USA > New York > Oneida County > Utica > Memorial history of Utica, N.Y. : from its settlement to the present time > Part 22
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Thomas Hosmer Wood, who was some eleven years older than his brother, was born February 18, 1798. He came to Utica a short time be- fore him and was many years his survivor. On the death of George he be- came the head of the firm of Wood, Roberts & Co., but after some years of prosperous business he retired from active pursuits to the indulgence of his taste in cultivating and adorning his grounds, and to the exercise of it as an amateur and as a patron of the fine arts, for which he had a nat- ural apitude and a marked enthusiasm. It led him to take an active part in the forming of the Art Association and in the exhibition it gave to the community. He did not engage in them simply for the passing pleasure they afforded his towns-people, but more particularly for the
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MEMORIAL HISTORY OF UTICA.
cultivation of a love for the beautiful in the neighborhood around. His earnest efforts in this direction were warmly commended at his death by the association of which he was the president, and their obligations to him for the success of their several exhibitions fully acknowledged. A sincere lover of art in all its branches his especial fondness was for paint- ing, and the pictures which adorned the homes of many citizens in the vicinity are testimonies to his success. His connoisseurship and prac tical knowledge in the art of architectural designs were beyond that of most men who do not pursue the art as a distinct profession, and some of our public buildings are standing monuments of his judgment and skill in conception. He was a man of eminent integrity and stainless life, fulfilling every duty devolved upon him, and moreover a sincere Chris- tian whose pathway as noiseless as the sun " shone more and more unto the perfect day." He was one of the trustees of the Savings Bank and an elder in the Reformed Church. At the time of his death he was mak- ing a tour of the art centers of Europe, though in feeble health, and traveling partly for the benefit of it. He died in Paris, January 14, 1874. His widow still remains here as likewise an adopted daughter.
1838 .- Officers of this year were as follows: Mayor, Charles P. Kirk- land ; aldermen, Samuel Farwell, E. M. Gilbert, Henry Newland, Rufus Peckham, Harry Bushnell, Frederick Hollister, James Dean, Benjamin Cahoon, James McGregor, J. C. De Long, Lewis Lawrence, Edward Curran ; treasurer, George J. Hopper ; attorney, Hamilton Spencer ; clerk, John S. Ray ; street commissioner, John Riley.
On the 18th of January $200 were appropriated for firemen who might be injured at fires while on duty. On the 25th of that month a resolution was adopted that " it is expedient to establish a third free school," and requesting the committee on fire department to ascertain whether the fire engines could not be so distributed as to allow such school to be located where the engines then were on Hotel street. In February the committee on fire department was directed to carry out this plan, and it was done in March, and the school established.
On the 20th of June the corner-stone of the Female Academy was laid with appropriate ceremonies.
On the 2Ist of December a resolution again passed the council that application be made to the legislature for a charter amendment pro-
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GEORGE R. PERKINS.
viding for one supervisor in each ward. A public meeting was held the same month to provide for the relief of the poor of the city. Street improvements were limited to a few new sidewalks and paving part of Hotel street.
The most notable person to become at this time a citizen of the place was Professor Perkins of the Utica Academy. From Otsego County, where he was born May 3, 1812, George R. Perkins went to Clinton in 1831 to take the place of a teacher in the Liberal Institute, and after remaining there seven years removed to this city in 1838 to act as principal of its academy. He had early evinced remarkable aptitude for mathematics, studying under great disadvantages in inadequate schools. During the year before he came to Clinton he was engaged as a surveyor on the Utica and Susquehanna Railroad. In 1840 he began the publi- cation of a series of arithmetics, which have been much used in schools. For many years his calculations, for almanacs were sought for by many publishers. Subsequently he produced text books on algebra, geome- try, trigonometry, and surveying, which met with the favor of careful instructors. When the State Normal School was opened in Albany in 1844 he went thither as professor of mathematics, and in 1848 was chosen principal. In 1852 he assumed the superintendence of the Dudley Observatory. In 1862 he was made a Regent of the University and was created LL.D. by Hamilton College. Professor Perkins was not simply a theorist in mathematics; he knew how to apply science to practical life. In the great consolidation of railroads which made the New York Central the accountants were in a hopeless maze over the com- plicated calculations, when he was invited to bring order out of the confusion, which he promptly and successfully accomplished. With reference both to our railroads and our canals he was thoroughly well informed, and to both he contributed peculiar service. As an in- structor he was clear, earnest, and thorough, but especially considerate, and he won the esteem and gratitude of his pupils. As an author he early introduced practical methods, and as he saw his science clearly tried to present it in its simple grace in direct and clear language. In every trust he was conscientious and laborious, and as true to integrity and honor as the right line of his own problems. He was one of the founders of Grace Church and to his death a vestryman and its treas-
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urer. He thought much on religious subjects and was deeply interested in the growth of his church. For some time his chief occupation in later years was the care of his real estate investments in Utica, which were considerable. He was esteemed for his attainments and his mod- esty. He died August 22, 1876 ; his widow still is a resident.
