USA > New York > Madison County > History of Madison County, state of New York > Part 56
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Stephen Risley came from East Hartford, Conn., in 1801. He was a soldier of the revolution during the most of the war; was in the battles of Long Island, Brandywine and Monmouth, and was a sergeant in Washington's Guard. He was present and on duty at the execution of Andre.
Daniel Petrie,* another early settler, and connected with the Bellingers, served a clerkship under Van Epps. He learned the Indian language, which gave him influence among the natives. In 1808 he was a Captain of Militia.
David Shipman, before mentioned among the settlers of
* In 1808, the Smithfield Artillery Company was formed. Daniel Petrie was instrumental in raising it and was chosen its first Captain.
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the Mile Strip, was a native of Clinton, Livingston Co., N. Y., and came to this town in 1800.
Many of the farms taken up and brought under cultiva- tion by these sturdy men, still remain in possession of their descendants.
James Livingston, a brother of Mrs. Peter Smith, was the first merchant in Peterboro-in the year 1801. The building in which he carried on his business was a fine one for those days. It is still standing at the east end of the public green, near its former location, having only been set back a few yards. It was the first frame house of the vil- lage-built in 1800. It is now owned by Eliphalet Ales- worth, son of Jasper Aylesworth, and occupied by him as a dwelling. Livingston was followed in the mercantile busi- ness by a Mr. Eggleston. Later, Captain Daniel Petrie established a store, which he kept many years. This was situated on the corner now owned by Mr. Miller. A por- tion of this original building is embodied in the house where Mr. Bridge now (1869) resides. Capt. Petrie was the first postmaster of Peterboro. .
The first school was taught by Miss Tabitha Havens, in Peterboro, in 1801. Her school consisted of some half a dozen children-all there were in the sparse population. Smithfield thus early evinced her proclivities in favor of education, which proves to have been sustained in her later history. We remark here that the same year Miss Havens taught this school she was married to James Tucker, of that part of Smithfield now Fenner.
" The earliest marriages referred to by old settlers were those of John Matteson to Hudassah Bliss, and Elijah Trumbull to Abigail Carey, both of which are believed to have occurred in 1803.
Emmons Downer, Esq., still a resident, was born in Peterboro, in September 1805. No reliable account of an earlier birth has been given, and he is therefore believed to be the oldest native resident living. *
Elijah Pratt was the first physician of Peterboro,-in 1801 or '02 ; he was also the first male school teacher. Rev. Joshua Johnson, Presbyterian, was the first resident preacher-in 1806 ;
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Nehemiah Huntington was the first lawyer-in 1807 ; Captain Daniel Petrie was the first postmaster-in 1807 ; John Downer and Peter Weber were the first blacksmiths-in 1802; and Reuben Long built the first grist mill and saw mill in 1802." -[From A. A. Raymond's sketches.]
Dr. Phineas Lucas was the next physician after Dr. Pratt; he was located on the old road, about midway between Peterboro and Morrisville, where he died April 27th, 1806, at the age of 32 years. Dr. Dourance, from Windham Co., Conn., was in Smithfield at the time and attended the funeral ; he decided to remain and commence practice where his brother physician had left it. Accordingly he did open an office immediately and succeeded well in business. He will be remembered with respect for his good qualities by many of the oldest citizens. Dr. Rivera Nash commenced practice in this town in 1807.
Dr. Joel Norton succeeded Dr. Nash in 1814. He was not only a successful physician, but was highly respected as a citizen through the lustre of his inherent private vir- tues. For twenty-seven years he was a favorite physician in Smithfield, a devoted christian, and a valued and steadfast friend of the Presbyterian church .*
Mrs. Olive Raymond, widow of James Raymond, of Windham County, Conn., with two children, and accom- panied by her three sisters, the Misses Downing, came to Smithfield quite early in this century. Mrs. Raymond sickened and died three days after her arrival. A. A. Raymond, Esq., of Peterboro, and his sister (now dead,) were the children thus orphaned. The sisters of Mrs. Ray- mond continued the home until their death by the " epidem- ic," elsewhere noted, in 1813.
