Landmarks of Oswego County, New York, Part 50

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 50

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485

THE TOWN OF BOYLSTON.

families in the town save a man named Gordon, who lived a part of the time in the vicinity. Alonzo Wart, eldest son of John, was born De- cember 12, 1812, and was the first white child born in Boylston, but he survived only until February, 1814, when he died, which was the first death in the township. William Wart, a son of John, was born here September 4, 1819, married a daughter of John Dingman, and resides in Sandy Creek, where his son holds the office of postmaster. In 1814 Rhodes Streeter became the third permanent settler of the town.

In 1815 four families came in, -those of Peter Wills, John F. Dean, Martin Lillie, and Asa B. Copeland, all of whom located in the vicinity of North Boylston. The last survivor of this pioneer band was Mrs. Lillie. In 1816 Morris Wart, a younger brother of John, became a settler. Among those who came hither the same year were Andrew Bortles, George Huffstater, Matthew Shoecraft, Jacob Weidrich, Jesse Blue, Peter Huffstater, Joseph Shoecraft, Peter Barga, and Jacob, Reu- ben, Henry, Abram, and Jonathan Snyder, nearly all of whom were substantial farmers from the famous Mohawk Valley. Abram Snyder located on the homestead now occupied by his son, Abram, jr., while Reuben settled where Ira Cummins now lives. The locality took from them the name of Snyder's Corners.

As early as 1822 Elisha Stevens made a settlement in the Snyder neighborhood and in that year built on Sandy Creek, near the western boundary of the town, the first saw mill in Boylston. About 1830 a grist mill was erected, but it was neither valuable or enduring. On the Moore road is now a mill owned by Edward Snyder.

In 1817 the present Boylston became a part of Orwell, and John Wart was appointed a justice of the peace, being the first within the limits of this town. In that capacity he married Jonathan Snyder and a Miss Stevens, the first couple wedded in the town of Boylston. Prior to that, however, Samuel Wells and Betsey Gordon were united in the sacred bonds of matrimony, but they went eastward to have the cere- mony performed.

By 1824 a sparsely settled community had become established in the west part of the town, leaving the eastern and central portions a dense forest, in which the bear, wolf, and deer roamed almost unmolested. Even down to 1850 these localities remained practically untouched

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LANDMARKS OF OSWEGO COUNTY.

except for the game they furnished the sportsmen. As fast as the nu- merous saw mills devoured the timber the pioneers resolutely opened farms, and rapidly brought the hills under cultivation, and during the past forty years more land has been improved in Boylston than in any other town in the county.1

Aaron W. Fuller, who, with his son Charles A., occupied the center lot of the town, settled there in 1852, and the same year his brother, William T., located on the farm across the road. Stephen Baker came to the neighborhood also in 1852, but subsequently moved to Missouri.

Other early settlers were Thomas and Robert Sliter, Mr. Crawford (a blacksmith), Joseph A. Tilton (father of James B.), Jacob Barga (father of William), Leonard Palmer (a farmer and foundryman where his daughter, Mary Palmer, now lives), William Barker (father of James), Jesse Ballou (father of Hosea), Nelson Oderkirk (father of John A.), Frederick Barga (brother of Jacob), Henry Palmer (brother of Leonard), James Lowry, sr., (father of James), Cornelius Delong (father of Phi- lander and Charles), James McDougall, John Smith (father of George), William Tanner, Solomon Paddock, Barney Ostrom, David McDougall, Hosea B. Turner, David Brown, Garrett Snyder, and the Cole family, on whose farm stands the Le Clair cheese factory.

During the war of the Rebellion the town sent sixty-five of her brave citizens to fight in the Nation's cause. Each served with credit and fidelity.

The first school house in Boylston was a bark covered log structure erected in 1817, and in it school was taught during that summer by Polly Allport. The town at present has nine school districts with a school house in each, in which nine teachers were employed during the year 1892-3, and which were attended by 219 scholars. The value of school buildings and sites is $3,650; assessed valuation of the districts in 1893, $168,579 ; public money received from the State, $1,036.45 ; raised by local tax, $715.77. The districts are locally known as follows : No. 1, Wart ; 2, North Church ; 3, Van Auken; 4, Hemlock ; 5, Phelps; 6, Palmer ; 7, Joint; 8, Center ; 9, Smartville.

I Boylston taken from Orwell in 1828; from Albany 140, from Pulaski N. E. ten miles. Pop. 481. The greater part of the town is stil covered with a forest .- [From Hist. Coll.of the State of N. Y., 1846.

