USA > New York > Onondaga County > Onondaga, or, Reminiscences of earlier and later times, being a series of historical sketches relative to Onondaga, with notes on the several towns in the county, and Oswego, Vol. II > Part 10
USA > New York > Oswego County > Onondaga, or, Reminiscences of earlier and later times, being a series of historical sketches relative to Onondaga, with notes on the several towns in the county, and Oswego, Vol. II > Part 10
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Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32
He was a striking example of pure and disinterested be- nevolence. No man who passed his hospitable threshold, but
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was received with kindness and affection, and none retired from it but with feelings of regret. During a long and gloomy period, his house was the seat of hospitality, the resting place of the traveler, the home of the stranger, and the abode of charity. The bounties of his cabin were freely dispensed to all who entered ; and, although thousands shared the bles- sings of his board, it was always without money and without price.
From his early sojourn here, and for a long period, he was personally and intimately known to every individual on the Military Tract. He was looked up to as a father, and enjoyed for many years, the high consideration of bearing paternal sway among the primitive settlers of this favored country. He knew and was known of every one ; his counsel and ad- vice were sought and received with respect and deference, and none had occasion to regret their solicitations or confidence.
His capacity and enterprise fitted him for almost every sta- tion and duty in active life ; hence, he became identified with every interest which tended to promote the welfare of his fel- low-men, and advance the prosperity of the country.
He enjoyed in an eminent degree the confidence and esteem of his fellow citizens. Consequently, he was often called upon to fill the most important offices of trust and honor in the county, and he performed the duties assigned him, with credit to himself and with satisfaction to his constituents.
For a number of years he was a Judge of the Court of Common Pleas; was one term a Senator for the Western District ; and Superintendent of the Onondaga Salt Springs, and held numerous other offices of less imoprtance, in all which stations, he exhibited a high degree of capacity and manly bearing. Besides, he was for many years, from the first or- ganization of the militia, the highest military officer in Onon- daga County ; ascending the several grades from Major to Major General ; at a period too, when a military commission implied worth, and conferred distinction.
He was a man possessing a large fund of general intelli- gence, was remarkable for his social conversational powers,
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for the kindness of his disposition, his readiness to oblige his neighbors, and those refined and softer feelings which adorn the human heart.
After a long and active life, more than thirty years of which was spent at Onondaga ; during the whole period of which he was a leading man in all the most important enter- prises of the day, he ceased from his labors.
He may be with propriety (as he often has been) styled the father of the county ; an appellation well deserved.
He died at his residence, at Onondaga Hollow, September 2d, 1818, in the seventy-third year of his age, universally la- mented and mourned by an extensive circle of friends.
THADDEUS M. WOOD, was born 9th of March, 1772, at Lenox, Massachusetts. He was a graduate of Dartmouth College, with the class of 1790. He entered upon the pur- suit of his legal studies, with Thomas R. Gould, Esq., and closed them in the office of Joseph Kirkland, Esq., of Utica, immediately after which, in 1794, he came to Onondaga Hol- low, and opened a law office, being the first lawyer who es- tablished himself in the county. He soon became distin- guished for his legal capacity, and during his life exercised a prominent influence throughout the county.
He became widely known as a military man, was Lieuten- ant Colonel Commandant, in 1809, in which capacity he was extremely active and useful during the war of 1812. He was elevated to the rank of Brigadier General in 1818, and to the rank of a Major General, in 1820.
General Wood was a gentleman of marked and well defined characteristics, both of mind and manners, and no one could be much in his society without understanding many traits of his character, while others were not so readily disclosed to the public gaze.
In his manners he was often abrupt, sometimes even blunt and perhaps rough, but his thoughts flowed with great rapid- ity and power, while he often gave to them a sudden and im- pulsive expression.