John Forte,f an early settler of Lenox, became one of
* Dr. Norton died at the age of 54 years, June 30, 1841, at Newport R. I., whither he went a very little time previous for the benefit of his health. As he neared the boundry line between time and eternity, like the true christian and phy- sician he gave testimony of his feelings, and the state of his mind. Had we space we would gladly record this remarkable testimony of the dying christian as he passed step by step over the mysterious river. It was published at the time and has been preserved by his friends.
+ Changed to " Fort" by some one of the family.
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the long ago citizens of Smithfield. The late Allen H. Forte,* of Cazenovia, Avery Forte, of Peterboro, and Mrs. Myron H. Bronson, (mother of the Bronsons famous in musical circles,) are of John Forte's family.
The Bronson family so well known in Smithfield, are of the family of Deacon Simeon Bronson, (formerly " Brown- son,") who settled on the Mile Strip in Fenner, 1802. Dea- con Bronson's wife, Lucinda Gleason Bronson, died, leav- ing him with a family of eight children. He subsequently married Lucretia Stewart, by whom he had nine children. The youngest of the first family is the father of the above named Bronson singers, viz :- Lorenzo, Aurelia, Willie and Mellie Bronson.
Moses Rice came early and settled, probably in the Fen- ner part of Smithfield. He afterwards removed to Quality Hill, served in the war of 1812, came home on a furlough and died of camp fever. His eldest son, Billings Rice, is the only one who remained in this part of the county. The celebrated Rice vocalists, viz. :- Warren, Moses, Henry, Simeon, Sarah, Florence and Maria, all distinguished as public singers of rare talents, are children of Billings Rice, ,of Smithfield. Mrs. Avery Forte, one of his daughters, resides in Peterboro.
In the winter and spring of 1813, sickness of a type previously unknown, prevailed throughout Central New York, and it is believed in all parts of the State. Having no other name for it, physicians called it "the Epidemic," by which name it came to be generally known, and when- ever referred to or spoken of from that day to this, it has been called by no other. Its victims were prostrated at once and sank rapidly to utter helplessness and delirium, from which no stimulant or manner of treatment could arouse them. In numerous cases, persons attacked with it, though in the prime of life and previous vigorous health,
* Father of Irwin A. and Irving C. Forte, former publishers of the Cazenovia Republican, the latter the present editor of that paper.
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sank away and died in from four to ten days ! In the town of Smithfield there were probably more than one hundred cases, a very large per centage of which proved fatal. Its first victim was an interesting youth of some sixteen years, who died on the 12th day of January. Thenceforward till late in March, funerals occurred throughout the town almost daily, sometimes several on the same day in different sections. In one instance, on March 14th, four adults were buried in the old Peterboro cemetery, all within a few hours. These four were all advanced in life. Three of them were maiden sisters by the name of Downing, who had always lived together, and in their death were almost literally undi- vided, all dying within thirty hours. The fourth was an aged man, an early settler in the town, living but a few rods from the residence of the Downing sisters. It is believed that there were other burials in town on this same day. Early in April the sickness abated ; new cases became of less frequent occurrence and cf a milder type ; and, as the season advanced, the mysterious visitation wholly disap- peared.
In 1806, there were ten buildings in Peterboro,-Judge Smith's house, since re-built and enlarged by Gerrit Smith ; the Aylesworth house, then the Livingston store; the grist mill and saw mill ; the rest dwellings.
After the organization of the town in 1807, the first town meeting, in April of the same year, was held at the school house near Fenner Corners. The spirited efforts of the eastern Smithfield voters to secure the election of their ยท officers, and of the adjournment of the meeting to Peter- boro, is noted in the Fenner Chapter. Peter Smith was elected Supervisor, and Daniel Petrie, Town Clerk. In June of this year, Peter Smith, who had been one of the Associate Judges of the County Court, was appointed first Judge, and the office of Supervisor became vacant. Con- sequently, a special town meeting was held July 18th, at
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which Roswell Glass was chosen to fill the vacancy. At the second annual town meeting, Asa Dana was chosen Supervisor.
At this period the county began agitating the question of the county seat. Cazenovia and Smithfield put forward their claims for the permanent location. A forcible argu- ment in favor of Smithfield by her citizens was the fact that the town was more central than Cazenovia, Hamilton and some other points. The question however was not decided for a number of years, and Madison County had no jail or court house when the second criminal offence came before the courts. Even when it seemed settled, by the erection of the court house in Cazenovia, like- Banquo's ghost the mooted question would rise again in the form of "centering," and would not "down" until it had finally been located at Morrisville, in the year 1817.
