Our county and its people; a descriptive work on Oneida county, New York;, Part 61

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 61

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The first death in this town was that of Orin Jones, an infant son of Capt. Nehemiah Jones, who died March 20, 1778. As no coffin could be procured it was buried in the sleigh box, in which they had removed from Massachusetts, Esquire Ephraim Blackmer making out of it a very decent coffin. The first death of an adult was that of Peletiah Rawson, who resided about half a mile east of the Hecla Works, who died very suddenly in the summer of 1789. The first marriage was that of Samuel Hubbard, of Clinton, and Miss Mary Blair, eldest daughter of Deacon John Blair, who has been mentioned. The cere- mony was performed by Rev. John Sargeant, the Indian missionary, March 25, 1790, in the log cabin of the settler, which stood near the first frame house, on the Hampton road. After the Rev. Mr. Bradley was settled he married the following persons at the dates given : Octo- ber 17, 1793, Mather Bosworth and Bathsheba Deming; February 24, 1794, Daniel Williams and Levina Hovey; May 8, 1794, Peter Pratt and Dolly Smith; August 17, 1794, Samuel Cornwell and Hannah Finney ; November 12, 1794, Asahel Porter and Abigail Smith. Very probably these were the only marriages in the town during the first eight years of its settlement.

Westmoreland village is situated in the eastern part of the town, and for many years was called Hampton. Confusion arising from the fact that there was another post- office of that name in this State, the name of the post-office was changed to correspond with that of the town. A. L Fitch is postmaster. Some of the former merchants and tradesmen of the village were W. J. Brockett (now of Rome), Benjamin Stevenson and J. L. Clyde (firm of Stevenson & Clyde), N. F. Metcalf, tinner, Dr. Beckwith, drugs, etc. Thomas Hughes has a general store which he has conducted for over twenty years, succeeding A. F. Brown ; Nathan F. Graves and E. J. Carr also have general stores. Arthur D. McEntee carries a hardware stock on the site formerly occupied by Townsend & Bliss and later by Smith Brothers.

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THE TOWN OF WESTMORELAND.

The old hotel which was kept many years by various landlords was closed April 1, 1896. The only hotel is the Monroe House, kept by John Monroe.

There has been little manufacturing here, aside from the early saw mills in the vicinity, until the establishment of the Westmoreland Malleable Iron Company. In 1850 Smith, Buell & Co., erected and started this plant and continued its successful operation. In 1857 Mr. Buell withdrew and removed to Oriskany, and James M. Clark became president of the company. Several changes took place in the constitu- tion of the company and in the spring of 1896, F. M. Metcalf and E. C. Metcalf purchased all the stock of the company not already held by them and are sole owners. From seventy-five to 100 hands are em- ployed on general malleable iron production.

Schuyler & Lattimore (J. K. Schuyler, a former successful farmer and cheesemaker and Fred. Lattimore) carry on a large coal and lum- ber trade. Mr. Lattimore is town clerk and station agent on the rail- road.

Lairdsville, the site of the early settlement of Samuel Laird, is a ham- let and post-office in the northern part of the town. Laird's log hotel and a later one kept by Isaac Jones gave this little place considerable prominence in the days of the old stages. The post- office was estab- lished about 1820 through the efforts of Judge Dean and Pomroy Jones. The first postmaster was probably Salmon Cushman, who was then landlord of a public house. With the building of canals and railroads, the activity of the place declined, and the only business of the place is a store kept by George Steele.

What has been known as Hecla Works is situated in the northern part of the town. Here the Westmoreland Furnace was estab- lished in 1800, by Russell Clark, Joel Bradley, Bradford Seymour, Asa Seymour, Isaac Seymour (brothers) and George Langford. Ore was used that was found in that vicinity, but its quality did not prove as good as had been anticipated, and in later years it was brought from Verona and elsewhere. The business finally declined through competi- tion and the foundry was converted into a grist mill and saw mill. These are now operated by T. J. Olney. Frank Wilson is postmaster and conducts a general store. The post-office was opened in 1851.

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OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.

