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 4
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 4
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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
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SALT SPRINGS.
thought and reading, and converse upon the current topics of the day. He continued also through his life, to be an ardent politician of unswerving fidelity to party obligations, and de- nounced the least violation of party faith, as a crime of al- most unpardonable magnitude. He was in mind, thought and feelings, a gentleman. In his manner, he had an casy, digni- fied and graceful address, by which the most casual observer would have distinguished him in a crowd, as a man who, from habits and association, had always moved in refined society ; and still, he was free from haughtiness or pride, and as ac- cessible at all times to the most humble laborer, as to the highest dignitary of the land.
As one of the remarkable traits in the character of Dr. Kirkpatrick, it may be added, that with the renowned Dr. Johnson, he had a morbid and awful horror of death. He has frequently remarked to the writer of this brief sketch, that the thought of dying and of death-of passing from this sublunary state to the mysterious world beyond the grave-of the body instinct with with warmth and life-and all its compli- cated and beautiful machinery becoming cold and inanimate, -placed in the earth as food for worms,-
" To lie in cold obstruction and to rot,"-
filled his soul with dismay and terror.
In the summer of 1832, and with but very few hours of premonition, the dread king of terrors, by his most terrible vicegerent, the cholera, approached his bed-side, and beckoned him away. He looked upon the face of the pale spectre with composure and apparent fearlessness, and seemed to have summoned in the last hour, a fortitude of mind which he did not before know he possessed. When he became assured of the presence of the pestilence in his own person, and that he could not live but a few hours, he summoned his beloved wife to his bed-side, and with the composure of one about to enjoy a peaceful sleep for a time, or take a short journey, gave her a brief history of a few matters of business resting in personal recollection, and a few words of affectionate condolence, and then resigned himself to his fate with apparent submission.
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ONONDAGA.
He died on the 2d day of September, 1832, in the 65th year of his age, and was buried at Salina. He left twin sons, Wil- liam and Donald, now (1849) nineteen years of age, who re- side with their mother, in Cato, Cayuga County.
Such is a very brief and imperfect notice of a good and worthy man. He had no enemies ; it is impossible he should have had any; for, he never entertained an unkind wish in respect to any human being .*
* For the above sketch, the author is obliged to J. G. Forbes, Esq., an intimat friend of Dr. Kirkpatrick.
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ERIE CANAL-JAMES GEDDES.
CHAPTER XIII.
ERIE CANAL-JAMES GEDDES.
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCH OF THE HON. JAMES GEDDES-ERIE CANAL-HYDRAULIC CEMENT.
JAMES GEDDES was born on the 22d day of July, 1763, near Carlisle, in the State of Pennsylvania. His father and mother were both descended from Scotch families, and the first ac- cents of his infant lips were uttered in broad Scotch.
His father was a farmer in very respectable circumstances, and gave his children all the advantages of education that the country then afforded ; and every means at the command of the subject of this memoir, was made the most of, in storing his mind with useful knowledge.
While a youth, following the plow, he carried in his pocket a book ; and when his team stopped to rest, he perused its contents. In after life he frequently observed, that this read- ing in the field was of great advantage to him, as he had full time to digest all that he read while holding the plow, and later in life could draw from these stores treasured up in his juvenile years, with pleasure and profit. He studied mathe- matics under the charge of a Mr. Oliver, who was a thor- oughly educated man.
Languages he studied without masters, and he became a belles letter scholar of the first order. In fact few men ever acquire a knowledge of the English language that equalled his.
At an early age he visited the State of Kentucky. It was
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ONONDAGA.
then necessary to cross the Alleghany Mountains in large companies, for protection against the Indians ; and unburied human bones were seen at various places along the path they followed.
In Kentucky, slavery had already established itself; and having an insuperable repugnance to that institution, he de- termined not to locate himself where it appeared that this evil was long to exist. From the time of arriving at his majority until the age of thirty, he employed himself in teaching school, traveling, and improving his mind.
In the year 1793, the fame of the salt springs induced him to visit the county of Onondaga, (then Herkimer.) So well was he pleased with the prospects this region offered, that he returned home and organized a company for the manufacture of salt; and the next year, 1794, came by the way of Seneca Lake, with the necessary kettles, and early in the spring com- menced the manufacture of salt, at the place now known as the village of Geddes. He lived there four years. In 1798 he moved to lands he had purchased of the State, in the pre- sent town of Camillus, where he lived the residue of his life.
