USA > New York > Chautauqua County > History of Chautauqua County, New York > Part 53
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HISTORY OF CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY, N. Y.
coming trouble. Mr. Fenton was eminently a man who had the courage of his convictions, and did not hesitate to declare himself. Patriotic in every impulse and fibre he was one of the earliest to become a champion of free- dom, in opposition to his party, which advocated proslavery measures, and the first speech made in either house of Congress against the Kansas-Nebraska bill, repealing the " Missouri compromise," was made by him. From that day he was a national character. One of the formers of the Republican party he became one of its leading statesmen. In 1854 he was renominated for Congress, but was defeated by the candidate of the " Know Nothing " party, which that year swept the state. In. 1856, 1858, 1860 and 1862* he was ยท elected to Congress on the Republican ticket, being honored with a larger majority at each successive election. His congressional service aggregated ten years, ending through his elevation to the chief magistracy of his state. Representing a Whig district Mr. Fenton held a peculiarly independent posi- tion and performed able work. He espoused the cause of the veterans of 1812, and carried a bill for their relief through the House. He advocated a cheap postal system, the extension of invalid pensions, the regulation of emigration, the repeal of the fugitive slave law, and opposed the invasion of Kansas, the bounty bills and the payments of losses by rebels in the civil war. He made comparatively few speeches, but these commanded attention and were effective. He was a "working member," noted for his untiring industry and excellent judgment, serving as a valued member of the most important committees. It was said that he entered Congress an enthusiastic Democrat, and left it one of the most popular and uncompromising of Repub- licans ; it was justly added that the change was not in him, but in the Demo- cratic party.
During the Rebellion his voice and vote were pronounced in support of the National Government. In 1862 he was proposed as a Republican can- didate for governor, but declined the honor. In 1863 he was frequently mentioned in connection with the Nation's highest offices, and the Republi- can State Convention unanimously declared him " the first choice of the Union party in New York for the office of vice-president." In 1864 occurred the most exciting and momentous presidential campaign in our history, and it was vital to Mr. Lincoln and his administration that New York should be brought into the line of Republican states. That brilliant and magnetic Democratic statesman, Horatio Seymour, was a candidate for reelection as governor, and whom could the Republicans name that could dethrone the idol of the Demo- crats and conquer the most dangerous of opponents ? In answer to this ques- tion the Republicans nominated Reuben E. Fenton. It was wisdom so to do. His unequalled ability as an organizer was felt in every school district, the state was carried for Lincoln, and Mr. Fenton led the presidential vote by
*About this time Mr. Fenton removed from Frewsburg to Jamestown where he afterwards resided.
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HON. REUBEN E. FENTON.
several thousand. He carried the state for his party at each recurring elec- tion during his two terms as governor, and gave New York what it most needed after the drain and demoralization of the civil war-a wise busi- ness government. Within four days after his first inauguration he raised the last quota of troops called for from New York, and a few months later the happy lot and unique distinction came to him, following the surrender at Appomattox, of being with Governors Andrew, Buckingham, Curtin and others, among the immortals who will live forever as the great War Govern- ors ; who, in Thanksgiving proclamations, returned to Almighty God the devont acknowledgements of a grateful people for the end of war and blood- shed and the victory of Unity and Nationality. When as governor he wel- comed home the returning regiments of the disbanded army, the formal words of his official proclamation spoke the sentiments that had guided his actions. "Soldiers," said he, " your state thanks you and gives you pledge of hier lasting gratitude. You have elevated her dignity, brightened her renown, and enriched her history. The people will regard with jealous pride your welfare and honor, not forgetting the widow, the fatherless, and those who were dependent upon the fallen hero."
