History of Oneida County, New York, 1667-1878, Part 69

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

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Captain Potter was a very religious man, and was named as a member of the eonnmittee which drafted a constitution for the "United Society of Whitestown and Old Fort Sehuyler," organized in 1793, and was subsequently dea-

# This old relie of the carly days stands in front of tho hardware- store of Mr. Roberts, on the corner of Broad and Genesee Strects. It is a massive affair of east iron, weighing 410 pounds, and dates back to 1796. Mr. Jones states that this fire occurred in 1806 or 1807. According to Mr. Jones, John Post was the first regular mer- chant in the place, but according to Dr. Bagg, Peter Smith preceded him.

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HISTORY OF ONEIDA COUNTY, NEW YORK.

con and elder. IIe was a peculiar and very plain-spoken man, as the following anecdote from Dr. Bagg's work illus- trates :

"Mr. Heury Huntington, of Rome, had a lawsuit against Abel French, for failure to perform a contract for the sale of some land on the hills south of the Mohawk, two or three miles from Utica. The question was what damages he should recover. Hle regarded the land as valuable, and wanted the difference between the contract price and the current value, and called Deacon Potter as a witness to prove its value. The latter was a warm friend of Mr. Huntington. When sworn and asked if he knew the land, he said, ' Yes, every foot of it.' ' What do you think it worth, Captain Potter?' The old man paused a moment, and then slowly said, ' If I had as many dollars-as my yoke of oxen-could draw-on a sled,-on glaze ice,-I vow to God -- I would not give a dollar an acre for it!' There was some noise in the court-room on hearing the answer."

The captain died in 1810, and his wife two years after- wards. They had five children : Lucinda, Sarah, Matilda, Mary, and William Frederick. The first married Benja- min Plant ; the second, Thomas Norton ; the third, Stephen Ford and William Alverson ; the fourth, Mary, remained unmarried. The son occupied and cultivated the home- stead long after the city had grown up around it.

Matthew Hubbell was from Lanesboro', Mass., where he was born in 1762. At the age of fifteen years he was drafted into the army, and was present at the battle of Bennington, in August, 1777. He had removed in 1789 to a part of the Phelps and Gorham purchase, in Ontario County ; but his wife being discontented he sold his lands for a small advance on their cost, and came via the outlets of Canandaigua and Seneca Lakes, the Sencca River, Oneida River and Lake, Wood Creek, and the Mohawk to Old Fort Sehuyler, arriving in December. He bought the in- terest of Hendrich Salyea in the River Bend farm, and subsequently obtained a deed of the same from the heirs of General Bradstreet. Here he lived until his death, in October, 1819, which was brought on by exposure at Sacket's Harbor, to which place he was carrying supplies during the war.

Benjamin Ballou was a native of Rhode Island. He lived upon a farm of one hundred and twenty-six acres, ou lot No. 92, which was leased from the Bleeeker family in 1797. He cultivated this farm and also carried on the tanning business. He is described in Dr. Bagg's work as " a tall, lank person, wearing a velvet suit much worn, and a hat that lacked at least a third of its brim." He died March 2, 1822.

The only chronieled arrivals for 1791 were Peter Bellin- ger and Thomas and Augustus Corey, from Rhode Island. They were cousins, and purchased two hundred acres of lot No. 95, upon which they erected a frame dwelling, re- markable, among other things, for being shingled on the sides as well as the roof. It stood on the northeast corner of Whitesboro' and Hotel Streets. The Coreys did not remain very long, for we find them selling out in 1795 to Messrs. Boon & Linklaen, the agents in Utica of the Holland Land Company, and removing from the place. Thomas was a surveyor and came west with the intention of pursuing his calling, but afterwards returned to his native State, where he became prominent in civil affairs.

In 1792 we find new merchants locating in Utica. These were Joseph Ballou aud his sons. He was a brother

of Benjamin, from Exeter, R. I., and settled upon lot No. 94, where he cultivated quite an extensive farm. In the month of August, 1800, he and his sons purchased lots on Main Street, near the present John Street, upon which they built a house and store. The dwelling stood fronting the square, but when John Street was subsequently opened, it was faced around upon that street, and made part of a pub- lie-house, long known as Union Hall. The site is now occupied by the Ballou Block.

Mr. Ballou died in 1810. His sons were merchants, and occupied the store mentioned above. The sons were named Jerathmel (or Jerathmael, as Mr. Jones writes it) and Obadiah. They continued in trade for a number of years, when Obadiah retired from business, and about 1834 removed to Auburn. The first named was for several years one of the village trustees. He died June 29, 1817. His son, Theodore P., still lives in Utica. Sarah, the daugh- ter, was afterwards the wife of Ebenezer B. Shearman. She died February 7, 1877, aged ninety-six years.

