Our county and its people; a descriptive work on Oneida county, New York;, Part 37

Author: Wager, Daniel Elbridge, 1823-1896
Publication date: 1896
Publisher: [Boston] : The Boston history co.
Number of Pages: 1612

USA > New York > Oneida County > Our county and its people; a descriptive work on Oneida county, New York; > Part 37

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Rufus Gridseye

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THE CITY OF UTICA.

of December of that year ; this run continued for about twenty days and during a portion of the time was heavy, but when it ended the institu - tion had on hand in its vault about $500,000 in currency. Since that time the policy of this bank has been to exclude the deposit of moneys held for business and commercial purposes. In 1851 the store on the east side of Genesee street, near the corner of Bleecker, was taken by the bank and used until 1869, when it was sold and the lot corner Genesee and Fayette streets was purchased and the handsome bank building, since occupied, was erected thereon. The presidents of the bank have been John C. Devereux, Thomas Walker, Hiram Denio, Edmund A. Wetmore, Hon. William J. Bacon, Ephraim Chamberlain, and since the latter's death in September, 1895, William Blaikie. Rufus P. Birdseye has been treasurer and secretary of the board of trustees since Decem- ber, 1894, succeeding Addison C. Miller.

A. D. Mather & Co.(Asaph D. Mather and Joshua Mather) established a private banking house in Utica in March, 1866; the business was continued until the death of A. D. Mather in April 8, 1880, when the firm was constituted of Joshua and Charles W. Mather. The business continued as a private bank to 1890, when it was organized as a State bank with a capital of $200,000. Joshua Mather was made president, Charles W. Mather, vice-president, Eduard Bushinger, cashier. At the present time Charles W. Mather is president, William C. Marsh, vice - president, and Eduard Bushinger, cashier.

The Commercial Travelers' Mutual Accident Association of America, with headquarters in Utica, was incorporated March 19, 1883, the founder being Edward Trevvett, who drafted its constitution and by- laws, and who has served as the secretary and treasurer since July, 1883. Henry D. Pixley has been its only president. This is the largest acci- dent association in the world of a distinct class of men, all its members being or having been bona fide commercial travelers.

The Homestead Aid Association of Utica was founded by the late Edward Curran in February, 1884, and represents assets aggregating more than half a million dollars. Mr. Curran was its president until his death in June, 1894. In January, 1895, George D. Dimon, then vice- president, was elected president, and he was succeeded in January, 1896, by Hon. Watson T. Dunmore. The association has an invested capital of nearly $700,000.

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OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.

MANUFACTURES.

Utica during much of its history has been noted for its manufactures. Its situation near the head of Mohawk navigation and its consequent convenience as a place for the receipt and distribution of goods from the east, and the return of the products of agriculture from a rich and wide reach of country gave it a start as a fit place for commerce. And in commerce its people were largely employed. But the lack of water power suitable for the driving of factories and mills, at a period when such power was wholly relied on, forbade that its industry and its cap- ital should be directed to manufacturing. There were of course the usual complement of shoe shops, tin shops, chair, cabinet and wagon makers. There were tanners, iron founders, and nail makers. To wider and more aspiring methods of gain, and pending the period of the more developed uses of steam, Utica was by its site wholly denied. Among its business men there has never been a lack of enterprise, but its manifestations were seen in the conduct of each one's private affairs. As wealth increased other fields were sought wherein to invest the sur- plus products of industry ; and with thought and hands busy at home, capitalists have added to their store while helping to build up towns at a distance in which they had small cause for personal concern. Nearer home they shared in the stock of some of the mills of the Sauquoit, and when in 1810 a factory was projected at Oriskany, over one-third of its subscribers, representing one-fifth of the capital, were dwellers in Utica, the bulk of the capital having been obtained at the east.

