USA > New York > Oneida County > History of Oneida County, New York : from 1700 to the present time, Volume I > Part 17
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Bishop Coxe issued a letter in accordance with which a meeting was held at Grace church the same day. The burial service was read by the rector of the church, Rev. Edwin M. Van Deusen. Rev. Dr. S. H. Coxe, of Trinity church, Rev. Dr. W. T. Gibson, of St. George's church, and Rev. Dr. A. B. Goodrich, of Calvary church, and Rev. Messrs. Perry and Baker, also took part in the serv- ice. Appropriate services were held in all the Episcopal churches Thursday, the following day.
A committee of prominent citizens of Utica went to Little Falls on the day of the funeral and escorted the remains of President Lincoln through this city.
Immediately after the assassination the Utica Herald said editorially :
"From the heights of joy to the depths of despair! On Friday the country rang with jubilation over the victory of the Union arms and the speedy return of peace. The country awoke Saturday to the direst affliction, to woe the pro- foundest, to the alarm and terror which the assassin's arm carried to the bravest hearts. Tears flow, strong men sigh, sorrow and anguish and lamentation fill the land. The nation mourns as a mother mourns for her first born. But Mr. Lincoln is no longer mortal. The assassin has given him the honor of martyr- dom. The national grief enshrines his power, and he has passed to the white light of history. Alas, he is dead. But God still reigns and the republic lives. The fruits of the victories won must be secured. The work of pacification must go on."
These meetings were not confined to the cities, but were general in all the towns of the country. The terrible event, coming so soon after the surrender of Lee, seemed to impress the people more than if it had come at any other time. Perhaps it is as well here as anywhere to refer to the soldiers from Oneida county who took part in the great conflict. When it is considered that five regiments were made up in Oncida county, and that a large number of young
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BRIG. GEN. JAMES McQUADE
GEN. CHARLES WHEELOCK
BREVET BRIG. GEN. RUFUS DAGGETT
BRIG. GEN. JAMES G. GRINDLAY
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men had enlisted in other organizations than the regiments organized in this county, it may be concluded that almost every household had its representative upon the battlefield, hundreds of whom sleep in unmarked graves. The regi- ments organized in this county were the 14th, 26th, 97th, 117th and 146th. When their shattered ranks returned they were received with every manifesta- tion of gratitude, and their memory has ever been and will ever be held sacred in this community. The principal officers in these regiments were as follows: 14th-James McQuade, colonel and Brev. Brig. General; Charles Skillin, lieut. colonel, killed at the battle of Gains Mills, June 27, 1862; Thomas M. Davies, Lieut. Colonel. The majors were Charles B. Young and Lewis Michaels; ad- jutants, John F. McQuade and Thomas Manning; quartermasters, Thomas H. Bates and William Broadhead; surgeon, Alonzo Churchill; chaplain, Charles E. Hewes. 26th-Colonels, William H. Christian and Richard A. Richardson ; lieut. colonel, Gilbert S. Jennings; major, Ezra F. Wetmore; adjutants, Will- iam K. Bacon and Charles Ackerman-Bacon died of wounds received in the battle of Fredericksburg; quartermasters, William B. Blackwell and De Witt C. Starring; surgeon, Walter B. Coventry; chaplains, Ira Smith and Daniel W. Bristol. 97th-Charles Wheelock, colonel and Brev. Brig. General-died in the service of disease; John P. Spofford, colonel and Brev. Brig. General; Charles Northrup, major and Brev. Lieut. Colonel; Charles Buck, Joel T. Comstock and N. D. Ferguson, majors-Ferguson died in the service; J. V. Ferguson, chap- lain. 117th-William R. Pease, colonel and Brev. Brig. General; Alvin White, colonel; Rufus Daggett, Lieut. Colonel and Brev. Brig. General; Francis X. Meyer, Lieut. Colonel; Egbert Bagg, major and Brev. Lieut. Colonel; adjutants, James M. Lattimore, Augustus M. Irwin, Charles S. Millard and Charles H. Roys; quartermaster, William E. Richards; surgeons, Edward Loomis, Henry W. Carpenter and James A. Mowris; chaplain, J. F. Crippin. 146th-Kenner Garrard, colonel and Brig. General; David T. Jenkins, colonel, killed at the bat- tle of the Wilderness, May 5, 1864; J. Neilson Potter, colonel; James Grindlay, colonel and Brev. Brig. General; Peter Glaesgens, lieutenant colonel and Brev. Colonel; majors, George Pomeroy, William S. Corning, Jesse J. Armstrong, Henry C. Curran and Isaac P. Powell; adjutants, Edward Comstock, William Wright and James P. Pitcher; quartermasters, A. Pierson Case and Marvin Eggleston; surgeon, Thomas M. Flandrau; chaplains, Albert Erdman and Edward P. Paison.
