USA > New York > Lewis County > History of Lewis County, New York; with...biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 28
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On the 23d of December, 1863, another special meeting was held, and the boun- ties were increased to $325.
On the 2d of August, 1864, the follow- ing resolution was passed at a special town meeting :-
WHEREAS, At a meeting held July 28, 1864, a resolution was passed to raise $15,000 on the quota to fill the call for 500,000 men, and John C. Wright, Gil- bert Woolworth, G. A. Scovil, Alfred G. Thompson and Lucian Clark were appointed agents to raise men to fill the quota ; and
WHEREAS, This money has been raised on notes of individuals, and one of the committee (John C. Wright) has gone to Fortress Monroe, under a com- mission from the Governor for this pur- pose ; therefore,
Resolved, That the sum of $15,000 be raised by tax upon this town.
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HISTORY OF LEWIS COUNTY.
At this meeting a bounty of $200 was offered for one year's and $400 for three years' men. A committee was appointed, consisting of Gilbert B. Johnson, Lucian Clark and Elam Parsons, to see that those not liable to military duty, be taken from the enrollment.
On the 30th of August, 1864, the former committee was empowered to raise $6,000, or so much as might be needed, besides the $15,000 formerly voted to pay volunteers. A bounty of not over $1,000 was offered, and a com- mittee was appointed to make legal in- quiries as to the regularity of former proceedings. The sum of $10,000, a part of the $15,000, was ordered to be raised.
On the 2d of January, 1865, a resolu- tion was passed to raise $15,000, if needed, by the committee, composed of Lucian Clark, Gilbert Woolworth, Har- rison Blodget, John Dence, Gilbert B. Johnson, E. D. Babcock, G. A. Scovil, A. D. Wright, and John C. Wright.
RELIGIOUS SOCIETIES.
Copenhagen .- The first meetings in town were held by travelers. On the 9th of July, 1805, the Harrisburgh Ec- clesiastical Society was formed, with Levi Robbins, Edward Frisbie, John S. Clark, Charles Wright, Jr., and James Buxton, trustees, with the view of erect- ing a place of worship. The division of the town having made the name inapplic- able, the Denmark Ecclesiastical Society was formed in its place, Sept. 21, 1810, with Gershom Sylvester, Chester Wright, Daniel Babcock, Wm. Root, John Canfield, John Loud and Freedom Wright, trustees. This was also unable to erect a church, and in 1815, a third organization, termed the First Ecclesi- astical Society in the town of Denmark, was formed, having as its trustees, Josiah White, J. Loud, David Canfield, Lemuel
Dickenson, Asa D. Wright and G. Syl- vester.
From the first subscription for a church at Copenhagen, under this or- ganization, dated December 6, 1816, it appears that Samuel Allen, John Loud, David Canfield, and W. H. Geary, each subscribed $100, and that the total sum subscribed by 64 persons, was $1,580. At a meeting subsequently held, (March 30, 1818,) it was unanimously
Resolved, That in case the Baptist church members, together with the Baptist Society of this part of the town of Denmark, (or a principal part of them,) shall subscribe to the subscrip- tion which the present subscribers have subscribed to, for the purpose of erect- ing said house, and as liberally as the present subscribers have in proportion to what they are worth, leaving that consideration to our present committee which were chosen to superintend the building of said house, and to obtain subscribers for that purpose, then the Baptists shall have equal rights with the Presbyterian church members and so- ciety in the occupying of the said house, and that this vote, which is unanimous, shall not be reversed nor repealed until two-thirds of all the subscribers shall vote to the contrary."
The trustees of the building were S. Allen, J. Loud, and E. S. Sylvester. The church was built by Carr, Rounds & Co., and the following rates will show the prices of building materials and sup- plies, as they were in Copenhagen, in 1817-'18 :-
Lime per bushel, 2s. 6d .; lath, hem- lock boards etc., $6 per M .; scantling and brace timber, $8 per M .; nails, 19 cts. per lb .; iron, 10 cts .; whiskey, $1.25 per gallon ; shingles, $2.50 per M .; pine boards, $14 per M .; oil, $1.50 per gallon ; Spanish White, 1212 cts. per lb .; and white lead, 31 cts.
