USA > New York > Jefferson County > History of Jefferson County, New York, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 118
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by the Townsend mill. It was the first frame building in town, and stood near the spot now occupied by the store of Martin E. Aldrich. John Townsend moved his family in the same autumn, and these, with the family of Robert Comfort, Walton, Roberts, and the men in the employ of the Townsend brothers, were the only inhabitants of the centre lot during the winter of 1805-6.
Jason Merrick came in 1806, and located on his lot- No. 675-at the westerly end, directly opposite the place to which Cadwallader Child removed, upon the easterly cnd of 644; this removal from his first clearing being on account of the laying out of the road running on lot-lines northeast from Strickland's Corners into Antwerp. The families of Benjamin Gilbert and Stephen Roberts also came in the spring of 1806. John Strickland, Jr., camc in 1807, but did not bring his family until the next year. Robert Comfort removed from his inn on the centre lot to his farm in 1807, and in the summer of that year lost two young daughters by death from a prevailing fever. John, a son of Jason Merrick, died from the same cause, and these were the first deaths which occurred among the set- tlers of the town.
The first births were those of John, son of John and Ascnath Townsend, February 14, 1807, and on the 16th of the same month, Oliver, a son of Cadwallader and Elizabeth Child.
Joseph Bolton canie with his family in the fall of 1807, took the house which had been built by Robert Comfort, and continued it as a place of public entertainment. In the spring of 1809, Ezra Comley settled on reserved lot 645, his farm being that afterwards owned by Seth Strick- land. John Strickland, Sr., one of the wealthiest of the settlers, arrived and purchased the property of the Town- sends at the settlement, John Townsend removing thence to his farm, and Thomas purchasing lands a short distance south of the village, now the farn of Joshua Roberts. Mr. Strickland took possession of the mills, and made his residence in the block-house built by Thomas Townsend, to which, however, he was soon obliged to build an addition larger than the original house. This was the first frame dwelling-house in the settlement and town, though there were other buildings of that construction built earlier. Mr. Strickland had a family of eleven children, of whom but two are now living, though ten reached maturity and mar- ried. He became a very large land-owner, first exchanging with Le Ray his farm of 300 acres in Bucks county, Pa., for a much larger tract here, to which he added by pur- chase until he became the possessor of fully 5000 acres.
MEETING-HOUSE-CENTRE LOT-INCREASE.
The first meeting-house of the society of Friends, a small frame structure, was erected in 1810. Its site (the same now occupied by the residence of Mr. John Allis) was cleared of timber and prepared for the building by Eli Kent in July, 1809. Robert Comfort became the first minister of the society, and continued in that relation till his departure for the west in 1822. The new meeting- house, now used as the school-house of district No. 3, was built on its present site in 1828.
The settlenients on the centre lot were not rapid under
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HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, NEW YORK.
the system of leasing iu subdivisions, and during the first ten years an average of less than 10 acres per year were taken up. The trustees beeame wearied or disheartened, and on the formation of the Le Ray monthly meeting, in 1815, they requested that body to relieve them of their trust, which conld not, however, be effected without an aet of incorporation, and for this the meeting would not peti- tion. On April 11, 1816, a committee, consisting of Daniel Child, Richard Hallock, William Barber, Joseph Child, Jr., John Strickland, Jr., and Joel Haworth, were appointed by the meeting to confer with and assist the trustees in the management of the lot, which was, in reality, an assump- tion of the direction of its affairs by the meeting. Four of the trustees were reappointed, and the fifth, Jason Mer- rick, who was not a member of the Friends' society, con- tinued to exercise the functions without reappointment. Energetic efforts were made to lease the remaining portions of the central lot, and the system of leases in perpetnity was adopted; but, notwithstanding this, very little was accomplished, and it was fully thirty years from the adop- tion of the short-lease system before the last of these sub- divisions was disposed of. The lands outside the central lot, however, being open to absolute purchase, were settled with reasonable rapidity, and generally with a very excel- lent class of immigrants, who, at the end of seventeen years from the time of the first arrivals, had become ready, and sufficiently numerons, to assume the responsibilities of sepa- rate township organization.
