History of Westchester county : New York, including Morrisania, Kings Bridge, and West Farms, which have been annexed to New York City, Vol. II, Part 80

Author: Scharf, J. Thomas (John Thomas), 1843-1898,
Publication date: 1886
Publisher: Philadelphia : L.E. Preston & Co.
Number of Pages: 1286

USA > New York > Westchester County > History of Westchester county : New York, including Morrisania, Kings Bridge, and West Farms, which have been annexed to New York City, Vol. II > Part 80

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A eurions provision, or blue-law, was contained in the fifth seetion of the charter, which read as follows: " And be it further enacted, That it shall and may be lawful for the trustees of said village of Sing Sing, or the major part of them and their successors, at any time after the first Tuesday in May next, to make, ordain, constitute and publish a by-law prohibiting any baker or other person within the aforesaid limits from selling any bread at any higher price or rate than bread of like quality at the time of such sale shall be assessed in and for the city of New York by the corporation of said eity, under the penalty of one dollar for every offence, to be recovered by the said trustees before any justice of the peace in the said village or the county of Westchester in an action of debt, with costs of the suit for the use of said corpo- ration."

This enactment was directed against the rapacity of bakers, who were likely to take advantage of the high price of breadstuff's, which resulted from the war with England.

The charter and ordinances by which the village is governed were printed at Sing Sing in the year 1872. The pamphlet is amoctavo of fifty-eight pages (twen- ty-two pages of charter and thirty-six of ordinances). There are some very grave defects in these docu- ments. The most important relates to the public health. By the present charter the trustees have no power to order or enforce the construction of a sewer in any part of the corporation, unless the sante is requested by a petition of one half of the property holders along the line of the proposed improvement. Hence any unwillingness on the part of the tax-pay- ers of a street or avenue may interfere with or com- pletely block any attempt to make an improvement, however necessary the same should be to the public welfare in the way of salubrity.

The establishment of an efficient Board of Health is also rendered impossible by the present weak and miserable charter. The theory of making a Board of Health of the president and trustees of the village is

"HIGHLAND COTTAGE."

RESIDENCE OF ANDREW DICKEY. SING SING, N. Y.

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a sorry farce, and has always resulted in inefficieney and absolute neglect of all sanitary authority and action. This ideal Board of Health has always ignored the town Board of Health, and thins deprived the vil- lagers of any benefit that would otherwise have been bestowed by this organization. A further discussion of this subject is not admissible in this place.

The village records were destroyed by fire in 1871, and hence it is not possible to mention any of the early officers. The following is a list of the presi- dents of the village since 1837; James W. Robinson, 1838; Aaron Ward, 1839; Dr. Adrian K. Hoffman, 1840, 1842, 1852, 1857, 1858, 1861; Robert K. Foster, 1841; Dr. Benjamin Brandreth, 1843, 1845, 1846; George Sherwood, 1847; Samuel Taylor, 1848; John Russell, 1851; Guardiner Van Wyck, 1854; William O. Mills, 1855; Dr. George J. Fisher, 1856; Warren J. Wixson, 1859; Francis Larkin, 1860; Abram Kipp, 1862, 1863, 1864; Azariah Carpenter, 1865; James McCord, 1866; Stephen G. Howe, 1867, 1881; Isaac B. Noxon, 1868, 1869, 1870, 1871, 1872; George W. Cartwright, 1873, 1876, 1877; Robert M. Law- rence, 1874, 1884; B. Gedney Tompkins, 1875; Henry C. Symonds, 1878, 1879, 1883; Thomas Leary, 1880, 1882; E. G. Blakslee, 1885.

THE POLICE FORCE OF THE VILLAGE OF SING SING is composed of a chief, with a salary of five hundred dollars; an assistant, whose salary is one hundred dollars ; and nine policemen, each having a salary of fifty dollars per annum.

THE FIRE DEPARTMENT OF SING SING was first organized May 4, 1812. It is said the primary mo- tive in this early organization was to make a loop- hole through which to escape enlistment into the army, then being recruited for service in the War of Independence. Firemen were exempt from military duty. The original members of the first company were as follows: Samuel C. Mott, Solomon Under- hill, Edward Kemeys, Jeremiah D. Fowler, Richard Austin, Gardner Ackerly, Samuel Trobridge, Robert K. Foster, John Clapp, Andrew Graham, Moses Stan- ton, David Delaney, Edward Priestly, Samuel Rhodes and Thomas Agate.

The certificates were written on slips of paper after the following formula :

" These are to certify that (name of member) is, pursuant to law, nominated and appointed one of the firemen of the Village of Sing Sing, May 4th, 1812. " EDWARD KEMEYS, Clerk."

