town of Victory.

VICTORY lies upon the west border, in the
north part of the County, and is bounded
on the north by Sterling, on the east by Ira, on
the south by Conquest, and on the west by
Wayne Co. It is the north-west quarter of the
old military town of Cato, from which it was
formed March i6th, 1821. Its name, like that of
Conquest, which town was organized at the same
time, originates from the victory achieved by
those who favored a division of the town of Cato
over those who opposed it.
The surface is gently undulating, the highest
points being scarcely fifty feet above the general
level. It is watered by the head-waters of Red
and Little Sodus Creeks, the former of which
lies in the west part, while the latter flows north
through the lown a little east of the center.
They furnish but a very limited water power.
There is a swamp in the south-west part which
covers several hundred acres. There is less
waste land in this town and Ira, the two north
ern, than in Cato and Conquest, the two southern
towns of the old township of Cato; there is also
less good land. The soil is a sandy and gravelly
loam, mostly the latter.
The underlying rocks are the red shale and
blue limestone of the Niagara group, which, al
though covered deep with drift, are seen in sev
eral parts of the town. Quarries have been
opened in the limestone, and considerable im
provement is shown in the quality and thickness
of the calcareous portion of the rock as compared
with the mass further south. This rock is of

268

TOWN OF VICTORY.

great importance to all this section of country,
as it furnishes not only building stone, but also
lime suitable for afl the purposes to which, that
article is usually applied, except where a very
white lime is required. The quarry of Mr.
Doud, about two mfles north of Victory, where
four or five feet are taken out for lime, which has
a little dark-blue shale between the layers, is of
great interest, as affording more fossils, such as
Becostated orthis, a columnaria also, and an avic-
tila, as well as a slender encrinite not yet specific
ally named.*
The Southern Central R. R. crosses the north
east corner ofthe town, but has no station within
its limits.
The population ofthe town in 1,875 was 1,944 ;
of whom 1,853 were native ; 91, foreign ; 1,943,
white ; and i, colored.
The town covers an area of 21,234 acres ; of
which 16,085 are improved; 4,641, woodlands ;
and 508, otherwise unimproved.
Settlement was commenced in 1800. on lot 65,
in the south part, by John McNeal, from Mont
gomery county, and John Martin, from Ireland ;
the former of whom located about a mile south of
Victory, on the farm now owned by Edward
Merritt, where he died the same year, his death
being the first in the town. None of his descend
ants are living in the town. Martin located on
the farm now owned by Smith Wood, on a tract
of fifty acres, twenty-five acres pf which was given
him to induce settlement, the remaining twenty-
five having been given him by his wife's father.
His daughter Jane, (afterwards Mrs. Samuel
Wood and mother of Smith Wood,) who was
born in 1804, was the first chfld born in the town.
She died on the farm about eight years since. Her
husband died in Ira, in tbe fall of 1877. Samuel
Martin, brother of John, also from Ireland, located
a few years afterwards in the north part of the
town, where he died some fifteen years ago.
Elisha Granger settled with his famfly in 1802,
in the south-east corner, on lot 67. Plis son
Gideon is now living at Westbury, and John,
another son, in Michigan.
A Mr. Scouten, a soldier of the Revolution,
took up as a soldier's claim lot 14, on which he
settled prior to 1806 ; but he remained only four
or five years.
» Natural History of New York, Geology, 31/ Dist., by Lardner
Vanuxem.

Patrick Murphy, from Ireland, settled in Feb
ruary, 1806, on lot 54, where Samuel Murphy,
his grandson, now lives. Two other grand
children, Patrick and Jane, are living in Butler,
Wayne county ; and a third, Sarah, (now Mrs.
Wm. Root,) in Cato.
Matthias Vanderhuyden, from Troy, Rensse
laer county, settled in 1810, on lot 67, where his
daughter Louisa (now Mrs. Elihu Knapp,) lives,
and where he died in April, 1876, aged ninety-
five years. Wm. Hager, Vanderhuyden's step
son, and Pamelia, his daughter, afterwards Mrs.
Peter Cooper, came in with him. The former
is living, at the age of eighty-two, on the farm he
took up in 1823, about two miles south-east of
Victory. Pamefla died in the town in 1841.
Asahel Carter from Vermont, also came in 1810,
and settled on lot 66, on the farm now owned by
Plamflton Emerick. He took up twenty-five
acres. In 18 17 he moved to the farm now owned
by John Wood, on the south line of the town,
where he died some twenty years ago. His
daughter, Polly, (the widow of Henry Wood,) is
now living with her son John. Lucretia, (now
Mrs. Worden Eastwood,) another daughter of
Carter's, is living in Conquest. His other chil
dren, John and three or four daughters, are liv
ing in the west. Abram Scott, from Vermont,
came in with his family, (consisting of his wife
Hannah, and two sons, Charles Y. and Abram,)
in the spring of 18 10, and took up fifty acres, in
the south-west corner of lot 54, where Philo Camp
now lives, about a mile south-east of Victory.
Plis son Abram is now living, aged eighty-four,
with his son, Geo. C. Scott.
John and Daniel Rumsey and Wflliam and
Daniel Griswold, from Plerkimer county, settled
on lot 25, a little south-east of Westbury, in
181 1. All are dead. Benjamin, son of Daniel
Rumsey, is living with Stephen Holt, about a
mile west of Victory. Thc rest of the family
moved west.
Jacob W. and Martin DeForest, from Wash
ington county, settled on lot 43, in the east part,
in 1 812. Conrad Phrozine, from Newburgh, set
tled the same year on lot 4, at North Victory, on
the creek at Stumm's mills, on the site of which
he buflt the first grist-mfll in the town. About
1820, John Hooker put up. a stfll, saw-mfll and
grist-mill, about a mfle south-east of Victory, on
the farm now owned by John Hapman, which,

VICTORY VILLAGE.

269

with the exception of the grist-mill, are believed
to have been the first of their kind in the town.
Further settlements were made this year (1812,)
by Ephraim Smith, from Saratoga county ; Silas
Kellogg, from Brutus ; Ebenezer Bird, from On
ondaga county; and Chauncey and Simon
Lathrop, from Sennett, Smith settled on the
farm now owned by Philo Camp. His son
Ephraim is living in Victory. Two daughters,
viz : Mary Ann and Chariotte. are living, the
former (now Mrs. John Cooper) in Conquest, and
the latter (now Mrs. Luman Derby) in the vil
lage of Cato. Kellogg settled on lot 39, in the
west part of the town, and removed at an early
day to Ira, where he died, and where his son now
lives. Ebenezer Bird settled on. lot 27, about a
mile north of Victory, where he died. His son,
Daniel, owns a part ofthe farm on which he set
tled. The Lathrops settled at Victory, and
opened a store there. A man named Needham
settled at an early day about a mfle east of Vic
tory, on the farm now owned by James P. Root.
Pie died here, and his sons sold out and moved
off. The present town officers are the following :
Supervisor — Edward Allanson.
Toivn Clerk — Irving H. Knapp.
Justices of the Peace — William R. F"leming,
Russel Dutcher, Charles Dedrick, Joseph
Raynor. Assessors — Edwin Bacon, D. S. Woodford,
Andrew Bennett.
Overseers of Poor — Samuel Murphy, Daniel
Pinkney. Inspectors of Election — Robert Cox, Corydon
Doud, William T. Benedict.
Collector — A. B. Sabins.
Constables — A. B. Sabins, George Bamford,
George Cork'ner, James Beesmer, Waller Follett.
Victory Village.
Victory is situated a little south of the center
of the town, and is distant six miles north-west
of Cato on the Southern Central R. R., with
which it is connected by daily stage. It contains
three churches, (M. E., Baptist and Presbyterian,)
a district school, five stores, two blacksmith shops,
(Wm. Taylor and  .Smith, proprietors,) a har
ness shop, kept by Wm. R. p-leming, a shoe
shop, kept by A. B. Wetherby, a hotel, kept by
46-2

Hulbert Daratt, and has a population of about
150. The first settlement in the village is believed
to have been made about 1806, by James Greg
ory, who settled where his daughter Sally, (now
Mrs. Philander Cutlen) lives, and opened soon
after the first tavern, which was built of logs,
and stood near the site of Abijah Hager's store.
A man by the name of Moffitt was one of the
first settlers at the village, but in vvhat year we
are unable to determine. He sold out about
1809 and removed to Throop, where he died.
Manasseh French came in from Scipio, but in
what year is uncertain. Abram Scott, who
came into town with his father in the, spring of
1 8 10, says Frehch was keeping a store here at
that time, which was doubtless the first one in
the town. French also kept an ashery at the
village, which stood near where David Wood
ford's house stands. The store, stood opposite
to it. French remained till about 1815.
Merchants. — The first merchant at Victory
was Manasseh French, as early as 18 10. Pie
opened a store opposite where David Woodford's
house stands, and kept it till about 18 15. In
1 8 12 a second store was opened by Chauncey
and Simon Lathrop, brothers, who came in from
Sennett. They separated after a few years and
kept stores on opposite sides of the streets.
Chauncey failed after five or six years and re
moved from the town. Simon also failed about
1838. He moved west, where he died at an ad
vanced age.
A small drug store was opened here about 1830,
by James Gager, who failed after a year or two
and returned his goods to his creditors. He is
now living in Iowa.
In 1832, Wifliam Hager and John T. Knapp
opened a store, which they kept in company
some eighteen years. At the expiration of that
time Knapp sold his interest to his partner, who
conducted the business alone till about 1868,
when his son, Abijah B. Hager, was admitted to
partnership, with a half interest. Two or three
years later Mr. Hager, who was becoming too
infirm for active business, sold his remaining half
interest to his son, who still carries on the busi
ness. Several merchants kept stores for short pe
riods, but failed. Among them were Mr. Mc
Cabe, Southwick, Walter Thayer, who was in

2;o

TOWN OF VICTORY.

partnership with Simon Lathrop a short time
before the latter's failure, and Fred. Thompson.
In 1875, a disastrous fire occurred in the vil
lage and destroyed the four stores, the only ones
then in it. They were kept by Abijah B. Ha
ger, Harvey Harris & Ellis W. Hager, David
Woodford, and Fred. Thompson.
The present merchants, in addition to H. B.
Hager, are Harris & Knapp, (Harvey S. Harris
and Irving H. Knapp,) who commenced business
in December, 1875, both having previously re
sided in the town ; J. D. Woodford, who bought
out his father, D. S. Woodford, in the spring of
^^T7 \ ]• W. Chamberlain & Co., (Celia L. Cham
berlain,) the former of whom came in from
Wayne county, where he lived a number of years,
and commenced business May 7th, 1878 ; and
Wifliam A. Hager. a native of Victory, who com
menced business September 15th, 1876.
Postmasters. — The present postmaster is
Addison B. Wetherby, who has held the office
since i860, having received the appointment un
der the administration of President Lincoln.
He was preceded by Walter H. Sayre, who held
the office about eight years, Mr. Wetherby was
born in this town, his father having moved in from
Sennett in 1 8 19. In i854,he commenced the boot
and shoe business, in which he is still engaged,
the post-office being kept in his shoe shop.
Physicians. — The first physician in this lo
cality was a Dr. Squires, who was settled at
Meridian, in Cato. Lucius Ilooker was the first
resident physician, and the first one in the town.
Dr. Waite was another early physician. The
¦present physician is Charles A. Fisher, who was
born in this locality and has practiced here about
six years.
The M. E. Church of Victory was organized
in 1813, by Rev. Zenas Jones, the first pastor.
Prominent among the first members were Joseph
Rumsey, Daniel Griswold. James McCready,
Piatt Wilson. Wflliam Hamflton. John Hamflton
and Wifliam Thompson. We have been unable
to learn the names of the pastors of this church
previous to 1844. with the exception of the first.
In 1844 and '45, Revs. J. Hafl and A. Robbins
w.ere the pastors of this Society; from 1845 to
'46, Revs. B. Phillips, and B. Nichols ; to 1847,
B. Nichols; to 1852 and '53, Cyrus Phiflips ; to
1854, P. W. Barber ; to 1855, Aflen Castle and D.
B. Smith; to 1858, J. Smedley ; to 1859, M.

Thrasher; to i860, O. C. Lathrop; to 1861 and
'62, R. L. PVaser ; to 1864 and '66, S. O. Barnes;
to 1867, David Stone ; to 1868, R. D. Phillips ;
to i87i,J. De Larme ; to 1873. Henry Meeker;
to 1875, Orin Switzer. The present pastor. Rev.
Nelson Sutton, came in the fafl of 1876.
Their meetings were held in the school-house
tfll about 1820, when the first church edifice was
erected. It stood about a mile west of the vil
lage. Their present house of worship, which is
located in the village, was buflt about 1850.
The Society numbers eighty-five members.
Thc attendance at Sabbath school is about fifty.
The Baptist Church at Victory was organ
ized with fifteen members June 3d, i8i8,as thcS^c-
ojid Baptist Church in Cato, to which town Vic
tory then belonged, and was admitted to the
Cayuga Baptist Association in September of that
year. The first pastor was Rev. Roswell Os-
burn, who was ordained subsequent to the organ
ization, and continued his labors till 1825. The
second pastor was Rev. John M. Bartlett, who
entered upon the duties of his office in 1828.
During the second year of his pastorate, the
church enjoyed their first revival, as the fruits of
which twenty-one were added to their number.
This was followed in 1831 by another, as the re
sult of which sixty-two were added to their num
ber by baptism. The prosperity thus happily in
augurated was speedily checked by trials, from
which they never entirely recovered, and which
are thus referred to in their letters to the Asso
ciation of 1834-5 ¦
"For about three years past our progress has
seemed retarded. Campbellism, that fell de
stroyer of heavenly bliss below, together with all
its paralyzing effects and concomitant evils, has
hung like a dark and lowering cloud about us.
The love of many has waxed cold and the way of
truth is evil spoken of, while the church has stood
like a lamb' shorn of its fleece, shivering in the
northern blast." "We have been under the
painful necessity of excluding some, who, to us.
appear to follow the commandments of men, yet
we know that our Heavenly Father is too wise
to be mistaken, and too good to be unkind, there
fore we submit and kiss his chastening rod and
say ' Thy will be done.' "
The third pastor was Rev. John PI. Dudley,
who was ordained by a council convened for that
purpose June 20th, 1834. In this year, the
church, which had joined the Onondaga Associa
tion in 1825, again became a member of the

CHURCHES.

271

Cayuga Association. Mr. Dudley closed his
labors with this church in 1836, and was suc
ceeded by Rev. David McFariand, who was cafl
ed to the pastorate in February, 1837, and was
ordained on the 15th of June following. In their
letter to the Association for this year occurs the
following :
"Although we are not blessed, like most of our
sister churches, with an abundance of this worid's
goods, yet, through the blessing of God and our
own exertions, we have been enabled to sustain
the administration of the word and ordinances,
which have received the approbation of Heaven's
High King. We now find that our place of wor
ship is too strait for us, and have felt cafled on to
make an extra effort to rent a room in the Acade
my building which is now being completed.
Ours is a missionary field, and we doubtless have
claims equal with many of our sister Churches,
who receive aid from the Convention. But vve
feel no disposition to draw from, if we cannot
largely aid in replenishing, an almost exhausted
treasury.'' The first and second years of Elder Mc Far-
land's ministry were greatly blessed.
" The Church seemed to emerge from its polar
winter into the genial clime of Christian activity
and union, and as the fruits of the two revivals en
joyed, 58 were added to their numbers. * *
The Church thus aroused, became warmly engaged
in the great moral enterprises of the day ; the
temperance reformation, the Bible cause and
other kindred causes being warmly supported by
their influence and contributions."
Elder Mc Farland closed his labors with this
Church in February, 1840, and was succeeded by
Rev. Allen R. Beach, who remained about one
year, and was succeeded by Rev. J. S. Evering-
ham, who continued about a year, and vvas suc
ceeded by J. C. Moore, a licentiate, who remained
about two years. Under the labors of these pas
tors, two seasons of revivals were enjoyed, which
resulted in the addition of about twenty-five to
their number. Their next pastor was Rev. A.
Haskell, who began his ministrations September
22d, 184.6, and closed them May 7th, 1848. In
1845 they begun the erection of a house of worship
which was finished June 24th, 1846. The so
ciety being small they were obliged to incur a
debt, which somewhat crippled their action, but
which was fully cancelled in 1850. Their house
underwent somewhat extensive repairs about
three years ago.
The next pastor was Rev. E. Marshall, who
begun his pastoral labors in 1849 and closed them

in the fall of 1850. Since then the following
pastors have officiated, viz : Revs. Trow, David
McFariand. John Everingham, the two latter
during a second term, Lee, Thos. Siegford and
Collins, the latter of whom resides at Red Creek,
and was obliged to close his labors with the
Church on account of failing health, the present
year. Previous to the erection of their house of
worship the meetings of the Church were held in
school-houses, and for several years in the house
now occupied by Alonzo Woodford. The Church
is at present without a pastor, meetings, or a
Sabbath school. It is in a somewhat feeble con
dition, having only about twenty-five members.
During its existence the church has called six
brethren to ordination, viz : Roswell Osburn,
John M. Bartlett, John M. Dudley, David Mc
Fariand,  Lee, and Thomas Siegford.
The First Presbyterian Church OF Victory
was organized as the Second Presbyterian Church of
the town of Cato, at the house of Thomas Cole
man, November 30lh, 1820, by Revs. Eastman
and Dunning. Darius Chittenden and Annis,
his wife, Thomas Coleman, Hannah, wife of
Henry Quilhart, and the wives of Peter Van Pelt
and Chistopher Ostrander, were among the first
members. Their first pastor was Rev. Mr. Powell, who
commenced his labors in 1827, and was succeed
ed in 1830 by Rev. Wm. Williams, who remain
ed two years. The next pastor was Rev. Daniel
Washburn, in 1835. The fourth was Rev. Daniel
Waldo, during whose pastorate from 1841-3, the
first and present house of worship was erected.
Rev. Lemuel Dada was the next pastor, in 1845.
He was succeeded in 1847 by Rev. Ebenezer
Everett ; by Rev. Edward Plall, in the winter of
i85i-'2 ; by Rev. Levi Griswold, who assumed
their pastoral care May ist, 1852; and by Rev.
Beufort Ladd, who commenced his labors in the
fall of 1859 and continued them several years.
At the close of his labors he settled in the vil
lage, where he died in March, 1877. Thomas
Watson, who resided in Cato, and belonged to
the Reformed church, next supplied the pulpit
for three years. Rev. Ephraim Kellogg, who
lived at Red Creek, became their pastor in 1871,
but remained only one year. The next pastor
was Rev. Ezra D. Shaw, who was instafled in
February, 1873, and remained two years, when
he removed to Moravia, where he died in 1877.

272

TOWN OF VICTORY.

He was the last pastor the church had. the pul
pit having since been supplied by students from
Auburn Theological Seminary. The church has
about thirty members ; with an attendance at
Sabbath school of about forty.
Westbury.
Westbury is an attractive little village, evincing
a fair degree of business enterprise, and is pic
turesquely situated on Red Creek, on the west
line of the town, lying partly in Victory and part
ly in Wayne county. It is three miles north
west of Victory, from whence it receives a daily
mafl by stage. It contains two churches (M. E.
and Christian.) a district school, one store, one
hotel, of which Aaron Kirk has been proprietor
about five years, a tannery, grist-mill, two black
smith shops, of which Daniel Shaver and James
Ferguson are the proprietors, a carriage shop, of
which James Shaver is proprietor, and a cooper
shop, of which Samuel Lefavor, who is also post
master, is proprietor. It has a population of
about 200.
The first settlers at Westbury were William
and Jacob Burghduff, brothers, about 1806. The
former died there in his ninety-seventh year,
some three years since. A family by the name
of Hyde, from Scipio. settled there about 1808.
Joseph and Daniel Rumsey and Wflliam and
Daniel Griswold. from Herkimer county, settled
a little south-east of Westbury, in 181 1.
Merchants. — The present merchants in West
bury are A. P. Crowell and W. D. Campbell,
who commenced business in 1867, under the firm
name of Crowell & Campbell.
Manufacturers. — The manufacturing estab
lishments in Westbury consist of a tannery and
grist-mfll. The tannery was started in Novem
ber, 1877, by Nichols and Plines, (PI. E. Nich
ols and S. S. Plines, the former of whom died
July 2d, 1878.) The building was erected the
previous summer. Its dimensions are 80 by 46
feet, with an engine room 26 by 30 feet added.
Its capacity is 6,000 sides per annum. It gives
employment to four men. The motive power is fur
nished by a thirty-five horse-power engine. The
grist-mill came into the possession of H. E.
Nichols, (now deceased,) about eleven years ago.
It contains two run of stones. The motive
power is furnished by the engine in the tannery,
with which it is connected by means of a shaft.

The M. E. Church of Westbury was organ
ized with about forty members, about 1816. Their
house of worship vvas erected about 1838. It un
derwent extensive repairs about 1867, at which
time it was rededicated. The pastors of this
Church have been the same as have ministered
to the Church at Victory, both Churches being
on one charge. The present pastor is Rev. Nel
son Sutton, who resides at Victory. The pres
ent number of members is about forty; and the
attendance at Sabbath School about thirty.
Tnic WiLSTiiURY Christian Church vvas or
ganized January 27th, 1843. by Rev. W.T. Caton,
the first pastor. Among the first members were
Wflliam Burghduff and Betsey, his wife, Adams
Dow, Josiah Burghduff, John W. Tator, Rufus
Moore, Melissa Daniels, and Adam Shaver.
They erected a house of worship in 1843, but it
stood only about a year, when it was destroyed
by fire. Their present house was built in 1845.
The present pastor is Rev. Stephen Devoe, who
resides at Red Creek. The Church has ninety-
eight members. The attendance at Sabbath
School is about forty.
North Victory.
North Victory (p. o.) is situated on Little So
dus Creek, near the north border of the town,
and contains a grist-mill, owned by Sebastian
Stumm. a small saw-mill, a wagon shop, of which
William Baker is proprietor, a blacksmith shop.
and about 60 inhabitants.
The first settlement at North Victory was
made in 1812, by Conrad Phrozine, from New
burgh, N. Y. He located on the creek, at
Stumm's mill, on the site of which he built a
grist-mifl, which was the first one in the town.
Manufacturers. — On Little Sodus Creek,
about a mfle north-east of Victory, is a saw-mill,
operated by a ten feet fall of water, which came
into the possession of William Cooling, in the
spring of 1878.
On lot 63. in the south-west part of the town,
is a steam saw-mfll owned by VanGflder, Nichols
& Co., who have operated it about three years.
On Red Creek, about a mile above Westbury,
is a saw-mfll, owned by Jacob Switzer, who has
operated it some eight or ten years.
About a mile north of Westbury, on a small
branch of Red Creek, is a saw-mill, which has
been operated by E. L. Sabins for three years.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH.

273

BlOGl^APHIC/L SKETCH,

PIOMER LOCKWOOD.
Notably among the prominent early settlers of
Northern Cayuga was Homer Lockwood, who
settled in Victory (then Cato) in 1817. Homer
,Lockwood, whose father was a Revolutionary pa
triot, was born in Brookfield. Conn., November
7th, 1793. and Sally Benedict, his wife, was born
October 27th, 1795, in Ridgefield,Conn. They
were united in marriage October 2d, i8t6, and the
year following moved to Victory and settled upon
the farm they subsequently lived upon for over
half a century.
Northern Cayuga was then mostly a wilderness
and the latter part of the three weeks' journey
from New England, by wagon, was over corduroy
roads, and many mfles were traveled with only
marked trees to guide them.
Long years of the most arduous, patient toil, re
sulted in their abflity to purchase addftional tracts
of land untfl the " Lockwood farm " was known
as one of the most extensive in that part. Mr.
Lockwood never had a taste for public or politic
al preferment, yet was always foremost in mat
ters pertaining to the social and educational wel
fare of the community. He vvas founder of the
first school-house in the town and of the first acad
emy, and actively promoted the temperance re
forms under the old Washingtonian society, and
was founder of the first Methodist Episcopal
Church in that region. He was a positive man, and
never hesitated to champion the cause of right.
Mr. and Mrs. Lockwood celebrated their golden
wedding October 2d., 1866, surrounded by their
three children then living, twelve grandchildren,
and two great-grandchildren.
Homer Lockwood, although infirm in limb,
yet vigorous in body, lived to the age of eighty-
two, and died P^ebruary 12th, 1875. Mrs. Lock-
wood lived to her eighty-second year, and died
August 24th, 1877.
The Lockwood family traces its ancestry di
rectly back to Rev. Richard Lockwood, Rector of
Dinghy, county of Northampton, Eng.. in 1530.
Ephraim Lockwood. a descendant of Richard,
settled in Norwalk, Conn., in 1650, from which
family the subject of this sketch descended.

CHAPTER XXXIH.
Town of Ira.
IRA is the north-east corner town of the
County, and is bounded on the north by Os
wego county, on the east by Oswego and Onon

daga counties, on the south by Cato, and on the
west by Victory. It was formed from Cato,
March 16th, 1821 ; and a portion in the. south-.
east corner was reannexed to that town in 1824.
The surface Is rolling, the summits ofthe ridges
rising seventy to seventy-five feet above the val
leys, and 225 to 275 feet above the level of Lake
Ontario. It is poorly watered, the only streams
being small creeks and brooks, which possess
very little commercial importance. There is
very little waste land, as the town contains neither
marsh nor swamp and only one very smafl pond,
in the west part.
It is underlaid by the rocks of the Niagara
group, in the limestone of which several quarries
have been opened. The most important one is
that known as P'ox's kiln, at Fox's Corners, about
a mile west of Ira, which has been in use for fifty
years. The lime is of excellent quality, though
not perfectly white. Another quarry is opened
on the farm of Jarius Palmer, about a mile south
west of Ira ; and a third on the, farm of Stephen
Pierce. In all three, lime is obtained at the north
end of the ridges.
The soil in the south part partakes of the ex
cellent character of that in Cato, while in the cen
tral and northern parts it is lighter and less pro
ductive, being largely intermixed with sand and
graveb In the north is a cold sandy soil.
The Southern Central R. R. enters the town
about a mile and a half east of the west line, and
leaves it about two miles south of the north
line. The first settlements were made in 1800, in
which year David and Eleazer Stockwell, broth
ers, came in from Whitehall and located on lot
58. about a mile north of the south line, David,
on the farm owned by Dewilt C. Pulsipher, and
Eleazer, on the farm on which his son Augustus
now lives. Both died on the farms then taken
up. They were brothers of Andrew Stockwell,
who settled the same year in Cato. David
Stockwell kept the first inn in 1800; and his
daughter Polly, who was born in April, 1802, was
the first child born in the town. Eleazer Stock-
well and Margaret Noble, contracted the first
marriage March 7lh, 1802. Wm. Patterson and
Henry Conrad, Germans, came the same year
and settled on lot 32, about three-fourths of a
mile west of Ira. Conrad's farm joined Patter
son's on the south. Both died there.

274

TOWN OF IRA.

In 1802 the settlements were augmented by
Daniel Parker, from Marcellus ; John C. Barnes
and his sons, from Sempronius ; Edward Wood,
from Sennett ; and Rev. Michael Burge. Parker
settled on lot 69, where Abiah Cook now lives,
his farm extending to the south line of the town.
In his log house much of the business of the
town was transacted at an early day. Pie died
on the old homestead, which is still held by the
family, his daughter being Abiah Cook's mother.
Barnes settled on lot 70, on the farm now owned
by Eleazer P". Jaynes, where he died about 1837.
His sons were Amos, John, Luther, Zadoc and
Silas, all of whom are dead. The latter two died
during the epidemic about 1811. Silas settled
on the same lot with his father, and Zadoc on lot
83, on the west part of Isaac R. Merrill's farm.
The death of the wife of Sflas Barnes, in 1802,
was the, first in the town. Norton C. Barnes, a
son of Luther, is living in Cato. Wood settled
on lot 89. Burge drew lot 22 as a soldier's claim
and settled on it. He was great-grandfather of
David H. Marvin, who now resides on lot 24.
Jacob Labertaux, from Pennsylvania, came in
May, 1803, and settled about a mile north of
Cato. He moved west with his family, which
was large, about 1830. Archibald and Charles
Green, brothers, settled the same year, (1803,)
on lot 70, the former on the farm now owned by
Jacob Deforest, and the latter on the farm now
owned by Harry Clark. Both removed to Sen
nett about 1820.
Abraham Willey and his son-in-law, Eli Mat-
son, came in from East Haddam, Conn.. in 1804,
and settled on lot 23. Willey on the farm of
Heman Benton, (whose father, Dr. Allen Benton,
of Cato, married Willey's daughter,) where he
died and is buried, in the family burying ground.
Matson returned and brought in his family the
following year, and settled a little north of Wil
ley, on the opposite side of the road, where he
kept a small store and where he died. His son,
Eli S. Matson, was then about nine years old, and
afterwards made the first settlement on lot 24,
on which Augustine Matson, son of the latter,
was born and now resides. Henry Ferris came
in with his sons Augustus and Thatcher, and the
family of the former, from Galway, Saratoga
county, in the fafl of 1804, and moved in his
family in the spring of 1805. He took up 450
acres and built his log cabin where the house of

his son, Harry Ferris, now stands, and where he
died in 1808. His daughter Zipperah, (now Mrs.
Luther Barnes,) is living in Auburn. Two sons
are also living, Harry, aged eighty-nine years, on
the old homestead, and James Harvey, who was
born here, in Rose, Wayne county,
Thomas Barnes, from Washington county,
settled at Ira Corners in 1805. Dr. John W.
Squyers, the first physician, settled on the farm
owned by Harvey Ferris, about a mile north of
Meridian, as early as 1805, in which year he
taught the first school. He was a natural genius.
highly educated, but much addicted to the use of
intoxicants. He was the first physician in the
County north of the river, and had no equal as
such in that country. He had a large and lu
crative practice, which, in consequence of his
bibitory habits, was gradually monopolized by
others of less ability. He died at Plainville, in
Lysander, some thirty-five years ago.
Luther, Samuel and Israel Phelps, brothers,
came in from Galway, Saratoga county, in 1806.
Luther settled on the farm owned by the widow
of James Smith, where he remained only about a
year, when he removed to Ira, to the place on
which his son, John Phelps, now lives, and where
he died in November, 1867. Chauncey Phelps,
another son, lives a little east of that village,
Samuel settled on the farm owned by James Slo
cum ; and Israel, in Ira, where he built the pres
ent hotel about fifty-seven years ago, and where
he. in company with his brother Samuel, opened
the first store, in 18 13. Samuel Phelps, Jr., and
Dwight Phelps, son of Israel, are living, the latter
a mile west and the other three-fourths of a mile
south-west of Ira. Stephen Pierce settled at
Ira about 1806 and died in the house in which
his grandson Chas. Pierce now lives. Daniel
and Ezekiel Cogswell, brothers, from Galway,
settled about 1806; Ezekiel, on the farm owned
by Addison Everts, and Daniel adjoining him,
about one and one-fourth miles north-west of
Ira. Heman West, from Washington county, set
tled on the farm now owned by S. M. Brown, in
the south part, on the line of Cato about 1806 or
'7. Pie took up one hundred acres, which he
sold after three years on account of sickness from
fever and ague, one-half to Abel Pasko and the
other half to a man named Shivers, and removed
to Cazenovia. He came with his family, con-

¦•^>

RESIDENCE OF ROBERT JOHNSON TOWN OF iRA CAYUGA CO. NY

THj

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f f ly

5W

1" V

f ¦*

s*
^^
^.- ^ ^^'•^^"l^M...
RESIDENCE OF JOHN UPCRAFT STERLING_C/WJGA 00. N.Y^
'-^-^  -¦  ^T-
Lakeside Farm'
EARLY SETTLEMENTS.

275

sisting of his wife Zeruah and five children, all of
whom are dead. Three chfldren subsequently
born are living. Abel, at Meridian, where he has
been engaged in mercantile pursuits since 1837 ;
Charies, at Watertown, N. Y., where he is en
gaged in the sash and blind business ; and Han
nah, widow of Wm. Locklin, at Potsdam. N. Y.
About this time, or perhaps a little earlier, Abram
Sturgc came in with his family and settled about
a mfle north-west of Ira, where his sons Abram
and Samuel died. John, another son, lived a lit
tle farther north, where he also died. Parmenus
Sprague came in about the same time and settled
ou a farm adjoining Sturge's.
John Plooker, a boon companion of Dr. John
Jakway. who came in from Vermont, about 1809
and settled at Cato, came in about a year before
the latter, from the same locality, where they had
been associates of Ethan Allen, and settled at
Cato, on the Ira side of the line. He lived there
about thirty years, till his death. His son John
is living near Victory. Plooker built the first
grist-mill in the town of Ira, in 18 1 8. A portion
of the old mill still stands just east of and ad
joining the buildings of the Cato Milling
Company, near the depot in Cato, a portion of it
having been torn away to accommodate the lat
ter buildings. That which remains is used as a
store-room by the present company, except in
the east end of the upper part, in which a cabi
net-shop was recently started by Joseph Girard.
William DeForest, a German, came in from
Albany county, at an early day, soon after Daniel
Parker's settlement, and located about a mfle
east of Cato, on the farm now owned by Plarriet
Bartlett, widow of Rev. Gamaliel S. Bartlett.
where he died about 1S43. None of his children
are living, but several of his grandchildren are.
His sons were John, Martin and Jacob. Three of
John's sons are living, viz. : Jacob and Wflliam, on
the farm adjoining on the north of that on which
their grandfather settled, and Martin, in Oswego.
Three of Martin's sons are living, viz. : William.
at Meacham's Corners, one mile east of Merdian,
David, near Ira Station, and Martin, in Michigan.
Jacob's children are William I. and Henry, who
live on adjoining farms in Victory.
Jarius Palmer, from Galway, settled about
1810, about a mfle south-west of Ira, adjoining
the farm of Dwight Phelps, where he lived till
his death about four years ago, and where his
47-z

wife Sally still lives, hale and active, though
ninety-two years old.
The first town meeting was held at the house
of Israel Phelps, April 3d. 182 1. and the follow
ing named officers were then elected : Thatcher
I. Ferris, Supervisor; Allen Benton, Clerk;
Chauncey Smith, Henry Perine and Luther
V)arnes, Assessors ; Ezekiel O. Cogswell, Jona
than Hurd and Wm. Townsend, Commissioners
of Highways ; Abraham Willey and Wm. T.
Shearman, Poor Masters ; Ezekiel O. Cogswell,
Collector; Lemuel Austin, Oliver .Stone. Erastus
Strong and Benj. Conger, Constables ; Chauncey
Smith, Israel Phelps and Henry Perine, Commis
sioners of Schools ; Ebenezer Wilcox, Erastus
Strong and Wm. H. Noble, Inspectors of Schools;
Augustus F. Ferris and Wm. H. Noble. Commis
sioners of Gospel and School Lands ; Augustus
F. Ferris. Pound Keeper.
The present town officers are :
Supervisor — Daniel H. Taber.
Clerk — George Terpening.
Justices — Robert W. Cole. Frank Terpening,
Henry VanDusen, George B. Andrews.
Assessors — Ezra Baker, E. F. Jaynes, O. A.
Foote. Commissioner of Highways — E. D. Crownin-
shield. Overseers of the Poor — Henry S. Hunt, Wfl
liam Bradt.
Inspectors of Election — Wilson E. Palmer, El
bert C. Phelps, Wm. A. Wormuth.
Collector — Charles Ferris.
Constables — Emory J. Sweet. John Harris, A.
O. Thayer, A. L. Thayer. Luman C. Goodrich.
Commissioners of Excise — James Terpening,
Jacob Deforest. E. R. Foxon.
The population of the town in 1875 was 2.064;
of whom 1,889 were native ; 175 foreign ; 2,060
white ; and 4 colored. Its area is 21,156 acres;
of which 17.134 are improved ; 3,026 woodland ;
and 996 unimproved.
Cato.
Cato, on the south line, lies partly in this town
and partly in Cato, in connection with which
town it is noted. Here and at Meridian, in the
north edge of Cato, the principal business of the
town centers.

276

TOWN OF IRA.

Ira Center.
Ira Center is a post vfllage of some 150 inhabi
tants, pleasantly situated a little north-west of
the center of the town, about two miles east of
Ira Station and five mfles north-east of Cato.
It contains one church, (Baptist,) a district school,
one hotel, (which was built by Israel Phelps about
fifty-seven years ago, and is kept by Peter Van
Auken, who bought the property of John Wig
gins and W. W. Hooker in Aprfl, 1878,) a cheese
factory, two blacksmith shops, kept by John B,
Smith and Hiram Cossett, one carriage shop,
kept by Michael Burk, three shoe shops, kept by
G. L. M. Arnold, Seklen D. Heath and D. T.
Cook, a harness shop, kept by G. W. Shaw, a
milliner shop, kept by Mrs. PI. L. Downs, and a
tin shop, kept by James McDonald.
The first settlement was made in 1805, by
Thomas Barnes. The Phelpses settled here and
in the vicinity the following year and have ever
since been prominently identified with its growth,
Stephen Pierce settled here about the same
time. Merchants. — The first merchants at Ira
Center were Samuel and Israel Phelps, who
opened a store in 1813, where the Terpening
Brothers' store now stands. Elijah S. Everts
and Bfllings Clapp, uncle of E. D. Clapp, of Au
burn, bought out the Phelpses about 1823, and
kept a store for several years. Andrus P. Pres
ton bought Clapp's interest, and subsequently
that of Everts, but he kept the store only a short
time. William, Jonas, John and Strang Titus, under
the firm name of Titus Brothers, opened a store
a little before Everts and Preston changed, and
did business several years. Jonas died in the
south ; Wflliam went to Locke, and Strang, to
Oswego ; and John continued th« business, tak
ing in Dr. Allen Benton as partner. They built
and kept a distfllery, which burned down after a
short time, and dissolved, Titus selling out to
Calvin Phelps, who kept the store three or four
years, and then closed out and went west.
Campbell & Plollister opened a store where
the post-office now is, which was taken, about
1836 or '7, by Henry R. Garlock, from Auburn,
who kept it about six years and returned to
Auburn. David S. Kellogg and Norman McCausey
opened a third store about 1838, which they kept

some two or three years, when McCausey died,
and Kellogg took in as partner Alpheus G. No-,
ble. They kept it about four years, when Col.
^Levi Lewis bought Kellogg's interest, and kept
it in company with Noble about two years, when
they sold out the goods. Charles Garlock, son
of Plenry R. Garlock, came in from Auburn and
opened a store about 1844, which he kept about
a year, when he returned to Auburn. For a
short time there was no store.
About 1846 Phfllips & Lusk, from Fulton,
opened a store, which stood on the site of the
one kept by Wiggins Bros,, which they kept till
the spring of 1849. This same spring Judah
Pierce, from Cortland, opened a store and kept it
four or five years, when T. West Titus, son of
Wifliam Titus, bought him out, and after a year
removed the goods to Hannibal Center. Soon
after Ingham & Suydam, from the town of Cato,
opened a branch store from the store of William
Smith Ingham at Meridian, and kept it till it
burned, about two years after. The same fall
Henry R. Gariock moved a stock of goods kept
by Edgar Ingham at Westbury, and sold them
for Samuel Phelps in the store now occupied by
the Terpenings, which had been vacant some
years. About this time, or soon after, S. M. Downs
and Chandler M. Cogswell bought that stock and
moved it to the house now occupied by D. T.
Cook, the postmaster. After a short time
Downs bought out Cogswell, and moved the
goods to a building which stood on the lot now
owned by Mrs. George W. Miller. Downs, the
same year, bought the store now occupied by the
Terpening Brothers, which still belongs to his es
tate, and kept a store there till about i860, when
he sold to David VanDusen, who at the opening
of the war, resold to Downs, and went into the
army, where he was killed. Downs continued in
business tifl his death in the spring of 1876.
About 1867 he admitted to partnership his son.
H. L. Downs, who carried on the business about
a year after his father's death, when, in April,
1877, he sold the stock to J. A. & G. Terpening,
who are still engaged in the business.
Immediately after selling to Downs & Cogs
well, Gariock filled up the store he had occupied
with new goods, which he moved about a year
later to the store occupied by Wiggins Bros.,
which was built by Samuel Phelps, Jr., about

IRA CENTER.

277

1856. After two or three years he sold his goods
to John McMaster, from Cato, who kept the store
a short time, till the war broke out, when he sold
out and went into the army. When McMaster
went out, Hiram J. Wood and Ryland Alden put
in a stock of goods. Alden sold his interest to
Wood, who removed the goods to Conquest.
- Lyndon Wooster, from Hannibalvflle, opened
a store in 1867, which he kept only a short time,
till 1 868. Follett & Andrews put in a stock of
goods soon after, and after about two years An
drews sold his interest to James Foflelt, who con
tinued till May, 1878, when he moved his goods
out, and John and George Wiggins, the former
from Victory and the latter from Syracuse, com
menced business, under the name of Wiggins
Bros. Postmasters.— The post-office at Ira Center
was established in 1824, but we were unable to
learn the name of the first postmaster. The
second vvas Elijah S. Everts, who held the office
sixteen years. Dr. Jno. Thompson held the office
from } 84 1-5. The next was Joseph Eari, who
was appointed under Polk's administration, and
held the office fouryears. The next was Benj,
M. Ells, who was succeeded by Samuel Phelps,
the latter of whom held the office but a short
time. Wm. Cogswefl was appointed in 1853.
and held the office two years. He was suc
ceeded by Lewis L. Suydam, who held it only ,
two or three mbnths. when Wm. Cogswell was
again appointed. He was succeeded in 1857, by
H. B. Kenyon, who held the office three years,
when Wm. H. Palmer received the appointment.
but held it only some six months, when he re
signed, and Sihieon M. Downs was appointed.
He was succeeded by Lyndon Wooster, and he
by Chauncy Phelps, who was appointed in 1872,
and resigned in 1873.
. He was succeeded by James Follett, vyho held
the ofifice tifl the spring of 1878, when Darius T.
Cook, the present incumbent, was appointed.
Physicians. — The first physician at Ira Cen
ter, was Jno. Thompson, who practiced from 1825
to 1850, when he removed to Racine, Wis. He
studied with Dr. Allen Benton, who lived two
mfles east. Wm. O. Luce bought out Thomp
son and practiced a few years, when he sold to
W. W. D. Parsons and went to Elbridge. Par
sons remained two or three years and removed
to Fultonyille. James D. Benton succeeded

him about 1859, and after a year or two he sold
to Azariah Judson and went into the artny. Jud
son remained but a short time and was succeeded
by David Monroe, who practiced here from 1865
to 1874. D. O. Blood, the present physician,
immediately succeeded Monroe. He belongs to
the allopathic school of medicine.
Lawyers. — The only lawyer who has favored
the Center with his residence is Geo. W. Miller,
the present practitioner, who commenced in the
spring of 1850, having lived in the town from boy
hood. Manufacturers. — The only manufacturing
establishment at Ira Center is The Ira Cheese and
Butter Factory, which was incorporated February
23d, 1870, with a capital of ^3,000. The first
trustees, as named in the charter, were : Levi
Wormuth, William. Foot, Chauncy Phelps,
Henry Brackett and Simeon M. Downs. They
chose the following named officers : Levi
Wormuth, President ; William Foot, Vice-Presi
dent ; Simeon W, T>owns, Secretary ; and Chaun
cy Phelps, Treasurer. The present trustees
and officers are Levi Wormuth, President; Irvin
Squires, Vice-President ; John Tallmage. John
Phelps, and Chauncy Phelps, the latter of whom
is Secretary and Treasurer.
Thc building is 26 by 100 feet, with an engine
room 14 by 16 feet. It was erected' in 1870.
Seven cheese of fifty-eight pounds each are
made daily.
Churches. — The first church at Ira Center,
and the first one in the town was Congregational
in denomination, and was organized July 7th, 1807,
by Rev. Francis Pomeroy. Rev. Silas Barnes
was the first pastor. This church is not now
in existence. <
The Baptist Church of Ira was organized
in March, 1836, with forty-three members, most
of whom were dismissed from the church in
Cato. Elder Ira Dudley became their pastor at
or soon after their organization. Their numbers
were nearly doubled during the first year of their
existence, and during this year they commenced
the erection of a house of worship, which was
opened in 1837. In the latter year their first
general revival was experienced, by which eighty-
three were added by baptism and letter. Elder
Dudley's pastorate covered a period of two years.
He was succeeded by William H. Delano, ali-
centiate, who entered upon his, labors in .1838

278

TOWN OF IRA.

arid was afterwards ordained pastor. During the
second year of his pastorate a revival was en
joyed, by which thirteen were added to their
number. Delano continued to serve them till
1840, when he was succeeded by H. G. Degol-
yer, who remained one year, and was succeeded
by M. Waters, who remained a like period. J.
S. Everingham succeeded to the pastorate in
1843, and remained till 1847.
During the period from 1840 to 1847, the
church was sorely rent by divisions caused by
the discussions of questions connected with the
political actions of their pastors and other mem
bers, and their number was reduced from one
hundred and forty-three to twenty-two. But in
January, 1847, these diflficulties were healed by
the assistance of a council convened for that
purpose, and in the spring of that year the
labors of Henry B. Kenyon were secured and
retained tfll 1849.
In their letter to the association in 1849. they
write :
' " Since vve last represented ourselves we have
enjoyed the labors of H. B. Kenyon a part of
the time, and for the last three months the
labors of Elder E. Robbins. We are now destitute
of a pastor, and most earnestly desire the prayers
of brethren that we may be kept from dishonor
ing the cause of Christ. We are at peace among
ourselves." Elder Kenyon again became their pastor
in 1850, and died June 28th, 185 1. The
pulpit vvas supphed till 1852, in which year Jud
son Davis was called and served them eight
years. In 1854 repairs were made on the
church and a bell was bought. Elder Fuller
succeded to the pastorate in 1859, and served
them one year, resigning the charge January
1st, i860. He was followed by Elder Wig
gins, who served them two years, tfll 1862, when
Elder PI. B. Garfield was cafled and remained a
like period, having baptized twelve and admitted
two by letter. Elder Phfllips was the pastor in
1864. He was succeeded in 1865 by Elder
Greene, who continued his labors with them until
1869. During the year 1870 their bouse of worship
was repaired, and a new organ bought. The pul
pit was supplied by different pastors. In 1871
Elder Ira Dudley was called to the pastorate.
He served them most of the time for four years.
Elder Cross served them either as pastor or sup

ply in 1874 ; and from that time tfll November
2d, 1877, when the present pastor, Rev. C. F.
Whitcomb, of Syracuse, was called, the pulpit was
supplied by Revs. M. Hewitt. Mallory, Robin
son, Smith, Tollman and others.
In the winter of 1878, under the charge ofthe
present pastor, a revival was experienced by
which a large number were converted and nine
added to the membership by baptism. The pres
ent number of members is 43.
Bethel Corners.
Bethel Corners (p. o.) is a hamlet of about sev
enty-five inhabitants, in the north-west corner of
the town. It contains a church. (M. E.) but no
business establishments, neither store, nor hotel.
There was formerly a small tannery in opera
tion here, but it was discontinued some six years
ago. It was built about fifty years ago by Sam
uel Andrews, who run it some ten years, when
he sold it to his son, George B. Andrews, who
still owns it. The capital invested in raw mate
rial never exceeded g 1,000, but considerable tan
ning was done on shares.
The first settler at Bethel Corners vvas Daniel
Thomas. Thc next was Samuel Andrews, whose
son, Geo. B. Andrews, still lives there.
Merchants. — The first store at Bethel Cor
ners was started by Harrison Pollay. about fif
teen years ago. He continued it about three
years and rented it to Chauncey Stewart, who
kept it about a year. It was next kept by John
DeForest, who bought it and after about a year
sold it to Thomas D. Wands, who kept it about
six months and sold to Mason Andrews, who
buflt a larger store, which was burned about four
months after. Newton G. Phelps opened a store
in 1871, and in 1872 he buflt a new store. He
did business here in all five years. He rented
the building and sold his stock to John W. Gui-
der, who kept store about a year, when he sold
his goods to a man in Auburn, who removed
them /.o that place. There has been no store
kept here since.
Postmasters,— The first post-master at Beth
el Corners was Edwin C. Holcomb, who held
the office some six or eight years. He was suc
ceeded about ten years ago by George B. An
drews, who stfll holds the ofifice and distributes
the mafl in his house.
Bethel M. E. Church, at Bethel Corners, was

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.

279

organized in 1828, by Rev. Geo. W. Densmore,
with nine members, viz : Samuel Andrews, and
Margaret his wife. Lois Andrews, his mother,
Geo. B. Andrews, his son, Eliza Andrews, his
daughter, Mrs. Maria Follett, Mrs. Abram Wil
liams, and  Kinney and wife, of whom only
Geo. B. Andrews and Maria Follett are living.
Revs. Geo. W. Densmore and W. Ninde were
the first pastors on this circuit, for two years.
The present pastor is Olin Webster, who com
menced his labors October 1st, 1877. Their
church edifice was buflt about twenty-six years
ago. The present membership is about seventy ;
and the attendance at Sabbath school, about
twenty. Ira Station.
Ira Station, on the S. C. R. R.. is on the west
line, two miles west of Ira Center. There is
nothing here but the depot.
Manufactures, — One-half mfle west of Ira
Center is a saw-mill. -owned by W. H. Carr and
James Follett, and built in 1848, by Samuel
Phelps, Jr., and Samuel Sturge. In 1870, new
machinery was put in and a stave machine add
ed. The motive power is furnished by a thir
ty-six horse-power engine. Its capacity is 5.000
feet of lumber per day.
In the south part of the town, about midway
on the road between Cato and Meridian, is a
cheese-factory owned by Abial Cook. It was
started by a stock company about six years ago
and run by them about two years, when it came
into the hands of Abial Cook, who vvas the prin
cipal stock-holder. Three cheese only are made
per day.

BIOGI[APHICAL SKETCHES.

GEORGE R. RICH.
George R. Rich is the sixth child of John
and Sarah (Eastman) Rich, who were natives of
Connecticut, both of whom were born about the
year 1778. His father was a farmer, and brick-
maker by trade. In 1802, his parents moved
from Connecticut, and settled in Fort Ann, Wash
ington county, N. Y,, where his father resided
untfl his death, which occurred in 1821.

George R. was born in Fort Ann, in, 1809, and
in the year 1834, came with his mother to Ira,
Cayuga County, where, in 1869, she passed from
earthly life at the advanced age of ninety-one
years. The subject of this brief sketch had but a few
advantages for an early education. He worked
for neighboring farmers by the day and month
during the summers, and attended the district
schools winters, until he was eighteen years of
age. He followed farming, and employed his
leisure time in preparing himself for his profes
sion, that ofthe law, until the year 1843. but
he was admitted to practice in the County courts
in 1842. In 1843 he went into the ofifice of Judge
Humphries, at that time one of the ablest jurists
in the State, where he studied until 1848. He
was admitted to practice in all the courts that
year, and has been concerned in the adjustment
of many intricate suits which called into requisi
tion great powers of mind, and the exercise of
superior judgment.
Few have passed through the vicissitudes at
tending a long practice of the profession with
more honor, and given more general satisfaction
to both plaintiff and defendant. Being of an
iron constitution he still retains much of that
buoyancy of spirit which characterized his youth
ful days.
In 1859 he was appointed by Gov. Morgan,
Loan Commissioner for the County of Cayuga,
which ofifice he held for about eight years
Pie has by rigid economy and close application
to his business accumulated a competency which
will tend to smooth life's rugged pathway down
through old age. His house has ever been an
asylum for the needy who were thought worthy,
and no one was ever turned away empty. In
politics Mr. Rich was a Democrat in his earlier
life, but after the formation of the Republican
party he voted with and worked for the interests
of the latter till the nomination of Horace Gree-
ly in 1872, since which time he has voted for the
"best man" in his judgment, at every election,
regardless of party. P"or many years he was a
member and a liberal supporter of the Baptist
church, but now attends the Disciples' church. ¦
Onthe 23d of April, 1834, he was joined in
marriage to Margaret Ann (Wood) Wallace,
daughter of Ruloff and Maria (Van Alstine)
Wood, of Montgomery county. Her mother is
yet living and is a member of Mr. Rich's family.
Her age is 87 years.
They have raised a large famfly of children, of
whom they have reason to feel proud, and have
given them a good education, at the same time
instflling in their minds the value of industry and
economy. Their names are here given in the
order of their births ; Frank, now a promi
nent and successful attorney at Cato, N. Y., who
was born February 3d, 1835, and married Frances

280

TOWN OF IRA.

W. Petty, June 15th, 1859; Letitia, who was
born September 28th, 1836, married Stephen
,01msted, October 28th, 1855, and died Septem
ber 6th, 1869; Margaret A., who was born Octo
ber 30th, 1838, and married Doctor James Ben
ton, November loth, 1853 ; George A., who was
born November 15th, 1841, and married Julia
Tucker March 21st, 1865 ; Mary C.who was born
February 26th, 1844, and married Arthur W.
Tucker October i8th, 1864; John E.,who was
born July i8th, 1846, and married Mary Flagler,
August loth, 1867 ; Gratie, who was born Feb
ruary I Ith, 1849, and died September 25th, 1850 ;
Charles L., who was born July 26th, 1852, and
died Aprfl 14th, 1855 ; Charles, who was born
June 17th, 1857, and is now preparing himself
for the law with his brother Frank.

ROBERT JOHNSON.
Robert Johnson is the third son of Edward
Johnson, a native of Grimsby, England, who
came to America and settled on lot 45, in the
town of Ira, Cayuga County, in the year 18 16.
Edward Johnson was a cabinet maker by trade,
but followed farming in this country. He mar
ried Ann Clayton, in England, about the year
1796. There were born to them twelve children.
,He died Aprfl 9th, 1843, aged 71 years, and his
wife died July ist. 1855. in her 84th year.
Robert came with his father to this country.
He was left in Albany, when the family were on
their way to Cayuga County, and there he worked
at his trade of brass moulder for about six months.
He then went to his father's in Ira. going the en
tire distance on foot. He worked with his father
on the farm about three years, then went to Phil
adelphia. Pa., where he was employed about one
year by his brother, the late Lawrence Johnson.
.Esq., who was an extensive type manufacturer.
He returned to the home of his father and re
mained there, employed on the farm, until 1829.
On the 1st of January, 1829, he was married to
Mary M. Earl, daughter of Reuben and Susan
(Cary) Earl. For eight years after their mar
riage they lived in a house on his father's farm.
He then purchased ninety acres of land on lot
3 1, and has added by purchase from time to time
untfl his farm now contains 165 acres.
They had two children. The elder. Charlotte,
was born October 14th, 1829. This daughter,
from the age of ten years, was an invalid till her
death, which, occurred November 3d, 1877.
The second child, Lucy S., was born Decem
ber 8th, 1841. She was united in marriage with
C. Walcott Burritt, January 20th, 1863.
Mr. Johnson has been Overseer of the Poor in
his town, and held the office of Excise Commis
sioner for twelve years. He has settled many
estates.

In politics he is a staunch Republican.
Robert Johnson Burritt, son of C. W. and
Lucy Burritt, was born May 20th, 1874.

JOHN TURNER KNAPP.
John Turner Knapp is the second child of
Uz and Abigail (Sherman) Knapp. His fa
ther was born in Vermont and his mother in Con
necticut. They moved from Vermont and set
tled in the town of Moreau, Saratoga county, N.
Y., about the year 1797. They remained there,
his father following the trade of shoemaker, untfl
1 8 10, when they removed further west, to the
town of Cato, Cayuga County. His father here
was engaged in the manufacture of boots and
shoes and leather until his death, which occurred
in the year 18 16, one year after the death of his
wife, in 181 5. There were born to them five
children, viz.: Sallie, JohnT., Abigail, Betsey and
Mary, all of whom are now dead, except John
T.,who was born May 19th, 1802. in the town
of Moreau, Saratoga county, and came with his
parents to Cato. As soon as his strength would
permit he was put into service in his father's tan
nery grinding bark, and when not employed in
that capacity he was engaged in fitting boots and
shoes, and at the time of his father's death, being
only fourteen years old, he was so skillful as to be
able to make and finish a pair of boots or shoes
in a manner nearly equal to that of some of the
best workmen in his father's employ.
The facilities for obtaining an education were
meager in those times and young Knapp was able
to attend school only during the winter months,
which he did with the exception of one year, up
to 1 8 16, about eighteen months all told. After
his father's death he lived with his half brother
for about two years, working summers at his
trade and going to school winters. In the year
1818, being anxious to finish his trade of tanner
and currier, he went to Oswego and engaged
with Shopley & Card, with whom he remained a
little more than one year.
In 1820 he went to what was then Cato, now
Victory, Cayuga County, and was engaged there
from that time untfl 1854, in the manufacture of
leather, boots and shoes and lumber, owning and
operating a steam saw-mill, and carrying' on a
general country store.
In 1853 he was elected sheriff of the County.
Owing to the sudden death of Sheriff Fancher, Mr.
Knapp was appointed December 7th. 1853, by
Governor Seymour to fill the unexpired term of
Mr. Fancher, and moved to Auburn and took
possession of the County building on the first
of January, 1854.
In the spring of 1858 Mr. Knapp moved to
the village of Cato, where he how resides, and

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.

281

engaged in farming, which business he has fol
lowed up to the present time.
In politics Mr. Knapp was a Free Soil Demo
crat until the adoption of the Buffalo Platform
by the followers of Martin Van Buren, and upon
the formation of the Republican party he joined
its ranks and has ever been an earnest supporter
of its principles and objects. During the late
war he was a special detective for two years,
having received his appointment from the Pro
vost-Marshal-General. About this time he was
appointed by Governor Seymour to thc position
of recruiting agent for thc station at Auburn.
Mr. Knapp has also held other offices of trust
and responsibility, among which may be named
that of postmaster at Victory for fifteen years.
and Justice of the Peace for the same length of
time and at the same place.
In 1823 he was joined in marriage to Thcoda,
daughter of John and Theoda (Hunt) Newcomb,
of Cayuga County. She was born in Lebanon.
now Columbia. Conn., in 1805. She died F'eb
ruary 19th, 1874. She was a pure-minded, large-
hearted. Christian woman, with malice towards
none and charity for all, and loved and honored
by all who enjoyed the favor of her acquaintance.
There have been born to them ten children,
named in the order of their birth : Submit Jeru-
sha, born March 20th, 1824, died December 19th,
1840; John N., born November 3d. 1826 ; Lo-
vinia Eliza, born May 26th, 1828. died February
26th, 1829 ; James G.. born November 26th.
1830; Edward N., born September 6th, 1832,
who was a Captain in 52d Illinois infantry, and
killed at the battle of Shiloh April 7th, 1862,
Harriette E., born March 25th, 1835, died Jan
uary 28th, 1861, wife of Dr. Plenry Parker;
Charles H., born January 12th. 1837 ; Theoda
Abigafl, born August lOth, 1838 ; Dwight B..
born Aprfl 12th, 1840, died December i6th, 1840;
George P., born March 4th, 1842.

C. BURTON SPRAGUE.
C. Burton Sprague was born in Ira Novem
ber 5th, 1830. He is the youngest chfld of
Parmenas and Christina Sprague. His father
was born in Saratoga county October i6th,
1781. Plis father was married three times. His
first wife. Rebecca Nobles, was born February
19th, 1787. They married February 14th, 1804.
She died December 2d, 1807. By this wife he
had three daughters.
His second wife, Mary A. Potter, was born
July 4th, 1787 ; married April 30th. 1809. She
died October 9th, 1828. By her he had seven
children — five giris and two boys. His third
wife, Christina, was born November 12th, 1796.
They were married December 17th, 1829. She
48-2

died November 13th. 1873. The subject of this
sketch is the result of this union. His father
came to this County about the year 1806. and
settled on lot 20 in the town of Ira. He pur
chased 100 acres of land and resided upon it un
til his death, which occurred June nth, 1871, at
the advanced age of nearly ninety years.
C. B, Sprague lived at home with his father
until he was seventeen years old ; then worked
out two years by the month. He attended the
district school till he was fourteen, and after that
time had no schooling except three terms that he
attended in the Academy at Red Creek, Wayne
county, when he was twenty years of age. He
then taught school two winters. After that he
worked land on-shares and burned lime. Then
he purchased the old homestead of his brother,
at that time containing forty-eight acres of land.
and in addition to that fifty acres adjoining. Pie
has added from time to time by purchase till now
his farm contains 146 acres. He is still residing
on that place.
October i6th, 1853, he married Miss Eliza
beth D. Campbell, daughter of William and Polly
Campbell, of the village of Cato. There have
been born to them four children, three of whom
are living, as follows : Emma L, born January
9th, 1855; Clara E., born January 31st, 1859;
and Willie Burt, born February Sth. 1869, In-
politics Mr. Sprague is a staunch Republican.
He is a member of the Baptist church in Ira, was
clerk of that church for many years, and for
eleven years was the Superintendent of its Sun
day school. Mr. Sprague has been successful in
life, notwithstanding that for many years he has
been afflicted with a partial faflure of his eye
sight. He is a self-made man, and all that he is
or has in this world he owes to his own energy
and talents. A view of his beautiful home may
be seen on another page of this work.

CHAPTER XXXIV.-
Town of Conquest.

CONQUEST lies upon the west border of the
County, north of the center, and is bound
ed on the north by Victory, on the east by Cato,
on the south by Seneca River, and on the west
by Wayne county. It is the south-west quarter
of the township of Cato, or No. 3 of the Military
Tract, from which it was erected March i6th,
1821. Its name commemorates the victory
achieved by those who favored a division of the
town of Cato over those who opposed it.

282

TOWN OF CONQUEST.

The surface is gently rolling, being broken by
low ridges extending from north to south. It
has considerable waste land, in the swamps and
marshes which extend along the river forming
the southern boundary, and along the course of a
small stream which runs through the town from
north to south a little west of the center. Duck
Lake, in the north-west part, is about a mile in
diameter. It is fed by springs within and upon its
border, having no inlet, and contains an abund
ance of fish, principally bass. Six thousand trout
were introduced into it in the spring of 1878.
It is underlaid by red shale, which, from the
depth of alluvium and soil, is exposed in but few
places. A deposit of gypsum four feet in thick
ness exists on Howland's Island, nearly forty feet
below the level of Seneca River. The soil con
sists of a sandy and gravelly loam, intermixed
with clay, interspersed with tracts of rich and
fertile arable and grass lands.
The population of the town in 1875 was 1,727;
of whom 1,607 were native. 120 foreign, 1,723
white, and 4 colored.
The town covers an area of 22,369 acres ; of
which 15,895 are improved, 3,831 woodlands, and
2,643 otherwise unimproved.
The first settlements in the town were made
in 1800, by George Snyder, a Revolutionary sol
dier and a bachelor, from Schoharie county, and
Israel Wolverton, from Tompkins county, the
former of whom settled on lot 37, where he died
some fifty years ago, and the latter, on lot 4,
where he died some fifty-five years ago. Amos
Wolverton, a son of the latter, who was born in
1803. was the first child born in the town.
Further settlements were made in 1802 by
James Perkins and his sons Gilbert. Ira, Jere
miah, who was a surveyor, and John, from Onon
daga county, on lot 3. In 1840 James Perkins
built the first frame house, which was torn down
twenty-two years ago, and stood on the site of
the house now owned by Chauncey McDan-
iels. Caroline, a daughter of John Perkins, (now
Mrs. Chauncey McDaniels,) is the only descend
ant of the Perkinses now living in the town.
James Perkins died November 22d, 18 13, aged
seventy years, and Tryphena, his wife, January
26th, 1828, aged seventy-three years. Gilbert,
who contracted the first marriage with Betsey
Snyder, died July 3d, 1824, aged forty-seven ;
and John, who taught the first school at Con

quest Center in 1807, and who was a captain in
the war of 181 2, being stationed at Sacketts
Harbor, was born August 21st, 1774, and died
January 17th, 1828. Ephraim Wetherell, from
Tompkins county, settled on lot 4 in 1802, and
the following year he opened the first tavern. It
was built of logs and stood on the farm now oc
cupied by David Anthony, two mfles south of
Conquest Center. He died February 23d, 1849,
aged seventy-six. Theophilus and Clement B.
Emerson also settled this year, the former on lot
27, and the latter on lot 15. The Emersons were
brothers. They took up a tract of land and went
to Galen, in Wayne county, and chopped wood
for the salt works there to earn money to pay for
it. Both died in the town, the former November
14th, 1863, aged eighty-six, and the latter, who
was born March ist, 1785, July 28th, 1849.
Lewis and Richard Emerson, sons of Theophi
lus, are living in the town. The chfldren of Cle
ment B. Emerson, moved to Michigan some thirty
years ago.
In 1805 Dijar Wilcox, from Saratoga county,
.settled on lot 74 ; and Wm. McCollam and John
Crowell, from Newburgh, on lot 77, about two
and one-fourth miles north of the Center. Crow
ell located where his son Jacob now lives. He
erected the first saw-mill, about sixty years ago,
on Duck Lake outlet. It was a small affair, and
never did much, the outlet affording but a slight
fall. William Crowell, a brother of John, and
brother-in-law of McCollam, settled on lot 77 in
1807. McCollam died January 22d. 1855, aged
eighty-one, John Crowell died February 26th,
1831, aged forty-eight; and William, February
24th, 1842, aged sixty-nine.
Wm. and Phflarider Phinney, and their father,
all of whom were blacksmiths, came from Sara
toga county in 18 12, and settled at Conquest
Center. James Bennett, a German, from N.J,,
settled about half a mile north of Conquest Cen
ter the same year.
John and Philip Snyder, brothers of George
Snyder, came in from Schoharie county about
18 1 5, and settled about midway between Con- •
quest Center and Spring Lake, on the farm novv
owned by Henry Moore. Philip brought in his
family, consisting of his wife and seven children,
only two of the latter of whom, viz : William
and Margaret, are now living in the town, diago
nally opposite where their father settled.

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CONQUEST CENTER.

283

In 1817, Samuel Campbefl settled on lot 78,
where his son, Samuel B. Campbell, now lives ;
Philo Collins, father of Myron Collins, on lot 4,
and five years thereafter removed to the farm on
which he lived and died; and Daniel Wolford, a
native of Albany, came at the age of two years,
and is now living on lot 79 in this town.
Hiram J. Lake, a surveyor, was born in Litch
field county. Conn., in 18 18, and in 1822 moved
to Conquest, where he is now living on lot 90.
L. H. Ballard moved into the town of Mentz in
1822, and was assessor there six years. He re
moved to Conquest, where he was justice of the
peace eleven years and supervisor three years.
He was supervisor in Victory one year, and jus
tice of the peace three years.
Town Officers, — The first town meeting of
Conquest was held at the house of I. V. R. Per
kins, pursuant to an act of the Legislature,
passed March i6th, 1821, and the following
named officers were elected : William Crowell,
Supervisor; I. V. R. Perkins. Clerk; Joseph I.
Chase, Theophilus Emerson and Ephraim Weth
erell, Assessors ; Isaiah Cortright, Collector ; Wil
liam McCollam, Theophilus Emerson and I. V.
R. Perkins, Commissioners of Highivays ; The
ophilus Emerson, Overseer of the Poor ; Ephraim
Wetherell and Enos Wetherell, Constables; Isaiah
Cortright and Benjamin Osgood, Commissioners
of Common Schools ; Samuel Campbell, I. V. R.
Perkins, Joseph I. Chase and Josiah Houghton,
Inspectors of Common Schools ; and Benoni Har-
risj William Crowell and Theophilus Emerson,
Commissioners of Gospel and School Lands.
The town officers in 1878 were : Matthew Plun
ter, Supervisor; William H. S\acV, Clerk; P. D.
Blass, Assessor; Grover Lane, Commissioner ;
William Thomas, Town Auditor; R. Hutchins
and Samuel Townsend, Overseers of the Poor ;
George W. p-uller, Henry S. Wendover, John
H. Blakeman, George Presho and Willie Winne-
gar. Constables; Alfred P. Thompson, Game
Constable; George Parsell, H. C. Slack, Mat
thias Huffman and W. B. Priddy, Justices.
Conquest Center.
Conquest Center (Conquest p. o.) is situated
about the center of the town, six miles north
west of Port Byron, with which it is connected
by daily stage, and five miles south-west of Cato,
on the Southern Central R. R. It contains two

churches, (M. E. and Protestant Methodist,) one
district school, one hotel, (of which Lawrence J.
Lindsley, from Ira, became proprietor May ist,
1878,) two stores, one wagon shop, (of which
John VanAuken is proprietor,) and one black
smith shop, of which George Parsell and Henry
Blakeman are proprietors. It has a population
of seventy-five or eighty.
The first settlement in this locality was made
in 1802, by James Perkins and his four sons, as
previously stated. It is pleasantly situated, and
is surrounded by a country sufificiently fertile to
render a generous return for the care and energy
of the husbandman. It lies in the midst of an
industrious and thrifty community of farmers, to
whom the practical and really useful are held of
greater importance than the ornate or the beau
tiful. Merchants. — The first merchant at Conquest
Center was Jonathan P. Davis, who opened a
store, in 1824, but remained only three years.
He was succeeded by Seth Sheldon, who bought
his stock of goods, and who, in the winter of 1826.
started an ashery on the lot owned by Sarah A.
Cook. Sheldon was born in the east part of the
County, near the line between Brutus and Sen
nett, whence he came to this town. He likewise
kept the store only about three years. The third
merchant was Albert Crane, who remained some
twelve years ; and next after him was Asahel
Mundy, who remained two or three years and
removed to Seneca Falls. Henry J. Wilcox and
 Worthington bought out Mundy in 1845.
and dissolved partnership and discontinued, in
1847. David Horton started a second store in 1844.
In 1849 he sold his store and goods to Enos
Wetherell, who continued about two years, when
he sold to Joseph Gifford, who removed the store
and goods about a mile and a half south of the
village. Gifford was a blacksmith, and his wife
tended the store. After four or five years he
removed to the west part of the State, and the
store, which was subsequently converted into a
dwefling, stood till the spring of 1878. Wm. C.
Hardenbergh was the next merchant in the vil
lage. He was succeeded by Henry Follett, A.
P. Crowell, and George Stone. The latter died
after three or four years, after which his wife car
ried on the business tfll burned out some ten
years ago. A store was kept after this by a Mr.

284

TOWN OF CONQUEST.

Shedd, from an eastern county in this State, by
Peter Plood, and by Abraham Van Pelt, neither
of whom remained long. Van Pelt sold to David
C. Horton, who continued six years, and in the
spring of 1877, sold to the present occupants,
Velie Mead and Frank E. Davis, who keep a
general stock such as is usually kept in a country
store. Plorton removed to Michigan.
About a year ago Plenry J. Lake opened a
small grocery, which he still keeps.
There is no manufacturing establishment in
the vfllage; but about half a mile north is a saw-mfll
owned by Eugene Olmstead, who moved in from
Mentz, his native town, and has carried on the
business some eight or ten years. The first mill
in this locality was built by Henry Switzer some
fifty years ago. It was the second saw-mfll in
the town, and stood near the site of the present
one. Physicians. — The first physician in Conquest
Center was Dr. Nathan Wood, who joined the
County Medical Society August 4th, 1808, and
practiced here a good many years. He died
October 6lh, 1824, aged forty-two years. After
Wood's death John Jakway, who resided at Cato,
practiced here, making the circuit on horse-back.
For several years there was no resident physi
cian here. Alvah Randall, from Massachusetts,
commenced the practice of medicine here fifty-
one years ago, and remained ten or twelve years.
He was succeeded by Eleazer R. Palmer, from
the eastern part of this State, about 1839, Janu
ary 3d of which year bq joined the County Med
ical Society. He died here January 28th, 1852,
aged forty-one years. Plis widow stfll lives here.
He was succeeded by his brother-in-law, George
Washington Reynolds, the present and only phy
sician in the village, who studied medicine with
Dr. Palmer, and joined the County Medical So
ciety January 17th, 1867.
Postmasters. — The first post-master was
Benjamin Osgood ; the present one is Dr. Geo.
W. Reynolds.
Hotels. — The present hotel was built by
Isaiah Cortright fifty-two years ago. Cortright
kept the hotel a number of years, and was the
first hotel-keeper in the vfllage.
Churches. — One of the first preachers in this
locality was Manonah Harris, who settled near
Conquest Center abbut sixty years ago, long be
fore there was any church organized here. He

used to go on a circuit with his saddle bags, in
one of which he carried his Bible, and in the
other such things as he needed on the journey.
The Protestant Methodist Church, at
Conquest Center, was organized about 1831, by
Rev. Joshua Beebe.who was the first settled pas
tor. Prominent among the first members were,
David Plorton, Timothy and Martin Beebe,
brothers of Joshua, the pastor, Amasa T. and
Burt Currier, brothers, John S. Horton and wife,
Paulina, and James and Simon Haley. For the
first two years meetings were held in the school-
house. At the expiration of that time their
church edifice, the one now in use, was buflt by
David Horton, who furnished and drew all the
timber, had it hewed, and supplied all the money
used in its construction. It cost about ;^ 1,600,
which sum was mostly reimbursed to Mr. Plorton.
It was repaired at an expense of some ;^200
about twelve years ago. Mr. Beebe continued
the pastorate about eight or ten years. The pres
ent pastor is Rev. John Forbes, who has performed
the duties of that ofifice a little less than a year.
The present membership of the church is about
one hundred ; the attendance at Sabbath School,
about forty.
The M. E. Church, at Conquest Center, was
organised about 1843 or '44, by Rev. H. Madi
son. John Hamilton and Jacob Struble were
among the first members. The first pastor vvas
Rev. Wflliam Castle, who remained two years.
Other pastors of this church were, Revs. Alden,
Peleg Barker, Marclius Rowe, D. E. Davis,
Isaac Harris,  Phillips, William J. Mills,
Richard Clark, Calvin Connell, and the present
one Wflliam N. Sharp. Their church was built
about twenty-five years ago. It is now under
going extensive repairs, which will cost about
^1,800. The present number of members is
about ninety, and the attendance at Sabbath
School, about fifty.
The Society met with the Protestant Metho
dists, as a Union Church, until some misunder
standing arose, which resulted in a separation and
the building of the present church.
Spring Lake.
Spring Lake (p. o.) was formeriy known as
Pineville, which name it derived from the pine
forests which, at an eariy day, covered the locality,
pine being the principal timber in this immediate

I I

£>

Residence oI^ ESTHER HARRIS, Conquest Center, Gayuga Co. N.Y.

Residence of ROBERTC.WILCOX,Conquest Center, Cayuga Co. N.Y.

SPRING LAKE.

285

section when the first settlements were made.
The name was changed in the spring of 1874,
when thc post-office was established here. It is
an attractive little village of ninety-five inhabi
tants, pleasantly situated on Duck Lake outlet,
which is, however, of little hydraulic importance.
It contains one church, (Prot. Meth.,) one hotel,
(the Spring Lake PIouse, which was buflt about
185 1, by Pliram Worden, who kept it about nine
teen months, and has been kept for fourteen
years by bis nephew, George K. Worden, the
present proprietor, who bought the property of
Alfred Disbrow,) one store, two blacksmith shops,
(kept by Jacob White and Daniel Palmer,) two
pump factories, one tin shop, (kept by Frank
Garity and David Wickham,) and one milliner
shop, which is kept by Miss Allie Reynolds.
Merchants, — The present merchant at Spring
Lake is D. E. White, who came in from Rens
selaer county, and has kept the store about
twelve years. He is also the postmaster, an
office he has held for four years, having been
appointed when the post-office was established
here. Physicians. — The first physician was Dr.
Wm. Thomas, who came from Butler Center in
the spring of 1849, and has since practiced here.
He belongs to the botanic school of medicine.
The only other physician is Charles S. Stocking,
an allopath, who ;came from Red Creek about ten
years ago.
Manufacturers. — There are two establish
ments for tbe manufacture of wooden section
pumps. One is owned by Henry Curren, who
came in from Port Bay, north of Wolcott, about
twenty-eight years ago, and has been engaged in
the business about twenty years ; thc other by
Frank Garity, who has been engaged in the busi
ness about twelve years.
The Protestant Methodist Church, at
Spring Lake, was organized in 1853, by Rev.
Nathan R. Swift, the first pastor. Some of the
first members were Charles Frost and wife,
Peter Thompson and wife, Jacob White, Archi
bald Forbes and wife, and Timothy Beebe.
Swift served a pastorate of two or three years.
and was succeeded by Revs. James Smith. 
Ballou, Ira H. Hogans and  Ellis. Swift
again became the pastor, remaining this time five
years, and was succeeded by his brother Philip,

the present pastor, five years ago. Their house
of worship was built in 1855, and in 1875 it was
moved back, enlarged and remodeled, nothing
but the old frame being used, at an expense of
;^3,8oo. It wfll seat about 300 persons. The
present number of members is 140. The attend
ance at Sabbath school is about 100,
Spring Lake Temperance Society was or
ganized in December, 1877. Edson H. Marvin
was elected President; Plenry Curren, Vice-
President; and Wm. Thomas, Secretary. It has
a membership of 120; but does not hold regular
meetings. Among the early settlers at Spring Lake was
Jason Goodell, who owned at one time about
seventy-five acres of the village site. He is now
living in the north part of the town.
" The Pepper Mill." — In the south-east cor
ner of the town isahamlet, which is locally known
as The Pepper Mill. Theophilus Emerson, one
of the first settlers, and probably the first in that
locality, built a small grist-mill there at a very
early day, and ground corn in small quantities
for the settlers. This mill, which is still standing
on the farm now owned by Lewis Emerson, a
son of Theophilus, was built in 18 10, and was the
first grist-mill erected in the town. It was and
is still known as The Pepper Mill, a name derived,
says one authority, from its diminutive size, and
by another, from the fact that at first a store was
kept in it. Previous to the erection of this mill
the settlers carried their grists to Springport, the
journey being made by way of Seneca River and
Cayuga Lake, and occupying four days. A canoe
capable of holding sixty bushels of grain, was
constructed by their joint efforts, and in this the
grists of the whole neighborhood were conveyed.
" In 1813, John P'ilkins took a load of wheat to
Albany, and was obliged to sell the wheat and
one horse to defray the expenses of the jour
ney."* Among the first settlers in this locality were
famflies named Slayton and Lucas, descendants
of both of which are now living in the- town.
There is in the locality known as The Pepper
Mill, a Christian church, a small store, owned by
Wm. S. Freer, two blacksmith shops, owned by
Leonard Rickard and  Beach, a wagon shop,
owned by Wm. Wflson, and some fifty inhab
itants. * Ca%ett(er and Business Directory of Cayuga County, 1868.

286

TOWN OF CONQUEST.

PIowland's Island.
Howland's Island, in Seneca River, has the
general form of a parallelogram, is nine and a
half miles in circumference and contains between
3,000 and 4,000 acres, one-third of which is
swampy and submerged during high water. It
derives its name from Humphrey Howland, who
acquired the title to it by buying soldiers' scrip
for nominal sums, and took possession of it about
1 823-'4. Previous to Howland's connection with
it, it was known as Walnut or Hickory Island,
and was occupied and improved by families of
squatters named Stone, Spfller, Hyde, Butterfield,
Campbell, Herrick, Woodward, Phaddock, Har
ris and Springstead, there being two families by
the latter name. They had established them
selves as a colony and built houses and a school-
house, supposing that no one owned the island.
They were forced to yield to PIowland's superior
claims, and, though each was paid something for
the improvements made by him, they relinquished
with reluctance the possessions which years of
privation and toil had secured, and which they
had fondly hoped to leave as a heritage to their
families. Harris, who was a minister, preached,
taught school, did the cobbling, and made him
self the useful man of the island.
" In 1804 the job of clearing four hundred acres
of land was let to * * * John A. Taylor,
Crandall, Giles, Adam Cuykendall, Z. Wackman,
James Hamilton, Jonathan Vaughn, Martin
Harker, Daniel Walling and his father Jeremiah
Walling, two Mc Wetheys and Daniel Size.
These men took the job by contract, clearing
from ten to fifty acres each. This was a great
enterprise for this part of the country at that
time, but the echoing click of a hundred axes told
that the island, instead of being a haunt for game,
must soon be covered with fields of waving grain.
The next year found the work of clearing off
well done. Great elms and maples and mighty
oaks had been felled and piled in windrows ; none
were spared for any purpose. The whole mass
was as dry as tinder and a sufficient number of
men were employed to fire it at one time. Dur
ing the day the smoke was seen for fifty miles
around, and at night the blaze lit up the country
for the same distance. The sight was magnifi
cent and grand beyond description. The heat
was so intense that men and cattle were driven
into the swamps and into the river even, and it
ruined fields of green oats a great distance away.
" The first crop of grain on this four hundred
acres told ofthe richness of the soil. Ten thous

and bushels of wheat were taken from the first
clearing the first season."*
Mr. Howland was accustomed to entrust the
care and management of the island to individuals,
who farmed it on shares. The first manager was
John Adams Taylor, now living at an advanced
age near the south line of Mentz, who took
charge of the island April loth, 1826, and con
ducted its affairs with marked success. As Mr.
Taylor was taking his share of the pigs home from
the island, the scow, which was used in making the
passage, struck a snag in the middle of the river
and precipitated the whole cargo into the stream.
The pigs finally made their way to the shore and
after some difficulty were driven home. Taylor
was succeeded the next year by Wm. Toll, a
blacksmith, who lost his wife on the island
by fever, and gave up the management at the
end of the first year, without adding anything to
his worldly store. Lincoln & Co.. were the third
managers, and their success was as marked as
Toll's failure. Lincoln found and married a wife
on the island, and is believed to have accumulated
a handsome fortune, which enabled him to buy
his farm in Conquest. They were followed by
the Sheldon Bros., who were large, strong and
energetic farmers, and who, during the six years
they occupied the island, did handsomely both
for themselves and principals. The manage
ment was next entrusted to John Wood, and the
result under his supervision was as disastrous as
that under the Sheldon Bros., was successful.
On the death of Mr. Plowland, his son, Penn
Howland, came into possession of the island, and
that, with hundreds of thousands of dollars be
sides, was soon squandered by improvidence and
mismanagement. The property was sold on mortgage in the
spring of 185s, to Penn Howland's bondsman,
Hiram Sibley, of Rochester, who leased it for a
term of years to S. B. Fyler, with the privilege
of purchasing it during that time for a given sum.
Mr. Fyler commenced a thorough system of im
provements. He took down over twenty miles
of old and broken down fences ; removed old
hedges and dilapidated foundations ; cleared.
burned, plowed and planted waste lands which
were overgrown with bushes and weeds; cut

* From contributions to The Port Byron Chronicle, by the Lite
Samud Hayden, to which we are indebted for inturmation relative
to Howland'3 Island.

HOWLANDS ISLAND. Toy

JEST Cayuga Co. N.Y

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH.

287

ditches over seven miles in length through the
lowlands ; buflt eight miles of new fence ; and
set maple trees on each side of tbe highway. At
present there are six hundred acres more tfllable
land than when he commenced work on the is
land. He has built a grain barn capable of hold
ing 24,000 bushels of grain ; and within the last
year has buflt a good sized farm house, eight, hay
barns, each eighty feet long ; a horse barn and
tool house, ninety-six feet long, and has repaired
and painted such houses and barns as were worth
repairing. Pie is now building a tenant-house.
The last season he cut over 1,000 acres of grain
and hay. He has cattle barns fitted up, and has
at present 300 head of fat and store cattle, be
sides 125 spring calves.
If Mr. Fyler purchases this property, as he
now contemplates doing, he purposes to divide it
into farms of fifty or one hundred acres each and
put them in the market.
The island lies lengthwise across the river.
Its surface presents a somewhat singular con
formation. With the exception of about one
mfle on the east side it is surrounded by a heavi
ly timbered river bottom, varying from forty to
one hundred rods in width, that upon one side
being one or two feet higher than the opposite
side. The south part of the island consists of
eight hills, which spread out into inclined plains,
separated by narrow intervals, and compose one-
fourth of the hard land. These hflls are simflar
in form, rising by a gentle inclination to about
one-half of their height, then terminating ab
ruptly and presenting a bold front to the north.
Four are exactly 80 feet high ; three others, about
100 feet; and the eighth some 12 feet higher
than the latter. The remainder of the island
consists of four ridges or table lands, which are
separated from the hflls by a narrow interval, and
present the boldest front to the south. They
are from one-fourth to one-third of a mile wide
and one to one and one-half miles long, converg
ing and uniting at the north and forming one
general plain. The most easterly ridge is the
highest and a line extended from it at an angle
of two degrees touches the vertex of the other
three. The hillsides are studded with boulders
to a height of forty-two feet, but above that not
a stone of any magnitude is found.
The soil is an exceedingly friable, sandy and
gravelly loam, diffpring entirely with that of the
49-x

surrounding mainland, which is a stiff clay loam.
The temperature of the island, from its insular
position, is some degrees higher and vegetation
some days earlier than in the surrounding
towns. Exactly in the center of the island is a cir
cular basin covering an area of about fifty acres
and lying about six feet above the river bottom.
From the hillsides and higher parts of the ta
ble lands issue springs, about a dozen in number,
with such force as to indicate their connection
with the waters of the southern lakes in the
County, which, conducted and kept under by
the impervious underlying strata of the interven-,
ing country, finds an outlet through the porous
soil of the island.

B10G[[APHICAL SKETCH.

HARRY JEFFERSON WILCOX.
Harry Jefferson Wilcox was the third son
of Mr. John Wilcox. He was born in Harpers-
field, Delaware county, N. Y., March 3d. 1802.
His father, who was born in Dover, Dutchess
county, N. Y,. p-ebruary 7th, 1765, moved to
Harpersfield in 1781, and purchased a farm of
Mr. Alexander Harper, then an extensive land
owner ; but in the year 1840 he sold his farm and
with his son Harry J., moved west and settled
in Conquest, Cayuga County, N. Y. The follow
ing year Mr. John Wflcox died at the age of 76.
His son, Mr. Harry J. Wilcox, has followed the
occupation of a farmer from that time, taking the
entire charge of his farm of 200 acres, until the
year 1872. Since then he has spent much of
his time in traveling west and south, which has
afforded him the pleasure of witnessing the great
growth of this nation during his life.
This gentleman has always taken an active in
terest in County and State enterprises. He is a
Republican and strongly opposed to the oppres
sion of any nation ; and is always ready to con
tribute to the success or prosperity of our Union.
He never sought notoriety, nor accepted public
office. December 2 1st, 1829, he married Miss Eliza
Ann Brown, who was born in Blenheim, Scho
harie county, N. Y., in 1807. They have had
nine children — Delia, Mary, Robert, Henry, Ann
Eliza, Julia,. Martha, John and George, all of

288

TOWN OF CATO.

whom are now living, except Ann Eliza, who after
wards became the wife of Sylvester M. Young.
Mr. Wilcox is now in his 77th year and enjoying
good health. Mrs. Wilcox died August i8th,
1874.

CHAPTER XXXV.
Town of Cato.
CATO lies upon the east border, north of
the center pf the County, and is bound
ed on the north by Ira, on the east by Onondaga
county, on the west by Conquest, and on the
south by Seneca River. It is the south-east
quarter of the military township of Cato, (which
comprised 143 lots of 600 acres each,) and was
formed from Aurelius March 30th, 1802. At
that time it comprised all that part of the County
lying north of the river. Sterling was taken off
June 19th, 1812; and Conquest, Ira and Victory,
March i6th, 1821. The south-east corner lot of
Ira was annexed in 1824, to compensate for the
waste lands in Cato.
The surface is level in the south and gently
rolling in the north, where the ridges, which ex
tend north and south, rise about fifty feet above
the valleys, and 1 50 to 200 feet above Lake On
tario. Cross Lake, upon the east border, is a
shallow body of water, with low shores, about
five miles long, through which Seneca River
runs. Otter Lake is a shallow basin, with low,
marshy shores, situated north of the center of
the town. It is one and one-half miles long and
three-fourths of a mile at its widest point. Par
ker's Pond, in the north-west part, is a rounded,
shallow basin, about half a mile in diameter. It
is gradually filling up each year. Its waters
were lowered several feet when thc improvements
at Jack's Reefs were made in 1854-7. It is con
nected with Otter Lake, which empties into it,
by Drew Creek, which is about half a mile long,
and named from Darwin Drew, through whose
farni it runs. The Pond is named from Daniel
Parker, an early settler in the town of Ira, and
was locally known at an early day as " Parker's
pork barrel," because of the abundance of its
fish. It empties into Muskrat Creek, a sluggish
stream, having a fall of only seven and a half
feet in its course south through the central part

of the town to Seneca River. All its waters are
well stocked with fish.
In 1872, Hon. Ira D. Brown, then a Member
of Assembly, secured an appropriation of $S,ooo
to prosecute a boring for salt.. A spot in the
south edge of this town was selected, and a
boring over 600 feet deep made the following
year. A brine was obtained, which, according
to an analysis made by Prof. J. J. Brown, of
Syracuse University, exceeded in strength any
obtained at Syracuse, but containing a greater
percentage of impurities. Further vvork was pre
vented by the exhaustion of the appropriation.
The sofl is a very productive afluvion, exceed
ingly fertfle, and admirably adapted to all kinds of
crops. This is one of the best agricultural towns
in the County ; but those who subdued its dense
forests and drained its extensive marshes, filled
with the decayed product of successive growths
of vegetation, made terrible sacrifices in health
to the noxious miasm arising therefrom. The
malarial diseases then so prevalent in this locality
caused many to abandon their improvements af
ter a few years' settlement, and seek restoration
to health in more favored localities, thus tending
to retard somewhat the settlement of the town.
These difficulties have, however, gradually disap
peared, and, untfl the last two summers, have not
been experienced for many years.
The Southern Central Raflroad enters the
town near the center of the south border and
leaves it in the north-west part ; and by its con
nection with the New York Central Railroad and
Erie Canal at Weedsport and the Lake Ontario
Shore Railroad at Sterling, opens up very acces
sible markets for its valuable pomonic and varied
agricultural products.
The river is spanned within the limits of the
town by three bridges, two of wood and one of
iron. The latter, in the south-east corner, con
nects Cato and Elbridge, and was buflt in 1868,
at a cost of about 1^25,000, toward which Cayuga
and Onondaga counties each contributed ;^5,ooo,
the remainder being paid in equal shares by the
towns of Cato and Elbridge. It replaced a wooden
bridge owned by the Cato and Jordan Plank Road
Company, and abandoned by them in 1866. The
wooden bridge in the south-west part was sup
ported by the Plank Road Company, incorporated
in 1848. Their charter having expired, the
bridge became the property of the town.

EARLY SETTLEMENTS.

289

Th^ first settlement was made in 1800, by
Samson Lawrence, who located on lot 32, on the
farm latterly owned by Asa Grossman. Andrew
Stockwefl, from Whitehall, N. Y., also settled in
1800, about a mile and a half south-east of Meri
dian, on the farm now owned by Charles Bloom
field. His marriage with Sybil Root, June 4th,
1 804, was the first in the town ; and their daugh
ter Alvira, (who, in company with her mother.
met with a tragic death about 1840, both being
burned in the house of Chauncey Stockwell, a
brother and son,) who was born May 4th, 1805,
was the first white child born in that portion of
Cayuga County lying north of Seneca River.
His daughter Rebecca, who is living at Meridian,
is the only survivor of the family.
In 1802, Joshua Chappefl came with his wife,
in company with John Watson, from Marcellus,
and settled a half mile west of Cato village.
In May, 1803, settlements were made by Solo
mon Knapp, who located on lot 100, at Meacham's
Corners, on the farm now occupied by William
Cook, and by Alanson Sheldon on the same
farm. George Loveless and Abel Pasko settled in
the south part of Meridian, in 1804. Solomon,
a son of the former, is living about two miles
south of that village, and Deacon Milton Pasko, a
son of the latter, is living between Meridian and
Cato. Elihu Peck came from Pompey, in 1804,
and settled on the farm now owned by Edgar
Drew. His father, Captain Enoch Peck and his
brother, Peter, also from Pompey. came in soon
after. Enoch settled where Wm. Cook's house
now stands, at Meacham's Corners. Peter, who
was a bachelor and lived with his parents, took
up a tract now owned by Isaac R. Merritt, in
Ira. The Pecks sold to Joel Northrup, from
Conn., and removed to Camillus, where their
descendants are living. Northrup was wealthy
and bought a large tract of land, covering a mile
or more in extent. He brought in the first wag
on in the town. He was a bachelor when he
came, but married soon after to Clarissa Dudley,
sister of Elder Ira Dudley, by whom he had three
children. Northrup remained here tfll his death,
about 1 8 14.
Settlements were made in 1805, by Piatt Titus,
from Onondaga county, at Cato, where he was
the first settler and felled the first tree ; by Jesse

Elwell and Abner Hollister, at Meridian ; and by
families named Cerow and Abrams, the former
four and a half mfles south of Meridian, and the
latter, on the river, at the middle bridge, where,
that year and for a good many years thereafter,
he kept a ferry. Titus remained only two or
three years, when he removed to the Taber farm
one-half mile north of Meridian, in Ira, where he
remained till 1833, when he removed to Hanni
bal, where he died in Aprfl, 1862. Elwell settled
where the Meridian House now stands, and where
he buflt, and kept till his death during the epi
demic of 181 1, the first tavern, which was buflt
of logs and covered with bark. He had a large
family, all of whom are gone. His daughter
Polly was the wife of Abner Plollister, who set
tled in the south part of Meridian, where Marcus
Drew now lives. Plollister bought of A. C.
Rice, of Onondaga county, for a nominal sum, a
tract of about three hundred acres, known as
" possession land," to which the title was for a
long time in doubt. Hollister soon after went
south, where he spent several years as overseer
on a plantation and acquired considerable wealth.
On his return he removed to Cato, where he
built the first frame house about 18 10, which now
forms a part of the Raflroad House in that vil
lage. Stephen Olcott settled on the farm now
owned by Carter Hickok, as early as 1805, •"
which year he died, his death being the first in
the town.
In 1S07, Stephen Dudley, from Vermont, came
with his family, consisting of seven sons and five
daughters, and settled in the north-east part, on
the farm now owned by his grandson J. Y. Dud
ley, son of Sardis Dudley, the latter of whom died
on theold homestead in January, 1876. Stephen
took up a State's hundred, of which he let his
son Sardis have fifty, and to which both subse
quently added. He died in 1827, at Hannibal,
to which town he removed in 1824 or '25. Three
sons and one daughter survive him, viz: Lyman;
James ; Ira, living at Meridian, who at present
and for the past year has supplied the pulpit of
the Baptist Church at Port Byron ; and Rebecca,
widow of Abner Loomis. Solomon Woodworth
settled in this or some previous year, on the river,
and kept for several years the ferry where the
iron bridge now is. He was a captain and did
service in the war of 1812. A man named Fol
lett kept the ferry at the upper bridge at an eariy

290

TOWN OF CATO.

day. His descendants live on the farm on which
he settled.
Dr. John Jakway came in about 1809, from
Vermont, where he was a confrere of Ethan Al
len, of whose singularly rugged energy he largely
partook. About 1812 he bought the improve
ments of Abner Plollister, at Cato, to which place
he gave the name of Jakway 's Corners, by
which it was known for many years. He was
the first permanent settler at that viflage. He
was preceded by some squatters, among whom
were John West and Barber Allen, whose im
provements he also bought.
Jakway was a bachelor and a confirmed infidel,
and a man of generous impulses and marked
idiosyncrasies. Johnson Hafl came in from Conway, N. H.,
about 1810, and settled at Meridian, where he
died about 1840.
After the war, in 1815, the settlements were
more rapid and important. Among those who
came in that year were Wm. Ingham, Parsons
P. Meacham and Michael Ogilsbie. Ingham
was originally from Massachusetts, (but immedi
ately from Skaneateles,) whence he came as land
agent for Elisha Williams of Hudson, Columbia
county, who owned large tracts of mflitary lands
in this and Onondaga counties. This connection
with Williams, which continued till the latter's
death, and his subsidiary mercantfle business,
brought him into intimate relations with the early
settlers, and his sterling integrity left its indelible
impress on the character of the persons who set
tled here. On coming here he opened a store at
Meridian, on the[^site of Webster's store, on the
corner of Main and Oswego streets, now belong
ing to the Morley estate. His son, Wm. Smith
Ingham, succeeded him in the mercantfle busi
ness in 1831. Two grandchildren, sons of the
latter, are living, viz.: Edgar I., who is connected
with a mercantile agency in Indiana, and Albert
C, who was for several years connected with the
State Department of Agriculture of Wisconsin
and prepared several volumes emanating there
from, and who is now living in Meridian, of which
village he is the president. Meacham was also '
from Mass., and came in July, 1815. Pie is now
. living, aged eighty-three years, about a mile east
of Meridian at what is known as Meacham's Cor
ners. He joined the Baptist Church in Meridian
in 1831, since which time he has acted as its

clerk. . Ogilsbie came in from New Jersey and
settled where he now lives, about four and a half
mfles south-east of Meridian, opposite to where
Samson Lawrence, the first settler, located.
Eleazer Squires and a family named Spinning,
both from New Jersey, settled about this year,
(18 1 5.) about a mile north of the iron bridge.
Officers. — The first town officers were elect
ed at a meeting held at the house of Israel Wolver
ton, March ist, 1803. as follows : John C. Barnes,
Supervisor; Alanson Sheldon, Clerk; Israel Wol
verton, Archibald Green and Gilbert Jefferies,
Assessors ; Samuel Martin and Jacob Wiltsie,
Overseers of the Poor; Ephraim Wetherell, Dan
iel Parker and Moses Farrand, Commissioners
of Highways; James Perkins, Zadock Barnes
and Gilbert VerVins, Pound Keepers ; William
Patterson and Samson Lawrence. Fetice Viewers;
Theophilus Emerson. Constable ; Edward Wood,
Constable and Collector.
The town officers elected in 1879 are: David
E. Hunter, Supervisor ; Chauncey Olmsted,
Tozvn Clerk; Charles Cowell, Justice of the
Peace; Daniel S\e\ght, Assessor ; Jas. L. Roades,
Commissioner of Highways ; Chauncey Olmsted
and Leonard Mills, Overseers of the Poor; Eu
gene Deforest and I. W. Dudley, Inspectors of
Election; David M. Mills, Collector; William S.
Pearson. Theron C. Dudley, William H. Lock-
wood, George W. Woolford and George Cool,
Constables ; Charies Robinson, Game Constable.
The population of the town in 1875 was 2,095;
of whom 1,900 were native ; 195, foreign ; 2,090,
white ; and 5, colored. The area is 20,488 acres;
of which 15,854, were improved ; 3,797, wood
land ; and 837, unimproved. Meridian.
Meridian is situated near the north line and is
two mfles east of Cato on the S. C. R. R., and
eight miles north of Weedsport. It is a quiet,
attractive and thrifty village of some 700 inhabi
tants, with nicely shaded streets and good walks.
It was originally known as Cato Four Corners.
The name was changed in 1849. I' was incor
porated October 17th, 1854, and the first elec
tion was held November 9th of that year, at the
Eagle House, when William Smith Ingham,
Jonathan Hoyt, Edwin E. Dudley, Chauncey
Olmsted and William H. Coppernoll, were elect
ed Trustees ; James . Hickok, M. D. Drew and

-( 5h-)J  

-o-

,*-J

M.D.DREW,

-^v

Residence of M.D.DREW, Meridian, Cayuga Co. N.Y

MERIDIAN.

291

Israel Phelps, Assessors ; Victor M. Wheeler,
Clerk ; Charles Rockwell, Treasurer ; and Elias
Tator, Collector. A new charter w^s obtained
March i ith, 1876, under which M. D. Drew was
elected President ; Abel West and John Sey
mour, Trustees for two years ; Daniel M. Wflson,
Trustee for one year ; Cornelius Van Liew, Treas
urer ; and Albert G. Wheeler, Collector. Albert
C. Ingham, the present president, was elected in
1877, and reelected in 1878. Thc others officers
are, (1878): J. Sprague Morley, Oakley S.
Dudley and Daniel M. Wilson, Trustees and As
sessors ; Isaac R. Merritt, Treasurer ; and James
Hickok, Collector.
Meridian contains two churches, (Baptist and
Presbyterian,) a district school, two hotels, two
general stores, two groceries, a hardware store
and tin shop, two furniture and undertaking es
tablishments, in one of which drugs and books
are kept, one millinery store, (Mrs. Vinal,) two
shoe stores, one shoe shop, kept by James
Wyatt, a foundry and machine shop.a tannery and
saw, shingle and stave mill combined, a job print
ing ofifice, of which J. Sprague Morley, the village
lawyer, is proprietor, three blacksmith shops,
kept by P. H. Smith, Jacob Cramer and Putvin
& March, the latter of whom have also a carriage
shop, kept by S. M. Chittenden, two harness
shops, kept by Plorace Wflson and G. D, Gillett,
and a store in which groceries and notions are
kept by C. M. Plungerford.
The first settlement at Meridian was made
about 1804, in which year George Loveless and
Abel Pasko located in the south part. The fol
lowing year Jesse Elwell and Abner Plollister
settled in the village. Settlement progressed
slowly tifl 18 1 5, in which year William Ingham
opened his store. After this and the removal of
the obstacles to migration incident to the war of
181 2, an industrious and thrifty class of people
from the New England States and the eastern
counties of this State were attracted here in con
siderable numbers by the great fertilit)' of the
soil in this locality. This influx created a de
mand for merchants and mechanics, and soon the
nucleus of a vfllage was established. In 1S31,
William Smith Ingham succeeded his father in
the mercantile business and projected the estab
lishment on a much larger scale. This store of
Ingham's gave the first great impetus to the
growth of Meridian. It was followed by the es

tablishment of a saw-mill and the greatest activ
ity in building enterprises it has ever experienced
was then manifest. Its subsequent growth is
largely attributable to the character of the men
who have been engaged in business here, and
the additions it has received from among the suc
cessful farmers of the locality, who in advanced
life have exchanged the active duties of the farm
for the social and other advantages of a quiet,
orderly village. Its growth in the last ten years
has been somewhat remarkable.
Merchants. — Daniel M. Bristol, from Man
lius. was the first merchant, not only in Meridian,
but in the town of Cato. He opened a store in
1806 and kept it till 1808. when he failed and re
moved to the western part of the State. His
store, which was a log structure, stood about
where Abel West's store now stands. Samuel
Woodford, from Manlius, was the second mer
chant. He opened a store about 1808, first occu
pying Bristol's store, and afterwards removing
to the locality of Webster's store. In 181 1.
Woodford built the first grist-mill in the town, on
the outlet of Otter Lake. William Ingham, as
previously stated, opened a store in 18 15. and
kept it till 1 83 1, when he was succeeded by his
son, William Smith Ingham, who was the first
prominent merchant in Meridian. The latter
continued business tifl his failure, in 1857. He
was associated during this time with James
Hickok from i836-'4i, wflh D. E. Havens from
1839-45. with David Emerick, his son-in-law,
from 1845-52, in which latter year the two ad
mitted Chester Morley to partnership, and the
business was conducted by them till their failure
in 1857, under the firm name of Ingham, Emer
ick & Morley. In 1841, James Hickok, after
dissolving his partnership with Mr. Ingham,
formed a partnership with his brother, C. B.
Hickok. under the firm name of J. & C. B. Hickok,
and opened a general stock of goods. In 1848
he bought his brother's interest, and in 1865
changed his business to that of undertaker and
dealer in furniture, books and drugs, which he
still continues. James Hickok came into the
town from Steriing in 1832, and was a clerk with
Mr. Ingham till he entered into partnership with
him. Madison E. Plollister did a mercantfle bus
iness here from 1831-33. The next merchant
was a Mr. Pluggins. from Madison county, who
brought his goods in with him in 1836, and in

292

TOWN OF CATO.

1837 sold to Abel West, who has since done bus
iness here. Mr. West was associated three years
with Wifliam A. VanDorn. In Aprfl, 1876,
Mr. West admitted his son, Adelbert M. West, to
partnership, and the business is now conducted
by Abel West & Son.
The other merchants now doing business in
Meridian are C. Van Liew, dealer in groceries
and hardware, who came in from Lysander
in 1862; A. G. Wheeler, dealer in boots and
shoes, a native of Washington county, who came
from Utica in the spring of 1845, and commenced
his present business in April, 1864 ; Jas. Tack-
ney, dealer in boots and shoes, who came in 1865,
on being discharged from the army, having pre
vious to his enlistment lived in Syracuse, and
who was associated as partner from 1868 to 1877
with John Seymour ; Delevan L. Spoor, hard
ware dealer, who came in from Earlville in the
spring of 1874; and J. E. Phippens, grocer,
from Jordan, and T. J. Webster, general mer
chant, from Auburn, both of whom came in
1877. Postmasters.— The first postmaster at Me
ridian was Wm. Ingham, who was appointed in
1819, and held the ofifice continuously till 1831,
in which year he resigned. He was succeeded
by his son, Wm. Smith Ingham, who held the
ofifice till the spring of 1849, when Abel West
was appointed. In 1852, Wm. Smith Ingham
again became postmaster and continued such till
his resignation in 1856, in which year Edward H.
Shoff received the appointment. In i860 Abel
West received a second appointment, and in 1868
he was succeeded by James Hickok, who filled
the office tifl 1874, when Chester Moriey, Jr., the
present incumbent, was appointed.
Physicians.— The first physician at Meridian
was John W. Squyers, who practiced till about
1830, when he removed to Plainville, where he
died. The next was Jonathan Boyd, who came
in from Massachusetts in i83i,and died in 1833.
He was succeeded in 1833 by A. M. Parsons,
who practiced till 1835, when he removed to
Michigan. Jacob K. Drew was contemporary
with Drs. Squyers and Boyd. He came in from
Vermont and practiced here tfll his death. John
Plant came in from Maine in 1833, and bought
out Dr. Skinner. He removed after about four
years to Pennsylvania. PI. B. Wright came in
1841 or '42, and died here in 1844. James T.

Hough, Davis Conger and S. M. Brown, were
contemporary with Dr. Wright. Hough prac
ticed here till 1850, and Conger some six years.
Brown, who was from the town of Ontario, Wayne
Co., practiced here several years and is now living
in Ira. Wm. O. Luce, from Auburn, but imme
diately from Ira, came about 1850, and removed
to Elbridge about 1863, and subsequently to Au
burn, where he now lives. E. L. Evarts came
in from Ira about 1858, and moved to Buffalo
about the year 1868. He is now practicing at
Cato. E. P. Baker bought out Dr. Luce, and
removed about five years ago to Aurora, where
he now lives. Dr. Bartlett came in from the
army in 1869, having previously resided in Wis
consin, and is stfll practicing here. He belongs
to the homeopathic school. Lewis Tice, from
Brockport, practiced here from i858-'62. He
removed to New York city and died there. E.
S. Forman, allopath, came in from Sterling about
five years ago and is still practicing there.
Members of the Bar. — The first lawyer at
Meridian was Madison Young, who came from
N. H., in 1843, and practiced here about ten
years. James W. Bonta, a native of this town,
practiced here about a year, about 1856, in Jus
tices' court, but was never admitted to the bar.
J. Sprague Morley, the present lawyer, came in
with his father from Pompey, in March, 1832.
He graduated from Hobart college in 1846, and
practiced law at Jamesville, Onondaga county,
in company with Isaac W. Brewster, from 1849
tfll November, 1853, when he commenced prac
tice here.
Manufacturers. — There are but three manu
facturing establishments in Meridian.
Daniel W. Wilson, founder and machinist, is
a native of Cato, and commenced business in
1866. In 1870, Chauncy L. Hickok became his
partner, but remained only four years. The
works were erected in 1833, by David Rockwell,
and enlarged to their present size, with the ex
ception of the upper story, about thirty-five years
ago. The chief articles of manufacture are agri
cultural implements. The motive power is sup
plied by a twenty horse-power engine.
Titus & Alward, (Wm. Titus of Moravia and
Chas. G. Alward, of Venice,) proprietors of the
tannery and saw, feed, stave and shingle mill, all
combined, bought the property of John Seymour,
and commenced business January ist, 1877. The

MERIDIAN— CHURCHES.

293

works were originally built for a grist-mill, in
1853, by a stock company, at a cost of ;^io,ooo.
In 1858, John Seymour bought it, and in i860
he converted the grist-mill into a tannery. The
saw-mill was buflt at the same time as the grist-
mfll. The motive power is furnished by a twen
ty-five horse-power engine. The capital invested
is i^i5,ooo. The works give employment to six
men, and turn out 3,000 sides of leatherand 500,-
000 feet of lumber per annum.
S. M. Chittenden came in from Plainvflle and
opened his carriage works in 1876.
Hotels. — The first hotel at Meridian was
kept by Jesse Elwell, on the site of the Meridian
House. About 18 18 he sold to Abner Hollis
ter, who that year built the lower portion of the
front part of the present house. He closed it in
1830 and occupied it as a dwelling till his death
March 14th, 1852, when it was sold to Wm. Smith
Ingham, who rented it in 1853, to Lucius M. Hol
lister, son of Abner, who kept it as a temperance
house one year. Chas. Austin kept it as a tem
perance house one year, and was succeeded by
Isaac Upham and Benjamin Daratt, who bought
the hotel of Ingham, and enlarged it to its pres
ent size. It subsequently became the property
of Timby and Daratt, who, in i860, sold it to
tbe present occupant, Isaac R. Merritt, who had
previously kept a hotel ten years in Victory. A
second hotel, the Hunt House, was started by
Solomon Loveless, who also kept a blacksmith
shop. Gideon Acker bought it in 1840 and sold
it after' four or five years to his cousin, Cyrus
Acker, who subsequently sold to another cousin,
Abram Acker, by whom it was repaired and kept
till about 1850, when it was again bought by Cy
rus Acker, who sold it to Julius Whiting. Whit
ing sold it about 1858 to Lewis Van Auken, who
rented it to Isaac Curtis, by whom it was kept
five years, when D. D. Burchard bought it and
kept it till about five years ago, when it was sold
to satisfy a mortgage to Garrett Mowl, by whom
it was sold in 1874 to the present proprietor,
John A. Hunt, who came in the preceding year
from Ira. This hotel was formerly known as the
Eagle Hotel.
The Farmers' Joint Stock Insurance Com
pany, at Meridian, was organized in April, 1861,
with a capital of $50,000. The first ofificers were
Robert Bloomfield, of Cato, president ; Chauncey
B. Laird of Elbridge, Daniel G. Smith of Lysan-
50-2 ^

der, and Homer Lockwood of Victory, vice-
presidents ; Abel West of Meridian, secretary ;
and Cyrus Dudley of Meridian, treasurer. The
company did a good business in the early part
of its existence, but latterly much difificulty was
experienced in collecting premiums. A sharp
competition existed in the class of risks to which,
by the terms of theiir charter, they were restrict
ed, (viz : farm property,) and these, together with
their cumbrous organization, rendered it impossi
ble to continue business without suffering im
pairment of their capital. They therefore dis
solved P'ebruary 6th, 1877, at which time the offi
cers were Henry Daboll of Memphis, president ;
Homer N. Lockwood of Auburn, David Sutfin
and Jabez H. Norton of Lysander, vice-presi
dents ; G. H. Lawrence of Meridian, secretary ;
and Marcus D. Drew of Meridian, treasurer. Fol
lowing is an abstract of their report to the Insur
ance Department May ist, 1878 : Total prem
iums received to date, ^23,734; dividends de
clared since business was commenced, 1^100,625;
losses paid from date of organization, $577,481.
Schools, — Although the school at Meridian
is a district school, it is graded and furnishes ex
cellent instruction. The principal is A. E.
Ringee, who is assisted by Misses Franc Foote
and S. E. Meacham, the latter of whom has
taught in this school some twenty-five years, all
the time in the primary department.
The First Baptist Church and Society of
Meridian was organized October 26th, 18 10, with
twenty-two members, but, owing to the loss of
their early records, the names of the following
only can be ascertained : D. Parker and wife,
C. Green and wife, A. Pasko and wife, J. Root
and wife, H. Ferris and wife, Nancy Carr and
Seviah Flemman. Their first pastor was Rev.
Daniel Palmer, who commenced his labors as a
licentiate, but was afterwards ordained pastor,
and remained wtih them four years. Their first
revival occurred in 18 12, in which year sixteen
were added to their number, but it continued
and increased in interest tifl ninety-two converts
were added. B. Seamans, a licentiate, succeeded
Palmer in 181 5, and remained one year.
The Church was without a pastor from this
time tfll the spring of 1820, when Orlando Mack
settled with them. A revival immediately fol
lowed, but he was smitten with death in its
midst, August 1 2th, 1820. Jeremy p". Tallman

294

TOWN OF CATO.

became the pastor in March, 1821, and remained
thirteen years. In 1821 and 1822 revivals were
enjoyed, sixteen being added in the former and
eleven in the latter year.
From 1822 to 1829 darkness and gloom restad
upon the church. During those seven years
only one baptism occurred. In 1829 they awoke
from their lethargy, and a revival was commenced
which culminated in 183 1, in which year one
hundred and seven were added to the member
ship. Elder Tallman closed his labors in May,
1834, and was immediately succeeded by S.
Knapp. In this and the preceding year the
doctrines of the Campbellites made sad inroads
in their membership, thirty-four having been ex
cluded for espousing them.
Though the early part of Elder Knapp's pas
torate was fufl of discouragements, the latter
portion was not without compensating encour
agements. In 1835 a season of revival was be
gun which contimied with increased fervor during
that and the two succeding years, and resulted
in the addition of one hundred and sixty-six to
their membership. Elder Knapp closed his
labors with them in March, 1838, and was suc
ceeded the next month by J. W. Spoor, who re
mained till July, 1840. During his pastorate
fifty-five were added to the church by baptism.
S. Wilkins became their pastor in July, 1840,
remaining tifl October, 1842. In the second
year of his pastorate thirty-five members were
added. C. VanLoon succeeded Elder Wflkins
and remained one year. J. Woodward assumed
the pastoral care in October, 1843, and during
the second year of his pastorate a revival was
experienced and forty-five added to their number.
He was succeeded in January, 1 846, by George
. W. Mead, the first three years of whose pastor
ate " were seasons of declension," resulting from
agitation of questions connected with tbe anti-
slavery cause. A large number were dismissed
and a new church formed. In the fall of 1849
a reconcfliation was effected and was followed
by a revival, which resulted in adding sixty-one
by baptism. Elder Mead closed his labors in
January, 1850, and was succeeded by A. Angler,
who commenced his labors the first Sabbath in
April of that yean His resignation was accepted
March 12th, 1853.
W. D. Hedden, of Rochester University, com
menced his labors with them May 9th, 1853. He

received a cafl June 5th, 1853, which he accept
ed June 1 2th, 1853. He was ordained October
13th, 1853, and remained tifl early in 1855, in
June of which year he was succeeded by Stephen
Wilkins. B. F. Garfield became pastor January
13th, 1856, and was dismissed December 4th,
1858. During the first year of his pastorate six
teen were added by baptism. December i8th,
1858, D. E. Holmes was invited to preach, at
I8.00 per Sabbath, tfll a ministea- could be got.
January igtb, 1859, and some weeks thereafter.
Elder A. Wilkins preached. In this year thirty-
two were added by baptism. J. S. Webber was
the pastor Aprfl 9th, 1859. J"'y 29th, i860, he
preached his farewell sermon and became an
agent of the Bible Union. A call was extended
to Elder I. Wilkinson, of Port Byron, March 9th,
1 86 1. He remained tifl April 9th, 1864. An
drew Lindsay commenced his labors Aprfl 24th,
1864, and after preaching a few Sabbaths he ac
cepted an invitation to serve as pastor. The sec
ond year of his pastorate fifteen were added by
baptism. His resignation, to take effect April
1st, 1869, was accepted February 7th, 1869. W.
L. Goodspeed was the pastor Aprfl 9th, 1870;
and Rev. J. D. Smith, February nth, 1871, the
latter of whom is the present pastor. A Mr.
Townsend preached for them the December and
January previous to Elder Smith's coming. In
the second year of Elder Smith's pastorate a re
vival was experienced and thirty added to the
membership by baptism.
March loth, 1877, the church was reorganized
under the new State law of May 13th, 1876, and
the present name was adopted. The present
membership is 144 ; and the attendance at Sab
bath school, about 125. Their church edifice
was erected in 1829, and was enlarged, moved
and the galleries taken out in 1857. A session
room has since been added and other repairs
made. Four churches have been formed by mem
bers dismissed from this, viz : Hannibal, First
Lysander, Victory and Ira.
The. Presbyterian Church and Society of
Meridian was organized February 2d, 1836, as
the First Presbyterian Church and Society of Cato,
(the name having been changed Aprfl 22d, 1867,)
with the foflowing named members : Abner Hol
lister and wife, Chas. Ployt and wife, Nehemiah
Hoyt and wife, Lewis Hoyt and wife, Clark Hoyt
and wife, Madison E. Hollister and wife, Alonzo

[Photo by Squyer & Wright,]

John Tuf\ner Knapp,

John Tukneb Knapp is the second child of Uz and Abigail
[Sherman] Knapp. His father was born in Vermont and his
mother in Connecticut. They moved from Vermont aud set
tled in the town of Moreau, Saratoga county, N, Y,, about
the year 1797. They remained there, his father following the
trade of shoemaker, until 1810, when they removed further
west, to the town of Cato, Cayuga Coiinty, His father here
was engaged in the manufacture of boots and shoes and leath
er until his death, which occurred in the year 181G, one year
after the death of his wife, in 181.'), There were born to them
five children, viz : SaUie, John T,, Abigail, Betsey and Mary,
all of whom are now dead, except John T., who was bom
May 19th, 1802, in the town of Moreau, Saratoga county, and
came with his parents to Cato. As soon as his strength would
permit he was put into service in his father's tannei-y grind
ing bark, and when not employed in that capacity he was en
gaged in fitting boots and shoes ; and at the time of his fath
er's death, being only fourteen years old, ho was so skillful
as to be able to make and finish a pair of boots or shoes iu a
manner nearly equal to that of some of the best workmen in
his father's employ.
The facilities for obtaining an education were meagre in
those times and young Knapp was able to attend school only
during the winter montbs, which ho did with the exception of
one year, up to 181fi, about eightoen months all told. After
his father's death he lived with his half brother for about two
years, working summers at his trade and going to school win
ters. In the year 1818, being anxious to finish his trade of
tanner and cunjer, he went to Oswego and engaged with
Shopley & Card, with whom he remained a little more than
one year.
In 1820 ho went to what was then Cato, now Victory, Cayu
ga County, and was engaged there from that time until 1854,
in the manufacture of leather, boots and shoes and lumber,
owning and operating a steam saw-mill, and carrying on a gen-
erol countiy store.

In IS.'i.^ he was elected sheriff of the County. Owing to the
sudden death of Sheriff Fancher, Mr, Knapp was appointed
December 7th, IS,").?, by Governor Seymour, to fill the unex
pired term of Mr. Fancher, and moved to Aubum and took
possession of the County building on the first of January, 1864 •
In the spring of WHS Mr. Knapp moved to the village of
Cato, where he now resides, and engaged in farming, which
business he has followed up to the present time.
In pohtics Mr. Knapp waS a Free Soil Democrat until the
adoption of the Buffalo Platfoi-m by the foUowers of Martin
Van Buren, and upon the formation of the Republican party
he joined its ranks and has ever been an earnest supporter of
its principles and objects. During the late war he was a
special detective for two years, having received his appoint-
jnent from the Provost-Marshal-General, About this time he
was appointed by Governor Seymour to the position of re
cruiting agent for the station at Aubum.
Mr. Knapp has also held other offices of trast and respon
sibility, among which may be named that of postmaster at
Victory for fifteen years, and Justice of the Peace for the
same length of time and at the same place.
In 182.B he was joined in marriage to Theoda, daughter of
,Tolm and Theoda [Hunt] Newcomb, of Cayuga County, She
was born in Lnbanon, now Cohimbia, Conn,, in ISOfi, She
died Febntary 19th, 1874. She was a pure-minded, largo-
heartsd. Christian woman, with malice towards none and chari
ty for all, and loved and honored by all who enjoyed the favor
of her acquaintance. There have been bom to them ten
children, named in the order of their birth : Submit Jerusha,
born March 20th, 1824, died December 19th, 1840 ; John N,,
bom November .Sd, 182fi : Lovinia EliZa, bom May 26th, 1828,
died Febmary 2fith, 1829 ; James G,. bom November 2fith,
18.S0 ; Edward N,, bom September (!th, 1832. who was a Cap
tain in r)2d Illinois infantry, and Idlled at the battle of Shiloh.
April 7th, 18f)2 ; Han-ictte E,, bom March 2r.th, 183/), died
.Tnnuary 28th, 18fil, wife of Dr. Henry Parker; Charles H.,
born January 12tli, 1837 ; Theoda Abigail, bora August lOth,
" """ Dwight B., born April 12th, 1840, died December 16th,
George P., bom March 4th, 1843,

1838
1840

1

^

VILLAGE OF CATO.

29s

Taylor and wife. Barber Allen and wife, Lucius
M. Hoflister, Abraham Kells, Nancy A. Bradt,
Eliza Jenkins, Sopbronia Furman, Miranda Pal-
meter and Daniel C. Mc Clenten and wife. It
is an emanation from tbe Church at Ira, (which
was organized July 8th, 1807, by Rev. Francis
Pomeroy,) and Rev. Wm. U. Benedict, who was
then the pastor of that Church, acted as a supply
for this for three years. January 5th, 1839, Plen
ry Boyington became a permanent supply, with
a salary of ;^400, and remained three years. Jan
uary 1st, 1842, James T. Hough, M. D., be
came the permanent supply and remained four
and a half years. In August, 1847, Wm. G.
Plubbard. a licentiate, became a supply, under the
patronage of the Presbytery, and remained one
and a half years.
Pie was succeeded in March, 1849. by Simon
S. Goss, the. first pastor, who was ordained and
installed February 19th, 1850, with a salary of
1^500, which was increased two years after by the
use of a parsonage. He was dismissed May 7th,
1862, on account of ill health.
The second pastor was Samuel B. Sherrill,
who commenced his labors in the summer of
1862, and was ordained and installed pastor Feb
ruary, 14th, 1863, with a salary of ^600 and par
sonage, He was dismissed February 3d, 1868.
He was succeeded by Wallace B. Lucas, the pres
ent pastor, who commenced his labors in the
spring of, 1869, and was ordained and instafled
pastor September 26th, 1869. with a salary of
$900 and parsonage.
Fo'r the first four years they worshiped in the
vfllage school-house. In the summer of 1839.
the present fine, substantial brick structure was
erected at a cost of ^^3,685.60, the site having
been given by Judge Hollister. It was dedicated
^ .in December of that year. In the summer of
¦'' 1854, it was enlarged and a tower erected at a
cost of ;^2,ooo. In 1872-3, it was repaired, en
larged; a session room built over thc vestibule, a
new lower erected on the corner, and the inside
entirely reimodeled, at a cost of ;^6,690.32. Since
then the pastor's study, a dining room and library
have been fitted up at various times. In June,
1876, a $i,OOQ pipe organ was put in.
,The Chhirch has enjoyed several interesting re-
vivalsi . In. 1840, 26 were added ; 24 in 1844 ;
38, in ; 1857; 29, in 1859; 12, in 1866; 26, in
1872; 14, in 1874; and 23, in 1878., The pres

ent membership is 188 ; the attendance at Sab
bath school, about 150.
Societies. — Meridian Lodge No. 142 of the
Ancient Order of the United Workingmen was
organized- with twenty members, tbe present
number, March 26th, 1878. The first and pres
ent ofificers are D. L. Spoor, P. M. W.; G. O.
Burk, M. W.; O. S. Dudley, G. F. ; James Tack-
ncy, O.; C. L. Hickok, Rdr.; F. M. Hunting,
F.; C. A. Bloomfield, R.; Jno. Bell, G.; W. S.
Cornell, I. W.; Jacob Strickland, O. W. Meet
ings are held the first and third Tuesdays of
each month at their rooms in the Lawrence
Block. It is the second lodge of the kind in the
County, the first being at Union Springs. The
chief object of the society is to secure to its
membership the benefits of life insurance at the
minimum cost. It has also charitable and social

Cato;
Cato is an enterprising village of five hundred
inhabitants, situated in the north-west part, lying
partly in this town and partly in Ira. It is on
the S. C. R. R., eight mfles north of Weeds-
port, and is the natural center for shipments on
that road of a large section of fertile country,
abounding in fruit, grain and other products.
The business at this station is said to exceed that
at Weedsport on the same road. There is a
sharp competition among its merchants for a vil
lage of its size, and it exhibits corresponding ac
tivity. It has many of the elements of an at
tractive vfllage. It contains three churches,
(Reformed, Campbellite and R. C.,) a union
school, four stores, three cigar shops, a steam saw
and grist-mill combined, a foundry and machine
shop, two cabinet shops, of which D. J. Acker
& Son and Joseph Girard are proprietors, two
shoe shops, of which J. R. Allen and Wm. C.
Rose are proprietors, two carriage shops, kept by
PVank Brown and Wm. Dcvoc, three blacksmith
shops, kept by Harvey Root, P. P. Brown and
Frederick Kitner, two miUiner shops, kept by
Mrs. Margaret Dutton and Mrs. Nettie Morey,
two hotels, and two barber shops, kept by A. J.
Munroe and David Vine.
Settlement at Cato was commenced in 1805,
by Piatt Titus, who remained only two or three
years. The first permanent settler was Dr.
John Jakway, who came from Vermont, in com-

296

TOWN OF CATO.

pany with John Hooker, the latter of whom set
tled in the Ira side of the village. They came
about 1809, and were preceded by some squatters,
whose improvements Jakway bought. The village
was long known as Jakway's Corners, a name it
derived from the fact of Jakway's settlement there.
Merchants.— The first merchants at Cato are
supposed to have been Andrus P. Preston and
Augustus Ferris, who kept a store about 1820.
which they continued till about 1842, when they
closed out. Preston removing to Red Creek, and
Ferris remaining in Ira till his death about 1848.
Benj. B. Conger opened a store about 1830.
About 1834 Samuel Hale became a partner with
him and continued about three years, when David
R. Conger, a son of Benjamin, was admitted to
partnership, and the business was conducted by
them about five years, when they sold to 
Moore and Reuben P. Conger, who did business
about three years. Benj. B. and Reuben P. Con
ger then formed a partnership, which continued
about four years. Dr. John Jakway opened a
Store about 1838, which he kept some seven or
eight years, when he sold his stock to Wm. H.
Nobles, who kept a store four or five years. The
ophilus Daniels opened a store about 1840, and
kept it about three years. David Cook and Da
vid R. Conger kept a store about two years, and
,sold to Gilbert & Green, who kept it about ayear.
Wm. Fields bought their stock and kept store
about ayear. A union store was started about
1855, which was run about ayear. Evarts & Da-
. ratt bought their stock and continued about two
.years. Knapp, Barrett & Co., opened a large
store in 1856 and fafled in i860. H. M. Wright
bought their stock and continued tfll 1868. Hun
ter Bros, opened a store in 1870, and were burned
out in 1876. David Mack opened a store about
1845 and kept it about ten years, when he .sold
his stock to G. A. Benedict, who did business
tifl about 1866. J. M. Dutton & Co. opened a
store in 1865. After some three or four years
Mark Wright bought Dutton's interest, and the
business was conducted by Turner &' Wright tfll
, about 1875, when J. W. Plapeman bought
Wright's interest. Hapeman sold in February,
1877, toM. M. Hunter, and the business is still
conducted by Turner & Hunter. In 1866, Geo.
R. Rich buflt a store; which was occupied by his
son Jno. E. Rich tifl January 9th, 1869, when he
was burned out. A. C. Bartlett kept a store

from 1860-5. Hapeman & Hunt opened a hard
ware store about 1865, and in 1868 they sold to
S. J. Chase; who, in 1870, admitted Henry S.
Hunt to partnership. In April, 1878, R: W.
Cole bought the interest of Mr. Hunt^ who open
ed, the same month, the store he now keeps. S.
J. Chase and R. W. Cole still carry on the busi
ness, under the firm name bf Chase & Cole,!
T. Jorolemon, general merchant, commenced in
the spring of 1874, the business in which he is
now engaged. -
Postmasters.— The first postmaster at Cato
was Augustus F. Ferris, who was followed by
Andrus P. Preston, William H. Noble, Judg6
Humphreys, Reuben P. Conger, Gebrge H. Carr,
E. G. Allen, Amos Bartlett, George P. Knapp,
Elias Richards, R. W. Cole, J6hn E. Rich,
Lewis Donius, J. W. Plapemaii and S. J. Chase,
the latter of whom, the present incumbent, re
ceived the appointment in 1870.
Physicians. — The first physician at Cato was
John Jakway, who practiced' tfll his death in
1844. The next was John Hoxie, who prac
ticed with Jakway till 1833. Ezra Parker came
in from Fort Ann, Washington county, about
1833, and practiced with Jakway sonic ten years,
when he removed to Wisconsin. Robert T.
Paine came in from Washington county abbut
1835 and practiced about fourteen years, when
he removed to Jordan, where he died. J. B. R.
Martin, from Victory, studied with Paine, and
practiced from about 1842 till his death, about
1852. Dr. Hedger, from Cato, practiced with
Martin about two years and then moved west.
A. J. Brewster, from JefferSon county, came
about 1850 and practiced tfll 1875, when he ref-
moved to Syracuse, where he is now practicing'.
Dr. Ogden succeeded Martin and reinained one
year, when he went west. Lucius Hooker, allo
path, came in from Victory about 1855, and is
still practicing here. James D. Bento« came in
from Ira Corners in 1865 and practiced till 1^74,
when he removed to Syracuse; where he is now
practicing. Frank Murphy, from Wayne county,
came in 1876 and practiced about six month^,
when he .removed to Yates county. C. A.
Groat, from Wayne coiirity, came in 1876, and is
stfll practicing here.. He. belongs to the allo
pathic school of medicine. .¦ E. S. Everts, homeo
path, came from Auburn in the spring of 187?,
and is stifl practicing here.

4^

[Photo by Squyer & Wright.]

pEOF\GE R. Rich.

Geoeoe B, Rich is the sixth child of John and Sarah
[Eastman] Bich, who were natives of Connecticut, both of
whom were born about the year 177S. His father was a
farmer, and brick-maker by trade. In 1802, his parents
moved from Connecticut and settled in Fort Ann, Washington
county, N.Y., where his father resided until his death, which
occurred in 1821.
George E. was born in Fort Ann in 1809, and in the year
1834 cams with his mother to Ira, Cayuga County, where, in
1869, she passed from earthly life at the advanced age of
ninety-one years.
The subject of this brief sketch had but few advantages
for an early education. He worked for neighboring farmers
by the day and month during the summers, and attended the
district schools winters, until he was eighteen years of age.
He followed farming, and employed his leisure time in pre
paring himself for his profession, that of the law, until the
year 1843, but he was admitted to practice in the County
courts in 1842. In 1843 he went into the office of Judge
Humphreys, at that time one of the ablest jurists in the
State, where he studied until 1848. He was admitted to
practice in all the courts that year, and has been concerned
in the adjustment of many intricate suits which called into
requisition great powers of mind, and the exercise of supe
rior judgment.
Pew have passed through the vicissitudes attending a long
practice of the profession with more honor, and given more
general satisfaction to both plaintiff and defendant. Being
of an iron constitution, he still retains much of that buoy
ancy of spirit which characterized his youthful days.
In 1859 he was appointed by Govemor Morgan, Loan
Commissioner for the County of. Caynga, which office ho
hold for about eight years.
He has by rigid economy and close application to his busi
ness accumulated a competency which will tend to smooth

life's rugged pathway down through old age. His house has
ever been an asylum for the needy who were thought worthy,
and no one was ever turned away empty. In politics, Mr.
Kich was a Democrat in his earlier Uf e, but after the formation
of the EepubUcan party he voted with ahd worked for the
interests of\the latter till the nomination of Horace Greely in
1872, since which time he has voted for the "best man" in
his judgment, at every election, regardless of party.' For
many yeara he was a member and a liberal supporter of the
Baptist Church, but now attends the Disciples' Church.
On the 23d of April, 1834, he was joined in marriage to
Margaret Ann [Wood] "Wallace, daughter of Kiiloff and Maria
[Van Alstine] Wood, of Montgomery county. Her mother is
yet living, and is a member of Mr, Rich's family. Her age
is 87 years.
They have raised a large family of children, of whom they
have reason to feel proud, and have given them a good edu
cation, at the same time instilling in their minds the value of
industiy and economy. Their names are here given in the
order of their births : Frank, now a prominent and successful
attorney at Cato, N. Y., who was born February 3d, 183.'), and
married Frances W. Petty, June Ifith, 18(59 ; Letitia, who was
bom September 28th, 1830, married Stephen Olmsted, Octo
ber 28th, ISfin, and died September 6th, 1869; Margaret A.,
who was born October 30th, ,1838, and manied Dr. James
Benton, November lOth; 1853; George A,, who was born
November 15th, 1841, and married Juha Tucker, March 21st,
1865; Mary C, who was bom Febraary 26th, 1844, and mar
ried Arthur W. Tucker, October 18th, 1864; John E., who
was bom July 18th, 1846, and married Mary Flagler, August
loth, 1867 ; Gratie. who was bora Febmary 11th, 1849, and
died September 25th, 1850; Charles L,, who was born July
26th, 1852, and died April 14th, 1855; Charles, who was born
June 17th, 1857, and is now preparing himself for the law
with his brother Frank,

=^

VILLAGE OF CATO.

297

Bench and Bar. — The first lawyer in Cato
was George R. Rich, who came in from Fort
Ann, Washington county, in 1832, and com
menced the practice of law in 1840. He was
admitted to practice in the County Court in
1845, and in the Supreme Court in 1848. Geo.
Humphreys, from Auburn, commenced practicing
here in 1844, and with him Rich finished his stud
ies. Plumphreys was elected County Judge in No
vember, 185 1, when he removed to Auburn.
Rich is still practicing here. Frank Rich, son
of George R. Rich, commenced practice in
1855. in which year he was admitted to the bar.
Stephen Olmsted, son-in-law of George R.. Rich,
commenced practice in 1863. at which time he
was admitted to the bar. Both the latter are
practicing here.
Manufactures. — The Cato Milling Com
pany, (D. J. Lamson, R. L. Whiting and E. D.
Crowninsbield.) commenced business in 1876.
Slate Crowninsbield erected the bufldings in
1874, and carried on the business until the pres
ent proprietors took possession. The works
consist of a grist-mill and saw-mill, connected,
both being operated by the same motive power,
which is supplied by a sixty-five horse-power en
gine. The grist-mill is a custom mill and con
tains three run of stones. The saw-mill contains
one large and three small circular saws, for the
manufacture of lumber, staves and heading.
Its capacity is 5,000 feet of lumber per day, and
50,000 staves per annum. The capital invested
is ;j520,000, and the number of men employed,
six. The furnace and machine shop, of which E. Q.
Dutton is proprietor, was built in 1850, by Brad
ford Cook, on the site of one erected in 1832, by
John Rich. In 1875 Mr. Dutton buflt an addi
tion for the purpose of adding to his business the
manufacture of stoves, but that branch was dis
continued after about a year. He is now engaged
in the manufacture of agricultural implements,
the chief article of manufacture being tbe " Easy
Draft " Plow. Three men and a capital of about
;^ 10,000, are employed. It is operated by steam.
Curtis & Harris, (Chas. H. Curtis and Walter
N. Harris,) commenced the manufacture of
cigars in January, 1867. They give employment
to seven persons and make about 15,000 cigars
per month.
James B. Hunter commenced the manufacture

of cigarsFebruary 21st, 1877, in company with
D. S. Coates, whose interest be bought AprilJ ist,
1878. He gives employment to ten persons and
makes 35,000 cigars per month.
Adelbert P. Rich commenced the manufacture
of cigars July i8th, 1878. He employs at present
only two persons.
Hotels. — The Central Hotel wa'^ built by Cor
nelius Acker, the present proprietor, in 1866, on
the site of one built by David Chittenden in 1861
and burned in the spring of 1865.
The Railroad House is kept by Elias Quack-
enbush. who bought it of Willard Sturge, pro
prietor ofthe Willard House,V^ ee^sport.iu 1867.
The main part of the building vyas erected in
in 1 8 10, by Abner Hollister. The addition was
built by John Jakway fifty or more years ago.
"Schools. — The school in Cato is a graded
union school, with three departments. The
teachers are Wm. Hopkins, principal, Miss Ella
Saunders and Mrs. Kate Vanaernum. The
school building, which is an unusually fine brick
structure for a village of its size, was erected in
1876. The Reformed Church, at Cato, was organ
ized about 1 83 1. Wm. DeForest, Isaac Van
Dorn.  DeLamater, John Wood and Jacob
and Martin DeForest were among the first mem
bers. Rev.  DeForest was their first pas
tor. He remained with them about two years.
Rev.  Hoffman was the second pastor. His
I pastoral labors covered a period of twenty years.
The third pastor was Rev.  Knight, who
remained about three years. Thomas Watson
became the pastor about 1859, and remained tfll
about 1866. He was followed by Revs. Swick,
Wilson and VanDorn, each of whom remained a
year. Their present pastor. Dr. Wells, came in
1876. Their first house of worship was erected
about 1833. It is now used as a tenement house.
The present house was bought about 1859. of
the Methodist Society, by whom it was built
about 1849. The present membership is about
thirty-five ; the attendance at Sabbath school,
about fifty.
The Church of Christ, (or Campbellite.) at
Cato, was organized about 1848, By Rev. John
Bartlett, who was formeriy a Baptist minister,
and was their first pastor. His pastorate covered
a period of about eight years. O. C. Petty, the
second pastor, remained about two years. The

298

TOWN OF MONTEZUMA.

third pastor was Mflton Shepard, who preached
about four years and died in Ira. He was suc
ceeded by  Robinson, who remained one
year, when John Bartlett served them a second
term of two years. The next pastor was Web
ster O. Moon, who remained two years. Dr.
Allen Benton, though not ordained, supplied the
pulpit about four years^ G. S. Bartlett, son of
John Bartlett, succeeded Benton and remained
one year. A. B. Chamberlain, the present pas
tor, entered upon his duties in 1876. Their
church was built at the time of their organization.
A session room and baptistry were added in 1874,
and the church was frescoed, newly cushioned
and painted. The present membership is about
one hundred ; the attendance at Sabbath school,
about fifty.- Among the first members were
Bradford Cook, Allen Benton, Silas Kellogg,
Joseph Spoor, Amos Bartlett, Jno. Barnes, Allen
Green, Kingsley Stevens, Caleb Everts, Zaccheus
Barnes, Othniel Clapp and Abijah Daratt.
' St. Patrick's Church, (R. C.,) at Cato, was
• organized about 1863. Martin Cusick, Cornelius
and Patrick Mehan, James Murphy, John Meri-
gan, Michael Clone and Thomas Fitzgerald were
among the first members. Father Donahue is
'the present pastor. Their house of worship was
built in 1874. The number of members is about
sixty. The M. E. Church, four mfles south of Cato,
was organized about 1820. Amos Cowell, John
Mills, Frank Hunting, and James Rhodes were
among the first members.' Their church edifice.
which is a brick structure, was erected about
* 1828. Some six or seven years ago it underwent
extensive repairs. A steeple was added and the
whole exterior remodeled. It is a neat, sub
stantial building. Rev. Mr. Kinney is the pas
tor; The membership is about fifty. Its pros
perity is mainly due to the interest taken in it
by Mr. Cowell. Societies.
¦ Cato Lodge No. 141, F. and A. M., at
Cato, was organized June nth, 1849. The
charter ofificers were George H. Carr, Master ;
Pier Teller, Sr. Warden ; Ansel Kimball, Jr.
Warden. The present ofificers are Frank Rich,
M. ; Wm. S. Pearson, S. W. ; Shepard Knowl-
tori,J. W. ; J. W. Hapeman, Secret^ary ; A. W.
Palmer, S. D. ; I. L Van Dorn, J. D. ; Nelson '

B. Knowlton, Tiler ; Wm. Sidney, S. M. C. ;
W. B. Priddy, J. M. C. ; S. J. Chase, Treasurer.
Meetings are held the first and third Thursdays
of each month, in their own hall, over the Cen
tral Hotel. The number of members is 112.
Manufactures. — In the south-east corner of
the town, at the iron bridge, is a saw-mill owned
by John Busby and built by him in 1868. Con
nected with it is a cider-mill and jelly factory.

CHAPTER XXXVI.
Town of Montezuma.
MONTEZUMA* is situated about the cen
ter of the west border of the county, and
lies wholly within the angle formed by the great
easterly bend of the Seneca River,t which forms
its northern and western boundary. The town
of Aurelius borders it on the south, and Mentz
and Throop, on the east.
The surface is moderately uneven, the hills
consisting chiefly of rounded eminences or low
ridges, which generally terminate abruptly to
ward the north and lose themselves in the sur
rounding highlands towards the south. The
steepest declivities are in the south part. Broad
intervals of low, flat alluvial lands, many of which
are subject to annual inundations during the
spring freshets, exist in the northern and central
parts. An extensive swamp, known as the
Montezuma marshes| and " the paradise of mus-
quitoes."§ extends along the river. Immense
quantities of flag, which grow from eight to
twelve feet in length, are annually cut from
these marshes and shipped to the eastern mar
kets, where they are used for bottoming. chairs
and other purposes. This and the fisheries here
during the season give employment to a consid
erable number of the inhabitants. Cattle are
pastured upon these marshes, and we are told
that so little exertion is required here to get such
*Namcd probably from the A2tcc Emperors of that name, the
last of Whom reigned at the time of the Spanish conquest.
fThe aboriginal name of this river was Tiohero, or river of rushes.
Jesuit map published in 1864.
t Aboriginal name, SyBfl^onna.
%Geographieal History of New York, 1850, J:h. Mather and
L, 1', llrockett, M. D.

GEOLOGICAL FORMATION.

299

a subsistence as the poorer classes usually have
to be content with, as to leave very few to be sup
ported as paupers, a less number than in
any other town in the County. Cayuga Brook,
which flows in a north-westerly direction through
the town a little north of the center, is the only
considerable stream.
The underlying rocks are those of the Onon
daga Salt Group, the red shale of which makes
its appearance along the canal, about two and
one-half miles west of Port Byron, where it is as
sociated with the yellow and green varieties. It
is also met with in the borings made for brine.
This group contains all the gypsum masses of
western New York, and furnishes all the salt
water of the salines of thc counties of Onondaga
and Cayuga. The gypseous is the valuable de
posit of Central New York, and the most import
ant, not only on account of its plaster beds, but
because it is only in this deposit that we have
positive evidence that salt has existed in this
group in a solid state.
" The great mass of the deposit consists of
rather soft yellowish or drab and brownish color
ed shale and slate, both argillaceous and calcare
ous, and of argillaceous and calcareous slaty and
more compact masses which are hard, a brownish
color predominating. The whole is usually de
nominated gypseous marl ; being earthy and in
durated, slaty and compact. Some of the in
durated and more solid kinds, when weathered,
present a peculiar appearance like that of having
been hacked by a cutting instrument, and with
some regularity, owing to cracks or joints in two
directions, giving a rhombic surface ; which, by
solution and wear taking place at the cracks, and
those not being continuous and regular as to dis
tance, the appearance mentioned is produced.
The stone readfly breaks in the direction of the
furrows or hacks, and the fracture shows stains
or marks of infiltration.
" When an acid is applied to the different as
sociates of the gypsum, they do not effervesce in
the free manner of purer limestone, but the ef
fect is produced when in powder. It is highly
.probable that the greater number contain mag
nesia, which may cause thc difference.
" The dark color of the gypsum and the brown
ish color of many of its associates, appear to be
owing to carbonaceous matter, and not to metal
lic oxides, becoming lighter by long exposure.
The greenish colored shale, so abundant usually
in gypseous deposits, appear to be but an incon
siderable portion in the district ; owing to the
dark color of its gypsum, and but few parts of
the mass having recently been uncovered, and its
5i-»

ready change of color by the action of the
weather."* Several brine springs exist in and near the vfl
lage of Montezuma. Their geological situation
is in marly clay, 380 feet above tide; They
have a temperature of fifty degrees, and evolve
carbonic acid gas.
"The springs were discovered at a very early
period by the Indians, and were shown by them
to the first white settlers. The brine was origin
ally obtained by digging small holes in the ground
a foot or two in depth, in the mr.rsh at the foot
of the ridge upon which the vfllage of Montezu
ma is situated. Subsequently wells were sunk
by the whites to the depth of forty or fifty feet,
from which brine was obtained in sufficient quan
tity for the manufacture of salt.
'" In 1807, salt water was discovered in a branch
ofthe Seneca River, .since called Salt Creek, at the
depth of eight or ten feet from the surface. The
brine thus obtained was similar in quality to that
in the wells already noticed. In 1810, under the
direction of the Cayuga Manufacturing Compa
ny, a well was sunk about one hundred feet deep.
on the west side of the ridge ujjon which the
village now stands. In .sinking this well three
separate springs of water were discovered. The
first was about ten feet from the surface, and was
like that which had been previously used. Then
succeeded a stratum of fine blue clay, five or six
feet in depth. Below this was a stratum of hard
pan, with occasionally some gravel, about thirty-
five feet in depth, A third stratum of quick
sand succeeded, in which was found some Weak
brine, yielding about ten ounces of saline matter
to the gallon. Lastly, there were strata of sand
and clay, with some water, to the depth of one
hundred feet, where was found the great fountain
of brine, which came in through abody of quick
sand. This brine, when unmixed with that of
the upper veins, is said to have produced twenty
ounces of saline matter to the gallon. f
" The brine from this well was analyzed by
Mr. G. Chilton.J of New York, and found to
contain in each 1,000 grains,
Chloride of calcium   1.53
Chloride of magnesium  0.30
Sulphate of lime  4,31
Carbonate of lime  0,02
Chloride of sodium  73-72
Water, &c  920.12
" A year or two afterwards, another well was
sunk on the east side of the ridge, and the great
fountain of brine was found at a depth of eighty
* Lardner Vanuxem. Natural History of Neiv York, Geology, 3(/
Dist. ^ " Sec a letter of Comfort Tyler, Esq., published in the Appen
dix to Dr, Van Rensselaer's Essay on Salt.''''
I Silliman''s journal, VII., p. 344.

300

TOWN OF MONTEZUMA.

feet. The strata passed through were similar to
those in the preceding well. The new well, more
recently opened, (I believe in 1824,) was one
hundred and twenty feet deep. At one hundred
and fifteen feet, the brine was said to have been
of sufficient strength to yield eighteen ounces of
saline matter to the gallon. On reaching the
quicksand, however, the brine rose rapidly, and
in two or three days overflowed the top of the
well. " In 1823, the salt made at the Montezuma
springs amounted to between 16,000 and 20,000
bushels, of which about 1,000 were produced by
solar evaporation. From that time the annual
produce gradually decreased, until it scarcely
amounted to more than a few hundred bushels.
" This great depression of the manufacture
may be ascribed to several causes. One of these
undoubtedly is the rudeness of the pump works.
The brine is raised by hand or horse power, and
the tubs are so imperfectly constructed that fresh
water is continually flowing in and reducing its
strength. The soil is moreover owned by indi
viduals, and the manufacturer is obliged to pur
chase or lease it, as well as to erect his works.
At the Onondaga springs, on the contrary,
grounds are furnished by the State without
charge. " Again, the inferior strength of the Monte
zuma brine has operated unfavorably upon the
manufacture at this place. On the other hand,
the advantages possessed here, are an abundant
supply of wood and eligible sites for the erection
of works on a side-cut from the Erie Canal.
" The brine obtained from one of the borings
made here previously to 1S40, had a specific
gravity of i 07543. 1,000 parts of the brine
yield 101.20 dry solid matter. The composition
of the whole is as follows :
Carbonate of lime  0.18
Sulphate of lime  5.25
Chloride of calcium  1.40
Chloride of magnesium  i.oo
Chloride of sodium, or common salt  93-35
Oxide of iron, with a minute portion of
sflica and carbonate of lime  0,02
Carbonic acid, holding in solution thc car
bonate of lime and oxide of iron  0.08
Water, with a trace of organic matter  898.72
" This brine, therefore, contains 700 grains of
dry chloride of sodium in a wine pint; 5,600 grains,
or 0.80 pound in a gallon, and it requires nearly
seventy gallons for a bushel of salt. The strength
of the Geddes brine, when compared to this, is
about as ten to seven ; of the Liverpool brine, as
ten to six and a half
"By an act of the Legislature passed in 1840,
an appropriation was made for the purpose of
procuring,.' if possible, a supply of brine of suffi
cient strength to be advantageously used in the
manufacture of salt. A shaft was sunk to the

depth of 200 feet, which opened into a vein of
brine much stronger than any heretofore pro
cured in this vicinity. The specific gravity of
this brine is 1.09767 ; and 1,000 parts of it con
tain 129.33 parts of dry, solid matter, or 12.93
in 100 parts of brine. This is within one per
cent, of the quantity contained in some of the
brines which have been worked in Onondaga
county ; a fact which would seem to warrant fur
ther expenditures, and to strengthent he expec
tations which have been entertained in regard
to the establishment of the manufacture of salt
at Montezuma.
" I have analyzed brine from a boring of up
wards of 500 feet, at the village of Montezuma,
and which is remarkable for the large proportion
of saline matter which it contains. The specific
gravity of this brine is 1.18959. water being
i.OOOOO. 1,000 grains of the brine contained
230,30 grains of perfectly dry saline matter.
The strength of thc specimen may be judged of
by thc fact, that 1,000 grains of water saturated
with common salt, contain from 260 to 270 grains
of that salt ; so that if there were nothing in
ihis brine but common salt, it would be within
three or four per cent, of complete saturation ;
but this is far from being the case.
" The following are the constituents in 1,000
grains of this brine:
Sulphate of lime, with minute portions of
carbonate of lime and oxide of iron  0.69
Chloride of calcium  90.24
Chloride of magnesium  8,05
Common salt, (pure and dry,)  131.32
Water, with traces of organic matter  769,70
It will require from 43 to 45 gallons of this
brine to furnish a bushel of salt in the ordinary
state of dryness.
"Thc following statement will exhibit thc
value of this brine, as compared with thc best
specimens heretofore obtained from Syracuse and
Montezuma : Grains,
Proportion of common salt in 100 grains of
this brine  13. 13
Proportion of common salt in 100 grains of
best Syracuse brine  '7-35
Proportion of common salt in 100 grains of
best Montezuma brine  9,33
" But in regard to the troublesome impurities,
viz : the chlorides- of calcium and magnesium,
the proportion in the brine just described is much
larger, as will appear from the following state
ment : Grains,
Earthy chlorides in 100 grains of this brine_-9, 82
Earthy chlorides in 100 grains of best Syra
cuse brine  1.50
Earthy chlorides in 100 grains of best Mon
tezuma brine  2.40

VILLAGE OF MONTEZUMA.

301

"The manufacture of salt from this brine,
therefore, will require more than ordinary care ;
as the earthy chlorides, even in small proportions,
render it moist and unfit for certain uses."*
The well here referred to is doubtless the one
sunk in 1839, by Solomon P. Jacobs, then State
Superintendent of Salt Works, back of the pres
ent grist-mfll in the vfllage of Montezuma. It
was carried to a dcjith of 650 feet.
About 1858 the State appropriated ^7,000 to
develop the Montezuma salt springs. Col. John
S. Clark and William PI. Carpenter, of Auburn,
were appointed commissioners to superintend
operations. A boring was made east of the vil
lage, near Buckland's bridge, on the farm owned
by C. W. Clapp, and another near the river, on
land owned by J. J. McLoud ; but the brine at
neither place was sufificiently strong to warrant
the erection of works. A third boring was made
at a place locally known as "Charleston," one
and one-half miles south-west of this villaa:e.
and brine obtained, which, it is said, was equal
to that at .Syracuse. Two long blocks were built
and the manufacture of salt begun about i860.
In 1862 Messrs. Truesdale & Loomis began to
make salt of a superior quality, and bade fair to
realize their fondest hopes. Salt was manufac
tured about three years, till 1863, when a bar of
iron or steel, an attachment to the pump, fell to
the bottom of the well, which was thus effectu
ally sealed and remains so to this day. The bar
exactly fitted the tube and could not be removed.
The business was consequently abandoned.
This circumstance gave rise to the suspicion
of foul play and induced the belief that this ac
cident was concerted in the interest of the salt
works at Syracuse ; but it is probable that the
business here, like that at Syracuse, suffered from
the competition incident to the development ofthe
salt interests in Michigan and Canada, and that
this accounts for the final abandonment.
A few years previous' to this Frank Torrey, L.
D. Fenelon and David Gaston manufactured a
good article of salt from brine drawn from the
old wefl near the grist-mfll, in the vfllage ; but
they soon discontinued it. In 1872 a stock com
pany was formed, the capital being furnished by
weekly contributions, for the manufacture of salt
by solar evaporation. Seven long vats were
erected ; but after a short trial some lost faith in
the enterprise and withheld their contributions,
* James C. Beck, Natural History of New York Mineralogy.

and the project was soon abandoned. The in
ferior brine and deliquesceiit character of the salt
made from it, owing to the presence of earthy
chlorides, made it impossible to compete with the
works at Syracuse.
About this time another appropriation of ;^3,ooo
was obtained through the efforts of Hon. Ira D.
Brown, memberof the Legislature in 1871. Wm.
Thorn, J. M. Jones and B. Ross were appointed
commissioners. They were of the opinion that
by cleaning out and pxtending the tube of the
well near the grist-mill a stroniger brine would be
obtained, but they sunk the well to a depth of
1,000 feet without realizing their expectations.
The derrick still stands, a monument to their en
terprise and the State's improvidence.
The soil upon the hills is a clay loam, mixed
in places with gravel ; in the valleys and on the
flats it is a rich alluvion.
The area of the town is 9,550 acres ; of which
7,528 are improved ; 844, woodland ; and 1,178,
otherwise unimproved.
The population in 1875 was 1,395 ; of whom
1,222 were native; 173, foreign ; 1,385. white ;
10, colored ; and 215, owners of land.*
The direct line ofthe New York Central Rail
road crosses the north border of the town, but
there is no station within the town. The Erie
Canal crosses the town from east to west a little
north of the center and crosses the river upon an
aqueduct. The Cayuga & Seneca Lake Canal
connects with the Erie Canal at Montezuma vil
lage, and extends south along the west border.
Montezuma.
Montezuma (p. o.) was incorporated in i866.t
It is situated near thc center of thc west border,
adjacent to the river, and at the junction of the
Erie and Cayuga and Seneca Lake Canals. It
is connected by stage with Auburn, whence it
receives its mail. It contains four churches,
(M. E., Free Methodist, Baptist and Catholic,) a
district school, one dry goods store, one hard
ware store, one drug store, four groceries, two
* Census of iSy^.
f Following is a list ofthe presidents ofthe village since Its incor
poration, with the years in which each served; Wm. Thorn 1866
and '7; Alanaon White, 1868 ; Frank Torrey, iSeg-'yo and '71 •
Alonzo D, Drake, i87a,-'3 and '5; Col. Wm. Bell, 1874; Henry
Stokes. 1876 ; C, E, Chase, 1877; and Garrett Forshee, 1878.
Thc village officers in 1878 were Garrett Forshee, president - Dr.
Emerick Crispell, clerk; Jerome Warrick, treasurer; Frank
Torrey, John Ross and John Malloy, trustees.

302

TOWN OF MONTEZUMA.

hotels and a grist-mill. It has a population of
550. The grist-mill owned by Messrs. Babcock &
Drake, came into their possession some twelve
years since. It was originally built as a steam
mfll in 1853, by L. A. Hopkins, of Auburn, and
vvas changed to a water power mill in 1861. The
motive power is furnished by the surplus water
from the canal, there being no natural water
power in the village. The mill has three run of
stones. The Northern Hotel, located in what is called
the old village, is conducted by 11. R. Shockey,
who leases of Mrs, Elcy P'orbes. This hotel occu
pies the site of the first hotel kept in the town,
which was built about seventy years ago by a
man named Stephens, and was burned July i6th,
1874. The Exchange Hotel, located in the new vil
lage, has been kept by Garrett P'orshee some five
or six years.
Montezuma Lodge F. & A. M. No. 176, was
organized July 15th, 1850, with seven members,
and meets the first and third Saturday evenings
of each month. Simeon Mott was the first mas
ter. The present officers are, Jerome L. Ful
ler, M.; Chas. W. Ball, 5. W.; John Ross, J W;
H. Mack, Treas.; Ed Ross, Sec. The present
membership is 48.
Rechabite Tent No. 43, was organized in Sep
tember. 1874, with Russel S. Chappel as C. R. ;
B. F. David, D. R.; and Geo. W. Bell, Shepherd.
The present ofificers are, B. I. C. Bucklin, C. R.;
Chas. Davenport, D. R. ; and Dr. E. W. Cris
pell. Shepherd. It is reputed to be a useful tem
perance organization. There are 60 members.
Meetings are held every Saturday night.
Logan Grange No. 107, at the old Mentz Church
iu Montezuma, was organized about 1873, with
thirty members. It consists bf twenty-nine
members. The first officers were, Jno. S. Pratt,
Master ; Wm. Buckingham, Overseer ; and Jas.
H. Baldwin, Lecturer. The present ofificers are
Chas. C. Weston, Master ; J. D. Nye, Overseer;
and Abram Rowe, Lecturer.
In the south-east part of the town is a cheese
factory, which receives the milk of about 100
cows. It was built in 1872, by a stock company,
of which Wallace Weston is President ; S. R.
Glasgow, Secretary; and Alonzo J. Weston,
Treasurer.

The first settlements were made in 1798, at
what is now called the old vfllage of Montezuma,
by Dr. Peter Clarke, Comfort Tyler and Abram
Morgan, who were attracted to the locality by
the salt springs there ; though it is pretty cer
tain that neither Clarke nor Tyler settled there
permanently till several years later, about 18 10
or 'I I. About the beginning of the present cen
tury they commenced the manufacture of salt,
" and did a good business long before Syracuse
had lain the foundations of its present prosperity
and vvcallh,"
Colonel Comfort Tyler vvas born in the
town of Ashford, Conn., p-ebruary 22d, 1764.
At the age of fourteen he evinced that dis
position to mingle in public affairs which so con
spicuously characterized his after life, for at that
age we find him a soldier in the war of the Revo
lution, though his duties were light, being mostly
confined to service in and about the fortress of
West Point. In 1783 he vvas engaged in sur
veying and in teaching school in the Mohawk
country, and while there he was engaged by Gen.
James Clinton and si)ent one season with the ex
pedition to establish the boundary line between
New York and Pennsylvania, In the spring of
1788, in company with Major Asa Danforth, he
began thc settlement in Onondaga county, where
he " felled the first tree, and constructed thc first
piece of turnpike road in the State west of P'ort
Stanwix," and assisted in the first manufacture of
salt. When the Military Tract was surveyed he
was selected to assist. He surveyed one of the
townships, and subsequently the Cayuga reser
vation. He filled various offices of responsibility
and trust in Onondaga county, and in 1798 and '9,
represented that county in the Legislature. He
was foremost among the agitators for public im
provements, and was conspicuously active in the
construction of roads, bridges and all other works
calculated to promote the general welfare. Plis
efforts to bring capital and influence in aid of
these undertakings led to his acciuaintance with
Aaron Burr, and his subsequent connection wilh
the celebrated southern expedition projected by
that gentleman, which resulted so disastrously.
The disease which ultimately resulted in Col.
Tyler's death is ascribed to his effort to evade
capture at this time. This affair greatly impaired
his private fortune, and, such was the popular
prejudice against those who participated in it,

VILLAGE OF MONTEZUMA.

303

that it destroyed forever his prospects as a public
riian. It also engendered a controversy between
Burr and Tyler, which resulted in their total es
trangement. In 181 1, Col. Tyler removed with his family to
Montezuma, and took a deep interest in the
Cayuga Manufacturing Company, who were en
gaged in making salt. With a view to increasing
their business by rendering Montezuma more ac
cessible, and very much by the advice and per
sonal exertions of Col. Tyler, the company built
two long bridges across the Seneca and Clyde
rivers, and constructed a turnpike, more than
three miles in length, over the Cayuga marshes,
where the earth was so soft that with one hand a
man might with ease thrust a^pole into it ten or
twelve feet.
Col. Tyler resided two or three years in IIo-
boken, and superintended the draining of the
salt meadows in that vicinity. During the vvar
of 18 12 he entered the army and served in the
capacity of Assistant Commissary General to the
northern army, with the rank of Colonel, till the
close of the war.
After the close of the war the canal policy en
gaged his earnest attention. From the begin
ning, he was among the foremost of the advocates
of that work, and he was early in the field, side
by side with Judge Geddes and Judge P'orman in
advocating the feasibility and policy of the plan.
He lived to rejoice with those who rejoiced at its
completion. He died at his residence in Montezuma, in the
house now occupied by Addison Pease, August
5th, 1827,*
Dr. Peter Lynsen Clarke, who was born at
Milford, Connecticut. July I5lh, 1773, came horn
New York city, on horse-back, and arranged for
the erection of his residence, returning in the
same way. Soon after his return he learned
that the parties with whom he had contracted
for the erection of thc building, had decamped
with the !!S2,ooo, the contract price. He imme
diately returned and executed a new contract
with other parties, for a like amount, not forget
ting the second time a precaution he had over
looked at first, to require sureties from the build
ers. "I" It is a large, once sightly building, and
* Clark's Onondaga, to vih'Kh we are indebted for many ofthe
facts obtained in this sketch,
•I- Local authorities differ in regard to the year in which tliis house
w.is built, John Francis Daley, who has been connected with the

though it now shows signs of decay, is extremely
well preserved. When erected it was sup
posed there was not another such house west of
Albany. It stands upon a rounded eminence,
known as Prospect Hill, and from its roof one
gets a magnificent view of the surrounding coun
try, which lies spread before him like a pano
rama. A really beautiful landscape is presented,
such as one seldom beholds, diversified by hfll
and valley, and broad spreading plains, through
which the river and creek, like silver threads,
glisten in the sun, as they wend their tortuous
course. The eye is charmed by the pleasing al
ternation of cultivated field, wooded sloj e, and
grassy plot, with an occasional house peeping
through the foliage of trees by which they are
partially hidden. He realizes fully, having pre
viously viewed the country from the neighboring
lowlands, the force of the adage, " distance lends
enchantment to the view," for it needs such a dis
tance and altitude to give him a favorable im
pression of the marshy tracts which prevail in
the immediate vicinity of the village.
Dr. Clarke moved into the town soon after
with his family, and while his house was in
process of erection occupied a house adjacent to
it built by Mr. Swarlhout, which has since
burned down. He and his son, James Anthony
Clarke, who was born in Brooklyn, July 23d,
1804, were largely interested in the salt works at
this place, and were prominently identified wilh
several other business interests conducted here.
About 1840 he removed with his family to
New York, where he died May 31st, 1858. His
remains arc interred in the family cemetery in
Montezuma, which is an addition, including three
acres of ground, to the Moiilezuma Prospect Mill
Cemetery, beautifully situated upon the hill-side
a little south-east of the village, where a fine mar
ble mohunlent is erected, costing ^1,000.
The property still remains in the hands of the
Clarke family, and thc old house is the summer
resort of its surviving members, some of whom
spend several months here every summer.
Clarice family for thirty years and has had charge of their property here
for tile last twenty five years, fixes the date in 1813; while Horatio
Mack, who has proved to be an excellent authority in other respects
and to wlioni we are largely indebted for information regarding this
town, tiiinks it was built as early as 1808, We are inclined tuthinic
the latter date more nearly correct, for he had a child born in the
town in l8lo; sliowing that he moved in his family as early as that
year.

304

TOWN OF MONTEZUMA.

" Col. Solomon P. Jacobs, Dr. Job W. May,
Royal Torrey, Wm. Dewey, Zebulon Mack, Drs.
Noyes Palmer and Geo. W. P'itch, Robert
Whaley. Alfred Hovey. Nicholas Morgan. Samuel
Bradley, Simeon Mott. Benj. F. Janes, Asher P.
Osborn, Alanson Griggs, S. N. Budlong, J. C.
Wood, John J. and Frank Cook, Augustus
Stokes, Geo. Vrcdenbergh, Dr. Griggs and oth
ers, who sleep their last sleep, were residents of
the vfllage. Several of them to-day are repre
sented in business by their children.
" H. S. Lemon was salt inspector ; James Mc
Loud, Samuel Gfllespie and J. K. Chipps were
proprietors of hotels.
"In 1848 Col. Jacobs was canal superintend
ent ; Roswell R. Jacobs, captain of the State
scow ; Horace Davenport, Lewis D. and John
R, Fenlon, captains of the packet boats.
" Lewis Bostedo, who died December 23d,
1877, in Wisconsin, and figured conspicuously in
the business of the village, John J. Tallmadge,
(Democratic candidate for Governor of Wiscon
sin, in 1870,) Gfles Ross, (novv of Michigan,)
John Patrick, recently deceased, John Brett, who
died in Auburn, Norman Plurd, who died in Can
ada, Diamond H. Hoff, who died recently in
California, Edson Bishop, who died a few months
since in Auburn, Maj. David Titus, of Aurelius,
Samuel Bell, of Sacramento, Cal,, Maj. Washing
ton Bogardus, now living in New York, Wm.
and J. K. Chipps, now living in Geneva, were
also engaged in business. N. G. and Robert
Ransom, (the former now living in Missouri, and
the latter in this town,) and Wm. Ross, now liv
ing in the village, were leading farmers. Wm.
Chfllis, since Lieutenant-Governor of California,
taught school in the house of Judge Post.
Chauncey Smith, of Michigan, Chauncey Stokes,
and Adonijah Stanley, of California, Abram Pres
ton, of Michigan, and Smith D. Mallory, now
living in the town, were prominent carpenters
and mechanics. The genial Stephen Reamer,
now deceased, kept a hotel on the site of the
present hotel in the old viflage, Chas. Fenlon,
now County Treasurer of Waupaca county,
Wisconsin, R. K. McMaster, of St. Louis, re
cently deceased, Hiram Titus, now of Aurelius,
Geo. B. Hurd. Henry Stokes, Frank Torrey, C.
C. Mallory, and Benj. P. Ransom were among
the young men of that day."*
Ephraim Martin and a Mr. Howell were early
settlers in the south-west part of the town, and
Lewis McLoud, east of the village. Robert
Ransom settled a little west of the village at an
early day. Jethro Wood, the inventor of the
cast-iron plow, came into the town from Scipio
about 1832, and settled on Clarke's hifl.
Merchants. — Dr. Peter Clarke, Caleb M.
*Horatio Mack, Contribution to Cayuga Chief.

P'itch. John M. P'lint and a Mr. Lord were among
the first merchants.
Caleb M. Fitch moved into the town from Col
umbia county, N. Y., with his family, consisting
of wife and eight chfldren, only two of the latter
of whom, (Wm. and Sarah Ann, wife of Bennett
Radford,) are now living, about 1822, and settled
in the old village, and opened a dry goods store
in the buflding diagonally opposite the hotel, and
now occupied by Henry Lemon, as a dwelling.
Peter Clarke was selling dry goods in the same
building, which was divided. He was a member
of the Cayuga Manufacturing Company, which
then consisted, besides himself, of Peter Clarke,
Geo. W. Fitch and Job and Asher Tyler, the
latter of whom removed to Cattaraugus county,
and served his district in Congress in 1843-45.
About i826-'27-'28, Mr. Fitch vvas associated
with John M. Flint in the dry goods business.
He subsequently purchased the interest of Flint,
who removed to New York, where he kept the
Pearl Street House. Mr. Fitch died August
23d, 1829.
Horatio Mack opened his drug store in the
village in 1870, and has since continued it. He
was born here July ist, 1844. Pie is the present
postmaster, a position he has held for nine suc
cessive years. Plis father, Zebulon Mack, who,
in early life taught school in Montreal, moved
into the town of Montezuma from Seneca Falls,
in 1841, and died here November 24th, 1861.
He was engaged in the grocery business in the
village some ten years, and was postmaster for
five years from 1849, In 1856 '57-'58 he was
salt inspector.
Eli Sherman, a native of New Jersey, came to
Montezuma from Onondaga county in April,
1836, and in company with Hiram Curtis from
Connecticut, engaged in the boot and shoe busi
ness. After about a year Mr. Curtis returned
to Connecticut, leaving Mr. Sherman to conduct
the business alone untfl 1871, when his son,
James L. Sherman, was admitted to partnership.
In i860, dry goods were added fo the stock.
The firm is E. Sherman & Son.
Wm. Thorn was born in London, England.
and came to this country with his wife, Jessie, in
1848. In the fall of 1861 he removed to the vil
lage and opened a flour and feed store. He was
canal collector in 1872-73.
Preston W. Ross and James J. McLoud,

EARLY SETTLEMENTS.

36s

opened their stock of groceries and boots and
shoes in December. 1874, under the firm name
of Ross & McLoud.
John F. Daley, who has resided in the town
some thirty years, and whose family has charge
of the Clarke family's property, opened his gro
cery and meat market November 17th. 1875.
Frank Faatz. in the spring of 1877, opened
the hardware store, which is now conducted un
der the name of Frank Faatz & Co.
Physicians. — The first physician was Dr.
Nathan Wood, who lived in the Ward settlement
in Throop. Dr. Job W. May was probably the
first resident physician. He settled at the old
village previous to 18 14. He continued to prac
tice untfl incapacitated by age and infirmities.
In 1858 he removed to Wayne county, where he
died, January 2d. 1875, aged 98 years. He was
an excellent physician. Dr. Geo. W. Fitch, a
brother of Caleb M. Fitch, came in from Onon
daga Hollow shortly previous to 1822. The
present physicians are Drs. C. E. Chase and E.
W. Crispell.
Mrs. Sarah D. Stocking, formerly Mrs. S. D.
Mack, and Mrs. Mary Sherman are the present
milliners. " The first postmaster was Dr. Job W. May.
His successors were. Dr. Geo. W. Fitch, Dr.
Noyes Palmer, E. Sherman, Norman Hurd, Lewis
Bostedo, Zebulon Mack, Samuel W. Budlong,
Benj. F. Janes, E. Sherman, G. A. Stocking and
Ploratio Mack.
" Judge Wardwell, who died in Jefferson coun
ty, in Aprfl, 1878, was the first canal collector.
He was succeeded by Wm. Noble, Dr. Noyes
Palmer, Alfred Hovey, E. B. Cobb, Dr. Alleben.
P'lijah Miller, Theron Green, Wm. PI. Day,
David S. Titus, E. H. Whitney, Giles Ross,
Stephen M. Stokes, Wm. K Wheat, Hiram Titus.
Chas. Truesdale, Royal E. Torrey, Henry
Stokes, Garrett Forshee. A. White, Wm. Thorn,
B. Ross, John Nolan and Wm. Emerson."*
The first saw-mill was buflt about 18 10 or '12;
and the first grist-mfll about 1842 or '43, by Ho
ratio Griffin. It was a steam-mill, and stood on
the lot owned by Catharine Joiner, on the east
side of the road between the old and new village.
A saw-mfll was connected with it, but both
burned down soon after. Previous to that the
settlers took their grists to Throopsville and
Port Byron.
The completion of the Erie Canal in 1825 gave
a new impetus to the village, and diverted settle-
* Horatio Mack. Contribution to Cayuga Chief
52-2

ments to its locality, which is denominated the
new village, in contradistinction from the settle
ments made when the salt interests were the cen
ter of attraction.
Town Officers. — Montezuma was organized
as a town April 8th,i8S9,being set off from Mentz.
The first town meeting was held at the house of
Isaac W. Trufant. March 6th, i860, at which time
the following named ofificers were elected : Royal
Torrey, Supervisor; Isaac W. Trufant, Clerk;
Morgan L. Worden, William Bell and Robert
Jeffries, Justices of the Peace ; James A. Bald-^
win, William Pease and John B. Myetk, Assess
ors ; Ezra Pease and Joseph McLoud, Overseers
of the Poor ; Robert Ransom, Joseph Weston,
John A. Taylor, Jr., Commissioners of Highways;
Jesse S. Leigh, Collector; Henry Stokes. Har
mon PI. Morgan, Christopher Trufant, Moses
Gay and John W. Mills, Constables ; Bennett
Ratford, Smith D. Mallory and Charles H. Gam-
well, //w/^-c/^w of Election; Titxxs 'Qarg'^ , Sealer
of Weights and Measures ; N. Post and G. H.
Stocking, Justices of tlie Peace.
The present officers are (1879):
Supervisor— P^onzo D. Drake.
Town Clerk — William P". Daley.
Justices — Nathaniel Post, Frank Torrey and
Jonathan P. Jones.
Assessors— ]ohn Ross, Charles W. Ball and
James D. Nye.
Collector — William Kelley.
Overseer of the Poor — Silas H. Pease.
Constables — Horace Davenport and Charles
Humphrey. ,
Inspectors of Election — Curtis I. Trufant, Thos.
Hall and Charles Walling.
Game Constable — Jacob H. Shaw.
Commissioners of Highways — William Buck
ingham, John Stahlnecker, Jr., and Harrison L.
Crofut. Commissioner of Excise — George Eckert.
Montezuma sent over one hundred men into
the field during the Rebellion, of whom many
died. La Due, Walling and Mosher died in An-
dersonville prison, and Franklin Reed, Harmon
A. Morgan,. George White, Henry Mink and
others, were slain in battle.
Churches. — The first church formed in the
town was The First Presbyterian Church of the
tozvn of Mentz, now located at Port Byron, about
the beginning ofthe present century. The meet-

3o6

TOWN OF MONTEZUMA.

ings were held in a school house which stood
near the site of the " Old Mentz church."
The Baptist Church of Montezuma was
formed September nth, 1819, and the " Church
of Aurelius and Mentz" was adopted as its name.
The first pastor was Rev. Ichabod Clark, who
was voted $2^ for his " labors among us in the
gospel," February 21st, 1820. The church took
early and strong ground against the practice of
dancing, for at a meeting held March 9th, 1820, it
is recorded that Benjamin Waite made complaint
against Harry Phelps for indulging in that pas
time, and a committee was appointed to labor
with him. May nth, 1820, the committee re
ported adversely and fellowship was withdrawn.
At the same meeting ;^7S was voted Mr. Clark
for pastoral services for one year from March
loth, 1820, the amount to be paid in grain, which,
according to a vote passed January 20th, 182 1,
was to be estimated at seventy-five cents per
bushel for wheat, and thirty cents for corn and
rye. James Rathbone. Amos Woodworth, William
Chandler, Benjamin Waite, William Gay, Samuel
Gilbert, R. N. Woodworth, Ebenezer Allen,
Freegift Cole, William Jflossom, Plarry Phelps,
Wifliam Greiggs, Benjamin B. Jewett, Wheaton
Hicks, Sperry Peck, Phebe Gay and Elias Beach
were among the first members of this church.
p^ebruary 21st, 1820, it was " Voted that wc
believe it to be a disciplinable evil for our
brethren to attend the Free Mason Lodge ;
therefore feel it our duty as a Church of Christ
not to fellowship such brethren as do visit the
Lodges, or any other of the Masonic meetings."
This view, however, seems soon to have been
very much modified, for November 4th, 1820, it
was " Voted to withdraw the vote passed Feb
ruary 2 1 St, 1820, concerning the subject of Ma
sonry." Elder Elkeney Comstock was the next pastor,
for February 2d, 1822, he was voted ^100 for
preaching one year from January ist, 1822.
May 4th, 1822, it was "Voted that the church
acted unconsiderate in receiving Brother Frad-
rick Lathrop on his Baptism, being^ Baptized by
an open communion Baptist." At the same date
it was "Voted to withdraw the hand of fellowship
from Sister Eunice Emons for her unlawful act
in marrying another man while her husband
liveth." For several years they were without a

pastor, although the records show that frequent
efforts were made to secure the services of one.
Elder Luther Goodrich was the next pastor, from
June 28th, 1828, for two years. July 3d, 1830,
it was " Voted to hold meetings constantly at
the school-house on the turnpike near to Foster
ville." June 4th, 1 83 1. Elder Goodrich officiated, and
Elder John Jeffries succeeded him in the pas
torate. October ist, 1836, he was granted a let
ter. Elder S. M. Plumb served them a few
months in 1837, ^"d was succeeded by Elder
Ezra Dean, as a licentiate, Aprfl 19th, 1838.
Elder Dean was ordained August 29th. 1838.
and continued one year. Elder John Jeffries
was again engaged May 15th, 1838.
January ist, 1842, the church decided to give
Edmon Mott a license to preach, and August 6th,
1842, the hand of fellowship was withdrawn from
him on account of infidelity to his wife.
In 1843 Elder Jeffries severed his connection
with the church, but was engaged to supply the
desk till another pastor could be secured, for
which he was promised a reward. September
3d, 1844, he was voted $^0 for that service; but
it was never paid, for I'ebruary 20th. 1845, ^^
was voted to accept it as a donation, Mr. Jeffries
having relinquished his claim to it. June 3d,
1843, a letter of dismission was voted him. W.
F. Purrington supplied thc pulpit, at thc expense
of the society, tfll May ist, 1844. Sunday, No
vember 3d, 1844, Elder P. Lyon seems to have
filled the pulpit, and the following Sunday his
services were engaged for one year at a salary
of $250.
February 28th, 1846, it was unanimously re
solved to call Brother W. F. Purrington to ordi
nation. F'ebruary 6th, 1847, it was resolved to
invite Brother Purrington to continue the pasto
rate, and instead of a salary to give him all that
could be collected in the church and society by
subscription and donation. July ist, 1849. Elder
O. M. Gibbs assumed pastoral relations. May
2d, 1852, Elder H, Trow was called to the pasto
rate one year, for ^300. June loth, 1855, the
services of Elder Ferguson were secured till the
first of the following September, at ;^5 per Sab
bath. The record does not show who were the pas
tors from this period to 1868, in which year El
der L. R. Reynolds was called. He commenced

MONTEZUMA _ CPIURCHES.

307

his labors January ist, 1868 and closed them
Aprfl 1st, 1872. He was succeeded by Elder
Chas. Berry who served the church ftom May,
1872, tifl May, 1874; Elder Sigford supplied the
pulpit three months during the summer of 1874,
and Adelbert Coates, a student from Rochester,
for six months during the summer of 1875. Tifl
October ist, '76, when Ross Matthews, of Port
Byron was called, the pulpit was supplied
by students from Rochester and Hamflton.
When it was decided to call Elder Matthews, it
was also decided to raise ;^200 toward his salary
and to ask the State Convention to add thereto
such sum as they in their wisdom saw fit. April
loth, 1878, an invitation was extended to Elder
L. R. Reynolds to again become their pastor for
one year from April 28th. The Church has a
present membership of thirty-six.
Methodist Episcopal Church, Montezuma.
— In the year 1823, the first meetings under the
auspices of the M. E. Society, were held at the
school house in the old village. Robert Whaling
was thc first class-leader. Thc original members
of his class were Benoni Harris and wife, Robert
Whaling and wife, Walter Thorp and wife. Thos.
Fenlon and wife, Ezra Buckingham and wife,
Eneas Cherry and sons, Sallie Austin, Maria
Clarke, and Mary Barnes. In the year 1825, the
Mentz Church was erected. The first minister
was Rev. John Kimberling, who was succeeded
by Vincent M. Corriel, Dana Fox, Isaac Puffer,
Roswell Parker, John Watson, John Whitcomb,
Loren L. Adkins, Philo Bennett, Rev. Mr. Mor
ton, Alonzo Wood, Wm. Newell Cobb, Jas. Ayls-
worth, Ward W. White, Aaron Cross, Samuel B.
Porter, C. PI. Plall, Wm. Dean, David Davis.
Lansing Benjamin, A. Plamilton. Asa Benham,
J. S. Foster, Albert Ensign, John M. Searles.
Thos. D. Wire, Wm. C. Bowen, F. M. Warner,
Walter Jerome, S. Miner, Elias Hoxie, David
Davis, D. W. Beadle, David Stone, Royal Hough
ton. S. PI. Aldridge, Charles L. Dunning, John
R. Pendefl, and W. F. Butman, the present
pastor. The present M. E. Church on Auburn street,
was dedicated January ist, 1848, Rev. Elias
Bowen, Presiding Elder. Cost about ;g2,ooo.
Present number of members 100.
Average attendance at Sabbath school, 35.
Average attendance at Class-meetings, 45. Aver
age attendance at Prayer-meetings, 30.

While none of the members of the church have
been called to the missionary field of labor, yet
the church has had at all times active and zealous
members, who have always stood firm and true
for the Master, and has been blessed with an active
and pious ministry, and many are safe in the
promised land as the reward of their labors.
Rev. Wm. C. Bowen. A. M., a former pastor of
the church, is now Professor and Principal of the
Bordentown Seminary, Bordentown, N. J.
The Old Mentz Church (M. E.) located in
the south-east part of the town, was organized
prior to 1825, in which year their present church
edifice was erected. Meetings were held pre
vious to the erection of the house in the barn of
John Gflmore. Rev. Samuel Bibbins of Weeds-
port, officiated as their pastor when thc church
was erected. Thc present pastor is Rev. Seth
Mattison, who has served them two years. The
present membership is about thirty ; and the
attendance at the Sabbath school forty.
The first Methodist minister known to have
preached in Montezuma was Benoni Harris.
St. Michael's Church, (Catholic.) at Mon
tezuma village, was organized about 1865, with
some fourteen families, among whom were John
M. Daley, John Nolan, Michael Maroney, Thos.
Connolly and Thos. McGuire. Previous to the
organization occasional meetings were held in
private houses and conducted by priests from the
neighboring villages. The church, the one now
occupied, was built in 1865, at a cost of $1,400,
the money having been contributed by individu
als in this, Seneca and Wayne counties. The
first pastor was Rev. James Lcddy, who com
menced his ministrations in the fall of 1865, and
came once a month from Weedsport, where he was
settled. After about a year Father Patrick Burns,
commenced his ministry here, continuing about
two years. He was succeeded by two German
priests, one of whom was Rev. Father Joseph,
who also served them about two years. Father
Michael Purcell came next, continuing his pas
toral relations about three years, and was fol
lowed by Anthony Vei Cici, an Italian, and after
two years, by John C. Kenney, who also served
them three years. Father Kenney was succeed
ed by Father Chas. Ploran, whose ministrations
they now enjoy, and who, like his predecessors,
being stationed at Weedsport, filled the pulpit
there as well as at Port Byron. The church never

308

TOWN OF MENTZ.

had a resident pastor. They number about
thirty-seven families, and are now negotiating
for a lot, on which they purpose erecting a new
edifice. Father James O'Connor was a very ac
ceptable pastor of this Church, but in vvhat year
we could not determine.
The Free Methodist Church, of Montezuma
village, was formed about 1869, in which year
the church edifice was built by Bolivar Beach, in
whom the title is vested. The buflding cost
about 1^1,500. and will seat about 300 persons.
Among the first members were Bolivar Beach
and wife, Ellen, John Stahlnecker and wife,
Catharine, and daughter, Catharine. Wm. Reed,
Roswell R. Jacobs. Mrs. Almeda Freeland, Thos.
Allen and Mrs. Benjamin Helmer. The pres
ent number of members is twelve. Meetings
were held some two years previous to the build
ing of the church, in the Baptist Church and the
school-house. The first pastor was John Glen,
who remained one year. He was succeeded by
John T. James, a Mr. McDougall, John Osborn,
and Moses M. Downing, each of whom remained
one year. Rev. Mr. Olney, of Port Byron, is
the present pastor. They have not been con
tinuous in their service, and the church is in a
feeble condition.

