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Go 974.701 M26s 1127727
REYNOLDS HISTORICAL GENEALOGY COLLECTION
MITODLIC LIDKARY
3 1833 01177 7403
Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2015
https://archive.org/details/ourcountryitspeo00smit_0
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OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE
A
DESCRIPTIVE AND BIOGRAPHICAL RECORD OF
MADISON COUNTY
NEW YORK
EDITED BY
JOHN E. SMITH
974.701 M 265
THE BOSTON HISTORY COMPANY, PUBLISHERS 1 $80 1899
79 10383 5
1127727
INTRODUCTORY.
It is not thought by the editor or the publishers of this work that apology is demanded for either its production or its character. While attempts have been made in past years towards placing in permanent form the interesting history of Madison county and its immediate vi- cinity, it is generally conceded that such attempts, although quite worthy in some of their features, have not as a whole resulted satisfac- torily. In undertaking the preparation of a work bearing the title, "Our County and Its People," as a successor to such books of local history as previously have been issued, the editor and his assistants clearly realized their position and the burden of responsibility they were assuming. It was fully comprehended that if a favorable verdict was expected from readers it could be secured with nothing less than a publication that would stand as the best of its kind, containing a com- plete, comprehensive and reasonably correct historical and biographical record of the county. An earnest and painstaking effort has been made by all who have shared in this task to reach that high standard. It remains with the public to determine how far the effort has been suc- cessful.
To those whose ancestors settled and have long dwelt in this locality; who have figured in its memorable historical incidents or shared in its important events; who have watched the growth and contributed to the welfare of the community; who have aided in developing its insti- tutions, in clearing and making productive its lands, and in founding its institutions, the skillfully told history of the region will have a pe- culiar interest and charm. Events and objects long familiar, perhaps, gain a new and more vivid fascination when the story of their creation or occurrence is placed upon the printed page, possibly linking them closely with vastly more momentous events of early times. The often rehearsed story of a local battle ground is read with renewed interest by one who learns that his neighbor's sire or grandsire there shed his
iv
INTRODUCTORY.
blood. A road so often traveled that its every feature is permanently pictured in the mind, becomes more than a familiar highway when the reader learns its history as an Indian trail, or that his immediate an- cestors laid it out through the primeval forest. The very hills and valleys and streams assume a new and more interesting aspect when the historical record peoples them with the men and women of long ago. These are facts which enhance the value of all properly prepared local history and biography, through which the reader is made ac- quainted with the past of his dwelling place, and in which are preserved records that no community can afford to lose.
Local history bears to general history a similar relation to that of a microscopical examination and one made with the naked eye. The former must take cognizance of a multitude of minute details which of necessity must be passed over in the latter. Minor facts of little value in themselves often assume great importance when considered with their attendant circumstances and surroundings. It is the gathering, compilation and arrangement of these many minor details that de- mand patience, time and skill. Descriptions of local events, unless of paramount importance, frequently went unrecorded in early years, thus doubling the task of obtaining them at the present time. The placing on record of hundreds of dates and thousands of names is alone an arduous task and one demanding the utmost watchfulness and care to avoid error. Harsh criticism will, therefore, be tempered with mild- ness by the fair-minded reader who may find a single error among a myriad of correct statements.
While the history of Madison county as a civil division of the State of New York extends less than a century into the past, it is replete with interest, and events of great importance took place within its lim- its, or near at hand, before the county itself was organized. On the other hand, it largely escaped the horrors of Indian warfare that char- acterized the greater part of the Mohawk valley. This was due to a great extent to the friendliness of the Oneida nation of the Iroquois, who inhabited its territory. Their nature was less savage than that of the other Five Nations and they remained to a great extent loyal to the white settlers. For this reason, and also because the subject was long ago exhausted in many interesting volumes, only brief space has been devoted to that subject. The same is true of the Revolutionary war and the war of 1812, the immediate consequences of which, as far as actual hostilities were concerned, affected the territory of Madison
V
INTRODUCTORY.
county but little. It was thought that the space that might have been given to these memorable struggles was more valuable for history more deeply imbued with local color.
In the preparation of this volume it was not expected that very much new material would be discovered. The historical field has been many times worked over, though frequently in a fragmentary or disconnected manner, or in parts of other volumes. The dominant purpose has been to so complete and arrange the story of the settlement and the later development of the locality as to give the reader a continuous narration, as far as consistent, and save him the task of searching through many incomplete volumes in scattered libraries for what he may here find in more concise form. Chronological sequence has been preserved in preference to a general classification of subjects, in the belief that through this method the reader will be better enabled to follow the course of events as a whole. This plan has been followed even to the insertion in the body of the work of records of most of the settlements and early events in the various towns and villages of the county, leav- ing for treatment in the final gazetteer of towns only some of the fea- tures of modern development and present conditions. Separate chap- ters have been given to only those broader and more important subjects of the professions-legal, medical, educational, etc.
