USA > New York > Franklin County > Historical sketches of Franklin county and its several towns > Part 72
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Mr. Robertson stated in his paper in Putnam's that the original bills and appropriations for Eleazer Williams's schooling at Long Meadow not only did not show (what Mr. Hanson deemed so remarkable and significant) that they had been paid mysteriously and by an unknown party, but that they affirmatively and conclusively established that his own and his brother John's expenses were met through identically the same source and channels; and Dr. Robertson's article declares that it is absolutely certain that both brothers were educated wholly at the charge of benevolent societies in Massachusetts, with a view to their future Christianizing work among the Indians. Moreover, Dr. Robert- son says that published representations to the contrary are shown by Mr. Williams's manuscripts to have been prepared by himself, and sent out by him for publication anonymously, and as if written by a third party.
Dr. Robertson pointed out also in his article that whereas Mr. Wil- liams represented to Mr. Hanson in 1853 that he had never even heard
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that he was of royal birth until so told by the Prince de Joinville in 1841, a reputable gentleman of Buffalo published a letter maintaining that Mr. Williams had declared to him in 1838 or 1839 that he was the son of Louis XVI., and Dr. Robertson says one copy of the Williams journal, at a date earlier than 1841, that had come to him as adminis- trator of the estate, contained substantially the sentiments, and in the same language, that Mr. Williams had attributed to the Prince de Joinville in his story to Mr. Hanson.
Without assuming to pass upon the significance that should attach to the fact, it is at least an interesting circumstance that, as stated by Dr. Robertson, the ·Williams journal, as turned over to the administrator, was a double affair, consisting of two copies which were not in all respects the same, and the leaves of which were simply stitched loosely together, which would make alterations easy, or even permit substitu- tion of entirely new pages for those originally written.
Dr. Robertson directs attention also to the fact that, although much inquired after, none of the original medals or documents which Mr. Williams claimed to have had were ever produced by him, but that he always explained that they had been accidentally burned or mysteri- ously stolen.
Again, while Mr. Williams had pretended to Mr. Hanson that he had been strongly opposed to bringing his claims before the public, his papers in Dr. Robertson's possession proved that he had been con- tinually obtruding the matter himself in the newspapers for years through anonymous communications, which were made to appear as if prepared by disinterested parties ; and in one letter, over his own signa- ture, Mr. Williams had suggested to his correspondent that a speech in Congress portraying him as the descendant of Louis XVI., and dwelling upon the great assistance that this monarch had given the United States in the war for independence, would be calculated to help materially the passage of measures allowing his claims against the government.
Except for the account of his interview with the Prince de Joinville, neither the journal nor any of the papers or letters of Mr. Williams contain the slightest reference to his alleged royal lineage until 1848. For seven years he had been as silent as the grave on the matter, and then it appears to have obsessed him. Five or six years later, so strong had its hold become upon him, he affected royal practices in his cor- respondence, signing himself "L. C." (Louis Capet), and even pre- paring manifestoes and proclamations, though not giving publicity to them. His journal in this period even assumes to recite the precise
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circumstances of his escape from the prison of the Temple, and in other items purports to give history in the most serious manner along lines which no authentic records confirm. Dr. Robertson thought that probably, through constant dwelling upon the subject, he came finally himself to believe fully in what had been previously pure pretension. Either Mr. Williams actually believed, or for some unknown reason fabricated the charge, that an attempt was made in Philadelphia in 1856 to poison him, and that in 1858 he narrowly escaped assassination in Washington by an agent and spy of the French emperor. These stories were set out in his journal with no little circumstantiality, but they carried no proof, nor were they corroborated by any news dis- closures of the time.
Mary Ann Williams, the reputed Indian mother of Eleazer, made affidavit before Justice Alfred Fulton, a substantial and wholly trust- worthy resident at Hogansburgh, that Eleazer was her natural son. Subsequently she made a second affidavit before the same magistrate, contradicting some of the statements contained in the first affidavit, and referring to Eleazer as her adopted son. Mr. Robertson com- municated with Mr. Fulton on the subject, who replied that at the making of the first affidavit Rev. Father Marcoux had acted as inter- preter, and that, so far as Mr. Fulton could determine with his imperfect knowledge of the Indian tongne, had interpreted her correctly. At the making of the second affidavit, when Mr. Fulton entered the room, Eleazer and an interpreter were discussing what Indian word should be used to signify "adopted." Mr. Williams's papers held by Dr. Robertson showed that this second affidavit was drawn by Eleazer Wil- liams himself, and of this circumstance Mr. Hanson makes no mention. Mr. Fulton stated further in his letter of reply to Dr. Robertson that he never thought that Mrs. Williams intended to say that Eleazer was an adopted son, and that she herself subsequently denied to Mr. Fulton that she had intended to so state, and manifested surprise that Eleazer should have claimed to be other than her natural son.
