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VIEW OF LEATHER STOCKING FALLS ,
NfAff COO/'EffSIOWN.orsfCO CO, N Y
M./^VMItt UL.
hi^
^\^^o^y
un
-OF-
OTSEGO COUNTY.
NEW YORK.
._g=iWIIH =0-'
llliistraiians anil |!itogra|iIitcal Sketched
(_g=>OF;==V^
SOME OF ITS PROMINENT MEN AND PIONEERS.
^ » »
T'l^i— 16 inilbert Street, Philadelphia.
1878.
PRESS OF J. B. LIPPINCOTT & CO., PHILADELPHIA.
OONTEKTS.
ECISTOI?.IO-A.L-
onArxEn
I
II.
Ill
IV.
V.-
VI.-
VII
VIII.
IX.
X
XI.
XII
XIII,
XIV.
XV.
XVI.
XVII.
XVIII.
XIX.
XX.
XXI.
XXII.
XXIII.
XXIV.-
XXV.
XXVI.
XXVII.
XXVIII.
XXIX.
XXX,
XXXI.
XXXII.
XXXIII.
XXXIV.
XXXV.
XXXVI.
XXXVII.
XXXVIII.
XXXIX.
XL.
HISTOKY OF OTSEGO COUNTY.
PAQR
— Voyage and Disoovorj 9
— The Iroquois 10
Otecgo prior to the Revolution .... 12
The Revolution 14
15 19 20 21 22 2.3 24
The Massacre of Cherry Valley .... ■ — Sullivan and Clinton's Campaign ....
— Extinction of Indian Title
— The Close of the Revolution — Inftu-x of Settlers .
Early Customs
— Organization of Otsogo County .... — Qoographioal — Topographical — Geological .
— Political History 25
— Bench and Bar 29
The Press 32
— Medical Societies, etc 35
, — The Common Schools 37
Eleemosynary Institutions 39
-Internal Improvements 42
— Agriculture 43
Statistical .......
. — Old Militia Organizations ....
, — Otsego in the Rebellion ....
. 62
. 54
. 55
. 58
. 61
. 63
. 72
. 83
. 94
. 96
— Town of Burlington 97
" continued . . . .102
Butternuts 109
*' continued .... 113
Cherry Valley 119
" continued . . . 124
Decatur 141
Edmoston 143
" continued .... 146
Exeter 150
" continued 152
CnAPTEB
XLI.-
XLII.-
XLIIL-
XLIV.-
XLV.-
XLVL-
XLVII.-
XLVIII.-
XLIX.-
L.-
LT.-
lill.-
LIII.-
LIV.-
LV.-
LVI.-
LVII.-
LVIII.-
LIX.-
LX.-
LXI.-
liXII.-
LXIII.-
LXIV.-
LXV.-
LXVI.-
LXVII.-
LXVIII.-
LXIX.-
LXX.-
LXXI.-
LXXII.-
LXXIIL-
LXXIV.-
LXXV.-
LXXVI.-
FAOE
-Town of Hartwick 156
" " continued . . . .161
" Laurens 167
" " continued 172
" Maryland 175
" " continued .... 180
" Middlefield 184
" " continued . . . .188
" Milford 192
" " continued 195
" Morris 201
" " continued 211
" New Lisbon 219
" Oneonta 223
" " continued 228
" " " 231
" Otego 238
" " continued 242
" Otsego 247
-Cooperstown 257
" continued 264
" 271
_ " " 277
-Town of Pittsfield 286
" Plainfield 292
" Richfield 298
" " continued . . . .306
- " " " .... 308
'* Roseboom 315
" Springfield 319
" " continued . . . .324
". Unadilla 333
" " continued .... 341
" Westford 351
" Worcester 356
" " continued .... 366
Errata
Patrons' Record ahd Dirbotort
369 370
IIjIljTJSTK.-A.TIOISrS.
Leather Stocking Falls {froniiepiece) Outline Map of Otsego County .
BURI.INGTON.
Residence of A. A. Matteaon (With portraits) " Col. David Gardner "
Portraits of John Norton and Wife .
Ilesidenco of Maurice Bolton (with portrait) " A. A. Mather "
" Willot Chase (with portraits)
Portrait of Judge Jas! C. Walworth , " Benjamin S. Walworth ,
Residence of David G. Parker (with portraits)
PAGE
facing title
facing
96 97 99 100 102 103 104 104 106
Residence of Orange Gardner (with portraits) Portraits of Roswell Kelsey and Wife
BUTTERNUTS.
Portraits of J. H. Rawlings and Wife Residence of J. H. Rawlings (double page) " Geo. T. Gilbert (with portrait)
" Jos. T. Gilbert "
Portraits of Jarod Oomstook and Wife " Elihu Hakes and Wife .
CHEHRY VALLEY
Portrait of George C. Clyde " Dr. Joseph White .
PAOE
facing 107 " 108
facing 113
between 112, 113
" 112, 113
" 112, 113
facing 11 n
. 118, 119
facing 120 124
CONTENTS.
ILIjTJSTE^^TIOITS.
I'AOK
139 140
in
Portrait of Oliver Judd '''"''"B
" Hon. W. W. Campbell
Residence of G. W. B. Dakin ^^"'"5
" Joseph Plielon (with portraits) . between 140
" Mrs. Susan M. Belcher . . • facing
EDMESTON.
Portraits of Hon. D. B. St. John and Wife . . facing 143
Residence of Chas. F. Goodrich (with portraits) . " l*i
" Henry D. Crandall " between 144, 145
Portraits of John S. Coon and Wife . . • fao'ng 1*"
Residence of the late John Barrett (with portraits) . " 148
Levi B.Banks " ■ " "^
EXETEK.
Residence of Dr. W. L. Hurelle (with portraits)
" B. W. Lidell ....
|
facing |
166 |
|
(( |
167 |
|
facing |
167 |
|
" |
160 |
|
a |
164 |
|
it |
164 |
|
u |
164 |
|
ti |
164 |
|
u |
165 |
|
it |
166 |
IIAUTWICK.
Residence of Cyrus Short facing
Portraits of Harvey Maples and Wife
" John Winsor *'
" Edwin A. Wells " Portrait of H. K. Marsh
" Horace Chase
Residence of Clark Davison .... View of Hartwiok Seminary ....
Portrait of Prof. J. Pitcher 1^*
Peter S. Smith, M.D 166
" Torry J. Luce 16''
tAUKENS.
Portraits of Hervey Keyes and Wife " Hudson Sleeper "
MIDDI-EFIE1.D.
Home of William H. Lynes .... Residence of Horace M. Pierce ....
" S. G. Huntington .
Portrait of Mrs. Agnes Church ....
facing 170 " 174
facing 184
185
" 185
. 191
MILFORD.
Residence of Hon. S. R. Barnes (with portraits) " A. G. Morris "
" Wm. R. Hardy "
" Freeman Murry "
" Otis Westcott "
Portraits of Jared Goodyear and Wife
Portrait of Mrs. Elizabeth Collier
Portrait of Richard B. Morris .
" Zilpha Morris ....
Residence of Henry Wilcox (with portraits) " Andrew Spencer .
mORRIS.
View of Hillington Cemetery .
Residence of Bdson Wheeler (with portraits) " the late Gen. Jacob Morris .
Portraits of Ansel C. Moore and Wife " Dr. Wm. Yates and Wife
" Capt. Amos Palmer and Wife
Residence of J. P. Kenyon (with portraits) " Myron Wagner "
Portrait of Judge Pascal Franchot .
Portraits of Deacon Joseph Lull and Wife " Hon. Jacob K. Lull "
NEW LISBON.
facing 192
" 193
" 194
" 195
" 196 between 196, 197
facing 197
. 198
. 199
facing 200
" 201
Residence of Ellis Gross
" M. D. Cummings (with portraits)
" Miss Martha M. Peck "
rAos bulwocn 222, 223 " 222, 223
Portraits of Dr. 0. W. P. Wheeler and Wife " Ellis Gross and Wife
ONEONTA.
Residence of Carlton Emmons (with portraits)
" the late B. R. Ford
Portraits of B. R. Ford and Wife
" Conrad Wolf "
" Solon Huntington and Wife .
" E. B. Kilborn " ...
" Gen. S. S. Burnside " ...
View of the Central Hotel
Residence of Jas. and Hamilton F. Slade (with portraits)
OTEGO.
Residence of Edwin G. Birdsall .... facing 238
" Reuben Hale (with portraits) . . " 239 " W. and T. A. Birdsall (with portraits) between 242, 243
Portraits of Michael Birdsall and Wife . . " 242, 243
Residence of D. Day (with portraits) . . . facing 243
Portraits of Thomas Burnside and Wife ... " 244
facing 202
" 203
" 205
" 208
" 210
212
" 214
215
. 216
facing 217
" 217
facing 206 " 220 " 221
facing 225
between 224, 225
" 224, 225
facing 228
" 230
" 232
" 235
" 236
237
OTSEGO.
Residence of F. C. Whipple (with portraits) " Five-Mile Point," Residence of J. D. Tunniclitfe Portrait of Russell Warren .... Col. J. A. Cheney
facing
The Dr. W. A. Thayer Group of Five Portraits Residence of Dr. W. A. Thayer
" ' the late Piatt St. John (with portraits) " Mrs. H. A. Thayer "
" Francis Taylor . "
The W. K. Warren Group of Five Portraits Residence of Francis Hecox
" C. Childs
Outlet to Lake Otsego, Source of the Susquehanna Portrait of Judge II. Sturgos, Cooperstown " Jedediah P. Sill, "
" Calvin Graves (steel), "
" Hon. W. 11. AveroU (steel), Cooperstown
" Edward Clark (steel), "
" Ambrose L. Jordan (steel), "
" Col. John H. Prentiss, "
" Peter Barton, "
I'lTTSFIELD.
Residence, Mill, etc., of A. Finks
" of Orincl Hall (with portrait) .
" Jesse Beardslee (with portraits) .
" Caleb G. Hall "
248
249
250
. 252
between 262, 263
" 252, 253 .
facing 263
" 254
" 255
" ^66
between 256, 267
" 256, 257
facing 267
" ^64
" 271
" 279
bet. 280, 281
" 280, 281
facing 282
" 285
. 286
facing 288
" 289
" 290
" 291
PLAINFIELD.
Residence of Alfred Wood (with portraits) . . facing 296
Portrait of Solomon Armstrong 298
" William L. Brown 297
RICHFIELD.
Residence of S. Clapsaddle
" A. Sitts
" Norman R. Baker
facing
297 306 307
View of Richfield Springs Seminary 313
Portrait of Hiram C. Brockway ...... 314
ROSEBOOIH.
'Residence of George Barrett (with portraits) . . facing 316
" Henry Roaeboom (with portrait) . " 317
Portrait of John W. Sterrioker, M.D 319
SPRINGFIELD.
Residence and Carriage Manufactory of J. P. Endrcs " of Isaiah Cook .....
facing
297 324
CONTENTS.
IXjXjTJSTK/J^TIOlsrS.
PAGE
Portraits of Col. John D. Shaul and ^Vife . . facing 328
Portrait of Jas. It. Cooko 3,S2
Rcsiilonoo of L. W. Kathbono (with portraits) . . " 332
" JamoB II. Cooko facing 333
UNADILLA.
Residence of S. G. Cone (with portraits) . . . facing 336 Residences and Mills of Palmer &, Johnson (with portraits),
dbuble page ...... between 336, 337
Residence of L. H. Blanohard (with portraits) . facing 340
" D. P. and R. W. Chapman (with portraits) " 341
PAOB
Portrait of Arnold B. Watson 3*9
" Eli C. Belknap 350
WESTFOHD.
Residence of Mrs. Lucy A. Coatcs (with portrait), double
page between 356, 367
Residence of Horace Roseboom (with portraits) . facing 357
WORCESTER.
Jersey Stock Farm and Residencb of John Triekey (double
page) . , between 360, 361
Portrait of John Cook facing 366
Portraits of Chas. W. Martin and Wife . ... " 366
BIOC3-K.^miO^L.
PAQR
Alvan Stewart 30
Hon. Eben B. Morehouse 30
George A. Starkweather 31
Levi S. Chatfield 31
John Norton facing 99
Chauncoy II. Norton " 99
Judge Chas. C. Walworth "104
Benjamin S. Walworth "104
Col. David Gardner 105
A. Alonzo Matteson 106
Willet Chase 106
Orange Gardner 107
Andrew A. Mather 107
The Bolton and Briggs Families 108
David G. Parker
Roswell Kelsey facing
J. H. Rawlings "
Jared Comstock
Elihu Hakes
George C. Clyde facing
Dr. Joseph White "
Oliver Judd
Hon. W. W. Campbell • ■
Joseph Phclon KO
David B. St. John facing 143
Henry D. Crandall between 144, 145
John S. Coon fiwing l^O
Chas. P. Goodrich 1*9
Levi B.Banks 149
John Barrett 149
Harvey Maples facing 160
Peter S. Smitli, M.D 186
Torry Jl^Luoe 16'^
Cyrus Short 107
HerveyKeyes facing 170
Hudson Sleeper " 1^4
Samuel Gates Huntington 191
Jared Goodyear between 196, 197
Major Peter Collier facing 197
Richard B. Morris 198
Adolphus G. Morris 199
Simeon R. Barnes 199
OtisWcstoott 200
103 108 113 116 118 120 124 132 138
William R. Hardy
Andrew Spencer
Henry Wilcox
Ansel C. Mooro facing
William Yates "
Amos Palmer
Judge Pascal Franohot
Kdson Wheeler 217
Deacon Joseph Lull 217
Hon. Jacob K. Lull 218
James P. Kenyon 218
M. D. Cumminga 223
200 200 200 208 210 212 210
Dr. G. W. P. Wheeler
Ellis Gross
E. R. Ford
Conrad Wolf .
Solon Huntington
K. B. ICilborn .
General Samuel S. Burnsido
James Slade
Carlton Emmons
The Birdsall Family .
Thomas Buruside
Rensselaer Day .
Reuben Halo
Russell Warren
Col. Joseph A. Cheney
Dr. W. A. Thayer
John Pierce
Piatt St. John .
Francis Taylor .
Charles Childs .
William Kendrick Warren
Fenimore C. Whipple
Francis Hecox .
James Fenimore Cooper
Judge H. Sturgcs
Jcdediah P. Sill
Calvin Graves .
William Holt Averell .
Edward Clark
Ambrose L. Jordan .
Col. J. Holmes Prentiss
Peter Barton
William U. Hall .
Jabez Beardslee .
Alfred Wood
William L. Brown
Solomon Armstrong .
Hiram C. Brockway .
Norman R. Baker
Stephen Clapsaddlo .
Henry Roseboom
John W. Sterrieker, M.D. .
George Barrett .
Colonel John D. Shaul
James H. Cooke
Isaiah Cook
Levant W. Rathbone
Larkin H. Blanohard
George W. Palmer
Arnold B. Watson
Uriah Chapman
Eli C. Belknap .
Tlie Cone Genealogy
Elbert Coates .
The Roseboom Genealogy
facing
facing
PAOB
between 222, 223
222, 223
" 224, 225
facing 228
" 230
" 232
" 235
. . .237
. 237
between 242, 243
facing 244
. 246
. 246
250
252
253
254
255
265
255
256
266
266
263
204
271
279
280
280
282
285
286
291
292
296
297
298
314
315
315
318
319
319
328
332
332
333
348
348
34 «
360
350
361
366
366
facing
PEEFACB.
The author feels that no apology is necessary in presenting this volume to the public. The history contained in the following pages embraces one of the most interesting localities, historically, within the bounds of the Empire Stiite. It lias been our lioncst endeavor to trace the history of the development of Otsego County from that period when it was in the undisputed possession of the red man to the present, and to place before the reader an authentic narrative of its rise and progress to the prominent position it now occupies among the counties of the State.
That such an undertaking is attended with no little difficulty and vexation none will deny. The aged pioneer relates events of the early settlements, while his neighbor sketches the same events with totally different outlines. Man's memory is ever at fault, while Time paints a different picture upon every mind. With these the historian has to contend ; and while it has been our aim to compile an accurate history, were it devoid of all inaccuracies, that perfection would have been attained which the writer had not the faintest conception of, and which Lord Macaulay once said never could be reached.
From colonial and other documents in the State archives, from county, town, and village records, family manuscripts, printed publications, and innumerable private sources of information, we have endeavored to produce a history which should prove accurate, instructive, and in every respect worthy of " Old Otsego."
The following volumes were consulted in the preparation of this work : Morgan's " League of the Iroquois" ; Schoolcraft's " Notes on the Iroquois" and " American Indians" ; Stone's " Life of Brant," "Life of Red Jacket," and "Life of Sir William Johnson"; Campbell's "Border Warfare of New York" ; Lossing's " Field-Book of the Revolution" ; Thatcher's " American Revolution" ; Barber's " History of New York" ; " Documentary History of New York" ; Bcardsley's " Reminiscences" ; Spafford's "Gazetteer, 1810"; French's "Gazetteer, 1860"; "Chronicles of Cooperstown" ; "History of Madison County"; "Hartwick Seminary Memorial"; Bailey's "Richfield Springs and Vicinity"; Smith's " History of the Seventy-Sixth Regiment" ; Adjutant-Generals' reports, muster-rolls, and innumerable pamphlets.
We desire to acknowledge our sincere thanks to the following persons for much valuable informa- tion which has greatly lessened our labor in the preparation of the work :
In Burlington to Abram Marcy, Andrew A. Mather, L. F. Hubbell, Geo. S. Gorham, David Fisk, Daniel A. Park, A. N. Balcom, Pitman Cook, and Adna Wood.
In Butternuts to Samuel C. Gilbert, E. S. Ilalbert, Lewis Donaldson, J. Comstock, and William Cox.
In Cherry Valley to William W. Campbell, Charles McLean, Rev. H. U. Swinnerton, A.M., J. L. Sawyer, and H. 11. Browne.
In Decatur to J. E. Tyler, L. L. Davis, Barzilla Brown, and S. B. Champion.
Id Edmeston to S. L. Hoxie, H. Langworthy, Walter Chapin, D. B. St. John, Lewis Spencer, and W. Burlingham.
In Exeter numerous prominent citizens were interviewed for historical data ; and wc were also iiHsisted by Bcardsley's " lleminiscouccs" and JJalley's " Richfield Springs and Vicinity."
In Hartwick to Rufus P. Luce, Mr. Burlingham, Elisha Fields, Hosea Winsor, Harris Winsor, Rev. James Pitcher, Miss Davidson, Hiram K. Marsh, and Captain W. J. Kellogg.
7
PREFACE.
In Laurens to Hudson Sleeper, Amos Winsor, Tlios. Tiifany, Leroy Tucker, H. T. Harris, M.D., Cliauncey Strong, A. P. Strong, M.D., William C. Fields, Mr. Hopkins, and Jacob Butts.
In Maryland to Pliilor Benedict, S. 11. Gurney, Carlton Brown, Geo. W. Spencer, James E. Tyler, and A, Hotchkin's history.
In Middlefield to Sumner Stow Ely, David Blair, Gilbert Parshall, O. I. Pierce, Barzilla Bradley, S. W. Barnura, H. M. Pierce, and Fernando Hubbell.
In Milford to Amos Bissell, S. N. Bissell, Cliauncey Goodrich, John Eddy, Captain Joseph Mum- ford, and many others.
In Morris to A. S. Avery, Jacob K. Lull, A. C. Moore, Miss J. A. Franchot, Mrs. J. Davis, and llev. ITobart Cooke.
In New Lisbon to Jonathan 11. Neff, Walter II. Yates, Captain W. J. Kellogg, and Captain L. B. Paine.
In Oneonta to Timothy Sabin, Jeremiah Mereness, David J. Yager, D. G. Campbell, G. W. Reynolds, Mr. Ford, N. N. Bull, and Captain H. G. Wood.
In Otego to William Birdsall, Harvey Hunt, Thurston Brown, Cyrus Hathaway, D. Emerson, and E. Blakely.
In Otsego to Joseph A. Cheney, John Wiley, William Kinnie, Alex. Taylor, H. B. Sprague, and Russell Warren.
In Pittsfield to Chester Card and C. G. Hall.
In Plainfield to Parley Philips, Mrs. Whitford, Mr. Clark, H. H. Babcock, Solomon Armstrong, and D. A. Dewey.
In Richfield to Dr. W. T. Bailey and Parker D. Fay, Esq.
In Roseboom to Henry Roseboom, Dr. Sterricker, and David W. Bailey.
In Springfield to Albert Coates, H. R. Wood, George O. Smith, Rev. P. F. Sanborn, and J. H. Davy.
In Unadilla to Colonel Samuel North, Major C. D. Fellows, Lewis G. Cone, G. B. Fellows F. A. Bolles, William J. Thompson, Mrs. Lydia Cone (aged ninety), and many others.
In Westford to Nathan Bidlake, James E. Tyler, William H. Platner, Ezra W. Thurbiir, S. B. Champion, L. E. Preston, and J. K. Tyler.
In Worcester to Hon. Leonard Caryl, Ezra W, Thurbur, C. H. Crippen, S. B. Champion, and John Ferguson.
In Cooperstown we are under special obligations to Samuel M. Shaw, Esq., editor of the Freeman's Journal, for much valuable material and assistance, and also to Andrew Davidson, the editor of the Otsego Republican, Calvin Graves, George F. Ernst, Samuel Starkweather, Judge Sturges, Horace Lathrop, M.D., G. Pomeroy Keese, Newell Wolsey Wells, Frederick A. Goffe, and Fred L. Palmer.
Our acknowledgments are also due to Major J. W. Cronkite, of New York, for the excellent history of the One Hundred and Twenty-first Regiment, and to Stephen Holden, Esq., of Sherburne, for that of the One Hundred and Fifty-second Regiment.
D. H. H.
Cooperstown, N. Y., April 20, 1878.
HISTORY
OF
OTSEGO COUNTY, l^EW YOEK.
BY D. HAMILTON HURD.
CHAPTER I.
VOYAGE AND DiaOOVERT.
The New World — First Discovered in A.D. 986 — Tlio Norsemen — Herjulfson — Lief Eriokson nnd his Adventures — Thorwald Eriok- Bon — His Death— Thorstein Erickson — Thorfinn Karlsefne — Christopher Columbus — John Vorrazzani — John Cabot — Spanish, French, and English Claims to Territory — The French and Indian War — Treoty of Peace.
The New World, or Western Continent, was first dis- covered by white men a.d. 986". Herjulfson, a Norse navigator, in sailing from Iceland to Greenland, was driven by a storm to the coast of Labrador, or, as some historians seem fit to claim, to Newfoundland. The coasts of the new land being low, rocky, and otherwise uninviting, no landing was attempted. Thus Herjulfson first saw the new land, but it was reserved for other explorers to set foot upon its territory. The Norsemen returned to Greenland with wonderful stories of the land that they had seen, but no further attempt was made at discovery.
After the lapse of a few years, an Icelandic captain, named Lief Erickson, who was possessed of remarkable spirit of adventure, resolved to discover, if possible, the country concerning which Herjulfson and his companions had related such fabulous accounts, and in the year 1001 landed upon the shore of Labrador. He pursued his course southwest along the coast, and finding tlie country pleasant and attractive, protracted his visit, and finally reached the terHtory embraced within the present State of Massachu- setts, where the intrepid explorers remained one year. They proceeded along the coast bordering upon Long Island Sound, and it is claimed that the persevering band found their way to New York harbor. Whether these hardy ex- plorers Bet foot upon the soil of New York is of but little consequence, as voyages were subsequently made to these shores, and discoveries carried as far south as Virginia.
