History of Oneida County, New York, 1667-1878, Part 126

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

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Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

Mr. James L. Blackstone, upon arriving at the age of maturity, arranged with his father to remain upon the farm, and has ever since successfully followed the chosen occupa- tion of his father. He married, for his first wife, Kate

Dean, May 15, 1850. About two years later he was called to mourn her death, and Jan. 4, 1854, he married Helen E. Prescott, of New Hartford. The result of this union was one child, Edward J , born Jau. 6, 1873. Mrs. Black- stone is the second child and eldest daughter of John and Julia Prescott, who were children of pioneer families of the town of New Hartford. John Prescott was for many years deacon in the Baptist Church. Besides being a strong Abolitionist, he did all in his power to promote the cause of temperance. He died in 1850, surrounded by a large circle of friends.

Mr. Blackstone was elected to the office of justice of the peace, which position he has held for three years. He has also been commissioner of highways, and has held other minor offices. It is due him to state that he is a true rep- resentative of a successful agriculturist. A view of his residence may be seen on another page of this work.

MARSHALL W. BARKER,

the subject of this sketch, was born four miles south of Clinton village, and within the present limits of the town of Kirkland, April 15, 1801. His father, Wardell Barker,

A.LITTLE

MARSHALL W. BARKER.

was a native of the town of New Lebanon, Columbia Co., N. Y., where he was born in the year 1772. In January, 1797, his father, Uzal Barker, grandfather of our subject, emigrated to Oneida with his family, which consisted of his wife and five children, and settled four miles south of Clin- ton, where they purchased a farm. Here the elder Barkers lived and died ; they were farmers, and at the date of their emigration were in medium circumstances; but being in- dustrious, economical, and energetic they soon acquired a competeney. They were men who were universally known and esteemed for their high social qualities and sterling worth as citizens. The early life of our subject did not differ materially from most farmer boys of those days. He received the advantages of the district school, and acquired

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HISTORY OF ONEIDA COUNTY, NEW YORK.

a good common-school education. When twenty-three years of age he started in life for himself, and purchased a farm in the immediate vicinity of his father's. The year following he was married to Miss Malina, daughter of James and Mar- garet Lumbard, of his native town, where she was born Sept. 12, 1805. Seven children were born to them, and named in the order of their ages as follows : John S., Charlotte E., Ellen M., Mary D., Desdamona W., Charles M., and Giles H. Mrs. Barker was called to higher existence Aug. 14, 1846. She was an estimable woman, highly endowed with those traits of character which adorn the wife and mother. She was a devoted Christian, and a member of the Methodist Episcopal Church. Mr. Barker has been married twice since ; the first time to Louisa MeLean, of Cherry Valley, Otsego Co., and for his third wife a sister of his first,-Mrs. Maria Addington. In 1851, Mr. Barker, wishing to retire from active business, sold his farm and moved to Clinton, where he now resides. He is now in his seventy-eighth year-hale, robust, and is remarkably well-preserved. He can look back upon his past life with the consolation that he has improved his opportunities, and has conquered success in every department of life, and that he has done his part in the development of his native town.

JOHIN KIRKLAND.

The Kirkland family were prominently identified with the early history of Connecticut, and the name is found among the thirty-six heads of families who were the early settlers of Saybrook, and who came there in 1635-39. John, the progenitor of the family, was of Scotch descent, and emigrated from Silver Street, London. He had a son John, who was the father of ten children,-John, Elizabeth, Priscilla, Nathaniel, Philip, Lydia, Martha, Samuel, Daniel, and Parnell.

