USA > New York > Onondaga County > History of Onondaga County, New York > Part 56
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To Mr. and Mrs. Ellis have been born seven children, viz : Clara Earll, (deceased,) Mary Sophia, (died young,) James Augustus, (deceased,) Mary Caroline, (deceased,) Harriet Isabella, wife of the late William A. Beach, of Troy, N. Y .; Lydia Maria, (died young,) and Lucy Cudworth, wife of Frank W. Balch, of Chicago, III.
CARROLL E. SMITH,
Printer and journalist, is a life-long resident of Syracuse, where he was born December 25, 1832. He has been a gratified witness of the growth of his native place from a small village to a populous and prosperous city. His parents were Vivus W. Smith and Caroline, only daughter of Jonas Earll, Jr., of Onondaga, whose only child he was. His ancestors were New England people, dating back to the early settlement of Massachusetts.
His youth was spent in the schools of his native place, and he completed his academic course in the Syracuse Academy and the Seward Institute at Florida, Orange County, N. Y. At an early age he entered the printing office of the Syracuse Fournal, (established by his father, V. W. Smith, in company with his uncle, S. F. Smith,) and he there learned the various branches of the printer's trade. In 1847, he began his newspaper service in a subordi- nate capacity, and was subsequently, before attain- ing his majority, local reporter of the Daily Four- nal, and associate editor of the Daily Chronicle of Syracuse. In 1860, he began his regular editorial connection with the Fournal, and in 1862 became Mr. J. G. K. Truair's associate in the ownership of that paper and its printing establishment, and since that time has had the editorial charge of the news- paper. He began his political life as a Republican, and cast his first vote for John C. Fremont for President, in 1856. He has ever since maintained an active interest in politics, and given his best efforts to elevate and purify political affairs and to shape the action of the party with which he is identified in the best practicable direction. As a journalist, he seeks to promote the highest good
of the community, by upholding the cause of re- ligion, morality and temperance, and by the advo- cacy of the best phases of political and public poli- cy, always holding himself independent and free to criticise, and, if need be, dissent from the action of party and leadership which tend contrawise to his views of the public welfare. His ideal of a public journal is the perfect abnegation of self in its con- ductors, with the highest development of news en- terprise and the most perfect devotion to the inter- ests of State and people.
He has been handsomely recognized by his party and the people in the bestowment of public sta- tions. He was Clerk of the City of Syracuse from 1854 to 1857, and took much interest in framing the charter of the city which has since been the basis of its municipal law. He was County Clerk of Onondaga County from 1865 to 1868. He was a Member of the Assembly of the State of New York in the years 1876 and 1877, and held a prominent po- sition in that body. He was Chairman of the Committee on Public Education, the author of legislation in the interest of popular education, and framed and urged to its passage the pending school amendment to the Constitution. He was also a member of the Committees on the Affairs of Cities and on Apportionment, in whose action he took a deep interest. He refused to be a candi- date for reelection to the Legislature, preferring to devote his attention to journalism. He is for the present year President of the New York State Press Association, and for ten years has been one of the managers of the New York State Asso- ciated Press. He is connected with the manage- ment of several other public associations, and iden- fied with various business enterprises.
CHARLES TALLMAN.
Charles Tallman presents a splendid example of the success that unaided effort united with persist- ent purpose and honorable ambition may achieve. The son of a farmer, Easton Tallman, who died in 1819, and was one of the wilderness pioneers of Central New York, Charles was born in Tully, Onondaga county, in 1810. One of six fatherless children to whom and the widowed mother little was left but the legacy of an unsullied name and lives of toil, if not of hardships, the prospect be- fore the lad of nine was cloudy and cheerless at the best ; but happily the mother was a woman of strongly-marked character, positive, economical, in- dustrious and hopeful, and was thus enabled to hold
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HISTORY OF ONONDAGA COUNTY, NEW YORK
her family together and maintain a successful struggle with the world.
Unfitted alike by physical strength and mental disposition for the rugged labors of farm-life in a new country, Charles presented himself empty handed, but stout-hearted, as a pupil at the Homer Academy, one of the oldest and best institutions in the State, where he remained two years, devoting himself assiduously to the acquisition of a capital that no financial disaster could ever diminish. In the accomplishment of this he incurred a debt for board and tuition to his uncle, the late Jedediah Barber of Homer, a sacred obligation which it was the first business of his life to satisfy. To effect this he became the teacher of a district school, having passed a triumphant examination, in the course of which he filled the slate with figures and the School Commissioners with astonishment, in beclouding a problem that neither examiners nor candidate could possibly solve.
