History of Oneida County, New York, 1667-1878, Part 117

Author:
Publication date: 1878
Publisher: Philadelphia, Everts & Fariss
Number of Pages: 932

USA > New York > Oneida County > History of Oneida County, New York, 1667-1878 > Part 117

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A private bank was established here May 14, 1876, by its present proprietors, Messrs. D. G. & J. G. Dorrance.

THE CAMDEN SAXE-HORN BAND

was organized in 1855, with fourteen members. The or- ganization has since been continued under different names. At one time it was considered one of the finest bands in

Central New York. It has fifteen pieces at present, and is under the leadership of C. R. Besse.

The village contained in March, 1878, about thirty stores of various descriptions, and a proportionate number of mechanic shops.

SOCIETIES.

Philanthropic Lodge, No. 164, F. and A. M., was or- ganized about 1850. Previous to this, at quite an early date, a Masonic Lodge was organized here, numbered 140, but was disbanded during the anti-Masonic excitement consequent upon the Morgan affair. The membership of the present Lodge in March, 1878, was 102, and its officers as follows, viz. : Spencer J. Upson, W. M .; B. D. Stone, S. W .; John F. Wolcott, J. W .; W. H. Crenan, S. D .; C. E. Kniffen, J. D. ; E. A. Harvey, Treas. ; J. H. Tracy, M.D., Sec .; P. E. Bochm, Tyler ; P. J. Loveland, Chap- lain ; G. W. More, Organist ; N. N. Salladin, Marshal. A neat Masonic hall belonging to this Lodge was built in 1863, at a cost of about $2700.

Darius Chapter, No. 144, R. A. M., sprang from the old lodge, and has at present a small membership. Its officers for 1878 are P. J. Loveland, High Priest ; J. H. Tracy, M.D., King ; George Abbott, Scribe ; James E. Tripp, Treasurer ; H. G. Du Bois, M.D., Secretary ; Spencer J. Upson, Captain of Host; M. R. Cook, P. S .; F. D. Fi- field, R. H. C .; H. A. Case, M. 3d V .; Heman Snow, M. 2d V .; A. T. Van Valkenburgh, M. 1st V .; P. E. Bochm, Tyler.

The resident lawyers in Camden are Stephen Cromwell, Arthur C. Woodruff, and Egbert More.

The present physicians of the village are the following : Robert Frazier, M.D., regular, formerly of McConnellsville ; J. S. Wright, M.D., eclectic, oldest practitioner in the place; Robert Mclaughlin, M.D., eclectic ; Hiram G. Du Bois, M.D., regular, in practice here since 1869 ; Henry W. Leonard, M.D., eclectic, a member of the Oswego County Ec- lectic Society. Dr. Joshua H. Tracy and Dr. H. H. Wood- ruff are regularly educated physicians, but are not now in practice. Dr. Du Bois served as president of the County Medical Society in 1875 and 1876, and Dr. Frazier in 1872 ; both are permanent members of the State Medical Society.

VILLAGE OF WEST CAMDEN.

About 1800, Manning Barnes came to this town from the State of Connecticut, and located where the village of West Camden now stands. He built a log house on the site of the present hotel at the place, and a frame part after- wards added is now a portion of the hotel. Some time after he settled, having been obliged to keep persons over night who were on their way north and northwest (into Jefferson and other counties), he erected a sign, and made a business of tavern-keeping for many years.

Mr. Barnes was accompanied to this town by his brothers, Whiting and Lyman. They selected land upon which to locate, and afterwards moved in the family of their father, Zopher Barnes. The other sons were Zopher, Street, and Pliny Barnes. Whiting Barnes settled on the farm now owned by A. Barnes, westward of West Camden.

The first store at this place was established by Wilburt Barnes, who erected a small building, and placed a stock of

HISTORY OF ONEIDA COUNTY, NEW YORK.

439

goods therein. He continued in business for some time. He was a son of Manning Barnes.

The post-office at West Camden was established in 1832 or shortly before, and probably the first postmaster was Merritt Munson. Whiting and Wilburt Barnes afterwards held the office, and the present incumbent is E. Delamater.

