USA > New York > Chenango County > Oxford > Annals of Oxford, New York : with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and early pioneers > Part 7
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Having made a small clearing and put in some wheat, they returned to Massachusetts in the fall, by way of Utica. Their route was a narrow path through the bound- less forest indicated only by marked trees. At intervals there were attached to trees small covered boxes for mail. Travelers examined these for letters to go their way and delivered them.
On the 3d of March, 1794, Mr. Baldwin married Miss Parthenia Stanford of Duxbury, Mass., and soon after re- turned to Oxford and built the house now owned and oc- cupied by Francis G. Clarke, leaving his wife until the road could be made so that a horse could make the pas- sage. While thus engaged he boarded with Peter Burg- hardt. The next fall his wife came in company with Sol- omon Dodge. In July, 1796, Mr. Baldwin moved his wife
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and infant daughter, Miriamne, into the house he had erected. It was minus windows and doors, there his son Harvey was born the next day.
Mrs. Baldwin brought from Massachusetts a mitten full of apple, currant and rose seeds, which she planted, aided by a nephew, David Baldwin, who cleared away the under brush. She said she never should eat the fruit from trees of her own planting; but lived to see those same apple trees bear thirty bushels each of wholesome fruit.
Mr. Baldwin laid the foundation of the large building, now the St. James hotel, and prepared window frames, sash and doors for building a large hotel; but when the interests of Oxford were sacrificed, and the county seat located at Norwich, he left the work unfinished. Al- though at times profane, which gave him the name of "Deacon," he was an honest man.
He donated half the land for LaFayette square, now LaFayette park, and as one of the first trustees of Oxford Academy, gave freely of time and money to advance the interests of that institution. He was the builder of many of the first houses, together with the first school house on the west side of the river, and the second river bridge.
No early name is more prominent than Jonathan Bald- win's; the benefactor of the poor, a sterling character, re- taining his intellectual faculties unimpaired until his death at the age of 82, which occurred July 2, 1845. The com- munity at large mourned his loss. Mrs. Baldwin died April 21, 1848, aged 77. Their children were:
MIRIAMNE, born January 15, 1793; married October 26, 1817, Peleg B. Folger, a shoemaker, from Hudson, who came here soon after the war of 1812, and died Feb- ruary 5, 1857, aged 65. Mrs. Folger died January 25, 1881, aged 84. Children : Parthenia A., died April 4, 1890, at
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Binghamton; unmarried. William, married Melissa Gray of Scranton. Eben, married Lucy Hall. John, married Elizabeth Hall. Hannah, married Dr. S. F. McFarland. Mary, married William Benedict.
JAMES HARVEY, born July 2, 1796; married Elizabeth Shaffer of Lewisburg, Pa., and died in Pennsylvania, August 11, 1832, while engaged in bridge building. Child- ren : Jonathan, Harvey, Maria, Jane and Cordelia.
SOPHIA, born June 22, 1800 ; married Frederick Greene. NANCY, born January 13, 1801, died in infancy.
HAPPYLONE, born July 26, 1802, died unmarried Jan- uary 12, 1833.
LOUISA, born March 24, 1804, died unmarried Novem- ber 10, 1883, aged 79.
THOMAS, born July 4, 1805, died September 25, 1875; mar- ried Rebecca Buckly, who died suddenly January 11, 1875. He lived and died on the farm now owned by his daugh- ters, Mary L., wife of Charles A. Bennett, and F. Ada- laide Baldwin.
CHARLES, born July 23, 1807, died unmarried December 8, 1849.
BETSEY M., born March 25, 1809, died unmarried No- vember 2, 1899, aged 90.
SAMUEL, born in March, 1811, married Jane Hagaman of Greene; died at Corning, in 1852. Children: Ann, James, died in army ; Jane, Kate.
JOHN, born November 6, 1813, died unmarried May, 1895.
