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 8
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PLATE VII
TOWSLEY HOUSE)
HARRIS &SEMTNER
SHAVING
TOWSLEY HOUSE , SITUATED NEAR THE RAIL ROAD, & FURNISHED WITH ALL THE MODERN IMPROVEMENTS.
THIS HOTEL IS FIRST CLASS, 15
LAMBERT GOODMAN, PROPRIETOR
WATERLOO, NEW YORK.
PLATE
RESIDENCE F WM C. DUTTON, WATERLOO, SENECA COUNTY, N. Y.
HO D WSy
29
HISTORY OF SENECA COUNTY, NEW YORK.
Illustrative of the subjects treated in this chapter, we give an abbreviated sketch of an old settler's recollections. James B. Darrow was born one mile east from Aurora, Caynga County. In June, 1809, the family, consisting of parents, two sisters, and himself, he led by his mother, left their home and walked to Aurora. There taking boat, the family crossed the Seneca and landed in this County at the habitation of John Sinclair, near the present residence of Aaron Christopher, in the town of Romulus. Thence proceeding west, along the highest ground, they followed winding footpaths to Romulusville, then a cluster of a few log houses. Darkness came on, and the little party stopping by the way at the house of James Monroe, father of Stephen and grandfather of John Monroe, a toreh of hickory bark was procured to light the path; another mile, and " home" was before them, but incomplete. But half the roof was on, and the floor of split bass-wood logs was but partly laid ; but these were soon put in place. The children gathered wild gooseberries, whortleberries, and, later in the season, cran- berries. They strolled along the Cayuga shore, and gathered abundance of wild plums. The father had made maple-sugar and syrup in the spring, and stored the latter in rude vessels made of white-wood, and this forest sweet enhanecd the enjoyment of many meals. Mr. Darrow, Sen., was a carpenter, and in the fall of 1808 had taken the contract with Captain Marvin to build the old Presby- terian church, which stood just west of Romulusville, upon a site now used for a cemetery. Darrow was a carpenter, his wife a weaver. The former, working at his trade, had bought one hundred acres, and hired the clearing done. In lieu of oil, or even tallow, hickory bark gathered during the day was burned at night. The children kept up the light, which usually burned dimly. The family suffered several summers with the fever and ague. The mother carded her wool with hand cards, and colored it with butternut bark. Summer elothing was made from the fibre of flax. Darrow moved in 1812 to Auburn, Cayuga County. While he followed his trade, the mother boarded army officers. Money called shinplasters was very plenty with them and the teamsters. The paper was issued by many parties, and, for lack of better, continued to pass. Army wagons, loaded with stores, with four to six span of horses and a leader attached, continually passed and repassed. The tires of the wagon-wheels, which were very high, were six to eight inches in width. The opprobrious term of " Blue- Light Federalist" was applied in those days to those who sought to escape the draft. Three years elapsed, and Darrow returned to Romulus. Old neighbors were there, and many new ones had moved in. The roads were straightened, new houses erected, and at Canoga Spring a elothiery and fulling works had been built by Archibald Packard. Church was attended in an ox-sled, with a bundle of rye for a scat, and an ox-chain on the stakes to lean upon. The family acquired a horse, and the parents went on horseback to church or visiting, the mother riding behind and holding fast to her husband. Rev. Charles Mosher was then the minister, soon succeeded by Moses Young, from Phelps. During the pastorate of Mr. Mosher, a Mr. Fuller was appointed to take charge of the boys, who were made to sit together, and at Sabbath-school recite portions of the "Old Assembly Catechism." Rev. Young permitted the boys to sit with their parents. Schools taught in log houses by Eastern teachers became coni- mon. Money became worthless, and three dollars were paid per bushel for wheat. Crops failed in 1816. Frosts occurring every month, destroyed corn- the staple erop. People could not get money, and they dare not run in debt. The person of a debtor could be taken and confined in jail according to a law repealed in 1821. The people were poor, and a "fellow-feeling made them won- drous kind." A bond of friendship was then in force, which in these later days has become extinct.
Darrow's father built a house; the owner could sell nothing to .. pay for the work. He confessed judgment, and turned out some cows for sale to pay the debt. The cattle were bid off to Darrow at eight dollars per head, and he felt poorer with than without the stock, for he had no use for them. Mr. Darrow was injured by the falling of a brace at a raising, and soon afterwards died. His widow endeavored to hold the farm and pay the debts. She owned two hogs, and fatted them; one was given to Dr. Marvin, on a claim, at thirteen shillings per hundred. Then the farm was rented. James was dressed in new clothing, and apprenticed to a wagon-maker. The first job was the wood-work of a lumber wagon, for which seventy-five pounds of maple-sugar and four gallons of molasses were to be paid. The second job was the making of a wagon, for which a three- year-old steer was given in payment; this a drover took off their hands for thirteen dollars.