The subject of this sketch was a descendant of the John above mentioned. He was born in Norwich, now Hunt- ington, Mass., Jan. 16, 1779, and came to Clinton village about 1794, and commenced the first round of the ladder as clerk for Ralph W. Kirkland, one of the first merchants of the place, with whom he remained some time. Having a decided taste for the profession of the law, he began its study with his cousin, General Joseph Kirkland, with whom he remained seven years. He was admitted to the bar in the year 1805, and soon after established himself in the practice of his profession at Clinton, where he remained many years. As a lawyer Mr. Kirkland was regarded by his profes- sional brethren as an able counselor, and although not considered an orator in the ordinary acceptation of the term, his speeches were always argumentative and eonvincing. He was positive in character, and very firm in his convic- tions when reached ; firmness, in faet, may be said to have been one of his prominent characteristics. Becoming weary with his arduous duties as a lawyer, he turned his attention to farming, which he followed until his death, which oe- curred Jan. 20, 1858. In his political affiliations he was a Whig until the formation of the Republican party, with which he identified himself. Mr. Kirkland was united in marriage with Miss Mary Raymond, Feb. 11, 1824. She died Feb. 21, 1835, aged forty years. March 10, 1836, he was again married to Miss Julia A. Raymond. To

them was born one child, a daughter, Mary A., who is still living in the village of Clinton. His second wife died Aug. 11, 1840, aged thirty-eight years, and in 1841 hc was again married to Miss Abigail Raymond, who died Nov. 23, 1867, aged seventy-one years. Mr. Kirkland was a gentleman of the old-school type, a firm supporter of religious and educational interests, enjoying to the fullest extent the confidence and esteem of all who knew him.

CHAPTER XXXIII.

LEE.

THE town of Lee lies north of the centre of the county, and is composed of parts of townships one and two of Scriba's Patent, with several smaller traets and a portion of Fonda's Patent. Its arca is 27,771 aeres ; the soil is a sandy loam in the southern part, and somewhat colder in the northern. The portion south of Lee Centre is quite level, though con- siderably elevated, while the northern part rises into hills, in some places rugged and broken. These are a part of the range which extends nearly across the entire county, be- coming lower after passing across Camden and Annsville, and assuming nearly a common level where they enter Os- wego County. On Fish Creek, at the northwestern boun- dary of the town, there are quarries of good building-stone. Fish Creek, Canada Creek, and the west branch of the Mohawk water this town.

Lce was formed from a part of Western by an act passed by the Legislature April 3, 1811 ; in 1823 a part of Anns- ville was taken from it, leaving it with its present boundaries. The first town-meeting was " held at the school-house near Samuel Darling's, in the town of Lee, on the third day of March, in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and twelve, pursuant to an act of the Legislature passed at the last session."*

The following were the officers elected, viz. : Supervisor, James Young, Jr .; Town Clerk, West Waterman ; Asses- sors, Jesse Dutton, Earl Fillmore, Joseph White; Collector, Samuel Hall; Overseers of the Poor, John Hall, Dan Taft ; Commissioners of Highways, Jotham Worden, Dan Taft, Thomas E. Lawrence ; Constables, George Hawkins, Samuel Hall, Zaboliel Wentworth ; Fence- Viewers, Dan Taft, Adonijah Barnard, Asahel Castle; Poundmasters, Dan Taft, Alphcus Wheelock.

The Supervisors of this town from 1813 to the present have been as follows: 1813, James Young, Jr .; 1814-16, John Hall, Esq .; 1817-20, Wm. Park; 1821, Rudolph Devendorf,-Mr. D. removed, and William Park was elected at a special town-meeting to fill vacancy ; 1822-32, Wm. Park ; 1833-40, Daniel Twitchell; 1841-42, James N. Husted; 1843, Freeman Perry ; 1844-45, Lyman Sexton; 1846-47, John J. Castle; 1848, Jeram Chesebrough ; 1849, Mansir G. Phillips ; 1850-53, Charles Stokes ; 1854 -55, Charles E. Fraser ; 1856, Elias Spencer; 1857, Chas. Stokes ; 1858, Asaph B. Sexton ; 1859, Elias Spencer ; 1860-61, Henry J. Hitchcock ; 1862, Thomas J. Brown ;

# Town records.

REA

ANDREW DAVIDSON.

Photo. by Hovey & Brainerd.

ANDREW AND ALEXANDER DAVIDSON.

