USA > New York > Warren County > Queensbury > A history of the town of Queensbury, in the state of New York : with biographical sketches of many of its distinguished men, and some account of the aborigines of northern New York > Part 7
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1 For very essential parts of the information herein contained I am indebted to Newell Hoxie of Sandwich, Mass.
2 Joseph Merritt, son of Ichabod. was the first white child born in the town. He was born in the log dwelling which stood in the rear of the McDonald mansion.
1
57
CIVIL LIST.
SUPERVISORS.
BABCOCK, PHINEAS, (a) 1779-80, BROWN, DANIEL V., 1859. 3, 4, 6. COOL, KEYES P., 1855.
BRIGGS, WILLIAM, 1856. CORNELL, BENJAMIN, 1802, 4.
of 1766, their families were moved up and in May their first town meeting was held, at which Mr. Wing was elected supervisor of the town, a position to which he was elected year by year, until after the close of the Revolutionary war, and during all that period he was looked up to as the great man of the place, the mer- chant, the lawyer, the minister and the innkeeper united in one. He, with all his sons-in-law, suffered material losses through the war, chiefly through appropria- tions and requisitions made by the American army, and for which no adequate compensation was ever received. Although possessed of a considerable estate, it is believed that in the latter days of Mr. Wing his affairs were considerably straitened. Through all his life he remained a consistent and earnest member of the sect in whose religious views he was brought up and educated. His re- mains, with those of many other of the first settlers here, repose in the little burial ground by the Half-way brook, where the old Quaker church stood ; and here they have been buried without tablet or monument to mark their final resting place. The following extract from his last will and testament has been kindly furnished me by Judge Gibson, Esq., of Salem, N. Y. :
WING, ABRAHAM of Queensbury, Wash. Co., last will and testament dated " 20 day of 9 month " 1794. Give to my wife Anstis the sole use of my house and farm containing about 342 acres and all my stock, farming utensils and house- hold furniture during her natural life. To my son Benjamin and to his heirs, etc., the above homestead with stock, etc., on farm at death of my wife, to my grandson Russell Lewis at my and his G. mother's decease," if he shall live with us till that time or when he shall be of age one yoke of oxen and two good cows, . to the remainder of my children and G. children, viz : Abraham Winge, Phebe Merritt, Patience Babcock, Content Hixon, Mary Lewis, Grd. children, Joseph, Mary and Deborah Merritt, Richard and Mary Jones, Russell Lewis and Willett Wing all the rest of my estate, viz : 50 acres of land at the meadow, rear of first Division lots No. 87, 86, 85, 37, 19, 17, and half of 10 and 4, to divide among Abraham, Phebe, Patience, Content, Mary, Joseph, Mary, Deborah, Richard, Mary, Russell and Willett, and if any or either of my Grd. children should die without a lawful heir, then their shares among the survivors. Appoints his wife Anstis exx. and his son Abraham, and friend Elisha Folger exrs. Witnesses : Warren Ferriss, John A. Ferriss, Reed Ferriss. Proved before the surrogate of Wash. Co., 27 May, . 1795, and the same by Abraham Wing, qualified as exr.
(a) PHINEAS BABCOCK was one of the earliest immigrants to this town and pro- bably accompanied Abraham Wing at the time of his first settlement. He mar- ried Patience, one of the daughters of Mr. Wing, and by her raised a numerous family. For a period of more than twenty years his name appears continuously in the town records, he having been elected to fill in turn the various local offices from pathmaster to supervisor.
To the latter position he was elected several times. With the other residents of the town he suffered heavy losses, during the Revolutionary war, through the rapacity of contending armies, and for which he never received any compensation. At one time he lived at the head of the lake. Writing from William Henry
8
58
HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY.
CURTIS, QUARTUS, 1850, 1, 2. FERGUSON, GEORGE, (a) 1861, 2, 3.
DEAN, DAVID M., 1833, 39, 40, 1. FERRISS, JOHN A., 1813, 27, 8, 9.
"3d July, 1781," he speaks of their daughter Dolly having a fine son, " abought two months old."-Wing Manuscripts.
Not far from the year 1790 he removed to St. Albans, Vt., where, about one mile west of the present village, he settled.