The old Union church stood on the corner where Corbin's block now stands in Copenhagen village, and was burned Feb. 16, 1832. The Presbyterians unit- ing with the Methodists, built a place of
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HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF DENMARK.
worship which continued in use by both until the latter built a separate edifice.
In July, 1839, these denominations united in holding a camp meeting in a grove half a mile south of the village.
The Baptist Church of Copenhagen was. formed in April 1808, and at first con- sisted of eleven members. The Rev. Peleg Card had settled here the year before as a cloth-dresser, and remained as minister until he was dismissed in 1819. At about the beginning, the Rev. Peter P. Roots, a missionary, visited the place, and remained several days .* Mr. Cardt was succeeded by the Rev.Stephen Parsons in 1819; Rev. Norman Guiteau in 1822; Rev. Thomas A. Warner in 1826; Rev. Charles Clark about 1835; Rev. Azel Waters, -; Rev. George Lisle, in 1836; Rev. C. Nichols, in 1839; Rev. Orin G. Robbins, in 1840; Rev. W. I. Crane, in 1846; Rev. Marinus Thrash- er, in 1846; Rev. A. S. Curtis, in 1848 ; Rev. Lorenzo Rice, in 1851 ; Rev. Orin Wilber, in 1851; Rev. Sherman Maltby, in 1852; Rev. Joshua Freeman, in 1852 ; Rev. Nathan Dike, about 1857; Rev. Z. G. Brown, in 1859 ; Rev. J. W. Stark- weather, -; and Rev Judson O. Per- kins, in 1875, the present pastor.
Elder Parsons (pastor in 1819,) was born September 5, 1748, and ordained to the ministry, January 31, 1788. He was an early, zealous and successful mission- ary in the Black River settlements, and active in the organization of nearly ev- ery Baptist church in the countv. He removed from Middletown to Whites- town towards the close of the last cent- ury, and in 1802 came to Leyden, from whence, after several years, he removed to this town. His sons became heads of families and most of those of this name, now living in the county, are his de-
* Mr. Roots was one of thirteen who formed the Bap- tist Education Society of New York, at Hamilton, Sep- tember 24, 1817.
+ Elder Card was employed as a Baptist minister in Turin and Leyden, in 1824-'31, and at LeRay, in 1833.
scendants. The circumstances of his death were so peculiar that they made a deep and lasting impression upon the public mind. He had preached on a Sabbath, in the forenoon, from a favorite text, Psalms, xc., 12, and in the after- noon from II. Samuel, xix., 34: " How long have I to live ?" On going to the barn to feed his horse on the same day, he fell from a scaffold, receiving an in- jury, from which he died unconscious, Jan. 7, 1820-within the same week that this sermon was preached.
The Baptists worshipped in a school- house, until the Union church was built, and owned an interest in it until burned in 1832. They at once began to rebuild, and completed their church in 1834.
The society on the 17th of November, 1877, held an election under the act of May 15, 1876, (Chap. 329,) and chose John Young, E. J. Noyes and Ebenezer Allen, as trustees.
Presbyterian and Congregational .- We have not been able to fix the date of the first Presbyterian church in Copenhagen, but it goes back to the early settlement of the village. It suffered from the scandalous conduct of the Rev. Walter H. Gerry, who was installed in 1815, and went off some years after in debt and disgrace. All sorts of evil rumors came back concerning his subsequent career, some of which are noticed in our former edition.
