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 24
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 24
Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).
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
In the northern section of the town, in addition to the names already mentioned, lived Asa Drake, who removed from near Boston. He distinctly recollects hearing the firing at the battle of Bunker Hill. He still survives and speaks of the struggles of the Revolution, and the privations of the wilderness, with a lively interest. Elkanah Hine and Noah Hoyt, lived on the farm now occupied by George Bishop. Joel Canfield, Ezekiel Hoyt, Job Andrews and Minnah HIy- att, were early settlers here. Ebenezer Carr, Calojius Vinell, and Joshua Slocum, lived on the farm now owned by E. V. W. Dox, Esq .; Col. Jeremiah Gould and Isaac Keeler, to- wards Jamesville.
In the vicinity of La Fayette Square, were Thomas, Seth, Erastus and Sydenham Baker, Joseph Smith, Mr. Paine, Je- remiah Fuller and Dr. Silas Park. Dr. Park's ride as a phy-
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sician, was from Liverpool to Port Watson, Cortland County, then Onondaga, and from Skaneateles to Cazenovia. Dan'l Share, an early settler, is still living on a beautiful spot which commands a view of the village and of the valley, stretching towards Fabius. There were also Caleb Green, Joseph Ste- vens Cole, Paul King, and Orange King, who kept a tavern in a log house, and had for his sign, which was nailed to a tree, " O. King !" Joseph Rhoades, Gershom Richardson, Daniel Cole and John Carlisle, were also among the early settlers of this town.
The Columbian (Congregational) Society was organized in 1804. The greater part of the members who formed this so- ciety, came from Berkshire and Hampshire Counties, Massa- chusetts. At an early day, religious meetings were held in private houses, by Mr. Amaziah Branch, a Congregationalist, from Norwich, Connecticut. He had studied for the ministry, but was not licensed to preach. As a man of piety and exemp- lary deportment, he was greatly respected. The present Con- gregational Church, was organized by Rev. Benjamin Bell, in October, 1809. This interesting transaction took place at the public house of Stoughton Morse, where the "Tempe- rance House" is now kept. The Church, at this period, con- sisted of fifteen persons-five males and ten females.
The following gentlemen have officiated as pastors and preachers, since the time of the Rev. Mr. Bell; Rev. Messrs. E. J. Leavenworth, Hopkins, Martin Powell, Childs, Alexan- der H. Corning, Seth Smally, Abraham K. Barr, Parshall Terry and George E. Delevan.
The Congregational house of worship, was erected 1819 and 1820. In 1844, it was repaired and renovated in mod- ern style. It is located on the plat of ground (one acre) gen- erously given by Capt. Joseph Rhoades and Erastus Baker, Esq. The Methodist Chapel, on the east hill, was erected about the year 1825. There is also a Methodist house of worship, at Cardiff.
Ten or twelve years ago, a chartered high school was estab lished at La Fayette Square, in the brick house, built by Mr.
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Asael Smith, merchant, now occupied by H. G. Andrews, as a dwelling. It flourished a few years and was discontinued.
The first town meeting was held at La Fayette Square, March, 1826, Charles Jackson, Supervisor, Johnson Hall, Town Clerk.
Col. Jeremiah Gould erected the first frame house in the township of Pompey, (now in La Fayette,) in 1800. Isaac Hall built the next in 1801. A Mr. Cheeny kept the first tavern, a little before Orange King. Messrs. Rice and Hill, are said to have been the first merchants at La Fayette Square, 1802 or 1803. In 1801, the State road from Cazenovia to Ska- neateles, was laid out through this town. Col. Olcott, the surveyor, was taken suddenly ill, while engaged in the survey, and died at the house of Erastus Baker. About this time, the inhabitants of this retired country, were visited with that dreadful scourge, the small-pox, which in many instances proved fatal.
The soil of this town, is calcareous loam, intermixed with vegetable mold, and unlike many parts of the country the land is arable on the highest hills, and very productive. The air is pure, the scenery delightful, and access to markets and the great thoroughfares convenient. The face of the country is favorable to the enjoyment of health, activity of mind, com- petence in worldly goods and domestic comfort. There are here no stagnant marshes, no putrid exhalations, no over- grown estates, and none so great temptations to vice as may be found in more thickly settled localities.
No valuable mineral deposit has yet been discovered in this town. Two miles south of Christian Hollow Post Office, a variety of iron ore has been brought to light, but is not con- sidered of much consequence. Lime has been somewhat ex- tensively burned, and may yet prove valuable in agriculture, and for other purposes. The rocks abound in shells and oth- er relics of the diluvian age. On the farm of Dr. C. Wil- liams is a deposit of corals. In the door-yard of Mr. J. G. Doughty, are many petrifactions; similiar appearances have been noticed in different parts of the town. On the farm of
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Thomas Danforth, are chasms of great depth, supposed to have been produced by an earthquake.