In 1865, the highest officer to be elected was a judge of the Court of Appeals. No great significance was attributed to the election, except that it was understood the Republican-Union party supported the national adminis- tration, and the other party opposed it. There does not seem to have been any other issue. The Republicans nominated for judge of the Court of Appeals Ward Hunt; for senator, Samuel Campbell; for members of assembly, first district, Charles M. Scholefield; second district, Alva Penny; third district, Benjamin N. Huntington; fourth district, Silas L. Snyder. The Democrats nominated John W. Brown for judge of the Court of Appeals; John Butterfield for senator; for members of assembly, first district, George Graham; second dis- trict, Oliver B. Brown; third district, William S. Parkhurst; fourth district, William H. Owen. Ward Hunt was elected judge of the Court of Appeals
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by a substantial majority; Campbell was elected senator by a majority of 2,196; the following members of assembly were elected; first district, Graham, Dem., 242 majority; second district, Penny, Rep., 1.072 majority; third dis- trict, Huntington, Rep., 740 majority; fourth district, Snyder, Rep., 636 ma- jority.
An incident of unusual importance occurred June 10th, which was the reception of General Grant in Utica. He had not returned to his home in Galena during the entire war, and he left Washington for the purpose of visiting his home, passing through New York city and along the Central and on to Chicago, and was received with unprecedented enthusiasm. His train ar- rived in Utica at 4:40 a. m. It was known that he would be upon this train, and the entire country for miles around were at the station to see him. When the train arrived a salute was fired, all the bands in the city were on hand to enliven the occasion with patriotic music, all the bells in the city were rung, fire companies were on hand, and an immense concourse of people. He was aroused in his berth and appeared on the platform. The Utica Morning Herald of the next morning said: "Quietly opening the door of one of the sleeping cars, there appeared upon the platform Ulysses S. Grant, lieutenant general of our armies. He was dressed in a mulberry broadcloth coat, with woolen vest and pants, and carried in his hand a common black Kossuth hat. *
* * For fully ten minutes he faced his Utica admirers. * * * The same appearance * of stubborn determination was there that we expected to see * * 'un- conditional surrender.' Not a word did he say to us; indeed, had he done so, we should have mistrusted that we had waked up the wrong man."
1866-The political situation in the entire country in 1866 was most peculiar. Andrew Johnson had succeeded to the presidency, had abandoned the party that elected him, taken sides with the South upon many of the important ques- tions of reconstruction, and, in order to merit public opinion, made an ex- tensive trip through the country and made a number of speeches in which he undertook to vindicate himself in the position he had taken. He was received in Utica by a delegation of eminent men, and was welcomed by Mayor Mc- Quade, who, in a guarded speech, extended the freedom of the city to the presi- dent of the United States. This trip was known at the time as "Swinging Around the Circle," and it was during this trip that he made such an attack upon Congress that one of the charges made against him on his impeachment was that he had committed high crimes and misdemeanors by assaulting one branch of the government. Some of the prominent Republicans in the state and county sided with Mr. Johnson, and the line was quite sharply drawn be- tween Congress and the president. After President Johnson had made his speech in Utica, General Grant, who was in the party, was presented to the crowd by Hon. Charles H. Doolittle. The newspaper report says: "Hats were wildly flung upward, handkerchiefs waved, and from the wild cheering which greeted him, it was plain to see who was the man Utica came out to see." The newspaper report also says: "With Farragut and Secretary Seward, General Grant stood upon the rear platform and waved his farewell to the crowd." The Union-Republican state convention renominated Reuben E. Fenton for governor, and Stewart L. Woodford for lieutenant governor. The same party
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held its county convention at Rome September 10th, and renominated Roscoe Conkling for representative in Congress, and Charles Northrup for county treasurer; the same party also nominated for members of assembly, first dis- trict, Levi Blakeslee; second district, Ellis H. Roberts; third district, Benjamin N. Huntington; fourth district, Leander W. Fiske. The Democrats nominated for governor John T. Hoffman, and Robert H. Pruyn, for lieutenant governor. In the county there was nominated an Independent Republican ticket, adopted by the Democrats, and it consisted of Palmer V. Kellogg for representative in Congress, and Griffith M. Jones for county treasurer; for members of assembly, first district, Peter Clogher; second district, James G. Preston; third district, George H. Sanford; fourth district, Nathaniel D. Bronson. It is doubtful whether there was ever a political canvass on local issues as exciting as this one, and the interest was centered in the congressional candidates. Palmer V. Kellogg was one of the men who had been instrumental in making Mr. Conkling the candidate for representative in Congress in opposition to Orsamus B. Matte- son. After the election of Mr. Conkling in 