History of Cayuga County, New York : with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers, Part 47

Author: Storke, Elliot G., 1811-1879. cn
Publication date: 1879
Publisher: Syracuse, N.Y. : D. Mason
Number of Pages: 762

USA > New York > Cayuga County > History of Cayuga County, New York : with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 47

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Before William was ten years old, his father died, leaving his mother with four children on her hands, and the fearful winter of 1837 and 1838 before her. It soon became a question with the family as to how they should pass through the winter. He often saw his mother weeping, and on one occasion he urged her to tell him the cause of her tears. On learning from her that it was her inability to keep the children to- gether and support them through the win- ter, he resolved to take care of himself. In a few days, with all that he had of this world's goods tied up in a bandana handkerchief, he left his home.

The parting from his mother gave him the keenest pangs his heart ever felt. With the " parting kiss," he urged his mother to " cheer up ; in a little while I will be able to provide for you a home." In the town of Sennett, contig- uous to Auburn, he found a place to live, where he could do chores for his board and go to school.

Two objects he now had before him, the ac- quisition of knowledge and to provide a home for his mother. Overcoming formidable difficul- ties, he was able on the day he was twenty years old, to move his mother into his own home, which he had built with his own hands. His mother's happiest day had come and the promise of the boy was fulfilled.

He was soon thereafter united in marriage with Miss Catherine Spingler, of Weedsport, a noble woman and devoted wife. When about twenty-two years of age he united with the M. E. Church, of which his wife was a member. Being a thorough student and a most indomitable reader, and feeling it a duty to proclaim to others the grace that had saved him, he entered the ministry of the church of his choice and at once rose to the front rank in the conference, filling the first appointment, and ever preaching to large congregations, and remaining the full disci- plinary term on each of the appointments.

The first M. E. Church edifice in Auburn will ever bear mute but eloquent tribute to his devo- tion to his work, it being built under his admin- istration. It may be well to note the voice of the press at the close of his pastorate in Au- burn :

" Rev. William Searls, the able and energetic pastor of the First M. E. Church, closed his la- bors in this city last evening with a farewell ser- mon to his congregation. The church was so densely packed with those who had assembled to hear him for the last time, the aisles and all other available space were occupied. Mr. Searls will leave a bright record behind him in this city. He will be remembered as the genial friend, the able preacher, the indomitable laborer in the cause of church erection, and the fearless advocate of temperance. He assumed the pastorate of the Methodist congregation here when it was pros- trated in finance and spirit by the conflagration which destroyed its sanctuary. He leaves it in possession of a stately capacious temple, and strong in numbers and means. . These facts speak his praise better than can any words of ours. We shall regret equally with his friends here his departure from Auburn."

His ability as a preacher was fully tested on many important occasions, but he was never found wanting. On one occasion at conference, Bishop Foster preached in the morning and Mr. Searls was to follow in the afternoon. Of that effort the following was reported at the time for the daily press :

" The hour of three having arrived the house was again crowded to hear a sermon from Rev. Wm. Searls, from Auburn. This gentleman has long been known as one of the leading ministers of the Oneida, afterwards Central New York conference. Mr. Searls called the attention of the congregation to Rom. viii : 3, 4: 'For what the law could not do in that it was weak through the flesh, &c.' In view of the thrilling grandeur of the morning sermon and the high pitch of feeling to which the audience had been raised, some feared that it would militate against the suc- cess of Brother Searls in the afternoon, but their fears were groundless. In the name of his great Master, with majestic, steps, onward he went in-

REA

[Photo by Squyer & Wright.]

Chaplain of Auburn Prison.

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BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.

creasing in power as he advanced. The drift of the discourse, as may be inferred from the text, was the superiority of the law of love under the gospel, to the dispensation of the law under the old covenant. The speaker felt the Divine unction, and the same spirit rested on the audience. The sermon ended amid shouts of rejoicing."

Mr. Searls stands second to but very few in the lecture field. He handles literary and popu- lar subjects with the skill of a master.

An editor wrote the following after listening to Mr. Searls lecture on " self-culture :" " The lecture of Rev. Wm. Searls, on Tuesday evening last, was fully up to the high anticipations of the public. Those who go to New York to secure great lecturers, will rarely, indeed, fare so well as the audience which listened to Mr. Searls last evening. Mr. Searls is a deep and original thinker, a fine scholar, and a speaker second to but few in the United States."

