USA > New York > Steuben County > History of Steuben county, New York, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 24
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Secretaries .- Robert B. Van Valkenburgh, 1853; Geo. S. Ellas, 1853-61; David McMaster, 1854-55; T. M. McCay, 1854-56 ; Robert M. Lyon, 1857-65 ; Alexis H. Cruttenden, 1862-64; Reuben E. Robie, 18GG-78.
Treasurers. - George Edwards, 1853; Reuben Robie,
1854-60; Ambrose S. Howell, 1861; Alvah E. Brown, 1862-63; Geo. S. Haverling, 1864-65 ; Geo. W. Hallock, 1866-74; Edwin C. Cook, 1875-78.
General Superintendents .- James Lyon, 1867-68; Chas. H. Robie, 1869; John L. Smith, 1870; Charles N. Acker- son, 1871-78.
The following are the persons who have been elected to an honorary life-membership in this society, and the years when they were severally elected : Otto F. Marshal, 1872; Lay Noble, 1872; Reuben Robie, 1872; Goldsmith Den- niston, 1873; Lyman Balcom, 1874; Abram Brundage, 1875; Henry McElwee, 1876; David McMaster, 1877; Henry Brother, 1878.
CHAPTER XIX.
NEW YORK STATE SOLDIERS' AND SAILORS' HOME.
Inception of the Institution-Its Successful Establishment by the Grand Army of the Republic-Location of the Site at Bath-Con- current Resolution of the Legislature -Laying of the Corner-Stone -Description of the Buildings-Opening of the Home-Trustees and Officers for IS79.
INCEPTION OF THE INSTITUTION.
THE first attempt to establish a Soldiers' Home in the State of New York was made by ex-Governor Edwin D. Mor- gan, in the year 1863, immediately after his term of office had expired. Governor Morgan and others procured the passage of an aet by the Legislature, on the 24th of April, 1863, to incorporate " The Soldiers' Home," the following persons being designated therein as the incorporators :
Gen. Winfield Scott.
Amaziah B. James.
Gen. Gev. B. MeClellan.
Gen. Juhn E. Wool.
Washington Ilunt.
Francis Kernan.
Millard Fillmore.
August Belmont.
W'm. B. Astur.
Isaac Sherman.
Benj. N. Huntington.
J. Sullivan Thorne,
Rev. Francis Winton, D.D.
John 11. Brower.
George Beneh.
James B. Nicholsun.
John Bowdish.
David Ruinsey.
Win. Cassidy. Dean Richmond.
Charles P'. Wood.
Amasa J. Parker.
Thomas W. Olcott.
Win. Curtis Noyes.
William E. Dodge.
George Dawson.
A. B. Conger.
John W. Avery.
Erastus Corning.
Samuel Sloan.
Charles P. Daly.
Gen. Jas. S. Wadsworth.
Nathan C. Ely.
Thomas 11. Faile.
John S. Gould.
Bradish Johnson.
Robert P. Getty.
Juhu Stryker.
George Dayton.
John B. Hall.
Governeur Kemble.
Oswald Ottendorfer. Ilamilton Fish.
.John Kelly.
John F. Seymour.
Daniel E. Delevan.
Thurlow Weed.
Elias B. Holmes.
David Devlin.
Edward Dodd.
George G. Scott.
Wm. A. Wheeler.
Joseph Mullin.
Robert Lansing.
Win. Il. Ferry.
Peter A. Porter.
Elias W. Leavenworth.
Samuel G. Andrews.
Peter Cagger.
William Kelly.
John A. King.
John T. Hoffman.
John Anderson.
David Banks, Jr.
llenry Grinnell.
Edwin D. Morgan. Geo. Opdyke.
Lockwood L. Doty.
Peter Rowe.
Wmn. C. Beards'ey.
92
IIISTORY OF STEUBEN COUNTY, NEW YORK.
D. B. St. John.
J. Dean lawley. J. Oakley Vanderpool.
Alexander Stewart. Gen. C. W. Sanford. Rt. Rev. Bishop Hughes. Rev. D. Weston.