Space can be spared here for only a brief record of the founding of some of the important manufacturing industries of the village and city as follows :

The Oneida Glass Company, incorporated in February, 1809, with a capital of $100,000. The works were located at Vernon, but the cap- ital was mostly from Utica. The factory was operated with moderate success until 1836, when the company closed its affairs.

In 1820 Seth Peckham of Troy began the manufacture of plows and other implements on Catherine street. This was the nucleus of the later large stove foundry of J. S. & M. Peckham,1 now conducted by

1 John S. Peckham, born in Rensselaer county October 3, 1803, lived in Utica from his youth. In 1828 he succeeded to the plow factory of his uncle, Seth Peckham. In 1835 he, with his half-

EDMUND MUNSON.

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THE CITY OF UTICA.

Edwin and Frank Peckham and W. C. Walker. Another foundry was started in 1822 by Ephraim Hart which was the parent of the large establishment now under the management of H. Gilbert Hart, grandson of Ephraim, and Clarence B. Crouse.1

A grist mill was started, using the current of the Mohawk River, in 1823 ; the second grist mill, known as the City Mill, to be supplemented with power from the waste water from the canal, was built not long afterward by Rutger B. Miller.

What is known as the Central New York Pottery, Charles N. White, manager, is descended from two industries in that line, one founded by Justin Campbell, in 1826, and the other by Brayton, Kellogg & Doolittle in the following year. The latter was soon after leased by Noah White, who subsequently purchased it From him it passed to his son, Nich- olas A. White, and thence to the latter's son, Charles N. White.

The present large establishment of Munson Bros., foundry, machine shops and manufacturers of mill machinery, had its origin in 1823, when Alfred Munson began the manufacture of buhr mill stones on the corner of Hotel and Liberty streets. In 1830 Martin Hart became a partner in the business and several years later this firm dissolved and a new one was formed by Alexander B. Hart and Edmund Munson. This firm was succeeded by Munson Bros. in 1868.2

The Vulcan Works, now the Utica Steam Engine and Boiler Works, was erected in 1832 by Philo C. Curtis, father of Philo S. About three years later the business passed out of his hands, but came back to him in 1861. One year later Philo S. Curtis bought out his father.

brother, Merritt, formed the firm of J. S. & M. Peckham, which continued a successful business until his death, May 2, 1879. He was a Whig and a Republican in politics, possessed an active public spirit and labored in many ways for the advancement of the city. The Utica Mechanics Association, the Art Association and other institutions were largely indebted to him for such prosperity as they enjoyed.

1 Henry R. Hart, son of Ephraim and a partner with him in the iron foundry, was well known for his activity in promoting the welfare of public institutions, his generosity and genial person- ality. He was captain of the Citizens Corps and active in the Mechanics Association and in the Fire Department. He died in 1868, aged fifty-seven years.

2 Edmund Munson, born in Litchfield county, Conn., May 2, 1805, learned the milling business with his father, and in 1829 built a flouring mill with four pairs of French Buhr stones made by himself. In 1835 he settled in Utica and was employed by his uncle, Alfred Munson, as superin- tendent of his business. In 1847, with Alexander C. Hart, he formed the firm of Hart & Munson, inill furnishers, which continued until 1869, when it was exchanged for one with three sons, con- tinuing until his death, March 14, 1822. Mr. Munson secured several valuable patents for devices in connection with his business. A sketch of him appears on a subsequent page of this volume.

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OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.

The first planing mill in Utica was started by Philo C. Curtis, which soon passed to Chauncey Palmer and Lewis Lawrence. In 1834 they began making sash, doors and blinds by steam power. These articles had already been produced by Truman B. Dixon, using horse power. The business of Palmer & Lawrence passed to Downer & Kellogg and later to Mr. Kellogg alone, the present firm being Charles C. Kellogg & Sons Co. Other lumber working establishments were those of Met- calf & Dering, started in 1861, and of Edward F. Downer & Son.

The manufacture of oil cloth' has long been carried on in Utica, hav- ing been started in 1832 by J. D. Edwards; it soon passed to Dr. Theodore Pomeroy and Thomas R. Walker and later to Theodore and George D Pomeroy, son and grandson of the original proprietor.

