Our county and its people : a descriptive and biographical record of Madison County, New York, Part 23

Author: Smith, John E., 1843- ed
Publication date: 1899
Publisher: [Boston, Mass.] : Boston History Company
Number of Pages: 960

USA > New York > Madison County > Our county and its people : a descriptive and biographical record of Madison County, New York > Part 23

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).

The Eaton Woolen Manufacturing Company, composed of Dr. James Pratt, Joseph Morse, Curtis Hoppin, and others, erected a small factory in 1817. The property was subsequently leased to Gilbert Jones, and he was succeeded by David Rogers, who put in cotton machinery. There were other later proprietors, but the business could not be made profitable. Just as enlargement had been completed in 1845, the mill was burned and was not rebuilt.

After the construction of the Skaneateles Turnpike the augmented amount of travel seemed to demand greater hotel accommodations in Eaton, and Samuel Stow built a tavern on the corner opposite the later lower hotel, and kept the house himself. Opposite him was the early blacksmith shop of Samuel Chubbuck. He became a rival of Mr. Stow and built another tavern opposite Stow's; the latter thereupon set up a blacksmith shop opposite Chubbuck's. The Chubbuck house ultimately became the lower hotel.

The first school in Eaton was kept in a building on the site of the cemetery; that building was burned, and the next one was built farther east on the Hamilton road. What was known as the old brick school house was built in 1808 and stood on the site of the Ellis Coman house: it was one of the earliest brick structures in the county, and served also as a town house. The site was donated by Esquire Eldred, but the location was unsatisfactory to some and various pretexts were made for its removal. It was hoped that if it was removed the lot would be used for a public square. Iu 1834 or 1835 the building was taken down, the ground did not revert to the village and both school building and park were lost. This building was of two stories and the school was a locally noted one for many years. A new frame school house was erected

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OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.

in 1836, which ultimately became a blacksmith shop, and in 1852 the present school building was erected. In early years a good select school was taught in the village and in 1836 Ellis Morse opened a private acad- emy, which was continued ten years, and employed several teachers who afterwards became famous.

Dr. Charles W. Hull succeeded the pioneer physician, Dr. James Pratt, and during many years had a large practice. Dr. Albert Purdy, Dr. A. D. Head and Dr. E. L. Miller practiced in later years. Many of the prominent residents of early years were members of Masonic Lodge No. 121, which was removed hither from Hamilton in 1817 and remained until its dissolution in 1827.

A scythe factory was in operation a number of years about half a mile out of the village, the product of which had a wide sale; the busi- ness was carried on by Gardner & Abbott and others. Later it was converted into an ax factory and operated by Samuel B. Winchester whose axes were highly regarded. The Madison county almshouse is situated a little to the south of the village, and is noticed elsewhere in this work.

Among the older merchants of the place who have not been men- tioned were the firm of Leach & Morse, who were prominent many years; David Felton, O. A. Medbury, dealer in furniture; Henry Allen, druggist, in a store built in 1816 by Dr. Charles W. and Andrew C. Hull; Alpheus Morse, Baird Leavenworth, Sylvester Thayer, Butler & Burritt, and perhaps a few others. The Morse Brothers and Eugene Rabie are now in business. The first landlord in the Exchange Hotel was Cyrus Allen; it was built in 1836 by Ellis and Alpheus Morse. Frank Currier now keeps the house and the other hotel is conducted by Norman Hunt.

The industry which became most widely known in this town was the agricultural and steam engine works of Wood, Tabor & Morse. This establishment had its origin in 1848 when Enos and Allen N. Wood erected buildings and began the manufacture of machinery for cotton and woolen mills, and miscellaneous castings, The business increased for a period but when the demand for that class of machinery declined in this region, the works were closed in 1857, the proprietors going to Utica to become members of the firm of A. N. & E. D. Wood & Co., for the manufacture of an improved steam engine. In 1859 A. N. Wood sold his interest in the works and returned to Eaton where the firm of Wood, Tabor & Morse was organized and the old works fitted

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IMPROVEMENT IN TOWNS-EATON.

up for the manufacture of portable steam engines. These attained wide celebrity and a very large business was built up and continued to two or three years ago. The works are now idle, though the machinery is still in the buildings.

