History of Onondaga County, New York, Part 83

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

USA > New York > Onondaga County > History of Onondaga County, New York > Part 83

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

His first wife died June 21, 1856, and he married for his second wife, Miss Emily I., daughter of Jay and Ann Morgan, Feb. 5, 1872. Mr. Case is an old Jeffersonian Democrat, and was one of the most loyal supporters of the Union during its hour of greatest peril.

MANLIUS.

MANLIUS, originally Township number seven of the Military Tract, became one of the towns of Onondaga County upon its organization in 1794. It was bounded north by the township of Cicero, east by the Oneida Reservation, south by Pompey, and west by Onondaga Creek and Lake, in- cluding all the Onondaga Salt Springs Reserva- tion north of the old Genesee Road and east of Onondaga Creek, comprising all the present towns of Manlius, DeWitt, part of Onondaga, and part of Salina, as laid out in 1809. It was reduced to its present limits in 1835. Lot No. 7 of the original township of Manlius, containing six hundred acres, and drawn by the Literature Fund, was transferred to the township of Cicero, and registered as Lot 100 in that township, there being originally, by a mistake in the survey, but ninety-nine lots in Cicero. Lot 100 in Cicero being drawn by a soldier, it was deemed necessary to supply that lot from a portion of the territory of Manlius ; the transferrence of Lot No. 7, adjoining Lot No. 99 in Cicero, was accordingly made, and thus the soldier's land was secured to him, although Manlius lost one lot of her territory.

The water-courses in the town are Limestone and Butternut Creeks, forming a junction in the north- ern part of the town and emptying into Chittenango

Creek, which forms the northeastern boundary of the town. The Limestone enters the town on its south- ern boundary in two branches, the East and West, the eastern branch passing through Manlius Village.

This town has a surface of great variety, and con- tains some of the most picturesque and beautiful scenery in the county. South of the Village of Manlius on both branches of Limestone Creek are falls which not only furnish excellent sites for mills and machinery, but which have become noted as places of resort. The fall on the East Branch is the larger and more important of the two, the channel at the edge of the precipice being about forty-five feet broad, and the width of the rocky chasm below about one hundred and sixty feet. The fall, including about twenty feet descent of the rapids above, is about eighty-five feet ; the banks rocky and precipitous, formed of different strata of limestone. On the West Branch the falls are nearly the same height, though the stream is nar- rower and there is much less volume of water.

On Lot 56, three and a half miles north of Man- lius Village, are the famous Green Lakes or Green Ponds. There are two of these lakes or ponds, tied together by a small filament of water, which has given rise to the name sometimes applied to them, " Siamese Green Lakes."

364

HISTORY OF ONONDAGA COUNTY, NEW YORK.

Distinguished geologists think that the deep green color of the water is owing to the partial decomposition of the sulphureted hydrogen which it holds in solution.

The famous Deep Spring of Indian notoriety is situated on the county line about three and a half miles cast of Manhus Village. It is not only a natural curiosity, but a place of historic interest. Near it passed the Indian trail from the Oneidas to the Onondagas, before the advent of the white man, as also the first road laid out in the county. It was the starting place of all the old surveys of the Oneida Reservation and is noted on all the old maps of the Surveyor General. It was a noted watering place for persons moving to the western country, and the trees forming a shade about the place were carved with names, initials and dates. One of the dates on an ancient beech tree is 1793. At this spring during the Revolution a scouting party of six white men from Fort Schuyler was surprised and killed by the Indians.

A considerable number of Sulphur Springs exist in the town-one a short distance south of Manlius Village, containing sulphureted hydrogen, carbonic acid, sulphate of soda, sulphate of magnesia, car- bonate of iron and carbonate of lime.

The cavern known as the "Ice Hle" in this town, is near the northwest corner of Lot sixty- mine, and is a cavity some fifty or sixty feet in depth, containing ice the whole year round.

EARLY SEITLIMENT.

