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M. L
GENEALOGY COLLECTION
ALLEN COUNTY PUBLIC LIBRARY 3 1833 01177 8187
490:10
1250
HISTORY
OF
THE TOWN OF KIRKLAND.
-
N.
Clarks Mills.
THE OWN OF
KIRKLAND-
Mane hester.
)
Oriskany-creek.
Rome & Clinton.R.R.
--
-
-
Hamilton College.
UlicaSt.
College St.
CLINTON.
Brimfield' St.
Checkery.
Franklin.
Paris Hill Road.
Chenango Canal.
l'tica Clinton & Bing harupton RR.
Dug Way.
Line of Property.
S
OF
MAP 1.
Cemetery
HISTORY
OF THE
Mariass Gattin
TOWN OF KIRKLAND,
NEW YORK.
BY
REV. A. D. GRIDLEY.
NEW YORK: PUBLISHED BY HURD AND HOUGHTON. Cambridge : The Riverside Press. 1874.
Entered, according to Act of Congress, in the year 1874, by A. D. GRIDLEY, in the Office of the Librarian of Congress, at Washington.
RIVERSIDE, CAMBRIDGE : PRINTED BY H. O. HOUGHTON AND COMPANY.
1204147
To
ALL WHO DWELL
WITHIN THE BORDERS OF
KIRKLAND
THIS RECORD OF ITS EARLY HISTORY
IS RESPECTFULLY
DEDICATED.
" Other men laboured, and ye are entered into their labours."
Southern 1250
PREFACE ..
THIS book owes its origin to the desire often expressed by some of the older inhabitants of Kirkland that the writer would prepare a full and connected history of the town. Some considerable progress had already been made in the production of such a history by the lecture of Hon. O. S. Williams, in the year 1848, and the chapter relating to this town in the " Annals " of Hon. Pomroy Jones, written some twenty-eight years ago. But these gentlemen did not attempt complete histories, and they were among the most earnest in soliciting the writer to prosecute further the work which they had begun ..
It has been my pleasant labor during several years past to collect the materials of the volume herewith presented. Starting with the important papers above referred to, I have endeavored to supplement them by every means within my reach. The few survivors of our early times and their immediate descendants have been frequently consulted, and the information gleaned from them has been carefully recorded. Whatever documents, old cor- respondence, or historical papers could be found to throw
X
PREFACE.
light upon this subject, have been sought for and freely used.
The book thus prepared consists of a preliminary sketch of this region of country before it was settled by white inhabitants ; some account of the several Indian tribes of this neighborhood ; an outline of the history of the town from its beginning until the present time ; sketches of the several churches and literary institutions of the place ; also of its natural history, its agriculture, horti- culture, and rural embellishment ; of its manufactures and mining operations, and of various other matters which need not here be enumerated.
In writing the earlier portions of this history, I have drawn freely from the pages of Judge Williams and Judge Jones whatever seemed important in construct- ing my narrative. Facts have also been gathered from the lecture of Hon. William Tracy, of New York, on " Men and Events in the Early History of Oneida County ;" from the lectures of M. M. Bagg, M. D., of Utica, on " The Men of Old Fort Schuyler ; " and from " The League of the Iroquois," by Lewis H. Morgan. Among those whom I have consulted personally, mention should be made of the late Rev. Dr. Norton, the late James D. Stebbins, the late Mrs. Orrin Gridley, Mrs. Eli Lucas, Mr. George Bristol, and Mr. Gaius Butler. The sketch of the Botany of this town, which appears in the Appendix, was copied, so far as it was applicable, from the "Catalogue of Plants found in Oneida County and Vicinity," published a few years ago by Prof. John
xi
PREFACE.
A. Paine, of New York ; and its accuracy and fullness are assured by the notes of Prof. Oren Root, LL. D., of Hamilton College. To insure entire impartiality and correctness in the histories of the several churches, pains has been taken to have them drawn up, as far as prac- ticable, by persons representing the respective denomi- nations.
