USA > New York > Warren County > Queensbury > History and biography of Washington county and the town of Queensbury, New York > Part 15
USA > New York > Washington County > History and biography of Washington county and the town of Queensbury, New York > Part 15
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58
Jackson by its shape is peculiarly situated in regard to places of business and churches. All around its boundary lines are villages, whose stores and churches its citizens have visited for the last century.
No churches were in the town in 1880, and the only church ever within its bounds before that time was the Reformed Dutch church, in the western part and opposite Battenville vil- lage. The old brick meeting house there was erected in 1833, through the influence of Judge John McClean. The church was organized December 24, 1833, and on February 19, 1834, Rev. James Stewart was installed as pastor, serving in that relation for two and one-half years. The last pastor was Rev. John H. Pitcher, who left in 1851, and soon afterward, death and removal had so thinned the membership that the church became dis- banded.
The schools of the town have kept up in efficiency and progress with the schools of the surrounding towns. In 1877 there were ten districts, with an enumeration of over five hundred children of school age.
The business of the town is mostly done at villages beyond its boundary lines, and this, with lack of water power, has caused but few industries to be established in the town, as they would have to depend upon steam as motive power, and the enhanced cost of thus operating machinery would be too large for the possible profits that could be realized.
Of late years flax has been raised in some quantity, and potatoes have become the chief article of export.
The main villages of Jackson township are Coila, in the south, and Jackson Centre, south of the highland ponds.
Coila is on the northern extremity of Cam -. den, in which the main part of the village and its mills, stores and churches lie.
Jackson Centre is south of the highland ponds. The Pond Valley hotel there was opened many years ago.
At Anaquassacook there are a few dwellings, a tannery established before 1800, and some shops started in later years.
Opposite East Greenwich is a place of some business, where a woolen mill was once oper- ated on the waters of the Batten Kill.
The old Reformed church opposite Batten- ville once promised to become the center of a small village.
Nearly forty years ago the farmers of Jack- son made a move to protect their buildings against fire at a cheaper rate than was then given by leading insurance companies, and on November 27, 1858, organized the Jackson Fire Insurance Company.
TOWN OF WHITE CREEK.
The southeastern town of Washington county is White Creek, whose boundaries are Jack- son, on the north ; the State of Vermont, on the east; Rensselaer county, on the south ; and Cambridge, on the west.
The area of White Creek is twenty-eight thousand three hundred acres of land, of which twenty-one thousand nine hundred and ninety- three acres were improved in 1875. The sur-
113
BIOGRAPHIY AND HISTORY
face in the south is rolling, and the central and northern parts are mountainous, while the soil in the tillable parts is a fine gravelly loam, being fertile and productive. The hilly dis- tricts are well adapted to pasturage. Lime has been found, and lead was discovered on the Noxon farm, near Post's Corners, but is not in paying quantities, although twenty-two per cent. of the ore is silver.
The drainage is to the southwest by the Owl Kill and its numerous tributaries. The principal tributary is North White creek, then come five small eastern and three small west- ern creeks, below which in the southeastern part of the town is received the last tributary, Little White creek.
The town of White Creek was taken from Cambridge in 1815 by act of legislature, and in 1816 the first town officers were elected. William Richards was the first supervisor, and Ira Parmely the first town clerk. An attempt had been made by the citizens of White Creek to obtain a separate organization as early as 1775, but had failed.
One-third of White Creek is on the Cam- bridge patent, and the remainder of its terri- tory is included in the Schermerhorn, Lake & VanCuyler, Wilson or Embury, Bain, Grant, and Campbell patents.
Settlement commenced between 1761 and 1765, but we find no account of the pioneer settlers whose names if found would be in the lists of early settlers of Cambridge. Of those who came between 1770 and 1790 there is record of Thomas and James Aslıton, from Ireland ; John Allen, a Friend from New Bed- ford, Connecticut ; Dr. William Richards, David Sprague, Seth Chase, and Rev. William Waite, from Rhode Island ; John and Isaac Wood, Jonathan Hart, Joseph Mosher, and Jolinson Perrine, from New Bedford; Amos Hoag, and John, Aaron, and William Perry, from Dutchess county ; and Zebulon Allen, who lived to be one hundred and four years of age.
Record nor tradition assigns anything of 8
military interest to the territory of White Creek, until the opening of the Revolution, when dread, uneasiness, and a spirit of rest- lessness was awakened there, as well as throughout the whole county and the entire State.
