History of Ontario Co., New York, Part 25

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Ontario Lodge, No. 23, under date of November 15, 1800, returned reply "that the adoption of the proposed new constitution would be inexpedient and unad- visable." The lodge recommended Albany as an eligible place for session of the Grand Lodge, and opposed the formation of two Grand Lodges within the State .. The response was signed by John Clark, Master ; Wm. Shepard, Senior Warden; Ezra Platt, Junior Warden; and by Dudley Saltonstall and Peter B. Porter, brethren. The new constitution was rejected. On November 5, 1804, the Grand Lodge was informed that Ontario Lodge had been frequently called upon, especially by travelers, for aid, and during a period of twelve years had bestowed in charitable donations two hundred and fifty dollars. The members of the lodge were often transient residents, and the moneys loaned, from their places of removal being unknown, were often lost, so that the losses were set down as two hundred dollars. The lodge procured its furniture at heavy expense on account of its distance from the supply, and its place of meeting proved expen- sive, so that it had become poor, and its treasury account reduced to two hundred

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Methodist

157,350

55,450

7,050

....

and Lots.

HISTORY OF ONTARIO COUNTY, NEW YORK.

dollars. In consideration of the circumstances, it was asked that the customary fees be remitted, and thirty dollars sent be received in lieu thereof. Financial troubles of the present in the erection of new Masonic halls were the same fifty years ago.

In the spring of 1819 the lodge found it unpleasant and inconvenient to con- tinne in former rooms, and, having accumulated somewhat of means, thought best to build a Masonic hall. The work was commenced and progressed considerably. A loan of one thousand dollars was secured on the property, and five hundred dollars was asked of the Grand Lodge to enable the lodge to finish the structure. The request was denied, from inability, and the lodge, struggling on, accomplished its purpose. The first return, from November 19, 1804, to January 2, 1809, gives the names of twenty-seven members. From 1809 to 1811 no return was made. In the return from December 26, 1811, to December, 1815, there were thirty new members and twenty-one old, a total of fifty-one. The return of 1817-18 gives twenty-two old and twelve new members; total, thirty-four. In 1819 there were siz new members, and Millard Flint died. In this year H. Sey- mour was Master; Wm. Goodwin, S. W. ; P. B. Underhill, J. W .; Manning Goodwin, Secretary; and Jasper Parrish, Treasurer. In 1820 Richard Wells was Master ; in 1823 John Greig, and in 1824-25 Nicholas G. Chesebro, were Masters:

The last return was made in 1825, and the warrant of the lodge was declared forfeited in 1832, and, not having been surrendered previous to June, 1840, could pot be revived. The papers from which the above has been gathered were copied by the Secretary of the Grand Lodge, and are on file at the Canandaigua Lodge The petition for remission of dues and for loan to complete building, present the lodge in the light of a self-escrificing and benevolent association, -. fit example for the present searchers after wisdom and instruction.

A statement made by the lodges of Ontario County, which forms part of the Twenty-first Masonic District, to Thomas H. Bennett, D. D. G. M., presents the following summary :

No.

Lodge.

Location.

Time of Meeting.

Members. 1876. 1876.

Master.

Secretary.

Ark

Geners.

Let and Sd Wednesdays.

19%

LMA Naples

Naples.

Ist and ad Fridays.

|Wm. P. Durrant. 8. N. Anthony. Bimeon O. Lyon. George Peck.

189 |MIÍDOr.

Victor.

ad and 4th Thursdays.

100

Boliver Ellis.

8. P. Orocker.

$00 |Biscerity.

Phelps.

let and 3d Tuesdays.

184

182

F. D.Vanderhoof. Edw. 8. Corbin.

4 |Canandal

Canandaigua. Honsoye.

Ist and &d Mondays. Lut and &d Mondays.

151

178

H. B. Ferguson. L. F. Wilbar.

J. J. Stebbins.

M. P. Worthy.

640

. LIBRARY ASSOCIATIONS

have from time to time had existence in Geneva and Canandaigua, and such still ezist and are of public benefit. In 1798 a public library was instituted at Geneva, by a meeting held at the hotel kept by Powell. The trustees appointed to look after its interests were P. B. Wimmer, Esra Patterson, David Cook, and Samuel Colt. The Canandaigua Library was established at the academy in 1812, and was in charge of H. U. Onderdonk, Nathaniel Jacob, Asa Stanley, and John C. Spencer, as trustees.