The above mentioned second instance of capital crime had its denouement in Smithfield, the murderess, Mary Antone, (daughter of Abram,) being executed in Peterboro in the autumn of 1814. The Indians disputed the right of the white-man authorities to interfere with their customs, or to exercise jurisdiction over them in criminal or other cases where the parties were of their race, and it was feared that there would be trouble at the execution, as Abram Antone and one of his sons, Mary's father and brother, came over from Siloam painted and equipped in warrior style a few days before the consummation of the fatal decree ; and there was also a report afloat that Antone had said that "the man who hung Mary should die." Thus forewarned, Capt. Daniel Petrie signified to the members of his company that they must hold themselves in readiness, for they would be called on in case of any disturbance. The Indians were quite numerous in the village on the morning of the execution, and Capt. Petrie, having a good knowledge of the Indian language, took the occasion, as they lounged about his store, to make it plain to them that
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Madison County officers in carrying out the laws were not responsible for the execution of Mary Antone ; that the laws must be obeyed, and also that order must be main- tained. In their hearing, he directed some of his men present to have their arms in readiness to protect the officers. The gallows was erected on the flat due west from the grist mill, and some twelve or fifteen rods from the channel of the creek. Abram was there, grim, restless, silent ; sometimes moving about on the brow of the ridge above the flat, scanning the multitude with a keen eye. There is a statement given the author that he was heard to make the ominous threat, as he pointed to Sheriff Pratt, "Me kill him ! Me kill him !" and that the Sheriff, before performing the final act, called for Antone to come forward and take a last leave of his child ; that the latter's sinewy form soon appeared upon the scaffold, and without moving a muscle of his stoical features, took the hand of his daugh- ter and then turned silently away, neither betraying a sign of emotion. The fatal moment came and passed, justice was vindicated without even a whispered utterance or move of opposition from the natives. It is said, however, that Antone afterwards sought Sheriff Pratt's life and that the latter settled his affairs and moved west. Be this as it may, those who lived at that time know how surely Antone ex- ecuted his threats, and how long he cherished and finally wreaked his vengeance on John Jacobs, the principal wit- ness against his daughter.
In the earlier days of Smithfield, the forests were dense and the swamps dismal, from abundance of foliage. Game abounded, and it is said that wolves and bears were quite plenty till 1827, about which period there was a great wolf hunt in this section. Panthers were occasionally seen till the years 1815 to '18. A panther incident worthy of record and well authenticated, occurred about 1818, on the old County Road between Peterboro and Clockville, at the en- trance of a piece of thick forest through which that road
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passed for a distance of half a mile. For the information of those who have the curiosity to locate the spot we will say here, that the incident took place within the bounds of the farm then owned by Aaron Crary, and afterward by his son. This farm, it is believed, lay chiefly on the north side and adjoining the present north line of Smithfield, which would be in the town of Lenox. The adjoining farm on the Smith- field side, and which may have included a strip of this half- mile forest, was owned by Ebenezer Lathrop. Moses Howe lived on the same road, not far south of Lathrop's, about one mile from Peterboro.
One morning in haying time, Mr. Howe called his boy Stephen, a lad of some eight or nine years of age, and told him he must take a horse and go to Clockville to mill-the mill at Peterboro being then out of repair-and told him also that he must wait for his grist that time, as he wanted the horse to draw in hay the next day, and the flour was needed for use in the family. So the boy started off on the horse's back, with two and a half bushels of wheat under him on the saddle. It being late when the grist was ground, he started homeward as speedily as possible, and reached the border of the woods just at dusk, being then over a mile from home. Almost the first tree on entering this half mile of thick, dark forest road, was a gigantic elm, with one huge limb some twenty-five feet from the ground, shoot- ing far out horizontally over the traveled path.