The company purchased a hand-engine in New York City, which had been used by the firemen there, and was known as No. 11. She is said to have been stationed near the Washington Market. The engine- box was ornamented with a picture of General Wash- ington crossing the Delaware, and it was most prob- ably from this fact that the company took to itself the title of Washington Fire Engine Company, No. 1. The engine was housed in a little frame shanty that

stood a very short distance northeast of where the soldiers' monument stands at present, and which was afterwards removed to make way for Main Street.

A second hand-engine was purchased subsequent to 1825, which was called the Hudson, No. 2, and was stationed on the middle doek. A third engine was purchased some time about the year 1836, and sta- tioned in Spring Street, in the northeast corner of the lot of the Mount Pleasant Academy, to operate which Protection Company, No. 3, was formed.

The last-mentioned two engines were of a kind cal- culated to give the firemen plenty of exercise, as the water had to be lifted into their tanks in buckets, Washington Engine, No. 1, was provided with suction apparatus. All three were of the kind known as " goose necks," the attachment for the hose on the engine being of that shape, and capable of being turned in any direction.

As the village of Sing Sing increased in size the publie sentiment with regard to fire matters become so exacting that goose-neck engines failed to satisfy it. Accordingly, in the year 1856 the sum of two thousand dollars was raised by subscriptions of the citizens for the purpose of purchasing a new hand- engine and a hose-carriage. A company of thirty members was formed on the 8th of September, 1856, to operate the latter, and took the name of the Ossining Hose Company. George W. Crofut was chosen foremen, David O. Miller assistant foreman, Powles D. Palmer seeretary and Townsend Young treasurer. On Monday, December 15, 1856, a few days after a disastrous fire, which consumed the office of the Westchester Herald and several other buildings on Main Street, the new fire apparatus arrived. The hand-engine was turned over to the W. shington En- gine Company, No. 1, and the Ossining Hose Com- pany took possession of the hose-carriage. Both were stored in a room in the old Eagle Hotel, which was located at the intersection of Main Street and the Post Road, overlooking Pleasant Square.

Hudson Company, No. 2, had by this time gone out of existence, leaving no trace behind. Some years previous to the purchase of the Washington Com- pany's new engine an engine company, composed of Dr. Benjamin Brandreth, William Codington and a number of the more wealthy citizens of the place had been formed, but it soon passed ont of existence. Officially the company was known as No. 4, but their common designation was "The Silk Stockings," from the belief that they had organized chiefly to secure the exemption from various public duties which were granted to firemen. The "Silk Stockings' " engine- house was located on Spring Street, almost opposite the Methodist Church, and adjoining the grounds of the Mount Pleasant Academy.

In January, 1857, the citizens of Sing Sing sent a petition to the Legislature, setting forth that much property had been saved to the State by the attendance of the Sing Sing firemen at the numerous fires at the

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prison, and that one fire-engine and apparatus had been nearly worn out in that service. They there- fore requested that the State should purchase for the village a first-class fire-engine and other apparatus to be used in combating fires both in the village and at the prison. An appropriation of two thousand dol- lars was passed by the Legislature in answer to this petition, and with that smu a hand-engine, a hook- and-ladder truck and a large quantity of hose were purchased. The hand-engine was turned over to Protection Company, No. 3, of which James C. Smith was at that time foreman and Charles Raymond as- sistant foreman.

The Senate Hook-and-Ladder Company, No. 1, was organized May 21, 1857, with twelve members, and with George R. Birge as foreman, Richard Laisk, as- sistant foreman ; Andrew Finegan, secretary ; and Sammel S. Smith, treasurer. The newly-formed com- pany adopted the name "Senate" in honor of the State Fathers, to whose liberal appropriation they owed their existence. The new engine and hook- and-ladder truck arrived from New York in Sing Sing on the 20th of September, 1857, and were re- ceived with a great procession, in which all the Sing Sing companies participated, as well as companies from White Plains and Yonkers.

The Protection Hose Company was organized in the same year, with Gilbert E. Babeock as foreman. An appropriation from the State was received by them at a later period, with which they paid for their present hose-carriage.

A neat and commodious frame building was erected on Waller Avenne for the accommodation of the new companies, and is occupied by them at present.

The original hand-engine, after being relinquished by Washington Engine Company, No. 1, was painted a brilliant red and denominated the " Red Rover." A company of Strangtown boys was formed to take charge of the veteran, which was styled Red Rover Company, No. 2, and had their headquarters on Mott Street. Shortly after the new engine of Washington Company, No. I, arrived, a public trial of the capa- bilities of the two engines was given, in which it was thought the Red Rover showed herself superior to her more modern competitor.

