USA > New York > Madison County > Our county and its people : a descriptive and biographical record of Madison County, New York > Part 40
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Dr. John Heffron was the first resident physician in this place, com- ing from his native town of Swanzey, N. H. He was a Dartmouth graduate and settled in Erieville in 1809, where he practiced until his death, May 30, 1861. He was a practitioner of great skill and was sev- eral years president of the Madison County Medical Society. John Goodell, jr., who married a daughter of Dr. Heffron, practiced with him from about 1820 to 1834, when he removed to Delphi and thence to New Woodstock, where he died. Dr. Levi P. Greenwood was born in Lebanon September 26, 1816, and studied medicine in Hamilton, graduating from the Fairfield Medical College. He settled in Erieville in 1840, and during his long term of practice met with unusual success.
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OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.
Dr. Wesley M. Carpenter, a native of Erieville, studied with Dr. Green- wood, and for many years practiced with him under the firm name of Greenwood & Carpenter. Dr. Carpenter was a skillful physician. He afterwards moved to New York city where he was a professor in a med- ical college and was a writer for medical magazines. He is now deceased. Dr. James W. Smith, a native of Nelson, studied with Dr. Greenwood and graduated from the College of Physicians and Surgeons in New York. He practiced in Erieville about a year and a half and removed to Morrisville. Dr. Charles H. Ransom, a graduate of the University Medical College of New York, began practice here in 1873, and subse- quently removed to Syracuse. Dr. C. P. Munroe practiced about three years and removed to De Ruyter. The present physicians are Dr. L. C. Beebe and Dr. E. L. Ensign.
The holding of early meetings by the Baptists in a building erected for school and religious purposes has been mentioned a few pages back. When they were dispossessed of the building they erected what was called The Temple, about a mile north of Erieville, which was also used jointly as a school house and meeting house until 1821, when the Baptists erected their church which originally stood about forty rods north of its later site to which it was removed in 1877. The first meet- ing having for its object the organization of a church was held April 26, 1810, and about 100 persons subscribed to the articles of faith and the covenant. The Second Baptist Church of Nelson was thereupon formally organized. On October 27, 1810, a council convened and recognized twenty-three persons as a church in fellowship. Among the pastors who have served this society are Revs. James Wheeler, Nathan Peck, Nicholas Johnson, Orin Beckwith, S. C. Ainsworth, J. W. Weath- erby, M. T. Wadsworth, P. L. Hakes, L. E. Swan, Judson Davis, E. D. Reed, who was the last resident pastor, since which the pulpit has been supplied mostly from Hamilton College.
The first meetings of Methodists in this vicinity were held in 1826 about two miles west of Erieville, and there a class was soon formed. Meetings were held thereafter in the school houses, private dwellings and finally in the school house in Erieville, until 1849, when a church was or- ganized and a house of worship erected in the next year. Previous to the building of the church and later it was on the Georgetown circuit, but it was made a separate charge in 1876. The church has been in fairly prosperous condition ever since and is now served by Rev. A. W. Battey, who is also pastor of the church at Nelson.
There was many years ago a flourishing Universalist society here and
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IMPROVEMENT IN TOWNS-NELSON.
a church edifice was built in 1842, which was subsequently and now used for a town hall. The church is not now in active existence.
The village of Nelson, or Nelson Flats, as it was long known, was in early years of more business importance than at the present time. Situated on the Cherry Valley Turnpike and being a halting place for many stages, the passengers giving support to several good taverns, it was thought by the residents that a large village would eventually be built up at this point. But changes in methods of transportation, in main roads, and other causes gave its rival in the south part of the town the advantage. The first store in the town, as stated farther back, was opened here by Eliphalet S, Jackson, who traded several years soon after 1800 and was succeeded by his cousins, John and Salathiel. The firm of Bush & Donaldson were early merchants, and in 1833 John James purchased Bush's interest in the business and continued in trade many years, either alone or with partners. In 1874 he took his son, William H. James, into partnership and from that time the firm of J. James & Son dealt mostly in hardware for a number of years. William H. James now conducts a general store alone.
