USA > New York > Jefferson County > A history of Jefferson County in the state of New York, from the earliest period to the present time > Part 47
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" I was in childhood at the commencement of the revolution- ary war, and at its close had just arrived at that age which enti- tled me to shoulder my musket-an age alive to all the interest- ing events of the day. Being a son of a revolutionary patriot, who was a member of the state legislature, I had an opportunity of acquiring considerable political information, for many years, as well as inhaling that spirit of patriotism which was charac- teristic of the times. The same spirit which actuated our ancestors, in acquiring the privileges we enjoy, is as essen - tial to their continuance as it was to their attainment, therefore youth of this country can not be too often reminded of the hard- ships and trials of various kinds, which their forefathers endured, and through which they are now enjoying the richest temporal blessings Heaven has in store for man.".
Mr. Hopkins often wrote poetry with much taste and fluency, several pieces of which still exist; but although meritorious, he never allowed them to go beyond the sacred precincts of the family circle. He first engaged in manufactures, among which was that of silver-plated shoe buckles, which soon came into general use. In 1803, he married at Hartford, but his wife dying soon after, he' spent five years in speculating in the West Indies. After his return, he married his cousin ( a grand-daughter of Samuel Hopkins, D. D., the celebrated divine of Newport, R. I.), who is still living in Vermont.
In 1805, he was appointed an agent for Henderson; where, after various success, and, as he claimed, ill usage from Mr. Hen- derson, he was ultimately unfortunate. In the settlement of that town he evinced great public spirit, and devotion to the settlers, and the public generally, and contributed largely from his own means towards measures tending to the general welfare. Per- haps his greatest error arose from the tenacity with which he adhered to his federal creed, and opposed any military, or naval operations in Henderson Harbor, which would have given that place an importance that it will now scarcely attain. This
* Patriot's Manual, embracing stirring and revolutionary topics.
435
Orville Hungerford.
sacrifice of interest to, principle was characteristic of the man. He erected a fine seat at the head of the bay, commanding a a prospect of unrivaled beauty; and during all the reverses of an eventful life he was characterized by a remarkable ambition, and energy of character, which never seemed daunted or lessened, even by the infirmities of age. He died at Henderson, in the 71st year of his age.
DYER HUNTINGTON, the second son of William Huntington, an early and prominent citizen of Watertown, was born in Ches- hire County, N. H. In January, 1804. he removed to Watertown with his father, being then 18 years of age. He died in August, 1851. He was an active and efficient member of society; fore- most in measures of public utility, and exemplary in the varied relations of life which he sustained.
ORVILLE HUNGERFORD was born in Farmington, October 2?, 1790. He removed with his father's family to Oneida Count r, and in the spring of 1804, to Watertown. He soon after com- menced a clerkship in Judge Foster's store, at Burrville, and in 1807 or 1808 removed with him to Watertown, and afterwards became a partner under the firm of Foster & Hungerford. This firm was extensively engaged in supplying, upon contract, pro- visions to the United States Army at Sackets Harbor during the war. In 1815, he commenced mercantile business by himself, and continued in trade till 1842. In 1842, he was elected to congress, and represented the 19th district in our national le- gislature four years. At an early period in the history of Jeffer- son County Bank, he became a stockholder, and was concerned in its management for many years, as cashier and president. In 1847, he was nominated by the democratic party for the office of comptroller, but was defeated, the vote being as follows:
Jefferson County.
State.
For O. Hungerford, 4,463. For O Hungerford, 136,027;
For Millard Fillmore, 3,893. For Millard Fillmore, 174,756.
For Lewis Tappan, 489. For Lewis Tappan, 10,408.
The result of this election was doubtless produced by the dif- ficulties that at that time distracted the democratic party in the state.
In the promotion of the rail road from Rome to Cape Vincent, Mr. Hungerford engaged with great ardor, laboring with a zeal and energy that knew no weariness or discouragement, and the citizens of Jefferson County will ever have reason to be grateful to his memory for the efficiency of his efforts. He held the first office of president of the company at the time of his death, which occurred April 6, 1851, after a short but severe illness of twelve days.
436
Perley Keyes.