CHAPTER IX.
EARLY PREACHERS AND CHURCHES-SCHOOLS AND TEACHERS-MARRIAGES, BIRTHS, DEATHS, AND CEMETERIES.
WHEREVER the smoke of the settler's cabin rose, there soon came the circuit rider, bound on his mission of good. Traversing swamp, trail, and forest path, het found cordial welcome everywhere. Arousing strong opposition, he had power in the truths of the gospel, expressed in plain speech, and illustrated from the boundless volume of nature. The first ministers who visited this region of country were Methodists. Upon mules or horses they went upon their extended circuit, preaching day and evening. The early circuit embraced a journey of four hundred miles. Private house and school-house were used wherever the people could be called together.
The first of these pioneers was James Smith, in 1793; then came Alward White; after him followed Joseph Whitby and John Lockby, io 1795; Hamilton Jefferson and Anning Owen, in 1796. Johnson Denham comes with Owen next year; then James Stokes and Richard Lyon in 1798, and Jonathan Bateman in 1799. Daniel Dunham and Benjamin Bidlack trod this sparsely settled region in 1800; David James and Joseph Williamson in 1801; Smith Weeks and Jobn Billings in 1802; Griffin Sweet and Sharon Booth in 1803; and Roger, Benton, and Sylvester Hill in 1804. The memories of these men are unknown to few, if any, living. But what a life was theirs! A pair of saddlebags contained their wardrobe and their library. Often their sleep was in the woods; reckless of the wolf, they laid them down, and, rising, journeyed on to preach in school-house, barn, or wood. It was not till 1807 that other churches made their appearance by the organization of societies, although local preaching had occurred. . Mean- while, two by two changed each year. The following fulfilled their mission here from 1805 to 1809: Thomas Smith and Charles Giles, William Hill and Wil- liam Smith, Benjamin Bidlaek and Lawrence Riley, then Bidlaek and Clement Hickmau. All honor to these men ! Though they have gone from us, their memories are preserved in the ennobling influences ereated and fostered by their honest teachings.
The first Methodist church was built at Taunton, now Townsendville, some time in 1809 or 1810, while Isaae Teller and Amos Jenks, or John Rhodes and Daniel Baines were on that circuit. The first Church formed in Seneca County was organized by the Baptists in 1805; a second in Tyre by Baptists, same year, by Elder Don Ralph. The exercises were conducted by Elder Thomas, at the house of Bassler King, a settler in Ovid, in 1793, from Dutchess County, New York. About this time a log honse was built about three-quarters of a orile sonthwest of Lodi village, near Halsey's grist-mill. It was a rude affair, not used in winter, and taken down after some ten years' service. It was a Union Church, since Rev. Clark held service for the Presbyterians, and Rev. Wisner for the Baptists. In 1807 or 1808, the Baptists put up a small frame house, about a mile and a quarter west of Lodi. The house was inelosed, but never finished. The members living south caused a removal of the site, and the crection of a new house some four miles south of the old one. The old building has long since passed out of exist- ence. It is probable that the first church in the County was a structure built at the Thomas's settlement, about three miles north of Trumansburg. Under the ministration of Elder Thomas, a revival occurred in the winter of 1809-10. Twenty-two persons were baptized by the Elder, in Cayuga Lake, before leaving the water. The first frame church finished in the town of Ovid was constructed by the Dutch Reformed denomination. Four or five miles southeast of Ovid village was quite a settlement of New Jersey people, whose pastor came out with them. Their house was put up by John J. Covert, between the years 1807-8; Rev. Brokaw was the preacher, and Joshua Covert the chorister. In front of the pulpit was a small platform, about two steps high, upon which the chorister would stand. Before him was a shelf to hold his books. The pitch was given by the aid of a little box containing a slide; time was beat by the swing of his right arm, and the entire congregation joined in singing. At that time there were no arrangements for hesting the churches, and each sat out the sermon as best he could, and the "in conclusion " were welcome words, especially to the younger
portion of the congregation. Some old ladies carried with them to church what was called a "foot-stove," whose use is indicated by its name, and a sample of which is placed in the Historical Rooms at Waterloo. Winter's attendance upon divine service was a kind of penance, although not intended as such. A Presby- terian society was organized io Junius, August 10, 1807, by Rev. Jedediah Chapman. The assembly met in the large and commodious frame barn owned by Colonel Daniel Sayre, and was known as the " First Presbyterian Church of Junius." The barn stood north of the turnpike, on the hill, a short distance west of the old Caynga bridge. David Lum, Peter Miller, Stephen Crane, and John Pierson were ordained ruling elders; David Lum and Peter Miller were ordained
30
HISTORY OF SENECA COUNTY, NEW YORK.