Lowell is a hamlet in the northern part of the town, with stage con- nection with Rome. The post-office was established many years ago under the name of Republican, and the hamlet was long called Andover. There has always been a small mercantile business here and a store is now kept by Charles Cleveland. A fire in September, 1875, burned a store and the old brick Union Hotel

Bartlett is a post-office, with Mark Cheney, postmaster, and a station on the Rome & Clinton Railroad The post office was opened in 1871 and the place was named from the then president of the railroad.

Dix post office is also situated on the railroad, but has no business interests.

The town of Westmoreland comprises an excellent agricultural dis- trict. Hops have been extensively raised in past years, but the great depression in prices of this product has already caused a decline in the quantity grown. Dairying is a prominent industry and will be further developed. Among the leading farmers of this town may be mentioned A D. Groves, Amos Barnes, David Parks, Halsey Stillman, all deceased, and David Bryden, H. H. Tyler, C. H. Tyler, Malachi Ellis, C. S. Lyman, William Poyle, S. P. Graves, Samuel G. Smith, William Jones, A. L. Fitch and others.

The first school in this town was taught in a log school house which was built as early 1792, a short distance west of the site of Lairdsville. The teacher was Calvin Butler. An aunt of Pomroy Jones also taught there.

From the Jones Annals the following is taken :

In 1793 a log school house was built in Lairdsville, and some time in 1794 a teacher was hired for a year. He was competent, and his pupils advanced rapidly, but after seven or eight months of his year had elapsed it was discovered that he was intem- perate, and that he was occasionally partially intoxicated in school hours. For sev- eral days, upon one occasion, he carried about one of his eyes all the hues of the rainbow, received in a drunken brawl at a neighboring public house. In the spring of 1795, a number of the patrons of the school believing that such examples to their children should be no longer tolerated, a meeting was notified to take the matter into consideration. The meeting was a protracted one, part of the district strongly advocating the continuance of the school, while the other part were tenacious for dismissing a teacher whose walk before his pupils was so irregular. The arguments pro and con having been exhausted, it was found upon taking the vote upon the mo- tion for dismissal that there was a tie. The vote not being carried to dismiss the teacher, the advocates for continuing the school moved an adjournment, which was

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THE TOWN OF WESTMORELAND.

carried, and they dispersed to their homes. Not so with the opponents of the school. Some of the leading spirits passed round the word to their friends to remain after the adjournment. They did so, and, after the teacher's friends had all left and were out of sight, they carried out the books and stationery to a secure place, and then kindled a fire in the building, and did not retire until the destroying element had so far progressed as to preclude all possibility of its being quenched, thus most effectu- ally dismissing the drunken school teacher.

In the winter of 1819-20 school was first taught in the neighborhood of the Friends' settlement-their meeting-house, completed that fall, being used as a school house, and the teacher being one of their society -Abigail Tucker. Daniel Peckham now living in the vicinity, then nineteen years of age, attended that school.

East of this, at " Nicholson's Corners," a school was taught shortly before or soon after; another had been kept at Bartlett previous to either of these.

In Hampton village a school house was built between July and Oc- tober, 1811, which was the second one in the place. It stood, accord- ing to the records, " between the meeting house and the northwest cor- ner of the green ; the north side of said house on the line of James Lee- worthy's south fence, partly standing on the green, remainder on Lee- worthy."

There are now seventeen districts in the town with a school house in each.

A "society for the maintenance of the ordinances of the gospel" was organized in this town on September 5, 1791, probably through the efforts of Revs. Bingham and William Bradford, missionaries from Con- necticut. That society had fifty-five members and January 28, 1792, elected Josiah Stillman, Isaac Jones, John Blair, Stephen Bingham, Samuel Collins, Silas Phelps and George Langford, trustees. A new covenant was adopted January 17, 1793, to which were signed eighty - one names. A dispute having arisen over a site for a church edifice, two were built, one at "Hampton," (as the village was long known), and the other on South street in the northern part of the town. The former was erected in 1798 and the other within a short time, and was sold in 1803 to the Methodists.

The First Congregational church of Westmoreland was organized in September, 1792, and celebrated its centennial anniversary in 1892.

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OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.

For more than a hundred years it has maintained an active existence. An Independent Congregational society was formed at Lowell about 1820 and a church built about 1824. After a few years of activity the numbers declined and in 1850 the building was sold and taken down.