The grist mill was operated until quite recently by M. Wallace, when it was purchased of the Gardner Morse estate. The post-office was established in early years, with Dr. Charles W. Hall as the first post- master.

The Second Baptist Church of Eaton was organized in 1816 under the ministration of Elder Joseph Cooley, who was succeeded by Rev. Nathaniel Kendrick. Services were at first held in the brick school house and in 1820 a meeting house was erected, which with improve- ments is still in use. Dr. Kendrick served the church until 1833 when he was made president of Madison University. The present pastor is Rev. G. W. Thorne.

The Congregational Church was informally organized on November 22, 1831, with eight members. On the 27th of the next month it was reorganized as the Congregational Society of Eaton. The first deacons were David Hitchcock and Jesse Brown. In the next year a church edifice was erected at a cost of $2,000. The first pastor was Rev. John Foote, and the present pastor is Rev. John Bamford. Rev. W. N. Cleveland, brother of ex-President Grover Cleveland, was for a time its pastor.

The Methodist Episcopal Church of Eaton village was organized in 1856 by members of the West Eaton church who resided in this village. A meeting house was erected in the same year. The society is now prosperous under the pastoral care of Rev. S. S. Pratt.

The settlement of Thomas Fry, Stephen Cornell, Perry Burdick, Barry Carter, David Darrow and others on and near the site of West Eaton village made it the center of considerable early activity. Mr. Darrow's farm included much of the site of the hamlet. The place grew slowly. Thomas Fry built a saw mill on the site of the later manufactory of Barnes, Mitchell & Howe, and later, in company with William Hopkins, built a grist mill near by. Isaac Sage was the first tavern keeper and Barry Carter a later one. A Mr. Dunham was the first merchant, keeping his store in part of a double building, in the other part of which a dwelling was installed for the family. Philip Lee was another early tavern keeper and from him the place became known as Leeville. A wool carding and cloth dressing works were

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OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.

established and owned by Abner Isbell on the site of the later woolen mill of Barnes, Mitchell & Howe. The old tavern finally disappeared and was succeeded by one built by Major Smith as early as 1830 and kept by Calvin Wellington. Joseph E. Darrow kept a store before 1840 at about which date an added impulse was given to the business of the village. Mr. Darrow built a store in 1845 and in the same year the first woolen factory was established by A. Y. Smith, whose son was afterwards associated with him. Mr. Smith built also the Henry W. Chubbuck store and a number of houses. The factory was burned in 1852 and at once rebuilt partly through aid of residents of the village. Mr. Smith failed in 1857 and Churchill & Gilmore were the next pro- prietors of the factory. After several changes in the membership of the firm the building was again burned in 1862 and rebuilt by Mowry & Huntoon, being given the name of the Monitor Mill. The business of making fine woolen goods was continued some years when the ma- chinery was removed to Pennsylvania. The saw mill of Philo Walden is on the site.

The carding mill before mentioned of Barnes, Mitchell & Howe was established about 1845; in 1860 Otis Barnes became sole proprietor and in 1862 J. W. French purchased an interest. Under the proprietor- ship of Barnes & French the mills were enlarged and the name Eureka Mills adopted. James Mitchell succeeded Mr. French and H. C. Howe was admitted partner. Still later Otis Barnes & Son became proprie- tors and in July, 1880, John E. Lewis, Richard R. Jones and Gary E. Barnes succeeded under the style of Lewis, Jones & Barnes. The busi- ness is now conducted by the recently formed West Eaton Woolen Company.

A grist mill was built in 1865 which in 1868 became the property of Isaac Hopkins & Son, who added to its machinery and carried on saw- ing, grinding and cider making. It is now operated by John H. Northrup.

