USA > New York > Tioga County > Owego > Early Owego, N.Y.; some account of the early settlement of the village in Tioga County, N.Y., called Ah-wa-ga by the Indians, which name was corrupted by gradual evolution into Owago, Owego, Owegy and finally Owego > Part 35
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. * Hambden was, probably, the name given to the tract in a land patent by the patentee and used in the description of deeds. It is not known that it was ever regularly organized as a town. The east line of Hambden was a north and south line running from the south line of the Boston
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The old Owego Academy in Court street in 1853, . when Hon. William Smyth was Principal, Reproduced from a Wood Engraving.
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The literature and gospel lots in Hambden township, of which James Pumpelly was appointed the agent, were situated adjoining each other, about three miles southwest of Apa- lachin.
In 1817 the question of building an academy in Owego was first agitated. The lot of which the academy build- ing was subsequently erected on the east side of Court street was a por- tion of the land which was given Feb. 28; 1797, to "the trustees of Owego settlement" by James McMaster for a public ground. This piece contained three acres, one rood, and twenty rods of land, and comprised all the territory now occupied by Park street, the park, Court street, the jail and old county clerk's office premises, and the old academy property. The trustees were Capt. Mason Wattles, John Mc- Quigg, and Capt. Luke Bates. Their successors in office were Eleazer Dana, John H. Avery, and Gen. Anson Camp. The last named trustees, Octo- ber 29, 1822, deeded that portion of the land now occupied by the jail, sheriff's residence, and old clerk's of- lice to Tioga. county, pursuant to the provisions of an act of the legislature passed April 17, 1822.
At the annual town meeting of the town of Owego, held at the old school house, which stood on the south side of Main street, near Academy street, March 4, 1817, the following preamble and resolutions were adopted: +
Purchase to the Pennsylvania line, a little east of the Nanticoke creek, and probably ran directly through what is. now the village of Union. The north line was the south line of the Boston Pur- chase, from there to the mouth of the Owego creek, and thence to the Pennsylvania line. The Susquehanna river was its north boundary and the state line its south boundary .. .
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The Owego Academy in Court Street, after It Was Changed from a Three Story to a Two Story Building, and as It Stands To-day.
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"Whereas, The tract of land within this town known to us by the name of the gospel reservation, originally granted with other tracts by the state for gospel purposes, now lies waste and useless to the community; and
"Whereas, Said land might be so ap- priated within this town as effectually to promote the great object for which it was originally granted; therefore, unanimously
"Resolved, That the supervisors and clerk of this town be hereby author- ized and directed to petition the legis- lature of this state at their present session in behalf of said town for a special act to have the title of said land vested in the trustees of the Owego Congregational society and their sucessors in office, that the said land may be appropriated as originally designed."
April 12, 1826, an act was passed by the legislature, appointing James Pumpelly ,William Camp, and John H. Avery commissioners, to take charge of the gospel and school lot, together with the supervisor of the town of Owego (William A. Ely), to sell and dispose of it and apply the proceeds to such school and literary purposes as should be directed by a vote of the inhabitants of the town.
December 19, in the same year, Gen. Anson Camp and eleven other free- holders signed a petition requesting the town clerk (Jared Huntington) to call a special town meeting, in pur- suance of the act. The election was held on the 30th day of the same month at Philip Goodman's coffee house in Front street and it was de- cided by a unanimous vote to appro- priate the yearly income of the annual interest arising from a sale of the gospel and school lots to the endow- ment of an academy, to be built in this village.
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April 8, 1828, Messrs. Dana, 'Camy, . and Avery, the commissioners of the "settlement," (Owego had been in- corporated as a village April 4, 1827); deeded the old academy lot in Court street, for a consideration of one dol- lar, to the trustees of the Owego academy.
The academy was built by Col. Amos Martin, on a contract in 1827, and Abner Beers had charge of its construction.
It was three stories high, with a. steeple, in which was a bell. The lower floor was for many years occu- pied as a school room for girls, the upper : floor by the principal, who taught Latin and Greek, and the mid- dle floor by the principal's assistant; who taught mathematics.
' In the summer of 1851 a three-story addition to the rear of the academy was built, greatly increasing its ca- pacity. Several years later the inside of the main building was torn out and it was changed from a three story building to a two story one.
James Pumpelly was president of: the first board of trustees of the acad- emy. The board was composed of Rev: Aaron Putnam, Col. Amos Mar- tin, Dr. Joel S. Paige, Latham A. Bur- rows, Eleazer Dana, Gurdon Hewitt, Rev. Joseph Castle, Charles Pumpelly, Jonathan Platt, Anson Camp, and Stephen B. Leonard.
