Bi-centennial history of Albany. History of the county of Albany, N. Y., from 1609 to 1886. With portraits, biographies and illustrations, Part 205

Author: Howell, George Rogers, 1833-1899; Tenney, Jonathan, 1817-1888
Publication date: 1886
Publisher: New York, W. W. Munsell & Co.
Number of Pages: 1452

USA > New York > Albany County > Albany > Bi-centennial history of Albany. History of the county of Albany, N. Y., from 1609 to 1886. With portraits, biographies and illustrations > Part 205

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LATHAM CORNELL.

LATHAM CORNELL was born in Newport, R. I., January 18, 1781, a son of Gideon and Susannah (Bernett) Cornell. He came of a family noted in successive generations for robust health, longevity, great business capacity and success, and was one of several brothers, all of whom amassed large fortunes and outlived most of their cotemporaries.

When Mr. Cornell was two years of age, his pa- rents moved to Easton, Washington County, N. Y., where he received a good common school educa- tion and passed the earlier part of his life as a very successful farmer. He was married, February 4, 1808, to Sarah B. White, who died about 1850. In 1815, he removed to Lansingburgh, and thence, after a few months' residence, to Troy, where he was destined to take rank among the most promi- nent manufacturers and business men of his time. He became the pioneer in the manufacture of stoves, as is attested by the following extract from Judge Sylvester's " History of Rensselaer County, N. Y." "The first stove whose manufacture was accredited to Troy was known as the 'Saddle-

bag.' William T. James, of Union Village, N. Y., its inventor, formed a partnership with Latham Cornell, of Troy, and among the several factories advertised was '275 River street, Troy.' These stoves were, however, mostly made in Philadel- phia, sent to Troy in pieces and there put together and sold." This stove, introduced by Mr. Cor- nell's enterprise, was very familiar in the days gone by. As his business increased he opened branch establishments in New York, Boston and Phila- delphia, amassing, as a consequence, much wealth. He was a man of industry, perseverance and keen insight into business affairs. He had the sagacity to stand forth very prominently among those ear- liest to supply a pressing demand throughout the country, and his enterprise was crowned with its legitimate reward. He retired in 1841, relinquish- ing his business to others.

Mr. Cornell was the great-uncle of Ezra Cor- nell, the founder of Cornell University, and was connected with others who were prominent in va- rious walks of life. He was often solicited to ac- cept office, and, at one time, was strongly urged by the best citizens to become a candidate for Mayor of the City of Troy; but he always declined, though his interest in municipal and national af- fairs was deep and intelligent. During most of his life he voted and acted with the Whig party, but from the formation of the Republican party until his death he was a member of that organiza- tion. Of Quaker ancestry, he inclined to the re- ligious faith of his forefathers. The latter part of his life was passed in retirement, and though a contributor to many public charities, his efforts were principally directed to the relief of individual cases of want which came to his notice. Decem- ber 9, 1856, he married, as his second wife, Mrs. Louisa Everts, of Troy, who survives him. He died April 17, 1876.

We take pleasure in making mention of the fol- lowing citizens, who, by their guaranteed support, have helped to insure the publication of this valua- ble work : L. D. Collins, T. Van Volkenberg, A. W. Freligh, Peter F. Witbeck, C. H. Witbeck, S. H. Pitts, Solomon Phillips, Charles W. Phillips.

THOMAS H. LANSING has been living upon a farm, since 1864, in Watervliet.

HIRAM C. ABRAMS, M. D .- This gentleman was born at Rensselaerville, Albany County, October 12, 1857; was brought up on a farm, and attended district school until the year 1870, at which time he entered the boys' academy at Albany. After his course was completed at this institution he entered the Albany Medical College and graduated from there in 1882. After this he located and com- menced practice at Newtonville, Albany County, where he at present resides.

Llornell

949

THE CITY OF COHOES.

HISTORY OF THE CITY OF COHOES.

Compiled by Rev. WM. M. JOHNSON, D. D.

CHAPTER I.

EARLY MENTION.