The summer of 1792 is noted in the annals of the town for the erection of the first bridge over the Mohawk .* The necessity of such a structure had been seen undoubt- edly for some time previous to any action being taken, and the principal obstacle iu the way of its erection at an earlier date had been the want of the necessary means.

At length it was resolved to petition the Legislature for assistance, and the following document was drawn up and signed by probably nearly every voter in the village and vieinity. The petition and names of signers are from Dr. Bagg's work :

" To the Honorable the Legislature, etc., etc. :

"The petition of the Subscribers, Inhabitants of the County of Her- kimer, Respectfully sheweth : That having for a long time endured the inconveniences and dangers of fording the Mohawk River at Old Fort Schuyler, did some time past associate, and by voluntary sub- scription attempt to raise money to erect a hridge across the river at said place, but, after their most strenuous exertions, find themselves, ou account of the infant state of the adjacent settlements, incapable of effecting said purpose ; and your petitioners beg leave to state that in addition to the inconveniences of fording said river (which at some seasons of the year is very dangerous), the public in general are highly interested in the erection of a hridge at said place, as it is one of the greatest roads in the State of New York, being the customary, and, (in consequence of the erection of bridges over the Canada creeks below,) the most direct, route from the eastern to the west part of the State. In this situation, while the more interior parts of the State are enjoying liberal donations from the State for building of bridges, your petitioners earnestly implore the Legislature to extend a helping hand to those who, having but recently settled in almost a wilderucss, have devolved upon them a very heavy burden in making roads and building bridges. They therefore pray the Legislature to grant them the sum of Two Thousand Pounds towards defraying the expense of erecting a bridge at the place above mentioned, as it will require nearly double that sum to complete the same. And your petitioners will ever pray.

" HERKIMER COUNTY, October 24, 1792.

Thomas R. Gold.

Elias Kane.

Thomas Hooker.

Jeremiah Powell.

Asa Brunson.

Asa Kent.

Robert Bardwell.

Claudius Wolcoot.

Peleg Hyde.

Archibald Bates.

Edward Johnson.

John Cunningham.

Ezra Hovey.

Joseph Harris.

Jacob Hastings.

Samuel Wells.

# According to a statement in a Utica Directory for 1829, this was the first bridge erected on the Mohawk River at any point.

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HISTORY OF ONEIDA COUNTY, NEW YORK.

fried rieg bauman.

Uriah Sayles. Jacob -- (illegible). John Whiston, Danicl Campble. Isaac Brayton. Caleb Austin.

Augustus Sayles. George Wever. Samuel Griffith.

Thomas Scott. William Alverson.

Samuel Barnes. William bailo. Elizur Moseley.

Nathan Smith.

Georgo Doolittle. Daniel Reynolds. Just's Griffeth.

Galus Morgan. Phillup Alesworth.

John Lockwood.

Benjamin Johnson. Philip Morey.

John Foster.

Henry Chosebrough.

John Richardson.

George Staples.

Noah Kent.

Solomon Harter.

Shadrach Smith.

Oliver Trumbull.

Daniel Follett.

Ab'm. Bum ( Boom ?)

John Bellinger.

John Christman.

Daniel C. White. Matthew Hubbell. Solomou Wells. David Andrew. John Post.

John D. Petrye.

Jeremiah Read.

William Sayles, Jr.

Theodore Sprague.

Benjamin Carney. Abram Jillet.

Solomon Whiston.

Peleg Briggs.

Townsin Briggs.

Nathaniel Darling. John Crandal. Sam'l Wilbur.

Seth Griffeth. Ilenry Fall.

David Stafford.

Francis Gniteau.

Samuel Stafford."

The names in italics are settlers at Old Fort Schuyler (Utica).

This petition was favorably considered and finally granted by the Assembly.

The people went on, however, and constructed the bridge without waiting the action of the Legislature, and the work was well advanced before the result of their prayers was known.

The bridge was built at the foot of Second Street, two blocks below its present location, and a little above the site of Old Fort Schuyler. It is said that the raising of the structure took place on Sunday, in order to enable more people to take part in it without interfering with their farm and other labor.

The necessity which could induce the staid, Sabbath- observing people to break over their ordinary respect for the day must have been very urgent indeed.