It is impossible to perform the otherwise pleasant task of expressing gratitude to the many persons who have given substantial aid during the preparation of this work. Especially is this true of the many hun- dreds of heads of families who have made it possible to gather the mul- titude of biographical records included in the third part of the volume, which constitutes a valuable and interesting part of the work. In these records no effort has been spared to preserve to posterity a mass of biographical material in which is told the story of the heroic and unselfish efforts of the fathers and the sons and daughters for the de- velopment of Madison county in every direction. The reader will find it profitable to read these sketches in connection with the general history, thus being enabled to arrive at a just estimate of the work as a whole.
In relation to these sketches it is proper to say that the majority of them are devoted to families who have supported the work. To have attempted the gathering of records of every family in the county would clearly have been impossible, while any effort to discriminate by arbi- trarily selecting from among living residents those who might be con-
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INTRODUCTORY.
sidered " prominent," would have been still more impossible and prob- ably would have led to much ill feeling. Thus, those who are paying for and will read this work are afforded an opportunity to preserve in a permanent manner some form of personal sketch. The data for the preparation of these sketches has been largely gathered by agents of the publishers and a type-written copy of every one has been sent to subscribers for correction.
In expressing gratitude for aid to editor and publishers, it will not be considered invidious to especially mention Prof. Ralph W. Thomas for his carefully prepared history of Colgate University. A few of the many others who have shown a personal interest in the work are Paul S. Maine, county clerk; Prof. I. N. Clements, of Cazenovia; Hiram L. Rockwell, of Oneida; Alexander M. Holmes, of Morrisville; Peter Walrath, Milton De Lano, of Canastota (town of Lenox), and Luke McHenry of the town of Sullivan; H. T. Spooner and O. S. Gorton, of Brookfield; James Kennedy, of Stockbridge; M. N. Campbell, of Lebanon; Merritt Lyon, of Nelson; G. C. White, of Madison; M. L. Dennison, of Smithfield; Warren W. Ames, of De Ruyter; Warren Brown, of Hamilton, and others.
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER I.
DESCRIPTIVE OF THE SUBJECT 1-14
CHAPTER II.
INDIAN OCCUPATION AND EARLY WARS 14-25
CHAPTER III.
FIRST SETTLEMENT-TRAILS AND ROADS
25-30
CHAPTER IV.
ERECTION OF THE COUNTY, TOWN FORMATION AND EARLY SETTLEMENTS 31-50
CHAPTER V.
FURTHER TOWN SETTLEMENT AND IMPROVEMENT 50-64
CHAPTER VI.
TOWN FORMATION AND SETTLEMENT CONTINUED
65-88
CHAPTER VII.
FURTHER TOWN FORMATION AND SETTLEMENT 88-105
CHAPTER VIII.
FURTHER TOWN FORMATION AND SETTLEMENT
105-135
CHAPTER IX.
SETTLEMENT AND ORGANIZATION OF LENOX, FENNER AND GEORGETOWN 136-157
viii
CONTENTS. CHAPTER X.
GENERAL PROGRESS IN THE COUNTY 158-173
CHAPTER XI.
THE CANAL AND RAILROAD ERA 173-190
CHAPTER XII.
POLITICAL CHANGES-THE CIVIL WAR PERIOD 190-206
CHAPTER XIII.
PROGRESS OF IMPROVEMENT IN TOWNS-EATON 207-222
CHAPTER XIV.
PROGRESS OF IMPROVEMENT IN TOWNS CONTINUED-CAZE-
NOVIA 223-245
CHAPTER XV.
PROGRESS OF IMPROVEMENT IN TOWNS CONTINUED-HAM-
ILTON 246-270
CHAPTER XVI.
PROGRESS OF IMPROVEMENT IN TOWNS CONTINUED-LENOX_270-316
CHAPTER XVII.
PROGRESS OF IMPROVEMENT IN TOWNS CONTINUED-SUL-
LIVAN 317-337
CHAPTER XVIII.
PROGRESS OF IMPROVEMENT IN TOWNS CONTINUED - DE RUYTER AND GEORGETOWN 338-355
CHAPTER XIX.
PROGRESS OF IMPROVEMENT IN TOWNS CONTINUED-BROOK- FIELD AND LEBANON 355-374
CHAPTER XX.
PROGRESS OF IMPROVEMENT IN TOWNS CONTINUED-MAD- ISON AND NELSON 374-389
ix
CONTENTS.
