USA > New York > Schenectady County > History of the County of Schenectady, N. Y., from 1662 to 1886... > Part 40
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At the age of twenty he entered the service of R. P. U. Wilber, at Quaker Street, to learn the trade of shoemaking. He soon mastered all of its details and came to be con- sidered a thorough and skillful workman. He remained in
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THE TOWNSHIP OF DUANESBURGH.
Mr. Wilber's employ until the latter's death and after that event in the employ of Messrs. E. G. & W. K. Wilber until the reorganization of the firm, when he became a member of it. His subsequent business career is given elsewhere in these pages. It only remains to us in this connection to call attention to the sterling qualities of the man, who, from a poor lad, illy educated and without means or influential friends, has made his way against adverse circumstances to the head of a large manufacturing bus- iness, and won the esteem and confidence of all who have known him boy and man.
August 3, 1853, Mr. McDonald married Rebecca Weaver, of Quaker Street, a daughter of Jacob and Deborah (Coffin) Weaver, who has borne him eight children, five of whom are living. Formerly an old-time Whig politically, Mr. McDonald gradually developed such principles as to ally him with the Republican party, of which he has been a member since its inception. He is a member of the First Christian Church of Quaker Street.
MARIAVILLE.
This small village was named in honor of a daughter of Judge James Duane.
This was the scene of some quite extensive business oper- ations by Hon. Silas H. Marsh, who was once County Clerk of Schenectady County and represented his district in the Assembly. He was a man of enterprise and business ability, and was responsible for about all of the growth of the vil- lage up to the time his identification with it ceased. About 1830 he bought some land of " Katie " Duane and built a store and a grist-mill and a saw-mill. About fifteen years afterwards he disposed of the mercantile business to Jacob Quackenbush. After passing through other hands, it be- came the property of James M. Lasher & Sons in 1862. In 1879 it was purchased by Bronk & Bradshaw, and in 1881 by A. N. Bronk, the present owner.
For a time Marsh was the proprietor of a trip-hammer and shop, where the manufacture of axes was carried on on a small scale, leasing it to other parties, and finally selling it. It is now owned by Dr. Delameter and operated by Marcus Delameter. An old grist-mill here had years before been converted into a carding and fulling mill and been operated by Jeremiah Murray and William Murray. This was bought and torn down by Marsh, giving place to his grist-mill, which, with the saw-mill and store, was sold in 1862 to James M. Lasher & Sons. This firm consisted of James M., John K. and William M. Lasher. In 1865 John K. Lasher removed to New York, William M. following him in 1868, since when the firm has been James M. Lasher & Son, the junior partner being Hon. George Lasher. These gentlemen have done much to promote the prosperity of the locality, and are reckoned among Schenectady County's honored and substantial business men. Sixty or more years ago Dr. Staley built a saw-mill. It changed hands several times. Jeremiah Murray once owned it. It is now the property of Abraham Devenburg. Another saw-mill, built by Richard Walpole in 1844, has been converted into a cider and vinegar and broom-handle factory, and is owned by David W. Walpole. David Lander built a hotel about sixty years ago which was kept by different parties, among them the veteran landlord, Benjamin Wiltsie, until 1863, when it was converted into a cheese factory by a stock company who purchased it for that purpose. It was idle some time, and was finally purchased by James M. Lasher and con- verted into dwellings. Formerly a hotel, which had been made of two old dwellings moved together, was occupied part of the time as a hotel and part of the time as a store. It was reconstructed by Jeremiah Murray. About 1840 two other dwellings were joined and remodeled for hotel use. This public house was opened by Daniel Nellis. Many landlords succeeded him. It has been kept during the past twenty years by Benjamin Wiltsie, one of the oldest hotel men in Schenectady County.
Patterson & Strong and John Van Housen were once prom- inent merchants here. Besides the store of A. N. Bronk, the village now contains those of Miss Matilda Hansett, for
some time postmistress, and J A. Bradshaw, who began trading during 1885. John Devenburgh is a carriage-maker.