Here, in 1803, he erected what was to be his future home and that of his family the first framed house in that vicinity. " Here," to quote the language of a mem- ber of the family, " by the practice of frugality, and cheered by the consolations of religion, he pleasantly passed the remainder of his days in the bosom of his de- voted family, and literally amidst the fragrance and beauty of surrounding shrubs and flowers planted by the hands of his affectionate companion, a woman of ele- vated aspirations, and refined taste and culture."
He died about the year 1820. His wife survived him about fifteen years. She died at the house of her son-in-law, Willard Jewell, Esq., St. Albans, Vt., in the month of February, 1836, aged 84 years. Mr. Jewell is understood to be still living in the same vicinity, and at about the same advanced age. The children, nine in number, of the first generation were all scattered to various parts of the country and are now all dead.1 .
(a) GEORGE FERGUSON, the third child of Henry and Rosanna (Harris) Fer- guson of this place, was born in Glen's Falls on the 10th of July, 1831.
His father removed to this place in 1828, from Half Moon, in Saratoga Co., where he was born and brought up, and where he carried on successfully a grocery business for a number of years.
He immediately embarked in trade with Henry Philo, Esq., at the upper end of the village as it was considered and called in those days. They purchased jointly of Francis Fritts and Mary, his wife, the lot cornering on Glen and South streets, where as long ago as 1787, Abraham Haviland had carried on a blacksmith shop. The consideration was one hundred dollars good and lawful money, and the con- veyance was witnessed by and acknowledged before John Mallory, a commissioner of deeds, May 20th, 1829. Philo and Ferguson carried on business here for a number of years, and it became quite a noted resort. In 1834, Philo assigned his interest in the real estate, for five hundred dollars. Some years later he dis- posed of his interest in the merchandise, and stock in trade, and retired from the business.
About the year 1840-41, Mr. Ferguson moved off an old building which had been used by A. A. Holdredge as a watch repair, and jewelry shop, and erected what was considered in those days, a fine brick building, to be used as a store, and the former store was moved back, and a two story wooden dwelling erected on its site. A view of the old store is given herewith.
As a remarkable instance of the mutation of values, the place last year was sold for twenty thousand dollars. Mr. Henry Ferguson had five children, as follows : Ann, Hiram, George, Henry Augustus, Mary Elizabeth. The latter died in 1872. Henry has attained an enviable distinction as an artist. Last year he spent in South America among the pinnacles and slopes of the Andes, executing commissions to the amount of many thousands of dollars. Hiram established him-
1 For a considerable portion of the information contained in this sketch the author is indebted to John J. Deavitt, Esq., a lawyer of St. Albans, Vt., and formerly a cadet at West Point ; he married 25th November, 1830, Patience Wing Jewell, daughter of Willard Jewell, and grand- daughter of Phineas Babcock.
59
CIVIL LIST.
THE FERGUSON STORES.
DRY GOODS,
GROCERIES.
RICH.FERGUSON & SON.
SCOUTS& SHOES
OLD STORE.
Built in 1854. Previous to its erection the corner was used as a garden plot for about ten years.
GEORGE
ON
DRMIGODOS
AND
GROCERIES
NEW STORE.
Its construction was commenced October 10th, 1871, and completed July 1st, 1872.
60
HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY.
FERRISS, DAVID, (a) 1785. FERRISS, WARREN, 1795, 6, 7.
FINCH, JAMES C., 1854. GARDNER, DILWIN, 1823, 4, 5.
GILCHRIST, CHARLES M., (b) 1869, 70, 1, 2, 3.
GRIFFIN, BARTHOLOMEW, 1843, 4,
5.
self in the wood engraving business many years ago in Albany, and his establish- ment is the leading concern of that kind north of New York.
Like most of the Glen's Falls boys, George had but small advantages in the way of an education. A few winters in the district school, a few terms in the academy constituted its sum total. He early exhibited a remarkable aptitude for, and application to business.
He was admitted to a partnership in his father's store when he reached his ma- jority. The wholesale destruction of all the mercantile establishments of the place, with the exception of Ferguson's, in the great fire of 1864, contributed to build up rapidly what was already a well established and remunerative trade.
After the death of his father, which took place on the second of February, 1868, George bought out the remaining heirs and has since conducted the store alone. The building was reconstructed in 1872, and now forms a handsome addition to the street. A view of the new building may be seen on page 59.
