USA > New York > Oneida County > History of Oneida County, New York : from 1700 to the present time, Volume I > Part 64
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In the summer of 1910 he contemplated a trip abroad for needed rest, and was attended to the steamer in New York harbor by a number of his friends on the 9th day of August; and, just after reaching the deck of the vessel, he was shot
WILLIAM J. GAYNOR Mayor of Greater New York
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through the neck by a would-be assassin. Fortunately the shot was not fatal, although very serious and painful. After months of suffering he regained his health, and is still attending to the duties of his high office.
Mr. Gaynor, during his career, has declined many nominations for public of- fice, among which are those for mayor of Brooklyn and governor of New York state. He has devoted much time and thought to reform in judicial and munic- ipal affairs, and has so commended himself to the notice of the entire nation that he has been for several presidential elections seriously considered as an avail- able candidate for the office of president of the United States.
CHARLES F. ANDREWS, LL. D., was born at Whitesboro, May 27, 1827; studied law in Syracuse, N. Y .; was admitted to the bar in 1849. He was in partner- ship with Charles R. Sedgwick from 1851 until he was elected, May 17, 1870, as- sociate judge of New York Court of Appeals. He was district attorney of Onon- daga county, N. Y., 1853-56; mayor of Syracuse in 1861, 1862 and 1868; was a delegate-at-large to the Constitutional Convention of 1867-68, and was elected chief judge of New York Court of Appeals in 1881.
EDWARD GAYER ANDREWS, D. D., LL. D .; preacher and bishop of Methodist Episcopal church; born in New Hartford, N. Y., August 7, 1825; graduated at the Wesleyan University, Connecticut, in 1847; entered the ministry in 1848; became teacher in the Oneida Conference Seminary, Cazenovia, N. Y., in 1854; was elected its president in 1855; resumed the pastorate in New York East Con- ference in 1864; and was elected bishop in 1872. After 1888 he resided in New York City.
GEORGE F. COMSTOCK came to Utica as a teacher of classics in one of the schools, and remained there for some years. During the time he was pursuing his studies he also studied law, but finally left Utica and entered a law office in Syracuse, where he completed his studies, practiced law, became eminent at the bar, was made Solicitor of the Treasury of the United States, judge of the Court of Appeals, and from 1855 to 1857 was the Chief Judge of that high court.
WILLIAM C. RUGER was born January 30, 1824, in Bridgewater; was edu- cated and admitted to the bar while a resident of that town, and practiced law there with his father for a short time. He then removed to Syracuse, where he took a high stand at the bar almost immediately. He was twice the Democratic candidate for Congress in that district, but, as the Republicans were in a ma- jority, he was defeated. He was, however, nominated and elected Chief Judge of the Court of Appeals in 1882, and filled that high position until, by limit of age, he was retired in 1894. He died while still a resident of Syracuse. 1
JOHN SAVAGE was born in Washington county; graduated at Union College in 1799; was appointed U. S. District Attorney for the Northern District of New York; was a member of assembly from Washington county; served two terms as representative in Congress; was comptroller of the state of New York; was Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of Judicature from 1823 to 1836.
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He moved to Utica in 1851, residing there until his death, and his family re- mained there until the last survivor died within the last five years. His home was on the easterly side of Genesee street, a short distance above Hopper.
WILLIAM CURTISS NOYES was born in Rensselaer county, but came to Oneida county to practice his profession after he was admitted to the bar, opening an office at Whitestown in 1827. He rose rapidly in his profession, and had gained such a local reputation that he ventured to locate in the city of New York in 1838, where he at once took front rank at the bar. He has ever been considered one of the foremost lawyers who ever practiced in the New York courts. He was retained in many of the most important cases that ever came before the courts of last resort in the state and in the nation. He was a member of the commis- sion to codify the laws of the state of New York and was a member of the peace commission in 1861, to arrange terms of settlement of the trouble between the North and the South. He was first a Whig and then a Republican in politics. He bequeathed his large law library to Hamilton College.
WILLIAM TRACY (1805-1881), and CHARLES TRACY (1810-1885), were natives of Whitesboro and lawyers of high reputation, whose early professional years were largely spent in Utica. Both were zealous students of early local history, and pioneers in its introduction.