1839 .- Officers for the year: Mayor, John C. Devereux : aldermen, John Butterfield, H. S. Bradley, Edward Curran, Ransom Curtiss, Charles H. Doolittle, Ephraim Hart, Spencer Kellogg, Lewis Lawrence, Thomas McQuade, Rufus Peckham, Gerry Sanger, E. A. Wetmore ; treasurer, George J. Hopper; attorney, Joseph Benedict ; clerk, John S. Ray ; street commissioner, Morris G. Dickinson.
May 24th a company was organized called the " Utica Fire Bucket Company, No. I," with sixty members. Each member was required to furnish himself with two buckets to be kept at his residence. On the 25th of June the committee on fire department were authorized to sell engine No. 7 and on July 12th were authorized to buy a new engine at not to exceed a cost of more than $800.
Gas was discovered the present summer while excavating near Bagg's Hotel and the mayor was authorized by the council to pay the expense of examination into the subject. Nothing of practical value was de- veloped. Lafayette street was paved from Varick to Whitesboro street and new walks were laid on several streets. The Utica Savings Bank went into operation this year. Local banks reduced their circulation heavily and money was very scarce. The first train passed over the Utica and Syracuse Railroad on the 27th of June.
The directory of 1839 exhibits a somewhat lengthy array of lawyers not previously recorded. Of these Philo Gridley and Alexander S. Johnson will be noticed in the chapter devoted to the legal profession. Joseph Benedict is still in practice in the city and the oldest member of its legal corps. Luther R. Marsh, after a stay of about four years, re- paired to New York, where his reputation has been principally gained. Hamilton Spencer, as an associate with his father, Joshua A. Spencer, remained until about 1854, when he removed to Canastota and was for a short time engaged with Charles S. Spencer in the manufacture of op- tical instruments, and thence to Chicago and Burlington, Ill., there re- suming his profession and continuing it until his death in 1891, leaving
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JOHN F. SEYMOUR.
behind him a name for familiarity with the principles and rules of the law quite equal to that of his father and for skill little short of his in their exposition and bearing. Wallace McCall, son of Dr. John McCall and at first a partner of Ostrom & Walker, a young man of brilliant promise, died about 1848 ere his laurels were attained. William M. Allen dis- appeared from the city the same year. Orchard G. Kellogg lived here until 1863. Dexter Gilmore, who finished his studies in 1839, lived until March, 1882, having been for nearly thirty years a justice of the peace, besides acting as clerk of the Board of Supervisors, busying him- self in the affairs of the volunteer firemen, and being a leading member of the Odd Fellows. A sketch of Edmund A. Graham will be found in the Biographical Department of this work.
John F. Seymour, son of Henry Seymour, was born at Pompey Hill, Onondaga County, September 21, 1814, and removed with his father's family to Utica in 1820. He was educated at the High School of Charles Bartlett and at Yale College, from which he was graduated in 1835. He studied law at Litchfield, Conn., and in the office of Kirk- land & Bacon in Utica, and was admitted to practice in 1839. Becom- ing a partner of his brother Horatio he for fourteen years conducted a large practice. Horatio did not occupy himself much with law, but was engaged in politics and in various business projects. In many of these projects John, much devoted to his brother, also engaged, and was thus by degrees led away for a time from the close following of his pro- fession, though he resumed it later. In 1853 he was instrumental in obtaining the passage of an act of legislature organizing a company to construct a ship canal at St. Mary's Falls in Michigan. This company succeeded in opening such a canal between Lake Superior and Lake Huron at a cost of $1,000,000. In 1855 this company, consisting of Horatio Seymour, Erastus Corning, Hiram Barney, and others, prose- cuted this enterprise still further, and through the agency of John F. Seymour opened the canal from the Mississippi to the great lakes by the way of Fox and Wisconsin Rivers, a work of great importance. In 1853 he was made a director of the New York Central Railroad. Hora- tio Seymour was chosen governor for the second time in 1862, and made his brother his private secretary and entrusted him with the deli- cate mission of assuring President Lincoln of the support of New York
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MEMORIAL HISTORY OF UTICA.
