USA > New York > Livingston County > History of Livingston County, New York, from its earliest traditions to the present together with early town sketches > Part 51
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Log Cabin and group of members of Historical Society in attendance at dedication ceremonies.
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HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY
bration with accompanying historical documents and illustrations were published in book form by the Society.
On November 16, 1901, a monument was placed by the Society to mark the spot, near the head of Conesus lake in the town of Grove- land, where Lieutenant Boyd and his scouting party of General Sulli- van's expedition, were ambushed and massacred.
The Society has now 228 members The number is yearly increas- ing, and the work of the society improving in scope and character.
The following is a list of the officers of the Society since its organi- zation :
PRESIDENT.
VICE PRESIDENT.
SECRETARY & TREASURER.
1876 Dr. D. H. Fitzhugh.
Dr. James Faulkner,
Norman Seymonr.
William Scott. Adolphus
Watkins, Dr. D. H. Bis-
sell, John McColl.
1877 Dr. D. H. Bissell.
Dr. M. Il. Mills.
1878 Dr. D. H. Bissell.
Dr. M. II. Mills
1879 Dr. M. IL. Mills.
William M. White.
1880 Wm. M. White
Benjamin F. Angel.
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1881 Benjamin F. Angel. 1882 E. H Davis.
A. O. Bunnell.
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1883 A. O. Bonnell.
A. H. McLean.
1884 A. H. McLean.
Matthew Wiard.
1885 Norman Seymour.
Dr. F. M. Perine.
1886 Dr. F. M. Perine.
B. P. Richmond
1887 Isaac Hampton.
William Hamilton.
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1888 Amos D. Coe.
David McNair.
1889 William A Brodie.
H. D. Kingsbury. O. D. Lake.
William A. Brodie.
1890 H. D. Kingsbury.
1891 O. D. Lake.
William Hamilton
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1892 William Hamilton.
Charles Shepard.
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1893 J. A. Dana.
Frank Fielder.
1×94 Frank Fielder.
C. K. Sanders.
Lockwood R. Doty.
1895 C. K. Sanders.
Charles Jones.
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1897 William A. Wadsworth.
1898 S. Edward Hitchcock.
Rev. E. W. Sears.
Rev. E. W. Sears. J. D. Lewis.
H. D. Kingsbury.
1900 Herbert Wadsworth
Lock wood R. Doty.
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1901 Lockwood R. Doty.
Dr. F H Moyer.
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1902 Dr. F. H. Moyer.
Dr. W. P. Spratling.
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1903 Dr. William P. Spratling. George S. Ewart.
W. A. Wadsworth. S. E. Hitchcock.
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1899 Joseph D. Lewis.
Herbert Wadsworth.
W. A. Brodie.
1896 Charles Jones.
E. H. Davis.
Dr. L. J. Ames. Norman Seymour.
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On September 9, 1876, the pioneers of the county met at Long Point, Conesus Lake, for the purpose of forming a permanent associ- ation. The meeting was called to order by Dr. M. H. Mills, of Mount Morris, and interesting speeches were made by Norman Seymour and Jacob Chilson, of Mount Morris, and Rev.'E. W. Sears, of Leicester.
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HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY
The following were the first officers elected: President, Dr. D. II. Bissell, Geneseo; Vice Presidents, Il. Tilton, Leicester: M. Wiard, Avon; Recording Secretary, S. P. Allen, Geneseo; Corresponding Secretary, Oscar Woodruff, Geneseo. A committee of three from each town was appointed to arrange for the next meeting, which was appointed for Thursday of the third week in August, at Long Point.
