USA > New York > Schoharie County > History of Schoharie County, New York : with illusustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 35
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210
TOWN OF MIDDLEBURGH.
once were the the chief business basis of the place.
A Mr. Vroman built these works upon the Polly Hollow creck and did an extensive business up to the year 1857. The " Mill Valley Tannery" was built in 1849 by George E. Danforth and a large business was done for several years. This mill averaged about twenty thousand sides yearly for twenty years, avcraging sixtecn pounds per side of sole leather. From six to cight thousand cords of bark were yearly used. The works were burnt in 1865, but re-built in a few weeks. Gen- eral Danforth purchased the Vroman mill in 1857, to extend his business, and removed the buildings to his own. In 1869, Loring An- drews purchased the property and upon his death in 1872, the heirs sold out, and after a portion of the buildings were removed, it came into the possession of the present owner Mr. Miller, who manufactured upper leather.
Since writing the foregoing, General Dan- forth died suddenly at his home, and in justice to him as a business man and genial townsman we will give a summary of his life. He was born in the village of Middleburgh and educated at Union college. He represented the town upon the board of supervisors in 1855, 1856, 1857, 1858, 1859, 1860, and was Colonel of the Fortieth regiment of State militia for a long time and also General in command of the Eighteenth Brigade. In 1861, he was commissioned by the Governor, Edwin D. Morgan, to raise a regiment in Schoharie and Otsego counties, which he delivered to the government, as the 76th regiment. The year following, Horatio Seymour commissioned him to organize the 134th from Schoharie and Schenectady coun- ties. He has held several prominent and flat- tering positions beside, in which he displayed marked dignity and ability. In 1852, he mar- ried a daughter of the late Gov. W. C. Bouck, who survives him. He was a son of George, and only brother of Peter S. Danforth. On the night of the 21st of April, 1881, he suddenly dropped away in the sixty-third year of his age.
Abraham Keyser .- Among the many men that were born in the town and became promi- nent in an official point of view, none are more
worthy of a notice than the late Abraham Key- ser.
The Keyser family were very early settlers and possessed morc than common ability as business men. Mr. Keyser died in Albany City in 1873, at the ripe old age of eighty-nine years. His prominence in connection with the State and county government demands a reference to his history. The Albany Argus upon his death published the following :-
"Mr. Keyser was born in Middleburgh, Scho- harie county, April 20, 1784. His father bcing a farmer, the son was brought up to agri- cultural pursuits. In 1808 he removed to Scho- harie village where his popularity and useful- ness soon brought him several local offices. When William C. Bouck was sheriff, Mr. Key- ser was appointed under sheriff, and at the ex- piration of Mr. Bouck's term, Mr. K. was ap- pointed to succeed him in that office. In 1821 Mr. Keyser was elected to the assembly, and was re-elected in 1822. In 1825 he removed to Albany, and in 1826 was elected state treas- urer. At that time the treasurer was annually elected by joint ballot of the legislature, and this honor was conferred upon Mr. Keyser for twelve consecutive years. During that period he was intimately associated in the affairs of government with Silas Wright, William L. Mar- cy, Azariah Flagg, William C. Bouck, and John A. Dix. Those were the palmy days of the old Democratic Albany regency, which for so many years conducted the politics of the State with great success. In 1838 he was appointed treas- urer of the American Bible society, which posi- tion he held for two years.
Since that period, he has been in private life, devoting himself to his family. He was an ac- tive member of the Methodist Episcopal Church, for over fifty years, and adorned his profession by an exemplary Christian life. He leaves a family of five sons and two daughters. In poli- tics he was always a Democrat. He leaves be- hind him the record of an honest man and a true Christian."
Physicians .- The first regular practitioner of whom we have any account was David King, of Kingston. He located here before the Revolu- tion and becoming old, induced James Van-
220
HISTORY OF SCHOHARIE COUNTY.
Gaasbeck, of the same city, a young man of promise, to locate here and continue his prac- tice, which began about the year 1805 and ended in 1863. During his time several were contem- porary with him, of whom we cannot be cer- tain as to the dates of their services.
Dr. Cary, of Schenectady, followed Van Gaas- beck, about the year 1812, and continued till the year 1820.
Dr. Wheeler, came about the latter year, and was followed by Dr. Samuel B. Wells, in 1824, who formed a partnership with him. Wheeler soon removed to Canada.
In 1830, Linas Wells a brother of Samuel, came and studied in the office and commenced practice in 1836.