A Methodist Episcopal Society was organized soon after 1795, and services were held at intervals by itinerant preachers, meeting in private houses until 1803, when they purchased the South street church as be- fore stated. This was used until 1835, when an edifice was erected at Westmoreland village and another at Lairdsville. Both of these socie- ties are still in existence.

A Baptist church was organized March 17, 1803, the fifth one of this denomination in Oneida county, its predecessors being at Whitestown, Deerfield, Paris and Sangerfield. From the old society sprang in later years, the Second Westmoreland church, and those at Vernon, Vienna, and Clinton. Ora Butler was the first pastor of the old society, begin- ning in 1804. It finally became extinct The Second Baptist church was organized February 21, 1818, and is located at Bartlett. A small church was built in 1819. In 1836 some of the members of this society withdrew and organized the Old School Baptist church, north of Bart- lett, which built a frame church. This society went out of existence, but the former one continues.

Gethsemane Episcopal church, Westmoreland, was organized in 1842, and for a time was supplied with preaching by Rev. Stephen McHugh, of Oriskany Rev. Mr. Spaulding was a late pastor and had charge of the De Lancey Institute, a school near Westmoreland mineral spring. The church of this society was erected in Westmoreland in 1858.

A Methodist society was organized at Lowell many years ago, and built a modest frame church. This was in use until 1895, when the present new edifice was erected.

What is known as the Friends' Meeting House was built in 1819, soon after the organization of a society by John Wright, Lawton Barker (who were the first settlers in that neighborhood) and the family of Nathan Peckham. Alfred Richardson and wife settled there early. In 1852 Mary A. Peckham, wife of Daniel Peckham, was settled as the first " recommended minister." The first frame meeting house was in use until 1872, when the present one was erected.

615

THE TOWN OF WHITESTOWN.

CHAPTER LII.

THE TOWN OF WHITESTOWN.

This town was formed by an act of the Legislature passed March 7, 1788, with the following boundary :

Easterly by a line running north and south to the north and south bounds of the State, and crossing the Mohawk river at the ford near, and on the east side of the house of William Cunningham, and which line was the western boundary of the towns of Herkimer, German Flats and Otsego; southerly by the State of Pennsyl- vania, and west and north by the bounds of the State.

William Cunningham's house was situated on the west side of Gene- see street Utica and near its foot. These boundaries therefore show that the original Whitestown comprised nearly half of the area of the State, and that it is eminently entitled to the appellation of the mother of towns. Upon the formation of Oneida county in 1798 the limits of Whitestown were extended eastward about two miles to the present line of Herkimer county. Meanwhile the town was divided in April, 1792, and the towns of Westmoreland, Steuben, Paris, Mexico, and Peru erected. On March 5, 1795, parts of Whitestown and Paris were taken to form the new town of Cazenovia, and when Oneida county was formed that part of the town of Frankfort which came within its limits was annexed to Whitestown. From this territory Augusta was formed and the re- mainder of Whitestown within the Oneida Reservation was annexed to Westmoreland. On April 7, 1817, the town of Utica was erected from Whitestown, and on April 12, 1827, the town of New Hartford was formed from it, leaving Whitestown with an area of about thirty square miles

The Mohawk River forms the northeastern boundary of the town, and into it flow the Oriskany Creek across the central part of the town, and the Sauquoit Creek across the southeast corner ; other smaller streams give the town good drainage Southwesterly from the Mohawk extends a broad and level intervale, from which the surface of the town

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OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.

rises perhaps a hundred feet and stretches back in a rolling upland, fer- tile and picturesque.

The reader has learned in early chapters of this volume of the stirring and tragic events which took place far back in the past on the territory of this town, giving it historical importance greater than almost any other locality in Central New York. The battle of Oriskany alone, considered by many as the turning point in the great struggle of which it was a part, and the scene of which is now marked by an imposing shaft, was sufficient to give the region an immortal name. In this con- nection it will surprise some to learn that an attempt was made long be- fore permanent settlement was begun in the town to manufacture salt here. The journal of the Committee of Safety of this State records under date of February 7, 1777, that a committee was appointed to take steps towards starting the manufacture of the great necessity, a sample of which was furnished them.