CHAPTER XXXVII.
Town of Mentz.

MENTZ is an interior town, situated north
of the center of the County and is
bounded on the north by Seneca River, which
separates it from the town of Conquest, on the
east by Brutus, on the south by Throop, and on
the west by Montezuma.
The surface is moderately hflly, the highest
elevations being in the southern part. The
north part partakes more of the character of the
marshy tract which borders the river. The hills
are susceptible of cultivation to their summits.
The streams are the Owasco Outlet, which flows
north through the central part, and Spring Brook,
which crosses the south east part, both emptying
into the Seneca River, the former in this town,
the latter in Brutus.

The underlying rocks are the red shale, gypsum
and limestone of the Onondaga salt group, which
rests upon the Niagara group. The gypsum
does not appear in layers or beds ; on the con
trary it occurs in insulated masses, as though
the particles of each mass had been attracted by
a common center, but greatly modified by dis
turbing causes, so that the forms which it as
sumed were irregular and not globular-masses.
In many localities there appears to be two ranges
of these masses, or plaster beds, as they are
termed, generally separated by the vermicular
rock, the hopi)er shaped cavities, and other less
characteristic masses. The hopper cavities were
noticed at the hill and road-side to the south of
Port Byron, below the gypsum. In no part of
the range is there a vertical section, of any great
height, of the gypseous masses exposed ; and,
therefore, there is no absolute certainty of their
being in ranges, or of the number of ranges,
though certain localities prove both. The dis
position of the whole third, or gypseous, deposit
to a stratiform arrangement favors alike state for
the gypsum, but does not define the number of
the ranges.
The plaster hills range from east to west
through the County. They are more or less
rounded and short, rendering some portions of
their plaster very accessible, the layers in which
the masses exist having but a slight inclination.
The vermicular lime-rock is essentially calcare
ous, and was first made known by Prof. Eaton.
It is a porous or cellular rock, strongly resem
bling porous or cellular lava. Its name is due to
there having been observed in it several holes,
lined with a kind of tubular calcareous shell or
crust, in some measure resembling the tubular
covering of the Serpula, which is so often seen
perforating coral rocks. In color it is a dark-
gray or blue rock, perforated everywhere with
curvflinear holes ; but very compact between the
holes. The holes or cells vary from microscopic
to half an inch in diameter. The cells generally
are very irregular, and communicate in most in
stances with one another. Some are spherical.
and contain spherical crusts. The resemblance
of no small part of the rock to a porous lava is
perfect ; but if the cells in lava are caused by
gaseous matter, as is commonly supposed, then
these had a different origin. In Bull's plaster
quarry in the town of Lenox, the structure of

GEOLOGICAL FORMATION.

309

the cells leaves no doubt as to their mineral ori
gin. The cells show that parts of the rock were
disposed to separate into very thin layers which
project into the cells, an effect wholly at variance
with aeriform cavities, but evidently the result of
the simultaneous forming of the rock.and of a solu
ble mineral, whose removal caused the cells in
question. This view appears to be fully con
firmed by the discovery in this rock of those forms
which are due to common salt, showing that a
soluble saline material had existed and acquired
shape in it, and been subsequently dissolved,
having a cavity or cavities.
There are two masses of the vermicular rock,
an upper and a lower one. The former extends
from Port Byron east to the ridge west of Oneida
Creek. It is about four feet thick ; and its pores
or cavities are usually large. The lower mass
is limited. Its pores are small, and its greatest
thickness is about twenty feet.*
An extensive deposit of gravel and fine build
ing sand has been opened in the hill in the south
part of Port Byron, and large quantities of the for
mer have been used in improving the roads in the
tovyn. The sand is shipped to other localities by
canal. A vertical section of some one hundred
feet is exposed, and gives a fine fllustration of
the dip and strata of the rocks.
Vast deposits of marl exist in this town in
common with many other localities in the
County.f Only recently its development as a fertilizer was
begun, and should the enterprise meet with that
success which it now seems reasonable to antici
pate, this interest is destined to be an important
industry in this locality. It will open up an al
most inexhaustible mine of the richest manure.
"This substance is a carbonate of lime, which
has separated from its solvent, in water ; the lat
ter preventing its particles from cohering to
gether, and allowing them to subside in the state
of a calcareous mud. It is in many places con
stantly depositing from waters holding limestone
in solution.''^
The soil is a clay loam on the hills, mixed in
localities with sand and gravel. In the valleys
* Lardner Vanuxem, Natural History of New York, Geology, 3^
District. ¦I- According to James Hall, the Cayuga marshes, which em
brace an area of 40,000 acres, arc in many, and probably in all
places, underlaid by marl to the depth of several feet. New York
Geological Reports, 1839.
\ Lardner Vanuxem, Natural History of New York, jrf District.

it is a rich alluvion. It is generally well adapted
to wheat and the other cereals, which rarely fail
on clay bottoms, upon which the surface never
heaves. This property of clay, that of holding
the roots when the surface is frozen, is highly
important. The following is an analysis of two specimens
of soil taken from the farm of the late Mr. Ira
Hopkins in Mentz. The salt group lies below
and the surrounding region contains much drift.
The first specimen was taken from a dry ridge
which has been under cultivation many years,
and has produced forty bushels of spring wheat to
the acre ; the second is a clay loam, resting upon
plaster shales : First. Second.
Water of absorption  3,84 5.10
Organic matter  10.44 5-94
Silicates  77.78 80.40
Peroxide of iron and alumina 4.98 5.00
Carbonate of lime  1.30 2.36
Magnesia"""  1.48 1.08

99.82 99.88
The town covers an area of 10,081 acres ; of
which 7,246, are improved ; 991, woodland ; and
1,844. otherwise unimproved.
The population in 1875 was 2,300; of whom
2,091, were natives; 209, foreigners; 2,271,
white ; 29, colored ; and 435, owners of land.f
The direct line of the New York Central Rafl
road extends through the town from east to west
a little north of the center ; and the Erie Canal,
in the same direction, a little south ofthe center.
Port Byron.
Port Byron is beautifully situated in the valley
of the Owasco, surrounded by rounded emi
nences, which, with their alternating verdure and
cultivated soil, make a pleasing landscape. Its
principal streets, with their many fine residences
and tastily ornamented lawns, evince the aesthetic
culture of its citizens.
It is on the line of the Erie Canal, one mile
south of the station by the same name on the
New York Central Raflroad, and distant seven
mfles north of Auburn, with which it is connect
ed by stage. It contains six churches (M. E.,
Presbyterian, Baptist. Free Methodist, Episcopal
and Roman Catholic.) an academy, a newspaper
* E. Emmons, Natural History of Neiv York, Agriculture.
I Census of 1875.

310

TOWN OF MENTZ.

oflice, a private bank, two good hotels, (the How
ard House , owned by John R. & Rush M. PIow-
ard, and the National, Jcept by Wm. G. Gallt,)
several stores of various kinds, two flouring-mills,
a foundry, a planing-mill, sash and blind factory,
woolen factory, a small cheese factory, and about
1,200 inhabitants.
The Port Byron Free School and Academy
was chartered in 1857, and the following year a lot
containing one and one-half acres, centrally lo
cated, was purchased and the present brick
structure erected. The building is three stories
high, sixty feet long and fifty feet wide, and is
capable of accommodating 400 pupils. The
cost of the lot and buflding was $10,850. The
school is divided into academic, senior, sub-
senior, junior and primary departments. It is
free to all residents of the district, except for
Latin and Greek, for which $2 each is charged.
To non-residents the tuition fee is $6, and $2
each for the languages. The course of instruc
tion is left discretionary with the principal. It
is managed by a board of nine trustees. The
first board was composed of J. D. Button, M. D,,
W. A. Halsey, who is the present president,
Alfred Mead, Amasa K, King, F. M. King, D.
B. Smith, Geo. Randall, J. D. Schoonmaker and
Wm. D. Osborne. It has a library containing
1,050 volumes, valued at $1,062.50, and philo
sophical and chemical apparatus valued at $250.
The present attendance is from 250 to 300. The
present Principal is A. W. Morehouse.
The Port Byron Chronicle is published
weekly by Chas. E. Johnson, who commenced its
publication in company with Geo. F. Marsh, un
der the name of Marsh & Johnson, November
1st, 1873. John L. Ransom became interested
in its publication in May, 1874, and continued
his interest tfll September, 1877, when he sold
to the present proprietor, who is also its editor.
The paper was established here in 185 1, by
Oliver T. Beard, as the Port Byron Gazette. In
i860 it passed into the hands of Benj. Thomp
son, who sold to Wm. Plosford in 1861. In 1862
it was bought by Cyrus Marsh, and its name
changed to The North Cayuga Times. PI. P.
Winsor succeeded Cyrus Marsh, but in what
year we could not learn. Several changes in
proprietors took place from this period to 1873,
and at .intervals its publication has ceased en
tirely.

The Private Banking House of H. B. Bax
ter & Co. commenced business March ist, 1877,
with Henry B. Baxter, formerly of Sherman,
Chautauqua county, as senior partner, and G.
W. Latham, of Port Byron, as junior partner.
John C. Dixon, proprietor ofthe flouring and
grist-mill at Port Byron, commenced business in
the fall of 1865, in company with J. V. White,
the present Supervisor ( 1 879) of Mentz, under the
firm name of DiXon & White. February 17th,
1875. the mill, which was a wooden structure,
erected in 1845. was burned, and in that year
Mr. Dixon bought Mr. White's interest and re
built on the same site. The present mill, which is
also built of wood, is forty by sixty feet, three and
one-half stories high, and supplied with all the
modern improvements. It is reputed to be the
finest mfll in this section of the country. It con
tains four run of stones and is capable of grind
ing 100 barrels of flour per day in addition to cus
tom work, which averages from 25,000 to 30,000
bushels of grain annually. The motive power
is furnished by water from the creek, over a fall
of eight feet. The first mill on this site was
built about 18 14 or '15. by Aaron Knapp, the
site and ten acres of land being donated for that
purpose by Elijah and Aholiab Buck. The pres
ent mill is the fourth one on this site, three hav
ing been destroyed by fire. A saw-mill built on
this site by Knapp about the same time stood
untfl it decayed. These were the first mills in
the town.*
The cheese factory located in the village, near
the upper dam, is owned by a stock company,
which was incorporated in 1867, with a capital of
$3,800, and of which David H. Mills is Presi
dent, W. A. Jacobs. Secretary, and W. D. Os
borne. O. A. Paddock and Jonathan Myers,
Trustees. The foundry and machine shop owned by
Plenry Leonard and George Anable is located on
the dam south of the canal.
On the dam north of the canal is a planing-
mfll owned by Lewis Peck, and a flouring and
grist-mill, with three run of stones, owned by
Henry Traphagen. The sash and blind factory
and planing-mill, owned by Samuel M. Wells and
Charles ]. Stiles, are operated by steam.
* Statement of Daniel Drake Buck, to whom, and to Mr. W.
A. Halsey, we arc largely indebted for information in regard to this
town.

PORT BYRON.

311

Port Byron has suffered from several disas
trous fires. May 30th, 1870, the dry goods store
of J. T. & William S. Smith was burned. This
fire aroused the citizens to a realization of tbe
importance of providing adequate means of pro
tection, and the excellent water works which the
vfllage now has were established. The reservoir
is 150 feet long, 50 feet wide and 12 feet deep,
located on the hill west of the village, on grounds
donated for the purpose by Mr. William A. Hal
sey, and has an altitude of 175 feet above the
main street in the village. Water is pumped
into the reservoir from the outlet.
Port Byron was incorporated March 2d, 1837,
and reincorporated in 1855. The first officers un
der the charter were : Walter H. Smith, Presi
dent, who was elected by the board of trustees ;
Reuben Saxon, Samuel Plarnden, Dennison Rob
inson and Abraham Teachout, Trustees ; Camp
bell W. Haynes, Clerk ; James D. Button, Jo
seph Hadger and Elijah Rice, Assessors ; David
B. Smith, Treasurer ; and Jesse Vanderhoven,
Constable. The successive presidents are El
more P. Ross, 1838 ; Samuel Plarnden, 1839,
'42 and '43 ; Cyrus C. Peas, 1840 and '41; James
Cutler. 1844. '45 and '47-51 ; L. Goodsole. 1846;
Thomas W. Smith. 1852 and '55; George Ran
dall, 1853 ; James D. Button, 1854; Richard H.
Hoff. 1856, '59, '66; Richard Dyer, 1857; Abram
Gutchess. 1858 and '67; Wifliam S. Ploffman,
i860 and '62; Arthur White, 1861 ; Daniel
Graves, 1863 and '64; Augustus Kelley, 1865,
'70 and '71; Stephen H. Close, 1868; Thomas
B. Dickey, 1869'; Wflliam A. Halsey. 1872 ;
Edward 13. Somers, 1873; Plorace V. Howland.
1874; Wflliam Hosford. 1875 ; Horace C. Badg-
ley, 1876 ; James V. White, i877- The present
officers (1879.) are: T. Fayette Dixon. Presi
dent; Rush M. Howard. Charles M. Storms,
Oliver B. Tanner and Charles F. Stiles, Trustees;
Samuel N. Dougherty, Clerk ; Charles Kelly.
Treasurer ; George Somers. O. W. Seymour and
George W. Latham, Assessors ; Samuel N.
Dougherty, Police Justice.
Port Byron Lodge No. 130, F. & A. M., was
organized as Freedom Lodge, about 1820, and the
name and charter changed June 8th, 1845. The
present officers are, Geo. W. Dickinson, W. M. ;
Oscar Gutchess, S. W. ; Chas. M. Storms, J. W.;
R. M. Ploward, Treas. ; Egbert Homel. Secy. ;
D. M. Kellogg, S. D. ; F. F. Sears, J. D. ; Geo.
53-z

Anable, Tiler ; Augustus Kelly, H. B. Baxter,
and Thos. B. Dickey, Trustees. Meetings are
held thc first and third Wednesdays of each
month, in Masonic Hall. The present number
of members is 75.
Morris Chapter No. 156, R. A. M. has a
membership of about 45. and meets the second
and fourth Wednesdays of each month, in Ma
sonic Hall. The ofificers are Abram Gutchess,
H. P. ; Chas. Kelly. E. K. ; Wm, Cooper, Jr.,
E. S: ; C. R. Berry, Secy. ; E. B. Erity. Treas. ;
C. M. Stone, C. H. ; E. M. Slayton, P. S. ; A.
Ploughtaling, R. A. C. ; Geo. W. Dickinson,
M. 1st V. ; O. Gutchess, M. 2d V. ; Jehiel Wes
ton. M. 3d V. ; Geo. Anable. Tiler.
Centennial Tent N. O. I. R. No. 41, was
organized in January, 1876. Meetings are held
every Friday evening. The membership is 35.
The officers are, H. W. Leonard. C. R. ; George
Anable, D. R. ; T. Fayette Dixon, Secy. ; C.
P. Yates, Jr., Treas, ; John M. Coon, F. S. ;
Geo. Newkirk, S. ; Thos. Porter, I. G. ; H. B.
Dodge, O. G. ; W. D. Osborne. P. C. R.
Port Byron was for many years, known as
Bucksville, which name it derived from the Buck
family, who were early settlers here and con
tributed largely to its growth and prosperity.
The present name was assumed in 1832.
One and one-half miles south of Port Byron,
near the 'line of Throop, in a pleasant romantic
valley, at the terminus of a deep gorge in the
Owasco Outlet, is the factory of Ezra B. Hayden,
who is engaged in the manufacture of woolen
cloths, yarns, cassimeres and flannels.
Thc first settlement in this locality was made
about 1810, and the first dam was built in 18 16, by
George Casey and Daniel Clark of Auburn, the
former of whom was one of the commissioners
for the erection of the State Prison at Auburn,
and expected to secure a State contract for tim
ber to be used in its construction. They pur
chased one hundred acres of the adjoining land,
which vvas covered with a dense growth of hem
lock and other timber, paying therefor, four dol
lars per acre. The next season they erected a
saw-mill about fifteen rods south of the present
woolen factory. The following year A. B. Tfl-
man erected a building and commenced the
business of tanning, which was abandoned in a
few years.
The business of wool-carding and cloth-dress-

312

TOWN OF MENTZ.

ing was begun in 1820, by Harry Rice, who
settled here at that time and erected a building for
that purpose, taking water from the saw-mill
flume. Mr. Rice carried on the business till his
death a few years after, when, in the spring of
1824, the property was rented by Wm. Playden,
a native of Conway, Massachusetts,who came into
the town of Sennett about 1801, where his father
commenced the business of wool-carding and
cloth-dressing. William Hayden removed to
Auburn about 1820 and connected himself with
the late Levi Lewis in the cloth-dressing busi
ness ; and two years later, having separated from
Lewis, he commenced the manufacture of cloth
at Clarksville, now a suburb of Auburn. He
was, the first person in this County to manufac
ture cloth by machinery. About 1824 he re
moved to the locality above described, in this
town, for the purpose of carrying on the business
of wool-carding and cloth-dressing, which he con
tinued ten or twelve years, when, having then
purchased the property previously rented, he
added the manufacture of cloth. Since his death,
in 1866, the business has been conducted by his
sons, Ezra B., Wflliam, Martin, John, George,
Charles and Samuel. Ezra B. Playden has had
the entire management of the business since
1875, in which year he became the sole proprie
tor. The buflding erected by Rice went to de
cay, and in 1828 tbe present one, which is 90 by
26 feet, and has four floors, was built and used
about three years as a tub and pail factory, by
Charles and Amos Parks, of Auburn. William
Hayden bought it soon after the death of the
senior Parks, in 1831, and converted it into a
woolen-mifl in 1835. It is provided with two
sets of woolen machinery, capable of turning
out 60,000 yards of cloth per annum, and gives
employment to about twenty men and women.
The motive power is furnished by the Owasco
Outlet, which has a fall of ten feet at this point.
The Haydens have acquired some notoriety forthe
excellence of the cloths manufactured by them.*
* Samuel Hayden, one of the brothers referred to in this sketch,
died March 14th, 1878. He studied law till failing health com
pelled him to desist, after which he was associated with his brothers
in the woolen- mill. He subsequently devoted his time and atten
tion to agriculture and contributed many articles on that and other
subjects to the agricultural and other papers. It is worthy of note that
his remains were carried to their final resting place by his six broth
ers, all of whom were older than he, and all of whom, except Mar
tin, who lives in Sandusky, Cattaraugus county, and William, who
resides in Auburn, live in Mentz.

David Clark, of Clarksvflle, buflt a saw-mill
on the creek here about 1816.
A fruit drying establishment was started in
this locality in the summer of 1877, by John
Hayden. The late Brigham Young, the noted Mormon
and polygamist, resided in this locality about one
year, in 1832, on lands now owned by the Play-
dens. He was in the employ of David Smith,
a merchant of Port Byron at that time. The
house in which he lived was sold in May, 1878,
by Mrs. Lucy T. Hayden to James Palmer, of
Throop, who removed it to his place in that town,
to be used as a summer kitchen. The price paid
was $10.
The first settlements in the town were made
in 1797, near Port Byron, which occupies parts
of lots 61, 62, 72 and 73, River street, in that
vfllage, being" the dividing line between lots 72
aud 73. In that year Philip King, Seth Pligly,
Josiah Partridge and Chas. Annes had located
there. Messrs. King and Iligly were from Sara
toga county, and settled on lot. 72, the latter on
a State's hundred, in the south-west corner.
Mr. King took up the remainder of the lot and
remained there till his death. He raised a large
family, all of whom are now dead. His son,
Ezekiel, who was born in 1799, was probably the
first white child born in the town. Mr. King
kept the first tavern, about a mile west of the
vfllage, prior to 1815. It was a frame house.
It is related of Mr. King, that at one time he de
sired to cross Seneca River with a potash kettle
to a sap bush on the north side of the river. The
owner of thc skiff refused to carry thc kettle,
when Mr. King, with characteristic energy,
launched the kettle and safely ferried himself
across in' it. Josiah Partridge was from Massa
chusetts, and settled on lot 73. Chas. Annes
came in from Chemung county in the fall and
and settled in the south-west corner of lot 73, on
fifty acres donated by Elijah Buck to induce a set
tlement, on the place now owned by Francis M.
Groom. Mr. Annes sold to a Mr. Beebe.
In the spring of 1798, Aholiab Buck, a native
of Pennsylvania, moved in from Big Flats, Che
mung county, and located on River street, op
posite the residence of Samuel N. Dougherty,
in the village of Port Byron. He was the first
settler in the corporate limits of the village.
Pie built a log cabin that season and cleared a

EARLY SETTLEMENTS.

313

little land, when he went home and married An
nis Drake, a native of Goshen, N. Y., with whom
he returned the same fall, in company with his
brother. Elijah Buck, and the latter's wife and
daughter Sarah. Elijah had previously bought
lot 73 of a soldier who served in the Revolution
ary war. Both families lived in the log house
till its destruction by fire the same fafl, (a calami
ty by which they lost everything but the clothes
on their backs,) when they removed to the house
of Philip King, about three-fourths of a mile dis
tant, where they remained tfll other houses were
buflt. Mr. King's family at this time consisted
of his wife, three sons. (Richard, Jeremiah and
Daniel.) and a daughter, the latter of whom was
subsequently united in wedlock to Elder John
Jeffries, one of the eariiest ministers in this sec
tion of the country, with whom she removed to
Throopsvflle. The Messrs. Buck buflt separate houses that
fall. Aholiab's stood on the site of the one de
stroyed by fire ; and Elijah's near the house now
occupied by Mr. Henry Vosburgh.
The town was then heavily timbered, princi
pally with beech and maple, with some bass-
wood, oak, whitewood and hemlock. Game and
fish were plentiful, yet breadstuffs and other
edibles were scarce. Bears and wolves were
numerous and a source of much annoyance.
Daniel Drake Buck relates that on one occasion
when his uncle Aholiab was away from home his
aunt shot and killed a bear which was disturbing
the pig pen in the night. This was about 1805
or '6. The Messrs. Buck had two guns, one of
which they left loaded, to be used in case of
emergency. The heroine of this story was a
resolute woman, a good sample of the women
who undertook pioneer life. Aholiab Buck re
moved to Illinois in 1832.
Mr. Buck recollects seeing seven or eight deer
browsing with his father's cattle from maple
trees felled for that purpose when fodder was
scarce. Pie says his father had his first grinding done
at Tyler's Spring, about one mile north of Au
burn, where a mortar and pestle, so common in
those days, had been constructed. The mortar
consisted of a hard-wood stump, and the pestle was
attached to a spring pole. Later his father and
uncle were accustomed to go with their grists
and those of their neighbors to Seneca Falls,

after a mill had been built at that place. The
journey was made with a canoe of large size,
which they had established on the Outlet, the
route being by way of the Outlet to Seneca
River, thence to Seneca Falls. The canoe was
constructed from a large white-wood tree. The
journey usually occupied three days.
On the farm settled by Elijah Buck was a well,
known as the Indian well, from the supposition
that the Indians dug it. It was about ten feet
deep and furnished a constant supply of water.
which is now used to water the cattle on the
farm. Evidences of Indian occupancy, for brief
periods at least, probably while on hunting and
fishing excursions, exist in the numerous flint
arrow-heads and stone tomahawks which have
been brought to the surface in various localities
by the plow. Portions of clay vessels, evidently
used for culinary purposes, have also been
sound. On the lot bought by Elijah Buck was a splen
did water privilege, with a natural fall of ten to
fifteen feet. This privilege, with ten acres, was
soon after given by the Messrs. Buck to Aaron
Knapp for the purpose of erecting a mill there
on ; and the mill then erected by him was the
first one built in the town. The precise year in
which it was built cannot now be ascertained.
The property soon after passed into the hands of
a Mr. Aiken. The erection of this mill gave an
impetus to the settlements.
Daniel Loveland, originally from Vermont,
moved in from the southern part of the County,
with his family, consisting of his wife and four
children, one son, and three daughters, in 1799,
and settled near where the depot now stands.
Peter Ransicr and Moses Lent, from Owego,
settled on lot 62 in i8oo.
Up to this time Mentz was a part of the town of
Aurelius, from which it was erected, as Jefferson,
March 30th. 1802, and its name changed April 6th,
1806. It then embraced the present town of
Montezuma and a part of Throop, which portions
were set off April Sth, 1859.
Following is a list ofthe first officers of Jeffer
son, now Mentz, who were elected March 6th,
1804: Isaac Smith, Supervisor; Lewis Kitchel,
Clerk; Caleb Ward, Israel Clapp and James
Leonard, Assessors ; Joseph Farrand, Collector;
Caleb Ward and Isaac Barnum, Overseers of the
Poor; Philip King, Israel Smith and Prentice

314

TOWN OF MENTZ.

Palmer, Contviissioncrs of Highways ; Joseph
Farrand, Constable.
The officers elected, (1879) are :
Supervisor — James V. White.
Town Clerk — Charles Kelly.
Justice of the Peace — Plowell B. Converse.
Assessor — Theodore Stevenson.
Commissioner of Highways — David Sadler.
Overseer of the Poor — John H. Eldridge.
Collector— Hiram A. Randall.
Constables — O. W. Seymour, Charies Playden,
L. C. p-argo, Charles Ilalstcd, Peter Waggoner.
Inspectors of Election— Thomas B. Dickey,
John M. Devore.
Game Constable— George Bettenhausen.
James Dixon and Major Eli Wflson, from He
bron, Washington county, the latter with his wife,
Margaret, and daughter. Amy, came into the
town near the beginning of the present century.
and settled on a soldier's grant of 600 acres, on
the east line of the town, which they took up
jointly, and which is now largely occupied by the
chfldren and heirs of the former, who died there
some seven years since, aged 92 years. John I.,
David, George and Eli Wflson. sons of Eli Wfl
son. settled on the same tract a little later. John
and Eli Wilson and Elizabeth (now Mrs. Wm.
A. Jacobs,) all of whom are living in the town,
are the only living descendants of Maj. Wilson.
John Dixon, also from Hebron, Washington
county, came in 1804, and settled upon fifty acres
of the tract taken up by James Dixon and Maj .
Wilson, and died there in 1876, aged ninety-two.
Edwin S. and Edwin J., (twins,) Polly, (now
Mrs. George B. Thomas,) and Marcha, (now
Mrs. Ira Peck,) children of James Dixon, are liv
ing in this town, both boys on the old homestead.
John C, son of John Dixon, and father of T.
Fayette Dixon, thc President (1878) of thc vil
lage of Port Byron, is the proprietor of the flour
ing and grist-miU in that village ; and Samantha,
(now Mrs, James Robinson,) and Minerva, (now
Mrs. Hiram Grossman,) daughters of John Dixon,
are living in the town of Sennett.
Other early settlers were Martin and James
Plarker, from New Jersey, who located on the
site of the village ; Reuben Lent and family,
from Washington county, who located on lot 62.
a little west of Traphagen's grist-mfll, about 1806.
Lent claimed to have served in the Revolution
for that lot, which, he twice sold previous to his

settlement on it. After his settlement he sold
portions of it to other settlers, and was finally
ejected with his victims by Jacob Tremper, to
whom he first sold it and by whom the title was
held. Tremper, who lived in Kingston, Ulster
county, never settled here, but his widow came
in 1823 or '4, and located where John T. Smith
now lives, in the village. John Seymour, a
Methodist preacher, came with his family about
1806 or '7, and settled on lot 62, a little north
west of Elijah Buck's. He was probably the
first preacher in the locality of Port Byron and
in the town. Joseph Hamilton and Ira Hopkins,
from Washington county, and Caleb Hopkins,
from New Jersey, settled on lot 85 previous to
1804. John Adams Taylor, who vvas born in Hart
ford, Washington county, settled in the north
west part of the town, where Mrs. J. S. Pratt now
lives, April 14th, 1S17. Pie bought a State's
hundred, for which he paid $7 per acre, rather
than become involved in the perplexities arising
from defective titles to the soldiers' grants, which
many of the settlers bought for a nominal sum,
and from which they were subsequently ejected.
Mr. Taylor had prospected this section of coun
try in 18 15. Pie came on horseback, and bought
of Edward Luck, who was obliged to leave on
account of fever and ague, which prevafled here
to an alarming extent, but diminished with the
increased settlements and the clearing of the
lands. The bridge at Mosquito Point was built in
1 81 5, two years previous to his settlement.
"Moscheto Point," says Spafford. "is well named,"*
and we think the luckless traveler of to-day wifl
testify that the name is well merited. Mr. Tay
lor added to his 100 acres till he held deeds cov
ering 700 acres.
Both he and his wife, aged respectively eighty-
four and eighty-two years, are stfll living in the
town, with their daughter, Mrs. Lucy T. Hayden.
Daniel Mintline, a native of Albany, came in
from Canajoharie, Aprfl nth. 1805, and located
on the farm now occupied by William and John
D. Buckingham. He was the first settler in this
locality and from him it derives the name of
Mintline settlement. He was born in 1773, and
died in the old homestead December 3d. 1839.
Daniel Rairden, a Mr. Buckingham and Andrew
* Gazetteer of the Stale of New York, 1824.

¦ A-

Residence of E.B. ERITY, Mentz, Cayuga Co. N.Y

EARLY SETTLEMENTS.

31S

Myers were early settlers in this locality. Myers
was from Dutchess county, and settled on the
farm now occupied by E. Waldron. He died in
Port Byron February 21st, 1874, aged seventy-
eight years. Jonathan, his son, still lives in the
town. The completion of the Erie Canal, October
26th, 1825, gave a new impetus to the business of
thc village, rapidly increased its population, and
soon made it one of the principal grain markets
in western New York.
In 1828 the most important enterprise con
nected with the prosperity of Port Byron, was
developed. In that year John H. Beach moved
into the village and bought the water-power.
Pie built a race-way two miles in length, thuis se
curing a thirty feet head of water, and erected
on the west side of the Outlet and the south
bank of the old canal, vvhat was then and for many
years thereafter the largest and best constructed
flouring-mill in the State. It was 120 feet long
and 50 feet wide. Connected with it was a store
house, 80 by 40 feet, under a portion of which a
branch canal vvas conducted to facilitate the load
ing and unloading of boats. It contained ten
run of stones, driven by an over-shot wheel
twenty-two feet in diameter, and vvas capable of
grinding 500 barrels of flour in twenty-four
hours. The building cost $60,000, and gave em
ployment to twenty to thirty persons. Belong
ing to the mill, but not in its immediate vicinity,
was a stone cooper shop. 200 feet in length, which
gave employment to fifty persons, but furnished
only a portion of the barrels used in the mill.
Most of the wheat used in the mill was brought
from the west.
Beach's mill was burned in 1857, and not rc-
buflt. Henry Wells, the noted expressman, came into
the town with his father's family after the open
ing of the canal, and for some three years mend
ed shoes for the residents of Port Byron. The
Wells family lived in a small, wood-colored house,
which now stands diagonally opposite the resi
dence of Mr. William Hosford. having since been
raised and repaired and modernized with addi
tions and a coat of paint. Henry remained in
the town only about three years. His sister
Harriet, (now Mrs. C. B. Newton.) who is remem
bered as a beautiful woman, a fine singer and a
devout Christian, became a missionary to Lahore,

North India, a field which still engages her la
bors. In 1851 the direct line of the N. Y. C. R. R.
between Syracuse and Rochester was built, and
operated detrimentally to the interests of the
place by dividing [its trade with other towns
along the route, and carrying much of it to Syra
cuse. In 1856, while the enlargement of the Erie
canal vvas in progress — a measure which was or
dered May nth, 1835, begun in August, 1836,
and finished in September, 1862, and by which
the water surface was increased in width from
forty to seventy feet, and the depth from four to
seven feet — a difference of opinion arose among
the residents of Port Byron as to the course it
should take through the village. Some advoca
ted the enlargement along the old circuitous
1-oute ; others, a new and more direct route. The
will of the latter finally prevailed, and the pres
ent channel was cut through thc most beau
tiful part of thc village. This change, while it
vastly improved the canal, impaired the beauty
of the village and proved disastrous to its busi
ness interests, by destroying in a great measure
its water power. The State built a dam across
the Outlet and diverted the water from Beach's
race-way to the new canal, by means of a pipe forty
rods in length, laid underground. The canal is
spanned at this point by four iron bridges, and
has a large double lock, with a lift of about twelve
feet. The village at one time had a population
of fully 1,500.
The first hotel in the village was built and
kept by George Daniels, probably very soon af
ter the opening of thc King's inn. It stood on
the site of the National Motel, the land there
being then low and marshy, and though it was a
framed house, it was denominated an "inferior
inn." It was burned during Daniel's occupancy,
and re-built by him on a little larger scale. The
present brick building on that site was built by
Mr. Lytic, the second building erected by Dan
iels having also been burned. Contemporary
with, but a little later than Daniels, were Amos
Parks and the late James Pine,the former of whom
kept a " better hotel," on the south-west corner
of Main and Rochester streets, and the latter,
one on the site of Mr. Lewis Houghtaling's
residence, near the corner of Main and Pine
street^,

3x6

TOWN OF MENTZ.

Merchants. — James Bennett and Wfllard
Whitney were the first merchants in the vfllage.
Bennett came in from the town of Brutus and
Whitney, from Washington coupty. They
opened a store in company about 1815 or '16, in
a building erected by Cornelius Dellemater for a
distfllery, which stood on the south side of the
old canal, about where Kendrick's old wooden
building now stands. They did business some
two or three years and separated. Roswell Beards
ley came in from the south part of thc County,
about 1819, and opened a store alitlle south ofthe
other. He remained till his death, doing a very
nice business. Joseph E. Smith came in soon
after Beardsley died and opened a store on the
north side of the canal. He did not prosper, and
after three or four years failed and left.
D. B. and Walter H. Smith, brothers, from
Orange county, opened a store in the building
previously occupied by J. E. Smith, in the fall of
1824. After four or five years successful business
they separated, the former continuing the old store,
and the latter removing to one across the way,
both keeping the same line of goods, which was
a general stock. D. B. Smith became wealthy
and continued the business till about 1858, when,
on account ofage and infirmity, he was succeeded
by his son, John T. Smith, who still carries on
the . business. Walter sold goods for several
years, without marked success, till about 185 1,
when he removed to Chemung county.
Dry goods were sold in the Davis & Dickey
cigar store building a short time, about 1818-20,
by Matson & Landon, and subsequently by Plor
ace Perkins, neither of whom succeeded.
Benj. B. Drake, a native of Orange county,
, who had previously published a paper at Water
loo, opened a store about 1823. on the corner of
Main and Rochester streets. He did not suc
ceed, and after about two years sold oiit and left
the town.
Nathan Marble came in from Schaghticoke,
Rensselaer county, in the spring of 1825, and
opened a store in the building which stood on
Main street, a little south of the printing ofifice,
which had been erected a few years previously
for a store-house and was connected with the
canal by a slip large enough to float the boats of
that period. He succeeded admirably and con-
, tinued the business tfll his death five or six years
since. A Mr. Plolmes, also from Rensselaer

county, and distantly related to Marble, came in
about the same time and opened a Hke store on
the corner of Main and Rochester streets.
Mr. Stilwell, from Oswego county, father of
R. R. Stilwell, opened a dry goods store about
1865. in the building now occupied by the latter,
who succeeded him after about two years.
Wm. Cooper, from Mexico, Oswego county,
came in the spring of 1865 and opened a stock of
dry goods in the barber-shop south of his present
store, into which he moved after about ayear.
Chauncey Sears opened his grocery about a
year ago.
John G. Kick opened his grocery about two
years since.
Wm. Tatgenborst, commenced the grocery
business some five or six years since ; and George
Schottz, about three years since.
Geo. Somers is an old resident, having come
to the town with his father from Vermont, as
early as 1809 or '10. Pie was for some two years
in company with. R. R. Stilwell in the grocery
business, and bought the latter's interest the
present spring.
Oscar Kent started a grocery about three or
four years since.
About 1852 or '3 a drug store was opened by
Hiram Schoonmaker, from Ulster county, who
remained only two or three years. Richard H.
Hoff opened the present one about the beginning
of the late war.
Physicians. — The first physician vyas Dr.
Nathan Wood, who came in the fafl of 1799 ^^^
located in the Ward Settlement, in the present
town of Throop ; but the first one in the town of
Mentz as at present bounded, was Harman Van
Vechton, who came in about 1817 or '18 and lo
cated in the vfllage, where he buflt some time
after, the house next north of Masonic Hall.
The present physicians are Dr. Wm. S. Hoff
man, who came in from Cayuga, about 1848 ;
Hiram D. Eldridge, who is a native of Aurelius,
and came to Mentz about 1823 or '24; and Daniel
A. p-orce, who has lived here only a few years, is
quite aged, and does not practice much. All be
long to the allopathic school of medicine.
Attorneys. — The first lawyer was Pliram
Rathburn, who came to the viflage at an early
day, but remained only a short time. Dennison
Robinson, from Onondaga county, came about
1830, and practiced law until his death in 1856.

CHURCHES.

317

The present lawyers are Horace V. Howland,
who came from Plerkimer county, about 1850,
and has since continued to practice here. He
finished his studies with the late Hon. Wm. H.
Seward, of Auburn, and has distinguished him
self i,n bis profession by his learning and ability.
Charles R. Berry, Plowell B. Converse and Cal
vin R. Aldrich. all of whom read law with Wil
liam Plowland. and the latter two of whom are
justices, are the other lawyers.
Port Byron possesses a remarkable case of
longevity. Mrs. Lydia Graham, who is now liv
ing in the vfllage with her son-in-law, Alfred
Mead, has reached the advanced age of 103
years. She is vigorous mentally and physically,
and has a retentive memory, especially in regard
to early events.
Mentz Grange was organized in January,
1874, with twenty-five members. Oscar Gut
chess is President, and W. H. Rott, Secretary.
Churches. — It cannot be definitely ascertain
ed when the first religious services were held in
the tovfn ; but judging from the following, it must
have been at a very early day, of a primitive
character, and under somewhait romantic circum
stances :
" There is a very large hollow buttonwood tree,
in this town, in which Elder Smith, preached to
thirty-five persons at a time, and says the tree
could have held fifteen more ; he says its circum
ference, three feet from the ground, is thirty-three
feet ; and a correspondent informs me it measures
more than seventeen feet in diameter."*
The First Presbyterian Church of the
Town of Mentz, located in Port Byron, was
organized about the beginning of the present cen
tury, as early as 1801, as a Congregational
church, and was changed to the Presbyterian
form of government in 181 1, when the Presbytery
of Cayuga was formed. The first meetings, and
indeed for several years, were held in Ward's set
tlement, where the organization was perfected.
A school-house, no longer standing, located near
the site of the Mentz meeting-house in Monte
zuma, was the first public building used for re
ligious services in that locality. This school was
used on formal occasions, the meetings generally
being held in private houses, tfll 1818 or '19,
when it was destroyed by fire. The Society
maintained a feeble existence, without a regular
* Horatio Gates Spofford, LL. D., Gazetteer cf the State of New
York, 1824.
54-z

pastor or much accession to its membership till
18 18, in which year the services ofthe Rev. Oli
ver Eastman were secured and meetings held
regularly in the school-house. Meetings were
afterwards held in the school-house at Forshee's
Corners, until the removal soon after of the So
ciety to Port Byron, which was then a prosperous
village of 500 to 600 inhabitants, "as yet unoc
cupied by any religious body."
May 8th, 1820, soon after the removal to Port
Byron, the church was first incorporated, as The
First Congregational Society of Mentz, the meet
ing for that purpose being held at the house of
James Pine. The first meetings in the vfllage
were held in the barns of Mr. Pine and Roderick
Mattson. After the first summer the meetings
were held for two years in the ball room over the
open shed attached to the Eagle Hotel, which
Mr. Pine generously threw open to them, re
ceiving in payment such voluntary offerings " as
the church from time to time could make." In
1822 the meetings were transferred to a building
in Nauvoo, near the western extremity of the
park. The first minister who regularly oflficiated
in this house was Rev. Abner Benedict, who
staid about a year. September 5th. 1824. the
Presbyterian form of government was again
adopted, although the corporate nampwas retain
ed, and a board of elders chosen, consisting of
Lyman Grandy, John I. Wflson, John Dixon;
Wm. Van Vleck and John S. Willis. Before
the close of the year Rev. Birdsey Gibbs came
to the church as a stated supply. During his
pastorate the first Sunday-school was organized,
Mrs. Sarah Osburn. to whose exertions it was
largely due, and Miss Emeline White being the
first teachers. "The first pupfl and the only
one on the first Sabbath was Mrs. E. P. Ross, of
Auburn." July 26th, 1826, Mr. Gibbs was dis
missed from the church, and " was succeeded after
an interval of a year and a half by Rev. William
Williams, who labored as a stated supply in
i828-'9, under the patronage of the Home Mis
sionary Society."
November 15th, 1830, the Society was rein
corporated and the present name, symbolizing its
form of government, adopted. With the opening
of 1831 Rev. Justus S. Hough commenced his
ministry, and before its close had added fifty-one
names to the list of membership. He closed his
labors the following year. For five years, with

3i8

TOWN OF MENTZ.

the exception of a few months in the early part
of 1835, when the Rev. Isaac Bliss performed the
duties of that office, the church was without a
pastor ; but the pulpit was supplied by students
from Auburn Theological Seminary.
In 1833 the Society erected a new house where
the Methodist church now stands ; but late the
following winter it was burned, when meetings
were again held in the old church. Within two
years from the dedication of the one burned, an
other was erected on its site and occupied. In
the spring of 1837 R^v. James T. Plough, brother
of Rev. Justus S. Hough, assumed the pastorate
for one year, during which forty members were
added. He was succeeded early in 1839 by
Rev. John Gosman, D. D., of the Dutch Re
formed Church, Classis of Philadelphia.
A few years previous to this many persons had
been admitted to membership from the Dutch
Reformed churches in Eastern New York, and
while " they strengthened and built up the church
of their adoption," they retained strong prefer
ences for the " methods and associations " of the
Reformed Church. This preference, which had
hitherto been latent, this year developed an open
and bitter opposition between them and the Pres
byterians, resulting in the selection of Dr. Gos
man, and ultimately in a divison and exhausting
litigation in the civil courts for the possession of
the house of worship, which the Reformed party
held. The Presbyterians chose Rev. D. C.
Hopkins, of Brutus, for their pastor, and with
drew to the school-house then occupying the site
of the old church in Nauvoo, which had burned
down two years before, the Reformed party retain
ing the services of Dr. Gosman. The courts
decided in favor of the Presbyterians, or new-
school party, who, in July, 1842, were put in
possession of the church, which they occupied
tfll their dissolution. This violent separation
broke the rising strength of the new-school
church and established the other under unfavor
able circumstances. Mr. Hopkins' connection
with the church was severed near the close of
1843, when Rev. Lemuel W. Hamlin became
their pastor and remained about six months.
During his brief pastorate thirty-three were
added to the church on confession. For three
years thej' were without a pastor. In 1846 Rev.
Thomas M. Hodgeman began a pastorate of two
years. He was the last minister whose stated
services they enjoyed.

September 7th, 1850, their church building
was sold to the Methodists, who still use it, hav
ing a few years since repaired and greatly im
proved it. May 24th, 1850, the society dissolved.
July 29th, 1840, the old-school party assumed
the corporate name of the joint societies, and
chose for their pastor Dr. Gosman, who secured
his dismission from the Classis of Philadelphia, and
was admitted to membership in the Presbytery.
November 17th, 1841, they incorporated under
the name previously assumed, and from this time
till the dissolution ofthe other society, both organ
izations bore the same name. Dr. Gosman's pasto
rate was terminated at his request in February,
1842. When compelled to surrender their house
to the other society, meetings were held tempo
rarily in a public hall connected with the Eagle
Hotel ; and, notwithstanding their resources had
been severely taxed by the litigation in which
they were involved, measures were at once taken
to purchase a site and erect an edifice which was
dedicated August 17th, 1843.
Rev. Robert Finley, then a recent graduate
from Princeton Theological Seminary, succeeded
to the pastorate, and was installed this same year.
August 17th, 1845, Mr. Finley was released from
his charge by act of thc Presbytery. Septem
ber 9th, 1845, Rev. Wm. Theo. Van Doren, who
had spent several years as missionary on the isl
and of Java, accepted a call. The nth of Au
gust, 1848, a joint request of the pastor and con
gregation was prepared asking for his release.
Geo. C. Heckman, -who had just graduated
from Princeton, was now recommended to thc
Church, and on the 23d of October following, a
unanimous call was extended him. His pastor
ate witnessed the liquidation of the remaining
debt of $763 on the church building ; the pur
chase from Archibald Green of the old parson
age near Masonic Hall, with its grounds and out
buildings, for $1,600. and the extinguishment,
Aprfl 26th, 1854, of the indebtedness thus in
curred; the repairing and enlargement of the
church edifice in 1855. at an expense of $1,800 ;
and the addition of not less than 107 persons to
the membership. He dissolved his relations in
November, 1856, having accepted a cafl from the
Church at Portage, Wisconsin. Pie was suc
ceeded in July, 1857. by Rev. A. P. Botsford. April
23d, 1 86 1, he was released from his charge, and
Rev. Franklin D. Harris was installed pastor.

-K-:

, ¦'iii.^vr^

'^:
JOHN J, HENRY
Residence ofTHQS-. MCCULLEN. Mentz, Cayuga Co. N Y.
'^y
CHURCHES.

319

Mr. Plarris resigned his charge in the summer of
1866. Rev. A. C. Reed followed and infused
into the languishing energies of the Church a
new vitality. During his pastorate The Ladies'
Christian Association of the Presbyterian Church
of. Port Byron was organized by his wife, with
five members, November 27th. 1872. and "is
stfll maintained with excellent results."
During the year ending Aprfl 7th, 1868, the
old parsonage and its grounds were sold ; and the
eligible grounds now occupied were purchased
of Ira Peck, and a new and commodious parson
age erected, the whole costing $4,500. In the
autqmq of 187 1, the house of worship was re
paired, altered and refurnished, at a cost of
$4,329, only about, $700 of which remains unpaid.
In the summer of 1873, Mr. Reed relinquished
his charge, much to the regret of his people.
The present pastor. Rev. V. A. Lewis, com
menced his pastoral labors near the close of 1873.
Mrs. C. B. Newton, a former member of this
church, has now charge of a mission school at
Lahore, North India.
The present membership ofthe church is 138.
The number enrolled in the Sunday school and
Bible classes at the last report to the Presbytery
was 250. There are in the permanent church
library eighty-five volumes ; and in the Sunday
school library. 300 volumes. The whole amount
on record contributed by the church for foreign
missions is $1,761.40; for .home missions,
$928.50.*
The First Baptist Church in Port Byron
was organized May i8th. 1830, with a member
ship of forty-eight ; forty-one of whom were dis
missed for the purpose from the church in
Throopsville, and the other seven, as is sup
posed, for a like purpose, from other churches.
Of the original members only three are living,
viz : George W. Milliner and wife, P'anny, and
Mrs. Caleb Wood, all in Port Byron. The first
pastor was Elder John Jeffries, who continued
his labors about two years. During the second
year of his ministry forty-three were added to
the membership. The second pastor was Elder
Roswell Osburn, who took the pastoral care in
1832, and remained one year. He was succeed
ed by Elder Isaac Bucklin, either as pastor or
* For the information contained in the above sketch we aie in
debted to Mr, Charles L, Wilson, of Port Byron, who has kindly
placed in our hands a Ms, history of this church, prepared by himself,
evidently with great care.

temporary supply, probably the latter, as he was
soon after excluded from the church in Sennett,
In October, 1834, Elder T. H. Green assumed
the pastoral relation, remaining one year. In
this year a lot was purchased near the center of
the vfllage, and a brick edifice, 40 by 52 feet, was
erected, at a cost of $2,806. In 1874 about $500
was spent in refitting and modernizing it. It
will seat about 400 persons. Previous to this
the meetings of the society were held in a build
ing known as the " Old Boat House, " situated
in the west part of the village.
The next pastor was Elder L, J. Reynolds,
who entered upon his labors in 1836, and re
mained till his death, nearly two years after. He
was succeeded by Elder S. Knapp, who re
mained two years, and was followed in 1840 by
Elder PI. F. Davis, in the commencement of
whose labors the church vvas blessed with a re
vival, by which fourteen were added by baptism
and thirteen by letter. In 1842 Elder W. R,
Webb became the pastor. During his ministra
tions the membership was considerably increased
by baptism and letter. Elder W. Frary suc
ceeded him in 1843, and also remained one year.
Under his labors the church experienced "the
most extensive and powerful revival ever enjoyed
during any period of her history. Sixty-three
were added by baptism and sevfenteen by letter."
In 1844 Elder John Jeffries entered upon a
second pastorate, which he continued tfll death
closed his labors in 1846.. He was succeeded by
Elder B. W. Capron, who remained about three
years. After the departure of Mr. Capron, the
services of Elder E. Dean were secured as a tem
porary supply. About the last of February, 1850,
Elder A. Russell Belden was called to aid in a
series of meetings, which were continued about
four weeks, resulting in about sixty expressing " a
hope in the pardoning mercy of God. " The next
pastor was Elder J. B. Vrooman, who entered
upon his labors about the ist of Aprfl, 1850.
Under his faithful and judicious labors the pros
perity ofthe church was largely increased. He
was succeeded in 1854 by Elder Wm. C. Phfllips.
Elder Israel Wilkinson vvas the pastor in 1857 ;
Elder J. J. Grundy, in 1861 ; Elder John Rey
nolds, in 1864 ; and Elder J. A. Howd, in 1866.
In 1868 and 1869 the church vvas without a pas
tor. Elder A. Maynard took the laboring oar in
1870, and continued that and the succeeding

320

TOWN OF MENTZ.

year. He was succeeded in 1873 by Elder S.
Seigfried, the year 1872 being spent without a
pastor, as was also the year 1874, In 1875 El
der E. Wildman became the pastor ; but in the
following year the pulpit was again vacant. El
der Ross Matthews assumed the pastoral care in
1877. in the fall of which year he was succeeded
by Elder Ira Dudley, the present pastor. The
church has a present membership of 130. The
attendance at the Sabbath school is 75.
The Methodist Episcopal Church of Port
Byron was incorporated June loth. 1850, Daniel
McQuigg, Daniel T. Mead. John Ferbush, John
A. Taylor and Alex. Gutchess being elected the
first Trustees. Rev. H. C. Hall was at that time
pastor of a small class, and their meetings were
held in the church formerly owned by the Pres
byterian Society, which property was bought by
this Society January ist, 185 1, for $850. The
following July the church was assigned to the
Oneida Conference. In 1854 a parsonage vvas
built, at a cost of $1,500. In 1862 it was moved
to a new lot and enlarged and furnished at a cost
of $1,000. In 1858 the church edifice was some--
what remodeled and repaired at an expense of
$1,500; and again, in 1872, the entire inner
structure was rebuilt in modern style, involving
an expense of $7,500. In 1878, the sum of $2,000
was raised, $1,000 of which was applied to the
purchase of a pipe organ, and the remainder to
liquidating the entire indebtedness of the So
ciety. The pastors who have served this Society since
its incorporation and the date of their service,
are as follows: Revs. James Landreth, July,
1850 ; B. R. Pratt, 185 1 ; Oran Lathrop, 1852 ;
Zachariah D. Paddock, 1853 ; Sylvester H.
Brown, 1855 ; Alanson White, April, 1857;
Fitch Reed. 1858 ; Albert B. Gregg, i860; Wm.
Jerome, 1862 ; David R. Carrier, 1864; George
C. Efliott, 1866; Ephraim C. Brown, 1868;
Richard R. Redhead, 1870; Henry T. Giles,
October, 1873 ; and Reuben C. Fox, the present
pastor, in 1876. There are about 170 members
and the Society is united and prosperous. There
is also a flourishing Sunday-school of over 200
members, of which E. R. Redhead is superin
tendent. The present officiary of the Church and So
ciety is as follows : Rev. R. C. P'ox, pastor ;
Revs. Barnabas Wood and Wm. C. Toll, local

preachers ; Tobias Schermerhorn, Charles F.
Stfles, Jonathan Myer, G. W. Latham, R. R.
Stflwell and E. R. Redhead, class leaders ; Au
gustus Kelly, John Wflson, A. J. Caldwell. L. B.
Burritt, D. H. Mills, Andrew Shelter. E. A.
Dickinson, Joseph H. Hadden and J. W. Bar
rus, stewards; John Wilson. Eber M. Treat, H.
V. Howland. G. W. Latham. D. H. Mflls, C. F.
Stiles, Augustus Kelly, Jonathan Myer and J.
W. Barrus. trustees.
St. John's Church, (Roman Catholic.) at Port
Byron, was organized about 1858. the Catholics in
Montezuma being largely instrumental in its form
ation. The priests who have oflficiated are those
who have ministered to thc church in Montezuma.
who have generally been stationed at Weedsport.
The Society has never had a resident pastor.
Their church edifice was formerly a school-house,
which they bought and remodeled.
St. Paul's Episcopal Church of Port
Byron was organized about 1863, though meet
ings were held by members of this denomination
about twenty-five years ago, the services being
conducted by transient pastors at irregular inter
vals. Among the original members were F. M.
King. Charies Hamilton and wife, George B.
Gfllespie. H. C. Badgley and Mrs. Martha Ken
drick. The first settled pastor was Rev. J. H.
Rowling, who continued his ministrations about
two years, and was succeeded by a Rev. Mr.
Foster, who remained about one year. He was
succeeded by a Rev. Mr. Paul. From the time
that Mr. Paul severed his connection with the
church it has bad no settled pastor until about
eighteen months since, at which time the ser
vices of Rev. Wm. Lord, the present pastor, were
secured. The existence ofthe Society has been
a constant struggle from the beginning, and it
has several times languished and revived, The
Society is now adapting to its use a building
donated to it by Mrs. p-.rances Matson, wife of
Rev. Dr. Matson. of New York, which has been
moved to a lot of one and one-half acres, donated
by the heirs of Nathan Marble, the father of Mrs.
Matson. They have expended $525 in fitting it
up and expect that the expenditure of $400 will
finish it for occupancy, when it will seat about
100 persons. They held services in this building
for the first time June 2d, 1878. Previous to
this their meetings have been held in the town
hafl or in the houses of other denominations.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.

321

1.

The present membership is about ten, who
evince considerable interest in the welfare of the
church. They have no Sabbath school, but pur
pose organizing one when the building is com
pleted.
Centerport.
Centerport is a canal vfllage in the east part
of the town, containing about twenty famflies, a
district school, and a grain cradle manufactory,
the latter of which is owned by Charles Clow, a
native of Schaghticoke, Rensselaer county, who
canie about 1844. and commenced the manufac
ture of grain cradles and gravel forks.
Settlement was begun at Centerport about
1805 or '6 by Benj. Haikes.

BI0G1|APHIC/\L SKETCHES.

STEPHEN GUTCHESS.
Stephen Gutchess was born in Chenango
county, town of Smithfield. in the State of New
York, on the 22d day of P'ebruary, 1822, and
emigrated from Chenango county to Cayuga in
1825, with his mother, who was then a widow,
and seven brothers and two sisters, and settled
in the town of Conquest, near Conquest Center.
They came with a yoke of cattle and covered
wagon, driving what little stock they had, two
cows. During the month of October Stephen
remained with his mother, doing odd jobs for his
neighbors until he was fifteen years old. At this
time he engaged his services to Henry K, Far
rand, in the town of Mentz, for $6 per month,
spending seven months and five days with him
that season, for which he received $43,25. A
few months previous to the expiration of his
time his mother drew $35 ; and at the expiration
of the time he carried the balance of what was
due him to his mother. He was then employed
by David Austin, who owned the property now
occupied by Mr. Gutchess, an engraving of
which appears in this work. He spent seven
seasons with him. at an average of about $12 per
month. During the winter season he spent his
time in cutting cord wood, having no time to at
tend even a district school. His advantages for
an education were extremely limited compared
with those offered at the present day. I'or the
next ten years Mr. Gutchess was variously en
gaged in canal-boat navigation, commencing first

as a driver and ending wflh being the owner of one
of the finest boats on the canal. He was engaged
on the New York and Seneca Falls line of lake
boats. January 31st, 1849, he married Miss
Sarah E. Willis, daughter of William S. Willis,
of the town of Mentz. who was born September
i6tb, 1822. Mr. Wfllis was among the eariy
settlers of the town, moving in from the town of
Boonton, Morris county. State of New Jersey,
where he was born.
Mr. Gutchess was the owner of a small farm
of 28:): acres, upon which he had built a
small house. In this the festivities attending
their marriage were held, and their subsequent
life spent untfl 1850. Pie disposed of this prop
erty for $1,400, moved west fifty rods, where his
son now liv6s, and purchased fifty-one acres,
which was increased to one hundred and four, by
purchases made at different times. Then com
menced such improvements in the way of fencing,
planting orchards, and erecting buildings, as has
made it one of the finest pieces of farm property
in the town. Many persons from different parts
of the town and county have visited it with a view
to making similar improvements in their own
places. In March, 1874., he deeded it to his only
son, Wilber Willis Gutchess. who now owns it
and still carries out in every way the plans and
habits of his father, keeping up its record as a
model farm.
On the 26th day of February, 1876, Mr. ¦
Gutchess purchased near his former place, Lewis
T. Colby's farm of 108 acres, together wilh his
other landed estate, making the farm now con
sist of 154 acres. He moved on the place in
July of the same year, and has again displayed
his faculty for beautifying his surroundings by
building a very fine barn, remodeling his house
and improving his place generally. As a public
man Mr. Gutchess has figured, first as a super
visor, in 1865, assisting largely in filling the quota
called, for from the town of Mentz, going to New
York city in person to discharge his duties in
this direction as supervisor. Pie then filled the
office of Canal Superintendent, on section 9. un
der the administration of Gov. Dix, which office
was held with credit to himself and honor to the
State, for the term of two years, Mr. Gutchess,
though not a member of any church, has a seat
with the Methodists, and he is friendly and liberal
to all.
In politics he is a Republican, and was, during
the war. one of the most earnest supporters of
the administration in suppressing the Rebellion
and advancing the cause of freedom. Never
having had the assistance of inherited wealth or
family influence. Mr. Gutchess can truly be
styled a self-made man. In closing this brief
sketch of an industrious man's life it is fitting to
make mention of his devoted wife, who has aided
him in no small degree, both by words and deeds,

322

TOWN OF BRUTUS.

ever advising and doing in thc kindest way that
which has promoted the welfare and best inter
ests of her family.

WILLIAM ELLERY.
William Ellery is the son of Wflliam and
Jenefar Ellery, who were natives of, and always
lived in England. His father was born in the year
1799, and was by trade a mason. He died about
the year 1828. Mr. Ellery's mother's maiden
name was Cox. She was born in 1783. and died
in 1837.
Wflliam Ellery. the subject of this sketch,
was born in Wadebridge, Cornwall county, Eng
land, January 31st, 1809. He learned the trade
of brick laying and masonry and followed that
occupation tfll he came to America in 1832. The
following four years he lived in New York city,
still following his chosen occupation. In
1836 he returned to England, and on the 2d
day of May, 1837, he married Miss Caroline
Trevarton, the only daughter of Richard and
Mary Trevarton. residents of the Parish of St.
Braock. Her father was of some note, and died
March 6th. 1854. Her mother came with her
to this country, where she died December 31st.
1868, at a good old age.
In 1837. Mr. Ellery, for the second time, left
his native land, and determined to settle per
manently in this country. Pie first located in
Albany, where he was engaged in building enter
prises till i860. At that time he abandoned the
trade he had followed so many years, and, with
his family, came to the town of Mentz. He pur
chased 60 acres of fine land on lot No. 72, where
he has since resided, devoting his time to the
cultivation of his farm.
To" Mr. and Mrs, Ellery have been born six
chfldren, three of whom are living. Their names
are, Joseph, living with his father. Edmond T.,
of the town of Throop, and Mary J., still at home.
Mr. Ellery is a relative of William Ellery, one
of the signers of the declaration of independence.
On another page may be seen a view of the El
lery farm.

THOMAS McCULLEN.
Thomas Mc Cullen was born in the county of
Wicklow, Ireland, April 7th, 1834, At the age
of thirteen he emigrated to this country, settling
at Port Byron, where he arrived on the 14th day
of September, 1847. The same sea.son he com
menced chopping cord wood for Daniel McQuigg
& Co., and the following summer hired to Daniel
C. Austin as farm hand for eight months at $14
per month. During the next fifteen or twenty

years he was variously engaged in farming and
boating, acting as superintendent of construction
on section 9, under T. H. Hotaling, and manag-,
ing the running of boats for the American Trans
portation Company, and for G. A. Sprague.
April loth, 1873. he tnarried Elizabeth J. Hen
ry, daughter of John J. Henry, who was born,
lived and died on the property now owned by Mr.
McCullen. The father of John J. Henry and
grandfather of Mrs. Mc Cullen, a native of Ire
land, settled on the same place in 1800, arriving
at Port Byron with an ox cart, which contained his
family and goods, leading their only cow behind
them, settling in the wilderness, having for the
nearest neighbor Philip King, living one and one-
half miles distant. The same day that Mr. Mc
Cullen married, he purchased the farm (a sketch
of which appears in this work) where he now
lives ; the farm on which, through his wife,
lives the third generation, the place being now
known by many as the old Henry farm.
The present coridition of the farm shows Mr.
McCullen to be an expert as a farmer and one
thoroughly posted in the best modes of making
every rod of land produce all it possibly can.
April ist, 1875. Mr. McCullen joined the Pres
byterian church, with which his wife had been
connected since she was 16 years old. In
politics Mr. McCullen takes but little interest,
always voting for whom he considers the best
man or men, having no choice in party, preferring
principles above them all.

CHAPTER XXXVIII.
Town of Brutus.
BRUTUS lies upon the east border of the
County, north of the center, and is
bounded on the north by Seneca River, on the east
by Onondaga county, on the south by Sennett
and Throop, and on the west by Mentz. It was
formed from Aurelius, March 30th, 1802. Sen
nett was taken off March 19th, 1827.
The surface in the north and west is gently
undulating, with an average elevation of ten
feet above the river. In the south and east
it is broken by ridges and detached, conical-
shaped gravel hills, having an elevation of two
hundred feet above the river, and from fifty to
seventy-five feet above the general level. It is
watered by Bread Creek and Cold Spring Brook,
the former of which is a canal feeder. Both are

•;¦(:-) ii

-^;

ST PATRICK'S CHURCH. Aurora, N.Y.

Residence of W# ELLERY Town of Mentz Cayuga Co. N.Y

-Q.-

f

GEOLOGICAL FORMATION.

323

small streams, and furnish but a moderate
hydraulic power. They unite a short distance
before discharging their waters into Seneca
River. Bread Creek is said to have received its name
from the workmen engaged in the construction
of the canal through here. At one time the
vessel which was carrying their provisions to them
was delayed two or three days on thc river, and
they were obliged to rely upon the people of the
locality for food. When the vessel finally ar
rived and anchored in the river, they reached it
by means of boats down this creek, and from their
gratitude for the supply of provisions thus ob
tained, they named the Creek as above.*
It is underlaid by the red shales, the gypseous
portion of which crops out in several localities,
notably on the farm of John S. Sheldon, where
it is five to seven feet below the surface, and
was excavated for several years, some twenty-five
years ago. A plaster-mill was in operation on
tbi.s place at that time, but it has gone to decay.
Generally the plaster is too deeply covered with
drift to possess a commercial value. Recently
Mr. Faatz, in excavating for a well in the east
part of the town, struck a vein of excellent plas
ter rock but a few feet below the surface. Its
thickness was not ascertained. There are sev
eral localities where surface indications of salt
exist, principally along the river, notably one in
the north-east part of tbe town, where the early
settlers boiled salt at a deer-lick. Brine springs
exist near tbe vfllage of Weedsport. Extensive
deposits of calcareous marl exist in the marshy
flats bordering upon the river. In 1873 a de
posit of this character covering an area of fully
ten acres, of unknown depth, was discovered on
the farm of Edmund A. Havens, adjacent to the
canal. Here, the overlying peat, its usual ac
companiment, has an average thickness of fifteen
inches. The soil upon thc uplands is a good quality of
sandy and gravelly loam, intermixed with clay,
with a rich alluvion on the flats and in the val
leys of the streams. The ridges are composed
largely of clay, and the conical hills, of gravel.
The town is traversed from east to west by the
direct line of the N. Y. C. R. R., and the Erie
Canal, in close proximity, and from north to south
by the Southern Central railroad, which open up
* Statement of Amos Cowell. of Weedsport,
55-2

excellent markets for the products of its farms
and manufactories.
The population in 1875 was 2,825 > of whom
2,462 were native, 363 foreign, 2,793 white, and
32 colored.
It covers an area of 12,477 acres; of which
10,234 are improved, 1,242 woodlands, and 1,001
unimproved. The first settler in Brutus was Aaron Frost,
who was a squatter in the northwest corner of
the town, on the river, about 1795. He was en
gaged in fishing, trapping and hunting, and final
ly settled in that locality. He was the first miller
in the town. He fashioned stones for a grist
mifl from rocks obtained in the locality, and put
them into the lower part of a saw mill subsequent
ly built by the Hamfltons in the west edge ofthe
tov^n, about 1808 or '9. The stones were put in
very soon after the saw mill was built, and the
grist-mill was run by Frost. These were the
first mills in the town, and have gone to decay.
The building stood on the farm now owned by
Jonathan Titus, on Cold Spring Brook, the water
from which furnished the motive power.
It is not known that any further settlement
was made prior to 1800, in which year William
Stevens and Sunderland Sweet came in. Stev
ens was from Massachusetts, and settled on the
farm now owned by Samuel J. Mack, just south
of Weedsport, where his son Ira, the only sur
vivor of his family, is novv living. He died thei-e
in 1862. He kept a tavern previous to 1S14,
and for several years thereafter, till the opening
of the canal in 1825. His was the first tavern in
the town. It is a frame building, and was
moved about four years ago to Weedsport, where
it now stands, and is used as a tenement house.
Bennett Stevens, his son, who was born Novem
ber 13th, 1801, was the first chfld born in the
town. The first death was that of an infant
child of Sunderland Sweet, in 1800.
Several additional settlements were made in
1802, in which year Caleb and Jonah Rude,
brothers, and Nathan, son of Jonah, came in from
Saratoga county. Caleb settled about a half
mile south-east of Weedsport, on the farm now
owned by Frank Mills, where he died. Jonah
settled on the south line of Weedsport. where
Frank Mack now lives, and died there. Nathan
lived and died on the old homestead. Bateman
Rude, also son of Jonah, settled near the Cold

324

TOWN OF BRUTUS.

Spring pump, on the canal, within a quarter of a
mfle of the east line, where his son Milton now
lives, and where he died. Jason Rude, son of
Nathan, who was ,born December 23d, 1808, is
the present postmaster in Weedsport. George
Rude son of Bateman, is living in Weedsport.
Abel Powers, also from Saratoga county, came in
with his family the same year and settled in
Weedsport, where Royal Mack now lives. He
moved away with his family after a few years.
John Hamflton came in with teams from liebron,
Washington county, in March, 1802, in company
with his sons John Jr., and Wm. and took up lot
64, on ;which he settled, and died in 1806. John,
his son, brought in his wife, Nancy, and daughter,
Jane, and settled where Peter Hamilton now
lives. All are dead ; Jane, who married Wm.
Emerick, dying in the town of Mentz. His sur
viving children are David, who is living one mfle
west of Weedsport, aged seventy-six years; John,
and Nancy, now Mrs. Eli Dixon, in Michigan, to
which State the former moved in 1836 ; and El
vira, who is living with her brother David. Nu
merous of his descendants are living in the Coun
ty, five in Brutus. Wm. settled where Murray
Duncan now lives. Two sons of his are living.
Wm. Beard, a nephew of John Hamflton, came
in company with him from the same place, and
settled on the farm now occupied by the wife of
his son William. He died on the old homestead
about fifteen years ago. Three other children
survive him, viz : Levi, who is living in Sterling ;
Joseph, in Victory ; and Polly, with her mother.
Dr. James Hamilton, twin brother of John
Hamflton, Jr., moved in from Hebron, Washing
ton "county, in 1803, and settled opposite to where
David Hamilton now lives. He subsequently
moved and built the house where his son Eli
lives, about twenty rods west of where he first
settled. Those of his children who survive him
are, besides Eli. Dr. Ira Hamilton of Jordan ;
Hannah, now Mrs. David Planchett, and Nancy,
who are living in Michigan ; Peter, who lives with
his uncle John; and Jane, now Mrs. David Hedges,
who lives in Iowa.
The year 1804 was marked by the advent of
several settlers, among whom were John St. John,
from Connecticut, Edward Plorton and Daniel
Miller, brothers-in-law, from N. J,, Adam Plel-
mer, from Plerkimer county, and Lewis Putnam,
from Hebron, Washington county. St. John

settled a mile east of Weedsport, where he died.
He had a large family. Plorton came in with his
family and took up 100 acres, two miles south of
Weedsport, and settled on the farm now owned
by Otis Ingalls. His sons John, James and
David came in with him, the latter when only
three months old. David is now living at
Conquest Center, to which town he removed in
1826. Miller settled in the same locality as
Horton, a portion of his farm being now owned
by Ferdinand Faatz. He removed to Conquest
at an early, day and died there, together with his
wife. Helmer was a Dutchman and a Revolu
tionary soldier. Pie took up lot 67 as a soldier's
grant and settled where Geo. Harris now lives,
where he died about forty-five years ago. The
family moved from the town some twenty years
ago. Putnam took up lot 66 and built a log-
house where F. W. Putnam now lives. March
6th, 1805, he moved in his family, the house then,
say his sons, being destituteof door, window and
floor, a blanket having been made to serve the
purpose of a door the first night. His family then
consisted of his wife, Nancy, and five children ;
three children were afterwards born here. Nu
merous descendants of the family are living in
this town. Putnam erected a saw and grist-mill
at an early day on Bread Creek. The grist-mfll
stood just east of Weedsport, and the saw-mill,
on the same dam, but on the opposite side of the
creek. The grist-mill was burned about 1845,
and the saw-mill torn down about fifteen years
ago. Samuel Moore, from N. J., settled this
same year on lot 86, about a mile south of Weeds-
port, on the farm now owned in part by Thos.
Bentley. Two of his children are living in
Weedsport, viz : John and a daughter, afterwards
Mrs. Moses Bradley, now Mrs. Dean. Lewis
Moore, brother of Samuel, settled on an adjoining
farm, where he died some thirty years ago.
John Filmore settled in 1804 or '5, on the farm
now owned by Plarvey Beach, about two miles
south-west of Weedsport. He sold out to John
Emerick, ft-om Ulster county, about i8i5,and re
moved his family from the town. A man named
VanDyck, from New Jersey, settled in 1805,
about a mile south of Weedsport, on the farm
owned by James M. and Joseph Ewins, on which
his grandsons, Wflliam and Joseph Bennett, now
live. Deacon Robinson, Plenry Passage, Henry
Meach, and David, Archibald and Heman Ward

--^•'¦jr 1 i.

¦'k;,:)M'

[Photo by Squyer & Wright,]

lif 1 1'

Jacob and Mary [Smith] Sheldon, the progenitors of the Shel
don family in this County, were born in Connecticut, the former in
1753, and the latter about the same time. We can obtain no re
liable data in regard to their early life. They weren:arned in
SufQeld in their notive State, August S6th, 177il. and in tbe year
179(f they settled In this County, very near where the village of Sen
nett is situated, ou tho road that leads from the latter place to
Elbridge, Onondaga county. Mr, Sheldon took up three hundred
acres of land that was mostly covered by dense forest, and here ho
resided, engoged in clearing the land, and keeping tavern, hia
abode being a rude double log cabin, until about the year 1810, He
then moved into a large frame dwelling situated on tbe corner of
the Elbridge road and the road that now leads to Sennett Station
and there he kept tavern two years.
About the year 1812, he purchased two hundred and fourteen
acres of land where Erwin M, Sheldon now resides, in the town of
Brutus, and settled thereon, and was engaged in clearing the land,
operating-two saw-mills that be had erected, and farming until
1H2I, Here on the 1st of August of that year, (1821,) he suddenly
died of internal injuries received while endeavoring to ride a frac
tious colt, Mary, his wife, died September -3d, 1814,
Jacob and Mary Sheldon reared a family of seven children.
Their names, dates of birth, and death are as follows : Sylvester,
born July 7th, 1780 : died May 21st, 1801, Cephas, born November
10th, 1783 ; died in September, 1837, Mary, born January 26th, 1780 ;
died May 13th, 1857. Jacob, born August 27th, 1790 ; died July ISth,
1860. Daniel, born April 15th, 1794 ; died April 9th, lb68, John,
born November 17th, 1796 ; died October 20th, 1814, And Enos,
born February 7th, 1800 ; now living.
Jacob in bis domestic relations was a kind and loving father,
teaching his children by his own example the value and importance
of industry, economy and virtue, and inspiring them with the wor
thy ambition to he men and women in the loftiest aense of the
word. Perhaps no man was more prominently idontifled with the
early growth and development ot Cayuga County than he. He was
generoua and humane, and proved one ot the moat valuable ot
uelgbbors and ataunuhest of frlonds.
The children older than Daniel, before their marriage and settle
ment near the old home, aided their father in clearing the land and
developing tbe farm, receiving auch schooling as could be obtained
in those early times,
Daniel remained at home, giving his parents mosf valuable, aid
In their battle with the giant forest, and taking an active and im-
f)ortant part in the management of his father's business, until the
atter'a death. He then came into possession of the homestead,
and there he resided until he died. His education was fair, con
sidering the advantages he enjoyed. The excellent training he re
ceived from his father was of great practical use to him in the
management of his own affairs, and thoroughness and persever
ance were prominent characteristics that marked every transac
tion of his fife. The fact that at the time of hia death he was the
owner ot about six hundred acres of land, nearly all of which was
under a high state of cultivation, is sufBclent to attest that he
made life a success,
Mr. Sheldon was strict in exacting what was hia due. but exceed
ingly lenient towards those who were unfortunate and unable to

E ay, and especially so witl^ his tenants. The poor ever found In
im a friend, and those in distress were sure ot his sympathy and
assistance. In politics Mr. Sheldon never took a prominently ac
tive part. He voted with the Whigs until the formation of the Re
publican party, of which he became a member. He was elected to
the offlco ot Supervisor for one term, and although earnestly soliol-
ted by his friends to accent positions of trust and responsibility at
their hands, he always declined to do so, with the exception nboTS
referred to, because he had no aspiration for political nonors. He
was modest aud retiring in his disposition, and preferred the
quietude of his home and the companlonfhlp of his family and a
tew choseu friends, to the disturbances ot an ofiQcial life.
in religious sentiment, Mr. Sheldon was a Presbyterian, and an
honored member of that church in Sennett for many yeara. He
gave liberally on all occasions when money was needed to further
the interest of his church and the cause of religion.
In all the afEairs of life, the honorable example, as shown in the
career of Daniel Sheldon, is one eminently worthy of emulation
by those who would have, as did he, the esteem of all men.
On the 9lh of April. 1868, Mr. Sheldon arose from his bed feeling
we.U in health and spirits, and went to his saw-mill to superintend
his affairs there, when he was taken suddenly 111. He returned to
his house and died in an hour of heart disease. .
in 1816, the 12th day ot November, Daniel Sheldon was united in
marriage with Ell/a, daughter of Nathan and Elizabeth Merritt,
natives ot Connecticut, then reaidenta of Brutus She was born
April 2d, 1798, Mrs, Sheldon possessed all those lovely traits ot
character that are seen in the faithful, loving wife, and eflectionate
mother. She united with the Presbyterian Church in Sennett at
an early day, aud was, until she died, a zealous and conslatent
member thereof. She waa ever mindful of the pressing needs and
sufferings of the unfortunate poor, and the aged and helpless ap
pealed not in vain to her for succor and sympathy. Her acts of
charity were prompted by a heart flib d with compassion for all in
distress and need, and a desire to fulfill the teachings ot Him who
hath said, " He thatgiveth to the poor lendeth to the Lord." She
died January SlBt, 18(19,
Mr. and Mrs. Sheldon reared nnd trained to Utob of usefulness
and honor, a large family of children, whose names, dates of liirth,
&c,. are here given: John S,, born August llith, 1816 ; married Ann
Saylea of Brutus. October 2Bth, IfSS ; she died May Iftb. 187B.
Eliza Jane, born January lltli, 1819 ; died April zOth, im. William,
born August 31st, 18*^1 ; married Eleanor P. Burritt, of the town of
Ira, the 6th ot November, 1844. Lydia Ann, born May 28th, 1825 ;
married John W. liibbins, of lirutus, the 27th of January, 1847.
Harriet N., born September IBth, 1888 : married Sylvester Wright,
ot BrntU', February 27th, 1860 ; died May 2d, 1878. Erwin M., born
, June 11th, 1832 ; married Addle D, Hill, of Sennett, May 22d, 1861.
Frances Eliza, born August .SOth, 1886 ; married Gilbert J, Stevene,
of Urutus, October 19th, 1869 ; died April SOth, 1872,
Fraternity is written in golden letters over the hearts ot these
children. They keep up a pleasant family Intercourse which bag
never been mnrred, but la increasing in intensity as the years roll
by. They have placed before their children the advantages for ob-'
taining a liberal education, and a glance will s how that their
efforts have not been fruitless.

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,*

WEEDSPORT.

325

were early settlers ; Robinson, in the south part ;
Passage, in the north-east part, where he has
numerous descendants living ; Meach, in the
south-east part, where numerous of his descend
ants are living ; and the Wards, in the north
east part.
Robert, David and Plenry Plopkins and Moses,
David,'^Capt. James and John Dixon (the last two
settled in Mentz.) came in from Hebron, Wash
ington county, in 1808. and settled in the west
part. These two families married and intermar
ried and have numerous descendants living in
that locality. Moses Dixon settled where his son
Edwin now lives, a quarter of a mile west of
Weedsport, where he died in June. 1876. Thos.
Dixon, brother of Moses, also from Hebron, came
in 1 8 10, and settled on the place now owned by
Philip Martin, about a mile south-west of Weeds-
port. He subsequently removed to the place
now owned by  Titus, .where he died. Adol-
phus St. John, nephew of John St. John, from
Connecticut, settled about 18 14, on the river,
near the crossing from Weedsport to Cato.
Elihu and Hulbert Atwell, brothers, the former
of whom settled in the south part, where Daniel
H. Robinson, his son-in-law, lives, and the latter,
where Wfllis W. Sittser lives, and Jacob Pen-
noyer, who settled in the south-west part, where
Jonathan Titus lives, were early settlers. Pen-
noyer sold out about 1836, and moved east, from
whence he came.
Rev. Samuel Bibbens came in from Saratoga
county with his family in 18 16, and settled one
and one-half miles south of Weedsport, where
Ferdinand Faatz now lives, where he died Janu
ary 6th. 1836. Mr. Bibbens was a Methodist
minister about forty years.
Town Officers. — The first town meeting
was held at the house of Thomas Wright, March
1st, 1803, and the foflowing named officers were
elected: Rufus Sheldon, Supervisor; Thomas
Wright, Clerk; Elisha Baldwin, Williaixi Hamil
ton and '^athanTihhets,]r., Assessors ; Stephen
Dwinnels, Jacob Sheldon and Nathan Tibbets,
Jr. , Commissioners of Highways ; Jacob Sheldon
and Stephen Close, Overseers ofthe Poor; Joseph
Leonard, Collector; Daniel Gun and Daniel
Sheldon, Constables ; Joseph Cleft, David Rem
ington, Sflas Sheldon, Thomas Wilson and Isaac
^ays. Fence Viewers and Pound Keepers ; Isaac
Hays, Asa Heath, Daniel Curtis, Stephen Rogers,

Allen Worden, Stephen Dwinnels, John Miller,
H. Atwefl, Amos Bennett, Martin Remington,
Warren Freeman, Asahel Treat, Abraham Bur-
ret, Asa Wflson, Timothy Hatch and John Ham
ilton, Jr., Overseers of Highways.
The following town ofificers were elected 1879 •
Supervisor — Leonard F. Hardy.
Town Clerk — David W. Shaw.
Justice of the Peace, (fufl term,) — John R.
Rotch. Justice of the Peace, (for vacancy,) — Darwin C.
Knapp. Assessor, (full term,) — Levi T. Hamilton.
Assessor, (for vacancy,) — Myron H. Hfll.
Commissioner of Highways — Philip Martin.
Overseer of the Poor — Henry A. Brackett.'
Inspectors of Election — George H. Weyant,
Elisha H. Mack.
Collector — Peter Y. Christian.
Constables — Jacob T. Faatz, J. Munroe Ben
nett, Peter Y. Christian, William M. Bradley,
Michael Rice.
Game Constable — G. B. Whitman.
Weedsport.
.Weedsport is situated a little north-west of
the center of the town, on the line of the Erie
Canal, and at the junction of the direct line of
the New York Central and Southern Central Rail
roads, by which it is distant four miles ea^t of
Port Byron, eight miles north of Auburn, the
county seat, and twenty-two mfles west of Syra
cuse. Bread Creek flows through the village,
and thc limited water power it furnishes is pretty
well utflizcd. It is eligibly located, and has some
nicely-graded, well-kept and handsomely-shaded
streets. Its private and public buildings are gen
erally plain, but neat and substantial, and their
general appearance does not differ greatly from
Solomon Giles' description of them in 1863, when
he writes of the dwelling houses as being "neat
and comfortable," conspicuous for " the absence
of both very fine or very poor " ones. " Very few
villages of its size," be says, " but have-some bet-'
ter bufldings in it, and perhaps none can be
found with so few that are not well located, neat
ly finished, painted and fenced, so that the
town presents an uncommonly comfortable ap
pearance." The population is 1,500.
It contains five churches, (Methodist Episcopal,
Presbyterian, Baptist, Episcopal and Roman

326

TOWN OF BRUTUS.

Catholic.) all comely bufldings, a union graded
school, with academic department, three good
hotels, four general stores, eight groceries, two
hardware stores, three drug and book stores,
three clothing stores, three jewelry stores, one
furniture store and undertaking establishment,
one boot and shoe store, two millinery stores, two
newspaper offices, ( Weedsport Sentinel and Ca-
yuqa Chief) two private banks, a flouring and
grist-mill, two saw-mills, the Weedsport Bending
Works, a pump factory, a foundry and machine
shop, four carriage shops, a cigar factory, three
malt-houses, a brewery, and three ware-houses.
The first settlements on the site of Weeds-
port were made in 1802, by Jonah and Nathan
Rude and Abel Powers, near the south line of
the corporation, in the locality known subse
quently for many years as Macedonia. lii 1817,
when the construction pf the canal was begun,
the settlements which had centered at Macedonia
were diverted to the line of that great highway ;
and when this section vvas completed in 1821,
Elihu and Edward Weed, sons of Smith Weed,
a wealthy merchant of Albany, settled on the
site of the village, constructed a basin on the
south side of the canal, and erected a store
house. From them the settlement acquired the
name of Weed's Basin, and in 1822, a post-office
was established by the name of Weed's Port, and
Elihu Weed made postmaster. With the advent
of the Weeds and the development of their bus
iness projects, an impetus was given to the
growth of the place which continued un
checked till the opening of the Auburn and Syra
cuse R. R., in 1836, and the Auburn and Roch
ester R. R., in 1840. Weedsport was the canal
landing for Auburn, and a large business was
done in the transfer and carriage of goods be
tween these two places. The principal public
buildings were store-houses erected to accom
modate this business, and the chief vocation of
the people was that of attending to the receipt,
shipment and carrying of merchandise to and
from Auburn and contiguous places.
The vfllage was incorporated Aprfl 26th, 1831,
but owing to the destruction of the records by
the fire of December 14th, 1871, we are unable
to give the names of the first village officers.
The present ofificers (1878) are : Henry D. Brew
ster, President; William Watson, Clerk; Philip
Sturge, Treasurer; and Plenry Stickles, C. C.

Adams, A. S. Holcomb and L. D. Faatz,
Tmstees. The opening of the railroads before referred
to was a serious blow to Weedsport, and took
from it a prestige which it has required years of
sustained energy and patient industry to recover.
They diverted almost its entire storage, forward
ing and carrying business, and having been built
up almost entirely thereon, that diversion took
away its life. " The ware-houses that had al
ways been crowded to their utmost capacity,"
says the author before quoted, " became tenant-
less, except by the rats, and the town looked de
serted, as though it had been buflt upon specu
lation, and the investment had proved a faflure.
Its reliance then became the natural business of
the town * * * supported by the country
around it. without any unnatural stimulus." But
being surrounded by no less than five villages
and the city of Auburn, all within a radius of
eight miles, and each a formidable rival, the ter
ritory of its natural growth is not only very cir
cumscribed, but is less fertile than that of a
majority of its competitors. Its growth though
slow has been steady, and it has more than made
up for the losses sustained by the diversion of its
..carrying trade. In 1871 it sustained a severe
loss by fire, which destroyed the two entire busi
ness blocks bounded by the canal, and Brutus,
Furnace and South streets, with the exception
of the cabinet shop of William Watson and the
residence of Wflliam Bflley on Brutus street, and
the residences of Nicholas Bucher and Mrs.
Carrie Stevens and the engine house on Furnace
street. Very little insurance was held; but tbe
burnt district was immediately rebuilt, and the
former buildings replaced by those of a better
class. The canal is spanned by two iron bridges.
The Weedsport Fire Department consists
of two engine and one hose companies. Ira D.
Brown is Chief Engineer, and A. W. Morehouse,
Assistant Engineer. Joseph Pfohl is foreman
of Volunteer Engine Company, No. i ; W. J. Bar
ker, of Black Crook Engine Company, No. 2 ; and
J. M. Bennett, of Brutus Hose Company, No. i.
The apparatus consists of two hand engines and
650 feet of hose.
Merchants.— The first merchant in Weeds-
port was Walter Weed, brother of Elihu and Ed
ward Weed, who opened a small hardware store
in 1822, which he continued till 1828. Woolley

WEEDSPORT.

327

& Champlain commenced as general merchants
and forwarders in 1823 or '24, and continued till
1828, when Phineas F. Whiteside bought Cham
plain's interest. George Cramer acquired a half
interest with Whiteside in March, 1829, and
Whiteside & Cramer did business about two
years, when Paine Freer, from Port Byron,
bought them out, and after two or three years
sold to a Mr. Woodruff,"who continued some two
years. Plenry Van Tyne. from Onondaga county.
opened a store- about 1825, and Chamberiain &
Mason, about 1829. Each kept them about two
years. Smith & Fellows opened a general store
and.' commenced a forwarding business in 1825
and discontinued in 1827, at which time Alonzo
L. Smith carried on forwarding and opened a
drug store, which he kept about twenty years,
and which was the first of its kind. William
Buttre kept a small hardware store from 1825
to 1830. Maltby & Stone kept a general store
about 1823, and were the principal merchants at
that time. Stone died in 1826, when Plarper J.
Rogers, from Hoosick, N. Y., became a partner
with Seth Maltby. Rogers died after about
three years. About 1831, Seth Sheldon was as
sociated with Maltby, and did business with him
about a year, when Maltby, who is now living in
Oswego, went to Oriskany, and Yost C. Fink be
came a partner with Sheldon. Afterabout three
years they dissolved, and Yost C. Fink, Orlando
Gault and Asaph S. Kinney commenced business.
They continued under different titles about ten
years. About 1840, Fink. who. during the lat
ter part of his stay, was in partnership wuh his
son Edmund, removed to Allegany county. At
the same time Gault & Kinney were doing busi
ness in another store.
About 1853 a store known as the "community
store " was started by a joint stock company com
posed mostly offarmers, with a capital of ^10,000.
They bought grain and sold goods. Samuel.
Hopkins, who originated the movement, had its
management the first year. He was succeeded
by Orlando Gault, who was the manager six years,
till he removed to Wisconsin. PI. W. Bliss man
aged it about two years, and C. C. Adams one
year, when it closed, about 1861.
D. C. Stewart opened a store about 1850, which
he kept from two to three years, when he removed
to Cato. Bentley & Ives did business about two
years, and Ives, alone, some five or six years.

James and Julius Henderson, brothers, opened
a store in 1833, and in 1846 they sold out to
Durkee, Gault & Co. In 1847 they recom-
men,ced business, and in i860 they sold out to ^
William Henderson and Frederick T. Munson
and went west and were in the lumber business
three years. Henderson & Munson did business
tfll 1864, when the latter bought out the former's
interest and continued the business alone two
years. In 1864, William and Julius. Henderson,
and Samuel J. Mack opened a store and did a
large business, under the name of Henderson &
Mack, some three years, when Julius bought the
interest of his partners. In 1870, his brother,
James Plenderson, and son Edwin M., were ad
mitted to partnership, each to a third interest, and
the business has since been conducted under the
name of Henderson & Co. This firm now occu
pies three stores, all connected.
Aaron Bayless, then living in Cato, buflt a
store-house about 1823. and bought grain till
about 1850. About 1846 he opened a store,
which he kept four or five years. Pie was one
ofthe most enterprising business men of Weeds-
port, and was to this section of the country what
Robert Muir was to Auburn and the farmers in
that locality, in regard to handling grain. By
ventures in which he alone assumed the risk, he
sacrificed himself financially in their interest.
John Drake kept a drug store before the war. He
joined the army and vvas killed there.
The merchants at present doing business in
Weedsport, in addition to Henderson & Co., are
as follows :
Donovan &¦ Mack (Wm. J. Donovan and E. H.
Mack,) general merchants. O. W. Burritt & Bro.
(II. E,,) hardware dealers. Hugh Riley, grocer.
Beach & Bro., (George A. and Charles J.,) drug
gists and book- sellers, commenced business in
November, 1862. Chas. J. went out ofthe firm
in December, 1875, but the name is retained.
Both were born in the town. G. A. Benedict,
clothier. A. E. Ure, from Jordan, grocer. A.
W. Stone, boot and shoe dealer. 6'. E. Miller,
dealer in groceries, flour and feed. 5. B. Gilder-
sleeve, grocer. Philip Sturge, general merchant,
from Meridian, opened his store about 1871.
He was associated with J. Smith Sheldon as
partner three or four years, tifl the spring of 1 878.
Harvey Robbins, grocer. Bryant & Kevand, (J.
C. Bryant and J. Kevand.) groceries and dry

328

TOWN OF BRUTUS.

goods. Horace L. Burrill & G?., (Ambrose O.
Remington,) drugs and books. Bronson Taylor,
canal grocery. James Kanaley, grocer. Joseph
Kaufler, clothier. Mrs. P. B. Bonta, milliner.
Mrs. Cornelia Bibbens opened her millinery store
in September, 1877. Chas. Coyle, grocer. Wm.
Watson, furniture dealer and undertaker, was
born in Yorkshire. Itngland, in 18 10. He came
to Weedsport in 1827, and in 1828, removed to
Auburn, where he remained tifl 1841, when he
removed to Rochester. In 1843 he returned to
Weedsport and commenced his present business.
He has held the office of justice of the peace
twenty-four years, and in 1878 was elected for
another term of fouryears. G. PF. //rt//, jeweler.
Julius E. Rude, jeweler, a native of Weedsport,
commenced business in 1 818. A. H Rose,]evi-
eler. A. B. Harmon, hardware dealer, and M.
J. Diegelman, clothier.
Postmasters. — The first postmaster was
Elihu Weed, who was appointed in 1822, and held
the office several years. He was succeeded by
Alonzo Smith and he by Orlando Gault, each
of whom held the office about four years. The
next was Samuel Bibbens or Manning Henderson,
the former of whom held it about two years and
the latter four. Dexter E. Havens held the of
fice eightyears and was succeeded by C. C. Ad
ams, who held it four years, and James Kernan,
about two. Elizabeth Kernan was appointed in
1867, and was succeeded by Ebenezer W. Turn
er in 1 87 1, who held the office a little over two
years. Jason Rude, the present incumbent, was
appointed in 1873.
Physicians. — The first physician was Dr.
Gale, who practiced prior to 1825, in which
year he left. The next was Dr, Swett, who also
removed before 1827. Plenry Follett practiced
from 1825-35, and went to Michigan. Dr. Hale-
man practiced from about 1825 -'31, and Wm.
W. Williams from 1826 tifl his death about 1852.
Dr. Briggs came about 1835 and took Follett's
place, remaining about ten years. Pie was suc
ceeded about 1848 byO. C. Clark, allopath, who
is still practicing here. Geo. Coon came from
Dryden about 1858, and practiced about fifteen
years. Drs. Boyd and Whitman (Thompsonian,)
practiced about six years, and Dr. Peterman,
(eclectic,) two years, some twenty-five years ago.
The present physicians, besides Dr. Clark, are
Geo. Parsell, homeopath, and Ira Di Brown, al

lopath, who commenced practice about 1868 ;
Hiram Mc Carthy, allopath, who commenced
about 1840; and E. Weed Bibbens, a native of
Brutus, and Mrs. Mary E. Little, both eclectic,
the former of whom commenced practice in 1869,
and the latter about 1873 or '4.
Members of the Bar. — Patten R. Cook was
probably the first lawyer. Pie was practicing in
1827 and left about 1830. James Luckey prac
ticed from about 1823 to 1830. Theodore Pop
ple came in from Elbridge about 1827 and prac
ticed till his death, about 1840. Wm. I. Corn-
well came in from Dutchess county in 1830, and
commenced to practice in 1836. He is still prac
ticing here. He was a member of Assembly in
1846 and '47 ; was a member of the State Sen
ate in 1848 and '49; Canal Appraiser from i852-'6;
and Auditor of the Canal Department from April,
1855, to January, 1856. John S, Jenkins, from
Jordan, came in about 1840 and practiced some
ten years. The present lawyers, in addition to
Mr. Cornwell. are A. W. Shurtleff", who came
from Canada in 1849 ^'^^ commenced practicing
in 1857 ; Darwin C, Knapp, who came from Cato
in 1863 and commenced practice in 1866 ; Frank
M. Parsons, Special County Judge, who came in
from Memphis in 1871 ; L. B, Little, Police Jus
tice, who came from Michigan in 1874; and C.
M. Elliott, who came from Port Byron in the fall
of 1876.
Banks. — There are two banks in Weedsport,
both of which are private institutions. ^. W.
Treat &¦ Co., (Sylvester W. Treat, Wm. Hender
son and Harvey C. Beach,) commenced business
in September, 1869, in company with Samuel J.
and I-'rank M. Mack, under the firm name of
Mack, Treat & Co. The present firm bought
out the interest of the Macks after a year and a
half, and have since conducted the business un
der the above name. Edgar C. Bryant is the
cashier. This firm occupy the building of the
old Weedsport Bank, which was organized in
1854, with a capital of ^100,000, and failed in
July, 1866. Mack Brothers, (R. L, W. W. and
S. J. Mack,) commenced a banking business and
were incorporated Aprfl ist, 1872.
Manufactures. —-The manufactories of
Weedsport are the following :
Brutus Mills (flouring, grist and saw,) were
built, the saw-mill about 1830, by Phineas White
side and George Cramer, and the grist-mill in

WEEDSPORT.

329

1838 and '39, by Messrs. Plealey & Cramer.
They contain three run of stones and one up
right saw, and are grinding thirty-five bushels of
wheat per day, custom work, and forty bushels,
merchant work. The motive power is furnished
by Bread Creek, with a fall of twelve feet, there
being two gates, the upper one of five feet fall
and the lower one of seven. They are owned by
LaDue & Son, (Harrison and Harrison, Jr.,) the
former of whom acquired a fourth interest in
1871, and the remaining interest in 1875. He
admitted his son to partnership in 1S76. Har
rison LaDue, Jr., and Edwin W. Fenlon are the
millers. The Weedsport Bending Works, Austin
Bros, & Co., proprietors, (Dewitt and Morton B.
Austin and Leonard F. Hardy,) were erected in
1871. for a planing-mill, by R. PI. Stilwell. and
bought by the present proprietors, together with
the lumber-yard attached, of his creditors, Finch
& Cowan, June 20th, 1877. at which time they
built an addition for their bending works. The
works give employment to nine persons besides
the proprietors, and turn out all kinds of bent
vvork for wagons and carriages, make spokes and
turn ax and hatchet handles. The planing-mill
is still kept in operation. The motive power is
furnished by a thirty-five horse-power engine.
The Rubber Bucket Pump P-actory is own
ed by Court & Welch. (Daniel J. Court and Wm.
Welch.) who commenced business in the spring
of 1874. The building was erected about 1870,
by George C. Chapin, and used as a sash and
blind factory tfll 1874. when it was converted in
to a pump factory by the present proprietors, who
are now (1878) building an addition. It gives
employment to five men when in operation, and
makes some 400 pumps per annum, besides job
work.
The Phoinix Manufacturing Company, (M.
N. DeLong, George A. DeLong and J. L Van-
Doren,) founders and machinists, give employ
ment to seven persons in the manufacture of
agricultural implements and jobbing. The busi
ness was started by Jacob Beach, about 1833, and
the fixtures were bought pf H. S. Tryon, by B.
DeLong & Sons in October, 1874. January
1st, 1878. J. I. VanDoren was admitted to part
nership. December 14th. 1871. the bufldings were
partially destroyed, and were rebuilt the same
month. An addition for a store-room was built
56-1

in 1875. The present proprietors purpose mov
ing their fixtures to Phoenix, where a buflding is
being erected for them.
There are four carriage manufactories, of which
C. D. Hugunin, R. A. Wood, A. PI. Smith and
J. Rosecrants are proprietors. They are largely
engaged in jobbing, but make some seventy-five
wagons and carriages and fifty sleighs and cutters
per annum.
James Scanlon commenced the manufacture of
cigars May ist, 1878, in company with Michael
Ryan, whose interest he bought June 1st. He
employs three persons, and makes 4,500 cigars
per month. <
H. L. Burrill is engaged in manufacturing
BurrilTs Compound Cherry Balsam, which he
commenced about 1870, and of which he is
making lOO gross per annum. In the spring of
1878 he commenced the manufacture oi Burrill' s
Arabian Ointment.
Weedsport Marble and Granite Works. —
Sylvanus S. Paul, proprietor. Mr. I Paul
bought a half interest in thc property in 1872, of
Michael McCarthy, who commenced June ist,
1869. At McCarthy's death, July i8th, 1876,
Paul bought that interest. He gives employ
ment to five or six men.
There are three malting establishments, one a
fine, large brick structure, owned by Miller &
Kennedy, (Adam Miller and Norman H. Ken
nedy, both of Auburn, ) erected in 1873, with a
capacity of 100,000 bushels per annum ; a second,
owned by William Van Marter, of Lyons, who
bought the property of S. W. Treat & Co., in
1870, which was built abouttwenty years ago by
Edwin Pline. for a block of stores, for which pur
pose it was used for a few years, and which was
converted into a malt-house about twelve years
ago by S. W. Treat & Co. It was rented by
Scott & Whitlock, of Lyons, in the fall of 1877,
and has a capacity of 75,000 bushels per annum ;
and a third, known as the upper one, owned by
Adam Mfller, who bought it in 1870, of Thomas *
Smith, of Clyde, by whom it was buflt about . '
twelve years ago. The malting business is con
ducted by Miller, Kirby & Co., ( Adam Mifler,
Wflliam M. Kirby and F. P. Miller, all of Au
burn,) the latter two of whom were admitted to
partnership in 1874. Its capacity is 45,000
bushels per annum.
The saw- mill, located three-fourths of a mfle

336

TOWN OF BRUTUS.

above the Brutus Mills, at the head of the race,
was buflt about five or six years ago, by M. C. &
A. O. Remington. It contains one circular saw.
George Wilson is the proprietor.
O. W. Burritt & Bros., are manufacturing an
improved patent double seamerfor tin roofing, of
which they are making about 200 per annum, and
for which there is an increasing trade.
Ware-houses. — There are .three ware-houses
and elevators for the storage and handling ol
grain and other merchandize, one of which is not
in use.
Gfles' elevator and ware-house was erected in
1853 by Solomon Giles, and is owned by S. J.
Mack and Mary J. Davie. The business is con
ducted by Drake & Co., (C. E. Drake and F. M.
Mack,) and was commenced in 1874, by C. E
Drake, who sold a half interest to F. M. Mack
in 1878. C. C. Adams is doing business in the
other warehouse. The building was removed
from Jordan about thirty years ago, by a man
named Dodge. It was repaired and enlarged
about ten years ago by H. C. Beach, the present
proprietor. Mr. Adams commenced business in
1868. Hotels, — The Willard House, a fine, commo-
dious buflding, is kept in a superior manner by
Wfllard Sturge. who was born in Cato in 183 1,
and removed to Weedsport Dec. 4lh, 1867, at
which time he bought the old Farmers' Exchange
Hotel of Frederick Childs. He kept that tifl
i87i,whenhe buflt the present house. It stands
on the site of the first hotel in Weedsport, which
was kept by Spafford Fields, about 1820.
The Mansion House was buflt by Pliram
Close, about fifty years ago, and was bought of
Henry Vandewater, in April, 1861, by Plenry
Stickle, the present proprietor, and Plenry P.
Ketchum, his brother-in-law, the former of whom
bought the latter's interest in 1864.
Congress Hall is kept by Messrs. Luce &
Gage, (George A. Luce, formerly of Throop, and
John A. Gage, formerly of Auburn,) who rented
the property and opened a hotel May nth, 1878.
The house was buflt in 1872, by Joshua W.
Ketchum. Mrs. Josephine E. Servis, of Au
burn, is the present proprietor.
The Press. — The Weedsport Sentinel vvas
started in February, 1867, by John Gibbs & Son,
who, four years later, sold it to S. D. Lee &
Brother. October 12th, 1872, George R. Nash

became the publisher and proprietor ; and Feb
ruary loth, 1874. he transferred a half interest
therein to J. B. Rogers. It is a weekly, and has
since been published under the firm name of
Geo. R. Nash & Co.
The Cayuga Chief vias started June i6th, 1867,
by H. D. Brown & Co. It is a weekly, twenty-
four column paper, and is edited by Dr. Ira D.
Brown, one of the proprietors, who was editor-in-
chief of the Oszvego Daily Times for eight years.
It is issued Saturdays, and has a circulation of
850. Schools. — Weedsport has a union school,
with an academic department, which has been
designated by the Regents for the instruction of
common school teachers. The primary depart
ments are under the charge of a Board of Edu
cation, who report to the State Superintendent
of Public Instruction, under the common school
law. The academic department is under the
charge of Board of Trustees, who report to the
Regents of the University.
The faculty are W. H. Bradford, principal,
who is assisted in the academic department
by Miss Gertrude Miller, of Penn Yan, and in
the primary and intermediate departments by
Miss Augusta Barnes, Miss Melissa Brooks, Miss
Martha Traphagen, Miss Louisa McCarthy and
Miss Harris. The building is a large, plain,
substantial, three-story, brick structure, contain
ing six school rooms, besides recitation rooms
and library, each school room seating about sixty
pupfls. It was erected in 1871, and is in excel
lent repair. It is valued at ;^9,ooo, and the lot
upon which it stands, at ^3,000. It has a small,
but select collection of philosophical and chemical
apparatus, valued at 1^363.50 ; and a miscellane
ous library, containing upwards of 700 volumes,
belonging to the academic department, and val
ued at $807.
The P'lRST M. E. Church of Weedsport. —
The eariiest meetings here by members of this de
nomination were held in 18 16. The first class
was composed of five members, viz., James
Young and wife, Edward Wood and wife, and
John Sprague. Meetings were held in a log
school-house in what was then known as " Ma
cedonia." about half a mile south of the village of
Weedsport, where, also, the organization was
perfected the same year, by Rev. Samuel Bib
bens, who was their first pastor. Not long after

WEEDSPORT — CHURCHES.

331

the family of Wflliam McCrady moved into a log
house a little south of the school-house, which
they opened to the little band of worshipers.
There the meetings were continued untfl a frame
school-house was built on the site of the old log
school-house, when that was occupied as a place
of worship, both by this and the Presbyterian
society. Other early members of this society were
Henry Sparling and wife, Isaac Bell, Rev. Sam
uel Bibbens and wife, Anna, and daughter, Sa
mantha. Joseph Luckey and wife,  Chadder-
don and wife. James Luckey. John Sprague and
wife, Mark Dempsey and wife, James Raynor and
wife, and Mary Barnes, all of whom arc dead.
The first class leader of the society was James
Young, who was succeeded by Henry Sparling,
the latter of whom continued in that relation
several years. He was succeeded by John Sprague.
This society erected their first church edifice
in 1822, at a cost of about ^1.500. It occupied
the site of the present commodious brick struc
ture, which was buflt in 1863, at a cost of ^18,-
000, and irnproved in 1874. by the addition of
galleries, and an alcove in the south end, at a cost
of;g3,ooo. The present membership ofthe Church is 364 ;
the attendance at Sabbath-school, exclusive of
teachers, 202.
Miss Libbie Husk went out from the home of
Jonathan and Susan B. Fox as missionary to
India, where she married Rev. J. H. Messmore,
then and now a missionary to that field.
Jonathan Fox and his wife Susan B.. daughter
of the late Rev. Samuel Bibbens, have been
among the most prominent and useful members
of th,is society. Mr. Fox has been an exhorter,
class-leader and generally active in its interests
during more than forty years. Mrs. Fox is
widely known as a ceaseless worker in its field of
spiritual labor and missionary enterprises. Her
membership dates back to i8i9.when there were
but twelve members. Notwithstanding their ad
vanced age they are still active in this .spiritual
vineyard. The following named pastors have officiated in
this Church from the time it was disconnected
with the Scipio circuit and constituted a separate
charge: Wm. M. Wfllett, i827-'28 ; Roswell
Parker, 1828-29; Joseph Baker, 1 829-' 30;
Seth Young, 1830-31 ; Schuyler Hoes, 1831-33;

W. W. Rundell, 1833-35 ; Royal Houghton,
1835-36; Charles Giles. 1836-38; Robert Ev-
erdell. 1838-39 ; Anson Fuller. 1839-40 ; Chas.
W. Leet, 1840-42 ; Isaac Stone, 1842-43 ; Benj.
Phiflips, 1843-44; Chas. L. Dunning. 1844-46;
A.I. Phelps, 1846-48 ; Elisha Wheeler, 1848-
'49; Geo. Sawyer. 1849-51 ; Chas. H. Austin,
1851-52 ; Darius.Simons, 1852-53 ; C. L. Dun
ning, i853-'55; A. I. Phelps. 1855-57; Mor
gan D. Gfllett, 1857-58 ; W. I. Hunt, 1858-59 ;
Wm. A. Nicholls, 1859-61 ; W. S. Titus, 1861-
'63; L. Clark, 1863^65; E. Arnold, 1865-66;
F. I. Whitney, 1866-69; S. P. Gray, 1869-72 ;
B. Shove, 1872-73 ; J. B. Foote, 1873-75 ; D.
W. Bristol, 1875-77 ; and Wm. Reddy, the
present pastor, who commenced his labors with
them in September, 1877.
The First Presbyterian Church of Weeds-
port was formed from members mostly from the
Congregational Church of Brutus, now Sennett,
in 1825, in which year their first church edifice
was built and dedicated. The organization was
effected immediately after the dedication of the
church. Fifty persons united by letter and pro
fession, the most prominent of whom were John
Hamflton, James Dixon, Peter Putnam, Alanson
Smith, Peter Douglas, (who were chosen elders,)
James Plamilton and Robert Hopkins, and their
descendants are now some ofthe prominent mem
bers of the Church.
Their house of worship, which was built in the
south part of the village, was consumed by fire in
March, 1855, and rebuilt the same year at a cost
of ^ 1 2,000. The building was repaired and newly
furnished in 1871. at a cost of ;^8,ooo.
The following named persons have been the
pastors of this Society for the periods named :
Justus Hough, five years ; D. C. Hopkins, two
years ;  Harrington, one and one-half
years ;  Redington, one year ; Moses In-
gals, one year ; Melancton B. Williams, three
years ; George W. Warner, fourteen years ; Jo
seph R. Page, one year ; Charles E. Avery, seven
years ; Tertius S. Clark, four years ; A. R.
PIewett, the present pastor, thirteen years.
The present number of members is 225 ; the
attendance at Sabbath-school is 150. The
Church has been self-sustaining, having never re
ceived aid from the Plome Mission Board, and
has always contributed liberally to all benevolent
objects.

332

TOWN OF BRUTUS.

The First Baptist Church of Weedsport
was organized December 14th, 1837, with thirty-
one members — seven males and twenty-four fe
males. Their first pastor was Rev. S. Adsit, Jr,
who commenced his labors wilh them as a licen
tiate at their organization, and was ordained De
cember I2lh, 1838. Through a revival experi
enced during the first year of their existence
forty-two were added to their membership by
baptism and letter, and they were encouraged in
the hope of their ability to erect a suitable place
of worship. The fruition of this hope was real
ized at the expiration of the second year, for in
January. 1840, they opened their new and attrac
tive chapel, which was erected at an expense of
^2.660. But this arduous and protracted labor
was too great a strain on the physical strength
of their pastor, who, in consequence thereof, was
prostrated by disease and confined to his room
for more than a year. The Church were unwill
ing to accept his resignation, and he continued
to supply the pulpit tfll September 3d, 1840,
when it was finally accepted, and the services of
J. S. Ladd. a licentiate, who was subsequently
ordained, were secured and retained till January,
1847. During Mr. Ladd's pastorate, 268 were added
to the Church by baptism and letter. He was
succeeded by A. W. Valentine, who commenced
his labors in February. 1847, and continued them
till 185 1, on the 4th of May of which year Jona
than Baldwin commenced a pastorate, which was
closed March 19th, 1853. Ira Bennett assumed
the relation of pastor May 14th, 1853, and closed
his labors with them in December, 1855. He
was immediately succeeded by J. S. Ladd, who
closed the labors of his second term of service
March 31st, 1857. John E. Reynolds assumed
the pastoral care Aprfl ist, 1857, and remained
till April ist, 1858. Johnson Ploward succeeded
him Aprfl 14th, 1858. and closed his pastorate
February 2d. 1861. The pulpit was filled by
temporary supplies untfl August 31st, 1861, when
Wflliam Remington commenced a pastorate of
nearly three years, closing his labors with this
Church June 20th, 1864. T.T. Fflmore entered
upon a three years' pastorate August 14th, 1864,
severing that relation August 3d, 1867. He was
succeeded by J. W. Spoor, who commenced his
labors with them October 6th, 1867, and closed
them March 29th, 1868. J. P. Bates sustained

the relation of pastor with them just a year — from
June 28th, 1868 to June 27th, 1869. J. W.
Harris entered into pastoral relations with the
church September 19th, 1869, and maintained
them for seven years, closing his labors with them
August 27th. 1876. Pie was succeeded Novem
ber 1st, 1876, by the present pastor, T. R. Peters.
In 1870, the church edifice was practically re
built, at a cost of ;^ 10,000, only the walls and
foundation of the old building being retained in
the new one. It was dedicated February 5th,
1871. The present membership is 230. They
have an interesting Sabbath-school, at which the
average attendance is 175.
St. John's Church (Episcopal.) was organ
ized February 27th. 1866, by Rev. John H.
Rowling, the first pastor, with sixteen members,
viz., John S. Wright and wife, Armenta, Charles
S. Comstock and wife, Julia, William E. Billey
and wife, Sarah, A, W. Shurtleff, William Irving
Latimer and wife, Olivia, John Rice, Mrs. N. D.
Caldwell, Margaret and Lansing Traver, Angle
Williams, and Mary and Sophia Wright. Mr.
Rowling continued his labors with the church
tifl the fall of 1866. Rev. S. K. Miller, of
Christ Church, Jordan, assumed its pastoral care
P'ebruary ist, 1867, and remained three years.
During the second year of his ministry, in 1868,
their church edifice was built at a cost of $600.
It was converted from a blacksmith shop to its
present use. It was first used for worship in
July, 1868. The lot upon which it stands cost
j8i,ooo. Their next pastor was Rev. Robert
Paul, who was stationed here. He commenced
his labors with them July 14th. 1871. and closed
them September ist, 1872. S. H. Phillips, rec
tor of Christ Church, Jordan, supplied the pulpit
till September 5th, 1875, when he was succeeded
by Joel Davis, rector of the same church. Mr.
Davis writes, while supplying this pulpit, " I find
the Parish yet comparatively weak, but earnest
and hopeful." Mr. Davis closed his labors with
them January ist, 1878, since which time Rev.
W. H. Lord, of Auburn, has supplied the pulpit.
The present number of members is thirty-four ;
the attendance at Sabbath School, thirty. The
first wardens were John S. Wright and Charies
S. Comstock ; the first vestrymen were William
E. Billey, A. W. Shurtleff, W. I. Latimer, Peter
Mills, John N. Wood, John Rice, William Faatz
and Noah D. Caldwell.

WEEDSPORT — SOCIETIES.

333

St. Joseph's Church (Roman Catholic,) vvas
organized in 1855. Among the first members
were Nicholas Bucher, John Fitzsimmons, John
O'Connor, Richard O'Connor. Pat O'Nefl, Robt.
Moriarty, James and Michael McFierny and
Michael McCarthy. Their first pastor was Mi
chael Credon, who served them about two years.
He was followed by Michael Purcell, who re
mained a year ; John Constant, from one to two
years ; Joseph Helvinger, about two years ;.
Fathers Leddy and Van Scuskie, each one year;
Nicholas Burns, two to three years ; Michael
Purcell, a second term, Jarnes O'Connor and
Anthony Cassese, each about two years ; John
C. Kinney, two to three years ; and Father Con
nelly, who remained only five or six weeks.
Charles H. Horen, the present pastor, com
menced his labors with them in November, 1875.
Their church edifice was erected in 1868, at a
cost of ;^ 1,600. In 1874 it received additions
and repairs, involving an expenditure of ^2,000.
It is a neat, substantial wooden building. The
present number of members is about 400.
Societies. — Weedsport Lodge, Ab. 385. F. &¦
A. M., was organized June 13th. 1856. The char
ter ofificers were, Andrew Sittser, Master; Calvin
Carpenter. S. W. ; and William Watson. J. W.
The present officers are. Sylvester Wright. W.
M.; A. W. Morehouse. S. W.; J. R. Rheubot
tom, J. W. ; Ira D. Brown, S. D. ; Delacy Faatz,
J. D.; J. L. Crane, Secretary; Robert Ure,
Treasurer ; and George H. Wyant, Tiler. The
present number of members is fifty-four. They
meet the first and third Tuesdays of each month
in Masonic Hall. A lodge of free masons ex
isted forty years prior to the above date, but
went down during the anti-masonic troubles.
Southern Central Lodge, No. 249, /. O. O. P..
was organized with nine members, September
19th, 1870. The first officers were. Ira D.
Brown, N. G. ; William I. Cornwell. V. G.;
William Watson, Secretary ; and J. R. Rheubot
tom, Treasurer. The present officers are, Menzo
A. Kenyon, N. G. ; Julius I. .Turner, V. G. ;
Joseph Pfohl, Secretary ; and Joseph L. Stevens,
Treasurer. The present membership is fifty-
one. They meet every Monday evening at Odd
Fellows' Plall.corner of Brutus and Seneca streets.
Brutus Encampment, No. 90. /. 0. O. F., was
organized January 6th, 1876, with ten members.
The first officers were, E, ?• t^^tinier, C. P- ; J-

R. Rheubottom, H. P.; W. J. Baker, S. W.;
W. I. Cornwell, Scribe; L. B. Storke, Treas
urer ; and W. Slauson. J. W. The present of
ficers are, O, J. Forman. C. P.; L, B. Storke, H.
P.; Julius \. Turner, S. W.; Joseph Pfohl. Scribe;
Corydon Case, Treasurer ; Clarence E. Mason,
J. W. The present membership is nineteen.
They meet the first and third Wednesdays of
each month, in Odd Fellows' Hall.
77/^ District Grand Committee of the District
of Cayuga meets the third Wednesday of January,
April, July and October. Its head-quarters are
at Weedsport. E. B. Latimer was the first Dis
trict Deputy ; O, J. Forman is the present one.
Weedsport Lodge No. 380. /. 0. G. T. vvas or
ganized August 1 2th. 1867. The present offi
cers are H. A. Rheubottom, P. W. C. T. ; D. V.
Christian, W. C. T. ; Geo, Cramer, Secy ; Mrs.
C. Whiting, V. T. ; Geo. Klumpp, F. S. ;
Mrs. Clarence Sprague, Treas, ; L. B. Little,
Chaplain ; James Rheubottom, Jr., M. The
present membership is thirty-five. They meet
every Friday evening in Odd Fellows Hall.
Brutus Grange No. 48, P. of H. vvas organized
at the house of M. C. Remington, January 13th.
1874. The first officers were Milton Rude, Mas
ter ; Harvey A. Putnam, Overseer ; Levi T.
Hamilton. Lecturer ; Seth A. Van Wagoner,
Steward ; Dwight W. Cady, Assistant Stew
ard ; Levi H. Streeter. Chaplain ; D. Seward
Sheldon, Sec'y ; Sylvester 'VV. Young, Treas.;
Clarence Wilson, Gate Keeper ; Mrs. M. C.
Remington. Ceres ; Mrs. L. H. Streeter, Pomo
na ; Mrs. Clarence Wflson, P'lora ; Mrs. H. A.
Putnam, Lady Ass't Stewardess. The present
officers are Harvey A. Putnam, Master ; W. Bib
bens, Overseer ; S. M. Rose, Lecturer ; Geo. PI.
Wynant, Steward; M. St. John, Ass't Steward ;
Wm. Van Wagoner. Chaplain ; S. A. Van Wag
oner. Sec'y ; Sylvester W. Young. Treas. ; Aus
tin Pierce. Gate-Keeper ; Mrs. H. A. Putnam,
Ceres ; Mrs. S. A. Van Wagoner, Pomona ;
Mrs. C. H. Wilson. P'lora ; Mrs. Plenry Passage,
Lady Ass't Steward. The number of members
at the date of organization was twenty-four ; the
present number of members is eighty. They
meet in Grange Hall, in the Stevens Block, every
Saturday evening in the fall and winter and every
alternate Saturday evening in the summer.
Manufactures. — Putnam Bros. (A. L.,W.
M., and H. A.,) are proprietors of thecider-mifl

334

TOWN OF THROOP.

and peppermint still on Bread Creek, just east of
Weedsport. Their father Asa Putnam erected
the building in i860 for a cider-mfll, and he and
his son, H. A. Putnam, carried on that business
tfll the death of the former in 1872. In 1875
the present firm became interested in it ; and in
1877, they commenced the manufacture of the
oil of peppermint. They have one still in opera
tion, and eight acres of mint under cultivation.
This business is yet in its infancy in this County.
The grist-mill on Bread Creek about three
miles south-east of Weedsport, at the place local
ly known as Jericho, is owned by Oliver Stevens,
by whom it was buflt in the fall of 1877. It con
tains two run of stones. Howard Stevens, son
of Oliver, is the miller.

CHAPTER XXXIX.

Town of Throop.

THROOP, named in honor of Ex-Governor
Enos T. Throop, is an interior town, lying
near the center of the County. It is bounded on
the north by Mentz and Brutus, on the east by
Sennett, on the south by Auburn and Aurelius,
and on the west by Aurelius and Montezuma. It
was formed from portions of Aurelius, Mentz and
Sennett, April 8th, 1859.
The surface is greatly undulating, though
broken in places by sand and gravel ridges,
which have an elevation of 100 to 150 feet. The
steepest declivities are in the west part. It is
well watered by Owasco Outlet, Cayuga, Spring
and Cold Spring brooks and numerous springs.
The Outlet is abundantly stocked with pickerel,
catfish, perch and large nice whitefish.
The soil on the west side-hills is clayey, re
quiring much fertilizing to make it productive,
and is then soon exhausted ; while the east side-
hifls consist of sand and gravel, and are of almost
inexhaustible fertility. The soil in the valleys is
a sandy loam, and is rich and productive.
The town contains some of the finest gravel-
beds to be found in the State. The gravel is
much used upon the roads, which, as a rule, are
unusuafly good in this section of the country.
On the Outlet, about one and one-half miles

below Throopsville, is an extensive bed of gyp
sum, which covers several acres, and expose? on
the east bank of the stream a thickness of thirty
feet. It is a good quality of the sulphate of lime,
which is an excellent fertilizer, and has been used
to a considerable extent. Opposite, and about a
mile west, in a marsh on the farm of Philo Sweet,
is a deposit of marl covering several acres, and
known to be six feet deep. Lime was obtained
at an early day from the hill on the farm of Mrs.
Clara Thompson. Near Wyatt A. Benham's
mill is a sulphur spring of superior quality, but no
steps have been taken to develop it. On the
farm of Perry Manrow, about two and one-half
mfles north-east of Throopsville, is a large and
copious spring, which is strongly impregnated
with sulphate of magnesia. There is another of
like character on the place of Mrs. Betsy At
water, about one and one-half miles west of
Throopsville. The Southern Central Railroad crosses the
north-east and south-east corners of the town.
The population in 1875 was 1,213 > of whom
1,009 were native ; 204, foreign ; and all. white.
The town covers an area of 1 1,463 acres ; of
which io,co2 are improved ; 821. woodlands ;
and 640, otherwise unimproved.
It is well known that this section of country
was the favorite hunting ground of the Cayugas,
who, at the completion of the federation of the
Five Nations, were designated as a "people whose
habitation is the ' Dark Forest^ and whose home
is everywhere," and were denominated thc fourth
nation, " because of superior cunning in hunt
ing."* But there is evidence that the territory
embraced in this town was vested with more im
portance^ than attaches to their temporary en
campments while on fishing and hunting excur
sions. When thc first settlers came in there was
a fort, round in .shape, and inclosing about two
acres, on the farm of Michael Madden, near the
center ofthe town. In 18 14, after having been
plowed for successive years, the embankment was
too high to be driven over. Adjacent to the fort
human bones have been exhumed, evidently those
of Indians.
Settlement was commenced in 1790, by Eze
kiel Crane and his son Shadrach, from New Jer
sey. They located on lot 2, in the north-west
part of the town, a little south-east of the locality
*Ctark\ Onondaga, Vol, I, p, »8.

EARLY SETTLEMENTS.

335

early known as the Ward Settlement. The fact
of Crane's being the first settler is noted on the
tombstone erected over his remains, on the
farm on which he settled. The Cranes sold the
farm to St. Clair Smith, and removed to Michi
gan about 1823. It is now owned by William
Fowler. Shadrach Crane and Hannah Palmer
contracted the first marriage, and Ezekiel Crane
was the first child born in the town.
In 1796, Isaac Barnum, Othniel Palmer and
son, from Connecticut, and Israel Clapp, from
Massachusetts, settled op lot 16 ; Wm. Duvall
and James Leonard, from New Jersey, the former
on lot 2 and the latter on lot 4 ; and Jonas Ward
and his son Caleb, from the same State, on lot
92. Barnum came in with his family, and located
about three-fourths of a mile west of Throops
ville, where Morton Hosford now lives. He
lived in the town many years. Palmer moved
with his family to Wayne county. Prentice, his
son, buflt the first saw and grist-mill, in 1798.
Clapp settled a little east of Barnum, where
Wyatt A. Benham lives. He was a farmer and
weaver, and had a large and respectable famfly.
He was also an inn-keeper. He built and kept
the first inn in 1800. He died some twenty
years ago on the old homestead, where his wife
also died. Plis daughter, Mrs. Cook Tyler, is
living in Port Byron. Duvall came in with the
surveyors and settled with his family on the Mur
dock farm, in the north-west part of the town.
He removed to Port Byron, and subsequently to
Campbell's Island, in Seneca River, which he
bought some forty years ago, and where he died
and is buried. James and Manasseh Leonard,
Giles and Wm. Meads, brothers, and Joseph Far
rand, settled near Duvall very early. Farrand
moved in with his family from New Jersey, and
settled in the north-west part, on lot 13. on the
farm now owned by Wm. Fowler. The famfly
removed to Michigan about the same time the
Cranes did. The Wards settled on the farm
now owned by Chauncey Carrier and gave the
name to the locality known as the Ward Settle
ment. Stephen Ward, a son of Jonas, is now liv
ing in Mentz.
Christopher and Rev. John Jeffries, from Sara
toga Springs, settled in 1799, at Throopsville,
where the former kept a hotel for many years,
and where he died and is buried. John Jeffries
was one ofthe first ministers in the county. He
57-2

ministered to the spiritual wants of the people in
all this section of the country. Settlements
were made the same year by Ephraim Wethey
and Manonah Clark. Wethey located near the
center, on lot 4. his land bordering on the creek.
He was from Dutchess county, and kept a hotel a
good many years in the house now occupied by
Jeremiah B. Clark, where he died some thirty-
five or forty years ago. Chauncey and Erastus
Wethey are his grandsons. The former is the
present ( 1 879)Supervisor and is living in the north
part ofthe town. The latter lives in the south part
of Mentz, Manonah Clark was from Oneida
county. He settled a little west of the center,
on lot 4, He was the maternal grandfather of
General John S. Clark, a civil engineer of Au
burn, and the first Supervisor of Throop.
Dr. Joseph Clary settledat Throopsville about
1800. Pie was the first physician there, and
practiced in the vfllage till his death in 1863.
David and Amos Codner settled the following
year a little west of Barnum, on lot 14. Some
of their descendants are stfll living there.
In 1802, Younglove Manrow moved in with
his famfly from Sharon, Conn., and settled on lot
6, on a tract of 400 acres, which he took up and
cleared. He built a cloth-dressing estabhshment
at a very early day on Cold Spring Brook, on the
site of the saw mfll owned by Martin Van Aken,
and pursued that business for several years. He
subsequently erected a saw-mill on the same site,
which has long since gone to decay. He died
about 1 83 1, and is buried on the old homestead.
Myron C, Manrow, his youngest chfld, who is
living in the northeast part of the town, near the
old homestead, is the only one of his children liv
ing in the town ; though numerous descendants
of tbe Manrow famfly are living in the same lo
cality. Younglove Manrow, Jr.. who was born
in Sharon, Conn., and was ten years old when
his father moved in. lived in this locality tifl his
death, August 17th, 1865, aged 73 years.
Mr. Myron C. Manrow relates that there was
a deer-run across the hfll in this vicinity, and
that one winter, soon after his father settled here,
sixteen deer were driven into the latter's barn in
one drove, the sharp crust upon the snow mak
ing it difficult and painful for them to proceed.
Benjamin and David Horton, Ira Hopkins,
Moses Treat, and his son, Chester, settled in this
locality soon after the Manrows. John and Ben-

336

TOWN OF THROOP.

jamin Waits, brothers, also settled in the north
east part, on the farm owned by Otis Ingalls.
John kept a store in the village at an early day,
in the house now owned by the Raymond family
and occupied as a dwelling. It is a double house.
He kept store in one end and lived in the other.
John and Samuel Gilmore, brothers, and Jo
siah Andrews, their brother-in-law, moved in
from Utica, March 24th, 1809, and settled a lit
tle south of the Ward Settlement. Jane, Rob
ert and Samuel Gflmore, children of John, came
in with their father. All occupied tbe same
house. William Gilmore, a son of John, is now
living in the town of Montezuma.
Joseph Pladden came in with his family from
Greene county, in February, 18 13, and took up
one hundred acres on lot 95, where his son Jo
seph now lives, and where he died in 1824. He
bought of a famfly named Belden, who came in
about the beginning of the present century, and
had erected a log house. John and Lemuel Bel
den, says Joseph Hadden, were then engaged in
cloth-dressing in Throopsville. Elizabeth, daugh
ter of the elder Hadden, (late Mrs. Robert Grif
fin,) lived on the same lot, just north of her
brother, and died there at an advanced age, Feb
ruary 28th, 1879, ^"^' was buried from the house
in which she had resided over seventy years.
William Bell came in from Herkimer county.
May 31st, 1814. and settled in the north-west part,
on lot 3. He brought with him his wife, Mary
and four sons, Thomas, who is now living in Sen
nett, Samuel, living in Sacramento. California, Wil
liam, living in Montezuma, to which lown he re
moved in i860, and John, who lives on the old
homestead in Throop.
Amos Cowell came in from Bern, Albany
county, in the fall of 18 14, and settled on 10196,
in the north-east part of the town, on the farm
now owned by the widow of John Sittser. In
1817 he removed to the town of Cato, locating on
lot 20, on the farm now owned by John Smith,
where he died in i860, over eighty-seven years
old. He came with his family, consisting of nine
children, six of whom are living, viz : Samuel, in
Weedsport, aged seventy-nine, to which village
he removed from Cato in the Spring of 1864;
Deborah, now Mrs. Augustus R. Brooks, in
Weedsport ; Elizabeth, widow pf William Au-
mock, in Cato ; Abigail, widow of Samuel String-
ham, in Lisbon, Michigan ; Joseph, in Weeds-

port ; John, in Conquest ; and Amos, in Orleans
county. The first school was taught in 1800, by Ed
ward Carpenter.
The officers elected at the organization of the
town were : John S. Clark, Supervisor ; Milan
McCarthy, Clerk; Orin McCarthy, Collector;
John H. O'Hara, Henry S. Macy, Peter Sittser
and Morton Hosford, Justices; Alex Knox,
Chester Treat and Don C. Wiggins, Assessors;
Irvin D. Remington, Abram Mead and Thomas
J. Manro, Cominissionei^s of Highways ; Philip A.
Manro and Joseph H. Hadden, Overseers of the
Poor ; Orin McCarthy, Franklin Schuyler and
John Worden, Constables ; Francis A. Hopping.
Benjamin H. Barber and Burton B. Tyler, In
spectors of Election.
The present town officers (1879,) ^re: Chaun
cey J. Wethey, Supervisor ; William B. Smith,
Clerk; David M. Plorton, John Bell, Philo
Sweet and John S. Manro, Justices ; John S.
Eckert, Commissioner of Highways ; Michael
Madden, Overseer of the Poor ; Frank Chase,
Ethan Bell and Amos B. Wiggins, Town Audi
tors ; James H. Webster, Frank R. Schuyler
and Israel Petty, Inspectors of Election; William
D. lVX\\ardi, Collector ; Allen Hutchinson, Joseph
Dolan and Wallace Worden, Constables; Ira
Hopkins, Assessor ; Martin Van Aken, Excise
Comm issioner. Throopsville.
Throopsville (p. o.) is pleasantly situated on
Owasco Outlet, a little south-east of the center
of the town. It is distant three miles north of
Auburn and about five miles south of Port Byron,
with both of which places it is connected by
daily stage, thus bringing it within easy com
munication with the direct line of the New York
Central Railroad at the latter place, and with the
old branch of that road and with the Southern
Central at the former. It is sur-'junded by rich
and productive farming lands, vvhich are settled '
by a class of people whose surroundings evince a
fair degree of thrift and culture. The Outlet
furnishes abundant water power and ample
facilities for manufacturing, but being off the
line of both railroads and canals, those facilities
are but partially utilized.
Settlement was commenced on the site of the
village in 1799, by Christopher and Rev. John

THROOPSVILLE.

,337

Jeffries, as previously detailed. Dr. Joseph Clary
settled here the following year. William Ran-
ney and a famfly named Winchell were early set
tlers near Throopsvflle.
The village contains two churches, (Baptist
and Disciples,) a union school, two stores, three
grist-mills, a creamery, two blacksmith shops, (of
which Warren House and Isaac M. Slater are the
proprietors,) one carriage shop, (of which Wm.
B. Smith is proprietor,) and a population of about
200. Merchants. — The first merchant was Luther
Harden, who opened a store in 1804. John
Waits and a man named Madison were early mer
chants at Throopsville.
T. J. Manro, one of the present merchants,
commenced business four or five years ago, hav
ing previously lived in the town some thirty
years. The other merchant is E. C. Lathrop, who
commenced business in Throopsville October 1st.
1876. Manufactures. — The manufacturing inter
ests of Throopsville are of considerable import
ance, though one of its chief industries was lost
by the suspension of operations in the spring fac
tory in the summer of 1877. Messrs, Lewis &
Co. were engaged several years in the manufac
ture of springs, in a building which stands close
to the upper bridge crossing the Outlet, and which
was erected some twelve years since, on the site
of one used as a fork manufactory, which was
burned two years previously.
The present manufacturing establishments
consist of three grist and flouring-mflls and a
creamery, which latter, until the present year,
was occupied as a cheese factory.
Daniel and Frederick L. Neyhart, under the
firm name of D. Neyhart & Co., are proprietors
of the mill on ,the lower dam, which was built
in 1853, (on the site of one erected some sixty
year^ since,) by Daniel and Joseph Neyhart,
from Auburn, where the latter has always lived.
It is a wooden structure, sixty-five by forty feet,
with three stories, besides basement and attic.
It contains four run of stones, and has a capacity
for merchant work of one hundred barrels of
flour per day. The motive power is furnished
by water from the outlet, which has here a fafl
of twelve feet. Joseph Neyhart maintained his
connection with the firm, which then consisted

besides himself of Daniel Neyhart, about four or
five years, when he withdrew, and Frederick, the
latter's son, was admitted to partnership.
Llewellyn Smith and John Priest, under the
firm name of Smith & Priest, commenced busi
ness May 1st, 1878, in the mfll at the middle
dam, which affords a fall of ten feet The mill
was buflt in 1822. It is constructed of wood ; is
three stories high ¦; and contains four run of
stones. Wyatt A. Benham is proprietor of the grist
and flouring-mill at the upper dam. The mill,
which is built of wood, was erected on the site of
a cider-mfll and distillery buflt by Geo. Hines,
and taken away in 1875. It is three stories high,
and contains four run of stones. There is" a small
saw-mill attached to it which was built by a man
named Dodge. The motive power is supplied
by water from the Outlet, with a fall of ten and
one-half feet. Enoch Van Aken is the miller.
The Throopsville Cheese Manufacturing
Company was incorporated January i6th, 1864.
with Erasmus Atwater, Ulysses A. Wright, Jas.
M. Clark. Morton Hosford. Thos. J. Manro. Don
C. Wiggins and Milan McCarthy as Trustees,
and Ulysses A. Wright as President ; Milan
McCarthy, Secretary ; and Don C. Wiggins.
Treasurer. The present officers are, Morton IPosford,
President ; Milan Mc Carthy. Secretary and
Treasurer ; who, together with John H. Corwith,
Lansing Hopkins and Chas. A. Clary, are the
Trustees.. January i8th, 1878, the factory was rented to
Wm. W. Gustin and John J. Brown, who con
verted it into a creamery. It receives the milk
of about one hundred cows, and is supplied with
pure spring water, which is conducted to it from
some distance by means of a pipe.
Physicians. — Thc first physician at Throops
ville was Dr. Joseph Clary, who located there in
1800, and practiced there till his death in May,
1863. Lewis McCarter was another early phy
sician. The present physicians are Byron E. Osborn,
allopath, and Wm. M. Guinn, homeopath. Dr.
Osborn came here from Missouri, in 1867, im
mediately from the army of the south-west, un
der General Scofield, having served as surgeon
since near the beginning of the war. The doc
tor, though comparatively young, came to this

338

TOWN OF THROOP.

place, the home of his wife's relatives, purposing
to retire from practice ; but severe losses by fire
soon after his settlement here, made it necessary
for him to resume practice.
Throopsville Baptist Church. — Among
the first settlers of the town were numbers of
staunch Baptists, who came, with warm hearts
and willing hands, to labor or sacrifice for Christ.
In 1803, the interests of the cause and the in
crease in population seemed to demand a new
and separate organization, and accordingly forty
members were dismissed from the Third Church
in Aurelius, and on the 20th of October in the
same year were constituted the Baptist Church
in Jefferson. Their first meeting as a Church
is supposed to have been held at the house of
Asa Palmer, October 27th, 1803, at which time
they fixed the time and place for their Church and
covenant meetings, and adopted measures to se
cure the labors of Elder Silas Barnes as a tem
porary supply. At the next meeting, held at
the house of John Jeffries, November 27th, 1803,
they elected their first officers, Israel Clapp and
Wm. Montgomery being chosen deacons. The
latter was also made clerk. At this meeting they
" voted to raise six dollars to defray expenses."
this being the first sum raised for this purpose.
During the first few months they were unable
to establish regular preaching, but depended
mainly on occasional visits from Elders Irish,
Barnes and French. In 1804. one of their num
ber. John Jeffries, was licensed to preach and
elected pastor. He was ordained by a council
convened for that purpose October 24th, 1805, at
the house of Philip King, in Kings Settlement,
now Port Byron.
The relation thus happily formed, continued
twenty-seven years.
In 1806, they enjoyed their first revival, which
resulted in the addition of thirty-one to their
number. In 1808, the Legislature havipg
changed the. name of their town from Jefferson
to Mentz. the name of the church was changed
to 77^^ Baptist Church in Mentz.
January 19th. 1809, the church sustained a se
vere loss in the death of Deacon William Mont
gomery. In 1810 another revival was experienced, which
resulted in the addition of ninety-eight members.
In 1812 and 1813, simflar revivals were expe
rienced, which resulted in the addition of thirty-

three the former year, and thirty-nine the latter.
In 1818, another marked revival occurred, by
which 125 were added to the church by baptism,
forty-four of whom were heads of families, and
twenty-four by letter and restoration, making a
total gain of 149. and a total membership of 337.
Up to this time their meetings had been held
in scliool-houscs, private houses and barns, which,
with the large accessions to their numbers, were
too circumscribed for their further use. They.
therefore, determined to erect a suitable place of
worship, and for this purpose a lot was purchased
near the village, upon which was erected a com
modious house, covering an area of 61 by 44
feet. From this period until 1827 the church en
joyed continued prosperity, experiencing in 1826
another revival and an addition of forty-two to
their membership.
About 1830 Elder Jeffries, together with thir
ty-nine brethren and sisters, were dismissed from
this church to constitute the Second Church in
Mentz (now Port Byron,). The remaining fif
teen years of Elder Jeffries' labors were spent
mostly with the churches in Port Byron and Mon
tezuma, both of which were formed from mem
bers dismissed for that purpose from the church
in Throopsville.
By the loss of Elder Jeffries and the division
in the church, caused by the propagation of
" Campbellism," the church vvas exceedingly dis
heartened, and for a time serious thoughts were
entertained of a disbandment of the society ;
but good friends came to the rescue and another
pastor was secured.
In August. 1830. Elder Noah Barrell visited
this people, and vvas happily settled as pastor of
the church. A revival was now commenced in
which forty-eight were received by baptism and
letter, and thc church began to regain that
strength, influence and ability for usefulness,
which had seemed forever lost. Elder Barrell
continued his labors four years. He was suc
ceeded in 1855, by Elder N. Card, as a tempo
rary supply, and in 1836, by Elder H. B. Fuller,
as pastor.
During the second year of Elder Fuller's pas
torate a revival occurred, which resulted in the
addition of twenty-seven to their numbers; and
a valuable addition was made to the church prop
erty by the purchase of a parsonage, including

CHURCHES — BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH.

339

ten acres of land, at an expense of 1^1,400. Plav-
ing continued his labors about two and a half
years. Elder Fuller resigned and was succeeded
by Noah Barrell, the former pastor, during whose
three years' labors ninety-two were added by
baptism and letter. The next pastor was Elder
E. Miner, who commenced his labors in the spring
of 1843, and continued two years, during which
forty-nine were added by baptism and twenty-
one by letter. Elder Miner was succeeded by
Elder O. Montague, in the spring of 1845. He
remained till the spring of 1847, and during the
two years of his ministry fourteen were added
by baptism and seven by letter.
Elder A. Russefl Belden entered upon his
labors as pastor the third Sabbath of April, 1847.
Under his ministry, up to 1850. seyenty-tbree
were received to membership. He was suc
ceeded by Elders Crandall, H. C. Hazen, Wil
liam Phillips, William P. Decker and Thomas
Goodwin, the latter of whom became the pastor
in 1863. During his pastorate some twenty
were added to the membership by baptism. He
was succeeded in 1866 by Elder B. Morley. who
remained tfll September ist. 1867. and was suc
ceeded by Elder Edgar E. Smith, during whose
pastorate the church was in a prosperous condi
tion and received as members by baptism six
teen at orwe time and two at another. The next
pastor was Elder G. B. Downey, who com
menced his labors in 1876 and left the same year.
Elder Edward T. Fox, the present pastor, en
tered upon the duties of his office in 1877. The
church edifice was repaired in 1877. at a cost of
about ^600. It will seat 1,000 people.*
The Church of the Disciples of Christ
was organized in 1836, with sixty-five members.
who withdrew from the Baptist church in Throop
by reason of a difference of opinion upon doc
trinal questions and questions of church polity.
Prominent among the original members were Jo
siah Sherwood, Thomas D. Foster. Israel Clapp^
Simeon Mott, William Allen, D. C. Goodrich,
G. McCarty and Hiram McCarty. They held
meetings in a select school-house on the farm of
Israel Clapp, in this town.
In 1841 the church divided by unanimous
consent, and those living in Auburn held their
meetings there. The remainder reorganized and
* We are largely indebted for information regarding this Church
to the History ofthe Cayuga Baptist Association, by Rev. A. Russell
Belden, its former pastor, published in 1851.

in 1 85 1 built a house of worship, at a cost of
iS 1,800. The present number of members is
fifty ; the attendance at Sabbath School, sixty.
Societies. — Union Grange of Throop, No. 70,
was organized in 1873, with Wilber F. Treat, as
Master; Egbert Hadden, Overseer; Morton
Hosford, Chaplain; H. H. Treat, Secretary ; and
John Corwith. Treasurer. The presiding officers
are :  Townsend, Master; Milton Manro,
Secretary; John Coiwith, Treasurer; Morton
Hosford. Chaplain;  Ford, Overseer. The
present number of members is seventy.

B10GI|APHIC/1L SKETCH.

RICHARD CASTNER.
Richard Castner was born in Seneca couri-
ty, N. Y., December 15th, 1815. His parents
settled in the town of Brutus, Cayuga County,
his father being a pioneer farmer with a family of
thirteen children. It will be reasonable to im
agine that Richard had many hardships to con
tend with. He was the fourth child, and at an
early age hired out by the month to work on a
farm, his father always receiving his wages,
scarcely allowing him enough to properly clothe
himself. Richard finally declined further part
nership on this basis, and accordingly purchased
the balance of his minority and started out in the
worid for himself He has devoted himselfstrict-
ly to agricultural pursuits, and has been very suc
cessful, accumulating a large fortune. Only in
one instance has he been indebted to man for
anything, except in the purchase of land.
Mr. Castner is a man of warm, generous im
pulses, and truly can he be called one of nature's
noblemen, doing numerous kind acts in a quiet,
unassuming manner, never seeking publicity in
any way. In politics he is a Republican.
February igth, 1837, he married Miss Achsah
Treat, who was born in Cayuga County, August
22d, 18 18. She was the daughter of Mr. Ches
ter Treat, who was born in Litchfield county,
Conn., iu 1792, and with his father, Mr. Moses
Treat, emigrated to Cayuga County about 1800,
and settled in the town of Throop, and was one
ofthe early prominent citizens ofthe County. He
died in 1843. Mr. Chester Treat was well-
known as an active, enterprising farmer. He
died September 15th, 1869.

340

TOWN OF SENNETT.

CHAPTER XL.
Town of Sennett.
SENNETT lies about the center of the east
border, and is bounded on the north by
Brutus, east by Onondaga county, south by
Owasco, and west by Throop and Auburn. It
was formed from Brutus, March 19th, 1827. and
named from Judge Daniel Sennett, a pioneer set
tler. A part of Throop was taken off in 1859,
and a portion annexed to Auburn in 1871.
The surface is level or gently undulating, the
ridges rising in long, gradual slopes, fifty to one
hundred feet above the valleys. The only streams
are the headwaters of Bread Creek and Cold
Spring Brook, both of which rise in the south
part and flow north to the Seneca River. It is
finely watered by numerous springs, and it is
said that there is scarcely a farm of a hundred
acres in the town which has not a living stream
running through it. On the farm of Joseph
Price, about two and one-half miles south-west of
Sennett, are three springs of clear, cold water,
which issue from the limestone rock in sufficient
volume to propel three run of stones. These
springs propelled a grist-mill at an early day,
which is said to have been the first grist-mfll in
the County. It rotted down about fifty years ago.
It is underlaid by gypsum and limestone rock.
Gypsum underlies the north part, and crops out
on the side hills in the south-east part in various
localities. Limestone is obtained in the south
ern and central portions, in the latter of which it
crops out on the surface and covers several acres.
The ledge extends in a north-east and south-vvest
direction, and is exposed in various localities,
notably on the farms of Almeron Phelps, Dr. C.
C. Cady, Joseph Glass and Emerson Webster, on
the latter of which it was formerly burned. It is
a good quality of building stone, and is used
principally for that purpose. As usual, in this
formation, mineral springs exist in various parts
of the town. In the village of Sennett, on the
property owned by the heirs of Peckham Smith,
near the cheese factory, is a chalybeate spring
strongly impregnated with sulphate of iron. In
the south-east corner of the town, on the old
Mandeville place, is a strong sulphur spring ; and
on the hotel property of L. Tyler, in the village,
is one of less strength, which is said to have been
a flowing spring when first discovered.

The soil is a deep, fertfle, sandy and gravelly
loam, intermixed with clay, which predominates
in the south. It has been brought to a high state
of cultivation, and is one of the best agricultural
towns in the County.
The Auburn branch of the N. Y. C. R. R.,
extends diagonally through the town from north
east to south-west ; and the Southern Central
extends along the west border, crossing the west
line twice.
The population in 1875 was 1,655 j of whom
1,294 were native, 361 foreign, 1,651 white, and
,4 colored. The area was 18,077 acres ; of which
16,070 were improved, 1,801 woodland, and 206
otherwise unimproved.
The first settlements were made on lot 21. in
1794, by Deacon Ebenezer Healy, Joseph At
well. Thomas Morley. Sr.. and Thomas Morley,
Jr. Healy came in from Newton, Mass., by In
dian trail from Utica, and settled about three-
fourths of a mfle south-west of Sennett vfllage, on
the place novv owned by Philo W. Plealy. He mar
ried Eunice Grossman, sister of Deacon Phineas
Grossman, in Mass., December 31st, 1793, and
brought her in with him. Both died on the old
homestead, he September 22d, 1857, ^g^d
eighty-nine years, and his wife, September i6th,
1810. Of his children, only two are living, viz :
Col. George Healy, a civil engineer, now City
Surveyor in Rochester. Minn. ; and Eliza H.,
widow of Plenry Davis, now living with her
nephew, P. W. Plealy, in Auburn. When Mr.
Plealy came in there was no grist-mill nearer than
Penn Yan. The barn built by him, about the
first in the town, is still standing. In it the Cay
uga Baptist Association was formed in 1801.
Joseph Atwell settled one mile south of the vil
lage, and removed at an eariy day to Brutus, to
thc place where Nathan Plopkins now lives, about
a mile south of Weedsport, where he died. While
here he kept the first tavern, in 1795, in the rear
part of the present hotel in Sennett village. The
Morleys came in from Conn., and settled, the
elder, a mile north of the vfllage, where Abel
Godfrey now lives, and where he died September
20th, 1795, aged 71 years, his death being the
first in the town ; and the younger, in the village,
the second house west of the tavern, where
Goodwin Webster now lives, on the farm owned
by Wm. Sheldon. The latter died in the town
March 2d, 1813 ; and his wife, Nelly R., Sep-

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[Photo by Squyer & Wright.]

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Jl

The subject of this sketch was born July 23d, 1803. He is the
third child of Solomon and Rachel [May] Coburn. The father was
born in what is now Lowell, Mass., in the year 1760, and the mother,
in Stoughton, Mass., in 1780, They had nine children, as follows :
Silas, Isaac, Keyes, Rhoda, John May, Orrln, Ziba, Esther and Sol
omon, only three of whom are now living, John May, Esther and
Keyes. The father was a farmer in humble circumstances, and was only
able to give his children such advantages for an early education as
were afforded by the common schools of his town. His large family
of wife and helpless little ones was suddenly deprived of his protect
ing care and support by his untimely death, which occurred by
drowning on the 10th of June, 1816, at Braiutree, Orange county,
Vermont, where he was living.
Aboat the year 1819, Mrs, Coburn married Amos Hood, of Chelsea,
Vermont. The result of this union was two children, viz : Albert
Orlando, now living in Vermont, and Thomas M,, residing in Mich
igan, Mrs, Hood died in Chelsea, on tbe 7th day ot January, 1850,
aged seventy years.
Keyes loft home nt tho ago ot thirteen years. For several months
he had no permanent home, but In 1817 he was bound out to a
farmer by the name of Nathaniel Hutchinson, of Braiutree, with
whom he lived until he attained his majority, working on the farm
and attending school three months during the winters. After the
expiration of the time tor which he was bound to Mr, Hutchinson,
he attended the academy at Randolph Center, Vermont, a summer
term of three months, tbe expenses of which he paid with money
be had saved up during his term of serv-ice. The following winter
he taught school, and went to the academy referred to, another
term the next summer. He was careful of his little store of money
and paid his expenses by working at anything he could get to do,
when not in school. In 1826 he came west as far as Niagara Palls,
and soon after located at Lyons, Wayne county, N, Y,, where he
taught school three months. He went back to Vermont, where he
remained until 1828, In that year, the 28th of December, he came
to Sennett, in company with the Rev. Joseph Badger, of the " Chris
tian Church;" with whom he had traveled and worked in the cause
of religion, and here in January, 1829, he delivered his llrst sermon
In a school-house In the '• Pine Woods." From that time ho preached
on a circuit embracing the villages ot Camillus and Plainville, In
Onondaga county, and Cato and Sennett, In Cayuga Connty,
On the 4th day of August, 18-30, Mr. Coburn was married, and or

dained and publicly installed a minister of the " Christian Church"
In open air, in the " Pine Woods," in Sennett, ;the pearne ceremony
being perfor?ned in the interest of two or three ot his fellow work
ers at the same time and place.
From that time tor the next fifteen years Mr. Coburn preached
here and at other places in ;Cayuga and Onondaga counties. Lat
terly he has preached occasionally, but has had no established cir
cuit. It is proper to say that Mr. Coburn never received a stated
salary for his Christian work, his only remuneration being free of-
lerings and contributions, and consequently his demands required
his efforts in other directions to obtain the necessary means by
which he lived.
On the 4th ot August, 1830, as referred to above, he was married
to Hannah Woodworth, daughter ot Josiah and Hannah [Andrewsl
Woodworth, natives of Albany county, N. Y, She was bom May
Ist, 1604, Her parents settled in Sennett, about the year 1814.
Three children wore born to Mr, and Mrs, Coburn. Their names
are given in the order of their birih : Millard B,, born May S8th,
1831, was married to Lydia 0. Cook, ot Elbridge, Onondaga county,
the 0th ot September, 1805. Candaco Letitia, born January 7tli,
18-35, died January 29tb, the same year. J. Marvin, born Septem
ber 26th, 1836. '
Mrs. Coburn died March 17th, 1864. Of all the trials incident to
a long life, tbe early part ot which was attended by privations and
hardships, and the remainder with anxious care and toil, none was
so severe for Mr, Coburu to meet and bear as the loss of bis be
loved companion of thirty-four years. She was a considerate and
loving wife and motheV, and most admirably fitted by nature to
render the assistance her husband needed in his life struggle. She
was sympathetic, kind and humane, and she daily practiced and
exemplified those lovely christian virtues which created sunshine
wherever she moved,
Mr, Coburn at this time is living ou his small farm, near the village
of Sennett, He possesses in a remarkable degree bis powers of mind
and body. As his busy life, now already lengthened several years
beyond the allotted three score and ten. Is drawing towards its
close, be has tbe sweet consolation of having performed Its duties
and fulfilled Its obligations with that honesty of purpose thot
springs from a heart fllled with love and reverence for tho Supreme
Being, and a desire that the world should be better for his having
lived in it.

Y'

r

IPhoto by Ernjbergar & Ray,]

Moses Mor^ELANo.

The Bub]ect;of this sketch was born November 13tb, 1800. He is
the son 'of Stophen'and Sally [Marsh] Moreland, natives ot New
Jersey. Theylwere born, the former in 1766 and the latter in 1771.
They moved from New Jersey about the year 1795, and settled in
BallstoQ, Saratoga county, where they remained until 1806, From
thence they moved to Cayuga County, town of Brutus, now Sen
nett, and located on lot 49. Here they followed farming and also
kept a public bouse ten years, between 180S and 1818. In 1820, they
moved to the town of Scipio and kept a public house where Bolts
Corners now Is, about ten years. From thence they moved to Au
bum. Here the mother died on the 18th of March, 1833, and the father
went to live with bis son Hoses, who was then living In the town ot
Sennett on lot 22. The old gentleman died on the 22d ot August, 1848,
at tbe advanced age of 82 years. They had seven children that reach
ed maturity, as follows: Polly, Betsey, Moses, Caleb, Stephen, Wil
liam and Harriet, only two ot whom are living, Caleb and Moses,
Moses made tbe home ot his parents his home until he was
thirty years of age. His advantages for an education were'such
as were afforded by the common schools of the town, and of these
he did not fully avail himself, having something of » truant dispo
sition. He commenced to learn the trade of carpenter and joiner
when eighteen years old. On learning that, he was employed in dif
ferent places at that business until he was twenty-four, at which
time be went to work for Clark Camp, ot Auburn, who was quite
largely engaged In building and repairing mills. He worked tor
bim four years. He then engaged in the same business on his own
account, his reputation as a millwright securing him jobs in dif
ferent parts of the State. This business be carried on more or
less extensively during his active life. He also built and operated
a saw-mill on his farm. He took hold of several other enterprises
which required his best energies, some of which proved successful,
others not. While thus engaged in these various occupations, he
managed his farm most carefully, feeling sure ot that as a safe
harbor in case of disaster to his outside business.
Among the old men ot this County, few if any can look back upon
a life ot so much hard labor as Moses Moreland, By economy, in
dustry and perseverance, he has made life a success, and stands
foremost among the substantial raen ot his town.

In politics Mr, Moreland was a Whig up to 1840, but since that
time has been a Democrat ; but be invariably votes for the best
men. as he believes, regardless of party. He never has been a
member of any religious denomination, but tor many years attended
the Presbyterian Church in Sennett,
In the year 1830, the 25th day of February, he was united in mar
riage with Kancy Putnam, daughter of Lewis and Nancy [Wilson]
Putnam, of the town of Brutus, Her father was born in Vermont,
August 22d, 1769, and her mother in Salem, town of Hebron, Wash
ington county, N, Y,, February 15th, 1773. Her parents were mar
ried January 11th, 1794, and died, the father January lotb, 1832, and
ber mother Match 18th, 1845.
Her father settled in Brutus about 180-1. He was a wool carder
and cloth dresser before he came to Brutus. In this County he
carried on milling, owning and operating one grist-mill and two
saw-mills, and also farming very extensively, owning at one time
640 acres of land. He was a Justice ot the Peace for about twenty
years, and was one of the representative men of his town until
he died. The now numerous tamjly of Putnams in Brutus sprung
from him.
The names ot his children are as follows ; Anna, born August
lOth, 1786, died October 12th, 1851; Asa, born Deoember 2d, 1797,
died August 3d, 1872; Robert, born September 12th, 1799; Jane,"
born August 18tb, 1801; Lewis, born July 6th, 1803; Parley, born
February 7th, 1806, died March 18th, 1875, at Niles, Michigan; Nancy,
born August 6th, 1809; and Melissa, born July 23d, 1814. All that are
now living are residing in Cayuga County.
Mr. and Mrs, Moreland have had eight children, six ot whom are
living, namely: Melissa J,, born Deoember 1st, 1830, married
Robert Matteson of Sennett, March 18th, 1851; Lewis P„ born July
9th, 1832, married Harriet Daniels of Skaneateles, New York, Septem
ber 25th, 1866; Ann E,, born November 21st, 1834, married Willard
Daniels of Skaneateles, New York, November, 1856- Parley W
born October 14th, 1836, married Aurella Clapp of Skaneateles'
New York, November 29th, 1860; Nancy A,, born April 26th 184l'
died March 24th, 1842; Theodore M,, born March 10th, 1844; Alfred
J„ born May 13th, 1846; and Lester E., born October 22d, 1848 died
January Otb, 18;2, '

^^-

N/-

EARLY SETTLEMENTS.

341

tember 13th, 1863. aged eighty-eight years. His
daughter, Mrs. Samuel Warn, is living with her
son, Lewis Warn, in the south-east part of the
town. In this year (1795,) the first marriage
was contracted by Nehemiah Smith and Minde-
vill Morley. The first child born in the town,
Sally Smith, in 1795, was the issue of this mar
riage. Settlements were made in 1795, by Judge
Daniel Sennett, Amos Bennett, Jacob, Rufus and
Daniel Sheldon, and Thomas Barnes. Judge
Sennett settled on the farm now occupied by
Joseph Farrell. About 1825 he moved to the
village, and died there. He was a Justice of the
Peace a good many years and an early Side
Judge of the Circuit Court. Judson Sennett, a
grandson of his, is living in Syracuse. Bennett
settled on a farm joining Judge Sennett's on the
east, where Elvin Sunderlin now lives. He and
his wife died on the old homestead. His family
are all dead. The Sheldons were from Suffield.
Connecticut. Jacob settled on 300 acres, a half
mile east of Sennett, on a portion of which his
youngest son, Enos, now lives. In iSiohe sold out
and removed to Brutus, to the locality known as
Jericho, in the south-east part of the town, and
settled on a farm now owned by his grandson,
Erwin M. Sheldon, where he died August ist,
1821. Enos, who was born in Sennett in 1800,
is the only one of his family of six sons and one
daughter living. Thirty-one grand-chfldren are
living. Daniel Sheldon came in with Jacob and
helped him to bufld a log cabin. He settled
about a mile south-west of the village, where
Clark Phelps novv lives, and where both he and
his wife died. Hiram Sheldon, his son, is living
in Sennett viflage. Rufus Sheldon came soon
after Jacob and settled in the vfllage, where Dr.
Curtis C. Cady novv lives. He built the lower
part of that house in 1801, and died there March
loth, 1828, aged fifty-six years. Butler Sheldon,
a harness maker in Auburn, is a son of his.
Thomas Barnes was also from Connecticut, and
Augustus, Chester, Amos and Warren were sons
of Thomas. He" settled first at Tyler's spring
in Auburn, where he took up twenty acres, and
after three or four years moved to where Warren
now lives, in Sennett, about a mile west of the
village, where he took up 100 acres, for which he
paid ;^200. Chester is also living in Sennett,
near the old McMaster tavern stand. Augustus,
58-x

a son. and Sarah, wife of Horace Johns, a daugh
ter of Thomas Barnes, are living in the north
east part of Throop, to which town Augustus re
moved in 1818, and settled where he now lives.
He has two sons and three daughters living in
that town. In this year (1795) the first school
was taught by Betsey Morley ; and the first
store opened by Sheldon & Lathrop.
In 1797, settlements were made by Jacob
Hicks and Benjamin Mifler, Revolutionary sol
diers, Jabez Remington, Hezekiah Freeman and
Jeremiah Johnson. Plicks drew lot 99, and set
tled on the farm adjoining Amos Bennett's on
the north, where Deacon John C. Whitman now
lives, and where he died March 3d, 1808, aged
fifty-five years. Plis family removed from the
town long ago. Miller settled on lot 17. Rem
ington, who was from Vermont, settled on lot 21,
and subsequently removed to where Nathan
Hopkins now lives, where he died. Hezekiah
Freeman, also from Vermont, a shoemaker, set- .
tied about a mile east of Sennett, where Emerson
Webster now lives, where he died. Johnson, the
pioneer hatter, came in from Rensselaer county,
and settled three-fourths of a mile east ofthe vil
lage, where Bryant Smith now lives. He re
moved to Ohio about 1830, and died there. None
of his descendants are living in the town. Man
asseh French, the pioneer preacher, settled on
fifty acres, about a mile south-west of the vfllage,
where Almeron Phelps now lives.
Deacon Wm. Tanner came in from the eastern
part of the State before 1800, and settled on lot
99, on the north line of Sennett, where his son
John now lives, and where he died March i8th,
1873, aged ninety-six years. His children living,
besides John, are Selden. Deacon Wm., and Na
than B., in Brutus; Cyrus, in Sennett; and the
widow of Daniel Stanton, in South Butler, Wayne
.county. Settlements were made about 1800, by Deacon
Phineas Grossman, brother-in-law of Deacon
Ebenezer Healy, Nathan Buflock, Chas. and
Archibald Greene and the Soules. Grossman
was from Connecticut, and settled on fifty acres
on lot 21, where Chas. Phelps now lives. He
subsequently removed to where Hiram Sheldon,
his son-in-law, now lives, and died there. His
children living are Hiram and Sarah, wife of
Pliram Sheldon, in Sennett ; Harvey, in Alexan
der, Genesee county ; and Charies, in Steriing.

342

TOWN OF SENNETT.

Buflock, who was born April i6th, 1754, came in
with his family and settled on lot 10, where Ed
ward Waldron, now lives, and died there Feb
ruary loth, 1 8 19. His wife, Hephsibah, was
born June, ist,i754, and died December 9th, 1825.
Amos, his only son, came in with him. He was
born April 6th, 1793, and" died March 12th, 18 13.
Nathan Bullock, son of Amos, is living in Michi
gan ; and Mrs. Newton Chamberlain, daughter
of Nathan, and grand-daughter of Amos, is living
in Elbridge. She is the only one of the Bul
locks living in thc State. The Green's came
from the eastern part of the State and settled on
lot 21, Chas., where Porter Phelps now lives,
and Archibald, on the farm still known as the old
Greene farm, which is now owned by Dr. C. C.
Cady. Chas., none of whose family are living,
died here, and Archibald, in Mentz, where his
son Archibald, who resides in Port Byron, is a
prominent politician. The Soule family consisted
of Howard, Lyman, Jno. Elijah, and Geo., and
two sisters, one of whom was subsequently the
wife of Jno. Everts, who is living in Auburn, and
the other the wife of Elijah Townsend, who is
living in Sennett, on a part of the Soule home
stead, where Geo. and the two girls died, and
which is stfll in the hands of their descendants.
Howard Soule, died April 24th, 1875, aged eighty-
five years. Lyman is living in Auburn ; and
Jno. and Elijah, twins, in Victory.
Peter Douglass settled prior to 1804. in the
north-west corner of the town, where his daugh
ter, the widow of James Calhoun, now lives,
and died there. His farm lay partly in Brutus.
Mrs. Calhoun is the only one of his children liv
ing. Douglass contracted the first marriage in
Brutus, January 12th, 1804. His wife was Polly
Hamflton, daughter of Jno. Hamflton. one ofthe
pioneer settlers in Brutus.
Edmund B. Fellows came in from Massachu
setts in 1804, and bought lot 98 of his uncle,
who bought a soldier's grant, and in 1805 moved
in his family. Edmund died May 20th, 1841,
aged sixty-six years. In 18 16 he erected the
front part ofthe present hotel in Sennett, and he
and his family kept tavern there over forty years,
from 1805. His son Henry and grandson Fred
erick P., kept it in turn. Eight grand-children
are living.
Jno. G. Skadancame in previous to 1805, and
settled near the County house, where Elon Shel

don now lives, and died there March 9th, 1824,
aged fifty-four years. His children living are,
Mrs. Elon Sheldon, on the old homestead ;
Catharine, wife of Wm. Webber, on the farm
originally taken up, opposite the old homestead ;
Mary, wife of Almeron Phelps, on the old Man
asseh French place ; Samuel, in Michigan ; and
Mrs. Harvey Grossman, in Alexcinder, Genesee
county. Alanson Eldridge came in from the
eastern part of the State about 1805. He took
the south-west section of lot 8, and settled where
Jno. R. Page now lives. His children, Horace,
John and two daughters, one the wife of John
Ploagland, all became Mormons.
John Wetherby came in as early as 1809,
probably a few years before. Of his family of
ten boys and one girl, only three are living, viz :
Dr. Samuel P. Wetherby, a practicing physician,
in Menomonee, Wisconsin ; Samuel, a sash and
blind maker, in Victory; and David, a merchant,
in Auburn. Plis son John, who was born in
Sennett, June lOth, 1809, died July loth, 1878,
at Victory, of which town he was a resident for
sixty years, and where for forty-seven years he
was a tanner and currier, and was also a manu
facturer of and dealer in boots and shoes. Weth
erby removed to Victory about 18 19. Three
sons and two daughters of John Wetherby. Jr.,
are living in Victory, viz : Addison B., postmas
ter at Victory village, John C. and Daniel B.,
farmers, the latter on the homestead, Sarah Jane,
wife of Stephen Holt, and Frances, wife of David
Wilson; one son, Benjamin F., in New York;
one son, Plenry Clay, a printer, in Auburn ; and
another, William H. Seward, who is a jeweler, at
Clyde. Joseph Arnold and Martin Bowen, from Mass
achusetts, and Nathan Fisher, came about 18 10.
Arnold setttled a half mile west of the village,
where Freedom Chatficld now lives. He died
here July i8th, 1845, aged seventy-five years.
None of his children are living. Bowen settled
a mfle and a half north-east of the village, where
Myron Sheldon, who married his grand-daughter,
now lives, and where he died about 1854. His
son Spencer is living in Sennett vfllage, and
daughter, Amanda, wife of Artemas Glover, in
Michigan. Fisher settled on lot 10, where
Robert Briscom now lives. He subsequently
removed to the village and died there December
30th, 185 1, aged seventy-seven years.

5

T

[Photo by Squyer & Wright,]

. -|2:^0'^^-<:Ao«^^^''^

In tracing out the early surroundings of some of our best repre
sentative men, -we often find that chillinp adversity corapanionod
their youth, and that liard labor was their lot in early life. Fre
quently the only school attended was that of experience, where
severe masters taught severe lessons. This was truly the case with
the Bubjeot of this niomolr, tho lato TIoracic Sundiciimn. Porlmprt
tho name of no man in the town of Sennett falls mor? pleasantly
on the ear than his.
Mr. Sunderlin, who was always a farmer, was born in Middle-
town, Rutland county, Vermont, April 1st, 17'J7. He was tho seventh
child in a family of twelve children. His parents were John and
Esther [Clark] Sunderlin. The former was born in Vermont and
the latter in Connecticut. But little information can be obtained
as to iheir early life and characteristics ; but it is known that they
were farmers, and Horace, while living at home, was engaged in
that occupation. He attended the district schools of his town, which
were the only facilities he ever enjoyed for an education.
In 3817, Mr. Sunderlin came from Vermont to what was then
Brutus, now Sennett, where he arrived without money enough to
pay for a night's lodging. He remnined here, working by the month
for the farmers, about one year, pprhups longer, and then went
hixc.U to Vermont on a visit to his father and mother. Ho then re
turned to Brutus, coming the entire distance on foot, bringing all
hiR worldly goods, wlilch consisted nf a few articles of clothing and
an ax. llero he ronmliiBd, ohgagod in farming, until 1H2I By this
time he had acquired means sufllcient to warrant his taking a wife,
and in that year (IHai) he was united in marriage with Iluth Beii-
nntt, daugliter of Amos and Susannah Bennett, of tho town uf
Brutus She was born on the !ir)th of February, 181)1.
In 1833, Mr. Sunderlin moved to the town of Clay, Onondaga
county, N. Y., where he lived four years. «mployod in clearing land
and farming. He then returned to Brutus and settled on th« farm
of his wife's parents. On this farm he remained until his death,
the farm having passed to his ownership.
To him by this wife were born five children, as follows : Juliette,
born November 17th, 1832; married Julv SHth, 18-1:^, to Alexander
^ Evorts. now living in Jordan, N. Y. Edwin, born July 2d, 18?.'j; died
in Infancy. Ursula, born March 7th, 18::i7; died Octr)ber 18th, 1870.
Komfna C, born July 31st. 1820, Orson B.. boru December 1st,
18:11; married February, 1855, to Elizabeth Warn, now residing in
Syracuse, N. Y.
Mrs. Sunderlin died March 16th, IP-'Vt, She was a member of tho
Baptist Church in Elbridge, whore sho attended. Those who knew
her remember how perfectly she exompliflod tho traits of tho lov
ing chrifltian wife and mother.
On the IGth of May, WVy, Mr. Sunderlin married Margaret Glass.
• She is the daughter of James and Christina [Jenkensoni Glass, of
Onondaga county, N. Y, Sho was born on the lOlh of Juno. IkOO,
Ilor parents were natives of the North of Ireland. ITnr father
eamn to Amerlea In 18(17, aitd in 18(l,s he wont back to his naltvo
country and marrlod, anu returned to tho land of his adoption tho
sanieyoar. Thoy were farmers and linen nuinufacturors In Irolainl,
but In this country they followed fanning. Margan»t wan tho (Irst
child In a family of six, all of wlmni are now living, except tho
second, Joseph J,, who was a prominent merchant in Syracuse, N.
Y,, and who dlod March a«th, 1878.

To Mr. Sunderlin, by his last wife, were born seven children.
Their names are given here in tho order of their birth: Joseph G.,
born June nth, IHtifr, married February 5th. 1868, to Jane E, Whit
man, of Sennett; she died May 11th, 1877. Ruth A., born September
21st, 18-J7; married October l!>th, 1851), to John S. Austin, of Sennett.
James II., born March 16th, IBW; married November 10th, 18611, to
Jennio E. DePuy, of Owasco; died November Rth, 1877. Charles B.,
born May 16th, 1841; married November 1st, 1876, to Mary E. Bowen,
of Sennett. Frances L., born June 26th, 1843; died August S.5tb,
1816, Elvin W., born January 5th, 1848; married December 11th,
1872,to Josephine A, Meech, of the town of Brutus. Christina, born
September ad. 184'J; married November 33d, 1870, to Stephen C.
Cottle, of Sennett.
Mr. Sunderlin was for a number of years Assessor of his town,
and held other offices of responsibility during bis life, but was
never an aspirant for public place. He was reticent in speech and
reserved in manner; a man of few words and those were generally
to the point. He was a man of quick apprehension and strong
convictions, n loving husband and father, a good neighbor and kind
friend; above all, he was a bright example of ai\ earnest and
devoted christian. He was a Baptist, and belonged to that church
in Elbridge many years. In 1840, he united with the church in
Sennett, and was a consistent and honored member thereof until
ho died. Ho gave liberally In aid of tho erection of the stone
church, which was Anally replaced by the present handsome ediflco,
which ho helped to build, giving generously of his means for that
purpose. Towards tho close of his life, Mr. Sunderlin was painfully afTllctod
by a disease of tho eyes— a cataract formed In each of them, and
in tho Fall of 1872 he submitted to an operation, performed by Dr.
UpdegrafC, of Elmira, N. Y,, understood to be one of the most skill
ful surgeons iu the State, but, unfortunately, it destroyed his
sight. He bore his great misfortune without complaining, cheer
fully and with resignation. During the closing years of his life,
when this terrible inflrmitj' confined him to his residence, his faith
ful, noble wife, and. indeed, his entire family without exception,
were unremitting In their attention to him, and vied with one an
other in their efforts to mitigate his sufferings. For a few years
hefore his death he loved and enjoyed greatly to visit arouhd
among his children, and it was when on a visit to his daughter,
Mrs. Austin, that the death raeasonge-r came to him. On a Saturday
night he was seized with a congestive chill, and died the following
Thursday, March 18th, 1875, of typhoid pneumonia. His remains
were brought home, and his funeral took plaoe at the church In
tho village of Sennott. The sermon was preached by Rev. P. D.
Root, his beloved pastor. The text was from Ecclesiastes, 8th
chapter, 8th verse. Perhaps the best eulogy upon him is the simple
testimony of a neighbor, a life-long friend— "Ho was an honest
man." IHh widow, who is now pasBlng her deollning years with her do-
vol.od son, Elvin. who lives In tho old homo, has lioon a BaptlRt sinoo
1830. Sho united with thn church In Sonnett with her husband.
ITor chlldron(wlth tho oxceptlnnof Mrs. Austin, who had previously
¦ joined tho church,) wore all baptized at tho same time and place
by tho Uov. William Dunbar, and united with the oburoh on the
Sunday following.

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[Photo by Squyer & Wright,]

Jacob N. Walde\on.

Mrs. Elizabeth Waldi^on.

Jaeob N. Waldbon was bom in the town of Sennett, Cay
uga County, N. Y., on the 4th day of SeiDtember, 1828. He
is a son of Edward and Clarissa [Mandeville] "VValdrou. His
father, who was a farmer, was bom in Haverstraw, Kocldand
county, K. Y., SeiDteniber 10th, 1800, and came to Onondaga
county with his parents iu 1810. He was a man possfessed
of sterling qualities of mind and heart. His priuoiiiles were
high and honorable aud his habits correct and exemplary.
He was the unrelenting foe of intemperance, and it is said
of him that he could not be induced to sell a bushel of grain
or a cord of wood to be used in the production of any kind
of liquor that would intoxicate, thus illustrating that one's
principles should be maintained not only by word but also
by precept and examjjle. He always manifested a strong in
terest in the cause of Christianity. His death occurred on
the fourth of September, 1850. His wife was bom in Or
ange county, N. Y., November 4th, 1800, and settled with her
parents in Cayuga Co., in 1813. They were manied the 17th
of November, 1825, and settled in the town of Sennett,
CayugA County, about 1828. Mrs. Waldron, who is still liv
ing at the time of writing this sketch, is a pure-minded,
large-hearted, Christian woman. They had seven children,
namely: John, Jacob N,, Sarah, Charles, Clark, Cornelia, and
Edward, all living. Jacob N. has followed farming all his Uf e.
He is the present Supervisor of his town. He has been elected
to that office eight successive times. In pohtics Mr. Waldron
is a staunch EepubUcan and a firm supporter of the principles
and objects of his party. He possesses, iu a marked degree,
those quaUties that characterize the useful citizen, the good
neighbor, the fiUal son and the kind and indulgent parent.
On the 15th of April, 1856, he was joined iu maniagewith
EUzabeth Green, who waa bom in Jordan, Onondaga Co., N.
y., the 10th of June, 1835. She was a daughter of Salmon
and Amy [Edmunds] Green, natives of Cheshire, Mass. Her
father, who was an architect and builder by trade, was bom
June 21st, 1801, and died July 4th, 1850. He was possessed

of many of the virtues and few of the faults of mankind,'
and was highly esteemed by all who knew him for his moral
worth, high character and strict integrity. Her mother was
born January 25th, 1801, aud died March 20th, 1874. They
settled iu Onondaga county, N, Y., iu 1824. Mr. and Mrs.
Green had seven children, as follows : EU, Amy, EUzabeth,
deceased, Sarah, rraucis, deceased, Benton aud Bobort.
In the death of Elizabeth, which occun-ed on the 27th of
January, 1877, Mr. Waldi'on lost a wife whose Ufe was of an
exceptionaUy pure and noble character. She was a faithful
and loving companion, a woman of rare moi-al exceUence and
genuine Christian worth. She had clear and conscientious
views of tnith and duty, and au unswerving loyalty to that
which she believed to be right. She was habitually resei-ved
and undemonstrative in manner and was exceUed by none iu
the jjerfomiance of those little acts of kindness and affection
that tend so fuUy to brighten and beautify the Uves of those
about us. When but sixteen years of age she joined the
Presbyterian Church in Jordan and after her man-iage and
settlement in Sennett she united with the church there, and
until she died was a loved and honored member thereof.
By charity aud fldeUty to aU lier obUgatious to others she
strove to manifest her love to her God, Her piety was un
obtrusive, but it was the moving siwiug of all her actions.
It made her humble and seU-distnistf ul, but it was constant as a
perennial spring in its flow, aud as beautiful as the banks of
a tropical stream in the flowers that adorn life's pathway.
Her memoiy, fragi-ant and precious, is cherished by a fond
family and a large circle of appreciative friends.
Mr. and Mrs. Waldi-on had seven childi-en, (two of whom
are dead, ) named in the order of their birth, as foUows ; Jacob,
bom June, 1858, died at the age of two years aud three
months ; Frances, bom 1860, died at the age of five years ;
Clara A., bom February 28th, 1804; Mary, bom October
10th, 1871 ; EUzabeth, born April IGth, 1873 ; John B., bom
March 15th, 1875 ; Grace, born January 19th, 1877.

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EARLY SETTLEMENTS.

343

Arthur Stevenson came in from New Jersey,
previous to the war of 1812, and settled in the
village, where he kept a tavern. He afterwards
moved to the farm owned by the heirs of Col.
Pratt, of Mentz, two. miles west of the village,
where he died November ist, 182 1, aged seventy
years. His son Arthur is living in Weedsport.
Rev. Edy Mason, from Cheshire, Massachu
setts, and Horace, Daniel and John Sunderlin,
from Vermont, came in about 18 12. Mason set
tled where his son Edwin now lives. He died
on the homestead July 28th, 1864, aged seventy-
seven years. Horace Sunderlin married Amos
Bennett's daughter, and settled where his son
Elvin now lives, and died there March 18, 1875,
aged seventy-eight years. Daniel settled in the
village, where he died February 13th, 183,2, aged
thirty-eight years. John, who was a young
man, removed about forty years ago to Livings
ton county, where he died. Horace's children
living are, Orson, in Syracuse; Joseph, Elvin,
Charles, Ruth, wife of John Austin, and Kate,
in Sennett ; Judith, wife of Alex. Everts, in
Jordan ; and Christina, wife of Stephen Cottle,
in Brutus.
Henry Polhemus, son of Cornelius, came in
from New Jersey, about 1813, and settled in the
village, on the place now owned by thc heirs of
Mason Healy, near where he kept a tavern several
years. He removed to Auburn about 1827, and
engaged in distilling and afterwards in mercan
tile business, and died there about 1871.
CorneHus Polhemus came in from New Jersey
in 181 5, and settled a mile south-east of Sennett,
where Edward Munson now lives. He came in
with his family, all of whom are dead. He died
in the town February 8th, 1839, aged eighty-four
years. Dr. Curtis C. Cady came in from Hinsdale,
Massachusetts, in 18 15, and settled in the village,
where his son Dr. C. C. Cady now lives. He
married Philomelia, daughter of Ebenezer Enos,
of Oxford, Chenango county, in 1815. He prac
ticed medicine till his death January i8th, 1862,
aged sixty-nine years; was Supervisor of Sen
nett one year; Member of Assembly in 1837;
and County Superintendent of Poor some twenty
years. His children living are Ebenezer E., a
lawyer in Auburn ; Elizabeth Lucinda, widow of
Grove Bradley, who is living in Lysander, with
her daughter Ellen, wife of Enos Smith ; Mari

etta, .wife of Martin C. Remington, in Weeds-
port ; and Dr. C. C. Cady, in Sennett.
Deacon John Warn came in from the eastern
part of the State about 1815, and settled in the
east part, three miles from Sennett, where Thos.
Ogden, his son-in-law, now lives. He subse
quently removed to where Sheldon Turner, an
other son-in-law, now lives, about a mile east of
Sennett, and died there October 20th, 1868, aged
eighty-two years. His children living are, Sarah,
wife of Sheldon Turner, Mrs. Thomas Ogden,
and George, in Sennett ; Catharine, now Mrs.
Hubbell, in Elbridge ; and John T. and Eliza
beth, in Michigan.
Hezekiah Webster, from Connecticut, also
came in about 18 15^ and bought the place of
Hezekiah Freeman, on which he settled, and died
May 20th, 1835, aged sixty-nine years. Cicero,
his son, is living in Brutus, and Goodwin, and
another son, in Connecticut. His daughter, the
widow of William Emerson, and her children,
Emerson and Flora, are living on the homestead.
Town Officuks. — Thc first town meeting was
held at the house of Ebenezer Phelps, April 3d,
1827, and the following named officers were elect
ed : Stephen Dwinell, Supervisor ; John Free
man, Clerk; Edward Root, Martin Bowen and
Ezra Bingham, Assessors ; Ezra Leonard and
Ebenezer Healy, Overseers of the Poor ; Joseph
Bacon, John Miller and Chester Treat, Commis
sioners of Common Schools ; Samuel Hunter,
Elisha W. Sheldon and Amaziah Dibbletf,7>-«j-
tees of Public Lands ; William G. Gifford, Ashbel
Chapman and Peter Douglass, Commissioners of
Highways ; John S. Twiss, Asa K. Buell and
Sylvester Willard, Inspectors of Comtnoii Schools ;
Hezekiah G. Webster, John Page, Jr., and Ezra
Leonard, Constables; H. G. Webster, Collector.
The present officers (1879) ^''^ '•
Supervisor — Jacob N. Waldron.
Clerk — Edmund D. Fellows.
Justices— V>. C. Leonard and Millard B. Co-
burn. Assessors — Charles S. Miller, Andrew J. Man-
roe and Henry M. Shelters.
Commissioners of Highways — Ansel E. Hoyt,
A. W. Bowen and Harry B. Hoyt.
Overseers ofthe Poor — Milliard B. Coburn and
Wm. Radcliff.
Inspectors of Election — Henry D. Grossman,
Myron W. Sheldon and Elvin W. Sunderlin.

344

TOWN OF SENNETT.

Constables — Clare Sheldon, David H. Wiggins,
and George W. Delafountain.
Collector — Edgar J. Robinson.
Game Constable — T. H. Smith.
Excise Comtnissioners — F. Emerson Webster,
John Relph and Lambert V. Gonsolus.
At an election held November 5th, 6th and
7th, 1827, the following votes were cast :
For William Thompson, for Senator  155
For George B. Throop, " "  loi
For Consider King, for Mem'r of Assembly. 159
For Elijah Austin, '  -159
For Israel Phelps,  ' -150
FjDr Asa N. Burnham, " "' " .158
For Henry R. Brinkerhoof, " " .107
For William H. Nobles, " " " _ioS
For Philo Sperry, " " " _ 106
For Gardner Kortright, " " " _io7
For Edward Root, for Justice ofthe Peace  159
For Chester Treat, " " " __i5i
For Howard Soule, " " " __I44
For Stephen Dwinell, " " " __iio
For Daniel Sennett, " " " __ 103
For Benj. Horton, " " " __ioi
For Lyman Doty, " " " __ 98
For William G. Gifford, " " " __ioo
County Poor House. — The county poor
house is located on a farm of ninety-six acres,
all of which is under cultivation, about a mile
and a quarter south-west of Sennett and three
and one-fourth miles north-east of Auburn. It
is built of brick, is four stories high with the
basement, is one hundred feet front, with two
wings, each seventy feet, and, with the farm, is
valued at ^20,000. . It was built about twenty
years ago. The stock on the farm consists of
eleven cows, two heifers, two horses, six hogs and
fifty fowls. The present number of inmates is
eighty, which is the average number, and about
equally divided as to sex. About thirty are capa
ble of manual labor, but not of earning a liveli
hood. . The present keeper, B. K. Murphy, was
appointed March ist, 1878. The whole expense
in and about the house, for the year ending No
vember 1st, 1877, including keeper's salary, pay
of hired man and woman, physician, insurance
on buildings, repairs of buildings, fences, &c., to
gether with all necessary food and clothing for
inmates, was ^7,741.99. The house is provided
with a beautifully-shaded and well-kept lawn,
and the whole external appearance ofthe premises
presents an air of neatness.

