USA > New York > Madison County > History of Madison County, state of New York > Part 17
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In speaking of the settlers of this purchase, Maj. Fore- man says : "be it said to their credit, I believe there was
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but one person who took up a lot of land during the first four years, while I continued in office, who could not write his name."
The Vermonters had made arrangements to take up their farms in township No. I, (Nelson) before that town should be offered for sale, as their company was large and they wished to settle near each other. By the time the Vermont Company had arrived, however, the whole town- ship was surveyed into lots of one hundred and fifty acres each, Mr. Lincklaen having pushed forward the work. Jackson and Yaw, the committee sent out to explore, and some of the hired men of Mr. Lincklaen's company, were a part of the settlers of this township.
At this period game was plenty ; small droves of deer were frequently seen ; there were a few otters and an occa- sional beaver, and bears were often met. with. To these pioneers from long established and cultivated homes in town and city, the sports of the chase were exciting ; but an encounter with a veritable black bear was an adventure to move one deeper. The following is related in Foreman's narrative :
"One winter a Mr. Walthers (a respectable European German in the Company's service,) and myself were viewing a lot of land which we had bought on the west side of the lake, after- wards called Cazenove lot. As we walked along, our dogs gave alarm of game. We hurried to the spot, and coming up to a very large hollow tree, we encouraged the dogs to attack what- soever was concealed within it. Presently a little terrier dog was drawn almost within the body of the tree, in a small hole near the ground. In order to rescue him we thrust a stick in through another hole, which the animal seized and held fast till we pulled his nose out of the tree ; but what creature it was we knew not. The dog ran home bleeding. We got a large pole and run the butt end into the hole, and Walthers held fast the other end as a lever, while I ran to the farm house to get a gun and some hands with axes to engage in the combat. When I returned with the reinforcements, I found Mr. Walthers as I had left him, grasping the lever, and anxious to be relieved from his state of incertitude. Our first business was to secure the hole by driving down large stakes interlocked with logs; then cut
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three windows in the body of the tree about four feet high and seven or eight inches in diameter, so that we could have a fair view of the animal ; and we now discovered it to be what we had expected, a large bear. A discharge from the gun wounded it, when it became raving mad. It raised its huge paws upon its prison wall, put its nose out, gnashed its teeth and frothed at the mouth, and its eyes bespoke retaliation if it was set at liberty. The gun was loaded and fired a second time, produc- ing only a wound. As we were perfectly safe we paused awhile to view how awful its angry looks and actions were. A third discharge from the gun proved fatal and poor Bruin fell lifeless. Our next business was to cut one of those windows large enough to get it out of the tree. We had three or four men from the farm, and after being satisfied that life was extinct, some of them entered the winter quarters of the animal, and after some heavy lifting, our game was landed out of its strong- hold. It was conveyed to the village on a hand sled, across the lake, and when dressed, the four quarters were found to weigh (if I recollect right) four hundred pounds. It was a female with young of two cubs. The skin was very black and finely covered. The meat I gave to the men, and four dollars for the skin. This afforded them fine feasting and pleasure.
" Another time, when the jobbers set fire to their clearing by the swamp, near where Mr. Lincklaen built his last house, the fire drove a large bear out, which passed through the village ar d cleared himself, as no one was prepared to follow. At another time a man passed a large bear and her cub, about half a mile up the lake road. He came to the store and gave information, and we mustered a dozen men and went in pursuit. They had ascended a large leaning oak. We had but one gun and no balls, nothing but slug and shot ; but such as we had we gave mistress Bruin, and perhaps hurt her some, as, after receiving several charges, she all at once descended to a crotch in the tree, about twelve or fifteen feet from the ground, and putting her head between her fore legs, threw herself off. As soon as she touched the ground, as many as could stand around fell upon her with clubs and other weapons, so that she never rose to her feet. Having disposed of the dam, our next move was to get little Bruin, who by this time had ascended as high as he could get, where the limbs would bear him. We commenced firing shot at the little creature ; every time it was fired at, it would wipe its face with its paws ; at last one shot proved fatal, and brought it to the ground. It was about half as large as a mid- ling-sized dog.
