Growth of a Century : as illustrated in the history of Jefferson County, New York, from 1793 to 1894, Part 39

Author: Haddock, John A. 1823-
Publication date: 1894
Publisher: Philadelphia, Pa. : Sherman
Number of Pages: 1094

USA > New York > Jefferson County > Growth of a Century : as illustrated in the history of Jefferson County, New York, from 1793 to 1894 > Part 39

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9. It is within ten miles of one of the best harbors on the great lakes, with which it is connected by rail, thus affording direct com- mucation by water with the grain, lumber, and mineral industries of the northwest.

10. It is situated in the midst of the most productive tanning interest of the State- Jefferson and adjoining counties being large

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THE GROWTH OF A CENTURY.

producers of live stock, and the material for reducing hides to leather.

11. The government of the city is based on strict ideas of economy consistent with safe and sure progress, and the spirit of the people is decidedly in favor of every measure intended to make the rate of taxation low. The officers of the city are pledged to carry out this idea.

12. Statistics show that it is one of the healthiest cities in the Union, subject to no contagious diseases, and free from prevailing sickness. The rate of mortality for 1875 was one in seventy.

13. Its public-school system has been placed upon a satisfactory foundation, and affords excellent educational facilites.

14. The cost of living is below that in the large cities, estimated to be 25 per cent. less.

15. Its social advantages are numerous, the tone of society healthy, and the morals of the community beyond dispute.

16. Its great wealth, which is generally seek- ing investments in desirable and well-con- ducted manufacturing pursuits.

It is 250 miles northwest of New York city, 147 miles west-northwest of Albany, 72 miles north of Rome, 90 miles northwest of Utiea, 69 miles north of Syracuse, 60 miles northeast of Oswego, 76 miles south of Ogdensburg, with all of which cities it has direct and un- broken railroad connection. It is also 10 miles east of Sackets Harbor, one of the finest harbors on Lake Ontario, and 25 miles south- east of Cape Vincent, a fine port on the St. Lawrence river, opposite Kingston, Ontario, and one of the prominent outlets of a flourish- ing Canadian trade. With both the last- named points Watertown has direct railroad connection. It is also connected by rail with Clayton, a thriving village on the St. Law- rence river, opposite Gananoque, which is also an outlet of Canadian trade; and with Morristown, a prosperous village a few miles farther down the river, opposite Brockville, Ontario. Kingston, Brockville, and Ganan- oque, with Prescott, opposite Ogdensburg, are important points on the Grand Trunk Railroad of Canada. Kingston is the termi- nus of the Kingston and Pembroke Railroad, penetrating a productive lumber country. Brockville is the terminus of the Brockville and Ottawa Railroad, and also of the Rideau Canal, both passing through important lum- ber districts. Prescott is the terminus of the St. Lawrence and Ottawa Railroad.

The construction of the Carthage and Adi- rondack Railroad has placed Watertown in daily touch with the Western Adirondacks, with its immense lumber growth, as well as its well-known health resorts, while Walter Webb's railroad connecting Remsen with Malone, has opened up to the people of Jeffer- son county a northern entrance into the Eastern Adirondacks, with its great forests and beautiful lakes, and, indeed into that vast region of virgin forests extending eastward from No. 4 to lakes Champlain and George.

It will be seen that nothing can be more favorable than the geographical location of Watertown, commercially considered. This

is an element of strength which cannot be overlooked by those who regard the question of location with commercial eyes.

The city is situated in the very heart of one of the richest agricultural regions in the State, to which fact is largely due the substantal growth, thrift, enterprise, and prosperity that have become its recognized features with those who know its history best. Its prosperity is second to no city of its size in the United States. It is, in fact, the leading com- mereial city of Northern New York.

In 1802, Jonathan Cowan began the erection of a grist-mill at the bridge that crosses to Beebee's Island. The extraordinary water power which this place presented afforded ground for the expectation that it would be- come the centre of a great amount of business. The first deeds were given August 20, 1802, to Elijah Allen, Jotham Ives, David Bent, Ezra Parker, William Parker, Joseph Tuttle, and Joseph Moore, but nearly all these settled outside the village.

We present, upon another page, a diagram showing the location of the buildings at Watertown, as they existed in 1804.

