USA > New York > Rensselaer County > Landmarks of Rensselaer county, New York, pt 1 > Part 30
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April 17, 1851, two new wards were created by the Legislature by the division of the sixth and seventh wards. The ninth ward was de- fined as "all that part of the sixth ward bounded by a line running through the centre of Polk street eastwardly to the centre of the Green- bush road, thence northerly through the centre line of the road to a point in the north line of the Bumstead farm, thence easterly along the north line of the farm to a point in the west line of the Rensselaer county poor house farm, thence northerly along the west line of the . farm to the northwest corner of the farm, thence northerly to the Hol- low road, thence westerly along the centre of the Hollow road to the centre of the Poesten kill, and thence westerly along the centre of the creek to the Hudson river." The tenth ward was defined as all that part of the seventh ward lying north of a live running through the middle of Hoosick street.
Another disastrous fire, entailing a loss of over $50,000, started on the afternoon of October 28, 1852, in a shed in the rear of a house on Fulton street, between Fifth and Sixth streets. Before the fire could be controlled it had consumed several adjacent buildings, including the car works of Eaton, Gilbert & Co., the North Baptist church and Union Place block.
A notable trial which occurred in Troy in 1853 was that of a woman supposed to be Mrs. Henrietta Robinson, afterward famous as the " veiled murderess." The charge against her was murdering, by poi- son given in beer, a man named Lanigan and attempting to kill by the same means a woman visiting at his house in Troy. Throughout the
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entire trial the accused sat with her face heavily veiled, and forever after her identity remained undisclosed. The mysterious woman was convicted on the charge and sentenced to death, but the sentence was commuted to imprisonment for life through the efforts of Judge Harris, the presiding judge, and Martin 1. Townsend, her chief counsel. In 1896 Mrs. Robinson was still confined in the State Asylum for insane criminals at Matteawan, N. Y.
Two banking companies, both of which are now extinct, were organ- ized in 1853 and 1854. They were the Market Bank of Troy, incor- porated in January, 1853, with a capital of $200,000, and the Troy Sav- ings company, incorporated June 29, 1854. The first named began business in September, 1853, in the building No. 280 River street, with Jeremiah S. Ilakes as president and Albert C. Gunnison as cashier. The bank ceased to exist in January, 1865, being succeeded by the National Exchange bank. The Troy Savings company was located at No. 18 First street and began business with Uri Gilbert as president, Joseph U. Orvis as vice-president and John P. Albertson as secretary and treasurer. Its business never was very extensive, and after a career of twenty-six years it discontinued business.
By a decision of the Supreme Court of New York State the exclusive right to operate steam or other ferries across the Hudson river opposite the city of Troy by the heirs to the Vanderheyden estate and their suc- cessors was annulled, and the right to receive tolls by the persons or companies operating the ferries became a State franchise. Ever since 1826 steam ferryboats had been running across the river to and from Gibbonsville, the first one having been constructed especially for John G. Vanderheyden. When the decision of the Supreme Court was handed down a third ferry was established as the foot of Broadway, landing on the opposite side of the river at the south end of Green Island. It was not until some time after the construction of the State dam that the fourth ferry, running between the foot of Donw street, Troy, and Tibbits street, Green Island, was established. The first and only very serious aceident on any of these lines occurred on the morn- ing of October 13, 1854, when the ferry boat plying between the city and Green Island was upset in midstream by swells from the steam- boat Alice, throwing its seventeen passengers in the water, eleven of whom were drowned.