Its interests began to decline during the summer of 1819, and the board was authorised by stockholders to sell the books and other property at auction ; which was done September 14, 1819. On July 10, 1820, J. D. Bemis & Co. estab- lished a circulating library at their book-store in Canandaigua. An apprentices' library was established February 27, 1821, for young men, and James L. Cole, S. C. Ward, and J. H. Mower were committee of the same.

THE " WOOD LIBRARY ASSOCIATION"

had its inception in an advertisement during the winter of 1858 by Dr. Jewett and E. M. Morse, Eeq., in the village prees, of a call to the citizens for a meeting to organise a town library. The first meeting was attended by E. M. Morse, Dr. Jewett, George Gorham, and Moses Atwater. So little interest was manifest that it was deemed advisable to address a note to leading citizens to meet at the office of Thomas. M. Howell, Esq., without stating the object of meeting. A large assembly convened. Discussion ensued and opposition proved formidable, yet organization was effected, and citizens were invited to contribute from their private libraries. A room was secured, and the present Wood Library fairly in- augurated. A meeting was held on April 12, 1859, at the office of Messrs. Morse and Mason. H. C. Swift was called to the chair, and E. M. Morse was made seo- rotary. It was determined to raise four hundred dollars by subscription, and a committee composed of J. J. Lyon, O. H. Smith, Dr. H. Jewett, G. Gorham, and E. M. Morse was appointed to solicit subscriptions.

On May 5, a public meeting was called at the old court-house to organize an association and secure rooms. L. Wilcox was chairman, and J. J. Gregory, seo-

retary of the meeting. A favorable report was received from the committee on subscription, and among the by-laws adopted is found article first, which desig- nates the society as the " Wood Library Association," in honor of William Wood, an old and honored citizen, a man whose life was made up of benevolent and charitable acts. On the evening of May 6 an election was held, and the follow- ing-named first officers chosen. Dr. H. Bennett, president; F. C. Bennett, vice- president; J. G. Gregory, secretary, and H. J. Messenger, treasurer. Five trus- tees were elected, namely : Francis Granger, H. O. Chesebro, Lucius Wilcox, Chester Coleman, and O. H. Smith. The old grand-jury room was secured for meetings, fitted up, and first opened for use June 28, 1859. On June 9, 1875, amendments to the constitution were made, at which time Dr. H. Jewett was president, and John S. Coe, secretary. Many valuable books are upon shelves in this reading-room, papers are at hand for the reader, and a museum of curiosities has been gathered. The institution is worthy ; its orginators did a good work.

CLIFTON SPRINGS SANITARIUM

is located in the village of Clifton Springs, town of Manchester. The village lies on the New York Central Railroad, midway between Geneva and Canandaigua, and is one of the most healthy spots in the State. At this place are two kinds of springs, fresh water and white sulphur, the latter being most numerous. The sulphur springs contain carbonic acid in large quantities, which, in conjunction with lime, magnesia, and soda, constitutes elements favorable to successful treat- ment of chronic diseases. Dr. Henry Foster came to the spot in 1849. He found a wild wood and a morass, where for centuries the waters had gushed forth and ran their course. Knowing the efficacy of water as a curative agent, Dr. Foster, in partnership with Rev. E. S. Davis, purchased ten sores, which included the springs, and which had been reserved by Oliver Phelps as a possession of value. The proprietors erected a double building of three stories, both structures under a common roof, and this was finished and patients received in 1850. During the first year thirty patients had been treated, and the number began rapidly to in- crease. In January, 1850, a company known as the Clifton Springs Water-Cure Association was formed, with a nominal stock of ten thousand five hundred dollars, which was paid in by the original stockholders. The cost of the building, aside from that of furniture and the introduction of water, far exceeded the capital, and an oppressive debt was incurred equal to the original stock. Dr. Foster mean- while was not disheartened, but proceeded with the erection of a gymnasium and . sulphur bath-house, and to these added a chapel and a few dormitories. The grounds were laid out, graded, and drained. The mineral water was secured, and, with artistic design, ponds, lawns, walks, and flower-plats were constructed. With increased accommodations came greater patronage, and not only was the debt lifted, but a reasonable dividend paid the stockholders. An act of incorporation was passed by the Legislature on April 5, 1854, under the title, "The Clifton Springs Water-Cure Company." Up to July, 1856, with the erection of build- ings, the original cost had reached the sum of forty-one thousand dollars, all of which had been paid but seven thousand dollars. The improvements made, the expense of the institution, and the erection of buildings called for a constant out- lay of money, which from time to time was advanced by the doctor to the com- pany until March 16, 1867, when, in accord with an amendatory not "to au- thorise such company to convey and transfer real and personal property on certain lands," the interest became vested in Dr. Foster. The doctor now announced his intention to endow the institution with a fund, whose income would defray expenses of the medical faculty and steward. The wealthy have always been received on equitable charges, while the minister and the poor have their treatment at the lowest possible rates. On the 25th of July, 1856, the formal dedication of the water-cure took place. The audience was called to order by Rev. L. P. Hikok, D.D., of Union College, and the Hon. A. C. Paige, of Schenectady, was called to the chair. Rev. B. F. Tefft, then recently president of Genesee College, delivered the dedicatory address. In the afternoon of the same day, the assembly re-convened and listened to the dedicatory sermon from Rev. M. L. P. Thompson, D.D., of Buffalo. The chapel was occupied in the evening, and an address delivered by Judgo Paige, president of the day.