Alexander Davidson was born in the county of Tyrone, Ireland, in 1770. He married Mary Golly about 1806, and had one daughter, by the name of Eliza Jane, who was born in Ireland, June 7, 1807. Mr. Davidson fol- lowed farming, and in the spring of 1810 emigrated to America, and settled in Lee township, on the place now in the possession of the family. One son, Andrew, was born in Lee, in September, 1811. Another son, Alexander, was born in Lee, in June, 1815. One daughter, Lucy Ann, was born in September, 1819.

Mr. Alexander Davidson owned some one hundred and twenty-five acres of land, on which his family continued to live and improve. He died October 4, 1830 ; his wife dicd June 20, 1861.

Andrew and Alexander, Jr., always continued to live together, in company with their sister, Lucy Ann; the mother continued to live with them till her death.

Andrew and Alexander have made all the improvements on their fine farms, which lie side by side. These are, everything considered, the best farm improvements in the town or county. Two beautiful rows of maple

shade trees face the entire front of their farms. No better farm buildings are to be found in the town. The fences are good, and the general appearance bespeaks at once that they justly rank among the most enterprising farmers in the county. But fine as these farms are, yet Andrew, who was a most excellent farmer, was called to part with his on the 1st of June, 1878. In politics, he and his brother Alexander have always been Democrats. Andrew was supervisor of Lee during the years 1862, 1863, and 1864 ; he has been assessor; held some minor offices also. He was a man much esteemed and respected, and his loss is deeply felt not only by the members of his family, but by the public generally. His sister, Lucy Ann, died June 30, 1878, and both she and her brother Andrew lie side by side in the Valley Cemetery, where their parents also are buried.

The only member of this family who has been married is the sister, Eliza Janc. She married John Bamber, by whom three children were born, namely, Alexander, Mary Jane, and Lucy Ann. This biography, together with the views and portrait of his brother Andrew, is inserted by Alexander in memory of them.

473

HISTORY OF ONEIDA COUNTY, NEW YORK.

1863-65, Andrew Davidson ; 1866-68, Isaac MeDougall ; 1869, Andrew Golly ; 1870, Julius H. Sly ; 1871, Jay Capron ; 1872-75, Curtis B. Hitchcock ; 1876, Thomas J. Brown,-Mr. Brown resigned, and Elisha A. Walsworth was elected to fill the vacancy ; 1877-78, James Eames (2d).

The remaining officers for 1878 are : Town Clerk, Willis Austin ; Justices of the Peace, Levi K. Brown, Burlington Button, E. A. Walsworth, John Brown; Assessor, Henry Laufer; Commissioner of Highways, Platt E. Capron ; Collector, Norman Potter; Overseer of the Poor, John L. Field ; Constables, Henry C. Conradt, Joseph W. Hubbard, Norman Potter, Francis H. Wait; Town Auditors, Albert A. Cornish, Julius Sly, Eli J. Dewey ; Inspeetors of Elec- tion, District No. 1, John Champlin, Charles Brooks, Platt E. Capron ; District No. 2, Willett Stedman, Willis Austin, James M. Eames ; District No. 3, James Reynolds, Patrick Nolan, William A. Sinelair; Game Constable, Samuel P. Clark ; Excise Commissioners, Evan W. Evans, Curtis Spinning.

On the 8th of March, 1872, interesting exereises were held at Lee Centre, on the occasion of the 60th anniversary of the first town-meeting. At this celebration, held in the Ecelesiastical Church, there were present many of the de- seendants of the early settlers in the town and county, among them being the following natives of Lee, viz., Sam- uel Nisbet, Henry Hall, John Shaver, Asa Starr,* Asahel Castle,* Albert J. Wilkinson, Nathaniel Kenyon,* Orrin Kenyon, Lewis Eames,* Walton Worden, D. G. Drum- mond, A. W. Cornish, Captain Asa Fillmore,* Lyman Sexton, Albert J. Wentworth, and John Ufford .; There were also present the following three persons, original voters of the town: William Parke, Nathaniel Kenyon,* and Stephen Allen .* Four others of these voters were living, but unable to be present ; they were Nathaniel Wood, A. B. Pease, Joseph Kenyon,* and Tillotson Ross .* The following natives of town had come from other locali- ties to be present upon the occasion, viz. : George Hovey,* of Herkimer County ; Colonel E. B. Armstrong, of Rome ; Henry Twitchell, of Pulaski; Dr. H. N. Porter, of New York Mills; Smith Miller and Philetus Laney, of Anns- ville; Dwight Waterman, of Whitesboro'; Hon. Calvert Comstock,* of Rome; Hon. Anson S. Miller, ¿ of Rock ford, Ill., and possibly others. The following extemporaneous historical address was delivered by Judge Miller, who spoke entirely without notes :

