History of Oneida County, New York : from 1700 to the present time, Volume I, Part 53

Author: Cookinham, Henry J., 1843-
Publication date: 1912
Publisher: Chicago : S.J. Clarke Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 822

USA > New York > Oneida County > History of Oneida County, New York : from 1700 to the present time, Volume I > Part 53

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CITY TUBERCULOSIS PAVILION-Numerous efforts have been made during the past four years to obtain a city tuberculosis pavilion for advanced cases, but until the summer of 1911, the various committees appointed to wait upon the city fathers have done so only to be met with polite but firm refusals. On Octo- ber 6, 1911, however, the common council authorized a committee to procure a suitable edifice, and at a special meeting held October 16, 1911, it ordered that a piece of property known as Beech Grove be purchased. A storm of disap- proval, led by one of the newspapers, frightened the council, however, and on October 20, 1911, the motion was rescinded. On October 29, 1911, at a joint meeting of the Charities Aid Association and the medical profession, a com- mittee was appointed to act in conjunction with the committee of the common council. The members of the committee are Drs. Crim and Capron, and Messrs. J. D. Lynch and E. D. Ibbotson.

ROME TUBERCULOSIS DISPENSARY-After the tuberculosis exhibition closed in Utica it was moved to Rome, and opened in that city on December 16, 1907. A sub-committee of the Charities Aid Association was formed with Dr. A. A. Gillette as chairman, who was later succeeded by Dr. Charles Bernstein. The sentiment aroused resulted in the establishment by the Board of Health of a tuberculosis dispensary, to which various physicians of Rome offered their services gratuitously and the hiring of a visiting nurse. Last year, by means of a tag day under the auspices of the Trades Assembly and the sale of Red Cross Seals, money was raised by means of which an unoccupied building was pro- cured for a pavilion for advanced cases. This has as yet not been opened, but the Board of Health, Board of Charities, and committees of the Charities Aid

DR. W. H. WATSON Utica Sergeant General of New York

DR. M. O. TERRY Utica Sergeant General of New York

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HISTORY OF ONEIDA COUNTY

Association and the Trades Assembly are working in unison to procure suf- ficient funds to open this much needed institution.