In a course of lectures delivered in Auburn some years ago by " home talent," Mr. Searls came on the ninth in the course, and the follow- ing from the city papers, will tell how well he performed the task assigned him :

" One of the largest audiences that ever gath- ered in our city was not disappointed in the lec- ture last evening, delivered by Rev. Wm. Searls, at the Universalist church, the ninth in the tem- perance cause. The masterly manner in which he treated his theme, "Temperance and the Home," established his position as one of the most effective pulpit orators in our State. If elo- quence consists in playing upon the feelings of an audience, now convulsing with laughter, then filling all eyes with tears, now moving every heart with sympathy, then arousing with righteous indignation, while every eye is fixed on the orator and every ear is open to catch the faint- cst whisper, then, surely, Mr. Searls may be placed among the most eloquent speakers of the day.

" Those passages in Mr. Searls' lecture that referred particularly to his childhood's home, thrilled the audience with their beauty and force and touched every heart with the tenderest sym- pathy. None but born orators could paint such vivid pictures as that of the boy's leaving home, his fervent prayer by the roadside on the hill overlooking the old home, and the mother linger- ing in the yard; we witness the whole scene as perfectly as if painted on canvass, in the colors of the master.

" Those who were present will not accuse us of exaggeration when we claim that Gough, in his palmiest days, never secured the attention and sympathy of an audience more completely than did the orator last evening. Such speeches can- not fail in establishing the most profound con- victions and arousing the public to the highest resolves for the right."

During the war Mr. Searls was indefatigable in rallying the people around the flag.

During the great excitement arising from the question of the Bible in the schools, he wrote a pamphlet on " English Martyrology," which was widely read, and had great influence in Central New York.

He justly feels that the citizens of Auburn paid him a very fine compliment, in inviting him to be their orator for their great celebration, July 4th, 1876. He proved himself equal to the occa- sion, and delivered what was everywhere pro- nounced " a masterly oration, * * sound in po- litical philosophy, deep in historical research, and practical in its admonitions."

For several years he has been, as he is now, the very acceptable chaplain of Auburn prison. He is deeply interested in every good work. Having lived in Auburn in his childhood, he has ever regarded it as his home, and takes pride and pleasure in the growth of the "lovely city." He is not without honor though a prophet in his own country.

Such a life as that of Mr. Searls supplies a valuable lesson, and shows what may be accom- plished by the right use of our powers in the face of strongly opposing obstacles. Left father- less and penniless at ten years of age, he was compelled to seek a home with strangers. He paid his board with his own labor, with the priv- ilege of attending school. He was a quick stu- dent, his memory tenacious and his heart so fully in his work, that he very soon "learned how to learn," and his whole after-life became to him a constant school, without vacations, and his in- structors were books, men, and events, his at- tainments becoming general and broad.

He was capable, self-reliant, industrious, pru- dent and faithful. Those excellent qualities won for him friends, home and employment. He was reliable and useful to those he served ; and as "God helps those who help themselves," he gradually won his way not only to self-support, but, at twenty years of age, had provided a home and support for his widowed mother, a striking and noble example of filial affection. He labored, as he could, on the farm or in the work-shop, instructing himself in the use of tools, with which, as a wood-worker, he could earn more than in farming, and to that pursuit, for a time, he gave his chief attention, until he entered the holy call- ing, which, thereafter became the business of his life. Here, as our record abundantly shows, he quickly attained not only to distinction, but to eminence, ranking among the most popular and effective public speakers of our time. Possessing an unusually firm and elastic physique, a genial and highly social temperament, a pleasant voice, a quick and very active intellect, and pure and thoroughly grounded moral perceptions, his pub- lic efforts were, in a high degree, interesting and

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magnetic. What he says is a clear reflex of his own strong common sense and his intimate knowl- edge of men and things, and his manner of say- ing it, is at once logical and interesting. Such a boyhood developing into such a life it is pleasant and profitable to record.

ELLIOT G. STORKE.

