Our county and its people : a memorial record of St. Lawrence County, New York, Part 58

Author: Curtis, Gates
Publication date: 1894
Publisher: Syracuse, N.Y. : D. Mason
Number of Pages: 1328

USA > New York > St Lawrence County > Our county and its people : a memorial record of St. Lawrence County, New York > Part 58
USA > New York > St Lawrence County > Our county and its people: a memorial record of St. Lawrence County, New York > Part 58

Note: The text from this book was generated using artificial intelligence so there may be some errors. The full pages can be found on Archive.org (link on the Part 1 page).

Christopher G. Stowe, Martin Barney, Milo Brewer and several others came in and began improvements in 1810, but the families of Hall and Judson were the only ones who remained through the winter. In 1811 several other families came in, and among those and others of later years who have been prominent in the community, may be mentioned Moses B and Col. Ira Hale, Joel Farnsworth, Divan R. Rich, father of Silas F. and Hiram Rich, Denis Kingsbury, Sylvester C. Kingsley, Henry, John, William and Aaron Blanchard, Ephraim P. Raymond, Nathaniel F. Winslow, Joseph Cummings, Perry C. Bixby, Amos Kimball, C. C. Elms, Chauncey L. Shepard, son of Maj. Bohan Shep- ard, Osmund Farwell, John Patterson, Samuel Adams, David C. Clin- ton, Wetmore Adoniram Lockwood. Ichabod Whitcomb, Lewis and Daniel Small, Fisher F. Ames, Amos W. Palmer, William W. Grandy, Lot and Jones Bradish, William L Gadding, Ebenezer S. Sanburn, Elisha W. Barber, Roswell Hutchins, Julius and James Grant, the pioneers of what has since 1838 been known as the "Grant Settlement,"

626

HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY.

on and around lots 72 and 73. Of these Messrs. Bixby, Shepard (on the place now occupied by his grandson, George B.), Farwell, Adams, Whitcomb (still living at the age of ninety), Grandy (who kept a hotel), Hutchins and others located on or near the village site.

The first white child born in the town was Roscius W., son of Eben Judson, now a lawyer and a prominent citizen of Ogdensburg, who was born August 7, 1810 The first death was that of Eben Judson, father of Roscius, who passed away June 29, 1813. Dr. Lemuel Win- slow settled as the first physician in the town in 1811, coming from Williston, Vt. The first road opened was the one leading toward Mas- sena in 1810.

As far as this territory was concerned, the War of 1812 produced little effect, aside from the general forebodings prevalent throughout all this section and runiors of Indian raids. The town was still a part of Louisville, and the reader is referred to the history of that town for the part taken by the inhabitants in our last struggle with a foreign nation.

No event of great importance has occurred in the town since its or- ganization, aside from the part it was called upon to take in the War of the Rebellion. In that memorable struggle the inhabitants showed a patriotic willingness to aid the government and sent to the front about forty men, whose deeds are their best monument. While in manufac- turing industries it perhaps cannot be said that the town has fulfilled the ardent expectations of its earlier inhabitants, in other directions it ranks among the more prosperous communities in the county. Its am -. ple water power on the Raquette River, which led to the construction of seven or eight dams and various mills and factories, gave the inhab- itants the right to hope for a great degree of prosperity from that source ; that this has not been realized is due to several causes, chief among them being the absence of early railroad facilities. As a dairy town, however, it is excelled by few, the product being almost wholly butter of high quality. There are four successful factories in the town and none for the manufacture of cheese. The further account of the in- dustries is given in the pages of village history following.