During the War of the Rebellion the Washington Engine Company fell into a state of disorganization, owing to the departure of many of its members to the scene of conflict, and Red Rover Company surren- dered their old engine and were installed by the trus- tees as successors of the Washington Engine Com- pany, under the title of the latter. This company, about the year 1873, were disbanded by the trustees, owing to their disorderly actions. A new company, also composed of Strangtown parties, was formed in 1874, who removed the engine and hose-carriage from the place they had so long occupied in Pleasant Square to North Sing Sing, where, in 1875, they took possession of their present brick house on North Mal-

colm Street, which had been erected for them at a cost of about three thousand dollars.

The Silsby Manufacturing Company exhibited one of their rotary steam fire-engines to the populace of Sing Sing in the early part of 1876, but without turning the hearts of the village fathers to purchase it. While the question of its purchase was being held under consideration a fire broke out on Main Street, which was assuming threatening proportions, when the Silsby Company's engine was brought out and made to play upon the fire. The flames were quickly subdued. This event carried the day in favor of the purchase of the engine. A company of sixty mem- bers was formed to take charge of it, in June, 1876, with Isaac B. Noxon as foreman ; S. M. Sherwood, first assistant foreman ; J. H. Couch, second assistant fore- man; George Lockwood, secretary : A. Kipp, Jr., engineer; and W. Il. Dooley, fireman. This com- pany became known by the name of Sing Sing Steamer Company, No. 1, and is at present stationed on Main Street, in a fine brick building, well adapted for the purpose.

The Fire Department was incorporated by an act of the Legislature, passed in April, 1883, the object being to accumulate a fund for the relief of indigent firemen of the department, disabled while actually doing duty as firemen, and their families, and to purchase a firemen's burial-lot. The chief engineer and assistant engineers of the department are er- officio trustees of this corporation, and annually each company elects one trustee for a term of two years.

A Fire Patrol was formed in May, 1884, to save and protect goods in burning dwellings. They are to receive from foreign insurance companies, for their services, two per cent. of the amounts obtained by them from the premiums on insurances placed in Sing Sing. The amount realized is to go to make up a fund for the relief of needy firemen.

The report of the chief engineer of the Fire De- partment of Sing Sing, made May 1, 1884, states that the department consists of seven companies,- namely, 1st, Sing Sing Steamer Company, with thirty-five men. 2d, Protection Engine Company, No. 3, with forty-four men. 3d, Washington Com- pany, No. 1, with twenty-five men. 4th, Senate Hook-and-Ladder Company, with thirty-four men. 5th, Ossining Hose Company, with twenty-eight men. 6th, Protection Hose Company, with twenty-eight men. 7th, Sing Sing Fire Patrol, with eighteen men. Total, two hundred and twelve members.

In 1860 Daniel D. Mangam purchased a residence on Highland Avenue, Sing Sing, and since that time he has been prominently connected with the publie affairs of the town. For several terms he was trustec and treasurer of the town and chief engineer of the fire department in which he took great interest. He has also been long connected with the National Bank. of Sing Sing, as director, and is one of the trustees of the Savings Bank. His ancestor Daniel Mangam,

DOlangany 1 1/1

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who came to this country from Scotland, was a soldier in the War of the Revolution, and present at the battle of White Plains. He left a family of seven children, William, Isaac, John, Stephen, Daniel, Sarah, wife of Robert Tompkins, and Elizabeth, wife of Pierre Decevier.

Of these children, William, who married Elizabeth Leggett, died about 1865, at the age of eighty-three, leaving eight children, Mary, wife of A. B. Royce; Eliza, wife of William Lewis; Esther, wife of William Colyer; Nancy, wife of Lewis McCord; Rebecea, wife of Andrew L. Purdy; Gertrude, wife of Levi Wilson ; William L., who died at the age of twenty- two, and Daniel D.

The last named was born, at Sing Sing, May 1, 1828. In his early youth he was a student at Mount Pleasant Aeademy, but left home and sehool at the age of fourteen, and found a position as clerk in a grocery store. He remained here for three years, and then entered a dry goods store, but two years later he commenced business on his own account, by opening a store at Sing Sing. Shortly after he sold out, and removed to New York, where he had an interest in the mills of William D. Mangam, son of his unele Stephen, who was the founder of one of the oldest Produce and Grain Commission Houses now doing business in the city. William D. Mangam died in 1866, and Mr. Mangam succeeded to the entire busi- ness, which he has carried on at the old stand till the present time. The following statement from the Commercial World shows the extent of the busi- ness. It is proper to state that since its publication, Mr. Mangam has become the lessee of half of Pier No. 6, North River, and two floating elevators.

