USA > New York > Seneca County > Romulus > Centennial celebration of the official organization of the town of Romulus, Seneca county, New York > Part 11
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12
"THE LEGAL PROFESSION."
Response by Col. John J. VanAllen, of Watkins.
"THE MEDICAL PROFESSION. '
Responded to by Dr. Elias Lester, of Seneca Falls, as follows :
MR. PRESIDENT, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN :
I am sure that I feel very grateful for the lionor of represent- ing the Medical Association of Seneca County, at this Centennial of one of its most flourishing towns, and thank the committee for remembering the medical profession at such a time. The hundred years past, have given progress to medicine and surgery, as well as to agriculture, science and the arts.
CENTENNIAL OF ROMULUS. 125
It is not my intention to give in these brief remarks, a history of the profession for the past hundred years, nor to note the great progress in medical science during this period. I am a great believer in medical societies, in concerted action for the advance- ment of scientific research. I believe there is a great future before the human race, and I see a time within the next century, when things will be far different from what they are now.
I look forward to the time when every detail of city arrange- ments, the pavements, the drainage, everything will be arranged by the concerted action and combined wisdom of the medical pro- fession. I look forward to the time, when every detail of dress, instead of being governed by idle and frivolous fashion, shall be determined by scientific principles, evolved from the wisdom of the medical profession.
When that time comes, Mr. President, there will be no neces- sity, any longer for armies or navies. Everything will be so arranged, on such wise, such solid, such complete plans and methods, that it will be absolute protection. And when that time does come, my honest conviction is, that this section, these beau- tiful fields, between these lovely lakes, will be the center and head of the affair, and thousands will congregate here, to restore their destroyed health and enjoy the full pleasure of a well spent life.
Singing by Quartette.
"OUR REVOLUTIONARY FATHERS AND PIONEER SETTLERS."
Response by E. P. Cole, Esq., as follows : * MR. PRESIDENT :
What can I say of our Revolutionary fathers that has not been said by far more gifted tongues than mine ? However, I can
*Mr. Cole was not present at the Celebration, and this address was not delivered, but the copy as previously prepared, has been furnished for pub- lication.
.
I26
CENTENNIAL OF ROMULUS.
say, had it not been for such men as Washington and John Han- cock, and others of like character-men of honor, men of princi- ple, men of action, ready to die, if need be, for what they believed to be the right-I feel that I can safely assert, had it not been for those noble men, and of those who have conscientiously endea- vored to carry into execution the good examples they left us, and the useful lessons they taught us, such an occasion as we celebrate to-day, could not have been. Therefore, to the memory of those who have "gone before," I would add my tribute of praise to the good works they performed, and the rich legacy they left us.
I feel proud of the fact that my great-grandfather was a Revo- lutionary soldier, and was one of the first, if not the very first, white man to settle in the town of Ovid. In the fall of the year, 1788, Peter Smith visited the "lake country," as this region was at that time called. He built a rude hut, out of what at one time had been an Indian wigwam. With sharp sticks he dug up the earth, and sowed thereon some wheat. He then dragged it in with brush. His work being completed, he returned to his home in Bucks county, Penn. On account of sickness, he was not able to bring his wife to their pioneer home until the month of July of the following year, 1789. With him came David Wisner, who, settled in Romulus, and, by the way, was what they called in those days a "parson."
After building a commodious log cabin, Mr. Wisner returned to Pennsylvania, and there purchased a team of oxen and some corn. When he returned with the supplies, he found that Peter Smith had neighbors, the Dunlaps, Wilsons, Fassetts, and other early settlers of Ovid.
As we look over this lovely country to-day, it seems scarcely possible, that one hundred years ago, it was covered by native for- ests, a wilderness inhabited by the savage red men, the Arabs of America; and where once stood the wigwam, in many instances, now stand beautiful farm houses, inhabited by an intelligent and refined population. As I look about me, I see fatliers and motli- ers, whose blossoming heads tell of many years of earnest labor, in bringing our country up to its present high standard. Permit me to welcome you, as the victors on many a hard fought field. We
127
CENTENNIAL OF ROMULUS.
recognize the fact, that you cleared away the timber region, and made the country to blossom as the rose. You, gentlemen of ripe years, can well say, times have changed since we were boys. No anniversary meetings in those days, no time for any ; hay all cut with hand scythes ; grain all cut with cradle. Why, the young men of to-day hardly know a grain cradle when they see one ! An incident is related of a young man from the city seeking employ- ment. When asked if he could cradle, lie blushingly replied : "Yes, but I would rather work out of doors."