Dr. Robertson says thai neither Mr. Williams's wife nor his son had any faith in his royal pretensions.
A power of attorney, executed in 1852, by Mary Ann Williams, is of record in the office of the county clerk of Franklin county at Malone, N. Y., making " my son, Rev. Eleazer Williams, of Green Bay, Wis .. " her attorney to collect her claim pending in Congress.
In 1851 and for some later years my father, the late Joel J. Seaver, was attorney or agent to distribute the annuities allowed by the State to the St. Regis Indians, which then amounted possibly to five or six
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dollars per head. For some reason he had refused to treat Mr. Williams as a meniber of the tribe ; perhaps he believed him to be the Dauphin. or perhaps only regarded his long affiliation with the Oneidas as having severed any connection that he might ever have had with the St. Regis. I have now before me the original letter written by Mr. Williams to Mr. Seaver, from which I quote: "In regard to my claims of the money, I was not so anxious to receive the paltry sum as I was to have my case (as a member of the tribe) brought before the present trustees of the tribe in order to ascertain whether they do or do not consider me as a member. All the acting agents before Mr. Wheeler and yourself never doubted or hesitated in the least to give me my share of the money when present. Upon what grounds that you, sir, 'entertain the strongest doubts' of my being a member of the tribe, you do not state. If I am a son of Thomas Williams (a chief), which has never been proved as yet to the contrary," etc., etc .-- arguing that in such case he should be paid one part of the annuity. This letter, though not assert- ing positively Mr. Williams's Indian origin, nevertheless reads rather strangely as compared with the rejoinder which he says that he made to the Prince de Joinville when offered a king's fortune and a regal income. Then he would not "sacrifice his honor" at any price, but now he would consent to be rated as an Indian for " a paltry sum."
In 1893 Elizabeth E. Evans published one of those so-called his- torical novels, creations having only the flimsiest foundation of fact, but with a magnificent superstructure of dreams and imagination, and in reviewing the book in 1894 The Nation makes statements which are interesting. The review was manifestly written by one who felt sure of his ground, and it impresses the reader as authoritative. It declares that in the rooms of the Wisconsin Historical Society at Madison there is a truukful of Mr. Williams's own manuscripts (doubtless the same ones that Dr. Robertson had had) which betray completely the falsity of his claim to be the Dauphin. The article says also that in a written application for admission to the Masonic order Mr. Williams gave 1792 as the date of his birth, whereas it will be remembered that the Dauphin was born in 1785. The review quotes Mrs. Williams, herself of French extraction, as saying that Mr. Williams could not speak a word of French correctly ; and it quotes an acquaintance of Mr. Williams to the effect that while always making an effort to turn his toes out in walking, he would, forgetting himself, soon turn his toes in, Indianlike.
Referring again to the letter of Mr. Williams, of Roxbury, Mass., to The Nation, from which quotation has already been made, it is stated therein that as early as 1810 Eleazer Williams called himself the
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" Count de Lorraine," and wore on his breast a large tinsel star. It is also declared that the writer's grandfather, in discussing Eleazer Wil- liams with Indians at Caughnawaga, had found that he was " in bad" with them because of a habit he had of collecting money for them for specific purposes, and then applying it to his own uses. The letter explains that the feelings of adherents of the Romish faith toward Eleazer Williams was not one of enmity, but of relief to be rid of a black sheep.
A book concerning the lost Dauphin and Mr. Williams was published by Publius V. Lawson in Wisconsin in 1905. Mr. Lawson himself believed strongly in the royal lincage of Mr. Williams, and yet he quotes John Y. Smith, who had known Mr. Williams for ten years at Green Bay, as follows: "He was a fat, lazy, good-for-nothing Indian ; but cunning, crafty and fruitful in expedients to raise the wind. I doubt whether there was a man at Green Bay whose word commanded less confidence than that of Eleazer Williams. * * Williams would have passed for a pure Indian, with just a suspicion of African in his complexion and features."