His character has thus been summed up by the editor of the New York Reformer.
" As a man of business he was prompt, decided, active, and correct. His judgment was clear and sound, and he possessed the faculty of obtaining for his plans the entire confidence of his business associates. If in his private affairs he was exact, he was rigidly honest. No deceit or guile ever found utterance, but manful uprightness, characterized all his transactions. As a politician, he was conservative, shrewd, and calculating; a man of but few words, but many thoughts. The democratic party achieved many victories under his leadership, and were beaten but seldom. His plans were carefully laid and vigorously exe- cuted, his influence was exercised without effort, and he con- trolled without being felt. In his private character, he was exemplary, generous and friendly. In his public bestow- ments, munificent. Institutions of learning received liberal en- dowments from his generosity."
While in congress, he was appointed at the first session of his first term on the committee of Revolutionary Pensions, and on Accounts, and the business tact, and ability which he displayed, raised him high in the estimation of his associates, and at the next session, he was placed on that most important of committees, that of Ways and Means, where he fully sustained the reputation he had acquired, that of being a thorough business man. In all the domestic and social relations of his life, his deportment was highly exemplary, and at his death, meetings of the citizens of Watertown, of directors of the Jefferson County Bank, of the rail road company, and the associations of which he was a mem- ber were held, to testify their sorrow for his death and to extend their sympathies to his bereaved family.
PERLEY KEYES, was born in Acworth, New Hampshire, Feb- ruary 24, 1774. At the age of fifteen he left the paternal roof, and with his elder brother, Frederick, repaired to Saratoga County, New York, and engaged in lumbering on the North River. After some time he returned to New Hampshire, was married November 20, 1796, and in 1799 left Acworth for Mont- real, from whence he proceeded to Kingston, and thence to Rutland, where he settled and resided several years. In the fall of 1809, having been appointed sheriff, he removed to Water- town, where he afterwards lived. Being almost without the advantages of early education, but endowed with a native strength of mind and clearness of judgment, he soon acquired the confidence of the republican party, of which he was the ardent supporter, and held successively the offices of magistrate, judge of the county court, sheriff, collector of customs at Sackets Harbor; was twice elected to the state senate, and in 1813 and
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ORVILLE HUNGERFORD.
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Engraved for the History of Jefferson County N.Y. by Franklin 3 How
439
Colonel Edmund Kirby.
in 1814 was a member of the council of appointment. His active political course made him obnoxious to the opposite party, who, from his influence among his own, named him the king; but among his political friends he was warmly esteemed. The estimate they formed of his character, will be seen in the follow- ing extract from a letter from Silas Wright, Jr., A. C Flagg, E. Croswell and William L. Marcy, to Martin Van Buren, dated Albany, March 15, 1830, recommending him for the office of Governor of Wisconsin Territory, then about to be erected:
"The political activity and firmness of Judge Keyes, for a long series of years, and indeed during his whole life of political action, has been only equaled by the remarkable clearness and force of his native mind. In this state, there are few inen whose services for his friends in our heated and frequent conflicts, are to be remembered with more gratitude or less of regret than his. We are fully sensible that by his undeviating attachment to his party and his friends, he has incurred to a marked de- gree the hostility of our political enemies, and that all his private as well as public acts have been the subject of scrutiny as persecuting as it has been unprincipled. But the best evidence which could be offered in his favor, is the fact, that during and in the midst of the most bitter of his political persecutions, he has been repeatedly returned to our legisla- ture, and twice to the highest branch of it. and from a district where the best republican candidates had often failed of their election. * We do not urge him as a man learned in books, but when we say what your own observation has often proved to you, that he has never been a member of our legislature without gaining an influence equal to that of any fellow member, and that he has at the expiration of every term left that body with a public character for talents and sagacity perceptibly raised, and with a hold upon the feelings of his political friends decided- ly strengthened, we can not fear accusations of want of capacity for the office we ask for him. We know him to be a plain, unassuming farmer, with a mere country education. But when with these limited advanta- ges, he has proved himself more than equal to his associates in public life, the inference would seem to follow, that he can not be so profoundly ignorant as to disgrace those who repose confidence in him. He is in truth a plain, unlearned man, but with a sound, strong mind, and in the practical exercise of an unusual share of common sense. These are qualifications without which learning is of little use, and with which a moderate share of learning may make a very respectable and a very use- ful ınan."