The horse suddenly pricked up his ears as he neared and came under this limb, and hearing as he thought a slight noise, the boy looked up, and there, poised upon the limb with glaring eyeballs, bared teeth, feet rapidly lifting and gathering for a spring, while every nerve and muscle seemed ready to burst with their fearful tension, was an enormous panther, apparently fully prepared to leap, and sure of his defenceless prey. Indeed it would seem that only a direct interposition of Providence could save that boy from the ter- rible doom staring him in the face ! But the very sudden-
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ness of the appalling danger, and the quick instinct which is often the offspring of a sudden and fearful peril, yet which would have probably and at once, either paralyzed a man with fear, or caused him to pause for the encounter, gave the boy a ready, almost superhuman keenness of sense and strength of nerve. He cried out to the horse in a quick, sharp tone which the noble animal, now all alive with fear, from his own instinct seemed to understand, and away he sprang with his double burden of flour bags and juvenile rider at a flying speed, which was heightened and intensified by what instantly followed. The fierce and undoubtedly hungry panther being thus suddenly and unexpectedly foiled when so sure of his victim, gave vent to his rage in the fright- ful yells peculiar to his species, which it is said are so fright- ful and appalling that no human being, when heard under such circumstances, is ever able to shake off the terrible sense of fear they arouse. The mad animal sprang instant- ly from his position, and then from limb to limb, and from tree to tree, howling, yelling, crashing through the dense tree tops after his escaping prey, and thus he followed 'till the horse and young rider swept triumphantly out of the forest into the clearing beyond, and left the wild brute to what we may well believe a bitter disappointment. Yet on, on, dashed the horse, the boy by this time almost overcome with terror, fearing the awful danger was still pursuing him, and permitted no slack of speed till he reached his father's door, himself and horse dripping with perspiration.
"You are late home," said the father, "and I guess you have rode pretty fast, hav'nt you ?"
"Yes sir, I have," replied the boy caressing the horse, "and I think you would if you had been in my place. It will be a good while before I will go through those woods again after dark !" and here the boy was obliged to yield un- til he had recovered composure, when he briefly related what had happened. The father was astonished. There stood the boy quaking with the thought of what he had just passed
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through, and the horse close by him, with drooping head, panting and dripping with sweat. His little son had run his horse over a mile, with the flour and bran of two and a half bushels of wheat under him. " 'Till this day," says this then boy, Stephen R. Howe (now Justice Howe of Oneida Co.) the awful fear I then experienced affects me sensibly when I recall the circumstances, and I never afterwards passed the spot without experiencing it." He further says that he did not again pass over that road till he was eigh- teen, when he was teaching school in Sullivan. On one oc- casion, when going home he found himself on the same road, at the same place, before he was aware of it, and just at dark. Said he, "I never ran faster than I did through those woods."
The large town of Smithfield was destined to become the smallest in the county. The project to divide it was long agitated ; it was finally accomplished in 1823, and the new town of Fenner formed of its western half. Again, in 1836, a large portion was shorn from its eastern part to help form Stockbridge. The first town meeting after the division, in 1823, was held at the house of Harry Nichols. In 1824, Nehemiah Huntington was elected Supervisor, and Thomas Beekman, Town Clerk, both of whom were eminent men in State and Nation.
Smithfield has in one sense suffered from her habits of generosity ; for after giving most of her territory to other towns, she gave her men of talent and enterprise to the world ; to the cities of the east, the west, the north, the south ; and consequently trades, arts, manufactures and professions in the course of time languished within her limits.
At a former period, considerable business was transacted in Peterboro. At one time there were two glass factories, one distillery, one tannery, a grist mill, a saw mill, a card- ing and fulling mill, five stores, three taverns, and various
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mechanic shops, all together giving a supply of work to many people, and contributing to sustain a much larger population there, then, than exists at present. Years since the glass factories were metamorphosed into dwellings ; the fires of the distilleries also were long ago extinguished ; the grist mill was superseded by a better structure for the same business, and the tannery and some of the stores are among the things that are not, and the temperance reform, and the changes in the traveling world have disposed of two of the three hotels. Here was kept one of the first, if not the very first, temperance hotel,* properly so called, of the world! Some of the first anti-slavery meetings in the United States were held here, and here from pulpit and forum has the tocsin of reform been repeatedly sounded during the last third of a century. The poor were ever kindly cared for in Peterboro, and the down-trodden, hunted slave found here a refuge from his pursuers and persecutors. Undoubtedly the first school in the United States established especially for colored children, was kept in Peterboro, which, however, was soon done away with, as caste on account of color was ruled here to be out of place in common schools, and poor black children were thence- forth allowed equal rights with the white.