DUANESBURGH.
This is a village of about one hundred inhabitants, located on the Schenectady branch of the Delaware and Hudson Canal Company's system of railways, and contains, be- sides its business places of different kinds, a small depot and a post-office. The pioneer settlers of this place were of Scotch, English and Dutch stock, and their sturdy traits are easily discernible in the residents of to-day. The place was formerly called Jamesville, in honor of a wealthy Mr. James, who once owned considerable landed property in the vicinity. Its present name was adopted many years ago, though it is generally called by residents and their neighbors The Four Corners. As has been seen, the early attempts of Judge Duane to make Centre Square, a mile distant, the nucleus of a village, was a failure,
The house now owned and occupied by Dr. Stephen G. Delamater as a residence, was seventy-five years ago kept as a tavern by Joseph Gaige, who was for many years a Justice of the Peace. Mr. Gaige sold the tavern to his ne- phew, John Gaige, about sixty years ago, and it was subse- quently owned by Julius Keyes and Henry C. Ham. The latter sold it to Dr. Delamater.
The present hotel, nearly opposite the building whose history has just been given, was built by John Post during the closing years of the revolutionary war. About 1820 a Mr. Edwards became the proprietor, and soon afterwards John Hogh bought it and retained control until 1830, when it was purchased by Truman Case, who owned and conduct- ed it till 1874, when he died and it passed into the possession of his son, Josiah Case, who has since filled the roll of mine host at Duanesburgh, greatly to the satisfaction of his townsmen and the traveling public.
About sixty years ago, Mr. James E. O'Neill was sent here in the employ of Messrs. Brodwick & Duane, of Schenectady, widely-known merchants of their day. At first he sold goods for them on commission, walking to Sche- nectady every Saturday night to render a report of the week's business to his employers. It was not long before he was enabled to enter business on his own account. He erected the first store in the village and put in a stock of goods. He also bought a tan-yard west of the village, which had been established by one Gathan, and managed it successful- ly until 1840. His store was closed shortly after his death, which occurred in February, 1878. Mr. O'Neill had ac. quired considerable wealth as the result of a long life's honest industry and was a leading citizen of the town, well respected throughout the county.
The leading store in Duanesburgh is the one now owned and occupied by Mr. John L. Turnbull. The building was erected by Philip James Fredericks a little less than twenty- five years ago. He kept the store until his death, about 1870, when John S. Hoag purchased it, remaining in con- trol until 1872, when the present proprietor became the owner. A general stock of dry goods and groceries is kept. Mr. Turnbull has been Town Clerk of Duanesburgh most of the time for the past decade, and is regarded as a stirring and energetic man.
The village school-house was removed to its present loca- tion forty years ago. It was previously located down by the creek, where it had stood for a time beyond the memory of any citizen.
A century ago, Dr. Abraham Delamater was a practicing physician in Duanesburgh and a surgeon as well. About the year 1800, his brother, Dr. Peter Delamater, came and for many years had an extensive ride. In 1843 Dr. Stephen G. Delamater, son of Dr. Peter Delamater, began here the practice of his profession, a service to the people which has been continued uninterruptedly ever since. Among the other early physicians were Dr. McDermott (1815-25) and Dr. Wilson (1825-35). While generally this locality has been remarkably free from those epidemics which rage from time to time in less favored places, it has not wholly escaped. Twenty years ago there was a diptheritic epidemic which carried off twenty people in the immediate vicinity of the village.
BRAMAN'S, PATTERSON'S AND GREEN'S CORNERS.
These localities are named in honor of the families of Braman, Patterson and Green, The first mentioned was
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HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF SCHENECTADY.
formerly known as Parlor Street, in honor of the Parlor fam- ily. Dr. Joseph Braman opened a store there as early as 1840, and fifteen years later sold it to Nathaniel Herrick. George Bradford occupied it later. The present merchant is George A. Snell. William Gardinier once kept a grocery there. The Parlors once had a tannery and carried on farming and other business.