An apopletic stroke prevented his applying for this office. He died at Watertown, May 13, 1834.
EDMUND KIRBY was a son of Ephraim Kirby, an officer in the revolution, a member of the order of Cincinnati, and afterwards Judge of the Supreme Court of Connecticut. He was born at Litchfield, Conn., April 18, 1794, and entered the army in 1812 as lieutenant, and served during the war upon the northern and western frontiers. From 1815 to 1820, he was stationed at Detroit, and in the latter year he joined Major General Brown at Brownville, as an aid-de-camp. From 1821 to 1823, he dis-
440
Colonel Edmund Kirby.
charged the duties of adjutant general at Washington, and in 1824, was appointed to the pay department, and again took post at Brownville. From 1832 to 1840, he was engaged in the Black Hawk, Creek and Seminole wars, in which he was actively employed, as well in the fulfillment of his duty, as the exercise of humanity to the sick and wounded, for whom he voluntarily en- countered many dangers. During the Mexican War, he was chief of the pay department, and disbursed many millions of dol- lars. A volunteer aid to General Taylor at the storming of Monterey, and in like capacity to General Scott at Vera Cruz, Cerro Gordo, Contreras, Cherubusco, Chepultepec and the Mex- ican Capital, he was ever distinguished for courage, bravery, and devotion to his country's cause.
Returning with health impaired, from hardships of a war in a tropical climate, he was received by the citizens of Jefferson County with demonstrations of regard, as sincere as they were deserved, but the seeds of disease had been too deeply planted in his constitution, and he died at Avon Springs, New York, whither he had resorted for relief, on the 20th of August, 1849. His remains were brought back to Brownville and interred in the village cemetery with military honors, and a plain but durable shaft of Quincy granite, has been placed to his memory. It is about eight feet high, and bears the following inscription:
WEST SIDE-"Col. Edmuud Kirby, Born in Litchfield, Conn., April 18, 1846, died at Avon Springs, N. Y., of disease con- tracted during the Mexican War."
NORTH SIDE-" War of 1812, Black Hawk War."
SOUTH SIDE-" Creek War, Mexican War."
In the various relations of private life, Col. Kirby evinced those traits that elevate and adorn the human character, and the citizens of Jefferson County, will long remember with gratitude the aid and encouragement which they received from him in promoting an interest in agriculture, manufactures, and internal improve- ments, to which he was zealously devoted during many years of residence among them. The Agricultural Society received his cordial support, and he was one of the founders and an extensive owner of the manufacturing village of Dexter. He married a daughter of Major General Brown, and subsequently purchased his family estate in the village of Brownville, which is still owned by his heirs.
The executive committee of the Agricultural Society have re- corded the following tribute to his memory .*
" It is with feelings of deep regret and sorrow that we drop any names from our roll of brotherhood. One however has fallen from our midst the present season. Col. EDMUND KIRBY is one
"Transactions of the State Agricultural Society, 1849, p. 507.
441
J. Le Ray de Chaumont.
of those honored names that should not be forgotten. In 1843 he was elected president of this society, and ever felt a deep in- terest in its advancement. His private virtues are written in our hearts; his public deeds will bear the scrutiny of all who shall peruse the pages of their country's history. We are justly proud of him as a member of this fraternity, as our countryman, and as a member of our community. He was one of us, and no interest of ours was of small moment to his benevolent heart. As regards our present prosperity, like the patriach of old, he desired to see our day; he saw it and was glad. He has fallen full of honors, and lamented especially by those who shared the ho- nor of his acquaintance and friendship. And fellow citizens when we have labored long and faithfully for the advancement of the interests of our country, our common country, may we die as he died-at peace with God and all the world."