CHAPTER XXI.
PROGRESS OF IMPROVEMENT IN TOWNS CONTINUED-SMITH- FIELD AND FENNER 389-401
CHAPTER XXII.
PROGRESS OF IMPROVEMENT IN TOWNS CONTINUED-STOCK- BRIDGE 402-409
CHAPTER XXIII.
GENERAL COUNTY HISTORY FROM 1865 TO 1899 410-421
CHAPTER XXIV.
EDUCATIONAL INSTITUTIONS OF MADISON COUNTY 422-467
CHAPTER XXV.
THE JUDICIARY AND BAR OF MADISON COUNTY 467-530
CHAPTER XXVI.
THE MEDICAL SOCIETIES AND PROFESSION 530-538
CHAPTER XXVII.
GAZETTEER OF TOWNS
539-622
PART II.
BIOGRAPHICAL 623-649
PART III.
PERSONAL REFERENCES 1-208
INDEXES:
209-234
GENERAL
BIOGRAPHICAL 234
PERSONAL REFERENCES 234-238
PORTRAITS AND ILLUSTRATIONS 239
x
CONTENTS.
PORTRAITS AND ILLUSTRATIONS.
Chapman, Benjamin Franklin facing 632
Chappell, C. Will, facing 302
Childs, Perry G., facing 503
Coolidg, James, facing 380
Ensign, George H., facing 639
Farnam, Stephen H., facing 644
Forbes, Gerrit A., facing 501
Hickox, W. Jerome, facing 641
Hubbard, Calvin, facing 268
Miller, Edgar Lake, Dr. facing 642
Payne, Elisha, facing 556
Smith, Gerrit,
facing 392
Smith, John E.,
facing 646
Ten Eyck, Henry, facing 648
Map, Outline, showing Madison
County and The Gore, facing 3 Map of Fortification at Wood Creek 17 Map, Old, of Central New York, facing Map, Outline, of Madison County,. previous to the division of Lenox in 1896, facing Map, showing Subdivision of Lenox in 1896 facing 286
26
32
Muller Mansion, The,
147
OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.
CHAPTER I. -
DESCRIPTIVE OF THE SUBJECT.
The State of New York was originally divided into ten counties, named as follows: Albany, Dutchess, Kings, New York, Orange, Queens, Richmond, Suffolk, Ulster, and Westchester. These counties were erected November 1, 1683. On the 12th of March, 1772, Mont- gomery county was created from Albany county under the name of "Tryon," and included nearly the whole of the central and western parts of the State. The name of Tryon county was changed to Mont- gomery in 1784, in honor of the American hero who fell at Quebec. From Montgomery county on February 16, 1791, was erected Herkimer county, and on the same date Tioga county was created. From these two civil divisions, which then included a vast extent of territory, was erected Chenango county on the 15th of March, 1798. From Chenango county, Madison was set off on the 21st of March, 1806. The bound- aries of the county remained substantially as originally defined until 1836, when that part of Stockbridge lying east of Oneida Creek was annexed to Oneida county. Madison county was named in honor of James Madison, fourth president of the United States.
In the course of the events that led to the acquirement of New York State lands from the Indians a treaty was held at Fort Stanwix (Rome), November 5, 1768, at which the east boundary of the Indian domain was fixed on a line extending from a point on Wood Creek, near the mouth of Canada Creek, to the headwaters of the Unadilla, down that stream to its mouth, and thence south to the Pennsylvania line. This boundary was known as the Line of Property. Until after the close of the Revolutionary war, in 1783, the territory of Madison county was a part of the Indian domain lying west of this line, Another treaty was
1
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OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.
held at Fort Stanwix October 22, 1784, at which the Iroquois ceded to the Federal government a large portion of the lands lying west of the line of property; but with this we have little to do in this volume. By treaties made by the State of New York in 1785 and 1788, the Indian title to the major part of the two counties of Madison and Chenango (the latter then including the territory set off later for the former county) was extinguished; in 1795 other portions of the Oneida Reser- vation in Madison county were ceded to the State.
On June 28, 1785, Gov. George Clinton, in behalf of the State, made a treaty with the Oneidas and Tuscaroras by which the State was to pay those Indians $11,500 in goods and money, for the cession of terri- tory bounded as follows :
Beginning at the mouth of the Unadilla or Tianaderha river, where the same empties into the Susquehanna; thence up the said Unadilla or Tianaderha river ten miles, measured on a straight line; thence due west to the Chenango river; thence southerly down the Chenango river to where it empties into the Susquehanna river, and to the line commonly called the line of property, established at a treaty held at Fort Stanwix in the year 1768; thence along the said line to the place of beginning.
