Landmarks of Oswego County, New York, Part 38

Author: Churchill, John Charles, 1821-1905; Smith, H. P. (Henry Perry), 1839-1925; Child, W. Stanley
Publication date: 1895
Publisher: Syracuse, N.Y. : D. Mason
Number of Pages: 1410

USA > New York > Oswego County > Landmarks of Oswego County, New York > Part 38

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

1 William Schuyler Malcolm, son of Gen. William Malcolm, a Revolutionary officer, was born in Utica February 23, 1810, and came to Oswego in 1825. He commanded many vessels on the lakes, and during the Patriot war of 1838-9 was deputy United States marshal. He was one of the first aldermen of the city in 1848, and from 1854 to 1869 was assistant engineer in the United States service at Oswego.

2 Jehiel Clark, born in Newburg, Orange county, in 1762, was a son of Samuel, who removed to Saratoga county after the Revolution. Jehiel latter settled in Auburn, whence he came to Oswego in 1826, moving into the Raynor house on lot 94, block 23, opposite Judge Grant. He afterward owned 100 acres southwest of the city, which he sold to De Zeng for $10,000. He moved to Port Byron in 1830, to Cayuga Bridge in 1833, and died in 1842.

3 Abram Varick was a wealthy capitalist, and died in New York March 15, 1842. He had large interests in Oswego, both through the water-power and in land. (See Varick Tract on maps).

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In 1827 Dwight Herrick 1 came to Oswego from Watertown and en- gaged in merchandise and more extensively in the manufacture of sal- eratus, a business he followed many years.

In 1830 Oswego began to feel the commercial advantages secured through the opening of the Welland Canal. The completion of this work opened unobstructed water communication with the West, which poured its grain eastward to the lake ports, among which Oswego was already one of the most flourishing. The first vessel, the little schooner Erie, passed through the canal August 4, and thence down the lake to Oswego.

Previous to this time T. Ambler & Co. established a foundry, which was purchased in 1831 by Elisha Carrington, who carried on for several years the manufacture of plows, mill machinery, and castings. During this year the Oswego Cloth and Carpet Manufacturing Company was organized, with a capital of $60 000, the directors being J. C. Bunner, Joel Turrill, R. Bunner, Asa Phillips, and Charles Comstock. Two flouring mills with six runs of stone each were in operation and a third was in process of construction ; one of these was owned by Fitzhugh & Co., and another by Richard L. De Zeng and Gerrit Smith. Twenty- five vessels cleared from the harbor each week, among them the " fast sailing steamboat Ontario," William R. Miller, master, leaving every Monday for Niagara. About this time Frederick T. Carrington estab- lished an axe factory, which was conducted by Gen. Daniel Hugunin, and which was burned in 1833. At an early day William Shapley erected a tannery and residence at the head of the cove on the east side of the river, near the site of the old stone jail, and Joseph L., Benjamin, and Harmon Wilber established themselves in the shoe and leather business.

April 21, 183', the Commissioners of the Land Office were author- ized to sell so much of the unappropriated land within the piers of the harbor as they deemed necessary for a marine railway. This was sold to Abram Varick July 2, 1832, and the time within which the work might be completed was extended five years, or until 1837.

March 30, 1832, the Oswego Cotton Manufacturing Company was

1 Dwight Herrick was a prominent citizen and served in various public capacities, notably those of village trustee and supervisor. He died February r4, 1882,

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incorporated by Ebenezer Hoskins, Gerrit Smith, William Dolloway, A J. Yates, Edmund Knower, John Grant, jr., T. S. Morgan, Henry Fitzhugh, T. F. Crouch, G. W. Woodruff, and associates, with a capital of $25,000. This was increased in 1836 to $250,000, and the manu- facture of woolen goods added. This establishment, which commenced the manufacture of cotton fabrics in 1834, stood on the site of the Swits Condé Company's factory, and continued in operation many years. It was burned in 1861, was rebuilt, and was operated by the Home Manu- facturing Company as a cotton factory and knitting mill until 1 874, when the business was closed out and the plant sold to Henry S. Condé & Son, as hereafter noted.

