USA > New York > Steuben County > A history of Steuben County, New York, and its people, Vol. I > Part 27
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Many of the earlier, as well as later, church edifices and meet- ing houses, from disuse or neglect and lack of interest, have fallen into ruin. Their members and attendants are dead, removed or modified or reversed in their convictions, or are affiliated more closely in their views of right and wrong, and convinced that the abodes of the elect are as accessible through the doors of one of these temples as the other; that the realms of disappointment and sorrow are not the fate or the avoidance of either.
The abandoned or dismantled church buildings are unerring, footprints of those who have toiled, believed and passed on; to the' historian they are evidences of the struggle and efforts of the past ; to the chronicler they are of the present; to the seer, soothsayer and prophet they foretell and indicate the worship of the future, in- stead of jarring creeds, chants, genuflexions, prostrations and flagelations. The influence, teaching and example of the pioneer churches and ministers have been invaluable to the good of the country. Their services and meetings brought together the people of the neighborhoods, and if the doctrines promulgated were not all in attractive style or suited to the inclinations of the attendants they gave rise to discussions and interchange of ideas, broadened their intellectual vision and induced them to hold more liberal and charitable ideas of the duty of one to the other. Without fear and trembling the people boldly investigated into the hidden (then regarded forbidden) and dreadful phenomena of nature; learning was encouraged; the grand inspiring idea of universal education was conceived and born, and the way prepared for the coming glories of the twentieth century.
The present day inhabitants, not only of our own country, but the whole world, owe an everlasting debt of gratitude to the early and 'primitive itinerant of whatever sect or belief, and to the pio- neer church, meeting house or place of worship. It was in these primitive and homely sanctuaries-not in the gilded temples of wealth and fashion-that the triumph of the pale Galilean was won. These zealous itinerants builded better than they knew.
CHAPTER XII.
THE PRESS OF STEUBEN.
FIRST NEWSPAPERS IN THE COUNTY-ANTHONY L. UNDERHILL- "STEUBEN MESSENGER"-HENRY H. HULL AND "STEUBEN COURIER"-THE "CORNING JOURNAL"-GEORGE W. PRATT- "BRICK" POMEROY-EDWIN HOUGH AND "HORNELLSVILLE TRIBUNE"-JOHN GREENHOW AND WILLIAM H. GREENHOW -- "NATIONAL AMERICAN"-THE "VIDETTE" AND "TIMES" -- RUS- SELL M. TUTTLE-EPHEMERAL PUBLICATIONS-ADDISON NEWS- PAPERS-CANISTEO JOURNALS-THE COHOCTON PRESS-OTHER NEWSPAPERS OF THE COUNTY-GREATEST CIVILIZING AGENT.
Burke said: "There were three estates in parliament; but yon- der, in the reporters' gallery, sat a Fourth Estate, more important and powerful than they all."
The London Times has been justly and frequently termed the Uncrowned Sovereign of England. The New York Tribune, in the maturity of the intellect of Horace Greeley, founded, named and nourished a great national party that changed the institutions and destiny of the United States. The Philadelphia Press, in the days of John W. Forney, was called the cabinet of the president; when the learned, resolute and careful Charles A. Dana sat in the editorial chair of the New York Sun, the slogan was: "If you see it in the Sun, it's so." Burke's declaration is as true now and here as it was at the time and place of its utterance.
FIRST NEWSPAPERS IN THE COUNTY.
The first newspaper in Steuben county was issued on October 19, 1796, at Bath, and was called the Bath Gazette and Genesee Adver- tiser. This was the first newspaper published in western New York. More definite and certain, west of the preemption line. William Kersey and James Edie were the first editors, printers and pub- lishers. Captain Williamson procured from Northumberland, Pennsylvania, a second-hand Stanhope printing press, with a primi- tive outfit and appliances. It is ventured that Mr. Kersey, who was also a judge of the county, was something more than the ordinary type-sticker or stout pressman. He was of the sect known as Friends, and appeared to occupy a position of foreman, perhaps of managing editor. In one of his letters to Captain Williamson, then at Albany, he writes of extended circulation and new patrons, and asks for some new type, giving as a reason that the material he had
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brought from Pennsylvania is "old and worn out," and its impres- sions are difficult to read, and causes complaint and profanity. (This cause and effect still exist.) On considering the case, I conclude that it is best to have a sufficient quantity of new type to complete the office, so that we may do business in good fashion, and therefore request, in addition to the order by Captain Coudry, that you may be pleased to send us as soon as may be two hundredweight of small pica or burgeois. We have some encouragement to pursue the busi- ness, but many of our patrons complain of the hadness of the print, and that not without sufficient cause." Judge Kersey, in the same letter, informs Captain Williamson that he and associates had been indicted by the grand jury for not holding an election at the Painted Post for a representative in congress.
