USA > New York > Onondaga County > Syracuse > Memorial history of Syracuse, N.Y. : from its settlement to the present time > Part 32
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The ground now covered by the Durston Memorial Building and con- tiguous stores, at the corner of James and Warren streets, possesses some historic interest. In 1820 Daniel Kellogg, William H. Sabine, and Joshua Forman, then owners of these premises, entered into a contract with Thomas Spencer and David Johnson to build a boat-house and construct a dry dock. The title to the property became vested in the Syracuse Company in 1824, and by the company a sale was made to Thomas Spencer in 1828. Mr. Spencer was a boat builder. An interesting document still preserved is an agreement dated February 27, 1834, under the terms of which Maria Durston, of the town of Salina, indentured her son, John Durston, to Thomas Spencer as an apprentice, Jolin Durston then being seventeen years old. The agreement was that Spencer should furnish " the said John good and sufficient meat, drink, washing, and lodging, and also pay for his services at the rate of $75 for the first year." The wages were so graded that on reaching his majority the young man was to receive $200 a year. The young boat builder was industrious and economical, and in 1843 he pur- chased the property of Mr. Spencer and owned it until his death.
The first execution for murder in the county was that of Zachariah Freeman, a negro living in the town of Lysander. He murdered a white woman named Sarah Boyd, on the 18th of May, 1840, and was hung in Syracuse on the 19th of November by Sheriff Phillips. Governor Seward was petitioned to commute the sentence, but he refused to interfere. Colo- nel Johnson, Under Sheriff, acted as executioner. All the witnesses are now dead. There were present, besides the Sheriff and Under Sheriff, Deputies Erastus Baker, jr., and Henry Seymour, Jailer Butts, Constables Henry L. Fellows, William D. Lewis, Amos Gillett, T. Holmes, and Sylves-
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ter House, Judges Lawrence, Strong, Hall, and Mason, District Attorney Dodge, County Clerk Elijah Rhoades, and Surrogate Minard. The official witnesses were Jonas Earll, Amos P. Granger, Oliver Teall, Moses S. Marsh, Z. W. Coggswell, William A. Cook, Josiah Wright, William Malcom, Rufus Stanton, Samuel Hickox, Philo N. Rust, and Frederick Benson.
Many older citizens still remember the stone bridge built in the form of an arch over the Eric Canal, in Salina street. This bridge was so low that people upon the decks of canal boats passing under it were frequently in- jured. The attention of Canal Commissioner Earll being called to the fact, he said : "Yes, I will have the cause of these complaints removed by deep- ening the bottom of the canal at that point !"
At a meeting held at Onondaga Hill, in the Court-House, on February 23, 1816, to further consider the project of constructing the Erie Canal, a plan for raising the required amount of money, $10,000,000, was proposed which would be quite novel for these days. A memorial to the Legislature was presented, having previously been prepared by a committee, of which Judge Forman, General Thaddeus M. Wood, and Judge Geddes were mem- bers, which suggested aid from these sources: Congress, $2,500,000; State of New York, $2,500,000; State of Ohio, $1,000,000; New York city and adjacent counties, $2,000,000 ; and individuals, $2,000,000 ; the last to be secured by the issue of stock, to bear interest at five per cent., protected by a lien on canal tolls. The money was to be raised in amounts of one mil- lion for ten years, the estimated time required for constructing the canal. The memorial was adopted and presented to the Legislature by a committee, but it was never acted upon.
In " war times" considerable jest was made of a clumsy order issued by the colonel of one of the regiments which went from this city, in which he somewhat irreverantly mentioned the Almighty, though not intending to do so. But he afterwards redeemed himself with his friends by showing how easy it was for army officers to make or overlook mistakes by sending home an order, issued by the Adjutant-General of the army, which, for want of punctuation, read as follows in its closing paragraph : "May God preserve the Union of the States by order of the Secretary of War. L. Thomas, Adjutant-General."
It is interesting to know that in its early days the western part of Syra- cuse was wooded with hemlock, birch, and soft maple, while the timber in the eastern part was cedar, pine, and hickory. Vast quantities of this wood were consumed by the salt works.