There was very little dairying, in the early days, in this county. Then nearly all the cows were found roughing it in the snows, and unprotected from the cold winds of winter. Said one of the old pioneers : "I remember the time when butter sold for eight cents a pound, if it was good. Cheese making for market began when I was a boy. It was full-cream, and in the fall the season's make was packed in barrels or casks and sent to New York, where it was sold for from three to four cents per pound. The price of farm labor was fifty cents per day and board." Grandfather and grandmother can well say, "Times have changed
since we were young." We are living in a time when the farm laborer gets double the wages he did in early days; the farnier gets double the income from his farm; yet I fear there is more indebt- edness and less money saved now than in the days of "Auld Lang Syne." Why is it? The question can be answered at least in part. If our parents or grandparents of fifty or seventy-five years ago were to enter one of our modern houses to-day, and see our floors covered with costly carpets or rugs, pictures and bric-a-brac adorning the walls, luxurious chairs and sofas, book-cases filled with beautiful books, instruments of music, our dining-tables set with the endless variety of china and glass, napkins and the multi- plicity of silver knives, forks and spoons, they would believe we were all possessed of great wealth ; but I think I can tell what they would say, and it would be something like this; that we were living in a more extravagant style than we could afford. Had it been possible for our early settlers, and they had allowed themselves the luxuries we enjoy, and feel are actually necessary, they would not have been able to have left us the good homes,
I28
CENTENNIAL OF ROMULUS.
the fine farms we possess to-day. But our goodly heritage means something. It means hard labor, privation, strict economy, pru- dence and thrift of those "gone before, " that we, the children of to-day, might enjoy the reward of their toil.
To the young men and women who live in the country, let . me say :. you are engaged in the oldest and most noble occupation of man. Ever keep this fact before you. Agriculture is the mother of us all. Agriculture feeds, to a great extent it clothes 11s. Without it, we should have no manufactures, we should have 110 commerce. "These great industries stand together like mon11- ments-the largest in the centre, and the largest is agriculture."
The march of progress is irresistible. We cannot stay it. We must either join the procession or be left hopelessly in the rear. In this progressive age, the grain cradle gives place to the modern self-binder. The scythe hangs rusting on the tree, while the mowing machine lays low the grassy meadows. The hum of the threshing machine is heard where we used to hear the dull thud of the flail. By these things are we taught the meaning of the Divine words: "Old things have passed away, and all things have become new."
"THE LADIES."
Responded to by Rev. Dr. N. Beall Remick, of Geneva, as follows :
MR. CHAIRMAN AND FRIENDS :
"The best of the wine at the last of the feast !" That is to say, if I may be allowed poetic license : The ladies, though last on to-day's programme, are always first in our hearts !
In inviting me to stand here, and respond to this sentiment, you have conferred upon me a distinguished honor. For who cares to speak of Indians, or Statesmen, or Poets, or Clergymen, or of all of them combined, when he can, for a few moments, pay his respects to the ladies ? As fifty years in Europe are better than a cycle in Cathay, so simply to make one's bow to the ladies is a greater privilege than to spend many hours in sounding the praises of the men. Despite the golden achievements of your
129
CENTENNIAL OF ROMULUS.
distinguished men, in the various walks of life, their ineffectual light pales before the radiance and heroism of your honorable women, of whom Seneca County has had, and has, not a few. Would that time permitted me to recall their names and recite some of their deeds !
"The bravely dumb that did their deed, And scorned to blot it with a name."
From the earliest period of your history to the present n10- ment, the greatest glory of Romulus has not been its fertile farms, its superb location midway between the lakes, its metropolitan journalists, or its well-known statesmen and ministers, but rather its mothers, its wives, its sisters and its sweethearts.
"And were they young, or were they growing old, Or ill, or well,
Or lived in poverty, or had much gold ? No one can tell.
Only one thing is known of them : they were Faithful and true
Disciples of the Lord, and strong through prayer To save and do."