" At another time, on Togwattle Hill, [Tog Hill] as it was called, in Nelson, about five miles from Cazenovia, east, a wo-
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man was washing out of doors by her house, her husband being off at work, and her child sitting near by her, a bear came close up to her and reared upon his hinder feet. She, as may well be conjectured, not liking his appearance, caught up her child, ran into the house, and instead of inviting her guest in, fastened the door against him. These brutes are so bold, that they have been known to come in the night and try to get into the hog- pens, built near the log dwellings, the inmates of which, having been alarmed by the noise, have got up and made war upon them. These little incidents seem small to an indifferent per- son ; but they created great interest at the time, and relieved the monotony of backwood's life. The recital of them serves to show that the settlement of a wilderness is attended with diffi- culties and dangers in various ways."
Wolves were more prevalent than bears, and to rid the country of these enemies of the flocks, the town in 1804, voted to give a bounty of twenty dollars for each wolf killed the ensuing year by any inhabitant of the town.
Among the earliest settlers of the town in 1793, besides those already named, were Archibald Bates, William Mills, Ira Peck, Nathan Webb, Shubal Brooks, and others named - Tyler and - Augur. David and Jonathan Smith and Charleville Webber, came about the same time and were the first settlers of New Woodstock. William Sims and Isaac Moss came soon after.
The first saw mill and grist mill were built by John Lincklaen in 1794. The grist mill was located on the Chittenango Creek, perhaps a quarter of a mile above where it unites with the outlet of the lake,-just below the steep bank at the corner of the garden, contiguous to the residence of General J. D. Ledyard ; the mill pond overflowed all that low meadow south of his house. This mill the company sold to Dr. Jonas Fay, and it was, not long after, burned down, together with a distillery and brewery. Afterwards a better site was discovered below the junction just named, where the present mills (in 1870,) owned by Parsons & Chaphe now stand.
Judutha Perkins came to Cazenovia before 1800, and settled south of the village in what was called, from him,
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the " Perkins District." Near him the well remembered Perkins school house was built, in which the early religious meetings of the Baptist Church of Cazenovia village were held. Mr. Perkins and his family were prominent and influential people, and did much towards building up good society.
A Mr. Stanley was one of the pioneers of 1794; he came in with his family from Hartford, Conn. His son Lewis Stanley, who came with him, was a farmer, and located near the village, where he lived till his death in 1857, aged 76 years. The latter was prominent in the M. E. Church ; he did much towards founding it and promoting its growth and prosperity. He was also deeply interested in the success of the Seminary.
Walter Childs, from Woodstock, Conn., came in 1798; he was one of the substantial farmers of this locality, and reared a family, members of which still reside in town.
Among the first inhabitants of the town after 1800, was Caleb Van Riper, who arrived in 1801, and settled at the head of the lake. He built perhaps the second tannery in town, on the stream that crosses lot No. 34, now owned by William B. Downer ; it stood about forty rods from the lake. A saw mill was also built here at a later date, but both tannery and mill have disappeared, except perhaps some ruins of the foundation and dyke of the saw mill.
Phineas Southwell came, in 1802, from Boonville, Oneida County, but formerly from Massachusetts. Edward Parker came the same year ; both settled at the head of the lake, and bought large farms. The land purchased by Southwell was, apparently, that which had been tilled by the Indians, as some fifteen acres of it bore evidences of having been cultivated but a few years previous. The large timber had been removed, and a low undergrowth encumbered the ground ; the soil was black, quite likely from annual burn- ings. Upon this farm-Lot No. 32, School District No. 5 -were found many relics referred to in preceding pages ;
1
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MADISON COUNTY.
and G. R. Southwell, son of Phineas, who now owns the farm, has many of these curiosities in his possession. During the elder Southwell's first years of residence here, the In- dians frequently came over the lake in their birch-bark canoes to fish, and perhaps hunt deer, which, as has been seen, were plenty.
Christopher Webb moved from Canterbury, Windham County, Conn., in 1805, and settled on Lot No. 29. Martin L. Webb, son of Christopher, came at the same time, and settled here also, and for many years was a teacher in Caz- enovia.
Edward Parker built the first frame house in this vicinity (head of the lake,) about 1802. It was with difficulty that he could obtain sawed lumber, but so great was his repug- nance to living in a log house, he mastered all difficulties, so that when he commenced housekeeping, it was as he desired, in a framed and boarded house, instead of a log one.