deacons; and Peter Miller and his wife, Sophia, David Lum and Charity, his wife, Stephen Crane, John Pierson, John Church and wife, James Hunter and wife, Nicholas Squires and Thomas Armstrong and their wives, Thomas Neal, Mrs. Lambert Van Aelstync, and Anna Smith, seventeen persons in all, were admitted to membership. Rev. Charles Stuart was installed pastor August 20, 1808, at this barn, and served till 1812. Occasional services were held by Rev. C. Mosier till 1814, when Rev. Shipley Wells regularly supplied the pulpit a year, after which, from time to time, various others succeeded till the building of a church at Seneca Falla. Towa and city historiea will continue the record of those given, and that of others of which these are but examples.
It has been asserted that education is hereditary. The educated seek to confer the advantages of the schools upon their children. If thia be true, then the. pioneers of Seneca County were not an illiterate people. No sooner had a few settlers got their cabins raised and fixed so that they could live in them than a school was talked of: There was no law regulating schools, no school districts, no law requiring qualified teachers, and no grammar and geography taught in those schools. The school-books of the day were " Webster's Speller," the New Tea- tament, the " American Preceptor," the "English Reader," "Dillworth and Pike," and the " Federal Educator." Few advanced far in arithmetic, and those who studied Murray, later, were thought "full high advanced." In any locality, whenever sufficient families were near enough to form a school, all' would turn out with axes, handspikes, and oxen, and chop and draw logs to a chosen site, and put up a school-house. While some put up logs, split clap-boards for the roof, and drew stone for the fire-place, others prepared aticks and mud for the chimney, and if any of the settlers owned a wagon it waa his lot to go to the saw-mill for a load of boards and slabs. The floor being laid, next came the writing-tables and seats. Holes were bored in the logs and sticka driven in, boards laid on for the former, and holes bored in the slabs and legs put in for the latter. The house built, a teacher was wanted. It was customary for the person desiring to keep school to visit the different families within reach of the school-building and can- vass for acholars. If sufficient were secured to insure him ten dollars to twelve dollars per month, a school was opened. The customary rate waa one dollar and fifty cents per scholar for thirteen weeks. Simple rudiments did not seem to require high-priced schoolmasters. Summer schools were rare. Of carly schools, & few are noticed here. During the year 1795, the first school in Ovid was taught by Benjamin Munger. The first school taught within the bonnds of Seneca County was presided over by Hon. Lewis Cass, later United States Senator from Michigan. At this school, John B. Karr, of Varick, was a pupil. Mr. Karr, now seventy-three years of age, and born near Ludlow school-house, has distinct recollections of the early instructions of Cass as a schoolmaster. On June 16, 1801, a log school-house was constructed upon the bank of the mill-race, near the later residence of Mrs. Day, at Seneca Falls. This house combined the twin agen- cies of culture of the mind and heart, and on December 10, 1803, was temporarily occupied by a man named Muller, together with his family, pending the building of a tavern of which he was the intended landlord. The first teacher in this school was Alexander Wilson; Nancy Osman taught the first school in that part of Juniua now called Tyre. The school-house was built io 1804, and was much used for wor- sbip. Joho Burton, later a lawyer at Waterloo, taught a school in what was cupho- niously named the Cranetown Academy, a log school-house in Tyre. The academy fell a prey to the devouring element in 1812, and improved houses replaced the loss. Isaac Gorham, son of the pioneer Jabez Gorham, was first to sway the ferule in the kingdom of letters in the village of Waterloo. The school of earliest date in that locality occupied a shanty vacated by a squatter, standing near what is now William Street, in the vicinity of the residence of the late Peter Smith. Later, Mr. Gorham was found teaching in a log building on or uear the lot occu- picd by the residence of Dr. Gardine Welles, and previously used as a blacksmith's shop. H. F. Gostin and D. L. Kendig were pupils under Gorham's adminis- tration.
