USA > New York > Saratoga County > History of Saratoga County, New York, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers. > Part 47
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3. Green Ridge Cemetery .- This was established thirty- eight years ago, and along its crowded avenues are the dead of more than a generation. The earliest burials were those of remains transferred from other grounds. The first reg- ular interment was that of Wm. L. Stone, who died Aug. 15, 1844; this distinguished author having resided for
many years at Saratoga Springs. His father was a Congre- gational minister, and in his old age lived in Sodus, Wayue Co., N. Y. The writer of this paragraph remembers his venerable form standing in the old church, close up to the minister, to catch the words of life and immortality. He was a sturdy Puritan, and brought to Sodus neither ritual- ism nor democracy. An enthusiastic politician having offered him on one occasion a Democratic vote, he took it in his trembling hand ; but at the polls he thrust out the other hand, stout and strong, saying, “ Here, gentlemen, is a good, solid Whig vote." Wm. L. Stone, Sr., was often in Sodus, and in 1843, the year before he died, the writer remembers seeing him seated in the hotel there reading the Liverpool Times.
Few cemeteries connected with places similar to Saratoga Springs contain the remains of so many illustrious dead as Green Ridge. A catalogue of the inscriptions would itself be history. There would be found the names of poets and statesmen, of jurists, philanthropists, and representative business men. Here are Cowen and Willard and Walworth, skilled in legal lore, and Margaret and Lucretia Davidson, those gifted children of song. Here are gathered thickly the old standard names of Saratoga Springs, Putnam, Wal- ton, Bryan, Beach, Westcott, North, Doe, Warren, Stevens, Rue, Griswold, Wayland, and a host of others.
The burials in this cemetery have been nearly three thou- sand, though this is probably an estimate rather than a known fact. How simple and easy an affair for every ceme- tery to have a record showing the name and date of every burial, and yet how few can be found thus written up ! Jonathan Hammond has been the superintendent for many years, and to him as well as other village officers are the people greatly indebted for the orderly arrangement and for the beauty of the place.
4. The Catholic Cemetery .- This is located southwest of the village, not far from the glass manufactories. It is a new enterprise, having been laid out only twelve or fifteen years. Previous to this the Catholics had buried in Green Ridge cemetery, an entire acre having been bought by them at the time the cemetery was established. The new grounds are nearly level, and are finely laid out. The shrubbery already planted, and the ornamentation of the lots, give promise of the quiet beauty appropriate to the resting-place of the dead. There are some fine monuments erected in this inclosure, and the story of Christian hope is eloquently told by the symbol of the eross upon every grave, whether carved in marble upon the graves of wealth or the simple wooden crucifix of the poor. One stone, at a soldier's grave, attraets the passing stranger :
" James Deneffe, 77th Regt., Co. A, died Sept. 30, 1863; ereeted by his sister. May his soul rest in peace."
5. Kayadrossera Cemetery .- This is the new one lo- cated on the Waring farm, west of the village. Removals have been made from the old Sadler's ground to this. Avenues have been graded, laid out in beautiful winding curves. A pedestal is laid for a central monument. Shrub- bery and trees have been planted, and considerable general progress made in establishing a cemetery of such an extent as will be ample for the necessities of a long series of years
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to come. Delayed by legal difficulties, work is at present suspended.
X .- WATER SUPPLY.
The earliest successful attempt to supply water by means of works and conduits to the village of Saratoga Springs was made in 1832, by Dr. John Clark. Dr. Clark erected a tower about fifty feet high in what is now Congress Springs park. By means of pumps he raised the water through pipes to the top of this tower, where it entered a reservoir, or basin, prepared for it there, and from thenee passed down other pipes into wooden pipes, or water-logs, made of pine, having a two-inch bore, which were laid throughout the village. This system of water supply eon- tinued until the growth of the place demanded still larger supplies.
In 1847 a large reservoir was built at Greenfield, about two miles from the village of Saratoga Springs. Iron pipes lined with cement were connected with this, and the village thus supplied with water. But the supply from this souree likewise proved inadequate. At certain seasons of the year the supply was almost exhausted, and in times of fire the deficiency in supply was especially noticeable. The necessity for other and fuller supplies became so important a subject, that various devices and plans were suggested to remedy the difficulty. Among other things a second, or supplemental reservoir, was located between the main one and the village, being designed especially in the event of fire, but this experiment was unsuccessful.