The manufacture of ready made clothing in Utica began about 1836 by James B. Martin and was continued later by the brothers Yates, whose sister Martin married This industry has since been represented by such establishments as that of William Taylor & Co., successors to the Yates business; Rockwell, Rhodes & Miller, successors to the busi- ness of Henry J. Wood ; Roberts, Butler & Co., successors to the busi- ness started by Charles A. Yates ; Owen, Pixley & Co , succeeding P. V. Kellogg & Co. ; the firm of Owen, Pixley & Co, dissolved in 1885 and in its place were organized the firms of H. D. Pixley & Son and Owen Bros., both extensive manufacturers. Other large establishments were H. H. Cooper & Co., Crouse & Brandegee, Utica Clothing Co.

The decade between 1840 and 1850 saw an awakening of the indus- trial spirit in Utica. A company to operate the Utica Steam Woolen Mills was organized February 27, 1846; the property passed to A. T. Stewart of New York city under judgment sale in 1869. After a long and successful existence the business was closed up in December, 1877.

What is now the Globe Woolen Mills originated as the Utica Globe Mills, in 1847. After various vicissitudes this great establishment passed under the management of Robert Middleton in 1857 and an era of prosperity began. The capital, which was $70,000 at first, was in-

1 William B. Jackson, a native of Westport, Conn., began business life in New York city and in 1852, on account of ill health settled in Forestport, where he carried on a lumber business. In 1864 he removed to Utica, and for about ten years was a partner with Theodore Pomeroy in the manufacture of oil cloths. He was a director in the Second National Bank, trustee of St. Luke's and Faxton Hospitals and a warden in Grace church. He died December 28, 1890.

Robert Micaleton

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THE CITY OF UTICA.

creased in 1868 from its earnings to $300,000. In 1886 a large worsted mile was added to the plant. In the height of its prosperity this mill has employed about 1000 operatives, and has manufactured the finest cloths made in this country.

The Utica Steam Cotton Mills were established in February, 1848, under an agreement dated January 11, 1847, made by the following persons as trustees : Theodore S. Faxton, Silas D. Childs, Alfred Mun- son, Charles A. Mann, Edmund A. Graham, Andrew S. Pond and Horatio Seymour. The first mill was erected in 1848 and in 1850 be- gan the manufacture of wide cotton goods.1 The lower mill was erected and put in operation in 1870 and the No. 3 Mill, which is connected with No. 1, in 1880-81. Extensive additions and improvements were made in 1890-91.

The Mohawk Valley Cotton Mills, established in 1880 for the manu- facture of sheetings different in texture from those made by the fore- going mills, are under the same executive management as the Utica Steam Cotton Mills. The capital stock is $500,000.

The Skenandoa Cotton Company was organized in 1882 with a capi- tal stock of $200,000, which was afterwards increased to $300,000 and later to $600,000. The plant is a large one, having a spindlage of about 55,000, and about 500 operatives are employed in the manufac- ture of hosiery yarns.

Other manufacturing industries2 in the city worthy of mention, but which can only be alluded to in the briefest manner, are the following: The

1 William Wolcott settled in Utica about 1840, coming from Whitesboro, where he located in 1811 when seventeen years old. He early displayed unusual business talent and was a long time general agent and superintendent of the factory of the Oneida Manufacturing Society. He was associated in business with Benjamin S. Wolcott, his brother, in the New York Mills, and after coming to Utica superintended the building of the Utica Steam Cotton Mills, one of the best of its kind in the country. He was thirty years a director of the Bank of Utica, was a director of the Savings Bank, a director of the aforementioned mills, and a member and elder in the Reformed church. He died November 8, 1859.

2 John G. Marklove, an English organ builder, came to New York city in 1850 and thence to Utica. He thoroughly understood his trade and successfully carried on a manufactory of excel- lent organs. He was drowned at Scarboro, Me., August 21, 1891.