487

THE TOWN OF BOYLSTON.

The population of Boylston in 1830 was 388; 1835, 368; 1840, 481 ; 1845, 538; 1850, 661; 1855, 815; 1860, 909; 1865, 960; 1870, 1,053; 1875, 1,132; 1880, 1,283; 1890, 1,081.

Supervisors' statistics of 1894 .- Acres of resident land, 14,779; non-resident, 9,491; assessed valuation of real estate, $183,785; equalized, $171,608; personal property, $1,720; town tax, $1,434.74; county tax, $970.63; total tax levy, $2,766.97; dog tax, $89; rate of taxation, $1 50. The town constitutes a single election district and in November, 1894, polled 222 votes.

Villages .- There are no villages in the town. North Boylston is a small hamlet and post- office in the northern part, at which George W. Rudd is postmaster. This post- office was established in April, 1852, under the postmastership of Luke Wells, who opened a tavern there in 1851. Eugene Wells erected a store and cheese factory there in 1888. Boylston Center is a post-office near the center of the town ; the post- master is Daniel Amos Snyder. Smartville post-office, named in honor of William Smart, who formerly conducted a store and saw mill there, was established in the fall of 1893 with Theophilus F. Lenoir as post- master.

Churches .- The First Wesleyan Methodist church of Boylston, situa- tion near the line of Sandy Creek, was first organized about 1845, and among its early pastors were Daniel Calkins, Loomis Chase, Daniel Hollis, and James Francis. The present incumbent is Rev. Mr. Havens. In 1856 a church edifice was built and is still in use.

The North Boylston circuit (Methodist Protestant) was set off from the Boylston- Orwell circuit in 1868, prior to which meetings had been held in the school house near the present church edifice, which was built in the northwest part of the town in 1859. The first pastor was Rev. Charles Wiedrich, the present one being Rev. Mr. Beebe. This same denomination holds services in the school house at Smartville.

Regular services are usually maintained at each of these three places, which afford the inhabitants convenient facilities for religious worship.

488

LANDMARKS OF OSWEGO COUNTY.

CHAPTER XXI.

THE TOWN OF CONSTANTIA.

Constantia was formed from Mexico on the 8th of April, 1808, and at that time included also the towns of Hastings and West Monroe. Hastings was set off April 20, 1825, and West Monroe on March 21, 1839, thus reducing this town to it present area of 34, 102 acres. It lies in the southeastern corner of Oswego county and is bounded on the west by West Monroe, on the north by Amboy and Oneida county, on the east by Oneida county, and on the south by Oneida lake. It was originally known as Survey township No. 1I, or Rotterdam, of Scriba's patent. The surface, which inclines generally to the southward, is com- paratively level, except in the northern part, where it is slightly broken into hills and valleys. The soil is quite sandy, gravelly, and in some places stony, and along the southern portion is underlaid with the Clinton group of rocks, in which more or less iron ore exists. In the vicinity of Bernhard's Bay and Cleveland extensive beds of glass sand is found, and have been profitably utilized from an early day.

Dense forests of hemlock and other timber originally covered the en- tire town, and for many years furnished profitable employment to scores of lumbermen. In 1860, when much of the interior still remained un- settled, there were thirty-four saw mills in operation, and even down to a later period lumbering continued the chief industry. In early years large quantities of salt barrels were made, and sold in Salina. Scriba and Black Creeks and other small streams supplied excellent water- power, while the lake afforded valuable transportation facilities. But the great forests no longer exist. Within a decade or two most of the mills have disappeared, leaving but two or three now in operation. Those who had been engaged in the lumber business quickly turned their attention to more permanent pursuits, and agriculture gradually became paramount in importance. Productive farms and pleasant homes dotted the clearings, and grazing, dairying, and hop raising were

489

THE TOWN OF CONSTANTIA.

profitably undertaken. Besides these, the manufacture of iron and glass was successfully established, and various other industries were started, In fact, considering the prospects of fifty years ago, no other town in the county has offered so many advantages or such a variety of natural resources.

Painter Lake, on the line between Constantia and Amboy, and Kibby's Lake, in the south part of the town, are small bodies of water. Near the latter is a steam hoop factory and saw mill owned by D. G. Inger- soll & Son. George Williams has a saw mill at Constantia village ; another is operated by J. Carter's Sons, two and one half miles north ; and Washington Dutcher carries on a saw mill and shingle mill at " Dutcherville." There are two cheese factories in the town : One at Constantia conducted by Lewis K. Auringer, and another at the "Wa- tering Trough," two and one half miles east.