Other early industries not yet mentioned were a distillery which was built in 1815 by Joseph Enos, and a small manufactory of augers estab- lished in 1830 by John Brown. Among merchants of the past were H. C. Palmer, L. L. Hamilton, James Mitchell, A. L. Howe, C. D. Tracy, J. E. Darrow & Son, Isaac Hopkins & Son. H. W. Copley and J. W. Mowry were wagon makers; John Pennock and H. M. Collis, black- smiths; M. S. Pennock, C. F. Owen, G. W. Johnson, shoemakers.

The West Eaton post-office was established in 1852 with Joseph Dar-

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IMPROVEMENT IN TOWNS-EATON.

row as the first postmaster. The late C. D. Tracy was a merchant, and the last postmaster.

The village is included in school district No. 3, which was changed to a Unión school under the law of 1874 and the present building erected. The first school house in the district was built sometime be- tween 1810 and 1815 and Thomas Hubbard was the first teacher.

The Baptist Church of West Eaton was organized in 1820 by Elder Shaw who served as the first pastor; services were held in the school house. The members were principally of the Six-Principle persuasion. A dispute arose in the church fourteen years later and a rival society was formed with the name of the Baptist Society of Leeville; this was ultimately merged in the Eaton church. The original society continued until 1853 when a reorganization was effected with a membership of forty-five, under Elder Daniel Putnam; a church was erected at a cost of $2,000. The society is still in existence, under the pastoral charge of Rev. Willard F. Dowd.

The Methodist Episcopal Church of West Eaton was organized as a class March 14, 1841, by James Tooke, a local preacher. There were only seven members and six of them were of the Darrow family. Elder Yarrington was the first pastor. A small meeting house was built in 1843, which was superseded in 1869 by what was the finest church edi- fice in the town, which cost $15,000. The society is and always has been prosperous and earnest in its work.

A Roman Catholic society was formed as a branch of the Hamilton church about 1880, and a meeting house was built at the same time on the site of the old Methodist church.

The early settlement of the Pratt brothers, John and James, in the northeastern part of Eaton, at what became widely known as Pratt's Hollow, and their establishment of various industries there formed a nucleus of a considerable business center, most of which has passed away with the lapse of years. The first industry they established was a grist mill, as early as 1809, which was at once followed by a saw mill and a distillery, with several houses. A store was also erected and stocked with goods and their trade prospered. A little later they es- tablished a woolen mill which employed about twenty hands. A second woolen mill was started in 1809 by J. F. Chamberlain, who, in company with several eastern men, built a large cotton mill in 1824, which gave employment to 130 operatives. At that time the population of the place was nearly or quite 450.

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OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.

The firm of Pratt Brothers carried on a large business and accumu- lated considerable wealth, but they met with reverses, lost money in some of their undertakings and finally dissolved the partnership and closed their works. From that time the village began its decline and never recovered. Most of the Pratt property passed to possession of members of the Fearon family and the Pratts moved away.

J. F. Chamberlain and his associates established a store in connection with their factory, built a boarding house and several other dwellings. Mr. Chamberlain died in 1839 and his son succeeded to his business, which he continued successfully until 1852 when he was ruined by the burning of his factory without insurance. Many of the inhabitants who had theretofore obtained a good livelihood in that and the other in- dustries of the place, removed elsewhere, and the little village settled down to a quiet existence which has continued to the present time. A hotel is now kept by Adelbert Cole, a general store by W. W. Lewis, who is postmaster, a few shops, a Methodist church, a milk station on the railroad at White's Corners, where there is a saw mill operated by Amos Avery. The number of families of Protestant Irish, wholocated in the vicinity of Pratt's Hollow in early days gave the place a character that it would not otherwise have possessed. The Kerns, Tookes, Phil- pots, Tackaburys, Fearons, and others have been frequently repre- sented in public affairs and offices in the town and county and with honor to themselves.

The Methodist Church of Pratt's Hollow was formed as a class prob- ably before 1810, the meetings being held for many years in the school house. The meeting house was built in 1838 largely through the liber- ality of John Pratt, who was an active member. The society is small.

