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 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).
Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40 | Part 41 | Part 42 | Part 43 | Part 44 | Part 45 | Part 46 | Part 47 | Part 48 | Part 49 | Part 50 | Part 51 | Part 52 | Part 53 | Part 54 | Part 55 | Part 56 | Part 57 | Part 58 | Part 59 | Part 60 | Part 61 | Part 62 | Part 63 | Part 64 | Part 65 | Part 66 | Part 67 | Part 68 | Part 69 | Part 70 | Part 71 | Part 72 | Part 73 | Part 74 | Part 75 | Part 76 | Part 77 | Part 78 | Part 79 | Part 80 | Part 81 | Part 82 | Part 83 | Part 84 | Part 85 | Part 86 | Part 87 | Part 88 | Part 89 | Part 90 | Part 91 | Part 92 | Part 93 | Part 94 | Part 95 | Part 96 | Part 97 | Part 98 | Part 99 | Part 100 | Part 101 | Part 102 | Part 103 | Part 104 | Part 105 | Part 106 | Part 107 | Part 108 | Part 109 | Part 110 | Part 111 | Part 112 | Part 113 | Part 114 | Part 115 | Part 116 | Part 117 | Part 118 | Part 119 | Part 120 | Part 121 | Part 122 | Part 123 | Part 124 | Part 125 | Part 126 | Part 127 | Part 128 | Part 129
and Oliver L. Shepard, U. S. A. The following, among others, are Past Masters of the lodge: R. L. Schoonmaker, Edward Lansing, John Fulton, John Higgins, D. M. Van Hovenburg, Russell Porter, Thomas Breslin, Samuel A. Northrup.
Waterford Lodge of Good Templars, No. 231, was iu- stituted and its officers installed by Deputy P. J. McCord, April 2, 1867. The officers were George T. Enos, W. C. T. ; Mrs. J. Carey, W. R. H. S. ; Mrs. H. McDowell, W. L. H. S .; Miss Kate Carey, W. V. T. ; Dr. P. T. Heartt (2d), P. W. C. T .; George C. Gage, W. R. S .; Miss Libbie McDowell, W. A. R. S. ; John Proper, W. Treas. ; T. E. Quackenbush, W. F. S .; D. M. Van Hovenburg, W. C .; Thomas Kelly, W. M. ; Miss Eliza Holroyd, W. D. M .; Miss Clara G. House, W. I. G .; Dr. C. Boughton, W. O. G. The latter was also appointed lodge deputy. Other charter members were J. C. House, George H. Stewart, Levi Dodge, Erastus L. Clark, J. C. Ormsby, Thos. Kelly, Mrs. J. Carey, F. A. Heartt, Sarah Scott. Those acting as W. C. T. through the eleven years have been Major B. Winchell, thirteen terms; Samuel Johnson, eight ; Levi Dodge, five ; George T. Enos, four ; John C. House, two ; Peter Quackenbush, two; Dr. C. Boughton, two; George L. Clickner, two; Louis Plamp, two; Dr. P. T. Heartt (2d), two; and the following one term each : George C. Gage, A. Hepburn, A. Wager, T. D. Davis, and G. B. Lawrence.
The lodge has always been in a vigorous condition, though its membership has in some years numbered considerably less than in others. The lodge meets in a neatly-furnished hall, is out of debt, and has $800 in the treasury.
The following are the officers : Major B. Winchell, W. C. T. ; Mrs. F. A. Lawrence, W. R. H. S .; Miss Ida Slocum, W. L. H. S. ; Mrs. John S. Kelso, W. V. T. ; Ed- win Porter, W. S .; John S. Kelso, W. F. S .; Mrs. P. T. Heartt (2d), W. T .; Joel W. Smith, W. C. ; Wm. Hnm- phrey, Jr., W. M. ; Miss Edna Kelso, W. D. M .; Mrs. C. Shepard, W. I. G. ; Louis Plamp, W. O. G .; Fredie Winchell, W. A. S .; Dr. C. Boughton, W. P. C. T .; John C. House, L. Deputy.