West Camden is located on a sandy level two miles west of Camden village, and contained in March, 1878, one store, a post-office, a hotel, a school-house, one church edi- fice, in which the Congregationalists and Methodists hold services, a railway-station, a blacksmith-shop, and a saw- mill. Quite an extensive tannery was located here, but was recently burned, and when the place was visited for

historical notes (March, 1878) it had not yet been rebuilt. The Rome, Watertown and Ogdensburg Railway passes through the place, following the valley of Fish Creek, along which, in this vicinity, are numerous tracts of swampy land.

To those who have aided the historian in compiling the foregoing account of the town thanks are hereby tendered. Among the parties who have kindly assisted us are Hon. Thomas D. Penfield, the pastors and members of churches, proprietors of manufactorics, and many, whose names we have not space to mention, in Camden village; Woodard Perkins, Mrs. S. L. Smith, Mr. and Mrs. Lorenzo Munson, of West Camden and vicinity, and numerous others.

BIOGRAPHICAL

FRANCIS SKINNER.

The subject of this brief sketch was born June 6, 1801, in Albany County. He is the son of Wright and Hannah (Ten Eyck) Skinner. The family moved to Oneida County about the year 1827, and settled in the town of Camden. In the same year Francis bought the farm on which he now resides, which was then in a wild state. He spent six years of his early life in this county, peddling tin-ware for Erastus Upsen in this and the adjoining counties.

Oct. 31, 1839, he married Maria Keals, daughter of Frederick and Catherine Keals, of Manlius, Onondaga Co. Together they have labored to earn for themselves a home, and their efforts have been crowned with success, and they can look forward to a life of ease, having a competency for this world's needs.

CHAPTER XXVIII.

DEERFIELD.

" BY an act of the Legislature passed March 15, 1798, the county of Oneida was taken from Herkimer County, with its eastern boundary commencing on the southcast corner

SKETCH.

MRS. FRANCIS SKINNER.

of the town of Bridgewater, and running north on the east line of Bridgewater to the southeast corner of Paris; thenee on the same line, continued on the east line of Paris and Whitestown, to the southerly line of Cosby's Manor. Thus far the county line was upon the original line of Whites- town, as established in 1788. Commencing on the south- erly line of Cosby's Manor, the county line diverged from the original line of Whitestown, by running northcasterly in a direct line to the northerly bounds of Cosby's Manor, at a point where the same is intersected by the division line between Gage's and Walton's Patents; thence northerly upon the line between Walton's and Gage's Patents to the West Canada Creek ; thence northerly up the waters of said creek to the forks thereof, etc. The line of the county thms diverging from the original line of Whitestown, left por- tions of the towns of Frankfort and Schuyler in the county of Oneida. The act then proceeded to annex the part so left of Frankfort to Whitestown, and then organized the town of Deerfield from the part taken from Schuyler, pro- viding that the first town-meeting should be held at the house of Ezra Payne."*

By an act passed March 30, 1832, the town was di-

Jones' Annals, etc.

440

HISTORY OF ONEIDA COUNTY, NEW YORK.

vided and the new town of Marcy created, leaving Deer- field with its present boundaries. The town has an area of a little more than 35 square miles, or 22,500 acres. Its population, by the census of 1875, was 2098. The northern boundary is formed by the West .Canada Creek, and the southern by the Mohawk River; on the east is Herkimer County, and on the west the towns of Marcy and Trenton, Oneida County. Reall's Creek, named from an early sct- tler, rises near the centre of the town, and, after a winding course of seven or cight miles, empties into the Mohawk, near the Genesee Street bridge at Utica. It flows through the village of Deerfield Corners, which place is connected with Utica by a turnpike toll-road one mile in length. North of the centre the town is crossed by Nine-Mile Creek, so named from the fact that it discharges its waters into the Mohawk at a point nine miles above Utica. There are numerous smaller streams, mostly tributary to the Mohawk, a few flowing into West Canada Creek.