Rev. Edward Fairchild was the first principal of the academy, and his as- sistants were Hamilton VanDyke and Joseph Pattee. The school was opened in April, 1828, and the first ex- amination was held at the close of the term, on September 30. The academic. year was divided into two terms. The
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summer term began on the third Wednesday in April, and continued two quarters, or twenty-four weeks. The winter term began on the third Wednesday in October and continued twenty-four weeks. Each term em- . braced two quarters of twelve weeks each, leaving two vacations in the year of two weeks each. The tuition was $2, $3, and $4.per quarter, accord- ing to the studies pursued. There were 60 male and 61 female pupils the first term. In 1850, the year previous to the building of the three story ad- dition to the building, the number had increased to 153 male pupils and 107. female.
The only pupils of the academy at its opening term now living are Her- mon C. Leonard, of Portland, Oregon, and J. H. Martin, of Tioga Centre, wno is a son of Amos Martin, the builder of the academy and one of its first board of trustees.
The second principal was Joseph M. Ely, a graduate of Yale college, who before coming to Owego was a teacher in the New Yorkhigh school. He began his duties at the spring term in 1830. In the following spring (1831) it was announced that the condition and prospects of the academy were so flat- tering that the trustees would add a juvenile department to the two de- partments: already . existing. The other teachers were Russell. E. Dewey., Miss .. Katherine H. Whitney, and Miss Mary A. Whitney.
In the spring of 1835, A. Clarke was principal, but he remained only a year and was succeeded at the fall term in 1836 by R. M. Stansbury, who had just graduated at Princeton college.
The teachers at the commencement
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. of the fall term in. 1837, were Joel T. ·Headley, Isaac B. Headley, and Miss frene Headley. In the following year Isaac B. Headley was principal and Miss Jennett M. Hall head teacher in the fennde department:
In the spring of 1839 the number of pupils had increased to 187: . Mr. Headley was still principal. Charles R. Coburn* entered the school as mas- ter of the common school teachers' de- partment.
The principals of the academy from Its foundation to the present tiine are as follows:
1. Rev, Edward Fairchild, 1828-1830.
4 Joseph M. Elv, 1830-1835.
3. A. Clarke, 1835-1887.
1. R. M. Stansbury, 4836-1837.
5. Isaac B Headles, 1837-1516. .
6. Josoph M. El, 1541.
A. K. Jerome, 1844-1847.
5. Theo. F. Hay, 1817-1819.
9. Win. Santh, 1819 1864.
10. Janks M. Burt, 1854-1856.
11. .. A. B. Wiggins, 1856-1860.
12: Leopold JJ. Boeck, . 1560- 1863.
13. Joseph. A: Printle, 1863-1869. .
14. Jonathan Tenney, 1869-1871.
15, T 1. Griswold, 1571-1873.
A. J. Robb, 1873-187.
IT. A. M. Drummond, 1879 1981.
18. Henry V. Bakom, 1881-1884.
19. Philo P. Edick, 1884-1886.
20. Fyra J. Peck, 1886-1900.
41. Herbert L. Russel, 1900 -.
Mr. Fairchild, the first principal was advanced in years, and, as de-
*Charles R. Coburn was illiterate and could not spell many of the cononest words correctly, but he was a thorough mathematician. He was very round shouldered, with, stern features, and usually bad his hair so closely cropped that it stood erect alf over his head, giving him such a forbidding appearance that he held his younger pupils in wwe .. He had been raised on a farm, and became so hump-backed that he could not holdl his head erect, caused by carrying heavy pails of water with a neckyoke when young. He ' left Owego in 1853 and was professor of mathematics in the Collegiate institute at Towanda; Pa .; and afterward superintendent of schools of Bradford county until the spring of 1863, when Gov. Curtin appointed him superintendent of the com- mom schools of the state of Pennsylvania for three years, He died . March 6, 1868, in Nichols, where, owing to. failing health he had purchased a homestead, within a few miles of his birth- place, and settled there to spend the rest of his days.
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scribed by one of his pupils, was a "blue Presbyterian."
Joseph M. Ely, the second princi- pal, went from Owego to New York city, where he was for several years engaged in the . wholesale grocery business. About the year 1857 he came to Waverly, where he was sta- tion agent of the New York and Erie railroad. Thence he went to Athens, Pa., where he was principal of the academy and where he died Jan. 1, 1872. He married Miss Juliette M. Camp, daughter of William Camp, of Owego, while living in this village.