the o melhor
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As a lawyer, it is perhaps sufficient to say, that in the early part of the present century, when Kellogg, and Forman, and Sabin, were in the height of their practice and the zenith of their powers, the Onondaga bar had no man superior to Gen. Wood, and perhaps not his equal, in all things. If the laws of real property and the action of ejectment, (which then em- braced the most important suits tried in the county,) were better understood by Forman and Kellogg, Gen. Wood fully equalled them in his general acquaintance with the common law, in the investigation and preparation of his causes, and especially in the sagacity and astuteness which he brought into exercise on the trial of his suits. He omitted to present no favorable view of his clients case, no point which fortified his action or his defense. And on the other hand, he watch- ed his opponent with an eagle eye, never failing to discover the weak points in his ease, or to make every needful objee- tion in the progress of the cause. His client's rights were safe, not in his learning and abilities only, but also in his re- markable care and his unwearied devotion. He looked upon his clients as his wards, and extended his guardianship to the protection of all their rights. At about the age of fifty, Gen. Wood's large real estate, and the necessary cares of increas- ing property and other pursuits, began rapidly to withdraw him from his profession, and he gave but little attention to its duties, except so far as was necessary in his own business. For twenty years and more, during most of which time he was in company with the late Hon. George Hall, Gen. Wood had a very extensive practice. The firms of Wood & Hall, who were Democrats, and Forman & Sabin, who were Feder- alists, doing the most business by far, of any then in the coun- ty, unless their practice may have been equalled by that of Daniel Kellogg, at Skaneateles. The Hon. Samson Mason, the Hon. Philo Gridley, and the Hon. Asher Tyler, are some of the many students who laid the foundation of their legal learn- ing under his instructions.
During the war of 1812, he was a Colonel, and within twenty-four hours after notice of the threatened descent of
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the British at Oswego, he was on his way to the scene of dan- ger, with most of the regiment under his command. And again, when the alarm of an invasion at Sackett's Harbor was given soon after, Gen. Wood, at a moments warning, dis- patched messengers throughout the county, aroused the slum- bering warriors of the Onondaga nation, and with his regi- ment and Indian allies, at once repaired to the north. As an officer, he was in appearance, remarkably fine looking, ac- tive and energetic, and had an opportunity presented, those who knew him, will not doubt but his conduct would have commanded the approbation of the public, and the admiration of his friends.
As a politician, Gen. Wood was ardent, active, untiring and honest. He embraced the principles of the Democratic par- ty in early life, and supported them with ability and vigor. When the Democratic party was divided, he became a Clin- tonian, and continued such till the death of Mr. Clinton, and with most of the leaders of that party, supported Gen. Jack- son, in 1828; and left him in 1832, or before. He took an active interest in public affairs till the close of his life, and at all times judged and spoke of public men and public affairs, with all that acuteness and discrimination, for which he was remarkable.
Gen. Wood was celebrated throughout the State for the pungency of his wit, and quickness and severity of his retort. He was never at a loss for a reply, either at the bar or in pri- vate conversation, and the opponent who escaped from his wit and his satire uninjured, was fortunate indeed. Onondaga was almost as well known in the State, by the wit of Gen. Wood, as by the sarcasms of Gen. Root, or the enterprise and fore- sight of Forman and Geddes.
As a neighbor, Gen. Wood was kind and obliging, ready at all times to grant those little daily kindnesses which good neighborhood so constantly require.
As a father, no man was more indulgent or more affection- ate. With something of a rough exterior and an austere manner, fountains of the warmest affection for his children,
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ever flowed from his heart. In speaking of them at the age of half a century, he would often melt down to tears. Though some of them sometimes annoyed him by their indiscretions, and perhaps even irritated his rather impulsive nature, still, perhaps the most marked characteristic of Gen. Wood was his fondness for his children, and his acute susceptibility to all that affected their happiness or their fame.
Gen. Wood's fondness for real estate was quite a passion. He was ready to buy, but never to sell. He, at an early day became a very large landholder in the county-at Manlius, at Liverpool, Salina, Onondaga Hollow, and between the Hol- low and Syracuse, and at various other places. This passion also may have led to, or sprung out of another-a decided fond- ness for agriculture-at least its theory and study. Gen. Wood was not a good practical farmer. His lands were far too extensive, and his other pursuits were far too numerous and pressing. But he took a great interest in agricultural pur- suits, the introduction of improved breeds of cattle, and in the meetings and discussions of Agricultural Societies.