Then, as now. the West had a siren song that charmed many a youth to sling up the knapsack and be pilgrim towards the setting sun. The West of that day was a weary distance by canal and steamer and saddle, but now accomplished by the swift engine between sun and sun. Charmed by the hidden possibilities of the far-off land, and eager to find and win a wider field of exertion, he struck out in 1833 for " The Ohio " as it was called, which meant the whole sweep of the continent to the Mississippi River. After varied fortunes, none of which were signal successes, and an absence of three months, he returned to Tully, determined to work out the problem of his life amid the scenes of his boyhood. And yet the experiences of his pilgrim- age were not valueless. Setting forth with un- limited faith in the honor and honesty of all man- kind, he confided in a stranger's word, trusted to a stranger's judgment, set aside the promptings of his own good sense, and exchanged an excellent horse he rode for an equine fiction that Don Quixote in his maddest moments would have de- spised. The tuition for a term of thirty minutes cost him a horse and unspeakable disgust, but it was well worth the price he paid for it. He learned the value of self-reliance which is better than " Daboll," of calm judgment which is wiser than Grammar, of prudence which is more helpful than Geography-all gifts and qualities that have char- acterized his life and won for him distinguished success.
Forty-five years ago, the fields of enterprise out of the great cities of the sea-board were few and narrow, and so upon his return from the West, the young
man saw nothing for it but to betake himself to the plow, the hoe and the cradle. Always ready to do what his hand found to do with his might, he took up the last named implement one day and swung out into the harvest field with a will that was stronger than his sinews, but those stalwart broth- ers of his cradled round him and out of sight. The sun was hot, the grain was rank, and he flung down the cradle with the emphatic declaration that if he could not eat without doing the drudgery of a farm he would make a desperate effort to break up the habit.
Bidding adieu to swath and furrow, and after wearying disappointments and delays, we find him in Vesper, in his native town, partner in a country store, where, amid ox-yokes and ax-helves, needles and crow-bars, groceries wet and dry, cottons, flan- nels, woolens, ribbons and rat-traps, everything anybody wanted in the new country but beauty and content, he passed nine busy years, and laid with energy, self-denial and business skill the sure foun- dations of his subsequent ample fortune.
In 1846, the great salt lick of New York, Syra- cuse, a straggling village of 11,000, began to fore- shadow its coming greatness, and thither Mr. Tall- man removed with his family, for he was already the head of a household, and became senior partner in the "City Drug Store." on Salina street, with William H. Williams. But, never content to travel in a groove, Mr. Tallman's energies were directed to many important interests and enterprises, among which may be named extensive farming in the West, the raising of cattle, the growing of wool, the mining of coal, the traffic in real estate, the trade in provisions, and to-day he is the senior partner in the extensive wholesale firms of A. N. Palmer & Co., and W. L. Ross & Co., of the city of-Syracuse. And in all these multifarious pursuits and enterprises, involving so much skill, care and capital, he has established and maintained the char- acter of an able, upright merchant, and in all the relations of life a true and generous friend.
Almost as thoroughly conversant with one sec- tion of this country as another, he has traveled from the Atlantic to the Pacific, is deeply interested in all that conduces to the true prosperity of the coun- try, but in these broader views he has never lost sight of the city of his adoption, but has been iden- tified in all directions with its material growth. Its home industries, its business blocks, its ware-houses, the railways that traverse its streets, bear evidence of his helping hand and his judicious management. The village of eleven thousand has grown around him to a city sixty thousand strong, of which he
Photo. by Bonta & Curtiss, Syracuse.
HORATIO N. WHITE.
Horatio N. White, an architect by profession, has been closely identified with the growth of the city of Syracuse for the past thirty-five years.
Many of the public and private buildings in this and the surrounding counties have been erected under Mr. White's
supervision, prominent among which are the Onondaga County court-house, the Syracuse university, the Onondaga County savings bank, the Auburn savings bank, the Oswego city hall, and numerous court-houses, State armories, and not less than a hundred churches.
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HISTORY OF ONONDAGA COUNTY, NEW YORK.
can most truly say, " all of which I saw and a part of which I am."