It is well to preserve the fact that nowhere was the death of General U. S. Grant more sincerely mourned than in Syracuse, as was shown by the street drapings and the monster assemblage at the Alliambra at the
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memorial service, August S, 1885. Mayor Thomas Ryan presided, and the address was delivered by Ion. Carroh E. Smith Prayer was offered by the Rev. E. W. Mundy, and remarks were made by the Rev. Dr. J. J. Mo- riarty and the Rev. T. F. Clark. Hymns were sung by the great congre- gation, led by the Apolio Club.
There was once an extrensive Indian burying-place near where the High School now stands, formerly occupied by the red mill. In excavating a dike leading to it, in 1819, the skull of an Indian of unusual size was ex- humed. More than one hundred skulls have been found in that locality.
Albion Jackson is supposed to have been the first white child born within the old village of Syracuse. The event occurred in December, 1800.
On the evening of January 8, 1829, a " grand military ball " was given at the Syracuse House in celebration of the election of General Jackson to the Presidency in the fall of 1828. A. N. Van Patten was the leader in the event. In the middle of the ball room was a hickory tree, with manu- factured leaves upon it painted green, and live squirrels upon the branches. It is probable that Elisha Ford, of Syracuse, is the only person now living who attended the ball. Six Shakesperean engravings which were used in the elaborate decoration of the hall are now in the possession of the Hon. William Kirkpatrick, of Syracuse.
The First Presbyterian Church Society was organized in 1824. A year later Judge Forman circulated a subscription paper to raise a fund with which to erect an edifice. There were eighty-two subscribers, of whom not one is now living.
In 1827 the Trustees of the village, having due regard for the safety of property, appointed a " Protection Company" of twelve reliable citizens, whose duty it should be "to protect such goods as must of necessity be removed at a fire, and to direct the packing of the same." Each mem- ber of the company was ordered to carry " a good and sufficient bag to all fires for the more safety of packing and removing goods." It was also or- dered that " the Trustees shall each carry a staff at fires, such as shall be designated an insignia of office of fire wardens, for the purpose of compell- ing such [persons] as are unwilling to render due assistance in all cases at fires."
Personal sensibility and personal sorrow shown in a public manner were never more conspicuous than on the occasion of the death of President Abraham Lincoln. The main thoroughfares of the city were heavily draped, and there was scarcely a home which did not bear some insignia of mourning. So great was the demand for common black cambric and so scarce became the supply that a dollar a yard was freely paid for it. Thou- sands of draped flags were to be seen, and the signs of mourning were uni-
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versal, and none who stood among the thousands of people on the line of Washington street on the night when the remains of the good President passed through the city on the way to Springfield, Illinois, can ever forget the scene. It was nearly midnight when the headlight of the pilot engine which escorted the funeral train was seen coming from the tunnel. At that moment all the church and public bells of the city began tolling, and the firing of minute guns broke upon the perfect stillness of the air. The great crowd of people was hushed, and slowly and almost silently the draped en- gine passed by, when all eyes were turned to watch for the approach of the following train. Soon it appeared, and, literally covered with black, it rolled quietly along to the station, then standing in what is now Vanderbilt Square. As it entered the station it was at once surrounded by a local reg- iment of military, acting as a guard of honor. The impressiveness of the entire scene, where people stood with heads uncovered and spoke almost in whispers as the body of the great oak among men was borne along towards his last resting place, cannot be described. Everything conspired to lend awe and solemnity to the occasion. Memorial services took place in Syra- cuse, as in hundreds of other large places throughout the country. The funeral oration was pronounced by the Hon. Charles B. Sedgwick. It was a masterly production, unquestionably the ablest of his many brilliant efforts.
In 1822 Liverpool was a place of much more importance than either Salina or Syracuse. Farmers found a good market there and received cash for their products, while in the places last mentioned an equivalent was too freely offered in salt.
John Randel, jr., made the first maps of this locality, and they are now prized for their accuracy. He was a resident of Albany, but was employed to survey Central New York. Before beginning his work it was his custom to require his assistants to take an oath, which read as follows: "We, the subscribers, do severally swear that we will faithfully execute the trust re- posed in us by John Randel, jr., as assistants. So help us God." In 1821 he established the monuments in the Salina salt district.