AN INCIDENT IN THE LIFE OF A PIONEER,
as related by Cornelius W. Inglehart, of Sacket's Harbor :
In the fall of 1813, Mr. Inglehart's father, then residing about two miles from the so-called Quaker Settlement, now the village of Philadelphia, discovered that some animals, which he supposed were raccoons, were destroying his corn. Thereupon he set a steel trap near a brush fence on the back of the field separating the same from the forest. The house was on a rise of ground, and commanded a view of the entire field, and was distant from the trap some forty rods, between which points a highway, inclosed on either side by a new and high rail-fence, intervened. One crisp, cool night in October, shortly after setting the trap, Mr. Inglehart heard a series of screeeles, yells, groans, and growls, commingled, issuing from that section of his corn- field where his trap was fixed, and which indications of distress and anger were kept up at intervals during the night. As soon as it was sufficiently light to discern ob- jeets with distinctness, the senior Inglehart, taking his guu (an old musket loaded with buckshot and several bullets), started out for au interview with the disturbers of his night's rest. Mrs. Inglehart also took the relator of this incident, then a boy of some two and a half years old, and followed her husband to the fence bordering the road, to observe the proceedings. The father, carefully creeping to a sure shooting-distance, discovered a half-grown eub in the trap, and, taking deliberate aim at the head of the animal, fired; but the eub, being constantly in motion, received the contents of the musket in his shoulder. This served to increase instead of stopping the cries of the cub, and brought, at the same instant, another actor, or rather
actress, on the scene, the same being the shaggy mother of the wounded eub, who had lain concealed just in the edge of the forest. The entrance of the enraged brute upon the seene was terrifie, and, with a growl that set the eorn- leaves a-quiver, she charged upon the would-be slayer of her eub, struggling desperately through the brush fence. Mr. Inglehart endeavored to reload his musket ; but it be- coming evident that before he was ready for the reception the ferocious animal would be in elose quarters, and deeur- ing that just then, at least, " diseretion was the better part of valor," he prepared for retreat. And here, perhaps, oceurred one of the most remarkable races ever witnessed in Jefferson County,-a race inspired by a desire for veu- geance on the one side, and for life on the other. Mr. Inglehart was a slightly-formed man and a good runner, and had some five or six rods the advantage in starting, but had to make twenty-five rods more before reaching the fence at the road. The bear gained on the runner, as they sped through the cornfield and among the shoeks, so much that when the pursued rose from the ground to leap the fence the pursuer struck at him a savage blow, her elaws just grazing the heel of his shoe. In the parlance of the ene, the bear made the " serateh," but the man " connted." The pursned cleared the fence at a bound, but the bear had her attention so intently fixed upon the object of her rage, she strnek the fence with her full weight and impetus, and immediately performed some wonderful acrobatie feats, turn- ing several somersaults and demolishing the fence. This ended the race, as, before the bear could recover herself, the man and his wife and boy were safe in the house, and diseoufited Bruin retired from the field of her defeat, leav- ing her cub to the mercies of the pioneer.
THE ERECTION OF THIE TOWN.
The present domain of Philadelphia, which, until April 3, 1821, had formed a part of Le Ray, was, at that date, detached, and erceted a separate town. The name of Eliza- bethtown had been first selected, but as there was already one of that nawie in the State, it was abandoned, and the name Benezet was proposed iu honor of Anthony Benezet, the distinguished Quaker; but this iu turu was dropped, when the name Philadelphia was suggested by John Strick- land, and was easily agreed to by the inhabitants, very many of whom had come hither either from the city of Brotherly Love or its vicinity.
The first annual town-meeting was held at the publie- house of Harvey Hamblin, in Philadelphia village, March 5, 1822. The first officers elected were Alden Bueklin, supervisor; John Strickland, Jr., clerk ; Thomas Bones, Aldeu Bucklin, and Abiel Shurtliff, assessors; Wm. Bones, collector; Cadwallader Child, John Townsend, and Abiel Shurtliff, commissioners of highways ; John Strickland, Jr., David Mosher, and James Bones, commissioners of schools ; James Bones, Cadwallader Child, and J. B. Taylor, inspec- tors of schools, and William Bones, constable.
The list of persons elected to the office of supervisor in the succeeding years until the present time, is as follows : Harvey Hamblin, 1823 to 1826, inclusive; John R. Tay- lor, 1827 ; Benjamin Jackman, 1829, '30, '31; Hiram Hinman, 1832; Henry W. Marshall, 1833; Jesse Smith,
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HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, NEW YORK.