Lester Curtis came from Winfield, Herkimer county, about 1837 and opened a store, in which he was succeeded about two years later by Emilius Bates, who was in business a few years. Joseph V. Kent, from Fayetteville, was in trade about three years from 1843. Hull Whipple and S. Smith were in business as early as 1830, continuing several years, when they sold to Miner Anderson; he kept the store five or six years and sold to John Donaldson, who was subsequently associ- ated with Mills Bush. L. D. English, a native of Nelson, began trade in 1870 and continued many years. Frank E. Whitney was in business with Fordyce R. Gage, who had already kept a store several years, from 1876 to 1879, when he bought Gage's interest and continued alone several years. The second general store at the present time is kept by W. R. Richards, who succeeded in the Gage store.
The first postmaster in the village of whom anything can now be learned was Jeremiah Whipple who was succeeded by his son Jeremiah in 1828. John Donaldson was appointed about 1834 and Harvey Smith succeeded about 1848, but only for a few months. Archibald Bates succeeded for a short term and was followed by John Donaldson. The office has been successively held since by Charles Covell, Evan G. Hughes, Alanson G. Gage, George E. Gage, John James, and George W. Holmes, present official.
II. A. Camp has a cheese box factory two miles southwest of the vil-
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lage. In 1868 a cheese factory was established by G. E. Gaige and sub- sequently was operated more than fifteen years by William Richards, who had also four other factories in the town. This factory is now owned by Edgar Beebe and conducted by W. M. Striker. G. E. Gaige conducted a fruit evaporator here for several years, but the business was abandoned.
In the fall of 1885 a large building was erected for use as a saw mill, grist mill, cider mill, blacksmith shop and wagon shop, by the Nelson Manufacturing Company, in which L. C. Barnes, Arthur Bailey, Frank Taylor, S. N. Judd and Charles Judd were interested. This promising industrial enterprise was destroyed by the burning of the building in 1887 and it was not rebuilt.
There is in operation a half mile east of Nelson a grist mill, saw mill and cider mill combined, by L. H. Hutchinson; it was formerly for many years owned by H. P. Hutchinson, who was a respected citizen of the town; he died in 1897. There is also an old grist mill on the road between Nelson and Erieville which was formerly operated by S. G. Bump, but is now idle.
The earliest meetings by Methodists in this place were held in 1826 in school houses and private dwellings. A church organization was effected at Nelson Flats in 1833, with A. Hyatt, W. W. Clough, E. Al- len, J. Anderson, Allen Smith, J. Sayles, and A. S. Pierson, trustees. The first house of worship was the one subsequently occupied by the Free Methodist society, organized in 1861. The second one was the building formerly occupied by the Presbyterian society, which was ex- tensively repaired in 1878. The society is in active and prosperous condition.
The Presbyterian church, just mentioned was organized sometime previous to 1813, when it became connected with the Union Associa- tion. In 1825 it was first reported under care of the Presbytery of On- ondaga. The largest number of members ever reported was fifty, which had declined in 1846 to twenty-one. The first house of worship stood two and a half miles southeast of Nelson village and was subsequently occupied by the Welsh Congregational society; the second edifice was transferred to the Methodists, as before stated. The Welsh church was organized in 1850 with a small membership, and was given permission to occupy the old Presbyterian meeting house, which was convenient for these people in the northeastly part of the town. It was used by them about twenty-seven years when a new edifice was built in 1876 at a cost of $6,000.
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IMPROVEMENT IN TOWNS-SMITHFIELD.
The principal agricultural industry of this town is dairying, the pro- duction of milk, and sheep raising. There are four cheese factories at the present time; one on the Richards estate; one in Nelson village; one at Erieville, and one four miles northeast of Nelson. Large quanti- ties of milk are shipped to the New York market on the railroad. Among the leading farmers of thetown may be mentioned Ward Smith, Orson Graves, W. L. Richards, D. M. Jones, Morey Brothers, W. D. Brown, M. D. Lyon, H. K. Smith, S. L. Jones, Adelbert Howard, Charles E. Richards, John H. Richards, Evan D. Davis, Loren Case, Lucius Case, Henry C. English, George E. English, L. D. English, H. Hudson, Frank Hamilton, Eugene Keith, D. W. Jones, Frank Isbell, Isaac Blair, Merritt Lyon, Frank Blair, Thomas and George N. Ensign, and others.
CHAPTER XXI.
PROGRESS OF IMPROVEMENT IN TOWNS CONTINUED-SMITHFIELD AND FENNER.
The town of Smithfield, the modern history of which must now be considered, is more peculiarly situated with references to changes of recent years, than any other in Madison county. It is almost centrally located in the county and is wholly isolated from railroads. As a con- sequence of this lack of rapid and easy communication with other points, and partly from the causes to which reference has frequently been made in these pages, the population, as will be shown, has decreased in com- paratively recent years by a greater per cent. than that of any other town. From about 1,500 in 1860, it has fallen to about 1,000 at the present time, while its village life and business interests have propor- tionately declined.
