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 79
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This portion of the history should not be concluded without recording a most thrilling tragedy which happened in a private dwelling that stoou near the corner of Broad- way and Esselstyn streets. It appears that a British sol- dier had left his Majesty's service and taken his sword in behalf of the United States. His name was Moore. Some time during the month of May, 1813, a troop of British soldiers, having learned that Moore was at Cape Vineent, in command of a small body of American soldiers, sur- rounded the house where he was stopping, and demanded that he should go back to Canada with them. They waited a little time on the outside and ordered him out of the house. He refused to come. Then several British sol- diers went into the room where he had placed himself, but Moore drew his sword and would not be taken. Stepping into a corner, he asked for only a fair fight,-his sword- blade against their bayonets. His comrades had fled up- stairs ; and, single-handed, he actually kept every one of them at bay till the order was given to shoot him down. It was a cowardly act, and he lived long enough to call those up-stairs, as well as his assailants, cowards. The bullet, which passed through his body and bedded itself in the ceiling, was found a few years ago when the house was taken down.
THE " PATRIOT" EXCITEMENT.
This topic is treated elsewhere, and it need only be said that no person at the present hour attempts to justify the patriot movement of 1838.
After the United States, as well as the State authorities, had pronouneed strongly against any action on American soil in aid of the Canadians, whoever sympathized with the cause ought not to have used the protection of the stars and stripes to secretly assist it. The sympathizers should have gone into the Dominion, and not have stolen arms and held secret meetings here. Many who read these words will remember the hunter-lodges, the mysterious lan- guage of signs among members of the lodges, the diseus- sions that were in the night air about attacking Kingston, the robbery of the Watertown arsenal, the burning of the "Sir Robert Peel" near Wells island, the memorable trip of the " United States" across the lake and down this river, when the patriots gathered at Windmill Point and the delusion came to a quick and disastrous end.
THE GREAT REBELLION.
During the civil war the State of New York placed 426,000 men in the army and navy. Cape Vincent con- tributed of this number her full quotas. The quota under the call of October 17, 1863, was 44; under that of Feb- ruary 1, 1864, it was 70; March 14, 28; July 18, 56; December 19, 40. The guns which battered Fort Sumter in 1861 were scareely eold before the loyal citizens of this
town began to urge the necessity of saving the nation from the disgrace which that act was designed to bring upon it. On the 6th of August, 1862, a permanent war committee was appointed at a meeting of the citizens, which continued till 1865. In February of this year (1865) the commit- tee reported that $235.85 still remained in its hands unex- pended of the money raised to pay bounties. They were authorized and directed to use the balance at their discre- tion in providing for the families of the volunteers. A special town-meeting was held on the 12th of January, 1864, when it was voted-263 against 52-to tax the town sufficiently to pay a bounty of $300 to each person who should thereafter volunteer into the service of the United States and be credited to Cape Vincent. Previous to the appointment of this war committee the volunteers received little or no bounty, although small suins were given them by individuals as they left home, and they went under the stimulation of a patriotism that no man could lay to the charge of greenbacks. Nor must we forget the meeting of the ladies on Thursday evening, the 21st of August, 1862, when arrangements were made for a Union festival, which was held a week later, in the freight depot, with great success. Several hundred dollars were there
raised for the purpose of establishing a soldiers' relief fund, and this sum was increased from time to time by the ladies as the families of soldiers here needed help, or requests were made to them for hospital supplies at the front. At the preliminary meeting the committee of the village was made to include two ladies from each school district of the town, whose names are given in the report of the proceed- ings. It seems that certain cows and shcep had been donated to the ladies for the benefit of the relief fund, and on the occasion of the festival they were sold. If we had the names of the farmers who gave the stock they would be put in this place.
During the years of the war, large meetings were held in different parts of the town,-four-horse teams sometimes starting out of the village of Cape Vineent with banners and music, gathering audienees at Millen's Bay, St. Law- rence, or around the steps of the church in French Settle- ment,-at which the citizens would endeavor to inspire one another with the vital responsibilities of the hour. The meetings of this village were usually held in Hemloek hall. A large crowd once convened in the passenger depot. A celebration was held on the Fourth of July, 1863, for Union funds; and the energy displayed here through those anxious years of blood and suffering, those years when sons went from some of our homes never to return, those years when it was as much a glory and a martyrdom to sincerely fight for the liberty of the nation as ever characterized the land of the brave, those years which made eentennial freedom pos- sible, from the grand old river to the great Gulf-the war energy exerted in Cape Vincent then must go on rceord as a constituent element of the county and the State, which made the town a loyal and patriotic one.
