History of Oneida County, New York, 1667-1878, Part 80

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

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UTICA POST-OFFICE.

The first citizen who had the honor of being postmaster in Utica (then Old Fort Schuyler) was undoubtedly John Post, who was also the first general merchant in the village, though Peter Smith had preceded him as an Indian-trader. A post-office was established here, as near as can be ascer- tained, in 1793, during the administration of President Washington, and Mr. Post was appointed postmaster, prob- ably on account of his business ability, and perhaps also because he could best accommodate the villagers and ad- jacent inhabitants. He appears to have held the position until 1799, when Dr. Samuel Carrington succeeded him, and continued until about 1803, when he mysteriously dis- appeared, and Dr. Marcus Hitchcock was appointed, and continued to fill the position for about twenty-four years, being the longest term in the history of the office.

On the 21st of January, 1828, James Platt was ap- pointed, and held it until the 22d of May, 1829, when he was removed, under President Jackson's administration, and Augustine G. Dauby appointed to succeed him. Mr. Dauby held the office until the 17th of May, 1849, a period of twenty years lacking a few days.

Succeeding Mr. Dauby, in May, 1849, came Mr. Joseph H. Shearman, who probably continued until the spring of 1853, when he was followed by Isaiah Tiffany, who filled the position until the spring of 1857, when Mr. Joseph

HON. ELLIS H. ROBERTS.

Ellis H. Roberts was born in Utica, N. Y., Sept. 30, 1827. He comes of respectable Welsh parentage, and is a ready scholar in the tongue of lis ancestors, speaking and writing it with the fluency and aptitude of "a native to the manor born."

At the early age of nine years young Roberts learned to depend upon his own labors for a liveli- hood. He served an apprenticeship to the printer's trade in the office of his older brother, R. W. Roberts, and, by dint of persevering industry and excellent judgment, succeeded in acquiring a sound academic and collegiate education; graduating at

taining to agricultural interests it is recognized as authority.

Mr. Roberts was originally a Whig, and when that party gave place to the Republican organization he naturally gravitated to its ranks. During the dark years of the rebellion he nobly proved his loyalty in standing by the imperiled government with tongue and pen. He is a close student, a ready writer, and a sound reasoner, and has made himself a power in Central New York. Fearless and aggressive, he gives his powerful pen to the cause of what he deems the right, regardless of popular clamor, and intent only on the triumph of the eternal principles of justice.

A.L.TILC.

Ellis N.Roberto.

Yale College, in 1850, with the second highest honors of his class. Shortly following this event he became one of the editors of the Utica Morning Herald, and continued in that capacity until the autumn of 1854, when he retired for a brief inter- val, but soon after became its proprietor and chief editor, in which capacity he has continued to the present time. His abilities are best illustrated by the steady progress which his journal has made in literary excellence and general influence under his careful and efficient management. Its regular corres- pondence is of a high order, and in all matters per-

Mr. Roberts was a member of the National Re- publican Conventions of 1864 and 1868, and a mem- ber of the Legislature in 1867. He was elected to the Forty-second Congress, and re-elected to the Forty-third by a handsome majority over his Demo- cratic competitor. He was also a candidate for the Forty-fourth Congress, and was candidate for mayor of his native city in 1862.

He married, in 1851, the eldest daughter of David E. Morris, of Utica, a well-known and polished Christian gentleman. Rev. Edward D. Morris, D.D., is a brother of Mrs. Roberts.

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HISTORY OF ONEIDA COUNTY, NEW YORK.

Lyon was appointed, and continued until 1861, when he was sueeeeded by Charles H. Hopkins, who has continued to the present time. It is somewhat remarkable that from 1793 to 1878, a period of eighty-five years, there have been only nine occupants of the position, though it includes the administrations of eighteen Presidents of the United States, counting Tyler and Fillmore.

Locations .- The first location was undoubtedly in John Post's store, on Genesee Street, near Whitesboro'. Dr. Carrington removed it to the east side of Genesee, below Broad, Street. Dr. Hiteheock removed it again to the west side of Genesee Street, above Whitesboro', in 1805. Mr. Platt changed it to Catherine Street, near Genesee, and Mr. Dauby removed it from thenee to the northwest corner of John and Broad Streets, in 1829, and a few years later to its present loeation, on Hotel Street, in Mechanics' Hall building.

Business of the Office .- It is recorded by Dr. Bagg, that in one of the early years, when it was reported that the Albany mail had brought the enormous quantity of six letters for inhabitants of the village, there was a great eonmotion among the gossips, and it was considered an unheard-of thing. Eighty years have made a wonderful change from the horseback mail, bringing a half-dozen letters onee per week, to the thundering railway trains, dropping thirty-seven mails daily, counting their letters and papers by the thousand.

