USA > New York > Fulton County > History of Montgomery and Fulton counties, N.Y. : with illustrations and portraits of old pioneers and prominent residents > Part 77
USA > New York > Montgomery County > History of Montgomery and Fulton counties, N.Y. : with illustrations and portraits of old pioneers and prominent residents > Part 77
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GILES C. VAN DYKE is a descendant of Revolutionary heroes, and was born in Schenectady county, N. Y., in 1815. His grandfather on his father's side was a captain in the Revolution, and his grandfather on his mother's side wa, sheriff of Schenectady county, also mayor of the city of Schenectady. Mr. Van Dyke came to Northville in 1840. He soon after joined the Baptist church; was, elected deacon in 1844, and has served as such to the present time. He has been, and still is, engaged in a general blacksmithing business, employing several men. He is also president of the village.
JOSEPH F. SPIER was born in Columbia county, N. Y., in 1799. His father moved to Northville in 1807. Mr. Spier was engaged in the mer- cantile business from 1822 to 1856 ; and was postmaster at Northville twenty years, assessor of internal revenue for eight years, and is now a notary public.
A. NEWCOME VAN ARNYM was born in Northville in 1831. He has been supervisor five years, and deputy sheriff three years. By occupation he is a farmer.
NORMAN SALIERI FE Was born in Fulton county in 1824. His ancestors were Rhode Islanders, and his grandfather was in the Revolutionary war. Mr. S. is engaged in the foundry business at Northville, and has quite an
extensive trade. He, too, is among the first and foremost in all progres- sive movements in his town and village.
ISAIAH SWEET was born in Northampton in 1829, and has always resided in the town. He owns and conducts a fine farm, and is a breeder of some of the best stock in his part of the county.
JOHN BUSHNELL was born in Columbia county, N. Y., in 1821. His uncle, Walter Bushnell, was in the Revolution, and was wounded. IIc lived in Poughkeepsie. Mr. B. came to Northampton in 1867, and is ex- tensively engaged in farming, stock raising and lime burning.
JOHN F. BLAKE, M.D., was born in Washington county, N. Y. in 1822. He received an academic education, graduating with high honors, at Castleton, Vt. He commenred the practice of medicine in Saratoga county, N. Y., in 1845. where he practiced two years, and then two years with Dr. E. L. Chichester, of New York city, then two years in Sacramento, Cal., and finally settled in Northville, Fulton county, in 1852, where he now resides, and has acquired a large practice. He is also a prominent member of the Fulton County Medical Society, which he joined in 1856.
ANSON J. AVERY, M.D., was born in Norway, Herkimer county, N.Y. He passed through the different grades of study at Fairfield Je a- demy, and graduated with honor at Pittsfield, Mass. He commenced the practice of medicine in 186;, and in 1870 permanently located at Northville, where, by close attention to business, he is having a large practice.
JOHN PATTERSON, Esq., was born in 1843 at Northville. His educa- tional advantages were only such as were afforded by a cheap pedagogue and a country school-house. Having graduated at the old school on the corner of the roads, he turned his attention to the study of law, and in 1870 commenced practice in his native town, where he is now one of the leading lawyers.
JOHN McKNIGHT, attorney, was born April 17, 1817, in Washington county, N. Y. He graduated at Salem Academy, began the practice of law in 1856, and settled in Northville in 1871.
LINN L. BOYCE, Esq., was born in New Berlin, Chenango county. N. Y., in 1851. He received an academic education, commenced the pru - tice of law in 1875, and settled in Northville in 1877.
THOMAS H. ROONEY was born in Rensselaer county, N. Y., in 1834 Ile came to Northville in 1853, engaged with Mr. McEachron, a large lumber dealer, and has by honest industry worked his way up, until he took the place of his employer, and is now the leading lumberman of this lumber district. In connection with his other business he carries on a wholesale flour and feed store. He has served his town four terms as supervisor, and his adopted village one term as president. His business amounts to about half a million dollars yearly.
DARIUS S. ORTON, M. D., was born January 7th, 1841, at Fair Haven, Rutland county, Vermont. He was educated in the common schools, and also attended the Hudson River Institute at Claverack, Columbia county. N. Y., from 1856 to the commencement of the civil war. He was in the service of the United States from August 28th, 1861, until the close of the war in 1865, most of the time in the hospital department. He attended four courses of lectures in the medical department of the Georgetown col- lege, Washington, D. C., and graduated and received the degree of M. D. at Albany, N. Y., in the class of 1866. He settled at Fish House, Fulton Co., N. Y., in 1869, and has since been engaged in the practice of medicine. He was appointed United States examining surgeon for invalid pensions in June, 1869, which position he now holds He is also one of the coroners of Fulton county.