Possessed of an ample fortune, of which he him- self was architect, dwelling in a beautiful home, un- blemished in reputation, happy in children and chil- dren's children, ever ready with judicious counsel and helpful deed, never an aspirant for any political office, commanding the respect of the public and the affection of his friends, yet he has not grown idle. With leisure awaiting his enjoyment, foreign lands conspiring to lure him across the sea, time and fortune at instant command, he has never laid off the harness of a busy life. And he is wise, for no rust is so corrosive as the rust that comes from premature rest after a life packed full with interests and energies.
Long may he live, mingling as ever, with men in the busy thoroughfares, always a warm side for his friends and a cheerful word for everybody-an admi- rable illustration of the splendid possibilities a pio- neer farmer's boy with hands, heart and head that he knows how to use, may achieve in America. It has grown into a proverb, " nothing succeeds like success."
DWIGHT H. BRUCE.
Dwight Hall Bruce was born at Lenox, Madison county, N. Y., June 21, .1834. He received an academic education preparatory to a college course, which, however, he never entered upon. He at the same time devoted considerable time to the study of music, and offered several compositions to the public which attracted the notice of musicians of note. In 1857, he became connected with the Commercial Times newspaper at Oswego, as associate editor. In January, 1861, he removed to Syracuse, to act as assistant to Canal Commissioner Bruce,
his father. He continued to fill positions of responsibility, in connection with the canals, till late in the year 1869, when he resigned. During this period of service, he originated several valuable improvements in the manner of operating the canals, and wrote a series of articles relating to their usefulness and capacity, which attracted wide atten- tion. During those years, in which the Rebellion
had its rise and fall, he was active in politics, and as Secretary of the Republican County Com- mittee, mainly conducted two Presidential cam- paigns. In 1866, and again in 1867, he was Super- visor of the Seventh Ward of Syracuse. In October, 1869, he was appointed by the Secretary of the Treasury assistant Assessor of Internal Revenue, and was designated to make assessments in any part of the Twenty-third Congressional District, for all taxes imposed on the manufacture and sale of tobacco, snuff and cigars. He resigned this posi- tion in January following, to become one of the proprietors and editors of the Syracuse Fournal. March 25, 1871, he was appointed by President Grant, and confirmed by the United States Senate, postmaster at Syracuse. During his adminis- tration, important changes were made in the management of the office, greatly increasing its efficiency and popularity. The number of daily mails was nearly doubled ; a night clerk and the present system of night service were intro- duced ; new systems for securing efficiency in every department were adopted and put in force, and the office itself enlarged and improved both in respect to convenience and appearance. When he was su- perceded, January 1, 1875-his term having expired nine months previously-his official standing on the records of the post-office department at Washing- ton, was as creditable as that of any other postmas- ter in the United States. Though his accounts covered several million dollars, there was not the slightest variation between his statements and those of the department when the final settlement was made. He has filled many and various offices of honor and trust, public and private, and has also spent many years in the military service of the State, filling all Regimental positions, except those of field officers. He was Major and Paymaster, afterwards Colonel and Engineer on the staff of Major-General William C. Brown, commanding the Sixth Division, and is now Captain and Brevet-Col- onel and Inspector of Rifle Practice of the Fifty-first Regiment. He is stilla proprietor and editor of the Syracuse fournal, holding an equal interest with Messrs. J. G. K. Truair and Carroll E. Smith, under the firm name of Truair, Smith & Bruce.
34*
HISTORY OF THE TOWNS.
SALINA.
The earliest place settled on the Salt Springs Reservation was the Village of Salina, sometimes designated in its early history " Salt Point." The prospective value of the salt springs in this locality attracted the attention of travelers and settlers at an early day, and drew hither, with their families, an enterprising class of men, who engaged in the manufacture of salt before the beginning of the present century. The first settlement appears to have been begun at Salina in 1788, in which year and in 1789, Deacon Loomis, Nathaniel Loomis, Hezekiah Olcott, John Danforth, Asa Danforth, Jr., and Thomas Gaston, with their families, settled at the place. In August, 1790, Colonel Jeremiah Gould and family, consisting of his wife and three sons, Jeremiah, James and Phares, and an only daughter, the oldest of his children, moved here from Westmoreland, Oneida county, and Mr. Gould built the first arch in which a kettle was placed for boiling salt. (See llistory of Salt Springs.) In 1791, Sam'l Jerome, came to Onondaga to examine the land in this section. He visited the springs at Salt Point, and taking with him a sample of the salt, traveled through Pompey, Fabius, Homer and Manlius, and on his return to Saratoga, his place of residence, he reported that he had discovered " the land of promise," and induced several of his friends to come out here and settle.