1834, '35, '36, and 1841 ; Miles Strickland, 1837, 1839, 1842; William Skinner, 1838 and 1851; George Walton, 1840 ; John F. Latimer, 1843; Azel W. Danforth, 1844, '45, '46; Lyman Wilson, 1847 ; Smith Boekus, 1848-49 ; George Frazier, 1850; Alden . Adams, 1852-53; Seth Strickland, 1854 to 1858, inelusive, and also in 1866; John Allis, 1859, '60, '61; Lansing Beeker, 1862-63 ; John S. Peck, 1864-65 ; Loren Fuller, 1867 to 1872, in- elusive; and George E. Tueker, from 1873 continuously, until the present time. The other town officers for 1877 are : A. C. Comstock, elerk ; Geo. E. Tueker, Wm. Whiting, Lansing Beeker, and Luke Sherman, justices of the peace ; Russell Washburn, James Clark, and Arnon Comstock, as- sessors ; Robert M. Cooper, collector, and Silas Monroe, commissioner of highways.
Philadelphia having never erected a town-hall, the elee- tions and special meetings have been held in the publie- houses. The places of holding the annual meetings have been as follows : At Harvey Hamblin's in 1822 and 1823; at house of Samuel C. Frey in 1824 and in the four sue- eeeding years ; at John Cross' in 1829 and 1830; at Charles G. Bunnell's in 1831; at William Comstoek's in 1832; at William Mosher's in 1833; Daniel Rogers' in 1834; William K. Butterfield's in 1835-36; at Jacob R. Howard's in 1837 ; Levi Butterfield's, 1838 to 1847 inelu- sive, also in 1850; William A. Paul's in 1848-49; at James Kirkbride's in 1851, and from 1853 to 1856 inclu- sive; Seth Hateh's in 1852; Russell Washburn's, 1857 to 1864, also in 1866 and '67; S. G. Elliott's, 1864-65 ; George Washburn's in 1868; G. & H. Washburn's, 1869 and 1870; Henry Washburn's, 1871; J. H. Washburn's in 1872 ; Eagle Hotel, 1873, '76, and 1877 ; and at F. N. Springsteen's, 1874-75 ; all being held in Philadelphia vil- lage except the meeting in 1852, at Seth Hateh's, in Ster- lingville.
POPULATION.
The population of Philadelphia at the end of each lus- trum since its ereetion has been as follows : In 1825, 826 ; 1830, 1167 ; 1835, 1616; 1840, 1888; 1845, 1942; 1850, 1915; 1855, 1743; 1860, 1790; 1865, 1715; 1870, 1679; 1875, 1709.
THE FRIENDS' SETTLEMENT IN 1828.
The increase in population at the " Quaker Settlement," as Philadelphia village was then ealled, was still very slow. In 1828, when nearly a quarter of a century old, its heads of families were all embraced in the following list, namely : Edmund Tucker and Miles Strickland, proprietors of the flouring-mill ; Platt Homan, their miller ; Samuel C. Frey, and Cyrus Dodge, both inn-keepers ; Harvey Hamblin, John Cross, W. Mosher, shoemakers ; James Cromwell, cabinet- maker ; Stephen Roberts, Orrin Cloyse, Elijah Comstock, John Roat, Justin Gibbs, Edmund Hall, Robert Gray, inerehant, and successor of Samuel Case, who opened the first store in Philadelphia, on corner of Antwerp and Main streets ; Seth Otis, the other storekeeper of the place, oppo- site the present post-office ; Dr. Almon Pitcher, on Antwerp street, where Gardner Clarke afterwards lived ; and Horace Ball, who built and started the first fulling-mill and cloth-
iery, afterwards sold to Wm. Comstock, then to Milo Shat- tuck, still later to - Houghton, and now the cabinet works of Mr. Potter. Mr. Gray, the merchant mentioned above, was a son-in-law of John Strickland. He soon afterwards built a distillery (the only one ever in Philadel- phia) on the west side of the river, at the settlement.
HICKSITES AND ANTI-RENTERS.
At this time (1828) there occurred a division in the Friends' society in Philadelphia, a part becoming converts to the ITieksite doctrine. Among the more influential of these were Edmund Tucker and the Strieklands, notwith- standing which the Orthodox wing, supported by the meet- ing, were the more powerful, and always retained the man- agement of the affairs of the eentre lot until the final set- tlement by quit-elaim.
About 1835 symptoms began to be visible of a disposi- tion of tenants to resist the payment of rents, and this grew into a movement which, a few years later, caused the abandonment of the lease system. One of the chief causes which led to this was the fact that original leases had been subdivided, subleased to several parties, and again conveyed repeatedly; and these transfers not being legally known to the trustees, the latter elaimed the right, and in one or two instances attempted, to distrain for rent the property of one of the tenants, to pay the arrears due on the lot of which he occupied but a part. This, in the view of the tenants, led to the dangerous principle that a man's property was liable to be seized for his neighbor's debts, and was followed by a spirit of resistance in which nearly every tenant participated.