By the courtesy of Mr. L. W. Ilopkins, assistant post- master, we are enabled to lay a few facts and statistics before our readers, which may be of interest. We have compiled a statement showing the amount of business transaeted for one quarter, or three months, which is prob- ably a fair general average for the year :

No. of letters delivered.

258,408

dispatched ..

206,601

drop letters ..

35,919

pounds daily papers.

10,998

weekly

22,491

postal cards delivered.

69,042

« " dispatched.

69,201

drop postal cards ...

13,035

newspapers handled.

160,881

Value stamps sold ..

$33,415.80

The business in Utiea gives employment to thirteen letter-earriers, and there are 173 street-boxes in the eity. The number of mails handled is 38,-37 daily and 1 tri- weekly.

The following is a list of officers employed : Postmaster, Charles H. Hopkins ; Assistant Postmaster, L. W. Hop- kins ; Money-Order Clerk, W. C. Stevens ; Registry Clerk, J. A. Jennison ; Delivery Clerk, A. B. Downer ; Head Dis- tributing Clerk, L. A. Jones ; Mailing Clerks, G. W. Pear- son and H. D. Thompson.

UNITED STATES COURT-HOUSE AND POST-OFFICE.

This building, which is in process of ereetion, will, upon its completion, be one of the most commodious and well- appointed publie buildings in Central New York. The total appropriations for its completion have at the present writing been $300,000. Of this the following sums, amounting to a total of $266,759.96, have been expended : For the site,

$161,192.25; for construction, 62,746.17 ; due on con- tracts, $42,821.34; leaving a balance of $33,240.24 un- used. It is estimated that $50,000 in addition will com- plete the work. The building has now reached its first story. The basement is of Trenton limestone, while the superstructure is of pressed brick. It will be occupied by the United States courts, the post-office, and internal revenue officials.

THE PRESS.

THE UTICA MORNING HERALD .*

The Utica Morning Herald and Daily Gazette is built upon the broad foundations of nearly all the newspapers of Federal, Whig, and Republican tendencies, together with some others, twelve in all, that have been published in the village and eity of Utica sinee the first settlement of that place. The various changes and transmutations it has undergone from its infancy afford a striking commentary on the trials, the vicissitudes, and the triumph of American journalism.

The Utica Herald has a direet and unbroken lineal de- seent from the Whitestown Gazette, a little weekly sheet that was started in New Hartford, then a part of the town of Whitestown, by William MeLean, in the year 1796. This was the second paper published in the county, then Herkimer County, and west of Albany, the first having been the Western Centincl, first printed in Whitesboro' two years earlier by Oliver P. Eaton, and only surviving a few months. Traeing its origin to this Whitestown Gazette, the Utica Herald becomes one of the fourteen oldest living newspapers in the United States. The list of these papers, as given in Lanman's Biographieal Annals, page 568, contains but seven papers which have been pub- lished one hundred years and over, and thirty-three which have been published fifty years and over. The New York Commercial Advertiser, founded in 1793, is the only news- paper now in existence in the State which has an older origin than the Utica Herald. It is now eighty-two years sinee William McLean issued his first unambitious journal from the erude hand-press which had been poled up the Mohawk River in a bateau.

In 1798, two years after the publication of the Whites- town Gazette begin, and the same year in which the county of Oneida was erected from Herkimer County, William MeLean moved his establishment to Utica, finding New Hartford not a lucrative location even for his modest pub- lication. He continued its publication under the sounding title of the Whitestown Gazette and Cuto's Patrol, in an office " near the post-office." This was the first paper of any deseription published in the village of Utica, and the designation of Cuto's Patrol was evidently adopted because of the imaginary relation of the name of the village in the wilderness to the ancient eity which found its defender in the younger Cato.

Five years later, in 1803, Mr. McLean, being in poor health, sold out his paper to John HI. Lothrop, a graduate of Yale College, who had come to Oneida County in 1795 or 1796. Mr. Lothrop's publishers were Merrill & Seward,

# Prepared by S. N. Dexter North.

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HISTORY OF ONEIDA COUNTY, NEW YORK.

and his office was at 60 Genesee Street, where the Utica Herald is still published, and within fifty fect of the iden- tical spot. Mr. Lothrop dropped the long and pretentious title, and called his paper at first The Patriot, and after- wards The Utiea Patriot. Dr. Bagg records that the ed- itorship filling neither his time nor his pockets, Mr. Lothrop served also as deputy in the office of the Supreme Court clerk. He continued to be connected with The Patriot and its successor, much of the time merely as a contributor, nearly to the time of his death, which occurred in 1829.

