USA > New York > Delaware County > History of Delaware County, and border wars of New York, containing a sketch of the early settlements in the county > Part 32
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DELAWARE BANK.
After several unsuccessful attempts to organize a banking institution, for the convenience and acommodation of the inhabitants of the county, the Delaware Bank was finally organized, in conformity with the general banking law, passed the year preceding, and went into operation January 1st, 1839.
The original capital stock of the association was $100,000,
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APPENDIX.
or one thousand shares, with power at the discretion of the directors, of increasing the same to $500,000.
The pioneer directors of the institution were Herman D. Gould, Gordon H. Edgerton, Amasa J. Parker, Samuel Gor- don, Nelson K. Wheeler, Charles Hathaway, Dubios Burhans, Charles Marvine, John H. Gregory, Darius Maples, Jonas More, Martin Keeler, Jr., and Orrin Griffin.
The power and rights of stockholders were vested exclusively in a bond of thirteen directors. Every director must be a stockholder in the bank to the amount of $1000, or ten shares, to render him eligible to the office. The election of officers occurs on the first Tuesday in October of each year, in the village of Delhi. The board of directors appoint one of their number president, also elect a cashier and such other officers as shall be deemed necessary from time to time.
Herman D. Gould was elected the first president, and con- tinued to discharge its duties until his death, in 1849, when Charles Marvine, Esq., one of the original directors, was elected to fill the vacancy, and has since been continued in office.
Giles M. Shaw, was elected first cashier, and was succeeded by Dubois Burhaus, Esq., who was obliged to resign on account of ill health. Walter H. Griswold, Esq. is the present cashier.
The location of the bank is at Delhi, the county seat of Delaware county. The Metropolitan Bank in the city of New York, is the established agency where its bills are redeemed at a discount of three eighths per cent.
DEPOSIT BANK.
The DEPOSIT BANK owes its origin to the enterprise of a private citizen, Charles Knapp, Esq. The inhabitants of the western portion of Delaware, and the adjoining sections of Broom Co., and Pennsylvania, had long felt the increasing ne-
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APPENDIX.
cessity of an institution of this kind, to obviate the necessity of a journey to Binghampton, Delhi, or Unadilla, to transact their banking business. Deposit, since the opening of the New York and Erie Railroad, had grown to become one of the first villages in the county. The lumbering interests of that section of country, were important and extensive-a species of industry, which above all others, is peculiarly calculated to create a requisition for a large surplus capital.
The question of establishing a bank, had, at various times been agitated, and as often unsuccessfully, until Mr. Knapp came forward, and boldly embarked his capital in the establish- ment of an individual bank.
We are indebted to the politeness of Mr. Knapp, for the following particulars : "This is an individual bank, for which no particular amount of capital is required. At least $50,000 must be deposited as securities in the Bank Department, for the redemption of its individual notes, before the individual can receive any such notes. At first, in our book reports, we reported as capital, the stock, bonds, and mortgages in the Bank Department, amounting to $54,084. But lately, a special account has been opened in the books of the bank, for the bonds and mortgages, and the stocks only have since been counted as capital. The bank, was organized and commenced business, on the 20th, of February, 1854. The sureties now held by the Bank Department are :
New York State, 6 pr. ct. stock, redeemable in 1873,
$23,000
New York State, 5 pr. ct. stock, redeemable in 1856, 7,000
Bonds and Mortgages, 30,049
$60,049
Enclosed I send a copy of our last quarterly report.
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APPENDIX.
QUARTERLY REPORT.
Statement showing the true condition of the Deposit Bank of Deposit, an individual bank, on the morning of Saturday, the 2d day of June, 1855.
RESOURCES.
Loans and discounts, except to Directors and Brokers,
$78,562 68
All sums due from brokers, -
-
-
183 28 -
Bonds and mortgages, -
-
-
-
- 30,000 49
Stocks, - - -
-
-
-
- 30,000 00
Loss and expense account,
-
-
-
-
567 14
Specie, - - - -
-
-
-
209 50
Bills of solvent banks on hand, -
- 9,525 00
Due from banks, viz : From solvent banks on demand,
- 9,013 15
$162,261 29
LIABILITIES.
Capital, .
