USA > New York > Franklin County > A history of St. Lawrence and Franklin counties, New York : from the earliest period to the present time > Part 25
USA > New York > St Lawrence County > A history of St. Lawrence and Franklin counties, New York : from the earliest period to the present time > Part 25
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During the war of 1812, he is said to have held a colonel's commis- sion, and to have been repeatedly engaged on responsible services for the Americans.
On the declaration of war, Williams resolved to take no part with the British, which led him to be reported with Colonel Louis, as refractory.
In August 1812, an agreement was entered into between Gen. Dear- born and Col. Baynes, that neither party should act offensively before the decision of certain measures then pending should be known.
A conference was subsequently held between agents of the two go- vernments, at which it was agreed that the St. Regis tribe should remain neutral, but as afterwards appeared this was subsequently but little re-
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garded. During the war Thomas Williams continued to exert an influ- ence favorable to the Americans, and his two sons took active but oppo- site sides in the contest. In 1815 he visited Albany, and Washington, to urge certain claims against government, but not being furnished with the necessary papers, he failed in his purpose.
In consideration of the active part which he took in the treaty of 1796, he for several years after the war, till 1833, received $50 annually of the annuity which was paid by virtue of that treaty.
He died at his native village, August 16, 1849. In person he was above the common size, with an intelligent countenance, and with that in his manner and deportment, which bespoke a superiority above his people in general.
The author is indebted to the Rev. Eleazer Williams, of St. Regis, for most of the data from which the above account is written. Our space has not allowed the full use of the voluminous materials furnished.
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HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE
CHAPTER III.
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ORGANIZATION OF THE COUNTIES, PUBLIC BUILDINGS, &c.
COUNT HE causes which led to the organization of St. Lawrence county are set forth in the fol- LAWRENCE @ lowing interesting document, which THE S is the original petition for its erection, and is preserved among the arch- ives of the state, and possesses much value, from its being said to contain the signatures of nearly all the citizens then SEAL living in the county. The original is written in a remarkably neat and elegant hand, and the signatures are in every instance in the autograph of the signers.
" To the Honorable the Senate and Assembly of the State of New York.
The petition of the inhabitants, residing within the ten townships, upon the river St. Lawrence, beg leave humbly to represent the great inconvenience and hardships they labor under, by the ten townships being formed into one town, and annexing the same to the county of Clinton .* The principal inconvenience your petitioners labor under is the very remote distance they are placed from Plattsburgh, which is the county town of the county of Clinton. Not any of your petitioners are less than one hundred and twenty miles from Plattsburgh, and a great majority of them are from one hundred and thirty to forty miles.
Between the ten.townships and Plattsburgh, much of the way there is no road, and the remainder of the way is a very bad one; this, to- gether with the great inconvenience and expense which necessarily must arise to those whose private business, (as plaintiffs and defendants,) lead them into the county courts, is such, as to almost place your peti- tioners without the reach of that justice, which the laws of our country so happily provide for. This is a melancholy fact, which several of your petitioners have already experienced, and to which all are equally opposed, and when we add to this, the extreme difficulty, troubles, and expenses jurors and witnesses must be subjected to, in attending at such a distance, together with the attendance at Plattsburgh, for arranging and returning the town business, increases the burthen and expense be- yond the ability of your petitioners to bear. Your petitioners forbear to mention many other inconveniences, tho' sensibly felt, your petitioners
* In the previous year, the town of Lisbon was erected, and attached to Clinton Co. See the original petition, &c .. in our account of that town,
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presume they will naturally occur to the minds of every individual mem- ber of your honorable body. Some of your petitioners, presented a pe - tition to your honorable body, at their last session, praying for the forma- tion of the town, and annexing it as it now is, but they did not then (neither could they,) anticipate the inconvenience and expense they find upon experiment attaches to their being so connected.
Your petitioners therefore beg leave humbly to state, that much less hardship and expense would arise to them. by having a county set off, upon the river St. Lawrence, and your petitioners humbly pray, that a county may be set off upon the aforesaid river, in such manner as your honorable body shall deem most proper; and your petitioners would beg leave further to shew, that one of the old stone buildings at the Old Oswegatchie Fort, (which the proprietors are willing to appro- priate until the county is able to build a court house,) may at a small expense be repaired, and which when so repaired will make good accommodations, not only for the purpose of holding courts, but also for a gaol, and your petitioners pray, that place may be assigned for the above purpose.