Of the water of certain springs at Oriskie, about ten miles to the eastward of Fort Schuyler (Stanwix), and reported that, from information, it appears to the committee that nine gallons of water will make two quarts of salt.

Resolved, That said committee devise ways and means to make further experi- ments in order to ascertain the quality of said water at Oriskie; and if they are of the opinion that salt can be manufactured to advantage, that they proceed, without delay, to procure materials and employ proper persons to carry on the same. .

It is probable nothing was ever accomplished in this direction.

It is a notable fact that the first permanent settlement in this State west of the German settlements on the Mohawk River, was made on the present territory of Whitestown. The fame of the beauty of this region and the fertility of its soil had been carried eastward by the offi- cers and soldiers of the British army in the old French and Indian war, as well as by those of the Revolution, and early turned the attention of hardy pioneers in this direction The first permanent settler was Hugh White and we can do no better than quote the following story of his coming from the Jones Annals :

Hugh White removed from Middletown, Connecticut, in May, 1784, and arrived in what is now Whitestown on the 5th of June. He came by water to Albany, crossed by land to Schenectady, where he purchased a bateau, in which he made passage up the Mohawk River to the mouth of the Sauquoit Creek. His four sons, a daughter, and daughter-in-law accompanied him. When he left Middletown he sent one of his sons with two yokes of oxen by land to Albany, who arrived there about the same

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THE TOWN OF WHITESTOWN.

time as did his father. As the family proceeded up the Mohawk in the boat their teams kept even pace by land, and when they arrived at Shoemaker's, a few miles below Utica, on the south side of the river. they found many of the farms in that vicinity unoccupied, and the charred remains of dwelling houses and outbuildings told a fearful tale of the ravages committed by the Tories and savages. Judge White, looking to the means for the future subsistence of his household, stopped at this place, tilled one of the vacated fields, and planted it with corn. At the proper season the father and sons returned from their new home at the mouth of the Sau- quoit and hoed this field of corn, and in the fall they were repaid for their labor with a bountiful crop. It was harvested and brought up in their boat.

Judge White was born February 15, 1733, making him fifty-one years of age at the time of his removal. It was not, therefore, the ardor and restlessness of youth that induced him to emigrate, but that spirit of enterprise and perseverance which looked forward to the future prosperity of himself and family. The precise time at which he arrived at the place where the field of corn was planted cannot now be ascertained, but it was just before " pinkster" (Whitsunday), a movable feast which comes six weeks after "paas," or "poss,"-i. e., Easter day,-which would bring his arrival there at about the 20tli of May.

Immediately after the Revolution Judge White became one of the purchasers of Sadaqueda Patent, jointly with Zephaniah Platt, the father of the late Judge Jonas Platt, Ezra L'Hommedieu, and Melancthon Smith. By an agreement between the proprietors it was agreed that they should meet on the land in the summer of 1784, and make a survey and partition. Upon the arrival of Judge White at the mouth of the Sauquoit, a bark shanty was erected for a temporary residence. During the summer the patent was surveyed into four sections, and the particular section of each owner was decided by lot. The section drawn by Judge White being all inter- vale, he purchased of Smith the lot drawn by him in its rear, which extended to the south line of the patent upon 'the hill. By this last purchase the judge became the owner in all of about fifteen hundred acres, comprehending all the land on both sides of Sauquoit Creek, from the corner formed by the road to the Oneida factories, and the Utica Road where Lewis Berry resided for many years in Whitesboro', and ex- tending back on the hills more than a mile from the village.

After the judge had obtained this division and purchase, he at once proceeded to locate a site for a dwelling. The place selected was upon the bank which forms the eastern termination of the village green in Whitesboro', and about six rods southerly from the Utica road. The house erected was peculiar. He dug into the bank so that the lower story was underground, and then the upper was built in true primi- tive log house style. The ridge pole for the support of the roof was upheld by forked trees, cnt and set in the ground, and the roof was composed of slabs, split for that purpose from logs. This was the first house erected on the Indian and military road between Old Fort Schuyler (Utica) and Fort Stanwix.