The next important chapter in the history of railroad development in Troy centres about the organization of the Troy Union Railroad
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company. As we have seen, the first tracks of the Rensselaer & Sara- toga railroad, which were also used by the Schenectady & Troy Rail- road company, were laid from the Green Island bridge down River street to First and thence to the front of the Athenaum building. Soon after the opening of these roads the business men of Troy and others began to complain of the inconvenience caused by running cars on these streets, particularly on River street, the principal business thoroughfare. This feeling finally culminated in a general desire that the tracks be taken up and removed to some other street where the running of the cars would not so seriously interfere with local street traffic and general business. Consequently, on petition of the citizens of Troy, the Legislature, June 20, 1851, authorized the city and the different railroad companies to form a stock company for the construc- tion of a railroad through a part of the whole of the city. In accord- ance with this permission the Troy Union Railroad company was organ- ized July 21 of the same year. The work of construction was delayed some time for the purpose of determining the streets which might best be set apart for the new railroad, and it was not until December 3, 1852, that the city authorities granted the company a franchise to use each side of Sixth street, between Fulton and Albany streets, for a passenger depot, and to change the course of Sixth street at that point if necessary. Soon after this the work of construction was begun. March 14, 1853, the company purchased of Orsamus Eaton his property, located on the site chosen for a depot, and the erection of that struc- ture was begum. New tracks connecting with the Troy & Greenbush railroad were laid on Sixth street, and another line was laid to the Rensselaer & Saratoga railroad bridge.
Meantime other plans for the betterment of Troy's railroad facilities were in progress. The ownership of the Schenectady & Troy railroad, and its operation and maintenance, had proven a heavy burden for the city and soon after the organization of the Troy Union Railroad com- pany a number of citizens petitioned the Common Council to sell the Schenectady & Troy railroad for as large a sum as it would bring. Six months afterward the committee to whom the matter had been referred for investigation reported in favor of selling the road for not less than $200,000. January 24, 1853, a committee consisting of Mayor George Gould, Recorder Gilbert Robertson, jr., Alderman Jonathan Edwards, Alderman Foster Bosworth, Russell Sage and D. Thomas Vail were appointed a committee to make the sale at not less than the price men-
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tioned. In accordance with its instructions the committee contracted to sell the road to E. D. Morgan for $200,000, March 1, 1853, who was to pay $50,000 cash upon that date and the balance in fourteen years, with six per cent. semi-annual interest after March 1, 1858. The new owner entered into an agreement with the city to keep the road in good condition and to fulfill the agreement between the city and the Troy Union Railroad company. The sale was immediately confirmed by the Common Council and the necessary papers signed by the mayor.
The Troy Union railroad and its large new depot were opened for business February 22, 1854, when a banquet was given on the upper floor of the building. Five new passenger cars brought from Albany, by way of Greenbush, 425 invited guests, ineluding 125 members of the State Legislature, then in session, several of whom made addresses speaking in most flattering terms of the great enterprise of the people of Troy. From this time on the interests of the various railroads centering in Troy were indissolubly linked together, and it may be said that on February 22, 1854, a new era of prosperity opened, not only for Troy's railroads but for all its diversified interests.
The inhabitants of Troy were again called upon to suffer a great loss by fire when, on the afternoon of Friday, August 25, 1854, a large quan. tity of lumber and several blocks of buildings were destroyed. The flames originated about one o'clock in a brick planing mill on the south- west corner of Front and Division streets and quickly consumed the piles of lumber south of the mill. From there it eontinned until it had burned all the buildings and lumber west of River street, from Divis- ion street to Jefferson street ; all the buildings of any kind west of First street, between liberty and Jefferson streets, and nearly all the struc- thres between the latter streets along and west of the alley between First and Second streets. About two hundred buildings were de- stroyed, including among the most important, the freight depot and repair shop of the Troy & Greenbush Railroad company, the chair factory of Edgerton, Sheldon & Osborn, the bell foundry of Jones & Hitchcock and Parmenter's machine shop. About 20,000,000 feet of lumber was also burned, and fully three hundred families were ren- dered homeless, many losing all their possessions exeepting the cloth- ing they wore. Relief was extended the sufferers by residents of Troy and other cities. On this occasion the local fire department received valuable assistance from fire companies in Albany, Lansingburgh, West Troy, Cohoes and Waterford. A conservative estimate of the loss places it at about one million dollars.