The designations given on recent maps and still used in deeds describ- ing land in certain portions of the town are as follows: Great tract No. I, lying northwest of the center ; great tract No. 2, occupying the north center; great tract No. 3, situated in the northeast part ; Roose- velt's tract, comprising the center and extending to within a short dis- tance of the east boundary ; Scriba's location, occupying the south part of the town, except the extreme southwest corner, and including the villages of Constantia, Bernhard's Bay, and Cleveland; and the dis- puted territory, comprising a small strip of land in the central part of the town between lots 7, 8, 9, and 10 on the east and lots 16, 20, and 24 on the west.

The history of Constantia is full of romance and thrilling adventure. Originally the Oneida Indians owned its territory, which they ceded to the State in 1788, reserving, however, a tract half a mile square on the shore of Oneida Lake.1 Of choice as well as of necessity, this region was the scene of numerous warlike expeditions and the favorite rendez- vous of many camping parties to hunt and fish. Game was abundant, and the Indians, and subsequently the white settlers, actively engaged in its capture. The larger animals have disappeared, yet smaller species, such as the fox, rabbit, partridge, etc., still exist in limited

' In Indian language, Goienho.

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LANDMARKS OF OSWEGO COUNTY.

numbers. For many years fishing and duck hunting have been favorite pastimes.

To Frenchman's Island, situated in this town in Oneida Lake, about four miles southwest from Constantia village, is attached a romance which will ever remain interesting to resident and visitor, and to which also is due the credit of being the site of the first white settlement within the limits of the present town. In 1786 De Vatine or Desvatines, who claimed to have been a seigneur near Lisle, France, and who has usually been metamorphosed into Count St. Hilary, came to America with his newly-wedded wife, "a daughter of the noble house of Clermont." After wasting a large portion of his already depleted fortune in travel- ing and in business in New York, he became disgusted with civilization and determined to make his home in the wilderness. Selling the most of their furniture, but retaining his library and a little silver, the couple with two children started westward and reached Oneida Lake, then on the great thoroughfare of travel. This was in the spring or summer of 1791. They settled on what has ever since been known as Frenchman's Island, where Desvatines began a clearing with his own hands. The subsequent experiences of this man and his family have already been described in an earlier chapter.

Theirs was the second settlement in Oswego county. Desvatine re- . mained undisturbed until 1793, when an agent of John and Nicholas Roosevelt informed him that the State had sold the island with other lands to the Roosevelts and that he must leave it. George Scriba was then beginning a settlement at what is now Constantia village, and in- vited the Frenchman to live there, which offer is said to have been gladly accepted.1 It is known, however, that Desvatines was about this time or soon afterward discovered by Chancellor Livingston, who had formerly enjoyed the hospitalities of the lady's family in Paris. He visited them and spent some time in their rural home,2 and finally pre- vailed upon them to return with him to his mansion upon the Hudson. When Bonaparte put an end to the reign of terror and restored much of the confiscated property to the exiles of the Revolution, the family returned to France. Livingston's mansion on the Hudson and Robert

1 Johnson's History, p. 287.

2 French's N. Y. State Gazetteer, 1860.

491

THE TOWN OF CONSTANTIA.

Fulton's first steamboat were named in honor of Madame Desvatine's family, " Clermont."

The first settler on the mainland was a man named Bruce, who built a rude cabin on the site of Constantia village in 1791 or 1792. He was evidently a squatter and remained but a short time. In 1792 Francis Adrian Vanderkemp, a distinguished citizen of Holland, accompanied by Baron De Zeng, a German nobleman, sometimes called Major De Zeng, and two servants, made an expedition in a canoe into this region with a view of settlement, and found both Desvatines and Bruce living in the unbroken wilderness. Monsieur and Madame Desvatines re- ceived them with cordial welcome, and upon learning that the travelers intended to proceed to Oswego, offered them the use of their safer and more commodious bateau, which was thankfully accepted. Baron De Zeng was a resident of Rome.