Dr. Samuel B. Wells was a student of Dr. Green of Gilboa, and came from Connecticut as a school teacher. He practiced until his death which occurred on the 15th of January, 1870, at the age of seventy-one. The Doctor identified himself with all the interests of the place and accumulated a fine property through his close application to his profession and other extensive business relations.
He was succeeded by his son, Henry D. Wells, who together with his brother Linas continues the practice, established fifty-seven years ago, and with marked success.
. Volney Danforth commenced in 18.10, and continued until his death in 1880.
John D. Wheeler another skillful physician of the Eclectic school was a student of Dr. Sim- mons, of Charlotteville. He graduated in 1865 and immediately settled here, and beside attend- ing to an extended practice, he represented the town upon the board of supervisors in 1873, 1874, 1875, 1876, 1877. During his residence in Fulton, he was also elected to the same posi- tion in 1863. He contracted the "slow but sure disease" and died in 1879, at the age of forty-seven. Beside Doctors Linas and Henry Wells, we find at the present time-
James Lawyer, John Rossman, Jr., C. S. Best, J. W. Ferris.
Each according to their favorite theory, try- ing to overcome the diseases to which "flesh is heir," and gain the laurels that skill and indus- try mete to the deserving.
Past Legal Fraternity .- The first legal gen- tleman that settled here was John Gebhard, of Schoharie, soon after finishing his studies in the office of his brother, Jacob Gebhard. George Danforth, son of Judge Jonathan Danforth, studied in his office and followed his profession here until ill health compelled a change of climate, which he sought at Savannah, Ga., where he died in 1831.
David F. Sacia also studied in the same office, and ·was appointed District Attorney for the County in 1821, which office he held for one year. He removed to Canajoharie, Mont- gomery county.
John O'Brien came and settled here about the year 1818, and removed in 1830 to Dur- ham, Greene county.
Robert McClellan settled here about the year 1828, and was one of the leading members of the bar. He was District Attorney in 1836, and Representative in Congress in this, then the Twenty-fifth District, in 1837 and 1839, and upon his removal to the city of Hudson in 1840 he was elected to the same position from 1841 to 1843.
Contemporary with him was Benoni Spafford, who followed him in the office of District At- torney in 1837. While upon a tour for his health, which was declining, he died at Toledo in 1838.
John C. Smith and Mitchell Sanford came about the year 1839, and the latter was followed by and became connected with his brother, Lyman, in the same year.
Mitchell Sanford was one of those quick, dis- cerning professionals that easily adapt them -* selves to the position in which they are placed, and when aroused by sarcasm, hurl with ease and grace, the most piercing cuts upon their an- tagonists. While with his brother, Lyman --- marked care and decorum in all cases won the honor and respect of every court and bar. As we were engaged in the compilation of the " Bar of Schoharie County" we were apprised of the death
221
TOWN OF MIDDLEBURGH.
of the latter, which led us with deep regret to cast a notice of him with those that were, instead of with those that are, and append the following obituary, written by the Judge's partner, William E. Thorne, and published in the Albany Argus of March 24, 1881 :--
"Judge Lyman Sanford died at his late resi- dence, at Middleburgh, Schoharie County, on the 14th inst., at the age of sixty-nine years and four months.
"During his life he held many important official postions and offices of trust, and was widely known throughout the State.
" The announcement of his death will be re- ceived with universal and profound sorrow wherever he was known.
" Hon. Lyman Sanford was born at Green- ville, Greene county, N. Y., on the 13th day of November, 1811, received his early education and was prepared for college at Greenville Academy, in his native village. He entered Union College in 1827 and graduated from that institution in 1831.
" He taught school for one year and then commenced the study of law with his brother- in-law, Hon. Erastus Barnes, at the city of New York, and completed the required course with Hon. Robert McClellan, at Middleburgh, Scho- harie County. He was admitted to the bar in 1835, and soon after formed a partnership with his brother, Hon. Mitchell Sanford, and com- menced the practice of law at New York City and continued with his brother for about two years, when Hon. Mitchell Sanford removed from the city, and the Judge continued the practice of his profession there alone, until the spring of 1839.
" In 1837 he married Ann E. Bouck, daugh- ter of the late Governor William C. Bouck. In the spring of 1839, he removed to Middleburgh and located his residence, where he remained during the rest of his life.
" In January, 1840, he formed a law partner- ship with Hon. Peter S. Danforth, ex-Justice of the Supreme Court, which was continued until January, 1856. During the year 1843 he held the office of Adjutant-General of this State. He was elected County Judge of Schoharie County
in the fall of 1855, and held that office from the Ist of January, 1856, to January 1, 1864. He continued the practice of his profession until January 1, 1866, when he formed a law part- nership with ex-District Attorney William E. Thorne, which continued until his death.
