Gazetteer and biographical record of Genesee County, N.Y., 1788-1890, Part 54

Author: Beers, F. W. (Frederick W.), ed. 1n; Vose, J.W., and Co
Publication date: 1890
Publisher: Syracuse, N.Y. : J.W. Vose & Co.
Number of Pages: 920

USA > New York > Genesee County > Gazetteer and biographical record of Genesee County, N.Y., 1788-1890 > Part 54

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president ; John P. Sampson, secretary ; and Augustus E. Miller, treas- urer. The value of the grounds, buildings, and other property con- nected with the institute exceeds $25,000. Seven teachers are employed, and there is an average attendance of over 200 scholars.

Ingham University, for the education of young ladies, has survived under different corporations over a half century of growth, and has at- tained a National reputation. It was established in Le Roy by Misses Mariette and Emily E. Ingham, who were born in Saybrook, Conn., and who first located in Attica, and after a two years' residence there re- moved and opened the school as the Le Roy Female Seminary in 1835. The founders at its commencement purchased the fine residence and grounds of Robert Bayard, on the corner of Wolcott and East Main streets, which property (greatly enlarged) the institution has ever since retained. In this purchase the sisters were aided and supported by Al- bert Brewster, Seth M. Gates, A. P. Hascall, Samuel Comstock, Jona- than P. Darling, A. S. Upham, Enos Bacheler, Lee Comstock, Israel Rathbone, Richard Hollister, and William S. Bradley, none of whom or of the founders now survive. It was first chartered in 1841, with the above as corporators. The school, by the energy, ability, and superior attainments and adaptability of the founders for the work, sprang at once into the first rank of this class of institutions in the State. Miss Mariette, the eldest of the sisters, was a lady of remarkable energy and business capacity ; and the younger, then at the head of the school, was equally distinguished for her culture and scholarly attainments. and especially for her tact and skill in the management and securing the confidence of the pupils in the school under her charge. Aside from its advanced cur- riculum at this period of female institutions it adopted, as a rule, ever since rigidly maintained, that " no teacher will be employed who will not conscientiously make continued efforts for the highest moral and spiritual good of the pupils." Under such a guidance, and with so high a stand- ard, the success of the school was assured from the first. But Mrs. Emily Staunton, the guiding and controlling spirit which directed the institu - tion, was never satisfied with present attainments. After several years of marked growth and prosperity, in which they had seen other similar institutions arise, flourish, and, at last, perish for the want of support, in order to avoid such a catastrophe, they resolved to relinquish their private interests in the institution and the large addition that had been made to the school buildings, and the estate, real and personal, of the founders, and enter upon a novel and radical change. It was the volun- teer surrender of this large property, owned and acquired by them, to the Synod of Genesee, who accepted the gift made upon the sole condi- tion that a full collegiate course should be established in the school, and a permanent fund raised for its support. The trust and responsibility was thus placed upon the Synod, and the first charter as a collegiate in - stitute was obtained April 6, 1852, its title being the " Ingham Col- legiate Institute," located at Le Roy, N. Y. The corporation thus created

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consisted of Rev. Charles N. Mattoon, Samuel Skinner, A. P. Hascall, J. B. Skinner, C. Danforth, Moses Taggart, Samuel Comstock, C. Comstock, M. O. Coe, A. F. Bartow, Israel Rathbone, J. G. Bixby, J. P. Darling, Al- bert Brewster, Phineas Staunton, and Mariette Ingham. Twenty-four trustees were appointed, nine of whom constituted a quorum to do busi- ness. The trustees mostly consisted of the same persons, and the corpora- tion was vested with the power to create a Normal school, a seminary, and collegiate departments, to appoint professors and teachers, and to grant diplomas. It will be observed that this institution was thus in advance of all female institutions in the provisions of its charter, in that it was the first to introduce a college curriculum into the education of young ladies, and a charter with power to confer degrees and grant diplomas. In this it preceded South Hadley, Elmira, Farmington, Wells, Packer, and Vas- sar.