NY history of Cohoes will be incomplete if it A fail to refer to the visit of the celebrated poet, Thomas Moore, in the year 1804. It is, therefore, mentioned here, and the following is the poem which was the result of that visit:

LINES WRITTEN AT THE COIIOS, OR FALLS OF THE MOHAWK RIVER.

From rise of morn till set of sun

I've seen the mighty Mohawk run,

And as I marked the woods of pine

Along his mirror darkly shine, Like tall and gloomy forms that pass Before the wizard's midnight glass; And as I viewed the hurrying pace With which he ran his turbid race, Rushing, alike untired and wild Through shades that frowned and flowers that smiled, Flying by every green recess That woo'd him to its calm caress, L'et, sometimes turning with the wind,

As if to leave one look behind ! Oh! I have thought and thinking sighed - How like to thee, thou restless tide ! May be the lot, the life of him, Who roams along thy water's brim ! Through what alternate shades of woe, And flowers of joy my path may go, How many an humble, still retreat May rise to court my weary feet, While still pursuing, still unblest, I wander on, nor dare to rest ! But, urgent as the doom that calls

Thy water to its destined falls, I see the world's bewildering force

Hurry my heart's devoted course From lapse to lapse, tilt life be done And the last current cease to run ! Oh, may my falls be bright as thine ! May heaven's forgiving rainbow shine Upon the mist that circles me, As soft as now it hangs o'er thee !

The reader notices at once the spelling, Cohos, at the head of this poem. There are many varia- tions in the name of Cohoes, as Chahoos, Cahoos, Cahhoos, Kahoos, Chohos, Cohoez and Cohoz. These are all doubtless derived from the old Mo- hawk Indian dialect, Gahaoose. The meaning of the name has naturally been sought for, because Indian names were generally so significant. One interpretation is "a canoe falling." Another is " overshoot," referring to the passage of the water over the rocks. Another is "parting of the

waters." Another is "a shipwrecked canoe." This generation will not know, positively, what the Indians meant when they named Cohoes Falls. They certainly had no thought of giving the name to a large, thriving, manufacturing city.

The visit of the celebrated poet Moore is not the first on record. The place is only nine miles from Albany, following up the west bank of the Hudson, and the south branch of the Mohawk River, and citizens of Albany, as well as travelers through that city, frequently sought and found the wild and romantic spot known as Cohoes Falls. One of these visitors was the Rev. Johannes Mega- polensis, who settled in Albany in 1642, and was the first minister of the gospel there. He wrote to his friends in Holland a description of the habits and manners of the Mohawk Indians, in which occurs this passage:

"Through this land runs an excellent river, about five hundred or six hundred paces wide. This river comes out of the Mahakas country about four miles north of us. There it flows between two high rocky banks, and falls, from a height equal to that of a church, with such a noise that we can sometimes hear it with us."

An account of the visit of Adrian Van Der Donck in the year 1656 is preserved in the New York His- torical Collections. The reference to Cohoes Falls is as follows:

" The other arm of the North River runs by four sprouts, as we have related, to the great falls of the Magnas Kill (Mohawk River), which the In- dians name the Chahoos, and our nation the Great Falls, above which the river is again several hundred yards, and the falls we estimate to be one hundred and fifty or two hundred feet high. The precipice of firm blue rock. * * * *

"The Indians, when they travel by water and conie to trade, usually come in canoes made of the bark of trees, which they know how to con- struct. When they come near the falls, they land, and carry their boats and lading some distance below the falls, and proceed on their voyage; otherwise they would proceed over the falls and be destroyed."

950

HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.

CHAPTER II.

FIRST WHITE OWNERS AND INHABITANTS.