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Troy was the original home and is the present centre of the linen collar, cuff and shirt industry of the world. The collar industry was started in this city in a modest way by one man in the year 1828. His success, coupled with that of his successors, incited emulation, and several other firms soon entered the field, The great convenience of detachable collars and cuffs was apparent from the start, and the de- mand for them soon distanced even the rapidly increasing production. This continued to enlarge, however, until it seemed that the limit of consumption must have been reached. But it may almost be said with truth that there is no limit to the demand. The competition which be- gan soon after the establishment of the first collar manufactory gave birth to many new fashions, and there have been in the past thirty or forty years several freakish and fantastic periods in the industry, each one of which was followed almost immediately by reaction to forms less radical. During this time practically every new style has origi- nated in the city of Troy, and this is true to-day.
The importation of English collars of some brands began about the year 1875, and about the year 1884 German collars also were introduced, both with indifferent success. But ever since its inception the develop- ment of the domestic manufacture has proceeded with marvelous strides, though with occasional brief pauses. Strangely enough the business is almost entirely confined to Troy, where over a score of firms, some of which are very wealthy, are engaged in it. Some of these establishments are very large, employing many hundred persons in each and maintaining large warerooms in several large cities in various parts of the Union. Unlike many other branches of industry there is no trust or combination in the collar business, but the freest competition. Many grades, from the finest of linen and part linen and cotton, to all cotton, are produced, and the workmanship in all grades has been brought up to the highest standard of excellence. The wages paid to both men and women are good, and the industry, taken as a whole, is a splendid illustration of modern American skill, integrity and indomitable energy and enterprise. With the branch factories which some of the Troy concerns maintain in other places, such as Glens Falls, Mechanieville, Ballston Spa and Greenwich, and other towns even further away, the value of the annual production of linen and cotton collars and cuffs alone by the Troy concerns is about $5, 500,000, besides the value of immense quantities of men's shirts and women's shirt-waists. Paper collars and cuffs, which were in general use at one time, are now
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manufactured in small quantities, the value of the annual output being about $300,000 only. In 1880 the annual production exceeded in value $1,500,000. By the beginning of the twentieth century a paper collar will be almost an anomaly. Celluloid, at one time employed, is also rapidly decreasing in the popular demand.
To the Rev. Ebenezer Brown, a retired Methodist preacher, be- longs the credit of originating the eollar industry. In 1828, while he was established as a dry goods merchant at No. 285 River street, south of the present site of Fulton market, he contracted with a number of women to make and launder "string collars." For six years he eon- tinued their manufacture, when he removed from the city. About the tiine he left, the firm of Montague & Granger, composed of Orlando Montague and Austin Granger, located at No. 222 River street on the site of the Hall building, began the business on a somewhat larger seale, selling their wares in New York city and other places. In 1835 Independence Starks began the manufacture of stocks and collars at No. 66 North Second street, soon after adding a laundry for his own 11se and that of patrons who demanded it. About the same time Lyman Bennett, witnessing the increasing demand for the product, entered upon the new industry in connection with his trade as carpenter. The collar business proving more profitable, in 1837 he devoted his time exclusively thereto, in 1838 removing his factory from No. 24 North Third street to No. 308 River street, and in 1853 moving again to No. 344 River street, where he entered into a partnership with M. W. Hicks and O. W. Edson under the firm name of Bennett, Hicks & Edson.
By this time the manufacture of collars had become an established industry in Troy. Other firms and individuals picked up the business from time to time and scores of women, and a few men, were given employment. From collars, one or two concerns turned part of their attention to the manufacture of shirts and cuffs about the year 1845, Lawrence Van Valkenburgh beginning the manufacture of shirts in that year at his eollar factory on the southeast corner of Seventh and Elbow (Fulton) streets.
A new era in the collar industry dawned in the winter of 1851-52 when Nathaniel Wheeler, of the then recently formed sewing-machine manufacturing firm of Wheeler, Wilson & Co., visited the collar mani- facturers of Troy to introduce the newly invented machine for sewing. The manufacturers at first were skeptical as to the merits of the inven-
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tion and it was with difficulty that Mr. Wheeler finally induced one of them, Jefferson Gardner, to agree to give it a trial in his factory. Several were sent to him, and they at once proved so satisfactory that more were ordered; and from that time no factory was able to enter into the competition on anything like a fair footing without the use of sewing machines. The employés of the factories, too, welcomed the invention, for by its use they were able to increase their earnings, which before had averaged no more than fifty cents per day, to four or five times that sum, many of the best operatives soon earning as high as two dollars and fifty cents per day. It may truthfully be said that the introduction of the sewing machine marked the beginning of a new era in the collar and cuff industry of Troy, giving it an impetus that soon placed the city at the head of all others in the world in that par- ticular, a position it has ever since maintained.