Your petitioners would beg leave further to state, that Plattsburgh is totally out of their route to the city of Albany, which is the place to which they must resort, for their commercial business-Plattsburgh being as far distant from Albany, as the ten towns, consequently your petitioners are turned out of their way the whole distance, between the ten towns and Plattsburgh, which is not less than one hundred and thirty miles from the centre of the townships.
The peculiar inconvenience and hardships your petitioners labor un- der, is such, that your petitioners doubt not that relief will be cheerfully granted by your honorable body, and your petitioners as in duty bound will ever pray."
-
Nathan Ford,
Jacob Flemmen,
James Sweeny, George Foot, Ashbel, Sikes,
John Tibbets,
John Lyon,
Elisha Tibbetts,
Daniel Barker, Jun.
Joseph Edsall, Jacob Morris,
John Farwell, Jr.
Alex'r J. Turner,
Samuel Fairchild,
Joseph Erwin,
John Tibbits, Jr.,
Alexander Leyers, ,
Moses McConnel,
Alex'r Bough,
Daniel Sharp,* Festus Tracy,
Benjamin Campbell,
Benjamin Stewart, Joel Burns,
Septy Tracy, John Armstrong,
Godfrey Myers, Seth Gates, James Kilborn,
James G. Stewart,
James Ferguson,
Ashael Kent,*
Solomon Linsley, Sen.
Challis Fay,
Martin Easterly, Alexander Brush, James Harrison,
Isaac Bartholomew,
. Joseph Gilderslieve,
Stillman Foot, Alex' Armstrong,
Solomon Linsley, Jun.,
Elias Demmick,
Nathan Smith, Jacob Cerner, Sen.,*
Moses Patterson,
Henry Allen,
Christian Cerner,* Jonathan Tuttle, Benj'n Bacon, Sen., Benj'n Bacon, Jun. Oliver Linsley,
Dan'l Barker, Sam'l Avens,
Jonathan Allen,*
Elisha Johnes,
James Pennock,
Henry Erwin,
John Smith,
Asa Freeman,
Nathan Shaw,
Benjamin Walker,
Truman Wheeler,
Caleb Pumroy,
David Layton,
*Uucertain.
Ephraim Smith Ray- Jacob Cerner, Jun.,* mond,
William Sweet, William Morrison,
Edward Lawrence,
Jacob Redington,
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HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE
Coney Rice, Andrew Rutherford,
Capt. Eben Arthur,
John Pecor,
William Scott,
Peter Woodcok,
Walter Rutherford,
Jaocb Pohlman,
John Barnard,
David Rose,
Benj'n Nichols,
John Stewert,
Seth Ranney,
Jonathan Ingraham,
John Sharp,
Titus Sikes, 3d,
Joseph Thurber,
John Armstrong,
William Lyttle,
John 'Thurber,
David Linsley, William Lyttle, June,
Thomas J. Davies,
Jacobus Bouge,'
William Osborn,
Reuben Hurd,
David Giffin,
Hira Pain,
Aaron Welton,
William Peck,
Joseph Orcut,
George Davies,
Jeduthan Baker,
Eliphalet Elsworth,
Rial Dickonson,*
Kelsey Thurber,
Robert Sample,
Major Watson,
John Cook,
Isaac Cogswell,
Thomas Le Gard,*
James Harrington,
Reuben Field,
Benj. Mellis, *
Joel Harrington,
Henry Reve,* Asa Fenton,
Adam Williams,
Stephen Foot,
Joshua Fenton,
David Carter,
Jeremiah Comstock,
Jason Fenton,
William Sharp,
Daniel Mackneel,
Joseph Freeman,
John King,
Robert Sanford,
Josiah Page,
Thomas Kingsbury,
Justin Hitchcock,
Peter Dudley,
Peter Sharp,
Jeduthan Farrell,
Ahab Harrington,
James Salisbury,
Holden Farnsworth,*
Calvin Hubbard,
Zina B. Hawley,
Richard Harris,
Amos Lay,
John Lyttle,
James Higgins,
David
Ezekiel Palmer,
Samuel Steel,
John Storring.
This petition was received in the Assembly on the 8th of February 1802, read and referred to a committee consisting of the following gen- tlemen :
MR. DIRCK TEN BROEK, of Albany County.
MR. SOLOMON MARTIN, of Otsego County.