Far back in the history of New York State there is an account of a military road from Fort Orange (Albany) to Fort William Henry and Fort Ticon- deroga. This road crossed the fords of the Mo- hawk below the Falls. Here, in later days, the American forces were encamped, under Generals Schuyler and Gates, before the defeat of Burgoyne at Saratoga, and ruins of the earthworks then thrown up have been seen until quite a recent date. The falls and the fords of the Mohawk here were the first centers of attention and settlement. The first white owners of this region were Kiliaen Van Rensselaer and Mrs. Illetie Van Slyck Van Olinde. The latter was, however, a half-breed, her mother being a Mohawk (Indian) woman. Her husband was Pieter Danielse Van Olinde. Her land was given to her by the Mohawk Sachems in 1667. The south line of her possessions was the Manor avenue road of to-day, which extends west from the Falls to the Boght. South of this road were the lands of Van Rensselaer, the original patroon or proprietor of the "Colonie of Rensselaerwyck," "who in 1630, and subsequently, purchased land, which, in 1637, formed a tract twenty-four miles in breadth by forty-eight in length, extending from the immediate vicinity of Fort Orange over the great part of Albany, Rensselaer and Columbia counties."* The original village of Cohoes, and indeed nearly the whole settlement in this vicinity, was, therefore, within the domain of Van Rensse- laer. On the north side of the Mohawk was the Halve Maan (Half-Moon) patent. The islands at the mouth of the Mohawk not long after came into the possession of Capt. Goosen Gerritse Van Schaick. He died in 1676. Subsequent occu- pants of that part of the present city were Guert Hendrickse Van Schoonhoven, Harmon Lieverse and Roeloff Gerritse Van Der Werken. Mrs. C. V. S. Baldwin, at present residing on the island, is a lineal descendant of the Capt. Van Schaick just mentioned. Commencing at the north line of the Rensselaerwyck (Manor avenue), the colonists under the patroon were Heamstreet, Onderkirk, Lansing, Fonda, Clute. But it goes to show the great foresight of the patroon that he reserved quite a strip of land on the west side of the river, below the Falls land which is at present of very great value for manufacturing purposes.

North of the Manor avenue was the Van Olinde estate, a part of which has been sold for city lots, and more is in the possession of Mr. James Morri- son. There is also a part of this estate in the hands of heirs of the late Isaac D. F. Lansing. In the deed of the lands next north of the Manor avenue, by Daniel Van Olinde (who was of the first generation after the original owners, who ob- tained possession from the Indians), to Walran Clute, there was granted a privilege to build one or more saw-mills and a grind-mill. The date of this deed was 1720. This was probably the beginning

of mills in a town to be greatly noted thereafter for its many wheels and spindles. The honest Dutch farmers soon saw that there was wealth in the Co- hoes Falls, as well as in the rich soil they had com- menced to till. The account of the Cohoes mills, from the first grant of a mill privilege, in 1720, till the present time, will form later chapters in this history, and such as will appear more important than all the rest, in a temporal point of view.

NOTE .- The writer must here acknowledge his indebted- ness to Masten's History for many facts.

CHAPTER III.

COHOES INCORPORATED.

In 1830 Cohoes contained about twenty houses. In 1848 the time had arrived to incorporate the thriving village. The following resolution was adopted at a citizens' meeting :

Resolved, That in the opinion of this meeting it is expedient that we take the necessary steps to in- corporate the village of Cohoes.

On motion of Egbert Egberts, Esq., that a com- mittee of five be appointed by the Chair to take the necessary steps for the incorporation, the Chair appointed as such committee Egbert Egberts, Wm. N. Chadwick, John Van Santvoord, Jeremiah Clute and Henry D. Fuller.

It was moved and adopted that the chairman, Chas. A. Olmsted, be added to the committee, and that the committee have discretionary power to determine on the boundary of such charter, and also to call further meetings.

A vote of the electors was taken for and against the measure, June 5, 1848, which resulted as fol- lows: 346 in favor of a village charter, 26 against .*

The first charter election was held June 12, when 521 votes were cast, and the following trus- tees were elected: Alfred Phelps, Joshna R. Clarke, George Abbott, Henry D. Fuller and William Burton.

Joshua R. Clarke was chosen President.

The assessors chosen were Henry En Earl, John P. Steenberg and Wm. H. Hollister.