Why sirs, Seneca County would be a waste, howling wilder- uess, and you could not be here to-day to boast of your stalwart ancestry, had it not been for the ladies. And as for this delight- ful Centennial celebration itself, will you not admit that, despite the labors of the Committee of Arrangements, despite all the elo- quence of the day and the presence of eminent men, it would be a dismal failure, were it not for the smiles and hospitality of the ladies? Why, Mr. Chairman, I doubt whether we would want to go to heaven, unless we believed that most of the angels were ladies ! And as for Romulus, I am sure we would not be willing to stay here for a day, unless most of the ladies were angels ! I agree with the sentiment of a writer in an old number of the Atlantic Monthly. He had traveled around the world several times and seen everything in Art and Nature worth seeing ; and this is his conclusion : "For more than twenty years, I have in vain searched through the world, for an emotion of sublimity, such as has been given one, by the faith and devotion of a woman's soul."
,
130
CENTENNIAL OF ROMULUS
But the hour admonishes nie to make my remarks, like time, short ; and like my theme, sweet. Hence, again thanking you for the hospitalities of this memorable day, I close with this senti- ment : MAY GOD BLESS THE WOMEN, AND MAY THE WOMEN ALWAYS LOVE THE MEN !
The interest in the exercises was well maintained through- out, and to the end of the lengthy programme, which was finished at six o'clock P. M., when the meeting adjourned, after the singing of the Long Metre Doxology, by the Quartette, in which the audi- ence joined, and with the Benediction, pronounced by Rev. J. Wilford Jacks.
CONCLUSION.
At the close of the Historical Address, on motion of Hon. George S. Conover, of Geneva, seconded by Dr. Myron D. Blaine of the same place, the meeting requested the Executive Com- mittee to publish the proceedings connected with the Centennial, and the exercises thereat.
It is a matter of regret to the Executive Committee, that hav- ing failed to secure the services of a stenographer, a portion of the addresses, delivered extempore, cannot be published herewith.
During the course of the exercises, Secretaries Andrew S. Long and Richard M. Steele, read a number of letters from invited guests, regretting inability to attend the celebration, of which several are here subjoined :
FROM HON. AMOS O. OSBORN.
WATERVILLE, N. Y., MAY 30, 1894.
GENTLEMEN :- Your invitation to attend the Centennial of the Organ- ization of the Town of Romulus, is received. I thank you much for the compliment, suggested as it probably is, by my publishing the narrative of Luke Swetland's captivity for one whole year in the town, then the Indian Kendaia, and the English Appletown. I would like very much to be pres- ent, but presume I shall be unable to do so.
The associations of this occasion will render the celebration exception- ally interesting and the festivities will of course correspond. I wonder if Luke's "place of convenient retirement by the side of the lake under the high cliff of rocks" where he spent the first Wednesday in every month in private fasting, and prayer and meditation, can be identified. It would be a great satisfaction to know.
Thanking you again for the invitation, I remain,
Truly Yours,
AMOS O. OSBORN.
131
CENTENNIAL OF ROMULUS.
FROM HON. PETER A. DEY.
Iowa Board of Railroad Commissioners : 1
DESMOINES, MAY 17, 1894. DEAR SIR :- On my return from Washington, yesterday. I found an in - ١ vitation from the Committee, to attend the Centennial Celebration of the Organization of the Town of Romulus, but will be compelled to decline the same. } do this with regret, as many of my earliest and most agreeable recollections cluster around what was the old town of Romulus.
My maternal grandfather followed his elder brother, Benjamin Dey, from Preakness, New Jersey, in 1801, to Seneca County, and settled on the farm formerly owned by H. T. E. Foster, in Fayette, on the Lake Road. some four or five miles south of the foot of Seneca Lake. My father, who was a tanner, came from New York City, (where he was in the employ of the Lorrilard Brothers), in 1806, and in partnership with his Uncle Benja- min, built a tannery about two miles from West Fayette Presbyterian Church, on the road leading south. All my father's children were born there. He was Supervisor of the town of Romulus, and after the division in 1830, was elected Supervisor of the town of Varick.
He left the tannery in the fall of 1830, and moved to Seneca Falls, where he died November 14, 1851, his Uncle David, dying in Varick, a few months before, in the same year, at the advanced age of eighty-eight years.
Although young when I left, the old tannery was always a pleasant place to me,and in driving by in the last few years, I could not but feel badly, that every vestige of tan bark had disappeared, that the old brick school house had been succeeded by a frame one, and the old home had lost many of its old time features. In attempting to trace the members of the Dey family, I found their places largely occupied by others and the old homes that were established in the last or early in the present century, by the original Dey families, occupied by strangers.