Robert B. Minturn. Rev. Morgan Dix. Martin Grover. Smith Ely, Jr. Frederick Juliand. Thomas Stephens.
Great interest was manifested in carrying out this project, and handsome and most liberal contributions were offered by Governor Morgan, Mr. Lenox, the late Mr. Wolfe, of New York City, and others. The work would, undoubt- edly, have been carried forward, and the Home then erected, had not the trustees, upon canvassing the State, in order to learn how many inmates it would then be necessary to pro- vide accommodations for, discovered that there were but few soldiers or sailors whose friends would allow them to become inmates of an asylum. Obtaining this informa- tion, the trustees folded their arms, believing that the time had not then arrived when a Soldiers' Home was needed.
SECOND EFFORT.
The second effort was made by the Grand Army of the Republic, which organization annually sent a committee from its encampment to the Legislature, asking that some action be taken in regard to this matter.
In the year 1872, through the personal efforts of Gen. Henry A. Barnum, then commanding the Department of New York, G. A. R., the Legislature passed an act incor- porating the " New York Soldiers' Home," which provided that said institution should be created and maintained by the State. The following are the persons named therein as trustees of said Home :
Henry A. Barnum. John Hammond. James MeQuade.
Jno. C. Robinson.
Henry W. Slocum.
Win. F. Rogers.
John B. Murray.
Wm. Johnson. James Jourdan.
Wm. M. Gregg.
Jobn II. Martindale. David C. Stoddard.
Clinton D. MeDougal.
J. B. Kiddoo.
Timothy Sullivan. Adolphe Nolte.
Jno. C. Carmichael. N. M. Curtiss.
Joseph Forbes. Edmund L. Cole.
James E. Jones.
The act, however, failed to provide any appropriation, and none was made. On account of the diversity of opin- ion as to where the institution should be located, and from other causes,-although each annual encampment of the G. A. R., in the years 1873 and 1874, sent a committee to the Legislature for that purpose,-no appropriation was ever made, and the trustees became discouraged.
It was at this time that a feeling became manifest among a few of the members of the G. A. R., of appealing direct to the people for aid to build and establish a home for the disabled soldiers and sailors who were or might be debarred the privilege of entering the homes provided by the Na- tional Government.
With this object in view, E. C. Parkinson, of Brooklyn, procured subscriptions of one hundred dollars each from the following persons :
John B. Norris. | C. P. Dixon. Wm. C. Kingsley.
John F. Ilenry.
A. S. Barnes.
: J. S. T. Stranaban.
B. B. Hagerty.
Philip S. Crooke.
all citizens of Brooklyn,-the first having been obtained Jan. 4, 1875, and the others within a few days thereafter ; said subscriptions having been made upon the condition that at least ten thousand dollars should be pledged before payment thereof would be required.
At the annual encampment of the G. A. R., Depart- ment of New York, held at Rochester, Jan. 20 and 21, 1875, in accordance with a recommendation made by E. C. Parkinson, Department Inspector, in his annual report, a committee of fifteen comrades was appointed to consider the feasibility of establishing a Soldiers' Home, and to report at the next semi-annual encampment. the following persons having been appointed such committee :
John B. Murray. M. S. Ilieks.
Stewart L. Woodford. L. W. Fiske.
Ilenry W. Sloenm. E. J. Loomis.
Geo. Il. Sharpe. B. A. Willis.
Win. F. Rogers. E. L. Cole.
E. Jardine.
James E. Curtis.
E. C. Parkinson.
John Palmer.
T. J. Quin.
The report of said committee was that one hundred and eighty-eight acres of land, lying on Lake Keuka, would be donated by the citizens of Penn Yan and vicinity. No positive action was taken upon the report of the committee, and it was discharged. At the annual encampment of the Grand Army of the Republic, Department of New York, held at Albany, Jan. 25 and 26, 1876, the following per- sons were appointed a committee, with power to add six additional names, having full power to take such action as in their judgment might seem proper in regard to the es- tablishment of a Soldiers' Home, and to fill vacancies, etc.
Seymour Dexter.
E. C. Parkinson.
William F. Rogers. B. F. Finly.
Frank 11. Sheppard. Willard Bullard.
