History of Onondaga County, New York, Part 59

Author: Clayton, W.W. (W. Woodford)
Publication date: 1878
Publisher: Syracuse, N.Y., D. Mason & Co.
Number of Pages: 840

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PUBLIC SCHOOLS.

The founders of the village of Geddes showed their appreciation of education by reserving a lot for a public school house east of the park or public square, on which a log school house was first built among the cabins of the primitive settlers. This was superceded by a brick school house at an early day, but only of sufficient dimensions to answer a temporary purpose. The narrow street or lane running from the public square east close to the

residence of William W. Tripp, Esq., was opened as a means of access to the school. Simeon Spauld- ing, Esq., taught school in this house in 1825, and again in 1833 and in 1836. In 1846, it was torn down and the school temporarily kept in the base- ment of the Episcopal Church on the square, while the new school house which stood on the site of the present elegant Union Free School building was being got ready. This house was finished and occupied and was the principal school building of the village till the completion of the present build- ing in 1870.

Up to 1862, the schools of the village had been conducted under the old rate bill system, the dis- advantages of which were so painfully felt that Dr. W. W. Porter, then President of the Board of Trustees, resolved, with the concurrence of the Board and the District, to effect a reorganization under the law providing for the establishment of Union Free Schools, passed in 1853. A meeting for that purpose was accordingly called, and Dr. Porter personally distributed the notices to all the electors of the district. At the meeting it was found that one more vote was wanted to constitute the majority required by the law. Dr. Porter went out and brought in another elector from one of the stores, whose vote in the affirmative carried the day in favor of the Union Free School.

This district is now known as the Union Free School District No. 3, town of Geddes. The law under which it has been established is a recognition of the free school principle involved in the old law of March 26, 1849, and which after having been twice ratified by the people of the State, was re- pealed, and the old rate bill system rëestablished, in April, 1851.

Ebenezer Butler, now of Whitehall, Washington county, this State, was Principal in 1864, and was succeeded by J. W. Hooper in 1865, who continued to act as the efficient Principal of the schools till January 1, 1871, when he resigned to take the office of School Commissioner, to which he had been previously elected. He was rëelected, and is now serving on his second term. Mr. Hooper took the school in 1865 with 210 pupils and 4 teachers, and left it at the close of 1870 with 960 pupils and 19 teachers.

In 1870, the present school building was erected. It is of brick, three stories and basement, heated throughout by steam, and cost $26,000. It has two large seating rooms on each floor, with two recitation rooms adjoining each, and will accommo- date about 1,000 pupils.

The schools are graded in three departments-

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IHISTORY OF ONONDAGA COUNTY, NEW YORK

Primary, Junior and Senior-occupying respectively the lower, middle and upper floors. A Winter De- partment has been organized in the basement of the building for the accommodation of about 100 boys who cannot attend school during summer. This department opens December 1. In addition to this main building, there are two branch primary schools-one situated on Magnolia street, with ac- commodations for 200 pupils, and the other on Frazer street, with accommodations for iso pupils.

The corps of teachers now number 25, including male principals of the General and Winter Depart- ments, the rest being lady teachers, 23 in number. The whole number of persons of school age in the village, (between 5 and 21 years, is 1,641 ; number attending school, 1,200 ; average daily attendance, 836 ; amount of money raised and expended during the year ending Oct. 1, 1877, $13,110.

N. D) Bidwell is the efficient Principal and is as- sisted by an accomplished corps of teachers.

Those holding State Certificates are the follow- ing : N. D. Bidwell, J. W. Hooper, Miss A. M. Coit, Miss Nellie Annable, Mrs. Sarah Phelps.

BOARD OF EDUCATION.

Formed Under the General Law in 1865.

Wilfred W. Porter, President ; William B. No- ble, Clerk ; Calvin Pierson, G. J. Griffith, A. C. Belden.

The following have been members since : J. R. Pharis, R. Nelson Gere, J. Henty Clark, E B. Van Dusen, G. W. Fernold, Mead Belden, Mills P. Pha- ris, Ed. Laass, W. R. Chamberlain, E. M. Klock, J. Coady, Samuel Dempsey.

Present Board-Rev. J. P. Magee, President ; E. M. Klock, Clerk ; J. Coady, A. Whedon, M. D., Samuel Dempsey.

Dr. W. W. Porter has been connected with the schools of Geddes for the past twenty-five years, and has been an efficient and indefatigable worker in their behalf. In 1852 he was Principal, and was elected Superintendent of Schools for the town of Geddes in 1853, and held the office till it was abol- ished by law in 1856. lle was most efficient in forming the Free School organization, and has been most of the time since, till 1877. President of the Board of Education.

