USA > New York > Rensselaer County > Landmarks of Rensselaer county, New York, pt 1 > Part 27
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TROY AS A VILLAGE. 243
"Few, if any, of the towns on the Hudson enjoy greater facilities for manufactures than Troy. There are a rolling and slitting mill, an ex- tensive cotton and woolen factory, a paper mill, carding machine, full- ing mill a manufactory of fire-arms, and one also of shovels and spades, besides several nail works, a distillery, and several grain and saw mills."
The part which the inhabitants of Troy played in the War of 1812 was one to which the present generation may revert with feelings of pride. No less important was it, considering the comparative magni- tude of the two struggles, than the part which they took in the War of the Rebellion. The Greenbush barracks were the headquarters for the troops of the Department of the North, and Troy, only six miles away, was fired with patriotism. In September, 1812, the militia of Rensse- laer and Columbia counties rendezvoused about a mile from the village, the two Troy companies, the Troy Invincibles and the Troy Fusileers, going into active service at the same time: At this time the Invincibles were commanded by Captain Benjamin Higbie and the Fusileers by Captain Oliver Lyon. September 19, in obedience to orders from Governor Tompkins, commander-in-chief of the State militia, both companies began their march to Plattsburgh. Before leaving they were joined by a company of volunteer riflemen from Watervliet and a company of cavalry made up in Saratoga county. At Lansingburgh a fourth company entered the little army, a company of artillery under Captain King. They were accompanied as far as Waterford by Gover- nor Tompkins in person and were escorted to that village by the Trojan Greens, in command of Lieutenant Dole. After reaching Plattsburgh the two Troy companies were ordered to St. Regis, which was occupied by a reconnoitering force of the British regulars. Here they surprised the British, killing four, mortally wounding one and taking forty prisoners with two batteaux and thirty-eight stand of arms. Finding nothing further to accomplish in that vicinity the victorious companies, flushed with their first victory, returned to Troy in December. Janu- ary 5, 1813, the colors which they had captured were formally presented to the State at Albany.
In February, 1813, John E. Wool of Troy, who a year before had been appointed a captain in the Thirteenth Regiment of the United States Infantry, opened a recruiting office in the village, and in response to his appeals large numbers of men from Rensselaer county and vicin- ity entered the service of their country and were sent to the front, where they served with honor
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The popular term " Uncle Sam," as apphed to the United States government, originated in Troy and Greenbush during the war of 1812-14. Elbert Anderson, jr., one of the contractors supplying the Army of the North with provisions, in October, 1812, advertised for proposals for pork and beef to be delivered to him during the first four months of the following year in New York, Troy, Albany and Water- ford. Among those who contracted to furnish him with beef, packed in barrels, were Ebenezer and Samuel Wilson, the latter familiarly called by Trojans " Unele Sam." As the beef was delivered at Greenbush barracks from time to time, the Troy soldiers re- ferred to it as " Uncle Sam's" beef. The other soldiers, not know- ing who "Uncle Sam" was, thought that the term was applied to the letters U. S. stamped upon the barrels by the government officials. Consequently it was not long before the term " Uncle Sam," meaning the United States, was in common use.
The city of New York being threatened by the British troops in the summer of 1814, the Trojan Greens, in command of Captain Sidney Dole, volunteered their services for the defense of that city and were sent there in August with troops from Albany. In the following month the Invincibles and Fusileers followed the example of the Trojan Greens and were sent to New York. Though they were not called into active service, their gallantry was such that when they returned, late in November, they brought with them high official commendation. Soon after their return, on December 3, 1814, the people of Troy gave an enthusiastic reception to Commodore Thomas MacDonough, the hero of Lake Champlain, who, in command of the American flotilla in these waters, had achieved a complete and glorious victory over the British. Upon the ratification of the treaty of peace, the news of which was received in Troy February 21, 1815, there was general and great rejoicing. Among the features of the joyous occasion was a great procession which marched to the Presbyterian meeting house, where the ministers of the different churches conducted suitable serv- ices of thanksgiving. On the evening of that day the whole village was illuminated, fireworks in profusion were burned and the roar of eannon was almost incessant for four hours or more.