The other officers chosen were: Treasurer, Chas. A. Olmsted; Collector, John B. Harrison; Clerk, John Van Santvoord; Pound Master, Isaac F. Fletcher; Fire Wardens, Jacob Upham, Henry Van Auken, John McGill, Wm. Osterhont and Abram Ostrom.

The following is the list of the village presidents in the order of their election: Henry D. Fuller, Wm. F. Carter, N. W. En Earl, Wm. N. Chad- wick, Henry L. Landon, Sidney Alden, George H. Wager, Murray Hubbard, Augustus Ellmaker. Some of these were re-elected.

At the time of the incorporation the area of the village was 1, 603-22 106 acres.

The bill incorporating Cohoes as a city passed the Assembly April 15, 1869, and became a law May 19 of that year.

The first election, held April 12, 1870, resulted in the choice of Charles H. Adams for Mayor, and

* American Cyclopedia.

*Masten's History.

951

THE CITY OF COHOES.

the following Aldermen: David J. Johnston, Eg- bert Lansing, George Campbell, Moses S. Young- love, Bartholomew Mulcahy, Walter Witbeck, Charles F. North and Charles Hay. At this elec- tion the following School Commissioners were chosen: Frank Reavey, Daniel Simpson, Wm. Burton, E. N. Page, A. M. Harmon, Jonathan Hiller, Wm. Travis, Wm. S. Crane.

Under the new administration the following officers were appointed:

Excise Commissioners-Henry D. Fuller, Ed- win Hitchcock and George H. Wager.

Superintendent of Streets-Norris North. Superintendent of Cemetery-D. F. Manning. Water Commissioners-Henry Brockway, John Clute, Abial M. Harmon.

Chamberlain-Leonard Cary.

City Physician-C. E. Witbeck, M. D.

Trustee of Sinking Fund of Water Loan-H. B. Silliman.

Pound Master-Alexander Brown.

Sealer of Weights and Measures-Charles Egan. Fire Wardens-William Clough, Wm. Doty, E. S. Gregory, Richard Shannon.

The several Mayors of the city succeeding Mr. Adams have been: David J. Johnston, 1872; Henry S. Bogne, 1874; David J. Johnston, 1876; William E. Thorn, 1878, 1880; Alfred LeRoy, 1882-1884.

CHAPTER IV. COHOES MANUFACTORIES.

As already mentioned, a deed from Van Olinde to Clute, dated in 1720, gives the privilege of erect- ing one or more "Saw Mills or Grind Mills, and to Ly Dams." We must consider this the very initial of Cohoes manufactories. In 1740 the Lansing family owned a saw-mill near the Cohoes Compa- ny's dam. "A grist-mill was afterward built just south of the saw-mill, and the two establishments were run in partnership by Gerret Clute and Rutger Lansing for some years. On the Clute farm a grist- mill was also erected, which was located a short distance above the falls." (Masten's History).

" Another grist-mill, which was afterward con- verted into a carding mill, was located on the Heamstreet farm, on the flats just opposite Sim- mon's Island."

The first extensive attempt at manufacturing was made by the Cohoes Manufacturing Company in the year 1811.

This company purchased sixty acres of land, ex- tending from the bridge south to a point some dis- tance below the present site of the Episcopal Church, and being between Mohawk street and the river. A wing dam was built, and a screw factory was soon in operation. The employees were mostly from New York. Several wooden tenements were built for their accommodation, a little east and north of the present residence of Mr. H. B. Silliman.

A page from Spafford's Gazelleer of New York State, under the title Watervliet, will be of interest here: " About three miles north of Gibbonsville

(West Troy) there is a bridge across the Mohawk, a short distance below the Cahoos Falls. Since the above was written, a manufactory of screws of iron for wood-work, erected on the lower sprout of the Mohawk near the Cahoos bridge, has got into successful operation. Works are about to be added for drawing the wire from which the screws are formed, when the iron will be taken in the bar and manufactured into screws, now made of foreign wire. The machinery is all driven by water, and is said to be very ingenious, the invention of a self-taught artist, Mr. Wm. C. Penniman. Some samples of the screws which I have seen appear to be well formed, and they are cut with great dispatch. These works are owned by an incorporated company with a sufficient capi- tal, and are situated directly opposite Lansingburg, and about two miles below Waterford."

