USA > New York > Warren County > History of Warren County [N.Y.] with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers > Part 59
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Mr. Noble and Mr. Babcock severed their connection with the church in June, 1857, and nearly a year elapsed before the parish was regularly supplied. Mr. Kenney and other clergymen, however, supplied the pulpit occasionally. In May, 1858, the Rev. Henry H. Bates, of the diocese of Connecticut, re- sponded to a call and remained with the church for three years, during which time the debt was cleared from the church, and progress made in the building of the new church edifice. June 7th, 1859, the Rev. James Kenney was called by the vestry as assistant minister of the parish, without salary save such as was derived from the missionary fund. He added to his income by services in the school already referred to.
During Mr. Bates's ministry the parish was associated with the missionary station of St. James's Church, Caldwell, where he was also assisted by Mr. Kenney.
In 1860 the chapel was repaired, and but little progress was made in the new church building. In 1861 the church at Caldwell associated itself with the church at Warrensburgh, severing the relations with this parish. In 1861 Mr. Bates accepted the position as chaplain of the Twenty-second Regiment N. Y. Volunteers. During the ensuing fall the Rev. Mr. Van Antwerp, who was a candidate, officiated. Mr. Bates tendered his resignation which was considered by a special meeting in June, 1861. Resolutions of regard were adopted, but the resignation was not accepted. Mr. Bates, feeling that the vestry might be hampered by the relations continuing between them while he was in the field, again offered his resignation, which was accepted in June, 1862, and in July the Rev. Edwin E. Butler was called to the vacancy. He responded, and remained until 1871, when he retired from the rectorship of the parish. During the occasional absences of Mr. Butler during his ministry the Rev. J. A. Russell, a presbyter of the church, who was at the time princi- pal of the Glens Falls Academy, officiated, also assisting at times in the ser- vices. For two years after Mr. Butler's retirement the church was without a pastor, occasional services being held by visiting and neighboring clergymen.
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HISTORY OF WARREN COUNTY.
During the ministry of Mr. Butler the church, which had been slowly building since 1854, was finished, and the first service in the new edifice was the marriage of Mr. James W. Schenck, one of the building committee and vestry. The church was formally consecrated in June, 1866, by the Rt. Rev. Horatio Potter, Bishop of the Diocese, assisted by a large number of visiting and neighboring clergy.
" In 1867, a committee was appointed at the diocesan convention, which reported in favor of a division of the diocese. The following year the prelimi- nary steps were taken, and the act of separation finally consummated, by which the Diocese of Albany was erected. It is greatly hoped that this act will work salutary results for the smaller and feebler parishes.
" On the 29th of May, 1869, the Hon. Stephen Brown, in behalf of the executors of the estate of John J. Harris, deceased, offered the vestry a deed of gift of a fine stone chapel, situated near his late residence at Harrisena, in the north part of Queensbury. This structure was built up in a great degree of the beautiful Ottawa limestone, imported by the founder, specially for the purpose, from Canada. Its erection and completion was one of the last acts of the testator's life; his funeral the first service held within its walls (Sun- day, March 14th, 1869). On the 3d of July following the gift was formally accepted by a vote of the vestry. Six days later the building was consecrated by the Bishop of the Diocese, several of the neighboring clergymen being present and assisting in the ceremonial. Since that date up to the Ist of July, 1871, services have been held regularly during the summer months on every alternate Sunday afternoon, in this little chapel, by the rector in charge of the church at Glens Falls.
"On the 17th of July, 1869, the vestry passed a vote relinquishing the missionary stipend, of which this parish had been nearly a constant beneficiary from the beginning ; and in addition to which, large appropriations have been received from time to time from the Parochial Aid Society, and the Northern Convocation, for the maintenance of the services.
"Thus for the first time, during all these years, and without any apprecia- ble increase in the wealth, resources or membership, the church became self- supporting ; and though still feeble and weak, yet with a substantial if not at- tractive church edifice, and no debt to hamper or impair its energies, it is to be hoped that its day of grace and prosperity is not far removed." I
The vestry had been looking in this interval for a suitable minister for the church, and finally extended a call to the Rev. Russell A. Olin, of Manlius, N. Y., who accepted, and in the summer of 1873 established himself at Glens Falls. At the first confirmation after his ministry began, March, 1874, twenty- seven were confirmed.
In 1881 the Rev. F. M. Cookson assumed charge of the church and is the present minister.