In 1838 notices were posted in the village calling a publie meeting to coneert measures to do away with the system of leases. At this but little was actually done, but other meetings of a similar character followed, in which it was re- solved to resist at all hazards the payment of rents in the future. The confederated tenants pledged themselves to each other to sustain legal measures until a settlement should be reached, and they boldly and publicly proclaimed that they would expend their whole properties in defense of the position they had taken. John F. Latimer, Samuel Rogers, and Jesse Smith were constituted a committee to represent them and to defend their interests. Mr. Rogers, though himself belonging to the society of Friends, was one of the very foremost of the leaders of the anti-rent move- ment, having then just removed from his farm near Striek- land's Corners to the village, where he had purchased the mills and other improvements of Tucker and Strickland ; and believing that his own interests, as well as those of every other property-holder on the eentre lot, would be ad- vaneed by the abrogation of a system which he and they re- garded as a elog on improvements and an obstacle in the way of rapid settlement.
Upon the defiant declaration of these tenants that they would pay no more rents, suits were commeneed against several of them, but these were afterwards withdrawn and abandoned, probably on account of the firm and unyielding attitude of the defendants, who doubtless foresaw this re- sult, well knowing that neither the general poliey of the society of Friends nor the sentiment of its individual mem-
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HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, NEW YORK.
bers would sustain prolonged litigation. The anti-renters had thus virtually earried their point ; and in March, 1844, the society petitioned for a law authorizing the trustees to sell the centre lot, which was referred by the senate to the attorney-general for an opinion, who decided " that it is not competent for any eourt, or even the legislature itself, to add to or diminish from the estate thereby created, or to change the nature of the trust, or to confer authority upon the trustees to convey the legal cstate discharged of this trust thus annexed to it." In consequence of this opinion the legislature deelined acting, and so informed the peti- tioners. This, however, did not prevent a settlement of the difficulty. The lessces were willing to pay certain amounts, which were agreed on, and to accept quit-claim from the meeting, which that body, on January 9, 1845, directed the trustees to execute. About 25 of these deeds were given, the tenants receiving them, paying all arrears of rent up to April 1, 1844. Two or three, who were members of the meeting, declined to receive the quit-claims, preferring rather to hold their perpetuity leases at the ex- tremely low figure of $1 per acre, or less, annual rent. And this was the end of the long and vexatious controversy that in its course had engendered feclings of rancor which the lapse of more than thirty years has scarcely obliterated.
DISCOVERY AND OPENING OF ORE-BEDS.
In the northerly corner of the town, on the line of Theresa, in lots Nos. 543 and 544, iron ore was discovered at about the time of the opening of the Sterling mines in Antwerp ; and these were opened on the farms of Almon Fuller and Abicl Shurtliff, about 1836. It was worked to some extent in the furnaces at Sterlingville, Carthage, Antwerp, and Redwood; a royalty of 50 cents per ton being paid to the owners of the lands from which it was taken. It was, however, a lean ore, and was not held in much favor, being used chiefly as a flux in the reduction of the Sterling and other rich orcs, for which it answered exceedingly well, on account of the lime it contained. The requirements for this purpose, however, were comparatively small, and, for many years, these beds were not extensively worked ; but, upon reaching greater depth, the quality of the ore was found to be improving, until at the present time it ranks among the best ores of the region. The mines were pur- chased in 1867 by the Sterling Iron Ore Company, of Syracuse, to which place, as well as to other points west, the ore is shipped for reduction. The point of shipment is Shurtliff station, on the line of the Black River and Mor- ristown railroad, between Philadelphia and Theresa. The excavations have been extended nearly to the limit of the company's lands, and the adjoining owners believe their lands to be underlaid by the same vein in cqual extent, depth, and richness. The representatives of the company, on the other hand, assert that the beds are nearly exhausted. The future alone can show which is the correct theory.
THIE STERLINGVILLE FURNACE.
The first furnace on Black creek, in Philadelphia, was commenced by James Sterling in 1836, for the purpose of working the ores from the Sterling bed, in Antwerp, which he had then just purchased from David Parrish. It was
completed in the spring of 1837, and was put in blast in June of that year. This first blast was kept on for three months, and produeed about 155 tons of iron, bog ore being used with that from the Sterling mine. The Shurt- liff & Fuller ores were used also in limited quantities as a flux. In the fall of that year, Mr. Sterling associated with him Messrs. Orville Hungerford, George Walton, Caleb Essington, and George C. Sherman, and with them organ- ized, Oct. 31, 1837, under the general law, as the " Ster- ling Iron Company," with a capital of $20,000, in 200 equal shares. A second blast was put on and continued for five months, during which the daily production was not materially inereased over that of the first blast. The third blast, using hot air (cold air having been used in the first two trials), was commenced on the 10th of September, 1838, and continued for the (then) unusual period of fifty- four weeks and two days, at the end of which the company complimented its employees by a public dinner.