The 1877 meeting was held at Conesus Lake August 22d, under the most favorable conditions possible. A crowd of 3,700 or 4,000 people was present and manifested the greatest interest in the meet- ing. Conspicuous among the earlier residents of the county, present were, William Lyman, A. Donnan and John Kennedy, of Leicester; N. Robbins, of Sparta; H. MeCartney and J. T. Beach, of Dansville; John White and D. MeMichael, of Groveland: Joel Hosford, Rev. D. Ward, A. Neff and F. W. Butler, of Geneseo; Frank Armstrong, of Conesus; C. Bronson, S. G. Chamberlain, D. E. Partridge, D. Damon, O. Remington, J. H. Bearss and John Rouse, of Livonia; Mrs. Batchelor, Arch Peck, A. Waugh, William Leach and Frederick Pear- son, of Avon; Jacob Chilson, of Mount Morris; Franklin Carter and James Perkins, of Lima, and O. Walbridge, of Springwater. The average age of these thirty persons was seventy-eight years. After a happy introduction by President Bissell an able historical address was delivered by Dr. Mills, of Mount Morris. Speeches were also made by A. A. Hendee, Esq. and Rev. E. W. Sears, and a very successful meeting was brought to a close.
The 1878 meeting was held at Long Point. August 15th. The prin- cipal address was made by Mr. Hendee and was devoted largely to early town sketches and pioneer incidents. Other speeches were made by Wm. M. White, of Ossian; Norman Seymour of Mount Morris; Col. John Rorbach, of Geneseo, and Rev. William Hunter, of Springwater. At this meeting the following officers were elected: President, Charles Jones; Vice Presidents, M. H. Mills, W. A. Wads- worth, George F. Coe, J. R. Newman and George W. Root; Secre- taries, S. P. Allen and Oscar Woodruff; Treasurer, Theodore F. Olm- stead. Attention was called to the fact that the following year would be the centennial anniversary of Sullivan's Expedition into the Gene- see Valley, and a committee was appointed to arrange for a suitable celebration of that event. This committee consisted of Richard Johnson, of Groveland; Norman Seymour, of Mount Morris; S. P.
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HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY
Allen, of Geneseo; H. C. Coe, of Conesus, and Niel Stewart, of York. No meeting of the association occurred in 1879, on account of the Sullivan celebration.
On September 11th, 1880, the fourth annual meeting was held at Long Point. The address was delivered by Hon. Charles E. Fitch, of Rochester. The officers elected at this meeting were: President Dr. Mills, of Mount Morris; Vice Presidents, Norman Seymour, Dr. D. H. Bissell, Orrin D. Lake and Solomon Hitchcock; Treasurer, Theodore F. Olmsted; Secretaries, S. P. Allen, Oscar Woodruff; Executive Committee, Matthew Wiard, Dr. F. M. Perine, Joseph Olp, Jotham Clark, Jr., and S. G. Woodruff.
A well attended meeting was held at Long Point July 4th, 1881. At this meeting it was determined to incorporate the association, and the necessary proceedings to accomplish this were taken. Dr. Mills was reelected President, and the following additional officers chosen : Vice President, A. O. Bunnell; Secretary Wm. A. Brodie; Assistant Secretary, Oscar Woodruff; Treasurer, Theodore F. Olmsted. Hon. Joseph D. Husbands, of Rochester, delivered an address. Dr. Mills at this meeting proposed that the farmers of the county be requested to furnish logs for a log cabin to be constructed by the association.
On the 4th of July, 1882, the sixth and last annual meeting of the association was held, at Long Point. A committee was appointed at this meeting consisting of W. A. Wadsworth, M. Wiard, F. M. Perine, George S. Ewart and Andrew Kuder to have in charge the erection of a log cabin. A masterly address on the subject of "Pioneer Life and Influence" was delivered by Hon. Carroll E. Smith, of Syracuse. The officers named at this meeting were, President, Wm. M. White; Vice President, M. Wiard; Secretary, W. A. Brodie; Assistant Secretary, Oscar Woodruff; Treasurer, T. F. Olmsted.
The result of the election in the fall of 1875 for the office of District Attorney between Daniel W. Noyes, Democrat, and George W. Dag- gett, Republican, was so close that it necessitated an appeal to the courts to determine who was legally elected. The official canvass by the Board of Supervisors declared that Noyes had received a majority over Daggett of 5 votes, and this canvass was finally sustained.
James Fauklner, Jr., Democrat, was again elected Assemblyman in 1875 over Hugh W. McNair by a majority of 119.
In 1876 the county gave a majority of 1043 for the Hayes and
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HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY
Wheeler electors, and elected the whole county ticket by about the same majority, except that the vote on Sheriff and Superintendent of the Poor was somewhat close.
