History of Seneca Co., New York, with illustrations descriptive of its scenery, palatial residences, public building and important manufactories, Part 6

Author:
Publication date: 1876
Publisher: Philadelphia : Everts, Ensign & Everts
Number of Pages: 294


USA > New York > Seneca County > History of Seneca Co., New York, with illustrations descriptive of its scenery, palatial residences, public building and important manufactories > Part 6


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of the community, possessed its confidence and good will. Foreseeing and prudent, the great financial revulsion of 1857, which caused suspension of all but three or four banks of the State, foand the Bank of Seneca Falls promptly meeting all its obliga- tions, and paying in gold its notes presented for redemption. Known aad continued as an individual bank until the inauguration of the national banking system, it was early changed by Mr. Partridge to "The First National Bank of Seneca Falls." Associated with Mr. Partridge in the transaction of baak business have been his two soas, L. C. and D. E. Partridge, by whom the later affairs of the institution have been conducted.


The death of Erastus Partridge occurred January 20, 1873, at the advanced nge uf seventy-four years. Impressed by sense of loss, business houses were closed and all classes of citizens united in expressions of sadness and regret at his decease. As a merchant and as a banker, the dealings of Mr. Partridge were characterized by business exactness ; advantage was never taken of necessity, and he was lenient ia the extreme to luis debtors. To the influence of Mr. Partridge upon the mechanicn1 industries of Sencca Falls is due much of their stability and ultimate extension. His domestic virtues, his personal excellencies of character endeared him to his relatives. He was a kind husband, an exemplary and considerate father. He had, on Angust 6, 1820, married, at Homer, Miss Sarah Bruffee, daughter of William and Anna Bruffee, and for more than half a century they had journeyed through life in company. To his widow and children he left the priceless heritage of a stainless name and the memory of an exemplary life. Ia his social relations, his disposition and bearing towards neighbor and friend were frank and courteous, while all recog- nized in him n citizen who combined in one character modesty, kindness, sincerity, and integrity. Of kindly impulse, the comfort of others was second only to his efforts for their business advancement. Uaostentatiously and quietly he gave of his abund- ance to the relief of the needy. Happy ia the timely aid of worthy and judicious investments, bis influence is yet manifest apoa men now prosperous, who attribute their success to his timely advice and assistance. Iavaluable to the community, Mr. Partridge lived to see his adopted home pass the doubtful era of its existence, and firmly established as a successful business community, and it is in strict justice that wherever the early history of Seneea County shall be knowa, the name of Erastus Partridge shall be coupled with it.


PLATE V.


LE ROY C. PARTRIDGE, son of Erastus Partridge, was born at Cayuga, July 16, 1832. When about five years of age his parents removed to Seneca Falls. Associates of his school days recollect a high-minded lad, ardent in scholastic research, a student of mechanics, and a lover of geologie investigation.


Growing to manhood, influence, and usefulness, his cheerful and social disposition rendered his companionsbip attractive, genial, and pleasant, and surrounded him with `an extended circle of warmly-attached friends.


Employed in the Bank of Seneen Falls when twenty-one years of age, he became its cashier at the age of twenty-two. Later, he wns vice-president of the institution, and upon the death of his father beenme its president. For several years he conducted an independent banking house at Ovid,-a great convenience to the people of the south jury district. This institution, known as the Banking House of Le Roy C. Partridge, under the direction and impetus of its founder, has proved a sound and thriving business, and is still continued, under the control of Mrs. Ellen Partridge. Mr. Partridge was also secretary and treasurer of the Seneca Falls Savings Bank.


While seeking no political preferment, he shrank from no public duty, and when elected by large majorities to the positions of President of the village and Supervisor of the town, he discharged the functions of the office with zeal and honor.


Le Roy C. Partridge was married in 1861 to Miss Ellen Deppen, daughter of William Deppen, then n resident of Seneca Falls.


During the year 1874, failing health warned him to lay aside the onerous burdens borne for years, and seek in chaage of climate relaxation and recovery ; but this was not to be, and in January, 1875, he returned to home and friends-to die. Medical skill and the promptings of affection were of no avail, and cheerfully, as in health, he bore with suffering, and passed away on the morning of February 1, 1875. The funeral took place at Trinity Church, in the afternoon of February 11, to which not only the friends at Seneca Falls, but many from neighboring villages proceeded. During the time of the funeral, at which the Rev. Dr. Guion officiated, all places of business were closed, and the bells of the village were tolled. Casket and church were adorned with floral offerings, and every mark of respect and sincere sympathy shown by the entire community. His remains were taken to Restvale Cemetery for burial, and those who had so long and pleasantly known bim in life now revert to the asso-


ciations of the past, and study his character in public and private influences. So well, so favorably known, and so intimately connected with the varied and material inter- ests of the village, his loss fell little short of a public misfortune.