A list of the supervisors of the town follows, with dates of their terms of service :

1823, Christopher G. Stowe ; 1824-29, Phineas Atwater: 1830-31, William Blake; 1832-33, P. Atwater; 1834-36, William Blake; 1837, Norman Sackrider ; 1838, Will-

627

THE TOWN OF NORFOLK.

iam Blake; 1839, N. Sackrider; 1840-41, Hiram Atwater ; 1842-45, Ira Hale ; 1846- 47, Giles I. Hall; 1848-49, Calvin Elms; 1850-51, Nathaniel F. Beals ; 1851-54, Chris- tian Sackrider ; 1855, Giles J. Hall; 1856, John Yale; 1857-59, Lewis Small ; 1860, Horatio S. Munson ; 1861, William Glosson ; 1862-65, John R. Brinkerhoff ; 1866-68, Edwin H. Atwater ; 1869-75, Joseph C. Mould; 1876-77, Edwin H. Atwater ; 1878-80, S. J. Farnsworth; 1881-83, Edwin H. Atwater; 1884, Henry D. Carpenter ; 1885, E. H. Atwater; 1886, S. J. Farnsworth; 1887-94, Oscer H. Hale.

Norfolk Village .- As has already been stated, the first settlement on the site of the village was made by Judge Russell Atwater, who came from Russell, in 1816. In June of the previous year he had purchased one half of the Morris tract and the west half of 88 in Louisville. This tract had been assigned to James D. Le Ray in a partition of lands and sold by him to Gouverneur Morris. A clearing of ten acres had been made for Le Ray in the lower part of the village site in 1811, and there a crop of wheat was raised the following year. Mr. Atwater built a large stone mill in the year of his arrival ; it was burned and rebuilt and is now owned by Warren Dyke, having passed through various hands in the meantime, but recently passed to the possession of Mein & Baxter.

The mill drew around it other settlers and the hamlet slowly took on the character of a small but enterprising village. Among those who have in the past years contributed in a conspicuous manner to the pros- perity and the moral progress of the village may be mentioned Norman and Christian Sackrider, Julius Judson, Thomas and Joseph C. Mould, William Atwater, M. D., Hiram Atwater, Timothy W. Osborne, Ros- well Hutchins, Solomon Sartwell, Martin Beach, John P. and Henry A. Wetmore and the Robinson brothers, with others.

The Phoenix Iron Company, under the firm of E. Keyes & Co., was formed October 7, 1825, and the following year built a furnace on the north bank in the village, for making pig iron from bog ores which ex- isted abundantly in swamps of this and neighboring towns. It passed through several hands and was run about four months in a year till 1844, when it was burned by an incendiary. It produced about twelve tons daily, and was lined with sandstone. In 1846 a forge was built by Will- iam Plake, a little above the furnace, and run two or three years, until it was burned.

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HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY.

Other manufactures that have been operated in the village were a tannery, operated by a Mr. Griffith, which was abandoned about 1870 ; also several shingle mills, two being in operation now, one in connec- tion with the saw mill by E. W. Bemis and the other by Matthais Van Zandt. A tannery at East Norfolk, or Slab City, was in existence for many years, but was finally burned and was not rebuilt. A starch factory was started in 1874, but was not in operation long. In 1868 H. S. Martin purchased the sash factory of E. H. & L. L Atwater and remodeled it into a hub factory, it being the first one started in the county. It was burned in 1870, was rebuilt and operated about a year, then transferred to Norwood. Besides, there have been the usual com- plement of small shops.

Of the village in 1853 Mr. Hough wrote as follows, which will indi- cate the former ardent hopes of the people :

The village of Norfolk possesses manufacturing facilities which are destined to render it a place of much importance. The Raquette River here has a descent of about 70 feet within a mile, passing over three dams already erected, and affording opportunity for at least four more, at each of which the whole volume of the river could be used. Below the upper dam the channel is divided by an island of about two acres in extent, which affords facilities for the erection of dams at its head and its foot, and the water could be diverted to either side or used upon both sides of the island and the main shore. At the foot of the island the water turns to the left, and the bank on the inside of the bend is so low and flat, and but little elevated above high water mark, while that on the outside of the bend is an elevated plain of easy ascent, and abruptly terminating

upon the river. * * * Throughout the whole extent the bed of the river is formed of limestone, affording at the same time a secure foundation for building, and the mate- rials for erecting walls. Lime made of this stone is of good quality.