It seemed appropriate to commence this history with some account of the Indians who inhabited this region before the whites visited it. They built no monuments to themselves, they left nothing upon the soil of Kirkland except a few arrow-heads ; and they would soon cease to be remembered did not we, their pale-faced successors, gather up and preserve the fragments which remain of their sad history. And surely the white men who cleared up these forests, and laid the foundations of our churches and schools and social order, and whatever else of good we inherit, should not go uncommemorated. Especially at a time like this, when nearly all the older towns of the country are preparing histories of their several localities, and when even a multitude of families are zealously writing and publishing their genealogies, does it not become us who are well-born, and who are fast approaching our centennial anniversary, to see to it that the record of what our fathers were and what they accomplished, is not forgotten and left to perish ? If a tithe of the noble spirit which animated those father's dwells in their sons, they will be held in abiding honor.
With these prefatory words, I submit this little book
xii
PREFACE.
to my fellow-townsmen with something of that confidence which their kind and cheering words during its prepara- tion were fitted to inspire.
CLINTON, N. Y., 1873. A. D. G.
CONTENTS.
INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER.
Geographical and Topographical. - Natural History. - Indian Tribes, namely: The Oneidas, Stockbridges, Tuscaroras, and Brothertowns. - Relations of this Region to the French and English Wars and to the Rev- olution. - The old "Line of Property." - Efforts to instruct and chris- tianize the Indians. - Their manifest Destiny 1
CHAPTER I.
Early Settlement, when and by whom. - Settlement of the neighboring Towns. - Incidents of the first three Years. - The first public Religious Service. - The first Grist-Mill; first Saw-Mill. - The Village of Clinton named. - The first Death, and the first Wedding. - Horses introduced, and a fast Horse. - Great scarcity of Food. - The Town receives its Name. - The first frame House. - The first Birth 18
CHAPTER II.
A Chapter of Miscellanies: Habits and Customs of the Indians. - A few Notables. - Story of "the fine fat Steer."- Case of Heinrich Staring. - The Oneida Chief and Major Pond. - Elijah Wampe. - Skenandoa. - Plattcoff. - Visit and Report of President Dwight. - Samson Occum. - Good Peter. - Naming of the Streets. - The first Burglary. - Moses Foot's Flower-Garden . 36
CHAPTER III.
Sketch of the Life and Character of the Rev. Samuel Kirkland 62
CHAPTER IV.
Religious Denominations: The Congregational Church, and the Presbyte- rian Church. - Sketch of the Life and Character of the Rev. Asahel S. Norton, D. D. - The Methodist Church. - The Universalist Church. - The College Church. - The Baptist Church. - The Manchester Church. - Saint Mary's Roman Catholic Church. - Saint James' Episcopal Church
90
xiv
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER V.
Educational Institutions : Hamilton Oneida Academy. - Hamilton College. - Clinton Grammar School. - Miss Royce's Seminary. - The Liberal Institute, in its two Departments. - Mr. Kellogg's Domestic Seminary. - The Home Cottage Seminary. - Dwight's Rural High School, and the Clinton Rural High School. - The Cottage Seminary. - Houghton Seminary. - Mrs. Marr's Select School. - The Common Schools . 120
CHAPTER VI.
Agriculture. - Horticulture. - Ornamental Gardening. - Kirkland Agri- cultural Society. - The Clinton Rural Art Society. - The Clinton Ceme- tery. - The College Grounds 151
CHAPTER VII.
Manufactures and Mining: The Clinton Woolen Factory. - Kellogg's and Wood's Fulling Mill. - Nail Factory. - Marvin's Hat Factory. - Scythe Factory. - Clock Making. - Pottery. - Brick Making. - Manufacture of Potash. - Tanneries. - Grist-Mills. - Saw-Mills. - Chair Factory. - Distillery .- Manchester Cotton Factory. - Clarks' Mills .- Iron Ore: its Discovery ; the Situation and Extent of the Mines; the Quality and Value of the Ore. - The Franklin Iron Works. - The Clinton Iron Works. - Cheese Factories 162
CHAPTER VIII.