On April 26, 1832, the Northwestern Insurance Company was incor- porated, and on April 28, 1836, the Oswego County Mutual Insurance Company was organized, the headquarters of both being Oswego vil- lage. For many years they carried on a prosperous business.

The year 1833 seems to mark an important era in the commerce of the city. Thirty vessels already belonged to the port, and they were increasing in numbers with remarkable rapidity. During the preceding year the tonnage entering aggregated 43,770, while the value of ex- ports amounted to $80,999. In 1833 160,319 bushels of wheat arrived from the upper lakes against 29,500 in 1831; in 1834 the amount aggregated 235,000 bushels. In 1833 the tonnage of foreign vessels, exclusive of steamboats, aggregated 33,947. The wheat shipments arriving from Lake Ontario ports for three years were as follows: In 1832, 47,926; 1833, 94,668 ; 1834, 251,760. Exports in American vessels : 1831, $38,588; 1832, $70,497 ; 1833, $127,957; in foreign vessels : 1831, $37,788 ; 1833, $66,340. Tolls ; 1829, $1,466.01; in 1833 they were $9,224.67.

In July, 1833, the stock books of the Northwestern Transportation Company were opened at the Welland House ; the subscriptions aggre- gated $200,000 while the capital was but $150,000. In January, 1834, the following directors were chosen : William Denning, William H. Denning, Frederick Stanley, D. Crocker, Cortland Palmer, Alvin Bron- son, William Brown, James Bogert, jr., Henry Fitzhugh,1 Henry Eagle,

1 Henry Fitzhugh was one of the most prominent men Oswego ever claimed as a citizen. He was mayor of the city in 1859, 1860, and 1861, member of assembly in 1849, and canal commissioner in 1852 and again in 1855. He died in Centralia, Il1., August 11, 1866, His son Gerrit died June 5, 1883.

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Elias Trowbridge and George Fisher. This corporation continued active operations on the lakes for many years.

In 1834 the Ontario Mill was erected by Abram Varick on the Varick Canal; later a wooden addition was built on the south side, and finally the property passed to L. A. G. B. Grant, who sold out to Dunn & Cummings, who were succeeded by M. J. Cummings. The establish- ment was burned January 22, 1878, entailing a loss of $55,000.

In 1835 Simeon Bates 1 established the first lumber yard in the vil- lage and successfully continued the business for twenty-five years. Some time prior to this Andrew Miller 2 and Thomas Dobbie built a ship railway in the east cove. On July 27, 1835, an observer of the time noted thirty-six schooners, four steamboats, and a small fleet of canal craft in the harbor, while a list of the various manufacturing and business industries of the village at that time contains the following :

Flouring mills with twenty-nine runs of stone which manufactured in 1834 about 100,000 barrels of flour; one tannery, a morocco factory, one cotton factory having 1,500 spindles, a machine shop, two saw mills, three cedar mills which sawed in 1834 about 3,000,000 feet of Canada red cedar for shingles, posts, and railroad ties, three cabinet shops, three hat factories, one furnace, a stove foundry, two wagon shops, two watchmakers, one scythe and axe factory, eight blacksmiths, eight tailors, six shoe stores, one tobacco establishment, one burr-stone factory, three tin shops, three printing offices, one upholsterer, nine taverns, two saddlers, fifteen dry goods stores, three hard- ware stores, a book store, nine groceries, three hat stores, three drug stores, a jewelry store, eight lawyers, six physicians, one bank, a temperance society, twenty-eight schooners (three on stocks), two steamboats, and three lines of canal boats.

A local paper of this year (1835) says :

" We are gratified to learn that Mr. Varick [who had recently purchased of Benjamin Burt ninety-two acres of land just south of the village for $19,000] has entered into a contract for the erection of a large cotton factory on his canal. There are now also erecting on Mr. Varick's canal a very large planing mill, and a large building for the construction of machinery, all of stone."

