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GENEALOGY COLLECTION
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ONEONTA STATE NORMAL SCHOOL
OTSEGO COUNTY
NEW YORK
Geographical and Historical
FROM THE EARLIEST SETTLEMENT TO THE PRESENT TIME
WITH COUNTY AND TOWNSHIP MAPS
FROM ORIGINAL DRAWINGS
By EDWIN F. BACON, Ph. B.
ONEONTA, N. Y. THE ONEONTA HERALD, Publishers. 1902.
Copyrighted by Edwin F. Bacon 1902
1401479
PREFACE
There is a growing demand for the means of local geo- graphical and historical study in schools, and this little manual is intended to meet this demand for the schools of Otsego County. It was originally prepared in manuscript for classes in the Oneonta State Normal school and now, with the approval and encouragement of the school commissioners and teachers of the county, is offered in its present form.
In its preparation I have had the pleasure of visiting every township in the county, thus gaining information at first hand and from the most reliable sources. For events previous to our time, I have found excellent material. The history of the county from the earliest times to 1878, by D. Hamilton Hurd, is very complete to that date, and I have, with permission, freely quoted from it. In addition to this I have had access to Campbell's "Annals of Tryon County," Beardsley's "Remi- niscences and Anecdotes, " and Halsey's "Old New York Fron- tier,"-three works of surpassing interest, together with a num- ber of local sketches, including Sawyer's "History of Cherry Valley," Ward's "Annals of Richfield," Campbell's "History of Oneonta," Shaw's "History of Cooperstown," Halsey's "Pioneers of Unadilla." and Hotchkin's "History of Mary- land." I am also indebted to the supervisors of the several townships and to others for careful revision of the township maps and of the text, by which the greatest accuracy has been secured.
While making this study, an opinion previously formed has been essentially modified. That opinion was that farming in Otsego county had, owing to western competition and other causes, ceased to be profitable; that there were many abandoned farms, and that the rising generation thought only of getting away from the old homestead and seeking employment else- where. All such views must be due to the depression of former years, for they are no longer true to the facts. The increase in rural prosperity evident throughout the state is equally apparent
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PREFACE
in this region. Owing to the tendency of population toward the villages there are some abandoned farmhouses, but there are no abandoned farm lands in the county, and the intelligent and thrifty farmer is everywhere doing well. This improvement is most evident in the line of dairying, which is now the leading and most profitable industry.
Otsego county has a most interesting and honorable record. Its early settlers were of good New England and old England stock, and their numerous descendants here and in the west, to which many of them have gone, must read with interest the record of pioneer struggles, of victory over savage and foreign foes, of heroic strife for the Union, of modern culture and en- terprise.
The study of geography properly commences around the home. The perspective of world study is better from this stand- point, and the children who become thoroughly interested in it will go on to the study of their own and foreign countries with a clearer idea of its nature and importance. The prevailing inter- est in local geography is therefore to be encouraged by every means, and it is hoped that this little contribution to it may prove acceptable to the teachers of the county.
While primarily intended as a school text book, the require- ments of the business world have also been kept in view in the preparation of this work. The county and township maps, all from original drawings, are thoroughly up to date, and the de- scriptive text concerning routes of travel, population, post-offices, newspapers, business and manufacturing interests, express, tel- graph and telephone facilities, commend it to all classes, while its business-like quality can in no wise impair its usefulness in the class-room.
E. F. B.
Oneonta. New York. August, 1902.
OTSEGO COUNTY
PART I-GENERAL HISTORY
LOCATION AND POLITICAL ORIGIN.
TSEGO COUNTY is favorably situated upon the highlands at the head waters of the Susquehanna river, a little southeast of the center of the state, and contains 1,038 square miles. It is bounded by the following named counties: On the north by Oneida, Herkimer and Montgomery; on the east by Schoharie; on the south by Delaware; and on the west by Chenango and Madison.