FIRES AND DISASTERS.
Cape Vineent has suffered from fires of which the fol- lowing have been recalled : a store, hotel, and barns, built many years ago by Mr. Joseph Cross, on the corner of Gou-
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HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, NEW YORK.
vello and James street; a saw- and grist-mill, at the foot of Gouvello street, belonging to Theophilus Peugnet; the foundry of Mr. John Forsyth, in 1861; the railroad wood- house and a large quantity of wood ; the elevator on the 20th of September, 1863; the steamer " Watertown," Sep- tember 9, 1865, when one life was lost; six or seven build- ings cornering on Broadway and Market street and running east and north, in the forenoon of February 7, 1866; the shingle-mill at the foot of Broadway, November the 22d, of the same year; a most distressing accident, fifteen or eighteen years ago, at Kent's Creek, when a block-house was completely destroyed by fire, and a poor family by the name of Grimshaw were burned with it beyond recognition ; and more sad than even this and all other disasters com- bined, contrasted with which the loss of property bears no comparison, the burning of the " Wisconsin" off the shore of Grenadier island during the night of May 21, 1867. Last year (1875) large stacks of grain belonging to Mr. Albert Rice, of St. Lawrence, amounting to $13,000, were totally consumed by fire, which was caused by the friction of some portion of the machine engaged in thrashing the grain at the time. When the elevator was burned 36,000 bushels of grain were in the bins, only half of which were insured. A dwelling-house was saved from the flames a few years ago by incessant snow-balling. An upper-cabin steamer named the " Ocean Wave" was burned near the Ducks in 1853, and twenty-three lives were lost.
THE BURNING OF THE "WISCONSIN."
But this community never had intenser feelings or more sympathetic hearts than was manifested when the propeller " Wisconsin" was burned and twenty-four persons went suddenly into the presence of God. The last body taken from the water was that of Andrew F. Morrison, the engi- neer, six weeks after the disaster. The " Wisconsin" was a steamer belonging to the Northern Transportation Com- pany, and was on her third trip, bound for Chicago. About one hundred persons, including the crew and the five pas- sengers which got on at Cape Vincent, made up the com- pany. She left the wharf not far from half after ten in the evening. The night was dark, a drizzling rain was falling, nearly all the passengers were in their berths; a half-hour later and many were asleep, when-" Fire! the boat is on fire!" rang through the cabins with that shrillness and horror such as only terror could give the cry. Men and women hurried out of their rooms, half dressed or in their night-clothes, to find the flames bursting through the hurricane-deck and crowding up around the smoke-stack like the tongues of fiery snakes, and filling the hatchway near the engine, as if mad that they had so little freedom. No description of that terrible night can be adequately given. Captain Townsend immediately gave orders to head the " Wisconsin" for Grenadier island and clear away the yawls. Only the big yawl seems to have been of much serviee, and when that was brought abreast of the rail, panic-strieken men and women rushed into it, without a consideration as to the load it would bear. Seeing the confusion, the captain ordered the yawl lowered to the water, and in that position it remained till the steamer was beached. Thus fastened to the side of the propeller and quite out of sight from the
deck, they rushed on together, side by side, into the inky darkness, leaving behind them a lurid stream of flames and cinders, and the victims uttering more than one beseeching ยท cry to God for the shore. But the shore was death ; for just as the steamer struck the beach, some person in the forward part of the yawl cut the rope which held her fast, the stern rope still being secured, when she instantly turned bottom upwards, and eighteen or twenty persons were thrown into the water. Some might even then have been saved, as they were only fifty- or sixty feet from land, but the wheel was running at full speed, so that every person was drawn under by the swell and perished. Jumping over the bow of the propeller, the steward, C. H. Dodge,-all honor to his name,-swam ashore with a rope, the end of which he fast- ened securely, and then went back and remained in the water to assist the remaining passengers to reach the island and save their lives. More than one, in his efforts to shove himself along over the rope, dropped off and was picked up by Mr. Dodge. It is believed that no one was lost who remained on the " Wisconsin" and used this rope as a means of rescue. On the next morning, very early, the steamer " Watertown," hearing of the burning wreck, went up to the scene of death, and soon after returned to the village with fourteen bodies. They were placed side by side in the freight-house, a coroner's inquest was held in the hotel of the passenger depot, and nearly all the bodies were buried in the old cemetery on Market street. The loss of Mr. Robert Chisholmn's wife and four children, and the utter wreck of his fortune and hopes, can never be forgotten by this generation. Ten other bodies were found from time to time as they washed ashore. Nor must it be forgotten to record the special efforts of the Transportation Company in bearing the expenses which the accident occa- sioned, and especially the kindness of the islanders and residents of this village, in furnishing food, clothing, and money, so far as it was required for the immediate necessi- ties of the survivors. All those who were saved returned to this village on the following day.