The village of Peterboro is pleasantly situated near the center of the town and is built around a Green at the intersection of the Oneida Turn- pike and the Morrisville Stone Road. In 1807 there were only ten or twelve buildings of all kinds in the village, including a store, and the grist and saw mills; but in those days it had prospects at least equal to those of many other settlements in the county.
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OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.
Dr. Joel Norton settled in the town in 1814, succeeding Dr. Nash, be- fore mentioned, and during many years was a successful physician and a respected citizen. He died at the age of fifty-four years.
John Forte, who settled early within the limits of the town of Lenox, became a resident of Smithfield. He was father of Irvin A. and Irving C. Forte, former publishers of the Cazenovia Republican.
In the strife regarding the location of the county seat, Smithfield played an important part. The central situation of the town in the county was a strong argument in its favor; but it was destined to disappointment in this hope and also to become by the erection from its former large terri- tory of Fenner in 1823 and Stockbridge in 1836 the smallest in area of any of the towns of the county.
Nehemiah Huntington, a man of high character and signal ability, was the first attorney to settle in Smithfield, locating in Peterboro in 1807. He was a graduate of Dartmouth College and a classmate of Daniel Webster. He died in 1855, after a long life of usefulness.
Asahel C. Stone settled in Peterboro with his father's family, in 1808, and ultimately became a successful lawyer, State senator in 1850, and sheriff of Madison county in 1866.
The old Livingston House, built in 1801 and previously noticed, stood at the east end of the Green and was kept as a tavern until 1850, when it was removed to its final site by the late Eliphalet Aylesworth. It isnow the property of Mrs. Quincy Martindale and is occupied as a dwelling. In this old building were held many town meetings and other public gatherings. In 1830 David Ambler built a hotel on a corner of the Smith estate, in which he was aided by Gerrit Smith. It was stipulated in their agreement that it should be conducted on temperance principles ; but it was an unprofitable venture and after a few years Mr. Smith pur- chased it to prevent its being converted into a liquor selling place, and on several later occasions supplied money to new owners or lessees to keep it open as a temperance house. But the community did not share his devotion to the cause and the house continued to run behind. Mr. Smith finally and soon after 1855 again came into possession of the building and the two stores adjoining which he removed and added the ground to his lawn. About the same time he built a hotel at the west end of the Green and offered it rent free to any one who would keep it open on temperance principles. The experience here was similar to that in the older house and it was closed before the death of Mr. Smith, the property passing to Jeremiah Bump, who built there his fine resi-
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dence. W. S. Martindale opened a hotel previous to 1879 which he kept a number of years, when it passed to proprietorship of his son, Frank, the present landlord. The Cameron House was built in recent years by Charles Cameron, who now conducts it.
Tanning was quite extensively carried on in this town in the first half of the century. In 1810 Benjamin Wilbur erected one at the east end of the village, which was operated until about 1830. Abner Hall & Son built another in 1836, which was operated until near 1860. It was purchased by Gerrit Smith who demolished it to escape the disa- greeable odors.
The Peterboro Academy, an institution of good repute in its day, was built in 1853, with money obtained by subscription to the amount of about $2,500. The charter was dated January 23, 1853, and the school opened in November with forty-two students. The first trustees were James Johnson, Gerrit Smith, Caleb Calkins, James Barnett, Samuel Wells, W. C. Powers, Nehemiah Huntington, Albert E. Coe, R. North- rup, A. C. Stone and Joseph Sims. The site was donated by Gerrit Smith, and in 1864 the academy received an endowment of $15,000, the income from which, less a reserve of $300 given to the poor, yielded about $800 annually. In 1871 Gerrit Smith purchased the stock in the academy at twenty-nine per cent. and transferred the lot and building to the Orphans' Home, which was then being organized, for which pur- pose it has since been used. At the same time Mr. Smith purchased the unused Presbyterian church edifice, on which he expended about $7,000 to adapt it to school purposes, and transferred it to the trustees of the academy. The Union School of Peterboro was incorporated in 1896, the first board of trustees being Garrett G. Miller, W.C. Dorrance, I. O. Wright, W. E. Coe and John N. Woodbury. The board remains the same, excepting the substitution of A. M. Bump for John N. Wood- bury. The academy building was transferred to the school authorities and is still in use. The present principal is Arthur H. Jackson and about seventy-five scholars are enrolled.