It was originally a part of Albany county, which was or- ganized in 1683, and which covered a large section of the state, and the whole of the present state of Vermont. In the year 1772 Tryon county was set off from Albany county. In 1784 the name Tryon was changed to Montgomery and in 1791 Otsego was set off from Montgomery with Cooperstown as its county seat. As thus formed the county, although with its present dimensions, was divided into only two townships, viz: Otsego lying to the west of Otsego Lake and the Susquehanna, and Cherry Valley to the east of those waters. With the increase of population these townships were again and again subdivided until the number is now twenty-four, as shown in the accom- panying map.
NATURAL FEATURES.
The surface presents a great variety of hill and dale with many beautiful landscapes. In every township are found ele- vations of from 250 to 500 feet, among which flow a great num- ber of small streams. The greatest elevations are in Cherry Valley township, where several hills rise more than 2,000 feet
GENERAL HISTORY
above tide. The most important water courses are the Unadilla river, which constitutes the western boundary, the Susquehanna flowing down centrally from Otsego Lake and constituting a portion of the southern boundary, Wharton and Butternuts creeks, flowing into the Unadilla river; Otego, Schenevus and Cherry Valley creeks flowing into the Susquehanna, and Oaks creek, the outlet of Canadarago Lake, flowing also into the Sus- quehanna. Otsego Lake, the largest body of water in this region, lies within the townships of Otsego, Springfield and Middlefield. It is eight miles long and about one mile wide. It lies about 1,200 feet above sea level, and is surrounded by hills that rise from 400 to 500 feet above its surface. It is a lake of unsurpassed beauty, and many excursions are made upon it by means of steamers and other pleasure boats. Its banks are also dotted with summer camps and cottages. This lake has been made famous as the scene of Cooper's novels, "The Deer- slayer," and "The Pioneer."
THE SIX NATIONS.
This region, before the advent of the white man, has been described as an "Indian Paradise." It was a superb hunting ground, the home of the deer, the elk, the moose, the bear, the otter, the martin, the wolf, the fox, the squirrel, and of numer- ous water fowl, while salmon and other fish abounded in the rivers and lakes.
The natives belonged to a famous Indian league called by the English the "Six Nations, " though the French applied to them the general term "Iroquois."
It is well to know something of the origin and history of this league, for the colonial settlers throughout the state had much to do with it. It is supposed to have been formed about the year 1600, and consisted at first of five tribes-the Onon- dagas, Oneidas, Mohawks, Cayugas, and Senecas. Later it re- ceived the Tuscaroras, who came from North Carolina. It was with the Mohawks and Tuscaroras that the white settlers had most to do. These Indians were fierce and aggressive. From the far east to the Mississippi they were known and dreaded by other tribes, none of whom were able to resist them. "I have been told," says Colden, "by old men in New England who re- member the time when the Mohawks made war upon the
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GENERAL HISTORY
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Indians, that, as soon as a single Mohawk was discovered in their country, the Indians raised the cry from hill to hill, ‘A Mohawk! a Mohawk!' upon which they fled like sheep before wolves without attempting to make the least resistance."
The first whites who came in contact with the tribes of this confederacy were the French, who lived in peace with them, and the Indians aided them against the English in the "Old French war" (1754-1763). Later, when the English had tri- umphed over the French, they made friendly treaties with these Indians and thus received their assistance against the rebellious colonists. And so it happened that in the war of the Revolu- tion the English, the Tories and the Indians were combined against the patriots who were fighting for independence. The scattered settlements were almost defenceless against this strong combination of enemies, and all the more so because very many of the best men were enlisted in the colonial army and thus were far from the homes that so much needed them for de- fence. All the horrors of that period resulted from this condi- tion of things, but the Indians, from their standpoint, had a good excuse for making war upon the patriot settlers, for previous to the war they had made a treaty offensive and defensive with the English, and as allies were bound to join them in their war upon the "rebels."
But at the close of the Revolution the poor Indians paid a terrible penalty for being on the wrong side in that struggle. At first the feeling against them was so strong that they came near being destroyed or driven out of the state, but through the influence of Washington and others they were assigned to reser- vations, and measures were taken for their civilization and edu- cation. The few Indians now remaining in the state are the descendants of those fierce warriors of the olden time.