in the contest with the South. He was also made State agent for the care of the sick and wounded soldiers. This was a work altogether in harmony with his benevolent and tender nature. Not only in general oversight of military operations, and especially in those that were taken part in by the soldiers of New York, did he render invaluable service, but he visited several battlefields and the hospitals of the neighbor- hood, and gave his personal attention to the sufferers. No task was too hard or too repulsive for him, and he gave the fullest effect to the lib- eral provisions made for the soldiers' relief. The same humane spirit led him to make weekly visits to the hospitals and the sick within the limits of this city. The experience he gained made him a most impor- tant member of the Board of Charities, which was formed in 1873, wherein he greatly contributed in benefiting the hospital and improving the system adopted for the support of the poor. A little later he was a trustee of St. Luke's Hospital and became the president of the board. Akin to these pursuits was the interest he felt in education, both secu- lar and religious, as manifested in his service as a school commissioner and as teacher and superintendent of Sunday schools. His tastes equally with his heart were warmly exercised in the creation and adorn- ment of that beautiful resting place of the dead, Forest Hill Cemetery. He partook of his brother's taste for local history, as was shown in his valuable addresses at Trenton, July 4, 1876, on Olden Barneveldt, and on many other occasions. He was the most active and efficient pro- moter of the centennial celebration of the battle of Oriskany as well as of the subsequent monument erected on its field, which will long be identified with his memory. He was one of the founders of the Oneida Historical Society. Mr. Seymour's first wife was a daughter of Arthur Tappan, of New York. He subsequently married Miss Ledyard, of Cazenovia. His death occurred February 22, 1890. Two children, a son and a daughter, survive him.
Hiram Hurlburt, a native of Eaton, Madison County, followed his brother, Burton D., to Utica, studied law with him, and for five years practiced in company with him. He afterward continued alone. An unpretentious man he filled an important rôle. Whatever he did was always well done, and no interest entrusted to his care ever suffered where accuracy, skill, and patience could protect it. For a dozen years
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ISAAC MAYNARD AND OTHERS.
he acted as attorney for the Delaware, Lackawanna, and Western Rail- road in this city and his management of its legal interests gave the most perfect satisfaction. As one of the trustees of the First Presbyterian Church, and more especially as its clerk, he did much for the church, performing voluntarily works of the kind that the best members are apt to shirk, but which never suffered at his hands. He died on his sixty- first birthday, September 6, 1880. His widow and one son, Edward Hurlburt, live here.
Physicians now first met with were Jonathan Hurlburt and G. Z. Hav- ens, who both practiced here a few years.
Continued devotion to affairs of his own, united with an active in- terest in more general matters, secured for Isaac Maynard an ample fortune for himself and with it the willing confidence and esteem of his fellow townsmen. He was born in Somersetshire, England, June 10, 1805, and came to this country and to Utica in the fall of 1836. He formed a partnership with his brother-in-law, John Thorn, in the manufacture of soap and candles, a business which proved very profitable to both of them. In 1861 he acquired an interest in the firm of John S. Kirk & Co., of Chicago, also soap dealers, and met with abundant success. Mr. Maynard was prominently connected with the Utica and Black River Railroad, he and Mr. Thorn being its principal managers after the failure of the first company and the re-organization. He was elected its treasurer in 1861. He was likewise a director in the Utica, Clinton, and Binghamton Railroad and in 1880 became its president. Others of his official relations were with the Utica Water Works Company and the Utica Steam Woolen-Mills. Mr. Maynard was a close business man and his co-operation in public enterprise was relied on. Personally he was affable, amiable, and trustworthy. He was a member of the Tabernacle Baptist Church, but during his later years attended the First Presby- terian. Mr. Maynard was the father of three sons and four daughters, all of them residents of Utica and most of them heads of families.
Other business men of the era were Heman Ferry, of the Bank of Central, New York, started in 1838; George Westcott and Ira A. Bu- ton, hatters; Eli Avery, forwarder; William Hackett, confectioner ; Thomas L. Kingsley, grocer and afterward dealer in clothing; John Best, carpenter, and his brother, James, painter and subsequently music
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MEMORIAL HISTORY OF UTICA.
teacher; George Pearson, livery-keeper ; Joseph S. Fuller, builder ; John O. Jones, still in the trade of grocer as he then started.