The Rev. Luman Wilcox was or- dained and installed March 16, 1824, and dismissed in 1826. A Presbyterian society was legally formed at Copenha. gen January 20, 1824, with Hezekiah Hulbert, Philo Weed, Wm. Root, John Loud, Gideon Smith and Malachi Van Duzen, trustees. The Denmark first and second churches remained one till 1827, when they were separated by the presbytery. The Rev. Wm. Jones, Abel L. Crandall and others were subsequently employed.
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HISTORY OF LEWIS COUNTY.
A Congregational church was legally formed at Copenhagen May 3, 1841, with Malachi Van Duzen, Silas Chapin, Allen Kilborn, Jr., Lorenzo Baker, Warren Murray, Gideon Smith, Nathan Law- ton, J. H. Allen and John Newkirk, trustees. Many of the members of this society and others have formed a church upon what is termed the Union principle, professing to be kept together by Chris- tian fellowship rather than creeds. A legal society styled the "Church of Christ in the village of Copenhagen," was formed May 11, 1858, with William Canfield, Wm. C. Lawton, Ezekiel Col- lins, Nelson Munger, Lyman Waters, Stephen Thompson, John D. Loud, Wm. L. Tompkins and Abel G. Sage, trustees. On the 13th of October, 1880, this was again changed to the " First Congrega- tional Church of Copenhagen."
Methodists .- The first Methodist preach- er in town is said to have been Mr. Willis. A society was formed in the west part of the town at an early day, but no separate circuit until 1840. The second society of the Methodist Episcopal Church of Denmark was formed Feb. 3, 1841, with Orlando Babcock, Abner Munger, John Clark, 2d, Stephen Nash, and John Whiting as trustees.
Grace Church, (Protestant Episcopal,) was incorporated April 19, 1877, with Rev. J. Everest Cathell, as Rector ; E. D. Babcock and R. G. McEven, as War- dens; and Benjamin Stanton, John R. Davenport, W. H. Alexander, J. S. Mitchell, Seymour A. Woolworth, George Bush, and Horace F. Rice, as Vestrymen. The succession of clergy- men has since been the Rev. Messrs. Ormsby, Granbury and Launt. They have a small church erected about five years since.
Roman Catholic .- In June, 1869, the Rev. James O'Driscoll was appointed in charge of the churches in Pinckney and Harrisburgh, with his residence at
Copenhagen. His parish embraced the towns of Worth, Harrisburgh, Pinckney, Montague and Denmark, but the de- nomination has no church edifice in this town.
CHURCHES IN OTHER PARTS OF DEN- MARK.
The " Second Presbyterian Church of Denmark" was formed by the Rev. Isaac Clinton, June 29, 1826, under authority from the St. Lawrence Presbytery, with Lemuel Dickinson and Philo Weed as Elders, and William Root* as Deacon. They worshipped for some years in an old building in Denmark village, but in 1857, it was removed to Deer River. It was changed to Congregational, Septem- ber 6, 1833, the Rev. James M. Monroe being then pastor.+ A plain and small stone meeting-house was built at Deer River some years before 1848, and occu- pied by Congregationalists and Method- ists, but in 1859, the present Congrega- tional church at that place was erected, at a cost of $3,000, and dedicated Sep- tember 15th, of that year. The succes- sion of clergy in this church has been the Reverends Abel L. Crandall, James H. Monroe, David Spear, Charles Bolles, Hiram Doane, (1850-'56) ; Rufus A. Wheelock, (1856-'66) ; George A. Rock- wood, (February 4, 1866); Olney Place, (February 2, 1868); John Waugh, (Feb- ruary, 1870) ; John A. Farrar, (February I, 1875) ; Harlan P. Blair, (February 18, 1877); and George B. Rowley, (July 4, 1880). It has of late years commonly united with West Carthage, in giving support to a minister.
