USA > New York > Oneida County > Annals and recollections of Oneida County > Part 29
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The following inscription is also copied from a monument in the village cemetery :-
" To the memory, of Capt. SAMUEL PERKINS, Who departed this lite at the United States' Arsenal, Rome, Dec. 30, 1837, in the 75th year of his age. He entered the service of his country during the War of the Revolution, when he was but 14 years old, and served till it- independence was guired. He was actively engaged in the Indian
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campaign of 1795, under Gen. Wayne. He also participated in, and rendered valuable services during the late war with Great Britain. After which, retiring from active duties, he held for 18 years the station of ordnance keeper, and died in the public service. In every situation of his life was remarkably exemplified that just sentiment, -' An honest man is the noblest work of God.'"
George . Huntington, mentioned as the first merchant. spent the remainder of his days in the village. He was a man of great excellence of character. His personal appear- ance was very fine, and did not escape the observation of his aboriginal neighbors, the Oneidas, for they gave him for a name A-i-o, in their language, "handsome." He died September 23, 1841, aged 71 years.
Henry Huntington, brother, and for many years partner in many of their business transactions, of George, came to this place, as has been stated. in 1798, and selected it as a home for the remainder of his life. He was a man of great worth. The mercantile firm of Henry and George Hun- tington was uniformly noted for the integrity of its entire business transactions. The utmost harmony prevailed be- tween the brothers, and for years after they had retired from mercantile business, they used to meet in the morning in their former counting room, and smoke their long pipes in company. For a large portion of their lives they were an- tagonistic in their political preferences, and if the different parties had their bickerings, they had none. They were very successful in all their business transactions, and each had acquired a large fortune. Henry was, from the time of its charter, in 1812, to the time of his decease, President of the Utica Bank, and was considered the wealthiest man in the county. He died October 15, 1846. aged 80 years.
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RELIGIOUS SOCIETIES.
The First Congregational Church of Rome was formed September 25, 1800, and consisted of eleven members. The Rev. Simon Waterman, of Plymouth, Conn., was present, and officiated at its organization. Its first pastor was the Rev. Moses Gillett, a graduate of Yale College, who came to Rome and commenced his labors in 1806, and was ordained and installed over this church in October, 1807. At that time the church consisted of thirty members. Mr. Gillett continued his labors until October, 1837, thirty years from his ordination. During all this time he so devoted himself to his work in the ministry, and with a singleness and effec- tiveness of purpose, that the inspired eulogy of Barnabas well applied to him : " He was a good man, and full of the Holy Ghost, and of faith, and much people was added unto the Lord." There were added to the church during his ministry, 807 members, 103 by letter and 704 by profession; of these. 184 were added March 12. 1826, as the fruits of the "great revival" which occurred in connection with the labors of the Rev. Charles G. Finney, and the influence of which spread over an extensive region, but was probably more strongly marked in this vicinity than elsewhere. The influences of this revival have been likened to the waves formed by casting a pebble upon a sheet of water, pressing forward, wave forming wave, until they strike the farthest shore ; so many of the inhabitants of the western prairies, and granite-bound New England, yet bless God that they lived in "these days." Subsequently to this period, the church continued harmonious and prosperous, and receiving accessions. so that in 1831, at the formation of the Second Church, it numbered over 500 members.
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After Mr. Gillett's resignation, in 1837, the Rev. Messrs. D. Clary, B. W. Dwight, and E. O. Dunning, each for a brief period preached to this people. In 1841 the Rev. Selden Haynes was installed pastor, and held that place until dismissed from his charge, June 30, 1346. He was a successful pastor, for during his labors 130 were added to the Church.
The First and Second Churches were reunited, June 8, 1847. The Rev. Messrs. George C. Lucas, George Bush- nell, and W. F. Williams supplied the pulpit two years. In May, 1848, the present pastor, the Rev. William E. Knox, commenced his labors with the church, and was installed on the 2d of August following. Since his installation, there have been aecessions of seventy-six members. Up to the present time (1850) great harmeny prevails, the pastor, church, and congregation, being happily united. The large and increasing numbers who attend stated worship are straitened for accommodations in their present house, and it is already designed in 1851 to erect a new building, in size and style equal to the wants of the congregation, and to correspond with the newly-erected public buildings of the place.