In 1869 he was chosen by the legislature senator of New York in the United States Senate for the terin of six years ending March 3, 1875. As governor he had distinguished himself by the expression of wise views on National matters. His letters, messages and speeches were unmistakably loyal and patriotic, and marked by vigor, logic and eloquence. They showed an intimate acquaintance with national affairs and the demands of the peo- ple. On entering the Senate he was accorded a front rank in a body notably eminent for its talent and eloquence. Placed at once on the Finance Com- mittee he served upon it with distinction and usefulness during his entire term, showing a remarkable capacity for solving financial problems. His speeches upon taxation, the currency, the customs service, the public debt and cognate subjects attracted the attention of the ablest financiers and evinced the highest statesmanship. On other prominent committees his wise counsels did most valuable service. One of his earliest speeches in the Senate was delivered January 25, 1870, on " The Currency." In this he took firin ground against depreciation of the currency and in favor of resumption of specie payments. His next effort, a vigorous speech upholding the " Fund- ing Bill," was delivered February 24, 1870. On the subject of " The Cus- toms Service " Senator Fenton delivered a speech, March 31, 1871, most pregnant with justice and political wisdom. In it, referring to the report of the select committee which had made "some investigation of New York cus- toms", he bravely, wisely and justly placed himself on record thus :
Without attempting to analyze the testimony taken by the committee, it seems apparent that the conclusion of the whole matter, points towards civil service reform as needful to the
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HISTORY OF CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY, N. Y.
integrity, economy and efficiency of the revenue service. I could with equal propriety embrace in the summary of their investigations the political as well as the public interests involved. I am well aware that principles, in as large measure, must be enforced through party organiza- tion, and in no step toward civil service reform would I commit a wrong against the former or impair the latter. It is also true that the very essence of popular government lies in associated political action, and the cause which embarrasses the one strikes at the other. But it is no less true that the beneficent operation of this principle is greatly impaired when led to the extreme of attempting frequent changes in civil employments. There is then this difficulty as well as danger, that parties seek perpetuation by the use of patronage. The effect is seen in an inereas- ing habit of subserviency and less miselfish and faithful devotion to the public welfare. It is painful to contemplate the tendency apparent toward a condition in which the various depart- ments of the social structure will become subordinate to the strife and intrigue of political move- ments. It may be said that for every office adequate qualifications should be exacted from the candidate, and there should be general confidence in his character and integrity and faith- ful and honorable political conduct. When appointed, if his suitability in these respects becomes manifest, he should not be removed during the usual period of an administration. The doctrine that ' to the victors belong the spoils of the vanquished ' may once have been applicable to the bestowment of official places; but if so, I deem it applicable no longer. The patronage of the Government of the United States is so vast, the offices to be filled are so num- erous, that the public interest forbids that they be filled and refilled as ambition or party caprice may dictate. I plead for the adoption of a pure and noble system, under which the capable and faithful officer shall, like his superior in the highest place, be irremovable during his allotted term of service, except for sufficient and evident cause.
Enlisted in this cause of reform he continued, though almost alone, to battle against the corrupt practices in this department. January 8, 1872, he made a masterly speech from the standpoint of the highest and purest states. manship. May 4, 1874, he eloquently denounced the practices he sought to reform and arraigned the Senate for its neglect of a palpable duty. He closed by saying :
It is generally believed that the patronage of the Government is used as a reward for par- tisan service, and as an agency for promoting personal ends. Looking to the honor and safety of the Nation, we cannot be indifferent to the least tendency toward partisan perversion in the bestowment of office, nor permit the insidious conduct of officials to mutilate the integrity of the public service. The higher the officer or the influence in default or in defiance, the more neces- sary to guard the power he wields and resent every outerop of abuse. To the thriving citizen these things appeared trivial at first, forgetful of the terrible results to which they were tending. But we must at last meet the question, the question of searching and thorough reform, or the pernicious brood of corrupting influences which have been warmed into power will in the end be too strong for us to grapple with and overthrow. I do not speak as one having nothing bet- ter than hopeless complaint, but in sober warning and earnest entreaty. I submit that the laws should be at once reformed, and that those who hold positions under the Government should be upright and faithful servants. I desire that they be incited to the utmost fidelity to the public interests, rather than to the public servant who discharges an official responsibility in appoint- ing or nominating them. I plead in the name of the people for the adoption of a purer system of customs service, under which the Government and the merchant shall be on the same level. I plead for the repeal of laws which destroy all respect for law ; for the abandonment of prac- tices in official life which tend to lessen our respect for official character and to impair the sense of mercantile honor.