SAMUEL GARVIN practiced law in Utica; was U. S. district attorney for the northern district of New York; removed from Utica to New York, and was dis- trict attorney for the county of New York. He was in the first rank among the lawyers of the metropolis, and particularly strong in the trial of criminal cases.
MONTGOMERY HUNT THROOP was born in 1827 and died in 1892. He resided in Utica between 1851 and 1864, and from Utica removed to New York. While in Utica he was a partner of U. S. Senator Roscoe Conkling for a time. He was appointed by the state authorities to prepare the code of civil procedure of the state of New York, serving on that commission for many years, and is the real author of the present code of civil procedure used in all the courts of the state of New York. He was also the author of some other legal works: Justices' Manuel; Digest of the Reports of Massachusetts, and also some other works of minor importance.
GIDEON GRANGER, before taking up a residence at Whitesboro, had been postmaster general of the United States. He resided in Whitesboro for a time, and his son, Francis Granger, studied law there, and soon after the family moved to Canandaigua.
FRANCIS GRANGER was in his day one of the foremost men of the state; was twice the Whig candidate for governor, and it was he who gave the name of "Silver Grays" to a division of the Whig party. He was a man of un- usual ability, a splendid writer, and was prominent enough in the Whig party to be considered an available candidate for president of the United States.
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WILLIAM CONNOR was born in Holland Patent; educated at Whitestown Seminary ; studied law in the office of Judge Charles H. Doolittle at Utica, and, after being admitted to the bar, removed to Des Moines, Iowa, in 1869. He there was successful, and so commended himself to that intelligent com- munity that he was elected judge of the circuit court, but, as the salary was meager for the services required, and as his practice was worth many times the salary, he resigned the position after two or three years and took up the practice of his profession. He was classed as one of the foremost lawyers of the state. He died some ten years since in the city of Des Moines.
THEODORE W. DWIGHT, LL. D., was born in Catskill, N. Y., July 18, 1822. He was educated at Hamilton College, and in 1846 was elected professor of law in that institution, where he established a law department. Later he was made professor of municipal law in Columbia College, N. Y. He published a number of works upon legal subjects, contributed many articles to reviews and ency- clopedias, and for a time was associate editor of the American Law Reporter; delivered lectures at Cornell University and Amherst College; was a member of the New York Constitutional Convention in 1867, elected from Oneida county ; was president of the State Commission of Public Charities; president of the New York Prison Association, and held many other prominent positions. He was appointed by the governor, judge of the Commission of Appeals, which court had the same jurisdiction as the Court of Appeals, for the time being. He died in Clinton, June 28, 1892.
DENNIS FLYNN was a resident of Rome in his childhood, but on arriving at manhood he went to the West, and finally took up his residence in Oklahoma City, then in Indian Territory. He there practiced law, became prominent in Re- publican politics, and was elected a delegate to Congress from the territory before the state organization was effected. He is still one of the leaders of the Repub- lican party in that state, one of the foremost lawyers, counsel for several of the railroads passing through the state, and was prominent enough to be avail- able for United States Senator when the territory became a state.
JOSEPH M. DEUEL was born in Deerfield, April 23, 1846; was educated in the public schools and at Whitestown Seminary; studied law in the office of Senator Roscoe Conkling, and was admitted to the bar in 1868. He removed to Virginia, and during the years 1869-71, he was commonwealth attorney of Hampton county, Virginia; 1871-74 he was private secretary of Senator Roscoe Conkling; in 1874-76 he was assistant United States' attorney for the southern district of New York, and in 1876-78 he was deputy clerk of the United States Circuit Court of that district, and clerk for the years 1876-82; was police justice of New York in 1894; city magistrate 1898-1903 and justice of the court of special sessions from 1904 to the present time.
CHARLES H. TRUAX was born at Durhamville, October 31, 1846. He entered the class of 1867, Hamilton College, but did not graduate; taught district school and the Union school at Camden in 1866-8. He then went to New York City,
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studied law and was admitted to the bar. He affiliated with Tammany Hall, and was nominated and elected judge of the superior court of that city in 1880. In 1894 he was a member of the State Constitutional Convention. That convention amended the constitution, abolished the superior court, and provided that all of the judges of that court should be justices of the Supreme Court for the remainder of their respective terms. Judge Truax became a justice of the Supreme Court, and when his time expired was renominated and elected. He died about three years since.