During the remaining five years of the decade from 1850 to 1860 but few incidents worthy of record occurred in Troy. One of the most noteworthy of these events occurred Sunday, February 8, 1857, when the high water in the Iludson, which on that day reached a point a foot and a half higher than was touched in the spring of 1832, carried away the covered wooden bridge between Green Island and Van Schaick Island, across one of the branches of the Mohawk river. 'The structure was carried over the State dam as far the Rensselaer & Saratoga Rail- road company's bridge between Troy and Green Island, where it lodged. Two years later, on the evening of March 17, 1859, another landslide occurred on the west side of Mount Ida, when many hundred tons of clay, loosened by the thaw which had been in progress for sev- oral days, came in an avalanche down into Washington street, ruining St. Peter's college, which was then in course of construction, and caus- ing a loss to that institution of about $12, 000. The college, a Catholic institution, had been started six months before when, September 19, 1858, Bishop McCloskey had laid the corner stone.
Just before the opening of the War of the Rebellion a thrilling inci- dent, one of many of a similar nature which occurred in various parts of the country. created a great sensation in the city. In the spring of that year Charles Nalle, an escaped slave from Virginia, was employed as a coachman by Uri Gilbert. Feeling secure in his new home he foolishly communicated to some of his newly formed acquaintances the fact that in the fall of 1858 he had become a fugitive. His owner was informed of his whereabouts and in April, 1860, United States Deputy
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Marshal J. L. Holmes was given an order for the arrest of thefugitive. Nalle was arrested on the 27th of the month and taken at once to the office of United States Commissioner Miles Beach, which was located on the second floor of the Mutual bank building on the corner of First and State streets. Martin I. Townsend was immediately secured by friends of the prisoner to seeure his release if possible. While Mr. Townsend was preparing papers requisite for a writ of habeas corpus, the intention being to take Nalle before Justice George Gould of the Supreme Court of the State of New York, a crowd of spectators, in- cluding many colored persons, had gathered about the office of Com- missioner Beach. The story of Nalle's flight from the land of slavery to a free State was pathetically told by one of his colored friends, and almost in the twinkling of an eye a plot was laid to liberate the cap- tive from the hands of the officers of the law. The excitement increas- ing with every moment, Chief of Police Timothy Quinn was ordered to send a large force of officers to the scene, with instructions to quell any signs of a disturbance as soon as they appeared. The writ of habeas corpus secured by Lawyer Townsend was served upon Marshal Holmes at four p. M., the instrument directing the latter official to take the prisoner before Judge Gould at his office, No. 39 Congress street. As the prisoner descended the stairs, in company with several officers, all were instantly surrounded by the crowd below and a number of colored men made a bold dash to take Nalle from his custodians. In an instant all was confusion. The mob kept the city policemen so far from the other officers as to prevent them from rendering any assist- ance. A moment later Deputy Marshal Morgan S. Upham was torn from the prisoner, leaving the latter in the hands of Marshal Holmes. The crowd then followed on to Congress street where, after a desperate fight, the prisoner was released and carried to the foot of Washington street. Here he sprang upon a ferry boat and wastaken to West Troy, where he was almost immediately captured and taken to the second story of a house near by. The rescuers surmised that Nalle had not made good his escape, and within a brief space of time 300 of them cap- tured the steam ferry boat and rushed to the rescue. The temporary prison was taken by storm, despite the free use of pistols by the West Troy officers, and Nalle's friends escorted him rapidly down Broadway, whence he jumped into a wagon that was in waiting and was carried westward far from the reach of the unsuccessful officers of the law. After remaining for a while in the woods in the eastern part of Sehe-
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nectady county he proceeded to Amsterdam. In May he returned to Troy, his freedom having been purchased by his former employer, Uri Gilbert, and other citizens of Troy.