There are several sulphur springs in town emitting sulphur- eted hydrogen gas, which can be collected in a tumbler and burned by applying a torch. There is one on Chester Baker's land near a pure spring, a few rods west of the centre. One on the land of Elias Rider, in Christian Hollow, which is with- in a few feet of a pure spring. One on the west side of the Onondaga Creek, which is said to have been considerably agitated a few years ago by an earthquake. Within a few rods of this is a pure. spring and a chalybeate spring. There is a sulphur spring on the Indian road towards the council- house, one on Dr. Williams' land, another near Alcott's saw- mill, in Sherman Hollow, and another in a ravine near Cal- vin Coles'. These springs are sometimes used medicinally. There is a saline spring a few rods east of Ebenezer Hill's residence. To these several springs at an early day, deer used frequently to resort.
The east branch of the Onondaga River rises in Tully, passes through Christian Hollow and Onondaga Village, emptying into Onondaga Lake.
Through Sherman Hollow runs Butternut Creek, which rises in Fabius and Pompey, passing through Jamesville and Orville, uniting with the Limestone and Chittenango Creeks, thence into Oneida Lake.
This town was remarkable for the abundance of its game. Bears, wolves, foxes and wild cats, were every where numer- ous ; and instances are still related of their having been fre- quently destroyed. They often did mischief among the flocks of the early settlers.
Deer were very numerous, and were often seen in herds of twenty or thirty.
According to the last census, we have the following statis- tics for La Fayette :-
Number of inhabitants, 2,527. Number of inhabitants subject to military duty, 204; voters, 606; aliens, 36; pau- pers, 2; children attending common schools, 737; acres of
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improved land, 16,857 ; grist mills, 4; saw mills, 18; fulling mills, 2; carding machines, 2; asheries, 1; clover mills, 1; tanneries, 2. Churches .- Congregational or Presbyterian, 1; Methodist, 2; common schools, 13; taverns, 5; stores, 4; farmers, 392; merchants, 5; manufacturers, 7; mechanics, 66; clergymen, 2; physicians, 4.
MARCELLUS* was one of the townships number nine of the Military Tract, and also one of the eleven towns formed at the organization of the county, in 1794. It then compre- hended all of the townships of Marcellus and Camillus, and all of the Onondaga and Salt Springs Reservations west of the Onondaga Lake and Creek. At present it contains but about , thirty lots of the original township, or about one-tenth of the original town, as at first set off. The first settlements were made in this town in 1794, by William Cobb, who settled on the hill east of Nine Mile Creek. The same year , Cyrus Hol- comb settled on the west hill, and two families by the name of Bowen, and one by the name of Cody, settled near Clin- tonville, and Samuel Tyler settled at Tyler Hollow. A family by the name of Conklin, and one or two others settled the same year in the southern part of the town. A family by the name of Curtis settled at Nine Mile Creek in 1794, but did not remain long. The first permanent settlement there, was made by Dan Bradley and Samuel Rice, in the fall of 1795. They were joined by Dr. Elnathan Beach, in the winter fol- lowing, who erected the first frame house in town the follow- ing summer. It stood near the late dwelling house of Curtis Moses. The second was built by Judge Bradley, and the third by Deacon Rice. In 1806 there were but nine dwelling houses in the village.
These settlements made in different parts of the town prepared the way for others ; so that we find a rapid in- crease of population almost immediately. Among the set-
* For the history of the first settlement of this town, the author has been great- ly assisted by a manuscript of the Rev. Levi S. Parsons.
B 19
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tlers on the west hill, were Nathan Kelsey and Thomas Mil- ler. Col. Bigelow Lawrence had eight sons who settled, four on the east hill, and four on the west hill, all within sight of each other. His sons were Joab, Peter, Bigelow, Rufus, Calvin, Jeptha, Levi and Dorastus ; and subsequently, Martin Cossit settled in the village, about the year 1798. Samuel Wheadon moved to the south hill as early as 1800. A short time subsequently, Josiah Frost, Philo Goddard, Nathan Healy and Enoch Cowles settled in that neighborhood. At an early period, there settled on the east hill, Caleb Todd, Nathaniel Hillyer and Richard May ; and at a still later pe- riod, Martin Goddard, Terrence Edson, Reuben Dorchester and William F. Bangs. James C. Millen and his sons, were the first permanent settlers in the north-east section of the town. He and six sons, except one all died within a short time afterwards. The settlement at the falls now called Union Village, was commenced in the fall of 1806, and the paper mill now owned by John Henry, was erected 1807, and the next year a grist and saw mill were erected.