SIDNEY BREESE (1800-1878), born at Whitesboro; Union, 1818. He lived in Utica in his youth, but attained distinction in another state. He was United States Senator from Illinois 1843-9; Speaker of Illinois Legislature, and Chief Justice of the Supreme Court of that state.
LUTHER R. MARSH was born in Onondaga county, but came to Utica to study law in the office of Judge Samuel Beardsley. He was admitted to the bar in Utica in 1836, in a short time went to the city of New York, and com- menced to practice there, but soon returned to Utica. He rose very rapidly at the Oneida county bar, and in 1841, returned to take up his residence perma- nently in New York City. He was a close student and a very eloquent advo- cate. He had given much attention to the study of English, and his writings and speeches were models of composition. Mr. Marsh was much interested in public parks of New York, and to him, more than to any other person, is due the splendid system of parks which New York City now possesses. He was one of the commissioners for assessing damages for taking property for parks in New York City, and also Niagara Park at Niagara Falls. His business was so successful that he acquired a large fortune and retired from practice. He died some fourteen years since.
EDMUND WETMORE was born in Utica, prepared for college at the Utica Free Academy, graduated from Harvard, studied law in the office of Charles P. Kirkland, and was admitted to the bar in New York City. He immediately gave attention to patent law, and soon attained a high position as a patent lawyer; in fact, at the present day he is considered to be very near if not at the head of the American bar in that branch of the law. Mr. Wetmore was one of the charter members of the Republican Club of New York City; was one of the organizers of the Association of the Bar of New York City; has been for several years State Regent of the Sons of the Revolution; and is a member of a large number of other clubs and scientific and literary societies.
EARLY SETTLERS
HUGH WHITE-The first to command attention are the men of Whitestown, as they were first in time in this vicinity. It must be borne in mind that the settlement of Whitestown was not only the settlement of this county as it now exists, but of all that portion of the state westerly from the line extending north and south across the state at about the present Herkimer-Oneida line. It
GENERAL WILLIAM FLOYD Signer of the Declaration of Independence
MONUMENT OF GENERAL WILLIAM FLOYD, SIGNER OF THE DECLARATION OF INDEPENDENCE, IN CEMETERY AT WESTERNVILLE
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was into this vast, but wild domain, that Hugh White came from his Connecti- cut home in June, 1784. In the life sketches of the members of this truly important family, this history is given, and, therefore, it is not repeated here. Hugh White and those who soon followed him, struck out on proper lines to advance civilization in this richly favored country. The character and energy of these early settlers foretold the progress which would follow their efforts in every walk of life. The scope of this work does not permit a record of what was done by all the leading men of affairs who built up this good county, but only to give a record of the acts of a few, as samples of the many. There were hundreds of men who lived and died in the town of Whitestown, an account of whose lives would be interesting, yet only one or two can be men- tioned as samples.
Perhaps WILLIAM D. WALCOTT and SAMUEL CAMPBELL were as successful as any in acquiring wealth and position in this community. Mr. Walcott was the son of Stewart Walcott, who was, practically, the founder of New York Mills. William was born in that hamlet, and in early life became part owner in the cotton mills located there. In 1856 he became a half owner in that large property, and when it was transformed into a corporation in 1884, the property was owned, one-half by Mr. Walcott and the other half by Samuel Campbell. The stock of the corporation was $1,000,000, and five thousand shares were issued to each of these two owners. The businesss had been carried on so successfully by them that they had accumulated a fortune. As an illus- tration of their success it may be stated that during the Civil War citizens who received a net income exceeding a certain amount were obliged to report the same to the proper government officers for taxation, and those reports were published in the newspapers. During this period Mr. Walcott reported an annual income of $100,000 each year. This was the largest income reported by any person in central New York, and at that time was considered enormous. At their deaths each of these men left about $1,000,000. Mr. Walcott in his lifetime had been a liberal giver to religious and charitable institutions. Mr. Campbell devoted much time to public affairs. He served two terms as state senator, and held other public offices. Both of these prominent business men left to posterity examples of living worthy of emulation.
JAMES DEAN (1748-1823), Dartmouth, 1773. Dedicated in childhood as a missionary to the Indians, and sent to live among them for several years under the care of a missionary; adopted by a squaw as her son; licensed to preach, but never ordained. In 1775 he was appointed Indian agent with the rank of major, and rendered invaluable services. He was stationed chiefly at Oneida Castle and Fort Stanwix. After the war the Oneidas gave him a tract of land in Westmoreland, confirmed to him later by the state, where he lived until his death. He was Judge of County Court by successive appointments 1791-1813, and twice member of the legislature. He wrote a journal of one of his expedi- tions, and an essay on Indian Mythology, both of which are now lost.