Notwithstanding this material advance it made an effort for a still higher rank in the scale of an educational institution, and asked of the leg- islature of the State a charter for a university. This was at first re- fused, on the ground assumed of its inadaptability to a female institution for learning, and a rank hitherto unknown in this or any other State. In the following session of the legislature the charter was persistently urged and finally granted with university privileges, and in April, 1857, the name of the trustees was changed to that of counselors. The Rev. Samuel Hanson Cox, a distinguished clergyman of New York city, was installed in 1857, under imposing ceremonies at the Presbyterian Church, as its first chancellor. His high attainments, as a scholar and divine, were at once applied to elevate the standard of education and make it a university worthy of the name-indeed, a model institution, unique of its kind, for the perfect intellectual training of woman for her preëminent duties and responsibilities. In this, during his many years of active de- votion to the duties of his chancellorship, he was eminently successfuls and gave to the institution a reputation and preëminence which filled it, halls and gained for it a wide and merited popularity.

Colonel Phineas Staunton was temporarily elected vice chancellor. He was an artist of high merit, and made his branch a specialty in the university. He was the son of General Staunton, a distinguished officer in the War of 1812 ; was born in Wyoming, N. Y .; was married to Miss Emily E. Ingham in 1847; and from that period became connected with the institution either as professor or as one of its officers. By his own pencil, or by selection as a connoisseur, he made a fine collection of paint- ings still preserved in the art gallery of the institution. His life-work became devoted to the interests of the university, which was only inter- rupted by the call of his country in its crisis at the opening of the civil war. This call caused him to drop the pencil and enlist in its service, and on the organization of the 100th Regiment in Buffalo he was chosen lieutenant-colonel, and immediately went with it to the front. At the battle of Fair Oaks, which soon followed, he was prostrated by a spent-

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ball, wounded, and in consequence returned to his home at the university, and there resumed his art work. At a later period he became a member of the scientific expedition organized at Williams College, which proved his last work. He was taken suddenly ill at Quito, South America, from which he did not recover, and there died, and was buried in that city. The expedition was not without its value to the university, for Mrs. Staunton became the purchaser of the large and rare collection of birds and natural objects secured by Prof. Orton, at the head of the ex- pedition, and which now adorn and enrich the collection of the art build- ing. It may be here added that this fine structure (the art gallery and hall) is the best in the State for the purpose of its construction ; was erected in 1870, at the cost of some $15,000, by Mrs. Staunton, as a me- morial to her husband, and which now stands a noble monument of her devotion to his memory as well as a most valuable accession to the uni- versity buildings. These latter have at different periods all been greatly improved and enlarged.

The property valuation of Ingham University (the voluntary surrender by the founders to the corporation), as reported by it to the Regents of the University of New York, in 1875 was $101,000. Times may have affected and reduced somewhat the valuation, but a recent addition of a large brick dormitory, largely the gift of the Alumni Association (an incorporated body), would in great degree offset that diminution. Space will also fail to speak at length of the several chancellors who have suc- ceeded Dr. Cox after his resignation in 1863. There was the Rev. Dr. Samuel D. Burchard, who served until 1872; then Dr. Edward B. Wads- worth, elected in 1883; and the last, Dr. W. W. Totherob. All gave efficient aid in maintaining the university up to that high plane upon which it was founded. On the resignation of the latter, by his removal to Chicago, the chancellorship became vacant and has not yet been filled. It is due here to make brief mention of a few of the able professors in the different departments, who under these several administrations aided in maintaining this high standard and giving to the university its wide-spread popularity. There was in the art department Prof. L. M. Wiles, of New York, who, as a landscape painter, acquired a National reputation, aided by his son Irving. There was in music the accomplished Henri Appi and Mrs. C. S. Cory. There was the able divine, the late Rev. William L. Parsons, in moral philosophy, and his cultured consort, Mrs. Lucy A. C., in the same department and in history, which position she still retains, and whose liberal benefactions to the university, often repeated, merit grate- ful acknowledgment and recognition. There was Prof. H. J. Schmitz, at one period at the head of the institution, and who was called as prin- cipal of the State Normal School at Geneseo. There was the late Rev. Dr. Henry J. Van Lennep, unsurpassed as an oriental scholar, and a voluminous author upon the " Land of the East," the place of his nativ- ity, and whose merited reputation drew pupils from that remote portion of the globe.