Eleazer Smith, a patriot of the Revolution and also en- gaged in the French war, was among the early settlers of Oxford. He died in Greene December 8, 1822, aged 75.
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One who journeying Along a way he knows not, having crossed A place of drear extent .- BRYANT.
Joseph Dickinson.
Joseph Dickinson born in 1774 in Connecticut; died April 19, 1862, in Oxford; married November 2, 1797, Mary Rowland of Connecticut; born about 1776; died January 15, 1863, in Oxford.
Mr. Dickinson, at the age of 19, John Gott and another man, whose name cannot be recalled, came from Connecti- cut in 1793. The three had a horse and one would ride a distance and hitch, then another would take his turn and so on to their journey's end. They crossed the Hudson at Albany and passed through the Mohawk valley to Utica, where there were but two log houses and a log barn. Con- tinuing their journey to Richfield Springs by Indian trail they cleared the leaves from a large sulphur spring and drank the strong water. The deer had a hard beaten path where they had come to drink from the same spring. From Richfield Springs through New Berlin to Thomas Root's in Oxford they were guided only by marked trees, as there were no roads, only paths and "blazed " trees. The houses, or log cabins, were long distances apart and often they found it very difficult to find anything to eat. The only articles you could get one cent of money for were potash and salts. The nearest grist mills were at Sidney and Chenango Forks, and Mr. Dickinson often would tie a bag of corn or wheat on the back of a horse, and going ahead in the path lead the animal to mill, often being absent three days. On one occasion he returned late at night and found his children had gone to bed crying with hunger. Mrs. Dickinson hastily prepared a meal from the
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grist and all were soon enjoying a feast that was remem- bered to the end of their days. Sometimes butter was made in a wooden box rocked back and forth by hand, and when fine starch was required it was prepared from grated potatoes. There were no doctors within a long distance and Mr. Dickinson helped set a number of broken bones for his neighbors, using splints by cutting a small bass- wood tree, which was very soft. Mr. Dickinson, one of the Tracys and Frederick Hopkins were all churchmen before they came to Oxford, and would meet once in two or three weeks and read the service of the Episcopal church. After a time others joined with them and in the course of a few years regular services were held in the vil- lage. Children :
JOSEPH, JR., born October 4, 1798; died September 1, 1845; married September 17, 1739, Roxy Dodge. Child : Roxy.
MARY, born June 25, 1800; died February 3, 1884 ; mar- ried January 25, 1820, Alison Hopkins.
LYDIA ANN, born September 1, 1802; died July 18, 1870; married January 6, 1830, Andrew Mead.
HARRIET, born January 20, 1806; married December 21, 1823, Zelotes Blinn. Had eleven children.
ELISHA, born May 14, 1808; died April 26, 1809.
HANNAH, born March 4, 1810; died March 23, 1884. Un- married.
ELISHA, 2d, born April 6, 1812 ; died November 3, 1889 ; married November 26, 1835, Phila Mowry. Children : Lydia E., married Thomas Wheeler. Almira, died in in- fancy. -, daughter, died in infancy.
DAVID, born June 27, 1815 ; died September 1881 ; mar- ried June 26, 1840, Mary M. Kinney. Children : Harriet, born in infancy ; Charles and Julia.
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He was not of an age, but for all time .- BEN JONSON
John Buckley.
John Bulkley, now spelled Buckley, was born in Con- necticut and came to Oxford in 1795, settling in the western part of the town upon a farm which he purchased and lived upon till his death. In the winter months he worked at his trade, a wheelwright, and during the summer months engaged in farming. He married Hannah Decker of Ger- man descent, by whom he had seven children: Cynthia, married Angus Bartle; Jacob, Hannah, married Uri Bar- tle; Peter, married Ruth Ann Bartle; Polly, married David H. Bixby ; Rebecca, married Thomas Baldwin ; Sally Ann, married Eliakim Bixby.