The first white settler in the original township of Manlius, was Benjamin Morehouse, in 1789 ; in the present town, the first settlement was made by David Tripp, who brought his family here from Balston, Saratoga County, in 1790, and lived in a log cabin about a mile northwest of Manlius Village. The difficulty of subsisting at that time in a place so remote from settlements was painfully expe- rienced by Mr. Tripp and his family, who, during a period of three months, were obliged to live on roots and milk, with the addition of a single bushel of corn which he procured at Herkimer and brought home on his back. Ils father, an old man, who was an inmate of the cabin, died in 1792, and his was the first death and burial of a white person in the town.

The first neighbor of Mr. Tripp, in the imme- diate settlement, was Conral Lower. He erected the first frame house in the town in 1792. The floor-boards of his house were brought from Pala- tine, on the Mohawk ; the rest from Danforth's mill. His son made a trip to Oriskany, thirty-three miles

east, for nails, and returned with forty-six pounds on his back.

Among other settlers prior to the beginning of this century may be named Caleb Pratt and William Ward, both of the same year, 1793. Mr. Pratt suf- fered unusual hardships. Mr. Ward settled on Lot 97, all of which he owned in 1794. He was the first Justice of the Peace for the town upon the organization of the county. The first grist and saw-mills in the town of Manlius as now organized, were built by him on Limestone Creek.

Captain Joseph Williams, from Connecticut, came in 1795, and bought his land at twenty shillings an acre. He became a wealthy man, and lived long to enjoy the fruits of his labors.

Col. Elijah Phillips was one of the early pioneers. He settled on the farm owned at a later day by Peter R. Reed, and held a distinguished position among the early settlers of the county.

ORGANIZATION OF THE TOWN.

The first inhabitants of the town were chiefly from New England.

Scattering families located in different parts of the town from: 1790 to 1793, but it was not till 1794, the date of the organization of the county, that Manlius had acquired much of a name abroad. In that year settlers began to look towards it as a suitable and desirable place of residence.

The first town meeting was held at the tavern of Benjamin Morehouse, April 1, 1794. Cyrus Kinne, Esq., was chosen Chairman, and Levi Jerome Secretary. The Supervisor and Town Clerk were chosen by ballot, the remaining officers by the up- lifted hand. Forty-two votes were polled, probably all, or nearly all, the voters of the town being pres- ent and casting their votes. The following list was elected : Comfort Tyler, Supervisor ; Levi Jerome, Town Clerk ; David Williams and Benjamin More- house, Overseers of the Poor ; Charles Merriam, Elijah Phillips and Ryal Bingham, Commissioners of Roads : Reuben Patterson, Ichabod Lathrop, Isaac Van Vleck, William Ward, and Timothy Teall, Assessors ; Caleb Pratt and David Baker, Constables and Collectors ; Libbeus Foster, William Ward, Ichabod Lathrop, Reuben Patterson, Cyrus Kinne, Ryal Bingham, Jeremiah Jackson, Gershom Breed and Lemuel Hall, Overseers of Roads ; Aaron Wood, Elijah Phillips, John Danforth and Jeremiah Jackson, Fence-Viewers.

At this meeting it was resolved, "That no hog shall go at large without a stout ring in his nose, and a yoke about his neck, extending above the depth of his neck and half the depth below." A

OTOS. BY W.V.RANGER.

nºC. E. SCOVILLE.

MRS.C.E. SCOVILLE.

JEREMIAH GOULD.

المـا

RES . OF THE LATE C. E. SCOVILLE, MANLIUS SQUARE, ONONDAGA CO., N. Y.

CURTISS TWITCHELL

MRS JANE TWITCHELL

RESIDENCE OF CURTISS TWITCHELL, MANLIUS, ONONDAGA COUNTY NY

365

HISTORY OF ONONDAGA COUNTY, NEW YORK.

bounty of four pounds was ordered to be paid for the scalp of a full-grown wolf presented by any per- son to the Supervisor, and thirty shillings for the scalp of any one under one year old.

Charles Mosely, Daniel Campbell and Isaac Van Vleck were the first School Commissioners chosen for the town, in 1797. A Special Committee was chosen to cooperate with the Commissioners, and directed to divide the town into school districts. The Committee was composed of Gershom Breed, Elijah Phillips, Jeremiah Jackson and Caleb Pratt. The records show no regular proceedings of these Commissioners or Committeemen, and the first organization of the school districts was very im- perfectly made in 1810 and ISII, but in 1835, a more systematic organization was effected.