The surface of the town is greatly varied. Immediately north of the Mohawk the broad alluvial intervale, or bottom- land, stretches back an average distance of perhaps one and a half miles. After passing for some distance above what is known as the "river-road" a steady ascent begins, and terminates on the summits of the famous " Deerfield Hills," 800 feet above the Mohawk. Crossing these, the valley of Nine-Mile Creek intervenes, beyond which the hills in the north part rise to the height of probably 1000 feet above the Mohawk. The view from either range is one of great beauty. A broad expanse of hill and dale is spread before the eye, and occasional silver threads of water appear along the beds of the different streams. From the vicinity of North Gage Post-office, the valley of West Canada Creek appears almost under foot, and away eastward the frowning hills of Herkimer County appear, massive and grand. To the north are scen the highland regions of Russia, Herki- mer Co., with an occasional church-spire or white farm- house, and to the northwest rises some of the highest land in Oncida County,-Starr's Hill, in the town of Steuben. From the southern range of hills a fine bird's-eye view of the Mohawk Valley for many miles is obtained, and the villages of Oriskany, Whitesboro', Yorkville, and New York Mills appear seemingly in a cluster, while the city of Utica becomes dwarfed by distance to a mere handful of church-spires and columns of smoke. The valley to the east is closed in by the hills, which stand like mighty sentinels to watch the gateway through which the stream passes, and forever

" Frown on the river below."

Previous to the Revolution a few adventurous men came into the upper valley of the Mohawk, and located in what is now Deerfield. These were George J. Weaver,* Captain Mark Damoth, and Christian Reall, who located here in 1773, built themselves log houses, and began clearing ground for cultivation. "Like a large proportion of the Dutch on the Mohawk, these settlers were stanch Whigs. Not having the sign of being Tories at their doors (this sign was the skull-bone of a horse upon the top of a stake), they were marked for the firebrand and the scalping-knife.

In the summer of 1776 an Indian, believed to have been an Oneida, and who, for some cause, had received the sobriquet of Blue Back, was hunting northwardly from the settlement, and in the vicinity of Canada Creek. While thus occupied, he came upon a party of Tories and Indians, who were very particular in their inquiries respect- ing the little settlement at the Corners. Blue Back gave such answers as he chose, and the party proceeded in the direction of the settlement. After they were out of sight, Blue Back, who was well acquainted with, and the fast friend of, the settlers, boding no good to them from the visit they were about to receive, determined to apprise them of their danger. For this purpose, being well acquainted with the intervening hills, swamp, and thickets, with all the rapidity of the Indian scout he hastened to their set- tlement, and gave them timely warning of their danger. Soon their scanty furniture was hidden in the forest, and the women and children, in a wagon, accompanied by the men on foot, were rapidly wending their way to Little Stone Arabia, a small fort which was situated in the present town of Schuyler.f The time was but brief ere the Indians and Tories were in the settlement ; but ' the birds had flown,' and nothing was left upon which to vent their disappointed spite except the empty dwellings. To these the brand was applied, and their charred ruins were all that was left of the first settlement of Deerfield."}

It is stated that after the escape of these pioneer settlers, Mr. Damoth, who had previously been a resident of Herki- mer, returned to that place, and was soon after commis- sioned captain of a company of rangers. In a subsequent attack upon Herkimer he had an arm badly shattered, which disabled him so much that he received a pension for life on account of it.

Mr. Weaver, another of the settlers, was taken prisoner near Herkimer by a party of Indians and Tories, and carried, by way of Oswego, to Canada, and kept for nine months in close confinement at Quebec. He was taken from there to England, and after having been a prisoner for over two years was finally exchanged and returned to the Mohawk Valley.

The long Revolutionary struggle was not the least severe in the beautiful valley of the Mohawk, and many scenes of ruthless slaughter and bloodshed were witnessed within it, the scattered settlers suffering from Indian ravages and from the forays of their scarcely less savage allies, the Tories. Scarcely a family living in the region but was in mourning for some member slain, and many were completely broken up and their farms left desolate. The three families who were driven out of Deerfield, however, each resolved to go back to their hastily-evacuated farms, and the year 1784 found them again at work in their fields so long untilled, in the locality of what is now Deerfield Corners.

At nearly the same time Peter Weaver,§ Nicholas Weaver,§ George Weaver, George Damoth, Nicholas Harter, and Philip Harter, arrived and settled in the same

* Originally spelled Weber.

{ Herkimer County.

į Jones.

¿ Peter and Nicholas Weaver were not of the same family as George J. Weaver, although distantly related.