Edward D. Buckingham, born at Saybrook, Conn., February 22, 1818, learned the trade of cabinetmaking, at which he worked in various places and finally in Waterville in this county. There he established a piano factory and made instruments which gained an excellent reputation. Failing in the financial crisis of 1857, he removed to Utica, bought the stock of William H. Dutton and was long a head of a successful music and art store. He was a public spirited citizen and influential in promoting the general welfare of the city. He died suddenly in May, 1891.

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OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.

Pheonix Iron works of Cyrus F. Palmer, started in 1852 by his father, Chauncey Palmer. The extensive foundry, stove and furnace manufac- tory, founded by Joel C. Bailey 1 about 1842 and now carried on by Russel Wheeler & Son. The Carton Furnace Company. manufacturers of hot air furnaces, invented by John Carton,2 who began their manu - facture in 1847. The locomotive head light factory of I. A. Williams & Company, founded in 1851 by Irvin A. Williams, patentee of the head light made by the firm. The Utica Steam Gauge Company, founded by E. A. Wood in 1861. The Utica Pipe Foundry Company, organized in 1889 under the presidency of Charles Millar for the manu- facture of cast iron pipes, etc. Mr. Millar is also at the head of a manufactory of lead pipes. The Utica Knitting Company, reorganized in December, 1891, to operate the works started in 1863 by S. S. & J. L. Lowery. This company manufactures exclusively childrens' knit underwear. Another manufactory similar in character to the above is that of Wild & Devereux, which firm was formed in 1874 and took the business formerly started by Charles Stewart and John Wild. The firm erected a new mill in 1880. The scotch cap factories of the Mohawk Valley Cap Factory Company (a business which was begun at New Hartford in 1868), the Empire Scotch Cap Factory, organized in 1887 by Bayliss and C. F. Crandall, and the A. V. Lynch Scotch Cap Fac . tory, which began operations in 1885. The Utica Burial Case Com- pany, incorporated in April, 1890, with a capital of $90,000. Besides these the manufacture of ladies' and misses' shoes is carried on quite extensively in Utica, and there is also a very extensive brewing inter- est, with various other industries of a minor character.

The following is a list of mayors of the city of Utica from its incor- poration :

' Joel C. Bailey, son of an early settler of Whitestown, located in Utica in 1842 and purchased the Eagle Furnace on Columbia street. There alone and with his son-in-law, Russel Wheeler, he manufactured stoves until his retirement in 1856. After the early failure of the Globe Woolen Mill, Mr. Bailey purchased it and became president of the company; he was also interested in the steam woolen and the steam cotton mills. He was long a deacon and influential in the Bleecker street Baptist church, and died February 23, 1882.

2 John Carton, a native of Dublin settled in Utica when twelve years old and learned the eop- persmith's trade. He became a partner with O'Neil & Martin, continuing such till 1845. He was afterwards in business alone and was very successful. He was a director in the Oneida Bank, a trustee of the Savings Bauk and of the Female Academy and was otherwise honored in various ways by his fellow citizens.

Charles Millar

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THE CITY OF UTICA.