In 1866 an act of the Legislature amending the charter of Saratoga Springs was passed, which also had reference to the establishment of competent water facilities for the village of Saratoga Springs. In 1868 an aet amendatory of the act of 1866 was passed. By this act three com- missioners of construction, to be chosen and appointed by a majority of the six trustees of the village, were empow- ered to make examinations and determine on the best mode of obtaining a supply of water, subject to the direction and control of the trustees; to cause the necessary surveys, estimates, and levels to be taken for that purpose, and to enter upon and take possession of any lands, springs, streams, brooks, lakes, and sources of supply of water for that purpose, first paying the owners all reasonable dam- ages therefor. They were further authorized to make con- traets for the purchase of suitable machinery, and for the erection of dams, buildings, and other structures uecessary to the construction, putting in order, and completing said works. The trustees were authorized by this act to issue thirty-year seven per cent. bonds to the amount of $100,000.
On April 21, 1869, a further amendment to the acts of 1866 and 1868 was passed for the same purpose. By section 3 of said act, Henry H. Hathorn, Charles H. Ilolden, Cornelius A. Russell, Cornelius Shechan, and Charles H. Ballard were appointed commissioners of con- struction, with powers and duties similar to those provided for by the act of 1868.
On February 26, 1870, an act amendatory of the pre- vious acts relating to water supply was passed, under and by which James M. Marvin, Henry H. Hathorn, Cornelius A. Russell, Charles II. Holden, Cornelius Sheehau, Walter
J. Hendrick, William Bennett, Joseph D. Briggs, Charles II. Ballard, John W. Crane, Oliver L. Barbour, Richard L. Allen, Daniel O'Goerman, Myron N. Babcock, and Hiram C. Tefft were appointed commissioners of construe- tion, with powers and duties as theretofore exercised and performed.
On March 28, 1871, an act was passed authorizing the trustees of the village to issue bonds, in the manner speci- fied in section 1 of the act of 1868, to the amount of $100,000.
On May 17, 1872, an act was passed appointing James M. Marvin, William Bennett, Henry B. Hanson, John W. Crane, and James H. Wright water commissioners for the village of Saratoga Springs, setting forth at length the duties of said board, and authorizing the issue of further bonds of the village, to the extent of $50,000, for extend- ing and completing the new water-works at Loughberry lake. By the same act James M. Marvin, Henry II. Hathorn, Cornelius Sheehan, John W. Crane, William Bennett, Charles II. Holden, Charles HI. Ballard, Walter J. Hendrick, and Oliver L. Barbour were continued in office as commissioners of construction until Sept. 1, 1872. Since that time the following persons have held the office of water commissioner, one being selected by the trustees each year to fill a vacancy then occurring: Caleb W. Mitchell, 1873; Seymour Ainsworth, 1874; John W. Crane, 1875; Jerome Pitney, 1875 ; John T. Carr, 1876 ; Benjamin W. Clapp, 1877 ; Robert F. Knapp, 1877; Hiram Owen, 1878.
The board is at present composed of Seymour Ainsworth, John T. Carr, Benjamin W. Clapp, Jerome Pitney, and Hiram Owen. Samuel F. Corey is secretary to the board, Henry W. Keith is superintendent of the water-works, and David L. Holland engineer.
In the year 1870, after considerable agitation of the question of where the best water-supply for the village of Saratoga Springs could be obtained, the commissioners of construction decided to establish the Holly system of water- works at Loughberry lake, the same which are still in use at that point, and from which the water-supply of Saratoga Springs is obtained.
These works are located in the northeast section of the village, within the corporate limits, and on the borders of Longhberry lake. The buildings are of briek. The main part -- that in which the engines are located-is eighty feet square. The boiler-room is thirty by forty feet, the coal- shed forty feet square, and the chimney, which is octagonal in form, eighty-five feet high.