We take pleasure in making mention of the following well-known citizens, who by their guaranteed support have helped to insure the publication of this valuable work: H. P. Allen, Mrs. A. E. Abrams, Samuel Brown, Martin Bradt, A. M. Bronk, C. W. Bronk, P. A. Brumagin, John
O. Becker, Delos Braman, William Chadwick, John E. Cul- lings, G. W. Conover, Frank M. Chapman, S. G. De Lamater, I). C. Davis, Marcus De Lamater, C. I. Dodge, John Davenburg, George Dennison, Ira Estes, J. D. Featherstonhaugh, James Ferguson, A. M. Gaige, Joseph Green, William J. Gardner, Francis Hoag, David B. Hall, T. Roymen Herrick, John L. Jones, Alexander Liddle, George H. Love, Robert Lidell, George Lasher, Melville Mead, Alonzo Macomber, D. D. McDonald, R. W. Mc- Dougall, Alexander McDougall, James L. McMillan, J. K. Rhinehart, W. F. & J. H. Shute, J. L. Turnbull, Darius Tripp, J. H. Titus, E. G. Wilber, John D. Wood, I. R. T. Wood, James Wright, David W. Walpole, Benjamin Wilt- sie, Kirby Wilber.
HISTORY OF THE TOWNSHIP OF GLENVILLE.
By Rev. E. E. TAYLOR.
GLENVILLE was named from the original pat- entee, Sanders Leendertse Glen. It was formed from the fourth ward of Schenectady, April 14, 1820. It is the only town in the county north of the Mohawk. In 1665 the country around Scotia was granted to Glen, a native of Scotland, who had removed to Holland in 1645 on account of religious persecu- tions. After several years spent there in mercantile pursuits, he migrated to the New Netherlands.
The greater part of the surface is covered with a thick deposit of drift, consisting principally of clay, with an occasional outcrop of slate, and underlaid with hard pan in the south and western part, and sand and gravelly loam in the eastern. The underlying rock is generally the shales of the Hud- son River group, which crop out in the valleys and the bottom of ravines. In portions of this town this is underlaid by bird's-eye limestone, from which are obtained both lime and stone for building. This rock crops out on the banks of the streams and from the declivities of the steeper hills. The central and western parts are occupied by rugged and wooded hills, abruptly rising from the valley of the river to a height of 300 feet. The eastern part is nearly level. The Mohawk intervales are very fertile, and have been, to a considerable ex- tent, devoted to the culture of broom corn.
The streams are Crabskill, Chaugh-ta-noon-da, Aalplaats and Jan Wemp's Creeks, and Verf Kill. Sanders Lake, in Scotia, is about a mile in cir- cumference.
Van Slyck's Island was granted to Jacques Van Slyck November 13, 1662, and later a new grant to Jaques Cornelise and Jan Barentse Wemp.
Hoffman's Ferry was established about 1790 by Harmanus Vedder, and called Vedder's Ferry until 1835. It was bought in 1835 by John Hoff- man, from whom it took its present name. The present owner is Jeremiah Vanderhyden. The rate of passage is five cents for a single individual and ten cents for one horse and carriage. This is a railroad station of the Central Road, and is an in- significant place at present, with no hotel. It has
a small store, and has a hay barn for storing hay in transit for the market. The business interests center on the opposite side of the river, in Rotter- dam.
In 1820, when the town of Glenville was set off from the City of Schenectady, much of the unoccu- pied land that was held by the city was cut up and sold in twenty-acre lots to residents of the city for wood lots. This was sold in single lots only, and but one to the same person. This rendered farm- ing on these lands for a long time impossible. It was only in December of 1883 that the city sold the last of its lots, and many of these twenty-acre lots are still held. This has been one cause of delaying the development of this part of the county.
