History of Jefferson County, New York, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers, Part 108

Author: Durant, Samuel W; Peirce, H. B. (Henry B.)
Publication date: 1878
Publisher: Philadelphia : L.H. Everts & Co.
Number of Pages: 862

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432

HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, NEW YORK.

AGRICULTURAL.

If the town of Le Ray lay in Illinois or Wisconsin, it would be termed a rolling prairie, unusually well watered, and interspersed with belts of timber. It is not broken into abrupt hills, like portions of Theresa, Philadelphia, and Antwerp, and it is comparatively free from rocky wastes and ledges. Leaving out of consideration the un- productive pine plains upon its southeastern side, it is a township of excellent and fertile land, especially adapted, like the greater part of Jefferson County, to purposes of grazing, and is, like its sister towns, devoted by its farmers to the production of butter and cheese, but more especially and extensively the latter, in which the product of more than 3000 mileh eows is consumed. Home-made cheese is not yet entirely unknown, but more than nine-tenths of that artiele of food is made in factories. Of these there are six, four of which are owned and operated by Madison Cooper, viz. : one at the village of Evans' Mills, working the milk of 900 cows ; one at Sanford's Corners, 450 cows ; a third on the Watertown road, one mile southwest of In- gerson's Corners, supplied by 250 cows; and the fourtli at " Gould's," in the north part of the town, furnished by 450 cows. Besides these are the factories of John Stratton, in the northern corner of the town, supplied by 500 cows, and of Edward Converse, northeast from Le Raysville, with 200 cows. The above all manufacture what is known as Ameri- can cheese, and there are, in addition to these, five factories engaged in the production of " Limburger" cheese. These are smaller establishments, averaging about 75 cows each. A large amount of butter is made in Le Ray,-all by the hand process, without the aid of factories. The Patrons of Husbandry have no grange established in this town.

The agriculturists of Le Ray have reason to be proud of their town, as having been the residence of and named for Monsieur Le Ray de Chaumont, the first president of the New York State Agricultural Society, the first president of the Jefferson County Agricultural Society, and also one of the most prominent movers in the formation of the Otsego County Agricultural Society, the first county organization of the kind in the State, that of Jefferson being the second. Vincent Le Ray de Chaumont, Roswell Woodruff, and other residents of the town were also prominently identified with the early organizations for the promotion of the inter- ests of agriculture in northern New York.

MASONIC.

"PISGAH LODGE, No. 720," was chartered June 13, 1872, with 24 charter members. The first officers were Wesley Rulison, W. M .; E. H. Cobb, S. W .; H. S. Morris, J. W. ; C. G. Sehuyler, S. D .; W. N. Priest, J. D .; S. T. Potter, Treasurer ; J. E. Boyer, Secretary ; H. D. Merritt, Tyler.

The present membership of the lodge is 48. The officers for 1877 are Wesley Rulison, W. M .; F. E. Croissant, S. W .; A. H. Tueker, J. W .; W. J. Laroch, S. D .; C. E. Paul, J. D .; Charles Briant, Treasurer ; F. Waddingham, Secretary. The lodge meetings are held at their hall in the village at Evans' Mills.

More than fifty years ago (1826) the " Hermon Lodge" was instituted, with William Palmer Worshipful Master.

The lodge went down and the charter was surrendered during the period of anti-Masonic excitement.

POPULATION.

In 1810, four years after its erection, the town of Le Ray contained 1150 inhabitants. In 1814 (Wilna and An- twerp off) it contained 1120; in 1820, 2944; in 1825 (Alexandria and Philadelphia off ), 2556; in 1830, 3430 ; in 1835, 3668; in 1840, 3721; in 1845, 3853; in 1850, 3654; in 1855, 3203; in 1860, 3159; in 1865, 2986; in 1870, 2862; and in 1875, 2733.

The thanks of the writer are due to citizens of Le Ray who have furnished information and data pertaining to the history of their town ; and among these he desires especially to mention the following gentlemen : Revs. N. F. Nicker- son, W. M. Holbrook, M. M. Rice, and Henry Ward ; Dr. L. E. Jones, C. P. Granger, Esq. ; Messrs. Alexander Kanady, A. M. Cook, George Ivers, Alfred Vebber, Peter Hoover, Matthew Poor, William S. Phelps, A. Peck, F. Waddingham, Henry Walradt, Madison Cooper, and Wes- ley Rulison.

BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.