'The system employed is that known as the IIolly, whose manufacturing works are located at Lockport, N. Y. The distinguishing feature of this plan is that it throws the water directly into the pipes. A large double Holly engine is used in the works, having a capacity of one hundred and fifty horse-power. There are two large water-wheels, one sixty inch and one thirty ineh, which are run by a thirty- foot head of water, the surplus water from the lake being used about one-third of the year to run the works, instead of steam. The variation in elevation of the streets of the village above the pumps is from forty-one to one hundred and thirty-three feet. There are twenty-six miles of pipe
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HISTORY OF SARATOGA COUNTY, NEW YORK.
laid throughout the village, and one hundred and thirty- three double-nozzled hydrants. There are two hundred and ten gates in the various pipes. The water was formerly taken from the canal, but not proving satisfactory, pipes were laid to the middle of Loughberry lake, one hundred and fifty feet from the shore, and the water is taken twelve feet from the surface and eleven feet from the bottom of the Jake.
The works were first set in motion on July 10, 1871, and cost $250,000. Since their establishment, a full supply of pure, wholesome water has been assured to the village. Da- vid L. Holland has been in charge of the works as engineer since they were started.
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
HON. THOMAS J. MARVIN.
Among the honorable names and benefactors of Saratoga none have been held in more justly deserved esteem than the subject of this brief memoir, Hon. Thomas J. Marvin. He was the son of William Marvin, and brother of Hon. James M. Marvin, and was born in Malta, Saratoga Co., N. Y., on the 26th of June, 1803. He graduated at Union College, and commenced the study of law in the village of Saratoga Springs, in 1824, in the office of Hon. Wm. L. F. Warren. During the four years following he qualified himself for the legal profession, and in 1828 was admitted to practice in all the courts of the State. At the second election of such officers by the people, he was chosen with great unanimity justice of the peace, and discharged in a faithful manner the duties of his office during the succeed- ing four years. In 1833 he was elected to the Legislative Assembly of the State, and a better or more useful member of that body was never returned from this county. He was subsequently one of the judges of the county court, and upon the retirement of Colonel Young was made first judge, which place he filled with great eredit to himself and satis- faction to the public, until superseded by the Constitution of 1846. He was appointed postmaster at Saratoga Springs during President Tyler's administration, and continued as sueh during the administration of James K. Polk. He faithfully represented his town in the board of supervisors in 1851 and 1852. He was the first to establish a bank at Saratoga, in connection with his brother, James M. Marvin, and as soon as he saw that the citizens were sufficiently united and willing to take portions of the stock, he eheer- fully consented to open the books and make it an asso- ciated institution, retaining but a small amount of the stock for himself, although it was known to be a profitable invest- ment, and declining to occupy any other position than that of a director.
The first charter in this State for a fire insurance com- pany upon the mutual plan was procured by Judge Marvin in 1835. He organized the Saratoga County Mutual, which was one of the best and safest fire insurance compa-
nies in the State, of which he became the secretary, and held the office till the time of his death. He repeatedly filled the office of trustee of the village, and president of the board, and for three years he discharged the trying and responsible duties of town assessor with more intelligence and independence than are usually found in town officers of this description. In all these stations he ever commanded the confidence, respect, and good-will of all with whom he associated, imparting character and dignity to office rather than taking anything from it.
His sound and comprehensive views upon all questions which came before him, were the theme of admiration by his friends, and pointed him out as the safe counselor, the discreet and prudent legislator, the firm, unbiased, and consistent judge, and the faithful guardian of every trust committed to his hands. As an energetic, enterprising, and useful citizen he had no superior and few equals. His active and benevolent mind was not confined to objects of mere self, but he was always foremost in stimulating and promoting enterprises and undertakings designed to benefit the community and the age in which he lived. To his efforts and exertions, more perhaps than to any other man's, the village of Saratoga is indebted for its most valuable improvements and its prosperity. He gave his life and vitality to the business of the place, and many are the men who are reaping and enjoying the advantages resulting from his labors; many, too, owe their first successful beginnings in life to his indomitable energy in pushing forward enter - prises caleulated to benefit all.
As a friend he was ever reliable, liberal, and warm- hearted. No man would go farther or do more to aid a friend in distress, while his heart and hand were ever open to the needy, and he seemed to take as much delight in making others comfortable and happy as to be so himself. His impulses and acts were always in the right direction, and that sordid selfishness often manifest in the career of a successful, money-making man, found no place in his character.