A second teacher in Waterloo of that day was named Morrison, whose school was opened in a rude building which occupied the site of the present Gerart Fac- tory: On the south side of the river, a little west of the cemetery lot, stood a building wherein II. Baker taught, and a choice of instructors was thereby offered and taken. Preparations for school, especially in autumn, were scarcely less exciting than the discipline succeeding. The shoemaker and the tailoress went from house to house to complete the outfit .: Whatever the weather, no pupil suffered in health by want of ventilation in the school-room, nor was com- plaint made that the wood waa too long for the stove. Samuel Bear, a pupil in n school taught by Master McCrate, gives the following programme of exercises : Calling school, by voice, or rapa with ferule upon a window-aash. Alphabet class, arranged in semicircle about the chair, naming lettera indicated by the blade-point of a penknife. Writing: this exercise called on McCrate to set copies, write sample lines, and mend goose-quill pena. Arithmetic : tables and
rules recited, and hard examples worked by the master:" Reading: each read a paragraph or sentence, and the class dismissed. Spelling: studied, and class called. A miss-spell sent the unlucky wight to the foot. The best speller rewarded by a merit. Roll-call : each replying " present" when named, proceeding" to the door, turning, and bowing or dropping a " curchey," as the pupil chanced to be master or miss, bade the teacher "good-afternoon." The methods of teaching and discipline tended not less to physical than to mental development. There were no gymnasiums in those days, yet while Webster and Murray admio- istered to the inner man, the tingling birch and smarting ferule took good care of the outer. Moreover, the construction of the furniture gave the body exercise despite intention, for, as Dr. Gridley expresses it,-
"The scats in use were slabs, with legs, in number, four, And so these quadrupeds sustained some ten or more. The desks were slabs at angle, cut and carved and maimed, And not by birch or ferule could jack-knives be restrained.
" The smaller urchins sat opon the humble seat, With naught to rest the back, too high to rest their feet ; Turning, twisting, pinching, busy in keeping still, Grinding ! Grinding !! Grinding !! in Isaac Gorham's mill."
No inconsiderable portion of early history is that which speaks of marriages, births, deatha, and funeral rites. The arrival of a new family, by boat or Penn- sylvania wagon, occasioned eager inquiry by young men as to whether any Marys or Betseys were of the number. The demand was in excess of the supply. The same maiden had sometimes several suitors, which involved the delicate matter of rejection as well as choice. Sometimes the girls were betrothed before leaving home, and a knowledge of this fact caused disappointment. Whole families of daughters were rapidly disposed of. Probably the first marriages in Seneca took place in the southern part of the County. Three couples, in 1793, walking together to Seneca Lake, crossed over in a boat, and on the other shore found Juatice Parker, who performed the ceremony of marriage. These persons were Joseph Wilson and Anna Wyckoff, A. A. Covert and Catharine Covert, and Enoch Stewart and Jane Covert. Abraham A. Covert, the Isst survivor of this triple marriage, lately passed away, at the good old age of ninety-eight years. An carly marriage at Scauyes was that of Job Smith to Miriam Gorham, in the year 1799. In 1809, Joho Knox wedded Mrs. Lucinda Winans, formerly Miss Keeler; then John Watkins took to wife her sister May, and later, Caleb Loring made sure of her sister Betsey. Old citizens remember how Samnel Birdsall wedded Ann Eliza Kendig; Job White, Margaret Stebbins ; Richard Bailey, Harrict Swift; and Theophilus Church, Temperance Den. Do they not recall that Content Standish was content to keep company with Horace Shekel; that. Joshua Merrill went to see Sophia Custiss; that David J. Baker paid attention to Sarah Fairchild; and that everybody said that Caleb Fairchild was going to have Aurelia Maltby ? Weddings were free from formality and stiffness. Sim- plicity and hilarity were the rules. On the occasion of the marriage of Job White, at the residence of Mrs. Quartus Knight, provision was made, not alone for invited guests, but for the neighbors in general. Most marriages were solemn- ized according to law by the Esquire. The parson did not object, since, while the former got most weddings, the latter got most fees. Squire Martin Kendig had joined a seeming happy couple at one time, and the next day the groom appeared and wished " to dissolve the bands," which the Justice declared uneon- stitutional, and therefore impossible.