Sennett Village.
Sennett is situated in the north part of the
the town, on the New York Central Railroad, by
which it is distant six miles from Aubiirn, and is
surrounded by a splendid farming country. It
contains two churches, (Baptist and Methodist
Episcopal,) a district school, with two depart
ments and two teachers, (the building, which is
of brick, was erected in 1871, and is an unusual
ly fine one for a village of its size,) one hotel,
(kept by Loren Tyler, a grandson of Gideon Ty
ler, who settled in Auburn at an early day and
gave to Tyler's spring in that locality its name,
who bought the property of Samuel Green,
April 5th, 1869,) a cheese factory, two blacksmith
shops, (kept by Wm. Wright and James Drake,)
two wagon shops, (kept by Sidney Wright and
Matthew Relph,) three stores, and a population
of about 200.
Merchants. — The first merchants were Ru
fus Sheldon and Chauncey Lathrop, who opened
a store in 1795, and also kept a distillery, and did
business till 18 17, when they dissolved, Sheldon
going out. Lathrop continued alone about two
years, when he admitted Jame* White to part
nership, and after two or three years he sold out
to White and went to Victory. White did busi
ness alone three or four years, and sold his goods
to a man named Wright, who added to his stock
of goods brought from Skaneateles, where he for
merly kept a store. Dr. Curtis C. Cady bought
out Wright about 1829, and continued till 1833,
when he sold to Winslow Kenyon, from Venice,
who, in 1861, transferred his stock to his daugh
ter, Mrs. C. L. Sheldon, who still carries on the
business. Jacob Bagley opened a store about
1837, and kept it four or five years. A man
named Isham, from Auburn, opened a branch
store about 1843, which he kept about two years.
John Freeman opened a store about 1851, and
kept it four or five years. He died here March
loth, 1862, aged seventy-seven years. A man
named Lilly, from Onondaga county, kept a store
one year, in i860. Wm. Bluff came in from
England some twenty years ago, and in 1873,
opened a store, which he still keeps. Lewis H.
Bradley, who opened a store in 1872, removed to
Auburn in 1875, and returned here in April,
1878. He was associated with Peter Hood dur
ing his first stay, and the business was conducted
under the firm name of Bradley & Hood.

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[Photo by Squyer & Wright,]

Dr. Curtiss C, Cady, Sr,, was born in Dalton, Massachusetts, on
the 4th day ot April, 1192, His parents moved lo Hinsdale, Slassa-
chusetts, when be was but seven years old, and that place "was his
home until he was twenty-one. There he received his early ednca-
tion, and the knowledge of his profession. He settled in what was
then Brutus, now Sennett, Cayuga County, N, Y,. in 181B, where he
practiced medicine until the time of his death, which occurred the
18th ot January, 1862, In 1815, he married Philomena Knos, a na
tive of Oxford, Chenango county, N, V, She was born April Ith,
17'I9 and came to Cayuga County in 1812, She was a devoted Christ
ian wife and mother, and died the 2d ot September, 1875, rich In
the esteem ol all who knew her. The result of this union was Ave
children, three daughters and two sons, namely : Elizabeth Lucin
da Ebenezer Enos, now a prominent and successful attorney in Au
burn Curtis C, Juliette, (diedin I860,) and Mariette Amelia,
Dr' Cady, Sr,. during hi-s life held many places ot trust and re-
SDonsibility both by election and appointment. In 1828 he was ap-
Dointed Postmaster, which position he held until 1843, In ISM be
wasappointedSuperintendent of the Poor, This oflice ho held until
1842 fie was elected to the Assembly in 18.36, and was elected Su
pervisor of his town for one year. He was President of the County
Sledlcal Society many years and when he died.
In politics be was a Uemoornt, In religious sentiment he was a iiap-
tist and was a member of that Church when he lived in Hinsdale, but
did'not unite with the Church in Sennclt. He wasa liberal supporter
of it however, and contributed largely ot his means to diftei ent de
nominations, in aid of the cause ot Christ. He was kiud and lib
eral to tbe poor, ot a truly sympathetic nature, he made the joys
and sorrows of his friends his own, receiving their confidenoa but
to retain it His cheerful countenance and disposition made his
gresence in the sick room a source of comfort and consolation to
is oatients. and the kind remembrance in which his memory is
held; shows that he not only enjoyed but was eminently worthy ot
the name of friend, , , , ,,,,„.
Dr Cady was a thorough business man, and during his life he ao-
nnlrod a larBC Property, whicb, at his death, was left to his children,
Curtis C the ttird child, w.is born in Sennett, on the 3rth of
SBntsmbcr' 'l819. His advantaires for an education were such as
were aHorded by the common schools ot his town, aud so Ihorough-
iv flirt he improve his opportunities, that at the age ot lllteen he
was the teacher of a school in Victory, He taught school three
winters At the ago of 17 he commenced the study of medicine
rnd froin 1839 to 1842 he attended lectures at the Medical College of
Fairfield, and Geneva, N. Y„ three terms ot sixteen weeks each,
in 1811 he commenced the practice of medicine in his native town,
and in 1842 entered into co-partnership with his father, and they
continued together in business eighteen years,
I)r Oftdv Jr„ lias practiced medicine nearly forty years with a
success rarely met with. His practice extends to the different
towns bordering on his own ond even into and beyond the city of

[Photo by Ernsberger & Ray.]

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Auburn. He has now virtually retired from his profession, bein^
neither desirous of, nor able to bear the hardships of a country
practice. As was the case with his father he never could refuse to reppond
to the calls of the poor and needy. Always indul<;ent to those la
bis debt, he never in a single instance tried to enforce tbe collec
tion of an account, and his books now show a balance in his favor
amounting to many thousands of flollars of occounta made during
the last forty years. He has never been an aspiraot for public of
fice, although on many occasions earnestly solicited to accept po
sitions of trust nnd as often and always nrmly declining to do so.
In politics ho is a staunch Democrat, and a warm advocate of the
principles of his party. In rfiligious sentiments he is a Baptist.
On the 29th of October, 1851, he was united in marriage with Sarah
S.,' daughter of Calvin and Sophrf)nia [tinos] Runiscy, nf the town of
Victory. Her parents were married in 1830. They had two children,
Sarah S., the oldest, was born May 3d, lb83, and Curtis C.of Port
Byron, the second, was born the aOth of April. 1836. Mrs. Cady le a
conscientious, npright christian wife and mother. She joined the
Baptist Church in Victory the year she was married, and by letter
united with the Church in Sennett when she settled there.
Her father was boru in 18i)7, and died in 1848, April 29th. He was
an exemplary Christian, a man of sterling qualities of mind and
heart, and one who dared to d< i right. W [th those who knew him, his
word was as good as his bond. His father Joseph was among the
earliest settlers in Victory, and was when he died the oldest man
in the .town. Mrs. Cady's mother was born in the town of Oxford,
Chenango county, N. Y:, in 1811, and came to Victory with her pa
rents in 181T. Sne is the second child of a family of eleven children.
Her father Roswell Enos, was born at Cheoan:;© Point now Bing-
hamton, N. y.. In 1787. He was married to Submit Newcomb, in
1807. Hs was it justice of the peace, supervis tr and Member of As
sembly, and was mainly instrumental in securing the division of
the town of Cato and tho formation of the towns of Ira, Conquest
and Victory from the portion taken therefrom. He died in Wood
stock, Illinois, April 18th, 1850.
Mrs. Cady's mother, after the death of her husband, married Mr.
David A. Taylor, of Washington county, N. Y, They now reside in
Montezuma, Cayuga County.
To Dr. and Mrs, Cady have been born four children, named In the
orderof their birth as follows : Ida L,, born November 12tb, 1852.
She was married on the lyth of September, 1871. to Munroe J. Kisk
of Huntington, Massachusetts. He was born the 31pt of July, 1848,
and died In Kearney, Nebraska, Au^^ust 28th. 1877. Ebenezer B.,
born February •i7th. la.'iS, died August Sth. 1857. Jay B., born De
cember 21st, 1858, died December Bth. 1870, and Grace, born July
l!lth, died in Infancy. Mr. and Mrs. Fisk had one child, little Qraole
Myrtle, born October, 13th, 1875, and died July 24th, 1870. Her re
mains lie beside those of her father in the family lot in tbe Ceme
tery at Sennett.

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[Photo by Squyer & Wright,]

U^^2-rf^cTU^^

DEACON EBENEZER HEALY,

An early lineal ancestor of this family was William Healy, who
emigrated from England among the early pilgrims (1680-'!i5) and
settled first at Roxbury, Mass., removing afterwards to Cambridge,
of which Newton then formed a jiart. Little is preserved concern
ing blm except that he was five times married.
One of hie sons, Nathaniel Healy, was born at Newton. Mass,, in
1659, and was killed by the Indians in 1T34, aged seventy-five years.
His ninth child was John Healy, great-grandfather of Colonel Geo,
Healy, late civil engineer here, but now of Rochester. Minnesota.
John Healy was born at Newton in 1693, and died there in 1183,
aged eighty-flve years. He bad eleven children ; John, the sixth
child, had thirteen children, six sons and seven daughters, of whom
Ebenezer Healv was the fourth, and was born in Newton, Mass,,
February 3d, 1768, and died in Sennett, September 23d, 1857, aged
nearly ninety years, ^ ,, ,
The latter came to this County In 1793, and with Deacon Morley
bought the undivided west half of lot No. 8 in the old township of
Aurelius, now Sennett, paying for the same one pound currency, or
$2,50 per acre.
This joint purchase was afterwards divided between the owners,
and Deacon Healy added to his farm by subsequent purchases.
Having, during the summer and autumn of 1793, made provision
for the comfort apd support of a family, he returned to Newton
and was united in marriage with Miss Eunice Grossman, sister of
Deacon Phineas Grossman, Deoember 31st, of that year. On the
18th of February following, they "set out" for their new home
which they reached in thirteen days,
Mr. Healy was very energetic and availed himself of the advan
tages which his situation afforded. Soon after he came in, the great
flow of emigration to Western and Central New York was at its
height. He was on one of the thoroughfares over which the emi
grants passed, and for whose accommodation be opened a "tavern,"
and also a supply store for the settlers, or travelers, which was
liberally patronized, tbe " bar " especially so. Every one at that
time drank intoxicants, dominie, deacons and professors alike. To
treat and be treated, or, If alone, to take the solitary " nip" when
at the tavern, was a universal rule, demanded by the social usages
of tbe time. .
Mrs Healy died in what was then Brutus, now Sennett, Septem
ber 16thLl810. They had eight children, including two pairs of
twins. They were Lyman WT, born July 12th, 1790 j John Maspn,
May 1st, 1798 ; Nathaniel, October 2d. 171)9 ; infant son and daugh
ter, April .SOtb, 1804 ; Ebenezer and Sally, January 29th. 1806 ; Eliza,
October 24th, 1808, Mr, Healy's second marriage was to Anna
Leonard, March 11th, 1811. They had one son, George, born Octo
ber 19th, 1812. ^ „.. ,
Deacon Healy was a sincere, devoted and verv liberal member of
the Baptist Church, In bis barn, erected in 1796, now standing and
owned by his grandson, Philo W, Healy, the Baptist Association
was formed in 1S)1, and its members were always free and wel

come guests at bis house. His son George reports that bis father
bas kept on occasions of such assemblages fully one hundred horses
and an equal number ot persons free of charge. He was a life
memberof the Home and Foreign Missionary and Bible Souietles.
His religlaus and benevolent contributions were said to equal those
of the rest of the society of which he was a member. He was for
many years overseer of the poor, and was complimented by com
missions in the military from Governors Jay and Geo. Clinton,
Two only of his children are living ; Col, Geo. Healy. in Roches
ter, Minn,, and Eliza H,, widow of Henry Davis, living with her
nephew P, W. Healy, in Auburn, Six of his grand-children survive,
of whom three are residents in this vicinity, viz : Mrs, Thomas
Bently in Weedsport, and Philo W, in Auburn, children of John
Mason, and Timothy B,, son of Lyman W, in Jordan,
JOHN MASON HEALY.
John Mason Healy was the second son of Ebenezer Healy, and
was born May 1st, 1798, He was brought up In the orderly, indus
trious and systematic habits which reigned in his father s house
hold. On April '.!6th, 1824, be married in Auburn, Miss Sally West,
daughter of Philo and Jerusha West. Their children were Philo
W,. born Deoember 16th, 1824 : Jerusha H,, September 15th. 1828 :
Eliza J,, Deoember 12th, 1828.
On his marriage be settled on a new farm in Genoa. He bad pre
viously for some years worked on that farm during the summer and
engaged during the winters in teaching. He removed to Sennett la
1826, and settled on a farm on lots 99 aud 100, containing 135 acres.
In 18.30, he removed to a farm of U2 aares on lot 99, In 1861, he
sold to his son Philo W. Healy, and removed to Sennett village,
where he died July a7th, 1877, aged about seventy-nine years,
Mr. Healy, though having decided poUtioal opinions wos not par
tisan. He was a consistent and firm friend ot the freedom ot the
slaves and an advocate of temperance reform by moral suasion.
He was a careful and reliable business man, and enjoyed in a high
degree the confidence of his neighbors. He was frequently entrus
ted with offices in his town, and the drafting of contiaots ond other
papers for acquaintances. He acted as executor or administrator
of a large number of estates, a confidence justified by his uniform
care, prudence and fair dealing. He was a regular.'and during the
latter part of his life a liberal contributor to the church. His only
son, Pbilo W,, tully maintains tbe established reputation of the
family for integrity, industry and thrift. He owns a part— 126
acres, of the old homestead of his grandtother. The house, built
ot brick in 1805, be has rebuilt in modern style. It is a rare in
stance in which the third generation here hold an ancestral oatote.
• V.?^^'y ¦""^ united in marriage with Miss Hester A. Lawrence,
of Weedsport, daughter of Daniel Lawrence, April 18th, 1859. They
have two sons and two daughters. In the spring of 1878, Mr, Healy
purchased and refitted a beautiful home, on North street, in the
city of Auburn, His object in doing so was to avail himself of the
excellent schools, for the education of bis children.

l(t

<

.!l^

SENNETT VILLAGE.

345

Postmasters. — The first postmaster was prob
ably Rufus Sheldon, who was appointed about
1806, and held the ofifice till 1826, when he was
succeeded by Dr. Curtis C. Cady, who held it till
1 84 1, in which year Holman Fisher was ap
pointed, and after four years, was succeeded by
Stephen Spooner, who held it four years, when
N. B. Van Sly ke, who also held it four years, was
appointed, and was succeeded by Holman Fisher,
who served a second term of four years. E. D.
Fellows was postnjaster a short time, and was
succeeded by D. F. Buten, in 1861, Mrs. C. L.
Sheldon, the present incumbent, who was ap
pointed December 13th, 1864, acting as deputy.
Physicians. — Noah Beman was probably the
first physician. He. came as early as 1805, and
practiced till his death, September 25th, 1823.
Curtis C. Cady came in from Hinsdale, Mass., in
1815, and practiced till his death, January i8th,
1862 ; from 1823 to 1833, in company with Syl
vester Willard, who at the expiration ofthe ten
years, removed to Connecticut, whence he
came, and is now living in Auburn. A Dr. Cur
tis came in about 1833, and practiced some four
years. Benjamin T. Wright came from the
eastern part ofthe State in 1838, and practiced
till his death, March 13th, 1844. Curtis C. Cady,
Jr., the present physician, commenced practicing
in 1841. He belongs lo the allopathic school.
George McCarthy came in from Throop about
1845, and after practicing three years removed
to Lysander. Nelson C. Powers came in from
Mottville about 1846, and practiced two years.
He subsequently practiced in Syracuse, where he
died a few years ago. D. O. K. Strong came in
from Owasco about 1855, and practiced four or five
years. Dr. Snyder, who practiced uroscopy,
came in from Ohio about 1850, and staid about
two years. Dr. Morris, who made chronic dis
eases a specialty, came in from Syracuse about
1854, and practiced three or four years, when he
removed to Auburn, where he died.
Manufactures. — The Sennett Cheese Manu
facturing Company was incorporated October
2 1st, 1869, with ^3,300 capital. The first trus
tees were : Wm. Sheldon, Albert W. Bowen, J.
M. Healy, {President;) Horace Sunderlin and
P. W. Healy, ( Secretary and Treasurer. ) The
present officers are : William Sheldon,
President, and P. W. Healy, Secretary and Treas
urer, who, together with A. W. Bowen, and M,

W. and E. M. Sheldon, are the Trustees. They
are making 240 pounds of cheese per day.
Sennett Baptist Church was organized Sep
tember 1 2th, 1799, as the Third Baptist Church
in Aurelius, and Thomas Morley represented
them in the Scipio General Conference, of which
they became a member, September 25th, 1799.
In 1801 they experienced a revival, by
which fifty-one were added to their number,
making their total membership , at that time
eighty-six. In this year the Cayuga Baptist As
sociation was organized in the barn of Ebenezer
Healy. The delegates attending that . meeting
were Manasseh French, Messrs. Squire, Manro,
Thomas Morley, Smitten Irish, John Jeffries, Is
rael Clapp and Isaac Barnum. Up to 1803, the
average annual increase was thirty-one.
In 1808, Elder Manasseh French, who had
served them as pastor since i8cxD, was excluded
from the Church ; but in 1810, on confessing his
fault, thc nature of which is not indicated, he was
restored to fellowship. Their next pastor was
Israel Craw, who entered upon his duties in
1808, and under whose ministry three seasons of
revival were enjoyed, and ninety-eight added to
the membership of the Church. In 1813, Elder
Craw was dismissed with thirty-five members to
form the First Church in Camillus ( now El
bridge.) This was the second colony from this
Society, the first, comprising forty members,
having left in 1803, to form the Church in
Throopsville. Joel Butler succeeded Elder Craw in the pas
torate in 18 1 3, and remained one year, during
which time forty-eight were added t6 the mem
bership. Silas Barns entered upon the pastorate
in 1815, and he, too, remained onlyoneyear. He
was succeeded in 1816 by John S. Twiss, who
served them till 1830. The only general revival
which occurred during his pastorate was in 1821,
when ninety-eight were added to their number.
In 1 83 1, the Church, though without a pastor,
added 115 members by baptism. Toward the
close of that year or early in 1832, Isaac BuckHn
became their pastor ; but his selection proved a
most unhappy one for the prosperity of the
Church, as difficulties arose which necessitated
his expulsion in 1833, In the early part of 1833,
Thos. Brown commenced his labors wilh them,
and in April of that year he was ordained pastor.
A revival immediately followed, resulting in thq

346

TOWN OF AURELIUS.

addition of twenty-one to their number, and the
restoration of harmony in the Church. He closed
his labors with them in 1836, in which year he
was succeeded by Jno, H. Dudley, who remained
till 1840. During the second year of his pastor
ate, he was assisted in a protracted meeting by
Elder Jacob Knapp, which was blessed by the
addition of sixty-seven by baptism.
D. McFariand succeeded E. Dudley in the
pastorate in 1840, and remained with them till
1843, in which year I. Bennett became the pas
tor. During Elder Bennett's pastorate a revival
was experienced which resulted in the addition of
sixty by baptism. He was succeeded in 1845 by
E. Marshall, who served them two years. S.
Adsit Jr., their next pastor, entered upon his
duties August ist, 1847, and continued them till
1854, on the first of April of which year A. Wil
kins assumed the pastoral care, which he resigned
March 28th, 1863.
N. R. Everts entered upon the duties of pas
tor with this Church June ist, 1863. Here-
signed November 24th, 1867, and united with the
Church at Seneca Falls. Their next pastor was
Wm. Dunbar, who commenced his labors with
them December ist, 1867, and closed them April
3d, 1870. He was succeeded by Stephen V.
Marsh, from the Church at Waterloo, who entered
upon the pastorate July 3d, 1870, and resigned
April 1st, 1873. P. D. Root commenced his
ministrations with this Church June 29th, 1873,
and was granted a letter of dismission Septem
ber 2d, 1876. He was succeeded by Jno. Henry
Mason, who begun his labors in October, 1876,
and was accepted to the pastorate April 29th,
1877. He is the present pastor. Their present
church edifice, which is a fine brick structure,
was commenced May ist, 1874; finished Jan
uary 1 2th, 1875 ; and dedicated January 14th,
1875. Its cost was about ^13,000, Thepresent
membership is about 200. They have a Sabbath-
school which is numerously attended.
The First Presbyterian Church of Sen
nett was organized in 1805, as the First Con
gregational Chiirch of Brutus. The pulpit was
supplied till about 1820, when Jephthah Poole
became their pastor and continued five or six
years. After a like period he was recalled and
ministered to them about four years, the pulpit
being supplied during his absence. During his
pastorate an interesting and powerful revival oc

curred, which resulted in the addition of over sixty
to their membership at one time. Mr. Poole
was succeeded by Henry Boyington, who served
them about five years. A period elapsed during
which they were without a pastor, the pulpit be
ing filled by supplies, until Mr. Boyington was
recalled. His second stay covered a period of
about two years.
Their next pastor was a Mr. Griswold, who
labored with them three years. He was suc
ceeded by Charles Anderson, whose pastorate
covered a period of twenty-five years. He went
to Springport. Samuel S. Goss supplied them
one year, when Thomas Campbell was called and
served them three years, one year before being
installed as pastor. They were next supplied a
part of a year by Professors from Auburn Theo
logical Seminary. J. G. Smith ministered to
them two and a half years, but was not installed.
Charles Anderson, their former pastor, was then
recalled, and continued his labors with them till
the spring of 1877, since which time they have
been supplied by  Burnley, a student in
Auburn Theological Seminary.
Their first house of worship was built about
1820; the present one in 1848,31 a cost of
^4,000, and was dedicated in January, 1849.
The present membership is about 100. The
Sabbath School, in which their hopes are cen
tered, has an average attendance of seventy-five.

CHAPTER XLI.
Town of Aurelius.
AURELIUS lies near the center of the
west border of Ihc County, at thc foot
of Cayuga Lake, which, wilh Seneca River, forms
its western boundary. The northern boundary
is formed by Montezuma and Throop, the east
ern, by Auburn and Fleming, and the southern,
by Fleming and Springport. It was formed Janu
ary 27th, 1789, and originally embraced all that
part of the County lying north of the prolonga
tion of the south line of Fleming. Brutus, Cato,
Jefferson, (now Mentz,) and Owasco were set off
March 30th, 1802 ; Auburn and Fleming, March
28th, 1823; a part of Springport, January 30th,

[Photo by Ernsberger & Ray.]

Elisha Sedgwick Austin.

EbisnA Skdgwick Austin was born in the town of Owasco, Cayuga
County, on the 7th of November, 1800, He is a son of Henry and
Prudence [Ensign] Austin, who were natives of Slieilield, whence
they moved to Cayuga County, and settled in what la now the
town of Owasco about the year 1795. The father died in Au
gust, 1829, and the mother about tbe year 1845, They had ten chil
dren: Harriet, born August 16tb, 1792; Henry, born October 20th,
1791; Ebenezer Ensign, born May 2d, 1796; Warren, born March 8tb,
1798; Elisha Sedgwick, born November 7tb, 1800; Kellogg, born July
18th, 1802; Prudence, born May I9th, 1804; James, born November
16th, 1807; John, born July 26th, 1810.
Warren, Prudence, John and Elisha Sedgwick are all that are now
living. Sedgwick, the subject of this record, has always followed farm
ing, Uutil he was twenty-six years of age his time was spent on
tbe farm at home, his schooling being such only as the primitive
character of the district afforded. In early life he became so
inured to self-reliance and habits of industry as to make his subse
quent years a worthy record in the history of Cayuga County.
At the age of twenty-six he purchased one hundred and fourteen
acres of land on lots 31 and 21 in the town ot Sennett and settled
thereon, and there he still resides. He added by purchase from
time to time until he owned a little more than four hundred acres.
The lite of a farmer usually embraces but few startling Incidents,
but Mr, Austin has performed its duties with such industry and
good judgment as to secure the respect of all who know him, and
now as his life, already lengthened several years beyond tho
allotted three score and ten, is drawing towards its close, ho can
look back over its varied shadows and sunshine, its struggles and
its triumphs, with a satisfaction coming from a life well spent, and
await with composure the Inevitable hour which comes to all the
living. Politically Mr, Austin has alwoysbeen a Democrat.
He bos held the office of Supervisor of his town for one term and
has been Assessor also, but bas always preferred the quiet lite of
bis farm to the strifes and competitions ot the oflice seeker.
He has never become a member ot any church, but has attended
and most liberally given in aid and support of the Baptist Church

in Sennett, Those working in the interest of ibat Church and
the cause ot Christianity and humanity were never turned away
empty handed.
On the 27th ot January, 1821, Mr, Austin married Abigail, daugh
ter ot Elder Elkanah Comstock, of the town of Owasco. She waa
boru October 10th, 180], and died of consumption, March SOtb,
1828, The fruit ot their union was one child, Martha, boru Novem
ber 23d, 1825; married to Benjamin Cutler Leonard, of Sennett,
October lOth, 1849,
June 17th, 1829, Mr, Austin married Harriet Harvey, of Marcellus,
Onondaga county, N. Y, She was born June 24th, 1811. See is the
daughter of Medad and Anna [Buell] Harvey, natives of Vermont*
Her parents died at au advanced age, tbe dates of which cannot be
obtained. They reared a family of twelve children, Harriet being
the ninth. Their names are here given: Paul. Lucinda, Rhoda
Samuel, Sarah, John, Electa, Leonard, Harriet, Isabelia, Dorwin
and Medad, eight of whom are yet living. For nearly fifty years
Mrs, Austin has been truly a help-meet to her husband. She is
gentle, industrious and frugal, end distinguished for her general
benevolence and ber untiring devotion to her family. She is dis
creet, and possesses excellent judgment as well as every qualifica
tion that adorns a wife aud mother. Nearly half a century ago
she united by letter with the Baptist Church in Sennett, and has
been a devoted and earnest member thereof during all that time.
To Mr. Austin, by bis present wife, have been born four ohiidrrn.
Their names and dates of birth are given below: Harvey, born
June 7th, 1830, married Margaret L, Wright ot Elbridge, Onondaga
county, N, Y,, February 2d, 1860; Abigail, born August 23d, 1832,
died DecemberSth, 1836; John S., born July 23d, l^SB. married Ruth
A. Sunderlin ot Sennett, October 19th, 18.50; Sanford, born August
23d, 1838, married to Eliza Joline of Auburn, N, Y., iu November
1803, '
Mr, Austin is tbe architect of his own fortune. By honest deal
ing, prudent management and indefatigable industry, he has ao-
otimulaied a large property. Ho occupies an honorable position
among tlio leading mon of his town, and by bis kindness Und
genial ways has secured the confidence and esteem of his fel"
low citizens.

^

GEOLOGICAL FORMATION.

347

1823; a part of Throop, April 8th, 1859 '< and
the 7th ward of Auburn, in 1869.
The surface is rolling and inclines to the north
and west. The principal streams are Owasco
Outlet, which crosses the north-east corner, and
Cayuga Brook, which flows north through the
eastern part. A few smaller streams rise in the
town, but none of them afford any water privi
lege within the limits of the lown, though there
are some valuable mill sites on the Outlet in the
west edge of Auburn. There is not a saw or
grist-mill in the town. There was formerly a
saw-mill in the north-west corner of the town,
on the farm owned by Lewis Baker, and another
near the center of the town, on the site of the
plaster-mill of Peter Shank, which was kept in
operation as long as there was sufficient timber
to pay for running it.
It is underlaid by the gypsum of the Onon
daga salt group, which crops out in various lo
calities on the shore of the lake, notably on the
farm of Daniel Yawger in tlie south part, on the
farm of John Larue in the north part, and at the
bridge, in each of which localities it has been
quarried, first, at the latter place, about seventy
years ago. It is generally, however, too deeply
covered with drift, and has associated with it too
much of the shale of this group to be profitably
worked in competition with the quar,fies to the
south, in Springport, where it has less superin
cumbent matter and is freer from shaly impuri
ties. It is not improbable that the first plaster
dug and used in Cayuga County was obtained at
Cayuga Bridge. A ledge of limestone extends
diagonally across the town in a north-east and
south-west direction. It is a continuation of the
same ledge which is quarried so extensively in Au
burn, both for burning and for building purposes.
Upon the road a little west of Aurelius and upon
either side to the north and south it crops out
upon the surface and covers a large area. It also
forms the bed of Cayuga Brook a little west of
Auburn. It is used for building purposes,
usually for rough work, and was formerly burned.
Numerous springs issue from these limestone
and gypsum formations, some of them possessing
mineral properties which constitute them valua
ble medicaments. Near Aurelius station, on the
farm of Mrs. Dr. Hannah Lilly, is a sulphur
spring, which was discovered and a bath house
built some forty years ago. On the farms of
S9-2

Henry Willard in Cayuga, Jno. M- Mersereau,
about two miles north of that village, on the ad
joining farm of Daniel Anthony, and on that of
Lucius and Wm. Baldwin in the same locality,
are springs which qualitative analyses of the first
and last show to possess similar constituents.
The following is the result of a complete analysis
of the water from the Willard spring, made by
Dr. S. A. Lattimore, Prof of Chemistry in Roch
ester University, showing the contents of a U.
S. gallon :
Sulphate of magnesia  37. 15 grains.
Sulphate of lime  94- 16 "
Carbonate of lime  18.20 "
Chloride of sodium  2.12 "
Oxide of iron  .04 "
Alumina  trace.
Silica  "

Total number of grains  iSi-67
The soil is for the most part a heavy clay and
gravelly loam, being admirably adapted to grain
culture, to which it is mainly devoted. It is
strictly an agricultural town and is one of the
best in the County. Says Spafford, in his Ga
zetteer of 1824, " the inhabitants are principally
employed in aigriculture, and many of them enjoy
a great degree of opulence. It is hardly possi
ble to conceive a more enviable situation than
theirs, thus blessed in a most delightful country."
The Auburn branch of the N. Y. C. R. R.
crosses the town in a tortuous course from east
to west, and crosses the lake at Cayuga. The
Cayuga and Seneca Lake Canal extends through
the west part north of Cayuga, along the lake and
river, and connects with the Erie Canal at Mon
tezuma. The population of the town in 1875 was 1,978,
of whom 1,610 were native, 368 foreign, 1,972
white, and, 6 colored. The area is 18,870 acres,
16,614 of which are improved, 1,314 woodland,
and 942, otherwise unimproved.
The first settlers in Aurelius were squatters on
the Reservation ofthe Cayuga Indians, which in
cluded one hundred square miles, and extended
on both sides of the lake from Aurora to Monte
zuma. This reservation was made in 1789, in
which year the Cayugas relinquished their claims
to all other lands in this State by a treaty held at
Albany; the consideration being 1^500 down,
^1,500 to be paid the following June, and a per
petual annuity of ^500. In 1794 the Cayugas

348

TOWN OF AURELIUS.

relinquished their claims to this reservation, with
the exception of two plots in Springport, one of
two miles square, upon the lake, a little south of
Union Springs, and the other of one mile square,
three or four miles north-east of that village.
The first settler was Col. John Harris, who came
in from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, in 1789, and
settled three-fourths of a mile south of Cayuga,
on the farm now owned by Cyrus H. Davis, then
called, and now known by the oldest residents of
the town, as the Indian orchard, some of the
trees of which arc still standing there. Harris
kept there the first ferry across Cayuga Lake, in
conjunction with James Bennett, who settled at
the same time upon the opposite side of the lake.
He was an Indian interpreter and acted as such
at the time of the treaty at Cayuga, in 1794, at
which time he moved to the site of the village,
where he kept a tavern on the site of the Titus
House. Harris contracted the first marriage in
1789, with Mary, daughter of John Richardson,
who came in the same year as Harris, and settled
on the site of the village, where Edwin H. Whit
ney, Esq., now lives. He removed after several
years to Wabash, Indiana. A son of Harris, Jno.
Harris, Jr., who was born in 1790, was the first
child born in the town. Harris opened the first
store in 1789, and the first inn in 1790.
The early settlers in this locality generally
came by water route, making a long and tedious
journey. Those who came on foot or with teams
found, for much of the way, no roads better than
Indian trails or paths designated by means of
blazed trees.
About 1795, Hon. Joseph Annin, one of the
proprietors of Cayuga village, and the first Sher
iff of Cayuga County, settled where the widow
of David Kyle now lives. He removed to Mil
ton ( now Genoa, ) and subsequently to Onon
daga Hollow, where he died in 1815. His re
mains were brought to Cayuga for interment.
While residing at Genoa he represented the
western district in the State Senate in 1803,
'4, '5 and 6.
Hugh Buckley settled about 1796, at the head
of the old bridge, where he kept the gate, a tav
ern, and the first jail in Cayuga County. The
latter was a log structure, and was built against
the bank of the lake, the top being on a level
with the embankment. The prisoners were let
down through a trap door in the top. Its use as

a jail was authorized March 25th, 1800. The
following year (1797,) Buckley added to his al
ready numerous vocations, that of teaching, he
being the first school teacher in the town. He
subsequently kept a tavern where Mrs. Gilliland
now lives, and died ofthe epidemic in 1813. His
family are all dead.
Dr. Jonathan Whitney, who was born Septem
ber 14th, 1768, came in from Stockbridge, Mass.,
in 1798, and settled at Cayuga, on the lake road,
where Mrs. Charles Lalliette now lives. He re
moved to Big Tree, ( now Geneseo, ) in 1802, and
the same year to Balavia, where he remained
about a year, and returned to Cayuga. In 1805,
he removed to Pompey Hill, but returned to Cay
uga at the expiration of a year, and continued
the practice of medicine till his death July 26th,
1 85 1. He is recollected by the early settlers as
a great satirist, and the author of many mirth-
provoking caricatures. In August, 1800, he
married Dolly Smith, a daughter of Captain Hez
ekiah Smith, an old sea captain, who settled in
1798, two miles east of Cayuga, where Wm.
Tavner now lives, and where he died in 18 14,
Dr. Whitney's wife died December 26tb, 1846.
They had nine children, seven of whom are liv
ing. Edwin H., who was born October 7th,
1806, is living at Cayuga, where he holds the of
fice of Justice ofthe Peace, an office he has filled
over forty years. He was Supervisor several
years. Postmaster twelve years, and Canal Col
lector at Montezuma in 1852 and '53.
Joseph Davis came in from Washington Coun
ty in 1799, and settled two and one-half miles
north-west of Aurelius, where Ira Olmsted now
lives. He died in the town in 1804. His daugh
ter, Elizabeth, is the only survivor of a large
family. She is the widow of Samuel Taylor,
who came from Saratoga County in 1809, and
settled in Auburn, and in 1854 removed to
Throop, where he died in 1863. She is eighty-
six years of age, and is living at Aurelius with
her son Halsey W. Taylor, who was born in Au
burn in 1813. A man named Chandler settled
in 1799, about a mile south of Fosterville, where
Luther Van Giesen now lives. He afterwards
married one of Wm. Guy's daughters, and re
moved to Nunda, Livingston County, about 1827.
In this year, (1799,) the County was erected
and the Court of Common Pleas was held at Cay
uga. In 1804 the court was removed to Aurora,

EARLY SETTLEMENTS.

349

and in 1809 to Auburn, where, in that year, the
court-house, which was authorized March 6th,
1805, was completed.
Previous to this, in 1796, a State road was
opened from Whitestown to Geneva, through Au
burn, and although, in 1797, it is said to have
been little better than an Indian trail, it had a
marked influence upon the subsequent settle
ment of this section of country. In 1 800 it was
made a turnpike ; and on the 4th of September
in this year the celebrated Cayuga bridge, which
was begun in 1799, was finished, and speedily be
came the great highway of western emigration.
This bridge was just about a mile long, twenty-
two feet wide, and twenty-two feet between the
trestles. Eighteen months were consumed, and
;^ 1 50,000 expended in its construction. It was
built by the Cayuga Bridge Company, which was
incorporated in 1797, and consisted of John Har
ris, Thomas Morris, Wilhemus Mynders, Chas.
Williamson and Joseph Annin. It was for many
years looked upon as one of the greatest public
improvements in the Slate, and was considered
the dividing line between the east and the west.
It was destroyed in 1808, rebuilt in i8i2-'i3, and
finally abandoned in 1857. It was a prolonga
tion of the main street running east and west
through near the center of the village. Nothing
is now left of it but the spiles and timbers, which
are mostly hidden by the waters of the lake.
The lake is now crossed by means of a ferry in
the summer and usually upon the ice in winter.
Further up, towards the head, Cayuga Lake
seldom freezes.
David Hulin, the pioneer blacksmith, was
among the first settlers, but in what year we
could not determine. He located on the shore
of the lake, just west of where the Titus House
now stands. He made a latch for the first frame
school-house, built in 1804, and stamped thereon
his name and the date of its erection. This
building is still standing on the south-east corner
of Center street. It has been added to, and is
used as a public hall.
Hezekiah Goodwin, from Connecticut, settled
soon after 1800, about four miles east of Cayuga,
where Lockwood Hunt's family now live. He
took up about 400 acres, and carried on an ex
tensive business in buying and selling cattle, dis
tilling, and making black salts. He sold out
about 1833, to the Hunts, and removed to Seneca

Falls, where he died about 1840. Wm. Guy
moved in from Scipio in 1801, and bought the
west half of lot 34. He settled about a mile
south of Fosterville, where Ralph DeCamp now
lives. In 1S23 he sold seventy-five acres lo De-
Camp, and then or subsequently removed to Liv
ingston county. DeCamp came in from New
Jersey in 1816 and settled at Auburn, where he
was engaged in the construction of the State
prison, which was begun the following year. He
is now in his eighty-ninth year. The orchards
on this farm were planted by Guy, the one on the
north side of the house in 1801, and that on the
south side in 1802.
Loring and Emory Willard, brothers, came in
from Chenango county, aboul iSot, and settled
at Cayuga ; Loring, where John Mcintosh now
lives. He subsequently removed lo the house
now occupied by Edwin Hall, near the malt-
house. Loring was commissary for the army
during the war of 1812-14. He died here in
1845. Both he and Emory were young, single
men when they came in, but they afterwards
married and had families. About 1807 they
built a distillery, north of where the malt-house
now stands, which they sold after about a year
to Daniel Mcintosh, who soon after converted it
into a tannery and run it as such a good many
years. Three of Loring's children are living.
During the war of 181 2, Loring Willard was
engaged in purchasing supplies for the army and
forwarding them to Oswego and other points
where wanted; and when an attack upon Kings
ton was in contemplation, under orders he pur
chased all the boats that could be obtained for
transportation, took them to Oswego, and thence,
under cover of night, sailed out of Oswego and
delivered them, some forty or fifty in number, to
Commodore Chauncey, at Sacketts Harbor.
They were " Durham boats," and would carry 30
to 50 tons ; but the expedition was abandoned,
and the boats were never used.
Bezaleel Shaw came in from Massachusetts
about 1802, and settled at Cayuga. He kept a
blacksmith shop, on the north shore of the lake,
west of the Titus house, and about 18 16 he moved
up on the hill, the place being included in the
property now owned by Catharine, daughter of
Daniel Mcintosh. About 1825 he removed to
Portage, with his family, except his son Abner,
who remained and carried on blacksmithing here

350

TOWN OF AURELIUS.

till about 1835, when he removed to Michigan
and died there. Stephen Mott settled in 1804,
about two miles north-cast of Cayuga. He af
terwards removed to the place where his son
Sanford now lives, and died there in 1876, at an
advanced age.
Jeremiah Hallock, from Long Island, came
about this time, and settled one and one-half
miles east of Cayuga, where his grand-son Frank
novv lives, and where he died some thirty years
ago. The first settlement at Fosterville was made
about 1805, by Captain Abner, Wheaton and Ja
cob Saunders. Abner settled one-half mile east,
where William Ball now lives, the place being
owned by his son John ; Wheaton, where his son
Edgar now lives; and Jacob, one-fourth mile east
of Fosterville. All died in the town. Abner's
wife, Harriet, and daughter, Nancy, are living on
the old homestead. His son, Andrew Jackson,
a former sheriff of the County, is living in Sen
nett. Wheaton's wife, Aurelia T,, is living in
Auburn, aged ninety-two years.
A family named Perry came in about 1806,
and kept a tavern opposite to and to the north
of where the Titus House now stands. He died
here about 18 12. A man named Savage, brother
of Chief Justice John Savage, and a son-in-law
of Perry's, came in with him. He also died here.
David Dodge came in from Vermont about
1808, and settled at Cayuga, where Samuel Por
ter now lives. He taught school several years,
at different periods, commencing in 18 10, and
from him many of the early settlers now living-
received the rudiments of their education. They
have a painful recollection that he did not disre
gard the injunction of the wise man, but used
the rod most unsparingly. He moved about 1825
to Throop, and died in Montezuma about 1857.
Ossian G. Dodge, the noted mimic and comic
singer of twenty-five or thirty years ago, was a
son of his. Charles Lalliette, a highly accom
plished French gentleman, came in from Brook
lyn in 1 8 10, with his wife, who still survives him,
and is living where they then settled. This was
his summer residence, his winters being spent
abroad in teaching dancing school, a vocation he
followed till within about ten years of his death,
in 1836.
Jesse and Amos Reed, brothers, from Dutchess
county, came in as early as 18 10, and settled on

lot 54, a soldier's grant, Jesse, where Halsey W.
Taylor now lives, and where he and his wife
died, and Amos, where John Shoemaker now
lives, each taking up one-half of the lot. They
were probably the first settlers in the locality of
Aurelius. Joseph Foster came in from Massa
chusetts about 1810, and settled at Fosterville,
where Wm. Mullin now lives. He died near
the old homestead about 1825. He has two
sons living, Orrin, in Montezuma, and Ira, in
Albion, Michigan.
John Moffitt, a Scotchman, started a brewery
just south of the present store-house prior to
18(3, in which year he sold to Loren Willard,
who enlarged it and kept it four or five years.
James Porter came in from Pennsylvania in 18 14,
and settled three-fourths ofa mile south of Cay
uga, where Cyrus H. Davis now lives. He re
moved to Ohio in 1839, and died there in 1862.
During the war of 18 12 an extensive business
was done at Cayuga, in connection with the com
missary department of the army. It involved a
large carrying trade, and the slaughter of an im
mense number of cattle. Cayuga never devel
oped so much business activity at any other
time. Israel Harris came in at an early day and kept
a tavern across the road north from the Titus
House, which was then (in 1812) the stage
house. He lived there some five or six years
and removed to Geneva, where he also kept a
tavern. Stephen Lombard came in from New
Hampshire in 1816, and settledat Aurelius, al
most directly op|)osilc lo where John Shoemaker
now lives, where he kept a blacksmith shop. He
subsequently moved nearer the corners, and died
there in March, 1862. Four of his children sur
vive him, viz : Lorenzo, who is living in Auburn;
Cyrus, in Wisconsin ; Anna A., now Mrs. Wm.
S. Goodrich ; and Louisa, now Mrs. Halsey W.
Taylor, at Aurelius.
Isaac and Jonathan Foster, brothers of Joseph
Foster, came from Massachusetts in 1817, and
settled, Jonathan where Elliott F. Tyler, and Isaac
where Ezra Crippen now lives. Isaac opened
the first store there in 18 19. He also kept an
ashery. He held the office of Justice of the
Peace eleven years. Jonathan opened the first
tavern there about 1828, in the house in which
Elliott F.Tyler, his son-in-law, lives. He moved
to Throopsville about 1848, and died there four or

I

^r

K

•^

Jeremiah Fitch.

Jeremiah Fitch was born in Hunterdon
County, New Jersey, October 2d, 1817, and re
moved with his parents to Cayuga County in
May, 1823, settling upon Lot 66, in the town of
Aurelius, where he now resides.
His father purchased the farm at that lime for
the price of twenty-three dollars per acre, and
here he resided until the time of his death, which
occurred September 24th, 1857, having survived
his estimable wife only one year.
Mr. Fitch thus came into possession of the
property in 1858, and since that time has greatly
improved and beautified the place.

In 1872, among many other improvements, he
built the large commodious barns which now
adorn his place, and which are said by competent
judges to be among the finest in the County.
Mr. Fitch was one of a family of four boys and
four girls, one of whom, Mary Catherine, who
was born April 3d, 1815, resides wilh him.
He has devoted himself to farming and to the
adornment of his tasteful and comfortable home,
and has been eminently successful in all the en
terprises he has undertaken, as may be seen from
the evidences of thrift and prosperity which sur
round his place.

CAYUGA VILLAGE.

35 1

five years ago. Isaac died on the old homestead
about 1838. Of his family, his widow Cynthia,
in her eighty-second year, and daughter Cynthia,
widow of Philemon R. Fairchild, are living on
the old homestead, and Celia, now Mrs. Lewis
Moore, in Michigan.
Uri Foot came from Vermont in 18 18, and
settled on the site ofthe Titus House, where he.
kept a tavern. Bradley Benedict, who moved
from Connecticut to Onondaga county in 1796,
came from the latter place in company wilh
Richard Vernam in 1819, and settled at Cayuga,
on lot 49. He died at Cayuga in 1853, aged
seventy-two years.
The town officers elected (1879) '^''^i
Supervisor — Elliott F. Tyler.
Tozvn Clerk — Robert R. Wcstovcr.
Justices of thc Peace — Halsey W. Taylor, (full
term,) Edwin H. Whitney, (vacancy, 3 years,)
John M. Freese, (vacancy, 2 years.)
Assessors — George B. Van Etten.
Commissioner of Ilighzvays — Hiram Titus,
Overseers of the Poor — Robert E. Lee, William
Lont. Inspectors of Election — \si District — Michael S.
Goss, James M, Mullen.
Inspectors of Election — 2d District — 'Komeyn R.
Candee, William Mersereau, Jr.
Collector — Charles H. Weslover,
Constables — George H. Steenbergh, David
Coapman, Jacob Knorr, Remain Fisher, Charles
H. Westover. Cayuga Village.
Cayuga is situated on a beautiful eminence,
which commands a magnificent and highly pic
turesque view of the waters and finely sloping
shores of the lake whose name it bears. It lies
two miles above the Outlet, at the junction ofthe
Auburn branch of the N. Y. C. R. R. and the
Cayuga Lake Shore R. R., the latter of which is
leased by the Lehigh Valley R. R. Co. It is at
the southern terminus of the Cayuga and Seneca
Lake Canal, which connects it with the Erie Ca
nal at Montezuma ; and is connected by a daily
line of steamers with Union Springs, six miles
distant, Aurora, twelve miles distant, and Ithaca,
at the head of the Lake, a trip which discloses
some most delightful scenery. Surrounded as it
is by a farming country of unusual fertility and
productiveness, and being thus so easily accessi
ble to valuable markets in all directions, it would

seem to possess very superior commercial advan
tages. It is one of the earliest settled villages in
the County, as will be seen by a glance at the
preceding pages, and from a very early period
possessed extraordinary mercantile and commer
cial advantages, from its location on the great
thoroughfare of travel and emigration from the
east to the west, and the seat of one of the most
magnificent local enterprises of its lime — the
Cayuga bridge. But the want of mill sites, of
which it is utterly destitute, has been a serious
hindrance to its growth ; and thus we find that
to day its business is practically confined to the
natural requirements of its immediate population.
A more delightful residence one could scarcely
desire. It was incorporated December 23d, 1857, and
reincorporated under the general law, February
i6th, 1874. The following named officers were
chosen at the first election held February 15th,
1858; F. H, Lyon, Wm. G. Wayne, John Mc
intosh, Henry Willard and Wm. Mersereau, Trus
tees ; Rauson Olds, Jno. Barrett and Rensselaer
Warrick, Assessors ; Samuel B. Porter, Collec
tor; David A. Kyle, Treas. ; and J. W. Shank,
Clerk. The present officers (1878) are, Jno. M.
Freese, President ; Frederick X. Youngs, Clerk;
A. A. Quigley, Treasurer ; and James A. Bailey,
Jonathan Warrick and Wm. Mersereau, Trus
tees and Assessors.
'Ifc. It contains four churches, (Presb,, Episc, M.
jB*", and Roman Catholic,) a union school, two
hotels, two general stores, three groceries,
one drug store, two blacksmith shops, (kept
by [Patrick Hoye and James Lawler,) one
wagon shop, (kept by John M. Freese, who is also
President of the village, justice of the peace and
police justice,) a malt-house, store-house, marl
manufactory, and about 500 inhabitants.
Merchants. — The first merchant was John
Harris, who opened a store in 1789 and kept it
till 1 8 14, His store stood on the lot next south
of the Presbyterian church, near the house now
occupied by James Sutfin. He sold his stock to
Elisha Hills, from Auburn, and removed to the
west side of the lake. Hills kept store about
ten years and sold out. Dr. Wm. Harrison
opened a store about 1806, and kept it some ten
years, when he returned to Whitestown, whence
he came. Daniel Mcintosh, a Scotchman, from
Albany county, opened a store about 1800, and

352

TOWN OF AURELIUS.

kept it till about 1836, when he sold to his son
John, who continued till about i860. Dean
Mumford opened a store about 1800 and
kept it some eight or ten years, when he removed
to Seneca Falls. Dr. DeMun kept a drug store
at a very early day, and was the first man to ex
periment with gypsum in Cayuga. He pulver
ized it in a mortar. Emory Willard opened a
store about i8i2-'i4, and kept it till his removal
to Auburn, about 1819. He was associated a
part ofthe time with Amos Oliver. In I799and
1800, Willard carried the mail from Cooperstown
to Aurora, on horseback, every alternate week,
receiving therefor ^2,50 per week. Loren Wil
lard kept a store a short time, about 18 16 or '17.
Erastus Partridge opened a store about 1821.
About 1840 he admitted E. H. Waldo to part
nership, and removed with his family to Seneca
Falls, where he engaged in the banking business,
retaining his interest in the business here till its
close in 1850. About 1847 Waldo sold his in
terest to Albert C. Cook, Partridge's son-in-law,
who continued till 1850. Samuel Fitch and
Jotham W. Shank bought out Partridge &Cook.
and kept store some three years. John L. De-
Camp opened a store in 1843 and failed in 1846
Dr. John A. Thompson opened a store aboul
1847 ^^^ I'ept it four or five years. He came in
from Springport and carried on general mer
chandising and dealt in plaster. Pomeroy &
Mersereau opened a store in 1848, and after
about two years Pomeroy sold out to Mersereau,
who continued the business alone two or three
years. The merchants at present doing business are
R. Castner, who commenced March I2lh, 1862 ;
Romeyn R. Candee, a native of the village, who
keeps a canal grocery, which he commenced in
1869; Frank E. L. Cummings, a native of thc
town, who commenced business in March, 1S73,
and in the spring of 1878 removed his stock of
drugs to a branch store and added dry goods to
his former slock; A. A. Quigley, from Union
Springs, who, in the spring of 1874, bought out
Isdac Freer, who did business here some thirty
years, and in the spring of 1875 started a branch
store, which is conducted in his name by his son,
Louis Quigley ; and R. Olds & Co., (J. R. Van
Sickle,) both of whom formerly resided in Cay
uga, and who commenced business in the spring
of 1875.

Postmasters. — The first postmaster was Reu
ben S. Morris, who was appointed during Jeffer
son's administration, and held the office three or
four years. He was succeeded by Thos. Mum
ford, who held the office till 1830, in which year
Loren Willard was appointed. He held it about
four years, and was succeeded by David S.
Titus. A. H. Higham held the office about four
months in 1841, and was succeeded by Edwin
H. Whitney, who held the office till 1850, when
Samuel Fitch was appointed and held it three
years. His successor was John Barrett, who was
appointed in July, 1853, and superseded in Sep
tember, 1855, by A. S. Cummings, who held the
office till July ist, i86r, when Lyman H. Carr
succeeded him. John H. Mcintosh succeeded
Carr, and held the office till March, 1873, when
Frank E. L. Cummings, the present incumbent,
was appointed.
Physicians. — The first physician was Wm.
Franklin, who came from Washington county in
the fall of 1797, and practiced till his death in
1804. The next was Jonathan Whitney, who
came in 1798, and practiced till his death, July
25th, 1851, with the exception of a few years
spent out of the town. Nathaniel Kellogg came
in about 1813, and practiced a few years. He
died at Mount Morris a good many years after.
Dr. Voght practiced here a few years, and re
moved about i8i6to New York. Noyes Palmer,
from Cazenovia, practiced a few years and made
a few removals in this vicinity, first to Seneca
Falls, and died in Springport about ten years ago.
Dr. Cox practiced here a short time and re
moved to Genesee county in 1837. John E.
Todd succeeded Palmer in 1836, and practiced
till 1841, when he returned lo Baldwinsville,
where he died. Wm. S. Hoffman, from Scipio,
succeeded Todd, and practiced from 1842 to
1844, when he removed to Port Byron. For
dyce Rhodes, from Onondaga county, came in
1842, and practiced a year and a half, when he re
turned to Onondaga county. He is now living
in Castleton, Ontario county.
Isaac Shaw came in from Machias, Cattaraugus
county, in 1844, and practiced till his death,
March ist, 1855. Andrew S. Cummings came
in from Naples, Ontario county, in 1843, and is
still practicing here. He is an allopath. Dr.
Seward came in from Schroeppel, Oswego coun
ty, in 1 841, and removed in 1842 to Liverpool,

CAYUGA VILLAGE — CHURCHES.

353-

Onondaga county, where he is now practicing.
Daniel Hutchins came in from Fayetteville, On
ondaga county, where he now lives, in 1856, and
remained two years. Wm. F. Tapling came in
from Geneva in 1865, and left in 1867, for Mich
igan. J. A. Lusk came in from Egypt, Monroe
county in 1872, and remained six months, when
he removed to Naples. Wm. H. Hartwell came
in the fall of 1875, and remained about six
months, when he returned to Geneva, whence he
came. He is now practicing in Des Moines,
Iowa. J. Alaman came in from Waterloo in
1876, and returned there, where he is now prac
ticing, the following spring. J. M. Dickson, a
botanic physician, came in from Ohio in the
spring of 1878, and is now practicing here.
Lawyers. — The first lawyer was Elijah Miller,
father-in-law of Governor Seward, who practiced
here till the court house was located at Auburn,
vyhen he removed there. Thomas Mumford
came in from Utica in 1795, and practiced till his
death about 1830. Reuben S. Morris came in
as early as 1800. Wm. Sisson studied with
Mumford, and practiced three or four years.
Garry V. Sackelt also studied with Mumford, and
in 1815, soon after his admission to the bar, re
moved to Seneca Falls. William W. McCay,
another of Mumford's students, was appointed
agent of the Holland Land Company about
1820, when he removed to Bath. L. W. Owen,
from Cortland county, practiced here three or
four years. Lucius C. Foot came in from
Vermont about 1820. He studied wilh Mum
ford and practiced till 1825. There has not
been any lawyer in Cayuga since the death of
Mumford. Manufactures. — The only manufactories in
Cayuga are the -malt-house and marl works. The
malting business is carried on by Kyle, Howell
& Co., (George A. Kyle, Thaddeus Howell,
George P. Schenck and Mrs. Albert Beardsley,)
who also own a ware-house. They commenced
business in 1S66, in which year their ware-house
was erected, the capacity of which is 35,000
bushels, and in which they handle 100,000 bush
els of grain per annum. Their malt-house,
which is a brick structure, 40 by 100 feet, was
erected in 1868, and has a capacity of 35,000
bushels. The marl works are operated by H.
Monroe & Co., of Syracuse, who commenced
the business in 1877. The marl is dug in Seneca
60-2

county and boated to Cayuga and New York,
where they also have a manufactory.
Hotels. — There are two gooci hotels. The
Titus House site has been occupied for hotel pur
poses nearly from the lime of the first settle
ments. The first tavern on this site was erected
by John Harris, the pioneer settler, prior to the
beginning of the present century. The property
came into the possession of the present proprie
tor, Mr. James A. Bailey, in 1872, in which year
he purchased of DeviJIe L. Dealhrick, tore down
the old building, and erected the present fine
structure, whose commodious verandas afford a
charming view of the lake. The R. R. Hotel
and Dining Room are kept by Captain F. H.
Lyon. The dining room, which is connected
wilh the depot, was erected by Roswell G. Ben
edict in 1846, and the hotel, which stands directly
opposite, by Bertine DePew, in 1825. In 1840
Benedict built an addition lo the hotel. In 1854
Mr. Lyon acquired possession of' both, and in
1858 he built another addition. In 1864 he sold
lo L. A. Pelton, who sold lo the Cayuga Lake
R. R. Co., by whom the property was transferred
to the Lehigh Valley R.R.Co. March 19th, 1878,
Mr. Lyon again took possession, leasing of the
latter company. From 1842 to 1854 Mr. Lyon
was engaged in steamboating on Cayuga Lake.
The Presbyterian Church of Cayuga. —
The Presbyterians were the first religious body
to cultivate this field in a spiritual sense. Those
of the early settlers who professed that faith
were for many years identified with the church of
Aurelius, which was organized in 1799, and is
perpetuated in the Presbyterian Church of Union
Springs, to the history of which town the reader
is referred. The first pastor of the church in
Aurehus was the Rev. David Higgins, who, as
early as 1801, was sent by the Missionary So
ciety of Connecticut on a four months' mission
to the new settlements in the State of New York,
and extended his tour lo the Genesee River. On
his return he preached among others, to the set
tlers in Aurelius, which then included all that
part of the county lying north of a line in pro
longation east and west of the south line of Flem
ing, and the same year he received and accepted
a call from that church, which had hitherto been
supplied by missionaries. In July, 1802, he re
moved with his 'family from Connecticut and es
tablished himself at Cayuga, and continued his

^54

TOWN OF AURELIUS.

ministrations in this broad field until iBii, when
he became pastor of the First Church in Au
burn, which was organized that year. To ac
commodate the widely scattered settlements,
services were held alternately at Hardenbergh's
Corners, (Auburn,) the Half Acre, (Aurelius,)
Cayuga and Grover's Settlement, in the town of
Fleming. Mr. Higgins served the church in
Auburn till 1813, when he removed to Bath,
Steuben county.
From 181 1 to 1819 this people were supplied
with monthly missionary preaching, and wor
shiped with the Aurelius society, who then occu
pied the old stone church, which stood opposite
the place now owned by Dr. Hamilton. Occa
sionally, however, services were held in the old
school-house in Cayuga, by Rev. Joshua Lane.
Revs. David Smith and Mr. Sullivan. Home
Missionaries from Connecticut, also labored here
during that period, the latter about one year.
The Presbyterian Church of Cayuga, was organ
ized May 3d, 18 19, in the school-house which
forms the rear part of Davis' Hall, a preliminary
meeting being held for that purpose at the same
place April 26th, 18 19. The members consti
tuting the society were John Fitch, Gershom B.
Gillett, Loring Willard, Jeremiah Hallock, Beza
leel Shaw, Jr., Abbey P. Allen, Percy Shaw,
Temperance Beman, Susan Annin, Meliscent
Foot, Roxy Ann Foot, Parthenia M. Foot,
Philomela Perry, Polly Savage and Tabitha Mc
intosh, members ofthe church of Aurelius. Lor
ing Willard, Jonathan Whitney, Uri Foot, Dan
iel Mcintosh, Solomon Dewey and Jeremiah Hal
lock were elected trustees. The meeting at
which the organization was effected was attended
by Revs. Joshua Lane of the Presbytery of Cay
uga, and Wm. Bacon ofthe Presbytery of Geneva.
On the 20th of June following, twelve more were
received by letter from the Church of Aure
lius, and Thomas Mumford, Jeremiah Hallock,
Elias Thompson and Gershom B. Gillett were
elected ruling elders, and Elias Thompson was
chosen deacon.
„0n the 29th of the same month this church
united with that at Seneca Falls in settling as
their pastor Rev. Wm. Bacon, who .served them
as such until February 6th, 1821. During his
pastorate nine were added to the membership on
profession, and nineteen by letter. In July of
the latter year this church was trartsferred from

the Geneva to the Cayuga Presbytery, under
whose care it has since remained.
July 23d, 1821, a call was extended to Mr.
Pomeroy, who was to officiate half the time in the
Aurelius church. He was installed August Sth,
1 82 1, Under his labors a meeting house, a
small, plain, wooden structure, 35 by 50 feet, with
out steeple, was built, and dedicated February
26th, 1823. The completion of the house left
the Society in debt something more than ;^ 1,000.
As soon as the Church was completed Mr. '
Pomeroy was released from the Aurelius Church,
and till January, 1833, ministered to this alone.
During his pastorate 128 were added on profes
sion and 50 by letter. Rev. Octavius Fitch,
supplied the pulpit in 1833, and sixty-three were
added to the Church that year. November 24th,
1833, Luther Cook and Sebastian Chatham,
having been duly elected, were ordained ruling
elders, and Daniel Cook, deacon.
Rev. Henry .Snyder succeeded Mr. Fitch in
April, 1834, and remained one year, during which
twenty were added to the Church. He was fol
lowed by Rev. Erastus H. Adams, who labored
from June, 1835 to February, 1836. October
lolh, 1835, Isaac Chamberlain, Daniel Cook,
Halsey Bidwell, Watson Whittlesey, Luke Mon
tague, Henry Willard and Henry Powis were
elected elders, and were ordained the following
Sabbath, (October 17th,) with the exception of
Bidwell and Whittlesey, who, not having accept
ed the office, were not ordained until the follow
ing January.
For a short lime after Mr. Adams left, thc pul
pit was supplied, principally by John Clark, an
aged clergyman, and partly by students from the
Theological Seminary at Auburn. Among the
latter was T. R. Townsend, who began his work
wilh this Church July 9th, 1837, and on the 7th
of the following month was invited to become
their pastor ; but, not having completed his sem
inary course, he was not installed until 1838. He
remained till July, 1840. During his pastorale
42 were added, nearly all on profession.
Soon after Mr. Townsend's dismissal, Mr.
Pomeroy returned as stated supply, which re
lation he retained until 1852. During his sec
ond ministry, eighty-four were added to the
church. " At this time three additional elders
¦were elected, Abram Staats, Edwin Arnold, and
Oliver Bidwell, who were ordained April 20th,

CAYUGA VILLAGE— CHURCHES.

355

1850." Between 1852 and 1854, the pulpit was
supplied by students from the Auburn Seminary,
among whom were Messrs. Lacy, Hamilton, Mc
Dougal and Parsons. In July, 1854, Rev.
Timothy M. Hopkins was engaged as stated
supply, which relation he sustained until i860.
To his labors here must be credited the organi
zation of the Sabbath School in the North Dis
trict and the repairing and enlarging of the
house of worship, at an expense of i?3,ooo,
all of which was paid when the work was com
pleted. It was at this lime that the bell was
hung which still calls to worship. Mr. Hopkins
was largely assisted by the devoted and efficient
aid of his wife. His successor was Rev. F. W.
Roberts, whose labors, commenced in May, i860,
were suddenly cut short in September of that
year. He had gone lo Waverly, N, Y., to ex
change with a class-mate. Rev. David Johnson.
He was struck by a train while crossing the
railroad track, so absorbed in thought as not to
notice its approach, and so severely injured that
he died wilhin a few hours.
Mr. Roberts was followed by Rev. H. H.
Allen, who labored as stated supply from May,
1861, to November, i86g, during which time the
church was repaired and cushioned, the organ at
present in use purchased, and thc parsonage
bought, though thc latlcr was not entirely paid
for until 1870. A revival was enjoyed toward
the last of his ministry, in which Mr. Allen was
instrumental iri adding ninety to the member
ship. From November, 1869, to May 22d, 1870, the
pulpit was supplied partly by exchanges with
other pastors and by students from the seminary.
The present pastor, Rev. G. P. Sewall, who had
previously ministered to the church, commenced
his labors with it as stated supply the latter date,
and was installed pastor December 28th, 1870.
Four young men from this church have en
tered the ministry, U. T. and Ebenezer Cham
berlain, (who studied at Lane Seminary until the
anti-slavery excitement arrested their course,) in
1834; Andrew Harris, (colored,) (who graduated
at Middlebury College, preached in Philadelphia,
where he died in 1836, the church in which he
preached having been afterwards burned by a
pro-slavery mob ;) and E. P. Willard, who grad
uated from Auburn Seminary in 1862, and is now
preaching in Erie, Michigan.

Two missionaries to foreign lands have also
gone from the society. Miss Frances A. Wil
lard, (Mrs. A. C. Hall,) was sent in 1834 with
her husband to Ceylon ; her life in that field
was. however, short, as in less than one year after
her arrival, viz : in January, 1836, she laid down
her life.
In 1845, Miss Nancy A. Foot (Mrs. Webb)
was sent to the same field, where she and
her husband labored several years ; but their
health failing, they returned to this country and
are both living near Philadelphia. ,
April 8th, 1874, a "Ladies' Missionary So
ciety " was formed. It now numbers forty mem
bers and makes regular offerings to the treasury
of the parent society in New York. The first
contribution, so far as known, sent from this sec
tion for foreign missions, was given in 1 813, by
the " Ladies' Charitable Society " of the First
Presbyterian Church of Auburn.
Sunday, January 3d, 1875, James Jenny, James
H. Baldwin and Samuel C. Van Sickle, were or
dained elders, and C. W. Travis and Alberlus
Badgley, deacons.*
This church has, from the first, been self-sus
taining, and although never rich, it has contribu
ted freely and regularly to spread the gospel at
home and abroad. The present membership is
160 ; and the average attendance at Sabbath
School, (three different schools,) about 100.
St. Luke's Church (Episcopal,) was organized
July 5th, 1871, by James A. Brown, the first pas
tor, who remained till 1873. The pulpit was sup
plied till June 2 1 St, 1874, when W. S. Hay ward
entered upon his labors as pastor. He resigned
May 1st, 1876. The pulpit was again supplied
till March, 1877, when William H. Casey, the
present pastor, entered upon the duties of his
office. He is also in charge of the church at
Aurora, where he lives, and preaches here every
alternate Sabbath, lay services being held the in
tervening Sabbaths. Their church edifice was
built in 1871, at a cost of ^5,500. It was con
secrated June 27th, 1873. The present member
ship consists of twenty families.
Prior to the organization of this society Epis
copal services were held by rectors resident in
Seneca Falls, Auburn and neighboring places,
and a regular service every other week was insti-
* Compiled from a History of the Church prepared by the pastor.
Rev, G. P. Sewall, and delivered July gth, 1876.

356

TOWN OF AURELIUS.

tuted and continued for a year or more in con
nection with Montezuma. The clergymen who
were the first in this field were Amos G. Bald
win, Charles G. Acly, Rufus Murray, Benjamin
W. Whichers, Malcolm Douglas and Walter
Ayrault, in about the order named. Their work
was followed up by visitations of Rt. Rev. Wil
liam Heathcote De Lancey, D. D., LL. D.,
Bishop of Western New York, resident at Ge
neva. From i860 to 1866, the church mission
work in Cayuga was directly under the super
vision of Rev. John M. Guion, Rector of Trinity
Church, Seneca Falls. In the autumn of 1866
a joint mission was instituted between Cayuga
and Union Springs, in response to the appeal of
Rt. Rev. Arthur Cleveland Coxe, D. D., Bishop
of Western New York, by the communicants
resident in the two places. Rev. W. W. Ray
mond, ordained a deacon September 23d, 1866,
was placed in the field as missionary in charge,
and entered upon his duties Sunday, October
14th, 1866. Regular services were held every
Sunday thereafter, at Cayuga, in the morning
and Union Springs in the evening, till January
31st, 1869, when Mr. Raymond was transferred
by Bishop Coxe to Rochester. The first Sun
day School was organized November 4th, 1866,
with six teachers and twenty-four scholars, and
has since continued without interruption. The
average attendance thereat is twenty-five. The
holy communion was first publicly celebrated in
Cayuga December i6th, 1866. The first convo-
cational service was held May 6th, 1868, Cayuga
being in the Onondaga convocation. After the
departure of Mr. Raymond, regular services were
suspended for a time.
The First M. E. Church of Cayuga was or
ganized about 1830, by Rev. Mr, Moore, a local
preacher, who filled the pulpit about a year. They
had no stated supply till about 1838, when Ross
Clark became the first pastor, and remained two
years. The present pastor is Wm. Reynolds,
who commenced his labors with them in the fall
of 1875. In 1845 they bought the village school-
house, erected in 1804, and rebuilt it to adapt it
to their use, nothing but the frame being used.
It is now owned by Cyrus H. Davis, and is used
as a public hall. Their present house, which is
a fine brick structure, was built in 1868, at a
cost of ^9,000, during the pastorate of I. Har
ris. Their parsonage was built about 1870, at a

cost of ^3,000, including land. The present
membership is about 100.
St. Joseph's Church, (R. C.,) was organized
in 1853, by Rev. John Touhey, the first pastor,
with some ninety members. Touhey remained
eight years, and was succeeded by Bernard Mc-
Cool, who remained a like period, when Eugene
Pagani became their pastor and served them six
years. Their next pastor was the present one,
Thomas Hendricks, of Springport, who has
served them three years. Their house of wor
ship, a neat wooden structure, was built in 1870,
at a cost of ;^2,200. The present membership
is 175. Occasional meetings were held previous
to the organization of the Society.
Societies. — Salem Tozvn Lodge No. 326, F.
&¦ A. M., was instituted September i6th, 1853.
The first officers were : John Morse, W. M. ;
John Barrett, 5. W. ; and Samuel Townsend,
J. W. The present officers are : D. S. Titus,
Jr., W. M. ; John H. Mcintosh, 5. W. ; Clar
ence Shank, J. W. ; John M. P>eese, 5. D. ;
Hiram Titus, J. D. ; James A. Bailey, Secretary;
Wallace Shank, Treasurer; Jacob Knorr, Tiler;
John Hungerford, 5. M. D. ; Wm. Dumont, J.
M. C. They meet every second and fourth Sat
urday in each month. Present membership,
forty-two. Fosterville.
Fosterville, named from the Fosters, who
were early settlers there, is situated near the
north fine, and contains a Methodist Episcopal
church, a district school, a store, a blacksmith
shop, kept by E. R. Crippen, a paint shop, kept
by W. R. Fisher, and about seventy-five in
habitants. Merchants. — The first merchant at Foster
ville was Isaac Foster, who opened a store in
1819, which he kept to within three years of his
death, about 1838. Lorenzo and Albert Lom
bard opened a store soon after Foster's was
closed, but they kept it only a short time. Orin
Foster kept a store some four years and closed it
in i860. D. R. Forest opened a store in 1868.
In 1870, he was associated as partner with Joseph
M. Watson. They sold after a year to J. M.
Cole, who did business two years, and sold to H.
A. Chamberlain, who sold to the present pro
prietor, I. T. Farmer, in October, 1876.
Postmasters. — The first postmaster was Isaac
Foster, who kept the office till his death, about

FOSTERVILLE — AURELIUS.

357

1838. He vvas succeeded by Jonathan Foster,
his brother, who held the office till his removal
to Throop, about 1848, when his son, Jonathan,
succeeded to the office and held it about three
years, when he also removed to Throop. Edgar
Saunders was the next postmaster. He kept the
office but a short time, and was succeeded in
1855 by Abner Saunders, who held it till his
death. Myron Doty, the present incumbent, was
appointed in 1865.
Physicians. — The first physician was Isaac
Paddock, who came from Mentz in 1830, and
practiced one year. A. Hamilton Cox came in
soon after and remained one or two years.
Josiah Griggs, from Montezuma, came in shortly
after Cox left and practiced about four years,
Nathan Abbott, from Mentz, came in soon after
Griggs left and practiced two years. Lucian
Hammond came in 1854 and practiced about six
years. Alanson White, the present physician,
is an allopathist, and came in from Seneca Falls,
November ist, 1874.
The Fosterville M. E. Church was organ
ized in September, 1855, ^s a union church, by
the Methodists and Presbyterians in that vicinity.
Revs. Boyington and Hamilton were the officia
ting clergymen, and the first pastors, the former
preaching the dedicatory sermon. Boyington
served the Presbyterians three years. For the
next two years the pulpit was supplied by
students from Auburn Theological Seminary.
After that the Presbyterians held no distinctive
services. Services were held up to this time by
the Presbyterians in the afternoon and the Meth
odists in the evening. Hamilton ministered lo
the Methodists two years, and had charge at the
same time of the churches in Mentz and Monte
zuma. He was succeeded by Revs. Davis,
James E. Ensign, Bowen, Eldridge, Guire, I.
Harris, Wm. B. Curtis, Elias Hoxie, and Wm.
Adams, now dead, each of whom served a two
years' pastorate, except Eldridge and Adams,
each of whom served but one year. G, W.
Reynolds, the present pastor, commenced his
labors with this church in the fall of 1875. Their
house of worship was erected in 1855, and is
still owned jointly by the Methodists and Presby
terians. The Methodists number about forty,
which is the attendance at Sabbath school.
Aurelius.
Aurelius, locally known as the Half Acre, is a

four corners, whose early prominence, when it had
three hotels, has been overshadowed by the in
troduction of modern modes of conveyance. It
had not a very enviable reputation for morality,
as may be implied from the suppressed, but readi
ly inferred prefix to its local cognomen, which, it
is but justice to add, is now a misnomer. It is
situated a little south-east of the center, two miles
east of Aurelius station, and three miles west of
Auburn. It contains a church, not now used as
such, formerly occupied by a Presbyterian society
which is disbanded, a district school, one hotel,
owned and kept about twenty years by Mrs, Bet
sey Westover, a blacksmith and wagon shop,
kept by Michael Murray, and a population of
thirty-three. The present hotel was built by
Henry Ramsay, The first hotel was kept by a
man named Brockway, where Robert R. West-
over now lives.
Merchants. — The first merchant was Solo
mon Dewey, who opened a store in 1810, and
kept it some two or three years. It stood on the
line between the properly of John H. Baker and
that of jVIrs. Betsey Westover. The second and
last merchant was Stephen Lombard, who opened
a store in 1834, and kept it till 1837.
PoSTMASTEiis. — The first postmaster was Emo
ry Ramsay, who was appointed about 1820, and
held the office till his death, about 1832. He was
succeeded by Samuel Taylor, who held the office
till 1836, when Stephen Lombard was appointed
and held it eight years. He was succeeded by
Cornelius Feak, who held it till 1856, when he
removed from the town. James C. Reed was his
successor. He held it four years, when Halsey
W. Taylor, the present incumbent, was ap
pointed. Physicians. — The first physician was Wm. C.
Bennett, who came in as early as 1799, and prac
ticed till his death, about 1841 or '42. Dr. Ran
dall came in about 18 18, but remained but a
short time. He was followed by Drs. Ellis and
Bennett, in the order named, neither of whom re
mained but a few years. The latter was called
youngDr. Bennett, todistinguishhim from the one
first named. Dr. Morris came in about 1833 and
practiced three or four years. Dr, Pomeroy came
in soon after Morris left and remained a year or
two. Alpheus Matson came in from the eastern
part ofthe State in 1836 and practiced about two
years. H. Shank came from Springport about

358

TOWN OF SPRINGPORT.

1842, and practiced about a year. Stephen G.
Lombard, a native of the town, commenced prac
tice about 1844, and continued two years. Samu
el Gilmore, who is now practicing in Fleming,
came here from Auburn, (to which place he re
moved from Fleming, where he had formerly
practiced, in 1848,) and took up a farm, which he
managed, in connection with his professional du
ties, till 1865. Artemas B. Clapp, from Otisco,
commenced practice April ist, 1867, and con
tinued till 1874, He was the last physician.
Aurelius Station is situated about midway
between Auburn and Cayuga on the N. Y. C.
R. R. There is a post-office there.

CHAPTER XLII.

Town of Springport.

SPRINGPORT was formed from Scipio and
Aurelius January 30th, 1823, and derives its
name from its numerous and copious springs and
its lake ports. It lies upon the west border of the
County, south of the center, upon the east shore
of Cayuga Lake, which forms its west boundary.
It is bounded on the north by Aurelius, on the
east by Fleming and Scipio, and on the south by
Ledyard. The surface rises in gradual slopes
from the Lake to the eastern border, where it
attains an elevation of 400 to 500 feet.
Its minerals are extensive and valuable, and
play an important part in its industrial devel
opment. They consist principally of limestone
and gypsum, the latter being by far the most
abundant and important. Both blue and gray lime
stone are found, the latter overlying the former,
principally in the south part of the town, near
IIamburg,on thelake shore,(which was built up by
the early development of the limestone interests,)
and on the farm of Robert B. Howland, on which
also is a mass of sandstone, covering about an
acre. Upon the farm of Philip Yawger also is
another detached mass of sandstone. The lime
stone strata vary from two inches to two feet in
thickness, thus affording a convenient variety for
practical uses. The quarries at present most
extensively worked, lie upon the shore ofthe lake,
about three-fourths of a mile south of the village

of Union Springs. The stone is used extensive
ly for canal and railroad purposes.
The gypsum lies principally along the lake
shore, to the north of Union Springs, though it
exists in the interior, near the center of the north
line, where it presents slightly more of the ter
minal associates of the group. The masses are
incomparably larger and of better quality than
those to the north and east. They have all been
denuded, for they are surrounded and covered to
the depth of nine to twelve feet, by the most
modern ofthe upper alluvium of the Chittenango
group. They present none of their terminal as
sociates, if we except a portion of the mass in
which they" are enveloped, whose layers cover
portions of the gypsum. This is blackish in color,
earthy in aspect, often variegated like the gyp
sum, contains sometimes lamellae gypsum, and,
though more rarely, a little pure sulphur. It has
the appearance of an impure gypsum, and is con
sidered by the quarrymen to be an incipient plas
ter, requiring time only to make it perfect. The
gypseous masses are all in a low position, some
of them several feet below the surface of the lake.
They show a thickness of fifteen to thirty feet.
Beautiful specimens o{ selenite arc abundant, and
yield, by analysis, 99.20 per cent, of [Hire gyp
sum. The gypseous stone effervesces feebly
with acids and presents the following constitu
ents :*
Sulphate of lime, bi-hydrate, (pure gypsum) 80,78
Carbonate of lime  1.76
Carbonate of magnesia  ',_ 3.03
Phosphate of lime  .43
Sand   3.32
Organic matter, (azotic)  .18
Chlorine, potash and clay  10.50
The original deposit covers an area ofa square
mile on the east shore of the lake, a mile north
of Union Springs, and first developed a com
mercial im])orlance during the war of 1812, when
the Nova Scotia plaster was excluded from the
markets of this country. The annual product
of the Springport quarries, which is regulated
by the demand, is from 20,000 to 40,000 tons.
The numerous springs in the town possess fea
tures of interest lo the geologist. The most
important of these arc the two in the village of
Union Springs, which are about ten rods apart,
and discharge their waters into ponds covering
*From an analysis of J, A, Barral, agricultural chemist of P^
France,

GEOLOGICAL FORMATION.

359

respectively five and three acres, thus furnishing
a valuable water power. The rise of water in
thc larger one has been observed to vary from
three-fourths to two and one-fourth inches per
hour. These springs, from their copiousness and re
markable situation, have given rise to various
theories respecting their source. " While some,"
says Edward A. Thomas, " have surmised that
they came from Owasco Lake, which is several
hundred feet higher than Cayuga, others have
assigned their origin to still stranger causes.
Skillful geologists assert that the formation of
rocks is such as to render it utterly impossible for
a stream to pass underground from Owasco to
Cayuga Lake. But from several places, from
two to four miles east of Cayuga Lake, and
about forty-five feet underground, large streams
have been discovered, which were running from
east to west." To the east of the principal
plaster quarries are sinks, some of them covering
an acre in area, and some apparently very old.
The surface of some of them has been, observed
to subside several feet within a period of twenty-
five years, while others have originated within
twenty years. The original field notes of the
survey of the Cayuga Reservation, state that a
stream in the locality, but to the east of these
sinks, disappeared in thc rocks. No stream ex
ists in the locality at present, but the presence of
water-worn limestone rocks indicate its previous
existence. The disappearance of this stream is
made to account theoretically for these surface
depressions, by the wearing away of salt rock
underlying the plaster f9rmation. Saline, sul
phur and chalybeate springs also exist. There
is a salt spring on the old Hope place, in Union
Springs. Three or four wells have been sunk
and a good brine obtained, but not of sufficient
strength to compete with the salines at Syracuse.
On the place of Alex. Howland, a little south of
the salt spring, is an unfailing sulphur spring of
considerable strength, the water of which has
been used quite extensively for its supposed cura
tive properties. A little south of the railroad
depot in Union Springs is another sulphur spring
of great strength. All the water come in con
tact with in the plaster quarries is strongly im
pregnated with sulphur, and many wells sunk in
the village have been abandoned in consequence
of the presence of sulphur and brine. Usually,
61-2

however, no difficulty is experienced in obtaining
water free from these elements from the shore,
though all the water is strongly charged with
lime. In the basement of Spencer's foundry is
a chalybeate spring of considerable strength.
Upon the lake, between Yawger's Point and the
main land, is a marsh covering some five acres,
covered with a growth of hibiscus, {H. Mos-
cheutos) whose large reddish blossoms present a
gorgeous sight from midsummer to early fall.
Though not confined to, it is often very abund
ant in brackish marshes and the vicinity of salt
springs, and its presence there may be consider
ed an indication of saline properties in that lo
cality. The soil of this town is a superior quality of
sandy and gravelly loam, intermixed in places
with clay, and this and the climate, whose severi
ty in winter is modified by the warmth imparted
by the waters of the lake, which rarely freezes,
admirably adapt it to fruit culture, to which con
siderable attention is paid.
The Cayuga Lake Shore Railroad extends
through the town, along the shore of the lake,
and this, together with its facilities for lake trans
portation, render it easily accessible, and open
up ready markets for its manufactures and farm
products. The area of the lown in 1875, was 13,107
acres; of which 11,885 were improved, and
1,222 woodland. Its population was 2,179; of
whom 1,908 were native; 271 foreign; 2,160
white ; and 19 colored.
This town lies wholly within the reservation
made by the Cayugas in 1789, when they ceded
to the State their lands within its limits ; and on
lot 85, about one and one-half miles north of
Union Springs, is the site of their principal vil
lage, variously named in the different dialects of
the Iroquois, Goi-o-gouen, On-ne-io-te, and Gwa-
u-gwah, from the original Huron word Oyngoua,
signifying tobacco, and the seat of the mission
of St. Joseph, established by Father Etienne
de Carheil, a French Jesuit, November 6th, 1668.
" The mural remains in the vicinity indicate,"
says John S. Clark, " that the village extended
a mile back from the lake, and as far north as
the stream north of the Richardson house ; the
relics indicating the most ancient residences are
found on both sides of the railroad south of the
Backus plaster mill, where there was an exten-

36o

TOWN OF SPRINGPORT.

sive burial place, and where stone and bone im
plements abound in connection with articles of
European origin. Their totem was a calumet or
great tobacco pipe, and their chief sachem bore
the hereditary title of Sanuu-aweau-tozva.
Father Rafeix, who occupied this mission one
year during thc absence of Father de Carheil,
thus describes this locality in his Relation of
June 24th, 1672^. Goi-o-gouen is the most beau
tiful country I have ever seen in America. It is
situated in latitude 42 1-2 degrees, and the nee
dle scarcely dips more than ten degrees. It lies
between two lakes, and is no more than four
leagues wide, with almost continual plains, bor
dered by fine forests. * * * More than a
thousand deer are annually killed in the neigh
borhood of Goi-o-goMen. Fishing, as well the
salmon as the eel, and other fisheries are as
abundant as at Onondaga."
Here their councils were held, and here was
the residence of the chief of the nation. Here,
also, says Clark, " we find a tract containing sev
eral acres, known as the Indian burying ground,"
in the vicinity of which have been found " the
usual implements and weapons of stone, beads
evidently one in use as a rosary, by some convert
to the teachings of these Jesuit Fathers. A well
preserved skull, with an iron tomahawk and rusty
musket, were found in the same grave." " Every
foot turned up by the plow revealed fragments of
skulls, and the soil was literally black and fat
with the dust of the mouldering dead. On dig
ging a few inches below, where the soil had been
undisturbed by the plow, a perfect net-work was
found of almost perfect skeletons. Tens of thou
sands of those sons of the dark forest had here
been buried. Abundant evidence appears that a
large town once existed here and long continued
use of those grounds for burial purposes.
" On an adjoining eminence their council fires
had glared for centuries on brave warriors and
wise counselors. Here had been their seat of
authority and these hills had reechoed with the
eloquence of their orators. Here untold genera
tions had lived, died and were buried. Here lived
a feeble remnant of the race when Sullivan, un
der the stern necessities of war, gave their orch
ards to the ax, their homes and castles to the
devouring torch, and their sacred burial places to
desecration." The first settlement by the whites was made

soon after the extinction of the Indian title, Feb.
23d, 1789, and many, unfortunately, who were
attracted to the springs and to localities in this
town adjacent to them, suffered ejectment, on
complaint of the Indians, by the State authorities.
In consequence of its reservation by the Indians
this lown was not as numerously settled at as
early a day, as other localities in the County.
The earliest settlement of which we have authen
tic record was made in 1790, by Frederick Gear-
hart and Thomas Thompson, and possibly by
Edward Richardson, who, about that time,
dammed up the north spring and became the first
proprietor of the mill property thereon. Gear-
hart, who was a blacksmith, came from Pennsyl
vania, and settled two and one-half miles east of
Union Springs, where Thomas Alverson now
lives. He died here at a very early day, previous
to 1805. Thompson's home was the Juniata, in
Western Pennsylvania. He came in October,
1790, and settled a little south of Union Springs.
He soon after bought a soldier's claim in Scipio,
to which the title proved defective, and he sub
sequently removed to the north-west corner of
this town, to the farm now owned by Clinton T.
Backus, where he died. Four sons and five
daughters came with him, viz : John, Alexander,
James, Maxwell, Elizabeth, afterwards wife of
William Richardson, Sarah, afterwards wife of
Samuel Richardson, Mary, afterwards wife of
Jesse Davis, Nancy, afterwards wife of George
McFariand, and Isabella, who died at the age of
fourteen. They came with their household goods
across the mountains on horseback, and drove
their sheep, hogs and cows, the journey occupy
ing some two weeks. Thompson's sons and
daughters all settled in that locality on adjoining
farms. William Richardson came in from Chester Co.,
Pa., in 1791, and settled on the shore of the lake,
two miles north of Union Springs. He after
wards removed to Levanna, and died there in
1823, aged ninety-two years. There he took up
a tract of four hundred acres, a portion of which
was cleared, fenced and sown to wheat the first
year, under the direction of his son John, assisted
by his brother Samuel, the crop of which yielded
forty bushels to the acre. He was tall, well pro
portioned, and possessed high social and intellec
tual qualities, while he was passionately fond of
sports, such as the chase, fishing, fowling, &c.

EARLY SETTLEMENTS.

361

At this time, (1791,) there were some 600 In
dians living on their reservation, who rapidly re
moved, however, after the sale of their reserva
tion in 1794, except a part called " their residence
reservation," a tract some two miles square, lying
on the lake, a little south of Union Springs, and
another tract, one mile square, lying three or four
miles north-east of that village, to which their
title was not relinquished till 1799. Among the
last remaining in thc County, were a body of
about thirty Tuscaroras, who occupied the
tongue of land running out into the lake, about
a mile and a half south of Union Springs. Of
this little band Steel Trap, whose Indian name
was Kanistagia, was king, and Esther, queen.
Both were kind and neighborly, and Steel Trap
was a fine fellow, worthy of his name. Pie was
poisoned by a villain who lived near him ; and
soon after this the queen and her little band re
moved west.
In the year 1794, James Crane came in
from New Jersey, on foot, and settled two miles
northeast of Union Springs, on the farm occu
pied mainly by Horace Schenck, where he died
November 8th, 1823. His family consisted of
his wife, Abigail, and one son, Henry, who did
not come to the new settlement till January 7th,
1804. Crane spent the winters with his family
in New Jersey till then, making the journeys on
foot. Henry came in with his mother, wife,
Mary, and one child, the latter of whom, Joseph
H. Crane, is now living in Union Springs, aged
seventy-seven. They came wilh an ox team,
the journey occupying seventeen days. Henry
settled on his father's farm, and died there Jan
uary 19th, 1844.
Jesse Davis, a young man, came in from Ches
ter county, Pa., in 1799, and built a grist-mill
that year on Yawger's. Creek, about a half mile
above the grist and plaster-mill of Lafayette
Yawger. It was a log mill, with one run of
stones. The bed stone was obtained from the
Big Gully, and is now in use in L. Yawger's
plaster-mill. He brought the irons for the mill
from Philadelphia, and the millwrights from
Chester county. Pa. After about three years he
removed to another farm, and about 1805, to the
farm now occupied by his son-in-law, Aaron
Mersereau, where he and his wife died, the form
er in March, 1842, and the latter in December,
1840. George McFariand, a young man, who

afterwards married a daughter of Thomas Thomp
son, came in with Jesse Davis. He was a mill
wright and was engaged in building the mill.
He took up land two and one-half miles north of
Union Springs, which is now included in the
Backus farm, and died there in 1830.
Settlements were made in 1800 by James
Carr, from Johnstown, Wm. S. Burling, from
New York City, Dr. John Mosher, from White
Creek, Washington county, John Earl, from New
port, R. I. ; and about that time by James Barker,
from Hoosick, Rensselaer county, and Gilbert
Weed, from Saratoga county. Carr settled one
and one-half miles south of Union Springs, on
the farm now owned by John Deshong, where he
died May Sth, 1839, ag^^ seventy-four. He
served as a soldier during the French and Indian,
and Revolutionary wars. Only one of his chil
dren is living, viz : Deborah, widow of Eri Ben
nett, at Cayuga. Hartman Carr, son of James
Carr, who was born in Johnstown the year pre
vious to his father's settlement here, and lived in
close proximity to the old homestead, died here
September 23d, 1S76. His wife survives him,
aged seventy-five. Burling was a Quaker preach
er. He settled in Union Springs, on the corner
of Cayuga and Chapel streets. After some ten
or fifteen years, he removed to Canandaigua.
Mosher settled at Union Springs, where be was
the first postmaster. He married here a daugh
ter of Joel Coe, and removed about 1840 to
Michigan. Earl was a brother-in-law of Bur-
ling's, and bought, in company with him, the
mill property at the north spring. He removed
some fifteen years after to New York.
James Barker, son of William, was interested
wilh Mcs.srs. Ikirling and Earl in thc mill proper
ty, which then included both springs, the south
.spring not having been used for hydraulic pur
poses for several years after the other. They
subsequently separated ; Burling & Earl retaining
the north spring property, and Mr. Barker, the
south, or smaller spring, where he built a fulling-
mill. He sold in 18 16 to Philip Winegar, and
took up a farm one and one-half miles south of
Union Springs. He removed to Canada a short
time after. Mr. Weed came in company with
his sons, Lansing, Gilbert, James, John D. and
Alexander, all of whom settled in Springport, ex
cept Alexander, who settled near Fitch's Cor
ners, in Scipio. The elder Gilbert died in the

362

TOWN OF SPRINGPORT.

town. Lansing moved out of the town in 1805.
Gilbert and John D. moved to Canadice, and died
there. James moved out of the town about
1816 or'17.
John Nutt came in from Vermont soon after
1800, and settled two miles east of Union Springs,
where his son, Harvey H., now lives, and where
he died.
Philip Yawger came in from New Jersey with
ten children, six sons and four daughters, in iSoi,
and settled one mile north of Union Springs,
where his grandson John C. Yawger now lives.
He came by means of Jersey wagons. He died on
the homestead September 3d, 1830, aged 77.
None of his children are living. One son, Peter,
was Member of Assembly in 1827 and 1831. A
small stream in the north part of the town per
petuates his name. Numerous grand-children
are living in the County; among whom are Philip
O., a merchant in Union Springs, and Lafayette,
proprietor of a grist and plaster-mill on Yawger
Creek, which was built about twenty-six years
ago, and in which 500 to 600 tons of plaster
are ground per year. Peter took up 260 acres,
which are now owned by John O. and Henry,
sons of Henry Yawger, and grandsons of Philip.
Philip took up a section on the site of Owego,
where he stopped one season ; but disliking the
location he came on to Springport. His grand
son, Philip O. Yawger, says the Indians destroy
ed his first year's crops, which was the cause of
much suffering. Upon Philip's farm was dis
covered the first plaster bed in Springport, about
1809. A portion of the plaster rock was brought
to the surface by the plow, and having been pay
ing a high price for Nova Scotia plaster, the hope
of finding here a cheaper substitute for that ar
ticle led him to give it a trial upon a fall crop.
The rock was pulverized by means of pounding,
and the result was so satisfactory as to lead to
further investigation, and the discovery of the
plaster bed as before stated. The embargo of
18 12, which excluded Nova Scotia plaster, favor
ed the rapid development of Cayuga plaster.
Humphrey Hunt came in from Orange county,
Vt., in 1805, and settled one mile south of Union
Springs, where Peter B. Wood now lives. He
was a Revolutionary soldier, serving the whole
seven years, first, on account of his youthfulness,
as captain's waiter. He accompanied Sullivan's
expedition against the Iroquois in 1779, and was

one of the party detached to destroy the villages
of the Cayugas on the east shore of Cayuga
Lake. He was twice wounded, once in the hand
and again in the hip. In 182S, he removed to
Mt. Morris, Livingston county, and died there a
little over a year after.
Ichabod Clark came in about 1805 or '7, and
settled about three miles east of Union Springs.
His wife was a daughter of Gilbert Weed.
Amos Howland came in from Galway, Saratoga
county, about 1S06, and settled on Big Gully
Creek, two and one-half miles south-east of Union
Springs, where he started a woolen-mill, in com
pany with a man named Allen, which he conduct
ed two or three years. He afterwards found em
ployment in the woolen-mill erected by Philip
Winegar, at the south spring. He resided here
till his death, July iSth, 1850.
Thomas Collins, the first inn-keeper, located
about 1807, in Union Springs, where his daugh
ter, Sarah, widow of Thomas Van Sickle, now
lives. William Cozzens came in from R. I., in
iSio, and settled in Union Springs, where James
Arnold now lives. He was an old sea-captain.
He was engaged in agricultural, and for a short
time, in mercantile, pursuits. He died here in
1S42, aged 63. William Cozzens, his son, was a
merchant here some thirty-five years and till his
death April 3d, i860. Flis children are all dead.
Elisha Eldredge came from White Creek, Wash
ington county, in iSio, and settled on 100 acres
in the north part of the village of Union Springs,
where James Arnold now lives. He sold to Wil
liam Cozzens in 181 5, and removed one mile east,
to the next tier of lots, where he died November
2d, 1874, aged 97. Three children are living,
viz: Joseph and Edward, in Springport, and Isaac,
in Chicago.
William Tavercame in from Rensselaer county,
about 1813, and settled in the south-west cor
ner of the lot on which the brick residence of
Clinton Backus now stands. He moved to Wil
liamson, Wayne county, in 1825, and subsequent
ly to the west part of the State, where both he
and his wife died.
Elam Anthony, came in from White Creek,
Washington county, in 1815, and settled in Union
Springs, where he has followed the business of
carpenter and joiner. He is now living in that
village, aged 88 years, October 5th, 1878. In
1818, he married Nancy, daughter of Humphrey

UNION SPRINGS.

' 363

Hunt, who is still living with him aged eighty.
He has nine children living, only three in this
State, Lydia, wife of Peter Howell, Cordelia, wife
of Edward Curry, and Mary, all in Union Springs.
Phihp Winegar, who took a prominent part in
developing the business of the village, came in
from Dutchess county, in 1 815, on foot, and
bought an interest with Esick Mosher, his father-
in-law, in the mill property at the south spring,
which consisted of a log grist-mill, with one run
of stones, a small saw-mill driven by a " flutter"
wheel, and a clothing establishment. The latter
with the building erected for its accommodation
by Mr. Winegar, in 1830, was burned in the win
ter of 1834-5, and rebuilt in 1S36. The follow
ing year he moved his family here, and settled at
Union Springs, where he continued to reside till
his death, August 21st, 1862, aged 77. He soon
after bought Mosher's interest in the mill prop
erty, and he and his sons Esick M., Z. S., and
G. W., owned it till 1S54, when it came into the
possession ofthe Beardsley Bros.
James S. Allen came in from Greenfield, Sara
toga county, in the winter of 1818, and settled on
the Big Gully, two miles east of Union Springs,
where he took up forty acres, selected for its water
privilege, the fall being about twenty feet, and
erected a carding and fulling-mill, and manufac
tory of woolen machinery, which business he
carried on till 1830, when he removed to the vil
lage and engaged in the manufacture of thrash
ing machines. He was succeeded in 1842 by his
son A. W. Allen, who carried on the business nine
years, and who then engaged in other undertak
ings. The farm on which Allen first settled,
now belongs to the Seneca Allen estate. He
died here March 28th, 1S68.
Town Officers. — The first town meeting was
held at the house of John Yawger, inn-keeper,
the first Tuesday in April, 1823, and the follow
ing named officers were elected : Wm. Cozzens,
Supervisor; Wm. G. Harkness, Clerk; Giles
Robinson, Henry Crane and Gilbert Goodrich,
Assessors; Thomas A. Buddington, Giles Robin-
,son and Samuel Wisner, Commissioners of High
ways ; John S. Toan and Moses Wisner, Poor-
masters ; Asa N. Burnham, Jonathan Carr and
Alexander Thompson, Commissioners of Com
mon Schools; Stephen Mosher, Hiram Hunt
and Asa N. Burnham, Inspectors of Common
Schools ; Wm. Sherd and Peter Flinn, Commis

sioners of Public Lands ; Samuel Marsh, Collec
tor; Samuel Marsh and Ephraim Sharp, Con
stables. The present officers (1878) are :
Supervisor — James L. Hammond.
Clerk — Oscar E. Shank.
Justices— hshhe\. W. Carr, Levi Collins and
Solomon R. Myers.
Assessors — John F. Courtney, Samuel Jenney
and Llewellyn Davis.
Commissioner of Highways — Amos M. Haley.
Overseer of the Poor — John D. Weed.
Inspectors of Election — Jesse D. Thompson,
P. Henry Byrne and Horace C. Carr.
Collector — Leonard H. Carr.
Constables— 'Leonard II. Carr, Waller Garri
son, George Bowen, Asa Shank and John T.
Stout. Excise Commissioners — John Quigley, Samuel
Jenney and David Everett.
Game Constable — Nathan S. Jennings.
Union Springs.
Union Springs is beautifully situated on the
shore of the lake, six miles south of Cayuga by
railroad, and derives its name from the springs
before referred to. Its regularly laid out and
handsomely shaded streets, with its tasty cot
tages and ornate dwellings just visible through
the luxuriant foliage, present a pleasing picture
as viewed from the lake, which, with the little
island of Frontenac, that solitary gem of the
western lakes, three-fourths of a mile distant,
presents an equally picturesque spectacle.
It contains eight churches, (Baptist, Catholic,
Christian, Episcopal, Hicksite Friends, Metho
dist Episcopal, Orthodox Friends and Presby
terian,) the Howland Institute, the Ftiends'
Academy, a Kindergarten school, a Union school,
one newspaper office, (the Union Springs Adver
tiser,) one bank, (the First National of Union
Springs,) the New York Central Insurance Com
pany, one hotel, (kept by George E. Ashby,)
seventeen stores of various kinds, two meat mar
kets, (kept by S. S. Bliss and Shank & An
thony,) two harness shops, (kept by Wm. Graves
and James Reynolds,) two carriage shops, (kept
by N. C. Dean and J. R. Ely,) two grist-mills,
a saw-mill, plaster-mill, planing-mill and hub-
factory, foundry and machine shop, brick and tile
works, limestone quarry and kiln, (owned by La-

3^4

TOWN OF SPRINGPORT.

fayette Hoff,) the Cayuga Plaster Company, four
millinery shops, (kept by Helen Richardson,
Mrs. D. W. Myers, Lucy Rickon and Miss Kate
Henry,) two furniture and undertaking establish
ments, (J. B. Pierson and Peter T. Howell,) two
blacksmith shops,- (McDermott Bros, and Hoag-
land & Rosecrants,) two barber shops, (Adam
Alt and Frank Hornbeck,) one photographer,
(R. R. Abbott,) one bakery, (A. Terry,) a cigar
and tobacco store, (George E. Carr,) marble
works, (John Irving,) two coal and lumber deal
ers, (H. H. Morse and E. C. Bowen,) a grain
ware-house, (George P. Schenck,) a nursery,
(Horace Anthony,) and a, patent buckwheat hul-
ler manufactory, (Isaac H. Thomas.) Population
about 1,400.
The village was incorporated November Sth,
1848, and originally included 1,086.85 acres. In
1877, the west bounds were extended to the cen
ter of the lake. The following named officers
were elected January i6th, 1849: Eseck M.
Vinegar, President ; Eseck M. Winegar, William
B. Schobey, Silas Ludlow, James S. Everett and
Leonard Simons, Trustees; Philip Winegar,
Almeron Durkee and Daniel Mersereau, Asses
sors ; Samuel Smith, Collector; John C. Yawger,
Treasurer; John Griffing, Clerk. The present offi
cers ( I S78) are Henry H. Morse, President; Henry
H. Morse, Gaylord Anthony, Michael McDer
mott and John Close, Trustees; Wm. Cozzens,
Treasurer; James Fay, Collector ; Noyes S. Col
lins, Clerk ; George Day, Street Commissioner.
Frontenac Island, containing somewhat less
than an acre of land, was used by the aborigines
as a place of sepulcher, at least the numerous
relics of Indian warfare, and the large quantity
of bones found there make this probable. It was
deeded to the trustees of Union Springs by the
Legislature, in April, 1856, to be kept as a park
and pleasure ground. Soon after it was greatly
improved by clearing away the brushwood and
making gravel walks, and seats ; but latterly, from
neglect, it is lapsing into its primitive wildness.
Great interest attaches to it, as no other island
is found in this tier of lakes.
Merchants. — The first merchants at Union
Springs were Laban Hoskins, from Genoa, and
Judge Walter Wood, from Aurora, who opened a
store in 18 10, where the bank now stands, in the
building now used as a dwelling by John Irving.
About 18 1 5, Hoskins, (who died here Aug. 29th,

1863, aged 73,) bought Wood's interest, and did
business till 1S37, when Luman H. Capen, his
brother-in-law from Seneca Falls, became his part
ner, and the two did business till 1855, when they
sold to Lebeus Barton, who came in from Scipio
ville in 1836, and commenced business here in
1849, selling in 1852, to William Cozzens. He
had previously, in 1854, purchased William H,
Chase's stock. In 1857, Byron Brown became
his partner; and in 1858, Samuel Barton, his
brother, was admitted. In 1861, the Bartons
bought Brown's interest and divided the stock,
Samuel continuing the business here three years,
and Lebeus going to North Huron, Wayne Co. ;
but, returning in 1871, he bought out Weed, Day
& Co., grocers and bakers, and in 1873, he built
the store now occupied by M. A. Barton, into
which he put a general stock. In the spring of
1875, he was succeeded hy M. A. Barton, who is
still doing business.
Dr. John Mosher, Capt. William Cozzens and
Asa Burnham, started a store in the fall of 1815,
which they continued for several years. Burnham
and Mosher afterwards did business alone, the
former but a few years, the latter continuing till
about 1S42. The same fall (181 5) another store
was started by Samuel, John and James Williams,
and a brother-in-law of theirs named Robinson.
They failed in about fouryears. Philip Winegar
and his son Eseck M. opened a store about 182 1
or '22. Isaac Valentine, from Flushing, L. I.,
succeeded the Williamses and continued several
years. Daniel Mersereau, from Staten Island, com
menced business here about 1830, and continued
till his death, March 7th, 1853, when the busi
ness went into the hands of his children, and vvas
continued under the name of T. J. Mersereau &
Co., till 1867, when T. J. & D. P Mersereau
bought thc entire interest of the remaining heirs
and have since continued it.
Archibald Stewart, who came in from New
Jersey with his father, Robert L., in 181 1, and
settled at Sherwood, commenced the boot and
shoe business here in 1831, and still conducts it.
Geo. H. Ham commenced business here in the
fall of 1836, and failed after a few years. He
was previously engaged in mercantile business
several years at Hamburg, about three-fourths of
a mile south of Union Springs, which derived its
name from bim, and to which a considerable num-

if

"mi

t

.'V^'i

W

ILLIAM

?¦¥

INSLOW.

WrLLiAM B. Winslow was a descendant of Governor Wins
low, of Massachusetts. He was born in Ledyard, which then
formed a part of Scipio, Cayuga County, N. Y. , February .'ith,
1807. His father, John Winslow, was born September 24th,
-17G4, in Dartmouth, Mass,, and died July 28th, 1848; and
his grandfather, Edward Winslow, was born January 2lBt,
1722, and died August Ifith, 1804. Abigail, wife of the lat
ter, was bom January 2Gth, 1725.
John Winslow was a farmer and his son, William" B., was
early initiated into the useful arts of that vocation, his time,
during his early years, when not spent in school, being taken
up \rith the varied duties on his father's farm, an occupation
which, when rationally pursued, is promotive of both mental
and physical vigor.
He was thus employed until he attained his majority , when
he purchased a farm in Genoa, and, in company with Mr.
David White, labored on it for three years. He then sold
his farm and during the next two years devoted his atten
tion to other pursuits. At the expiration of that time he and
his brother Edward took their father's farm, then known as
the James Wood place, two and one-half miles east of Aurora,
and worked it on shares, in connection with the adjoining
farms on either side, which they purchased, making in all
nearly 4.50 acres. Their father had previously sold the old
homestead on the State road and bought the one above men
tioned. The brothers, William B. and Edward, occupied
this together until 184.5, their father having placed tho en
tire business management of the homestead farm in their
hands. They pursued their vocation as agriculturists with
great energy and success.
After the separation in 1845, William B. managed his own
and father's farm, (the latter of which he bought in 1849,)
the two comprising 317 acres, till 185.5, when failing health
compelled him to relinquish his arduous duties, and he let the
farm to his nephew, though he remained on it until 18C9.
He then removed to Union Springs, and settled on the cor-
per of Center and Kidgeway streets, where his widow now
resides, and died there May 7th, 1872.
Inl844, Mr. Winslow marriedMiss Hannah Kellet, daughter

and sixth child of John and Hannah Kellet, who was bom
in the town of Venice, Cayuga County, May 10th, 1818. As
a school girl Mrs, Winslow was a diligent student, and she
then laid the foundation for that ripened culture which now
graces her widowhood. The amiability and loveUness of
character which she early developed have been intensified by
maturity and advancing years, and show their fruitage iu
promptings to kindly and charitable impulses, which her
amjile means enable her to practically exemplify in a quiet,
unobtrusive way, in helping the poor and needy, and furth
ering such objects as appeal to her judgment. As a wife she
was true, loving and faithful, and devoted her energies to
making home — woman's sacred realm — pleasant and attrac
tive, all that a home should be. Mrs. Winslow is a member
of the Presbyterian Church of Union Springs, and contributes
Uberally to its support. The Home Mission finds in her an
earnest advocate and firm friend. Possessing a fine literary
taste, she devotes much time to its gratification.
Mr, Winslow descended from Puritan stock and possessed
in a marked degree the sterling qualities which characterized
that band. His ancestors came to this country in the May-
flower. There were four brothers named Winslow, one of
whom remained in Massachusetts, and became the first Gov
ernor of that Stats, The other three emigrated to the south
and west, Dr, Winslow, of Baltimore, was a descendant of
one, and Gen. Winslow of the late KebelHon descended from
another. Mr. Winslow was a man of noble, generous impulses, ever
ready to assist the young who possessed good habits and gave
promise of future usefulness and prominence. The orphan
and friendless ever found a welcome in his heart aud home ;
and a generous hospitality was always extended to his friends,
to which many now live to testify. He possessed a strong,
vigorous mind and a love for literature. His end came sud
denly ; but he was fully prepared, having, as he said a short
time before, "a full assurance that he was a member of the
Church of Christ triumphant." He never sought nor desired
worldly honors. His ambition found ample scope for the
exercise of his powers in doing good to his fellows.

iV-

1'^

^

M.R. AND Mrs,
John Kellet was born at Emmet Bridge, Westmoreland
County, England, September 21st, 1777, and was christened
at the Moreland Church in England, Being left an orphan
at an early age he went to live with his uncle Thomas, with
whom he remained till he was nineteen years of age, attend
ing school aud assisting on his uncle's farm. He then com
menced to work on his own account, being variously em
ployed, and in 180!!, at the age of twenty-six, he converted
the fniits of his labors into cash aud emigrated to the United
States, He brought with him a letter of introduction from
Mr. Thomas Olarkson to Mr. John Barrow of New York, aud
met with a kindly reception at the hands of the latter gentle
man, who gave him a letter lo Judge Walter Wood, then re
siding at Aurora, who welcomed him in his happy manner to
Cayuga County.
In March, 1806, he purchased a large farm in Scipio, now
Venice, and settled upon it.
In the summerof 1812, he commenced business as a drover
and live-stock dealer, by contracting to supply that portion
of the American army on the hues between this State and
Canada with meat, which he did satisfactorily until the close
of the war. After the war he commenced herding and driv
ing fat cattle to Now York, a business ho continued till 18.'!;!,
when, having acquired a competency, and his health being
somewhat impaired, he retired to the superintendency of his
farm. He frequently had from 100 to 200 cattle in a drove
and was occupied .at least eighteen days in getting them to
market, the entire trip occupying six weeks.
In 1838 he visited his native country and spent the winter,
returning the following spring.
In 1848 he gave up the care of his farm to his youngest son,
William, and devoted the rest of his life to mental culture
and social iiitcrcourso. Ho died Sejitombcr -Ith, 1858.
Mr. Kellet was a fine example of a frank, noble, warm
hearted Englishman. His home was tho seat of a goucrous
' hospitality, and the families of many of his countrj'ineu who
found homes in this locality, sometimes for weeks together,
were hospitably entertained there. His home may truly be
said to have been the Enghshmau's home, for most of those
who came in prior to 1810, were the recipients of his bounty.
He was ever ready to assist in furthering any meritorious pub
lic enterprise.
He was a man of sterling integrity, temperate habits, hon
est, truthful and sagacious. He was a firm adlierent of the
Episcopal faith, which he espoused in early life and main-
tamed till death. The unfortunate found in him a sincere
'g friend and helper.

John K

ellet.

March 15th, 1808, Mr. Kellet was united in marriage to
Miss Hannali Van Nornum, who was born in Easton, Wash
ington county, N. Y,, November 8th, 1781, anddied May 5th,
18(1!), aged 87 years, 5 months and 27 days. Her father,
Abram Van Nornum, was of Holland extraction, and one of
the third generation born in this country. His parents owned
a large farm on the site of the city of Hudson. At the age of
fourteen he was captured by the Indians during the French
and Indian war and led a prisoner to (Canada, where he was
kept until peace was declared two years after. Ho returned
aud remained on his father's farm until he arrived at ma
turity. At the age of twenty-five he married Margaret Cole,
an estimable woman, a mixture of Hollander and French, by
whom he had seven children, of whom Hannah, mother of
Mrs, Wm, B. Winslow, was the fifth. In 1789, when Han
nah was only eight years old, her mother died, leaving a family
of seven young children, the youngest being only four years
old. Her father served during the seven years of the Revo
lutionary war under Captain, aftei-wards Judge Sherwood.
At the death of her mother the family had not recovered from
the effects of the war, and those who were old enough were con
sequently thrown upon their own resources for a Uveh-
liood. Hannah was placed in a good family, tbatof Thomas Smith,
where she remained till she was eighteen, and settling near
them in this County retained their friendship and affection
till her death. She came to Aubum, then Hardenbergh's
Corners, in 180fi, as a member of the family of Job Kenyon,
with whom she remained until 1808, till her marriage with
John Kellet.
They commenced house-keeping on the day of their mar
riage in the town of Scipio, The fruit of this union was nine
children, three sous and six daughters. Miss Mary Kellet,
Mrs. Jane Thompson, Mrs, Elizabeth Sisson, Mrs, Sarah Cul
ver, Mr, Thomas Kellet, Mrs, Hannah Winslow, Mrs. Marga
ret Niblow, Mr, John Kellet, Mr. William Kellet, seven of
whom are now living, the youngest being 57 years old.
Mrs. Kellet possessed a lovely Christian character. Early
left an orphan, confronted with many disadvantages, she
conquered thom and became a most estimable woman ; kind
aud alFoctionata in her family, gonerous and considerate to
those who claimed her hospitality, aud ever ready to exteild
a helping hand to the needy and unfortunate. She lived to
a good old age in the full possession of all her faculties, and
when the Master called he found her ready and waiting, with
her house set in order aud her lamp trimmed and burning.

^

UNION SPRINGS.

365-

ber of settlers were attracted at an early day by
the limestone interests here. Geo. Valmore, from
Troy, commenced the boot and shoe business in
1841, and has since continued it.
John Richardson and John C. Yawger, the
former of whom had previously done business
some four years, did business a few years from
about 1841, under the name of Richardson &
Yawger. They dissolved and divided their
Stock, Mr. Richardson becoming associated wilh
Wm. Cozzens, and Mr. Yawger, with his brother
Henry. Philip O. Yazvger s\xcceeded his brother
John C, in 1862, and did business with Henry
six years, and since then, alone.
N. C Howland, who was born in the town
August I Ith, 1826, commenced the jewelry busi
ness in 1861, and is still engaged in it.
S- W. Rogers, from Avon, commenced the
drug business here in 1863, in company wilh Dr.
M. B. Eaton, with whom he was associated two
years. He then bought Eaton's interest, and has
since carried on business alone, with the excep
tion of a short time, when he was associated
with Dr. B. A. Fordyce.
David Everett, frorn Hackettstown, N. J.,
commenced business here April 26lh, 1864, 3S a
partner with his uncle, J. S. Everett, who com
menced business in August, 1848. July 26th,
i86g, he bought his uncle's interest, and has
since done business alone.
F. A. Carr, who is a native of this village,
commenced the hardware business about 1871.
J. F. Woodworth & Son, (Frank,) hardware
merchants, came in from Baldwinsville in the
spring of 1871 or 1872, and bought a half in
terest with Charles N. Howland, with whom
they did business two years.,
W. S. L. Freer, jeweler, from Newark, Wayne
county, commenced business in 1873. In March,
1878, he became associated with J. R, Montague,
a former resident of the village, with whom he
is now doing business, under the name of Freer
& Montague.
J. Wallace Elverson, grocer and crockery ware
dealer, commenced business in P^ebruary, 1873,
in company with A. L. Howland, whose interest
he bought in February. 1876.
W. H. Cozzens, grandson of Capt. Wm. Coz
zens, dealer in books and stationery, commenced
business in August, 1875.
J. R. Schenck, dealer in boots and shoes, com-
6j-x

menced business in 1876. He is a native of the
town. E. M. Hart, druggist, came from Romulus,
Seneca county, and commenced business in
April, 1876.
J. Brougham, dealer in boots and shoes, came
in from Root, Montgomery county, and com
menced business April ist, 1877.
Geo. D. Hibbard recently commenced busi
ness in the north part of the village.
Postmasters — The post-office was established
at Union Springs in 1811, and Dr. Jno. Mosher,
who was the first postmaster, held the office till
about 1 84 1. He was succeeded by Geo. P. Mor
gan, who held it in 1842, and for a period of four
years. Wm. Smith held the office for one year
after Mr. Morgan, in 1846, and was succeeded
by Frederick P. Cone, who held it till about
1849. Jno. C. Yawger was postmaster from
i849-'53 ; Edward Eldredge, from i853-'57 ; Dr.
Noyes Palmer, from i857-'6i. N. C. Simons
next held it nearly four years, and was succeeded
by Joseph Clark, who held it till Mr. Johnson
took the presidential chair, when A. B. Capron
was appointed, and held the office till i86g.
James B. Burlew next held the office till 1873,
and was succeeded by James R. Angel, the pres
ent incumbent, who was appointed December
lOth, 1873.
Physicians. — ^The first physician in Union
Springs vvas John Mosher, who practiced from
1800 till his nephew Stephen Mosher came in
about 181 7. The latter practiced till 1833, when
he sold to David L. Dodge, from Dutchess coun
ty, who practiced till about 1851. He was fol
lowed about this time by Noyes Palmer, from
Montezuma, who practiced till his death, May 7th,
1863. Charles Farnham, from Scipio, practiced
herefrom 1841-8. S. A, Tremain, from Tru-
mansburgh, came in about 1856, and practiced
till the opening ofthe war. Joseph G. Richard
son came in from Philadelphia in 1867, and prac
ticed three or four years. F. H. Hamlin came
from Wayne county in 1869, and practiced till
1874. Dr. Wm. G. Harkness. who joined the
County Medical Society, November 3d, 1808,
while a resident of Fleming, was one of the ear
liest physicians in Springport. He lived two
miles north-east of the village. He was also an
early teacher; he taught school about 1810,
about a mile south ofthe village.

366

TOWN OF SPRINGPORT.

The present physicians are, Benjamin A. For
dyce, an allopath, who joined the County Medi
cal Society, June 4th, 1846, and came in from
Venice in the spring of 1 866. Peter H. Peterson,
a homeopath, who was born in Fleming April
6th, 1803 ; educated in Auburn, and commenced
practice here in December, 1S41. George Ran
dolph Parry, who was born in Philadelphia, Pa.,
September 3d, 1839. ^^^ educated there ; gradu
ated, from the Philadelphia College of Pharmacy
in 1862, and from the University of Pennsylvania,
in 1867, in which year he commenced to practice
here. O. W. Smith, who was born in Canajo
harie, June 25lh, 1840; educated at the Geneva
Medical College, from which he graduated in the
spring of 1866 ; commenced practice in the
spring of 1867, in the village of Ames, Mont
gomery county, whence he came to Union
Springs in 1872, and Channing Holt, who was
born in Worthington Conn., April i2lh, 1849;
educated at Hartford, Connecticut ; graduated
from the University of New York in the winter of
1875 ; and came to Union Springs in October,
1878. Lawyers. — So far as we have been able to
learn, Caleb Winegar was the first lawyer at
Union Springs. He practiced from about 1845
till his degth, June ist, 1870. He was a son of
Philip Winegar. Oliver Wood practiced here
from about i852-'4. He was succeeded by Wil
liam B. Woodin, who practiced till elected Surro
gate in November, 1859, when he removed to
Auburn, where he now resides. He.was a mem
ber of Assembly in 1855, and afterwards State
Senator for eight years. Nathan Roberts came
in from Varick, Seneca county, and A. B. Ca
pron, from Homer, about i860. Roberts prac
ticed three or four years and removed to Mis
souri ; and Capron, till 1862, when he sold to
Daniel A. Robinson, and entered the army. Rob
inson was born in Farmington, Ontario county,
October 13th, 1831 and came to Union Springs
in 1862, continuing here eight years, after which
he spent two, years in New York and Washing
ton engaged in soliciting patents and prosecuting
claims. He returned to Union Springs in the
spring of 1S74, since which lime he has been in
the employ of the Cayuga Plaster Co. Ittsel
Wood was born in ^South Amboy, N. J., April
25th, 1835. He began the study of law in 1863,
with D. A. Robinson, of Union Springs, and was

admitted in December, 1866, at Rochester, since
which time he has practiced here. Reuben F.
Hoff was born in Union Springs November 24th,
1840. He was admitted to the bar December
6lh, 1866, and commenced practice in 1870, at
Union Springs, where he has since continued.
He was elected Justice in 1871, and held the of
fice four years ; and in 1S74, was elected Special
Co. Judge, which office he held till January ist,
1S78. Noyes S. Collins was born in Camden.
Oneida Co., November 13th, 1851. He grad
uated at the Albany Law School ; was admitted
in 1875, and commenced practice that year in
Union Springs.
New York Central Insurance Company.
This Company was organized January 9th, 1863.
with a capital of ^50,000, which was increased
December 31st, 1864, to ;^ 100,000. The first
officers were Albert Beardsley, President ; Wil
liam Clarke, Vice-President ; Joseph B. Clarke,
Secretary. Mr. Beardsley held the office of presi
dent till his death, February 4th, 1874. when he
was succeeded by W. E. Hughitt, who still holds
the office. William Clarke held the office of
vice-president till his death in August, 1865, when
he was succeeded by Smith Anthony, who held
it till January, 1867, when David Anthony was
elected. He was succeeded in January, 1873, by
Sanford Gifford, who still holds it. Joseph B.
Clarke was succeeded in the secretaryship by
Amos M. Clark, the present secretary, in Janu
ary, 1 87 1.
The greatest volume of business done, as shown
by the premiums received, was in 1875, when it
reached a little over ;g200,ooo, by a continual in
crease from ^25,000, the amount for the first
year. At present the business aggregates about
;^ 1 50,600, which is about an average for the last
five years. The company is in a prosperous con
dition, and has paid since its organization an
average dividend of eight per cent. The assets
are !iS225,3io.63 ; the net surplus, 1^10,012.62.
The total amount of premiums received is
$1,171, 1 13.50; total amount of losses paid, $1,172,-
302.63 ; the greatest loss in any one fire was
$5,000. The present directors are, Wm. E-
Hughitt, Henry Yawger, Geo. Bailey, Wm. 15.
Schobey, Hicks Anthony, Sanford Gifford, Gqo!
P. Schenck, Alvin Coburn, Richard Montague,
and Amos M. Clark. The company occupy
rooms over the bank.

UNION SJPRINGS.

367

Press. — The papers published in Union
Springs are
"The Cayuga Tocsin — By Royall T. Chamber
lain. Five column folio. Weekly. Established
December 25th, 181 1. Removed to Auburn
about a year thereafter.
"Cayuga Democrat — By William Clarke. Five
column folio. Weekly. Cass campaign sheet.
Established in the spring of 1848. Published a
short time.
"Cayuga Telegraph — By William Clarke. Six
column folio. Weekly. Established June 5th,
1848. Published about two years. Succeeded
by the
"Union Springs Ledger — By William Clarke
and C. C. Williams. Weekly. Established
1 85-. Continued only a few months.
"Christian Union — By J. B. Clarke. Four
column quarto. Semi-monthly. Religious. Es
tablished January 22d, 1859. Removed to New
York in October, 1859.
"Union Springs Herald — By J. B. Clarke. Six
column folio. Weekly. Established October
15th, 1859. Burned out November 30lh, 1861.
"Casket of Gems — Anonymous. Small literary
paper. Published a short time. Succeeded by the
"Cayuga Lake Recorder — By I. O. Crissy and
T. E. Hitchcock. Seven column folio. Weekly.
Established November nth, 1859, Mr. Hitch
cock withdrew in the summer of '59. Paper con
tinued by I. O. Crissy until December 13th,
1861, at which time the editor raised a company
of cavalry for Scott's 900, which he accompanied
to the field.
"Cayuga Lake Herald — By B. G. Gibbs. Six
column folio. Weekly. Consolidation of the
Union Springs Herald and Cayuga Lake Recorder.
Established December 13th, 1861. In 1862 Mr.
Gibbs enlisted in the army and the paper was
continued by J. B. Clarke, the proprietor.
" Cayuga Lake Herald — Continued by Emerson
B. Williams in the spring of 1863. Discontinued
in October following.
"Cayuga Lake Record — By John W. Stanton.
Six column folio. Weekly. Established Jan
uary 7th, 1864. Continued nine months.
"Central New Yorker— By H. H. DeWolf Six
column folio.' Weekly. Established April, 1865.
Continued nine months.
"Temperance Union — By Park & Cheal. Four
column quarto. Monthly. Devoted to temper
ance. Established in the spring of 1866. After
a few numbers were issued it was removed to
Jordan and published as the Pearly Fountain,
May 30th, 1866.
"Union Springs Advertiser— By^ James B. Hoff.
Four column folio. Weekly. Established June
14th, 1866. Has since been continued by the
same proprietor, and is now a seven column
folio."* 
* Union Springs Advertiser.

Manufactures — The Cayuga Plaster Com
pany represents the most important manufactur- '
ing interest of the village. It is composed of C.
T. Backus, James Fitch, R. B. Howland, B.
Robinson and R. B. Robinson, and was organ
ized January 1st, 1874, for the purpose of min
ing, grinding and disposing of plaster rock. Its
formation unified the plaster interests which were
hitherto conducted by individuals and firms.
The company operate the R. B. Howland and C.
T. Backus quarries and buy the product of the
Yawger, Richardson, Thompson and Fitch quar
ries, all of which, except the last two, which are
one mile to the east, are upon the shore of the
lake. They also own three plaster quarries in
the north-central part of the town. They lease
the Howland, Robinson & Co., Backus and Fitch
plaster-mills ; and give employment to some fifty
men in the quarries and mills about two-thirds of
the year. The beds have already furnished
hundreds of thousands of tons of plaster, and
the supply seems to be inexhaustible. The
product varies from 20,000 to 40,000 tons an
nually. Banks. — The First National Bank of Union
Springs, was organized February 4th, 1864,
and commenced business in April of that year,
with a capital of $50,000, which was increased to
$100,000, January i6th, 1865. The first direc
tors were Daniel Yawger, William H. Chase,
John C. Yawger, John J. Thomas, Albert Beards
ley, William Clarke, Henry Yawger, Jr., Joseph
B. Clarke and Byron Brown. The first officers
were, John C. Yaviger, President ; Albert Beards
ley, Vice-President ; and Benj. Howland, Cashier.
Yawger was president till January Sth, 1S67, and
was succeeded by C. T. Backus, who still holds
the office. Beardsley was vice-president till
February 22d. 1864, and was succeeded April
nth, 1864, by John J. Thomas, who held the
office till January nth, 1S70, when Philip H.
Yawger was elected and still retains the office.
Howland resigned the cashiership February 22d,
1S64, when Albert Beardsley was appointed to
that office and held it till January Sth, 1867, when
he was succeeded by John C. Yawger, who held
it till January nth, 1870, when Beardsley was
reappointed. He resigned December 2d, 1873,
and was succeeded by George W. Winegar, who
held it till February 2d, 1875, when M. F. Backus,
the present incumbent, was appointed. The

368

TOWN OF SPRINGPORT.

dividends paid to stockholders have averaged
eight per cent.
The following is a copy of the June, 1S78, state
ment of the bank :
Resources.
Loans and discounts  $113,320 91
Overdrafts  .-- 3>9i6 82
U. S. Bonds to secure circulation-- 100,000 00
Other stocks, bonds and mortgages- 12,196 41
Due from reserve agents  1,617 40
Due from other National Banks— _ 2,063 47
Current expenses and taxes paid— 1,758 33
Checks and other cash items  1,601 94
Bills of other banks  — - 5-379 00
Fractional currency (including nick
els and cents)_-_l  190 69
Specie  5i2 00
Legal tender notes  4,5ot) 00
Redemption fund with U. S. Treas
urer _  3.700 00
Interest account  i95 24
$250,952 21
Liabilities.
Capital stock  $100,000 00
Surplus fund  20,000 00
Undivided profits  ii,i95 n
Circulation outstanding  89,800 00
Dividends unpaid  676 00
Individual deposits  28,134 27
Due to other National Banks  1,146 83

Total  $250,952 21
Spring Mills, flouring, grist and plaster, are
operated by Robert B. Howland, Dr. Benedict
Robinson and R. B. Robinson, under the name
of Howland, Robinson & Co. The grist-mill,
which is constructed of stone, and is 65 by 84
feet, wilh four stories and basement, was built in
1840, by Geo. Howland of New Bedford, Mass.,
who, a few years previously, had purchased a
large amount of properly in and about the village,
and who, by his enterprise and liberality, con
tributed largely to its prosperity. A plaster-
mill was built at the same time, and both were
operated under his direction, by his sons Charles
and Augustus. After the death of George How
land, in 1852, the property was rented to J. & N.
C. Simons, who run the mills fivf years. Si
mons & Robinson afterwards run them two years,
when they came into the possession of the pres
ent proprietors. The original plaster-mill is now
used as a store-house, a saw-mill built contiguous
to it in 1S42, having been converted into the
present plaster-mill. The grist-mill contains'five

run of stones, one of them a feed run. The works
are located at the north or larger springs, which
furnishes the motive power, with the exception
of about four months in the year, when the water
supply is scarce, and power is furnished by a fifty
horse-power engine.
Union Springs Mills, flouring, grist and saw,
are owned and operated by Anthony & Co.,
(Gaylord Anthony and J. W. Perrine.) the for
mer of whom bought them of E. C. Bowen and
Manson Backus October ist, 1877, and admitted
the latter March ist, 1878. The grist-mill was
built in 1836, by Philip Winegar, for a woolen
factory, and was used as such till 1854, when it
was changed into a grist-mill by the Beardsley
Bros. It is a stone structure, with three stories
and basement, and contains three run of stones,
two for flour and one for feed. The motive pow
er is furnished by water and steam, which are
used in connection, the former being supplied by
the south spring, near which the mill is located,
and the latter, by a thirty horse-power engine.
Tn May, 1S78, machinery was introduced forthe
manufacture of flour by the new process.
Union Springs Agricultural Works are
• owned by J. O. Spencer, who is engaged in the
manufacture of the "Wide-awake" thrashers, sep
arators and steam engines, horse-powers and ag
ricultural implements, in which forty men are em
ployed. The building was erected some twenty
years ago by Wm,, Henry and Lewis McFariand,
who carried on the business some five years,
when Lewis' interest was bought by his brothers,
who continued the business till the death of Hen
ry, in August, 1869, after which it was carried on
by Wm. till his death in May, 1S74, when it was
conducted by the administrator of the estate till
the spring of 1875, at which time J. O. Spencer
bought the property. In 1878 he built ten
thrashing machines and twenty-five engines, the
manufacture of engines having been commenced
in 1878.
N. Y. Central Planing Mill and Hub
Works are operated by Courtney Bros., (John
F. and Charles E.,) who are also carpenters and
builders and dealers in sash, doors, blinds and
moldings. They commenced business March ist,
1874, as builders, and added the other branches
of their business March ist, 1876. They occupy
a wooden building erected by them in 1874, and
are enlarging their facilities by the erection of a

r '.'1 j|

CHA?. E.COURTNEY.

,'^,,'* ^i" ".

COURTNEY BROS'. MILL.Uniow Sprinqs,N,Y.

'K:>^-

vr

UNION SPRINGS.

369

new building 50 by 80 feet, the foundation forthe
main part of which is already laid. They give
employment to ten men on an average, and make
S.ooo to 6,000 sets of hubs and spokes per annum.
The Brick and Tile Works owned by Dr.
Benjamin Hoxie of Auburn, give employment to
twelve men in the summer season, when in full
operation, and have facilities for making 400,000
brick, or 350,000 tile per annum. The capacity
of the kiln is 70,000 atone burning.
Schools. — Oakwood Seminary is situated on
the high ground immediately above the village,
and commands an extensive view of the lake
and surrounding scenery. It was established in
1S58, and incorporated by the Regents in i860.
It is conducted under the auspices of the New
York Yearly Meeting of (Orthodox) Friends. It
has recently been much enlarged and improved,
and is now capable of affording comfortable ac
commodations for over a hundred boarders. Its
original corporate title was Friends' Academy.
Its present name, adopted since the recent im
provements were made, is derived from the
large oak grove forming a part of the several
acres belonging to the institution. Since its
origin several additions have been made to the
buildings, all of which are of brick, mostly three
stories high, and they are now treble their
original size. Their entire length is about 160
feet. The young ladies' department is at one
end, the young men's at the other, with lecture
room, recitation rooms, cabinet and laboratory be
tween ; and with kitchen and dining room in the
basement. The library comprises several hun
dred volumes ; the chemical, philosophical and
optical apparatus, including an astronomical tele
scope costing $500, is valued at $2,000.
Thc following is the present value of the prop
erty of the institution, as reported to the Re
gents :
Value of buildings...  $24,240
Value of grounds  6,000
Value of library, apparatus and furniture, 4,200
Among the instructors at the present time
(1S78) are Prof E. Cook, Prof. J. L. Barton,
Miss Irena L. Pope, Miss Theodosia G. Chaplin,
and Miss M. E. Carpenter, J. J. Thomas, A.
M., lectures on the natural sciences, and gives
instruction in elocution.
Howland School. — This school was estab
lished in 1S63, and piaintained during the first

two years by the individual enterprise of R. B.
Howland, who bought of Slocum Howland, for
$6,000, the Philip Winegar homestead, and in
the summer of that year built the east wing and
the wooden addition on the south, the latter of
which is used as a gymnasium and public hall.
The school was opened in November, 1S73. At
the expiration of the two years, it was taken in
charge by the trustees of the school fund left at
his death by George Howland, father of R. B.
Howland, of New Bedford, Mass.. for the pur
pose of establishing a school in Cayuga County,
and amounting to $50,000. About 1872. a four
story brick addition was built, thus giving it a
capacity to accommodate fifty boarders. The
school is supported by the income from this fund
and tuitions from the pupils, and has been kept
open continuously till the fall of 1878, when it
was temporarily closed. Until 1876, Mr. R. B.
Howland had the immediate supervision of the
school as agent for the board of trustees. In
that year Dr, Henry Hartshorne, of Philadelphia,
undertook its management. The school has had
full collegiate courses, mathematics, the classics
and the languages. The apparatus is valued at
$1,500; and the library, which contains about
1,000 volumes, including a French Government
work of sixteen folio volumes, containing copies
of the historical paintings in the art gallery at
Versailles, at $2,oco. The school is confined
exclusively to ladies. It was first conducted un
der the name of the Young Ladies' Institute,
which was changed when it came under the man
agement of the trustees of the Howland school
fund. It has attained a high degree of excellence
and enjoys a good reputation for thorough work;
but it languishes for want of proper support and
patronage. The Union Springs Union School was or
ganized under the general school law in i860, by
merging the two district schools then existing in
thc village. The building, a fine two-story brick
structure, located on Green street, was erected
in 1S66, at a cost of $10,000. It will accommo
date 250 pupils. The apparatus connected with
the school is valued at $200 ; and the library,
which contains 500 volumes, at $500. The pres
ent teachers are Prof. J. F. Stewart, principal ;
Miss Carrie Lawrence, principal of primary de
partment ; Miss Ellen Spickerman, assistant in
senior department ; Miss Josephine Howland

370

TOWN OF SPRINGPORT.

and Miss May Hoagland, assistants in primary
department. The First Presbyterian Church of Spring-
port was formed September 7th, 1801, at the
house of Ichabod Wilkinson, in thepresent town
of Fleming, which house is still standing on what
is known as the Culver farm, on the Poplar Ridge
road. The house was then used as a tavern, and
indeed the meetings were held for several years
in taverns, which were the only houses large
enough to accommodate the numbers who at
tended. The original members were : Samuel
Culver, from Eyremont, Mass.; Gilbert Weed
and his wife Abigail, from Greenfield, Saratoga
Co. ; Josiah Mix and his wife Rebecca, from
Granville, Washington Co.; and Jacob Shaw,
from Norton, Mass.; all of whom brought letters
from the churches with which they had respec
tively been connected, and were organized as the
First Church in Aurelius, of which this town was
then a part, by Rev. Jacob Cram, a missionary
sent to Western New York by the Massachusetts
society. The first deacons were Gilbert Weed
and Joseph Thayer, who were elected December
17th, 1802.
Meetings had previously been held in this sec
tion for some years by missionaries. As early
as 1795, Rev. David Thatcher, ofthe Presbytery
of Orange, passed through this section seeking
out families and preaching as he had opportunity.
In 1798, Rev. Asa Hillyer of the same Presby
tery, passed through and labored here. About
the same time Rev. Aaron Condit, pastor at
Hammond, N. J., and his elder. Silas Ball, made
a missionary tour on horseback by way of Owe
go, and visited this section. After him came
Rev. Dr. Perrine from the Presbytery of New
Brunswick, threading his way through a con
tinuous forest by means of blazed trees. In
1798 also the General A.ssociation of Connecti
cut sent out Rev. Seth Williston, and in 1799,
Revs. Jedediah Bushnell and Solomon King.
After this passing missionaries labored occa
sionally until the summer of 1801, when Rev.
David Higginsj pastor at North Lyme, Conn,,
visited this section and labored with so much sat
isfaction to the church that they gave him a call
in 1802. In the summer of that year Mr. Hig
gins moved in with his family of seven children
and a favorite house servant, stopping first at
Cayuga. The journey was made in a covered

wagon, over logways, through streams, and most
of the way through an unbroken forest.
The society was incorporated as the First Con-
gregatiojtal Society of Aurelius, May 2 ist, 1802,
at a meeting held at the house of Henry Moore,
the old tavern stand one mile south of the Half
Acre. The first trustees were, Thomas Mum
ford, Henry Moore, Josiah Taylor, Hezekiah
Goodwin, Moses Lyon, Jesse Davis, Joseph Gro
ver, John Grover and William Bostwick. The
oldest member at present is the widow of William
VanSipkle, whose membership covers a period of
fifty-seven years.
This was one ofthe Churches which united in
forming the Middle Association ; and on the dis
solution of that body it became an integral part of
the Presbytery of Cayuga. In October, 1822, it
forsook all the features of a Congregational
Church, and elected the following elders at its
first session : Ebenezer Higgins, George McFar
iand, Alexander Thompson and Henry H. Hig
gins, who were ordained the 3d of November fol
lowing, except Alexander Thompson, who de
clined. Ebenezer Higgins and George McFar
iand were duly set apart as deacons. At its or
ganization this Church accommodated a territory
which to-day contains not less than eleven Pres
byterian Churches, with an aggregate of 2,176
members, viz : the Churches of Springport,
Sennett, Scipio, Cayuga, Port Byron, Scipioville,
Weedsport and the First, Second, Central and
Calvary Churches of Auburn. Meetings were
accordingly held once in four weeks at four dif
ferent places, viz : at Hardenbergh's Corners,
Cayuga, Grover's Settlement and at Henry
Moore's south of the Half Acre. In July, 1806,
Isaac Treat, Timothy Hatch, Moses Treat, Eb
enezer Hamlin, Abel B. Munro, Huldah Ham
lin, Mahala Treat, Darius Treat, Matilda Mun
roe and Welly Carrier withdrew to form the
present Church of Sennett. In July, i8n, Silas
Hawley and wife, Daniel Herring, Rachel Par
ker, Anna Cogswell, Betsey Tyler, Eunice Hig
gins and Sarah Gilbert were dismissed to form
the First Church at Auburn. In June, 1819,
Thomas Mumford, Mary G. Mumford, Lovisa
Willard, Roxilla Richardson, Molly Shaw and
Sally Hallock withdrew to form the First Presby
terian Church of Cayuga.
The first church edifice erected and finished
for use was the stone meeting-house about two

UNION SPRINGS — CHURCHES.

371

miles north of Union Springs, near Thompson's
plaster-mills. This was built in 1816. The
first recorded meeting held in it was July 29th,
1 8 17. It was used by the Church till the pres
ent house was erected in 1S40. A house had been
partially built at the Half Acre in 1809. but it was
not finished, and although a few meetings were
held in it, it was soon abandoned and sold to
Hezekiah Goodwin, who moved it to his place
west of the Half Acre and used it as a barn.
The following named clergymen have preached
in this church for stated periods : Rev. David
Higgins, whose installation October 6th, 1S02,
"was," says Hotchkin, " the first instance of
such an occurrence on the Military Tract,"
Joshua Lane, Reuben Porter, Medad Pomeroy,
Enoch Boughton, H. Carlisle, L. D. Howell,
Timothy Stillman, Richard Williams, John Clark.
L. D. Howell, S. Raymond,  Page, J. Hop
kins, T. B. Hudson, N. A. Prince, Charles An
derson, Myron Adams, A. F. Lyle, R. L. Back-
man, J. C. Long, E, B. Cobb. The Church has
received since its organization 500 members, and
has at present 92. Rev. E. B. Cobb is a tempo
rary supply. The elders are, E. Curry, A. Walk
er, Wm. H. VanSickle, J. B, Pierson and H. Yaw
ger ; deacons, D. Everett and A. W. Allen, to
the latter of whom, who is also the clerk, we are
indebted for the history of this Church.
Friends — Among the early settlers in this lo
cality were many who belonged to the Society of
Friends. They commenced to hold meetings as
early as 1803 or '4, and in 18 16 erected the meet
ing-house now used by the Hicksite Friends in
the east part of thc village. Among the earliest
associates of this society were Elisha Southwick,
James Barker, Elihu Eldredge, Samuel Jenney,
Wm. Burling, Arnold Comstock,  Rowley,
John Fish, Laban Hoskins, Eseck Mosher,
James S. Allen, Wm. Knowles and Wm. Taber.
At the time of the great separation which took
place in thc society in 1828, the members of this
society accepted the doctrines of Elias Hicks, of
Long Island, and have since borne the distinc
tive name of Hicksite Friends, Their present
membership is about forty. Their house is a
quaint old building, very suggestive of the rigid
customs which characterized this society at an
earlier day.
At a later period several persons known as
Orthodox Friends moved into the place, and
63-2

about 1844, established a society of that denom
ination, the name being used to denote those who
reject the doctrines of Elias Flicks in contra
distinction from those who accept them. Among
the persons earliest connected with this society
were Charles W. Howland and family, Phebe
Field, who was then the minister of the society,
David Anthony and family, and Henry Robin
son. Their meetings were held in a private
house four or five years, until their first house of
worship was erected on the site of the present
Episcopal Church. Their present house was
erected twenty to twenty-two years ago. It is
a wooden structure, with stone basement, situ
ated on Cayuga street, in the lower part of the
village, and is valued at $3,500. The present
number of members is about thirty. The min
isters are R. B. Howland and Mary H. Thomas,
both residents of the village. Connected with it
is a small Sabbath School, with some dozen chil
dren in attendance.
" The chief points of difference in these two
organizations, was," says Mr. J. J. Thomas, " that,
while the Orthodox adopted, as a requirement,
the belief similar in its main points, to that of
other 'evangelical' denominations, the Hicksites
mostly adopted the sentiments of the Unitarians
or Universalists ;" or as Mr. Edward Eldredge,
a prominent member of the Hicksite Society,
more specifically expresses it, the Orthodox be
lieve in the trinity and the efficacy of vicarious
atonement, while the Hicksites believe in the
unity of the deity and disbelieve in vicarious
atonement.
The Baptist Church of Union Springs was
founded as the Second Baptist Church in Aurelius.
A few members connected with the First Baptist
Church in Aurelius, (now Fleming,) and some
from the United Scipio Church met at the house
of John Nutt for deliberation November 4th,
1 8 13. Gilbert Weed was chosen moderator and
Henry Crane, clerk. They adopted articles of
faith and covenant and voted to invite a council
of sister churches to meet with them on the i8th
of the same month. This council was composed
of delegates from the churches of Aurelius,
Mentz, Scipio and United Scipio, and met at the
school-house about two and one-half miles north-:
east of the village. Elder John Jeffries was
chosen moderator, and Samuel Taylor, clerk.
After examination, the hand of fellowship was

VI2

TOWN OF SPRINGPORT.

extended to the new church, which consisted of
eight males and sixteen females. At a church
meeting held the 27th of the same month, they
resolved to hold meetings every Sabbath, and to
engage Elder Abner Wakely to labor with them
for one year. Ichabod Clark and Gilbert Weed
were chosen deacons, and Henry Crane, clerk.
Elder Wakely soon commenced his labors, and,
although the engagement was not renewed, he
continued to supply them a part of the .time after
the expiration of the year. During his connec
tion with them he baptized fourteen and received
sixteen by letter, and left them wilh fifty mem
bers. In September, 18 14, they joined the Associa
tion. In the summer of that year they com
menced the erection of a meeting-house two
miles north-east of the village, which was not
completed till the summer of 181S. In February,
1 8 16, Elder Warner Lake, of Harpersfield, Dela
ware county, became the pastor, and in the sum
mer following seventeen were added by baptism.
In 1 8 19, sixty-six members were added.
Elder Lake closed his ministry with this
church in the spring of 1830. He was highly
esteemed. He did not receive a full support
from the church ; but labored upon his farm a
portion of the time, from which he accumulated
a competency. Elder Jacob Fisk took the pastoral charge of
this church in the spring of 1830, and closed his
labors with them in the winter of 1832, from
which time they had no settled pastor until
March, 1834, when Elder Samuel Wood settled
with them, and remained till August, 1837. In
the summer of 1838, the services of Elder Chas.
E. Wilson were engaged for six months. Elder
O. B. Call became the pastor in February, 1839,
and remained three years. Elder E. Marshall
succeeded Elder Call, and continued his pastor
ate about two and a half years. Brother Justus
Ask labored with them in the ministry one year,
and Brother R. Persons another. Elder O.
Montague became the pastor in April, 1847, ^nd
continued wilh them three years. During thc
first year of his ministry their meeting-house,
which was old and uncomfortable, was repaired
and fitted up in a neat and convenient manner ;
and duringthe second year the congregation was
much increased.
In July, 1S50, Elder Thomas H. Greene be

came the pastor, and closed his labors in the fall
of 1852. He was succeeded by B. C. Crandall,
who continued till November, 1S54. The church
seems to have been without a pastor from that
time until the first Sunday in May, 1S57, when
S. S. St. John commenced his labors. He re
mained till March I2th, 1859, when Elder S. Adsit
took the pastoral charge, and continued till April
1st, 1 86 1. Edgar Smith became the pastor
April 7th, i860, and, having served them "very
acceptably," closed his labors with them, in con
sequence of ill and failing health, April 13th,
1867. He joined the church in Auburn, and
died there September 28tb, 1878. During the
first year of his pastorate, in 1S61, their church
edifice was removed from its original location,
near the residence of Curtis Coe, to the village.
It was remodeled at an expense of $1,500 to
$2,000, and rededicated August 7th of that
year. From the time that Elder Smith left till Sep
tember following the pulpit was supplied by
casual comers, for a few weeks during the latter
part of the time by Ezra Clark. B. B. Gibbs
assumed their pastoral care November loth,
1S67, 3"d labored with them till April 22d, 1871.
December, 1871, A. C. Ferguson commenced
his labors wilh them, and continued until their
church was burned, April 13th, 1873, since
which time they have had no pastor. The church
numbers at present thirty-three members.
The First Christian Socikty of Spring-
port, at Union Springs, was incorporated Feb
ruary 4th, 1S39. The first trustees were Elisha
Vallance, Abram Burlew, Charles E. Hoagland,
George W. Truesdell, Preserved Tripp, Noah P.
Blanding and Porter B. Bristol. The land for
their house of worship, which was erected in
1839, was bought of William Smith and Abby
B., his wife, and George P. Morgan, May 4lh,
1839, for $200. An organization seems to have
existed and regular meetings to have been held
before the incorporation was effected, but the
records furnish no means of determining defi
nitely in regard to them. The first settled pas
tor was Melancy Wade, but when he began or
closed his labors does not appear. Meetings
were held then in the house now owned and
occupied by Alanson Beam, on the corner of
Cayuga and Homer streets. Mr. Wade was suc
ceeded in the pastorate by John W. Guthrie,

UNION SPRINGS — CHURCHES.

373

during whose ministry the legal organization was
perfected and the church built. He was suc
ceeded by J.C. Burgdorf and Edson J. Reynolds,
the latter of whose pastorate continued till about
185 1. He died here September 24th, 1857, aged
fifty. A. S. Dean was the pastor from 1851 to
'53. He was succeeded by A. Coburn, who re
mained as late as February 12th, 1856. Wifliam
O. Gushing, thc next pastor, remained till the
spring of i860. Rev. Mr. Fenlon next kibored
with them about two years, and was succeeded
by Rev. Mr. Bailey, who continued his labors un
til about 1867, after which the church vvas closed
for two years, owing to a division growing out of
a difference of opinion respecting a contemplated
change of name. John W. Guthrie was the first
pastor after the opening of the church. He com
menced his labors with them about 1871 and
continued with them some two years. John
Carr became the pastor in the spring of 1874,
and remained one year, when he was succeeded
by J. C. Burgdorf, the present pastor. The
church was repaired in the summer of 1876, at a
cost of $600 ; and a pipe organ was put in the
previous year at an equal cost. The present
membership does not exceed a half dozen.
The First Society of the M, E. Church in
Union Springs, was organized about 1843, with
Henry Dills and wife, Austin \yhittlesy and
wife, Brayton and William B. Barber, Wadsworth
Hanchett and Justus P. Burger as members. The
society was incorporated February lolh, 1846,
with Henry Dills, John Maurice, John Robin
son, William B. Barber and Justus P. Burger as
trustees. Their house of worship, a wooden
structure, was erected in 1846, at a cost of about
$1,600, exclusive of thc lot, and has since been
enlarged to a seating capacity of 400, and a value
of $4,000, including lot. Occasional meetings
were held some years before the organization by
preachers who happened in this locality. The
first settled pastors were Aaron Cross and Be
noni I. Ives, who came in 1 844, and staid, the
former three years and the latter two. Their
circuit included Fleming, Bolt's Corners, Aurora
and Union Springs. Elias Hall succeeded Ives
and remained two years. Dennis Tryon followed
Cross, at least these were the pastors up to 1850.
Samuel B. Porter was the pastor in 1850-2 ; A.
Benjamin in 1852-4; B. R. Kenyon, 1854-5 ;
William M. Spickerman, 1855-6; D. Lamkin,

i8s6-'S ;

Mason, in 1858; Albert Ensign,

1858-60; Ehas Hoxie, 1874-5; J- S. Lemon,
1875-6; William N. Henry, 1876-8. Wes
ley Mason, the present pastor, commenced his
labors with this church in the fall of 1S78. The
present number of members is 118 ; the attend
ance at Sabbath School, 40 to 50.-
Grace Church, (Episcopal.) — The first regu
lar services by a clergyman of this denomination
were conducted by Rev. Wm. Wirt Raymond,
in the fall of 1866. Previous to that time only
occasional services had been held. Until the
fall of 1876, this parish was united either with
that at Cayuga, or that at Aurora, under the
charge of one clergyman. Grace church was
incorporated in 1867, and was admitted to union
with the Convention of the Diocese of Western
New York the following year, passing, however,
in the fall of the same year into the new Diocese
of Central New York. The names of the first
church officers were, in addition to the pastor in
charge, George Fritls and George W. Bustin,
Wardens; and Silas Ludlow, Justus P. Burgher,
Lorenzo N. Burgher, Philander Comstock, Bene
dict Robinson, Daniel A. Robinson, Jr., Etsel
Wood and John A. Shrader, Vestrymen. The
clergymen who have succeeded Rev. Mr. Ray
mond are. Revs. Alfred IBrown, B. A,, James A,
Brown, J. O. Drumm, W. H. Casey, B. A. and
Wm. Sc.houler, the present rector. The church
edifice, which is very neat and attractive, was
finished in 1870, and consecrated in the fall of
1872. A legacy of $10,000 left the church by
the late Mrs. Phebe M. Hussey, makes it self-
supporting ; and since September, 1876, when
Rev. Mr. Schouler took charge, it has thus been
enabled to enjoy the undivided ministrations of
a resident rector. The church numbers about
forty communicants, and has a Sunday school,
with about the same number of scholars. It is
in possession, besides the fine edifice and the en
dowment referred to, of the rectory adjoining the
church. Thc present vestry consists of Lorenzo
N. Burgher and Daniel D.Anthony, Wardens;
and Dr. G. R. Parry, D. P. Mersereau, Philip
O. Yawger, Henry Eldridge and Horace T.
Durkee, Vestrymen.
Societies. — Warren Lodge No. 147, F. & A.
M., was chartered June Sth, 1850, and held its
first meeting in Odd Fellows Hall, April 9th,
1851. The charter officers were, John Barrett,

374

TOWN OF SPRINGPORT.

Jr., W. M. ; David Titus. 5. W. ; John Morse,
J. W. The first elected officers were Daniel
Lombard, M. ; John Barrett, 5. W. ; David S.
Titus, J. W.; John H. Davids, Secretary; John
Morse. Treasurer; A. S. Cummins, .S". D. ; C.
L. .Candee, J. D. The present officers are, E.
F. Rosecrants.,71/.,- W. J. Winegar, .V. W. ; M.
F. Backus, J. W. ; W. 11. Cozzens. Secretary ;
G. P. Schenck, Treasurer ; N, S. Collins, S. D. ;
W. Schenck, J. D. The present number of
members is 95. Meetings are held in Masonic
Hall the first and third Tuesdays of each month.
Charity Lodge No. 93, A. O. U. W. was
organized May 31st, 1S77. The first officers
wereF. A. Carr, M. W.; O. W. Smith,/'. M.
W.; H. Eldridge, G. F; E, Y. Robinson, 0.
H. S. Anderson, Rec; Geo. P. Schenck, Recor.
Wm. H. Cozzens, P.; Wm. H. Thomas, G.
James Stebbings, /. W.; John Coles, O. W. The
only changes in the officers since the organiza
tion have been the substitution of Wm. Clark for
E. Y. Robinson as O.; and C. A. Niles for
James Stebbings as /. W. Meetings are held
every Friday evening in Rechabite Hall.
Union Springs Tent No. 46. N. O. of I. R.
was organized as No. 42, January 22d, 1S75, with
Elijah Cook, Jr.. S.; E. Chapin, C. R.; F. A.
Carr, D. R.; David Everett, P C. R.; Dana
Rhodes, Secretary; J. B. Hoff, F. S.; J. W. Rose
crants, Treasurer; A. Chambers, Levite. The
present officers are, John Coles, S.; E. Cook,
Jr., C". R.; W. J. Fessenden, D. R.; A. W.
Allen, P. C. R.; H. C. Carr, Secretary; David
Everett, F. S ; W. H. Thomas, Treasurer. Meet
Tuesday evenings in Rechabite Hall.
Onward Camp No. 3, E. K. of R. was or
ganized November 6th, 1S75. with F. A. Carr,
C; Geo. E. Carr, V. C; E. Cook, R.; John
, Coles, Treasurer; Alex. Chambers, Chaplain;
Wm. Fessenden, M.; James Wright, Captain of
Guard; Martin Myers, /. S.; L. N. Burgher,
O. S.; Geo. W. Eldridge, P. C. The present
officers are F. A. Carr. C; J. L. Hammond, P.
C; Walter Schenck, V. C; E. Cook, Jr., Chap
lain; John Cole, Treasurer; D. Everett, Rec.;
Wm. Fessenden, M.; Preserved Tripp, /. S.;
Asa Mosher, O. S.
Union Springs Cornet Band was organized
in 1859. The original members were Albert
Carr, Leader ; E. Wood, Geo. E.. Carr, Henry
,H. McFariand, li. C. Carr, Sr., Henry C. Carr,

James R. Angell, Thomas Miles, A. W. Carr,
Edward Gould. The present members are Geo.
E. Carr, Leader; F. A. Carr, Musical Director ;
Eugene Carr, Treasurer ; H. H. Carr, Sr.,
Secretary ; N. S. Collins. Harvey Kellogg, Chas.
N. Howland, Albert Carr, Edward C. Snow,
Willard Carr, lulward. I loagland, Charles Eggles-
ton, L. 11. Chase, A. JC. Bowen, and Charles
Perrine. They play fifteen instruments.
Village Officers for 1879.
President — S. Warren Rogers.
Trustees — Gaylord Anthony, John Quigley,
William H. Thomas.
Treasurer — David Everett.
Collector — William J. Smith.
Clerk — Frederick A. Carr.
Street Commissioner — Horatio Day.
Police Constable — Charles A. Slocum.
Hills Branch.
Hills Branch (post-office) is a railroad station
in the north part of the town, and contains one
store, kept by H. D. Hibbard. a district school
and two plaster-mills, both of which are owned
by J. W. Woodruff, of Auburn. They grind
about 3,000 tons per annum.
Manufactures. — One mile south of Union
Springs is a^brick yard owned by Henry Carr,
which gives employment to six men in the manu
facture of 400,000 bricks per annum.
On the farm of Stephen Patterson, near the
center of the north line, is a plaster quarry from
which 300 to 400 tons are being taken per an
num. Messrs. Patterson & Schenck have a
plaster-mill in that locality.

BIOCI\APHICAL SKETCHES,

J. O. SPENCER.
J. O. Spencer was born in Delaware county;
N. Y., in 1834. and spent his early life, after at
taining a proper age, in attending and teaching
school. At the age of twenty years he exchanged
the vocation of teaching for that of farming ; but
possessing a mechanical turn of mind he soon
yielded to the irresistible impulse to make a prac-

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^

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<t

" *4 t A^J!. 'iKU't 'S ¦
I, ' \ i r 4?1Zm9i£ '• " Q
p
J.O.SPENCER.
IV ¦^ j'
.<i(\^^v'
"*^^^^^V
UNION SPRINGG AGRICULfL.WpRKS.
J.O.SPENCER. .Mfb. or THE Celebrated 'WIDE AWAKE EimgiMes & Threshers,
¦'*
¦4*
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.

375

tical application of the principles of mechanism
which so fascinated him, and a portion of his time
was early devoted to mechanical pursuits. He
rapidly developed into a thorough mechanic, and
in 1875 became the proprietor of the establish
ment in Union Springs, of which he is still the
efficient head.
These, the Union Springs Agricultural Works,
were established in 1855, by Henry and William
McFariand, whose parents settled at an early
day about three miles north of Union Springs
and still reside there. The McFarlands, though
engaged in agricultural pursuits, were skilled me
chanics, both being millwrights by trade. From
their occupation as farmers their attention was
particularly directed to the urgent need of im
provements in thrashing machines, which were
then very rude and imperfect and consequently
unsatisfactory. By a series of experiments they
invented many of the improvements now in use
in nearly all first-class thrashing machines. They
were the inventors of the first straw carriers, the
over-blast flue in fanning-mills, and beaters for
separating the grain from the straw, though they
never took out patents therefor. They engaged
in the manufacture of the thrashing machines
which bear their name, which are also known at
present as the "Wide Awake" machines, and
continued the business successfully till 1867, when
Henry, the younger, then just in the prime of
life, died. William bought his brother's interest
in the business and continued it till his death in
May, 1874, when the works were successfully run
one year by the administrators, who completed
and sold the .large quantity of unfinished work
left on hand, and in the Spring of 1875 sold the
works at auction.
The establishment was then bought by the
present proprietor, Mr. J. O. Spencer, who, though
commencing late in the season, succeeded in
manufacturing a large number of machines, which
met with a ready sale. Thus encouraged, Mr.
Spencer was induced to add to the manufacture
of thrashers and horse-powers, to which the
works had thus far been confined, other branches,
and in the fall of 1S77 he commenced building
portable steam engines. He selected as a model
one of the very best engines in the world, and is
now turning out engines, which, like his thrash
ers, are styled the " Wide Awake," and are not
inferior in any respect to any manufactured in
this country. Plis ambition to excel in his chcsen
department of labor has been rewarded wilh a
most gratifying and merited success. He has
more than trebled the productive capacity of the
works, and is turning out the present season
(1879) f™'" 25 '•° 3° engines and 75 to 100
thrashers, thus necessitating the employment of
a large capital and the labor of forty to fifty
workmen. Mr. Spencer married Miss Lydia Bunn, of

Tompkins Co., N. Y., in 1857, and is blessed
with four children, three sons and one daughter,
viz : Otto, Andrew, Warren and Fannie, the
former of whom, the eldest, is foreman in the ma
chine shop.
His father, Welden T. Spencer, who was born
in Schenectady Co., April nth, 1806, is still an
active, energetic man. He removed with his pa
rents to Delaware county, where he remained till
he attained the age of twenty-three years, when
he commenced business for himself in Tompkins
county, as farmer and lumber dealer, which he
pursued there forty years. He then sold out,
retired from active business, and removed to Sul
livan county, where he remained till the death of
his wife, April glh, 1874, since which time he
has made his home with his son in Union
Springs.

JOHN F. AND CHARLES E. COURTNEY.
John F. and Charles E. Courtney are
prominently identified with the manufactur
ing interests of their native village. Union
Springs, Cayuga County, N. Y., where the
former was born November, 1 846, and the latter in
September, 1848. They are sons of James
E. and Catharine Courtney, who were born
in Ireland, the former in 1800, and the latter in
1815, and emigrated thence to this coun try, James,
in 1818, and Catharine, in 1817. Both parents
settled in Salem, Mass. Mrs. Courtney's maiden
name was Coburn. After their marriage, in
1S40, they removed to Cayuga County, where-
James E. died in 1855, leaving a widow and ten
children, five sons and five daughters, six of
whom are now living. James T., the eldest child,
has resided in California since 1859. William
H., another son, died in Libby Prison. He was
captured by the Confederate forces with thirty-
nine others of Capt. J. R. Angel's command,
west of Newbern, N. C, during the war of the
Rebellion. Thirty-two of thc number were from
the town of Springport, and only two ofthe forty
— none of the latter number — were afterwards
heard from.
John and Charles being left thus early, at the
tender age of nine and seven years respectively,
without a father's protecting care, were obliged
at a very early age to assist their mother in the
support of the family. Their scholastic advan
tages were, consequently, extremely limited, as
the weightier cares of providing for the physical
necessities of the family left them little time for
attendance at school ; but the little thus afforded
was sedulously improved, and this, combined with
the talents with which nature has liberally en
dowed them, together with industry and frugality,
have earned for them a reputable business stand
ing.

376

TOWN OF FLEMING.

Both early learned the carpenter and joiner
trade, in which they acquired a good degree of
proficiency, and in March, 1875, they commenced
their present business, which is conducted under
the name of the Nezv York Central Planing-Mill
and Hub Works. Besides operating a planing-
mill, they are somewhat extensively engaged in
the manufacture of hubs, sash, doors, blinds and
moldings, in which they give employment to fif
teen to twenty men. The demand for their goods
has been such as to necessitate extensive addi
tions to their facilities, and they have just com
pleted a fine large addition to their building,
which, for the present, will enable them to meet
the demands of their increasing trade. This
evidence of prosperity at a time when the business
of the country generally is very much depressed,
sufficiently indicates the excellence of their work
and that their popularity is merited. In addi
tion to the business above mentioned they manu
facture Thomas' celebrated buckwheat huller.
Nature has blessed both wilh a fine physique,
which has not been abused by intemperate or friv
olous habits. It is worthy of note that neither of
the Messrs. Courtney have ever used tobacco, or
ardent spirits in any form. This, considered in the
light of the alarming prevalence of this species
of intemperance, which, from its effect upon man's
finer sensibilities, may justly be regarded a vice,
is highly commendatory. Both are possessed of
mental vigor and great physical endurance.
Charles E. Courtney has acquired a world-wide
fame through his superior skill as an oarsman ;
indeed his great proficiency in the use of the oars
has made his name a household word throughout
Cayuga County, as also with all admirers of ath
letic sports. At the Centennial exhibition in
Philadelphia, in September, 1876, Mr. Courtney,
in an exciting contest in which there were forty-
five competitors, won the beautiful Centennial
badge, which glistens with thirty-eight diamonds,
representing the States in the Union, and which,
with other trophies, to the number of eighty-
three, many of them fine and costly, he wears
with characteristic modesty.
Charles E. Courtney was united in wedlock
Jan. 28th, 187s, to Miss Delia S. Halsey, of Ith
aca, N. Y., though his brother and copartner,
John F., remains single. Their mother still
survives and is living with these her sons in
Union Springs. She is the recipient of their
unremitting and affectionate care and attention.

CHAPTER XLIIL
Town of Fleming.

F*LEMINGlies at the foot of Owasco Lake.
on the west side, a little south of the center
of the County. It is bounded on the north by

Auburn and Aurelius ; on the east by Owasco
Lake and its outlet ; on the south by Scipio ;
and on the west by Springport. It was formed
from Aurelius, March 2Sth, 1S23, and derives its
name from Gen. George Fleming, one of the
early settlers of the town.
The surface is rolling, and has a gentle inclina
tion to the north and east. The shore of the
lake, which is a magnificent body of water, con
tinues its upward slope about three-fourths of a
mile, and is less bold upon this than the eastern
side. The highest elevations in the town are 150
to 250 feet above the lake and 800 to 1,000 feet
above tide. It is watered by the head waters of
Crane and Wheeler Creeks, the former of which
flows north to Seneca River, and the latter west
to Cayuga Lake. There is very little waste land
in the town, though about one-tenth of it yet re
mains to be brought under cultivation.
Limestone prevails pretty generally over the
town, but not in sufficient quantities to give it a
commercial value. The soil, which is fairly pro
ductive, is chiefly a gravelly loam, intermixed
with clay and sand, and partakes of the character
of the underlying rocks. The chief branch of
agriculture is grain raising, lo which the soil is
admirably adapted.
The Southern Central Raflroad crosses the
east border of the town, in close proximity to the
lake. The population of the town in 1875 was 1,261 ;
of whom 1,093 were native; 168 foreign ; 1,233
white ; and 28 colored.
The area of the town is 13,710 acres; of
which 12,403 are imiDroved, 1,267 woodland, and
40 unimproved.
The first settlements were made in 1790.
Among those who settled in that and the follow
ing year were Benjamin Irish, the Grovers, Ed
ward Wheeler, Ichabod and Abel Wilkinson and
James Harrington. Benjamin Irish was a son of
Elder David Irish, who settled first in Scipio and
subsequently, in iSoo, in Fleming, at which time
he became pastor of the Baptist Church at Flem
ing, which was organized by him four years pre
viously. Benjamin settled about two mfles north
of Fleming village, where David Baker now lives.
He removed west about 1820, with his family.
Eight sisters married and lived in that locality,
and his father, the Elder, died on that farm in
1815. Joseph Grover Settled about two miles

EARLY SETTLEMENTS.

377'

north-west of Fleming, where Ephraim Beach
now lives. His brother Samuel, and cousins
Pcnuel, John, Zadoc, William, Solomon and
Thomas,' all of whom, except William, had fam
ilies, settled in the same locality, which was long
known as Grover's Hill. The Grovers were
from the Eastern States. Joseph Grover opened
a store in 1797, which was the first store in the
town. Grover's Hill gave early promise of be
coming a thriving village, and had assumed con
siderable importance long before much improve
ment was made on Fleming Hill, its future suc
cessful rival. Two sons of Penuel Grover, are
living, viz : David and Abram, the former in
Scipio and the latter on the old Fleming place.
Edward Wheeler settled on the ridge road, on the
west line of the town, where his great-grandson,
Geo. Wheeler, now lives, and where he died. His
youngest son, Aurelius Wheeler, who was born
March 2Sth, 1792, and named after the town of
Aurelius, was the first while child born in the
town of Fleming. He and his brother Elijah
subsequently removed to Aurelius and died there,
the former November 5th, 1870.
The following year, 1792, Abel Wilkinson
opened the first inn. In this year also occurred
the first death, the wife of George West, who, in
company with a family named Nettleton, came
in a short time before from the Eastern States,
and settled just west of Fleming. Nettleton set
tled on a farm adjoining West's on the west,
where Jonathan Griffiths now lives, and kept a
distillery. Both moved west after 1812. In 1794,
the first school was taught by John Herring, who
had settled at Auburn, then Hardenbergh's Cor
ners. Gen. George Fleming, from whom thc town
derived its name, settled about this time, where
Abram Groyer now lives. He was a man of con
siderable prominence, and is well remembered
by the oldest of the early settlers now living
from his participation in the mililia trainings of
that period. He died in the town about 1823
or '4.
Jacob Byers, a German, from Pennsylvania,
came in soon after 1790, possibly in that year,
and settled at Wyckoffs Station, where Peter V.
Wyckoff novv lives. He removed with his family
to Springport about 1803. He came in company
with Isaac Jolly and Asa Jackson, also from Penn
sylvania, on foot. Jolly settled on lot 98, and
64-1

removed to the west part of the State at an early
day. Jackson settled on a hundred acres, be
tween Byers and Jolly, where Thomas Plunkett
now lives. Pie came with his wife and child, on
foot, and carried his ax upon his shoulder. Soon
after the beginning of the present century he
traded with Abram Voorhees for a hundred acres
at the foot of Owasco Lake, where he died in
1S16. One daughter, Catharine, now Mrs.
Samuel Noyes, is living in Owasco. Plenry Van-
Arsdale came in prior to 1796 and settled on lot
98, where Taflman VanDyne now lives. He
removed from the town at an early day.
In 1796, Wm. Post, at the request of his father,
who was then in New Jersey, came, in company
wilh Abram Van Ness, his brother-in-law. with
whom he had removed to Ovid, Seneca county,
from New Jersey, in 1794, to examine lot 91,
for which his father was then negotiating. Wm.
Post, having sent a satisfactory description of
the lot to his father, settled where David B. Post
now lives, and Van Ness, who married Post's
sister Lena, where Horace Post now lives. This
same year his father, Christopher Post, came in
from New Jersey with his wife, Margaret, his
youngest son, Jacob, and his wife, Mary, his
daughter, Mary, and her husband, Cornelius Pe
terson, and his youngest daughter, Ida, who was
then unmarried, but subsequently became the
wife of John Brokaw, in company with Cornelius
Peterson, father of his son-in-law Cornelius, and
his family, which was' large. .Christopher took
up 472 acres on lot 91, and settled in the south
east corner, where Ebenezer Gilbert now lives.
They came with wagons, over the mountains,
fording streams which were bridgeless. Peter
son settled on lot 83, where George Peterson, his
grandson, now lives. Christopher Post died on
the homestead March 17th, 1816. His family
are all dead, but several of his descendants are
living in this locality. George Post, another son
of Christopher, came in from New Jersey in May,
1798, with his wife, Anna, and two children,
Margaret and John, the former of whom, now
the widow of Wm. Selover, is living in Auburn.
His family went to Albany by the Hudson, and
he joined them there by team across the country,
and brought them thence to their destination by
the same mode of conveyance. He remained
some ten days with his father, during which time
he bought of Lucas Brinkerhoff, a German from

378

TOWN OF FLEMING.

Esopus, (who came in the same year and pur
chased a State's hundred of Jacob Byers,) fifty
acres, on which the former had made a small clear
ing and built a log house. He died October 4th,
1 85 1, on the old homestead, which is now occu
pied by his son, Christopher G. Post, and grand
son, George Sumner Post ; the former of whom
was born there August Sth, 1803, and still pos
sesses a good degree of physical and mental
vigor, and who was Supervisor in 1S55. '57 and
'59, and Assessor three years, which latter office
his son, George Sumner Post, now holds. This
fifty acres is on lot 91, on the shore of Owasco
Lake, a fine view of which it commands. The
following grand-children of Christopher Post, in
addition to Christopher G. and Margaret, before ¦
named, are living, viz : Ida Peterson, daughter
of Cornelius Peterson, on the Peterson farm,
now occupied by her nephew, Cornelius Peter
son. Christopher, son of Wm. Post, in Wyom
ing county. Margaret, widow of Frederick
Van Liew, in Ohio ; Jacob, in Scipio ; Martin, in
Perry, Wyoming county ; George ; Jane, now
Mrs. Ebenezer Gilbert ; Plelen, now Mrs. Cor
nelius Peterson, and Phebe Ann, now Mrs.
James Chamberlain, the latter with her brother-
in-law, E. Gilbert, all children of Jacob Post, in
Fleming. Hon. George I. Post, of Fair Haven,
son of John Post, is a great-grandson of Chris
topher's. His mother, Catharine, is now living
with David B. Post, in Fleming, on the old
homestead of John Post. Lucas Brinkerhoff
lived on his remaining fifty acres three years,
when he sold them to George Post, to whom he
sold the first fifty, and removed to lot 98. There
he remained till the spring of 18 16, when he again
sold to George Post, and moved to Owasco and
subsequently to Yates county, where he died.
Dr. Asa Cooley, the first physician in the •
town, settled three miles west of Fleming Hill,
where George Bairn now lives, and where he
died, prior to 179S. His son Asa is living in
Sennett. A family named Tyler and a man
named Wise, father of William and George Wise,
settled prior to 1798, the former on Fleming Hifl,
and the latter where the widow of his son Wil
liam, and George, a bachelor, now lives, and
where he and his son William died.
Settlements were made about 1798, by Orrin
Wilkinson, Johnson Scoville and Josiah Chat-
field. Wilkinson settled east of Gen. Fleming,

on an adjoining farm, about three miles south
west of Fleming village, where he lost his wife.
He remarried and removed to Seneca county,
leaving his sons Orrin, Lyman and Lemuel, the
latter of whom remained on the farm tfll a few
years ago, and is now living in Sennett. Orrin
and Lyman moved west, the former some fifty
years ago, and the latter six or eight years ago.
Scoville was from Connecticut and settled where
John Wheaton now lives, about a mfle and a
half north-west of Fleming, where he hung him
self about 1820, while suffering from aberration
produced by religious excitation. Chatfiekl was
from the Eastern States, and settled on Fleming
Hill, where the widow of Hugh Van Ness now
lives, and where he died. He is believed to have
been the first to settle on the site of the village.
His family have all removed from the town.
John Baker came from Connecticut to the
Mohawk country and thence to Fleming about
the beginning of the present century. He set
tled on Fleming Hill, where his spn Artemas
kept a blacksmith shop. His first house was
burned, when he built the one in which Dr.
Samuel Gilmore now lives, which is only a few
rods from the site of the first.
Parley Wheeler, brother of Edward Wheeler,
came in from Fairfield, Connecticut, in 1805,
and settled on lot 87, about three miles west of
Fleming, where his son, Edward P. Wheeler,
now lives, and where, in 1807, he buflt a hotel,
which he kept a great many years. He and his
brother died here at a very advanced age. An
other son of Parley's, Erastus, is living in P'lem-
ing, about a mile east of the old farm.
Aaron Bowen came in from Massachusetts in
1810, and settled where his son, John Smith
Bowen, now lives, and where he died in 1839.
Amy Bowen, his daughter, who came in with
him, is living with John Smith Bowen, aged
eighty-two years.
Town Officers. — The first town meeting was
held Aprfl 15th, 1823, and the first town officers
were Luman Loomis, Supervisor ; Amos Gould,
Clerk; Elijah Sheldon, Semi Babbit and John
G. Paul, Assessors ; Amos Gould and Elijah
Wheeler, Overseers of the Poor; Ephraim Ham
mond, Mathew F. Gregory and Ebenezer Gould,
Commissioners of Highways ; Luther Hamilton, .
Collector; Joseph Farmer, Luther Hamilton and
John G. Burroughs, Constables ; Orange Wilkin-

FLEMING VILLAGE.

379

son Asahel Cooley, and Stephen Lombard, Com
missioners of Common Schools ; Luther Hamil
ton, Ephraim Plammond, and Levi Farnsworth,
Inspectors of Common Schools.
The present officers (1878) are :
Supervisor — H. E. Brannon.
Clerk — George Wyckoff.
Justices — John Robinson, Wm. R. Tryon and
David B. Post.
Assessors — Geo. S. Post, Daniel P. VanLiew
and Timothy Brigden.
Commissioner of Highways — Aaron Bowers.
Overseer ofthe Poor — L. S. Barker.
Inspectors of Election — Geo. Crofoot, T. Perry
and C. S. Pease.
Collector — Howard Tryon.
Constables — Vincent Adams, John Smith, Jacob
R. Post and Richard Geraghaty.
Game Constable — Vincent Adams.
Excise Commissioner— Henry VanArsdale.
• Fleming Village.
Fleming is beautifully situated upon an ele
vated plateau, a little south-east of the center of
the town, five mfles south of Auburn, and three
miles west of Wyckoffs Station. It contains two
churches, (Baptist and M. E.,) a district school,
one hotel, (of which Wm. Geer, a native of
Fleming, has been proprietor since June ist,
1878,) two stores, two wagon shops, (L. S. Baker
and Romenzo Mabey, proprietors,) three black
smith shops, (Sandford Davis, G. F. & B. W.
Mabey, and Charles Crawford & Son, proprietors,)
and a population of about 200.
The first settlement on the site of the village
is believed to have been made by Josiah Chat-
field, who came in from the Eastern States before
1798. The house in which he lived and died is
now occupied by the widow of Hugh VanNess.
His family have all moved from the town. A
family named Tyler settled here about thc same
time. But seltlcmcnts were made prior to this on
the hill north of this, known as Grover's Hill,
from the Grovers who settled there. That lo
cality had become quite a business center, with
store, hotel and post-office, before any consider
able settlement was made on Fleming Hifl. A
sharp rivalry existed between these two localities
for the supremacy, with the chances largely in
favor of the latter. But the opening of a store
in 1828, on Fleming Hill, by Stephen Thornton,

and the change of the post-office to that locality
two years later, permanently decided the question
in favor of the present village, which, though
small, the business being confined to the natural
requirements of the country in its immediate
vicinity, has since enjoyed the distinction of be
ing the viflage of the town. Possessing no
natural advantages to tempt the investment of
capital in manufacturing enterprises, its growth
has been slow, as its contiguity to Auburn on the
north and Union Springs on the west, has divert
ed much of the business which otherwise would
naturally center here.
Merchants. — The first merchants on Flem
ing Hifl were Stephen Thornton and his son Wm.
P. Thornton, who, in 1828, opened a store, which
stood where Mabey's blacksmith shop now stands.
They dissolved after seven or eight years, and
Francis, another son of Stephen's, became his
partner. About 1S44, Stephen withdrew and
Francis continued alone till about 1847, when
Allen D. Morgan, a son-in-law of Stephen Thorn
ton's, became associated wilh Francis. After
three or fouryears Francis withdrew., and Mor
gan conducted the business alone about four
years, when he sold to Francis and Seymour
Thornton, brothers, who did business about five
years, when Seymour bought Francis' interest,
and about 1862, sold to John Hammond and
James Rheubottom, who did business two or
three years and then closed out.
William P. Thornton, immediately after dis
solving partnership with his father, formed a co
partnership with Isaac Hammond. They erect
ed the brick building now occupied by H. B.
Gaston and did business some five or six years,
when they dissolved, Thornton removing from
the town, and Hammond, to a farm in the town.
Ebenezer Dunning and Harvey Beach kept a
store some five or six years from 1832, in the
building now occupied as a wagon shop by L. S.
liakcr. William Sheldon opened a store about
1S36 and kept it about twelve years, when he
burned out. He subsequently built the store
now occupied by John Hale, but it is not remem
bered that he put in a stock of goods. A union
store was started in 1S55, by a stock company,
composed mostly of farmers, with a capital of
$6,000. It was continued tifl 1858.
The present merchants are, H. B. Gaston,
who keeps a general stock. He is a native of

38o

TOWN OF FLEMING.

Fleming ; but he came from Owasco in 1865,
and in the spring of 1866. opened a store in com
pany with Johnson Tallman, whose interest he
bought after nine months. John Hale com
menced the grocery business in 1865, in company
with his brother Luther Hale, whose interest he
bought after a little over two years. The post-
office is kept in his store.
Postmasters. — The first postmaster was Dr.
Isaac Brown, who moved the office from Grover's
Hill about 1830. Dr. Samuel Gilmore was ap
pointed in 1836, and was succeeded by William
P. Thornton, who held the office five or six years.
Francis Thornton succeeded him and held the
office till about 1 847. E. P. Baker held the office
during the last two years of Millard Ffllmore's
administration. He succeeded Elias ^Thorne
and was superseded by William H. Carpenter.
W. W. Sheldon was subsequently appointed and
held it four years. Allen Morgan next held the
office about five years, and Abel Plasbrouck,
about four. Luther Hale received the appoint
ment in 1865, and held the office tifl January ist,
1867, when John Hale, the present incumbent,
was appointed.
PHYSiciAbis. — The first physicians who prac
ticed in the town were Drs. Asahel Cooley and
Jacob Bogart, probably as early as 1800. Cooley
lived three mfles west of Fleming, where George
Baim now lives, and where he died in 1828. Bo
gart settled at the foot of the lake. But the first
physician who settled at Fleming village was
Isaac Brown, from the Eastern States, in 18 16.
In 1S31. he formed a copartnership with Samuel
Gilmore, a native of Schuyler, Herkimer county,
who came in 1830 from Throop. to which town
he removed with his father in 1808. In 1836,
the partnership was dissolved and Dr. Brown
removed to Michigan. In 1848 Dr. Gilmore
sold his practice to E. P. Baker, from Owasco,
and removed to Auburn and subsequently to
Aurelius, where he remained on a farm tifl 1865,
when he returned to Fleming and resumed prac
tice, which he stfll continues. From September
iSth, 1874 to June 30th, 1875, he was associated
with Charles O. Baker, who is now practicing in
Elbridge. Dr. Gflmore has been a resident of
the County over seventy years and a practicing
physician nearly fifty years. He is a man of
rare qualities of head and heart, honored and
trusted by all that know him. He has kept him

self fully informed in the advancing literature of
his profession, and has also actively participated
in the political, religious and educational progress
of his time, in all of which relations he has been
an honored and an honorable standard bearer.
K. P. Baker, who is novv practicing in Aurora,
remained here about seven years, when he sold
to a Dr. Peck and removed to Ira. Dr. Peck
remained till 1865. till the return of Dr. Gilmore.
Frank Hoxie came in from Owasco in the fall of
1877, and is still practicing here.
Fleming Baptist Church vvas organized as
the First luiptist Church in Aurelius, wilh twenty-
two members. June 4lh, 1796, by Elder David
Irish, the pioneer preacher of Cayuga County,
who commenced his labors in this town the
previous year. It is the second church organ
ized in Cayuga County. Elder Irish, who vvas
then in charge of the church in Scipio, preached
to this Society at stated" periods till iSoo, in
which year he resigned his charge in Scipio and
became the pastor of this church, and remained
such till his death, September 13th, 18 15. In
the years 1801, '2 and '5, about one hundred
were added to the membership, and in 1806, a
most remarkable revival was experienced and
ninety-seven were added.
During his pastorate their first house of wor
ship was erected. Their second pastor vvas
Jonathan Hascall, who commenced his labors
with them June 6th, 18 17, and closed them at
the end of the year ; the church having experi
enced a revival during his stay by which thirty-
five were added to their numbers. Pie was suc
ceeded in 1818 by Wflliam Witter, who re
mained one year. Their fourth pastor was
Henry R. Clark, who entered upon the duties of
his office in 1821, and remained five years, dur
ing which time two revivals were enjoyed, and
sixty-nine added to their number by baptism.
He was succeeded by Samuel M. Plumb, August
6th, 1827. In the first years of Elder Plumb's
pastorate the evfl effects arising from the discus
sion of the questions of Free Masonry and Tem
perance which were so prevalent throughout the
churches were manifest in this; but in 1S31
their religious apathy disappeared and they ex
perienced a revival which added sixty-two to
their number by baptism, and was followed in
1832 by a protracted meeting of nine days' dura
tion, by which twenty-seven were added and a

FLEMING VILLAGE— CHURCPIES.