At the annual meeting of the Board of Supervisors in 1876 the sum of $2,100 was appropriated for the purchase of thirty-three acres of land of Hezekiah Allen, adjoining the Alms House farm: this made the total quantity of land in the farm about 151 acres. At the same meeting Charles L. and Louis C. Bingham, of Mt. Morris, offered to furnish rooms free of rent for the use of the Surrogate, for a term of six years without expense to the county, if court was held in that vil- lage. The Board, however, did not accept this proposition, but authorized a six year lease to be made with F. N. Burt, of Geneseo, for rooms for the Surrogate's office over his store property on Main Street in Geneseo, for a gross sum of $550.00.
The death occurred in Avon, on February 8th, 1877, of J. Bradley Withey, under circumstances which caused the neighbors to suspect foul play. A coroner's inquest followed, which, after a prolonged sitting, found that the deceased had come to his death by poison administered by his wife, Rosetta Withey, and William Pierson. An indictment charging both of these persons with homicide in the first degree resulted. Pierson was tried in February, 1878, by District Attorney Noyes assisted by Hon. E. A. Nash, present Justice of the Supreme Court ; General Wood, Judge Van Derlip and Frank S. Smith, of Allegany county, defending. He was convicted and sentenced to die April 19th, 1878. The case was appealed to the Court of Appeals, which confirmed the conviction, and Pierson was hanged at Geneseo, March 12th, 1880. This was the third and last execution within this county. Mrs. Withey was subsequently tried and acquitted.
In the spring elections ot 1877 the Democrats again secured a majority in the Board of Supervisors, but this was reversed in 1878.
In the fall of the latter year a Republican candidate for County Judge was, for the second time, defeated, Judge Faulkner being reelected over Edwin A. Nash by a majority of about 300. The Republicans, however, regained the offices of County Treasurer and County Clerk.
Judge Faulkner was not permitted long to discharge the duties of his responsible position in the second term of his incumbency, for, after several years of impaired health, he died at Dansville, August
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HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY
9th, 1878, universally esteemed and respected. Governor Robinson appointed Daniel W. Noyes, of Dansville, then District Attorney, to fill the vacancy for the period ending December 31st, 1878. Charles J. Bissell replaced Judge Noyes as District Attorney during the same period.
An election for County Judge occurred in the fall of 1878. Judge Nash was again nominated by the Republicans and elected by a majority of about 1200 over Judge Noyes, who was the Democratic nominee.
A special committee was appointed by the Board of Supervisors, at itsannual meeting in 1878, for the purpose of constructing a new building for the indigent insane patients, at an expense not to exceed $8,000, and this sum was duly appropriated to be expended under the direction of the committee. In April, 1879 this committee reported, at a special meeting of the Broad, that plans had been prepared for the building and estimates made, the lowest of which was $11, 000, and the highest. $17,345. An additional sum of $4,500 was added to the appropriation already made. The building was completed about January 1st, 1880, at a total cost of $13,872. David Hulbert, of Mt. Morris, was the builder, and Isaac Loomis, of Rochester, the architect. This is the west of the present Alms House group of buildings.
In 1879 Hon. James W. Wadsworth was elected State Comptroller, receiving from Livingston the remarkable majority of 1835; at the same election, Martin F. Linsley, Democrat, was elected Sheriff by a majority of 575.
The Genesee Valley Salt Company, incorporated February 10th, 1880, by Carroll Cocher, Jeremiah Cullinan, Maurice J. Noonan and Timothy Curran, with a capital stock of $500,000, was the pioneer organization in the county for the development of salt. The field of operations of this company was in the town of York. The company was reincorporated February 5th, 1884, with the same amount of capital. The directors for the first year were Marvin C. Rowland, Charles Jones, Jeremiah Cullinan, Nelson Janes and Campbell H. Young, of Geneseo; Maurice J. Noonan, of Mt. Morris, and A. F. Mckean and Carroll Cocher, of York. This enterprise did not proceed far, however, beyond the point of exploration, but it gave a stimulus to the development of salt mining and evaporating industries in various towns of the county, which continued with great energy in
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HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY
several quarters for a period of fifteen years or more. The aggregate capitalization of the several salt enterprises was about $10,000,000. The following is a list of the various companies which were formed during the period mentioned :
Nunda Mining Company ( Nunda). Incorporated March 7, 1883, by F. H. Gibbs, H. T. Ilaines and William Craig, with a capital of $3,000.