" MR. PRESIDENT, LADIES AND GENTLEMEN,-Confined to my room in Rome by a severe cold nearly all the week till last night, I appear before you quite unfit to discharge the responsible duties of this oc- casion. We may well rejoice in this first pleasant day after the raging storm. Honored by the invitation to address you on this im- portant anniversary in the history of my native town, it becomes me, in the first place, to tender you my grateful acknowledgments. My old friends and neighbors will permit me to think aloud, to speak familiarly, and free from the rules of labored composition. Your cordial and affectionate welcome to this family reunion of the sous and daughters of Lee, this thanksgiving gathering of the aged and the young at the parental homestead, awakens the most grateful emotions. We come from far and near; some of us from distant States, after an absence abroad through the average lifetime of a

whole generation. Go where we may, either where curiosity in travel may lead us, or the currents of business may bear us round the earth, even though the distance be returnless, and absence from our earthly home be perpetual, its endearments will be image 1 un- fadingly in our heart of hearts forever.

"Rejoicing in this return to the scenes of our childhood, we cannot repress feelings of sadness as we miss in this assemblage so many associated with the happy memories of life's morning. They are indeed missed, but not forgotten, and we deeply realize the pathos of the plaintive melody described by Ossian : ' The musie of Caryl was like the memory of joys that are past,-pleasant though mournful to the soul.'

"Great changes have passed over our native town in the course of thirty to forty years. Forty years ago I knew every man and woman and nearly every child in town. Now I find myself compar- atively a stranger among you. There are few who were men when I was a boy but what I recognize. It is easier to remember men than for men to remember growing boys. I met one the other day, who had been my father's nearest neighbor, who used to carry me on his back, and I shook hands with him, and said, ' How do you do, Mr. --? ' HIe looked at me closely, and said, 'Stranger, you've got the advantage of me.' I said, 'Don't you remember the boy Anson Miller?' Ile looked me in the face with astonishment, and said, ' Why, how you have grown !'

"Primitive dwellings have disappeared, and scattered shrubbery and trees mark the spots of former homes. Most of our youthful com- panions are gone,-somne to western regions and foreign elimes, over oceans and continents, and others (the majority) have crossed the in- visible bounds which separate time from eternity. The lights of many happy homes have been extinguished. Cheering voiees have been hushed in death, helping hands have turned to dust, loving hearts have ecased to beat, and fathers, mothers, brothers, sisters, and many beloved friends and neighbors no longer gladden our eyes in these eireles of the living, -- circles sadly broken here, but, as we trust, to be forever rejoined in the spheres of immortal being. We read the names of our departed friends on the marble memorials in your cemeteries, where entire families have been laid in the silent graves. Some of the well-known families are represented here to-day by single survivors only. Such is our earthly life. 'One generation passeth away and another generation cometh.' Early friends, though few, but doubly dear, now greet us with welcome home, and with hearts full of grati- tude we respond to all of the manifestations of social and domestic love, of which home, the most inspiring word in our language, is at once the centre and the soul. Your greeting touches our hearts with electrie force, and we feel in our owu bosoms the pulsations of this assemblage. Years are the milestones of individuals in the journey of life, while scores and centuries mark the cras of communities. Like travelers pausing on an elevation in their course, surveying the land- seape behind, before, and all around, we stan'l to-day on the emineuce of sixty years from the separate organization of our town, and over eighty years from its first settlement, to rear a memorial monument to its worthy founders. Stan ling, then, on this mount, let us build three tabernacles,-one for the past, one for the present, and one for the future.