Meanwhile, in 1791, John and Nicholas Roosevelt acquired possession from the State of a large tract of land lying north of Oneida Lake, which included this town, and on April 7, 1792, sold their contract to George Frederick William Augustus Scriba, a native of Holland, then a merchant in New York city, who usually styled himself simply George Scriba. From him the tract has ever since been known as Scriba's Patent. He began a settlement at Rotterdam 1 (now Constantia village) in the spring of 1793, but did not receive his title until December 12, 1794. His embryo city is thus spoken of in a journal kept by the Frenchmen sent from Paris in the fall of 1793, by the "Castorland Company," to examine the Black River country, and who visited this region on their route :

We then took a view of the future Rotterdam. It is upon a moderately elevated, sandy plateau, with a view of the lake and the islands, and at present con- sists of a saw mill and three log house, but its location is favorable. Mr. Scriba in- tends to open a road from this place to Little Salmon Creek, which is twenty-four miles by land, and will save more than sixty miles by water as well as the tedious navigation of the rivers. It is probable that this will become the route of trade from the lakes, which cannot fail to give it importance, especially if Little Salmon Creek is navigable, so as to reduce the portage to six or eight miles, as they assured us could be done. The

1 So named by Mr. Scriba from his birthplace, Rotterdam, a city and seaport in the province of South Holland, Netherlands, situated at the junction of the River Rotte with the Nieuwe Maas or (New Meuse). This village (Constantia) is often designated by early writers as New Rotterdam.

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LANDMARKS OF OSWEGO COUNTY.

only trouble is the landing place, but some piers would remedy this, and timber is plenty.

Mr. Scriba did not settle at Rotterdam until several years afterward, but carried on his business and conducted his improvements through agents.

Mr. Vanderkemp, previously mentioned, was born in Campen, in Overyssel one of the United Provinces of the Netherlands. He came hither in the summer of 1793 from Ulster county, N. Y., where he had been living. Purchasing 1,000 acres of Mr. Scriba at a point on the lake which he christened Kempwick, about five miles east of Rotterdam, he erected some fine buildings which he had framed on the Hudson. There he settled permanently. It is said that his barn was eighty by ninety feet in size and correspondingly high. He possessed considerable wealth and a large number of negro slaves, whom he brought with him, and soon had a large tract of land cleared and under cultivation. His patent included a pond, in the northern part, which is still known as Vanderkemp's Pond. It was said to con- tain immense quantities of fish; and Mr. Scriba, becoming aware of the fact, offered to give Vanderkemp a deed of 500 acres free of cost if he would relinquish his right and title to a like territory including this body of water. The offer was accepted. Mr. Vanderkemp removed to Trenton, Oneida county, probably before 1798.

Two settlers of about 1793 were Major Solomon Waring and Joshua Lynch. The former located at Constantia village, where he opened that year the first tavern in the town. It stood on the site of the pres- ent Lakeside House. Major Waring's son George was born here April II, 1796, which was the first white birth on the mainland within the limits of the present town. In 1794 Scriba laid out his celebrated road to his other city, " Vera Cruz," at the mouth of Little Salmon Creek.

By 1795 this region had acquired considerable reputation and during that year it materially increased in population. In June Duc François Alexandre Frédéric de la Rochefoucauld-Liancourt, the French philan - tropist and politician and the founder of "Ecole des Enfants de la Patrie," visited Rotterdam in his travels through the United States, and in 1798 wrote his " Voyage dans les Etats-Unis d'Amerique fait en 1795-97," in which he speaks of this place as follows :

493

THE TOWN OF CONSTANTIA.

Rotterdam is a new establishment begun eighteen months since, by Mr. Scriba, a wealthy Hollander, and a merchant, who is the owner of a large tract of land extending from here to Lake Ontario. He has chosen the mouth of Bruce Creek [now Constantia Creek] as the site of his principal city, and has begun another at Salmon River, two miles from Lake Ontario. Bruce Creek is navigable some miles above Rot- terdam, and Mr. Scriba has opened a road from here to his new city. At present his establishments amount to but little. A dozen poor log houses, built almost entirely at Mr. Scriba's expense, constitute all there is of the city of Rotterdam, so named in honor of the native place of its founder. The dams for the use of the mill that he has built have cost much money, and being always poorly built, he has been obliged to recom- mence them several times. The grist mill is not yet built, and the dam appears too feeble for the pressure it will have to sustain. Some work and considerable money has been expended at the mouth of the creek to make a landing, but the accommodation is very poor. They estimate that Mr. Scriba has expended over $8,000 here, and if the work had been well applied it would be a profitable investment. Mr. Scriba is now build- ing a fine frame house,1 in which he intends to place a store. In this he will share the profits with two associates whom he has as his agents for all these works. A store is, moreover, in America, the best means for gaining property rapidly in a new settlement, and he can thus regain the money expended on his establishment. He will sell, for in- stance, a quart of brandy for four shillings and sixpence, or if more for three shillings, flour at sixpence a pound retail, or ten dollars a barrel, while it only costs him seven. The profits on other articles are still greater. The land which sold fifteen months ago at a dollar an acre now brings three dollars, and is not considered dear at that price. The present settlers of this place came from New England, and from near Albany. Mr. Scriba's partners in the store are Hollanders like himself, and they have a mulatto in charge. This mulatto is also a doctor and a gardener, and appears to have been well educated ; they say he is a half brother of Mr. Melth, one of the partners. Workmen