"In 1845 he succeeded his father-in-law, Governor William C. Bouck, as 'financial agent, of 'the Hartwick Seminary,' located at Hart- wick, Otsego county, N. Y., and always there- after took a deep interest in the management and welfare of that institution, and conducted its financial business with such marked ability and zeal that he was continued in that office, from the time of his appointment in 1845, until, on account of failing health, he resigned the position in 1880 ; he was also elected trustee in 1859, which office he still held at the time of his death ; in 1869 he was elected treasurer of the Board of Trustees and continued to hold that office until 1880; he was elected president of the Board of Trustees in 1874, and held that office also until 1880, when his failing health compelled him to resign the office of president, treasurer and financial agent of the corporation, and it is but justice to say that the present pros- perous condition of the Hartwick Seminary is largely due to the financial ability, zeal and in- tegrity of Lyman Sanford.
" He was one of the originators of 'the Mid- dleburgh and Schoharie Railroad,' and was a director of that corporation from the time of its organization until the time of his death ; he was also the first treasurer and afterward the vice-president of that corporation.
"He was one of the directors and the treasurer of 'the Middleburgh and Schoharie Plank Road, from the time of its organization until it was. abandoned.
"He aided materially and contributed liberal- ly in building up and maintaining every enterprise worthy of having or maintaining in the com- munity in which he lived.
" His bereaved family consists of his widow, his son, Charles L. Sanford, his daughter, Ann E. Martin, wife of Rev. Adam Martin, Professor of the German language and Literature, in the Pennsylvania College at Gettysburg, Pa., and his youngest daughter, Mary Sanford.
222
HISTORY OF SCHOHARIE COUNTY.
"His home was a sacred spot, filled with re- finement, tenderness, delightful associations and old-fashioned hospitality.
" As a Judge, he was upright and just ; as a lawyer, thorough and efficient ; as a neighbor, social and obliging ; and in both private and public life a nian of spotless integrity."
A number of students read law in the several offices of the place from time to time, that located in other sections, without forming a practice here, whom we would be pleased to notice but space forbids.
Of those now in practice, a sketch of each may be found in Chapter VI, under the head of "County Bar."
The First National Bank of Middleburgh was organized on the first day of August, 1880, with a capital of $50,000, under the following as Board of Directors :-
Peter H. Mitchell, President.
David Becker.
G. N. Frisbee.
Jacob Neville.
George Dodge.
Duryea Beekman. D. C. Dow.
The banking rooms are in the Sanford block and prove a great convenience for the business men of the village and vicinity.
The following are the present officers :---
Duryea Beeknian, President. G. N. Frisbee, Vice-President. W. E. Mitchell, Cashier.
The following are the present Directors :-
Peter H. Mitchell.
David Becker.
Nathaniel Manning.
George W. Dodge. G. N. Frisbee.
Jacob Neville.
Duryea Beekman. George L. Danforth.
Middleburgh Lodge of Free and Accepted Ma- sons .- This lodge was organized in 1867, it be- ing preceded by an order that faded from exist-
ence during the exciting anti-masonic days. In the beginning of the century an "Ames Mark" lodge was organized here by Captain Thomas Machin.
The present lodge is No. 663, and con- sists of one hundred and twenty-five members.
The following are the present officers :---
William E. Thorne, W. M. Montraville Geurnsey, S. W.
John Rossman, J. W. George S. Lynes, S. D.
William G. Shafer, J. D.
P. Richtmyer, Tiler.
Rev. J. S. Harkey, Chaplain.
George W. Dodge, Treasurer.
Jolın T. Dunn, James Becker, M. of C.
William Mitchell, Marshal.
A. G. Rosekrans, Organist.
Duryea Beekman, Montraville Geurnsey, William H. Albro, Trustees.
Hadley Snyder, Harmon A. Vroman, Wil- liam McGraw, Finance Committee.
Middleburgh Lodge of I. O. G. Templars .--- This society was organized October 18, 1867, and is one of the strongest of the County. The charter members were :-
Charles A. White.
James Lawyer.
H. D. Wells.
W. J. Lounsbury.
G. S. Lynas.
G. W. Bishop. Rev. J. S. Hart.
A. Gardner.
George Slater. C. Kline.
J. W. Best.
Elliot Danforth.
J. H. Cornell.
C. A. Hinman.
H. Wilsey. Rev. D. Swope.
Joseph Borst.
H. A. Blodgett. C. W. Devol.
Aurelia S. Blodgett. Sarah Cornell.