The construction of the first street railway in Troy was begun July 15, 1861, by the Troy & Lansingburgh Street Railway company, which had received from the Common Council August 20, 1860, a franchise granting it permission to construct a single track railroad from Lan- singburgh to Troy, through River, Adams and Second streets to a point on the Greenbush road near the bridge across the Wynants kill. The company had a capital stock of $100,000, divided into shares of $100 cach, and its first officers, elected February 19, 1861, were: Presi- dent, Thomas Symonds; vice-president, John A. Griswold; secretary and treasurer, Miles Beach; engineer, William Barton. The work of construction was completed in a trifle over six months, but August 29 the first passenger car was drawn over the partially constructed road by a single horse. The road was finished early in 1862 and in the same year was extended to Waterford. Soon afterward the first road from Troy to Cohoes was begun, a company having been organized February 11, 1862. under the name of the Troy & Cohoes Railroad company, with John A. Griswold as president. The road began opera- tion October 11, 1863
We have told in a separate chapter of the history of Rensselaer county of the several regiments of Volunteers in Troy and vicinity in the early days of the War of the Rebellion and the participation of the valiant young soldiers, including many residents of Troy, in that mem- orable struggle. During the long period while the Rensselaer county regiments were at the front many incidents worthy of chronicling, some of which were directly related to the war, occurred in Troy. One of the most noteworthy of these incidents of the first year of the war was the brief visit to the city of President-elect Abraham Lincoln, while on his way from his home in Illinois to his inauguration in the city of Washington. Mr. Lincoln arrived in the city on the morning of Tuesday, February 19, 1861. Upon his arrival at the Union depot he was greeted by a crowd estimated at fully 30,000 persons, many of whom had come to the city from surrounding towns. Upon an open car in the station Mayor Isaac McConthe made a brief speech welcom- ing the distinguished statesman and extending to him the hospitality and freedom of the city. Mr Lincoln in a brief address returned his thanks for the mark of respect which had been paid him, after which
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D. Thomas Vail, vice-president of the Troy Union Railroad company, conducted him to the train of the Hudson River railroad, which was waiting to receive the president-elect, and a minute later the latter was on his way to New York amid the hearty cheers of the vast con- course of people there assembled.
After the beginning of the war and during its first year Troy man- facturers secured numerous contracts for munitions of war. Many thousands of brass fuses for artillery projectiles were turned out by the firm of W. & L. E Gurley; a large number of army wagons and artillery carriages were made by Eaton, Gilbert & Co., several steel rifled cannon were manufactured by Corning, Winslow & Co., rifled brass cannon were manufactured by Jones & Co., mortar bombs were produced in large quantities by the firms of Fuller, Warren & Co. and Knight, Harrison & Paine; and immense quantities of shot and shell of various sizes were sent south by Swett, Quimby & Co. Several other firms and individuals furnished other stores for the government at different times.
An instance of the high spirit of patriotism which pervaded the hearts of Trojans in these stirring days was scen in the successful efforts of John A. Griswold and John F. Winslow, both of Troy, to obtain for Captain John Ericsson the contract for the construction of the famed iron clad " Monitor," and, in conjunction with Cornelius S. Bushnell of New Haven, in their assuming the responsibility of guaran . teeing the government against all loss in the event of that vessel s proving unserviceable in any manner. After the hazardous experi- ment with the Monitor had been tried in Hampton Roads, and that remarkable addition to the Union navy had been proven a success, it became conceded on all sides that the vessel would never have been constructed had it not been for the indefatigable efforts of the two Troy men, who, from the start, were determined to allow no failures to dis- courage them so long as their resources were not exhausted.
August 7, 1861, the navy department advertised for bids for the eon- struction of one or more iron-elad war vessels. In response thereto C. S. Bushnell & Co. of New Haven submitted plans and specifications for an iron-clad gun-boat, the Galena. These plans did not meet the requirements, in the eyes of the representatives of the government, and Mr. Bushnell went to New York to consult the distinguished engi- neer, Captain Ericsson. The latter had already prepared a plan for a small but powerful floating battery, which he exhibited to Mr. Bush-
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