The beautifully situated settlement known as Pierceville, situated on Eaton Brook and the Skaneateles Turnpike, found its earliest stimulus in the tavern built in 1819 by Samuel Chubbuck, which stood at the corner of the road leading to Lebanon. In the days of heavy staging and other travel on the turnpike, this house had a large patronage and an excellent reputation. Luke Hitchcock was a large land owner there and Seth Whitmore was a prominent settler. About 1825 David Rogers built a small cotton factory, which was one of the three credited to Madison county in the census of 1832. Mr. Rogers built also several dwellings, set out trees and otherwise added to the attractiveness of the hamlet. In later years John Brown became owner of the Chubbuck tavern, which he converted into a dwelling when travel had declined.

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IMPROVEMENT IN TOWNS-EATON.

George Dunbar established a planing mill and carpentry business about 1835. In 1844 J. O. Pierce formed a company which purchased a large tract of land and erected a large cotton factory. An extensive busi- ness was carried on until 1850 when Mr. Pierce died. He was suc- ceeded by his son and the firm was changed from J. O. Pierce & Co., to Pierce, Cady, Crocker & Co. In the financial crisis of 1857 the firm failed and the works were abandoned. Alpheus Morse erected and for many years operated a large woolen mill just west of Pierceville, but it was taken down and a grist mill stands on its site.

The old Rogers factory was occupied for three years by E. & A. Wood, in the manufacture of machinery for the Pierce factory ; they re- moved to Eaton in 1848 as elsewhere stated. Pierceville has now only a cider mill owned by Le Roy Cook, and a carding mill; a saw mill operated by Healy Brown and a planing mill by John Copley.

At Pine Woods, which has been noticed as the scene of Joshua Le- land's pioneer settlement and labor, is now a mere cluster of houses with post office, store and a plant for storing and shipping by rail large quantities of ice. The tavern formerly kept here was built in 1834 by James Madison and passed under management of various proprietors. In 1835 the firm of Howard & Markham built a carriage manufactory, which finally became a blacksmith shop only. Solomon Root was a prominent early settler on the town line near by and was a leader in the old Methodist church of Bouckville; meetings were first held in his house and he acted as class leader. Then he built a chapel which ulti- mately became a dwelling.

Josiah Peck, who came from Rhode Island in 1806, took up a large farm and built a log house east of the site of the tavern across the canal. His son Alonzo succeeded to the homestead. The opening of the Chenango Canal inspired the hopes of dwellers here, as it did at many other points, that large industries would come into existence and business would flourish along the line. Mr. Peck's land was crossed by the canal and he built large storehouses and engaged extensively in forwarding here and in Hamilton. All this has, of course, passed away.

Eagleville (or Eaton Center) as it was more properly known, acquired a little late-coming importance in 1869, when Dwight Graham & Co. moved their machine shop from Morrisville in order to take advantage of the better water power. In addition to doing custom work and re- pairing they added in 1879 the manufacture of a new model of agricul-

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OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.

tural engine; but the business was finally given up and the building was occupied by the electric light plant of Morrisville until 1896, when the structure was burned. It will be remembered that one of the first woolen mills in Madison county was established here on the river by Perly Ayer. The factory passed to Clark Tillinghast in 1851 and he made enlargement and improvements; but a few weeks later the dam was carried away and again suffered the same fate after having been rebuilt. The factory was not reopened.

When the railroad was built through this town it stirred the expecta- tions of many of the inhabitants to an extravagant degree. It is almost needless to state that these expectations have not been realized. It is true that the Midland Railroad gave and still gives many people better and more convenient means of reaching markets and business centers; but aside from this it has been and is a great burden in other ways. The town was bonded to aid in the construction of the road to the amount of $150,000, and received back $7,000 for the shares assigned to the town when it was sold to the Ontario and Western Company. This matter is elsewhere treated in these pages. Before the town was thus bonded in 1868 the town expenses were $2,152.65. Ten years later, in 1879, they had increased to $15,547, with an existing debt then of almost $150,000. But with all of this to contend against the town is one of the most prosperous in the county. It was unfortunate, but probably unavoidable, that Morrisville was isolated from the rail- road by a distance of about three miles and that the other stations in the town reached from Pratt's Hollow, Eaton and Pine Woods, are also some distance from the line of the road; but at most seasons the roads of the town are in good condition and travel is not difficult.