The return of these adventurers to their native country,
with a description of the land they had passed through,
stimulated others with a desire to see the new country, and
in 1002, Thorwald Erickson, a brother of the former ex-
2
plorer, made a voyage to the coast of Maine, and is said to have ended his days in the vicinity of the present town of Fall River, Massachusetts. In 1005, Thorstein Erickson, another brother, with a band of adventurers, landed upon our shores, and was followed, in 1007, by Thorfinn Karls- efne, a celebrated mariner, who proceeded along the coast as far as Virginia. The Norsemen were simply an erratic band of rovers. They made no settlements, nor left any records of importance concerning their discoveries. No real good whatever resulted from their voyages. The en- thusiasm excited by first discovery gradually subsided, and as there were no spoils in the wilderness to fall prey to the Norse freebooters and pirates, the further occupancy of the country was abandoned, and the shadows which had been dispelled for a moment again gathered in ; the curtain which had been lifted was again lowered from sky to ocean, nnd the New World still lay hidden in the misty future. Until recently, historians have been incredulous on the subject of the Norse discovery, but the fact is now generally conceded. We are in possession of no more reliable information than Humboldt's " Cosmos," but that may be cited as conclusive : " We are here on historical ground. By the critical and highly praiseworthy efforts of Professor Rafn and the Royal Society of Antiquaries in Copenhagen, the sagas and documents in regard to the expeditions of the Norsemen to Newfoundland, Nova Scotia, nnd Vinland have been published and satisfactorily commented upon. The dis- covery of the northern part of America by the Norsemen cannot be disputed, The length of the voyage, the direc- tion in which they sailed, the time of the sun's rising and setting, are accurately given. While the caliphate of Bag- dad was still flourishing, America was discovered, about the year 1001, by Lief, the son of Eric the Red, at the latitude of forty-one and a half degrees north."
A period of four hundred and ninety-two years had elapsed from Lief Jilrickson's discovery, when Christopher Columbus, a native of Genoa, Italy, touched upon an island, subsequently called San Salvador, and, planting the banner of Castile, formally claimed possession of the land in the name of the noble Isabella, queen of Spain. He returned
9
10
HISTORY OF OTSEGO COUNTY, NEW YORK.
to Spain, and subsequently made two successive voyages to the New World, each of which was fraught with great and lasting benefit to civilized Europe. In justice to Colum- bus, this land should have borne his name, but through the artifice of a Florentine navigator named Americo Vespucci he was robbed of the honor, and it was bestowed on Ves- pucci, the least worthy of the many adventurers.
Not alone to Spain was left the control of the country which the genius and success of Columbus had brought to the knowledge of the world. France, ever regarding with a jealous oyo tho success of her formidable neighbor, was not slow to profit by tiio discovcrius of Columbus. As early ns 1504 tho Normandy fishermen began to ply their vocation on the banks of Newfoundland ; and in 1508 a number of the aborigines were taken to France. In 1523 a voyage of discovery was planned under the auspices of Francis I., and thexpmmand of the expedition was given to John Verrazzani, a native of Florence. After a perilous voyage he discovered the mainland in the latitude of Wil- mington. After a sojourn of a few days he headed his vessel northward and sailed along the coast of Delaware and New Jersey, entered the harbor of New York, touched Massachusetts and Maine, and continued his course along the coast to Newfoundland. At several points the enter- prising Florentine landed and opened a traffic witli the In- dians, being always received with every evidence of friend- ship. He returned to France and published an account of his remarkable discoveries, and, naming the country New France, boldly asserted his claim to the sea-girt coast in the name of Francis I.
]<]ngland, enterprising, wealthy, and adventurous, lost no time and spared no money in fitting out an expedition of discovery to the Western Continent, and no day in the his- tory of the New World was more important than the 5th of May, 1496. On that day Henry VII., king of Great Brit- ain, issued a commission to John Cabot, a Venetian, to make discoveries and to take possession of all islands and continents, carry the English flag, and assert the title of the king of England. After a protracted voyage tho gloomy coast of Labrador was the cliucrluss sight that mot the anxious gaze of the brave Cabot. This was the real discovery of the American continent. He explored the country for several hundred miles, and, in accordance with the terms of his commission, hoisted the English flag and took possession in the name of the English king. Au inci- dcut is related, in connection with this act, illustrative of the love man has for his native country : Near the flag of England he planted the banner of the repuhlic of Venice, little thinking, doubtless, that, as the centuries rolled on, not the flag of proud Albion, but that of a republic, would float from ocean to ocean. Cabot returned to England, and received all the adulations and honors that a proud nation could bestow upon an honored subject. This expe- dition was succeeded by others, all of which redounded to the honor and enterprise of England, aud resulted in the founding of colonies which, under the fostering care of the mother country, soon became prosperous and self-reliant.
The French and Indian war, which began in 1754, re- sulted from the conflicting territorial claims between France and England. At the close of an arduous struggle, lasting
nine years, a treaty of peace was made at Paris, by the terms of which all the French possessions in North Amer- ica eastward of the Mississippi, from its source to the river llerville, and thence through Lakes Maurepas and Pont- chartrain to the Gulf of ]\Iexico, were surrendered to Eng- land. Spain, who had also been at war with Great Britain, ceded East aud West Florida to the English crown.
From the close of the French and Indian war to the beginning of the Revolution spanned a prosperous era in the history of the English colonists. The causes which led to the American Revolution and the history of that ardu- ous struggle arc so well known that no mention is needed in this connection : sufliccth to say that tho colonists, after a weary struggle of nine years, were acknowledged by Great Britain free and independent States ; and proud should Al- bion be to-day in the recollection that her sons planted the genn of the republic whose flag is honored and respected by all nations.
CHAPTER IL
THE IKOQUOIB.
Early Traditions^OrgDnization of tbo League — Aboriginal Nomen- clature of the various Tribes — Wars and Conquests — Military Prowess — Their Introduction to Gunpowder and Liquor — "Manit- to" or "Great Spirit" — "Fire-Water" and its Baneful Effeels — The Incursions of M. Belabarre, M. Dcnonville, and Count Bo Frontcnac — The Jesuits — 1700.
TiiADiTiON informs us that about the year ICOO this nation resided in the vicinity of Montreal, and were in subjection to the AdirondacJcs. How long the latter tribe had exercised this power, and whether the Iroquois had previously been a powerful nation, are questions that natu- rally suggest themselves to the searcher in history, but have not, by even the most indefatigable workers in aboriginal lore, been answered ; and the pen of the present historian is unable to lift the veil of obscurity that enslirouds the re- mote origin of this nation, tho most powerful and intelligent that ever dwelt within the boundaries of this republic.
From the AdirondacJcs they acquired the art of hus- bandry, and became proficient in the chase and upon the war-path. As they increased in numbers and influence, a passion seized them to become the possessors of the country thuy occupied, and raising the tomahawk at the Adiron- dacks they waged a fierce contest against them, which re- sulted in the defeat of the Iroquois, and the remnants of the tribe were compelled to fly the country to escape ex- termination. They traced their steps into the lake country, and, gathering their scattered warriors, efiiected a settlement on Seneca river.
No authority gives us the date of the organization of this celebrated league, but it was probably in about the year 1600, as it was a powerful organization at the date of Dutch occupation, in 1609. The league originally consisted of five nations, viz., the Onondagns, Oneidas, Mohawks, Cayiigas, and Senecas. O-nun-dii'-ga, the origin of the name of the Onoiidagas, signifies " on the hills ;" hence the name they gave themselves, O-nun-dii'-ga-o-wo, — as ren-
HISTORY OF OTSEGO COUNTY, NEW YORK.
11
dered, " the people of the hills." The Omidas were called the " people of the stone," or " the granite people," as indi- cated by their national name, 0-na-yote' -ko-o-no.
Gd-ne-a'-ga-o-no was the name applied to the Mohawks, which signified "the possessor of the flint;" and they had for the device of the village a " steel and a flint."
The Cayvgas were known by the appellation of Gm'-u- gweh-o-no, " the people of the mucky land." It doubtless referred to the marsh at the foot of Cayuga lake, where they first settled.
Nun-da-wii' -o-no, was the national name of the Senecas, meaning " the great hill people." This was the name also of their oldest village on Canandaigua lake, whore, accord- ing to their Soicca myth, the tribe sprang out of the ground. The following account of their origin is given from a native source :
" While the tribe had its seat and council-fire on this hill, a woman and her son were living near it, when the boy one day caught a small two-headed serpent, called Kaistowanca, in the bushes. lie brought it home as a pet to amuse himself, and put it in a box, where he fed it on birds, flesh, and other dainties. After some time it had become so large that it rested on the beams of the lodge, and the hunters were obliged to feed it with deer ; but it soon went out and made its abode on a neighboring hill, where it maintained itself. It often went out and sported in the lake, and in time became so large and mischievous that the tribe were put in dread of it. They consulted on the subject one evening, and determined to fly next morn- ing ; but with the light of the next morning the monster had encircled the hill, and lay with its double jaws extended before the gate. Some attempted to pass out, but were driven back ; others tried to climb over its body, but were unable. Hunger at last drove thern to desperation, and they made a rush to pass, but only rushed into the mon- ster's double jaws. All were devoured but a warrior and liis sister, who waited in vain expectancy of relief. At lensth the warrior bad a dream, in which he was shown that if he would fledge his arrows with the hair of his sister the charm would prevail over their enemy. He was warned not to heed the frightful heads and hissing tongues, but to shoot at the heart. Accordingly, the next morning he armed himself with his keenest weapons, charmed as di- rected, and boldly shot at the serpent's heart. The instan- taneous recoiling of the monster proved that the wound was mortal. He began in great agony to roll down the hill, breaking down trees and uttering horrid noisos, until he rolled into the lake. Here he slaked his thirst, and tried by water to mitigate his agony, dashing about in fury. At length he vomited up all the people whom he had eaten, bnd immediately expired and sank to the bottom."
The Six Nations were constituted in 1712, by the uniting of the J'uscaroras, Z)«s-j7«-o'-M)e7i, " theshirt-wearingpeople," — a nation that inhabited the western part of North Caro- lina. The league was originated by the Onondagas, hence they were called the "Fathers of tlio Confcdcriicy ;" tho Mohawks, having first given their consent, were known as " The Eldest Brothers ;" and for a similar reason the Cayu- gas were called "The Youngest Brothers," having given their assent last. The Senecas were named " The Watch-
men," from the fact, doubtless, of their location near their enemies from the west. The organization of the league was effected on the east bank of the Onondaga creek, on the , road to Syracuse. The chiefs and sachems soon discerned that the compact entered into was in all respects advan- tageous, thus creating and maintaining a fraternal spirit among themselves, and rendering them powerful upon the war-path. With the consciousness of returning power, their first warlike move was against their old enemies, the Adirondaclcs, whom they utterly exterminated. No^^ be- coming convinced of their power, they waged war upon all surrounding nations. Their tomahawk was brandished upon the shores of Lake Superior, their warlike measures were carried into New England, and tho scalping-knifo gleamed along the valley of the Father of Waters. They conquered the Ilurons, the Eries, the Aiidastez, the Chauaiwns, the lUinois, the Mlamics, the Algonquins, the Delawares, the Shawanese, the Susqiiehannoclcs, the Nanticolces, the Una- mis, the Minsi; and even the Carnise Indians, in their sea-girt home upon Long Island, found no protection against their attacks. The name of the Iroquois had become a terror to all the Indian nations. " I have been told," says Colden, " by old men in New England, who remembered the time when the MohawJcs made war upon their Indians, that as soon as a single Mohawk was discovered in their country, their Indians raised a cry from hill to hill, ' A Mohawk ! a Mohawk !' upon which they fled like sheep before wolves, without attempting to make the least resist- ance." The thirst for military glory was their ruling passion. They evinced a remarkable spirit of ambition, not unlike Napoleon, or Caesar of old, and but for the settle- ment of the New World by the Caucasian, we have no right to doubt that eventually the haughty chiefs of the dusky legion of the Six Nations would have wielded the sceptre over the Indians of North America with all the despotism of an Alexander, and, like him, would have thirsted for fresh con([uests. The effects of these military operations were carried as far north as Hudson's bay, while the Mis- sissippi did not form their western limits. They ravished the extreme eastern and southern portions of the United States, and, without doubt, as stated in Rogers' " America," their wars were extended to the Isthmus of Darien.
That was a fatal hour when the red man quaffed the rum from the hands of Henry Hudson. That was a fatal hour when the red man was taught the power of gunpowder by Champlain. It is remarkable that the Indians were made known with tlioso, their two greatest enemies, during tho same week of the same year, 1609, by these rival explorers. The manner of giving the first draught of liquor to the Indians, as related by a manuscript in the New York His- torical society, was as follows : " Hudson, accompanied by a number of his attendants, was ascending, in a canoe, the river that bears his name, and discovering a band of aborigi- nes, made them a sign to halt. He went ashore, and, after friendly salutations, he beckoned to an attendant, who broiight him a hockhack (gourd) and a little cup, both ns clear as tho new ice upon the surface of a lake. And from the hockhack Manitto, or Great Spirit, as they regarded Hudson, filled the cup with a liquid which he drank, and refilling, handed to the chief near him, who quaffisd the cup
12
HISTORY OF OTSEGO COUNTY, NEW YORK.
to the bottom. In a few moments his eyes closed, lustreless, and he fell heavily to the ground. His companions thought .him dead, and the wailings of the women resounded through the forest. After a long time the chief revived, and, spring- ing to his feet, declared that he had experienced the most delightful sensations, seen visions, and was never more happy. He requested another draught, and, following his example, the liquor went around the circle. They all partook of the ravishing cup, and all became intoxicated." Froiq that fatal hour to the present their thirst for the maddening poison has not abated. In vain have their councils passed decrees against it, in vain have their teachers admonished them, and equally useless have been the eloquent and pathetic appeals of their women against it. Whenever and wherever, even at this late day, whether it be the Sioux, among the Black hills, or the remnants of the Iroquois, upon their reservations, they can lay their hands upon fire-water they are certain to drink it. This accursed liquor was among the strongest agencies used by the unprincipled settler in his intercourse with the red man to gain his land and furs.
In this connection it is proper to observe that the English bestowed no attention upon the enlightenment of the race, either morally or religiously. In striking contrast with the attitude of England — a country under more lasting obligations to the Iroquois than any other nation upon the globe — was that of France, as exhibited by the Jesuit missionaries, Franciscan priests, and Recol- let fathers. These were the firat Caucasians who lifted up their voices in the wilderness in attempting to Chris- tianize the red man. History has never done these fathers justice. They left their homes in sunny France, sur- rounded by every luxury that wealth and ecclesiastical position could afford, and sought an abode in the wilds of the New World, with no companions save the beasts of the forest and hostile Indians. They came not as the trader, worshiping Mammon, nor the settler in search of a home. They endured all the privations of the forest with the sole object in view of Christianizing the aborigines. Their lives were sacrificed upon the altar of Christianity, that he might be raised from darkness and brought into sweet communion with the Great Spirit.
Their motto — Ad majorem, Dei gloriam — was ever be- fore them, and but for the constantly-recurring wars, they would, without doubt, have left a spirit of Christian civili- zation among the savages of this land. In many localities they wrought a truly wonderful work in inculcating a tem- perance spirit among the Indians, who suffered severely from the unprincipled trader, who took their furs and gave the poor savage liquor in return.
Several attempts were made by England and France to extirpate the confederacy of the Six Nations, but without success. The first incursion into their country was headed by M. Delabarre, the governor-general of Canada, in 1683 ; the second by M. Denonville, also governor-general of Canada, in 1687; the third by Count De Frontenac, in 1697.
These incursions failed to accomplish the subjugation of the proud confederacy, and the year 1700 dawns and finds them in the zenith of their glory, They had reared a
colossal Indian empire, and as far as their unsophisticated vision extended, destined to remain.
" Xlio Futbor abovo tbougkt lit to givo Tho wbito man corn and wino; Tboro aro golden liolds wbero bo may live, But the forest shades are mine."
CHAPTER III.
OTBEQO PKIOK TO THE KEVOLUTION.
Its Isolated Location— Tho I'lrst Sottlomcnt— John Lindcsay— His Friendly Intercourse with tbo Indians — Tbo Winter of 1740—118 Severity — Great Depth of Snow — Communication with the Settle- ments on the Mohawk cat off— Starvation Imminent — Timely Arrival of a Mohawk Indian — His Friendship — Supplies the Family with Food — Arrival of Rev. John Dunlop and Others in 1741— The First Meeting-llouse — The Pioneer Preacher — The First School in the State west of Albany — Arrival of John Wells in 1743 — A Fort erected — The French War — Captain McKean's " Ilangers"-:-Settlcments of Edmeston, Exeter, Hartwick, Lau- rens, Middlefield, Milford, Morris, Now Lisbon, Onconta, Bich- field, Unadillo — The Eve of the Revolution.
" It was a gloomy wild where Indian warriors trod, AVhcre savage minds in solitude looked up to nature's Qod."
Notwithstanding that the territory now embraced within the boundaries of Otsego County was remote from the flourishing settlements in the eastern part of the State, and was traversed by none of the great trails of the red man, still it received its first settlers as early as 1740, and when the War of the Revolution burst upon tho land the rude cabin of the pioneer was seen in various sections of the county, and
" The axe, that wondrous instrument That, like the talisman, transforms Deserts to fields and cities,"
was already resounding among the stern old monarchs of the forest.
In 1738, thirty-seven years before the first gun was fired at Concord, a tract of land, embracing 8000 acres, located in the northeast part of the present county of Otsego, was granted to four persons, — John Lindesay, Jacob Roseboome, Lenelet Gansevoort, and Sybraut Van Sohaick, — by George Clark, then lieutenant-governor of the province of New York. In the following year Mr. Lindesay, who was mainly instrumental in securing the purchase, having obtained an assignment of the grant from his associates to himself and Governor Clark, proceeded to survey the entire tract and subdivide it into lots.
In the following year Mr. Lindesay, unused to the hard- ships and privations of frontier life, left the conveniences of a city home, where he had been surrounded with all that wealth could bring, and a highly-cultivated taste suggest, for a home in the forest. How great the contrast. To no one more than he was this apparent, but being a Scot by birth, the sight of deep valleys, the streams murmuring adown their rocky beds, and the declivities of the hill-sides, vividly reminded him of "Old Scotia," and that alone seemed to him sufficient reason for founding a home in the forest wilds.
HISTORY OF OTSEGO COUNTY, NEW YORK.
13
He selected for a location premises now owned by Joseph Plielon, and gave it the name of " Lindesay's Bush."
At this early date, the locality was a favorite hunting- ground of the Mohawks, as bears, elk, deer, etc., were in abundance. They came in great numbers, and were treated by Mr. Lindesay with kindness, who at once saw the im- portance of cultivating and maintaining a friendly inter- course with them. The kindly spirit of friendship ex- hibited by Mr. Lindesay soon brought forth good fruit, and in all probability was the means of preserving himself and family from starvation during the coming winter.
The winter of 1740 was of unusual severity ; snow fell to a great depth, and all communication with the settlements on the Mohawk was cut off. It was indeed a gloomy fu- ture. Mr. Lindesay, unaccustomed to the severity of the winters, had failed in making ample provisions for himself and the few that were gathered around him, and starvation stared him in the face. There seemed no alternative but to await the visitation of the " grim messenger." At this critical juncture, nssistanco canio in the person of a Mo- hawk Indian, who had traveled from the Mohawk on snow-shoes, and upon being informed of their destitute condition returned to the camp on the Mohawk, and, after securing a quantity of provisions, wended his way again to the imprisoned family. He continued his trips during the winter, and thus this faithful red brother saved from starva- tion the first settlers of Otsego County.
Notwithstanding this episode of frontier life, which to many would have been .sufiScient reason for abandoning the settlement, Mr. Lindesay still sounded its praises, and in 1741 he induced Rev. Samuel Dunlop, an Irishman by birth, to visit the location, and offered him, as an induce- ment to settle there, a tract of land embracing several hun- dred acres. The generous proposal was accepted, and in 1741 Mr. Dunlop, together with David Ramsey, William Oallt, James Campbell, and William Dickson, were added to the frontier settlement. These pioneers, with their families, numbered about thirty persons. They had emi- grated from the north of Ireland, were industrious and hardy, and in all respects well adapted to encounter the privations and toil of the frontier, as they had been in- ured to hard labor from infancy in their native land.
Mr. Dunlop was the first regular preacher in the settle- ment, officiating in a log house, which had been erected for a meeting-house, a short distance north of Mr. Lindesay's. He was an enterprising spirit, and subsequently opened a school for the instruction of boys, who came from the ad- joining settlements, and from Albany and Schenectady. This was the first grammar-school in the State west of Albany.
In consequence of the isolated location of the settlement it increased slowly, and during the ten subsequent years not more than four families were added. Among these was Mr. John Wells, an Irishman, who settled in 1743, and in the following year purchased the Lindesay farm. The pioneer of this frontier settlement, Mr. Lindesay, after struggling several years, was compelled to abandon the en- terprise. In 1744, when the northern frontier was threat- ened by the French and Indians, he joined a company of "Independent Greens," his father-in-law, Mr. Congreve,
having resigned his commission as lieutenant in the com- pany in favor of Mr. Lindesay. He remained in the service several years, and subsequently died in the city of New York. Mr. Wells, mentioned above, was one of the leading citizens, and was appointed the first justice of the peace of the town, and was one of the judges of Tryon county. The little settlement was in constant fear of marauding bands of savages, and during the last French war a body of 800 " rangers" was raised to protect Tryon county, and one company, under command of Captain Mc- Kean, was stationed at Cherry Valley, where a rude fort had previously been erected. In 1762 the population of the settlement consisted of eight families, and at the begin- ning of the Revolution its population numbered about three hundred persons. We have thus given the reader a glimpse of the first settlement in Otsego County, as it appeared upon the eve of the Revolution. Other settlements, though few in number, had been effected in various portions of the county.
The present town of Edmeston was settled as early as 1770, by Colonel Edmeston, an ex-officer in the English army, who was granted a tract embracing 10,000 acres for his services during the French war.
A small clearing was made and two huts erected, before the Revolution, in the town of Exeter, on what was sub- sequently known as the " Herkimer farm." These two cabins were standing at the close of the war, when the first settlers came in, but nothing further is known concerning this attempted settlement.
The territory embraced within the present boundaries of the town of Hartwick was granted to John Christopher Hartwick, April 22, 1761, and settlements were soon after commenced.
The pioneers of Laurens located in that town in 1774, the first settlement being made by Joseph Mayall, a short distance northeast of the present village.
Middlcfield received its first settlers in 1755. Those who Settled prior to the Revolution were Wm. Cook, Daniel Benjamin, and Reuben McCollum, Samuel and Andrew Wilson, Andrew Cochran, Andrew- Cameron, and a Mr. Hall.
On the Susquehanna river, in the town of Milford, one Carr, a " squatter," located prior to the Revolution ; but the settlements in this town assumed no importance until after the war.
Ebenezer Knapp came from Dutchess Co., N. Y., and located in the valley of the Butternut creek, in the town of Morris, as early as 1773.
Increase Thurston and Benjamin Lull and sons located in New Lisbon in 1773, thirty-three years before the civil organization of the town was effected.