RESIDENCE of ARCHIBALD BLUE,

LITH . BY LH EVERTS PHILA PA

DEARFIELD, ONEIDA COUNTY, N. Y.

THE OLD HOMESTEAD.

LITH BY L.N EVERTS, PHILADELPHIA. : BARN 60 BY 80 FEET.)

RESIDENCE OF L.C. SCHERMERHORN, DEERFIELD, ONEIDA CO, N.Y.

PHOTO. BY WILLIAMS

Duncan Blue

A.L.BLUE.

LITH. BY L. H. EVERTS, PHILA, PA

RESIDENCE OF ALLEN L. BLUE, NORTH GAGE , ONEIDA C º N. Y.

MATH, BY L. H. EVENTS, PHIM

PHOTO BY SMITH

JAMES COX.

PHOTO BY WILLIAMS.

MRS. NANCY M.COX.

LITH BY L. K. EVERTS. PHILA. PA.

RESIDENCE OF JAMES M. COX , DEERFIELD, ONEIDA CO, N.Y.

RESIDENCE OF STEPHEN NORTHU

RFIELD, ONEIDA COUNTY, NEW YORK.

LITH DY L. H.EVERTS PHILA PA

441

HISTORY OF ONEIDA COUNTY, NEW YORK.

neighborhood. Judge Hugh White had but a short time previously located where now stands the village of Whites- boro'.

The first white male child born in the town of Deerfield was a son of George M. Weaver and grandson of George J. Weaver. This was George M. Weaver, Jr., whose birth occurred Jan. 15, 1787. He died early in 1877, in his ninetieth year. When but five years old he was a party to an adventure of a kind common at that period, which is described as follows in Judge Jones' " Annals" :

" In 1792 the first bridgo was erected over the Mohawk between Utica and Deerfield. To insure more help it was raised on Sunday. George M. Weaver-son of George J. Weaver-and his wife, with their little son, . . . were on their way to the raising, and when about half-way from the Corners to Utica, and some twenty or thirty rods above the present MacAdam road, their dog treed a hear. Mr. Weaver left his wife and son with the dog to keep the animal up the tree, while ho returned for his gun. The peculiar barking of the dog had apprised the inhabitants of 'Old Fort Schuyler' that valuable game was on foot, and a number of them arrived with their guns at about the same time that Mr. Weaver returned. Four or five shots were made in quick succession, and poor Bruin's life paid the forfeit for his temerity in approaching so near the sito of an emhryo city."

The only surviver of the third generation of the Weaver family in this town is Jacob G. Weaver, who lives a short distance above the corners, on the old plank-road. A son of George M. Weaver-Hon. A. B. Weaver-occupies his father's old place, and is among the leading citizens of the town. He has several times been in the Assembly. Jacob G. Weaver has four times filled the office of supervisor of Deerfield,-and the Weaver family, from its earliest settle- ment here, has been one of the most influential both in agricultural matters and politically.

Nicholas and Philip Harter, mentioned among the early settlers of this town, were brothers, and owned adjoining farms. Nicholas Harter was a Revolutionary veteran and pensioner, and a shoemaker by trade, at which he worked evenings, attending to his farm-labors during the day. He died July 26, 1854, in his ninety-fourth year. His son, Richard Harter, resides on the old place, and in the house in which he was born in 1800. The road originally passed north of the house instead of south, as at present. Philip Harter was by trade a blacksmith, and erected a small shop on his place, in which he worked during his life in Deer- field. He died about 1807-8. The Harters were from Herkimer, Herkimer Co., where they were both born. Their grandfather was a native of Germany, and was killed by the Indians during the Revolution.

Timothy Smith, originally from near Providence, R. I., and afterwards of Worcester, Mass., settled in Deerfield in March, 1800, with his family, on what is still known as " Smith's Hill," where they at first occupied a barn. Mr. Smith was accompanied by his wife, four sons, and one daughter. One of the sons died in Jefferson Co., N. Y., another in Iowa, and the others in Deerfield. Pratt Smith, the last survivor, died in town in March, 1874, at the age of eighty-six. He was one of the settlers who had witnessed a great amount of hardship and privation in the develop- ment of the country. His son, Giles Smith, from whom the foregoing information was obtained, is a resident of the town, of which he was elected supervisor in 1877. The

hill was named from the Smith family, they being the first permanent settlers upon it.