PETER SMITH (1768-1837). A trader who came about 1789 to Old Fort Schuyler and was trusted equally by Indians and whites. The latter made him
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sheriff and judge. From the Indians he acquired by purchase nearly one mil- lion acres, and thus became the largest landholder in the state.
COLONEL ADAM GERARD MAPPA (1752-1829), agent of the Holland Land Com- pany at Trenton, then Olden-Barneveldt, and FRANCIS ADRIAN VAN DER KEMP (1752-1829), who joined Colonel Mappa at Trenton about 1797, were two pictur- esque Hollanders of this period. Van Der Kemp had taken refuge in this coun- try ten years earlier from political troubles in Holland. He was received with honor by Washington, and gained the friendship of John Adams, DeWitt Clin- ton and Thomas Jefferson. Harvard College made him LL. D.
GEORGE F. W. A. SCRIBA, another Dutch pioneer, (1752-1836), purchased a half million acres of land in the northwest part of the county, now the town of Camden.
JEDEDIAH SANGER (1751-1829), founder of New Hartford, had a great estate in the southern part of the county, and has left his name in Sangerfield.
SOLDIERS OF THE REVOLUTION
GENERAL WILLIAM FLOYD was born in Brookhaven, Suffolk county, L. I., De- cember 17, 1734; was in the Continental Congress 1774-83, and signed the Dec- laration of Independence; was again in Congress 1789-91; was a presidential elector 1800, 1804, 1820, and was a prominent state legislator. He served ac- tively in the Revolutionary War 1775-83, in which he lost much property. At the close of the war he was appointed major-general of militia. In 1803 he re- moved to Westernville, this county, where he died August 4, 1821, and is buried in the little cemetery in connection with the Presbyterian church in that village.
BENJAMIN WALKER (1753-1818) came to Old Fort Schuyler in 1797. He was of English birth and a "Blue Coat Boy." He came as agent of the great landed estate of the Earl of Bath. In war and in peace he served his adopted country diligently and brilliantly. He was the right hand of the Baron-General von Steuben, and Washington's aide-de-camp and trusted friend. After the close of the Revolutionary War he declined political honors and became an untitled, public-spirited citizen of Old Fort Schuyler.
In June, 1875, a plot in Forest Hill Cemetery was consecrated to the Rev- olutionary Fathers, at which time the bodies of Benjamin and Mrs. Walker, and of Dr. John Cochran, director-general of the military hospitals of the United States in the Revolutionary War, and of his wife, Gertrude Schuyler, were re- moved from the old village burying ground on Water street, and solemnly re-interred in the new cemetery.
GENERAL NICHOLAS HERKIMER-Very little has ever been ascertained in re- gard to the early life of General Herkimer. He is known to history as a mature man, the second in importance in the Mohawk Valley, as no one surpassed him in influence except Sir William Johnson. It is evident that he was a man of
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GEN. NICHOLAS HERKIMER
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considerable property, for his house was of such a character as to show that he lived far beyond the people of the valley. It is a commodious brick house, beautifully located on the southerly side of the Mohawk three miles below Little Falls. It is supposed that he was born about 1720; he was a militia lieutenant in 1758, and commanded at Fort Herkimer on the Mohawk dur- ing the French and Indian attack. He became colonel of the Tryon county militia in 1775; was appointed a brigadier general by the state convention in 1776, was chairman of the Tryon County Committee, and as such was the representative in reality of the colonies in the Mohawk Valley. In the spring of 1777, with about 300 men, he went to Unadilla to have an interview with Joseph Brant, who was to meet him there by appointment, Herkimer going at the suggestion of Congress. This meeting has always been somewhat of a mystery, as history does not reveal its purpose. It has been suggested, how- ever, that it was to negotiate in regard to property destroyed by the In- dians, and also to induce Brant to side with the colonies instead of with the crown, but there is no record that either one of these subjects was broached at the conference. The conference broke up without any result, Brant returning toward Canada, and Herkimer to the Mohawk Valley. In August of that year, as is recorded elsewhere in this volume, Herkimer was wounded at the Battle of Oriskany, and died in consequence of an unskillful amputation of his leg August 17, 1777, at his home.