At this early period a number of persons made salt at Salina who lived at Onondaga, in what was then a more healthy location. The great difficulty which the early settlers had to encounter at Salt Point was sickness, induced by the stagnant marshes of the lake. Fevers began to appear early in July, and cases followed each other in rapid succession, so that frequently there were not well people enough in the settlement to take care of the sick. Many died during the sickly season, and many, not- withstanding the attractions of the salt interest and the prospective value of property, were deterred on account of the reputed unhealthiness of the locality, from attempting to make permanent homes there.
In 1791. two families named Woodworth and Sturges settled near the marsh. On the 2d of March, 1792, Mr. Isaac Van Vleck and family came to Salina, and the following year Thomas Orman and Simon Phares.
SALT POINT FRAME AND MUD HOUSES.
The peculiarity of some of the earliest frame build- ings at Salt Point is deserving a passing notice. They were constructed somewhat as follows : Sills were laid and posts set up at proper distances ; the beams and plates were put into their places ; grooves were cut in the posts, on the inside, two inches in width, so as to receive the ends of the sticks or poles, which being placed in horizontally, one above another, constituted the " siding" of the buildings. When this was done the whole was plastered over with a kind of mud mortar tempered with straw. Buildings constructed in this way are said to have made very comfortable dwellings. The chimney's were made of sticks and clay, and the fire places had no jambs, only a plain stone wall at the back. Mr. Jeremiah Gould erected a house of this descrip- tion in 1792, which was noted as the first frame house erected at Salt Point and in the county of Onondaga. The second was built by John Dan- forth in 1793. Mr. Van Vleck and Asa Danforth, Jr., built frame houses about the same time of superior construction.
SCARCITY OF PROVISIONS.
At this time the settlers obtained most of their provisions in exchange for salt, from Tioga, Whites- town and Herkimer. In 1792-3, provisions became very scarce and great suffering ensued. On several occasions boats were sent from Salt Point to Kings- ton (Canada) by way of Oswego, to procure sup- plies. The old settlers say that in this manner at different times they obtained bread, biscuit, salted meat and fish which had been made and cured in England, and although it was of an inferior quality, it was eaten with a relish which hunger never fails to give.
JOHN PADDOCK.
MRS. JOHN PADDOCK
( PHOTOS BY W Y RANGER, SYRACUSE )
RESIDENCE OF JOHN PADDOCK , LIVERPOOL, NEW YORK .
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HISTORY OF ONONDAGA COUNTY NEW YORK.
CAPTAIN CANUTE.
Captain Canute, of a trading boat from Salt Point to Albany, often brought provisions and gro- ceries and received his pay in young bears, wolves, raccoons, foxes, deer and fawns, all of which were at that time very plenty. Deer were so abundant and tame that they frequently herded with the cows, entering the yards with them at night with as much unconcern as if they had been fully domesticated. The young bears were furnished to the white people by the Indians for the merest trifle. Numbers of these animals have been known to be kept confined in chains awaiting the arrival of Captain Canute, who always found a ready market for them at Al- bany. So common were wolves and bears at this time that it was no unusual thing to see them pass- ing along the paths leading from Cicero to Onon- daga, and from the frequency of this occurrence, some of the paths took names from these animals. Thus two of the streets running north from the main street in the First Ward of Syracuse, are now called Wolf and Bear streets.
SALT POINT IN 1793.
In 1793 there were but thirty persons at Salt Point, all told. Sickness had thinned the number. Nearly every one was sick at the same time, except a man named Patrick Riley, a generous hearted son of Erin, who carried on Mr. Van Vleck's salt works. He drew all his own wood for a salt block, boiled salt every day and half the nights, and every alter- nate night watched with the sick, for a period of two months without a single night's intermission.
Dr. Holbrook, who had settled near Jamesville, and who was the first physician in the county, came over every day to visit the sick. He was a skillful and successful physician. Dr. Burnet, in 1797, was the first resident physician in Salina.
During the sickly season the Indians were ex- ceedingly kind to the settlers. They furnished liberally to each family a supply of venison and fish, which added greatly to their comfort.