Oneonta received its first white settlers prior to the Revolution, but the precise date is not known. Their names were Henry Scramlin and a Mr. Young.
The permanent settlement of Otsego was not mado until after the Revolution, but a small clearing was made not far from the outlet, in 1761, by John Christopher Hart- wick, proprietor of the " Hartwick patent," under the im- pression that his lands extended to the shore of the lake. Being soon convinced of his error, it was abandoned.
14
HISTORY OF OTSEGO COUNTY, NEW YORK.
Richfield was settled prior to the war, but the perma- nent settlement was not made until about the year 1787.
In Unadilla settlements were made before the war, but nothing definite is known eoncorning either settlers or loca- tions.
CHAPTER IV.
THE HEVOLUTION.
Position of tho Iroquois— Sir William Jolinaon — His Induonoo with tho Indians^Tho Massiicrn of Wyoming — The " Shades of Death" — Itesolutions of the Continental Congress — Denounced by the Court at Johnstown — Gxeitemcnt — Meeting at Cherry Valley — Address of the Indian Interpreter, Thomas Spencer — Resolutions Adopted^Conference between Brant and Rev. Mr. Johnson, at Unadilla, in June, 1777 — Council of General Herkimer and Brant, at Unadilla, in July, 1777 — Brant Enraged — Unsatisfactory Termi- nation of the Meeting.
"Sad was tho year, by proud oppression driven, When transatlantic liberty arose ; Not in tho sunshine mid the smile of Heaven, But wrapt in whirlwinds and begirt with woes, Amid.Ht the strife of fratricidal foes. Her bright star was tho light of burning plain ; Her baptism is the weight of blood that flows From kindred hearts — the blood of British veins; And famine tracks her steps and pestilential pains."
In the beginning of the Revolutionary struggle the little band of colonists found themselves at a disadvantage with their formidable antagonists, not only in men and muni- tions of war, but from the fact that, through the agency of Sir William Johnson, the fierce Iroquois were arrayed against them, and only waiting the opportunity to wage the barbaric warfare characteristic of the savage.
It must be admitted that no representative of the Eng- lish government ever wielded the influence among the In- dians of this land equal to that of Sir William Johnson. lie came to this country when twenty years of age to su- perintend an estate belonging to his uncle. Sir Peter War- ren, located in the Mohawk valley. Young Johnson soon succeeded in gaining the friendship of the Mohawh Indians, and eventually, through the diplomacy which subsequently gave him an enviable reputation, controlled nearly every tribe of the dusky legion of the confederacy.
This was the situation of affairs when the first gun was fired at Concord, and from that hour when the intelligence reached him of the conflict he directly and indirectly roused the savage spirit of the Indian against the colonists ; and to him, more than any other one man, are attributed the border wars of the Revolution, which for cruelty and inhu- manity are unparalleled in the annals of our country.
While the colonists were struggling with a well-disciplined and determined foe upon the seaboard, the frontier settle- ments were being harassed by the savage and the parricidal American Tory, both animated by a spirit of vandalism, destroying the habitations, devastating the cultivated fields, and waging an inhuman war against helpless women and innocent children.
In July, 1778, a force numbering about 1600 Indians
and Tories, under the command of Colonel John Butler, appeared at Wyoming, a flourishing settlement on the Sus- quehanna. Butler informed the inhabitants that he came with no hostile feelings, and that none should be molested. At nightfall, however, the savages and half-breeds,
"More fell than tigers on the Lybian plain,"
rushed upon their victims. Men were shot down upon their own thresholds, women were dragged from their homes and tomahawked, while the cries of tortured infants floated through the midnight air. The light of the burning village shone over the most inhuman scene that stains the page of history. Many of those who escaped the toma- hawk of the murderous savage were lost in a great swamp in the neighborhood, which from that circumstance acquired the name of the ^'■Shades of Death," and retains it to this day. Butler and his band of half-breeds returned to their haunts in triumph, and the surrounding hills doubtless blazed with many a camp-fire, around which was brandished the glittering tomahawk in the triumphal war-dance.
As it is our purpose only to relate so much of the history of the border warfare as is prominently associated with the present county of Otsego, we must go back to 1775, and note a few of the movements of the loyalists and colonists in Tryon county.
The Continental congress, which met in Philadelphia in September, 1774, sent forth a number of patriotic addresses and resolutions stigmatizing the " blocking up of the port of Boston" as " oppressive and arbitrary,'' and otherwise stating their grievances, and calling upon the people to maintain their rights.
The resolutions and measures adopted by the congress were well calculated to rouse the ire of the loyalists, and at a court held in John.stown, in the spring of 1775, a declara- tion was framed and circulated by the loyalists of the county denouncing the measures adopted by the congress. This declaration met with some opposition, but finally was signed by the majority of the jui-ymen and magistrates. This bold assertion of the supremacy of the king, and opposition to the just and inalienable right of the colonists, caused great excitement among the people, and committees to cor- respond with the general congress were appointed in each district, and sub-committees were formed in every liamlet in the county.
A meeting was immediately held in the little church in Cherry Valley, which was filled with the liberty-loving in- habitants of that small village, to discuss the situation and sign the article of association which had been framed for the patriotic people of Tryon county. The meeting was ad- dressed by an Indian interpreter named Thomas Spencer, who roused the spirit of patriotic fire in the breasts of his hearers, and at the close of the meeting the following article of association was signed by nearly all present:
Whereaa, the grand jury of this county and a number of the magistrates have signed a declaration declaring their disapprobation of the opposition made by the colonies to the oppressive and aibi- trary acts of parliament, the purport of which is ovidonlly to entail slavery in America; and as tho said declaration may in some measure be looked upon as the sense of tho couuty in general if tho same bo passed over in silence, we, tho subscribers, freeholders, and tho in-
HISTORY OF OTSEGO COUNTY, NEW YORK.
15
habitants of the saul county, inspired with n sincere love for oar country, and deeply interested in the common cause, do solemnly declare our fixed attachment and entire approbation of the proceed- ings of the grand Continental congress, held at IMiiladolphia last fall, and that we will strictly adhere to, and repose our confidence in the wisdom and integrity of the present Continental congress; and that wo will support the same to the utmost of our power, and that we will religiously and mviolably observe the regulations of that august body.
Thus it will be seen that the inhabitants of Cherry Val- ley early espoused tlie cause of liberty, and were ever after ready to repel the invasion and avarice of the mother coun- try ; and when, on the following 4th day of July, the col- onists declared themselves " free and independent," the declaration was received with mingled feelings of enthusiasm and joy.
During the summer of ITTG nothing of any importance occurred in the vicinity, and a temporary feeling of ease and security settled^ over the people.
In the month of June, 1777, a conference was held at Unadilla between Brant and the Rev. Mr. Johnson, who was accompanied by a number of the militia officers. Brant as usual had many grievances to relate, and stated that the Indians were in want of provisions, and that if necessity required force would be resorted to to secure the same. The inhabitants thereupon gave them cattle, sheep, etc., and they retraced their trail to Oquago (now Windsor, Broome county).
In consequence of the close proximity of Brant, the people were in a constant state of excitement, and, in the ensuing July, General Herkimer with a force of 380 militia marched to Unadilla, and was there met by Brant at the head of 135 warriors. He reiterated his many grievances, and when asked if his tribe intended to remain at peace, made the following answer : " The Indians were in concert with the king, as their fathers and grandfathers had been. That the king's bolts were yet lodged with them, and they could not falsify their pledge. That General Herkimer and the rest had joined the Boston people against their king. That Boston people were resolut«, but the king would humble them. That Mr. Schuyler, or general, or what you please to call him, was very smart on the Indians at the treaty at German Flats, but was not at the same time able to afford them the smallest article of clothing. That the Indians had formerly made war on the white people all united ; and now they were divided the Indians were not frightened."
This conference ended with no satisfactory results having been reached.
During the council Brant became incensed at a remark of one of the officers, to the effect that if he intended " to espouse the cause of the king the matter was ended," and immediately roused his warriors and sounded the war- whoop. He was soon silenced by General Herkimer, who, in an address, informed the dusky warrior that he had met him with no warlike resolves, but Brant was defiant, and exclaimed that lie was ready for war. With this unsatis- factory termination the conference ended, and in all proba- bility was the last hold with the Six Nations, — except the Oiieidas, — at which an effort was made to prevent the league from participating in the war.
CHAPTER V.
THE MASSAOKB OP CHEEBT VALLET.
The Summer of 1776— Exposed Condition of the Village— Captain MoKean Organises a Company of Rangers — Ordered to Rcmove-r Protest of the Inhabitants — Petition to the Provincial Congress — Defenseless- Fort Erected in 1776— Another in 1778— Brant's Approach in 1776 — Intended Attack — Amusing Incident : " Colonel Campbell has got his House well guarded, I perceive" — Visit of Colonel Wormwood — Starts on his Return — Is Tomahawked and Scalped by Brant — Brant's Bock— Captain McKean's Challenge — Brant's Letter to Peroifor Carr — 1778 — Arrival of Colonel lohabod Aldon and Soldiery — Precautionary Measures Adopted — Approach of the Enemy — The Attack Opened — The Scnecas head the On- slaught-Colonel Aldon Killed — Butchery of Iho Wells Family and others — Cajiturc of Mrs. Campbell and Children — Incidents — 177S — The Garrison Abandoned,
"Hark ! hark ! methinks I hear some melancholy moan, Steeling upon my listening ear, As though some departing spirit was about To soar, amid the horrors of a massacre I Yes, the savage fionil, with glittering knife And tomahawk, recking with infant blood. Stands in awful prospect before my vision."
As Cherry Valley was the principal settlement in the county south of the Mohawk, it was greatly exposed to the incursion of the Indians from the south, one of whose fre- quented trails passed through the village. To guard the people against any attack of the Indians which might be made, a company of rangers was raised during the summer of 1776, by Robert McKean, of that village. Time passed on, and no indications of an attack being made. Captain McKean and his rangers were ordered to remove. This , occasioned much surprise, and the following letter was written to the committee by the Rev. Samuel Dunlop, bearing date June 3, 177C:
Siiis, — We, the inhabitants of Cherry Valley, being assembled yesterday at a public town-meeting, and among other things taking the present critical situation of affairs into consideration, looked upon ourselves and the neighborhood around us, Springfield and Newtown-Martin, as a frontier, lying very open and unguarded, and very much exposed to the enemy, in case an Indian war should break out, or any party of the enemy should take it into their heads to conio down upon us ; and that it would be absolutely necessary to have a party of men stationed hero among us, in order to keep a sharp lookout, ond to scout all around our frontiers, lest at any time we be taken by surprise. And therefore have appointed me to write to you, to lay this matter warmly before the committee, and earnestly to impress them with the absolute necessity of tho thing, and to beg of them that if Captain McKean and liis company ho removed from this place that they would bo pleased to nond somo others in his stead, that we may not lie altogether naked and exposed to the assaults of the enemy.
The committee being unable to comply with this request, several of the inhabitants signed a petition, of which the following is a copy, under date of July 1, 1776 :
To THE IIONOItABLG MEllBF.nS OF THE PnOTlTlOlAL CONORESS OF NEW YORK.
The humble petition of the inhabitants of Cherry Valley, Newtown- Martin, and Springfield, in the county of Tryon, humbly showeth :
That we, tho aforesaid inhabitants, from the mostauthontio intclli- gonco wo have reoelvcd from our missionaries and Indian friends, learn that we are in imminent danger of being cut off by the savages our enemies, whom we understand are bribed by Sir John Johnson and Colonel Butler to execute the same. Know, also, honorable gen-
16
HISTORY OF OTSEGO COUNTY, NEW YORK.
tlemen, that the spirit of our inhabitants has been such for the Ameri- can cause that, out of the small and scattered bounds of Cherry Val- ley and Ncwtown-Marlin, no leas than thirty-three has turned out for imuiedluto sorvico, and good of their country, and thereby left us in a defenseless condition. We, therefore, your humble petitioners, hum- bly pray you would forthnith take this, our deplorable and distressed state and condition, under your immediate consideration, and medi- tate some speedy relief for us before it be too late, especially as the inhabitants of the Old England distiict and Unadilla are daily flying into our settlement, so that we shall immediately, in all appearance, become an open, defenseless, and unguarded frontier, and very much exposed to the insults of the enemy, especially scalping-partiea; and are at present without either ammunition or men, anyway sufficient to defend ourselves; and unless you, gentlemen, that can help us, will help us, by sending ammunition to the inhabitants, and a sufli- oicnt number of men, such as you may think proper, to guard our frontiers, we must expect to fall victims to the rage and fury of our merciless enemies. And, therefore, must once more beg you may take this, our deplorable circumstances, under your consideration, and send us immediate relief; and your petitioners shall ever pray.
This petition, signed by Samuel Dunlop, Samuel Camp- bell, James Scott, Robert Wells, James Richey, James Moore, and Samuel Clyde, was granted, and a company of rangers, under command of Capt. Winn, were ordered stationed at the place.
Still the settlement was in a defenseless condition, and it was deemed expedient to erect a fortification. The house of Colonel Samuel Campbell, which occupied a commanding position on elevated ground, was selected for the fort, and a strong embankment of logs and earth was thrown up, the whole inclosuro embracing the house, two large barns, and two block-houses which were subsequently erected.
This was the only fortification in the settlement until 1778, when a fort was built by the direction of General La Fayette, at the earnest solicitation of Colonel Campbell and Mr. Wilson.
An incident of these times is related by Judge Campbell :
" As all the exercises and sports were of a military na- ture, the younger boys, in imitation of their elders, formed themselves into a military company. Those who were ac- quainted with military evolutions instructed them. Armed with wooden guns, they paraded with all the pride of soldiers.
" It was a fine, pleasant morning, towards the latter part of May, that these miniature soldiers sallied out, and paraded upon the green east of the house. That morning Brant, having come up from Oquago with a party of his men, had posted them upon the hill about a mile farther east, and, concealed by the thick woods which covered it, was look- ing down upon the little fortification. His intention, as afterwards explained by a Tory who accompanied him, was to make an attack the following night, and either to kill or carry away prisoners some of the principal persons, and especially the committee. This sagacious warrior was deceived when he saw this little company of boys. Look- ing down from an elevation, and the view being obstructed by the trees, he supposed them to be men. Turning round to his followers, he remarked, ' Colonel Campbell has got his house well guarded, I perceive.' During the day he ascer- tained that the inhabitants were in garrison, but that no militia or soldiers from abroad were there. Wishing to gain definite information as to the force and the preparations for defense, he moved his party to a place near the main road
leading to the Mohawk river, about two miles to the north. Here he lay in wait behind a large rock. A short distance from this, the road wound along near the top of a ledge of rocks forming a precipice one hundred and fifty feet high. It was shaded by evergreens, and was dark even at mid-day.
" Its wildness was increased by the dashing of a small stream which fell over this precipice, called by the Indians the falls of the Tekaharawa. That day. Lieutenant Worm- wood came up from the Mohawk river, and informed the garrison that Colonel Klock would arrive the next day with a part of his regiment of militia. It was almost night when he started to return, accompanied by Peter Sitz, the bearer of some dispatches. Throwing down his portmanteau, he mounted his horse, saying he should not need it until his return on the morrow with his company. The fine personal appearance of this young officer, who was clad in a rich suit of ash-colored velvet, attracted much attention during his stay, and many persons remained at the door looking at the horsemen until they were hid by the hill over which they passed. The clattering of hoofs had scarcely died away upon the ear when the report of a volley of musketry was heard. Soon after. Wormwood's horse returned ; the saddle was covered with blood, which excited fears as to his fate but too well founded. A party went out that evening, but could make no discoveries. The next morn- ing the body was found behind the rock before mentioned. They had arrived near the rock, when they were hailed, and ordered to stop ; disregarding the order, they put spurs to their horses and endeavored to pass. The Indians im- mediately fired. Wormwood was wounded and fell from his horse, when Brant, rushing out, tomahawked him with his own hand."
Though Brant was considered a merciless savage, and has by most writers been stigmatized as a heartless wretch, there are many instances on record where he conducted himself in a manner entirely at variance with this character. It is related of him that when he burned Springfield, in the summer of 1778, he gathered together the women and children and left them unharmed.
Captain McKean, who raised the first company of rangers in Cherry Valley, was not only a good soldier, but enjoyed the reputation of being an excellent scout, and often penetrated the forest in search of the Indians, and was very instrumental in gaining trustworthy information of their movements. Wiiile Brant Wits at Unadilla, Cap- tain McKcan, with five others, was dispatched on a scouting expedition, and during this scout the courageous captain, becoming incensed at Brant's predatory warfare, wrote him a letter, and fastening it to a stick left it in the trail. In this missive he spoke of him in nowise flattering terms, and politely informed him that if he would come to Cherry Valley he would meet him single-handed, and change him from a Brant to a goose. This imprudent challenge of Captain McKean's was received by tlie warrior, as is shown by the following, which is a verbatim copy of a letter writ- ten by Brant soon after to Percifer Carr, one of the first settlers in the present town of Edmeston.
TUNADILI.A, July 9, 1778. Sm,-I understand by the Indians that was at your house last week, that one Smith lives near with you, has little more eorn to
HISTORY OF OTSEGO COUNTY, NEW YORK.
17
sparo. I should bo much obliged to you if you would bo so kind as to try to get as rauoh corn as Smith can spare; he has sent mo five skipplcs already, of which I am rauoh obliged to him, and I will see him paid, and would be very glad if you could spare ono or two your men to join ns, especially Elias. I would be glad to see him, and I wish you could sent mo as many guns you have, as I know you have no use for them, if you any, as I mean now to light the cruel rebels as well as I can. Whatever you will able to sont'd mo, you must sent'd by the bearer.
I am your sincere friend and humble ser't,
Joseph BnANnr. To Mil. Carr.
P.S. — I hoard that Cherry Valley people is very bold, and intended to make nothing of us. They call us wilJ geeiie, but I know the con- trary. Jos. B.
In the summer of 1778, Colonel Icliabod Aldcn, witli a rogiment of CoiiUiioiital Holiliers, were oidoreJ to Clicny Valley, and took conunand of the foit. Precautionary measures were at once adopted for the safety of the set^ tlement, and stockades were placed around the church by the militia and rangers.
In October, 1778, an Indian interpreter and agent named Dean informed Major Cochrane, then in command of Fort Schuyler, that an attack was intended on the frontier during the coming autumn. This intelligence was transmitted to Colonel Alden, at Cherry Valley, as will be seen by the following letter :
Sin, — Wo were just now been informed by an Oneida Indian that ycstcrda.y an Onnndatja Indian arrived n.t their castle, from ono of the hranehos of tho Rusquolmnna called tlio 'J'ioga. 1'hat he was jtrcsent at a great meeting of Indians and 'Lories at thai place, autl their rosult wa.s to attack Cherry Valley, and that young Itutler was to head the Tories. I send you this information that you may be on your guard.
This admonitory letter was duly received by Colonel Alden, as shown by his reply, —
CnrinnY Vallrv, Nov. 8, 1778. Sin, — Received yours of the 6th inst. by express, inCoriuing me of tho intelligence you obtained by one of tho Oneida Indians of a large bofly of the enemy who \vero collected on the SuRqiiclianna, and were destined to attack this place. I am much obliged to you for your information, and am,
Sir, your very humble servant,
IciiABon Alde.v.
P.S. — General Hand is now here; arrived at this place the day before yesterday ; will return soon to Albany.
Naturally enough, this intelligence alarmed the inhabi- tants, and they requested of Colonel Alden permission to remove into the fort, or at least be allowed to store their property there. Colonel Alden a,ssigned various reasons for not granting their requests. lie thouglit the report doubt- less unfounded, and rca.ssured thetn by stating that he would keep a strong scouting force out. Scouts were dis- patched in various directions, and the detachment sent down the Susquehanna exhibited their lack of knowledge of Indian warfsire by kindling a fire on the night of the 9th of November, and, reposing in its genial warmth, soon fell asleep. They awoke on the following morning to find themselves surrounded and captives in the hands of the Indians.
We have now traced the movements of the Indians and Tories in this vicinity to the night of Nov. 10, 1778, the eve of the savage butchery which has gone down in history as the " Massacre of Cherry Valley."
The following version of this sacrifice of human life is 3'
given by lion. William W. Campbell, of Cherry Valley, and is the most authentic narrative of the massacre ever written : " On the night of the 10th the enemy encamped on the top of a hill thickly covered with evergreens, about a mile southwest of the fort. On the morning of the 11th the enemy moved from his encampment toward the fort. They had learned from the scout which they had taken that the officers of the garrison lodged in different private houses out of the fort ; their forces were so disposed that a party should surround every liouse in which an officer lodged nearly at the same time, while the main body would attack tho fort. During the night the snow fell several inches. In the morraing it turned to rain, and the atnio.sphere was thick and hazy. The whole suttleniont thought themselves secure. The assurances of Colonel Alden had in a con- siderable degree quieted their fears. Everything favored the approach of the enemy undiscovered. Colonel Aldcn and Lieutenant-Colonel Staoia, with a small guard, lodged at Mr. Wells'. A Mr. Ilamblc was coming up that morn- ing from his house, sovcriil miles below, on horseback ; when a short distance from Mr. Wells' house ho was fired upon and wounded by the Indians. He rode in great haste to inform Colonel Alden of their approach, and then hastened to the fort. Still incredulous, and believing them to be only a straggling party, he ordered the guard to be called in. The delay of a few minutes gave the Indians time to arrive. The Rangers had stopped to examine their firelocks, the powder in which had been wet with tho rain. The Indians, improving this opportunity, rushed by. The advance body was composed principally of Senecas, at that time the wildest and most ferocious of the Six Nations. Colonel Alden made his escape from the house, and. was pursued down the hill toward the fort by an Indian. Wiien challenged to surrender he peremptorily refused so to do ; several times he turned round and snapped his pistol at the Indian. The latter, after pursuing some distance, threw his tomahawk and struck him on the head, and then, rush- ing up, scalped him. He thus 'was one of the first victims of this most criminal neglect of duty.' Lieutenant-Colonel Stacia was taken prisoner. The guard were all killed or taken.
" The Senecas who first arrived at the house, with some Tories, commenced an indiscriminate massacre of the family, and before the Rangers had arrived had barbarously mur- dered them all, including Robert Wells, his mother and wife, and four children, his brother and sister, John and Jane, with three domestics. Of this interesting and excel- lent family not one escaped, except the late John Wells, of New York city. His father had left him in Schenectady the previous summer with an aunt, that he might attend the grammar school there. He might almost have ex- claimed, with Logan, that not a drop of his blood ran in the veins of any human being ; or, as it has been beauti- fully expressed by Campbell in his 'Gertrude of Wyoming,'
" ' They loft of all my tribe Nor man, nor child, nor thing of living birth. No : not the dog, that watched my household hoarth, Escaped — that morn' of blood upon our plains All perished ! I alone am left on earth ! To whom nor relative nor blood remains, No ! not a kindred drop that runs in human veins.'
18
HISTORY OF OTSEGO COUNTY, NEW YORK.