With the arrival of several relatives of Mr. White, from Middletown, with others who were induced to come on, the new settlement of Whitestown soon became a stirring neighborhood and the central des- tination and stopping place of most of the later New England pioneers 78

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OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.

to the west. They were a hardy and a fearless band, and faced the hardships and dangers of their wilderness home with fortitude and hero- ism. The nearest mill was then at Palatine, forty miles away ; the for- ests were overrun by wild animals, and danger from the Indians at the close of the Revolution was feared and with reason. But Mr. White's sagacity and his fair treatment of the natives soon made them his firm friends. On one occasion, it is recorded, a chief demanded of him as a test of his confidence, that he would permit the chief to carry to his wigwam a little granddaughter then playing about the house and keep her until the next day. The child was entrusted to him, and tow- ards the close of the following day, when the mother had become al- most frantic with fears of treachery, the little one was safely returned decked out with Indian ornaments and garments. This incident is said to have been instrumental in creating friendship and confidence be- tween the settlers and the natives. In any event Judge White himself became extremely popular with the Indians and after much solicitation on their part, they made him a member of the Oneida nation. This carried with it a share of the salmon caught at the first fishing of the season at Fish Creek. The judge and several of his sons were duly notified in the spring following his adoption and attended the fishing, where he and each member of the family received their share of the salmon.

It will be seen that very much of the food of these pioneers was for a time the fish of the streams and the game of the forest The Indians and tories had destroyed all stock, and grain had not yet been grown. But these conditions did not long continue, and many new settlers were induced to migrate by the samples of wheat, corn and oats sent east by Judge White, and by his enthusiastic commendation of the Mohawk valley. The grain early grown by the community was much of it pounded in the well known stump mortar, rather than carry it the long journey to mill.

After a long and useful life Judge White died April 17, 1812, at the age of seventy-nine years. His familiar title was acquired through his appointment to the office of judge upon the formation of Herkimer county, and he held the position also in Oneida county. lle was twice married, but his ten children were all by his first wife. His eldest son,

619

THE TOWN OF WHITESTOWN.

Col. Daniel Clark White, accompanied his father to Whitestown and was father of the first white female child born in Oneida county ; she was Esther White, born March 15, 1785. She became the wife of Henry R. Storrs, an eminent attorney of this county, a judge and mem- , ber of congress. (See biography of White Family in Part II).

Hugh White, jr., third son of the judge, served honorably in the Revolution, accompanied his father to Whitestown, but removed to Shrewsbury, N. J., and there died. The fifth son, Philo White, was a merchant in Whitestown and at Tioga Point.

Fortune Clark White, son of Daniel C. White and grandson of the judge, was born in Whitestown July 10, 1787. He became a lawyer and was five years first judge of Oneida county. He died in 1866. Canvass White, son of Hugh White, jr., served in the army in the war of 1812, was one of the early engineers on the Erie Canal; he died in Florida.

Philo White, LL.D., son of Philo and grandson of the judge, was born in Whitesboro June 23, 1799. He was liberally educated and worked a few years in the office of Columbian Gazette in Utica. In 1820 he went to North Carolina where he was editor and owner of the Western Caro- linian, and later of the North Carolina Standard in Raleigh. From 1837 to 1844 he was paymaster in the U. S. navy. He removed to Wiscon- sin early in its territorial existence, where he held high political station. In 1854 he was made minister to Ecuador, where he remained until 1858. He died in Whitesboro.

Jonas Platt was an early settler in Whitestown, settling at Whitesboro prior to 1791, in which year he was appointed clerk of Herkimer county. Upon the organization of Oneida county he was made the first clerk ; was elected to the State Senate in 1809, and in 1814 was appointed judge of the Supreme Court of New York. As a lawyer and judge he gained high repute. He finally removed to Plattsburg and died there.

Gen. George Doolittle was among the Whitestown pioneers. He had served in the Continental army in the Revolution and was a shoemaker by trade. Locating in Whitestown in 1786, he engaged in tanning, currying and shoemaking. He was the first brigadier-general of militia in Oneida county, was supervisor of the town more than twenty years, and served in the State Legislature. He died in 1825.

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OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE.

Thomas R. Gold was a very early comer to Whitesboro, and for many years stood among the first lawyers in Central New York. He represented this district in Congress six years and from 1796 to 1800 was in the State Senate. He was prominently identified with the found- ing of the First Presbyterian church.

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Our county and its people; a descriptive work on Oneida county, New York;, Part 61

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