As a companion he was always cheerful and pleasant, and although during the latter years of his life he was often preeluded by ill health from mingling in the pastimes of his neighbors, his house was always open to all who desired to enjoy his hospitality, and he was ever the centre of the social circle.
In his domestie relations his life furnishes a bright example of all that adorns the character of a devoted hus- band, a kind and indulgent father, a true and fraternal brother, and a warm-hearted, faithful friend. A singular instance of the attachment of a domestic is illustrated in the death of Clarissa C. Evans, a colored woman, who served in his family. It is reported in the same paper which announced the death of Judge Marvin. This faith- ful servant had been several years employed in the family, and when the intelligence of his death reached them she was apparently as well as usual, busily engaged in taking eare of her little children. On hearing that he was no more, she fainted, and in an instant life was extinct.
Judge Marvin died on the 29th of December, 1852, at Ilavana, in the island of Cuba, whither he had gone for the benefit of his health.
This Amani
MIOTO BY MYERS SARATOGA SPRINGS
nul LA waren
RES. OF THE LATE W. L. F. WARREN, COR BROADWAY & CHURCH, SARATOGA SPRINGS. (ERECTED 1833)
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HISTORY OF SARATOGA COUNTY, NEW YORK.
WILLIAM HAY.
Among the many eminent citizens who have lived and died in the county of Saratoga during the present century, no one is more justły entitled to a prominent place in these biographical sketches than Judge William Hay. Yet per- haps no one among them all cared less or strove less for what men commonly call success in life or fame and for- tune than he; and perhaps no one among them all, laying aside mere selfish considerations, cared more or strove more than he for what he thought to be the best good of his fellow-muen.
Able, eloquent, and learned in his profession, and early commanding a large and lucrative practice, yet he was more of a scholar than a lawyer, and was always only too glad to turn aside from what doubtless seemed to him to be the hard-trodden dusty pathways of the law into the greener and more inviting fields of literature.
In his character there always seemed to be a strange mingling of manly sternness and womanly tenderness ; kind and gentle almost to a fault, yet when he thought the occasion required, he could rebuke with severity. In his life and aims he was more the philanthropist than the philosopher. His aims and motives were not always quite understood by those with whom he had daily intercourse. Yet they always knew that he was purely good at heart and true, and if what he said and did did not always meet with their approval, yet he always commanded their highest esteem and love.
William Hay was born in Cambridge, Washington county, New York, on the 10th day of September, 1793. Ilis father was James Hay, who emigrated from near Paisley, Scotland. His mother was Katy MeVieker, a cousin of the celebrated author, Mrs. Grant, of Laggan.
When quite young his father removed to Glen's Falls, and embarked in business. It was here that he improved to the utmost the somewhat meagre educational facilities which the schools of the country afforded. What could not then be taught him at school his eager thirst for knowl- edge induced him to seek in the study of books at home, and he soon became quite proficient in English literature and history.
In 1808 he began the study of the law in the office of Ilenry O. Martindale, of Glen's Falls. In 1812, having in the mean time been admitted to the bar, he opened an office in Caldwell, at the head of Lake George, and such were his talents and ability that he soon acquired a large and lucrative practice. In the War of 1812 he raised a rifle company, and marched at the head of it as lieutenant commanding to Plattsburg, but did not arrive in time for the battle. He was also one of the volunteers in the ex- pedition to Carthagena, in consequence of which he spent a winter in Philadelphia, where he learned the printer's trade. In 1819 he became thi > publisher of the Warren Patriot, the first and only paper ever published at Lake George. In 1822 he removed to Glen's Falls, and was elected mem - ber of Assembly from Warren county. About this time he issued a small volume of poetry, entitled " Isabel Davolos, the Maid of Seville." In the spring of 1837 he removed to Ballston, and in 1840 removed to Saratoga Springs,
where he resided until his death, which occurred on Sun- day, the 12th day of February, 1870.
Judge Hay was in many respects a most remarkable man. " He was," says Dr. Holden, the learned historian of Queensbury, "a man of extensive reading and vast erudition, not a little tenacious of his opinions and views, some of which bordered upon eccentricity. But few of the sterner sex ever possessed more delicate sensibilities, keener perceptions, or more rapid intuitions.