JAMES DONATIEN LE RAY DE CHAUMONT

was born November 13, 1760, at Chaumont, on the Loire, between Blois and Tours. He was educated partly in his family by a preceptress, and partly at the celebrated college of Juilly, near Paris. When he left this, he found himself in the circles of Paris, and of the court, which the birth and official places of his father gave him a right to enter. He was seduced by neither ; and his views were early bent towards serious subjects by the course which his father pursued with regard to American affairs. The commis- sioners sent by the united colonies could not be received openly by the French court. M. de Chaumont, Sr., es- pousing warmly the cause of American Independence, de- termined to abandon public life (although at that moment his friend and neighbor in the country, the Due de Choiseul, offered him a seat in the ministry whieli he was about form- ing), in order, as a private individual, to serve as interme- diary between the government and the commissioners. He lent to them a house situated in his park at Passy, and Franklin particularly occupied it several years. From that house were written all his letters dated Passy. This created a great and agreeable intimacy between the American phil- osopher and M. de Chaumont's family. Young M. de Chaumont improved this to learn English and acquaint him- self with American affairs. His father gave more substan- tial aid to the Americans. He sent a cargo of powder to Boston to the care of the French consul-general, Mr. Holker, to whom he wrote to elaim nothing, if the Ameri- cans were not successful. He afterwards sent large equip- ments to La Fayette's army, and in various ways consecrated a great part of his large fortune to the American cause. He equipped ships to join Paul Jones' squadron, and was ap-

HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, NEW YORK.

433

pointed by the French and American governments to su- perintend the equipment and management of the combined fleet. His son went with him to L'Orient on that business, and seconded him throughout the expedition.

But these high advances required the settlement of ae- eounts, which the different currencies of the States, the depreciation of the paper money, ete., rendered difficult and complicated. M. de Chaumont, then (1785) only 25 years of age, saw that this business required personal attention. He obtained, with great difficulty from his father, leave to go to America. He tore himself from the seduetions of the most elegant court of Europe, and even from the pros- peet of a brilliant marriage, and sailed for America. Frank- lin, whose friendship and esteem he had gained in a high degree, gave him warm letters. All his energy and early- displayed talents, however, could not master so many ini- pediments. Year after year he was detained by new diffi- culties. Franklin helped him with all his power. It was not, however, until 1790 that he could obtain a settlement, and he arrived in France just in time to save his father from the most painful consequences of these long delays.

During this stay in America, M. de Chaumont became acquainted with the first men there, and particularly with two, who had a great influenec upon his subsequent course. One was Count de la Forest, consul-general of France ; the other, Gouverneur Morris. They both spoke to him with great warmth of the great speculations which might be made in wild lands in the State of New York. He bought, with the former, a small tract in Otsego county, where he built the first saw-mill, and where he sent, as his agent, the celebrated Judge Cooper, father of the great writer. With Gouv- erneur Morris, he made large purchases in the State of New York. In 1790, having lately married a daughter of Charles Coxe, Esq., of New Jersey, he returned to France with his wife. He had previously been naturalized. After having been most painfully engaged in endeavoring to ar- . range the difficulties in which his father had been drawn, he was appointed to go to Algiers,* to negotiate a treaty of peace and commerce with the dey ; but having learned in Switzerland that the life of his father was threatened, he returned, post haste, to Paris. He proceeded without stop- ping to the sitting of the committee, and there, by his firmness, and even by a bold threat to the president, he obtained on the instant the liberty of his father, whom they had put in jail as an emigre, although he had never quitted his château. In 1799, M. de Chaumont accompanied his wife to Hamburgh, who returned to America, on account of her health, with her two youngest children, in company of Gouverneur Morris, late ambassador. The cure of Chau- mont was of the party ; he had refused the oath preseribed by the revolutionists, and M. de Chaumont, in order to save lim, and to provide for his support, had appointed him to an ageney in America. He remained there several years, and became the object of the veneration and love of the numerous persons with whom he had relations.

In 1802, M. de Chaumont sailed from Havre for Amer- ica, in company with William Short, late minister to France. Ile went upon his lands in Jefferson County, where settle-

ments were begun by the agency of Jacob Brown, who so highly distinguished himself afterwards. He returned in 1804, and left France again in May, 1807, with his oldest son, who, from that time, assisted him in the management of his business. He had, the year before, sent a French doctor of considerable ability and experience, whom he had engaged for several years to reside with himgon his lands, and had confided to him the choice of the particular spot. This was very difficult and delicate, from the large range open to him, and from the conflicting interests and inter- ference of the different persons residing on various parts of the traet. He acquitted himself, however, of this trust with wonderful foresight and skill, and chose a retired spot in the town of Le Ray.