The Baptist church in Lowville and
* William Root was born in Tolland county. Conn., September 15, 1780, and removed with his father's family to Whitestown in 1790. In February, 1804, he removed from Utica to Denmark, and resided there till the spring of 1828, when he went to Martinsburgh. In September, 1833, he settled in Carbondale, Pa.
t A legal society was formed July 8, 1841, with Lyman Graves, Wm. Shelden, L. S. Standring, and Abner A. Johnson, as trustees.
195
HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF DENMARK.
Denmark, locally known as the " Line Church," was formed August 25, 1819, a socicty having been organized under the statute, as the First Baptist church, of Lowville and Denmark, February 9th, of that year; Moses Waters, Luther Horr, Elijah Clark, Benjamin * and Charles Davenport, Nelson Bur- rows, Samuel Bassett, Ichabod Par- sons and Jacob Kitts, 2d, being the first trustees. An edifice was built on the town line on the State road, in 1819, rebuilt in 1850, and re-dedicated Jan. 10, 1851. Its early ministers were Elders Stephen Parsons, Elisha Morgan, John Blodget, Ruel Lathrop and others. In the anti-masonic troubles of 1828-'30, the church was nearly broken up, and some twenty members withdrew at one time. This church still maintains its organization, and has been in recent years under the care of the Rev. Joseph A. Prindle.
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The Methodist Episcopal society of
Deer River was incorporated April 13, 1852, with Rev. Horace Rogers, Tyran- nus A. Wright and C. A. Poor, as trus- tees. They have no church edifice.
The present Union church in Denmark village was built in the fall of 1848, and is owned by the Methodists, Baptists and Congregationalists. The town also owns an interest, the basement being fitted up for holding elections and town meetings. This church was re-dedicated May 25, 1871.
A Universalist church was built in Denmark about 1830, but has not been used as a place of worship for many years. More recently it has been used for a select school.
The first temperance society in Co- penhagen, was formed January 13, 1825. The Rev. Norman Guiteau drew up the constitution, and Wm. C. Lawton was sec- retary. It will be noticed that the above was at a very early period of this move- ment, both in the county and in the State.
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
JOHN AND LUCIAN CLARK.
The first of the ancestors of this Clark family in America, of whom we have any information, was a merchant in Boston, several years before the Revolution.
William Clark, the father of John Clark, Ist, of Denmark, at the begin- ning of the Revolutionary war was living at, or near, Cambridge, in the vicinity of Boston, with his father, whose remote ancestors were from Scotland.
His father, three brothers, and himself
were among the skirmishers who annoyed the British troops in their retreat after destroying the military stores at Con- cord, and at night not one of them knew whether the others were dead or alive. All, however, were found safe at home in the morning. William was afterward wounded at the battle of Bunker Hill. He was standing by a comrade with the breech of his gun upon the ground, (having exhausted his ammunition) try- ing to see if his neighbor's cartridges would fit his weapon, when a grape-shot passed through the body of the man at
* Benjamin Davenport died in Turin, Feb. 19, 1860, aged 92 years.
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HISTORY OF LEWIS COUNTY.
his side, struck and shivered the stock of his gun,and glancing aside passed through his wrist. He had previously been mar- ried to Phebe Fuller, whose early ances- tors were from England. During, or soon after, the war, they removed to a farm in Barre, Worcester county, Mass., and became the parents of six children,
age, and neither ever married. Mary lived about seventy years ; Abigail, less than forty. Josiah and Jonathan were younger than John. Soon after John came to Black River, Josiah with his father removed to Gill, Franklin county, Mass., where the father and mother died. He was a bachelor, and acquired a large
(JOHN CLARK, 1st. ]
four boys and two girls. William, the oldest boy, studied surveying, and made the first survey of the State of Ver- mont, in which occupation he was engaged when caught in a heavy snow storm with a scanty supply of provisions, and, with his companions, suffered untold hardships from cold and starvation, from which he never fully recovered, and in consequence of which he died a few years after. Mary and Abigail were the girls, and the next in
estate, engaged extensively in purchasing cattle for the Boston market, failed in business about 1836, and came to Den- mark, where he died in the winter of 1865.