381

spirit bf religious activity awakened. Elder
Plumb closed his labors in April, 1833, and was
succeeded by A. Clark that year. Elder Clark
served a pastorate of two years, and was suc
ceeded in 1836 by J. C. Plolt, who remained one
year. L. Farnsworth assumed the pastoral care
Aprfl 1st, 1838, and remained tfll January, 1842.
During his pastorate thc church purchased a lot
in the village and erected a new and commodious
house of worship, partially from the material used
in the construction of the old one. It was dedi
cated in 1840. Soon after its completion a re
vival was experienced, by which forty-seven were
added by baptism and letter. S. S. Wheeler be
came their pastor in 1843, ^"tl added eighteen to
their number. He was succeeded in 1845 by
H. Cady, who remained two years. From this
period tfll the spring of 1850, when J. M. Shaw
was called to the pastorate, the pulpit was sup
phed by Brother Justus Ask, of Springport, and
Elder George Plummer. Elder Shaw was or
dained December 27th, 1850, and served them
till 185 1. He was followed the third Sabbath in
May, 1852, by T. PI. Green, who closed his
labors with them Aprfl ist, 1854. Ezra Dean,
of Auburn, supplied the pulpit tifl May 5th, i860.
E. Smith entered upon the pastoral charge the
third Sabbath in May, i860. He tendered his
resignation August 3d, 1861, and was granted a
letter of dismission February ist, 1862. He
was succeeded May 3d, 1862, by C. A. Smith,
who remained till 1867. E. Dean served them
again as a supply tifl March 7th, 1868. Wifliam
L. Goodspeed commenced his labors with them
May 2d, 1 868, and closed them January ist, 1870.
He was succeeded March 5 th, 1870, by James H.
McGahen, who continued his pastoral labors till
March 2d, 1872. G. D. Downey served
them a short period from May 22d, 1872.
D. Conley became their- pastor June
15th, 1873, and remained four years, till
the summer of 1877, when sickness, which re
sulted in his death, compelled him to discontinue
his labors. He was succeeded in June, 1877, by
L. Brasted, the present pastor.
During the summer of 1876, their church edi
fice was repaired at a cost of $1,400, so that it
now presents a very neat appearance. The pres
ent number of members is eighty-one ; and the
attendance at Sabbath school, about thirty.

Sand Beach Church. — This church is situ
ated two miles from the city of Auburn. It was
founded on the lOth of March, 1807, when a
meeting was held at the house of Mr. Asa Jack
son, and after prayer, George Burnett was chosen
moderator, and Jacob Bogart, clerk. It was then
resolved that Andrew VanMiddlesworth, Fred
erick VanLiew and Peter VanLiew be appointed
to fix a site for a mecting-housc, said house to be
buflt on land belonging to, and granted by Asa
Jackson, at whose house a meeting was held on
the 19th of March, 1807, when Asa Jackson, An
drew VanMiddlesworth and George Burnett were
appointed managers for building said house,
which was to be 44 by 34 feet, with galleries.
The building of the house was delayed, and on
the 13th of January, 1810, another meeting was
held at the house of Asa Jackson, when it was
resolved to go on with the building of a house of
worship, and that the managers previously ap
pointed, erect a house of worship 40 by 36 feet,
with galleries on three sides.
On June 5th. 1810, a meeting was held at the
house of Mr. Asa Jackson, when further meas
ures were taken for selecting a suitable site for
the church building. The first pastor of the
Sand Beach Church was Rev. Conrad TenEyck,
who remained in its service until the year 1826.
After the close of Rev. Mr. TenEyck's ministry,
the church applied to the secretary of the Mis
sionary Society of the Reformed Dutch Church,
in the city of New York, asking to have a mis
sionary sent to them. In response to this re
quest. Rev. Benjamin Westfall was sent. He
entered upon his mission June 5th, 1S26. From
that time to the present, (1S26 to 1879,) t'le Sand
Beach Church has had seventeen pastors ; their
names are as follows : Rev. Henry Plur-
mans, 1828; Rev. I. G. Tarbell, 1831 ; Rev.
Leonard Rogers, 1833 ; Rev. Robert Kirk wood,
1836; Rev. John Mole, 1S39; K.ev. R. W.
Knight, 1842 ; Rev. A. B. Winfield, 1844 i Rev.
S. R.Brown, 1851 ; Rev. Seth Hastings, 1859;
Rev. John Garretson, 1862 ; Rev. Mr. Schenck,
1865 ; Rev. S. R. Brown, 1868; Rev. Mr. Hunt
ington, 1869; Rev. Mr. Rice, 1871 ; Rev. A.
Dean, 1872 ; Rev. Geo. McKinle)', 1876; Rev.
E. C. Lawrence, 1877; Rev. Charles Anderson,
iS78-'79. During the ministry of Rev. S. R. Brown,
about the year 1853, measures were taken to

382

TOWN OF OWASCO.

erect a substantial brick edifice on the site ofthe
old Sand Beach Church. This building was com
pleted and dedicated to.the service of God on the
26lh of July, 1855. The cost of the new church
was about $6,000. This building is stfll in good
repair, and a beautiful house of worship. The
present number of members is about fifty-five.
The Sabbath School is very flourishing, and
averages an attendance of from thirty to fifty.
The usefulness of this church, planted in the
wfldernessby the pioneers of Cayuga County,
cannot be estimated by its numbers. The light
of its altar fire still illuminates this region of
country, and God has not forsaken the church
dedicated to his Holy Name.*
The First Society of the Methodist Epis
copal Church of Fleming. — In 1832 the Rev.
Gardnier Baker, who was then the pastor of the
Methodist Episcopal Church in Auburn, occa
sionally preached at Fleming and formed a class
as follows : Samuel Gilmore, Leader ; Daniel K.
Culver and wife, Henry Whitbeck and wife, Em
ory Ingalsby and wife, Daniel Shaw and wife,
Mrs. Lydia Wyckoff, Mrs. Abigail Culver and
Mrs. Sabrina Forbes.
During May and June, 1832. Revs. Baker and
Coryell held a protracted meeting of several
weeks duration, in Elliott Howell's barn. Such
assemblages being then a novelty, were largely
attended, deep interest vvas excited and more
than one hundred persons hopefully converted.
The need of a house of worship at once was
urgent, and a legal organization of the "First So
ciety of the Methodist Episcopal Church in Flem
ing',' was perfected June 19th, 1832, of which
the first trustees were: Dr. Samuel Gilmore,
Henry Whitbeck, Daniel K. Culver, Emory In
galsby and Daniel Shaw. The church edifice
was commenced that year and dedicated in May,
1833. The first pastor was Rev. Darius Sim
mons, succeeded by James P. Ellsworth and Ross
Clark. Among their later pastors have been
many men who became eminent in their profes
sion, including Doctor Lamkin, John E. Robie,
A. Cross, B. I. Ives and others. The present
pastor is the Rev. Pratt T. Plughston.
Their present fine edifice was completed and
dedicated June Sth, 1876. The present trustees
are Ovid A. Baker, Hiram Thornton, Henry
Whitbeck; Elliott Howell and William Clarke.
* For the history of this church we are indebted to Mrs, C. W,
Martin.

The present number of members is 90, and
the attendance at Sabbath School, 45.
Wyckoffs Station.
Wyckoffs Station, (Owasco Lake p. o.,) is
situated on the S. C. R. R., on the shore ofthe
lake, seven miles south of Auburn. It contains
neither church, store, hotel, nor shop, the post-
office being kept in the depot. The first post
master here was David Chamberlain, who was
appointed in 1850, and held the office three years.
He was succeeded by Christopher G. Post, who
held it nearly thirteen years, and was followed by
John Knox, the present incumbent.
Four Mile House. — This hotel is beautifully
situated on one of the pleasantest coves on the
west shore of the lake, four miles south of Au
burn. The proprietor, Mr. A. Brown, keeps a
supply of sail and row boats for the accommoda
tion of his guests. In 1876, he added further to
the attractions of the place by the erection of a
large summer house for picnic and dancing par
ties. This is one of those charming spots which
nature and art combined have made inviting to
the weary ones seeking rest and recreation, and
under the efficient management of Mr. Brown
has won a much deserved popularity.
Manufactures. — Mosher's Mills are located
three-fourths of a mile west of Fleming, and oc
cupy the site of a saw-mill erected as early as
1820, by Amos Gould, and run by the Goulds a
good many years. The present proprietor, Amos
Mosher, added a feed-mill in 1873, and in 1876, a
cider-mill. It is a frame building, and contains
a circular saw and one run of stones. It was
operated by water power until 1878, in which year
a steam engine was put in.
In the west part of the town is a water-power
saw-mfll. owned by Asa Cornell, which has been
in operation a great many years.

CHAPTER XLIV.
Town of Owasco.

OWASCO was formed from Aurelius March
30th, 1802. It lies upon the east border
of the County, a little south of the center, at the
foot of Owasco Lake, which, together with its

•^•^e

a-

4

Solomon Cuykendall.

Solomon Cuykbndall was born in Minisink, Orange County, N.
T„ December 6th, 178!) and was the first of a family of thirteen
children of Martin and Anna fCole] Ciiylcondal], natives of that
place, where hie father was born February 18th, 17(H, and his
mother, Au^ist 3d, 1769. His parents were married February ICth,
1789, and pursued farming in their native county till 1801, when
they removed to the town of Aurelius, now Owasco, and bought a
large tract of land on lot 100, near the site of Owaseo village, upon
which they resided till their death. Martin Cuykendall built, on
the site of the present mills near Owasco, a grist and saw-mill,
which were destroyed by flre about fifteen years ago. He operated
these mills many years in connection with his farming operations,
for he pursued the vocation of a farmer after his removal to this
county, ^e was a representative man, thoroughly identified with
the important interests of his town and an active participant in
the administration of its affairs. He was a man of strict integrity,
good executive ability and enjoyed in a marked degree the con
fidence of hia townsmen, who honored him with many offices of
trust and responsibility, among them that of Justice of the Peace,
an office he held for many years. He was a prominent member of the
Dutch Reformed Church of Owasco, and not only gave the ground
upon which the edifice erected by that society stands, but also con
tributed largely in money and material in aid of its erection. He
was a member of that Church for many years and until the division
which occurred in that body in 1821. when he. with others, separated
to form the 7¥ii6 Reformed Dittch Church of Owaitco^ the house of
worship for which society he also helped to build. He held the
office of ruling elder in these churches more than forty years and
faithfully discharged the duties of that office.
Martin Cuykendall died December 14th. 1843, and his wife, Feb
ruary 1st, 1814. He, together with his wife, two sons, two daugh-
t(^rs-ln-law and a grand-daughter, were stricken down within the
short period of fourteen weeks with typhoid erysipelas, a malig
nant disease, more commonly known as "black tongue," which
was then prevalent. Mr. Cuykendall was universally esteemed.
He was tbe firm friend of the Bible cause, of Evangelical missions.
of temperance, and of every good work. He was ever ready with
his counsel, prayers and property to minister to and ameliorate the
sufferings of the afflicted. "His death was peaceful. He depart
ed relying not on any work he had ever done, but exclusively on
the merits of a crucified Savior." Hisson Cornelius, togetherwith
his wife Betsey, who died March 13th, 1844, aged 50, and infant
daughter, Caroline Austin, who- died February S9th, 1844, aged 3
years, were among the victims to this disease. Cornelius was a
man of more than ordinarv talents and acquirements, He enjoyed
the confidence of his fellow citizens, and places of trust and
responsibility were cheerfully confided to him. He held the office
of magistrate for many years ; was Member of Assembly in 1834
and '35: and held many other impori-ant offices, in all of which he
acquitted himself honorably. In social and domestic life both ho
and hi-' wife were uniformly kind, affectionate and cheerful, and
soucht to promote the happiness of all around them.
Thf* children of Martin and AnnaCuykondall were, in addlrlon to
Solomon, Cornelius, who was born June 24th. 1791, and died March
4fh. 1844; Leah, who was born July Sth, 1793. and died in April,
1857 ; Elizabeth, who waa born August 25th, 1795, and died Novem-
her 10th, 1790 ; Moses who was born Aumist 11th. 1797, and died
May 20th,' Ifini; Ezra, who was born October BOtb, 1799, and died
February lOth, 1843 ; Peter, who was born November 17th, 1801. and
is still living in Rionn. Wisconsin ; Wilhelmus. who'was born March
5th, 1804, and died November 17th, 1613, with the black tongue;

Levi, who was born March 7th, 1806, and died November 23d, 1806 ;
Ellas, who was born January 3d, 1808, and died December lOth, 1876;
Catharine, who was born January 18th, 1810, and is now living un
married in Elmira, N. Y. ; Martin, who was born January 23d, 1812,
and died December 23d, 1812; and John, who was bora October
81st, 1814, and died July 25th, 1874.
Solomon remained on the homestead farm until he was 20 years
old. He never attended school after he was twelve years old.
Yet he had a good education, which he obtained by a close applica
tion to the best books and papers. He was a close observer and
was well posted on all religious and political topics, — a man
thoroughly well informed. He assisted his father In clearing off
the forest and carrying on the farm. At the age of twenty-six
years he was united in marriage with Mary Brann, daughter of
John and Isabelle Brann. She was born in Orange County Novem
ber loth, 1792. Three years after his marriage he bought a farm of
seventy acres in the village of Owasco nnd worked it about thirty
years, when, in consequence of his inability to carry on business,
he sold it to his son. with whom he resided till his death, which oc
curred March 24th, 1872.
He possessed estimable qualities of bead and heart, which com
mended him to, and won for him, the confidence and esteem of hia
fe.low citizens. He was a prominent man in his town, in which he
held the offices of supervlfor three terms, postmaster, justice of '
the peace, assessor and commissioner of highways, performing the
varied and responsible duties connected therewith with singular
fidelity, strict integrity, and an efficiency which reflected much
credit on his mental capacity and executive ability.
In polities Mr. Cuykendall was a Democrat. He was a man of
strong religious convictions and a member of the Dutch Reformed
Church, to which his wife also belonged.
Polly C, wife of Solomon Cuykendall, died December 17th, 1843,
and was one of the sevi'n who died within so short a period of the
disease before referred to. She was prostrated upon a bed of
langulshinir and death after having watched for a fortnight, by day
and night, at the sick bed of her husband and others of her family,
and after all had recovered or were convalescing.
Mrs.. Cuykendall was an excellent woman, and was actuated by
motives of a high order in all the varied relations of life. As a
daughter she wasfllial, as a wife, affectionate ; as a mother loving
and devoted ; and as a neighbor, kind and charitable. She adorned
her religious profession by a uniform, consistent, christian life.
\^5f *'^*^'^'^y ^"^ depth of her piety were evinced in the deep and
abiding sense she had of her sinfulness and unworthiness : placing
all her confidence for justification and eternal life in a crucified
¦^u u' .^"""e *^®r last Illness she was unable to converse qiuoh
with her friends, but was enabled to express her meek submission
to the win oi: her Heavenly Father and a joyful hope of eternal
blpssedness through the blood of her blessed Redeemer."
i.^^*;'. '^'i*^ ^r^- Solomon Cuykendall had three ohildren.-Bona, viz:
J^f^i" Tvn '^'^ V^^ born November ii3d. 181(1, married Ellen Brink
erhoff of Niles. January 29th. 1H38, by whom he had one Pon, (Mar
tin S born November 2let. 1838,) and died May 91st. 1838 ; John B..
^«vw»<?*i^ li^"/^ ,'" Owasco. was born December 17th, 1818, and
•?ln^hnHr«^ wnn^ ^^^focke March 15th, 1849. by whom he has
twochIIdren,WIIliam Tltua, born December 18tb, 1849, and Mary
nMn"L"h5?t;'°^^^*''T^^?'*i.*'^^ y*"^*™ B-. no^ living In 'Plymouth,
nwn«n^ S^«T.^ *'°''i.*l"'?.rS' l^^^ married Adelaide O. Tompkins of
whom are ded'^ ' ' ^ '^*'°"' ^"^ ^""^ ^^'^'^ children, all of

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3r^r-

EARLY SETTLEMENTS.

383

outlet, form the west boundary. It is bounded
on the north by Sennett, on the cast by the town
of Skaneateles in Onondaga county, and on the
south by the town of Niles.
The surface is rolling, and has an inclination
toward the north-west. It ascends gradually
from the lake, above which the highest elevations
are about five hundred feet. Aside from the
lake and its outlet its waters are inconsiderable.
Two small streams drain it and empty into the
lake. The principal one is Owasco Creek or
Dutcjj Hollow Brook, which enters the town in
the south-east corner, by two branches, and flows
in a north-westerly direction across the south
part. Miller's Brook, in the north part, rises near
the east border of the town and flows in a north
westerly direction to near the north line, when it
deflects to the west and again to the south, dis
charging its waters at the foot of the lake.
The soil is of excellent quality, rich and fer
tile. Clay predominates along the lake ; clayey
loam intermixed with sand in the central portions,
and muck in the east.
The population of the town in 1875 was 1,286 ;
of whom 1,100 were native ; 186 foreign ; 1,259
white; and 27 colored. Its area was 13,262
acres; of which 11,112 were improved; 1,606
woodland ; and 544 otherwise unimproved.
The first settlement in Owasco was made in
1792, ten years prior to the organization of the
town, when it formed a part of the old military
township of Aurelius. The pioneers were Samuel
and Benjamin DePuy and Moses Cortright, from
Orange county, Jacob and Roeliff Brinkerhoff,
from Harrisburg, Penn., and Cornelius Delama-
ter, all of whom settled in that year. Samuel
DePuy located where J. N. Chamberlain now
lives, on lot 86, two and a half miles north-west
of Owasco, where he lived till his death, about
1821. His children are all dead, likewise most
of his grand-children. Benjamin DePuy settled
in the north-east part of the town, on what is
known as the Decker farm, which is now occu
pied by Michael Welch, and on which he died.
Cortright settled on lot 76, about two and a half
miles north-west of Owasco, where Cyrus Baker
now lives, and where he died. His children are
all dead. Some of his grand-children are living,
but none of them in this town. The Brinkerhoffs
came in company with their brothers, James and
George, the latter of whom was a minister ofthe
65-*

Dutch Reformed Church, and both of whom set
tled in Niles. Jacob settled on lot 84, and died
there ; and Roeliff, on the farm joining his on
the north, where he also died. John I., a son of
Jacob, and the only one of his children living,
and Jacob, a grandson, now occupy the old home
stead. Roeliff's homestead and a part of the
farm is owned by the heirs of Henry VanElten.
A part of the farm is owned by David Brinker
hoff, a grandson. None of Roeliff's children are
living. Cornelius Delaniater settled in Owasco
village, or on the site of the village, where he is
believed to have been the first settler. He kept
there, in 1800, the first tavern, which stood near
the site of the present one. He left the town at
an early day.
Samuel Gumaer came in from Orange county
soon after the DePuys, and married a daughter
of Samuel DePuy. He settled on 10172, where
the widow of Harvey Gumaer, his son, now lives.
He died there about 1836 or '7. James, another
son, is living in Cato, and Samuel, in the west
edge of Skaneateles.
Hon. Elijah Price came in from Rensselaer
county in 1794, with his wife and family, (having
married Beulah Howard in Stephentown in that
county, January i8th, 1781,) and settled near
Baptist Corners. His loghouse stood on the
site of John Stoner's brick house. He took up
a large tract of land in that locality, including
that on which the church stands. He served in
the militia of this State and Pennsylvania from
1 78 1 to the close of the war, and was present at
the surrender of Burgoyne. He was foreman of
the grand-jury which indicted Indian John at
Aurora for murder. He was a Member of the
Assembly in 1808, and was elected with refer
ence to the location of the County seat at Au-
JDurn, in securing which he was instrumental.
He died in Owasco, December 13th, 1820. Al
exander Price, his son, was a Major in the war of
1812, and was made prisoner at Lundy's Lane.
William, another son, was a lawyer. He studied
with Daniel Kellogg of Skaneateles, and was ad
mitted in the same class as Freeborn G. Jewett,
of that village. He had four other children, all
of whom are dead. Among his grand-children
are, Dr. Elijah Price Baker of Aurora ; E. Dar
win Baker, a graduate of Yale College, who was
State Engineer in Louisiana at the breaking out
of the late war, and who is now a civil engineer

384

TOWN OF OWASCO.

in Alabama ; and Abel W. Baker, a farmer in
Niles. Col, Henry Austin came in 1795, and quar
tered with Elijah Price's family till he could put
up a log house, which stood on the site of the
present brick residence of his son, John Austin,
where he died. One other son is living, viz :
Deacon Warren Austin of Skaneateles. John
Austin has held the office of Supervisor in this
town. The family is highly respected in the
community. David Bevier was one of the earliest settlers.
He erected the first grist-mill in the town in
1798. It stood on lot 85, on Owasco Creek,
which furnished the motive power.
Squire Martin Cuykendall came in from Or
ange county, about the beginning of the present
century, and settled about a quarter of a mile
north of Owasco village, where his grandson,
George Cuykendall, now lives, and where he died
about the winter of 1843. One daughter, Cath
arine, is living in Elmira, and is the only one of
his children living.
Elijah Devoe settled as early as 1808, on lot
85, opposite to where David Brinkerhoff now
lives, A man named Barry occupies the old
homestead. He died in Auburn, while living
with his daughter, Cornelia, who is now residing
in New York City. Two sons are living,
Thomas, in Auburn, and Manuel Gunsalus, in
Owasco. Daniel Ennis and Samuel Hoornbeck, from
Orange county, and Waller and Timothy Strong,
brothers, came in prior to 1812. Mr. Ennis set
tled on lot 99, where Wm, L. Noyes, Member of
Assembly from this town, now lives, and died
there between 1830 and '40. Mr. Hoornbeck
settled on lot 92, on the place now occupied by
Wm. Wilson, who married his grand-daughter.
He died there, and his children are all dead. The
Messrs. Strong settled at Owasco village, where
one of them built and kept the present tavern.
Walter removed to Ohio about 1840, and died
there. Hisson Elijah is still living there. An
other son. Dr. D. O. Strong, is living in Dela
ware. Eliphalet Patee, who was born in Pawlet, Vt,,
June 24th, 1789, and came to Moravia with his
father in 1802, married in 18 12, and settled on lot
60, near the north line of this town, on the place
on which he died March 5th, 1877. His daughter.

Elizabeth Patee, now lives on the old homestead,
together with her sister, Mrs. Simpson. One
other daughter, Mrs. Howard, is living in Syra
cuse. Simeon Swartwoutcamein from Orange county
in 18:3, and settled where his son, Daniel Swart-
wout, now lives, four miles north-west of Owasco
village. He came with his wife and a colored
boy, though the latter was not a slave. As late
as 1820, however, there were not less than six
teen slaves and eight free negroes in this town,
out of a population of 1,290 ; of whom 251 were
farmers, 73 mechanics, and one trader. Mr.
Swartwout continued his residence here till his
death, which occurred in the summerof 1867,
while visiting his son Peter, near Marshall, Cal
houn county, Michigan. His remains were
brought here and interred in the town cemetery.
Three other children are living besides Daniel
and Peter, viz : James in Sterling, and Sally, wife
of J. N. Chamberlain, and Margaret, wife of
David Brinkerhoff, in Owasco.
Daniel Miller and his sons Lewis, Adam and
John, settled at an early day where Adam and
John now reside, on lot 59, in the north part of
the town. Daniel died on the homestead, where
the widow of Lewis now lives.
Town Officers, — Unfortunately the early
records of the town have not been preserved ;
hence we are unable to give the names of the
first town officers. The present officers ( 1 878)
are as follows :
Supervisor — Wm. L. Noyes.
Clerk — Adelbert Chamberlain.
Justices — Samuel B. Noyes, Adam Welly,
Geo. Seeley and Chas. F. Church.
Commissioner of Highzvays—'^yc^nard A. Wal
lace. Assessors — J. N. Chamberlain, John Sarr and
Adam Welly.
Collector — Alfred Gere.
Constables — B. L. Tompkins, Edward Bench,
Orrin P. Howland and Elisha Terwilliger.
Overseers of the Poor — Ellis Meaker and Jesse
Davis. Inspectors of Election — Josiah Brinkerhoff,
Charles T. Brown and Dennis Ames.
Excise Commissioners — Wm. R. Reed and S.
S. Woodworth.
Game Constable — Daniel Swartwout.

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[Photo by S, Hall Morris,]

David Phambeb\lain.

James Chambef\lai

N.

Ninian and Elizabeth [EwikoI Chamberlain, the progenitors of
the family by that name in Cayuga County, were natives of Adams
County. Pa . where the former was born October 1st, 1751, and the
latter, in 1768, They were married July Sth, 1T89, andpui'sued the
vocation of farmers. They enjoyed fair scholastic advantages,
such as the schools of that period afforded,
Ninian Chamberlain was employed in the Continental army dur
ing the war of the Eevolution as n aster of transportation, and
shared in ail the vicissitudes and hardships so nobly borne in the
struggle for independence. His brother James was a Colonel In
the same army. Both had the pleasure of meeting and knowing
Oeorge Washington, about whom tbey related many interesting
Incidents to their children, which show how familiar they were
with the triumphs and disasters that fell to the lot of that noble
army. After the close of the war Ninian resumed his occupation of
farming. In 1807 ha came to Cayuga County and settled on lot 8 in
in the town of Niles, which then formed a part of Semproniup, on
325 acres purchased of Lucas Elmendorf, of Albany, N. Y,, for $5,50
per acre. The entire region was then an almost unbroken wilder
ness. With a stout heart and resolute purpose he, with the aid of
his sons, commenced the work of subduing the giant forest trees,
and at the expiration of twelve years had many acres around his
rude log dwelling covered with wheat, oats and corn. A generous
reward for the labor and privation of the previous toilsome years
was being realized ; bnt tbe title to his land proved defective and
lie, like many others who early settled upon the Military Tract,
waa suddenly deprived of this rich fruitage. This blow was very
disheartening, but, with the aid of his many children still remain
ing at home, he set to work lo retrieve the loss resulting from his
mikfortune. He again bought a portion of the land he had already
thrice earned, and, by the united efforts of himself and children.
supported and encouraged by an abiding trust in the Covenanters^
faUn, with the blessing of Almighty God and ihe maintenance of a
strict integrity, their early losses have proved to be the seeds of
good fortune, and in tbe harvests of many ^ears their earthly
store has been largely increased. Upon this site of their pioneer
labors and misfortunes these pious parents lived many years,
enjoying every needed comfort.
Mr. Chamberlain was a modest and consistent man in all the
affairs of life. He was kind and charitable to the unfortunate
poor, and was never appealed to in vain for his assistance la aid of
worthy objects. He was an honored and upright memberof the
Reformed Church in Owasco village, then a mere hamlet. He gave
of his means in aid of the construction of the house of worship
erected by that society in 1813-'16. In politics he was a Whig, and

although he was never an aspirant for public honor and trust, be
advocated the principles of his paity with earnestness and zeal.
During Ills life be was entrusted with the settlement of many
estates, and his opinion was frequently sought by those who
needed counsel and advice. These facts sufUce to show that he was
respected and esteemed by those who enjoyed the pleasure of his
acquaintance. His wife was a worthy helpmate, and it waS owing
iu great measure to her assistance and encouragement, extended
in his hours of need and distress, that he bore up under the mis
fortune consequent upon tbe loss of his farm. She was a kind and
affectionate wife aud loving mother, and the nobility of character
displayed by her children fuliy attest that her iuAuence for good
was not lost. Sho was a member of the same church as her
husband, both joining by letter at the same time. Ninian died
December SOth, 1833, aged 82 years, and his wife. March 15th, IBS."),
aged 87 years. All his children were present at the funeral of the
former, and all, except one, who had passed on before, at that of
the latter.
They reared to lives of usefulness and honor a family of thirteen
children, seven sons and six daughters, four of whom are living,
two sons and two daughters. Their names are given in tlie order
of their birth: Samuel, born March IBtb, 1788, married Mercy
Cotton of Onondaga County, Deoember S7tb, 18U. and died Novem
ber 1st, 1805 ; Margery, born May S8tli, 1780, married George Rii>pey
of Seneca, Ontario County, May 10th, 18ia, aud died January 3d,
1870 ; Jeremiah, born August i-Mtli, 1700, died unmarried December
SOth, 1803; John, born September lat, 1792, married Mary Anu
North ot Tompkins Connty, N, Y,, January 7th, 1817, and after her
death, married Elvira Baldwin of Tompkins County, N. Y,, in May,
185,5, died September 8d, 1874 : Rachel, born October 25th. 1794,
married John Eippey of Seneca. Ontario County, N. Y,, February
4th, 1818, died April 16th, 1850 ; James, born January 10th, 1707, still
living, unmarried, aged 82 years, and a portrait of whom appears
on this page of the work ; Robert, born March 11th, 1799, died
unmarried June 18th, 1807; Betsey, born June 23d, 1801, married
Robert Knox of Scipio, Cayuga County, November 9th, 1830, died
December 16th, 1875 ; Sally, twin sister to Betsey, born June aSd,
1801, married David Wilson of Niles, Cayuga County, May 4th, 1848,
died October 23d, 1850 ; David, born May 10th, 1803, married Eliza
Smith, of Nelson, Madison County, N. Y,, September 4th, 1828, is still
living in the town of Niles, and a portrait ot whom appears On
this page ; Polly, born Ootqber SOth, 18U5, still living, unmarried,
and a portrait of whom appears on the opposite page ; Hamilton,
born April 22d, 1808, died unmarried November 24th, 187« ; and
Margaret, born November 22d, 1810, is still living unmarried, and
a portrait of whom appears on the opposite page of this work.

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Dr^ A:bel Bakef\.

Dk. Abel Bakeb was bom in Pelham, Mass., June 17th,
1789. He was the fourth of a family of ten childi-en of Lewis
aud Lois [Walker] Baker, natives, the former of Barnstable,
Mass., where he was bom December 28th, 17fil, son of Isaac
and Kebocca [Lewis] Baker, and tho latter of Ilardwick,
Mass., where she wos bom October 18th, 17GC,, daughter of
Abel and Lois [lieed] Walker.
His parents moved from Massachusetts and settled in
Camillus, now Marcellus, Onondaga county, in 1808, where
his father died in 1834 on the farm on which he iirst settled.
His mother moved to Wisconsin after the death of her hus
band, where she died about 1849.
At the age of ten years Abel went to Uve with his grand
father, Abel Walker, where he received the impress of his
energetic character, which was so conspicuous in all his acts
in after life, and with whom he remained xtntil 1807, atwhich
time he was taken into the employ of John W. Stiles, a mer
chant of Templeton, Mass,, with whom he remained until
May 7th, 1811. He then joined his parents in Marcellus and
commenced the study of medicine, teaching school in the
meantime and attending medical lectures at the College of
Physicians and Surgeons at Fairfield, N, Y., in the years 1814
and 1815.
He was licensed by the Censors of the Medical Society of
the county of Onondaga May 19th, 1815, about which time
lie went into ciipartiierMhii) with J)r, llolaiid >Soilrs, of Nor
way, Herkimer countv, with whom ho remained until Sep
tember 3d, 181(i.
He was made a member of the Pairfield Medical Society of
the Western District of New York September 5th, 1810, and
he was also made a member of the Cayuga County Medical
Society June 5th, 1845.
Leaving Norway the same month, he went to New Vernon,
now Owasco village, Gayuga County, where he commenced
the practice of medicine, and his books show that he made
the first charge, the 18th of said lUonth, for professional ser
vices. Here he resided uutil 1821, when he removed to Kel-
loggsville, town of Niles, and remained there in tho practice
of medicine until 1828, when he returned to Owasco and
bought out Day Otis Kellogg, at that time a merchant in the
village. He then engaged in a general merchandising busi
ness, buying and shipping grain, pork, <&c,, in connection
with his professional duties ; but it was not long before his
practice became so extensive that he was obliged to give up
his mercantile pursuits. The medical profession 16 not want
ing in examples of activity, benevolence and courage, and in
all these things Dr. Baker shone conspicuously. His charac

teristics as a practitioner will not soon be forgotten. Though
battered and infirm to u degree that with most men would
have negatived all attempts at practice he went wherever it
was possible for man to go — went with or without pay — went
regardless of danger.
He carried his jiatients to the throne of grace aud'gave no
medicine for the success of wliich he had not prayed. He
continued the practice of medicine up to ten o'clock of tho
night of March 21st, 18G2, and was found in his bed insensi
ble the following morning at six o'clock. He soon expired, in
the seventy-third year of his age.
In 1841 he was converted to God under the labors of Rev.
Alonzo Wood, and in October of the same year he united
with the Methodist Episcopal Church in Owasco and was an
active and zealous member of the same until his death. At
the time of his conversion the Methodist Episcopal Society
in Owasco was small and without a church in which to wor
ship. After a few years the idea of building one was con
ceived by Dr. Baker, and by tjie great efforts of the Society
and particularly the efforts of the Doctor, who, after giving
liberally, rode night and day throughout the length and
breadth of his large circle of acquaintances soUciting help,
and having been liberal himself to other societies aud denom
inations needing help, they contributed largely. The result
wiiH successful.
On tho 2!ld day of A])ril, IK 1 8, ho was iiiavriod to Aurora
Price, who was boru iu 1795, and was the daughter of
the Hon, Elijidi Price, who settled in Owasco in the year
1794. She united with the Baptist Church at Kelloggs-
ville in 1821, Elder Moore, her pastor, who knew her
well, at the time of her death, which occurred June 11th,
1827, says of her: •' Prom her youth she grew up in the
habits of industry and virtue ; mild and aimiable iu her man
ners ; her temper of mind was noble and animating ; her con
versation, without a cold reserve, was engaging, decisive and
free." The result of this union was three sons, as follows: Elijah
Price, who was boru at Owasco Jime 12th, 1819, now a prac
ticing physician in Aurora, N, Y,
Abel Walker, bom at Kelloggsville May 9th, 1821, now re
siding near the village of Owasco.
Erasiiins Darwin, bom at Kelloggsville June 17th, 1823, u
civil engineer, now residing in Alabama,
Dr. Baker was man-ied a second time October 25th, 1831,
to Laura Bailey, who died ¦ October 19th, 183G ; and a
third time September 28th, 1841, to Udolphia Osborne, who
died November 25th, 1813. •

OWASCO VILLAGE.

38s

Owasco Village.
Owasco is situated in the south-east corner of
the town, eight and one-half miles south-east of
Auburn, and about the same distance from
Skaneateles. It contains two churches, (Re
formed and Methodist Episcopal,) a very fine
brick district school-house, which is a credit to
the village, three stores, one hotel, (not at pres
ent used as such,) two blacksmith shops, kept by
DeWitt Bros, and George Brokaw and Dwight
Covert, and two wagon shops, kept by DeWitt
Bros, and John Mathers.
Merchants. — The first store was kept by
James Burrows. He probably did business but
a short time, as very little is known of him by
thepresent inhabitants. Stephen Childs opened
a store about 1812 or '13, in the building now
occupied by Ellis Meaker, which was erected by
him about that time, with the exception of some
fourteen feet, which have since been added to its
length. He did business till soon after the close
of the war and failed. William and John Fuller
came in from Kelloggsville and opened a store in
the same building about 1 817 or '18. John died
about a year after, and about 1825 or '6, William
Titus, who had carried on business some two
years previous to that time, in the store now
occupied by Dor Heald, which was built for a com
munity store about 1820, but never used as such,
owing to quarrels among the parties interested,
became interested in the business with William
Fuller, whose interest he seems to have subse
quently acquired. Titus sold about 1832 to
Uriel Mosher, from Monlville, who remained till
about 1837, when he was succeeded by John
Cuykendall and Price ]5aker, both natives of thc
town, who did business about two years.
The building erected for a community store
was first occupied by Day Kellogg, soon after its
completion, some four or five years. He was
succeeded in April, 1828, by Dr. Abel Baker,
who kept it a few years. Richard Brownell next
kept it four or five years, and removed to Genoa,
where he died a few years since. He was suc
ceeded by Nelson Brown and Henry Hunsicker,
who kept it till about 1838, when they dissolved,
Brown taking the goods and removing with them
to Moravia, where he died a few years after, and
Hunsicker, the store.
John Cuykendall and Henry Tompkins, son of

David Tompkins, reopened the first store, which
had been closed a year or two after Cuykendall
& Baker discontinued, and did business four
years. It again stood empty two or three years,
with the exception of six months, when it was
occupied by H. J. Sartwell, of Auburn, till John
Cuykendall again opened it, and after a year ad
mitted Seth Morgan to partnership, with whom
he continued till about 1852, when it came into
the hands of Bowers II. Leonard, who sold in
February, 1874, to Ellis Meaker, who is still
carrying on the business of general merchan
dising. The second store was closed from 1838 till
1842, when Benjamin Swan, from the New Eng
land States, opened it and kept it till the spring
of 1845. William H. Dunning, from Onondaga
county, occupied the store soon after Swan left,
and continued about three years. He was suc
ceeded by John Cuykendall and David Tomp
kins, the latter of whom, after three years,
bought his partner's interest, and continued till
the fall of 187s, having been associated six or
seven years with his son, David S., who became
a partner three years after Cuykendall's interest
was purchased. A. J. Bowlen, from Red Creek,
rented the store of Tompkins and run it a little
over a year. Dor Heald, who came in from Kel
loggsville in 1872, and after working two years
for John Cuykendall, bought of him his stock of
hardware and tinware, in the fall of 1874, and is
still engaged in that business. In 1875, George
H. Bissell opened a store in the hotel, which he
still continues.
PosTMASTEKS — Wc havc bccn .unable to de
termine when the post-office was established at
Owasco ; but Martiuus Cuykendall, who held
the office in 1817, was probably the first post
master. Day Otis Kellogg, who held the
office in 1825, is the next one of whom we have
any account. He was succeeded by Wm. Fuller,
who held it in 183 1. Uriel Mosher next held the
office, as early as 1836, and as late as 1842. He
was succeeded by Joel R. Gore, who held the
office from one to two years. Daniel Bevier held
the office about two years. Daniel D. Westfall
was postmaster in 1846. He was succeeded by
Henry and David Tompkins, the former of whom
held the office about four years, and the latter,
three. John Cuykendall was appointed as early
as 1854, and held it till i860, when he was succeed-

386

TOWN OF OWASCO.

ed by David. Tompkins, who held it from i860 to
'66. Bowers H. Leonard succeeded him and
held the office till March, 1874, when Ellis
Meaker, the present incumbent, was appointed.
Physicians. — Dr. VanHarling was probably
the first physician who practiced in this town.
He lived at the foot of the lake, and was here
about, or soon after, the beginning of the centu
ry. Jacob Bogart, who was licensed to practice
by the county judge, in July, 1802, and Josiah
Bevier, who was licensed by a master in chan
cery, in March, 1805, both joined the County
Medical Society, while residing in this town,
August 7th, 1806 ; but we have been unable to
learn anything further in regard to them, except
that Dr. Bevier pursued his medical studies with
Dr. VanHarling, and died here about 1839.
Abel Baker was born June 17th, 1789. He
studied medicine in New York, and attended
medical lectures at the College of Physicians and
Surgeons in Fairfield, N. Y. He was licensed
by the Censors of the Medical Society of Onon
daga county, May 19th, 1815, and came to Owas
co in September of the following year. He re
sided and practiced here till his death, March
22d, 1862, wilh the exception of seven years,
from 1 82 1 to '28, spent in medical practice at
Kelloggsville. He was a skillful physician, and
a man of great energy, perseverance and high
Christian worth. He died hterally with the har
ness on. He was out to see a patient at eleven
o'clock p. M., and died the following morning.
Benjamin Devoe, son pf Elijah Devoe, who was
an early settler in Owasco, and a Member of As
sembly in 1819, and again in 1825, joined the
County Medical Society, June 2d, 1842, and prac
ticed a few years in the central part of the town,
when he removed to Owasco village and prac
ticed there till his death. Hoyt Hunsiker com
menced practice soon after Dr. Devoe, one and a
quarter miles north of Owasco village, where he
still resides and practices. Joel R. Gore became
a member of the County Medical Society January
3d, 1839, and practiced here till 1856, when he
removed to Chicago. Dr. Baker hired him one
year, when he formed a partnership with him,
which lasted several years. Daniel Bevier prac
ticed here a short time from about 1842, and re
moved to Richland county, Ohio, and died there.
D. O. K. Strong, son of Walter Strong, an early
settler on the site of the village, bought out Dr,

Gore in 1856, and practiced here till about 1872,
when he removed to Delaware. Moses M. Fry,
now residing in Auburn, practiced here about
two years soon after the close of the war. Dr.
Truman, now in Allegany county, practiced here
about two years from 1873.
Matthew ]5evier, son of Dr. Josiah Bevier, and
Archibald McNeil Bevier, son of Dr. Daniel Be
vier, are the present physicians. The former
joined the County Medical Society January nth,
1865 ; the latter commenced practice here about
1872.
The Refokmed Chukch of Owasco was or
ganized as the Reformed Dutch Church of Owas
co, in 1798, by Rev. Abram Brokaw ; but the
earliest record we find relating to it is September
15th, 1810, when, at a meeting of the consistory,
attended by James Brinkerhoff, Jacob Brink
erhoff, Thomas Johnson, Jr., and Cornelius D.
DeWitt, elders, and Samuel Hoornbeck, Isaac
Selover, Levi Bodley and Abraham Selover, Jr.,
deacons, " it was decided that the meeting-house
be between Samuel Bevier's corners and Corne
lius M. Bevier's house, on the land of Martin
Cuykendall," which is the location now occupied,
and the church building then contemplated, which
was begun in 181 3 and finished in 181 5, is the
one now in use. It was also decided at this
meeting, " that the society prayer meetings be
again established in three places in the congre
gation, viz : at James Brinkerhoff's, the first
Thursday in October next, at one o'clock, p. m.,
at Elijah Devoe's, the second Thursday in Octo
ber next, at one o'clock, p. m,, and at Cornelius
D. De Witt's, the third Thursday in October
next, at each place, at one o'clock of said day,
and continue successively." This meeting was
presided over by George G. Brinkerhoff, and
Levi ]?odley was clerk.
At a meeting of the united congregations of
the Owasco and Sand Beach churches, held at
the log meeting-house on Saturday, September
29th, 1810, it was decided, " that the consistories
of the united congregations write to Rev. Ralph
A. Westervelt to come and preach the gospel as
soon as convenient," but the call was declined.
A meeting was held at the house of Dr. J.
Bevier, October 6th, 1810, "to prize the seats of
the meeting-house and revise the articles of sale
of said meeting-house." A meeting of the con
sistory was held at the same place November 9th,

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F

LIPHALET

f*

[Photo by Ernsberger & Ray,]

TEE.

M.RS. Sally -Patee.

Eliphalet Patee was bom June 24th, 1789, in Pawlet,
Vermont, the native plaoe of his parents, Edmund and EUza
beth [Turner] Patee. His father was a carpenter and joiner
by trade, and served as a musician in the army during the war
of the Eevolution. At the close of the war he returned to
Pawlet and followed his trade until 1802, in which year he
removed to Moravia, in Cayuga County. In 1812 he removed
to Owasco, and in 1820, to Delaware County, Ohio, where he
and his wife died, the former about 1827, and the latter in
1838. They had nine children, viz : Elijjhalet, the subject of
this sketch, Seth, John, Sabrina, Elizabeth, Henry, Alvah,
Lester and Haniet, only two of whom are living, Alvah, in
St. Joseph, Missouri, and Han-iet in Marion County, Ohio.
They were able to give their children only such scholastic
advantages as the common schools of the times afforded.
Eliphalet Patee married Sally, daughter of Isaac D. and
Hannah [Lee] Tripi?, natives of Wilkesban-e, Pa, , April 5th,
1811. Mrs. Patee was born in New York city, December Slst,
1793, aud at the time of her marriage was living in the vil
lage of Milan, iu the town of Locke, iu Cayuga Couuty.
Ul^on their maniage they settled on lot GO in the town of
Owasco, where they continued to reside till their death, Mr.
Patee, March Sth, 1877, at the advanced age of 88 years, aud
his wife, April 10th, 1875, in the 82d year of her age.
Mr. Patee pursued the vocation of a farmer, aud "wit
nessed the great, change from forest, log-cabin and pioneer
privations to cultivated field, commodious dwelling and the
comforts that wealth and prosperity bring. His life was
marked by unremitting industry and a commendable econ
omy, that brought the sure reward of wealth without specu
lation, fraud or oppression." He was honored by his towns
men with several offices of trust and responsibility, among
them that of supervisor several terms, collector and justice
of the peace, the latter of which offices he held twenty-two
years. He discharged with fideUty and ability the duties
which each devolved upon him. He was a man of sound
judgment, strong convictions and strict integrity. He was a
kind husband aud father, though not over indulgent, weak
or vacillating. Though not a member of any church, nor

the defender of any creed, he was by no means an irreligious
man ; but an admirer and frequent reader of the Bible, and
a conscientious, upright man, exemplifying in his business
relations the precepts of the Golden Kule. He met death as
a weary child quietly sinks to sleep, looking forward to the
inevitable change without a murmur and often breathing
" that model prayer, ' God have mercy upon me a sinner.' "¦
Mrs, Patee shared heroically with her husbaud the trials
and vicissitudes of an active, busy Ufe, and after a residence.
at their home in Owasco of sixty-three years, covering the
entire period of her wedded life, she was gathered to her final
rest, "like a shock of com fuUy ripe in its season," having
performed her Ufe mission fully and well. As a wife she was
a true helpmeet ; as a mother, faithful in aU her household.
duties ; as a neighbor, obUging and kind ; and as a friend,
faithful and true, " Her last illness was protracted through
several months, and attended with severe suffering, and yet not
a complaint was heard to escape her Ups, or a peevish word to
an attendant. In her sickness and death it was evident that
she knew 'whom sho had behoved,' and by the girdings of
divine grace, was enabled by her example of patience and res
ignation to say to all observers ; ' He doeth all things well.' "
Mr. and Mrs. Patee raised a family of seven children, viz. :
Mandana, who was bom January 17th, 1814, is now residing
in Aubum, and from whom the village of Mandana, in Onon
daga County, was named by Mr. I. T. MarshaU, of Aubum,
now deceased ; Matilda, who was bom May Sth, 1815, and
married Aaron L. Cone, of Milan, Cayuga County, April 17th,
1839 ; EUzabeth, who was bom August 20th, 1818, and is
stiU Uving in the old home ; Hannah, who was bom February
Gth, 1820, married Eufus K. Hoyt, January 7th, 1846, and is
now Uving in Aubum ; Naomi, who was bom December 16th,
1822, married Alanson StiUwell, of Livingston County, N. Y.,
January 7th, 1846, and is now Uving at Kochford, IU.; Caro
line, who was bom January 11th, 1827, married Franklin
Howard, of Owasco, May 15th, 1851, and is now residing in
Syracuse ; and Sally A,, who was bom March 29, 1830, mar
ried Thomas White, of Aubum, N. Y., January Ist, 1856, and
is now Uving in Ashtabula, Ohio.

rnH

K

OWASCO VILLAGE — CHURCHES.

387

18 10, "to stipulate prices of boards, scantling,
labor, &c.," as follows : " Large timber for frame
¦ of meeting-house, 1^4.50 per 100 feet, running
measure ; siding f inch thick, seven shillings
per 100 feet of white pine; roof boards, one inch,
six shillings per loo feet of hemlock; floor plank,
iJ inches thick, seven shillings and sixpence
per 100 feet of white wood ; boards of one inch
thick, six shillings per 100 feet, white wood, nine
shillings, white pine ; plank, i^ inches thick,
seven shillings and sixpence per 100 feet, white
wood, eleven shillings, white pine ; boards, white
pine, two inches thick, sixteen shillings per 100
feet, i^ inches thick, fourteen shillings, and
three inches thick, sixteen shillings ; all scant
ling to be seven shillings per 100 feet board
measure. The above are the prices of boards,
&c., delivered on the ground, for building the
meeting-house; and for breaking stone or scoring
timber five shillings per day, and board them
selves." At a meeting held January loth, 1811, Rev.
George G. Brinkerhoff was requested " to write
to Rev. Mr. Devoe, near Albany, lo come and
preach the gospel in this congregation as soon as
may be convenient," but the invitation was not
accepted. The names of Andrew VanMiddlewart (south
west part of Owasco,) and Wm. Degraff, elders,
and James Vantine, deacon, appear in connection
with this meeting. At a meeting held April
27th, 1811, attended by James and Jacob Brin
kerhoff and Cornelius D. DeWitt, elders, and
Samuel Hoornbeck, Abraham Selover, Jr., Isaac
Selover and Levi Bodley, deacons, of Owasco,
and Wm. Degraff and Peter VanLiew, elders, and
James Vantinc and John Watson, deacons, of
Sand Beach, it was resolved that the united con
sistories " make a call on Rev. Conrad TenEyck
as standing pastor." This call was presented
July 20th, 18 II, and the compensation offered
was JS200 cash and 250 bushels of wheat. The
minister was to have two free Sabbaths in one
year and the congregation one. Each congre
gation was to pay half the salary and receive half
the ministerial services. An additional ^50 was
subsequently added to the call. December 29th,
1830, a call was extended to Rev. Israel Ham
mond to succeed Conrad Ten Eyck as pastor.
His connection was dissolved at his request Jan
uary 31st, 1839. Hammond was succeeded by

Rev. Wm. Evans, who entered upon his duties as
pastor April 20th, 1839. February 29th, 1846,
Mr. Evans requested the consistory to unite with
him in asking the Classis to dissolve the pastoral
relation, to which the consistory assented April
IGth, 1846, in a letter expressing the utmost con
fidence in Mr. Evans and regret at his action.
A call was extended to Rev. Jacob C. Dutcher
September i8th, 1846, and during his pastorate
in 1848 the church was repaired.
A revival in 1849 resulted in the addition of
seventeen by profession. September loth, 1850,
Mr. Dutcher, having received a call from a sister
Church, asked the consistory to unite wilh him in
requesting the Classis to dissolve the pastoral re
lation, which they did. He was succeeded by
Rev. Henry A. Raymond, who was installed pas
tor December I7lh, 1850. April i8th, 1853,
having accepted a call from the Church of Amity,
N. Y., he asked the consistory to unite with him
in requesting to have the pastoral relation dis
solved, which they did, though reluctantly. A
call was extended lo Rev. Wilson Ingalls, Sep
tember 30lh, 1853, whose services were to com
mence August 1st, of that year.
Mr. Ingalls having been impelled by impaired
health to tender his resignation, it was resolved
April 5th, 186/I, to apply to the Classis for a dis
mission of the pastoral relation. March 27lh,
1865, a call was extended to Rev. Alonzo P.
Peeke, who closed his labors with this Church in
the spring of 1872, and was succeeded in the fall
of that year by his brother, George H. Peeke,
who remained till the spring of 1876, when he
gave place to the present pastor, Rev. Alfred E.
Myers, who served as a supply one year, from
March, 1877, and was installed pastor in May,
1878. The present membership ofthe Church is about
180. The Sabbath-school has improved under
the efforts of the present pastor, and a good de
gree of interest is manifested in Sabbath-school
work. In referring to a revival enjoyed by this Church
in 1816 and '17, Rev. James H. Hotchkin, in his
History of Western New York, says, " In Owasco,
it is stated, that, as the fruits of a most glorious
work of divine grace, about 300 persons were ad
ded to the Church, of whom 103 joined it in one
day." A difference of opinion e^fisted in this church

388

TOWN OF OWASCO.

on the doctrine of predestination, and gave rise
to a division and the organization in 1821 ofa
new Society, composed of about seventy mem
bers, known as the True Reformed Dutch Church
of Ozvasco, the new Society adhering to, and the
old one rejecting, that doctrine. Rev. A. Mc
Neil was their first pastor, and was succeeded in
1838 by Rev. Wm. Johnson, who was relieved in
1863 or '4, on his own application, by an act of
the Classis of Union, from the charge of serving
this congregation for the want oi" adequate sup
port." After Mr. Johnson's dismissal the pulpit
remained vacant, and the congregation was des
titute of the stated preaching of the gospel and
the ordinances of the church.
At a meeting held at the church September
1st, 1866, to take into consideration the property
and other matters of interest belonging to the
members and others interested in the church
edifice and appurtenances, of which George H.
Brinkerhoff was chairman and S. M. P, Morgan
secretary, it was decided to sell the church lot
and meeting-house and appendages, and George
H. Brinkerhoff, Cornelius D. DeWitt and David
Tompkins were constituted a committee to take
the preliminary proceedings to carry this into
effect. The petition to the Legislature for authority
to sell the property, dated November 27th, 1866,
was signed by George H. Brinkerhoff, Hugh
McDowell, David Tompkins, G. M. Brokaw,
Andrew Vanderbetts, Wm. VanDuyne, Seth P.
Morgan and Cornelius D. DeWitt. March 28th,
1867, the Legislature appointed said committee
trustees and authorized them to sell and convey
the real estate and church property and to exe
cute a deed therefor. The property as inven
toried amounted 10,^1,291.50. The church and
lot was sold to the Methodist Episcopal church
of Owasco in 1867, for about ^1,200; and $7t,
were realized from the other property. The
church edifice was erected in 1829.
The M. E. Church of Owasco was organ
ized in 1848, in which year their first house
of worship, a portion of which is now occupied
as a dwelling by David Sarr, was erected, on
ground donated for the purpose by Dr. Abel
Baker, through whose efforts mainly the organ
ization was perfected and the church built. Over
^800 were raised with which to build. Prior to
the organization meetings were held in the

school-house, Daniel Cobb,

Redington and

Spencer Rice being the officiating clergymen.
The first trustees were Thomas Roberts, James
H. Gifford, Samuel B. Noyes, Nicholas Brokaw,
James A. Brinkerhoff, Wm. D. Hilliard and Abel
Baker, the first an elder and the second an ex
horter. W. W. White was the preacher in charge
of the Owasco circuit at the time of the organ
ization. The present church edifice was pur
chased in 1867, of the trustees of the True Re-
fotmed Dutch Church of Owasco, by whom it was
built in 1829. The present church membership
is about 100. They have a large and flourishing
Sabbath school.
The pastors following Mr. White have been, as
nearly as we have been able to ascertain them
from the present members, James Fisk, 
Hamilton,  Hall, Denton Mills, James Craw
ford,  Sheldon,  Hinman, James God-

sell, Elias Hoxie, James B. Benham,

Wier,

Henry Meeker, Horatio Yates, Wm. Adams,
 Marsh, the latter as a supply six months,
and D. C. Dutcher, the present pastor, who com
menced his labors with this church in the fall of
1877. The Owasco Baptist Church, located at
Steners or Baptist Corners, three miles directly
north of Owasco village, was organized sometime
in 1 8 10, with twenty-six members. Their first
pastor was the venerable Elkanah Comstock,
who, it appears, served them wholly till sometime
in 18 1 3, when he received an invitation from the
church in Onondaga to serve them a part of the
time, to which the church agreed. In 18 15, a
consultation is recorded to engage Elder Com
stock to preach the ensuing year. January i6th,
1816, the church voted to request Elder S.
Smith to preach for them in the absence of Elder
Comstock, who was going on a missionary tour.
From the church book it appears that Elder Com
stock served the church as clerk, from 1812 to
'20. In the fall of 1821, the church dissolved
Elder Comstock's pastoral relation, but voted to
supply his necessities while he remained among
•them and preached to them as often as was con
venient. He remained with the church till 1824,
at which time, by his request, he and his wife
were granted letters of dismission.
Whether the church was destitute of a pastor
from the time Elder Comstock's connection with
them was dissolved to 1826, does not appear, but

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->^>f-

[Photo by Ernsberger & Ray.]

jVlp^. jVi ART Frye.

Moses McKinsteb Fbye, son of Jesse and Betsey [Noyes]
Frye, was bom in Bath, Grafton County, N. H,, September
26th, 1804. His father was bom in Concord, N, H., and his
mother, in the town of Bow, Merrimac County, N. H,
Jesse Frye was a cloth dresser by trade and was engaged in
that business about twelve years in Bath, where he located in
179G. In 1808 he formed a copartnership with two others,
Johu Haddock and  Chaimiau, and the firm did a large
and lucrative business iu the last named place in general mer
chandising and buying and selling horses and cattle. They
were also vei-y largely engaged in the manufacture and sale of
lumber. But misfortune overtook them and the accumulated
profits of some three years were swept away. Mr, Frye was
thus constrained to try his fortunes in what was then consid
ered the far west, and in 1811 he removed to Buffalo, N. Y.,
where he remained about a year, but did not engage in bus
iness there. From Buffalo, in 1812, he went to tlie town of
WilUnk, Niagara County, now Concord, Erie County, where
he resided, engaged in farming, until his death, which oc
curred March 27th, 1849.
In New Hampshire and the towns in which he spent the
latter years of his Ufe Mr, Frye was universally respected and
honored for his uprightness of character and sterUng worth
as a man and citizen. He was caUed upon to fiU various pub-
Uc positions of trust and responsibiUty during his life, and
performed the duties thus devolved upon him with that integ
rity which characterized his entire career.
There were bom to Mr, and Mrs. Jesse Frye seven children,
six of whom reached maturity. Eunice died iu infancy;
Enoch Noyes was bom March 30th, 1800 ; James Sanders
was bom June 10th, 1803, and died July 12th, 1875. Moses
McKinster is the subject of this sketch ; Betsey was bom
December Gth, 180G, and died  ; Sarah was bom
January Gth, 1809, and died July 13th, 1878 ; Jesse wos born •
January 14th, 1818.
Moses M, , who was only eight years old when his parents
settled in the town of WilUnk, enjoyed but few advantages
for acquiring an education. He attended school but a short
time after airiving at the age of ten years, as his services ¦
were needed and employed thus early in life to assist iu clear
ing off the heavy forest, which covered the land that had
been selected for their future home, and in bringing the farm
under cultivation. On arriving at maturity he took the sole
charge of the farm and managed it tiU 1844, about which time

yviosEs McKinster Frye.

he purchased his present farm and residence in the town of
Owasco, upon which he settled in the winter of 1845. His
original purchase was 147^ acres. He has since added 65
acres. Inured in early Ufe to the necessity of economy Mr. Frye,
by judicious management combined with exceUent business
abilities, has acquired a competency which places him beyond
the apprehension of want. He owns one of the finest and
most valuable farms iu the town of Owasco.
Mr, Frye's poUtical affiliations were with the Whigs until
the formation of the Kepublican party, since which time he
has been an earnest supjiorter of the principles of the latter
and always zealous in his efforts to promote its interests. He
has been assessor and highway commissioner of his town,
though he was never an aspirant for pubUc honors and trusts.
Mr. Frye's Ufe admirably iUustrates the benefits arising
from inteUigent industry, frugaUty and strict integrity, and
both suggests and is an earnest of the possibilities within the
reach of one governed by such impulses. His career is wor
thy of emulation by the young men of to-day. He fought
hfe's battles with a wilUng, courageous heart and resolute-
purpose and now enjoys the fruits of his labors.
December 31st, 1829, Mr. Frye was united in marriage with
Mary, daughter of David and Eva [Strail] Beverly, natives of
the town of Florida, Montgomery Couuty. Her parents were
farmers and moved to the town of ColUns, Erie County, N.
Y,, in 1818. Her father died in 1834, and her mother about
1854. They had five children, viz.: John, Thomas, David,
Margaret and Mary, the latter of whom was bom January
7th, 1805, John and Mary are the only members of this
family now living.
Mr. Frye's efforts iu Ufe have been ably seconded by those
of his estimable wife, a fact to which he refers with pride and
satisfaction. Mrs. Frye is a kind and loving companion and
devoted mother. In reUgion their faith is grounded in the
creed of the UniversaUsts.
Mr. aud Mrs. Frye have been blessed with six children,
three sons and three dahghters, viz.: Antoinette, bom May
19th, 1835; Luciaette, bom October 15th, 1837; Moses M.
now a practicing physician in Auburn, N. Y., bom February
21st, 1841; David B., who, when last heard from, was mate
of a vessel bound for China, bom February 23d, 1843 ; Jesse,
now residing in OaUfomia, bom July 8th, 1846 ; and Mary
L., bom January 10th, 1851.

OWASCO VILLAGE— CHURCHES.

389

the first record of any other engagement is un
der date of January 21st, 1826, when an effort
was made to raise funds to secure the services of
Calvin Bateman for the winter.
In 1827 a request was made to the association
to look into their affairs ; and December 6th,
1828, by the advice of the committee appointed
for this purpose, they were constituted a branch
church of thc church in Marcellus, wilh which,
in that month, they united in a call to Elder Jesse
B. Worden, one of their members, to preach to
them once in two months, for one year.
February 9th, 1829, a meeting was held for the
purpose of taking steps to build a meeting-house,
which was erected that year at a cost of ^1,350.
Brother Thomas Bodley supplied thc pulpit in
1830, and continued till November of that year,
at which time Elder C. P. Wyckoff 's name ap
pears for the first time as moderator of the meet

ing.

At that meeting it was decided to ask the

advice of the brethren in Marcellus relative to
employing Elder Wyckoff, and the formation of
this as a separate church. In accordance wilh
this advice a council was convened at their place
of worship, August 17th, 1831, and the Owasco
Baptist Church was fellowshipped as a distinct
church, with sixty-eight members, eighteen males
and fifty females. Elder Blair preached the ser
mon. Elder Worden gave the hand of fellowship,
and Elder Jeffries gave the charge to the church.
In the fall of the same year, the church joined
the association. Elder Wyckoff seems to have
served the church till 1838, when, owing to fail
ing health, his labors closed, and S. M. Plumb
was employed for six months, commencing June
8th, 1838.
In May, 1841, Philip Lyon was employed and
a council called to ordain him the following June.
Elder Lyon served the church three years, and
upon his removal Elder Wyckoff resumed the
pastoral charge and continued to preach to them
till November, 1844, "atwhich time," says Elder
Wyckoff, "matters appeared so gloomy the church
resolved to disband and unite with other church
es. Some of the members yielded with great
reluctance to this and continued to meet on
Lord's days until January, 1845, when, upon con
sultation, it was resolved to rescind our vote of
abandonment, and in the fear of God, resume our
travel as a church. Thirty-four members, at dif
ferent times, gave in their names. From Janu-
66-z

ary, 1845, the church enjoyed the labors of Elder
Wyckoff solely, except at intervals, when the
Lord sent among us occasional preachers, un
til April, 1848, when Elder Eddy Mason and
wife united by letter, with the double view of ob
taining a home and to do the little body good as
the Lord should enable. Since the union of
brother Mason with the church, the labor of
preaching has been divided between him and
Elder Wyckoff, as circumstances and duly seemed
to dictate. Neither of the Elders have been in
vested with the pastorate, which was resigned by
Elder Wyckoff in 1841, and as there was no tiara
pending, nor rich benefice in question, there has
been no unhallowed strife for preeminence."
In 1850, a revival was experienced, which re
sulted in the addition of twenty-five to their num
ber. Elder Wyckoff soon after closed his labors
wilh the church and removed to Weedsport. He
was succeeded, after a short interval, by Elder
E. Dean, as a supply, and Elders Atwater, Ben
nett, Maynard, Reynolds, Dimond, Warren and
A. J. Lyon, the latter of whom is the present
pastor. The present number of members is
sixty-nine.
Manufactures. — Messrs. G. & W. Bench,
proprietors of the wagon shop and saw and cider-
mill at the upper (State) dam on the Owasco Out
let, commenced business in 1874, in which year
they bought the site they occupy of D. M. Os
borne, of Auburn, and erected their buildings,
the old wheelbarrow factory which formerly occu
pied the site, and was latterly used as a saw and
cider-mill, having been destroyed by fire in the
fall of 1873. They have an invested capital of
about ^18,000, give employment to six persons,
and make about 1,200 barrels of cider per an
num. Their works are operated by water drawn
from the State dam, which has a fall of twelve
feet. The wool picker connected with the Auburn
Woolen Co.'s Mills is located in close proximity to
these works. It gives employment to one man,
and draws water from the same dam.
A little north of Owasco village is a grist and
saw-mill and a tile yard. The former are owned
by Hamilton Perkins, and were built by him in
1852, on the site of those burned the same year,
and bought by him in November, 1850, of the
heirs of Ezra Cuykendall ; the latter is owned by
Day W. Shaver, who bought the property of Ham-

390

TOWN OF LEDYARD.

ilton Perkins in the spring of 1875, and employs
two persons.
Owasco was the home of the late Enos T.
Throop, who spent the latter years of his life in
his beautiful retreat on Willow Brook at the focrt
of the Owasco, and busied himself in agricultu
ral and horticultural pursuits and in entertaining
with his accustomed hospitality the numerous
friends, who delighted to honor him for his per
sonal worth and past public services.

CHAPTER XLV.

Town of Ledyard.

LEDYARD was formed from Scipio Jan
uary 30th, 1 823, and derives its name from
Gen. Benjamin Ledyard, an early settler in the
town, and agent and clerk for the apportionment
of lands in the Military Tract. It lies upon the
east shore of Cayuga Lake, which forms its
western boundary, south of the center of thc
County. Its length from north to south is ten
miles, and its mean width, about five miles. It
is bounded on the north by Springport, from
which it is separated about five-sixths of the dis
tance by Great Gully Brook, on the east by
Scipio and Venice, and on the south by Genoa.
The surface is beautifully diversified, its land
scapes, however, presenting less of the grand and
sublime in nature than of its quiet beauty. It
inclines towards the lake, from which it slopes
upward, generally by gentle, but occasionally by
steep gradations, until it attains an elevation a
little east of the east border of 500 to 600 feet
above its level. It is difficult to conceive of more
charming prospects than are disclosed by the suc
cessive approaches to this summit ridge. The
streams are small and rapid, the principal ones be
ing Great Gully, on the north border, and Paines
Creek in the south, flowing through a deep, nar
row ravine worn in the shale rock.
It has a limestone soil of excellent quality.
Limestone exists in boulders upon, and in a fine
layer near the surface, but is nowhere quarried
in the town. Clay predominates along the lake,
extending back from it about a hundred rods, and
over-lying a slate ledge, which terminates with

more or less abruptness upon the shore. At the
railroad cutting a little south of Levanna, is a bold
slate bluff, about fifty feet at its highest eleva
tion above the lake. In the interior the soil is an
exceedingly fertile sandy loam, with considerable
alluvion along the streams.
The Cayuga Lake Shore R. R. extends through
the west border in close proximity to thelake.
The population of this town in 1875 was 2,253 >
of whom 1,857 were native, 396 foreign, 2,165
white, and 88 colored. Its area was 20,889
acres; of which 18,342 were improved, 2,544
woodland, and only 3 otherwise unimproved.
Much interest naturally centers in this town
from the fact that within its borders the first
settlements in the County were made. The
events immediately preceding and in some meas
ure preparing the way forthe settlement of this
country are matters of historical record, but their
intimate connection with the subject in hand
seems to warrant a brief review of them.
Until 1789, this broad domain which now gives
so many evidences of a highly cultured and re
fined civilization was the favorite hunting and
fishing ground of the Cayugas, who were a nation
proverbially noted for their fondness for and pro
ficiency in the chase and aquatic sports ; for al
though, according to common usage, they, as con
quered allies of the British forces during the
Revolution, had forfeited their territorial rights,
they still pressed claims which both the State and
Federal government generously recognized and
respected by subsequent treaties. By a treaty
held at Fort Stanwix (Rome,) October 22d, 1784,
the Iroquois ceded to the Federal Government a
large portion of the land in Western New York ;
and by a treaty concluded February 23d, 1789 at
Isaac Denniston's tavern, Albany, which was
known in Colonial days as the King's Amis, and
stood on the north-west corner of Green and
Norton streets, the Cayugas ceded to the State
of New York all their lands, except 100 square
miles, lying on both sides of Cayuga Lake, and
extending from Aurora to Montezuma. They
also reserved the right to hunt and fish in any
part of the ceded territory. They also secured
special grants to three persons, two white men
and one Indian, one of 15,680 acres to Peter Ryck-
man, an Albany Dutchman, who had won their
affection, and for whom they expressed their re
gard in the following quaint and simple language:

EARLY SETTLEMENTS.

391-

" We have felt concerned about the dish to be
given him. We had long ago agreed that he
should have a dish in our country, as we all ex
pect to put our spoons in it when we're hungry.
We wish this dish should be placed for our con
venience, on the east side of the Outlet of Canan
daigua (Seneca) Lake, from thence he can cast
his eyes down to Skayes (Waterloo,) the extreme
of the lands reserved to us. We have not given
the dimensions of that dish. We thought we
would leave that to you — you can extend your
arms far. It was always our wish that his dish
should be large."
They ask a reservation of 320 acres to a white
man, who married the daughter of Thaneowas
and one of a mile square, to Fish Garner.
For the territory thus ceded the State paid
$500 in silver, and agreed to pay the first of the
following June, at P'ort Stanwix, 581,625, and an
nually thereafter forever, at thc same place, $'^00.
This treaty was signed on the part of the State
by George Clinton, the Governor, and his asso
ciate commissioners ; and on the part of the
Cayugas, by Kanistagia, (Steel Trap,) their chief,
who signed for himself and sixteen others, for
four of whom he acted as deputy, and by ten oth
ers, who appear by their own signatures or mark.
The Cayugas evinced their strong attachment
for their lands upon the east shore of Cayuga
'Lake, by excluding, on the farther cession of their
reservation in 1794, a tract two miles square, ly
ing upon the lake a little south of Union Springs,
and another tract, a mile square, lying three or
four miles north-east of that village. They did
not finally relinquish their claims to these lands
until 1799, when they sold to the State the last
vestige of their once vast possessions, and turned
regretfully away from the homes so sacred and
dear to them.
September i6th, 1776, Congress passed an
act to provide bounty lands for the soldiers of
the Continental army during the war of the
Revolution, stipulating that each non-commis
sioned officer and private should receive 100
acres, and each commissioned officer a propor
tionately increased quantity, corresponding with
the grade of his rank. March 20th, 1781, the
State Legislature made provision for the enlist
ment of two regiments, and offered as an induce
ment to promote enlistments bounties of land.
July 25th, 1782, certain lands were set apart for
the payment of these bounties. March 27th,
1783, after the close of the war, the State Legis

lature made provision for the redemption of these
promises, and enacted that each non-commis
sioned officer and private, whose residence was
in the State at the time of his enlistment, should
receive 500 acres of land in addition to the 100
acres offered by the general government, and
each commissioned officer a proportionately in
creased quantity, corresponding with the grade
of his rank, that which had been promised being
designated as bounty, and that which had not, as
gratuity, lands. The original acts granting these
lands were subsequently modified and amended
from time to time. February 28th, 1789, the
Commissioners of the Land Office were author
ized to direct the Surveyor-General to lay out as
many townships, of 60,000 acres each, as was
necessary to satisfy the claims arising under
these acts ; and April 22d, 1789, the Surveyor-
General, Simeon DeWitt, was directed to lay out
by actual survey, twenty-five townships.
"The surveys," says the gentlemanly and
scholarly Mr. Bogart, of Aurora, in a paper pre
pared for the Cayuga County Historical Society, in
June, 1878, " were a labor of science in the forest
country. I judge that we see the exact lines of
the work in the course of the fences which mark
the farms visible to us on the western shore of
the lake. It had its dangers. The Indians were
believed to be plotting against the corps of sur
veyors who were by these levels and chains sub
jugating the wild woods to the white man, and
the professional men wrote to Geo. Clinton, the
Governor, in an interesting letter of the date of
September 3d, 1789, that they thought of ulti
mate retreat to the one beautiful island which
fronts the village of Union Springs. It would
have been a stirring chapter in history to have
seen what manner of fortress for defense the men
of the compass would have created there to make
stand until the soldier governor, who was at
home in affairs of war, should come to their res
cue. But the destiny of the Indian was to re
cede, not to advance, and the lots were duly
chained, meted and bounded."
The survey was completed, and July 3d, 1790,
was presented to the Commissioners of the Land
Office, consisting ofthe Governor, Geo. Clinton ;
the Lieutenant-Governor, Pierre VanCortlandt ;
the Speaker of the Assembly, Gulian Verplanck;
the Secretary of State, Lewis Allaire Scott ;
the Attorney-General, Aaron Burr ; the Treas
urer, Gerardus Bancker ; and the Auditor, Peter
T. Curtenius, who numbered and named the lots
and townships; The names of the townships
were made to perpetuate the names of Rome's

392

TOWN OF LEDYARD.

military heroes, that of Scipio being assigned to
No. 12, which originally embraced the town of
Ledyard. It is fair to presume that those who had been
favored during the war with a view of the beau
tiful lake country, as were the soldiers who ac
companied Sullivan's expedition to the country
of the Senecas and Cayugas in the summer of -
1779, bridged wilh prophetic vision the interval
which must elapse ere the return of peace should
enable them to make this fair land their future
home, which many of them did, and that the
favorable reports given of it to their associates in
arms and their neighbors at home, gave direction
to the minds of many who subsequently took up
their abode in this wilderness ; certain it is that
the extinguishment of the Indian title and the
subsequent completion of the survey of the Mili
tary Tract, was the signal for a vast hegira from
the New England States, New Jersey, Pennsyl
vania and the eastern counties of this State to
this section of country.
These were the remote agencies which led to
the settlement in this locality, but the more im
mediate one is found in the efforts of the Little
Lessee Company, which was organized in 1788,
and obtained a perpetual lease from the Indians
of all their lands lying between Cayuga and
Owasco Lakes, for which they were to pay an
nually a " measure" of dollars. That or the fol
lowing year they surveyed the tract,* and raised
a little corn and potatoes, which they buried in
holes on the site of Aurora, near the late
Eleazer Burnham's summer-house, covering them
with leaves to conceal them from the Indians.
This lease was set aside by the State govern
ment. Early in the spring of 1789,! Captain Roswell
Franklin, Elisha Durkee, Ebenezer White and
Deacon Joseph Atwell, with their families, came
from Wysox, Penn. They began their laborious
journey in the month of March, in sleighs. They
*A written statement left by Eleazer Burnham says the tract was
surveyed into 250 acre lots in 1788 i while a like statement made
by Augustus M. Durkee, under date of August 15th, 1845, address
ed to Mr. Burnham, and dictated by his mother, the wife of Elisha
Durkee one ofthe first settlers, states that it was surveyed into 160
acre lots, in the fall of 1789, by Captain Roswell Franklin, Elisha
Durkee, Edward Paine and others, members of that company. Both
these writings are in the possession of Mr. W. H. Bogart, of
Aurora to whom we are indebted for valuable documents used in
the preparation of this work.
+ The writing of Mr. Durkee's previously referred to ascribes this

had hills and even mountains to climb and cross,
rendered dangerous and almost impassable by
precipices, ice, rocks and trees. Some parts of
the way they had to wade through torrents of
water, holding fast to the sleighs to prevent being
swept down the stream. They struggled on
their journey in water and out of water, some
times swamped in mud, at other times tugging
through snow. In one instance they traversed
a mountain between Wysox and Newtown, (El
mira,) where no team had ever been before, and
had to cut their way through the forest by the
most unsparing labor, and with the most un
flinching resolution.
They reached Newtown after many laborious
days of travel. Thence their route lay to the
head of Seneca Lake, where they camped sev
eral days on account of the prevalence of north
west winds. There they found a boat abandoned
by Sullivan's army ten years previously, which
they repaired, and as soon as the weather was
favorable, having recruited a little from the ex
cessive fatigues and privations they had under
gone, they proceeded down the lake, leaving one
man to drive the team and a few domestic ani
mals by land from Tioga Point through Ithaca to
Aurora. They floated down the blue waters of
the Seneca with light and buoyant hearts, and
high hopes of a speedy termination of their voy
age. But their difficulties were not yet at an
end. They found the rapids in the river at Sen
eca Falls very troublesome, and were in great
danger of unshipping all their cargo. It became
necessary to lighten the boat, and a portion of the
cargo was removed to the shore. None but those
necessary to manage the boat ventured a passage
of the rapids in it. The remainder proceeded
on foot, and by the time they reached the foot of
the rapids the boat had been passed safely down
and unloaded. The men in charge of the boat
returned wilh it for the remainder of the load,
which included nearly all their clothes, beds and
event to the year 1790, A memorial window in the Presbyterian
Church at Aurora bears this inscription :
"1789.
" Roswell Franklin.
" First Settler in this Village.
"Chosen Elder in this Church 1810."
The Roswell Franklin here referred to, it is proper to state, was a
son of Captain Roswell Franklin, thc original settler, and came in
with his father, who, from his tragic end and brief residence here, is
seldom referred to in any connection. We cite the inscription as
tending to establish the date.

Residence or AUG

WN DF Ledyard, Gayuga Co. N.Y.

EARLY SETTLEMENTS.

393

provisions. They were obliged to wade a part of
the time in the cold water and draw the boat
against a heavy and powerful current. When
they reached the head of the falls night came
on and they did not dare to make the descent in
the dark.
This unexpected detention occasioned great
alarm among the women and children at the foot
of the rapids. Having seen the dangers of the
falls they were tortured with the fear that the boat
with its precious cargo had been dashed among
the rocks and that all was lost. Among the women
were some who had been married but a few days
to some of the men who had ascended the rapids.
They wandered up and down the stream with
painful anxiety until the falling snow compelled
them to huddle together over a spark of fire which
remained. There they wept and wrung their
hands wilh anguish till morning, when, to the
great joy of all, the boat returned safe and took
the little weary company on board. They met
with no further impediments until they reached
Cayuga Lake, which they found full of ice,
through which they had to cut a passage for their
boat. The six miles made in this laborious man
ner occupied several days. One morning they
awoke and found to their joy that the ice had all
disappeared. Having now a clear sea thc voyage
was soon ended. They landed on the site of
Aurora, at the creek near Richard Morgan's
house, and there made a permanent settlement.*
Not a human being, Indian or white man, was
then living at Aurora. The Indians, who left at
the time of Sullivan's incursion, did not return
till after this settlement was made.
The summer of 1789 was one of extraordinary
scarcity. Many families in the remote settle
ments of New York and Pennsylvania lived
mostly on greens for a considerable time before
harvest. The provisions stored the previous fall
were found undisturbed and in good condition,
and these formed a seasonable supply of food,
which it was hoped would supply their wants un
til other provisions, consisting of a quantity of
grain, a barrel of pork and another of flour, which
had been stored at Tioga Point, could be brought
up. As soon as temporary dwellings had been
constructed Capt. Franklin's son Roswell and the
* One autiiority consulted states that tlicy arrived nt their desti
nation early in April; another, tlic first of June, The former
seems most probable.

latter's brother-in-law, William White, returned
for the provisions left at Tioga Point ; but on ar
riving there they found the pork and flour had
been eaten up or otherwise disposed of, and. the
grain, together wilh the mill in which it had been
stored, burned.
In this extremity the young men bethought
them of a small quantity of rye which had been
left on the removal of the family at Wysox.
This they procured, thrashed, had ground and
brought back to the little colony at Aurora,
which, during their absence of five weeks, had
been destitute of bread and had subsisted chiefly
on the milk of their cows, with the rare addition
sometimes, of a few ground nuts, which they
roasted and found very palatable and wholesome.
Besides the inconvenience of being pinched for
bread, they had to pass the summer in little
cramped bits of shanties constructed of bark and
boughs. In the fall, however, they were able to
erect more comfortable log houses. The log
house erected by Roswell Franklin that fall is
said to have been the first house raised by a white
man west of Rome, and every white man within
a radius of fifty miles is said to have been present
at the raising. They were sixteen in number.
It was sixteen feet square, and stood on lot 145,
on the south-west corner of the East Cayuga
Reservation, on the place now owned by Col. Ed
win B. Morgan, and occupied by his son Henry
A. Morgan. The foundation of this old cabin is
still visible, and it is the purpose of Mr. E. B.
Morgan to erect an appropriate monument upon
the site.
Captain p-ranklin vvas a man of more than
ordinary ability, and seems to have been the in
spiring genius to the little colony which settled
at Aurora. His eventful life and tragic death
would make an exceedingly interesting chapter,
but the scope of this work does not admit of
more than a brief reference thereto. Mr. Frank
lin enlisted in the English army a few years pre
vious to the war of the Revolution, and went
wilh a detachment of it to the West Indies. He
was shipwrecked on the voyage and cast upon a
desolate island, where for fourteen days he suf
fered intolerably from heat and thirst. He was
present at the siege of Havana, Cuba, in 1762.
Soon after the surrender of that city he returned
to his native place, Woodbury, Connecticut, where
he married, and after eight years removed to the

394

TOWN OF LEDYARD.

Susquehanna and took up land in Pennsylvania,
under a presumed title from Connecticut, to
which he removed his family in 1770. He was
involved in the Pennamite war growing out of
conflicting claims of Connecticut and Pennsyl
vania to the lands leased by the Indians to the
company of which Franklin was a member. He
was taken prisoner and confined in Easton jail
with others, while on his way to Connecticut in
the spring of 1770, to bring in his family, and
was the leader in effecting their escape ; but he
alone of the party escaped recapture. He re
moved his family to his new home in the fall.
He took part in the sanguinary battle of Wyom
ing, July 3d, 1778. His son Joseph was subse
quently killed by the Indians, who lurked around
his home for weeks and months, seeking an oppor
tunity to destroy the family. His son, Roswell,
and nephew, Arnold Franklin, were captured by
the Indians and carried to Fort Niagara. They
were exchanged some months after and returned
home to learn that on the 8th of April, 1781,
Franklin's wife, two daughters, Olive and
Susannah, the former aged thirteen and the lat
ter eleven, and two sons, Stephen and Ichabod,
the former aged four years and the latter
eighteen months, had been captured by the In
dians, who killed his wife and carried the infant
into captivity. The other children were rescued
by a pursuing party.
After the close of the Revolutionary war the
Pennamite war was renewed, and Franklin, worn
out with these contentions, resolved to leave the
beautiful valley of the Wyoming, for whose brief
occupation he had paid so dearly. He removed
to Chokenet, up the Susquehanna, 140 miles
above Wilkesbarre, not far from Chenango Point.
He proceeded thither with his adopted son,
Arnold F"ranklin, and two other men, and imme
diately returned to bring on by boat provisions
necessary to sustain them during the winter.
But the early close of the river by frost and the
deep snow prevented the accomplishment of that
purpose, and also prevented the escape of the
three from their perilous situation, for they had
no food and no means of procuring it. Their
three yoke of oxen, on one of which they ex
pected to subsist through the winter, broke
through the ice and were carried down the river.
In their extremity one of their three horses was
killed and sustained life during the winter of

i784-'5. They escaped from their imprisonment
in early spring nearly famished and exhausted.
The drowning of his team and the sweeping
away of his provisions by the ice freshet of the
spring of 1785, compelled him to abandon the
projected settlement at Chokenet. He, how
ever, with three other families, commenced a set
tlement a year or two afterwards at Wysox,
about sixty miles up the river, whence he came
to Aurora.
The measure of his calamities and misfortunes
was yet unfilled. He unwittingly encroached
upon the reservation, and when the Military
Tract was surveyed, his house and half his im
provements were found to be within its limits.
Having overcome the extreme rigors incident to
their first settlement here, they were beginning
to realize bountiful harvests from their lands,
and the benefits of a friendly intercourse with
the Indians, who returned in the fall succeeding
their settlement, and some of whom brought
them fish and game in exchange for such articles
as they could spare. The forest supplied them
abundantly with berries, and the fruit trees,
which escaped the destroying hand of Sullivan's
army, with Indian plums, peaches and apples.
Peace and prosperity invited and rewarded their
industry. Thirteen or fourteen other families
had either purposely or unwittingly squatted
upon the reservation, and on complaint of the
Indians Governor Clinton issued a proclamation
directing them to withdraw therefrom. They
disregarded the injunction, and in the fall of 1791
Clinton sent the sheriff wilh a posse of men to
eject them. The work was entrusted to Colonel
William Colbraith, high sheriff of Herkimer
county, which then embraced Cayuga County.
It was done thoroughly. Every house, except one,
to the number of thirteen, was burned, and the
families thrown upon the charity of their friends ;
but, as they made no resistance, they were
permitted to take off their movable property.
Captain Franklin's house being near the line, he
prevailed upon the sheriff to allow him to remain
until spring, and sec if he could not satisfy the
Indians. Elisha Durkee was one of those ejected from
the reservation. He settled first "on the west
bank of the second brook that crosses the high
way east of Levanna, a short distance north of
the road," and remained there till the next Oclo-

EARLY SETTLEMENTS.

395

ber, when he removed to the place afterwards
known as the Sloat farm, south of Levanna, by
the rivulet, not far from the lake shore, where he
remained till driven off by the sheriff. He
subsequently removed to the present town of
Scipio, where he died at an early day.
Ebenezer White settled in Ledyard ; and the
Messrs. Atwell, of whom there were three,
Joseph, Levi and Hulbert, removed at an early
day to the western part of the State.
Captain Franklin naturally was very desirous
of securing a title to the lot (No. 34,) joining the
reservation, on which a portion of his improve
ments had been made, but unfortunately he did
not have the money with which to buy it. It
would seem that he had rested secure, in the sup
position that the lease obtained from the Indians
constituted a valid title. On the apportionment
of the Military Tract, lot 34, on which Aurora
stands, fell to the share of Peter VanBenscoten,
of Fishkill, Dutchess county, who was a lieuten
ant in the Fourth New York Regiment, during
the war of the Revolution, for, curious enough,
though only two regiments were raised, officers
for five were commissioned. Lieut. VanBen
scoten held the title until March I4lh, 1794,
when Seth Phelps bought it in the joint interest
of himself and John Walworth, his brother-in-
law, both of whom moved in from Groton, Con
necticut, the former in 1791, and the latter about
1795. The price paid was 240;^, not quite
$600, and the money was furnished by Mr. Wal
worth at Mr. Phelps' request. Mr. Phelps came
jn as an insolvent merchant and was the recipi
ent of much kindness from Captain Franklin,
who generously opened his house to his family,
and supplied him, in his poverty, with a team and
utensils. Capt. Franklin, therefore, whether
justly or not, viewed the purchase of that lot by
Mr. Phelps as an act of ingratitude, and being
old and infirm, " met this great misfortune as the
climax to a life of sorrow, and believed himself
forsaken by God and man. He sank into a for
lorn and pitiable frame of mind, and although
closely watched by his friends, shot himself near
his dwelling. He had previously attempted to
hang himself by fastening a rope to a limb of a
tree, and leaping from a bluff. In the last fatal
attempt, he placed the muzzle of his gun to his
ear, and discharged it by means of a stick."
This sad evetit occurred two or three weeks
67-i

after Mr. Phelps return from the east, whither
he had been to negotiate the purchase of the lot
in question. Whatever the effect this act had upon
the mind of Mr. Franklin, there is every reason
to believe Mr. Phelps entirely guiltless of the
ignoble motive imputed to him. He gave Mr.
Franklin's widow a deed of two acres adjoining
the reservation, including a portion of the im
provements made by her husband. Mr. Frank
lin had married again before coming to the lake
country. The death of Capt. Franklin was a crushing
blow to his family. But his son Roswell, who
was twenty-one when he came to the lake coun
try, and upon whom the chief burden ofthe care
of the family devolved, was strong, accustomed
to hardships, and able to endure them. Stephen,
his brother, who was several years younger, had
been crippled in his arms by the small-pox, and
could not perform heavy manual labor. Roswell
hired of the Indians that part of his father's
clearing lying on the reservation, and by dint of
persevering industry was enabled to support the
family. After the Indians surrendered this por
tion of their lands to the State, the Legislature
granted to those who had been on the grounds
several years the right to buy at the average price
of new lands, in preference to new comers. This
was called the preemption right, and Roswell
availed himself of its benefits. In 1813, he re
moved to Genoa and bought of Ephraim Buel
the lands sold to him by Jabez Bradley.
In the division of lot 34, the north half fell to
Phelps and the south half to Walworth. It was
" divided by an east and west line running through
the garden of Nancy Morgan, between her house
and the Masonic hall." Phelps took up a farm
where Benjamin Gould lives. The year that
Phelps settled here ( 1 791) the county of Herki
mer was formed from Montgomery county, and
the first town meeting of the town of Peru, one
of the towns in the former county, and embracing
the western halfof the military tract, was direct
ed by law to be held at his house, then in the
township of Scipio. On the erection of Onon
daga county, in 1794, Seth Phelps, though not a
lawyer, was appointed Fir.fi Judge of that county
(March 14th,) and held the office till the erec
tion of Cayuga County in 1799, when (March
14th,) he was appointed to the same office for
the latter county, which he held until February

39^

TOWN OF LEDYARD.

26th, 1810, when he was succeeded by Walter
Wood. He represented the Western District
in the State Senate from 179810 iBoi and from
i8io-'i3,and was frequently chosen to honorable
and respectable positions in the gift of the people.
He served as a captain in the Revolutionary war.
He removed to Painesville, Ohio, about 18 19, and
died at Parkman, Ohio, in February, 1823, in his
78th year. None of his children are living. Jno.
Walworth removed in 1800 to Painesville, Ohio,
and a few years after to Cleveland, where his
daughter, Mrs. Hannah Strickland, now lives.
One son, John P., is living in Natchez, Miss.
Edward Paine, who had previously been to the
country and assisted in the survey for the Little
Lessee Company, moved here in the fall of 1790,
and settled a little south of Aurora, at the mouth
ofthe creek which bears his name. He removed
to Painesville, Ohio, in 1 800.
In 1790, Gilbert, Jonathan, Thurston and Perez
Brownell came from Little Compton, R. I., and
commenced work on the reservation, from which
they were driven by the sheriff. They then built
a cabin near R. N. Atwater's residence, one and
one-half miles north of the south line ofthe town.
Perez brought his family in the spring of 1791,
and Jonathan, his wife, in 1792. All, except
Jonathan, soon after removed to lot 23 in Milton,
(Genoa) which their father, Pardon Brownell, had
previously bought. He gave to each of the three,
Gilbert, Thurston and Perez, 200 acres on that
lot. Jonathan remained in Ledyard till his
death. He was a good farmer, a fine, substan
tial man, and an excellent citizen. Two of his
daughters are living, Mary B., wife of Charles
C. Young, iri Brooklyn, and the widow of James
Avery, in Ledyard. Thomas Manchester came
from West Port, R. I., in May, 1790, and lived
with or near Jonathan Brownell till 1802, when
he removed to the farm bought in 1798, of
Thorne Milliken, now owned by E. P. Shaw, and
located in the north-east corner of lot 14 in
Genoa. He was a kindly man, but intemperate,
and died poor. It is said that, becoming tired of
home-made flour — by the mortar and pestle pro
cess — he took a small grist by boat around Sene
ca Lake to a mill owned by the Jemima Wilkin
son community, in Yates county, and was gone
six weeks. That was then the nearest mill.
Jonathan Richmond, who was born at West-
port, Mass., July 31st, 1774, arrived here from

Dartmouth, Mass., May 15th, 1792, and lived
first with his son-in-law, Jonathan Brownell. He
was appointed sheriff of Cayuga county, Febru
ary 24th, 1808, and held the office till February
nth, 1812. He was once U. S. collector of
customs, and represented the Twentieth District
in Congress in i8i9-'20. He died at Aurora
July 29th, 1853.
Charles Kendall came in 1792, at the age of
twenty-four, and settled north-west of Ledyard,
on the east line, on one hundred acres bought
that fall of Gen. Van Rensselaer, of Albany, at
one dollar per acre. The next year a man came
from Washington county and cleared the land.
Feeling uneasy lest his title should prove defec
tive, Kendall proceeded to Albany to consult Van
Rensselaer, who assured him that his title was
good. He returned and lived on the tract nine
years, when, having cleared sixty acres, he sold
it for twelve dollars per acre. The second year
after settling here Kendall drove in a yoke of
oxen and a cow from Vermont, following the
line of lots or Indian trails from Hardenbergh's
Corners, (Auburn.) He lost the trail between
that place and Aurora, and unexpectedly came
upon an Indian clearing in which corn and vines
were growing. Two fierce dogs immediately at
tacked the cattle, chasing them through the clear
ing. A squaw appearing in sight he requested
her to call the dogs off, and was horrified soon
after by seeing two athletic Indians approaching,
whooping, hallooing and brandishing large knives.
They, however, did him no harm, but directed
him toward the lake, from which he was not far
distant. Mr. Kendall said that the soldier be
longing to the detachment of Sullivan's army
which devastated the Indian settlements in this
section of country, and who died in this locality,
was buried on lands afterwards owned by Hezekiah
Avery, on lot 55, a few rods east of Ledyard.
Jeremiah Van Rensselaer, said Kendall, sold to
one Samuel Clark, one hundred acres on the site
of Ledyard, at six shillings per acre, and gave
him one hundred acres for settling it: This was
the land afterwards owned by Benjamin Avery,
who came from Connecticut in 1795, and settled
on the site of the house next north of the church
at Ledyard. He died there January 27th, 1816,
and was succeeded on the place by his son Ben
jamin, who was born November 2Sth, 1776, and
died there January 31st, 1866, aged ninety.

EARLY SETTLEMENTS.

397

Daniel and Hezekiah Avery, with their fami
lies, and several other of their family connections,
came in at the same time as Benjamin from the
same place.* Daniel first came in I793,t and
settled at the mouth of Paine's Creek, on the
farm now owned by Mr. Delafield. He subse
quently removed to Aurora. He represented
the Fourteenth District in Congress in i8 11-13,
and the Twentieth District in 1813-15, and
1816-17, being elected in the latter case to fill
a vacancy. He was born at Groton, Connecti
cut, September i8th, 1766, and died at Aurora,
January 30th, 1842. Lydia, his wife, was born
April 4th, 1773, and died September 14th, 1797.
His father, Daniel, also a native of Groton, fell
in defense of his country at Fort Griswold, Sep
tember 6th, 1 78 1. His mother, Deborah, died at
Aurora, April i ith, 1825, aged 82. Two daugh
ters are living in Aurora, Lydia, vyidow of Eben
ezer White Arms, a native of Greenfield, Massa
chusetts, who died at Aurora, January 15th, 1877,
and Maria, widow of Rev. William H. Howard,
D. D., a native of London, England, who died
at Aurora, July ist, 1871. Hezekiah Avery set
tled first at Aurora, and in March, 1815, removed
to Ledyard. The house in which he lived is now
occupied by his daughter Harriet, wife of Chas.
Avery. It is the one in which the post-office is
kept at Ledyard. Harriet is the only one of his
children living. He kept a tavern till shortly
before his death, April loth, 1854, Dudley and
Elias Avery are believed to have come in at the
same time, (1795.) The former settled at what
is known as " Pumpkin Hill," three miles south
of Aurora. He was an inn-keeper, but left the
town at an early day. Elias was an early mer
chant at Aurora. He was born April 6th, 1768,
and died July 31st, 1837. Two of his children
are living, John B., at Farmer, Seneca county,
and Noyes L., at Grand Rapids, Michigan.
Joshua Patrick kept the first tavern in 1793.
It stood opposite the Catholic Church, on the
southerly east and west road leading out of the
village. He subsequently kept tavern near Mr.
Morgan's store. The building, which was
erected previous to 1800, is slill standing on the
same site, and is used as a tenement house. This
old building is one of historic import. In one
of its upper rooms the early courts were held, in-
* See History oC Venice,
f See his tombstone in cemetery at Aurora.

eluding the one, in 1804, which tried the Dela
ware Indian named John, for the murder, the
previous year, near Seneca Falls, of Ezekiel
Crane, one of the earliest settlers in Seneca'
county. John was captured after a hard strug- •
gle, and convicted before Judge Ambrose Spen
cer, who sentenced him to be hung. When the
time for the execution arrived, he expressed the
wish to be shot like a warrior, with his rifle in
his hand. This being denied him, he submitted
to his fate with the stoicism characteristic of his
race. He was hung in the ravine in rear of the
college. Dr. Frederick Delano, who, in com
pany with others, dissected him, preserved the
skeleton and kept it till his death, when it passed
into the possession of Dr. Morgan, and subse
quently into that of Drs. Alex. Thompson and
Baker, the latter of whom had it buried. This
was the first case of capital punishment in Cay
uga County.
Gen. Benj. Ledyard came in as agent and
clerk for the apportionment of lands in the Mili
tary Tract as early as 1794, March 14th of
which year, on the erection of Onondaga county.
Gov. John Jay bestowed on him the office of clerk
of that county, as a mark of esteem and respect.
He held that office till the erection of Cayuga
County, in 1799, when he was appointed to the
same office in the latter county, holding it until
his death in November, 1803. He was a captain
in the New York line of the army of the Revo
lution, and was a most excellent man. He was
the father of Jonathan Ledyard and Mrs. Linck-
laen, of Cazenovia, Samuel Ledyard, of Pultney-
ville, and Mrs. Glen F. Cornelius Cuyler, of Au
rora. Samuel, William and Winter Branch came from
Norwich, Conn., in 1794, in which year the
former married Ruth, daughter of Augustus
Chidsey, at Aurora. Chidsey, who was one of
the commissioners who selected Sherwood as the
County seat, came in that year with a covered
wagon, with which he got stuck in the mud.
He was discovered and assisted by Branch, who
had previously waited upon his daughter, and
who then received the first intimation of their
coming to the lake country. Branch proceeded
to Aurora with his lady-love and the two were
married. Samuel Branch was deputy sheriff and
had charge of the jail in 1803 and '4, during the
confinement, trial and execution of Indian John.

398

TOWN OF LEDYARD.

He also had charge ol an6lher Indian murderer
named Little Key, who killed an Indian named
Shady Tar ; but in this case small-pox cheated
the gallows of its victim. He was detailed by
the colony to go in company with Henry Hewitt
to Albany, for their supply of groceries. While
returning he was taken sick, and stopped at a
log hut with one lone man tenant. Hewitt, sup
posing he was past all possible hope of recovery,
came on, and he was given up as dead ; but after
a long time he again made his appearance. In
1808 he removed to Genoa, and soon made a
permanent residence on lot 29 in that town, suc
ceeding Thomas Hicks, in the fork of thc road.
He was a tailor by trade and was for many years
postmaster at East Genoa. Winter Branch also
was a tailor. Henry Hewitt was here as early
as 1794.
Salmon Buel came in from Vermont in 1794.
His daughter Belinda, who was born in Castle
ton, Vertnont, September 22d, 1785, and married
Eleazer Carter, in Ledyard, February 4th, 1801,
in her sixteenth year, died November 4th, 1876,
at the advanced age of ninety-one years, at Mo
ravia, to which place she and her husband removed
in 1863, to spend their declining years with their
daughter, Mrs. Dr. Powers. Pier hu.sband died
May 31st, 1874. They had eleven children, six
of whom survive them : Mrs. Gurnsey Jewett,
Mrs. Dr. Cyrus Powers and Theodore A. Car
ter, of Moravia ; John Anson Carter, of New
ark, N. J.; Eleazer Carter, of Canandaigua, and
Lorenzo Carter, of Long Branch.
Walter Wood was born in Dartmouth, Mass.,
August 17th, 1765, of Quaker parents. He was
a self-educated man. He studied law in White
Creek, Washington Co., and removed thence in
1795 to Aurora, where he pursued the practice
of the law. He settled a mile east of the village
and opened an office in a small frame building,
which forms a part of the house until recently
occupied by his daughter, the late widow of John
E. Williams, standing opposite the Presbyterian
church. On the formation of Cayuga County, Mr. Wood
was earnest and persistent in his efforts to secure
the location of the new court-house and other
County buildings at Aurora, and being strenu
ously opposed by others who favored other locali
ties, he, in order to further his wishes and to in
duce a decision of the controversy in his favor

actually erected a court-house at Aurora, on the
site of Alfred J. Le Grand's residence, which,
however, instead of affording a theater for legal
controversies, became a hotel, for which purpose
it was used until about 1815, and subsequently
for a Friend's school. The first teacher in this
school was Asa Potter, who remained some three
or four years, and was followed by Joseph Jones,
who kept it but a short time. Miss Susan Mari-
ott, an English lady, succeeded Mr. Jones, and
under her management during a period of some
fifteen years, under the name of Brier Cliff
School, it gained a favorable notoriety. Rebecca
Bunker next succeeded to its management, but
after three or four years it was discontinued.
Mr. Wood was appointed First Judge of Cay
uga County, February 26th, 18 10, succeeding
Judge Phelps, and served in that capacity with
credit to himself and the County, until March
13th, 1817. In 1811 he removed to Monlville,
where, in addition to his legal practice, he was
extensively engaged in manufacturing enterprises.
He built up there a village outrivaling in
commercial and manufacturing importance Mor
avia, which, in turn, has far outstripped its rival.
He died there September 8th, 1827, " respected
by those about him, leaving the reputation of
having been a kind, charitable man, and a sym
pathizing neighbor, who was always ready to re
lieve the poor and distressed. It is related of
him that in the year 1816, when almost a famine
prevailed in the land, his mill was well stored
with wheat and corn, and sordid, heartless men
appeared, as in all like cases, and coming to him
desired to purchase his store of grain for specu
lative purposes, and offered him a large sum in
advance of what he paid, but he repelled all such
proffers, and doled out his entire stock in smaTl
quantities to those living in the vicinity, and thus
ministered to their necessities and satisfied
them."* Charlotte F., wife of Col. Edwin B. Morgan, of
Aurora, is the only one of his children living.
His wife, Paulina, who was born May nth, 1764,
died March 26th, 1840. Three sons, Seneca,
Isaac and Thomas, practiced law in Aurora,
Isaac, till his death, April 13th, 1850. Thomas
did not practice much on account of ill health.
He died February 20th, 1839. Seneca removed
* Paper prepared for the Moravia Historical Society, July 4th,
1876, by S, Edwin Day,

EARLY SETTLEMENTS.

399

to Auburn and afterwards to Rochester, where
he died March 12th, 1859.
Benjamin Howland, a Friend, who was born in
Dartmouth, Mass,, October 12th, 1754, came in
from Saratoga county, with his family of six
children, in 1798, and settled two 'miles west of
Poplar Ridge, on 135 acres now owned by his
son, Slocum Howland, and occupied by Daniel
Dwyer. Benjamin Wilbur, also a Friend, accom
panied him and assisted in moving the family,
furniture and live stock. He resided there till
his death, September 23d, 183 1, aged seventy-
seven. Mary, his wife, was born September 4th,
1755, and died October 30th, 1840, aged eighty-
five. His six children were, .Sylvia, afterwards
wife of Jethro Wood, Humphrey, Martha, after
wards wife of Wm. Heazlitt, Mary, afterwards
wife of Thomas J. Alsop, Harmony and Slocum,
the latter of whom is the only one living. Hum
phrey was largely and favorably known through
all this section of country. He was born in
Dartmouth, Mass., in 1780. About two years
after his settlement here he engaged in practical
surveying in Cayuga, Tompkins and Cortland
counties, in the employ of Judge John Lawrence,
of New York, Robert Troup, Samuel Parsons,
Richard Hart and others. Judge Lawrence
owned at that time some 100 military lots in the
townships of Venice, Scipio and Ledyard. He
acquired the agency for the Lawrence estate of
New York city and several minor agencies. He
afterwards became a large land-holder himself,
owning Howland's Island, various tracts in other
parts of the State, and a beautiful estate in Led
yard, where he lived, and died in December,
1862. The house in which he lived was built in
1 8 10, and was then considered a palatial resi
dence. It is standing, and is occupied by Abram
Taber. He was a Member of Assembly from
this County in 18 12. Slocum Howland was
born September 20th, 1794. He is slill living
at Sherwood, in the town of Scipio, where, for
more than half a century, he has been engaged
in mercantile pursuits. His life-long philanthro
py and excellence of character have endeared
him to the community in which he lives. They
have been the crowning graces in his long and
useful life. The grand-children of Benjamin
Howland who 'are living are Phebe and Sarah,
the latter the widow of Robert Underbill, both in
Chicago, and Ann, wife of Benjamin Gould, in

Ledyard, children of Sylvia; John and Benjamin
Alsop, children of Mary, the former in Union,
Wisconsin, and the latter in Maryland ; Mary,
wife of John J. Thomas, of Union Springs, and
Wm. Penn Howland, of New York, children of
Humphrey ; William and Emily, with their father
at Sherwood, and Benjamin, at Catskill, children
of Slocum.
Eleazer Burnham, who was born in Shafts-
bury, Vt., July 15th, 1780, settled at Aurora
September 27th, 1798, and died there May 3d,
1867. He studied law in the office of Judge
Walter Wood, wilh whom he formed a copart
nership about 1804, which continued till the lat
ter's removal to Monlville. July 29th, 1807, lie
married Matilda Wood, the daughter of his legal
preceptor. He practiced law till about 1825,
when failing health compelled him to discontinue.
He was County Surrogate from February 5th,
181 1 to February 26th, 1813, and again from
February 28th, 1815, to June 7lh, 1820. He was
collector of Revenue at Aurora during the war
of 18 12, and was Member of Assembly in 1826.
None of his family are .living.
Other settlers at Aurora previous to 1798 were
Thomas Mumford, Glen Cuyler, Silas Marsh,
attorneys. Dr. Frederick Delano, and Daniel
Foote, the latter of whom was a merchant, all of
whom are dead. A daughter of I'-oote's, Mary,
widow of Charles Campbell, is living in Chicago.
John Wood and Isaac Wood, with their families,
and James Wood and sister came in from Wash
ington county, in 1799, and settled three miles
south-east of Aurora. John, who died on the
place where he settled, was the father of Jethro
Wood, the inventor of the cast-iron plow, which
was a vast improvement on the old " bull plow"
then in use. The late Chas. P. Wood of Auburn,
was a son of James Wood.
John Boughton came in from Connecticut, as
early as 1799, and settled in Ledyard, about two
miles north-west of Scipioville, on the farm now
owned by Benjamin Gould, and occupied by Har
rison Johnson, where he died March 25lh,'i824,
aged 53 years and 10 months. Elder Alanson
Boughton, a Baptist minister, who died a few
years since at Moravia, was a son of his.
Christopher Morgan was born in Groton,
October ijlh, 1777, and educated in the com
mon schools of his native place. His father,
Christopher, was a farmer. His mother, Deborah,

400

TOWN OF LEDYARD.

was a sister of Benjamin Ledyard. One of her
brothers was a Colonel in the Continental army,
and was in command of the fort at Groton, Conn.,
when attacked and captured by the traitor Ar
nold. After surrendering the fort and his sword
he was rUn through with the latter in the hands
ofa British officer. His death was immediately
revenged by his own men. Christopher came lo
Aurora in May, 1800, and immediately engaged
in mercantile business. Members of this family
have since been prominently identified with all
of Aurora's valuable interests. July 15th, 1805,
he married Nancy, daughter of John Barber of
Groton, Conn., who was born August 29th, 1785,
and died August 4th, 1864. Though an active
politician and wielding great influence as the
leading merchant of the County for a great many
years he never accepted public office. He died
October 4th, 1834. They had six children, all
sons, Edwin B., Christopher, Henry, John, Geo.
P., and Richard.
Col. Edwin B. Morgan was born in Aurora,
May 2d, 1806, and educated at the Cayuga Lake
Academy in that village. At the age of thirteen
he became a clerk in his father's store, and at
twenty-one succeeded him to the business. He
was extensively engaged, in connection with his
brothers, in merchandizing, boat building, and
in buying and shipping wool, grain and pork. In
1850, during his absence in New York, he was
made the Republican nominee for Congress, but
was defeated by fourteen votes. He was elected
to Congress in 1852, and again in 1854 and '56,
the last time by 9,000 majority. He was one of
the original proprietors of the Nezv York Times,
and has been president of the Times Association
since the death of Mr. Raymond. He was one
of the originators of Wells, Fargo & Co.'s Ex
press, and its first president, which office he held
for four years. He is still largely interested in
that enterprise ; also in Adams & Co.'s, the
American and United States Expresses, and vari
ous banks and railroads. He is one of the larg
est shareholders in the Oswego Starch Company,
in which he is a director. He is president of
Cayiiga Lake Academy, an office he has held
some twenty-five years, and has contributed
liberally to its support. He was one of the
original trustees of Wells College, to which he
gave JS 100,000 as an endowment fund, and has
been its vice-president since that office was cre

ated. He was a trustee of the State Agfieultural
College at Ovid, and The People's College at
Havana ; and has been a trustee of Cornell Uni
versity, at Ithaca, since that institution was
founded. He has been a trustee of Aubum
Theological Seminary many years, and, in connec
tion with Wm. E. Dodge, erected the library
building in connection wilh it. He also con
tributed |S75,ooo toward the construction of Mor
gan Hall. Though not a member, he has been
a liberal contributor at different times to the
Presbyterian Church at Aurora. He also con
tributed largely toward Prof. Hartt's Brazilian
explorations. He was one of the original trus
tees of the State Inebriate Asylum at Bingham-
ton. Christopher Morgan was born in Aurora,
June 4th, 1808. He was fitted for college at the
Academy at Aurora, and graduated at Yale Col
lege in 1828. He began his legal studies with
Seneca Wood of Aurora, and finished them with
Elijah Miller and Wm. H. Seward at Auburn.
October 24th, 1832, he married Mary E., daugh
ter of the late Dr. Joseph T. Pitney of Auburn.
He practiced his profession several years in con
nection with the late Ebenezer W. Arms. He
was elected a Representative in Congress by the
Whigs in 1837, and reelected in 1839. At the
expiration of his second term he removed to Au
burn, and practiced law awhile in connection with
Samuel Blatchford and Clarence A. Seward, who
then resided there. From November 2d, 1847,
to November 4th, 185 1, he was Secretary of State
of New York. During his Secretaryship, as
Superintendent of Public Schools he recom
mended and initiated our popular system of free
schools. About that time he became one of the Board
of Trustees of the Asylum for the Insane at
Utica, and held that position till near his death,
which occurred in Auburn April 3d, 1877. He
was mayor of Auburn in i860. He leaves a
widow, living in Auburn, and three married daugh
ters, two, (Cornelia, wife of C. Eugene Barber,
and Mary, wife of William C. Barber,) living in
Auburn, and one, (Frances A.,) in Berlin, Ger
many. Henry Morgan was born at Aurora, Aug. 22d,
1810, and educated at the academy in that village,
of which he is still a resident. He has been en
gaged in mercantile business at Aurora ; and is

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EARLY SETTLEMENTS.

401

largely interested in mining operations in Cali
fornia, and in the manufacturing enterprises con
ducted by Sheldon & Co., and D. M. Osborne &
Co., of Auburn. He was one of the originators
of the U. S. telegraph.
John Morgan was born at Aurora September
1st, 1812, and died February loth, 1840. He
was educated at the academy in his native village,
and a graduate of Hamilton College. He fol
lowed the vocation of a farmer, his farm being
the land upon which Wells College and the
residence of the late Henry Wells stand.
George P. Morgan was born at Aurora May
29th, 181 5, and was engaged in mercantile pur
suits in Union Springs, Skaneateles and Aurora.
He now resides in New York.
Richard Morgan, the genial merchant at
Aurora, was born in that village March 21st,
1818. Erastus Spalding and Philip Allen came in
about 1800. Spalding settled at Levanna, where
he kept at an early day the hotel now occupied
by Melvin Bowen. He removed at an early day
to Lockport, where his son Lyman was a promi
nent miller. Allen was a Quaker and came from
Washington county with his family. Capt. Ste
phen Allen and his brother Theophilus, came
from Salisbury, Conn., in 1802, and settled in the
east part of the town, Stephen, on the farm now
owned by Hicks Anthony, and Theophilus, on
that now owned by Ira Frills. Stephen Allen,
Jr., took up a farm adjoining his father's on the
east. Soon after coming here he married Phebe
Cross, who came in with her brother Nathaniel
from Baskin Ridge, N. J., a short time before and
settled with him at Levanna, where George Utt
now lives. Thc elder Allen died in the town
June 30th, 1822, aged 64. None of his children
are living. Stephen Allen, Jr., was Deputy County
Clerk at Cayuga when he first came in, and was
subsequently a teacher in the academy at Au
rora. He died at Levanna June 8th, 1858, aged
seventy-seven. Three of his four children are
living: William S., Walter W., and Maria, all
in Ledyard. Nathaniel Cross was a single
man when he first came. He afterwards mar
ried Eliza, daughter of Judge Joseph Allen,
of New Jersey, to which State he subsequently
removed with his wife and three children. Two
of his children are living in Ledyard, William
and Mary Allen Cross. Samuel Willets came
68-2

from New Jersey in 1804. He was a Quaker.
He raised a large family, some of whom are still
residents of this County.
An important addition to the settlements of
this town was made in 1805, in the family of
David Thomas, who settled on the tract of land
known as the " great field," about two and one-
half miles north-east of Aurora, previously taken
up by Judge John Richardson, who settled orig
inally in Springport, in the history of which town
mention is made of him.
David Thomas was born on the banks of the
Schuylkill June 6th, 1776, and was mainly a self-
educated man. In early life he was engaged in
agricultui-al pursuits, but found time in the inter
vals of those labors to acquire a knowledge of
surveying and to become a thorough mathema
tician, being assisted in the latter studies, it is
believed, by David Rittenhouse. He also gave
much attention to botanical researches, in which
science he became so proficient as to attraict the
attention and command the admiration of Prof.
Barton of Philadelphia, who had designed honor
ing him with the name of a new species of plants,
but discovered that the name had been previous
ly applied to another plant in honor of a Swiss
gentleman named Thomas. He removed from
his native place, near Phoenixville, Penn., to Ly
coming county in that State, in 1801, and from
Lycoming to Ledyard in 1805. During his early
settlement here he followed farming and survey
ing. In 18 16, he made a tour of observation to
Indiana, and in i8i9he published an account of
these observations, which, coming to the notice
of Gov. DeWitt Clinton, led to his appointment
as Chief Engineer under the Canal Commission
ers in the spring of 1820. He superintended
the construction of the Erie Canal between
Rochester and Buffalo till its completion. He
surveyed the long level between Rochester and
Lockport, and was jeeringly told that he must
not be in the country when the water was let in,
as it would be dry at one end. In order to sat
isfy the Commissioners he directed two of his
assistants to run two separate lines over the same
route and when thc work was completed there
was a difference of a little less than two-thirds of
an inch between theirs and his. After the com
pletion of the Erie Canal in the fall of 1825, he
had the superintendence of the construction of
the Cayuga and Seneca Canal. He was subse-

402

TOWN OF LEDYARD.

quently engaged on the Welland Canal, but re
linquished that appointment after the expiration
of one year, because of the personal inconven
ience to which it subjected him. The year pre
vious to his appointment as Chief Engineer on
the Canals he was appointed by the U. S. Gov
ernment to examine the harbor at Buffalo. Af
ter closing his official services with this State,
the Government of Pennsylvania requested Gov.
Clinton to recommend to them some one com
petent to take charge of the canals of that State.
He at once named David Thomas, who was
thereupon tendered the position and privileged
to name his salary, but the failing health of his
wife induced him to decline the honor.
In 1853, he removed to Union Springs and
spent there the rest of his days. The latter part
of his life was devoted lo horticulture, floricul
ture and pomology, and, doubtless, was prolonged
by the gentle exercise and mental occupation
they afforded. Pie aided largely in improving
the variety of fruits and flowers in the section
where he resided. He was a man of more than
ordinary ability, refinement and culture. He
was elected honorary member of the Literary
¦and Philosophical Society of Nezv York in 1823;
and corresponding member of the Horticultural
Society of London in 1824, and of the Linnaan
Society of Paris, in 1826.
He was a liberal contributor to the Genesee
Fanner of Rochester, the first agricultural paper that
brought agricultural literature to the homes ofthe
common people. The first six volumes contained
800 articles from his pen. He also delivered
numerous addresses before agricultural societies.
He wae frequently tendered the honor of a
nomination to public office, including the Assem
bly and Slate Senate, but he invariably declined.
He died November 5th, 1859, having been pre
ceded by his wife in 1833. In 1843 he married
Ednah D., the widow of Dr. Isaac W. Smith, of
Lockport. who died May nth, 1878, aged eighty-
four. Three of his eight children, four of whom
were born after his removal to this County, are
living, Mary T., widow of George Spencer in
Germantown, Philadelphia, John J., in Union
Springs, and Joseph, in Philadelphia.
John J. Thomas, A. M,, has pursued a great
diversity of vocations in life. He has written
for the Press forty-four years, and is now associate
editor of the Country Gentleman. He is the

author of several works, whose merit has secured
for them an extensive circulation. He, like his
father, has devoted much attention to horticul
ture and pomology. He published the Ameri
can Fruit Culturist, which appeared first in 1846,
and has passed through twenty editions. In
1854, he commenced a serial publication, entitled
Rural Affairs, which he has since continued in
annual numbers, and which has had a circulation
of 30,000. He is also the author of a work on
Farm Machinery, which was first written as a
prize essay while he was residing with his father's
family, and won the ^200 prize offered by the
Trustees of the Wadsworth P\md for essays on
applied science, for schools. From that essay a
work was afterwards prepared to compete for a
prize of j^ioo offered by the New York State
Agricultural Society, on science applied to agri
culture. It received the prize and was published
in the transactions of the Society. It met the
eyes of the Harpers, who proposed to publish it
in book form, wilh additions, which they accord
ingly did. Mr. Thomas is an honorary member
of the Massachusetts Horticultural Society ; of the
Worcester Horticultural Society ; of the Pennsyl
vania Fruit Growers' Society ; of the Horticultural
Society of Indiana ; and P'^irst President of the
Horticultural Society of New York.
Dr. Consider King, who was born in Roches
ter, Mass., in 1774, moved in from Columbia
county this same year, (1805,) and settled at
Ledyard, in the house next north of the church
in that village. He boarded wilh Benjamin
Avery, whose daughter Lydia he subsequently
married. Joseph Talcolt came from Dutchess county in
1806, and settled one and one-half miles south
east of Aurora. He died in the near neighbor
hood of that locality in 1853. He was a highly
esteemed citizen, an earnest advocate of temper
ance, and a friend to universal education. He
often visited the common schools, giving good
counsel to the teachers and encouragement to
the scholars. He published a monthly religious
pamphlet entitled The Friendly Visitant, for
young people, which was printed in 1834 by
Thomas Skinner, now a resident of Auburn. He
had two sons and two daughters. Richard, the
eldest son; was long a resident of Skaneateles,
where he died a few years ago. His eldest
daughter, Hannah, was the late wife of Slocum

AURORA VILLAGE.

403

Howland. His other daughter, Phebe, never
married. His family, and that of David Thomas,
were Friends.
Roswell Towsley and John Bowen came in
about 1 8 10, the former from Manlius, and the
latter from Dartmouth, Mass. Towsley settled
at Aurora, where he built, in 18 17, the first steam
flouring-mill west of the Hudson. It stands near
the depot, west of the hotel, and is now used as a
store-house. It was in operation only about ayear
when Towsley failed, became deranged and was
sent to the asylum in New York, where he died.
He was an enterprising man, and had also a tan
nery, a large blacksmith shop, a shoe shop and a
furnace, in the latter of which, it is claimed, Je
thro Wood's first plow was cast.* Bowen settled
a Httle north-east of Aurora, where his grandsons
Jesse and Alfred now live. The latter are sons
of Benjamin Bowen, who succeeded his father on
the farm, on which both died,. Benjamin, July
26th, 1854, aged 58.
Benjamin Tracy came in at an early day and
settled about two miles north-west of Scipioville,
in Ledyard, where he died Oct. 27lh, 1804, aged
sixty-four. Olive, his wife, died October 7th,
1 83 1, aged eighty-nine. Josiah Bowen came
from Massachusetts about 18 14, and settled in
Ledyard, a little west of Sherwood. He after
wards removed to the next farm west and died
there July 23d, 1846. He was born December
i8th, 1785. His son Sayles J. Bowen, resides in
Washington, D. C, of which city he was for
merly mayor, and postmaster during the war.
Town Officers. — The first town meeting was
held the first Tuesday in April, 1823, and the
following named officers were elected : Jedediah
Morgan, (who was a Memberof thc State Senate
while a resident of Aurora in 1825-26,) Super
visor ; Joshua Baldwin, Clerk; Jonathan Rich
mond, Ozias B. Culver and Jeremiah Turner,
Assessors; Zebedee McComber, Joshua Bald
win and James Wood, Commissioners of High
ways ; Wm. Culver and Jeremiah Turner, Over
seers of the Poor; James Wood, Philo Sperry and
Orange GvXver, Commissioners of Common Schools;
* It is proper to state that Moravia claims thc honor of having
cast the' first cast-iron plow. Bills are extant which show that
Messrs, Rogers & Co., founders of that village, sent plow castings
to Jonathan Swan, of Aurora, in 1817, anda letter from Jetiiro
Wood, bearing date of Scipio, April Sth, 1818, addressed to that firm,
substantiates the fact that they were engaged in casting them ; but
we are not aware that there is conclusive proof to establish either
claim.

Solomon Strong, Luther Lakin and James Swan,
Inspectors of Common Schools ; Ansel Crowell
and Glen Cuyler, Constables ; Ansel Crowell,
Collector; Benj. Avery, Poundmaster ; Abial
Mosher, Josiah Phelps and Ephraim C. Marsh,
Fence Viewers.
The present officers (1879) ^""^ ¦
Supervisor — Hicks Anthony.
Town Clerk — Evans W. Mosher.
Justices of Peace — Wm. Peckham, N. L. Za-
briskie, H. J. Mallory and W. M. Wright.
Assessors — Wm. Judge, Seneca Boyce and
Howard Smith.
Overseers of the Poor— \io'^ard Chase and
Samuel T. Hoyt.
Inspectors of Election— G. C. White, Jr., O.
C. Tooker and Daniel Dwyer.
Collector—^. M. Palmer.
Constables—^. M. Palmer, O. F. VanMarter,
James Smith and W. M. Bowen.
Game Constable— John McGordon.
Aurora Village.
Aurora is situated on the east shore of Cayuga
Lake, which at this point attains its greatest
width, of four miles, and is distant by rail from
Cayuga, on the N. Y. C. Railroad, twelve miles.
Its name, which is an ideal one, supposed to have
originated with Gen. Benj. Ledyard, is suggestive
of the resplendent beauty of its landscapes when
bathed in the first rays of the morning sun.
This village is famed for its delightful situation
and picturesque scenery, in which it surpasses all
the lake villages in Central and Western New
York, whose natural attractions have made them
so well and favorably known. It is a center of
wealth, culture and refinement, and art has vied
with nature in heightening and intensifying its
scenic beauty. Its charming bay, handsomely
shaded streets, magnificent dwellings and ornate
public buildings, have often inspired the talent
of the artist and been made the subject of some
exquisite paintings.
Aurora has been the home, among others not
elsewhere noted, of Palmer, the distinguished
sculptor, and Charles Elliott, the artist, the for
mer of whom still favors it occasionally with his
presence. Many of the private residences and
public buildings are ornamented with the elegant
productions of their genius. It was also the home
of the late Henry Wells, who acquired a world-

404

TOWN OF LEDYARD.

wide celebrity in the express business, and whose
generous benefaction in the founding of the col
lege which bears his name, will be an enduring
monument to remind the citizens of Aurora of
his many noble qualities. He died in Glasgow,
Scotland, Tuesday, December lOth, 1878.
IIenrv Wells was one of the most successful
men of the nation, and one who used his great
wealth in a truly philanthropic spirit. His name is
recorded in the hearts ofthe many who profited by
his charity, and in the titles of the two great in
stitutions known throughout the world — one of a
business, and the other of an educational char
acter. Mr. Wells was born in Vermont, Decem
ber I2th, 1805. In his boyhood his parents
moved to Central New York where he afterwards
resided. In his early manhood he started the ex
press business, which under his management has
grown until now its system seems perfect and its
extent is bounded only by civilization. His first
venture in that business was to carry a carpet
bag filled with the packages of patrons from Al
bany to Buffalo. His patronage increased, and
he associated with himself as a partner Crawford
Livingston. After the death of his partner,
Mr. Wells and several other gentlemen formed
the American Express Company, of which he
became president. He retained the position un
til a few years ago, when age and ill-health in
duced him to leave it. He was also interested in
several other express companies, being one of the
founders of the trans-continental company knov/n
as Wells, Fargo & Co.'s Express. Several years
ago Mr. Wells founded and endowed Wells Fe
male College, at Aurora, N. Y.
This college has proved successful and is
now one of the most popular and best known in
stitutions of its kind in existence. Throughout
his long life Mr. Wells was an enterprising and
useful citizen, and he is known all over the United
States, through every state and territory of which
he has traveled.
Mr. Wells retired from business about ten
years ago. His health being bad, he spent the
greater part of the intervening period in travel
ing. The winter seasons he spent in Italy or the
West Indies. He became very sick about two
months before his death, and determined to seek
renewed health in Sicily. His friends tried to
persuade him not to undertake a sea voyage in
his precarious condition, but he persisted in his

determination, and started from Aurora Novem
ber 4th, 1878. He sailed from New York city in
an Anchor Line steamer November 9th, and ar
rived in Glasgow on the 19th of that month. He
received careful attention during the voyage, but
upon leaving the steamer was unable to continue
his journey to Sicily. The body of Mr. Wells
was brought back to Aurora for interment.
This, too, was the home of the distinguished
and revered Salem Town, LL. D., who was born
in Massachusetts March 5th, 1779, and educated
at Williams College. He was an eminent friend
of, and laborer in, education, jjnd was endeared
to the people of Aurora by a long residence among
them, a portion of the time as principal of the
academy, which, under his direction, look high
rank as an educational institution. The series of
school books which emanated from his pen, es
pecially his Analysis of the English Language,
was a valuable contribution to didactic literature.
His wide experience as a teacher gave him a keen
perception of the educational wants of the com
munity. His urbanity and gentle manners won
for him universal love and respect ; while his
career as a righteous man met the acknowledg
ment of its integrity in all, and found appropriate
and graceful expression in his prominence as an
elder in the Presbyterian church, an office he
held for thirty-four years.
When eighty-two years of age, his fellow-citi
zens gathered around him to do him, as a living
man, especial honor, and besides those who per
sonally participated in the interesting event, Mil
lard Fillmore and lidward Everett addressed the
meeting by letter. A beautiful memorial por
trait bust by the sculptor Palmer, hangs upon the
walls of the Presbyterian Church in Aurora ;
and the Masonic fraternity, whose gatherings he
honored for many years, havc erected to his en
during remembrance ¦ in the village cemetery,
a plain, massive shaft of Westerly (R. I.) granite,
bearing the inscription, " Erected by his Breth
ren." Mr. Town was a gentle, kindly, interesting
man, worthy of the best memories that the works
of art which have been raised concerning him
can perpetuate. The Regents of the Univer
sity conferred on him the degree of LL. D., and
in the honors of the Masonic Order his position
was distinguished. He was Grand Chaplain of
the Grand Lodge of the State of New York for

AURORA VILLAGE.

405

fifty-one years. He died at Greencastle, In
diana, February 24th, 1864. His wife, Abigail
King, who was born October 12th, 1781, died at
Gallipolis, O., while on a visit, December 7th,
1840. The remains of both rest in the cemetery
at Aurora.
Aurora contains four churches, (Presbyterian,
Catholic, Episcopal and M. E,,) is the seat of
Cayuga Lake Academy and of Wells College,
has one district school, one bank, one hotel,
(erected by Col. E. B. Morgan in 1836, and kept
by O. F. VanMarter,) two general stores, one hard
ware store, a grocery and tobacco store, a shoe
store, a meat market, (kept by W. H. Sadler,)
two blacksmith shops, (kept by Polhannes & Van
Marter and W. C. Brightman,) and a population
of 600.
The village was incorporated May Sth, 1837,
but chiefly to secure the name and prevent its
appropriation by Aurora, in Erie county. No
village organization has been kept up.
The early courts of Onondaga and Cayuga
counties were held at Aurora, which was for
several years a half-shire town of Cayuga Coun
ty, Cayuga being the other. The second term of
the Circuit Court of Onondaga county was held
at the house of Seth Phelps in Aurora, Septem
ber 7th, 1795. It was attended by Hon. John
Lansing, Judge of the Supreme Court, Seth
Phelps, John Richardson, and Wm. Stevens,
Judges of the Court of Common Pleas in Onon
daga county. John A. Sheaffer, Wm. Goodwin,
John Stoyell, Cyrus Kinne, Hezekiah Olcot,
Daniel Keeler, Ryal Bingham and Ozias Burr,
Justices, were fined thirty shillings each for non-
attendance. The fourth circuit was held at the
same place June 12th, 1798, by Hon. James Kent,
Judge; assisted by Seth Phelps, Wm. Stevens,
Seth Sherwood, Judges of the Court of Common
Pleas of Onondaga county. Here was erected
the first court house in Cayuga County. It con
sisted of crotched posts set in the ground, and
supporting poles covered wilh brush. In this
primitive structure justice was administered for
several years. The first court after the erection
of Cayuga County, a Court of Common Pleas,
was held at Cayuga Ferry, May 21st, 1799, and at
tended by Seth Phelps, First Judge ; Seth Sher
wood, Judge; and John Tillotson, Assistant Jus
tice. The County seat was established at Au
burn in 1805.

The third newspaper in Cayuga County was
established at Aurora in 1805, by Henry Pace,
and was published every Wednesday under the
name of The Aurora Gazette.* Mr. Pace's
brother James is supposed to have been interest
ed in its publication, though his name does not
appear in that connection. The Messrs. Pace
were of English parentage, and warmly espoused
the cause of the mother country in the discussion
of those questions which led lo the war of 1812,
although the majority of their readers did not
sympathize with those views. But, being then
the only local paper, it monopolized the legal
printing. It was published here but a short time,
its removal to Auburn being about contempo
raneous with the removal of the County seat to
that place. June 7th, 1808, it was changed lo
thc Western Federalist, and published there some
eight years under that name.
Merchants. — The first merchant at Aurora
was Abiather Hull, who opened a store about
1792, in a log building of small dimensions, which
stood a little south of the Presbyterian church.
He continued as late as 1798, and removed from
the town. Elias Avery, Daniel Avery, brother of
Elias, from Groton, Conn., Daniel Foote, broth
er-in-law of Daniel Avery, and probably from the
same place, Wm. McCarthy, also from Conn.,
and Richard and Zebulon Williams were engaged
in mercantile business here prior to 1800. The
Williamses continued till about 1810 ; Daniel
Avery and P'oote, till about 1800 ; and McCarthy
till about 1820, when he was succeeded by his son
William, Jr., who continued till about 1825 or '6.
Both Avery and Foote had families and died in
the lown, the former January 30th, 18.^2. Itlias
Avery, who had a separate store, continued till
about 1810, and died here July 31st, 1837.
Christopher Morgan commenced mercantile
business here in June, 1800, in company with
Cornelius Cuyler. Their store stood opposite
the residence of Richard Morgan, on the Delaney
Newton lot. It was a frame building, about 18
by 20 feet. It was superseded about 1802, by a
much larger, gamble-roof building, which stood
on the site of the Catholic church. Soon after
the erection of that building the partnership was
dissolved, Cuyler retaining the store, and Morgan
* The earliest copy of this paper which has come under our ob
servation is No, 5 of Vol, I., and bears the date of July 17th,
1805.

4o6

TOWN OF LEDYARD.

removing to the store previously occupied by
Daniel Foote, opposite the residence of Richard
Morgan. In 1810, Mr. Morgan built a store
just south of Richard Morgan's residence, which
he occupied until 1827, when his son, Edwin B.
Morgan, succeeded him in the business, and in
1829, erected the building now occupied by his
brother Richard, next south of the hotel, discon
tinuing the old store in 1830. In 1831, Edwin
formed a copartnership with his brother Henry.
George, another brother, subsequently acquired
an interest in the business, and sold August 9th,
1850, to his brother Richard, who also bought
Henry's interest April ist, 1856, and Edwin's
January ist, 1859. I" 1850, the firm name was
Morgans, and remained such until 1859, when it
became R. Morgan. March 6th, 1863, Richard
admitted his son Christopher B. to partnership,
and the business has since been conducted under
the name of R. Morgan &• Son. This, with one
exception, is said to be the oldest n'lercantile
house in the State.
Jonathan Swan, a Quaker, from Western,
Oneida county, came about 18 12, and opened a
store, which he continued until about 1820. He
continued to reside in the village till his death.
Mary, wife of Wm. Wilkinson, of Buffalo, and
-Joseph R. Swan, an ex-Judge anda distinguish
ed citizen of Columbus, Ohio, are children of his.
Charles E. Shepard, a native of the lown, son
of Daniel Shepard, a lawyer, who settled in
the village about 1795, opened a store about
1830, which he continued some ten years, when
he read law and removed to Buffalo, where he
now resides. Frederick E. Curtis and John
Marsh opened a store about the same time as
Shepard. They did business some six years and
failed. Both are natives of this town, in which
their parents were early settlers. Ephraim C.
Marsh, father of John Marsh, came from Morris-
town, New Jersey, and settled and cleared up a
lot two miles south of the village, which was
awarded to his father for Revolutionary services,
and on which he resided till his death, January
2d, 1842, aged fifty-five. Curtis soon after re
moved to New Jersey, where he now resides.
Marsh is living on a farm adjoining his father's
homestead. Numerous persons did business
here for short periods of time, but were not
prominent as business men.
Those who are at present doing business in

the village besides the Messrs. Morgan are Sam
uel G. Daykin, proprietor of a shoe store, who
commenced here in the spring of 1865, having
previously carried on the same business at Scipio
ville since 1852 ; R. Murphy, grocer, who bought
out Johnson McDowell in 1872 ; Wm. Martin,
grocer, who commenced in the spring of 1875,
having previously resided here since 1867 ; and
Arthur Parsons, hardware dealer, who came
from Poplar Ridge, in Venice, where he had re
sided some eighteen years, and bought out W.
O. Cory in March, 1877.
Postmasters. — The post-office at Aurora was
established at Scipio, April ist, 1795, wilh Judge
Walter Wood as postmaster. Previous to that
date there was no post-office in the State west
of Canajoharie. Contemporary with the estab
lishment of the office at Aurora, offices were
established at Onondaigua, with Comfort Tyler
as postmaster ; Kanandaigua, with Thaddeus
Chapin as postmaster; at Whitestown ; Geneva,
with John Johnson as postmaster. Offices were
established at Auburn, as Aurelius, in 1804;
Canajoharie, March 20th, 1793 ; Schenectady,
April 25th, 1793 ; and Lansingburgh, October
9lh, 1793. The comparative importance of the
settlements at these respective places may thus
be seen. "The receipts ofthe office at Aurora
the first year were 1^39.28. Edward Paine con
tracted to carry the mail from Cooperstown three
years at ^175 per year. April ist, 18 10, the
name of the office was changed lo Aurora, and
another office was established at Stewarts Cor
ners, ( Venice^ also bearing the name Scipio, with
James Glover as postmaster.
Judge Wood held the office till his removal to
Monlville in i8n, when he was succeeded by his
son-in-law, Eleazer Burnham, who had been
deputy since 1798, and who held the office till
about 1822, when Seneca Wood, son of Walter,
was appointed and held it till about 1828 He
was succeeded January ist, of that year, by Laz
arus- Ewer who held it till his death Sep
tember 4th, 1834. Charles E. Shepard next re
ceived the appointment and held the office until
1841, when he was succeeded by Charles Camp
bell, who held it till January, 1843. Campbell
was succeeded by Edward Dougherty, who held
the office till 1844 or 5, when John Lincklaen
Cuyler was appointed and held it till 1849. Chas.
Campbell again succeeded to the office and held

AURORA VILLAGE.

407

it till 1853. John Marsh, Cuyler's brother-in-
law, held the office from 1853-61 ; Richard Mor
gan, from i86i-'3 ; Ebenezer W. Arms, from
1863-69; Johnson McDowell, from 1869 lo
June i6th, 1870, at which time Christopher B.
Morgan, the present incumbent, was appointed.
Physicians— The first physician at Aurora,
was Frederick Delano, who came from Orange
county about 1792, and practiced till his death
July 26th, 1825, aged 60. He was one of the
original members of the Cayuga County Medical
Society, which was organized at the tavern of
Daniel Avery in Aurora, August 7lh, 1806, a
sketch of which is given in connection with the
general history of the County. , He was a skill
ful physician and an honor to the profession.
None of his children are living. John Gridley
came in about 1826 and practiced somfe ten years,
when he removed and immediately after became
a Presbyterian clergyman.
Alexander Thompson, son of John and Char
lotte Thompson, was born at Sherwood May 2d,
1819, and educated at Cayuga Academy, Aurora.
He studied medicine wilh his father at Sher
wood, and attended medical lectures at New
York. He joined the County Medical Society
August 7th, 1834, and having practiced a short
time with his father, removed to Aurora about
1840 or '41, and practiced there till his death
September 21st, 1869. December 24lh, 1842,
he married Eliza, daughter of Eleazer Burnham.
He afterwards married Mary, daughter of Lyman
Root of Albany, who survives him. He was a
distinguished physician, and enjoyed an exten
sive practice, by which he amassed a handsome
fortune. He was for one year president of the
State Medical Society. He was not less dis
tinguished in the departments of horticulture
and floriculture, especially the latter. His ex
tensive gardens and rare botanical collection
formed one ofthe chief attractions ofthe village.
Elijah Price Baker was born in Owasco June
1 2th, 1 8 19, and educated at Skaneateles Acade
my. He studied medicine with his father Dr.
Abel Baker of Owasco, and commenced practice
with him in that village in 1847. In April, 1848,
he removed to Fleming, where he practiced till
June, 1862, having joined the County Medical
Society January i8th, oftheprevious year,.(i86i.)
He removed thence to Meridian, and practiced
there till November, 1869, when he removed to
69-1

Aurora, where he has since practiced. He at
tended lectures aud received a diploma at the
Geneva Medical College in 1847.
Elisha Morgan, John N. Clarke and Elisha
Leffingwell joined the County Medical Society
while residents of Aurora; Morgan, August 7lh,
1828, Clarke, August 6th, 1835, and Leffingwell,
June 2d, 1 843. Clarke came from Danby, Tomp
kins county, about the time he joined the Socie
ty, and practiced here some ten or twelve years,
when he returned to Danby. Leffingwell came
from Vermont about 1843, and died here
February loth, 1871. Thomas Siveter, an Eng
lishman, came in from London, England, and
joined the County Medical Society, August 3d,
1826. He practiced here till about 1840, when
he removed to Iowa. Henry B. Fellows came
from Sennett in 1865 and removed to Chicago.
Bench and Bar. — The early establishment of
the courts at Aurora attracted here some of the
best legal talent of the county. Silas Marsh, a
brilliant counsellor, was the first resident lawyer.
He practiced till about 1806, and removed from
the town. Judge Walter Wood, who has been
noticed in connection with the early settlement
of the town, practiced here from 1795, till his re
moval to Monlville in 181 1. Thomas Mumford
and Glen Cuyler practiced here previous to 1798,
and were lawyers of marked ability. The former
was Surrogate of Onondaga county from Octo
ber 1st, 1797, till the erection of Cayuga County,
March 8lh, 1799; and the latter of Cayuga
County from March 14th, 1799, to February 5th,
i8ii,and again from February 26lh, 1813, to
February 2Sth, 18 15. being succeeded each time
by Eleazer Burnham. Glen Cuyler was a brother
of Cornelius Cuyler. He came from Albany
about 1 794 and settled in the village, where he
practiced till his death, September ist, 1832.
Margaret L., who is living with Mrs. John L.
Cuyler, in Syracuse, is the only one of his chil
dren living. Daniel Shepard was born in June,
1 77 1. He came in from Connecticut about
1795, and settled in the village, nearly opposite
the residence of Mr. William H. Bogart. ¦ He
practiced here till his death, September 22d,
18 19. He was a highly respected lawyer.
Eleazer Burnham, who has also been noticed
in connection with the early settlement of the
town, came from Bennington, Vt., in 1798, and
entered the office of Judge Wood, with whom he

4o8

TOWN OF LEDYARD.

formed a law partnership in 1804, which contin
ued till the removal of the latter to Monlville.
He practiced till about 1825, when failing health
compelled him to discontinue. He was an able
lawyer, and an estimable citizen. He was Sur-
rogatefrom February 5th, i8ii,to February 26th,
1813, and again from February 28th, 1815, to
June 7th, 1820. He represented this County in
the Assembly in 1826.
Benjamin Ledyard Cuyler, son of Glen Cuyler,
was born in Aurora, September 15th, 1797. He
studied law with his father, and commenced
practice about 18 19, continuing till his death,
June 30th, 1826. He married Louisa, daughter
of Charles H. Morrell, of Aurora, who survives
him and is living with their only child, the Rev.
Dr. Theodore L. Cuyler, of Brooklyn, He was
appointed Surrogate February 14th, 1821, and
held that office till his death. He was gifted
with talents of a high order, and these had been
cultivated by all the advantages which ample for
tune, liberal education and respectable patronage
could bestow.
Michael S. Myers came from Auburn, and
formed a law partnership wilh Glen Cuyler. He
returned to Auburn, (where further mention is
made of him,) on his election as County Clerk in
November, 1828. Alva Worden, also from Au
burn, practiced here several years in connection
with Isaac and Seneca Wood, till his removal to
Canandaigua, where he died. He was a brother-
in-law of Gov. Seward. Christopher Morgan,
of whom mention is made in connection with the
early settlements, practiced here several years in
connection with Ebenezer W. Arms, the latter
of whom was from Greenfield, Massachusetts,
about 1834, and practiced till his death, January
15th, 1877. His wife, who is a daughter of
Daniel Avery, is still living in the village. He
vvas elected District-Attorney in June, 1847, and
held that office lill November, 1850, when he was
succeeded by Hon. Theo. M. Pomeroy of Au
burn. Isaac, Thomas and Seneca Wood, sons of
Judge Walter Wood, practiced here. David
Wright came from Pennsylvania about 1830, and
practiced here till his removal to Auburn. Oliver
Wood came from Venice, his native town, and
practiced till his removal to Auburn.
N. Lansing Zabriskie was born in P"lat Bush,
L. I., February i8lh, 1838, and educated at the
Erasmus Hall Academy of his native place. He

graduated at Union College, in 1857, and in
1858 commenced the study of law with Abraham
Lott, of Brooklyn. He was admitted to the bar
in 1 86 1, and commenced practice that year in
Brooklyn, from whence he removed in 1867 to
Aurora, where he is still practicing. June 20th,
1865, he married Louise F., daughter of Col.
lidwin B. Morgan of Aurora. He has been
Justice several years. Thomas J. Bradford
studied law with N. Lansing Zabriskie at Aurora,
and was graduated from the law school of Union
University in May, 1876. He was admitted the
same year, and has since practiced at Aurora.
First National Bank of Aurora. — At a
meeting of persons interested in the organization
ofa bank at Aurora, held March 4lh, 1864, Hen
ry Morgan and Talmadge Delafield were author
ized lo call a meeting of the subscribers to its
capital stock, and to do whatever was necessary
to secure the organization under the above
name. The first meeting ofthe stockholders was held
at the Aurora House March 8th, 1864, and was
attended by Henry Wells, Henry Morgan, John
Searing, Talmadge Delafield, John E. Williams,
Sanford Gifford, Augustine C. lioyer, Alex.
Thompson and Mathias Hutchinson. The
meeting was called to order by Henry Wells,
and Dr. A. Thompson was made chairman, and
Oliver Wood, secretary. Articles of asso
ciation were adopted ; the capital stock fixed at
^52,000, wilh power lo increase it to any sum
not exceeding jS200,coo ; the association was lo
continue lill I""ebruary 25lh, 1883, unless sooner
dissolved; and Henry Wells, Samuel Adams,
Alex. Thompson, Edwin B. Morgan, Augustine
C. Boyer, Talmadge Delafield, Henry Morgan,
Sanford Gifford and Leonard Searing were elect
ed Directors. A meeting of the Board of Di
rectors was held at the same place, thc same
day, and Henry Wells was chosen president,
Talmadge Delafield, cashier, and D. L. Parma-
lee, book-keeper and teller. Messrs. Thomp
son, Wells and Delafield were appointed a com
mittee on buildings, etc., and the capital stock
was increased to ^100,000. March 15th, 1864,
the building committee were instructed to pur
chase or lease of Henry Morgan, the stone
building on Main street, now occupied by the
Bank. Thirty per cent, ofthe capital stock was
called in, payable April ist, 1864, April 6lh,

AURORA VILLAGE.

409

1864, it was decided to purchase the building
above referred to for ^1,100, and it was changed
to adapt it to its present use. The seal adopted
by the Bank is a reproduction of Palmer's Morn
ing, encircled by thc name of the Bank. June
1st, 1864, the remainder of the stock was called
in, payable July ist, 1S64. January 4th, 1865,
the old directors were reelected and James
H. Wells and John E. Williams were added, in
creasing the number lo eleven. December 4lh,
1868, it was resolved to reduce the number of
directors to nine, and at the election of January
6lh, 1869, the names of Henry Morgan and
James II. Wells were dropped. Dr. Thompson
died in 1869, and E. T. Brown was elected to
fill the vacancy. November 3d, 1870, the office
of assistant cashier was created, and Allen Mo
sher received the appointment as such. P'eb
ruary nth, 1871, the office of vice-president was
created, and E, B. Morgan elected to that posi
tion. Delafield's resignation as cashier was ten
dered June I3lh, 1871, and accCplcd July 17th,
1 87 1. Allen Mosher was made acting cashier
September 19th, 1871, and elected cashier De
cember 4th, 1872. He still holds that office.
Mr. Wells resigned the presidency November
3d, 1875. E. B. Morgan was elected lo that of
fice the same day, and still holds it. N. L. Za
briskie was elected vice-president to fill the va
cancy occasioned by Mr. Morgan's promotion,
and has since held the office. Allen Mosher
was elected director January 8lh, 1873, in place
of E. T. Brown ; N. L. Zabriskie, January 6th,
1875, in place of Leonard Searing, who died that
year; and Henry A. Morgan, January 5lh, 1876,
in place of Mr. Delafield. January 2d, 1878,
the number of Directors was reduced lo seven,
a reduction lo that number having been previ
ously effected by the resignation of Henry Wells,
and the death of John E. Williams, in 1876,
The Bank paid a uniform semi-annual dividend
of foiir per cent, from thc date of its organiza
tion till August 1st, 1 87 1, except February ist,
1866, when three percent, was paid, and Febru
ary 1st, 1871, when three and one-half per cent.
was paid. From that date to February ist,
1876, three and one-half per cent, was paid
semi-annually, except P'ebruary ist, 1873, and
August ist, 1874, when nothing was paid. Noth-
was paid August ist, 1876, and p-ebruary ist,
1877 ; but since then three per cent, has been
paid semi-annually.

Following is a statement of the resources and
liabilities October ist, 1878:

Resources.
Loans and discounts  f
Overdrafts 
U. S. bonds to secure circulation 
Other stocks, bonds and mortgages
Due from reserve agents 
Due from other National Banks 
Banking House 

Checks and other cash items 
Bills of other banks 
Fractional currency and nickels 
Gold and silver coin 
Legal tender notes 
Redemption fund with U. S. Treas
urer 

77,248 69
131 42
95,000 00
41.450 00
16,124 45
2,I02 n
3,300 00
53 36
1,753 00
12 94
140 00
3,200 00
4,275 00

Liabilities.

^244,790 97

Capital stock  ;^ 100,000 00
Surplus fund  5,000 00
Undivided profits  .  7.294 n
Circulation outstanding  85,500 00
Dividends unpaid  18 00
Deposits  46,672 06
Due National Banks  306 80

;^244,790 97
Schools. — Aurora ife justly noted for its ex
cellent schools.
Cayuga Lake Academy at Aurora. — On
the 2d of February, 1801, Walter Wood, Daniel
Shepard, Frederick Delano, Daniel Foote, Daniel
Avery, Thomas Mumford, Silas Marsh, Seth
Burgess, Jr., Jared Cornell, Samuel Brush, Seth
Phelps and Glen Cuyler, made application to the
Board of Regents of the University of the State
of New York for the incorporation of Cayuga
Academy, they having contributed more than
half in value ofthe real and personal property of
the Academy.
On the 23d of March, 1801, the Regents
granted their certificate of incorporation, wilh
the following named persons as first Trustees,
viz : Seth Phelps, Benjamin Ledyard, Walter
Wood, Seth Sherwood, John Tillotson, Thomas
Hewitt, Silas Hutchinson, Jonas Whitney, Silas
Plalsey, Benjamin Dey, Wilhemus Mynders,
Thomas Mumford, John L. Hardenbergh, Eze
kiel Sales and Elijah Price.
The document was signed by
" John Jay, Esquire,
" Chancellor of the University."

4IO

TOWN OF LEDYARD.

On December 21st, 1802, Benjamin Ledyard,
by a deed of gift, conveyed to the Trustees the
present Academy lot with the buildings then
upon it. The first Academy building was de
stroyed by fire in 1804, and a larger and more
commodious building was erected upon its site
and occupied for the purposes of the Academy
until the year 1835, when it was supplanted by
the brick building which now contains the school
rooms and lecture hall. The old building was
removed to another site, and is now occupied by
the Methodist Episcopal congregation of Aurora
as a place of worship.
In 1S56 another brick building, 38 by 56 feet in
size and four stories in height, containing the
library, apartments for the Principal's family
and rooms for fifty students, was added.
In 1827 Walter Wood, by a legacy in his
will, gave to the Trustees jj 1,000, to be kept in
vested by them as a permanent fund, and the in
come to be applied towards the education of
orphans and indigent children, which trust has
been faithfully performed, and many now occupy
ing positions of responsibility and honor, whose
education was obtained by this means, thankfully
testify to the wisdom and forethought of the
founder of "The Waller Wood Inind."
The Academy has also received other endow
ments, John Morgan, in 1840, giving by will
^3, 500 for the general purposes of the institution,
and Edwin B. Morgan, in 1854, establishing a
permanent fund of J^S.ooo, the income of which
has ever since been applied to increase ihe equip
ment and usefulness of the institution.
The first President of the Board of Trustees
was Seth Phelps, and the first Secretary, Glen
Cuyler. John Ely was the first Principal of the
Academy. January I5lh, i860, the name was changed to
Cayuga Lake Academy.
This institution thus ranks among the oldest
academies of the State, and has enjoyed a long
career of honor and usefulness, sending forth
from its halls many whose names have justly been
held in high esteem in every vocation of life, —
names that have been an honor and a power in
the pulpit, at the bar, on the bench, and in the
councils of the State and Nation.
The present Board of Trustees are Edwin B.
Morgan, President ; Allen Mosher, Henry Mor

gan, Lewis Himrod, N. L, Zabriskie, Augustine
C. Boyer, Jaines B. Smith.
The library contains about 3,000 volumes,
judiciously and carefully selected.
The Academy, under the able direction of
Charles Kelsey, A. M,, and Mrs. M. A. Kelsey,
with a competent corps of assistants, is one of
the most flourishing institutions of learning in
the State. One of its peculiar features, and in
which it is believed to differ from any other in
this Stale, is a class for the instruction of deaf
mules in articulation, which was organized in
1 87 1, and is under the personal care of Mrs. Kel
sey, who has had very gratifying success in this
department. Care is taken to promote physical health by
timely and judicious exercise, and to inculcate
sound morals.
Wells College, at Aurora, was incorporated
March 28lh, 1868, under the title of " Wells
Seminary for the higher education of young wo
men." The name was changed in 1870,10 Wells
College, and by the Legislature was granted all
the rights and privileges pertaining to its ad
vanced character,
The trustees named in the charier of incorpora
tion were Henry Wells, Charles H. Wells, James
H. Welles, William W. Ploward, Alexander
Thompson, Edwin B, Morgan, Talmadge Dela
field, William PI. Bogart, Frederic W. Seward,
Nathan K. Hall, Jonathan B. Condit, Charles J.
P'olger, Alexander Howland, John Scott IJoyd,
William E. Dodge, Charles B. Sedgwick and
Henry I'oster.
July 19th, 1867, the corner-stone of the college
building was laid with appropriate ceremonies.
It is a brick edifice of the Elizabelhian style of
architecture, with gray stone trimmings, ample
in size to accommodate eighty students, a full
corps of teachers and the requisite servants. It
is heated by steam, and a private gas house and
reservoir furnish light and water to the entire
building. Its cost together with furniture and
appurtenances was met entirely by Henry Wells,
who, July 23d, 1868, gave to the trustees a deed
of the same, including twenty acres of land sur
rounding. He also, in August, 1875, made a
further donation of twelve acres of land adjoin
ing, upon which was a handsome residence for
the president of the institution.
August 1 2th, 1873, Edwin B. Morgan of Au-

AURORA VILLAGE -CHURCHES.

411

rora, generously supplemented the gift of Mr.
Wells by presenting to the college an endowment
fund of ^100,000, the principal to remain intact
and the interest to be devoted to the furtherance
of the educational interests of the college accord
ing to the best judgment of the trustees. In 1878
he further increased his donation by erecting at
his own expense a fine additional building of
brick and stone, adapted most fully to the grow
ing want felt in the departments of natur.nl and
physical science, music and painting. A large
and well-appointed gymnasium also forming a
part, at a cost of 1^25,000.
No more desirable location could be selected
for a school of its character. Surrounded by its
fine grounds of more than thirty acres, sloping
picturesquely with lawn and woodland lo the
edge of the lake at its borders ; with a quiet re
tirement and privacy most favorable to the high
er needs of a scholastic life ; wilh apparatus,
libraries, cabinets, laboratory, and every facility
for the acquirement of a thorough education at
thc hands of an experienced corps of professors
and teachers; the college has rapidly advanced
to a leading place among the best schools for the
education of women.
Much atention is paid to physical culture —
gymnastics and calisthenics in thc winter ; boat
ing, archery and walking excursions in the fall and
spring. The healthy body, fully as much as the
sound mind, is regarded a most essential requis
ite to success in whatever sphere in life man or
woman may be called upon to move.
The first term of the College began in Septem
ber, 1868, and a class has been graduated each
year since then. Several hundred young ladies,
representing some nineteen States, have received
ihe benefit of its educational advantages.
Rev. Wm. W. Howard, D, D., was elected
President at the opening of the institution ; he
resigned in 1869.
Rev. I. Iranaeus Prime, D, D., was elected in
1869. and resigned in 1873.
Rev. Thos. C. Strong, D. D,, was elected in
1873, and resigned in 1875.
Rev. Edward S. F"risbie, D. D,, the present in
cumbent, was elected in 1875.
December loth, 1878, the founder ofthe Col-
leo-e, Henry Wells, died in Glasgow, Scotland.
By his death his friends lost a genial and warm
hearted companion, his associates a sagacious and

far-seeing advisor, society .an upright man, and
the cause of education a hearty and generous
supporter.* Churches. — Of the early settlers in Ledyard
and the adjoining towns a large proportion were
Friends, who rapidly became a numerous and in
fluential body of citizens. Their simple lives.tem-
pcrate, frugal and industrious habits and peaceful
cliaraclcristics, are still manifested in their de
scendants, modified, lo some extent, by the great
changes which have occurred in the community
at large. They were devout, consistent Chris
tians, and soon after the settlement of the first
family they commenced lo hold religious meet
ings. In 1799, the first Friends meeting in the
County was organized at the house of Benjamin
Howland, who came in with his family the pre
vious year, and was assisted in its formation by
the families of John and Isaac Wood and James
Wood and sister, who came in that year (1799).
During the first six months meetings were held
at Mr. PIowland's house. After that an adja
cent log-house was purchased, and an addition
built thereto. 'Phis was the first P'"riends meet
ing-house in Cayuga County. This meeting was
termed an " indulged meeting," it was subordi
nate and belonged to the Farmington Quarterly
Meeting in Ontario County. In 1811 their num
bers had so increased that a new meeting-house
was built two miles west of Poplar Ridge, asso
ciated with which were the names of Allen and
Abial Mosher, John Brotherton, Ebenezer Wan-
zer, John Winslow, John and Nehemiah Merritt,
Sylvanus PI ussey, Rufus Winslow and others, all
of whom are dead.
In 1818, a meeting-house was erected in the
Salmon Creek Valley, in Venice, associated wilh
which were the Halsteds, Kenyons, Sherwoods,
Uptons and others. In 1821, a meeting-house
was built two miles west of Scipioville, associated
with which were Thomas Estes, Charles and Ab
ner Gifford, Israel Cox, Joseph Hoxie, Aaron
Baker, Joseph P'rost and others. In 1834, the
brick meeting-house one and one-half miles west
of Sherwood was built. Its elderly members
were Humphrey and Slocum Howland, Joseph
Talcott, Joshua Baldwin, John E. Williams, Job
Otis. David Thomas and others.
* Wc acknowledge our indebtedness to Col, E, B. Morgan of
Aurora, for the preg^djng sketches of Cayuga Lake Academy and
fVells College,

412

TOWN OF LEDYARD.

The Presbyterian Church of Aurora was
organized August 24th, 1818, by Rev. J. G.
Ogilvie. It v/as composed of the following per
sons, who were members of the First Congrega
tional Church of Scipio, of which this is a contin
uation, viz > Lucius Stebbins, Lucius Gaylord,
John Spalding, Eliza McCarty, Emily Hills,
Elizabeth Hills, Rhoda Benedict, Elizabeth Hug-
gins and Deborah Avery, who adopted articles of
faith and were received under the care of the
Presbytery of Cayuga, which met at Aurora,
September 22d and 23d, 1818.
Stated public worship was established by mem
bers of this denomination in 1799. They were
visited occasionally by missionaiies from the
Eastern States, prominent among whom was
Rev. Seth Williston, whose labors culminated in
the formation of a church in 1800. They adopt
ed the Congregational form of government; and
were, at an early day, one of the most able and
promising churches in Western New York. As
early as 1804 or '5 Rev. Hezekiah N. Woodruff
was installed its pastor. He served them until
June 22d, 1813.
Subsequently a second church, composed most
ly, it is believed, of members from this, was
formed and was received under the care of thc
Presbytery, February 20th, 18 16. The forma
tion of the present church in Aurora seems to
have consisted simply in the change of the name
of the one organized in 1800, which adopted the
name of the First Presbyterian Church of Scipio.
The Presbytery which met at Aurora Septem
ber 22d and 23d, 18 18, installed Rev. James G.
Ogilvie pastor. There were present at the
meeting Revs. L. Parsons, D, C. Lansing, J.
Lane, Wm. Wisner, J. Poole, Seth Smith, and
Elders J. Hicock, J. Leonard, J. Oliphant, E.
Cady and J. McKinne: Mr. Ogilvie's pastorate
continued till 1823. He was succeeded June
30th of that year by Asa K. Buel, who remained
till March 29th, 1825. Revs. Medad Pomeroy,
Salmon Strong and George Allen preached occa
sionally between 1825 and 1829. Pomeroy died
at Auburn June 20th, 1867, aged seventy-five.
Strong was principal of Cayuga Lake Academy
from i8i3-'i5 ; three years at Princeton Theolog
ical Seminary ; tutor for two years at Hamilton
College ; and again principal for eight years of
Cayuga Lake Academy. Rev. E. N. Nichols
served them as pastor from July, 1829, to Decem

ber 1st, 1830. He was succeeded in December,
183 1, by Plenry R. Ploisington, who served them
till 1833, when he joined the Ceylon Mission.
Chauncey Cook served them as pastor from
December, 1833, to 1837. James Richards, Jr,,
commenced his labors with this church May
31st, 1837. Pie was installed July 19th, 1837 ;
and dismissed in April, i8/\\. Charles N. Mat-
toon served them as a stated supply from May,
1841, until September, 1847. Richard Dickin
son was a stated supply the latter year. Wm.
R. Chapman served them from October 7th,
1850, to 1854. He was installed December 15th,
1850. P. P. Burnham was a stated supply from
May, 1855, to September, 1856; and Daniel II.
Temple, from October 4th, 1856, to April 7th,
1863. Wm. H, Ploward entered upon the pas
toral duties June 21st, 1863, was installed August
7th, 1863, and continued his labors with them
till his death, July ist, 1871. Thomas C. Strong,
D. D., was installed pastor December 13th, 1871,
and labored wilh them until August 22d, 1875.
The pulpit was vacant from the time Dr. Strong
left lill March, 1877, when Wm. Aikman, D. D.,
the present pastor, commenced his labors with
them. He was installed June 6t'h, 1877.
Lewis Stebbins was elected lo the office of
ruling elder at the organization. Samuel Man
dell, a highly respected citizen, was elected ruling
elder in 1836, and has held the office continuous
ly since. Though ninety-one years old, he at
tends the morning service regularly.
The total number of pcnsous who havc joined
the church is 564, The present number of mem
bers is 105. The Sabbath school numbers 85,
with an average attendance of about sixty. Both
spiritually and temporally, the church is in a
healthy and prosperous condition.
The church edifice was built in 1819, ^"d re
built in i860. It is a handsome structure, occu
pying a beautiful site and supplied wilh a superior
organ. It is at once a credit lo the village and
an honor to its projectors.
In addition to other memorial windows and
works of art which have been noticed elsewhere,
it contains an elaborately and beautifully finished
window, which is a memorial to the sister of ex-
Governor Dix, and bears this inscription :
"In memory of Rachel Dix Temple, the first
Missionary Lady from this to the Ploly Land.
Died 1827. Gift of her sons, Daniel H. and
Charles."

AURORA VILLAGE — CHURCHES.

413

The M. E. Church of Aurora was organ
ized about 1836, and held meetings in an upper
room in the residence of Stephen Gifford, de
ceased. The house is now occupied by his son,
George W. Gifford. Their meetings were con
tinued there until the old academy building was
purchased, removed to its present site and re
paired. The first pastors of whom we can obtain
any account were S. C. Phinney and Sylvester
Minier, who were here in the spring of 1839 and
during that year. Peter Bridgeman succeeded
them and remained one year. He was followed
by A. Hamilton, John Crawford and O. M.
McDowell. Isaac Parks, L. D. Tryon and Henry
Ercanbrack served them in 1842 and '3 ; Edward
L, Wadsworth and L. D. Tryon, in 1844-5 i
Aaron Cross and Benoni I. Ives, in 1846 ; Aaron
Cross and Plezekiah C. Plall, in 1847; H. C.
Plall and Edwin G. Bush, in 1848; Edwin G.
Bush and E. Nelson Cuykendall, in 1849 ¦ Doc
tor Lamkin, in 1851 ; Alanson Benjamin, in
1852; S. Orcott, in 1853; Richard L. Kenyon,
in 1854; W. M. Spickerman, in 1855; I. O.
Bower aud William N. Cobb, in 1856-7;
A. Ensign, in 1859; F. B. Harrison, in
i860; D'. R. Carrier, in 1861-2; Albert
B. Gregg, in 1863-4; Ephraim C. Brown,
in 1865, '6 and '7 ; P'rancis M. Warner, in 1868-
'9 ; PI. T. Giles, 1870-72 ; E. Hoxie, in 1873-5;
J. S. Lemon, who left before the completion of
the year and joined the Episcopal church, in
1876; W. M. Henry, in 1877-8; and Wesley
Mason, the present pastor, who commenced his
labors with this church in the fall of 1878. The
church is on the Union Springs charge. It is
in a feeble condition, having a membership of
only twenty-five.
St. Paul's (Episcopal) Church of Aurora
was founded P'ebruary nth, 1835, under the Di
ocesan administration of Bishop Onderdonk,
whose diocese was then the whole State of New
York, a territory which now embraces five im
portant dioceses. The Rev. Mr. Baldwin was its
missionary, and under his efforts, which were
warmly seconded by thc family of Hon. Jonathan
Richmond, the organization was effected. It lay
dormant, however, for a long time, when services
were renewed and continued for a series of years
by Rev. John Leech. The meetings for public
worship were held in the lower story of the Ma
sonic Hall. Several clergymen continued here
70-2

in missionary service after the departure of Mr.
Leech. Revs. Hagar, Beauchamp. Tomkins,
Perrine, Williams and Smith, bring the line down
to Rev. Alfred Brown, during whose ministra
tions, through the abundant liberality of Mr. E.
W. Arms, was erected in i870-'7i, their beau
tiful church edifice, which stands on the east side
of Milton or the main street. By its admirable con
struction from thc plan of thc architect, Mr. S.
D. Mandell, it has won a place among the most
tasteful edifices in the Central New York Dio
cese. Its ornamented, open-timbered roof is es
pecially admired. The structure is built of light
colored brick, profusely relieved by the blue lime
stone of Waterloo. It was consecrated in 1874,
by the Rt. Rev. F. D. Pluntington. Since the
beginning of 1873, the church has enjoyed the
intelligent and faithful labors of Rev. William
H. Casey, a graduate of Trinity College, Cam
bridge, England.
Strangers visiting Aurora will be well repaid
by an examination of the inner roof of this edi
fice, which is a beautiful specimen of skilled
workmanship and architectural taste ; also the
mural tablet, monumental to Mr. Arms, from the
designs of Mr. Palmer, the eminent American
sculptor. The bas relief of Grief, in bronze,
has received merited commendation. The edi-"
fice fronts the broad and beautiful lake, overlook
ing well kept pleasure grounds, and is entered
by successive flights of stone steps, which give
a pleasing effect. Its handsome range of solid
black walnut pews, made from the designs of
Mr. Mandell, in Mich,, were the gift of Hon.
Erastus Corning, late of Albany.
St. Patrick's Church (Catholic) of Aurora
was organized in 1838. The pastor is Rev. T.
A. Hendrick, of Union Springs.
Their church edifice is a neat though unpre
tentious brick structure, and being jocated upon
the bank of Cayuga Lake, it presents a striking
and beautiful appearance, as will be seen by a
reference to the view of it given in this work.
Societies.— 5c2>w Lodge No. s8,F. & A. M.,
at Aurora, was chartered March 22d, 1797. The
charter officers were Seth Sherwood, Master;
Comfort Tyler, S. W.; John Tillottson, J. W.
The charter is signed by Robert Livingston,
Grand Master; Jacob Morton. Z>. G.M.; James
Scott, 5. G. W.; and DeWitt Clinton, F. G. W.

414

TOWN OF LEDYARD.

The lodge was rechartered June i8th, 1846, and
received then its present number, 1 10.
The present officers are : Wm. J. Morgan,
Master ; N. L. Zabriskie, 5. W.; Christopher
B. Morgan, J. W.; P. Seling, Treasurer ; E. P.
Baker, Secretary ; Charles Kelsey, .S. D.; Arthur
Parsons, J. D. The present number of mem
bers is fifty. Meetings are held the first Monday
of each month, in the building erected by the
lodge in 18 19. This building is admirably
adapted to the uses of the lodge, the room in
which the meetings are held being eliplical in
shape and separated from the exterior walls by a
passage which entirely surrounds it. It is in an
excellent state of preservation. The corner
stone was laid by DeWitt Clinton, and still bears
the initials of his name.
Following are the names of some of the early
members, with the years in which their names
first appeared upon the records, though many of
them are known to havc joined earlier than the
years indicated : John Tillottson and Seth Sher
wood, in 1797 ; August Chidsey, Andrew Simp
son, Abner French, Daniel Shepard, Edward
Paine, Edward Richardson, Edward Wheeler,
Elisha Durkee, Fred'k Delano, Joseph Richard
son, Jas. Barnes, Joseph Barnes, Jas. Bacon, Jona
than Richmond, Jonathan Hastings, Osborn Par
son, Perley Kenney, Peres Brownell, Roswell
Franklin, Victor S. Towsley, Walter Wood, Zebu
lon Taylor, Dudley Avery, Erastus Spalding, Ste
phen Downing, Matthew N. 'Pillottson, Phineas
Rice, Jabez Bradey and George Barkley, in
1799; Thos. Luckey, Robert L. Tracy and Lu
ther Gere, in 1800; Samuel Knapp, Wm. L.
Morgan, Edmund Wright, Jedediah Morgan,
James M. Devit, Christopher Morgan, Cornelius
Cuyler and Benjamin Ledyard, in 1802.
Aurora Chapter No. 64, R. A. M., was
chartered by the Grand Chapter of New York,
at its convocation of 18 19. Jedediah Morgan,
who represented the Seventh District in the State
Senate, from Aurora, in 1825-6, Christopher
Morgan and Jonathan Richmond, were specially
mentioned in the resolution granting a warrant.
Its name failed to appear in the proceedings of
the Grand Chapter, first at the convocation of
1828. Its charter was revived in 1849, ^nd
Jonathan Richmond, Salem Town, Charles D.
Haight,, Samuel Mandell, Charles E. Shepherd,
John, A. Dodge, Minard V. Babcock, Allen

Thomas, and Peter Yawger, were the petitioners
and permitted to become the members thereof.
Of these Samuel Mandell is the only one who
survives. The present officers (1878) are Wm. J. Mor
gan, H.P.; Coral C. White, Jr., K; Samuel D.
Mandell, Scribe ; Sanford Gifford, Treasurer ;
Delos Aikin, Secretary ; Edward L. French, C.
H; E. P. Baker, P. S.; Charles Kelsey, R. A.
C; Patrick Seliny, M. 2,d Veil; Lot C. Husted,
M. 2d and 1st Veils; Maurice Polhemus, Tiler.
Levanna.
. Levanna is a post village of 100 inhabitants,
situated on the east shore of the lake and on the
Cayuga Lake Shore R. R., by which it is distant
about two miles north from Aurora. It contains a
district school, two stores, a store-house, a black
smith shop, (kept by Abraham West) a shoe shop,
(kept by Ezra Underbill,) a carpenter shop, (kept
by Jacob West,) and a tomato catsup factory,
which is known as the Cayuga Lake Tomato
Catsup Manufactory, and was established in 1874
by Wm. H. Wakeley, who run it two years,
when he sold it to G. W. & W. A. Wakely, the
present proprietors. During the season some
fifteen persons are employed, and about 7,000
gallons of catsup made in this establishment.
The chief business of the village consists in its
lake commerce, which was commenced about
sixty years ago by Elias Manchester, who was
the first person who shipped grain on the lake.
He sold a half interest in 1857 to John Ellis, and
the two continued the business until 1865, when
Alfred Ellis, brother of John, bought Mr. Man
chester's interest. In 1868, George S. Ellis, son
of John, hired Alfred's interest, and he and his
father have since carried on the business. They
handle from 40,000 to 60,000 bushels of grain,
500 tons of coal, about 200,000 feet of lumber,
and 300 tons of phosphates per annum. P'or
storing phosphates they use the old steam grist
mill, which was built in 1836, by a company of
whom Gardner Chidester was the principal one,
and which was bought by them in September,
1876. The first store-house was built about
18 18, by Asa Foote, who stored grain for Elias
Manchester. Pie sold the building to Mr. Man
chester, who built an addition to it in 1850. It
stands upon the lake shore and forms the land
ing for steamboats and other craft.

LEVANNA — LEDYARD.

41S

Levanna gave promise at an early day of be
coming the chief seat of trade and commerce in
the County. Here was established in 1798, by
R. Delano, the first newspaper in Cayuga Coun
ty, and the first in Onondaga County, which then
embraced this County.* But its after life did
not develop this promised fruitage. Its impor
tance as a business center seems to have been of
short duration. David Thomas speaks of it in
18 19, as a deserted village.
Merchants. — Prominent among the early
merchants at Levanna were Samuel Allen, (who
afterwards removed to Canandaigua, where he
was also engaged in mercantile business,) Eras
tus Spalding, George Rathbun, Gardner Chides
ter, (who commenced about 1836 and sold in
1838 to Benjamin Wade,) Samuel Ayres, Garret
VanSickle, (who sold to Seth Swift,) and John L.
Howe, most of whom remained but a short time.
The present merchants are Otis Howe and L.
B. Bowen, the latter of whom, a native of the
town, commenced April ist, 1878. Otis Howe,
who came in from Scipio, has carried on mercan
tile business here since 1841, with the exception
of five years spent in California.
Postmasters. — The post-office at Levanna
was established in the winter of 1834, wilh Gard
ner Chidester as postmasler. lie held the office
until 1838, when Seneca Boyce was appointed.
He was succeeded by Otis Plowe, who held it
several years, when Seneca Boyce was again ap
pointed. John L. Howe next held the office and
was succeeded, first by his father Otis Howe, and
afterwards by John Ellis, who still holds the office.
Ledyard.
Ledyard is situated in the south-east part of
the town, on the line between Ledyard and Ven
ice, and lies partly within the two towns. It is
distant two miles north of Northville. It con
tains one church, (M. E.) a district school, a
store, two blacksmith shops, (kept by James H.
Brightman and Albert Mason,) a carriage shop,
(kept by Henry Purdy,) and a population of six
ty-two. This place was originally called Capins
Corners, and later, Talcotts Corners from early
*This paper was denominated the " /.ei/oHWo G<i«f«ir ; or Onon
daga Advertiser." An early copy is preserved in the archives ofthe
Cayuga County Historical Society. Thc earliest which has come un
der our observation is No, 23 of Vol. I., and is dated Wednesday,
Nov. 2 1 St, 1798.

merchants named Capin and Talcott. It is still
known by the latter name.
Merchants. — The first merchant at Ledyard
was Philip, or Aaron Capin, father-in-law of
Benjamin Avery, Jr., whoppened a store about,
or soon after, 1800. He was succeeded by Rich
ard Talcott, who commenced shortly before the
war of 18 1 2, and did business here a good many
years. Lewis Seymour and Isaac Jacobs did
business a few years ; also Mosher & Divine,
previous to 1831, about which time they sold to
Alfred Avery, son of Benjamin Avery, Jr., who
carried on mercantile business here a great many
years, till about 1865. Abner Chapman, from
Boston, did business two or three years previ
ous to Mosher & Divine. Jonathan Proud and
Sidney Mosher commenced business about 1867,
and continued till 1870, when Thomas P. Peck
ham bought Proud's interest. In April, 1876,
Peckham & Mosher sold to L. E. Hinckley and
Wm. H. Avery, who continued lill April, 1878,
when Thomas P. Peckham bought Avery's in
terest. The business is now conducted under the
firm name of Peckham & Hinckley.
Postmasters. — The first postmaster at Led
yard was probably Thomas Mosher or Charles
Divine, who held the office but a few years, and
was succeeded by George Meacham, father of
Dr. Isaac J. Meacham. Alfred Avery next held
the office till 1866, April ist of which year, Chas.
D. Avery, the present incumbent, was appointed.
Physicians. — The first physician at Ledyard
was Dr. Consider King, a native of Rochester,
Mass., who practiced here from 1805 to 1837,
In 1846 he removed to Wisconsin, and died there
August 19th, 1848. He was a surgeon of some
notoriety and was called on to perform nearly all
the difficult operations in this section of country.
Isaac J. Meacham practiced one year, in 1843,
and removed to Nunda.
Churches. — Meetings were held by members
of thc Methodist denomination as early as 1820,
and continued till 1833, when the First M. E.
Chui ch of Ledyard was organv/.ed. W. Cameron
is the first pastor whose name appears on the
records, in 1835. He was succeeded in the pas
torate by John Watson, in 1836-38 ; Sylvester
Minier, in 1838; S. Minier and S. C. Phinney,
1839-40; Wm. W. Rundal and P.G. Bridgman,
1840 ; Wm. W. Rundal and A. Hamilton, 1841;
Hiram E. Luther, 1842-3 ; Jonathan Worthing,

4i6

TOWN OF LEDYARD.

1844; Sylvester H. Brown, 1845-6; Benajah
Mason, 1847; Lewis G. Weaver, 1848-9; Be
najah Mason, 1850; Alonzo Wood, 1851-2 ; J.
W. Pratt, 1853; Doctor Lamkin, 1854-5; Wm.
N. Cobb, 1856-7; Sylvester Minier, 1858-9;
Thomas D. Wire, ' 1860-1; Albert Ensign,
i862-'3; Samuel T. Tackabury,. 1864; Reuben
C. Fox, i865-'7; Ellis D. Thurston, 1868-9;
Elias Hoxie, 1870-71 ; Phineas II. Wiles,
1872-3 ; Richard H.Clark, 1875-7. Thepres
ent pastor is Francis M. Warner, who commenced
his labors with this church in October, 1877.
This charge includes the church at Bell Corners
or West Genoa.
The present number of members is 141. The
number attending Sabbath School is 100 ; the
average attendance being fifty.
The first church edifice erected by this society
is now occupied as a carriage and blacksmith
shop ; the second was burned February 8th, 1873;
the present one was built and dedicated in 1875.
The church is valued at 587,000; and the parson
age at g 2,000.
Black Rock.
About one and one-half miles from the south
line of the town, and midway between its east and
west bounds, is a place known as Black Rock,
which derives its name from the color of the
shale rock, over which the waters of Paines
Creek are poured, with a perpendicular fall of
nearly eighty feet, into the gorge below. About
1800, a Mr. Anway built in the gorge below the
falls, a grist-mill, small in dimensions, but suffi
cient at the time for the demands upon it. Soon,
however, with the rapid increase of settlers, it
proved inadequate, and the mill now in use,
standing upon the east side, near the brink of
the falls, was built and a dam raised above the
falls. He also built a saw-mill upon the west
bank of the stream. 'Phis after a few years ser
vice, together with the dam and the highway
bridge were carried over the falls by a freshet,
demolishing and carrying with them the little
mill below. The saw-mill, dam and bridge were
rebuilt, and about i8i6, a small furnace was
erected and put in operation by Jedediah Mor
gan and John Harris. About the same time or
soon after, Anthony Squires opened a store, but
how long he continued, the business we are un
able to state. Other parties since his time have
carried on the business at different periods.

Seth Swift erected the first frame dwelling, which
is still standing and doing service as such. He
also built a blacksmith shop, which has its repre
sentative at the present time. A man named
Hall had a chair factory there, but it, like its
owner, fulfilled its mission and passed away.
The mill and the blacksmith shop are the sole
representatives of the various branches of busi
ness carried on there when Black Rock was in
its glory. Mr. Anway sold the mill property to
the late Eleazer Carter, who, after using it sev
eral years, sold it to David Thomas, who to ac
commodate the increasing business, built anoth
er mill about ten rods north, and a little lower
down the bank ofthe gorge, using the water from
the first mill. He also built and operated a dis
tillery some twelve or fifteen rods south-east of
the mill now standing. He subsequently resold
the property to Mr. Carter, who, after a time, in
consequence of mills having been built at Genoa.
Union Springs, and other places, and his increas
ing age and infirmities, which rendered it undesira
ble to keep the whole establishment in running
order, removed the north mill, or one last erected,
to the shore of the lake, where it has since been
used as a warehouse. For the same reason the
distillery was either removed or suffered lo go
down. He finally sold the remaining grist and
saw-mill to Reuben Smith, in March, 1849. I"
August, 1854, Mr. Smith sold the property to
Joseph R. Swift, who, in March, 1855, sold it to
Nelson King. King sold it to Reuben Smith,
April 1st, 1859, and ten years from that dale
Smith sold it to James Glanister,who held it till his
death in 1874. In 1875, it was sold on foreclos
ure of mortgage to Elijah Anthony, E. T. Brown
and James B. Smith. Before the mill was put
in operation Messrs. Brown and Smith sold their
interest to Mr. Anthony, who afterward sold an
interest to Slocum Plawland. 'Phe foreclosure
sale was the beginning of a new era for the old
mill. When repairs on it were commenced, it was
found to be so completely dilapidated that no
portion of it could be utilized, except those old
French burr stones, which made the Black Rock
mills so famous long years ago, and everything has
been made anew and modernized. A new ten inch
Little Giant turbine wheel, wilh a head of from
seventy-five to eighty feet, drives the machinery.
Messrs. Howland & Anthony have found it
necessary to build a twenty feet addition lo the

TOWN OF SCIPIO.

417

south end for storage for custom work. They
contemplate the erection of a new and strong
dam, a saw-mill adjoining the grist-mill, and the
addition of an engine to be relied on when the
water fails in summer time.*
War ofthe Rebellion. — Ledyard's share in
the war of the Rebellion is one of which she may
justly feel proud. She poured out her blood and
treasure with lavish hand upon the altar of
Liberty — in aid of her stricken country, and the
names of her fallen heroes are beautifully and
appropriately enshrined on a copper tablet upon
the walls of the Presbyterian church of A-urora.
The tablet was designed by Russell Stergis, of
New York, and the gift of Colonel E. B. Morgan.
It was dedicated September 6th, 1872. It bears
this inscription :
" In Memory of Soldiers of Ledyard, who died
in Battle or in Hospital during the War for the
Union, A. D. 1861— A. D. 1865, that their
Fatherland might live.
" Daniel Abbott, Edward Peto,
David A. Baker, Peter Quackenbush,
Wm. PI. Barnes, Peter Quackenbush, Jr.,
Patrick Barry, James Redman,
James Benedict, Martin Roe,
Sylvester Brightman, George Runnel.
Andrew J. Carey, Ansel Basset Smith,
Wilson E. Cowan, Chas. Frederick Smith,
Seward Dean, PloraceWalworth Smith,
Wm. Plenry Fowler, Wm. Nelson Smith,
David Abbott Gifford, Cornelius Sullivan,
Henry Nelson Gifford, Richard Tierney,
James Gray, Jonathan VanDerip,
Samuel J. Halstead, Abraham Vreeland,
John L. Jones, George Webster,
Dier Moreland, George West,
Rufus Myers, James West,
Charles ¥. Nye, John Shurer Winters,
Wm. Plenry Patchin."

CHAPTER XLVI.
Town of Scipio.

SCIPIO was one of the old townships of the
Military Tract and was formed March 5 th,
1794, deriving its name from a Roman General.
It originally embraced Sempronius, which was
taken off March 9lh, 1799 ; a part of Marcellus,
¦* Wc arc indebted to an author unknown to us for the facts
given in the sketch of Black Rock. .