The necessity of an additional burying ground becoming apparent in 1813, on August 25 a meeting of the taxable inhabitants was held at Seymour's Inn for the consideration of the question. The trustees were authorized to raise by tax the sum of $1, 250 to purchase land for
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that purpose, and that body appointed Timothy Hutton, Hugh Peebles and Esaias Warren to select a site. The land for the new cemetery was donated to the village by Stephen Van Rensselaer- a lot contain- ing about three and three-fourths acres, situated on the east slope of Mount Ida, west of the Poesten kill-the deed conveying it to the vil- lage being dated January 20, 1815.
The panie of 1811 was felt in Troy as elsewhere throughout the conn- try. Money was scarce everywhere. In response to resolutions adopted by influential inhabitants the Farmers' bank and the Bank of Troy sus- pended specie payment, following the example of many other banks which took a similar step for self-protection. On account of the sear- city of small coin the firm of Parker & Bliss, in pursuance of permission granted by the village trustees, on September 10 issued $1,000 worth of small notes from twelve and a half cents in value down, and this measure relieved to a large extent the stringency in the " change " market among local merchants.
Despite the hard times in all sections of the country at this period Troy continued to prosper greatly. The population in 1815 was 4, 251, 2,000 greater than it was ten years before. Mills and factories had sprung up on all sides, new stores had been established and trade came to Troy from a territory having a radins of many miles. Feeling that the future of the place was secure and believing that Troy's prosperity would be greater under a better system of government the inhabitants coneluded to petition for a city charter, which they did, the Legislature granting their appeal. The village board of trustees met for the last time as a body at Titus's Inn May 9, 1816, and a new era for Troy was opened.
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CHAPTER XVI.
TROY AS A CITY.
The original charter of the city of Troy was enacted April 12, 1816. It contained no unusual features. It constituted the inhabitants of the place a corporate body under the name of "The Mayor, Recorder, Aldermen and Commonalty of the City of Troy." The charter divided the city into six wards. The first, second, third and fourth were iden- tical with those of the village as established by the law of April 4, 1806. The fifth ward comprised that section lying north of a line beginning at the bridge spanning the Poesten kill, near the grist mill of Townsend McCoun, and crossing the bridge and running along the south line of the Hollow Road until it intersected the Schuyler Road, where it turned south and ran to the south limits of the new city. The sixth ward included all the rest of the city which was not embraced in the other wards. The limits of the city were made identical in all re- spects with the limits of the town of Troy as it existed at the time of the passage of the charter. The city officers provided for, by election and appointment, were a mayor, a recorder, a clerk, a marshal, a chamberlain, six aldermen, four assistant aldermen, six assessors, one or more collectors and six constables. The governor, with the consent of the Council of Appointment, had the power to appoint the mayor, the recorder and the marshal; the rest of the officers to be elected annually by the people on the second Tuesday of May in each year. Each ward was entitled to one alderman, one assistant alderman, one assessor and one constable, except the fifth and six wards, which had no assistant aldermen. , The common council was composed of the mayor, the recorder, the six aldermen and the four assistant aldermen and the time and place of its meetings were subject to the call of the mayor, or in his absence the recorder, either of whom might preside. The first charter election was held Tuesday, May 14, 1816, and the first meeting of the common couneil was held in the court-house the week after, May 21. Col. Albert Pawling, who had been president of the village and held that office at the time the change in the form of 'gov-
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ernment was made, was elected the first mayor of the city; William L. Marcy was the first recorder; the first aldermen and assistant alder- men were-first ward, George Allen, alderman, Amos Salisbury, assist- ant; second ward, Hugh Peebles, alderman, John Loudon, assistant ; third ward, Townsend MeCoun, alderman, Gurdon Corning, assistant; fourth ward, Stephen Ross, alderman, Henry Mallory, assistant; fifthi ward, Lemmel Hawley, aklerman: sixth ward, Philip Hart, jr., alder- man; the first chamberlain was David Buel; the first city surveyor was William McManus; the first eity clerk was William M. Bliss; the first chief engineer of the city fire department was William S. Parker; all of whom held office in 1816 in pursuance of the privileges accorded by the first city charter.