1 HOLDEN'S History of Queensbury.
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PATENT AND TOWN OF QUEENSBURY.
In 1879-80 the church building was improved at an expense of $2,000 The chapel at Harrisena is in charge of the Church of the Messiah. The pres- ent officers (1885) are : Senior warden, William A. Wait; junior warden, L. S. McDonald ; vestrymen, Dr. A. W. Holden, Henry Crandell, L. P. Juvet, Will iam H. Robbins, George H. Barringer, Isaac C. Burwell, R. F Haviland, and John L. Dix. The rector is superintendent of the Sunday-school.
St. Alphonsus's Catholic Church (French). - The first French families which settled at Glens Falls came nearly half a century ago. The Poissons (Fish), Jettes (Stay) and Montees were of the number. They were the grand-parents of the heads of the families now bearing the same name in the village.
For a number of years there was no French pastor residing among them, but they were visited periodically by clergymen from Troy or Albany, who held services in private houses. It was only in the year 1853 that a frame church was built on the corner of West and Pine streets, under the care of Rev. Father Turcotte, residing in Troy.
The congregation, having increased sufficiently, applied to the Bishop of Albany for a resident pastor and Father Des Roches was sent in July, 1855. He was succeeded in 1866 by Father J. C. Theberge, who attended the con- gregation until April, 1870, when ill health obliged him to resign tempo- rarily.
Rev. A. Payette, of Whitehall, held services twice a month until the mid- dle of July, when Rev. Charles Bousquet, who was an invalid, took charge of the church until Father Theberge could return to his post, which he did in Oc- tober, 1871. But death had marked him for his own and he died a few weeks later, and Rev. F X. Langie was sent to attend to the wants of the congrega- tion until February, 1872, at which time Rev. G. Huberdault was sent as per- manent pastor.
During the preceding year the church had been enlarged and finished, and in 1873 a gallery was added, giving four hundred and sixty-five sittings. A large brick school-house was built next to the church, where the parish chil- dren can get a Catholic education.
In 1875 Rev. Huberdault being called to the Troy church, Father L. N. St. Onge was appointed to the pastorate and is yet in charge. The congrega- tion has increased and numbered 1,497 persons on January Ist, 1885.
The parish possesses considerable property. They own besides the church property, the pastor's residence, the brick school, three stories high, a two story frame building for meetings of societies, and a story and a half brick ten- ement house on a lot adjoining the church grounds, and finally, a large ceme- tery outside the village, occupying about twelve acres of land. The whole of this property is free from debt; the last mortgage having been paid last year.
The members of the church have decided to build a new church edifice on the site occupied by the old church. The new church will be built of brick
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HISTORY OF WARREN COUNTY.
and will be rnade large enough for the present wants of the congregation and for many years in the future.
The present pastor, Rev. L. N. St. Onge, is of French descent, born in Canada near Montreal. His ancestors came to America in 1699 from France. They were known under the name of Payen de Saintonge, but like most all French Canadians, they have abbreviated the name to St. Onge.
He was educated in St. Hyacinthe, where he graduated in 1862 at twenty years of age (being born in 1842). Having requested his bishop to send him on to an Indian Mission, he left for Oregon in 1864 and was stationed among the Indians as soon as he was ordained. During the first years of his mission- ary life he had occasion to preach to the Indian tribes of Washington Terri- tory, the Rocky Mountains, Montana, and Idaho Territory.
He perfected himself in the knowledge of two of the principal Indian lan- guages and learned besides several dialects. He published a guide for the missionaries in Chinook, and a catechism and spelling book in Yakama for the use of the Indian children.
After being in the mission for nearly ten years, exposure and the privations which always attend the life of a missionary who lives actually in. the lodge with the Indians, broke down his health and he was sent east for treatment.
As he never recovered enough to resume the hard life of a missionary, he accepted a call to the Glens Falls French Church, after having spent a year and a half in a Montreal hospital.
His brother, the Rev. J. B. St. Onge, assists him in the parochial work and has been with him since 1880.
The Roman Catholic Church in Glens Falls. - In the year 1848 the Rev. M. Olivette, who at that time resided at Whitehall, purchased a small stone building, which had been used as a Methodist Church, for the sum of $800. It was dedicated and opened for worship the same year. Before that time there were a few Catholics living in Glens Falls whose spiritual wants were ministered to by the pastor residing in Sandy Hill. The names of these pas- tors were Fathers Guerdet, Coyle, Doyle, and Kelly, each of whom in succes- sion was placed in charge of that village and of an extensive surrounding district. The first resident pastor in Glens Falls was the Rev. John Murphy, whose ministerial duties were performed from the year 1848 until 1865. His successor was the Rev. James McDermott, who is still the pastor.