In 1816 the Steuben and Allegany Patriot was founded by Captain Benjamin Smead. After mueh travail, in which General Daniel Cruger was the accoucheur, the paper was brought forth. In Deeember of that year the first number of the Patriot was issued. Captain Smead was a printer by trade. In the early years of the last century he edited and printed republican newspapers at Brat- tleboro and at Bennington, Vermont, both of which were approved by the members of that party. It must be borne in mind that the name republican in those days and places did not mean, or indicate, the political party now hearing that name. In March, 1812, Editor Smead severed his connection with the press and quitted Benning- ton on receiving an appointment in the United States army. He continued in that service, with the command of a company in the Tenth United States Infantry, until July, 1815, the army being then disbanded. In this service he attained the rank of captain, by which appellation he was always thereafter known. After his retirement he went to Albany, New York, and engaged in the occu- pation of a typesetter and printer with indifferent success, in the meantime making the acquaintance of General Cruger, then speaker of the assembly, and soliciting his aid in establishing a newspaper in Steuben county, as has been stated.' The captain shipped a second-hand printing press, type and other material for the new venture from Albany, part of the way by water and the remainder by land over rough roads, made almost impassable by freshets, but after these delays, patient waiting was rewarded by its arrival-if not intact, in fragments which were afterwards assembled. The paper thus established remained the property of Captain Smead, who was editor and publisher while he lived.
Captain Smead, during his life in Bath, was a public-spirited man, taking a lively part in all public demonstrations, especially in the military reviews, general training and other similar or quasi gatherings. He never rid himself of his early military drill, al- ways, with precise and measured step; keeping time with the music. In 1849, the printing offiee, with the paper, was sold to William C. Rhodes. In 1822 the name of the paper was changed to the Farmers' Advocate and Steuben Advertiser. Mr. Rhodes was a graceful and forceful writer. The paper was always Simon-pure Democratic under Mr. Rhodes' editorial and business management, and took high rank with its party. On January 30, 1857, the office took fire and the establishment was entirely consumed. In Novem- ber, 1857, Mr. Rhodes was elected state prison inspector for New
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York, selling the paper and its good will to Mr. Perry S. Donahe during that year. On the first of May, 1857, Mr. Donahe changed the name of the paper to the Steuben Farmers' Advocate, its present name, with A. J. McCall editor.
In August, 1860, Mr. Donahe sold the paper to Mr. Anthony [. Underhill, by whom it was patriotically and vigorously conducted in the interests of the party of its early allegiance through the eventful epoch of the Civil war and to the time of his death in 1902. He passed away at Los Angeles, California, where he was sojourning, while on a trip for recreation and rest, unattended by any member of his family, travelling companion or friend.
ANTHONY L. UNDERHILL.
Anthony L. Underhill, from his long residence in Steuben county, his active connection with the press of western New York, the high esteem in which he was held, his clear, vigorous and com- prehensive style as editor and writer, his active participation in all movements for the benefit, advantage and advancement of his county, state and nation, and the profound sorrow occasioned by his sudden death far away from home and family, pervading every hamlet and nearly every home in Steuben county, well warrants the insertion herc of the following :
UNDERHILL .- At Los Angeles, Cala., Sunday night, March 9th, Anthony Lispenard Underhill, in the 72d year of his age.
Monday morning word was received in Bath of the announcement above. It was a great shock to his family and friends, as he had departed from Bath February 19th for southern ('alifornia, to be gone on a pleasure trip of about three months. He went west by easy stages, remaining in New Orleans about a week, and stopping at different points between there and Los Angeles, which he reached last Thursday. Letters written after his arrival there indicate that he was feeling at the time as well as when he left Bath.