The Rev. Daniel Waldo, who died July 30, 1864, aged 101 years, ten months, and twenty days, was remarkable for a long life most actively spent. He was born in Connecticut in 1762, and was a living witness to the events and progress of this country for more than a century. At the time of his death he was the oldest graduate of Yale College -- a member of the class of 1788. He participated in many thrilling events of the war of the Rev- olution, though young in years. In 1789 he entered the ministry of the Congregational church, and continued in it to the time of his death. Ile preached his last sermon after he had entered upon his 102d year. At one place where he was stationed as a minister in his earlier years (Columbia,
John Lighton
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Connecticut) a military review took place, and Mr. Waldo was invited to participate in the dinner which followed, and there gave an example of the readiness with which he could meet almost any unexpected situation. At the table there was a free use of profanity, and the commanding officer having said to Mr. Waldo, by way of intended compliment, perhaps, that he was glad he had come to dine with the officers, and that in doing so he seemed to differ in his judgment with some of his brothers who had de- clined similar invitations, Mr. Waldo replied : " My Master was not afraid to dine with publicans and sinners, and I am not." In December, 1856, being then ninety-four years of age, he was, on the motion of Representa- tive Amos P. Granger, appointed Chaplain of the House of Representatives, and when his term expired was re-elected. His long life was literally filled with well-doing, and he died honored of all who knew him personally or by reputation.
The Syracuse subscribers, in 1834, to the fund of $400,000 for con- structing the Syracuse and Auburn Railroad, were Stephen Smith, $2,000 ; L. H. Redfield, $1,000; M. S. Marsh, $1,000; W. and H. Raynor, $10,- 000 ; Joseph Savage, $500 ; John B. Ives, $5,000; James Manning, $500; Thomas Spencer, Agnew & Wood, and Daniel Elliott, $1,000 each ; Philo N. Rust, by G. Lawrence, attorney, $200; Richard S. Corning, $1,000; Joel Cody, by J. Manning, attorney, $100; Amos Benedict, $500; John L. V. Yates, $300 ; John Wilkinson, $2,000; V. W. Smith, $2,000; Henry Davis, jr., $2,000. The subscriptions in Auburn amounted to about $350,000.
The first court-house was erected at Onondaga Hill in 1805-06. In 1829 the county seat was removed to Syracuse, and a court- house was built midway between Syracuse and Salina. This building was burned in 1856, after which the present structure in Clinton Square was built.
It is said that the oldest house in the city, built of wood, is No. 310 James street, occupied by Martin Still. The first house constructed of stone is still standing in West Water street, and is occupied by Smith, the dyer. It was built about 1824, by John Webb. The first steps made of stone may still be seen at the entrance to an unsightly building at the cast end of the Bastable Block, in East Genesee street. A cut of the oldest brick building, on the corner of Salina and Exchange streets, appears on page 77.
The State took possession of the Salt Springs Reservation in 1797. William Stevens was the first Superintendent, from June 20, 1797, until his death in 1801.
It is believed that the first colored man to come to this locality was Isaac Wales, who, with his family, settled here in 1824. " Uncle Ike " came from Maryland to Manlius with the Fleming family as a slave in ISto. He
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bought his freedom for $So. John Savage's was the first Irish family to locate here. The late Richard Savage was a son of John Savage. The first German resident was Andrew Fessenmyer.
A contemporary of the Hon. T. G. Alvord relates that when they were boys they were members of a lyceum in Salina. Mr. Alvord had not reg- ularly joined in the discussions, so that one evening the President sought to bring him into the debate, and asked him, " Which side of the question will you discuss ?" " Either side," Mr. Alvord replied ; and added, " I can talk on one side as well as the other, and can carry my point, too."
The line of stage coaches which was run between Albany and Buffalo, and through Syracuse, half a century and more ago, was quite as important to the traveling public and business interests of the country as is the New York Central Railroad now. The first use made of broken stone for a road- way was on the old Genesee turnpike. Coaches were run in such number daily as the needs of the public required, some one of them carrying the mails, with letter postage between Syracuse and New York at eighteen and three-fourths cents, and a way-bill accompanying every letter. A good stage driver was a man of prominence as well as of deeds ; and the more renowned was he if he could excel in blowing his horn to warn relay sta- tions along the road of his approach. Among the more prominent drivers were " Sam " Wildrick, Thomas Wheeler, Mr. Williams, " Dan " Bennett, Colonel Wood, "Ed " Chappel, " Bob " Blanchard, T. H. Faxton, and Henry Bristol. The Syracuse House was headquarters for all of the stage lines. The stage coaches supplied the model from which cars for the first railroads were built, with a wide board along the exterior, upon which the conductor walked to collect fares. A line of packet boats on the canal made competition lively. These offered comfortable acconinto- dations and made good speed, the horses, in tandem, being driven at a trot- ting pace. And the captain of a packet boat was a more important per- sonage than the captain of an ocean racer is in these days.