In business and social relations his generosity was unstinted, and his personal iater- course with all won many sincere, devoted friends. In sterling mental qualities, and in the kindly virtues of the heart, he won a place in the affections of kindred and friends beyond the limit of expression. Eminently possessed af qualities and virtues of life, his friends were real, intimate, and numerous. Scoraing to do or countenance dishonorable actions, his sense of honor was proverbial, and his business relations were characterized by a scrupolous observance of the true spirit and very letter of every agreement. Careful and sensitive of honor and integrity, the slightest shadow of reflection upon them was unendurable. Sympathizing with want and distress, in- stances are numerous where munificent gifts for religions and benevolent objects illustrate philanthropy ; and happily situnted ta relieve necessity, most generously did he avail himself of his opportunities. Generous without being lavish, famihar with- out loss of dignity, he constantly maintained a natural' euse and self-assertion which challenged regard, while good-nature, quiet humor, and courteous deportment marked him a favorite in social or business circle.


Closely identified with matters of finance, the hanarable position reached by the First National Bank of Sencca Falls is greatly the result of his faithful and sageciens efforts. Realizing that the prosperity of business and manufacturing interests is the basis of successful banking, Mr. Partridge, wisely discriminating between the deserv- ing and the unworthy, gave generous encouragement to these classes through periods of financial depression, and thereby contributed to the welfare and prosperity of the community at large. The domestic virtues, personal excellence of character, frankness and liberality of Le Roy C. Partridge were known and admired by all. Courteous and dignified, inflexibly exact, and scrupulously honest, be was honored for his worth. Himself beneficent, kind, and sympathetic, like qualities were awakened towards him in the minds of relative, friend, and citizen. Many besides bis estimable family shared with them in grief at his denth, and the name of Le Rey C. Partridge is deeply engraved and fondly remembered by those who knew him as a prontising youth, a successful man, a kind busbend, a valued citizen.


21


HISTORY OF SENECA COUNTY, NEW YORK.