Anthony L. Underhill, the oldest son of Charles Underhill and Portia Maria. Brooks, was born in the town of Veteran, Chemung county, New York, May 9, 1830. He was a descendant of the sixth generation of Captain John Underhill, the famous Indian fighter in the Pequot and Colonial wars, which took place in Massachusetts, Rhode Island and Connecticut during the seventeenth century.
At an early age he accompanied his father to Missouri, where his uncle, Henry Underhill, was engaged in trading with the Indians. He passed through the west when Chicago was a hamlet in a vast marsh, approachable only over corduroy roads. In crossing the river they came in contact with Joseph Smith, who was leading his Mormon forces from Nauvoo, Illinois, further west. Many were the incidents related by him of personal experiences with Indian braves who came to the store to trade and made his father's home their stopping place at night.
He returned east with his parents, who located at Carbondale, Pennsyl- vania, and soon after he started for Bath to enter the employ of his cousin, the late Robert L. Underhill, and arrived here on St. Patrick's day in the year 1845. He was apprenticed until he was twenty-one years of age, and during that time learned the art of hookbinding, and became proficient as a printer, the firm of R. L. Underhill & Company at that time manufacturing and printing various kinds of books.
His early education was largely received from his mother, to whom he was indebted for many traits of character which proved bulwarks to him in later life. When he left home he promised her that he would never commit any act of which he could not freely tell her, and this promise was faithfully kept by him throughout his life, preserving in him a purity of mind and sense of honor which he ever endeavored to communicate to and inculcate in his descendants.
His meager educational advantages were supplemented by his constant seeking after enlightenment and the books of all kinds on the shelves of- the bookstore furnished him, after business hours, with opportunities for
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gaining knowledge and development of the mind; these habits of study and research were pursued throughout his life, resulting in his becoming a well- informed and. broad-minded man. At that time bookstores sold all the musical merchandise of the day, and his love for music led him to learn to play every kind of instrument afforded by the genius of the times. He always regretted his lack of early educational training, and afforded his children every possible advantage of this character of which he had been deprived.
May 2, 1851, he was united in marriage to Charlotte, daughter of James MeBeath, by Rev. David Nutton. They were married at Bath in the morning and travelled to Dansville that day, where he had opened a bookbindery a short time previously.
In 1854 he removed to Addison, where he published The Voice of the Na- tion, the organ of the Know-Nothing party, which, when that party swept the county, he removed to Bath, as the Know-Nothings had elected the entire county ticket, and wished an organ at the county seat. He changed the name of the paper to the Steuben American, which he published from January, 1856, until May, 1857, when the destruction by fire of the office of the Steu- ben Farmers' Advocate induced him to sell his plant to Perry S. Donahe, who began to issue the Steuben Farmers' Advocate at once, Mr. Underhill acting as manager. He continued in this capacity until August, 1860, when he became the proprietor, and proclaimed his support of Stephen A. Douglass. His life since has been identified with this paper, which he saw grow from a strug- gling existence to one of the best equipped country newspapers in the state. In addition, he was the publisher of the Ontario Repository and Messenger, at Canandaigua (owing to the death of his son, William), from April, 1883, to December, 1885; also one of the directors of the Wyoming County Times, at Warsaw, and one of the directors of the Wyoming County Times, at War- saw, and one of the publishers of the Corning Daily Democrat, at Corning, since September, 1899.
Under his guidance and through his energy the Advocate, although the organ of a minority party, obtained an entrance into more homes in Steuben than ever attained by any other publication. He had rare ability in discern- ing what was news from the viewpoint of the average reader, and liad that - peculiar faculty of observation and description which is possessed by the born newspaper man. No better illustration of this can be cited than his descrip- tive letters of American and foreign travel which were published in the Advocale in 1891 and 1895.
For nearly ten years he had been a partner in the grocery business of Richard R. Flynn & Company, conducted by the Junior partner in the Ad- vocate block.