This company was ahead of its time. Its plans were too extensive to survive; the factory was burned in 1827; the corporation failed in 1829, and the property was sold to the Cohoes Com- pany.

While the screw factory was in operation, a new industry was started near the falls. The manufac- ture of writing paper was commenced in Garret Clute's mill. This building, used at first as a grist- mill, had been afterward employed as a flannel factory on a very small scale. The proprietor of the paper mill was Elisha Sheldon, and a Mr. En- sign was superintendent. Previous to the organi- zation of the Cohoes Company, part of the property of the Cohoes Manufacturing Company fell into the hands of the De Milt brothers, of New York, who erected a small cotton factory. They also had a small factory for the manufacture of shovels and other tools, conducted by Collin & Jones.

THE COHOES COMPANY.

This association was incorporated as a hydraulic manufacturing company, March 28, 1826. Its original incorporated capital was $250,000, which was increased, April 26, 1833, to $500,000. The trustees were : Peter Remsen, Charles E. Dudley, Stephen Van Rensselaer, Jr., Francis Olmstead, Canvass White, Henry J. Wyckoff and David Wilk- inson.

Mr. Canvass White appears to have been the originator of this company. He had served as an engineer during the construction of the Erie Canal, and thus first was enabled to appreciate the value of Cohoes Falls as a manufacturing point. He was made the first president of the Cohoes Com- pany, with Mr. Van Rensselaer as vice-president, and Mr. Wyckoff as secretary. This company commenced practical operations by buying a large tract of land of I. D. F. Lansing, for $12,495. Mr. Lansing reserved from the mill privilege, which the above sale included, enough water for four run of stone. Other lands were purchased on the Waterford side above and below the Falls, and also below the Falls on the south side of the river. The company now owns the entire water-power of the river from half a mile above to one mile below the Falls, with a total fall of 120 feet. In the

952.

HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF ALBANY.

year 1831 the company built a wooden dam across the river, above the Falls, which was carried away by ice, January 10, 1832. Another dam was immediately constructed below the site of the first, which was partially destroyed by ice in 1839, and rebuilt the same year. The present stone dam, which is the most costly and substantial structure of its kind in the world, was built in 1865. The gate-honse, with its head-gates, was completed the year following. The latter edifice is substantially built of brick, and measures 218 feet in length, in- cluding its wings and towers. The front tower measures 31 feet in height, and the main tower 43 feet. This dam is 1,443 feet in length, and is built directly below and in connec- tion with the old dam, thus acquiring additional strength. The cost of this dam, with its appur- tenances, was $180,000. The engineer of this great work was Wm. E. Worthen, of New York City, assisted by Mr. D. H. Van Auken, the en- gineer of the company. The contract for its con- struction was fulfilled by Mr. John Bridgford, of Albany, Mr. T. G. Younglove being the agent of the company at that time. By means of this dam, the entire waters of the Mohawk can be diverted from their natural channel and impressed into the service of the manufacturers. The water runs into and is used from five successive canals. The first of these canals was constructed in 1834, and is one and three-quarters miles long, with a fall of 18 feet. The second, which consists in part of the old Erie Canal, was excavated in 1843, is one- third of a mile long and has a fall of 25 feet. The third is a half a mile in length, with a fall of 23 feet, and was in part constructed in 1843, and part taken from the old Eric Canal and brought into use the same year. The fourth and fifth canals are half a mile each in length, with 20 feet fall, and were completed in the year 1880. As these several canals, occupying different levels, are all connected together, it will be seen that the same water is used six different times. The water is leased by the company at $20 per horse-power per annum, with a quantity of land proportioned to the power taken. That the price charged here is much less than in any other large manufacturing district, is evidenced by the fact that the expenses from this source of some of the largest knitting mills scarcely exceeds $1,000 per year. The available power of the company is estimated at 10,000 horse- power, as used and to be used upon the successive levels and falls above stated. All the manufacto- ries of Cohoes are supplied with water-power by the Cohoes Company, this being the only motor used in the city. For some time after its organization, this company manufactured extensively, in addition to supplying power to others; but, as the industrial interests of the place commenced to develop, the association gradually relinquished manufacturing, and finally confined itself entirely to the furnishing of power.