Baum's route to Bennington was through White Creek, and entering at the northwest that officer probably passed through North White Creek village. His night camp on August 13, 1777, was near Waite's Corners, and south of a small rivulet that empties into the Owl Kill. The next day he marched be- yond the boundaries of the town, and passed southward into the valley of the Hoosick. Just beyond the White Creek line was fought the battle of Bennington, and cannon balls fired at that engagement are said to have fallen in the southeast corner of the town and. caused a Quaker and his sons to beat a precip- itate retreat from their meadow. It is also said William Gilmore, working that day on the B. B. Kenyon farm, unyoked his oxen, gath- ered up a few Whigs, and started for the Hoosick. Learning of Breyman's approach with reinforcements for Baum, Gilmore and his companions commenced tearing up Little White Creek bridge, and as the last plank was barely removed, the British reinforcements arrived in sight. Gilmore and his compan- ions escaped among a shower of bullets, but the slight halt occasioned by the tearing up of the bridge caused just enough delay to Brey- man in crossing to enable Warren to reach the Bennington battle-ground in time for the sec- . ond struggle, and to ensure final victory to the American arms. Thus Gilmore's patriotic act made certain the victory that otherwise might have been a defeat, and in ensuring Bennington had an indirect effect toward tri- umph at Saratoga.
The principal villages of White Creek are : White Creek, Martindale Corners, Pumpkin Hook, North White Creek, Dorr's Corners, Ash- grove, Post's Corners and Centre White Creek.
White Creek village, the largest place in
114
BIOGRAPHY AND HISTORY
the town, is situated on the waters of White creek, in the southeastern part, and in 1880 had a population of 189. It was settled at an early day, and has been a place of business importance ever since the close of the Revo- lution. The first house, a log building, was put up by John Allen, and stood on the creek below the old hat factory, while the first store was originally established southwest of the village by Jacob and Benjamin Merritt, who soon removed to White Creek, where they built on the site of the Sisson store. They did a wonderfully extensive business for their day, buying large quantities of wheat and selling fifty-thousand dollars worth of goods yearly. Edward Aiken's grist mill and house had been erected before the Merritts brought their store to the place. The Aiken grist mill build- ing was successfully used as a cotton factory, a woolen mill and a flax mill. John Allen and Paul Cornell built the second grist mill, James Allen, Jonathan Hart and Sylvanus Tabor erected tanneries, and John Allen erected a hat factory, in which George N. Briggs worked when a boy. Two trip ham- mers were operated at an early day by Paul Cornell, who made scythes and hoes, and George Mann, who manufactured scythes. Edwin Hurd built an ax factory and Garner Wilkinson had a scythe-snath factory. All of these business enterprises were founded before 1820. The first tavern was kept by Garner Wilkinson, and the postoffice dates its establishment to 1822, when Daniel P. Carpenter was commissioned as the first post- master. White Creek with Camden were the important early business centers of the south- eastern part of the county.
Center White Creek, while not central geo- graphically, yet may hold claim to its name as being half way between White Creek and North White Creek. This village is in the southwestern part of the town and for many years was known as Waite's Corners, from be- ing founded by Rev. William Waite, a Bap- tist preacher. An early grist mill was built by
James Hay, while a rope factory stood near it, but both have passed away. A saw mill was built near the village in 1790, and about the same time a flax mill was put up a short distance above the small collection of houses. Zerah and Ezra Waite opened the first store, while Ishmael Gardner swung the first tavern sign to the breeze. The village was a favorite place for early town meetings. The postoffice was removed in 1866 from Post's Corner to Center White Creek, and was first kept there by Thomas Fowler.
Pumpkin Hook, while having an agricul- turally sounding name, yet derives its more practical than euphonious title not from a farm product but from the Pompanuck tribe of In- dians, who lived at its site for a time and were originally from Massachusetts. The corruption of the Indian name gave rise to the present designation of the place. A mill and a chair factory were among the first buildings, and about 1816 to these industries were added clock and comb factories and a woolen mill. John Warren, a Mr. Glass, and Joseph War- ren, were among these early manufacturers. Leonard Darby had a machine shop, and John Rhodes a fulling mill in operation about the time the woolen mill was started. In time competition elsewhere in the county led to the abandonment of all these enterprises, and a chair factory only remained.
North White Creek is the old name for the eastern part of the village of Camden, and its enterprises are described in the historical notes on that place.