ELLIOT G. STORKE was the second son and the eighth child of Daniel Storke, and was born June 18th, 1811, in the old township of Aurelius, near Auburn, on what is known as the Washing- ton White place. His father who was of Welch and his mother of English descent and both na- tives of New England, had located on that farm in the winter of 1796, three years after Col. Hardenbergh had settled at the " Corners." The year previous he had erected a house and cleared and sown a field of wheat, returning to bring in his family consisting of himself, his wife and an infant child, their first born. They had care- fully prepared to meet the vicissitudes of their long winter journey through the forest and of their residence in a new country. For the for- mer, among the provisions taken was a large sup- ply of mince pies, which were frozen and care- fully packed for future use, but which were stolen from their ox-sled one night by the Indians, who, with characteristic shouts, bore their plunder to the forests, beyond recovery. Provisions for one year and clothing and bedding for several years had been carefully prepared. Yet during the second year of their residence here, their home with all it contained was consumed by fire, inflicting a loss difficult to repair. But pending the erection of another dwelling, hospitable quar- ters were tendered by a benevolent neighbor, and the immediate wants of an utterly destitute family generously supplied.

The farm on which they had located had been chosen because of its level surface, in strong con- trast with the rough aspects of their native New England hills ; but after clearing and cultivating it for eighteen years, it was sold and a farm se- lected on lot 96, on the drift hills in the town of Brutus, now Throop, the great fertility of which has been established by more than seventy years of profitable culture. Here he passed the re- mainder of his life. It had been mostly cleared when he came ; on it were two comfortable log- houses and a framed barn, the latter still in use.

The family comprised nine children, three sons and six daughters, all of whom attained maturity, married and settled in different parts of the country. They were all thoroughly trained in the industrial habits of the time, the girls in domestic work and in the preparation of flax and wool for raiment, and the boys in the diversified

labors of the farm. Work, systematic, regular, hard work were the " standing orders " of each day, in which each and all took part. There were then no foreign servants, on whom to shift the drudgeries of the farm or the household.

Mr. Storke received the usual instructions in the very common schools of the period, until ten years of age during both the summer and winter terms, and for four years following during the winters only, working on the farm in summer. The studies which he pursued were spelling, reading, grammar, arithmetic and geography. He then entered the Auburn Academy, then under the able direction of the Rev. John C. Rudd, D. D., principal. Here he " learned how to learn," and his subsequent progress was made by the careful study of books, unaided by teachers.

From his earliest youth he was very fond of reading, but there was no family library to refer to. Its place was supplied by a circulating library, three miles distant, from which he drew books weekly, and their contents were eagerly devoured. He could and did for years procure all the books which he had time to read. While at the academy and for years after, he had free access to the large and excellent library of Dr. Rudd, who also prescribed for him a valuable course of general reading, which he afterwards followed.

At the age of sixteen he engaged in teaching, and, for the most part, followed it during the winters until twenty-one, when the spirit of ad- venture and self-care led to the resolution to "go West." But for domestic reasons, involving the care of his aged parents, the plan was changed, and he was induced to remain at the old home- stead, purchasing the interest of the other heirs in it, where he remained until the death of his parents. In 1838 he married Miss H. Sophia, daughter of Alfred Putnam, Esq , of Herkimer, N. Y. They have two sons and three daughters.

In 1842, he was appointed County Superin- tendent of the Public Schools of Cayuga County, and rëappointed two years later, serving four years, when he resigned to engage in other pur- suits. He gave to that trust his time and best talents, and introduced into the schools of the County important and enduring reforms.

He next engaged with Mark H. Newman & Co., book publishers of New York City, and so continued until the spring of 1850, when he be- came a general partner with J. C. Derby and Norman C. Miller, in the general book publish- ing business in Auburn, which was successfully continued until 1856, when, by the fraudulent use in his private affairs of the credit of the com- pany, by Eugene Mulligan, who had been admit- ted to the partnership, the company was involved in heavy liabilities, which they were rapidly pay- ing, when the panic of 1857 suddenly engulfed most of their customers, and involved the firm in

BY ERNSBERGER & RAY. AUBURN, N.Y.

DR. JOSEPH. CLARY. AUBURN, N.Y.

HOTO. BY SOUYER & WRIGHT. AUBURN

MRS. A. M. B. CLARY. AUBURN. N Y.

LOUIS SCHUCH.

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SCHUCH'S HOTEL &RESTAURANT ..

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HOTEL & RESTAURANT OF L. SCHUCH. AUBURN, N.Y.