" A Tory boasted tliat he killed Mr. Wells while at prayer. The melancholy fate of Jane Wells deserves a more particular notice. She was a young lady, not dis- tinguished for her personal beauty, but endeared to her friends by her amiable disposition and her Christian chari- ties : one ' in whom the friendless found a friend,' and to whom the poor would always say, ' God speed thee.' She fled from the house to a pile of wood near by, behind which she endeavored to screen herself Here she was pursued by an Indian, who, as he approached, deliberately wiped his bloody knife upon his leggings, and then placed it in its sheath ; then drawing his tomahawk he seized her by tho arm. She possessed some knowledge of the Indian language, and remonstrated and supplicated, though in vain, Peter Smith, a Tory, who had formerly been a domestic in Mr. Wells' family, now interposed, saying she was his sister, and desiring him to spare her life. He shook his tomahawk at hha in defiance, and then turning round, with one blow smote her to the earth. John Wells, Esq., at this time deceased, and the father of Robert Wells, had been one of the judges of the courts of Tryon county ; in that capacity, and as one of tho justices of the quorum, lie had been on intimate terms with Sir William Johnson and family, who frequently visited at his house, and also with Colonel John Butler, likewise a judge. The family were not active for or against the country : they wished to remain neutral, so far as they could, in such turbulent times. They always performed military duty, when called out to defend the country. Colonel John Butler, in a con- versation relative to them, remarked, ' I would have gone miles on my hands and knees to have saved that family, and why my son did not do it God only knows.'
" Another party of Indians surrounded the house of the Rev. Samuel Dunlop, whom we have frequently had occa- sion to mention as the pioneer in education in western New York. His wife was immediately killed. The old gentle- man and his daughter wore preserved by Little Aaron, a chief of the Oqiuiyo branch of the Mohmohs. Mrs. Wells was also a daugiitcr of Jlr. Dunlop. LiUh Aaron led him out from tho house, tottering with age, and stood beside him to protect him. An Indian passing by pulled his hat from his head, and ran away with it; the chief pursued him and regained it; on his return, another Indian liad carried away his wig. The rain was falling upon his bare head, while his whole system shook like an aspen under (ho combined influence of age, fear, and cold. He was released a few days after, but the shock was too violent ; he died about a year after. His death was hastened by his mis- fortunes, though he could have hoine up but a few years longer under the increasing infirmities of old age. A Mr. Mitchell, who was in his field, beheld a party of Indians approaching ; he could not gain his house, and was obliged to flee to the woods. Here he eluded pursuit and escaped. A melancholy spectacle presented itself on his return ; it was the corpses of his wife and four children. His house had been plundered and set on fire. He extinguished the fire, and, by examination, found life still existing in one of his children, a little girl ten or twelve years of age. He raised her up and placed her in the door, and was bending over her when he saw another party approaching. He had
barely time to hide himself behind a log fence near by before they wore at the house. From this hiding-place ho beheld an infamous Tory, by tho name of Newbury, ex- tinguish the little spark of life which remained in his child with a single blow of his hatchet. The next day, without a single human being to assist him, he canied the remains of his family down to the fort on a sled, and tliere the soldiers aided him in depositing them in a common grave. Retributive justice sometimes follows close upon the heels of crime. This Tory was arrested as a spy the following summer by order of General James Clinton, when he lay with his army at Canajoharie, on the Mohawk river. Mr. Mitchell was called to prove this act. He was found guilty by a court-martial, and, with a companion, suffered an igno- minious death.
" The party which surrounded the house of Colonel Campbell took Mrs. Campbell* and four children prisoners. Mr. Campbell was absent from home, but hastened there on the first alarm, which was a cannon fired at the fort. He arrived only in time to witness the destruction of his property, and not even to learn the fate of his family ; their lives were spared, but spared for a long and dreadful captivity. Many others were killed ; some few escaped to the Mohawk river, and the remainder were made prisoners. Thirty-two of the inhabitants, principally women and chil- dren, were killed, and sixteen Continental soldiers. The terror of the scene was increased by the conflagration of all the houses and outhouses in the settlement ; the barns were, many of them, filled with hay and grain. He who fled to the mountains saw, as he looked back, the destruc- tion of his home and his little all which he had labored for years to accumulate.
" When the enemy approached, on the morning of the 11th, Mrs. Clyde, the wife of Colonel Clyde, collecting to- gether her children, fled into the woods. During that day and the following night she lay with her children, one of whom, was an infant, gathered around her, and concealed under a large log. As we have before mentioned, it was a cold, rainy day, and the storm continued through the night. She could hear tho yells of the savages as they triumphed in their work of death ; several of them passed near where she lay, and one so near that the butt of his gun trailed upon the log which covered her. At the intercession of her husband, who was in the fort, a party sallied out the following morning, and, at the risk of their lives, brought her and her children into the fort ; they were drenched with rain and stilFcned with tho cold, but they all survived. Mrs. Clyde at the time of her flight had missed her eldest daughter, about ten years of age, and supposed she had gained the fort ; when she arrived at the fort on the morning of the 12th this daughter appeared in the neighboring field. When she saw the sentinels, who had wrapped themselves in blankets, she supposed them to be Indians, and again fled to the woods ; she was followed and brought back to tho anxious mother. When fleeing from the house she had separated from the rest of the family, and had lain concealed alone until her appearance in the field. The suff"erin"-s of
* She was subseijuently exchanged, and, in 1784, returned to Cherry Valley.
HISTORY OF OTSEGO COUNTY, NEW YORK.
19
such a child in such a night, thinly clad, alone in the woods, must have been of the most excruciating nature.
"Some generous acts were performed by Brant, which, in justice to him, ought to be mentioned. On the day of the massacre, he inquired of some of the prisoners where his friend. Captain McKean, was. They informed him that he had probably gone to the Mohawk river with his family.
" ' lie sent me a challenge once,' said Brant ; ' I have now come to accept it. lie is a fine soldier thus to retreat.'
" They answered, ' Captain McKean would not turn his back upon an enemy when there was any probability of success.'
" ' I know it. He is a brave man, and I would have given more to have taken him than any other man in Cherry Valley ; but I would not have hurt a hair of liis head.'
" In a house which he entered he found a woman en- gaged in her usual business. ' Arc you thus engaged while your neighbors are m\irdcrcd around you ?' said Brant.
" ' We are king's people,' she replied.
" ' That pica will not avail you today,' he answered. ' They have murdered Mr. Wells' family, who were as dear td me as my own.'
" ' There is one Joseph Brant : if he is- with the Indians, he will save us.'
" ' I am Joseph Brant, but I have not the command, and I know not that I can save you ; but I will do what is in my power.'
" While they were speaking several Senecas were ob- served approaching the house.
" ' Get into bed and feign yourself sick,' said Brant, hastily.
" When the Senecas came in he told them there were no persons there but a sick woman and her children, and besought tliem to leave the house, which they accordingly did. As soon as they were out of sight Brant went to the end of the house and gave a long, shrill yell ; soon after, a small band of Mohawks were seen crossing the adjoining field with great speed. As they came up he inquired, ' Where is your paint? Here, put my mark upon this woman and her children.' As soon as it was done he added, ' You are now probably safe.'
" This was a general custom ; each tribe had its mark by which they and their prisoners were designated. Most of the other prisoners were thus marked. It was an evi- dence that they were taken or claimed by some particular tribe or individual, and woe to that person upon whom no captor had put its mark I
" Brant, jealous of his character, always said that in the councils he had urged the Indians to be humane, and not to injure the women and children. When he had the ex- clusive command this was in some degree effected. Colonel Butler alleged that Brant secretly incited the Indians in this massacre in order to stigmatize his son, who had superseded him in command. Others said that he was humane in order to contrast his own conduct with that of Walter Butler. Brant stoutly denied both charges, and appealed to his conduct in Springfield and other places."
CHAPTER VI.
SULLIVAIf AND CLINTON'S CAMPAIGN.
Sullivan leaves Camp— Arrives at Tiog.a — Erects "Fort Sullivan" — Clinton moves up tho Mohawk — Kcaohcs tlio Present Site of Cooporstown via Otsego Lake — Encamps — Builds Dam — Floats down the Susquehanna — Savages Terror-Strickcn — Joins Sullivan at Tioga — Forward Movements — Battle of Newtown — Enemy De- feated— " Sullivan's March" — Villages Burned and Cornfields Destroyed.
" Oo seek the covert of tho savage foo. Disperse them at thy weal or woe."
The frequent recurrence of these troubles mentioned in tho preceding chapter brought upon the Indians the ven- geance of Washington, who determined to visit them with retributive justice.
In the year 1779 an expedition under Generals Sullivan and Clinton was planned, the command of which was given to the former, with explicit instructions to devastate the Indian country, and to spare none. It was a severe course, and at this remote period seemingly inhuman, but tho only one that could serve to bi'ing a speedy close to tho sacrifice of human lives in the border settlements. Sullivan and Clinton lost no time in marching northward. General Sul- livan left his camp on the Hudson May 1, 1779, and on the 24th day of the following month arrived at Wyoming, where he remained until July 31, when he continued his march, arriving at Tioga on Aug. 11. He threw up a fortification at this point called " Fort Sullivan," and re- mained here until the arrival of the detachment under command of General Clinton.
Clinton in the mean time was making his way up the Mohawk, with the 1st and 3d New York regiments. Upon arriving at Canajoharie he made a successful raid into the country of the Onondaga Indians, and then commenced his march from Canajoharie to the head of Otsego lake, a dis- tance of about twenty miles. This overland march through an almost impassable forest was accomplished with much diificulty, and midsummer had arrived when the boats wore launched on the clear waters of Otsego lake, and the little band of soldiers moved over its placid surface which had but lately been dotted with the birchen canoe of the savage, and along its shores where tho echo of the war-whoop had scarcely died away.
General Clinton, upon arriving at the foot of the lake, en- camped on the site of the present village of Cooperstown, where he remained several weeks awaiting the movements of Sullivan. He soon discovered that, in consequence of the prevailing drought, his boats could not be floated down the river, and with his characteristic forethought performed an engineering feat clearly illustrative of the ingenuity of man, and that rendered him substantial service.
He constructed a dam at the outlet of the Susquehanna, and when sufficiently filled with water he launched his boats, and, removing the obstruction, floated down on its swollen flood. The Indians, witnessing the rapid rise of the river, fled in terror to the adjacent forests, believing it to be an intervention of the Great Spirit in behalf of the "palo face."*
* Remains of this dam were piainlj to be seen many yefl.rs after- ward, and tlie last log was removed at a eelcbration held at Coopers-
20
HISTORY OF OTSEGO COUNTY, NEW YORK.
General Clinton joined the main army at Tioga on the 22(1 Jay of An<^ust. The entire command consisted of four hrigados of infantry, one company of artillery, and a corps of riflemen, numbering in all about four th(m.sand men.
The Indians were aware of the movements of Sullivan, and strongly fortifying themselves at Newtown, now El- mira, awaiting the coming of the whites. The Tories wore well disciplined and under the command of Butler, while at the head of the savage clans was Joseph Brant, Ihayen- danegea, the foremost Indian warrior of his day, whose savage barbarity and courage has passed into history with- out a parallel in Indian annals. Brant thought it impos- sible, in consequence of the dense wilderness, that an army embracing any considerable number of men could penetrate into their country, and conceived it an easy task to repulse the invaders and re-enact upon them the scenes of Wyo- ming and Cherry Valley. The 29th day of August, 1779, served to dispel that ill-conceived idea, when General Sullivan with his entire force appeared in front of the iiitrenchments. The Americans lost no time, but immediately opened a deadly fire. The recollections of Wyoming and Cherry Valley were still fresh in their minds, and the scenes of those nights of carnage rose spectral-like before their vis- ion, and, actuated by a spirit of revenge, they rushed upon the foe; volley after volley was poured into the fort, and their fire was returned with energy. Brant, with his char- acteristic bravery, rallied his dusky legion again and again, as they fell back before the unerring fire of the whites.
After a fierce conflict, lasting two hours, the Indians and Tories, perceiving that they were likely to be annihilated, broke and fled in great confusion.
John Salmon, who belonged to the expedition, and gave an account of it to the author of the " Life of Mary Jenii- son," in speaking of the battle of Newloion, says, " This was the only regular stand made by the Indians. In their retreat they were pursued by our men to the Narrows, where they were attacked and killed in great numbers, so that the sides of the rocks next the river looked as if blood had beep poured on them by pailfuls."
The Indians left their dead upon the field, and, gather- ing the women and children, fled before the pursuing foe northward toward Seneca lake. The army of Generals Sul- livan and Clinton followed hard upon the retreating form of the red brother. The Indians fled before the thunder of his artillery like leaves before the whirlwind. At Knawaholee twenty cabins and a large field of corn were destroyed. Queen Catherine Montour (at Havana) fled from her lodge, never to return. He passed down on the east side of Seneca lake, burning villages and destroying cornfields. At Kanadcsaga, the capital of the Senecus, a contest was expected, but the poor savages, who had wit- nessed with sinking hopes the destruction of their homes and their food for the coming winter, became entirely dis- organized, and oft'cred no resistance whatever to the invaders, wlio pursued their course to " Big Tree" (now Goncsco), devastation and ruin marking their pathway. He swept the
town, October 20, 1825, while tlie booming cannon from nulTalo to Albany wcio piocliiiuiing to the people of tliis great Stato thutUuneral Do Witt Clinton baJ commenced the passage from iJuifalo to Albany by Canal Boat.
Indian country as it were with a besom of destruction, burned forty villages, and destroyed more than four hundred thousand bushels of corn. Eroni " Big Tree" Sullivan re- traced his line (if nnirch, and upon hi.s arrival at Kanadc- saga (Geneva) he dispatched Colonel IJeaiborn with a de- tachment of riflemen to the village of the Cayugas, located in what is now Seneca county, on the west shore of Cayuga lake, where he visited upon them the same penalty so re- cently dealt to the Senecas. The penalty inflicted upon the Cayitgas and Senecas by Sullivan was severe, but served well the purpose for which it was intended. It ended the border wars, and the Indians never again at- tempted a rcocoupation of the country. Tiiey returned only as erratic bands, to attend treaties.
CHAPTER VTT.
EXTINCTION OF INDIAN TITLE.
The Iroquois Deserted by the English — Deplorable Condition— Inter- cession of AVnshington, Clinton, and Schuyler — State Commission- ers Appointed — United Slaies Commissioners Appointed — Tbo First Treaty between tlio Lfnited States and tho Iroquois — " Fort Slanwi.v" — The First Treaty between New York \iin\ tho Iroquois — " Fort Herkimer" — Subsequent Treaties — Conflicting Claims to Territory — The Hartford Arbitration.
The unfortunate alliance of the Six Nations to the Brit- ish crown during the War of the Revolution tended in no- wise to benefit them. On the contrary, the close of the war left them with no protectors save those against whom they had waged, through eight dreary years, the relentless border warfare, as ]<lngland, upon the conclusion of peace ' with the colonists, made no provision whatever for her dusky allies. It was admitted by the State that the title to the land was originally vested in the Indian, but many, still suttering from the efieots of the barbarities perpetrated by the savage, urged that their lands be held forfeit, as those of a conquered foe. At one time this was the spirit that animated the law-makers of tho State ; and, but for the timely and earnest intervention of Clinton, Washington, and Schuyler, they would have been compelled to relinquish the title of their lands without a single treaty. The inter- cession of Clinton with the State, and Washington with the authorities of the general government, succeeded in effecting a wiser and more humane policy.
In April, 1784, by act of the legislature of New York, the governor and a board of commissioners were constituted superintendents of Indian aff'airs. The board was consti- tuted as follows : George Clinton, governor, Abram Cuyler, Peter Schuyler, Henry Glen, Philip Schuyler, Robert Yates, Abram Ten Broeck, A. Yates, Jr., P. W. Yates, John J. Beekman, Mathew Vischer, and General Ganse- voort. To render the board more efficient they associated with them the Rev. Wm. Kirkland, Peter Ryckman, Jacob Reed, James Reed, James Deane, Major Fonda, Colonel Wcraple, Major Fry, and Colonel Van Dyke, all of whom were familiar with the customs and habits of the Indians.
In the mean time the United States government had also appointed commissioners delegated with power to treat with
HISTORY OF OTSEGO COUNTY, NEW YOEK.
21
the Iroquois for lands bordering upon New York, Pennsyl- vania, and Ohio. This board consisted of Oliver Wolcott, Richard Butler, and Arthur Lee. Serious complications immediately arose as to the jurisdiction of the two boards of commissioners. Governor Clinton, with his characteristic energy, endeavored, during the spring and summer of 1784, to effect a treaty, but found them generally adverse to treat- ing with a State, but acknowledging their willingness to meet the " Thirteen Fires." Both the State and the United States commissioners designated Fort Stanwix as the council ground, and on Oct. 22, 1784, the first treaty of the United States was effected. By the terms of this treaty the government guaranteed protection to ilie Jroquois, and they, in turn, Rurrendorcd their captives.
Governor Clinton soon after succeeded in convening the Oiteidas and l^uscaroras, and in June, 1785, the first treaty was held between this tribe and New York, at Fort Herkimer. By the terms of this treaty they ceded all that territory lying between Unadilla and Chenango rivers, south of a line drawn through those streams, and extending to the J'einiaylvania line, paying therefor the sum of $11,500. The Oiieidas subsequently ceded to the State the remainder of their territory, with the exception of a small reservation, reserving to themselves, however, the right of hunting and fishing. The price paid for this ter- ritory was $5500, together with an annual annuity of SGOO for ever.
On Sept. 12, 1788, at a treaty held at Fort Schuyler, the Oiwndiigtn disposed of all their lands within the bound- aries, receiving in consideration one thousand French crowns in cash, together with clothing amounting to the sum of $500, and an agreement by the terms of which they were to receive forever a yearly stipend of $500.
Feb. 25, 1789, a treaty was concluded at Albany between the State of New York and the Cmjnga tribe, the Indians ceding all their possessions to the State, reserving a tract embracing one hundred sipiaro miles, located on cither side of Cayuga lake, within the present counties of Cayuga and Seneca. The consideration paid by the State was $2125, and an annual annuity to their posterity forever of $500. The State was prompt to treat with the Indians whenever they desired to part with their possessions, and one treaty followed another in quick succession, and 1790 dawns to find the title to their fertile lands within New York extin- guished with the exception of the reservations, their numbers greatly lessened, and their warlike prowess gone. They were crowded on and on toward the setting sun, not by the bayonet of the white, but by civilization, a power at once friendly but as irresistible as the march of time.
To the lasting honor of the State of New York, it is proper to remark that she has earnestly endeavored to ad- vance the interests of the remnants of the tribes within her borders, by teaching them the art of husbandry and fur- nishing them religious and educational instructors. It has, however, except in a few instances, practically wrought no beneficial results. Tho Indians have become demorali/.od by contact with tho whites, and the fragments of the once grand league of Jivqvois are eking out a miserable exist- ence.
In the year 1G20 the king of Great Britain granted to
an organization known as the Plymouth company a tract of land denominated New England, extending several de- grees north and south, and reaching from the Atlantic to the Pacific. Eight years after, Charles I. granted a charter for a portion of this territory, which was vacated in 1684, and a secotid charter granted by William and Mary in 1G91. The territoiy embraced within the boundaries designated by this charter extended from north latitude 42° 2' to north latitude 44° 15', and from ocean to ocean. In the year 1663, Charles I. granted to the Duke of York and Albany the province of New York, including the present State of New Jersey, and extending, from a line twenty miles east of the Hudson river, westward to the Pacific ocean. The boundaries of this tract were very indefinite, and when each of the colonics, afterwards States, laid claim to tlic same territory a collision arose, which at one time wore a serious and threatening aspect.
New York in 1781, and Massachusetts in 1785, ceded to tho United States a large tract of territory, thereby greatly diminishing the original amount in controversy, but still left about 19,000 square miles of territory yet in dispute.
This controversy was amicably settled by commissioners assembled at Hartford, Conn., Dec. 16, 178G. By the terms of the arbitrament, Massachusetts confirmed to New York the sovereignty and right of jurisdiction of the soil lying west of . the east boundary of New York, while to Massachusetts was ceded the properly of the soil, or the right of the pre-emption of the soil from the natives. This compact embraced that part of the State lying west of a line running north from the " eighty-second" mile-stone, on the boundary line between New York and Pennsylvania, through Seneca lake to Sodus bay. This line is known as the " Old Pre-emption Line."
C II A P T E R V 1 1 1.
THE CLOSE OF THE BEVOLUTIOU— INFLUX OF SETTLERS.
Sullivan's and Clinton's Koturn— Glowing Description of the Country — Pioneer Movements — Settlements Westward.
Upon the return of Generals Sullivan and Clinton from this memorable campaign, they gave such glowing descrip- tion of the country through which they had. passed, that the smoke had scarcely lifted from the burning villages marking their pathway of desolation, ere the white settler might have been seen threading his way into the wilderness, anxious to rear his home in the fertile lands of the /?'oj«oi's.
John Doolittle, of Connecticut, was the first settler in Broome county. He located in the Oquago valley, now Windsor, in 1785. He was followed in the same year by James McMaster, who proceeded up the Susquehanna, and located on tho site of the present village of Owego, Tioga county.
The pioneer of Binghamton was Capt. Joseph Leonard, who settled in 1787.
Ithaca Flats were first settled by Peter Hlnepow, Jacob Yaple, and Isaac Dumond, in 1789.
22
HISTORY OP OTSEGO COUNTY, NEW YORK.
The first log cabin on the site of the present flourishing city of Eiiuira was erected by Col. John llendy, in 1788. Col. Ilendy was a soldier in the Revolution, and became acquainted with the locality while serving under General Sullivan.
The first settler within the limits of the present county of Oneida was Hon. Hugh White, who located at Whites- town, now a suburb of Utica, in 1784. The tide of emi- gration rolled westward, and two years after the location of Mr. White, Ephraim Webster, a native of New Hampshire, settled in Onondaga county.
In 1793 the first cabin was built on the site of the present city of Auburn, by Colonel John L. Ilardonbuig, and the place was known as " Hardenburg's Corners" until 1800.
Canandaigua received its first white settler in 1789. This pioneer was Oliver Phelps, of honored memory, who opened the first land-office for the regular sale of land to settlers in America.
Geneva was settled in 1787, and in 1792 the celebrated Captain Williamson located at Bath, Steuben county. The Holland land company effijoted their purchase of Robert Morris in 1793, and in the year 1800 the first settlement was made at Ratavia, by Abel Ruwe, who came in under the auspices of Joseph Elliott, the first lund-agont of the Holland estate.
The Wadsworths located at " Big Tree," now Geneseo, in 1790.
The settlement of Bufialo was not commenced until about 1794; and there still resides in Rochester Mr. Edwin Scrantom, who, in 1810, lived in a log dwelling which oc- cupied the site of the Powers block, when only three rude huts stood where now is located the flourishing city of 85,000 inhabitants. (See township histories for details of early settlements in Otsego County.)
CHAPTER IX.
EABLY CUSTOMS.
"Logging" and " Husking-Bees" — Spinning Bees — Tea and Gos- sip—Pioneer Toilets — Chintz Dresses — llaisings — Wrestling
Amusing Incident : Judge Cooper and Tiinotliy Morse — " Home- spun"— Pieking tlie Wool — "Breaking" — Weaving — Pioneer Mill — The Mortar, Pestle, and Spring-Pole.
To trace the movements of the first settlers of a Slate or country and place before the reader a glimpse of their character and customs is oftentimes to record a series of hardships and privations, which to the present generation seem incredible. The pioneers of Otsego were no excep- tions. They encountered the privations incident to the settlement of a new country, and succeeded in subduin" the forest and securing for themselves pleasant homes.
Tliough their modes of life were dill'ercnt and the primi- tive state of the country debarred them of many of the "conveniences of life," the pioneers, as a class, were hardy, and the rude sports of " ye olden time," with the various "logging-bees," " husking-bees," etc., were entered into with genuine zest, and the " country dance" that closed the
" husking-bee" aflbrded far more enjoyment to them than the waltz or the " German" to the modern belle.