Dorr's Corners were named for Dr. Jona- than Dorr, and is now a part of Cambridge village. A Mr. Stillwell was the first merchant at Dorr's Corners, and a mill and a machine shop are near the place.
Post's Corners, a short distance east of Cen- tre White Creek, is at the confluence of several roads, and derives its name from a Dr. Post. Formerly a store was kept here. A postoffice was established, but was removed in 1866 to Centre White Creek.
115
BIOGRAPHY AND HISTORY
Ashgrove, two miles east of Camden village, derives its name from Thomas Ashton, an early settler, and who built the first frame house at the little hamlet. Ashgrove has be- come famous in connection with the Methodist church and its founder in the new world, Philip Embury.
Martindale Corners, near the eastern town line, takes its name from the early resident family of Martindale. Kinkaid's store was there in an early day, and the place, from its present resident family, is known generally as Briggs' Corners.
The church history of White Creek town is important, for within its borders was the second Methodist Episcopal church of the United States and America, and were also early Bap- tist churches and Friends' meetings.
The Baptist church of White Creek was organized in 1772, by Rev. William Waite, from Rhode Island. . Some of its members fought with Baum's forces against Stark, at Bennington, which was but a short distance away, and this action of theirs led to the tem- porary disbanding of the church. But Elder Waite gathered three members the next year, and in 1779 the church was formally reorgan- ized. In 1788 the first meeting house was built, and in 1796 the second church was erected at Centre White Creek. In 1855 a second church at the last named place was erected.
Friends' White Creek meeting has record back to the seventh of Tenth month, 1783, al- though the meeting is supposed to have been established earlier than that year. Their first meeting house west of White Creek was built in 1785, and the second church, erected in 1805, was burned in 1874.
The first Methodist Episcopal chapel at Ashgrove was erected in 1788, and rebuilt in 1832. The Ashgrove church afterward went down, and the ashes of its celebrated founder, Philip Embury, rest in the cemetery at the village of Camden.
Further mention here is appropriate of
Philip Embury, who has been frequently men- tioned elsewhere in this volume.
Philip Embury was licensed as a local preacher in Ireland, where he married Mary Switzer, and in 1760 left Balligarrane, that country, for New York with several Palatines or Methodists. For five years Embury did no ministerial work, but a second company of Irish Methodists came in 1765, and one of their number, Mrs. · Barbara Heck, induced the young retired preacher to resume his sacred calling. Embury's preaching in New York city led to the organization of the John Street church there. In 1769 Embury trans- ferred his congregation -the First Methodist Episcopal church on the continent to mission- aries sent over by Mr. Wesley, and removed to Salem. He soon made his purchase of land in Camden, but kept his residence in the town of Salem, where he died in 1773 from an overheat in the hay field. Philip Embury formed the Ashgrove class in 1770, and preached throughout the southern part of the county until his death. He lived and died with apparently but a frontier fame, and whatever may have been the measure of his ambition, his name is enrolled as the founder of a mighty church in the New World, and among those who are honored of men, while the story of his life has been eloquently told in the pulpit, on the platform and by the fire- side.
The Methodist Episcopal Church at Post's Corners was organized about 1856, and con- tinued in existence until 1875.
The Methodist Episcopal church at White Creek was organized in 1831, and held their services for years in the Union church.
The public schools succeeded the subscrip- tion schools in this as in other towns. In 1825 there were twelve districts and six hundred and twenty-five pupils, which fifty years later, in 1875, had increased to fourteen districts and eight hundred and eighty-nine pupils.
Union academy of White Creek village was established in 1810 by the subscriptions of the
116
BIOGRAPHY AND HISTORY
prominent citizens of the community. It was opened in the autumn of 1810 by Isaiah Y. Johnson, who was succeeded successively as principal by a Mr. Marsh and Ambrose Eggleston, and during their administrations some eminent men were students at this academy. The academy went down about 1875, and the building became a dwelling.
Sheep raising was an extensive industry in the town of White Creek until late years, when it has been largely supplanted by dairy- ing and the raising of flax and potatoes. Flocks of sheep as high as three thousand in numbers were owned by single persons in 1850, when there were over thirty thousand sheep kept in the town. In 1875 White Creek had still more sheep than any other town in the county, her flocks then containing nine thousand six hundred and forty-six sheep.
