USA > New York > Madison County > History of Madison County, state of New York > Part 32
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The scholars came from a wide circuit round about ; from Payne's, Hawks', Nichols', and from the south line of the town. Dr. Whitmore was popular in many respects, being Town Superintendent, Inspector of Common Schools, and holding many other offices of responsibility and trust. He was one of the early prominent men.
With Dr. Whitmore, we should name others who were locally distinguished in the earlier years of the town :- Such as 'Squire Alvord, a man of worth and integrity ; 'Squire John Brown, the land agent, a man of marked ability ; 'Squire William Payne, who was frequently a town officer, and a thorough going and influential man ; Capt. Samuel White, who was for some time a Justice of the Peace, and active and useful in town proceedings ; Alfred Brown, a popular teacher, and for a number of years Justice and School Commissioner ; Rossetter Gleason, a teacher, widely known as a surveyor, and also a Justice ; Alexander McEl- wain, popular as a landlord and valuable as a citizen, who frequently held town offices and was a Commissioner of Deeds ; Apollos Drake and Olmstead Brown, who were Constables and Collectors, and held other town offices, and Elijah Brown, who was active and efficient in town matters, and a faithful officer.
To this list might be added many others of worth and local distinction, if we step into the years following 1830, when Georgetown furnished her proportion of talent, con- tributed her share of public officers, and yet held in reserve, men of real worth and true integrity to build up society and home institutions.
About 1820, a company from Plainfield, Otsego County, settled in the northern part of the town. William Griffin was already a resident there on Lot No. 6, and Richard Salisbury on another lot near by. This company was composed of Dea. James Babcock, Elijah Tracy, Ephraim Tracy, William Fish, Jirah Fish and Orrin Chase. These took up lots near each other west of the present " Line
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School House,"-so called from being situated on the line between Georgetown and Nelson. Lucius Griffin, now residing in this neighborhood, is a son of William Griffin ; Richard Salisbury is still living near Georgetown village. Mr. Eber Salisbury, who is engaged in manufacturing north of the village, is a son of the early settler above named. Some members of the Tracy family still live in town. Others of this company of long ago and their descendants have moved away.
In 1823 or '24, the neighborhood last mentioned built a log meeting house on Lot 17, a short distance west of the farm house of Lucius Griffin, its site being very near the corner of the road which turns north. The religious society, Free Baptists, consisted of some sixty or seventy members, with Elder Robert Hall as pastor. Orrin Shephard and James Babcock were deacons. The salary of the minister was not a stated sum, but, as was common in those days, was such as the society could afford to give in provisions and money, and the use of a piece of land upon which the minister raised his own crops. This church held its own for ten years, when by removals and deaths it became so decimated that it disbanded. Many of its surviving mem- bers united with the Free Church of Northern Nelson.
Up to 1830, the town gained in population rapidly. Squire John Brown, who had been appointed land agent for the Ludlow heirs,* exercised good judgment and managed affairs with such ability, that farms were speedily taken up. In the south part of the town, to those already mentioned as settlers, were added, Mann, Thorp, Mack, Upham, Niles, Day, Chapin, Ballard ; near the center of the town were the Rays, Wagoners and Barnetts ; and north and east were the Fletchers and Wickwires. Upon the road laid out early from the village past the Morrow farm to the Line School House, were located the Taylors, Morrows, Wilcoxs,
* Squire Asa Ellis, formerly merchant in Georgetown, was subsequently made agent for the Ludlow land. He has recently purchased all remaining unsold.
Z
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Stevens, Turners and Waters, and to the west the Nichols, Whites, Weeks, Perrys, Duttons, and many others whose names we have not obtained.
Agriculture developed ; even at 1830, the farms of the pioneers had reached a good degree of cultivation, and with their substantial (though chiefly plain,) farm houses and
capacious barns, indicated plenty and comfort. The products of the newer sections, in wood, bark and lumber, found their way to Cazenovia, the chief marketing place ; these, together with stock raising, were sources of steady prosperity.
Common schools and religious societies were especially nurtured as the cherished institutions of a free and progress- ive people,-institutions in which all, rich and poor, had an equal interest. One of the first school houses of the town was built in the Sexton neighborhood, and stood very near the location of the present one, at the corner of the road on Lot No. 58. Afterwards the district was divided and this school house was moved east of Mr. Hawk's, for the use of that section. The new district formed by the division, lay at the north, and its school house was erected near Mr. Atwood's-hence called the "Atwood School House." This town has also had its select schools, at intervals, for very many years. One of the best teachers of earlier times was Rossetter Gleason, before mentioned.