New York Rock Salt Company (York). Incorporated August 27, 1883, by Abraham Quackenbush, Garret Reilly and Thomas Barker, with a capital of $600,000.
Caledonia Salt and Mining Company (Caledonia). Incorporated September 24, 1883, by William C. Johnson, M. M. Campbell, M. A. Roberts, David Menzie and William H. Walker, with a capital of $3,000.
Livingston Salt and Mining Company (Piffard). Incorporated March 15, 1883, by Charles F. Wadsworth, A. A. Cox, T. N. Shat- tuck, C. B. Potter, R. M. Jones, A. Rich and H. R. Hammond, with a capital of $15,000.
Leicester Salt and Mining Company (Cuylerville). Incorporated June 4, 1884, by D. Marsh, J. Rippey, John Allen, W. H. Van Valken- burg, L. C. Pelton, Charles Workley, Wm. B. Wooster, H. Harring- ton, Miles Perkins, and J. L. Strayline, with a capital of $10,000.
Empire Salt Company (York). Incorporated April 21, 1884, by William Foster, Jr., Charles Q. Freeman, A. W. Trotter and Robert S. Walker, with a capital of $600,000. Successor of the New York Rock Salt Company.
Genesee Salt Company (Piffard). Incorporated February 9, 1884, by Walter Edwards, E. P. Fowler and Robert M. Ferris, with a capital of $100,000.
Retsof Mining Company (York). Incorporated November 27, 1885, with a capital of $3,600,000. The Trustees of this Company for the first year were: William Foster, Jr., Charles Q. Freeman, William R. Varker, A. W. Trotter and Robert S. Walker. This Company was the successor of the Empire Salt Company.
Conesus Lake Salt & Mining Company (Lakeville). Incorporated February 7, 1885, by John M. Gray, Charles Hendershott, F. M. Acker, Albert S. Locke, L. P. West, John Mooney and L. T. Davis, with a capital of $30,000. 6 The capital was later increased to $50,000.
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HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY
York Salt Company (York). Incorporated January 12, 1885, by Niel Stewart, Alexander Reid, Archibald Kennedy, George K. Whitney and Thomas Gilmore, with a capital of $30, 000.
Valley Salt and Mica Mining Company (York). Incorporated Feb- ruary 4. 1886, by M. C. Rowland, Carroll Cocher, L. W. Crossett and Charles Jones, with a capital of $500,000.
Royal Salt Company (Mount Morris). Incorporated March 1, 1886, by John M. Prophet and others, with a capital of $100,000.
Livonia Salt and Mining Company (Livonia), Incorporated June 27, 1890, by Martin L. Townsend, William B. Putney, Milo M. Belding and George C. Currier, of New York, with a capital of $1,500,000.
Phoenix Dairy Salt Company (Cuylerville), successor of the Leicester Company. Incorporated April 26, 1892, by Benjamin Roberts, of Warsaw; Edward J. Ahner and Wm. W. Moorehouse, of Mount Morris; James E. Reid, of Warsaw, and Frederick Ahner, of Buffalo, with a capital of $30,000.
Lackawanna Salt Company (Leicester). Incorporated May 15, 1893, by John F. White, John S. Tower and George Wilson, with a capital of $60,000.
Consumers Salt Company. Incorporated July 30, 1896, by George H. Griscow, Ernst H. Seehusen, Emil Dickman, Arthur T. Hill and Louis M. Bailey, with a capital of $500,000.
In addition to the above the Greigsville Salt & Mining Company was formed in Pennsylvania, for the purpose of mining salt in the town of York.