There are two general stores in the village, one formerly kept by G. A. Mowitt having gone out of business. The larger one is that of Ambrose E. Sayles and E. H. Atwater, and the other is kept by E. B. Fairchild and A. Branchaud.

In 1852 the town voted $650 for a town house, which was built in the village, of brick, 40 x 60 feet, with a wide piazza in front. This building was subsequently burned and the present one was erected in 1871. It is one of the finest in the county in the smaller towns and cost $3,000. Two handsome iron bridges span the river, one in the village and the other one-half mile below. The large brick hotel

629

THE TOWN OF NORFOLK.

was built by E. H. and L. L. Atwater, and is now kept by James Cullimore. The postmaster and justice of the peace is C. A. King.

Raymondville .- Spafford's Gazeteer, published in 1813, has this par- agraph :

The village of Racketon is a new and flourishing settlement, forming in the southeast part of the town, at the head of bateau navigation on the Raquette River, twenty miles from its confluence with the St. Lawrence. At this place, immediately above the landing, is a fall of the waters of the Raquette River of about fifteen feet, and excellent accommodations for hydraulic works. Racketon is about twenty-five miles east of Ogdensburg; and uniting its advantages for good navigation to the St. Lawrence with those of its central position in a rich and fertile country, must become a rich and popu- lons place.

Alas ! for the errors of the prophets. A bridge was built across the the river at this point in 1814, and Judge Raymond, entertaining high anticipations for the future of his village, moved his family here in 1816 and they lived here several years. From him the inhabitants named the village Raymondville. Joseph Clark and William Coats were early residents of the village, the former being a wagon maker and the latter an extensive brick maker, an industry which is still in operation by members of his family. The first brick yard was established in 1817 by Erastus Hall; it was about half a mile below the village. A woolen factory was conducted for many years, passed through various hands to W. S Bennett. It was badly damaged by the great freshet in 1891 and the proprietor took it into another building and it is now in operation. The grist mill has been in operation many years and is now abandoned ; it was owned by John and James Donnelly. William Coats has a saw mill and shingle mill. A starch factory which was carried on for a few years by N. C. Bowen of Moira, N. Y., is now abandoned, A beau- tiful one-span iron bridge, taking the place of two other iron bridges having a center pier which were swept away by floods, crosses the river here and has withstood the floods about ten years. It cost $10,000. The postmaster is Simon N. Babcock.

A part of the hamlet of Yaleville is in this town in the southwest corner. There have recently been established there by O. E. Martin, an extensive pulp making industry which turns out twelve tons of wet pulp per day, and is noticed in the history of the town of Potsdam. A

630

HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY.

foundry and a saw mill once in operation there are not now in use. A grist mill is now in use there.

Religious Societies .- The first settlers living in the lower part of the town, were not church members, but men of moral worth. By com- mon consent they assembled on the Sabbath at some one of their homes for religious worship. They sang hymns, read the Scriptures and a select sermon, then returned to their homes without stopping to visit. In the year 1811 a Congregational missionary, named Seth Burt, came from Massachusetts and left some religious books. Rev. James John- son, from Potsdam, and Rev. Mr. Winchester, from Madrid, who also were Congregationalists, occasionally visited the community and held meetings at Raymondville. After Mr. Atwater's grist mill was far enough advanced, he fitted up the upper story for divine worship. A Congregational church was organized July 1, 1817, by Rev. Royal Phelps, acting as missionary, assisted by Rev. John Ransom of Hopkin - ton, with seventeen members. Meetings were held in the grist mill, school house and elsewhere previous to the building of the church. The society was incorporated February 20, 1828, with G. C. Stowe, Martin Beach, E. S. Tambling, William Blake, Philemon Kellogg and John C. Putnam, trustees. The Rev. Loring Brewster was installed as the first pastor, in April of that year. A re-organization was effected Decem- ber 12, 1840, and in that year the church was erected at a cost of $3,000. The membership is less than 100, and the pulpit is supplied from the church at Norwood.