" In the latter decades of his life he became a bold and fearless advocate of temperance. His delight and reerea- tion, however, were drawn through the flowery, though not thornless paths of poetry and romance. His memory was something extraordinary, his industry in research inde- fatigable, and his mind was stored with the choicest cullings from the wide fields of literature and belles-lettres. In American history he was a standard authority, to whom it was safe to refer at a moment's warning, and in the matter of local history his mind was an exhaustless treasury."
Indeed, at the time of his death he had collected and arranged in order, in his own methodical way, several large scrap-books of valuable historie matter, in contemplation of publishing a history of this county. Alas, the task has fallen upon less competent hands.
Judge Hay married Miss Sophia Payne, daughter of Stephen Payne, of Northumberland. The children of this union were De Witt C., John G., Catharine Mc Viear, now Mrs. McKean, Mary Payne, now Mrs. Bockes, Sidney, Frank, Agnes, Henry, Alice, and William Wirt.
HON. WILLIAM L. F. WARREN.
William La Fayette Warren was born at Troy, N. Y., Feb. 4, 1793. Ile was graduated at Union College, in 1814, when he came to Saratoga Springs and entered the law office of Judge Esck Cowen as a student. Three years afterwards they formed a partnership, which continued until 1824. . In 1819 he was appointed district attorney of Sara- toga County, which office he filled till Sept. 6, 1836, when he was succeeded by Nicholas Hill, Jr., who had also been a student in the office of Judge Cowen. It was during their connection with that office that a new edition of Phillips' Evidence, " With Cowen and Hill's Notes," was prepared,-an elaborate work, in four volumes, of great value to the profession for many years,-in which Mr. War- ren assisted ; and he prepared the last volume of the series himself. The latter was issued from the press without giv- ing the name of the author, but simply " By a Counsellor- at-Law."
Subsequent to the elevation of Judge Cowen to the bench of the Supreme Court, Mr. Warren formed a law partner- ship with his nephew, William A. Beach.
Up to 1824, Judge Warren held various town offices. In that year he was appointed by the Governor and Senate " master in chancery, injunction and taxing master," a re- sponsible office, which he held until 1848, when the court of chancery was abolished by the constitution of 1846. At the same session of the Senate, in 1824, he was appointed to another office peculiar to those times, viz .: "justice of
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HISTORY OF SARATOGA COUNTY, NEW YORK.
the peace, performing judicial duties," which were, on the common-law side of the judiciary, something like those of a master in the court of chancery. In 1823 he was appointed, by the Governor, judge-advocate of the 15th Division of Infantry of the State of New York, the active duties of which office he discharged till 1831.
In 1828 he married Miss Eliza White, only daughter of Epenetns White, of Ballston Spa.
In 1845 he was made judge of the court of common pleas, and held the office till it was abrogated by the judici- ary act of 1848. The many records and files which bear his well-known signature, " Wm. L. F. Warren," will keep his name alive long after this generation shall have passed away. In politics he was a Democrat until the Rebellion, when he became a Republican, and so continued to his death. In 1848 he ran as one of the presidential electors on the ticket with Cass and Butler, but the Van Buren and Adams movement-the so-called Free-Soil ticket-so divided the Democratic party that the Whig ticket for electors was successful, including the late Dr. Samuel Freeman, of Sara- toga, giving the election to Gen. Taylor and Millard Fill- more. From that time forward Judge Warren was not active in politics.
He ever took a lively interest in public affairs, and ful- filled the duties of every office he held with credit to him- self' and satisfaction to the community. He was one of the originators of the railroad from Saratoga to Whitehall, and the Schenectady Bank, and Bank of Saratoga Springs, and for a long time one of the directors in each of these corpo- rations. He never relinquished the practice of the law, a profession he pursued with diligence and success. His clientage was large and of the best class. He was familiar with the history of all important litigations in the county for more than half a century, and was long the standing source of information in respect to estates and titles. He was a safe lawyer, one of the best practitioners, an impres- sive advocate before a jury, and an influential counsel in argument before the bench. In social life he was noted for his hospitality and good nature. He possessed in a rare degree that quality of bearing and manner-united with a comeliness of person and a fine presence-which not only favorably impressed the stranger, but endeared him to those who enjoyed his society. He was genial, patient, and for- bearing, and was actuated by those higher motives which are always recognized and felt when systematically and con- stantly exercised as they were during the whole of his long life.
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