In speaking of this circumstance Dr. Bagg relates the following incident :

"There was living in Deerfield a fow months since a man who, when a child, was present at the raising. This was Elder George M. Weavor, who was born " January 15, 1787," and was then in his sixth year. "An incident which he related as connected with the event must have contributed to fix the fact in his memory. On the way over with his parents from Deerfield they spied a bear in a tree by the sido of the road. While Mrs. Weaver bravely remained at tho foot of the tree with her young son and another child in arms, keep- ing watch of the bear, the father returned home, procured a gun, and shot tho animal, after which they continued their courso to tho river."

This bridge had the honor of being inspected, about a

* Dr. Bagg says January, 1788, but we havo it from members of the family as giveu above .- IIISTORIAN.

year after its construction, by a gentleman who afterwards became the most celebrated engineer of his time, Markt Isambart Brunel, who stayed at John Post's, in Utica, in November, 1793, while on a journey from New York to the French purchase on Black River, known as " Castor- land." In the morning, young Brunel, probably by request, went out and inspected the bridge, of which the inhabit- ants were undoubtedly not a little proud. The following is the account of the examination, taken from the files of their journal, and which, if made known to the people, must have been received as anything but complimentary to the judgment and skill of the mechanics of the Mohawk Valley :

" This bridge, built after the English manner, is in the are of a cirele, with a very moderate curve, and is supported by beams placed like a St. Andrew's cross, and covered with plank. The bridge has already bent from the curve intended and inclined to the oval, an effect due as much to the framing as to the quality and smallness of the timbers, which are of pine and fir. The main support, which they have put in the middle, would rather tend to its entire destrue- tion when the ice is going off. The abutments are of timber, and also settled from miscalculation of the resistance, the one on the south side being built upon ground that is full of springs.

" This bridge has been built but a short time, and was erected by a country carpenter. We asked Mr. Post why, when they had such a work to execute, they did not employ an engineer or architect to draw a plan and the details, which a carpenter might then easily execute. Ile replied that this was not the custom, and that no carpenter would be willing to work after the plans of another man. Ile, however, appeared mortified at the probable fate of his bridge which we pre- dieted."

The bridge was soon after destroyed by a flood, and a new one was erected in 1794. We continue our extracts from Dr. Bagg :

" From the preceding list of signers we gather a few additional names. They represent farmers who lived near rather than within the settlement, and some actually outside of the limits of Utica, as de- termined by the first village charter. These limits reached from the castern line of lot No. 82, on the cast, to the western bounds of No, 99, on the west. On or near the upper end of the former lot, and iu the vicinity that is called Welsh-bush, lived Nathan Darling, Jere- miah Powell, and Joseph Harris.

"Somewhat nearer, though at quite a remove from the central set- tlement, were John D. Petrie, Frederick Bowman, and'Ilenry Staring. Petrie occupied the farmi next cast of Matthew Hubbell, afterwards well kuown as the IIigh School Farm, until 1802, when he sold it to Alexander Cairns, who resold it to Solomon Wolcott. Below him again, and at the end of the plain of Broad Street, just where the road begins to deseend to the hollow of the creek, was the house of Frederick Bowman. Staring was his next neighbor ou the east, if not at the date in question certainly within a short time afterwards. Petric, Bowman, and Staring were all of German origin, and tho names of all occur among the patentees of the town of German Flats. Bowman's is the only family of which there are representatives still left in Utica and vicinity. Westward were found Claudius Wolcott, a little west of Nail Creek,¿ on the present Court Street; Archibald

+ Written also Marc. Mention of the exploring party, of whom Brunel was one, is made on a previous page.

Į Mr. Jones gives the following regarding the origin of this name : " By the Bleecker map Nail Creek is named 'Nagal Kill.' Some twenty-five years ago (written in 1851) Mr. Joseph Masseth, a Ger- man, established a ' dog-nail-factory,' as it was called, on the banks of Nail Creek, for the manufacture of wrought nails. Hlis bellows were blown by two dogs, who, in turn, ran in a wheel after the manner of modern dog-churns, and a description of his factory (at first a mere shanty ) went the rounds in most of the newspapers of the United States." . . . " It is very generally believed that Nail Creek received its name from these circumstances. But . Nagal Kill' is German and Datch,

Nath'l Griffeth. John 11. Pool. Silvanus Mowry. Abr'm Bracr. William Sayles.

Jacob Christman. Obadiah Ballon, Ellis Doty.

Aaron Bloss.

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HISTORY OF ONEIDA COUNTY, NEW YORK.