Jacob Buckley, born in 1804, married Clarinda, daugh- ter of Stephen Hastings of Smithville, and died October 15, 1884, on the old homestead. He learned the trade of millright and owned and operated sawmills in Oxford and Smithville. Mrs. Buckley died January 8, 1895, aged 88 years. Children : Sarah Jane, died in infancy; Marion, married Charles Stratton; died November 9, 1901; Wil- liam P .; Almeda, married John P. Davis; A. Anvernett, married Henry D. Willcox, died January 14, 1904; Mary A., married James Warn.
William P. Buckley, born October 2, 1838, died Aug- ust 22, 1905. He was educated at Oxford Academy. He taught school for several terms and then took up the work
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of a carpenter and joiner, which he learned thoroughly, becoming one of the best of mechanics. In later years his reputation as a contractor and builder extended through- out the surrounding country, as is shown by the many fine residences and public buildings he had put up in Oxford and adjoining towns. For seven years he was captain in the State militia. Mr. Buckley married in 1865, Ruth A., daughter of Uri and Hannah (Buckley) Bartle, who died August 29, 1892. One son, J. Burr, was born to them. Mr. Buckley's second wife was Mrs. Helen (Lewis) Brown, widow of Smith Brown of Preston, whom he married De- cember 26, 1894.
D EATH OF PRESIDENT TAYLOR .- President Zach- ary Taylor died at Washington, July 9, 1850. On the receipt of the news in Oxford the several church bells were tolled for an hour. On the day of the funeral a can- non was fired half-hourly during the day, and the bells again tolled for an hour and places of business closed.
I N 1822 the business of the county increased and sub- stantial signs of prosperity and wealth appeared on every hand. The farming interest became important and the Gazette in July announced that "ten thousand dollars had been expended by three merchants of this village for black salts within two months preceeding."
A N EARTHQUAKE .- Shortly after 11 o'clock a. m., October 20, 1870, two distinct shocks of an earth- quake were felt in this village. The shock lasted nearly a minute, and people hurriedly vacated their buildings, fear- ing they were about to fall.
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From yon blue heaven above us bent, The grand old gardener and his wife Smile at the claims of long descent. -TENNYSON.
Eber Williams
Eber Williams was born November 6, 1776, and mar- ried Martha Bennett November 7, 1799, at Foster, R. I., which town they left October 16, 1808, moving to Warren, now Columbia, N. Y. After remaining there three years they came to Oxford and settled in the dense woods on the farm now owned by Mason Whipple, and better known as the Stephen Weeks farm. In 1814 Mr. Williams sold to Philo Pier, and removed to a farm in Columbus, this county; remaining there three years he returned to Ox- ford and went on the farm he originally owned, occu- pying it till his death.
Mr. Williams was fifth in descent from Roger Williams, who settled Rhode Island in 1636. The line of succession being: Roger, Daniel, Joseph, Benoni, John, and Eber. His father was born December 27, 1742, and died in August, 1843. His mother was a sister of Stephen Hop- kins, one of the signers of the Declaration of Independ- ence, and his wife was a descendant from the Royal house of Tudor, England.
Mr. and Mrs. Williams died on the same day, October 3, 1867, aged 91 and 87 respectively, and were buried in the same grave.
Their children were:
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DANIEL B., born September 3, 1800; lived for many years at Cincinnatus, where he died, May 28, 1889.
POLLY, born April 7, 1803, married Vinson Loomis, and . died in Smithville.
SALLY, born June 6, 1809, married Isaac Wright, and died in Wisconsin.
JOHN A., born May 28, 1813, lived at Beloit, Wis.
MARTHA C., born July 10, 1815, married Wilson J. Case; moved to Spring Valley, Wis.
JULIA A., born October 25, 1817, married Stephen Weeks, and died on the homestead farm July 4, 1876.