In May, 1799, he married Miss Lucy Jerome, daughter of Timothy Jerome, Esq., of the town of Fabius, who survives him.
Soon after becoming a citizen of this county, the public de- manded his services, and he filled most if not all of the im- portant stations in his town at various times. He was ap- pointed a Justice of the Peace in 1800, by the Council of Ap- pointment. In 1804 he was elected a member of the Legis- lature.
Soon after his coming into this country, he was employed by the Surveyor General, as one of his assistants, and he de- voted himself to the profession of surveying and engineering, until age disqualified him from the fatigue of out-door labors. His maps, plots and field books, deposited in the Surveyor Gen- eral's Office, show him to be a man of great accuracy, and his accompanying remarks, the sagacity and penetration of his mind.
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ERIE CANAL-JAMES GEDDES.
It was as an engineer that he became most known to the public, and it was as such that he did the State most service.
The project of connecting the waters of Lake Erie with the Hudson River, became an important one. Mr. Weston, a cel- ebrated engineer from England, had examined the Oswego River, and other water courses, with a view to improving their navigation ; and among men of enlarged views the scheme be- came an engrossing topic. Mr. Geddes, at an early period, enlisted in the matter, and commenced with ardor the gather- ing of facts. In 1804, the Surveyor General said to him, that Gouverneur Morris had mentioned to him the project of
"tapping Lake Erie." The Surveyor General considered this "a romantic thing,"* but not so the man to whom he com- municated the crude, undigested thought. He knew that Mr. Weston had reported the Oswego River, from the falls to Lake Ontario, as "hardly susceptible of improvement, by means of canaling," and if there was a way that the waters of the up- per lakes could be led across the country without going down to the level of Ontario, and then rising to the summit again at Rome, that vast results must grow from it, and at once his untiring industry and energy was put in requisition.
Maps were examined, surveyors were enquired of, and every means within his reach resorted to, to ascertain the topography of the country through which, since has been constructed the Erie Canal.
In 1807, Judge Joshua Forman was elected to the Legis- lature from this county, upon the express understanding that he would try to procure the appropriation of money to make examinations of the country. No man could have been better qualified than was Judge Forman to succeed. A man of elo- quence, ardent, and peculiarly calculated to make men think as he himself thought upon any subject, he did succeed, and as was understood, the Surveyor General, who had the selec- tion of the man to make the surveys, (if he did not himself do it,) appointed Mr. Geddes. He "entered with enthusiasm
* See Canal Laws, vol. 1, page 39.
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ONONDAGA.
upon the task assigned him by the Surveyor General," and made surveys, not only of the Oneida and Oswego Rivers, and around the Falls of Niagara, but he reported a route, which was, in the language of the Surveyor General, in his letter to Mr. Darley, of February 25th, 1822, " almost precisely in the line, which, after repeated, elaborate and expensive examina- tions, has been finally adopted."
To quote further from Mr. De Witt's letter, " the favorable light in which the report of this year's work presented the projected enterprise, after encountering prejudices from differ- ent sources, and oppositions made for various reasons, induced the Legislature, in 1810, to organize a board of commission- ers, with powers and means to prosecute the business."
This survey furnished the necessary information to justify prudent men to commit themselves in favor of a canal; and Mr. Clinton, grasping with his powerful intellect at once the vast advantages of the scheme, embarked in it with uncom- promising zeal, and by his elevated position in the State, was enabled to render such assistance as ensured success.
After the war with England was ended, the Canal Com- missioners sent to that country to secure the services of Mr. Weston, or some other engineer of reputation, to take charge of and lay out the canals, but they failed entirely, and it be- came necessary to rely upon their own inexperienced coun- trymen. In 1816, they appointed five principal engineers, placing Mr. Geddes at the head of the list, who throughout the progress of the work, maintained a high standing as a civil engineer, and whose labors and opinions were most fa- vorably estimated by the Canal Commissioners, as their reports in various instances will show.