In the year 1883 Charles Q. Freeman and William R. Varker, of New York, in exploring for salt on the Joseph D. Lewis farm in the town of York, struck a bed of that mineral at a depth of about 1,000 feet on July 26th. They had secured extensive options on contiguous territory in that town, and sales of these lands were completed and taken in the name of the New York Rock Salt Company, which was organized, as appears above, in August of the same year. This com- pany was reorganized as the Empire Salt Company, and in 1885 as the Retsof Mining Company, the title being formed from the name of the president, William Foster, reversed. The Greigsville Company also conducted mining operations, as did the Livonia Company above mentioned, and the two last named companies, in course of
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HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY
time, were absorbed by the Retsof company. It was found that the small local companies could not be profitably conducted, and one by one their plants were abandoned, their promoters in many cases suffer- ing considerable loss by the experiment, and to-day there remains nothing of the business in the county, except the mining operations conducted by the Retsof company, in the town of York, the last of the companies to go out of existence being the Genesee Salt Company, upon whose plant a mortgage was foreclosed during the year 1904, and the works were then discontinued. In 1880 the salt production in the State was 8, 748,203 bushels; in 1890, the period of its most gen- eral production in Livingston County, probably, it had increased to 16,131,251 bushels, an increase of nearly one hundred per cent. In 1899 the production in the State was 24, 474,260 bushels. In 1890 the production of rock salt, which in the census report of ten years before was unknown in this State, amounted to 5,144,190 bushels, practi- cally the whole of which it may safely be said came from Livingston county and the LeRoy mines. The mining of rock salt began in December, 1885, by the Retsof Company. In 1892 shafts were sunk near LeRoy and at Livonia and by the Greigsville Company and ship- ments of this kind of salt were made from these mines that year. The shaft of the Retsof mine is 1100 feet in depth, the Livonia shaft 1432 feet and the Greigsville mine, 1150 feet. These plants are now all under the control of the Retsof Company and their output varies from 159,000 to 250,000 long tons annually, according to market requirements.
The construction of the Delaware, Lackawanna and Western Rail- road through the county, on the main line from New York to Buffalo, was commenced in 1881 and completed in 1883. It enters North Dansville at the center of its eastern boundary and traverses Sparta, Groveland, Mt. Morris, Leicester and York, leaving the latter town at its northwestern part. This road has contributed to the assessed valuation of Livingston county a large sum, amounting in 1903 to more than $1,000,000.
On November 10th, 1880, George F. Coe, of Conesus, Supervisor of that town, who had been a few days previously elected Chairman of the Board, was found dead near the railroad track a short distance north of the railroad station at Conesus Center. The cause of death was apoplexy. Mr. Coe was sixty-four years of age; he had for many
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HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY
years been a prominent citizen of his town, and was well known and very much respected throughout the county. Ile had served his town as Supervisor for eight years in all, having been first elected in 1853. The Board of Supervisors made suitable recognition of the sad event, and Winfield S. Newman, Supervisor of Avon, was elected Chairman.
In the Presidential election of 1880 Livingston county gare a plurality for Garfield over Hancock of 1321.
The spring elections in 1881 resulted in a substantial Republican majority in the Board of Supervisors. In 1882, however, the Demo- crats secured a majority of one on the Board. In that year, also, Thomas O' Meara, Democrat. was elected Sheriff, and Hon. James W. Wadsworth was first elected to Congress from the 27th District.
At the annual meeting of the Board of Supervisors in 1882, a commit- tee was appointed to procure plans and specifications for a new build- ing for the cierk's office and for a surrogate's office, to report at the December session of the Board. The report made at that session stated that the old clerk's office could not profitably be repaired and that the cost of a suitable new building would be $9,000, if made fire- proof, and $6,500, if constructed of wood. The architect consulted for preliminary estimates was James G. Cutler, the present Mayor of Rochester. The project to construct the building was embarrassed by a proposition which the town of Mt. Morris made to the Board through the Supervisor of that town, to furnish the necessary ground within the corporate limits of Mt. Morris and erect thereon suitable county buildings, without expense to the county, upon condition that the county seat should be removed to that place; in order to enable the proposition of Mt. Morris to receive the consideration of the tax- payers of the county, the construction of the new building was deferred. The subject came up at the annual meeting in 1883, when a resolution was introduced by the Mt. Morris Supervisor, embody- ing the proposition to remove the county seat to Mt. Morris upon the terms proposed in 1882. The matter was put over until the Decem- ber session by a vote of ten to seven, and at that session, after much discussion, the whole subject was referred to the next Board of Supervisors by a vote of eleven to six.