MR. ARCHIBALD MCINTYRE, of Montgomery County.
MR. WILLIAM BAILEY, of Clinton County.
MR. ABEL FRENCH, of Denmark, then Oneida County.
The bill passed the house of assembly on the 18th of that month, and subsequently resulted in the passage of the following:
"An act to erect part of this State into a County, by the name of the County of St. Lawrence.
Passed March 3, 1802.
I. Be it enacted by the People of the State of New York, represented in Se- nate and Assembly, That all that tract of land, beginning in the line of the River St. Lawrence, which divides the United States from the dominions of the king of Great Britain, where the same is intersected by a continu- ation of the division line of great lots, numbers three and four, of Ma- comb's purchase ; thence running southeasterly, along the said line, until it comes opposite to the westerly corner of the township of Cambray ; then in a straight line to the said corner of Cambray ; then along the rear
*Uncertain.
Richard Rutherford, Thomas Rutherford, Isaac Parll,*
Samuel Thacher,
Lazar Laryers,*
Elijah Carley,
Samuel Umberston,
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lines of the said township of Cambray, and the townships of De Kalb, Canton, Potsdam and Stockholm, distinguished on a map of the said township, and filed in the secretary's office by the surveyor general; then by a line to be continued in a direct course from the line of the said township of Stockholm, until the same intersects the division line of the great lots numbers one and two in Macomb's purchase; thence northerly along the same to the lands reserved by the St. Regis Indians; then westerly along the bounds thereof, to the dominions of the king of Great Britain; thence along the same to the place of beginning, shall be, and is hereby erected into a separate county, and shall be called and known by the name of St. Lawrence.
II. And be it further enacted, That all that part of the said county lying westward of the boundary lines of the townships of Lisbon and Canton, as distinguished on the map aforesaid, shall be, and hereby is erected into a town by the name of Oswegatchie; and the first town meeting in the said town shall be held at the house of Nathan Ford; and the said townships of Lisbon and Canton shall continue and remain one town by the name of Lisbon. And that all that part of the said county, known and distinguished in the map aforesaid by the townships of Madrid and Potsdam, shall be, and hereby is, erected into a town by the name of Madrid; and the first town meeting in the said town shall be held at the house of Joseph Edsall. And that all the remaining part of the said county, shall be, and hereby is, erected into a town by the name of Mas- sena; and that the first town meeting in the said town shall be held at the house of Amos Lay.
III, And be it further enacted, That the freeholders and inhabitants of the several towns erected or continued by this act, shall be, and are hereby empowered, to hold town meetings, and elect such town officers as the freeholders and inhabitants of any town in this state may do by law; and that the freeholders and inhabitants of the several towns, and the town officers to be by them elected respectively, shall have the like powers and privileges as the freeholders, inhabitants and town officers of any town in this state.
IV. And be it further enacted, That there shall be held, in and for the said county of St. Lawrence, a court of common pleas and general ses- sions of the peace, and that there shall be two terms of the same courts in every year, to commence and end as follows, that is to say: The first term of the said court shall begin on the first Tuesday in June, in every year, and may continue to be held until the Saturday following, inclusive ; and the second term of the said court shall begin on the second Tues- day of November, in every year, and may continue to be held until the Saturday following, inclusive: And the said courts of common pleas, and general sessions of the peace, shall have the same jurisdiction, powers and authorities, in the same county, as the courts of common pleas and general sessions of the peace in the other counties of this state, have in their respective counties; Provided, always, That nothing in this act contained shall be construed to affect any suit or action already com- menced, or that shall be commenced, before the first Tuesday in June next, so as to work a wrong or prejudice, to any of the parties therein, or to affect any criminal or other proceedings, on the part of the people of this state; but all such civil and criminal proceedings, shall and may be prosecuted to trial, judgment and execution, as if this act had never been passed.
V. And be it further enacted, That until legislative provision be made in the premises, the said court of common pleas and general sessions of the peace, shall be held in the old barracks, so called, in the said town
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HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE
of Oswegatchie, which shall be deemed in law, the court house and jail of the said county of St. Lawrence.
VI. And be it further enacted, That the freeholders and inhabitants of the said county, shall have and enjoy, within the same, all and every of the said rights, powers and privileges, as the freeholders and inhabitants of any county in this state, are by law entitled to have and enjoy.