1n 1822, the State authorities of Ohio applied to Governor Clinton to select a proper person to make the necessary ex- plorations for their canal from the Ohio River to Lake Erie ; and he, in the most flattering manner, recommended Mr. Geddes as the most competent man in the service of the State. Mr. Geddes accepted proposals from Ohio, and assumed the responsibility of Chief Engineer of the Ohio Canal. This
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ERIE CANAL JAMES GEDDES.
duty he discharged to the perfect satisfaction of the authori- ties of the State of Ohio.
In 1827, Mr. Geddes was employed by the general govern- ment, (associated with Mr. Roberts,) in the location of the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal. In 1828, he was engaged in lo- cating the Pennsylvania Canals, and in the same year he was appointed by the general government, to examine the coun- try in reference to the connection of the waters of the Ten- nessee and Altamaha Rivers, in the States of Tennessee, Ala- bama and Georgia. This appointment he declined, on account of distance from home, and his advanced age.
In 1809, Mr. Geddes was appointed an associate Justice, and in 1812, a Judge of Onondaga County Common Pleas. In 1813, he was elected a member of the 13th Congress, and in 1821 he was again elected a member of the Legislature of this State. He was elected to Congress by the Federal party, but belonged to that branch of the party who favored the vigorous prosecution of the then existing war, and it is pro- per to say, that he voted for every appropriation that was made during his term, for carrying on the war with vigor.
The infirmities of age crept upon him apace, and during the last year of his life, his constitution gave way rapidly, and he closed his earthly career at his residence, in the town of Camillus, on the 19th of August, 1838, being a little more than seventy-five years of age. He was the father of seven children, only one of them surviving him-all the rest having died without issue. The Hon. George Geddes, of Fairmount, now a member of the Senate of this State, is the survivor.
Perhaps it is safe to say that no man who had been as much in public service, and who had come in contact with so great and conflicting interests, represented by men so different in capacity and character, ever died, leaving fewer enemies. His reputation for integrity, probably was never questioned, even by those whose opinions differed from his own. To be just in all his ways, was apparently a part of his nature, and the least lack of moral integrity, once detected by him in a man. destroyed his confidence in that man forever. It was B 4
.
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ONONDAGA.
his good fortune to live to great age, and enjoy almost unin- terrupted good health. All his time was most dilligently im- proved ; and such was the extent of his knowledge, that he was greatest in the estimation of those who saw him most, and who had the best means of observing him critically. Integ- rity, industry, perseverance and sound judgment, were pro- minent traits of his character.
Although a self educated man, relying entirely on his own resources, without the aid of artificial helps, he became emi- nent in the profession of his adoption, and by his talents and zeal for the public welfare, secured for himself a reputation that might well be envied.
He early stood forth among the hardy and honorable pio- neers of our county, as one of the main pillars of its sup- port, and by his acts has largely contributed to its advance- ment and prosperity.
His name will ever be associated with the noblest works of the age, and his fame will descend with admiration to those who shall succeed.
ERIE CANAL .- The subject of connecting the navigable waters of Lake Erie with the Hudson River, by improving the inland navigation of the State of New-York, and of the fea- sibility of a chain of water communication from the western to the eastern portion of the State, was discussed in private circles at a period prior to the American Revolution ; and during that time, the measure was considered of vast import- ance to the country, by those who foresaw her future great- ness. General Washington alludes to this subject in his official letters, and again in a letter to the Marquis of Chestallux, in 1784, says : "I have lately made a tour through the Lakes George and Champlain as far as Crown Point, thence returning to Schenectady, thence up the Mohawk to Fort Schuyler, crossed over to Wood Creek which empties into Oneida Lake, and afterwards communicates with Lake Ontario; I then traversed the country to the head of the east branch of the Susquehanna and viewed the Lake Otsego and the portage
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ERIE CANAL.