Of Many Things: Prominent Physicians, Lawyers, and Farmers. - The Laying out of Streets. - The Chenango Canal. - The Plank Road. - The Telegraph. - The Express Business. - Banks and Banking Houses. - Incorporation of the Village of Clinton. - Village Newspapers and Printing Office. - Agricultural Papers. - Population of Town and Vil- lage. - The Utica, Clinton, and Binghamton Railroad. - The Rome and Clinton Railroad. - Patriotism of the Inhabitants of Kirkland. - Gen- eral Review 178
APPENDIX.
1. Catalogue of Trees and Plants in the Town of Kirkland 201
2. Extracts from Address of Hon. Anson S. Miller 216
3. Exercises at the Dedication of the Kirkland Monument 221
4. Subscriptions for building Hamilton Oneida Academy 226
Index 229
1
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS.
MAP OF THE TOWN OF KIRKLAND
Frontispiece.
PORTRAIT OF SAMUEL KIRKLAND . 62
OLD WHITE MEETING-HOUSE 95
HAMILTON ONEIDA ACADEMY . 122
CLINTON GRAMMAR SCHOOL .
132
HISTORY
OF
THE TOWN OF KIRKLAND.
INTRODUCTORY CHAPTER.
BEFORE the settlement of central New York by per- manent inhabitants, this region of country had been vis- ited by white men at different times, and in pursuit of widely different objects. Among the first were the Jesuit missionary Isaac Jogues and his associates, René Goupil and Guillaume Couture, who, in the year 1641, were brought here from Canada by the Mohawks as pris- oners of war, but who spent a portion of the time of their captivity in exploring the Mohawk Valley. These pio- neers were followed by others in succession for many years, until the year 1700, when all Jesuit priests were expelled by law from the State of New York. Between 1712 and 1764, several Protestant missionaries also vis- ited the Indian tribes of central New York, and labored among them with greater or less success.
Dutch traders from Fort Orange (now Albany) like- wise penetrated the country at an early day, intent on opening traffic with the Iroquois, and securing the monop- oly of trade to themselves. These pioneers and explorers from the East followed, for the most part, the old Indian trail which for centuries had run from the Hudson River, near Albany, to Lake Erie, at Buffalo, and which, on the
1
2
HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF KIRKLAND.
opening of the country to civilization, was found to be the natural and best route for travel and commerce.
On the breaking out of the old French War, in 1755, the Mohawk Valley was entered by the military forces of the English under Lord Amherst, who fortified different points between Herkimer and the Great Lakes, some of which became the theatres of bloody battles. Among these were Fort Dayton, now Herkimer, Fort Schuyler, now Utica, and Fort Stanwix, now Rome. Nor should we omit to mention the village of Oriskany, the encounter at which place, at a later day, forms an important page in the history of the American Revolution.
In the year 1683, the territory lying mostly within the present limits of the State of New York was divided into twelve counties, namely : New York, Albany, Dutchess, Kings, Queens, Orange, Ulster, Richmond, Suffolk, West- chester, Dukes, and Cornwall. In 1772, the county of Tryon was formed out of Albany, and in 1784, its name was changed to Montgomery, in honor of the great gen- eral who fell at Quebec. By an Act of the same Legis- lature, Montgomery was divided into four districts, named Mohawk, Canajoharie, Palatine, German Flats, and Kings- land. The district of German Flats lay along the Mohawk River, and extended westward to the boundary of the State, its whole territory being an unbroken forest.