1860, Mr. Kellogg and certain other Republicans called upon Mr. Conkling in regard to the appointments which would be made by President Lincoln. He received them in an arrogant manner, and, instead of accepting any suggestions from them, he said to them that when he wanted them he would call for them. It is easy to understand that these men were offended, and from that time onward they sought for an occasion to get even with Mr. Conkling. It was thought by them that the year 1866 was a favorable time to accomplish this end. Mr. Kellogg, therefore, accepted the Independent Republican and Democratic nominations, with a view of defeat- ing Mr. Conkling. The writer was at this time a student in the law office of Mr. Conkling, and had the privilege of learning the inside of the campaign. Mr. Kellogg was a man of great wealth, spent his money liberally in the canvass, and unquestionably believed that he was to be elected. The campaign upon Mr. Conkling's side was most effective. He threw himself into the canvass with great energy, addressed Republican meetings in nearly every town and hamlet in the county, procured the list of the names of every voter in the county, had them classified as Republican, Democrat or Independent, and literature was distributed with great discrimination to every voter in the congressional dis- trict. An incident of great importance occurred the week before election. A workingmen's organization had appointed a committee to communicate with every candidate in the county upon the subject of legislation to better the con- dition of the workingmen. It was claimed that this committee had been cor- ruptly controlled by Mr. Kellogg, or some of his followers, and on Thursday evening of the week before election a meeting was held in the city hall at which the committee made its report, recommending that the labor men support Mr. Kellogg for Congress, Mr. Clogher for member of assembly in the first district, Preston in the second district, Sanford in the third, all Democrats, and Fiske, Republican, in the fourth. This report produced a sensation in the meeting, and a number of workingmen, who were Republicans, protested against it, and finally started a counter-movement in the interests of Mr. Conkling. On the day following the meeting, a petition was circulated calling a meeting for Sat- urday evening to protest against the action of the committee, and to take such Vol. I-9
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action as should be thought proper in the premises. This meeting was held in Concert Hall, which stood where the U. S. government building now stands, and an enormous crowd attended. The great number of people could not be accommodated inside of the hall, and a meeting was organized in the street. The first important speech of the evening was made by F. X. Greenia of Rome, and it was very effective in demonstrating to the workingmen that they had been sold out by the committee, and that they should not support the candidates recommended by the committee which had made its report at the city hall. A motion was then made that Mr Conkling be invited to address the meeting, but that he should confine himself entirely to a discussion of the questions pertain- ing to the workingmen. A committee was appointed and he was brought before the meeting, and it is safe to say that he never made a more effective speech than he made on that occasion. At the opening of his address it was difficult to quiet the crowd in consequence of hisses and yells, but before he had finished he had so changed the sentiment that the meeting went wild with enthusiasm. He addressed himself that evening to the candidates of the two parties, and en- deavored to show that in every instance the candidates nominated on the ticket with him had been favorable to the workingmen's interests, and those on the opposite ticket had been unfavorable. On the night of election both parties were extremely excited at their headquarters when the news of election came in. The ward in which Mr. Kellogg lived had given him an excellent vote, and his friends were confident that he was to be elected, but other parts of the city were more favorable to Mr. Conkling. The Republicans had assembled in Concert Hall, and there awaited the returns. At that time there was no rapid means of communication between Utica and the northern part of the county, neither telephone nor telegraph existing there at that time, and the only means of get- ting the report was to run a special train upon the Utica & Black River rail- road from Boonville to Utica, to bring the returns to the city. This train ar- rived about 1 o'clock at night, and at that time it was believed that Mr. Conk- ling was elected, but when the train came in and the report was that he had carried the northern towns by about two thousand majority it was then certain that he was elected, and the wildest enthusiasm existed. He was in the hall, and had been called out repeatedly to address the great crowd assembled. As soon as it was reasonably certain that he had been successful different ones were called upon to address the meeting, and also a Mr. John Morgan of Deerfield, an excellent humorist, was called out repeatedly to entertain the crowd. Among other things which he did was to sing a song, which he said he had composed upon the political situation. Two verses of this song were as follows:
"I dreamed a dream the other night, when all around was still,
I dreamed I saw the Kellogg ship a coming up a hill; With all the Copperheads on board, all dreaming of the future, And wondering what their fate would be when landed up Salt River.