Among the first settlers were the Glens, San- derses, Vieles, Van Eppses, Ostroms, Tolls, Bar- hydts, Browns, Johnsons and Carpenters.
The following are the names and occupations of many of the principal persons in the town:
C. P. Sanders, farmer, milk business and gar- dener; ex-Judge W. T. L. Sanders; Charles P. Sanders, Jr., attorney; John B. Wilson, specu- lator; W. C. Carpenter, carpenter ; Lorenzo Van Patten, blacksmith ; Michael Whalen, blacksmith ; J. V. Z. Weaver, farmer and Justice of the Peace ; Lorenzo Lovett & Son, wholesale butchers ; Wil- lis C. Lovett, Justice of the Peace ; Jacob H. Hal- enbeck, dealer in tin-ware, and is Overseer of the Poor ; N. S. Cheesman, practicing physician ; William Channer, broom business ; G. F. Becktel, shoe store ; James H. Gillett, cabinet-maker ; Thomas Gould, Justice of the Peace ; S. V. R. Ford, blacksmith, and has been Justice of the Peace ; Lansing Slover, grocer ; James Collins occupies one of the old Glen buildings, and is a son of Charles Collins, railroad contractor, etc .; Philip Becker, on the Reese Place ; Philip R. Toll, farmer, two miles north of Scotia ; Charles I. Toll and Philip R. Toll, farmers ; Tunis Vrooman, farmer, three miles north from Scotia ; Alexander Van Eps, farmer, east from Scotia ; John S. Lan- sing, farmer and milk dealer, two miles north of
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THE TOWNSHIP OF GLENVILLE.
Scotia ; A. A. Livingston, farmer and milk dealer, four miles northeast of Scotia ; Joseph K. Passage, farmer ; William Hasel, farmer, and occupies the old Viele Place, near Charles H. Tolls, one and one-half miles from Scotia, on the western turn- pike; B. H. Clute, farmer, three miles from Scotia ; Adam Swart and many others of the same name, six miles from Scotia, and descendants from first settlers ; Charles H. Toll, extensive farmer, one mile from Scotia ; Dan. Toll, farmer and broom manufacturer, two miles from Scotia ; William Rector, farmer, five miles from Scotia ; Charles W. Merselles, farmer, one and one-half miles north from Scotia ; James T. Wyatt, farmer, four miles north from Scotia, and is now Supervisor ; John Houck, farmer and Commissioner of Highways, two miles northeast from Scotia. Eastward : Will- iam Dougal, farmer ; Charles Dawson, farmer, and with his father in saw and grist-mill just over the line in Charlestown; J. J. Van Eps, farmer, and keeps hotel; James Van Vorst, farmer; J. H. See- ley, farmer, near the Freeman Bridge ; Henry Slo- ver, farmer and milk dealer ; John Oliver, farmer ; Henry Palmer and Joseph Birch, farmers. Charles Closson keeps town house and has a store. The building has been used as a town house for the past twenty years. Dan. Frank, farmer; George S. and Henry Cornell, farmers.
In the western part of the town, W. S. Hammond, hotel and store ; Philip Green, farmer ; George P., John H. and Thomas Conde, farmers, and de- scendants of first settlers ; Matthew R. Brown, farmer ; J. D. Van Eps, farmer ; George H. Van Buran keeps blacksmith and wheelwright shops ; Peter Y. Vandeveer, farmer and assessor ; James Ostrom, farmer ; Thomas Parks, harness-maker ; Johnson and Spencer and T. R. Patten, farmers ; Matthew Halenbeck, wagon-maker ; Solomon Halenbeck, farmer, and former Justice of the Peace for several years; Rockwell Harmon, farmer; Edwin Young and L. B. Rulison, physicians.
Hoffman's Ferry : Latin Johnson, farmer ; Aaron Bradt, farmer.
WEST GLENVILLE.