The buildings of the establishment are of ample area and height. They are the result of successive efforts. A west wing was built next the wood building; it was soon raised a story with attics. In 1870, the wood building was removed and the main building constructed, and improvements are still going forward. Purchases of adjacent grounds have been made until sixty sores are now owned in connection with the Cure. The valuation of property had been augmented so that it is estimated to be worth not less than a quarter of a million dollars. The building presents a front of two hundred and thirty-five feet, four and five stories in height, the east wing being one hundred and the west wing three hundred feet deep. Bathing arrangements and gymnasium are of superior character.

Upon the first floor of the main building is a dining-room with a capacity to

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HISTORY OF ONTARIO COUNTY, NEW YORK.

sest three hundred and sixty persons; a drawing-room thirty-eight by forty-eight feet, a library and reading-room, medical office and reception-room, and bath- rooms, five in number. Here is expensive machinery, and Turkish, electro and electro-chemical, Russian, compressed air, and vapor baths are taken. Upon the second floor are two medical offices, three bath-rooms, rooms for patients, and a beautiful chapel, furnished with taste and supplied with a fine organ. Other floors are devoted to guests. There are rooms for two hundred and seventy pa- tienta, and many receiving treatment board at the hotels and boarding-houses in the village. An elevator is in constant use. The gymnasium is in dimension forty by one hundred feet. There are three engines used for pumping water, and these are supplied with four boilers. An ice-house has a capacity of one hundred tons; gas-works supply not only the institution, but the village. Shops, barns, laundries, and other buildings are located upon the grounds.

The faculty consists of Dr. Henry Foster, general superintendent, assisted by Dr. James Gault, Dr. Prince, and Mrs. Mary Dunbar. Rev. Lewis Bodwell has been chaplain since 1870. The number of employees in the establishment is seventy-five. These are classed in nine departments, each having a chief, who is responsible for the order of the division. It is estimated that the number of pa- tients during the twenty-six years past has exceeded fifty thousand. Within the last few years the average constant number of patients is three hundred. The institution does not depend for its growth upon advertising, but upon the good will and reports of patients, and by these means the reputation of the Cure has steadily increased. On the 6th of April, 1871, the name was changed to Clifton Spring Sanitarium, which name it now beers.

A building known as Clifton Spring Hotel was purchased by a stock company, organized with a capital of seventy-five thousand dollars, and an extensive air- oure established. It went into operation May 1, 1867, and met success. It was destroyed by fire in 1870, and the property, including thirty acres of land, was purchased in 1872 by Dr. H. Foster with the intent to ereot thereon a building to cost one hundred and fifty thousand dollars. This is to be used as a non- sectarian female college. School opens in the fall of 1876 in the Foster House, under charge of Dr. George H. Lewis, D.D., president. The realisation of this sobeme will make Clifton Springs a place more than ever desirable as a residence.