THE FIRST WHITE SETTLEMENTS.
According to Halsey, "white men appear to have been in the upper Susquehanna valley in 1616, or about one hundred and sixty years before the revolution. They came as explorers and then as traders. After them in the next century came mis- sionaries to the Indians. Finally. in 1769, arrived surveyors."*
** The Pioneers of Unadilla Village," by Francis W. Halsey.
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GENERAL HISTORY
The first grant of land to white settlers in this region was made in the year 1738, and consisted of about 8,000 acres, located in the northeast part of the present county of Otsego. It was granted by George Clark, the lieutenant governor of New York, to four men-John Lindesay, Jacob Roseboom, Lenelet Ganesvoort, and Sybrant VanSchaick. The originator and leader of this settlement, Mr. Lindesay, was a Scotchman, a man of wealth and culture. The others, judging from their names, must have been of the old Dutch stock. Their settlement was at Cherry Valley.
These pioneers, with their families, suffered many priva- tions during the first years of their settlement, and in the winter of 1740-41, would have perished but for the assistance of a friendly Mohawk who came to them from the Mohawk valley on snow shoes and, learning their destitute condition, made repeated trips to his home, bringing back provisions. This kindness was the result of Mr. Lindesay's generous treatment of the Indians from the beginning. He had made them his fast friends and received in turn the same kindness that William Penn and all other settlers experienced who were just and friendly to these trusting children of nature.
In 1741 the little settlement was increased by the arrival of five families originally from the north of Ireland. The heads of these families were Rev. Samuel Dunlop, David Ramsay, William Gallt, James Campbell and William Dickson. They added about thirty persons to the community. During the next ten years only four new families came. Mr. Lindesay had re- tired from the settlement, having gone into the military service, and trouble had broken out with the Indians so that progress was retarded by constant fear of an Indian war. In 1762 there were only eight families, and during the French and Indian war it became necessary to build a fort at Cherry Valley, at which a company of soldiers was stationed. But no serious hostilities took place, and at the beginning of the Revolution the settlement numbered three hundred persons.
The town of Edmeston was settled about 1770 by Col. Ed- meston, a former officer of the English army, who received a tract of 10,000 acres for his services in the French war.
Hartwick dates from a grant made to John Christopher Hartwick, in the year 1761.
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GENERAL HISTORY
In Laurens the first settlement was made by Joseph Mayall in 1774.
Middlefield was settled in 1755 by Wm. Cook and others. In 1773 Ebenezer Knapp from Dutchess county settled on But- ternuts creek in the town of Morris.
Increase Thurston and Benjamin Lull settled in New Lis- bon in 1773.
Henry Schramling and families bearing the names of Young and Alger settled in Oneonta township before the Revolution, . but the exact date is not known.
There were several other small settlements within the present limits of the county before the Revolution, as at Milford, Ex- eter, Unadilla, and Richfield Springs; but they assumed no importance until after the war.
OTSEGO COUNTY DURING THE REVOLUTION.
Up to the time of the Revolution the settlers in this region had managed to keep on tolerably good terms with the Indians, but with the outbreak of the war of independence a great change occurred. It was a question which side the Indians would take in the impending conflict. They would perhaps have sided with the colonists or remained neutral had it not been for the oppos- ing influence of one man, Sir William Johnson, who had long been among them as the agent of the British government, and who had dealt very justly with them. This man found means of uniting five of the "Six Nations" against the patriot settlers. The Oneidas, although friendly to the British, refused to fight against the colonies and consequently their territory was ravaged by the tories. Throughout the struggle the Indians, encour- aged by the English loyalists and tories, carried on a merciless warfare against the scattered and feeble settlements of central New York and Pennsylvania.