In 1811, William H. Maynard purchased of Mr. Lothrop his proprietary interest in The Patriot, and at once assumed its editorship, with Ira Merrill as his publisher. Mr. May- nard, like Mr. Lothrop, was a lawyer, and continued to practice his profession while he edited his newspaper. He subsequently became one of the most distinguished members of the early bar of Oneida County, his journal in the mean time giving every evidence of his legal acumen and his intense political convictions. In 1816, The Patriot was united with The Patrol, a paper which had been established in January of the previous year by the printing house of Seward & Williams. The consolidated newspaper was pub- lished as the Patriot and Patrol, with William H. Maynard as editor, and Seward & Williams as publishers.

In 1819, when De Witt Clinton was nominated for Gov- ernor against Daniel D. Tompkins, Mr. Maynard left the Federal party, then nearly moribund in the nation, and joined the fifty-one "high-minded gentlemen" who sup- ported Tompkins. This change of opinion made itself visible in the columns of the Patriot, and in the loss of its patronage; and Messrs. Seward & Williams, its publish- ers, took a summary method of self-defense. They at once literally abolished the Patriot and Patrol, and issued in its place, and to its subscribers, a new journal, bearing the name of The Utica Sentinel. There is no record of who served as their editor.

The same firm continued the publication of the Utiea Sentinel until 1835, when the paper was sold to Samuel D. Dakin and William J. Bacon, the present member of Con- gress from the Oncida district. The Sentinel was consoli- dated at the time of this transfer with The Columbian Ga- zette, a paper started at Rome in August, 1799, by Thomas Walker and Ebenezer Eaton, and removed to Utica in 1803. The consolidated paper, with Dakin & Bacon as editors and proprietors, was issued under the name of The Sentinel and Gazette, at 122 Genesee Street, " opposite the Canal Coffee- House."

In 1829, Dakin & Bacon sold their paper to Rufus Northway and D. S. Porter, who secured Theodore S. Gold for editor. Mr. Porter withdrew from the publication in 1831, and in 1834, Mr. Northway united the Sentinel and Gazette with a paper called The Elueidator, which had been started in 1829 by B. B. Hotchkin and William Williams. The new consolidation took the name of The Oneida Whig, Mr. Gold continuing as editor. The paper continued to be published under this name-as the weekly issue of the Utiea Daily Gazette-until 1857, when it was merged in the Oneida Weekly Herald, at the same time that the Daily Gazette disappeared in the Utiea Morning Herald.

In 1842 the rapid growth of the city and the contagious

spread of journalism throughout the country led Mr. North- way to venture upon the publication of the Utiea Daily Gazette. This was the first daily paper published in Utica, and west of Albany, with the single exception of a little sheet, known as the Daily News, started a few months pre- vious by Lyon & Arthur, with J. M. Hatch and C. Edwards Lester as editors, and ceasing to exist almost immediately upon the appearance of the Gazette. A most precarious existence awaited this ambitious venture. The Gazette sank money for several years, and was often on the point of sus- pending. In the first year of its existence Richard U. Sherman, William Allen, Erastus Clark, and Ezekiel Bacon successively edited it. In May, 1843, Alexander Seward- son of Asahel Seward, who established The Patrol, in 1815, in company with William Williams-became the editor and one-half owner of the Gazette, the firm-name being R. Northway & Co. Dr. Henry C. Potter was associated with Mr. Seward as editor and proprietor in 1849, and in this same year Mr. Seward withdrew from the paper as editor, retaining his proprietary interest, to become the editor of the State Register at Albany. During the year of his ab- sence from Utica, Erastus Clark made a reputation as the editor of the Gazette. In 1853, Joseph M. Lyon and John Arthur purchased and published the Gazette, making it an organ of the Hard-Shell Democrats. In 1856 they sold the establishment to N. D. Jewell & Co., who con- verted it into a Know-Nothing organ, with a Mr. Radford as editor.

In the meanwhile the Oneida Morning Herald had been commenced in November, 1847, by Robert W. Roberts, Richard U. Sherman, and Edwin R. Colston. Mr. Colston withdrew from this firm in 1848, and Mr. Sherman in 1851. In January, 1857, the Gazette was merged in the Herald, under the name of the Utica Morning Herald and Daily Gazette. At the same time the Oneida Whig dis- appeared in its weckly,-the same paper which had come down through the Sentinel and Gazette, the Sentinel, the Patriot and Patrol, and the Utiea Patriot, from the original Whitestown Gazette of 1796.