Gen. Wood was never idle. If not engaged in the active duties of life, with which he was generally overwhelmed, he was storing his mind with those funds of knowledge, which combined with his wit, and a happy and joyous disposition, made him a most agreeable, entertaining and instructive com- panion. He knew the history of Onondaga, from its early settlement till his death, in all the minuteness of its detail- had been himself a prominent actor in all its stages, and by the aid of a careful observation, and a most retentive memory, was furnished with an amount of knowledge on this subject. not now possessed by any of his survivors. This, he was at all times ready and happy to impart, and whoever drew from that fountain would be pleased to repair to it again.
Gen. Wood was truthful in all his intercourse, moral in his habits, and possessed of a nice sense of honor. When sc- verely pressed for money, and most anxious to raise it, and willing to give his own note, well endorsed, to obtain it, he
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has been known to refuse to promise on his honor to meet the note when due, as that would compel him to pay it.
General Wood had his faults, as well as his virtues, and the truth of history requires that they should not be passed over in silence. He was never popular. Lawyers are, from the nature of their profession, almost obliged to make enemies ; but General Wood had more than the usual number. There were many of them made no doubt in the ordinary course of legal proceedings-some perhaps by the pungency of his wit or the bitterness of his sarcasm, but more, probably from other causes. His resolute determination not to sell his real estate added to a most deeply seated habit of procrastination, eventu- ally very much embarrassed him in his pecuniary affairs. He was at an early day sued more or less, and finally he paid a large amount of his debts in executions. These suits he often delayed, by pleas or demurrers, using the means which the Courts then furnished to obtain time ; sometimes, perhaps, by technical objections to obtain a bill of costs, or defeat a just cause of action. This was one ground of complaint. Being pressed by his own debts, it is also said that he sometimes pressed his own debtors more severely than he should have done, and that his conduct was unkind and oppressive. This may have been so, but the state of his own private affairs must be his apology, not his justification. He also had more or less litigation with his father, and perhaps with some other of his relatives, and with former partners in business, particularly with George Hall and Benajalı Byington. The suit with Hall was commenced about the year 1825, and was a bill filed by Hall for the settlement of their partnership accounts. This suit was more than twenty years in the Court of Chancery, and was finally brought to a close by the Executors of Hall, on the one side, and the surviving Administrator of Wood on the other. The history of the Byington suit is very much the same. He was considered litigious in the community, but he did not bring needless suits, nor was he greatly in the habit of resorting to the law ; but being often sued himself by oth- ers, and defending many of the suits for delay or otherwise,
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he acquired a reputation in the popular mind which did not justly belong to him. Whatever may have been the respect- ive merits of these various controversies, the effect no doubt was to make General Wood unpopular in the community, and to injure his reputation to a certain extent. But they did not destroy the confidence of his friends in the native kindness of his heart, the goodness of his disposition, and the general in- tegrity of his character. While they regretted his imperfec- tions, as we all should, and might more profitably our own, they admired him for his talents, his learning, and his wit, and they loved him for his many social virtues. And when the grave finally shut him from our view, few among us but felt that a great man had fallen, and that many kind, and generous, and noble qualities were buried in his tomb. He died at his residence, at Onondaga Hollow, January 10th, 1836, aged sixty-four years .*
In connection with the distinguished members of the bar of Onondaga County, the names of William H. Sabin and George Hall, Esqrs., deserve a place.
Mr. Sabin commenced the practice of law at an early pe- riod, in company with Judge Forman, and may justly take rank among the leading men of the profession. Without go- ing into extensive detail, we would mention that Mr. Sabin was remarkable for his minute historical knowledge of men and events connected with the American Revolution, which eminently qualified him for the management of ejectment suits, which in his time were most numerous and important, and re- quired the utmost skill, talent and knowledge, successfully to conduct. The principal witnesses in these suits were soldiers of the Revolution. Many of the suits were brought, upon fraudulent claims, which were supported by corrupt witnesses, and it required no ordinary tact to arrive at the truth. For all emergencies connected with the management of these suits, Mr. Sabin was fully adequate, and if a false witness came
* For the above delineation of the character of General Wood, the author ie ander obligation to the Hon. E. W. Leavenworth.
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upon the stand, he was sure to be detected by the scrutiny and historical knowledge of Counsellor Sabin, and fortunate indeed would be the delinquent who escaped the lash of his censure. Instances might be multiplied to an indefinite ex- tent relative to the sagacity and abilities of Mr. Sabin as a lawyer. For a long time he held a high position at the Onon- daga Bar, and will long be remembered there as one whose place can scarcely be supplied.