"The city business of the house is transaeted at 92 "Broad Street, New York, but the mills and ware- "houses are located at the foot of Degraw Street, " Brooklyn. Here there are spacious premises oecu- "pying a space of about one hundred and fifty by two "hundred feet, the ground floor being used for milling " purposes and offices, the floor above containing bins, "many of them forty feet high. From twenty-five to "thirty hands are constantly employed in operating "the steam elevator-which hoists all the grain and "corn from vessels in the river-and the four 'run' "of mills ; the latter have a capacity of about fifty " bags an hour, and grind on an average some six " hundred bags per day.

"As a dealer Mr. Mangam handles vast quantities "of corn, oats, feed and hay for the home market ; in "the export market he deals chiefly in white and "yellow corn, making a specialty of fine hay, "grown for the most part in New York States. This "export trade is mainly with the West Indies, the "Southern States and South America."

Mr. Mangam, like his father before him, is an active member of the Baptist Church and has labored without ceasing for its advancement and welfare. He united with this ehureh as a member at the early

age of fourteen, and for fifty years has been connected with the Sunday-school, and has been the superin- tendent for the last thirty-eight years. At the time of the building of the present church edifice Mr. Mangam had the plans prepared and was one of the building committee, and it is largely owing to the efforts of himself and a few others that the society is established on a firm foundation.

Mr. Mangam married Deborah, daughter of Thomas Horton, of Mount Pleasant. Their children are Ella E., wife of Louis W. Williams, William L. (who is now engaged in business with his father), Susan J., Daniel D., a graduate of Yale College, and Deborah - L., who is now a student at Paeker Institute.1

LARGE FIRES IN SING-SING .- Every stranger who visits this village for the first time is struck with sur- prise at the number and beauty of our stores, which reach along Main Street from near the top of the lower dock hill to the corner of Mill Street. They are chiefly substantial and attractive brick buildings, with store fronts of large plate glass. The writer of this historical sketch well remembers the antiquated dwellings that lined our Main Street a third of a century ago, some of which had been already meta- morphosed into dingy little shops, while others still had narrow door-yards, Howering shrubs and fruit- trees, picket fences and gates swinging into the street, to the annoyance of pedestrians. This great change has not been brought about by mere enterprise. It is almost wholly due to a succession of fires, and the compensating policy of good insurance.

The first fire which is mentioned by the okl inhabit- ants is that which consumed a large paper-mill that stood near to where Terwilliger's lumber-yard now stands. This fire occurred August 7, 183_, and is said to have been theresult of a flood in the Kill-brook, which occasioned the slaking of a quantity of lime contained in the basement of the building.

On Saturday night, at ten o'clock, on the 6th day of December, 1856, a fire broke ont in the dry-goods store of E. J. Edmunds, at what is now No. 120 Main Street, which destroyed the building of Mr. Caleb Roscoe, that of Mr. William Lawrence and one of Mr. Stephen Ayles. The pecuniary loss was not less than fifteen thousand dollars. The most serious part of the loss was the destruction of a large and valuable collection of historical documents, pamphlets and newspapers, which Mr. Roscoe had been accumula- ting for many years, and which he designed to put into the library of the Mt. Pleasant Academy for public use.

The next great fire oceurred near the lower doek. It began about two o'clock Sunday morning, September 9,1866. This resulted in the destruction of eighteen dwelling-houses, the National Hotel, the large Van Arden File Works, the extensive lumber-yards of Reuben Kipp & Co., several stables and other build-

1 Contributed by the Editor.

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ings. The loss was not less than one hundred and seventy-five thousand dollars. Forty families were rendered homeless. It is said that some men were playing at cards in a stable, that they upset a lamp, and this calamity was the result.

On Thursday, the 23d of September, 1869, the iron foundry of E. G. Blakslee & Co:, on Water Street, middle dock, was burned, with a loss of not less than four thousand dollars.

Tuesday morning, March 28, 1871, a fire broke out on the corner of Main and Mill Streets. This fire destroyed the hardware store of Reynold & Young, the store and residence of Benjamin Tunstall and the drug store of Jones Brothers. The basement of Reyn- old & Young's building was occupied by the village corporation. The fire destroyed all the archives of the village. The entire loss by this fire was not less than seventy thousand dollars.