Helen E. Watson.
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MEMORIAL
OF
HON. LYMAN SANFORD.
Upon the opening of the March term of the County Court and Sessions of 1881, the legal fraternity assembled and took appropriate action in expressing their honor and appreciation of the subject of this memorial, and tender con- dolence in the death of their legal brother and associate. His Honor, Judge Chiarles Holmes, presided, and was thus addressed by Hon. Peter S. Danforth :-
" It is not, your Honor, to contribute to a mere ceremony, or to conform to any custom, upon such an occasion, that I supplement these resolutions with a few remarks. My feelings are far too deep for such lip service demon- stration.
"It was my fortune to have enjoyed an in- timate acquaintance with the deceased for almost the half of a century. He was my tutor in the years of 1832 and 1833, preparing me for college in the classics and mathematics. In the fall of the latter year we separated, he soon after going to New York and I to Union Col-
lege. I saw him then frequently at New York, where he had established himself in a large and lucrative practice. In 1837 I received a letter from him kindly inviting me to attend his wed- ding, and how well I remember that bright, beautiful day at the old family mansion of Governor Bouck, where he was united in mar- riage to the accomplished daughter of the Gov- ernor. It was a joyous occasion. How well he has filled the position of husband and father. His home has been a model home. He re- moved from New York to Middleburgh in 1839. On the first of January, 1840, I having just been admitted as co-partner, we commenced the practice of law. How changed since that time 1 As I stand here to-night and bring up to my mind those days, no wonder, your Honor, and I know I will be pardoned, if my lip quivers and my eyes are filled with tears. I stand here almost alone, as my hand rests on the broad shoulder of my brother, Brewster, who came to the practice in July, 1840. Of all those who were engaged in the practice of the law
HON. LYMAN SANFORD.
prior to that time, all, all are gone save William H. Davis, Hamilton and Goodyear, Houck and Mann, Holladay and Gebhard, at Schoharie, Spafford and McClellan, at Middleburgh, Thomas and Demosthenes Lawyer, Thomas Smith and Jedediah Miller, of Cobleskill, William Beekman, of Sharon, and John C. Wright, of Esperance. They were men who could have been an honor to any county of the State. The then four Judges of the old Com- mon Pleas have entered into rest. Sheriff, clerk, and crier, are no more, aye, the court- house even has crumbled into ashes, fired by the torch of an incendiary prisoner.
"The venerable form of John P. Cushman, the then Circuit Judge and Vice-Chancellor of this district, long ago has passed away. Other Judges have come to us : Harris, Wright, Wat- son, Gould, Hogaboom and Peckham, and they are gone, never to return ! Other lawyers have since come to this bar and have gone, and we shall see them no more-Frost, Clark, Smith, Young, Fox, Salsbury, Strain, Mackey, Under- wood, and now Sanford. The lesson of the hour is one full of instruction and admonition. Judge Sanford, immediately upon the commencement of his professional career, took a prominent position as a good lawyer and safe counselor.
I often had occasion to admire the fidelity he manifested in protecting the estate of the widow and orphan. As a citizen he was exemplary, and no stigma or reproach can be remembered against him ; as a public man he was always adequate to his position. * "
Ralph Brewster, Esq., in a few well chosen words, gave expression to his worth as a man and professional, and was followed by Hon. S. L. Mayham, who in the course of his remarks said :--
" No man ever held in higher esteem the honorable relations that the true lawyer bears to the community in which he lives, or the sacred and confidential duty he owed to his client, and no man ever did more to elevate the standard and preserve unsullied the honor of the legal profession in his sphere, than he. It was the profession of his choice, and he made it the business of his life to impress it with the dignity and respect which it deserves; and re- lieve it from all unjust criticisms. *
" Few men possessed colloquial powers or gifts equal to the deceased, to which were added a high order of culture and scholarly attain- ments ; a noble and commanding presence, with a voice rich and melodious ; thus com- bining in him at once all the talent elements of an orator ; and had he overcome in early life his native modesty, and brought all of those reserved forces into requisition, he would have been in forensic eloquence and power more than the equal of his brother, Mitchell, by whose burning words the people, juries, courts and senates, were moved and molded."
Hon. William H. Engle paid an eloquent tribute to the character of the deceased as a lawyer and jurist and closed as follows upon his affability as a gentleman and neighbor :-
HON. LYMAN SANFORD.
"On his countenance rested always the genial smile and in his utterance the warm greeting that revealed the heart of the man. Decline could not destroy it, and nothing but the grasp of death could extinguish the external evidences of a kindly, noble and loving nature.