Honorable George Hall held a prominent place at the Bar of Onondaga County, and was noted for his high legal attain- ments, for the solidity of his judgment, his sterling sense, and many of those commanding attributes and characteristics which have ever been pre-eminent at the Onondaga Bar.
He was for a long time a partner of General Wood, held many of the most important offices in the county, and was one who, in every position in which he was placed, received the confidence and esteem of his professional cotemporaries and fellow-citizens.
JASPER HOPPER was born in the city of New-York, on the 10th of June, 1770. His father then owned and occupied a house on the corner of Ann street and Broadway. The family of Jasper Hopper are of Dutch descent.
Two brothers, Andreas and Matthias, emigrated from Hol- land to New-York, about the year 1620. Andreas, settled in Bergen County, New-Jersey, and Matthias on the Island of Manhattan, where he purchased a farm ; and to him grants of lands were made along the Hudson River, including Green- wich. Andrew Hopper, father of Jasper Hopper, had four brothers, viz. : John, Wessel, Yellis and Matthew. The ori- ginal Dutch name was written Hoppen.
There was a settlement in New-Jersey named Hopperstown. The name of the father of Andrew Hopper, was John, who was a Lieutenant in Gen. Harmer's campaign among the In- dians ; was severely wounded in the battle in which that gene- ral was defeated, and left for dead upon the field, but finally recovered.
Fngd by F Halpin NI
Jaspertopper
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TOWNS .- ONONDAGA .- JASPER HOPPER.
Andrew Hopper removed to Bloomingdale, to a place bought of his brother Yellis, having previously sold twenty acres which he had inherited from his father, on the bank of the Hudson. The subject of this sketch, was a son of Andrew Hopper, and was "christened" by Dominie Ritzena, by the name of " Casperas." Jasper Hopper was married to Char- lotte Newcomb, October 4, 1800. The Newcomb family were one of the oldest and most respectable in Duchess County. They are now in possession of a farm which has been handed down through several generations, now occupied by John Hop- per Newcomb, near Pleasant Valley.
Jasper Hopper received his education in the city of New- York. At the age of eighteen, he left the city and entered the office of the Secretary of State as a Clerk, where, by his diligence, assiduity, strict integrity, and his urbanity of man- ner, he won the respect and confidence of the Secretary, and all others with whom he became acquainted or had intercourse. While in Albany, he was for two winters, Clerk of the House of Assembly ; both of which sessions, the House unanimously voted him the extra allowance of two hundred and fifty dol- lars. The duty was very laborious, and he was frequently obliged to write all night to keep up with the business.
On the third of November, 1791, Jasper Hopper was ap- pointed Deputy Secretary of State, Lewis Allaire Scott at that time being Secretary. He was then only twenty years of age, and continued to hold the office till the death of Mr. Scott, which occurred in the winter of 1798. Upon the death of Mr. Scott, the friends of Mr. Hopper exerted themselves in his behalf, to procure for him the appointment of Secretary of State. Many prominent names appear on his petition. Mr. Scott himself, before his death, drew up a memorial to that effect ; but, owing to his youth, rather than his inexperience and want of ability to perform the duties of the office, his claims were rejected by the Council of Appointment, and Mr. Thomas Tillotson was appointed. Mr. Hopper's services were however, considered indispensable to the office, and he was retained as Deputy Secretary, till he left for Onondaga, in 1802. For
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the first three years, while in the office of the Secretary, he served for such compensation as the generosity of Mr. Scott dictated, of which, however, no complaint was made. For the two succeeding years, he received the small allowance of fifty pounds per annum from the State. After 1795, he had the whole charge of the office, as Mr. Scott's health did not per- mit him to perform any of the duties, and received a reason- able compensation. He was the immediate predecessor of the venerable Archibald Campbell, as Deputy Secretary of State.
In 1799, Jasper Hopper was appointed and admitted an honorary member of the Law Society of the city of Albany, in which was included many of the most distinguished gentle- men of the bar, in the State.