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By a careful estimate made by Prof. Van Lennep, in 1875, at that period (40 years from its origin) above 5,000 persons in all had here en- joyed the benefits of the institution, and now the number is over 8,000. It is but due to its liberal founder, who then alone survived, Mrs. Emily Ingham Staunton, that during this period more than $30,000 had been given to indigent but well deserving students, and many of these benefi- ciaries are now occupying positions of great honor and usefulness.

After the granting of the university charter, in 1861, aid to the extent of $25,000 was asked from the legislature, but only $5,000 was obtained, and further appeals to the public resulted in securing only the small sum of $1,400 The Synod of Genesee then relinquished its trust, and in 1883 a new charter was granted, and a new and the present board of trustees organized, as follows : Hon. James H. Loomis, Hon. Henry N. Page, Charles F. Prentice, Schuyler C. Wells, William Lampson, Rev. W. W. Totherob, Butler Ward, Rev. Edward B. Walsworth, Nicholas B. Keeney, Hon. Augustus Frank, Rev. Herman C. Riggs, Augustus E. Miller, Hon. Edward C. Walker, Rev. Samuel Bowden, and Rev. Amasa S. Freeman. When Mrs. Staunton retired from the institution the new board granted her an annuity for life. Its real head is the highly cultivated and en- dowed lady principal, Miss R. N. Webster, whose experience and execu- tive ability well qualify her for the place, and give her a deserved popu- larity with the pupils as well as with the officers of the university. There are 18 instructors under her, and the institution for instruction in all branches is maintaining its high standard.

The present faculty of Ingham University consists of Rev. W. W. Totherob, chancellor ; Miss R. N. Webster, Mrs. Lucy A. S. Parsons, Miss Ella M. Arnold, Miss E. P. Ballantine, Miss F. L. Beach, Miss J. Daw- man, Miss C. A. McPherson, Miss A. Harkort, Mrs. R. W. Bellamy, Miss M. E. Samson, Miss Rose M. Shave, Miss Edith Innis (Reg.), Prof. Her- man Dossenbach, Miss E. S Peeke, Miss M. M. Pomeroy, and Sarah A. Innis, matron.

This article should not close without notice of the recent death of the last of its early founders-Mrs. Emily Ingham Staunton. This estimable lady, whose name must ever be associated with the university which bears it, closed her long and useful life in November, 1889, at the advanced age of 78 years and eight months, at the home of her brother Albert, at Oil City, Pa. Here is no place or space for her life or extended enconium. Her works do follow her. She was the first in the country to conceive and carry out to a successful issue a university charter for female educa- tion. Her life-long labor and all of her estate were cheerfully bestowed on this cherished idea. This alone should place her name among the great benefactors of the age. Her remains were brought for burial to the spot she had loved so well, and where all of her life's labor had been un- selfishly devoted. Appropriate honors were here paid to her memory in the University Hall, where a crowded audience assembled to give evi- dence of their respect and sense of the great loss the community had ex-

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perienced by her decease. Her remains rest in the university grounds (as she had requested) by the side of the noble cenotaph erected by her to her husband, whose remains repose in a foreign land.