Onondaga county, set off in 1804 ; and the towns
of Ledyard, Venice and a part of Springport,
which were set off January 30th, 1823. It lies
south of the center of the County, upon the
west shore of Owasco Lake, which forms its
eastern boundary. It is bounded on the north
by Fleming, on the south by Venice, and on the
west by Springport and Ledyard.
The surface is rolling, its highest elevations
being 500 feet above the lake. A steep bluff
twenty to fifty feet high borders the lake, and
the land slopes gradually upward from its summit
for about a mile. Its waters are the headwaters
of numerous small streams, the principal of which
are Salmon Creek, flowing to the south. Grain
Creek to the north. Great Gully Brook to the
west, and Yawger Creek to the north-west.
Numerous little rivulets course down the eastern
slope to the lake, some of them cutting deep
gullies in the shaly rocks and forming beautiful
cascades. These streams furnish numerous mill
sites in their course, but they are inconstant in
their supply, being subject to the influence of
drouths. The soil is a highly productive sandy and
gravelly loam, intermixed with clay. It is un
derlaid by limestone, which crops out north of
Scipio Center, but is nowhere quarried in the
town, we believe, except on the farm of Jacob
Post, about three-fourths of a mile north of the
center, from which stone for the railroad culveVts
was obtained. The ledge extends about a mile
north and south. Slate and some limestone are
exposed in the railroad cutting on the shore of
Owasco Lake. It is an excellent agricultural
town. The population of the town in 1875 was 1,917 ;
of whom 1,594 were native ; 323 foreign ; 1,911
white ; and 6 colored. Its area is 22,503
acres ; of which 20,206 are improved, and 2,279
woodland. The Utica, Ithaca and Elmira Railroad, now
operated as a branch of the Midland Railroad,
enters the town from the south, and, following
the line of the old Auburn & New York survey,
terminates at Scipio Summit, about a half mile
north of Bolts Corners. The Southern Central
extends through the east border of the town,
along the shore of the lake.
The settlement of the town by thc whites was
begun in 1790, probably by Henry Watkins, who

4i8

TOWN OF SCIPIO.

left Granville, Washington county, in the fall of
that year, with knapsack on his back, and after a '
journey of ten days arrived at Cayuga Lake,
when he proceeded to lot 27, in this town, border
ing on the east line of the Cayuga Reservation,
near Scipioville, arriving there September loth,
1790. He erected a log house, the first built in
this section, and returned east, stopping on the
way at Albany to enter his lot in the land office.
He returned here the latter part of the following
March with his family, all of whom are now dead.
One son and two daughters lie in the grave-yard
west of .Scipioville ; the other two sons sleep on
the prairies of Illinois, where they settled with
their families forty-five year ago. Mr. Watkins
subsequently deeded to his son-in-law, Wm.
Allen, the 150 acres now owned by Samuel Sear
ing ; to his son Henry, Jr., the 150 acres now
owned by the family of Charles Searing ; and to
Peter Watkins, the 150 acres owned by Benj.
Gould, Jr. He retained possession of the rest
of the lot till his death, at the age of eighty-four,
when it passed into the hands of Samuel Wat
kins, who died January 28th, 1855, aged seventy-
five, and is now occupied by L. W. and R. B.
Watkins. Near where he built his log house was a clear
ing of four or five acres, surrounded by wild
plum, crab apple, and other apple trees, one of
which measured twelve feet in circumference and
stood till within a few years, when it was blown
down. This clearing, which was a little north
west of L. W. Watkins' buildings, is supposed,
from the human bones and numerous Indian
relics found there, to have been an Indian bury
ing ground. These relics consist of beads, bot
tles, brass kettles and crosses and guns. About
sixty years ago, over 700 beads, composed of
glass, stone, pearl and amber, and of various
forms and sizes, were disclosed by the plow, and
are now in the possession of Jared E. Watkins,
Mr. G." L. Watkins, a merchant of Scipioville,
and grandson of Henry Watkins, has in his pos
session a brass Latin cross found in this locality
forty years ago. It is three inches long and two
inches between the extremities of the arms, and
was evidently worn suspended from the neck or
waist, as the upper end is perforated as if designed
to receive a cord or chain. Upon one side of the
upright portion of the cross is a figure of the
Virgin Mary with a child in her arms ; diagon

ally across this also, and above thc arms, are the
letters I. N. R. I. Upon the left arm is the in
scription B. VIR. SIN., and below it, ORIGINI.;
and upon the right one, PECATA,, and below
that the word CONCEP. On the reverse side
of the upright portion is a figure of Christ cruci
fied ; over his head is the image ofa dove, and
under the feet the representation of a skull and
cross-bones. This field has been plowed the en
tire eighty-seven years, with the exception of two,
when it was seeded.
Gideon Allen, and possibly Ebenezer Witter,
the la'tter of whom accompanied Roswell Frank
lin in his settlement at Aurora, came in the same
year. Gideon Allen was a cousin of Ethan Al
len, and came from Washington county. He
settled a little south-west of Scipioville, where
his grandson, Lemuel Allen, now lives. Pie af
terwards bought the farm in Springport now oc
cupied by Ethan Allen, another grandson, where
he died, aged 97, Justus Allen, his son, was a
prominent man in the town. In 1806, he bought
the tannery built by Israel Busby, a very early
settler, in 1797, and carried on the tanning and
currying business a number of years. Pie was
supervisor of the town two years. He died
April 8th, 1845, aged 69, and was succeeded in
the tanning business by his son Lemuel, who
still continues it at the age of seventy, in the
same old building. Betsey, wife of Jacob Post,
is the only other grandchild living in the town.
Martha Ann, wife of Lebeus Barton, living at
Union Springs, is another grandchild. Busby
was doubtless the first tanner in this section of
country. Pie died March 4th, i8n, aged 51.
He left two daughters, Jerusha, wife of Truman
Van Tassel, of Syracuse, and Maria, who died
young and single.
Ebenezer Witter* settled a half mile cast of
Scipio Center, near where John Akin now lives.
He was a Revolutionary soldier, and took up a
soldier's claim. None of his family are living.
The last one, the youngest daughter, who mar
ried a man named Ames, died a few years since
in Moravia.Elisha Durkee, who also accompanied Franklin
in his settlement at Aurora, came to Scipio in
1791, and settled a quarter of a mile north of
* One authority consulted says he settled a mile west of Scipio
Center, where Jeremiah Simons now lives, and was succeeded on
thc same place by his son Ebenezer, who died there.

¦<^^

fm4

'MOUNT PLEASANT' Res, or ELONDO GREENFIELD, Moravw, Cayuga Co N,Y

f ^, f -^
¦V -
Residenceof ISAAC JUMP Town or Scino CwugaCo.N.Y
^^-
EARLY SETTLEMENTS.

419

Bolts Corners. The old house in which he lived
and died is still standing. Pie died at an early
day, about i8i6. His family consisted of Betsey,
who was born a little south of Levanna, in Led
yard, December 5th, 1790, and was the first
white child born in the town, and probably the
first in the county, and who married a man named
Sweetland, with whom she removed from the
lown ; Armarilla, afterwards wife of Joseph Jack
son ; Cynthia, afterwards wife of Roswell Ben
nett ; Amanda, afterwards wife of Cyrus Allen ;
Lucinda, afterwards wife of Reuben Weed ;
and Welthy, Anna, Sarah, Gore and Augustus,
the latter of whom is the only, one living — in
Michigan. Samuel Phelps, from Connecticut, came in soon
after Watkins and settled at Sherwood. His log
house stood a little in thc rear of the house now
occupied by S. W. Green. He afterwards built
the north end of Green's house, and died there.
His children were Samuel, Erastus, Seth, Orpha,
widow of Joshua Plill, who is the only one liv
ing, aged about ninety, and another daughter
who married Joel Shemar.
Squire Gilbert aind Captain Alanson Tracy,
cousins, came in from Pittsfield, Mass., in 1793.
Gilbert settled first near Scipioville, and after
wards at Bolts Corners, which was for some time
known as Tracy's Corners from him, but it sub
sequently acquired the former name from a fam
ily named Bolt, who settled there between 18 15
and '20, and kept tavern there several years.
One of the family, Augustus Bolt, is living a half
mile north of Daniels Corners. Gilbert subse
quently removed to Venice, where he died about
1842. Philander Tracy, a son of Gilbert's, went
to Grand Rapids when young, and died there a
few years ago. Seneca, another son, also moved
west. Two of his children are living, viz : Kes-
ter, in Chautauqua county, and Ezra, in Ohio.
Alanson settled a half mile east of Sherwood,
where his son Calvin, who was born here in 18 10,
now lives. Clinton, a son of Alanson's, moved
to Ohio. Alanson was a man of great prowess.
energy and perseverance. It is related of him
that once while upon a bear hunt, seeing a
companion in imminent danger of being em
braced by a bear, he jumped astride the back of
the bear, which was standing erect upon his hind
feet, and seizing him by the ears, rode him until
his bearship was clubbed to death. Pie died in
71-2

1852, aged 81. In this year, (1793) on the 25th
of June, the first marriage in the town took
place. The contracting parties were Wm. Allen
and Betsey Watkins.
An important acquisition was made to the lit
tle settlement in 1794, in the person of Elder
David Irish, who it is said, preached that year the
first Evangelical gospel sermon known to have
been preached in the County.* Elder Irish was
born in Paulington, Dutchess county, December
2ist, 1757. At the age of seventeen he became
converted, was baptized and united with the
Church. He subsequently made some prepara
tion for the ministry, and preached his first ser
mon December 21st, 1787, the day he was thirty
years old. He was ordained in 1789, and after
laboring three years in Eastern New York, re
moved with his family to Scipio in 1794, atwhich
time there was neither church nor minister of
any denomination, not only within the limits of
this County, but that vast fertile section of the
State, now so populous and thrifty, west of the
counties of Oneida and Chenango. Wondrous
has been the transformation within the brief
period of eighty-four years, a period covered by
the lives of many who are now living. Elder
Irish came immediately from Stillwater, and set
tled at Scipio Center, on the west half of lot 23.
Plis house stood directly opposite the present
Baptist church in that village, on whose site he
was the first settler, but was joined in the spring
of 1795 by Major Josiah Buck, who took up the
east half of that lot. He commenced at once the
practice of his vocation, holding religious services
in the houses of that sparsely settled neighbor
hood, and later in the log school-house, the first
one in the' original town of Scipio, which stood
on the site of the widow Perkins' house, a mile
north of Scipio Center, on the lot which Joel Coe
took up in 1795. In 1 801, he exchanged farms
with his brother-in-law, Nathaniel Olney, who
came from Stillwater about that time and settled
three miles south of Auburn, in the town of
Fleming. Irish, who served the First Church
* History of the Cayuga ISaptist Association, 1851. Though wc
are not prepared to deny the accuracy of this statement, there is good
reason to question it. It is seen that Elder Irish did not come to
this County until 1794, There is documentary evidence to show
that Aaron Kinne, a missionary, who was the first to preach at the
settlements in Genoa, performed a marriage ceremony in November,
'793i ""'' ''"^ Northville settlements, and although wc are not
able to assert positively that he preached there at that time, it is
highly probable that he did.

420

TOWN OF SCIPIO.

in Scipio as pastor from 1794 to 1800, having
received a call from the first Church in Aurelius,
now Fleming, removed to Fleming and continued
his pastorate of that Church till his death Sep
tember 13th, 1815.
Olney moved on thc farm vacated by Elder
Irish, but removed west with his family a great
many years ago. Plis children were Benjamin,
Nathan, Hiram, Nathaniel and Elizabeth, after
wards wife of Eliakim Brown, none of whom are
living. John O'Hara came from Saratoga coun
ty in 1794, and settled where his grandson, John,
now lives.
Judge Seth Sherwood, from Vermont, settled
about 1794 or '5, at the corners which perpetuate
his name. He bought 200 acres and erected a
log house. He soon after built a frame house,
which stood on the site of S. W. Green's tailor
shop, which was afterwards used as a tavern,
and in the upper part of which, in 1804, the
jail was established and thc courts held one
year. Sherwood seems to have shared in common
with other localities the ambition to be the Coun
ty seat, and succeeded in its rival claims to the
extent of being selected as such in 1804, by
John Tillottson, Augustus Chidsey and John
Grover, Jr., who were appointed commissioners
to locate the County seat. But this distinction
was of short duration. The other contestants
could not accept this even as a compromise dis
position of the matter ; and Sherwood was shorn
of its glory March i6th, 1805, when the law by
which it was established was revoked, and Hon.
Edward Savage of Washington county, Hon.
James Burt of Orange county, both then State
Senators, and Hon. James Hildreth of Mont
gomery county, were appointed to select a new
location. The jail was established in the east
room ; and the bars placed across its two win
dows, which faced the east, remained there till
1845, when the building was torn down. The
bars were subsequently worked up into horse
shoes. Judge Sherwood's family consisted of his wife,
(second, who was a sister of Dr. Bennett at the
Half Acre,) and three children, Samuel, Seth and
Mary, afterwards wife of Dr. Perley Kinney, who
came in from Connecticut as early as 1797, and
settled near Sherwood. Plis children by his
second wife were, ]?elvia, afterwards wife of

John Wood, Julia, afterwards wife of  Allen,
William, Walter and Ira. 'Phe Judge died here
in 1 82 1, and his children moved west. John G.
Allen, one of the victorious Cornell crew, in the
contest with the ITarvard crew on Owasco Lake,
in June, 1878, is a grandson of Belvia's. Judge
Sherwood was preceded in his settlement at that
place, but a short time however, by a family
named White, who located about a half a mile
south-east of the Corners, and were the first set
tlers in that locality. White cleared about four
acres, which remained surrounded by woods till
within two years, and uncultivated from his
death, a year or two after, till the spring of 1878,
when Giles Slocum, who owned the contiguous
lands, which he has been gradually denuding of
their timber, having made an opening from the
north, subjected it to the plow.
Noble Fuller and one or two brothers came in
the spring of 1795 and settled at Gallups Cor
ners, one and one-fourth miles south of Scipio
Center. Further settlements were made in 1795
by Joel Coe, Benjamin Fordyce, Robert McCul-
lum and Elisha Plorton, the latter of whose
sisters the former three married. They came
from Chester, Morris county, N. J., by the usual
water route, and arrived at Aurora the last of
October or first of November. From Aurora
they came by way of marked trees, the road hav
ing been surveyed, but not opened. Coe settled
three-fourths of a mile north of Scipio Center,
where Wm. Akin now lives. He took up a
whole lot. He removed to Springport about
1820, and died there. Some of his grand
children are living there. Coe's children were
Joseph, Nathaniel, Mary, afterwards wife of
David Bennett, Rachel, afterwards wife of Benj.
Olney, and Pluldah, widow of Walter Bennett, of
Portage. The latter is the only one living.
Fordyce bought fifty acres of Elder Irish, his
farm joining that of Coe's on the south. He
immediately made a clearing, and erected a log
house a little north of the residence of his son,
Nathaniel H. Fordyce, his family remaining in
the meantime with that of Noble Fuller. Pie
died there March ist, 1819. Plis family, when
he came in, consisted of his wife Rebecca, and
two children, John and Eunice, afterwards wife
of Nathaniel Olney, Jr. Three children were
borh to them after coming here, viz : Benjamin,
Nathaniel H. and Rebecca. Nathaniel PI.,

EARLY SETTLEMENTS.

421

who is the only one of his children living, was
born January 4th, 1799. The next spring after
coming in Fordyce sowed upon the site of Na
thaniel's house three pecks of wheat brought in
the previous winter by Ebenezer Craw from the
Mohawk country, and reaped therefrom nineteen
and one-half bushels, which, excepting so much as
was ground for family consumption, was garnered
in a hollow log, the rotted portions of which had
been burned out. The log was inlaid and cover
ed with bark, and raised upon crotched poles.
McCullum settled a quarter of a mile north of
Fordyce, where Pardon T. Shorkley now lives.
He sold out about 1810, and removed with his
family to P'armington, Ontario county. His
children were Isaiah, Joel, Rebecca, who after
wards married a man named Fowler, Mary, who
afterwards married a man named Streeter, and
Robert. Plorton died of typhus fever about a
year after he came in. Two of his children are
living in thc western part of the State, viz :
Isaiah and Phebe, wife of Stephen Robinson.
In the fall of 1796, after harvesting their crops,
P'ordyce, Coe, Elder Irish and Josiah Buck made
up a load of forty bushels of wheat and sent it to
mill by Buck, accompanied by a stout hired man
in the employ of Coe. The nearest mill was at
Whitesboro, and thither the grist was taken in a
covered wagon obtained from the Mohawk coun
try the previous winter by Coe, who, having
;^ 1,800 in pocket and his farm paid for, was then
considered very wealthy. The journey occupied
four weeks. The wagon served as a place of shel
ter at night for those accompanying it, and they
did not sleep in a house during the entire jour
ney, except at Whitesboro, while the wheat was
being ground. Occasionally, on coming to a
steep ascent, it was necessary to unhitch the ox
en, (of which there were two yokes, one furnished
by Fordyce and one by Elder Irish,) take them
to the summit of the hill, and draw up the wagon
by means of chains attached to the tongue. It
was often necessary for the attendants, both of
whom were strong, muscular men, to put their
shoulders to the wheel when the wagon got into
a hollow from which the oxen were unable to
withdraw it, and sometimes they were obliged to
unload a portion of the grain before further pro
gress could be made. A family named Henry,
from the Eastern States, settled a little north of
Coe about the same time. None of the family

are living. Henry died there. Eleazer Hill and
Alexander Weed, from the New England States,
settled soon after in the same locality. The
widow of his son Joshua is living at an advanced
age with her son Erastus Plill in Scipio. Wm.
Cowen settled in 1797, where his son Wm. R.
Cowen now lives. He had five children, four of
whom are living, one in Michigan.
William Daniels, from Saratoga county, Geo.
Elliott, from Mass., and a man named Haskins,
from Washington county, came in 1798. Dan
iel settled in what is now known as Daniels Set
tlement, about two miles north-east of Scipio Cen
ter, where he lived to an advanced age. He and
his wife spent their declining years with their
son Benjamin in Michigan. Daniels taught that
year the first school in Scipio, but he taught only
one winter. His qualification as a teacherseems
not to have been very ample, for it is said he could
not solve a problem in the Rule of Three. His
brother, Capt. John Daniels, who was one ofthe.
most inteUigent men in the town, came in from
Mass., in 1804, and settled about a mile south
east of him, where his son Pliram now lives, and
where he died in 1871, aged 95. Hiram was
born on the place in 18 n. One other child,
Harriet, wife of Hiram Olney, is living in Illinois.
Both William and John, the latter of whom was
a captain in the war of 18 12, were for a great
many years deacons in the Baptist Church. Geo.
Elliott was a Revolutionary soldier and served
seven years. He settled two miles north of
Scipio Center, on the lot taken up by Joel Coe,
where  Webster now lives. Pie afterwards
settled on lot 8. He died some thirty years since
on the farm subsequently owned by his son Wil
liam, and now owned by Allen Hoxie. His
family consisted, when he came in, of his wife
Eleanor, and six children, Samuel, John, George,
Mary, afterwards wife of William Fish, Prudence,
afterwards wife of John Cowan, and William, the
latter of whom is the only one living, in Scipio
ville. He was 82 years old April 7th, 1878. He
had four children after coming in, viz : Sarah,
afterwards wife of Joseph Cox, Jane, Otis and
Nelly, afterwards wife of Wm. Bregg. George
Elliott, of the firm of Lyon, Elliott & Bloom of
Auburn, is a son of William Elliott now living at
Scipioville. Haskins was grandfather to Ed
win P. Haskins, now living on the old home
stead.

422

TOWN OF SCIPIO.

Several additions were made to the settlements
in 1800; among them Micah Hathaway, from
Massachusetts, who died June 22d, 1857, aged
89 ; a German family named Roraback, who set
tled at Scipio Center, and removed at an early
day to Crooked Lake ; Richard Hudson, from
Columbia county, who died here in 1834, and
whose son Richard N., who was born in the town
in 1804, is now living there; and Peter Wyckoff,
from New Jersey, who came in with his family,
consisting of his wife and five children, Peter,
Plenry, Jemima, widow of John O'Hara, now liv
ing in Scipio, Nellie, wife of Hiram O'Hara, who
is also living in Scipio, and Sarah, and settled on
the north line, on the farm adjoining that of
Gardner Wyckoff, in Fleming, where he died.
Peter, who was then a year old, removed in 1856
or '7 to Fleming, and settled where Hiram Bab
cock now lives. Mary E., the widow of his son
Peter C, is living with her son George and
daughter Grace, wife of Dr. Frank Ploxie, at
Fleming village, on one of the finest farms in the
county. Peter, another of her sons, is living in
New York city, and is the eldest son of the sixth
family who have named the eldest son Peter.
Peter and Henry, sons of the elder Wyckoff, who
settled in Scipio, married sisters of John and
Hiram O'Hara, who in turn married the Wyckoffs'
sisters, thus presenting an illustration of a rare
occurrence — two brothers and two sisters in one
family marrying two brothers and two sisters in
another. Daniel P. Van Liew came in from New Jersey
about 1800. Robert Knox, from Ireland, settled
in 1802, where his son John Knox now lives.
Samuel Green, father of Samuel W. Green, tailor
and postmaster at Sherwood, an Orthodox Friend,
came in from Pennsylvania in 1804. William
Fleming settled here previous to 1S07, January
13th of which year he died. His widow after
wards married William R. Bancroft, who settled
in 1 8 14, a little east of Scipioville, where he died
December lOth, 1857, aged nearly 89. His son,
William F. Bancroft, is living at Barbers Cor
ners, which place derives its name from Deacon
William Barber, who was an early settler, and
died there February 2d, 1844, aged 77. Olive,
his wife, died ^December 7th, '1857, aged nearly
98. Barber came as early as 1796, in which year
his name appears among the town officers.
Ezra St. John settled about 1807, on the south

line of the town, on the farm now occupied by
Andrew Heffron, where he died July 22d, 1824,
aged 77.
John Beardsley, from Connecticut, settled in
1808, near the center of the town, and after three
or four years he removed to the east ridge in
Venice, where he remained till 1836, when he
removed to Auburn and continued to reside there
till his death May i ith, 1857. He was Supervisor
in Scipio and Justice of the Peace several years.
lie was County Judge a few years under the iMrst
Constitution ; was Member of the Assembly
in 1832 and '33 ; and represented the 7th Dis
trict in the State Senate in 1836-39. In 1840
he became president of the Cixyuga County Bank,
now the Cayuga National Bank of Auburn ; and
in 1843 he became agent of the State prison at
Auburn. Four sons and four daughters are liv
ing, viz. : Nelson, president of the Cayuga Na
tional Bank of Auburn ; Roswell, a merchant in
North Lansing, Tompkins county, where he has
held the office of postmaster over fifty years, and
who is reputed to have been postmaster longer
than any other individual in the United States ;
William C, who is living in retirement in Au
burn ; Alonzo G., who is treasurer of the Os
wego Starch Company, and D. M. Osborne &
Co.'s establishment, a member of the firm of
Beardsley, Wheeler & Co, ,of Auburn, and vice-
president of the Cayuga County National Bank ;
Caroline E., wife of L. W. Nye, of Auburn ;
Alice J., wife of James M. Holden, of New York;
Mariette B.. widow of N. B. S. Eldred ; and Au
gusta B., wife of William Newell, of New York.
Joseph Hoxie came from Washington county
in 1809, in which year his son Zebulon, who is
now living in Scipio, was born there. Another
son, Allen, is also living in Scipio. Thomas
Hale settled in the town about 1809, and soon af
terwards engaged in mercantile business with
Orrin Peck. He died in October, 1852, aged 72.
Wm. Wooden came from Putnam county in i8io,
and settled one and one-half miles south-west of
Scipioville, on 100 acres now owned by Pliram
Lyon, where he died in March, 1819. He had
eight children, none of whom are living. They
were David, Palmer, Henry, William, Philip, Su
san, afterwards wife of Ezra Hawley, and Mary,
afterwards wife of Henry Hawley. Two of Da
vid's children are living, viz : William D., at
Scipioville, where he and William T. Stow were

-'A^

/VlHS.^M.p.^

OGDEN.

WILLIAM D. WOODEN.

William D. Wooden -was born in the town of Fishkill,
Dutchess county, N. Y,, March 2l8t, 1803, His father
moved to the town ot Scipio, Cayu!;a County, in May, 1814.
He commenced teaching in the common schools, when
just past 16 years of age, in the then lown ot Scipio, which
now comprises Scipio, Ledyard, Venice and a part of
Springport. He commenced in 1818, continuing nineteen
• terms — thirteen winters and six summers — all in the pres
ent towns of Scipio and Ledyard, except two terms, one at
Lake Ridge, Tompkins county, and the other in his native
town. He was engaged a portion of his time in civil en
gineering under the late David Thomas, with Noah Dennis,
Farr and N. Benedict, and Alden Allen, as associates.
Among his contemporary teachers, who were, perhaps, the
most prominent, the following are held in gjateful remem
brance : Eli Stilson. Noah Dennis, Davis Hurd, Benoni
Smith, John B. Bowen and Col. John Niblo. The foHow-
ine esteemed citizens were Mr. Wooden's pupils : Sanford
Gifford, Sylvester Weeks, Wm, Howltind, Calvin Tracv,
Lemuel Allen, Geo. L., L. W. and R. B. Watkins, E. B.
King and Morgan Wardwell. who are now all residents of
the towns of Scipio and Ledyard. Chai-les P. Wood, late
of Auburn, and Austin B, Hale, of Moravia, were also his
scholars. He has taken from his earliest yenrs to the pres
ent time a lively interest in the cause of universal educa
tion, and has devoted practically, much of his time and
talents lo.its advancement. Under iho first supervision ot
our common school system, he was elected, and held for a
number of years, in the town of Ledyard, the oflice of In
spector. Mr. Wooden was honorably as'^ociated with the
venerable Salem Town, in tbe cause of education, a subject
which lay very near the hearts of both. In 1889, under
a special act of the Legislature, Mr. Wooden was appoint
ed, wilh the late .losepU Tallcot, a school visitor for the
town of Ledyard. Visitors were appointed in every town
in the State, and much good was doubtless accomplished
thereby. Their services were without compensation. Mr.
Wooden has been through his whole Ufe an earnest friend
of freedom and temperance. He is now a memberof a
lodge ot Good Templars in Scipioville, where he resides,
and is a constant attendant at its meetings. He has also
contributed a large number of original essays, poems etc..

which he has read with great profit to the lodge. Mr.
Wooden commenced farming in 1838, in the town of Led
yard, and in 1857 moved to his present residence in Scipio
ville. This has been his principal business since 1838. He
has twice been married, first in 1835, nnd again in 1857.
He had six children by hia first wife, one son and five
daughters, but none by the last. Death has taken bU hia
children but the two youngest daughters. He has through
life been an ardent admirer and firm supporter of our pecu
liar form of government.
He was elected tn the office of County Superintendent of
the Poor for eight successive ;(rears, from 1833 to 1841. He
cast hia first vote in 1833, His first vote for President was
for Andrew Jackson in 1824, He again voted for Jackson
in 1838, and for his rBelection in 1882; for Van Buren in
1836. and for hia reelection in 1840; for Polk in 1844; for
VanBuren in 1848: for John P. Hale in 1858; for J. C.
Fremont in 1856; for A. Lincoln in 1860, and for bis re
election in 1864; for U. S, Grant in 1868, for his reelec
tion in ISrS; and for Green Clay Smith in 1876. Thus it
will be seen that he has voted at every presidential election
since he became a voter. We do not know of another
voter now living in the old town who has voted C(mtina-
ously, and without missing a town meeting. Mr. Wooden
has never had a law-suit in his life, but has often acted as
a peacemaker between his neighbors. He has never been a
member of any religious denomination, but is a firm be
liever in the religion of Chriat, in whose salvation he trusts,
and looks forward to a blissful immortality beyond the
grave. Mr, Wooden has been accustomed to write for the
local press for the last fifty years. He has also occasionally
corresponded with the New York JSvening Post, and other
public journals. Mr. Wooden has been a man of remark
able health through life, never having employed a doctor
for himself but twice, first when 33 years old, and not
again till his 73d year. He is now in his 77th year, and
aside from the naturalinfirmities incident to that period of
life, is a sound man mentally, mornlly and physically.
Like a shock of corn, fully ripe, he is simply waiting the
Divine will to be transferred to the garner above. Having
faithfully served his generation, he is now waiting final
discharge.

-ft

ir

T

EARLY SETTLEMENTS.

423

the first school teachers, and Desire, wife of
Frederick A. Snell, of Oskosh, Wis. Philip's
children who are living are Silas, at P'airport,
Monroe county, Eliza Ann, wife of Isaac Treat,
in Throop, Adah, Zillah, wife of Edv/ard Tread-
well, in Ann Arbor, Mich., and Susan, also in
Ann Arbor. Cordial Jennings, from Middlebury,
Vt,, settled about 18 10, on the long lot, on the
lake shore in the south-east corner of the town,
where he lived a number of years, when he re
moved to lot 65, in Venice, where he died Feb
ruary 15th, 1855, aged 81. His wife Lucy, died
April 26th, 1 861, aged 96. His eldest son,
Sherburne PL, aged about seventy, lives in Mo
ravia. Another son, Chauncey, lives in Orleans
county. Two grandsons, William and Crauson,
are living in Venice.
Deacon Uriah Benedict, who was born in Nor
walk, Connecticut, September 13th, 1783, re
moved to Scipio in i8n, and followed carpenter
ing eighteen years after coming here. Pie pur
chased a farm, on which he remained sixty-six
years, till his death, April 14th, 1877, aged 93.
At his death he was the oldest member of the
Presbyterian Church of Scipio, of which he vvas
a member nearly seventy years, and a ruling
elder for about sixty years. He had ten
children, two of whom died in childhood. The
rest, four sons and four daughters, married and
raised up children. Two sons are ministers of
the Presbyterian faith and two are deacons in the
same church. Asahel P'itch, from Saratoga
county, settled in iSii, in the east part of the
town, where Wm. Munger now lives, and where
he died December 13th, i85i,'aged 79, He was
Side Judge and Member of Assembly in 1824.
His children were Alvah P^itch, who was born in
Saratoga county in 1797, and is still living in
Scipio, Judge  , who lived and died in
Lansing, Tompkins county, Charles T., who died
in Scipio, where Hiram Wheat now lives, and
Cynthia, afterwards wife of Eli Smith, who also
died in Scipio. His wife, Martha, died October
2d, 1843, aged 71.
Elisha Barnes came from Pharsalia, Chenango
county, in May, 1812, on foot and alone, at the
age of about twenty-two, and commenced work
with Joel Coe in a distillery, which stood two
miles north of Scipio Center. In 1813, he bought
half an acre of land, half a mile west of where
he now lives, and commenced distilling for him

self, continuing the business some twenty years.
November 4th, 1823, he married Elizabeth Rob
erts, who died July 5th, 1865, aged 67. He had
four children, three of whom are living, George,
in Scipio, Franklin, in Venice, and Eliza, wife
of Andrew Champman, in Scipio. In 1836,
he took up the farm on which he now lives, and
on which he has since resided. He was 88 years
old August i8th, 1878.
Charles Loring Elliott, an artist of great celeb
rity, was born in 18 1 2, in a plain wooden structure,
standing on the east and west road leading to
Sherwood, not far from Scipio Center. He re
moved wilh his parents lo Auburn, whe;c his
falher built and occupied a house now standing
on the corner of Williams street and Love Lane,
at present and for many years past, owned and
occupied by the family of E. E. Marvine. Caleb
Manchester married his wife Lydia, of Green
field, Saratoga county, October ist, 1812, and re
moved wilh her the following spring to a farm
one and one-half miles south-east of Scipioville,
where they lived forty-eight years and raised a
family of four sons and seven daughters, only
two of whom, Elias C, of Battle Creek, Michi
gan, and Rev. Wm. S., survive them. In 1861,
they sold their home and lived wilh their daugh
ter, Eliza P. Battey, near Scipioville, who died in
March, 1870. Caleb died October 5lh, 1868;
and his wife at Battle Creek, Michigan, while
visiting with her son, June 9lh, 1877, aged 84
years. Henry Marsh was an early settler in the
town. His son George S., was born here in
1813- George Slocum came in from Massachusetts in
1814, and died here August 26th, 1867, aged 69.
Several settlers came in about that year, promi
nent among whom was Wm. Alward and his
sons Nathaniel, William and Squire, and daugh
ter Betsey, afterwards wife of Justus Allen, who
came in from Baskin Ridge, N. J,, and settled at
Scipioville. William, the elder, froze lo death
while crossing Cayuga Lake, February 13th, 1816.
His age at the time of his death was 52.
Betsey, his wife, died June 27th, 1835, aged
69. Both were natives of Somerset county, N.
J. Nathaniel carried on the harness making
business till about 1833, and acquired a hand
some property. He was connected wilh the
Presbyterian Church at the Square from 1833 till
his death in 1848, having been converted the

424

TOWN OF SCIPIO.

former year in Auburn. He was zealous in pro
moting the interests of the church. At his
house were held prayer meetings presided over
by himself, and ably addressed by his wife, who
was an excellent and highly cultured woman. It
was his custom to send his large family car
riage through the neighborhood every Sunday to
pick up those who desired to attend church, but
had no conveyance. Only two of his family are
living. William, in Nunda. Livingston county,
and D. R., in Auburn. Squire married a daugh
ter of John Boughton, of Ledyard, and settled
near the Square in the north-west corner of the
town. Others v;ho came in about this time were Dea
con Samuel Leonard, from Connecticut, who
settled and died near Scipioville ; Wm. Graham,
a Revolutionary soldier, who settled at Merri-
fields Corners, one and one-half miles east of
Scipioville, where he died F'ebruary 2d, 1844.
aged 92, and who had two daughters, one of whom
died young, and the other, Jane, married Ozam
Merrifield, who gave to the Corners, his name;
and Eli Stillson, who. settled at Barbers Corners,
where he taught the district school in the winters
of 1815 and '16. Noah Dennis, a civil engineer,
was also an early settler in that locality, and taught
the district school there in the winters of 18 17
and '18. He died in 1834, in his thirty-eighth
year. Anthony Tallman, from Rensselaer Co.,
was an early settler, but in what year we could
not determine. His son Squire P. T. Tallman,
was born in Scipio, in 1817, and married Mary,
daughter of Thomas Cushman, who was Justice
sixteen years. Lewis B. Smith came in before
1816, in which year his son Elijah, who is now
living in Scipio, was born here. Milchel Bald
win and. Philip H. Buckhout settled here in 1816.
Mr. Baldwin was from New Jersey. Pie died in
Aurelius in 1872. Mr. Buckhout was from
Westchester county, and settled in 1817, at
Scipioville, where he carried on the wagon-mak
ing business until compelled by old age to dis
continue it. He is living a little east of Scipio
ville, and was 85 years old April 14th, 1878, Two
sons are living, Edward, in Ledyard, and Byron
B., in East Saginaw, Michigan. His wife,
Amanda, daughter of Wm. Allen and Betsey
Watkins, the first couple married in Scipio, died
October 8th, 1876, aged 75.
Cornelius Weeks came from Dartmouth, Mass

achusetts, about 1816, and settled first a little
west of Poplar Ridge, in Ledyard. A year after
wards he removed to the place now occupied by
his grandson, Wm. Penn Sisson, a little west 01
Barbers Corners. Daniel Sisson, father of Wm.
Penn Sisson, married Mr. Weeks' only daughter,
Charlotte, and succeeded Mr. Weeks to the farm.
Mr. Weeks died January 25th, 1867, aged 89;
and Daniel Sisson, June 28th, 1867, aged 65.
Calvin King came in from Saratoga county about
1818, and settled at Barbers Corners, on the farm
now owned by Abner S. Gifford. He died March
30th, 185 1, aged 62. Of his children, William
is living in Chicago, Edward B., in Scipio, and
Jane, wife of Elisha Marsh, in Beatrice, Neb.
Ira Akin came from Johnstown, Fulton county,
about 1 8 16, and settled one mile south of Scipio
Center, on the farm now owned by Alson Hos
kins, where he resided till the death of his wife,
when the family broke up and he went west and
died there. His children were Edward, who
married a daughter of Nathan Morgan, and re
moved to Janesville, Wisconsin ; Ira, who mar
ried Olive Tone, and settled a little over a mile
north of Scipio Center, where he died, leaving
two children, Yale, living in New York City, and
Whelpley, in Auburn ; John, who removed to
Ohio ; and Deacon Isaac, who married Phebe
Tompkins, and settled about two miles east of
Scipio Center, on the farm now owned by Arte
mas Ward. Pie afterwards removed to Scipio
Center, where he died April 9th, 1877, and his
wife, October 22d, 1878. They leave seven chil
dren, viz. : John W., William, Morrell J., all of
whom are living in Scipio ; Ann, wife of Plorace
Allen, in Nevada ; Mary Jane, wife of Plarden
Brayton, in Chicago ; Caroline, wife of Philo
Sperry, in Michigan ; and Harriet, wife of Henry
Slocum, in Scipio.
Jcrfcry A. P'arnam, Amaziah Griswold, Wm.
Main, EInathan Smith and Thomas Parker were
among the earliest settlers, but we are not advised
of the year in which they came. Farnam, who
was born October 17th, 1773, came in from Con
necticut, and settled near the Square or " No. i."
Pie died November 12th, 1842; and his wife a
few years since, aged ninety-seven. Henry Far
nam, now a resident of New Plaven, Conn., an
engineer of some prominence and formerly super
intendent of a western railroad, is a son of his.
Griswold was from New Lebanon, Columbia

SCIPIO CENTER.

425

county, and was the first shoe-maker in Scipio
ville. Pie was the grandfather of J. E., R. D.,
R. B., G. L, L. W. W., and A. Q. Watkins.
In his house, says G. L. Watkins, was published
the Western Luminary, the second newspaper
published in Cayuga County. It was published
every Tuesday evening, " by Ebenezer Eaton for
Eaton & Co.," and the earliest preserved copy we
have seen is dated " Watkins Settlement, Tues
day, July 2 1 St, 1 80 1," and is No. 17 of Vol. I.
Wm. Main settled on the south line ofthe town,
on the farm now owned by Pliram Wheat. Pie
afterwards removed to Venice, about 1835, and
died there August 14th, 1855, aged ninety-seven,
and Lucy, his wife, April 28th, 1847, aged
ninety-one. Charles, who is living in Venice at
an advanced age, is the only one of his children
living. Thomas Parker settled in the east part
of the town, on the farm now occupied by Robert
Stewart, and died there February 20th, 1855.
He was born December i6th, 1775. Three sons
are living. Nelson and Perry in Venice, and
Franklin in Locke. EInathan Smith settled
south-east of the center of the town, on the
farm now owned by George Barnes, where he died
February 8th, i860, aged eighty-three. Plis
children were Eli, who died March 29th, 1869,
aged seventy-one ; Lorsey, afterwards wife of
Charles Fitch ; and Maria, afterwards wife of J.
Crosby Smith, who died May nth. 1867, , aged
sixty. Town Officers, — The first town meeting was
held at the house of Augustus Chidsey the first
Tuesday in April, 1794, and the following named
officers were chosen : John Stoyell, Supervisor;
Samuel Branch, Clerk ; Ilcnry Watkins, Daniel
Mack and lilisha Durkee, Commissioners of
Roads ; Luke Taylor, Gilbert Tracy and Joshua
Patrick, Assessors ; Wm. Branch, Alanson
Tracy and Winslow Perry, Constables ; Alanson
Tracy and Winslow Perry, Collectors ; Thomas
Morgan and Philip Strong, Overseers of the
Poor ; Ebenezer Witter, Simeon Herrick, Daniel
P'uUer, Henry Watkins, Gideon Allen, Jr., Ed
mund Sawtelle and Winslow Perry, Pathmasters;
Joshua Patrick and John A. Thompson, Pound
Keepers ; Jonathan Plastings, Sealer of Leather ;
Thomas Morgan, Scaler of Weights and Meas
ures. At this meeting it was resolved to pay a
bounty of t^ for every grown wolf taken and
74-1

killed in the town. Every ram found running at
large from September ist to November 25th,
was to be forfeited to the people of the town.
At the annual meeting in J79S, it was " resolved
that each sheep ram that is found running at
large from the first day of September to the first
day of December shall forfeit ;S!2.50, to be recov
ered of the owner." In 1796, the bounty on
wolves was increased to ^12.50, and hogs were
made free commoners.
The town officers elected for 1879 were:
Supervisor — John P. Chase.
Town Clerk — Willis G. Ploskins.
Justice of the Peace, (to fill vacancy,) — Enos
T. Shaw.
Justice of the Peace, (full term,) — Enos T.
Shaw. Commissioner of Highways — Calvin H. Wat
tles. Collector — George Coy.
Assessor — Elias C. Pierce.
Overseers of the Poor — John Casler, John
Snyder. Inspectors of Election — Plenry T. Marsh, F.
Leslie Smith.
Game Constable — James Flynn, Jr.
Constables — Leonard S. Owen, George L.
Ploxie, James Flynn, Jr., Libbeus PI. Merry.
Sealer of Weights and Measures — Jeremiah
Simons. Scipio Center.
Scipio Center is situated a Httle south-east
of the center of the town, nine and one-half
miles north-east of Aurora, one and one-half
miles north-east of Summit Station, and about
three miles south-west of Ensenore, .on the
Southern Central Railroad. It contains three
churches, (Baptist, Catholic and Universalist,)
a district school, one store, one hotel, (kept by
Frederick Nichols,) a cider-mill, (owned by
James Smith, and erected by him in the fall of
1878,) two wagon shops, (kept by David Hawley
and Albert Slocum,) two blacksmith shops, (kept
by Wm. Coulson and John Beachman,) and a
population of 102.
Merchants. — The first merchant at Scipio
Center was Dr. Ezra Strong, who came in with
his brothers, Philip and Epaphroditus, about the
beginning of the century, and opened a store at
the Center, where he settled, about 1808, which
he kept some ten or twelve years, and failed.

426

TOWN OF SCIPIO.

His store stood on the site of G. B. Peterson's
store. Philip settled one mile south of the Cen
ter, at Gallups Corners, and Epaphroditus a half
mile south of the Center, where Isaac Howell
now lives. They died in the town. Strong was
succeeded in the mercantile business by Leonard
Searing ; and later by John E. Beardsley, a na
tive of Venice, and son of John Beardsley who
settled in Scipio in 1808, who did business
twelve to fifteen years and removed to Auburn,
where he engaged in the book business. He was
succeeded by a clerk of his, whose name we
could not learn, who remained two or three
years. John Snyder did business some ten or
twelve years, till April, 1875, when he sold to
Gilbert B. Peterson, from Fleming, who has since
done business here. Peterson was associated as
partner one year with Wirt Voorhees, whose in
terest he bought at the expiration of the year.
Postmasters. — We have been unable to obtain
a complete list of the postmasters at this place.
The office was established as early as 1825, but
probably not much earlier than that. James
Glover was postmaster at that time. Andrew
Groom was postmaster in 1831 ; John C. Beards
ley, as early as 1836 and as late 1854; Alvin
Seely, in 1857 ; and Daniel P. Van Liew, in
1859. Jo^'^ ^- Snyder, the present postmaster,
has held the office ten or twelve years consecu
tively, with the exception of a few months in
1875, when Wirt Voorhees held the office.
Physicians. — Probably the first person to dis
pense medicine in the town was Elder David
Irish, who, though not a regular physician, made
himself useful in that capacity, until Dr. Ezra
Strong, came in soon after 1800 and practiced till
about 1812. He joined the County Medical So
ciety August 7th, 1 806. Matthew Tallman came in
about the time Strong ceased practising and set
tled about a mile north of the Center. Pie prac
ticed a few years and sold to Adonijah White^
who joined the County Medical Society p-ebru-
ary 6th, 1812, and practiced with marked success
through the epidemic, -about 1815, and finally be
came a victim to it. Andrew Groom, who prac
ticed with Tallman the last year of his stay, com
menced practicing as early as 18 14, August 4th
of which year he joined the County Medical So
ciety, and settled at the Center after Tallman's
removal to Scipioville, and practiced in the town
till his death, though he had previously removed

from the Center. Benjamin Fordyce practiced
here some twenty years, till his death a few years
since. Burton Ploxie came in about i860, and
practiced till his removal to Auburn three or
four years since. lie was succeeded by Frank
Kenyon, the present physician, who was born in
Owasco, October 26th, 1844; educated at Belle-
vue Hospital Medical College in New York city,
where he graduated March ist, 1873, and imme
diately commenced practice at Scipio Center.
Churches.- — The town of Scipio has been
largely supplied with Baptist churches. Besides
the old First Church, there was a Second, a divi
sion from the First, also a Third, a North-East,
a West, a United, and the present one. The old
First Church is now the Venice Church. The
West Church became extinct in 18 16. The Sec
ond, Third and North-East ^ Churches united in
1807, and became extinct in 1840.
The Scipio Baptist Church was constituted
and united with the Cayuga IJaptist Association
in 1822. In their letter to the Association for
that year, the names of Michael Pearsall, William
Daniels and John Daniels, appear as delegates and
the reported membership was fifty-six. Their first
pastor was Elder Ichabod Clark, who entered
upon his labors with them as a licentiate in 1823,
and was ordained pastor in the latter part of
1824 or early part of 1825. Pie remained seven
years. Their next pastor was Elder Ansel Clark,
who commenced his labors with them in 1831,
and was succeeded in 1833, by Elder S. Gilbert,
who resigned the charge after about a year. The
pulpit was supplied a part of i834-'5, by Brother
J. H. Ricketts, and a few months by Elder Jones,
under whose labors they received an addition of
twenty by baptism. In 1836-7 they secured
the services of Elder Bishop Ames, who labored
with them as a temporary supply about seven
months, and was succeeded by Elder II. J. PIddy,
who resigned the charge in 1842.
A revival was commenced in the fall of 1837,
and meetings were held every evening in the
week during the fall, winter and spring. It re
sulted in the addition to their membership of
eighty by baptism, and twenty-five by letter, and
increased the membership to one hundred and
fifty. " During the third year of Elder Eddy's
pastorate, fifty-three were added to their number
by baptism. Twenty-one were added to their
number by baptism and eleven by letter in the

SCIPIO CENTER -CHURCHES.

427

winter of i84i-'2. After the close of Elder Ed
dy's pastorate, they were supplied by Brother
W. F. Purrington and others until the summer
of 1843, at which time Brother J. W. Osborn
commenced his labors as a licentiate, but was
subsequently ordained pastor. During the fourth
year of his pastorate twenty-six were added by
baptism, and eleven by letter. During that year
also their house of worship, which was erected
in 183 1, was repaired and newly furnished.
Elder Osborn's resignation was accepted with
great reluctance in the fall of 1849."
Elder C. Sharman became the pastor in the
winter of 1849, ''"d continued his labors with
them till 185 1, when he was succeeded by B.
McLouth, who remained till 1853, in -which year
George PI. Brigham, who served them three years
was ordained. In the winter of 1854, he was
assisted by Reverends Dennison and Baldwin,
ministers from the vicinity, in a series of revival
meetings, which resulted in the addition of twen
ty-one to the membership. The next pastor was
W. PI. Delano, who served them two years, till
1859, ^"d was succeeded by L. Hall, who after a
brief pastorate was followed by P. Conrad, who
remained two years. They next enjoyed the
ministrations of J. R. Burdick, who revived the
Sabbath School, which had fallen into decay, and
instituted a Bible Class, which was conducted by
Deacon John Daniels, who, though eighty-six
years of age, never failed to attend. In 1862 the
church raised $162.25 for bounties to soldiers.
Elder Burdick resigned the pastorate in 1864,
and was succeeded by Bishop Ames, who re
mained but a part of a year. Geo. N. Sears be
came the pastor in 1865,. and was ordained in
January, 1866. He resigned in i868, and was
succeeded by Wm. L. Goodspeed, who resigned
in 1870, and was followed by Geo. Lewis, who
, remained one year. Geo. C. Downey was called
to the pastorate in 1871, and served them nearly
two years. Pie was succeeded in 1873, by L.
Braisted, now of Fleming, whose pastorate cov
ered a period of four years.
The pulpit was supplied during most of the
summer of 1877; and in September of that year
E. R. Warren, the present pastor, entered upon
his duties. During his pastorate the church has
been rebuilt, at a cost of ;^4,ooo, and was dedi
cated November 7th, 1878. The edifice is a neat
wooden structure, and does credit to the town.

It is 36 by 60 feet, with a tower on the north
west corner rising to a height of 125 feet above
the ground. It contains a lecture room and au
ditorium, each having a seating capacity for 300
persons, and a baptistry. Upon the lower floor
is a kitchen and parlor. It is richly furnished
with carpets, cushioned pews, and gothic chairs
in its pulpit. It has a memorial window put in
by the church, commemorating the services of
Deacon Isaac Akin, who was for twenty-five
years a Deacon of the church, which was carried
on almost entirely by his individual effort. Other
memorial windows have been put in by individ
uals, complimentary to Mrs. Phebe Akin, wife,
and Mrs. H. B. Brayton, of Chicago, and Mrs.
PI. C. Slocum, daughters of Deacon Isaac Akin ;
Mrs. R. E. Eaker, wife of Deacon Robert Eaker;
and Mrs. Louisa Fordyce, widow of John H.
Fordyce. The church has a membership of 75.
It has an interesting Sabbath School and Bible
Class, the attendance at the former being about
100. The First Universalist Society in the
town of Scipio was organized May 22d, 1836,
with fifty-six members, thirty of whom were
males, at the school-house near Bishop's tavern
at Scipio Center, Worden Babcock was chosen
chairman of the meeting and F. Boughton, sec
retary. The trustees then chosen were Asa
Way, Jacob Morgan, Worden Babcook, William
Taber and Lyman Birch. Thomas Cushman
was chosen treasurer ; Jesse Babcock, clerk ;
and Elisha Marsh, collector. The first pastor was
Rev. Harvey Boughton, who preached some
three years previous to the organization of the
society. November nth, 1837, it was decided
to build a meeting house of wood, and Worden
Babcock, Titus P'isk, J. E. Beardsley, D. P.
Van Liew and A. T. Wilber were appointed a
committee to raise funds to build with. Decem
ber 23d, 1837, Worden Babcock, Henry Snyder,
Christopher Roffee, William Taber and D. P.
Van Liew were appointed a building committee.
The building does not appear to have been fin
ished before 1839. The records of the society
are very incomplete and give very little clue to
the pastors who have officiated in this church ;
we have been unable to find any one able to sup
ply the deficiency. Mr. Boughton seems to have
been the pastor as late as June 7th, 1840. Al
fred Peck was pastor May ist, 1842, and as late

428

TOWN OF SCIPIO.

as May 20th, 1843. H. L. Hay ward was pastor
May 24th, 1845, and as late as May 30th, 1846;
Harvey Boughton, May 23d, 1847, and as late as
May 20th, 1849; and J. PI. Harter, May 22d,
1853, .and as late as May 25th, 1856. At pres
ent the church is without a pastor. The present
membership is about thirty.
St. Bernard's Church of Scipio Center
(R. C.) was organized in the early part of 1867,
at the house of James Flynn, of Scipio Center,
by Rev. Father Bernard McCool, with about 100
adult members, of whom the following were the
principal ones : John Conran, Thomas Heffer-
nan, James Flynn, Joseph Morgan, Andrew Ne
ville and Edward Reilly. The earliest meetings
by members of this faith were held in a small
private house, (now entirely removed) which stood
some thirty or forty rods east of the present
church, in 1851, and were conducted by Father
Quigley, who, together with p-athers Burns and
Twohig. administered to the spiritual wants of
the Catholics in this vicinity from 185 1 to 1863.
In the latter year Father McCool took charge,
and the church erected four years later at'tests his
zealous labors. In 1870, Father McCool was re
moved by the Bishop to Seneca Falls, the field
of his present labors, where he still enjoys the
best wishes of this congregation. He was suc
ceeded by Father Schmettzer, who, by reason of
delicate health, was unable to endure the hard
ships of this mission longer than ten months.
Father Eugene Pagani ministered to this people in
the latter part of 1871 and early part of 1872,
and was succeeded by P'ather Archange Paga-
nini who was the first resident pastor of this
church, but was relieved June 15th, 1873, after a
pastorate of ten months, by the present pastor,
Father Hugh Francis Rafferty.
When P'ather Rafferty took charge, the church
was struggling under a $\,200 indebtedness, be
sides a large annual rental for the house occupied
as a parsonage. Since then this debt has been
paid, and a new and respectable two story brick
parsonage, as well as a suitable barn and stable
have been built on the grounds adjoining the
church. The church edifice, erected in 1867,
was 32 by 45 feet, and was enlarged in the sum
mer of 1877, by an addition 32 by 62 feet, be
sides a vestry 12 by 32 feet, making the building
present the form of a Latin cross. In the front
has been built a neat Httle tower, seventy to eighty

feet high, and surmounted by a well proportioned
gilt cross. Upon a stone in front of the tower,
in gilt letters, is the Latin inscription : Et Porta
Inferi non prevalebunt advesus earn. Within the
tower is a fine-toned bell, weighing over 1,600
pounds. The interior of the church presents a
pleasing appearance. The pews are neatly
grained and varnished, with walnut stained trim
mings. The waHs and ceilings are beautifully
frescoed ; and upon the former, to the right and
left of the altar, are life size portraits of saints
Peter and Paul, while upon the latter are rei)re-
sentations of various religious emblems. Imme
diately behind and above the tabernacle is a bust
of the monk St. Bernard. Scipioville.
Scipioville is situated near the west line of
the town, south of the center, on Poplar Ridge,
and is twelve miles south of Auburn, eight miles
north of Northville, four miles east of Levanna,
and one and one-half miles west of Scipio Sum
mit. It contains two churches, (Methodist
Episcopal and Presbyterian,) a district school,
a hotel, (kept by N. J. Webster,) two stores, a
harness shop, (kept by George R. Kent,) a shoe
shop, (kept by Dr. O. Reynolds,) a carpenter
shop, (kept by Benjamin Cain,) a blacksmith
shop, (kept by Houghton & Cooper,) a wagon
shop, (kept by J. Dean,) a tannery, kept by
Lemuel Allen,) an attorney, (James Plyat Baker,)
and a population of 170,
Scipioville was first known as Watkins Settle
ment and Watkins Corners. In 1806, Paine
Fitch built a tavern there and it was afterwards
known as Fitchs Corners, till subsequently it was
named Mechanicsburg, which name it retained
till the establishment of the post-office in 1836,
when the present name was adopted.
Merchants. — Thc first mcrchanls at Scipio
ville were Orin Peck and Thomas Hale, who
opened a general store in 1813, in the building
now occupied as a dwelling by the widow
of Jotham Forbes. They also carried on
the distilling business. They bought that
year the tin shop established about 1809 by
Asahel and Seth Peck, brothers of Orin Peck.
This tin shop is said to have been the first one
west of Utica in the State. In 1823, they dis
solved. Plale, who came from Connecticut in
i8n, continued at the old stand, discontinuing

1 1

'H^'

SCIPIOVILLE — CHURCHES.

429

after a short time his general stock, keeping tin
ware, sheet-iron and stoves, which he continued
till his death, October 7th, 1852. Pie was one
of the most prominent men here for several
years. Austin B. Plale, of Moravia, is a son of
his, and is the only one of his children living.
Peck built and kept some five years the store
now occupied by Mrs. A. B. Groom. Pie sold
to Uriel Mosher and returned to Connecticut,
whence he came, and died there. Mosher did
business about three years, and sold to two broth
ers named Lawrence, from New York, who con
tinued about a year and sold to Truman Wake-
ley and Asahel Warner, both residents of the
town. After a short time Wakeley sold to War
ner, who took in as partner Benjamin King, who
continued a year and a half, when King with
drew and soon after removed from the town.
Wm. B. Wooden then bought an interest and he
and Warner did business some three years, when
they sold to Edwin Akin and John Gildersleeve,
both natives of the town, who, after four or five
years, sold to Nicholas D. Tripp and PVancis
Snow, who continued from 1861-5, when An
drew B. Groom bought them out. Green was
from Romulus, Seneca county. He did busi-
tiess about a year, when it went into the hands
of Mrs. A. B. Groom, who still carries it on.
Matthew Tallman, from Aurora, where he set
tled prior to 1800, opened a store in company
with Roswell Beardsley, on the north-west cor
ner, opposite Mrs. Groom's store. The building or
frame, which was afterwards removed and re
modeled, is now occupied by George L. Watkins.
They continued till the death of Beardsley, a
few years after, when Tallman carried on the
business alone several years. About 1834, about
which time the house was moved, he was suc
ceeded by Seneca B. Dennis, his son-in-law, who
continued six or seven years, and sold to Alvah
Ward, who kept it but a short time, till 1841,
when the property came into possession of Geo.
L. Watkins, who has since carried on the busi
ness, having been associated from 185 i to 1853
with Wheeler Powell.
Postmasters — The post-office at Scipioville
was established in 1836, and Seneca B. Dennis
was the first postmaster. He was succeeded by
Alvah Ward, Wm. T. Dennis, Albert S. Allen
'and Charles D. Tallman, who filled up the period
to 1845, when George-L. Watkins was appoint

ed. He held the office till 1849 ; Asahel War
ner from 1849-53 ; Geo. L. Watkins, from •
1853-57; Andrew Race, from 1857-61 ; Ed
win Akin and Nicholas D. Tripp, from i86i-'66;
Geo. R. Kent, from 1866-70; Silas Elliott, from
1870 till his death in the spring of 1878, when
Geo. R. Kent, the present incumbent, was again
appointed. Physicians. — The earliest physician of whom
wc have any record was Matthew Tallman, who
was licensed to practice by a County Judge in
July, 1806, and joined the County Medical So
ciety, while a resident of Scipioville, August 7th,
of that year. He removed to Scipio Center
about 181 2, and after a few years practice there
returned to Scipioville. Pie was born December
9th, 1780; and died May 28th, 1847. Phineas
Hurd settled, one mile north of Scipioville, in
181 2, on the Sth of November of which year he
joined the County Medical Society. He prac
ticed till August 31st, 1867.
Churches. — The Baptists had an organiza
tion here at an early day, aud completed in 1810,
a large church edifice. The church prospered
for many years, but finally ran down. Elders
Rathbun and Abner Wakely were among the
first pastors.
The First M. E. Church of Scipioville
was organized about sixty years ago, and a house
of worship erected about the same time one mile
west of Plurds Corners. The church was taken
down and removed to Scipioville in 1871. The
first pastor after the removal was Wm. Adams,
who labored with this church three and one-half
years. He was succeeded by D. D. Davis, who
remained three years ; when P. T. Hughston,
the present pastor commenced his labors with
them. The present membership is 120. They
have an interesting Sabbath School, the attend
ance at which is eighty-five. The present trus
tees are Leddra W. Watkins, Wm. Manchester,
Morris Reynolds, Peter Ridley, and Dixon Perry.
The First Presbyterian Society of Scipio
ville was organized July 29th, 1872. The first
members were Mrs. Esther C. AHen, Mrs. Ann
E. Watkins, Mrs. Sally Ann Watkins, J. N.
Fordyce and wife, Henrietta, and daughter,
p-rances, Mrs. Maria Pearl, and Mrs. Mary D.
Tompkins. Their church edifice was erected
the same year, at a cost of $3,000, and dedicated
March 19th, 1873, The corner-stone was laid

430

TOWN OF SCIPIO.

September 13th, 1872, by Deacon Uriah Bene
dict, assisted by his son Rev. Edwin Benedict.
The society met previous to the completion of
the church, in the school-house. The first pastor
was Robert C. Allison, who lived at the Square
and supplied the church there as well. His pas
torate continued until January, 1876, when he
accepted a call from the church in Otisco. Dur
ing the summer of 1876, the pulpit was supplied
by students from Auburn Theological Seminary.
In May, 1877, Rev. Charles Ray, editor and pub
lisher of the Moravia Citizen, took the pastoral
charge, and still continues it. The present mem
bership is twenty -six. The first trustees were
Lemuel Allen, A. Q. Watkins and Nathan Web
ster. The present trustees are Dr. Denison
R. Pearl, James Ross, A. Q. Watkins, Wm-
Hawley and Benj. Gould. The attendance at
Sabbath School and Bible Class is forty-seven.
Sherwood.
Sherwood is situated on the Poplar Ridge, in
the south-west corner of the town, one mile
south of Scipioville, and about five miles east of
Aurora. It contains a district school, a select
school, wilh some thirty-six pupils, established in
1872, Hepsibeth C. Hussey, Principal, and Dor
cas Gardner, Assistant, two stores, a broom manu
factory, employing two hands in the winter,
(Benj. Myers, proprietor,) one harness shop,
(kept by Charles F. Cumstock,) blacksmith and
wagon shop, (kept by Plenry S. Nye,) a shoe
shop, (kept by George Rider,) a blacksmith shop,
(kept by John D. Pludson,) and a population of
167. Plenry Koon's apple jell and cider-mill was
erected in 1871 ; contains four presses; employs
four men during the season. About seven tons
of jelly are made per annum.
Merchants. — The first merchants were
Joseph Barnes and Melvin Brown, who opened a
store about 1808, on the site of the house now
owned by Abby Jane Mastin, and did business
about two years. They also carried on the
potash business, and paid in goods for ashes.
Humphrey Howland and Thomas Alsop opened
a store about 1817, where John S. Smith's store
now stands. In the spring of 18 19, Slocum
Plowland bought the interest of his brother Hum
phrey, and carried on the business in company
with Alsop two years, when- he bought the latter's

interest. In 183 1, he admitted Ledra Heazlett
to partnership, and did business with him till
shortly before Mr. Heazlett's death in 1841. In
1847, his son William became his partner, and
the firm then became and has since remained S.
Hozvland&f Son.
A man named King opened a store about
1 81 2, in a building erected that year by Samuel
Phelps, and continued three years, when he was
succeeded by a man named Parsons, who remain
ed three or four years, and moved west, taking a
portion of his goods with him. David P. John
son bought a portion of Parsons' goods, and did
business ^bout a year, when he sold to Josiah
Bowen, father of Sayles Bowen, who continued
it a year or two. Allen Thomas, who came
with his father-in-law, Seth Allen, from Wash
ington county, about 1806 or '7, and settled at
Aurora, and a year or two after bought the farm
now owned by Thomas Collins, one-half mile
west of Sherwood, opened a store in 1820, and
after two or three years, admitted to partnership
George Thomas, a cousin's son, with whom he
did business about two years, when George
Thomas sold to Arthur Phelps, whose interest
Allen Thomas bought after two or three years.
Allen Thomas continued the business until his
death, in March, 1862. John S. Smith has been
engaged some six years in buying and selling
poultry, eggs and fruit, which are sent to the
New York market. Alexander Robinson keeps
a small grocery, which he recently started.
Postmasters. — The post-office was removed
from Poplar Ridge and established at Sherwood
March 4lh, 1822, with J. Winter liranch as post
master. Branch held the office till about April
15th, 1827, when Allen Thomas was appointed
and held it till within a few days of his death, till
P'ebruary 24th, 1862, when S. W. Green was
appointed, and held it till the winter of 1864.
He was succeeded by Sylvanus G. Reynolds,
who received the appointment January ist, 1865,
and held the office about a year. S. W. Green
was reappointed January isth, 1866, and still
holds the office.
Physicians.— The first physician at Sherwood
was Dr. Rude, who came in prior to 1800, and
after practicing several years removed from the
town. Parley Kinney came from Connecticut
about 1800, and practiced till his death in 18 19.
He was licensed to practice by a County Judge

SCIPIO SUMMIT — ENSENORE.

431

in December, 1797, and joined the County Medi
cal Society August 7th, 1806. Barnabas Smith,
from Washington county, who joined the County
Medical Society August 7th, 1806, while a resi
dent of Scipio, probably came here about that
time and practiced till his death, about 1813.
John Thompson came from Washington county,
where he had married Dr. Smith's daughter,
about the close of the war of 1812, in which he
was a surgeon, and practiced here till 1843, when
he retired. Pie joined the County Medical So
ciety November 7th, 18 16. He was born P'eb
ruary nth, 1784, and died December 15th, 1854.
Pie was succeeded by Denison R. Pearl, whp
was born in Paris, Oneida county, October 9th,
1806 ; educated at Hamilton College ; studied
medicine with Drs, Peck and Clark at Whites-
town, and with Dr. P. B. Havens at Plamilton,
Madison county ; graduated at Fairfield Medical
College in 1828 ; commenced practice in May of
that year at Northville, where he practiced six
years ; and in 1843 commenced practice at
Sherwood, where he has since continued, having
occupied the interval of nine years in the pursuit
of other business. Scipio Summit.
Scipio Summit is situated in the south part
of the town, nearly equi-distant from Scipio Cen
ter, Scipioville and Sherwood, and is the north
ern terminus of the Utica, Ithaca & Elmira
Railroad. It contains two stores, one of which
is kept in the basement of a dwelling house, and
the other at the station, these being about the
only buildings in the immediate locality of the
station. The post-office was established here
January ist, 1876. Charles A. Morgan was
appointed postmaster, and has since held the
office. Merchants. — The first merchant at Scipio
Summit was Charles A. Morgan, who commenced
business November 27th, 1872, and still continues.
Mr. Morgan also deals in lumber, and, in com
pany with Charles Elliott, in grain, of which
they handle about 75,000 bushels per annum.
Mr. Morgan is also agent for the railroad, and for
the A. and P. Telegraph Company.
E. S. Miller and John Snyder commenced
business under the name of E. S. Miller & Co.,
in May, 1876. After about a year W. G. Hos
kins, from Auburn, bought Snyder's interest, and
73-»

the firm has since done business under the name
of Hoskins & Miller. Ensenore.
Ensenore, (Culvers Point p. o,,) is situated on
the shore of the lake, and on the Southern Cen
tral Railroad, by which it is about twelve miles
south of Auburn, a little south of the center of
the east line of the town. This place has gained
some notoriety of late as a theatre of aquatic
sports. Plotel accommodations are furnished by
George Clark, proprietor of the Ensenore Glen
House, which stands at the foot of the glen.
At The Square, in the north-west corner of
the town, is a small Presbyterian church, which
was organized about 1825, in which year their
house of worship was built. The pastors who
have officiated at this church are Revs. Clark,
Avery, Baker, Page, Moses Thatcher, Atherton,
Lansing, Porter, Atwood, Gilbert, Ebenezer
Squire and Robert Allison, the latter of whom,
who left in the fall of 1876, was- the last settled
pastor. The pulpit has since been supplied
mostly by students from Auburn Theological
Seminary. A little east of Barbers Corners is a Friends
meeting house (Hicksite) which was built in
1822. The society was formed shortly before
and met previous to the erection of the house of
worship, in the house of Amos Gifford.
About a mile south-east of Bolts Corners is a
grist-mill owned by J. S. Wood & Son, (George,)
which was built by James Akin, father of David
Akin. It is situated on Salmon Creek, contains
three run of stones, and is operated by water and
steam.
Societies. — Cayuga Lodge, No. 221, F. &¦ A.
M., received their warrant June 13th, 185 1. The
first officers were William Taber, W. M.; Amzi
Wood, 5. W.; Amos Morgan, J. W. Others
of the charter members were Williams Fish, Ben
jamin Lamkin, Geo. Whitfield, Phineas Hurd,M.
D., and Allen Thomas. Amzi Wood and George
Whitfield are still living, the former in Auburn
and the latter in Scipio. The whole number of
persons who have been members of the lodge is
180; the present number of members is 87.
The present officers are Frank Kenyon, W. M.;
Amos E. Hutchison, 5. W.; Josiah L. Streeter,
J. W.; John Snyder, Secretary; James K. Smith,
Treasurer; William S. Degroff, 6". D.; William

432

TOWN OF VENICE.

Wheat, J. D.; John W. Chamberlain, S. M.
C; John Crawfoot, J. M. C; Calvin W. Wat
tles, Tiler; Leddra W. Watkins, Chaplain; War
ren B. Tompkins, Marshal ; Jonas Wood, Dan
iel Nichols and Franklin P. Poppins, Trustees.
Following are the names of other past Masters :
George Whitfield, Amzi Wood, John Bowen,
Andrew Race, Selah Cornwell, Isaac Jump, War
ren B. Tompkins and Wm. L. Jaquett. Meet
ings are held the first and third Wednesdays'of
each month at Scipio Center.

CPIAPTER XLVH.
Town of Venice.
VENICE was formed from Scipio January
30th, 1823, and derives its name from
Venice, a city in Italy. It is an interior town,
lying in the south part of the County, at the head
of Owasco Lake, which borders upon the north
east corner. It is bounded on the north by
Scipio, on the east by Moravia and Locke, on the
south by Genoa, and on the west by Ledyard.
The surface is a rolling upland, whose summits
are 300 to 400 feet above Owasco Lake. The
declivities on the lake and west bank of Salmon
Creek are steep, though generally the hillsides
are long, narrow slopes.
Its waters are Salmon and Little Salmon Creeks
and their tributaries, and numerous small streams,
which head in the east part and flow east, emp
tying into the lake and its inlet. The Salmon,
which heads in Scipio, and the Little Salmon,
which heads in the north-west part of Venice,
flow south, the former through the central, and
the latter, the western portion of thc town, through
deep valleys, which divide the surface into well
defined ridges.
Limestone boulders found upon the surface
have been burned, but there are no limestone
quarries in the town. There are several slate
quarries, the principal one of which is on the farm
of P. K. Storms, two miles south-west of Venice
Center, which has been worked more or less for
fifty years, but more extensively recently than
ever before. The strata vary from one to six
inches in thickness ; thus furnishing an excellent

flagging stone of almost any desired thickness.
Slate also crops out in several places upon the
farm of Lyman Murdock, one-half mile south of
Venice Center ; upon the farms of William Jack
son and James H. Wallace, the former one and
one-half miles south, and the latter two miles
south-cast of that village ; and other places along
the hillsides, upon both sides of the creek, in all
of which it has been quarried to some extent.
Sand and gravel beds abound in the flats along
Salmon Creek, and both are used to improve the
roads. The soil is a highly productive gravelly
and clayey loam, admirably adapted to grain.
The Utica, Ithaca & Elmira R. R. extends
through the center of the town, along the valley
and on the east side of Salmon Creek. The
Southern Central R. R. crosses the north-east
corner of the town and has a station (Cascade)
within its limits. The former road is also known
as the western extension of the Midland R. R..
It is leased by the Utica, Ithaca & Elmira R. R.
Co., and was opened in 1872.
The population of the town in 1875 was 1,753;
of whom 1,585 were native; 168 foreign ; 1,739
white ; and 14, colored. Its area was 24,996
acres ; of which 20,956 were improved ; 3,854
woodland ; and 186 otherwise unimproved.
A portion of the tract known as the Indian
Fields lies in this town, and has given evidence
at various times and in various ways of Indian
occupancy. When the railroad was built through
the town along Salmon Creek, in cutting through
a bed of excellent gravel on the Benjamin Whit-
ten farm, three and one-half miles south of Ven
ice Center, a large quantity of human bones were
exhumed. The first white settlers found upon
the Creek near the center of the town, extensive
fields, cleared and cultivated, and near them an
Indian buryingground. Upon the ridge, east of
the Creek, near the south border of the lown, are
the remains of an ancient fortification.
The settlement of Venice was contemporary
with the neighboring-towns. It is probable that
the first settlement was made as early as 1790,
although we have been unable to discover any
data which fully establish the fact. The town
records of Scipio, before the division of that town,
show that Luke Taylor settled as early as 1794 ;
Henry Hewitt and Samuel Chidsey, as early as
1795 ; Zebulon Taylor, as early as 1796; Zadoc
Bateman and Thomas Cannon, as early as 179S ;

EARLY SETTLEMENTS.

433

and Josiah Beard, as early as 1800, while it is
nearly certain that they settled earlier, some of
them several years, as well as some whose names
do not appear in the town records.
Luke Taylor came in from Massachusetts, in
1794, and settled where Alonzo Stewart, who
married Taylor's grand-daughter, now lives, a lit
tle west of East Venice, and died there Decem
ber 4th, 1 84 1, aged 87. Elizabeth, his wife, died
March 16th, 1813, aged 57. Two children are
living, viz : Mary, widow of Erastus Carpenter,
with her son-in-law, Alonzo Stewart, in Venice,
and Esther, widow of Asa Sawtelle, in Elba,
Genesee county. Zebulon Taylor, a brother of
Luke's, came in from Massachusetts, a little ear
lier than the latter, probably in 1793, and settled
where James Youngs now lives. The old house
in which he lived is still standing in a dilapidated
condition, though not used as a dwelling-house.
He sold out and removed with his family to Elba,
where he died. The house in which he lived
was built in 1800. Pie kept tavern in it several
years. Plis son John is living near the farm
upon which he settled in Elba. Luke's grand
children who are living, are : Harvey Mills, son of
Caty, wife of John Mills ; Betsey Ann, wife of
Alonzo Stewart, and Henry Taylor, children of
Abner Taylor, who died February 23d, 1872, aged
81 years and n months ; Lewis E., and William
PI. Carpenter, children of Mary, wife of Erastus
Carpenter, in Auburn ;. Eliza, widow of Lyman
Hinman and Catharine, wife of Justus Whipple,
also children of Caty, wife of John Mills, in Au
burn ; and Julia Ann, wife of Lewis Ludlow,
daughter of Rev. liull Taylor, who died January
27th, 1873, aged 91, also in Auburn. Caty died
January I2th, i8n, aged 30 ; and her husband,
Capt. John Mills, April 28th, 1852, aged 80.
Hehry Plewitt came in from Connecticut, a little
later than Luke Taylor, and settled a little north
of East Venice, where PVederick B. Lester now
lives. He removed to Michigan, at an advanced
age, to join his children who had previously set
tled there, and died soon after. Cyrus Plampton,
a grand-child, and the only one living in this part
of the country, keeps the toll-gate a little south
of Moravia. Samuel Chidsey settled at Poplar
Ridge. Deacon Zadoc Bateman was from Ver
mont. He settled one mile west of East Ven
ice, on the farm now occupied by Benj. P. Cogs
well, where he died September 22d, 1842, aged

80, and Lucy W., his wife, January 8th, 1852,
aged 81. He was justice of the peace a great
many years. Lucina, his youngest child, who
married Daniel T. Reed, and is now living in
LeRoy, Genesee county, is the only one of his
children living. Thomas Cannon settled one
mile west of Venice Center, on the farm now oc
cupied by Isaac Saxon, and died there. John
Hutchinson, who was born near Springfield,
Mass., came in from Columbia county, (where he
married Thankful Whitten,) in 1794, and settled
about a mile south of Venice Center, where his
son now lives. He died there November 28th,
1855, aged 87, and his wife, December 17th,
1850, aged 81. He had three sons, Warren,
who was born in Columbia county, in 1792, mar
ried Betsey McLaughlin in Venice, and in 1838,
removed to Summit county, Ohio, where he died
in May, 1871, and his wife in May, 1873, leaving
four sons and six daughters ; Andrew, who was
born in 1791, and still lives on the old homestead
in Venice ; and Silas, who was born in Novem
ber, 1806, married Almira, daughter of Zephaniah
Silcox of Moravia, and settled on a part of his
father's farm, where he died in July, 1878, leav
ing a widow and seven children, FrankHn, Ann,
wife of Charles Crawfoot, Mahala, Amos, John,
Caroline, wife of Henry Kenyon, and Alpheus,
all of whom reside in Venice, except John, who
lives in Scipio.
Amos Hutchinson, father of John, the original
settler, moved in from Columbia county in 1800,
with his sons Amos Jr., and Obediah. He came
with a cart, drawn by four oxen, the journey occu
pying eighteen days. He settled where Eber
Edwards now lives, and died there March i6th,
1827, aged 84. Mary, his wife, died March 12th,
1847, ^gfid 99. Other of his children, in addi
tion to those named, were Shubael, who came
about the same year as his father, and died Oc
tober 1st, 1834, aged 63 ; Percy, who married in
Columbia county, and remained there ; Ann,
who married Joseph Breed, who settled in Che
nango county ; and Polly, who married Daniel
Brinsmaid. None of them are living. Amos,
Jr., died November 15 th, 1867, aged 87 years and
n months; and Obediah, July 2d, 1866, aged
Si- David Avery, who was born in Pequonnock,
Connecticut, in 1779, started for the Military
Tract in 179S, in company with Plezekiah Avery

434

TOWN OF VENICE.

and wife, Daniel Avery and wife, Ebenezer Avery
and wife, Dudley Avery and wife, Nathaniel Gal
lup and wife, and several young men. They
boarded a sloop commanded by Amos Avery, and
proceeded to Albany, making headway at flood-
tide and lying at anchor at ebb-tide ; the voyage
to New York occupying three days, and that up
the Hudson sixteen. PVom Albany their goods
were conveyed by wagons to Schenectady, at
which point each family bought a bateau, and
started up the Mohawk. Before reaching New
York, they were joined by a family named Bab
cock, the head of which died on the way up the
Mohawk, causing a detention of a portion of the
party, who rejoined the advance portion at Little
Falls. With difficulty they made the passage of
the rapids, being twice forced back by the cur
rent, and arriving at Little Falls, their goods
were carried around the falls in wagons and re
loaded, the transfer occupying one day. At Fort
Stanwix, (Rome) their goods and bateaux were
conveyed by wagons through a dense, uninhabi
ted wilderness of thirty miles to Wood Creek,
at the mouth of which they pitched tents, made
fires, and cooked meat. They resumed their
journey by water the next morning, having, while
encamped, rigged sails to their boats, and pro
ceeded by the usual water route to Aurora, hav
ing been forty days in making the journey from
New London. David and his brother Benjamin
worked out that summer, and in the fall, in com
pany with Captain Daniel Avery and others who
joined the company, set out with packs on their
backs for New London. His father Benjamin
moved in with his family the next spring, coming
by the northern water route, and settled at Tal
cotts Corners, (Ledyard,) where he died. He as
sisted in the erection of the first court house at
Aurora after the removal of the County seat from
Cayuga in 1804. It consisted of posts set in the
ground, supporting poles covered with boughs.
Daniel Avery had previously settled near Au
rora in 1793. David and Benjamin, Sr., settled
at Talcotts Corners, the former in Venice, where
Elisha Cobb now lives, and where he died No
vember 27th, 1856, and the latter in Ledyard,
in the house next north of the church, and died
there January 27th, 18 16. Benjamin, his son,
who was born November 25 th, 1776, succeeded
his father to the homestead, and died there Jan
uary 31st, 1866, aged 90. Two of David's

daughters are living, viz : Nancy, wife of Nathan
iel Walker, in Cattaraugus county, and Fanny,
widow of I. Johnson Tillottson, in Auburn. The
children of Benjamin, Jr., living, are Alfred, in
Genoa, Edgar, in Colorado, and Charles, in
Venice. None of the elder Benjamin's children
are living. Ebenezer Avery settled a half mile
east of Poplar Ridge. Shortly before his death
he removed to Collins, Erie county, where he and
his wife died. Only one daughter of a large
family is living, viz : Lucy, wife of Sylvester
Richmond, in Mt. Morris. Judge Nathaniel
Gallup, who married Nancy Rogers, a cousin of
Benjamin and David Avery, settled in Sempro
nius. James Stevenson, from Connecticut, settled
about 1795, just north of the south line of Venice>
where Adelbert Young now lives, in the locality
of East Venice, and both he and his wife died
there,the former February 24th, 1825, aged 63, and
the latter in 1843. They left no children. Mr.
Henderson took his grist to Skaneateles to mill,
carrying upon his back a bushel and a half of
wheat at once, and this he continued until the
mill at Monlville was built, usually returning
within the twenty-four hours. On one such oc
casion he failed to return before the following
morning, and his wife, being afraid of the Indians,
started towards dark to the house of their near
est neighbor, a family named Strong, who lived
a mile south of Scipio Center, a distance of
seven miles, with no other road than marked
trees. When she returned in the morning she
found the house burned to ashes, and their store
of provisions either stolen or consumed by the
flames which destroyed their dwelling. This
was supposed to be the work of Indians.
Joshua Murdock, who was born in Windham,
Connecticut, October 9th, 1763, removed with
his father's family to Bennington, Vermont, where
he spent two years in the clothing business. He
afterwards followed the vocation of a farmer. In
1787, he married Eunice Moore, of Athol, Massa
chusetts, and settled at Granville, Washington
county, and thence in the fall of 1800, he re
moved to Venice Center, and built a log house on
the north-east corner of lot 62, where the State
road crosses Salmon Creek. He took up 250
acres on which he moved his family in the
winter of 1801, bringing with him horses, sleigh,
two yoke of oxen and an ox sled " wood shod,"

EARLY SETTLEMENTS.

43S

seven cows, household furniture and a year's pro
visions. His family then consisted, besides his
wife, of Pamelia, who married Samuel Beeman,
and moved with him to Clarence, Erie county
about 1808, where both died ; Salmon, who died
with his" parents in Venice in 181 5, unmarried;
Mary, who married Plezekiah Murdock, and
moved to Mesopotamia, Trumbull county, Ohio,
where she died ; Lydia, who married Wm. D.
Ledger and removed to Lake county, Illinois,
where she died ; Huldah, who married Anson
Baldwin of Royalton, Niagara county, where she
died ; and Ruby, who married Philip Reynolds,
removed to Mesopotamia, Ohio, and subsequent
ly went to live with her sons near Fond du Lac,
Wisconsin, where she now resides. . Lyman, an
other son' was born in Venice, August 8th, 1804,
and lived on the homestead farm seventy-two
years. He now resides in North Candor.
January, 1801, Jo.shua Murdock built a log barn
on the site of W. R. Cannon's store. In 1802, he
built a saw-mill on the south-east corner of his 250
acres. In 18 16, he built the family residence,
now occupied by his grandson, M. W. Murdock.
He died on the old homestead December 13th,
1845, aged 82 ; and his wife, August 21st, 1839,
aged 78.
• Lyman, his son, has been largely interested in
the growth and prosperity of Venice Center,
where his father was the first settler, and promi
nently identified with its material interests and
enterprises. In 1820, at the age of sixteen, he
took the management of the farm. In 182 1, he,
in company with his neighbors, the Fishes, built
a saw-mill on the site of the old one, on the south
east corner of the farm. September 5th, 1824,
he married Clarinda, daughter of Captain Alan
son Tracy, of Scipio, and bought 150 acres of
the old homestead farm, but continued to work
the whole farm. In the fall of 1826, he built an
addition to the homestead and commenced keep
ing a public house, in which also the town meet
ings and other elections were held and other town
business transacted for many years. That build
ing, which was the first tavern at Venice Cen
ter, forms the east end of the present tavern, and
was moved to its present site, in 1835, when the
addition was built.
In 1834 he built a grist-mill on the site of the
present one ; and in 1835 he built a saw-mill ad
jacent to it. The same year (1835) he built the

present tavern at Venice Center ; and gave one
acre of land to Philander Tracy, who built thereon
that year, the first store in that village. From
1850, he has been connected pecuniarily and of
ficially with railroad projects, which culminated
in the establishment of the road which runs
through the central part of the town. Lyman's
children are Evandcn, who married Margaret
Wood, of Venice, who has two sons, Clarence and
Lyman, and is living at Cedar Falls, Iowa ; Mary
A., widow of Stephen Howard, who has two
daughters, Gertrude and Minnie, and is living at
Sherwood ; Miss Clarinda R., an artist, residing
in Ecouen, France; Lyman T., who married H.
Eliza Hull, of Genoa, by whom he has one son,
John PL, and is living at Venice Center, where
he is engaged in farming, dealing in produce, is
station agent, and, until the spring of 1877, car
ried on the milling business ; Eugene B., who
died in i866; and M. Wellington, who married
Mary Lyman, of Venice, by whom he has one
daughter, and is living on the old homestead.
Samuel Mosher, from Rhode Island, also came
in 1800, and settled two miles north-east of East
Venice, where James Pleaton now lives. After
about ten years he traded his farm for an interest
in a grist-mill in the south part of the town, near
Tabor & Whitney's saw-mill, below the Willow
bridge, which was built about 1808, by Benjamin
Beardsley, who came in from Connecticut; in
1801, and settled first a mile north of Venice,
afterwards removed to the east part of the town,
and subsequently bought the mill property in
question. This was the first grist-mill in Venice.
It had one run of "rock" stones, which ground
wheat, corn and feed indifferently, and was driven
by an overshot wheel. It was in operation till
about 1835. About 1812, Mosher traded his in
terest in the mill for the farm now occupied by
his son Arvid Mosher, in Genoa, where he died
May 4th, 1 87 1, aged 90, and Philomelia, his wife,
October i6th, 1868, aged 77. Three children
are living besides Arvid, all in Venice, viz: Em
ily, wife of Ephraim Andrews, Lovice, wife of
Squire Raymond, and Hermon. Benjamin
Beardsley died with his daughter, Philomelia,
who married Samuel Mosher, June 6th, 1837^
aged 83 ; and his wife, Amelia, June 14th, 1849,
aged 89. He was a cousin to John and Sher
man Beardsley, the former of whom settled in
Scipio in 1808, and the latter in Venice, about

436

TOWN OF VENICE.

the same time that Benjamin came in. He
(Sherman) built the old stone store at Venice.
Eliphalet Beardsley, son of Benjamin, is living
in Essex county, and is the only one of the chil
dren living. Silas Skeels came in with Benjamin
Beardsley, from the same place, and settled about
two and one-half miles from Genoa. Pie after
wards removed to Ohio and died there.
Josiah Beard was a cousin of Joshua Murdock's
and came in with the latter from Vermont in
1800. He settled on lot 62, a half mile south of
Venice Center, on the farm now owned by Ly
man T. Murdock, from which the cemetery at
Venice Center was taken. He died there July
30th, 1 82 1, aged fifty-eight. His family moved
west at an early day. Two children are living,
Aaron, in Ohio, and Ann, wife of Lockwood
Rundell, in Genoa. Joseph Stewart, from Con
necticut, settled about 1800 at the Corners,
(Venice,) which for many years, and even now
perpetuates his name, where for some twenty
years he kept the first tavern. He removed with
his family to Michigan. Ezekiel Landon, Samuel
Robinson and Amos Rathbun were among the
first settlers, the former two at Venice, and the
latter at Poplar Ridge.
Other early settlers, some of them among the
first, though we have not been able to ascertain
the exact date of their settlement, were William
Bennett, who came from one of the eastern coun
ties with ax upon his shoulder, and settled first a
mile north of Venice, afterwards removing to that
village, where he died in the house now occupied
by John Seymour, November 29th, 1855, aged
seventy-six, and Urania, his wife, September
I2th, 1848, aged sixty-six, and three of whose
sons are living, viz : William D. and DeWitt
C, in Auburn, and Henry M., in Moravia;
James Glover, from one of the New luigland
States, who took up lot 51, and settled about a
half mile north of Venice, of which village he
was the first postmaster, and who removed at an
early day to Bolts Corners, and afterwards to the
west; James Thompson, who settled two and
one-half miles south of Venice Center, on the
farm afterwards occupied by his son James, (who
removed about 1847 to Ohio, where he is now
living,) and now owned by Henry Taylor, where
he died April 24th, 1843, aged seventy-nine, and
Rachel, his wife, March 14th, 1843, aged seventy-
two, and whose son Lovel, settled in the same

locality and died there April 19th, 1871, aged
seventy-one ; Elijah Chapin, who settled about
two miles south of Venice Center, on the
farm now occupied by Daniel Hammond, where
he died March 22d, 1830, aged sixty-nine, and
four of whose children are living, viz : Orlin,
in Scipio, Walter R., in Iowa, Mary Ann, wife
of Nelson Morgan, in Venice, and Sarah, wife of
Charles Manahan, in Ohio ; Benjamin Whitten,
who settled three and a half miles south of
Venice Center, on the farm now occupied by
John Myers, where he died June 26th, 1846, aged
sixty-four, and two of whose sons are living, viz :
Benjamin, on an adjoining farm, and Job, near East
Venice ; Cornelius Brill, who settled three miles
south-west of Venice Center, where his son,
Thorn Brill, now lives, and where he 'died Sep
tember 28th, 1868, aged seventy-four; Thomas
E. Doughty, who settled about three miles south
west of Venice Center, where Hoyt Thie now
lives, near where he died October 15th, 1862
aged seventy-six, and three of whose children are
living, viz : Thomas E. and Charles, in Michigan,
and George, in Iowa ; Joseph Tick ner, who set
tled a half mile east of Venice Center, on the
farm now owned by Josiah Moss, where he died
May 9th, 1839, aged eighty-three, and whose
family moved west soon after his death ; Tim
othy Green, a man of great muscular develop
ment, who often astonished his neighbors and
others with exhibitions of his great physical
strength, who settled two and a half miles south
of Venice Center, where O. M. Streeter now
lives, and died there July 26th, 183 1, aged fifty-
four ; David Wood, who settled about a mile west
of Venice Center, where he died, whose son
James settled in Moravia, on the line of Genoa,
and died there, leaving one son, Hampton, who
is living in Monlville, and whose grandsons
James and Jonas, are living on thc old Wilson
farm in Genoa ; Plenry C. Ames, falher of Elder
Bishop Ames, who died here June 22d, 1869,
aged seventy-two ; Deacon Jared Foote, from
Vermont, father of Dr. Jared Foote, Jr., who
afterwards removed to Rushville and died there •
Wm. Mosher, who settled first in the east part
of the town, on the farm now occupied by Geo.
Smith, and afterwards removed to the west part,
where he died in 1833, and whose son William,
the only one of his children living, is residing in
Michigan ; and Isaac Morse, who came from

EARLY SETTLEMENTS.

437

Vermont, and settled a little south of Venice,
and died July i ith, 1864, aged eighty-two. Those.
of his children who are living are : Ursula, wife
of Alva Fitch, and Isaac, in Scipio, Josiah, in
Moravia, Sophia, wife of George Manahan, in
Ohio, Francana, wife of M. M. Baldwin, in Holley,
Orleans county, where she and her husband are
noted school teachers, and Lovina, who married
a man named Salisbury, and is living in New
York. Augustus Taber came from Stephentown,
Rensselaer county, in 1801, and settled about a
mile north of East Venice, where John Smith
now lives. About 18 12 he sold to Isaac Cox,
who came in that year from Coxsackic, and re
moved to Genoa. He subsequently removed lo
Scipio and afterwards to Castile and to Marion,
in the latter of which places his wife died. Four
children are living, viz : Augustus in Castile,
Record, in Portage, and Alfred and Charlotte,
wife of Thomas Youngs, in Venice. John Tifft
and Capt. Asa Burch came in company from Ste
phentown in 1 80 1, a little before Taber. Tifft
settled about one and one-half miles north-west
of East Venice, where Samuel Weeks now lives,
and died there August 20th, 1848, aged 72 ; and
Burch, who was a native of Stephentown, opposite
to him, on the east side, where David Nettleton
now lives. Burch was a soldier in the war of
1 81 2. He was born July 3d, 1775, and died
November 3d, 1854. Abigail Rose his wife,
who was born in Stephentown, March 2d, 1777,
died July 22d, 1843. Four children are living in
the west. Hiram and John, sons of Tifft, are liv
ing, the former in Auburn, and the latter, in Nor
walk, Ohio. Gilbert Young came in from Nor-
ristown, N. J., in 1802, and settled about a half
mile south-west of P'ast Venice, on the farm
now occupied by Elihu Slocum, where he died
in November, 1836, aged 85, and his wife, Nancy,
January 3d, 1841, aged 85. Two sons, James
and Thomas, both well advanced in years are liv
ing in Venice. Young vvas a founder and wheel-
right and something ofa mathematician. About
1 8 14, he built a saw-mill on a branch of Salmon
Creek, in the south-east part of the town ; and
about two years later a grist-mill, (the second in
the town,) with two run of stones, and driven
by an overshot wheel. They were in operation
till about 1830.
Jacob Morgan came in from Bern, Albany
74-4

county, in 1807, with his family, consisting of
his wife Lois, and six children, Jacob, Jr., who af
terwards married Lucretia, daughter of Jonathan
Fanning of Corning, and settled in Scipio, where
his widow now lives, and where he died Novem
ber 23d, 1872, aged 83 ; Lois, afterwards wife of
Joseph Strong, who removed with her husband
to Chautauqua county, and died there ; Wm. A.,
who married Mary Carpenter, and afterwards re
moved to P'lcming, where he died, May 26tb,
1873, aged 78 ; Nathan G., who married Ann
Allen, removed to Springport, where he died,
June 1 6th, i86g, aged 69, and was a Member of
Assembly in 1838 and '39 ; Eunice, who married
Williams P'ish, and died in Venice, where her
husband also died, April 14th, 1868, aged 76;
Adeline, widow of Edward Aiken, who is now liv
ing in Janesville, Wisconsin, and is the only one
of the children living. He settled one mile north
of Venice Center, where he resided till within
eighteen months of his death, when he went to
live with his daughter Lois, in Chautauqua coun
ty, and died there December 15th, 1855, aged
87. He was commissioned a Captain of militia
by Gov. Morgan Lewis in 1S17. Numerous
grand-children are living indifferent parts ofthe
country, five in this County, viz : Nelson, Silas
G., and Harvey in Venice, and William A., in
Scipio, all sons of Jacob Morgan, Jr., and Lois,
wife of D. C. Bennett, of Auburn.
Samuel Greenleaf and David Fish came in
from Albany county, the same year, (1807,) and
settled, the former in the north-west part of the
town, and the latter, a little south of Venice Cen
ter, where Wm. E. Miller now lives, and died
there January 15th, 1838, aged 77. Greenleaf
was a soldier in the warof 1812, and died in 1813,
from disease contracted while in the army. His
family removed to Locke in 1813, and his son
William is novv living there. Samuel, another
son, is. living in Canandaigua, and his daughter,
Minerva, widow of Jasper M. Bosworth, in Bing-
hamton. None of Fish's children are living. His
son Williams, who married Eunice, daughter of
Jacob Morgan, and succeeded his father to the
homestead, leaves four children, Emily, widow of
John Wood, living in Elmira, Lois, wife of Clin
ton Bennett, in Auburn, Eunice, wife of Charles
Doughty, in Michigan, and Williams, in Missouri.
Titus Fish, Sr., brother of David Fish, also from
Albany county, settled a year or two after David

438

TOWN OF VENICE.

one-half mile north of Venice Center, on the
farm now occupied by Smith Pierce, where he
died August 12th, 1849, ^S^d 80. Three chil
dren are living, Eslie, in Janesville, Wisconsin,
John in Walworth county, Wisconsin, and
Delilah, wife of Charles Baldwin, in Michigan.
Benjamin Arnold, a native of Rhode Island,
came in from Stephentown, Rensselaer county
previous to 1812, and settled about two miles
south of Venice, where Nelson Parker now lives,
where he died February Sth, 1870, aged 85.
Four children are living, Alonzo and Albert T.,
in Venice, Ardasa, widow of Geo. Tifft, in Au
burn, and Almira, widow of Moses Camp, in Mt.
Morris. Luther, William and Calvin Wheat,
brothers, from Albany, settled about 1817, on
adjoining farms, a Httle south-east of Venice
Center, Luther, where Charles Plunsiker now
lives, William, where David Putnam now lives,
and Calvin, where his daughters Paulina and
Charlotte now live. Each died upon the farm on
which he settled, Luther, July nth, 1843, aged
55'; and William, November 28th, 1865, aged 84.
Three of Luther's children are living, Almira,
widow of Daniel Ellsworth, in Venice, and Al
meron and Edwin, in Illinois. Frederick, who
resides in Venice, is the only one of William's
children living. Three of Calvin's children are
living, Charlotte, wife of Pliram HiU, and Pau
lina, in Venice, and Emily, wife of A. Buckley, in
Skaneateles. Town Officers. — The first town meeting
was held at the house of Jacob Young, April ist^
1823, and the following named officers were
elected : Barnabas Smith, Supervisor ; Asa
Burch, Clerk; David Fish, David Husted and
Cary V^eed, Assessors ; Wm. Bennett, Jacob Mor
gan and Josiah Tupper, Commissioners of High
ways ; John Tifft and Edward Robertson, Over
seers of the Poor ; Wm. A. Morgan, Collector;
Lemon Cole and Daniel Truman, Constables;
Richard Talcott, John Beardsley and John Clark,
Commissioners of Common Schools and Lot No. i
Scipio ; Jared Foote, Benjamin A. Dunning and
Wilber Gardner, Inspectors of Common Schools ;
John Tifft, Joseph Bishop and David Avery,
Fence Viewers ; and Amos Plutchinson, Pound-
Keeper. The present officers (1879) are :
Supervisor — Elisha Cook.
Town Clerk — John L. Manchester.

Justices— Lyman T. Murdock, James Pleaton
Elisha B. Cobb, and Dexter Wheeler.
Commissioner of Highways — John Tifft.
Assessors — Philip PI. Miller, Wm. Jennings and
Plenry Kenyon.
Inspectors of Election — E. B. Cobb, Charles
D. DeVine and George Crawfoot.
Overseers of the Poor — Nelson Morgan and
Benj. F. Barnes.
Collector — John PI art.
Constables— George Tibits, Wm. PI. Nichols,
George Crawfoot and A. J. Hodge.
Notaries — Wm. H. Manchester, Sidney Mosh
er, Albert Gallup and Lyman T. Murdock.
Venice Center.
Venice Center is situated about a mile north
of the center of the town, on the U., I. & E. R. R ,
and is distant from Auburn about fourteen miles,
and from Aurora and Moravia about eight miles.
It contains a hotel, (kept by Streeter & Crawfoot,)
a district school, one general store, a grocery,
agristandsaw-mill, a wood working establishment,
started in 1877, by John C. Streeter, the present
proprietor, two blacksmith shops, (kept by S.
Bachman and S. Donovan,) a wagon shop, (kept
by John C. Streeter,) a shoe shop, (kept by O.
Kelly,) a harness shop, (kept by A. S. Brooks,)
Murdock's Hall, built in 1875, ^"d used for re
ligious services and other purposes, and a popula
tion of 74.
Merchants. — The first merchant at Venice
Center was Philander Tracy, who commenced
business in 1835, and continued three years,
when he was succeeded by Richard T. King, who
did business several years. He was succeeded
after an interval of a few years by Nelson
Brownell, who did business from 1848101850.
Daniel Cannon opened a store about 1850, and
continued it some two yeans, when he sold to
Charles Doughty, who kept it about three years.
Daniel Cannon again opened a store and kept it
about one and one-half years, when he sold to
George D. Corliss, who ran it a short time and
failed. PI. M. Bennett next opened a store,
which he kept about a year, when he sold to
Daniel Cannon, who after a short time sold to
A. B. Thompsoh, who kept it some four or five
years, and sold to Thomas Cannon, who was as
sociated one year with Amos Hutchinson, and
sold in the fall of 1875, to William R. Cannon,

VENICE VILLAGE.

439

who now carries on the business. Harvey Mor
gan and Amos Hutchinson opened the grocery
in the hotel building in 1874. In 1877, Morgan
bought Hutchinson's interest, and in October,
1878, he sold to David Nolan, who now carries
on the business.
Postmasters. — The post-office was established
about 1852 or '3, with Daniel Cannon as post
master. The present postmaster is Harvey Mor
gan, who was appointed in 1875.
Physicians. — The first physician at Venice
Center was H. D. Whitbeck, who came from
Venice in 1872, and practiced some two years.
E. Rothwell, from Michigan, came in 1875, atid
left in 1876, removing to Ludlowville. Miss
Mary Kenyon, a native of the town, daughter of
Job Kenyon, commenced practice here in 1876,
and removed to Moravia in 1877. They have
had no settled physician since.
Manufactures. — The grist and saw-mifl at
Venice Center are owned by H. Thomas, who
bought the property of Lyman T. Murdock,
in April, 1877. The grist-mill was built by
Lyman T. Murdock, in 1868, and the saw-mill,
which joins it, was built by him in 1871. The
former occupies the site of the grist-mill erected
by Lyman Murdock; father of Lyman T., in
1834. Lyman owned the mill property, with the
exception of two years, when it was in possession
of Plenry Pancost, till 1854, in which year it came
into the hands of Lyman T., who retained it till
April, 1877. The building is of wood ; the main
part, or grist-mill, 30 by 50 feet, three stories high,
and the saw-mill, 24 by 60 feet, two stories.
Connected with it also is a planing and matching-
mill and wood-working shop, containing about
1300 square feet, which was built in 1871. The
motive power consists of both water and steam,
the former being furnished by Salmon Creek,
from which the water is conducted by a race 200
rods long, and the latter by a thirty horse-power
engine. The grist-mill contains three run of
stones, one for flour, one for feed and one for
buckwheat, which are driven, besides the engine,
by two Leffell water wheels, one 15^, and the
other 23 inches in diameter. The saw-mill is
driven by a Waldo turbine water wheel, thirty
inches in diameter.
Venice Village. ¦
Venice, also known as Stewarts Comers, is sit
uated in the north-east part of the town, about

one and one-fourth miles east of Venice Center,
and contains one church, (Baptist,) a district
school, one hotel, (kept by Benjamin Kniffin,) one
store, two blacksmith shops, (one of which is
kept by Mansfield Hoagland, the other being un
occupied,) a wagon shop, (kept by David Haw
ley,) and a population of about eighty.
Merchants. — Simeon Plurlbut, who opened a
store about 1800, was probably thc first mer
chant at Venice. He did business several years
and failed. He was succeeded by Sherman
Beardsley, who did business till his removal to
Auburn, about two years before John Beardsley,
who subsequently opened a store about eighty
rods north of the village, in the locality of Wm.
P. Purdy's house, which was the one occupied by
him, and removed to Auburn about 1838, while a
member of the State Legislature. Captain Wm.
Bennett and his son-in-law, Ezra W. Bateman,
son of Zadoc Bateman, bought out Sherman
Beardsley about 1836, and did business till. 1842,
when they dissolved, and Wm. D. Bennett, son
of Captain Wm. Bennett, carried on the business
a few years, and removed the goods to Locke.
David Fish and Charles Doughty opened a store
about 1858, and kept it two or three years. Ezra
W. Bateman opened a store sometime after,
which he kept till the year before his death, (he
died October 9th, 1870, aged 65,) when hesoldto
David Woodford, who sold, in the spring of 1872,
to Austin Wood, Jr,, who still carries on the
business. Postmasters. — The post-office was establish
ed at Venice, (then Stewarts Corners^ as Scipio,
April 1st, 1810, with James Glover as postmas
ter. Pie was succeeded by Sherman Beardsley,
who held thc office from about thc time he com
menced mercantile business here till his removal
to Auburn, as late as 1836. Ezra W. Bateman
next received the appointment, and was postmas
ter in 1842. Peter Price next held it a short
time, and removed the office to the store pre
viously occupied by John Beardsley. Andrew
P. Lawson was postmaster in 1846; William D.
Bennett as early as 1851 and as late as 1854;
David Fish, in 1857; and Wilson D. Divine, in
1859. Divine held the office two or three years,
and was succeeded by Ezra W. Bateman, who
held it till within a short period of his death,
(in 1870,) and was succeeded for a short interval
by Lucian Bateman, who held the office in 1868,

440

TOWN OF VENICE.

when Benjamin Kniffin, thc present incumbent,
was appointed.
Physicians. — Dr. Silas Holbrook was the first
physician at Venice of whom we have any knowl
edge. He was from the New England States ;
was licensed to practice by a County Judge in
1797, and became a member of the County Med
ical Society at its organization August 7th, 1806.
How early he commenced practice here we are
not advised, but he continued till about 1825,
when he removed to Michigan. He lived one
mile south of Venice. Jared Foote, Jr., studied
with Dr. Holbrook, joined the County Medical
Society February 7th, 1822, and succeeded Plol-
brook in his practice, continuing tifl his death,
February 17th, 1848, aged fifty-two. Foote was
succeeded by Benjamin A. Fordyce, who studied
with him, joined the County Medical Society
June 4th, 1846, and practiced here till his re
moval in the spring of 1866 to Union Springs,
where he now is. Henry D. Whitbeck prac
ticed here three or four years, and returned to
Auburn, whence he came, about 1874. Pie was
the last settled physician.
The Baptist Church of Venice was organ
ized June 9th, 1795, with fourteen members,
eight males and six females, by Elder David
Iri.sh, who was one of the fourteen, and who com
menced holding meetings about a year earher.
It was recognized by a council convened for the
purpose on the 22d of the following August.
" At this time, the only white inhabitants within
ten miles of Elder Irish's residence, were about
twenty families ; and such was thfeir destitution
of the comforts of life, that tradition informs us
that during the winter following Elder Irish's
settlement in Scipio, a traveler visited every
house in town, for the! purpose of finding accom
modations for himself and horses, without suc
cess. As a last resort, he applied to Elder
Irish, who being, like others, destitute ofa barn,
received both the traveler and his horses into
his house, and furnished them accommodations
for the night." Soon after the recognition of
the church nineteen were added to their number
by letter. July 29th, 1797, occurred the first
baptism. The first exclusion of a member oc
curred in December, 1799, for neglect of family
prayer. September 25th, 1799, this church met sister
churches in Palmyra and assisted in the forma

tion of the Scipio General Conference. Elder
Irish's pastorate closed in 1800, and he was suc
ceeded by Rev. Benjamin Whipple, who was
called to the ministry and licensed to preach
May 15th, 1800, five days previous to the re
moval of Elder Irish to P'leming to take charge
of the lurst Church in Aurelius. Brother Whip
ple continued his membership three or four
years. In 1803 a division arose in the Church which
finally resulted in its separation into two bands,
each claiming to be the First Church in Scipio.
In May, 181 1, Asa Turner became the pastor,
and continued his labors with them nearly three
years, adding 19310 the membership. He was
followed by Elder Philander Kelsey, who com
menced his labors in the summer of 18 15, and
was ordained pastor January lOth, 1816. Dur
ing that period the difficulties which had so long
agitated the Church were happily settled by the
dissolution of the "West Scipio Church," and the
return ofthe forty-two members constituting it to
this Church. Elder Kelsey closed his labors with
this Church in 1826, having served them eleven
years, during which period 223 were added to it.
Pie was succeeded by Filler Joel W. Clark, who was
disfellowshipped in 1829. In August, 1829, a
call was extended to Elder E. Plarrington, who
labored with them a few months, during which a
revival was experienced, by which forty-nine were
added, including four who. subsequently became
ministers, viz: E. Mosher, R. Winchell, B. Pur
rington and B. Ames, Jr. Their next pastor was
Elder Bishop Ames, who entered upon his la
bors as a licentiate, but was ordained October
3d, 1832. His pastorate, during which thirty-
eight were added to the membership, continued
till 1839, when he was dismissed at his own re
quest, to become pastor of another Church. Pie
was succeeded by Elder II. B. Fuller, who en
tered upon his labors in \8/\o, and continued two
years. In 1843, Elder F. Glanville became the
pastor, and under his ministry seventeen were
added to the Church. Their next pastor was E.
W. Bliss, who commenced his labors as a licen
tiate and vvas ordained early in 1846. He con
tinued his labors with them one year, and was
succeeded by Elcjer A. Knapp in 1847. Elder
Knapp served them two years, and was succeed
ed by Elder Obed Sperry, who remained one
year.

POPLAR RIDGE.

•441

Since 1850 they have been served by the fol
lowing named pastors, Sylvester Gardner, five
years, Anson Clark, three years. Bishop Ames,
most of the time during an indefinite period from
the time Mr. Clark closed his labors until his
successor, Frederick Glanville, took the pastoral
care, the latter of whom served them two years,
Geo. W. Bower and M. H. Perry, each two years,
Chas. A. Harris, six months, Ezra Dean, (a sup
ply,) Chas. Berry and W. P'. Wakefield, each one
year, and S. D. Rose, two years.
The original members were Asa Plarris, Ebene
zer Craw, Alexander Weed, Daniel Howe, Wm.
Howe, Daniel Robison, David Irish, Thomas
Brown, Mercy Irish, Elizabeth Craw, Elizabeth
Weed, Eunice Irish, Sarah Howe and Thankful
Lapham. The following named persons united
with the Church the day of its organization,
Macajah Starr, James Hadley, Jeremiah Bishop,
Jeremiah Bishop, Jr., Caleb Memnon, Timothy
Howe, James Smith, Luther Barney, Alexander
Ewing, John Bowker, Hannah Bishop, Esther
Bowker, Mary Bishop, Ziporah Howe, Margaret
Mumon, Anna Starr, Mary Monday, Alice Plowe,
and Naba Barney.
Their present church edifice was, erected in
i8i2-'i4, and thoroughly repaired ia.^f|^. When
the builder was putting in some part ofthe gal
lery the news of Perry's victory on Lake Eric was
received, and he made a record of it on a board
he happened to have in his hand. Its original
cost was about $4,000; its present value, 1^5,000.
It stands on a fine grass plot, which is set out to
maple trees, and was generously donated to the
Society by Mr. Stewart.
Poplar Ridge.
Poplar Ridge derives its name from the ridge
on which it is located. It is situated in the
north-west corner of the town, about five miles
south-east of Aurora, and contains a district
school, one general store, two hardware stores,
a saw-mill, (owned by John W. Hazard, and
containing one circular saw, a planing machine,
stave machine, with a barrel factory connected,)
a blacksmith and wagon shop, (kept by Hiram
Mcllroy,) a harness shop, (kept by Lewis Os
trander,) a shoe shop, (kept by Patrick Plcllen,)
and a population of about 1 50.
Merchants. — The first merchant is supposed
to have been Jethro Wood, who opened a store

on the site of the one now occupied by Sidney
Mosher, about 1800. The timbers used in its
construction form a part of the present one.
Wood sold about 1815, to Dr. Barnabas Smith,
who put his sons Thomas and Sidney into the
store, which was conducted by them until about
1820, when it came into the hands of William
Mosher, who continued it till his death in 1833.
He took in as partner in the spring of that year,
John Hart, who. in the spring of 1834. admitted
George Mosher. In 1835, Mosher sold to D. &
PI. Wanzer, the latter of whom retired after
about two years, and A. Ward came in. About
1839, -Amasa Day bought Ward's interest. Wan
zer died about 1840, and in 1841 Wm. Sprague
bought out Day. In the spring of 1848 Sprague
admitted Joseph D. Otis, who, in the spring of
i84g, so\d to Sidney Mcsher. In the spring of
185 I, Mosher sold his interest to Wm. Sprague ;
in the spring of 1859 he bought out Sprague,
and has since continued the business. In 1835,
George Mosher buflt a second store, which he
opened in company with John Aug. Dodge,
the latter of whom, after three or four years, sold
to Aug, Mosher, who, after two or three years,
sold to Allen Moshen About 1849 G. Mosher
sold to Thomas E. Doughty, Jr., who, afterabout
two years, also sold to Allen Mosher. After a
year or two Allen Mosher sold to G. Mosher,
who admitted F. A. Raymond about 1859, They
did business together three years, when Ray
mond sold to John Hart, whose interest Mosher
bought after about three years. Three years
later Mosher sold to George H. Mills and Henry
A. Mosher, who continued the business until
about 1872. Charles PI. Lyon opened a store in
1874, and continued two years. W. T. Mosher,
hardware merchant, bought out Austin G. P'os-
ter in 1868. He was associated as partner with
Arthur Parsons in 1872 and '3, and with Henry
Mosher in 1875. Arthur Parsons bought out W.
O. Cory's hardware business in April, 1875, and
in April, 1877, headmittcd James R Howland to
partnership. The business has since been con
ducted under the name o{ Parsons & Ilozvland.
Postmasters. — The post-office at Poplar
Ridge vvas established, through the influence of
Dr. Barnabas Smith, while a Member of Assem
bly in i8i4-'i6: Jethro Wood was probably the
first postmaster. He was the first of whom we
have any authentic record — January 1st, 1823 —

44^

TOWN OF VENICE.

and held it as late as 1825. He kept the office
at his house, about a mile west of the vfllage,
near where William Hazard now lives. Elipha
let Sawyer held the office two or three years, but
whether as postmaster or deputy is not certain.
Wm. Mosher held the office as early as 183 1 and
until his death in 1833. He was succeeded by
John Hart, who held the office about two years,
when George Mosher was appointed and held it
from 1836-40. Asa Shourds next held it one
year, and resigned. He was succeeded by Dan
iel PI. Wanzer, who held it in 1842, but how
much longer we are not advised. S. Wflliam
Sprague held the office as early as 1846 and
as late as 1849. Allen Mosher was then
appointed, and held it until 1853, when William
Sprague was again appointed and continued in
office untfl 1861. He was succeeded by Frank
A. Raymond, who held it till about 1863, when
he resigned, and John Hart was appointed and
held the office till about 1868, when George PI.
Mills received the appointment. He was suc
ceeded about 1873 by Dexter Wheeler, the pres
ent incumbent.
Physicians. — The first physician at Poplar
Ridge was probably Barnabas Smith, who came
in from Washington county, in 1803, was one of
the original members of the County Medical
Society, August 7th, 1806, and practiced here tfll
about-1845. He died here in 1855. Twoofhis
children are living, viz : Catharine, wife of Wm.
Sprague, and Wm. B. Smith, in Warsaw, Wy
oming county. Rufus K. Slosson, a native of
Venice, studied with Dr. Phineas Hurd, and
joined the County Medical Society January 5th,
1843, in which year he commenced practice here,
continuing six or seven years, when he went to
Michigan. There was no regular physician after
that until 1876, when D. E. Mason, also a native
of Venice, an eclectic, who is now attending a
course of lectures in New York, commenced
practice. G. M. Silvers, an allopath, from New
York, commenced- practice here in November,
1878. East Venice.
East Venice is situated in the south-east part
of the town, about three miles south-east of Ven
ice, and four south-west of Moravia. It contains
a store; paint shop, (kept by Alphonzo Cannon,)

a blacksmith shop, (kept by Henry L. Lester,
Jr.,) a carpenter shop, (kept by George Easson,)
twelve houses and thirty-nine inhabitants.
Merchants. — The first merchants at East
Venice were Henry and Charles Hewitt, sons of
Plenry Plewitt, an early settler, who opened a
store shortly before 1812, which they continued
till about 1833, when the building burned. It
stood just back of the house of Henry L. Lester.
The next merchant vvas David Raynor, who, in
1850, opened a store in a dwelling house changed
into a store, which occupied the site of Plenry L.
Lester's house. In the spring of 1851, he sold
to Leonard Noyes, who, in the spring of 1852,
sold to Benjamin F. Snyder, who kept it a short
time, and sold in the spring of 1853 to Samuel
Close. In the fall of 1853, Close sold to Lewis
Seymour, who sold in the fall of 1855 to Fulton
Goodyear, who kept it till December, 1857, when
he sold to Stephen D. Weyant, who kept it till
the spring of 1858, when the store was burned
and he discontinued business. The present
store was built in the fall of 1858, and leased to
Lewis V. Smith and Wm. E. Austin, who com
menced business April 1st, 1859, ^nd continued
untfl 1865, when Smith sold his interest to John
Tifft, who'' continued, in company wilh Austin,
tfll March ist, 1869, when George Smith Young
bought Austin's interest, which he transferred
lo his son, Delmar T. Young, January ist, 1872.
Tifft & Young continued till March 4th, 1873,
when George Smith Young bought Tifft's inter
est, and the business was conducted under the
name of Young & Co. until May ist, 1877, after
which the store was closed until January ist,
1878, when it was rented to Isaac Kimball and
Lewis V. Smith, the present merchants.
Postmasters. — The post-office at East Venice
was established in the summer of 1854, and
Lewis Seymour, through whose instrumentality
it was established, was appointed postmaster. Pie
held it until he left the store, and was followed
by the successive occupants of the store until
1858, who each held the office during the period
he kept the store. George W. Young was ap
pointed in 1858, and held the office till the spring
of 1869, when John Tifft was appointed. He
held it till the spring of 1873, and was succeeded
by George Smith Young, who held it till July
1st, 1877, when George W. Young was reap
pointed and held it till his death, October 9th,

-I

tl

f€)-!.

-MSssssii,.,.^ -> Z-,Kss&:^4''!T:'^ry'^^^'^^''Th^

„* ,-B.V^f.fsfe''^i,-^

CASCADE HOUSE. Head of Owasco Lake. Cayuga Co. N.Y

Resioenoe or NAOMI. RICHARDSON. Union Sprinos.N-Y

.jSjJlj--

M|^

-Ifc

TOWN OF NILES.

443

1878, since which time no appointment has been
made. There have been no physicians at East Venice.
Cascade.
Cascade is a post-station on the Southern
Central Railroad, in the north-east corner of the
town, about four miles north of Moravia. Here
originated thc remarkable phenomena, attributed
by the believers in spiritualism to spirit agency,
which afterwards, a few years since, gave Mo
ravia such notoriety. There is a hotel known
there as the Cascade House, kept by Malcolm
Taylor. A small stream, which rises on the
margin of the bluffs bordering the lake, forms a
beautiful little cascade at this point.
About one and one-half miles east of Ledyard,
on the west line of the town, is a cheese factory,
owned by a stock company, which was organized
about 1873.

CHAPTER XLVIIP
Town of Niles.
NILES was formed from Sempronius
March 20th, 1833, and derives its name
from Elder Robert Niles, a former pastor of the
First Baptist Church of Sempronius. It lies upon
the east border of the County south of the cen
ter, between Owasco and Skaneateles Lakes, the
former of which forms the west, and- the latter
the east boundary. It is bounded on the north
by the towns of Owasco and Skaneateles, and on
the south by those of Moravia and Sempronius.
The surface consists mainly ofa hilly and roll
ing upland, whose highest summits are 700 feet
above Owasco Lake. Toward the Owasco the
declivities are gradual, but toward the Skaneate
les they arc more abrupt. Dutch Hollow Brook,
rising near the center, and flowing north through
a hollow bordered by high, steep hills, and Bear
Swamp Creek, flowing north through the east
part into Skaneateles Lake, are the only consid
erable streams.
Limestone of good quality crosses the town
in a generally east and west direction, and is ex
posed on the Drake farm in the east part, on the
Chauncey Abbott, Jacob Cuykendall and Abram
75-2

VanEtten farms in the central part, and on the
Levi Cuykendall farm in the west part, in each
of which cases it comes to the surface and is
quarried for building stone. That on the Ab
bott farm has been burned for lime. South of
the limestone ledge, and in about the same direc
tion, is a ledge of slate rock, which crops out
upon the farm of Patrick and Thomas Fitzpatrick,
near thc center of the town, where it has been
quarried for flagging stone, and formerly in such
quantities as to give constant employment to a
large number of men.
A clay sofl predominates in the west part along
the lake. lilsewhere it is a clayey loam, with
clay sub-soil. Muck exists in thc east part along
Skaneateles Lake. Its agriculture consists
largely in dairying ; indeed the value of its dairy
products exceeds that of any other town in the
County. From the Census of 1875, it appears
that the number of pounds of butter made in
famflies was 234,973, and of cheese, 2,040, and
that the number of milch cows was 1,686.
The first settlements were made in 1792. A
family named VanGilder, who located about one
and one-half miles west of Niles, are believed to
have been the first settlers. Axie VanGilder,
one of the family, but born after their settlement
here, is still living in that locality, aged about 80.
James and George Brinkerhoff, the latter a min
ister of the Reformed Dutch Church, came the
same year from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, in com
pany with their brothers, Jacob and Roeliff, who
settled in Owasco. James, who was a young
man, settled on lot 1 2, just north of Nine Corners,
where his grandson James now lives, and George,
on lot 5, a little west of the Creek. Both died
there. None of their chfldren are living. Gar
rett Conover and his sons John and Aaron, Isaac
Selover and Wm. Bowen came the foflowing year.
The Conovers settled about a half mile west of
Niles, on the David Pratt farm, where George
Bodine now lives ; Selover, in the west part of the
town, where numerous of his descendants now
live; and Bowen, who was from R. I., a little
east ofthe lake road, where M. Duryee now lives.
He afterwards returned to Rhode Island and
married, but his son brought him back here
shortly before his death.
John Abbott, Jr., came from Vermont, and set
tled first on the Indian Fields in Genoa. He re
moved thence to Nfles in 1794, and settled a Ht-

444

TOWN OF NILES.

tie north-east of Twelve Corners, where the
widow of his son Mflton now lives. He brought
on his back from Genoa five apple trees, which
he planted on the farm upon which he settled.
He was a Revolutionary soldier. Pie was also a
noted hunter, and the whole of his numerous
family were dressed in buckskin. Pie died on
the homestead about 1820-5. Hisfamily are all
dead. His son Chauncey M. was a Member of
Assembly in 1858 and '9, and a State Senator
from the 25th District in 1862 and '3. His father
joined the settlement about 1813.
Edward and John Ellis, brothers, came in
from Ashfield, Mass., in the winter of 1795, with ,
an ox-sled. Edward took up 300 acres upon
which his son Cyrus now lives. Cyrus is the
eldest of his father's children. He was born in
Niles, February 2d, 1799, and was the second
white child and first white male chfld born in this
town. Plis cradle was a sap trough. He has
lived on the place ever since his birth. Anthony
Eflis, a son of John Ellis, is stiU living in Niles.
George Parker, a Green Mountain Boy, came in
from Saratoga county about 1793 and settled
first at Sand Beach, at the foot of Owasco Lake,
in Fleming, whence he removed on account of de
fective title to Niles, about 1795, and settled
near Twelve Corners, where D. C. Persoll now
lives. He lived there many years, and died in
Moravia some thirty years ago. Four sons are
living, viz : Wflliam and Plenry, in Montvflle,
the former being the father of Otis G. Parker,
proprietor of the grist-mill in Monlville, and
Riafl and Nelson, in Ohio. Most of his descend
ants are living in the Western States. George
Bodine's grandfather also came in about 1795.
The ax he brought with him was his only capi
tal. Henry Oakley, who kept a tavern a mile
west of New Plope, came in about 1797, and died
here. Charles, his son, is living in Monlville.
Jacob T. C. DeWitt came in this or the pre
ceding year from Sullivan county, and settled on
lot 2, in the north part of the town. He removed
with his family to Springport many years ago,
and both he and his wife were drowned in Cay
uga Lake.
Cornelius and John DeWitt, brothers, came in
from Sullivan county in the spring of 1798. Cor
nelius was a Revolutionary soldier. He settled on
129 acres on lot 2, his farm joining that of Jacob
T.C.DeWitt's on the south, where he died in 1844.

The place is now owned and occupied by Wm.
PI. Harter. Pie had eleven chfldren, five of
whom are living, viz : Andrus, in Ohio ; Matthew,
in Seneca county ; Cornelius D,, in Owasco ;
Jacob C, in Skaneateles ; and Lucy Ann, widow
of Kenyon Wickham, in Orleans county. Ste
phen DeWitt, son of John DeWitt, who was born
in Neversink, Sullivan county, March 5th, 1799,
is living on lot 19.
A man named Stryker, father of Abraham Stry-
ker, settled in the north part of the town, where
Abel W. Baker now lives, before 1800. Briggs
Sherman,  Banker, Jonathan Odell, John
Dean,  Hubbell, and lienry Persoll were very
early settlers, bii.t we could not determine the
year in which they came. Hubbell's family were
probably the first settlers on the site of New
Hope. His house stood on the corner just east
ofWm. Pidge's store. Persoll was from Sarato
ga county, and settled at Twelve Corners, where
he died. He had several children, all of whom
are dead.
William Greenfield settled in 1800, a mile
north of New Plope, on the place now owned by
John Ployt. Pie removed with his family to Ohio
in 1823.
Daniel Brown, from Fairfield, Herkimer
county, settled first at Twelve Corners, and re
moved thence in 1804 to Kelloggsville. He
came with his family, consisting of Sally, after
wards wife of Samuel J. Olney ; Cynthia, after
wards wife of Thomas Pinkerton ; Eunice and
David L., and Polly, all of whom died in 18 19;
Jonathan, who moved to Sennett in 1851, and
died there in the spring of 1878; Hannah, who
died single in 1821 ; Daniel, Jr., now living in
Sempronius, aged 74 years ; John, who died
when fifteen months old ; John Calvin, now living
in Skaneateles ; and Oliver, who died in Indiana,
about 1839. He and his wife died at the resi
dence of their son Daniel, in Sempronius, the
former in 1856, and the latter in 1861.
Settlements were made in 1802, by David John
son, Plugh McDowell, John Rooks and Joseph
Carr. Johnson, who was five years a Revolutionary
soldier,being present at the surrender of Burgoyne
and the evacuation of New York by the British,
came in from Buckland county,Massachusetts,and
settled near West Niles or Pennyville, on the farm
now occupied by James Duryee. About 1817
he removed to Twelve Corners, to the place now

IS

CLARISSA, ELL IS.

CYRUS, ELLIS.

IMk ^^- - ^*

Residence of CYRUS ELLIS. Town of Niles, Cayuga Co, NY.

it

EARLY SETTLEMENTS.

445

occupied by his son Roswell, where he died June
22d, 1840. ITe married Prudence Coburn, who
was born in Boston, November 13th, 1765, and
died February 12th, 1849, ^y whom he had nine
children, only two of whom are living, viz : Clara,
wife of Abraham Van Etten, and Roswell, both
in Nfles, the latter on the homestead at Twelve
Corners. McDowell came in from New Jersey,
and lived here, wilh the exception of one year,
till his death in 1875. He married Sally Amer
man, who was born in 1798, and was the first
white child born in the town of Niles. One son,
P. A. McDowell, is living in the town. Rooks
was born in Cheshire county. New Hampshire,
in 1790, and came in with his father, who settled
and died where the former now lives, on 140 acres
he bought of General Courtlandt, on lot 29, about
a mfle north of Kelloggsville. Carr, who was a
native of Rhode Island, came in fiom Plartford,
Washington county, with his wife, Nancy, and six
children, and settled about a mile south of Twelve
Corners. Pie took up 200 acres. He removed in
1808, with his family, to the town of Ira, where
he and his wifedied, thcformeriii 1838, aged 88,
and the latter in 1843, aged 92. Plis children
were Nathaniel, who removed to Michigan in
1832, anddied therein 1866; Peggy, who mar
ried Benjamin Conger, of Ira, and died there in
1866; Caty, who married Alson Green, with
whom she removed, in 1847, to Indiana, where
she died about 1868 ; Bennajah, who removed to
Michigan in 1847, and died there about fourteen
years since; Ja.y W. , who, in 1842, removed to
Martville, in the town of Sterling, where he now
lives, aged 81 years, having held in Ira the offices
of assessor three years, justice four years, and
supervisor in 1837 and '8, and the latter office in
Sterling in 1840, '50 and '52 ; and George H.,
who died in Auburn in 1867, having filled the
office of sheriff in this county from November,
i84i-'4, an office he had filled by appointment
from March 30th to November, 1838, having also
held the office of justice several years in the town
of Ira, and that of supervisor two terms.
David Derby, from Vermont, settled on lot 17
previous to 1808, in which year his son, J. C.
Derby, who is living on the old homestead, was
born. David Bradt came from Albany county
about 1808, and settled on the north line
of the town, where George Bodine now
lives, his farni joining the lines of Owasco and

Skaneateles. He died there August i6th, i860.
Charity, wife of James A. Brinkerhoff, who vvas
born in 1808, and is living in Owasco village, is
the only one of his children living; George Bo
dine married a daughter of James A. Brinker
hoff. Col. Elijah Austin came from Sheffield, Massa
chusetts, in 1809 or '10, and settled on lot 37,
one mfle north-west of Kelloggsville, on the farm,
on a portion of which his son Joab was born and
now lives, where he died in April, 1846. One
other child, Jared, is living in Moravia.
Asaph Stow came from Newport, New Hamp
shire, in 181 1, and settled on lot 28, a little south
of the center of the town, where James Forbes
now lives. He went shortly before his death to
live with his daughter, Mrs. Stephen Richardson,
in Sempronius, where he died. His only child
living is Ann, wife of George W. Southwick, in
Homer. She was born January 1st, 1807.
Jesse Plall, from Rockland county, came in
1812 and settled on the lake road, where Abram
Darrow lives. Pie look up 41^^ acres, and after
five or six years removed a half mile south, to the
farm occupied by Charles Dennis. Pie subse
quently removed to the David Reynolds farm,
about two miles south of New Plope, in the pres
ent town of Sempronius, where he died in 1835.
Six children are living, viz : Jesse, in Borodino,
Barney and Leah, wife of Silas S. Robinson, in
Niles, Sally Ann, widow of Cornelius C. Harin,-^
and Elizabeth, wife of William Stage, in Auburn,
and Patty, wife of Nathan Cuddeback, in Butler.
C. D. Phelps, born August 23d, 1796, father
of Silas Phelps, settled on lot 34, in 1813, and is
still living in the town. Jonas Baker, who was
born in Connecticut in 1791, also came in 1813.
He was a soldier in the war of 1812, and is now
living on lot 40, a little east of New Hope.
Bradford Shirley came from New Salem, Mass
achusetts, in the winter of 1813, and settled on
lot 36, on thc farm now owned by Joseph Hel
mer. He removed to Broome county and died
there. His children living are Bradford Shirley,
in Kelloggsville, by his first wife, and John' in
Cortland, and Betsey, wife of Datus Ensign, in
Broome county, by his second wife.
Philander White, who was born in Connecticut
in 1790, settled in 1814, in the east part of the
town, where he is now living. Wm. Hooper
I came in from Massachusetts in 1814, and settled

446

TOWN OF NILES.

three miles south of Twelve Corners, in Moravia,
and about 1855 removed to Kelloggsville, where
his widow, Fanny, who was born in Massachu
setts in 1790, is now living. Ezra Moseman was
born in Westchester county in 1798, and settled
in Niles, where he is now living, in 1816, He
has held the office of assessor in Niles ten years.
Jonah Pluff came in from Rockland county in
18 16, and settled on lot 40, where John Dennis
novv lives. He died here in 1820, Of his chfl
dren, Jonah, who was born in Rockland county
July 31st, 1805, is living in Niles, Cornelius, in
Illinois, and Mary Ann, wife of Daniel Brown,
and Matilda, in Sempronius. Henry VanEtten
came from Orange county in 1819, and settled at
Twelve Corners, on the farm now owned by
George Odell, and died there. Four children
are living, viz : Abraham, in Niles, Anthony,
in Owasco, Anna, widow of Peter Brinkerhoff,
in Wolcott, Wayne county, and Levi W., in
Moravia. Town Officers, — The first officers of the
town of Niles were : Isaac Odell, Supervisor;
Wm. T. Stow, Clerk; Chauncey Abbott and
Joseph Lazell, Justices; Samuel Odell, Hugh
McDowell and John Conger, Asses.'iors ; Joshua
VanAuken and Levi Westfall, Overseers of the
Poor ; Benjamin B. Roseboom, Abraham Van
Etten and Everett Cortright, Commissioners of
Highzvays ; Samuel B. Noyes, William F.
Cooper and Garrett C, Parsell, School Commis
sioners ; Daniel J. VanAuken, Charles Moseman
and Vincent Kenyon, Inspectors of Schools ;
Samuel B. Noyes, Abram B. Westfall, Daniel J.
VanAuken and Charles Moseman, Constables ;
Abram B. Westfall, Collector; Vincent Kenyon,
Sealer of Weights and Measures ; Asaph Stow,
Chauncey Abbott and John Rooks, Commission
ers of Public Lots.
The present officers (1878) are :
Supervisor — Eugene B. Rounds.
Town Clerk — Byron M. Gere.
Justice — Anson P. Jayne.
Assessors — J. H. Cuykendall, Chas. Odell and
John Brinkerhoff.
Commissioner of Highways — George W.
Plarter. Overseers of the Poor — Gilbert Bradford and
P. A. McDowell.
Inspectors of Elections — Dorr Dewitt, Conklin
Bodine, B. F. Lester and George Selover.

Collector — Patrick Fitzpatrick.
Constables — Plenry C. Odell, George McGee,
George Peet and Jacob Davis.
Game Constable — Simeon Morris.
Excise Commissioners — Jas. Carpenter, James
Brinkerhoff and H. D. Chamberlain.
Justices — E. C. Ackerman, John O. Hoyt
and Watson Selover.
The population of the town in 1875 was 1,874;
of whom 1,716 were native ; 158 foreign ; 1,873
white; and i colored. Its area was 23,217
acres; of which 18,152 were improved; 3,863
woodland ; and 1,202 otherwise unimproved.
Kelloggsville.
Kelloggsville is situated near the south
line of the town, a little east of the center, and
is distant from Auburn sixteen miles and from
Moravia seven. It contains two churches, (Meth
odist Episcopal and Universalist,) one district
school, one hotel, kept the past three years by
F. A. Partello, three stores, a blacksmith shop,
kept by A. H. Cutler, a wagon shop, kept by By
ron Church, a harness shop, kept by Edward
Defendorf, a milliner shop, kept by Mrs. Almira
Plowland, and a population of abo.it 100.
Merchants. — The first merchant was Judge
Chas. Kellogg, from whom the village is named.
Pie opened a store about 1804, in a small frame
building, which stood near the road and a little
north of the house in which Plozial Howland now
lives. ITe afterwards built and occupied the
store now occupied by Dwight K. Austin, About
iSi2or'i3 he formed a partnership wilh John
Fuller, which continued till 1816, when they dis
solved, and Fuller opened a store on the lot on
which the house of Wm. Slade now stands, in
company with his brother Luther. Judge Kel
logg, who came in here from Owasco, continued
business till 1839, when he removed to Michigan.
ITe was associated from about 1825 wilh his son-
in-law, Calvin Whitwood. In 1819, Serah Mow-
fy became a partner of the Fullers, and remained
with them about two years, when John Fuller
bought his interest. In 1823, the Fullers built
the store on the south side of the creek, recently
occupied by Wm. Slade, and moved their goods
into it in June following. John Fuller died in
1825, and Luther formed a partnership with Wm.
Slade and Wm. Titus, which continued one year,
when Slade bought the interest of his partners

(t--^\'-hi--

¦HAf

Lemuel A. Newland.
Lemuel A. Newland vvas born in Stillwater,
Saratoga county, N.Y., October 17th, 1798, and came
to Kelloggsville, Cayuga County, with his parents in
1803. He continued to reside at Kelloggsvflle tfll
his death, February Sth, 1878.
Mr. Newland was a shoemaker by trade. He also
had a partnership interest in the tanning and curry
ing business. Subsequently he was engaged in
farming. The latter years of his life were spent in
retirement from business.
In politics Mr. Newland was not an active partici
pant. He cared little for the honors or emoluments
of public office. Though not a strong partisan he
endeavored conscientiously to perform the duties de
volved upon him by citizenship in a great republic.
He was formerly a Whig, but after the organization
of the Republican party he affiliated with it.
Though not a member of any church he embodied

M.i\s. Floe\a E. Newland.
in his every-day life, the fundamental principles of a
practical Christianity. He was strictly honest and
upright in all his dealings with his fellow-men and
won by his consistent and exemplary life the respect
of all who knew him.
October 28th, 1864, Mr. Newland was united in
marriage with Mrs. Flora B. Snider, widow of Ed
ward R. Snider, who died October 5th, 1844, ^"d to
whom she was married, at the age of twenty-two,
February 20th, 183 1.
Mrs. Flora B. Newland, who still survives her hus
band, and is residing in Kelloggsville, is a daughter
of Pettit and Huldah Smith, natives of Westchester
county in this State, and was born in the town of
Galway, Saratoga county, N. Y., October 22d, i8o8.
At the age of nine years she removed thence with
her parents to the town of Sempronius, now Moravia,
Cayuga County.

•H

-nh-^

^^m-

fHm

KELLOGGSVILLE.

447

and admitted Daniel R. Rooks, whose interest
he bought after ayear, in the spring of 1827, and
did business alone till 1873, when his son, Feni-
more Cooper Slade, became his partner. They
discontinued business in 1875, when his son went
to Floresville, Texas, where he now resides.
Luther Newland Fuller, son of Capt. Luther
Fuller, opened a store in company with Aaron
Brinkerhoff, under the name of P'uUer & Brin
kerhoff, about 1842 or '3, and continued till about
1848, when they sold to Daniel Westfall and Ken
yon Wicks, who sold in turn, about 1854, to Ben
jamin Everson, who continued about a year and
sold an interest to Kenyon Wicks, and the two
did business till about i860. L, D. Sayles and
Timothy Edmonds opened a store in 1861.
Sayles sold to Manvflic E. Kenyon about 1862,
and the business was conducted by Kenyon &
Edmonds three or four years, when they dis
solved. Dwight Lee bought their goods in 1865
or '6 and fafled in 1876. D, K. Austin, who had
been associated in the hardware business with S,
W. Church since March, 1875, .and did business
with him nearly two years, bought the store prop
erty then recently vacated by Lee and opened a
general store, which he still conducts. S. W.
Church, who is a native of Moravia, where his
father was an early settler, commenced the hard
ware business in Kelloggsville in 1861, in which
year he bought out James Gould, who came in
from Northville and did business about a year.
Church still carries on the business. A. J. Bo-
land, from Owasco, opened a general store in the
spring of 1877. which he still continues.
Postmasters.— The first postmaster at Kel
loggsvflle was Judge Chas. Kellogg, who was
Member of Assembly in 1808, '9and '10, and in
1820 and '21, and represented the 24th District
in Congress in i825-'8. Pie held the office of
postmaster from about i8i6-'25, when Calvin
Whitwood vvas appointed and held it tfll 1829,
when he was succeeded by Wm. Slade. Lu
ther N. Fuller was postmaster in 1842, but how
long he held the office we are not advised. Wm.
Slade again succeeded to the office and held it
tifl 1849, when Dwight Lee vvas appointed. Wm.
F. Cooper succeeded him in 1853, and Daniel J.
VanAuken, in 1857, the latter of whom held it
tfll May, 1 86 1, when Wm. F. Copper was ap
pointed and has held it continuously since.
Physicians. — The first physician at Kelloggs

vflle was Isaac Dunning, who was licensed to
practice by a County Judge in February, 1803.
He joined the County Medical Society Au
gust 7lh, 1806, about which time probably he
located at Kelloggsville, though we could not
definitely determine that fact. He practiced till
about 1820, when he went west. Abel Baker
practiced from 1821 to '28, the latter year in com
pany wilh Wm. F. Cooper. He returned to
Owasco, whence became. Plenry R. Lord joined
the County Medical Society February 2d, 1826,
whfle a resident of Kelloggsville, but how long
he practiced here, or whether he practiced here
at all, we have been unable to ascertain.
The next physician to practice here was Wm.
F. Cooper, who is still practicing here. He was
born in Corydon, New Plampshire, September
20th, 1805, and graduated at Bowdoin College, in
Brunswick, Maine, in 1826. He practiced one
year in Newport, Maine, and removed thence to
Kelloggsvflle in June, 1827.
Dr. Doolitlle practiced here from 1843 to
'48. Dr. Lewis was associated wilh Dr. Cooper
from 1848 to '50, Dr. Marsh came in about
1848, after Doolitlle left, and practiced some two
years, Wm. M. Smith was associated with Dr.
Cooper a little over a year, about 1852.
James Harvey Horton was born in Burlingame,
New York, June 20th, 1821. He studied medi
cine with Dr. Wm. F. Robinson, of Seneca P'alls,
and graduated at the Central Medical College of
Syracuse, Feb. 21st, 1850. He commenced prac
tice in Seneca Falls, and after a year removed to
Port Byron, to which place his father removed in
1828. Pie came to Kelloggsville about 1853, and
has practiced here continuously since. Dr. Plorton
joined ihe County Medical Society November
9th, 1874. He ranks high as a surgeon. Frank
B. Ryan, who is a native of the town, commenced
practice in 1875, and still continues.
The First Univkrsalist Society of the
'lowN OF Niles. — February i6th, 1842, is the
date of a subscription list for the buflding of a
Universalist meeting-house in Kelloggsville, to
be located on the south-west corner of the land
owned by Wm. F. Cooper, the site for which
was to be given by Mr. Cooper, provided the
house, whose dimensions were to be about 36 by
46 feet, was finished by June 1st, 1843. The
subscriptions amounted to ;^ 1,301. One of them
— that of Joh I B.;.itley -.vis for 300 feet of g03.

448

TOWN OF NILES.

hewed timber, delivered at Kelloggsville, at ^5
per hundred. The following condition is an
nexed to the subscriptions : " It is understood
and agreed that when it shall not come in con
flict with a regular stated appointment made by
the Universalists, then said house is to be free
to all other religious denominations to be used
for public worship and to be open at all times on
funeral occasions."
A meeting was held pursuant to public notice
at the house of Wm. Slade, in Kelloggsville,
March 14th, 1842, for the purpose of organizing
a Universalist Society. At that meeting the
name of the First Universalist Society in thetoivn
of Niles.\vas adopted, and John Rooks and Samuel
Odell were elected trustees for one year, Luther
Fuller and Kenyon Wicks, for two years, and D. J.
Van Auken, Warren Powers and Samuel Lock-
wood, for three years. The trustees were then au
thorized to build such house in regard to size as
they thought proper and the amount subscribed
warranted. April nth, 1845, an additional ^37950
was subscribed to apply on a deficiency of ^550
for buflding the house of worship. This organ
ization appears to have died out, for on the 14th
of June, 1846, a meeting was held at the Univer
salist meeting-house for the purpose of organiz
ing a Universalist Society, and the following
named officers were chosen : Asahel Wood,
moderator; Samuel Lockwood, clerk ; John
Rooks, treasurer; and Thomas Belding, Charles
Burgess, Cooper Snider, Luther Fuller and Wm.
Hooper, a standing committee. The name first
given was then adopted.
Following are the names of the members at
the organization : Males, Luther Fuller, Asahel
Wood, Samuel Lockwood, John Rooks, Charles
Burgess, Wm. Plooper, Stephen M. Slade, Thos.
R. Belding, Wm. Moseman, Luther N. Fuller,
Daniel J. VanAuken, David W. Kellogg, Charles
IToyt, Cooper Snider, J. B. Doolitlle, Lemuel
A. Sayles, Ezekiel Smith, Hiram C. Smith and
J. M. Peebles ; Females, Phila Rooks, Olive Ful
ler, Althea Wood, Cynthia Ploward, Maria
Wicks, Rhoda Richardson, Eleanor Kenyon,
Eunice York, Lucinda Lockwood, Maria L.
Goodridge, Martha P. Standish, Hannah Belding,
Perses Sherman, Loisa Smith, Hannah Snider
and Elizabeth Goodridge.
The pastors of this church have been Alfred
Peck, who served them one year, James M.

Peebles, two to three years, J. H. Harter, who,
though not a settled pastor, served them two or
three years. Nelson Snell, two years, S. Crane,
about a year, in i860. Nelson Brown, of Howlett
Hill, and  Hobbs, about a year. Mr. Hobbs,
who was their last pastor, was preceded by Rev.
Mr. Clark, of McLean, Tompkins Co., who preach
ed to them once in two weeks. They have not
had any pastor for the last sixteen years ; and
meetings have been held only occasionally by
preachers who were here casually.
The Kelloggsville M. E. Church was or
ganized May 25th, 1 861, by about thirty persons,
former members of the church at New Hope,
prominent among whom were Hozial Howland
and wife, Lloyd Slade and wife, Jonathan Beyea
and wife, Elizabeth Rooks. Mary and Hannah ,
Beyea, Jeanette Rooks, deceased, Warren Baker
and wife, and Emeline Mott. The first trustees
were Wm. F. Cooper, Mason B. Slade, Chris
topher Foster, Lloyd Slade and Plozial Plow-
land. May 25th, 1861, Freegift Tuthifl, Wm. Slade
Daniel R. Rooks, Gardner Mason and Barton
Slade, trustees of the First Baptist Church and
Society of Sempronius, whose house of worship
was located in Kelloggsville, deeded to the trus
tees of this (the Kelloggsville Methodist Episco
pal) church, for ^250, the church edifice belong
ing to the former Society, the sale having been
authorized by the County Court Aprfl 25th,
1861. The Methodist Episcopal Society obligated
themselves by the conditions of the deed " to
keep the house and premises in good repair,
hold religious worship and maintain preaching in
said house as is customary in the Methodist
Episcopal church ;" and to keep said house
" free at all times on funeral occasions for any
one to preach that the friends of the deceased
may desire." It is further provided that the
house shall " be free for all Evangelical denom
inations to occupy when not occupied by the
Methodist Episcopal church during their religious
appointments, and if the said Methodist Episco
pal church fail to keep the above agreement, that
the said house and premises shall revert to the
said Baptist church and Society. It is to be
further understood that no Evangelical denom
inations except the Methodist Episcopal church
shall have any right to hold meetings from day

NEW HOPE.

449

to day, from week to week, or from month to
month in said house without the consent of the
trustees of said Methodist Episcopal church, and
further that the authorities of the said Methodist
Episcopal church shall have no right to interfere
with the religious services of other Evangelical
denominations by counter appointments in said
house when due notice of such services has been
given." The present number of members is twelve.
The pastors of this church have been the same
as officiated in the church at New Plope, which
is on the same charge.
Nkw Hope.
New IToi'E is situated in the east part of the
lown, two mfles north-east of Kelloggsville, on
Bear Swamp Creek, which furnishes an excellent
water privilege. It contains a Methodist
Episcopal church, a district school house, two
general stores, one hotel, kept by John C, Odell,
a grist-mill, two saw-mills, a wagon shop and un
dertaking establishment, a shoe shop, kept by
William C. Plakes, a blacksmith shop, kept by
John McLaughlin and Dwight Smith, and a pop
ulation of about loo.
Merchants. — The first store at New Hope
was opened by Darius Titus and Wm. Hough-
taling, about 1820. After two or three years
they sold to Luther P'uUer, who kept it some ten
years, the latter part ofthe time in company with
Kenyon Wicks and Vincent Kenyon, his sons-
in-law. They sold to Samuel Helms, from Rock
land county, who, after two or three years, sold to
John P'oster, who did business four or five years,
and mysteriously disappeared. He started out
with a gun upon his shoulder to see a party with
whom he had some business, and no one in this
locality knows what became of him. D. J. Van
Auken and Freegift Tuthill opened a store about
1850, and kept it a little more than a year. Peter
H. VanSchoick opened one about 1853, and kept
it a little more than two years, when he removed
his goods to Sempronius. He was succeeded by
Warren S. Clark, a native of Sempronius, whence
he came in 1858, and commenced the business he
still continues. Chas. Lee opened a second store
in 1870, which he kept some five years. B. F.
Lester succeeded him in iS75,and staid two years.
Wflliam Pidge, a native of Niles, commenced
business in April, 1877, and still continues it.
76-*

Postmasters. — The post-office at New Hope
was established February 5th, 1862, when War
ren S. Clark was appointed postmaster and has
held the office continuously since.
Manufactures. — The grist-mill at New
Plope was built by Judge Chas. Kellogg in 1823.
There was previously a mill a little north of this
site. Horace Rounds bought the mill in 1851,
and run it till 1865, when he sold to his son Eu
gene B. Rounds, the present proprietor. It con
tains three run of stones, with acapacity of about
200 bushels per day. The motive power is
furnished by the creek, which has a fall of 24
feet. Mr. Rounds is about to introduce machin
ery for making flour by the new process. It has
been ordered and will be put in this fall (1878.)
Mr. Rounds also owns, in connection with Mark
DeWitt, a saw-mill at this place.
Warren S. Clark's saw and cider-mill, a half
mile below the village, contains one muley saw, a
planing-mill, shingle mill, lath saw and heading
turner. The works are propelled by water from
Bear Swamp Creek, with a thirty feet head. Mr.
Clark has this fall introduced machinery for the
manufacture of butter firkins.
George McGee, wagon maker and undertaker,
commenced business in 1858, having been asso
ciated in partnership during the time with vari
ous individuals. He employs one person besides
himself. The New Hope M. E. Society was organ
ized and incorporated November loth, 1851, and
John D. Hake, Thaddeus Dunbar, Isaac Wood,
Eliab Parker and Wm. C. Hake, (all of whom,
except the two Hakes, are dead,) were elected
trustees. Their house of worship was erected
in 1854, their meetings having previously been
held in the school-house. Rev. Ward White
was the first pastor. He served them two years,
and was succeeded by Asa B. Benham, who re
mained one year. During his pastorate the
church edifice was erected, and Benham cut the
first stick of timber for its construction.
The successive pastors have been Egbert
Palmer, who stayed less than a year; E. P. El
dridge and Timothy Willis, each two years ; D.
D. Davis, three years ; F. M. Warner, two years;
D. D. Davis, one year; J. V. Benham, J. Gaut-
sell and C. House, each three years ; Hiram
Woodruff, one year; O. N. Hinman, three years;
E. Compton, J. K. Underhfll and Henry Guller,

450

TOWN OF NILES.

each one year ; and E. House, the present pastor,
who commenced his labors with this church in
1875. During the pastorate of F. M. Warner,
in i860, a revival was enjoyed and seventy added
to the membership. The present number of
members is seventy. Niles.
Niles, situated in the north part of the town,
in the valley of Dutch Hollow Creek, is five
miles north of Kelloggsville, and contains a dis
trict school, store, hotel, grist-mill, a grist, saw
and cider-mill, a blacksmith and wagon shop,
both kept by D. J. Forbes, and a population of
73. The place is locafly known as "Dutch Hol
low." Merchants. — The first store at Niles was a
community store, which was opened in 1845,
attended by Seth Morgan, and run about four
years, when Wm. Helmer, from Herkimer county,
opened a store in the same building and kept it
about two years. The community folks, who
buflt the store, sold it to John Elsworth, who con
verted it into a dwelling and used it as such till
1871, when Silas S. Robinson, who came into
possession, reconverted it into a store. Pie
rented it to Byron G. and Daniel D. Gere, who
bought it February 14th, 1872, and have since
kept it.
Postmasters. — The post-office was estab
lished at Niles in 1846. It was moved here from
Twelve Corners, where it was kept by Mrs. Sim-
kin Snow, mother of Mr.B. B. Snow, superintend
ent of public schools in Auburn. Cornelius C.
DeWitt was the first postmaster. He was suc
ceeded by Daniel Cole, who kept the office in the
mill, and was followed by Lewis Washburn,
Daniel W. Mead and Mrs. Lurinda Owens. Z.
Harrison Campbell was appointed November
14th, 1870, and was succeeded by George W.
Robinson and Elias Ackerman, the latter of
whom held it but four or five months, till the
spring of 1873, when D. D. Gere was appointed
and has since held the office.
Physicians. — The only physician who has been
located at Niles is Dr. Fonda, who came here in
1856 and remained about two years, when he re
moved to Owasco, where he remained but a short
time. Manufactures. — Daniel W. Mead bought
the grist-mill at Niles of Cornelius and Stephen

E. DeWitt and-

Elton, in 1862. It occu

pies the site of the first mifl at this place, which
was built in 1818, and destroyed by fire. It con
tains three run of stones, which are propelled by
water from Dutch Hollow Brook, which has a
fall of twenty-two feet.
George W. Baker is proprietor of the grist,
saw and cider-mill at Niles. The mill was built
at a very early day by Payne Phillips, and was
owned for forty years by Leonard Covert.
Twelve Corners.
Twelve Corners, situated about three miles
north-west of Kelloggsville, contains a church,
(Methodist Episcopal,) a school-house, and thirty
inhabitants. This church was organized about 1825, and
the meeting-house erected in 1840. They have
not had a pastor for some ten years. The Society
is practically disbanded.
Nine Corners.
Nine Corners and West Niles or " Penny
ville" are hamlets, the former in the west part
of the town, and the latter near the south line.
Manufactures. — On Bear Swamp Creek, one
mile below New Hope, at what is known as Car
penters Falls, is an important industry for one so
much isolated, consisting of a saw-mill, planing-
mill, shingle-mill and cheese box factory, owned
by James Carpenter.
In 1834, John H. Carpenter, who came to this
County wilh his father, James Carpenter, from
Rhode Island, about 1820, bought, in company
with Kenyon Wicks, the property at this place,
which then consisted of a still, built by a man
named Townsend, which forms the foundation of
the present building. The partnership continued
some ten years, when Carpenter bought Wicks'
interest. In 1845 or '6, he built a grist-mill,
which has since been converted into a saw-mill ;
and soon after, a saw-mill, which stands at the
upper falls in a dilapidated condition, the ma
chinery having been removed to the grist-mill,
when that was changed to a saw-mill. Carpenter
died in August, 1865, having three or four years
previously transferred the business to his sons,
Charles and James, the latter of whom bought
his brother's interest some ten years since, and
has since carried on the business alone.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.

451

The entire fafls at this point, including the
rapids below, is nearly a hundred feet. The
works are propelled by a Jones water wheel,
which is said to be only six or eight inches in
diameter. On Hemlock Brook, one mile north of Twelve
Corners, is a saw-mill owned by John C. Derby.
It contains an upright and a circular saw.

BIOGI[APHIC/\L SKETCHES,

JOHN ROOKS.
John Rooks, who was one of the oldest as well
as one of the earliest settlers in the town of
Niles, was born in Cheshire county. New Plamp
shire, in 1790, and at the age of two years, in
1792, removed with his father's family to the
State of New York. In 1802 he came with his
father to Cayuga County, and settled on 140
acres bought "by the latter of General Courtlandt,
on lot 29, about a mile north of Kelloggsville, in
the town of Niles, where he and his falher died,
the former in the winter of 1878-9. Both he
and his father lived on the farm on which they
located on coming lo Cayuga County till their
death, John, during the almost unexampled period
of seventy-six years.

ABRAHAM VAN ETTEN.
Abraham VanEtten, son of Henry and Mary
VanEtten, was born in Orange county, N. Y.,
May 30th, 1800. He served an apprenticeship
at the blacksmith's trade frorn November, 1815,
until 1819, when he removed wilh his father's
family to the town of Niles in Cayuga County,
since which time he has pursued the occupation
of a farmer.
Mr. VanEtten vvas enrolled in the militia in
1819, and in 1 820 was clccled corporal. ITe was
successively promoted to the oflTice of captain,
major and lieutenant-colonel, and was never
absent from any parade, but present and
equipped as the law directed. He served twice
as Judge Advocate in courts martial, and in dif
ferent stations during a period of fifteen years,
when he was honorably discharged. Pie has
been honored by his townsmen with the offices
of road commissioner, assessor and supervisor
several terms, having served in each capacity
with efficiency and credit.

Mr. VanEtten united with the Reformed
Dutch Church about 1832 and has held the of
fice of deacon and elder for twenty-five years in
succession. During that long time he has not
been absent from a consistory meeting, and has
made an enviable church record.
Mr. VanEtten is still living on the old home
stead, a view of which may be seen in this work,
enjoying in his old age the fruits of his labors.

CHAPTER XLIX.

Town of Moravia.

M

ORAVIA derives its name from a relig-

was formed from Sempronius March 20th, 1833.
It lies at the head of Owasco Lake, in the south
east part of the County, and is bounded on the
north by Niles, on the east by Sempronius, on
the south by Locke, and on the west by Owasco
Lake and the town of Venice.
The surface is mainly a rolling upland, broken
by the deep and narrow valleys of the Owasco
Inlet and its tributaries, which are bounded by
steep, and occasionally, almost perpendicular ac
clivities, rising to a height of 300 to 400 feet
above them. The numerous small streams have
plowed deep, narrow gorges through the shaly
super-stratum of rocks and, plunging over the
limestone formation, form numerous and beauti
ful cascades and furnish an abundant water-pow
er. Mill Brook, at Monlville, just below its
junction with Trout Brook, plunges over a pre
cipice eighty feet high. Dry Creek, another
tributary of the Inlet from the east, so named be
cause in dry seasons its flow ceases, forms sev
eral cascades, the principal of which is the last,
which falls about twenty feet.
At this fall is a circular recess worn in the face
of a perpendicular precipice, having the general
appearance of a .section of an inverted cone, and
locally known as the "Cow-shed." The roof is
formed by a limestone ledge, varying in thickness
from fifteen inches at its outer edge, to seven and
and one-half feet at its base, and supporting a
lofty hill covered with primitive forest trees.
This cavity, which is due to the wearing away of
the slaty sub-stratum, extends back some twenty-

452

TOWN OF MORAVIA.

five feet from the face of the rock. Its greatest
width is about fifty feet, and its height, from the
foot ofthe fall, about thirty-five feet. This creek,
so interesting in other respects, is liable to sud
den and destructive freshets during continuous
and excessive rains. A notable instance of this
kind occurred July 2 ist, 1863, when the vast vol
ume of water occasioned by the heavy rains of
the previous day and night, transformed it into a
foaming torrent, filled with trees and logs, sweep
ing wilh irresistible force in iis course of de
struction. The main current of the stream swept
against the western bank of the cemetery and,
washing away the lower stratum of gravel and
quick-sand, undermined and carried away a por
tion ofthe grounds containing thirty-five to forty
graves. The bed of the stream below the falls,
strewn wilh huge masses of limestone rock, de
tached by the washing away of the intervening
shales, and piled in disorder, gives abundant evi
dence of the force which displaced them. The
generally narrow valley of the Inlet broadens at
its northern terminus and forms an extensive
plain, known as the Owasco Flats, which extends
some five miles from the head of the lake, when
it becomes more contracted.
Limestone extends in a generally east and
west direction through the central part of the
town, and is quarried principally at Monlville,
both for building purposes and the manufacture
of lime. A quarry is worked near the falls at
Monlville ; another at John Cully's brickyard,
near that village ; and a third on the farm of
Corydon Jennings, a little south west of Mora
via. A highly inflammable carbureted hydrogen
gas issues from the flats adjacent to the lake.
A sulphur spring which is attracting some atten
tion exists on the place of Newell Selover, on
the grist-mill property at Moravia. The soil
upon the hills is a gravelly loam, mixed with clay ;
in the valleys it is a rich and highly productive
alluvium, composed largely of disintegrated slate
and limestone.
The Southern Central R. R. extends through
the west part of the town, along the valley of the
Inlet, and crosses that stream twice within the
limits of the town. The town has paid the
bonds given to aid its construction ; and the road
has had a vast and beneficial influence upon its
growth and prosperity.
The population of the town in 1875 was 2,347;

of whom 2,218 were native; 129 foreign ; 2,330
while; and 17 colored. Its area was 16,982
acres, of which 12,424 were improved ; 2,722
woodland ; and 1,836 otherwise unimproved. Its
agriculture is largely devoted to dairying, though
it is not as exclusively a dairy town as Sempro
nius or Summer Hill. The number of cows
whose milk was sent to factories in 1875 was 458.
The number of pounds of butter made in fami
lies was 195,195; the number of pounds of cheese
made in families, 525. The number of gallons
of milk sold was 7,014. The number of milch
cows vvas 1,5 19.
The first settlements were made upon the flats,
which had been cleared and brought under culti
vation by the Indians, and when first visited by
the whites, in 1789, were a rich meadow. In
1789 and '90, they were visited by settlers from
other localities for the purpose of obtaining a
supply of hay. Among those who came in for
that purpose were Jonathan Richmond, Gilbert
and Jonathan Brownell of Ledyard, and Gideon
Pitts and John Guthrie of Genoa, who, the latter
year, planted about eight acres of corn.*
The first permanent settler was John Stoyell,
who came in from Connecticut, and at Aurora,

* Gilbert Brownell, in a conversation with Dr. Cyrus Powers, of
Moravia, some thirty years ago, stated that he was the first white
man who ever passed a night in the town of Moravia, He was
directed to the locality by a neighbor who had been on a long chase
after a deer and discovered what seemed to be a recently abandoned
Indian village, where were the remains of Indian wigwams, some
large apple trees, full of small " natural growth '' fruit, and thirty
or forty acres heavily covered with rank grass. He and a few of his
neighbors had brought in with them a few cattle, which they hoped
to subsist the first winter by browsing on the terminal buds of the
trees, which were felled for that purpose, and some of which, espe
cially basswood, yielded a good supply of this food, of which the cat
tle became very fond. About mid-summer he set out for this local
ity, equipped with scythe, ax, blanket nnd gun. He built a small, hut
of boughs, cut the grass, spread it, and when cured carried it to
gether wilh a wooden pitchfork cut from a sapling. He subsisted,
meanwhile, on small game and fish, ihe latter caught from the In
let. In about a week he had cur, cured and stacked about three tons
of hay, to which the following winter he drove his own and neigh
bors' cattle. That winter he spent about three weeks here fodder
ing cattle. He brought with him plenty of blankets and some pork,
bread, flour, etc. He cut down some evergreens and soon had a
warm, comfortable hut, the roof and sides of which were wind and
snow proof, and the floor covered to the depth of two feet with the
smaller branches of the hemlocks and pines.
Cornplanter, a very aged Indian Chief, who lived on the Catta.
raugus Reservation and died there about 1830 to ^40, well remem
bered an Indian village on the site of Moravia, and said that a few
years before the first white settlers came there the inhabitants left
suddenly for the west.

EARLY SETTLEMENTS.

453

bargained with the agent of Mr. TenEyck, a
a wealthy land owner, for one hundred acres of
land on lot 83 in Moravia, at one shilling per
acre, on which he settled, on the site of the vil
lage of Moravia, in 1790, being pfloted thither by
John Guthrie. ITe built his house just in rear of
the Masonic Hall. It was a frame structure, but
unbraced and was afterward braced by means of
planks placed diagonally across the building.
After putting up his house and planting some
corn and potatoes, he returned to Aurora, where
he saw Mr. TenEyck, who having been informed
that Stoyell was a Yankee, a class toward which
he had a strong antipathy, ordered the latter to
surrender his claim, avowing that no Yankee
should settle near his land. But Stoyell, who
had made a fair purchase and paid twenty shil
lings to bind the bargain, could not respect so
unreasonable a demand ; and TenEyck, on being
further informed that Stoyell was just the kind of
man who would, by his industry and thrift, en
hance the value of his lands in that locality, sub
ordinated his scruples to the hope of prospective
gain, and actually ^a^z/^ him the hundred acres he
had bargained for, under promise of using his in
fluence to start a settlement there.
After a year or two Stoyell built a more pre
tentious frame house on the site of the present
brick block on the corner of Main and Church
streets. This, and three acres of land he traded
in i8o8 with his brother Amos, for 100 acres
near Locke Pond in Summer Hill and ^125. He
then occupied a little log-house near the store
now occupied by Everson and Tuthill ; and after
a year or two he buflt the house now occupied by
Thompson Keeler, which stands in rear of the
brick house occupied by Wm. E. Keeler, son of
the latter. There he died October 23d, 1842,
aged 82 years.
Stoyell was an enterprising, business man, and
subsequently became owner of the whole of lot
83, half of lot 84, and a portion of lot 93, a part of
which cost him from ;^12 to ;^20 per acre, includ
ing the valuable mill privilege at Monlville. He
possessed excellent social qualities, and vvas re
garded by every one as a friend, and the Indians,
of whom a few yet remained in the vicinity, re
spected him. It is related that shortly after
his house was built he set out an orchard along
what is now known as Mill street. The Indians,
wishing to injure a certain person whom they I

supposed owned the orchard, maliciously pulled
up the trees in the night and hid them under
some flood-wood ; but on learning that they be
longed to Stoyell, returned and reset them a night
or two after, though but one survived the rough
treatment and exposure. Pie and Jacob T. De-
Witt were the first two justices in the old town
of Sempronius, both of whom held the office con
tinuously from 1798 to 1803, and the latter till
1805. He was also the first supervisor of that
town in 1798.
Mr. Stoyell built the first grist-mill in 1799, at
Monlville, having previously erected the first saw
mill on the site of the present one at Monlville
in 1798. It stood a good many years, but was
not very accessible, having lo be reached by steps
down a descent of some ten feet. It was soon
after improved in this respect by the addition of
a second story, so that a plank vvas laid from the
wagon or sleigh to the upper door of the mifl, and
the grists carried upon the bridge thus improv
ised. Zadoc Cady dressed the arms and shaft
of the water-wheel and helped lo put in the run
ning gear to the grist-mill. Stephen Ellis was the
first miller. The mill .stood a year or more simply
inclosed with boards, without a frame, and the
bolt was turned at first by hand. Previous lo
this there vvas no mill nearer than Paines Creek,
about two miles above Aurora, and the device
common to new settlements was in vogue, viz :
the mortar and pestle, the former consisting of a
stump hollowed out by burning, and the latter of
a spring-pole. One of these devices was got in
operation by Stoyell as early as 1791 or '92,
near the Dry Creek bridge ; and a second, a little
later, by Moses Little, the latter being made from
a while oak stump, and the former from maple.
They were used by the settlers ad libitum..
Upon the slab which marks John Sloyell's
grave, in the beautiful Indian Mound Cemetery,
is this inscription, " The first settler in Moravia
1790." His two children were deacon John Stoy
ell, Jr., and Lois, afterwards wife of Artemas Ca
dy, both of whom are dead. The former, who
was born in Moravia, possessed in no small degree
the energy and ambition which characterized his
father. In i83i,he espoused the temperance,
cause ; organized a temperance society, which
labored faithfully and successfully for many years;
and from that time till his death he was the leader
of the temperance party in Southern Cayuga,

454

TOWN OF MORAVIA.

He was a member of the First Congregational
Church of Moravia and held the office of deacon
therein from 1834 tifl his death.
His enlistment as a private in Company F.,
i6oth N. Y. Vol. Infantry, and his subsequent
death at New Orleans, July 5th, 1863, at the age
of 61 years, from disease contracted in the army,
were but the sequel to his strong and openly
avowed anti-slavery proclivities, which made him
an abolitionist when the very name was a re
proach, and led him, at his own personal risk, to
feed, clothe and shelter, and often to forward in
his own conveyance, the fugitive slave. His
children who are living are Wflliam and Frances,
wife of Joseph Alley, in Moravia ; Mahala, wife
of Morris K. Alley, in Locke ; John, in the west
ern States ; and Smith, of the firm of Walley &
Stoyell, druggists, in Auburn.
Threeyears after Sloyell's settlement, in March,
1793, he was followed by his brother Amos,
Winslow Perry and Jabez Long Bottom. Amos
Stoyell was from Voluntown, Connecticut. He
disliked the locality and soon after went to Big
Tree, near Rochester, where he was sick with
fever and ague. He returned here the same
year and settled on 185 acres bought of his
brother, John Stoyell. Plis house stood on the
site of the residence of William Day, in Moravia
vfllage. He died there December 24th, 1839.
The eldest two of his children are living, viz :
Loyal, who vvas born in Moravia, where he now
resides, March 3d, 1803, and Grover S., in Sum
mer Hfll. Winslow Perry came in from Spring
field, Massachusetts, and settled at the spring, a
little north-west of the depot, on 100 acres given
him by a man named DePuy, to induce settle
ment. He was vvorth ^1,500, and was then con
sidered very wealthy. He soon after bought, in
connection with John Stoyell, lots 82, 83 and 93,
which extended from Grove street east to and
including the water power at Monlville. To
his famfly belongs the honor of the first birth and
marriage in the town. Seth, son of Winslow and
Rachel Perry, born in the summer of 1794, was
-the first chfld born ; and their daughter Sally
contracted the first marriage, with Jonathan El
dridge, in 1795. The first death was that of
Cynthia A,, daughter of Gideon and Hannah
Wright, April 5th, 1796. She was buried near
the residence of John G. Caldwefl. Jabez Long
bottom, who was accustomed to omit the "Long"

prefix, settled on 100 acres on lot 93, on the
south line of the town, for which he paid in work
to John Stoyell. His house stood a little east of
the toll-gate on the Moravia and Milan turnpike,
and there he died. He lived to quite an old age
as a bachelor, and married the widow Knapp,
who had a large family of children, all of whom
removed to the Western States a good many
years ago. He had no children of his own. ITe
was the song singer of the settlement.
Gershom Morse moved in from the New Eng
land States in 1794, having previously visited
the flats and satisfied himself of their desirability
as a locality for settlement. Pie bargained wilh
Jabez L. Bottom for the tract of land just south
of the village, including the fair-grounds, with
their half-mile track, now occupied by his young
est son, Gershom. There he erected his house,
first a log-cabin, then the stately frame now in
use. Plis cabin had but one door, which was
upon the south side. Pie sawed some logs for
seats, hung a board to the wall for a table, and
turned a hard wood stump into a grist-mfll. He
became a justice in 1805 and held that office a
good many years. His dockets show that he
did a thriving business, both civil and criminal.
Mr. Morse died on the old homestead Septem
ber 27th, 1843, aged 75 years. ITis children
were Solomon, Abishai, Rachel Achsah, Orpha,
Lucy, Iza Oma, Nc, Gershom P. and Laura;
of whom Abishai, a bachelor, and Gershom P.
are living on the homestead, Achsah, in the
western slates, Nc, wife of Seymour Clark, in
this County, and Laura, wife of Amaziah Taber,
in Sempronius.
Moses Little and Cotton Skinner also came
in from the New England Slates in 1795. Little
bought 190 acres of land on lot 93 of John
Stoyell and Winslow Perry. ITis farm adjoined
Morse's on the south; and his house, which was
a large one, stood a little east of the house now
owned and occupied by Levi Van Etten, near
Dry Creek. He died there in March, 1839,
aged 82 years. Skinner arrived here on the 8lh
of March, and buflt a log house about twenty
rods south of the stone grist-mill, very near the
site of Curtis ITinman's house on Factory street.
Pie was a shoemaker by trade) but it appears
that he did not long pursue that occupation after
settling here, for he early engaged in mercantile
pursuits. Physically, he was very feeble, being

EARLY SETTLEMENTS.

455

consumptive. His capital, too, was limited ;
but, although strictly exact in his dealings, by
frugality and perseverance, he acquired a large
property. May 2ist, 1812, he moved into the
frame building he had occupied as a store, having
lived precisely seventeen years in a log house.
He died July 19th, 1824, aged 54 years. In his
will he bequeathed a large portion of his prop
erty to the Auburn Theological Seminary. Upon
tho slab which marks his grave in Indian Mound
Cemetery is the inscription, " Erected to thc mem
ory ofa distinguished benefactor, by the Trustees
of the Theological Seminary of Auburn."
In 1796, Samuel Wright came in with his
family and built a log house a little north of the
farm owned by L. O. Aiken.
The following year the settlements were in
creased by several families. Among these were
David and Luther Wright, brothers, from Otsego
county, who married sisters, daughters of Justus
and Hannah Gibbs, who were early settlers, and
the former of whom, in 1806, at the age of eighty
years, vvas making splint bottom chairs in Monl
ville. ITe used a primitive lathe, with foot-power
and spring pole attached. Pie died Aprfl lolh,
1810, aged 83 years. Plis wife lived to the ad
vanced age of 93 years. She lived to see the
fifth generation of her own descendants — the
daughter of her daughter's daughter's daughter.
The Wrights were masons. David settled first
near the meeting-house erected by the Quakers
soon after Walter Wood's settlement at Mont
vflle, and which is now used as a free meeting
house, there being neither society nor regular
pastor. He cultivated a tract of land for several
years, and built a house upon it ; but his title
proved defective, and he lost the farm with all
improvements, together wilh the money paid
therefor. Pie afterwards removed lo the locality
of the village. The journey from Otsego county
was made with ox teams and occupied thirteen
days. ITe was obliged to ford the lake at Skan
eateles, and carried across in his arms, through
two feet of water, one at a time, his mother,
wife and child. The latter vvas Chauncey
Wright, father of James A. Wright,* now a prom-
*James A. Wright is thc author of Historical Sketches of thc Toivn
of Moravia, published in 1874, which, through the kindness of the
author, wc have laid under contribution In the preparation of this work.
In this connection we would also acknowledge our indebtedness
to Mr. C. O. Roundy, principal of the Union School, at Moravia j
Rev. Chas. Ray, Kditor and Proprietor of thc Moravia Citizen ;
and Mr. Benj. AUee, for information furnished.
77-z

inent lawyer in Moravia. David was well edu
cated, and in his early days spent some time in
teaching. ITe died August 17th, 1869, aged 95
years. Luther squatted on a 600 acre tract on
lot 71, which was drawn by Peter Havens for
Revolutionary services, who settled on it at an
early day, and sold it for a nominal sum. The
Monroes of Camillus acquired the title to it and
ejected the occupants after some twenty years'
residence. Thc Wrights were poor, but respect
able ; and Wm. Alley, who was also a mason,
used to say of Luther, who was remarkably happy
and contented, that if he died in the winter he
died rich, but if in the spring, he died poor,
because he would then have consumed the win
ter's stores. Sophia, widow of Isaac Cady, is the
only one of David's large family living. Two of
Luther's children are living, viz : Levi, in Groton,
and Laura, wife of Increase Allen. David Wright
kept the first store in town. ITe opened it in
1800, in a log house, near the Quaker meeting
house, on what is known as the Cortwright farm.
Chauncey Wright was but seven months old
when his father moved into Moravia. Pie died
Jan. 15th, 1872, aged 75 years.
Zadoc Cady, a Revolutionary soldier, came in
from the New England States as early as 1795,
and settled first near the "pinnacle," in Locke,
on the farm owned by the Doan family. He
remained there but a short time ; for in 1798 he
formed a copartneiship with Moses Cole and
opened a tavern at Monlville, in the double frame
house erected that or the preceding year by John
Bennett. It was the first frame house in Mont
vflle, and stood in the yard attached to the
present saw mill.
In i8oi, Cady removed to Moravia and bought
a small tract of land, where the old Cady tavern
now stands. There he built a log house, in the
front part of which he kept tavern. A few years
after he erected the frame building known as
" Cady's Tavern," on the same site, which is now
and has been for some years occupied as a dwell
ing by the widow of Isaac Cady and her daugh
ter. " This tavern was a general rendezvous,
not only for the town's people, but for those of
the surrounding country. It was the head
quarters of a militia regiment, which held a 'gen
eral training' on the 'Palais,' which lasted two or
three days and as many nights. 'Aunt Cady,' as
she was familiarly called, (the wife of Zadoc,) had

456

TOWN OF MORAVIA.

wide-spread notoriety as a cook, and the traveler
at any hour of the day or night was sure of a sub
stantial and digestible meal." " Upon the sign
used to inform the public of the name of the
tavern was painted the figures 1801, the first three
of which were nearly o'Dliterated, so that it was
often jocosely remarked that 'Aunt Cady' had kept
tavern there ever since the year one." Zadoc died
March 6th, 1846, aged 82 years; and Lucy, his
wife, January 21st, 1854, aged eighty-five. None
of their chfldren are living. Artemas and Isaac
Cady were sons of theirs. The former was a
Member of Assembly in 1840 ; the latter is par
ticularly well remembered for his zeal in the
cause of human freedom, religion and temper
ance. He died August 26th, 1864, aged sixty-
nine years.
Newman and Noah Cole came in about 1797.
The latter lived near the residence of C. S. Jen
nings, where he owned a stifl. He died March
20th, 1870, aged sixty-nine years. William
Everson came in with his father from New
Jersey in 1797, and settled on the farm where he
lived till 1864, when he removed to Moravia. In
1818, he married Miss Kale Thompson, by whom
he raised a highly esteemed and worthy family.
He died at the age of eighty. John Summerlon,
from Stillwater, settled about 1797, on lot 46, in
the north-east corner of the town, which lot he
bought. He died in 1803, while on the way to
Albany with a load of wheat. His children were
Phineas, Thomas, Phebe, afterwards wife of
Henry Persoll, Jr., and Katurah, afterwards wife
of Samuel Royce, all of whom are dead. Their
children have left the country.
A man named Bucklin came in as early as
1798, in which year he had a small tan yard near
the cold spring on the Morse farm. Plis princi
pal business was tanning deer skins. In the fall
of 1798 thc first school-house was built near the
residence of Dr. Alley, in Moravia, and a school
was taught therein the following year by Levi
Goodrich, and the second year by David Wright.
David Royce, who was born in New Haven,
Conn., November 27th, 1798, came to Moravia
with his father in 1800. Thomas and Timothy
West, brothers, came in from Saratoga county in
1800, and each bought two adjoining survey
fifties. They were Quakers. Thomas settled
on the farm now owned and occupied by his son-
in-law, Elondo Greenfield, and died there March

9th, 1868, aged eighty-eight. ITis children were,
Clarissa J., afterwards wife of William Titus,
and Mary Minerva, afterwards wife of Elondo
Greenfield, both of whom are dead. Timothy
sold his land to Calvin Curtis, whose son, D. N.
Curtis, now occupies it, and removed to Ohio.
Jeremiah Sabin settled at Monlville in 1801.
ITe was noted for his large stature and great
strength. Pie and his son Jeremiah and Zadoc
Rhodes, Sr., each wilh his family, occupied that
year the Bennett house at Monlville, previously
occupied by Zadoc Cady as a tavern. Rhodes
soon after removed to the brick yard and com
menced the manufacture of brick. The senior
Sabin put up the distillery east of the grist-mill.
A portion of the walls of the lower story was
formed of the natural rock, the rest consisting of
laid stone. The upper part was of wood, and
was framed. He died August 6th, 1847, aged
seventy-five years.
In 1802, Oliver Dake built the red house now
standing at the head of the gulf. It is the oldest
building in the town of Moravia. In this year,
too, James Powers, Sr. , and Thomas Plunt were
engaged in the tanning business, near the ceme
tery gate ; and Joseph Pierce built the saw-mill
at the upper falls of I'icrce Creek. It was
burned in 1816 or '17. Saturday night, April
25th, 1818, James Powers' two children were
drowned. In 1803, Stoyell deeded to Lemuel Spooner
the carding works and turning lathe on the north
side of the creek and west of the bridge, at Monl
ville. These were then the only carding works
in the south part of the County. Spooner soon
after sold them to John Demmon and Benjamin
Dexter, by whom they were run as late as 1815.
It was in these works that Millard Fillmore
learned the trade of wool carding and clolh dress
ing. They were afterwards owned and run by
Slocum Smith, who enlarged them and added
the manufacture of cloth ; and still later by
Christopher Kenyon,  Smith, Joseph Tinker,
and lastly by  Simpkins. They were then
dismantled, and the building has been used for a
lalh-mfll, planing-mill, and, at the present time,
as a barrel factory.
Wflliam Alley, a mason, came in from Sullivan
county in 1805, and settled two miles north of
Moravia, on the farm now occupied by Joseph
McClintock. ITe died in Moravia in 1850, aged

EARLY SETTLEMENTS.

¦457

87 years. Six of his chfldren are living, viz :
Dr. Wm. W. Alley, Henry and Phebe, widow of
Alanson Barber, in Moravia, and Elias, James
and George in Michigan. Daniel Goodrich came
in the same year, (1805.) Pie was an excellent
mechanic, and built the Congregational church
and several houses in the village. Pie was father
of Daniel, Lyman and James, all men of genius
in their way, the latter still living, and grandfather
of Franklin Goodrich. ITe died April 29th,
1855. aged 89 years. Hisson Daniel died March
28th, 1869, aged 78.
In 1806, Abel Meach built a distillery at the
head of the gulf road leading to Montvifle ;
Capt. David Winnie worked at blacksmithing a
short time at Monlville ; and Edmund Potter
kept tavern in the red house in that village. In
1807 or '8, Winnie worked in company wilh Geo.
Taylor in a shop north of the bridge and east of
Main street. He had a trip hammer and did
general blacksmithing. Taylor was engaged in
making steel-yards.
Other early settlers in this town were John
Locke, the historian and genius, and one of the
first six members of the Episcopal church, who
partook of the first communion administered by
a minister of that church in this neighborhood,
June 24lh, 1822, who died many years ago ; Jo
seph S. Fox, whose name is carved on the corner
stone of St. Matthew's church as its builder in
1823, and who died long since ; Capt. Orrin
Standish, who was born in 1801, settled in the
north part of the town, where he has since lived,
and who, though a cabinet maker by trade, has
followed farming to some extent ; Lyman Card,
who was born here in 1809, and has been a car
penter for more than thirty years ; Rowland Day,
who was the first merchant in the old yellow
store in 1810, postmaster for thirty years, super
visor fifteen years. Member of Assembly in 1816
and '17, and a Representative in Congress from
1823-25 and i833-'35; Ebenezer Shove, who
commenced the tanning business at Monlville in
1812, and continued till his death in 1836, in
company, a part of the time, wilh Silas Jones ;
and Deacon Josiah Jewett, who came in from
Durham, Conn., in 1812, and settled in the vil
lage, where he carried on the business of harness
making for several years. ITe afterwards bought
a farm about a a mile west of the village, where
C. S. Jennings now lives, and died there Feb

ruary 24th, i860, aged 86 years. His children
who are living in Cayuga County are, Martha,
wife of Amasa IT. Dunbar, and Guernsey, a mer
chant, in Moravia.
John Keeler settled here in 1813, first in a log
house across the Inlet, below Mr. Dean's, where
he lived one year, then upon the fifty acres novv
owned by his son, Morris Keeler, on Oak Hill,
which was bought of John Stoyell for ^1,000.
He was the father of William, Israel, Morris and
Thompson Keeler. Pie died July 7lh, 1854,
aged 71 years. Gad Camp had previously set
tled just west of the Inlet, near Camp's bridge.
He died March 27lh, 1840, aged 84. Allen
Wood came in from Dutchess county about 181 2,
and settled at Monlville, where he carried on thc
carpenter and joiner business several years. He
afterwards bought the farm now owned by Mr.
Atwood, a little north of the Quaker meeting
house. He subsequently moved lo a farm about
a mile north of Monlville, where he died in 1854.
Nine children are living, viz : John P., a mer
chant, Morgan L., Allen, Lucy A,, widow of
Lauren Townsend, and Deborah, wife of James
Lester, in Moravia, the latter on the homestead;
David L. and James H., hardware merchants
in Central Square, Oswego county; Waller, a
farmer in Brighton, Monroe county; and Tem
perance, wife of Plenry W. Locke, in Cattarau
gus county.
In 1815 or '16, George Clough had a tailor
shop in Amos Sloyell's house. At the same
time Cyrus Loomis started a tannery on the site
of the tan yard back of Alley's mill, and carried
on boot and shoe making on the corner of Main
and Mfll streets, now occupied by Jennings &
Parker. ITe also built a grist-mill on the site of
Alley's mill, Warren Parsons doing the carpen
ter work. The water was taken from Dudley
Loomis' tail-race in an open ditch to the west
end of the present mill dam, thence in an open
race across H. PI. Alley's place, passing under
the road in a circular flume, and again in an open
race on the south side of Mill street, to the mill.
Dudley Loomis came in 1816 and built carding
works and a dam on the premises now owned by
Wm. V. Walker. The works were burned in
1843. James Church, from Dutchess county,
settled in 1816, in the north-east corner of the
town, where Charles and Ira Chandler now live,
and died there August 6th, 1855. Four chil-

458

TOWN OF MORAVIA.

dren are living, viz : James, who is a hardware
merchant at Kelloggsville, Eliza, wife of John
Cuykendall, in Michigan, and Allen and Philetus,
in Moravia.
About this time, or shortly previous, Elias
Rogers commenced ihe manufacture of steel
yards at Moravia. He melted the iron used in
casting the weights therefor over a blacksmith's
forge, in a kettle prepared for the purpose.
While thus engaged he vvas importuned by Jethro
Wood, the inventor ofthe cast iron plow, to make
patterns and castings of that invention, for which
Wood had received letters patent July tst, 1814.
Rogers, sharing in the general incredulity which
credited Wood vyith being visionary, reluctantly
consented, and after the plow was finished, and
demonstrated a success, by a trial made on land
now owned by Abel Adams, south of the village,
he entered into an arrangement to furnish Wood
wilh castings for a year or two, from a furnace
built by him for the purpose, on the west side of
the creek and north side of the road, near the
mfll dam of Deacon John Stoyell, Sr. Expe--
riencing som2 difficulty with regard to the water
privilege, he removed to Monlville, and built a
log furnace a little north-west of the grist-mill,
and commenced, in company with Isaac Watts
Skinner, his brother-in-law, the manufacture of
plows. This was soon burned down, and another
vvas erected near the same site, and occupied a
few years, when they removed to the foot of the
falls, at the junction of Mill and Pierce creeks.
A potash kettle was still used for reducing their
blasts, which were conveyed by means of an open
trough and emptied into an upright tube, without
the aid of any other machinery. September ist,
1 8 19, Jethro Wood patented an improvement on
his plow, and December 8lh, 1821, Messrs. Rog
ers & Skinner entered into a contract wilh him
to manufacture the plow under his patent to any
extent they deemed advisable, in consideration
of which they were to pay him one dollar for each
set of castings. This contract was canceled June
24th, 1824. They continued the furnace there
until the great freshet of July, 1833, completely
destroyed the works, together with the factory
dam and other property. May 13th, 1833, short
ly before the freshet, Rogers had formed a co
partnership with Geo. C. Lathrop for the pur
pose of making and vending cast iron plows and
other iron castings. Rogers died December 20th,
1863, aged 75.