"The ship rode on, the storm prevailed, and Barber, he got ill, But Goodsell was on board in time, and Smith to make his will; They held a council on his case, and told him not to die, For all the greenbacks were not gone they got of General Frye."
SOLDIERS' MONUMENT IN UTICA
SOLDIERS' MONUMENT AT VERONA
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SOLDIERS' MONUMENT IN ROME
SOLDIERS' MONUMENT IN WATERVILLE
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The individuals referred to in the verses were those with whom Mr. Conkling had had a bitter fight, and had worsted them in every instance, Frye being the provost marshal general, who had been removed from his position largely through the influence of Mr. Conkling. Smith was Judge Smith, who had bit- terly attacked Conkling in the Republican convention of 1864. When it was finally determined that Mr. Conkling was elected John Morgan stepped to the front of the stage and said he had composed an epitaph to be placed upon the tombstone of the Kellogg party. It was as follows:
"Stranger, lightly tread, For God's sake, let them lie; For since they're dead we live in peace, But Hell is in a Frye."
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At this the audience went wild with enthusiasm, and Morgan was compelled to repeat it over and over again. The crowd finally left the hall, and it was swelled by great numbers in the street; a cannon and a band were pro- cured, and from five to ten thousand people went up Genesee street to Mr. Kellogg's house; the cannon was fired, a dirge was played by the band, and one, Billy Phillips, delivered a funeral oration. If the proceeding might not be called disgraceful, to say the least, it was most extraordinary. Conkling had received a majority of 1,417; Northrup for county treasurer, 161; for members of assembly, first district, Blakeslee, 88 majority; second district, Roberts, Republican, 550; third district, Sanford, Democrat, 490; fourth dis- trict, Fiske, Republican, 571.
1867-A constitutional convention was to be held in 1867. From Oneida county Francis Kernan, Democrat, was elected as one of the delegates at large. Both parties made nominations of some of their most worthy men as delegates in the senatorial district. Richard U. Sherman, Prof. Theodore W. Dwight, Benjamin N. Huntington and George Williams were nominated by the Repub- licans, and ex-Judge of the Court of Appeals, Hiram Denio, ex-County Judge Othneil S. Williams, Thomas D. Penfield and George Graham were nominated by the Democrats. The Republican delegates were elected, and did excellent service in the convention, Mr. Sherman ranking with the leaders of the con- vention, and much of the time presiding, although William A. Wheeler, after- wards vice president of the United States, was president of the convention. It was in this year that Roscoe Conkling was elected to the United States Senate, and this left a vacancy in the office of representative in Congress. The Repub- lican convention nominated Alexander H. Bailey for this vacancy; for state senator, Samuel Campbell; for sheriff, George F. Weaver; for county clerk, Arthur F. Brown, and for members of assembly, first district, John French; second district, Alanson B. Cady; third district, John J. Parry; fourth dis- trict, Ambrose Nicholson. The Democrats nominated for representative in Congress, John Stryker; for senator, George H. Sanford; for sheriff, Giles Haw- ley; for county clerk, James C. Bronson; for members of assembly, first dis- trict, William H. Chapman; second district, Oscar B. Gridley; third district, James Stevens; fourth district, George J. Flint. The campaign was one of no
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special interest, and the result was as follows: For representative in Congress, Bailey, 667 majority; for senator, Campbell, Republican, 259; for sheriff, Weaver, Republican, 810; for county clerk, Bronson, Democrat, 75; for mem- bers of assembly, first district, Chapman, Democrat, 94; second district, Cady, Republican, 410; third district, Stevens, Democrat, 378; fourth district, Nichol- son, Republican, 434.