During the first summer of the settlement, it being entirely impossible to procure grind- ing at any mills nearer than Canada, a stump standing on the public square, a few rods east of the American Hotel, had been formed into a mortar, and, with a spring-pole and pestle attached, served the purpose of a grain- mill to the settlement. This primitive imple- ment, suggestive of rustic life and the priva- tions of a new colony, relieved the pioneers, in some degree, from the necessity of long journeys to mill, through a pathless forest. The hardships of this early period had a tend- ency to create a unity of feeling and sympathy from the strong sense of mutual dependence which it engendered, and which is recalled by the few survivors of the period with emotions of gratitude for the manifest mercies of Providenee. These hardy adventures were mostly poor. They possessed few of the comforts of life, yet they had few wants. The needful articles of the household were mostly made by their own hands, and artifical grades of society were unknown.

In 1802 an inn was opened by Dr. Isaiah Massey, and settlers began to locate in every part of the town, which, in September of that year, numbered 70 or 80 families A dam was built by Cowan in 1802, and in 1803 he got in operation a small grist-mill. During two or three succeeding years, John Paddock, Chauncy Calhoun, Philo Johnson, Jesse Doo- little, William Smith, Medad Canfield, Aaron Keyes, Wm. Huntingdon, John Hathaway, Seth Bailey, Gershom Tuttle, and others, several of whom were mechanies, joined the settlement, and at a very early day a school- house was built on the site of the Universalist church, which served also as a place of relig- ious meetings. In 1805, John Paddock and William Smith opened the first store in the place, their goods being brought from Utica in wagons. An idea may be had of the hardships of that period, compared with

STREET

STATE

LAND

HINCTON

STREET

FREET.

COURT

TRE

WATERTOWN VILLAGE AS IT APPEARED IN 1804.

SKETCHED BY DYER HUNTINGTON, AND REPRODUCED THROUGH THE COURTESY OF HIS SON, MR. R. E. HUNTINGTON. (For description, see opposite page.)

References Called for by the Preceding Plot.

No. 1. Jonathan Cowan's saw mill.

6 2. Cowan's log dwelling house.

3. Judge Henry Coffeen's log dwelling.

6. 4. A frame roof, just covered, designed for a store by Amasa Fox.

.. 5. A small plauk house, commeuced by Thomas Walt, unfinished.

6. Aaron Keyes' frame dwelling house.

7. Aarou Keyes' cooper shop.

8. Log house occupied by Medad Canfield.

9. Log house occupied by Joel Goodale.

6 10. Log house built by Zachariah Butterfield, and occupied by Walt.

No. II. Frame erected by Aaron Bacou-rafters blowu off.

12. Doctor Isaiah Massey's tavern.

13. A frame, rough-boarded-uo tenant.

14 and 15. Two Barns.

16. Dwelling house of Hart Massey.

17. Wood house occupied by Nathaniel Haveu.

18. Mr. Massey's barn.

19. Log house and hat shop of Paoli Wells.

20. Isaac Cutler's distillery.

21. Israel Thomsou's log dwelling.

22. Village spring. The clump of buildings very nearly represents the present Public Square.

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CITY OF WATERTOWN.

modern facilities, from the fact that in March, 1807, 'seventeen sleighs, laden with goods for Smith and Paddock, were 23 days in getting from Oneida county to Watertown by way of Redfield. The snows were in some places 7 feet deep, and the valleys almost impassable from wild torrents resulting from the melting of snow.s. The winter had been remarkable for its severity, and the spring for destructive floods.

In 1803 a bridge was built below the village, near the court-house, by Henry Coffeen and Andrew Edmunds, over which the State road afterwards passed, and in 1805 the dam was built below the bridge, at which, the same year, a saw-mill was built on the north side, and in 1806 a grist-mill, by Seth Bailey and Gershom Tuttle. A saw-mill was built on the Watertown side by R. & T. Potter, a little below, and a saw and grist-mill soon after by H. H. Coffeen, since which time many large mills have been erected along the river.

The first brick building erected in the county was built by William Smith, in the summer of 1806. It was two stories in height with a stone basement, Mr. Smith working upon it with his own hands. The bricks were manufactured by Eli Rogers, on the point of land between the mall and Franklin street. The site of this building is now occu- pied by Washington Hall.