JAMES DONATIEN LE RAY DE CHAUMONT was born November 13, 1760, at Chaumont, on the Loire, between Blois and Tours. He was educated partly in his family by a preceptress, and partly at the celebrated college of Juilly, near Paris. When he left this, he found himself in the circles of Paris, and of the court, which the birth, and official places of his father gave him a right to enter. He was seduced by neither; and his views were early bent towards serious subjects, by the course which his father pur- sued with regard to American affairs. The commissioners sent by the united colonies, could not be received openly by the French Court. M. de Chaumont, Sen., espousing warmly the cause of American Independence, determined to abandon public life (al- though at that moment his friend and neighbor in the country, the Duc de Choiseul, offered him a seat in the ministry which he was about forming), in order, as a private individual, to serve as intermediary between the government and the commissioners. He lent to them a house situated in his park at Passy, and Franklin particularly occupied it several years. From that house were writ- ten all his letters dated Passy. This created a great and agreeable intimacy between the American Philosopher and M. de Chau- mont's family. Young M. de C. improved this to learn English and acquaint himself with American affairs. His father gave more substantial aid to the Americans. He sent a cargo of powder to Boston to the care of the French consul general, Mr. Holker, to whom he wrote to claim nothing, if the Americans were not successful. He afterwards sent large equipments to La Fayette's army, and in various ways consecrated a great part of his large fortune to the American cause. He equipped ships to join Paul Jones' squadron, and was appointed by the French and American Governments to superintend the equipment and management of the combined fleet. His son went with him to
442
J. Le Ray de Chaumont.
L'Orient on that business, and seconded him throughout the ex- pedition.
But these high advances required the settlement of accounts, which the different currencies of the states, the depreciation of the paper money, &c., rendered difficult and complicated. M. de Chaumont, then (1785) only 25 years of age, saw that this business required personal attention. He obtained, with great diffi- culty, from his father, leave to go to America. He tore himself from the seductions of the most elegant court of Europe, and even from the prospect of a brilliant marriage, and sailed for America. Franklin, whose friendship and esteem he had gained, in a high degree, gave him warm letters. All his energy, and early-dis- played talents, however, could not master so many impediments. Year after year, he was detained by new difficulties. Franklin helped him with all his power. It was not, however, until 1790 that he could obtain a settlement, and he arrived in France just in time to save his father from the most painful consequences of these long delays.
During this stay in America, M. de Chaumont became ac- quainted with the first men there, and particularly with two, who had a great influence upon his subsequent course. One was Count de La Forest, consul general of France; the other, Gouver- neur Morris. They both spoke to him with great warmth of the great speculations, which might be made, in wild lands, in the state of New York. He bought, with the former, a small tract in Otsego County, where he built the first saw mill, and where he sent, as his agent, the celebrated Judge Cooper, father of the great writer. With Gouverneur Morris he made large purchases in the state of New York. In 1790, having lately married a daughter of Charles Coxe, Esq., of New Jersey, he returned to France with his wife. He had previously been naturalized. After having been most painfully engaged in endeavoring to arrange the difficulties in which his father had been drawn, he was appointed to go to Algiers,* to negotiate a treaty of peace and commerce with the dey; but having learned in Switzerland, that the life of his father was threatened, he returned, post haste, to Paris. He proceeded without stopping to the sitting of the committee, and there, by his firmness, and even by a bold threat to the president, he obtained on the instant the liberty of his father, whom they had put in jail as an emigré, although he had never quitted his château.
In 1799, M. de Chaumont accompanied his wife to Hamburgh, who returned to America, on account of her health, with her two youngest children, in company of Gouverneur Morris, late
* Spark's Life of Gouverneur Morris, ii, 402. His instructions were dated February 22, 1794.
ThayDechaumont
445
J. Le Ray de Chaumont.
ambassador. The cure of Chaumont was of the party; he had refused the oath prescribed by the revolutionists, and M. de Chau- mont, in order to save him, and to provide for his support, had appointed him to an agency in America. He remained there several years, and became the object of the veneration and love of the numerous persons with whom he had relations.
In 1802, M. de Chaumont sailed from Havre, for America, in company with William Short, late minister to France. He went upon his lands in Jefferson County, where settlements were begun by the agency of Jacob Brown, who so highly distinguished him- self afterwards. He returned in 1804, and left France again in May, 1807, with his oldest son, who, from that time, assisted him in the management of his business. He had, the year before, sent a French doctor, of considerable ability and experience, whom he had engaged, for several years, to reside with him on his lands, and had confided to him the choice of the particular spot. This was very difficult and delicate, from the large range open to him, and from the conflicting interests and interference of the different persons residing on various parts of the tract. He acquitted himself, however, of this trust with wonderful foresight and skill, and chose a retired spot in the town of Le Ray.