1868-The impeachment of Andrew Johnson, President of the United States, by the House of Representatives by a vote of 126 to 47, was the great event in the year 1868. The Republicans, generally, in the country sustained the Repub- licans in the House of Representatives on the question of impeachment, al- though on the trial the Senate failed to convict him, because of the fact that two or three of the most prominent Republicans in the Senate voted against conviction, and they were virtually driven out of the Republican party by their acts. The issues between the parties were still those that pertained to the war, and the logical candidate for the presidency was General Grant, who was nomi- nated with great enthusiasm at Chicago, with Schuyler Colfax for vice presi- dent. The Republicans nominated John A. Griswold for governor, and Alonzo B. Cornell for lieutenant governor, and in Oneida county the following ticket was nominated: For representative in Congress, Alexander H. Bailey; for dis- trict attorney, Daniel Ball; for members of assembly, first district, Eli Avery; second district, Addison B. Tuttle; third district, Myron G. Beckwith; fourth district, Erastus Ely. The Democratic national convention was held in New York city, and was presided over by Horatio Seymour. After three days of unsuccess- ful endeavor to agree upon a candidate and failing, Mr. Seymour was nominated by acclamation, and reluctantly accepted the nomination. It is quite proba- ble he realized that his election was doubtful, but he had received great honors from the party, and felt constrained to accept the nomination whether it would result in his election or defeat. Francis P. Blair was nominated for vice presi- dent. The Democrats nominated for governor, John T. Hoffman, and for lieutenant governor Allen C. Beach. The Democratic local ticket consisted of J. Thomas Spriggs for representative in Congress; Henry O. Southworth for district attorney; for members of assembly, first district, De Witt C. Ray; second district, James M. Willard; third district, James Stevens; fourth dis- trict, Joel T. Comstock. Both parties went into the canvass with enthusiasm, and Governor Seymour, having established his headquarters at the Butterfield House in Utica, made that the mecca for the leading Democratic politicians of the country. It was, however, impossible to stem the tide in favor of the great hero of the war, and General Grant was elected by a large majority of the elec- toral vote, and carried the county by 1,317, although Seymour carried the state of New York by about 10,000 majority, and Hoffman, for governor, by about 26,900. It has been claimed that the result in the state was procured through the election frauds in New York city. Griswold, Rep., for governor carried the county by 1,260; Bailey, Rep., for representative in Congress, by 1,302; Ball, Rep., was elected district attorney by 1,262 majority; the members of assembly were elected as follows: first district, Avery, Rep., 45 majority; second dis- trict, Tuttle, Rep., 651; third district, Stevens, Dem., 304; fourth district, Ely, Rep., 709.
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1869-No questions of importance were before the people of the county in the political campaign of 1869. There was, however, a division in the Repub- lican party that continued from this time for many years; it consisted on one side of the friends of Roscoe Conkling, and on the other side of his political op- ponents in his own party. The Republicans nominated for state senator, Daniel B. Goodwin; for county treasurer, Charles Northrup; for members of assembly, first district, Samuel S. Lowery; second district, David B. Miner; third dis- trict, George A. Cantine; fourth district, James Roberts. The Democrats nominated for senator George H. Sanford; for county treasurer, George Bar- nard; for members of assembly, first district, Thomas J. Griffith; second dis- trict, Lewis H. Shattuck; third district, St. Pierre Jerred; fourth district, Thomas B. Allanson. The result of the election was as follows: Sanford, Dem., was elected senator by 26 majority; Northrup, Rep., treasurer, 791 ma- jority ; the members of assembly, first district, Lowery, Rep., 448; second dis- trict, Miner, Rep., 408; third district, Jerred, Dem., 620; fourth- district, Roberts, Rep., 787.
CHAPTER XV.
1870-1879.
1870-The Republican state convention assembled at Saratoga, September 8, 1870, and nominated General Stewart L. Woodford for governor, and for lieu- tenant governor Sigismund Kauffman, and its county ticket was made up as follows : For representative in Congress, Ellis H. Roberts; sheriff, Lewis Gay- lord; county clerk, Linus R. Clark; for members of assembly, first district, George W. Chadwick; second district, Sidney A. Bunce; third district, Eras- tus W. Graves; fourth district, Isaac McDougall. September 22 the Demo- cratic state convention was held in Rochester and nominated for governor, John T. Hoffman, and for lieutenant governor, Allen C. Beach. At the Demo- cratic county convention held at Rome, September 24, Abram B. Weaver was nominated for representative in Congress, Thomas D. Penfield for sheriff; James C. Bronson for county clerk; the Democrats also nominated for mem- bers of assembly, first district, Theodore P. Cook; second district, Joseph Bene- dict; third district, Thomas Mulhall; fourth district, Nathaniel Bronson. The Democrats were successful in the state and elected their governor, but Wood- ford carried Oneida county by a majority of 1,330; Roberts, Rep., was elected representative in Congress by a majority of 1,716; Gaylord, Rep., sheriff by 941; Clark, Rep., county clerk, by 1,478 majority; members of assembly, first dis- trict, Chadwick, Rep., by 648 majority; second district, Bunce, Rep., 693 ma- jority; third district, Mulhall, Dem., by 398 majority; fourth district, McDou- gall, Rep., by 589 majority.
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