In March, 1788, by an Act of the Legislature, German Flats was divided, and, among others, the town of Whites- town was formed out of it, and its boundaries fixed and described as follows : on the north by Canada ; on the east by a line crossing the Mohawk River at the ford near the house of William Cunningham, and running north and south to the State lines ; on the south by the State of Pennsylvania ; and on the west by the bounds of the
3
SITUATION OF THE TOWN.
State. The house of William Cunningham stood near the foot of the present Genesee Street, in Utica.
Whitestown was again divided in April, 1792, and the following towns constructed out of its territory, namely : Westmoreland, Steuben, Paris, Mexico, Peru, and Whites- town.
The county of Herkimer was divided in 1798, and the additional counties of Oneida and Chenango formed out of it. By, several subsequent Acts of the Legislature, be- tween the years 1802 and 1816, Oneida County was divided and reduced in territorial extent until it was brought to its present limits.
By a law passed April 13, 1827, the town of Kirkland was formed from a part of Paris, - and so named in honor of the missionary, Kirkland, - and in February, 1829, the town of Marshall was formed from a part of the town of Kirkland.
This town is situated in the middle portion of the county of Oneida. Its latitude, - assuming the Litch- field Observatory at Hamilton College to be its geo- graphical centre, - is 43º 3' 16" 5 north, and its longi- tude 5h. 1m. 37s. 12 west from Greenwich. It is about six hundred and seven feet above the level of the sea. The surface of the country is diversified by hills and val- leys. On the west is a range running north to south, near the summit of which Hamilton College is situated, and on the east and south is the lower part of Paris Hill and Chuckery. The valley between is watered by the Oriskany Creek, whichi, formed from two branches rising in the towns of Madison and Sangerfield, and uniting at Deansville, flows northward a distance of twelve miles, and empties into the Mohawk River near the village of Oris- kany. This creek is fed by numerous smaller streams
4
HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF KIRKLAND.
known to the older inhabitants as Sherman Brook, Mar- vin Brook, and White Brook. Its water-power is con- siderable, the descent between the southern and northern limits of the town being about one hundred and seventy feet. Oriskany is an Indian name, formed from the word Ockrisk or Orisca, signifying nettles ; and it was applied to this creek by the natives on account of the abundance of these weeds growing along its banks.
GEOLOGY AND MINERALOGY.
The Geology and Mineralogy of Kirkland are briefly described by Dr. Oren Root, of Hamilton College, as fol- lows : -
" The rocks belong to what our geologists call the Silu- rian Age. The lowest in place is the Oneida conglomer- ate, a hard, gritty rock, of grayish color, and composed of quartz pebbles finely cemented. . This rock is seen by the roadside, a short distance from Clinton, toward Utica.
" Above the conglomerate, we find the rocks of the Clin- ton Group, well developed on both sides of the valley of the Oriskany Creek. These rocks consist of alternate layers of shale and hard sandstone, with very impure limestone. They contain beds of lenticular iron ore, and abundant remains of Fucoids, Corals, Mollusks, and Trilobites.
" In the ravines on College Hill, we find directly above the Clinton rocks, a thin deposit of the shales of the Niagara Group, containing imbedded masses of limestone . with lead and zinc ores.
" Next above these dark shales, we find the red shale of the Onondaga Group, a rock of great thickness, and well developed in this town, but as elsewhere entirely destitute of fossils.
.
5
GEOLOGY AND ORNITHOLOGY.
" On the hills both east and west of the Oriskany, and south of the red shale, we find the drab-colored rocks of the Water-lime Group.
" The valleys and most of the hillsides of this town are covered with the material of the Drift Period, consisting of sand, gravel, and pebbles cemented with clay.
" The rocks of Kirkland contain numerous Fossils. Of the following genera of Mollusks there are many species, to wit : Orthis, Lingula, Leptæna, Atrypa, Pentamerus, Spirifer.
" Of chambered shells : Oncocerus, Orthocerus, Corals, and Crinoids are abundant, and Fucoids in certain locali- ties ; but Trilobites are more rarely found.