When the early pioneers of this favored town first came on, it was covered with a heavy burden of hard timber, with very little underbrush. The leeks, nettles and wild grass afforded excellent pasturage for cattle, on the upland; but the low land was covered with a gloomy hemlock forest, which pre- sented formidable obstacles to the clearing of the land, and bringing it to a state fit for cultivation. Hence the first settle- ments were made on the more elevated portions of the town. There was no evidence here as in some other parts of the county, that any part of this town had ever been under culti- vation. Here were no Indian fields, no traces of ancient occu- pancy by a foreign people, or evidence that the soil had ever been pressed by the foot of man, except as a rude hunter in pursuit of his game.
Most of the early settlers of Marcellus were from Massa- chusetts, some from Connecticut and Vermont. They paid a high regard to religious duties, and great attention to the training of their children in moral and intellectual pursuits.
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1
The establishment of schools was among their first conside- rations. Accordingly, we find in the winter of 1796-97, only one year after the settlement had commenced, a school estab- lished, and Dan Bradley the teacher. He took a deep inter- est in the welfare of the young, and hence volunteered his ser- vices as a teacher. He was the first male teacher in the town- ship, and taught two successive winters in a log school-house. The summer before, Miss Aseneth Lawrence, daughter of Col. Bigelow Lawrence, taught the first school kept in the town, in the same house. This house was on the east hill. A frame school house was soon after erected on nearly the same ground, and continued to be occupied until 1807 ; after which, a school-house was erected in the village, and another on the west hill. The early settlers were most of them fa- vorable to religious institutions, and many of them prominent supporters. The people were generally Congregational or Presbyterian, with an occasional Baptist ; but all agreed to worship together for a period of about twenty years. As an evidence that the early settlers were favorable to religious in- stitutions, it is worthy of notice, that in 1802, within seven years after the first settlements were made in the village, measures were taken, preparatory to erecting the present house of worship. The building materials were set up at ven- due ; and among the bidders, we find nearly all the names of the inhabitants of that time. The church was organized Oc- tober 13th, 1801, and the society was organized under the style and title of the " Trustees of the Eastern Society of Marcellus," in May, 1802; Dan Bradley, Martin Cossit, James Millen, Martin Goddard, Thomas North and Nathan Kelsey, Trustees. Their house of worship, still standing and in good repair, was erected in 1803, and was the first house of wor- ship erected in the county. By way of renown, it was then remarked, that it was the only meeting house between New- Hartford and the Pacific Ocean, which was literally the fact. Rev. Seth Williston was a Missionary here in 1800, and sub- sequently, Rev. Caleb Alexander, who organized the society. The following clergymen have filled the pulpit, to wit : Rev.
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Messrs. Jedediah Bushnell, - Cram, Amasa Jerome, - - Robins, Caleb Atwater, Levi Parsons, from 16th September, 1807, and continued with an omission of two years, to 1841- thirty-four years, and Rev. John Tompkins.
St. John's Church, (Episcopalian) Marcellus, was organ- ized in 1824, and their church edifice built 1832. A Univer- salist Society was formed in 1820, under the style and title of " The First Universalist Society of the town of Marcellus;" Bildad Beach, Samuel Johnson, Chester Clark, Trustees. " First Zion Society in Marcellus," organized in 1822, at the house of David Holmes ; William Newton, Joseph Gilson, Andrew Shephard, David Holmes and Silas Bush, Trustees.
Dr. Elnathan Beach came to this town as a practicing phy- sician, in the winter of 1795-6. He erected the first frame house in town, a year or two after he came. He was born in Cheshire, Connecticut, educated as a physician, and com- menced the practice of medicine in his native town, where he obtained the reputation of a judicious and skilful practitioner. Possessing an enterprising spirit, he relinquished an extensive practice, broke away from his friends and early associations, and took up his abode in the wilderness, where he continued the practice of medicine. He entered considerably into pub- lic life, was appointed sheriff of Onondaga County in 1799, and held the office till the time of his death. He is repre- sented as being a very active man and zealous in the pursuit of what he deemed a worthy or important object. To his own family he was peculiarly kind and indulgent, and to commu- nity, affable and obliging. He was extensively known, and his merits appreciated throughout the county. He died in 1801, in the midst of usefulness, at the age of forty years, affectionately beloved and sincerely lamented as an irrepara- ble loss to the infant settlement.