The dairy interests of the town were ma- terially advanced as early as 1877, when Jer- main's White Creek village creamery was es- tablished. It took the milk of one hundred and fifty cows, and produced two thousand pounds of butter, and over twenty-one thous- and pounds of cheese during the first year of its operation.
CHAPTER VIII.
VILLAGE AND TOWN OF CAMBRIDGE.
VILLAGE OF CAMBRIDGE.
In the northeastern part of the town of Cam- bridge, in a small and beautiful valley horizon- bounded with surrounding hills, lies the old, populous, and thriving village of Cambridge, one of the railroad and business centers of Washington county. Since its incorporation, in 1866, Cambridge has comprised within its chartered bounds, what were formerly known as Cambridge, and North White Creek, and Dorr's Corners, which are on the territory of the town of White Creek. The Owl Kill and other streams run through the village, and
while not large enough there to afford water power, yet give good drainage. Fine shaded streets, fine public and private buildings, and a general appearance of neatness, make Cam- bridge a beautiful and pleasant village.
The site of Cambridge was originally owned by James and Thomas Morrison, and around the cross roads there settlement was first made about 1770. Soon a hamlet came into existence, that with the development of the country, grew into a village sustained by the business interest of a surrounding section of rich farming lands. The completing of the Troy & Rutland railroad in 1852 through Cam- bridge, gave it an assured future and secured it connection with New York, Montreal, and the eastern cities. Since then a slow growth but of a subtantial character has marked the history of Cambridge, whose population in 1880 numbered one thousand four hundred eighty- two, an increase over the census return of ten years earlier. In 1890 the population was one thousand five hundred and ninety-eight.
But little account is to be obtained of the early settlers. Ruel Beebe kept the first tav- ern where the Presbyterian church now stands, and opposite Beebe, Adonijah Skinner built a tavern in 1795, which in later years became the Fenton house. The Irving house was partly built in 1842 by James Durwell, its first landlord. The Union hotel, destroyed by fire in 1875, was partly built about 1800, by a man named Peters. Jeremiah Stillwell, at Dorr's Corners, was the first store keeper. Among the early merchants were: Rice & Billings, Eddy & Brown, Paul Dennis, Clark Rice, jr., Ransom Hawley, J. D. Crocker, Aaron Cros- by, Leonard Wells, and Carpenter & Liv- ingston.
The Cambridge postoffice was established about 1797, with Adonijah Skinner as post- master, and the office being moved a short distance in 1829, North White Creek post- office was established in the old locality, with L. J. Howe as postmaster. In 1866 both offices were merged and moved to the center
117
BIOGRAPHY AND HISTORY
of the united villages, under the present name of Cambridge.
The manufacturing interests of the village have 1800 as their initial year. Then a hat factory was built and a saw mill was erected on the Owl Kill. Forty years later a small furnace was erected on the site of the Beebe tavern. It was afterward changed to machine shops and moved to Dorr's Corners, where they were destroyed by fire in 1875. The shops were rebuilt the next year by A. Walsh. In 1860 Alfred Woodworth and William Qua put up a saw mill, to which they attached a planing mill and sash and blind factory, and ran up to 1876, when part of their plant was burned. Mechanic shops of all kinds are carried on in the village.
Judge John L. Wendell and G. Wendell were pioneer lawyers, and next, in 1813, came John P. Putnam, a grandson of Gen. Israel Putnam, and who practiced law and was other- wise engaged at Cambridge until his death in 1867.
John P. Putnam was the owner of the fa- mous Major Pitcairn pistols, whose shot at Concord in April, 1775, rang round the world. Since his death they have been carefully pre- served at Cambridge.
Dr. Jonathan Dorr was an early physician, and his second daughter, Elizabeth, married John P. Putnam. Two other early physicians were Drs. William Stevenson and Henry C. Gray.
One of the first moves on the part of the board of trustees, after the incorporation of the village, was to organize a fire department. The J. J. Gray Fire Company, No. 1, and the J. J. Gray Hose Company, were organized in 1866, and a fire hook and ladder company was formed at a later date. A good second-hand fire engine of a peculiar construction and un- couth in appearance was bought, yet it pos- sesses great force and has won the premium in every one of the many prize contests in which it has been pitted against some of the finest, largest and most expensive fire engines made. Sa
Soon after the railroad was built to Cam- bridge the subject of a home bank was dis- cussed, and led to the organization of the Cam - bridge Valley bank, on September 15, 1855, with a capital stock of one hundred and fifteen thousand dollars subscribed by one hundred and thirty-seven persons. Orrin Kellog was elected president, and James Thompson, cash- ier. In May, 1865, this bank became a Na- tional bank, and two years later the directors built a handsome banking house on Main street.