A "spinning-bee" brought together the ladies for miles around. The cards of invitation issued consisted of a small quantity of wool or flax, which was distributed among the invited guests, and the day designated when they should bring in the yarn. When the day mentioned arrived the yarn was returned, tea was drank, and the doings of the neighborhood " talked over" in a truly feminine style.
Ladies in those days were resolute and fearless, and it was not an unusual occurrence for them to meet a boar while passing from neighbor to neighbor, but this did not in the least deter them from their visits.
The toilet was plain, and but little time was consumed in arranging the entire dress. Dame Fashion was served by menials then, as well as now, although her behests were less severe. She who wore a black skirt, and white or calico short gown, with occasionally a chintz dress, was considered in the height of fashion. The head-dress was a bonnet. High-heeled shoes were sometimes worn, which were adorned by a small buckle. These, however, were not easily obtained, and it was no uncommon occurrence to sec both single and married ladies wending their way bare- foot, with shoes and stockings in their hands, to avoid soil- ing them by mud, putting them on before entering the house.
The " raising" of a building was sure to entail a vast amount of sport, and on these occasions journeys of miles were made by the settlers to assist a neiglibor. During the raising of the building whisky wivs dispensed freely, and after the work was completed the party collected, when the last drink was taken, and then the sport commenced. It usually consisted in wrestling. A ring was formed, and frequently the amusement began with the boys, the men being spectators. The boy thrown would bring in one to try his strength with the victor, and thus the sport was continued until the whole company had wrestled.
Those wrestling matches were a popular pastime, and the trials of strongth were not confined to the youth and early manhood. Those advanced in years were often seen with- in the " ring," and many a young athlete was borne to the ground by the strong arm of the patriarchs of the settle- ment.
Judge William Cooper was a muscular and finely-de- veloped man. He was interested in the sports of the day, and as a wrestler was considered champion of the settle- ment. He at last, however, found a " foeman worthy of his steel."
A number of the settlers had congregated at Griffin's tavern in Cooperstown, and a wrestling match was finally gotten up in front of the hotel, whore the ring was formed, and the contestants matched for the trial of stren<'tli. Judge Cooper was present, and after witnessing the sport a few moments said, —
" I am a wrestler myself, and I believe that I can throw any man in the county." Adding, " I am anxious to find a man on my patent that can ' down me,' and to such an one I'll give one hundred acres of land."
At this moment a sturdy pioneer, named Timothy Morse
HISTORY OF OTSEGO COUNTY, NEW YORK.
23
stepped up to the judge, and, laying his hand on his shoul- der, said, —
" Cooper, I believe that I can lay you on your back 1" The judge's eyes sparkled as he replied, " If you can I'll give you one hundred acres."
The " ring" was formed and the sport commenced. Morse soon exhibited himself as victor, and the judge, upon rising, ordered his clerk, Richard Smith, to make out a deed for the number of acres mentioned. The land con- veyed was located in the town of Burlington, and the clerk who framed the indenture was the first sheriff of Otsego County.
Each family manufactured its own cloth, which was a tedious process, as the carding-machino was not then in ex- istence. The wool was picked by the family, usually in the evening while seated in front of the crackling " back-log" that briskly burned in the old fireplace. After picking, the wool was greased and '' broke," and then carded into rolls by hand, when it was ready for spinning. Nearly every family owned a largo wheel and a small one, the former for wool and tow, and the latter for flax. A loom was also generally embraced in the necessaries of housekeeping, and those provided with this valuable auxiliary of pioneer life freely offered its use to their less fortunate neighbors.
One of the greatest inconveniences experienced by the early settlers was the want of good mills for grinding grain. The first mills erected were poor, and the flour made was coarse, and often black from smutty wheat. These incon- veniences caused them to resort to Indian corn as a means of sustenance, as that cereal afforded good "johnny-cakes" and excellent corumcal. Each family had its own mortar, pestle, and spring-pole for pounding the corn, and the meal was manufactured at will. The mortar consisted of the end of a hard-wood log cut off square, with one end hol- lowed out to receive the grain. The pestle was a piece of hard-wood fastened to a spring-polo. The mortar is set on end, the corn poured in, and then beaten and pounded with the pestle. Samp was also made in this rude mill, and scores of pioneers relate that they have had many a good supper of samp and milk, the samp being pounded in these mortars.
CHAPTER X.
OBGAWIZATION OF OTSEGO COUNTY.
Organisations of Towns— First County Officials— First Court-IIonso
Incident of Judge Cooper — First Court of Sessions — Grand
Jury Petit Jury — Witnesses — First Execution — Court-IIouse De- stroyed by Fire — Movement to Change the Location of the County-Sent — Unsuccessful — Present Court-House — County Build- ings.
The county of Albany was formed on the first day of November, 1683, and embraced " the manor of Rensselaer- wick, Schenectady, and all the villages, neighborhoods, and Christian plantations on the cast side of Hudson's river from Rocloffo Jansen's creek, and on the west side from Sawyer's creek to the outermost ends of Suraghtoga." ]3y subsequent enactments the county of Albany was made to comprise all that territory within the province of New York
north and west of present limits, and also included the entire State of Vermont.
In 1772, Tryon county was set off from Albany, and named in honor of Sir William Tryon, then provincial governor. It embraced all the present territory of New York lying west of a north-and-south line passing nearly through the centre of the present county of Schoharie. The county-seat was located at Johnstown. April 2, 1784, its name was changed to Montgomery, in honor of General Richard Montgomery of the Revolution. The first county set off from Montgomery was Ontario, in 1789.
Otsego was set off from Montgomery, and organized as a separate county, Feb. 16, 1791, and Cooperstown designated as the county-seat. A part of Scholiario county was taken off in 1795, and a portion of Delaware county in 1797.
The county as at first organized consisted of only two civil subdivisions, viz., Otsego and Cherry Valley, both of which had been organized as portions of the old county of Montgomery, the former, March 7, 1788, and the latter, February 16, 1791.
As the population increased, other towns were formed, and at present Otsego consists of twenty-four towns, viz. :
OnoANIZED
Burlington April 10, 1792.
Butternuts Feb. 5, 1796.
Decatur March 25, 1808.
Edmeston April 1, 1808.
Exeter March 25, 1799.
Hartwick March ,30, 1802.
Laurens April 2, 1810.
Maryland March 25, 1808.
MiddleBeld March 3, 1797.
Milford Feb. 6, 1796.
Morris April 6, 1849.
New Lisbon April 7, 1806.
Oneonta Feb. 5, 1796.
Otego April 12, 1822.
Pittsfield March 24, 1797.
Plainfield March 25, 1799.
Richfield April 10, 1792.
lloseboom Nov. 23, 1854.
Springfield March 3, 1797.
Unadilln April 10, 1792.
Wcstford March 25, 1808.
Worcester March 3, 1797.
The first county officials were as follows :
Judge. — William Cooper, appointed Feb. 17, 1791.
Surrogate. — James Cannon, appointed Feb. 17, 1791.
Clerk. — Jacob Morris, appointed Feb. 17, 1791.
(S'/ieriy/".— Richard R. Smith, appointed Fob. 17, 1791.
District Attorney. — Ambrose L. Jordan, appointed in 1818.
Treasurer. — Elihu Phinney, date of appointment un- known.
The first court-house erected was a primitive structure, and stood on the southeast corner of West and Second streets, on the site now occupied by the Davis block.
It was a two-story building ; the lower story was con- structed of logs and contained four rooms, and was used as a jail. The upper story was more pretentious in appear- ance, being built of frame-work, and was occupied as a court-room. The entrance to this room was on the north front, and was reached by two flights of stairs meeting at a platform before the door. The jury-rooms were in a tavern, which was occupied by the jailer. This stood on the lot with the court-house, and was erected the same year.
Soon after the organization of the county there was con- f.iderable strife in relation to the public buildings between Cooperstown and Cherry Valley ; and Judge Cooper once playfully remarked, —
" The court-house should be placed in Cooperstown, the jail in Middlefield, and the gallows in Cherry Valley."
The following amusing incident of these early days is related by Levi Beardsley in his " Reminiscences :"
2-1
HISTORY OP OTSEGO COUNTY, NEW YORK.
" My father was made justice of the peace at an early day after the county was organized. A day was agreed upon for all those appointed to meet at Cooporstown to take the oath of ollico and receive their connnissions. My father got a new blue coat, rather short, which was pronounced by a country tailor ' a handsome, genteel coat.' I recollect a rather coarse pair of white-topped boots for the occasion. At the appointed time he went, and, I think, walked there and back, which was as well as to ride, as the roads then were. He stayed all night, and with those that met there must have had a hard time of it at Griffin's tavern, the ' Bold Dragoon of the Pioneers,' for he came home lame, partly from an injury in a souffle, pulling off each other's boots, nolens volens, and partly from walking so far in his new ones.
" Among the justices was James Aplin, an honest, worthy, but rather vain man, who lived in Hartwiok. They used to tell this anecdote of him ; but whether true or false I cannot state. It was said that on his return home lie remarked to his heUer half, ' My dear, last night you slept with James Aplin ; to-night with James Aplin, Esquire. God bless my good friend Judge Cooper.' "
In the first court-house, for a period of ten years, justice was administered, wo are led to belie\e, by an impartial hand, and many of those who subsequently became noted for their leg.d talent practiced at the bar of this old court- house.
It at length became inadequate to the wants of the rapidly- increasing population, and in 1806 an act passed the legis- lature for the erection of a new court-house and jail, and in 180G-7 a building for that purpose was buih on the site occupied by the present court-house. It was a two-story brick structure, 50 by 56 feet, the upper story being occu- pied as a court-room, and the lower story as a jail and jailer's residence.
The court-house having been destroyed by fire in Decem- ber, 1840, it was then deemed a proper time by numerous citizens residing out of Cooperstown to adopt measures seeking the removal of the county-seat, and vigorous meas- ures were inaugurated by individuals in Ilartwick and Portlandville to accomplish this object. A spirited oppo- sition was raised, and finally three referees were chosen to locate the county-seat, who designated Cooperstown, in May, 1841. In the following month an appropriation of ^1,0,000 was voted for the erection of a court-house and jail, and in July the contract for their erection was let to Peter Becker, Harry Clarke, and Thomas Clarke, for the sum of $9974. Both structures were built of stone, — the court-house being 46 by 56 feet, and the jail 37 by 73 feet. The court-house is still standing. The jail was superseded by the present neat and substantial brick jail and slieriff's residence in 1876. The brick building containing the surrogate's and clerk's offices is a commodious structure, located between the court-house and jail.
The first court of sessions was held June 21, 1791, — William Cooper, judge ;_Jedediah Peck, Ephraim Hudson, Joshua H. Britt, John Mathias Brown, Witler Johnson, esquires.
The court convened, " agreeably to law," at the house of William Ellison, in Cooperstown, where, after being opened
by reading the commission of the peace, adjourned to the court-house, where it was reopened, and the following per- sons appeared, and wei'c sworn in as the first grand jury of Otsego County, viz. : Samuel Tubbs, William Cook, John Howard, Ichabod B. Patmer, Abijah Gilbert, James Averill, Daremus Warren, Nathan Davison, Robert Carr, David McCollum, Paul Gardner, Benjamin Lull, Samuel Craft, Martin I. Van Alstine, Elisha Fullman, Isaac Stacoy, Jabcz Hubbell, Uriah Luce.
The charge being given by Judge Cooper, the grand jury retired fi'om the court-house to the house of Joseph Griffen, and came into court the same day with an indictment against Benjamin Batchelor.
Abram Norton and John Gardner, for a riot and assault upon, and false imprisonment for the space of eight days, of Esther Batchelor. Batchelor pleaded " not guilty" to the indictment, and at four o'clock on the ensuing day the following persons were impanneled to " tiy the traverse," viz. : Jonathan Brown, Josiah Stevens, William Stevens, Alpheus Wentworth, Zachariah Coe, Daniel Carr, Jonathan Waterbury, Amasa Woodruff, Abel Clark, Thomas Curtis, Joseph Culver, John Grummoud.
The witnesses sworn upon the trial of this indictment were Esther Bachelor, Elisha FuUani, Isaac Stacoy, Cath- erine Davison, Tabitliy Duliany, Robert Riddle, Jane Riddle, and John Adams.
Crime prevailed in those early days, but received a prompt arraignment and speedy punishment. The first murder trial in the county was that of Stephen Arnold, a school-teacher in the town of Butternuts, charged with taking the life of a small child six years of age, by whipping her to death. He was tried at Cooperstown, in June, 1805, found guilty, i and sentenced to be hung. On the day appointed for the execution, and while he stood upon the gallows awaiting the drop of the fatal trap, a messenger arrived with a reprieve, and his sentence was subsequently commuted to imprison- ment for Hfe.
The first execution in the county was that of Levi Kellcy, who was sentenced by Judge Samuel Nelson, for the murder of Abraham Spafard, in the town of Oisego, Sept. 3, 1827. He was executed on the 28th day of December, 1827.
CHAPTER XT.
QEOGRAPHICAL-TOPOGHAPHIOAL-QEOLOGIOAL
Otsego County is located near the geographical centre of New York, between latitude 42° and 43° north, and longitude 74° and 76° west from Greenwich, and is bounded as follows : On the north by Oneida, Herkimer, and Mont- gomery counties ; on the east by Schoharie and Delaware counties ; on the south by Delaware county ; and on the west by Chenango and Madison counties.
The surface of Otsego presents a varied feature of bold outlines of irregular hills and deep valleys.
The highest summits attained an elevation of 400 to 700 feet above the valleys, and 1700 to 2000 feet above tide. The declivities of the hills are generally gradual, except in the southeast corner, where a high and rocky upland extends
HISTORY OF OTSEGO COUNTY, NEW YORK.
25
into the county from Delaware, terminating upon Schcncvas creek, in an abrupt declivity 300 to 500 feet in height.
In the town of Burlington the highest ridges are about 400 feet above the valleys ; in Butternuts, 500 to 600 feet ; in Cherry Valley, " Mount Independence," 1000 feet ; in Decatur, 250 to 300 feet ; in Edmeston, 400 to 500 feet in Exeter, 400 to 500 feet ; in Hartwick, 250 to 350 feet in Laurens, 250 to 350 feet ; in Maryland, 350 to 500 feet in Middlefield, 400 to 600 feet; in Milford, " Crumhorn Mount," 500 to 600 ; in Morris, 250 to 350 feet; in New Lisbon, 300 to 500 feet; in Oneonta, 150 to 500 feet; in Otego, 200 to 400 feet ; in Otsego, 300 to 500 feet ; in Pittsfield. 200 to 400 feet; in Plainfield, 200 to 500 feet; in llichficld, 150 to 400 feet; in Roseboom, 300 to 550 feet; in Springfield, 200 to 400 feet; in Unadilla, 400 to 500 feet ; in Westford, 400 to 500 feet ; in Wor- cester, 350 to 400 feet.
The principal streams are the Susquehanna and Unadilla rivers, — the latter of which forms the western boundary, — and Wharton, ijuttcrnuts, Otego, (Jlierry Valley, and Sche- nevas creeks.
THE LAKES.
There are numerous beautiful little inland seas in Otsego, which, together with the picturesque landscape views sur- rounding them, has given to the section a reputation for beauty of its natural scenery unparalleled in this country. The lakes of Otsego, though not as pretentious as those of other localities, are none the less charming, and are, in all respects, well calculated to impress the stranger with their beauty.
Otsego lake, lying within the towns of Springfield, Mid- dlefield, and Otsego, is a beautiful sheet of water about eight miles in length and one mile wide. It is 1193 feet above tide, and is rendered picturesque by the surrounding hills, which rise to the height of 400 to 500 feet. This is one of the finest lakes in the Empire State. It has been well stocked with fish, and is celebrated as a fishing-ground.
Canadargo lake lies about three-fourths of a mile south from the village of Richfield Springs, and is five miles in length and from one to one and one-half miles in width. It abounds in excellent fish, and has been well stocked with trout and white fish by Seth Green, of Rochester. Crumhorn lake is a small sheet of water located in the eastern part of Milford, and a similar body, called Gilbert's lake, is located in the south part of New Lisbon.
The geological formations of the county are not of a particularly interesting character, and are briefly given. The limestones found in the northeast part of the county are of the Helderbergh division, while the hills in the south part are composed of the shales of the Hamilton group and the shales and sandstones of the Portage and Chemung groups. In the extreme southern and south- eastern parts the summits are crowned by the red sand- stone and shales of the Catskill group. The soil differs in various portions of the county. In the northeast it consists chiefly of a gravelly and calcareous loam, and in the southern part, on tlie siimmits of the hills, a clay and shaly loam is found, while in the valleys a gravelly loam and alluvium predominates. 4
CHAPTER XI L
POLITICAL HISTOKTT.
Tho Constitution of 1777 — Its Adoption at Kingston — Ratification of tho Federal Constitution — Tho Constitution of 1821 — The Coun- cil of Appointment Abolished — The Constitution of 1846 — Presi- dential Electors — Judicial — Circuit Judges — First Judges of Com- mon Pleas — County Judges — Surrogates — Congressmen — State Senators — Members of Assembly — Sheriffs — Clerks — District At- torneys— School Commissioners — Loan Commissioners — Treas- urers— Regents of the University — State Assessor — Canal Ap- praisers— Attorney-General.
THE CONSTITUTION OF 1777 AND AMENDMENTS.
Tub convention of the representatives of the State of New York which adopted the constitution of 1777 con- vened at Kingston, having adjourned from Fishkill to that place. The constitution was reported March 12, and was discussed and finally adopted April 20, 1777, being the first constitution of tho State.
The first convention which assembled in this State after the organization of the State government and adoption of the constitution of 1777, was called to ratify the Federal constitution. It convened at Poughkeepsie, June 17, 1788, under a concurrent resolution of the legislature passed in January of that year. At that time the county of Otsego was not organized, but was part of Montgomery county — which county was represented in that convention by six members, viz. : John Frey, Wm. Harper, Henry Staring, Volkert Veeder, John Winn, and Christopher P. Yates, all of whom voted against the ratification, except Yates, who did not vote.
The county of Otsego was erected from Montgomery, Feb. 16, 1791, and was firet represented in the assembly, at the fifteenth session thereof, by James Cannon, who was a representative from Montgomery previous to the division of that county. Tho senate consisted of 24 members, apportioned to four districts, under the title of Southern, Middle, Eastern, and Western districts, each entitled to six members, divided into four classes, so that the terms of six should expire each year. If the census of the seventh year showed an increase of one-twenty-fourth the number of electors, such district was entitled to an additional member; such increase was to continue until the senate consisted of 100 members. The census of 1795 made the number 43, and it so remained until the constitution was amended ' in 1801, when the number was fixed at 32. Under the constitution of 1777 Otsego County was a part of the Western district until 1815, when it was made part of the Middle district.
The senators from the district who resided in Otsego were Joseph White, Jacob Morris, Moss Kent, Robert Roseboom, Jedediah Peck, Luther Rich, Farrand Strana- han, Jabez D. Hammond.
Previous to the constitution of 1777, voting was viva voce, but by that constitution the legislature was authorized to pass an act to vote by ballot ; and in 1778 an act was passed for the ballot for governor and lieutenant-governor, but retaining the viva voce system for members of the legis- lature. In 1787 this was also done away with, and the ballot used in general elections — which took place on the
28
HISTORY OF OTSEGO COUNTY, NEW YORK.
COUNTY CLERKS
were elected for the term of three years, commencing in 1822, na follows: Willium Nichols, Edward IJ. Crandul, Abner Cook, Jr., Horace Lathrop, George C. Clyde, Jesse Rose, Samuel Russell, George B. Willson.
SHERIFFS
were elected for three years, and ineligible for the succeed- ing term. The following is the list, commencing in 1822, viz. : Joseph B. Walton, John H. Hiser, Harvey W. Bab- cock, Don F. Herrick, Levi Judson, Halsey Spencer, Henry Jones,* Amos Winsor, John Brown.
CONGRESSMEN.
Otsego County constituted a congressional district from 1822 to 1842, when Schoharie was added to it. The names of the representatives are given below : Eighteenth congress, Isaac Williams ; Nineteenth, William G. Angel ; Twentieth, Samuel Chase; Twenty-first and Twenty-second, William G. Angel ; Twenty-third and Twenty-fourth, Sher- man Page ; Twenty-fifth and Twenty-sixth, Jno. H. Pren- tiss ; Twenty-seventh, Samuel S. Bowne j Twenty-eighth, Jeremiah E. Cary ; Twenty-ninth, the representative was from Soholiurlo; Thirty-fitUi, Oliver 0. Morse.
ELECTORS.
Previous to 1825 the legislature chose the presidential electors. At the election in 1828 they were chosen by congressional districts, and by an act of the legislature of 1829 the present general ticket system was established. The following is the list: Thomas Brooks, 1804; Thomas Shankland, 1808; John Russell, 1812; Israel W. Clark, 1816; Farrand Stranahan, 1820; Edward B. Crandal, 1824 ; Elkanah Brush, 1828 ; Peter Collier, 1832 ; Joshua Babcock, 1836 ; Jacob Livingston, 1840 ; Lemuel Pet- tengill, 1844.
THE CONSTITUTION OP 1846.
The delegates from Otsego County to the convention which framed the existing constitution were Levi S. Chat- field, Samuel Nelson, and David B. St. John.
Otsego County has been represented in the State admin- istration since the adoption of the present constitution by Levi S. Chatfield, who was attorney-general for two terms — from 1849 to 1853 ; Samuel North, canal appraiser, 1870 to 1874; Hezekiah Sturges, canal appraiser, appointed 1877 — now in office.
Of the regents of the University, two persons, residents of Otsego, have filled the office — Wm. Campbell and Jabez D. Hammond.
The office of State assessor has been filled by Ebenezer Blakeley — one of the board of three whose duty it is to visit officially each county every two years and equalize the State tax among the several counties.
JUDICIAL.
In the organization of the judicial districts Otsego was included in the Sixth, and has had the following circuit judges ; Eben B. Morehouse, Schuyler Crippen, and Wil- liam W. Campbell.
» Died before the expiration of his term, and Jonas Platnor, Jr., appointed till the election of a successor.
COUNTY JUDGES.
James Hyde, Samuel S. Bowne, Levi C. Turner, Edwin M. Harris, Elijah E. Ferroy, Ilezokiali Sturges, Suniuol S. Edick, Samuel M. Bowen. Edwin Countryman was ap- pointed justice of the supreme court in 1874, and held for that year.
SURROGATES.
Hiram Kinne, Thomas Mcintosh, Jr., Edward M. Card, Byron J. Scofield, J. H. Keyes.
SENATE.
In the legislative branch of the government Otsego and Chenango formed the Eighteenth senate district until the apportionment under the census of 1855, when Otsego and Herkimer constituted the Twenty-first district. Otsego had the following senators : David H. Little, Harmon Bennett, Francis M. Rotch, Addison M. Smith, George H. Andrews. Ebenezer Blakely occupied a seat from Jan. 2 to March 13, 1854, when the seat was vacated in favor of Adam Storing, of Chenango. Under the census of 18C5, Otsego and Herkuner were continued as senate dis- trict No, 20, with the following senators from Otsego : Augustus R, Elwood, David P. Jioomis, Samuel 8. Edick.
MEMBERS OP ASSEMBLY.