Churches .- The beginning of religious service was coincident with the beginning of the settlement. The primitive barn, the settler's cabin, and the log school-house had their Sabbath gatherings, so that the spiritual wants were not neglected-whenever an itinerant pastor appeared to conduct the service. The Rev. David Perry, a missionary from Massa- chusetts, was the first preacher, in 1800. There was no organized church, as such, west of the Genesee River until 1803, and this was of the Pres- byterian order, at Big Springs (Mumford). It was of Scotch emigrants, of the true " kirk and covenant " stamp, who had in 1799 emigrated and settled there from the old country, and consisted of but five families : John McVean, Hugh McDermott, Donald McPherson, James McLean,

and John Anderson. Their first minister was Jedediah Chapman, who occasionally served the Ganson settlement, as did also his successor, Rev. A. Denoon, who came in 1805. The first church service of the Episco- pal order was held here in 1802, by the Rev. Davenport Phelps, and who thereafter occasionally officiated, of which mention is made in the notice of that society. Transient visits were made by ministers of other denom- inations, but mostly of the Presbyterian order. Among the latter were the Rev. Isaiah B. Andrews and John Lindsley. In 1808 the Rev. Mr. Coleman was sent out by the Missionary Society of Connecticut, who spent several months in this and the adjoining settlements. He was suc- ceeded by the Revs. Mr. Phelps, Reuben Parmalee, and Lemuel Parker, the latter pursuing his missionary march westward, it is said to Oregon, but whether thus early in the century this heroic purpose was accom- plished the record does not appear.

It was not until February 7, 1812, that the Presbyterian Church was first organized in Le Roy, and it was followed by a union with it of the Congregationalists. They were merged into one society. It was organ- ized by the Revs. Oliver Ayer and Reuben Parmalee, and David Ander- son was chosen and ordained deacon. Rev. David Fuller was the first resident clergyman, and its first pastor was the Rev. Calvin Colton. The present church edifice was built in 1826. Mr. Colton built the brick dwelling on the Oatka, now occupied by Dr. Taylor. He subsequently left the ministry and gave his attention to literary pursuits and became an author of some note, of which his Four Years in Great Britain gave him wide reputation. Many of the pastors that followed were distin- guished for their zeal, piety, and earnest work in building up the church and society to its present standard of growth and strength. It is here designed to present but the early beginnings, which were quite as favor- able for religious advantages as in other new communities. They were indeed greater than could have been expected, when in 1803 there were but four Presbyterian ministers west of Oneida County : Revs. Jedediah Chapman, J Lindsley, Samuel Leacock, and Jabez Chadwick.

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The first services of the Episcopal Church here were conducted by the Rev. Davenport Phelps, a missionary of the church in Western New York. He again officiated in 1804 in the school-house erected by Ezra Platt, on the south side of Trigon Park, on which occasion he performed the rite of baptism in his family. One of these, it is presumed, was Elijah, his son, who, in his manhood, became a prominent member of the society, and was, until his death, one of its vestrymen and wardens. In 1817, under the Rev. Samuel Johnson, a parish was organized with the present name of " St. Mark's Church." Its first officers were: Timothy Hatch and Hugh Murphy, wardens; Abel Noyes, Solomon Root, George A. Tiffany, Ezra Platt, Thaddeus Stanley, Elisha Stanley, Manly Colton, and Graham Newell, vestrymen.

It is due in this connection to note briefly the name and character of one of the officers of the church, elected at its first organization. Elisha Stanley came to this village in 1811, from Goshen, Conn., and continued his residence until his decease, in his 89th year. During his long resi- dence here he was held in high esteem, for his strict integrity, high sense of honor, and exemplary character. He was never behind or faltered in any good work, whether of church, community, or State. Of this esti- mate of his character the society gave ample testimony by continuing him in his office from its organization in 1817 until the day of his decease, a period of 61 years, 55 of which as a warden of the church. He died in 1888. His son, the Rev. Henry Stanley, rector of the Episcopal Church at Little Falls, preceded him in his decease, in 1870, the latter leaving two daughters who reside here, one the wife of Harry H. Falkner, an in- surance agent of the village. Elisha Stanley left but one surviving child, Mrs. Taylor, the wife of Dr. Taylor.