ROBERT S. PAGE was born in Saratoga county, in 1822, and is of Revolu- tionary stock, and quite a near relative of the late Senator Charles Sumner, of Massachusetts. Mr. Page settled at Fish House in 1842. Ile is it tar- mer by oc upation.
ALVA Woop. M. D. was born m Montgomery county, N. Y., in 179; He settled at Fish House in 1835, and commented the practice of uncchi- cine, in which he continued until old age placed him upon the honor.ily list of retired physicians.
RES . OF M. MCINTYRE
PERTH CENTER, FULTON CO. N.Y
UNITED PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH AND PARSONAGE
RES OF HJ.RESSEGUIE , NORTHVILLE , N.Y.
RES. OF DR. J. F. BLAKE, NORTHVILLE, N .Y.
ORGANIZATION OF OPPENHEIM-FIRST SETTLERS -- REVOLUTIONARY EVENTS.
237
THE TOWN OF OPPENHEIM.
The town of Oppenheim was set off from Palatine, Montgomery county, March 18th, 1808, and its organization completed at a town meeting held at the house of Jacob Zimmerman, April 5th, 1808, by the election of its first officers, as follows : Supervisor, Andrew Zabriskie ; town clerk, John C. Nellis ; assessors, Peter I. Nellis, Jacob I. Failing, and Richard Hewett; commissioners of highway, Rufus Ballard, Jacob G. Klock and Daniel Guile ; overseers of the poor, John L. Bellinger and John I. Klock : col- lector, John Tingue ; constables, Samuel Frame, Joseph B. Grover, Corne- lius Wartwout, David Lyon and Joel Daniels ; pound masters, Thomas T. Ballard and Christopher Fox ; viewers of fences, Conrad Hellingas and Jacob Frey. The above election of officers is certified to by Henry Beek- man and Jacob G. Klock, justices of the peace. St. Johnsville, Montgomery county, which bounds Oppenheim on the south, formed a part of it until April 18th, 1838, when it was taken off.
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Oppenheim is situated in the southwest corner of Fulton county, lying south of Stratford and west of Ephratah. East Canada creek flows in a southerly direction along its western border. It is well supplied with mill seats, and abundantly watered by several considerable streams and their numerous tributaries. Fish creek flows across the northwest corner. The Little Sprite runs from east to west across the northern part. The Fox, Crum, Klock and Zimmerman creeks all flow in a southwesterly direction toward the Mohawk. The surface is moderately uneven, gradually as- cending to the north and east. In the northern part some of the hills rise to a height of twelve or fifteen hundred feet above the Mohawk. The soil is principally a strong clay loam, light sand and gravel in the east and north, and clay in the southwest. In some parts bowlders are scattered over the surface in profusion ; primary rocks appear in the north, and limestone in the southwest ; the latter was at one time extensively quar- ried. The soil is well adapted to the raising of coarse grains and to graz- ing. But very little wheat is raised in the town, and that on the southern border. The town has an area of 32,050 acres, nearly two-thirds of which is under cultivation.
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PIONEERS OF OPPENHEIM.
The early history of this town is so interwoven with that of Palatine --- which until 1808 included all the territory embraced within the present limits of Oppenheim, Ephratah and St. Johnsville-that it is difficult to separate and loralize it. The first settlers of Oppenheim were Germans, who sometime previous to the Revolution located in the southern part of the town. Rodolph Yonker is said to have been the first settler, and to have been followed in time by John Shaffer, Jacob Goram, Daniel Dike- man, Henry Burkdorff. Fredern & Bellinger and Simeon Schuyler. David Davis settled during the Revolution in the southeastern part of the town, where Benjamin Crouse now lives. The population had increased consid. erably up to the time of the breaking out of the Revolution, but was con- fined principally to the southern portion of the town. After the close of the war, settlements began to be made in other parts of the town. In 1791 Jacob Batum located in the eastern part, where Jacob T. Baum now lives, having put: hased one hundred acres of the Klock and Nellis patent, at $1.25 per dure. Harvey Nelhs located near him in 1792. Daniel Inger- soll, from Saratoga county, settled in the southwestern part of the town in 1794, where Charles Ingersoll lives. Moses Johnson, from New Hampshire, moved into the town January 21st, 1794, with his family, and settled about two miles west of the center, on the farm owned at present by E. Johnson. He bought 219 artes at $2.50 per acre, and had been on the previous sum-