In other years Syracuse was sometimes, and with much truth, called an " abolition center," a grand station of the " underground railroads," this latter designation meaning that it was easy to secretly run an escaping slave through the place on his way to Canada. In May, 1851, the Ameri- can Anti-Slavery Society met in Syracuse, and among those present were such renowned Abolitionists as William Lloyd Garrison, Gerrit Smith, Fred- erick Douglass, Parker Pillsbury, Abbey Kelley Foster, and our own Rev. Samuel J. May. In his opening address Mr. Garrison showed the preju- dice which existed throughout the country at that time. Said he : "This society has heretofore met in New York; but we are not permitted by a power that is greater than liberty in our land to hold an anniversary in that
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city this year, as neither a meeting-house nor a hall could be obtained. If driving the society from New York has covered that city with historical in- famy, the receiving of it in Syracuse will cover this city with historical re- nown." Thereafter Syracuse was the place of many Abolition conventions. At this meeting there was a noted controversy between the Hon. Charles B. Sedgwick and George Thompson, a member of the English Parliament. Mr. Sedgwick made an address in which he strongly favored the abolish- nient of slavery, but he would accomplish it by peaceful means rather than by force. To this Mr. Thompson took exceptions and made a severe per- sonal attack upon Mr. Sedgwick. Mr. Sedgwick made a brief, courteous, and scorching reply, which threw the assemblage into a tumult that continued for some time, and amid the confusion friends of both parties to the contro- versy attempted to make speeches, but the assemblage would not hear either Mr. Sedgwick or Mr. Thompson again. At length quiet was re- stored, when Mr. Thompson offered an apology, when the excited audience arose and gave three cheers each to Mr. Thompson, Mr. Sedgwick, and the city of Syracuse. Mr. Sedgwick did not speak, but subsequently sent a letter to Mr. Thompson in which he fairly reviewed the occurrence and treated the matter in a way which won the admiration of all and the friend- ship of Mr. Thompson.
Lewis H. Redfield was undoubtedly the oldest printer in the State at the time of his death, July 14, 1882. His history covers a long period of unusual activity and business success. In his boyhood he learned the art of printing and for many years published a newspaper at Onondaga Valley, and later at Syracuse. He was at one time the associate of Horace Greeley as a compositor. He was an early settler, and a representative man. His . tombstone in Oakwood Cemetery bears this inscription, at his own request:
LEWIS H. REDFIELD, Printer. A worn and battered form Gone to be recast, More beautiful and perfect. Born November 26, 1793. Died July 14, 1882.
Before coming to Syracuse, with which they were so long identified, James R. and Grove Lawrence practiced law in the village of Camillus. Among those who graduated from James R. Lawrence's office in Camillus, as lawyers, were Daniel Pratt, D. D. Hillis, Joseph Sabine, William Porter, and Calvin Bingham, afterwards Governor of Michigan.
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Onondaga Lodge of Odd Fellows was founded forty-nine years ago. The nearest lodges at that time were at Utica, Rochester, and Ithaca. A lodge room was established in Salina street, corner of Washington street. A removal was made later to the chamber of a building situated where the Mc- Carthy store now stands. Abont thirty-two years ago the building was burned and the lodge lost all it possessed. It is now situated in the Agan Building, and is still flourishing.