M. de Chaumont went, in 1808, to make a final settlement in the house built by the doctor, and entered it before it was finished, and with the logs of the clearing yet burning at his door. There he spent the greater part of the time till the spring of 1810, when he left for France with his family, leaving only his oldest son to manage his affairs with an agent, Moss Kent, brother of the chancellor. In France he busied himself with the settlement of his lands. He sent French gentlemen of talents to establish various factories. The events of 1815 caused him to sell a large tract of land to Joseph Bonaparte, with whom he had long been acquainted, and smaller ones to Count Real, the due de Vineenee, Marshal Grouchy, ete. During his stay in France he had the misfortune of losing his wife, whose health had always been poor, and had been kept up only by the indefatigable eare and attentions of M. de Chaumont.t

In 1812 the board of internal navigation-Gouverneur Morris and De Witt Clinton president and vice-president- appointed M. Le Ray de Chaumont to negotiate in Europe a loan of six millions of dollars for the contemplated Erie canal. Mr. Le Ray went to Switzerland, where the decla- ration of war by the United States against England deterred the capitalists. He then sent, to feel the Belgian bankers, his friend, Mr. J. B. de Launay, whom the commissioners had sent out to assist Mr. Le Ray, and also to proeure in England the services of the eminent engineer Weston. The report having been favorable, Mr. Le Ray went to Belgium. The hopes of peace, however, were vanishing. The re-elee- tion of Mr. Madison made the continuanee of the war certain, and the bankers gave a definite refusal.

In 1816 he married his daughter to a French gentleman of great distinction, the Marquis de Gouvello, and they both eame with him to America, where they spent a year, and returned to Franee. M. de Chaumont now resided mostly on his lands, spending a part of the year in New York. He went on with inercased foree with the settlement of his lands and the improvement of the country, building saw- mills, making roads, carrying on his iron works, ete.

In 1832, M. de Chaumont returned to France, leaving to settle his business his son, who joined him the next year. Ile made a last voyage to America in 1836, spending the summer there, and returned to France, where he was called by his daughter settled there, and by two sisters who had no

+ Vincent, the son of M. Le Ray, was married Feb. 9, 1839, to Madam La Baronne de Gerdy, at Paris, France.

# Sparks' Life of Gouverneur Morris, ii. 402.

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HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, NEW YORK.

children. Surrounded and cherished by his family, he spent his time partly in Paris, partly in the country, or in traveling, his mind still bent towards America, and seizing every oppor- tunity of being useful to his adopted country. At the age of 80, full of health and vigor, his mind unimpaired, he was suddenly taken with an inflammation on the chest, which caused his death in five days,-December 31, 1840.

M. Le Ray de Chaumont had a strong mind, a sound judgment, great penetration of men and things, a warm and affectionate heart, a noble soul. He was guided through life by those high and chivalrous feelings of integrity which were so shrewdly discovered in him by Robert Morris, when, at the age of twenty-five, he was chosen by him as umpire be- tween himself and M. de Chaumont, Sr., in a contested busi- ness. He never meddled actively in politics, which, added to the other traits of his character, made him respected and be- loved by men of all parties, both in France and in America. He received warm proofs of these feelings at various times, and particularly from the citizens of Jefferson County during the last years of his stay among them. The counties of Jeffer- son and Lewis owe much of their prosperity to his liberal and enlightened management.

He greatly improved the breed of sheep by bringing Merinos from his flock in France, which was picked in the celebrated sheep-fold of Rambouillet, where the original Spanish breed had been greatly meliorated.

He also paid great attention to improving the breed of horses, and labored to diffuse a taste for the rearing of orna- mental plants, to promote the culture of the vine in gardens, and of hemp and the mulberry. The care which he be- stowed in the selection and adorning of his villa at Le Raysville, which for many years was the seat of a refined hospitality, bespeaking the affluent and accomplished French gentleman, prove him to have possessed on these matters a judicious and correct taste. His household, including agents, clerks, surveyors, and employees, formed of itself a small community.

He will long be gratefully remembered by the citizens of Jefferson County for his public-spirited improvements, his dignified and courteous manner, and the sympathy he never failed to express in whatever concerned the public welfare.

THOMAS DUNTEN.

Comparatively little is known of the carly ancestry of the subject of this sketch. However, sufficient knowledge is given through tradition that the descendants are of English extraction, and lineal descendants of one of three brothers who emigrated from England with the Puritans and settled respectively in Massachusetts, Vermont, and the West In- dies. Thomas Dunten, the earliest anecstor of which any data is accessible, was born in Sturbridge, Worcester Co., Mass., in the year 1752. He shared, in common with our forefathers, the dangers and privations of the army during the Revolutionary War, and subsequently settled in Benn- ington, Vermont. IIe married Joanna Howard, born in the province of Nova Scotia in the year 1749. The de- seendants by this union consisted of five children,-three sons and two daughters,-all of whom became adults and

settled in Jefferson County, viz. : Ebenezer, Lucy, Persis, Ephraim, and Thomas. The family emigrated to Jefferson County, and first settled in the town of Watertown in the year 1800. Mr. and Mrs. Dunten subsequently moved and settled at Sanford's Corners, in the town of Le Ray, where he died May 27, 1832, his wife preceding him Jan. 4, 1826.