between that lake and Canajoharie. I was struck with the vast inland navigation we possess-would to God we may have wisdom to improve those benefits with which Providence has so kindly favored us." It was a matter that began seriously to attract and engross the attention of sagacious, enlarged and liberal minds during the years from 1784 to 1800. Christopher Colles, a native of Ireland in moderate circum- stances, who settled in New-York before the revolution, was probably the first man who started suggestions with respect to canals and inland improvements in Western New-York. De Witt Clinton himself declares this fact, saying : "He was an ingenious mathematician and mechanician. His memorials to the Legislature were presented in 1784, '85, and met with a favorable report, although some thought his scheme visiona- ry. The Legislature appropriated one hundred and twenty- five dollars to enable him to prosecute his examination of the Mohawk river." He again appeared before the Legislature and the public with a proposition to form an association to im- prove the inland navigation between Oswego and Albany. Although these propositions were sensible and well founded, yet no public action crowned his efforts. He published a pamphlet in 1785, entitled " proposals for the speedy settle- ment of the frontier of Western New-York, by which the internal trade, will be increased ; the country will be settled and the frontier secured." As an earnest of what was con- templated, the Legislature of the State of New-York passed an act, March 24th, 1791, directing the commissioners of the land office to cause to be explored, and the necessary survey to be made of the ground between the Mohawk River at or near Fort Stanwix and Wood Creek, in the county of Herki- mer, and to cause an estimate to be made of the probable ex- pense of making a canal, locks, &c., and report to the Legis- lature at its next meeting. The sum of one hundred pounds was voted to defray the expense of this and of a similar sur- vey in the northern part of the State .* The commissioners
* Abraham Hardenburgh surveyed the route under the celebrated Engineer William Weston, around the Little Falls and from Fort Stanwix to Wood Creek
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ONONDAGA.
reported favorably, and in March, 1792, incorporated the Western Inland Lock Navigation Company, for the purpose of opening a canal and lock navigation from the navigable waters of Hudson River, to be extended to Lake Ontario and to the Seneca Lake.
The work was to be completed throughout in fifteen years, making the waters of Wood Creek, the Oswego River, and the Seneca River, navigable. The State reserved the right of taking it to themselves at any time, by paying the cost of construction and a reasonable compensation. By some of the restrictions and limitations of the act, those who were most anxious in the matter were dissatisfied ; and, at the next ses- sion of the Legislature, petitioned for an amendment of the charter, which was granted, allowing the company to construct a canal of any size they saw fit, not less than ten feet on the bottom. And the locks should be at least seventy feet long; and their charter was not to be forfeited, if water was not at certain seasons of the year, two feet deep. And the company were authorised to erect mills or other hydraulic works at such places as the water was not needed for the canal. Not- withstanding these favorable terms, the corporation did not
flourish, nor the work progress. Nearly one-half of the share- holders forfeited their first instalments of stock ; and, although the remaining shareholders were willing, yet they were unable to prosecute the work; and in order to do so with vigor and energy, they again prayed legislative relief. Accordingly, the Legislature in 1795, authorized the Treasurer of the State to subscribe for two hundred shares of the stock, with the privilege of voting on shares like individuals and to receive dividends of Stock, tolls, &c. Under these provisions, the
in 1788; expenses thirty-nine pounds seventeen shillings and eight pence. The instrument first used in leveling the route of the Inland Lock Navigation Com- pany was the same used by Judge Geddes in exploring the Erie Canal route, made by David Rittenhouse, of Philadelphia, and is now in possession of Hon George Geddes, Camillus.
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ERIE CANAL.
work was commenced, and the canal and locks completed around the Little Falls .*
Again in 1796, the sum of fifteen thousand pounds was loaned them by the State, and a bond and mortgage taken on their real estate at Little Falls, for securing the payment, at an interest of six per cent. per annum. In 1797, the com- pany required a further sum of two hundred and fifty thou- sand dollars, in order to prosecute the plan, which sum was granted, and in 1800 the work was completed.