Mr. Fenton retired from the Senate March 3, 1875, and after that date held no public office except in 1878, when he was appointed chairman of the U. S. Commission accredited as members of the International Monetary Con-
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HON. REUBEN E. FENTON.
ference at Paris. On returning from this service he resumed his residence in Jamestown. While abroad he was profoundly impressed with the condition of the industrial classes and made a careful study of it. Soon after his return he greeted the citizens of this and Cattaraugus counties with an address full of instruction upon labor and other economic questions. To his skill, capi- tal and sagacity many of the large projects that have advanced the prosperity of the county are much indebted. His clearness of perception, his grasp of pos- sibilities, and, his extended public experience made him an invaluable citizen.
'Mr. Fenton was a fine specimen of superior mental and physical vigor. He was of poetic temperament and through his career in the most stormy of our political eras maintained a disposition mellow, refined and courteous. His manners were unassuming and cordial to a charming degree. Tall, and with an innate and wholly unobtrusive dignity, he was in appearance, as in character and services, an ideal American. Uniformly kind and considerate, he was especially so to the young, the poor and the aged. His numerous benefactions to churches, colleges and other institutions, besides a large nt- ber of private charities, are the substantial proofs of his benevolence. During the dark hours of the civil war he was the unswerving friend of the soldier, and of the widows and orphans of those who fell in defence of the Union, and, when the deadly struggle was ended, his manly and generous nature threw the broad mantle of charity over the enemy's dead.
With no premonition of his end, on the afternoon of August 25, 1885, Mr. Fenton took his accustomed seat in the directors' room of the First National Bank of Jamestown (of which he was a founder and at that time president,) and was perusing a letter when suddenly and silently the summons came. His obsequies were notable for their impressiveness. Jamestown wrap- ped itself in mourning. Business was suspended and the people universally attended the simple but imposing funeral services. The "Fenton Guards" acted as guard of honor. Besides the circle of relatives, local dignitaries, and officers of the corporations in which Mr. Fenton had been interested and the local posts of the G. A. R., there were present Hon. Galusha A. Grow his most intimate friend, Gov. David B. Hill and staff, and many other conspicuous persons of state and national fame. All honors were paid to the dead states- man, citizen and friend. Lake View Cemetery, Jamestown, now contains all that is mortal of the greatest statesman of Western New York.
Mr. Fenton was married, first in 1838 to Jane, dangliter of John Frew, of Frewsburg, who died in 1840; second to Elizabeth, daughter of Joel Scudder, who survives her honored husband. A talented woman of charac- ter, Mrs. Fenton's rare ability and executive powers aided materially in procuring her husband's success. They had three. children, Josephine (Mrs. Frank E. Gifford) ; Jeannette (Mrs. Albert Gilbert, Jr.,) and Reuben E.
Hon. Beman Brockway, Governor Fenton's private secretary, whose esti-
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HISTORY OF CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY, N. Y.
mate of people was discriminating, accurate and just, says this of the gover- nor in his " Fifty Years in Journalism " :
He was a singularly pure man. He has one of the cleanest records ever made by a man in public life twenty years. It is well-nigh faultless. When he was in Congress he was always in his seat, always careful to go upon record, and his name stands upon the right side of every question acted upon. *
* * I know he had a kind heart. He had a good word for every one, and delighted in making all happy. It was an exceedingly difficult thing for him to say no when a favor was solicited. If pecuniary aid was asked it was not in his power to refuse. After the war closed, and our boys were returning home, in 1865, large numbers called on the governor, and many were in destitute circumstances. No one was ever sent empty away. For weeks there was hardly a day when there were not considerable amounts disbursed in this man- ner, and there was never any account made of it. Governor Fenton was a large-hearted, broad- minded man ; not always understood, but the better he was known the more he was beloved. He made an excellent record in Congress, and I believed he would acquit himself with credit in the gubernatorial chair. History proves that I did not misjudge. His administration was one of the purest the state has ever had.