The Home for Destitute Children of Madison County, although a county institution, was situated in this town and founded by the gen- erosity of Gerrit Smith and may properly be noticed here. It is under management of the Board of Supervisors and has accomplished a vast amount of good. Mr. Smith donated a site and building and added ten acres of excellent land, which has been cultivated by the boys in the Home. It was incorporated in 1871, at which time fifteen children
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OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.
were taken from the county poor house and placed in the Home. The value of the property has gradually increased until now it is more than $30,000. The average number of inmates is about forty and about $3,000 is raised annually for maintenance of the institution.
The frequent reference in the history of this town to the name of Gerrit Smith, and mention of his many benevolent acts, renders it necessary to further notice his life. He was the second son of Peter and Elizabeth Smith and was born in Utica March 6, 1797. He was brought to Peterboro by his parents in 1806. Prepared for college at Clinton Academy he entered Hamilton and graduated in 1818. In the following year he married Wealtha A. Backus, and established a mod- est home in the little village. He intended to study law and to gratify his literary ambition, but the sudden death of his wife, August 15, 1819, and a few months later the transfer to his charge of his father's prop- erty and various interests, changed his whole course of life. On Janu- ary 3, 1822, he married Ann Carroll Fitzhugh of Livingston county, N. Y., and formerly of Maryland. They had seven children, one of whom was Greene Smith, who inherited the family mansion and lived there most of the time until his death. It is manifestly impossible to give a detailed account of the life of Gerrit Smith in these pages, for he was a man whose actions and sympathies were far reaching and his public deeds innumerable. Liberty, temperance, independence and integrity were the great purposes of life, as he viewed it, and he drifted from the old Presbyterian faith in which he was reared, mainly because that church showed indifference to the great evils of slavery and intemper- ance. He was an earnest advocate of the suppression of liquor traffic by legal enactment. He opposed all secret societies, beginning with his career in college, and during the anti-Masonic crusade was candi- date for State senator by that hapless party. Politics in everything except as a means for the accomplishment of worthy objects, he dis- tinctly disliked; yet he founded four parties and was four times nomi- nated for the presidency of the United States, twice for governor of this State, and once for member of congress from Oswego and Madison connties. The so-called Liberty Party was organized under him in 1840 and continued its existence until the Civil war; by it he was nom- inated for president in 1848 and 1851. The Industrial Congress nom- inated him for president in 1848 and the Land Reform party in 1856. The Anti-Slavery convention in Syracuse in 1840 nominated him for governor, and again in 1858. Of all these honors he accepted only the
GERRIT SMITH.
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IMPROVEMENT IN TOWNS-SMITHFIELD.
latter, for which he made a vigorous canvass, but received only 5,446 votes. The reason for this outcome is clear to the reader. His elec- tion to Congress in 1852 was by only a narrow majority and he entered that body against his inclination. After the first session, during which his bold eloquence was frequently heard in opposition to the Nebraska bill and other measures of which he did not approve, he resigned on account of ill health and the demands of his private affairs. He fre- quently and bitterly denounced the churches for their apathy towards the great evils of the time, and yet he was of deeply religious and de- vout character. His efforts to uplift the colored race were unceasing and his gifts for that purpose amounted to about $200,000. While war was repugnant to him, he firmly supported the government during the civil conflict and after the issue of the emancipation proclamation joined the Republican party. Mr. Smith possessed a powerful intellect; he could use his resonant voice with fiery eloquence when aroused, and his habits of reading and study made him a bold and original thinker. His judgment was frequently at fault, but his will was indomitable. These traits unfitted him to some extent for statesmanship. He died in New York city December 28, 1874, while on a holiday visit. His wife died three months later.
The town of Smithfield has produced a number of other men of prom- inence and ability, aside from Mr. Smith, some of whom have been al- ready noticed. Caleb Calkins, a native of Aurora, N. Y., was a farmer's son, and received an academic education, and a two years' course in Hamilton College, supplemented by a year in Union College. In 1838 he received a letter from Gerrit Smith requesting him to accept a posi- tion as his private secretary. He did so and remained in that capacity about half a century. He held the office of justice of the peace, and in 1866 was elected to the Assembly.
Asahel C. Stone, a distinguished lawyer; H. S. Foster, who rose from the humble position of a shoemaker to eminence at the bar; William Evans, and Judge Bronson, all of whom are noticed in other pages of this work, were Smithfield men.