Ellis H. Roberts became the editor and proprietor of the Utica Morning Herald in 1851, and he continued to conduct the Herald and Gazette until 1872, when he asso- ciated with him George L. Roberts and S. N. Dexter North, under the firm-name of Ellis H. Roberts & Co. This firm, which is incorporated under the general law of the State of New York, continues to publish the Herald at 60 Genesee Street.

The Utica Morning Herald is nearly three times larger than was the Daily Gazette when established in 1842, and each issue contains about eight times as much reading matter. Ellis H. Roberts acts as editor-in-chief, and S. N. Dexter North as managing editor. Six additional men constitute the corps of editors and reporters now employed. The Ilerald maintains a regular correspondent at Washington, at Albany, and in New York City. It was one of the charter members of the New York State Associated Press. Some idea of the manner in which the Herald has grown and extended may be gained from the fact that it now circulates regularly in the twelve counties of Northern and Central New York, and maintains fifty paid correspondents

De Mitt @ Grove

DE WITT C. GROVÉ.

De Witt Clinton Grove was born in Utica, on the 16th of December, 1825. His father's ancestors, who were of English origin, were among the earliest settlers of New Jersey, and his grandfather was a patriot soldier in the American Revo- lution. On his mother's side he is of German descent, the family settling in this country in 1777.

His early advantages for acquiring learning were very limited. He never attended school after the age of ten, and in his thirteenth ycar he was apprenticed to the printer's trade. Subsequently, however, by his own efforts, he gained a sound English and a fair classical education. He is proficient in most branches of science, and in the Hebrew, Latin, and Greek languages, for which, comparatively late in life, he developed a decided taste. In recognition of his acquirements, the hon- orary degree of Master of Arts was conferred upon him by Madison University, in the year 1861.

From the age of thirteen Mr. Grove has followed his trade without intermission, except a few months in 1844 spent in the study of the law. In February, 1846, he hecame one of the proprietors and editors of the Utica Democrat, the Oneida County organ of the " Barnhurners," or radical faction of the Democratic party. He was then only twenty years old. Silas Wright was the Democratic candidate for Governor that year, and was recognized as the foremost representative of the cause which the young printer espoused. He was sorely dis- appointed in the defeat of the statesman in whose behalf he rendered good and effective service. On election day he stood at the polls, distributing tickets, when a venerable leader of the opposition approached him and said, " I am an old man, and you are young ; I am a Whig, and you are a Democrat. Your ballot offsets mine ; let us go up and vote together." Mr. Grove, a recognized power in politics, was half ashamed to confess that he had not reached the voting age.

The canvass of 1852, which resulted in the election of Franklin Pierce to the Presidency, harmonized the discordant elements of the Democracy in this State, and seemed to do away with the necessity of two Democratic papers in Utica. The Democrat was accordingly consolidated, and in January, 1853, Mr. Grove became the chief proprietor of the Daily Observer, the leading Democratic journal of Central New York. For more than a quarter of a century he has guided and con-

trolled the destiny of that paper, and under his management its influence has steadily increased. For several years he was its sole owner ; but in January, 1867, he formed a partnership with E. Prentiss Bailey, who had long been his associate on the Observer. In August, 1873, the partnership was merged in a corporation, of which Mr. Grove, Mr. Bailey, and Theo- dore P. Cook are the trustees. Of this corporation Mr. Grove is president and treasurer.

In 1860, after four years' service as alderman in the com- mon council, Mr. Grove was chosen mayor of Utica. In the autumn of that year he was the Democratic nominee for Con- gress in Oneida County. But the district was overwhelmingly Republican, and he was defeated by the candidate of the oppo- sition, Roscoe Conkling. During Mr. Grove's first term as mayor, the abolitionists called a convention in Utica, which was threatened with mob violence. While steadfastly oppo- sing their doctrines, he felt it his duty to afford them the pro- tection which the law guarantees. By his vigilance and firmness he quelled the rising storm, and conducted the speakers in person to a place of safety to save them from hos- tile demonstrations in the street. This episode caused consid- erable excitement, but the mayor's course met the approval of the community, and in 1861 he was re-elected. Early in his second term the civil war broke out. On the 20th of April a public meeting was held in Utica, at which Francis Kernan, Roscoe Conkling, Hiram Denio, and other distin- guished citizens made addresses. At that meeting Mr. Grove presided, and in a brief and forcible speech he defined the duty of the citizen in that most important crisis in our country's history. He was re-elected mayor in 1862 hy an increased majority. He retired at the end of his term, with the good-will and good wishes of his constituents; hut since that time he has persistently declined public office. The management of his newspaper and his increasing business interests have engrossed his attention, and fairly rewarded his industry.