In 1840 the Sterling Iron Co. went out of existence, and a new one was formed upon the property under the name of "The Philadelphia Iron Company." This was composed of Ephraim Taylor, Fred. Van Ostrand, George Dickerson, William Skinner, and John Gates. The date of their incorporation under the general law was May 19, 1840. This company rebuilt the furnace, and, having operated it for some time without much success, ceased to exist, and was succeeded by Samuel G. Sterling, a brother of James Sterling, who was the father, and under all the different proprietorships continued to be the master-spirit, of the en- terprise until 1859, when he retired from active life, and died in 1863.
The furnace was destroyed by fire in 1849, and rebuilt about two years later. From 1859 to 1869 it was carried on by A. P. Sterling, of Antwerp, then sold to the Jeffer- son Iron Company, Edwin B. Bulkley, president, whose office is at Antwerp village. This company owns also the Sterlingbush furnaces in Diana, Lewis county, which, when in operation, are run on the ore of the Sterling mine, of which the company is the proprietor. The Sterlingville furnace is now cold, and there is said to be little proba- bility that it will ever again be in blast.
TIIE ESSINGTON FORGE,
at Sterlingville, was erected about 1839, by Caleb Essing- ton, for the manufacture of refined iron, in which it was worked more or less extensively at different times for a number of years ; but is now in disuse, and will probably not be again put in operation.
POST-OFFICES.
The post-office of Philadelphia was established in 1822, with Edmund Tucker as first postmaster, under whom the office was located in his brick house at the north end of the settlement. He held the position until his death, Jan. 6, 1836. His successor was John Cross, who held the office until 1842. The later postmasters have been as follows : William Strong, 1842-49; James B. Carpenter, 1849-53; Jerome B. Davison, 1853-57 ; George E. Tueker, 1857- 61; Daniel HI. Scofield, 1861-64; Asa E. Macomber, 1864-66; Samuel B. Scofield, 1866-69 ; Martin E. Al-
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HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, NEW YORK.
- drick, 1869 to the present time. The business of the office for the year ending October 1, 1877, amounted to $443.51, yielding to the postmaster a remuneration of $356.35. The money-order department yielded $11.92 additional.
The post-office at Sterlingville was established in Feb- ruary, 1839, George Walton being the first postmaster. The business of this office is small. The present postmaster is E. P. Daily.
In 1850 the post-office of Whitney's Corners was estab- lished in the neighborhood bearing the same name, on the old Evans' Mills and Ox Bow plank-road, in the west part of the town. The first postmaster was Carey Z. Eddy, who held the office for one year, and was succeeded by Wm. M. Whitney, who remained until 1856, when the office was discontinued. During the days when the mail-stages ran over the plank-road the office at Philadelphia village received its mail by way of Whitney's Corners; but the opening of the railroad destroyed stage-line, mail-route, and post-office together.
On the Antwerp and Sterlingville plank-road, at the little hamlet of Pogeland, a post-office of the same name was established in 1852, with Daniel Smith postmaster. He died soon after, and the office was for a time discontinued, but re-established with Theodore Cross postmaster. It was finally discontinued in 1854 or 1855.
PUBLIC-HOUSES.
About the year 1815 a tavern was built and opened in the Friends' Settlement by Samuel Case, son-in-law of John Strickland. It was upon the site of the present Eagle Hotel, of which it forms a part. After Case it was kept by Harvey Hamblin, who remained until 1823, and was succeeded by Samuel C. Frey as landlord. Also among its landlords were - Ferrin, - Jackman, and Edmund Hall. Wm. Comstock was its proprietor in 1832; Wm. K. Butterfield in 1835 and 1836; Jacob R. Howard, 1837 ; Levi Butterfield in 1838, and for nine years there- after. Wm. A. Paul was there in 1848-49 ; James Kirk- bride, from 1851 to 1856 inclusive; Russell Washburn, 1857 to 1863 inclusive ; also in 1866 and 1867. It was kept by S. G. Elliott in 1864-65, and at different times by George Washburn, Henry Washburn, and J. H. Washburn, from 1868 until 1877, excepting 1874 and 1875, by F. N. Springsteen.
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