Although this improvement gave relief for the time being, and greatly aided the facilities for transportation, still as busi- ness increased with the population of the country, it was found quite insufficient for the requirements of the public. Further improvements were thought to be necessary ; a canal direct from Lake Erie to the Hudson River soon became a theme of conversation and finally of serious consideration. In a casual conversation with the Surveyor General Simeon De Witt; Gouverneur Morris in 1803 remarks, " Lake Erie must be tapped, and the waters carried across the country to the Hudson." With thousands, the idea of a canal was scout- ed as wild and chimerical; still there were those, and men of comprehensive minds, who could believe and advocate the plan as feasible and worthy of adoption. But the minds of the mass of community had first to be prepared for it. With this view, Jesse Hawley, Esq., of Ontario, produced those valuable papers signed Hercules, and in 1810 Dr. Hugh Wil- liamson, of New-York, produced several able papers, all strongly urging the merits of the canal and setting forth, in the ablest manner, the most substantial reasons why such a measure should be speedily accomplished, considering the ability of the State of New-York to successfully consummate so magnificient a project. Judge Joshua Forman, of Onon- daga, became enlisted in the cause, and in 1807, was elected
* The locks around the Little Falls were constructed under the superintend- ence of General Philip Schuyler, whose memory, for services rendered his coun- try, will long be cherished with affection. He was, after the completion of the. work in 1795, appointed the first president of the company, and superintendent ..
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ONONDAGA.
a member of the Legislature by the people of Onondaga, with express reference to moving in that body the grand project of a canal .* In 1807, President Jefferson proposed to Congress to devote a part of the public revenue to making roads and canals, and Mr. Gallatin made an able report on the subject.
On the 4th of February, 1808, carrying out the views of his constituents, Judge Forman rose in his place and called up a resolution, which had been previously submitted and ordered to lie on the table. This resolution proposed, that a joint committee should be appointed to take into consideration the propriety of exploring and causing an accurate survey to be made of the most eligible and direct route for a canal to open a communication between the tide waters of the Hudson Ri- ver and Lake Erie, to the end that Congress might be enabled to appropriate such sums as should be necessary to the ac- accomplishment of that great national object, and in case of such concurrence, that Messrs. Gold, Gilbert, German, Hoge- boom and Forman, be a committee on the part of the House. The Senate concurred in the resolution, and appointed, on the part of the Senate, Messrs. Taylor, Nicholas and Ward, a committee to confer with the House. The resolution, says Judge Forman, was adopted on the ground, as expressed by several members, "that it could do no harm, and might do some good." The proposition was startling, and it is said was at first received by the House with such expressions of sur- prise and ridicule, as are alone due to the most wild and fool- ish projects. It was fortunately, however, firmly sustained by Mr. Forman, who, on all occasions, stood foremost with a few friends the fearless champion of the work. But the joint committee, prepossessed in favor of the Oswego route, direct- ed the Surveyor General to cause a survey to be made of the rivers, streams and waters, in the usual route between Hud- son River and Lake Erie, and such other route as he might deem proper, thus shifting upon the Surveyor General the re- sponsibility of countenancing a project deemed by them ab- surd.
* Thos. Wheeler's letter, Onondaga Demoerat, dated 14th September, 1846.
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ERIE CANAL.
April 11th, 1808, a law was passed authorizing the Survey- or General to draw upon the Treasury of the State, for such sum or sums as he might require to prosecute the survey con- templated in the resolutions of the joint committee, not ex- ceeding in the whole, the sum of six hundred dollars, and this was all that was appropriated for the first survey and explora- tion of the grand Erie Canal. Upon this, the Surveyor Gen- eral appointed James Geddes, Esq., of Onondaga, to make the survey, and in his commission and instructions to Mr. Geddes, makes these remarks : " As the provision made for the expenses of this business is not adequate to the effectual exploring of the country for this purpose, you will in the first place, examine what may appear to be the best route for a canal from Oneida Lake to Lake Ontario, in the town of Mex- ico, and take a level and survey of it; also whether a canal cannot be made between the Oneida Lake and Oswego, by a route in part to the west of Oswego River, so as to avoid those parts along it, where it will be impracticable to make a good navigation. The next object will be, the ground between Lakes Erie and Ontario, which must be examined with the view to determine what will be the most eligible track for a canal from below Niagara Falls to Lake Erie. If your means will ad- mit of it, it would be desirable to have a level taken through- out the whole distance between the lakes." The Surveyor General refrains from instructing Mr. Geddes to make an in- terior survey, because of the inefficiency of the appropriation for that purpose .* Mr. Geddes entered with zeal and ear- nestness upon his duties, and in 1809 submitted his report of three different routes. The first, a communication between Lake Oneida and Lake Ontario. Second, the Niagara River route; and third, an interior route, without descending to, or passing through Lake Ontario.
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