Mr. Gleason was one of the marked characters of the new country ; a genuine yankee who could turn his hand to any trade, yet devoted himself chiefly to the practice of surveying and the business of wool-carding His establish- ment on the creek north of Georgetown village, where the saw mill, planing mill, cheese box factory and dwelling house of Eber Salisbury is located, was well known by the inhabitants for many miles around. He was for some years a Justice of the Peace and School Commissioner. As surveyor he was familiar with every rood of land in George- town and adjacent territory. He possessed a mind of un-
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common fineness, and an elastic, hopeful and genial spirit, which made him welcome in every home. He pursued his favorite avocation of surveying up to 1867, when he removed to the State of Michigan, and there, in the home of his daughter, Mrs. Mary Cole, he died in the year 1869, at a very advanced age.
The Baptist and Presbyterian churches were both early formed. The Presbyterians have the precedence in holding religious meetings, but it is undoubtedly the fact that Elder Stephen Olmstead, Baptist, was the first preacher in town. At intervals, he used to come from his home near Albany and hold meetings in the neighborhood of the Purdys, Browns and Olmsteads. The earliest Presbyterian minis- ter was Elder Benedict. The Presbyterian society built the first church edifice in town, in 1824. It was located north of the village, nearly on the site of the pleasant resi- dence of Wharton D. Utter.
In the village, the present tavern was built by Ebenezer Hall, about 18 -. Mr. Rose followed John F. Fairchild in the store on the northwest corner. Mr. Ira B. Howard kept store on the northeast corner in 1830, moved to Michigan in 1835, and in 1869 was honored with the position of County Judge. Samuel Wickwire succeeded him in the store, and the latter, with his brother Charles, continued it at a later day under the firm name of " C. & S. Wickwire." Mosely & Campbell were for a time in business in another store, where Hare & Savage are now established. Subse- quently, these two stores were united under the firm name of " Mosely & Wickwire," and were located on the south- west corner. Elijah Adkins bought the property on the northeast corner, and sold goods there for a time, after which he opened cabinet making and did a fair business in that line. From that time forward, Georgetown village grew to be a business center of this section.
.The Baptist Church was built about 1835. The Presby- terian house was moved to the village a few years later. The
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tannery, now (1872,) owned by Hawks & Mack, was built by William F. Bostwick in 1837 or 1838. This was a desi- rable addition to the enterprises of the village, and was one of the sources of prosperity. The tannery of Henry & Cum- mings was built by Mosely & Wagoner a number of years later. The latter is a large establishment and has done a heavy business.
Other enterprises have been instituted at more recent dates ; there is the carriage manufactory of Hawks & Stan- ton ; the cheese box factory and planing mill of Salisbury & Son. There are now three dry goods stores in the village :- That of Savage & Hare, one of the oldest ; the tin shop and hardware store of Wm. H. Johnson, one of the best in the country ; a shoe store and grocery combined ; two first-class blacksmith shops ; the cheese factory of Sto- well Brothers. There are three resident physicians :- Drs. Charles White, George N. Harris and B. Franklin. The residence of the latter is one of the old landmarks of the village. The house was built before 1825, by Alexander McElwain. It has been greatly changed and modern- ized in its appearance. It was for many years the home of Dr. Whitmore, and the house in which he died, in 1851. The M. E. Church edifice was built by the Free Church in 1847. Brown's Hall, of recent build, is a commodious and most useful building for all public purposes.
There has been a recent movement to enlarge the village by laying out new streets, which are to be built up with good residences. For this purpose, Timothy Brown has purchased a portion of the Ellis estate, and new streets are already marked out.
Masonic .- A charter has been obtained and a Masonic Lodge instituted at Georgetown village, the present sum- mer (1872,).
In 1850, the plank road through the main valley of the town was constructed, which united Georgetown vil- lage more closely with Eaton and Pecksport. Subsequent-
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ly, hop growing and dairying have "put money into the purses " of the inhabitants of Georgetown. Cheese facto- ries have sprung up in various sections. In all enterprises the farmers of this town are found to be keeping even pace with the spirit of the age. In this day of progress, they could not let the golden opportunity pass which would se- cure them a railroad ; hence, the inhabitants bonded their town heavily, and brought the Syracuse and Chenango Val- ley railroad through, close by the homes where the pioneers built their first log cabins ; where the first fields of grain, dotted with stumps, waved in the sun so many summers ago, and skirting the sacred enclosure where the sorrowing settler for the first time upturned the virgin earth to re- ceive the remains of his cherished dead. The town has long remained inland from thoroughfares, having been here- tofore less favored, geographically, than the more northern towns of the county ; but the skill of man has overcome, at last, all obstacles in the way of railroads, and Georgetown is henceforth in familiar acquaintance with the great world.