J. A. Lewis. L. W. Fiske.
E. L. Cole.
C. R. Becker.
J. II. Curtis.
M. F. Sheppard.
E. B. Gere.
R. L. Fox.
A. H. Nash.
On the day of their appointment the members of the committee met in Albany, and proceeded to effect an or- ganization. Mr. J. H. Curtis and C. R. Becker declining to serve, John Palmer and S. P. Corliss, of Albany, were appointed to fill the vacancies.
The following committee was appointed on organization and plan : Seymour Dexter, Willard Bullard, and R. L. Fox.
A committee on location was also appointed. The bill of incorporation was drafted by Hon. Seymour Dexter, of Elmira, presented in the Assembly by Hon. Eugene B. Gere, of Owego, and taken charge of in the Senate by Hon. L. Bradford Prince, of Queens County. The bill was duly passed and signed by the Governor, Samuel J. Tilden, on the 15th of May, 1876.
By the terms of the bill of incorporation the above com- mittee of fifteen, with six other gentlemen to be by them selected, together with the Governor and Comptroller of the State, and the Commander of the Grand Army of the Republic of the State of New York, formed the first Board of Trustees. A meeting for the selection of the six addi- tional trustees, and the or anization of the board, was held
93
HISTORY OF STEUBEN COUNTY, NEW YORK.
at the headquarters of the Grand Army of the Republic, Department of New York, 111 Broadway, New York, June 1, 1876. At said meeting John F. IIenry and Henry W. Sage, of Brooklyn ; Henry W. Bellows, of New York City ; Chas. G. Craft, of Albany ; Farley Holmes, of Penn Yan ; and Frederick Davis, Jr., of Watkins, were duly chosen as the additional trustees; and thereupon the board was duly organized by the election of E. C. Parkinson, President ; J. A. Lewis, Secretary ; and John F. Henry, Treasurer.
Committees were appointed on plan of organization and location. The committee on location were directed to give notice to all places in the State desiring to offer inducements for the site of the Home, to send to the committee their proposals by the tenth day of July following, and that the committee would meet in the city of Elmira on said day for the purpose of visiting the various localities from which proposals were received. Propositions were received from the citizens of Watkins, Penn Yan, Lake Kenka, and Bath. Several days were spent by the committee in carefully ex- amining all these locations, and the various advantages and inducements offered by each. After mature deliberation the committee reported to the board at a meeting held in the city of Elmira, June 14, in favor of Bath. On the report being made and much discussion arising, it was de- cided that the entire Board of Trustees should visit the sites offered by Bath, Lake Keuka, and Watkins, which was done forthwith ; and at an adjourned meeting held at Wat- kins, on June 15, the report of the committee was adopted.
The location offered by the citizens of Bath was a farm, situated about one mile west of the village of Bath, on the Conhocton River, known as the Rider farm, consisting of two hundred and twenty acres. In addition to said farm the citizens of Bath donated the sum of six thousand dol- lars in cash towards the erection of the buildings.
A meeting of the committee on plan and organization was held at Bath during the last week in September, 1876, at which time it was decided to invite architects to submit plans for the proposed Soldiers' Home buildings to an ad- journed meeting of the committee, to be held at Bath on the 16th of October following. It was determined that three buildings should be erected,-two buildings each about one hundred and twenty-five feet long by thirty wide, and a third building one hundred and twenty-five feet long and sixty wide,-all to be three stories in height, built of brick with suitable trimmings. In accordance with such decision of the committee, a circular was issued and sent to all ar- chitects who desired to compete in the presentation of plans at said adjourned meeting. Plans were submitted by the following-named architects: I. G. Perry, of Binghamton ; M. E. Beebe, of Buffalo; Jobn Y. Culyer, of Brooklyn ; L. J. O'Connor, of New York City ; - Craft, of Sara- toga Springs ; W. II. Hamilton, of Utica ; Warner & Cut- ler, of Rochester. None of the plans proving entirely satis- factory, further consideration of the same was postponed until October 26, at which time modified plans were sub- mitted by Messrs. Warner, Culyer, Beebe, and Perry. After full consideration of said plans, those submitted by Messrs. Warner & Cutler, of Rochester, were accepted, and Mr. Warner was duly employed as the architect for the erection of the buildings.
