USA > New York > St Lawrence County > Our county and its people : a memorial record of St. Lawrence County, New York > Part 32
USA > New York > St Lawrence County > Our county and its people: a memorial record of St. Lawrence County, New York > Part 32
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The reckless manner in which the Indians sometimes conducted themselves, when camping near the settlements, caused the early set- tlers to be prepared for any emergency that might suddenly arise. Therefore every family kept fire-arms and plenty of ammunition on hand, and never ventured far from home without having an axe and their trusty gun along to protect themselves, and more especially to procure game, which was so plentiful near the settlements.
The following incident is one of many that came to light in after years, when the Indians had been far removed so that their revenge could not be inflicted upon the settlers or their friends. The pioneers did not claim to be professional hunters, and never boasted of their ex- ploits, as do the hunters and fishermen of the present day. The facts were sufficient, but through the necessity of procuring food, which con- sisted largely of fresh and dried venison, the men, as well as the women,
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HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY.
became experts in that line. Two men were out one summer day about 1806, prospecting in the vicinity of Plover Hill. They had shot a fine deer and taken the hide from the fore quarters, which part was seldom used, hanging it, with the saddles, or hind quarters, on a limb of a tree beyond the reach of wild beasts, after which they amused themselves picking berries. One of them, who had recently come from the Eastern States, and was not fully conversant with pio- neer life, leaned his rifle against a tree and began to feast himself with the tempting fruit, and before he was aware of the fact he had wan- dered quite a distance from his gun towards the site of what has since been called Camp Wheeler.
The settlers had frequently been warned by the Indians not to in- trude on what they claimed as their hunting grounds, and threatened with vengeance if they continued to do so. The report of the gun in shooting the deer had attracted an Indian to the spot, who stealthily watched the movements of the two settlers. When a favorable oppor- tunity arrived, the Indian with a war whoop started, with tomahawk in one hand and long knife in the other, in hot pursuit of the man who had left his gun leaning against a tree. The surprised man ran in the direction of his comrade, who, taking in the situation, cocked his gun and drew a bead on his companion. The Indian was fast gaining on the latter, keeping in range directly behind him, and it seemed only a matter of a few moments when he would be able to strike his victim down. Thus was the chase becoming more and more exciting, when the fleeing man suddenly jumped one side, bringing the range of the rifle to bear on the Indian. Quick as thought the rifle cracked and down dropped the big brave at the feet of his would-be victim. Now came the dilemma. Life had been taken. and though in self-defense, that plea would not be acceptable to the Indian's friends, and the only way to escape retaliation was to keep the knowledge of the act within their own breasts. They then made a detour and satisfied themselves that there was no one in sight. The next move was to conceal the body from the searching eye of the Indians. Near by they discovered a large tree that had recently blown down, the roots having taken up a large quantity of earth and left a deep hole. Into this cavity they de- posited the dead Indian with his tomahawk and knife; then chopped
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THE TOWN OF OSWEGATCHIE.
the trunk off near the roots, when the stump fell back into its original bed, covering the body from sight. After strewing leaves around the stump, they returned to the settlement, taking their venison with them. A few days later, the friends of the dead Indian made diligent search through the woods and along the river banks, watched the movements and asked the inhabitants as to their knowledge of their missing friend, but no tidings were obtained and the matter was soon forgotten.
The Ford mansion was begun in the summer of 1805, and com- pleted the next year. Mr. Ford had been too busy the preceding eight years, in laying out new roads and opening up new settlements, to look after his own comforts. As he stated, the county seat had been settled, the village was growing, the settlements were increasing and every thing looked prosperous and was moving with far less friction than before. He did not wish to locate his house in the village, where it would soon be surrounded by strangers, but rather sought seclusion, so that he could entertain his friends from New York and Montreal in quietness. He therefore located his mansion on the elevated grounds just back and a little west of the old barracks, in which he had previ- ously lived At this point he could have a fine view of the village, the mills and the beautiful St. Lawrence. The mansion property con- tained what now comprises the Second Ward of the city. The house was built of stone, one and a half stories high, with two wings facing the St. Lawrence, and was considered the best house of its day in this part of the country. This mansion served himself and his brother David for a residence about thirty years. It was afterwards used as a hotel, during which time the late ex-President U. S. Grant was its guest for a short time when stationed at Sackett's Harbor. The house with the block on which it stands was sold to the French Catholic So- ciety in 1858.