The present officers are as follows : President, Charles C. Birdseye, of New York City ; Treasurer, Wm. F. Thorn, of Cohoes ; Secretary, David H. Van Auken.

The office of agent was abolished in 1875, at the end of Mr. T. G. Younglove's term ; the business of that office passing into the hands of Mr. Wm. E. Thorn, treasurer, who has the control and man- agement of the affairs of the company at the pres- ent time.

NOTE .- The above history of the Cohoes Company was prepared by Mr. D. H. Van Auken, the present secretary.

CHAPTER V.

THE HARMONY MILLS COMPANY.

This company was incorporated in 1836, under the name of the "Harmony Manufacturing Com- pany.'

Peter Harmony, a Spanish gentleman of wealth and enterprise, was the founder and the first Pres- ident of the corporation, and from him the corpo- rate name was taken.

Associated with him were Henry Plunket, Peter Remsen, Francis Olmstead, H. J. Wickoff, P. H. Schenck & Co., Jas. Stevenson, Joseph D. Constant, Wm. Sinclair, Van-Wyck Wickes, Eliphalet Wickes, Le Bron & Ives, Tennis Van Vechten, Joab Houghton, Chas. O. Handy, Francis Griffin, Jacob H. Ten Eyck, Ellis Winne, Jr., Hugh White, Henry Dudley, Stephen Van Rens- selaer, Jr., and Benj. Knower, who were among the prominent business men of their time. None of them now survive.

The company bought a tract of land, about a quarter of a mile south of the Cohoes Falls, and in 1837 erected a substantial brick building, 165 feet long, 50 feet wide and four stories high, which, complete, with water-wheels, flumes, etc., cost $72,000.

Three brick blocks were built at the same time, just west of the mill, and divided into tenements, for the use of the operatives.

The mill was equipped with the best cotton machinery then in use, and the manufacture of cotton cloth began under the most favorable cir- cumstances.

The visions of the projectors of the enterprise were colored with anticipated large returns for their investment; but either from bad management or other cause not known to the writer, their bright dreams were dispelled by the bald fact that the balances were invariably on the wrong side of the ledger. Indeed, the only ycar between 1837and 1850 when the receipts exceeded the expenditures was in 1838.

Several changes occurred in the ownership, and spasmodic attempts were made to turn the tide of fortune in the right direction until 1850, when, at a compulsory sale, the property was purchased by Garner & Co., of New York, and Alfred Wild, of Kinderhook. The annual product of the mill then was 1, 500,000 yards of print-cloth; 700 bales of cotton were consumed and 250 hands employed.

The new proprietors at once placed the entire management of the mill in the hands of Mr. Robert Johnston, who had been in charge of

953

THE CITY OF COHOES.

Nathan Wild's mill at Valatie, New York, for a number of years previous. Mr. Johnston, with a large practical knowledge and a rare intuition, at once grasped the causes of disaster to his predeces- sors, and began to bring order out of chaos.

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Bi-centennial history of Albany. History of the county of Albany, N. Y., from 1609 to 1886. With portraits, biographies and illustrations, Part 205

Author: Howell, George Rogers, 1833-1899; Tenney, Jonathan, 1817-1888 Publication date: 1886 Publisher: New York, W. W. Munsell & Co. Number of Pages: 1452

Author: Howell, George Rogers, 1833-1899; Tenney, Jonathan, 1817-1888
Publication date: 1886
Publisher: New York, W. W. Munsell & Co.
Number of Pages: 1452