Nine Mile Creek is the principal and only stream of note in this town. It drains the Otisco Lake, and passes through this town from south to north. It received its name from the fact that it is nine miles from Onondaga, which at the time the first settlements were made at the Creek, was the nearest
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settlement on the east, and nine miles to Buck's, the next set- tlement west. It is supposed by many that it received its name from its being nine miles long, but this cannot possibly be the case, as it is more than twice that distance in length.
This stream affords great facilities for water power, and is capable of carrying a large amount of machinery. The first erection on this stream was a saw mill, by Samuel Rice and Dan Bradley, in the fall and winter of 1795 and 1796. It stood a little above the present stone mill of Mr. Talbot. It was built at great disadvantage and expense. The inhabitants were so few that the proprietors of the mill had to send to Camillus for help to assist at the raising. It was finally raised after considerable labor, and proved a great help to the com- munity in which it was located. For several years there was no grist mill in the place, and the inhabitants had to go to Manlius, fifteen miles, or to Seneca Falls, twenty-five miles, which usually took two or three days. Mr. May and Mr. Sayles erected a grist mill near the before mentioned saw mill, in 1800, which greatly relieved the people, and for several years it did all the custom work of the town, and part of On- ondaga and Camillus. Since this, the increase of machinery and mills has been considerable, and this stream is capable of much further improvement.
In 1796, Dr. Elnathan Beach opened a store in the village, and kept for sale dry goods, groceries and medicines. He continued in trade till the time of his death, in 1801. Lem- uel Johnson succeeded Dr. Beach, and built a new store. Dea- con Samuel Rice kept the first tavern in town soon after he came on. He was succeeded by General Humphreys, and he by William Goodwin. A Post Office was established at Mar- cellus 1799, and Dr. Elnathan Beach appointed Post Master. Samuel Tyler was a Justice of the Peace in 1799; perhaps before.
The early records of this town have been destroyed by fire, a thing to be regretted, so that there are no means of know- ing who the earliest town officers were. They have no record further back than 1830.
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By the act of 1794, we find the first town meeting, ordered to be held at the house of Moses Carpenter, and it is presumed it was so held. The house was about a mile east of the pres- ent village of Elbridge. By the record of the Board of Su- pervisors, we find William Stevens Supervisor from 1794 to 1797; Samuel Tyler, Supervisor in 1797, and Winston Day in 1798. The voters of Marcellus thought it rather a hard- ship to go down to Camillus, and finally, in 1796, rallied all their available force, and by out-voting the Camillus people, carried the next town meeting up to Marcellus, so that the . town meeting for 1797 was first held in this town, at the house of Samuel Rice. The house was a log one, and stood nearly opposite to the house now belonging to William Leonard. Samuel Bishop opened the first law office in town, 1801, and B. Davis Noxon the next, in 1808.
RACHEL BAKER .- Perhaps the most remarkable case of devotional somnium, on record, is that of Miss Rachel Baker, formerly of this town. A full history of her case may be found in the Transactions of the Physico-Medical Society of New-York, vol. 1, p. 395.
Dr. Samuel L. Mitchell, in describing her case, and who gave it a thorough investigation, thus remarks. "The latter of these remarkable affections of the human mind, somnium cum religione, belongs to Miss Rachel Baker, who for several years has been seized with somnium of a religious character, once a day with great regularity. These daily paroxysms re- cur with wonderful exactness, and from long prevalence have become habitual. They invade her at early bed time, and a fit usually lasts three-quarters of an hour. A paroxysm has been known to end in thirty-five minutes, and to continue ninety-eight. The transition from a waking state, to that of somnium, is very quick, frequently in fifteen minutes, and sometimes even less. After she retires from company, in the parlor, she is discovered to be occupied in praising God with a distinct and sonorous voice. Her discourses are usually pronounced in a private chamber, for the purpose of deliver- ing them with more decorum on her own part, and with great-
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er satisfaction to her hearers. She has been advised to take the recumbent posture. Her face being turned towards the heavens, she performs her nightly devotions with a consistency and fervor, wholly unexampled in a human being, in a state of somnium. Her body and limbs are motionless ; they stir no more than the trunk and extremities of a statue ; the only motion the spectator perceives, is that of her organs of speech, and an oratorical inclination of the head and neck, as if she was intently engaged in performing an academic or theologi- cal exercise. According to the tenor and solemnity of the address, the attendants are affected with seriousness. She commences and ends with an address to the throne of grace, consisting of proper topies of submission and reverence, of praise and thanksgiving, and of prayer for herself, her friends, the church, the nation, for enemies and the human race in general. Between these, is her sermon or exhortation. She begins without a text, and proceeds with an even course to the end, embellishing it sometimes with fine metaphors, vivid descriptions and poetical quotations. There is a state of body felt, like groaning, sobbing or moaning, and the distressful sound continues from two minutes to a quarter of an hour. This agitation however, does not wake her ; it gradually sub- sides and passes into a sound and natural sleep, which contin- ues during the remainder of the night. In the morning she wakes as if nothing had happened, and entirely ignorant of the scenes in which she has acted. She declares she knows nothing of her nightly exercises, except from the information of others. With the exception of the above mentioned agita- tion of the body and exercise of mind, she enjoys perfect health. In October, 1814, Miss Baker was brought to New- York by her friends, in hopes that her somnial exercises (which were considered by some of them, as owing to disease) might by the exercise of a journey, and the novelty of a large city, be removed. But none of these means produced the desired effect. Her acquaintances stated that her somnial exercises took place every night regularly, except in a few in- stances, when interrupted by severe sickness, from the time
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they commenced, in 1812. In September, 1816, Dr. Spears, by a course of medical treatment, particularly by the use of opium, prevented a recurrence of her nightly exercises.