The acts of Nathan Ford were prominent in the town and county affairs, as indicated in these pages up to the time of his last illness. He had spent the best part of his life in planting a little colony on the shore of the St. Lawrence, which had grown to a populous town, thus transforming a howling wilderness, traversed only by savages and wild beasts into cultivated farms with comfortable dwellings, the homes of an intelligent, happy and prosperous people. For several years before
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HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY.
his death his constitution had been yielding to the insidious approaches of consumption ; yet the vigor of his mind remained unimpaired. From the first he had taken a deep interest in the first Christian (non secta- rian) organization, in 1805. He enjoined upon all of his friends to culti- vate peace among themselves, and not allow jealousies or dissensions to creep in among them ; that each should try to surpass in giving up his own individual or sectarian wishes for the good of the whole. A short time before his death he said: "I am drawing near the close of life; I look forward to the salvation purchased by Christ, as abundant- ly sufficient to save all who will put their trust in him."
THE FORD VAULT.
Mr. Ford was born in Morristown, N. J., December 8, 1763. He died March 29, 1829. Thus passed away the founder of Ogdensburg. His whole life was spent for the good of others. He was odd, or quaint, in some of his expressions, yet honest, benevolent and generous to a fault, and firm in his convictions of what he deemed to be right and just.
Mr. Ford had a provision in his will, that within two years after his demise, a vault should be built on the brow of the west bank of the
IV. A. Daniels.
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THE TOWN OF OSWEGATCHIE.
Oswegatchie River, above the mill dam, near the private burial plot where several of the Ford family were by that time interred ; also that the bodies be taken up, including his own, and be deposited therein. The provisions of the will were carried out in the fall of 1829. Several members of the Ford families, who have died since, have been placed in the vault. The plot contains about a quarter of an acre of land, in shape an irregular triangle, and is inclosed with a substantial stone wall with an iron gate. The place is suitably ornamented with trees and shrubbery. The vault now contains nineteen caskets, four of which are small ones. The one containing the remains of Nathan Ford rests on a stone slab in the center at the rear end of the vault, and beside this rest those of his brother David, and an uncle. The remaining caskets rest on stone shelves two tiers high on each side. The caskets are of wood, and under the corroding influence of time, are crumbling in pieces.
Up to a certain date, as before stated, the communication between the east and the west side of the Oswegatchie was either by boat or on the ice. In the summer of 1808 Mr. Aldrich was engaged to build a wooden bridge across the river on the site first laid out, for the sum of $1,500, part of which was paid by subscription, under a warrantee that the structure would stand good for five years. The abutments were built of logs, filled in with stones and earth ; three piers were sunk at equidistance between, built of logs notched together and filled in with stone. On these supports the timber structure was built. These piers below the water served for the second bridge, which was built in the summer of 1829, and also for a third one, built in 1847 by legislative provisions. In the fall of 1866 the present iron bridge was built. The contract price of this iron bridge. apart from the pier and abut- ments, was $22,000. The expense of planking and repairs has averaged about $500 per year. The old piers were removed and a new one built in the center of the river, the bottom being built of a log crib, with stone center, and solid masonry laid on the crib.
The bridge above the dam was first build of wood, principally of hemlock, in 1867, which lasted a short time only, and was replaced by the present iron bridge in the fall of 1874.
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HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY.
In the fall of 1808 David Parish purchased the unsold portion of the village plat, and immediately took measures to create, at this point, a commercial interest that should compete with any other port on the river or lakes. The same fall the firm of Rosseel & Co. was formed, sustained by the capital of Mr. Parish. The company brought on $40,000 worth of goods for mercantile operations, which were displayed in a temporary store until a permanent building could be built. That same fall Mr. Parish sent men on from New York, and began to build two schooners, one of which was launched on the 4th of July, 1809; the ceremony formed a part of the exercises of the celebration of the day. A Mr. Ogden, a lawyer from New Jersey, delivered the oration at the court house, and a dinner was prepared in the beautiful walnut grove, which was standing directly opposite the site of the present Allen hardware block.