Hon. Chauncey M. Depew, in his address at the memorial services held by the New York Legislature in honor of Governor Fenton at the capitol in Albany, April 21, 1887, said :
Reuben E. Fenton was remarkable for the full, rounded character of his mind and dispo- sition. No matter how fiercely the storm raged about him he was always serene and unmoved. Though it was his fortunes which were at stake, he was the calmest of the combatants. He was the most affable and approachable of men, and yet until he acted none knew either his plans or his views. He listened courteously to every one, but what he heard rarely changed his deliberate judgment. He was faultless in dress and manners, whether in the executive chamber, upon the . platform or in the crowd, but this serupulous exactness seemed to enhance his popularity. He loved to mingle freely with the people, but he received the like kindly greeting aud cordial con- fidence from workingmen fresh from the forge, or merchants in their parlors or counting-rooms. When the history of our state comes to be impartially written, Mr. Fenton will be given rank as its best political organizer after Martin Van Buren. But he possessed a magnetism which Van Buren never had. A most tender, gentle and affectionate nature shone brightly for his friends through the crust of mannerisms of office and policy. I have met all the public men of my time under circumstances sufficiently close to form some judgment as to the secrets of their power, and he was one of the very few who had an eloquent presence. His touch and look con- veyed, if he pleased, such a world of interest and regard, that the recipient, without knowing why, felt honored by his confidence and encircled by his friendship.
Chautauqua county claims Reuben E. Fenton as preeminently the most distinguished public man and statesman born within its limits, and cherishes his memory as a man of great National influence, honored until his death as one of the fathers and most trusted leaders and counselors of the Republican party.
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POMFRET.
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CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY. (LAKE ERIE TOWNS.)
Pomfret, Dunkirk, Portland, Westfield, Ripley, Sheridan, Hanover, Arkwright.
POMFRET.
BY OSCAR W. JOHNSON, A. M. CHAPTER XLVIII.
1 PROPOSE to write a brief history of the town of Pomfret. In the space allotted to me I can refer to but few of the events and changes in the development of the pioneer in the pathless wilderness to a community with all the blessings and resources of the most wonderful of the centuries. If Goldsmith could, from the desolation and departed glory of
"Sweet Auburn, loveliest village of the plain,"
find material for his immortal song, how much better could some kindred genius, commencing with the weary wanderers in the solitude of the forest, sing of life that developed in the wilderness, struggling with the wild beast and the savage, which made the fields fruitful and beautiful, that reared homes and temples and altars, made man the master of nature, speaking by the liglitnings as if one stood upon the mountain tops and was heard around the world, moving him and his treasures upon the iron highways across con- tinents with a speed that outstrips the flight of birds and the sweep of the tempest. The deserted village represents the waste of winter ; here would be represented the life and bloom of spring, and the hope of a lasting summer.
If we could raise the veil from the past, it would not be to know more of the pomp of kings or the grand campaigns in which empires were lost and won, but to behold the homes of the common people and what joys and sor- rows came to them. This town is not barren of material for history. It has been a part of the nation, sharing its aspiration, its pride, its literature and its national spirit. Here have been felt all the social, moral and political agitations which have driven men into sects and parties. Here hearts liave been thrilled by all the great deeds recorded in history, and by the varied beauty which nature each day presents to all the children of men. This
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HISTORY OF CHAUTAUQUA COUNTY, N. Y.
community, developed more than all else by the spirit of liberty, has kept pace with tens of thousands of others in the march and commingling for national greatness. These communities are "distinct as the waves yet one as the sea." Here have been revealed, as fully as anywhere, every type of human character, the succession of the generations, the mysteries of life and death, and of the unknown world beyond. Here eyes have opened to the beauty of life ; manhood has plotted and struggled until the shadows gather around it to darken to the inevitable grave.
I shall only be able to notice here and there one of the many who deserve mention. Oblivion is the common lot of man ; if he lives inneh beyond the grave, it is in the memory of kindred or in the unseen forces that mould other lives. He is as indivisible as the light and the air. As Montgomery has sung, in the common lot
" He suffered, but his pangs are o'er, Enjoyed, but his delights are fled, That once their shades and glory threw, Have left, in yonder silent sky, No vestige where it flew. The annals of the human race, Their ruins since the world began,
Had friends, his friends are now no more, Aud foes, his foes are dead. The rolling seasons, day and night, Sun, moon and stars, the earth and main,
E'erwhile his portion, life and light, To him exists in vain.