On the 28th of August, 1867, the corner stone of a new church, located on Warren street, was laid; the edifice was completed and dedicated 19th Janu- ary, 1869. The church is in the Gothic style of architecture ; its length is one hundred and fifty-two feet, width sixty-four feet. It is surmounted by a spire whose height from the base is two hundred feet. The interior of the building is richly decorated in fresco ; many of the scenes in the life our Redeemer being represented in life-sized figures. There are three beautiful altars, a high altar
507
TOWN OF LUZERNE.
and two side altars, all exquisitely carved and gilt. It contains a large organ and bell, the latter weighing 4,500 pounds. After the completion of the church the present pastor has also erected magnificent schools capable of ac- commodating 1,000 children, with an actual attendance of 700; and a convent in which there are nine Sisters of St. Joseph having charge of the schools. There is also a beautiful pastoral residence adjoining the church, recently com- pleted. At a short distance from the town a cemetery containing twenty-four acres is located. The aggregate cost of the church property is $200,000.
CHAPTER XXVI.
HISTORY OF THE TOWN OF LUZERNE.
T' HE township of Luzerne lies in the southern extremity of the county, west of Queensbury and Caldwell. Its western and southern boundary is formed by the Hudson River, which separates it from Saratoga county. The town of Warrensburgh bounds it on the north. The surface is extremely mountainous, two branches of the Luzerne Mountains extending through the town and occupying respectively the northern and southern portions. These branches are separated by the valley which lies to the southwest from the south- ern end of Lake George, which is filled with a chain of small lakes. Two small streams, rising among these lakes, find their way, the one to Lake George and the other to the Hudson River. It is stated that about one-half of the surface bordering upon the river is broken by high hills, but is susceptible, nevertheless, of cultivation. The highest and most conspicuous mountain peak in the town is Potash Kettle, in the northern part, which lifts its symmetrical proportions to an elevation of about 1,735 feet above tide, and from the summit of which can be obtained broken glimpses of the beautiful Valley of the Hudson. The soil in some parts is pure sand, and in others is relieved by a slight intermix- ture of loam. Some of the farms are quite productive.
" History has been enriched somewhat by leaves from Luzerne. It was on the regular Indian trail from the great villages of the Mohawks to the head of Lake George. Here King Hendrick and his braves encamped when on their way to join Johnson at the lake in 1775, and it was also the route taken by Sir John Johnson when he came from Canada for his buried treasures at John- son Hall. " I
The town was taken from Qeeensbury on the 10th of April, 1792, and until April 6, 1808, was known as Fairfield. On the 30th of March, 1802, a strip
1 S. R. STODDARD'S The Adirondacks, p. 180.
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HISTORY OF WARREN COUNTY.
of territory one mile wide was set off to Queensbury. The town records have no minutes of the proceedings which were had in the year 1792, nor of the officers which served during that year. The minutes for 1793 are, however, complete, and as the first officers were probably nearly identical with those for 1793, a list of the latter will be of interest. They are as follows : (Elected at an annual town meeting held on April 2d, 1793.) Sepervisor, Jeremiah Rus- sell ; town clerk, Benjamin Cowles; assessors, John Price, Gersham Darling, Daniel Ashley ; constable and collector, Thomas Horton (with Jeremiah Rus- sell and John Price as bondsmen) ; constable, James Kilborn ; overseers of the poor, Gersham Darling and Daniel Ashley; commissioners of highways, Hen- drick Loop, John Price and Benjamin Cowles; poundmaster, Daniel Mills ; pathmasters, John Austin, Asa Durham, Philo Dexter, Thomas Holdridge, and Jeremiah Darling ; fence viewers, John Austin and Asa Durham.
The records of this and subsequent meetings for a number of years are. quaint and instructive. Quaint in the manner of expression, penmanship and orthography ; and instructive in that they reveal the difficulties with which these daring pioneers had to contend, the novelty of adjusting themselves to. their new surroundings, and the courage and perseverance which they exhib- ited in removing or surmounting all the obstacles which lay in their path. In the record of the meeting at which the above named officers were elected, ap- pear minutes from which the following is an extract : -
" Vote Past by this Meting that Hogs may Run on the common with law- ful yokes.
