A history of St. Lawrence and Franklin counties, New York : from the earliest period to the present time, Part 69

Author: Hough, Franklin Benjamin, 1822-1885
Publication date: 1853
Publisher: Albany, N.Y. : Little & Co.
Number of Pages: 750

USA > New York > Franklin County > A history of St. Lawrence and Franklin counties, New York : from the earliest period to the present time > Part 69
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 69

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

In person, Mr. Ford was thin and slender, and his features are well represented in the portrait given ; his eye possessed unusual brilliancy, and when excited by any topic that engaged his whole soul, it sparkled with enthusiasm and feeling. In his manners he was courteous and graceful, and his hospitality was of that elegant kind which while it made its recipients at ease, gave them a sense of welcome, and a home feeling, so eminently pleasing to the guests. He was interred in the family vault, in the western part of the village, which is neatly enclosed in a wall, and the grounds within are suitably adorned with shrubbery.

ASA HASCALL, a native of Vermont, removed from Essex county where he had acquired the legal profession, and settled at Malone, in 1815. In 1818, he was elected supervisor of Malone which office he held till 1838. From 1840 to 1843, he held the same office. He was for

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many years a justice of the peace and district attorney for Franklin county. He also repeatedly represented his district in assembly. He died in Malone, January 5, 1852, at the age of 66, having for several years been disabled by a paralytic stroke. In his private and public life, he was a true specimen of the noblest work of God. In every station which he held he always acquitted himself like a man. The members of the bar in the county, were accustomed to look to him with a feeling bordering upon reverence, as a pattern of integrity and worth in their profession, whom they might safely imitate. As a citizen, as a lawyer, and above all, as a CHRISTIAN, his influence was great and unbounded, and employed to a good account."

LOUIS HASBROUCK, Was the fifth in descent from a family of French Huguenots, who fled from France to Holland, and thence to New York, and settled on the Hudson, in the present town of New Paltz, Ulster county. He was born at New Paltz, on the banks of the Wallkill, April 22, 1777, and received his collegiate education at Nassau Hall, in Prince- ton, at which he graduated Sept. 25, 1797, and studied law in New York, under Josiah Ogden Hoffman and Cadwallader Colden. In August, 1801, he was admitted at Albany to practice in the supreme court, and in Sep- tember following, to the Ulster court of common pleas. While at Albany, at the time of his admission to the supreme court, he met with Judge Ford, and was persuaded to come to Ogdensburgh to settle, and through the same influence he received an appointment as clerk of the county, March 10, 1802. In June he arrived at Ogdensburgh, and officiated at the first court held in the old garrison in that month. He came by horse- back, with others, through the Mohawk and Black river countries. He returned in October, and continued for two years to spend his winters below, and his summers in Ogdensburgh. In May, 1804, he started with the view of making a permanent residence, accompanied by his wife, brother, a lady cousin, and a female slave, and proceeded up the Mo- hawk valley and the Black river settlements, in a wagon, as far as Cof- fin's tavern, in West Carthage. It being impossible to proceed further by wagon, he hired another horse of a Frenchman called Battise, and proceeded on from thence with three horses to the five travelers. One of the horses was used as a pack horse, and across it were laid two bags containing provision and clothing. Their outfit for a march of several days through a wilderness, with no guide but a line of marked trees, and only casual opportunities of procuring supplies from the huts of scattered settlers, consisted of some dried beef, a few lemons for making lemon- ade, hard crackers, and a little tea and sugar. For milk, bread, and other provisions, they trusted to the supplies they might procure along the road of inhabitants, or kill in the forest with their fire arms. Mr. Joseph Hasbrouck led the way, and the others followed in Indian file, adopting at times the practice of riding and tying, and at others mounting double. The route led through Wilna, Antwerp, and somewhere near the line of the Old State road, to the Oswegatchie, at the present village of Heuvelton, where they crossed the river in a scow. Their first night was spent at Lewis's, their second at Lee's (now Mordecai Cook's, in Antwerp), their third at Bristol's (De Peyster's), and their fourth at the. old garrison in Ogdensburgh. The Hasbrouck mansion was erected the year previous, and finished in 1804. Mr. H. moved for a few weeks into Judge Ford's building, at the garrison. Mr. Hasbrouck arrived in the in- fancy of its settlement, and commenced the practice of law in that vil- lage, which he continued till his death. He held the office of county clerk until 1817. During a period of thirty-two years, in which he saw