Dr. Alexander Coventry, who settled in Utica in 1796, removed to a farm in Deerfield about 1804. He was a native of Scotland, and came to America in July, 1785, locating first at Hudson, Columbia Co., N. Y. From there he removed to Romulus, Seneca Co., and in 1796 to Utica, -then " Old Fort Schuyler." In 1817 he had for a part- ner Dr. John MeCall, at that time also a resident of Deer- field. In 1818 their office was removed to Utica. Dr. Coventry died Dee. 9, 1831. His son, Robert Coventry, resides on a portion of the old farm in Deerfield, where he was born in February, 1807.

The settlements in the northern part of the town were made a number of years later than those along the Mohawk. In 1803, John Smith, from near Little Falls, Herkimer Co., several families named Blue, the Walkers, and the MeKays, located in the North Gage neighborhood. These families were nearly all Scotch.

Jacob H. Schermerhorn, a native of Rensselaer County, and later a resident of Montgomery, came to Deerfield about 1800-2, and purchased between 200 and 300 acres of land in the north part of town. In 1803 his eldest son, Uriah Schermerhorn, with a colored family named Jackson (the property of the elder Schermerhorn), moved to the place, and in March, 1804, his father settled with the rest of the family. A log house and barn were built on the place, near West Canada Creek, and Mr. Schermerhorn, Sr., afterwards moved up and built another log house near the present dwelling of his grandson, William Schermerhorn. The house now occupied by the latter was built by his grand- father iu 1812, and was the first framed house erected in this part of the town. Jacob H. Schermerhorn died on the 8th day of May, 1813. His son, Cornelius Schermerhorn, resides at North Gage. Another son, Daniel, was the first man to volunteer from Deerfield for the war of 1812. He held the rank of sergeant, and was stationed at Sacket's Harbor. After the war he became a colonel of militia.

Levi Schermerhorn, of North Gage, has in his possession an old-fashioned plow, with a wooden mold-board, and but one handle ; also, an iron pitchfork eighty years old or more, a shovel-plow of about the same age, and a " scythe and mat- hook" brought from Germany before 1800. While recently in North Holland, where he went to give instructions in the art of cheese-making, he prepared a model of the wagons now in use in that country. It is a curiosity, and shows a lack of enterprise and ingenuity on the part of the Hol- lander. The driver sits on the end-board, and by means of a crook in front steers the wagon down-hill with his feet.

In 1805, Jacob H. Schermerhorn built a saw-mill on West Canada Creek, which was operated about two years, when the dam was carried away in a freshet, and the mill was afterwards removed to Newport.

In the spring of 1819, Mr. Shermerhorn's sons, Dauiel and Cornelius, built a tannery near the present corners at North Gage, which had a shoe-shop in connection. The institution flourished, and work was done for people living more than half-way to Utica, and for many living iu Treu- ton. Nothing remains of this establishment.

Isaae Heatheringtou, father of William Heatherington,

442

HISTORY OF ONEIDA COUNTY, NEW YORK.

now residing at the corners, and also of Mrs. Cornelius Schermerhorn, was a native of England, and came with his parents to the United States previous to the Revo- lution. They settled near Johnstown, Montgomery Co., N. Y., afterwards removing to Schenectady; and about 1808, Isaac Heatherington brought his family to Deerfield, and located on the farm now occupied by W. Johnson, on the Utica road, south of North Gage. Some time after- wards he built a saw-mill on Nine-Mile Creek, which was burned. The site is now occupied by a saw-mill owned by Amasa Salisbury.

About 1807 a school was taught in a log building which stood on the land of Ephraim Owens, near J. H. Scher- merhorn's. The pedagogue who held forth in this first school-house in North Deerfield was one Stuart Cummings. He was possibly not the first, but taught quite early. He was a man of considerable talent, and was not only respected but feared by his pupils, as he was equally an adept in " birch-and-rule" practice and the use of the text-book. He taught a summer and a winter term.