Village of Moravia.
Moravia is pleasantly situated on the flats,
near the junction of Mill Creek and the Inlet,
about four miles from thelake, a little south-west
ofthe center of the town. It is the principal sta
tion in the County, south of Auburn, on Ihe S.
C. R. R,, which has contributed largely to its
growth and prosperity. The village is increas
ing in population and business importance. It
is estimated that an average of twenty buildings
per annum have been erected here for the last
five years. It is distant from Auburn eighteen
miles. It contains five churches, (Baptist, Con
gregational, Episcopal, Methodist Episcopal and
Roman Catholic,) an excellent free, graded union
school, with academic department, two National
banks, two printing offices, twenty-nine stores of
various kinds, two hotels, two markets, (kept by
Geo. W. Gifford and Paul & Childs,) three har
ness shop.s, (kept by D. C. Brown, Geo. D. Foot,
agent for F. A. Tallman of Syracuse, and Line
& Hopkins,) two taflor shops, (kept by Benjamin
Alleeand T. J. Green,) one photographer, (T. T.
Tuttle.) PI in man Bros', marble works, two cus
tom and flouring-mills, two carriage shops, six
blacksmith shops, (kept by R. T. Mc Geer, C. W.
Brigden, G. IT. McGeer, Albert Morse, G. W.
Boardman and Seth Loomis,) two lumber yards,
(Lowe & Pulver and Foster & Barber, props.,) a
foundry and machine shop, one saw-mfll, three
planing-mills, a cheese factory, a chair factory,
and a population of about 1,500. The village
vvas incorporated May ist, 1837, and reincorpo
rated under a special act March iSlh, 1859.
Merchants.-— The first merchant in the vil
lage was Cotton Skinner. His store stood on
Church street, opposite the Congregational
church. Pie formed a co-partnership in the mer
cantile business with Jabez Bradley, of Genoa,
February 14th, 1804. ITe commenced merchan
dising within a few years after moving into the
town,, buying his goods at Utica.
Hon. Rowland Day, father of W. H. Day,
opened a store in 1810, in the west end of Amos
Sloyell's old house, which stood on the corner of
Church and Main streets, in the back part of
which he lived. Artemas Cady was clerk. In
1812 or '13 he erected the frame building, after
wards known as the "old yellow store." He
was succeeded about 1835 by Samuel E. and
WflHam H, Day, his brother and son. After four

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Hon, William Titus, eldest child of Zadock and Anna Titus, was
born in Sempronius, Cayuga Co.. N,Y,, July 21st, 1803. His father
was born in Stillwater, Saratoga County, N, T,, November 13th, ITTIi,
and in the winter of 179B, emigrated to the town of Sempronius,
then in Onondaga County, with an ox team, bringing with him his
mother and two sisters. He settled first about one and one-half
miles north-east ot Moravia, and removed in 1797 to lot 56, in the
north-west part of the present town of Sempronius, He took up 127
acres a half mile norlh of Sayles Corners, and subsequently added
thereto 50 acres. May 20th, 1801, he was united in marriage with
Anna Greenfleld. who came with her parents, William and Prudence
[Hinckley] Greenfleld and tbe latter's mother from the town of Gal
way, Saratoga County. N,Y, Zadock and AnnaTitus were the parents
of ten children, seven sons and three daughters, all of wliom were
born upon the farm upon which Za'dook settled in 1707, Zadock died
November fith, 18-36, and his wife August 3d, I860,
William Titus, the subject of this sketch, remained upon bis
father's farm till the spring of 1822, May 6th, 1812, when a little less
than nine years old, he went to Aaburn, fifteen miles, on horseback,
to purchase a jug of molasses, the jug in one end of a bag ond a
stone in the otherend to balance it across his horse. On returning
he had the distinction of riding in company with Gen. Van Rensse
laer and staff. The General, his aids and two others rode leisurely
along in a carriage, accompanied by four others on horseback, all
in full uniform, with sharp hats, red-faced coats and white vests,
and riding and driving eight white horses. Ills mind was so much
ocouplod with this unnsual diR|ilay that heiinoonsolously went four
miles out of his way. It was now five o'clock in the afternoon, and
OS he thought of home, father ond mother, and the distanco to be
traveled (12 to 14 miles) through a district he had neverbefore seen,
with threatening rain, it caused the tears to flow. But be kept on
through darkness and rain, and when within about one and one-half
miles from home he was overjoyed by a flash of light from the lan
tern of his father, with whom he arrived homo at ten o'clock, to tell
the tale of his sight-seeing and his aches from fatigue.
In the spring of 1822 young Titus commenced the study of med
icine with Dr, Silas N, Hall, then of Sempronius ; but falling health
compelled him to relinquish it. The doctors having given up all
hopes of his recovery he resolved to seek restoration to health by a
visit to salt water. In this determination we see the ambition and
resolute energy which made his subsequent life so conspicuous and
useful. May 10th, 1823, he left home in charge of Otis Burgess, »

young man of his own age. He was placed on a bed in a wagon with
wooden springs. His friends bade him, as they supposed, a final
good bye, believing that lie would never return. He went flrst to
Saratoga Springs, thence to Troy, N, Y,, where, his health having
somewhat improved, so that he could walk two or three rods, he
took passage on the sloop Thames, commanded by Capt. Underbill,
and in seven days arrived in New York, about six weeks after leav
ing home, weak and emaciated. As soon aShewas able, ond before
others thought he was, he went out to sea and fished and bathed,
continuing this practice until September, when he returned home
with health restored.
In June. 1824, he entered the store of L, & I, Fuller, at Kelloggs
ville, as clerk. There be learned to make whiskey and potash, and to
sell merchandise on credit, the current medium of the day, develop
ing the germs ot a maturing genius, and somewhat astonishing his
associates by his successful innovations upon established customs,
November 2d. 1825, the junior partner died. In September, 1824, he
joined ItiicHant Lodge F. if; A. II., of Sempronius, He was imme
diately made secretary and remained such during bis stay In the
plaoe, three years,
April 1st, 1826, he formed a copartnership for the sale of merchan
dise with Luther Fuller and William Slade, under the title of Fuller,
Slade & Titus, which continued one year, when he sold bis interest
to the late Daniel R. Rooks, May 4th, 1827, he removed to Ira Center
and bought a lot and built a store. While the building of the store
was in progress he commenced raising blood. This reanlted in
extronio prostration and caused him to nesoclate with himself as
partner his brother John, under the name ot W. & J. Titus, They
fllled their store in Septf-mbor, •
January 22d, 1828, Mr, Titus was united in marriage with Clarissa
J,, eldest daughter of Thomas and Fanny [Johnson] West, who was
born in Sempronius (now Moravia) in Coyuga County, October Seth,
1805. They commenced keeping house at Ira Center, March 4th[
18S8, Mrs, Titus' parents were natives of Massachusetts, Her
father was born in New Bedford, August 1st, IWO, immigrated to
Semproniup, now Moravia, In 1800, and died on the form on which
he then settled, in the present town of Moravia, March 9th, 1808
aged 88 years, seven months and eight days. Her mother wos born
in Bucklin, June 28th, 1788, and died in Moravia, March 29th, >856
aged 67 years, nine months and four days. They were married in
Sempronius, March IBth, 1804, and had two daughters, Clarissa J,
and Minerva M,

HON. WILLIAM TITUS.

Mr. and Mrs, Titus' only child, Thomas West Titus, was born Sep
tember 29th, 1829. He followed farming with the exception of a few
years spent in mercantile business and in the Custom House, New.
York December SJOth, 1357, while residing in Ira, he married
Josephine Tyler, who was born March 2d, 18-34, He died in Moravia,
May 11th, 1873, aged 43 years, seven months and twelve days, leaving
two children, Mary I,, born November 14th, 1859, and Grant W
born May 29th, 1864, '
In 1830 they associated with themselves in the business, Dr, Allen
Benton, and the flrm built a distillery and ashery and continued
until William Titus sold his interest to his partners and removed to
Owasco, where he sold merchandise in company with William Ful
ler one year, increasing the business in that time from ^8,000 to
$15,000, Dnrlng this period they packed COO barrels ot pork. In
1888 Mr. Titus bought a store and an acre of ground ot Milan,
of Hiram Becker, who became his partner In the mercantile
business September 22d, 18-30, and gave a half interest in the
Miller grist mill in part payment ot the goods. They did a heavy
business under the name of Titus & Becker in merchandising,
milling, buying and selling produce and supplying contractors on
the Erie Railroad until May 24th, 1839, when they dissolved. They
sold their goods to Isaac Cady and Grover Stoyell, to whom Mr,
Titus also sold the real estate. While in company with Hiram
Becker, in 1887, Mr, Titus Imported two thoroughbred Devon cattle
from Devonshire, England, a bull and heifer. These cattle proved
to be of extra size and very flne and weie of gri>at value to the
growers of etook in Cayuga County, This Importation, while adding
greatly to the Improvement of the cattle of Cayuga County, was
also a profitable financial venture on the part of Mr, Titus, He at
this time also imported to Leicestershire sheep noted for their long
combing wool and heavy weight. These after trial proved to bo
undesirable for this section of the country and were discarded.
In tho fall of 18.39, Mr. Titus, in company with'Dr, Nathaniel
Leavltt and Elondo Greenfleld, opened another store in the
south end of the village of Milan and did a general merchandising,
milling and produce business uutil 1847, In 1840 the flrm bought
heavily of pork and butter in Ohio and this county. During
this time Titus & Greenfleld had a store in Northville, which,
together with the flouring-mills at that place, they managed for two
and a half years, June 10th, 1849, Mr, Titus moved to Ira and sold
merchandise as agent for Juda Pierce till April 1st, 1852. In 1855 he
was engaged in the milling business,shoemaking and farming at Hdn-
nibal Center, Oswego County, This business, to which was added
tanning and currying in 1856, blacksmithing in 1858, he continued
till, 1864, The tannery was burned January 6th, 18E8, and rebuilt
the same year.
In June, 1864, he sold out his mill and moved to Moravia in
'the winter of 1865, where, August 29th, 1864, he had purchased
the stone mill property. The freshet of March 16th and 17th,
1865, swept away the high dam on Mill Creek at Moravia,
together with all the bridges on that stream, and o mill shed
and stabling ot 80 feet. The dam was rebuilt by Mr, Titus in
the summer of 1865, He also built a waste weir 150 feet long, seven
feet wide and eight feet deep, cut into the solid rock, to afford an
escape forthe surplus water which accumulated during freshets and
which had taken off a number of dams from the same site. The
whole cost $5,400. About 13,000 loads of earth were used In making
the dam. Immediately below and supporting the earth is a stone
dam 10 feet wide, 22 feet high and about 100 feet long, making a sub
stantial improvement. In this year also (1865) he became interested
In the Southern Central Railroad project and was a director in the
company organization of that year and until the fall of 1870,
The towns of Moravia and Locke were assigned to him to canvass
in the interest of that road, and he was expected to raise $100,000 in
the former and $50,000 in the latter town in its aid Moravia sub
scribed $17,0"0 and bonded for $81,000, Locke subscribed $2,500 and
bonded for $47,500. The want of money and the opposition to the
road rendered its chances quite hopeless. Hence Mr. Titus, with a
firm belief in its final accomplishment and of its great benefit to
Moravia and the whole valley, with his characteristic perseverance
and untiring energy, with others, labored Incessantly till success to
the undertaking waa secured.

In 1868 he acquired a halt interest in the first grocery store in
Moravia, his partner being Chas, A. Hinman, and the flrm name,
Hinman & Titus, In this year and the following the Union blook*
of which he was the projector and prime mover was built. It Is a
flne brick structure, 78 by 80 feet, on the corner of Main and Church
streets. It contains three stories and was erected at a cost of
about S-M,000, He disposed ot his interest in it in the spring of 1874,
In 1870 ho engaged in the lumber, coal, sash and blind trade in
, Moravia, with David H, Foster as junior partner, and continued till
1874, when he sold his interest in the business to Hiram Graves for
a farm of 213 acres in Venice, which he operated three years from
1874, building, fencing and ditcliing. He remained on the farm sum
mers, returning to Moravia winter:^. During this period, in 1871, he
proposed and assisted in buying a lot and building upon it a Baptist
meeting house tn Moravia, In January, 1877, he traded the farm
with John Seymour, of Meridian, for his steam tannery, saw
and feed mills at that, place, Mr, Titus has largely Increased
that business and is now engaged In it, associated with Charles G.
Alward, It is thus seen that Mr, Titus has been actively and variously en
gaged, and each business enterprise with which he has been con
nected has felt the energizing impulse of his vigorous intellect,
indomitable will, well-directed energy and perseverance. In nearly
every Instance he has been at the head and the moving spirit of the
enterprise, Mr, Titus' political llfo has been a conscientious and conspicuous
one. He has neVer voted any other than the Democratic ticket.
The energy, ability and probity which characterized his business
career soon brought him prominently before the public and made
him the honored recipient of many responsible civil trusts. In 1829,
at the age of 26, he was made assessor of the town ot Ira, where he
was" then engaged in mercantile business, an ofBce to which he was
also elected tho following yeor. In 1831, when but 28 years ot age,
he was elected delegate to the Demooratio Stote Convention held at
Herkimer, In that same year he olso held the ofilces of commissioner
of schools, sealer of weights and measures, and rood commissioner
in that town ; and ici 1832, that of town clerk. In 1836 he received the
appointment of postmaster at Milan, under Postmaster G3neral
Barry, and held that office 11 or 12 years. In 1844 he was elected
supervisor of tlie town of Locke, and served on the committees on
Sheriffs BiUs, Equalization, Connial/le^s Bilk, a special committee,
and Mill Tax, of all of which, except the last, he waa chairman.
The following year he represented this County iu the Assembly,
serving as uhalrmon of the Committee on Trade and Manufactures.
In 1850 and '51 he wj,s a.;ain elected town clerk in Ira,- holding also
the former year the ofttoe of overseer of highways in that town,
April 1st, 1852, he was appointed warden of Auburn State Prison.
When the split in the Democratic party occurred in 1842, the oppos
ing tactiona being designated as Barnbumere and Bunkers, Mr.
Titus allied himself with the former party, which opposed the
annexation ot Texas, with the slavery clause. In 1852 he was
a delegate to the State Convention that nominated Horatio
Seymour for Governor, and was on the commitee appointed to
settle the right to a seat between Johu VanBuren and Rufus
H, Peckham, delegates from Albany County, In 1854 the opposite
party hod a majority in the Board ot Prison Inspectors, aud in Jan
uary of that year Mr, Titus was suporaoded in the offloe ot warden
by Col, Levi Lewis, the choice of the Hunkers, but waa assured on
retiring that the discipline was never better. In 1854 Mr, Titus waa
appointedby HemanJ, Redfleldaclerkin the Cuatom Houseot New
York ond plooed in charge ot the books of the ocean steamera, Hia
BBalth failiog, hia son received the appointment to thot plaoe and
retained it over fouryears, Mr, Titua retiring to Hannibal Center.
In 1856 Mr, Tltue waa appointed by Postmaster General James
Campbell postmaster at Hannibal Center and held the office six
years. He secured the establishment of that office while a member
of the State Legislature in 1S45, and the establishment of o doily
mall there in 1859, In 1860 he waa appointed morahal of the U, S.
Census for Hannibal, Oswego Oounty, N, Y, In 1862 he waa put in
nomination for Congreaa in the 22d District, then embracing Oswego
and Madison Oountiea, in opposition to D, C, Littlejohn, who waa
elected

HON. WILLIAM TITUS.

During his residence in Oswego County he took a strong and
active Interest in politics serving as chairman in many conventions
and devoting much time in the interest ot Stephen A. Douglass
for the presidency. He waa president of the Douglass Club, and
has now a hickory cane presented him on one occasion during that
canvass. In 1866, the second year of his residence in Moravia, he was elected
trustee of that village, and by tbe Board, its president. He inaug
urated a system of village Improvements, which, by reoeon of the
expense they Involved, created an opposition to his poliuy ; but he
was sustained by the enterprising portion ot the citizens and
reelected, on a test question, the following year to the same posi
tions. On the organization ot the Board of Education in the school
district embracing Moravia, December 29th, 1868, he was elected one
of its members, an oflice he held continuously for seven years, till his
removal to his farm in Venice, three years as chairman ot the
Board, to ivhich position he was elected in 1872, He was a member
ot the Board during the selection and purchase of the additions to
tho site and the erection of the Union School building in Moravia,
In 1869 he was reelected village trustee by an increased majority and
was again president of the village, he being the only one having held
that position more than two terms.
Mr, Titus became a member ot the First Baptist Church ot Sem

pronius, Deoember 8d, 1615, in his thirteenth year and lemalned
with them thirteen years. In 1828 he took a letter ot cammeodation
to the Baptist Church ot Cato. When about to offer his letter to
the churqh (the same day) he heard some utterances of a very dis
courteous, unohristianlike character tall from the llpa of a prom
inent member towards the Masons, of whom he was one. He paused
and has his letter to this day. He has always been a flrm believer
in the Christian religion and generous in sustaining the cause. He
is now a member of St. John the Baptist Chapter No. 30, ot Moravia,
also of the Lodge of Master Masons No. 41, of Moravia.
Thursday, February 7th, 1878, Mr. Titus lost his wife by death.
She had suffered several years from impaired health. She lived to
the ripe age of 72 years, having survived every member of her
father's family and her only son ; her parents and only sister, Mrs.
Elondo Greenfleld, having died many years before. She was a
woman of great personal worth, kind and charitable, and highly
esteemed by those who knew her best. She clung tenaciously
through life to the religious faith imbibed from the early training
ot her parents, who were Friends, and worshiped in the old log
house, the predecessor ot the Quaker Meetlng-House, located on the
place now owned by Mr, Hector Tuthill, She " expressed clearly her
trust in the Redeemer of men, her need of his saving blood, but in
accord with the views ot her early religious training never united "
with any church.

VILLAGE OF MORAVIA.

•459

or five years Sheldon C. Pritchard was admitted
to partnership, and continued two or threeyears,
when they closed.
A man named DeWitt opened a store in 1810,
in Aunt Cady's north room, and soon after pur
chased nearly all the land lying east of Main,
between Church and Congress streets, and ex
tending east to the foot of the hill. He built and
occupied a stone building, on the second floor of
which he put up grain bins, leaving a space of a
few feet through the center east and west, which
was occupied by the Masons as a lodge room.
He continued business till his death by drowning
in Cayuga Lake, together wilh his wife and fam
ily, a few years after. Soon after commencing,
Jesse Millard became his partner, and continued
the business till his removal lo Milan, when he
sold to George Ward, who had previously become
his partner. Ward was from Durham, Conn.
He lived where C. L. Jennings now lives. He
buflt the house now occupied by L. O. Aiken,
and soon after a store on the same lot. Pie con
tinued lill the spring of 1830, when he removed
his goods lo Pennyville, in Niles. George W.
Jewett succeeded Ward in the same store and
closed out in 1831. Eli Palmer opened a store
on the south-east corner of Church and Factory
streets, in 1821, and kept it till about 1828. He
also kept an ashery and pearling works. The
Cadys built the store next north of the old tavern
about 1817, and a man named Rice put some
goods into it and kept it two or three years, when
he sold to Artemas Cady, who continued it, in
company with his son, Stoyell Cady, after the
latter became of age, till their removal to Roch
ester, in the spring of 1846, having buflt and
occupied in the meantime the brick store on the
corner of Main and Cayuga streets. Wm. A.
Richmond filled up the store occupied by Ward,
and Wm. C. Beardsley, of Auburn, was his
clerk. ITe afterwards bought the buildingon the
south-east corner of Church and Main streets,
erected and occupied by George W. Bowen as
the first grocery, in 1821. August 19th, 1824,
Thomas L. Knapp bought the store on the corner
of Main and Mill streets, together with the shoe-
shop, mill and tannery. William Lotridge was
foreman in thc shoe store, and Josiah Letch
worth, late of Auburn, vvas foreman of the harness
business. Orsamus Dibble opened a store about 1832,

and after four or five years Nathan Robinson be
came his partnerand continued such two or three
years. In April, 1849, Dibble sold to Charles E.
and Norman Parker, brothers, from Billerica,
Mass., who, in the fall of the same year, pur
chased of Mrs. Hamilton the old Knapp stores,
corner of Mill and Main streets, and as successors
to Col. O. M. Welch, added the hat and ready-
made clothing business lo their general trade.
In 1851, they sold their goods to Plenry Willson
and the block to E. P. K. Smith, and purchased
the Moravia tannery of Wm. H. Harrington. In
1857, C. E, Patker, having disposed of the tan
nery, resumed mercantile business. In 1863, he
sold his goods lo W. D. Bennett, and engaged in
real estate business and the sale of oil territory.
In 1865, he purchased a stock of goods of Henry
Cutler, Jr., and in 1866 removed to Pittsfield,
Mass. In 1871, he purchased the interest of C.
S. Jennings, in the firm of Jennings Bros.,
and immediately transferred his interest to'^his
son, C. A, Parker ; and the business, which was
begun in August, 1864. by Henry and C. S.
Jennings, brothers, who, in May, 1867, sold to
G. & H. M. Jewett an interest which they re
purchased in May, 1869, has since been conduct
ed under the name of Jennings & Parker.
John Marvin, from Butternuts, did business
some years previous lo 1840, in which year he
furnished eggs for the "egg war" during the
Tyler campaign, and closed a year or two after.
IT. B. Hewitt, from New York, a native of Sem
pronius, was engaged in mercantile business
here. He sold to Everson Bros, in 1855.
Guernsey Jewett, who was clerk in the store of
George W. Jewell in 1831, commenced business
for himself in 1844. A. B. Hale came in from
Scipio in 1841 and opened a hardware store,
which, with the exception of one kept a short
time about 1838 or '39, by Wm. B. Ray, who
kept nothing but tinware, was the first of its
kind in the village. Hale sold his stock in the
spring of 1875 to \Vebb J. Greenfield, who had
been his partner since Aprfl ist, 1870, and who
admitted Fred. B. ITeald to partnership the same
spring. In the spring of 1877 Greenfield sold
his interest to J. IT. Plolden, and the business
has since been conducted under the name of
Heald & Holden.
G. Jewett commenced business as general
merchant in 1839. I" 1847 he admitted D. L.

46o

TOWN OF MORAVIA.

Wood, who retired in 1854. In i860, Capt. Jo
siah P. Jewett, a nephew, became a partner.
He entered the army in September, 1862, and
was wounded and taken prisoner in Louisiana,
in March, 1863. Pie was paroled after about
thirty days' imprisonment and returned home,
but lived only ten days after arriving there. In
August, 1864, Mr. Jewett sold to C. S. & Henry
Jennings, and in March, 1867, he and his son,
Henry M. Jewett, bought an interest in the
business, and the firm became Jewett, Jennings
& Co. In May, 1869, the Jewells sold to the
Jennings, and, in company wilh Theo. C. Jewett,
formed the present firm of G. Jezvett & Sons.
Morgan L. Everson commenced the dry goods
business in 1855, in company wilh B. F.& Terry
Everson, under the name of Everson Bros. In
1865, B. F. sold his interest to the remaining
partners. In 1871, M. L. sold his interest to
Hector H. Tuthfll, when the firm became and
still remains Everson &¦ Tuthill, who do a general
merchandise business. The Eversons are na
tives of Moravia. Tuthill is a native of Orange
county, but had previously resided in this town
some four or five years, and prior to that in Sem
pronius. In 1872, Morgan L. Everson bought
John L. Parker's interest in the firm of Warren
& Co., which then became Warren & Everson.
After six months, Warren sold his interest to
Isaac Butler, who, at the expiration of one year,
sold to his partner, M. L. Everson, who con
tinued the business a year, when he took in as
partner Capt. E. C. Pulver, who retired at the
expiration of a year, since which time Mr. Ever
son has conducted the grocery business alone.
J. D. Clark commenced the boot and shoe
business in 1858. In 1868 he admitted Marshal
Downing to partnership, and, after twenty-two
months, sold his remaining interest to Downing.
who continued three or fouryears. About ayear
after selling to Downing, Clark resumed business
in company with Gideon F. Morey, who sold his
interest September ist, 1876, to J. J. Moore,
who remained some eighteen months, when Clark
bought his interest and admitted his son, Par
tello S., who have since done business under the
name of J. D. Clark & Son.
Andrew Perry commenced the boot and shoe
business about 1858. July 1st, 1868, his son,
Irving, bought a half interest, which he sold
back to his father at the expiration of two and

one-half years. July 1st, 1872, Irving again
bought a half interest, which, January ist, 1877,
again reverted to his father, who still continues
the business. A. Colony, dealer in groceries,
notions and fancy goods, commenced business
in 1861.
M. Dozvning came in from Milan and com
menced the jewelry business in September, 1864.
May 13th, 1868. he added boots and shoes to his
stock, and took in as partner John D.Clark, whose
interest he bought two years later. In 1871,
Benjamin Downing, his father, became a partner
and continued tfll his death, July 28th, 1874,
since which time Mr. Downing has carried on
the business alone.
Fred Small commenced the hardware business
in the spring of 1870. Pie was associated as
partner with David Barney six months of that
year ; and with John A. Knowlton and C. S.
Jennings, each of whom remained in that con
nection about a year, the former from January,
1 87 1, and the latter from December ist, 1871.
December ist, 1872, Lodawick H. Adams be
came a partner, and the firm then became and
still remains Small & Adams.
M. P. Collins and his son, F". W., commenced
business as clothiers and dealers in hats, caps,
boots and shoes, in 1871. August 3d, 1876, they
sold a third interest to M. O. Jennings, and the
firm then became and still remains Collins &
Jennings. L. M. Tozvnsend, dealer in books,
stationery and frames, commenced business in
December, 1871. L. Black, dealer in clothing,
furnishing goods, hats and caps, commenced
business in 1873. J. M. Plarris commenced the
drug business in 1873. February 12th, 1877,
Geo. A. Edmonds was admitted to partnership,
under ihe name of Harris & Edmonds, who are
stfll doing business. S. M. Warren commenced
the grocery and crockery business in 1874. In
January, 1877, S. L. Tice became a partner, and
the name has since been Warren &¦ Tice. O. E.
Armstrong, jeweler, came in from Coudersport,
Pennsylvania, and commenced business in July,
1875. Brozvn Bros., (L. W. & F. B.,) bakers
and confectioners, commenced business October
1st, 1876, at which time they bought out James
S. Wolsey, who carried on the business several
years. G. A. Shimer, dealer in fancy and fur
nishing goods, commenced business October 20lh,
1876.

VILLAGE OF MORAVIA.

461

/. S. Amerman & Son, (W. J.,) general mer
chants, commenced business in May, 1877. W. J.
came in from Syracuse. I. S. is a resident of
Skaneateles. M. L. Jennings &¦ Bro., general
merchants, commenced business June 1st, 1877.
Geo. B. Clary, jeweler, a native of Auburn, came
in from Cairo, Illinois, and commenced business
in June, 1877. John P. Wood & Co., (Grace
Wood,) dealers in books and stationery; John
V. Peacock, furniture dealer, from Corning, Steu
ben county ; and E. F Butterfield & Co., (Fred. S.
Hawley,) druggists, commenced business in Sep
tember, 1877. Butterfield is a resident of Roch
ester. Plawley came in from Syracuse. W. A.
Gooiizvin, druggist, commenced business Octo
ber 1st, 1877, in company wilh G. l*". Butler,
whose interest he bought after about six months.
JoJin Wood, jeweler, from Venice, commenced
business, which he carries on under the name of
Austin Wood,\nYehr\\ary, 1878. E. R. Wands,
confectioner, from Madison county, and J. J. &
C. P Moore, boot and shoe dealers, from Bing-
hamlon, commenced business April 1st, 1878.
DeWitt C Henry, proprietor of the 99 cent store,
from Auburn, commenced business in July, 1878.
Postmasters. — The first postmaster was Dea
con John Stoyell, Sr., who was appointed about
1800, and held the office tfll about 1812. The
first mails were carried by Jabez Long Bottom,
and from 1817 to 1825, by Bliss Furbush, on
horse-back, once a week. Rowland Day suc
ceeded Stoyell to the office and held it till 1823,
when he took his seat in Congress, and vvas suc
ceeded in the office by his brother Frank Day,
who held it during his brother's Congressional
term, till 1825, when the latter was reelected.
ITe was succeeded by Samuel E. Day, who held
the office several years. Plenry Day was post
masler under Tyler. Leonard O. Aiken held
it two years under Tyler's administration, and
vvas succeeded by Orsamus Dibble, who held il
oneyear. Isaac Cady next held it about four
years. A. B. Hale was appointed in 1849, and
held it till 1853, when Rowland Day was appoint
ed. Wm. Wade held the office a short time, and
was succeeded by Chas. R. Aiken. Wright
Tourtellotte held the office from 1856 lo '60, and
was succeeded by Hiram H. Alley, who held it
about six years. Plenry Culler next held it till
April, 1869, when Elias Mead was appointed and
has held it continuously since.
78-1

Physicians.— The first physician was James
Stoyell, brother of John and Amos Stoyell. He
came in 1790, practiced five or six years, then
removed to Horseheads and died there.
Daniel Wood, father of Ex-Gov. John Wood,
of Illinois, was a surgeon in the Revolutionary
army. ITe came in from Orange county about
1795, and settled two miles east of Moravia, on a
lot granted him for mflitary services, where he
remained till his death, about 1841, at the age of
92. He practiced in difficult cases some ten or
twelve years, but received no compensation
therefor. Silas Holbrook was licensed to practice by the
County Judge in September, 1797, and joined the
County Medical Society, August 7th, 1806. Pie
settled upon a farm one mile norlh of Moravia, and
practiced a few years. ITe afterwards removed to
the Sand Beach at the foot of Owasco Lake, and
died there.
David Annable settled in Moravia, in 1806,
and joined the County Medical Society August
7lh of that year. He had an extensive practice
here lill about 1830, when he removed to Beards-
ley's Corners, in Tompkins county, and died
there of apoplexy not long afterwards. He built
theold north brick tavern in 1814.
Thos. L. Plewitt was licensed to practice in
May, 1808, by the County Judge, and became awi.
member of the County Medical Society the Sth
of that month and year.
Royal N. Powers and Lemuel Powers, broth
ers, and uncles of Dr. Cyrus Powers, of Moravia,
studied medicine wilh Dr. Annable, and joined
the County Medical Society, the former August
4lh, 1808, and the latter August 6th, 1812, but
they did not practice long here. Royal N. re
moved to Mississippi and died there about 1825.
Lemuel practiced several years at Beardsley's
Corners, then removed to Ohio, where he died
about 1833.
Ichabod Benton came in from Ulster county
about 1810 or '1 1, and practiced some threeyears
with Dr. Annable, wilh whom he previously
studied. Levi S. Goodrich joined the County
Medical Society November 2d, 1815, about
which time he came here from Vermont. He prac
ticed about three years with Dr. Annable, and re
moved to Howard, Steuben county, where he died
about 1870. Gershom Jayne studied with Dr.
Annable, and was licensed to practice May 7th,

462

TOWN OF- MORAVIA.

18 1 2. After a short practice he removed to Ohio,
where he became successful, and died there a
few years ago. Richard S. Satteriee commenced
practice with Dr. Annable about 1820, and con
tinued tifl 1824, when he removed to Green Bay,
Mich., where he became and has since continued
to be a surgeon in the army. ITe is now Surgeon
General in New York. Dr. Chatterton practiced
from 1820 to '24. He lived two and one-half
miles north of Moravia. Chas. E. Ford com
menced practice here in 1820, and continued
about ten years, when he went west. Jeremiah
B. Whiting joined the County Medical Society
February 2d, 1826, and practiced in the norlh
part of the town till 1832, when he removed to
Michigan. He was from Dutchess county.
Grove Gage, from DeRuyter, came in about
1822, and practiced some three years with Dr.
Annable, with whom he finished his studies. He
removed to Chautauqua county, near Fredonia,
where he is now living. Jared Wheeler joined
the County Medical Society November ist, 1821,
and practiced here a year or two. Lucius Lilley
joined the County Medical Society August 7th,
1828, and practiced till about 1832, when he re
moved to Monroe county, which he represented
in the Assembly in 1841, and where he soon
after died of consumption.
Wm. W. Alley came to Moravia from Sullivan
county with his father, in 1805, and in 1828, hav
ing prepared himself by study, he commenced
the practice of medicine, subsequently conform
ing his practice to the principles of homeopathy,
which system he still practices.
Hilem Bennett, who joined the County Medi
cal Society August 7th, 1828, while residing in
Fleming, commenced practice in Moravia in that
year, and continued till 1845, when he removed
to Rochester, where he practiced till his death.
He was an early convert to homeopathy. Silas
N. Hall became a member of the County Medi
cal Society November 5th, 1818, and commenced
practice in Moravia about 1835, continuing tifl
about 1840, when he removed to McLean,
Tompkins county. He came here from Monl
ville, where he had previously practiced. Dr.
Derbyshire moved in from Monlville about 1828,
and .practiced some three years. George W.
Branch, who joined the County Medical Society
June 6th, 1844, practiced here from about 1836
to '49, when he removed to Mount Morris. Pie

now resides at Nunda. Elias Branch came in
from Venice in 1838, and practiced some three
years, when he removed to Mount Morris, where
he now lives.
Dr. Cator, the second convert to homeopathy
in Cayuga County, came in from Sempronius and
practiced from 1839 till the fall of 1842, when he
removed to Syracuse and introduced the new
system of medicine in Onondaga county. E.P.
K. Smith, a student of Bennett's, being left, by
the removal of the latter to Rochester, without a
preceptor, turned his attention to the study of
homeopathy, which he practiced from 1841 till
i862,when he removed to Auburn, where he died
some four years ago.
Cyrus Powers, a native of Sempronius, settled
in Moravia and commenced practice in 1845, in
which year he became a member of the County
Medical Society. He has since practiced here,
with the exception of two years spent in Ameri
can and foreign travel, and four years' service as
army surgeon in the war of the Rebellion. Dr.
Powers is a gentleman of culture, good scholastic
attainments, and a skillful physician.
Charles C. Jewett, a native of Moravia, joined
the County Medical Society October 12th, 1864,
and practiced here during the late war. He died
here in 1870, universally lamented. Van Dyke
Tripp, who now resides in Onondaga county,
practiced here in i863-'4. Elias Mead, the pres
ent postmaster at Moravia, practiced here from
about i865-'9. A. B. Aiken joined the County
Medical Society in January, 1869, and has since
practiced here. Wm. T. Cox, a native of Moravia,
came in from Milan and commenced practice in
1873. He is an allopath and is still practicing
here. Frank H. Putnam came here in 1875, and
joined the County Medical Society May 10th,
1876. He removed to Venice, and in 1876 to
Locke, where he is now practicing. J. IT. Syl
vester came from Washington, D. C, where he
was clerk in the Pension Office, in 1876, and still
remains. Wm. Cook came in from Butternuts
about 1875, and is still practicing here.
Bench and Bar. — The bar of Moravia has
embraced men of good abiHty. The first lawyer
of any prominence in the lown was Jonathan
Hussey, who had a large and lucrative practice,
connected with the titles of real estate in south
ern Cayuga. Pie was a careful manager, and
quite successful; but he relied less upon his own,

~^^f-

Thomas McCi^ea-.
Thomas McCrea was born January 2d, 1810, in
Delaware County, N. Y. At an early age he came to
Cayuga County, where he resided -until the time of
his death, which occurred in July, 1873, after intense
suffering and a prolonged illness. He left a wife and
eleven children. He was for many years connectetj
with the house of Messrs. Miller & Co, and also with
other mercantile pursuits in New York city ; later he
was engaged in the coal business in Auburn. He was
a highly respected citizen and one whose loss was
deeply felt by a large circle of friends. In 1848, he
married Miss Caroline Parmele, of Auburn. She
was born in Suffield, Conn., June 9th, 1828.
Mr. McCrea belonged to the Republican party,
quietly performing his duty, never aspiring to polit
ical honors. He served as Alderman several terms
and is remembered as a gentleman of warm heart
and generous impulses. His genial and social nature
won him many friends and his excellent business
qualities gained for him the respect and confidence
of those with whom he had business intercourse.

JOSEPH HENRY SYLVESTER, M. D.
Joseph Henry Sylvester waa born in Vinolhover, Hancock
county, Maine, January ;2Gth, 1838. He vras the oldest of Dine
chlldreii. His father, Joseph W. Sylvester, was a well-known sea
captain in tbe eastern pare of Maine ; and bis grandfather, a mer
chant and farmer and a prominent politician of Hancock county.
His mother, Martha A. Burgess, was tbe daughter of Jonathan
Burgess, a sea captain and a lineal descendant of Eev. Thomas
BureesB, one of the earliest Puritan ministers of Massachusetts.
Dr. Sylrester was a lineal descendant of Captain Joseph Sylvester,
famous as an Indian lighter under the more famous Major Church,
of Massachusetts, His early education was directed with a view
of his entering the ministry; but he early exhibited a strong Inter*
est in philosophical and medical studies, aud at the age of sixteen
years be begau the study of medlclue. At the age of nine years he
went to sea and followed that l}usine8S until the breaking out of

Joseph fi. S

YL-YESTER,

-JA.p.

the war In 1801, having advanced during that time through every
grade from cabin boy to captain. He still pursued his medical
and scientiflc studies, and during this period he also learned to
speak the French, Spanish and Italian languages, taking up Latin
and Greek inter in life.
At the age ot eighteen years hia father proposed to send him to
college, on condition ot his becoming a Congregational preacher.
This oe declined for conscientious reasons; when hia father told
him he must light his own battles through life and acquire an edu
cation as best he could. This was the turning point in hia life
Nothing daunted he adhered to hia determination of some day be
coming on M, D,
In 18()1 Mr, Sylvester wos among the first to otter his services to
the government, and on the 25th of April he enlisted in Company B
Second Maine Volunteers. He was soon promoted to color bearer
ot the regiment and served as such at the battle of Hull Run and
during the Peninsula campaign. He was severely wounded at the
battle of Hanover Court House, Virginia, May 27th, 1882; and waa
publicly commended by Brigadier General J. H, Martindale and
favorably mentioned in the report ot the regimental commander
for gallantry on the field of battle. His wounds being of such a
nature as to disable him tor active service, in February 18M he
was appointed by President Lincoln a Second Lieutenant' of Volun
teers aud assigned to prison duty at the capital. He was promoted
the following year on recommendation of Secretary Stanton tor
his executive ability and attention to duty. During the excitement
following the assassination of President Lincoln he was detailed
on several important and confldentiol duties; aud for several
months he commanded the guard over the residence ot Secretary
Seward, on whose recommendation, in ISOn, he was appointed First
Lieutenant iu the regular army, iu wbioh capacity he served till
1871, when he was honorably discharged.
During all this time his studies had been continued. In 1806 he
learned telegraphing and also became an accomplished mechanical
draughtsman. He prepared drawings for several parties whose
inventions have become famous, among them the Miller couoler
and bumper now used on many railroads. In 1867 he matriculated
in the medical department ef Georgetown College. D C from which
he graduated witb honors.
After leaving the army he settled tn Washington, D, C and com
menced the practice of hia profoaaion. The failure of Jay Cooke &
Co, swept away his accumulated earnings, and failing health com
pelled a removal to the north. In July, 1870, he settled lu Moravia
Cayuga County, N, Y,, and entered upon a successful Draotion nf
his profession. ^ -vo ui
xT'v'?/'\?®o''°'l'f? i°°^e^°l'^« Company A, Forty-ninth Regiment,
N, Y, S h. G w'liioh baa gained auch an enviable notoriety in the
contest for the Nevada badge; and not o little of the credit lor fta
reputation la due to the soldierly experience and judgment ot Dr.
oyivester. In 1807 Dr Sylvester was united in morrloge with Miss Sorah V
Velli, daughter of the late Nicholas Velli, and a cousin of General
Egbert Veil, of this State, Her grandtother, John Velli, was a
Colone in tlie Revolutionary army; and her grandmother Velli waa
Katherlue Knickerbocker, Her mother's people, the Rogers, In the
eastern part of the State were well-known and hlehly reapekable
Dr. Sylvester has always been a ataunoh Republican. He la a!
JfM°".„"f ^'f'' '^"^i'^^^' *".'' blraaelf and wife are members of the
Methodlat Episcopal Church, Ho la alao a member of aeveral tem
perance organizations and an active worker in that cause

%)J>'' 4

4-

-m^

M.RS. Marj -Rue^lbutt.

r't'* r

Amo.s Wue\lbutt.

4<e

AMOS HURLBUTT.
Amos Hurlbuit, son of Amos Hurl-
butt, a very early setder in Genoa, Cayuga
County, to which town he removed in 1798
from Groton, Connecticut, was born in 1808.
In Genoa, where his father died, Amos
spent the greater part of his life, engaged
in farming. -In 1878 he removed to the
village of Moravia, where he now resides,
in a beautiful home on Aurora street.
In 1833 Mr. Hurlbutt was united in mar
riage wilh Mary Handley, who is still living.
This union has been blessed with five chil
dren, only three of whom are now living,
one son, Amos J., who resides on the farm in
Genoa, and two daughters.

• •• i

"3

A,

¦'.'tij.fi-lK'.y-., '-'->¦'"'

[Photo by C. C. Tuthill.]

^f. fi. puRjis, JA.p.

n^

•l^\

VILLAGE OF MORAVIA.

463

than the opinion of others, in difficult cases.
He was born in 1787. He read law in the office
of Judge Walter Wood, at Monlville, and was
admitted to practice in 1817, about which time
he established himself at Moravia. Pie died
October 9th, 1852, at the Utica Insane Asylum.
Leonard O. Aiken was born at Antrim, New
Hampshire, September I4lh, 1805. The follow
ing March, his father, James Aiken, removed
with his family to Summer Hill. In 1821, Leon
ard, at the age of 16, began to teach in the dis
trict school ; and February 17th, 1823, he com
menced the study of law wilh Jonathan Hussey,
of Moravia, with whom he remained one year,
when he entered thc office of PTon. P>ceborn G.
Jewett, of Skaneateles, where he pursued his
studies a little less than a year. He then spent
a year in study in the office of Augustus Don-
elly, of Plomer, and another in that of Judge
Edward C. Reed of the same place. Pie was
admitted to the Court of Common Pleas in 1828,
and to the Supreme Court, July 30th of that
year. Pie formed a partnership wilh Judge
Townsend Ross, of Plomer, wilh whom he re
mained till August, 183 1, when he removed to
Moravia, and soon after formed a partnership
with Charles D. Tallman, a grandson of Judge
Walter Wood, which continued about a year,
when Tallman removed to his father's in Scip
ioville. Pie was for a short time in partnership
with Nelson T. Stephens, a lawyer of acknowl
edged ability, who studied with him, and removed
to California in 1850. Stephens writes in a re
cent letter, "I read law with L. O. Aiken, Esq. ,
to whose methodical ways and careful habits in
the preparation of his pleadings and causes for
trial 1 am more indebted for any success which
may have been mine, than to any other part of
my education." Mr. Aiken's practice was, to a
great extent, connected with litigations arising
from defective titles lo real projjerty in this and
adjoining towns, involving intricate legal ques
tions and laborious research. He was honored
with various offices of trust, and retired from
practice, wilh a fair competence, about 1875.
Jared M. Smith, son of Ezekiel Smith, was
born March 17th, 181 5. He graduated at Plam
ilton College, standing high in his clas.s, of which
he was valedictorian. Pie studied law with Hon. •
Millard Fillmote in Buffalo, and commenced prac
tice herein September, 1842. Pie waS at one

time partner with Jonathan Hussey. He en
deared himself by kindly acts to all with whom
he came in contact, and died May 23d, 1846.
William PI. Price was born in Falmouth,
Mass., in 1820. He was admitted to the bar at
Ithaca, in July, 1848, and returning to Moravia,
remained five years. He is now living in Utica,
but is not practicing his profession.
Plon. John L. Parker was born March 28th,
1825, and educated chiefly at thc Moravia Insti
tute. He read law wilh Jared M. Smith, and af
ter the latter's removal, with L. O. Aiken. He
was admitted to the bar July 4th, 1848, and has
continued practice since. He was justice of the
peace twelve years ; superintendent of common
schools in 185 1 and '52 ; and president of the vil
lage in 1870. In 1863 he was appointed engross
ing clerk in the Assembly, which office he also
held the following year. He was Member of
Assembly in 1865, '6 and '7, and in that body
displayed superior qualities as a tactician and
proved himself an effective debater. He was ap
pointed agent of the U. S. Pension Department
of the Special Service Division in 1873, which
office he still holds. Since 1874, he has been in
partnership wilh Hull Greenfield, under the
name of Parker & Greenfield.
S. Edwin Day, younger son of Samuel Day,
deceased, was born in Moravia, January 20th,
1840, and educated at Moravia Academy. He:
pursued the study of the law wilh his uncle, L.
O. Aiken, from April, 1858, till his admission to
the bar June 6th, 1861, when he formed a law
partnership with him, which continued till July,
1869. Pie has since practiced alone, with the
exception of one year from April ist, 1870, when
he was associated wilh John L. Parker, and in
Moravia, with the exception of two or three
years spent in Buffalo. Pie was supervisor in
1869, '72 and '71, running largely ahead of his
ticket, which was otherwise generally defeated.
He was elected president of the village in 1868,
and was put in nomination that year by his parly
for District Attorney. PlewaS admitted to prac
tice in thc Circuit Court of the U. S. September
20th, 1875 ; and was elected County Judge in
November, 1877.
Erastus E. Brown was born in Jordan, Octo
ber 27th, 1836. Before he was a year old his
father, Russel Brown, removed with his family to
LaGrange county, Indiana, where Erastus re-

464

TOWN OF MORAVIA.

mained till attaining his majority, when he re
turned to this State, and in the fall of 1858, com
menced the study of law in Auburn, which he
continued with some interruptions till the spring
of i860, when he entered the law school at
Poiighkeepsie, where he remained lill December
of that year. Plaving been admitted to practice,
he came lo Moravia in June, i86t, and opened an
office. Pie vvas Supervisor in 1868; and in that
year also he formed a partnership wilh R. D.
Wade, which continued till his removal in the
spring of 1 870 lo Lincoln, Nebraska, of which city
he was subsequently elected mayor, and where
he is now at the head of the firm of Brown, Eng
land & Brown.
Rowland D. Wade, son of William Wade, de
ceased, v/as born in Moravia, February 21st,
1840, and graduated at the Moravia Institute.
He entered the army, and on returning home
July 22d, 1862, commenced the study of law with
John T, Pingrce, of Auburn. Pie was admitted
to the bar June 7th, 1867, and in 1868, formed a
co-partnership with E. E. Brown, which con
tinued till the removal of the latter to Nebraska,
in 1870. He was elected Justice of the Peace in
1871, being the only candidate elected upon his
ticket. James A. Wright was born May 4th, 1838,
and educated at the Moravia Institute. He
studied law wilh E. E. Brown, and afterwards
with Wright & Waters, of Cortland. Pie was ad
mitted to the bar June 6th, 1864, and removed to
Waverly, where he remained till April, 1868,
when he returned to Moravia, and formed a co
partnership with J. L. Parker, which continued
lill 1870, since which lime he has been in prac
tice alone, and has held the office of justice of
the peace.
P^lias M. Ellis was born at Aurora, September
I St, 1846, and educated at Cayuga Lake Acad
emy in that village. May 1st, 1866, he entered
the law office of Oliver Wood, of Cayuga, as stu
dent, and a year thereafter removed with him to
Auburn, where he continued his studies till June
7lh, 1869, when he was admitted to the bar. July
iSth following he became Mr. Aiken's partner,
and remained two years, when he removed to Le
vanna, where he practiced till July ist, 1874, when
he removed to Ithaca, where he has since re
mained, having charge ofthe affairs of the Cayu
ga R. R. Co. at that terminus,

Wing T. Parker, son of Plon. John L. Parker,
was born at Moravia, December 13th, 1849, and
graduated at Moravia Institute in the summer of
1867. He studied law in the offices of his falher
and Parker & Day, and was admitted to practice
June 9th, 1871. Pie at once commenced prac
tice wilh his father. In September of that year
he became Mr. Aiken's partner, and continued
such till April, 1872, when he again joined his
father and remained two years. He then went
to New York and engaged with Messrs. Wingale
& Cullen, attorneys, and remained wilh them lill
June I5lh, 1875, when he removed lo Buffalo,
and returned thence January 6lh, 1877, to Mora
via, where he is now practicing.
Hull Greenfield, only son of Hiram Greenfield,
was born in Locke, August 7lh, 1850, and edu
cated at Moravia Institute. Pie commenced to
study law wilh S. Edwin Day December ist,
1869, and remained wiih him till his removal lo
New York, in 1872, lo the office of Man & Par
sons, attorneys, having been admitted to practice
November 24th, 1 87 1. May ist, 1874, he re
turned to Moravia, and during that month formed
a partnership with John L. Parker, which still
continues. At his examination in Syracuse he
stood first in a class of over twenty.
Joel Bradford Jennings, son of the late Brad
ford Jennings, of Venice, was born October i ith,
1843. He attended school at Moravia, and
finished his education in the Law Department of
Michigan University, at Ann Arbor, in 1875,
having been in attendance there since 1873. He
then came to Moravia and commenced practice
in April of that year.
Banks. — The First National Bank of Moravia.
The project for establishing a bank in Moravia
having been canvassed by Wm. Keeler, Austin
B. Plale and B. F. Everson, a call was issued
April 6th, 1863, and signed by Hector C. Tut
hill, James Thornton, Rufus W. Close, P. D.
Livingston, Lucius Fitts, Thompson Keeler, S.
D. Tabor, Wm. Keeler, Lyman Card, A. B, Hale,
Lauren Townsend, Charles Chandler, B. F.
Everson, E. E. Brown, W. W, Alley, Jr., W. C.
Cramer, B. C. Goodridge, Joseph Dresser,
Nathan Robinson, B. D. King, P. R. Robinson,
S. B. Young, M. L. Wood, David Wade, Jr.,
Whitman Brockway, H. PI. Alley, E. Plopkins, J.
S. Paul, H. H. Tuthill, J. C. Odell, Reuben
Rounds and C. E. Parker,

VILLAGE OF MORAVIA.

465

A meeting was held pursuant to the call, and
organized by the appointment of Hon. H. C.
Tuthill, chairman, and A. B. Hale, clerk. It
was deemed advisable to organize under the Na
tional Banking Law, and a committee was ap
pointed to obtain subscriptions to the capital
stock. At a meeting held April 2Sth, all the
capital slock having been subscribed, B. J.
Everson, A. B. Hale and Franklin Goodrich were
appointed a committee to prepare and report
articles of association and by-laws, which, after
revision and amendment, were adopted May 25 lb,
1863, and signed by those who signed the call,
except Rufus W. Close, P. D. Livingston, Lucius
P"itts, Lyman Card, W. C. Cramer, B. C. Good
ridge, Nathan Robinson, S. B. Young, David
Wade, Jr., Whitman Brockway, E. Plopkins, J.
S. Paul, Reuben Rounds, and additionally by
Daniel Goodrich, Daniel J. Shaw, Cordial S.
Jennings, Jeremiah Hunt, Benjamin Atwood,
Franklin Goodrich, John L. Parker, Hiram Hunt,
Wm. R. Richmond, Elizabeth Barney, M. M.
Greenfield, Wm. Selover, Terry Everson, Alvah
Fitch, Smith Plewitt and H. W. Lockwood.
The first directors, as named in the articles of
association, were. Hector C. Tuthill, Daniel J.
Shaw, Beriah D. King, Alvah Fitch, Austin B,
Plale, Wm. Keeler, Charles E. Parker, Thomp
son Keeler and Benjamin F. Everson. 'Phe
organization was perfected May 2d, 1863, and at
a meeting of the Board of Directors held May
5th, Austin B. Hale was elected president, and
Benjamin P'". Everson, cashier. The capital
stock was fixed at $50,000, and was increased the
following year to ;^8o,ooo. The bank opened its
doors for business October 5th, 1863.
A. B. Hale acted as president lill February,
1864, when he resigned as a director, and Hector
PI. Tuthill was elected to the directorship and
the presidency, which position he has since held,
with the exception ofthe year 1872, when A. B.
Plale was president. B. ¥. Everson acted as
cashier till December, 1864, when he resigned,
and Leander Fitts was elected lo that position,
which he has held continuously since, wilh the
exception of the year 1872, when John Thomas
was cashier. The bank has occupied rooms in
the Moravia PIouse since its organization, under
a lease which extends to 1893.
The present directors are Terry Everson,
Silfts Phelps, Joseph Dresser, Wm. Selover, H.

H. Tuthill, Elijah E. Brown, Julius Fitts, M. L.
Williams and L. H. Edmons. Wm. J. H. Par
ker is the present book-keeper, a position he has
occupied the last two years.
The success of the bank is indicated by the
the following statistics. The average yearly de
posits have been as follows :

P'or 1864,
" 1865,
" 1866,
" 1867,
" 1868,
" 1869,
" 1870,

$ 74,380.18
94,288,25 84,389.93
90,766.29
123,823.76 91,491.20
69,515-68

For 1871,
" 1872,
" 1873.
" 1874,
" 1875.
" 1876,
" 1877.

$ 68,604,31
61,123.79 79.267. 4S
127,084.98
146,120.67159,495,43139,417,99

Average yearly deposits during the
fourteen years,  ^100,697,85!
Government ta.xes paid during the
fourteen years  , 22,336. 53
Dividends paid to stockholders
during the fourteen years .. .. 139,100.00
which is 12.42 percent, on a cap
ital of ;^8o,ooo.
Present Capital  80,000.00
" Surplus   20,8co.oo
" Undivided Profits  5,441.00

Total  $io6,24i-.oo
Four per cent, interest is paid on deposits, the
rale having been reduced from five per cent, in
1876. The Moravia National Bank. — The idea of
organizing a second banking institution in Mora
via seems to have originated wilh Wm. Keeler^
who, in January, 1877, broached ^^^ subject to a
few gentlemen whom he deemed most likely lo
be interested in such a project, among others,
Elondo Greenfield, James T. Green, Thompson
Keeler, Capt. Edwin C, Pulver, Wm, E. Keeler,
Webb J. Greenfield and S. Edwin Day, and after
consultation it was determined than an effort
should be made to secure subscriptions to the
capital slock of such bank, placing the amount
thereof at $50,000, lo be divided into shares of
$100 each.
The effort proved successful, and on the 21st
of February thereafter, correspondence was
opened wilh the office ofthe Comptroller of the
currency at Washington, On the 28th formal
application was made for authority to establish
such bank, which was granted March 6lh, and on
the 19th organization certificates and articles of
associalipn vycre made in dupHcale, d^ted on that
day,

466

TOWN OF MORAVIA.

The first meeting of stockholders was held
March 26th, 1877, and the following nine direc
tors were elected : S. Edwin Day, Wm. Keeler, ,
Jeremiah P. Cady, Chas. II. Wilcox, Elondo
Greenfield, Thompson Keeler, Edwin C. Pulver,
James F. Green and Ira C. Chandler. The
same day the first meeting of directors was held,
and S. Edwin .Day was elected president and
James F. Green, vice-president. The officers
and directors remain the same as at organization.
April 4th, 1877, John A. Thomas was employed
as cashier. April 5lh, the entire capital stock
was paid in and deposited in the First National
Bank of Auburn, to be invested in 4^- per cent.
U. S. bonds. The bank was incorporated April
i6th, 1877, and on the 26lh was authorized
to commence business. April 30lh, 1877, ^^¦
H. Alley and wife deeded the lot on which
the bank building stands, the consideration
being $1,000, and in that year the present
brick structure was erected. May 22d, 1877,
the bank first opened its doors for business. The
deposits the first year aggregated about $50,000.
Two semi-annual dividends of two per cent, each
have been declared. Four per cent, interest is
paid on deposits.
Manufactukes. — The manufactures of Mora
via, though varied, embrace no important special
ties, being confined mostly to the natural demands
of its other industries. Mill Creek, upon which
the village is located, affords an excellent water
power, and furnishes the motor for most of its
manufacturing establishments. An important
industry — the Moravia Cotton Mill — was estab
lished in 1831, and, when in full operation, gave
employment to about 100 men. It was destroyed
by fire in 1856, and the following year the cus
tom and flouring-mill, of which Waldo & Selover
(II. Eugene Waldo and Newell Selover,) are the
present proprietors, was built upon the same
foundation, by Keeler & Southwick. The mill
is built of stone and stands on Factory street.
It contains four run of stones, which are pro
pelled by water from the creek, with a fall of
twenty-two feet. It came into possession of
the present proprietors April ist, 1877.
Joseph Alley is proprietor of the custom and
flouring-mill, on Mill street. The mill was built
in 1857, by W. W. Alley, Jr., son of Dr. W. W.
Alley, and cousin of Joseph Alley, and run by
him till 1866. After passing through several

hands it came into possession of the present
proprietor July ist, 1876, and a half interest was
rented the first year to Heber Waldo. It contains
three run of stones, which are propelled by
water from the creek, with a fall of fourteen feet.
Charles Johnson & Co., (Wm. B. Johnson and
N. H, Potter,) founders and machinists and man
ufacturers of Johnson's fluting and polishing
irons, commenced business September loth,
1 878. They lease the property of John S. Allen,
and give employment to 15 to 25 hands. The
works are operated by a thirty horse-power en
gine. John S. Allen, proprietor of sash and blind
factory and planing-mill, commenced business
in August, 1877. The works are operated by
the same engine as those of Charles Johnson &
Co., and occupy a part of the same building.
Mr. Allen is also proprietor of a saw-mill, con
taining one circular saw.
Walker & McCredies employ ten men, and
sometimes more, during the summer season, in
house building and operating a planing-mill. The
business was commenced in 1874 by William V.
Walker, who, in 1877, admitted John and Daniel
McCredic to partnership.
Lowe & Pulver, (J. H. Lowe and E. C. Pul
ver,) proprietors of steam planing-mill, manufac
turers of doors, sash and blinds, and dealers in
coal, lumber, water-lime and plaster, near the de
pot. J. PI. Lowe bought a half interest in the
business of David H. Foster in February, 1875,
and in February, 1877, E. C. Pulver bought
Mr. Foster's remaining interest. The present
proprietors put in the machinery in the winter
of 1877.
The Moravia Association vvas incorporated in
February, 1869, for the purpose of making cheese.
The capital stock is $2,500, $1,200 of which was
paid in, and the remainder paid from the accu
mulated profits. The first officers were Elijah
Parsons, President ; Joseph Alley, Secretary and
Treasurer. The present officers are Elijah Par
sons, President, which office he has held from the
organization; Jacob Adams, Secretary ; and Wm.
E. Keeler, Treasurer. About 600 pounds of
cheese are made per day.
The manufacture of carriages has been one of
Moravia's most important recent industries.
Messrs. Wolsey & Brown, who employed about
thirty men in this business, failed August 29th,

'«<'

<^. 3?

JuDOE Cyrus Powers, tho father of Dr. Cynis Powers, was
boru in Stillwater, Saratoga county, N. Y. in 177!), Attheageof
21 hs married Lydia Stow, and nsxt year he moved into Sem
pronius, Cayuga County, N. Y. They had six children of
which Dr. Cyrus Powers is the sole survivor. He was County
Judge for 20 years in Cayuga County, and also for five years
afterwards in Tompkins county. He died in Kelloggsville,
Caynga County, in 18+3. Judge Powers' younger sister,
Abigail, was the wife of Millard Fillmore, President of the
United States.
Dr. Cyrus Powers was bom in Sempronius, Cayuga Coun
ty, July 18th, 1814. He studied medicine and graduated at
Geneva Medical College iu February, 184,'), and settled in
Moravia, Cayuga County, where he still resides in the prac
tice of his profession. In 1846, he married ComeUa Carter,
of Ledyard, who is still living.
The Doctor has been something of a traveler. He passed the
winter of 18.')l-2, chiefly in Texas, but extended his trip
through aU the remaining Southern States as well as a jior-
tion of Mexico. In 1853 he visited CaUfomia and Oregon,
going and returning by way of Panama, and again in 1870,
after the Pacific Railroad was opened, he revisited Califor
nia, going by way of Montreal and Lake Superior, stopping
awhile at Salt Lake, and returning by way of the Mammoth
Cave in Kentucky. In 1873, he went to Europe, visiting
England, Ireland, Scotland, France, Switzerland and Italy ;
thence to Egypt, Syria and Palestine, going overland from
Damascus to Jerusalem. Keturning to Egypt by way of the
Suez Canal he went up the Nile in a daliabeah, or native boat.

as far as Philae at the First Cataract. His letters during
this long trip, pubUshed in the Moravio Kegister, would
make a good-sized volume. Very many of his friends have
urged him to reprint them in book form, but the Doctor
has always refused, saying that they were not ' worth the
trouble. When the war of the Kebellion broke out in 18G1, Dr. Powers
joined the 7r)th Regt. as Assist. -Surgeon, and accompanied it to
Fort Pickens, Fla, Next year ho was promoted to the Sur
geoncy of tho IflOth Regiment and remained with it in Lou
isiana two years. During the ill-starred, and badly managed
Red River Expedition under General Banks, the Doctor had
charge of the consolidated hospitals at Alexandria, La., hav
ing at the time of the return— or rather the retreat of the
army— over fifteen hundred sick and woimded under his care.
Subsequently he was on duty about six months as President
of a Board for the examination of recruits at Portland, Maine,
and later was on duty at Stanton Hospital, Washington, D.
C, , about the same period of time, moking four years of ser
vice in the war.
The Doctor has probably the largest and most valuable
private library in the western part of the State ; the result of
over forty years careful selection. He has also a large and
valuable collection of autographs, which he has been assidu
ously coUecting for over thirty years. Another of his tastes
is for coins, of which he has about a thousand, some of thorn
issued by the old Greek and Roman Emperors ; and of steel-
engraved portraits and rare engravings, he has many thous
ands.

VILLAGE OF MORAVIA.

467

1878. Two other firms are engaged in the busi
ness, though less extensively, viz : Eaton & Pat
terson and Levi Hoffman ; the former of whom
employ eight men, and manufacture fifty car
riages and wagons per annum, and the latter,
who employ four or five men, make twenty wag
ons and twelve sleighs per annum. D. S. Eaton
commenced business some five or six years ago,
and in 1876 admitted Edward Patterson to part
nership. Levi Hoffman commenced business in
1874. Austin Sackelt has carried on the manufac
ture of flag-bottom chairs, in a small way, some
six years.
HofELS. — There are two good hotels in the
village— the Goodrich House, kept since May,
1877, by M. L. Brando, who previously kept
hotel in Union Springs some ten years; and the
Moravia House, kept by Thomas White since
December 22d, 1877. The building of the
former was commenced in 1849, 3"<^ finished in
1850, by Lemuel C. Porter, Jr., and was first
kept by his brother-in-law,  Van Anden,
who kept it two or three years. The latter was
built in 1813, by Dr. David Annable, and kept
by him a short lime. It is owned by Squire
Raymond. The Press of Mokavia, — Previous to 1863,
Moravia had to depend on other, chiefly the Au
burn papers, for local and County news. Futile
efforts to establish a newspaper were made several
years before; and February 20lh, i860, H. H.
Alley purchased a Jones press, which printed a
sheet four by five inches in size, and soon after,
one which printed a sheet twelve by eighteen
inches. P'or several years he printed tickets for
town meetings. In October, 1863, A. O. Hicks
started the Cayuga County Courier in an office in
Smith's block, and continued its publication till
his death, in the summer of 1864, when it fell
into the hands of his brother, A. J. Hicks, who,
after issuing it alone a year, formed a co-partner
ship with Wm. M. Nickols, who, shortly after
ward, purchased Mr. Hicks' interest and con
tinued it till March loth, 1867, when A. J. Hicks
and Abner H. Livingston became the proprie
tors and published it till December of that year,
when the latter purchased his partner's interest,
changed its name to the Moravia Courier, and
December 31st, 1870, sold it to the present pro
prietor, M. E. Kenyon, who has greatly improved
79-2

both its literary and mechanical departments,
changed its name to the Moravia Valley Regis
ter, and made it a fit representative of the energy
and thrift of the village.
The Weekly News was started January 25th,
1872, on the corner of Main and Cayuga streets,
by Uri Mulford, who had learned the general
business of a country office ih the office of the
Valley Enterprisein Lawrenceville, Pennsylvania,
and was then under twenty years of age. The
size of the first volume was nineteen by twenty-
four inches. It was neutral in politics till July
i8th, 1872, when its influence was given to the
Republican party. May 15th, 1873, it was en
larged by the addition of one column to a page,
and August 7lh, 1873, •' was again enlarged to a
seven-column paper, size twenty-four by thirty-
six inches. In 1874, L. & U. Mulford were in
terested in its publication ; and in 1875, it was
removed to Auburn, where it was published a
few months in the interest of the Prohibition
party. The Moravia Citizen was started July 13th,
1876, by Rev. Charles Ray, the present editor
and proprietor, who was previously pastor of the
Congregational church in Moravia. It is pub
lished every Thursday, in a building erected by
the proprietor for its accommodation in April,
1877. Its size during the first six weeks was
twenty-four by thirty-six inches. It has been en
larged to eight columns, size twenty-six by forty
inches. Its editor is a Republican, but the paper
is independent in politics. It is devoted to local
news ; is an earnest advocate of temperance ;
and it is the aim of its publisher to make it
minister to the religious needs of its readers.
Schools, — A public school has been taught
within the limits of the village since 1797. Up
lo 1839, the village formed but one district. In
the spring of that year, there being a larger num
ber of scholars than the school-house then in use
could accommodate, a division was made on the
line of Mill Creek, which, after a bitter con
troversy between the resiclents of the two dis
tricts, was confirmed by the State Superinten
dent, Hon. John C. Spencer, in the summer of
1839. The first school, which was also the first in the
old town of Sempronius, was taught in a log
dwelling, by Levi H. Goodrich, in the winter of
1797-8. In the summer and fall of 1798, the first

468

TOWN OF MORAVIA,

school-house was built. It was a substantial
frame structure, and stood on the site of Andrew
Perry's dwelling, to make room for which it was
torn down about 1859. It was abandoned as a
school-house in 18 13, and was afterwards used
for various purposes. Mr. Goodrich was also
the first teacher in the new house, in the winter
of 1 798-' 9, and was succeeded there by Miss
Emma Skinner in the summer of 1799; David
Wright, in the winter of 1799-1800. Mr. Good
rich again taught in the winter of i8oi-'2, and,
being in ill health, was assisted by William Wat
tles, Jr.
In i8r2-'i3, a brick school-house was erected
on the site of the Masonic building, by the joint
efforts of the school district, the Congregational
Society and the Masons. The former two bore
the expense of building the walls of the first story,
and the Masons, that of the second ; while the
building and repair ofthe roof vvas ajoint expense.
Mr. Goodrich was also Ihe first leachcr in this
house, in the winter of i8i3-'i4. At the first
school district meeting, held in the school-house
in July, 1813, after the division of the town into
school districts under the school system organ
ized in 1812, the district bought the interest of
the Congregational Society for $400, and, in the
spring of 1840, the location being too public, sold
to the Masons for $500. The lower portion of
the building was afterwards used for various pur
poses, and the whole structure was torn down in
the fall of 1876, to make room for the new
Masonic building on Norlh Main street. A new
wood school-house was built on Cayuga street in
the spring of 1840, the job of erecting it being
taken by Amasa Dunbar, who built the house,
furnishing all the material, for $100.
On the division of the village into two districts
in 1839,3 school-house was built on School street,
by District No. 2, at a cost, including lot, of
$275. Thesebuildings were used for school pur
poses till the spring of 1870, when that in Dis
trict No. I, which stood on a lot leased for $5 per
year, was sold at auction to Ezra Reynolds, for
$125, and, having been moved to Keeler Avenue,
was torn down by W. G. Wolsey in the summer
of 1876 ; that in District No. 2, together wilh the
lot, was sold to Peter Decker, for $475. One
part of the building still stands on the original
site, and the other on Grove street, next south of
the Catholic church ; both are used as dwellings.

In the meantime, the district school then exist
ing in the village not meeting the demand for a
higher education, the Moravia Institute was pro
jected and commenced operations in the spring
of 1839, in a wooden building erected for the
purpose the preceding fall and winter. It was
incorporated by the Regents January 23d, 1840.
It was supported entirely by tuitions paid by the
students and the moneys drawn from the Re
gents. In conformity to its charter its affairs
were managed by a board of twelve resident trus
tees, who held office during their pleasure, pro
vided they continued to reside in the town and
attended to their duties, and had power to fill all
vacancies in their number. The first board of
trustees were Hon. Rowland Day, President ;
Calvin Whitwood, Dr. Hilem Bennett, Deacon
John Stoyell, Leonard O. Aiken, Plon. Ebenezer
Smith, Artemas Cady, Chauncey Wright, Orsa
mus Dibble, Robert Mitchell, Daniel Goodrich
and Loyal Stoyell. The first teachers were Rev.
Elbridge Hosmer and wife, assisted by Elizabeth
Sabin, They were succeeded by Samuel D.
Carr and wife; Watts C. Livingston, in 1850;
William Parett, assisted by his sister Rachel
Parett, 185 1 ; Sanford B. Kinney and Eunice
Knapp, assisted in the classics by Julius Town-
send ; Andrew Merrill, assisted by Matilda A.
Goodrich, in fall of 185 i, one term ; Rev. John
Leach, assisted by Etta Hoskins, i854-'5 ; Rob
ert Mitchell, 1856; Westel Willoughby, 1857;
Rev. Martin Moody and C. W. Plolbrook ; Wat
son C, Squires, assisted by Amy Frost, i859-'6o;
John G. Williams, i8'6o~'2; Rev. C. A. Conant ;
Wm. P. Goodell, 1863-4; J- M. Proctor, i864-'6;
 Lyon ; J. P. Dysart ; David A. Burnett,
assisted by L. M. Townsend and Martha J. At
wood ; Miles G. Plyde, i866~'7; Alexander PI.
Rogers and Sophronia Lowe, 1867-8. The In
stitute had tzvcnty-tJiree pr\nc\p7!\s in twenty-nine
years. Mr. Hosmer remained five years, leaving
a little more than one year for the average time
of each of the other twenty-two.
Twenty-nine annual reports were made to the
Regents. The aggregate number of students re
ported as having pursued classical or higher Eng
lish studies for at least thirteen weeks was 2052,
for the instruction of whom the trustees received
from the Regents $4,953,63. Eleven annual
State teachers' classes were reported as having
been instructed, each class for a term of thirteen

VILLAGE OF MORAVIA.

-469

weeks. In these classes 216 students were in
structed, for which $2,080 were received from the
Regents. A large number of professional and
business men have graduated from its halls and
done credit to themselves and their Alma Mater.
Prominent among these are Hon. Andrew D.
White, of Syracuse, President of Cornell Uni
versity, and present Minister to Germany, and
members of the legal profession in this vil
lage, as previously mentioned.
The Institute closed its existence at the end
of thc summer term of i868, December 19th of
which year, the legal voters of the two school
districts in the village, which had a separate exis
tence of twenty-nine years, confronted wilh the
urgent necessity of either erecting new buildings
or thoroughly repairing the old ones, voted, at a
public meeting held for the purpose, to reunite,
thus forming the Moravia Union Free School dis
trict as it now exists. It having been voted at
a subsequent public meeting lo erect the new
Union School buildingon the grounds owned and
occupied by the Moravia Institute, and the board
of education, elected at a former public meeting,
having by a formal vote adopted the Moravia In
stitute as the academic department of the Mo
ravia Union Free School, in March, 1869, the
trustees of the Institute, through their president
and secretary, made a legal conveyance of all their
school property to the trustees of the Moravia
Union P'ree School.
The new school building was erected in the
fall of 1869. It consists of a plain, but substan
tial brick front, three and a half stories high, wilh
the old Institute wooden building thoroughly re
paired as a rear addition. There are five large
and commodious school rooms, wilh two recita
tion rooms, and an excellent hall, used for school
exercises and public lectures. The value of the
building and grounds, as reported to the Regents
in 1877, is $14,200. In the academic depart
ment are taught the various branches of classical
and higher English studies usually pursued in
schools of this grade. Students are thoroughly
prepared for college. Six annual State teachers'
classes, containing an aggregate number of 130
students, have been instructed in this department
for a full term of thirteen weeks, and $1,540 re
ceived therefor from the Regents.
The increase in the number of students from

year to year is seen from the following state
ment : Tuition ot
RcBldonls, Noli-KosUlcnts, Non-Resldents,
Sept. 30, 1869, 228 5 t 20.00
" 30, 1870, 279 61 221.00
" 30, 1871, 373 137 985.00
" 30, 1872, 333 85 726.00

30, 1873,

427

121

728.00

30, 1874,

464

158

855.00

30, 1875,

449

137

930.00

30, 1876,

48.

131

743.00

30, 1877,

528

134

863.00

30, 1878,

381

,67

1059.32

The number of students having become too
large for the school accommodation, a committee
was appointed at the last annual school meeting
to report a plan for the enlargement ofthe build
ing. There have been expended in the purchase of
philosophical and chemical apparatus $876, and
in the purchase ofa good piano and three school
organs, $760, all of which was raised by means of
several courses of lectures and school entertain
ments. Connected with the school is a library
containing 612 volumes.
From December 1 9lh, 1868, to April 25th, 1870,
the Union School was held in three buildings,
the old Institute building and the school houses
in the two districts. The principals during that
period were Fannie M. English, two terms, from
January 4lh, 1869, who was assisted a part of the
time, in the classical department, by Rev. E.
Benedict, who was then pastor of the Congrega
tional Church of the village ; and Rev. Manson
Brokaw, a graduate of the Institute. School was
begun in the new building April 25lh, 1870, and
the principals since then have been, Hosea Cur
tis, seven terms, and Chas. O. Roundy, the pres
ent one, eighteen terms. Thc assistants in the
academic department have been Grace A. Wood,
fifteen terms ; E. Bertha Smith, six terms ; Fan
nie M. English, Cyrus A. Wood, three terms ;
Amy R. Frost, Eda E. Ainsley, Rev. Ezra D.
Shaw and Sarah Barnes, one term each, and Miss
Peck, who taught a part of a term, while Miss
Wood was sick. In the other departments the
teachers have been Sarah M. Cole, seven terms ;
Mary B. Willie, seven terms ; Euphemia A. Paul,
nine terms ; Carrie C. Fries, five terms ; F.
Adele Roundy, three terms ; Mrs. C. O. Roundy,
twelve terms ; L, Anna Brownell, five terms ;
Addle Cuykendall, seventeen terms ; Stella A.
Burlingham, two terras ; and Anna B. Waldo, one

470

TOWN OF MORAVIA.

term ; those marked in italics being the present
teachers. Churches. — Many of the earlier settlers in
Moravia were men of deep religious convictions,
and before the settlements were sufficiently nu
merous in their immediate locality to support the
stated preaching of the word, they traveled many
miles to attend divine worship.
The Congregational church was most numer
ously represented, and the persons of that faith
were the first to organize a Church Society.
March I2th, 1806, a meeting was held in the
village school-house, a confession of faith and
form of covenant adopted, and the First Congre
gational Church of Sempronius formed, with the
following as its first members : John Stoyell,
Cotton Skinner, John Phelps, Sarah Warren,
Elizabeth E. Morrow, John Locke, Jacob Spaf
ford, Sarah Stoyell, Justus Gibbs, Levi PI. Good
rich, Esther Locke, Mary Curtis, Abigail Spaf
ford, Joseph Butler and Lois Stoyell. The meet
ing was attended by Revs. Abraham Brokaw
and David Pliggins. Levi H. Goodrich was
chosen first deacon and clerk ; and John Stoyell,
Cotton Skinner and Levi H. Goodrich were the
first trustees.
The first to minister lo the spiritual wants of
this people were Revs. Seth Williston, Abraham
Brokaw and David Pliggins; but the first
regularly installed pastor was Rev. Royal
Phelps, who served them half the time till Feb
ruary 20th, 1 8 16, when he was dismissed. At
a church meeting held April 2d, 1808, John
Stoyell was unanimously chosen deacon in place
of Levi H. Goodrich, who resigned, and he held
that office till his death in 1842. Meetings were
held variously in Cotton Skinner's barn, the long
room of Aunt Cady's tavern, John Sloyell's house,
the frame, and afterwards the brick, school-house,
in the latter of which the society held an inter
est for a short time. With this exception, the
society did not own a house of worship till 1823,
when their present church edifice was erected at
an estimated cost of $7,000, on land donated for
the purpose by John Stoyell, Sr. The first pul
pit used, or rather the thing first used for a pul
pit, was a carpenter's work bench. , The pulpit
afterwards built was very high. It was lowered
in 1852. The first seats were moveable and
yvere replaced by slips in 1828-9.
Mr. Phelps was succeeded in 1816 by Rev.

Reuben Porter, who was' followed by Rev. Mr.
Brown. In 1818 they enjoyed the ministra
tions of Rev. Isaac Eddy, but it does not appear
how long he remained, nor who succeeded him
previous to 1825. The church had but four ad
ditions to its numbers till 1822, when thirty-three
were added. This gave it an impulse and led to
the erection of the church edifice. In the min
utes of the Presbytery the first report of the mem
bership of this church appears in 1825, when the
number of members vvas eighty-three, and the
pulpit was vacant. In that year the services of
Rev. Geo. Taylor were secured as a slated sup
ply, and though he was never installed, his minis
try was continued till his death, June 30th, 1842.
In 1831, forty persons united with the church.
September ist, 1842, Rev. S. P. M. Plastings
was acting as pastor. Plis ministry continued
till 1845. During the second year of his pastor
ate an extensive revival was experienced, which
resulted in the addition of sixty-five lo the mem
bership. Rev. A. N. Leighton vvas the pastor in 1846,
and was succeeded by Rev. Luther Conklin,
who commenced his labors April i2lh, 1847, and
continued till April i2lh, 1850.
"In 1846, when many churches were neutral,
or undecided, this church took a decided stand
against slavery, and resolutions were drafted and
passed by a unanimous vote, and spread upon
the records of the church, upon this important
subject. One of these resolutions, all of which
are brief but pointed, is as follows :
" While church censures for unchristian con
duct must be in the light of the circumstances
connected wilh each particular case, yet neither
the persevering nor determined practice of the
principle of slavery, nor the commission of any
enormities connected therewith, ought to be tol
erated in any church communion."
Rev. A. Austin was the pastor in 1852 ; and
was followed the same year by Rev. R. S. Egles-
ton, who remained till 1854, at a quarterly meet
ing held July 21st, of which year it was unani
mously resolved to discontinue the connection
with ihe Cayuga Presbytery, wilh which it be
came connected in 181 1, when the Middle Asso
ciation, lo which it originally belonged, was
merged into the Cayuga and Onondaga Presby
teries. September 14th, 1859, the church again
withdrew from the Presbytery by a vote of seven
teen to eleven. It was received by the Cayuga
Presbytery June 22d, 1864; ^"d by the Central

VILLAGE OF MORAVIA.

471

New York Association December 14th, 1870.
October 29th, 1855, the trustees were empowered
to employ Rev. U. Powell, who remained till
1857. May 4th, 1858, they were empowered
to invite Rev. Mr. Hall. October 5th, 1858,
Rev. P. P. Bates was employed and served
them till 1862. March 12th, 1863, Rev. C.
A. Conant became the pastor and remained
that and thc following year. February
1st, 1865, Rev. J. B. Morse was chosen pastor,
with a view to settlement, if a three months' trial
proved satisfactory. A call was extended to him
June 13th, 1865, and approved by the Presbytery
June 25th. August 31st was fixed upon as the
time for installation. Plis resignation was ac
cepted October 2d, 1866. Rev. E. Benedict
became the pastor March 3d, 1867, and con
tinued till 1872. December isih, 1867, Mrs.
Sophia Jewett tendered the Society a heavy, fine-
toned bell, which was accepted with thanks. Rev.
Charles Ray succeeded to the pastorate May
2 1st, 1872. He continued his labors till March,
1877, when, having commenced the publication
of the Moravia Citizen in 1876, he resigned.
During his pastorate the membership doubled,
and the church was repaired at an expense of
about $9,000. Pie was succeeded by Rev. S. B.
Sherrill, the present pastor, who commenced his
labors in May, 1877. The present number of
members is 175. The church was repaired in
1873, and rededicated April 2d, 1874.
In 1815, the Universalists built a house in
Moravia, where, for a time, they worshiped. The
building was afterwards used as a dwelling, and
no other has been erected. They have occasion
ally held meetings, but no church has been estab
lished.
The First M. E. Church of Moravia. —
About 1818 or '19, John Ercanbrack, a Methodist
preacher, visited the flats and preached in the
brick school house. Subsequently arrangements
were made whereby services were held once in
two weeks ; but it does not appear that a church
wasorganized before 1847, when a neat chapel was
built, sufficiently large at that lime, but which,
as the society increased in numbers, proved too
small, and in 1871, a new brick building of mod
ern architecture, an ornament to the village and
a lasting monument to the liberality of the people,
and adapted to the wants and comfort of the con
gregation, was erected, at a cost of $20,000. It

was dedicated March 7th, 1872. The Church is
in a prosperous condition spiritually and tem
porally. Its membership is large. The follow
ing named pastors have ministered to this socie
ty : David Cobb, 1849 ! Sylvester Brown, 1851 ;
E. C. Curtis, 1853 ; A. B. Gregg, 1863 ; J. B.
Hyde; A. M. Lake, 1863-5 \ Hiram Gee, 1865-
7; William Jerome, 1867-70; Daniel W.Beadle,
i870-'72; Andrew J. Kenyon, 1873-4; A. Roe,
1874-7; B. W. Hamilton, 187.710 the present
lime. St. Matthew's Episcopal Church was or
ganized July I4lh, 1823, by Rev. Lucius Smith,
Rector of St. Peter's Church of Auburn, and one of
the Diocesan missionaries, who made his first visit
to Moravia, on Monday, June 23d, 1822, and in
the evening of that day officiated and preached
in the brick school house. The church was built
in 1823, and consecrated by Rt. Rev. John Hen
ry Ilobart, Bishop of the Diocese of NewYork,
September loth, 1826.
Rev. Lucius Smith held occasional services
till November 30th, 1823, when Orsamus PI.
Smith became the rector. He had charge also
of the Churches in Genoa and Locke, and con
tinued his ministry till August, 1828. The
Church was then without a rector till the fall of
1829, atwhich time Rev. Amos G, Baldwin of
ficiated for a few weeks. He was succeeded in
January, 1830, by Rev. David Huntington, who
remained till May of that year. Rev. Henry
Gregory became rector May 2d, 1830, remaining
till February nth, 1833. The church vvas then
closed for nearly a year, till Rev. Timothy Minor
became the rector, and remained about six
months. He was succeeded December 26lh,
1836, by Rev. Seth W. Beardsley, who continued
his pastoral labors till January, 1840. The church
was again without a pastor till March, 1842, when
Beardsley Northrop officiated.
The church was destroyed by fire May 13th,
1842; rebuilt in 1843 ; and consecrated October
i4lh, 1843, by Rt. Rev. Heathcote DeLancey,
D. D., Bishop of the Diocese of Western New
York. Northrop was succeeded August 15th,
1845, by Rev. Chas. E. Phelps, who remained
lill December, 1848, and vvas followed by Rev.
Geo. C. Foot, who remained about six months.
Rev. E. W. Hager was rector one year, in 1851,
and was succeeded by Rev. John Leech, who
officiated from 1853 — 6, removing in the spring

472

TOWN OF MORAVIA.

of the latter year to Aurora. He was immedi
ately succeeded by Rev. Martin Moody, who re
mained till October, 1858. Beardsley Northrop was
a temporary supply about three months in i860.
Rev. Chas. E. Beardsley took charge of the parish
December r6lh, 1861, and retained it till July
2ist, 1862, but officiated till his death soon after.
The church was closed till June 22d, 1864, when
Rev. Alex. H. Rogers became rector and con
tinued such till April ist, 1868, when he was suc
ceeded by Rev. Peyton Gallagher, who re
mained five months. The church was again
closed till October sth, 1869, when Rev. Benj.
F. Taylor took charge, and resigned June 22d,
1870. Rev. Alex. H. Rogers again became the
rector November 20th, 1870, and continued his
ministry till April 4th, 1873, when he was suc
ceeded by Rev. John B. Colhoun, who resigned
June 1st, 1874. Rev. E. W. Hager had the charge
of the parish from that time till December ist,
1874; Rev. C. C. Adams, from January, 1875,
to April, 1875 ; and Rev. Jno. A. Bowman, from
June 13th, 1875 to April ist, 1878. They have
had no rector since. Hon. Jno. L. Parker was
appointed lay reader by the Bishop, and served
them in that capacity lill July, 1878, when the
repairs to the church, which are now in progress,
were begun. About $500 were expended in re
pairs during Mr. Roger's first reclonship. The
present number of members is thirty-five. The
average attendance at Sabbath School is aboul
twenty. This church is made conspicuous by the num
ber of members who have become clergymen of
the Protestant Episcppal Church. Following is
a list of their names : James Selkregg, Joseph G.
Knapp, Spencer M. Rice, Julius S. Townsend,
Smith Townsend, George W. Dunbar, Lyman
Phelps, Fayette Royce, John G. Webster and
Thomas Bell.
The Baptist Church of Moravia was or
ganized June 22d, 1870, the members of this
denomination having previously worshiped at
Milan. Meetings were held in the public hall,
and latterly in the Congregational church, till
1873, when their house of worship was erected,
though the original plan is not yet completed.
It is a plain brick structure. The first pastor
was Rev. M. PI. Perry, who continued his labors
with them till 1874, when he was succeeded by
Rev. Mr. Blakeman, who remained till February,

1878. They have since had no pastor, though
the pulpit has been supplied.
St. Patrick's Catholic Church of Mora
via was organized in the fall of 1878, and the
building formerly occupied by the Methodist so
ciety was purchased in 1872, for the sum of $5 1 1,
and removed to a lot on Grove street. Thc
original members were about ninety, the most
prominent of whom were Daniel and Edward
Kelly, John Ryan, Patrick and Thomas Fitzpat
rick, John Curtin, Owen McSweeny, Thomas
McMahon, Patrick Lamy, David Duggan, James
Ennis, Cornelius Reilly, Michael Bruton and
Michael McGloughlin. The first pastor vvas
Rev. Father Archangel Paganinni, who served
them ten or eleven months. He was succeeded
by the present pastor, Rev. Hugh Francis Raf-
erly, who took the charge June 15th, 1873, and
officiated also in thc churches at Scipio Center
and Northville, at the former of which places he
resides. He preaches here every alternate Sun
day. The present membership is about 500.
The earliest meetings by members of this denom
ination were held by FalherBurns, from Auburn,
in 1858.
Societies. — Sylvan Lodge, No. 41, F. &¦ A.M.
The first regular communication of this Lodge
was held on the evening of December 25 lb,
1810, in the attic of the building occupied by
Gershom Pluff, which stands on Main street, a
few doors south of Church street, and was erected
about the beginning of the present century. The
following officers and members were present :
John Newcomb, W. M., Cyrus Powers, S. W.,
Zenas St. John, J. W., Dr. David Annable,
Secretary, Peleg Slade, S. D., John Mooney, J.
D., Abel Marsh, Tiler, Joseph Pierce and David
St. John, Stezvards, Ithiel Piatt, Benjaihin Ben
nett, Jesse Millard and R. N. Powers. Its char
ter vvas granted November 27lh, 1813, at which
time Ithiel Piatt was Master, P:iias Plall, 5. W.,
and Jesse Millard, J. W. The present officers
are E. L. Plarmon, W. M., M. G. Mead, S. W,
Tyler Royce, J. W., A. B. Hale, Treasurer, M.
E. Kenyon, Secretary ,]. A.l^oviman, Chaplain, C.
W. Brigden, S. D., B. F. Frair, J. D., George
Ferguson, S. M. C, Frank Foltz, J. M. C, C.
L. Beitz, Tiler. The original number of this
lodge was 229. It was changed during the anti-
masonic troubles, when so many lodges surren
dered their charters. Meetings are held in Ma-

MONTVILLE.

473

sonic Temple, a handsome and commodious build
ing erected by the lodge in i876-'7.
St. John the Baptist R. A. Chapter No.
30, received its Dispensation November 23d,
1810, and its charier February 6th, 181 1. The
officers named in the charter are John Newcomb,
High Priest; Cyrus Powers, /if/;/g-,- David An
nable, Scribe. The present officers are Elias A.
Mead, High Priest; Fred. B. Heald, King; J.
PI. '^ ood, Scribe ; J. I. Plorton, Treas.; C. A.
Plinman, Secy. ; Rev. John A. Bowman, Chap
lain ; Hector H. Tuthill, G. li. ; Tyler Royce,
P. S. ; Chas. W. Brigden, R. A. C. ; Geo. Fer
guson, M. ofidD.; G. F. Morey, M. oj 2d D.;
M. O. Jennings, M. of \st. D.; Charles Beitz,
Tiler.
Rising Star Lodge No. 29, I, O. G. T. was
organized January 20th, 1866, Thc first W. C.
was W. W. Nichols ; the first Sec'y, L. M.
Townsend. The charter members were W. W.
Nichols, A. J. Hicks, L. M. Townsend, J. M.
Frost, Roswell Brown, O. R. VanEtten, PI. PI.
Parker, W. F. Brownell, T. B. Brown, C. Dean,
J. Brown, H. Gee, C. Brigden, A. D. Lee, W.
T.Parker, Sarah Cady, Augusta Robinson, Laura
Lee, Margaret Plelmer, P. J. Slocum, Cornelia
Sabin and Mary Davenport. Thc present offi
cers are J. M. Frost, W. C; Mrs. Mary Benja
min, W. V. T.; Miss Jessie Langdon, W. Sec'y;
Lucius PI. Waldo, W. F. Sec'y; Mrs. Mary Ba
ker, Treas.; Miss Mary Royce, Marshal ; Mrs.
Wm. V\Iestia\\, Chaplain ; Thos. Benjamin,/. G.;
H. H. Baker, O. G.; James Chandler, P. W.
C. T.
Moravia Tent N. O. I. R. No. 47 was organ
ized January 27th, 1875, and received its char
ter October I2th, 1875. The charter members
were Rev. L. D. Turner, Day Brokaw, M. T.
Mead, Frank Curtis, J. M. Frost, C. W. Bris-
ter, G.W.Baker, J. P'itch Walker, W. R.Corey
Day Lester, Chas. P'ilts, A. J. Chandler, J. K.
Chandler, PI. Davenport, A. V. Morey, B. J.
Lombard, R. D. Wade, B. S. Townsend, F. A.
Covey, M. B. DeVinney, W. E. Nye, W. A.
Nye, G. W. Spafford, J. A. Townsend, A. W.
Pludson, PI. H. Barber, C. H. Lakey, I. G. Plin
man. The first officers were, J. M. P""rost, C. R.;
R. D. Wade, D. R.; PI. PI. Barber, Rec. Sec;
W. E. Nye, F. Sec'y; J. Filch Walker, Treas.;
Geo. H. Spafford, P. C. R. The present offi
cers are, J. M. P'rost, C. R.; Stoyell Alley, D.

R.; Lucius H. Waldo, Rec. Sec'y ; Wm. Brown,
F. Sec'y; Geo. McGeer, Treas.; J. Fitch Walker,
P. C. R.
Moravia Grange No. 201 was chartered July
9th, 1874. MONTVILLE.
Montville is situated at the junction of Mill
and Pierce creeks, one-half mile east of Moravia.
It contains a district school, woolen-mill, spoke
factory, grist-mill, blacksmith shop, kept by
Stephen Smith, two cooper shops, kept by Chas.
White and James White, a saw-mill, barrel factory,
also a planing, matching and cider mill, which,
when in operation, gives employment lo 15 or 20
men, now owned by the Moravia Bank, a brick
yard and a population of about 170.
Montville, now a comparatively deserted village,
once outshone Moravia in point of business im
portance. Its excellent water privilege, under
proper development, gives it an advantage in
that respect, while its picturesque location makes
it a desirable place of residence. Judge Walter
Wood, a Quaker lawyer, came here from Aurora
in 18 1 1, and to him its growth and prosperity
were chiefly due. He owned nearly the whole
of Montville, and erected there in 181 2 the house
in which he died, which was afterwards kept as
an inn by his son Isaac, also a hotel on the oppo
site corner in 1814, a scythe factory, nail factory,
tannery, trip-hammer, store, oil-mill and school
house; and at his death, September 8th, 1827,
he willed his large property, whose estimated
value was half a million dollars, so that it could
not be divided, except by his grandchildren, giv
ing his children the use of it simply. The con
sequence was, the property was unimproved and
rented for what could be got for it, and much of
it lapsed into decay. It was not until about
1850 that the property here began to be saleable.
Merchants.— The first merchant at Montville
was Isaac Wood, son of Judge Walter Wood,
who opened a store about 18 13 or '14, and was
succeeded by his brother Thomas, who sold to
Ruel Hoar, who afterwards changed his name to
Hobert, and kept it a good many years, till about
1830, about which time he sold to Plenry B.
Plewitt, who kept it three or four years, when he
went to Port Byron and married into the Beach
family, and subsequently removed to New York.
A man named Galloup kept a few groceries and

474

TOWN OF MORAVIA.

drugs a short time several years afterward. There
has not been a store here of any consequence
since Hewitt left.
Physicians.— Dr. Derbyshire, a Quaker, was
the first physician at Montville. He practiced
from about 1S26 to 1828, and removed to Mora
via, Silas N. Plall, from Sempronius, practiced
here a short time, and removed also to Moravia
about 1835. A few others may have practiced
here for brief periods, but latterly there has been
no settled physician here.
Lawyers. — The first lawyer at Montville was
Judge Walter Wood, of whom further mention is
made in connection with Aurora, whence he came
ini8ii. Pie practiced here till his death. Three
of his sons, Seneca, Isaac and Thomas, were
lawyers, and practiced somewhat with him. The
former was appointed Surrogate of Cayuga Coun
ty June 7th, 1820, and held that office till
February 14th, 1821. Many students read law
in his office, besides his sons ; among them Mil
lard Fillmore, who, while learning the trade of
cloth dressing in a Montville factory, was induced
by Judge Wood to adopt the legal profession ;
Judge Elijah Miller, who afterwards became so
distinguished in the legal profession in Auburn ;
and Alexander Plamilton Dennis, who, after his
admission, worked with and for the Judge several
years, then with Jonathan Hussey of Moravia,
afterwards with the Morgans at Aurora, and
finally, for many years, in the Slate Banking De
partment at Albany, where he died, more noted
for his beautiful and rapid chirography than bril
liancy as a lawyer.
Manufactures. — TheMontville Woolen-Mills
were erected by Daniel Goodrich, an early settler
at Montville, and were among the earliest of
Montville's Industries. They came in pos.session
of the present proprietor, Jacob K. Erb, in 1873.
They give employment to four persons, in the
manufacture of fulled cloth, flannels and stocking
yarns, and consume about 5,000 pounds of wool
per annum. The works are propelled by water
power, the fall being ten feet.
The Montville Spoke Factory is owned by Mrs.
Mary Selover, widow of Plorace Selover. Il has
not been in operation since the spring of 1878,
previous, to which lime Wm. Selover and Frank
Williamson had run it some four or five years,
giving employment to some half dozen men.
Some fifteen persons were employed fifteen

years ago. The building occupies the site of
the old Stoyell mill, and was originally put up for
a grist-mill. It was converted into a spoke fac
tory by William Titus and William and M. C.
Selover, who run it four or five years. Connected
with it is a saw-mill containing two circular saws.
There is a fall at this point of 100 feet, only about
forty of which are used.
The Montville Mills, custom and flouring, are
owned and run by Otis G. Parker, who built
them in 1870. They contain three run of stones.
The motive power is supplied by a fall of fourteen
feet, which could easily be doubled.
John Cully's brick yard gives employment to
eight or ten persons.
About three and a half miles north-east of
Moravia is a cheese factory owned by J. P. Foils
and E. Greenfield, who erected the building and
commenced the manufacture of cheese in 1868.
They are making 65,000 pounds of cheese per
annum. The Moravia Agricultural Society was organ
ized September i8th, 1858, at the Moravia House.
The first officers were Sidney Mead, President ;
James Thomas, James Thornton and David
Webb, Vice-Presidents ; M. K. Alley, Secretary ;
E. P. K. Smith, Treasurer. The present officers
are Elondo Greenfield, President, which office he
has held since 1866 ; Wm. Selover, Vice-Presi
dent ; W. J. Greenfield, Secretary ; Wm. E.
Keeler, Treasui'er; C. S. Jennings, J. H. Holden,
J. O. Snider and M. Rooks, of Moravia, J. PI.
Grant, of Locke, 15. S. Richardson, of Sempro
nius, and Capt. John Tifft, of East Venice, Direc
tors ; Wm. Selover, General Superintendent.

Town Officers. — Thc following are the
present (1879) officers of the town of Moravia:
Supervisor — John A. Thomas.
Tozvn Clerk — llcnry Cutler.
Justices of the Peace — James A. Wright, Lau
ren M. Townsend, Lyman PI. Edmonds, Lorenzo
D. Sayles.
Assessors — Plenry Culler, John M. Fowler,
Charles Chandler.
Commissioner of Highzvays— layman Card.
Overseer of the Poor — William M. Westfall.
Collector — Cassius M. Dean. .
Inspectors of Election — W.J. PI. Parker, Joseph
L. Bassett, John B. Benjamin.

'iF

¦m^-

^^^

ffi

WoYT WuN.SIKER, M. D,

11. 4'*!^

[Photo by Geo. W, Moore,]

[Photo

¦^ILLIAM p, Cooke, M,. D.

by T, T, Tuthill,] ¦ A
fl. fi., JAbad, JA. p.

-^^.;

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.

475

Constables— ]ohn A. Knowlton, J. P'itch Wal
ker, LeRoy P^erguson, Lyman 15. Wcllon, Chas.
D. Shaff
Game Constable — Edward B. Barton.
Excise Commissioners — Thomas J, Green, Chas.
J. Drake, David Webb.
Village Officers, — List of officers of the
village of Moravia, N. Y.:
Presiiicnt — Theo. C Jewell.
Trustees li. C, Pulver, Hector IT. Tulhill,
Lauren M. Town.send, George PI. McGeer.
Treasurer — Benjamin Alice.
Clerk— '^m. J. H. Parker.

BIOGI^APHICAL SKETCHES.

W. H. CURTIS, M.. D.
W. PI. Curtis, M. D, was born in Portage
count)', Ohio, in 1851. In his early childhood
his parents removed to Moravia, Cayuga Coun
ty, New York, where he was nurtured and edu
cated. At the age of twenty-one years he entered the
carriage shops of Messrs. Wolsey & Brown, where
he mastered the carriage-ironer's trade.
In March, 1876, Mr. Curtis entered the office
of W. C. Cooke, M, D., of Moravia, and pur
sued the study of medicine. Pie spent the inter
vening college terms at the Hahnemann Medical
College at Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
April 20th, 1879, Dr. Curtis opened an office
at Owasco, New York, and commenced the prac
tice of his profession. His success is adding
daily to his reputation as an able practitioner, and
a future of promise and usefulness seems lo in
vite him.

WILLIAM C. COOKE, M, D,
William C. Cooke, M. D,, was born at New
Lisbon Center, Otsego county, N. Y., November
2d, 1847, and spent his boyhood upon his father's
farm and in attendance at the district school.
In 1863 he entered the IJutternuts Collegiate
Institute to prepare for college ; and in Septem
ber, 1868, he entered the New York State Nor
mal School at Albany, where he completed the
course in May, 1870. He then entered thc office
of Dr. W. M. Gwynne, at Throopsville, and pur
sued the study of medicine. He graduated at
the New York Homeopathic Medical College,
February 29th, 1872, and on the loth of the fol

lowing March he settled in Butternuts, Otsego
county, N. Y., where, November 27th, 1872, he
was united in marriage with Miss Ella G. Rice,
of that place.
The fire which desolated that beautiful village
on the 1 2th of May, 1874, induced him to seek
a new home, and on the 3d of July following he
took up his residence in Moravia, in this county,
where he has .since, wilh exceedingly gratifying
success, practiced his chosen profession — ho
meopathy. Dr. Cooke united wilh the Methodist Episco
pal church at Butternuts, in April, 1868.

AMOS PIURLBURT.
Amos Hurlburt, .son of Amos Plurlburt, a
very early settler in Genoa, Cayuga County, to
which town he removed in 1798 from Groton,
Connecticut, was born in 1808. In Genoa, where
his father died, Amos spent the greater part of
his life, engaged in farming. In 1878 he re
moved to the village of Moravia, where he now
resides, in a beautiful home on Aurora street.
In 1833 Mr. Plurlburt was united in marriage
with Mary Handley, who is still living. This
union has been blessed with five children, only
three of whom are now living, one son, Amos J,,
who resides on the farm in Genoa, and two
dausrhters.

CHAPTER L.
Town of Sf.mpronius.

SEr

EMPRONIUS was formed March 9lh,
1799. It was one of the original town
ships of the military tract and derived its name
from a Roman General. It originally embraced
a part of Marcellus, Onondaga county, which was
annexed to that town March 24th, 1804, and the
present town of Moravia and Niles, which were
taken off March 20lh, 1833. It lies in the south
east part of the County, at the head of Skaneat
eles Lake, which, together wilh the town of
Preble, in Cortland county, form the eastern
boundary. It is bounded on the norlh by Niles,
on the .south by Summer Hill, and on the west by
Moravia. The surface is a rolling and hilly upland, which
rises abruptly to the height of 800 to 1,000 feet
above the valley formed by the lake and its inlet.

476

TOWN OF SEMPRONIUS.

The highest point, both within the town and
County, which exists on lots 67, 68, 77 and 78,
is 1,700 feet above tide. Bear Swamp Creek
flowing to the north, Fall Brook, to the south,
and Mill Brook, to the west, all rising wilhin the
town, have worn deep and generally narrow val
leys in the drift deposits and shales. Bear Swamp
in the north-east part, lying partly in this town
and partly in Niles, is about five miles long and
ninety rods at its greatest width. It covers a
tract of some 500 acres.
Slate crops out in the north edge of the lown,
on the Thos. Walker farm, where it has been
quarried somewhat extensively. It al.so appears
in the south-west corner, on lot 96, where it has
been quarried for flagging stone, but the quarry
lies principally in Moravia. Limestone exists in
detached masses, but has not been utilized. The
soil along the streams and in the low-lands is a
sandy loam and muck, mixed with disintegrated
shale and lime-stone ; upon the hills it is a gravelly
loam. Dairying forms the chief, and indeed almost ex
clusive, branch of its agriculture. There is one
cheese and butter factory in the town, located at
Sayles Corners, which was organized January ist,
1873, receives milk from an average number of
200 cows per season, and makes 60,000 pounds
of cheese.*
From the census of 1875, it appears that the
number of cows whose milk vvas sent to factories
was 291 ; the number of pounds of butter made
in families. 194,435 ; the number of pounds of
cheese made in families, 420;. the number of
gallons of milk sold in market, 150 ; and the
number of milch cows, 1,510.
The population of the town in 1875 vvas 1,123 5
of whom 1,058 were native; 65, foreign; and all,
white. The area was 18,347 acres; of which
13,174 were improved ; 4,398 woodland ; and 775
otherwise unimproved.
The settlement of the lown vvas begun in
1793, in which year Ezekiel Sayles, originally
from Stillwater, Saratoga county, moved in from
Pompey Plill, and settled at Sayles Corners, in
the north part of the lown, on lot 56, which he
bought of Judge Thompson, of Saratoga. His
*The first officers of the Company were : Barton Slade, President ;
J. H. Kenyon, Clerk; Joseph Lee, Treasurer. Thc following
named officers were elected January 7th, 1878 : Ira Chandler,
President ; A. D. Lee, Treasurer and Collector j George Clark,
Chairman; J. M. Slade, Clerk.

log house stood a little south of where Timothy
Kehoe now lives. Plis family consisted of Abra
ham, who had a wife and one child, and settled
where Dennis O'Shea now lives, a little norlh of
Sayles Corners ; Phebe, who came with her hus
band, Eri Taylor, and settled on twenty-five acres
given her by her father, on the Wilcox farm,
where Dwight Heald now lives ; Ahab; lileanor,
afterwards wife of John Titus ; David ; Sarah,
who was demented ; Anna, afterwards wife of
Ebenezer Wooster ; Ezekiel, Jr. ; Jemima, after
wards wife of Nathaniel Palmer; Amy, afterwards
wife of Ira Rooks ; Lydia, afterwards wife of
Orrin Willis; and Benjamin, who was born here in
June, 1794. Sayles was a surveyor, and died on
the old homestead about 1828. Pie was the first
town clerk and held that office continuously from
the organization of the town till 1820, a period
of twenty-three years, wilh the exception of the
year 1804, when Cyrus Powers was clerk.
At the second lown meeting, James A. Wright
facetiously observes, "the ticket was made up
mostly of Mr. Sayles," who was elected to no
less than five offices, and held at the time that
of justice, making six in all, viz : town clerk,
assessor, commissioner of roads, pound master,
and commissioner of public lots. At a town
meeting held in April, 1821, a resolution of
thanks was presented to Mr. Sayles for his able
and faithful services as clerk during a period of
twenty-two years.
Anna, who is residing in Pennsylvania, is the
only one of his children living. Lorenzo D.
Sayles, who carries on the harness business in
Moravia, and Almira E., daughter of Benjamin
Sayles, and wife of Abraham Howland, who was
born in Sempronius in 1818, and is now living in
Kelloggsville, are grand-children of his.
Salathiel Taylor, son of Eri Taylor, and Phebe,
daughter of Ezekiel Sayles, who vvas born in
April, 1794, vvas the first child born in Sempro
nius. Judge Nathaniel Gallup came in with the
Averys, who settled in Ledyard and Venice, and
to whom his wife was related, in 1795, and set
tled and died in Sempronius. He had no chil
dren. There does not appear to have been any addition
to the settlements before 1796, in which year Seth
Burgess came in from Stillwater and took up lot
47, on the north line of the town, where he died

EARLY SETTLEMENTS.

477

in 1813. His house stood directly opposite to
where Benjamin Pleustis now lives. Plis family
consisted of Joel, who came with his wife and
two children, (Charles and Betsey, who died on
the old homestead,) and settled a little south-east
of his father, where his son Byron now lives, and
where he died in April, 1807 ; Jonathan, who
came with his wife and daughter, Sally, after
wards wife of Elias Miller, and settled where
Barton Slade now lives ; Seth, Jr., Harvey, Reu
ben and Olive, afterwards wife of Stephen Carr.
None of his children, and but few of his grand
children are living, Byron Burgess, a grandson,
being the only one of his name living in the
State. Seth Burgess kept the first tavern as
early as 1800, and till his death. Pie also kept
an ashery.
Several additions were made lo the settlements
in and about 1798. Jotham Bassett, Abraham
Berleu and John Everson came in that year ;
Samuel Rice, Elder John Lesuer and his son
Nathan, and Jonathan Rogers came as early as
that year ; and Samuel Root, Thomas Norris and
 . Huggins about that year. Jotham Bas
sett built a log cabin in 1798, and the following
year moved in his family, which consisted of John,
who came with his wife and one child, Mary,
afterwards wife of Daniel Rooks, and settled wilh
his father on lot 65, one-fourth mile south of
Sayles Corners, where Chas. Sawyer now lives ;
Betsey, widow of Maj. Peleg Slade, who is now
living in Sempronius in her 98lh year, and is
the only one of the family left ; and Joel. They
had other children who did not come in wilh them.
Jotham served through the French and Revolu
tionary wars. Pie was a cabinet maker by trade,
and made all the coffins used here at an early
day. Pie was originally from Massachusetts.
He died on the old homestead in the fall of 1827,
and his wife, in the spring of 1828, both well ad
vanced' in years. Berlcu and Everson were
brothers-in-law, and came in company from New
Jersey. Berleu settled on lot 66, near the west
line of the town, on the old Kenyon farm, and
Everson, on the adjoining farm on the west,
where he died. None of his children are living.
Berleu moved with his family -to Springport
about 1802, and died there, Samuel Rice settled
near thc norlh line of Sempronius, where Theo.
Tuttle now lives. His death vvas the first in
the town ; and the marriage of his son Samuel,

wilh Matilda Summerston, was the first marriage
in the town. The Lesuers and Jonathan Rogers
were from Patridgefield, Mass. Nathan Lesuer
and Rogers, both of whom had families, settled
on lot 59, in Bear Swamp ; but the title to the
land they took up proved defective, and Lesuer
moved about 1806 or '7 lo Erie county. The
elder vvas pastor of the First Baptist Church in
Sempronius in 1798-
Samuel Root and Thos. Norris were from
Connecticut, and Huggins, from Aurelius, The
former two settled on lot 67, where Chas. Plow-
land now lives, and Huggins, where Abraham
Bush lives, on fifty acres on lot 78, given him lo
induce settlement by Maj. Bartholomew Van-
Valkenburgh, a Revolutionary soldier, who drew
three lots, including 78 in Sempronius, but never
settled here, though two sons, Dr, Pruyn and
Bartholomew, did at a late day, the former a half
mile norlh of Sempronius, and the latter at the
crossing of the State roads. Root moved to
Mentz about 1810. He and Norris, who each
took up fifty acres, sold to John Briggs, uncle of
Dr. Lansingh Briggs of Auburn, who came in from
North East, Washington county, and afterwards
removed with his family lo Michigan. Norris
then bought out Pluggins, who removed to
Steuben county, and in 18 12 he sold to Matthias
Lane, a Dutchman, from Charleston, Montgomery
county, and left the town. Lane moved lo
Wayne county in 1840.
Peleg Slade came in from Stillwater, in P'eb
ruary, 1800, with his wife Betsey, and daughter,
Mary Ann, now widow of Solomon Morse, and
settled two miles south of Kelloggsville, where
his son Lloyd Slade now lives, and where he died
February I2lh, 1869, in his 98th year. Pie took
up 200 acres. He was a farmer and hatter, and
followed the latter business in connection with
his farming operations several years. Pie was a
member of the Electoral College in 1837, which
elected Martin Van Buren to ihe presidency.
He was poor-master of the lown twenty years,
and vvas also county superintendent of the poor.
Plis wife slill survives him, and though in her
98th year, is remarkably active both mentally and
physically. P'rom her we learn that on their
way to this county they stopped at Utica, which
then boasted of only one house, a lavern kept by
Indians. From Skaneateles their route was
designated by marked trees.

478

TOWN OF SEMPRONIUS.

Six of their eight children are living, viz :
Mary Ann, widow of Solomon Morse ; William,
in Kelloggsville ; and Lloyd, Barton, Betsey,
wife of William Moseman, and Mason B., in
Sempronius, the former on the homestead.
This family presents a wonderful instance of
longevity. Theaverage age of Mrs. Slade and her
six living children exceeds seventy years. The
representatives of five generations, all females,
are now living in Sempronius, viz : Betsey, widow
of Peleg Slade, in her ninety-eighth year ; Mary
Ann, widow of Solomon Morse, aged eighty
years ; Rachel, wife of Daniel White ; Carrie,
wife of Edward Covey ; and a daughter of Ed
ward and Carrie Covey, whose name we did not
learn. Peleg and Betsey lived together as man
and wife seventy-two years, without a death oc
curring under their roof. His vvas the first.
George Richardson, who served seven years as
a soldier in the Revolution, came in from Still
water in March, 1801, and settled a little norlh
of Sayles Corners. His log house stood on lot
56, a little norlh of the site of the house now
owned by Robert Walker. In 1804, he removed
one and one-fourth miles east, where be took up
100 acres, and where he died. He occupied the
log school-house on lot 56 till his house was built.
He was one of the guards at the execution of
Major Andre. John Richardson, who was born
August 24th, 1795, and now resides in Sempro
nius, is a son of his, and the only child by his first
wife living. Olive, widow of Samuel Howard,
living in Niagara county, is a daughter by his
second wife, by whom he had seven children, and
nine by his first wife. Judge Cyrus Powers
came in the same year from Stillwater, where his
father was a Baptist minister, and taught school
that winter and for two years. He occupied a
part of George Richardson's house. Pic after
wards bought the farm now owned by Plozial
Howland in Kellogg.svillc, where he diedin 1841.
Dr. Cyrus Powers, of Moravia, is a son of his.
Lemuel Powers, now living in St, Marcus, Texas,
is a son by his second wife.
Jeremiah Sabin, and his son Jeremiah, and
Col. Zadoc Rhodes came in company from Ul
ster county in 1801, and settled at Montville,
where the elder Sabin bought the grist and saw
mills built by John Stoyell. He owned at one
time the whole of Montville. He sold at an early
day to Skinner & Bradley, and removed to Ohio.

The younger Sabin settled on fifty acres given
him by his father, in Montville ; but after about
two years he and Rhodes removed to Sempro
nius and settled, Sabin on lot 86, in the south
west part of the town, where Clark P'owler, his
son-in-law, now lives, and Rhodes, on lot 77,
which was taken up by his brother, Joseph, who
served in the army during the Revolution, but
never settled here. Plis brother had previously
sold the lot for $50, and the Colonel, who tried
lo hold it notwithstanding this sale, was finally
ejected. He then bought fifty acres of the
State's hundred on the same lot, on which he
resided till his death, about 1844. Three chil
dren are living in Sempronius, viz : Betsey, wife
of Orlin Hathaway, Susan, widow of Joseph
Richardson, and Jeriah. Another son, Zadoc
L, died in Sempronius October 19th, 1878.
Sabin was a large, powerful man, the strongest
in Sempronius, and he is the liero of many sto
ries illustrative of his muscular feats. He died
here August 6lh, 1847, aged 75 years. One
daughter, the wife of Clark Fowler, is living in
Sempronius, and another, Mrs. Greenfield, in
Moravia. A man named Planchett was the first settler
at Dresserville. Pie made a small clearing and
built a house, but left because of his wife's fear
of the wolves. Artemas Dresser made the first
permanent settlement there, and the village per
petuates his name. He came in company wilh his
brothers, Harvey, James and Joseph, he and
Plarvey with their families, from Massachusetts,
in 1805. Artemas settled first in Hanchett's
old house. It stood where Nelson Ritchmyre
now lives. He built there a saw-mill in 1806,
and a grist-mill in 1827. Each was the first of
its kind in the lown, which had previously de
pended upon neighboring villages for these con
veniences, or resorted lo the primitive mortar
and pestle. He was active and prominent in
promoting the growth of the village and continued
his residence here till his death. Three sons,
Otis, Joseph and White, are living, Otis, at Sum
mer Hill, Joseph, at Moravia, and White, at
Dresserville, Harvey settled where Wm. Con
way, his son-in-law, now lives, and died there.
His children living are Appleton, at Summer
Hill, Eliza, wife of Merrick While, Horace, in
Venice, and the wife of Wm. Conway, on the
homestead. James was killed by the fall of a

EARLY SETTLEMENTS.

479

tree. Joseph served one year in the war of 1812,
and died soon after of consumption.
Buckley Matthews and Ozias Perry, from Ver
mont, came in 1806. Matthews settled on the
farm owned by Albert Mattison, and built a log
house beside the spring thereon. He removed
to Pennsylvania. Perry settled on lot 88, where
Marion Johnson now lives. Both he and his
wife died and are buried on the farm on which
they settled. One son, Ozias, is living in Illinois.
John Matthews, a brother of Buckley, came in
soon after the war. He was a millwright and a
prominent man in the town. He settled at Dress
erville. Four children are living in the town,
viz : Jehiel, Albert, Eliza, wife of Jacob Hall,
and Alelha, wife of John Alcott.
Paul Howland (father of Abraham Howland,
who was born in Washington county P'ebruary
6th, 18 10, and is now living at Kelloggsville,)
settled in Sempronius in 1814.
John B, Noyes, from Chenango county, set
tled in Sempronius in 1821. Plis son, Samuel
B,, who was born in Stonington, Connecticut,
August 28th, 1807, removed wilh his parents at
the age of eighteen months to Madison county,
and resided there and in Chenango county till
thirteen years of age, when he accompanied his
parents in their .settlement in this lown. Feb
ruary 15th, 1827, he married Catharine R., daugh
ter of Asa Jackson, of Fleming, an early settler;
and in 1846, he removed to Owasco, where he is
now filling his second term as justice. He had
five children, four of whom are living. James
O., the eldest, died in 1872. Pic was an emi
nent physician, a graduate of Cambridge Medi
cal School in Vienna, and was for a time con
nected in a professional way with the Turkish
army. He afterwards traveled extensively in
Europe and Africa. Wm. Leslie Noyes, a brother
of James O., residing in Owasco, is a Member
of Assembly. The eldest daughter is married
to D, Swartwout. Another daughter married
Plenry Burnett, of Owasco. The youngest
daughter married Orin Howland, also of Owasco.
Plon. Plector "C. Tulhill, though not a very
early settler in the town, was so largely instru
mental in developing its dairy interests as to merit
notice. Pie was a native of Goshen, N. Y., and
there received a thorough practical education in
agriculture. Pie came to Sempronius in 1827,
and acquired a farm of 200 acres, which, hke the

lands in that section, had been used for grazing.
The heavy indebtedness of most of his neighbors,
who, by the most rigid economy and arduous
labor, were scarcely able to live, soon convinced
him that the agricultural methods then in vogue
were not profitable. Being familiar with the dairy
business, he purchased a number of cows, and
commenced making butter for the New York
market. The practice of his neighbors hitherto
had been to make but little butter, and that was
sold to the nearest store-keeper for six or eight
cents per pound, store pay at that. The mer
chant packed together the different qualities of
butter thus gathered and shipped it to New York
or some nearer market, where it brought but an
inferior price, and gained for Western New York
an unenviable reputation for second-rate butter,
which has taken years lo overcome. Mr. Tut-
hill's innovation upon the established customs of
his neighbors provoked ridicule at first ; but his
increasing prosperity demonstrated the wisdom
of his course and the profitableness of the busi
ness, and induced one after another of his neigh
bors lo follow his example, until this section of
country has become famous for its large dairies
and the excellent quality of butter marketed.
Mr. Tuthill's sagacity was rewarded by a seat in
the Assembly in 1848 and '49, where he displayed
the qualities of an honest, practical and cautious
legislator. In 1856 he removed to Moravia,
where he now resides, aged 79 years.
Early Schools. — The first school in Sem
pronius was taught by Abel Meach, in a log
building which stood on the old Titus farm, on lot
56, in 1800 and 1801. In 1802, the log building
on the land owned by the First Baptist Church of
Sempronius was erected and used for the double
purpose of a school-house and meeting-house.
Judge Cyrus Powers next taught two years, first
in the winter of 1801-2, in the building in which
Meach taught, and afterwards in this new build
ing. A Scotchman named Jenkins, from Little
Britain, an eccentric individual, succeeded Pow
ers as teacher, in 1804, and taught two or three
years. In 1805, a frame school-house was built on
Byron Burgess' land, opposite Barton Slade's or
chard, and in this Jenkins taught the latter part
of his time. He was succeeded by David Pow
ers, brother of Cyrus, Gershom Powers, a cousin
of Cyrus and David, Orrin Willis and Russel
Johnson, about which time the school system of

48o

TOWN OF SEMPRONIUS.

1812 went into operation, and the town was dis
tricted. In 1815, a school-house was built at
Sayles Corners, and that was the first district
school in the town of Sempronius, after the pas
sage of that act. John Richardson, who was a
surveyor, and for four years a justice ofthe peace,
taught in the district schools several years.
Town Officers.— Thc first town meeting was
held at the house of Ezekiel Sayles, on Tuesday,
April 3d, 1798, John Stoyell, justice of the peace,
presiding. The following officers were elected :
John StoyeW, Superz'isor ; Ezekiel Sayles, C/«-/'/
Moses Little and James Brinkerhoff, Assessoi's ;
Jacob L. DeWitt, Ezekiel Sayles and Moses
Cole, Road Commissioners ; Amos Stoyell and
Isaac Selover, Constables and Collectors ; John
Summerlon, Poormaster; John Stoyell, Seth
Burgess and Jacob L. DeWitt, School Commis
sioners ; Ezekiel Sayles, Pound Master ; Abra
ham Johnson, Plenry Cuykendall, John Summer-
ton, Winslow Perry, and Peleg Allen, I'ence Viezv-
ers ; Moses Tuttle, Winslow Perry, Jonathan
Eldridge, Zadoc Titus, George Parker, Plenry
Osterhout, James Brinkerhoff and Peleg Allen,
Commissioners of Highways ; Gershom Morse,
Cornelius Burlew and John Abbott, Commission
ers of Public Lots.
Officers in 1879 are :
Supervisor — Thomas D. Comerford.
Town Clerk — M. T. C, Brown.
Justices of the Peace — Julius Fills, James
Douglas, Orson L. Richardson, Daniel D. Rey
nolds. Assessors — Abram Westfall, James A. Jones,
John M. Slade.
Commissioner of Highzvays — Dorr Smith.
Overseer of the Poor — Calvin O. Mattison.
Inspectors of Election — David D. Curtin, Jere
miah Nooning, Sylvenus Finch.
Collector — John Dennis.
Constables — Francis M. Ferguson, Joseph R.
Ellison, Hobert Holcomb.
Game Constable — James Douglas.
Commissioners of Excise —T>a\y\e\ S, Sawzer,
Adney Eaton, A. D. Lee.
Dresserville.
Dresserville is situated in the south part of
the town, on a branch of Fall Brook, which fur
nishes a moderate water power, and is distant about
six and one-half miles east of Moravia. It contains

a union free church, which was built about 1870,
a district school, a grist-mill, (built in 1870 by
Messrs. Merchant & Campbell, on the site of one
erected about 1828 by Artemas Dresser, contain
ing three run of stones and owned by PI. PI.
Johnson,) a .saw-mill, (which is owned by John
While Dresser, son of Artemas Dresser, contains
a set of log saw.s, two lath saws and a wood saw,
which are operated by the creek, which has a fall
of eleven feet, and which was built about 1840, on
the site of the one first built, about 1816, by
Artemas Dresser, the property having been re
tained in the family ever since,) two blacksmith
shops, (kept by Bela P'owler and Theo. Rey
nolds,) a tannery, (operated by E. A. Kenyon,)
two stores and a population of 101.
Merchants. — Artemas Dresser opened a store
about 1836, which was kept about two years by
Benjamin Franklin Perry, who sold to J. G.
Rhodes and Artemas Dresser, by whom it was
continued two years, when Rhodes sold lo Ver
nam Mather. Mather & Dresser did business
five or six years. Arnold Swift bought the store
after a few years, and put in a slock of goods.
He carried on the business lill his death, in 1865.
Plenry Herring, from Groton, opened a store
about 1S66, and sold after two or three years lo
 Smith, from Niles, who died about a month
afterward. His wife continued it about a year
and sold lo Manly Robinson and James Campbell,
who run it about a year, when Campbell sold to
John S. Allen, about 1875, and Robinson to
Chas. Simmons, about the same lime. Allen
bought Simmons' interest October nth, 1878,
and continues the business. James PI. Camp
bell, from McLean, opened . a second store in
April, 1878, which he still continues.
Postmasters. — The first postmaster at Dress
erville was Arnold Swift, but we were unable to
determine in what year he was appointed or how
long he held the office. He vvas succeeded by
J. G. Rhodes and Jehiel Mather, each of whom
held the office four years. Joseph Dresser vvas
then appointed, but held the office only one
month before Jehiel Mather was reappointed,
and continued till 1861, when Arnold Swift was
again appointed, and the office was held by him
till his death in 1865, and by his family till 1869,
when Lyman M. Robinson was appointed, and
was succeeded in 1875 by Lucius Fitts, the pres
ent incumbent.

SEMPRONIUS.

481

Physicians.— The first physician at Dresser
ville was Dr. Robbins, who came from Cortland
county in 1844 and practiced ten or twelve years.
Several physicians have stopped here for short
periods, but not long enough to gain a residence.
The present physician is W. A. Terry, who came
in from Kentucky in the spring of 1878.
Lawyers. — The first and only lawyer at Dress
erville is J. G. Rhodes, who vvas born at Marl
boro, Ulster county, January 19th, i8oi ; edu
cated in the district schools of Sempronius and
Niles; studied law wilh Leonard O. Aiken and
Jared M. Smith, of Moravia; was admitted in
1 84s, and commenced practice at Dresserville,
where he has since resided.
One-Jjalf mile west of Dresserville is a grist
mill, with one feed run, saw-mill, wilh three saws,
(log, lath and wood,) shingle-mill, and tub-cover
turner, owned by Lucius Fitts, and propelled by
water power, wilh a fall of fourteen feet.
Sempronius.
Sempronius is situated near the center of the
town, about seven miles north-east of Moravia,
and contains a Baptist church, a district school,
a general store, one hotel, kept by Nathan Cow
ell, two blacksmith shops, kept by Wm. Whit
field and Charles Cutler, and a population of sixty-
three. The place is locally known as " None
such," a name given by Dwight Kellogg.
Merchants. — The first merchant at Sempro
nius, the first also in the town, was John Histed,
from Stillwater, who opened a store in 18 10, in a
log building, which occupied the site of the pres
ent tavern, and vvas used for a tavern as well as a
store, both being kept by him. He also kept an
ashery. His brother. Deacon Histed, came in
with him and settled in the north part of the town
of Niles, where John C. Derby now lives. He sold
out about 1818-20, and removed to Erie, Pa.,
where he died. About 18 19, Judge Chas. Kel
logg and his son, Dwight, bought out liisted,
who went west, and opened a more pretentious
store, which they kept till 1834, when they sold
to Plobert & Perry, who did business about two
years. Austin & Sumner, from Plomer, suc
ceeded Hobert & Perry, but staid only a year
or two. William and Barton Slade opened a
store about 1837, and did business five or six
years. Philip PI. Van Schoick was engaged in
mercantile business here from 1850-6. William

Adams, who came in possession of a portion of
Van Schoick's goods, did business a short time.
William Atwater did business a few years and
failed during the war. David Brown and Wm.
Moseman opened a store in 1862. At Brown's
death, November 8th, 1863, Moseman bought
his interest, and about 1864 sold to Dorr Smith,
who did business two years, the last year in com
pany with Allen Kenyon, when he sold to James
Bell, who after some two years traded with Wm.
Moseman. Moseman kept it about a year and
traded back with James Bell, who kept it till
June 22d, 1874, when he sold to Edmond C.
Mott, who is a native of the town, and still car
ries on the business.
Postmasters. — The post-office at Sempronius
was established as iJfl^i-/! Sempronius, ahout 1824,
and the name probably changed after the divi
sion of the town in 1833, Abel Heald vvas the
first postmaster, and held the office a great many
years, as late as 1 854. Pie was succeeded by
Philip PI. Van Schoick, who held it but a short
time. Walter W. Sabin held the office as early
as 1857, and probably in 1856, about which time
Van Schoick removed to Moravia. Marcus
Brown succeeded Sabin after about three years,
and held it two years, till about 1861, when
James Bell was appointed. Pie was succeeded
by James Douglass, who was in turn succeeded
by James Bell, who held the office till the spring
of 1878, when James Douglass, the present in
cumbent, was again appointed.
Physicians. — The first physician at Sempro
nius was Hiram Stoyell, who studied medicine
with Dr. Abel Baker at Kelloggsville, and prac
ticed here from 1828 lill about 1834. Dr. Har
ris came in about a year, and Dr. Cole shortly,
before Stoyell left. The latter staid about a
year. Silas N. Hall vvas the first physician in the
town. He studied during the war of 1812 with
Dr. Consider King of Venice, and commenced
practice here about 1815, remaining till 1827.
He joined the County Medical Society, Novem
ber 5th, 1818. Enos Bradley, who joined the
County Medical Society, August 7th, 1828,
bought out Hall and practiced about a year.
Plall settled one and one-half miles north-west of
Sempronius, on the farm owned by Henry Hatha
way, and Bradley, in the same place.
Churches. — The First Baptist Church of

482

TOWN OF SEMPRONIUS.

Sempronius. Many of Ihe first settlers in Sem
pronius came from Stillwater, Saratoga county,
and were members of the Baptist Church there.
At an early period their efibrls were directed to
the establishment here of those religious advan
tages they had enjoyed at home. Early in 1797
they commenced to hold religious exercises,
meeting each Sabbath for conference and prayer.
Sunday, February 4th, 1798, they were visited by
Elder David Irish, ofthe First Church in Scipio,
now Venice, at which time ten converts related
their experience and were baptized, viz : John
Titus, Jonathan Burgess, Ezekiel Sayles, Jr.,
Plarvey Burgess, Ira Abbott, Mary Burgess,
Sarah Abbott, Olive Burgess, Phebe Summer-
ton and Polly Titus.
At a meeting held the following Sunday, it
was resolved to organize a Church, and articles
of faith and covenant were adopted. Saturday,
February 24th, 179S, a council, composed of
delegates from the First Church in Scipio, the
Second Church in Aurelius and the Churches in
Milton and Pompey, was convened at their re
quest at the house of Joel Burgess, and after a
suitable examination they were recognized as a
regularly constituted Church. The original mem
bers, in addition to those baptized by Elder
Irish, were Seth Burgess, John Summerlon,
Henry Persoll, Jotham Bassett, Joel Burgess,
Ezekiel Sayles, Abraham Sayles, Rebecca Sum
merlon, Sarah Sayles, Rhoda Titus, Hannah
Burgess and Phebe Taylor, "old professors."
March 7th following they arranged with the
Second Church in Aurelius to meet by delega
tion at the house of Elder John Lesuer, and
jointly secured his services as pastor, to preach
one-half the time to each Church, up to the last
Saturday in August next following, each Church
agreeing to pay him twelve bushels of grain and
fifty pounds of meat for a half years' salary.
The Church united with the Scipio General
Conference at the time of its formation in 1799,
and was one of the Churches constituting the
Cayuga Baptist Association in 1801.
Elder Lesuer continued his labors with this
Church till 1804, and succeeded in increasingthe
membership to fifty-seven. He was succeeded
October 27lh, 1804, by Elder Robert Niles, whose
labors were closed by death January 24th, 1816.
Under his faithful and judicious labors, the
Church gradually increased in numbers and

strength, but enjoyed no general revival till 1816.
Elder Niles was succeeded in the pastorate by
Moses Wares, who entered upon his labors in
1 8 17. Plis settlement proved unfortunate for the
church, which soon became involved in serious
difficulties, and resulted in his exclusion from
their body. Elder Nathaniel L. Moore, their
next pastor, took the pastoral care in 1819, and
continued till 1824. In 1821, the members of
this church living in the south-east part of the
town petitioned to be setoff as a separate church
and were constituted, in 1822, the Second Baptist
Church in Sempronius. Elder PI. Gaston suc
ceeded Elder Moore in the pastorate in 1824 and
continued till 1828. In 1827, up to which time
the church enjoyed peace and union, thie agita
tions growing out of the subject of Masonry com
menced and continued to work inharmony for a
long series of years. Church fellowship was set
aside, and discipline became the order of the day.
Elder A. Dennison succeeded to the pastorale in
1828, and continued till 1831. He was followed
in 1832 by Daniel Dye, who continued till 1835,
during which time about forty were baptized. N.
L. Moore again became the pastor in 1835 and
remained till 1839, when he was succeeded by S.
Wright, who remained only one year. The
church seems to have been without a pastor
from this time until 1844, when D.D.Chittenden
became the pastor, he likewise remaining but one
year. The next pastor appears to be Bishop
Ames, who entered upon his labors in 1848, and
closed them in May, 185 r. Pie was followed by
N. L. Moore from the church in Milan, whom he
also succeeded, remaining one year. Ames was
the last pastor the church had. From 1827, the
church dwindled and gradually lost its vital
energy. December 29lh, 1809, the church decided lo
become incorporated, and January 25th, 1810,
Thaddeus Plisted, Isaac Dunning and Ezekiel
Sayles were elected the first trustees. The in
corporation was perfected February ist, 18 10.
The first church edifice erected by this Society
was built in 18 10. It was a frame structure and
stood near the cemetery in the norlh edge of
Sempronius. It was burned in 1837. Their
next house was built in 1842, in Kelloggsville,
and is now occupied by the Methodist Society in
that village, to whom it was deeded in 1861.
Previous to the building of the first house, meet-

SEMPRONIUS.

483

ings were held in the log house which stood on
the land bought by the Society of a Mr, Quack
enbush, of Albany, and vvas used both for
religious services and school purposes. Immedi
ately after the sale of their house in 1861, the
Society disbanded and the members joined other
churches. The Second Baptist Church of Christ in Sempro
nius. At a mccling of the members of the First
Baptist Church of Sempronius \W\ng in the south
east part ofthe lown, held at the house of Hub
bard Spencer, October 17th, 1821, a petition was
presented to that church requesting leave to form
a separate church, which vvas signed by Bradley
Cutler, Ichabod Perry, Ira Rooks, Asa Spencer,
Plubbard Spencer, James Perry, Joseph Griffin,
Eli Atwater, Sally Spencer, Betsey Perry, Eleanor
Perry, Bathsheba Spencer, Dinah Griffin, Phebe
Atwater, Mindwell Warren, Louisa Spencer and
Phebe Spencer.
November 2d, 1821, the request was granted.
November I5lh, 1821, "the members of the Bap
tist Church of Christ residing in the lown of
Sempronius," assembled at the house of Eli At
water and organized and adopted as their name
the " Second Baptist Church o^ Christ in Sem
pronius." December 13th, 1821, they arranged
with Nathaniel L. Moore lo preach every fourth
Sabbath for $35, "to be paid in produce at Ihe
year's end, and averaged on the brethren by
equality." This church was fellowshiped by a council con
vened for the purpose at the house of Eli At-
water,January 23d, i822,atlended byElderAlfred
Bennett and John Keep, ofthe Church in Plomer ;
Elder Philander Kelsey and Deacon Zadoc Bate
man, of the First Church in Scipio; Elder Na
thaniel L. Moore, James Ball, Peleg Slade and
Asaph Slow, of the First Church in Sempronius ;
and Peter DeWitt and Ebenezer Andrews, of the
Church in Locke. There were present at this
council as members, seven men and six women,
viz., Bradley Cutler, Asa Spencer, Hubbard
Spencer, Ichabod Perry, James Perry, Eli At
water, Joseph Griffin, Bathsheba Spencer, Sally
Spencer, Eleanor Perry, Phebe, Atwater, Louisa
Spencer and Phebe Spencer.
December 6lh, 1822, the hand of fellowship
was withdrawn from Ira Rooks, " for denying the
doctrine of eternal or endless punishment of the
wicked."

November 15th, 1823, they decided to build a
log meeting-house twenty-four feet square, and
Asa Spencer, Bradley Culler and Eli Atwater
were appointed a committee to procure a site and
superintend the building of said house. October
15th, 1825, the committee reported that $30, 83
had been expended for materials used in its con
struction. November 29th, 1826, the church
assembled in the meeting-house. This is the
first record ofa meeting being held there.
September 8lh, 1827, it was "Resolved, That
vve disfellowship Free Masonry, and that we will
not receive into this Church, nor admit to com
munion any brother that frequents masonic lodges
or advocates masonic principles."
Up to January I2th, 1828, the Church enjoyed
the ministrations of Elder Moore every fourth
Sunday. At that time Brother Wm. Smith was
requested "to improve his gift in the Church three-
fourths of the time for the present." February
6th, 1830, Avery Dennison, though not ordained,
vvas engaged to serve them three-fourths time.
April i6th, 1831, Elder Moore commenced to
serve them half the time ; and August 30th,
1834, he vvas granted a letter of recommendation
and dismission. December 6th, 1834, they en
gaged Levi P'arnsworth lo preach two months
from that dale. Pie commenced his labors the
third Sunday in P'ebruary, 1835.
Eli Atwater served the Church as clerk from
the date of its organization till January 2d, 1836,
when, having been appointed deacon, he was re
leased at his own request. Daniel Brown suc
ceeded him in the clerkship, and performed the
duties of that office lill September 8th, i860.
Elder P'arnsworlh was granted a letter of rec
ommendation and dismission P'ebruary 27lh, 1 836.
July 16th, 1836, a call vvas extended lo Thomas
W, Colby, from Butler. April i8lh, 1837, ihey
resolved to organize under the statute, and lo
build a meeting-house. February ist, I840, a
call was extended lo Benjamin W. Capron. Sep
tember 5th, 1840, it was resolved that the first
Wednesday in October be set apart for dedica
ting the new meeting-house. Elder Capron
preached his farewell sermon March 30lh, 1845.
Calls were extended June I4lh, 1845, to Bishop
Ames; October 17th, '1846, lo Benjamin An
drews ; and April i8th, 1847, ^o George S. Car
penter, who served about a year. BishOp Ames
filled the .pulpit during the summer of 1848.

484

TOWN OF GENOA.

Pie was succeeded by V. Hull, who commenced
his labors October ist, 1848. March 14th, 1849,
a call was given to A. Boughton, who closed his
labors April ist, 1858. They seem to have been
without a regular pastor from that time till the
third Sunday in November, 1858, when Nathan -
Whitney commenced his labors, though lildcr
Ames was invited to supply the pulpit as much
as he could. Elder Whitney closed his labors
December lOth, 1858. A. Boughton supplied
the pulpit till June ist, i860. September 8th,
i860, a call was extended to Roswell Corbett,
who served them six months. June 17th, 1861,
a call was given to A. T. Boynton, who closed
his labors the last Sunday in March, 1865. He
was immediately succeeded by Albert Cole.
May nth, 1867, Elder Jones, of Scott, a Sabba
tarian, was engaged half the time. March i6th,
1868, a call was extended to Wm. Wilkins, of
Summer Hill, who vvas dismissed April Sth,
1871. Alanson Boughton labored with them
from June loth, 1871, to August 9th, 1873. A.
W. Coon of Scott, a Sabbatarian, is the present
pastor. The present membership is fifty.
Glen Haven Water Cure and Summer Re
sort, at Glen Haven, located on the east line of
the town, at the head of Skaneateles Lake, has
acquired a favorable notoriety from its delight
ful situation, picturesque scenery, for its sa
lubrity and excellent accommodations.
It is now conducted by Dr. Wm. C. Thomas,
John H. Mourin and James A. Schermerhorn.
There are eighteen buildings, including a main
three-story building and eight good-sized cot
tages, neatly and comfortably furnished, which af
ford accommodations for two hundred patients
and boarders. During the summer it is connected
daily with the Auburn Branch of the N. Y. C.
R. R; by boat at Skaneateles and thence by rail
to Skaneateles Junction, and wilh the D., L. &
W. R. R. by stage at Plomer, ten miles distant.
It is supplied with an abundance of pure soft
water which descends from the hill rising, imme
diately in its rear, to the height of i,ooofeet above
the Lake.
Samuel Scott was the first settler at the Glen ;
but the property was owned by David Hall of
Skaneateles, who built a part of the Glen Haven
House for a hotel, and sold it to Dr. Gleason and
Miss Gilbert, who converted it into a water-cure
in 1845. The establishment was burned about

1853. After a few years Dr. Jackson was ad
mitted to partnership and subsequentlysucceeded
to the business. Wm. L. Chaplain succeeded
Dr. Jackson and married Miss Gilbert, who from
the first was connected with and had a control-
ing interest in the establishment, and gave the
place its name. It subsequently passed into thc
hands of Thomas & King ; the former of whom is
a member of thepresent firm.

CHAPTER LI.

Town of Genoa.

GENOA was organized as Milton by the
Court of General Sessions, January 27th,
1789, and its name changed April 6lh, 1808. It
originally embraced the towns of Locke, Summer
Hill, and Groton in Tompkins county, which were
set off as Locke, February 20th, 1802 ; and Lan
sing in Tompkins county, which was set off on
the erection of that county, April 7th, 1817. It
derives its name from Genoa in Piedmont, Italy.
It lies upon Cayuga Lake, which forms its west
ern boundary, and in the south-west corner ofthe
County. It is bounded on the north by Ledyard
and Venice, on the east by Locke, and on the
south by Lansing. Its shape is oblong, being
ten miles long from east to west and four miles
across from north to south.
The surface though having a general inclina
tion toward the Lake, is beautifully diversified
and presents some highly picturesque scenery.
The'principal indentations are the valleys ofthe
Salmon Creek and its western branch the Little
Salmon, which streams flow south through the
central part of the town and unite near the south
line, and are thc only ones of any considerable
importance. "The land along the shore, rising
rather abruptly a mile inland, abounds in deep
ravines, sporting slender streams, whirling and
eddying over the shale rock, of which the base of
the soil is formed. P'rom thence to the summit
ridge, the rolling surface rises gradually to an
elevation of 600 feet above the Lake."
Eastward from the summit ridge, "the decliv
ities appear in rapid succession, often abruptly, 50
to 150 feet, to Little Salmon Creek. The east

EARLY SETTLEMENTS.

485

branch. Big Salmon, is divided from the west
branch by beautifully rolling lands, known as the
' Indian P'ields.'"
Limestone exists only in boulders upon the
surface. Slate is quarried on the farm of Samuel
S. Barger in the west part of the town. The
soil is a clayey loam near the Lake, a gravelly
loam upon the hills, and a mixture of clay and
alluvion in the valleys. It is excellent in quality
and very fertile.
The Cayuga Southern R. R. extends through
the west border ofthe town, and the Utica, Ithaca
and Elmira R. R. crosses the town a little east of
the center.
The population ofthe town in [875 was 2,418;
of whom 2,229 were native ; 189 foreign ; 2,409
white; and 9 colored. Its area was 24,342
acres ; of which 20,222 were improved ; 3,805
woodland; and 315 otherwise unimproved.
The inhabitants of Genoa are mainly employed
inagriculture. From the earliest settlement of the
lown they have been distinguished for their indus
try and thrift, and substantial and enduring wealth
has been the result ; manifest alike in material,
mental and moral progress.
A large portion of that extensive tract known
as the " Indian Fields " lies in the central part of
this town, and when the first white settlers came
in, the Indians had under cultivation several hun
dred acres of cleared lands within this lown.
They had also upon this tract extensive burying
grounds, one containing about forty acres. This
was evidently the site of a large Indian village,
probably one of the three mentioned by General
Sullivan in his report of the Indian villages de
stroyed by a detachment of his army upon Ihc
east shore of Cayuga Lake, This detachment
appears to have crossed this town in two divisions,
one following the Indian trail adjacent lo the
lake, and the other passing through and deso
lating the Indian P'ields. Fruit trees which
escaped the hands of these destroyers were stand
ing when the first settlers came in. There is a
tradition that the former division camped one
night west of John M. King's, and that one of
the soldiers died and was buried there. Numer
ous Indian relics havc been found upon these
fields and in other localities in the town. At
East Genoa, near the center of lot 29, upon
slightly elevated ground on the place on which
Alex. Bothwell now lives, were plainly discerni-
81-2

ble, at an early day, the outlines of a circular
cavity six lo eight feet in depth and diameter,
rudely walled up with stone, the bottom showing
that it had been used for some purpose requiring
a fire and had evidently been in use a long time.
In close proximity to it have been discovered
from time to time many stones wrought in differ
ent shapes, also beads and other ornaments made
of clay, or some substance resembling terracotta,
and tomahawks. On the north part of this lot,
a little north of East Genoa, were disclosed, on
removing a beech stump, human remains buried
in a sitting posture.
The first settler in Genoa was John Clark, who
came from Washington county in 1791, and built
his cabin a little north of the residence of Martyn
PI. Chase. A well dug by him remains to mark
the spot. Pie subsequently removed to the north
line, near the Indian Fields road, and after a few
years to Ohio,
Ebenezer Ploskins and his brother-in-law, Mr.
Fink, came in from New London in 1791 or '92.
He was a ship cooper, and followed the sea about
twenty years before he sought a home in the
wilderness. He came all the way in his own
boat, and brought his family and household goods
with him. Pie landed at Paines Creek, and
walked to Mr. Clark's. He sold his boat for $9,
and wilh this and sixpence he had in his pocket
on bis arrival, he commenced life in the new set
tlement. Pie settled near the head of the gully,
below Ogdens Corners, on the Jump farm. His
cabin had neither floor, door nor window. The
only protection in the doorway against storms,
cold and enemies was a blanket. The beds were
made of poles, and arranged one above the other
on the sides of his hut. The foundation of the
chimney yet remains. Hoskins removed after
about four years to Lake Ridge, where he died
in 1819. It is said that Aaron Kinney, the first
missionary who visited this region, preached in
Hoskins' house. Mrs. Adonijah Tillotson, Hos
kins' youngest daughter, is the only member of
the family living in the town. Fink boarded
wilh Ploskins. He did not bring his family, nor
remain long. John Chilsey and his son Anselm,
from Susquehanna, came in 1791 or '92, and
bought 200 acres where the Presbyterian church
in Genoa village stands. His house stood on the
site of the second house east of the church. He
died there.

486

TOWN OF GENOA.

William Clark, a surveyor, came in from Wash
ington county, early in the spring of 1792, and
settled on the Indian Fields road, on a farm
which forms a part of the farm now occupied by
Amos J. Hewitt, and died there. He had two
sons and two daughters, all of whom are dead.
Gamaliel Terry, a Revolutionary soldier, came
in from Salisburyl Conn,, in 1792, and settled a
half mile north of Genoa village, on the farm now
occupied by Thomas Buck, where he died March
24th, 1806, aged 47. Plis wife also died there.
Plis children moved west. Terry took up a large
tract of land which has been cut up into several
farms. David Armstrong and Amaziah Phillips
came in from Goshen, Orange county, in 1792,
by the northern water route. From Weeks Cor-
ners,to which point an inferior road had been made
from the lake, they cut a road to the east part of
the town. Armstrong settled on lot 39, which
he had previously purchased, a mile south of
East Genoa, where Wm. Wilcox lives. He
brought with him his family, consisting of his
wife and-eight children, viz : Enos, Francis, An
drew, Frank, James, John, Polly, afterwards wife
of Wm. Clark, and another daughter, who after
wards became the wife of Stephen Plopkins, all
of whom are dead. Pie also brought with him
the irons for a saw-mill, which he erected the fol
lowing year, (1793,) upon a little brook fed by a
spring upon the lot, which would now scarcely
drive a mill one month in the year ; but which,
in connection with the annual freshets, then pro
duced a stream which could be relied upon at
certain times. This was the first mill built in
the town. Shortly after its erection, as his son
Francis, who was attending the mill, was eating
his breakfast, which had been sent to him, he was
unceremoniously put to flight by the appearance
of a bear, which at once proceeded to devour the
remnant of the meal. While thus engaged, he
stood upon the log, which was in motion, and
when the saw struck one of his paws, he stood
erect upon his hind feet and embraced the of
fending saw as though it was a living being, and
speedily met his death. Armstrong continued
to reside there till well advanced in years, when
he went to live with a daughter residing in Gro
ton, and died there. His son, John, died in 1793,
and was buried in the cemetery on lot 39. The
place was then a wilderness, reached only by a
foot or cattle path, but was thenceforth made sa

cred as a place of burial by Mr. Armstrong's
generosity, and the foot-path soon became the
road to Beardsleys Corners. This is believed to
be the first death of a settler in the town. Am
aziah Phillips settled near the center of lot 29,
where Alex. Bothwell now lives, and was the
first settler on the site of East Genoa. Pie died
there many years ago. These pioneers took
their grists to Seneca P'alls, conveying them by
means of a drag, consisting of a crotched pole,
to the lake, and thence by raft. Thomas and
Wm. Plewitt settled directly east of Genoa vil
lage in 1792.
Numerous settlements were made in 1793,
and the character of the men who came made
them important ones. Capt. Roger Moore, who
was taken prisoner in the vvar of the Revolution,
and sent to England with Col. Ethan Allen,
came in 1793, and settled in the north-east edge
of Genoa village, where Robert Miller now lives,
and died there. He drew two military lots. Pie
had three sons, Roger, Samuel and Pieman, all
of whom are dead. Two of Pieman's daughters
are living in Genoa, Plarriet, widow of Silas
Kemp, and Adelia, Samuel and Daniel Wilson,
Alex. Plenderson, Elder Whipple and Roswell
Francis, came together from P'ort Ann and Sa
lem, Washington county. Samuel Wilson set
tled a half mile south of East Genoa, where
Rufus Strong now lives, and died there. Plis
family consisted of James, Martha, afterwards
wife of Alek Bothwell, Nancy, wife of Elihu
Halladay, Olive, afterwards wife of John Guth
rie, Polly, afterwards wife of John Stevens, an
early settler in Groton, Samuel R., and John,
all of whom are dead. Samuel Wilson, a grand
son, is living at East Genoa. Daniel Wilson
settled in the same locality, and he and his son,
John, died on the same farm, the one occupied
by Rufus Strong. Five grand-children are liv
ing, Samuel, and Mary Jane, wife of Samuel C.
Branch, in Genoa, David, in Kansas, and John
and William, in Nebraska. Henderson, who was
a Scotchman, stopped, on his arrival, with David
Armstrong. Pie cleaned out and moved into
one of the latter's outbuildings, said to have
been previously occupied by poultry. Pie was
an American soldier in the Revolutionary war.
Pie was taken prisoner and confined in Quebec,
but escaped by jumping from a second-story
window, with three others, one of whom broke

EARLY SETTLEMENTS.

487

his leg. He lived to an extreme old age. He
purchased a farm on lot 38, a half mile west of
Armstrong's. Nathaniel Walker, Jno. King 2d, (father of
Abram, Jno., Marquis D. and Edward P. King,)
and two others came from Luzerne county. Pa.
to Springport, in 1789. In May, 1790, Mr. King
brought in his family and settled near the site of
Union Springs, on the Indian Reservation. The
following year he was dispossessed by the State,
and in February, 1793, he came to Genoa. Pie
built his log house near a spring west of Alanson
B. King's, and remained there till the fall of 1794,
when he moved to the south side of the gully,
near Glenn W. King's. He afterwards built on
the north side of the gully. Pie kept a public
house for many years. The first road lo the lake
ran through his farm, norlh of the gully. Pie
established the first ferry across the lake. At
first it consisted simply of a skiff, but that soon
gave place to sail boats. In 18 18, James Kidder,
Matthew N. Tillotson and David Ogden, Sr.,
built the first horse boat. It was of vast pro
portions, propelled by twelve horses and capable
of carrying eight wagons and twenty horses at a
load. The first steamboat on Cayuga Lake was
the Enterprise. It was built in Ithaca in 1819,
and made the first trip January ist, 1820. The
post office at Northville slill perpetuates the name
of that ferry, which derived its name from Mr.
King, who was largely identified wilh the early
enterprises and interests of this community.
Nathaniel Walker, who was a brother-in-law of
John King 2d, came in 1793 or the spring of
1794, and settled on the Jno. M, King farm. He
removed after a few years to Ontario county.
John King ist, father of John King 2d came from
Springport in 1794. His cabin stood near
Alanson B, King's barn. His son David, who was
unmarried and lived with him, owned, after his
father's death, the north half of lot 12. Plis
brother, John 2d, owned the south half and 112
acres in the north-east corner of lot 22, where his
son Abram lived. David, son of John King 2d,
who was born December i6th, 1790, was prob
ably the first white child born in this county.
The King family was a prominent one in the
early history of this town. While many of the
old families have removed or died out, the Kings
have remained and become very numerous. They
are without doubt one of the largest families in

southern Cayuga. They have been successful
farmers, and but little inclined to trade or specu
lation. Their well-tilled farms and pleasant
homes are monuments of their industry, and
make Lake street one of the most beautiful sec
tions of the town. Mrs. David King, who died
December 30th, 1876, aged 93, lived where her
married life commenced seventy-eight years.
Jonathan Mead, who served seven years as a
soldier in the Revolution, drew lot 5 in this town,
and in 1792, he and his brother-in-law, John Moe,
came to see it. In May, 1793, they and Benj,
and Daniel Close came from Greenwich, Conn.,
and settled upon that lot. The former two
brought their families wilh them. They started
in April, and came on a schooner up the Hudson
. to Catskill, bringing with them a covered wagon
and two yokes of oxen. From Catskill they com
pleted the journey by wagon. They came by the
State road to Oxford and Owego, to which point
that road was little better than marked trees, with
some of the underbrush lopped out, while from
Owego their's was the first wagon in this direc
tion. They found generous hospitality at the
house of John Clark during the few days required
to roll together some logs for a temporary home.
The journey from Connecticut occupied twenty-
six days, and Mrs, Abraham Weeks, daughter of
Jonathan Mead, and who, though in her 92d year,
is still in the enjoyment of health and strength,
and the full possession of all her mental faculties,
distinctly remembers how tiresome it was. Benj.
Close put up a house and brought his family in
Ihat fall. In a letter written to his wife in May
of that year, and sent back by his brother Daniel,
he says: "We went about ten miles {i.e., to
Aurora,) for our papers, and found there a Mr.
Barber from Connecticut. They have plenty of
peach-trees and some apple-trees. These must
have been put out by the Indians."* Mr. Close.
had at that time four children, the youngest of
whom, an infant, Mrs, Close carried all the way
from Connecticut on horseback. They arrived
in September, and were accompanied by John
Weeks, who settled on 100 acres on the south
*A Sermon by Rev. J. S, Jewell, pastor of the First Presbyterian
Church of Genoa, August loth, 1873, to which, and to Mr, D. W,
Adams of Northville, especially the latter, we take pleasure in ac
knowledging our indehtcdnrss fur much valuable information rela
tive to the early settlement of Ciencta, particularly ihe western part.
To Mr. 1-1. Leavenworth, of linst Genoa, our tlianlcs are also due
for information furnished.

488

TOWN OF GENOA.

side of lot 5, given him by his brother-in-law
Jonathan Mead. Pie built his cabin on a knoll
about seventy rods north of the Kelly school
house. Pie subsequently lived near J. Mead
Weeks' present residence. Weeks Corners per
petuates his name. His son Abraham, who lived
on the old homestead, was a worthy man and a
deacon in the Presbyterian church when he died.
Plis widow, as previously slated, still survives
him. Jonathan Mead, after living here some
years, moved to Clarkson, and died there.
John Moe built in 1800 or 1802 a frame house
which still stands a little south. of Lucas Moe's.
It is claimed to be the second frame dwelling
house built in the lown. John Moe, who died
six years ago, was a son of his. " He possessed
rare business talent, a well-balanced mind, and
strict integrity. For over half a century his
name was a household word in all this section."
Dr. Hiram Moe, another son, attained eminence
in the medical profession in Groton. Their
brothers, James and Lucas, are still living, the
latter on the old homestead. Mary Moe, daugh
ter of John Moe, who was born March 20lh, 1794,
is said to have been thc first while female child
born in West Genoa.
Benjamin Close did not leave his religion in
Connecticut when he came. Soon after he ar
rived with his family, in the fall of 1793, he opened
his house for public worship on the Sabbath, and
those meetings were continued till the Presby
terian church was organized. Pie was one of
the original sixteen who entered into church fel
lowship August 13th, 1798. Pie was elected
deacon in 1806, and held that office thirty years.
William and Rev. Reuben Close, sons of Benja
min, are living, the former on the homestead and
the latter in Elmira.
Zadoc Weeks came in 1794, and settled on
twenty-five acres given him by his father, in the
south-west corner of lot 5, where Orliff ]5ourne
novv lives. In 1790, Gilbert, Jonathan, Thurs
ton and Perez Brownell came from Little Comp
ton, Rhode Island, and commenced work on the
Indian Reservation, north of Aurora. They were
dispossessed by the sheriff and built a cabin near
R. N. Atwater's residence in Ledyard, one and
one-half miles north of the south line. In the
spring of 1791, Perez brought his family in.
Jonathan brought his wife in 1792. Their father.
Pardon Brownell, bought lot 23 in Genoa, and

gave Gilbert 200 acres on the east side, Thurs
ton, 200 on the west, and Perez, 200 in the mid
dle. Perez moved on his land in the spring of
1793. His house was west of J. G-. Barger's
stone quarry. Gilbert came and lived with him.
Mrs. Brownell's sister Amy was a member of the
family. November 4lh, 1793, Gilbert and Amy
were married. The marriage certificate is in the
possession of their daughter, Mrs. Clarissa Chad-
wick, and reads: "This certifies that Gilbert
Brownell and Amy Grinnell were joined in mar
riage November 4th, 1793, by Aaron Kinne,
minister of the gospel and missionary in the
western settlements." " The incidents connected
with this event are somewhat romantic. It seems
a contract of marriage was made between them,
but unfortunately there was neither civil officer
nor settled minister who could make them one.
It was agreed that when the missionary came
they would be married. After weeks and months
of delay Mr. Kinne called at Perez Brownell's.
Gilbert was at work some distance from the house
engaged in logging. Amy blew a conch shell,
(now in possession of Mrs. Chadwick,) and called
her soon-lo-be-husband. Soiled and besmeared
Gilbert came in and without change of raiment
stood up before the man of God, and they were
married. Immediately after the ceremony was
perforriied he went back to his toil." This vvas
probably the first marriage in the town. Gilbert
built his house and lived a little south-east of J.
G. Barger's residence. A few old apple trees
mark the locality. Perez subsequently sold lo
Joseph Goodyear, and then Gilbert exchanged
farms wilh Goodyear. Gilbert bought Thurston's
lands, and eventually owned a large portion of lot
22. Pie lived and died where PI. S, King lives. Of
a family of nine children, three only remain, Ed
mund, Mrs. Clarissa Chadwick and Mrs. John H.
Carter. Perez subsequently removed lo Ohio
and died there. Thurston went lo Philadelphia.
Jonathan remained in Ledyard. He built the
house where Charles E. Slocum lives and died
there. Plis daughters were reigning belles in
their day and were much admired.
John, Eben, Daniel and Josiah Guthrie, who
settled in Springport in 1790, came to this town
about 1793, and lived near McGuigans Corners,
about three miles south-west of Northville. John,
who was a single man, worked out in Springport
during the summer, and during the fall cut wild

EARLY SETTLEMENTS.

489

grass on the Owasco Flats, (Moravia,) where he
wintered his employer's cattle. He afterward
married Olive, daughter of Samuel Wilson, and
removed to Groton. Eben settled where Wilson
Merritt resides ; Daniel, south of Lake Ridge, on
the McCormick farm ; and Josiah, where Jay At
water lives. Eben moved to Peru, O., about 18 15.
Jabez Bradley came in the springof 1792, from
Lee, Massachusetts, and again in the fall of that
year to see the Lake country. In 1793, he and
his brother-in-law. Pieman Bradley, came and
boarded that summer with Jonathan Brownell.
Jabez bought 200 acres on the south side of lot
90 in Ledyard. It was the land recently occu
pied by Edwin Buckhout and S. N. Franklin.
They cleared part of it, planted corn, sowed some
wheat, and started a nursery. In the fall Heman
returned home, and Jabez bought 200 acres on
the south side of lot 3 in Genoa, paying therefor
$1.25 per acre. He came here and built his log
house near the orchard west of S. C.Fessenden's,
in Northville, where he was the first to break the
forest, and which was known for years as Brad-
leys Corners. The roof was made of elm bark.
While there alone he received a very pleasant
visit from Capt. Adonijah Tillotson and Phineas
Rice, who had come to see the country. Mr.
Bradley went to Lee that fall and returned in
p'ebruary, 1794, vvilh his family, accompanied by
Pieman Bradley and his wife. They came with
sleds and oxen. In 1800, Jabez built the house
where his youngest son Waller G. resides. In
1812, the building of the S. C. Fessenden house
was commenced. Jabez Bradley had great energy
of character and was a valuable citizen. Within
six weeks after he moved here he was elected
one of the commissioners of highways of the town
of Milton, and reelected in 1795. The importance
of this office is realized when we reflect that in
April, 1794, there were but few if any highways
laid out in this large township. The County rec
ords show that Mr. Bradley was a large land
holder. He owned 200 acres on lot 90 in
Scipio, 640 acres on lot 3, in Milton, the west half
of lot 4, the south half of 14, part of 35, and sev
eral lots in Locke, Moravia and Sempronius,
making in all 3,000 acres or more. Some esti
mate ofthe extent of his farming operations may
be made from the fact that August 2d, 1813, he
sold to Monmouth Purdy, forty-four head of cat
tle at one time.

" Though Squire Bradley was not a member
of the church, he was prominent in all matters
connected with it. The first church was erected
in 1805. When we remember that it vvas in the
early years of settlement, that the pioneers, (with
scarcely one exception,) were poor, and but few
of them living in frame houses, we realize how
liberal they were and how great the sacrifices
they made lo build that wonderful old church edi
fice. There is no event connected with our local
history which reflects greater honor on the noble
men who united in that great work."
At the dedication of the new church in 1847,
Rev. Seth Smith, in referring lo the building of
Ihe first one said, " On entering upon Ihe work
they were much encouraged and aided by their
truly enterprising and public-spirited associate,
Jabez Bradley, Esq., who, in addition to the lime,
labor and money which he freely devoted, gen
erously and gratuitously gave to the Society a
lease of between three and four acres of land as
the site of the building." Mr. Bradley died
P'ebruary 20th, 1817, in his 52d year. Dan, son
of Jabez Bradley, born May 1st, 1794, is sup
posed to be the first male child born in Milton.
Heman Bradley bought of Jabez eighty acres
in the southwest corner of lot 3, the land now
owned by James Brown and the Anthony Covert
estate. Pie lived there several years and sold to
Matthew N. Tillotson. In December, 180 1, he
received of Jabez a deed of ihe farm now owned
by the widow of Jonah Reynolds. He died there
in August, 1844. He was a kind-hearted, hon
est man, and his wife a model woman. Eli Brad
ley, father of Pieman, Medad and Miles, came in
1794 or '5, and Medad and Miles about the same
lime. Medad was a butcher and stock-dealer.
Miles married Chloe Allen and bought the farm
now owned by Dan Bradley. He was a carpen
ter and farmer and died in 1825.
Capt. Adonijah Tillotson, Gen. John Tillotson
and Col. Matthew Tillotson were originally from
Farmington, Conn. About 1792 they came to
Whitestown, which they expected lo make their
home. In 1793 Capt, Adonijah Tillotson and
Phineas Rice, a brother-in-law, came in prospect
ing, selected lot 13, and returned to Whitestown.
In the winter of 1793 Gen. John Tillotson went
to New York city and bought that lot. In di
viding it John had 300 acres on the north side,
Adonijah, 200 in the south-west corner, and Rice,

490

TOWN OF GENOA.

140 in the south-east corner. Adonijah and wife
came in the spring of 1794, arriving May 25th.
They came in a bateau, the journey from Onei
da county occupying seven days. Pie built a
little south of Adonijah Tillotson's residence.
Gen. John and Rice came in .soon after. Rice
settled near where Jo.seph Fenner lives. Pie
subsequently sold his land to John Atwater and
bought the farm now owned by John Stephenson,
In 1804 he engaged in mercantile business with
a Mr. Knapp, on the east side of the highway,
a little north-east of Mr. Fenner's house. The
store is said have been the first frame building in
the town. It was afterwards removed to North
ville and now forms a part of Richard Ryder's
residence in that village. Mr. Rice was unfortu
nate and moved to Steuben county, where he
died. John Tillotson settled near the creek,
south of Calvin Jump's. He was a noted man
in Church, State and Society. Pie was one of
the original members of the Presbyterian church
at Northville, and his name appears frequently
in the early history. In April, 1795, he was
elected supervisor and was reelected in 1796, '7
and '8. In 1804 he was appointed by the Leg
islature one of the commissioners lo locale the
Court House in this county, the south-east cor
ner of 10146 in Scipio being selected. In 1813
he vvas an Associate Judge. He is described as
a large, powerful man, commanding in person,
and a general favorite with all classes. Col. Mat
thew N. Tillotson came the same year and set
tled where B. F. Slocum lives. He owned at
one time the south half of lot two. He was
identified with many public enterprises and was
largely interested in the fifth great western turn
pike. He died June nth, 1857. Dr. Adoni
jah, John and Mary, children of Capt. Adonijah
Tillotson, are all that are left here of those three
families. Col. Samuel Drake came in 1793 and settled
on lot 15, on the lands now owned by Geo. Jack
son and Christopher Mulligan. A Mr. Dimmick,
who came with him, went back and brought his
own and Col. Drake's family in 1794. Col.
Drake died that fall, September ist, 1794, and
the stone which marks his grave in the cemetery
at Northville bears the earliest record of death
therein. John Bowman, his grandson, a resi
dent of Clarkson, Monroe county, was at one
time prominent in the political history of the

State. Pie represented that county in the As
sembly in 1823, and the8lh District in the State
Senate in 1824, '5 and '6. Pie was appointed
Canal Commissioner January 9th, 1836, and held
that office lill his removal by thc Legislature
P'ebruary 22d, 1840. Thorne and James Milli
ken, the former of whom owned the north half
of lot 14, were here in 1793, and boarded with
Colonel Drake, whose daughter, Rebecca, James
married in 1795 or '6. Thorne did not remain
long, but went lo Camillus. James built on the
hill, where Brainard Lyon lives. He had two
sons worthy of notice, Samuel, a physician, who
built the house where Theron E. Stark lives,
and died there August 2d, 1834, in his 34th year;
and Andrew, who lived on the homestead, and
who died July 23d, 1836, aged 36. Nature had
endowed him richly wilh physical and mental
powers which would have made him a leading
man. Alek Bothwell came from Salem, Washington
county, in 1793, and settled one mile east of
East Genoa, where DeWitt Bothwell, his grand
son, now lives, and died there June 9th, 1843,
and his wife, in April, 1864, aged nearly 93 years.
He came in company with James Wilson, on
foot, and afterwards married the latter's sister,
Martha, daughter of Samuel Wilson, by whom
he had eight children, four of whom are living,
viz : Robert, in Groton, and Lewis, Mary, widow
of Kirby Sharpsteen, and Alexander, in Genoa,
Alek went further west and labored the season
of 1794 for the means wilh which to pay for his
place on lot 30, for which he paid, and on which
he settled in 1795. In 1797, two years after her
marriage, James Wilson's wife chased with a
shovelful of hot coals, and treed, a bear which
had robbed their pig pen and was retreating wilh
the prize.
William Willison settled on lot 29, one-half
mile east of Genoa village, in 1793. Lear Had
ley, a blacksmith, settled in 1793 or '4, on the
John L. King farm, which was subsequently oc
cupied by Joseph Soulhworth.
Deacon Wm. Bradley, then a young, unmar
ried man, came /rom Lee, Mass., in 1794, and
lived that summer wilh his kinsman, Jabez Brad
ley, returning in the fall. Thus he continued to
spend his summers here, and winters in teaching
in Massachusetts, until 1798, when he married
and moved here in the spring. Pie boarded a

EARLY SETTLEMENTS.

491

few weeks with James Milliken, and then moved
into his own log house, which stood where Ar
thur E. Slocum lives. His first purchase was
fifty-acres, which he bought of Gen. John Tillot
son, paying therefor $3.50 per acre, on condition
that the General should give one week's help in
logging. He was elected deacon of the Presby
terian church of Northville, in 1800, and held that
office till his death, P'ebruary ist, 185 i. He was
a noble man, a pure, consistent, devoted Christian.
He left a record which his family, the church,
and the community may remember with pride.
A remark made by his wife to a friend in her old
age is eloquent with the happy simplicity which
characterized the lives of these pioneers. She
said, in referring to the early days of their scl-
tlemcnt, " Wc had a hole cut through the logs,
without sash or glass, for a window, a blanket
hung up in the place of a door. My husband
worked hard, clearing in the woods. I cooked
ray dinner, and taking that wilh my 'child, would
go where he v/as, and sealed together by thc side
of a log we would cat it. I came when ihis
country was all a wilderness, and have lived lo
see it a flower-garden, but those were the hap
piest days of my life."
James Moe came from Greenwich, Conn., iu
1794, and settled on 66 acres on lot 15, where he
died. Plis house stood where Alfred Lanter
man lives. None of his family are living here.
Elihu Plalladay came from Washington county
in 1794 or '5, with his wife, Nancy, and her sister,
Martha, afterwards wife of Alek Bothwell, (daugh
ters of Samuel Wilson,) and his mother. He
came with an ox team, and settled at East Genoa,
where Horace Leavenworth lives. He kept a
small store some years previous lo 1808, buying
his goods at Aurora. The first school-house in
this part of the town was built of logs and stood
on the corner of Halladay's land. Wm. Tru
man is the first teacher of whom we have any in
formation, Halladay afterwards removed with
his family to Groton and died there.
William Armstrong came in from Goshen in
1795, accompanied by his mother, Margaret,
wife of Benoni Armstrong, who was one of the
party who threw overboard the tea in Boston
Plarbor, and died soon afler. He settled on lot
39, which was bought jointly by his mother and
David Armstrong. He died from injuries re
ceived at Sacketts Plarbor during the war of
Sj-z

18 12. Thomas Plollister came this same year,
(1795,) and lived with John Tillotson. He sub
sequently married and moved to Groton, but re
turned in 1800. He lived many years in Little
Hollow, at the foot of the hill long known as
Ilollister's Plill.
Noah Lyon came in from Connecticut before
1796,* and bought 400 acres on the south side of
lot 24, and lived where Daniel M. Bacon resides.
He died September 23d, 1820, aged sixty-four.
None of his family are living.
Amos, his brother, came prior to 1797, and
lived opposite the parsonage at P'ive Corners.
The first church vvas organized at his house.
Their brother Caleb came in 1798 and settled
where ICsbon Lyon lives. lie and Wm. Bradley
were elected deacons of the first church at the
same time. Caleb was the father of Moses, Mar
tin, Caleb, Jr., and nine other children. Several
of them lived near him, and for a long time that
section was numerously settled by Lyons.
Major Samuel Adams came from Landisfield,
Mass., in P'ebruary, 1796, and lived a short time
on a farm owned by Joshua Sears, a little north
west of Charles Topper's Corners in Venice. He
and his brother-in-law, Morris Bosworth, bought
400 acres on lot 6 in Genoa and moved on it.
In March, 1802, Major Adams moved to North
ville and lived in a double log house, south-west
of S, C. P'essenden's, and went into business with
Niiam Wildman, Stephen Bassett and Medad
Bradley, the firm being Adams, Wildman & Co.
They rented part of the Jabez Bradley farm, dealt
largely in stock, and carried on a store and ash
ery. They built the frame store which stood on
the site of the steam-mill building. In 1806 the
firm dissolved. Messrs. Adams and Wildman
went to Genoa village, built a store nearly oppo
site the Plowe mill and engaged in mercantile
business. They were also interested in a mill,
brick-yard and ashery. Mr. Adams subsequent
ly sold out at Genoa village, and erected a store
at Little Creek, which is still standing. He con
tinued business there till the embargo of 181 2
ruined him. Pie then sold his farm to Andrew
Plawkins and lived for a time at the P'orks of the
Creek. In 18 17, he went to Geauga county,
Ohio, on a visit and died there. He had a good
reputation as a business man. Pie and Wildman
* Statement of D, W, Adams, of Northville. His grandson
Amzi M. Lyon, who is station agent at Milan, in Locke, to which
town he removed from Genoa in 1859, says he came in 1802.

492

TOWN OF GENOA.

are said to have been the first merchants at
Genoa. Darius, elder son of Samuel Adams, was
eight years old when his falher moved in from
Massachusetts. In 1802, at the age of fifteen,
he attended school a few months at Aurora, and
earned his board by clerical duties in the office
of Glen Cuyler. He was engaged in clerking
most of the time till 18 15, when he went into
business for himself, and continued till his retire
ment in 1846. He represented this County in
the Assembly in 1841, but declined a renomina-
tion for that office. Pie died in September, 1869,
aged eighty-two. He was widely and favorably
known in this section of country. His business
life of over half a century as principal, (for,
although he retired from the store in 1846, he
was interested and more or less actively engaged
in business enterprises till his death,) covered
the period of Northville's greatest growth and
prosperity, and to his energy, liberality and public
enterprise is due in no small degree its present
business and social status. He was succeeded
in the- mercantile business by his sons Samuel
and Darius W., the latter of whom still perpetu
ates the name in that connection. Thus the
business experience of this family covers a period
of over seventy-six years, and is unparalleled, we
believe, in the whole County, except in the case
of the Morgans, of Aurora.
Israel Mead and EInathan Close came from
Greenwich, Conn., in 1796 or '7, having previous
ly been here and secured their titles, and settled
at Pine Hollow, on lot 21, three miles cast of
Genoa, Mead, where his .son Israel now livcs,and
Close, on a farm adjoining his on the north, on
a part of which the widow of Stephen Mead lives.
Mead was a shoemaker. Pie died there in March,
185 1. Close also died on the place of his settle
ment. They carried their grists lo Ludlowville by
means of a drag, and attended church at Owasco
Flats, (Moravia,) and sometimes at Bradleys
Corners, (Northville.) Charles Dennison came
from Stonington, Conn., in 1796 or '7, and lived
a short time with his father-in-law, Charles Plen
derson, who settled a little south of East Genoa,
near the Wilsons, and died there. In 1 799 he
settled on lot 38. Pie was a clothier, but aban
doned the trade and went on a farm. Four of
his children are living, Roxana and Sarah, wife of
Wilson Divine, at Venice, and Martha, wife of
James B. Royal, and Prudence, wife of Joseph
Bowers, in Lansing.

James, Nathaniel, Uriah and Solomon Knapp
came from Greenwich, Conn., about 1797. James
settled about a mile north of Northville, where he
died; Nathaniel, on lot 21, near Israel Mead,
where he died ; Uriah, on 100 acres bought of
Thorne Milliken ; and Solomon, on the farm now
occupied by his grandson, S. K. Bradt. Four
of Nathaniel's children are living, Nathaniel and
Israel, in Genoa, Sarah, wife of Stephen Main, in
Moravia, and Mary, wife of Jonah Knapp, in Con
necticut. Captain David Ogden, Sr,, came in about the
same time from Nanticoke, Broome county, to
which place he removed from Elizabeth, N. J,, in
1 79 1. He lived first in a block hotise a little
south of where Alanson Brown resides. In 1805
the large frame house now occupied by Netus
Jump was finished and he moved into it. He
died there July nth, 1835, in his sixty-sixth year.
He was a carpenter by trade, and built the houses
of Roswell Franklin, Jabez Bradley and many
others in this locality. For almost forty years he
was the " middle man " of this section and dealt
largely in stock, grain, beef and pork. He was
for many years extensively engaged in merchan
dising and was interested in boating. He owned
about 300 acres, and was therefore a large farmer.
He also kept a public house, and was postmaster
for many years. Many branches of this business
were conducted under unfavorable circumstances.
The country was new, the channels of trade
were unformed, the main markets, Quebec, New
York and Baltimore, were not only far away, but
difficult of access. Railroads were unknown,
and the Erie Canal not finished till 1825. Postal
communication was slow and uncertain, and there
was no telegraph then. Journeys required much
time, and were often attended with much danger.
Under these circumstances a business so exten
sive and varied as his required executive ability
and indomitable energy. He possessed both in
a remarkable degree. Genoa owes much to the
active life and public spirit of Captain David Og
den. Captain David Ogden, Jr., is a resident of
Northville, and though in his seventy-seventh
year is hale and hearty. Jonathan Ogden came
in 1798 and worked with his brother David as a
carpenter. In 1805 he returned to Binghamton,
and died there. Ezekiel Ogden came in 1799 or
1800, and his brother David sold him ninety
acres, on which he lived till his death. Captain

EARLY SETTLEMENTS.

493

Thomas Ogden came in from EHzabeth, N. J., in
1798, and settled on lot i in Genoa, which he
drew for services as an officer in the Revolution.
Plis house stood where Mrs. Elihu Slocum lives.
He was father-in-law of David Ogden, Sr. Two
of his daughters present remarkable instances of
fecundity. Rachel, who married John Gilmore,
had twenty-one children, and Phebe, who mar
ried John St. Clair, twenty-two.
John and Caleb Atwater came from Hamden,
Conn., in 1798, and settled, the former on the
Joseph Fenner farm, and the latter where Deacon
Mead resides. John G. Atwater, son of Caleb,
came about the same time, and lived first on the
Thos. Goodyear farm, and subsequently on the
south-east corner of lot 23. The Atwaters had
large families and many of their children settled
here. For about eighty years they have been a
numerous, prominent and worthy family. Gabriel
Studwell and his sons Abram, William and Peter,
came the same year, (1798,) from Fairfield, Conn,,
and settled on lot 10. Plenry Studwell came
with them and settled two miles south-east of
Genoa, where Andrew Stickles lives and died
there. Benoni Armstrong, nephew of David
Armstrong, came from Goshen in 1798, and
settled a little east of David's place, a little west
of where Wm. Green lives. He removed to Sem
pronius in 1805, and after two or three years to
East Venice, where he died September 20th,
1811. He was a blacksmith, and followed that
vocation till his death. He made nearly all the
axes used in clearing up this section of the coun
try. Plis children were Margaret, afterwards
wife of Elisha Hopkins, Melinda, afterwards wife
of Lyman Halliday, Sarah, afterwards wife of
Thos. Hamilton, Emily, afterwards wife of Isaac
Sovers, Isaac and John ; of whom Isaac, who was
born in Genoa in 1801, is the only one living.
Wm. Miner, who was born in Stonington,
Conn,, February I4lh, 1774, came to Genoa in
1799, and settled at Genoa village, where he died
May 1 2th, 1840, aged 66, and Polly, his wife,
April 4th, 1817, aged 33. He was the father of
Orlando Miner, a former merchant at Genoa.
Emeline, widow of Ashbel Avery, who resides in
Iowa, is the only one of his children living.
Nathan Raymond, from Fairfield, Conn., and
Ebenezer Howe and Elliott Palmer, also settled
in 1799, the former on lot 20, and the latter two
on lot tl.

Numerous other settlements were made prior
to 1800, among others by Wm. Jessup, who
settled at Pine Hollow, on the farm now occupied
by Jas. Stevens, where he died, and two of whose
children are living, John, in Genoa, and Mrs.
Jackson Holden, in Locke; John Barnes, who
settled a half mile west of Genoa, on the Indian
Fields road, where Chauncey Hand lives, and who
sold in 1813, to Ebenezer Hewitt; Increase
Barnes, who settled in the same locality ; Thad
deus Spencer, who settled a half mile north-east
of Genoa, where Willard Avery lives, and died
there August 19th, 1856, aged 82, whose daugh
ters married and moved west many years ago,
and whose son Ansel moved lo Missouri about
1855 ; Aaron Lyon, who settled on fifty acres
about two and one-half miles north-east of Genoa,
where Jno. Tifft lives, and removed to Michigan
about 1850, and died there; Alex. Palmer, who
settled three and one-half miles east of Genoa,
where Geo. Plolden, Plenry Palmer, a grandson,
and a man named Niles live, and died there, and
whose daughter Polly is living norlh of Auburn ;
a family named Tidd, from Orange county, who
left at an early day ; Sherman Brown, who settled
where James McGuire lives ; Jonathan Palmer,
who settled near Five Corners ; Ahasuerus Fer
ris, who resided a few years on the east side of lot
4, and subsequently on lot 30 ; Oliver Reynolds,
who lived where Dennis Doyle resides ; Noah
and Wrestcome Barton, who settled on lot 29 ;
Cornelius Bashford, on lot 40 ; Arthur Hewitt,
on lot 19; Ichabod -Lockwood and Wheeler
Thorp, on lot 20 ; James Pixley, on lot 30; Isaac
Barnum, on lot 28; Daniel Plaight, on lot 18;
Chas. Lester, who had lived some years previous
just north of the town line, on lot 10 ; Timothy
Stephens, father of Nelson T. Stephens, who was
formerly a lawyer of some prominence at Locke,
and afterwards at Moravia and Auburn, and is
now Judge of the Supreme Court of Kansas, on
lot 28 ; and Samuel Hicks, who settled on lot 29,
at the forks of the road, where S. Wilson lives.
He kept the first store in the east part of the
town. He also kept a tavern, and boiled potash
about twenty rods west of the four corners. Lot
29 was owned by one Vanmarter or Vandewater,
in 1791. Abram Starks owned and sold in 1795
to Elihu Halladay, the place on which the latter
settled. James Ferris, son of* Ahasuerus Ferris, came

494

TOWN OF GENOA.

from Fairfield, Conn , in 1800, and settled at Five
Corners, where the Presbyterian parsonage
stands. He stopped a year or two a little north
west of the Corners, but did not take up land
there. He bought of Joseph and Jesse Chitten
den, who came in from Massachusetts at an early
day, fifty acres, on which he resided till his death,
September nth, 1864, aged 86. P'our of his
children are living, Lewis and Caliste, widow of
Joseph Goodyear, in Genoa, Edmond, in Spring-
port, Mich., and Augustus, in Pennsylvania,
Matthias and Edward Mead, and Frederick Sco
field also settled here in 1800, the former two on
lot 21, and the laller on lot 30, where Philip
Shafer lives. Moses Reminton, Archelaus Chad
wick, Amos ?Iurlburt (in 1798) and Stodart Niles
settled about this time, Reminton, on the farm now
occupied by Geo, A, Whileman, one and one-
half miles east of Genoa, where he died February
24th, 1836, aged 67 ; Plurlburt on lot n, where
he died November lolh, 1832, aged 62 ; and
Niles on lot 2, where he died October I9lh, 1849,
aged 69, Reminton was a Quaker, and came in
from Connecticut, from whence his falher came
about the same time, the latter settling two miles
east of Genoa, on the farm now occupied by Jno.
Tifft and Delos Niles, where he died. Milton
and William, sons of Moses Reminton, are hving,
the former in Trumansburg, and the latter in
Connecticut, Chadwick came from Lee, Mass.
His sons, Thomas, Samuel, Jabez and Ansel were
prominent and active citizens. In addition to
their other gifts thc Chadwicks possessed musical
talents in a remarkable degree,
.Joseph Goodyear came from Plamden, Conn.,
in 1801. He bought 20oacresof Perez Brownell,
and then exchanged wilh Gilbert Brownell. His
brothers William and Timothy came ayear or two
later. The Goodyears, Alwalers and Bradleys
were originally from the same section. They
intermarried more or less before and after coming
here. Joseph Shaw came from Little Compton,
R. I., in 1802, and his brother Peleg, a few years
afterwards. John Leavenworth, originally from Water-
town, Connecticut, came from Canaan, Columbia
county, in 1802. Pie lived one year west of
Beardsley's, in Lansing, but soon settled and
built a house on lot 40, which he bought of Wil
liam I. Vredenburg, in 1804. In 1809, he made
his residence on lot 29. ' From that time he kept

a tavern in his log-house, built and run a distil
lery, and had also a small store in a part of the
building. Pie was commissioned a Lieutenant
by Gov. Daniel D. Tompkins, in Col. John Plar
ris' regiment, and went wilh his company lo the
frontier at Lewiston in the war of 1812, He was
afterwards commissioned a Captain, under Lieu
tenant-Colonel Matthew N. Tillotson, and was
honored wilh several lown offices. Many soldiers
were drafted in front of the old log lavern, which
stood about twenty-five rods norlh of his last resi
dence, and some on the green north of the old log
school-house. Only two of his children are liv
ing, Horace, on the homestead, at East Genoa,
and Olivia, wife of Jackson Ferris, in Springport,
Michigan. Hiram went to Auburn to learn the
printer's trade wilh PI, J. Pace, and attended a
grammar school. In October, 1S17, he was edi
tor of the Waterloo Gazette, which he published
one year. Pie was associated oneyear with Wil
liam Ray in the publication of thc Miscellaneous
Register. In 1820, he removed lo Qiieenslown,
Canada, and printed a paper forWm. L. McKen-
zie, the leader of the Patriot War. P'rom thence,
in 1825, he went to St. Catharines and established
The Farmers' Journal and Welland Canal Intelli
gencer, afterwards changed to the St. Catharines
Journal, which he continued until 1843. Pie
died February 7th, 1857, in his 6oih year.
Wm, Miller Clark came from Connecticut, in
1803, and settled on the Indian Fields, aboul a
mile south-west of Genoa, on the farm now occu
pied by Chauncey Hand. Pie afterwards re
moved wilh his family to Ohio, Moses Arm
strong, brother of Benoni, came from Goshen in
1803, and settled on the farm adjoining Benoni's
on the west. Pie removed to Groton about 1820,
and died there. His family are all dead. Reu
ben Pomeroy came from Broome county, in the
fall of 1803 and laughl school ihal winter. In
1805, he married Esther, daughter of Jabez 13iad-
ley, and in i8c6, succeeded Adams, Wildman &
Co., HI the mercantile business. His store stood
on the site of the steam mill. Pie wasa success
ful merchant and left a good record as an honest
and trustworthy r-nan. Seneca G, Pomeroy of
Northville, is the only member of his family liv
ing. Paul Barger came from Peekskill in 1803
or '4.
Joseph Crocker, Sr., came from Lee, in 1804,
and bought the James Plowell farm of Oliver

EARLY SETTLEMENTS.