growing, and improved the breed of sheep. He was a prominent citizen, and served as representative in Congress. He died in. 1845, in Waterloo. His wife, a most exemplary person, followed him some few years later. In default of roads, the lakes were used when practicable. Williamson had a sloop upon Seneca Lake and used it in bringing in lumber. Settlers used skiffs large enough to convey a family. In one of these Fairchilds took frequent trips down the outlet to visit a sister, who, with her husband and family, resided on the south bank of the river, a short distance below Gorham Bridge. At other times this was the route to Bear's Mill. The boats were left above the rapids to avoid the labor and dauger of running them. Workmen were busy digging a race for a water-power at a lower level, where a saw-mill was erected and put in motion. A cluster of buildings gathered about the little old mill with its one run of stone bore the name of Scauyes, and formed the unpromising nucleus of the present fine town of South Waterloo. In connection with this locality comes up the subject of the Cayuga Reserve and the disputed question of a chief's nativity. In 1785, the Oneidas sold a large tract of land to the State. In 1788, the Onondagas sold all their territory, save a limited area about their chief villages, and retained the rights of hunting, fishing, and salt-making, heretofore enjoyed. The Cayugas sold their lands in 1789, with the exception of a narrow reservation, including both shores of the Cayuga Lake and also a reservation on the Seneca outlet for an eel-fishery, and a convenient spot on the south side for curing their fish. They also retained the right of hunting over all the lands sold. An agreement was made with the Cayugas, by which the tribe received an annuity of five hundred dollars. The point reserved for the eel-fishery was what is now the town of Waterloo, including both sides of the river, and this assertion finds strength in the desigoation of lands in the early deeds and titles as forming a part of "The Cayuga Reservation at Scauyes." It was said by Red Jacket, in a speech in Waterloo, that the Cayugas sold the ground of the reserve to the Senecas for a taneed wolf-skin. If the chief spoke knowingly his tribe made an excellent bargain, for of eels a. harrel of them had been taken during a single night in a weir set in the middle. of the river, with wings to each shore. The early residents were accustomed to skin and salt them down by the barrel, and when dried and smoked they were equal to the best mackerel. Besides eels, the waters of the outlet were full of the finest fish, among which were Oswego bass, black bass, salmon, and trout. One of the latter was speared by an old settler, and its weight proved to be eighteen pounds. With deer and other game, bears and wolves, the location was an Indian's Eden ; but the settlers came ever thicker, and the Indians, selling this their last foothold, retreated to the forest and disappeared ; even the tribe who lived here involved in doubt, and the question giving rise to some discussion. At what was called the island, near an old apple-tree, the birth-place of Red Jacket has been pointed out. Whether he there saw the light or elsewhere, he belongs not to us. ' Migra- tory in habit and unreliable in legend, he was a Seneca, an orator of no mean pretension, and a native of the little lake region. About 1794, the lands upon the outlet were sold by the State; some of them passed into the hands of soldiers, who mainly sold to others ; some were purchased by various parties. It was held at the common rates of government lands. Lot No. 98, on which Waterloo is mainly located, was patented by the State to John Mckinstry, of Columbia County, for military services; and, at nearly the same time, one hundred acres on the north side of the river, embracing the water-power on which has grown up a part of Seneca Falls, was sold by the State for twenty dollars and sixty cents per acre, this price being the result of a representation of the great value of the water-power as believed in by the Surveyer-General. The purchase was made in 1794 by a party consisting of Robert Troup, Nicholas Gouverneur, Stephen N. Bayard, and Elkanah Watson. Colonel Myaderse, in 1795, bought a one-fifth interest in the purchase and water- power, and was made the business agent. During the same year the company known as the " Bayard Company" began the erection of what were known as the " Upper Red Mills," under the direction of Colonel Mynderse. The milla were finished and completed during 1796. Iu 1798, the company bought lot No. 6, on the reservation. This lot included about half the water-power on the south side of the river, and contained two hundred and fifty acres. They built the Red Mills, in 1807, on the lower rapids on lot No. 6, and, in 1809, obtained. possession by purchase of lot No. 9, containing six hundred and fifty acres. Their title came from the notorious Aaren Burr through Leicester Phelps. This acquisition secured to them the remainder of the south side water-power, so that when, in 1816, four hundred acres of lot No. 86 had been purchased from the heirs of Thomas Grant, the Bayard Company owned the entire water-power, and one thousand four hundred and fifty acres of land. From 1795 until 1825, a period of thirty years, a monopoly of territory was maintained, and Seneca Falls was bound fast while other points less favored by nature strode ahead. Repeated hut fruitless efferts were made to obtain a foothold, and, in 1816, ten thousand dollars was refused for ten acres of land and water-power to run, a woolen and cotton mill. In 1825 the company was compelled, by failures among


its members, to divide and dispose of the property. In 1817 a circular was issned advertising the sale of the entire rights of the company, and, as this document shows up the advantages of the County as then understood, it is per- petuated in these pages, as follows :


"TO MEN OF ENTERPRISE AND CAPITAL.


" An occasion is now offered for the profitable employment of both. The sub- acribers offer for sale their establishment at and near the Seneca Falls, in the County of Seneca and State of New York, commonly known by the appellation of, the Red Mills. To those who know the country lying between the Cayuga and Seneca Lakes, and the particular advantages connected with thia property, no recommendation is necessary, and those advantages need only to be investigated to be duly aud highly appreciated. The whole establishment will be sold together or may be divided in four several classes, viz. : the first to contain about eleven hundred and sixty acres, in one connected parcel, on which are erected two grist- mills, each with two runs of stone, with every necessary machinery for manu- facturing flour of the very best quality, and ample storage for thirty thousand bushels of wheat; a saw-mill, fulling-mill, clothier's work, drying-house, and three carding-machines, all in the best order ; a large dwelling-house with proper outhouses ;. two very convenient dwelling-houses for the millers, a cooper-shop and implements, a new storehouse for mercantile purposes, and another for storage of flour and merchandise. Of this tract a due proportion is under cultivation, and the residue is well timbered. The land is of the best quality, well cleared and fenced, with good barns and other buildings calculated for the use of farmers.