THE PRESIDENTS OF THE ONEIDA COUNTY MEDICAL SOCIETY have been as fol- lows : 1806-7, 1817-18, 1820-21, Dr. Amos G. Hull of New Hartford and Utica; 1808-10, Dr. Sewal Hopkins of Clinton; 1813-14, Dr. Francis Guiteau of Deer- field; 1815-16, Dr. Elnathan Judd of Paris Hill; 1819, Dr. Thomas Goodsell of Whitestown; 1822-23, 1827, Dr. Alexander Coventry of Utica; 1824-25, Dr. Luther Guiteau of Trenton; 1828-29, Dr. Seth Hastings, Jr., of Clinton; 1830, Dr. John McCall of Utica; 1831-33, Dr. Laurens Hull of Bridgewater; 1834, Dr. Charles Babcock of New Hartford; 1835, Dr. J. B. Batchelder of Utica; 1836, 1859, Dr. Arba Blair of Rome; 1837, Dr. T. Pomeroy of Utica; 1838, Dr. U. H. Kellogg of New Hartford; 1839, Dr. J. F. Trowbridge of Bridgewater; 1840, Dr. P. B. Peckham of Utica; 1841, 1842, 1864, Dr. C. B. Coventry of Utica; 1843, 1863, 1867, Dr. L. Guiteau, Jr., of Trenton; 1844, Dr. M. Preston of Sangerfield; 1845, 1851, Dr. F. M. Barrows of Clinton; 1846, Dr. G. H. Pope of Rome; 1847, Dr. J. Knight of Camden; 1848, Dr. P. M. Hastings of Clinton; 1849, Dr. M. M. Bagg of Utica; 1850, 1866, Dr. D. G. Thomas of Utica; 1852, Dr. D. P. Bissell of Utica; 1853, Dr. J. H. Champion; 1854, Dr. S. G. Wolcott of Utica; 1855, Dr. J. V. Cobb of Rome; 1856, Dr. N. H. Dering of Utica; 1857, Dr. J. S. Whaley of Rome; 1858, Dr. J. M. Sturdevant of Rome; 1860, Dr. W. Smith ; 1861, Dr. D. Larrabee of Paris Hill; 1862, Dr. C. L. Hogeboom of Utica; 1865, Dr. W. Booth of Boonville; 1868, Dr. Alonzo Churchill of Utica; 1869, Dr. T. M. Flandrau of Rome; 1870, Dr. H. N. Porter of New York Mills; 1871, Dr. William Russell of Utica; 1872, Dr. Robert Frazier of Camden; 1873, Dr. W. R. Griswold of New Hartford; 1874, Dr. John P. Gray of Utica; 1875, Dr. H. G. Dubois of Camden; 1876, Dr. L. A. Tourtellot of Utica; 1877, Dr. N. Wol- cott of Holland Patent; 1878, Dr. Ed. Hutchinson of Utica; 1879, Dr. G. V. Cleveland of Waterville; 1880, Dr. J. E. West of Utica; 1881, Dr. Edwin Evans of Rome; 1882, Dr. Jacob Hunt of Utica; 1883, Dr. A. R. Simmons of Utica; 1884, Dr. J. K. Chamberlayne of Utica; 1885, Dr. Smith Baker of Utica; 1886, Dr. W. E. Ford of Utica; 1887, Dr. L. Swartwout of Prospect; 1888, Dr. C. Wilson of Waterville; 1889, Dr. J. H. Glass of Utica; 1890, Dr. G. A. Blumer of Utica; 1891, Dr. A. W. Marsh of Oriskany Falls; 1892, Dr. W. M. Gibson of Utica; 1893, Dr. G. Seymour of Utica; 1894, Dr. H. Quinn of Utica; 1895, Dr. C. E. Smith of Whitesboro; 1896, Dr. D. C. Dye of Utica; 1897, Dr. J. G. Hunt of Utica; 1898, Dr. F. S. Gorton of Waterville; 1899, Dr. M. W. Hunt of Hol- land Patent; 1900, Dr. J. G. Kilbourn of Utica; 1901, Dr. T. P. Scully of Rome, 1902, Dr. A. J. Brown of Utica; 1903, Dr. C. Bernstein of Rome; 1904, Dr. L. F. Pattengill of Utica; 1905-06, Dr. H. G. Jones of Utica; 1907, Dr. C. A. Frost of Utica; 1908, Dr. E. D. Fuller of Utica; 1909, Dr. G. M. Fisher of Utica; 1910, Dr. F. D. Crim of Utica; 1911, Dr. F. H. Peck of Utica.

OFFICERS IN STATE MEDICAL SOCIETY-Oneida county physicians who have held office. in the Medical Society of the State of New York are as follows: President, Dr. Alexander Coventry, 1823-24; Dr. Laurens Hull, 1838 and 1839; Dr. John McCall, 1846; Dr. Charles B. Coventry, 1854; Dr. D. P. Bissell, 1863; Dr. John P. Gray, 1867. Vice president, Dr. Laurens Hull, 1827 and 1828; Dr. D. P. Bissell, 1862 ; Dr. George Seymour, 1900; Dr. James H. Glass, 1909.