Second Congregational Church. - In the latter part of the year 1830, the First Church then containing.over 500 members, it was thought advisable, by a respectable por- tion of them, to form a second church. On their appli- cation for that purpose to the Oneida Presbytery, January 11, 1831, their request was granted, and the next day they were formally organized as a church by a committee of that body. At the time of organization fifty-eight persons offered to become members, but as the number was soon increased to eighty-six, this latter number may be considered as its number at its commencement.
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From this time until July following, the desk was supplied by the Rev. Messrs. Erastus Nichols, Daniel Nash, and John Waters, and their brief labors were blessed to the church In July, 1831, the Rev. Jacob Helfeustine entered upon the duties of pastor, and continued them for two years. In this time 160 were added by profession, and eighteen by letter. The next pastor was the Rev. Avelyn Sedgwick, who re- mained three years, during which thirty-nine were added by profession, and fourteen by letter. From the dismissal of Mr. Sedgwick. in September, 1836, to June 8, 1847, the time of the union of the two churches, the following clergy- men preached to this people, viz. :- C. Edwards Lester, Theodore Spencer, Herman Norton, Henry H. Hurlburt, Benjamin H. Campbell, Orson Parker, Charles Jones, and George S. Boardman. Of these, only Messrs. Campbell and Jones were installed pastors, the others officiated as supplies from year to year. Rev. Mr. Spencer labored eighteen months, in which time twenty-two were added by profession. and twenty-seven by letter. Rev. Mr. Norton for one year. and five were added by profession, and six by letter. Rev. Mr. Campbell for eight months, and a few were added by letter. During the space between the dismissal of Mr. Campbell and the procurement of a successor, the Rev. Orson Parker labored as an evangelist for a few weeks in the month of November, 1840. A revival followed, and as its fruits about fifty were added by profession. Many pro- minent individuals, heads of families and young people. were subjects of this revival, and since, by their consistent Christian deportment, have given evidence of the sincerity of their profession. Rev. Mr. Jones ministered to the church from July, 1841, until June, 1843, and in this period eighteen were added by profession, and twenty by letter. Rev. Mr. Boardman commenced his ministry soon after the
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dismissal of Mr. Jones, and continued three years, until June, 1846, during which, ten were added by profession, and fifteen by letter. Mr. Boardman was dismissed, as was Mr. Haynes, of the First Church, to further the reunion of the two churches, which took place June 8, 1847.
Baptist Church .- The records of this church commence as follows :- " In the summer and autumn of the year of our Lord 1817, several of the members of the different Baptist Churches residing in Rome and its vicinity, became impressed with the idea that it would promote the declara- tive glory of God, the honor of the Redeemer's kingdom, and their own happiness, if God in his providence should so order. as to have a church formed amongst them."
A conference on the subject was notified and held at the school house, in Wright's Settlement, town of Rome, October 23. 1817. " The result of the conference was, that there appeared to be ground to build upon, and material with which to build, without interfering with any other church or society."
" Wednesday, Nov. 19 .- Met according to appointment. voted to send to Whitestown, Floyd, Trenton, and Western churches, for counsel. Elder Dyer Starks, being present. was invited to attend ; and that they meet at the house of Joseph Briggs on the 10th of December, at 10 o'clock A. M."
" Dec. 10, 1817 .- The conference met according to re- quest, and after making inquiries sufficient to satisfy them- selves, voted to give the brothers and sisters fellowship as a sister church, in token of which Elder Elon Galusha, in behalf of the council, gave the right hand of fellowship."
The church thus constituted consisted of seventeen mem- bers.
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Elder Dyer Starks * was its first pastor, and he continued his charge for several years. He was succeeded by Elders Jacobs and Douglass, who each preached for a short period.
After this the church was so fortunate as to secure the services of Elder David Morris. He was a "workman ap- proved," and during his pastorate the church and society were enlarged and strengthened. In August, 1826, a house of worship was commenced, and was completed the next year, and was "in its day" a very neat edifice. Eld. Morris continued with them ten years, when he was dismissed. He was succeeded by Elder John Gibbs, and he by Elder Emerson Andrews, who was dismissed in 1838. The same year the present pastor, H. C. Vogell, began to preach to this people. He is highly esteemed by his flock and the citizens generally, as the length of time he has sustained himself with them fully evinces. Since he commenced his labors here, their house of worship has been greatly im- proved as to appearance and convenience. The Church from its small beginnings, seventeen members, has increased so that it now numbers 294 communicants, and a large society attends upon their stated worship. The church con- tributed $300 during the past year for missionary purposes.