In November a stone quarry was opened upon the farm, from which sufficient stone for all the foundations, and all the cut stone excepting window-sills, were obtained and placed upon the ground ; the cutting of the stone continued during the winter. All the sand used in the construction of the buildings is obtained on the farm. About the middle of April, 1877, ground was broken for the buildings, much of the materials for the same having already been delivered.
The following gentlemen constituted the Board of Trus- tees for 1877 : the Governor of New York ; the Comp- troller of New York ; James Tanner, Commander G. A. R., Department of New York; E. C. Parkinson, Brooklyn, N. Y. ; J. A. Lewis, Brooklyn, N. Y .; John F. Henry, Brooklyn, N. Y .; Henry W. Sage, Brooklyn, N. Y .; E. W. Brueninghausen, New York ; Louis Schlam, New York ; Sinclair Tousey. New York ; John Palmer, Albany; E. L. Judson, Albany ; S. P. Corliss, Albany ; E. L. Cole, Troy ; R. L. Fox, Oneonta; F. H. Shepard, Utiea ; L. W. Fiske, Boonville; Seymour Dexter, Elmira; W. F. Rogers, Buf- falo ; M. F. Sheppard, Penn Yan ; Farley Holmes, Penn Yan ; A. H. Nash, Geneva ; William Rumsey, Bath ; Ira Davenport, Bath.
Officers of the Board .- E. C. Parkinson, President ; J. A. Lewis, Secretary ; William Rumsey, Counsel ; John F. Henry, Treasurer.
LAYING THE CORNER-STONE.
Wednesday, June 13, 1877, will be a memorable day in the annals of Bath, for on that day was laid the corner- stone of a building which will be not only a memento of the gratitude of the State to its heroes, but a proud monu- ment of the patriotie liberality of the citizens of this village. In the hearts of the soldiers of the Union, the citizens of Bath will always be held in warm affection.
At an early hour the streets were alive with visitors from the surrounding country. It was a gala day, and all Steu- ben County, and a goodly portion of the State, came to assist in the ceremonies. Flags and banners were sus- pended everywhere, and bands of music enlivened every one by playing popular melodies.
Shortly after two o'clock the procession formed in front of the Park, and at the signal marched by Liberty and Washington Streets in the following order :
Greisinger's Band. Custer Post, No. 81. Veterans, white and colored.
Capt. Linderman's Battery, Buffalo.
Pier's Band, Corning.
Delegates to Semi-Annual Encampment of G. A. R.
Carriages, containing department commander, presiding officer, orator of the day, the department staff, representatives of the press, soldiers of the war of 1812. President of the Board of Trustees, village authorities, and Trustees of the Itome, elergymen, and other invited guests.
Citizens generally.
The road was thronged with people on foot and in ear- riages. When near the Home grounds, the battery left the column and took position on the hill above the Home, whenee it fired salutes at intervals during the ceremony. The main building was beautifully decorated with flags, and was roofed over. On the northeast corner a platform was erected for the speakers and officials. Among the distin-
94
HISTORY OF STEUBEN COUNTY, NEW YORK.
guished personages on it, besides the speakers, were Gen. Ilenry W. Slocum, of Brooklyn, who commanded the left wing of Sherman's army on the march to the sea. Rev. Father Farrell, of St. Joseph's Church, and Mr. Grady, of New York City, Rev. Henry Hyland Garnett, and ex- Lieutenant-Governor John C. Robinson. Fully fifteen thousand people were on the ground. In the distance could be seen Frank Leslie's artist, with his big camera, photographing the scene.
E. C. Parkinson, President of the Board of Trustees, introduced Hon. Sherman S. Rogers, of Buffalo, who acted as presiding officer. Eloquent addresses were made by the chairman, by the Rev. Henry Ward Beecher, and Depart- ment Commander Tanner. Mr. Albert Clark, Superintend- ent of Construction at the time, spread the mortar, and the corner-stone was lowered into its place and formally laid by Comrade Tanner, amid the cheers of the erowd.