A Congregational church was organized at Raymondville March 12, 1828, as a branch of the parent church at Norfolk. The society showed little vitality until 1844, when they joined with the Methodists and erected a union brick church at a cost of $3,000. Since that time ser- vices in both denominations have been kept up with commendable reg- ularity, but the membership is small.

The parish of Grace (Episcopal) church was at first organized in Nor- folk, in 1825, by Rev. Seth M. Beardsley, a missionary. Services were kept up until July, 1836, when they were discontinued until March, 1842, at which time the church was reorganized under Rev. John A. Childs. On the 30th of July, 1845, the corner-stone of the present church was laid on a lot purchased by the vestry. Its massive walls of stone and

631

THE TOWN OF BRASHER.

its peculiar architecture make it a quaint landmark. The membership is small, but services have been kept up with commendable regularity. Rev. Mr. Earl is the present pastor.

The Methodist church was organized April 19, 1831, with Royal Sheldon, Lucius Chandler, Justus Webber, Hiram Johnson, and Eben- ezer Houghton, as trustees. After nine years of faithful work the so- ciety reorganized February 10, 1840, and built their first house of worship, which they sold to the Catholic society in 1868, and built their present edifice. The church is now prosperous, and is at the present time ministered to by Rev. S. S. Short.

The Catholic church was organized in the summer of 1868, when they purchased the old Methodist church building and refitted it for their use. The first pastor was Father Swift. The society has pros- pered and has a membership of between 400 and 500. The present priest in charge is Father Fitzgerald.

CHAPTER XXXIX.

THE TOWN OF BRASHER-ORGANIZED IN 1825.

T HIS was the nineteenth town erected by an act of the Legislature passed April 21, 1825, formerly under the jurisdiction of Massena. The town embraces most of the townships of Grange and Crumack. By an act of April 1, 1827, all that part of Chesterfield (No. 16) north of the south line of Stockholm extended to the county line was added to Brasher, without the knowledge and consent of its inhabitants. This was taken from the town in the formation of Lawrence in 1828. The town lies in the northeast corner of the county, bordering on Franklin county, and corners on the Indian reservation, St. Regis, and lies in the rear of Massena. The first town meeting was held at the house of Ben- jamin Nevin on the 6th of June, 1825, and the following officers were elected : Benjamin Nevin, supervisor ; Daniel McMurphy, town clerk ; William Stowell, Jehiel Stevens, and Benjamin Watts, assessors ; John Burrows, David Richardson, and Peter Corbin, commissioners of high-

632

HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY.

ways ; Benjamin Watts, constable and collector ; Francis Nevin, and David Richardson, overseers of the poor ; Luman Kibbe. Jehiel Ste- vens, and Francis Nevin, commissioners of common schools; David McMurphy, Benjamin Nevin, and William Stowell, inspector of schools.

The town was named in honor of Philip Brasher, of Brooklyn, who at various dates purchased portions of the territory from the heirs of Thomas Marston, who had acquired his title from G. V. Ludlow, mas- ter in chancery, on the 18th of March, 1809. The town was sub-divided into three strips running north and south, and, according to Dr. Hough, McCormick, one of the proprietors, conveyed to Joseph Pitcairn by deed dated July 6, 1818, the middle part, and under this proprietor the first settlement began. The eastern part, which is known as the Chand- ler tract, of 12,235 acres, was conveyed by McCormick to Samuel Ward December 15, 1794, and formed a part of 192.000 acres, to which the latter became entitled on a division of the great purchase. It passed thence to Samuel Havens, of Dedham, Mass., December 6, 1806, and in 1834 the tract was surveyed into thirty-three lots and sold August 10, 1842, to T. P. Chandler. The west third was confirmed by McCormick, Constable, and Macomb, to Harrison and others, in a partition executed January 19, 1801. It ultimately became owned by Thomas Marston, and (as before stated), passed to Brasher.

The surface of the town is generally level, swampy in places, and was originally well timbered, the cutting of the soft woods forming for many years a principal source of revenue. The soil is a sandy loam, varying greatly in productiveness and generally better adapted to grazing than to tillage. Both the Deer and the St. Regis Rivers flow northerly across the town until they unite, when the latter flows northeasterly. Several smaller streams, among them Squeak Brook, contribute to the drainage of the town.