Lot No. 74, Manlius, had been set apart by the Surveyor-General for gospel and school purposes, and finally sold by the town May 2, 1814, for $12,- 114.42. When DeWitt was set off from Manlius the school fund was divided and Manlius received for its share $7,752.42, the annual income of which was divided among the school districts.

In 1793 Elijah Phillips leased the property known as the " Old Mills," of a Mr. Hamilton, of Albany, for a term of sixty years. Mr. Phillips, David Williams, Aaron Wood and Walter Worden, erected here the first saw-mill in the town, David Wil- liams soon sold his share to Phineas Stevens for sixty acres of land. In 1796, Butler & Phillips built a grist mill a little above the bridge. Cloth- ing works and an oil mill were put in operation afterward by Deacon Dunham, and stores were kept there, first by Mr. Jones, and then by William Warner in 18II.

MANLIUS VILLAGE.

The first settler, John A. Shaeffer, a German, established his log cabin on the site of Manlius Vil- lage in 1792. This log house soon after became the first tavern in that village, with Mr. Shaeffer as "mine host," and in 1794, during the sojourn of Baron Steuben in this house over night, the first white child of the village, and son of Mr. Shaeffer, was born. In view of this circumstance, the child was named Steuben Shaeffer, and the generous Baron gave him a deed of two hundred acres of land in the town of Steuben.

Charles Mulholland, from Ireland, was the next inhabitant. He built his log house near the resi- dence of Mr Pendleton.

The first wedding in the village was that of Nich- olas Phillips and Caty Garlock, solemnized by

Simeon DeWitt, January 14, 1793. She died in 1824, and Mr. Phillips in 1854.

The first frame house was built by Conrad Lower, in 1792. It stood, till a few years ago, on the dyke leading to Fayetteville, and was many years occupied by Salmon Sherwood.

The first school house was erected in 1798. It was of logs and stood a little north of Mr. Castello's mill.

In ISOI, Manlius Village had six dwellings, one tavern, one store, a doctor, lawyer and blacksmith. It also began this century with a postoffice, estab- lished in the year 1800, and was named " Liberty Square. This name was soon changed to Manlius Square." In 1804, the village contained about thirty houses, and continuing to grow, became by far the most prominent business place in the county.

In 1807, an important accession was made to it in the advent of Azariah Smith, who became its leading merchant, and was for forty years intimately identi- fied with the growth and prosperity of the place. Mr. Smith was born at Middlefield, Mass., Decem- ber 7, 1784. In 1807, he became clerk for his uncle Calvin Smith, at Onondaga Hill, and opened June 3d, 1807, a store in a frame building on the south side of the turnpike, nearly opposite the brick store which he afterwards built and occupied. Here Mr. Smith, after a clerkship of only eight weeks with his uncle, entered upon his successful and distin- guished mercantile career. He subsequently en- tered extensively into the manufacture of cotton. At the time of his decease he was a trustee of the District School where he resided, a trustee of Man- lius Academy, a trustee of Hamilton College, and a trustee of Auburn Theological Seminary.

In 1824, he was elected one of the Presidential Electors and cast his vote for John Quincy Adams. In 1838-'40 he was a member of the State Legisla- ture, and was Chairman of the Committee on Claims, and a member of several of the most important Committees. Mr. Smith closed his active and use- ful career on the 12th of November, 1846, in the city of New Haven, whither he had gone to avail himself of medical assistance.

Manlius Village was an important business point before the building of the Erie Canal, as the trans- portation of merchandise and other goods to and from the east and west, and the travel both ways centered here by the meeting of the Seneca and Cherry Valley turnpikes. This transportation and travel was at one time so immense that almost every other house along the road was a tavern. There were then six or seven large public houses between this village and Chittenango.