Maple Valley Lodge, No. 427, I. O. O. F., was insti- tuted May 19, 1875. The following were the charter members : Dr. P. T. Heartt, William Porter, Samuel Lee, Isaac Whitwell, Major B. Winchell, Henry Griffith, F. A. Lawrence, Robert Tunnard, Peter Vosburgh. The first officers were Samuel Lee, N. G .; Isaac Whitwell, V. G .; F. A. Lawrence, Sec .; Henry Griffith, Treas .; R. Tun- nard, Warden ; P. Vosburgh, Con. ; H. B. Winchell, O. G .; Dr. P. T. Heartt, P. G .; John Hopper, R. S. N. G .; N. Peters, L. S. N. G .; William G. German, I. G. Isaac Whitwell was the second Noble Grand; the third, John Hopper ; fourth, Newtown Peters; fifth, Major B. Winch- ell ; and the present incumbent of the chair is Charles P. Bachelor. The lodge meets in Knickerbocker hall, and is in excellent condition. It is out of debt, and has money in the treasury.
SARATOGA COUNTY BANK.
The act incorporating this institution was passed May 29, 1830. The capital stock was fixed at $100,000, or
PHOTO BY L'LOYS WATERFORD.N Y
THOMAS C. MORGAN.
Thomas C. Morgan was born at Chatham, Columbia county, N. Y., August 19, 1809. His father, William Morgan, came there from Hartford, Conn., and was always respected as a man of intelligence and integrity ; but his financial means were small and his children numerous, so that their education was limited. Thomas was brought up as a practical manufacturer of Icather, and when he was seventeen years of age he went to Hudson, N. Y., with Mr. Annibal, where he gained a more thorough knowledge of the business. From thence he went to Troy and entered the employ of John Gary, where he remained several years, and by strict economy had soon accumulated sufficient to embark for himself. All of his employers and associates had great confidence in him and always kindly remembered him.
About 1832 be removed to Waterford, in this county, where he established himself as a manufacturer, and became very successful in his business.
April 17, 1838, he married Frances Allida Van Den- burgh, a daughter of Gysebert Van Denburgh, of that place, a very estimable lady, who yet survives him.
At an early age young Morgan became interested in military affairs, and after his arrival at Waterford he soon became an officer of the local militia; and by his intelligence and adaptation to lead he was soon promoted to the office of colonel of the One Hundred and Forty-fourth Regiment, which position he held with credit to the service until 1840.
He was often called upon to serve in various town and village offices, and the duties were discharged to the satis- faction of his neighbors. In the fall election of 1846, before this county was divided into assembly districts, he was elected to the Assembly upon a ticket associated with Joseph Daniels, of Greenfield. Although not a public speaker, he discharged his duties in the Legislature of 1847 with credit to himself and to the satisfaction of his constituents, and his official integrity was never questioned. In politics he adhered to the Whig party until it ceased, when he became an active and earnest Republican.
He was genial and outspoken, and always despised hypoc- risy in every form. He was very confiding, and adhered to his old friends in preference to forming new ones. He left no children to survive him, but his many friends yet remember him, and will be glad to sce him properly re- membered and honored. He died at Waterford, March 5, 1871.
As he left no children, and as his wife is a descendant of two of the oldest families in this county, it seems proper that they should be remembered in this connection.
WINANT VAN DENBURGH was brought up at Half Moon, about two miles north of Waterford. Early in the last century, when a boy about four years old, the Indians made an attack upon the house of his parents, when the child was hid in the smoke-house aud charged to remain quiet until morning at the risk of his life. The little fellow is sup- posed to have remained quiet, for he was found the next morning in safety.
After arriving at manhood, and before the Revolutionary war, he removed to Schaghticoke, opposite Stillwater village (then in the Saratoga district), where he owned about one thousand acres of land, and maintained a ferry across the river. After the surrender of Burgoyne's army they marched south from Schuylerville, and crossed at this ferry on their way to Boston as prisoners of war.