In the fall of 1828 a number of Mr. Williams' neigh- bors had a quantity of butter on hand, but found no buyers in Oxford. They urged Mr. Williams to take it at ten cents a pound, or they would pay him four dollars per hundred for selling it for them. Mr. William con- sented, and sent his son Daniel to Rhode Island with the butter. He started November 28, with a yoke of oxen and a pair of horses for a team, with a long-reached, high- boxed wagon, and thirty hundred pounds of butter, ex- clusive of thirty heavy firkins for packages and some other loading, making in all about thirty-five hundred pounds. Daniel walked beside the team and was fourteen days on the road, making about 260 miles. He had a common- sized log chain to fasten a wheel in going down the steep hills. When descending the eastern declivity of the Catskills, he chained one wheel as usual, but, it occur- ring to him that it might not hold, fastened another wheel with a strong rope, and had gone but a short distance when the chain broke, but, luckily, the rope held and he descended in safety. With the assistance of relatives in Rhode Island Daniel sold the butter and the oxen. Dur- ing the month of January he started for home, the weather
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remaining warm till he crossed the Connecticut river, when it became intensely cold, and, on reaching the Hud- son river, found he could not cross on account of the floating ice. Learning that the river was open at Troy, he drove to that city, reaching the landing just after the last boat for the day had crossed. He then went to Lansingburg, crossed on the bridge, passed through Sche- nectady, striking the Albany turnpike at Post's Tavern, and stopped a few days with relatives in Herkimer. From there he came home, having made a trip in mid-winter of about 600 miles, a hazardous undertaking for those days.
W HAT THEY ADVERTISED .- In April, 1819, Sam- uel Farnham advertised "An assortment of choice Liquors and Groceries, suitable for the sick as well as those in health." John Tracy, P. M., advertised a list of let- ters in post office. Ep. Miller, president of the board of village trustees, called a meeting of that board, to " Meet on the 1st Tuesday of May at 10 A. M." L. Sherwood & Co., had " Just received from New York a great variety of goods suitable for the season." Ransom Rathbone had " For sale, a large quantity of Men's and Boys' Knapt, Merino and Wool hats, which he will sell as low as can be purchased at any hat factory in the county." The notice by one of the citizens offering " A smart, active, healthy negro " for sale, evinced that the sable cloud of slavery yet hung over the State.
The population of Oxford in 1855 was town, 1,900; vil- lage, 1,218-total 3,118.
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" Yankee Doodle, twist the cat- Buttermilk and brandy ; Guess I'll bet my Sunday hat They'll find I'm a boy quite handy."
Josiah Hackett.
Thus sang Josiah Hackett as he entered the village on the 10th of July, 1798, a beautiful summer afternoon with a touch of rain in the wind. He was a man of forty years, dressed in short breeches, long stockings with the accompaning shoebuckles, and carried a musket over his shoulder, which he termed " The Bloodsucker." Approach- ing a humble abode, whose friendly door stood open and from which the housewife looked forth, he addressed her as follows :
" Madame, I'm a soldier, a shoemaker, and a traveler, seeking a place of shelter until I can make arrangements to locate in this section of God's country. I've been to the inn, but, fags and catnip! their rooms are taken for the night, and the landlord said he couldn't lodge another person nohow. Can you lodge me till morning? "
" Yes," was the smiling reply; "I think we can make room for you, though my husband, Mr. Hovey, is not at home just at present. He is at the Academy, where Jus- tice Kent, Esq., is holding court. But you look tired, come in and wait. He will be here soon."
· " Thank ye, ma'am, I am that tired that if I was carried to the highest court of Juncture I couldn't make a move to resist."
He was ushered into the kitchen, whose floor of rough boards was cleanly swept and the huge stone fireplace
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was apparently ready for the preparation of the evening meal. On the mantle over the fireplace stood a candle- stick, a sausage stuffer, a spice mill, and a candle mold. By the side of the fireplace hung a smoke-blackened al- manac, and by the hearth stood the high-backed settle, a sheltered seat for the long winter evenings. Within a short time Gen. Hovey appeared and soon the two were busily engaged in conversation. In answer to a question in regard to himself, Josiah replied :
" I am from Lyme, Conn., where I was born in 1758. When the alarm that preceded the battle of Bunker Hill spread through the country, I took my musket, which I call ' The Bloodsucker,' and started for the scene of con- flict, where we were busier than seven bumblebees in a punkin blow. Since then my musket goes where I go. She's a quick-witted jade, but she's trusty and true."