The first town meeting in Cazenovia was held in April, 1795, at John Lincklaen's house. At this meeting John Lincklaen was chosen supervisor, and Elijah Risley* town clerk.
In 1798, when Chenango County was formed, the town of DeRuyter, which embraced all the southern part of the original Road Township, was taken off. In 1800 the town, still embracing Sullivan, Lenox, Smithfield, Nelson and Fenner, had a population of 1,973.
In 1803, the census of Cazenovia village was taken, with the names of the heads of families, their occupations, and number of persons in each household, as follows :-
* Elijah Risley subsequently became justice of the peace. At a very early day, an Indian couple came to Squire Risley's, and were by him married. Soon after, becoming dissatisfied, owing to the reproaches of their Indian friends, who disliked their conformity to the custom of the whites, they called again to be unmarried. The minister being present, they were persuaded to be re-married by him in- stead, when they departed, appearing quite well pleased with the additional cere- mony.
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CAZENOVIA.
John Lincklaen 6
J. N. M. Hurd, store keeper and postmaster. 7
S. S. Breese, lawyer 4
Hiram Roberts, blacksmith and tavern keeper 17
Isaac Lyman, doctor
4
Wm. Whipple, carpenter and constable 4
Moses Phillips, brickmaker 4
Roberts & Hill, carpenters
6
Elisha Farnham, tanner and shoemaker 7
Eliakim Roberts, store keeper
Horace Paddock, blacksmith. 3
Ebenezer Johnson, tavern keeper
IO
William Kyle, clerk.
4
Jonathan Foreman, storekeeper
9
Samuel Ashard, miller 6
Total inhabitants 100
The population of the whole of the original Road Town- ship at the same date, including the village, was 1, 164.
Several of the heads of families just named, as well as some of those mentioned as the pioneers of '93, were men of ability and influence in the councils, and at other import- ant posts in the new country.
Samuel Sidney Breese was the first clerk of Chenango County, 1798, and was a member of the Convention of 1821. Jonathan Foreman was elected Member of Assem- bly from Chenango County, in 1800 and 1801. J. N. M. Hurd was county clerk in 1815, and served till 1821. James Green, one of the pioneers of '93, was at one time a member of the Legislature. Stephen F. Blackstone, another of that company, was a member of the Legislature in 1814.
Jeremiah Whipple, also an early settler, and for many years a first-class hotel keeper in the village, was the first sheriff of Madison County, appointed in 1806, continuing in office till 1810, and was called to act again in the same ca- pacity in 1811, serving till 1814.
William Sims was a pioneer of 1793 ; he took up a farm south of Cazenovia village, where he spent three score and ten years of his life. He possessed wealth, was a man of influence, and contributed largely to the enterprises of his adopted town.
9
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MADISON COUNTY.
Henrick DeClercq, a native of Amsterdam, Holland, came to Cazenovia in 1800. His wife, Mary, whose maiden family name was Ledyard, came to this town on horseback, from Connecticut, in the year 1798. Her father, G. S. Ledyard, with his relative and namesake, Col. Ledyard, was killed at Groton, in the massacre of Fort Griswold, in the Revolution. The DeClercqs became an established and permanent family of Cazenovia.
Capt. E. S. Jackson was an early settler and wealthy. In all that pertained to the interests and welfare of the new country, Capt. Jackson's good judgment was solicited, and his ever ready generosity assisted.
Perry G. Childs located in Cazenovia before 1806. His name is closely identified with the several interests of the town, as will be seen in the current history of her earlier enterprises. His wealth was generously used for the public good. He was repeatedly honored with official positions in town, County and State.
Charles Stebbins settled here before 1810. He and his family after him have worthily held a commanding influ- ence through all the changes from the early days to the present time. Town, County and State official honors have descended from father to sons ; their names are often and honorably recorded.
Elihu Severance also came to this town previous to 1810. Members of his family still reside here.
Jacob Ten Eyck came about 1800. He acquired wealth and used it generously to forward the enterprises of Caze- novia, not a little of it being devoted to perfecting the beauty of the village environs. The same spirit of gener- osity, in the aid of progress generally, animates the different members of his family.
B. T. Clarke came to Cazenovia in 1812, being a soldier in the war at that time. Mr. Clarke has been and still is one of the active men of the village in improvements and en- terprises. He has retired from the mercantile business,
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CAZENOVIA.
which he pursued for many years at the corner of Albany and Mill streets.