Bates and Aaron Clark, on the lower or river end of lot No. 101; and Darius Sayles, on the upper part of the same lot, and in the rear of the present Asylum farm. Aaron Clark at first occupied a log house near the river, but afterwards built on the Whitesboro' road. He had three sons and four daughters. Dying in 1803, he was succeeded by his son, Welcome, whose son, Alfred S., still lives (1877) on the same lot, No. 101, though a little east of the homestead. Welcome Clark's wife was a daughter of Urial Sayles. Both families were from Rhode Island.

"Next west of Clark Street lived two men, named Robert Whipple and Arnold Wells; and though their names are not to be found on the petition, we are assured that they had already been a year or two established. The former occupied the gambrel-roofed house which, up to the year 1870, stood on the northern side of the road; the latter was on the south side. They bore the relations of father and son-in- law, having married, while still in Rhode Island, a widow and her daughter. Of these, one only engaged in business in the village. Mr. Wells was for a short time a merchant, furnishing the capital, about the year 1802, which gave a start to his more adventurous partner, Watts Sherman. Mr. Wells' father and brother, who were petitioners for the bridge, resided in Deerfield.

" Still farther west, on the Whitesboro' road, Nathan Smith had a house on the south side that is still standing. He was one of the representatives of Herkimer County in the Legislature of 1798, and of Oneida-now set off from Herkimer-in the session of 1801-2. During the two subsequent sessions he was again a member from Herkimer, and was living at Fairfield. Mr. Smith had a share in organizing the Bank of Utica in 1812, and was one of its original trustees."

Among thie principal arrivals of 1793 were Gurdon Bur- chard and wife, his father, Gideon Burchard, and James P. and Stephen Dorchester. Gurdon Burchard carried on the business of saddle and harness making, on Whitesboro' Street, until about 1810, when he discontinued it and went into the business of tavern-keeping, under the sign of the " Buck," near the present site of the Dudley House, where he continued, with the exception of a short interval when he was in the mercantile business, until his death, August 17, 1832, of Asiatic cholera, to which he and a daughter fell victims. Mr. Burehard was for several years one of the trustces of the village.

His father, Gideon Burchard, who came a short time after him, died in 1810.

The Dorchesters were relations of the Burchards, and engaged in the hatting business, on Genesee Street, near them. James P. Dorchester erected the first briek store, on Genesee Street. He afterwards removed from Utica. Stephen died in 1808.

The year 1794 witnessed the arrival of a large number of settlers, among the most prominent of whom were James S. Kip, Dr. Samuel Carrington, Moses Bagg, John House, Jason Parker, and Apollos Cooper. Among others who were living here, and may possibly have arrived during the year, Dr. Bagg mentions Joseph Peirce, Thomas Norton, Dr. Benjamin Woodward, Stephen Ford, Aaron Eggleston, John Hobby, Thomas Jones, Simeon Jones, and Barnabas and Roger Brooks.

James S. Kip was a prominent citizeu for many years.

He was the son of a wealthy Dutch farmer living on Kip's Bay, and a nephew of Abrahan Herring, to whom Peter Smith had been an apprentice ; and it was probably through the influence of the latter gentleman that he was induced to settle in Utica. He evidently had faith from the first in the future importance of the place, for, on the 19th of July, in the same year, he purchased lot No. 96, containing 400 acres, covering, at the present day, some of the most valuable property in the city and southern suburbs. Hc afterwards sold a small portion of this purchase, and finally settled on a leased farm of 366 acres, on lot No. 93, which included the locality occupied by the old fort. On this lot, near the east end of Main Street, he built a log store and established a new landing-place at the mouth of Ballou's Creek, and attempted to divert a share of the commerce of the place from the locality occupied by John Post and others higher up the Mohawk. He also erected an ashery and became quite an extensive manufacturer, though in Messrs. Bryan Johnson and Kane & Van Rensselaer he soon found stirring competitors. Mr. Kip became a prominent mili- tary man, and figured extensively as inspector of militia in the northern towns. In 1804 he was appointed sheriff of the county, which office lie held at intervals for nine years. He was also one of the first board of directors of the Utica Bank, and served as its first president. In 1812 he was one of the Presidential electors.

Dr. Bagg relates an incident in the life of Major Kip illustrative of the bitterness of party politics in those days. It was in the form of a personal encounter between the major and Judge Morris S. Miller, and grew out of an article which appeared in one of the newspapers of the time, and which was generally credited to the judge. Major Kip took umbrage at the article, and, seeking out Judge Miller, attempted a castigation with a eowhide ; but the judge being equally belligerent, the result was a serious eneounter, wherein both combatants were terribly punished.