At the annual meeting in 1883 the subject of removal was brought up upon the definite proposition by citizens of Mt. Morris, to furnish a
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HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY
site and construct in that village a court house, jail, clerk's office, surrogate's office and treasurer's office, without expense to the county, in consideration of the change of location of the county seat to that place. The matter was disposed of by the appointment of a committee of three to report at the next annual meeting of the Board the expense of constructing suitable buildings on the proposed Mit. Morris site, and also to ascertain "what amount had been fairly and conclusively raised on behalf of Mt. Morris, and deposited or secured to the county for such purpose." This disposition of the matter seems to have put an end to the project of removal for the time being, and the Board of Supervisors at its December session in 1885 appointed a committee, consisting of John R. Strang, of Geneseo; Jacob S. Galentine, of Lima, and Austin W. Wheelock, of Leicester, for the purpose of employing an architect and procuring plans and esti- mates for such clerk's office. This committee reported at a special meeting in February 1886, presenting a plan for a building to cost $13,000. The plan was approved, the money appropriated and the building was completed October 15th, 1886. The builder was Ben- jamin Long, of Avon, and the architect John R. Church, of Roches- ter. The cost of the structure did not exceed the appropriation. This is the brick building now standing in the rear of the new court house building, and accommodates the Supervisors, County Treasurer, Grand Jury and District Attorney.
The Blaine Presidential electors received in 1884 in Livingston a plurality of 1152 over those of Cleveland, St. John and Butler.
A Democratic Board of Supervisors again came into control in 1883 and in 1884; in 1885 the Republicans elected a majority of 7.
The Emory Thayer murder gave rise to one of the celebrated cases in the criminal annals of Livingston County, and to-day, after the trial, conviction and sentence to death of two supposed murderers, the case remains as mysterious as at the beginning. Mr. Thayer, a farmer and a man held in great esteem, was killed at his home in the town of Avon, on the 27th day of October, 1885. Shortly before midnight he was awakened by his wife, who discovered a burglar at work in an adjoining room. Mr. Thayer arose and at once grappled with the intruder and was overpowering him when a confederate came to the rescue and fired upon Mr. Thayer, who, although wounded, main- tained his hold until a second shot killed him. The murderers made
Livingston County Jail and Sheriff's Residence.
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HISTORY OF LIVINGSTON COUNTY
their escape in a carriage leaving no clew as to their identity. A reward of $1,000 was offered by the Sheriff upon his own responsi- bility, and this was later increased to $2,000 by the Board of Super- visors. Numerous arrests were made, and the trial and conviction of two suspects occurred. Frank Squires was tried, convicted and sentenced to death for the crime, but he escaped from jail and was never recaptured. On the 1st day of September, 1890, Samuel E. Wayman was put on trial before Judge Rumsey and a jury, charged with the murder, an indictment having been found against him at the preceding May term of Oyer and Terminer. After a prolonged trial, Wayman was convicted of murder in the first degree, and was sentenced to be hanged, October 9th, 1890. His case was appealed to the Court of Appeals, where a new trial was refused. He was resen- tenced to be hanged August 5th, 1891. An application was made in his behalf to Governor Hill, for clemency, and a commissioner was appointed by the Governor, to take testimony respecting the appli- cation. A respite was granted until October 6th, and upon the favorable report of the commissioner, the sentence was commuted to life imprisonment. This seemed to be quite in accord with public sentiment, which never became united upon the subject of the man's guilt. Nelson Swartz, who was also indicted with Wayman for this crime. became a witness for the People upon a supposed promise of clemency to him, and it was largely upon the strength of this testi- mony that Wayman was convicted. Swartz was sentenced to a long term at Auburn prison, and during the period of his imprisonment there, in April, 1892, he died. Before dying he made a confession to the effect that his testimony implicating Wayman at the latter's trial was false. This disclosure resulted in the pardon of Wayman by Governor Flower in October, 1893.
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