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Isaac B. Headley, the fifth principal, married Miss Susan C. Platt, daugh: . ter of William Platt, of Owego. He died Jan. 20, 1854, in the Island of St. Thomas, where he was living for the benefit of his health, aged 44 years, and his body lies in Evergreen ceme- tery .. His brother, Rev. Joel T. Head- ley, became famous as a. historian. He was born at Walton, N. Y., and was 24 years old when he came to Owego. After leaving this village he entered Union college, from which he was graduated. in 1839. He studied theology in Auburn theological semi- nary, and afterward was pastor of the Presbyterian church at Stockbridge, Mass. He was elected secretary of state on the "Know-Nothing" . state ticket in 1855. He wrote "Napoleon and His Marshals," "Washington and His Generals," "History of the War of 1812," and many other works. He died at.Newburgh, N. Y., Jan. 16, 1897.
J. Newton Jerome came from Pom- pey Hill, Onondaga county. His wife was Miss Lesbia Platt Avery, a daugh- ter of John H. Avery, of Owego.
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Theodore F. Hay was a son of Rev. Philip .C. Hay, who was pastor of the Presbyterian church of Owego. After his graduation from Hobart college he became principal of the academy in the spring of 1847 :.
William Smyth resigned as princi- pal in 1854 and became editor of the Owego Times, of which he was editor until nis death. He was a graduate of the Royal academic institute of Bel- fast, Ireland, and for many years one of the prominent citizens of Owego. He died Sept. 27, 1898,
James M. Burt came from Cortland in the fall of 1864 and was principal two years. He died in Owego in 1870.
Before coming to Owego A. B. Wig- gin had been a teacher in New Eng- land schools.
Leopold J. Boeck was a Russian Pole, educated in the universities . of Breslau and Berlin, in Prussia. His sympathies were early enlisted in the. Hungarian. cause and . he became .Louis Kossuth's confidential : secre- tary. . While a member of Gen. : Bemia's staff he was sent by Kossuth as diplomatic agent of Hungry to ask the intervention of Turkey. . The Hun- garians were forced to surrender to Roumania, and Boeck and the other leaders were made prisoners of war. After his discharge from prison he came to America. He came to Owego- in the fall of 1860 and became prin- cipal of the academy. He left Owego in the summer of 1863. Afterward he was professor of applied mathematics -and civil engineering in the Univer- sity of Virginia at Charlottesville. He is said to have been able to write and speak twenty-five different languages.
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He died in Philadelphia, Pa., May 18, 1896, aged 77 years.
Joseph Addison Prindle was a grad- nate. of Union college. From the spring of 1854 until the fall of 1863 he was principal of the "Owego Home School," a boarding school for boy's, established by Revs. Corbin Kidder and S. C. Wileox, two miles east of Owego. He went from Owego in Sep- tember, 1869, to Oswego, where he. was for two years principal of the state normal school. He died at Apa- lachin Feb. 24, 1905, aged 76 years.
Jonathan Tenney was a native of Vermont, and. a graduate of Dart- mouth college in 1843: He came to Owego in October, 1869. He resigned in July, 1871. He removed in August, 1874, to Albany, having been 'ap- pointed deputy state" superintendent of public instruction. He died in that city- Feb. 24, 1888, aged 70 years.
Theophilus L. Griswold was a grad- uate of Amherst college: He resigned his position of principal in July, 1873, to become the head of the state nor- mal school at Bloomsburg, Pa. In 1877, owing to nervous prostration, he resigned and went to Sherburne Falls, Mass., where he committed suicide March 5, 1884. He was 54 years of age:
Prof. A. J. Robb came to Owego in the fall of 1873 from Waterford, Sara- toga county, where he had been prin- cipal of the academy. He was prin- cipal of the union school at Spencer, after leaving Owego, and in 1879 was appointed superintendent and princi- pal of the city schools at Cohoes, N. Y.
A. M. Drummond left Owego in the · summer of 1881, having been ap-
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pointed . superintendent of the public schools of Port Chester, N. Y.
· Henry A. Balcam, who had been for eight years superintendent of the schools it Corning, came to Owego in August, 1881. It was owing chiefly to his energy that the project of building the new academy was pushed to com- pletion in 1883. In Sept., 1884, he be came principal of the academy at New Paltz, N. Y. He died at Salamanca, N. Y., Oct. 11, 1891, aged 55 years.