Major Kip at first resided on the corner of Main and Third Streets, in the dwelling subsequently oeeupied by Judge Miller ; but about 1809 he erected on lot No. 96 the finest residence then in the village. It was constructed of stone, and stood on the west side of Broadway, and near where the canal was subsequently laid out. When the canal was completed it ran so near the dwelling as to greatly in- jure the cellar and grounds, and when the enlargement was made, the beautiful place was ruined. A portion of the lawn had been frequently used for military parades. In 1825, Major Kip removed to New Haven, Conn., where he was concerned in a large landed estate. He returned to Utica, however, about 1830, and died Aug. 27, 1831, aged sixty-four years. His wife, Miss Elizabeth Dakin, the daughter of an English lady, died in 1809. He married a second time, Miss Meirin, in 1812. He had four children.

Joseph Peirce had been a soldier in the Revolutionary army, and bore the title of captain. He lived in a farm house on what is now Broadway, a little south of Whites- boro' Street. Hc subsequently removed to Deerfield. He was something of a mechanic, and in 1810 construeted the covered bridge over the Mohawk, which was the third one built.

He had three sons, Joseph, Jr., John, and Parley.

and translated means Nail Creek, thus showing it an ancient name ; but from what or when it received the name, or what kind of a 'Nail' was intended, will doubtless ever remain a mystery."

Dr. Bagg gives a somewhat different version of this matter. He states that settlers of 1794-97 say that the name " Nail Creck" origi- nated from the circumstance of the upsetting of a wagon loaded with nails in the ereek, either during the old French war or the war of the Revolution.

000001

LITH BY L. N. EVERTS, PHILAOA.

RESIDENCE OF THOS HOPPER, UTICA, NEW YORK.

CEMETERY

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

RESIDENCE OF THE LATE JOHN BUTTERFIELD UTICA NY

RER

JOHN BUTTERFIELD was born at Berne, in the IIelderberg, near Albany, November 18, 1801. In early life we find him in the employment of Thorpe & Spragne, of that city, as a driver, and through the solicitation of Mr. Theodore S. Faxton came to Utica, where he for a time was employed in picking up passengers from the taverns and boats for Parker's stages. After a time he started a livery with but small accommodations, and such were the beginnings of a life of great activity and enterprise, and which was bound up with most of the different kinds of transportation now practiced; for in every means undertaken to increase the facilities of travel aud intercommunication, Mr. Butterfield was for a generation one of the foremost of the citizens of Utica. Ilis connection with Parker & Co. continued so long as they were still in busi- ness, and was succeeded by important lines of his own, wherein he was a lead- ing manager in the State until staging was superseded by railroads.

He was interested and had his share in the packet-boats and in the steam- boats on Lake Ontario, and gave his earnest personal efforts to create the companies and raise the funds required for the construction of somo of the plank-roads leading out of the city, and was the originator of its street rail- roads. His labors were ardnous in stirring up the people to the importance of roads to the north and to the south; and to him is Utica largely, if not princi- pally, indebted for the Black River and both of the southern railways. Ile was among the first who realized how a lucrative business could be formed by the rapid transportation of such articles as could afford to pay express charges ; and he became an early director in the express company. To him as much as to any other individual, say the resolutions of the board, was due the high repu- tation which this company obtained in commercial circles throughout the country, as well as the success that has attended it. In that organization he remained a directing power until the close of his life, and renped from it a large pecuniary profit. He was also among the first to appreciate the capaci- tics of the electric telegraph, and immediately upon the practical adoption of the invention, he joined with Messrs. Faxton, Wells, Livingston, and others in the establishment of the New York, Albany, and Buffalo Telegraph Company. Ilis faith followed upon his sagacity, and he steadily urged and aided in tho extension of lines and companies.

He assisted likewise in putting in operation the overland mail route, the precursor of the Pacific Railroad, and which did much to demonstrate the im- portance of a continuous connection between the Atlantic and the Pacific States. Having long been a mail contractor, he had the experience and practical knowledge essential for the excention of the work.

Mr. Butterfield was a director in the Utica City National Bank, and was interested in other stock companies and business undertakings. Ile invested largely in city property, while his cultivated land in the vicinity covers no in- considerable space. The Butterfield House and the Gardner Block are mong the handsome cdifices which he planned and built, and which have added materially to the city of his residence. On taking possession of the land on the New Ilartford road, on a portion of which his late residence now stands, he extended his operations in farming, alrendy carried on to a limited extent on Pleasant Street. And until the time when he was stricken down by disease, he conducted them with the same unflagging spirit that characterized all his transactions, and with a liberality in the meuns expended which surprised by its results.

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History of Oneida County, New York, 1667-1878, Part 69

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

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