It was a noticeable peculiarity of the Indians in those days that, whenever they had resolved upon a carousal, they almost invariably divested themselves of all dangerous weapons, and deposited them with some trusty person in a place of safe keeping. And not unfrequently one of their own number would be set apart expressly to keep sober and see that no harm was done while the rest indulged themselves in their drunken spree.
ABRAHAM VAN VLECK AND THE RATTLESNAKE.
Abraham Van Vleck, son of Isaac Van Vleck, is believed to have been the first white child born
within the present limits of Syracuse, and also the first male child born in the county. He was born at Salt Point in 1792. At that period rattlesnakes were very numerous in the vicinity of Salina. They were considered harmless, if suffered to pursue their own way unmolested, but extremely dangerous when interfered with. On a time, little Abraham Van Vleck was out at play. His mother became alarmed at the violent cackling of the fowls, and hurrying round the house to learn the cause of their disturbance, " she there found her little son folding in his hands and arms an enormous rattlesnake, which twined and writhed around the tender limbs of the child in the fondest manner, looking defiance at the fowls which had gathered around in a circle, and were expressing by their noise and bustle the utmost fear and agitation. The frightened mother ran to her nearest neighbors, who soon gathered at the scene. The snake seemed to increase its fond- ness for the child, and no one seemed disposed to meddle with it for fear of increasing the child's peril. At length the mother seized a favorable op- portunity, snatched the child and ran away with him. The snake seemed angry with the removal of his little friend, and at once coiled himself in a hos- tile attitude, when he was instantly dispatched by those present."
About the time of the birth of Abraham Van Vleck, an Indian had been drowned by the upset- ting of his canoe in the Falls of the Oswego, and the event bore so heavily upon the friends of the deceased, that the son of Mrs. Van Vleck was named by the Indians " Ne-un-hoo-tah," which, in their language, signifies " sorrow for the departed." By this name he was known among the Indians, who always entertained for him a remarkable friend- ship, and gave his father in trust for him a mile square of land at the outlet of Onondaga Lake. The title, however, was not recognized by the State. The Indians, according to their custom, gave many other Indian names to white people. Mr. Van Vleck they called " Ka-hunk-a-ta-wah," meaning "one spry enough to skip over water." Mrs. Van Vleck was " Con-o-roo-quah," " one of pleasant dis- position," and Mrs. O'Blennis, her daughter, was named " Jo-an-te-no." Thus the Indians named people according to some prominent peculiarities which they discovered in them.
THE OLD BLOCK-HOUSE.
In 1794, a block-house was erected at Salina for defence from an anticipated attack of the Indians. The circumstances which led to it were these :
* 2 Clark's Onondaga, p. 142.
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HISTORY OF ONONDAGA COUNTY, NEW YORK.
The Western Indians were at war with the settlers in Ohio and Indiana, and many of the Indians of Western and Northern New York manifested a belligerent spirit. It was apprehended that this feeling might be general among all the Indian tribes and that even the settlements in this county were in imminent danger of becoming a prey to the tomahawk and scalping knife of the savages. So great was the alarm that many persons buried their most valuable effects, and not a few were on the point of leaving the country. The people of Onon- daga assembled at Morehouse's tavern to consult upon measures of safety. Mr. Jonathan Russell was dispatched to Albany to lay the situation before the Governor, who, about the middle of May, 1794, sent General William North, General Stephen Van Rensselaer, and Adjutant General David Van Horne, to call on Baron Steuben, then at his residence in Oneida county, and with him to repair to Onondaga. These gentlemen, with others, had then recently been appointed, by the Legislature, Commissioners for the purpose of erecting such fortifications as in their judgment should be deemed necessary for the security of the northern and western frontiers of the State, and twelve thousand pounds had been appropriated to defray any expenses thus incurred. The military force of the county was assembled at Morehouse's and reviewed by Baron Steuben and his associates. They then proceeded to Salt Point, and upon examining the position recommended the erection of a block-house. A Committee of Public Safety was appointed, consisting of Messrs. Moses De Witt, Isaac Van Vleck, Thomas Orman, Simon l'hares, and John Danforth, and, together with Baron Steuben and the other officers, proceeded to stake out the ground near the principal Salt Spring. Major Asa Danforth and Major Moses De Witt were commissioned to superintend the construction of the block house, which was soon completed under the direction of Cornelius Higgins, the master- builder. It was built of hewed oak timber with high cedar posts or pickets around it. This block- house was afterwards used by the State as a store- house for salt.
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