Philo P. Edick was born at Os- wegatchie, N. Y., and graduated from Rochester university in 1873. hè came to Owego in July,: 1884, from ·Chittenango, N. Y., where he had been principal of the Yates school. He · Went from Owego to Rochester, N. Y., where he was principal of ward school No. 5 until March, 1900. He died Sept. 5, 1907, at Mystic, Conn., where he was principal of the Mystic academy. - He was 56 years of age.
. Dr. Ezra J. Peck was a graduate of Williams college. Previous to com- ing to Owego he was for five years principal of the academy at Phelps, N. Y., and subsequently for 11 years prin- cipal of Homer academy. He re- signed his position as principal of the Owego academy in December, 1900, having been appointed by the state board of regents as an inspector of high schools and academies, and Her- bert L. Russell, who had been assist- ant principal, was appointed principal . in his place.
In 1864 the Owego academy was merged into the union free schools of Owego by an act of the legislature, passed April 23, 1864.
In 1883 the. new academy building was built at the corner of Main and
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Academy streets at a cost of $25,000. The old academy building, which is still standing, and the lot on which. it stands were sold to judge Chas. A. Clark for $2,600.
A History of the Presbyterian Church, the First Church Organized at Owe- go, with Some Account of the Early Preachers and Places of Worship from the Year 1798 to the Present Day.
The early history of the First Pres- byterian church of Owego is somewhat . obscure. It is known that the general assembly of the Presbyterian church at its annual meeting in. 1790 devoted much of its attention to the subject of church extension, with the result that Revs. Nathan Kerr and Joshua Hart were sent as missionaries into southwestern New York, and Mr. Kerr came to Owego that year.
The country here at that time was a dense wilderness, the first white set- tler having settled here only six years previous. The early missionaries rode from place to place on horseback over the Indian trails and through the woods, They were the subjects of the hospitality of the church people as they went from place to place.
Rev. Seth Williston was the first minister who came to these wilds. He came as early as 1798, preaching and organizing churches. Once a year he held service in a barn built by Col. David Pixley, which stood on the north side of Main street, a little west of McMaster . street. The floor of this
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barn was made clean and a table and chair were provided for the preacher, while the congregation found seats as they could. The boys climbed upon thẻ hay loft and sat upon the great beam which was around the barn, and they made an ornamental fringe with their bare legs, which swung and dangled overhead through the time .of. the service.
Mr. Williston was born at Suffield, Conu., in 1770. "He was graduated from Dartmouth college in 1791, was licensed to preach .Oct. 7, 1794, and was sent out as a missionary by the ,missionary society of the state of Connecticut in 1798: Several books containing his sermons were published. at various times from 1799 to 1848. He died in 1851.
It is probable that meetings were held at the houses of the early settlers al Arst and until a log school house was built about the year 1792 on the 'east side of Court street, opposite where the court house now stands. Religious meetings were held at this school house several years and · until at. two-story frame . building. was erected about the year 1800 on the south side of Main street, a little west of White's blacksmith shop, which stood where the rectory of St. Paul's church now stands. This building was about thirty by twenty feet in size. The second story was used by the ma- sonic fraternity as a lodge room and the first floor as a school room .. The lower floor was divided into two parts by a partition: This partition was so arranged that it could be drawn up by a rope to the ceiling, thus making one large gathering place for Sunday
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meetings. Here church services were held until the first session house was built several years later in Court street, near where the log school house stood. It stood on the north end of the Laning lot and south of and adjoining the lot on which the Tioga county clerk's office now stands.
This session house was built by Richard E. Cushman, and it was used for prayer meetings even after the Presbyterian church was built in 1819 at the corner of North avenue and Temple street, because the church was at that time considered to be "too far out of town" and people did not care to walk that distance.
There were three different session houses. The first one in Court street was on ground given for that purpose by Mrs. John Laning. This building. was about 20 by 30 feet in size. It was removed to near where the Erie railway freight house now stands and was occupied as a churchby the Bethel African M. E. society, for sev- eral years and until it was moved to the north side of Fox street opposite the present A. M. E. church, where it was converted into a dwelling house and where it still stands.
The second session house was built by Capt. Sylvanus Fox where the present session house now stands be- tween the Presbyterian church and ... Temple street. This was also given to the A. M. E. society when the pres- ent session house was built. It was removed to the south side of Fox street, where it is still occupied by the colored people as their church.