" What is your business here? " asked Gen. Hovey.
"I am a shoemaker, and want to locate in this new country, and was told you were a land agent. I made in- quiries at the inn for lodgings, but could not get in. ' Rab- bit ye, an' be darn'd,' says I, and moved along."
" No, they have now more than they can accommodate," replied Gen. Hovey. "Hon. James Kent, Esq., one of the Justices of the Supreme Court of judicature of the State, held Circuit Court here to-day, the first in the his- tory of our youthful county."
" Oh, by the lurry and living jingo! had I known that court was in session I might have come earlier, as I would liked to have heard the proceedings," said Josiah, as he took a pipe and tobacco from his pocket.
" They were not interesting, as there was no business to transact at this sitting. It was a mere matter of form, you know. But Justice Kent is a keen man, and I pre- dict that he will at least be Chancellor some day."
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" Oh, well, then I haven't lost a nation sight of jigger- marees, if there was no business before the court."
" No," replied the General, " but as to your business here. You are a shoemaker, you say, and we need a man here of that trade as much as any other. The community is growing, and you'll get a good living."
" Fags and catnip! I'm not only a shoemaker, but a patriot also, as 'The Bloodsucker,' my trusty musket which has never missed fire, can testify. I come to this country to earn a living for myself, wife, and little one, and I'll be soused in a butter tub if I don't do it. I also came for game, and they who know me best say I'm a good marksman. Uts, bobs, and butakins, but that won't do for me to say."
" And you are a patriot? "
" Yes. I saw a wonderation sight of fighting, but more about that some other time. Last fall my health was so poor that I thought I'd have to lie down in the graveyard and draw the green coverlet over my poor old body for the long sleep. I couldn't set in meeting, or scarcely lie in bed. A doctor told me I was afflicted with a complaint of the lungs, and that I had better move on west when summer came, or my flesh would waste and I would grow weaker and bowed down. 'All right,' says I, 'I insign to see what your advice is good for if it costs me my fire- ball colt!' "
" You appear quite rugged now."
"Yes, I have been on the way several weeks and got rid of a flamation wheezing and difficulty in breathing. Ods, bodkins, but I like this new country, and will locate here, or a few miles out. 'Drather be out of the hamlet, where I feel all over goose pimples, and where I'll have a better chance at game that abounds in this section. When ' The Bloodsucker' gets a fair chance at any of it, it will
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find its gizzard ripp'd out as quick as a pig can crack a walnut."
" Well, we can locate you any where you choose. Let me see, what did I understand your name is-"
" Josiah Hackett, Si for short. A soldier, a shoemaker, and now a traveler. I love my country, and rabbit ye, the day of its birth, the glorious Fourth, whose anniversary was but last week, is the day of days for me. It is my solemn wish, and may the great and living Father grant it, that the hour that ends my life may come upon the Fourth of July."
"That is an odd wish. But you are yet in the prime of life and undoubtedly have many years yet before you."
" That is very true, but I shall always have that desire, for to me it is a sacred day."
It was now the supper hour, and Mrs. Hovey called them in from the rear of the dwelling where they had been sitting. On the following morning arrangements were made by which Josiah located near the " Desserts," in the south part of the town, and it was he that gave the name to that section.
On July 4th, 1845, forty-seven years later, Luman Fish entered C. F. T. Locke's store and said :
" Well, Locke, ' Uncle Si's' got his wish at last."
"Do you mean old Si Hackett? " inquired Mr. Locke, as he proceeded to tie up a pound of tea he had been weighing.