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BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.

other and crushing losses, brought their busi- ness to a complete stand-still and forced them into liquidation, sacrificing for a nominal consid- eration property which had cost over one hundred thousand dollars.

Mr. Storke then organized, by the aid of kind friends, the Auburn Publishing Company, acting as its agent, continuing here the publication of subscription books, and making the enterprise a financial success. In 1857 he prepared a heavy 8vo, volume on domestic and rural affairs, which had a large sale. When the Rebellion began he accumulated material for a complete history of it, which he completed in over 1,600 octavo pages, and of which over 20,000 copies were sold.

In 1866, with others, he engaged in successful efforts to organize the Merchants' Union Express Company, acting as one of its executive com- mittee, and as its supply agent during its exist- ence.

In 1867, he established the Metalic Plane Com- pany in Auburn, for the manufacture of iron bench and block-planes, an industry which has been rapidly extended, and that has resulted in very decided and useful improvements in those tools. That enterprise is still continued.

It will thus be seen that Mr. Storke has had an exceedingly varied experience, and if he has not gained wisdom by it, the opportunities to do so have not been wanting. As farmer, teacher, school superintendent, author, publisher and manufacturer, he has tried a sufficient variety of employments to give him an active, if not a use- ful or profitable life. Financial necessity first led him to teach, and afterwards to engage in the instruction of teachers ; a love of books led him to engage in publishing ; a belief that the mer- chants of the country could, and should do their own express carriage, led him into the express business, and while actively engaged therein he was induced to engage in manufacturing, which he still continues. The proposition to publish a complete history of the County met his hearty approval, and the proposal made to him to write the general history of the County, and to edit the histories of the several towns he reluctantly ac- cepted and has executed the difficult task with care and fidelity, and, it is believed, to the full satisfaction of its numerous patrons.

LOUIS SCHUCH.

LOUIS SCHUCH was born in Landau Rheinpfals, Germany, the 6th of March, 1829. He is the son of Frederick and Magdalene Schuch.

His father was a potter by trade, and was en- gaged in that business for about thirty-five years and until his death, which occurred in 1845. His wife died ten years afterwards. 43-2

Louis learned his father's trade, and followed it for many years in his native place and in France, Russia, Austria and Switzerland. He came to America in 1853, landing in New York on the 16th of December of that year. He was employed in a hotel in the last named city for about two and one-half years. He was then en- gaged about a year on the steamship Empire City, running between New York and New Or- leans. In 1858 he was employed in the Hotel St. Louis in the latter city, and remained there until about six months before the war of the Rebellion broke out. He then went to Syracuse, N. Y., where he remained until the first call for troops, when he went to New York city and enlisted in the 20th New York Turner Rifles. He remain- ed in the service two years and three months. On being mustered out he came to Auburn and engaged in the hotel and restaurant business, in which he is still engaged.

In the year 1876, he commenced the erection of his fine hotel building, situated on the corner of State and Clark streets, a view of which may be seen on another page of this work, and com- pleted it in 1878. It is one of the handsomest buildings in the city.

Mr. Schuch was married in 1864 to Madaline Kėil, of Auburn, a native of Reichenberg, Aus- tria, who came to this country in 1863. There have been born to them six children, one of whom died in infancy. In 1874 Mrs. and Mrs. Schuch visited Landau for the purpose of edu- cating their children, and remained there two years.

JOSEPH CLARY.

Dr. JOSEPH CLARY, son of Deacon Abel Clary, was born in Massachusetts in 1787. He studied medicine in New Hartford, and at the age of twenty-five years he came to Cayuga County, set- tling at Throopsville, near Auburn, where he practiced his profession during a period of fifty- four years. He attained a high professional standing and became one of the leading physicians of the County. He was distinguished for the care and accuracy with which he diagnosticated diseases, and was rarely mistaken in their char- acter and location. He possessed in a high de- gree the moral qualities of a good physician, and his attention to the patients under his care was characterized by a conscientious fidelity. Even to within a week of his death he performed his professional duties with the zeal and enthusi- asm of earlier years. Ilis great virtue and con- sistent piety won for him universal respect and confidence.

While a man of large ambition and less merit would have sought a wider sphere, his character- istic modesty made him content with the circum-

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TOWN OF STERLING.

scribed field of labor he first selected, though the changes of more than fifty years were constantly opening more inviting fields for the exercise of his talents. It is doubtful, however, if he could have been more useful in any other field.