It is a singular fact that the village of Watertown, in common with the whole county of Jefferson, while it vies in wealth and en- terprise with the most favored portions of the State, owes very little if anything to imported capital. In most instances the wealth now existing has been acquired on the spot, by those who at an early period were thrown upon their own immediate exertions for support; and from the ashes of the tim- ber that covered the land, and the first crop, which the virgin soil yielded in kind profusions they received the first impulse, which, seconded by industry, prudence, and sagacity has not failed to bring its reward. With a strong conviction that the place would at a future time become an important village, Jonathan Cowan, Henry Coffeen, Zachariah Butterfield, Jesse Doolittle, Medad Canfield, Aaron Keyes, Hart Massey and Isaiah Massey, who owned property adjoining the present public square and Washington street in Watertown, held, early in 1805, an informal meeting, and agreed to give forever to the public for a public mall a piece of land twelve rods wide and twenty-eight feet long, and another, running south at right angles to this. nine rods wide, and about thirty-two long. They then directed to be made by John Simons, a surveyor, a map of the premises, which was done, and deposited in the town clerk's office, but this was afterwards lost. An attempt was subsequently made to resume the title and sell portions of the public square, but the question having been brought into the courts, was decided by Judge Nathan Williams in favor of the public, as Mr. Cowan, the claimant, although he had never

deeded land on the public square, had acknowledged its existence by his bounding certain conveyances upon it. In the same year the site of the court-house was deter- mined by the commissioners appointed by the governor for that purpose, not without the most active influences being used at Brown- ville; and it is said to have been located upon the plot where the jail adjoined it, at some distance below the business portion of the village, by way of compromise.

THE WHITTLESEY AFFAIR.

For the purpose of refreshing the memories of our citizens on the subject, we publish the story in full, as related in Hough's History of Jefferson county. The public will probably be as much interested in reading it as in any thing we could publish :

Samuel Whittlesey, originally from Tol- land, Ct., had removed, about 1808, to Water- town, and engaged in business as a lawyer. On the 12th of February, 1811, he received the appointment of district-attorney for the territory comprised in Lewis, Jefferson and St. Lawrence counties, and on the 6th of Feb- ruary, 1813, he was superseded by the ap- pointment of Amos Benedict, who had pre- ceded him. Events connected with this, led to some sympathy for him, and the office of brigade-paymaster, which had been tendered to Mr. Jasan Fairbanks, was by him declined in favor of Whittlesey, and he, with Perley Keyes, became security for the honest dis- charge of the duties of the office. At the close of the war a large amount of money being due to the drafted militia, for services on the frontier, Whittlesey went to New York, accompanied by his wife, to obtain the money, and received at the Merchants' Bank, in that city, $30,000, in- one, two, three, five and ten dollar bills, with which he started to return. At Schenectady, as was afterwards learned, his wife reported themselves robbed of $8,700, an occurrence which greatly dis- tressed and alarmed him, but she advised him not to make it public at that moment, as they might thereby better take steps that might lead to its recovery, and on the way home, she in an artful and gradual manner persuaded him that if they should report the robbery of a part of the money, no one would believe it, as a thief would take the whole, if any. In short, (to use a homely proverb), she urged that they might as well " die for an old sheep as a lamb," and keep the rest, as they would inevitably be accused of taking a part. Her artifice, enforced by the necessities of the case, took effect, and he suffered himself to become the dupe of his wife, who was doubt- less the chief contriver of the movements which followed. Accordingly, on his return, he gave out word that his money had been procured, and would be paid over as soon as the necessary papers and pay-roll could be prepared. In a few days, having settled his arrangements, he started for Trenton, on horseback, with his portmanteau filled, stop- ping at various places on his way, to announce

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THE GROWTH OF A CENTURY.

