USA > New York > Oneida County > Our county and its people; a descriptive work on Oneida county, New York; > Part 20
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192
OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.
the compact part of the village. At the last bridge, near the residence of the lamented Judge Miller, little boys threw baskets of flowers into the boat as it passed. The general all the time presented himself to the people and answered their con- gratulations with bows and expressive gesticulations. The committee attended him to the bounds of the county and a deputation proceeded with him.
CHAPTER XVIII.
1830 TO THE CLOSE OF THE CIVIL WAR.
The history of Oneida county to 1866, while devoid to a great extent of important or exciting events, except in connection with the civil war, is a record of continuous growth and advancement in all direc- tions. It was a period that witnessed the introduction of railroads, the rapid development of canal traffic, the establishment of plank roads, the formation of four towns in the county, the opening of many highways, the founding or reorganization of several important educational institu- tions, and the adoption of other public measures of considerable im- portance.
The population of Oneida county, which had reached almost 60,000 in 1820, increased to 71,326 in 1830, and to 85,310 in 1840. The act of Legislature of February 21, 1829, erecting the town of Marshall from Kirkland, was followed by another under date of March 30, 1832, creat- ing the town of Marcy from Deerfield. Only two other subdivisions of the county were made, those erecting Ava from Boonville, May 12, 1846, and Forestport formed from Remsen, November 24, 1869, making the number of towns twenty-six, besides the cities of Utica and Rome.
An act of the Legislature of April 26, 1830, incorporated the Rome and New London Turnpike Company, and authorized the construction of a road from the town of Verona to " near the house of Benjamin Potter, in the town of Rome." But methods of transportation were about to undergo a wonderful transformation. The canal had proved to be of immense utility, but a successful rival was coming into exist- ence to the eastward. A charter had been granted by the Legislature to the Mohawk and Hudson River Railroad Company in April, 1826,
193
1830 TO THE CLOSE OF THE CIVIL WAR.
and this was followed in the next decade by other charters almost with- out number for roads in various parts of the State, many of which were never built. The charter for the first railroad to enter Oneida county was granted in 1833 to the Utica and Schenectady Railroad Company, and work was begun on the road in 1834 ; it was opened for traffic in the summer of 1836 The incorporation of the Utica and Syracuse Railroad Company was effected in May, 1836, and the road was finished in June, 1839 The original charter of the Rome and Watertown Rail- road was granted in April, 1832, but the construction of the road was not commenced until 1848. The Utica and Black River Railroad Com - pany was chartered in 1853 and the line was opened to Boonville the following year. These and other later railroads are noticed more in detail in a later chapter.
The opening of these early railroads marked the beginning of a new era in Oneida county. They were influential in promoting the material growth of Utica and Rome and in locating and building up various vil- lages along their lines, sometimes to the detriment of other nearby busi- ness centers. Among the companies incorporated at an early date and which did not carry out their plans were the Utica and Susquehanna Railroad Company, incorporated April 25, 1832, and the Black River Company, April 11, 1832, to build a canal from Rome or Herkimer to the St. Lawrence. On March 23, 1834, the Utica and New Berlin Mc- Adam Turnpike Company was incorporated, and by an act of June 29, 1832, Oneida and Oswego counties were constituted the 17th Congress- ional district.
In the mean time the memorable cholera epidemic of 1832 swept over the country and this county suffered in common with others, and espe- cially those along the line of the canal over which were then traveling westward hosts of emigrants. In this county the ravages of the disease were greatest in Utica and Rome and are more particularly described in the histories of those places in later pages.
Oneida county passed through the financial crisis of 1837-38 with as little loss and suffering, perhaps. as any other section similarly situated. Utica and Rome being at that time without large natural and manufac- turing resources, and with limited banking facilities and accumulated capital, felt the stringency severely as elsewhere recorded ; but the ag-
25
194
OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.
ricultural districts were comparatively rich and prosperous, and not only recovered quickly themselves, but aided materially in bringing renewed financial health and activity to the business centers of the county.