THE FERRY LINES.
The first ferry was established by Abijah Putnam, the founder of Fort Putnam, and it extended from that village across the big bay to Wolf island. About 1809 the second ferry was started, from Gravelly Point to Hinckley's Point of the same island. Eber Kelsey ferried from this side for many years, and Samuel Hinckley from the other. For ten years Peter Sternberg controlled a ferry from Carlton island to Wolf island. Row-boats and scows were used until 1847, when a small steamer, called the " Farmer," made trips from and to Kingston, being governed by the demands of freight and passengers as to the frequency of hier trips. The year after the railroad was completed to Cape Vincent the Wolf Island Canal was eut by a stock company, in which the rail- road and the city of Kingston were interested, as well as private individuals. The " Lady of the Lake" was used as a ferry-boat by the Cape Vincent and Rome railroad during 1852, while the " John Counter" was being built especially for the route. The "John Counter" was owned and managed by the aforesaid stock company and designed to run through the canal, but was found too large. She was
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IHISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, NEW YORK.
used, however, during the fall of 1853 and the spring of 1854, making trips around the head of the island, until sold to parties in Montreal. The "Star" took her place during the remainder of the season. George W. Crcigh- . ton was captain of both the " John Counter" and the "Star." In 1855 the steamer " Sir Charles Napier," formerly owned by the American lake and steamboat company, was pur- chased by Captain Creighton, and commanded by him until the spring of 1858, when Kinghorn and Hinckley organ- ized a company, putting the " Pierrepont" on the line, and following her, at a later date, with the " Watertown." In 1873, Messrs. Folger Bros. and Nickle purchased these steamers, Captain Hinckley still retaining his interest. The fine steamers " Maud" and "Geneva" are now making regular trips between Cape Vincent and Kingston. The master of the " Maud" is Captain Theodore Hinckley, and of the " Geneva," Captain Coleman Hinckley, Jr.
The first ferry-boat from Clayton was a little steamer called the " Wren," which commenced daily trips in 1868, and ran two seasons. The "Midge" took her place in 1870, making the same trip as the " Wren," and also going from Clayton to Gananoque each afternoon. The "Wren" was run by S. D. Johnston, and the " Midge" by John Johnston. In 1873 the " J. H. Kelly" took the route from Alexandria Bay to Cape Vincent, making two round trips per day. She was succeeded in 1875 by the " T. S. Fax- ton," which is now an excursion boat, the "Island Belle" having taken her place the present (1877) season. She is a very fast steamer.
THE CUSTOM-HOUSE.
The custom-house district of Cape Vincent was organ- ized on the 18th of April, 1818. Previous to this date Cape Vincent was only a port of entry in charge of a deputy, with Sacket's Harbor as the headquarters. It is now the point where the chief officer is stationed, and com- prises the entire coast of Jefferson County, Sacket's Harbor having been consolidated with the Cape Vincent district March 3, 1863. During the period of the non-intercourse laws and the embargo, smuggling was a very animated business, without much injury to the consciences of the people, since they firmly believed that those regulations were wrong as well as unnecessary. For many years it was an unsettled question whether Carlton island belonged to the United States or the Dominion. A quantity of goods was seized on that territory during the administration of Pre- sident Monroe, and more than one cabinet meeting was held at Washington to determine what disposition should be made of the seizures. In June, 1812, Elijah Fields, Jr., a deputy collector stationed at Cape Vincent, seized two schooners and their cargoes-the "Niagara" and the " Ontario"- -under the belief that they were engaged in smuggling. After an examination of the case the " Ontario" was released for want of sufficient evidence, but the "Niagara" and her load were sold. The first collector was John B. Esselstyn, who served the government more than four years before any salary was established, and this was started at $250 per annum. The exports were comparatively of no consequence, before the building of the railroad ; and no record of ex- ports is made in the quarterly report which was drawn up
just before the running of the regular trains. The next report had the item of exports set down at $20,000. There are forty-five vessels owned in the district of Cape Vincent, of which thirty-one are sail vessels and fourteen steam. The tonnage of the former is 4538 and of the latter 598. The number of vessels entered and cleared is about a thou- sand a year. The exports of American manufactures through the district of Cape Vincent for the last ten years have been about $550,000 annually, of which $250,000 are exports in bond. The imports for the same time have been about $500,000 annually. The imports in the fur trade were $112,000, and of fresh fish from Canada were 700,000 pounds for the year 1875. The col- lections for duties on imports, since 1860, have averaged $100,000 annually. The ports of the Cape Vincent dis- trict, subordinate to Cape Vincent, are Alexandria Bay, Clayton, Millen's Bay, Three-Mile Bay, Chaumont, Dexter, Sacket's Harbor, Henderson, and Sandy Creek. The col- lectors of the district have been : John B. Esselstyn, 1818- 29; Jere. Carrier, 1829-41 ; Judah T. Ainsworth, 1841-43; Peleg Burchard, 1843-49 ; G. S. Sackett, 1849-53 ; Alfred Fox, 1853-57 ; Theophilus Pcugnet, 1857-61 ; John W. Ingalls, 1861-65 ; William Huntington, acting collector for a few months ; John B. Carpenter, 1866-67 ; David Owen, 1867-71. The present officers are Sidney Cooper, collector, 1871 ; Charles Gardner, special collector; Charles Burnham, deputy ; William Grant, N. W. Warren, and N. R. Starkcy, inspectors. Peleg Burchard was county clerk for twelve years before his appointment as collector. He died at Cape Vincent, February 2, 1851, of bronchial disease, aged sixty- one years.