He was a member of the Democratic party from principle, and believed in its tenets as taught by the founders. From 1860 to 1880 he served many years as chairman of the Steuben county democratic committee, and was gen- erally in attendance at the councils of the party. He was chosen a presiden- tial elector for Cleveland and Hendricks in 1884 and had the honor, as one of the tellers of the electoral college, to announce officially that the Empire state had cast its thirty-six votes for the democratic nominees. He was ap- pointed postmaster at Bath by President Cleveland in 1886 and served four years to the satisfaction of the community.
He was elected president of the village of Bath in March, 1891, for a term of one year.
A month after his incumbency of the office, the Bath Board of Trade held its first annual dinner, at which President Underhill responded to the toast, "The Village of Bath." The address was replete with interesting his- torical facts, and of it the official book of the Bath Centennial, in the intro- duction, says: "In a speech delivered before the local Board of Trade, at its annual dinner ( April-6, 1891), Mr. Anthony L. Underhill made the first public appeal to the citizens for a becoming recognition of this important event in the history of the village. The seed thus sown was soon to bear fruit."
A short extract from that speech is reproduced: "It was in 1845, on the morning of St. Patrick's day, that I first looked upon our handsome park and its surroundings with the heavily wooded hills in the south as a background; this was from the elevated porch of the old Clinton hotel, then standing upon the ground now occupied by the First National Bank building, with large and roomy stage barns to the west; on the opposite corner, now Perine's Excelsior, stood the old Eagle hotel, and on the ground now occupied by the Nichols house was a hotel kept by the late Perez Gilmore. In 1845 the business por-
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tion of the village on Liberty street extended only to include the Davison block on the east side and to Scott's shoe store on the west side. The Rum- sey mansion stood just north of the Davison block and Reuben Robie's resi- dence stood where Tharp's shoe now stands; all the buildings at that time were wood, save two brick stores which stood on the site of the Davison block. In looking over the list of those in business forty-six years ago, I find but two now with us, John Abel and H. W. Perine, out of a list of forty- five then doing business in Bath. The sods of the valley, I believe, cover all the rest except Mr. S. D. Hunter, who lives in the far west. Fleeting time has made almost a clean sweep of the business men who before our day made Bath the scene of their homes and their money-making; they have left us legacies to improve upon and in some respects we have done so; they were prudent, economical and saving men, and left us examples of business life and character that we will all be the better to emulate."
The two business men then mentioned have since passed away, and exactly fifty-seven years from the day of his coming to Bath, Anthony L. U'nderhill was laid to rest. He was raised to the sublime degree of Master Mason in Steuben Lodge, No. 112, F. and A. M., in July, 1859, and exalted in Bath Chapter, No. 95, R. A. M., October 17, 1860. He served several years as master of the Blue Lodge and high priest of the chapter; also was district deputy grand master for two years, and the representative of the grand high priest for this district. During his incumbency of these offices he assisted in instituting several lodges and chapters in this vicinity. He ever retained a warm interest in the "mystic tie" and was the oldest enrolled member of the chapter and next to the oldest of the Blue Lodge at the time of his death.
Mr. Underhill was a communicant of Saint Thomas' church and a faithful attendant upon its services. He loved the church and enjoyed its ministrations. He was a member of the vestry and took a warm interest in the work of the parish. His family circle was first broken by the deatlı of his eldest son, William Howell, in April, 1883. He was again sorely bereaved in January, 1894, by the death of his beloved wife. He is survived by two daughters and three sons: Mrs. Frederick A. (Emma) Mandeville of Roch- ester; Edwin S., who has been associated with his father in the publication of the Advocate and Corning Daily Democrat; John, publisher of the Wyo- ming County Times of Warsaw, New York; Miss Charlotte, of Bath; Anthony L. Jr., an instructor in the high school of Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Two sisters also survive: Mrs. Octavia Field of Omaha, Nebraska, and Mrs. Portia Allen of Niagara Falls, Ontario.
At such a time as this the pen is indeed feeble to voice the sentiments of the heart. It was as yesterday that he was with us; today he has gone to his final rest.