Among the carly white nativea of Sencca County, were the following : Mrs. Jane Goodwin, daughter of L. Van Cleef, born November 29, 1790, and the first born at Seneca Falla. A son to James McKnight was born in 1791, at Beary- town, now Fayette Post-office, in Varick. A daughter to George Faussett, in Lodi, claimed the first white child born in this County. David Dunlap, son of Andrew, was born on February 2, 1793, upon lot No. 8, in the northwest part of the town of Ovid. First birth in Tyre, in 1794, was of Daniel, son of Ezekiel Crane, and that of John S. Bear, in 1797, was the first at Scauyes. Decay treads closely upon growth, and death came first in Seneca to George Dunlap, brother to Andrew, on September 24, 1791. In 1793, died the wife of Job Smith, followed, in 1802, by the deccase of Mrs. Submit Southwick. On August 26, 1803, J. Disbrow died at Seneca Falls, while at Tyre the now dilapidated .cemetery there was commenced by the interment therein of Sarah Traver, mother of Nicholas Traver. Two Revolutionary soldiers, John Gregory and James Hull, who had lived on Lot 97, in a rude house by the Outlet, near the residence of Alonzo Towsley, were the first persons buried on the north side at Waterloo, in ground now occupied by the residence of Isaac Thornc.
The burial customs of seventy years ago differed much from those of the present day. When a death occurred, neighbors would call in, take the measure of the body, and get a plain coffin at a cost of rarely more than five dollars. A neigh- bor possessed of a team would bring the coffin to the house, and carry the body
31
HISTORY OF SENECA COUNTY, NEW YORK.
to the grave. The charges of the sexton were two dollars, and grave-stones were cheap. William Sutton early followed the trade of stone engraving. The stones were dark cobble-stone, and were taken from the west side of Seneca Lake. Hun- dreds of these monuments may be seen in the cemeteries to-day. The headstones snd coffins of the rich were of the same material as were those of the poor, dif- fering only in the size of the stone. Marble tombstones were introduced when the Erie Canal was finished, about the year 1824.
We close by an extract from the record of a town-meeting held at Ovid, April 1, 1800, referring to Lot No. 30, known as the "gospel and school lot," and as the burial place of Joshua Covert, in 1799. " Voted that the land appropriated to this town by Silas Halsey for a burying-ground is a burying for the town. Also a certain piece of ground on Lot No. 3, containing one acre, granted by John Seeley. Also voted that there be a burying-ground on Lot No. 24. Also voted that there shall be a sexton for each burying-ground. Jacob Striker, for No. 30; Enoch Manning, No. 45; Stephen Miller, No. 98; and William Brown for No. 3. Also voted that each sexton, for every grave he shall dig, shall have one dollar." In the cemetery, on Lot No. 30, originally containing an acre, now much more from additions, are buried most of the early settlers, and more soldiers of the Revolution than any other in the County." Here lie the remains of Van Doren, Bodine, Stull, Ballard, the Huffs, and Brokaw, a few named of the many.
CHAPTER X.
THE BOYS OF 1800-THE PANTHER, BEAR, AND DEER-THE CASUALTIES OF CAYUGA LAKE.
To the boys of 1800 books were scarce, and newspapers among the gifts of the future. Whoever was the owner of a book loaned it to his neighbor; it was care- fully read and promptly returned. A book was valuable, and a nice sense of honor forbade the return of a borrowed volume in worse condition than when loaned. Long miles the boys went for a book, then, prone upon the floor before the fire, they gathered the contents, oblivions of time or presence. One pamphlet, which found its way into many a cabin, was entitled "The Confession of John Ryan." Sheriff Hutchison arrested Ryan at the card-table for debt. Ryan shot the sheriff dead and escaped. Traversing Seneca County, he reached and crossed Cayuga Lake in a stolen boat. Sinking the boat, he continued his flight. Finally returning, he was captured, tried, and executed. The wretched man attributed his crime to cards and whisky, and the influence of his confession was salutary.
The following is intended for the boys of 1876, and was originally penned by one who wrote from life. A boat-load of young men went to hunt deer upon Crusoe Island. The boat left them, to return in a week. Wolves, numerous and hungry, had driven off the deer. One of the youths went out alone in quest of game. A large black bear was seen upon a chestnut-tree, but disappeared before the hunter reached the spot. He shot and dressed a squirrel, and then set out for camp. It grew dark, and the silence was broken by the prolonged howl of a distant wolf. Here and there an echoing howl replied, and soon a paek had gathered where he had killed the squirrel, and then he knew they were following on his track. He reached and passed a spot where " Indian John" bad battled with just such a pack all night. With clubbed rifle he had struck the nearest as their white fangs snapped at him. Morning had come, and the Indian, with torn arms, shattered gun, and dead wolves around him, had seen the pack leave with infinite relief; yet here the white boy was hurrying on and looking for a tree to climb, when the report of a signal gun from camp renewed his courage. The wolves came nearer, and at the discharge of his rifle stopped silent for a moment. Reloading, he hastened on, and again cheeked pursuit by firing ; a third shot was delivered close to camp, the wolves upon his heels. Driven off, the pack continued howling around the fires until daybreak dispersed them in the woods.
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