By this treaty the State acquired the territory in Chenango county lying south of the south line of the town of Norwich and east of the Chenango River, which was soon after sold to patentees and is without further special interest here. At the great treaty held by Governor Clinton on September 22, 1788, at Fort Schuyler (Utica), all of the lands then owned by the Indian nations taking part in the treaty, ex- cepting certain reservations, were ceded to the State. Under an act of the State Legislature, passed February 25, 1789, the surveyor-general, Simeon Dewitt, directed the survey in the lands acquired by the last named treaty and lying just north of those acquired by the treaty of 1785, of twenty townships, each of which was to be five hundred chains square as nearly as circumstances would permit and subdivided into four equal sections and into lots of 250 acres each. These townships were to be numbered consecutively from one to twenty, and the lots from one to one hundred. In each township two lots were to be re- served lying near to the center of the town, one of which was to be designated as the gospel lot and the other the school lot; these were to be used for the advancement of religion and education.
This survey was finished in 1790, and the Commissioners of the Land Office were then empowered to select five of the choicest of these twenty townships which were to be sold only for gold or silver, or to
HERKIMER COUNTY
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--
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ONEIDA COUNTY.
1
OTSEGO CO.
1
DELAWARE CO.
1
1
1
I
MADISON COUNTY
FYOD JHL
1
ONONDAGA COUNTY.
CORTLAND CO.
1
1
BROOME CO
M2
91
11
Outline Map showing Madison County and The Gore,
CHENANGO COUNTY
OneLda Lake.
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3
DESCRIPTIVE OF THE SUBJECT.
redeem certain bonds which the State had issued in the form of bills of credit. The commissioners were to fix the price of these five town- ships at such figures as would effect a ready sale and secure as large a revenue as possible to the State. The minimum price which could be accepted by them was three shillings per acre. After proper public notice of the sale was made as directed in the newspapers of Albany and New York, it took place in the latter city. Not many purchasers were in attendance and the valuable lands fell mainly into the hands of speculators at low prices, who immediately advanced the price to twenty shillings an acre. This tract has ever since been most famil. iarly known as the Chenango Twenty Townships, and sometimes as the Governor's Purchase. It extends in general terms from the Unadilla on the east to the Gore (described a little further on) on the west, and from the north lines of Smithville, Oxford and Guilford (Chenango county), to the south lines of Fenner, Smithfield and Stockbridge (Madison county), and Augusta and Marshall (Oneida county). In the effort to make the township lines straight, several small angular pieces of land were left bordering the Unadilla.
The origin of the Gore was as follows: It was at first believed that the Twenty Townships extended west to the east line of the Military Tract' (now the east line of Onondaga county), but owing to error in fixing the point of departure and to variation in the compass, there was left between the west line of the Twenty Townships and the Military Tract a long strip of land extending north and south the entire length of the Twenty Townships, and slightly wider at the north than at the south end. The accompanying outline diagram shows clearly the terri- tory of the Twenty Townships and of the Gore enclosed in the black lines, with the territory of Madison, Chenango and other counties in the dotted lines. For a number of years the Twenty Townships were spoken of by their numbers more frequently than by the names of towns; but this custom has largely fallen into disuse. For convenience of ref- erence the following list gives the names by which the towns are now known, with the numbers by which they were originally designated :
Township No. 1 is now known as Nelson, in Madison county.
2
3
66
Eaton, "
Madison,
1 The Military Tract included the territory of Onondaga, Cayuga, Seneca, Cortland, and parts of Wayne, Steuben and Oswego counties. It was set apart for the payment of land boun- ties to Revolutionary soldiers, under State and United States laws.
4
OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.
Township No. 4 is now known as Hamilton, Madison county.
5
6
7
66
Otselic, Chenango
66
8
9
10
66
66 11
12
Pharsalia,
66
“ 13
McDonough,
60
“ 15
" 16
66
66
New Berlin,
60
" 17
66
Columbus,
66
66
" 18
66
Brookfield, Madison
" 19
66
66
66
" 20
66
66
Sangerfield, Oneida 60
From this list it is seen that eight of the original townships were in what became Madison county; but as Brookfield included two of the numbers of townships, only seven of the present towns of Madison county were included in the original twenty. In that part of the Gore which is included in Madison county are the towns of De Ruyter and the southern and larger part of Cazenovia. The number of acres in each of the eight townships that became a part of Madison county, as shown in the patents, was as follows:
No. 1, Nelson
27,187 acres.