~ $30,000 00
Profits, - -
-
-
-
- 2,163 36
Registered bank notes received and not returned, $59,700
Less registered bank notes on hand, - - 2,911
Leaves registered bank notes in circulation, -
- 56,789 00
Due depositors on demand, - -
- 42,783 33
Due individuals and corporations other than banks and depositors, - -
- - - 14 70
Due banks on demand, - -
-
- 461 90
Due to others not included under either of the above heads, 30,049 00
-
-
4,146 54
Cash items, viz. : Checks,
-
-
$162,261 29
County of Delaware, ss : Charles Knapp and Bolivar Rade- ker, being duly sworn, depose and say that the foregoing is, in all respects, a true statement of the condition of the said bank
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APPENDIX.
before the transaction of any business, on the morning of the 2d day of June, 1855, (being the day specified in the notice of the Superintendent of the Bank Department, next preced- ing the date of this report, and requiring the same,) according to the best of their knowledge and belief; that the said bank is an individual bank, and is located in the village of Deposit, in the county of Delaware, where it has a banking house for the transaction of its business ; and that from the 20th of February, 1854, up to the day of making this report, the busi- ness thereof was transacted at such location, and that no person or persons are interested with the said Charles Knapp, directly or indirectly, in the securities deposited with the said Super- intendent, for the circulating notes obtained by him, or in the business of circulating said notes, or in the benefits and advan- tages thereof.
CHARLES KNAPP, President, BOLIVAR RADEKER, Cashier.
Subscribed and sworn this 7th day of July, 1855, before me, S. D. HULCE,
Justice of the Peace.
SECRET ORGANIZATIONS.
FREEMASONRY.
WE scarcely decm it the province of the historian to enter the arena of discussion as to the merits or demerits of secret organizations, whether political or benevolent. The fact that they do exist, and have existed, is indisputable, and it belongs to us to glance at their origin, and delineate their history leaving the field of logical discussion for the eloquence of the statesman or the pen of the reviewer.
Freemasonry may be appropriately classed among the matters of interest connected with the early history of the
35
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APPENDIX.
county. This institution claims to trace its origin back to time immemorial. It is even asserted by some writers on the subject, that Adam was the originator of the institution, and was himself, the first free and accepted mason. Others give the date of its origin, at the erection of Solomon's temple, and accord to the inspired wisdom of that great lawgiver, the credit of its existence. But notwithstanding these vague suppositions, which it can hardly be necessary here to state, are as groundless as fiction, it is definitely established as having existed in a modified form at the Christian era.
Masonry was first regularly established in the United States by Lord Weymouth, who emigrated to the Southern States, and instituted a lodge in the State of Georgia, as early as 1730. In 1781, the Grand Lodge of the State of New York, was insti- tuted, in consequence of a warrant from the Grand Lodge of England. It was from the Grand Lodge of the State, that all the sub-lodges derived their charters and vested powers.
The total number of lodges in the United States in 1816, as near as could be ascertained, was eight hundred and fifty- eight. The number of lodges in the State of New York alone was three hundred and one, or more than one third of the total number.
The following is a list of the lodges organized in Delaware county, the town in which located, with the corresponding number by which each was recognized by the Grand Lodge, together with the date of the erection of each. .
No. Name of Lodge.
Town in which
Instituted.
located.
91, Morton,
Walton, Feb. 12th, 1802.
168, Delaware and Ulster,
Middletown, June 1st, 1808.
170, Charity,
Tompkins, Sept. 7th, 1808.
180, Cassia,
Delhi, March 1st, 1809.
224, Charity,
Harpersfield, Sept. 27th, 1813.
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APPENDIX.
227, Aurora,
Meredith,
Nov. 25th, 1813.
251, Franklin,
Franklin, Oct. 13th, 1815.
296, Colden,
Middletown,
Sept. 13th, 1817.
408, Eagle,
Roxbury,
1820.
The number of degrees conferred upon accepted masons are in succession seven, viz., 1. Entered Apprentice, 2. Fellow Craft, 3. Master Mason, 4. Mark Master, 5. Past Master, 6. Most Excellent Master, 7. Royal Arch.
The principal symbols of the masonic order, are, the square, the plumb-line, the level, and the compass, as emblematic of the craft whose name they bear. The ornamental decorations of the lodge room are, the Mosaic Pavement, Indented Tassel, and the Blazing Star. The Mosaic Pavement repre- sents the ground floor of Solomon's Temple, the Indented Tassel, that beautiful border which surrounded it, and the blazing star in the centre, is in commemoration of the star by which the magi, or wise men of the East, were conducted to the place of our Saviour's nativity.