3( x )

HISTORY OF ONONDAGA COUNTY, NEW YORK

Manhus Village was for more than twenty years the center of a large trade from the surrounding country, and was a driving business place when Syracuse was a dreary swamp There were a dozen or more stores in the place in 1815

The Manhus Branch Bible Society was organized at the Presbyterian Church, Manhus Village, May 31, 1821. The first officers of the Society were Rev. Il. N Woodruff, President : Samuel L. Ed- wards, Secretary ; John Watson, Treasurer ; Eben Williams, William Eager and Allen Breed, Vice- Presidents, with twenty-six District Directors.

The Auxiliary Bible and Common Prayer Book Society for the Western District of the State of New York, was formed by the Episcopalians at a meeting in this village January 18, 1815. Among its officers were Rev. W. A Clark, Recording Sec- retury ; Azariah Smith, Treasurer ; Jas. O. Wattles and Ralph R. Phelps, members of the Board of (ten Managers

Rev. W' A. Clark was then a clergyman residing in the village ; the others, Messis. Wattles and Phelps, were prominent citizens. Mr. Wattles was Treasurer of the village in 1816, and H L. Granger, President. Both of their names are attached to an interesting note or due-bill issued by the village, and which has been preserved by Henry C. Van Schaack, Esq. It is in size about five by two inches, printed from ordinary type on plain white paper, now considerably discolored. Across the right hand margin is a narrow black border having on it in white letters, "SIN AND A QUARTER CENTS." and across the left margin is a narrow ornamental bor. der. The bill teads as follows

" The Corporation of the Village of Manlius promises to pay the bearer six and a quarter (6) cents in current bank bills, on demand.

Manhus, May 10, 1816.

J. O WALILES, Treas.

H. I. GRANGER, Pres't."

Hezekiah L. Granger, then President of the vil- lage, was a distinguished physician and a gentleman of eminent talents. He was a brother of Gen. Amos P Granger In isi4 he was a member of Assembly for the county, and in 1819 was elected Sheritt

Mr. Van Schaack has also a twenty-five cent bill issued by the Village Corporation after the date of the one referred to above At the head of it is a spread eagle, over which are the words " State of New York," a rising sun at one end and a lion rampant at the other It reads thus :

" The Corporation of the Village of Manhus promises to pay the bearer, on demand, twenty five cents in current bank bills, at the office of their treasurer. August 9th, 1816.

J. O. WATrLES, Treasurer."

This bill is still an unpaid debt of the Village of Manlius.

Mr Wattles was a lawyer of some distinction, and at one time Judge of the Court of Common Pleas He went to Indiana over fifty years ago and was soon appointed a Circuit Judge by the Legislature. He chied there a highly respected citizen.

The following is a copy of a receipt given April 4. 1818, by Uriah Palmer :

" Received of Azariah Smith one dollar in full of all debts, dues and demands, whatever name and nature, from the beginning of the world to the end of eternity."

NEWSPAPERS.

There have been published in the Village of Man- lius at different times seven or eight newspapers. The first was the Derne Gasette, by Abram Romeyn, in 1806, at a time when an effort was made to fix the name "Derne" upon the village. That name, however, slightly modified in pronunciation, got fixed upon the paper, and it was popularly stigma- tized as the "DARNED Gazette" It only lived about a year. The next paper started here was the " Herald of the Times," May 24, 1SOS, by Leonard Kellogg. Mr. Kellogg commanded an independ- ent rifle corps from this village, which served in the war of 1812. The name of the paper was changed by Daniel Clark to " Onondaga Herald," October 28, 1StS. It was afterwards called " The Times," and continued about three years. June 27, 1821, the "Onondaga County Republican" was started by the since famous editor, Thurlow Weed The " Onondaga Republican " was next published, Octo- ber 27, 1824, by Laurin Dewey. The " Manlius Repository" succeeded it, and reached its fifth volume under the direction of Luman A Miller, and for a time under Mr. Stillson. Finally, Mr. Fonda published the " Onondaga Flag " for a short time.