TIIE BUSINESS OF CAPE VINCENT
has been largely of a commercial character. Lumbering was an important feature in 1809, and during 1810 two hundred thousand staves were imported from Genesee and Niagara counties. Square timber was also an important article of trade, and arks were built for the Montreal mar- ket. The Esselstyns and Murray were prominent in the lumber trade until it was broken up by the war of 1812. From 1820 to 1825 it was revived at Carlton island, and rafts were numerous. In this connection may be added a list of the vessels built in the town, so far as they could be obtained. The list is believed to be correct. The first one was completed in 1819. The names of the first masters are given in italics :
Schooners : Henry, John Davis ; V. Le Ray, do .; La- fayette, Mastin ; Ainsworth, J. Belisle ; Hannah, Peter Ingalls ; O. P. Starkey, do .; L. Goler, Lucas; Victor, Ripley ; Free Trade, Shattuck; Chief Justice Marshall, Edie ; brig, Merchant, T. Pheatt ; schooners, Henry Crevolin, Belisle ; John E. Hunt, P. Ingalls ; Napolcon, Crouch ; Merchant, J. Harris ; Amelia, Shattuck; Ros- coe, do. ; Potomac, do .; brig, Iowa ; sloop, Elizabeth Goler, Cummings; brig, Patrick Henry, W. E. Ingalls ; schooner, Montezuma, Smith ; Troy ; Allanwick; Globe, Goler ; propeller, St. Nicholas, Littz; schooners, Chas. Smith, W. E. Ingalls ; Algomah, Reid; Silas Wright, Fuller ; Port Henry, J. Jarvis ; T. H. Camp, steamer (1876), Walter Horton.
66 RIVERSIDE HOTEL, F. H. DODGE, PROPRIETOR . PLEASANT RESORT FOR PARTIES, HUNTING OR FISHING ON THE ST LAWRENCE RIVER, BOATS, OARSMEN , FISHING TACKLE ALWAYS ON HAND . ALSO A DRIVING PARK WITHY MILE TRACK ON THE GROUND . MILLENS BAY, TOWN OF CAPE VINCENT, JEFFERSON CO., N.Y.
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RES. OF ALFRED J. HUMPHREY, CAPE VINCENT, JEFFERSON CO., N. Y.
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RES. OF F. M. ROGERS, CAPE VINCENT, JEFFERSON CO., N. Y.
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HISTORY OF JEFFERSON COUNTY, NEW YORK.
The lumber and timber now brought to this port are chicfly from points on the bay of Quinte and the Rideau canal. The railroad business has not fallen below $80,000 per year for the last ten years, and has run over a hundred thousand in some instances. Until the present " hard times," an iron-ore train ran into Cape Vineent every day. Canadian goods are shipped from this point, by rail, direct for Europe. The railroad agents have been C. W. Rogers, J. S. Nicols, F. W. Deming, Sidney Bickford, C. C. Case, E. N. Moore, Seth Dickinson, and J. W. Brown. Richard Wall has been in the freight-house since the completion of the railroad. The present agent is William M. Johnson, who entered upon his duties October 24, 1872. Alvin Hall has been ticket agent since 1868. On this branch of the road Casey Eldred has been engineer since 1857, and Christy DeLaney since 1868. Thomas Cooper has been conductor for fourteen ycars; and the three last-named inen have been connected with the road in some capacity from the beginning of it. John McCauley is also con- duetor, which position he has held six or eight years. The passenger trains the present summer season (1876) leave Cape Vincent depot at 9:50 A.M., 4:00 and 5:45 P.M., and arrive at 9:23 A.M., 3:00, 5:00, and 9:15 P.M. A palace- car runs through to Niagara Falls without change.