The rigid oaths administered to each member, as well as the horrid penalties affixed thereto, had effectually barred for ages the world without from a cognizance of the secrets of masonry. Some vague reports of certain rites and ceremonies too ridiculous to be believed, except by the ignorant and credulous, and which subsequent demonstration proved to be far from truth, were the only items of the modus operandi of its internal machinery, which it had seen fit to give the world, until 1828 when Morgan published his world-renowned " Revelations of Masonry," which cost that author his life, and gave to the world the mysteries of masonic order.
The mysterious disappearance of Morgan, at or about the time of the publication of his work, together with the painful associations connected with his untimely death, struck like a magic chord upon the public ear. It was published in every
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APPENDIX.
newspaper, the theme of every writer, the subject of dreamers dreams, and the absorbing topic of conversation everywhere The slumbering indignation of the masses of the people was aroused, and it was evident that public condemnation had passed a sentence upon Masonry, from which it could never recover.
The decline of Masonry was a marked epoch in the history of secret organizations-the supposed murder of Morgan, and the startling developments which the publication of his sup- posed work gave to the world, confirmed in truth as they were by the affirmation of members who seceded from the order, created in the public mind powerful prejudices, not only against masonry, but all organizations of a secret character, as conflicting with the spirit of our free institutions.
ODD FELLOWSHIP.
The decline and prostration of Masonry, and the universal antipathy lavished upon the order, affected to a greater or less extent all similar organizations. Foremost amongst these ranked the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, which had existed in a crude and detached state in various portions of the United States, prior to 1819, when it was formally and systematically established, through the energy and perseverance of Thomas Hildey, a gentleman residing in Baltimore.
The association of Odd Fellows in this country, is wisely affiliated and compacted in a fashion bearing some resemblance to the form of our civil constitution. Its genius, however, unlike that of our civil government, is the genius, not of state rights, but of consolidated sovereignty. The minor lodges, in the several States and territories, are subject to the supervi- sion of the grand lodges; and these again are subordinate to the Grand Lodge of the United States. The primary source of power and legislation resides in this latter body. This
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APPENDIX.
superior grand lodge is composed of representatives from the inferior grand lodges, together with the following officers (who constitute the executive department of the order,) viz., the grandsire, deputy grandsire, grand recording secretary, grand corresponding secretary, grand treasurer, grand marshal, grand guardian, and grand chaplain. According to the first article of the constitution, this superior grand lodge "is the source of all true and legitimate authority in Odd Fellowship, within the United States of America-All State, district, and territorial grand lodges and encampments, assemble under its warrant, and derive their authority from it. It is the ultimate tribunal, to which all matters of general importance are to be referred, and its decisions thereon shall be final and conclusive. To it belongs the power to regulate and control the work of the order, and the several degrees belonging thereto; to fix and determine the customs and usages in regard to all things which concern Odd Fellowship. This grand lodge has inherent power to establish lodges and encampments in foreign countries. Such lodges and encampments shall work by virtue of a war- rant granted by this grand lodge."*
Every minor lodge is required to make quarterly returns of all business done, to the grand lodge of the State or territory, and this again to the Grand Lodge of the United States, so that the executive department is correctly and constantly informed in respect to all the proceedings of the inferior lodges, spread over the face of the country and extending into foreign lands.
The principal business and objects of this association, so far as they are made public, are to provide a weekly allowance, for a brother when sick-the amount usually appropriated being $4 per week, except in the case of those holding certain offices, who are allowed $8 per week-an appropriation of $30, to cover funeral expenses of a brother, or half this amount if
* Article first, Const. G. L. of United States. 35*
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APPENDIX.
a brother is called to bury a wife. There is also some small provision made for the education of the orphan children of Odd Fellows. Inasmuch as this is not a matter regulated by law and statute, we know not how much such unfortunate children may or may not receive. It is also contemplated by means of these lodges to promote among the members a high degree of friendship, of which every member may avail him- self at home and abroad. To accumulate a fund adequate to cover the expenses constantly accruing, the association de- mands of every member a proposition fee of one dollar, initiation fee of five dollars, one dollar for each of four differ- ent degrees, and two dollars for another. There are also small weekly or monthly taxes or dues, which every mem- ber is required to pay, besides two "intermediate degrees," as they are called, for which a given sum is no doubt required, though the amount is unknown to us, and we think not specified in any of their printed constitutions. The supe- rior grand lodge, receives its funds chiefly by a tax of $30 for charters given to minor lodges and encampments; also from what is charged as " expenses" and "per centage on reports," from tax on representations, profits on the sale of books, cards, &c.