CHURCHES OF GEDDES.

The town of Geddes contains but two churches and these are located in the village, viz : The First Methodist Episcopal Church, and St. Patrick's, Roman Catholic

A Protestant Episcopal Church once existed here under the name and style of " Apostolic Church of

Geddes" -organized in 1832 The same year a church edifice was erected on the public square. For a while the church enjoyed some prospect of permanency, under the labors of several able and devoted ministers, among whom were Rev. Richard Salmon and Rev. M. Whiting. But the Episco- pal element not being sufficiently strong in the vil- lage and vicinity to maintain a permanent organiza- tion, the effort declined and was finally discontinued. After the Episcopalians gave up using the church, it was occupied for a time by the Methodists and the public school was at one time kept in the base- ment. It was torn down about the year 1855.

FIRST METHODIST EPISCOPAL CHURCH -Rev. Manly Tooker and Rev. Nathaniel Salisbury preached in the village of Geddes as early as 1822. In 1840, Rev. Ebenezer Arnold began the organi- zation of a pastoral charge here, in connection with his charge at Salina, but not being able to attend to it, requested the P'residing Ekler, Rev. George Gary, to employ the services of Rev. Aaron Cross, a local preacher to complete the organization. Mr. Cross labored for a while, and perhaps some others, but with very little success till 1852, when Rev. Charles E. Bragdon, of Auburn, effected a re- organization and also established a Sunday School, of which Dr. Wilfred W. Porter, then recently arrived in the village, was elected Superintendent on the 9th of May, 1852. Dr. J. Arnold, then a druggist in Syracuse, was called to the pastorate and remained in charge about one year, when he was succeeded by Rev. Reuben Reynolds, who was followed by Rev. A. S. Wightman in 1854

The church attained its legal existence, being in- corporated with a Board of Trustees, under the name and style of the "First Methodist Episcopal Church of Geddes," February 6, 1854. Services were at first held in the school house. In 1856, a plain wooden church was built, costing about $2,- 000, which is still standing, though removed from its original site and disused as a place of worship.

Mr. Wightman was followed in the pastorate by Rev. J. C. Vandercook, for two years, since whose ministry the succession of pastors has been as fol- lows : Rev. J. D. Adams, two years ; Rev. L L. Adkins, two years; Rev. M. D. Kinney, two years ; Rev. W. S Titus, one year : Rev. J. C. Vandercook, one year ; Rev. W. D. Chase, one year ; Rev. G M. Pierce, three years ; Rev. W. 11. Anable, two years and a half; Rev. O. A. Houghton, three years ; Rev. D. W. Beadle, one year ; Rev. Loren Eastwood, the present pastor, since October, 1876, now serving on his second year.

JW PARSONS

JARED PARSONS SA

RESIDENCE OF J. W. PARSONS, ONONDAGA , NEW YORK

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HISTORY OF ONONDAGA COUNTY, NEW YORK.

The new church edifice, a fine brick structure, was begun in 1871 and finished in 1872-cost $27,- 000. The present membership of the church is 175, of the Sunday School, 180. The Sunday School is educating two orphans in India at the Orphanage at Bariley and Shah Jehanpoor.

- -

ST. PATRICK'S CHURCH, Geddes .- About the year 1870, Rev. James S. M. Lynch opened a mis- sion in a hall in the village of Geddes, and soon after commenced the erection of St. Patrick's Church. Before its completion it was given in

charge to Rev. P. F. Smith, who finished it in the year 1873. In 1875, it was transferred to Rev. James P. Magee, the present pastor. The congre- gation has very much increased under his charge, and now numbers about three thousand. The church is a very fine brick structure, and cost about $45,000. Rev. Mr. Magee is a licentiate of the Provincial Seminary at Troy, N. Y. ; was formerly assistant at the Cathedral in Albany, and pastor at Fort Edward, Washington county, N. Y., where he established a church.

ONONDAGA.

The town of Onondaga was formed from Marcel- lus, Pompey and Manlius, March 9, 1798. A por- tion of Salina was taken off in 1809, and a part of Camillus in 1834. About half of the Onondaga Indian Reservation lies in the southeast part of the town.