"Threescore years ago, the present month, the incorporation of the town of Lee was completed by the election of its first board of officers. Previous to this perfected organization it had been embraced within the limits of different towns,-in the town of German Flatts till 1788, in Whitestown from then to 1792, in Steuben from this to 1798, when the town of Western held its first town-meeting for the election of officers, an act for the division having been passed in 1797,-from this to 1812, the first town-meeting, of which this is the sixtieth anniver- sary. An enabling act for the division of Western was passed by the Legislature in 1811. Most of the inhabitants of two entire genera- tions, an'l many of a third, have passed away since the first settlement in our present limits in 1790. Already the names of the pioneer muen and women are knowu to a few only, and the carly history of the town, excepting some general data of the county, will be forgotten uuless preserved in a permanent memorial. Earthly remembrance, at the best, is of brief continuance, and tradition will not long preserve the. memory of our early settlers from oblivion. Assembled, as we are. to commemorate the organization of Lee, and to pay a just tribute to our pioneer sett'ers, we cannot but feel our lasting obligations to those who, amid the labors and privations of an Indian frontier, built their log cabins, felled the forests, opened fruitful fields, established schools

# Since deecased.

Since removed to Oswego County.

¿ Now of Patchin, Santa Cruz Co., Cal.

474

HISTORY OF ONEIDA COUNTY, NEW YORK.

and churches, and laid the foundations broadly and deeply for the prosperity of coming generations. They who left comfortable homes in New England and elsewhere for this then wilderness region sought neither gold nor fame, but a living for themselves and their families. They strove to raise their children to a better condition than their own, and in their struggles with adversity they exhibited a lofty self- reliance and courage seldom surpassed by military heroes. They only who have removed far from their homes and friends, and settled in the unbroken solitudes of the forests and prairies, can truly estimate the foree in man and faith in God necessary to seenre success and happi- ness. Lee takes the lead, as far as I am informed, in celebrating the period of her organization, and, happily, at a time when a few of the men present at the first town-meeting are still with us. Venerable mnen, we are glad to see you here ! May your last days be your best days ! Sixty years ago seems but as yesterday. Yonr threcseore years have shrivelled like a seroll touched by consuming fires. The example of Lee will doubtless be followed by other towns. The first settlement in what is now Lee was made on the west side of the Mo- hawk River, near the present site of Delta, by Esck Sheldon and his sons, Stephen, Reuben, and Amasa, in 1790. Stephen built the first house, a little log cabin, hetween Potash Brook and the house after- wards built by Israel Stark. The father and the other brothers took np land on the flat west of the Mohawk, next above the land known as the Bugby place, just north of the road leading from Delta to Lee Centre. At this angle in the roads under the hill was erected the first school-house in the town of Western, now Lee. It was a small, log house, with a Dutch fireplace, stick chimney, and slab-roof and seats. Joshua Northrup, a young surveyor, searcely eighteen years old, was the first teacher. He settled in what is now Western, and was a magistrate thero for many years. About the time of the Sheldon settlement, or soon after, David Smith and his sons, David and Rus- sell, came to the Mohawk country, near Delta, deseribed by a writer of that time as ' away up the Mohawk country beyond Fort Stanwix, inhabited only by bears, wolves, and Indians.' David Smith, Jr., built a saw-mill there soon after, which he subsequently sold to Judge Prosper Rudd, who came into the conntry from Franklin, Mass., with Eliza, his wife, and his sons, Jahez F., Benjamin, and Wyllis, and his daughter, wife of the late Captain Gates Peck. Judge Rudd soon after added a flouring-mill, with one run of stone, and a earding- machine, which were a great convenience to the country. The flour- ing-mill has been greatly enlarged and improved by Eliakim Elder, Anson Dart, and Elisha Walsworth. Soon after 1790 came Deacon Nathan Barlow, and Lydia, his wife, late the widow of Joseph Miller, of Granville, Mass., and mother of Smith, Eliakim, Dan, and Luther Miller, pioneer settlers. They eut the first wagon-path from the resi- dence of Roswell Fellows, on the road running from Fort Stanwix to Elmer IIill, a mile and a half, to their residence in Lee Centre.