The clouds and sun-beams o'er his eye,
Of him afford no other trace Than this-There lived a man."
Local history is only read by the members of the community it represents, and to them it is the light of home, the voice of friends and kindred, and the direct influences and associations that have been woven into their lives. The real scope of life to each of us is narrow, but the light falling upon the hearth- stone is dearer than that of the sun and moon and all the hosts of heaven. We, each of us, occupy little space, and but a point of time in the procession of the generations, but we can all see the great procession moving on.
In 1679 a French missionary with 32 companions built a small vessel upon the Canadian side of Niagara river, and, on the 7th of Angust, unfurled the first sail to the breezes of Lake Erie as they passed westward. They were the first white men to gaze upon the luxuriant forests of Chantanqua. They sought to mark by every symbol the dominion of France, and of the Catholic church, over land, and lakes, and rivers from Canada to the Mississippi, and down that long river to the Gulf of Mexico. They were heroes under the banner of the cross, laying the foundations of an empire, different, but mightier than they saw in their most sanguine dreams. The starry banner under which 65,000,000 people now move was not revealed to them.
During the same period the Puritans were taking possession of the more barren region skirting the Atlantic, and sowing in those little communities the idea and practice of self-government, which was to ripen into democracy for the nations. Wonderful and unforeseen are the results of men's efforts. Antagonisms are blended by time into harmony ; the Catholics and the Pur-
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POMFRET.
itans each planted for his nation and for his religious faith, and now their united efforts live in the glory of the republic. We suppose the voices of all those, who with pure hearts have made the jargon of opposing sects and parties, will finally be blended in harmony around the Great White Throne.
For more than a century after the first vessel sailed upon Lake Erie, the forests of Chautauqua were undisturbed, save by adventurers who left no footsteps. These were momentous years in shaping the destiny of America and of the world. The battle upon the plains of Abraham snatched Canada from France. Then followed the Revolution, which ended in the freedom of the colonies, and, among its commercial results, opened the Holland Pur- chase for settlement, where men could procure land, at a moderate price and upon long credit, by actually settling upon it.
To the poor and enterprising of the east, this became the land of prom- ise ; they hastended to it with strong arms, iron wills and resistless energy, to lay the foundations of new communities. The journey, now performed by the light of a summer's day, then required weeks through wilderness paths and across unbridged streams. A stranger, meeting one of the pioneers carry- ing upon a wagon or sled all his worldly goods, with his wife and children trudging along on foot, would have wondered what outrage upon society hie had committed that he was forced to leave his home and flee to this western wilderness. He would have wondered at the devotion of the woman who was willing to share his perils and exile. After a few years of inevitable hardships and self-denials of a life in the wilderness, most of the settlers had abundance for their own use, but there was no market ; it was only by con- verting ashes into black salts they could get money to pay their taxes. The interest upon their debt at the land office was accumulating from year to year. The company was indulgent, but still, sooner or later, the debt must be paid. The shadow rested over every home. Here man and woman had come by painful sacrifices to prepare a home for their old age and inheritance for their children. Here in honest toil they had worn out their strength. Here their aged parents had been buried, and their children had been born. Here were the schoolhouses and altars they had helped to rear. Here were the orchards and vineyards they had planted, and the fields that had grown green and beautiful beneath their toil. Here they had hoped to rest when life's fitful fever was over. This region was hallowed by toil, by joy, by sorrow, by all the ties and associations the heart ever knows, and yet there was the fear that in their old age they would be driven from their lands. Each day they saw the steamers and sails upon the lake, promising to waft them to lands upon the fertile prairies. Many sold their land contracts for a mere pittance, and began life anew in the west. In many parts of this town are places where a few scraggly mossgrown fruit trees, a few flowers, mark where a garden has been, and a broken hearthstone, all telling of a deserted home
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