The Protestant Episcopal Church at Rome was organized and incorporated in 1825, by the name of " Zion's Church, Rome." The Rev. A. S. Hollister was its first pastor ; Jay Hathaway and Henry Hayden, wardens; Numa Leonard, Hiram Denio, II. N. Carr, J. B. Read, J. A. Canfield, R.
* Elder Starks lived to a great age. He had no relatives in the country, and for a number of years after he had become super- annnated, was supported by the Oneida Baptist Association. After his decease, the Association erected an appropriate head-stone at his grave, in the burying ground in Rome.
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Butler, and Peter White, vestry. The following clergymen have at different periods, as rectors or in other capacities, had charge of the church, viz. :- M. A. Perry, Geo. Fiske, William W. Niles, J. Sunderland, J. W. Woodward, N. B. Burgess, Hobart Williams, Henry Lockwood, S. H. Battin, Seth Davis, and Almon Gregory. The society now numbers fifty families, about 200 individuals, and sixty communi- cants. The Rev. Henry B. Whipple is the present pastor. Their house of worship stands on the south-west corner of Washington and Liberty streets, and was consecrated for divine service on the 15th of August, 1833, by the Right Rev. Bishop of the Diocese. In 1851 this society has nearly completed a new stone edifice on the north-east corner of the same streets.
Methodist Episcopal Church .- A class is believed to have been formed in what is now called the " Adams Neigh- borhood," as early as 1799, which continued in existence until a society was organized at the "Ridge," in 1803. It has not been ascertained at what time the meetings began to be held in the village. The society held its services in the Court House until 1828, at about which time the present church edifice was built. This church is in a flourishing condition, and reported at the last session of the Black River Conference, 200 members. The present pastor is the Rev. James Erwin. During the year 1850 their house of worship was much improved.
The author intends to make no invidious comparisons among many other able and efficient ministers of this deno- mination who have preached in Rome, by mentioning the name of the Rev. Mr. Ninde, who was stationed in charge of this people for a time. He was a faithful and eloquent preacher of the New Testament, and one who, not only by
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his public ministrations, but by his example and daily life. was peculiarly calculated to win souls. His praise was not only in all the churches of the Methodists, but in those of the different denominations in this place. His memory is held in "grateful remembrance" by them, for "the memory of the just is blessed." His Master called for him ; he was ready. and entered into His rest, soon after he left this station.
Welsh Church .- This society occupies the edifice formerly in the possession of the Second Congregational Church. The church was instituted in 1847, and numbers at this time about seventy members. In doctrine it is Calvinistic. and in form of government Methodist Episcopal.
Among the papers of the late Alexander Parkman, Esq .. of Westmoreland, was found a Columbian Patriotic Gazette. of January 6, 1800, No. 23, a paper published at Rome, by Ebenezer Eaton and Thomas Walker. By a comparison with the papers published at this place at the present time. the great improvements in printing and typography in the last half century is most strikingly illustrated.
Under the miscellaneous head, on the first page, is an article headed, "The Events of the French Revolution." giving a very concise account of the prominent events of that sanguinary and bloody struggle. There is a note at the bottom of the page giving, in a brief space, the particulars of the beheading of Louis XVI, and eloses by saying, "Of the Members of the Convention who voted for the King's death, forty have been guillotined, six have killed themselves. four have been assassinated, two were found dead in the field. and one died in irons; in less than four years after that unhappy event."
The probable reason why the paper was preserved was,
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that it contained an account of the funeral of Gen. Wash- ington. It is from the account published in Georgetown, Maryland. The description thus closes :- " The sun was now setting. Alas! the SUN OF GLORY was set for ever. No, the name of WASHINGTON, the American President and General, will triumph over death, the unclouded bright- ness of his glory will illuminate future ages." The editorial is headed, "Columbia Mourns."
The summary of "Domestic Occurrences" thus closes :- "A large number of respectable and wealthy gentlemen in the Counties of Montgomery and Herkimer, with the cc- operation of like characters in Schenectady and Fort Schuy- ler, have resolved on petitioning the Legislature, at their next session, to be formed into a corporation for the purpose of turnpiking the road from Schenectady to Fort Schuyler.". If these respectable and wealthy men had been cautioned not to thus invest their capital, for possibly before their turnpike was half paid for from its tolls, a canal and rail- road would be built along by the side of it, and within forty years, taking all the business from it, so that they would petition to abandon their charter ; would they not have at least looked somewhat incredulous ?