The assembly was organized in single districts, and Ot^ sego apportioned three members. Under the census of 1855 the number was reduced to two. The members have been as follows :
' 1848. — Benjamin Davis, 0. C. Chamberlin, Elisha S. Sanders. 1849.— L. Mortimer Gilbert, David B. St. John, Charles C. Noble. 1860. — Anson C. Parshall, Joseph Peck, Edward Pratt. 1861.— Henry J. Campbell, Edwin S. Coffin, Worthington Wright. 1852. — 'Hanson Wright, Erastus King, Harvey Keyes. 1853. — Charles McLean, Jenks S. Spraguo, John G. Spafard. 1854. — Lewis Whipple, Andrew A. Mather, St. Paul Sceley. 1855. — Henry 11. Davy, Alonzo Churchill, William Comstook. 1856.— Timothy D. Bailey, Brown Dimock, Elihu 0. Wright. 1857.— Samuel H. Grant, Charles W. Tollott, George M. IloUis. 1858.— Charles McLean, David M. Hard. 1851).— Goo. F. Longenholt, David B. St. John. I860.— Ezra S. Whipple, David B. St. John. 1861.— Elijah E. Ferrey, Frederick A. Bolles. 1862.- Leroy E. Bowe, Cor. A. Church. 1863.— William Brooks, Cor. A. Church. 1864. — James Young, George M. Hollis. 1865.— Luthor I. Burditt, George M. Ilollis. 1866.— Luther I. Burditt, Sheflield Harrington. 1867.— Edgar B. Clark, Sheffield Harrington. 1868.— Myron J. Hubbard, Wm. C. Bontloy. 1869.— Wm. W. Campbell, Clifford S. Arms. 1870. — James Young, Wm. W. Snow. 1871.— Alfred Chamberlin, J. Lee Tucker. 1872. — James Stewart, John Cope. 1873.— Wm. H. Ely, Henry Thorp. 1874.— Wm. H. Ely, James E. Cooke. 1876. — Jas. S. Davenport, George Scramling. 1876. — Jas. S. Davenport, Simeon R. Barnes. 1877.— Azro Chase, Daniel F. Pattengill.
SHERIFFS.
John Brown, Jonas Platncr, Jr.,Seth H. Field, Harmon Edmonds, Thomas Heath, Andrew A. Mather, William Comstook, Harvey W. Brown, Daniel Franklin, Alexander H. Benedict, Peter Barton.
HISTORY OF OTSEGO COUNTY, NEW YORK.
29
DISTRICT ATTORNEYS.
De Witt 0. Bates, Elijah Brown, Louis L. Bundy, Edwin Countryman, James A. Lynes, Samuel S. Edick, Samuel A. Bowen (two terms), Philor Benedict.
CLERKS.
Charles McLean, Samuel North, Wm. C. Fields, George W. Ernst, Augustus R. Elwood, David A. Avery, Don F. Lidell, Stephen Estes,* B. Delavan Hills, Walter H. Bunn (two terms).
TREASURERS.
Previous to the present constitution the oflBce was filled under appointment by the board of supervisors. For about thirty years previous to 1848, the oflSce was held by Henry Phinney, who succeeded his father, Elihu Phinney, and who was probably the first treasurer of the county. Papers dated 1797 are on file made out by him as treas- urer. The ofiB.ce has been held by the following persons by election : John L. McNamee, Charles J. Stillman, Edwin M. Harris, Dorr Russell, James I. Qondryx, Hor- ace Lathrop, David A. Avery, Marcus Field, Frederick L. Palmer.
SCHOOL COMMISSIONERS. Since this ofiBce was made elective in 1856, the follow- ing persons have been elected in the districts of Otsego, as follows : First district,— Albert G. Tuthill, Nelson 0. Wen- dell, Charles F. Thompson, Julius R. Thompson, Charles F. Thompson ; two terms, Nahum T. Brown, Albert G. Tuthill. Second district, — Milo H. Gross, Henry T. Har- ris, Martiti Shepherd, William Church, Henry R. Wash- bon, Benjamin C. Gardner, Eli R. Clinton, Jr., Warren L. Baker, Edward B. Reals.
CONGRESSMEN.
Under the census of 1850, Otsego and Delaware were united in a congressional district. Chenango was added under the census of 1860. Representatives from Otsego were George A. Starkweather, William W. Snow, Richard Franchot, William C. Fields, David Wilber.
electors; Lyman J. Walworth, in 1852 ; Ebenezer Blakeley, in 1864; Edmund A. Ward, in 1876.
CHAPTER XIIL
BENCH AND BAK.
The following persons constituted the members of the Otsego County bar, January, 1823, at the time G. A. Starkweather was admitted, viz. : Cherry Valley,— Jabez D. Hammond, Oliver Morse, Levi Beardsley, Isaac Seeley, Alvan Stewart, James Bracket, Horace Lathrop, and George C. Clyde ; Cooperstown, — Robert Campbell, Sam- uel Starkweather, Ambrose L. Jordan, E. B. Morehouse, Farrand Stranahan, Joseph Lyman, George Morell, and William H. Averell. Joseph Rice, of Milford ; Sherman Paige and Henry Ogden, of Unadilla ; John Cox Morris, of Butternuts ; William G. Angel, of Burlington ; Schuy-
» John Marsh was appointed in 1866 vide Estes, deceased.
ler Crippin, James Hyde, Daniel Andrus, and Veder Green, of Richfield ; Henry Brown, of Springfield ; Elijah Terry, of Maryland. The following were admitted subse- quent to 1823, namely, Jeremiah E. Carey, Edwin Coun- tryman, Wills S. Hammond, De Witt C. Bates, Richard Cooper, Levi C. Turner, Jerome B. Wood, Lyman J. Walworth, Abraham Becker, James E. Dewey, Levi S. Chatfield, Samuel S. Bowne, James Davis, Cutter Field, Nathaniel Moak, Abner Cook, and Charles Noble, all dead except Dewey, Moak, Countryman, Carey, and Chatfield. The three former are in practice in Albany, and the two latter in the city of New York.
Robert Campbell was a graduate of Union college, and one of the oldest members of the Otsego bar. Unassum- ing in deportment, a man of few words, seldom addressed the jury upon the facts in the case, but. his opinion upon questions of law was held to be final and conclusive, and his opinion was frequently asked by the court in the trial of causes. He was a man of strict integrity, and was held in the highest estimation, especially by the younger mem- bers of the bar. He was familiarly called " honest Bob." Samuel Starkweather and Ambrose L. Jordan soon became the leading members of the Otsego bar, and retained that position during their practice. Jordan was a tall, slim, symmetrically-built man, and pleasing in his manners; Starkweather was a man strongly proportioned, of dark complexion, dark eyes and hair, with a massive head, and every feature of his face indicative of strong will and energetic action. In natural eloquence Jordan occupied the first rank; but in close logical reasoning Starkweather was by far his superior. The former kept the attention and won upon the jury by figures and tropes ; the latter pressed home his argument continually and forced conviction. Jordan often brought his pleading into play with the imagination ; Starkweather kept his plead- ing ever bearing upon the intellect. Jordan often turned from the jury to indulge in personal allusions to worry his opponent; Starkweather seldom indulged in satire, but when he did it always, like the bee, left its sting behind. Jordan was often playful and difiFuse ; Starkweather always clear and methodical. They were both men of mark, and would have been marked men before any tribu- nal. Jordan left Otsego for Hudson about 1824, and from Hudson to the city of New York. Starkweather left for Europe in 1831.
Jabez D. Hammond wrote the political history of the State of New York. Ho was a gentleman of the old school, a man of learning and ability, highly esteemed, frank and independent in his opinions, plain and without guile, strong and reliable ; was judge of Otsego County ; a good elemen- tary lawyer, and had many warm friends.
Oliver Morse was a well-educated man, a good lawyer; ■Was also judge of the county court for several years ; a man of ability.
Levi Beardslbt was State senator for some six or eight years ; a gentleman of fine address, and a most genial com- panion.
Isaac Seelet was a first-class lawyer. His arguments, whether upon questions of law or facts, were compact and logical. An incident occurred in a case he was trying, in
30
HISTORY OF OTSEGO COUNTY, NEW YORK.
■which his father was a witness. Isaac called him to the stand, and put him a question which seemed to indicate a wish for an ai&rmativo answer. The venerable old man answered, " Isaac, it is possible such a conversation may have occurred, but I have no recollection of it, and can't swear to any such thing." " Oh," says Isaac, " you know, father, I would not wish you to testify to anything you don't clearly recollect." He answered, " I don't believe you would, Isaac."
Alvan Stewart. — But of all the lawyers at the bar at the time we speak of, Alvan Stewart was the most remarkable. He was not noted for his ability as an elementary lawyer, but for his wit, drollery, and ridicule. Stewart was about six feet three inches in height ; loosely made, large bones, long arms, with large blue eyes, which he would roil about upon the audience in a sort of stare ; awkward in his move- ments, and careless in his dress. His very appearance would raise a laugh. His powers of ridicule were beyond all con- ception. In an action brought by Starkweather in favor of Swain Seward, against a man by the name of Moore, Stewart appeared for the defendant. It was an aggravated case of slander, and a respectable verdict ought to have been rendered by the jury. Stewart had contrived to got the fact out that Swuin hud dug for money in the Blcnliuim moun- tains, and that ho also understood palmistry. Swain hap- pened to sit directly in front of Stewart while addressing the jury. After making a few remarks applicable to the case, Stewart starts Swain o£F, with a crowbar upon his shoulder and a hazel switch in his hand, for the Blenheim mountains, to dig for hidden treasure in the bowels of the earth. By and by there was a dip of the hazel switch, and Swain laid down the switch and went to work with the crowbar. In the mean time a storm had arisen, and it thundered and lightened, and the stubborn oaks bent beneath the blast, but Swain kept at his work with the crowbar, Stewart drawing back his long arms and imitating the manner in which Swain was digging into the bowels of the earth. By and by Swain hits the chest containing the treasure sought, and he cries out " Eureka I" at the top of his voice, which made the whole court-room, even the judge on the bench, start ; and the instant of time Swuin struck the chest, the devil, his co-worker, seized hold of the ring of the chest, and it went chink, chink, chink, into another part of the mountain, and it was ffoiie. Stewart was solemn and grave during the whole time, and looked as though he had suddenly appeared from the lower region. After breathing a while he proceeds, "Gentlemen of the jury, that is Swain, sitting there," pointing to him ; " he under- stands palmistry. He can tell by this line in the hand how many children your wife will have, how many of them will be boys, and how many gals. He can tell you by this line in the hand whether the oldest gal will marry a miller or a doctor, a clergyman or a tailor, a tall man or a short man, a man with a broad-brimmed hat or a narrow-brimmed hat." Every person in the court-house was in a perfect roar of laughter, and the result Was, a verdict of six cents.
Hon. Eben B. Morehouse was born in Hillsdale, county of Columbia, in thb State, in the year 1791. The delicacy of his constitution while a youth was such as to induce his friends to believe thut he would fall an early
victim to an hereditary consumption ; and for that cause he was, at an early age, taken from a boarding-school and placed in the office of a medical practitioner, as it was thought the exercise incident to the practice of physio would be the most sovereign, and, indeed, the only means of giving health and vigor to his slender constitution.
At the age of sixteen, he therefore entered upon the study of medicine, as he said, with the same cheerfulness that he would have received from the hands of a nurse or physician a dose of medicine he was designed to mix for others ; although the practice of medicine, as he felt satisfied, would be distasteful to him, yet he was fond of the science as a study and pursued it with great diligence and pleasure, and received from the State medical society, in February of 1812, a diploma to practice as a physician and surgeon in this State. He commenced business as such at Caugh- nawaga, county of Montgomery, and while there practiced with marked success, and secured the respect and high esteem of the citizens of that locality. Intending, however, to change his residence to a larger town, he accepted, in 1813, an offer to be attached to a regiment of ■ militia marching from that county to Sacket's Harbor, for service in the war then pending with Great Britain.
After his term of service expired ho continued the prac- tice of his profession at Athens, in liis native county ; but his distaste of the practice of medicine so increased upon him that he resolved to renounce the mortar and pestle and abandon the profession forever ; and, accordingly, in September, 1815, he entered as a clerk the law-office of Stranahan & Jordan, in Cooperstown, and began to dream of life anew. He came here on the invitation of Mr. Jor- dan, who was also a native of Columbia county, and between whom there was an acquaintance of long standing. His student-life was devoted to laying broad and deep the foundation of those legal acquirements for which, in after- life, he was so eminent. He was admitted to the bar as an attorney of the supreme court in January, 1818, his license was signed by Chief-Justice Thompson, and in June following he was commissioned by Governor Do Witt Clin- ton, us brigade judge advocate of the second brigade of infantry in this State.
In 1821 he was admitted as counselor of the supreme court of the State, Ambrose Spencer then being the pre- siding justice. In the same year he was made solicitor in the court of chancery, and his license was signed by Judge Kent; and in 1824 he was admitted counselor of that court, and in the same year was made a master in chancery, and afterwards was appointed " injunction-master," an office which conferred upon him many of the powers and duties of vice-chancellor. He held the office many years, receiv- ing his commissions successively from the chancellor, from Governor Troop, and in 1833 from Governor William L. Marcy. In 1836 he was admitted to practice in the supreme court of the United States.
In 1831 he was one of the four members that represented this county in the assembly. He held the office of district attorney in this county from 1829 to 1837, and in June, 1847, was elected justice of the supreme court of the Sixth judicial district, and died while holding thut office, in De- cember, 1849.
HISTORY OP OTSEGO COUNTY, NEW YORK.
31
His literary taste and acquirements, his ready wit and genuine humor, his genial disposition and courteous man- ners, made him a conspicuous ornament in the social and literary circle for which Cooperstown was then distin- guished ; his legal erudition, his manly bearing, his ability and fidelity in all the trusts, public or private, reposed in him, rendered him eminent at the bar ; his inflexible love of right, his clear and lucid perception of vexed questions of law, his perspicuous exposition of intricate questions that came before him to be decided, distinguished him as a judge. The joyous smile that always greeted him in the streets of the village he loved so much, whether of hoary age or sunny childhood, disclosed to every observer the affection- ate regard and esteem in which he was held as a neighbor and a citizen.
In 1827 he married Eliza, daughter of Dr. Thomas Fuller, of Cooperstown. She was a lady thoroughly edu- cated, but her kindness of heart, her refinement of manner, her mild and gentle disposition, and her unostentatious piety, were the marked traits of her character ; and whoever have been the recipients of their refined hospitality, at. " Woodside,"' their beautiful residence, constructed on the mountain-side, overlooking the main street of Cooperstown, erected under the superintending care and guidance of the taste of Mr. Morehouse, know something of the graceful and accomplished manner in which she presided over that delightful home.
George A. Starkweatheh is a native of the State of Connecticut ; was born on May 19, 1794. He worked on his father's farm until the fall of 1813, and his health having failed he went with a friend to Orange county. State of New York, with a view to spend the winter and recuper- ate. It resulted in his taking a common school, which he taught for two years, in the town of Wolkill, working in the summer season on a farm, before and after school hours. He returned to Connecticut in the fall of 1815, taking with him as the fruits of his labor about 8600. He then commenced preparing for college, and in the fall of 1817 entered Union college, joining the sophomore class. He remained in college until the fall of 1819, when he came to Cooperstown and commenced his professional studies with his brother, Samuel Starkweather. He was elected by the faculty of Union one of the first six of his class as a Phi Beta Kappa, and had the third appointment in his class, but, his funds being exhausted, did not return to fulfill his appointment. In the fall of 1820, Mr. Stark- weather went to Ithaca, taught a select school for six months, pursuing liis studies in the mean time with Mr. Woodcock. He returned to Cooperstown in the spring, and paid up his little bills ; was admitted as attorney of the supreme court in January, 1823, as counsel in 1826, and solicitor's counsel in chancery in 1831. In September, 1842, admitted as counsel in the district court of the United States for the northern district of New York, and in 1854 was adftiitted as attorney and counsel of the supreme court of the United States. Mr. Starkweather formed a partnership with his brother Samuel, and prac- ticed his profession in the county of Otsego thirty-three years, having purchased his brother's interest in the busi- ness in 1831.
In 1856 he joined his eldest son, John C. Starkweather, in business in the city of Milwaukee, where he practiced his profession for two years, having sold Apple Hill to Edward Clark, the present owner. Mr. Starkweather took a very active part in politics. He was challenger at the polls for ten years when the election was held three days, and never missed a day ; was twenty years chairman of the Democratic corresponding committee of Otsego County, and wrote most of the addresses and resolutions ; was fre- quently a delegate to county, senatorial, and State conven- tions ; was delegated to the national convention at the time Mr. Van Buren was nominated, and was secretary of the convention. The first ofiioo ho held was commissioner of deeds, elected by the board of supervisors. In 1833 was appointed surrogate of the county of Otsego, and after- wards elected without opposition, and held the office for eight years. He was elected supervisor of the town of Otsego in his absence, and held the office for four years, and was chairman of the board ; was appointed one of the examiners of school-teachers for the town of Otsego, and took a deep interest in the common-school system, and visited the schools of the town without compensation. Elected to congress in 1846, Otsego and Schoharie forming the congressional district. Made a speech opposing the extension of slavery, which was favor- ably commented upon by the New York Tribune, Herald, and several other papers. Was commissioned adjutant,major, lieutenant-colonel, and colonel of the 12th Regiment of Artillery of the State of New York, and was honorably discharged in the fall of 1829. In 1850 was appointed a member of the American legal association. In 1834 became a life member of the colonization society, and in 1847, a life member of the Otsego Bible association. Was one of the vestry of Christ Church, Cooperstown, for twenty-seven years. When a resident of Milwaukee, ho donated one hundred and sixteen volumes of his conjires- sional books to the Young Men's association of that city, and was made an honorary life member of the a.ssociation. Mr. Starkweather had four sons in the army during the late Rebellion, all volunteers. The oldest, John C. Stark- weather, was commissioned colonel, and was in the three- months' service, and afterwards raised the Second regiment, and remained in the service until the close of the war, having been promoted to brigadier-general ; was in six battles, the last at Chattanooga, and was twice wounded. At the time Mr. Starkweather commenced practice, and for many years after, Elisha Williams, of Hudson, Nicholas Hill, Sum Stevens, and other leading members of the bar of Albany, Daniel Cady, of Johnstown, Joshua Spencer, of Utica, Count Vanderlen, James Clapp, and other mem- bers of the Chenango bar, and members of the bar from Delaware county, were in the habit of attending the Otsego circuits, which were then held by the judges of the supreme court. The Otsego bar was then in its palmy days, and was considered the ablest bar in the State west of the Hudson. The actors of those days have passed away. The old familiar faces are all gone, and Mr. Starkweather is the only one remaining.
Levi S. Chatpield, while a resident of Otsego County, was a member of the assembly four sessions. Speaker of
32
HISTOKY OF OTSEaO COUNTY, NEW YORK.
the house, member of the constitutional convention of 1846, and attorney-general of the State.
Samuel S. Bowne was noted as an advocate rather than as an elementary lawyer. As an advocate he stood deservedly high.
Levi C. Turner held the office of county judge one term ; was judge advocate under Edwin M. Stanton, the secretary of war. He died in Washington ; was brought home, and buried in Lakewood cemetery. His widow is still living, and occupies the old mansion-house that her father owned at the time of his death.
The present members of the bar are as follows :
Arms, Clifford S., Unadilla. Arnold, F. B., Unadilla. Burditt, Luther I., Cooperstown. Bowen, Samuel A., Cooperstown. BrookB, George, Gooperstown. Bridges, Nathan, Morris. Bowne, Chas. A., Morris, Burch, William, Cherry Valley. Bates, Davis W., Cherry Valley. Bentley, Wm. C, Butternuts. Barnum, Jas. W., Cherry VuUey. Bundy, L. L., Oneouta. Burnside, S. S., Oneonta. Bowo, L. E., Otcgn. Benedict, Philor, Sohonovas, Baldwin, Fredrua, S. Worcester. Belknap, E. C, Unadilla. Barnes, S. J., East Worcester. Cook, Morey S., Portlandrille, Gary, Edgar, Rich6eld Springs. Darenport, J. S., Richf'd Springs. Ediok, Samuel S., Cooperstown. Edson, W. D., Unadilla. Fay, Parker D., Richfield Springs. Oorham, Geo. S., Burlington. Graham, C. H., Bcbenevas. Grant, Samuel U., Worcester. Gano, C. J., Bichfield Springs. Gould, M. F., Oneonta. Harris, Edwin M., Cooperstown. Henry,Lowell S.,Sebuyler'B Lake.
Ilyam, V. A., Cooperstown. Johnston, F. U., Cooperstown. Keyes, J. H., Oneonta. Keyes, Melville, Oneonta. Kendall, Frank, Cooperstown. Lynes, Jas. A., Cooperstown. Lewis, John, Cooperstown. Leonard, Chatfieid. Lane, Albert, Cooperstown. Loomis, David P., Unadilla. Luce, H. D., Richfield Springs. Marsh, John, Cooperstown. Kelson, II. D., Oneonta. I'opo, Adolbort A., Edmcston. Sturgcs, Ilezekiab, Cooperstown. Scofield, B. J., Cooperstown. Shaw, A. 6., Oneonta. Scramling, George, Oneonta. Shumway, F. D., Otego. Stewart, James, Oneonta. Scott, Seymour, Oneonta. Tucker, Jas. W., Cooperstown. Tennant, A. C, Richfield Springs. Townsend, R. M., Portlandville. Van Home, Geo., Cooperstown. Wells, M. M., Hartwick. Washbon, Henry R., Morris. Wendell, William, Unadilla. Ward, Edm'd A., Richf'd Springs. Wilber, Chas., Oneonta. Young, James, Cherry Valley.
A large portion are self-made men, but as a whole ranks
as high OS any bar in this judicial district.
" Lives of great men all remind us. We can make our lives sublime, And, departing, leave behind us Footprints on the sands of time."
CHAPTER XIV.
THE PBESB.
The Otsego Herald or Western Advertiser — The Impartial Observer — Cooperstown Independent — Freeman's Journal — The Tocsin — The Otsego Republican — The (Cherry Valley) Republican — The Watchtower — The Cherry Valley Gazette — The American Banner
The Morris Chronicle — The Worcester Times — The Susquehanna
News — The Unadilla News — The Weekly Courier— The Unadilla Herald — The Unadilla Times — Home and Abroad — The Oneonta Herald — The Susquebaoua Independent — The Otsego Domocrat — The Herald and Democrat — The Schenevas Monitor — The Valley News — The Temperance Investigator — The Otsego Journal — The Oneonta Press — The Switch — The Otsego Examiner — The Saw- Buck — The Otsego Farmer — The Otego Literary Record — Temper- ance Newspapers.
The intellectual, civil, and social status of a county, State, or nation is evidenced by the character and condition
of its press. In that locality where is disseminated this great educator of the masses, by which public opinion is so largely shaped and controlled, is ever to be found an intelli- gent people. The blessings flowing from a healthy press have been bestowed with a lavish hand upon the people of Otsego, for, from the foundation of the Herald, by Elihu Phinney, in 1795, down to the present, it has ever been marked by a strong intellectuality, and it may truthfully be written that among the country press of this State none wield the influence or command the respect in a greater de- gree, in their several spheres, than that of Otsego County.