William M. Burr came prior to 1810. His, became an- other of the prominent and substantial families of the vil- lage. At an early day Cazenovia gained a high reputation as a mercantile center, and to such men as the Burrs, Ten Eycks, Clarkes and others, this reputation is due.
J. D. Ledyard, youngest brother of Mrs. John Lincklaen and adopted son of Mr. Lincklaen, was reared in Cazenovia and has spent the most of the years of his long life, (aged seventy-eight in 1871,) in this town. Mr. Ledyard has been identified with nearly all the progressive changes of this town. As will be seen, his name and the names of his sons are not to be separated from Cazenovia's history. Having charge of the Holland Land Company's office, as successor of Mr. Lincklaen, since 1820, his business was large and his influence extensive. He still resides near the foot of the Lake in a dwelling built by himself in 1825, which, with the homes of his sons, all commanding fine views of fair Owahgena, render attractive that part of the village which was first occupied by civilization.
The wealth of Cazenovia, generously yet judiciously in- vested, has brought its legitimate and ample returns ; it has been and still is used, not for selfish ends, but to beautify and adorn, to elevate and purify country life.
In the year 1803, February 22d, a Legislative act was passed, in which the broad territory of Cazenovia was again made less by the organization of the town of Sullivan, a most expansive township, including the present towns of Sullivan, Lenox, and a part of Stockbridge.
After this last change in the town limits, the next town meeting in Cazenovia of which a record has been kept, was held at the house of Capt. Ebenezer Johnson, in the village, in the year 1804. Luther Waterman was Moderator. James Green was elected Supervisor ; Eliphalet Jackson,
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MADISON COUNTY.
Town Clerk and Elisha Williams, Collector. Among other enactments, the meeting voted to refund to Lemuel Kingsbury the sum of $6.18 for " bad taxes." The follow- ing was also voted : "That members of this meeting may wear their hats while attending said meeting ;"-and to give value to this permission, and for the accommodation of the people, the meeting then adjourned to the Common. The constables were directed to procure sufficient bail, and seven pound masters were elected to enforce the following resolution, viz : " That hogs shall be shut up." Twenty dollars of town fund was delivered to the town clerk to pro- cure books for the use of the town, and he was instructed to " draft off such of the old books as he shall think neces- sary." It does not appear that this officer deemed it " necessary" to copy any part, as it was not done, and the loss of the first book is irreparable. The town was divided into sixty-eight road districts.
To unite the inhabitants of the more northern portions of the county, which were earliest settled, to make easy their communication with eastern friends, and to facilitate their market journeyings, the " Cazenovia and Oneida Turnpike" was laid out at an early day ; it extended from Cazenovia through Peterboro to Vernon. The necessities of the other towns, however, required for them a more direct communi- cation with the outer world ; and the "Third Great West- ern Turnpike," or the more familiar name of " Cherry Val- ley Turnpike," was the result of these needs. The enter- prising prime movers in this grand scheme of constructing a good wagon road from Cherry Valley to Manlius, Onon- daga County, through towns and counties of dense forests, over the most hilly country known outside of veritable mountainous districts, with no rich towns along the route to bond, or even to aid them by subscription, formed a com- pany, went courageously into the work, obtained a charter and completed the grand enterprise by 1806. Cazenovia men were foremost in the great work, devoting their time
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CAZENOVIA.
and investing their capital without prospect of full compen- sation.
CAZENOVIA 'VILLAGE.
This village was laid out in a regular, methodical manner. The public square was handsomely located in full view of the lake, and through it passed Albany street, laid broad and with mathematical regularity, with a view to the future needs of a large village. In the vicinity of the square were erected some of the earliest and most prominent buildings, and upon its four corners were located the four stores of the early days, viz : the Roberts store, the Foreman store, that of J. N. M. Hurd, and the store of Jackson & Lyman, the latter on the northeast corner. The Robert's store on the southeast corner, now the "Lake House," was originally built of wood, but at a later date Mr. Roberts removed that, and rebuilt of brick, where for a time he transacted mercantile business. In 18to, it was purchased by Jos. & Wm. M. Burr, who, like Jacob Ten Eyck, their neighbor and relative, established a large business. A few years since this building was converted into a hotel. The Fore- man store, located on the southwest corner, was stocked by the Holland Company, and the first postoffice was kept there, at the private expense of Mr. Lincklaen, till its own revenue was sufficient to sustain it as a government office, when S. S. Breese was appointed postmaster by the P. O. Department. At the northwest corner was the well known store of J. N. M. Hurd, where in 1803, the postoffice was kept by him, and who held the commission for many years after.