Early in the spring of 1809 Mr. Rosseel proceeded to Montreal, where he engaged forty Canadians to work by the month, and brought them up to Ogdensburg in two bateaux, with blankets, and peas for soup. The stone building, which has been known as the Parish Stone Store, was commenced, May 7, 1809, under the direction of D. W. Church, and the Parish brick house, on the corner of State and Wash- ington streets, was commenced in June following. The bricks for this house were made on the northeast corner lot of Washington and Isabella streets This house was the northern home of the Parishes for a num- ber of years It was surrounded by a high stone wall in part, and an equally high board fence. At the corner of State and Washington streets, above the wall, was an arbor which commanded an unobstructed view of the St. Lawrence. A small door or gate in the high stone wall on State street, opened into the grounds, which were studded with trees, giving it the appearance of a small park. The paved court and kitchen garden were on Washington street, while the gardener's house and the fine stables were on Caroline street. All had an old baronial air, and one could easily imagine the entire place brought bodily from some foreign country and set down in the midst of this quiet town. George Parish occupied the house for a number of years, while attending to his business affairs in several of the towns of the county. Mr. Parish occasionally made excursions into the interior of the State, and on one
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of them he brought back to his mansion Madam Vespucci, where, in retreat from the world, she lived several years. She came to this country in 1839 on a mission which caused a great sensation at the time. She was called " the beautiful Italiano," "the Tuscan beauty " and " the fair Florentine." She figured largely among the elite of Washington society, where she was courted, feted and honored by all for a time. She was a direct descendant of Amerigo Vespucci, after whom this country was named. After Mr. Parish received his title, Baron Von Seftonberg, of Germany, he removed to that country, and died some years later. Madam Vespucci retained possession of the mansion a few years, when she returned to Europe, and died in Paris. The grounds of the old red villa, as it was some times called, were cut up into lots and sold, with other property belonging to Parish, soon after she left.
Joseph York was one of the early settlers, who came here from Clar- enden, Mass., in 1805. He was deputy sheriff three years, and for four more years was sheriff of the county. He resided at the old court house when the British took Ogdensburg. (See chapter on War of 1812-15).
Hon. Henry Van Rensselaer was also one of the active men in the town and county. He was the fourth son of Stephen Van Rensselaer, who purchased a large tract of land in Lisbon and Canton in 1795. After returning from a campaign in the Black Hawk war, Henry came to Ogdensburg in 1832, to look after his father's land estate. He suc- ceeded to the ownership and opened an office in the old county clerk's building for the sale of lands. He purchased the Washington Ford's property, and built additional wings, stables, gardens, etc., which were burned in 1846; his house, in 1854, was struck by lightning and con- sumed. He sold his property and returned to New York shortly after. In 1861 he entered the United States service, was attached to General Scott's staff, and died at Cincinnati in 1864.
The village of Ogdensburg was incorporated April 5, 1817, and was divided October 27, 1837, into four wards, as follows : First Ward con- stituted that part of the village lying north of State street and northerly of Ford street. Second Ward-that part lying easterly of Ford and westerly of State streets, on the bank of the Oswegatchie. Third Ward
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HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY.
-that part lying easterly of State street and southerly of Ford street. Fourth Ward-that part lying easterly of State street and northerly of Ford street-all being on the east side of the Oswegatchie. The village charter was amended April 29, 1839, and again June 2, 1851. By this act the boundary of the the village plat was extended easterly to the Tibbets tract in Lisbon, and westerly across the Oswegatchie to the lands of Henry Van Rensselaer, and about one mile back from the St. Lawrence. It was divided into three wards, as follows: First Ward included all the territory between the Oswegatchie River and Gertrude street ( which name was changed to Franklin, May 27, 1824 ). Second Ward included all west of the Oswegatchie. Third Ward included all the territory below Franklin street. The officers of the village consisted of a president, one trustee and an assessor from each ward, a police justice, a collector, and one or more constables ; a chief engineer and two assistants, and one or more street commissioners ; all to be elected annually on the first Tuesday in April. A fire department was organ- ized in 1820, and a company formed in July, 1827. In 1853 the village owned three hand fire engines; a fourth was owned by private indi- viduals and a fifth later on by the O and L C. Railroad Company.
In the summer of 1838 a market house was built on leased grounds, known as Diamond Square, on Catharine street, size 24 by 80 feet. The stalls were sold from $9.00 to $15.50 each per year. The year previous to the erection of the market the board fixed the price of bread as follows : One pound loaf, 614 cents; two pound loaf, 1212 cents ; and a four pound loaf, 25 cents.