In July, 1778, occurred the great massacre of Wyoming, a village on the Susquehanna river in Pennsylvania, and in the following November a like fate befell the settlement at Cherry Valley. This latter disaster might have been averted if the warnings given had been promptly heeded by the officer in com- mand of the small garrison stationed at that place, for a fort had been built and all the inhabitants might have been brought within it. But the commander, Col. Alden, seemed to doubt
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GENERAL. HISTORY
ately following the organization of the county in 1791. Be- tween that date and the end of the century, nine years, eleven new townships were formed by subdividing the original ones, viz: Burlington, Butternuts, Exeter, Middlefield, Milford, Pittsfield, Plainfield, Richfield, Springfield, Unadilla, and Worcester. Between 1800 and 1810 seven more townships were formed. viz: Decatur, Edmeston, Hartwick, Laurens, Maryland, New Lisbon, and Westford. Otego was formed in 1822, and Oneonta in 1830. Morris was taken from Butternuts in 1849, and Roseboom from Cherry Valley in 1854.
POPULATION.
The population of Otsego county increased with wonderful rapidity from its organization in 1791 up to about 1830, since which time it has remained nearly stationary, although some of the villages have gained. In 1790 the population of the county was 1,702, in 1800 it was 21,634, in 1810 it was 38,802, in 1820 it was 44, 856, and in 1830 it was 51,372. The largest popula- tion recorded at any census was in 1880, when it was 51,397, or twenty-five more than in 1830. Since then the villages have gained about six thousand, while the rural population has lost more than this number. In 1890 the population was 50,861, and in 1900 it was 48,939.
OTSEGO COUNTY IN THE REBELLION.
Otsego contributed its full quota of men to the union cause. The total number of enlistments credited to the county was 2,925, distributed among 129 regiments in all departments of the service-infantry, cavalry and artillery. The largest pro- portion of Otsego men were found in the 51st, 76th, 121st; and 152d regiments of state infantry, in the 3d cavalry, in the 1st, 2d and 3d artillery, and in the 1st engineer corps. 87 enlisted in the U. S. regular army and 146 in the navy. In addition to these, 526 are recorded as enlisting without mention of the regi- ment or branch of the service to which they were assigned.
The bombardment and capture of Fort Sumter in Charles- ton harbor in April, 1861, was the real beginning of the war. It was immediately followed by the President's call for 75,000 volunteers to defend the government and suppress the rebellion. To this call Otsego made a prompt response. A company
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GENERAL HISTORY
was organized at Cherry Valley of which George W. Tucker- man was captain and Egbert Olcott and Cleveland J. Campbell lieutenants. It was however not quite soon enough to be ac- cepted for that service. Those were days of prompt enlistment, and the required number had been received before the Cherry Valley company reported at Albany. Its members joined other companies a little later.
The next organized movement in the county was also at Cherry Valley, where the 39th regiment of New York State Na- tional Guards had for many years been quartered. In Septem- ber, 1861, this regiment authorized its Colonel, John D. Shaul, to offer its services for the war. The next month Gen. George E. Danforth, the commander of the brigade to which the 39th belonged, came to Cherry Valley and established a military post. The 39th was then recruited and organized for the war to the number of six companies with a total of 500 men. In this in- complete form it was ordered to Albany, and its several com- panies assigned to other regiments, there being no time to wait for it to fill up its ranks and go as a unit. . Two companies, those of Captains E. N. Hanson and N. Bowdish, were trans- ferred to the 3d New York artillery, and those of Captains A. L. Swan, J. E. Cook and J. W. Young to the 76th infantry. The following are brief sketches of some of the regiments that contained Otsego county men :
The Fifty-First. - Company I of this regiment was recruited principally in Otsego county. It saw hard and heroic service both in the east and west. At Antietam the regiment lost ninety-five men in five minutes. At Fredericksburg, in Sum- ner's corps, it lost six color bearers and eighty men. Its flag was the first to wave over Jackson, Miss. Of 1,200 men who went out in this regiment, only 200 returned at the close of the war.