Mr. Ferguson, as will be seen by the record, has several times held the position of town clerk, and later of supervisor. He is yet in the prime of manhood, and has all the promise of an active and useful life before him. His mother died Aug. 17, 1869.
David Ferrifor
(a) All that I have been able to ascertain in regard to David Ferris is, that while yet there was little more than a bridle path from Glen's Falls, then known as the Corners, to the Ridge, he settled on the farm now occupied by Isaac Mosher a little south of the Half-way brook on the road to the Oneida, where he built him a log house, which he not long afterwards abandoned, and, being of an adven- turous turn, went west, where after various adventures, was finally accidentally drowned in the Mississippi, while running a raft of timber down that stream. The name of Widow Ferris appears recorded on the town book for the year 1792.
(b) The Gilchrist families of Glen's Falls and Fort Edward, have a tradition and claim that they are the inheriters by collateral descent of the large estate and cas- tle of Balmoral in Scotland. The ancestor of the American branch, came to this country shortly prior to the Revolution, and was the head of this which, among many Scotch families, in those early days, took up tracts of land in and about Argyle, Hebron and Fort Edward. The heir in the direct line failed for want of issue something over forty years ago.
During Burgoyne's advance in the Revolution, and while his force lay encamped at Kingsbury street, the Gilchrist homestead with its family Bible and records was burned by a party of marauding Indians. Other outrages and atrocities were perpetrated in the same neighborhood by the same gang. A single link in the chain of evidence necessary to establish the proof of heirship was thus destroyed, and so, the estate with its immense revenues lapsed to the crown, and Queen Vic -. toria makes it her summer residence. A striking instance of the value of a perfect family record.
61
CIVIL LIST.
HARRIS, JOHN J., 1842.
LAPHAM, JEROME, 1857, 8, 64, 5.
MALLORY, JOHN, 1810, 11, 12.
MORGAN, ALONZO W., 1834, 6, 46, SANFORD, GEORGE, 1837, 8. 7, 66,7.
MURRAY, JOHN, 1791.
ODELL, AUGUSTINE, 1788, 9.
PECK, WILLIAM, 1848.
PETTIT, MICAJAH, 1803.
PHELPS, WALTER, 1860.
PITCHER, ALFRED, 1817.
ROBARDS, WILLIAM, (a) 1786, 90, 1, 2, 4.
ROBERTS, WILLIAM, 1805, 6, 7, 9. ROBERTSON, ALEXANDER, 1853, 68.
SEELYE, NEHEMIAH,1 1783, 4. SISSON, JAMES, 1849.
STOWER, ASA, (b) 1798, 9, 1800, 1, 8, 15, 16, 18, 19, 20, 1, 2, 6, 30, 1, 2, 5. VAUGHN, JAMES, 1814.
WING, ABRAHAM, 1766, 7, 8, 9, 70, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 85, 7.
(a) WILLIAM ROBARDS was born in the town of Canaan, Connecticut, on the 10th of February, 1749. He married on the 28th December, 1774, Phebe Fuller, who was born at the Oblong, Dutchess county, N. Y., 26th March, 1756. He is conjectured to have removed to this place about the time of his marriage, although his name does not appear on the town records until after the close of the Revolu- tionary struggle. He purchased a very desirable farm on the Ridge and owned large quantities of land in various parts of the town. He was merchant, farmer, manufacturer and magistrate. A man of large influence and wide popularity. Dur- ing the war he was twice made a prisoner and conveyed to Canada.
The first time was in 1777 at the date of Burgoyne's advance, when, with his wife's brother, Andrew Fuller, and two of Wing's sons-in-law, Andrew Lewis and James Higson, a flying party of Tories and Indians made them prisoners, and con- veyed them to Montreal, where they all had to run the gauntlet. Robards, being fleet of foot, made his escape but was afterwards recaptured. He afterward suc- ceeded in escaping again from his prison house by breaking through the windows and scaling the wall and after terrible exposures and sufferings reached his home. He was again made prisoner while hunting for stray horses in the neighborhood of the Blind rock at the time of Carleton's advance in 1791, and was exchanged at the end of the war. He was buried in the family burying ground by the Round pond at the Oneida. The slab which marks the place of sepulture bears the fol- lowing inscription :
" In memory of WILLIAM ROBARDS, ESQ., Who died August 9, 1802, In the 54th year of his age. He lived and died respected in Society.