Jonathan, the youngest brother, learn- ed the trade of a printer, and was for a few years, in Albany, with the firm of Packard, Benthuysen & Co. While there, he published a biography of the life of George Washington. He then went to Ohio, to locate bounty land, which his
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HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF DENMARK.
father had earned in the Revolution, and had given him. He settled in Zanes- ville, where he became the editor and publisher for several years, of the Zanes- ville Express. He was also land agent and the owner of a township, which he sold to actual settlers. The town of Clarksville was named for him. He left home one day, to transact business, and on the next day, his horse, with sad- dle and bridle on, was found grazing by the roadside, not far from the place he had started for. A search of several days, revealed his body suspended by the neck, in a log cabin in the middle of a large cornfield, and it was never satis- factorily known whether he committed suicide, or was murdered and placed there. He left a wife, to whom a child was born soon after his death, but died in infancy.
John Clark, was born at Barre, Wor- cester county, Mass., Aug. 18, 1778, and until he attained his majority, lived and worked with his father, on his farm and in his brewery. He enjoyed but limited educational opportunities, attending the common schools but about three months in a year, till he was sixteen years of age. When he became of age, he pro- cured a set of tools for boring and lay- ing aqueducts, and followed that busi- ness two or three years, in Massachu- setts and Rhode Island. In the spring of 1801, he came to the Black River country, in search of a place for a home, and located a farm of 125 acres, in the town of Lowville, now Denmark, about three-fourths of a mile southeast of the present village of Copenhagen, at the junction of what are now known as
Number Three and West roads. The land was held at three and one-half dol- lars per acre. He paid one-half of the purchase money down, made a small clearing, and built a log house, covering it with bark, as there was no saw-mill within ten miles, and no roads.
He then returned to Massachusetts, and in the winter following, married Ab- igail White, daughter of William White (then dead,) whose ancestors were of English origin.
Early in the spring of 1802, he placed his tools and household goods upon a wagon, hitched a yoke of oxen and a horse before it, and with his wife, started for the Black River country. After a toilsome journey of eighteen days, he arrived at his log house, and immediate- ly proceeded to extend his clearing, and put in such crops as he was able that season, and during several years, strug -- gled under many difficulties and depri- vations. In 1805, he built a framed barn, and in 1809, a house, and finished paying for his farm in 1815. Upon the organi- zation of the town of Denmark, in 1807, he was chosen one of the commissioners of highways, which office he held many years. In 1812, when war with England was declared, he was Lieutenant of a militia company, was three times called to the defense of the frontier at Sackett's Harbor, and served, it is be- lieved, in the capacity of Brigadier-In- spector. He was often called to sit as arbitrator in the settlement of difficulties, and to act as administrator on intestate estates. He was, for several years, jus- tice of the peace, and held the office of supervisor of the town thirteen years in
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HISTORY OF LEWIS COUNTY.
succession, from 1824 to 1837, inclusive. He was originally a Federalist in politics.
In 1829, he was nominated for Mem- ber of the Legislature, but was defeated by John W. Martin by a small vote. He enjoyed in an eminent degree the confi- dence of his neighbors. In 1840, he was a Whig in politics, and took an
September 11, 1865, at the age of eighty- seven years.
His wife's opportunities for education were even more limited than his own. In her time it was not deemed necessary that girls should be educated further than to be able to read and write. She was a woman of good mind, remarkable
[LUCIAN CLARK. ]
active part in the Presidential campaign of General Harrison. He was an ex- tensive reader, possessed a retentive memory, and was consequently well versed, not only in the history of his own country, but also of foreign coun- tries. When about seventy years of age his eye-sight began to fail, and during the last ten years of his life he was en- tirely blind, but bore his infirmities with fortitude and cheerfulness. He died
industry, energy, perseverance and economy, and to her may be attributed much of the husband's success in life. She was in stature not above the medium, had a mild disposition, and was an affec- tionate wife and mother. She joined the Presbyterian church in Copenhagen in 1815, and was a consistent and honored member until her death, which occurred September 9, 1850, at the age of seventy- three years.