The surface is mostly a rolling and hilly upland, separated into two ridges by the valley of the Onon- daga Creek. The east ridge is rocky and broken, and the west is generally smooth and rolling. A fine wide intervale extends along the creek, and is bordered by steep hillsides, the summits of which are from 200 to 400 feet high. A valley, forming a natural pass between Onondaga and Nine Mile Creeks, extends northwesterly through the town. Along the north line the highlands west of the val- ley descend abruptly to the north, presenting in some places the face of a nearly perpendicular precipice from 100 to 150 feet high. This declivity is known as Split Rock. Upon these cliffs is an outcrop of Onondaga limestone, which is extensively quarried for building purposes. In an irregular crack or seam which extends downwards in this ledge to the depth of 100 feet, ice remains during a greater part of the summer. The Split Rock stone quarry is near the northwest corner of the town. The stone was obtained here for building the locks upon the Erie Canal, and the aqueduct across the Genesee River at Rochester. The soil in the valley is a sandy and gravelly loam, and on the uplands a gravelly and clayey loam. It is rich and productive throughout the town, which is set- tled by an enterprising and independent class of farmers.

ONONDAGA PIONEERS.

The first settlements were made in what is now

the town of Onondaga, at a time when it was in- cluded in the town of Manlius and Marcellus. Here the first settlements were made within the present limits of the County, and from here Salina and Syra- cuse got their first enterprising business men, who started them in that career of progress which has since marked their history. Some of the men who at once took prominent places in local and even in State and National affairs, at the beginning of the present century, had their homes, or at least made their first settlements in the town of Onondaga. Here lived Gen. Asa Danforth, Col. Comfort Tyler, Gen. Thaddeus M. Wood, Judge Joshua Forman, Judge Nehemiah Earll, William H. Sabin, Jasper Hopper and others, whose names became famous in our early history.

It may be said of the pioneers of this county in general, that no country in the early stages of its settlement was ever more fortunate in a class of men eminently fitted to lead the van of civilization into the wilderness, to furnish an example of hardy en- durance, intelligence and self-sacrifice, and to lay the foundations of society and civil institutions on a firm and lasting basis, than the early settlers of Onondaga County. This is true of the pioneers as a class, while there are many distinguished names among them whose talents and character fitted them to adorn any calling or station in life. The pioneers planned wisely and well, not alone for the material welfare of the country they had adopted as their future home, but they were, almost without excep- tion, men capable of appreciating and providing for the moral and intellectual wants of society as well ; men of high moral character and of a large degree of culture and experience.

Most of the early pioneers were either Revolu-

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HISTORY OF ONONDAGA COUNTY, NEW YORK.

tionary patriots or men who had seen service, either military or civil, in older portions of the country.

EFHIRMIM WTESTER .- The first white man who made a permanent residence in Onondaga County was Ephraim Webster. He had been a soldier in the Revolution, serving until the close of the war. Webster first settled at Oriskany in the character of a trader, and afterwards in 1786, accompanied by another trader by the name of Nukerk, he opened his store on the west bank of Onondaga Creek, near its mouth, and there exposed for sale the little stock he had brought by water from Schenectady. Nukerk died the first summer and was buried near the place. In the spring of 1787, two traders, Campbell and Maibee, followed Webster, and took up their residence at Onondaga Hollow. Ephraim Webster was a man of adventure, and was pos- sessed of a courage that never faltered An in- stance illustrative of this is related by Clark, as follows :

" For some real or fancied wrong, he was judged worthy of death. He gave up all for lost, and fully made up his mind that his time had come. His grave was dug and he was told to prepare for imme- diate death. A large ring was formed around him ; his executioners, four in number, were appointed, and their positions taken : four glittering tomahawks gleamed in the sunlight. A sturdy brave firmly held each of his hands, stretching his arms to their utmost extent. It was asked of him tas is the cus- tom) if he had any request to make before he ex- pired. Hle said he only desired a cooling draught of water. 'None, none, none,' was the reply ; he appealed to them in affecting tones, not to deny a friend this simple request. The venerable war chief, Oudi-ya-ka, stood forth, while the ready weap- ons were poised over his head. 'Hold" said he ; ' stay your hands, offend not the Great Spirit ; let him drink one cup of water for the last time.' The cup was presented, while one hand was released by the Indian who held it. Webster took the cup, gracefully bowed his head, and most cordially drank the health of the chiefs, braves and warriors of the Onondaga nation. This maneuver was so unex- pected, so appropriate, and done with so much grace and aboriginal naiveté, so respectfully and with so much coolness and gravity of demeanor, that with one voice they shouted, ' He is free ! let him go, he is one of us!' He was free, and hence- forth safe among them. He was too brave a man to be a traitor, and having once fully gained the Indians' confidence, by conduct like this, nothing could shake it."