Princes this clay must be your bed In spite of all your towers, The tall, the wise, the reverend head Must lie as low as ours."
(b) ASA STOWER was a native of Massachusetts, born as nearly as can be deter- mined in one of the western border towns of that state. His early childhood was
1 No lists of town officers are contained in the town records for the years 1781 and 2. It is therefore inferred that, in consequence of the unsettled state of the country, and the continuance of the war, the inhabitants had fled back to old Dutchess county for safety, and that no town meetings were held in these years.
In the years 1783, 4, 5 and 6 two supervisors had been elected, who appeared to act jointly in discharging the duties of that office.
62
HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY.
TOWN CLERKS.
BABCOCK, PHINEAS, 1786.
FERRISS, JOHN A., 1796, 7, 8, 9, 1800, 1, 4.
BALDWIN, ISRAEL P., 1813.
BARBER, HIRAM, 1826.
FERRISS, WARREN, 1795.
COOL, KEYES P., 1831.
GARDNER, DILWIN, 1815.
COWLES, DANIEL H., 1847.
KETCHUM, DANIEL . B., 1861, 2, 3,
DERBY, JOHN, 1816.
4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 70, 1, 2.
FERGUSON, GEORGE, 1854, 5, 6, 7, MEAD, ORLIN, 1834, 5.
8,9, 60.
PAINE, LEMUEL C., 1812.
passed at or near New Lebanon, N. Y. While yet a small boy, his father em- braced the Shaker faith, and joined the society at that place, removing his family among them.
He soon afterward died of small pox, when the mother, who still retained her religious views (being a Presbyterian), took her children, and went back to live on their farm, for which they were still considerably in debt, but, with the help of the boys, after a few years finished paying for their home.
Asa with his elder brother was allowed to attend the district school, and possess- ing a laudable ambition with a studious turn of mind, acquired a fair knowledge not only of the rudimentary branches of learning there taught, but applying him- self at leisure hours to the pursuit of the more recondite departments of science, evincing a special aptitude and taste in the direction of botany, a study then but little pursued in this country, and still in its infancy. His inclination in this direc- tion, doubtless determined the choice of a profession, and at the age of eighteen he commenced the study of medicine, which he steadily prosecuted with such aid as his mother, in her straightened circumstances, could afford. At the age of twenty-one he had completed his studies, and with a horse, saddle and bridle, and a pair of saddle bags filled with medicine, the parting gift of his mother, he started out to seek his fortune. What led him to Queensbury is not known, but certain it is, he came as the pioneer of the medical profession in Warren county, in 1790, first making his home with William Robards, Esq., who lived in a dwelling sub- sequently burned, not far from the late residence of John M. Haviland near the Ridge.
Here he commenced his life work, and here he remained for a number of years, supplying a circle of country thinly settled, but very sickly, many miles in extent. Being economical, plain in his tastes and inexpensive in his habits, he soon acquired a competency. One of his first purchases was the farm at the Ridge, now owned and occupied by Joseph Haviland, disposing of which, he bought the farm where Anson Staples now lives, where he passed the remainder of his days, in works of kindness and usefulness. In those early days, when the facilities for education were not as plentiful or accessible as at present, his office was the resort of medical students, who almost from the commencement of their studies were enabled to pay their way, and acquire practical with theoretical knowledge, by assisting the doctor in his long and laborious rides. Among the number who thus graduated from his office and supplied the adjacent country in the years following, were Dr. Lemuel C. Paine, Dr. Nathan Tubbs, Dr. Seneca Wing, two brothers and a cousin by the name of Dean, Dr. Durfee and others whose names are forgotten or not readily recalled to mind.
In a communication to the author in 1870, the venerable Dr. Paine speaks of
63
CIVIL LIST.
PARSONS, ELNATHAN, 1823, 4, 5.
RANGER, EZRA, 1832.
PECK, CHARLES, 1848, 9, 50, 1, 2, 3. SANFORD, DAVID, 1802, 3. PECK, DANIEL, 1805, 6, 7, 8,9, 10, SEAMAN, ALLEN T., 1833.
11.
PECK, HERMON, 1830.
PECK, WILLIAM, 1836, 7, 8.