What may be termed the plank road era began in 1846, when in July the first one in the United States was opened from Salina to Central Square, Onondaga county. The following list embraces nearly if not quite all the plank roads constructed in Oneida county, with other infor- mation concerning them : The Rome and Utica Plank Road Company, authorized November 18, 1847, located in June, 1848; the road was partly surrendered in 1856, and later was wholly abandoned. The New London Plank Road Company was incorporated November 22, 1847 ; the road was only five and one-half miles long and extended between points in Vienna and Verona. The Rome and Turin plank road was located in 1848, extending from Rome through the towns of Lee and Ava to Turin in Lewis county, and was abandoned in 1855. The Fish Creek Plank Road Company built a road from near McConnellsville to Fish Creek Landing in Vienna. The Bridgewater and Utica Plank Road Company laid out its road in 1848 The Northern Plank Road Company laid out its road in the fall of 1848, extending from Deerfield northward beyond Remsen village ; this was one of the most important of these highways. Its charter expired in 1877 and was not renewed. The Hamilton and Deansville Plank Road Company laid out its road in June, 1848; it was abandoned in 1874. The Utica and Waterville Central Plank Road Company laid out its road in February, 1849, and surrendered its charter in 1854. The Frankfort and Utica Plank Road Company built its road in April, 1849, and abandoned it in 1861. The Russia and North Gage Plank Road Company laid its road in 1849, and surrendered it in 1860 The Rome and Madison Plank Road Company laid its road in April, 1850, through Vernon and Augusta, to Madison. The Seneca Plank Road Company built a road on the turnpike bearing its name, and the Waterville and Utica Com- pany laid a road in 1848. The Earlville and Waterville Plank Road Company was organized in 1849, and the road was laid between the two points named ; it was abandoned in 1869. The Augusta Plank Road Company was organized in 1852, and built a road which was abandoned about 1869. The Holland Patent and Marcy Plank Road
195
1830 TO THE CLOSE OF THE CIVIL WAR.
Company laid its road in 1850, and the Central Square and Vienna road, laid about the same time, was abandoned in 1855. The Rome and Taberg Plank Road Company was organized March 28, 1854; the road was abandoned in 1871. The Winfield and Paris Plank Road Company, organized in 1854, abandoned its road in 1872. The Tren- ton and Prospect Plank Road Company abandoned most of its road in 1860. For a time many of these useful highways paid profits, but when the planks had to be renewed and railroads came into competition with some, while the condition of the ordinary highways improved, they in many cases failed to pay expenses.
The population of the county by 1850 had reached 98, 537, and pros- perity was everywhere manifest. The great value of manufacturing industries began to be appreciated and the reader of subsequent city and town histories in this work will note what was accomplished to- wards their establishment in this county.
By an act of the Legislature of March 30, 1846, Oneida county was given four members of assembly, and under another act of May 13 of that year it was associated with Jefferson, Lewis, Oswego, Madison and Otsego to form the Fifth Senatorial District.
The increase in population from 1850 to 1860 was comparatively small, it being in the latter year 101,626, about 3,000 more than at the beginning of that decade. During that period the county passed through another financial crisis which was in some respects more dis- astrous than the one of twenty years earlier. Two financial institutions in Utica failed, business was greatly depressed in all sections, and anx- iety and suffering were generally prevalent through the year 1857.
The country at large was now upon the eve of momentous events. The " irrepressible conflict " for the abolition of southern slavery reached a crisis in the election of Abraham Lincoln for president of the United States, and led to the opening of the guns of Charleston upon Fort Sumter on the 12th of April, 1861. The oncoming of civil war found the people of Oneida county ready with patriotism, men and money to meet its demands. A call was issued signed by nearly 500 citizens for a meeting in Utica as early as February 1, 1861, of " all who believe a real and substantial difficulty exists in the administration of the Federal Government." The meeting was largely attended and many patriotic
196
OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.
speeches were made. Other similar gatherings were held in other places in the county. The first call of the president for volunteers was made April 15, 1861, for 75,000 militia to serve three months. This was followed by another on May 3, under which and the several acts of ap- proval of that summer, a total of over 700,000 men was required. Re- cruiting began at once in Oneida county and what became known as the First Oneida regiment was mustered into the service for two years on May 17, 1861. It served honorably throughout its term. Only four days later, May 21, the Second Oneida regiment, as it was known, was mustered in for two years, and came home with an honorable record. These two regiments were regularly numbered the Fourteenth and the Twenty-sixth.
The next call for troops was issued on July 2, 1862, for 300,000 men, which was succeeded by another on August 4 for 300,000 nine months men, and recruiting in Oneida county, which had been quiet for some months, again became active. A large meeting was held in Utica on the 14th of July, where a liberal subscription was made towards a fund for the payment of bounties. This was followed by a special meeting of the supervisors at Rome on the 14th of August, at which a com- mittee reported the following resolution :
Resolved, That Horatio Seymour, C. H. Doolittle, Francis Kernan, William II. Ferry, William J. Bacon, Edward Huntington, E. B. Armstrong, and Samuel Camp- bell, together with L. Rouse, chairman of the meeting, and O. Carpenter, clerk, be appointed a committee to raise upon the credit of the county $162,700, upon county orders, bearing interest, signed by the clerk and chairman.