Congress voted to erect a monument to his memory at his grave, but nothing was ever done with regard to it until, through the efforts of the Oneida His- torical Society, an imposing granite shaft was erected, with proper impressive ceremonies. It has been proposed for some years that the state should purchase the homestead and constitute it a memorial to the renowned hero. The bill has been several times passed by the legislature, but vetoed by the governors. In September, 1911, a patriotic demonstration was made upon the grounds by the societies of Central New York, and an effort is at the present time being put forth by these societies to induce the government to purchase the property, and place it under the care of the state, as a perpetual memorial to General Nicholas Herkimer.
COLONEL LAWRENCE SCHOOLCRAFT was a son of James Schoolcraft, of Eng- lish descent, was born in Albany county in 1760. He entered the American army when only seventeen years of age, and was present at Ticonderoga when the Declaration of Independence was read to the army there. He led a com- pany of soldiers from Albany up the Mohawk Valley in 1777 to Fort Stanwix, and was in that fort when it was beseiged by St. Leger. During the battle of Oriskany, when Colonel Willett called for volunteers within the fort to make a sally and strike the British in the rear, Schoolcraft was the first man to step forward, and was among those who captured St. Leger's camp. He served with great credit in the Revolutionary War, and attained the rank of adjutant. He was also a soldier in the war of 1812, reached the rank of lieutenant colonel, and had command of the First Regiment of Volunteers. He settled in Vernon, Oneida county, becoming a glass manufacturer and farmer. He died there in 1840 aged 84 years, and is buried in the cemetery in Vernon village.
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Among the Revolutionary soldiers who made Utica their home were :
CAPTAIN STEPHEN POTTER (1739-1810), of the regiment called "Congress' Own," of which Nathan Hale was a brother officer of the same rank;
TALCOTT CAMP (1762-1832), who became the first president of the village of Utica ;
COLONEL JOHN BELLINGER (died in 1815), who had stood by the side of Her- kimer at the battle of Oriskany ;
THOMAS WILLIAMS (1754-1817), who took part in the Boston "Tea Party," a resident of New Hartford from 1790 to 1812. Mr. Williams died in Utica ;
DANIEL EELS, who had helped to build the earthworks on Bunker Hill, settled in New Hartford in 1797 and lived there for 54 years.
SOLDIERS OF THE WAR OF 1812, FLORIDA (1836-8), MEXICAN (1846-7), AND CIVIL (1861-5), WARS
MORRIS S. MILLER was born in Utica in 1814, was appointed to West Point, and graduated with the class of 1834. He served in the Seminole (Florida) War, and also was an officer in the Mexican War. He served through the war of the Rebellion, and was promoted until he reached the rank of brevet brigadier general. He was a department quarter-master general in the regular army. He died in 1870, and was buried in Forest Hill Cemetery in Utica.
GENERAL HENRY WAGER HALLECK, LL D., was born at Westernville, Oneida county, N. Y., January 16, 1815, and graduated at West Point Military Academy July 1, 1839. He entered the army as second lieutenant of engineers; first lieutenant 1845; captain 1853. He was retained at West Point as Assistant Professor of Engineering until June, 1840, and for a year subsequently was assistant to a board of engineers at Washington, D. C., during which time he prepared a work on Bitumen, its Varieties, Properties and Uses. From Washington he was transferred as assistant in charge of the construction of fortifications in New York Harbor, where he remained until 1846, except while absent in 1845 on a tour of examination of public works in Europe. On his return he delivered a course of twelve lectures on the Science of War before the Lowell Institute at Boston, which were published in 1846, under the title of Military Art and Science, a second edition of which, with large additions, including notes on the Mexican and Crimean wars, was issued in 1858, and largely used as a manual during the Civil War. In 1850 he became director- general of the New Almaden quicksilver mines. In August, 1854, he left the army by resignation, and devoted himself to the practice of law. August 19, 1861, at the solicitation of Lieut. General Scott, he was appointed major-general of the regular army, and assigned to the command of the department of the Missouri, embracing the states of Missouri, Iowa, Minnesota, Wisconsin, Illi- nois, Arkansas and Western Kentucky. After the battle of Shiloh, Halleck's
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