" The minerals of Kirkland are as follows : Oxide of Iron, Sulphuret of Iron, Carbonate of Iron, Sulphuret of Lead, Sulphuret of Zinc, Strontianite, Celestine, Calcite, Gypsum, Quartz Crystals."
Of Birds, the catalogue is, for substance, this : The common black-bird, crow black-bird, bob-o-link, blue- bird, crane, cat-bird, cherry or cedar bird, chip-bird, chickadee, the crow, cow-bird, cuckoo, eagle, ground-bird, fish-hawk, hen-hawk, yellow-hammer, humming-bird, in- digo-bird, blue-jay, king-fisher, meadow-lark, sky-lark, sand-martin, house-martin, several varieties of the owl, the oriole, partridge, wild-pigeon, Phoebe-bird, plover, robin, song-sparrow, wood-sparrow, several sorts of swal- low and of the snow-bird, the common snipe, tip-up or tit- lark, song-thrush, brown thrush, wood-wren, yellow wren, brown wren, two or three kinds of wood-pecker, and the . yellow-bird. A few of the above list we suspect are birds of civilization.
The Soil of this town may be described in general terms as a clayey loam, with here and there beds of sand
.
6
HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF KIRKLAND.
and gravel. The alluvial deposits along the shores of the Oriskany are rich in the elements of fertility.
The principal Forest-trees are the maple, in its varieties of the rock, the scarlet, the black, the striped bark, and the mountain maple ; the white, the red, and the eork- bark elm ; the white and black ash; the white and red beech ; the black and yellow birch ; the basswood, but- tonwood, ironwood or hornbeam, butternut, bitternut, wild poplar, wild cherry, the hemlock, white pine, and, more rarely, the tulip-tree, white oak, the larch, black spruee, and white cedar or arbor-vitæ.1
The Animals originally inhabiting these forests were the black bear, the lynx or wild eat, the red fox, the wolf, weasel, rabbit, skunk, raccoon, musk-rat; red, gray, and black squirrels; the chip-muck, and wood- chuck.
INDIAN TRIBES.
Of the Indian tribes inhabiting this part of the State, the Oneidas were the chief. As to their origin the tra- ditions are various, but the one most credible represents them as coming at a very early period from the northern shores of the St. Lawrence, near Montreal, and settling on the shores of the lake whieli bears their name. For an indefinite period they lived separate from the tribes around them; but about one hundred years before the landing of the Dutch at New York, they combined with several other tribes and formed the famous League of the Iroquois.
Their domain extended from the lands of the Mohawks on the east to those of the Onondagas on the west ; on
1 For a more adequate view of the Trees and Plants of this town, see Appendix I.
7
THE ONEIDA INDIANS.
the north to the St. Lawrence, and on the south to an indefinite point in Pennsylvania. Not so warlike and bloodthirsty as the Mohawks, they were yet more cool and determined in the heat of battle, and more sagacious and influential in the councils of the great confederacy. The best informed travellers who visited them at an early day speak in admiration of their noble physiques, their polished manners and their very musical language.
David Cusick, the Tuscarora historian, says that " the earliest recollected residence " of the Oneidas was upon the southern shore of Oneida Lake, near the mouth of Oneida Creek. Remains of their rude fortifications were found here by the first white settlers. From this place they removed to the lands covered by the present town of Stockbridge, Madison County, where their Sacred Stone was deposited.1 It is believed that this removal
1 In respect to this Stone, antiquarians are not wholly agreed. Some hold that it was not a material rock, but a purely symbolical stone, designed to represent the spirit and qualities of the nation. Others maintain that it was a veritable stone. And there is a respectable legend concerning it which we are bound reverently to hand over to posterity. It runs thus : -
At the first settlement of the tribe near Oneida Lake, they found an oblong, roundish stone, unlike any of the rocks in the vicinity, which became their sacrificial altar, and gave the name to their tribe. Onia is the word in their dialect for a stone (Morgan says : " The stone known as granite "), and as they increased in numbers, they became known as the Onia-tang, or People of the Stone. Around this stone they assembled for council and for festive and religious games. Here they slit the ears of their sons when they went on the war-path. When they removed from the region of the lake, to the town of Stockbridge, this stone removed without the help of human hands to their new home, and deposited itself in the centre of a butternut grove overlooking a wide and fertile valley. Here it remained until the tribe had become widely dis- persed and its unity destroyed.