The town was not settled until a comparatively recent date, the first improvement being the building of a saw mill on the Deer River, a short way above the site of the iron works, by G. B. R. Gove in 1815. On the 17th of March, 1817, the first settlement was made near the site of Helena village by a company of men brought in by Mr. McCormick, through his agent, Russell Atwater, of Norfolk. In May, 1819, when Benjamin Nevin came to the town, the following comprised the perma-

633

THE TOWN OF BRASHER.

nent settlers : William Johnson, Amos Eldridge, Jeremiah Shuff (or Schoff), Enoch Hall, Francis Brown, and Francis Nevin, most of whom were located near the site of Helena. There the first birth oc- curred, a son of the Schoff's. Robert Means was an early settler, and the first blacksmith ; James Nicholson was the first miller, and James Platt the first carpenter. Other settlers are mentioned a little farther on.

In the early years of the town the inhabitants were compelled to give much time to the improvement of the roads, which were difficult to con- struct and often almost impassable over the level tracts. Seven road districts were formed at the first town meeting, and Enoch Hall, Henry Hammill, Francis Nevin, Minor Hilyard, John Keenan, Joseph Macum- ber, Justin Bell, and William Arnold were appointed overseers. Ener- getic work and frequent sub-divisions of these districts have resulted in a commendable system of highways. The streams have also been well bridged, those over the St. Regis at Helena, erected in 1871 at a cost of over $10,000, and at the iron works, being excellent examples of modern iron bridge construction.

We quote the following from Dr. Hough relative to early navigation of the St. Regis :

Some importance was at an early day attached to the navigation of the St. Regis River in this town, and a boat capable of carrying ten barrels of potash was run be- tween Hogansburg and the landing, seven miles below Brasher Falls. The inhabitants of Stockholm and Hopkinton availed themselves of this communication in reaching market. To promote this, an act of March 25, 1828, made it the duty of the assessors of the town of Brasher to designate in their next assessment all lands lying west of and within two miles of the St. Regis River, and above the place usually called the landing. The Board of Supervisors were authorized from this to levy a tax not exceeding twenty cents on an acre, in addition to the ordinary tax to be expended by the road commis- sioners of the town in improving the roads through these lands.

The schools received a proper degree of attention from the early inhabitants, and the cause of education has always been liberally sup- ported. The town is now divided into twenty-two districts, and the district embracing Brasher Falls and the one in the town of Stockholm adjoining, including the village of Winthrop, united about ten years ago in establishing a graded school and erected a handsome brick structure midway between the two places. Here an excellent graded

634

HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY.

school with five departments, under the principalship of William H. Adams, is now conducted, with about 165 scholars in attendance. A successful Catholic school is also in operation in Brasher Falls.

What is known as the Quaker settlement was begun in 1824 by Peter Corbin, John Phelps and David Blowers, who were from Vermont. A company of Quakers had made purchases here prior to the above date, with the purpose of founding a colony, but the project did not succeed. To those above named were soon added Aaron Chamberlain, E. and U. Pease, Thomas Kinney, Samuel Chambers and his sons Charles, James, George and Thomas, Richard Tyner, Samuel, Thomas, George and William Kingston, Elijah and Abiah Wood, Asa Tyler, Abel Kel- sey, and others. Joseph Merrill came here in 1830 and opened a store and operated an ashery. A large school was taught here from 1830, and a large plank building erected for it, which was also used for religious meetings. A Methodist class was formed and a parsonage erected, but the work was long ago abandoned. In common with all this section the farming community have for some years given a large share of their attention to dairying, and the production of butter in the town is now very important, and the quality enjoys a high reputation. There are nine butter factories in operation, and the industry is on the increase.