The quota of Oneida county under the last call was about 1,200, and under the foregoing resolution a bounty of $50 was offered to each vol- unteer. In that year (1862) the following towns voted the sums named for bounties :
Augusta, $1,180; Bridgewater, $2,688.50; Lee, $647; Marcy, $317; New Hartford, $3,400: Paris, $1,600; Remsen, $2,017.50; Trenton, $3,227.62; Verona, $150; West- moreland, $1,000.
Recruiting under the two calls above mentioned was pushed to the utmost. The third regiment from this county was the 97th, which was organized at Boonville and was mustered into the service at that place on the 18th of February, 1862, and served in many of the important battles of the war and was mustered out July 18, 1865. Before this
197
1830 TO THE CLOSE OF THE CIVIL WAR.
regiment was filled, recruiting for the next was under way, and early in August, 1862, the first company of what became the 117th regiment, the fourth one from this county, was mustered in. The regiment was mustered in and broke its camp to start for the front on the 22d of August. It was mustered out of the service after a long and most hon- orable term, on June 8, 1865, at Raleigh, N. C.
Recruiting continued active through the summer and fall of 1862, and the fifth regiment from this county, the 146th, was filled and mus- tered in at Rome on the 10th of October, 1862. It saw three years of exceptionally hard service and became known as "the fighting regi- ment." It was mustered out at the close of the war, July 16, 1865.
A draft was ordered for August 25, 1863, to supply deficiencies in the quotas of the several towns. The draft was held in Utica as an- nounced and passed off without trouble of any kind. Meanwhile many enlistments were made in organizations that were partly filled in other localities. Among these were Companies C, D, and E of the 50th In- fantry (Engineers), mustered in September 18, 1861 ; Company B of the 47th Infantry ; parts of Companies D, E, and H of the 68th Infantry, mustered in August, 1861 ; Companies C, E, and I of the 8Ist Infantry, mustered in September 14, 1861 ; Company H of the 164th Infantry, mustered in November, 19, 1862 ; parts of Companies A, B, C, D, E, and F, of the 192d Infantry, mustered in during the spring of 1865 and parts of companies in many other regiments of infantry, cavalry and artillery, which were were recruited under the several calls succeeding those already mentioned.
At a meeting of the Board of Supervisors held December 7, 1863, a resolution was adopted taxing the county a sum sufficient to pay each volunteer $300, amounting to $389,400. This was for the quotas of that year. On the 23d of August, 1864, the board adopted a resolu- tion to pay $400 to two year men and $500 to three year men. On the 21st of December, 1864, under another call for 300,000 men, the board passed a resolution to pay volunteers $200 for one year ; $400 for two years, and $600 for three years. The total amount of county orders issued to December 22, 1864, including interest was $777,939.59. On the 24th of January, 1865, the board adopted a resolution to pay $300, $500, and $700 respectively for one, two, and three year men.
198
OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.
The payments of the county treasurer for 1864 were $651,447.92 ; for 1865, $309,962.19. The following table shows the amount of war bonds issued to the towns in 1865 :
Annsville
$21,750.00
Rome $72,375.00
Augusta
14,500.00
Sangerfield
18,550.00
Ava
18,125.00
Steuben
14,475.00
Boonville
32.425.00
Trenton 33,600.00
Bridgewater
13,750.00
Utica 171, 945.00
Camden
31,975.00
Vernon
.30,700.00
Deerfield
17,400.00
Verona
44,600.00
Florence
27,675.00
Vienna .
26,100.00
Floyd
8,000.00
Western
20,350.00
Kirkland
19,575.00
Westmoreland
26,125.00
Lee
29,150.00
Whitestown
22,950.00
Marcy
18 850.00
C. H. Doolittle
500.00
Marshall
5,075.00
New Hartford
24,900.00
Paris
26,325.00
$819,176.03
The following is a summary of the bonds issued each year and the amount paid to the county treasurer by the supervisors :
Bonds of 1864
$129,350.00
Interest on above
9,054.50
$138,404.50
Bonds of 1865
864,474.29
Orders of 1864 (extended)
14,900.00
Paid treasurer by supervisors
28,407.78
Total.
$1,046,186.57
Remsen
26,850.00
T. Buchanan, jr.
386.03
Of this amount $973,510 was refunded by the State.1
1 For further details of the enlistments from this county and the deeds of Oneida county men in the field, the reader is referred to the State muster rolls in the county clerk's office, to the various histories of regiments and brigades, and to the full account given in the Everts history of the county of 1878.
199
1866 TO THE PRESENT.
CHAPTER XIX.