In the year 1849, when the Forest Hill Cemetery, near Utica, was laid out, the trustees learned that Mr. James Gregg, of Stockbridge, on whose farm the reputed Oneida Stone rested, was desirous that it should be removed to some public inclosure, where it would be protected from injury, and its history and associations preserved in memory. The trustees thereupon procured its removal to Utica, and it now stands upon a grass-plot just within the gates of
8
HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF KIRKLAND.
was made prior to the formation of the Iroquois con- federacy, about 1530. At some unknown period before the year 1600, they again changed their headquarters to a place called Ca-no-wa-loa, the present site of Oneida Castle. They resided here in 1609, when the Dutch settled upon Hudson River. Tradition says that in the year 1650, they numbered three thousand souls. In 1677, they were represented as having one village of one hundred houses, and about two hundred fighting men. In 1763, Sir William Johnson, Indian Agent, reports : " Oneidas, two hundred and fifty men, two villages, one of them twenty-five miles from Fort Stanwix, the other twelve miles west of Oneida Lake, with emigrants in several places towards the Susquehanna River." In 1768, he reports, " fifteen hundred souls, all told."
In the long controversies between the rival colonies of the French in Canada and the English in New York, the Oneidas bore an important part. As a general fact, they sided with the English ; though the showy presents, plausible speeches and imposing religious ceremonies of the French often blinded their eyes, and made them waver from their steadfastness.
Prior to the French War of 1755, Sir William John- son exerted a powerful sway over the whole confederacy ; and it was chiefly through his influence that a large por- tion of the Iroquois were brought into alliance with the English during that war. At the beginning of the American Revolution, the colonists felt the importance of keeping the Indian tribes in a state of neutrality ; or
the cemetery. At the dedication of the cemetery, the remnants of the Oneidas in this region and a few Onondagas were present. Ono-neo-gon, the head chief of the Oneidas, made an address, which was interpreted to the assembly. The natives then sang their national songs around the stone, and surrendered it to the care of their white brethren to preserve for future times.
9
THE ONEIDAS DURING THE REVOLUTION.
if they insisted on fighting, of securing their adhesion to the colonial interest. As one means of effecting this, they applied to the Rev. Samuel Kirkland, a missionary among the Oneidas, Judge James Dean, and Ske- nandoa the Oneida chief, and besought them to use their endeavors to hold the Iroquois at peace with both parties. The Mohawks and the western tribes could not be controlled, but the main body of the Oneidas, with portions of the Tuscaroras and the St. Regis tribe, were held firm for the colonists. And yet, knowing what we do of the Indian character, it is no matter of surprise to find that as the great war waxed hot around them, the Oneidas were sometimes drawn into it. To. give them some show of employment, the colonial government often used them as scouts and skirmishers, and in procuring and conveying intelligence of the movements of the enemy. They were also required to maintain a strong out-post at Oneida Castle, so as to interrupt the movements of the British forces up and down the Mohawk Valley.
At the close of the war, so great and so rapid was the influx of white settlers into the Indian territory, it de- volved upon our government to form new treaties and stipulations with the tribes in reference to the sale of their lands, and the boundaries within which they should be permitted to reside and be protected in their rights. Those tribes which had been hostile to us were treated with a mild and humane policy, yet with less considera- tion than those which had befriended our cause. At a convention of commissioners appointed by Congress in October, 1783, for determining the relations of the gov- ernment to the several tribes, a series of resolutions was passed, among which was the following: -
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