The Seventy-Sixth .- The majority of the men of this regi- ment were from Cortland county, but three companies were from Otsego. Its first commander was Nelson W. Green of Cortland, and the second William P. Wainright, under whose strict discipline it became famous. It served three years and took part in nearly all the great battles in Virginia, especially distinguishing itself and suffering heavy losses at Gainesville, South Mountain and the second Bull Run. At. Gettysburg it formed part of the first army corps under General Reynolds,
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GENERAL HISTORY
aud was in that terrible struggle on Willoughby Run, where on the first day the fate of the army .depended upon holding the position while other divisions moved to take possession of Cemetery Ridge. The 76th went into this action with 348 men and 27 officers, and in half an hour it lost two officers killed and sixteen wounded, 30 men killed and 116 wounded. It was here that General Reynolds was killed. This corps was splen- didly commanded by three men who in succession fell in battle while leading it. viz: Reynolds, at Gettysburg; Wadsworth, in the Wilderness, and Rice at Spottsylvania, all within a single year, and the last named after being in command but two days. On the expiration of three years for which the 76th enlisted, 165 of its members re-enlisted and were transferred to the 147th, an Oswego regiment, with whom they served until the close of the war.
The One Hundred and Twenty-First was recruited in Ot- sego and Herkimer counties. Its first colonel was Hon. Richard Franchot of Morris, and its first Major was Egbert Olcott of Cherry Valley. Its second Colonel was Emory Upton, one of the ablest and bravest officers in the service, a graduate of West Point, and under him the regiment became famous. The rec- ords of the war department credit this regiment with taking part in 25 battles, including Fredericksburg, Gettysburg, The Wilderness, Spottsylvania. Petersburg and the final series of en- gagements that ended with the surrender of Lee and the close of the war. It had 14 officers and 212 men killed in battle, 27 officers and 596 men wounded. On the Gettysburg battlefield has been erected a monument commemorative of the part taken by the 121st in that battle. It is of Quincy granite and bronze, and is surmounted by the figure of a soldier. It bears, besides the historical inscriptions, a bronze medallion of General Emory Upton, life size. This regiment contained 483 Otsego county men.
The One Hundred and Fifty-Second: This regiment, like the 121st, was raised in the twentieth senatorial district, which comprised the counties of Otsego and Herkimer. It was re- cruited at Camp Schuyler across the Mohawk from the village of Herkimer and was mustered into the United States service at that place October 15, 1862. It was immediately sent to Vir- ginia, where it was actively engaged until the close of the war,
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except during the summer of 1863, when it was sent to New York city to aid in the suppression of the draft riots. Its hardest service occurred after General Grant took command of the Army of the Potomac. It was then engaged in the battles of the Wilderness, at Cold Harbor, and at the siege of Petersburg. Its ranks were so much depleted by sickness and losses in battle that at the end of June, 1864, it was reduced to 145 enlisted men and 11 officers. It took part in the final events that resulted in the surrender of General Lee, and on May 2, 1865, it marched through Richmond. It was mustered out July 13th, of that year.
Among its officers from this county were Col. Alonzo Fergu- son of Oneonta, Cleveland J. Campbell of Cherry Valley, adjutant ; George W. Ernst jr. of Otsego, quartermaster; William R. Wall of Springfield, captain ; Elias Young, first lieutenant; and John Land, second lieutenant of Company D; Edmund C. Gilbert of Butternuts, captain, and Josiah Hinds of Otsego, first lieuten- ant of Company G; Uriah B. Kendall of Hartwick, captain ; William R. Patrick, first lieutenant; William I. Hopkins, sec- ond lieutenant of Company H; Alonzo A. Bingham of Otsego, captain ; Charles Hamilton of Roseboom, first lieutenant; Ed- ward W. Butler of Roseboom, second lieutenant of Company I. The regiment belonged to the first brigade, second division, second army corps, under the command of General Warren. Of its men, over 400 were from Otsego county.
The Third Cavalry, called the "VanAllen Cavalry," in honor of its first Colonel, was composed of men from Otsego, Delaware, Schoharie, and other counties. Its second commander was Colonel Simon H. Mix, one of the best officers in the ser- vice, who was killed in an engagement on the Weldon railroad. This regiment did good service around Richmond and in North Carolina. It contained 143 men from Otsego county. In July. 1865, it was consolidated with the 1st Mounted Rifles, and des- ignated as the "Fourth Provisional Cavalry."
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