VII. And be it further enacted, That it shall not be the duty of the su- preme court to hold a circuit court in every year in the said county, un- less, in their judgment, they shall deem it proper and necessary; any law to the contrary notwithstanding.
VIII. And be it further enacted, That the said county of St. Lawrence, shall be considered as part of the western district of this state.
IX. And be it further enacted, That all the residue of the tract of land lying between the division lines aforesaid, of great lots numbers three and four, and of great lots numbers one and two, in Macomb's purchase, and the north bounds of Totten and Crossfield's purchase, shall, until further legislative provision in the premises, be considered as part of the town of Massena, in the said county of St. Lawrence: And all that part of Macomb's purchase, included in great division number one, and the Indian reservation at the St. Regis village, shall be annexed to, and form part of, the town of Chateaugay, in the county of Clinton.
X. And be it further enacted, That the said county of St. Lawrence, shall be annexed to, and become part of the district now composed of the counties of Herkimer, Otsego, Oneida, and Chenango, as it respects all proceedings under the act entitled, 'An act relative to district attor- neys.'
XI. And be it further enacted, That until other provision be made by' law, the inspectors of election in the several towns in the said county of St. Lawrence, shall return the votes taken at any election for governor, lieutenant governor, senators, members of the assembly, and members of congress, to the clerk of the county of Oneida, to be by him estimated as a part of the aggregate number of votes given at such election, in the county of Oneida."
In accordance with this law, one of the stone buildings west of the Oswegatchie, was fitted up as a court house, and a bomb-proof magazine on the premises as a jail. Here the first courts were held, and first delinquents confined until the completion of the court house in 1803, under the provisions of a clause in an act passed April 2, 1803, which provided as follows:
" And be it further enacted, That it shall be lawful for the supervisors of the county of St. Lawrence, and they are hereby authorized, to receive the moneys subscribed by the inhabitants of the said county, for building a court house and gaol, on the east side of the mouth of the Oswegatchie river, opposite to the old barracks; and to apply such moneys for build- ing the said court house and gaol, in such manner as they or the ma- jority of them shall judge most for the interest of the said county; and shall account for the expenditures of the said money with the judges of the court of common pleas for the said county.
And be it further enacted, That as soon as the said supervisors, or a majority of them, shall, by writing under their hands, certify to the sheriff of the said county, that the gaol hereby authorized to be built, is fit for the reception of prisoners, it shall and may be lawful for the said sheriff, after filing the said certificate in the office of the clerk of the said county,
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to remove the prisoners into the said gaol; which gaol thereafter shall be the gaol of the said county; and that as soon as the said court house is finished sufficiently, so as to be comfortable for holding court, and a certificate thereof by the said supervisors, or a majority of them, delivered . to the judges of the said court, and filed in the clerk's office, shall there- after be the court house for the said county, to all intents and purposes.
And be it further enacted, That until further order of the legislature, it shall not be necessary for the sheriff of the said county, to give bonds to the people of this state, for a larger sum than four thousand dollars, and six sureties of five hundred dollars each."
An act of Feb. 12, 1813, required the board of supervisors to raise a tax of $900, for the purpose of erecting a fire-proof clerk's office. Pre- vious to the completion of this, the records were kept in the office of Louis Hasbrouck, the clerk. The date of the first record in the office is May 29, 1802.
The house in which the clerk's office was kept for several of the first years is represented in the accompanying engraving, which possesses an additional interest from its having been one of the first dwellings erected in Ogdensburgh. It was completed in 1804. The lot on which it stood was sold to Mr. Hasbrouck for a guinea. Its central location has ren- dered it worth several thousand dollars.
This venerable dwelling was unfortunately consumed in a destructive fire that occurred in the autumn of 1852, together with the modern block of stores represented in the cut, and much valuable property ou the opposite side of the street.
The engraving was taken from a daguerreotype by E. A. Olds.
The following resolutions in relation to the act authorizing the erection of a new clerk's office, were passed by the board of supervisors in Oct., 1821:
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HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE
"Moved that the sum of $600 be raised and levied for the purpose of building a fire-proof clerk's office.
Action postponed for the present.
It was proposed to amend this, by inserting $500, and this amendment was passed.