GYSEBERT VAN DENBURGH, one of the sons of Winant, was born on this farm, April 8, 1770, and married Sarah, daughter of Hendrick Van Schoonhoven, who then resided about two miles above Waterford. Mr. Van Schoonhoven was born there, April 7, 1727, and his grandfather, Guert Van Schoonhoven, was one of the first settlers of this county, as will be seen elsewhere.
Gysebert Van Denburgh had many children besides Mrs. Morgan, and among their descendants are Mrs. John Shel- don, of Schuylerville, and Henry C. Van Denburgh, the present supervisor of the town of Waterford, and chairman of the board of supervisors of this county.
333
IIISTORY OF SARATOGA COUNTY, NEW YORK.
four thousand shares of $25 each. The commissioners to receive subscriptions and call the first meeting for the election of directors were John Knickerbocker, James Thompson, John Cramer, Miles Beach, and John W. Kirt- land. The first board of directors chosen were John Knickerbocker, John Cramer, John Vibbard, Eli M. Todd, Moses Scott, Samuel Thompson, Matthew Bailey, Samuel Cook, and Miles Beach.
At the first meeting of the board, held July 14, 1830, John Knickerbocker was chosen president; Jonathan H. Douglas, cashier ; and John Cramer, attorney. John Vib- bard, Eli M. Todd, and John House were appointed a committee to inquire respecting a building to accommodate the company. The president, cashier, and attorney were appointed a committee to procure books and stationery, and also to draft by-laws.
In December, 1856, the capital was increased $50,000. In May, 1865, it was reorganized as a National bank ; but in 1871 became again a State bank, with its old name, Saratoga County Bank, which it still retains.
The following is a list of presidents and vice-presidents from the organization to the present time :
Presidents .- John Knickerbocker, June, 1830; died Oct. 1862. John Oramer, June 9, 1863; died June 2, 1870. Hugh White, June 14, 1870; died Oct. 7, 1870. Wm. Scott, Jan. 10, 1871; resigned Sept. 14, 1876. C. Boughton, Sept. 14, 1876.
Vice-Presidents .- John Oramer, June, 1830. John Stewart, June 9, 1863 ; died Feb. 2, 1864. Hugh White, June 14, 1864. Wm. Scott, June 14, 1870. C. Boughton, Jan. 10, 1871. D. T. Lamb, Sept. 14, 1876.
The present board of directors, besides the officers given above, are Hugh Connaughty, John Lawrence, J. B. Enos, John W. Thompson, C. A. Waldron, W. M. Eddy, J. C. Ormsby, Garnsey Kennedy, Stephen Emigh, David Brews- ter. The present cashier is D. M. Van Hovenburg; teller, Perry Emigh.
X .- PLACES OF HISTORIC INTEREST.
The whole town may be mentioned as a historic spot, but in attempting to descend to particulars, this feature of our town histories becomes more difficult and perhaps less important in proportion as we depart from the towns of Saratoga and Stillwater, where were located the battles and strategic points of the great campaign of 1777.
The following quotation from old records at Albany points to a place here of military importance long before 1700:
" In 1689 it was resolved by the authorities at Albany to remove the fort about the house and barn of Harmon Lievese at Half-Moon to a more convenient place," from which it is inferred that quite a settlement existed there. The site of this fort is not certainly known at the present time. The family name mentioned might imply that it was up the Hudson river a mile or two. Indeed, it may have gnarded the very ancient ferry up there.
Van Schaick's island is noted as the place to which Gen- eral Schuyler had withdrawn the American army in retir- ing before the advance of Burgoyne, and the point at which General Gates took command, and led the army back to
Stillwater and to Bemus Heights. The islands at the mouth of the Mohawk were really three,-Green island, Van Schaick's, and Peebles'. Besides, the term Havre was applied to a portion of the latter, Havre island,-meaning the "island of oats." Schuyler's army was encamped on both Van Schaick's and Peebles' islands, and intrenchments are still plainly visible on the latter, as seen from Water- ford.
The old fort of 1689 is said to have stood on the bank of the Hudson, just above the junction and a little below the present Union bridge.
It may be difficult to reconcile this statement with a pre- ceding one.
XI .- INDUSTRIAL PURSUITS.