PETTIT, MICAJAH, 1814.
PIXLEY, LEWIS L., 1827.
PATTER, JOHN E. 2d, 1873.
PUTNAM, ASAPH, (a) 1766, 7, 8, 9, 70, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7.
SISSON, JAMES, 1841, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6. SPENCER, HENRY, 1817, 18, 19, 20, 1, 2.
TALLMADGE, SAMUEL S., 1828, 9. WELLS, JAMES, 1839, 40.
WING, BENJAMIN, 1778, 9, 80, 3,
4, 5, 7, 8, 9, 90, 1, 2, 3, 4.
him as follows : " Dr. Asa Stower, was held in high repute all over the country. He was a great reader and had a retentive memory, but I think he was more diffuse than profound in his reading, and was far from being a scientific man in his profession. He was strictly a physician of the old school, but by reading and observation he had acquired a stock of medical information and experience which made him truly a successful and useful physician. He was a bachelor, and a little singular in his manners and habits ; by some he would be deemed a little odd, at least not exactly Chesterfieldian in his address and manners, especially among the ladies." He acquired during his long practice, a handsome property, owning real estate in various parts of the town. One of the last acts of his life was to order his accounts against the poor to be destroyed, in order that they might not be distressed to make their payments.
Of an estate, whose final adjustment realized upwards of twenty thousand dol- lars, not enough was left, by the greed of his heirs at law, to pay for a gravestone. Among his old neighbors a subscription was taken up sufficient to pay for a plain marble slab, on which is engraved the following simple inscription, a touching memorial of the evanescent character of all earthly things.
"DR. ASA STOWER, DIED MAY 25, 1848. Aged 79 Years. He lived respected in Society."
Graph Dutiesn.
(a) Just what relations were held by ASAPH PUTNAM to Mr. Abraham Wing is unknown, although it is conjectured that he was a connection, possibly a brother- in-law. It will be seen that he was here holding an important position in the infant settlement, during the first ten years of its existence. He was a member of the society of friends as existing letters go to show. After he left here, he re- moved to the New City, now Lansingburgh, where he embarked in business. A long and acrimonious correspondence was carried on with Mr. Wing after his removal, charging the latter with taking some undue advantage of him in busi- ness matters. As no proof appeared in the premises it is inferred that his griev- ance was nursed until it attained an unendurable gravity and importance. While a resident of this town he lived in a small log dwelling, facing South street on the estate of the late Roger Haviland, near the Big dam.
64
HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF QUEENSBURY.
JUSTICES OF THE PEACE.1
BAKER, MORVILLE, 1856.
BARBER, HIRAM, 1827, 8, 9, 30, 1. BEADLESTONE, STEPHEN, 1821, 2. BUELL, HORATIO, 1815, 16.
CHENEY, GEORGE W., 1852, 3, 4, 5, 8, 9, 60, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, GURNEY, JOSEPH N., 1852. 70, 1, 2, 3.
CORNELL, BENJAMIN, 1801, 2, 3, 4. CURTIS, GEORGE, 1865.
DICKINSON, DAVID F., 1817, 18. DUTTON, ISAAC E., 1855.
ELLIS, ENOCH, 1822, 3, 4, 5, 6. ELLSWORTH, JUDIAH, 1856, 7.
EMMONS, ADONIJAH, 1816, 17. FERRISS, ORANGE, 1838, 9, 40, 1, 5, 6, 7, 8.
FERRISS, WARREN, 1795, 6, 7, 8, 9, 1800, 1, 2, 3, 4.
FORBES, HORACE, 1817, 18.
Fox, ALANSON, 1812, 13.
GARDNER, DILWIN, 1813, 14, 15, 16, 20, 1, 2, 3.
GREEN, AMOS, 1819, 20.
GEER, WALTER JR., 1821, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.
GRIFFIN, BARTHOLOMEW, 1827, 8, 9, 30, 1, 2, 3, 4, 7, 8, 9, 40, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 50, 1, 2, 3.
HARRIS, MICHAEL, 1806, 7, 8, 9. HAWLEY, ELIAS, 1818, 19. HAY, WILLIAM, 1821, 2, 3, 4. HENDERSON, JAMES, 1815, 16, 17. HOFFMAN, HERMON, 1804, 5, 6, 7. HOTCHKISS, WILLIAM, 1869, 70, 1, 2,3.