that on a given day he would return, to pay to those entitled, their dues, and in several in- stanees evinced a carelessness about the cus- tody of his baggage that excited remark from inn-keepers and others. On arriving at Bil- lings' tavern, at Trenton, he assembled several persons to whom money was due, and pro- ceeded to pay them, but upon opening his portmanteau, he, to the dismay of himself and others, found that they had been ripped open, and that the money was gone ! With a pitiable lamentation and well-affected sorrow, he bewailed the robbery, instantly despatched messengers in quest of the thief, offered $2,000 reward for his apprehension, and ad- vertised in staring handbills throughout the country, in hopes of gaining some clew that would enable him to recover his treasure. In this anxiety he was joined by hundreds of others, who had been thus indefinitely delayed in the receipt of their needed and rightful dues, but although there was no lack of zeal in these efforts, yet nothing occurred upon which to settle suspicion, and with a heavy heart, and many a sigh and tear, he returned home, and related to his family and friends his ruin. As a natural consequence, the event became at once the absorbing theme of the country, for great numbers were affected in their pecuniary concerns by it, and none more than the two endorsers of the sureties of Whittlesey. These gentlemen, who were shrewd, practical and very observing men, immediately began to interrogate him, singly and alone, into the circumstance of the jour- ney and the robbery, and Fairbanks in par- ticular, whose trade as a saddler led him to be minutely observant of the qualities and ap- pearances of leather, made a careful examin- ation of the incisions in the portmanteau, of which there were two, tracing upon paper their exact size and shape, and upon close ex- amination, noticed pin holes in the margin, as if they had been mended up. Upon compar- ing the accounts which each had separately obtained in a long and searching conversation, these men became convinced that the money had not been stolen in the manner alleged, but that it was still in the possession of Whittle- sey and his wife. To get possession of this money was their next care, and, after long consultation, it was agreed that the only way to do this, was to gain the confidence of the family, and defend them manfully against the insinuations that came from all quarters that the money was still in town. In this they succeeded admirably, and from the declar- ations which they made in public and in pri- vate, which found their way directly back to the family, the latter were convinced that, although the whole world were against them in their misfortunes, yet they had the satis- faction to know that the two men who were the most interested were still by their side. To gain some fact that would lead to a knowl- edge of the place of deposit, Messrs. Fair- banks and Keyes agreed to listen at the win- dow of the sleeping room of those suspected, which was in a chamber, and overlooked the roof of a piazza. Accordingly, after dark,

one would call upon the family and detain them in conversation, while the other mounted a ladder and placed himself where he could overhear what was said within, and although they thus became convinced that the money was still in their possession, no opin- ion could be formed about the hiding place, Security upon their real estate was demanded, and readily given.

A son of the family held a commission in the navy, and was on the point of sailing for the Mediterranean, and it was suspected that the money might thus have been sent off; to ascertain which, Mr. Fairbanks, under pre- text of taking a criminal to the State prison, went to New York, made inquiries which satisfied him that the son was innocent of any knowledge of the affair, and ascertained at the bank the size of the packages taken. He had been told by Whittlesey that these had not been opened when stolen, and by making experiments with blocks of wood of the same dimensions, they readily ascertained that bundles of that size could not be got through an aperture of the size reported, and that in - stead of a 7 it required a 18 inch slit in the leather to allow of their being extracted. Some facts were gleaned at Albany that shed further light, among which it was noticed that Mrs. Whittlesey at her late visit (although very penurious in her trade), had been very profuse in her expenses. After a 10 days' absence Mr. Fairbanks returned; his partner having listened nights meanwhile, and the intelligence gained by eaves-dropping, al- though it failed to disclose the locality of the lost money, confirmed their suspicions, As goods were being boxed up at Whittlesey's house at a late hour in the night, and the daughters had already been sent on to Sack- ets Harbor, it was feared that the family would soon leave; decisive measures were resolved upon to recover the money, the ingenuity and boldness of which evince the sagacity and energy of the parties. Some method to decoy Whittlesey from home, and frighten him by threats, mutilation or tor- ture, into a confession, was discussed, but as the latter might cause an uncontrollable hem- orrhage, it was resolved to try the effect of drowning. Some experiments were made on their own persons, of the effect of submer- sion of the head, and Dr. Sherwood, a physician of the village, was consulted on the time life would remain under water. Having agreed upon a plan, on the evening before its execution they repaired to a lonely plaee about a mile south of the village, screened from the sight of houses by a gentle rise of ground, and where a spring issued from the bank and flowed off through a miry slough, in which, a little below, they built a dam of turf that formed a shallow pool. It was arranged that Mr. Fairbanks should call upon Whittlesey, to confer with him on some means of removing the suspicions which the public had settled upon him, by obtaining certificates of character from leading citizens and officers of the army; and that the two were to repair to Mr. Keyes's house, which

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CITY OF WATERTOWN.

was not far from the spring, Mr. Keyes was to be absent repairing his fence, and to leave word with his wife that if any one inquired for him, to send them into the field where he was at work. Neither had made confidants in their suspicions or their plans, except that Mr. Keyes thought it necessary to reveal them to his son, P. Gardner Keyes, then 17 years of age, whose assistance he might need, in keeping up appearances, and in whose sagacity and fidelity in keeping a secret he could rely.