The flouring mills of Henry Fitzhugh and of Bronson & Morgan were destroyed by fire in 1835, together with about twenty other large build-

1 Simeon Bates was born in Otsego county, N. Y., March 15, 1801, and died September 20, 1883. He first settled in Williamstown in 1816, and in 1825 in Scriba, whence he removed to Oswego in 1835. In politics he was first a Whig and later a Republican, and was mayor of the city in 1867, and 1868. He was vice-president of the City Bank of Oswego and held other important positions.

2 Andrew Miller, a ship-carpenter, came to Oswego in 1831. He was associated in business with Thomas Dobbie and others, and died April 4, 1882, aged seventy-six,

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ings, but the incident was scarcely noticed amid the tide of prosperity which marked this period. The Commercial Bank was opened this year (1835), and under the old State system soon had abroad a circu- lation which eventually caused its failure.

The year 1836 opened with still more glowing prospects, and ship building seems to have shared the general prosperity. In March there were thirty-five vessels, with an average capacity of 100 tons each, in process of construction. On the two hydraulic canals there were in active operation six flouring mills, two cotton factories, three machine shops, a stone polishing mill, a tobacco factory, four saw mills, three large tanneries, one cedar mill, a foundry, and extensive iron works. The newspapers of Oswego and Buffalo maintained with great vigor the superiority of their respective villages in commercial affairs and future prospects. The actual business transacted indicates that Oswego then fully equaled her western rival. But during the latter part of 1836 a reaction came, which a year later proved disastrous to business every- where. The panic of 1837 checked all manufacturing and commercial operations and materially affected the general prosperity of the place for years afterward. One of the two banks broke, millions of wealth disappeared, and many business men became bankrupt.

On May 13, 1836, the Oswego Mechanics' and Manufacturers' Asso- ciation was incorporated by David Harmon, jr., Martin Curtis, Richard Oliphant, Elias W. Warner, John Carpenter, Daniel Ayer, and Augustus Adkins. This was a charitable organization designed to maintain lec- tures applicable to the mechanic arts, and also to form collections, etc.

On the 24th of October, 1837, fire consumed the furnace of Carring- ton & Carrier and the machine shop of J. Parline, both situated on the Varick Canal, and the stone flouring mill of -- Gilbert. The loss was about $32,000.

Statistics of 1839: Value of exports, $503,038 ; imports, $38,609; wheat from the upper lakes, 615,588 bushels; flour, 15, 179 barrels ; canal tolls, $18,474.66. In 1840 the arrivals and clearances at Buffalo aggregated 2,884 and at Oswego 2,631. These figures show that the commerce of Buffalo was then just about equal to that of Oswego.

The year 1841-2 witnessed the introduction on Lake Ontario of one of the most important auxiliaries to steam navigation ever invented -- 47

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the screw propellor. For this event Oswego is entitled to great honor, as elsewhere shown herein.

One of the important business events of 1842 was the founding of the great milling firm of Penfield, Lyon & Co., by Joel B. Penfield,1 John E. Lyon, and Samuel B. Johnson,2 which for nearly fifty years conducted an extensive and successful business. Their flour was long one of the leading popular brands of the State. They were the first to adopt the system of selling on orders instead of to commission houses. They built a mill in 1842 which was burned in 1853, and immediately rebuilt by the same firm, becoming the Washington Mills and Elevator, It was burned in 1892.

At the time under consideration G. H. Weeks was carrying on ship building in a yard on the east side, from which he launched, in 1842, the steamer Rochester. He built other large vessels, among them the propeller St. Lawrence, which was launched in 1848.

The great shipping interests of this port called to Oswego many sailors, who were or became eminent in their profession in command either of steam or sailing vessels. A number of these made their homes in Oswego and became respected and useful citizens. Among the more prominent of these should be mentioned William Williams, an English- man, who, after sailing all over the world, came up the St. Lawrence to Oswego about 1834 and shipped as steersman on a steamer. He set- tled here with his wife in 1837, and was long a commander of steamers engaged in lake. commerce. He was warm hearted, generous, and popular, and died December 7, 1890, aged eighty- two.