In 1837 he married Miss A. M. Bennett, who was born in Massachusetts in Jan., 1787, and came to Cayuga County with her brother in 1814. Miss Bennett, immediately after coming to this County gave her attention to teaching, and was for sev- eral years previous to her marriage principal of a select school for young ladies, which she con- ducted first in Auburn, and afterwards at the foot of Owasco Lake, to which locality her father's family had removed. She still survives her hus- band in excellent health and with mental facul- ties unimpaired, though in her 93d year. She is strongly attached to her friends, with whom she loves to mingle and converse.

Dr. Clary was blessed with seven children, five sons and two daughters, five of whom, four sons and one daughter, survived his death at Throopsville, in May, 1863.

The following extract from an obituary of Dr. Clary, published in the New York Observer, suf- ficiently indicates his excellent qualities of head and heart :

" Dr. Clary connected himself early with the First Presbyterian Church in Auburn, and for many years was one of its ruling elders. By an arrangement in that Church which commits a cer- tain number of families to the oversight of each member of the Session, he shared with the pas- tor that spiritual care of that portion of the con- gregation residing in Throopsville. He was very faithful to his charge, beloved of his breth- ren, and of good report with all. Rarely was he absent from the sanctuary, though he resided some three miles distant. His extensive prac- tice as physician never seemed to interfere with the punctual and diligent discharge of all the du- ties of a Christian in the church and in the family.

" He had clear views of doctrines, and a most conscientious regard for all the great interests of Christ's kingdom.

" He took a deep interest in the struggle now going on in the land, [the war of the rebellion,] and preserved a calm and loyal confidence in its issue. He had been at his place at church as usual on the Sabbath, visited patients for whom he felt much solicitude in the after part of the day, when he was seized with violent fever, and died the early part of the following week. He pro- nounced calmly upon his own case, and quietly awaited the result.

" His death was precious in our sight, as it no doubt was in the sight of the Lord. He was greatly sustained by the grace in which he had so long trusted. The promises, to use his own ex- pression, all clustered around him, and the good

man left us, glorifying Christ in his death not less than in his life.

" His remains were followed to the grave by a large concourse of people who sincerely mourned his departure. It was a most impressive scene and a very appropriate tribute of respect to his memory."

JONAS WHITE.

Among the old and prominent residents of Auburn was ex-Mayor JONAS WHITE. He re- sided here over half a century, twenty-eight years of which he conducted leading hotels, including the American, now the St. James, the old Ex- change Hotel and the Gaylord House, having also been clerk for his brother-in-law, Ira Curtis, when the latter was proprietor of the old Ex- change Hotel. He was therefore well-known to all our citizens, and universally respected for his frankness and urbanity, and the uniform consist- ency and purity of his life and character. Few of our residents had more or warmer friends. He died November 20th, 1876, aged sixty-three years.

CHAPTER XXXI.

TOWN OF STERLING.

S TERLING, named from Lord William Alexander Sterling, of Revolutionary mem- ory, lies upon Lake Ontario, in the extreme north part of the County, and is bounded north by the lake, south by the town of Victory, east by Os- wego county, and west by Wayne county.

The surface is rolling and inclines slightly to- ward the north. The highest elevations, in the south, are from 200 to 300 feet above the lake. Big Bluff, on the lake shore, rises somewhat abruptly from 100 to 200 feet above the surface of the lake. The streams are Little Sodus Creek and its branches, flowing north through the cen- tral part to Little Sodus Bay, and the headwaters of Cartright Creek, in the south-west part, emptying into Blind Sodus Bay. Little Sodus Bay is about two miles long and one mile wide, and is one of the best natural harbors on the south shore of the lake. A swamp, covering several hundred acres, extends along the lake shore, east of the bay, and another lies on the south border of the town.

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History of Cayuga County, New York : with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers, Part 47

Author: Storke, Elliot G., 1811-1879. cn Publication date: 1879 Publisher: Syracuse, N.Y. : D. Mason Number of Pages: 762

Author: Storke, Elliot G., 1811-1879. cn
Publication date: 1879
Publisher: Syracuse, N.Y. : D. Mason
Number of Pages: 762