The Cambridge seed business was originally started by Simon Crosby, in 1816, at Coila, on a small scale, and in 1836 his sons established their garden and vegetable seed house at Dorr's Corners. Roswell Rice now engaged in the seed business, and in 1844 R. Niles Rice transferred his seed business from Salen (where he started in 1834) to Cambridge, and bought out S. W. Crosby and Roswell Rice. In 1865 R. Niles Rice associated his son, Je- rome B. Rice, with him, and extended his business to the eastern and middle, and some of the southern States.
The religious history of the village is of interest, as some of its churches have entered upon the second century of their existence.
The oldest church is the United Presby- terian church of Cambridge. Rev. Dr. Thomas Clark preached in the town in the fall of 1765, and that year the synod of the Secession church of Scotland was petitioned for a min- ister. Rev. David Telfair came, but did not remain, and the associate synod of Pennsyl- vania was then petitioned. They directed Dr. Clark, on April 19, 1769, to organize a con- gregation at Camden, which it is supposed he did, as William Smith, an original patentee, then donated a glebe lot for a church, which was commenced in 1775, but not completed until 1783. The next year a personal petition for a minister was resolved upon to the Pres- bytery of Pennsylvania, and a pious Irish wo- man, Widow Nancy Hinsdale, undertook the mission. She walked to Philadelphia and
118
BIOGRAPHY AND HISTORY
secured the appointment of Rev. Thomas Bey- eridge, who had just arrived from Ireland. Reverend Beveridge came to Camden, and on January 5, 1785, the church was legally organ- ized as the Protestant Presbyterian Congrega- tion, of Cambridge. A dissention afterward took place, resulting in the formation of the Coila church. In 1845 a new church building was erected on Main street, where the congre- gation has since worshiped. -
The first United Presbyterian congregation in Cambridge was organized August 17, 1793, and their first pastor was Rev. Gershom Wil- liams. The church they first occupied was built in 1792. Their present fine church, cost- ing thirty thousand dollars, was built in 1870 on the site of the old Beebe tavern. On July 12, 1836, the corner stone of the third Ash- grove church was laid at Cambridge, on land bought of Philip Blair. This time-honored church has its most interesting history con- nected with the first two of its church build- ings at Ashgrove, and is given in the account of White Creek town in the preceding chap- ter. Ashgrove church was founded by Philip Embury, in 1771, afterward served in 1779 by the celebrated Lorenzo Dow, and in all has had over one hundred pastors.
The First Baptist church of Cambridge was organized with twenty-six members, at the house of Benajah Cook, July 8, 1843. Rev. Levi Parmely was the first pastor, and the brick church structure was consecrated June 5, 1845.
Saint Patrick's Catholic church was organ- ized about 1853, by Rev. Dr. Hugh Quigley, who commenced the building of the church structure in the same year.
Saint Luke's Episcopal church was duly or- ganized September 23, 1866, and Rev. Clar- ence Buel became its first rector.
For the burial of its dead, Cambridge has one of the finest cemeteries in the county.
Woodlands cemetery, one mile north of the village was chosen in 1852 by J. C. Sidney, a civil engineer and rural architect of Philadel-
phia, who six years later upon its purchase surveyed it into walks and lots. It has since been enlarged and beautified. Of its many monuments there are two deserving more than passing notice-the one erected by patriotism, the other built by love.
The Soldiers' monument was erected in 1868 by the citizens of the "old town of Cam- bridge." The monument, twenty-one feet high, is a beautiful shaft of Italian marble, sur- mounted by a draped urn. Below is a marble die bearing the names of the fallen heroes, and the whole rests on a granite base.
The other monument is a shapely pile of Barre granite, thirty-one feet high, erected by the Preacher's National association in 1873 to the memory of Philip Embury. This monu- ment cost two thousand four hundred and fifty dollars, and was unveiled October 20, 1873, by Bishop Simpson in the presence of a vast as- sembly. In front of the monument, which bears only the simple inscription " Philip Em- bury," is the old Ashgrove tablet placed over the remains and bearing the eloquent inscrip- tion dictated by the brilliant Maffit,
Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.