With the outbreak of the Civil War the inhabitants of this town adopted prompt and efficient measures to aid the government in putting down the rebellion. A special meeting was held at Brasher Falls Au- gust 30, 1862, to take action for raising the quota of volunteers. David Nevin, O. D. Edgerton, Joseph A. Jacobs, Elijah Wood, C. T. Hul- burd, Harrison Lowell and William Curtis were appointed a committee to act in the matter, and they advised that a tax of $3,500 be levied to be used in obtaining recruits. At a meeting held December 21, 1863, a committee of twelve reported in favor of the issue by the town of certificates, sufficient to pay $400 to each volunteer, the gross amount of the certificates not to exceed $16,000. This liberal action was con- tinued until the last quota was filled, on a similar basis to that followed in the older and more important towns. Following is a list of the supervisors of the town from its formation to the present, with their years of service :

635

THE TOWN OF BRASHER.

1825, Benjamin Nevin ; 1826-28, Jehiel Stevens ; 1829, B. Nevin ; 1830, J. Stevens ; 1831-33, Benjamin Nevin ; 1834, Jehiel Stevens; 1835-36, David Richardson ; 1837 -38, Nicholas Watts; 1839-41, Jehiel Stevens; 1842-43, John Phelps; 1844-47, Jo- seph A. Jacobs ; 1848-49, John Phelps; 1850-51, James H. Morse ; 1852-53, Hannibal Andrews; 1854-55, Owen Partridge; 1856-58, Horace Houghton; 1859-60, C. T. Hulburd; 1861, Joseph A. Jacobs; 1862-64, David Nevin; 1865-66, Jehiel Stevens ; 1867-68, Barnaby Lantry; 1869, C. T. Hulburd; 1870-73, Barnaby Lantry ; 1874-79, George Kingston ; 1880-81, William A. Hamlin ; 1882, Allen M. Mears; 1883-85, Cal- vin T. Fletcher; 1868-88, John F. Skinner; 1889-90, Rolla M. Hill; 1891, Lewis C. Long ; 1892-3, Bertram Hazen; 1893-4, Charles C. Lantry.

Following are the names of the principal town officers elected for 1893 : Supervisor, Charles C. Lantry ; clerk, John H. McCarthy ; jus- tices. George H. Butler, A. A. Baldwin, H. Chamberlain, Bernard Scullin ; commissioner of highways, Patrick E. Murray ; assessor, 'James J. Keenan ; collector, Daniel J. O'Brien; overseer of poor, William Roper.

Helena .- In May, 1819, Benjamin Nevin succeeded to the agency of lands in the town. As the little settlement in his locality grew it was given the name Helena, from Helen, only daughter of Joseph Pitcairn, who proposed passing his summers here. He built a large stone man- sion on the left hand of the St. Regis, opposite the settlement. Domes- tic affliction prevented him from carrying out his plan. Some of the first settlers have been mentioned, and others were Morris Gehan, Neil McIntyre, John Bonar, Robert Means, James Nicholson, and others, who came in the spring of 1817. Francis Nevin came soon after Ward and his brother Benjamin in 1819, succeeding Atwater as agent. John Nevin, father of Francis and Benjamin, with his other sons, Holmes and David, came in 1820. His family was for many years prominent in the town. Other settlers of a later date were James Platt, Benjamin Watts, David McMurphy, and the Lantry, Houghton, Brown, Wait and Hall families. The saw mill on the river before mentioned is long since gone. A run of stones was added to it and it sufficed for grind- ing until Benjamin Nevin built his mill. This was burned in 1828, and he immediately rebuilt it, and it is running at the present time, after various improvements, by Samuel Baxter. The saw mill site was oc- cupied by the third mill, but it is not now in operation. A tannery was carried on for about thirty years near the village by A. and L. Bur- gett, but it has gone out of use. A store was opened here in 1823 by

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Our county and its people : a memorial record of St. Lawrence County, New York, Part 58

Author: Curtis, Gates Publication date: 1894 Publisher: Syracuse, N.Y. : D. Mason Number of Pages: 1328

Author: Curtis, Gates
Publication date: 1894
Publisher: Syracuse, N.Y. : D. Mason
Number of Pages: 1328