Webster married an Indian woman, and from him, by right of the female side, descended une of the Ato-tar-hos, or principal civil officers of the confed- eracy. It is said by some of the best informed early settlers that Webster's Indian wife became

enamored of "fire-water," and was in the habit of getting intoxicated. Webster complained to the chiefs, who were trying to restrain the Indians from the use of intoxicating liquors, and they in council decided that if she got drunk again that act should exonerate Webster in dissolving the marriage re- lation between them. This, however, did not re- strain or reform her ; she soon became again intoxi- cated, and knowing the penalty she had incurred, quietly left his house the next day and never re- turned. Webster afterwards married a white woman and raised a considerable family, who inherited the lands given by the Indians to their father. Many years ago an interesting suit was tried in this county, brought by the half-Indian son for these lands, but he failed to recover them.

Webster was employed by our government from 1788 to 1794 in gaining information as to the con- duct and purposes of the Western Indians, and gave full satisfaction to his employers. A grant of land a mile square was given him by the Indians and confirmed by the government. He lived to the age of seventy-two, retaining the confidence of the Indians and the whites, and having filled the offices of Supervisor and Justice of the Peace of the town of Onondaga.

COL. COMFORT TYLER .- This pioneer settler of Onondaga county was born in the town of Ashford, Connecticut, on the 22d of February, 1764. At the age of fourteen he entered the army, and per- formed a short period of service mostly on duty in and about the fortress at West Point. In 1783 hc became a surveyor and school teacher at Caugh- nawaga, on the Mohawk River. While here he ac- companied the expedition of General James Clinton for the establishment of the boundary line between New York and Pennsylvania, and on his return be- came a member of the famous " Lessee Company," which had for its object the purchase under a form of lease for nine hundred and ninety-nine years of the Indian lands comprising a large portion of the State of New York. " In the spring of 1788, at the age of twenty-three years, in company with Major Asa Danforth, he pushed into the wilder- ness, fifty miles beyond any white inhabitant, and commenced the permanent settlement of Onondaga county." He enjoyed the distinction of having felled the first tree, and of constructing the first piece of turnpike in the State, west of Fort Stan- wix, and of assisting in the first manufacture of salt.

Colonel Tyler was a favorite with the Indians who named him " To-whau-ta-qua," meaning one that is double, or one that is a laboring man and a

Photo. by W. V. Ranger, Syracuse.

Abrir Chapman

Hon. Abner Chapman was born Sept. 30, 1798, in the town of Ashford, Windham Co., Conn. His father's family moved in February, 1799, into the town of Marcellus, Onondaga Co., N. Y., and thence into the town of Onondaga in 1803, where he spent the seventy remaining years of his life. At the age of eighteen he commenced teaching school; taught six winters in succession in South Onondaga,-ten winters in all. At the age of twenty-three he married Eliza Merrick, with whom he lived forty-nine years, having several children, but they all died at an early age. On the first day of January, 1873, he married Miss Mary Everringham, of South Onondaga, who survives him.

During his long life he was repeatedly honored by minor but important official positions. He was at an early age elected in- spector, and then commissioner, of common schools. In 1826 he was commissioned by Gov. Throop captain of a company of riflemen, and served in that important position several years. In 1828 he was elected justice of the peace, which responsible office he held about thirty years in various terms, and was acting in that capacity at the time of his death. He was twice elected supervisor of the town of Onondaga, and once elected and once appointed associate justice of the county court.

In the fall of 1860 he was elected a member of the legisla- ture of the State, and served through the session of 1861 with eminent fidelity to the interests of his constituents, and with devotion to the welfare and honor of the country, then eonfront- ing the grave problem of rebellion.

In 1824 and 1828 he voted for John Quincy Adams; after that he became a National Republican ; was then for twenty- five years a member of the Whig party ; in 1856 he helped to organize the Republican party, and was ever afterwards a zeal- ous working member of that organization. Brought up in a community where the daily use of whisky was almost universal,

he freely used it from his father's distillery ; but the agitation of the temperance cause turned his thoughts and habits in a better direction.

In 1836, when he was thirty-eight years old, he joined the temperance society at South Onondaga, which has been con- tinuously in existence from that day to this. He was an active, zealous temperance man during the remainder of his life. He was many years president of the temperance society already mentioned, and was vice-president of the New York State Tem- perance Alliance. To his zeal and labors is mainly attributable the fact that no intoxicating drinks are even attempted to be sold in this part of the town of Onondaga.