No. 2, Eaton 28,245 66
No. 3, Madison -24,624
No. 4, Hamilton 24,400
No. 5, Lebanon
26,200
No. 6, Georgetown
24,384
66
No. 18, Brookfield
22,565 66 No. 19, 20,750
60 Lebanon,
60
Georgetown, “
Smyrna,
Sherburne,
66
66
66
N.Norwich,
66
Plymouth,
66
14
Preston,
Norwich,
66
66
That part of Madison county lying north of the Twenty Townships and the Gore was reserved to the Oneida Indians in the cession of 1788, but a large part of it was acquired by the State in 1795. Later pur- chases, the last of which was made in 1840, reduced the once princely domain of the Oneidas to a pitifully small tract, according to the per- sistent custom of the State and Federal authorities in dealing with the
5
DESCRIPTIVE OF THE SUBJECT.
natives. In 1840 the Oneidas ceded all of their lands held in common, and received individual portions.
This ceded territory was divided into large tracts, the principal one of which was the New Petersburgh Tract, which was leased of the In- dians in 1794, for a term of 999 years, by Peter Smith, from whom the tract took its name. The lease covered 50,000 acres and included nearly all of the territory of Smithfield and Fenner, that part of Caze- novia lying north of the Gore, a part of Stockbridge, and a large part of Augusta in Oneida county. This tract was included in the cession of 1795. Considerable of the eastern part of the tract had been leased to settlers by Mr. Smith previous to the extinguishment of the Indian title, the leases being for twenty-one years. In 1797 the Legislature made provision to grant patents to persons holding these leases, on their payment of $3.5312 per acre. In consideration of Mr. Smith's holding his lease from the Indians, he was allowed a reduction on the 22,2901/2 acres not leased by him, which made it cost him about $2 per acre. The Petersburgh Tract was divided into four allotments, the first of which contained seventy-four lots, fifty-five of which were in Augusta (Oneida county), fourteen in Stockbridge, and five in Smith- field. The patents to lessees covered parts of this allotment, which thereafter ceased to be considered as part of the New Petersburgh Tract.
The Canastota Tract included ninety-one lots in the town of Lenox and extended from Oneida Lake on the north to within half a mile of the Seneca Turnpike on the south. In 1805, while it was still a part of Chenango county, 10,000 acres, the major part of the tract, was appro- priated as a substitute for the gospel and school lands in the Chenango Twenty Towns, the proceeds of which had been without authority ap- propriated to the State funds.
The Cowasselon Tract was purchased from the State in 1797 by Dr. Enoch Leonard. It comprises twenty-five lots lying in two tiers in the north part of Fenner between the Chittenango and the Cowasselon Creeks. From the fact that the tract is a mile wide it has been called, also, the Mile Strip. This was a cession from the Oneida Reservation.
Various other tracts have been ceded from time to time in the towns of Lenox, Stockbridge and Sullivan. Among them are the East Hill Tract and the West Hill Tract in Stockbridge, the former including fifty and the latter forty-two lots. Also the Mile Strip, the Oneida Creek Tract, and the New Guinea Tract in the same town, all ceded on
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OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.
different dates between 1822 and 1830. The Two-Mile Strip of twenty- four lots, in four tiers, two of which are in the west part of Lenox and two in the east part of Sullivan, the south line being the same as the south line of those towns. To the west of this tract are six lots com- monly known as West-of-Two-Mile Strip; also a tract of eight lots north of Two-Mile Strip; the Bell Tract of fourteen lots, purchased by an Englishman named Bell, extending along both sides of the Central Railroad from Canaseraga Creek to Chittenango Creek; the Forty Rod Strip, lying north of the Bell Tract, bought of the State by Jonas Fay ; and the Varrick Location, purchased of the State by Richard Varrick of New York. The last three tracts are in the town of Sullivan. As settlement in the various parts of the county progressed these tracts were subdivided and sold to purchasers for homestead improvement.
An act was passed by the Legislature relative to the sale of State lands, which was amended by another passed March 22, 1791, under which the following applications were recorded and endorsed as ac- cepted, which bear relation to these townships:
Leonard M. Cutting applied for No. 15, containing 25,000 acres, at the rate of three shillings and one farthing per acre, the first payment of 600 pounds to be made before October 1, 1791, and the remainder in two equal payments, the last one by the 1st of February, 1794. He further applied for Nos. 11 and 14, containing 50,000 acres, at three shillings and three pence per acre, one-sixth to be paid October 1, 1791, and the remainder in two equal payments, made April 1, 1792, and January 1, 1793.
James Tallmadge and Ezra Thompson applied for No. 10, containing 25,000 acres, at the rate of three shillings per acre, payments to be made the same as on Nos. 11 and 14, above noticed.
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