JENKINS, GAMALIEL, 1857, 8, 9, 60, 1,2.
JENKINS, LYMAN, 1864, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 70, 1, 2, 3. JENKINS, PALMER B., 1842, 3, 4, 5. JENKINS, RANSOM, 1834, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9,70. LEAVENS, ROYAL, 1813, 14, 15. MCDONALD, WILLIAM, (a) 1821.
(a), WILLIAM MCDONALD, was born the 29th of February, 1784, in New Milford, Litchfield Co., Conn., a locality which has furnished many of the earlier settlers of the town of Queensbury, among the number being the large and influential families of Pecks and Sanfords. His paternal grand-father immigrated from Scotland during the old French war. His father was a physician of considerable eminence, and as a surgeon served in the American army during the Revolution- ary struggle.
After the war was ended, he resumed the practice of his profession at New Rochelle, Westchester Co., N. Y., where he died at the advanced age of 85.
His mother's name was MARY, the sister of DAVID SANFORD, who removed to this town about the year 1785, and was one of the first settlers at the Ridge, where he established a large and very successful mercantile business.
Mr. McDonald first came to this town when he was only eight years old, but
1 Previous to the year 1827, justices were appointed. Owing to the mutilated and imperfect condition of the town records, it has been very difficult to compile a Civil List, even approximat- ing to accuracy anterior to that date.
On the 7th of April, 1827, a new enactment was passed by the state legislature by which the officers of justice became elective, provisions being made for the election of four at the outset, their respective terms of office to be determined by lot.
Pursuant to this act, the newly elected board met on the 24th of November, 1827, and drew lots with the following results : Bartholomew Griffin, First Class, Ira A. Paddock, Second Class, Hiram Barber, Third Class, Samuel S. Tallmadge, Fourth Class.
WESTERN BANK NOTE & ENG CO CHICHA
Donald
65
CIVIL LIST.
MALLORY, JOHN, 1817, 18. .
PADDOCK, IRA A., 1825, 6, 7, 8,
MORGAN, CARLOS, 1861, 2, 3, 4, 5, 48, 9,50, 1.
6, 7,8. PARSONS, ELNATHAN, 1815, 16.
shortly afterward returned to New Milford, where he received what was con- sidered for those days a good education. In 1799, having become an accomplished penman and accountant, he returned to Queensbury, and immediately received employment by his Uncle Sanford, as a clerk in the management of his extended business. By his assiduity and devotion to his employer's interest he very shortly became the trusted manager of the store, Mr. Sanford's time being engrossed by outside pursuits. His fair, even and bold chirography appears on the town re- cords for the years 1802, and 3, when Mr. Sanford held the office of town clerk. At the time of the institution of old Hamilton Lodge, F. and A. M., in 1805, he was made a mason, a large delegation of high officials in that organization from Albany and vicinity, visiting for the purpose, and conferring the degrees. About the same time he bought his uncle's interest in the store, and continued the busi- ness until 1808, when he removed to the thriving village of Waterford. Here he embarked in a large and successful trade, in which he continued until the year 1820 when he returned to the Ridge and resumed the mercantile business in the old place.
Three years later he disposed of his stock and removed to Glen's Falls, where he soon afterward bought the old Wing farm, and enlarged, rebuilt and com- pleted the half finished dwelling to a spacious and elegant mansion, the home he continued to occupy up to the time of his death.
Prior to the erection of Warren county, and until after the year 1822, the dis- trict embraced by Warren and Washington counties sent from three to six mem- bers to the legislature, according to the ratio of representation. In 1821, Mr. McDonald was placed in nomination for the assembly, in opposition to Asahel Clark, a Clintonian of distinguished abilities and extended influence. Notwith- standing the numerical ascendancy of the Clintonian party, the bucktail ticket was successful in this district, chiefly through Mr. McDonald's great popularity, and instrumentality in bringing about one of those political revulsions, which, like a whirlwind, triumphantly sweeps away all opposition. It was during this session of the legislature, that a survey and appropriation was obtained through Mr. Mc- Donald's personal efforts, for the construction of the Glen's Falls' Feeder. He was reelected to the assembly the following year, and such was his popularity that there were only seventeen votes cast against him in town. He was again elected to the assembly in 1828.
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