The first Sunday schools organized in Troy were those formed by the Troy Sunday School association in the summer of 1816. This associa- tion was organized July & with these officers: President, Joseph Rus. sell; vice-president, Silas Covell; treasurer, John Loudon; secretary, David Buel. In them were represented the Presbyterian, Episcopal, Methodist and Baptist denominations. The schools were undenomina- tional and the exercises consisted principally of singing, prayers, exhor- tation, reading, spelling and primary Bible study, that is, verses of Scripture were committed to memory in concert.
The Troy Lyceum of Natural History was formed November 9, 1818, by the election of these officers: President, John D. Dickinson ; first vice-president, James Dalaby; second vice president, David Buel; re- cording secretary, Obed Rice; corresponding secretary, Dr. Amatus Robbins; treasurer, Albert Pawling Heartt; curators, Dr. Moses Hale, Dr. It M. Wells and Dr. Amatus Robbins. It was the first society of its kind in America and among its members were some of the best known scientists and authors in the United States. The society was incorporated two years after its organization, March 2, 1820.
The first person to engage in the manufacture of pianos in New York State was Joshua Thurston, who came from London, England, and settled in Troy in 1819. His manufactory was a great novelty and attracted many visitors from all sections of the State.
In July, 1819, an event occurred which stirred the people of the city of Troy to widespread expressions of great indignation. Colonel Albert Pawling, who had been appointed the first mayor of the city, was a man beloved and confided in by all, regardless of party. He had been one of the greatest benefactors of the village and city and at the time
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of his appointment there was no opposition to him, as far as can be learned. Suddenly, and without warning of his intention, Governor De Witt Clinton removed him from office and appointed in his place Thomas Turner, a man evidently unpopular and possessed of few quali- fications for the office. The removal and new appointment resulted in a spontaneous outburst of indignation. The commission of Mr. Tur- ner! reads as follows:
The People of the State of New-York, by the Grace of GOD Free and Independent :
To all to whom these presents shall come, greeting: Know Ye, That WE, reposing especial trust and confidence in the ability and integrity of Thomas Turner of our City of Troy Esquire. Have nominated, constituted and appointed, and by these Presents, Do nominate, constitute and appoint him the said Thomas Turner Esquire MAYOR of our said City of Troy hereby giving and granting unto him the said Thomas Turner, Esq., all and singular the powers and authorities to the said office by law belonging or appertaining. TO HAVE AND TO HOLD the said office of Mayor of our said City of Troy together with the fees, profits and advantages to the same belonging, for and during the term of ONE year from the date hereof.
IN TESTIMONY WHEREOF, We have caused these our Letters to be made Patent, and the Great Seal of our said State to be hereunto affixed. WIT- NESS or trusty and well-beloved DE WITT CLINTON, Esquire, Gover- nor of our said State, General and Commander in Chief of all the Militia, and Admiral of the Navy of the same, by and with the advice and consent of said Council of Appointment, at our City of Albany, the third day of July in the year of our Lord one thousand eight hundered and nineteen and in the forty- third year of our Independence.
DE Wrir CLINTON.
Passed the Secretary's Office, the 12th day of July, 1819. J. V. R. Yvres, Secretary.
An illustration of the popular feeling over what was considered by the people of Troy as an unwarranted abuse of power on the part of Governor Clinton may be had in the following communication, which appeared in the Troy Northern Budget July 13, 1819, the issue next following the news of the appointment of Mr. Turner. The commu- nication was signed " A Trojan."
A report reached this city in the early part of last week that Thomas Turner had been appointed Mayor in the place of Col. Pawling, but it was so unwelcome to the great body of citizens that they were unwilling to believe it. The report however proves to be true. What has this city done to merit this mdignity? If the feelings and policy of the Governor would not permit him to spare an old solcher of the Revolution-the companion in arms and ardent friend of his father and uncle-the
! Now in possession of E. Ogden Ross, esq. of Troy.
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eitizen of unblemished reputation, the zealous and upright magistrate-the man who with propriety may be called one of the fathers of our city, who had taken care of its mfaney and watched with parental solicitude over its rising prosperity, I ask if the Governor could not spare such a man, why bas he given us such a successor? The insult admits of no palliation. Mr. Clinton knew the standing of Turner: because he had been recently and reluctantly compelled to recede from his purpose of making him Sheriff of this county by the indignant voice of the people. He also knew from the expressed opinion of the most respectable men of all parties in this city, that the citizens wished the continuance of the old Mayor.