In his religious sentiments he was a Universalist, and for several years attended the services of that denomination in localities remote from his home where they were held. Latterly he had been a regular attendant and supporter of the only re- maining religious organization in South Onondaga,-the Metho- dist Episcopal church. As justice he discountenanced litigation ; was frequently a visitor at the bedside of the sick and the homes of the needy. He gave much of his time and labor to beautify the village and cemetery, and was zealous and efficient in every good word and work.

Like the long, glorious summer day on which he dicd, June 18, 1873, we have in Abner Chapman's life a bright and benefi- cent example of honorable usefulness, whose memory is blessed and glorious.

Mr. Chapman left in his will a number of bequests to worthy objects, including a sum for the formation of a temperance library in South Onondaga, and donations to the National Tem- perance Publication Society, the St. Lawrence University at Canton, N. Y., and a sum for beautifying the village cemetery in South Onondaga.

Photos, by W. V. Ranger, Syracuse.

John F. Clarke

Minerva To black

John F. Clark is of English origin, and was born in Adams, Berkshire Co., Mass., July 26, 1798. He was the son of John, who was the son of Supply, who was the son of Aaron, who was the son of John, who was the son of John, who was the son of William, who came from England, and settled at Dorchester, Mas, and thence removed to Northamp- ton, Mas. The subject of this sketch emigrated to Onondaga County March 6, 1801, and settled at South Hill, in company with his parents and family. He was reared on the farm, and early learned those principles of success, namely, industry and economy, which are always to be found in every successful man's life. Mr. Clark has been one of the most substantial farmers of his town. He was married to Miss Minerva Reed, daughter of Jonathan Road, of Marcellus, October 25, 1827. They have had five children, namely, -Jane A., George B., Augustus R., Franklin B., who died May 22, 151, and Elmer J., who are among the very best citizens in the county.

As a family they are thoroughly temperance, not one of the male members ever having used, in any form, tobacco, spirituous or malt liquors. As a family they joined the First Universalist

church of Syracuse upon its organization, and are to-day worthy and efficient members of the same. In the year 1551, Mr. Clark removed to Onondaga Valley, and purchased his present beautiful place, and has ever since resided there, sur- rounded with all the comforts of a happy home.

In polities he was formerly a Jefferson Democrat, but upon the organization of the Republican party he joined it, and has ever since adhered to it with unswerving fidelity. He has held all the important offices of his town, having been commissioner of schools, inspector of schools, justice of the peace, and super- visor. He was elected a member of the board of trustees of Onondaga academy in 1852; he succeeded Dencon Joseph Swan as president of the board, which office he filled in a very able and efficient manner until the school was reorganized in 1867. In the fall of 1850 he was elected to the State legislature, and served one year to the general satisfaction of all. His has been a long and useful life. At the early age of fifteen he made up his mind that he would not indulge in anything which would injure his health or impair his usefulness, and he has kept his vow, and has reared a family having the same principles. Would that we had many such.

Photo. by W. V. Ranger, Syracuse.

LEONARD P. FIELD.

Leonard P. Field, son of Silas and Hannah Field, was born May 31, 1817, on the home where he now lives in South Onondaga. Mr. Silas Field came from Cranston, R. I .; Mrs. Ilannah Field from Connecticut. Both were of English origin. Mr. Silas Field immigrated to this county in 1808, and worked by the month for Captain Fenner, and purchased of him the farm occupied by the family to this day. Mrs. S. Field came in 1810. They had one son, the subject of this sketeh. Silas died January 1, 1840. ITis wife died Novem- ber 7, 1821, aged 30 years. Their remains now lic in South Onondaga cemetery. Mr. S. Field was for many years a bright Freemason. In politics he was a Whig.

Mr. Leonard P. Field had simply a common-school education. He married Miss Chloe Ann Ammidon, of this town, June 13, 1838. She was born January 14, 1819. By this union twelve children were born, six of whom are living. She was a consistent member of the Methodist Episcopal church. She was a faithful wife and affectionate mother. She died March 3, 1863. Mr. Field married, for his second wife, Miss Sarah Fen- ner, of this town, February 17, 1865. By this union two chil-

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History of Onondaga County, New York, Part 59

Author: Clayton, W.W. (W. Woodford) Publication date: 1878 Publisher: Syracuse, N.Y., D. Mason & Co. Number of Pages: 840

Author: Clayton, W.W. (W. Woodford)
Publication date: 1878
Publisher: Syracuse, N.Y., D. Mason & Co.
Number of Pages: 840