DR. E. WHITMORE was born in East Haddam, Connecti- cut, in 1784, and while a young man came to Hamilton. Madison County was fast being settled and was pressing her invitations to the energetic sons of New England to come in and help build up the society of the new country. Dr. Whitmore was from an old New England family, dis- tinguished for traits of character derived from Puritan an- cestry, and those peculiar traits and sterling qualities were especially valuable to him as one of the pioneer physicians. He studied medicine in Hamilton with Dr. Thomas Greenly. He there married Miss Susannah Hovey and soon after re- moved to East Hamilton and commenced the practice of medicine. In 1810, he removed to Georgetown, and there established permanently. In 1814, he purchased the home- stead farm, a short distance south of the village, where he lived till 1834, and where several of his children were born.
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The latter year he purchased a farm in the village of George- town, and finally bought the house where Dr. Franklin now lives, where he spent the remainder of his years. In 1838, the 25th of December, his wife died at the age of fifty-two. She had been to him a true helpmeet, and was a most wor- thy christian (a member of the Presbyterian Church) and an estimable and honored woman in society. Six sons and daughters who reached manhood and womanhood, were the children of this union, and all were living when she died. These sons and daughters married and some of them settled in Georgetown ; one son, Russell, resides on the homestead farm, another, Mr. E. Whitmore, owns a romantic situation near by.
Dr. Whitmore married, for his second wife, a sister of James Barnett (well known in this County). She died in 1850, about fifteen months prior to his own death. Two children were left of this union.
In his profession as physician, he was, however, most at home. Being careful, and having a cool head, he was re- markably safe in critical cases. The branch of Obstetrics had no more noted physician in the country ; he was called far and near, and never in a single instance, it is said, has a patient in this part of his practice, died while in his care, and the cases can be numbered by tens of hundreds. He eschewed surgical operations and artificial means, and pro- fessed himself to be, only nature's handmaid, to which, un- doubtedly, in a great measure, is due his remarkable suc- cess.
Dr. Whitmore was religiously constituted, and his whole life was influenced by this inborn principle. One particular verse of an old familiar hymn was a favorite with him from childhood. All through life, it clung to him, and time after time he could be heard repeating, or singing :-
"Life is the time to serve the Lord,
The time to insure the great reward,
And while the lamp holds out to burn, The vilest sinner may return."
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Once when riding alone upon one of his professional tours, the poet's idea forced itself upon his consciousness with un- usual vividness. He was deeply convicted, and came out from the mental struggle and the close examination he held with himself, a true Christian. He then united with the Presbyterian Church, of which he remained a member till the close of his life. Although truly devout and consistent in his christian character, he was never sectarian. It is no- ticeable that six of his children were converted and united with the Baptist Church with his approval, all of whom were baptized in one day. His philanthropic spirit recognized the brotherhood of all christians and all nations as well ; hence he was a warm Abolitionist, espousing the cause when it was exceedingly unpopular.
Although a very energetic man, he was also calm, delib- erate and methodical in his manner. A practical reasoner, he looked straight through a matter to the root and did not suffer trivial circumstances to influence him. These quali- ties with great integrity, commanded the confidence of his fellow citizens. He was not desirous of holding office, yet his town's people were continually placing trusts in his hands, which to him were repeated proofs of their regard for and confidence in him, and which he fully appreciated. He was the first Town Clerk of Georgetown, and held this office for six years in succession, was then Supervisor for some years and then again Town Clerk. He was appoint- ed Postmaster and held that office for nineteen years. He was for some time Town Superintendent and Inspector of Common Schools. He felt a great interest in the education of the masses and as there were no higher schools in Georgetown on which to bestow his care than common schools, he aimed to have these as good as the best. Under the care of his clear and critical judgment, common schools in this town were placed in excellent standing. Educa- tional interests have seemed to fall to the care of Mr. Whit- more and his sons, who, after him, have been repeatedly en- trusted with school offices.