1840 .- The officers for the year were: Mayor, John C. Devereux (elected by the people, the first who, in accordance with a recent act of the legislature, was raised to the office by popular vote) ; aldermen, Alrick Hubbell, Frederick Hollister, John J. Francis, Horace S. Brad- ley, George W. Hubbard, Gardiner Tracy, Harry Bushnell, Benjamin Cahoon, Stephen M. Perine, Gerry Sanger, Anthony W. Latour, Simon V. Oley ; attorney, Thomas R. Walker ; treasurer, George J. Hopper ; surveyor, Lorenzo M. Taylor; clerk, Sylvanus Holmes.
The most important of the transactions of the council related to the revision and improvement of the system of common schools, it being determined that there should be eight of them. An appropriation also was made for the creation of a free school for colored children. Another appropriation of $515 was made for the purchase of a public library in accordance with the law of the State directing such appro- priation. A new fire engine company was organized, with the name of Osceola No. 9; No. 7 was removed to the engine-house in West Utica.
Alrick Hubbell was made chief of the fire department. The follow - ing companies were in existence: Clinton, Hardenbrocke, Fulton, Lafayette, Neptune, Mechanics, Mohawk, Eagle, Osceola, a hook and ladder company, and a bucket company. Pine street was declared a public highway. The number of notaries was limited to eight. Eight thousand dollars was voted for current expenses. The Oneida Whig and the Utica Democrat were declared to be the papers in which the proceedings of the council should be published.
On the 16th of January was founded the Utica Musical Academy, its object being the promotion of skill and taste in both sacred and secular music. It numbered over eighty performing members, including a superior orchestra. Its rehearsals were private and it gave six public concerts a year. George Dutton was its conductor and Prof. J. Finley Smith, of Hamilton College, its vocal leader. It lasted several years and gave a marked impulse to musical art.
1841 .- The officers elected March 2d were : Mayor, Spencer Kellogg ; aldermen, Aldrick Hubbell, George W. Hubbard, Jared E. Warner,
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PROCEEDINGS OF 1841.
Isaiah Tiffany, Augustus Hurlburt, Andrew S. Pond, Robert Hallock, Alfred Churchill, Simon V. Oley, Hugh Crocker, Gardiner Tracy, John J. Francis; treasurer, George J. Hopper ; attorney, Jarvis M. Hatch ; clerk, Dexter Gilmore ; surveyor, Lorenzo M. Taylor.
To the official papers of the preceding year was added the Utica Ob- server. It was resolved April 23d that on the 8th of May the coun - cil will meet as a Board of Excise. Before that time a petition was pre- sented to the board signed by Alvan Stewart and 900 others, praying the council not to grant any licenses. Permission was, however, given to applicants to make their appearance ; and that licenses were granted may be inferred from the resolution of October 29th to the effect that $55, the amount due for licenses, be given to the Utica Orphan Asylum. Whether this was the full anount received from this source, or only a balance that remained unpaid, I am unable to state.
July 3Ist at a joint meeting of the council and the commissioners of highways of the town of Deerfield it was determined to rebuild the lower bridge over the Mohawk River at the joint expense of the town of Deer- field and Utica, in accordance with plans submitted, and the contracts were let. The council ordered also that plans be procured for a new bridge over the basin on Broad street. The stand for a hay market was changed from Broad street to Washington, beween the canal and Columbia street, and again changed to Broadway, between the canal and Fayette street, and also the south side of Whitesboro street between Burchard and Division streets. An ordinance was passed forbidding the keeping by any individual of more than twenty-five pounds of gun- powder, or for a longer time than twelve hours, in any other place than in the public powder magazine. Dr. Newland, who had been acting as city physician, was allowed $50 for his services during the year, although he had asked the privilege of doing the work gratuitously. The time of meeting of the council was changed from a weekly to a fortnightly one. A public meeting was called in view of the decease of President William Henry Harrison.
From the report of the treasurer for the year 1841-42, published in the spring of the latter year, it would appear that the gross ex- penses of the city were $11,734.96 and that the gross receipts were $12,014.09.
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MEMORIAL HISTORY OF UTICA.
The trial of William McLeod was the principal event of public in- terest. Some notice of it will be found in the biographical sketch of Joshua A. Spencer.