Mr. Grove was married, in 1845, to Caroline L. Pratt. His family consists of his wife, one son, Mr. Edwin B. Grove, of New York, and a daughter, Mrs. F. M. Gregory, also of New York. The accompanying portrait is from a photograph taken in 1878

303

HISTORY OF ONEIDA COUNTY, NEW YORK.

in the cities and villages of these counties. It is especially noted for the fullness of its reports of the chcese markets at Utica and Little Falls, and the hop market at Water- ville. Its weekly edition, containing these reports, circulates in every Northern State of the Union. The Herald main- tains original literary and agricultural departments, and is Republican in politics. The circulation of the Daily Herald varies between five and six thousand, not having been less than five thousand for fifteen years. The average aggregate circulation of the daily and weekly Herald is thirteen thousand. At no time in its history has the Herald enjoyed a wider influence and maintained a firmer basis than now.

THE UTICA OBSERVER.

The history of this prominent journal dates back to 1816; when the publication of a weekly paper with the above title was commenced by E. Dorchester, who con- tinued it in Utica until 1818, when it was removed to Rome, and its name changed to The Oneida Observer.

In the following year (1819) it was again removed to Utica, and its original name resumed. A. G. Dauby, E. A. Maynard, C. C. Griffith, John P. Bush, John F. Kittle, A. M. Beardsley, and Joseph M. Lyon were successively interested in its publication. The issue of a daily paper was commenced in 1848, under the title of The Utica Daily Observer.

In 1853 was united with the Observer the Utica Demo- erat, which was commenced by John G. Floyd in 1836 and successively published by Edward Morrin, Jarvis M. Hatch, Benjamin Welch, Jr., and De Witt C. Grove; the latter becoming its proprietor in 1846.

The firm of Lyon & Grove, the first publishers of the consolidated journal, was dissolved before the close of the year, and De Witt C. Grove was the sole editor and pro- prictor of the Utica Daily Observer, and the Observer and Democrat, from September, 1853, to January 1, 1867, when E. Prentiss Bailey, who had been editorially con- nected with the paper since December, 1853, became inter- ested in the publication, and the firm took the name of Grove & Bailey.

In January, 1872, the weekly paper, under the name of the Utica Weckly Observer, was enlarged to eight pages, and soon after the Saturday issues of the daily edition were increased to the same size.

In August, 1873, a corporation was formed for the pub- lication of the paper, with a chartered capital of $84,000. The trustees and stockholders were De Witt C. Grove, E. Prentiss Bailey, and Theodore P. Cook, who are also the present conductors and owners.

There has been a remarkable steadiness in the growth of the circulation and general business of the Observer, and it now ranks among the most influential provincial journals of the country, and is extensively quoted by the leading metropolitan papers. Its present daily circulation is be- tween 3300 and 3400, and the weekly reaches the firesides of 7200 subscribers.

Its corps of editors and reporters numbers six writers, whose daily work is reinforced by a number of paid and volunteer correspondents from various points. The fashion

correspondent of the Observer is the famous "Jennie June" Croly.

Twenty-one compositors are employed upon the daily paper. The jobbing department is extensive and complete, and for many years has done the larger share of the law and amusement printing of the city and surrounding region.

The Observer buildings-for there are two-were erected by the senior proprietor, Mr. Grove, expressly for the pur- poses to which they are devoted. The business and edi- torial departments are conducted in the front building, No. 113 Genesee Street, and five floors of the rear building are occupied by the mechanical departments of the establish- ment. No other newspaper office in the country is better lighted or better adapted to its uses.

THE UTICA REPUBLICAN.

The publication of this journal was commenced on the 22d of October, 1877, by the issue of the Daily Repub- lican, and this was followed on the 8th of January, 1878, by the first number of the Weekly Republican. The paper was established principally in the interests of Hon. Roscoe Conkling, and has already won a respectable position as a political journal. Its circulation (as given by Mr. D. T. Kelly) is close upon five thousand for the daily edition, and about the same for the weekly. Its proprietor is Mr. Lewis Lawrence, and it is published by Dennis T. Kelly, at No. 9 Liberty street. The editorial staff, including report- ers, numbers six writers, and the paper has a large number of correspondents, one of whom, located at Rome, devotes a large share of his time to the interests of the paper. The aggregate force employed, including writers, workmen, and carriers, numbers about fifty persons. The business of the establishment is upon a cash basis, and exclusive atten- tion is given' to the publication of the paper, upon which the entire force is engaged. The circulation is steadily in- creasing, and its business prospects are very satisfactory.

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History of Oneida County, New York, 1667-1878, Part 80

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

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