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the progressive and rapid rise of the county, from a wilderness to a pop- ulous and prosperous district, he was intimately concerned with its busi- ness and its interests, and was extensively known to its citizens, by all classes of whom he was highly esteemed for the many excellent quali- ties he possessed. With the purest rectitude of principle in all his conduct, he united a kindness and benevolence of disposition, that made him alike respected and beloved by all. Modest and unpretending in his manners, he sought not public distinction, and preferred the walks of private life, from which he could not be prevailed to withdraw, until at the fall election of 1832, he reluctantly consented to allow his political friends to nominate him for the office of senator of this state. To this office he was elected, and continued until his decease, which resulted from the hydrothorax on the 20th of Aug., 1834. The members of the bar of the county of St. Lawrence, resident in Ogdensburgh, convened the day after, and testified their respect for the amiable character of the deceased by passing a series of resolutions highly expressive of their esteem for his merits, and sorrow at his death; and followed in a body to his last resting place, the remains of the citizen whose memory it was their privilege to honor. The trustees of the village also called a meet- ing of the inhabitants to consider the proper measures to be taken for paying suitable respect to his memory. The meeting thus assembled, adopted measures for testifying their sorrow and expressing their sympa- thy with the family of the deceased.

ROSWELL HOPKINS, was born in Amenia, Dutchess county, in May, 1757. At an early age he embarked in the arduous struggle of the revo- lution, and was engaged in the battle of Bennington, and also at the capture of Burgoyne, near Stillwater. He afterwards served two cam- paigns as a volunteer at West Point, and its vicinity. His campaign at this latter place, was terminated, however, by his being taken a prisoner, when he was put on board one of the British prison ships, and eventu- ally landed at Newport, Rhode Island, where he was incarcerated with others for a considerable period, and for four days immediately subse- quent to landing, without taking a morsel of food. He was released from this place on parole, about the close of the war. He settled in Ar- lington, in Vermont, where he resided till after he was appointed secre- tary of state, when he removed to Bennington, then the seat of the state government. Besides the office of secretary of state, (to which he was reelected annually, by the general assembly, for ten years or more in suc- cession, till he gave in his resignation), he held various other responsible state offices, and was once appointed elector of president and vice presi- dent of the United States. At the period of the early settlement of this region, Judge Hopkins purchased a large tract of land, including the township of Hopkinton, in this county, and removed his family from Vermont to his late residence. During all the hardships and privations incident to the settlement of a new country, a wide field is necessarily opened for the exercise of all those charities and acts of soothing kind- ness which have distinguished the conduct of some of the proprietors of this county. The course of Judge Hopkins with respect to the settlers of his land, to whom he stood in the relation of a father, was strongly marked by that unbounded generosity and munificence, which formed so prominent a feature in his character. Soon after the organization of the county, he was appointed a judge of the court of common pleas, the duties of which station he discharged with his usual ability, for several years. He was elected to a seat in the legislature of this state, four years successively, from 1810 to 1813. For some years before his death he

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took no part in public affairs, but continued to enjoy the confidence and esteem of all who knew him. He died at the age of 73, Sept. 5, 1829, in Chazy, from injury sustained by being thrown from a wagon, and his remains were brought back and interred in Hopkinton.

HIRAM HORTON. Few persons held a more conspicuous place in public life among the pioneers of Franklin county than Judge Horton. He was a native of Springfield, Mass., and his ancestors were among the first settlers of that place. In his youth he failed to enjoy the ad- vantages of an education, and was never able to attend a district school but six weeks in his life, but feeling the importance of this element, so necessary for the performance of the active duties of life, he set himself about the task of self education, and at the age of twenty, had fitted him- self to become the teacher of a district school, and was employed as an assistant by the secretary of state in Vermont. At about this time he re- 'moved to Brandon, Vt., where he purchased a commodious farm on Otter creek, and now in part occupied by the village of Brandon, and by a diligent and successful course of industry, acquired a considerable amount of property. In 1808, he removed to Malone, where he pur- chased the mill privileges on both sides of Salmon river, and erected the first mills worthy of the name. Ile subsequently filled the offices of supervisor, county treasurer, judge, and first judge, and was for many years an agent for Pierrepont and Ellice, in the sale and settlement of their lands. His death occurred Oct. 5, 1824, at Malone, at the age of 64. During the war he was a federalist, but sustained the measures of government in prosecuting that measure, and towards the close of his life his political preferences were in favor of Clinton.