CHAPTER XXVIII

ELEEMOSYNARY AND CHARITABLE INSTITUTIONS

UTICA ORPHAN ASYLUM-In 1826 a society was formed among the influential ladies in Utica known as the Female Society of Industry, the object being to procure funds for the establishment of an orphan asylum. A charter was granted January 7, 1830, and in the same year a building was procured on the northeast corner of John and Catharine streets. Later the establishment. was removed to the southeast corner of Chancellor Square. In 1842 a citizens' meeting was held in the interest of the institution, and it was decided to apply for an amendment to the charter by which children, who had one parent, might be accepted at the asylum. In 1845 the asylum was on Broadway, and in 1846 the lot was purchased at 312 Genesee street, upon which a building was con- structed and the institution was located there until 1861. Benjamin F. Jewett donated three acres of land on the corner of Genesee and Pleasant streets and a new building was constructed on this lot in 1861 and upon this lot the building now stands. The institution has received from time to time gifts by will and otherwise, until it has a substantial endowment. The last gift of importance was that of Mrs. Lydia Francis, which was received by the institution through the will of Mrs. Francis, and amounted to about $65,000. With a portion of this fund a hospital separate from the other building was erected, and was completed and occupied about a year since. The last report of the institution, which is for the year 1911, shows that 17 of the older boys are in attendance at the public schools; it also shows that the children of the institution are instructed in kindergarten work, in Sunday school, physical ex- ercises, and at times the older boys have received military drill. The girls are instructed in cooking and sewing. The balance sheet shows that the receipts during the last year were $29,069.67, and the disbursements slightly over $600 less than the receipts.

ST. JOHN'S ORPHAN ASYLUM (UTICA) was established in 1843. Its object then was, as it is to-day, the care and maintenance of parentless, neglected or destitute girls from Oneida and adjoining counties. In May, 1834, three Sisters of Charity were selected by the Superioress of the Community of Sisters of Charity of Emmitsburg, Maryland, for the new mission petitioned for by the residents of Utica. The following letter, written a few months after the arrival of the Sisters, cannot fail to be of historic interest to the readers of this sketch: "To the Rev. Walter Quarter, Utica, N. Y. Dear Sir: We beg leave to call your attention and that of the congregation of St. John's Church to the es- tablishment of the Sisters of Charity, located on John street, Utica, and will

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HOUSE OF THE GOOD SHEPHERD

ADMINISTRATION BUILDING STATE CUSTODIAL ASYLUM, ROME

HOME FOR THE HOMELESS, UTICA

TTICA ORPHAN ASYLUM

ST. JOHN'S ORPHAN ASYLUM (ROMAN CATHOLIC)

ODD FELLOWS TEMPLE

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observe the many advantages growing out of the institution. Introducing them as a religious community, their utility is universally acknowledged by non- Catholics as well as Catholics. Abandoning what the world considers its com- forts and conveniences, and devoting themselves exclusively to acts of piety, the education of the young, attending the deathbed of sickness in times of general distress, and in fact communicating the divine principles of Jesus, and looking to the joys of another world as a remuneration for all their privations in this. Surely the destitute little children, intended by Providence to bring into action the consummation of religion and virtue, will not want support. (Signed) J. C. Devereux."

Minutes of the first recorded meeting: At a meeting of the trustees of St. John's church, in the city of Utica, held on the 24th day of September, 1838, John C. Devereux was elected president. There were present John C. Devereux, Nicholas Devereux, Owen O'Neil, James Barry, Michael Doyle and Michael McQuade. The following resolution was adopted: Resolved: That independent of the amount of two hundred dollars, to be contributed by John C. and Nicholas Devereux, equally, we pledge ourselves, as trustees, to contribute four hundred dollars a year toward the support of Saint John's Asylum.

The asylum was incorporated March 28, 1849, pursuant to chapter 319 of the laws of 1848 of the state of New York. Between 1849 and 1863 the follow- ing acted as president : Rev. Joseph Stokes and Francis Kernan. Since 1863 the institution has been under a board of directors, the Superioress being the president.

The institution is under the charge of the Sisters of Charity. It receives girls of every race and creed; educates them; instructs them in religion and morals, and gives them the technical training necessary to fit them for self- support. The age of the present building will make any thinking mind con- scious of the fact that its shortcomings are so serious that only a new structure will remedy the defects. The building is 78 years old; its unfitness and dilapida- tion are evident, and it has long been over-crowded. The asylum has been for- tunate in receiving from Matthew A. Carton the gift of an ideal site of 22 acres on upper Genesee street, in the locality where many of Utica's leading charities are situated. For the proper and safe housing of so many children a fire-proof building is indispensable.