Mercantile operations in Peterboro began early, but have never been extensive. James Livingston, whose early tavern has been mentioned, traded several years beginning in 1801, and in the same year Daniel Petrie, who came from Herkimer, opened a store. Among other mer- chants of the past were William Solon, and Myron Taylor, Elisha Car- rington, Royal and Dorman Cooper, Asa Raymond, Charles H. Cook,
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Peter S. Smith, Samuel Forman, Dunham & Clink, Harry Curtis, J. G. Curtis, Eliphalet Aylesworth, Ives & Woodbury, Dr. N. C. Powers, Andrew S. Douglass, Dr. A. C. Baum, James R. Barnett, Charles Cut- ler, John A. Campbell, William T. Marcey, W. C. Ives, Charles N. Snow, Thomas C. Taylor, and possibly a few others. At the present time J. N. Woodbury has a general store, which he has conducted more than forty years. W. E. Coe has been selling groceries and drugs about sixteen years. I. O. Wright has conducted a general store more than twenty years. Dr. George W. Davis has sold drugs nine years. Besides these there are the clothing store of T. O. Taylor, the station- ery store of Charles E. Wagoner, and the musical instrument and agri- cultural tool establishment of M. L. Dennison, all of which are of more recent date. William Ginney and Timothy Ginney are the village black- smiths, and Wiley Conine and David Devan are wagonmakers. The grist mill and saw mill are now operated by A. M. Bump; there is no other manufacturing in the town.
Among the early physicians of this town and succeeding Dr. Phin- eas Lucas, who came in 1804, was Dr. John Dorrance, who remained in practice here until his death in 1855. Dr. R. Nash settled in Peter- boro in 1807. Other later physicians were Drs. Stevens, Messenger, Mason, Watson, Norton, and N. C. Powers, who removed to Syracuse. Dr. F. E. Dewey began practice here more than twenty years ago and still continues. The only other physician is Dr. G. W. Davis.
The date of the establishment of the post-office cannot be obtained, but it was in the early years of the century, and Daniel Petrie received appointment as postmaster. Those who have held the office since have been Nehemiah Huntington, Joseph S. Palmer, John M. Messinger, N. C. Powers, Harvey Williams, Oliver Williams, A. C. Stone, Thomas Petrie, Andrew Douglass, Emmet Coe, and W. E. Coe.
Besides the post-office at Peterboro there is another in this town at Siloam, a little hamlet on the Oneida Turnpike, east of the larger vil- lage. This post-office was for a period closed. Harmon L. Holmes is the present postmaster, and a general store is conducted by Francis M. Wright, the grist mill and saw mill are operated by Mr. Holmes. The post-office named Mile Strip is about on the line between this town and the new town of Lincoln. Roscoe Gates is postmaster and keeps a small store.
The principal agricultural industry of Smithfield is dairying, while hops are grown to a considerable extent. At the present time there
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IMPROVEMENT IN TOWNS-SMITHFIELD.
are three cheese factories in operation, a less number than in previous years. These are situated one at Siloam, operated by Albert Mil- ler; one at Peterboro, by Robert Warcup, and one in the west part of the town, by Levi Miller. Among the most successful and respected farmers of the town may be mentioned Brainerd John- son, Winchester Johnson, A. L. Cameron, Henry Campbell, Norton Bliss, Frank Conley, Frederick and John Brown, W. Cole, Everett Brown, Eugene Davis, Timothy Griffin, James W. Rich, A. Ingalls, L. A. Austin, J. C. Lynch, Louis Marquisee, E. D. Gill, D. E. Wright, H. E Chafee, Charles L. Hecox, A. Moody, Henry and W. Eisaman, William Davis, Harvey Austin, Austin Hecox, Albert Howell, Eugene Rich, Morris Woodworth, Reuben Rich, Clarence Battey, and G. S. Miller.
The second church formed in Smithfield was at Siloam and was called the Baptist Society of Ellinwood Hollow (a name applied to the place for a time), which was organized in 1820, with a membership of forty- five. A modest church was built in the following year. Dyer D. Ran- som, of the Peterboro church, was the first pastor, and was succeeded by Elder P. P. Beman, who remained ten years, the membership reach- ing 100 before he left. It was he who gave the name of Siloam to the place, as appropriate on account of the sulphur springs which he was the means of advertising to the public.
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