"To his neighbors therefore the recollections we all delight to cherish, come down to a recent date. But the bar need nothing to remind them of the pleasure his presence gave. It will be fresh and green in our memories as long as ' life and thought and being lasts.'"
Hon. William C. Lamont in full, earnest and feeling remarks, paid a high compliment to the virtues and ability of Judge Sanford and attest- ed that :---
"Amid all this, the highest praise that can be awarded to man, rightfully was his. In all places requiring ability of a high order, integ- rity, the best and proudest thing that can be said, he did his duty. It was well done."
Hon. Hobert Krum followed and in referring to the Judge's legal status said :-
" He was not a great lawyer, but he was a good one; and he was a noble county judge. As a lawyer he scarcely ever entered the arena of the bar, or mingled with the fights and strifes of the trial of a cause.
" His modesty and diffidence made him shrink from such an encounter, and therefore he never took such prominence in the profession as his abilities justly entitled him, and although he was known as a safe counselor, as a good pleader, and as a fine office lawyer, yet his legal ability
was never fully made manifest until after he was promoted to the bench.
, " In that position he exhibited the well read lawyer, one well grounded in legal principles who could carefully discriminate cases, and when his opinion was rendered, it pronounced the law. He was an honest lawyer and an hon- est judge, because he was an honest man."
John B. Grant, Esq., George L. Danforth, Esq., Hon. William S. Clark, W. P. Thomas, Esq., Almerin Gallup, Esq., and Lyman Sanford Holmes, Esq., followed in feeling and eloquent language, expressive of the appreciation the younger members of the bar held towards the deceased who had welcomed each in turn to the profession, and encouraged them in their first efforts to gain their present prominent and suc- cessful positions. Hon. Henry Smith being in- disposed, and not in attendance, paid by letter, a high tribute to the deceased, which was read by the clerk when his Honor in conclusion made the following remarks :-
"Gentlemen of the bar :- For myself I do not expect by the few suggestions I shall offer, to supplement to the grateful tribute of respect which you have already so well and deservedly rendered to the memory of our respected de- parted brother and friend. Yet to me it seems most fitting and appropriate that from this bench, once so highly adorned by Judge San- ford, an expression of approval and endorse- ment should come, commendatory of your ac- tion, which I most cheerfully give. I had known Judge Sanford quite intimately, since the fall of 1855, when he was elected to the
HON. LYMAN SANFORD.
position I now hold; I then being a candidate for another place, running on the same ticket with him, we were frequently brought together. From that period our relations were of the most friendly character, whether of a personal, professional, political, official or social nature. As members of this bar we had learned to love and respect him for his great virtues, and should strive to imitate them, as we cherish his memory.
" We have always received from him, in his own pleasant, graceful manner, a recognition and greeting so cordial that we felt easy in his presence, while sensibly impressed by his man- ner and bearing with the fact that he was in-
deed possessed of all good grace to adorn and grace a gentleman. But he has gone from us forever into that tribunal over which presides the Judge of all, who will not, cannot err.
" Full of years, enjoying the honor and respect of all who knew him, he has finished his work, and entered into eternal rest, and as well said of another, we can say of him :-
"He sank as sinks the morning star, Which goes not down behind a darkened west Nor hides obscured amid the tempests of the skies, But melts away in the bright light of Heaven."
Of him, of his virtues, we can only exclaim as we venerate his memory, Hail and Farewell !"
223
TOWN OF MIDDLEBURGH.
Mary H. Wharton. Mary Rosseter. Gertrude H. Moase. Louisa Wilsey. Nellie K. Rosseter. Eva V. Tuttle.
The present officers (1881) are :-
W. C. T., C. A. White.
W. V. T., Gertrude H. Moase.
W. S., Elliot Danforth.
W. A. S., Mary A. Wharton.
W. F. S., James Lawyer.
W. T., H. D. Wells.
W. C., Rev. J. S. Hart.
P. W. C., Rev. D. Swope.
W. M., H. A. Blodgett.
D. W. M., Nellie K. Rosseter.
W. J. G., Aurelia S. Blodgett. W. O. G., G. S. Lynas.
R. H. S., Ellen E. Wilsey. L. H. S., Ellen E. Watson.
G. A. R. Post Stanton .- This Post was or- ganized September 2, 1878, and named in honor of Jay C. Stanton, of Co. H, 76th Reg. N. Y. S. Volunteers, who was mortally wounded at the battle of Bull Run, August 29, 1862. The following are the charter officers and present members of the organization :-
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