I shall always retain a warm feeling for the old county, and the old town, and trust that its sons and its daughters, may always maintain the high standard of the past.
Very Respectfully Yours, PETER A. DEY.
FROM JUDGE REUBEN C. LEMMON.
Court of Common Pleas : 1
TOLEDO, OHIO, MAY 26, 1894. 1
HON. DIEDRICH WILLERS:
DEAR SIR :-- Your kind favor was duly received. I delayed answering. hoping to be able to be with the good people of Romulus on the occasion of their assemblage to commemorate the organization of the town. I shall not, however, be able to leave my work here, at that time, and must content myself with a letter of regret. That you will have a pleasant time, I cannot doubt.
Many events which have long been treasured in the silent chambers of the memory, will be uncovered and again brought forth to interest you. That the occasion may be instructive and in all respects pleasant, we will assume. Should you be able to gather the history of families that have lived in Romulus, and those who have gone thence out to other States, and thus trace the diverging channels of life, the varying ambitions and activi- ties which have been developed from that small community, it would inter- est us all. I shall be pleased to hear, that you have made it a day and an occasion of happiness.
I remember well your father, and recall his form and features, as I met
132
CENTENNIAL OF ROMULUS.
him nearly sixty years ago, when he served as Inspector of the Common Schools of Varick. I recall his examination of the school, then kept in the old log school house, situate between Lemmon's and Caton s Corners, on the stage road. Your father put this question to me : "How much is nineteen times nineteen, do it in your head ?" It took me some time to do it, and then he explained, by showing how I might have saved labor, by taking nineteen ten times, doubling that, and then subtracting nineteen. I have never forgotten this, and it taught me a useful practical lesson.
Very Truly Yours,
R. C. LEMMON.
FROM ALBERT V. B. DEY, ESQ. (A grandson of Dr. Philip Dey).
WAUKESHA, WISCONSIN, JUNE 7, 1894.
REV. J. W. JACKS, Dear Sir :- I received some time ago,an invitation to attend the Centennial Celebration of the town of Romulus. I am much obliged to the Committee for the invitation, and as myself and my departed wife, and all my children, were born in the once town of Romulus, it is only natural that I am very much interested in all that pertains to that beautiful country between the Lakes.
As one grows old, the memory of the past is the one great pleasure of life, and as I am now nearing the alloted time given to man, my thoughts often turn back to the old home; to the old school house where sorrowful as well as happy hours were spent; to the old Romulus church, where we gathered to worship God. All honor to those sturdy old pioneers, who, axe in hand, hewed for themselves, homes in the then western "howling wilder- ness; "who built the school houses and the churches; who braved dangers to create what you now enjoy.
There are very many Romulus born children, and their descendants, living in this central part of our great country, in Michigan, in Illinois, and in Wisconsin, and even scattered along to the Pacific Coast. Sturdy men and women, who as a rule have so lived, as to bring honor and not a blush of shame to the good old town of Romulus.
My Uncle, Anthony Dey, built and carried on for many years, the tan- nery which was the first manufactory of any importance in the town, where early settlers took their beef skins to be made into leather and carried leather back to their homes, ready for the shoemaker to come and make shoes for the family. Time and change, however, has obliterated every mark of that once busy hive of industry. Country tanneries and country shoemakers have had their day and and are gone, and all those early set- thers are gone, and in a very few years, it will be said of those who are now celebrating the one hundredth birthday of the town of Romulus-gone.
I regret, that it will not be possible for me to be with you in the flesh, as well as in the spirit, on the day you celebrate.
Yours Very Truly, ALBERT V. B. DEY.
FROM GENERAL WILLIAM H. SEWARD.
AUBURN, N. Y., JUNE 8, 1894.
DEAR SIR :-- Permit me to thank your committee for their very cordial invitation to attend the Centennial Celebration of the town of Romulus. It would afford me much pleasure, to be present upon that very interesting occasion, were it possible for me to do so, but the annual meeting of the trustees of Weils College, called for the same day, will, I regret to say,
I33
CENTENNIAL OF ROMULUS.
prevent. 1 feel an especial interest in your Centennial Meeting, because my mother, a daughter of the late Elijah Miller, had many relatives in your townl.
Very Truly Yours, WVM. H. SEWARD.
FROM DR. WILLIAM H. EGLE, STATE LIBRARIAN.
State Library of Pennsylvania : HARRISBURG, PA., MAY 11, 1894.