Capt. Aaron Bush was born in Saratoga county in 1794, came to Os-

1 Joel B. Penfield was the youngest son of David Penfield, a farmer and axe maker, and was born in Harpersfield, N. Y., in 1807. When about fifteen he came to Oswego with his brother-in- law, Dr. Thurber, and engaged as a clerk in the drug store of H. K. Thurber, afterward a merchant prince in New York city. Later he became a clerk in Park & Eagle's dry goods store, and finally for Truman Wyman in the milling business. In 1842, with Mr. Johnson, he purchased of Luther Wright the site of the Washington Mill. Mr. Penfield was a very active, shrewd, and capable business man. He was president of the Board of Trade, president of the Lake Ontario National Bank, and one of the founders and vice-president of the First Presbyterian Society. He died in July, 1873, leaving a large fortune His son Edward died in 1893.

2 Samuel Burbank Johnson was born at Fort Edward, N. Y., January 1, 1816, came to Oswego in 1836, and was an active member of the firm of Penfield, Lyon & Co., nearly fifty years. A man of excellent business ability, he was one of the promoters of the present water works, a director in the Second National Bank, a Republican in politics, and a trustee of Grace Presbyterian Church. He died September 28, 1891. He was the father of James F., Edgar D., William J., and Frederick S. Johnson.

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wego with his parents in 1800, and began sailing in 1809. He rose to the position of commander and in 1812 was made captain of a merchant vessel. He was long a sailing master in the revenue service; for over fifty years was engaged in business ; and died January 31, 1876. He was the father of A. A. Bush, of Oswego.

Capt. Edmund Welch, a native of New Foundland, came to Oswego in 1835, and three years later was made a lake captain, and became one of the leading commanders on the lakes. He died March 29, 1876.

Capt. John T. Van Alstyne came to Oswego from Montezuma in 1831 and became cook on the schooner Eagle. In 1838 he sailed on the Robert Burns and later accompanied the Vandalia on her first trip. He was a captain forty one years and a sailor fifty-one, and died Octo- ber 26, 1887.

Morgan M. Wheeler came to Oswego with his parents in 1844, and after various occupations became associated with the firm of Dobbie & Manwaring. In 1859 he purchased the tug J. H. Bloore, in 1863 the sailing vessel Lucy Latham, and afterwards many others. He was a member of the Common Council six years, and a prominent and public spirited citizen.

William Lewis, a native of Connecticut, came to Oswego with his parents in 1812, and remained on a farm till about 1820. He studied law in the office of Judge Turrill and in 1824 became a clerk for Ed- ward Bronson. In 1827 he started a dry goods store ; in 1835 em- barked in real estate and other interests; and in 1843 engaged in mill- ing ; continuing in that business until 1865. He was largely identified with ship building and constructed in all ten vessels and twenty canal boats. He erected several mills and elevators, was connected with the Oswego Cotton Mills, and retired from commerce in 1865. In 1832 he was deputy canal collector, in 1849 was a member of assembly, and in 1870 was chosen recorder.

. He died February 19, 1887.

Eli Allen, one of the oldest mariners on the lakes, came here about 1834. He was highly respected and died May 31, 1862.

John T. Trowbridge came to Oswego in 1806, and for many years was a widely-known lake captain.

There were built during this period (in 1847-8) the well-known Pearl Mills at the west end of the high dam, by William Lewis, with five

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runs of stone, owned later by Mills, Whitney & Lewis, by Robert F. Sage, and in 1875 by Jenkins,1 Hover2 & Co., who bought them for $5,000. They were burned November 6, 1878, while owned by Jenkins & Benzing. In 1865 Jenkins, Hover & Co. came into the possession and ownership of the Exchange Mills (now the malt storehouse of Francis Perot's Sons), which were built by Abram Varick on his canal in 1834. The Skenandoah Mills were built in 1845 by James W. Cockrane, who sold an interest about 1847 to James Lyon and James Johnson, who were later associated in the milling firm of Penfield, Lyon & Co., who bought the establishment in 1852. These mills were burned August 21, 1888.