The ordinary town expenses at the present time are close to $3,000, while the interest and principal account brings them up to nearly $7,000 and the aggregate taxation to nearly $13,000. The number of acres of real estate is given as 25,669, with an assessed value of $42. 78 per acre; this is slightly reduced by the equalized valuation.

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IMPROVEMENT IN TOWNS-CAZENOVIA.

CHAPTER XIV.

PROGRESS OF IMPROVEMENT IN TOWNS CONTINUED-CAZENOVIA.

The history of Cazenovia succeeding what has already been written in earlier pages consists very largely of the record of the development of the village, the surrounding region remaining a quiet and prosperous agricultural community. Three years before the county was organized, in 1803, a village census showed the following business establishments in the place with the number of persons in each family, making 100 in all:

John Lincklaen 6

John N. M. Hurd, storekeeper. 7

S. S. Breese, lawyer 4

Hiram Roberts, blacksmith and tavern keeper 17

Roberts & Hill, carpenters 6 Elisha Farnham, tanner and

shoemaker

Eliakim Roberts, storekeeper 9 Horace Paddock, blacksmith 3

Isaac Lyman, doctor 4 Ebenezer Johnson, tavern keeper 10 William Kyle, clerk 4

William Whipple, carpenter and constable 4 Jonathan Forman, storekeeper_ 9

Moses Phillips, brickmaker

4 . Samuel Ashard, miller 6

At that time the population of the whole so-called Road Township was 1,164. The village itself, at that early year of the century, was a business center of considerable importance, a fact due largely to the enterprising an able character of many of the inhabitants. The lawyer mentioned in the foregoing list was Samuel Sidney Breese, who after- wards became a foremost member of the Oneida county bar; he was the first clerk of Chenango county in 1798, and a member of the Con- stitutional Convention of 1821. Jonathan Forman was elected to the Assembly from Chenango in 1800 and 1801. J. N. M. Hurd was county clerk in 1815-21. James Green, a pioneer of 1793, was in the Legisla- ture at one period. Jeremiah Whipple was a famous landlord, and served the county as sheriff in 1806-1810 and 1811-14. The laying out of the Cazenovia and Oneida Turnpike from Vernon to Cazenovia, and the Cherry Valley Turnpike a little later, added to the importance of

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OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.

the village. By the year 1810 the population had so increased that it was determined to incorporate and the necessary steps were taken; the date of the incorporation was February 7 of that year. The first meet- ing of the voters was held May 1, 1810, at the house of E. S. Jackson, at which Elisha Farnham, then a justice of the peace, presided. The following officers were there elected: Trustees, Elisha Farnham, Perry G. Childs, Jonas Fay, E. S. Jackson, Samuel Thomas; treasurer, J. N. M. Hurd; bailiff and collector, Jacob A. Dana. A week later Jonas Fay was chosen president, and Caleb Ledyard, clerk. Following is a list of the village presidents and clerks to the present time:

Presidents-1810, Jonas Fay; 1811, Samuel S. Forman; 1812-14, Jabish N. M. Hurd; 1815, Noble S. Johnson; 1816, John Williams; 1817, Ezekiel Carpenter; 1818, William Whipple; 1819, Matthew Chandler; 1820, Samuel Thomas; 1821, Ezekiel Carpenter; 1822, Zadock Sweetland; 1823 and 1825, Perry G. Childs; 1824 and 1826, Charles Stebbins; 1827, Ebenezer Knowlton; 1828, John Williams; 1829, Jesse Kilborn; 1830-31, Ezekiel Carpenter; 1832, Lemuel White; 1833, E. Carpenter; 1834-35, John Williams; 1836-37, William Bur- ton; 1838, William J. Hough; 1839-40, Benjamin F. Clarke; 1841, William J. Hough: 1842, Rensselaer Jackson; 1843, S. H. Henry; 1844, Simon C. Hitchcock; 1845, Henry Ten Eyck; 1846, Sidney T. Fairchild; 1847-48, William Burton; 1849, S. H. Henry; 1850, S. C. Hitchcock; 1851-56, Elisha Litchfield; 1857, Lewis Raynor; 1858, Lewis B. Stone; 1859, B. Rush Wendell; 1860, William L. Storke; 1861-63, Lewis B. Stone; 1864, D. Eralzman Haskell; 1865, Albert Card; 1866, Lewis B. Stone;1 1867-68, Charles Stebbins; 1869-70, Martin Spear; 1871, Orrin W. Sage; 1872, George L. Rouse.