BRIGHAM HALL,

. hospital for the insane, owes its existence to private enterprise. In 1854, Messrs. Robert D. and George Cook made their first visit to the village of Can- andaigua, in search of a suitable location for their purpose. They went out upon Main street on the morning after their arrival, and were shown by an old and prominent citizen the place so well suited to the design of the founders of the asylum. During the day the premises were inspected, and proved satisfactory. A stone building, known as the Brigham Place, was yet in process of construo- tion, and showed solid and substantial. It was of rural gothic build, fronted eastward, and forms the present centre of the structure. The location is upon a site magnificently adorned by the hand of nature, and made yet more lovely by the refining influence of art. From there a view is presented of village, valley, and lake. Spring-water is unfailing, and the railroad station is but a mile dis- tant. The vicinity of Canandaigua lake as a place for boating and fishing made the place especially attractive, and excursions upon the clear and beautiful sheet of water have exerted a salutary and healing influence upon patients. The pur- chase was made in June, 1855, and possession taken in July. The unfinished stone building was completed in October, and rooms prepared for the reception of ten patienta. Early in the spring of 1856, in accordance with plans prepared, work was begun upon the north brick wing, which has a front of about one hundred and thirty feet, with rear extension ; the latter has halls and rooms for a small number of excited patients. It is two-storied, with partition-walls of brick, and has a capa- city for thirty-five patients. To provide adequate drainage, eight hundred feet of brick sewer were constructed, and pipes for water and gas were laid through the whole buildings. The south wing was built in 1860, in size and style like the north wing. The entire building has a front of three hundred and twenty feet, with a rear extension of one hundred and thirty feet, for kitchen, laundry, and engine-rooms. The building has been erected and furnished with the one pur- pose constantly in view,-the comfort and welfare of inmates. Supply of water is unfailing. A reservoir twenty by thirty, and eight feet deep, has been built at the spring. The walls are laid in brick and cement, and covered in for purity. A motion-pipe three inches in diameter extends from the reservoir to the pump, which is propelled by steam power, and thence water is forced to large tanks in the attic. Gas-works were constructed in 1866, and have been changed as found desirable. Crude petroleum produces a good quality of gas at moderate cost. The original purchase was of seventy seres. In 1865, thirty sores, between the hospital grounds and Parrish street, were purchased, increasing the acreage to one hundred. Streets bound the grounds on all sides, and give security against en-

croachment. The forest-trees of fifteen acres about the hospital have been left standing, and evergreen and other trees have been planted. The objects of the institution have been the cure of every patient who may be cured, and the pro- vision to the incurable of all the care, peace, comfort, and enjoyment within their reach. The proportion of recoveries to the number treated has been large, and the freedom from irksome restraint has made life more enjoyable. Since the opening of the hospital in 1855, one thousand and thirty-four patients have been admitted ; three hundred and twenty-one of these have been discharged fully recovered ; two hundred and forty-six improved ; two hundred and eighteen unimproved ; eighty-eight were inebriates ; ninety have died, and seventy-one remained under care December 31, 1875. During the last ten months of the year no death oc- curred. The fact is developed that before the larger number of patients are brought here, they have peseed beyond the reach of curative agency. The board of managers consists of Robert D. Cook, Esq., William G. Wayne, Esq., and John B. Chapin, M.D. Dr. Harvey Jewett, consulting physician, is con- stantly referred to as a person of extended experience and of unvarying courtesy. It was a noteworthy fact that for more than twenty years the founders of the hos- pital continued to administer its affairs. Dr. George Cook, a man of noble nature and generous impulses, of quiet manner, but strong influence, took exclusive man- agement of the business, financial and medical. The unfortunate were sent to his care by relatives with confidence, and the citizens of Canandaigua held the doctor as one whom they delighted to honor. He died a martyr to the cause of hu- manity, by a knife-stroke inflicted by a patient. The assault was made on June 12, 1876, and in his death the unfortunate lost a valuable friend.

ONTARIO ORPHAN ASYLUM.

This institution is located at the head of Main street, in the village of Canan- daigua, just outside the corporation limits, in the midst of a beautiful grove of forest-trees, having four acres of land attached.

On the 14th of May, 1863, . public meeting was held at the town hall in mid village, in pursuance of a call from the patriotic and benevolent ladies of the county, to provide a suitable home for destitute and orphan children, with especial reference to those whose fathers might be lost in the service of the United States during the late war of the rebellion. A society was daly organized, which after- wards became incorporated by the Legislature. A constitution and by-laws were adopted, providing for the annual election of a president, treasurer, two secretaries, four direotreeses, twenty-four managers (subsequently increased to forty-four), all from the ladies of the society.