AZARIAH SMITH, JR., became a distinguished scholar and missionary in Western Asia, whither he embarked in November, 1842. He devoted nearly seven years to the most diligent and thor- ough preparatory study, to make sure his com- petency and usefulness in his missionary field. To ensure his greater usefulness as a clergyman, he had, before leaving his native country, by a proper course of study, made himself a competent physician ; and for the same useful purpose, on his arrival at his field of his future labors, he studied and mastered several foreign languages-Turkish, Arabic and Armenian. After spending nine laborious years in that distant land he died at the early age of thirty-

1816

. ......

318YH VH5173

MRS ANNE MAB'E

"HILLSIDE FARM, RESIDENCE OF MRS. ANNE MABIE. MANLIUS, ONONDAGA CO , N Y

" VALLEY FARM" RES. OF AMBROSE S. MABIE, TOWN OF MANLIUS, ONONDAGA COUNTY , N. Y.

DAVID COLLIN

MRS D COLLIN.

OLD HOMESTEAD OF DAVID COLLIN , FAYETTEVILLE NY (ONE MILE EAST OF FAYETTEVILLE . SETTLED 1816 )

367

HISTORY OF ONONDAGA COUNTY, NEW YORK.

five. The editor of a standard review said of him :

" As the author of valuable papers on Mineralogy and Syrian Antiquities, Azariah Smith, Jr., took rank with the best scholars in the land."

DR. WILLIAM TAYLOR for more than fifty years was a highly successful practicing physician of Man- lius, and honored throughout the State as standing at the head of his profession.

INCORPORATION.

The village was incorporated in 1842, the first President being Robert Fleming. Hiram Hop- kins was President in 1843 ; Jonathan G. Rowland, 1844; J. V. H. Clark, 1845-'46; E. E. May, 1847 ; Edward Boylston, 1848; Lloyd Remington, 1849- '51 ; A. H. Jerome, 1852-'54 ; Robert Gilmore, 1855; Joseph Baker, 1856; E. P. Russell, 1857- '62, inclusive ; D. Higley, 1863-'64 ; E. P. Russell, 1865; A. H. Jerome, 1866-'67 ; A. A. Wood, 1868; R. Rotenburg, 1869 ; E. P. Russell, 1870- '71 ; Henry Whitney, 1872 ; E. P. Russell, 1873 ; Joseph Baker, 1874 ; E. U. Scoville, 1875 ; George J. Champlin, 1876-'77. The other Trustees for 1877 were J. W. Moulter, W. L. Scoville, John W. Boyls- ton and W. W. Candee.

MANLIUS ACADEMY.

In 1834, decisive steps were taken for the estab- lishment of an Academy at Manlius Village. Prom- inent among those who zealously entered into this project were Azariah Smith, Nicholas P. Randall and Dr. William Taylor, who were elected as the first temporary Board of Trustees. Under an act of the Legislature incorporating Manlius Academy, passed April 13, 1835, Messrs. Smith, Randall and Taylor, together with Silas Williams, Peter R. Reed and the four clergymen of the village, namely, Algernon S. Hollister, Carlos Smith, David Bel- lamy and R. Houghton, became the first permanent Board of Trustees.

Money was raised by subscription and the ground and building known as the "Stone House " pur- chased. This was a two-story rough-stone build- ing and in the early days of the village had been occupied for stores, printing office, and other pur- poses. To fit it for an academy it was thoroughly overhauled and substantially repaired, the rooms rearranged and a third story added to it, which was surmounted by a belfry or cupola. Thus changed, it was a very respectable and convenient building.

The Academy was opened for instruction in May, 1835, with fifty scholars in the male, and sixty in the female, department. The catalogue at the end of the first year showed a total attendance of two

hundred and forty-four ; males, one hundred and thirty-nine ; females, one hundred and five. In 1840, there were in attendance two hundred and seventy-four different students, sixty-two of whom studied the languages. It had connected with it an interesting cabinet of domestic and foreign specimens and curiosities.

GRADED SCHOOL.

The village has now an excellent Union Graded School, with a building remodeled in 1870, contain- ing three rooms, with accommodations for two hundred and fifty pupils. Prof. J. D. Wilson, Principal. The school has one hundred and sixty- one resident, and thirty-one non-resident pupils.