On July 6, 1873, the village voted to reincorporate under the act of April 20, 1870, which makes the office of president elective by the vot- ers. Under this charter the first election was held December 3, 1873. The list continues as follows:

1873, Everet S. Card; 1874, Winfield S. Smyth; 1875, George S. Ledyard; 1876-78, William M. Burr; 1879, R. J. Hubbard; 1880, L. Newton Goff; 1881, John Stebbins; 1882, Burr Wendell; 1883, Charles M. Potter; 1884, Charles Brown; 1885, Edgar C. Bass; 1886-87, L. Wolters Ledyard; 1888, Will H. Cruttenden; 1889, L. Wolters Ledyard; 1890-91, Edgar C. Bass; 1892, I. Newton Goff;

1 August 23, 1866, Harley S. Keller was elected president vice Lewis B. Stone, deceased August 17, 1866, aged sixty years.

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IMPROVEMENT IN TOWNS-CAZENOVIA.

1893, M. H. Kiley; 1894, David H. Doremus; 1895, William Watkins; 1896, George W. Salisbury;1 1897, John W. Howson; 1898, P. H. Donnelly; 1899, William W. Rice.

Clerks-1810-11, Caleb Ledyard; 1812-13, Edward S. Stewart; 1814-21, Charles Stebbins; 1822-28, Samuel Thomas; 1829-33, Will- iam J. Hough; 1834-35, Charles H. S. Williams; 1836, William J. Hough; 1837-39, Sidney T. Fairchild; 1840-45, Calvin Carpenter; 2 1846-56, Richard Thomas; 1857, George L. Rouse; 1858-59, Charles Stebbins; 1860-61, Charles Stebbins, jr. ; 3 1862, L. Wolters Ledyard; 1863, Charles Stebbins, jr .; 1864-65, Delos W. Cameron; 1866, Charles Stebbins, jr .; 1867, George M. Weaver; 1868, John Fairchild; 1869-72, D. W. Cameron; 1873, John W. Howson; 4 1874, Augustus P. Clarke; 1875, John C. Fowler; 5 1876, H. B. Smith; 1877-87, W. D. Wells; 1888, H. D. Messenger; 1889-92, George W. Salisbury; 1893-97, W. D. Wells; 1898-99, Alphonzo E. Fitch.

The following tax list of the village in 1811 is valuable as indicating the rate and valuation at that time:

E. S. Jackson

Tax. $10 00

Valuation. $4,000

William McLean

6 90

3,000

Eliakim Roberts

9 20

4,000

J. N. M. Hurd

9 20

4,000

Samuel S. Forman

7 00

3,000

Elisha Farnham

9 20

4,000

Jeremiah Whipple

5 75

2,500

Luther Bunnell

5 75

2,500

Elisha Starr

5 75

2,500

Joseph Burr, Jr.

4 60

2,000

Thomas Williams & Son

4 14

1,800

Jonas Fay

2 00

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Our county and its people : a descriptive and biographical record of Madison County, New York, Part 23

Author: Smith, John E., 1843- ed Publication date: 1899 Publisher: [Boston, Mass.] : Boston History Company Number of Pages: 960

Author: Smith, John E., 1843- ed
Publication date: 1899
Publisher: [Boston, Mass.] : Boston History Company
Number of Pages: 960