West Glenville is a village ten miles from Schenectady, containing twenty-eight dwellings, two blacksmith shops, one wagon shop, one har- ness shop, one shoe shop, one meat shop, one hotel-now closed-and two churches. It is in the northeast part of the town. The First Re- formed Church was organized in 1813, with an en- dowment from Schenectady. The church was built at once, and again rebuilt in 1872 at a cost of $8, 500. There was half an acre connected for a burial ground, and there has since been added to it one and one-half acres, and the trustees are now making arrangements to again enlarge it.
The minutes show the membership of 1883 to be 278; and three Sunday-schools connected with the church, with an aggregate of 200 scholars.
The different pastors and dates of their settlement over the First Reformed Church, Glenville: 1. Rev. Peter Van Zandt, installed September 8, 1818, the town then being embraced as the Fourth ward,
Schenectady; 2. Rev. Elbert Slingerland, installed July 8, 1824; 3. Rev. Seth Bunnell, installed Decem- ber 8, 1835 ; 4. Rev. Wilson Ingalls, called Feb- ruary 4, 1840, and soon after installed ; 5. Rev. Abram H. Myers, called February 2, 1852, and soon after installed; 6. Rev. Peter Burghardt, called September 5, 1855, and soon after installed; 7. Rev. George H. Peck, called December 13, 1861, and soon after installed ; 8. Rev. John Miner, called February, 1864, and soon after in- stalled ; 9. Rev. William Randell, called Febru- ary 9, 1874, and soon after installed ; 10. Rev. William J. Hill, called May, 1882, and soon after installed ; 11. Rev. M. F. Nickerson has received an informal call, and is expected to be installed very soon.
The Methodist Episcopal Society of West Glen- ville was organized in 1822 by Rev. Roswell Kelley, pastor, with seventy members. The first house of worship was erected in 1823, and the present house in 1848. The church is built of brick, and valued at $2, 500, and will seat two hundred and fifty persons. This society was con- nected with the village of Charlton until 1877, when it was connected with a flourishing society at East Glenville, with a separate pastor. The present membership of the charge is one hundred and twenty-four. Its successive pastors have been Reverends T. Dodgson, C. Pomeroy, R. Kelley, John Fassett, W. Little, D. Poor, H. Williams, George C. Wells, L. D. Sherwood, W. T. Heard, H. Williams, John Thompson, J. S. Hart, J. F. Cope, W. F. Tiffany, R. Washburn, J. B. Wood, R. Patterson, S. S. Ford, William Earle, J. H. Coleman, D. T. Elliot ; and since 1877 -- Sut- ton, F. R. Sherwood, Joel Martin, J. P. Crane, W. W. Whitney, and the present pastor, Rev. H. S. Allen. This church a year ago procured two acres for a burial ground.
EAST GLENVILLE.
East Glenville contains a neat Methodist Episco- pal Church that has been lately rebuilt and refur- nished, with a burial ground attached, and a flourish- ing society and Sabbath-school, and a Lodge of Good Templars.
The Town House is half a mile south of the Methodist Church. It was formerly a hotel, but at present has no license. A grocery store is kept in one part of it. This is all there is of the place.
High Mills is in the northeast part of the town. It is a small place, containing a grist-mill and saw- mill, a blacksmith shop, wagon shop, and a few other small shops. The town lately built at this place, across the Aalplaat Creek, a fine iron bridge in place of the old wooden structure that formerly existed here.
SCOTIA.
The village of Scotia lies between the Mohawk and Sanders Lake, about half a mile from Sche- nectady. Reeseville was a suburb of Scotia of seven hundred and twenty-eight houses, and was named after a wealthy gentleman by the name of Reese who moved into that neighborhood. The two places have since grown together, and are now
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HISTORY OF THE COUNTY OF SCHENECTADY.