The first movements of the county in literature began simultaneously here and at Cazenovia. In 1808, the Madison Freeholder was started in Peterboro, Peter Smith, proprietor, and Jonathan Bunce, editor. It was after a time changed to the Freeholder, and continued till 1813, when it was changed to the Madison County Herald, and contin- ued under that title several years. The early efforts in the cause of temperance brought into existence the Forunal
* We learn later that this temperance house was kept by David Ambler, Esq, about 1830. He was one of the early settlers of the south part of Augusta, but changed his residence for a few years about that period to Peterboro. We learn further that he kept a temperance house as early as 1825, at the small hamlet near the north line of Madison, known in early times as Hurd's, Bartlett's, Ambler's, and lastly Newell's Corners. Squire Ambler died in Madison, at the residence of his son-in-law, Dea. Francis Rice, about 1860, aged 86 years.
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of Madison County Temperance Union, a monthly, edited by Wm. B. Downer. The latter was changed to the Maine Law Journal, and was discontinued after an existence of something over a year. The Christian & Citizen, was published at Peterboro, in 1854, by Pruyn & Walker.
It is somewhat remarkable that Peterboro, an unimpor- tant inland village, having no railroad or other great artery of communication with the outer world, should have been and should still be the scene of so many great public gath- erings, such as temperance, anti-slavery, political, religious, reform and free speech conventions, &c. Probably no vil- lage of its size in all our great country has equalled it in this respect. But we have an explanation at hand : It has ever been favored with the citizenship of distinguished and progressive men ; hence, though but a small village, the prevailing atmosphere of the place has been steadily genial and attractive to those striving for a higher plane.
Peterboro has furnished public men as follows :- Greene C. Bronson, Chief Justice of the Supreme Court and Court of Appeals ; Thomas Beekman and Gerrit Smith, Members of Congress ; Henry A. Foster, State Senator for several terms, United States Senator in 18-, and Jus- tice of the Supreme Court in 1863; J. S. T. Stranahan, Representative in Congress from Brooklyn, N. Y., in 1855 ; Daniel G. Dorrance and Asahel C. Stone, also State Sena- tors. Peterboro is the native place, or was for some years the home of five of the Sheriffs of Madison County, viz :- Elijah Pratt, John Matteson, Joseph S. Palmer, John M. Messinger and Asahel C. Stone. Nehemiah Huntington and James Barnett, once Member of the Legislature, and Henry M. Rice of the United States Senate, are also Peter- boro men. We might extend this roll of honor were cer- tain dates and data, which we have failed after much effort to obtain, at our command. We however record a few brief sketches :
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Nehemiah Huntington belonged to the early years of Smithfield's history. He came to Peterboro in 1807, and became the first lawyer of the place. He was a graduate of Dartmouth College, being there a classmate of' Daniel Webster, and was aged thirty-one when he came to Smith- field. He entered into every good enterprise which con- cerned the prosperity of his adopted town. His generosity and goodness of heart was conspicuous. His liberal edu- cation and good abilities fitted him for a wide field of use- fulness, but he was too modest to aspire to distinction in his profession. He, however, encouraged and assisted young men to make their way in the world, and several young lawyers received their first help from him ; his kind instruc- tions and fatherly guidance, aiding them in their first steps toward after success. His life was long and eminently useful, and at his death in 1855, aged 79 years, he was greatly missed.
James Barnett succeeded to a position of usefulness, from the time of his commencing in the mercantile busi- ness in Peterboro, in 1838. He became successful in that business, which he followed there for many years. He stood high in the confidence of his fellow citizens, and was often called to official positions in his town and county, and in 1859 was elected from this county to the Legislature. In 1865 he was elected to the State Senate from this, the twenty-third, Senatorial District. During the late war he gave largely of his time and means, actively and effectively encouraging enlistments ; two of his sons volunteered, and one, the eldest, bravely met his death at Antietam. Mr. Barnett removed to Oneida some few years since where he still resides.
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