The town has only a small territory, but it is nearly all excellent land, and there are quite a number of very valu- able farms. In comparison, however, with the milling and manufacturing operations, the agricultural interests are not large.
MANUFACTURING WORKS.
The Button Fire-Engine Works were established in 1834, by the firm of William Platt & Co., of which L. Button was a member. The works were then erected on the King canal, now the place of the Gage machine-works. They were moved to their present place, foot of Third street, about 1850, the proprietors preferring to use steam- power instead of the irregular and unreliable water-power. Their line of work consists of steam and hand fire-engines, hose-carriages, hook-and-ladder trucks, and fire apparatus generally.
They employ about fifty men when running at their usual rate. The present firm is L. Button & Son.
The Rock Island Flouring-Mills, J. B. Enos & Co., were established in 1847. The first buiklings were burned in 1862 or 1863. The present buildings were erected immediately after. They are run by water-power from the King canal. They contain eight run of stone, and manu- facture a superior quality of flour, by what is known as the new process of grinding. The mill does no custom-work. It has the capacity for making about two hundred and twenty-five barrels a day of the flour described above. They could make about four hundred barrels the old way. The number of men employed is about twenty. The firm own two canal-boats, shipping their own product by them direct to New York. They also own a large elevator and store-house on the Champlain canal, in the village.
Stoek und Die Manufactory .- In 1847, James Holroyd commenced this business, and it is still continued under the firm-name of Holroyd & Co., James Hofroyd being still a member. From forty to fifty men are employed in ordi- nary times. They manufacture dies for blacksmiths' and machinists' use, and also for gas- or steam-fitting. The business may be estimated at $60,000 to $70,000 a year of finished work, yet the market rates, the general demand, and other circumstances, render this statement only an approximate one. The water-power is from the King canal. The first buildings were taken down in 1864, and the present ones erected on the same site, greatly enlarged and improved.
The Straw-Board Manufactory is now owned by the
334
HISTORY OF SARATOGA COUNTY, NEW YORK.
Saratoga County Bank of Waterford, and is carried on by Edwards & Younglove, Jr. They employ twelve men. The place was bought by Levi Dodge about 1864, and changed into its present use. Previous to that Henry Lape had owned the property, and it was then a feed-mill. The present building was erected in 1874, the older one having been destroyed by fire. It was probably the oldest building on the hydraulie canal, and had once been a button- manufactory, and then a barley-mill.
The Gage Machine- Works were founded in 1835 by George Gage. They are still owned and run by him now, after the lapse of forty years. The buildings are the same and on the same site. The business is the making of machinists' tools, paper-mill machinery, knitting-mill ma- chinery, as well as machinery in general. Have usually employed from twenty-five to thirty men.
Mohawk and Hudson Paper- Mill .- This was established in 1872 by a company bearing the same name as the mill, but soon after the mill became the sole property of Frank Gilbert, one of the company, and has been operated by him to the present time. Printing-paper only is made, from rags, wood, and straw. The business has not been affected to any great extent by the hard times, but the mills have continued to turn out about three tons of paper a day. Forty hands are employed, and the paper is sold in Troy, Albany, and New York. The power is from the King canal. This mill stands upon the site of an older one erected many years ago, and had been occupied by various enterprises,-a foundry, an axe-factory, a shoddy-will (so called ), and a knitting-mill ; near it was a chair-factory.
The Brooks Manufactory of Nuts commenced in one of the tenements of the Gage machine-works, about 1835. It was afterwards moved to the present place of Holroyd, then to Cohoes, and finally, about six years ago, to the present place, next south of the paper-mill. The establish- ment is run at the present time by a son of Mr. Brooks, the original proprietor.
The Pilot Knitting-Mill was established in 1875 by Van Schoonhoven & Co., and is still operated by them. They make all forms of knit goods, and generally employ eighty to ninety hands. The will next north of the Pilot is owned by parties in Cohoes. It was built four or five years ago, and is now closed. The power for the Pilot mill is derived direct from the Mohawk above the State dam ; the others from a dam just below.