It was further resolved that a lawful fence must be four feet and six inches high ; that there should be a pound built for this town thirty feet "squire " and seven feet high ; that this pound should be built "at the lowest bid," whereupon it was found that Russell Durham was the lowest bidder, at thirty- eight shillings. He was to build the pound of white-pine logs, and to have it finished before the first of June, 1794. The account closed with the following words : " The above Writen Town officers were this day Qualified before Jere- miah Russell, Esqr."
At the annual town meeting held in the spring of 1794 it was, among other things, resolved : -
" Vote past that Hogs may run from the first of may to the first of Sep- tember, with yokes the width of the neck above the neck, and half the width be- low and each side of the neck."
It seems that the pound which Russell Durham built was not constructed according to specifications : "The report of the committee that was chosen to. inspect the pound, viz : That the Pound was not built according to agreement and that Russell Durham should return the money again to the town or build a good, sufficient Pound."-Town Records of 1795. Which of the alternatives Russell Durham complied with, if either, does not appear.
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509
TOWN OF LUZERNE.
By reason, probably of the very early settlement of Glens Falls, it is found that even at this early date a number of rude mountain roads radiated from that place to Lake George and different parts of the Hudson, one coming to Luzerne or Fairfield. The following item is from the records of 1795 : "By a Request of the Inhabitants of the Town of Fairfield by a Petition sined By twelve Freeholders Dated April 29, 1793, We, the Commitioners of High- ways of the Town of Fairfield, Have Viewed the Road at the Eastward of this Town to Queensborough. We find that is exceeding Difficult passing From the top of the East Mountain to Queensborough Line. We therefore think it Necessary to turn the Road from the first Pitch on the East side of the Mountain and Running a North East Cours to the first water and thence Run- ning a Due East Course By Glans saw mill to Queensbury Line. Said road Laid By us.
" JOHN PRICE. " BENJAMIN COWLES."
During this and the following years seven roads were laid and four were altered.
In these early times nearly every house in remote and pioneer settlements aspired to the dignity of a tavern, where the wayfaring stranger might receive lodging and food and a nameless quantity of the beverage that cheers as well as intoxicates. It would be hard, therefore, to designate this or that house as being peculiarly fitted for the purposes of an inn until a few years later, when travelers became too numerous to be conveniently accommodated at private houses. This early custom might, even without the aid of ulterior evidence, be inferred from some of the records of the period, in which it seems that nearly every inhabitant of the town must have applied for an innkeeper's license. In 1797, in this town, though the names are not numerous, it is more than likely that the applicants were not the owners of establishments which could be classed in the same category with Rockwell's Hotel, The Wayside, or the Rid- dell House. Benjamin Cross paid six shillings and eight pence (English money) for permission to retail spirituous liquors in his house during the months of January and February, 1797, and for the same privilege for the ensuing year he paid two pounds. Richard Hempstraught paid the first named sum for the same privilege for the months of January and February, 1797. On June 5th, 1797, Medad Bostwick paid for the privilege for one year one pound and ten shillings.
In 1801 there were nine road districts in town and two new roads were laid. The work of laying out and altering roads was in constant progress from year to year. In 1802 two were laid out.
The courts were more strict then than now, perhaps because by reason of the sparseness of population and the near approach to unanimity of sentiment among the inhabitants, the laws were more easily enforced. Witness the fol- lowing records of convictions and methods of punishment :-
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HISTORY OF WARREN COUNTY.
" Washington county,1 Be it Remembered that on the Seventeenth Day of November, In the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundred and two, Noah Hatch was convicted Before me, Mark A. Childs, one of the Justices of the Peace of said County, For Taking one profane oath. Given under my hand and seal the Day and year above said. MARK A. CHILDS, J. Peace."
A conviction is likewise recorded against Samuel Washburn and his wife Hannah, of Hadley, Saratoga county, for frequenting a tippling house on Sun- day, December 6th, 1802, at the house of Richard Hempstraught in Fairfield. A few years later at the annual town meeting held in April, 1810, it was. " Voted, That there should be a pair of stocks built in the town of Luzerne, not far from William Johnson's now dwelling house, in order to punish disor- derly persons, and to be erected by the poormasters, and on the expense of the money of the said Town."