There is a table giving the "State of the Thermometer, taken at Hamilton Oneida Academy," for the last half of December, 1799. The table shows that there were eight cloudy days, three fair days, one clear, one rainy, and one snowy day in the time.
In the advertisements, Peter Colt informs the public that, on the 14th of December, 1799, he lost, between the store of Messrs. G. Huntington & Co., and his house, a newly-dressed calf skin, and a quire of writing paper, and that if the finder will return them to said store or his house, he shall receive a suitable reward, and his thanks.
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The following is the "List of Letters remaining in the Post Office January 1st, 1800."
It should be borne in mind by the reader, that at that time the town of Western had no post office, which in 1800 included all of Lee and part of Annsville. It seems that Mr. Isaac Lockwood, of High Falls, Black River, had a letter advertised, also Mr. Stephen Wells. of Strickland. There was an attempt to have the town of Redfield thus named from an early settler, but the land-owner, Redfield, prevailed in having his name affixed to the town, now so far- famed as the land of snow. It is therefore presumed, that if Mr. Wells ever had the perusal of his letter. he had to come or send all the way from Redfield for it.
LIST OF LETTERS
Remaining in the Post Office, Rome, January Ist, 1800. A. Isaac Alden, 2 Rome. B Capt. John Bates, Rome; Matthew Booman, do. ; William Burch, do .; Mr. Burnam, do. ; James Brown, do .; James Brown. Bridge- water: Nathan Barlow, Western.
C. James Cornish, 2 Rome.
Robert Felton, Rome. G. Gideon Gilford, Rome ; James Gould, do.
Gershom Hinckley, Rome; David Harmon, Great Salmon River. J. Nahum Johnson, Rome. K
Aaron King. Rome.
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ROME. 393
L. Isaac Lathrop, Rome; Solomon Lord, do .; Isaac Lockwood; High Falls, Black River.
M. Daniel Marshall, Rome.
0. Abraham Ogden, Rome ; William Olney, Western. P. Joseph Phips, Western. S. James Simpson, Rome. T. Samuel Tubles, Rome .. W.
Barritt West, Rome; William Wentworth, do. ; Stephen Wells, Strick- land ; Ezra Wheeler, Western.
MATTHEW BROWN, jun., P. M.
The following obituaries are from the Rome Sentinel of June 25, 1851 :-
" DIED, in Rome, June 17th, Capt. EBENEZER WRIGHT, aged 72 years.
"Capt. Wright was among the oldest settlers of the town. He came with his father in 1789, from Sharon, Conn., when there was but one framed house standing on the present site of this village, The family located themselves on the north side of the river in the neighborhood, which from that time has been known as "Wright's Settlement." Capt. Wright became connected with the First Church in August, 1815, as did a large number of the most respectable in- habitants of the town, the fruits of the powerful revival of that year. Since that he has remained a consistent and exemplary mem- ber, and highly respected and beloved by all his numerous acquaint- ance. After a somewhat protracted illness, which he bore with the most child-like acquiescence in God's will, and with a meekness and sweetness of manner which charmed all who visited him. and in the
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excreise of a lively and most comforting hope to the rest which he uow enjoys with the saints in light."
" DIED, In Rome, on the 18th inst., Mr. EDWARD POTTER, aged 93 years.
" Mr. Potter was a British soldier under Burgoyne, but deserted from that standard in Canada, and came to this State, before General Burgoyne's arrival with the Army. Although he did not join the American army, he was ever through the war a friend to American liberty, which he lived to see established and to enjoy during a lors life.
ADDENDA. - While the writer was engaged in reading the proof sheet of the last form of Rome, he accidentally learned the following little reminiseence, which was deemed worth preserving. Captain Jesse Pierce, who kept a ferry across the Mohawk at the Simon's Farm, above the Ridge Mills, was appointed by Government, in 1789, to distribute to the people the arms and equipments left in Fort Stanwix, which duty he performed. They were a gift to said inhabitants for the defence of this frontier, and it is but a few years sinee some of these veteran fire-arms were still in the hands of their recipients. This was the first military appointment in the town.
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CHAPTER XX.
SANGERFIELD.