The Franklin Ink- Works are an old affair in Waterford, having been commenced in 1831-35. The present pro- prietors are G. W. and W. M. Eddy. The manufacture of ink was abandoned many years ago, and the sole business now is making lampblack.
The Waterford Sawing-Mills, for the sawing of mahog- any and fancy woods, veneers, and looking-glass backs, were established in Cohoes in 1835, but the business was removed to Waterford in 1872. The power is derived from the overflow of the feeder to the Champlain canal. The build- ings were enlarged and improved. Previously, an ordinary saw-mill had been on the site for many years.
The Globe Iron- Works are located at the foot of Third street, and were established by Robert Pinkerton, in 1873. Soon after, M. C. Jones was associated with him, and the
firm became Pinkerton & Jones. They manufactured all kinds of steam-boilers, bleachers' tanks, and sheet-iron work, and usually employed ten hands. The buildings were formerly a part of the property of the Button Fire- Engine company.
Waterford Soap- and Candle-Factory is an old affair. The business was commenced about 1830, by Joshua and Elisha Morse. Afterwards the firm became Morse & Blake, and in later years Wm. H. Morse, the present owner, became the sole proprietor. The great fire in 184I began in the barn on these premises.
The buildings were re-ereeted in 1860, and again im- proved in 1873, and the fixtures are unusually extensive and complete ; have made some of the time ten thousand boxes of soap and candles in the year. It is the largest establishment of the kind north of Albany.
The Massasoit Knitting- Mills were built in 1872, on the foundation of the old Shatemuck flouring-mills. The firm remains the same, E. G. Munson manager. They manu- facture all kinds of ladies' and gentlemen's knit-wear, run six sets of machinery, and produce five hundred dozen a week, employing about one hundred hands. Power is furnished by the Mohawk river, above the State dam.
The Stock, Dye, and Tool Works, known by the firm- name of J. M. King & Co., was founded in 1829 by Daniel B. King, and is a very extensive and complete establishment. Daniel King was a brother of Fuller King, the projector of the hydraulic canal.
The business of the Mohawk and Hudson Manufacturing Company was founded by C. W. Eddy in 1847, and he con- tinued the proprietor until 1875, when the present owners came into possession. The company are iron and brass founders and machinists. They are the owners of patents and manufacturers of straight-way valves and fire-hydrants, also the Dodge hay-press. They employ from thirty to fifty men, and have a very extensive and complete estab- lishment. The company two years ago also became the owner of the stove-patterns and works of G. W. Eddy, and manufacture the full line of work formerly made by him.
The Brush-making business in Waterford was begun iu 1864 by E. Van Kleeck, in a building erected for the pur- pose, next to the saw-mill of the veneering manufactory, and furnished with power from the Champlain canal. A large variety of brushes is made, and the amount sometimes reaches six thousand dozen a year. Twenty hands are employed. The business was moved to Waterford from Lansingburg, where it had been carried on by the father of Mr. Van Kleeck for twenty-five years or more.
The mills of the Hudson Valley Knitting Company are situated upon the Champlain canal farther north than the other manufacturing establishments. The building was formerly the flouring-mill of T. M. Vail & Sons. It was converted into a knitting-mill in 1870 or '71, having been unused for some time previous. It was then called the Alaska mill, and was carried on by Holroyd, Safely & Dowd. Within the last year it passed into the hands of the present company, and is now being run well up to its full capacity, employing about one hundred hands, and turning out work at the rate of twenty-five thousand dozen a year, fine hosiery, shirts, and drawers.
335
HISTORY OF SARATOGA COUNTY, NEW YORK.
The cooper business was a prominent feature of Water- ford from, perhaps, 1825 down to a very recent period. Large numbers of barrels were made. Among the prin- eipal makers were Driscoll, Sheridan, Brewster, and Preston. The business has declined, but there are still two shops doing quite an extensive business,-one by Mr. Sheridan, the other by Mr. Frederickson. Mr. Preston is also en- gaged in the business on a smaller seale.