M. de Chaumont went, in 1808, to make a final settlement in the house built by the doctor, and entered it before it was finished, and with the logs of the clearing yet burning at his door. There he spent the greater part of the time till the spring of 1810, when he left for France with his family, leaving only his oldest son to manage his affairs with an agent, Moss Kent, brother of the chancellor. In France he busied himself with the settlement of his lands. He sent French gentlemen of talents, to establish various factories. The events of 1815 caused him to sell a large tract of land to Joseph Buonaparte, with whom he had long been acquainted; and smaller ones to Count Réal, the duc de Vincence Marshal Grouchy, &c. During his stay in France, he had the misfortune of losing his wife, whose health had always been poor, and had been kept up only by the indefatigable care and attentions of M. de Chaumont.
In 1812, the board of internal navigation-Gouverneur Morris and De Witt Clinton, president and vice president-appointed M. Le Ray de Chaumont, to negotiate in Europe a loan of six millions of dollars, for the contemplated Erie Canal. Mr. Le Ray went to Switzerland, where the declaration of war by the United States, against England, deterred the capitalists. He then sent, to feel the Belgian bankers, his friend Mr. J. B. de Launay, whom the commissioners had sent out to assist Mr. Le Ray, and also to procure in England the services of the eminent engineer, Weston. The report having been favorable, Mr. Le
446
J. Le Ray de Chaumont.
Ray went to Belgium. The hopes of peace, however, were vanishing. The reelection of Mr. Madison made the continuance of the war certain, and the bankers gave a definitive refusal.
In 1816, he married his daughter to a French gentleman of great distinction, the Marquis de Gouvello; and they both came with him to America, where they spent a year, and returned to France. M. de Chaumont now resided mostly on his lands, spending a part of the year in New York. He went on with in- creased force with the settlement of his lands and the improve- ment of the country, building saw mills, making roads, carrying on his iron works, &c.
In 1832, M. de Chaumont returned to France, leaving to settle his business, his son, who joined him next year. He made a last voyage to America in 1836, spending the summer there, and returned to France, where he was called by his daughter settled there, and by two sisters who had no children. Surrounded and cherished by his family, he spent his time partly in Paris, partly in the country or in traveling, his mind still bent towards Ameri- ca, and seizing every opportunity of being useful to his adopted country. At the age of SO, full of health and vigor, his mind unimpaired, he was suddenly taken with an inflammation on the chest, which caused his death in five days-December 31, 1840.
M. Le Ray de Chaumont had a strong mind, a sound judg- ment, great penetration of men and things, a warm and affec- tionate heart, a noble soul: he was guided through life by those high and chivalrous feelings of integrity, which were so shrewd- ly discovered in him by Robert Morris, when, at the age of 25, he was chosen by him as umpire between himself and M. de Chaumont, Sen., in a contested business. He never meddled actively in politics, which, added to the other traits of his cha- racter, made him respected and beloved by men of all parties, both in France and in America. He received warm proofs of these feelings at various times, and particularly from the citizens of Jefferson County, during the last years of his stay among them. The counties of Jefferson and Lewis owe much of their prosperity to his liberal and enlightened management.
He greatly improved the breed of sheep, by bringing Merinos from his flock in France, which was picked in the celebrated sheep fold of Rambouillet, where the original Spanish breed had been greatly meliorated.
He also paid great attention to improving the breed of horses, and labored to diffuse a taste for the rearing of ornamental plants, to promote the culture of the vine in gardens, and of hemp and the mulberry. The care which he bestowed in the se- lection and adorning of his villa at Le Raysville, which for many
447
Hart Massey.
years was the seat of a refined hospitality bespeaking the afflu- ent and accomplished French gentleman, prove him to have possessed on these matters a judicious and correct taste. His household, including agents, clerks, surveyors, and employees, formed of itself a small community.
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