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HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF DENMARK.
They were the parents of seven chil- dren, three sons and four daughters, - six of whom grew to maturity. William, the oldest, was born in 1803 ; was edu- cated in the common schools and Low- ville Academy ; worked on his father's farm until of age ; taught school several terms, and spent the remainder of his life in the manufacture of wagons and carriages. He held the office of Justice of the Peace several years, was County Superintendent of the Poor one or two terms, and was much respected. He died at the age of sixty-two.
Caroline, the third child, lived to the age of about seventy years, and never married.
Louisa, the fourth, married Harvey M. Whiting.
Josiah, the fifth, died in infancy.
Phebe, the sixth, became the wife of Lyman Cunningham, and died at Fond- du-Lac, Wis., at about the age of thirty.
Lydia, the youngest of the family, was born in March, 1821, and became the second wife of Lyman Cunningham, who died in July, 1876, leaving her a widow.
Lucian Clark, the second son of John Clark, Ist, and Abigail White, was born February 27, 1808, in a log cabin at the juncture of the Number Three and West roads, in the town of Denmark, and at a time when nine-tenths of the county of Lewis was a dense wilderness. He labored on his father's farm during his minority, attending the district school some three months each winter till he was nineteen years of age. Dur- ing the next ten years, after attaining his majority, he continued to labor for his father in the summer season, and
teaching district schools in the winter, in which profession he was eminently successful. In the fall of 1838, he pur- chased of his father 170 acres of land, on what was then called Halifax street, some of which was partially cleared, and on which was an old barn. He took possession the next spring, and during the summer built the house now (1883) on the farm. On the 7th of January, 1840, he was married to Louisa J. Bab- cock, daughter of Caleb Babcock, of West Lowville, and moved into his new house on the 8th of January, 1840.
Having exhausted his purse in build- ing the house, and the land but partly paid for ; having a team, but no stock and but few farming tools, his progress was slow. By hard work, perseverance and economy, he erected new barns and had them ready to receive the next har- vest, and had not increased his indebt- edness. But money being scarce and produce low, it was seven years before the farm was paid for, during which time his pockets were generally empty, but all other debts were paid at the time agreed upon. In the spring of 1838, he was chosen one of the School Inspectors for the town, and held that office two years. In 1840, he was chosen Assessor, holding the office three years, and was then elected Town Superin- tendent of Common Schools, which office he held four years. In the fall of 1846, he was elected County Clerk on the Whig ticket. He rented his farm and moved to Martinsburgh, and during the next three years he passed most of his time in the clerk's office, and per- formed nearly all of the duties connected
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HISTORY OF LEWIS COUNTY.
with it. In February, 1850, he removed back to his farm, to the care of which he directed his whole attention for a number of years, and holding no offices but minor ones until 1855. In the spring of that year he was elected Supervisor of the town, and was re-elected in 1856. He was chairman of the first Republican Convention held in Lewis county, in the fall of 1855; was chosen to represent the county in the Legislature the next year, and was a member of the commit- tee on public printing. He was several times called to act as administrator in the settlement of intestate estates. In the spring of 1861, when the War of the Rebellion broke out, he was chosen one of the committee to raise volunteers and funds for the support of their families while they were absent on duty, serving on that committee until the war ended. In 1871, he sold his farm to his son and moved to the village of Copenhagen, purchasing the place owned by the late Apollos Stephens. Since, he has held no office of importance but president of the village three years. In all of his business relations, he has been earnestly and efficiently assisted by his wife, and to her efforts must be ascribed much of his success in the various positions in which he has been placed. The children of Lucian and Louisa Clark are Addison L. and Marinus W.
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