A suitable house and grounds were purchased for $5000, a matron and teacher secured, and the doors were opened for the reception of inmates. Twenty-five thousand dollars was received from the State; occasional appropriations have been generously voted by the supervisors of the county, authorized by the Legislature; small legacies have been realized from Mrs. Isabella Fulton, of Phelps, and Mrs. E. S. Cobb and Mrs. James Lyon, of Canandaigua, while the liberal and continu- ous support of its patrons has thus far contributed to make a success of this noble charity. Several legacies of considerable amount have done much towards placing the asylum on a permanent basis, yet its maintenance is largely dependent on the liberality of its friends.

In 1868, the supervisors of Yates county made arrangements to transfer their dependent children to this asylum from their county-house, while recent legisla- tion has more fully provided for the removal of pauper children to this and similar institutions.

The edifice is a three-story brick building, having a basement and mansard roof, with a spacious veranda in front; the whole having been greatly enlarged and improved in 1870, at an expense of $13,581.61, making the total cost of the real estate $19,581.61, the entire sum having been raised by the individual exertions of the ladies, and the property is entirely free from incumbrance.

There are now about sixty children in the asylum, which will accommodate a hundred. Over three hundred have been received since its commencement.

One of the most interesting features of the institution is the asylum school. The neatness, decorum, and good order which prevail reflect much credit upon matron and teacher, while the intellectual progress of the children will challenge competition with those of same age who are blessed with better fortune. Suit- able homes are provided for the pauper children when practicable, whose future welfare is strictly guarded by proper indentures.

There is also a board of trustees, seven in number, chosen annually from the male members of the society, who hold in trust, for the benefit of the asylum, the title to the real and personal property.

Lin of Funded Legacies.

June 1, 1867, Mise Betsey Chapin ....

$4,000

October 9, 1871, Mrs. Clarissa M. Davis .... 2,000

October 25, 1875, John Post 30,000

March 8, 1876, Peres H. Field. 1,000

$27,000

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HISTORY OF ONTARIO COUNTY, NEW YORK.

Invested as follows :

$10,000 United States 5 per cent. Bonds, par value ...

3,600

2,940 Premium on above .. 6 =

Bonds and Mortgages. 10,460

$27,000

These legacies have been preserved intact, and form a permanent endowment fund, the interest only being used towards the current expenses of the asylum. The net income from this fund is $1448, while the yearly expenses of the insti- tution are $4500, leaving an annual deficiency of $3000 to be supplied by public generosity.

Oficers of the Asylum, May, 1876 .- President, Mrs. George Cook ; Direc- tresses, Mrs. Alexander Murray, Mrs. George Willson, Mrs. Harvey Jewett, Mrs. George W. Bemis; Treasurer, Mrs. Henry M. Field; Recording Secretary, Miss Annie Pierce ; Corresponding Secretary, Mrs. William Gorham.

Trustees .- Messrs. A. H. Howell, president; F. F. Thompson, treasurer ; Lucius Wilcox, George Cook, M.D.,* Harvey Jewett, H. O. Chesebro, Hon. C. J. Folger.

CHAPTER XXVII.

THE PRESS OF ONTARIO, PAST AND PRESENT.

THE newspaper is the institution of this age and of this nation; it is the em- bodiment of a powerful intellectual developing force, the eductive text-book of the masses in literature, politics, and law. It devolves upon the press to discuss and settle the questions arising under our anomalous government in reference to labor, education, forms of law, and party politics. The history of the press in general is much like that of the county. There are existing publications which trace their origin from the earliest settlements, there are those of recent origin, and there are the wrecks of many remembered only upon the recording page. The press of On- tario has taken a decided stand under one or another party standard, and canvassed sharply the acts of those aspiring to office and the doings of public men. In gen-' eral, the publisher and editor has expressed his earnest belief, and served as a vital exponent of popular feeling. When it is stated that a paper was anti-masonic, whig, democratic, know-nothing, or free-soil, it is meant that the party found in their sheet a full, free, and vigorous expression of their views in consonance with the times, the form of government, and the general need.

The Bath Gazette and Genesee Advertiser, by William Kersey and James Edie, was the first newspaper published in western New York. Its introduction, during January, 1796, was through the enterprise and agency of Charles Williamson.

The pioneer printers and papers of Ontario made their appearance soon after, and from the discouraging commencement have grown up the old, reliable, and familiar sheets still published.

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History of Ontario Co., New York, Part 25

Author: Publication date: Publisher: Number of Pages: 391

Author:
Publication date:
Publisher:
Number of Pages: 391