THE PIONEER IN JOURNALISM
in this county was Elihu Phinney, who established the Otsego Herald, or Western Advertiser, April 3, 1795. This was the second paper west of Albany. The first number bore the following motto :
" Historic truth our Herald shall proclaim ; The law our guide, the public good our aim."
It was a four-column folio, seventeen by ten inches, printed on coarse paper. It was published by Mr. Phinney, as editor and proprietor, until his death, which occurred in 1813, when it was continued by H. & E. Pliinney until 1821, when its publication ceased. It is said that it never demanded pay from its readers until the last number, Jan- uary 29, 1821.
THE freeman's JOURNAL.
The newspaper now called The Freeman's Journal was given that name in 1820, about the time the Federalist party broke up. It was started in 1808, was for a short time called the Impartial Observer, and then changed to Cooperstown Independent. Judge Cooper was the first owner of the material purchased for the office, William Andrews, for a brief period, the first editor, and J. H. and L. H. Prentiss the printers. John H. Prentiss soon took entire charge of the paper, and bought out the interest of Judge Cooper. Under his proprietorship, which extended for a period of forty years, the Journal took front rank among the country press. In 1849, Colonel Prentiss sold it to Daniel Shaw and Joseph A. Titus, who remained its editors and proprietors until July, 1851, when it was sold to Samuel M. Shaw, who still remains its owner and editor. It exerts a strong influence in the Democratic party.
Mr. Shaw hud for about three years been associated with the Croswells in the publication of the Albany Argiis. He is a native of Dutchess county, and has been an editor since he was twenty years of age. With the political movements of the Democratic party he has for a quarter of a century had much to do, and has been one of its trusted counsel- ors. Though often solicited to accept nominations for office, Mr. Shaw has never consented to become a candidate for any official position.
The Journal was originally a four-column sheet, and the first subscription price was two dollars a year. It is now the same price, and contains five- times the amount of read- ing matter. The office in which it is printed is one of the most commodious in the State, and commands a fine view of the whole length of Otsego lake.
HISTORY OF OTSEGO COUNTY, NEW YORK.
33
TUB OTSEGO REPUBLICAN.
This paper was established in 1828, bearing the name of the Tocsin, and was changed to the title it now bears in 1831.
Its present publishers and proprietors, Messrs. Russell & Davidson, purchased it of James I. Hendrix & Son, in November, 1794. Prior to the formation of the Republican party it was an able advocate of the principles of the Whig party, and since that time it has been a consistent and influential exponent of the Republican faith. It is a well- established paper, and takes first rank among the leading weekly journals In the State.
It is a large sheet 28 by 44 inches, nine columns, and is devoted to literary selections, choice family reading, the news of the day, general, political, 'and local. Its sub- scription price is two dollars per annum. The oflSces are pleasantly located on Main and Pioneer streets. Coopers- town, N. Y., and are furnished with all the modern im- provements of a first-class printing establishment.
Andrew Davidson, one of the proprietors, is the editor. Mr. Davidson is a lawyer by profession, but lefl the bar for the more congenial field of journalism. Under his editorial management the Republican has attained a large circulation, and is an able exponent of the principles of the Republican party.
The first paper published in Cherry Valley was The Otsego Republican, in 1812, by Clark & Crandall.
Tlie Watchtower was established in Cherry Valley in 1813, and in 1814 removed to Cooperstown, and was pub- lished by Israel W. Clark until May, 1817, when it passed into the possession of Edward B. Crandall, and was issued until 1831.
THE CHERRT VALLEY GAZETTE
was started in October, 1818, by William McLean, by whom it was conducted until 1832, when it passed into tlie hands of Charles McLean, who continued it until Jan. 1, 1847, when A. S. Botsford became its proprietor, and remained as such, until 1851, when it reverted to Charles McLean, and in 1853 was sold to John B. King, and issued one year as the American Banner. King dis- posed of it to A. S. Botsford, by whom it was re-named The Gazette. It subsequently passed into the hands of J. L. Sawyer, its present able and efficient editor. The Gazette is a local paper of merit, and is in a prosperous condition.
The first newspaper in Morris was established by W. H. Winans, in 1846, and discontinued in 1847.
An advertising sheet was issued occasionally by A. S. Avery.
THE MORRIS CHRONICLE.
This paper was first known as The Otsego Chronicle, and was established about the year 1863, by William A. Smith, by whom it was issued until 1865, when it passed into the possession of L. P. Carpenter, who changed'it to its present name. Mr. Carpenter published it ten years, when his son became associated with him, and it is now issued by L. P. Carpenter & Son. It is a lively sheet, and deserves its present popularity. 5
THE WORCESTER TIMES
was established by M. W. D. Fenton, Sept. 1, 1875. In 1876 it passed into the hands of Marcus M. Multer, who conducted it until Aug. 1, 1877, when it was purchased by Miss A. E. Smith, its present editor and proprietor. It is ably edited, and is in all respects an excellent local paper.
The first newspaper published in the village of Unadilla was about the year 1822, in Dr. Huntington's old store, by William Daily, who came from Liberty, Sullivan Co., N. Y. It was neutral in politics, and was continued but a short time.
THE SUSQUEHANNA NEWS.
In August, 1840, the publication of the Susquehanna News was begun by Edward A. Groves, formerly of Coop- erstown, N. y., in the old Mechanics' hall, terms two dol- lars per annum, in advance, or two dollars and fifty cents at the end of the year. Its proclivities must have been Dem- ocratic, for under the heading of the paper was the Jack- sonian motto, " It is not in a splendid government supported by powerful monopolies and aristocratical establishments that the people will find happiness or their liberties protec- tion." The Susquehanna News was continued about one year, when, in August, 1841, the name was changed to the Unadilla News, and was published by George W. Noble, of Unadilla, about eighteen weeks in the same place with- out any change in terms or politics.
THE WEEKLY COURIER.
In February, 1842, the WeeJdy Courier was started by Edson S. Jennings, of Unadilla, who published it in the Baldwin House about one and a half years. It was neutral in politics. T. S. Ames was connected with the Courier for a short time, but the firm of Ames & Jennings was dis- solved, and Mr. Jennings became the sole proprietor. ^
THE UNADILLA HERALD.
The publication of the Unadilla Herald was commenced by William S. Hawley, of Canajoharle, N. Y., in the for- mer residence of the late Judge Page, and was continued about one year. For want of sufficient public patronage being given to the newspapers which had been started in Unadilla and been forced to suspend their publications, or for some other cause, there was no further effort made to publish a newspaper in this village for about nine and a half years.
THE UNADILLA TIMES.
In June, 1855, John Brown, a Scotchman, came from Cobleskill, N. Y., and commenced the publication of the Unadilla Times, in what was then known as the Carpenter buildings. It was neutral in politics, and was conducted with considerable ability and spirit ; but, unfortunately for the welfare of the paper, the proprietor let his temper get the better of his judgment at times, and the office was moved to the Masonic hall building and its publication continued by Mr. Brown until about Oct. 1, 1856, when it came into the hands of E. S. Watson, of Bain- bridge, N. Y., who continued its publication at the same place about seven months, when Mr. Watson, by force of circumstances, was obliged to discontinue its publication.
34
HISTORY OF OTSEGO COUNTY, NEW YORK.
The office was closed for a few weeks and then sold to George B. Fellows, of Unadilla, who, by the urgent request of the people, commenced its publication and moved the office to the present location of the Unadilla Times. Mr. Fellows found the office in a bad condition, the good-will of the people gone, its patronage wasted, its reputation at a low ebb, and it seemed like a herculean task to endeavor to place it upon a permanent foundation.
On April 27, 1857, Mr. Fellows took possession of the Times office, and for eight years continued its publication through " good and evil report,'' sunshine and storm, pros- perity and adversity, and all through the trying times of the lato " Civil War." The predictions of the opponents of the enterprise were falsified, while the hopes of its friends were realized, until the Unadilla Times occupied a prominent place among the successful newspapers of the country.
It was an outspoken and decided Democratic paper, and did its full share in the advocacy of Democratic principles and in the formation of a correct public opinion. In short, the Times, under Mr. Fellows' management, established an enviable reputation as a good and reliable newspaper, which time cannot dim, and of which he may well be proud.
On April 1, 1865, the Unadilla Times was sold by Mr. Fellows to George 15. Beadle, of the town of Otsego, who published it until Sept. 1, 18G6, when the office was again sold to Gilbert A. Dodge, of Whitney's Point, N. Y., who continued its publication nine years, or until Sept. 1, 1875, when A. J. Barlow, the present proprietor, purchased the office, making in all a continuous publication of the paper for about twenty-two years. The terms of the paper during these years varying from one dollar to one dollar and a half; its name changing under Mr. Dodge to tlie Home and Abroad, and back again to the Unadilla Times under Mr. Barlow ; it being a Democratic paper up to a short time ago, when its publisher made it independent.
Mr. Beadle published a very creditable newspaper. Mr. Dodge proved himself well adapted for the management of a local paper ; he possessed a great diversity of mental resources, indomitable perseverance and industry, accom- panied by strong, practical good sense ; while Mr. Barlow, the present proprietor, is acknowledged by all to publish an excellent local and general newspaper, and he is doing his work well as a publisher.
The Unadilla Times is now established on a firm basis, and its continued existence assured.
THE HERALD AND DEMOCRAT,
published at Oneonta, N. Y., was established in 1873 by Edward M. Johnson, formerly editor and publisher of the Addison, N. Y., Advertiser, and E. W. Capron, of Wil- liamsport, Pa. The establishment of this paper was effected by the consolidation of the Oneonta Herald and the Otsego Democrat. The Herald was established by L. P. Carpen- ter, now publisher of the Morris, N. Y., Chronicle, who published it until Nov. 14, 1870, and then sold to G. W. Reynolds. In November, 1873, C. S. Carpenter purchased the office, and after conducting the business three years sold to Blessrs, Johnson & Capron. The Herald was Re- publican in politics. For many years it had the largest subscription list in the Second assembly district. The Dewr
ocrat was established in 1868, by G. A. Dodge, as the In- dependent. Subsequently he changed the name to Home and Abroad, and again to the name it bore when consoli- dated with the Herald. It was Democratic in politics, and had a good circulation. Mr. Jefferson published the Dem- ocrat about one year, he purchasing of Mr. Dodge.
Tlie Herald and Democrat, although starting in the panic of 1873, after cutting off all duplicates, attained a circulation of over sixteen hundred copies withip,six months, which has been held until this time, notwithstanding hun- dreds of names have been erased when their advance pay- ment on subscription expired. The paper has a consider- able circulation in Delaware county, and a larger advertising patronage than any other paper in Otsego County. It has thirty-six long columns, and the subscription price is 81-50 per year, in advance. In January, 1875, Messrs. Johnson & Capron dissolved partner.ship, Mr. Capron retiring. In February following, C. S. Carpenter accepted an editorial position on the paper, and in 1876 was made associate edi- tor. Mr. Johnson, the editor and proprietor, has served thirteen years consecutively, excepting only a break of one year, as clerk, journal and assistant clerk of the assembly and senate. In 1876-78 he was clerk of the assembly.
THE ONEONTA PRESS,
now in its first volume, was established by G. W. Reynolds. Mr. Reynolds is a veteran newspaper editor and publisher, and the Press ranks among the best journals in this section.
THE SCUENEVAS MONITOR
is an independent twenty-four-column weekly journal, pub- lished by Rev. S. J. Douglass, B.P., editor and proprietor. The paper is devoted to news and knowledge, and has a wide circulation among the people.
The Schenevas Monitor was established by J. J. Multer, Esq., as editor and proprietor and publisher, in Schenevas, N. Y., September, 1864. The village was then a mere hamlet, containing within its present corporation limits 50 dwelling-houses all told, and probably 200 inhabitants. It was an isolated locality, 10 miles from any place exceeding its size ; and with news-paper at 20 cents per pound, ham 28 cents per pound, butter 60 cents per pound, flour 16 dollars per barrel, sheeting 75 and prints 50 cents per yard, the outlook for a successful undertaking in newspaperdom was anything but flattering. One may judge from the foregoing fiicts that pecuniary aid as well as helping friends in the beginning were few, as a large majority predicted a speedy failure in the enterprise. But Mr. Multer's faith and confldence was not easily shaken, for past experience and observation had taught him that whenever a railroad — a line for one having already been established — had been constructed through such an isolated valley, and the steam- whistle warned the people of such hamlets (especially when surrounded as this is with enterprising and prosperous farmers) of the approach of the cars, there would be an im- mediate uprising of dormant energies, a new impulse would pervade the minds of the people, and villages would sprin" up as if by magic. Nor was Schenevas an exception, for in loss than a year after this time tho cars passed, and hopes and most sanguine expectations were more than realized.
HISTORY OP OTSEGO COUNTY, NEW YORK.
35
for the village sprang up, and friends of the Monitor mul- tiplied and gathered around, aid was freely offered, and the Monitor grew up with the village.
The paper was started neutral in politics, and continued so until the fall of 1868, during General Grant's first presidential campaign. It espoused the cause of Democ- racy, and continued so until its sale to the present editor and proprietor, Rev. S. J. Douglass, in the spring of 1876. At the time of the change in 1868 an opposition Republi- can paper, The Valley News, was started, with a capital of $5000 ; but owing to a split in the party in the county at the time, that organ became weakened, and was defunct in about a year and a half after its first publiention.
The Monitor publishes the general news of the counties of Otsego, Delaware, and Schoharie, and, in brief, the news of-the world. The subscription price is $1.25 per year, in advance. There is an excellent job-office in connection with the paper.
THE OTSEGO JOURNAL,
now in its second volume, was established by its present proprietor. Will M. Deitz, at Gilbertsville. It is an excel- lent local paper, and deserves its present prosperity.
THE RICHFIELD SPRINGS MERCURY
was established July 19, 1867, by Henry L. Brown. He continued its publication until Oct. 22, 1868, when he sold the office to its present proprietor, Mr. C. Ackerman. Mr. Ackcrman inspired new life in thcoiTico, and Jan. 21, 1871, enlarged the Mercury from a 24-by-36 to a 26-by-40 sheet, and made large additions to the office. In the spring of 1873 he purchased one of C. Potter & Co.'s power- presses, and to-day has one of the best country offices in the State. The Mercury has about 1000 subscribers. The jobbing department of this establishment is first-class, and its work is seldom excelled by the best city offices. The present firm — C. Ackerman & Son — arc enjoying the confidence of the people, and doing all in their power to promote the prosperity of the village.
The following publications are obsolete :
IVie Switch, " Anthony Switoliam," editor, was a short- lived publication issued at Cooperstown in 1809.
The Otsego Examiner was established in Cooperstown, in 1855, by Robert Shankland. It subsequently passed into the hands of Mr. Burditt, and in 1857 was discon- tinued.
The Saw-Buck was published at Cherry Valley by John
Fea.
The Otsego Farmer was also published at Cherry Valley.
The Otego Literary Record was started at Otego in 1868, and subsequently changed to The Otego Record.
The Valley News was a short-lived publication issued at Schenevas.
TEMPERA i«CE NEWSPAPERS.
In the year 1872 a small temperance newspaper made its appearance in Roseboom, under the title of The Golden Rule, edited by H. D. Elwell, and published monthly. The subscription price was ten cents for six months. This little paper was continued for about eighteen months, when, on .Jan. 1, 1874, it was enlarged, and its name changed to Tlie Temperance Canoe, its editors being H. D. Elwell, of
Roseboom, M. W. Russell, of Cooperstown, and B. K. Douglass, of Edmeston. It was continued as a monthly publication, its terms being fifty cents a year. It was then made the official paper of the Good Templars in the county. Its motto was " Fear God and Paddle Your Own Canoe." In June, 1875, it was again enlarged, and published weekly ; its publication office being moved to Cherry Val- ley. Its publishers were Elwell, _Douglass & Co. The name was again changed to The Temperance Investigator, its terms being made one dollar per year. In 1877 its management changed, and H. D. Elwell and John D. Finch became its editors. At the present time it is edited by them, and printed at the office of The Cherry Valley Gazette.
The New Era is another temperance paper, published at Oneonta by an association of temperaiice men, with George D. Scramling as business manager. / Its size is 22 by 31 inches ; terms, one dollar per year. It was established in August, 1877. Its publication is continued under the same management.
CHAPTER XV.
MEDICAL SOCIETIES, ETC.
Organization of Otsego County Medical Society — First Officers — ConsorB— Delegate to State Medical Society— Liet of Members from Oiganiiatioii in 1800 to 1878— rrosont OIlloorB— Ilomoeopatliio Society— I. 0. of G. T.
THE OTSEGO COUNTY MEDICAL SOCIETY
was organized with a membership of fourteen, at the court- house in Cooperstown, July 1, 1806. The following were the first officers :
President. — Joseph White, of Cherry Valley.
Vice-President. — Thomas Fuller, of Cooperstown.
Secretary. — Caleb Richardson, of Burlington.
Treasurer. — Isaac North.
Censors. — Thomas Fuller, John Russell, James S. Pal- mer, Ezra S. Day, and David Little.
Delegate to the State Medical Society. — Gordon Hunt- ington.
In 1845, in consequence of the sale of its library, the meetings of the society were discontinued until 1857, a period of twelve years, when it was reorganized.
The following is a list of the members of the society from 1806 to 1878, together with the datefrof their admis- sions and their residences (when known) :
1806.— Joa. White,* Cherry Val. Thos. Fuller,* Cooperst'n. John Russell, Cooperst'n. C. Richardson, Burlingt'n Isaac Nash.*
Ezra S. Day,* Burlington. Royal Ross,* Burlington. Nathaniel Qott, Otsego. Levi Warner. Jos. Bigelow,* Worcester. Bocaliol Wright.* Enos T. Spencer, MaryVd. Ephraim B. Ilerrington.*
Amasa Ilerrington. W. L. Ilorton, Butternuts. Jas. L. Palmer, Richfield. John March. Thomas Haws, Richfield. 1807.— Allen Harrington.*
Hezekiah L. Granger.*
Francis Benedict.
W. Bdson,* New Lisbon.
Wm.Campbell, Cherry Val.
David Bliss, Otego.
G. Huntington, Unadilla. 1808.— David Little, Springfield.
* Deceased.
36
HISTOEY OF OTSEGO COUNTY, NEW YORK.
Jos. Balcom, New Lisbon. Morris Hews,* Milford. Gardner Wells. Iloubon Qoodall. Hubbard Goodrich.
Beardsley.
1809.— Newell Smith, Burlington. N. Buckingham,* Exeter. Wm. a. Hall, Pittsfield. G. Westcott, Springfield. Abel Norton.
Johnson.
Mathews.
Anson Hollister.
1810.—. Kimball.
1811,' — Henry Manning, George Ilibbard. John Jaokson, Jr. 1812.— Floyd Gilhert.
Delos White, Cherry Val, T. Pomeroy,* Cooperst'n. William B. Bud.
Miller.
E. Griswold. 1814.— Walter Wing, Butternuts. 1815. — Jos. Carpenter, Maryland. 1816.— Anson Tuthill,N'wLi3b'n. 1817.— Sumner Ely,* ClarksTillo. 1818.— Walter Almy, Hartwiok. Henry Clark, PlainSold. Joseph Linsey. J. Blackman, Butternuts. Horace Manley, Richfield. Andrew A. Johnson. 1819. — Paris Pray, Hartwick.
U. G, Bigelow,* Worc'st'r. 1820.— Ariel Spafford,*Co'p'r8t'n. Wm. Lathrop, Butternuts. 1821,— P.B. Peakman, Coop'rst'n. Joseph Boynton. Abel Morse, Laurens. Nathaniel Willis. William Benedict. 1822.— Consider King,* Milford. 1823. — B. H. Marks, Burlington. Asahel Todd, Middlefield. Charles Barrows. D. V, Thomas, Richfield. M. B. Smith, Burlington. 1824.— Russell Bard.
D. Hartman.
Alexis Smith,* Morris. James F. Johnson.
E. Curtis,* Cooperstown. 1825.— Wheeler Palmer,* Richf'd.
Goo. H. Stone, Otsego,
Chas. Porter, Exeter.
Moses M. M, Sage, 1826. — Zena W. Lay, Cooperst'n.
John Hanney,* Coop'rst'n.
Austin Church, Coop'rst'n. 1827. — Hal. Spencer,* Edmeston.
Winslow Whitcom.
Menzo White,* Cherry Val. 1828.— Wm. Stewart,* Worcester.
D. Walker, Jr.,» Unadilla. Lucius H. Allen, Cherry V.
E. W. Jackson, Westford. Wm. Powell, Springfield. John H. Gray,* Exeter. Jcnks S. Sprague.
John Whiteside, Milford. Julius Rowley, Decatur.
Joel Lull, Laurens. John V, M. Abbott. Nijah Cone,* Unadilla. Moses Graves, Springfield. John Hackley, Plaiuficld. L. Coleburn, Burlington. Enos Spencer. Pliney Robinson, PlainFd. H. S. Harper,* Cooperst'n. James Tripp, Otego. Isaac Cathman, Burl'gton. John Colwell, Unadilla. E. B. Benedict. G. W. P. Wheeler, N. Lisb. Riley J. Tibbots. 1829.— John S. Bliss,* Otsego. T. B. Wbitmarsh. J. Ingraham, Coopcrst'wn. Fitch Howes,* Richfield. Jesse S. Hewitt. Chester W. Rice. Bradley Blakelcy, Otego. 1830. — Welcome Pray, Hartwiok. John Drake,* Westford. A. L. Bigelow, Worcester. 1831.— James P. Roaa.
Tracy Beadle,* Coop'rst'n. Leonard Darrow, Decotur. Jos. Butcher, Springfield. T. Southworth, Burli'gt'n. F. G. Thrall, Hartwick. W. W. Taft,* Burlington. John W. P. Grove. 1832.— A. B. Motcalf, Clarksville. J. C. Gorton, Butternuts. James Wheeler. S. W. Baker, Plainfield. 1833.— A. S. Palmer, Exeter.
Wm. B. Rich.Middloflold. Samuel H. Case, Onoouta. I Lewis F. Starkey.
D. R. Boyoe, Milford. 1834. — Dyer Loomis, Butternuts.
Glisha S. Saunders, Otego. Jaa. Whitford, Laurens.
E. Menzo Secor, Worcester. P. E. Johnson, Cooperst'n.
1835.— I. Barnett,* Middlefield.
Jas. M. Peck,* Cooperst'n.
Jer. Green, Now Lisbon. 1836. — David Hess, Worcester.
E. J. Almy, Hartwick. 1837.— N. M. Harrington, N. Lisb.
Fred. Baker, Butternuts. 1838. — Cyrus Saunders, Laurens. 1839.— Ezek. B. Ingalls,* Otsego.
G. 0. Qardiuor, Edmeston,
Goo, Hastings,* Maryland.
Chas. W. Fox, Morris.
Alonzo Churchill, Richf'ld.
A. L. Head, Otego.
5. Brownell, Butternuts. 1840.— J. W. Storricker, Cherry V.
Jesse Patterson, Hartwick, 1841. — L. B. Skinner, Hartwiok.
D. L. Beardsley, Milford.
Wm. R. Bates, Butternuts.
J. F. Mather,* Burlington. H. S. Hamilton, Oneonta.
Radwick, Butternuts,
J. N. Northrop, Decatur.
6. L. Halsey, Unadilla. A. S. Clarke, Burlington.
1843.— ^V
1845.- 1857.
■W. Bassett, Butternuts.