Hugh Murphy, one of the first wardens, was born in Ireland, in 1760, was drafted in the British army, and came to America during the Revo- lutionary war. He entered our army and was wounded near Philadel- phia. In 1785 he married Eunice Botsford, of Newtown, Conn. Mr. Murphy came to Le Roy in 1810, and purchased the farm on which his descendants have ever since lived, on East Main street. He died in 1826, leaving seven children : Amarilla, Joseph, Barnabas, Sarah, Mary, Amos B., and Charlotte. Mary, the only one surviving, now in her 93d year, was in the first class for confirmation, in 1817, by Bishop Hobart. The service was held in the school-house opposite Captain Lent's.

In 1826, while the Rev. Seth W. Beardsley was rector, a stone church, 40x60 feet, was erected on Church street (its site the present cemetery on the street), and was finished and consecrated by Bishop Hobart, August 7, 1827. Of this edifice not "one stone has been left upon another which has not been cast down." The land was the gift of Jacob Le Roy, and also $1,000 toward the completion of the building, and in 1844 he gave $1,500 additional. The rectors who followed the Rev. Mr Beards- ley in the service of the church were as follows, to the period of the erec- tion of the present church edifice : In 1830 the Rev. J. M. Rogers was

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called to the rectorship, who was followed by the Rev. Dr. F. H. Cum- mings, in 1831, who subsequently removed to Grand Rapids, Mich., where he died after a long and useful pastorate. Rev. Dr. Kendrick Metcalf became the rector of the parish in 1833, where he continued for ·eight years. He was a learned divine, and a polished writer, as well as an earnest Christian worker, and was called to the professorship of lan- guages in Hobart College, where he remained until his decease. In 1841 Rev. George D. Gillespie took charge of the parish. He married. the daughter of Joshua Lathrop, of Le Roy; his wife has since died. He served the parish until 1846, when he was called to Cincinnati, and to the parishes of Palmyra and Ann Arbor; was subsequently elected and yet remains bishop of Western Michigan. The rectors who followed were the Rev. T. D. Chipman, in 1846, since deceased ; in 1850 the Rev. George H. McKnight, the present rector of Trinity Church, Elmira, who contin- ued in the rectorship until 1855, and was succeeded in 1856 to 1860 by the Rev. R. J. Parvin. The sad catastrophe of the burning of a steam- boat on the Ohio River, in 1866, brought to a sudden close the life of a most zealous and able Christian churchman. Then followed a brief pas- torate of Rev. A. M. Wylie, and his successor was Rev. A. H Gesner, who served the parish for four years, when, in 1868, the Rev. J. H. Waterbury took the charge. It was under his pastorate that the present church edi- fice was designed and completed. The corner-stone was laid April 24, 1869, with appropriate church ceremonies. The edifice was formally ·opened December 22, 1870, and its consecration was on November 23, 1876, by Bishop Coxe, the late Rev. Dr. T. M. Bishop being the rector. Other rectors were L. D. Ferguson, J. H. Weibel (until 1885), Arthur W. Sloan in 1886, and the present rector, Rev. Pierre Cushing. The church has benefitted by a legacy of $2,000 from Albert Hill, and the Sunday- school of $1,000 from Mrs. D. P. Mirl. The number of communicants is 169; Sunday-school scholars 70, with nine teachers. The valuation of their property is $28,000. The rectory is located on Church street, corner of St. Mark. The present vestry is as follows: Wardens, D. R. Bacon and A. O. Comstock; vestrymen, H. H. Falkner, John Eyres, A. E. Miller, S. F. Curtiss, W. H. Smith, William Lampson, T. B. Tuttle, John Wiss, and E. H. Martin, clerk.