When that venerable patriot Gen. Clinton, in his declining years, expressed with feeling regret his apprehension of the evils that this state would suffer by the un- principled ambition of his nephew, he probably had some indistinct forebodings of the political abuses which have now fallen upon us; but how inexpressibly poign- ant would have been his regret, if he could have foreseen the very transactions on which I am now commenting .- A young man flew to the standard of this patriot and participated with him for seven years the dangers and sufferings by which our liberties were achieved. When he left the service of his country, he carried with him the love and affection of this patriot and the commendation of Washington. No act of his after life, disgraced this auspicious beginning. Having been a pupil in the school of the revolution his political sentiments emanated from the purest prin- ciples of republicanism. - Amidst all the changes and vicissitudes which this State has undergone, he has not erred in his political faith. In his old age he would not belie those principles which he loved in his youth, and practised in his manhood,- of course he could not be a favorite of present administration. Those very virtues which won the respect and esteem of General James Clinton and George Clinton, have drawn down upon the gray head of Col. Pawling the displeasure of Dewitt Clinton. The merit of this act belongs exclusively to the Governor, and his comfort arising from reflections on it, will excite no man's envy. I shall not attempt to do justice to public feeling on this occasion among our citizens, nor comment upon other acts of the present administration, which evinees its baseness. Let them bunt down and proscribe political virtue as much as they please, they never can make the people insensible to a want of it in themselves. The hoary headed patriot may feel their rage, but they cannot reach his reputation. Every such vietim will make a martyr. Though a man more entitled to respect than the late Mayor of this city has not encountered executive ire, nor fewer qualifications to redeem the misdeed, could be found in any successor, we have this consolation that other parts of the state are suffering evils similar in kind if not equal in degree with ourselves; and from this common suffering may and will arise a sense of the necessity of a remedy; and if the people of this State are not tamer than the slaves of despotism in a few months, this intolerable reign, in which talents are proscribed and virtue is a victim, will have passed away forever.
In response to an overwhelming popular demand Mr. Turner refused to serve in the office to which he had been appointed and Mayor Pawling continued to act until February, 1820, when Esaias Warren was named as his successor.
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The Rensselaer County Agricultural society was organized June 3, 1819, and the first fair under its auspices was held October 12 and 13 of the same year on the Common south of Hoosick street.
The first disastrous fire which visited the city of Troy started on the afternoon of June 20, 1820, in a stable in the rear of the residence of Colonel Davis, on the west side of First street north of Congress. A high wind from the south prevailed at the time and within a few hours ninety buildings had been reduced to ashes. Of these sixty-nine were stores and dwelling houses. The burned property included all the build- ings on the west side of First street north of and including the home of Colonel Davis, to the intersection of First and River streets, excepting the building occupied by the Bank of Troy; those on the east side of River street north of and including the store of HI. & G: Vail, to the in- terseetion of First and River streets; those on the west side of River street from Dr. Samuel Gale's drug store north as far as the site of the building No. 227 River street, opposite the Troy house; and those on both sides of State street between First and River streets. The local fire department was helpless to prevent the spread of the flames and in response to the earnest appeals of the people of Troy fire engines were sent to the scene from Albany, Waterford and the United States arsenal at Gibbonsville (now West Troy). Upon their arrival the efforts to stay the fire were renewed with desperation and were finally successful. About three weeks after the fire a day of prayer was set apart, July 12, and the inhabitants thronged to the various churches where services were held and in deep humiliation bowed to God in submission to His will. But for many weeks the city was enshrouded in gloom over the crushing blow that had fallen upon it, ruining many of its inhabitants and retarding its progress. During the following year contributions of food, clothing and money were sent to the sufferers from all parts of the country. The total losses of the fire aggregated $700,000, on which there was an insurance of about $110,000.