A town clock was placed in the steeple of the Presbyterian church, December 3, 1841, at a cost of $375, exclusive of freight and putting up.
The village charter was amended December 27, 1843, and at the following annual meeting ( April 12 ) the village was reported to be out of debt, with a surplus of $41.93.
In the summer of 1847 an engine house was built on a lot near the academy, 22 by 40 feet, at a cost of $220, and a new fire engine was purchased at $300. At the first election under the new charter, held June 20, 1851, three trustees were elected in place of only one pre - viously, and a police justice at a salary of $200 per year, which was subsequently raised to $300, and later to $400. The street commis-
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sioners' pay was to be $1.25 per day for actual services rendered. January 25, 1853, a by-law was passed, making it unlawful to erect wooden buildings in certain places, and two ferries to Prescott were es- tablished. July 10, 1854, permission was given to the gas company to erect gas works and lay pipes in the streets ; also $200 were raised to light the streets one year, and thirty-eight places were designated for lamp posts. There were at the charter election of that year, 841 votes cast in the First Ward, 868 in the Second, and 855 in the Third.
September 12, 1854, Robert Willson, the notorious firebug, presented a bill for damages done his property at a fire set by himself, for $4.50, which was allowed.
April 13, 1855, the present cemetery lot on State road was pur- chased of John Goodrich at $1,300. At the same time the old bury- ing ground was transferred to the village, and in 1861 it was trans- formed into a park. The Mansion Square park was established in August, 1851. In May, 1857, Ford street was ordered to be macad- amized and $4.000 were raised for the purpose. Also $3,000 raised to purchase a steam fire engine.
April 19, 1859, the hay and wood market was established on Isabella street.
Previous to the opening of the Oswego canal the communication be- tween Ogdensburg, Montreal and Quebec by boats and rafts was large, which in 1832 spread the Asiatic cholera in the summer rapidly. The first case of cholera occurred in Quebec June 8; at Montreal on the 14th, and in Ogdensburg on the 17th. The first fatal case occurred on the 21st of June, a Frenchman of dissipated habits. Cases followed in quick succession ; first here, to-morrow at a point half a mile distant, and next day in a new quarter equally remote. Quarantine grounds were established, at first at the mouth of the Oswegatchie, and after- wards at Mile Point, the site of the present O. & L. C. depot, where craft from Canada were to be detained fifteen days The precise data of the mortality of the cholera at Ogdensburg were not preserved by the physicians and the records of the board of health were lost. The num- ber of cases reported was about 160, and of deaths forty-nine. In 1834 the cholera reappeared, but only about a dozen cases were re- ported, of whom seven died. The only visitation of Asiatic cholera
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HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY.
since then was in 1854, when it was very severe. It was introduced in Ogdensburg by emigrants from Europe on board of vessels passing up the St. Lawrence River. The report of the health officers was 105 deaths in the village, mostly among the railroad laborers and others of a similar class. The mortality was fully fifty per cent. of those at- tacked.
A most destructive fire occurred at Ogdensburg on the night of the 16th of April, 1839, by which a large portion of the business places in the village was burned. The loss was nearly $100,000. The irritation caused by the Patriot war along the frontier led to the suspicion that the fire was the work of an incendiary. On the morning of the Ist of September, 1852, another fire occurred, consuming a large amount of property on Ford and Isabella streets, extending from the store of G. N. Seymour nearly to Washington street. Shortly after this two other fires occurred which burned a large amount of property on Ford street, including the St. Lawrence Herald and the Republican printing offices, and the entire premises belonging to the Hasbrouck estate with the his- toric house and barn shown on page 134. The people became satisfied that a fire bug was at work, and a watch was instituted which soon re- sulted in E. W. Benedict detecting a man setting fire to a building about 2 o'clock in the morning. The criminal proved to be Robert Willson, whose wife was also engaged with him in stealing and secreting goods. The two were convicted of arson and sent to State prison, where both of them died. Mrs. Willson was sent for five years, and died in the fourth year ; Mr. Willson was sent to prison for life. Mr. Benedict was rewarded by the grateful citizens of Ogdensburg with a gold watch and various sums of money for his persistent efforts in searching out and detecting the culprit.