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Dr. Whitmore retained a remarkable degree of physical vigor and elasticity, and his mental force was unimpaired up to the day when he was stricken with paralysis, when after a short period of suffering he died, November 6, 1851.
His kindness of heart, his sterling virtues, his noble na- ture, (albeit he was not without his faults, which were, how- ever, more peculiarities than faults,) made him beloved among the people, and his loss was deeply felt. So large a concourse as gathered at his funeral has seldom been wit- nessed in Georgetown. The Rev. Mr. Gaylord preached from this most appropriate text :- " And they buried him ; and all Israel mourned for him." I Kings, XIV Chap., 18th Verse.
CHURCHES.
The Presbyterian Church of Georgetown, was formed pre- vious to 1815. It was a large society, and the only society in town for many years. The meeting house, the first in town, was built in 1824, half a mile north of Georgetown village. About 1840, the house was moved to the village. In 1845, the " Free Church " was formed of members who had withdrawn from this. Though decimated in numbers from this cause, and from deaths and removals, the society is still a corporate body, and holds its property.
The Methodist Episcopal Church of Georgetown. The first class of this denomination was formed about 1830, in the Atwood school house. Rev. J. M. Snyder, who wa stationed at Earlville, was the first preacher ; Julius Hitch- cock was first class leader. About 1833, the first class in the village was formed. In 1841, the two classes were re- organized, under one head, at the village. Revs. Wm. Rounds, Lyman Beach, Henry (or Jesse) Halstead serve this charge as pastors the first few years. The meeting- house was built by the " Free Church," about 1847, and of that society purchased by the Methodists, at a later date.
The Baptist Church in Georgetown, was formed Nov. 12 1831, and consisted of twenty members. Pitts Lawrence
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was first Deacon. The meeting-house was built in 1834. The first pastor was Daniel G. Corey, who was ordained in this church March 5, 1835. Edmund B. Cross, of this church, became a missionary to southern Asia. The fol- lowing have been pastors :- Revs. Oliver H. Reed, Nathan Woods, Reuben L. Warriner, Reuben Parsons, jr., A. Hall, William C. Hubbard, E. C. Cook, W. B. Morey, S. S. Web- ber, William Hickery, J. K. Brownson, John R. Haskins and C. S. Crain.
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CHAPTER XI.
HAMILTON.
Boundaries .- Geography .- 4th Township ; Its Purchase .- In- dians .- Curious Relics .- Mary Antone .- Pioneers and their Experience .- First Courts .- Anecdote .- Payne's Settlement. -East Hamilton. - Hubbardsville. - Hamilton Center .- Poolville .- Hamilton Village in 1800 .- The Settlement in 1800, 1809, 1812 .- Hamilton Academy .- Female Seminary. -Union School .- Mercantile and Mechanical Industries of the Village .- Hamilton Bank .- Hamilton Lodge F. & A. M. -Biographical Sketches of Samuel and Elisha Payne, Gen. King and others .- Public men, Lawyers and Physicians .- Madison University .- Rev. Daniel Hascall ; Dr. Kendrick .- Earlville .- Churches .- Newspapers.
Hamilton is bounded on the north by Madison, east by Brookfield, south by Chenango County and west by Leb- anon. The surface is a rolling upland, broken by the valley of the Chenango River and its eastern branch. High ridges bor- der the stream in the south part of the town. At Hamil- ton village and north, the valley is spreading and beautiful, and this village rests in a spacious vale nearly encircled by the eastern, southern and western hills. The valleys of the Chenango are fertile, the soil consisting of a gravelly, sandy loam. The eastern part of the town, rough and uneven in its contour, has most excellent grazing farms, while its soil is of a clayey loam resting on a clay subsoil.
The old, well known Skaneateles Turnpike crossed this town, entering at Hamilton village, passing to East Hamil- ton, thence to Clarksville, in Brookfield. The road is to
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this day characterized for its mathematical directness, over high hills and through deep valleys, with no possible varia- tion on account of steep passes. The older Utica and Oxford Turnpike entered the northeast corner, crossed the town, passing out at the southwest corner, at Earlville. This, like the other turnpike, pursued an undeviating course, over mountainous ridge, or hillock, as the case might be. We are to remember, however, that the surface of the country was hidden by a heavy forest, and the surveying engineer, with an undertaking before him as great as now would be the laying out of a railroad, spent no time or money in looking up feasible routes in the wilderness, but laid his lines, as he followed his undeviating compass. The Utica and Oxford Turnpike long ago dispensed with its numerous taverns, as they lost their revenue when the Chenango Canal was built, for Utica and Oxford and the intervening villages transferred their transportation from the heavy wagons to the canal boat. Now, the Utica, Chenango and Susquehanna Valley Railroad, having found the easy grades along the route of the old turnpike, is performing more than the work of both canal and turnpike. This railroad opens to communication with the world, a rich agricultural country, in which eastern and southern Hamilton has its share.