Now a new home is imperative, and to build it $150,000 is needed. Of this amount $17,000 has been secured in the last three years. This home will ac- commodate 300 inmates, and the projected plans comprise an orphan asylum and a techincal school. The latter is a need surely felt in central New York. Its scope is to fit the orphans, after they have been discharged from county main- tenance, which is generally at fourteen or fifteen (the critical age at which a girl is so ill-qualified to cope with the difficulties of life), to earn a respectable livelihood. The technical school is a self-supporting institution where the girls are instructed in dressmaking, millinery, cooking and trained service, thus mak- ing of them self reliant members of society, a charity which all will concede to be most deserving.

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ST. JOSEPH'S INFANT HOME (UTICA)-The first record of St. Joseph's Infant Home shows that it commenced its good work in caring for sick children, and that the infants were kept by different women, evidently in charge of the in- stitution when the home was under lay management. It is said to have been first located on Cottage street, next on Rutger, and finally at the present site. The certificate of incorporation was obtained December 26, 1893, the first mem- bers being Rt. Rev. J. S. M. Lynch, N. J. Quinn, Miles O'Reilly, William Kernan and James J. Dwyer. In March, 1894, a new house east of the viaduct on Rutger street was leased for forty dollars per month to be used by the managers for the purposes of the institution. February 20, 1895, three Sisters of Charity from Emmitsburg, Maryland, took charge of the children, who were still under lay management. February 1, 1897, the property on Green street was leased, and it was later purchased by the institution. The Sisters carried on the work under the board of managers until January 23, 1899. Having the approval of the Rt. Rev. Bishop and consent and support of the officers of the community of Emmitsburg, a transfer of the property was made, in consideration of the paying of all the debts, liabilities and obligations of the corporation. At this time the property was mortgaged and the institution heavily in debt. There were then about 40 little children in the institution. The Sisters experienced many inconveniences, but, with the support of numerous friends and good people of the vicinity, and by the holding of fairs and benefits they succeeded. Finally in 1905 they undertook the construction of the present building, as it was im- peratively demanded. The institution is having its fair measure of success, and children from one day to seven years of age of all creeds and color are received. During the existence of the home it has cared for more than 1,400 children of a very tender age. During the past year it sheltered and cared for 258, and at this date there are in the institution 148. To care for these are seven Sisters of Charity, three of whom are children's nurses. There are also kindergarten teachers, and a number of other helpers sufficient to carry on the work in a proper manner. The present accommodations are of modern construction, bright and airy. There is also a beautiful chapel where services are held for the in- mates, which are attended by the priests of St. Patrick's parish.

ONEIDA COUNTY JAIL AT UTICA

CHAPTER XXIX

REFORMATORY AND PENAL INSTITUTIONS

PENAL INSTITUTIONS-JAILS-In 1798 provision was made for the erection of a jail at Fort Stanwix and also at Whitesboro. It would seem that the jail at Whitesboro was first completed, as prisoners were ordered transferred there from the jail at Herkimer. This institution existed until about 1852, when prisoners were removed to Utica, and from that time up to date there have been two jails in the county, one at Rome and one at Utica. The jail at Utica for many years was located on Albany street. It was rather a poor affair, and about twenty years since it was abandoned, and a new jail was built upon Bleecker street. This was inadequate at the time it was built, and was a stroke of economy on the part of the board of supervisors in not building it of ample proportions and with sufficient modern facilities for caring for prisoners. This jail has been severely condemned within the last year by the state authorities, and action has been suggested in the board of supervisors, although no positive act has yet occurred in that direction, for the construction of a modern jail adequate to the wants of the county. The jail at Rome was completed before 1800, and was entirely destroyed by fire August 19, 1817, which was set by the prisoners con- fined in the jail. The idea was to fire the jail, and, in the excitement that would occur, escape. The flames, however, made such headway before the fire was discovered, that the prisoners were nearly suffocated before they could be res- cued. One of the prisoners, Elisha Green, was suffocated, or was killed in the struggle to obtain liberty, after the jail was filled with smoke to such an ex- tent that the prisoners were on the point of suffocation. Five of the prisoners who were implicated in firing the jail were indicted, and were tried at Whites- town in 1817. Their names were John Harris, John Denny, James O'Brien, David Linus and Roswell T. Pratt. Denny and Linus were Oneida Indians. All of the prisoners were convicted, although they were defended by Thomas R. Gold and F. C. White, and they were all sentenced to be hung, as the penalty for arson at that time in New York state was death. They were to be hung on Friday, February 2, 1818. Apollos Cooper was sheriff, and preparations were made for the executions, the gallows constructed, coffins prepared, and great crowds of people came to Rome to witness the executions. But, unfortunately for their morbid curiosity, Governor DeWitt Clinton commuted the sentence to imprisonment for life, and the crowd, not to be deprived of some show of a hanging, procured dummies and hung the five prisoners in effigy. The jail was rebuilt, from time to time has been improved, is now located in connection with the court house at Rome, and is in a fair state of preservation and repair. From time to time prisoners have been used to do manual labor outside of the