"On this tract are also beds of plaster of Paris, of excellent quality, supposed to be inexhaustible, and adjoining to the boatable waters of the Seneca outlet, by which the tract is almost equally divided. In addition to the mill sites already occupied cight more of equal utility may be improved, the supply of water and the elevation of the falls being always adequate thereto. The country which supplies these mills with wheat is acknowledged to afford a supply in quantity and excellence superior to any other part of the State, and the established repu- tation of the flour made at these mills is the best test of their value and advan- tages. The flour manufactured here is transported to New York with ouly fourteen miles land carriage, from Schenectady to Albany ; to Lake Ontario, with no other portage than that at Oswego Falls, of one mile ; or to Great Sodus Bay, with a portage of ten miles, and thence to Montreal. Wheat is transported to the mills from the shores of Cayuga and Seneca Lakes by water and by laud. The premises are situated between the Cayuga and Seneca Lakes, on the outlet of the Seneca, which empties into the Cayuga within two miles from the Cayuga bridge and eleven miles from Geneva. Turnpikes and other roads concentrate here at the village of Seneca Falls, which stands on a part of these lands and is progressing. Locks and canals are erected here, from which great and increasing advantages may be anticipated. No situation in the interior of the State can offer superior inducements to a company or to individuals disposed to establishı hydraulic works or other manufactories, it being in the heart of a rich and fertile country, and the supply of water is inexhaustible. If more land should be required it can be fornished by the subscriber, particularly a tract supposed to contain iron ore, situate within four miles from the falls.


(Signed) "W. MYNDERSE & Co."


The Bayard Company having dissolved, the prosperity of Seneca Falls began and continues. In other localities such companies have amassed wealth, and enriched a multitude besides ; but when the parteers met at Seneca Falls, in 1825, and ench had drawn by lot his several share of proceeds, as divided by their Com- missioners Bogart and Larzelere, they found that during the thirty years' associ- ation each share had advanced $43,281, and the dividend was but $8000, there being a share loss of $35,281, and a company loss of $176,405. Eager in the early day as now to amass riches, fortune was fickle, and while some schemers failed others unconsciously grew rich. Old residents, from different- stand-points, tell the story of the carly day, and the following, from the pen of Caleb Fairchilds, bears on the primitive condition of Waterloo:


" Elisha Williams and Reuben Swift were the proprietors of the village of Waterloo, and, having mapped and staked off a plat, themselves and families and. several friends with their families settled down and commenced improvements in an unbroken forest save the turnpike, the tavern, and toll-gates near either end of the street. About this time the improvement of boat navigation was begun by the Seneca Lock Company. A canal was opened having a width of forty feet, and a depth of three to four, with locks, the remains of which may. be seen near the woolen factory. This ditch, with a fall of fifteen to eighteen feet, made a good water-power, on which was built the large mills of Reuben Swift & Co. : A large hotel stood nearly opposite the mills, and was later known as the American. House. It was burned years ago. The large stone house of Charles Swift,


22


HISTORY OF SENECA COUNTY, NEW YORK.


afterwards used as a meeting-house, was budt, besides a few shops and dwellings. Digging the canal and making the locks gave an impetus to business and collected a population of several hundred energetic mechanics and business men. Maiti Street, from the court-house to the mills, comprised the village. Williams Street was opened from Virginia to Inslee Street, with a few cross streets, but no business house. A thick forest, within a few rods, skirted the whole north line, and the winding canal was the south boundary. The cluster of buildings named formed a business point at the east end of the street, the old Eagle Tavern, the bank house just finished by Martin Kendig, Esq., as a dwelling, a store-house, lately moved to make way for the Academy of Music, with some smaller shops and dwellings, made the centre, while about equal progress was made at the west end, where the court-house, a store, and several shops were in process of con -. struction. There were, therefore, three distinct, distant, and somewhat rival localities, so far separated that no two could be seen from the same point, and tending to detract from the activity of smaller and more compact towns. In the year 1818 there were ten or twelve public houses in the vicinity and place, and all did a lively business. The Erie Canal was surveyed and started just north of the village through the forest about the line of North Street. There was a good prospect of its being worked through, but unfortunately it was carried some twelve miles north and its advantages lost. From 1816 to 1822 Main Street, about a mile in length, contained the whole town. There were some few good buildings, and along the street were many temporary board shanties. The street was graded only as the turnpike laborers had rounded up about a rod in the centre, with a deep ditch on each side. Three gulches were crossed by log or plank crossways, barely wide enough for one team at a time to pass in safety. Near the Yost House was a sand hill where big teams had to splice or hitch two teams to one wagon to drag up a gully extended between the Eagle Tavern and the old man- sion, where, to run off the narrow crossing, would take a team over head ; and a second gally, near Fatzinger's brick storehouse, where the small culvert in a wet time was gorged with water, and a pond formed across the road only to be crossed by ferry. Sidewalks were made of single slabs, and gulches erossed by foot-bridges. Two or three churches were organized early, and meetings were held in the old academy, the court-house, and in private dwellings. Lawyers were numerous and eminent in their profession. Land titles, disputed claims, boundaries, and mort- gage sales gave work to all. Well-read and skillful physicians there were; but new-comers from older settled tracts had to undergo acclimation, and were subject to ague and bilious attacks, which, in time, passed off and left the settler free to labor and improve his state.' Merchandising and shopkeeping was extensively engaged in, and cach store, not limited as now to a specialty, was crowded with articles for sale, from dry-goods, hardware, eroekery, and groceries to a good assortment of liquors and wines, freely offered to friend and customer. Improve- ments were carried forward with energy ; illustrative of which is the fact that the Central Buildings, a block of nine, were put up all at once and finished in ninety days, and an opposite block of four in the same time.