TRANSFERENCE TO TIIE STATE.
In pursuance of an act of the Legislature, passed March
a meeting held November 13, was appointed Superintendent of the Ilome.
DESCRIPTION OF THE IIOME.
The farm upon which the Home is located consists of two hundred and forty-one and one-half acres, and lies about a mile and a half northwest of the village of Bath. It is in the beautiful Conhoeton Valley, which at this point is about half a mile wide, and is shut in by hills which rise to a height of from six to eight hundred feet. The Conhoeton River runs through the easterly portion of the farm, drain- ing the land thoroughly, and with its swift current carrying away all the drainage and sewage from the buildings.
The soil is a rich alluvium, with clay and sandy loam. About ninety aeres of the farm lie in the valley, and the balance to the westward consists of high rolling land. It is all tillable with the exception of thirty acres of wood- land, situated in the northwest corner of the property.
There is an excellent quarry on the farm, from which all the stone used in the foundations was taken, and sufficient may be taken from it to build foundations for any building
NEW YORK STATE SOLDIERS' AND SAILORS' HOME, BATH, N. Y.
11, 1878, the IIome was transferred by deed to the State, and the following Board of Trustees appointed by the Governor, to hold office for one, two, and three years re- spectively, from the 15th of January, 1879 :
Board of Trustees .- The Governor, ex-officio ; the At- torney-General, ex-officio ; llenry W. Slocum, Brooklyn, N. Y. ; James McQuade, New York City ; Isaac F. Quinby, Rochester, N. Y .; William F. Rogers, Buffalo, N. Y .; Nirom M. Crane, Hornellsville, N. Y. ; Byron B. Taggart, Watertown, N. Y .; Ansel J. McCall, Bath, N. Y .; Jona- than Robie, Bath, N. Y. ; John F. Little, Bath, N. Y.
Officers of the Board .- Ilenry W. Slocum, President ; Isaac F. Quinby, Vice-President; Nirom M. Crane, Treas- urer ; John F. Little, Secretary.
Executive Committee .- William F. Rogers, James Mc- Quade, A. J. McCall, B. B. Taggart, Jonathan Robie.
E. C. Parkinson was appointed Superintendent of Con- struction June 7, 1878, to complete the buildings, and at
that may be required in future. This quarry is a valuable acquisition, as it has already saved, and will in future save, a large sumi in construction expenses.
The water-supply is practically unlimited. At several points on the land are springs of beautiful water, which even in the hottest summer weather is delightfully cool, pure, and palatable. The main spring, from which the buildings are supplied, is located on the land of C. Lang, adjoining the Home farm. The spring, and the right of way to it, were purchased from Mr. Lang. A stream sufficient to fill a three-inch pipe issues from the spring, and is conducted to a reservoir located on the Home farm, about one thousand feet from the spring and fifty feet below its level. This reservoir will hold three hundred thousand gallons of water, and is one hundred and thirty feet higher than the water- table of the buildings, thus furnishing a water-supply suffi- cient for all purposes, with sufficient " head" for use in case of fire, and to carry the water over the top of the buildings.
95
HISTORY OF STEUBEN COUNTY, NEW YORK.
The reservoir is about eighteen hundred feet from the Home, and the water is conducted thither by a six-inch iron main.