'The Emma Willard Female Seminary, which in later years became known throughout the entire country as a most excellent school for young ladies, was established in Troy in 1821. Mrs. Emma Willard was the wife of Dr. John Willard. In 1814 she established a boarding school for girls at Middlebury, Vt. While acting as principal of that school she conceived a plan for the incorporation and endowment of an institution for the higher education of young women. Believing that New York State offered superior advantages for the location of such a
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school she communicated an outline of her plan to Governor Clinton of New York, who agreed to assist her. According to his promise the governor caused to be passed a legislative enactment incorporating a female seminary at Waterford under the care of the Regents of the University and appropriating thereto its proper quota of the public moneys. The seminary opened in Waterford in the spring of 1819. After it had been successfully incorporated the citizens of Troy, appre- ciating the advantages which would accrue to them from the location of the school in the city, proposed to Mrs. Willard that she remove the seminary to Troy, agreeing to contribute freely of their means to its establishment and maintenance. To this proposition she assented, and March 26, 1821, the common council of the city, in response to a gen- eral demand, resolved to raise by tax in the first, second, third and fourth wards the sum of $1,000 for the purchase of a suitable building. It also appointed Jeremiah Dauchy, Ephraim Morgan, Gurdon Corn- ing. Nathan Warren, Lewis Lyman, John G Vanderheyden, Thomas Skelding, Gilbert Reilay, George Smith, Richard P. Hart and James Vandenburgh a commission to obtain suitable quarters at an expense not to exceed $5,000 and to engage a principal for the new school. April 14, agreeable to the recommendation of this committee, the city purchased for $1, 700 the "Old Coffee House," originally owned by Captain Howard Moulton, an officer in the American army during the war of the Revolution, who removed from Troy to Stafford Springs, Conn. He constructed the building in 1495. It was a three-story frame building and in its early days was the principal rival of the famous Ashley's Inn. While the "Old Coffee House" was being renovated and put in condition for the reception of the new institution Mrs. Wil- lard became principal of the Troy Female seminary, temporarily using the lecture room of the Troy Lyceum of Natural History in the court- house for a recitation room and the apartments of two dwelling houses near by for dormitories and study rooms. August 2 the common coun- cil appointed David Buel, jr., Joseph Russell, Nathan Warren, Richard P. Hart, Jeremiah Dauchy, James Mallory, William Bradley and Amasa Paine trustees of the school. The work of repairing the build- ing selected for its occupancy was completed in the fall, when the school moved into it and began what proved to be a successful career. The seminary's first faculty consisted of the following: Principal, Mrs. Emma Willard; instructors, Elizabeth Sherrill, Angelica Gilbert, Mary Heywood and Elizabeth P. Huntington; assistant instructors, Sarah
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WV. Ingalls, Mary HI. Field, Mary E. Akin and Elizabeth Whiting. The first class numbered ninety pupils, twenty-nine of whom resided in Troy and the remainder coming from the States of New York, Con- nectieut, Vermont, Massachusetts, Ohio, South Carolina and Georgia.
A munificent enterprise, which subsequently became one of Troy's noblest institutions, had its inception in 1823, when a number of citizens petitioned the Legislature to enact a law incorporating them under the name of the Troy Savings Bank. The act was passed April 23, 1823, and named as the first managers of the institution John Gary, Deriek Lane, Richard P. Hart, Gurdon Corning, John Thomas, John Paine, Nathan Warren, Lewis Lyman, Platt Titus, James Van Schoonhoven, Henry Mallory, Leland Howard, Joseph Russell, Samuel Gale, Town- send MeCoun, William Bradley, Alanson Douglas, William Smith and David Buel, jr. The charter permitted the managers to make an agree- ment with any of the banks of the eity to receive deposits and transact business on such terms and conditions as the managers might deem to be for the best interests of all. The trustees were authorized to reg- ulate the rate of interest to be paid depositors, and the latter were to receive a ratable proportion of all the profits of the bank after all the necessary expenses had been deducted. The board of managers com- prised the president, two vice-presidents and twelve trustees, the mayor and reeorder of the city being ex-officio members of the body. At the first meeting of the managers held at Platt Titus's Inn August 15 Townsend MeCoun was elected president, Richard P. Hart, first vice- president, and Lewis Lyman, second vice-president. The by-laws were adopted at the same time and the first deposits were received August 30 at the Farmers' Bank. The wisdom of the founders of the bank may be appreciated when it is known that it is being conducted to-day on the same general lines on which it started business over 73 years ago.
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