CHAPTER VII.


A NEW COUNTRY .KINDS OF TREES, GAME, HOUSES, AND, FURNITURE- CLIMATE AND DRESS-CHARACTER OF SETTLER-MANNERS AND CUSTOMS, AND CONTRAST WITH THE PRESENT DAY.


PRIOR to the close of the War of 1812, and particularly before the War for Independence, the colonists clung to the coast, or ventured out into the forests with caution ; but the raid of Sullivan and the victories of Wayne and Harrison crushed the savage power, and men went boldly and alone far out into the woods and independently chose and improved such spots as met their fancy. In Seneca there was a dedise and almost unbroken forest; beneath waa a tangled mass of brier and brush. In Tyre and Varick are extended arcas of swamp, rich in ele- ments of production, useless, from their location, until drained. . Upon the ridge betweeti the lakes houses were raised, commanding views obtained, and clear- ings made down the slopes. The oak, whitewood, beach, maple, basswood, white- aslı, hickory; and other kinds of timber existed in profusion, and trees were regarded as an incubus to tillage rather than as a valuable adjunet of n farm. The woods are leveled now, and their screens of trees but veil the fields beyond. In early times Seneca gave fine opportunity to enjoy the pleasures of the chase ; these were the never-failing hunting-grounds of the Iroquois. . These lands gave patriotie pride to them, and when compelled to yield them to the dominant race they lost their sense of ownership with a pain at heart. 'Often and often had they thought what the poet has put in 'verse: " This is my own, my native land;"


and when the spirit of the Seneca had departed and the rapacious borderer envied him the ownership of a few acres, Red Jacket thus vividly and feelingly com -. miserates the condition of his tribe: " We stand, a small island in the bosom of the great waters,-we are encircled, we are encompassed. The Evil Spirit rides upon the blast, and the waters are disturbed. They rise, they press upon us, and the waves once settled over us we disappear forever. Who then lives to mourn us? None. What marks our extinction? Nothing. We are mingled with the common elements."


Submitting to the inevitable, they yielded to the frontiersmen, but partially 'exercised their rights to hunting, and then abandoned their forests forever. The settler often found the deer feeding with his cattle, and venison contributed largely to the comforts of the table. It was customary among the hunters when a deer was killed to flay and dress the body and hang it.in a tree, and then con- tinue the pursuit of others until they had obtained as much as all the party could carry to their homes. Rights of ownership were scrupulously regarded, and no resentment was more fierce than that which arose from controversy as to rights; the carcass on the tree was as safe from theft as are notes and . bonds within a time-set safe with combination lock attached to-day. The wolf ranged the woods, and woe to the flock found unprotected ! Their mangled, half-eaten bodies would meet the eye of the settler in search of them.' It is related of a farmer that one night, aroused by a battering at his door, he rose and opened it, and in came a bleating wether, as though he said, " Thy flock were quietly resting in umbrageous woods, when fierce and hungry wolves set on and tore them, and I alone escaped to tell thee." For in the morning the entire flock, save the saga -. cious wether, was found destroyed. It is not known that man has been atiacked by them. ' The animal is by nature cowardly, and becomes formidable only when assembled in packs and urged on by hunger. That the settlers found their pres- ence damaging and much desired their extermination is shown by an order given by the town officials of Junius, in 1804, that a bounty of five dollars be paid for the sealp of every wolf slain in the County.




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