To prevent too great and sudden drafts upon the treasury of the order, it is directed in the several constitutions, that the association be composed exclusively of male members, of a sound bodily constitution, and under forty-five years of age; and if one is admitted beyond this age, an additional fee is charged of one dollar for each supernumerary year, so that if the applicant is seventy years old, his initiation fee will be $30.
The following list of the lodges in the county, the date of their organization, and the number of members, was furnished me by C. A. Foote, Esq., county secretary,
Delaware lodge was organized March 7th, 1847, in Delhi the number of members, as reported in August, 1855, was sixty-six.
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APPENDIX.
Hobart lodge, at the same date, contained sixty members ; Oleout Valley, contained thirty-eight members; Chehocton lodge, fifty-one members; Pakatakin lodge, at Margaretville, contained forty-one members ; Trempers-kill lodge, organized in 1854, in Andes Village, contained about thirty members ; and Deposit lodge, at Deposit Village, contained about sixty members.
IODINE SPRING.
This spring is situated on Elk creek, about four miles from the village of Delhi. It is the property of Mrs. H. D. Gould. The analysis of the spring is contained in the following com- munication :-
" New Haven, June 18th, 1851.
" HON. HERMAN D. GOULD, DELHI, N. Y .-
"DEAR SIR :- The analysis of the water sent by you for that purpose, has been completed, so far as we are able to com- plete it, from the quantity sent.
" The specific gravity of the water at 60 Fahrenheit is 1.0180 The number of grains of fixed constituent parts
in one gallon is, 826.0598
The composition of this amount is as follows :
Organic matter, Silica and iron,
2.2715
505.9472
Chlorine,
265.6001
Sodium,
42.7886
Calcium,
6.9682
Magnesium,
2.4842
Carbonic acid and Gas,
826.0598
"You can depend upon the accuracy of these results, which
16
APPENDIX.
are all, the mean of two concurring trials. This may be shown by calculating the amount of chlorine necessary to combine with the three cases mentioned above, sodium, calcium and magnesium.
"Thus the whole amount of chlorine is 505.9472 grains : 265.600 grains of sodium, require chlorine 407.9176, forming chloride of sodium, or common salt; 42.7886 grains of calcium, require chlorine 75.8577 grains, forming chloride of calcium. 6.9682 grains magnesium, require chlorine 19.5773
505,3526 grains, forming chloride of magnesium.
"The difference between the amount thus calculated, and the amount really found, is but .5966, or little more than half a grain.
"You will see that 674} grains of the whole are common salt. The water would make a salt more than commonly pure. The iron present is proto-carbonate, and is kept in solution by carbonic acid. The quantity is very small. .
" After the above analysis was completed, the remaining liquid was carefully examined, and small quantities of bromine and iodine were found. The determination of the accurate proportions of these cannot be made, unless upon a fresh sample of not less than 12 or 15 gallons.
"For medicinal purposes the determination of these substances would be quite important, but their proportions are so small that much water is required. If you desire it, these determina- tions shall be made, as soon as you can send on some water. If you would like the results in the per centage form, I can have it done for you.
" I am sir, yours, "JOHN P. NORTON."
THE DELAWARE LITERARY INSTITUTE
Was incorporated by an Act of the legislature, April 23d,
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APPENDIX.
1836, with twenty-four trustees. The first building erected is of stone, eighty-six feet in length, forty in breadth, and four stories in height. It was opened under the care of Rev. Wm. Fraser, and two assistants, with 103 pupils. For some reason, though an able scholar, and an excellent man, he resigned his post in 1838, and was succeeded by Rev. Silas Fitch, Jr., who continued at the head of the school till May, 1846. The highest number of students, in any one year of his term of office, was 211.