1833, Henry Seymour; 1834-5, Joseph Kirkland; 1836, John Ostrom; 1837, Theo- dore S. Gold; 1838, Charles P. Kirkland; 1839-40, John C. Devereux; 1841, Spencer Kellogg; 1842, Horatio Seymour; 1843, Frederick Hollister; 1 1844, Ward Hunt; 1845-46, E. A. Wetmore; 1847, James Watson Williams; 1848, Joshua A. Spencer, 1849-50, Thomas R. Walker; 1851-52, John E. Hinman; 1853 Charles H. Doolittle ; 1854, John E. Hinman; 1855, Henry H. Fish; 1856-57, Alrick Hubbell; 1858-59, Roscoe Conkling; 1860, Calvin Hall; 1861-62, Dewitt C. Grove; 1863, Charles S. Wil- son ; 2 1864, Theodore S. Faxton; 1865, John Butterfield; 1866, James McQuade; 1867, Charles S. Wilson ; . 1868, J. Thomas Spriggs; 1869-70, Ephraim Chamberlain ; 1871, Miles C. Cumstock ; 1872, Theodore F. Butterfield; 1873, Charles K. Grannis; 1874, Theodore F. Sayre; 1875, Charles W. Hutchinson; 1876, Charles E. Barnard ; 1877, David H. Gaffin ; 1878, James Benton; 1879, John Buckley; 1880, J. Thomas Spriggs; 1881, James Miller; 1882, Francis M. Burdick; 1883, Charles A. Doolittle; 1884, James S. Sherman; 1885-87, Thomas E. Kinney; 1888, Henry Martin; 1889, Samuel J. Barrows; 1890-91,3 Alexander T. Goodwin; 1891-93, Thomas Wheeler; 1894-96, John C. Gibson.

1 A man who had a somewhat remarkable career between 1830 and 1850 was Frederick Hollis- ter. From position of clerk in the drug store of John Williams he became his partner and later his successor. An active business ambition took Mr. Hollister outside of legitimate trade, and in 1840 he bought the mill of Isaac Mason at Checkerville; there he suffered loss by fire of about $40,000, but rebuilt with improvements. In 1842 he bought property at Clayville and built the Empire Mill; at these two points he expended nearly $500,000. His expectations were not realized, and in 1851 he failed with liabilities of about $1,800,000, causing loss and distress to many indorsers and persons of small means, who had intrusted him with their savings. He was alderman in 1838, mayor in 1843, and originator of the Bridgewater plank road, the first that led out of the city. After his failure he removed to New York and died there December 18, 1863.

2 Charles S. Wilson, born in Scotland in 1809, came to New York in 1830 and soon after to Utica. From 1832 1848 he was teller of the Bank of Utica and afterwards with others organized the Utica City Bank, becoming its cashier. A Democrat in politics, he was alderman three years, and in 1859 was nominated for mayor. He failed of election, but when Roscoe Conkling not long after- ward resigned that office to enter Congress, Mr. Wilson was appointed to the vacancy by the council. In 1863 and again in 1867 lie was elected mayor. He died July 30, 1884.

3 In 1890 the mayor's term of office was extended to two years.

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OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.

CHAPTER XXVI.

THE TOWN OF ANNSVILLE.

This town is one of the northern tier of Oneida county and lies a little west of the center. Its territory includes a large part of numbers I, 2, 3, and 8 of the township divisions of Scriba's patent, as seen on the map in Chapter X. Scriba's sale of 75,000 acres to Franklin & Robinson included a part of the territory of this town. A part of the eastern and the southern boundaries of the town are formed by the respective branches of Fish Creek; the east branch, after leaving the boundary, flows across the southeast part, while the area is well drained otherwise by Furnace Creek, Miller's Creek, Fall Brook and Glenmore Brook. These streams are rapid, were formerly filled with fish, and supplied water power for the early mills. Fall Brook takes its name from the falls where it empties into Fish Creek, the upper one of which is fourteen feet high, the middle one fourteen, and the lower one sixty feet. The volume of water is now small excepting in times of flood. The town contains 36,316 acres, and received its name in honor of the wife of John W. Bloomfield, its first settler. What have been called " the meadows" in this town were formerly occupied by a part of the Oneida nation. About the time of the old French war a party of Canadian Indians located at the Fish Creek forks, where the fishing was excellent, but they were driven out by the Oneidas. The surface of Annsville is broken by ridges and rolling swells running east and west and gradually rising towards the north. The soil is clayey in the south part and sandy, gravelly and stony in the north.