In 1847-8 Moses Merick & Co. built what were known as the Seneca Mills, at Seneca Hill, four miles south of Oswego.3 This mill contained fifteen runs of stone with a daily capacity of 1,200 barrels, at that time the largest in the United States. It burned in 1864.

In 1860 the mill which had been rebuilt on the site of the Columbia Mill (burned 1853) came into the possession of Moses Merick and Jesse Hoyt. It had a capacity of 500 barrels and an elevator in connection. It was burned in the spring of 1892 and not rebuilt.

The mill of Henry C. Wright+ was erected on the Varick Canal in 1848. It had four runs of stone.

In 1850 the following flouring mills were in operation, with the capa- city of each as stated :

Pearl Mills (Mills, Whitney & Co.), capacity 500 barrels daily; Lake Ontario Mills (Fitzhugh & Co.), 700; Express Mills (Henry Matthews),6 500; Congress Mills (W. J.

1 Isaac G. Jenkins died July 23, 1891. He was long prominent in various business interests of the city. He was a partner with his brother, Ira L. Jenkins, in a wholesale grocery business. He was a member of the firm of Jenkins & Hover, which owned and operated the Exchange Mills and of the firm of Jenkins & Benzing which owned the Pearl Mills. Subsequently he was extensively engaged in the lumber business.

2 Capt. Joseph Hover died February 14, 1886. He was for many years prominent in milling interests and was a much esteemed but unassuming citizen.

3 Moses Merick, born in Chenango county, came to Oswego in 1845. The firm of Merick. Davis & Co., of which he was a member for many years, carried on an extensive shipping and forwarding business. Moses Merick died February 11, 1893.

Hiram Davis, a partner with Mr. Merick, was a native of Jefferson county and died April 20, 1850.

4 Henry C. Wright died June 21, 1884. He was a brother-in-law of George B. Sloan.

5 Henry Matthews came to Oswego when the milling business had reached its height. He was born in Brookfield, Mass., January 23, 1808; removed to Mexico with his parents in 1811; and thence to Oswego when twenty years of age, becoming associated with Bronson, Marshall & Co. and later with the Herndon Express Company. In 1840 he established an express line from

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Pardee), 300 ; Quaker Mills (W. J. Pardee), 200; Skenandoah Mills (Cochrane, Lyon & Co.), 400; Seneca Mills (Merick, Davis & Co.), 1,000; Exchange Mills (Lewis & Beardsley), 500; Premium Mills (Bunker & Beardsley), 500; New Mills (Bond & Uhl- horn), 400; Crescent Mills (Henry C. Wright), 400; Star Mills (Hatch & Stevens), 500; Atlas Mills (Ransom1 & Seeley 2), 500 (burned September 21, 1879); Ontario Mills (L. B. Crocker) 600 ; Eagle Mills (Truman Wyman), 500; Washington Mills (Penfield, Lyon & Co.), 600; City Grist Mills (M. Keeler), 250; Empire Mills (Doolittle & Molli- son), 500. Number of mills 18; total runs of stone, eighty-eight ; total daily capacity, 8,750 barrels.

It was during the period under consideration that the canal on the west side of the river, built and owned by Abram Varick, and which has always constituted a leading factor in the development of Oswego, passed in 1845 into the possession and ownership of F. T, Carrington3 and Myron Pardee.4 It is now owned and controlled by the heirs of Mr. Carrington.

In 1843-4 Sylvester Doolittle erected the Empire Mills and Elevator, which were burned in 1852 and immediately rebuilt by him. In 1864 they were sold to Jenkins & Doolittle and in 1874 to Benjamin Doolit- tle. The mill was burned and rebuilt by Mr. Doolittle with a reduced capacity, and as such has since been operated. In 1846 Hatch &

Toronto to New York via Oswego. In 1846 he purchased the flouring mill of Bond, Stebbins & Stevens, which burned in 1850. Mr. Matthews retired from business in 1857 and died September 27, 1890. During his long life in Oswego he was not only prominent in business but foremost in a 1 matters tending to the public good.

1 Col. James Ransom died in Chicago, October 11, 1854. He was the senior member of the firm of Ransom & Seeley, of the Atlas Mills; first lieutenant of the Oswego Guards ; and an enterpris- ing and substantial citizen.