The parents of Miss Baker were pious and early taught her the importance of religion; she was born at Pelham, Mass., May 29th, 1794. At the age of nine years, her pa- rents moved with her to the town of Marcellus, from which time, she said she had strong convictions of the importance of eternal things, and the thoughts of God and eternity would make her tremble."
By degrees, her mind became more and more agitated, and nightly had conversations in her sleep, till at length, these assumed a regular devotional and sermonizing form, and none who ever witnessed, doubted they were the genuine fruits of penitence, piety and peace.
HON. DAN BRADLEY-was a son of Jabez and Esther Brad- ley. He was born at Mount Carmel, (since Haddam,) New Haven County, Connecticut, 10th June, 1767. He received a classical education, at Yale College. He entered that cele- brated institution in his nineteenth year. Four years after- wards, on the 9th of September, 1789, he graduated with dis- tinguished academic honors, and received his master's degree out of course, at the age of twenty-three. In October, 1790, he was licensed to preach the gospel, by the association of New Haven County, and the same month, viz. 21st day of October, 1790, was married to Miss Eunice Beach, On the 11th of January, 1792, he was ordained at Haddam, Connec- ticut, to the pastoral charge of the Church at Whitestown, New Hartford. In the month of February following, he re- moved his family to that place, and took charge of this new congregation and parish, and continued his pastoral care of this flock nearly three years. He was succeeded by the Rev. Mr. Johnson. On the occasion of the induction of Mr. John- son to his pastoral office, and in honor of the event, was given, (after the solemn services of the ordination at Church,) a grand " Ordination Ball." Singular as this may appear at the pres- ent day, it was a custom then practiced by our Puritan fathers,
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who on any other occasion would have thought it exceedingly sinful, and perhaps a mode of religious rejoicing, which in this degenerate age of godly alienation, might be thought rather questionable.
In January, 1795, Rev. Dan Bradley was dismissed from the pastoral charge of the Church in Whitestown, at New Hartford, and the 6th of September following, removed with his family to the town of Marcellus, at the age of twenty-nine. The country was then comparatively a wilderness. He en- tered at once into the business of farming, with zeal and cheer- fulness, and soon became noted for the purity of his taste, and success of his undertakings, setting a beautiful example to those around him, that education and refinement of mind were essential attributes to happiness and prosperity. He was ap- pointed a Judge of Onondaga County Courts, in 1801, and by his display of legal knowledge, soon became somewhat dis- tinguished as a Jurist. In 1808, he was appointed First Judge of the County, which office he held with some degree of dis- tinction, till the time of his resignation in 1813, when he was succeeded by Joshua Forman. He was somewhat remarkable for his ready classic humor, and on many occasions displayed it much to the amusement and gratification of his friends. On a time, during his official capacity as Judge, a certain colored man, named Hank Blakeman, occupied, on the Oswego River, just above Oswego Falls, a commodious place for landing, and it was also a convenient crossing place. For the privilege of landing on his dock, the colored man exacted a small fee. This was thought rather oppressive by some of his neighbors, who summoned the Road Commissioners of the town, who laid out a road in such a manner as considerably to abridge his privileges. Hc feeling himself aggrieved, appealed to the Judges of Common Pleas, who upon a proper representation of the facts, took the matter into consideration. A day was set for an investigation of the matter, and Judges Humphreys, Bradley and Vredenburgh, accompanied by the present Judge Moseley, then a student with Judge Forman, at Onondaga, who went down as an advocate of the aggrieved party's rights.
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