Although not organized as a town until comparatively recent date, the territory of Annsville was settled early. In April, 1793, John Bloomfield (of whom the reader of earlier chapters has already learned something) came from Burlington, N. J., and settled on the site of Taberg, making his first improvement on the place afterwards occupied by Dr. Beach. On his way in he stopped at Old Fort Schuyler and went

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THE TOWN OF ANNSVILLE.

thence on to Fort Stanwix (Rome), arriving there on the same day with George Huntington. A little later he proceeded to his large purchase at Taberg, and soon built a saw mill and a grist mill; these were of great utility to the early settlers in that region. Mr. Bloomfield and his heart strong wife found only a boundless wilderness to welcome them around their new home. Their only visitors for a long time were occasional Indians, and they were not always the most desirable callers. While the Oneidas had a settlement at the forks of Fish Creek, according to the "Annals," they frequently brought salmon to Mr. Bloomfield for his table. Seeing him weigh the fish they soon learned that they received more money for heavy than for light ones. Soon afterwards, while dressing some fish, Mr. Bloomfield found them filled with small stones. Complaint to the chief put a stop to such practices. On another occasion, when Mrs. Bloomfield was alone in the house, an Indian came in and asked for liquor, which she refused. He persisted in his demand, saying he knew she had it in the house. She still refused him, when he drew a knife with which he threatened her and drove her into a corner, hoping to frighten her into compliance with his demand. In this he failed ; she called to some one to call Mr. Bloomfield from his work, and the discomfited savage turned and fled. The Indian ever admires bravery, and the next day Mrs. Bloomfield received from her late visitor a fine saddle of venison as an evidence of his appreciation of her firmness. The Indians were all thencefor- ward her friends.

Wild animals, too, were numerous, annoying and sometimes dan- gerous, all through that region in the early years. Elias Brewster, who came from Connecticut, settled in what is now Annsville in 1806, having then lived in the town of Western since 1790. He began clear- ing his land in 1806 and in April, 1807, located his family on his pur- chase, where he had built a rude cabin ; the snow was five feet deep at the time of his removal. He soon had a few cattle and hogs on his place and bears made eternal vigilance the price of keeping them safe. The bears also made havoc in his cornfield, and in the second year of his residence there a large black hog belonging to a neighbor who had settled about a mile away, also found its way to the same crop. Mr. Brewster's fences were not pretentious and he often had to drive away

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OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.

the hog. One evening he thought he heard the animal in his corn, and he sent his little boy to drive it away. The boy had been on similar errands before and had no scruples about collecting ammunition in the shape of stones for his onslaught. A volley or two at the black animal caused it to retreat, climbing the tree fence with surprising agility. When the boy returned he told his father it was no use trying to keep the animal out as it would climb a fence like a cat. The father sus- pected the facts, and when the boy told him further that when he stoned the hog it raised up on its hind feet to fight, he knew that the lad had driven off a big bear. Saying nothing he reconnoitered the place the next morning and found ample evidence that he was right. Setting spring guns the following night, a bear weighing 400 pounds was killed.

Settlement in the north part of the town also began early and by 1803 several families had penetrated that region. In June of that year four brothers, Benjamin, Jonathan, James, and Abraham Morton came in from Springfield, Mass .; Abraham arrived ahead of the others, driving an ox team. He settled on the farm occupied in recent years by O. F. Simmons; the other brothers settled in the same neighborhood, Benja- min on the farm subsequently occupied by Jonathan Stanford (and later by Wm. Houston), whose father (Jonathan, sr.) married Benjamin Morton's daughter and took the farm when the latter located in Taberg. The settlement of Jonathan and Samuel Stanford was made in 1805, two years after the Mortons came.

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Our county and its people; a descriptive work on Oneida county, New York;, Part 37

Author: Wager, Daniel Elbridge, 1823-1896 Publication date: 1896 Publisher: [Boston] : The Boston history co. Number of Pages: 1612

Author: Wager, Daniel Elbridge, 1823-1896
Publication date: 1896
Publisher: [Boston] : The Boston history co.
Number of Pages: 1612