The telegraph business, for the last ten years, has aver- aged from three to four thousand dollars per year. The express business has averaged $25,000 for ten years past ; and last year it reached $35,000. The propellers of the Northern Transit Company, running from Ogdensburgh to Chicago, have secured a business of $19,000 or more, each year, for the same length of time. At the present time, more than 800,000 pounds of fresh fish are annually shipped from Cape Vincent to different parts of the State. About two hundred men and about seventy-five boats are employed in collecting and shipping the fish.
The elevator of E. K. Burnham, which was built in 1864, after the burning of the railroad clevator, is doing a good business. It has a capacity of two hundred thou- sand bushels. In carrying on this grain trade, two fine schooners-the "L. S. Hammond" and the "Polly Rogers" -are employed. The former is commanded by Richard Saunders, and the latter by Joseph Saunders. The mer- cantile business has been, and is now, more than ordinary ; there was an extensive stove and iron foundry for many years ; there have been and are now lumber yards, flour-, shingle-, and planing-mills ; while some of the best farms in Jefferson County have been made by draining the low- lands.
A BANKING BUSINESS was carried on for many years by Otis P. Starkey, who was succceded by L. S. Hammond. The town has been without a bank since the panic of 1873.
A TOWN AGRICULTURAL SOCIETY was formed in the spring of 1850, which flourished for several years. Its rules allowed persous living in Clayton, Lyme, and Wolf island to compete for premiunis.
The first telegraph line to Cape Vincent was built in 1856, and the money was chiefly raised in this town by subscription. It was soon after abandoned. Mr. Joseph Owen built another line in 1864, assisted very materially by A. F. Smith. This was sold to the Provincial Telegraph
Company in July, 1865, and became a part of their line to Oswego and Canada. The Montreal company bought out the Provincial company in March, 1867, which has con- tinued unchanged till the present year. C. C. Brown is the present manager, and has been in the office since 1872.
The Dominion Telegraph Company opened an office in this village October 9, 1872. Sidney Block, operator.
NEWSPAPERS.
The Cape Vincent Gazette was started by Paul A. Leach, and the first number was dated May 8, 1858. It was sue- ceeded by the Frontier Patriot, May 10, 1862, with P. II. Keenan editor and proprietor. Mr. Kcenan entered the army in 1862, when the name of Robert Mitchel appeared as editor, and P. H. Keenan as proprietor. In the fall of 1862, Mitchel absented himself to buy a new stock of paper, and has not yet returned. The Cape Vincent Eagle appeared on the 18th of April, 1872, established by Ames and Hart. Hart soon after sold out to his partner, who continued its publication till the spring of 1877, when Mr. Ames disposed of the paper to Charles Wood, who is the present editor and proprietor.
THE CAPE VINCENT AND ROME RAILROAD.
The history of the turnpikes and railroad interests of the county is fully given in special chapters, but a brief stato- ment here seems to be in place respecting this town. The first thoroughfare was the State road, which was completed from Brownville to Port Putnam in 1803. The turnpike was made several years later ; and in 1832 a Black River company was organized, with legal authority to build either a canal railroad from Rome to Cape Vincent, Sacket's Har- bor, or Ogdensburgh. But this company did not exist very long. In 1836 another aet of the legislature granted the right of constructing the Rome and Cape Vincent railroad, which likewise failed after a few months of struggle. Nine years later the matter was again agitated, with more capital within reach, more meetings in Kingston, Cape Vincent, and Watertown, and in 1848 work was commenced at Rome, and the last rail laid to the shore of the St. Law- rence in the spring of 1852. The first train appeared in April of that year amid great rejoicing and hearty cheers. Regular trains began to run in the following May. The Rome, Watertown and Ogdensburgh company, which also controls the Lake Ontario Shore road to Niagara river, now owning and successfully managing the route, have 3000 feet of wharfage on the front of the village. The freight-house is 600 feet long, and the passenger depot, including the hotel, is 200 by 50 fect. No cars are run on the Sabbath, and no accidents of any moment have ever occurred. The financial embarrassment of the times does not affect the sucecssful management of the entire line, although it may have an effect upon the pockets of the stockholders.
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