The choice of a father is not given to us, but to none had Providence been more kind in this regard. For his children, love, care and sympathy had always been his first thought, denying them nothing for their welfare and good. In every relation of life he proved himself in the highest and best sense a man; but especially in the home circle was he ever watchful and solicitous. That his children should not be obliged to labor against disadvan- tages which were his was his constant endeavor, and no sacrifice was too great for him that benefit might come to them. His pleasant smile, his genial, happy manner, his kind word, will ever remain green in the memory of all who knew him, but in his own home will they be most greatly missed. To his family he was tender and loving; to his friends, loyal and true. The world is better and purer that he lived.
The sense of loss is shared alike by his family, friends and community in which he lived. Affectionate towards his family, devoted to his friends, pleasant and genial, simple and upright-the memory of his virtues will serve as his eulogy more eloquently than any word of tongue or pen.
The remains are expected to reach Bath on Saturday, Mrs. Daniel B. Curtis of Curtis, who has been spending the winter in southern California, having kindly made arrangements for their shipment east.
Mr. Underhill was the founder of the Steuben American newspaper, which he started at Bath in 1856 and conducted for a year and a half, or until its sale to the proprietor of the Steuben Farmers' Advocate. In 1860 he purchased the Advocate, which was an old, established newspaper, and it had since remained in his possession and under his control, except that as years advanced he relinquished a part of the burden to the care of his sons. Mr.
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Underhill was a thorough printer and proud of the craft. From the outset of his ownership of the Advocate he devoted his entire time and attention to the affairs of the office, and when in Bath he could invariably be found at his office, engrossed in work. It was his pride that he could do anything in the office that might be required of any of his employes, and he could do it much better, too, than the average printer. He was a man of intense and unwearied industry, and by his practical knowledge of the newspaper business in all its details, by his keen intelligence, and by his sobriety and level head he made the Advocate property to he of much value, and the newspaper itself to be widely circulated and a very influential organ of public opinion. Mr. Under- hill thus possessed unusual business capacity, and he became the most suc- cessful newspaper publisher in this section of the state. He was a writer of much force, and was particularly happy in the descriptive faculty. He had traveled several times across the continent, and had heen once or twice in Europe, and the letters he wrote for the Advocate describing his journeys were of such marked interest that the publication of many of them was made in book form for the pleasure of his friends and the public. Mr. Underhill was a man of high character and unblemished integrity. He was a devout com- municant of the Episcopal denomination, and in his daily life exemplified the faith that was his. He was pure of thought and speech, and in all his rela- tions with his fellows was a type of the Christian and the gentleman. As a citizen of Bath he was among the most enterprising and public-spirited, and none was more respected. He was a true friend, with a kind and cheery greeting to the humblest, and with aid and assistance to the unfortunate or those in distress. He was deeply interested in the welfare of his home village, and no one, by active endeavor or upright example, contributed more to its good fame or local influence. Anthony L. Underhill ever tried to be useful in his chosen sphere, and his ambition was amply realized, so that as he ad- vanced in years it must have been very gratifying to him to know the strong hold he had on the hearts of the people where he lived. In his death the village of Bath and the county of Steuben loses one of its foremost citizens, and the editorial fraternity of the state one of its most valued and esteemed members. A good man has gone. The editor of the Journal, who had main- tained with Mr. Underhill an unbroken friendship of over forty years' stand- ing, profoundly laments his death. and extends to the bereaved children his heartfelt sympathy in the loss to them of a thoughtful, loving and devoted father .- Dr. George W. Pratt, Editor of the Corning Journal.
In 1895 Mr. Underhill visited the Holy Land and wrote for publication in the Advocate a most interesting series of letters descriptive of his travels. "My travels in the Holy Land," he told the writer, "made a strong impres- sion on me. As I walked and rode ahout amid the scenes of our Saviour's earthly ministry, I was impressed with the power and reality of His life and teaching as never before, and became a Christian in a new sense." * *
Mr. Underhill led what might be called in these days a strennous husi- . ness life. He knew how to make a newspaper-knew all the intricacies of the printer's art-and he applied himself with all his might, and succeeded because of his sagacity and diligence. He was a terse, vigorous writer, a strong advocate of whatever cause he championed. He wrought without sparing himself that he might surround his family with comfort and give his children the benefits of a higher education, which had been denied him and of which he had always felt the need.
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