Capital Crimes or Executions .- The people of Ogdensburg and vicin- ity, unlike some frontier towns having a mixed population, have always been noted as law-abiding citizens. This may be accounted for from the fact that the pioneers were men of culture, and had a healthy in- fluence on the community ; therefore the place was never disgraced by a resort to lynch law for gross outrages. The first and only death pen- alty inflicted in Ogdensburg was upon the person of Louis Conard, otherwise called Jean Baptist Gerteau. His crime was the killing of Mrs. Scarborough, her infant child and a French lad, named Macue,
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his own brother-in-law. The deed was committed in the town of Louis- ville, about a mile from Massena village, early on the morning of Feb- ruary 22, 1816. Mr. Michael Scarborough had incautiously displayed a large sum of money in the presence of Gerteau (who was living in the neighborhood) and had gone away from home on business. Gerteau slept in a barn that night and at day dawn arose and entered the house cautiously, exchanging a scythe for an axe which he found by the door, passed through the room where Macue was sleeping in a bed on the floor, and entered the room where Mrs. Scarborough with her two chil- dren were sleeping. He took the money from its place in the corner of a drawer and might have made his escape unobserved, but fearing detection, he slew his victims with the axe, and, after feasting himself on cakes and sweetmeats, took the money, amounting to some $22, fastened the door of the house and fled by a circuitous route towards St. Regis. About sunrise some neighbors, on going to the house, were sur- prised to find the door fastened and a track in the new-fallen snow leading from the house. Looking into the window they observed the corpse of one of the victims, and the door was forced open and the alarm given.
A party started on the murdurer's track, and occasional traces of blood mixed with snow were discovered, as though it had been washed from the hands and clothing. The ruffian was overtaken about two miles from St. Regis, and on being brought back to the scene of slaughter, he acknowledged the crime and related the details of the shocking bar- barity. He was taken to jail at Ogdensburg and tried at the Circuit Court of Oyer and Terminer, July 3, 1816, William Van Ness, one of the justices of the Supreme Court, presiding. Nathan Ford was the first judge; Russell Atwater and Robert Livingston, judges; Caleb Hough and Jason Fenton, justices. The grand jury presented three separate indictments on the first day of their session, and upon being arraigned the prisoner pleaded not guilty to each. He was found guilty and sentenced to be hanged in public on Friday, the 12th, fol- lowing, between the hours of [ and 3 P. M., and his body delivered to the Medical Society of this county to be made use of as they saw fit .*
* This inhuman wretch had procured, in anticipation of his horrible crime, a bottle of whisky. He said in his confession : " I raise dat axe up to strike der woman, but I could not do it. I say to
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The punishment of such a shocking and heartless crime called to- gether an immense crowd to witness it.
The following incidents were related to the writer by an eye witness ( Henry Plumb ). The gallows was erected some twelve feet high, un- der an oak tree on the southwest corner of block No. 1I, facing Wash- ington and Elizabeth streets, it being at that time a common. The platform of the gallows was hinged at one end to the upright post, and the other end was held in position by a cord. Joseph York was the sheriff and D. C. Judson, the deputy. W. Lytle was sergeant of the guard, which was composed of twelve men detailed for the purpose from a military company. Everything being ready, Mr. York rode up to cut the cord with a sword, but through nervousness and shying of his horse, he made several ineffectual attempts to do so and finally had to dismount and finish the work with a hatchet. The haggled cord slowly gave way and the prisoner slided gradually down to the length of his rope, without a sudden jerk, and while writhing under strangulation, Mr. York nervously called out : "For God's sake, cannot some one put this man out of his misery ?" A young doctor from Lisbon standing near by, caught the culprit by his feet and gave him a jerk which tightened the rope about his neck and thus shortened his sufferings. This act so incensed the people against the doctor that he was obliged to seek an- other field to practice in. The body was hurriedly cut down and taken in a cart to a dry- house near the sawmill on the west side, and laid on a table, and while the flesh was yet quivering one of the doctors made an incision with his knife in the vital part of the body before commenc- ing to dissect it. Our informant further stated that a few days after he was fishing in the river near the dry-house, when his hook caught hold of something, which upon drawing it out of the water, proved to be a piece of the flesh of Gerteau which the doctors had thrown into the river.
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