1866 TO THE PRESENT.
The condition of the country at large at the close of the Civil war is well remembered by most people of the present generation. The out ward aspect of material affairs indicated unexampled prosperity. While the " war prices " of all of the necessaries and the luxuries of life were unprecedentedly high, money on the other hand was extremely plenty. Fortunes of greater or less magnitude had been rapidly accumulated and the current in financial channels everywhere flowed freely. As a consequence, public improvements of various kinds were projected ; railway extension, the founding of new manufactures, and the multipli- cation of mercantile houses in this and other counties, all evidenced the high tide of apparent prosperity. Of course much of this outward prosperity was fictitious, resting as it did upon a greatly inflated cur- rency, and built up, as it was, during a period of the most extravagant expenditures, now fortunately closed. A reaction was sure to follow, sooner or later.
The history of Oneida county since the war must be briefly written, except as it further appears in later chapters. It has been similar to that of almost all other counties in the State. The people united, in spirit at least, with those of the whole North in welcoming peace to the land, and turned with new energy to their ordinary vocations. While general progress and growth have been marked in this county, signifi- cant changes have been taking place which constitute a small part of the great social and industrial problems of the time. For example, a glance at the statistics of population at the close of this chapter shows that only eight of all the towns in Oneida county have increased their number of inhabitants since 1870, and these eight only by a small per centage ; all the others have decreased, and of the eight mentioned a part had more population at a still earlier date than 1870, than they have at the present time. All of the eight, excepting Forestport, have
200
OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.
within their respective limits one or more active villages or industrial centers, which have been sufficient to attract such small gain in popula - tion as they have had. During this census period (1870-1892) Utica has grown in population from about 28.000 to nearly 50,000, and Rome from 11,000 to 14,000. It need scarcely be noted that these facts have been repeated, in some cases in an exaggerated form, in very many of the Middle and the New England States. It is a part of the great drift of population towards the larger villages and cities. One of the causes of this exodus from the country is the changed condition of agricultural interests which have been brought about since the war, largely through the competition of the products of the great West, and partly through the general depreciation of rural real estate values; this latter being in turn caused partly by the western competition mentioned and by the gradual return to the business basis that existed before the war. Oneida county is not alone in seeing this remarkable decrease in value of farm lands ; it is a condition that confronts the farmer all through the East, and what will be its ultimate consequences is difficult to determine:
At the same time quite important changes have taken place in the character of agricultural products in the county during the period since the war. As the growing of grains became unprofitable, dairying has been followed more extensively; the butter and cheese of Oneida county have gained a high reputation and Utica has become one of the most extensive cheese markets in the State. As a whole, the farming community in this county is as prosperous as it is in any of the adjoining counties, and much more so than in many other localities.
Among the public improvements following the close of the war and in which Oneida county was especially interested was the extension of the Black River Railroad which was carried out between 1862 and 1880, under the presidency of John Thorn, of Utica. It was of large benefit to the eastern part of the county and the city of Utica.
The Utica, Chenango and Susquehanna Railroad Company was formed January 11, 1866, the road extending southerly from Utica through the towns of New Hartford, Paris, Marshall, and Sangerfield in this county, and thence on southward. It was opened to Waterville November 14, 1866. During the next two years the road of the Utica, Clinton and Binghamton Company was opened to Oriskany Falls and
201
1866 TO THE PRESENT.
subsequently extended southward. All of these lines were instrumental in developing the districts through which they passed and contributed to the changes mentioned in the beginning of this chapter. The West Shore Railroad was opened through this county in October, 1883, but its influence in this county was not marked excepting in the southwest- ern part, as it extends parallel to the New York Central through much of the distance across the county.
An act of the Legislature of May 23, 1867, authorized the construc- tion of a railroad from Forestport to Bellinger town and a branch by way of Grant's Mills to the west line of Herkimer county; this road was useful in the prosecution of the large lumber business of that sec- tion.
By an act of Legislature dated June 11, 1889, the supervisors were authorized to raise by tax the sum of $15,000 to aid in the erection of the beautiful soldiers' monument now standing in the city of Utica. Another act of June 3, 1890, authorized the supervisors to raise by tax such sum as should be necessary to buy a site for a new State Armory in Utica, and the old arsenal property was sold to the State for $25,000. The new armory erected in that city is one of the finest in the State.
An act of April 13, 1892, placed Oneida and Herkimer counties in the Twenty fifth Congressional district; and in the same month another act gave the county two assemblymen, and constituted this county with Otsego and Lewis counties the Twenty-third Senatorial district.
The following table gives the population of the various towns of the county from 1800 to 1892, as shown by the census records :
26
POPULATION OF ONEIDA COUNTY FROM 1800 TO 1892.