The buildings of the Home consist of one large main building, one hundred and twenty-five feet long by sixty feet wide, and two lateral buildings, each one hundred and twenty-five feet long by thirty feet wide. All the build- ings are three stories high, and are built of the best qual- ity Horseheads brick. The walls are double, consisting of two eight-inch walls, with a space of two inches between. Under each building is a thoroughly dry cellar, eight feet high. The barracks, or smaller buildings, are located one on each side of the main building, and distant sixty five feet therefrom. Their rear ends are situated opposite the centre of the main building, so that they project just half their length in front of it. A wide covered veranda runs com- pletely around each. The first floor of the main building is used as the dining-hall and kitchen. The ceiling is six- teen feet from the floor, and is supported by iron columns which stand on brick piers built in the cellar. In the dining-room will be placed twenty-two tables, at which five or six hundred soldiers will take rations. At the rear of the dining-room is the kitchen. Here are three enormous coffee-pots, of bright copper, which will hold abont one hundred and seventy-five gallons. Here also is a splendid cooking-range of the most approved style, twelve feet long, with three fires and three ovens, and all other improve- ments that could be imagined. There are also four enor- mous jacket-kettles for cooking meats and vegetables, soup- kettles holding two hundred and sixty-five gallons, and a water-tank. On the east side of the kitchen, as in all the other rooms, there is a hose-attachment, through which a stream of water can be thrown into an inch-hose in ease the kitchen should take fire. On the other side of the kitchen is a sink ten feet in length, where the dishes will be washed. The water from this sink will be drawn off into a tank outside, where the grease will be skimmed off for soap. The two upper floors of this building and all floors of the barracks are used for dormitories, each having rooms at the front for the officers in charge, and rooms in the rear for wash-rooms and water-closets.
There is no useless ornamentation on the buildings. They are plain and neat, there being no sacrifice of the space or material for mere purposes of adornment. The windows have stone lintels and cap-pieces. In the centre of the lateral buildings three windows on each floor are grouped, the lintels and cap-pieces being of white stone. An arched piece of ornamented work, consisting of gray and blue stone set into the brick-work in concentric semicircles, springs from the side of the top group, and the whole is sur- mounted by a peaked wing of the roof, producing a pleas- ing effect without elaborate ornamentation. The present barracks accommodations are estimated to be sufficient for five hundred men, and with this number in the dormitories, the air space for each man will be six hundred cubic feet. In the rear of the main building is an addition, one story high, in which are the bakery and ovens.
Fifty feet in rear of the main building is a one-story brick building, which contains the laundry, the bath-rooms, engine-room, and boiler-room. From this latter point the main sewer starts. It is a twelve-inch vitrified pipe, into
which all the pipes from the dormitories, bath-rooms, water- closets, ete., lead. The flow of water is so strong that the sewage is instantly swept away, and is carried by this main pipe to the Conhocton River, into which it empties at a dis- tance of twelve hundred feet below the buildings. There is thus no danger of malarial diseases from sewer-gas, and the perfect sewage and drainage make the location of the home all that can be desired for salubrity. Adjoining the boiler-room is a brick shaft nine feet square at the base and eighty-six feet high. Into this runs the main foul-air duct from under the centre of the main building. All the foul- air ducts run into this main one, and the noxious vapors are drawn into the high shaft by a powerful upward current of air. This current is caused by the heated iron smoke-stack from the boilers running up through the centre of the shaft, and also by a coil of two hundred feet of steam-pipe at the top of the shaft. The powerful draft thus created sends the foul air far above the buildings, where it is speedily dissipated and rendered innoxious.
The buildings are heated by steam-radiators, direct and indirect, the pure air coming in from the outside of the building through ducts and carried to the building over stack-radiators, thus heating the pure air on its passage to the rooms, which it enters by the usual style of " regis- ter." Two low-pressure boilers supply the steam for heat- ing purposes. The cooking is also done by steam, which is supplied from a fifteen horse-power boiler. Attached to this is a ten horse-power engine, which is used to do the laundry work. The steam-heating apparatus was put in by E. H. Cook & Co., of Elmira.
The buildings are lighted with gas, which is manufac- tured from erude petroleum in a building seventy-five feet in rear of the boiler-room. The light is clear, white, and brilliant, fully equal to the best of coal gas and decidedly superior to the average.
On the farm there is one good dwelling-house, the old home- stead, several tenement-houses, and several barns, which can be used for the storage of grain, etc., raised on the ground.
THE OFFICERS AT THE HOME
are E. C. Parkinson, Superintendent ; Daniel O'Driscoll, Post-Adjutant ; and A. II. Nash, Secretary.
These gentlemen are veterans of the war, well qualified by experience in camp and field to take charge of such an institution, and the excellent order that prevails shows that they do their duty faithfully and intelligently. The work of organizing an institution like this is peculiarly arduous, and requires an amount of forethought and executive ability that few ean appreciate .*
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