His successor was Rev. George Kerr, L.L.D., with 186 students, during the first year. Under his administration, which continues to the present time, the school has realized more than the most sanguine hopes of its founders. Selecting, for his associates in the department of instruction, college gradu- ates of high standing as scholars, and of peculiar aptness to teach, he soon placed the institution on higher ground than it ever occupied before. Two new and well arranged buildings have been erected, one for the especial accommodation of young ladies, with a boarding department, and the other for young men, with a spacious chapel on the lower floor, and with a large lecture room, and laboratory in the basement, to illustrate chemistry in its application to the arts, and to agriculture. Connected with the institution are several choice libraries, amounting already to nearly 2500 volumes, to which consider- able additions are made every year. The classical studies are conducted to any extent desired, receiving, as they deserve, a very earnest attention. The mathematical course is nearly equal in extent, and fully so in thoroughness, to that pursued in our best colleges.
The greatest number of students, during any one year, and since Dr. Kerr has had the seminary in charge, is 414; and this is about the present number, with gratifying prospects of increase in the time to come.
The aim of this institution, is to take higher ground than
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APPENDIX.
that occupied by the common academy; not merely to prepare young men for the ordinary round of duty, but for any ad- vanced standing in college, that they may desire; to prepare them for public life, not only by the drill, which imparts the requisite intellectual strength, but by rousing the conscious- ness of what life and its weighty responsibilities are.
And the great peculiarity of this school, which strikes the writer of this notice, is the unflagging enthusiasm of its head, which, in its outflow upon the students, can hardly fail to de- velop whatever sensibility or strength may lie dormant in their souls.
So far as experience enables us to judge, we do not hesitate to say, that the education of the sexes in the same classes, and course of study, is for their mutual benefit; the gentler sex gathering more strength, and the rougher, more polish.
The grounds around the institute are laid out in good taste, and adorned by the thrifty growth of several varieties of trees, which from year to year will put on fresh and additional beauty and attractiveness.
FERGUSONVILLE BOARDING ACADEMY.
This institution was founded in 1848, by the Rev. Samuel D. Ferguson, and Sanford I. Ferguson, A. M. It is located in the valley of the Charlotte, a section of the country distin- guished for the salubrity of its climate and the beauty of its scenery.
The establishment of a boarding academy, so remote from large cities, in a region of country but sparsely settled, and where but little interest had been manifested in educational matters, was considered a scheme of very doubtful expediency. The success however, which has attended this enterprise, has not only surpassed the expectations of its patrons and friends,
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APPENDIX.
but has formed an essential element in the educational interests in this county, and marks an important era in the history of the literary institutions of central New York.
With a mild but strict discipline, and a thorough and effi cient course of instruction, it has risen to an elevated position among the seminaries of the State.
Connected with its almost unparalleled success, there are three points worthy of observation :
1st. Its location is such, that students are not exposed to the corrupting influences of tippling, gambling, and other collateral vices, which are the usual concomitants of cities and large villages.
2nd. Physical education receives its regular and appropriate attention. A systematic course in the instruction and practice of Gymnastics, has contributed much to the proper physical health of the students, both male and female.
- 3rd. Its social character. The examining committee in their report add : "The domestic character of this institution produces a parental, a filial, and a fraternal feeling, which gives to it a close resembance to a well regulated and wisely governed family."
Connected with the institution, there is an excellent and improved farm, containing about two hundred acres, valued at five thousand dollars. The buildings cost $7000, including the Gymnasium, erected a year since, at a cost of $1000. The buildings are commodious, and accomodate one hundred and twenty boarders.
Rev. Samuel D. Ferguson, and Sanford I. Ferguson, A. M., retired from the institution in the summer of 1855, having devoted seven years of arduous and unremitting labor to the educational interests of the community. They were succeeded in the duties and proprietorship of the institution by James Oliver, Esq., whose elevated character, high standing, and well known ability, afford the strongest guarantee of its future
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APPENDIX.
destiny, and recommend its earnest efforts to the patronage of all.
The institution is located in the town of Davenport, Dela- ware county. It is accessible by stage, either from Albany or Catskill, on the Hudson, daily.
The following is a copy of the constitution of the first tem- perance society formed in Delaware county :
THE SOCIAL LEAGUE.
" As a band of brothers joined, Peace and safety we shall find !"
To every reputable, honest man, in Meredith, be his reli- gious or political opinions what they may :-
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