mer and erected a log house, covering it with bark and slabs split from trees. He brought two horses with him from New Hampshire, but was obliged to sell one of them to purchase provisions for the first suinmer. In 1796 Peter Mosher settled a little south of the center of the town, where Leonard Mosher now lives, and Marcus Dusler located in the southeastern part, where David Dusler resides. James Johnson, Jacob Ladiew, William Bean, Richard Hewitt and Randall Hewitt, from New England, settled in the western part in 1796 and 1797. John Swartwout and Peter Cline came into the town in 1797. Swartwout located about one and a half miles east of the center and Cline about three-fourths of a mile east, where his son Knapthalee still resides. Benjamin Berry also came in that year and settled about one and a half miles east of the center of the town. In 1798 Daniel Guile settled on the farm owned at present by Peter Yost. Mr. Guile was a Revolutionary soldier from Saratoga county. Andrew Claus and Jacob Rarich came the same year, the former locating where Jacob A. Claus now lives, and the latter where H. Turner resides. The closing year of the eighteenth century brought with it several new settlers, among whom were Christian House, a soldier of the Revolution, who settled where Charles Schuyler lives, and his son John C. House, who located in the southern part of the town : Jacob Clans, who settled about one mile south of the center ; Gordon Turner, who found a home farther north, and Henry H. Hayes, who located where Elias Hayes still lives. Peter Clans, from Rensselaer county, settled on the farm now owned by Mr. Hoffman, in 1801. He purchased one hundred acres of Waggoner at $2.20 per acre. Joseph Hewett was born here in 1796, and still lives where his father, Richard Hewett, first settled. Knapthalee and John P. Cline, sons of Peter Cline, were born here in 1797 and 1800 respectively. Knap- thalee lives on the old homestead and John P. about half a mile west.
REVOLUTIONARY HEROES AND SUFFERERS.
The inhabitants of Oppenheim suffered proportionately with those of other towns of this region from the ravages of the Indians and tories dur- ing the Revolution. The following persons who participated to a greater or less extent in the great struggle for freedom were citizens of Oppenheim at that time, or have lineal descendants now living in the town :
Amos Brockett was among those detailed to guard the forts along the coast of Long Island Sound.
James Plant was a ship builder by trade; he was taken prisoner by the British while at work in the shipyard at New Haven, Ct.
Martin Nestle lost one of his eyes during the war.
Henry llayes taught school at one of the forts along the Mohawk at the time of the Revolution.
Henry Hose and Henry Burkdorff came to America as British sol- dier, with Gen. Burgoyne. Neither of them returned to their mother country.
Frederick Bamm was employed as mail carrier. His trips were usually made in the night, that he might the more safely pass the ambuscades of the Indians
Andrew Dusler was captured by the Indians, and kept by them as a prisoner till the close of the war.
Marcus Duster enlisted when only sixteen years old, and participated in the battle of Sharon Springs. 1
John Flander lost his life m the Revolution.
Peter S. Bidleman was stationed at Fort Plain.
238
THE HISTORY OF FULTON COUNTY.
Jacob Vedder was a teamster. On one occasion he was suddenly at- tacked by a small party of Indians, who sprang out of a thicket upon him with uplifted tomahawks. He defended himself with a spade and suc- ceeded in making his escape.
Jacob Yonker was captured at the battle of Oriskany and taken to Canada, where he enlisted in the British army, with which he afterwards returned to near Little Falls, where he, together with a few others, made their escape, and concealing themselves among the rocks till the army left the place, succeeded in reaching their friends.
Joan Sponable was captured by the Indians. While held by them as a prisoner, a young squaw became enamored with him, and upon his re- fusing to marry her, he was struck on the head with a club and left for dead He soon recovered his senses and found his way to the British lines, where he was sold to a Frenchman.
John H. Broat fought in the battle of Stone Arabia, and his son, John H. Broat, jr., then a mere lad, was teamster during the war.
Jason Phipps served as a regular soldier through the war.
Capt. Elijah Cloyes was mortally wounded in a skirmish while under Gen. Sullivan's command.
Peter Getman served during the war. When only sixteen years of age, he went with a company of militia in search of a band of Indians and tories who had been committing depredations in the neighborhood. Just previous to this the Indians had called at the house of the Rector family and asked for something to eat. They were told to help themselves, which they proceeded to do in such a lawless and extravagant way that Mr. Rec- tor remonstrated in no very gentle terms. At this they became angry, and as they were moving away, they turned upon the house and fired a volley of musketry through the upper half of the door, which stood open. Mrs. Rector seeing them raise their guns to fire, held up her frying pan to protect her husband, who was standing in the door. One bullet passed through the frying pan and shattered the arm of Mr. Rector; but the Indians, seeing no one fall. were not satisfied, and returning to the house, knocked Mrs. Rector down with a tomahawk, scalped her, and lelt her for dead. During this time an old grandfather escaped to the woods with two of the children, but one little boy, six years old, who was eating bread and milk outside the door, when the Indians came up, was killed, and his body thrown into a creek near by. When found he still grasped the spoon with which he had been eating. Mrs. Rector soon recovered consciousness, dressed her own wounds, and walked to Stone Arabia, where she remained in the fort till she entirely recovered.