" Yes; you know he has always wished to die on the Fourth of July, and to-day the end came. We'll never see " Uncle Si,' with 'The Bloodsucker' over his shoulder, again."
" Well, well," said Mr. Locke, as he stepped in front of
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the counter. We'll miss him and his musket. He was always firing a salute on Independence day."
" Yes," was the reply, " and a better marksman I never saw. He came here when the town was new and when there was plenty of game. He used to say his musket was a quick-witted jade, but trusty and true."
"That's so," replied Locke. He was a great hunter, and they say he fought bravely in the Revolution."
" Yes, and he was that patriotic that to this day he could hardly bare to talk to an Englishman. And an- other thing, we'll miss his singing ' Yankee Doodle' on all occasions."
" Well, if St. Peter hears him singing as he approaches, he'll be so astonished that Si will dodge in the gates of heaven without the countersign."
OLD WOOD CUT-Showing Academy, Ladies' and Gentlemen's Board- Halls. The present school building occupies the site of the old academy, which was taken down and re-erected in the Lackawanna railroad yard for a store house; the ladies hall (formerly the fourth academy building standing next to the Baptist parsonage) was again removed to Greene-st., and is now a residence. The gentlemen's hall (now Morton flats) alone oc- cupies the site of what once was the scene of a flourishing boarding school.
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That best portion of a good man's life, His little, nameless, unremembered acts Of kindness and of love. -WORDSWORTH.
William Gile.
Deacon William Gile, who kept a clothing store on the east side of the river, owned and occupied the house op- posite the Congregational church, so long occupied in later years by Cyrus M. Brown, the hatter. Mr. Gile was attentive to his business, never leaving it for any purpose outside of it, except for such things as he thought the welfare of the Presbyterian church demanded. Of his earnings he was a liberal giver, both to the church of his choice and to such benevolent and charitable purposes as he thought deserving. For several years it was his practice to set apart the net proceeds of one day's sales in each week for better purposes, and the larger the amount of the sales the better he was pleased. About the year 1829 the Presbytery, to which the church in Oxford belonged, sent him as a delegate to the general synod which met in Philadelphia. For several years he was superintendent of the Sunday school, taught a Bible class, and was the leader in all church work.
Mr. Gile was not a politician, as the term is generally applied, but always voted for those he thought the best men, regardless of party; a strictly temperance man, and bitterly opposed to slavery. On the disruption of the old colonization society and the organization of the abolition-
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ist party he became one of the first abolitionists in Ox- ford, and from that time on always voted that ticket when there was one in the field.
Deacon Gile was born in Providence, R. I., and moved to Oxford about the year 1808. A few years later he married Ann, daughter of Capt. Abram Stephens, at that time owner of the property in Preston, known far and near as the " Green Meadow farm." Mr. Gile resided in this village until the year 1818, when he disposed of his property and with his family emigrated to Ohio, moving in a wagon to Olean Point on the Allegheny river. Here he built a flat bottomed boat, or ark, and floated down the stream to Gallipolis, Ohio, remaining there seven years. Epidemics and fevers were so common in that country that the entire family were sick all of one season, and, becoming discouraged, he determined to leave. In the meantime the title to his property in Oxford had reverted to him, and he with his family returned, moved into the old home on Fort Hill, remaining until about 1839, when he again sold out and went to Steuben county. From there he moved to Wisconsin, where his wife died. He then resided with his children, spending a portion of his time with Joshua in Iowa, Gordon in Wisconsin, and Caroline, his youngest daughter, in Hannibal, Mo., where he died of cholera in 1876. He died as he had lived, a firm believer in the principles and faith of the Presby- terian church, in mind and body as vigorous as at the age of 40; and respected by all who knew him. His chil- dren, beside those already mentioned, were Margaret, wife of Charles N. Shumway, who died October 20, 1846, aged 31; John, Ruloff, and William S., who in 1888 was Com- missioner of Fisheries for Kansas, with residence at Venango.
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