THE FIRST TOWN-MEETING

in Deerfield was held April 3, 1798, at the house of Ezra Payne. The following officers were elected : Supervisor, Dr. Francis Guiteau ; Town Clerk, Isaac Brayton, Jr. ; Jus- tices of the Peace, Abram Camp, James S. Kip; Asses- sors, Daniel Biddlecom, Ebenezer Steward, Phineas Camp ; Commissioners of Highways, William Hallock, Calvin Guiteau, Hazard Sherman ; Poormasters, Olney Pierce, Ezra Payne ; Constables, Heli Foot, Wm. Hallock, Samuel Wells; Overseers of Highways, Rev. Oded Eddy, Ezekiel Willington, Olney Pierce, Hazard Sherman, Joseph Tylor, John Warren, William Hallock, James Wilson, Jantes Briggs, David Hadcock, Ebenezer Steward, John Jonson ; Poundmasters, Hazard Sherman, Phineas Camp ; Fence- Viewers, Hazard Sherman, Phineas Camp, Wm. Hallock, Nicholas G. Weaver.

The Supervisors of Deerfield, from 1799 to 1877 in- clusive, have been : 1799-1800, Dr. Francis Guiteau ; 1810-10, Isaac Brayton, Jr .; 1811, Calvin Guiteau ; 1812-18, Isaac Brayton ; 1819-23, Dr. Alexander Cov- entry ; 1824, John G. Weaver; 1825, Amasa Rowe; 1826-27, John D. Leland; 1828, Jacob Edic; 1829-31, John D. Leland; 1832, Amasa Rowe; 1833-40, Calvin Hall, Jr .; 1841, Ambrose Kasson ; 1842, Luther Leland ; 1843-44, Jacob G. Weaver; 1845, Richard Harter ; 1846-47, Jacob G. Weaver; 1848, Luther Leland ; 1849, John G. Webster; 1850-51, George F. Weaver; 1852, William D. Schermerhorn ; 1853, John D. Leland ; 1854- 55, Calvin Hall; 1856-57, William H. Green ; 1858-59, William Haddon ; 1860-61, George F. Weaver; 1862, John C. Blue ; 1863, Luther Leland ; 1864, tie vote,-no supervisor recorded ; 1865, William McSorley ; 1866, no vote recorded; 1867, George F. Weaver; 1868, Job Sayre; 1869, no vote recorded; 1870, Nicholas Hicks ; 1871-72, Frederick G. Weaver; 1873-74, Malcolm A. Blue; 1875, Nicholas H. Hicks; 1876, Frederick G. Weaver; 1877, Giles Smith.

The remaining officers for 1878 are : Town Clerk (1877) Charles E. Cruikshank; Justice of the Peace, Luther Le-

land ; Justices holding over, Isaac Willmarth, Levi Cruik- shank, Russell Fuller, and R. Harter; Assessor, Charles M. Dewey; Commissioner of Highways, F. S. Davis ; Overseers of Poor, A. C. Shaw and John D. Davis; Col- lector, James M. Cruikshank ; Constables, James H. Riley, William Lynch, Peter H. McEwan, Monroe Lawton, and William M. Griswold ; Town Auditors, John Bolger, Archi- bald Blue, and George B. Keyes ; Inspectors of Election- District No. 1, Stephen Northrup, Jacob Klumbach, and Pierce D. Condon; District No. 2, Hugh M. Ellis, Elliott D. Johnson, and J. T. Cruikshank ; District No. 3, Wm. E. Bowen, Levi C. Schermerhorn, and Jacob Becker; Sealer of Weights and Measures, William Peck ; Excise Commis- sioner, John R. Roberts; Game Constable, Henry Ruben.

Licenses were granted in this town by Dr. Guiteau, when supervisor, to the following persons: In 1798, Jabez Stewart and James Fluskey; in 1799, to Ezra Payne, Philip Harter, Isaac Brayton, Jr., Hazard Sherman, and Guiteau & Pierce; in 1800, to Bennett Rice, Isaac Bray- ton, Jr., Philip Harter, and George Tisdale.

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History of Oneida County, New York, 1667-1878, Part 117

Author: Publication date: 1878 Publisher: Philadelphia, Everts & Fariss Number of Pages: 932

Author:
Publication date: 1878
Publisher: Philadelphia, Everts & Fariss
Number of Pages: 932