495

Hatch. His sons Asa and' Joseph, who lived
and died here, were noble men, and are kindly
remembered. Isaac Mitchell settled the same
year on the north-east corner of lot 3. In 181 9
he sold his farm lo Jesse Underbill. Captain
Henry Chase came from Little Compton, R. I,,
in 1805 ; and Samuel and Philander Lawrence,
from Stamford, Connecticut, about that year.
John Seymour came from the latter place three
or four years afterwards. Plis sons, John, Phi
lander, Lewis and Theron, were once well known
in this town. John Tilton came from New Jersey
in 1808. Pie vvas honest, industrious, and very
fond of fishing. The Howells and Tiltons came
from the same place about the same time. Peter
Latourctte,who was ninety-four years old in 1876,
and Col. Daniel Thorp, a Welshman, came about
1808. The latter settled on the Indian Fields,
about a mile south-west of Genoa, where Hiram
Hand lives, and died there March I5lh, 1837,
aged nearly sixty. Harriet, widow of Orson
Welsh, residing in Cortland county, is the only
one of his children living. Sclh Nye came from
Connecticut about 1810, and settled two and
one-half miles north-east of Genoa, where Delos
Niles now lives. Pie afterwards removed to East
Venice and died there January 19th, 1840, aged
84, His children were Caleb, Joshua, Freeman,
Jared and four daughters, all of whom are dead.
William Green, a native of Galway, Saratoga
county, came from Delaware in March, 1812, and
settled on lot 40, which he bought of the State,
in the south-east corner of the lown, on the farm
now owned by his son-in-law, David Cogswell,
where he died in 1874. Plis children who are
living are James, in Moravia, and Margaret, wife
of David Cogswell, and Burr, in Giolon. David
Price came from Elizabeth, N. J,, in 1812, and
bought of Edmund Wright the place where
Matthias Hutchinson lives. He subsequently
lived south of Bells Corners. A man named
Pleaton scllled at an early day a mile north-cast
of Genoa, and died there. His son James, who
resides in Venice, is the only one of his children
living. Jacob Hagaman was an early settler on
lot 30, of which he was probably the first owner.
Early Mills. — The first conveniences for
grinding were the mortar and pestle until 1798,
when a mill was built at Ludlowville, Tompkins
county, by Henry Ludlow. Another was built
at Black Rock by a Mf, Anway, about 1800;

and in 1808 Abel White erected one near the
falls, near N. B, Atwater's. David King built
one on his farm about the same lime. The last
two were called "thunder shower" mills, because
in summer they depended on showers for their
supply of water. Mr. Durell built a mill near
the site of Mr. Townsend's in 18 10.
Early Taverns. — Taverns were numerous at
an early day, and many of thepresent quiet dwel
lings were once used for public houses. Among
the early lavern keepers were Peter Latourelle,
where Alanson Brown resides, David Ogden, one
mile west of Northville, Elihu Tillotson, at the
landing, John King, where Glen W. King lives,
Timothy Goodyear, at Goodyears Corners, Caleb
Atwater, in thc Deacon Mead house, John At
water, where Joseph I'enner resides, Reuben
Pomeroy, where the present hotel stands, Jabez
Bradley, in the S. C. Fessenden house, W. Ham
lin, at Little Hollow, Ebenezer Hewitt, on the
Indian Fields, Thaddeus Spencer, at Genoa vil
lage, Wm, Plewitt, where Phineas B, Young lives,
Ebenezer Howe, at Pine Hollow, and John Car
ver, at East Genoa,
Town Officers. — The first town meeting
was held at the house of Jonathan Woodworth,
at Lansingville, April ist, 1794, and John Chel-
sey was chosen moderator. The following named
officers were elected : Willis Bishop, Supervisor;
Thomas Ludlow, Clerk ; John Chelsey, Abraham
Minear, who was a surveyor, and Philip Breen,
Assessors; Daniel Bacon and Wm, Coltrine,
Constables and Collectors ; Benajah Strong, Sr,,
and John Clark, Overseers of the Poor ; Abraham
Bloom, "Anslem" Chelsey and Jabez Bradley,
Commissioners of Highzvays ; John Clark, Chas.
Nantine or Vantinc, Plenry Ludlow, Wm. Clark,
David Armstrong, Plenry "Telor" and Amos
Strong,OversecrsofHighways;"E.henezerWosV\ns,
Job Plalsted and Henry Bloom, Fence Viewers ;
Nathaniel Walker and John Bowker, Pound
Keepers. At that meeting a bounty of twenty
shillings was voted for the scalp of every wolf
actually killed in the town.
The present officers (1879) are :
Supervisor — Darius W. Adams.
Town Clerk — Frank H. Avery.
Justices of the Peace — Samuel C. Bradley,
Daniel M. Bacon and Squire Plowe.
Assessors — Levi Starner, Edwin A. Avery and
Francis Plollister.

496

TOWN OF GENOA.

Commissioner of Highzvays— ^T)an\e\ L. Mead.
Overseers of the Poor — Thomas McCormick
and Calvin M. Bush.
Inspectors of Election, Dist. No. i — George W.
Crocker, Samuel C. Fessenden and Ossian King.
Inspectors of Election, Dist. No. 2 — Oscar Tifft,
Dolphus Mo.sher and DeWitt C. Bothwell.
Collector — Jason G. Atwater.
Constables — James A. Greenfield, John P.
Boles, George Bower, and Samuel C. Knapp.
Game Constable — Daniel Fallen.
Commissioners of Excise- Amos Main; vacan
cy, long term, Lyman Miller ; vacancy, short
term, John L. King. Genoa Village.
Genoa Village is pleasantly situated in the
north part of the town, on Salmon Creek, which
furnishes a good water power. It is a station on
the U., I. & E. R. R., and is distant eight miles
south-west of Moravia, twelve and three-fourths
miles south-east of Aurora, and nineteen and
one-half miles south of Auburn. It contains
two churches, Presbyterian and Universalist, a
district school, one hotel, (kept by Frank Gil-
keys,) three general stores, a drug store, hard
ware store, jewelry store, two grist-mills, two
shoe shops, (kept by D. L. Glover and Samuel
Kelly,) one harness shop, (kept by D. W.
Glover,) three blacksmith shops, (kept by G. PI,
Warner, D. P. Arnold and Elias Dolson,) a car
riage shop, (kept by Avery & ^Herman,) and a
population of 350.
Merchants. — The first merchants at Genoa
were probably Samuel Adams and Niram Wild-
man, who had previously done business at North
ville. They came here about 1806, and afler a
few years dissolved. Adams went to Little
Creek and continued the mercantile business
there. The next of whom we havc any account
was a man named Barnes, who opened a store in
his house about 18 12, and accommodated such
of his neighbors as chose to patronize him. He
bought his goods at Ludlowville. The next mer
chant of any importance was Alfred Avery, who
came from Grolon, Conn., in Ihewinterof 181 3-14,
and opened a store nearwhere S. S. Plewitt lives.
Pie continued in business till his death in 1854.
He was associated the first four or five years
with Cornelius Cuyler, of Aurora ; and, after
five or six years, with Edwin Avery, with whom

he did business till 1836 or '7. At his death
he was succeeded by his sons Daniel and Henry,
and Pliram S. Farrar, who married his eldest
daughter, Abby. They did business several years
under the name of Farrar & Avery, when the
Averys bought Farrar's interest, and continued
under the name of D. &. PI. Avery, till the death
of Ilcnry in 1873, after which Daniel continued
alone till the fall of 1876, when he was succeeded
by his nephew, Frank H Avery, who still car
ries on the business. Four of Alfred Avery's
children arc living, Daniel and Urania, wife of
S. S. Hewitt, in Genoa, Alfred, in Louisville,
Ky., and Clara, widow of Wm. B. Mills, in Keo
kuk, Iowa.
Azor Cole, from Connecticut, opened a store
about 1 8 17 or '18, and after five or six years sold
to Wm.Wil ber, from Vermont. After several years
he removed lo Geneseo, where he died. Wilber
sold afler two or three years to Andrew B.
Thorp, son of Daniel Thorp, and Seneca
G. Pomeroy, who did business some ten years
and sold to Richard G. Brownell, from
Owasco, who continued till 1865 or !6, being
associated the last four or five years with his son-
in-law, Theo. M. Miller. They sold to L. V.
Smith, from Venice, who continued some two
years, when he sold the store lo Jesse B. Young
and Norman Lester, and removed his goods to
tbe store now occupied by Frank H. Avery,
where he remained one year, and sold to E. N.
Blackmer, from Cortland, who did business about
two years and sold to John Tifft, from Venice,
and Norman Lester, who, in the meantime, had
sold his interest in the business of Young & Les
ter to his partner. Tifft & Lester did business
about two years and sold their goods at auction.
Orlando Miner, son of Wm. Miner, united
with Alfred Avery in 1832, in erecting the build
ing novv occupied, one half of it, by P'lank PI.
Avery as a store, and the other half, by Daniel
Avery, as an office. Avery occupied the west
half, and Miner the east. Miner removed after
two or three years to Alton, Illinois, where he
died. James K. Smith came from Auburn about
1838-40, and occupied Miner's store, but re
turned after a year and a half with his goods to
Auburn. Wm. B. Smith, also from Auburn,
opened the same store soon afler, remained alike
period, and returned also with his goods to Au
burn. E, B. Hill, from Groton, opened a store

GENOA VILLAGE.

-497

about 1840, did business some threeyears and
removed to Canada. L. B. Hewitt opened a
store about 1855. and after a short time he sold
to S. T. Mastin, who, after one or two years,
admitted his son, Alfred, aud subsequently his
son, John. March 23d, 1869, John Robinson,
S, T. Mastin's son-in-law, became interested, and
the firm name has since been Robinson & Mas-
tins. About 1835, Bayliss and Alvarez Tupper,
fr-om Venice, opened a store, which they contin
ued two or three years, when the former died and
the goods were sold at auction. John C. Marvin,
from Plomer, opened a store about 1830. and af
ter about four years he sold to Dr. Barber, who
continued some two years.
Jesse D. Young opened a general store in P'eb
ruary, 1867, in company with Norman Lester,
wilh whom he did business the first three years.
He still carries on the business. Joseph Banker,
druggist, came from Groton and commenced busi
ness in 1872. O. M. Avery, hardware dealer,
commenced business at Genoa in October, 1874,
having previously carried on the same business
at Ludlowville since June, 1870. Frank II. Innes,
jeweler, came from Auburn, and commenced
business here in October, 1877.
Postmasters. — The first post-office estab
lished in the territory now embraced in the towns
of Genoa and Lansing seems to have been lo
cated at Ludlowville, though it bore the name of
Genoa until the division of the town on the erec
tion of Tompkins county, in 1817, March 1st of
which year the name was changed to Ludlow
ville. The first entry of the office under the
name of Genoa is January nth, 1806, and Abijah
Miller, Jr., was appointed postmaster on that day.
He was succeeded March loth, 1815, by John
Ludlow, and March ist, 1817, by John Bowman.
In the meantime a post-office by the name of
Indian Fields, was established one-half mile west
of Genoa, on the post route between Auburn and
Ithaca, January ist, 1817, and Wm. Miner was
appointed postmaster that day. As this record
of Indian P'ields post-office appears to be the only
one it is inferred that the name was chatiged lo
Genoa October 31st, 1818, about which time the
office was removed to the site of the village, and
this supposition is strengthened by the fact that
the name of Wm. Miner appears as postmaster
at both places. Ebenezer Hewitt next succeeded
to the office and held it two or three years, when
84-2

it again came into the hands of Wm. Miner, who
held it a like period, as late as 1825. Alfred
Avery next received the appointment and held
the office two or three years. He vvas succeeded
by Samuel Clark, who held it till 1829, when Wm.
Miner was again appointed, and held it till 1841.
Alfred Avery succeeded him, and was followed
in 1845, by Daniel Hobert, who held it but a
short period, when Wm. J. Close was appointed
and held it till his death, about 185 1. Ralseymon
Sheldon next held it until 1853, when Dr. Asa
W. Tupper was appointed. Pie resigned and
was succeeded by John Seymour, who held it but
a short time. Lendall Bigelow succeeded to the
office as early as 1857, and held it till his death,
March i6lh, 1870. John S. Robinson next re
ceived the appointment, and was succeeded in
April, 1875, by Benjamin L. Avery, the present
incumbent. Physicians. — The first physician at Genoa
was Ebenezer Hewitt, who came from Stoning
ton, Connecticut, in 1802, and settled one and
one-half miles north-west of Genoa, where Ed
win A. Carter lives, and practiced till his death
in 1826. Dr. Stephen S. Hewitt and his sister
Plarriet, both residing in Genoa, are children of
his. Pie was one of the original members ofthe
County Medical Society. His brother, Leeds
Hewitt, came from the same place a little later
and studied medicine wilh him. He practiced
here from 1826 till his death in 1842. David G.
Jessup and John Smith joined the County Medi
cal Society, while residing at Genoa, the former,
November 3d, 1826, and the latter. May ist,
1828, but we are not advised as to how long they
practiced here. Almon C. Taber came here
about 1835, August 6th, of which year he joined
the County Medical Society. He practiced till
about 1848, when he removed to Auburn. Asa
W. Tupper, a native of Venice, came in from
that town in 1840, and practiced till 1852, when
he removed to Washington county. He joined
the County Medical Society, January 5th, 1843.
Stephen S. Plewitt, son of Ebenezer Hewitt, was
born in Genoa, June 9th, 1822. Pie was educated
at Geneva College, and was graduated at Buffalo
University in 1848, in which year he commenced
practice in Genoa. He retired from the practice
in 1857. Geo. Hewitt was born in Genoa, April
loth, 181 1. He studied medicine with his father,
Thomas L. Hewitt, who was an early practitioner

498

TOWN OF GENOA.

at Moravia, and Horatio Robinson, in Auburn,
and commenced practice in Genoa in 1848. He
afterwards went to California and practiced there
and in Central America, where he had charge of
the American Hospital at Panama. He returned
to Genoa in 1859, and has since practiced there.
M. B. Van Buskirk, a native of Stroudsburg,
Pennsylvania, was educated at Jefferson Medical
College, Philadelphia, where he graduated in 1866,
and the following year commenced practice in
Genoa, where he still continues.
Manufactures. — The manufactures of Genoa
consist of two grist and flouring-mills and a wood-
workingestablishment,thelatterofwhich is owned
by Sylvester Thayer, who is about to add thereto
a machine shop to be operated by steam. The
grist-mills are located on Salmon Creek, and each
contains three run of stones. One, the Genoa
Mill, is owned by Daniel Rose & Son, who
bought it of Stephen Hubert & Son in April,
1876. It was built by Benoni Holcomb over
fifty years ago, and has been repaired and rebuilt
several times, the last time in 1870. The fall in
the creek at this point is twelve feet. The other
is owned by Squire Howe, whose adopted father,
William Plowe, bought it April ist, 1853, of S.
T. Mastin. It was built in 1840, by Woodin &
Savage, who run it together a few years, when the
former bought the latter's interest, and run it till
1848, when he sold to Alfred Avery, who sold it
to S. T. Mastin in 1852. A mill was built upon
this site some thirty years previously, and is said
to have been the first grist-mill in the town.
Genoa recently lost its most important indus
try in the destruction by fire of the Stevens
Thrasher Works, which were established about
1838, by A. W. Stevens, a native of Genoa.
They gave employment to thirty to thirty-five
men, and since the fire were removed to Auburn
in the fall of 1878.
The Second Presbyterian Church of Genoa
was formed July 3d,i8i7,by Rev. Isaac Eddy, an
evangelist, as the North-east Congregational
Church of Genoa, with the following named eleven
members, who had letters of dismission from
other churches : Matthias and Israel Mead, John,
Gideon, Mary, Rachael and Jane Leavenworth,
Mary Pitcher, Anna Palmer, and Betsey and
Eliza Eddy. Samuel Wilson was admitted the
same day on profession of faith. John Leaven
worth, 2d, was chosen deacon. The church was

placed under the care of the Presbytery by a vote
passed August nth, 1817. January 19th, 1821,
the name was changed as above, and the Presby
terian form of government adopted. Jesse
Plickock, Ichabod Lockwood,Jeremiah Hitchcock
and Matthias Mead were elected ruling elders,
and Jesse Plickock, deacon. Their first house of
worship stood about a mile east of Genoa, a little
north-west of the central gate of the cemetery.
It was dedicated September 17th, 1822. It was
struck by lightning and much damaged Sunday,
June 29th, 1828, at the time the deacons were
passing the communion cup. Several persons
were injured, but none fatally. In 1829, it was
removed to its present site and repaired. It was
burned in 1842, and a new house was built, and
dedicated February 9th, 1843. It was remodeled
and repaired in 1870, and rededicated.
The following is the succession of pastors of
this church, as complete as the records enable us
to give. Isaac liddy appears to have been thc
first pastor, but the records do not show when he
began or closed his labors. Urban Palmer was
ordained and installed pastor February 6th, 1822,
and dismissed July 6th, 1824. John Smith
served them from February 15th, 1826, to Octo
ber, 1826; N. E. Johnson, from October Sth,
1826, to October 23d, 183 1, having been ordained
and installed pastor July 8th, 1829; James H.
Rice, October 22d, 1834 ; Wm. Tobey, about
1835 ; David Molin, from April 25th, 1838, to
October 6th, 1840; and Whitman Peck, from
October 23d, 1844, to April i6th, 1849, all of
whom were ordained by this church, except Mr.
Rice, who was probably a stated supply. Moses
Thatcher was installed in June, 1851, and dis
missed in 1852. Wm. M. Robinson vvas ordained
and installed June 21st, 1859, and dismissed '"
June, 1863. C. A. Conant, pastor of the church
at P'ive Corners, gave them an afternoon service
one year from June, 1868, to 1869. G. G. Smith
officiated from June, 1869,10 1871. E.Benedict,
the present pastor, commenced his labors with
them April 14th, 1872, and was installed pastor
July 25th, 1872.
During the intervals between the pastorates
they had stated supplies, for a j)ortion of the timci
especially in the earlier days. Among these were
Messrs. Fullerton, Lamberton, Douglass and
Moore,studentsof Auburn Theological Seminary.
In 1833, Revs. My rick and Warren, evangelists,

¦ii'

GENOA VILLAGE — NORTHVILLE.

499

openly, and for a time successfully, " advocated
perfectionism and other serious errors and extrav
agant practices," and induced the church to adopt
articles of belief "radically defective;" but in 1834
these were set aside, and a creed such as the
Presbytery approved was adopted. Some 375
names have been recorded upon the roll of the
church. At present there are forty-five members.
Twenty-one have been ruling ciders, and ten,
deacons, but of that number only one — Phineas
B. Young — remains. The elders are Jesse Hic
kock, Jeremy Hitchcock, Matthias Mead, Luke
Taylor, Aaron Ingals, Chauncy Woodford,
Samuel R. Wilson, James Woodford, James
Mead, Reuben Woodford, Godfrey W. Slocum,
Lendall Bigelow, Oliver Hewitt, Noah K.Taylor,
Daniel Davis, Elijah Requa, John King, Orrin
Hughitt, A. J. Hughitt, Phineas B. Young and
J. Harvey Lowe ; and the deacons, John Leaven
worth, 2d, Ichabod Lockwood, Jesse Plickock,
Chauncy Woodford, Ralseymon Sheldon, John
Seymour, Orrin Woodford, James Mead, Calvin
King and Sidney Plewitt.
The average attendance at Sabbath school is
fifty-five. The P'lRST Universalist Society of Genoa.
A preliminary meeting of Universalists and others
of Genoa was held at the house of Wm. Miner,
June 12th, 1829, for the purpo.se of building a
meeting-house, which it was resolved should be
free to all other denominations, when not occu
pied by the Universalists. It was attended by
Wm. Miner, Alfred Avery, Edwin Avery, Samuel
Moore, Zerah Whitney, Azor Cole and Worth
ington Smith. A subscription of $2,277 for that
purpose was obtained from 116 individuals. July
gth, 1829, Wm. Miner, Worthington Smith, Ed
win Avery, John Leavenworth and James Young
were constituted a committee to locale and pur
chase a site in the village of Genoa, to build a
house, and secure a title for the benefit of the
Universalist Society. August 2d, 1829, at a
meeting held in the school-house in District No.
5, "the u.sual place of worship," presided over by
Wm. Plewitt, an organization was effected un
der the statue, the above name adopted, and the
following trustees elected : Abel Simonds,
Ebenezer Lester, Darius Adams, John Holden,
Palmer Plewitt and Alfred Avery. August 13th,
1829, the trustees executed a contract with Lem

uel D. Newton and Samuel Wallace to build a
house for $2,300 ; and August 19th, 1829, it was
decided to build on three-fourths of an acre east
of the residence of W. Smith, who was to give
and level it. July 23d, 1830, the church was
finished and accepted, and was dedicated July
29th, 1830, by Rev. D. Skinner, of Utica.
The first pastor whose name appears on the
record, (July 21st, 1830,) is Rev. Mr. Chase. Rev.
Mr. Gregory also officiated in July, 1830. The
church was reorganized under the same name,
August 22d, 1845. Their records do not show
the succession of pastors. The last one left in
the summer of 1878. Northville.
Northville, (Kings Ferry p. o.,) is situated
on a beautiful plateau, in the north-west part of
the town, and is distant eight miles south-east of
Aurora, two miles east of Kings Ferry station,
and about three miles west of Genoa. It con
tains three churches, (Presbyterian, Episcopal
and Catholic,) a district school, two general
stores, one drug store, one shoe shop, (kept by O.
F. Kendall,) a harness shop, (kept by James
Detrich,) a hardware store and tin shop, a black
smith shop,(kept by Ossian King,) one hotel, (kept
by R. J. Drake, and built in 1849 by Captain
David Ogden and D. Adams & Son, on the site
of one built by Samuel Chadwick in 18 14, and
burned May 30th, 1844,) and a population of about
300. Merchants. — Capt. David Ogden was prob
ably the first merchant in the town. His busi
ness was conducted for a time in a block house a
little south of Alan.son Brown's, and was subse
quently moved to a wing on the north side of the
Jump house. Pie commenced business soon
after coming into the town, (about 1797,) and con
tinued a great many years, as previously mention
ed in connection with his settlement here. The
next appear to havc been Knapp&Rice, whohad a
store near Joseph Fenner's, but were unfortunate.
Samuel Adams, Niram Wildman and Stephen
Bassett commenced business under the name of
Adams, Wildman & Co., in 1802, and continued
till 1806, when they dissolved, and Adams &
Wildman went to Genoa village and engaged in
mercantile and other business there. They were
succeeded at Northville by Reuben Pomeroy,
who occupied the store they vacated, which stood

50O

TOWN OF GENOA.

on the site of the building built for a steam mill,
and continued till his death in 1812. From
August, 1809, to the summer of 1810, Darius
Adams appears to havc had an interest in ihe
business. Afler the death of Mr. Pomeroy,
Jabez Bradley, Jr., carried on mercantile busi
ness till the spring of 1815. Darius Adams then
bought him out and in December of that year
entered in copartnership with Henry Bradley,
under the name of Adams & Bradley. They
built in 1 8 19 the store now occupied by Dr.
Ball, and continued business till April, 1823,
when Mr. Bradley sold his interest. He subse
quently moved to Penn Yan and was a leading
merchant there for many years. Mr. Adams
continued the business till 1846, when he retired,
having been associated in the summer of 1831
wilh S. G. Pomeroy, when the firm name was
Adams & Pomeroy; from 1837-40, with Sam
uel C. Lyon, under the name of Adams & Lyon;
and from 1840-46, with his son Samuel, when
the firm was known as D. Adams & Son. In
1835 he built the store now occujDied by Adams
& Ogden. From 1846-51, Samuel Adams was
associated with his brother Darius W. Adams,
under the name of S. & D. W. Adams. After
1851 Samuel Adams conducted the business
alone until April ist, 1857, when Newell Lyon be
came his partner, and the firm became S. Adams
& Co. February 10th, 1864, Mr. Adams bought
his partner's interest, and in April, 1867, he sold
to Darius W. Adams and Weston A. Ogden,
who have since carried on the business under the
name of Adams & Ogden.
During these years many other persons have
been engaged in mercantile business for short
periods with varied success. Among them were
Jesse Atwater, Samuel and Ansel Chadwick, Gay
& King, Harvey Andrews & Horace Atwater,
Sidney Avery & Theron Seymour, Wail H.
Davis & Theron Seymour, Richard Brownell,
Seneca G. Pomeroy & Walter G. Bradley, Titus,
Greenfield & Co., Lewis Seymour, Pierce & Co.,
Samuel & Lewis Atwater, Andrew Thorp, Union
Store, Allen C. Purdy & Son and James C. King.
Pliilo Clark, druggist, commenced business
in 1865, and still continues it. L. B. King, gen
eral merchant, commenced business in 1866, in
company with B. F. Coleman, with whom he did
business about a year. In 1874, James A.
Greenfield tiecfime his partner and continued

with him one year. King bought out Ansel
Chadwick in 1866. G. W. Crocker commenced
the hardware business in 1866, in company with
Thomas Underbill and W. A. Purdy, whose in
terests he bought at the expiration of two years.
In 1870, he was associated with S. C. Bradley,
under the name of Crocker & Bradley. In 1871,
Bradley sold to John Starner, who after two
years, bought Crocker's interest and continued in
company, a part of the time, with PZdwin Perry,
until March, 1877, when he sold to Crocker dr
Peckham, who slill carry on the business.
Postmasters. — King's P'erry post-office was
established at Ogdens Corners in 1807, with
Capt. David Ogden, Sr., as postmasler. The
office vvas kept in awing on the north side of his
house, one mile west of Northville, until 1822,
when it was moved lo Northville. In the first
year sixty-two letters, were received, of which
three were paid, thirty-nine, unpaid, and twenty,
free. The gross amount received during the first
year for letters and papers was $18.99^, of which
the government received $12.63^-. Mr. Ogden
was succeeded by Henry Bradley, who was ap
pointed January 1st, 1823. Darius Adams re
ceived the appointment in December, 1823, and
held the office as late as 1842. G. W. Gunn,
Lewis Seymour, (who held the office in 1846,)
Darius Adams, Lewis Seymour, Samuel Atwater,
(who held it in 1851,) and Walter G. Bradley suc
ceeded each other at short intervals. Bradley
held the office as early as 1854 and as late as
1859. He was succeeded by Allen C. Purdy, B.
F. Coleman and Samuel Adams, the latter of
whom wqs appointed in 1S69, and still holds the
office. Physicians. — Prior to the settlement of any
physician at Northville, Drs. Thomas Lyon, who
was the first physician in this section, and was
located at P'ive Corners, Nathaniel Aspinwall,
who came in 1803, and settled three miles south
of Northville, where J. P'. Baker resides, and
Consider King, who settled at Capens Corners,
'(Ledyard,) in 1805, extended their practice to
this locality. Aspinwall vvas one of the original
members of the County Medical Society, and he
and King were intelligent and conscientious
men. Dennison R. Pearl, a native of Oneida county,
commenced practice here in May, 1828, and con
tinued six years. J-Ie resumed practice in 1843,

NORTPIVILLE.

SOI

at Sherwood, where he now resides, Samuel
MiUiken, who commenced practice in Brockport,
came here about 1828, May ist of which year,
while a resident of Genoa, he joined the County
Medical Society. Ansel Chadwick, who had
been away some years, returned here in 1832,
and practiced till his death, in 1867. PItilo Clark,
who was born in Massachusetts February 9th,
1807, and educated at Fairfield and GenevaMedi-
cal Colleges, from the latter of which he gradu
ated in the spring of 1834, commenced practice
at Borodino in 1835, and after one year removed
to Northville, where he has since practiced. He
joined the County Medical Society June 2d, 1836.
B. F. Cb/iT/wrtw, who was born in Goshen, May 23d,
1823, and educated at the Albany Medical Col
lege and the College of Physicians and Surgeons
of New York, from the latter of which he grad
uated in 1845, commenced practice at Northville
in 1852. Pie removed to Seneca county in 1870,
and returned here June 3d, 1878. Frederick A.
Dudley was -born in Madison, Conn,, Jan. 6th,
1842, and educated at Yale Medical College,
where he graduated in 1862. He commenced
practice as surgeon of the 14th Connecticut In
fantry, and after the war practiced about two
years at Beaufort, S. C. He removed thence in
1868 to Northville, where he has since practiced.
Though Northville is not thc theater of any
manufacturing industry, it has not been utterly
destitute of an effort to make it such. In 1836
some public-spirited citizens formed a stock com
pany and built a steam flouring-mill. Jonathan
Borden was the chief stockholder and was made
president. Darius Adams vvas treasurer. It
vyas in operation several years, but did not pay,
and is now used as a store-house.
The First Presbyterian Church of Genoa,
at Northville. We quote from a published ser
mon preached August lOth, 1873, by Rev. J. S.
Jewell, the pastor of this Church, on the occasion
of its 7Sth anniversary.
" Quite a large proportion of the early inhabi
tants here were decidedly friendly to religious
institutions ; while many of them were professedly
the disciples of Christ, and members of churches
in the places from which they came. In leaving
the older settlements and established churches,
and coming into the wilderness, they had no idea
of leaving their religion and the benefits of the
gospel behind. And it would seem that in the
settlement of this part of the town, the hand of
God was plainly manifest, in bringing together so

many of similar faith, so that they could so har
moniously join together in worshiping God." f
We have already seen that Benjamin Close com
menced holding religious meetings in his house
soon afler the removal of his family here in the
springof 1793. These meetings were doubtless
the first regularly established for public worship
in the County. The devotions consisted in read
ing sermons, singing hymns, and prayer, and fre
quently partook of the nature of a Bible class,
questions being asked and answered as freely as
in any family or social gathering.
They were occasionally visited and encouraged
by missionaries, but apparently very irregularly
and not often. The earliest of these of whom we
have any record is Aaron Kinne, who visited this
section as early as 1793, Others, though three
or fouryears later, were Seth Williston, Jedediah
Bushnell, Salmon King,Jacob Cram, David Avery
and Ezra Woodworth, the latter of whom, it ap
pears, came in June, 1798, and preached one-
third of the time for five or six months. His
labors seem to have prepared the way in some
measure for the organization of a Church. The
first meeting looking to this end was held at the
house of Amos Lyon, who lived near Bell Cor
ners, July 9th, 1798. This meeting was attended
by two missionaries. Rev. Ezra Woodworth, who
acted as Moderator, and Rev. Mr. Hillyer, who
acted as clerk. About twenty persons present
presented certificates of membership from various
Eastern churches. A committee consisting of
John Tillotson, Silas Hutchinson, Stephen Peet,
William Bradley, David Wilcox and Enoch Mer-
ryman, vvas appointed to acquaint the professors
of religion in the town of their designs, and also
to draw up a confession of faith. An adjourned
meeting was held at the same place, August 13th,
1798, when the Church was duly organized, and
a confession of faith and covenant adopted. The
ministers present and assisting were Reuben
Parmlee, Ezra Woodworth and Jacob Cram.
The number who then entered into Church-
fellowship was sixteen — ten males and six females
—eight of whom were from Connecticut, and all
of whom presented letters. Their names were
Stephen Peet, Stephen Webb, Amos Lyon, Solo
mon Knapp, Silas Hutchinson, Benjamin Close
William Corwin, David Wilcox, William Bradley,
Anna Corwin, Esther Peet, Jane Strong, Eliza
beth Moe, Ann Chittenden and Elizabeth Webb.

502

TOWN OF GENOA.

Two weeks after, nine others, who appear not to
have been present at the former meeting, united
by letter, among them John Tillotson and Annie,
wife of Heman Bradley.
The Church was denominated the Fii'st Con
gregational Church in the tozvn of Milton, and was
the second one organized in the County, thc first
being the Baptist Church in Scipio, (now Ven
ice,) which was formed June glh, 1795. Rev.
Mr. Scott supplied them a few Sabbaths after
Mr. Woodworth closed his labors, and in Feb
ruary, 1799, a call was extended to him, which,
as well as one extended to Rev. Seth Williston
in March, 1800, appears tohavebeen declined.
After the organization, as before, the Society
continued to worship in private houses and barns
till 1802, when a log meeting-house was built,
near the south-east corner of lot 14, a mile east
and a mile south of Northville.
Some time in 1803, Rev. Jabez Chadwick com
menced serving them as a stated supply, and
continued about two years. During this period
the rapid increase in population had made a larger
and more commodious house of worship desira
ble ; and out of the proposition to build a new
edifice, grew a somewhat acrimonious contro
versy relative to its location, which ultimately re
sulted in a separation and the formation of a
new church. Pending this unhappy discussion
a project was set on foot to perfect a legal organ
ization, and a meeting was called for that purpose
March lOth, 1804, at which an agreement was
drawn and subscribed to by ninety-one individ
uals, upon whom, for the most part, says Rev. Mr.
Jewell, "the burdens of society rested for
more than a generation." This organization was
completed at the house of Jabez Bradley, in
May of that year, under the name of Union Society,
and John Atwater, Benjamin Close, Jabez Brad
ley, James Milliken, Jonathan Brownell and Mat
thew Tillotson were the first trustees. At the
same time a subscription for a meeting-house
was drawn up, the heading to which is worthy
of preservation. The following is a copy in part :
"We, the subscribers, do agree to pay the
sums set opposite our names, in the time and
manner following, viz : one-fourth part in neat
cattle, by the ist of October next ; one-fourth
in good wheat or pork, at market price, by the
1st of January next ; one other fourth part in
neat cattle, by the ist of October, 1805; and
the remaining one-fourth in good wheat or pork,
by the ist of January, 1806."

At a meeting of the society. May 20th, 1805,
it was decided to build on lot 4, within forty rods
of the south-west corner. June sth, 1805, Jabez
]3radley gave the society a lease of between three
and four acres of land, as a site for the building,
the lease to continue as long as the society wished
to occupy the land for a house of worship. The
house was raised in July of that year, and, though
it was occupied for worship the following season,
was not completed till some years afterwards, the
pulpit and galleries not until the fall of 18 16.
"It was a fine and noble monument to the value of
religion and religious teaching,here in a new coun
try, where few spires could then have been seen
pointing heavenward. Its dimensions were about
45 by 60 feet, built with such style and finish as
to attract the attention of strangers for many
years." This building was their Sabbath home
until 1846, when it was taken down, and a new
one erected on the same ground, and dedicated
July 8th, 1847. This, in turn, underwent ex
tensive repairs and was rebuilt, and dedicated in
February, 1872. A neat chapel adjacent to it
was erected at the same time, the whole involv
ing an expense of $11,000.
When it was found to be impossible to har
monize the conflicting views in regard to the lo
cation of the church edifice, an amicable separa
tion was mutually agreed upon. They accord
ingly procured the services of Rev. David Hig
gins, then pastor of the church in Aurelius, who
administered to them the Lord's supper, Decem
ber 22d, 1805 ; after which twelve took letters of
dismission to form a church in Lansingville, then
called Teetertown. Those who withdrew were
Caleb and Luther Lyon and their wives, Amos
Lyon, Mrs. Ann Chittenden, Mrs. Jane Strong,
Mrs. Charles Lyon, Caleb Lyon, Jr., Mrs. Re
becca Stives, Mrs. Ruth Conklin and Israel
Lyon. Thc membership of this church after
this exodus was sixty-four.
Rev. Wm. Clark was ordained and installed
pastor of this church June i8th, 1806; the rela
tion was dissolved in February, 1808. After this
Rev. Samuel Fuller preached for a time, and re
ceived a call to settle, but he ultimately declined
the invitation. September Sth, 1809, a resolu
tion is recorded inviting Rev. Seth Smith to preach
seven Sabbaths in addition to the five already
supplied. Four weeks later, October 3d, a call
was unanimously extended to him, at a salary of

NORTHVILLE.

503

$450, which was then considered very liberal.
The names appended to the subscription list to
raise this amount were 135 in number, and the
sums subscribed varied from fifty cents to thirty
dollars. Mr. Smith accepted this call and was
installed January 24th, 18 10. Such was the im
portance attached to Ihis event that the church
voted to observe Wednesday, January lolh, as a
day of fasting and prayer, preparatory to the
solemnities of the occasion.
Mr. Smith's pastorate was a long and useful
one. It continued till his death, January 30lh,
1849. Mr. Smith was succeeded by Rev. N. D.
Graves, who was installed September. Sth, 1849,
and served the church five years, resigning Sep
tember 5th, 1854. Rev. Amos Crocker followed
in the spring of 1856, and remained till May,
1867. The present pastor. Rev. J. S. Jewell,
commenced his labors with this church July ist,
1868, having completed the tenlh year of his
ministry, which, with the hopeful spiritual con
dition of the church, is evidence of his accepta
bility and efficiency. Thus the shepherd's staff
has changed hands but four times in the period
of nearly seventy years.
The church was originally organized on Con
gregational principles. In 1804, on the organ
ization of the Middle Association, it was connect
ed with it ; but on the dissolution of that body in
i8n,and the formation soon after of the Presby
tery of Cayuga, it became a constituent member
of the latter body, and has thus remained to the
present time. In 1820, the church adopted the
Presbyterian form of government, electing as
ruling elders, Wm. Bradley, Benjamin Close,
Beriah King, Roswell PYanklin and Adonijah
Tillotson, who continued to exercise the functions
of that office lill 1831, when it again voted lobe-
come Congregational. In November, 1868, it
once more, without a dissenting voice, became
fully Presbyterian.
The present number of members is 140. The
number of families in the congregation is about
100. The whole amount raised during the last
ten years, including benevolent objects, is about
$27,000. They have an interesting Sabbath
school, at which the attendance is 150.
Calvary Church, (Episcopal,) at Northville,
was organized in May, 1862, and at a meeting of
the vestry, consisting of S. S. Mosher, D. K. Un-
85-4

derhill, James Plowell, George Jackson, M. D.
King, John Tillotson, James Niblo and B. F.
Coleman, held Tuesday, May iSth, 1862, at the
house of D. K. Underbill, Q. L. Beebe and An
drew Thorpe were elected wardens. Their church
edifice was erected in 1862, at a cost of about
$2,000, the land — about an acre— having been
given by Mr. D. K. Underbill. It vvas conse
crated in 1863. The first rector was Rev. J. Leach,
who was called May 22d, 1863, he having resign
ed the pastorate of St. Paul's church of Aurora.
June 29th, 1863, a call was given to Rev. W. M.
Beauchamp, who served them two years, and was
succeeded by Rev. George G. Perrine, who re
mained about a year. P'or some time after Mr.
Perrine left the pulpit was unsupplied. Rev.W.
A. Casey, who was then and is still rector of St.
Paul's church, Aurora, supplied the pulpit a year.
After that the church had only occasional preach
ing till the summerof 1878. July 1st, of that
year. Rev. J. Everist Cathell commenced his
labors with them, and continued them during
that and the two succeeding months. Rev. De-
Witt C. Loop, the present pastor, entered upon
this charge about the 1st of November, 1878.
The church is in a feeble condition, but has a
hopeful and useful prospective future. The mem
bership does not exceed a dozen, but there are
some twenty who have been baptized awaiting
the coming of the Bishop to be confirmed.
St. Mary of the Lake Church, (Catholic,)
at Northville, was organized in 1866, by Father
McCool, at the house of the widow of Hugh Fal
lon, about a mile west of the village. It then
consisted of about twenty-five heads of families,
the most prominent of whom were the widow Fal
lon, Daniel Fallon, Patrick and Edward Reilly,
Thomas and John McCormick, Michael and Ed
ward Burns, James Britt, Patrick Dullehan,
Christopher Mulligan, Nicholas and Christopher
Mulvany, John Mahony and John Kenny. Their
church edifice was erected in 1868, at a cost of
$2,400, through the efforts of Father McCool,
who labored with them as pastor from 1 866-' 70.
He was succeeded in the pastorate by Father
Schmellzer, who served them ten months; Father
Eugene Pagani, who remained one year ; Father
Archangel Paganini, who served them ten
months; and Father Hugh Francis Rafferty,
who has labored with them since June iSth,
1873. The present membership is about 450.

S04

TOWN OF GENOA.

The earliest meetings of this denomination
were held in the old red school-house in the vil
lage of Genoa, by Father Glennon, in 1852.
Societies. — Genoa Lodge No. 2i2,F. & A. M.
was organized August nth, 1813, at the house
of Simeon P. Strong, in Teetertozvn (Lansing
ville). William Miner, Lemuel Powers, John Bow
ker, Samuel Knapp, Darius Adams, Curtis Gal-
pin, Simeon P. Strong, Belding Kellogg, Martin
Kellogg, Ilhmar Kellogg, Levi Roath, PI. West,
Abner Brannis and Samuel R. Wilson, who were
members of Sylvan Lodge, Massachusetts, Eagle
Lodge, Seneca county, and Scipio Lodge, Aurora,
were the charter members. This was the fourth
lodge in the County, the first having been organ
ized in Aurora, March 22d, 1797, the second at
Moravia, in 1810, and the third, (7l/^r;m/^ ^'/^r
Lodge; now dead,) near Bolt's Corners, in the
present town of Scipio, in 18 n. It died during
the anti-masonic times, and was reorganized as
No. 421, January 29th, 1857. The charter mem
bers then were J. M. White, Geo. Frilts, J. PI.
Pickard, G. W. Gunn, Darius Adams, David Og
den and B. A. Shepard. The lodge now num
bers about ninety members. Since the reor
ganization meetings have been held in the rooms
formerly occupied by the Odd Fellows, in the
steam mill building.
The Northville Temperance Society was
formed in August, 1828, in which year, in the
west half of Genoa, there were two distilleries,
four licensed hotels, and four stores, selling an
nually about 250 barrels of ardent spirits. Only
eighteen individuals in the town could be induced
to sign the pledge, and notwithstanding the So
ciety first met with violent opposition, in the
fifth year after its organization not a license was
granted in the town. The old Society died years
ago, but the work has been continued, and to
day there are in West Genoa two Good Templar
Lodges and two Rechabite Tents.
Five Corners.
Five Corners is situated in the south part of
the town, west of the center, nearly equi-distant
from Genoa and Northville. It contains one
church,(Presbyterian)a district-school, one general
store, one hardware store, two blacksmith shops,
(kept by John Beardsley and William Starr,) a
shoe shop, (kept by Aaron Wood,) a wagon
shop, (kept by Anson Lyon,) a paint shop, (kept
by James Remer,) and about seventy inhabitants.

Merchants. — The first merchants were Israel
and Amasa Lyon and David Crocker, who com
menced business under the name of I. & A. Lyon
& Co., about 1 8 14. After a few years it went into
the hands of Mr. Crocker, who admitted to part
nership a man named Swift, his brother-in-law,
with whom he did business several years. Al
fred and Samuel Husted, brothers, opened a
store about 1823, and did business a few years,
when they removed their goods to Auburn.
Samuel C. Lyon kept a store a good many years,
until his death September 12th, 1870. Charles
Barger opened a store soon afler Lyon's death,
and after two years formed a copartnership with
P. Price. Pie failed about a year after. James
Nostrand and a man named Hunt came in from
Moravia in November, 1875, Plunt left after a few
months, and Nostrand did business here lill the
latter part of November, 1878, when he sold his
goods at auction. A. E. Robinson, from Sher
wood, general merchant, commenced business in
December, 1876, in company with George E.
Sanford, wilh whom he was connected till Octo
ber 1 8th, 1877. John Starr, hardware merchant,
commenced business in the spring of 1877.
Postmasters.^ — The first postmaster at Five
Corners was Lewis Seymour, who was appointed
about 1830. He vvas succeeded by John Milli
ken, who held the office in 1836, Rebecca Ferris,
Allen Palmer, who held it in 1842 and '46, Sam
uel C. Lyon, who held it in 185 1, Fulton Good
year, who held it in 1854, Samuel C. Lyon, who
held it as early as 1857, and until his death in
1870, Daniel Bacon, who held it about a year,
Charles Barger, who held it from 1872-75, Jo
seph Goodyear,who held it from 1875 till his death
in April, 1878, and A. E. Robinson, the present
incumbent, who was appointed April 29th, 1878.
Physicians. — The first physician was Thomas
Lyon, who located here about the beginning of
the century and remained a few years. There
does not appear to have been any physician after
that until about 1841, when D. A. Force came
here. He practiced until the California gold-
fever broke out, when he repaired thither. He
resumed practice here about fouryears afterwards
and continued till about 1853, when he went to
Genoa. Dr. Green, from Lansing, Tompkins
county, practiced here one year during the war,
and went to Michigan. Wm. Davis, also from
Lansing, practiced some five or six years from

EAST GENOA.

SOS

about 1868. He, too, went west. George E.
Sanford, from Michigan, who joined the County
Medical Society while a resident of this place,
November loth, 1875, is still practicing here.
The First Free Congregational Church
of Genoa, at Five Corners, was organized Jan
uary 1st, 1 83 1, as the Congregational Church of
Lansing and Genoa, by thirteen male and twenty-
five female "secedcrs" from the Presbyterian
church of Lansingville. January nth, 1831,
Levi Palmer and Caleb Lyon, Jr., were elected
deacons. January 7th, 1834, the present name
was adopted.
The first pastor was Rev. Jabez Chadwick, by
whom the church was organized. Pie resigned
January 31st, 1835, to take effect March 27lh,
1835. Hewas succeeded by Zenas Covall,whowas
dismissed October nth, 1836, The name of S.
Hawley appears March i ilh, 1837, but whether
as pastor or temporary supply the records do not
show. Rev. Mr. Leckner closed his labors with
them January i6th, 1838, but how long he
served them does not appear. Rev. A. C. Lord
commenced his labors with them in April, 1838,
and Ezra C. Smith, March 20lh, 1840. Mr.
Smith was voted out of the pulpit April 6lh,
1842. Rev. Wm. S. Franklin began to 'supply
the pulpit September i8lh, 1842. November
14th, 1843, ''^ received a call to become their
pastor, and was installed January 9th, 1844. Sep
tember 8lh, 1864, afler a pastorate of twenty-
two years, Mr. Franklin requested the church to
unite with him in asking the Presbytery to dis
solve the pastoral relation. He preached his
farewell sermon September 25th, 1864. C. A.
Conant assumed the pastoral care April ist, 1865,
and closed his labors with Ihem July ist, 1871.
During his pastorate, March 3d, 1871, the church
adopted the Presbyterian form of government,
but retained their name. In November, 1871, a
call was extended to A. O. Peloubet, who en
tered upon the pastoral duties January ist, 1872.
He preached his farewell sermon April 27th,
1873. In July. 1873, a call was given to
Nathan B. Knapp, who was installed pastor Oc
tober 7th, 1873, a,nd ministered to their spiritual
wants until December gth, 1877, since which
time the pulpit has been supplied by various in
dividuals. The present membership is forty-
five. The first meetings were held in an addition

built to the school-house at the corners, at the
time of the organization. This, however, soon
ceased to afford the needed accommodation.
Soon after the organization, during Mr. Chad-
wick's pastorate, a fruitful revival was experi
enced, and the membership so largely increased
thereby, as to make the demand for a larger and
more commodious house of worship imperative.
This resulted in the erection of the present edi
fice, which was dedicated P'ebruary 26lh, 1835.
March gth, 1842, the Lansingville church,
(from which the original members of this church
withdrew, because of a preference for the Con
gregational form of government,) dissolved and
united with this. East Genoa.
East Genoa is situated in the south-east part
of the town, about two and one-half miles south
east of Genoa, and four miles south-west of
Milan. It contains one church, (M. E.,) a dis
trict school, a store, blacksmith shop, (kept by
Joseph Duck,) and some forty inhabitants.
Merchants. — The first merchant was Elihu
Halladay, who opened a small store previous to
1800, in a log house which stood on the site of
Horace Leavenworth's residence, which he kept
some two years and failed, the failure involving
the loss of his farm. Pie bought his goods at
Aurora. This is said to have been the first store
in the town. The next vvas John Leavenworth,
who opened a store as early as 1805 and kept it
till 1813. Elihu Washburn opened one soon af
ter Leavenworth, about twenty rods south of the
Corners. Pie afterwards built the present store,
and did business several years. Thomas Hicks
kept a store previous to 1808. Pearl P. Lane
opened a grocery about 1824. He kept it about
one and one-half years and failed. Wm. P.
Thornton opened a store in 1826, and kept it a
few years, when James Morgan succeeded him
and kept it till the fall of 1841, when he sold to
Alex. Bothwell, who kept it six and one-half years
and sold to Samuel Close, who, after four or five
years, sold to G. J. HoUenbeck, who kept it about
a year and a half. He then sold to Charles Wil
cox and Abram Osmun, who kept it two years,
and sold to Charles Manchester, who kept it a
like period, when he closed out and removed to
Ithaca. Daniel Carver opened a store in another
location about 1830. He kept it but a year or

5o6

TOWN OF GENOA.

two, and then closed out. There was no mer
chant .here after Manchester left (about 1863)
until the fall of 1877, when Sullivan W. Ladd
came in from Summer Plill and opened a store,
which he still continues.
Postmasters. — The post-office at East Genoa
was established in 1827, with Wm. P. Thornton
as postmaster. He held it one or two years, till
his removal to Fleming, and was succeeded by
Abram K. Truman, who held the office in 1831.
Samuel Branch next held it eight or ten years,
as early as 1836 and as late as 1842. He was
succeeded by Heman Plolden, who held it till
1844, when Alexander Bothwell was appointed
and held it some four and one-half years. Samuel
Close succeeded him and held it during his con
tinuance in mercantile business, as late as 185 1.
Gibson J. HoUenbeck held the office in 1854,
and was followed by George HoUenbeck. Plorace
Leavenworth received the appointment June 2d,
1856, and held it some three years. Abram
Osmun held the office in i8sg, and vvas succeed
ed after two years by J. M. Snyder, who held it
four or five years and was removed. Alexander
Bothwell next held it two years and resigned,
when J. M. Snyder was again appointed. Pie
continued in office till the fall of 1875, when
Alexander Bothyvell was again appointed, and still
holds the office.
The First M. E. Church, at East Genoa,
was organized in 1837, at the school-house on lot
40, with the following named members : Mr. and
Mrs. Cyrus Potter, Mr. and Mrs. Wm. Gibbs,
Mr. and Mrs. Stephen Thayer, Mr. and Mrs.
Nelson Shangle, Mr., and Mrs. Richard Boyce,
Mr. and Mrs. Lewis Bothwell, Peter Bower, Levi
Clark, and Mrs. Henry Young. The earliest
meetings by members of this denomination were
held about 1835 or '6. Their house of worship
was erected in i84g, at a cost of $2,000, and is
free to other denominations when not occupied
by the' Methodists.
The Successive pastors who have had charge
of the spiritual interests of this Society, as far as
they can be gleaned from the records, are: Revs.
Sylvester Minier and Wm. Perne, who formed
the first class and served them two years, but at
vvhat time does not appear ; H. C. Plall, in 1845;
Doctor Humphrey and C. W. Plarris, in 1846;
Dewitt C. Olmsted, in 1847 ; A. Benjamin, in
J 848 arid 'g ; D. Lampkin, in 1856 ; J.W.Steele,

in 185 1 and '2 ; (Rev. Mr. Spickerman and Alvin
Lake;) Reuben Fox, in 1855 ; Wm. Adams, in
i85g and '60 ; S. Minier, in 1861 ; Letto Barnes,
in 1862; P'. D. Pliggins, in 1863 ; D. Potter, in
1864 and '5 ; David Davies, in 1866 ; Rev. Mr.
Knight, in 1867; Rev. Mr. Coles, in 1868; D.
C. Dutcher, in i86g; P'. Weatherwax, in 1870
and '71 ; P. W. Minard, in 1872 ; M. P. Murphy,
in 1873 ; E. House, in 1874, '5 and '6 ; O. Comp
ton, in 1877; O- Compton, J. B. Wilson, Wm.
Walker and Frank-Wheeler, in 1878, the latter
of whom is the present pastor. Pie entered upon
his labors in the fall of 1878. The church was
not prosperous for some years, and the records
for that period, if any exist, have not come under
our observation. The church is in a feeble con
dition, its membership numbering sixteen to
twenty. The attendance at Sabbath school is
from twenty to thirty.
At Bells Corners, or West Genoa, is a Metho
dist church, which is also denominated the First
M. E. Church of Genoa. It vvas organized in
1846. Their church edifice, which is valued at
$2,500, was built the same year and dedicated in
1847. This church is on the same charge as the
one at Ledyard, and the pastors have been the
same as there. The present number of mem
bers is 122. The number attending Sabbath
school is forty-seven, the average attendance be
ing thirty-six.
Manufactures. — On Little Salmon Creek,
about a mile south-west of Genoa, is a grist and
saw-mill, owned by Melvin Alexander, and
operated by water and steam, with a twenty feet
head. It contains three run of stones, two for
flour and one for feed.
At the forks of the creek, about three miles
south of Genoa, are a grist-mill and saw-mill,
the former on the west, and the latter on the
east side of the creek, owned by John Boyer, and
operated by Messrs. Boyer & Kinner. Thc main
part of the grist-mill was built by Colonel Daniel
Thorp about fifty years ago. It contains three
run of stones, one each for wheat, corn and buck
wheat. The saw-mill contains an upright saw
and a circular lath saw. The first saw-mill upon
that site was built about the same time as the
grist-mill. Both mills draw water from the same
dam, which gives a fall of some twelve feet. Mr.
Boyer came into possession ofthe property about
ten years ago.

TOWN OF LOCKE.

507

Over two hundred soldiers went from Genoa
during the war ofthe Rebellion, and twenty-seven
were procured elsewhere and sent by citizens of
the west part of the town who were drafted.
About $10,000 were raised by the town for boun
ties. " Of those who went forth at their coun
try's call, thirty-eight came not back. In south
ern prisons, at Gettysburg and other historic bat
tle-fields, they laid down their lives that the na
tion might live."

CHAPTER LII.
Town of Locke.
LOCKE lies upon the south border of the
County, east of the center. It is bounded
on the north by Moravia, east by Summer Hill,
west by Genoa, and south by Tompkins county.
It was formed from Milton, (now Genoa,) Feb
ruary 20th, 1802, and originally comprised the
Military township of Locke, the south half of
which vvas set off on the organization of Tomp
kins county in 1817. The north-east quarter
was set off to form the town of Summer Hill,
April 26th, 1 83 1.
The surface is broken by the deep, narrow val
ley of Owasco Inlet, which flows through the
central part ofthe town, bordered by hills, whose
summits range from 200 to 400 feet above its
level, and widen into a beautiful, undulating re
gion, wilh a mean elevation of 1,000 feet above
tide. Dry Creek crosses the north-east corner
of the town, its head waters being in close prox
imity to the east line of the town. It flows
through a deep, narrow, rocky gorge, whose steep,
and occasionally almost perpendicular banks,
covered with primitive forests, tower upward to a
heit'ht of more than two hundred feet above the
bed ofthe stream. It plunges over a succession
of falls, the principal of which is the lower one,
in the town of Moravia. The banks of the
stream are singularly rugged along its entire
course, and possesses at various points the
elements of grandeur. During continuous rains
and freshets it is an object of terror to thc
inhabitants of the flats, and has caused the de
struction of much valuable property. Several
other small streams flow into the outlet.

Limestone of a good quality exists in the town,
and is used for building purposes. It crops out
along the ridge which forms the east boundary
of the valley of the Inlet, and appears in places
on the surface in large, rugged masses, especially
near and east of the road to Moravia. It is also
seen to good advantage along Dry Creek, where
it forms the bed of the stream in various places,
the crests of its falls, and the perpendicular
masses of its banks, being associated in the latter
instance both above and below wilh the shales of
the group. Sulphur springs exist in various
localities in the flats, and the water of many of
the wells in the village is so strongly impregnated
with it as to be unfit for culinary purposes.
The soil upon the highlands consists of a grav
elly loam interspersed wilh clay. In the flats
it is a deep, rich, loamy alluvion.
The Southern Central R, R. crosses the Cen
tral part of the town, its course lying through
the valley of the Inlet.
The first settlement was made in i7go, by Ezra
Carpenter, James Cook, James Durell and Solo- -
mon Love. James Cook settled about three
miles south of Milan, on the place now owned by
Abram Weslcolt. He removed with his family
to Ohio. Samuel Cook, a grandson of his, is liv
ing in the town. Cook was the first inn-keeper,
in 1 8 10. James Durell built the first grist-mill
in 1810. It is slill standing and in use, forming
a part of the mill owned by Wm. W. Alley, Jr.,
in Milan village. Before Durell's mill was built,
however, a small mill was put up on the Carpen
ter place, in a ravine a mile south of Milan, on
the farm owned by Lavern Green. The stones
were made from common sandstone, and were
driven by a small stream emptying into the Inlet.
Here the settlers were accustomed to grind their
own corn, without having to pay the miller's toll,
each being his own miller. A daughter of
Durell's vvas the first child born in Locke. Solo
mon Love settled first in Groton and removed
thence to Locke. He settled a mile and a half
east of Milan, where P'ranklin Murphy now lives,
and died in the town. Daniel Carpenter was one
of the first settlers. He was from Rhode Island,
and located on a farm adjoining that of Joseph
Plarris on the east, where he died. Plis family
moved from thc town long ago.
Silas Bowker came in from the eastern part of
the State previous to 1802, in which year he vvq?

5o8

TOWN OF LOCKE.

elected Supervisor of the town. He settled
on lot 44, about two miles south-east of Milan,
where Jackson Holden now lives, and died there.
Areli, widow of Levi Henry, living in Locke, is
his daughter. Stephen Durell, who removed to
Genoa about 1812, and Archibald Harding, who
was from thc eastern part of the State, came in as
early as 1 802. James and Miller Harding, broth
ers of Archibald, came in about the same time.
All three settled in the same locality as Bowker,
Archibald where William Greenleaf now lives,
and James and Miller, on the farm of Andrew
Jackson Holden. They moved west at an early
day. Settlement proceeded slowly for several years,
but few important additions being made previous
to the war of 1812. Salmon Heath a native of
Massachusetts, came in from Saratoga county,
and Nathan Cook, from R. I., came in 181 1, and
settled, the former on lot 23, about one and one-
half miles south-east of Milan, where Jefferson S.
Hewitt novv lives, and where he died February
lOth, 1843, and the latter two miles south of Mi
lan, where David Pierce now lives. Cook re
moved several years after to Almond, N. Y. Two
children of Pleath's are living in the town, viz :
Eunice, widow of John White, aged eighty-four
years, and Plarvey, aged seventy-eight years.
Dr. Philander Mead, who was born in Green
wich, Conn., November nth, 1785, came in from
Chester, Warren county, the same year, (1811)
and settled at Pine Hollow, in the east part of
Genoa, on sixteen acres bought of EInathan Close,
who settled there in 1794, where he practiced
medicine till 1819, when he removed to Milan
and settled where his son Dr. Nelson Mead now
lives, and where he practiced till his death Sep
tember 3d, 1853. Four children are living be
sides the one named, viz : Philander, Sophia A.,
widow of Jonathan C. A. Hobby, and Edward
B,, in Locke, and Charlotte, wife of John G. Stev
ens, in Groton. Lyman and Elijah Brown came
in from Scipio soon after 18 n. Lyman was a
clothier, and built a carding and cloth-dressing
establishment on Hemlock Creek. Elijah was a
miller, and run a grist-mill, which stood near the
carding-mill. Both establishments were about a
mile above Milan.
Joseph Plarris, who was born in Windham
county, Conn., in 1788, and in 1 8 13, married Eu
nice Broga, who was born in January, I78g, came

in from Massachusetts, in 181 5, and settled on
lot 32, where both he and his wife now live, hav
ing bought the tract two years previously. They
have had ten children, six of whom are living, viz :
Henry, Plarvey, Joseph, Jr., Alonzo, and Lois,
wife of Erastus White, in Locke, and Huldah,
widow of George Ferris, in Tioga county, Penn.
Evidences of the occupancy of this country
long anterior to the first settlements by the whites
exist in this locality, but whether referable lo our
immediate predecessors, the Indians, or to a race
who ante-date them, can only be conjectured, as
examinations have not been made with sufficient
scientific exactness to warrant a deduction as to
their origin. About half a mile west of Milan,
upon the ridge which skirts the west border of
the Flats, upon the summit of a hill with steep
acclivities, and partially separated from the neigh
boring highlands by two deep gulfs, are traces of
what appears to have been a stockade, but which
is locally denominated an Indian buryingground.
Ploles of uniform depth, in which palisades of
considerable size have evidently been set, are
easily traced at regular intervals. They inclose
about four acres, in a nearly square tract, the lines
following the general conformation of the hill,
which generally slopes from them quite precip
itously. At intervals apparent openings of a few
feet have been left, as if for entrance and exit ;
but these are guarded by parallels covering the
openings, and are in places additionally guarded
by flank lines, running at right angles with the
general outline. The .size and position of trees
with respect to these lines indicate that their
origin is 250 to 300 years previous to the pres
ent time. The character of the works and their
strategic properties, makes it highly probable
that they were used for offensive or defensive pur
poses, rather than a place of sepulcher. Human
bones, supposed to be those of Indians, have been
exhumed there, and Dr. Nelson Mead of Milan,
has some of them in his office. Fragments of
pottery, ornamented with lines drawn in the sub
stance of which the vessels were formed, parched
corn, and arrow-heads have also been found with
in the inclosure. The former indicate that who
ever left these traces of their presence in this
historic region they were conversant with rude
ceramic arts. Numerous excavations, partially
filled with decayed vegetation and the surface
washings of their embankments, exist within the

MILAN.

Sog

inclosure, and a few outside ; but whether they
are the result of efforts known to have been made
at an early day by treasure-seekers, or were the
work of the original builders can only be sur
mised. Certain it is that the contour and design
ofthe works refer their origin to a superior intel
ligence. Town Officers,— The first town meeting was
held at the house of James Cook, March 2d, 1802,
and the following officers were chosen : Silas
Bowker, Supervisor ; William Webster, Clerk;
Samuel Brown, Lemi Bradley and Stephen
T)vtr€i\, Assessors ; Thomas Parker, Constable and
Collector ; Isaac Hopkins and Archibald Hard
ing, Poormasters ; Daniel Bradley, Jacob Jewitt
and Joseph Cone, Commissioners of Highways ;
Jason Phillips, Robert Rathbun and John Niles,
Fence Viewers; P'rederic Patmore, Hezekiah
Murdock, James Savage, Seth Curtice, James
Smith, Joshua Bennett, Amos Mix, John Perin,
Daniel Bradley and Samuel Hogg, Pathmasters,
and James Bennett, Joseph Cone and Elisha
Smith, P oundmasters .
The present town officers (1878) are A. W.
Brooks, Supervisor ; R. D. Lung, Clerk ; Lavern
White,' Abram Brooks, Samuel Greenleaf and
Lawrence I. Lockwood, Justices ; Daniel Mc
intosh, Charles Lester and Harvey Shaw, Asses
sors ; J. R. Plealh, Commissioner of Highzvays ;
D, B. Satterly and John Howell, Overseers of the
Poor ; Jay C. Lowe and Seth Talmadge, Inspec
tors of Election; Lavern White, Collector;
Timothy Loomis, Abram Stryker, Lavorian
Towslee and James Bothwell, Constables ; Frank
Westcott, Game Constable ; J. C. Tuttle, J. W.
Ingley and Lee T. Swartwout, Excise Commis
sioners. At an election held in the town of Locke for
the purpose of electing five Senators to repre
sent the Western District in the Legislature, and
three Members of Assembly to represent the
County of Cayuga, which opened at the house of
Joseph Cone and closed on lot No. 2, on Archi
bald Crowell's old place, April 30th, 1802, the
following votes were cast : For Senator, for
Joseph Annin, 35 ; John Meyers, g.; Matthias B.
Tallmadge, 26 ; David Ostrom, 18; Jacob Snell
and Asa Danforth, each 34 ; George Tiffany, 27 ;
Walter Wood, 7 ; Silas Halsey, James McClung
and Thomas Hewitt, each 2 ; and Silas Bow
ker, I. For Assemblymen, Silas Halsey, 6^;
86

Salmon Buel, 46; Thomas Hewitt, 55 ; Joseph
Grover, 7 ; John Beardsley, 1 1 ; Jacob Snell,
George Tiffany, Matthias B. Tallmadge, Asa
Danforth, David Ostrom and Amos Rathbun,
each 2,
The population of the town in 1875 was 1,130 ;
of whom 1,090 were native ; 40, foreign ; and all,
white. Its area was 14,675 acres ; of which
ii,8ig were improved; 2,i7g woodland; and
677 otherwise unimproved.
Milan.
Milan is finely situated in the fertile valley of
the Owasco Inlet, and on the S. C. R. R., a little
west ofthe Center of the town. Both the post-
office and station are known as Locke. It con
tains two churches, (M. E.and Baptist,) a district
school with two departments and two teachers,
four stores, two hotels, a grist-mill, a tin shop,
(of which Geo. W. Allen is proprietor,) a wagon
shop, (kept by J, F. Demmon, who also carries
on undertaking,) four blacksmith shops, (kept by
Lee T, Swartwout, John Brigden, George Engle-
hart and Azro Demons,) a shoe shop, (kept by
Timothy Loomis,) and a population of about 200.
Merchants. — The first merchant was Aaron
Kellogg, who opened a store in a gamble-roof
building, which stood diagonally opposite the
store of Edwin Guest, previously to i8ig. Henry
Kennedy, a soldier of the war of 1812, opened a
store soon after the close of that war, in which he
vvas wounded, and kept it two or three years.
Elihu Walter kept store a few years in the build
ing occupied by Kellpgg. He removed to Syra
cuse and died there. A man named Baker built
a store where Mrs. J. C. Leghorn now lives and
kept it several years. Jesse Millard, uncle of
Millard Fillmore, came in from Moravia and
opened a store on the site of Edwin Guest's store.
He subsequently removed to the south part of
the village. He did business a good many years
and removed to Auburn, and subsequently to
Wisconsin. He died at Milwaukee. Gordon
Palmer, from Norwich, opened a store in the
building vacated by Millard, on the site of Guest's
store, and afterwards removed to the corner
diagonally opposite. He engaged extensively in
buying and selling horses, and died at Owego
while returning from a trip on business of this
character. Hiram Becker acquired possession of
his goods and carried on business till about 1831,

510

TOWN OF LOCKE.

when he sold to Wm. Kingsley, who remained
only two or three years. In 1833, Wm. Titus,
from Kelloggsville, bought the property of Becker,
with whom he was afterwards associated as part
ner, and did an extensive business, which he con
tinued till 1847, after which he removed to Han
nibalville. Becker removed to Auburn, and after
wards to St. Paul, Minnesota, where he died.
Cady & Stoyell, from Moravia, did business sev
eral years, when Cady sold his interest to Stoyell,
who admitted Seneca B. Powers to partnership.
After two or three years they admitted M. D.
Murphy, who subsequently bought the interest
of his partners, and did business a good many
years, till about 1850, when he sold to J. H.
Wethey, his brother-in-law, from Port Byron,
who sold, after two or three years, to Wm. D.
Bennett, who continued till the spring of 1864,
when he exchanged the store with Charles E.
Parker, of Moravia, and removed his goods to that
village, where he novv resides. Philander Mead
bought the property in 1866, and rented it in
1870 to Z. Lupton, from Dryden, who opened a
store and kept it till October of that year, when
he sold his goods to John Marsh, from McLean,
Tompkins county, who, after about a week, sold
to Edwin Guest, Jr., who did business till June,
1872, when he traded his goods with D. Raynor
for a farm. April ist, 1873, Raynor admitted
Jeremiah P. Cady as partner, with whom he did
business till December, 1874, when they sold to
Guerdon Merchant, from Sempronius, who kept
it till March, 1876, when he traded his goods for
a house and lot in Auburn, with J. C. King, who
is still doing business here.
About 1827, Samuel Cone built a store oppo
site to where Philander Mead now lives, and
rented it to Gregory & Tupper, from Venice, who
kept it three or four years. They were succeed
ed by Elijah Cone, Jr., who kept it a year or two,
till his death, when his father continued the busi
ness three or four years. Silas Grover kept a
store there some three years, and was succeeded
by Samuel Jewett, who kept it several years and
removed to Ann. Arbor, Michigan, where he now
lives.' Samuel Croft next kept it three or four
years. He also went to Michigan, but returned.
Lester Maltby, from Summer Hill, kept a store
some two years from 1837 ; and Josiah Goodrich,
from Groton, from about 1845 to 1848, when he
went to California. He subsequently removed

his family to Ithaca, and died there. James
Stewart and David Raynor were in mercantile
business here from 1854 to 1858.
A union store vvas started hereabout 1852, by
a stock company, composed mostly of farmers,
with a capital of ^10,000. It was managed by
Aaron L. Cone, and continued about three years.
Ambrose Culver and Philander Mead opened
a'slore about 1861, and kept it three years. M.
Downing kept a jewelry store one year, in 1863.
He removed to Moravia, where he now carries
on the same business. Amzi M. Lyon kept a
store from Dec, 1866 to i86g, and sold to Luther
Nichols, from Xenia, Ohio, who kept it two years
and sold to M. D. Murphy. He kept it about a
year and sold to Edwin Guest, Jr., who was suc
ceeded at his death in 1876, by his father, (who
came in from Brooklyn and commenced business
in 1847, selling to his son, Edwin, in i86s,)and in
whose name the business is still conducted by
his son, Theodore M. Guest. T. L. Jakway and
Caleb Kingopened a grocery in the springof 1 871,
where Lavern White's shoe store now is. In
1873 they removed to the hotel building, the
present location. In February, 1876, Jakway
sold his interest to Allen A. Dutton, from Dan
by, Tompkins county, whose interest was at
tached three months afterwards. King continued
the business till April, 1878, when he sold to T.
L. Jakway, the present proprietor. George Mil
ler opened a boot and shoe store in 1874 and in
1875 he sold to Theodore Guest. Pie and Jo
seph Ferris bought it back the same year, and
in April, 1877, Ferris sold his interest to Miller,
who admitted J. L. White to partnership the
following October. In March, 1878, White
bought Miller's interest and has since carried on
the business.
Physicians. — The first physician at Milan was
Philander Mead, who came in i8jg, from the
east part of Genoa, where he settled in 181 1, and
practiced till his death September 3d, 1853. He
was in partnership from 1823 till about 1833,
with David G. Perry, from Warren county, who
afterwards practiced alone ti)l his death a few
years later. Nathaniel Leavitt came in from
New Hampishire about 1840, and practiced four
or five years. He finally returned to New Plamp
shire and died there. Nelson Mead, son of Phi
lander Mead, commenced practice in 1847 and
still continues. He is an allopath. Dr. Lacy

MILAN.

Sii

came in from Groton about 1850, and practiced
one or two years. Wm. C. Cox came in from
Niles about 1872, and after practicing two or
three years removed to Moravia, where he is now
practicing. Mead Hobby practiced a few years
with his uncle, Nelson Mead, and removed to
Iowa in 1874. He is professor of anatomy and
ophthalmy in the Medical College in Iowa City.
Frank Putnam came in from Venice in 1876, and
is still practicing here.
Postmasters. — Henry Kennedy vvas proba
bly the first postmaster. He was appointed soon
after the close of the w&r of 181 2, and vvas soon
succeeded by Jesse Millard, who held it a good
many years, till about 1830. He was succeeded by
D. Perry and Giles Gregory, each of whom held
the office but a few years, till 1836, when Wm.
Titus was appointed and continued in office till
about ,1849, when Mahlon D. Murphy vvas ap
pointed, and was succeeded in 1853, by Lester
Maltby, who held the office about six months,
when he went to Michigan. He was succeeded
in the fall of 1853 by Abraham A. Colony, who
held it till his death about a year after. He was
succeeded by Barnabas King, who held it till the
spring of 1861, when Ambrose Culver was ap
pointed and held it about three years. Amzi M.
Lyon next succeeded to the office and was reap
pointed February 23d, 1866. He was succeeded
by Edwin Guest, Jr., who held it lill his death
in April, 1876, when J. P. Cady, the present
incumbent, was appointed.
Lawyers. — The first lawyer was Isaac Sisson,
from R. I. , who practiced some twelve or fifteen
years, till about 1843, when he removed to Au
burn. The next was' Nelson T. Stephens, who
was born at Genoa, November 20th, 1820. His
education was such as was afforded by a desul
tory attendance at the neighborhood academies.
He read law with Leonard O. Aiken, and vvas
admitted to the Court of Common Pleas in the
winter of 1844, and to the Supreme Court in the
fall of 1846. In 1852 he' went to California, and
returned after about a year to Moravia, vvhere he
distinguished himself as anisi-prius lawyer. He
was a Captain in the war of the Rebellion, and on
being mustered out of service, resumed practice
in Auburn. He soon after removed to Kansas,
where he is now Judge of the Supreme Court,
and, in connection with his partner, Solon O.
Thatcher, is engaged in some of the most im

portant litigation in that State. Orlen White, a
native of Locke, studied with Stephens and com
menced practice about 1844 or '45, and continued
till his death in 1855. James Youngs came in
from Cortland about 1845 and practiced sonrie
three years. J. E. Cropsey was admitted to prac
tice in 1855, having previously been admitted
to practice in the courts of Michigan. In Feb
ruary, 1874, he removed to Moravia, but re
turned to Milan and is still practicing here.
Glen Gallup came from Albany, about 1858, and
practiced oneyear.
Manufactures. — Upon the Inlet, a little
more than a mile below Milan, at a place known
as Centreville, is a saw and cider-mill and jelly-
factory, owned by Charles Peck. The establish
ment was built in 1872, at a cost of $7,500.
During the cider and jelly season seven persons
are employed, and 1,000 lo 1,800 barrels of cider
made. Of this 350 to 500 barrels are made into
jelly, which is put up in oak pails holding twen
ty-five pounds, and three pound tin cans, and
shipped to New York, Philadelphia and other
markets. The custom and flouring-mill at
Milan has been in possession of the present
proprietor, Wm. W. Alley, Jr., since I867, in
' which year he bought the property of John C.
Legem. The mill was built by a Mr. Durell, in
1 8 10. It contains three run of stones, which are
propelled by water from Owasco Inlet, with a
fourteen feet head. Upon Hemlock Creek, one
mile south of Milan, is a grist-mill owned by
John Silcox, who bought it of Jeremiah Cady in
1870, for $5, 000. It is a frame building, and
was erected in 1 831, by Gage Miller. It con
tains three run of stones. The creek, which
furnishes the motive power, has a fall of 22
feet.
The Second M. E. Church of Locke, located
at Milan, was incorporated May 22d, 1849 ; but
the members of this denomination enjoyed the
ministrations of circuit preachers for several
years prior to that date. Among the latter were
W. Batcheller, B. D. Sniffin, Wm. Cameron and
Isaac Parks in 1834; L. K. Redington, Z. Barns
and Wm. H. Woodbury, in 1835, '6 and '7 ; Wm.
Cameron and Alonzo Wood, in 1838; Thomas
D. Wire and D. Lamkins in 1839 and '40; Isaac
Parks, Herman H. Winter, Wm. Cameron and
Aaron Cross, in 1 841 and '42 ; S. Minier and
A. Hamilton in 1843 and '44 ; and Daniel Cobb

512

TOWN OF SUMMER HILL.

in 1849; Their church edifice was erected in
1850.
Societies. — Uskeep Lodge No. 459, /. 0. O.
F., at Milan, was instituted March 8lh, 1877,
with six charter members. The first officers
were James M. Stewart, A''. G.; Wm. N: Rey
nolds, V,. G.; Johri E. Cropsey, Secretary; Plenry
Close, Treasurer; J. H. Grant, Warden; H.
Y. Cornwell, Conductor. The present officers
are, Frank Putnam, N G.; Abram W. Brooks,
V. G.; Charles Peck, Secretary ; Lavern Tows
ley, Treasurer; H. M. Dean, Permanent Secre
tary; Lee Swartwout, Warden; John Taylor,
Chaplain. Meetings are held at the lodge rooms
in Milan every Saturday evening.

BlOGttAPHlCAL SKETCH,

JOHN C. LEGERN.
John C. Legern vvas the fifth child of Charles
and Margaret (Clinton) Legern, and was born at
Little Britain, in the lown of New Windsor,
Orange county, N. Y., June 26th, 18 16. His
mother was a cousin of Governor Dewitt C, Clin
ton, His parents emigrated from Ireland to Lit
tle Britain in 1814, and during the succeeding
five years worked land on shares. In i8i9they
removed thence to the town of Milton, now
Genoa, Cayuga County, N. Y., and soon after to
Sempronius, now Moravia, in the same County,
where they purchased a farm of fifty acres. But
they did not long remain in Sempronius. They
soon after removed to Locke and purchased a
farm of thirty acres, for which, with the aid of
their sons, they succeeded in paying, and on
which they remained till their death, Mr. Legern
dying June 26th, 1840, and his wife, January 2d,
1842. John C. came to this County with his parents
and spent his boyhood and youth under the pa
rental roof, working upon his father's farm in
summer and attending the district school in win
ter. At the age of eighteen years he united
with his father in purchasing 23 acres of land
adjoining the homestead farm. This, by their
.united efforts, was soon paid for and the deed
therefor was given to John C, who, the previous
summer, had commenced life on his own respons
ibility. He left his younger brother to aid his
father in the management of the homestead farm,
and went to Seneca county, where he rented the
farm of. his brother-in-law. After the crops had
all, been got in he exchanged his interest for cat

tle, with which he returned home, and after keep
ing them a few months, sold them for twice what
they cost him. He soon after bought the 100
acres now known as the Spaulding farm, pay
ing therefor $10 per acre. He had six years in
which to complete the payment, but by energy
and economy he paid for it in three.
Mr. Legern was united in marriage with Miss
Mary PIull, daughter of William and Beersheba
Hull of Venice. The /ruit of this union was four
children, viz : Amanda Y., who became the wife
of Wm. N. Calvert, and died in Iowa in 1870 ;
James B., who died at the age of six years ; Mary
B., wife of Isaac Bouton, now living in Glenwood,
Iowa ; and Ernest, now residing on the home
stead farm. For many years Mrs. Legern lived
to aid her husband in the accumulation of a com
petency and the nurture of their children. She
died April 4th, 1874, mourned by all who knew
her. Mr. Legern has always been an active, ener
getic and industrious man and one who, by his
indomitable will and perseverance, has overcome
every obstacle which lay in his pathway. He
has filled many offices of trust and responsibility,
having been three times elected supervisor. He
has also been assessor and commissioner of high
ways, and has performed the duties thus devolved
on him with efficiency and fidelity. His life,
which well illustrates the sure and cheering re
sults of close application, discretion, industry,
frugality and integrity, is worthy of emulation by
the young just starting upon life's duties.
August 17th, 1877, Mr. Legern married Sarah
A., daughter of George W. and Sarah Taylor,
who was born in Dutchess county in 1835, and
was brought when only three months old by her
parents to Cayuga County, where she has since
resided. In the fall of 1877 Mr. Legern removed from
the farm to his present residence in the village
of Locke, where he enjoys that quiet and rest
which come from a competency and the consol
ing reflection of a well-spent life — a life of so
briety as well as industry. At the age of nearly
sixty-three years, he is hale, hearty and strong
and honored and respected by all.

CHAPTER LIII.
Town of Summer Hill.
SUMMER HILL lies in the south-east cor
ner of the County, and is boupded on the
north by Sempronius, on the east by Cortland
county, on the west by Locke, and on the south

1 1

: . '* v-^^^'f ^'

,,t^^r^./si^'

SARAH A. LEGERN.

PHOTO. BV TT TUTHILL.

JOHN CLEGERI

#' J6

li. >

^iWiiS.v.o'.,,-.'-
R'esiDENCc.OF J, C. LEGERN, Milam, Cayuga Co, N,'^
EARLY SETTLEMENTS.

S13

by Tompkins county. It was formed from Locke,
as Plato, April 26th, 1831, and its name changed
March i6th, 1832.
The surface is rolling and has an elevation of
1,000 to 1, 100 feet above tide. The general level
is only broken to any considerable extent by the
valley of Fall Brook, which flows south through
the east part, 300 to 400 feet below the summits
of the hills, and is the only stream of any im
portance. This stream, which is one of more
than ordinary interest, afler leaving this County,
flows about twenty miles of its course through
Tompkins county, furnishing some valuable mill
sites, and near its mouth, in the vicinity of Ithaca,
plunges, by a succession of falls, the principal one
of which is over one hundred feet, a distance of
over four hundred feet, wilhin a mile, presenting
a series of grand displays scarcely equalled in the
State by a stream of its magnitude. Summer
Hill Lake, or Locke Pond, by which name it is
also called, is a rather pretty sheet of water, three-
fourths of a mile long by one-half of a mile wide.
The shores are low and rise gradually to the
highlands upon the east and west. It lies in the
north-east part of the town, and discharges its
waters in Fall Brook. It is moderately well
stocked with fish, chiefly bass. Formerly sal
mon trout were abundant in its waters.
The soil is a clay loam, admirably adapted to
grazing, to which it is, and has been for a great
many years, almost exclusively applied. Dairy
ing is the chief, almost only, occupation of the in
habitants. The full capacity of the town is util
ized and has been for many years in grazing cattle
for dairy purposes ; and the increase in the but
ter product is due to the improvement in the
character ofthe land, its increased fertility, and
the consequent ability to subsist more stock upon
it. The dairies, which are all private, range
from five to forty cows each. The number of
milch cows in the town in 1875 was 1,362 ; the
number of pounds of butter made in families.
186,613, being an increase of 8,596 pounds, as
compared with the product of 1874 ; the number
of pounds of cheese made in families, 4,448 ; and
the number of gallons of milk sold in market, 55.
With respect to its butter product. Summer Hill
ranks as the fourth town in the county. The
construction of the Syracuse & Binghamton and
Southern Central railroads, though neither of
them pass through this town, has been of im-
87

mense advantage to its dairy interests, in opening
up new and more accessible markets.
The first settlement was made in I7g7, by
Hezekiah Mix, from Genoa, to which town he
moved a few years previous to his settlement
here. He located on lot 37, a mile west of Sum
mer Hill village, on the farm now owned by
William M. Grinnell. He died in the town.
Francis Mix, who is living one and one-half miles
west ofthe village, is his son.
Among the early settlers vvas Nathaniel Fill
more, father of Ex-President Millard Fillmore,
the latter of whom was born in this town January
7th, 1800; served an apprenticeship in the woolen
factory at Montville ; and afterwards commenced
the study of law in the office of Walter Wood, at
the same place. While pursuing his legal studies
in this office, he first acquired notoriety by the
delivery of a Fourth of July address in a grove
upon the premises now owned by Wm. Walker
near the gulf " Some of his hearers," says James
A, Wright, in his Historical Sketches of Moravia,
" then prophesied that he would ' make his mark,'
and perhaps become a Judge, but he went far
beyond their expectations, and doubtless his ovvn
brightest fancy never anticipated the high estate
to which he was to arrive at last." Nathaniel
Fillmore taught the first school in the town in
1804. " Nathaniel Fillmore was a grandson of John
Fillmore, the common ancestor of all of that name
in the United States, who was born in one ofthe
New England States about the year 1700. At
the age of about 19 he went on board of a fishing
vessel which sailed from Boston. The vessel
had been but a few days out when it was captured
by a noted pirate ship, commanded by Capt. Phil
lips, Young Fillmore was kept as a prisoner
nine months, enduring every hardship which a
strong constitution and firm spirit was capable of
sustaining and, though threatened with instant
death, steadily refused to sign the articles of
the piratical vessel, until, being joined by two
other prisoners who also refused, the three
attacked the pirates, and after killing several,
brought the vessel safely into Boston harbor.
The surviving pirates were tried and executed,
and the heroic conduct of the captors was
acknowledged by the British government. Fill
more afteryvards settled at Norwich, (now Frank
lin) Conn., vvhere he died. His son Nathaniel
settled at an early day at Bennington, Vt., where,
having proved his devotion to his country's
cause by service in the French and Revolutionary
wars, in the latter of which he gallantly fought as

514

TOWN OF SUMMER HILL.

Lieutenant under Stark in the battle of Benning
ton, he died in 1844. Nathaniel, his son,
and father of Millard, was born in Bennington
in 1 77 1. He vvas a farmer, and soon after
his removal to Summer Hill lost all his property
by a bad title to one of the military lots he had
purchased. About 1802 he removed to Sempro
nius, (now Niles,) and from there, in 1819, to
Erie county, where he lived till a few years
since.* Martin Barber settled first on a farm about a
half mile south of the village, about the begin
ning of the present century. Pie afterwards re
moved to the site of the village, and kept a tav
ern there a good many years, till after the organi
zation of the town. Pie vvas a captain in the
militia and was called out during the war of
181 2, but was cashiered for some misdemeanor.
He died in the town. None of his family are
living here.
Joseph CoiTe settled a little north of the village,
on the old east and west road, which was aban
doned when the present one, which is an exten
sion of the Albany and Homer turnpike, was
built in 1818. There he kept the first tavern in
the town, which he opened in 1803. Wm. Honey
well settled on the east side of Fall Brook, on lot
30, which borders on the line of Homer, on the
farm occupied until recently by his son Isaac,
where he died long ago. Two sons, Isaac and
Enoch, are living, the former on the east line of
this towri and the latter in the western part of
the State. A daughter, the widow of Ezra Hough,
is also living at an advanced age in Moravia.
James Savage settled on lot 29, about a mile and
a half north-east of the village, on the farms novv
occupied by Loren Bangs and Richard Collyer,
where he died at an early day. Harvey Hough,
from Connecticut, settled on lot 39, a mile east
of the village, on the farm now occupied by Grove
Stoyell, vvhere he lived a good many years, till an
advanced age, when he removed from the town,
and died soon afler. One son, Joel, is living in
Venice. Josiah Walker settled on lot 40, two
miles east ofthe village, on the farm now owned
and occupied by his son Aaron. Pie died on
the old homestead. Henry, another son, is living
in Michigan. Ebenezer Bennett settled on the
site of the village. lie erected the first mill in
town, in 1816. It was a grist-mill, and was
located on lot 30, on Fall Brook, about four miles

*Hislorrcal Magazine, Vol, V,
1869.

Second Scries, No, 4, April

north-east of the village. It was in operation but
a short time, as the construction of the dam so
raised the water as to overflow the low lands
above and produced malarial fevers. Litigation
ensued and resulted in the tearing away of the
dam and the abandonment of the mill. Bennett
subsequently removed from the town. A family
named Eaton settled among the first in the east
part of the town, on the place on which Elijah
Eaton, one of the sons, died in 1877, at an ad
vanced age. Wm. Webster was also among the
first settlers.
James Robinson, who was a noted wolf hunter
when there was a bounty of $40 apiece offered
for their destruction, settled in the north part of
the town about 1800.
Smith Covert came in from Genoa as early as
1805, November 6th of which year, his son
Leonard, now living in Niles, was born in Sum
mer Hill, He came to Genoa with an ox-cart^
the wheels of which were made of hewed logs
pinned together with wooden pins. James
Aiken, father of L. O. Aiken, of Moravia, moved
in from Antrim, N. H.,with hisfamily, in March,
1806. Harmon Peters and his son-in-law, Reuben
Sherman, came in company from the Mohawk
country about the close of the war of 1812-14,
and settled on lot 8. Peters is still living in the
locality of his settlement. Sherman afterwards
removed to Cortland county, where he died at an
advanced age. His son, Reuben Sherman, Jr.,
is living on the old homestead. Elisha Griffin
settled soon after 18 14, where his son, Burdett
Griffin, now lives, and died there some ten years
ago. Another son is living on an adjoining farm.
Archibald Bowker, a son of Elisha Bowker, of
Locke, moved in from that town previous to 18 19
and settled on lot 40, where he died in 1831. He
held the office of Justice of the Peace a good
many years, and till his death. Eri, his son, is
living a little south of the old homestead. Samuel
Ranney came in from Vermont in 1819, and set
tled three-fourths of a mile east of the village,
where Martin. Monroe novv lives. After three or
four years he removed to lot 2g, near Bennett's
old grist-mill. He was the first Supervisor of
Summer Hill, and is now living with his son,
Elijah C. Ranney, one and one-half miles east of
the village, aged eighty-six, but still possessing
good mental faculties. Two other sons are living.

SUMMER HILL VILLAGE.

515

viz: Henry E., in Summer Hill, and Ebenezer
G., in Homer.
Town Officers. — The first town meeting was
held at the house of Martin Barber April 3d,
1832, and the following named officers were
elected: Samuel Ranney, Supervisor ; Winslow
Hamblin, Clerk; Benjamin Atwood, Wm. In-
graham and Alfred Ranney, Assessors; 'Ezra
Hough and John T. Rollo, Overseers of the Poor;
Charles Garrett, Elisha Griffin and Daniel
Hamblin, Commissioners of Highways; Jesse
Woodward, Jr., and Harskill Gilbert, Constables;
Jesse Woodward, Jr,, Collector; Joel I. Hough,
Tolbert Powers and Isaac Honeywell, Commis
sioners of Common Schools; Elijah Eaton, Edwin
L. Aiken and Nathan Branch, Inspectors of Com
mon Schools ; Levi Walker and Archibald Bow
ker, Justices; Alfred Ranney and Nathaniel
Freeman, Ti-ustees of School Lots ; Oliver P. Ban
croft, Sealer ; and John Allen, Pound Master.
The present officers (i87g) are :
Supervisor — Benjamin C. Robins.
Town Clerk — Nathan Chipman.
Justices of the Peace — David Pinkerton, Aaron
Walker, E. G. Howell, Burdett H. Griffin.
Assessors — Darius Brown, C. E. Brogden,
Henry B. Robins.
Constables — M. G. Monroe, Horace Marble.
Wm. A. Robinson.
Game Constable — Joseph Miles.
Excise Commissioners — Henry E. Ranney,
George H. Allen, Columbus Miles.
The population of the town in 1875 was 1,006 ;
of whom g72 were native ; 34, foreign ; and all,
white. Its area was 16,075 acres, of which n,-
822, were improved ; 2,489, woodland ; and 1,764,
otherwise unimproved.
The natural features, character of soil', and the
occupation of the inha'sitants of this town and
Sempronius are so much akin to Cortland county,
and the business interests of these towns so in
timately connected with that county, that efforts
have been made to have them set off to it.
Summer PIill Village.
Summer Hill is a post village of 104 inhabi
tants, situated in the south part of the town, six
miles east of Locke, and eight miles south-east
of Moravia. It contains three churches, (Congre
gational, M. E. and Free Methodist,) a district
school, one store, three blacksmith shops, (kept

by Judson Van Marter, Robert Buchanan and
John Wilson,) and a tannery, owned by John
Carpenter and Ira P. Ranney, but not now in
operation. Principal Merchants. — The first merchant
was Charles Crane, who opened a store in 18 16,
where the store now occupied by Nathan Chip-
man stands, and kept it till about 1821 or
'22. A man named Marsh kept a store several
years where George Maltbie now lives. He
closed it in 1832. Henry Millerd kept a store a
year or two in the building vacated by Marsh.
A man named Sweet, from Cortland county, kept
a store one year ; and Ezra Hough kept one sev
eral years. Robert C. Rollo kept a store some
three or four years, and was a merchant of some
prominence, but he was probably preceded by
others whose names can not novv be ascertained.
Hiram Baker and D. Beeman, Jr., the latter
from Homer, opened a store about 1845 and kept
it some two years. Jonathan Hoxie kept a store
from 1861 to '64 ; and Cornelius E. Brogden,
from 1865 to 1874. The latter was succeeded
by Nathan Chipman, the present merchant, in
1875. Mr. Chipman sold a half interest to Geo.
Peters, and repurchased it in the spring of 1878.
Pie keeps a general stock of goods and carries
on the business alone.
Postmasters. — Ezra Hough was probably the
first postmaster at Summer Hill. He held tbe
office from about 1836 to 1846, and was super
seded by Hiram Baker, who kept it several years.
He was succeeded by Horatio Day, who also
held the office several years, and gave place to
E. G. Hatch. Jonathan J. Hoxie succeeded
Hatch in 1861 and held the pfficetill 1863, when
Wm, W. Grinnell was appointed. Grinnell was
succeeded in 1865 by Cornelius E. Brogden,
who remained in office till 1874, in which year
he was superseded by Sullivan Ladd, who held
the office till 1875, when Nathan Chipman, the
present incumbent, was appointed.
Physicians, — The first physician was David
Bennie, who came in 1824 from Groton, where
he studied with Dr. Crary, who practiced in this
town several years, but did not settle here. Dr.
Bennie practiced some twenty years and re
moved to Allegany county. Dr. Jewett, who is
now living in Cortland, whence he came, suc
ceeded Bennie and practiced here a few years,
when he returned to Cortland county. Dr. Os-

5i6

TOWN OF SUMMER HILL.

borne practiced here a short time about forty
years ago. A young man named Bartlett, who
married one of Dr. Bennie's daughters, and
moved in with his father a short time before,
commenced practicing soon after Bennie left, but
remained only a short time, when he, too, re
moved to Allegany county. Dr. Weaver, from
Groton, practiced here a short time after Bartlett
left, and returned to Groton, where he is now
practicing. Dr. Bradford came in from Cortland
about 1874, and after practicing two or three
years, returned to Cortland, where he is now
practicing. Milton Merchant, the present phy
sician, came in from Auburn in 1878.
Lawyers. — Levi Walker was the first and
only lawyer. He was a native of the town and
commenced practicing about 183 1, continuing
some six or seven years, when he removed to
Genoa, and subsequently to Auburn. He after
wards removed to Michigan, where he acquired
some distinction in his profession. He died
there in 1877.
Churches. — The first Church organized in the
town was of the Baptist denomination, in 1807,
with Elder Whipple as the first pastor.
The Congregational Church of Summer
Hill was organized at the house of James Aiken,
February 26th, i827,and incorporated April 17th,
1827, as the East Congregational Society in Locke,
with sixty-eight members, a part of whom formerly
belonged to the East Church in Groton, and were
dismissed for the purpose of forming a church
here. .June 28th, 1827, they adopted the Con
gregational form of government.
Their first pastor was Charles Johnston, who
maintained that relation till 1834, in which year
Rev. "Mr. Scott became the pastor, and served
them till 1836, when he was succeeded by Wm.
Goodell. January 4th, 1841, during Mr. Good-
ell's pastorate, their house of worship, which was
built in 1826, vvas consumed by fire. It was re
built the same. year. W. W. Collins succeeded
to the pastorate in 1843. S. P.M. Hastings was
chosen pastor April 17th, 1846, and was in
stalled June gth, 1846. A letter of dismissal was
granted him Februarynth,i84g. He was followed
February 7th, 1850, byWm. G. Hubbard, who
was ordained March 13th, of that year, and con
tinued his ministrations till December 6th, 1855.
James C. Smith immediately succeeded him on
trial and was chosen pastor July 4th, 1856. Isaac

F. Adams assumed the pastoral duties August
15th, i860, and continued them till the spring of
i86g. The pulpit was supplied a short time in
i86g by W. O. Baldwin of West Groton. Ezra
D. Shaw, whose services were engaged Novem
ber 7th, i86g, commenced his labors with this
Church on the first of the preceding October, and
continued them till February 6th, 1873, when he
removed to Victory to supply the Presbyterian
Church there. Josiah Greene Willis became the
pastor June ist, 1873, and remained just two
months. A call was given to Christopher J.
Switzer, December 21st, 1873, and he served
them two years. February ist, 1876, Windsor
Brown, a Free Will Baptist, became their pastor.
He also served them two years. Since his de
parture the Church has been without a pastor.
The present membership of the Church is about
fifty.
The Free Methodist Church of Summer
Hill was organized in September, 1867, with
five members, viz : Albert Rogers, Melvin and
Charlotte Marble, Philinda Van Marter and
Esther Ann Renwick, by Rev. D. W. Thurston
of Syracuse. The first pastor was Benjamin
WinJet, who served them two years. He was
followed successively by Zenas Osborne, John
Osmun, Wm. Griswold, A. W. Paul, John Os
mun, (a second term,) Lester King and Thomas
D. Ross, each of whom served them one year, ex
cept Mr. King, whose pastorate covered a period
of two years. John B. Stacy, the present pas
tor, succeeded Mr. Ross, commencing his labors
in September, 1877. The house of worship was
erected in 1873, during Mr. Paul's pastorate, the
entire cost of site, building and furniture being
$r,ioo. The present membership of the Church
is forty-eight. They have had a Sabbath School
since the organization of the Church, with 'an
average attendance of thirty to forty. Previous
to the erection of the church, meetings were held
in Brogden's Halls, and doing the first winter in
Squire Swift's shoe shop. During Mr. Osmun's
first pastorate an interesting revival was expe
rienced, as the result of which one hundred were
converted and about twenty-five joined this
Church, several of them joining other Churches.
There is a Baptist Church about two and
one-half miles north-east of Summer Hill village,
and a Free Will Baptist Church three miles north
west of that village, at what is ca\led Lickville

ADDENDA.

517

from George and Peter Lick, who were early set
tlers in that locality.

CHAPTER LIV,
Addenda.
TPIE following were received loo laic lo be
placed in their proper places :
List OF Town Officers of Town of Fleming.
Elected 1879:
Supervisor— Ilcnry E. Brannon.
Town Clerk— George D. Wyckoff.
Justice of the Peace — Lyman Thornton,
Assessor — Wm. PI. Doty.
Commissioner of Highzvays — Aaron Bowen.
Overseer of the Poor— Hiram Thornton.
Inspectoi's of Election — Frank Perry, C Stanley
Pease, John Marshall.
Collector — Ploward Tyron,
Constables — Wm. A. Caseley, Theodore While,
John Smith, Ernest Hall.
Game Constable — Marcus Pease.
Excise Commissioner — Richard Gregory.
Of the above, Theodore While, for Constable,
and Marcus Pease, for Game Constable, failed to
qualify.

List of Town Officers of Town of Owasco,
Elected 1879 :
Supervisor — J. Morris Bevier.
Town Clerk — Adelbert Chamberlain.
Justice of the Peace — Adam Welly.
Com m issioner of Highzvays — Peter Amerman.
Assessor— Adam Welly.
'Collector — Dor Heald.
Constables — Edwin Bench, Rush Boynton, O,
P. Howland, Benjamin L, Tompkins.
Overseer of the Poor — Peter G. DePuy.
Inspectors of Election — Charles T. Brown,
Josiah B. Brinkerhoff, Barton C. Hunsiker.
Game Constable — Adam Welty.
Excise Commissioner — George Sealy.

List of Town Officers of Town of Nilks.
Elected 1879 :
Supervisor — E. B. Rounds.

Town Clerk — B. M. Gere.
Justices —]ohn O. Hoyt, E. C. Ackerman,
Anson P. Jayne, Walson Selover.
Assessors — Eugene Conklin, J. H, Cuykendall,
Charles Odell.
Commissioner of Ilighzvays — David Banon.

Lisr of Village Officers of Village of
Weedsport.
Elected March 29111, 1879:
President — lienry D. Brewster.
Trustees — Henry Stickle, Charles C. Adams,
Almeron S. Holcomb, L, DeLacy Faatz,
Assessor — liarrison LaDue.
Collector — Winants Freeman.
Clerk — William Watson.

BIOGP^APHIC^L SKETCH.

DR. HOYT liUNSIKER.
Town of Owasco.
Dr, Hoyt Hunsiker, son of lienry and Mar
garet (Pledges) Hunsiker, was born in the town
of Owasco, Cayuga County, N. Y., January 3d,
18 1 2, Plis father was a native of Orange county,
N. Y,, where he was born P'ebruary 15th, 1781,
and his mother, of Long Island, N. Y. His
parents were married August 20th, 1799, and
aboul 1806 settled on about 200 acres of land
purchased of Peter Schuyler of Albany, N. Y.,
and located on lot 94 in the town of Aurelius,
DOW Owasco, Cayuga County, N. Y. liis father
was a shoe maker by trade, but after his settle
ment in Cayuga County he followed farming ex
clusively. He died July i8th, 185 1, and his wife,
April sth, 1850.
Mr, and Mrs. lienry liunsiker were the parents
of seven children, named as follow : Sylvanus,
who vvas a prominent citizen, and held many
offices of trust and responsibility in Bellevue,
Mich, .where he died about 1854; Eliza Addison,
who married Judge Samuel P'oote of Fairfield,
Ohio, and died at liillsdale, Mich., March ist,
1879; Charles PL, who now resides in Venice
in this county ; Henry, who died in Owasco,
February 14th, 1877, on the farm now occupied
by his family; Delilah, who married Nicholas

5i8

ADDENDA.

Watts, and is now a resident of Ohio ; Ployt, the
subject of this sketch, who is residing on the old
homestead ; and Amarilla, who married Darius
Greenfield, and is a resident of liuron county,
Ohio. Ployt spent the first fifteen years at home
working, as soon as he was able, u]5on the farm
in summer and attending district school in win
ter. ]'"iom that lime until at mining thc age of
twenty-one years he attended school in different
places. He then commenced preparing himself
for the medical profession, the practice of which
he commenced in 1841 and still continues. He
owns and manages the homestead farm, but his
time is mostly occupied wilh ])rofessional duties,
his practice, which is extensive, calling him into
the towns adjoining his own and to the city of
Auburn. March 7th, 1839, Dr. Hunsiker was united in
marriage with Lucy Ann, daughter of Peter and

Olive (Cleveland) Lick, natives of the town of
Sempronius in this county, who was born March
30th, 1820. Tier mother diedin 1829, and her
father, about 1874, at the advanced age of ninety
years. Her parents had ten children, of whom
Lucy Ann was the seventh.
Dr. and Mrs. liunsiker have had .seven chil
dren, five of whom died in infancy. Two are liv
ing, viz : .Sarah T., born July 171I1, 184.7, and
Kale li., born January 30lh, 1859.
Dr, Hunsiker was a Democrat until the nomi
nation of Abraham Lincoln, for whom he voted,
in i860. Since then he has advocated the prin
ciples of and voted wilh the Republican party.
in religious belief he is a Baptist and is a member
of that church in his native town. His wife and
daughters are also members of the same church,
liis mother was a Presbyterian, and a consistent
member of the same church in Owasco village
for many years.

NAMES OF CITIZENS
Wl\o S^pi^ted kiid Contributed towkfd tlie Publidktion of tl^e Si^toi'y of Cayuga County,
witli Pef^onal ^tati^ticf^.

CITY OF AUBURN.
ATTORNEYS,
33eardsley W, C, lawyer and farmer, b Caj'uga Co.
Ooodi-ioh M, b Cortland Co. s 1874
Knapj) J. N,, R, R, American Ex^iiress, farmer and lawyer, b
Cayuga Co. s 182(1
Xyou -James, 97 Genesee Street
Millard Henry, b Tompkins Co. 1804, s 1831 ; died 1845 ;
Laura Ailing, wife, b Tompkins Co, 1803, s 1831 ;
four children
Myers Michael S, 173 Genesee
Paddock S, L. b Cayuga Co, 18")r>
Pierce L. A. b Onondaga Co, s 18GG
Tracy Rollin, b Cayuga Co.
Woodin E, A. b Cayuga Co, s 1840
Woodin Wm, B. (retired,) b Genoa, Cayuga Co, s 1824
Worden Wan-en T, South St, b Milton. Saratoga Co, 1806, s
1822 ; N, Emily (Bennett) Worden, wife, b Milton
Saratoga Co, 1810, s 1832
Worden AVarren A. South St, Consular agt, TJ. S, in Canada,
b Auburn 1847 BANKERS.
Ross Charles N. b Cayuga Co. s 1841
Soule Lyman, b Dvitchess.Co, 1794 s 1806 ; thirteen children
Briggs Charles G, 1")6 Genesee, (retired banker,) b CajTiga
Co. 1813
O'Brien Charles, IOC Genesee, b Cayuga Co.
iSeward W, H, Genesee aud Exchange Sts, b Cayuga Co,
BLACKSMITHS.
Halladay Philo, Ijlacksmitli for fifty year,s, b Essex Co. 1796,
s 1S19 ; died 1871
Halladay Theo, P, b Auburn, s 1820
Mills Charles E, 22 E. Genesee, blacksmith, wagonmaker
and hotel keejier
O'Brien Terence; Division Lane, b Ireland, s 1862
Price Emanuel, chainmaker and blacksmith
¦Stoi^pard Robert, 71 Owasco, aldermau aud general smith, b
England 1833, s 1863; Jane (Hart) Stoppard, b
Utica, N, Y. 1838, s 1845 ; two children, AUce and
Jennie
Thomas Thomas, 15 Water and 102 Owasco, b England 1837,
s 1871 ; A. M. (Castle) Thomas, b England, 1839, s
1871 ; four children
BONE AND OIL DEALERS.
Hazlett Albert, b Ireland 1840, s 1865 ; Emma G, Church,
wife, b Onondaga Co, 1840, s 1865
BOOTS AND SHOES.
Barth J. Louis, shoemaker, b Gel-many, s 1854
Crocker Warren, 138 North St. wholesale shoe dealer, b
Cayuga Co.
Nickason James C, 2 Maple St, shoe cutter, b Cayuga Co.

CARPENTERS, CONTRACTORS AND BUILDERS,
Andrew B, F. 9 Maple, alderman and builder, b Penn. 1844,
fi 1864 ; L, Gates Andrews, wife, b Victory, s 1842
Barden Allen J, 44 Frankhn, b Seneca Co. 1817, s 1843 ;
P, A, Barden 44 Franklin, b Cayuga Co, 1824; two
daughters, Helen Barden, b Cayuga Co. 1846;
Florence Barden, b Cayuga Co. 1849
Derby AV, H, Wall and Division Sts, building contractor, b
V^ermont 1836, s 1853 ; Amelia A, Derby, b Mich.
1835, s 1836 ; one child, Warren D, b, Cayuga Co.
1865
Freese Stephen, Frazee St, carpenter and joiner, b Albany
Co, 1834 ; AnnettaHope Freese, b Cayuga Co, 1839;
died 1858
Gillan Sheldon, 11 Perry St. carpenter, b Orange Co. 1815, s
1818 ; M, J. Gillan, wife, b Orange Co. 1825 ; one
daughter, Sarah Gillan, b Cayuga Co, 1841
Hamlin M. builder, b Cayuga Co. s 1817
H3'att A. D. 21 Fulton, carjienter aud joiner, b Columbia Co.
1816, s 1850; Slary (Stewart) Hyatt, b Mass, 1819 s
1850
Ingraham Albert C, Wall St, carpenter and joiner, b Cayuga
Co, B 1849 : Libbie Ingraham, wife, b Penn. s 1870
McCondille Wm, 59 Washington St, carpenter aud joiner, b
Ireland 1850, s 1874 : Eliza McCondille, b Ireland
1850, B 1874; two children
Rightmyer H, W, Barber St. flagstone dealer and contractor,
b Cayuga Co, s 1849
Stevens Alex. 26 Clark, b Oneida Co, 1828, s 1868
Westlake Frederick, carpenter aud joiner, b England 1845, s
1846 ; S, M. (Sears) Westlake, wife, b Cayuga Co,
1846
CARRIAGE AND AVAGON SIANUFACTURERS.
Bench George, carriage and sleigh mauuf , b in England in
1833, S1844; Wm, Bench, brother of Geo, b Eng-
land 1829, s 1848
Bench G, & AV. mauufrs. of wagons and sleighs
Cole Ezra, b Cayuga Co. s 1821
Fairchild F. R, 13 Chapel St, carriage maker, b Cayuga Co
1844
Mills Charles E, 22 E, Genesee, wagon making, repairing and
blacksmithing. b in Cayuga Co, s 1842 ; Libbio L.
(Rogers) Mills, b Seneca Co. 1848, s 1878, C. E,
Mills, 24 Genesee, Hotel, b Cayuga, s 1842
AVhite Robert, carriagesmith, b Cayuga Co,
CIVIL OFFICIALS.
Andi-ews B, F, 9 Maple, Aldermau and builder
Bell Thomas J, Aldermau and livei-j'man, s 1840
Billz AV^. S. city Assessor, b Aurelius, s 1825
Cook Horace T. 168 Genesee, County Treasurer, b Cayuga
Co. 1822 ; Mrs, Eliza T. Cook, b New York city, s
1853 ¦"
Donnelly Patrick E. Myrtle ave. Alderman and scythe maker
Fort Garret, ex Supervisor and merchant, b LaFayette
Onondaga Co. 1833, s 1836

HISTORY OF CAYUGA COUNTY.

Gibbs Wm. T. City Assessor, b England 1808, s 1830
Knapp James G. Supt. S. C. R. R. b Cayuga Co. 1831
Lamey Wm. 44 Fulton, Supervisor, b Ireland 1817, s 1852
Leach L. D. 121 Genesee, Alderman second ward and jew
eler, b Pleming 1832 ; Frances A. (Whipijle) Leach,
b Livingston Co. 1836 ; two children, Louis H. 13
years, and Leonard D, Jr, b 1868
McDonough Charles T. York St. Alderman and engaged in
stone business, b Canada 1845, s. 1857 ; Juha E.
McKeou, wife, a teacher, b Onondaga Co. 1852, s
1878
McEaiu Allen, 36 Logan, Alderman and foreman in D, M.
Osborne & Co's Works, b Monroe Co. 1840, s 1801;
Mary E. Gilbert Allen, wife, b Cayuga Co, 1845
Miles 0. W. 55 Fulton, Alderman 6th Ward and machinist, b
Cayuga Co. 1826 ; L, (Osterhout) Miles, wife, b
Cayuga Co. 1826; seven children
Parker E. D, 7 State, Alderman 3d AVard, b Mass. 1827, s
1852
Paddock S. L. 87 Genesee, Lawyer and City Clerk, b Cayuga
Co. 1855
Reed Thomas, 1 Court St. Sheriff, b Onondaga Co, s. 1866
Smith Johu, 2C Frazee, Supervisor 7th Ward, b England
1818, B 1871 ; Janet Furgeson Smith, wife, b Ches
hire, England 1818
Stevens Alexander, 26 Clark, Supervisor and contractor, b
Oneida Co. 1828, s 1868 ; M. (Hartson) Stevens, b
Herkimer, Co. 1822, s 1808 ; Maiy R. Stevens,
daughter, b 1802
Stoppard Robert, 71 Owasco, Alderman and blacksmith
Underwood John, City Assessor, b Auburn 1831
Van Patten F. T. 9 Jefferson, Alderman; Elizabeth VanPatten,
b Herkimer Co. 1840, s 1875 ; two children
Westfall S. J. County Clerk, b Cayuga Co, 1844
Whipple H. M, 02 VauAnden, Alderman and foreman for D.
M. Osboi-n & Co, b Penn Yan 1830, s 1844 ; Maria
C. (Basel) Whipple, b Livingston Co. 1833 ; died
1875 ; Theresa (Springstead) AVhipple, second wife,
b Onondaga Co. 1841, s 1845
White Henry J. Sirring and Barber Sts. Aldei-man. b Provi
dence, R, I. 1830, s 1872; Joanna P. (Larkin)
White, b Valley Falls 1844, s 1872 ; five children
Wright Ulysses A. City Engineer and Surveyor, b Lewis Co.
1811, B 1856 ; Ehzabeth (Lawton) AVright, wife, b
Saratoga Co. 1824, s 1856
CLERGYMEN.
Benham A. B, 60 Mechanic St. (retired) b Cayuga Co. s 1812 ;
Hai-riet (Allen) Benhftra, first wife, b Tompkins Co.
1811, died in 1867; Cynthia A. (Clemmont) second
wife, b Oneida Co. 1840
Hawley Charles Rev, 35 Franklin, Pastor First Presbyterian
Church, and President Cayuga Co. Historical Society
Mulheron AVm. Rev. 12 Clark, Pastor St, Marys Church, b
Ireland
Seymour AVm, J. Rev. Pastor of Holy Family Church, b
Ireland, s 1877
Ulrich Const. Rev. Pastor of St. Alphonsus Gei-man Catholic
Church, b Switzerland, s 1874
CLOTHIERS.
Griswold F. L. (wholesale and i-etail clothing and general
custom work,) b Troy, N. Y. 1816, s 1827 ; his wife,
L, H. daughter of Dr. Lansing, of Cayuga Co. b
1818 ; one son, Frank H. of fii-m of F. L. Griswold
& Co. b Cayuga Co
CROCKERY.
Smith Charles F. 83 Genesee St. (wholesale and retail)
DENTIST.
Quigley Alanson, s 1823 ; Minei-va Quigley, s 182(1
' DOORS, SASH AND BLINDS.
Groot A. T. H. b Cayuga Co. 1853
DRUGGIST.
Walley M. L. b Ulster Co. s 1852

DRY GOODS,
Lyon Lewis E. 85 Genesee St. b Caynga Co.
Paine J, F, 77 Genesee St. FARMERS.
Allen Wm, division St. b-Cayuga Co. 1810 ; died 1876 ; Lucy
A. Bridges, wife, b 1813 ; s 1834 ; three childi-en
Beardsley W. C. lawyer and farmer, b Cayuga Co.
Bishop Edson, 102 Cottage, b Conn. 1807, s 1827 ; died 1877 ;
Elizabeth (Springstead,) Bishop, wife, bom Cayuga,
Co. 1809
Bonker S. C. Division St. b. Cayuga Co. 1847; Cora E.
(Vananden) Bonker, wife, b Cayuga Co. 1848
Chase, George R. North St. manufacturer and farmer
Dxirkee Relief W. widow of AVm. Durkee, b Bridgewater,
Oneida Co. 1795, s 1815 ; AVm. Durkee, b 1794, s
1800; died 1874 ; nine children, six living
Farmer J. W. b N. H. s 1817
Grant Edmund, farmerand gardener, b Ireland 1800, s 1828 ;
was the first professional gardener in Aubum ; Ellen
O'Connor Grant, wife, b England 1814; emigrated to
America and settled in Auburn in 1810 ; married in
1848 ; no children
Jarrod Canfield, b Warren Co. N. Y. s 1801 ; died Januai-y,
1870 ; Terressa (Skeel) Jarrod, wife, b Rensselaer
Co. s February 27, 1801 ; no children
Knapp J, N, R. R. American Express, farmer and lawyer, h
Cayuga Co. 1820
Kniffin Lewis, Aurehus Ave. b Ulster Co, 1813, s 1821 ;
Mary Pennick Kniffin, b Cayuga Co. 1813 ; one
child
Manro Thomas J, Clark St. b Cayuga Co, s 1826; Sarah E.
Manro, wife, b Cayuga Co. 1824 ; nine children
Murdock A, R. West Genesee St, general stock farmer
Payne S. W, North St. b Sennett 1837 ; Ehzabeth (Crocker)
Payne, wife, b Sennett 1841
Payne Nelson, North St, merchant, and farmer, b Madison
Co, 1804, s 1850 ; P, (Sears) Payne, wife, b Aubui-n
1814 ; her grand father. Elder David Sears is said to
have preached the first sermon in the county.
Pearce AVm, Division St. farmer and general stock raiser, b
England 1835, s 1854; EUzabeth Lewis, -wife, b
England 1838, s 1853
Quigley John, b Cayuga Co. 1798 ; Sarah M. Quigley, b
I 1817; eleven children ^
Reed C. J, book-keeper, telegraph operates and farmer, b
Cayuga Co
Shaw Anthony, b Cayuga Co, 1830 ; Alzina Howland, wife,
b Vt. 1829, s 1848 ; five chilch-en
Shaw Justin, b Delaware, 1781, s 1800; died 1870; seven
children
Smith Alfred, b Conn, s 1814
Smith George, b Cayuga Co. 1807 ; five children
Smith John, b Chester Co. Pa. s 1797; died 1840; eight
children
Smith Josiah, 15 Am-eUus Ave. (retired) b Montgomery Co.
1799, s 1815; F. Hunt Smith, wife; Mr. Smith
served many years in town and county offices in
early hfe.
Standart Chas. (retired) b New Hartford, Oneida Co. 1802, s
1821
Van Nest John, b New Jersey, 1795; ched June 15, 1867;
Olive Alexander Van Nest, wife, b Galway, N. Y.
1794; died August 5, 1862
Van Nest George, (retired) b Fleming, 1824 ; Charlotte For
dyce, wife, b Scipio 1836
Wilkinson L. A. Sennett (retired) b Cayuga Co. 1809 ; Sarah
(Burgess) Wilkinson, b. Springfield, Mass. 1818, s
1836 ; two children and twelve grand-children
Worden Mon-is M, 43 Division St, farmer and lime dealer, b
Cayuga Co. 1810
FLAGSTONE DEALER.
lUglitniyor H, W. l^arijor St, flagstone dealer and contractor,
b Cayuga Co. sl849 ; Ursula (Gooch-ich) Rightmyer,
b Cayuga Co. 1850 FLORISTS.
Adams Alfred A. Fitch Ave. b England 1848, s 1855 ; Sarah
Bell (TomUn) Adams, b Rochester, N, Y. 1852 ; two
childi-en, Nelson B, and Jennie Bell

HISTORY OF CAYUGA COUNTY.

ni

Bacon Geo. AV. 22 Pen-ine, dealer in house, gi-een-house, and
bedding plants, cut flowers, boquets, crosses, &c. b
Ohio 1832, s 1832 ; Jnue Anu Bacon, wife, b Ulster
Co. 1832, s 1834
FURNITURE DEALER.
Richardson Geo. AV, (manufacturer and dealer,) b CavuRa
Co, 1825 ''
GROCERS.
Bennett & Biyne, b Cayuga Co, s 1857
Bi^ne AVm. M. 131 Slate St, fiiin of Bennett &. Bryne, b
Cayuga Co. s 1857
Hager H, AV, 152 VanAnden St, b Germany, s 1858
Peacock Thos, 1 North St. b Cayuga Co, s 1834
Smith Peter, 202 State St. grocer and stone cutter, b Germany
1827 K 1872; Eustema (Txirk) Smith, wife, b
Germany 1836, s 1872 ; eight children
HARDAVARE AND STOVES.
Choate Thos, N. b Rensselaer Co. s 1835
Johnson A, AV. b Tomjikins Co, s 1828,
Letchworth Josiah. Buffalo, N. Y. (wholesale hardware) b
Scipio, 1830.
Smith Dexter A, b Cayuga Co. 1843 ; Elizabeth S, Smith, b
Erie Co.
Smith Byron C. 9 E. Genesee St. manufacturer of saddlery
hardware, b, Cayuga Co. 1844
HARNESS, TRUNKS, &c.,
Ditton Francis. 10 and 18 Mechanic St. manuf, harness aud
ti-unks, tanner and dealer in wood, b Brighton, Eng
land, 1826, K 1858; Anna Lamport, wife, b Canada,
1830, s 1858
AVheaton Lucius, b Onondaga Co. s 1835.
HORSE SHOERS.
Davis John, 1 Pulsifer St, b Cayuga Co, s 1833 ; Celestia
Davis, wife, b Cayuga Co, s 1840; died 1800;
Eliza Davis; wife, b Cayuga Co. s 1838; James
Davis, father of John Davis, b Orange Co. 1781, s
1803 ; died 1858 ; Anna Davis, mother of Jolin
Davis, b Orange Co, 1789, s 1803; died 1852
McGeer J, A, 1 Howard St. b Rensselaer Co. 1838, s 1858 ;
A. M, (Wilson) McGeer, wife, b Cayuga Co, s 1840 ;
Clara McGeer, daughter, b Cayuga Co. s 1872
HOTELS.
Beardsley D. AV. Exchange Hotel, b Jefferson Co. s 1878
Mills Charles E, 24 E. Genesee St, blacksmith, wagonmaker
and hotel keeper
Peacock James H. Aubui-n House, b Cayuga Co. 1833
Schenck Louis, cor. Clark and State Sts. hotel proprietor, b
Geiniany
AVhite Jonas, b Saratoga Co. 1813, is 1820 ; died 1870
ICE DEALER,
Reed Thos. b. Onondaga Co. s 1866
, INSURANCE AGENTS.
Eddy AVm. H. 30 Frankhn St. b Saratoga Co. 1827, s 1848;
B. A. (Dudley) Eddy, wife, b Cayuga Co.
Lawton & Eddy, 117 Genesee St. general insurance agents
and real estote brokers
Lawton A. AV. 13 Elizabeth St, b Jefferson Co. 1847, s 1854 ;
Mai-y E. Lawton (Vorhis,)wife, b Tioga County, 1850
Mann L. C. 2 Benton St. insurance and real estate broker and
Treasurer of Cayuga Agi-icultural Society , b Vermont,
1816, s 1824; S. J. (Osterhout) Mann, b Fleming, s
1814 ; three children JEAVELERS.
Bundy AV. L. 00 Senesee St. b Otsego Co. s 1847
Leftch L. D. 121 Genesee St. jeweler and Alderman 2d Ward
LADIES' FURNISHING GOODS.
Hotchkiss Mrs. AV. H. b New York, s 1857

LEATHER AND FINDINGS.
Lamey AVm. 44 Fulton, St, b Ireland l8l7, s 1852; Mary H.
Lamey, wife, b Albany, N. Y. 1817, s 1853; four
childi-eu ; Elizabeth L, principal School No. 1,
b Cayuga ; Sarah C. Alonzo P, and Wm. G.
LIVERIES.
Bell Robert, Garden St. b Ireland 1816, s 1835; EUzabeth
AVallace BeU, wife, b Ireland 1828, s 1835
Bell Robert .t Son, 24 Garden St
Bell Thomas J, Garden St, Alderman and liveryman, 8 1840
Doan .Joseph J. b Cayuga Co, 1833
Peacock James H. Aubum House and hvery, b Cayuga Co.
1833
Tallman John K, Uvery, hacks and coal, b Cayuga Oo. 1825
LUMBER DEALERS.
BiUiard Henry, agent for Mr. Ross, b Cayuga Co,
French J. M. 107 Wall St. (wholesale and retail) b Onondaga
Co, 1845, s 1857 ; Mary E. (Hawkins) French, b
Cayuga Co. 1847 ; four children, Carrie A. D.,
Archey M,, Cora M,, and Maggie E.
MACHINISTS.
Brown C. G, 19 Grover St. master mechanic for S, C. R. R.
s 1837 ; Augusta J, (Crane) Brown, b Seneca Co.
1839 ; five childi-en, CaroUneH., Louie R., Edgar B.,
Amelia C, and Ralph G,
Curtiss G. A, 10 Seward Ave. machinist, b Cayuga Co. 1835 ;
Dell A, (Calkins) Curtiss, b Cayuga Co. 1835
Fischer John, machinist and saloon keeper
Ford Geo, M, 42 Washington St, scythe finisher, b Conn.
1852, s 1866 ; Mary M. (Cay) Ford, b Seneca FaUs
1852, s 1875
Guilfoil John, 59 AVashington St, machinist, b Ireland 1847,
B 1866; Hannah (Fletcher) Guilfoil, b Ireland 1847,
s 1857; three children. Wm. J, Geo. H. and John Jr
Hayden Dan, 51 Hawley St. machinist, b Ireland 1816, s
1802 ; M. O. (AVinfordi Hayden, wife b 1820, p 1862;
one daughter and two sons
Jones G, H, machinist, b Cortland Co. 1833, e 1870; May
S. P. Jones, b Cortland Co. 1858 s 1870
Miles C, AV, 55 Fulton St, machinist and Alderman 6th Ward
Montgomery James A, AVadsWorth St, scythe maker and
finisher, b Cayuga Co. 1844 ; Mary J. (Roberts)
Montgomery, b Herkimer Co. 1839, s 1801 ; one
child ; Alton W. b Cayuga Co. 1808
Rice Samuel, 4 Division Lane, machinist, b Paisley, Scot-
laud. 1824, s 1848 ; Sarah (Murray) Rice, b Paisley,
Scotland, s. 1848 ; two children
Sullivan Patrick, 105 Clark St. iron chipper, b Ireland 1808,
B 1850 ; Netta (O'Hen-en) SulUvan, b Ireland 1807, s
1850 ; three children ;
AVilcox J. S, 40 Franklin St, machinist, b Cayuga Co, 1810 ;
Fanny C. (Old) AVilcox, I. Cayuga Co. 1805; two
daughters, Frances H, b 1840, and AdeUue C. b 1842
Woodcock L. M, & Co, Clark and AVaU Sts, founders and
machinists.
Young Andrew, AVadsworth St, scythe maker, b Mass. 1833,
s 1878 ; Lorenda Young, wife, b R. I. s 1878.
MANUFACTURERS.
Andrews S. 80 AVaU, retired woolen manufacturer, b Cortland
Co. 1804 ; s 1858 ; Harriet King Andrews, b 1818, s
1858 ; died 1870 ; two children, Mary and Chas.
Baker Chas, A. Dr. 48 Fulton St, truss and supporter man-
ufacttirer, b Conn, 1818, s 1830 ; L, S. (Chapin)
Baker, daughter of Orange Chapin, b Cayuga 1818
Barber AVm. C, manufacturer of woolen goods, b Columbia
Co. N. Y. s 1829
Beardsley A. G, Genesee St. Treasurer Oswego StarchFactory
b Cayuga Co. 1820
Bristol John S. miller, b Penn. 1821, g 1828 ; Maria Salome
(Culver) Bristol, s 1825; four children, one dead-
Rev. H. C, Bristol, b 1852 ; John E, Bristol, b 1854 ¦
Howard F. Bristol, b 1857
Bundy AV, L. jewelrj', b Otsego Co, N. Y. s 1847

IV

HISTORY OF CAYUGA COUNTY.

Burdick Orrin 30 Franklin St. inventor and partner with
D. M. Osborne & Co, b Madison Co. 1814, s 1835 ;
Mary Keys Burdick, b Chenango Co. 1821, s 1837 ;
EUda Burdick, b Cayuga Ca. 1850, Orrin Burdick,
jr. b Cayuga Co. 1840
Casey George, 124 North St, plane manufacturer, b Dutchess
Co. 1807, s 1814
Chase George R, manufacturer, farmer and speculator, b
Natick, Mass, 1815, s 1828 ; Pauhna Chase, b Mo,
18.32
Clapp Detainer E. Sec'y of the E, D. Clapp Manufactitring
Co. b Ira, 1849
Cook Joseph A, oil manufacturer, b Caj'Uga Co,
Coventry P, A''. R. 95 North St, cigars, b Columbia Co, N, Y,
1810, ,s 1839 ; M, (Rude) Coventry, wife, b Cayuga
Dolphin AVm. A. 15 Garden St. Centennial File AVorks ; man
ufacturing and re-cutting, b England. 1848, s 1851 ;
BeU (Hawkins) Dolphin, b England 1851
Donnelly Patrick E, scythCH, b Ireland isn8, s 1872 ; Mary
(Quain) Donnelly, b Ireland 1839, s 1872 ; five
children
Empire AVringer Co, clothes wringers, 0, M, Ilowlct, Prcs't
Guion Charles F, Clark cor, Aurelius Ave, sash, doors and
blinds, b Merideu Conn. 1838, s 1806 ; Augusta F,
(Milk) Guion, b Cayuga Co, 1842
Howlet C. M. Pi-es't Empire AVi-inger Co, and Treas, Auburn
Manufg. Co, b Conn. 1822, s 1863
Lewis Orlando, 20 E, Genesee St. Flourng Mill
MitcheU Charles, Supt. RoUing Mill
Mosher M. B. bagholders and trucks, b Seneca Co, s 1874
Nye L, W. 07 South St. carpets, b Essex Co, Nov. 25 1S(I9, s
1812-13 ; CaroUue E. (Beardsley) Nye, daughter of
the late John Beardsley
Peacock Thomas, 24 Dill St. manufacturer of wooden ware,
b Cayuga Co. 1834
Price Emanuel, 20 N, Lawis St. chain maker aud blacksmith,
b England 1839 ; came to America 1855 ; settled in
Cayuga Co, 1876 ; Amanda (Richardson) Price, b
Cambridge, Mass. 1841, s 1876
Ross A. AV. Aurelius Ave. pajier manufacturer, b Cayuga Co,
1807 ; Betsey (Grossman) Ito.ss, b Spencer, Mas.s,
1807, s 1840
Schicht Robert, (agent, ) Hoffman St, paper and cigar box
maniifr. aud job printer, b Germany 1848, s 1866 ;
Mary (Rhodes) Schicht, b Cayuga Co. 1849
Smith Byron C, manufacturer of saddlery hardware, b
Cayuga Co, 1844
SutcUffe Wm, brewer aud maltster, b England, s 1860
Woodruff J. H. South St. button manufacturer
MARBLE CUTTERS.
Bills AVm, E, b Cayuga Co. s 1853
Raeish Albert, (marble aud granite,) b Germany, s 1848
AVeaver &, Miller, marble and granite works, b England and
Switzerland, s 1873 MASON.
Fumess AVm. 16 Nelson, (retired) b England 1808, s 1832
Mary Hodg.son, wife, b England 1810 ; eight chil
dren; Thomas H, AVm, J. George, Anthony, Charles
Joseph, IsabeUa and Mary
MEAT MARKET,
Merrick Thomas B, 145 State St, b England, s 1856
MILLINER,
Webster S. H. finu of AVebster & Strong, Os Genesee St, b
Cayuga Co. 1845 MILLAVRIGHT.
Famham J. 56 AValnut, b Vt, 1842, settled 1869 ; Martha
Clark, wife, b New York city, 1816, s 1862
MISCELLANEOUS.
AUen G. AV. 45 South St, forman for D. M, Osborne & Co,
Allen Lucy A.
Andrews S, 80 AVaU St, retired woolen manufacturer, b
Cortland Co, b 1804, s 1858
Babbett Helen M, Mrs. b Canada, s 1800

Pakev C. A. Fulton St, truss supjiorter
Barden AUen J, 44 Franklin St, b Seneca Co, 1817, s 1843 ;
Miss Helen Barden, b Cayuga Co, 1810, and Miss
Florence Barden, b Cayuga Co, 1846, daughters of
AUen J. and P. A. Barden
Barden P. A, 44 Frankhn St, b Cayuga Co, 1824
Beach Susannah Mi.ss, b Cayuga Co, 1802 ; occupies the res
idence in which she was boru
Bishop Libbie, 102 Cottage St
Buunel Henry, one of the early settlers, b N. J. 1772, s 1806 ;
died 1845 ; P. Buunel, wife, b N. J. 1772, s 1800 ;
died 1837
Burdick 0, 30 -Franklin St, inventor and manufacturer,
with D, M, Osborne & Co,
Burgess J, S. 11 Grant Ave. clerk
Carpenter S. E, Osborne House, retired gentleman
Clary A, M, B. Mrs. b Berkshire, Mass, s 1814 ; is in her 92d
year
Curtis James A, b Durliam, Mass, 1802, s 1M(I6 ; died 1810
Davis E. M, Mrs, 40 Cottage St, b Cayuga Co,
Dunning D. M, treasurer Auburn Gas Light Oo, b Cayuga
Co, 181-1
Emmonds Ann M, b Danbury, Conn, s 1850
Evans George H, (agent) 6 Perrine St, b New York city
1808, s 1850 ; L. M, Cook, wife, b Batavia, N. Y.
1812, s 1855 ; three children
Ford Geo, M, 42 AVashington, scythe finisher at Auburn
Manufg Co's AVorks
Foster Andrew A. general agent for N. Miller, wholesale
tobacconist, b Cayuga Co, 1837 ; P. 0. Box 101
Freese Nettie I, Frazee St, Teacher School No, 5 ; b Cayuga
Co, 1857
Furness AVin. 16 Nelson, retired mason and coutractor
Goodrich Abram, AVaU St, sec'y Y, M. C, A, b Cayuga Co.
1833 ; L, .J. Goodrich, wife, b Cayuga Co, 1834 ;
two sons, Howard N, and Edwin H
Grant J, Lewis, .State Supt, and Treas. Auburn AVater AVorks
Co, b Nashua. N. H, s 1830 ; died
Greene Prank B, 15 Orchard, (agt,) b Cayuga Co. 1842 ;
Eliza Richardson, wife, b Caj'uga Co, 1845 ; two
children
Hartman F, G, Kupt, b Germany, s 1872; Lena Snyder, wife,
b Onondaga Co, s 1875; two children
Hazlett Robert, bone and oil dealer
Hickey John, b Ireland 1822, s 1843 ; Catherine O'Connor,
wife, b Auburn 1828 ; six childi-en ; John and EUen
O'Connor, the first cathoUc family in Aviburn, came
in 1810
Hiser Edward P, retired R, R, engineer, b Otsego Co, 1828,
k]s:12; Aseiiatli a, (Jook. wife, b EUiridgu, Onon
daga Co, 1829 ; six children ; five dead
Hoiikins Samuel Miles, Prof, Auburn Theological Seminary,
b Livingston Co. s 1847
Hyatt A, D, Mrs, (nee Mary Stewart) 21 S. Fulton St, b
Mass, 1819, s 1850
Jewhurst Dapper, Genesee St, horse trainer aud sale stable.
Fair Gi-ounds, b England 1833, s 1845 Jane Jew
hurst, wife, b Scotland 1834. s 1836
Knapp James T. 71 South St, Supt, S, C. R, R. b Cayuga
Co. 1831
Kniffin Lewis, Aiu-elius Ave, speculator and farmer, b Ulster
Co, s 1S13
Krouse Adam B, brother of John H. Krouse, U. S. A, Band,
b Cayuga Co, 1856
Letchworth Josiah, Buffalo, wholesale hardware
MacDonald Carlos F, i^hysiciau and Supt, of N, Y, State Asy
lum for Insane Criminals, Auburn, b Trumbull Co,
Ohio, s 1876
McCrea Carohne Mrs, b Mass, s 1839
Millard Laura A, 77 North St,
Mitchell Chas, Supt of Rolling Mills, b Onondaga Co. s 1877 ;
Mary E, Flood, wife, b Onondaga Co, s 1878 ; five
children
Montgomery James A, AVadsworth St. scythe maker
O'Brien Terence, Second Division, b Ireland, 1816, s 1862 ;
0. (Howard) O'Brien, wife, b A''t. 1820, s 1802 ;
seven children
Palmer AUen, 105 Franklin St, retired gentleman, b Conn.
1797, s 1799; A. L, Palmer, wife, b Oneida Co, 1807 ;
Edward Palmer, father of Allen, b Coun. 1771 ; came
to Cayuga iu 1797 ; died in 1848

HISTORY OF CAYUGA COUNTY.

ParseU Susan S. matron of the Home of the Friendless b
Orange Co, 1808, s 1819 '
Parsons J. H. State Prison officer, b Utica, N, Y,, s 1855
Reed C. J. book-keeper, telegi-aph operator and farmer, b
Cayuga Co.
Rising G, S. b Conn, 1813. s 1840 ; died 1875
Rising H, S. Mrs, widow of G. S, Rising, b Mass, 1819, s 1820
Searls AV, Chaplain of State Prison, Auburn, b Onondaga Co.
s 1830
Skinner Thos. M, bookseller and newspaper pubUsher in early
life, b Colchester, New London Co, Conn, s 1815,
Skinner AVm. H. Mrs. b AVyoming Co, Penn. s'l840 ; daughter
of F. M, Skinner
Sinitli Josiah, 15 Aureliim Ave, retired farmer
Smith Andrew, 26 Orchard St. scythe temperer, b Maine
1833, s 1870 ; C, M, Johnson Smith, wife, b AVash
ington Co, s 1870 ; four children
SuUivan Patriclv, 105 Clark St, iron chipper
Swift S, F, E, Seymour St, coal agent
Trowbridge Jasper, b 1798, b 1802; Anna Trowbridge, b Otsego
Co, 1814, s 1834
AVebster Arvilla, widow of Chas. I, Webster, late of Throop,
b Aurelius, 1800 ; mother of sixteen sous
Young Emanuel, 24 Division St. b Dutchess Co. 1785, s 1862;
Margaret Young. 21 Division St. b 1804 ; ihed 1862
WcUuer A. M. 41 Orchard, b Cayugii Co, 1820; M. J,
(Marston) Wellner, wife, b Kentucky 1842, s 1873
AVesthake G, S, b England 1820, S1840; died 1875; Mary
Westlake, b England, s 1846
AVhite Lon N. 109 AVaU St. coal agent, b Cayuga Co
AVilkinson L. A. Sennett, retired farmer '
AViUiams AV, M, Mrs. 70 South St.
Woodin AVm, B. Ex, State Senator
Worden Morris M, 43 Division, farmer and Ume dealer, b
Cayuga Co, 1816 ; Rachel H, (Vei-plank) AVorden,
wife, b Sodus 1824 : one son, I'homas J, AVorden,
AViUard S, 203 AV Geuesee St. Pres't Oswego Starch Co. and
Aubum Savings Bank
Young Andrew, AVadsworth St, scythe maker, b Mass, s 1878
Young James E. 24 Division St,
MOULDERS.
Krouse John H. b Cayuga Co. 1859
Krouse Adam, b Germany 1833 ; Mary E. Krouse, wife, b
Ireland 1837 PAINTERS,
Burghduff Geo, decorator and painter, b Cayuga Co
Dibble S. H. house and can-iage painter, b Cayuga Co
Fowler AV. H. 84 North, ornamental painter, b Schenectady
1831, s 1865 ; Sarah Jane, his wife, b Perrytown
1829 ; Effa, his daughter, s 1859
Hompe Alex AV. Fitch Ave. decorator, b Cayuga Co.
Hompe M. H. 84 Geneseo St. (over Remington Sewing
Machine Co.) house painting, oil finishing, french
pohshing and varnishing, b Holland 1824, h 1850;
P. C. Stieboldt Hompe, b Holland 1828, s 1857 ; five
children ; Elmina, C, A,, AngeUue H,, Henry A,,
Agnes F, H.
Kennedy T, J. paints and w.aU paper, b Saratoga Co. 1838
Koltenbuin Anthony, 84 Genesee St, painting and paper
hanging, b Germany 1847, s 1851
McAlpine John, 10 Owasco St, can-iage painter, b New York
- city 1850, s 1852 ; Sarah McAlpine, b Owasco 1851 ;
died 1877; Sarah McAlpine, daughter, b Cayuga
Oo. 1875 . .
Wills George F. 22 and 24 DiU St. can-iage and sleigh painter,
b Caynga Co.
Young James E. 24 Division St. b Onondagd Co. s 1858 ;
Jennie E. (Furman) Young, b Ontario Co. s 1858 ;
one daughter PHOTOGRAPHERS.
Ernsberger AV. H. firm of Ernsberger & Ray, b Seneca Co.
1844, s'l805, 85 Genesee St
Ray Milan, finu of Ernsberger & Ray, b Vt, 1848, s 1800
Squyer & AVright, 130 AV. Genesee St. b. Cayuga Co.
PHYSICIANS AND SURGEONS.
Amistrong D, H. b AVashington Co. s 1802
Briggs Lansingh, 159 Genesee St. b AVashington Co. s 1808

Brinkerhoff T. L, b Cayuga Co, 1832
Fosgate B. 02 South St.
MacDonald Carlos F, Supt, of the N. Y. S. Asylum for In
sane Criminals at Aubum, b TnimbiUl Co. Ohio, s
1876
Robinson, H, Jr. b AVesterly, R, I, s 1841
Sprague AV, M, 33 Fulton, b Cayuga Co. 1846 ; Clara (Dwight)
Sprague, b Greene Co, 1847
PICTURE FRAMES, WALL PAPER, MIRRORS, &a.
Trowbridge & Jennings, dealer in picture frames, waU paper,
itc, Trowbridge, b Cayuga Co, s 1848 ; Jennings, b
Tompkins Co, s 1870
Trowbridge John J, firm of Trowbridge & Jennings, b
Cayuga Co, 1848
PLUMBERS AND GAS FITTERS.
Holihan & Quinn, 140 Geuesee St.
Holihan John, (Hohhan & Quinn,) b Cayuga Co. 1846
Kavanagh Daniel, 3 AVater, b England 1844, b 1853; M.
Helehy Kavanagh, wife, b Ireland, s 1800 ; seven
children
Quinn John, (HoUhan &, Quinn,) b Cayuga Co. 1849
PRINTERS AND PUBLISHERS.
Burroughs J, AV, cor, Geuesee and South Sts. job printer, b
Michigan, s 1870
Benton Urban S. Sec'y of the Auburnian Printing Co. b
.Steuben Co s 1858
Knapp & Peck, Geuesee St, PubUshers Auburn Adver
tiser and Journal
AViUey B, B, Central New Yorker, b East Haddam, Conn. 8 ,
1830 _
A'ail K, cfcCo, 10 Clark St. Publishers A^iburn Daily Bulletin
Moses AVm. J. Clark St, Pres't Auburn Printing Co
REAL ESTATE BROKERS.
Eddy AVm, H, 36 Franklin St
Lawton & Eddy, 117 Genesee street
Lawton A. AV, 13 Elizabeth street
Mann L. C, 2 Benton street
Pearson J, E, b Essex Co, Mass, s 1820; M, J. King, wife, b
Cayuga Co. 1845 ; three children
Soule Lyman, banker and real estate dealer
SALOONS AND RESTAURANTS.
Allen E. AV. Division St, restaurant, b Cayuga Co. s 1835 ;
Ella Allen, wife, b Cayuga Co. s 1856
Fisher JohnT, 10 Grant street, b Bavaria 1826; settled in
Onondaga Co, 1854 ; three children
AVhite Fred R, restaurant, b Cayuga Co. s 1853
AVhite James L, restaurant, b Cayuga Co, s 1846
STOCK DEALERS.
Congdon Diu-ius, Seward Ave, general stock dealer and
butcher, b Scipio, s 1840; Ella J, (Bills) Congdon,
wife, b Cayuga Co. s 1849; two children: a girl, Id
Caj'uga Co, 1876, and a boy, b in Cayuga Co. 1878.
Murdock A. R. West Genesee street, general stock farmer,
owns the finest herd of 100 milch cows in the
county, b Ireland, but of Scotch descent, 1829, s
1850; Jane B, Black, wife, b Cayuga Co. six children
Myer Abram, 71 AVaU St, general cattle dealer, b Ulster Co.
1833 ; Frances M, (Soule) Myer, wife, b Livingston
Co, 1833 ; live diildron
Pearce AVm. Division street, farmer and stock raiser
¦TOBACCONISTS.
Richardson John B, 69^ Genesee street, b Cayiiga 1820 ;
Carohne F. Richardson, b Cooperstown, N. Y. 1822
Foster Andre-w A UNDERTAKER.
Hubbard & Searls, furnishing iindertakers, b Cayuga Co. 1850
VETERINARY SURGEON.
Thomas Thomas, 15 AVater St. blacksmith, veterinary
surgeon and colt gelder, b England, s 1871

VI

HISTORY OF CAYUGA COUNTY.

STERLING.
Albring Joseph, res lot 26, fanner and horse raiser ; b Skan
eateles 1810, s '46 ; p o Sterhng
Albring Elizabeth, wife Joseph A. b N. Y. 1817, « '46 ; p o
Sterling
Andrews Phebe, res lot 4, widow AViUiam Andrews who died
1872 ; b England 1836 ; p o Sterling VaUey
Andrews John, res lot 13, farmer, married Catharine Hickey
1875 ; b SterUug 1827 ; p o Sterling A^aUey
Andrews Joseiih, res lot 13, farmer, married Elizabeth Hickey;
b Sterling 1831 ; p o Sterling A''alley
Bridges Thomas C. res Fair Haven, attorney at law and su
pervisor; b Sterling 1843 ; p o Fair Haven
Bridges Moses, res lot 26, farmer; b Otsego Co. 1829, s '37 ;
p o SterUng Center
Bridges Ellen J. wife of M. Bridges ; b BaldwinsviUe 1842, s
'50 ; p o Sterling Center
Bennett James, res lot 44, farmer aud town assessor, black
smith liy trade ; b Ct, 1815, s '10 ; p o Red Creek
Bennett Emily A, wife J. Bennett; b Brutus 1816; p o Red
Creek
Blythe Edmund, res lot 5, farmer; b Jefferson Co. 1832, s
'48 ; p o SterUng A''alley
Blythe Mary, wife E. Blythe ; b Ireland 1838, s '47 ; p o
Sterling A''alley
Bridges Edmund H, res lot 6, farmer ; b Sterling ; p o Ster
Ung Center
CaiT Jay AV. res MartviUe, retired farmer ; b AVashington Co.
1796, s 1802 ; p o Martville
Carr Amanda M, wife of J, W. Can- ; b AVhitehaU, AVashing
ton Co. N. Y, 1796, s 1818: diedMarch 23, 1872.
Crj'Bler Jacob, res Fair Haven, retired farmer ; b Saratoga
Co. 1795, s 1835 ; p o Fair Haven
•Crysler Tila Ann, res Fair Haven, wife of Jacob Crysler ; b
Otsego Co. 1817, s '64; p o Fair Haven
•Crysler Han-iet J. Mrs, res Fair Haven, daughter of Jacob
Ci-ysler ; b Oswego Co, s 1835 ; p o Fair Haven
Cooper Jane, b SterUug 1810 ; died 1841, wife Robert Hume;
Fair Haven
•Cochran John, res Fair Haven, retired, ex-supervisor and
ex-Deputy Collector; b Argyle, AVashington Co, 1812,
s '30 ; 13 o North Fair Haven
Cochran Margaret, res Fair Haven, wife of John Cochran ; b
Baltimore, Md. s 1840 ; p o North Fair Haven
•Cary Nathaniel C. res Sterhng, manufacturer of plows and
agricultural machinery ; b Addison Co, Vt, 1807, b
'30 ; p o Sterling
Cary Sophia, res Sterling, wife of N. C. Cary ; b Tolland Co.
Conn. 1809, s '30 ; p o SterUng
ChopfeU J. B. les Sterling, merchant ; b, Onondaga Co. 1829,
s '51 ; p o SterUng
Calvert J, A, res lot 8, fanner ; b Genoa 1847 ; p o Sterling
VaUey
Curtis H. C. res lot 48, farmer and tanner ; b Madison Co.
s 1842 ; p o Martville
Cooper Joseph C. res lot 5 ; b AVashington Co. 1800, s '11 ;
p o Sterling Valley
Cooper Margaret, (Andrews) wife of J, Cooper ; b Oswego
Co. 1823, s '23 ; p o SterUng Valley
Campbell Samuel S, res lot 1, farmer, son of Patrick and
Ritie Campbell ; p o South AVest OsMego
Desbrough George A. res Martville, proprietor MartviUe cus
tom mills ; b Herkimer Co. 1849, s '76 ; p o Mart
viUe
Douglas Albert S, lot 48, fanner and Justice of the Peace ;
b Sterling, 1831 ; p o MartviUe
Douglas M. S. wife of Albert S, Douglas ; b Sterhng 1838 ;
p o Mai-tville
DueU Frankhn, farmer; b Susquehanna Co,, Pa, 1821 s '36;
p o Sterling VaUey
DueU Rhoda, wife of F, DueU ; b SterUng 1836 ; p o Ster
ling Valley
Dugan Hugh, res lot 17, farmerand dairyman; b Ireland
1841, 6 '49 ; p o Sterling
Donaghue Coi-nelius ; p o Sterling A' alley
Ford John, res lot 25 ; i> Scotland s 1852 ; x> o SterUng Sta
tion
Fitzgerald D. P. ; b SterUng 1836, died May 8th, 1872
Fitzgerald S. L, Mrs, res lot 27, widow of D. P. Fitzgerald ;
b Sterling 1831

Forsyth Milton, res lot 46, farmer ; b Sterling 1851 ; p o
Martville
Forsyth Frankie, wife of M, Forsyth ; b SterUng 1864 ; p o
Martville
Forsyth Spicer. father of M, Forsyth , b GallupviUe, Scho
harie Co. 1823, s '50; died May 29th, 1877
Fry Richard, lot 07, retail dealer in general merchandise for
eight years ; formerly blacksmith ; b Kent Co, Eng
land 1822, s '62 ; p o North Victory
Fry Pauleua. wife of R. Fry ; b Monroe Co. s 1862 ; p o
North Victory
Green Capt. James, i-es Sterling, inachinist, formerly sea cap
tain ; b Cape May Co., N. J. 1810, s '44 ; p o Ster
ling
Green Louisa, res Sterling, wife of Capt, Jaines Green ; b
Onondaga Co. 1812, s '44 ; p o Sterling
Gantley Patrick, res lot 19, farmer ; married Johanna Har-
sey; b Ireland s 1855 ; p o Sterling A''alley
German Frank, res Sterhng Station, geiieral merchant ; b
Granby, Oswego Co. 1851, s '73 ; p o Sterling Sta
tion,
German Emma D, (Smith) wife of F, German ; b Fulton
1855, '76 ; Jl o Sterling Station
Green Herkimer, res lot 18, farmer, A descendant of Gen.
Herkimer ; b Herkimer Co. 1811, s '09 ; p o Ster
ling Valley
Green Emily T. (AVoleott) wife of H, Green ; b Addison Co,,
Vt. 1818. s '69 ; p o Sterling A'aUey
Greene Nelson Kellogg, res lot 18, farmer ; b Herkimer Co.
1853, s '09 . p o Sterling A'alley
Hume Robert, res Fair Haven, station agent, farmer, ex-su-
]iervieor. Member of Assembly ; b Delaware Co,
1806, s '34 ; p o Fair Haven .
Hoy Mrs, Margaret ; b AVashington Co, 1800, b'12 ; died 1809
Hunter Thomas, res Sterling, contractor ; b Maryland
Hunter John, res Sterling, contractor; b Baltimore, Md,
1828, s '38 ; p o Sterling A'alley
Hume Thomas C. res lot 46, farmer ; b Delaware Co. 1811,
s '35 ; p o MartviUe
Hunter James C, res Sterling A''alley, inachinist and post
master ; b Baltimore, Md, 1837, s '38 ; j) o SterUng
A'alley
Hunter Frances McGraw, wife of James Hunter ; b AVeeds-
jjort 1840 ; man-ied 1807 ; p o Sterling Valley
Hitchcock Stei^hen K, res Fair Haven, mason ; b Rensselaer
Co. s 1854 ; p o Fair Haven
Hen-ington Simon, i-es lot 42, farmer ; b Rensselaer Co. ts
1865 ; p o Sterling Junction
Hewitt AValter S, res lot 5, farmer; b SterUng 1842; p o
Sterling A^alley
Hewitt AVm, res lot 5, farmer and veterinary surgeon ; b
Sterling 1830 ; \> o Sterling A''alley
Irwin James H, res lots 4 and 5, farmer ; p o South AVest
Oswego
Ingersoll Ryel, lot 11, farmer, son of John and Mary luger-
soU ; b Sterling 1818 ; p o Sterling A''alley
IngersoU Jane C. (Phinney) wife of R. Ingersoll, daughter
of Luther aud Mercy Phinnej' ; b Cayuga Co, 1823 ;
\) o Sterling A''alley
Irwin James C, res lot 3, farmer ; b Sterling ; p o Sterling
Valley
Irwin Emma Fradeuburgh, wife of James C, Irwin ; b AVash-
ington Co. 1852 ; died 1874
Irwin George B. res lots 2 and 3, farmer ; b Sterling 1840 ;
p o South AVest Oswego
Irwin Jane, (Perry) wife of George B, Irwin, daughter of
Talmadge and Amy Pen-y ; b Oswego Co. 1843, s
'60 ; p o South AVest Oswego
Irland Andrew, res lot 5, farmer ; b Sterling 1821 ; p o Ster
ling VaUey
Irland Hattie E, (|Essex) wife of A, Irland, daughter of Henry
and Katie Essex ; b Schenectady Co, ; p o Sterling
A'aUey
Jerrett Norman, res lots 4 and 5, farmer, son of James and
Polly Jerrett ; b New Haven, N. Y, ; p o Sterling
Valley
Jerrett Sophia M, (Irwin) wife of N, Jen-ett ; b SterUng ; has
two children ; jj o Sterling Valley
King David, res lot 43. farmer, joiner and contractor ; b Ovid
Seneca Co. 1812, s '22 ; p o Red Creek '

HISTORY OF CAYUGA COUNTY.

Vll

King Catharine, res lot 43, wife of David King ; b Owasco ;
1810; po Red Creek
Kyle WiUiam S. res Martville, physician and surgeon; b
Pouglikeepsie, N, Y. 1823, s '33 ; p o Martville
Kyle Han-iet A. res MartviUe, wife of AV. S. Kyle ; b Ster
ling 1838 ; p o Martville
Knapp George P. res Fair Haven, deputy coUector aud mer
chant ; b Victory 1843 ; p o Fair Haven
lieviU WilUam, res lot 17, proprietor of Kevill's grist, cider
and shingle -miU ; b Devonshire, England; s 1844 ;
p o Sterhng
Kingsbury Horace J. res lot 46, farmer, supervisor in 1872 ;
b Steriing 1823 ; p o MartviUe
Jtiugsbury Susan H, wife of H, J, King ; b New Hampshire
1829. s '55 ; p o MartviUe
Kingsbury Joseph ; b New Hampshire 1792, s '11 ; died
1873
Lay John D, res Martville, station agent ; b Lewis Co, 1825,
'46 ; p o MartviUe
Lay PoUy, res MartviUe, wife of J, D. Lay; b Sterling 1825;
p o Martville
Lester Sarah Anu, wife of Thomas C, Hume ; b Washington
Co. 1814, s '34 ; p o Martville
Longley Oscar E, res lots 45 and46, farmer ; married Ophelia
Forsyth ; b Albany Co, 1847, s '49 ; p o Sterling Sta
tion
Laxton Luke, res lot 19, farmer, son ot James aud Mai-y
Laxtou ; b England 1842, s '50 ; p o SterUug VaUey
Laxton Mary Anu, (Marsh) wife of Luke Laxton, and daugh
ter of Ebenezer and Margaret Marsh ; b Oswego Co.
1845, s '52; p o SterUng VaUey
McKnight William, res Sterling VaUey, retired farmer ; b
AVashington Co. 1800, s '36 ; p o Sterling A^aUey
McKnight Martha, res Sterling VaUey, wife of AViUiam
McKnight ; b Washington Co. 1805, s '36 ; p o Ster
ling Vallej'
McCrea John, res lot 33; b Delaware Co, 1803, s'16; po
Fair Haven
McCrea Elizabeth, wife of John McCrea ; b AVashington Co,
1808
McFadden T. AV. res lot 26, farmer ; b SterUng 1853 ; p o
Sterling Center
McFadden John C, ; b Sterling 1830; died December, 1877
McFadden John AV. ; b AVashington Co. 1794, b '15 ; died
March, 1874
McFadden Benjamin, res lot 26, farmer ; b AVashington Co.
1804, s '16; p o Sterling Center
Marvin James H. res lot 9, farmer ; b AVestchester Co, 1837,
K '02 ; p o SterUng
'.McHenry David, res lot 18, farmer ; b Sterling 1830 ; p o
Sterling Valley
McHenrj' Mary C. wife of David McHenry ; b SterUng 1840 ;
p o SterUng Valley
Manning Thomas, res lot 19, farmer, son of John and Anna
' Manuing; b Englandl816, B '46 ; po Sterling VaUey
McArthur H, S. res Fair Haveu, merchant, firm of E, R.
Robinson & Co. ; b North East, Dutchess Co, 1834,
8 '30 ; p o Fair Haven
McForland George F, res lot 4, fanner, son of AViUiam and
Betsey McFariand ; b Sterling 1818 ; p o Sterhng
VaUey
McFariand Matilda, (Selyea) wife of George F, McFariand,
daughter of George and EUzabeth Selyea ; b Herki
mer Co. 1828, s '38 ; p o Sterling VaUey
McFariand David L. res lot 4, farmer; b Sterling 1840 ; p o
, Sterling A''alley
McFariand Hannah L. (FuUerton) wife of D. L. McFariand ;
b Sterhng 1840 ; inanied 1805 ; p o Sterhng VaUey
McKnight George, physician and surgeon ; p o Sterhng
Misler F. E, farmer ; p o Fair Haveu
Neisler Frederick E. ; b Wurtenburg, Germany, 1806, s '31 ;
died February 9t.h, 1870
Neisler Louisa A. widow of F. E. Neisler ; b AVurtenburg,
Germany, 1805, 8 '35 ; p o Fair Haven
OUver Stephen H. lot 11, farmer, cheese maker and dairy
man ; b SterUng 1836 ; p o Sterling
OUver Andrew M. lot 11, farmer, cheese maker aud Dairy
man ; b SterUng 1839 .- p o Sterling
Oliver James; b Scotland 1797, s '32 ; died 1862 ; farmer
Overaoker John ; b near Waterford, N. Y. 1792, s '24 ; died
1874

Overaoker Miriam, widow of John Overacker, res lot 53 ; b
Rockland Co. 1804, s '15 ; p o Red Creek
Phelps Electa, wife of Johu Ford; b Oneida Co. 1802;
married 1825, s 1852 ; p o Sterling Station
Post Geo. I, , res Fair Haven ; Rail Reading, Farmer and
Atty at Law ; b Fleming 1826 ; p o Fair Haven
Possou Wm. F., res lot 25, fanner, formerly machinist ; b
'Schoharie Co 1810 ; s 1805 ; p o Sterling
Posson Maria, wife Wm. F, P., b Schoharie Co, 1814 ; s 1865;
p o Sterhng
Pickett Aljjheus, res lot 17. retired farmer and maSon ; b
Saratoga Co, May 11th, 1809; moved to Onondaga
1831; s 1850, p o Sterling
Pickett Affa L. b AureUus, 1804; d Sept, 28th, 1874 ; wife of
Aljiheus P.
Parcel Wm, J, res lot 8, fanner, inachinist, son of Isaac and
Lydia A. Parcel, b SterUug 1842 ; p o SterUug Val
ley
Robinson E, Randolph, res Fair Haven, machinist and jus
tice of the peace, b AA'yoming Co, 1841, s 1872, p o
Fair Haven
RandaUJohn, res lot 17, farmer, formerly cheese manufac
turer, b Sussex, England, 1811 ; s 1871 ; p o SterUug.
RandaU Elizabeth, wife J, Randall, b Little FaUs, 1823 ; 8
1870; p 0 iSterliug
Sturgis A, 0, res Sturting, manufacturer agricultural imple
ments ; b Cato 1822 ; p o Stei-liug
Sturgis Catherine C, wife ef A. C, Sturgis, b Scotland ; p o
Sterling
Swartwout James, res lot 35, farmer and prop'r ore bed, b
Owasco 1820, p o SterUng Station
Swartwout Margery, wife of J. Swartwout, b Deer Park,
Orange Co. s 1846, p o Sterling Station
Smith Chas, AV. res lot 26, farmer, b Wolcott, N. Y , 1851,
s 1805, p o Sterling
Smith Rhoda, wife ef C, W. Smith ; b SterUng 1854, p o
Sterling
Salisbury H, J. res lot 5, farmer and dairyman, b Sterling,
1853 ; p o. Sterling VaUey
SaUsbury C, G. res lot 5, retired fariner ; b Madison Co.
1816 ; s 1848 ; p o SterUng A''aUey
Smith John N, res lot 17, farmer, b Victory 1817; p o Ster
Ung
Smith Rebecca A, wife ef J. N, Smith; b Oswego Co, 1815 ;
s 1857 ; p o Sterling
Smiley R, AV. res lot 19, farmer, b Orange Co. 1826; s
1841 ; p o SterUng A^'lUey
Sanford D. C. res Sterling Center, furniture dealer and cabi
net maker ; b Cayuga Co. 1814 ; p o Sterling Center
Scott Henry, res lot 13, farmer; bN, Y, city 1812 ; p o Ster
ling VaUey
Stephens John H. res lot 3, farmer, bR. 1.1810; s 1875 ;
p o South AVest Oswego
Taber Lewis, res lot 26, farmer ; b Washington Co. 1828, s
'67, 1) o Sterhng
Todd John, farmer ; p e Sterling Station
Upcraft Johu, res lot 3, farmer ; b England E 1866 ; p o
South West Oswego
A'anPatteu J, W, res lot 35, farmer; b Sterling' 1841 ; p o
Sterling Station
VanPatten May G, wife of J. W. VanPatten ; b SterUug
1843 ; p o Sterhng Station
VanPetten Jacob, res lot 68, farmer ; b SterUng, Aug. 25th
1828 ; p o MartviUe
VauPetteu Mary Jane, wife J. VauP.. b Ira 1840; p o Mart
viUe
VanPetten Margaret, first wife J. VanP,; b Ira 1831 ; died
May 11th '63
Van Petten George, res lot 10, farmer 156 acres ; b SterUng
1834 ; p e Fair Haven
Van Patten Mary E. (Cochrane) wife George VanP, , daughter
ef James and EUza Cochrane ; b Smithtown Ontario
1837 ; s 18.51
Vincent AVm. res lot 8, farmer son of Wm. and Hannah Vin
cent ; b England 1814 ; s 1856 ; p o SterUng A''aUey
Vincent Nancy Agues, wife Wm. A^., daughter of Martin and
Barbary Snyder; b Montgomery Co. 1822; sl861-
p o SterUng VoUey '
A'^an Alien D. res lots 27 and 28 ; farmer, son of Johu F.
and Katie A'an Alien ; b Herkimer Co. 1841 ; s 1873 •
p 0 SterUng Center '

VUl

HISTORY OF CAYUGA COUNTY.

Van Alien Maiy A, (Hendricks,) wife of D. Van Allen, daugh
ter John and Elizabeth Hendricks, b Herkimer Co.
1841 ; s 1873 ; p o SterUng Center
WiUey Abraham R. res Fair Haven ; atty at law ; b Conn.
1822 ; s 1830 ; p o Fair Haven
WiUey Rhoanna AV. res Fair Haven, wife of A. R, AVilley ;
b AVayne Co. 1833 ; k 1871 ; ]i oFair Haven
WilUams Richard, res lot 12, farmer; 1) Somersetshire, Eng
land, 1811 ; 6 1848 ; p o Sterling Valley
WilUams Emily, wife of R. WiUiams ; b Somersetshire, Eng
land ; 1812 ; s 1850 ; p o Steriing VaUey
Wildie A, P, res let 17, fanner ; b Schenectady Co. 1819 ; s
1848 ; p o Steriing
Wildie Catharine, wife ef A. P, AVildie ; b Dutchess Co.
1810 ; s 1848 ; p o Sterling
AVildeJehnL., b Chfton Park, Saratoga Co. 1811; B 1851 ;
dl859
Wilde Carohne C. res lot 47, widow J. L. AV. b Ghent, Col
umbia Co. 1822; married 1843; s 18.51; p o Mart
ville
AVhiting L. C, res lots 43-53, farmer; b SterUng 1850 ; po
Red Creek
Whiting Margaret A. wife L, C, W, b Sterling, 1850 ; p o
Red Creek
WilUams AVm, res lot 13, farmer ; married Elizabeth Watts
in 1850 ; b Somersetshire, England, 1830 ; s 1850 ;
p o SterUng VaUey
VICTORY.
AUanson Edward, res lot 67, fanner, speculator and supervi
sor; b Saratoga couuty 1829, s 1852; p o Cato
AUanson Rachel Ann, wife C. AUanson ; b Victory 1829 ; p
o Cato
Blanchard Aimer C. ; b Sennett 1822 ; died June Sth, 1877.
Blanchard Susan ; b Orange Co. 1828 ; s 1834 ; widow A. C.
B. ; p o North Victory
Blanchard Homer, farmer; b Victory 1853 ; p o North Vic
tory
Blanchard Helen, wife H. Blanchard; b Victory 1854; p o
North Victory
Bird Daniel, res lot 27, farmer, notary public, ex-justice of
peace and highway commissioner ; b Victory 1819 ;
p o Victory
Bird Mai-y, wife of D. Bird ; b Dutchess Co 1816 ; s 1819 ;
p o Victory
Barr AViUiam H,, res lot 17, farmer; b Orange Co 1822; s
1829 ; p o North Victory
Barr Alzina, wife AViUiam H. Ban- ; b Sennett 1819 ; p o
North Victory
Benedict AVilUam T. , res lot 52, farmer ; lives in house where
born ; b Victory 1835 ; p o Victory
Benedict Elizabeth J., wife of AViUiam T. ; b Victoi-y 1839 ;
p o Victory
CroweU A. P. , res lot 52, farmer and dealer iu general mer
chandise; b Conquest 1821; in business from 1855
to 1805 in Conquest, thence to Victory 3i years,
thence to AVestbury, firm Crowell & Ci-oweU, p o
Westbury and A'^ictory
Crowell Caroline; b Mentz 1823 ; died May, 1871; first wife
A. P. CroweU
Crowell Jane; b Orange Co 1832; died Ai-)ril, 1873; second
wife A. P. Crowell
CroweU Elizabeth ; b Dutchess Co, 1824; s about 1830; third
wife A. P. Crowell ; p o AVestbury
CoulhngJohn; b Gloucestershire, England, 1815; s 1843;
died October 1st, '77 ; farmer and iji-oduce dealer
CoulUng Hannah, i-es lot 52, widow J, CouUing ; b England
1818 ; s 1840 ; p 0 Viptery
Cramer Chauncey, res lot 39, farmer; b Rutland Co,, Vt.,
1800; B 1812 ; p o AVestbury ; has always Uved in the
town ; 235 acres
Cramer Mary, wife of C. Cramer; b Benson, Vt. 1803; s
1820; married 1825 ; p 6 AVestbury
Campbell Mathew P. , lot 0 ; son of Samuel and Catharine
CampbeU; b Ulster Co, ; s 1810; p o Ira Station
Daratt Hulbert, .res Victory, hotel proprietor and ex-school
commissioner; b Cato "1842; p o A'ictory
Daratt Josephine B, , wife H. Daratt; b Victory 1851 ; p o
Victory

Doud Guilford D. res Ipt 15, farmer, formerly prop. Lime
Kiln ; b Aurelius 1830 ; p o Victory
Doan Amos T. res lot 4, farmer, carpenter by trade ; b Berks
Co. Pa. 1825, s '29 ; p o North Victory
Doan Marietta AV, wife of A. T. Doan ; b Scipio, 1831 ; p o
North Victory
Dedrick 0. S, res lot 43, farmer, justice peace 4 years ;
b Greene Co. 1832, s '08; p o Ira Station
Dedrick Sarah E. (Orr) wife C. S. D. ; b Cazenovia, 1846, s
'49 ; p o Ira Station
Evans Jonathan P. res lot 52, farmer ; b Columbia Co. '30, s
'40 ; p o Victei-y
Evans Elizabeth, wife J, P. E. ; b Aubum, 1833 ; p o Victory
French Hulbert AV. res lot 39, farmer; b AVayne Co, 1839, s
1840 ; p 0 Victory
French Lydia J. wife H. AV. F. r b Cato, 1839 ; p o Victoi-y
FeUett John, res lot 107 farmer ; b Renssellaer Co. 1823, »
1823 ; p o Ira Station
FoUett Fannie M, res let 107, wife of J. FeUett ; b Victory, ;
1832; mai-ried 1851 ; po Ira Station
Goodrich Allen H, i-es let 28, farmer ; b A'^ictory, 1832 ; p o
Victory
Goodrich Margaret S, wife A H. G. b Rensselaer Co. 1835, s
1838 ; p o Victory
Kimball Elmer L. farmer; b Sennett, 1818; Grandfather of
John K, Rich
KimbaU Margaret, wife of Elmur L. Kimball; b Mass. 1791,
8 1812
Lont Gideon, res lot 20, farmer; bVictoi-y, 1830; p o AVest
bury
Lont Emeline M. wife G. Lont ; b Vctory, 1838 ; p e AVest
bury
Morley Asidit'l L, res lot 29, fanner; b Massachusetts 1807,
K '10 ; p o Ira Station
Morley Sarah A, wife of A, L. Morley ; b Saratoga Co. 1819,
B '00 ; p o Ira Station
ManroeReed; b Brutus 1803; died June, 1871; farmer
Manroe Nancy, res lot 41, widow of R. Manroe ; b AVest
chester Co., N, Y,, August 5th, 1799, sl822; mar
ried 1827 ; p o Victory
Men-itt E, ; p o Victory
Olmsted Daniel B. res lot 58, farmer; b Victory 1839 ; p o
Westbury
Olmsted Mary E. wife of D. B. Olmsted; b AVayne Co. s
. 1869 ; died August 26th, 1877
Rich John K, farmer ; b Victory 1854
Rich EUa, (Close) wife of John K. Rich; b Conquest 1852
Rich Julia, sister of John K. Rich ; b Victory 1855
Rich AVilUam M, father of John K. Rich ; b Ira 1821 ; died
1850
Smith Mary E, res lot 15, wife of G, D. Doud ; b Conquest
1837 ; p o Victory
Switzer Jacob, res let 38, proprietor of Switzer's mills, saw,
milling and cider ; b Conquest 1842 ; p o AVestbury
Switzer Jane Ann, wife of J. Switzer ; b Albany Co* 1842,
s 1847; p o AVestbiu-y
Traver Martin, res lot 53, farmer, cooper and cai-penter by
trade; b Dutchess Co, 1818, s 1828; p o Victory
Traver Polly, wife ef M, Traver ; b Victory 1829 ; p o Vic
tory
Thompson AVm. AV. res lot 28, farmer; b Dutchess Co. 1810,
s '19 ; p o A'ictory
A'an Hoesen AVynard, lot 6, sou of John and Elizabeth Van
Hoesen ; b Victory 1849 ; p e Ira Station
AVetherby A, B. res Victory, boot and shoe dealer, P. M, and
sewing machine agent; b Victory 1832; p o Vic
tory
AVetherby Catharine, wife of A. B, AVetherby ; b Albany
1832, s 1844 ; p o A'ictery
AViUey Deborah, wife of AV, AV. Thompson , b Middlesex
Co,, Conn,, 1815, s '30 ; p e Victory
IRA.
Arnold G. M. L,, res lot 33, son of Elisha and Betsey Arnold;
b Ira 1825 ; p o Ira
Acker Cornelius, proprietor of Central Hotel ; b Rensselaer
Co, 1817, s 1827 ; po Cato,
Brown Samuel M,, let 70, fariner, physician and surgeon ; b
Ireland 1819, s 1840 ; p o Meridian

HISTORY OF CAYUGA COUNTY.

IX

Brown Nancy S, , Dan Joseph and Eliza Patterson ; b Wayne
Co. 1825, 8 1845 ; p o Meridian
Bartlett A., lot 44, son ef Jesse Bartlett; b Albany Co., s
1840 ; p e Cato
Blessing David, lot 20, son of Adam and Nancy Blessing ; b
Albany Co., s 1864 ; p o Bethel Comers
Brackett Franklin, lot 20, son of Thurman and Phoebe
Brackett ; b Ira 1844 ; p o Ira
Bleed N. D,, lot 33, son of Orson and Elizabeth Blood; b
Chenango Co., s 1800 ; p o Ira
Baldwin Samuel H. lot 22 ; b Chenango Co. 1816 ; died Au
gust 29, 1865 ; first husband Eliza A. Caley
Can- AVm. H. lot 32. son of Wm. T, and Sophia Can ; b
Mentz. 1841 : p o Ira
Carter AV, B. lot 24, son of Benj, and EUzabeth Carter; b
Ira, 1822 ; p o Lysander
Cook A. P. lots 69-80, farmer and prejir, cheese factory ; b
Ira, 1832 ; p o Cato
Cook Ann E. daughter of Allen and Nancy Holcomb ; b Vic
tory, 1837 : p o Cato
Chase S. J, p, ni, nnd dealer in hardware, stoves and tin ; b
New Y'ork : s 1836; j> o Cato
Conger David R. lot 69, husband of Margaret Fen-is ; b Ira,
1816: p oCato
Cowan Albert, lot 9, son of Trowbridge and Elizabeth Cowan;
b Aurelius, 1S40: p o Ira
Clark Harry, lot 59, farmer, sen of Jaiijesand Betsey Clark ;
! b Onondaga Co, s 1859 ; p o Meridian
Craley Eliza A, lot 22, farmer; daughter Truman and Susan
1 Shumway ; b Owasco 1821 ; p o, Ira
Campbell M. P. p olra Station
Dutton E. S. let 69, son of Joel Dutton ; b Ira, 1813 ; p o
Cato
Daratt S. B, lot 57, son ef Ambrose Daratt ; b Cato, 1814
p o Cato
Everts E, S, physician and surgeon ; b New York, s 1836
p o Cato
Ferris H. D. res lot 71, son ef Thatcher I, and Betsey Ferris
b Ira. 1826 ; 13 o Mtridian
Goodrich Joel E. lots 20-21, sOn of Aaron and Affable Good
rich ; b Mass, s 1837 : p o Ira
Gifford Darius, res lot 12, farmer, son of Reuben Gifford ; b
Lysander ; s 1 860 ; p e South Haunibal
Hooker Lucius, physician and surgeon ; b A't, s 1831 : p o Cato
Holcomb AUen, lot 09, farmer, sen of Jloses Holcomb ;
b Ira, 1810; p oCato
Harmon AVm. lot 7, son of George and Eliza Harmon ; b
Ira, 1834 ; p o Bethel Corners
Harmon D, F, let 7, steward and class leader ; b Ira, 1830;
p o Bethel Corners
Johnson Robert, lot 31, farmer, son of Edward Johnson ; b
England 1802, s '18 : p o Cato
Lamson D, J, lumber manufacturer; b Vermont 1827, s '74;
p o Cato
Matson Augustine, lot 24, son of Eli S. and DeUa T. Matson ;
b Ira 1827 ; p o Lysander
Matson Mary E. daughter of Samuel and Sally Reese ; b
Madi.sou Co. s 1864 ; p o Lysander
Marvin David H. lot 24, farmer, son of Barnett and Betsey
A. Marvin ; b Lysander 1844, s '47 ; p o Lysander
Marvin Achsa J, daughter of Alfredand Mary A, Huggins ; b
Granby, s 1866 ; p o Lysander
Pulsipher Mrs, A. C. widow DeWitt C. Pulsipher, deceased ;
b 1856 ; p e Ira
Phelps Samuel .Jr. lot 32, son of Samuel and Anna Phelps ; b
Ira 1807 ; p o Ira ,
Rich George R. res lots 09 and 80, attomey and counselor at
• law; bN. Y. s 1833; po Cato
Smith Benjamin, lot 58, fruit gi-ower, son of Peter Smith ;
b Montgomery Co. s 1830 ; p o Cato
Squyer Irvin, let 32, farmer and ex-superviser ; b Ira 1825 ;
p o ira
Sweet Emory J. lot 7, son of AViUiam and Loranda Sweet ; b
Skaneateles, Onondaga Co. s 1844 ; p o Bethel
Corners
Sprague C. B. lot 20, son of Parmenas and Christina
Sprague ; b Ira 1830 ; p o Ira
Tabor Don J. fariner; b N. Y. 8 1856 ; p o Cato
Taber Daniel H. lot 70, farmer and supei-visor, son of Na
thaniel and Deborah Taber ; b Madison Co. 8 1830 ;
p o Meridian

Talmage John, lots 8 and 9, son of Ransford and Jane Tal-
mage ; b Hannibal, Oswego Co, 1841, 8 '53 ; p o Ira,
Van Patten Nicolas, lots 56 and 08, son ef N. A. Van Patten ;.
Albany Co. 1828 ; p o Cato
Van Vranken Erastus R, agent for agi-icultural implements ;,
b CUfton Park 1825, s '50 ; p o Cato
Van Vranken Hannah, (Wells), wife of E, R. Van Vranken ;
h Cazenovia 1831, s '35; p o Cato
A''an Hoesen Wynai-d, p o Ira Station
Wells Ransford Rev. paster Refoi-med Church ; b N. Y. s
1806 ; p o Cato
AVhiting Richard L, fiour, custom miller ; b England 1833, s
'76 ; p o Cafe
AVeuger John, lot 56, son of Peter and Betsey AVeuger ; b
Montgomery Co, s 1855 ; p o Cato
Wauds J, B, lot 44, son ef James and Rebecca AVands ; b
Albany Co, s 1843 ; p o Cato
White George G, lot 24, farmer aud commissioner, son of
Gregoi-y and Juha A. AVhite ; b Ira 1836 ; p o South
Hannibal
AVhite Ellen E, daughter of George and Lorinda Dunning ; b
Lysander, s 1807 ; p o South Hannibal
Young Ebenezer, lot 7, son of D. K, and Livonia Young ; b
Steuben Co, s 1871 ; p o Bethel Comers

CONQUEST.

Aldrich Francis P. res lot 4, son of Zachariah and Mary AU.
drich ; b Conquest 1833 ; p o Conquest
Aldrich S.trah, (Howell) res lot 4, daughter of Chas. and
Fanny Howell ; b Fleming 1844 ; p o Conquest
Botsford H. C. res lot 79, son of S, A, and Louisa Botsford ;
b Port Byron 1831 : p o Cato
Botsford Lucinda, res 79, daughter of Allen and Nancy Hoi-.
comb ; b Cato 1840; p o Cato
Burns Horace, res lot 93, son of Joseph and Betsey Bums ;
b Mentz 1828 ; p o Cato
Burns Lydia, (Hadden) res lot 93, daughter of Joseph aud.
SaUy Hadden ; b Mentz 1835 ; p o Cato
Burns Joseph, father of Horace Bums ; b AVashington Co^
1795, s 1813 ; died October 13th, 1831
Ballard J, R, res lot 77, son of S, H. and Mercy A. BaUard;,
b Montgomery Co. s 1822 ; p o Conquest
BaUard Charity (Tripp) res lot 77, daughter of Benjamin and
Sylvia Tripp ; b Columlsia Co. s 1835 ; p o Con
quest
Burghduff Chas.AV, son of Edward C. and Harriet Biu-ghduff ;
b Wayne Co. s 1808 ; p o Spring Lake
Burghduff Mary L, daughter of Norman J. and EUza Buck
lin ; b Conquest ; p o Spring Lake
Can- A, H, res lot 37, farmer ; b Orange Co. 1816, s '38 ; p
o Port Byron
Cramer C. P, res lot 4, son of Chauncy and Mary Cramer;
b Victory 1833 ; p o Conquest
Cramer Maiy J, (Morley) daughter of Asahel and Rhoda
Morley ; b Victory 1841 ; p o Conquest
Crowell Jacob D, res lot 77, son of John Elcy CroweU ; b
Conquest 1818 ; p o Conquest
CroweU Rosahnda, (Moni-ow) res lot 77, daughter of Reed-
man and Nancy Monrew,: b Throop 1828 ; p o Con
quest
CampbeU Samuel B. res lot 78, son of Samuel aud Catharine
Campbell ; b Conquest 1822 ; p o Conquest
CampbeU Mehittable D, (CroweU) daughter of John and Elcy
CroweU ; b Conquest 1823 ; p o Conquest
CoUins Myron, res lot 3, son of Philo and EUza Ann CoUins ; b
Conquest 183^4 ; p o Conquest
ColUns Victoria, res lot 3, daughter of David and Jane Hor
ton ; b Conquest 1839 ; p o Conquest
Detzel A. res lot 28, son of James Detzel, farmer ; b Ger
many 1827, p '65 ; p o Weedsport
Elmore Joseph, res lot 26, farmer ; b Schoharie Co. 1816, s
'26 ; p o Conquest Center
Earl Comelius D. res lot 27, son of AVilham and Maria Earl ;
b Albany Co. s 1838 ; p o Conquest
Earl Ervilla, lot 27, daughter of Peter and PoUy Young; b
Cato 1825 ; p o ConqueBb . •.
Filkin Cornelius, res lot 3, son of Aaron and Charlotte Filkin:
b N. Y. 1820, B '40 ; p o Conquest

HISTORY OF CAYUGA COUNTY.

rilkiu Mary A, (Switzer) lot 3, daughter of Ilonry and Catli-
ariiie Switzer ; b Albany Co, 1820, s '30 ; p o Con
quest
Freer Wm. S, lot 28, sou of Jeremiah and Anna Freer; b
Ulster Co. 1828, s '59 ; p o AVeedsport
Freer Jane, (Pickard) let 28, daughter of John and Sally Pick
ard ; b Conquest 1835 ; p o AVeedsport
Freer Geo. L, let 28, farmer ; b Ulster Co, s 1859 : p o
Weedsport
Freer Mary E, lot 28, daughter of Chas. and Lydia Hooker ;
b AVayne Co, s 1874 ; p o AVeedsport
Forbes NeweU, son ef Archibald and Jane Forbes ; b Con
quest 1852 ; p o Spring Lake
Forbes Jennie, daughter of C, D, and ErviUa Earl ; b Con
quest 1852 ; p e Spring Lake
Guthrie John AV. minister of the Christian denomination : b
Tompkins Co. Sept. 4th, 1814, s '38 ; p e Conquest
Guthrie Samantha E, wife of Jolin AV. Guthrie, daughter of
Coi'iielius and Betsey Levtrsec ; b Coiuptewt 1828 ;
p o Conquest
Hunter Matthew-, res lots 37 and 38, farmer and supervisor ;
b Ireland 1822, s '31 ; p o Port Byron
Han-is Esther, let 4, daughter of John and Hannah Bu.sh ;
s 1849 ; p o Conquest
Harris David D.; b Ulster Co, 1811, s '49 ; died October Kith,
1868
Johnson Rufus, son of Cyrus and Margaret .Johnson: b Mexico,
Oswego Co. s 1818 : p o Spring Lake
Johnson SaUy, wife of Rufus Johnson ; b Butler, AVayue Co,
s 1848 ; p o Spring Lake
King David ; p o Red Creek
Lake Hiram J. lot 90, son of Joseph and Charity Lake ; b
1818, 8 1822 ; p o Conquest
Lake Elizabeth, (Switzer) lot 90; daughter of Henry and
Catherine Switzer ; b Albany Co, 1824, s 1830 ; p o
Conquest
Lane Grover, lot 90, son of Samuel and Alida Lane ; b Mont
gomery Co, s 1855 ; p o Conquest '
Lane Sarah, (Hollister,) lot 90 ; daughter of Luther and Jane
Hollister; b Montgomery Co, s 1855 ; p o Conquest
MiUer David B. res lot 90 ; sou of AVm, and Phoebe MiUer ;
b Owasco, 1820; p o Conquest
MiUer Ann, res lot 90 ; daughter of Ezekiel and Christiana
AVackman ; b Conquest, 1829 ; p o Conquest
Mantanye T, E. res lot 28, fanner and Commercial Agent ; b
Conquest, 1835 ; has served three terms as Super
visor ; p o AVeedsport
Olmsted Eugene G, let 90 ; son of Abijah P. and EUzabeth
Olmsted ; b Sennett, 1837 ; p o Conquest
Olmsted Minerva H, (Young, ) lot 90 ; daugliter of Ira aud
Susan Young ; b Conquest, 1840 ; p o Conquest
Parsell F. L, res lot 4 ; son of George and Mary Anu Par-
sell ; b Conquest, 1851 ; p o CoiKjuest Center
Priddy AV. B, lot 1 Justice of the Peace and farmer ; b
Otsego Co, s 1853 ; p o Spring Lake
Priddy Lucy (Cotter) wife of AV. B. Priddy; b AVayne Co.
s 1859 ; p o Spring Lake
Pooler Will. ; p o Cato
Reynolds Maria A. res lot 94, daughter of Charles aud Han
nah Brown, b Washington Co, s 1840 ; p o Cato
Reynolds James R, res lot 94, fanner, son of Maria A. Rey
nolds ; b Conquest, 1865 ; p o Cato
Reynolds G AV. lot 3, pliys, and wui-g,; b Ueusselaur Co, s
1848 ; p o ConipiBst
Reynolds L, A. H. lot 3, wife of G, AV, Reynolds ; b Colum
bia Co. s 1850; p o Conquest
RusseU Herringtou, res lot 28, farmer ; b Mass, 1808, s 1810
Slayton Thomas J. res lot 27, farmer ; b Mass. 1806, s 1817 ;
p o Conquest
Slayton Lucy C. res let 27, wife of Tliomas Slayton ; b Vic
tory, 1814; po Conquest
Snyder AVm. res lot 2, son of PhUip aud Charity Snyder ; b
Schoharie Co, 1812, s 1815 ; p o Spring Lake
Slausen Wm. son of Z. B, and Almira Slauson ; b Lysander,
Onondaga Co. s 1805 ; p o AVeedsport
Starks Orange, res lot 28, farmer, sou of Thomas Starks ; b
Washington Co. s 1830 ; p o Weedsport
Starks Thomas, res lot 28, farmer; b AVashington Co, 1799,
s 1830, fonuerly captain ; p o AVeedsport
Van Orstrand Johu, res lots 3 and 6, farmer ; b Ulster Co. 1827,
s 1834 ; p o Couiiuest

Vau Oi-straud Jounie, ros lots 3 and 5, wife of J. A'anOi-strand ;
b Cato, 1837 ; p o Conquest
Vosler AVinslow, res lot 79, farmer and coal dealer, Cleveland,
111.; b Charlestown, Montgomery Co. 1834, s 1834;
p o Cato
Vosler John, father of AVm. Vosler ; b Albany Co. 1801, s
1834, died June 10, 1862
A''e.sler Abigail, res lot 79, mother of AVm. A'^osler ; b Schoha
rie Co. 1806, s 1834 ; p o Cato
A'^osler T. AV. lot 78, sen of John and Abigail A'osler ; b Con
quest, 1845 ; p o Cato
A'osler Alice L, lot 78, daughter of John and Nancy A^au Pat
ten ; b Ira, 1850 ; p o Cato
A'an Auken John, lot 78, son of Elias and Josina Van Auken ;
b Albany Co, s 1828 ; p o Cato
A''au Auken Sarah, lot 78, daughter of Samuel and Cynthia
Miller, s 1842 ; p o Cato
AVilcox Robert E. res lot 14, fariner ; b Delaware Co. 1833, 8
1840 ; p 0 CoiKpiest
AVilcox Rebecca L. res lot 14, wife of R. E, AVilcox ; b Con
quest 1835 ; p o Conquest
AVhitford Elias, res lot 10, farmer ; b AVashington Co, 1805,
s 1827; p o Conquest
AVhitford Rose, res lot 16, wife of Elias AVhitford ; b Auburn
1836 ; p o Conquest
AA'ilcox Henry A, res lot 4, son ef H, J. and Eliza A, AVilcox;
b Delaware Co, 18,-!5, s 1810 ; p o Conquest
AVilcox Cynthia M, res lot 4, daughter of Anson and Mar
garet Drewey ; b Wayne Co, 1845, s 1870 ; p o
C inquest
AVelford Daniel, res lot 79, farmer, owns 145 acres ; b Albany
Co, 1815, s 1817 ; p o Cato
AVelford Sarah Anu, wife of above ; b Victory 1832 ; died
May 27, 1876
AVithereU Ephraim, b. N. H. 1778, s 1801 ; kept the first inn
hi 1S06 ; died 1849
AVithereU Patty, wife of E. AVithereU ; s 1801 ; died 1820
AA'^ilcox Han-y J. ; . p e Conquest
Young H, B. res lot 90, son of Peter and Mary Young ; b
Cato 1838 ; p o Conquest
Young Henry C, lot 14, farmer; b Cato 1833; p e Con
quest
Young Julia, res lot 14, wife of Henry Young ; b Delaware
Co. 1839, s 1840 ; p o Conquest
Young Samuel F. res lot 10, farmer : b Cato 1829 ; p o Con
quest
Young Caroline (Earl), res lot 16, wife of Samuel F. Youug ;
b Albany Co. 1830, s 1840; p o Conquest
A.'onng Ira, lot 90, son of Ira and Susan Youug; b Conquest
1817; p o Conquest
CATO.
Applegate Charles Jr, farmer; b N. Y, b1839; p o Meridian
Alward Charles G. miller and farmer ; b N, Y, s 1852 ; p o
Meridian
Abbott Miles, fariner ; b Coun. s 1 820 ; p o. AVeedsport
Ackmoody Mrs, EUen, farmer ; b N, Y. s 1836 ; p o Weeds-
port
Burke Nelson P, farmer; b A^t. s l"fe31 ; p o AVeedsport
Blaka Mrs. J, M. E. farmer ; b N, Y, s 1828 ; p o Meridian
Burk AVm, farmer and attorney ; b Vt, s 18,-M ; p o Meridian
IJloouifield C. A. farmer ; b N, Y. s 18;!1 ; p o Meridian
Busby Johu, prop, steam mills, cider miU and jelly works -
b N. Y. s 1835 : p o Jordan
Bryan L. H, fanner ; b N. Y. b 1808 ; p o Meridian
Bush Mrs. Nancy, farmer; bN. Y, s 1834 ; p o AVeedsport
Brown Jeremiah, farmer; b N, Y. s 1842; p o Cato
CroweU M. farmer ; b N, Y, s 1809 ; p o Meridian
Cornell Win. S, farmer; b New York; s 1840; p o Jordan
Cornish Seymour, farmer; b N, Y. s 1839 ; p o Jordan
Davis Luther E. farmer and assessor ; b Mass, s 1850 ; i) o
AVeedsport
Dudley Rev. Ira, retired Baptist clergyman ; b Vt. s 1807 •
p o AVeedsport '
Dudley Oakley G, fanner ; b N. Y. s 1851 ; p o Meridian
Dudley Sardis, deceased; b Vt. farmer and ex-inember as
sembly
Dunham C, A. farmer aud retired merchant ; b N, Y^, s 1800 •
p o Meridian '

HISTORY OF CAYUGA COUNTY.