Also the following from Gen. Albert G. Ellis: "Eleazer Williams was the most perfect adept at fraud, deceit and intrigue that the world has ever produced. * He was built very much like a hogshead, and tapering a little both ways; and if you could have seen him eat you would have thought him about as hollow."
Also from Governor Lewis Cass of Michigan: "I have known him for almost thirty years. His color, features and the conformation of his face testify to his Indian origin."
In opposition to the judgments of Mr. Smith and Gen. Ellis is to be set the fact that inquiries made by Mr. Hanson all elicited unqualified testimonials to Mr. Williams's good repute, and Mr. Hanson himself believed him to be of so simple a mind that he was incapable intel- lectually, to say nothing of his morals, of originating such a story as he told, or even of comprehending the significance of its several links when joined together until it was pointed out to him.
According to Mr. Lawson, Mr. Williams had many fine household articles when he lived in Wisconsin - most of them gifts from abroad. They included brass, silver and exquisite china. Some of these were picked up from time to time by collectors, and are still owned in Wisconsin.
Mr. Lawson also tells that while living in the vicinity of Green Bay Mr. Williams ran into debt with a trader to the amount of $1,285.03, for which the trader obtained judgment; and that Mr. Williams sought
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and obtained help from Amos Lawrence of Boston, Mass., to avert a sale of his lands to satisfy the judgment. Mr. Williams claimed that his agreement with Mr. Lawrence was that in consideration of his taking up the judgment he was to have a half interest in the lands; but that later he sold Mr. Williams out under the judgment, and took every- thing. These lands comprised 4,800 acres, and are said now to be worth a million dollars.
It is believed by Mr. Lawson that Mr. Williams was a member of a Masonic lodge at Fort Howard, Wis., which ceased to exist in 1830, and whose records can not now be found. Mr. Williams's application for membership, however, is in the archives of the Wisconsin Historical Society, and, inferentially, is probably the document referred to by The Nation as stating 1:92 as the year of his birth. Mr. Williams's grave at Hogansburgh is marked by a marble slab which at the top bears the carving of a square and compass, followed by the inscription : " Eleazer Williams. Died August 28, 1858." Mr. Lawson states that this stone was erected by his son. The funeral of Mr. Williams was conducted by Aurora Lodge, F. and A. M., of Fort Covington.
It seems to be agreed by all writers on the subject that the removal of the Oneida Indians from New York was at least in consonance with a project conceived by Southerners in Congress to make Wisconsin a great Indian reservation, so that it should not become an applicant for admission into the Union as a free State, and the writer in The'Nation from whom I have quoted declares that it was Mr. Williams's ambition or dream to unite the tribes to be assembled in a single great league, over which he himself was to be the uncrowned king.
Rev. Amos C. Treadway, for many years rector of St. Mark's Church, Malone, was a firm believer that Mr. Williams was the Dauphin.
Whatever else may be said or thought of Mr. Williams, there is no doubt that he was the leading Indian orator of his time, and also an eminent authority concerning the movements and works in the United States of the early French explorers and missionaries.
Regarding the robe that Mr. Williams had, which was said to have been worn by Marie Antoinette, it was worn by Miss Mary Lincoln of Fort Covington (afterward Mrs. Wyatt, of Fon-du-Lac, Wis.) upon the occasion of an amateur presentation of the play Richard the Third in Fort Covington, and also by Miss Mattie Lindsay at a masquerade ball in Malone. In disposing of Mr. Williams's effects Dr. Robertson, as administrator, had the robe cut into pieces. Sold thus, it brought $23. Mrs. Alice Knapp Knowlton, of Malone, has or had one of the pieces. Where the other fragments went is unknown.
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Presuming that Thomas Williams was in faet the father of Eleazer, and granting that the latter's appearance was more Caucasian than Indian (which was as vigorously denied by some as it was asserted by others), this peculiarity is really not difficult to account for. With a white great-grandmother and a white grandfather, a reversion to type, even if there were not such reversion in the cases of brothers and sisters, would not be at all unusual, as like examples in heredity are frequently known. They appear so often, indeed, even after the lapse of more than one generation, as not to be regarded as at all remarkable. " Children throw back beyond the immediate sire to earlier and finer members of the family." Of course, the alleged strong resemblance to the Bourbons which Mr. Williams is said to have shown is another matter, and no one has ever undertaken to explain it beyond suggesting that it may have been merely a fancy or a coincidence.