THOMAS DUNTEN was born in the town of Watertown, April 11, 1811. He was a son of Ebenezer Dunten and Clarissa Adkins, daughter of John Adkins, of Guilford, New Haven Co., Conn., who settled in the town in the year 1800, when the town and county were a trackless wilderness, and are justly regarded among the first pioneers of the now pros- perous town and city of Watertown. His father was born in Vermont, Feb. 2, 1777. He married Clarissa Adkins, Aug. 21, 1800, and with his father emigrated to Jefferson County the same year. Their family consisted of nine chil- dren, all of whom reached maturity, namely :

1. Amos M., born in the town of Watertown, June 6, 1801 ; married Miss Harriet Hurlbert, of Pamelia, Jeffer- son County, N. Y., Feb. 18, 1827 ; a physician by profes- sion, and for many years practiced medicine at Plessis, in the town of Alexandria. From there went to Oswego, N. Y., thenee to Plover, and then to Beaver Dam, Wis., where he died-April 24, 1867.

2. John G., born in Watertown, Feb. 3, 1803; married Persis Austin, of Le Ray, Sept. 18, 1834; was an artist, famed as one of the best portrait-painters of his day. He studied his profession in Boston, Mass., and first painted in Portsmouth, N. H. Afterwards removed to his native town, where he painted some of the best portraits of several prominent citizens of the town and county ever before produced in Watertown. IIe died in Le Ray, June 28, 1839 ; was a Christian gentleman and an intelligent citizen, esteemed by all who knew him.

3. Robert B. was born in the town of Watertown, Dec. 28, 1804; married Miss Cynthia A. Price, of Hammond, St. Lawrence Co., N. Y .; was a gunsmith by trade in early life ; later and for many years a daguerrean artist ; died at his residence in Plover, Portage Co., Wis., Sept. 7, 1874. He was for many years a resident of Port Huron, Mich.

4. Daniel M. was born in Le Ray, March 25, 1807; married Miss Agnes MeKee, of Cleveland, Ohio ; a distiller in early life; later, and under the appointment from the State of Ohio, served the last fifteen years of his life as canal collector in Cleveland, Ohio; died at his residence in the above city, Oct. 2, 1867.

5. Caroline was born in Watertown, March 16, 1809; married Silas Fairbanks, of Rutland ; residence, Jamestown, Wisconsin.

6. Thomas, the especial subject of this biography-born as above.

7. Louisa was born in Watertown, April 13, 1813; mar- ried Stephen Mix, of Le Ray, Nov. 27, 1842, deceased Oct. 21, 1849 ; re-married John Lamphear, of Carthage; residence, Sanford's Corners.

8. Marcia was born in Watertown, April 10, 1815 ; mar- ried Gilbert Allen, of Hermon, St. Lawrence Co., N. Y., July 9, 1833 ; settled in Wisconsin ; Mr. Allen died Aug. 16, 1868; re-married Thomas Brittingham, of Rock Island, Illinois, May 25, 1871.

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HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, NEW YORK.

9. William was born at Sanford's Corners, May 13, 1817; married Miss Diana A. Wright, of Rochester, Wis., May 1, 1843 ; by trade a joiner and bridge contractor; died at his residence in Stevens' Point, Wis., Nov. 23, 1856.

The father of Thomas was a briek-maker by occupation, and first made brick where Winslow's block is now located, being the pioneer in the brick-making business in Jefferson County. This business the father carried on in connection with his farming interests. In the year 1817 he bought a farm of 140 acres of Mr. Le Ray in the town bearing his name, and paid for the same largely by making brick. The father, in common with all the early settlers, struggled with poverty and the obstacles coincident with the early settle- ment of the county, and was unable to give his children but little opportunity for procuring an education away from home; so they had to content themselves with the limited advantages of the common schools, which they attended winter seasons. These were days of a cord of wood per scholar and a pro rata tax for tuition-fce.