J. L. Fox,* Cooperstown.
A. G. Ely, Milford.
J, L. Barber, Cooperstown, 1844.— Isaac Fairohild, Otego,
A, P. Strong, Laurens.
Edward Pratt, Milford.
W. T. Bassett, Laurens.
-R. F. Stillman, Burlington.
-J. K. Leaning, Otsego.
E. Brown,* Milford.
T. B. Smith,* Cooperst'n, 1868.— John A. Lidell, Exeter.
G. Merrit, Cherry Valley.
Evandcr Odoll, Unadilla.
H. Lathrop, Jr., Coop'stn.
Nelson Beach, Middlefield.
■W. II. Leonard, Worcester.
G. W.Motcalf,»CIarksvillo.
]E. E. Houghton, Maryl'd.
A. S. Seeber, Milford.
P. S. Smith, Hartwick.
•11. L. Harris, Laurens.
S. S. Mulford, Cherry V'y.
E. W. Spafford, Milford. 1861.— C. Dickinson, Westford.
C. A. Gibson, Decatur. A, Van Horn,* Sp'gfield. •W, Spencer, Edmeston, H. M. Blood,* Milfqrd.
D. W. Patrick, Exeter.
F. H. Roof, Cooperstown. C. D. Spencer, Butternuts.
G. W. Cook, Otego.
E. Collins, Burlington. . — H. A. Almy,® Hartwick.
Lyman H. Hills, Exeter. Horace Snyder, Richfield. . — Grifiin Rhone, Exotor. John W. Still, Morris. • Erastus King, Plainfield.
1859.-
1860.-
1862.-
1868.-
1863.-
1864.-
1867. — 0. D. Ball, Sobenevas.
D. N. Walker,* S. Valley.
E. D. Hills, Burlington. E. B. MoGlintook.
A. C. Bunn, Morris.
L. R. Boyce, Middlefield. -H. W. Boom, SobenevaB.
M. J. Davis, E. Worcester.
J. J. Sweet, Unadilla.
M. Case, Oneonta.
E. M. West, Otego.
W. 0. Smith.
H. B. Pratt, Milford,
S, L, Robinson, Hartwick,
J, G, Parshall, Cooperst'n, -W, B,Craino, Biohfiold,
E, W, Frisbio, Springfield, -Nathan Smith,Clarksvillo,
J. Sharpo,* Cherry Valley,
J. D, Clyde, Cherry Valley, -W, 0, Gifi'ord.*
J. Edwards, Westford.
J.D.Fitoh,Sohuyler'sLake. -H. H, Clapsaddle, Todds- ville.
S, J. Fitoh,Sp'gfield Cor's,
W. W. Perkins,* Unadilla Forks,
S.G, Pomeroy,W,Oneonta. 1874. — E. McDougal, Oneonta.
J.W. Swanson.Sp'gfield C.
A. N. Russell.
G. L. Merritt, Cherry V.
P. C. Gilbert.
A. H. Harris, Worcester.
-M. J. McClellan, Garrats- villo.
D. M. Taylor, Cooperst'n.
D. R. Kenyori.Mt, Vision. . — J. A.Wostlako,Coopcrst'n. Geo. A. Sloan, Westford.
1809,- 1870,-
1872.-
1873.-
1875.-
1877,-
* Deceased,
Dr, Joseph White seryed fourteen years as president of the society ; he was also professor of surgery in the Fair- field medical college, and president of the State medical society in the years 1815-16.
Dr. Delos White was professor of anatomy in the Fair- field medical college in 1820.
Dr. Sumner Ely was president of the State medical society in 1840, and Dr. Jenks S. Sprague in 1853.
The following were in the United States service as sur- geons during the late llebellion : John A. Lidell, Geo. W, Metcalf, S, S, Mulford, and Harmon M. Blood.
Dr, A, 0, Bunn is a medical missionary resident of China,
Dr. W. H. Kinnier, of Chenango county, and Dr. A. L. Saunders, of Madison county, are honorary members.
The society is now in a prosperous condition, and is ofiicered as follows :
President. — Nathan Smith,
Vice-Preddent A. S, Seeber,
Secretary. — E, W, Spafford,
Treasurer. — L. H. Hills.
Censors. — S. G. Pomeroy, G. L. Halsey, G. L. Merritt, and J, M, Swanson,
Delegates to American Medical Association. — Horace Lathrop, William Bassett, and G, W, Cook.
* Deceased.
HISTORY OF OTSEGO COUNTY, NEW YORK.
37
\
Delegates to State Medical Society. — William H. Leonard and H. T. Harris.
THE OTSEGO HOMCEOPATHIO MEDICAL SOCIETY
was organized in 1860, and the following persons were chosen as officers :
President. — James H. Foote.
Vice-President. — Erastus B. Warren.
Secretary and Treasurer. — Solomon C. Warren.
Delegates to State Society. — Merritt Matteson and Nor- man Getman.
Delegates to the Oneida County Society. — J. R. White and S. C. Warren.
SOCIETIES.
THE INDEPENDENT ORDER OP GOOD TEMPLARS was first organized in central New York in 1851, and in the year following the Grand Lodge of the State was organ- ized. This grand lodge continued until 1866, when' it was reorganized. Prior the reorganization, in 1866, no record of a lodge under its jurisdiction can be found, but after the reorganization the first lodge of this order was institu- ted at Westford by E. Williams Mason, who was then the G. W. Secretary. In October, 1866, its name was " West- ford Lodge, No. 114," and the following were installed as its first officers : W. C. T., Wilbur F. Saxton ; W. V. T., Mrs. A. I. Griggs; W. S., Oscar F. Lane; W. M., John K. Tyler ; P. W. C. T., Dr. John Drake ; L. D., Chas. H. Bissell.
This lodge continued for a few years and then sur- rendered its charter. It was in this lodge that the present G. W. C. T., Andrew S. Draper, now of Albany, was initi- ated into the order, Dec. 1, 1866.
The second lodge was located in Butternuts, No. 123, and was instituted in 1866. . This lodge was burned out by tho fire, alter which it censed to exist. The third lodge is located in Morris village ; its name is Hillington lodge. No. 186, and is still in existence, and has had the largest num- ber of members at a single time of any in the county.
During the winter of 1867, a county convention was held at Westville, composed of the various lodges then in existence. This is believed to be the first county conven- tion. The next was held in the Presbyterian church, in the village of Milford, Oct. 14 and 15, 1868, at which meeting a committee was appointed to take into consideration the formation of a county lodge. The committee reported favorably, and the following are the officers elected at that session: W. C. T., E. D. Taylor; W. V. T., Miss E. P. French; W. S., Dr. A. P. Brown; W. M., Hiram S.
Wait; W. Chap., 0. K. Crosby; W. F. S., Bixby;
W. Treas., Miss Carrie Coats; W. I. G., Miss Ida Gor-
ham ; W. 0. G., Seabolt ; P. W. C. T., C. A. Bowne.
The name was then selected as " Otsego County Lodge, I. 0. of G. T., No. 6." From this time regular sessions have been held every quarter.
Tho following list of the county Chief Templars is as near complete as can be obtained :
Ye„ra. Names. Where elected.
jgg3' B.D.Taylor. Milford.
jggy '""." Chas. A. Bowne. Fly Creek.
jgyg Rev. Job. Pitcher. Cooporstown.
Years. Names. Where elected.
1871 Dr. Titus. Hydo Pork.
I872' Chas. A. Bowno. Schuyler's Lake.
1873;;];.; Chas. A. Bowne. Fly Creek.
1874..'. E. W. Spafford.
1875 B. W. Spafford.
1876 Geo. D. Scramling. Hyde Park.
1877 Geo. D, Scramling. Unodilla.
This county has been represented in the list of elective grand lodge officers, as follows : Mrs. Geo. D. Hyde, G. W. V. T.; B. K. Douglass, G. W. C; Andrew S. Draper, the present G. W. C. T. ; E. Williams Mason, who was a native of this county, as G. W. Secretary, and served in 1866, 1867, and 1868.
Lodges have been instituted in the following places: Westford, Butternuts, Morris, Unndilla Forks, East Wor- cester, Worcester, Westville, Hartwick Seminary, Decatur, Edmeston, South Worcester, Milford, Laurens, Middlefield Centre, Exeter Centre, Fly Creek, Schenevas, Unadilla, Hyde Park, West Oneonta, Springfield, Otego, Cooperstown, Hartwick village. West Burlington, and South Edmeston, West Exeter, Oneonta, Portlandville, Richfield Springs, Toddsville, Mount Vision, Maryland, Garratts villa, Pitts- field, Cherry Valley, Schuyler's Lake, West Edmeston, East Springfield, Burlington Flats, South Valley, Pittsfield Centre, Clintonville, CoUiersville, South Hartwick, Taylor- town, and Hinman Hollow. In some of these places lodges have been institutecl two or three different times.
At present there are lodges in Butternuts, Morris, Wor- cester, Decatur, Edmeston, Milford, Fly Creek, Schenevas, Hyde Park, Cooperstown, Hartwick, West Burlington, Oneonta, Portlandville, Mount Vision, Schuyler's Lake, Burlington Flats, South Valley, Clintonville, South Hart- wick, West Edmeston, Hinman Hollow, Taylortown, Una- dilla,— twenty-five.
The county has had a total membership of about 2600 ; at present it numbers about 1500.
The list of county deputies is incomplete, and has been as follows : 0. K. Crosby, Chas. A. Bowno, Andrew David- son, B. K. Douglas, H. H. Dresser, M. W. Russell, C. Mickle, Jos. Ryder.
The history of Otsego County Lodge, Good Templars, has been a remarkable one, and one full of interest ; but want of space prevents our enlarging upon it.
Rev. Mr. Titus, the W. C. T. in 1871, has held the office of G. W. C. T. of the Grand Lodge of the State of Ohio while he resided there.
CHAPTER XVL
THE COMMON SCHOOLS.
Foundation of tho Common-School System — Governor Clinton's Ac- tivity— Peck, Comstock, and Hawley — Present Condition of the Schools in Otsego County — Number of Districts — Number of Teachers — Children between the Ages of Five and Twenty-one Years — Number Attending School — Average Daily Attendance — Value of SohooI-IIouses and Sites.
In the year 1795 George Clinton, then governor of tho State of New York, laid tho foundation of tho common- school system, when in his message to the legislature that year he recommended to the people " the establishment of common schools throughout the State."
38
HISTORY OF OTSEGO COUNTY, NEW YORK.
The legislature soon after appropriated the sum of §50,000 to be divided among the several counties in proportion to the number of electors, and each county was required to raise by taxation a sum equal to one-half the amount al- lowed by the State. Notwithstanding Governor Clinton's urgent appeal to the people in behalf of the schools much inactivity was manifested, and in some localities the move- ment met with positive opposition.
The cause was early espoused by Peck, Comstock, and Hawley, who, co-operating with the governor, so far ad- vanced the system that in 1819 there were 6000 school districts and nearly 250,000 scholars. In 1871 there were 11,372 school districts in the State, with 28,217 teachers. The value of school-houses and sites was $20,- 426,412.
The following exhibit shows the present status of the common schools of this county.
BURLINGTON.
Thirteen districts ; 26 teachers employed, — 19 males and 7 females ; number of children between the ages of five and twenty-one, 509 ; number attending school, 425 ; av- erage daily attendance, 210 ; value of school-houses and sites, $5500.
BUTTE11NUT8. .
Fifteen districts and 4 joint districts ; 33 teachers em- ployed,— 5 males and 28 females; number of children between the ages of five and twenty-one, 575 ; number attending school, 499 ; average daily attendance, 252 ; value of school-houses and sites, $6065.
CHERRr VALLEY.
Twelve districts and 4 joint districts ; 22 teachers em- ployed,— 8 males and 14 females ; number of children between the ages of five and twenty-one, 713 ; number attending school, 508 ; average daily attendance, 262 ; value of school-houses and sites, $8300.
DECATUR.
Six districts and 1 joint district; 10 teachers employed, — 5 males and 5 females ; number of children of school age, 226 ; number attending school, 171 ; average daily attendance, 105 ; value of school-houses and sites, $1975.
EDUESTON.
Eleven districts and 2 joint districts ; 30 teachera em- ployed,— 19 females and 11 males j number of children of school age, 512 ; number attending school, 402 ; average daily attendance, 246 ; value of school-houses and sites, $6589.
EXETER.
Eight districts ; 16 teachers employed, — 6 males and 10 females ; number of children of school age, 382 ; number attending school, 317 ; average daily attendance, 169 ; value of school-houses and sites, $2785.
HARTWICK.
Sixteen districts; 31 teachers employed, — 10 males and 21 females ; number of children of school age, 602 ; num- ber attending school, 517 ; average daily attendance, 283 ; value of school-houses and sites, $0645.
LAURENS.
Sixteen districts ; 27 teachere employed, — 9 males and 1 8 females ; number of children between the ages of five and twenty-one, 469 ; number attending school, 411 ; average daily attendance, 197 ; value of school-houses and sites, $7065.
MARYLAND.
Fifteen districts and 2 joint districts ; 31 teachers em- ployed,— 8 males and 23 females ; number of children between the ages of five and twenty-one, 744 ; number attending school, 655 ; average daily attendance, 335 ; value of school-houses and sites, $13,705.
MIDDLEPIELD.
Nineteen districts ; 36 teachers employed, — 15 males and 21 females ; number of children between the ages of five and twenty-one, 916 ; number attending school, 717 ; aver- age daily attendance, 375 ; value of school-houses and sites, $10,146.
MILFORD.
Fourteen districts ; 21 teachers employed, — 8 males and 21 females ; number of children between the ages of five and twenty-one, 688 ; number attending school, 582 ; aver- age daily attendance, 311 ; value of school-liouscs and sites, $9920.
NEW LISBON.
Fifteen districts ; 31 teachers employed, — 13 males and 18 females ; number of children betwen the ages of five and twenty-one, 442 ; number attending school, 386 ; aver- age daily attendance, 209 ; value of school-houses and sites,
$3845.
MORRIS.
Eleven districts and 1 joint district; 30 teachers em- ployed,— 7 males and 23 females ; number of children between the ages of five and twenty-one, 758 ; number at- tending school, 601 ; average daily attendance, 376 ; value of school-houses and sites, $6085.
ONEONTA.
Thirteen districts and 1 joint district ; 35 teachers em- ployed,—13 males and 22 females ; number of children between the ages of five and twenty-one, 1151 ; number at- tending school, 895 ; average daily attendance, 509 ; value of school-houses and sites, $15,425.
OTEQO. Sixteen districts and 1 joint district ; 44 teachers em- ployed,—18 males and 20 females; number of children between the ages of five and twenty-one, 609 ; number at- tending school, 511 ; average daily attendance, 277 ; value of school-houses and sites, $6010.
OTSEQO.
Eighteen districts ; 40 teachers employed,— 9 males and 31 females ; number between the ages of five and twenty- one, 1292 ; number attending school, 970 ; average daily attendance, 549 ; value of school-houses and sites, $32,040.
PITTSFIELD.
Nine districts and 2 joint districts ; 22 teachers em- ployed,—8 males and 14 females ; number of children
HISTORY OF OTSEGO COUNTY, NEW YORK.
between the ages of five mid twenty-one, 4G1 ; number at- tending school, 345 ; average daily attendance, 184 ; value of school-houses and sites, $3213.
PLAINPIELD.
Eleven districts and 2 joint districts; 22 teachers cm- ployed, — 9 males and 13 females ; number of children between the ages of five and twenty-one, 414 ; number at- tending school, 322 ; average daily attendance, 174 ; value of school-houses and sites, $4380.
RICHFIELD.
Ten districts and 2 joint districts; 20 teachers em- ployed,— 7 males and 13 females ; number of children between the ages of five and twenty-one, 638 ; number at- tending school, 396 ; average daily attendance, 215 ; value of school-houses and sites, $6760.
ROSEBOOM.
Twelve districts and 1 joint district; 23 teachers em- ployed,— 8 males and 15 females; number of children between the ages of five and twenty-one, 463 ; number at- tending school, 384 ; average daily attendance, 228 ; value of school-houses and sites, $4685.
SPRINGFIELD.
Thirteen districts and 13 joint districts; 24 teachers em- ployed,— 8 males and 16 females ; number of children between the ages of five and twenty-one, 565 ; number at- tending school, 432 ; average daily attendance, 219 ; value of school-houses and sites, $4881.
UNADILLA.
Ten districts and 5 joint districts ; 30 teachers em- ployed,— 7 males and 23 females ; number of children between the ages of five and twenty-one, 749 ; number at- tending school, 482 ; average daily attendance, 226 ; value of school-housoB and sites, $6760.
WESTFORD.
Eleven districts and 11 joint districts ; 22 teachers em- ployed,— 8 males and 14 females ; number of children between the ages of five and twenty-one, 355 ; number at- tending school, 298 ; average daily attendance, 150 ; value of school-houses and sites, $3540.
WORCESTER. Fifteen districts and 6 joint districts; 27 teachers em- ployed,— 11 males and 16 females; number of children between the ages of five and twenty-one, 731 ; number at- tending school, 634 ; average daily attendance, 347 ; value of school-houses and sites, $9925.
CHAPTER XVII.
ELEEMOSTWABY INSTITUTIONS. County Poor-houBo — Tho Orphaniigo Homo of tho Holy Saviour.
TiiFi Otacgo County poor-houso is located in tho town of Middlefield, on lands purchased of William Temple. The meeting at which was considered the feasibility of erecting the poor-house was held at the ofiice of General Morell, in
Coopcrstown, December 13, 1826, General Morell, Levi Gray, Jerome Clark, and Henry Phinney being present. It was decided that the wants of the county demanded the erec- tion of a building for the poor, and General Morell was appointed to visit tho counties of Rensselaer, Albany, and Columbia, and inspect the poor-houses in said counties, for the purpose of ascertaining the most approved plan for the erection of the building. The building was erected in 1827, and an addition for the accommodation of insane persons was built in 1847.
As an interesting statistical document, the following report of the superintendent for the past year (1877) is subjoined :
7'o the Honorable Soard of Snpervieorn nf Oisego. County :
The undersigned, superintendent of the poor of said county, would respectfully report :
Received from county treasurer $6000.00
From sales 769.68
From L. W. Kathbun, late superintendent 216.3.46
Balance 204.90
$8128.03
Expended for physician $132.00
Transportation of paupers 94.89
Keeper's salary 600.00
Permanent repairs 836.00
Supplies purchased...... 4806.98
E.\pended for Children's home 1760.26
$8128.03
The whole number of paupers supported at the county poor-house during tho past year was 201, of which 86 were county, and 115 were town paupers.
There were 6 births, — 3 of county and 3 of towns ; 16 deaths, — 3 of county, 13 of towns. Discharged, 50 of county, 42 of towns. At county house, November t, 93. Insane, 13, — county, 2; towns, 11. Idiots, 12, — county, 1 ; towns, 11. Mutes, 1.
We have at the Utica asylum 8, at an expense of $4 per week.
We have at the Willard asylum 16, at an expense (as estimated by the authorities of that institution) for the ensuing year, commencing September 1, 1877, of $2776.7.?.
I believe it would bo good policy to oroot a suitable building in whioh to keep llio incurablo Insane belonging to tho county, niid I would earnestly recommend that your honorable body take an appro- priation for that purpose into consideration. It would probably take about $2600.
The whole amount expended at the county poor-house for the year ending November 1, 1877, was, by the under- signed $8,128.0.3
Less amount expended at Children's home 1,760.25
$6,367.78
By L. W. Rathbun, late superintendent 3,933.43
Transportation of paupers by late superintendent 17.50
$10,318.71
Keeper's salary $500.00
Permanent repairs 836.00
Physician 132.00
Transportation of paupers 94.48
do. by llathbun 17.60
Sales 769.68
2,338.06
$7,980.05
The whole number of weeks' board furnished at the county poor- house was
Weeks. Days.
County 2000 0
I'uwna 3206 6
6206 6
The weekly cxponpo of each pauper to be ossossod upon tho towns and county is $1.61 4-10.
The number of weeks' board furnished the paupers of the several towns, at the county poor-house, were :
40
HISTORY OF OTSEGO COUNTY, NEW YORK.
Towns. Weeks. Days. Cost.
Burlington 123 3 $186.87
Butternuts 2.5 2 38.28
CherryValloy 230 2 357.73
Deoatur 94 2 141.85
Edmeston ,
Exeter 3 65
Hartwiok.... 61 3 93.00
Laurens 52 1 78.95
Maryland 264 1 399.91
Middlefleld 212 1 321.18
Milford 359 5 544.41
New Lisbon
Morris
Onoonta 184 6 279.88
Otogo 162 3 230.78
Otsego 675 6 871.85
Pittsfleld 79 4 120.47
Plainfleld
Biohfield 62 1 78.94
Rosobooin 27 4 41.74
Springfield 263 6 399.48
Unadilla 244 5 370.48
Westford 203 6 308.64
Worcester
Total Towns. 3265 5 $4865.09
County 2000 3186.96
5265 5 $7980.05
I also annex, as per resolution of your honorable board, the names of paupers charged to each town, with the number of weeks' board furnished each pauper, and the amount charged to each. The whole amount to be raised is, —
For the support of county poor $3036.02
Keeper's salary 600.00
Porinanont repairs 835.00
I'liyslolan 132.00
Transportation of paupers 111.98
Total, by county $4615.00
Eor support of town poor by towns 4944.03
$9559.03
I would further report that on the 1st of January, when I took possession of the property, there was about 1000 pounds of ham that were spoiled and unfit for anything but soap-grease; about 400 pounds of spare-rib that was spoiled and had to bo thrown away; also 4 pigs, weighing about 150 pounds each, which had been frozen and thawed a nnmber of times, and wore sold at a low prico, as poor meat.
I also report the farm in fair condition. The crops were all fair, the corn good.
On the county farm we have sowed 7 acres of rye and 2 acres of wheat, which is looking well.
On the farm known as the county wood lot' we have fenced in the cleared land on the west side of the road, and have used it for pas- ture. We have also cleared up and plowed and sowed to rye about 10 acres on the east side of the road, on which the ryo is looking well.
We have seeded on the farm about 45 acres, most of which is look- ing well.
Our wood for the past year has been all cut by the family.
All of which is respectfully submitted.
Dated Nov. 10, 1877. ANDREW SPENCER,
Superintcndiint uf the I'uur.
STOCK ON PARlf.
9 cows, at $30 $270.00
3 horses, — two at $50 each, one at $100 200.00
2 yoke of oxen, at $150 300.00
1 fat cow 35.00
1 yearling heifer 20.00
1 yearling bull 15.00
12 shoats, at $7 each 84.00
$924.00
PRODUCE OH FARtr.
1700 bushels of corn, at 40c $680.00
676 " oats, ot40o 270.00
650 " potatoes, at 35c 192.50
70 " beets, at 35o 24.60
40 " onions, at $1 40.00
30 " turDip3,at25c 7.50
35 " carrots, at 25c 8.75
10 " tomatoes, at 50o 6.00
10 " sweet corn, at 50c 5.00
32 " beans, at $2 64.00
60 " heads cabbage, at 5c 3.00
1350 lbs. butter, at 25o $337.50
35 tons hay, at $10 350.00
30 bushels grafted apples, at 50o 15.00
60 bushels cider apples, at 20c , 12.00
10 tons strow, at$5 50.00
18 tons cornstalks, at $4 72.00
10 bushels peas, at $1 10.00
15 loads pumpkins, at $1 15.00
15 barrels cucumbers, at $4 60.00
3000 lbs. of pork, at 6o