The first tavern of the village was situated on the loca- tion of Mrs. Roberts' present residence, and was kept by Ebenezer Johnson.
Some really fine residences, and also the Presbyterian meeting house, were built previous to 1810, at which date the census gave Cazenovia village a population of 500 inhabitants, sixty-nine houses, five stores, one grain
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MADISON COUNTY.
mill, one saw mill, two cloth-dressing establishments, two carding machines, two trip hammeries, two potasheries, two tanneries, one brewery and distillery, and a post-office .* To this statement may be added one printing office. "The Pilot," established in 1808, by Oran E. Baker, was one of the popular and successful institutions of the village. From its time-honored pages may be learned, not so much by its local items, but in a great degree from its ancient advertise- ments, that manufacturers, mechanics and artizans were successfully pursuing their several trades. A woolen fac- tory, where custom work of wool-carding and cloth-dressing was done, became the property of Matthew Chandler, hav- ing been purchased by him of its original proprietors, Elisha Starr & Co. The new tannery of Thomas Williams & Son, promises much prosperity to the importers of hemlock bark from the farming districts. There is a hat factory belong- ing to John Brevoort & Jere Allis ; A. Hitchcock adds to his newly-opened store a stock of drugs and medicines ; S. Foreman opens a book store ; J. Gillett advertises as clock and watch maker ; J. Kilbourn as tailor ; W. Brown as painter and glazier ; Mr. White's chair factory receives some notice, while Luther Bunnell's trip hammeries are known to be conducted with superior skill and enterprise. Thus is given in this old-time journal a glimpse of the in- dustries of the village at and about 1810.
One of the great institutions of this period was the mili- tary brigade, which had been formed in Madison County under the command of Gen. Jonathan Foreman, a former Colonel in the War of the Revolution ; and for the use of the militia when their headquarters were made in Cazenovia, a fine parade ground was laid out about 1810, in the northern part of the village.
The Cherry Valley Turnpike brought Cazenovia into special notice, and placed it on an equal footing with towns of established reputation further east ; and no village in the
* See Spafford's Gazetteer of 1812.
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CAZENOVIA. -
county had greater consequence and influence than this. From the time of the formation of the county to this date, (1810,) it had been looked upon as a suitable location for the county seat of the Courts of Justice, and had become so temporarily ; consequently, the first criminal pun- ished for murder in Madison County, was executed here. This one was Hitchcock, the wife poisoner, who had been confined in Whitestown jail, and was tried (in 1807) at a court held in Judge Smalley's barn, in the town of Sullivan, whence he was taken to Cazenovia and hung. The gal- lows was erected about a half mile east of the village, on the farm now owned by Cyrus Parsons, near where his dwelling now stands. Jeremiah Whipple was sheriff.
The county seat proper, was located here in 1810,-not, however, without some opposition from rival towns. Col. John Lincklaen and Capt. Eliphalet Jackson were appointed to superintend the building of the court house. A fine brick building was erected at a cost of upwards of $4,000, on the site where the seminary is located, and is now a part of the latter edifice, having been, on the removal of the county seat to Morrisville, purchased by the Methodist So- ciety for a church, and finally used by the Oneida Confer- ence as their seminary. The characteristic style of architecture belonging to the old court house, readily dis- tinguishes that part of the structure as it now stands, but it is in no wise inferior in appearance to that which has been added to it. The first courts were held here in 1812.
Cazenovia was the first village incorporated in Madison County, the date of the act, giving it a corporate identity, being Februrary 7th, 1810. The first village officers, elected the May following, were :- Jonas Fay, President ; Perry G. Childs, Elisha Farnham, Eliphalet S. Jackson and Samuel Thomas, Trustees. With her industries all flourishing and her prosperity promoted in every direction, Cazenovia village gradually increased. The Baptist and Methodist Churches were soon established ; and although O
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