Voted that the building should be erected in the village of Ogdens- burgh. Louis Hasbrouck, David C. Judson, and Bishop Perkins, were appointed a committee to determine the size and plan, and to superin- tend its erection and finishing. It was further Resolved, that,
" Whereas, by an act of the legislature, passed February 12, 1813, au- thorizing the board of supervisors of the county of St. Lawrence, to raise money to build a fire-proof clerk's office, in said county ; and whereas. it is considered probable that a division of the county may take place, and in such case, a location at Ogdensburgh would not benefit such new county; it was, therefore, resolved, that in case of such a division, such sum as may be assessed on the territory so set off into a new county, should be refunded to such new county."
In pursuance of the foregoing resolution, a stone building was erected on the corner of Ford and Green streets in the village of Ogdensburgh. It is now the land office of the Hon. Henry Van Rensselaer.
The proprietors and settlers of the central and southern sections of the county, were never entirely satisfied with the location of the public buildings at Ogdensburgh, and by referring to the letter from Judge Ford to S. Ogden, dated Jan. 11, 1805, it will be seen that secret jealousies were entertained on this subject. In 1818, the first direct effort was made to effect a removal, which was defeated through the efforts of per- sons residing in Ogdensburgh.
Among the arguments then adduced in favor of the measure, were the exposed situation of the frontier, and liability to hostile incursions in case of war, the inconvenience of the public buildings, and insecurity of the jail, and especially the distance from the centre of the county and the southern settlements.
The petition for the appointment of commissioners, to select a new site for public buildings, had 700 signatures, and the remonstrance 762. The inhabitants of Potsdam, also petitioned for the removal of the public buildings to their village.
Against the removal of the county seat, it was urged - that the con- dition of the buildings at Ogdensburgh did not call for a change; that a large amount of money was about to be expended upon roads, which would make that place easily accessible; that the county buildings, worth $2,000, would become forfeited, by reversion to the proprietor; that the taxable inhabitants then numbering 2,000, were then thinly scattered; and an uncertainty still existed, where the weight of popula- tion would ultimately preponderate.
A plan was at this time proposed for dividing the county, by a line
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running between Lisbon and Canton on the west, and Madrid and Pots- dam on the east, to extend in a direct line to the southern bounds of the county. The new county was to have been named Fayetle.
An estimate made at the time, is interesting, denoting the number of taxpayers in the several towns, and is as follows :
Western division. Oswegatchie, 193; Gouverneur, 89; De Kalb, 126; Russell, 119; Fowler, 28; Rossie, 62; Lisbon, 115; Canton, 202. Total, 934.
Eastern division. Madrid, 260; Potsdam, 302; Parishville, 133; Stock- holm, 99; Hopkinton, 81; Louisville, 106; Massena, 85. Total, 1,066.
The subject of removal to a central location again came up for legis- lative action in the session of 1827, but was permitted to lie over till the next session, for the purpose of obtaining a more distinct expression of the popular wish on the measure; and under these circumstances, it be- came a test question in the election of members of assembly in that year. Party considerations were dropped for the time, and it was expected, that the canvass would decide the preferences of the electors of the county upon the subject of removal. It resulted as follows:
For removal.
Against removal.
Moses Rowley, 2,364
Jason Fenton, 2,069
Jabez Willes, 2,178 Phineas Attwater, 1,688
The members elected were nominated by a convention representing the portion desirous of a change of site, and with a distinct understand- ing that they would labor to effect that object.
The records of many of the towns, show that an expression of opinion was taken on this subject, at their town meetings in 1828.
The petition upon which the law, authorizing a change and appoint- ing disinterested commissioners to designate a new site, was not nume- rously signed, but embraced the names of those who possessed much weight and influence in the county. It was dated December, 1827, and received in the senate Jan. 18, 1828.
This led, after the most active opposition from many of those interested in Ogdensburgh, to the passage of the following law:
"An Act, establishing the location of Court House and other Public Buildings in St. Lawrence County.
Passed Jan. 28, 1828.
1. Joseph Grant, George Brayton and John E. Hinman, of the county of Oneida, be, and they are hereby appointed commissioners to examine, determine and fix upon, the proper site for the erection of a new court house, gaol and clerk's office, in and for the county of St. Lawrence, whose duty it shall be to go into the said county to examine the situation of the same, with respect to its population, its territory, its roads, and the means of communication between the several towns and settlements in the said
14
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HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE
county, together with the immediate prospect of settlements, and all other things which they shall think it necessary to examine and enquire into, the better to enable them to form a correct determination as to the site of a court house, gaol and clerk's office, for the said county, which shall best accommodate the population of the said county, in reference to its present territory.
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