Peter Davis was killed by the Indians while at work in his field. His wife escaped, but his daughter was taken prisoner, with a man named Pring. They were carried to Canada, and after suffering imprisonment for some time, escaped and were married.
Wm. Fox participated as captain in the battle of Oriskany, and in the last battles with Burgoyne.
John Keam, Isaac Kegg. George Cook, Wm. Rowland, Frederick Baum, Jacob Dusler, David Barker and John Pier were all more or less identified with the scenes, incidents and battles of the Revolution.
VILLAGES OF THE TOWN.
OPPENHEIM, situated on Crum creek, near the center of the town, is the principal village. It contains a church, hotel, two stores, one saw-mill and about a dozen houses. Peter Cline opened the first hotel in 1805. being urged to do so by the citizens of the town, who procured his first license and presented it to him. He also built a tannery about that time, which for several year- was the largest establishment of its kind in the county. This was run by him and his son Knapthalce till about the year 1835. when the stream upon which it was located failed, the business was abandoned and the building went to decay. Henry Cline, a brother of Peter, built a saw-mill in 1800, and Henry Miller erected a grist-mill two years later, which was kept in operation for twenty years or more, when it was allowed to run down and at length abandoned. Scarcely a trace of it remains. Henry I Ostrom erected the first store about 1810. He also built a distillery soon after, but this proved an unfortunate investment, and after a few years the builling was converted to other uses.
The first churen union, built here was erected in 1820. It was occupied occasionally for several years, but was never fully completed and was fi- nally sold and removed. The present union church was built in 1834. It
is of wood, about 30x40 feet in size. The Methodist Episcopal society hold meetings here regularly once in two weeks. Meetings were held at an early day in a wagon house which is still standing in the village. The Rev. Jacob Trisband held the first religious services in the town, about 1800. There are three other churches in the town-one union and one Methodist Episcopal church at Crum Creek and a Dutch Reformed church in the southeast part.
The first post office in the town was established in 1812, but it was not located at the village of Oppenheim till 1842.
BROCKETT'S BRIDGE, on East Canada Creek, lies mostly in Herkimer county. It contains a large cheese box factory on the Oppenheim side of the creek.
MIDDLE SPRITE, in the northeast part of the town, contains a store, a san - mill, a butter tub factory and about a dozen dwellings.
LOTTVILLE, in the northern part, and CRUM CREEK, in the southern part of the town, are mere hamlets with post offices.
The principal occupation of the inhabitants of the town of Oppenheim is farming and stock raising. The manufacture of cheese is carried on to a considerable extent, but the business is done almost exclusively by cheese factories, of which there are seven in the town, manufactur- ing from 50,000 pounds to 150,000 pounds each, aggregating 500,000 lbs. annually produced for foreign markets. The Willow Spring Factory, situated about three-fourths of a mile east of Oppenheim village, was built in 1867 by a stock company and operated by them till the beginning of 1875, when it was leased to James P. Bennett for one year, at the expira- tion of which time Mr. Bennett purchased it and is at present sole proprie- tor, superintending the business in person. This factory has two large vats for heating the milk and making the curd, one of them holding six thousand pounds of milk, which is heated by steam. From the ist of June to the Ist of September, this factory uses about 7,500 pounds of milk daily, mak- ing fourteen cheeses of fifty-five pounds each. It produces annually over 100,000 pounds. For the last three years the average quantity of milk re- quired by this factory to produce one pound of cheese has been less than 9.87 pounds. The average price received for cheese in 1876 was $11 15 per cwt. The Fulton Cheese Factory, situated about three-fourths of a mile west of Oppenheim village, was built in the spring of 1865 by Bean A Gibson. Bean became sole proprietor in 1867 and sold in 1869 to Mr. Ward. whose widow still owns the factory, leasing it to G. H. Bacon, who is the present manager. This factory made 135,420 pounds of cheese in 1875, and 116,452 pounds in 1876. The average quantity of milk used to make one pound of cheese was 10. 155 pounds in 1876, and the average price re- ceived for cheese was $10.98 per cwt. During June, July and August, the patrons deliver their milk to the factories night and morning. After the Ist of September it is only delivered mornings, the previous night's milk being skimmed before coming to the factory. During the winter months it is delivered only once in two or three days, each milking except the list being skimmed before delivery. The usual mode of managing this but- ness is to credit each customer with the number of pounds of milk delty- ered. It is then manufactured into cheese and sold ; the factory price for making is deducted from the amount of sales and the balance distributed pro rata among the patrons. Sales are made as often as once a month. . \ large proportion of the cheese manufactured in this town is shipped to European markets.