DAVID C. JUDSON, came into the county of St. Lawrence in the spring of 1808, his father's family having settled on Black lake, in Oswegatchie, two years previously, from Washington, Ct. It being the period of the embargo, Mr. J. engaged in no permanent business, until 1811, when on the appointment of the late Thomas J. Davies, to the office of sheriff, he in connection with his friend Mr. York, undertook to do all the active duties of the office throughout the county, the former taking all east of the east line of Lisbon and Canton, and the latter the remainder.

He accordingly located at Hamilton, in Madrid, and this arrangement continued during the official term of Mr. Davies, and of Mr. York, his successor. In 1818, he was appointed sheriff, and assuming the active du- ties of the western half, and thus became thoroughly conversant with the entire county, and a witness of its early and feeble beginnings, which was of eminent service to him in subsequent life. In the division of the demo- cratic party, during the era of good feeling in national politics, in rela- tion to Mr. Clinton and his policy, Mr. J. adhering to Mr. C. was re- moved from the office of sheriff, on the triumph of the Bucktail party, in 1821.

He was immediately after nominated and elected to the senate from the eastern district. The constitution of 1821, coming into operation in 1822, by which all legislative and judicial offices were vacated, he de- clined renomination, and was principally instrumental in securing the nomination of Silas Wright, Jr., who was elected, and then first occu- pied the field in which he became so eminent. In the selection of a new suite for the public buildings, Mr. Judson from his intimate know- ledge of the county, gave his influence for a change, believing that the public wants required it, and his identification with this measure con- tributed to his election to the assembly in 1818, the county having be- .

Engraved by J C.Buttre from a Daguerreotype

DAVID ( JUDSON

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Insurvey for the History of St & aring and can't Comes

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fore been decidedly federal. The measure was brought. forward this session, but defeated, principally through the influence of the late George Parish. In 1826 it was again brought forward, aided by Mr. Wright, in the senate, and Mr. Judson, notwithstanding his interests, and residence at Ogdensburgh, gave his influence for it. It was at last successful, having been made the issue of the election of 1827, and he was one of the building committee appointed to superintend the erection of the new buildings, which were completed in time for the fall term of 1829, at a cost of less than $7000.

From 1829 till 1840, he was one of the judges of the county court. In the fall of 1829, he was chosen cashier of the Ogdensburgh Bank, and remained till 1840, when he resigned, and in the fall of that year was appointed collector of the district of Oswegatchie, by Van Buren, and held this station under the different presidents, until 1849, since which he has enjoyed " the post of honor-a private station." It is sel- dom that an individual is found, who for nearly half a century, has been so extensively and so intimately concerned in public affairs, and it is but justice to add, that his worth is appreciated as extensively as his name is known, and in most of the public improvements of the county in gen- eral, and of Ogdensburgh and vicinity, in particular, we witness some of the beneficial results of his influence.

Dr. ROBERT McCHESNEY, a native of Troy, studied his profession with Dr. Joseph White, of Cherry Valley, and David Little, of Spring- field, N. Y., and in 1810, removed to Madrid, and in the year following to Potsdam. He there engaged in the practice of his profession with increasing reputation and success, until his death in May 1824, at the age of 36. He was a man of sound judgment and fine abilities, and en- joyed to a high degree the confidence of the public.