One who entered upon the dry goods business in 1841, was emi- nently successful therein, and was known for many years as one of the most prominent of the class was John B. Wells. He was born in Col- chester, Conn., August 24, 1816. After serving as a book-keeper in Massachusetts he came in 1839 to Utica and entered the store of A. L. & H. Wells, his cousins. Two years later, in the spring of 1841, he formed a partnership with Lewis Bailey, of Utica, for five years. The business was commenced and conducted in Auburn for two years and the remaining three years in Utica. In 1846 the partnership expired and Mr. Wells commenced business on his own account at 88 Genesee street, remaining there ten years. In 1856 he removed to the Marble block, then newly built, and in 1864 to the present location, 79 Gene- see street. A year later the firm name was changed to J. B. Wells & Co. and in 1874 to J. B. Wells, Son & Co., the junior members being Edward L. Wells and John S. Capron. When he first occupied his store 79 Genesee street it was but eighty feet deep. It was extended about sixty feet in 1871 and later the store No. 77, formerly occupied by the Boston store, and the store No. 81, formerly occupied by Buck- ley & Co., were added, making the establishment one of the largest in the city. As a business man Mr. Wells was noted for his energy, per- severance, strict integrity, and close application to affairs. No em- ployee in his establishment worked harder than he, and for twenty-five years at least he did the work of three men. His energy, perseverance, and capacity for work were wonderful. There was no kind of work about his establishment which he would not do and his example exerted a good influence over all his employees. Thrifty as he was no one was more liberal than he or more ready to part with his hard earned wealth. Not that he spent it on himself, but he gave very liberally to every de- serving cause. He was treasurer of the Home for the Homeless since the death of George R. Thomas, and gave very largely to that charity as well as to very many others. Mr. Wells's private life was as spot- less as his business career was distinguished and successful. Though a lover of economy he was a generous provider for his devoted family.
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OFFICERS OF 1842.
He had been a member of the First Presbyterian Church since 1843, was deacon about ten years, and for about thirty years past one of the ruling elders. The church found in him a most liberal supporter of its organized work in behalf of education, home and foreign missions, and benevolence for many years, and he had for a long time supported a missionary in the Western field. To the Young Men's Christian Asso- ciation his gifts amounted to more than those of any other individual. Since 1887 he had been president of its Board of Trustees. His death occurred November 17, 1891. His wife had died before him. His surviving children are one son and three daughters.
CHAPTER VII.
SECOND DECADE OF THE CITY'S HISTORY. 1
The Washingtonian Temperance Movement - Establishment of a Recorder's Court -- Inauguration of an era of Manufactures -- Incorporation of the Utica Water Works - Building of the City Hall.
T HE following officers were chosen for the year 1842 : Mayor, Horatio Seymour; aldermen, Thomas Lennebacker, Hugh Crocker, John J. Francis, Hiram Greenman, Jared E. Warner, Gardiner Tracy, Robert T. Hallock, Amos Scranton, T. Parmelee, David Wager, Com- fort Butler, Hampton Clark ; treasurer, M. M. Jones; attorney, Wallace McCall; clerk, Huet R. Root; surveyor, Lorenzo M. Taylor; street commissioner, Levi Smith. John H. Ostrom was made chief of the fire department. A State law was enacted on the 7th of April that at the next charter election there should be elected six school commissioners and that two be elected annually thereafter.
The local press claim that in spite of the cry of " hard times " consid- erable building was going on. There were mentioned a block on the corner of Whitesboro and Genesee streets for the Charles E. Dudley estate and a hotel on Whitesboro street, and a number of other build- ings are alluded to in the following month. The fare on the railroad to
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MEMORIAL HISTORY OF UTICA.
Syracuse was fixed at $1, the same as charged by the boats. A new packet line was inaugurated in April and was announced to be largely patronized. The competition at the station and on the docks for pas- sengers was soon at its height and many collisions occurred between runners.
The years 1841, 1842, and 1843 were signalized by a comprehensive and systematic effort in the cause of temperance all over the country. It had for its legend " Moral Suasion " and its canonized patroness was Martha Washington. This movement, known as the Washingtonian, was more generally successful than anything of the kind had been or possi- bly has been since. In Utica, besides numberless week-day meetings, there were meetings every Sunday afternoon during the temperate months in the old academy yard on John street. The general meeting of the temperance societies was always held in the Bleecker street church.
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