MY DEAR SIR :-- I thank you very kindly in forwarding me an invita- tion to the Romulus Centennial, and I know of nothing I would enjoy more, than to be with you on that interesting occasion. At this writing. it is barely possible, that I may be able to be with you. My interest in the event, lies in the fact, that there were so many of our Pennsylvanians who went into that section of New York, prior to 1800, Scotch-Irish and German- Swiss. I know I should enjoy it very much, and if } find that I can attend, I will inform you later on. I trust that you will have a delightful meeting. Yours with Sincere Regards,
WILLIAM H. EGLE.
FROM HON. WILLIAM NELSON.
New Jersey Historical Society : PATTERSON, N. J., JUNE 2, 1894.
DEAR SIR :- In behalf of the New Jersey Historical Society, 1 thank you very much for your favor of May 21st ult, inclosing invitation to Cen- tennial Celebration of the Organization of Romulus. The commemoration of such important events, indicates a proper sense of local pride and patri- otism, on the part of the inhabitants of the town, characteristics that have always been conspicuous in the older settlements of New York State.
To me personally, the event is the more interesting, because of the connection of the Dey family with the settlement of Romulus. I have a number of papers relating to Dr. Philip Dey, who lived in this vicin- ity.
Colonel Richard Varick, was another prominent Jerseyman, conspicu- ons in the early history of Jersey City. With most cordial wishes for the success of your celebration, and for the future prosperity of the towns of Romulus and Varick, whose history is so closely connected with that of old New Jersey families,
I remain, Very Truly Yours, WM. NELSON, Corresponding Secretary.
FROM PROF. WILLARD B. RISING.
University of California, College of Chemistry : 1
BERKELY, MAY 17, 1894.
DEAR SIR :- The circular sent out by your Committee, inviting me to take part in the Celebration of the Centennial Anniversary of the Organiza- tion of the town of Romulus, has reached me and I hasten to reply. I am sorry to say, that I cannot, by any possibility, be with you on that important occasion. My engagements require my presence in California, at the time . fixed for your celebration.
I am glad that you are going to observe the day with fitting ceremon-
134
CENTENNIAL OF ROMULUS.
ies. A reunion which brings together friends, and neighbors, and kindred, to commemorate the deeds and struggles of their pioneer fore-fathers, is a good thing. The struggle for life is far easier for us, than it was for our good fathers, and we should not forget how goodly a heritage we have re- ceived from them. Let us hold their memories in grateful remembrance and try and prove ourselves worthy of such noble ancestors. I shall be with you in spirit, if not in the body. I wish you a grand success. 1 am, Most Truly Yours,
W. B. RISING.
FROM EX-SUPERVISOR WILLIAM BURROUGHS.
MORGAN MILL, ERATH CO., TEXAS, JUNE 1, 1894. GENTLEMEN :- I have your cordial invitation to attend the Centennial Celebration of the Organization of Romulus. Please accept my sincere thanks for the invitation, and my appreciation of your consideration. It would indeed, be gratifying to meet and greet the sons and daughters of old Romulus, on an occasion fraught with so many pleasing reminiscences of by-gone days. My sympathies are with you and the people, whom you represent, among whom are my kindred and former neighbors and friends, to most of whom I have sustained varied industrial, educational and official relations. It is with exceeding regret, that I have to decline your in- vitation, and limit myself at this distant standpoint, merely to the contempla- tion of the joyous re-union,which is to celebrate and crown a hundred event- ful years of great historic interest.
Lost opportunities are seldom recovered. Realizing, that it is now or never, with many of us, in a Centennial sense, and that the next will be too late for us to celebrate, I have only to congratulate you, and through you, the good people of old Romulus, upon your one hundred years of wonder- ful progress, achievement, prosperity and domestic happiness.
For sixty-two years (1828-91) Romulus, and Seneca County, was the arena of my activities. I trust that the record of those years, will disclose some reminiscence, not wholly to be regretted. Romulus! beautiful in name, beautiful for situation ; laved by the waters of two lakes, whose scenery, relative position, and general outline, have no equal, as exhibited on the map of the world. Within thy borders, on Cayuga's shore, I was rocked in childhood; in thy dear and sacred soil, repose the ashes of my an- cestry, paternal and maternal. Romulus ! for thy past history, I honor thee ! What beauty and rural grandeur will another hundred years de- velop ?
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.