DAVID A. OGDEN, with his father Abraham Ogden, and his brother Thomas L. Ogden, all of whom then resided in Newark, New Jersey, purchased of William Constable in 1796, the town of Madrid. After the decease of their father the two brothers became the owners of this property, one third of which they sold in 1803, to Joshua Waddington, of New York. David A. Ogden, was the eldest of a family of twelve children. His father Abraham Ogden, was a native of New Jersey, where he spent the greater part of his life, and his ancestors were among the earliest settlers of that state. He resided in Morristown, during the time when the American army lay in winter quarters there, and his house was occupied by General Washington, as his quarters, during his sojourn there. Mr. Abraham Ogden, followed the profession of his father, that of a lawyer. Upon the organization of the general government, he received the unsolicited appointment of district attor- ney for the state of New Jersey, which office he held until his death, in 1798. Besides the purchase of Madrid as above stated, Mr. A. Ogden, in company with Mr. Hoffman, his brother-in-law, purchased a tract in Hague and Cambray, since called the Ogden and Hoffman tract. He was a brother of Samuel Ogden, the early owner of Oswegatchie, and the person from whom the present village of Ogdensburgh derived its name. D. A. Ogden, studied law in his father's office, and at about the period of the death of the latter, he removed to New York, and in com- pany with his brother T. L. Ogden, commenced the practice of his pro- fession, where they formed a business connection with Alexander Hamil- ton, which gave them a prominence in their profession, and terminated with the memorable duel between Hamilton and Aaron Burr, which cast a gloom of sorrow over the nation. Mr. Ogden continued the

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practice of his profession in New York until 1812, when he retired from that pursuit, to carry into execution a plan which he had for some years cherished, to remove to the St. Lawrence, and fix his permanent residence on its beautiful shores. In pursuance of this, he built a fine and sub- stantial dwelling on the island opposite the village of Waddington and commenced its improvement as a farm, which comprises nearly eight hundred acres. He was at this time in the prime of life, and carried with him those tastes for rural employments, which he had imbibed in early life, which with his favorite literary pursuits, were well calculated to render his residence agreeable, not only to hiinself, but to those who might associate with him. He early turned his attention to improving the natural advantages of his location, not only as an agricultural but as a commercial and manufacturing district.

A feeling of brotherhood, and community of interest, was engendered by the difficulties encountered by the pioneer settlers, and many early emigrants speak with gratitude of the sympathy and assistance they re- ceived from him in time of need. He was once elected to congress, and for eight years held the office of first judge of the county court, when on account of declining health, he retired from the bench. At the announcement of his intention to do this, the grand jury then in session, passed a resolution expressive of their regard, and containing settlements highly complimentary to his character as a citizen and as a judge. With these exceptions he held no public offices. His death oc- ccured at Montreal, June 9, 1829, at the age of sixty. His remains were brought back to Waddington and interred. The St. Lawrence county bar, upon the news of his death being received, met and passed a series of resolutions highly expressive of their sense of the loss which they had to sustain in his death.

DAVID PARISH, was the second son of John Parish, an English gen- tleman, a resident of Hamburgh, who was the first to hold the office of United States Consul at that place. The subject of this notice was one of five brothers, whose names were John, David, Richard, Charles, and George. The first is still living in Bohemia, and has attained much dis- tinction as an astronomer, which science he lias pursued as an amateur, and a number of important discoveries have been made by him at his private observatory. He is the proprietor of a large crown estate, and to which a great number of serfs belong; and he hears the title of Baron Seuftenberg. Charles Parish, and Richard Parish, the latter the father of George Parish, Esq., of Ogdensburgh, still reside at Hamburgh, in Germany. Mr. David Parish was educated as a banker, which pursuit was the business of his father; and the financial operations in which they were engaged, were on a most extensive scale. About the year 1808, there was an enterprise undertaken by some of the principal mer- chants and capitalists of Europe, in which they entered into an agree- ment with the French government, then in the hands of Bonaparte, to transfer a large amount of credits to Europe from the Spanish colonies in Mexico. The wars between France and England, and the restrictions upon commerce, which then existed, rendered the navigation of the Atlantic with valuable cargoes, extremely perilous, from their liability to capture by British cruisers, which swarmed in every sea where an opportunity existed for annoying the commerce of France. The only practicable way of transferring to Europe an equivalent for the specie which had been intercepted by blockade in the ports of the Spanish colonies, was to procure its shipment to maritime cities in the United States, where it could be invested in colonial produce, and shipped to