In the spring of 1802, he was appointed Clerk of the county of Onondaga, to which place he immediately came with his commission in his pocket, and entered at once upon the du- ties of his office. He located at the east end of Onondaga Hollow, and kept the office there in his dwelling house for several years. Afterwards, the office was removed to the west end of the Hollow, where it remained till its removal to the Hill.
In 1803, he received the appointment of Supreme Court Commissioner, and in 1804, the appointment of Commission- er for taking affidavits to be read in Chancery. In 1810, he was superceded in the office of County Clerk by G. W. Olm- sted, and in 1811 was re-appointed, which office he held till the year 1818.
Jasper Hopper was appointed a Marshal for taking the United States census of 1810, when the county of Onondaga comprised the present counties of Cortland, Onondaga, and a part of Oswego. This laborious duty, he performed in his usual prompt and energetic manner, to the entire satisfaction of all.
He was appointed keeper of the military stores at the arse- nal, located at Onondaga Hollow, during the war of 1812, and afterwards so long as they remained in that location.
TOWNS .- ONONDAGA .- JASPER HOPPER. 127
He was also a United States Commissary for the procur- ing and distributing of rations to the army, on their marches to and from the Frontier.
For a period of nineteen years, he was Post Master at On- ondaga Hollow, and enjoyed the confidence of the different heads of the Post Office Department, to such a degree that he was retained in office under every administration, without distinction of party. The office at that time was quite an important one, being a distributing office for the county and parts adjacent.
Mr. Hopper was a sincere friend to the cause of education ; he took an active part in procuring the charter for Onondaga Academy, was a liberal subscriber to the endowment fund for that institution, and aided every way in his power, to estab- lish it on a firm foundation, and to make its condition flour- ishing and prosperous. He was one of the Trustees named in the original charter of the Academy, and continued to be one of the Board up to his decease, and was always remarkbly prompt and punctual in his attendance at all their meetings.
He was for a long time connected with the leaders of the Democratic Republican party in this county, remained stead- fast to its principles to the end of his life, and was associated with Gen. Wood, Hon. Reuben Humphreys, Dr. Rawson, Jo- nas Earll and other distinguished leaders of the party, in all its affairs.
As has been before stated, Mr. Hopper came to Onondaga in 1802, at which time our county was comparatively a wilder- ness, and he may be set down as one among many, who were with the early pioneers, most instrumental in opening and im- proving the way of our county's prosperity.
Mr. Hopper died at his late residence, at Onondaga Hol- low, June 30th, 1848, aged seventy-nine years.
He was a man of remarkable kindness and docility of dis- position, very amiable, courteous, social and obliging. Few men who have been as much in public life, escape with so lit- tle censure, or expose themselves to fewer assaults from politi-
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cal opponents. His whole course was marked by a strict ad- herence to principle, dictated by an honest heart.
Entering very early in life upon public duties, he enjoyed throughout a long and well tried political course, the entire confidence of his friends, and even his political adversaries respected and admired his unflinching integrity and stability of purpose. Personal enemies, it is presumed he had nonc, and those who held political opinions different from his, which might have engendered animosities, were ready to bury them with the close of his official career. At his death, none could rise up and say he was not a pure patriot-an upright, honorable man.
Although for several years, age and infirmity had in a mea- sure deprived him of the privileges of promiscuous society ; still, in the social circle in which he was enabled to move, he was highly esteemed ; and, in domestic life, he fully sustained all of its most tender relations. His memory will long be held in grateful remembrance throughout the county, while his name and character will be cherished and revered by his numerous relatives and intimate friends.
The engraved likeness of Mr. Hopper accompanying this sketch, was taken from a miniature picture executed while he was Deputy Secretary at the age of twenty.
The name of Nicholas Mickles, is one which deserves to be remembered among the pioneers of Onondaga. He estab- lished himself at the Hollow at an early day, and was distin- guished for his public spirit, benevolence and liberality, which tended to promote the best interests of community and the public at large. He established the Onondaga Furnace, and carried it on till his decease, which occurred at the Hollow, in August, 1827. During the war of 1812, he was employed by the Government to cast shot and shell for the army and navy. It was with regard to the Government property at this place, that Mr. Secretary Armstrong committed a most laughable mistake, which was noticed at the time in most of the public prints in the Union. A large amount of shot and shell was lying at the Onondaga Furnace, which was wanted
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