" In 1792, Colonel Alpheus Wheeloek aud Rachel, his wife, a fa- mous female physician, settled at Elmer Hill, and about the same time Edward Salisbury and his seven sons, Niebolas, Edward S., Enon, Alexander, Lodowick, De Estaing, and Smith, settled near Delta. Nicholas, the father of Mrs. Abigail Rudd, wife of Colonel Benjamin Rudd, was the first resident on the Bughy place, next south of Esek Sheldon's. Edward S. took land farther up the Mohawk River, on the west side, near what became the residence of Silas Morse. An- other early settler, Otis White, father of Moses T., Willard, Otis, Jr., and Israel, took up land in the same neighborhood. Edward Salis- bury, Sr., settled with his other sons on the lan l since the farms owned by Adin and Rensselaer Sly, on the road from Delta to Lee Centre. The Sheldons, Smith, Wheelocks, and Salisburys emigrated from the State of Rhode Island. IIezekiah Elmer and Elizabeth, his wife, and his sons Andrew, Eliakim, Hezekiah, and his daughters, subsequently the wives respectively of Dr. Enoch Alden and James Benedict, came from Conneetieut at that early day, and settled near what is known as Elmer Hill. Colonel Wheelock opened the first tavern west of Fort Stanwix, at the Hill. In 1792 the inhabitants near Delta were joined by John Spinning and his sons, John, Jr., Daniel, and their brother-in-law, Luther Washburn, and sons, Mar- tin, Rnfus, Freeman, Luther, Jr., and Calvin; also their relative, Benjamin Crittenden. . These were from the State of Vermont. Crittenden was the first settler on the land afterwards the home of James Baker, father of Miles and Lorenzo D., where Daniel Twitchell subsequently resided. Near this time Deacon Andrew Clark, father of Joseph Clark, and grandfather of Mrs. Stokes, built a house near Nisbet's Corners. Ephraim Ballard was the first se'tler on the Nis-

bet farm, and Abiel Kenyon lived near. Matthew Clark and Jona- than Bettis took np the land afterwards ocenpied by Hazzard Stead- man. Joseph Hale and his brother were the first residents on the land sold by Simeon Gunn to Alban Comstock, and Frederick Spragne took up the land adjoining, on which Colonel Wheelock sub- seqnently built a large frame house, afterwards oeenpied by John Dye, Peter Hnsted, John Shaver, and others.

"Smith Miller built the Mallory House, in which the Rev. Lorenzo Dow was married with Margaret (Peggy ) IIoleomb, the younger sister of Mrs. Miller. Early in the settlement of what is now Lee, James Young and Hannah, his wife, and his sons, James, Jr., Benjamin, David, and Alvan, and a number of daughters, emigrated from Lee, Mass., and settled half a mile south of Lee Centre. Deacon John IIall had previously located on land near Mr. Young, which John Smith purchased of Hall, now owned by William Graves. There was a neighborhood west from Lee Centre, known as Brookfield Set- tlement, where West Waterman, William Lany, Tillotson Ross, and Messrs. Fish, Walker, Ilitchcock, and others, from Brookfield, Mass., settled. Dan Taft lived on the State road, towards Taberg, and Tom Lawrence settled on the west branch of the Mohawk at an early day. The land in Lee was mainly embraced in fonr patents, which cornered on the south side of Canada Creck, where Ezra Hovey afterwards had his garden. Fonda's and Oothondt's Patents were lease-land. Jellis Fonda sold much of his extensive patent to Stephen Lush, of Alhany, and other land dealers, for ten cents per aere. The other patents were Scriba's and Banyar's. There were other lands in what is now Lee, known as Matehin's, Boon's, and Mappa's traets. A part of Scriba's Patent, known as the 6000-acre traet, in township No. 1, afterwards known as Fish Creek Settlement, and a part of the 4000-aere tract, in township No. 2, were sold to Daniel C. White, John W. Bloomfield, John Hall, George Huntington, and others.

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History of Oneida County, New York, 1667-1878, Part 126

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

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