THIS town was originally known as Township No. Twenty, of the twenty townships laid out upon the west side of the Unadilla River. Under a law of the Legislature passed February, 1789, it was surveyed in the summer of that year. After the survey, and previous to its settlement, it was simply known to the land speculators of the day as Township No. 20, of the "twenty towns." At the time of the survey it was included in Whitestown, Montgomery County. In 1790 and 1791 it was purchased of the State upon speculation, chiefly by Michael Myers, Jedediah San- ger, and John J. Morgan, and a considerable portion of it was subsequently leased in perpetuity, and much of it re- mains on lease up to the present time.
The following is a copy of the record in the case of Messrs. Myers, Sanger, and Morgan, upon their application for the purchase of Townships Nos. 18 and 20, and part of No. 19, now in the office of the Commissioners of the Land Office in Albany, under the law of March 22, 1791, for the sale of public land. Doc. Hist. of N. Y. Vol. III, p. 1072.
" The application of Michael Myers, Jedediah Sanger, and John J. Morgan, for the purchase of Townships No. 18 and 20, and the parts unsold by the Surveyor General of Township No. 19, being three of the Twenty Townships surveyed by the Surveyor General pursuant to an act passed the 25th day of February, 1789. The two
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first Townships, to wit, Nos. 18 and 20, at the rate of three shillings and three pence per acre, and the parts of No. 19 unsold, as above mentioned, at the rate of three shillings and one penny per acre, one-sixth part thereof to be paid on the 1st day of October next. and the residue in two equal payments, the one-half on the lot of April, 1792, and the remaining half on the 1st of January, 1793 being read and duly considered. (Accepted.)
·· Acres - 67,130= £ 10,908 15 shillings."
Upon the formation of Herkimer County, February 16. 1791, this township was included in that county, and in this year the first step was taken towards its settlement. In the fall of this year, Zerah Phelps, then a resident of the " Green Woods," Massachusetts, and who had previously purchased lot No. 42 in this town, sent his hired man to build a house. which was constructed of logs, and stood about twenty rods south-casterly from the present residence of Jesse O Mills. and about one mile in the same direction from the " Centre " The house was erected near a primitive elm, which is yet standing, and this was the first tenement erected for a settler in the town of Sangerfield.
About the first of March, 1792, Minierva Hale and wife. and Nathan Gurney and wife and infant, moved into the town from New Hartford, where they had previously resided one or two years. The first day of their journey they reached the house of Simon Hubbard, who lived on the place now occupied by his son Marinus Hubbard, in the town of Mar- shall, where they remained over night. Their conveyances were ox teams and sleds. On the next morning, the snon being very deep, they made short yokes for their oxen, and using their bed cords for traces, they drove them tandem. and thus plowed their way to their new farms. The distance from Mr. Hubbard's was but about four miles, but such was the almost impassable state of their route (for road they had.
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none), over hills and logs, aeross and through creeks, swamps, and thiekets, overlaid with at least four feet of snow, that it was quite night before they reached its termination. Mr. Hale had purchased land adjoining the lot of Mr. Phelps, and Mr. Gurney had purchased lot No. 40, now in the vil- lage of Waterville, and a part of which is at present owned by Aaron Stafford, Esq., whose father, Ichabod Stafford, notieed as among the earliest settlers of Augusta, purchased of Gurney. They both, however, proceeded to the house of Mr. Phelps, who had moved into it only two or three days previously, and here they remained until they built houses for themselves. The three men, their wives, and Gurney's child, all occupied the same room, and for the best of reasons, it was the only one in the house, or in the town.
In the month of April, when the heavy body of snow on the ground began to melt, their proximity to the creek be- came a source of considerable annoyance. After a very warm day and night, for the season, upon awaking in the morning they found a portion of the creck had formed a current directly through the house. A sort of cellar had been dug, large enough for present purposes, under the floor in the centre of the room, of which the water had taken possession, and the pork barrel was merrily waltzing in the eddy. The women remained in bed while the men waded out and cut large logs, on which to make a fire. During the remainder of the day, and until the water subsided, the women performed all their house work while upon their beds. Mr. Gurney immediately went to work upon his land, and was the first settler in Waterville. He built his house on the corner where Erastus Wilbur now resides. In the month of April following, Benjamin White moved in, and settled upon lots Nos. 39 and 40, the farm most of which was owned and lately occupied by Amos Osborn, deceased.
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