The population of Oppenheim in 1875 was 1,870. The number of tax- able inhabitants in 1876 was 395. The value of taxable real estate in 1376 was $299,931, and of personal property $9.695; total, $309.626.
PERSONAL SKETCH.
SOLOMON CRAMER was born at Manheim, Herkimer county, N. Y., De- cember 7th, 1804. His father, Philip, moved to Fulton county, and settled in the northwest part of Oppenheim in iSos, where he resided at his death. Solomon remained on the old home-tead till 1867, when he removed with his family to the village of Oppenheim and there engaged in the mercantile business, which pursuit he continues to follow. Mr. Cramer once hell a commission as lieutenant of an independent company of infantry, about the years 1825 and 1826. His son, John D. Cramer, enlisted in the Soth regiment of New York volunteers at Elora, N. Y., was mustered into ser- vice September 5th, 1861, served till the close of the war, and died soon after of disease contracted while in the south.
239
FORMATION AND SETTLEMENT OF PERTH.
THE TOWN OF PERTH.
The creation of Perth, as an independent town, took place at the time of the formation of Fulton county, April 18th, 1838. Previous to this date it was a part of Amsterdam, Montgomery county. The town was nan.ed by W'm. Robb. one of its early settlers, a native of Perthshire, Scotland. "Agreeably to the requirements of an act of the Legislature, the first town meeting was held at the house of John Robb, innkeeper," at Perth Center, on the first day of May, 1838, and the following officers were elected : William Robb, supervisor ; John M. Benedict, clerk ; Stephenson T. Bostwick, Arthur Smith, Henry Banta and Jacob B. Heagle, justices of the peace ; Jacob Banta, Arthur Smith and James Robb, assessors ; God- frey Swobe, Geo. S. Joslyn and Henry Banta, commissioners of highways ; John B. Heagle, John McQueen, jr., and Henry J. Van Nest, school com- missioners ; l'eter Mclaren, Stephenson T. Bostwick and John M. Bene- dict, school inspectors ; Abraham Mosher, jr., collector ; Abel Dunning and Peter Vosburgh, overseers of the poor ; Abraham Mosher, jr., Francis Snyder, Isaiah McNeil and Jacob M. Coon, constables.
The northern limits of the town were extended February 17th, 1842, by small annexations from Mayfield and Broadalbin, which towns now bound Perth on the north, with Johnstown on the west. Situated in the south- east corner of Fulton county, Saratoga county lies east and Montgomery county south of the town. It has an area of 16.305 acres. The soil is a yellowish sandy loam in most parts. The surface is but slightly undulat- ing. The principal occupation of the inhabitants is stock raising and growing the coarse grains. The town is watered by the Chuctenunda creek, which flows. in a southerly direction, across the east end ; the Fly and Rees creeks in the southwestern part, and several smaller streams, mostly flowing in a southerly course.
The town is divided, for highway purposes, into 33 road districts. It includes four entire school districts and portions of six lying partly in other towns, with six school-houses. The number of scholars who draw public money from the town-being those between the ages of five and twenty- is 291 ; but this includes some in the fractional districts who live in other towns. The population of the town in 1875 was 1.095.
The present town officers include : Supervisor, Geo. Clark ; clerk, H. B. Goodemote ; justices of the peace, James Starks, Robt. Caldewood, Wm. A. Barber and Wm. J. Robb ; assessors, Wm. Palmatier, Orren Hart and Thomas Stairs; commissioner of highway, Geo. Donnan ; col- lector, Menzo Simmons.
PERTH CENTER, near the middle of the north line of the town, contains a church, hotel, store, saw-mill. school-house and a few scattered dwellings, principally residences of farmer -.
WEST PERTH is a mere hamlet, with a post office, in the western part of the town.
WEST GMWW is situated in the extreme northeast corner, part of it lying in Broadalbin, and another part in Saratoga county. It contains three churches-Presbyterian, I'mited Presbyterian, and Methodist Epis- cnpal ; two stores, a hotel, and the tannery of George Donnan.
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