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jails, and during the past year a movement has been instituted to use them in the breaking of stone and other work upon the highways. Just how successful this may be remains to be seen.

ST. VINCENT'S INDUSTRIAL SCHOOL-The only other important penal institu- tion within the county is now known as St. Vincent's Industrial School, located in Utica. This was first organized as a Catholic Asylum March 25, 1862, by Rev. Thomas Daly of St. John's church, and was called St. Vincent's Male Or- phan Asylum. It was incorporated April 21, 1862. For a time it was mainly supported by St. Vincent's De Paul Society and the congregation of St. John's church. Its affairs were directed by the Brothers of the Christian Schools, and its finances were controlled by a board of managers. The Brothers resigned April 12, 1876, and the board then assumed entire charge of the school. It was at this period that the institution was incorporated under the title of St. Vin- cent's Protectorate and Reformatory for destitute children in Oneida and ad- jacent counties. At the end of the year the property was sold at public auction. Bishop McNierny purchased it, and recalled the Christian Brothers January 19, 1877. The school was continued by the Brothers until 1885, when Bishop McNierny sold the property to Manhattan College of New York City, who in turn sold it to the newly formed corporation of St. Vincent's Industrial School. Their charter was obtained September 29, 1886. From the start of this good work to November, 1911, nearly 4,000 children have been cared for.

CHAPTER XXX

INDUSTRIES AND COMMERCE

GLASS-The first manufacturing of any considerable extent which occurred in Oneida county was undertaken by certain gentlemen, who deemed it expe- dient to establish a glass factory. Lawrence Schoolcraft, an experienced glass manufacturer, was also interested in establishing the factory. Mr. Schoolcraft had been a soldier in the war of the Revolution, was in Fort Stanwix when it was besieged by St. Leger, remained in the army during the war, and was finally commissioned a lieutenant colonel. He was a man of experience in the world, and his services were sought because of his business capacity and his experience as a glass manufacturer. The company was organized in 1809 with a capital of $100,000, and was known as the Oneida Glass Factory Company. The factory was opened in Verona and the making of glass was commenced there, was conducted with some success until about 1836, when the company dis- posed of its real estate and closed up its business. The Utica Glass Factory Company was organized the following year to manufacture crown glass, which it intended to be of superior quality and equal to anything imported. It was incorporated by special act of the legislature, with a nominal capital of $250,- 000, and its plant was located about three and one-half miles north of Utica, on the road bearing to the west from that which leads from Utica to Trenton. Suitable buildings were erected, and the concern started off to do business with a great flourish of trumpets, but it did not succeed, and finally the busi- ness was given up, as it had proved a substantial failure. Before the company ceased to exist it had leased its plant to the Oneida Company, which had done business at Vernon. Later, a glass factory was organized at Durhamville, which was conducted for many years by Stevens & Fox, afterward Samuel J. Fox, and Samuel J. Fox & Son. This business had been very profitable, and for a time the partnership known as Fox & Son was financially very strong, but about 1876 the company became embarrassed, and finally an assignment was made and the property sold and bid in by the wife of Mr. Fox. Again it was managed by the same men, but not successfully, and it was taken over by Mar- tin B. DeLong, who had loaned a large amount of money to the owners of the factory. A corporation was organized, known as the DeLong Glass Company, and the business was carried on until a combination was made of all of the glass factories in the state, with several from Pennsylvania, Ohio and Illi- nois, under the name of the United Glass Company. This included, also, the factory carried on at Dunbarton by Monroe & Hess. The United Glass Com- pany controlled about twenty factories, was successful for several years, and then, in consequence of a different method and of the discovery of natural gas Vol. I-28