George Gage is one of the oldest manufacturers along the line of the hydraulic canal, and still engaged in business. Ile came from New Hampshire in 1829, arriving, as he quaintly states in reply to interviewers, "June 15, at four o'clock in the afternoon, and went up to look at the hy- draulic canal about an hour later." The canal had been made the year before, extending then only down to what is now the dye-works of the King Company. John Fuller King designed and constructed the eanal. He was from Coleraine, Mass., was an active business man, and an inven- tor, with Mr. Livingston, of improved canal-locks. He died about 1835, and the canal has been called from him " the King Canal." Mr. Gage furnishes the following items in relation to the various enterprises. At the lower end of the canal as first built was a cotton-factory, the place of the present King dye-works. Colonel Olney had a machine-shop on the site of the present straw- board manufactory. There was also a furnace, by George Kilby and Vandewerker, where the paper-mill now stands. Next was a twine-factory, built about 1830, where Brooks' nut- factory stands at the present time. Next, about 1831, the ink-factory was established. That year the eanal was ex- tended to its present length, and a saw-mill ereeted at the lower end, below what is now the Enos mills. The first flouring-mill on the site of Enos was built about 1835. The buildings of the Gage machine-works were erected by Baker, Van Schoonhoven, Kimball, and Sherwood, about 1833, after the fire that burned Olney's shops. They were used a short time for the machine-works of Olney, also of Conkling & Humphrey, who previous to the fire had been carrying on business next to Olney. Mr. Gage commenced business in 1834, and has continued it till the present time, forty-four years. The Brooks nut-manufactory was con- meneed in one of the tenements of the Gage buildings about 1835, then removed to where Holroyd's works are now located, then to Cohoes, and about six years ago back to its present place. The works are now owned by a son of Mr. Brooks. The King dye business, originally begun in Olney's shops, was continued after the fire in the Gage buildings, and then removed to its present plaec. Holroyd also eonnuenced his business in the Gage buildings. The Button fire-engine works were also in the Gage buildings for fifteen or twenty years.
Mr. Gage understands that the earliest flouring- mill, eighty to one hundred years ago, was at the present water- power owned by Himes. It was the Home mill, and the flour of their make was widely known through New Hamp- shire and the eastern States fifty to sixty years ago. Next was the mill at the month of the upper sprout of the Mo- hawk. The dam was about opposite First street, and was not very high. Its value was destroyed at the opening of the canals, the State dam at Troy raising the water too
much at this point. The State compensated the parties in interest by giving them an equal amount of power from the overflow of the Champlain canal.
The Shawtemaek mills were built about 1834, on the site of the present Munson knitting-mill. They were built by Hugh White, and became widely known.
The various water powers may be stated as follows : First, direet from the Mohawk by the State dam, running the Munson mills. Second, the Himes power, furnished by a separate dam. Third, the King canal. This is supplied by means of a dam from the mainland to a small rocky island, sometimes ealled Steamboat island; then another from that to Peebles' island. Fourth, the power from the Champlain eanal. This is valuable, as the canal is elevated, and boats descend to the level of the Hudson by three suc- cessive locks. Near the point where the power is taken from the eanal was an early saw-mill, run by a small ercek.
In Waterford village Elias Dummer is still in business as a tinner, in which he has now been engaged fifty years or more.
XII .- MILITARY. WAR OF 1812.
Only a few names have been obtained of those who served in the last war with England, as follows: Tunis Waldron, Benjamin Goewy, William Van Every, Rubens Ryms, James Wilson, Daniel Guire, John R. Maxiber, George Finan, Philip Argosing, George Musgrave, Rusk Norway, Perth Mudhuling, William Carpensy, George Nichols, John Ives; also, Collins, Cline, and Keith. Nelson was the recruiting officer, and his rendezvous was in the school-house, where Morehouse's lumber-yard is now. Ile was a brother of Col. George Nelson, and was shot at Black Rock, across the Niagara river, below Buffalo.
In preparing the following list of those who went from the town of Waterford into the Union army of 1861-65, effort has been made to secure all the names, with an ac- eurate record of each. But where the town authorities failed to write up a record as directed by the State in 1865, accuracy can hardly be expected twelve years afterwards. The list has been advertised and left for several weeks at the post-office for corrections and additions.
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.