Accordingly, on the morning of July 17th, (1815), Mr. Keyes, telling his wife that the cattle had broken into his grain, shouldered his axe and went to repair the fence which was thrown down, and Mr. Fairbanks called upon Whittlesey, engaged him in conversa- tion, as usual, and without exciting the slightest suspicion, induced him to go up to see his partner, whom they found in a distant part of the field at work. Calling him to them, they repaired as if casually to the spring, where, after some trifling remark, they explicitly charged him with the robbery, gave their reasons for thinking so, and told him that if he did not instantly disclose the locality of the money, the pool before him should be his grave. This sudden and unex- pected charge frightened their victim; but with a look of innocence he exclaimed, "I know nothing of the matter." This was no sooner said than he was rudely seized by Mr. Keyes and plunged headforemost into the pool, and after some seconds withdrawn. Being again interrogated, and assured that if the money were restored, no legal proceedings would be instituted, he again protested his innocence, and was a second time plunged in, held under several moments and again with- drawn, but this time insensible, and for one or two minutes it was doubtful whether their threats had not been executed; but he soon evinced signs of life, and so far recovered as to be able to sit up and speak. Perhaps nothing but the certain knowledge of his guilt, which they possessed, would have in- duced them to proceed further; but they were men of firmness, and resolved to ex- haust their resource of expedients, rightly judging that a guilty conscience could not long hold out against the prospect of speedy death. He was accordingly addressed by Mr. Keyes in tones and emphasis of sober earnest, and exhorted for the last time to save himself from being hurried before the tribunal of Heaven, laden with guilt-to disclose at once. In feeble tones he re-asserted his innocence, and was again collared and plunged in, but this time his body only was immersed. It had been agreed in his hearing, that Fair- banks (being without a family), should re- main to accomplish the work, by treading him into the bottom of the slough, while Keyes was to retire, so that neither could be a witness of murder if apprehended; and that on a given day they were to meet in Kings- ton. Keyes paid over about $90 to bear ex- penses of travel. and was about to leave, when the wretched man, seeing these serious

arrangements, and at length believing them to be an awful reality, exclaimed, "I'll tell you all about it !" Upon this, he was with- drawn, and when a little recovered, he con- fessed, that all but about $9,000 (which he now, for the first time, stated to have been stolen at Schenectady), would be found either under a hearth at his house, or quilted into a pair of drawers in his wife's possession. Mr. Keyes, leaving his prisoner in charge of his associate, started for the house, and was seen by his wife, coming across the fields, covered with mud, and, to use the words of the latter, "looking like a murderer;" and although in feeble health, and scarcely able to walk, she met him at the door, and in- quired with alarm, "What have you been doing ?" He briefly replied, "We have had the old fellow under water, and make him own where the money is; " and hastily proceeded to the village, related in few words to his friends, Dr. Paul Hutchinson and John M. Canfield, the facts, and with them repaired to the house of Whittlesey. Seeing them ap- proach, Mrs. Whittlesey fled to her chamber and on their knocking for admission, she re- plied that she was changing her dress, and would meet them shortly. As it was not the time or place for the observance of etiquette, Mr. Keyes rudely burst open the door, and entering, found her reclining on the bed. Disregarding her expostulations of impropri- ety, he rudely proceeded to search, and soon found between the straw and feather bed, upon which she lay, a quilted garment, when she exclaimed: "You've got it ! My God, have I come to this ?" The drawers bore the initials of Col. Tuttle, who had died in that house, under very suspicious circum- stances; were fitted with two sets of buttons, for either the husband or wife to wear, and contained about 30 parcels of bills, label- led, "For my dear son C-, 250 of 5;" "For my dear daughter E-, 150 of 3"; etc., amounting to $15,000 to her five children ; the remainder being reserved for her own use. The garment also contained a most extraor- dinary document, which might be called her Will, and about which she expressed the most urgent solicitude, imploring that it might be destroyed, by the earnest appeal that, "You have children as well as me !" It was soon after published in the papers, and was as follows :

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Growth of a Century : as illustrated in the history of Jefferson County, New York, from 1793 to 1894, Part 39

Author: Haddock, John A. 1823- Publication date: 1894 Publisher: Philadelphia, Pa. : Sherman Number of Pages: 1094

Author: Haddock, John A. 1823-
Publication date: 1894
Publisher: Philadelphia, Pa. : Sherman
Number of Pages: 1094