2 George Seeley, the junior partner of the firm of Ransom & Seeley, died in Albany in May, 1890, aged eighty-three. He came to Oswego about 1833 and for many years was engaged in the dry goods trade, in which he was associated with Col. James Ransom. The firm closed out this business and embarked in milling. Mr. Seeley was in the comptroller's office under W. F. Allen and his successors from 1867 until his death. He was an elder and deacon in the First Presby- terian Church and afterward in Grace Presbyterian Church, and was survived by a daughter, Elvina.

3 Frederick T. Carrington. born in Clinton, N. Y., in October, 1802, was educated at Hartwick Academy in Cooperstown. His father, Elisha, soon moved to Madison, and about 1827 came to Oswego, where Frederick T. engaged in business as a hardware merchant. The latter became a large holder of real estate and always had an abiding faith in the future of the city. About 1843 he formed a partnership with Myron Pardee as manufacturers of flour and as produce and com- mission merchants. The firm dissolved and was succeeded by Carrington & Preston (William I. Preston). He was interested in public improvements, especially in the Oswego and Syracuse Railroad Company, of which he was president. He died August 25, 1875.

4 Myron Pardee, born in Herkimer county in 1819, came to Oswego about 1833, and in 1837 entered the service of Bronson & Crocker. About 1843 he became the junior partner of the firm of Carrington & Pardee.

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Stevens built what was called the Palmetto flouring mill and soon after- ward sold it to New York parties, from whom it passed to Mollison & Hastings in 1852. They changed the name to Cumberland Mills, increased the capacity, erected brick buildings, and were succeeded by O. H. Hastings & Co. (Michael J. Cummings), the present proprietors, in 1877. The full roller process is used, the capacity is 500 barrels daily, and from fifteen to twenty men are employed. It is situated on the Varick Canal immediately below Kingsford's starch factory. This, with the Doolittle mill above mentioned, are the only flouring mills now in Oswego.

In 1847 the site of the Lake Ontario Mills (built by Bronson & Mor- gan in 1828), was covered by a new mill erected by Fitzhugh & Little- john, who carried it on until the great fire of 1853. It was then burned and rebuilt in the following year by the same firm ; among its subsequent owners were Luther Wright, Lathrop, Smith & Co , Howlett, Gardner & Co., the Oswego Milling Company, Durston & Royce, and others. The mill contained seven runs of stone and had a daily capacity of 400 barrels.

One of the greatest industries of its kind in the United States was es- tablished in this city in 1848, by T. Kingsford & Son, under the cor- porate name of The Oswego Starch Factory. The making of starch had a very ancient origin, for it is spoken of by Pliny as being made from wheat on the island of Chios. Very little is said of it by modern writers, however, until the reign of Queen Elizabeth, when its use became almost a necessity for stiffening the enormous ruffs worn by the queen and her court. So scarce and exclusive was the article at that time that its use was forbidden by English law except for the pur pose just mentioned, and by perfumers in making the hair powders then 'in vogue. The later development of the manufacture of cotton goods and calico printing created a greatly increased demand for starch and inventors and experimenters turned their attention to its cheaper and better production. In 1796 the British Society of Arts gave a medal to Mrs. Gibbs of Portland for her discovery of arum maculatum as a source of starch. Down to fifty or sixty years ago almost all of the starch product was made from potatoes and wheat ; but its quality was inferior and comparatively costly. Much of it was made in families for domestic use, where economy was necessary.

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Landmarks of Oswego County, New York, Part 38

Author: Churchill, John Charles, 1821-1905; Smith, H. P. (Henry Perry), 1839-1925; Child, W. Stanley Publication date: 1895 Publisher: Syracuse, N.Y. : D. Mason Number of Pages: 1410

Author: Churchill, John Charles, 1821-1905; Smith, H. P. (Henry Perry), 1839-1925; Child, W. Stanley
Publication date: 1895
Publisher: Syracuse, N.Y. : D. Mason
Number of Pages: 1410