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and applying it to the manufacturing of glass in the Pittsburg district, it was found that glass could not be successfully manufactured from pots. From time immemorial pots had been used in which to melt the glass. These pots had been increased in size from one which held a few hundred pounds to one that would hold about half a ton. In order to manufacture the glass it required about four- teen hours of the application of heat to what was known as the "batch;" then the blowing occupied ten hours out of the twenty-four. About this time the system of making glass was changed, by the invention of what was known as the "tank system." Tanks were constructed of fire clay and built in substan- tially parallelogram form, ranging from ten feet by fifty to those many times · that size. The application of natural gas, or of gas manufactured from gas coal, enabled blowing to be carried on continuously through the twenty-four hours. Natural gas was cheaper than coal, therefore, the manufacturers in the natural gas territory could sell glass for less than it cost the manufacturers by pots to make it. This induced the United Glass Company to construct on the line of Oneida and Oswego counties a tank at Cleveland, which was success- fully operated. In 1895 a proposition was made by the American Window Glass Company of Pittsburg, Pa., to purchase all of the stock of the United Glass Company. This was consummated, and when the American Glass Company, which was in the nature of a trust, got control of all the factories in New York state, they were all closed, and, except in a spasmodic way, by men organizing co-operative companies, no window glass has been manufactured since in Oneida county.

COTTON-The first cotton mill in the state of New York, as well as the first woolen mill, so far as known, was in the town of Whitestown in the present limits of Oneida county. The earliest mill was located on what is now the Lower Mill of the New York Mills, near the canal in Yorkville. Dr. Seth Capron was one of the earliest manufacturers and the prime mover in the first cotton mill. This was in 1808. Benjamin S. Walcott also entered into the manufacturing in this county at an early date with Mr. Capron. They began spinning cotton yarn in 1809. Mr. Walcott, however, did not remain in the county long, but Benjamin S. Walcott, Jr., became superintendent of the mill, and the company was incorporated as the Oneida Manufacturing Society on March 10, 1810. The power loom for weaving cotton was introduced into the county in 1812. It had been first used at Waltham, Massachusetts, where it had been kept a secret as long as possible, but it was finally discovered, and was put into operation in Whites- town in 1817. Several different organizations have existed in the town of Whites- town, but located at New York Mills, among which was the Whitestown Cotton & Woolen Manufacturing Society, which was organized January 13, 1813. It was known as Walcott's factory, also as Buhr-stone Factory, from the fact that the French Buhr millstones were used in it. The mill took the place of a grist mill, which had been built in 1796. The character of goods made in this mill was changed, and corduroy was manufactured there for several years, but a large amount of money was lost, and the manufacturing of this kind of goods was suspended. Benjamin Walcott was the first to successfully carry on the manufacturing of cotton goods. In 1824 he, acting for Benjamin Marshall of

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History of Oneida County, New York : from 1700 to the present time, Volume I, Part 53

Author: Cookinham, Henry J., 1843- Publication date: 1912 Publisher: Chicago : S.J. Clarke Pub. Co. Number of Pages: 822

Author: Cookinham, Henry J., 1843-
Publication date: 1912
Publisher: Chicago : S.J. Clarke Pub. Co.
Number of Pages: 822