Down to a comparatively recent date the mountains and woods of the vi- cinity were infested by sheep-killing beasts, such as wolves, wild cats, and even panthers. Premiums or bounties were annually offered to persons who should succeed in killing any of these troublesome brutes, and were continued down to nearly the middle of the present century.
The method of caring for the poor was greatly different from that at pres- ent in vogue. The poor were not a county, but a town charge. Money was appropriated from the funds voted for the support of the poor to remunerate persons who had cared for, or should care for one or more paupers for a stated length of time. This was continued until 1826, when the county-house was erected and the system became what it is to-day.
Of the original settlers here before 1800, their places of residence and their occupations, it is impossible to say anything. The records reveal nothing but their names, and the memory of living man does not extend to a period so re- mote in the past. But it is certain the division of labor was not very marked in those days. Many of the pioneers were at once inn-keepers, blacksmiths, farmers, and merchants. The names of the settlers as they appear on the records may, however, be of some interest. Some of them have already appeared. Among them are: Jeremiah Russell, Benjamin Cowles, Ebenezer Sprague, Benjamin Cross, George Loveless, Aaron Vandebogart, Gilbert Caswell, Peter Mallory, Elijah Buttolph, Silas Dibble, John Cleveland, Henry Schaff, Eliph- alet Lindsley, Isaac Washburn, Medad Bostwick, John Vanduser, Joel Read, James Mosher, Thomas Orton, Jabesh Gray, Abijah Adams, Daniel Ransom, Joseph Stone, Grant Towsey, Jonathan Beebe, John Ferguson, Elijah Brace, and Hezekiah Weatherby.
" Among its early settlers was Edward Jessup, after whom the landing be- low was named, and odd old Ben Barrett, who was noted for his practical jokes, and to this day, in that region, if a 'joke' comes to light whose paternity is
I It will be remembered that Warren county was not organized until 1813.
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TOWN OF LUZERNE.
unknown, it is at once ascribed to old Ben. He once rode a horse into Rock- well's bar-room, took a drink, then rode out again. At another time he saw a peddler with a basket of extracts, and at once offered to bet a small sum that he could beat him across the bridge, carrying his basket at the time. The bet was taken, they started, and Ben fell, breaking many of the bottles, then sol- emnly admitting that he had lost, paid the bet, and left the brilliant peddler calculating how much he had made by the operation.
"Mr. Rockwell gives some very interesting reminiscences of earlier times. When a boy he saw an old soldier who, in 1777, with others, was captured by the Indians near Lake George, stripped of their clothing, their hands tied to stakes, and fires built around them, while the savages gathered near to enjoy the sport. He soon managed to slip his hands out of the thongs that bound them, sprang through the flames, seized a little boy who appeared to be the son of a chief, and before the astonished natives could help themselves, sprang back within the circle of flames once more. A rush was made to save the child, and in the confusion the white man, dashing through the lines, made for the woods, with the yelling pack at his heels. Being a good runner, he kept away from them, going through the valley, where the road now runs towards Lake George, past the lake, past Rockwell's, and down the steep bank back of the Wilcox House to a place just below the falls, where he jumped on a rock near the cen- ter of the river, thence to the opposite side, and climbing up the rocks, gained the cover of the bushes on top as the yelling savages appeared on the other side. They then gave up the chase, and he succeeded in reaching his friends in safety."I
One of the oldest and most prominent of the men still living who can give valuable and interesting reminiscences of the early part of this century is the venerable George T. Rockwell, known more familiarly among his hosts of guests as " Uncle George." He was born in the town of Hadley, Saratoga county, on the 9th day of March, 1807. His father, Jeremy Rockwell, was a prominent business man in Hadley, just across the river from Luzerne, and hence our present interlocutor's early experiences were connected almost as in- timately with Luzerne as with Hadley. His memory of persons and events as far back as 1815 is quite clear. Of the residents of Luzerne at about that time he gives the following information: William Leavens, some of whose descendants are now living at. Glens Falls, was a prominent man here, and a farmer. He lived on the River road about two and a half miles from the vil- lage. Joel Orton kept tavern about the same distance away on the road to- ward Glens Falls, in the same building now occupied by Mr. Blackwood. John Cameron, a Methodist preacher, resided six miles north of the village of Lu- zerne on the Hudson. He was an intimate friend of the Rockwell family. Nathan A. Wells, a lumberman, dwelt in the building now occupied by Peter
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