On Monday, February 26, 1872, a portion of the Brandreth factories was destroyed by fire. Loss said to be sixty-five thousand dollars.

During the year 1872 this village was threatened with entire destruction from fires, which were set by a " fire-bug," or pyromaniac, by the name of Caleb Frisbie. After making numerous attempts to fire buildings, he was at last caught, and sentenced to prison for fourteen years. He served part of his time in prison, but was afterwards transferred to an asylum for the insane.

On Wednesday night, October 9, 1872, one of the most destructive fires occurred which this village has ever suffered from. It swept all the buildings from the corner of Main Street and Central Avenue to the place where the Steamer and Corporation building now stands ; also, all the buildings on the opposite side of Main Street. The stores on the corner, now occupied by L. Fisher, clothier, were destroyed. In round numbers the loss amounted to one hundred and twen- ty-five thousand dollars. Twenty families were de- prived of homes, and twenty-seven business places were destroyed.

The 17th day of February, 1874, the village passed through another fiery ordeal. The fire originated in Olive Hall, which was completely destroyed, with its stores, Republican printing office, etc., some frame buildings in Leonard Street, Leander Fisher's cloth- ing store, Elias Washburn's drug store (now Hart's), and the two buildings above were consumed. Vance's Hall, the buikling where Mead's bakery now stands, also Schneider's and Dean's buildings, were destroyed. Considerable other damage was done. In all the loss amounted to one hundred and thirty-five thousand dollars. Peekskill, Tarrytown and Yonkers all re- sponded promptly, with men and apparatus, to aid in extinguishing the conflagration. All the buildings destroyed were soon replaced by others which are far better in character and appearance.

A fire occurred April 28, 1875, on the lower dock, which destroyed the livery stables of Bloom & Foster,

the Empire Hotel, the Mansion House and stables and the Nelson House. Total loss, twenty-eight thou- sand dollars.

On Saturday, March 4, 1876, a fire occurred on Main Street, which destroyed all the buildings which stood upon the ground now occupied by the Palmer Building, Mr. Terhune's and Mr. Grant's stores. The loss was estimated at thirty thousand dollars. The present handsome buildings are an immense improve- ment on the former rather shabby structures destroyed by the fire.

The so-called "California House," erected by MIr. Willett McCord, on Croton Avenue, in 1856, as a pri- vate mansion, was occupied about ten years by Miss Sarah Van Vleck, who had established there the ad- mirable school for young ladies known as the "Os- sining Institute." Two weeks after the removal of the institute to the present situation the "California House" was reduced to ashes. This event occurred Sunday morning, June 30, 1877. The loss was about twenty thousand dollars. This spot seems to have been doomed by the fire demon, as two buildings, erected at different times afterwards, were also de- stroyed by fire. In all the cases it was believed to have been the work of an incendiary.

August 13, 1879, the machine-shop of Abram Kipp & Co., and the cotton-gin and saw-factory of Mr. J. T. Turner, and a dwelling near by were destroyed by fire, the loss amounting to ten thousand dollars.

The State's Prison in Sing Sing has produced many fierce fires, with the destruction of a vast amount of property. It would be tedious to give the details of all of them. The latest one was on Thursday, July 3, 1879, when the south stove-foundry of Perry & Co., which covered a space two hundred by two hundred and fifty feet, was entirely destroyed, causing a loss of thirty thousand dollars to the contractors and eight thousand dollars to the State.

FLOODS IN THE KILL-BROOK .- Our innocent-look- ing little Kill-brook occasionally develops into a furi- ous torrent, sweeping everything in its course. A flood occurred by an unusual rise of the waters of this brook in the night of August 7, 1832, which destroyed many thousands of dollars' worth of property. Hig- bie's Paper Mill, which stood near the mouth of the Kill, was destroyed by fire at that time, in conse- quence of the heat generated by the slacking of a large quantity of lime, which was stored in the cellar of this building.

A second flood occurred June 18, 1867, which car- ried away several buildings, shops, pig-pens, etc., as well as the " Westchester Bridge," the road bridge and also the railroad bridge at the dock. The dam- age amounted to several thousands of dollars.

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History of Westchester county : New York, including Morrisania, Kings Bridge, and West Farms, which have been annexed to New York City, Vol. II, Part 80

Author: Scharf, J. Thomas (John Thomas), 1843-1898, Publication date: 1886 Publisher: Philadelphia : L.E. Preston & Co. Number of Pages: 1286

Author: Scharf, J. Thomas (John Thomas), 1843-1898,
Publication date: 1886
Publisher: Philadelphia : L.E. Preston & Co.
Number of Pages: 1286