get in Rotterdam four shillings a day and board, or six and sixpence when they board themselves. Boarders pay fourteen shillings per week without liquor. They paid for bread ninepence a pound, the common price being six. Fresh meat is eightpence. But notwithstanding the number of workmen constantly employed by Mr. Scriba, pro- visions are scarce and uncertain, and the price is always high. This country is also liable to fevers, as is all that through which we have passed.

The store above mentioned was opened a year or two later and is said to have contained at one time a stock of. goods valued at $10,000. It was the only establishment of the kind in this region and conse- quently an immense business was conducted. The Indians as well as the whites came here to trade from more than forty miles around.

About 1795 John Meyer located in or near the village. He was Mr. Scriba's agent, was appointed a justice of the peace, and was the first

1 This house is still standing, and is known as the "Old Scriba Mansion." It is occupied by descendants of the original proprietor.

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LANDMARKS OF OSWEGO COUNTY

supervisor of Mexico and the first within Oswego county, being ap- pointed in 1797 by the justices of the county of Herkimer in default of an election.

John Bernhard, sr., was the first permanent settler at Bernhard's Bay, a place about four miles east of Rotterdam which derived its name from him. He was born in Holland October 11, 1754, and married, Febru- ary 4, 1785, Catherine Vonk, who was also born there October 28, 1755. The birth of their son John L. occurred in May, 1786. In 1790 the family came to America and located on Staten Island, whence they removed in 1795 to this town. They arrived late in the fall and found an old log house at the bay, which had been built in 1793 and occupied a short time by a Mr. Dayton. For a while they shared the hospitali- ties of Mr. Vanderkemp's rude dwelling, but during the heat of a political dispute Bernhard declared that he would not live there. Accordingly he moved his family into the dilapidated log structure, which he at- tempted to repair, but without success, and was obliged to return to Vanderkemp's and pass the remainder of the winter. In the spring they went back to the bay and during that season (1796) erected a sub- stantial dwelling and commenced a clearing. In front of his habitation, about fifty rods out in the lake, is a little island visible only during low water. It has been claimed that the Oneida Indians for many years brought hither their squaws who had violated the Iroquois laws and as a punishment compelled them to swim to the island and return. Mr. Bernhard died January II, 1821, and his wife January 9, 1816. John L. Bernhard married, in 1814, Anne B. Bloomfield, who was born in New Jersey, October 30, 1788. They had four sons and four daugh- ters. He died October 27, 1833 ; his widow survived until September 1, 1855. Their son, James M. Bernhard, was born at the bay April 10, 1825, where he still resides, as does also a brother, John B.

Few settlers had located at Rotterdam up to 1798. The assessment roll of the town of Mexico for that year contains the names of John Meyer. Amos Matthews, John and Daniel Bernhard, Henry Fall, and Major Solomon Waring, besides George Scriba, who was assessed for the greater part of the town. In 1797 a log school house was erected, and during the winter of 1797-8 the first school was taught in Con- stantia. During the two or three years thereafter extensive improve-

495

THE TOWN OF CONSTANTIA.

ments were inaugurated in the village. Many Hollanders were induced by Mr. Scriba to leave their fatherland and locate here, and the place acquired considerable activity. Scriba built a five-story grist mill on the bank of Scriba's Creek, and to a point about half a mile up that stream caused a canal to be dug, which he sided with heavy oak tim- bers. At the head of this channel he erected a building which he in- tended for a distillery, but it was never used. He placed machinery in his mill, but it could not be made to work. Both establishments were therefore failures. Some years afterward a small addition was made to the grist mill and a single run of stone placed in operation for grinding corn. About 1800 Mr. Scriba himself established his residence in Rot- terdam and built the old mansion which is still standing on the north side of the road just east of the creek, and which is occupied by his re- maining descendants.

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Landmarks of Oswego County, New York, Part 50

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