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The present session house was built · in 1857. It was enlarged in August, 1878, by the addition of a wing to the south side, near the rear of the build- ing, to be used as a parlor. The main building was also extended back sev- eral feet, to enlarge the library and class rooms. In the summer of 1901. the building was again enlarged by building a wing on the north side. 30 by 14 feet for a kitchen. At the same time a new roof was placed on the church and a new steel ceiling inside. A cellar was also excavated under the entire church. There had previously been two small cellars, in which were the furnaces. The improvements to the church and the session house cost about $3,000.
· Rev. William Clark, of whom little is known, came here in 1803 and preached to the people. It is not known how long he remained here, but it is known that after his de- parture Mr. Williston remained here as the settled pastor of the church.
In the year 1803, according to a writer in the Gazette forty years ago, there were but few frame houses in town. One of these was the James McMaster house on the south side of Front street, east of and near Acad- emy street. Another was a large building which was intended for a jail and stood near the northeast corner of Front and Court streets, and which was later converted into a tavern. A third was the Bates tavern at the northwest corner of Front and Church streets, and far and far up the river, as it seemed, for the thick woods that darkened the way, was the dwelling house of John Hollenback. There
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were several log cabins in different directions. One of the better class of these stood where the drug store of Otis S. Beach now stands at the north- east corner of Main street and North avenue. Between that point and the Huntington creek there was a dense wilderness, with the tall pines scarcely a yard apart. There were no Indians here then, but the wolves, their com- panions, barked and howled on the' hills at night and the deer, when pur- . sued by huntsmen, came . bounding through the valley to the river, across which they would often swim. One deer with tall, branching horns, which was closely pursued, ran through Mrs. Collier's school room, taking with it . the window (sash, glass and all), much to the terror and astonishment of the children.
At a meeting of the Presbytery of New Jersey, held in April, 1810, at Trenton, a letter was received from some residents of Owego, requesting the Presbytery to send a missionary , tó this village to labor among them a part of the coming summer. The con- mittee to whom the application was referred reported that Owego "is a growing village, containing about 200 houses. The neighboring country on the banks of the river is well settled and contains many respectable inhabi- tants, emigrants from different parts of the union." The committee for- warded to the general assembly's committee on `missions the opinion that the Presbytery ought to comply with the wishes of the people of Owe- go. Rev. Daniel Loring was sent here accordingly.
As Mr. Loring had never been or- dained it was decided to make his or- dination an important public event.
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The services were to have taken place August 7, 1810, on a large platform which had been erected for the pur- pose at the south end of the village park, surrounded by temporary benches made of rough boards, with capacity to seat two hundred people. The members of the choir of singers wore dressed in uniform, the ladies in white, with wreaths of green.' Invita- tions had been sent to the towns in . the vicinity, and a large crowd had gathered. . As the services were about to begin a terrific thunder shower swept over the village, driving every- body from the park to places of shel- ter. The church people went to the Main street school house.
The storm was regarded as an omen by the superstitious .. The pas- tor and people would not be happy in each other, they said, and this singu- larly proved true. Mr. Loring preached here five years and was then silenced from preaching and, as a local writer said, "became a wicked man.": Sev- eral clergymen succeeded him, among them an Episcopalian, who was will- ing to preach for Presbyterians, but he, too, proved unworthy of his charge.
The ordination of Mr. Loring took place at the school house directly after the storm. At the same time the '"Owego; Congregational Society": was organized and trustees were elected as follows: Solomon Jones, Caleb Leach, Abraham Hoagland, William Camp, James Pumpelly, and Eleazer Dana. Three days afterward the trus- tees made a written contract with Mr. Loring "to preach for themselves and their successors in office for one-half the time for the term of one year."
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In 1817 Rev. Hezekiah May became pastor of the church. July 24 of that year the church was regularly or- ganized as the "Owego Congregational Church" with eleven members, as fol- lows: Solomon Jones; Nathan Camp, William Jones, Lorenzo Reeves, Dolly Talcott, Marjery Jones, Ruth Good- rich, Sarah Goodrich, Clarissa Jones, Sally Penfield, and Mary Perry. The organization was effected by Mr. May, assisted by Revs. William Wisner, of Ithaca, and Jeremiah Osborn, of Berk- shire. ' Two years after this the first church at the North avenue and Tem- ple street corner was built. Mr. May was pastor of the church less than a year. He was succeeded in the spring of 1818 by Rev. Horatio Lombard. Mr. May died in 1843, aged 69 years.
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