CHAPTER XXXI LUTHER BRADISH
Nearly three-quarters of a century has passed since Luther Bradish ceased to be a resident of Franklin county. The precise date of his removal is undeterminable, though records are available which fix his residence in Moira as late as 1841, and which show him to have estab- lished his home at Throg's Neck, Westchester county, certainly not later than 1843. Influential, commanding and even dominating here at one time, he has yet been all but forgotten. Outside of Moira and other than by a few elsewhere who chance to know his record, the name is strange and his service unfamiliar. But his part in public affairs was so conspicuous, and local tradition represents him so fine and attractive a figure, that excuse need not be made for giving here a sketch of his life.
Unfortunately Mr. Bradish left no written work or speech, so far as I have been able to ascertain, by which his ability may be measured. Whether, with his other accomplishments, he possessed the gift of oratory, none of the political historians of his time say, though they all testify unreservedly to his high character, to the eminently satisfactory discharge of the duties of the several offices that he filled, and to his admirable personal qualities. Hammond, a political opponent, declares that "no purer man ever lived," and another writer speaks of him as " the finished gentleman." He was the associate in politics on equal terms in stirring times of men of the rank of Thurlow Weed, and of Millard Fillmore and William H. Seward in statecraft.
Luther Bradish was the son of Colonel John Bradish, and was born at Cummington, Hampshire county, Mass., September 15, 1783. He was graduated from Williams College in 1804, by which institution he was subsequently honored with the degree of Bachelor of Laws. He located in the city of New York, studied law, and was admitted to the bar. In October, 1814, he enlisted as a private in the State militia, and was in service, on the Niagara frontier, as shown by pay-roll in the adjutant-general's office at Albany, for a period of two months. After his discharge he taught school in the western part of the State for a short time.
Luther Bradish first became identified with Franklin county in 1815 by the purchase jointly with others of 28,284 acres of land (except
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4,357 acres previously sold to or reserved for settlers) in the town of Moira, which comprised all of the then unsold lands in that town. The price paid for the entire tract, which was practically all wilderness, was $12,600, or about fifty cents per acre. Subsequently he acquired the holdings of his partners in this venture, and in 1816 purchased eleven or twelve hundred acres in the southeast quarter of Bangor. From 1816 to 1845 he was grantee to other smaller parcels in con- siderable number in Bangor, Bombay, Fort Covington and Moira, and the last of his holdings in Franklin county was not disposed of until 1859, though in 1835 he sold to Henry N. Brush (whose guardian he had been previously) about all of his original purchase, with the excep- tion of small tracts that had been parted with theretofore, and also lands owned by him in Dekalb, St. Lawrence county, for $53,915.38.
While Mr. Bradish did not establish his residence in Franklin county until 1826, at which time he was a widower, he unquestionably visited Moira as early as 1817, as a receipt given by him for money, dated at that place in that year, came into the possession of the late Clark J. Lawrence of Malone some years ago. It was given to Jonathan Law- rence, the grandfather of Clark J.
Mr. Bradish located his home in Moira about two and a half miles north of the site of the present village, on the farm now (1918) owned and occupied by James Finnigan. The buildings which he erected were destroyed by fire a few years ago. The period covered by his residence in Moira was about fifteen years. We know that he came in 1826, and the last deed given by him with Moira stated as his residence was dated in 1838, while his next conveyance recorded in Franklin county recites the place of his residence as Throg's Neck, and is dated 1843. But the accounts of Clark Lawrence, deceased, as postmaster show transactions with him running into 1841: and inasmuch as Mr. Bradish is not charged subsequently by Mr. Lawrence for postage it is presumable that he ceased to live at Moira in the year last mentioned.