The Chenango Canal, built in 1836 and '37, follows the Chenango River along the west border of the town, pass- ing through Hamilton village, Middleport, in the border of Lebanon, and leaves the county at Earlville.
The Chenango River becomes a feeder for the canal. The most easterly branch of this stream has several fine mill sites along its course, the most available being at Poolville and at Earlville, (once called the Forks,) where it unites with the main stream.
The Utica, Clinton and Binghamton Railroad, following the line of the Chenango Canal, again divides the work of transportation, so that to-day the number of boats plying upon the canal has become greatly lessened.
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The town of Hamilton was formed from Paris, March 5, 1795, and named in honor of the patriot, Alexander Hamil- ton. Its territory embraced four townships of the " Che- nango Twenty Towns," which was reduced by Eaton, Leb- anon and Madison being taken off in 1807.
The first town meeting was held in the house of Elisha Payne, on the first Tuesday in April, 1795. Joshua Le- land was voted Supervisor, and Elijah Blodgett, Town Clerk.
Hamilton, or " 4th Township," began to receive attention from emigrants as early as 1792. In April, (the 16th day,) 1794, William S. Smith received from the State a patent for 4th Township, which, according to the statement of the Surveyor General, contained 24,400 acres. A transfer was soon after made, and the English proprietor, Sir William Pultney, came in possession of the town, though William S. Smith received some of the fine land in the Chenango val- ley, which he sold to settlers.
From the English company, Dominick Lynch purchased the title to most of the Township. It is said that he was so much gratified by the sale of the first five hundred acres of land, at twenty shillings per acre, that he paid five dollars more than usual, to have the deed of conveyance en- grossed on parchment, which is yet held in the family.
The town of Hamilton, which, at the present day, exhib- its to the eye of the traveler such broad, rich and beautiful farms, handsome dwellings, and which bears such evidences of that substantial progress in business and learning which belongs to older countries, was, eighty years ago, when the pioneer first set foot upon her soil, a vast sweeping wilder- ness, still tenanted by the Oneidas and Stockbridges, who fished in her streams, hunted her deer, encampcd in her valleys, and made their journeys through her territory, to and from the Susquehanna. The New York State docu- ments and papers, cite us to their occupation of this land three hundred years ago, and from time to time point to
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their journeyings down the Chenango to their own Susque- hanna lands. The pioneer found their well-worn trail, and their camping grounds upon the flat near the Forks, (Earl- ville,) which were readily designated by Indian implements being scattered all about their deserted camp fires-not wholly deserted, for they annually came and spent a season in basket-making, to a period as late as 1815.
Within the memory of our younger inhabitants, the Stockbridge tribes, with an old chief, ·Konkerpot, as their leader, used to visit Fisherman's Pond, on the farm of O. B. Lord, Esq., near Poolville, where, under a pair of large cherry trees, they made their baskets.
Year by year, as the plowman upturns the soil, some relic is brought to the surface, such as hatchets, arrow- heads, pipes, stone pestles, &c., implements similar to those found in other localities. It is not a long time since Squire Lord picked up, on his farm above named, two specimens of Indian antiquity, the like of which we have not seen else- where. They were stones somewhat in the shape of human heads. Holes were chisled out to represent the eyes-or eye-sockets-and a place cut to represent the mouth. In the center of those eye-sockets, is curiously wrought in what might indicate the sight of the eye ; a bright spot of flint in those of one, and of white sandstone in the other. Both these specimens are common cobble stones, the largest being the lightest colored, and which has, also, three round holes drilled, or chiseled, in the back of the head. If we were to decipher the meaning of those holes, we should say that the person whom this was designed to represent, was killed by being shot twice in the head from behind, one ball passing out at the top of the head. Indian hieroglyphics mean much more than we can decipher, and the light color of this head, the perpendicular forehead, the dimple chiseled in the chin, the light sand stone eye-sight, the bullet holes in the head, have a strange story of their own, which we should be glad to read.
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