1800.
1810.
1820.
1830.
1840.
1550.
1860.
1870.
1875.
1880.
1890.
1892.
Annsville ..
Augusta .
1,598
2,004
2,771
3,058
2,175
2,271
2,213
2,067
2,23
2,171
1,984
1,983
Boonville
393
1,294
2,746
5,519
3,309
1,212
4,106
4,063
3,996
3,509
3,512
Bridgewater
1,061
1,170
1,533
1,608
1,418
1,308
1,261
1,258
1,307
1,218
1,023
1,053
*Bengal.
Camden
384
1,132
1,272
1,945
2,331
2,820
3,187
3,687
3,538
3,392
3,391
3,675
*Constantia
143
1,232
2,346
1,182
3,120
2,219
2,015
2,098
2,082
1,954
1,611
Florence ..
396
640
964
1,259
2,587
2,802
2,299
2,181
2,073
1,489
1,415
Floyd
767
970
1,198
1,699
1,712
1,419
1,440
1,209
1,142
1,115
920
842
Forestport.
1,276
1,280
1,358
1,519
1,604
Kirkland.
2,509
2,984
3,121
4,185
1,912
1,749
4,984
4,852
4,636
*Lowville
300
* Leyden
622
2,186
2,511
2,936
3,025
2,796
2,656
2,413
2,360
1,815
1,900
Marcy.
Marshall
1,90%
2,251
2,115
2,134
2,1.15
2,215
2,276
2,115
2,069
*Mexico,
240
815
3,599
3,819
4,847
4,395
4,037
4,382
4,394
5,005
4,935
Paris . .
1,221
5,418
6,207
2,765
4,283
3,762
3,575
3,503
3,573
3,211
3,166
Remsen
224
489
912
1,200
1,638
2,384
2,670
1,184
1,166
1,195
1,099
1,233
Rome ...
1,497
2,003
3.569
4,360
5,680
7,920
6,246
11,000
12,251
12,194
14,991
13,638
*Redfield.
107
362
*Richland.
947
Sangerfield.
1,143
1,324
2,011
2,251
2,371
2,343
2,513
2,913
3,171
3,017
2,836
Steuben.
552
1,105
1,461
2,094
1,993
1,701
1,554
1,261
1,2:20
1,223
1,005
946
*Scriba .
328
1,548
2,617
3,221
3,178
3,540
3,50
3,456
3,118
3,097
2,709
2,629
*Turin
140
2,972
8,323
12,782
12,556
22,524
28,804
32,496
33,914
44,007
46,608
Vernon
1,519
2,707
3,045
3,043
3,089
2,908
2,810
3,007
3,056
3,016
2,937
Verona.
1,014
2,447
3,739
1,504
5,587
5,967
5,150
5,476
5,287
1,535
1,532
Vienna.
1,512
1,135
2,791
3,303
3,105
3,20%
3,166
2,952
2,752
2,744
2,313
2,333
Western.
1,493
2,416
2.237
2,119
3,488
2,521
2,497
2,423
2,214
2.264
1,817
1.773
Whitestown
4,212
4,912
5,219
4,410
5,156
5,820
4,36%
4,339
4,368
4,498
5,155
5,225
02,837
33,792
50,997
71,326
85,310
98,537
101,626
110,018
114,335
115,475
122,922
123,756
* NOTE .- The towns of Champion and Watertown were set off with the erection of Jefferson county, in 1805. The towns of Lowville, Leyden, and Turin were set off to Lewis county at the same time; and the towns of Constantia, Mexico, Redfield, Seriba, and Williamstown were set off with Oswego county, in 1816. The town of Bengal is now the town of Vienna.
202
OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.
2,230)
2,303
Westmoreland
1,307
1,766
2,530
3,436
3.460
3,180
3,064
2,834
1,213
1,458
1,799
1,857
1,682
1,451
1,418
1,413
860
828
1,027
1,260
1,160
1,022
1,039
2,068
1,963
Ava ...
1,481
1,765
2,688
2.837
2,716
2,626
2,554
454
153
*Champion
Deerfield .
1,048
. .
..
Utica.
Trenton.
621
Lee.
New Hartford.
203
1866 TO THE PRESENT.
A State census, taken at various periods, shows the following figures for the county : Census of 1814. 45,228 ; of 1825, 57,847; of 1835, 77,518 ; of 1845, 84,776; of 1855, 107,749 ; of 1865, 102,713.
The succeeding table gives the assessed valuation in the county in 1894 and 1895, which will be found useful for reference, which is fol- lowed by a record of the tax and ratio for the same years:
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