He was numbered among the influential men of his day ; was originally a Democrat, but united with the Republican party upon its formation ; was an abolitionist and an advo- eate of temperance. Ebenezer Dunten brought to bear all that acumen and native talent, quite common in his day, upon the early training of his children, and, with the assist- ance of his wife, brought them up learned in all that per- tains to true manhood and womanhood. He died Feb. 27, 1858, having been preceded to the grave by his wife about six years. Thomas worked with his father in the brick-yard and on the farm until he was of age, and when twenty-two years old bought a farm of 50 acres in the town of Alexandria. In 1834 he married Miss Sally Kingsbury, daughter of Clark Kingsbury, a native of Massachusetts, and grand- daughter of Tilla Kingsbury, whose ancestors were of Eng- lish birth. She was born June 3, 1811, in the town of Broadalline, Montgomery (now Fulton) Co., N. Y. To Mr. and Mrs. Dunten were born two children, viz. : Milton C. and Melvin A., both of whom reside at home. Mr. Dun- ten with his family returned to the town of Le Ray in 1839, and after a year settled in Antwerp; but in about three years purchased the old homestead in Le Ray, upon which he has since resided ; and an illustration of which, with its buildings, under the portraits of Mr. and Mrs. Dunten, will be found on another page in this work. The farm has been in the family sinee its first occupation in 1817. He united with the Christian church some fifty years ago, his wife join- ing the same church when she was but nineteen years old. He has been prominently identified with his church during his membership, and has contributed liberally to both chureli and school. In polities Mr. Dunten is a Republican, hav- ing been a Democrat previous to the formation of the Republican party. Mr. Dunten and wife stand among the representative citizens of the town, and in their declining years now reside with sons.

CHRISTOPHER POOR.

Perhaps the most pleasurable duty of the historian is to record the lives of good and useful men; of those hardy pioneers who by their industry and perseverance wrought

the wondrous changes that we observe around us; of those who redeemed the trackless wilderness and erected the pleasant homes that so plenteously abound in the rural districts and the quiet villages of this county. Pre-emi- nently among this class of men are those of whom we here write.

Christopher Poor was born in the State of Maine about the year 1780. His father was Peter Poor, and his mother Mrs. Elizabeth Parkinson, who died in Rutland; June 22, 1842, at the advanced age of eighty-four years. She was a native of New Hampshire, having married, for her first husband, Mr. Peter Poor, as above stated, and with him moved to the town of Bethel, situated near the source of the Androscoggin river, in the State of Maine. Ilere she was residing with her husband and two children (of whom Christopher was one) in the year 1781 ; in the autumn of which year the savages came down upon that recent and defenseless settlement to seek for scalps and plunder. These savages were instigated to marauding and murderous expeditions by the bounty offered by the British for sealps. They entered the house of Mrs. Poor with two of her neighbors already captured and bound, and made in- quiry for her husband, who was fortunately absent at the time. After having ate, plundered, and rioted as they pleased, they went in quest of Mr. Poor, and without her knowledge found him, and on his refusing to become their prisoner, shot him and took his sealp in their sacks. Mrs. Poor fled from her house with her children, and waded the Androseoggin at as great a depth as she dared, in order to avoid being traeed by the Indians, and at night lodged in the forest. Meanwhile, her husband had been discovered and taken up, and in the first house she dared approach she beheld his mutilated and bloody corpse. This was a heart-rending scene, and yet it was met with Christian fortitude. She was soon composed, and sat down to her Bible, which she had not forgotten to take along with her, and opened the XLVIth Psalm, and when she came to the 10th verse she responded in her heart, " I will be still." She buried her husband ; then took her children with her upon a horse and started for her friends. The road was, at best, only a foot-path, winding through a dense forest, over hills and aeross bridgeless streams. The journey was made as fast as possible by day, and through the night she com- posed herself as well as she could, being compelled to lodge upon the ground with no covering but the dense branches of the woods. There were beasts of prey to seek her life, and none to preserve and defend her but her Maker. She afterwards married Mr. William Parkinson, with whom she moved to Sharon, in this State. They were indigent in circumstances, and, as usual in new countries, Mrs. Parkin- son endured privation and labored hard to assist her hus- band in maintaining the family. She earned some money by weaving, and on Saturday of each week would travel on foot five and eight miles with the articles she had woven, receive her pittanee for her work, and return to her family. She afterwards removed to Rutland, where her husband soon died, and where herself finally rests from her labors. Several of her descendants reside in that town.

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History of Jefferson County, New York, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers, Part 108

Author: Durant, Samuel W; Peirce, H. B. (Henry B.) Publication date: 1878 Publisher: Philadelphia : L.H. Everts & Co. Number of Pages: 862

Author: Durant, Samuel W; Peirce, H. B. (Henry B.)
Publication date: 1878
Publisher: Philadelphia : L.H. Everts & Co.
Number of Pages: 862