The First Presbyterian Church of Le Roy was organized February 7, 1812. The Congregationalists afterwards united with it, and the two so- cieties were merged into one, under the Presbyterian form of govern- ment. The early history of this church has already been given. Ser- vices were held in the school building on Craigie street, which was used in turn by the Episcopal and Baptist churches, until the completion of a church in 1826. During that year Mrs Colton organized the first Sun- day-school. The first members of the church were Moses McCollum, Joel Butler, Nathan Wilcox, David Anderson, Mehitable Judd, Eunice Farnham, Sarah Parmalee, Elizabeth Chamberlin, Sally Seymour, Mercy Buell, Mary Butler, Elizabeth McCollum, and Elizabeth Wilcox. Moses

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McCollum and Edmund Beach were ruling elders. The present church was remodeled in 1850, and renovated in 1888. It, with the parsonage, has a valuation of $25,000. The church seats about 750 and now has 475 members. The Sunday-school has 300 members. The present of- ficers of the church are C. K. Ward, clerk; S. T. Howard, J. L. Crocker, W. R. Halbert, S. Gillette, M. D. Pratt, ruling elders ; M. A. Ladd, C. L. Olmsted, E. L. Miller, and John Hager, deacons; L. J. Bovee, M. D. Pratt, W. C. Donnan, J. P. Sampson, and F. D. Ward, trustees. The pastors have been as follows: 1820, Calvin Colton ; 1828, Joseph Myers; 1835, B. B. Stockton ; 1843, Ebenezer Mead ; 1855, Charles A. Mat- toon, D. D .; 1863, E. Whittlesey ; 1878, C. H. Taylor, D. D .; 1888, William W. Totherob, D. D .; Rev. James A. Anderson, the present pas- tor, took charge May 1, 1889.

The First Baptist Church of Le Roy .- In 1806 Elder Peck, a mission- ary of the Baptist Church, visited the settlement and preached in the school-house. In 1807 Elder Bennett preached a sermon. In 1810 Elder Witherell spent a Sabbath here, and preached in Hines Chamber- lain's barn. Rev. Donald Mann, of Caledonia, often preached, walking from his home in the morning and returning at night, a distance of about 20 miles. Elder Leonard Anson was an early preacher, and assisted in the organization of the church. The council which gave fellowship to the church met June 25, 1818, at the school-house near Oliver Lang- worthy's. Rev. E. Vining was moderator, and Henry Slayton, clerk. The number of members when constituted was 26. Elder Amos Lamp- son was their first pastor. Services were held alternately at this school- house and one in the village. Hines Chamberlain was chosen deacon. In September following they were received into the association at its an- nual meeting in Sweden. The present house of worship was erected on Main street, on the eastern limits of the corporation, on land now owned by E. P. Branch. It was commenced in 1823 and completed in 1829. In 1835 it was removed to Church street and located on land purchased of Joshua Lathrop. In May, 1841, the Baptist Society became a cor- porate body in accordance with the provisions of the statute, under the name of " The First Baptist Society in Le Roy." The trustees were elected and Austin Phelps made president of the board, and P. M. Smith, clerk. In June of this year the land was deeded by John Lathrop to the board of trustees. A parsonage was built on Wolcott street in 1858, at a cost of about $1,800. This was subsequently exchanged for a house on Church street, near the church. In 1881 this was rebuilt. The church property, including parsonage, is valued at $10,500. The names of pastors in the order of their service are Amos Lampson, E. M. Spen - cer, David Morris, John Minor, Barach Beckwith, Ely Stone, A. Willey, John Miller, W. I. Cram, Ichabod Clark, William Hutchinson, H. Dan- iels, A. C. Barrell, D. Moore, O. A. F. Spinning, I. Clark, W. F. Basten, E. P. Brigham, D. D. Reed, A. L. Wilkinson, C. M. Rupe, and O. C. Kirkham, the latter of whom came in 1885. The present number of members is 217.

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Gazetteer and biographical record of Genesee County, N.Y., 1788-1890, Part 54

Author: Beers, F. W. (Frederick W.), ed. 1n; Vose, J.W., and Co Publication date: 1890 Publisher: Syracuse, N.Y. : J.W. Vose & Co. Number of Pages: 920

Author: Beers, F. W. (Frederick W.), ed. 1n; Vose, J.W., and Co
Publication date: 1890
Publisher: Syracuse, N.Y. : J.W. Vose & Co.
Number of Pages: 920