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neutral ports in Europe, under the American flag, which in certain cases was allowed, by the arrogant British government, to pursue a commerce with Europe. The causes were then being developed which soon ripened into an open war between the United States and Great Britain, which principally grew out of the arbitrary assumptions of the latter government. The principal commercial house engaged in the enterprise above mentioned, was that of Hope &. Co., of Amsterdam, and Mr. David Parish was employed to visit the United States, to carry into effect the arrangements which had been made for the accomplishment of this object. Vessels built with express reference to speed, and manned by picked crews and experienced pilots, were employed to enter the block- aded ports whenever circumstances warranted, and convey the funds to such American ports as they might be able to enter. On several occa- sions very narrow escapes from capture occurred on these voyages, which were generally remarkably successful, and proved very lucrative to the projectors. While engaged in carrying these measures into effect, Mr. Parish resided in Philadelphia, and his business brought him in frequent contact with the financial men of that place, among whom were Robert Morris, Gouverneur Morris, the Ogden families and Le Ray de Chaumont. Among the more prominent of the subjects which engaged these gentle- men at that time, was the purchase and settlement of lands in the state of New York, and this subject being kept prominently before him, he was induced to listen to overtures from them on the subject of purchases. From the peculiar organization of European society, the ownership of large landed estates confers importance upon the possessor, and places him on a level far superior to that of the owner of a similar amount of capital invested in manufacturing or commercial pursuits; and this is coveted as the most desirable species of wealth, as well from its perma- nence and freedom from loss by accident or fraud, as from the certain revenues which it produces, and the importance in social life which it confers.

The gentlemen above mentioned were at that time engaged in settling their lands in the northern part of the state, and Mr. Parish, with the view of learning the value of the tracts offered him, sent Mr. Joseph Rosseel, then a young man, who had escaped from the military con- scriptions of his native country, to explore the country, and make to him a report of its value. The result was the purchase of extensive tracts in Rossie, Antwerp, Hopkinton, Parishville, &c., and the village of Ogdens- burgh, excepting parts previously sold. In September, 1814, the town- ship of Hammond, and at various times, other tracts have been added to these purchases. Soon after acquiring an interest in these lands, Mr. Parish commenced the task of their improvement and settlement with much energy, and possessing resources which enabled him to undertake that which men of limited means would not have been able to accom- plish. In 1810, he erected the large stone store on Water street, and his dwelling in Ogdensburgh, and in 1813, commenced the construction of a blast furnace at Rossie. The settlement of Parishville, and the opening of lines of communication between different sections of the coun- ty, and to the markets; the erection of mills, and opening of mines of iron ore, were among the enterprises in which he engaged, and which gave life and spirit to the settlements which he projected, and employment for the industry of those who had no other means to meet the payments due on their purchases, than the labor of their hands. The war checked the prosperity of Ogdensburgh, but scarcely affected the back settle- ments of Parishville and Rossie, which rather increased in proportion as

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the front diminished in population, from the accessions which they re- ceived from the timid, and those thrown out of employment by the war.

While the war was pending, and in anticipation of the event, the government negotiated a loan of $16,000,000, and Stephen Girard and David Parish became parties to the loan of $7,000,000 of this sum. With occasional interruptions, Mr. Parish continued to be engaged in the improvement of his estates in St. Lawrence and Jefferson counties, until the year 1816, when he returned to Europe. Not long after this, he was induced, through the influence of Count Metternich, the cele- brated Austrian minister, to engage in a partnership with the commer- cial house of Fries & Co., of Vienna, with the expectation that they should have a share of the patronage of the Austrian government in its financial operations. The parties with whom he became associated, sustained the style of living and equipage which can be afforded only by princes with imperial revenues, and although their dwellings con- tained galleries of paintings, and elaborate treasures of the fine arts, and they displayed all the dazzling parade of wealth, the real condition of the firm was most corrupt, and its affairs were fast tending to irretriev- able bankruptcy. This fact Mr. Parish did not, unfortunately, discover, until it was too late to recede, and he found himself involved in the ruin which shortly overtook them.

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A history of St. Lawrence and Franklin counties, New York : from the earliest period to the present time, Part 69

Author: Hough, Franklin Benjamin, 1822-1885 Publication date: 1853 Publisher: Albany, N.Y. : Little & Co. Number of Pages: 750

Author: Hough, Franklin Benjamin, 1822-1885
Publication date: 1853
Publisher: Albany, N.Y. : Little & Co.
Number of Pages: 750