XI

DaboU Rufus, fanner and ex-assessor ; b N. Y, s 1800 - p o
Meridian '
Drew Edgar AV, fanner ; b N, Y, s 1842 ; p o Meridian
Dumont T, B, farmer ; b N. Y. s 1849 ; p o Meridian
Dudley H, S, Mrs. p o Meridian
Edmiuster AVm, farmer; b N, Y. s 1817 ; po Cato
Eaker Wm, H, p o. Meridian
Fancher Samuel, farmer ; b New York, s 1832 ; p e MericUan
FoUett David C. farmer ; b New York, b 1834 ; p o Meridian
Folks Humphrey, farmer and ex-commissioner ; b England,
s 1838 ; p o AVeedsport
Guuiear George, farmer; b New Yoi-k, s 1862; p o Meridian
Gilbert Moses, farmer and Deacon Baptist Church, AVeeds
port : b New York, s 1S18-; p o Weedsport
Orant Abijah, farmer; b New York, s 1850; p o AVeedsport
Hickok James, res Meridian, dealer iu furniture, ih^ugs aud
books; b New York, s 1813 ; p o Meridian
Hunter Mrs Albina, farmer, b New York, e 1819 p o Jordan
Hoskins Jomes H, farmer ; b New York, s 1850 ; p o Mer
idian
HaUett Albert, farmer, b New York, s 1844 ; p o Weedsport
Hoyt Mrs Minerva, farmer
Hoyt Edwin, fanner ; b New York, s 1823 ; p o Cato
Ingham Albert C, res Meridian, retired ; b New York, s 1829;
p o Meridian
KimbaU C, M, fanner ; b New York, s 1830 ; p o Meridian
Knapp John T, retired fanner ; b New York, s 1814; p o
Cato
Lawrence G, H. res Meridian, insurance agent ; b New York,
s 1864 : p o Meridian
Lucas Rev. AVallace B, pastor Presbyterian church ; b New
York, s 1860 ; p o AVeedsport
Loveless Solomon, farmer, b New York, s 1804 ; p o Merid
ian
Leland John, farmer; b Mass, s 1832; p o Meridian
Lake Mrs, Mary J, farmer ; b New Jersey, s 1809 ; p o
Jordan
Lockwood Samuel F, farmer ; b New York, s 184 1 ; p o
.Jordan
Merritt Isaac R, res Meridian, proprietor hotel ; b N, J ; p o
Meridian
Morley J, Sprague, res Meridian, attorney at law ; b N. Y. s
1832 ; p o Meridian
Meacham Parsons P. res Meridian, farmer ; b Mass. s 1816 ;
p o Meridian
Mills Leonard, farmer aud overseer of poor ; b N, Y. s 1831 ;
p o AVeed,si30rt
MiUs John H. fariner and justice of the peace ; b N, Y, s
1838 ; p o Cato
Ogilsbie E, F. farmer and ex-assessor ; b N, Y. s 1817 ; p o
Jordan
Palmeter Obadiah, farmer ; b Mass, s 1878 ; p o Meridian
Pooler L, L, farmer ; b N, Y, s 1832 ;
Parker A, S. farmer ; b N. Y, s 1834 ; p o Cato
Rogers Joseph, farmer ; b N, Y, s 1851 ; p o Meridian
Robinson E. farmer ; p o Meridian
Smith J, D, Rev, res Meridian, ])astor Baptist Church ; b N,
Y. s 1871 ; p o Meridian
Smith Harmony Mrs, widow Sardis Dudley ; b Mass. s 1848 ;
13 o Meridian
Spinning A, W, farmer ; b N. Y. s 1829 ; p o Jordan
Sleight Heman A, farmer ; b N, Y. s 1856 ; p o Meridian
Smith John AV, farmer ; b N, Y. s 1816 ; p o Weedsport
Smith Horace AV, farmer ; b N, Y, s 1815 : p o Weedsport
Stone Ezra L. fariuer ; b N, Y, s 18)18 : p o AVeedsport
Smitli Alanson, fai-nier; b Conn, h 1816 ; p o Weedsport
Thompson Preston, farmer ; b N. Y. s 1823 ; p o Weedsport
Thompson Melvin, farmer and ex-assessor ; b N. Y, s 1870 ;
p o Cato
Van Deren L. AV. res Meridian; farmer aud supervisor ; b N.
Y. s 1833 : p o Meridian
Van Doren Isaac L, fariner ; b N, Y, s 1832 ; p o Meridian
Vaun T, A. fariuer ; b N. Y. s 1810; p o Meridian
Vanorstrand E. farmer ; b N, Y. s 1838 ; p o Meridian
Wilson Horace, res Meridian, harness maker; b N, Y, s 1835 ;
p o Meridian
Wheeler C. C. refe Meridian, railroad contractor ; b N, Y. s
1837 ; p o Meridian
Webb L. L, farmer and teacher ; b Mass, s 1852 ; p o Jordan
White Edward, farmer ; b N. Y. s 1813 ; p o Meridian
Webster T, J. merchant ; b N, Y, s 1842 ; p o Gate

Wheeler A, G. res Cato, boot aud shoe dealer ; b N, Y, s
1845 ; p o Cato

MONTEZUMx\.

Blanchard Frank M, fanner ; b Wayne Co, May 21, 1852, b
1801 ; p o Montezuma
Buckingham WilUam, farmer, lot 54; b Cayuga Co, 1830;
p o Port Byron
Buckingham John D, fariuer, lot 54 ; b Cayuga Co. 1833 ;
p o Port Byron
Bell George AV, farmer, lot 91 ; b Cayuga Co. 1830 ; p o
Montezuma
Baldwin MitcheU, farmer; b New Jersey 1779, s 1810; died
in Aurelius, March, 1873
Baldwin Betsey, wife MitcheU Baldwin ; b Monroe Co, 1787;
died iu Aurelius 1826
Baldwin Jesse, lot 6, farmer, son of MitcheU Baldwin ; b
Aurelius 1817 ; p o Montezuma
Baldwin Maria, wife Jesse Baldwin ; b England 1831, B 1835 ;
man-ied 1861
Bush Robert H. fariner ; b Otsego Co, 1831; s 1840 ; p o
Montezuma
Ball Edgar, farmer; b Cayuga Co. 1827; p o Fostei-viUe
Bucklin C, A, Mrs, farmer ; b Cayuga Co, 1814 ; p o Monte
zuma
Bucklin B, I, S. Colonel, farmer: b Cayuga Co, 1811; p o
Montezuma
Curry WiUiain L, clerk ; b Cayuga Co, 1852 ; p o Monte
zuma
Damewood Henry, fariner; b Cayuga Co, 1813; p e Monte
zuma
Emerson AV, AV, fai-iner aud canal collector; b Cayuga Co.
18,-19; p o Montezuma
Emerson Hannah C, (Beach), married AV, AV, Emerson Sep
tember 2:!, 1870; b Cayuga Co, 1812
FilkiuB Simeon, farmer, lot 59; b Cayuga Co, 1838; p o
Port Byron
Gilmore Mrs. Ann, farmer; b A^ermont, 1798, s 1806; po
Montezuma
Gutchess Jacob, farmer ; b Chenango Co. 1819, s 1822 ; p o
Montezuma ; first settled in Conquest
Gutchess Ellen Buckingham, wife of Jacob Gutchess, mar
ried in 1862 ; b Calhoun Co , Mich, 1844, s 1861 ; p
o Montezuma
Glasgow Smith B, lots 81-91 ; b Auburn, 1843, settled in
Montezuma, 1869 ; p o Montezuma
Jetty John, farmer ; b Montreal, 1840, s 1866 ; p o Pert
Byron
Jetty Mary (Nye, ) niamed Johu Jetty, 1865; b Montezuma,
1841
Mack Horatio, druggist and postmaster ; b Cayuga Co. July
1st, 1844 ; p o Montezuma
Mack Sophia F, married Horatio Mack, Decsinbor 18tli, 1867;
b AVayne Co. S,ipt, 2i;tli, 1810, s 1846
McLoud .Joseph H, farmar, mfr., lumber and cider; b Cayu
ga Co. s 1815 ; p o Montezuma
McLoud Mrs. Mary Frances, wife of J. H. McLoud ; b Sa
vannah, -Wayne Co, b 1860 ; p o Montezuma
McArthur AVm, L, farmer ; b Auburn 24th, 1841 ; p o Mon
tezuma
McArthur Eveline (Arnold), married Wm. L, McArthur, Dec.
29tli, 1870 : b in AureUus
MuLoiuI J, .J, luarchiiut; b Cayuga Co, 1842; p o Moute-
zuiiia
M:;Loud Josephine (Ross), married J. J, McLoud, May 27th,
1869 ; b Philadelphia
Mills John W, farnisr; b Cayuga Co, 1830; p o Montezuma
Nye James D, farmer; b Cayuga Co. Dec, 5th, 1830; p o
Port Byron . » —^
Pease Silas H farmer ; b Cayuga Co. 1841 ; p o Montezuma
Pease Addison, weaver ; p o Montezuma '-
Ross John, farm3r; b Cayuga Co, 1840; p o Montezuma
Ransom Robert. farui3r ; b Jefferson Co. 1821, s 184'l ; ^p b
Montezuma '
Stahlnecker Johu, Jr. ; b, Montezuma, 1866 ; p o Monte
zuma
Sherman James L, msrchant; b Cayuga Co. 1851; p o Mon
tezuma

xu

HISTORY OF CAYUGA COUNTY.

Townsend Robert L, farmer, lot 20; b Washington Co. s
1833; p o Fosterville
Torrey Frank, fanner; bNtwLttacon, Columbia Co. 1823, s
1824; p e Montezuma
Torrey Fanny A. (Gilmore), married Frank Torrey Sept.
1851 ; b (jayuga Co. 1831
Ti-aver Charles, fanner; b Dutchess Co, March 10th, 1853, s
1807; po Montezuma
Traver Myra E. (Tyler), inan-icd Charles Traver Dec. Cth,
1870; b Cayuga Co. Dec, 24th, 1857
Weston Charles C, farmer; b, Cayuga, 1840; p o Monte
zuma
Weston Joseph, farmer, lot 91; b Oneida Co, sl812; po
Montezuma
Weston Alonzo J. farmer, lot 80 ; b Cayuga Co. 1 850 ; p o
Montezuma
AViUiams Ehjah; b Dutchess Co. Sept, 25th, 1793, died 1873,
AVilliams Betsey (Filkins) ; b Rensselaer Co. Feb 0th, 179.5,
widow Ehjah Filkins ; p o Montezuma
AViUiams Lizzie; b Caynga Co. 1835; p o Montezuma
AVeston AVaUace, farmer; b Cayuga Co, Feb, 15th, 1831; po
Montezuma
Weston Anna M. man-ied AVallace AVeston April 17th, 1864;
b January 17th, 1839
MENTZ
Armstrong Abner A. farmer; b Newburg, N, Y, s 1829 ; p o
Port Byron
Bennett Clark F. fariner and dealer in agricultural imple
ments; b Cayuga Co. 1816 ; p o I'ort Byron
Bennetts, K. farmer ; b Oneida Co. 1819, s '67; p o Port
By ion
Barrus John AV, postmaster and dealer in boots and shoes ; b
Onondaga Co. s 1853 ; p o Port Byron
Buck Daniel D. ex-theriff, &c. ; b in Mentz 1805; p o Port
Byron
Baxter Henry B. banker ; s 1876 ; p o Port Byron
Bachmann Franz, lot 52, farmer; b Geimany, s 1863 ; p o
Port Byron
Converse Howell B, lawyer and Member ef Assembly 1878 ;
b Mentz 1838 ; p e Port Byron
Dickinson Ethan A. farmer ; b Cayuga Co, ; p o Port Byron
Dixon Edwin S. farmer ; b Cayuga Co, 1822 ; p o Port Byron
Dixon Samantha J, wife E. S. D. ; b Cato 1833 ; p e Port
, Byron
Dixon T, Fayette, miller and President of the A^Uage of Port
Byion ; b Cayuga Co. 1842 ; p o Port Byron
Dixon John C. father T. F. D. retired ; b Cayuga Co. 1812;
p o Pert Byron
Dixon Phoebe TiUen, mother T. F. D. b New Paltz, N. Y.
1800
Dougherty Henry A. nianufr. tight barrels ; b Mentz, 1843 ;
p o Port Byron
Erity Edward B, farmer, dealer iu baled hay, straw and
grain and agi'ieultural implements ; b Cayuga Co.
1827; p o Port Byron
EUery AVm. p o Port Byron
Fowler Charles R. miller ; AVayne Co. s 1877 ; p o Port Byron
Fyler Silas B. res Howlands Island, farmer; b Madison Co.
1835, B 1870 ; p o 10 Church St, Syracuse
Gutchess Stephen, fai-nier ; b Chenango Co, b 1826 ; p o Pert
Byron
Griggs Charles P. lots 50 and 03, fanner; b ToUand, Conn.
1831, s '54 ; p o Port Byron
Hayden S.; b Cayuga Co. 1838; ched March 14th, 1878;
woolen manufacturer
Hayden Mrs. L. T,; b Cayuga Co, 1837 ; p o Port Byron
Howard J, R. (firm of J, R. & R. M, Howard) proprietors
of the Howard House ; b Sherburne, Chenango Co.
s 1868 ; p o Port Byron
Howard R. M. (firm of J. R, & R, M, Howard) ; b Sherburne,
Chenango Co. s 1868 ; p o Port Byron
Hoffmam AViUiam S. physician; b Ulster Co, s 1828; p o
Pert Byron
Hayden Ezra B, woolen manufacturer ; b Aubum 1822 ; p o
Pert Byron «
Howland Horace V, lawyer; b Providence, R. I, s 1849; p
o Port Byron
Heughtaling Augustus, farmer; b Kingston," -N, Y, 1831, s
'40 ; p o Port Byron

Hayden John, fniit dealer; b Caynga Co.; p o Port Byron
Hayden Charles ; p e Port Byron
Johnson Charles E, editor Port Byron Ctironiele ; b Cayuga
Co.; p e Port Byron
Kellogg Dwight M. proprietor livei-y ; b Cayuga Co.; p o
Port Byron
Kelly Charles, insurance agent ; b Seneca Co. s 1800 ; p o
Port Byron
Kelly Seneca, agent N. Y. C, &H, R. R. R, Co at Pert Byron;
b Seneca Co. 1841, « 'CO ; p o Port Byron
Latham G, AV. banker, b AVashington Co, s 1840; p o Port
Byron
Lobdell G. R, res Toronto, P. Q. marl dealer, p o Port
Byron
Lewis Octavius V. retired, b Michigan, s 1842 ; p e Port
Byron
McCullen Thomas, farmer, b Ireland, 8 1849; p o Port
Byron
Manroe Milton, farmer; b Cayuga Co. s 1840; p o Port
Byron
Mintline Mary Anu, lot 46 ; b Cayuga Co. 1831 ; p o Port
Byron
Nicholson S, M, retired ; b Cayuga Co, p o Port Byron
Pratt John S, b Dutchess Co. died April 0th 1870
Pratt Almira L. widow John S, Pratt ; b Chenango Co. 8 1804;
p 0 Pert Byron ; children are Mrs Ella Pratt, Wilhs
and Miss Sarah J. Pratt
Perkins George AV,.forwarchng and canal transportation; b
AVayne Co. s 1824 ; p o Port Byron
Paddock Charles B. fariner ; b Cayuga Co. 1836 ; p o Port
Byron
Roberts George A', farmer; b England, s 1869; p o Port
Byron
Rumsey Curtis C. p o Pert Byron
Stevenson Theodore T. farmer ; b Cayuga Co, 1829 ; p o
Port Byron
Stevenson Sarah C. wife T. T. S. b Cayuga Co. 1827 ; p o
Port Byron
Strang AVm. lot 49 ; farmer and stock dealer ; b Dutchess Co.
1826, s 1853 ; p o Port Byron
Tryon Aaron D, farmer and speculator ; b Greene Co. 6 1835;
p o Port Byron
Takel Robert, let 82, farmer ; b Ireland, s 1851 ; p o Pert
Byron
Takel Lucy Paddock, wife R. Takel ; b Cayuga Co. 1831 ;
daughters of Mrs. Takel are Ida and Nanie Lock-
weed ; b Califoi-nia, s 1859
Traphagen Heni^ E, miUer ; b Seneca Co. 1851, s 1872 ; p o
Port Byron
AVhite James V. supervisor, s 1805 ; p 6 Port Byron
AVeatherwax John F, farmer, b AVayne Co. s 1861 ; p e Port
Byron
AA'ilson John, farmer, b Cayuga Co, 1834 ; p o Port Byron
AVilson Delia Young, wife John AVilson ; Id Cayuga Co. 1833
BRUTUS.
Brackett Henry A. let 90, fanner and poormaster ; b Dela
ware Co. January, 1810, s '42; p o AVeedsport
Brackett Adaline, (Brown) 1st wife ef H. A. Brackett ; b
Truxten, N. Y. 1812, s 1842 ; died 1853
Brackett Liiceha J. (Austin) 2d wife of H. A. Brackett; b
Marcellus, Onondaga Co. 1822, s '53
Bibbens Samuel, retired farmer ; b Ballston Springs, Sara
toga Co. 1801, B '10 ; p o AVeedsport ,
Bentley Thomas S. farmer, formerly merchant ; b Cato 1814 ;
p o AVeedsport
Bentley Jerusha AV. (Healy) wife of T. S, Bentley ; b Sen
nett 1820 ; p o AVeedsport
Bibbens John AV, farmer; b Cayuga Co. 1824; p e AVeeds
port
Bibbens Lydia Ann, (Sheldon) wife of J. AV. Bibbens ; b Cay
uga Co. 1825
Billey AV, E, formerly foreman central shops N. Y. C. & H.
R, R. R. Co. at Aubum, now retired ; b Gloucester
shire, England 1813, s '33 ; p o Weedsport
Billey Sarah, (Watson) wife of AV. E. BiUey ; b Yorkshire
England 1816, s '27 '
Brown Ira D. physician and editor of the Cayiiga Chief ¦ b
Oneida Co. s 1805 ; p o AVefedspert

HISTORY OF CAYUGA COUNTY.

xui

Beach H. C, banker, famier and produce dealer ; b Cavuea
Co. 1831: po AVeedsport
Brewster Hem-y D, brewer, president vUlage AVeedsport - b
Newport, R, I, 1842, e '76 ; p o AVeedsport
Baird Mrs, D. M, lot 64 ; p o AVeedsport
Babcock Ethan, lot 68, fariner, son of J, and N, Babcock ;
b Bratus 1824 ; p o Jordan
Babcock Maria A, wife of E. Babcock, daughter of James
and Maria Lankton ; b Onondaga Co, 1831, s '51
Babcock Dora Rude, daughter of E, Babcock : b Bratus
18.53
Clarke OUver O. sawyer and thresher ; b Pittsfield, Mass,
1810, s '28 ; p o AVeedsport
Clarice Susan E. (AVellington) wife of 0, 0. Clarite ; b 1817
Clarke .Jarius M. teamster; b Brutus 1844: p o AVeedsport
CoweU Samuel, retired farmer; b Greene Co. N. Y, 1799, s
1814 ; p o Weedsport
CoweU Lydia, (JeweU) 1st wife of Samuel CoweU ; b Sara
toga Co. 1804 ; died 1859
CoweU Armina, (Haley) present wife of Samuel CoweU ; b
AVashington Co. 1810, s '20
Court Daniel J, manufacturer i-ubber bucket chain pumps ; b
Cato 1831 ; p o AVeedsport
Cottle Stephen C. lots 78 and 79. farmer, son of Charles and
Martha Cottle ; b Sommersetshire, England 1847, s
'71 : p o Sennett
Cottle Christina, wife of S. C. Cottle, daughter of Horace
and Margaret SunderUn ; b Sennett 1849 ; p o Sen
nett
Cottle Raymond S. son of S. C. and Christina Cottle : b Bra
tus April 17th, 1877
Caldwell Mrs, N. D, ; p e AVeedsport
EUiott Chester M, attorney and counselor at law; b Milford,
Otsego Co. 1853, s '74 ; p o AVeedsport
Faatz Charles, lot 77, farmer; b Pike Co. Pa, 1808, s De
cember 1st, '37 ; p o AVeedsport
Faatz Helen, (Hintz) iBt wife of Charles Faatz ; b Pike Co.
Pa. 1808, s '37 ; died 1847
Faatz Martha J. (Rotch) 2d wife of Charles Faatz ; b Cay
uga Co. 1825
Faatz AViUiam, butcher and farmer; b Philadelphia, Pa,
1818, s '27 ; died August 31st, 1873
Faatz Louisa T, (Taylor) widow of Wm. Faatz ; b Cayuga
Co, 1825 ; p o AVeedsport
French George B, lot 80, farmer ; b Bratus ; p o Weedsport
French James, let 80, farmer ; b Bmtus 1816 ; p o AVeeds
port
Fort Gai-rett ; p o Auburn
Gage John A. (firm of Luce & Gage) proprietor Congress
Hall; b Wayne Co. 1835, s '70; p e AVeedsport
Hoyt Isaac G. farmer; b Chenango county, 1814; s 1845 ;
p o Weedsport
Hoyt Phoebe, (Forman,) wife ef Isaac G. Hoyt; b Albany
county, 1819; s 1845
Horan Charles H. pastor St. Joseph's church ; b Galway,
Ireland, 1840; 8 1875; p o Weedsport
Hewitt Almon R. pastor Presbyterian church ; b Saratoga
coimty, 1833 ; s 1866 ; p o AVeedsport
Hunter John, blacksmith and retired farmer ; b Tyrone,
Ireland, 1808; came to America 1827; s 1829 ; po
AVeedsport
Hunter Anna Jane, (Emerson,) 1st wife John Hunter; b
Cayuga county, 1810; died April 27th, 1804
Hunter Maria, (Jones, ) present wife John Htinter; b Essex
county, 1822; sl826 •
Havens Edmund A', real estate dealer ; b AVeedsport, 1834 ;
p o Weedsport
Henderson Wm. banker and produce dealer ; b Cayuga coun
ty, 1812 ; p o Weedsport
Henderson Charlotte A. (Avery,) wife of AVm. Hendei-sen
Howe David C, lot 86, farmer and propr cider miU ; b Bru
tus, 1821 ; p o Weedsport
Howe Mary C. wife of D. C. Howe; b England; s 1836
Howe E. C. — Adelbert J. — Edna N... (deceased)— Edgar D.—
WUbur M. children ef D, C. and Mary C. Howe
Hardy Leonard F. manuf r of bent-weed and spokes, super
visor town of Briitus ; b Vt. b 1857; p o Weedsport
Hamilton Levi T. lot 75, farmer ; b Brutus ; p o Weedsport
Harris George, , lot 67, farmer; son of Lumen and Maria
Harris; b Victory, 1837; p o Weedsport
Han-is Sophia M. wife of G. Harris, bVt. 1842 ; s 1865; p o
Weedsport

HiU Mix-on H. lot 99, farmer ; sou of Levi and Susan E. HiU ;
b Sennett, 1819 : p e Sennett
HiU Philena, wife of M, H. HiU, daughter of Samuel and
Philena Crossman; b Onondaga county, s„1819;
p o Sennett
Irving .John, hotel keeper.- Cold Spring Pump; b Sheldon,
Aa 1832; sl867; p o -Jordan
Irving Ellen, wife of John Irving; b Cayuga county, April
11th, 1841
Irving George, son of Johu and EUen Irving; b Cayuga Co.
1800
Luce George A. (firm Luce & Gage,) proprietor Congress
HaU; b Auburn 1844; p o Weedsport
Little Ludo. B, lawyer; b Lyman, N. H., 1837, 8 1865; p o
AVeedsport
Little Mary E., M, D,, physician and surgeon; bMassawippi,
Pi-ov, Quebec, 1843, s 1865; p e AVeedsport
Legg David, lot 64, farmer; b Bnitus 1821; p o Weedsport
LaDue Han-ison L. miUer; b Cato 1853; p o AVeedsport
LaDue Han-ison, miUer and fanner; b Albany 1822, s 1827;
p o AVeedsport
Luce & Gage : p o AVeedsport
McCarty Hiram, physician; b Madison Co. 1806,8 1823; p o
AVeedsport
Martin Philip, lot 62, fariner aud Methodist clergj'man ; b
Montezuma, s 1820; p o AVeedsport
Martin Catharine Baird, wife P. Martin; b AVelcott, N. Y.,
1827, s 1835: p o AVeedsport
Mapes James AV. lot 52, farmer; b Orange Co. 1826, s 1833;
p o AVeedsport
Mapes Sarah King, wife J. AV. Mapes; b Orange Co. 1826, s
1865; p o AVeedsport
Meech George B. lot 88, farmer; b Bratus 1817; p o Jordan
Meech Mary A. wife G, B, Meech, daughter of Rice and Amy
Combs; b Oneida Co,, s 1820
Meech Aaron P, lot 67, farmer; b Bratus 1830; p o Jordan
Meech Mahala M, second wife A. P. Meech, daughter of John
and Eleanor Phippin ; b Onondaga Co. s 1841
Meech Mai-j' A, (Rude,) first wife Aai-on P. Meech; b Brutus
1829
Meech Ida E, M, Stocking, resides in .Jordan, daughter of A.
P. andM A. Meech ; b Bratus 1857
Meech DeAVitt C. lot 88, fai-mer; b Bratus 1822; p o Jordan.
Meech Henry B, lot 78, farmer; b Bratus 1829; p o Weeds-
port
Nash George R, &, Co, pubUshers Weedsport Sentinel; p o
AVeedsport
Passage George, retired farmer; b Herkimer Co. Jan. 1st,,
1813, s 1816 ; p o AVeedsport
Passage Mary (Ramsey, ) wife George Passage ; b Yorkshire,.
England, 1824, s 1828
Paul S, S. proprietor marble works ; b Ontario Co. s 1843 ;.
p 0 AVeedsport
Pratt D, lot 51, farmer; p o AVeedsport
Pierce AVilliam G. lot 79, farmer; b New Bedford, Mass.^
1811, s 1818; po AVeedsport
Pierce Ezra Clark, lot 79, farmer ; b Bmtus 1851 ; p o Weeds-
port \
Putnam Robert, lot 00, farmer, son of Lewis and Nancy Put
nam ; b AVashington Co. 1805 ; p e Weedsport
Putnam Annis, first wife R. Putnam, daughter of John and
Amarilla St, John ; s about 1804
Putnam EUza, second wife R, Putnam, daughter of Levi and
Lydia Goodelle : b AVashington Co., s 1838
Putnam AbigaU, present wife R, Putnam, and daughter of
Martin and Sarah GaUant; b Onondaga Co., s 1852
Putnam Martha, Jamei!), (deceased,) Johu, Lucetta, and Ar
thur, chUdi-en of R, Putnam
Putnam Mrs. Jas. E, p o AVeedsport
Rowley Charles, farmer, formerly district trustee and poor-
master ; b Orange Co. 1804, s 1832 ; p o Jordan
Rowley Ehzabeth (Stanton.) first wife Charles Rowley b
Orange Co. 1802, s 1832 ; died July, 1834 '
Rowley Emily (Smith,) second wife Charles Rowley; b
. Tioga Co. 1817 ; died May 13th, 1857 ; had 11 chil
dren, 6 boys and 0 girls, aU hving but Nelson, (died
1866), Mai-y C, (died June, 1842,) and Mary AUce,
(lUed Augvist 20th, 1842,)
Rude Milton, loj^. Gf and 68, farmer and local preacher M. E.
church'; b Bratus 1821 ; p o Weedsport
Rude Antoinette, wife of M. Rude; b Dutchess Co., s 1823

XIV

HISTORY OF CAYUGA COUNTY.

Rotch Myron C. farmer ; p o Weedsport
Rude Jason, postmaster; b Brutus 1808; p o AVeedsport
.Stevens Amos B. farmer; b AVeedsport 1810 ; died December
12, 1876
Stevens Sarah A. (Lamphere,) widow A, B, Stevens; b Brutus
1827 ; p o AVeedsport ; married January 28, 1846 ;
has 5 children, boys, all living
.Servis Benj. Q. lot 88, farmer; b Auburn 1834 ; p e Weeds-
port
Servis Snsau (Remington,) wife B. ('i, Servis ; b Stanford,
Dutchess Co. 1830, s 1865 ; has one child, a son, born
1861
Skelton Sylvester D, carpenter, joiner and builder ; b England
1811, s 1830 ; p o AVeedsport
Skelton Rachel (Babcock,) wife S. D. Skelton ; b Onondaga
Co 1810, s J832
Streeter Albert E, dealer in coal and wood ; b Cayuga Co.
18.50 ; p o AVeedsport
Streeter R. A'iola (Hunter,) wife A, E. Streeter; b Conquest
1848
Sturge AViUard, proprietor Willard House ; b Cayuga Co.
1812; po AVeedsport
Shm-tleff A. AV, affprney and counselor at law ; b Canada, s
1850 ; p o AVeedsport
Sprague Henry, lot 08, %ymer, sou of Samuel and Phoebe
Sprague; b Onondaga Co,, s 1804; p o AVeedsport
Sprague Han-iet J. wife of H. Sprague ; l3 Brutus 1842 ;
Fred, Meach and George H. childr-en of H, and H.
J. Sprague
Streeter Levi H. lot 62, farmer, son of Lewis and Betsey
Streeter; b Auburn 1827 ; p o Weedsport
Streeter Anna E. wife of L, H. Streeter, daughter of Gideon
and Caroline Horton ; b Cayuga Co. 1838 ; p o
J AVeedsport
Streeter Ida M., EUa E,, (deceased,) Florrus L,, Anna F,,
and Edward J., children of L, H, and A. E, Streeter
Shelden John S. fariner ; b Brutus, 1816 ; p o AVeed,sport
Sheldon Ann K. deceased, wife of J. S. Sheldon ; b Scipio,
1820
Sheldon Wm.; p o Sennett
Turner Ebenezer AVright, cabinet maker and millwright ; b
Schoharie Co. 1803, s 1827 ; p o AVeedsport
Turner Nancy Bacon, -wife of E. AV, Turner ; b Cayuga Co.
1807
-Titus Jonathan, lot 86, fariner ; b Cato; 1818 ; p o AVeeds
port
Titus Han-iet, wife of J. Titus ; b Oswego, 1821
Titus Seymour, A. O. , and Hattie D. , childi-en of J. and Har.
riet Titus
Tan Wagner AVm. lot 55, farmer and building mover ; b Al
bany Co. 1821, s 1852 ; p o AVeedsport ; Methodist
and Republican
"Van Wagner Rebecca Hall, wife of AV. Van Wagner ; b
Cicero, Onondaga Co, 1822, s 1862. Has six chil
dren, 3 boys, 3 girls ; 2 girls and 1 boy living
Ward Hersohel C. fanner ; b Brutus, 1844 ; p o Weedsport
Ward Aureha M. LaDue, wife of H, C. AVard ; b Cato, 1853,
Has 2 children ; 1 girl, 1 boy
Wright Sylvester, farmer ; b Cayuga Co, 1827; p o AVeeds
port
Wright Han-iet N. (Sheldon), wife of S. AVright; )) Cayuga
Co. 1828; died May 2d, 1878
AVatson Wm. cabinet-maker, undertaker, and J, P,; boi-n in
EngUind, 1810, s 1827 ; p o AVeedsport
"Weyant George H, let 62, farmer; b Bratus, 1844; p o
Weedsport
"Weyant Phebe MiUis, wife of G, H. AVeyant ; b Cato, 1850
TVeyant Bert J. son of G. AV. AVeyant ; b Ira, 1870
WUson Clarence H lot 08, famier, sou of G, S, and R. Wil
son ; b Brutus, 1844 ; p o AVeedsport
Wilsou'^Augusta A. wife ef C. H, Wilson, and daughter of
M. and A. Rude ; b Brutus, 1846
AVUson Hattie A,, and Mary E., children of C. H. and A. A,
Wilson
Young Sylvester AV. lot 54, fanner, son of James and Han
nah Young ; b Brutup, 1830 ; p e AVeedsport
Young EUen, wife of S. AV. Young, and daughter ef Edward
and Jane Niffin ; b Genoa, 1842
Young Charles and Theodore, children of S. W. and Ellen
Young

OWASCO.
Algar Addison, farmer ; b N. Y. ; s 1829 ; p o Owasco
Alger Lucius, retired ; b N. Y.; s 1815 ; po Owasco
Bevier Matthew, physician and surgeon; b N. Y. ; s 1821 ;
p o Owasco
Brinkerhoff David, ex-assessor; b N, Y.; sl815; p o Au
burn
Bi-inkorliolV D. A, farnier; b N, Y,; H 1835; po Aubuiu
Buruett Geo, fai-mor; b N, Y,; H 1823 ; p o Aulmru
Balcom I, B, retired farmer ; b N. Y,; s 1805 ; p o Auburn
Boynton David H, vegetable gardener, b N, Y,; s 1821 ; p o
Auburn •
Chamberlain James, farmer; b Penn. s 1808; p o Owasco
Chamberlain J. N. fariner, assessor aud com missioner ; b
N. Y.; s 1822 ; p o Owasco
Devoe M, G, ex-supervisor, attorney and auctioneer ; b N. Y.
s 1803 ; p o Owasco
DeAVitt Bros, wagon makers, blacksmiths and carriage paint
ers ; b N, Y, s 1871 ; p o Owasco
Ely John, farmer ; b N. Y. s 1847 ; p o Auburn
Frye M. M, farmer; b N. H. s 1845 ; p o Aubum
Howland George AV, farmer ; b N. Y, s 1854 ; p o Owasco
Hunsiker Hoyt, M. D. physician and surgeon ; b N, Y. s
1812 ; p o Owasco
Meakar Ellis, merchant and post-master ; b N, Y. s 1835 ;
p o. Owasco
MiUer Lewis, deceased
Miller Mary A, widow, farmer ; b N, Y, s 1857 ; p o Auburn
MiUer Adam, farmer ; b N. Y. s 1809 ; 13 o Auburn
MiUer John, farmer ; b N, Y. s 1817 ; p o Auburn
Noyes, Samuel B, farmer ; b Conn, s 1802 ; p o Aubui-n
Parsell David, ex-town clerk, b N, Y, s 1809 ; p o Auburn
Perkins Hamilton, saw and grist-mill ; b N, Y, s 1837 ; p o
Owasco
Peacock AVm, farmer; b in England, s 1830; p o Owasco
Patee Eliphalet, deceased '
Patee Elizabeth Mrs, farmer ; b N, Y. 1802 ; p o Auburn
Reynolds Wm. Owasco Village Mills; b N. Y, s 1850; po
Owasco
Riby Robert, farmer ; b N. Y, s 1861 ; p o Auburn
Sealy George, farmer ; justice peace and ex-assessor ; b N, Y.
s 1827 ; p o Owasco
Sarr John, fanner and assessor ; b N. Y. s 1830 ; p o Owasco
Stoner John, fariner; b N. Y. sl824; p o Auburn
Tompkins David, retired merchant aud ex-supervisor ; b
N. Y. s 1836 ; p o Owasco
A'^anEtten Anthony, fariner and ex-assessor ; b N. Y. s 1819 ;
p o Auburn
A''anMiddlesworth P, Q. blacksmith ; b N. J, s 1826 ; p o
Auburn
A''anDuyn Mrs, Eleanor, widow, b N, Y, s 1827 ; p o Auburn
A''anEtten Levi, farmer and ex-assessor ; b N. Y, s 1807 ; p o
Aubm-n
VanEtten Thos, fariner ; b N. Y, s 1809 ; p o Auburn
AVelty Adam, farmer, assessor and justice of the peace ; b
N, Y. s 1811 ; p o Auburn
SENNETT.
Austin Sedgwick, res lot 31, farmer; b Owasco 1800; p o
Aubm-n
Bowen Spencer, farmer ; b Mas.sachusutt 1807 s 1811; po
Sennett
Berry Jabez, lot 49, farmer, \froolen manufacturer by trade ;
b England s 1810 ; p o Auburn
Brown Alfred T. caniage, wagon aud sleigh manufacturer ;
b Cayuga Co, 1862 ; p o Auburn, box 1129
Crossman Hiram P. res lot 9, fanner ; b Sennett 1820 ; p o
Sennett
Coburn Millard B, farmer and justice' of the peace ; b Sen
nett 1831 ; p o Sennett
Cook Lydia, wife of M, B, Coburn ; b Elbridge 1840, s '66 •
p o Sennett
Calhoun I. D. farmer ; b Sennett ; p o Weedsport
Cady Curtiss C. physician and farmer; b Sennett 1819 ; p o
Auburn
Fen-eU Joseph, farmer aud choice stock raiser ; b Elbridge
1827 ; p o Sennett
Fon-eU Jerusha M. Cook, wife ef Joseph Ferrell ; b ElbridM
1827 ; p o Sennett ''

HISTORY OF CAYUGA COUNTY.

XV

Glass Joseph, let 11, farmer; b Elbridge, N, Y, s 1825 ; p e
Sennett >
Gui-noo Robert E, lot ¦!:',, farmer; b Skaneateles, N, Y, 1824,
s '34 ; p o Skaneateles
Healy PhUo AV. res lot 8, farmer ; b Cayuga Co, 1824 ; p e
Sennett
Leonard B. C. res lot 31, farmer aud Burvej'or; b Cayuga
Co, 1823 ; p o Auburn
Lockwood Philo J. farmer ; b New Canaan, Conn. 1814, s
'14 ; p o Skaneateles
Lewis Benjamin J. lot 41, farmer ; b Oneida Co, 1823, s '40 ;
p o Aubum
Moreland Moses, res lot 32, farmer and millwright ; b Sara-
togo Co, 1800, s ,07 ; p o Mottville, Onondaga Co
Moreland Lewis, farmer and carpenter; b Auburu 1833;
p o Mottville
Moreland Harriet Daniels, wife of Lewis Moreland ; b Skane
ateles 1840, s 1850 ; p o MottviUe
Murphey Byron K, keeper Cayuga Co. poor-house ; b Locke
1840 ; p o Sennett
Mason Edwin H, lot 22, farmer ; b. Sennett 1826 ; p, o,
Sennett
PoweU Geo, E, fariner; b Queens Co, N. Y. 1817, s 1850;
p o Auburn
PhiUips Seneca, agent N. Y. C. & H. R, R, R, Co,; p o Sen
nett
Rhoades J, E, res lot 32, farmer ; b Sennett 1827 ; p o Skan
eateles
Remington Rufus M, lot 39, fariner ; b Connecticut 1818 ;
p e Auburn
Robinson James AV, let 40, farmer ; b Bratus 1810 ; p o Au
buru
Reily Peter, farmer ; b Ireland 1834, s '63 ; p o Sennett
Reily Amelia J. Phelps, wife of Peter Reily ; b Sennett 1833 ;
p o Sennett
Sunderlin E. AV. res lot 9, farmer ; b Sennett 1848 ; p o Sen
nett
Sanders A, J. res lot 29, farmer and ex-sheriff' ; b Aurelius
1832 ; p o Auburn
Shelden AVm, lets 92 and 100, farmer ; b Bratus 1823 ; p o
Sennett
Sheldon Eleanor P. wife of AVm. Sheldon, daughter of Lewis
and PoUy Bun-itt ; b Conn, s 1823
Smith Charles, farmer and choice stock raiser ; b Owasco
1826 ; p o Sennett
Smith Lydia F, Cuddeback, late wife of Charles Smith ; died
.July 26th, 1866
Smith Flora Farmer, 2d wife of Charles Smith; b Bratus
1846 ; p o Sennett
Sheldon Euos. farmer ; b Sennett 1800 ; p o Sennett
Shelters Hem-y M. lots 49 and 50, farmer ; b Auburu 1817 ;
p o Auburu
Shear John B. lot 40, farmer; b Schoharie Co, 1847, s '47;
p o Auburu
Smith AVm. A, lot 47, fariner; b Mentz 1828; p o Auburn
Tanner Cyras S, res lot 99, fariuer ; b Coun. 1803, s 1804 ;
p e Sennett
Taylor Alfred, farmer ; b Somersetshire, England, s 1852 ;
p o Sennett
Waldron Jacob N. farmer and supervisor ; b Onondaga Co,
1827, s 1838 ; p. o Sennett
Warn George, res lot 9, farmer ; b Sennett 1822 ; p o Sen
nett
Warn Lewis M, res lot 11, farmer ; b Sennett 1839 : p o Sen
nett
Waldron Edward H. fanner ; b Sennett 1839 ; p o Sennett
Waldfon Frances E. (Sheldon), wife of E. H, AV^aUhon ; b
Sennett 1848 ; p o Sennett
Webster F. Emerson, lots 10 and 100, farmer ; b Sennett
1851 ; p o Sennett
AVebber AVilliam, lot 19, fariner and carpenter and joiner ; b
England 1809, s 1835 ; p o Sennett
Waterhouse AVUson, farmer ; b Yorkshire, England, 1830, s
1850 ; p o Skaneateles
THROOP.
Atwater John S. rcB lot 4, farmer ; b Throop, s 1848 ; p o
Throopsville
Atwater Alice J. wife of John S. Atwater ; b Schenectady
1842, s '50 ; p o Throopsville

Atwater Betsey L. farmer : p e ThroopaviUe
Bell John, farmer ; p o ThroepsviUe.
Benham W. A, fariuer aud miller; p o ThroepsviUe
Cole Peter, res lot 2, fariner ; b Esopus, Ulster Co, 1800, s '37 ;
p 0 ThroopsviUe
Cole Lavina, wife of Peter Cole ; b Esopus, Ulster Co. 1811,
man-ied 1825, s '37.
Castner Richard, res lot 0, retired farmer ; b Ovid, N, Y,
1815, s '19 ; p o Auburn
Castner Achsah, wife of Richard Castner, daughter of C.
Treat; b Throop 1818
Eckert S. P, farmer ; p o Throopsville
Frisbie Charles, res lot 15, farmer ; b Burlington, Hartford
Co, Conn, 1832, s '35 ; p o Throopsville
Frisbie EUen C. wife of Charies Frisbie ; b Elbridge, N. Y.
18138, married 1854, s '69
Gilmore John, farmer ; p o Auburn
Griffin Minerva, farmer ; p o Port Bj'i-on
Hadden Joseph, res lot 98, retired fariuer ; b Hunter, Greene
Co, 1797, s 1813; p o Port Byron
Hadden Julia Treat, wife of Joseph Hadden ; b Sharon, Vt,
1790, s '98 ; died September 20, 1875
Hadden J, Egbert, res lot 96, farmer ; b Throop 1827, son of
Jo.Heph aud Julia Treat Hadden ; supervisor in 1876,
'0 and '7 : p o Port B3'rou
Hadden Amanda Barnes, wife ef J, E. Hadden ; b Throop
1830
Harlow S, B, farmer; p o Throopsville-
Horton D, M, farmer : p o Throopsville
Hosf oi-d Morton, farmer ; p o ThroopsviUe
Hadden Obediah, farmer, p 6 Auburu, box 1075
Ingalls Otis, farmer ; p o ThroopsviUe
Lent Gideon, res lot 2, fariner aud blacksmith; b Charles
ton, Montgomery Oo, 1802, and learned trade there,
came to Throop iu 1821 ; man-ied in 1826 ; iu Cato
from 1822 to '27 ; Lysander in 1847 ; farmer and
blacksmith iu A''ictory thirty years ; p o ThroopsviUe
Lont Tennett, wife of Gideon Lont ; b Bethlehem, Albany
Co. 1806, s '14
Macy Hem-y S. farmer aud justice peace for thirty years ; b
Columbia Co, s 183() ; p o Port Byron
Manrow MUo P, b Throop 1816, died November 1875
Manrow Betsey Adams, res lot 17, widow of M, P, Manrow;
b Pittsfield, Otsego Co, 1812, s '34 ; p o Auburn
Manrow Younglove, b Sharon, Conn. 1767, s 1802 ; took up
400 acres of laud : died 1831
Mfiurow Myron C, res let 0, farmer ; b Throop 1811 ; lives
on, the lot taken up by his father, Younglove Man-
row, of whom he is the only sui-viving child ; p o
Auburn
Manrow Laura, wife of M. C. Slanrow, daughter • of Joshua
Doane ; b Ovid, Seneca Co, 1813, s '17
Manrow Y^ounglove, .Jr. ; b Litchfield Co. (jonn. 1792, s 1802 ;
died August 17, 1865
Manrow Roxsena, widow of A-'ounglove Manrow, Jr., res lot
10 ; b Cheshire Co, N. H. 1808, s '16 ; p o Auburu,
box 2
Manrow Perry, res lot 10, market gardener ; b Throop 1848 ;
p o Auburn, box 2
Manrow Maggie, wife ef Pen-y Manrow ; b Montezuma 1848
Manro David, farmer ; p o ThroopsviUe
Neyhart D. mUler ; p o Throopsville
Ostiorn Byron E, physician ; p o ThroopsviUe
Remington Irvui D, res lot 6, farmer; b Sennett, s 1823;
p o Auburn, box 1216
Remington Charlotte S, wife of I. D, Remington ; born in
Throop on the farm now occupied by her husbaud
iu 1821
Post John H, fariner ; p o ThroepsviUe
Servis J, M; farmer ; p e Auburn
Treat Almon H, fariner ; p o ThroopsviUe
Vorce G, E, farmer ; p o Port Byron
AVethey Chauncey J, res lot 94, farmer and supervisor ; b
Throop, s 1834 ; p o Port Byron
Wethey Mary J, wife of C. J. AVethey : b Mentz, s 1839
AVethey Elias, b AVashington Co, 1790, s '98 ; died 1804
Webster Charles I, ; b N, H, 1787, s in Aurelius 1800; died
September, 1876
Webster Jerome, res lot 26, farmer ; b AureUus, s 1835 ; p o
ThroopsviUe

XVI

HISTORY OF CAYUGA COUNTY.

AVebster George, res lot 25, farmer; b Aurelius, s 1836; p o
ThroepsviUe
AVithereU Samuel M. res lot 5, farmer ; b Butler, AVayne Co.
s 1810 ; p o Auburu, box 1076
AVithereU Puella, wife of S, M. AVithereU, daughter of David
and Hannah Rumsey ; b Cicero, N, Y, lSo8, r '15
AVebster H, C. Mrs. farmer ; p o ThroopsviUe
SPRINGPORT.
Alien Ethan, farmer ; p o Union Springs
Anthony G. AV. meat market ; p o Union Springs
Anthony Gaylord, miller ; p o Union Springs
Ai-nold James, retired farmer ; p o Union Springs
Branch John S. res lots 101 and 102, farmer of 100 acres ;
b Cayuga Co, 1810 ; p e Union Springs
Baker AUen J. res lot 74, farmer, 100 acres ; b Cayuga Co.
1848; p o Aurelius Station
Backus C. T. Jr., res lot 70, farmer, 153 acres ; b Livingston
Co. s 1850 ;' p o Union Springs
Ban-inger E. res lot 76, farmer. 362 acres ; b Columbia Co, s
1824 ; p o Union Springs
Burlew J. B Uveryuian ; p e Union Springs
Culver J, A. res lot S3, farmer, 91 acres, and blacksmith ; b
AVashington Co, s 1808 ; p o Union Springs
Coe Aaron C, res let 94, farmer, 80 acres ; b Cayuga Co.
1836 ; p o Cayuga
Champney Henry C. res mine reservation, farmer 65 acres ;
b Oneida Co, s 1811 ; p o Cayuga
Clark 0. L. farmer ; p e Union Springs
Case James, fariner ; p o Union Springs
Clark A. M., Sec'y N. Y. C. Ins, Co,; p e Union Springs
Covn-tney Bros, proprietors of planing mill ; p o Bnion
Springs
Davis Charles, res lot 108, farmer, 100 acres, and justice of
the peace ; b Cayuga Co, 1832 ; p o Union Springs
Davis J. A ; p o Aurelius Station
Elwood C, P. res lots 80 and 81, farmer, 192 acres; b Caynga
Co. 1822 ; p o Aurelius
Fitch James, res lots 71, 79 and 81, fanner, 208 acres, mfr,
of gypsum ; b New Jersey, s 1812 ; p o Union
Springs
FairchUd F. R. ; p o Aubum
Goodrich Albert H. res lot 81, farmer, and breeder of short-
hem cattle and Berkshire swine ; b Cayuga Co, 1848 ;
p o Aubum, box 240
Hobbs James, Jr. res lot 88, farmer, 128 acres ; b AVashing
ton Co., Vt, s 1832 ; p o Union Springs
Haley Amos M. Jr., res lot 88. farmer, 44 acres, commis
sioner of highways ; b Cayuga Co, 1836 ; p o Union
Springs
Hammond Jaines L. caii3enter and supei-visor ; b Cayuga
Co. 1834; p o Union Springs
Hibbard George AV. res lot 78, merchant at Hill's Branch,
aud gypsum manufacturer; b N. Y. City, s 1800;
p o HiUs Bi-anch
Hoff James B. editor and proprietor TJnion Springs Adver-
tisei' ; p o Union Springs
Hendrick F, H. Rev,; p e Union Springs
Keet AVm. J. res lot 91, blacksmith; b Seneca Co, sl855;
p o Union Springs
Kerr George W. res lot 81, farmer 175 acres, b Cayuga Co,
1832 ; p o Aurelius
Lowry James S. gentleman and broker, owns farm of 200
acres on lots 87 and 88; b Caytiga Co, 1840 ; p o
Union Springs
LaRowe J. M. res lot 84, and mine reservation, fanner 180
acres, b Cayuga Co, 1845 ; p o Union Springs
LaRue D. M. farmer ; p o. Union Springs
Myers John, res mine reservation, farmer 167 acres, b Cay
uga Co. 1829 ; p o, Aurelius
Myers George M. res lot 80, fanner 85 acres, b Cayuga Co,
1830 ; p 0 Union Springs
Mersereau T. J. p o Union Springs
O'Hara Henry C. res let 90, fariner 130 acres, b Cayuga Co,
1834 ; po Cayuga
O'Hara Fred, res lot 90, famier ; son of H, C, O'Hara, b
Cayuga Co. 1857 ; p e. Cayuga
Shank George L. res let 94, telegraph operator ; b Cayuga
Co. 1864 .- p o Cayuga

Schenck AVm, G, res lot 105, farmer, 142 acres; b Cayuga
Co, 1826 ; p o Cayuga
Shank Jotham AV. res lot 71, farmer and justice of the peace ;
b Cayuga Co. 1825 ; p o Aurelius Station
Spangler Henry, Mine Reservation, farmer, 164 acres ; b
Cayuga Co, 1818 ; p o Fleming
Schenck James A, res lot 80, farmer, 86 acres ; b Cayuga Co.
1851 ; p 0 Union Springs
Shank Charles F, res lot 72, carpenter; b Cayuga Co, 1842;
p o Hill's ]3iaucli
Spencer J, 0, founder and machinist ; p o Union Springs
Shoemaker M,; p o Union Springs
Tompkins Phebe S, res let 99, farmer, 34 acres ; b Cayugft.
Co, 1818; p o Cayuga
Van Sickle AV, H, farmer ; p e Union Springs
AValdron Joseph, res lot 91, farmer, 110 acres ; b Ontario Co.
s 1836 ; p o Union Springs
AVeed R, R. res lot 88, farmer, 128 acres ; Captain ef volun-
unteer company in the war ef the Rebellion ; b Liv
ingston Co. B 1806 ; p o Union Springs
AA'^yote George AV, N, Y, Central Ins. Co.; p o Union Springs
AVinslow Hannah Miss : p o Union Springs
¦ AViley Horace S,; p o Cayuga
Yawger I, C. res lot 86, farmer, 133" acres ; b Cayuga Co.
1820; p o Union Springs
Yawger AVm, R. rgs lot 89, fanner 74 acres ; b Cayuga Co,
1820 ; p o Union .Springs
Yawger Aaron, res lot 84, farmer, 05 acres ; b Ontario Co.
1817; p o Union Springs
Yawger Lafayette, farmer ; p o Union Springs
A'awger T. J. farimr ; p o Hills Branch
AURELIUS.
Alnutt Charles, res lot 01, farmer; b England, s 1867 ; po
Aurelixis Station
Arnold Edwin, res lot 26, farmer ; b Aurelius, 1814 ; p o
Cayuga
Black Esther, res let 02, widow of Robert Black ; b Tyrone,
Ireland, s 1829; p o Aurelius
Baker Julius 0, res lot 65, farmer; b Aurelius, 1829; po
Aurelius
Baker Matilda A. wife ef Julius 0. Baker ; b, Aurelius, 1835
Baker Han-ison H, son of Julius 0. and Matilda A. Baker
Baker Sarah M, adopted daughter of Juhus O, and Matilda
A. Baker
Blauvet Peter P; res lot 35, farmer ; b N. A.^ s 1835 ; p o
Fosten'ille
Blewfield Mrs. Mary, res lot 55, widow of Jno, Blewfield ; b
Onondaga Co, s 1836; p o Auburn, box 511
Badgley Timothy, res lot 32, son of Benj, and Elizabeth Badg
ley, farmer and wagon maker; b Seneca Co, b 1835
p o Cayuga
Badgley Ann Eliza, wife of T. Badgley, daughter of Nathan
and Mary Ai-nold ; b Cayuga Co. 1830
Bower David, res lots 62 and 76, farmer; b Springport, 1820;
p o Aurelius
Baldwin Wm. res lot 1, Agent for the Champion Mower and
Reaper, All parts constantly on hand and repairs
made at any time ; b Seneca Co, s 1842 ; p o Cayuga
Bailey James A. propr of Titus House, Cayuga ; b, London,
England, s 18(15; p o Cayuga
Cummings Frank, merchant imd' postmaster at Cayuga ; b
Cayuga, 1849 ; p e Cayuga
Cummings Jennie Richards, wife of F. Cummings ; b Eng
land, s 1847
Cummings Grant Cresswell, son of F. Cummings ; b Otsego
Co, March 5, 1878
Clark Thomas J, res lot 68, farmer ; b England, s 1841 ; p o
Aurelius Station
Chamberlin Julius A, res lot 62, farmer, and owner of
" Clifton Bay ;" b Onondaga Co. s 1863 ; p o Aure
lius Station
Colvin Mrs, E, M. daughter of John Pinkney ; b Albany Co.
s 1836 ; p o Auburn
Candee Romeyn R, merchant ; b Cayuga, 1848 ; p o Cayuga
Chatham Mrs. E, C. res lot 46, farmer; b Cayuga, 1833;
p o Aurelius Station
Davis Cyrus H. res lots 57 and 41, farmer; b Chester Co. e
1822 ; p o Cayuga

HISTORY OF CAYUGA COUNTY.

xvii

Davis John T. res lot 36, farmer ; b Aurehus, 1849 ; p o Au
bum, box 617
Ervan Thomas S. res let 23, farmer ; b New Jersey, s 1801 ;
p o Fosterville
Freese John M. president Cayuga viUage, justiceof the peace,
poUce justice and wagon maker ; b Aurehus 1843 ;
p o Cayuga
Foord Joseph, res lot 44, nurseryman ; b England ; s 1858 ;
p o Auburn, box 44
Poster Mrs. H. EUzabeth, res lot lot 54 ; b Onondaga Co.
1811 ; s 1819 ; p o Aurelius Station
Poster Charles, res lot 33, fariner ; b Aurelius, 1821 ; p o Au
relius
Farmer Isaac, merchant ; b Cayuga Co, 1849 ; p o FosterviUe
Farmer Israel, res lot 24, farmer ; b N , H, ; p o Fosterville
Farnam Mrs Lydia, res lot 44 ; b Aui-elius 1800 ; p o Aubum
FuUer Jerome L. res lot 24, farmer and justice of the peace ;
b Montezuma 1842 ; p o Fosterville.
Fitch Jeremiah, lot 66, farmer ; b N. J, ; s 1823 ; p o Aure
lius Station
Farmer J, T. merchant ; p o Fosterville
Gove Hiram, res lot 09, farmer, b Springport ; s 1825 ; p o
Aurelius
Gove Adaline, late wife of H. Gove, b Vermont 1828 ; s '36 ;
died Nov. 26, 1877
¦Gould Frank P, salesman with Duuniug & Co. ; b Cayuga Co,
1852 ; p o Auburn
Hosmer John G, res, let 23, farmer ;. b Steuben Co.; s 1835 ;
p o Auburn
Hosmer Mary E. wife of John G. Hosmer ; b Auburn ; 8
1845
HaU J. A. res lot 48, farmer; b AVashington Co.; s 1848;
p o Aurelius Station
Hutchiusen AVm, M. res lot 56, farmer ; b Cayuga 1836 ; [3 o
Cayuga
Hunt Mrs. Laura, res lot 56 ; widow of Lockwood Hunt ; b
Connecticut ; s 1837; p o Auburn, box 324
Jenney James, res lots 21 and 26, farmer ; b Massachusetts ;
s 1814 ; p o Cayuga
Kelly Patrick, res lot 00, farmer; b AureUus 1852; p o
Aurelius
Lyon F. H. hotel keeper ; b New Jersey ; s 1842 ; p o Cayuga
LaRowe John C, res lot 1, son of John and Rebecca LaRowe,
farmer ; b New Jersey ; s 1824 ; p o Cayuga
LaRowe Mary, wife of John C, LaRowe aud daughter of
Bezaleel and Anna Sawyer, b Chenango Co ; s 1823 ;
p o Cayuga
Lee Robert, res lot 32, farmer, overseer of the poor ; b
Aurelius 1847 ; p o Cayuga
LUley Mrs, Hannah, res lot 54, physician ; b England ; s
1856 ; p o Aurelius Station
MuUen Jaines AV, res lot 25, farmer and school teacher; b
AureUus 1856 ; Fosterville
Morse John, Jr., lot 21, famier ; b Cayuga 1857 ; p o Cayuga
Morse Kittie Barrow, wife of John Morse, Jr. ; b, Morris, N.
Y.; S1868
Mcintosh John, b Cayuga 1810 ; died January 5th, 1873
Mcintosh Mrs. H, C. widow of John Mcintosh ; b Seneca
Co. ; s 1857 ; p o Cayuga
Myres John S. res lot 69, farmer ; b Fleming 1841 ; p o
AureUus Station
Manro Jonathan S. res lets 33 and 34, farmer aud proprietor
ofManro'syam miU, Auburn; b Throop; s 1821 ;
p o Auburn
Manro Helen C. Cooley, wite of J. S. Manro ; b Fleming ;
S1838
Montgomery I. V, W. res lot 35, farmer ; b Aurehus 1816 ;
p e Aubum
Mcintosh C. S, b Cayuga ; p o Cayuga, box 002
Mcintosh C. D, res lot 28, farmer; b Seneca Co,; s 1801;
p o Cayuga
Olds Ransom, merchant ; b Cortland Co. s 1837 ; p o
Cayuga
Olmsted George, res lot 48, farmer ; b Saratoga Co, s about
1812 ; p o Auburn
Olmsted SaUie, wife of George Olmsted ; b Schoharie Co. s
1831
Pinoknoy Nancy T. Mrs. res lots 03 aud 04 ; b Cayuga Co.
1820; po Auburu
Patterson Stephen E, res lot 08, sou of GaUio . and Abigail
Patterson ; b AureUus 1838 ; p o AureUus Station

Patterson Lydia, wife of S. E, Patterson, and daughter of S.
K. and ComeUa Winegar; b Springport, s 1838;
William, Emily and Mary children of S. E. anci
Lydia Patterson. Mary died Dec. 1, 1877
Pinckney George W, res lot 02, farmer ; b AureUus 1832 ;
p 0 Fosterville
Pinckney Jane M. wife of George AV, Pinckney ; b Sennett,
s 1839 ; p 0 AureUus Station
Polhemus Thomas, res lot 36, farmer; b N. J. s 1825; p o
Cayuga
Quigley A. A. merchant ; b Genoa 1828 ; p o Cayuga
Sanders Henry, farmer ; b Moravia, s 1865 ; p o FosterviUe
Stevens Charles P, res lot 44, farmer; b Cliautauquo Co, s
1852 ; p o Auburn
Stevenson George T. commission merchant N. Y. City ; b
Camillus, N, Y, s 1837 ; p o Cayuga
Stevenson Caroline E, Clark, wife of George T. Stevenson ;
b Oneida, s, 1875
Sawyer Daniel, res lot 65, farmer ; b Springport, s 1814 ;
p o Cayuga
Shell FertiUzer Co, p o Cayuga
Shoemaker Johu, res lot 54, farmer ; b Springport, s 1819 ;
p o Aurelius
Shank John B, res lot 67, fariner ; b Springport, s 1815 ; p 0
Aurelius Station
Shank C, D, res lot 60, farmer ; b Aurelius 1847 ; p o
Aurelius Station
Taylor H, W, res lot 54, farmer, postmaster and justice of
peace ; b Auburn 1813 ; p o AureUus
Townsend William A. res lot 45, farmer ; b Conn, s 1831 ;
p o Aurehus Station
Tyler EUiott F. res lot 30, farmer aud supervisor ; b AureUus
1820 ; p o FosterviUe
Titus Hiram, res let 42, farmer ; b Dutchess Co. s 1829 ; p o
Cayuga
Titus David S, res lot 43, fariner ; b Beekman, Dutchess Co.
s 1802 ; p o Cayuga
Townson Samuel, res lot 24, retired ; b Hartford, Washing
ton Co, s 1836 ; p o Fosterville
Van Sickle S, C. res lot 04, farmer ; b Cayuga Co. ; p o
Cayuga
Van Giesen C, C, res lot 30 ; b Aurelius 1830 ; p o FosterviUe
Valentine Helen P, res lot 34, widow ; p o Aurehus
AVebster Hiram Mrs. res lot 36 ; wife of Hiram AVebster ; b
Aurelius 1827 ; p e Auburu
AVebster Hiram, res lot 35, farmer; b AureUus 1827; po
Auburn
Webster Elmer S, son of H Webster; b Aurehus 1804; po
Auburn
White Maria Mrs. res lot 64, widow ; b Seneca Co. s 1839 ;
p o Auburn, box 487
Westover Seymour H, res let 54, station agent N, Y. C. R. R.
and postmaster ; b Aurelius 1835 ; p o Aurehus Sta
tion
AVhitmor Samuel, res lot 44, fariner and owner of two milk
routes ; b England, 1849 ; p o Auburu, box 863
White Thomas, res lot 28, farmer, sou of J. H. and H,
AVhite ; b England, s 1830 ; p o Cayuga
White Nancy M. wife of TliomaB AVhite aud daughter of
Jacob and Eleanor AVhitcomb ; b Cayuga Co. 1831 ;
Mrs. Mary L,, Arnold aud Arthur AV. White, chil
dren of Thomas and Nancy M, AVhite
Whitney Edwin H, ; b Am-elius 1806 ; p e Cayuga
Willard Henry, fariner ; p o Cayuga
Warrick AVilliam Jr, farmer, lots 37 aud 38 ; b Springport
1826 ; p o Cayuga
Warrick Jonathan, carpenter ; b N. J. s 1823 ; p o Cayuga
AViley Seth E. res lot 37, farmer ; b Tioga Co. 8 1850 ; p o
Cayuga
Yawger Daniel, farmer ; p o Cayuga
LEDYARD.
Alien Wm. S, farmer ; b N. J. s 1804 ; p o Levanna
Avery C. B. Mrs. fariner ; b N. Y, 8 1828 ; p 0 Aurora
Akin DeLos, fai-mer ; b N, Y. s 1841 ; p o Aurora
Anthony Hicks, farmer and supervisor ; b N. Y. s 1827 ; p 0
Scipioville
Bancroft Wm. F. fanner ; b N, Y, s 1814 ; p o ScipioviUe
Bogart AVm. H, jouruaUst ; b N. Y. s 1843 ; p o Aurora

xvm

PIISTORY OF CAYUGA COUNTY.

Brown E. T. fanner and grain dealer; b N. Y. s 1857 ; p o
Aurora
Baker E. P, Dr. physician and surgeon ; b N. Y. s 1819 ; p o
Aurora
Beyer A. C. retired; b N. Y. s 1853 ; p o Aurora
Bowman J. H. Aurora House ; b N. Y. s 1876 ; p o Aurora
Bradford T. J. attomey
Close L. N. farmer ; b N. Y, s 1822 ; p o Kings Fen-y
Carpenter Isaac, farmer; b N. Y. b 1830; p o Aurora
Delafield T. ex-president Cayuga R. R. Co.; b N. Y. s 1800 ;
p o Aurora
Day John, butcher; b Ireland s 1868; p o Aurora
Frisbee Edward S. president WeUs College ; b N. Y. s 1875 ;
p o Aurora
Fritts Ira, farmer and ex-overseer of the poor ; b N. Y. s
1847; po ScipioviUe
Gifford Sanford farmer, ex-supervisor and ex-Assemblyman ;
b N. Y. 8 1817 ; p o Sherwood
Grinnell AVm. R. farmer ; b MassachuBetts s 1840 ; p o Le
vanna
Gifford Abner S, famier ; b N. Y. s 1820 ; p o ScipiovUle
Giles Amos, farmer ; b N. Y. s 1843 ; p o Poplar Ridge
Gould Benjamin, farmer; b N. Y. s 1823 ; p o Aurora
Gould Charles B. farmer; b N, Y.; p o Aurora
Howland Charles A. farmer ; b New York, s 1825 ; p o
ScipioviUe
Howland Charles A. farmer ; b New York, s 1830 ; p o
Aurora
Howland Augustus, retired farmer and banker ; b Massachu-
settB, s 1830 ; p o Sherwood
Iden George, farmer ; b Pennsylvania, s 1822 ; p o* Sher
wood
Judge William, fanner and assessor; b England, s 1801 ; po
Ledyard
King Alfred; retired farmer ; b England, s 1828 ; p e Led
yard
King WilUam A. retired fanner ; b New York, s 1851 ; p o
Ledyard
Lyon Hiram D. farmer ; b New York, s 1833 ; p o Sher
wood
Maurice James J. farmer; b New York, s 1838; p o
Aurora
Morgan Edwin B. Col, president First National bank ; b New
York ; p o Aurora
MereU Charles, agriculturist ; b New York, s 1812 ; p o
Aui'ora
Morgan R. «fc Sen, merchants, b New York ; p o Aurora
Morgan Christopher B. merchant and postmaster, firm of R,
Morgan &. Son ; b New York, s 1842 ; p e Aurora
Morgan Henry, retired ; b New York, s 1810 ; p o Aurora
McDowell Johnson, farmer ; b New York, s 1824 ; p o
Aurora
Martin AVilUam, confectioner and coal dealer ; b New York ;
p o Aurora
Minier Z. T. fanner ; b New York, s 1867 ; p o Ledyard
Mandell S. D. architect ; b New York, s 1829 ; p o Aurora
Searing John, farmer ; b Long Island, s 1823 ; p o Poplar
"Ridge
Smith Howard, farmer and assessor ; b New York, s 1828 ;
p o Sherwood
Smith James B. farmer, agent of Cayuga R, R. Co, and gen
eral dealer; b New York, s 1840 ; p o Aurora
Sadler WiUiain H, meat market ; b England, 8 1803 ; p e
Aurora
Sadler Harry, meat market, b England, b 1864 ; p o Aurora
Shergur Charles L. farmer ; b New York, s 1870 ; p o Ledyard
Sheppard WilUam, carpenter and joiner ; b England, s 1809 ;
p o Aurora
Sadler AViUiam H. & Sen, meat market ; p e Aurora
Sisson AViUiam P. p o Scipioville
Tripp Nicholas D. farmer, ex-school commissioner and mer
chant; b Massachusetts, s 1834 ; p o ScipioviUe
Utt Almeron, farmer ; b Pennsylvania, s 1839 ; p o Levanna
Van Marter O. T. formerly can-iage manufacturer, proprietor
Aurora house ; b New York, s 1825 ; p o Aurora
West James, farmer ; b New York, s 1831 ; p o Sherwood
Walker P. M. farmer ; b New York, s 1857 ; p o Aurora
WeUs Henry T. expressman and founder of WeUs coUege for
lacUes; b Vermont, b 1852; died Glasgow, Scotland,
December 10th, 1878

MORAVIA.
Andrews Mrs. HiU M.
AUee Benjamin, merchant tailor; b Conn, sl825; p o Mo
ravia
Ackerman George T, proprietor of Moravia U. S. Express
Austin Isaac G. farmer; b Conn, s 1824 ; p o Moravia
Adams AVm. H. farmer
Ackerman Fleming, "alias Col. Speck;" b Cayuga Co. 1803;
height 42 inches, weight 42 pounds ; p o Moravia
Alley Joseph, miller and farmer ; b Cayuga Co. 1832 ; p o
Moravia
Burlingham Orville, farmer; b Onondaga Co, sl838; p o
Moravia
Brigden Charles W. blacksmithing and repairing ; b Cayuga
Co 1839 ; p o Moravia
BirdsellAVm. H. merchant; p o Moravia
Church Allen, farmer ; b Cayuga Co. 1820 ; p o KeUoggs-
ville
Chandler Ira C, farmer; b Cayuga Co, 1841 ; p o Moravia
Curtis Daniel N. famier ; b Columbia Co. s 1833 ; p o Mo
ravia
Cutler Heni-y, merchant and town clerk ; b Cayuga Co. 1822;
p 0 Moravia
Day S. Edwin, attoi-ney and counsellor-at-law ; b Cayuga Co.
Deckert Evert C. farmer ; b Cayuga Co. 1820 ; p o Moravia
Dunbar A, H. retired ; b N. H. ; p o Moravia
Dunbar Mrs, M. J,; p o Moravia, wife of A. H. Dunbar
Dennis WilUam, farmer and mechanic ; b Cayuga Co, 1823 ;
p o Moravia
Dennis D. S. carpenter ; b Cayuga Co, 1837 ; p o Moravia
Fitts Leander, Cashier ef First National Bank of Moravia; b
Cayuga Co. 1822; p o Moravia
Ferguson Addison, fanner ; b Cayuga Co, 1820 ; p o ICel-
loggsville
Foster David H. lumber dealer ; b Cayuga Co, 1818 ; p o
Moravia
Greenfield AVebb J. dealer in seeds and agricultural imple
ments ; b Cayuga Co. 1842 ; p o Moravia
Green James F. ; retired,
Greenfield Elondo, fariner ; b Rensselaer Co, s 1827 ; p o
Moravia
Hale Austin B. retired merchant; b Cayuga Co. 1817; po
Moravia
Hinman Charles A. marble dealer; b St, Lawrence Co. s
1853 ; p o Moravia
Hinman Luke W, marble dealer; b St, Lawrence Co. s 1853;
p o Moravia
Hurlburt Amos, retired farmer; b Cayuga Co, 1808; p e Mo
ravia
Henry J. AValter, laborer ; b Cayuga Co, 1856 ; p e Moravia
Hinman Hiram M. house, sign and oi-namcntal painter ; b
St, Lawrence Co. 1826, s 1807; p o Moravia
Hinman Eugene M, grainerand sign writer; b Phoenix, 1858,
1807 ; p o Moravia
Jewett Guernsey, merchant
Keeler Menis, farmer ; p o Moravia
Kenyon M, E. Editor and Proprietor of Moravia Valley Reg
ister ; b Broome Co. s 1867 ; p o Moravia
Keeler AVm. retired farmer ; b Delaware Co. s 1 81 3 ; p o Mo
ravia
Main Charles M. farmer; b Rhode Island, s 1833; p o Mo
ravia
Morey G, F. produce dealer; b Cayuga Co. 1827; p o Mo
ravia
Mead Ehas A. postmaster ; b Cayuga Co, 1820 ; p o Moravia
Powers Cyras, physician and surgeon ; b Cayuga Co. 1814 ;
p o Moravia
Pulver Capt. E, C, lumber dealer; b Cayuga Co. 1828; p o
Moravia
Robinson Nathan, farmer; b Dutchess Co. s 1810; p o Mo
ravia
Ray Charles, Editor aud Proprietor of Moravia Citizen
Sylvester J. H. physician and surgeon ; b Maine, s 1870 ; p o
Moravia
StoyeU Loyal, retired farmer ; b Cayuga Co. 1803 ; p o Mo
ravia
Spafford Calvin, retired farmer ; b Cayuga Co. 1812 ; p o
Moravia
Standish Orrin, mechanic ; b Cayuga Co. 1801 ; p o Moravia
Smith J. B. farmer ; b Herkimer Co. s 1849 ; p o Moravia

HISTORY OF CAYUGA COUNTY.

XIX

Tuttle Nathan, famier ; b Tompkins Co. s 1849 ; p o Moravia
Tuthill H. H. merchant; b Orange Co, s 1828 ; p o Moravia
Townsend Laurens M, bookseUer ; b Cayuga Co, 1847 - p o
Moravia '
Titus AVm, retired merchant ; b Cayuga Co. 1803 ; p o Mo
ravia
Thomas Johu A, cashier Moravia National Bank
AVright Riley E, farmer ; b Cayuga Co. 1808 ; p o Moravia
Wright James A. attorney and counsellor-at-law ; b Cavuga
Co. 1838 ; p o Moravia "
WilUams George W. farmer ; b Cayuga Co. 1818 ; p o Mo
ravia
GENOA.
Atwater Hudson W. farmer; b Cayuga Co. 1844 ; p e Kings
Fei-ry
Avery E, A. farmer ; b Cayuga Co. 1840 ; p o Kings Ferry
Atwater Jason G. gi-ain and produce dealer ; b Cayuga Co,
1830 ; p o Kings Ferry
Atwater N, B. fai-mer and produce dealer ; b Cayuga Co.
1830 : p o Atwater
Avery Orlando M, hardware and stove dealer ; b Cayuga Co,
18.39 : p o Genoa
Adams Darius AV. merchant; b Cayuga Co. 1823 ; po Kings
Fen-y
Adams Samuel, retired merchant and postmaster ; b Cayuga
Co, 1821 ; p e Kings Ferry
Andrews W. 0, farmer ; p o Five Comers
Armstrong Isaac, retired ; p o Genoa
Benedict Edwin, pastor of Presbyterian chm-ch ; b Cayuga
Co. 1813 ; p o Genoa
Barger S. S, farmer; b Cayuga Co, 1812; p o Kings Ferry
Bacon Daniel M, fanner and manufactm-er of fruit jeUies ; b
b Tompkins Co. s 1820 ; p e Five Corners
Bacon George, fariner; b Cayuga Co, 1798 ; po Five Comers
Bothwell Alex, farmer; b Cayuga Co. 1814; p oEast Genoa
Brown Alanson, farmer : p o Kings Fen-y
Bowen E farmer ; p o Five Corners
Beebe E, B. farmer ; p o Genoa
Clieeseman .J. B. farmer and nurseryman ; p o Five Corners
Close AVm. farmer ; p o Five Corners
Dolson Elias, blacksmith and farmer; p o Genoa
Ferris L. J, farmer ; b New York City s 1820 ; p o Five Cor
ners
Ferris Le-wis, retired farmer ; b Cayuga Co. 1801 ; p o Five
Corners
Fessenden Samuel C. farmer ; b Cayuga Co, 1830 ; p o Kings
Ferry
Fen-is G. AV. fariner ; p o East Genoa
Fenner Joseph, farmer : p o Kings Ferry
Goodyear Lucius A, farmer ; b ^'iTompkins Co. s 1838 ; p o
Kings Fen-y
GiUcey Frank A. proprietor Genoa Hotel ; b Tioga Co. s
1875 ; p o Genoa
Howe Squire, farmerand miUer; b Tompkins Co. s 1842;
p o Genoa
Hewitt S, S. farmer ; b Cayuga Co, 1822 ; p o Genoa
Hewitt George, physician and surgeon ; b Cayuga Co. 1811 ;
p o Genoa
Hand Chauncey, farmer ; p o Genoa
HoUister John AV. retired farmer ; p o Five Comers
Hawkins M B. farmer ; p o Kings Ferry
JeBsup John, farmer ; b Cayuga Co, 1825 ; p o East Genoa
Jump Netus, farmer; b Greene Co, s 1832 ; p o Kings Fen-y
Jewell J. S. pastor Presbyterian church ; b Chemung Co. s
1808 ; p 0 Kings Eerry
Kimbark Sarah T. b Ulster county, s 1830 ; p o Genoa
King E. A. frait raiser; b Cayuga county, 1837; p o At
water
King J. M. farmer ; p o Kings Ferry
Leavenworth Horace, retired, ' b Cayuga county, 1817; p o
East Genoa
Lyon Noah, farmer ; b Cayuga county, 1820 ; p o Kings
Ferry
Lawrence Mary, retired, p o Goodyear's
Mead Daniel L. coal and lumber dealer ; b Cayuga county,
1830 ; p o Genoa
Mastin Selah T. retired, b Ulster county, s 1828 ; p o Genoa
MiUer Robert G. retired; b Dutchess county, s 1832; po
Genoa

Minier Sylvester, retired minister, b Cayuga county, 1800 ;
p o Five Comers
Mead Israel, farmer ; lot 21, b Cayuga county, 1798; po
Genoa
Mee Lucas, farmer ; p o Kings Fen-y
Main Amos, farmer ; p o Genoa
Ogden Weston A. merchant ; b Cayuga county, 1820 ; p o
Genoa
Palmer Wines, retired farmer; b Conn, s 1799 ; poFive
Comers
Palmer Levi E, farmer ; p o Five Comers
Price David, farmer ; p o Goodyears
Palmer A. D. farmer ; p o. Locke.
RundeU W. F. inventor ; b Cayuga Co. 1834 ; p o Genoa
Rundell Lockwood, farmer ; p o Genoa
Stevens Abram W. manufacturer of thrashing machines and
agricultural implements ; b Cayuga Co. 1815; p o
Genoa
Shaw Theron E. farmer ; b Cayuga Co. 1826 ; p o Kings
Ferry
Shafer PhiUp, farmer; b Cayuga Co, 1826 ; p o East Genoa
Slocum Sally Mrs, widow ; p o Kings Fei-ry
Stickle Andrew, retired ; p o Genoa
SiU Johu, farmer ; p o (3euoa
Shaw E, P, farmer ; p o Kings Fen-y
Stephenson John, farmer ; p o Kings Fei-ry
TiUotson A, principal of Lakeside Institute ; b Cayuga Co.
1812 ; p o Kings Ferry
Tifft A. E, farmer ; b Rensselaer Co. s 1857 ; p o Cato
Underwood Mead T. farmer ; p o East Genoa
Upson Luther, farmer ; p o Locke
AVhite Peleg H. retired farmer; b Mass. s 1810 ; p o Kings
Ferry
AVhitman George A. fanner ; b New York City, s 1825 ; ¦ p o
Genoa
AVillcox Anu, farmer ; p o North Lansing
AVhipple Charles C. farmer ; p o E&st Venice
FLEMING.
Brown M. A. res lot 83, proprietor Four Mile House ; b Pala
tine Bridge, N, Y., 1830, s 1847; p o Aubum ,
Brown Sarah, wife of M. A. Brown ; b Bucks Co., Pa., 1830,
s 1833 ; p 0 Auburn
Baker Artemus, farmer and blacksmith; b Oneida Co. 1796,
s with father, John Baker, in 1806 ; died 1869
Baker Ovid A, res lot 90, farmer ; b Fleming 1827 ; p o
Pleming
Barnes John, farmer ; p o Aubum, box 76
Beach E, G, farmer ; p o Fleming
Clark A, M, farmer ; p o Fleming
Doty William H, farmer ; p o Fleming
Edson D. A. farmer; p o Auburn, box 3i3
Grover Abram G. res lot 91, fanner and ex-supervisor ; b
Fleming 1829 ; p o Fleming
Gilbert Ebenezer, res lot 91, retired carpenter and builder ;
b Otsego Co, 1808, s 1830 ; p o Owasco Lake
Gilbert Jane, wife of Ebenezer Gilbert, daughter of C. Post ;
b Fleming 1835 ; p o Owasco Lake
Ganey Jeremiah, farmer ; p o Fleming
Gilmore Samuel, physician and surgeon ; p o Fleming
Jacquett John, shoemaker ; p o Fleming
Koon Joseph B, farmer ; p o Auburn
Mosher Isaac, b Dartmouth, Mass,, 1797, s 1816 ; died 1866
Mosher Martha, wife Isaac Mosher; b Worcester Co., Mass
1798, s 1816 ; p o Fleming
Mosher Amos, res lot 89, proprietor Mosher miUs ; b Venice
1819 ; p o Fleming
Mead James, ex-sheriff, retired ; p o Aubum
Moe Ranor M, retired ; p o Fleming
O'Hara John, farmer; b Saratoga, N. Y. 1775; s 1796-
died 1839
O'Hara Esther Bennett, wife John O'Hara, b Conn. 1775 •
s 1796; died 1846
Osborn Samuel, farmer ; p o Fleming
Peterson Cornelius, located ou let 83 ; b Somerset Co N J
s 1796
Peterson ComeUus, son ef above, farmer ; b Somerset Co
N.J. 81796
Peterson Christopher, farmer ; b Pleming, 1799 ; died 1833

XX

HISTORY OF CAYUGA COUNTY.

Peterson Geo, R. res lot 83, farmer, justice of the peace 1874
and '5 ; b Fleming, 1830 ; p o Owasco Lake
Peterson Mary L. wife of Geo. R. P.; daughter of C. Post
b Pleming, 1835
Peterson Oernolius, res lot 83, fariuer; b Fleming, 1854
p o Owasco Lake
Petersen Helen, wife of ComeUus P. daughter of Jacob Post
b Fleming, 1853; ]i o Owasco Lake
Post George, farmer ; p o Floniing
Post George S. farmer; p <i Owasco Lake
Sperry Alvin M, res lot 81, farmer ; b Ledyard, 1821; pe
Fleming
Spen-y Jane M. (Rodger,) wife Alvin M, S, daughter of S.
Rodger, b Sauquoit, Oneida Co, s 1830
Sperry E, M. farmer ; Fleming.
Smith Clinton, farmer ; p o Auburn, Box 927
Sharp Harlow, farmer ; Fleming
Tryon AV. R. farmer ; p o Fleming
Thornton Mary S. retired ; Fleming
Wheeler Parley, farmer ; built the hotel in Fleming on the
lot where his sou new resides. Hotel bam still
standing. Father of 10 children by two wives ; b
Conn, s 1805
AVheeler Edward P. res lot 87, farmer ; b Fleming, 1834 ;
p o Fleming
Wheeler Alma Frances, wife E. P. W, b Danby, Tompkins
county
"Wheeler Edith, wife Parley AVheeler ; b Conn, s 1805 ; died
1810 : first burial in Myei-s' cemetery
AVheeler Erastus, res lot 87, farmer; b Fleming, 1819; po
Fleming
Wheeler Sophia, wife Erastus AV. b Fleming, 1813 ; died
1870
Witbeck W. T. res lot 97, farmer ; b Fleming, 1839 ; p o
Pleming
Witbeck Mary Jane, wife of AV. T. AA"^. daughter of John and
Martha HaU ; b Fleming, 1841
Wycoff Henry, fariner; b Scipio, 1801; son of Peter AVy-
coff ; died 1809
Wycoff Esther, wife Henry W. daughter of John O'Hara ; b
Scipio, 1806 ; p o Owasco Lake
Woodward Jesse, fariner ; b Conn, s 1822 ; died 1844
Woodward Ruth, wife Jesse W, b Mass. s 1822 ; died 1825
Woodworth Henry, res lot 97, famier; b Jackson, AVashing
ton county, 1815 ; s 1822 ; p o Fleming
Woodward Maria, (Goodyear,) wife Henry AV. b Genoa, 1819;
died 1874
Witbeck Thos, farmer ; b AVashington county, 1801 ; died
1803
AVitbeck Mary, wife Thos, W. b. Marthas Vineyard, 1776 ; s
1801; died 1843
AVitbeck Henry, res lot 97, farmer; b AVashington couuty,
1799 ; B 1801 ; p o Fleming
Witbeck Olive; wife Henry W. daughter ' John Grover ; b
Fleming; 1800 ; p o Fleming
Wyckoff P. V. farmer, station agent and grain buyer, p o,
Owasco Lake
AVheeler George, fariner ; p o Aubum, Box 855
Wyckoff George D, fai-mer; po Fleming
VENICE.

Avery Charles, res lot 82, farmer; b Ledyard, Cayuga Co.
p o Ledyard
Andrews Victor, res lots 61 and 73, fanner; b Venice, 1835,
p o Venice Center
Barnes Benj. F. res lot 52, farmer ; son of Elisha and Eliza
beth Bames, b Scipio, Cayuga Co. p e Venice
Book John, res lot 97, farmer ; England 1810, s 1835 ; p o
Genoa
BriU Thom, res lot 72, fanner and horse dealer ; b Dutchess
Co. 1814 i 8 1820; p o Poplar Ridge
Cogswell B. B. res lot 03, farmer ; b Venice, 1846 ; p o
Venice
GuUey John, res lot 74, manufactui-er pf brick and tile, b Eng
land ; B 1864 ; p o Venice Center
Cook Ehsha, res lot 40, fariner and supervisor; b Ohio 1839 ;
B 1862 ; p o Poplar Ridge
Cobb Elisha B. res lot 82, farmer and justice of the peace ;
b Tompkins Co, N. Y, 1827 ; s 1850 ; p e Ledyard

Eaton Samuel, res lot 74, farmer ; b Cayuga Co. p e Venice
Center
Heaton James, res lots 88, 89 and 99, farmer and justice of
the peace; b Genoa, 1832; po East Venice
Hutchison Amos E. res lot 63, farmer ; b Venice 1839 ; p o
Venice Center
Hutchison Samuel D, res lot 63, farmer ; son of Obediah and
Margaret Hutchison, b Genoa, 1800 ; p o. Venice
Center
Ilodson Peter, res lot 48, farmer ; b England ; s 1832 ; p o
Venice Center
Jackson AVilliam, res lot 74, farmer ; b England, 1805 ; s
1851 ; p 0 Venice Center
King R^fus G. res let 84, farmer ; b Genoa, Cayuga Co.
1812 ; p o Ledyard
Kellogg David 'W, res lot 06, farmer and manufacturer of
balsam salve, b Locke, Cayuga Co. 1823 ; p o Mo
ravia
Murdock Lyman T. res Venice Center, farmer and produce
dealer, b Venice Center, 1834 ; p o Venice Center
McLaughUn Jaines, res lot 74, farmer; b Venice 1806 ; p o
Venice Center
Morgan Nelson, res lot 59, farmer ; b Venice 1814 ; p o Pop
lar Ridge
MiUer Phil. H. res lot 96, farmer and assessor ; b Dutchess
Co. 1831 ; B 1831 ; p o Genoa
Manchester Wm. W. res lots 64 and 51, farmer ; b AVash
ington Co, 1804, s 1826 ; p 0 Venice
Mosher Charles, res lot 72, farmer ; son of Abiel aud Mehita
ble M. Mosher, b Ledyard, Cayuga Co. 1812 ; p o
Poplar Ridge
Peckham Thomas P. merchant, b Mass. 1826, sl837; po
Ledyard
Perkins Jehiel T. res lot 78, farmer ; b A'^euloe, 1827 ; p o
Moravia
Streeter John C. res Venice Center, manufacturer of fork and
broom handles, b CortlandviUe, N. Y. s 1830 ; p o
Venice Center
Streeter J. F. res Venice Center, hotel keeper, b Cortland Co.
s 1847 ; p 0 Venice Center
Starkweather James D. res lot 94, farmer; b Conn. 1812; s
1818 ; p o. Ledyard
Sharpsteen Wm. H, res lot 85, fariner ; b A''enice, 1838 ; p o
Genoa
Seymour John, res lots 04 and 50 ; retired, b Cayuga Co.
N, Y. 1814 ; p o Venice
Sisson George M. res lot 96, farmer; b Mass, 1822 ; s 1824 ;
p o Genoa
Streeter Orlando M. res lot 76, farmer ; b Homer, N, Y.
1822 ; s 1834 ; p o Venice Center
Shaw Edward F, res lots 94 and 95, farmer ; b Venice, 1829 ;
p o Kings Ferry
Tremain Jaines K. res lot 84, farmer ; b Venice, p o Ledyard
Tillott Thos. R, res lots 74 and 85, farmer and R. R. con
ductor, b Dutchess Co. s 1827 ; p o Genoa
AVoed James, res lot 48, farmer ; b Venice, 1821 ; p o Ven
ice Center
AVood Jonas, res lot 48, farmer and miller; b Venice, 1817;
p o Venice Center
Wood David, res lot 61, farmer ; b A''enice, 1805 ; p o Ven
ice (Center
Wheeler Dexter, res lot 69, farmer and justice of the peace,
b Venice, 1843 ; p o Poplar Ridge
SCIPIO.
Ames Herman E. res lot 39, farmer and stock dealer; b
Scipio Center, N. Y. Nov. 18, 1847 ; p e Scipio
Center, box 53
Ames Phila Mrs, res lot 39, farmer, widow ; b Henderson,
N. Y. 1810, s '33 ; p o Scipio Center
Ames Chester E. fariner ; b N. Y, s 1808 ; p o Scipio Center
Allen Lemuel, farmer and currier; b N, Y. s 1800; Scipio
ville
Aken Morell I. farmer ; b N. Y, s 1843 ; p o Scipio Center
Akin John AV. fanner ; b N, Y. s 1826 ; p o Scipio Center
Akin AVilUam, res lot 16, farmer ; b Scipio Center, Oct. 6,
1845 ; p o Scipio Center
Ames WUliam D. farmer ; b N. Y. s 1850 ; p o Culvers Point
Akin William, farmer; b N. Y. slSIO; p o Scipio Center

HISTORY OF CAYUGA COUNTY.

XXI

Boothe Jerome T. farmer and ex-poormaster ; b N. Y. s 1837 -
p o Scipio Center '
Bradley Thomas, fanner; b Ireland s 1816; p o Scinio
Center '
Barnes George G. res lot 41, famier ; b Scipio, N. Y. 1825 •
p o Scipio Center '
Brown Aaron, farmer and breeder from Norman imported
horses; b N. Y. s 1873 ; p o Owasco Lake
Brown Charies C, farmer ; M, First N. Y, Vet. Cavahy • b
N. Y. s 1873 ; p o Owasco Lake
Chapman A. J. farmer and ex-supervisor; b N. Y. s 1829 -
p o Scipio Center '
Close Erastus, farmer ; b N, Y, s 1818 ; p o Culvers Point
Chase Jehu P, fanner and supervisor ; b N, Y, 1820 ; p o
Sherwoods
CevcyMaryA. Miss, farmer; b N, Y. s 1822; p o Scipio
Center
Cowan AViUiain R, res lot 17, fanner; b Scipio, Jan. 6, 1822;
p o Fleming
Culver Ephraim, farmer aud treasurer Moravia Grange • b
N. Y. s 1824 ; p o Culvers Point
Clark George, proprietor Ensenore House, speculator and
fanner ; b N- Y. s 1862 ; p o Culvers Point
Daniels Hiram, farmer aud formerly tanner and currier ; b
N. Y. s 1811 ; p o Scipio Center
Egglestou Edwin J. fanner formerly miUwright ; b N. Y. b
1817 ; p o Culvers Point
Eaker Robert B, res lots 28 and 29, farmer ; b Conquest,
N, Y. s 1834 ; p o Scipio Summit
Eddy David Mrs. farmer ; b N. Y. s 1818 ; p o Scipio
Center
Pitch Alvah, res lot 41, retired farmer ; b Saratoga Co, June
1797, s 1811 ; p o Cascade
Fordyce N, 11, farmer and justice ef peace ; b N, Y. s 1799 ;
p o Scipio
Fordyce Wheaton C. res lot 12, farmer ; b Lockport, N, Y,
Dec 19, 1833, s Aug, '35 ; p o Scipio Center
Grover David G. res lots 4 and 5, farmer, ex-supervisor and
superintendent public schools ; b Fleming, N. Y.
Sept. 19, 1824; p o Owasco Lake
Gould Benjamin 2d, fanner; b N. Y. s 1852 ; p o Scipioville
Greene Samuel W. postmaster and tailor; b N. Y. b1823;
p o Sherwood
Gould D, C, res Scipio, farmer and loan commissioner ; p o
Sherwood
Hunter Deryl, farmer ; b N, Y, s 1834 ; p o Scipio Center
Hudson Richard N, fariner and ex-school commissioner ; b
N. Y, s 1804 ; p o Scipio Center
HuU H, E. farmer, retired merchant and ex-supervisor ; b
N. Y'. s 1864; p o Scipio Summit
Hoxie Zebulon, fariner ; b N. Y. s 1809 ; p o Scipioville
Hoskins E, P. farmer aud ex-sheriff ; b N. Y. s 1812 ; p o
Scipio Center
Howell Isaac, res lot 30, farmer ; b Ulster Co. N. Y, 1800, s
'30 ; p o Scipio Center
Hawley AVm. N. farmer ; b N, Y. s 1827 ; p o ScipioviUe
Howland Slocum, merchant aud speculator; b N. Y. s 1798;
p o Sherwood
Howland Wm. res lot 30, merchant and justice of the peace;
b Sherwood, N. Y. 1825 ; p o Sherwood
HiU Erastus, res lot 15, farmer ; b Scipio Feb. 9th, 1810 ; p o
Scipio Summit
Husk J. L. mason, proprietor ef saw and feed-miU, and
teacher ; b N. Y. s 1837 ; p o Culvers Point
Hoxie Allen, farmer ; b N. Y. s 1814 ; p o ScipiovUle
HiU Erastus, farmer and shoemaker ; bN. Y. 8 1816; po
Scipio Center
Henry Thomas J, farmer ; b N, Y. s 1839 ; p o Fleming
Jump Isaac, fariner, ex-supervisor, and master Masonic lodge;
b N, Y. s 1821 ; p o Culvers Point
Kenyon Dr. Frank, physician and surgeon ; b N. Y. s 1873 ;
p o Scipio Center
Koon Henry, res Scipio ; p o Sherwood
Leeson Joseph, farmer ; b England s 1851 ; p o Scipio Center
MerriU N. M. farmer; b N. Y. s 1820; p o Scipio Center
Morgan Wm. A. farmer and assessor ; b N. Y. s 1822 ; p e
Scipio Center
Munger Wm. res lot 40, farmer; b Niles, N. Y. 1834, s 1866;
p o Scipio Center
Marsh Henry T. res lot 15, fariner ; b Lewisburg, Pa. Feb.
16th, 1851, s '74; p o Scipio Summit

Manchester Wm, S, res lot 20, farmer ; b Scipio, Jan. 4th,
1839 ; p o ScipioviUe ; local preacher and S. S. super
intendent in M, E, church, Scipioville
Nichols Frederick, proprietor hotel; b N. Y. s 1828; p o
Scipio Center
Nye J. P, fanner ; b N, Y, s 1861 ; p e Fleming
O'Hara John, fariner ; b New York, s 1802 ; p o Fleming
Otis Samuel D, res lot 30, farmer and dealer iu fertilizers ; b
New Bedford, Mass,, 1817, s 1833 ; p o Sherwood
O'Hara Nelson, farmer ; b New York, s 1838 ; p e Owasco
Lake
Pope AViUiam, farmer ; b New York, s 1855 ; p o Scipio
Center
Pope Bartholomew, farmer ; b England, s 1855 ; p e Scipio
Center
Petersen G. B, merchant and deputy postniaster; bNewY^ork,
s 1851 ; p o Scipio Center
Parkhurst P. Dr, farmer, physici.iu and surgeon ; b Penneyl-
vania, s 1809 : p o (5wasco Lake
Poppino Frank, farmer ; b New York, s 1819 ; p o Scipio
Center
Ridley Peter, farmer and proprietor cider miU ; b Epgland,
s 18.50; p o ScipioviUe
Rafferty Hugh F. Rev, pastor St. Bernard's CathoUc church;
b Ireland, s 187.'!; p o Scipio Center
Reynolds M. farmer and ex-asseseor ; b New York, s 1826 ;
p o ScipioviUe
Rumsey Reuben, farmer and ex-assessor; b Connecticut, s
1823 ; p o Scipio Center
Searing Mrs. Delia, widow, farmer; b Wyoming, Luzerne
Co,, Penn., October 24, 1849, s 1860; p o Scipio
Center '
Strong Philip, res lots 38 and 39, farmer ; b Venice, N. Y. ,
October 9, 1829 ; p o Scipio Center
Strong Charles, farmer; b New York, s 1822; p o Scipio
Center
Searing Adolphus H. teacher ; b New York, s 1864 ; p o
Sherwood
Smith Mrs. Delia D. widow ; b New Y^erk, s 1820 ; p o Scipio
Center t
Shorkley Pardon T, farmer aud carpenter and joiner ; b New
York, s 1833 ; p o Scipio Center
Shaw Geo. W, farmer, formerly baker ; b New York, s 1848 ;
p o Fleming
Standish Henry, farmerand ex-constable; b New Y'ork,s 1825;
p o Fleming
Slocum H, C. farmer ; b New York, s 1836 ; p o Scipio
Center
Smith Benjamin, farmer ; b Pennsylvania, s 1827 ; p o Scipio
Summit
Shaw William, farmer; b New York 1812; p o Fleming
Tracy Calvin, res lot 37, farmer, ex-assessor and supervisor ;
b Cayuga Co,, N. Y,, May 5, 1810; p o Sherwood
TaUmau Frank, res lot 23, painter ; b Scipio Center March
0, 1847 i p o Scipio Center
TaUman, P. T. justice of the peace and cai-i3enter; b.New
York, s 1817 ; p o Scipio
Taber Samuel Allen, res lot 41, farmer; b Scipio, N. Y.,
1829 ; p o Scipio Center
Taylor Malcolm, proprietor Cascade House ; b Scotland, s
1878 ; p o Cascade
Wheat Hiram V. farmer ; b New York, o 1832 ; p o Scipio
Center
Ward Edwin, farmer; b New York, s 1831; p o Culvers
Point
Watkins L, W. farmer ; b New York, s 1823 ; p o Scipio
ville
Watkins Mrs. Sarah A. farmer ; b New York, s 1822 ; p o
ScipioviUe
Weeks Arnold P. farmer ; b New York, s 1835 ; p o Culvers
Point
Webster N. J, proprietor of ScipioviUe Hotel ; b New York,
8 1828 ; p o ScipioviUe
AVatkins George L. res lot 27, merchant; b Aurelius, N. Y.,
January 30, 1820, s April 1, 1821 ; p o ScipioviUe ;
been iu mercantile business 34 years
AVood G. S. steam flour miUs ; b New York, s 1841 ; p o
Scipio Center
Webster N, E, res lot 10, farmer; b AureUus, near Auburn,
January 19, 1818 ; p o Scipio Center

xxu

HISTORY OF CAYUGA COUNTY.

AVan-en Rev. E, R. pastor of Scipio Baptist church ; bom in
Boston, Mass., in 1821 ; ordained to the work of the
ministry in Maine ; came to Cayuga Co. in 1875
Wooden WiUiam D, res lot 20; b FishkiU, N, Y,, March 21,
1802, B 1814 ; teacher, civil engineer and farmer.
Mr. 'Wooden has w-ritteu for the Cayuga Co, Press
mere or less for the last sixty years. The articles
conceming the early history of Cayuga County, pub
lished from week to week in the Cuyvgtt County In
dependent in 1874, were from his pun. He Ik tho
author of a historical sketch of Scipioville and
vicinity, published in the Attburn Daily Advertiser,
Auburn Journal and Moravia Citizen in 1877, He
has been an occasional correspondent of the Neto
York Evening Post, p o Scipioville
Whitfield George Capt. farmer, ex-aseessor, followed the sea
thirty years, seven years as captain ; b Massachusetts,
s 1827 ; p o Scipio Center
AVest Isaac L. farmer, carpenter and joiner ; b New York, s
1872 ; p o Scipio Center
Webster Nathan E. farmer; -b NewYork, 1818; p o Scipio
Center
AVhite John P. farmer, member llltli N. Y. Vol, from Cay
uga Co, ; b New York, s 1842 ; p o Fleming
AVyckoff G. B, farmer and ex-assessor ; b New York, s 1832 ;
p o Owasco Lake
AVaUis Susan Miss, farmer; b New York, s 1813 ; p o
Fleming
NILES.
Amerman Moi-ris, res lot 11, son of Abraham and Anna Am
erman, s 1841 ; p o Owasco
Amei-man Helen, res let 11, daughter of Ira and Sarah Amer
man, 8 1850; po Owasco
Adriance John K. res lot 12, eon of Cornelius and Emeline
Adi-iance ; b Scipio, 1836 ; p o Owasco
Amerman Ira, res lot 6, son of Isaac and Helen Amerman ;
b Niles, 1819 ; p o Owasco
Ackerman E. C. res lot 8, famier an* justice of the peace ; b
Niles, 1838 ; p o Niles
Austin Joab, res lot 37, son of Ehjah and Anna Austin ; b
Niles, 1820; p o Kelloggsville
Abbott Bros, res let 8, attorneys and agents for agricultural
implements; b Niles, one in 1849, the other in 1855;
p o Niles
Austin D. K. res let 38, general merchant ; b Niles, 1 845 ; p o
Kelloggsville
Brown E. E,, Hon. res lot 22, member of Assembly in 1872
and '3 ; b in Maes, s 1823 ; p e New Hope
Brinkerhoff' Abram, res lot 6, son of George and Hannah
Brinkerhoff; b Niles, 1826 ; p o Owasco
Baker Abel AV. res lots I and 5, fainitr, ton ef Dr. Abel
Baker; b Niles, 1823; p o Owasco
Benson E. A. Mrs, res lot 28, daughter of John Rooks, Esq,;
b Niles, 1817 ; p o KeUoggsville
Baker Jonas, res lot 40, farmer, soldier in Col, Williams' Re
giment AVar of 1812 ; b Conn. 1791, s 1813 ; 'p o
New Hope
Brinkerhoff Hiram, res let 5, son of George and Hannah
Brinkerhoff; b Niles, 1821 ; p o Owasco
Bo(Jine Peter C. res lot 11, son of Cornelius and Hannah Bo
dine ; b Niles, 1806 ; p o Owasco
Bodine Abram M. res lot 11, son ef Cornelius and Delilah
BocUne ; b Niles, 1840 ; p o Owasco
Brinkerhoff James H. res lot 12, sen ef James E, and Charity
¦ Brinkerhoff- ; b Niles, 1828 ; p o Owasco
Brinkerhoff Johu A. res lot 11, sou of James E, and Charity
Brinkerhoff; b Niles, 1826; p o Owasco
Brinkerhoff' John M, res lot 12, son of George H, and Susan
Brinkerhoff; b Niles, 1828; p o Owasco
BocUne Gilbert B, lot 4, son of John and Martina Bodine ; b
Penn. 1805, s 1811 ; p o Owasco
Bodine Hannah, lot'4, daughter ef Peter and Margaret Selo
ver; b Niles, 1800; p o Owasco
Bodine T. E. ; p o Owasco
Cox AVm. res lot 33, son of AVm, and Margaret Cox ; b Au
relius, 1808 ; p o Moravia
Conkhn Maiy Ann, res lot 4, wife of Thomas R. Conklin ; b
Niles, 1833 ; p o Owasco

Conklin Jacob, res lot 5, son of John and Blondene Conklin ;
b Albany Co. 1798, s 1810; p o Owasco
ConkUn Eugene, res let 6, son of Jacob and Calista ConkUn;
b Niles, 1841 ; p o Owasco
Cole Stephen E. res lot 3, farmer, son of Daniel and Julia.
Cole ; b Owasco, 1848 ; p o Niles
Covert Leonard, res lots 0 and 7, farmer, son of Smith and
Phobe Covert; b Summer Hill, 1805; po Niles
Clark Wan-en S. res lot 89, merchant and manufacturer ; b
ScmproniuH, 1837; p o Now Hope
Carver Amy Mrs, res lot 30, widow of Joseph Carver, who
diedin 1801 ; b Niles, 1818; p oNew Hope
Cuykendall Charles H. res let 16, son of Wilhelmus and Ruth
Cuykendall; b Niles, 1854; p o Owasco
Church S. AV. res lot 38, general hardware, tin and copper ;
p o KeUoggsville
Cooper "Wm. F. , M. D. res lot 38, physician and surgeon and
postmaster ; b N, H. s 1827 ; p o KelloggsviUe
Cai-penter James, res lot 22, saw-mill, cheese box and shingle
factory ; b Niles, 1838 ; p e New Hope
Cuykendall F. B. lots 5 and 0, son of Wilhelmus and Eunice
CuykendaU ; b Niles, 1830
Dewitt Moseman, res lot 19, son of Stephen and Isabella De
witt ; b Niles, 1845 ; p o Niles
Davison John, res lot 24, son of Gee. Davison ; b Niles, 1831;
p o Owasco
DeAVitt Stephen Mrs, res lot 19, farmer, son of John DeWitt^
b Ulster Oo. 1799, s 1801 ; p o Niles
DeWitt Johu, res lots 19, 28 and 29, son of Stephen and Phebe
DeAVitt; b Niles, 1825; p o KeUoggsville
Dewitt Stephen E. res lot 3, farmer, son of Egbert and Jeru
sha Dewitt ; b Ulster Co. 1809, sl812; p o Niles
Dewitt George, res lot 19, farmer, sen ef Stephen and Deli
lah Dewitt;^ b Niles, 1842 ; p e Niles
Duryee Manson B. res lot 33, son of Frederick and IsabeUa.
Duryee ; b Niles, 1825 ; p o Moravia
Dui-yee Dor, res lot 20, son of James and Amanda J. Dui-yee;
b Niles, 1844 ; p o Moravia
Duryee Geo. M. res lot 13, son of James and Sophia Duryeej
b Niles, 1837 ; p e Owasco
Ellis Cyras, res lot 34, farmer, ex-school commissioner, road
commissioner and overseer; b Niles, 1799 ; p o Mo
ravia
Ellis Anthony AV. res lots 15 andlO, farmer and commissioner
of highwaj's; b Niles, 1820; p o Owasco
ElUs Elias, res lot 24, son of Anthony AV, and Hannah Ellis ;
b Niles, 1844 ; p o Owasco
Frair Horace, res let 12, son of Jacob and Margaret Frair ;.
b Niles, 1840 ; p o Owasco
Greenfield S, res lot 30, son of John AV. Greenfield ; b Niles
1824 ; p o New Hope
Gere Byron M, res lot 7, town clerk and merchant ; b Niles
1842; p o Niles
Greenfield Charles H. res let 7, teacher and ex-school com
missioner ; b Niles 1836; p o Niles
Gere AVm. A. lot 0, son of Amos and EUzabeth Gere ; b
Niles 1838; po Niles
Hoyt John 0. res let 30, ex-supervisor and justice of ses
sions ; b Orange Co. s 1837 ; p o New Hope
Harter Gee. AV. res lot 37, farmer, carpenter and highway
commissioner; b Herkimer Co, s 1860; p e Kel
loggsviUe
Husk John H. Mrs. res lot 24 , daughter of Jacob A. and Har
riet Selover; b Niles 1842; p o Owasco
Hooper Fanny, res lot 38, widow of AVm. Hooper ; b Mass.
1790, s 1814 ; p o KelloggsviUe
Horton James H., M.D. res lot 37, physician and surgeon; b
SuUivan Co. s 1828 ; p o KeUoggsviUe
Hayden James, res lot 13, son of Jerome and Mary Hayden;
b Ireland 1823, s 1860 ; p o Owasco
Hinman H, M, ; p o Moravia
Husk Malinda '¦ p o Owasco
Helmer Joseph, lot 30, farmer, 100 acres ; son of Timothy
and Catharine Helmer ; b Herkimer Co. 1820, s '56 ;
p o KelloggsviUe
Jones Phidelia Mrs. res lot 22, daughter of John H. Carpen
ter ; b Niles 1830 ; p o New Hope
Jayne A, P. res lot 38, farmer and justice, second term • b
Niles 1833 ; p o KeUoggsville
Kinyen Job, res lot 3, son of James and Anna Kinvon ¦ b
Niles 1821; po Niles

HISTORY OF CAYUGA COUNTY.

xxm

Kinyen Foster, res lot 8, son of James and Anna Kinyon ; b
Venice 1820; po KeUoggsviUe
Landers Peter Mrs, res lot 40, famier. daughter of John and
Evaline Landers ; b Manlius s 1857 ; p oNew Hope
Landei-s Derlesca E, res lot 40, farmer, daughter of Zebulon
aud Sarah Lewis ; b Rensselaer Co, s 1834 ; p o
New Hope
Love Johu H. res lot 5, son of Asher and Sarah A. Love ; b
Chautauqua Co. 1850, s '56 ; p o Owasco
Magee George, res lot 39, manufactiu-er ; b Amsterdam 1825,
R '51 ; p o New Hope
Mead Daniel AV. res let 7, farmer, custom aud merchant
miller; b Mentz 1827 ; p o Niles
McDowell P. A. res lot 19, farmer, overseer and ex-super
visor ; b Auburn 1824 ; p o Owasco
Moseman Ezra, res lot 22, assessor ten years, commissioner
two years ; b AVestchester Co, 1798, s '10 ; p o New
Hope
Moseman Ehza, res lot 22, daughter ef Robert aud E. Ryan ;
b Niles 1824 ; p o New Hope
Mattoon J, AV. res lot 5, son of M. L. and H, J, Mattoon ; b
¦ Niles 1846 ; p o Owasco
Mahou Thomas, Jr. res lot 35, son of Thomas and Ann Ma-
hon; I3 Moravia 1854; p o Owasco
Newland Flora B, res lot 37, widow of Lemuel A, Newland ;
b Saratoga Co. 1808, « '17 ; p o KelloggsviUe
OdeU Levi AV. res lot 39, stage proprietor and famier ; b Niles
1844 ; p o New Hope
ParteUo J, Bishop, res lot 38, farmer and justice sixteen
years ; b Madison Co, s 1831 ; p o KeUoggsviUe
ParteUo F. A, res lot 39, prop'r Shirley House ; b NUesl837;
p o KeUoggsville
Pray Sarah Mrs. res lot 30, daughter of Heman and Nancy
Holcomb ; b Ledyard ; p 0 New Hope
Parker Perry, res lot 11, son of Ira and Anna Parker; b
Scipio 1816 ; p o Owasco
Peacock Edward W. res lot 12, son of AVilUam and Mary
Peacock: b Fleming 1830; p o Owasco
Rooks John, res lots 28 and 29, farmer ; the first settler on
the farm he occupies; b N, H. 1790, s 1802; po
KeUoggsville
Richardson Erastus, res lot 0, farmer, son of Seth and Sylvia
Richardson; b Cortland Co, 1832, s '48; p o Niles
Robinson Silas S. res lot 2, son of Samuel and Keziah Rob
inson ; b Rensselaer Co. 1804, s '21 : p 0 Niles
Rooks Charles H. res lot 29, son of David R. and Polly
Rooks ; b Niles 1826 ; p o KeUoggsville
Robinson H. J. res lot 10, son of Joseph and Mary Robin
son ; b NUes 1834 ; p o Owasco
Rounds Eugene B. res lot 39, supervisor and miUer : b Niles
1843 ; p o New Hope
Ryan F. B., M, D,, res lot 38, physician and surgeon; b
Niles 1854 ; p o Kelloggsville
Slade William, res lot 38, son of Peleg and Betsey Slade ; b
Sempronius 1800 ; p o KeUoggsviUe
Shaver AVilliam N, res lot 3, son of John Jr. and Catharine
Shaver : b Niles 1 822 ; p o Niles
Slade Barton, res lot 50, son of Maj, Peleg and Betsey
Slade ; b Sempronius 1805 ; p o Kelloggsville
Smith Benjamin, res let 20, son of Jacob and Margaret
Smith ; b Herkimer Co. 1819, s '50 ; p o Kelloggs
viUe
Selover Horace, res lot 24, son of Jacob and Han-iet Sel
over ; h Niles 1848 ; p o Owasco
Southwitch Ann Mrs, res lot 22, daughter ef Asaph and Chloe
Stow ; b N. H. 1807, s 1811 ; p o New Hope
Selover George, res lot 6, son of Isaac and Mary Selover ; b
Sempronius 1839 ; p o Owasco
Selover P. H. res lot 33 ; son of Abram I. and Martina Sel
over ; b Niles 1825 ; p o Moravia
Selover Jacob, res lot 15, son of Jacob and Sarah Selover ; b
Niles 1833 ; p o Owasco
Selover Edgar R, res lot 13. son of Peter and Susan Selover ;
b Niles 1831 ; p o Owasco
Sincerbeaux E. M. res lot 29, farmer, teacher and Q, M.
Sergeant 9th Heavy ArtiUery; b Dutchess Co. s
1848 ; p o KeUoggsviUe
Stoker Robert, res lot 39, farmer, son ef Samuel and Mary
Stoker; b England, s 1836 ; p o New Hope
Selover Peter P . lot 5, son of Peter A. and Maria Selover ;
b Niles 1820 ; p o Owasco

VanDyne W, L. res lot 19, son of Peter and Maria Van-
Dyne ; b NUes 1835 ; p 0 Owasco
Valentine John E, res lot 6, son of David S, and Mary Valen
tine ; b Niles 1850 ; p o Owasco
VanEtten Abraham Col. res lot 17, ex-supervisor, assessor
and Lieut-Colonel ; b Orange Co. s 1819 ; p o
Owasco
A''anAi-sdale Peter, res lot 10, farmer, supervisor and justice;
b Niagara Co, s 1830 ; p o Owasco
Vanderbilt Byron, res lot 25, son of Andrew and ArmiUa
Vanderbilt; b Niles 1846; p o Owasco
Vanderbilt Andrew, res lot 24, son of Andrew and Peggy
Vanderbilt; b Niles 1813 ; p o Owasco
Webb Seth R, res lot 40, son of Stephen Jr, and Anna Lyon
AVebb ; b Venice 1810 ; p o lieUoggsviUe
Watts John, res lot 28, son of Joseph and Ann Watts ; b
¦ Skaneateles 1833 ; p o KeUoggsviUe
Ward AV. S. res lot 33, son of Richard and Louisa Ward ; b
N. J. 1850, s 1870 ; p o Moravia
White Philander, res lot 30, son of Joseph and Charlotte
AVhite; b Conn. 1790, s 1814; p o New Hope
SEMPRONIUS.
Brown M. T. C. res lot 78, farmer 62 acres, sen of Daniel
aud Mary Ann Brown, b Sempronius 1832 ; p o.
Sempronius
Brown Lois, daughter of Abram and Susan H. WestfaU ; b
Niles, 1843 ; p o Sempronius
Brown Moses, lot 90, fanner 112 acres, son of Jonah and
SaUy Brown, b Mass. 1804 ; s 1816 ; p o Sempro
nius
Brown Sarah, wife of Moses Brown, aud daughter of Ai and
Lydia Mattson, b R, I, 1801 ; s 1829
Brown Huldah, wife of Moses Brown and daughter of Har
vey and Huldah Dresser, b Sempronius, 1827
ConkUn Elisha, res lot 86, farmer 172 acres, son of Henry
and Electa ConkUn ; b SuUivan Co. 1813 ; s 1817 ;
p o Moravia
ConkUn Slartha, daughter of AVm. and Mary Richardson ; b
Herkimer Co, 1816 : s 1839 ; p o Moravia
ColweU Nathan, res lot 78, farmer 90 acres, son of OUver
and Barsiua ColweU ; b Herkimer Co. 181,5; s 1819;
p o Sempronius
ColweU Gordeha, daughter of Jeptha and Lucy Clark, b
Cortland, 1822 ; s 1838 ; p o Sempronius
Conway AVm, res lot 98, farmer 205 acres, son of David and
Margaret Conway ; b Ireland, 1813 ; s 1846 ; p o
DresserviUe
Conway Electa, daughter of Harvey and Huldah Dresser ; b
Sempronius, 1821 ; p o DresserviUe »
Comerford Thos, D. res lot 69, farmer 121 acres, son of Peter
and Margaret Comerford ; b Onondaga, 1840 ; s
1806 ; p o Sempronius
Cornel-ford Ellen, daughter of Ebezezer and AdaUne Eaton b
Sempronius, 1847
Clark Orson, res lot 60, farmer 54 acres, son of NathanielF. and
Laura C, Clark, b Cortland Co. 1834 ; s 1838 ; p o-
KeUoggsviUe
Clark Matilda T. daughter of David and Rosetta Thompson
b Sempronius, 1837 ; p o KelloggsviUe
Dennis John, res lot 08, farmer 50 acres, son of Samuel and
Anna Dennis, b Niles, 1819 ; p 0 Sempronius
Dennis Calista, daughter of Aaron and Jane KeUogg, b Locke
1828 ; p o Sempronius
Dresser John AV. res lot 98, farm 60 acres, b Sempronius,
1811 ; p o DresserviUe
Dresser Betsey A, daughter of Joseph and Zilpha Lee, b
Niles, 1833 ; p 0 Dresserville
Pitts Lucius, lot 87, farmer 330 acres, son ef Martin and
Miriam Fitts, supervisor aud postmaster ; b Sem
pronius, 1823 ; p o DresserviUe
Fitts Isabel, wife of Lucius Fitts, daughter of Wm aud Ann
HaU ; b England, 1828 ; s 1838 ; p o DresserviUe
Frankhn Hector, lot 77, farmer 80 acres, son of Benj. and
Lucetta Franklin ; b Niles, 1833 ; p o Dresscrviuo
Franklin Emily, daughter of Alex, and MoUssa Ivoi-y ¦ b
SuUivan Co. 1847; po DresserviUe '
Fitts JuUus, let 88, farmer 225 acres, son of Martm and Mi
riam Fitts; b Sempronius, 1827; p o DresserviUe

xxiv

HISTORY OF CAYUGA COUNTY.

Fitts Mary Jane, daughter of Daniel and Mary A Brown ; b
Sempronius, 1834 ; p o Dresserville
Graham Wm. F, res lot 89, fanner 100 acres, son of Isaac
and Floretta Graham; b Niles, 1840; p o Sem
pronius
Graham Maria A. daughter of Alex, and FideUa Harmon ; b
Sempronius, 1849 ; p o Sempronius
Harmon Alexander, res lot 80, farmer 114 acres, son of
Owen and Betsey Harmon ; b Rensselaer Co. 1817;
s 1820 ; p o Sempronius
Harmon FideUa E. daughter of Abel and,Sai-ah Heald ; b Niles,
1810 ; p 0 Sempronins
Huestes Benj. res lot 47, farmer 122 acres, son of Joseph
aud Nancy Huestes ; b AVashington Co. 1803 ; 1805 ;
p o KeUoggsviUe
Huestes Rosanna, daughter of Philip and Elizabeth Sincer
beaux ; b Dutchess Co. 1813 ; s 1835 ; p o Kelloggs
ville
House Eliziu- Rev. lot 88, Elder M. E. Church, C. N. Y,
Conference, son of Morris and Eunice House, bom
Washington Co 1808 ; s 1863 ; p o Dresserville
House Eda, daughter of Thomas and Deborah ElweU ; b
Dutchess Co. 1807 s 1803 ; p o DresserviUe
Kenyon AUen, lot 78, farmer, 50 acres, soil of James and
Anna Kenyon ; b Niles 1838 ; p e Sempronius
Kenyon Mary, daughter of Abram and Susan H, Westfall ; b
Niles 1841 ; p o Sempronius
Mott E. C. merchant and town clerk, son of Gardner Mott ;
b Sempronius ; p o Sempronius
Richardson John, res lot 77, son of George and Martha Rich
ardson ; b Peekskill s 1801 ; p o Sempronius
Richardson Barton S. res lot 07, farmer, 173 acres, son of
Stephen and Betsey Richardson; b Sempronius 1830,
p o KeUoggsviUe
Richardson Melvina, daughter of Jeremiah P, and Lucinda
Wood; b Sempronius 1835 ; p o Kelloggsville
Richardson Orson L, res lot 70, farmer, 97 acres, son of
Isaac and Rhoda Richardeon ; b Sempronius 1824 ;
p o Moravia
Richardson Lydia, daughter of James and Nancy Odell ; b
Niles 1833 ; p o Moravia
Reynolds D. D. res lot 50, fanner, 280 acres, son of Ben
jamin and Mary Reynolds ; b Sempronius 1820 ; p o
New Hope
Richardson Fianda L. daughter ef WiUiam and EUza Whi
ting ; b Niles 1820 ; p o New Hope
Reynolds G. W. let 78, farmer, 128 acres, son ef Robert B.
and Anna Reynolds ; b Sempronius 1834 ; p o Sem
pronius
Reynolds Mary E. daughter of Christopher and Esther M.
EIUbou; b Madison Co, 1835, s '36; p o Sempro
nius
Smith Dorr, lot 90, fanner, 57 acres ; commissioner of high
ways, son of Norman and SaUy Smith ; b Sempro
nius 1840 ; p o SemproniuB

Smith Thalia, daughter of Nathan W. and Ruth Cutler; b Sem
pronius 1841 ; p o Sempronius
WestfaU Susan H, daughter of Barzillia and Hannah Rich
mond; b Saratoga 1807; p o Sempronius
Westfall Abram, res lot 79, farmer, 70 acres, son of Abram
and Susan H. WestfaU ; b Niles 1848 ; p o Sempro
nius
AVestfall Sabra, daughter of Gardner and Adaline Mott ; b
Sempronius 1849 ; p o Sempronius

SUMMER HILL.
Chipman Nathan, general merchant ; b Cayuga Co. 1833 ;
p o Summer Hill
Dresser A. W. farmer and dairyman ; p o DresserviUe
Dresser Otis, farmer and dairyman ; p o Dresserville
Hinman Albert, farmer and dairyman ; p o DresserviUe
Green David H. fariner ; p o Summer Hill
Powers Edward, farmer and supervisor ; p o Groton, Tomp
kins Co.
Pinkerton David, farmer and justice of the peace ; p o Mo
ravia
Ranney A, W. farmer and daii-yman ; p o Summer HiU
Van Schaick H, farmer and dairyman ; p o DresserviUe
Walker Aaron, farmer ; p o Summer HiU

LOCKE.
Alley AV. W. miller ; p o Locke
Brooks Abram M. painter and supervisor ; p e Locke
Conklin J. D. farmer and nurseryman ; p o Locke
Cook Reuben, fanner ; p o Locke
Dean Harry M. carisenter ; p o Locke
Guest Edwin, retired ; p e Locke
Heath Harvey, retired ; p e Locke
Jackson Monroe, farmer ; p o Locke
Legei-n J. C, retired ; p o Locke
Lowe James, farmer ; p o Locke
Lyon A. M. railroad station agent ; p e Locke
Mead Nelson, physician ; p o Locke
Mcintosh A. farmer and assessor ; p o Locke
Shaw Harvey, farmer ; p o Locke
Spofford Uri, farmer ; p o Locke
Swartwout Jacob, blacksmith ; p o Locke
Smith Abram, farmer ; p o Locke
Silcox John, proprietor Silcox miUs ; p e Locke
Satterly D. B. farmer ; p o Locke
Tuttle Johu C. farmer ; p o Locke
White Porter, fariuer ; p o Locke
AVhite J. L. boot and shoe dealer and justice ef the peace ;
p o Locke
AVescott Samuel, farmer p o Locke

INDEX.

PAGE
Ackerson, ComeUus, biography of  267
Adams, Samuel Major  491
Adario's treachery  16
Addenda  517
Agricultural implouiciitH, iiiaimracturo of  103, 161
" rank of tho towns  40, 'II
" society, flrst in county  74
" " in Moravia  76
-'" " North Cayuga  77
" societies  74, 85
" " general view of  77
statistics  80, 86
Aiken, Leonard O.  403
Alden, Beardsley & Co  64
Allen, Isaacs  65
Analysis of gypsum in Springport  368
" " sahnes at Montezuma  299, 300
" " water iu Owasco Lake  214
Anderson & Dyer  ••¦•• 175
Andrews, Thomas, biogr.aphy of  267
Annable, D.avid, Dr  461
Architects of thc Comity  04, 0.6
AriiiHtrong, David  ;•¦ 186
Army, SuUivan's, route of tlii-ough Genoa  586
Art and artists  •'+. ''•'
Artists, lady  '•'
Aspinwall, Nathaniel  6()()
Assembly, nicinbers of  '*•'
Atrocities at AVyoming, their effect  18
Attorneys, promiucnt early  91
Auburn Academic High School  188, 191
" Academy  ^^^'
--— I' " merged in Academic High School  189
" City Mills  173
'i Collar Co  173
" College  l-l'-'
" currency biUs issued hi village of  224
" description of in 1810, by DeWitt Clinton  144
" early improvements in  223
" Female Seminary  188
'! Fire Department  '-^16
" first bank iu  1-17
" " city officers ot  161, 224
" " cotton-iuiU in  I't7
" " inarkctiu  I''8
" " paper-mill in  I'J
" " village officers of  140, 22.'1
" " woolen factory iu  161
" Oas Light Company  •il'i
" Glovo and Mitten Co  173
" Henry Clay's visit t<i  f't, 224
¦" incorporated as a city  161, 224
" incorporated as a village  140, 223
" Iron Works  170
" John Quincy Adams' visit to  151
LaFayette's receptionin  148
" manufactni-es  1*'^
Mauufactui-iuK Coiiipaiiy  104
" Martin Van Burcn's visit to  161

PAGE
Aubum, mayors and clerks of  224
" name of, when adopted  223
" OU AVorks  176
" population of, inl805  223
]iopulatiou of, iu 1816  14l>-
" population of, in 1848  •- l''''l
" present officers of  ;  224.
" Prison  164
" building.....  100
" " inspectors of  "8
" Savings Bank  180
" School Association  186
" Steam Heating Co. Limited  216
" Theological Seminary  193
" Tool Co  170
" village aud city government of.:  223
" Water AVorks Co  214
" Young Ladies' Institute  195
Aurelius, area of  ''^^^=sp
" --Avenue Mills  tft
" first board of school commissioners of  187
'- formation and boundary of  141, .346
" geological foniiatiou of  347
" olllcoi-H of  ;  361
" population of,,  347
settlement of  138, 347
" soil of  ;  •'47
" Station  .'  .-1.58
" topography of  .347
A'^illage  357
Aurora  403
" bench and bar of  ,  407
" churches of  411
" distinguiKlied residents of  403
" early courts in  406
" early press of  405
'¦ First National Bank of  408
" Gazette  406
" incoriioration of  405
" schools of  409
" societies of  413
Authors, local  56
Avery, Daniel and Hezekiah  397
Avery family, settleiueiit of  433
Banks, First National of Aurora  408
" " " " Moravia  464
" " " " Union Springs  367
" Moravia National  4(15
" The Auburn Savings  '  180
" " Cayuga County National Bankof Aubiu-n... 17!)
" " " " Savings " " ... 183
" " First National of Auburn  ]82
" " National Bank of Auburu  178
" " National Exclmiigo Banlc of Auburn  181
" " Bankof Port Byron  310
" " Bank of AVeedsport  ;!28
" W. H, Soward & Co, 'h Banking House  182
Barber, Josiah .t Sous  jcg
Barbers Comers  422

XXVI

HISTORY OF CAYUGA COUNTY.

PAGE
Beach, John H  ;il5
Beach's Mills  ;{15
Beardsley, John  422
Beardsley, Nelson  '. ... 221
Beardsley, Wheeler A Co. , manuf'K iiiowci-h and roapors. 171
Bear Swamp  ,  470
" " Creek  443
Bench and Bar of Aubum  219
Bethel Cornors  278
BigBluir, Stoi-Ung  201
Births, first in Aurolius  348
" " Bmtus  323
" " Cato  289
" " Cayuga County  487
" " Conquest  282
" " Fleming  377
" " Ira  273
" " Locke  507
" " Mentz  312
" " Momvia  4,64
" Niles  446
" " Scipio  419
". " Sennett  341
" " Sempronius  470
" " SterUng  2.59
'i " Throop  336
" " Victory....'  208
" first white male child in Genoa  489
" first white male child iu Niles  444
Black Rock  ,  410
Board of Education of Aubui-u  188, 192
Bolts CornorB  119
Book Press  ,.. .54
" Publishers, first  56
" The first pubUshed iu the county  64
Bounties  106, 13(i
Bounty Lands  391
Boyd, Lieut,, death of  19
Bradley, Jabez  489
Bradley, WilUam Deacon  490
Bread Creek  323
Brebeuf, Father, cmel treatment of  23
Bressani, Father, " "  21
Bridges in Cato  288
BriggB, Lansingh, M. D., biography of  236
Bristol, John S. miller  174
Bronson, Parliament  221
Brown, Erastus E  Kiii
Brown, WiUiam  220
Brownell,. Gilbert  488
Brownell, Gilbert, visited Moravia previous to its scttle-
,ment  1,52
Brownell, Jonathan  390, 488
Brownell, Thurston aud Perez  488
Bratus, area of  ;123
" formation and boundary of  ;i22
" geological formation of  .'123
'¦ population of  .'  323
", settlement of  ;i23
" soil of  ;t23
. "- topography of  322
BuckflviUo  ;il i
Bundy, Wm, L., biography of  247
Burials, Indian  ii 1
Burial Grounds, Indian  300 418, 132, 486
Burnham, Eleazur  ;)99
Burr & Thorne, millers  17;t
Burtis <fe Son, brewers and maltsters  170
Buttre, John Chester  (16
Cady's Tavem  455
Cady, Zadoc  455
Canal, Erie  42
Capins Corners  41 ,r,
Card. Clothing EstabhBhment  171
Carding Works, first iu Southern Cayuga  4 56
Carding Works, in which MiUard PiUniore learned the
trade of cardiug and wool-drcssiug  450
Carheil, de, his Cayuga Mission  25
Caheil, de, rebukes Indian superstitions  25
earner. Fish, grant of land secured, by the Cayugas,,. 391

PAGE
CarpenterB FaUs  4.50
Cascade  '.  443
Cast Iron Plow, Jethro Weed's  403, 4,58
Castner, Richard, biography of  339
Cato, area of  290
" bridges in  288
i' formation and boundary of  288
" omcorsof  290
" p(i]mlatloii of  ,  290
" Hiatlcimcnt of  289
" soil of  288
" topogi-aphy of  288
" village  296
Cayuga, village  362
"- activity at, during the war of 1812  361
" Asylum for Destitute Children  :  190
" Bible Society  M7
" Bridge  349
" Chief, the  330
" churches in  ,  3.53
County, agi-icultural rank of  41
National Bank  179
" Savings "  183
" in the Rebellion  99
" Lake  35
" Academy  409
" Mission, its dilliculties  23
" " duration of first  24
" Plaster Co  ¦..  307
' ' Reservation  390
" " settlors on ejected thorefrom  394
Cayugas, the  9
Cayugas, compensation received by the, for their lauds,
on the east shore of Cayuga Lake  391
Cayugas, grants of land secured by  390
'• reservations of the  390
" territory of the, how acquired  390
" improvements of the  11
Census, agricultural returns of the  80-85
" study of the  86
Centennial File AVorks  176
Centerport  321
Centerville  611
Chaumouot, Father, describes the effect of dreams on
the Indians  26
Cheese Factories, Sayles Corners  476
" Sennett Cheese Manufacturing Co... , 345
" The Moravia Association  466
" TliroopsviUo Cheese Manufacturing
Co  337
Chronicles, Prison  5i!
Cliun-hoH, Advent Clii-istiau, Martville  263
" A. M. Zion, Aubm-n  208
" Associated Reformed Presbyterian, Sterling
Valley  2(12
" Baptist of Ira  277
" " Montezuma  306
" " Moravia  472
" " Steriing Center  202
" " Summer Hill  510
" " Vciiico  410
" " Victory  270
" Calvai-y, Episcopal, Northville  .50,3
" Calvary, Presbyterian, Auburn  212
" CainpboUite, Cato  297
" Central Presbyterian Society  210
" ChriMtian, Conquest  285
" Christian, Westbury  272
" Congi-ogatioiial, Moravia  470
Congregational, Sunimer Hill  610
" Disciples ef ('hrist, ThroopsviUe  339
" First Baptist, Auburn  201
" " " Meridian  293
" " Port Byron  itio
" I' " Sempronius  481
" ^ " Weedsport  332
" " Congregational Society of Aurelius.... 198
" " Congregation of Disciples in Auburn... 208
' - " Free Congi-ogational of Genoa  605
" M. E, Auburn  204

Missing Page

Missing Page

HISTORY OF CAYUGA COUNTY.

XXIX

PAGE
•Churches, First M. E.Cayuga  .350
" " " East Genoa  606
" " " Genoa  .,  606
" " " Ledyard  415
" " " Moravia  471
" " " ScipioviUe  429
" " " AVeedsport  330
" " Presbyterian, Genoa  501
" " " Mentz  ,317
" " " ScipioviUe  429
" " " Sennett  340
" " " Springport  370
" " " Victory  271
" " " AVeedsport  3,31
" " Society of the M. E. Church, Fleming 382
" " Universalist, Auburn  206
" " " Genoa  499
" • " " Niles  447
" " " Scipio  427
¦" Fleming Baptist  380
" Fostei-viUe M, E  '  3.57
-" Free Methodist, Montezuma  ¦ 308
" " " Summer HiU  516
" Free AViU Baptist  616
" Friends  411
•" Grace, Episcopal, Union Springs  373
' ' Holy Family, Catholic, Aubum  204
" in Aurelius and Auburn  197
KeUoggsville M. E  448
" M.E,, Aurora  413
" Bethel Corners  278
" " Cato  298
¦" " Conquest Center  284
" "Martville  202
" " Montezuma  307
" " Owasco  388
" " Port Byron  320
" SterUng Center  263
" " Twelve Corners  4.50
" " A''ictory  „... 270
" AVestbury  272
" New Hope M, E. Society  449
¦" Old Mentz, M, E., Montezuma  307
" Ow-asco Baptist  388
" Presbyterian, Aurora  412
" Cayuga  3.53
" " Meridian  294
" Protestant Methodist, Conquest Center  284
" " " Spring Lake  285
" Reformed, Cato  297
" ¦" Owasco  386
-" " Presbyterian, Sterling Center  202
" " Protestant Dutch, Owasco  198
" St. Alphonsus. German Catholic, Aubui-n  208
" St. Bernard's Cathohc, Scipio Center  428
¦" St. John's, Protestant Episcopal, Auburn.... 209
" " Roman Catholic, Port Byron  320
" " Episcopal, Weedsport  332
" St. Joseph's, Cayuga  350
" " Roman Catholic, Weedsport.... 333
" St. Lucas, Aubum  '.  212
" St. Luke's, Episcopal, Cayuga  355
St. Mark's, A. M. E., Auburn  212
" St. Mary's, Roman Catholic, Aubum  211
" St. Mary of the Lake, Catholic, NorthviUe.. 603
" St. Matthew's, Episcopal, Moravia  471
" St. Michael's, Roman Cathohc, Montezuma. 307
" St. Patrick's, Roman Catholic, Aurora  413
¦" " " Cato  298
" " '( Moravia  472
" St. PaiU's, Episcopal, Aurora  413
" " " Port Byron  320
" St. Peter's. Protestant Episcopal, Auburn.... 199
" Sand Beach, Fleming  >  381
" Scipio Baptist  i  426
-" Second Baptist Church of Christ in Sempro
nius  483
" Second M. E., Locke  fill
" " Presbyterian, Auburn  205
^' " " Genoa  498

Churches, Sennett Baptist  345
" The Baptist Church of Union Springs  371
" The First Society of the M. E. Church in
Union Springs  373
" ThroopsviUe Baptist  338
Tme Reformed Dutch Church of Owasco.... 388
WaU Street M, E,, Auburu  209
Civil List of Cayuga County  i  94
Clarke, Peter Lynsen, Dr  303
Clark, PWlo,.  601
Clary, Joseph, Dr., biography ef  251
Clay's visit to Aubuni  161
Clerks, early town, of AureUus  141
Clerks, of Auburn  224
Clerks, of Cayuga County  95
Climate of the County  40
Close, Beujaminand Daniel  487, 488
Clough, George L  66
Coffin, Frederick M  68
Coleman, B, F  501
Commerce of Fair Haven  256
Common school system organized  186'
Compulsory Education  189
Confederacy, Iroquois, extent of the sway of the  10
" " history of the.,  > 9
" " success of the  10
" " tradition of the origin of the... 9
Conflicts between the French and Iroquois  14
Congress, Representatives in  97
Conklin, Calvin AV., steam boiler manufacturer  173
Conniff & Yantch, manufacturers  173
Conquest, area of  282
" Center  283
" formation aud boundary of  281
geological formation of  282
" officers ef  283
" population of  i  282
soUof  282
" topography of  282
Convict labor in Auburn Prison  '158
Cooke, M, C, M. D,, biogi-aphy of  475
Cook, J. A,, proprietor Aubum Oil AVorks  '  176
Cooper, William, biography of  '207
Cooper, AViUiam P., Dr  447
Corning, George, Sr, , manufacturer of boots and shoes , 169
Cornplanter  ,  452
Council fire, when kindled  ,  ', 9
Council flre, when extinguished  ,  9
County, formation of  34
" Poor House  344
Seat  143
" Trea.sui-ei-s  98
Court House, located at Sherwood  93
" " " " Hardenbergh's Corners  93
" " present, when erected  ¦.  93
Courtney, Charles E,, biography of  375
Courtney, John P., biography ef  875
Courts, counselors and cases  90
" county, first in Auburu  „. 94
i' first iu Aurora   91
" " " Cayuga Couuty  91
Coventry & Co., cigar manufacturers  176
Cow-shed  451
Cox, James R  222
Crane, W. W. , founder and machinist  172
Cross Lake  33| 288
Culvers Point  431
Curtis, W. H., M, D,, biography of  475
Dairying  443, 452, 476, 513
Dairying, improvements iu  479
Day, Rowland  457
Day, S, Edwin  ;  4^3
•Death, first in Brutus  323
" " Cato  289
" " Fleming  '. 377
" " Genoa  435
Ira  .;;;; 274
" " Moravia  454
" " Sempronius  477
" Sennett  ."."".' 34Q

XXX

HISTORY OF. CAYUGA COUNTY.

PAGE
Death, first in Sterling  259
" " Victory  268
Dennis, Alexander Hamilton  474
Derby, Miller & Co  54
DiscipUne, early school  60
DiscipUne, prison  159
District attorneys  95
Ditton, Francis  174
D. M. Osborne & Co.'s Mower and Reaper Works  103
Doubleday, Ulysses F  ,56
Drafts  106, 106
Drainage of the County  35
Dreams, the great Indian oracles  31
Dresser, Artemas  478
DresserviUe  '.  480
Dry Creek  4.61, .507
Duck Lake  282
Dudley, Frederick A  601
Dugan, Hugh, biography of  ,  265
Dunning <feCo  177
Dunn, Salmon & Co  168
Dutch Hollow  4.50
Dutch HeUow Brook  443
East Genoa  505
East Venice  442
Eckert, Adam  178
E. D. Clapp Manufacturing Co  165
Education, Beard ef, in Aubm-n  64
" progress of  57-64
Ejectment of settlers from the Cayuga Reservation  394
Elevation, highest jn county  470
EUery, William, biegi-aphy ef  ,. 322
EUiott, Charles Loring  00, 423
EUiott, John  ,.....'  176
EUis, EUasM  404
Emigration, early tendency of  35
Empire WringerCo  167
EngUsh efforts to please the Indians  17
EnghBh fear of Jesuit influence  17
Engravers, notice of  65
Ensenore  431
Enterprise, the, the first steamboat on Cayuga Lake. ... 487
Erie Canal  42-43
" effect of the, ou the settlements!  315
" enlargement  ,  315
" " disastrous effect on Port Byron. 315
Estate, real and personal, valuation of  72
Esther, Queen of Tuscaroras  361
Everts, D. P. G. and W. 0  174
Fair Haven  255
Fall Brook  513
Fanning, G. S  ,  176
• Farm buildings, value of  85
Farmlands, value of in 1837 and 1877  71
Farmers' Joint Stock Insurance Co  293
Farms, cash value of  86
Fay, Edwin R  173
Feasts, Indian, prodigaUty of  ;  31
Feasts, Me(iical, requirements of  31
Federahst, Western  50
Ferry, Amaziah Hutchinson's in Milton  92
" authorized at Caynga  91
" David Follett's  92
" first across Cayuga Lake  348
" first in Cato  289
'" first in Genoa  ,  487
" James Kidder's  92
" Jonas C. Baldwin's  92
Fillmore, MiUard.!  513
Fillmore Nathaniel  513
Fitch, Jeremiah, biography of  opposite 350
Fi-ve Comers  504
Five Nations  <)
. " the, adopt the Tuscaroras  ,  18
" attempt to subdue the  IG
'" the, invade the country of the Southei-n
Indians  18
" prowess of the, in war  10
" treaty of the iEnglish with the  15
" wars of the, with the French  12, 17

Fleming, area of  376
•' geological formation of  376
" name, formation and boundary of  376
" officersof  378
" population of  376
" settlement of  376
soil of  376
" topographyof  37G
" ViUage  379
Fort HiU Cemetery Association  151
Fortificatiens, ancient  334, 508
Fosgate, Blanchard Dr. , biography of  240
Fossils  2.53, 268
FosterviUe  350
" first settlement of  3.50
Four Mile House  382
Foxell, Jones <& Co...  '...,  169
Franklin, Roswell Capt,, difficulties and dangers attend
ing his passage of the rapids at Seneca Falls  392
Franldin, Roswell Capt., memorial window, Presbyte
rian Church, Aurora  392
Frankhn RosweU Capt,, settlement of, at Cayuga  392
" " " tragic death of  395
French and EugUsli War, the, conclude peace  10
" 1744-1748  18
" " 175,5-1763  18
!French, effects of the fire arms ef the  15
" relations with the Indians  13
' ' the, invade the territory of the Iroquois  13
Friends' Meetings  411
Frontenac Island  364
Frontenac's invasion  15
Frontenac's peace efforts  15
Fusiieers  148
Garacontie befriends the missions  24
Gaylord John B  177
Genoa, area of  485
" Indian Fields in  485
" Indian occupancy of  485
" Indian relics in  485
' ' name, formation and boundary of  484
Genoa, occupation and condition of inhabitants of. . .. 485
" population of  485
" settlement of  485
' ' topography of  484
" village  496
Geology of the County  38
" Aurelius  347
" Brutus  323
" Conquest  282
" Fleming  376
" Ira  273
" Ledyard  390
" Locke  507
" Mentz  308
" Montezuma  299
" Moravia  452
Niles  443
" Sempronius  470
" Sennett  840
" Springport  358
" Sterling  268
Throop  334
" Venice  432
" Victory  207
Glen Haven Water Cure  484
Goiogouen, Father Rafeix's description of...  .300
Goiogouen, Indian Village of  359
Goodrich, Milo Hon  222
Gratuity Lands  391
Greenfield, HuU  464
Grovers HiU  377
Guion, Charles F  175
Gutchess, Stephen, biography of  321
Gypsum'  282, 299, 308, 323, 334, 840, 347, 858
Gypsum, analysis of, in Springport  358
Gypsum, first discovery of, in Springport  302
Gypsum, product ef, in Springport  358, 374
Half Acre  357
HaU, Benjamin P., biography ef  238

HISTORY OF CAYUGA COUNTY.

XXXI

PAGE
HaU, Silas N., Dr  481
Hardenbergh, John L, Col  .1..... ...... 139
Hardenbergh's Comers, first birth at  142
" " " burial ground at  141
" " " hatter at  142
" " " inn at  141
" " ¦" miUat  140
" " " physician at  141
" " " post-office at  142
" " " stores at  141
" " " tannery at  141
" " Indians at  139
" " name changed to Aubum, when 223
" " slaves at  142
" " wild animals at  142
Hatch, Geo. AVhitfield  06
Hayden & Smith  108
Hayden's AVooleu Factory  311
Hewett, Ralph, biogi-aphy of  266
Hewitt, Ebenezer, Dr  :  497
Hewitt, Stephen S., Dr  497
Hibiscus, growth of, at Yawgers Point  359
Highest elevation iu tlio county  470
High School iu Auburn  188, 191
HiUs Branch  374
Holbrook, Silas Dr  ,.  440, 401
Homeopathic Physicians  90
Homeopathy in Cayuga County  88-90
HortoU, James Harvey Dr  447
Hosmer, William H  57
Hotels in Cato  297
Cayuga  3.53
" Conquest Center   284
" Fair Haven  265
Meridian  293
Montezuma  302
" Moravia  407
" Port Byron  315
" SterUng Center  326
AVeedsport  330
House, first, bmlt in Cayuga County  393
Howland, Benjamin  399
^Howland School  309
Howland's Island  286
Hubbard, John W., biography of  242
Hughitt, W. E  222
Hunsiker, Hoyt Dr., biography of  517
Hunter, James, "  263
Hunter, John, "  264
Hunter, Thomas, "  264
Hurlbm-t, Amos, "  '•• 475
Hiu-lbert, John N. Hon  220
Hussey, Jonathan  402
Images used by the missionaries  23
Indian burials  31
_" cruelties to missionaries  21
" dances and feasts  29
" dwellings  28
" feasts, prodigaUty of  -.  31
" Fields  432, 485
' ' fort, location of in Onondaga county  13
" habits and usages  28
" John, sentenced to be hung  92
" John's murder of Ezekiel Crane  92
" races, various, difference in the  11
" relics,.  313, 300, 418, 486, 608
" social usages  29
" superstitions  24
" towns  29, 485
" war-dance  30
" winter lodge  21
Indians number of, in Springport in 1 791  361
" the western, aUied -with the EngUsh  .,  16
Ingham, WiUiam  •  :  290
Inhabitants, native  "
Institute, teachers  ¦••• •,  f'3
Ira, area of  ,  276
" Center  276
" geological formation of  273
" location and formation of,  273

PAGE
Ira, manuf actures of  279
" officers of  276
" population of  275
" settlement of  , 273
" soU of  278
" Station  279
" topographyof  ^  , 273
Ireland, John, biography ef  » 266
Irish, David Elder  1  419
Iron ore  253
Iroquois, and early colonists  12
" and French enmity  , 13
" social usages of the  29
" conflicts of the, with the French  14
" dances and feasts  29
dwellings  28
" lodge, discomforts of the  .....;; ,. 28
" Buccesses and ravages  . 15
" superiority  12, 32
" the, adopt the Tuscaroras  18
" the, defeat the Adirondacks  13
" towns  , 29
Irwin, WiUiam, biography of  205
Jail, at Cayuga  91, 348
Jail, changed to Aurora  92
Jail, at Sherwood  420
Jakway, John, Dr  290
Jakway's Comers  i296
Jennings, Joel Bradford  '.  464
Jesuit missionaries and the Iroquois  17
Jesuit priests, treatment of, by the Hurons....  '.'... ' 23
Jesuits among the Cayugas  20
" cause of the failure of the  27
" English opposition to the  17
" general account of the  '.  ..20, .27
" sacrifices and sufferings of the  21
Johnson, Robert, biography of  '. 280
Judges, County  ,"  '. 94
Judges, Special  „' 94
Justices of the Supreme Court  '94
Kanistagia  361
KeUoggsviUe  :  446
KendaU, Charles  396
Kennedy, T. J  66
Kennedy's Independent Battery  '.:  108, 134
KeviU's Mills..  268
King, Consider. Dr  fiOO
King, George W  '^.... ...... ..'..;  '69
King, John  '. 487
Kings Ferry  487, 500
Kinney, Aaron, missionary services of  486
Knapp, John ITumer, biography of  280
Knapp, Oscar F  ...'.  66
Koenig, WiUiam  ]76
LaFayette's reception in Aubum  -.  '.. 148
Lakes in theceunty  '.  , 35
Lancasterian schools  180
Lands granted to soldiers  !....32, 33
Land titles, imperfection of  32
Lawyers, early, in Aubum  220
" in Auburn, present  222
" Am-oi-a  •  407
Cato  ;  297
" Cayuga  353
'• Dresserville  431
" Fair Haven  .'... 257
" Ira Center  277
" Meridian  292
" Milan  , 611
" Montville  474
" Moravia  ,..,.' 462
" PortByron  ...¦; 316
" Summer HiU  ....;. 515
" Union Springs  366
" Weedsport  329
Leavenworth, John  ;  494
Ledyard, area of  39Q
" Benjamin, Gen  397
" first settlement in Cayuga County, inade in. . 390
" geological formation of  39Q

xxxu

HISTORY OF CAYUGA COUNTY.

PAGE
Ledyard, in the war ef the Rebelhon  417
" measures preceding and preparing the way
for settlement in  390
" name, formation and boundary of  390
". officersof  403
" population of  390
" settlements in  ,392
" soil of  ,390
" topographyof  .390
" village  415
Legern, John 0., biogi-aphy of  512
Le Moyne, Father, visits the Cayugas  25
Le Moyne's, Father, opinion of the Cayugas  25
Letchworth, Josiah, biography of  234
Levanna.....  '.  414
" early prominencte of  416
" Gazette...  415
Lewis', Orlando  173
Libraries, School  212
Library, first in Auburn  212
Library, Seymour  213
Lickville  616
Limestone, 267, 273, 308, 334, 340, 347, 358, 443, 452, 507
Little Lessee Co  392
Little Sodus Harbor  256
Locke, ancient fortification in  ,508
" areaof  609
" election in, m 1802  :  ,509
" formation and boundary of  ,507
" geological formation of  .507
" nianirfactures in  511
" ' offlcers ill  509
" population of  .509
" settlement of  .507
" soil ef  507
" topographyof  .607
" John  467
" Pond  513
Lockwood, Homer, biography of  273
Longevity, remarkable instances of  317, 455, 478
Lot 34 in Ledyard, division of  395
Lounsbury, AViUett  ,  55
Lunatics, first sent to Utica  73
Lunatics, present number of, in asylam  73
McCrea, A  177
McCrea, Thomas, biography of  opposite 462
McCuUen Thomas, biography of  322
McDougaU, CUnton Dugald  222
McMaster, William E  07
Malarial diseases, prevalence of  288, 314
Malting  329
Manufactures, of agricultural implements in Aubum . 104, 173
" ale, lager and malt  175, 170
" Auburn  162
" boots and shoes in Auburn  168, 109
" boxes  176
" Bratus  333
" buttons  172
" cardolothing  171
" Carpenters Falls  460
" cairiage and saddlei-y hardware  105, 108
" Cato  297
" Cayuga  363
" cigars  .,.  170, 177
" clothes wringers  167
" Conquest  284
" cultivator teeth  176
" DresserviUe  480
" Fair Haven  256
files  175, 176
" Fleming  382
" , , flour  173,174
" furniture  172
"  Genoa  498, 506
" gloves and mittens  173
" grain cleaners  173
" horse coUai-s  170
I " iron in Auburu  ,  167, 170
" Ira  277, 279
" . Ma,rt ville..,  258

PAGE
Manufactures, of Meridian  292
" Montezuma  302
" MoutviUe  474
" Moravia  466
" mowers and reapers in Aubum .... 163, 171
" NewHope  .'  449
" Niles....  4.50
Owasco  .389
" planes and plane irouH  170
" PortByron  310
" sash, doors and blinds  174, 175
" Scipio  431
" scythes  169
" Sempronius  481
Sennett  346
snow shovels and laundry machines... 174
" soap and candles  ,  176
" SpringLake  285
" starch  163
" steam boilers  173
" Sterling Center  2,55
" SterUng Valley  268
" stove hoUew ware  109
" ThroopsviUe  337
" Union Springs  307, 308
" A''enice Center  439
" Victory  272
" wagons and carriages  177
" AVeedsport  328
" AVestbury  272
" woolen goods and carpets  108, 109
Marl  323
Marl of the Cayuga Marshes  38, 309
Man-iage, first in AureUus  348
" " Brutus  342
" " Cato  289
" " Conquest  282
" Genoa  488
" " Ira  273
" " Moravia  454
" Scipio  419
" " Sempronius  477
" Sennett  341
" " Sterling  200
" " Throop  335
" romantic in Genoa  488
" singular instance of  422
Marshes, Cayuga, area of  38, 309
Marshes, Montezuma  298
MartviUe  2.68
Matthews, George H  69
Mayors of Auburn  224
Mead Jonathan  ,  487
Mead, Philander, Dr  508
Medical Societies  85, 90
" Society, disbanded  88
" ¦' first formation of the  85
" " present local membership of the  88
" " proceedings of the  80-7
" " reorganized  ,  88
" " Homeopathic  88
Meeker, Joseph R  07
Meeting, public, first of citizens of Auburu during the
warof the Rebellion  100
Menard and the Cayugas  23, 34
Mentz, area of  309
" formation and location of  808
" geological formation of  308
" officersof  313
'- population of  309
" settlement of  312
" soU of  309
" topographyof  308
Merchants in Aurelius  357
" Aurora  405
" Bethel Corners  278
" Cato  290
" Cayuga  351
" Conquest Center  283
" DresserviUe  480

HISTORY OF CAYUGA COUNTY.

XXXUl

Merchants in East Genoa  505
" East Venice  442
" Fair Haven  256
" Five Corners  504
" Flciiiing  379
", FosterviUe  350
" Genoa  496
" Ira Center  276
" KelloggsviUe  447
Ledyard  ;  ;.,,. 416
" Levanna  416
" MartviUe  258
" Meridian  291
" Milan  509
" Montezuma  304
-' Montville  473
" Moravia  458
" New Hope  449
" Niles  4,50
" NorthviUe  499
" Owasco  386
" PoplarRidgc  441
" PortByron  310
" Scipio Center  425
" Scijiio Summit  431
" Scipioville  428
" Sempronius  481
" Sennett  344
" Sherwood  :  430
" SpringLake  285
" Sterling Center  264
" SterUng A'alley  258
Summer HiU  616
¦ " Throopsville  337
" Union Springs  304
Venice,,.  439
Venice Center  4,39
" Victory  209
AVeedsport  326
" AVestbury  ,  272
" Union Express Company  152
Meridian  .',, 290
Milan  ,609
Milet, Father, visits the Iroquois  25
Mihtary Districts  103
" organizations, Capt, T, J, Kennedy's Co  99
" " in the war of 1812  145
" " in the war of the RebeUion. , . ,99-134
" " militia  148
Tract  32
" " survey of the  391
MiU Brook  4,51
Miller, Elijah, biography of  220
MiUs, early in Genoa  495
" first in Bmtus  323
" Conquest  282, 285
" " Genoa  480
" " Ira  275
" Locke  607
" Mentz  310, 313
" Montezuma  306
" " Moravia  453
" " Owasco  384
" " Sempronius  478
" " Sterhng  200
" " Summer HiU  614
" " Throop  335
" " Venice  435
" " Victory  268
Milton, name changed to Genoa  484
Mineral Springs  334, 340, 347, 3.59
Missions, Jesuit, among the Cayugas  20-28
" " with the Iroquois  17
Moe, John  «  487, 488
Montozunm, area of  :.. 301
" churches in  306
" first settlement in  302
" formation and location of  298
" geological formation of  299
" officersof  305

PAGE
Montezuma, population of  301
" salt springs of  299,
soU of  301
" topography of  298
" village  301
MoutviUe  473
Moravia Agricultural Society  474
" agriculture of largely devoted to dairying  452
" areaof  452
" churches of  470
" Citizen  467
" Cotton MiU  466
" geological formation of  452
" Institute  468
" name, formation and boundary of  451
" National Bank  465
" officers of  474
" oldest building in  , 466
' ' population of  452
" settlement of  ;..  462
" soil of  452
" topographyof  451
" Union Free School  409
" Valley Register  407
•¦ ViUage   458
Morgan, Christopher  399
" "  .-  400
" Edwin B,, Col  '.  400
" George P  401
" Henry  400
" John  ,  401
" Richard  401
Morse Gershom  454
Mosquito Point  ,  314
Mower and Reaper Works, D. M, Osborne & Co  103
Murdock, Joshua  434
Murdock, Lyman  435
Muskrat Creek  288
Myres, Michael S  ,  220
National Exchange Bank  181
Native Inhabitants  9
Ne-w Hope  i. 449
Newland, Flora B., biography of  '  bet. 440, 447
Newland, Lemuel A. , biography of  " .446, 447
Newspaper, first in Aubm-n  50
New York Central Insurance Co  366
New York State Asylum for Insane Convicts  101
Niles, agriculture of consists largely in dairying  443
" area of  ,440
" geological formation of  443
" name, formation and boundary of  443
" officers of  446
" population of  446
" settlement  ,  443
" soU of  443
" topography of  443
" ViUagei  450
Nino Comers  '.  '.  460
Nineteenth Regiment  101, 107
Nineteenth Regiment cjianged to 3d ArtiUery  113
North SterUng  259
North Victory  272
Northville  499
NorthviUe, first settlementat  489
Noyes, Jaines 0  479
Noyes, John B  479
Noyes, WiUiam Leslie  479
Nye <fc Wait, carpet manufacturers  169
Oakwood Seminary  369
Officers, first of city of Aubum  224
" " village of Aubum  223
" of Aubum, present  224
" Aurelius  ,  351
" Bmtus  325
" Cato  290
" Cayuga  351
" Conquest  283
" Fleming  378, 517
" Genoa  495
Ira  276

XXXIV

HISTORY OF CAYUGA COUNTY.

PAGE
Officers, of Ledyard  403
" Locke  .509
" Mentz  313
" Montezuma  305
" " village  301
" Moravia  474
" Niles  440, 517
" Owasco  384, 517
" Port Byi-on  311
" Scipio  425
" Seiuprouius  480
" Sennett  343
. " Springport  303
" Sterling  201
" Summer HiU  '.  616
" Throop  330
" UnionSprings  ,~  304, 374
" Venice  438
" Victory  269
" Weedsport  517
Ogden, David, Sr., Captain  492
Ogdens Corners  500
One Hundred and Eleventh Regiment  103
" " " Ninety-third Regiment  106
" " " Sixtieth Regiment  104
" " " Thirty-eighth Regiment  104
Onondaga Colony, secret flight of the  24
Onondaga Mission, broken up  24
Ontario Bay Harbor Improvement Company  257
Ontario Lake  ;  35
Orton AVilliam  .54
Oswego Starch Company  163
Otter Lake  288
O wasoo area of  383
" formation and boundai-y of  382
" officersof  384
population of in 1820  384
" " 1876  383
" settlement of  383
" slaves in, in 1820  .384
" soU ef  383
" topographyof  383
" CanalCompany  149
" Flats, (seeMoravia) 
" Lake  35
" Village  385
Page, JohnR,, as an artist  07
Painters, landscape and portrait  05
Palmer, S, AV. & Co., manufacturers  174
Panic, financial, of 1837  160
" " " 1876  152
" preparing for the, of 1837  149
Parker, Daniel  274
" Edward D  178
" JohnL. Hon  403
" Wing T  404
Parkers Pond.....  .«,  288
. Parmelee, Ed-win B  176
Patriot War  1,50
Patrons of Husbandry  78-80
" " Fire Insurance...  80
" " general history of  78
" of Cayuga  79
Pauperism, early  79
Peace negotiations, failure ef  ,.. 10
Peacock Thomas, woodworker,.,,  175
Penmanship, early method ef teaching  61
PennyviUe  4.50
Pepper MiU, the  286
Perry, AVinslow  454
Phelps, Seth  ;  396
Physical and mental progress compared,...;  67
Physicians, in Aubum!  90
" Aurelius  867
" Aurora  407
" Cato  296
" Cayuga  352
" Conquest Center  :  284
" DresserviUe  481
" Fair Haven  257

PAGE
Ph^'siciaiiH, in Five Corners  "Ol
Fleming  380
Fosterville  367
Genoa  497
Ira Center  277
Kelloggsville  447
Ledyard  415
Martville  2.59
Meridian  292
Milan  ,  510
Montezuma  304
Montville  474
Moravia  461
Niles  4,50
NorthviUe  500
Owasco  380
Poplar Ridge  442
Port Byron  310
Scipio Ceuter  420
Scipioville  429
Sempronius  481
Sennett  345
Sherwood  430
Spring Lake  285
Summer HiU  516
ThroopsviUe  .337
Union Springs  305
Venice  440
" Center  439
Victory  270
AVeedsport  828
Pioneer life, effect of upou schools  67
Plato, name changed to Sunimer Hill  513
Plow, Jethro AVood's cast iron  403, 458
Pomeroy, Theo. M,, Hon   222
Poor expenses at the County House  74
" " of the towns  73
" House, erection of  73
" " first physician of the  73
" " superintendent of the  73
Poplar Ridge  441
PortByron  309
" " Chronicle  ,  310
" " churches in  317
" " Free School and Academy  310
" " water works of  311
Porter, John  2-20
Postmasters of Auburu  225
'.' Aurelius  357
" ' Aurora  400
Bethel Corners  278
" Cato  ,'  290
" Cayuga  362
" Concjuest Center  284
" Dresserville  480
" East Genoa  600
" East Venice  442
" Five Corners  504
" Fleming  380
" FosterviUe  350
" Genoa  497
" Ira Center  277
" Kelloggsville  447
" Ledyard  416
" Levanna  416
" Milan  !  511
" Meridian  292
" Montezuma  305
" Moravia  401
" NewHope  449
" Niles  450
" NorthviUe  500
" Owasco  385
" Poplar Ridge  441
" Scipio Ceuter  420
" Scipioville  420
" Sempronius  481
" Sennett  ¦. 34,'i
" Sherwood  430
" Sterling Valley  258

HISTORY OF CAYUGA COUNTY.

XXXV

Postmasters ef Sunimer HiU  515
" UnionSprings,.  305
" A''enice  '.  4;j6
" A''enice Ceuter  4,39
" A'ictery  270
" AVeedsport  328
Powers, Cyras .Judge  460, 478
Powers, Cyrus Dr  402, 406
Pre-emption Right  396
Presidential Electors  97
Press, Book  54.
" growth of the American  49-60
" length of the history of the  60
' ' men of the  ,  65
" of Aubm-n  50
'' " Aurora  405
" " Moravia  407
" " PortByron  310
" " the county  49-67
" " UnionSprings  367
" " AVeedsport  3.30
Prince, Frederick  66
Productions of the county  40, 41
Publishers, book, first in the county  55
Queen Esther  361
Quick, Isaac AV  171
Rafeix's mission, effect of  26
Railroad, Auburn & Syracuse  40
" Auburn & Weeds Basin  45
" Cayuga Southern  48, 49
" N^ Y, C, (direct road)  47
" Southern Central  47, 48
Raih-oads and canals compared  49
Rank, agricultural, of the several towns  40, 41
Rattlesnakes, Indian veneration for  31
Relations, Dr. Hawley's translation of the Jesuit  20
Relations, general account of the Jesuit  20, 27
Reservations of the Cayugas  .390
Reynolds & Co  176
Rhodes, J, G  481
Richardson, George  478
Richardson, Joseph L  219
Rich, George R  279
Richmond, Jonathan  396
Roads, early in county  !  140
Rogers, Elias  458
Rooks, John, biography of  451
Route of Sullivan's army through Genoa  486
Ryckman, Peter, grant ef land secured to, by the
f->^,i«». Cayugas  •• 390
Ryswick, treaty of  10
Sabin, Jeremiah  478
Salt springs  38, 263, 288, 299, 323, 360
Salt springs at Montezuma  38, 299
Sandfitone  253, 368
Sargent, Rufus, manufacturer of card clothing  171
Sartwell, Hough & Co., manufacturers of boots and
shoes  169
Sayles, Ezekiel  470
Schicht, M. J. Mrs  •¦  176
School, Aubui-n Academic High.,  188
" books, imperfect  59
" buildings, early condition ef  '  69
" Commissioners, first Board of, in Aurelius  187
" discipline, eariy  60, 186
' ' hbraries, diversion of the funds of the  188
" system, common, organized  186
Schools, acts relative to, in Auburu, amended and con-
soUdated  189, 190
Schools, act to regulate free, in Aubum  188
" Auburn 'l?heological Seminary  193
" " Young Ladies' Institute  195
" compulsory education iu   189
" cost of, in Auburn...  190
" County Superintendents of  62
" " " cUscontinued  188
" deplorable condition of the  187
" deputy superintendents of, estabUshed  187
" early, disadvantages of the  58
" " in Auburn  184

\ PAGE
Schools, early, why poor  58
first in Auburn  .'  184
" Aurelius  348
" Conquest  282
" Fleming  377
" Ira  274
" Moravia  456
" Scipio  419, 421
" Sennett  341
" Sterling  261
" Throop  336
" town committee on, in Auburn  184
for colored children  188
free  188
how designated in Auburu  190
in Auburn  -. .... 64, 184
iuCato  297
in Meridian  •'.  293
in Moravia  407
in Union Springs. ••  369
in AVeedsport  330
Lancasterian  186
means of improvement of the  03
office of city superintendent of, abolished  188
Port Byron Free School and Academy  310
private, iu Auburn  187
progress of  57, 64
rates of tuition iu, in Auburn  190
State aid of  !  61, 62, 184, 185, 187
" Normal  62
Superintendent and Commissioners of  97
tardiness in the, not permitted  190
terms of the, iu Auburn  '.  199
Town Inspectors and Commissiouers of, abol
ished  187
Schuch, Louis, biography of  251
Scluveinfurth, Charles J  '.  176
Scipio, areaof  !  417
" name, formation and boundary of  417
' ' officers of  425
" population of  '.  417
" settlement of  .'  417
" societies in  431
" soil of  417
" topography of  '  417
" Center  426
' ' Summit  431
ScipioviUe  428
Scott, John, biography of  267"-
Sculptors of Cayuga County  ,  05
Searls, Thaodore J., biogi-aphy of.....  ':  243
Searls, AViUiam, Rev,, biography of,..  248
Selover, John L  175
Sempronius, agriculture of, chiefly dairying,...  470
" areaof  476
" geological formation ef  476
" highest elevation in  „..  476
" manufactures of  ¦ 481
•' name, formation aud boundary of  475
" officersof  ,.... 480
" population of  476
" settlement of  476
" soil of  ,... 476
" topogi-aphy of  476
" • viUage  481
Senators, State  95
Seneca !River, aboriginal name of the  298
" Turnpike Co  44
Senecas, perfection ef the houses of the  11
" the, as agi-iculturists  , . ;  11
Sennett, area of  340
" geological formation of  340
" name, formation and boundary of  ' 340
" officersof  343
" population of  340
" settlement of  '.  340
" soil of  340
" topogi-aphy of  ' 340
" Village   344
" votes cast at au election in, in 1827  344

XXXVl

HISTORY OF CAYUGA COUNTY.

PAGE
Senter & Carpenter  :  177
Sermon, first in the coxinty  140-419
Settlements by the French, EngUsh and Dutch  12
Settlers, ejectment of, from the Cayuga Reservation  394
" hardships endured by the first, at Aurora  393
" simplicity ef the lives of tho early  491
" the fiist in theceunty  3.5-392
Settlements, first in Cayuga County  390'
" " Aurelius',  347
" " Brutus  323
" Cato  289
" " Conquest  282
" Fleming  370
" " Genoa  48.5~
" Ira  273
" Ledyard  392
" " Locke  507
" " Mentz  312
" " Montezuma  302
" " Moravia  452
" Niles  -143
" " Owasco  383
" " Scipio  417
" " Sempronius  476
" Sennett  .340
" " Sterhng  2,59
" " Summer HiU  513
" Throop  334
" " A'enice  432
" " Victory  208
Seventy-fifth Regim<)nt  102, 126
Seward, AVilUam H, & Co,'s Banking House  182
Seward, AViUiam Henry Hon., biography ef  229
Seymour, James S',  178
Seymour Librai-y Association  213
Shapley, Charles H  176
Sheldon & Co., manufacturers of iron and axles  167
Sheriffs  96
Sherwood  , .:  430
" county seat established at  320
Sherwood, Seth Judge  420
Sinks in Springport  359
Situation of the county  35
Skinner, Cotton  454
Skinner, Thomas S  60
Slade, Peleg  '. 477
Slaves  142
Slaves in Owasco, in 1820  384
Smith, Barnabas Dr  442
Smith, Charles F. , dealer in Crockery  178
Smith, Jared M  403
Smith, Richard L  221
Snow, Benjamin B., Superintendent of Schools  04
Societies, Aurora Chapter No. 04, R, A. M  414
" Bratus Encampment No. 90, I. O. 0, P  333
" Bratus Grange No, 48,. P. of H  333
" Cato Lodge No. 141, F. & A. M  298
" Cayuga Lodge No. 221, F, & A. M  431
"¦ Centennial Tent No. 41, N. 0. I. R  311
" Charity Lodge No. 93, A, 0, U. W., Union
Springs  374
" District Grand Committee of the District ef
Caynga  3.33
" Genoa Lodge No. 213, F. & A, M  .504
" Logan Grange No. 107  302
" MentzGrange  317
" Meridian Lodge No, 142 A, 0,. of U, AV  296
" Montezuma Lodge F, & A, M., No. 176  302
" Moravia Grange No, 201  473
Moravia Tent N. O. L R,, No, 47  473
" Morris Chapter No, 160, R, A. M  311
" Onward Camp No, 3, E, K, of R,, Union
Springs  374
" Port Byron Lodge No. 130, F, & A, M  411
" Rechabite Tent !No, 43, Montezuma  302
" Rising Star Lodge No. 29, L 0. G. T  473
" St. John the Baptist R, A. Chapter No. 30... 473
" , Salem Town Lodge No, 326, F. & A. M  350
" Scipio Ledge No, 58, F. & A. M  413

Societies, Southern Central Lodge No. 249, I. 0. O. F.,
AVeedsport  f..  333
" Spring Lake Temperance Society  285
" Sylvan Lodge No, 41, F. &. A. M  472
' - The Northville Temperance Society  504
" Union Grange No. 70. P. of H,, Throop  339
Union Springs Tent No. 46, N. O. ef I. R... 374
" Uskeep Ledge No. 459, 1. O. 0. F  513
AVan-en- Lodge No. 147, F. &. A. M., Union
Springs  373
" AVeedsport Lodge No, 380, I. O, G, T  333
AVeedsport Ledge No. 386, F, & A. M  333
Soilef the County  39
Spencer, J. O., biography of  374
Spencer, Theodore  221
Sprague, C, Burton, biography of  281
Spring Lake  284
Springport, area of  359
' ¦ early settlers in, e j ected from Reservation . , 300
" evidences of Indian occupancy iu  369
" gLological formation of  358
" name, formation and boundary ef  358
" officersof  363
- ' population of  359
settlement of  300
" settlement retarded by its being within the
Reservation  300
" soUof  359
" topographyof  358
Springs at Union Springs  359
Square, The  431
Squyers, John Dr  274
Stages, Pioneer and Telegraph  44, 45
Stages, Sherwood  44
Stages, the first  43
State !Read from AVhitestown to Geneva  349
Steamboat, the first on Cayuga Lake  487
Steam Flouring MiU at Northville  501
Steel Trap  '.  301
Sterling, areaof  2.54
" churches in  263
" geological formation ef  253
" manufactures of  263
" name, formation and boundary of  253
" officersof  261
" population of  264
" settlement of  269
" soil of  254
" topographyof  253
" Center  264
Junction  259
Valley  268
Valley Station  259
Stewarts Corners  436, 439
Stevens Thrasher Works  172, 498
St, Joseph, mission of  359
Stone MiU, the. Auburn  173
Stock farms, cash value of  85
Storke, Elliot G, , biography of  2.50
StoyeU, Ames  464
StoyeU, John  4,52
Stoyell, John, respected by the Indians  453
StoyeU, John, Jr  453
Study, incentives to  60
Sullivan's campaign, journal of  18, 19
" " results of  20
" " why ordered  18
Sulphur, presence of, in the wells and gypsum quan-ies
of Springport  369
Sulphur Springs  462, .507
Summer HiU, areaof  516
" " formation and boundary of  612
" " officersof  515
" " population of  515
" " settlement of  513
" soilef  513
" " similarity of to Cortland county  515
" topography ef  613
" " Lake  "513
" " Village  515

HISTORY OF CAYUGA COUNTY.

xxxvu

PAGE
Sunderlin, Iloraco  opposite 3 12
Supervisors, early  72
" first. Auburn  72
Surface of the Couuty  36
Surrogates  94
.Sun-ogates, Cayuga  !i,-,
Sun-ogates, Special  95
.Sutcliffe, AVilliam, brewer and maltster  175
Sylvester, Joseph H., biography of  opposite 402
Talcott. Joseph   402
Tallcotts Corners  '.  415
Tanners  174
Taverns  ,, . ,  144
" first in Aurelius  ,  ,348
" " Bratus  ,-,  323
" " Cato  289
" " Conquest  282
" -' Fleming  377
" " Ira  273
" " Ledyard  397
" '¦' Locke  607
" " Mentz  312
" " Owasco  383
" " Sempronius  ;.. 477
" " Seimelt  340
" " Springport  362
" SterUng  2(jO
" " Summer Hill  514
" " Throop  336
" " Victory  2(!9
" early in Genoa  496
Taxation and valuation  71-73
" comparative  72
" study of the table of  71
Teachers and teaching  ,  60
Teetertown  602
Telegraph, effect of the  62
Telegraph, first in Auburu  ,,,, 52
Thayer, Sanford  69, 70
The National Bank of Auburn  178
Third New York Volunteer Artillery  113
" " " " " membership of,... 124
" " " " " losses of the  124
Thomas, David, biography of  401
Thomas, John, Jr, biography of  402
Thornton, H. G., file manufacturer  175
Throop, Enos Thompson, biogi-aphy of  225
Throop, George B  220
Throop, area of  334
" geological formation of  334
" name, formation and boundary of  334
" officersof  •3.36
population of  334
" settlement of  3;i(i
" soil of  •334
" topography of  334
Throop's Grain Cleaner Company  1 73
ThroopsviUe  336
Tillotson, Adonijah, Capt  489
Tillotson, John, Gen  489
Tillotson, Matthew. Col  489
Titus, WiUiam, biography of  opp, 458
Topography, general, of the County  35
Topography of the Country bordering Owasco Lake,.. 214
Topographyof the several towns  30-37
Town, Salem  404
Towns, early, large size of the  34
Towns, the several, whenformed  36
Townships, military, formation of  33-34
Townships, military, survey of  391
Towsley, RosweU  -103
Tracys Corners  419
Travel and transportation  43, 49
Travel, difficulties of  41-42
Travel, first summer route of  41
Treaties with the Cayugas for the cession of their lands 390
Trowbridge & Jennings, frame manufacturers  177
'Puscaroras, thS) join the Five Nations  18
Tuscaroras, the, were among the last of the Indians to
leave Springport  361

PAGE
TiithiU, Hector C, Hon  479
Twelve Comers  450
Tyler, Comfort, Col  '.  302
Union Springs  863
" " Advertiser  367
churches of  ',  ,  370
officersof  364,374
Upcraft, John, biography of  266
A'^aluation and taxation  71
A'^aluation, comparative, of real and perseual estate  72
A''aluation of farm lauds iu 1837 and 1877  71
Van Benscoten, Peter, the original owner of lot 34, on
which Aurora stands  395
Van Buren, Martin, visit of to Auburn  151
Van Etten, Abraham, biography of  451
VanPetten, .Jacob, biography of  266
VanPetten, Peter, biography of  260
Venice, area of  432
" geological formation of  432
' ' nam e, formation and boundary of  432
" officers of  438
" population of  432
" settlement of  !  432
" soil of  432
" topographyof  432
" village  439
" Center  438
Victory, area of  208
" geological formation of  207
" name, formation and boundary of  267
" officers of  239
" population of  ! 208
" settlement of  208
" topography of  ., ... 207
" village  ;  - 209
AVade, Rowland D  ' 464
AVadsworth, David & Son, scythe manuf actm-ers  169
AValworth, John  '.. 396
AVard Settlement  336
AVarehouses  '.  330
AVar Expenses  136
" Loan Bond5  ',  137
" of 1812  145
" " the Rebellion  99
" " effect of the, ou business  151
" " Genoa's record in the  507
" " Ledyard's record in the  !... 417
" ¦' Mout9zuma!'8 record in the  306
" of the Revolution  18
" Patriot  ,,  150
AVater AVorks in Auburn  214
" " PortByron  311
AVeedsport  325
" churches in  330
" officers of  ...326, 517
" pressor  3.30
" Sentinel  339
AVeekly News  407
AVeeks Corners  488
Weeks, John  488
Wells Academy  409
Wells, Henry  315, 403
Westbury  272
AVestern Exchange  143
Western Luminary  425
West Niles  459
White, Jonas  252
Wholesale dealers in Aubum  177
W. H, Seward & Co, 's Banking House  ,  182
Wilcox, Harry Jefferson, biography of  287
Wild animals  142 313
AViUiams, C, P., as a school reformer  64
Wizards and witches  '  31
Woodcock, L, M, & Co,, founders and machinists.  172
AVood, Daniel Dr  , 451
AVooden, AViUiam D., biography of.  facing 428
AVoodiu, AViUiam B...,  ;,., 222
Wood, Jethro  !.."..'!403, 468
Woodland in the couuty  gg
Woodmff, J, H,, button manufacturer  ',.. 172

xxxviii

HISTORY OF CAYUGA COUNTY.-

I'AGE
Wood, Walter  398
Worden, AVai-ren T  L'22, 244
Wright, David and Luther  ,  455

Wright, James A  464
AVyckoft's Station  382
Young, Brigham  312

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