known only as Scotia. Scotia, the ancient name of Scotland, was the name given by its first settler. This tract commences at a point nearly opposite the eastern extremity of the city, and extends west- erly along the north side of the Mohawk about two miles. The first patent conveying it was granted November 3, 1665, by Governor Richard Niccols to Sanders Lendertse Glen (Anglice, Alex- ander Lindsay Glen). Mr. Glen was an immediate descendant of the Earl of Crawford and Lindsey, whose family had been on the peerage roll up to 1399. Mr. Glen took to wife Catharine McDon- ald, the daughter of a Highland chieftain. He left Scotland in the year 1645, to avoid persecution in consequence of the stand he had taken in refer- ence to certain religious disputes which then agitated the country. He sided with the unfor- tunate Charles the First, who vainly strove to intro- duce the English liturgy into Scotland. Mr. Glen first emigrated to Holland, and engaged in mercan- tile pursuits for a number of years. He finally came to New York, in company with a number of Dutch families. There and in Albany and in Sche- nectady he resided for several years. Some time previous to 1690 he moved to Scotia. The coun- try seat of Mr. Glen is still owned by his descend- ants, the Sanders family. Although it bears the advanced age of one hundred and seventy-two years, it bids fair to outlive many of the flimsy structures which characterize the American archi- tecture of the present century. The iron figures showing the date of its erection (1713) are still to be seen. During the French wars it was rendered defensible. At the foot of a small hillock a few yards east of the mansion, tradition points to the spot where the Mohawks occasionally performed their sacrifices.
As is elsewhere related, Captain Daniel Toll, during the French and Indian war, was the first victim of the Beukendaal massacre.
Scotia contains about ninety dwellings, two stores, one hotel, without license, two blacksmith shops, shoe store, wagon-maker's shop, and a few other places of business. It has a large district school-house, two churches, fire department, and a lodge of Good Templars.
The Sanders House in this village is one of its principal attractions. It is built a few feet to the north of where the first house stood, that was spared from destruction by the French and Indians in the terrible destruction and massacre at Schenectady in 1690, on account of favors shown previously by Mr. Glen to the French and Indians in a time of their suffering. The present stone house was bailt in 1713, and is still owned and occupied by the Sanders family. The present occupant is Charles P. Sanders, of the seventh generation, with a large household of Sanderses. Their present farm consists of 1,000 acres, Ico acres of which is used for market garden. One hundred cows are kept on the farm, besides a large quantity of other stock. Thirty acres are used for berries. The yield of these rich alluvial flats, thoroughly worked as these are, is astonishing. Mr. Sanders has one acre that yielded this year 1, 300 bushels of carrots, Mr.
Sanders has three milk wagons and four vegetable wagons for delivery daily to Schenectady, and ships a large quantity of vegetables to New York.
In 1873 a fire department was organized by vol- untary subscriptions, two cisterns were built, one hand engine was purchased, with 400 feet of hose and cart. In 1877 this fire company was duly in- corporated by the Legislature of the State, and pro- visions made for its support, at an annual expense not to exceed $250, to be levied and collected upon the school district as usual school taxes are.
The organization of this company was the out- come of a series of incendiary fires, which will long be remembered by those who were residents of the village during the winter of 1873-74. For all winter long, every resident in turn was fully armed and determined to mete out justice on the spot to the incendiary. From four to ten persons patrolled the streets each night from dark to daylight, at times through snow knee-deep and in blinding storms, around every house, barn and outbuilding in the place. In two years' time, within a radius of less than one mile, four dwellings in which fam- ilies were living, one vacant house, two stores, one broom shop, two blacksmith shops, one rope-walk about 400 feet long, one straw barn, one large broom-corn dry-house, three large barns, together with other small outbuildings-all of these, with their contents, furniture, horses, cows, hogs, fowls, etc., were entirely destroyed, excepting one store and dwelling, from which a portion of the contents were saved. Several other buildings were set on fire, and the fire was extinguished with small dam- age. The largest of these fires, and the most ex- citing, was on the night of November Ist and morning of the 2d, 1873, when the large rope-walk and fifteen other buildings were on fire at the same time. Since the organization of the fire company the loss by fire has been very small.
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