Mr. Hayden W. Wheeler, a former resident and member of the Manlius Academy, now engaged in business in the City of New York, made a generous contribution of about $1,800, in 1870, towards the enlargement and improvement of the Union School building, and more recently donated a valuable philosophical apparatus.

MASONIC.

MILITARY LODGE No. 93 .- We judge from the name and age of this lodge that it got its name from the Military Lands of this section. Probably there were not enough Masons in either of the counties named to organize a lodge at the time this one was formed. At all events the first meeting for the organization of Lodge No. 93, Manlius, was composed of Masons of Chenango and Onondaga Counties, and was held June 30, 1802. The first officers elected were : Caleb B. Merrill, W. M. ; Timothy Teall, S. W. ; and David Williams, J. W. The first meeting"under the charter was held No- vember 4, 1802.

On the 25th of December, 1830, the lodge was closed on account of the Morgan excitement, until March 25, 1851, when it was opened with the fol- lowing officers : Illustrious Remington, W. M. ; Lloyd Remington, S. W .; and S. J. Wilcox, J. W. The lodge was rechartered as Military Lodge No. 215, June 6, 1851. June 26, 1867, the old Number "93 " was restored.

The Masons have held their meetings in Azariah Smith's building since its erection in 1816, at an annual rent of one grain of barley, on a perpetual lease.

Present officers of Military Lodge No. 93 : W. M. Scoville, W. M .; Joseph Fowler, S. W .; Geo. P. Wells, Jr., J. W .; Wallace Everson, S. D .; John Ward, J. D .; Chas. C. A. Hale, Tyler.

WILLIAMS CHAPTER NO. 72 .- Organized Feb. 8, 1854. First officers - Illustrious Remington,

368

HISTORY OF ONONDAGA COUNTY, NEW YORK.

HI. P., Jabez Lewis, S .; Robert Gilmore, K. Pres- ent officers-C. U. II. Wood, I. P .: E. S. Card. K .: B Clark, S .; Charles Hart, T .; W. W. Candee, Secretary ; J. P. Bailey, Chaplain ; Geo. P. Wells, C. H1 ; W. M. Scoville, P. S .; A. S. Balsley, R A. C ; George J. Champlin, Ist V .; D. D. Barnes, 2d V .; Charles Hart, 3d V .; O. T. Wattles, Tyler. Present number of members, seventy- four.

TEMPERANCE ORGANIZATION.

Good Hope Tent, N. O. of I. R., Manlius .- Or- ganized January 21, 1876, with sixteen members. Present number, forty-eight. James Eastwood, C. R .: John W. Belknap, D. R .: A. C. Haskins, Jr., R. S .; Stephen Cheney, Treasurer; Clinton Owen, P. C. S.

MANLIUS BAR.

Alvan March settled here as a lawyer in 1798 ; after him came R. R. Phelps, Abijah Yelverton, James O. Wattles, Nicholas P. Randall, S. L. Ed- wards and others

Mr. Randall was a graduate of Vale College in the class of 1803, studied law at Clinton. Oneida County, and settled in Manlius Village as a lawyer in IS11. He soon became distinguished in his profession, and till the time of his death, March 7. 1836, occupied a commanding position among the great jurists and advocates of the State Judge S. L. Edwards was also a jurist of distinction.

ST. JOHN'S SCHOOL FOR BOYS.

This school was founded in 1869 by the Right Rev. F. D. Huntington, S. T. D., Bishop of the Diocese of Central New York. The religious ser- vices and teaching conform to the order of the Episcopal church.

The School Building, situated on a commanding site near the village of Manlius, is large and capa- cious and a model in all its appointments.

The School has aimed from the beginning to keep up the highest standard of scholarship, to provide generally for the physical comfort and nurture of its pupils, and in its discipline to look constantly to the formation of manly and self-reliant habits ; and in all these respects it has won an honored and de- served reputation, and stands among the very high- est of the schools of its class.

Need help finding more records? Try our genealogical records directory which has more than 1 million sources to help you more easily locate the available records.

History of Onondaga County, New York, Part 83

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