One of the most famous law suits ever instituted in the county was begun by County Clerk Hicks. His tenacity of opinion was well known, and was well illustrated in his suit. While W. W. Teall was postmaster a transient newspaper came to his office addressed to Mr. Hicks, on the wrapper of which the initials of the sender were affixed. Under the postal regulations the postmaster made a demand for letter postage for the paper. This Mr. Hicks refused to pay and began a suit in trover for damages. The case was tried before Justice of the Peace Hurst and a jury, Stephen D. Dillaye appearing for the defence. The verdict was in favor of Mr. Hicks, where- upon Postmaster Teall, on a relation of the facts to the Postmaster- General, was instructed to take an appeal, which was done, and the case taken to the County Court, where judgment was affirmed. The case was next taken to the Supreme Court before Judge Gridley, and the judgment of the lower court affirmed. An appeal was taken to the Court of Appeals, where it was argued by Mr. Dillaye for the postmaster, and B. Davis Noxon for Mr. Hicks. Here again judgment was affirmed, and the case went to the Supreme Court of the United States, William H. Seward appearing for Mr. Hicks. Again the decision was in favor of Mr. Hicks. The Postmaster-General took special interest in the case from the beginning, and employed every proper means to secure a decision in favor of his department. The late Judge Allen was then United States District Attorney, and by request of the Postmaster-General gave his personal attention to the case. The postal regulations of those days declared that when marks were made upon newspapers " to convey in- formation" they were subject to letter postage. There was no evidence to show that the marks on this paper were placed there for the purpose of "conveying information," that they were in capital letters, or placed upon the wrapper by the person sending the paper.
The first postmaster was John Wilkinson, appointed in 1820. He re- moved the office from time to time, always being able to transport its con- tents in a bag. It is said of him that he never allowed letters to remain in the office over night, but deposited them in his hat on closing the office, taking them to his home. The population of the village at the time of Mr. Wilkinson's appointment did not exceed 200. There were no church or school-houses.
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The depression in agricultural regions to day ought not to be discour- aging when contrasted with the prices in the winter of 1819-20, when there was not an inch of snow until February. Wheat sold for thirty-one cents a bushel, corn eighteen cents, and potatoes ten cents. Other produce bore relative prices. Four bushels of wheat was required to buy a pound of tea.
The " Village Green," seventy years ago, and up to a considerable later period, was comprised within the boundaries of Salina, Fayette, Warren, and Washington streets. Here it was that caravans pitched their tents and the village boys indulged in frolics. Along the north side of the green were located the large barns belonging to the various stage lines. The only building on the square was the Presbyterian church edifice, constructed of wood, with hugh pillars in front and a spire which was considered tall for those days. Here it was that the much-beloved Rev. John Watson Adams ministered for many years, and until his death, which occurred while the present edifice was being erected. Some time after the wooden church was built a small, single story building was constructed in the rear of it, which was used by the sessions for occasional meetings. Many of the public village meetings were also held here, and the Young Men's Lyceum Society occu- pied it once a week and flooded it with eloquence. This lyceum was popular with the elite of the village.
The museum of early days, long before the present Historical Society was organized, was in the second and third stories of a building on ground now occupied by the Onondaga County Savings Bank. It was a great creation, quite equal in boyish ideas, with its wonders and curiosities, to Barnum's later conglomerations in New York. Here were wax figures of Washington, Arnold, and Kidd, Mrs. Temple the murderess, the Witch of Endor, and other celebrities and notorious characters. There were also many relics and Indian curiosities, and war weapons in abundance of South Sea Islanders. A stuffed crocodile of hugh proportions was a great at- traction. This entire collection was destroyed by fire, during which the crocodile was thrown from a window into the street and much broken, when it was found that its make- up had mysteriously changed to wood and leather. So the Cardiff Giant was not the first case in this locality of the imposition upon the public of a fraudulent figure.
Two peculiar characters of the village were Scribbins, the constable, and John Contree. Scribbins was a man of very large proportions, of iron will, and true to duty. He was looked upon by children as being danger- ous to their existence. Carrying with him the very odor of jail bars, hand- cuffs, and thumb-screws, when Scribbins approached a party of children at play they would invariably lay their sports aside and hasten away. Yet
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he was a good officer. Contree was yellowish in color, and his hair was curly and crisp. He was good natured and happy in disposition, well known, and well liked. He ran of errands, rang auction bells, and did odd jobs of various kinds. At auctions he prided himself on his ability to name the list of goods offered for sale, usually closing it with " black silk stock- ings of all kinds, and other goods too numerous to mention." And there was a White Hat Association in those days, as there is now, and Contree appeared one day in the dress of the association, much to his disadvantage, for when night came he was very emphatically told that he had committed a serious breach of etiquette, and lost his head and good feeling at the same time. John died a victim to strong drink.
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