Mr. Bradish's establishment at Moira was a pretentious one, though probably with less social activity and display than his political and official prominence and extensive acquaintance would have induced if there had been a Mrs. Bradish. None of his contemporaries survive, and there is no record to disclose what conferences and plannings his home witnessed, though it is known that Governor Seward visited him in 1839. Only here and there is now to be found an elderly man who remembers vaguely having in boyhood seen Mr. Bradish, and a some- what larger number who recall distinctly the almost venerating regard with which his townsmen and associates used to speak of him. Of
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imposing presence, courtly manners, gracious and benign consideration for others, entertaining in reminiscences of extensive travel and public affairs, erudite in politics and law, and a master among men, he became with his first appearance in the county a popular leader and exercised a commanding influence. Whether he should be regarded as the ablest man that this county has ever given to the public service, no adequate record remains to afford a basis for judgment, but it probably may be safely claimed for him that he was at the least the most accomplished, and that no one here has surpassed him in personal popularity and in the public estimation which it is worth while to gain and hold. He had lived here barely a year when he was elected to the Assembly, and he served in that body in 1828, 1829 and 1830. With Thurlow Weed he was one of the organizers of the anti-Masonic party, and in 1830 he was the candidate of that party in this district (then composed of Clinton, Essex, Franklin and Warren counties) for Congress, but was defeated by William Hogan, of Hogansburgh, a Jackson Democrat. This result was due in part, undoubtedly, to the prestige of President Jackson, and also to the very great influence of Silas Wright, of Canton, who even thus early had a considerable power in Franklin county. From 1830 to 1836 Mr. Bradish was not in public office unless it may have been in a purely home way, but in 1835 as a Whig was again elected to the Assembly, and was re-elected in 1836 and 1837. In the latter year the Whigs had but a scant representation in the Legislature. Mr. Bradish was made the candidate of his party for Speaker, and so became the minority leader in the Assembly.
The Democratic canal policy of the period, together with the panic of 1837, had angered the people, and consequently the Whigs swept nearly every county in the State, and elected all of the Senators then chosen, and four-fifths of the members of Assembly. Mr. Bradish was made Speaker in 1838, the only man from Franklin county who ever came within measurable distance of gaining that distinction.
With high hopes of carrying the State in 1838, Whig candidates for the nomination for Governor were not lacking. William H. Seward and Francis Granger were in the lead, but Alexander, in his " Political History of New York," says: "There was another formidable candidate in the field. Luther Bradish had proved an unusually able Speaker, courteous in deportment, and firm and resolute in his rulings at a time of considerable political excitement. He had entered the Assembly from Franklin in 1828, and, having early embraced anti-Masonry with Weed, Seward and Granger, was, with them, a leader in the organization of the Whig party. The northern counties insisted that his freedom
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from party controversies made him peculiarly available, and, while the supporters of other candidates were quarreling, it was their intention, if possible, to nominate him." Though Mr. Bradish received a respeet- able vote in the convention, Mr. Seward was nominated through the marvelously persuasive powers and organizing genius of Thurlow Weed. Incidentally, it is of interest to note that though one of its citizens was a hopeful candidate for the gubernatorial nomination, so little partici- pation was there in politics by the general public in those days that only a single delegate was present from Franklin county, and, so far as the record shows, no body of men from his home were in attendance unoffi- cially to work for his success. In similar circumstances to-day about every man locally prominent in politics would be on hand to "boom " the candidate. Mr. Bradish accepted second place on the ticket, which was elected by about ten thousand plurality. The same ticket was nominated in 1840, but, owing to unpopular policies formulated and pressed by Seward, re-election was won by only half the majority secured in 1838, notwithstanding the tremendous excitement and whirlwind enthusiasm of the log cabin and hard cider campaign that " Tippecanoe and Tyler too" evoked. The next year there was a strong revulsion of sentiment, and in 1842 the Whig convention was spiritless and almost hopeless. Alexander says: "Luther Bradish was the logical candidate for Governor. Fillmore had many friends present, and John A. Collier of Binghamton, alternating between hope and fear, let his wishes be known. But Lieutenant-Governor Bradish had won popularity by firmness, patience and that tact which springs from right feeling rather than cold courtesy ; and, in the end, the vote proved him the favorite." The campaign developed no enthusiasm on either side. The Democrats carried the State by about twenty-two thousand majority, and Mr. Bradish never again appeared actively in the field of polities. He was, however, made vice-chancellor of the Regents of the University of New York in 1842, and about ten years later was appointed assistant treasurer of the United States at New York.
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