Our county and its people : a memorial record of St. Lawrence County, New York, Part 9

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 9
USA > New York > St Lawrence County > Our county and its people: a memorial record of St. Lawrence County, New York > Part 9

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).

HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY.

are now enjoying the fruits of cultivated fields, elegant homes, good roads, and means of rapid transportation, which have grown out of those feeble beginnings of the first settlers.

When it became known to the people of the east that the British troops had evacuated Fort Oswegatchie, and Mr. Ogden, through his agent, Mr. Ford, had taken possession of this place, began to build mills, lay out and work roads through a portion of the most valuable lands, people from various parts came to look over the situation with a view of selecting places on which to settle. The beautiful St. Law- rence, with its chain of navigable lakes, attracted many to undertake the hazardous task and endure the privations that must necessarily fol- low the pioneer in settling along the banks of this noble river.

It was customary when a new settlement was to be commenced in the woods at any considerable distance from civilization, for two or three men to visit the place in order to select the most desirable places to locate. Mr. Ford allowed the settlers at first to choose their loca- tions. after which he had the land surveyed into such lots as they desired. Their choice of lands at first were the maple and beech ridges, as the dry ground was more certain to produce an early crop. After these arrangements were completed the men returned to their homes, when half a dozen or more would join in the enterprise and go back to the woods to begin the settlement. Their outfit consisted of pocket knives, whet stones, chopping axes, iron wedges, a saw, augurs, a few nails, a frying pan, a bake kettle, pail, cups, tin plates, blankets, salt and flour. Meats were easily procured from game near the camp.

On arriving at the place selected, they first built what was termed a hunter's shanty, which was readily made by placing a pole about eight feet high against two small trees, and leaning others on either side against it, the lower ends resting on the ground. This frame was then covered with hemlock or cedar boughs, one end being left open, and cots were made of the same material to sleep on. In front of the door a few stones were properly arranged in which to build a fire for cooking food. A bright or blazing fire was usually kept burning all night as a protection against wild beasts. Each person having selected his lot began his work by what is termed underbrushing ; that is, he cut the saplings and brushwood and piled them in heaps. Having no ox

THE PIONEER'S EXPERIENCE.

team to haul the large logs together, they planned what were termed " windrows," by felling the large trees in one direction, and one upon another as far as possible. The smaller trees that could not be thus treated were cut into such lengths as five or six men could carry, and dumped into the thin places on the heaps. After the men had chopped a few days, for a change of work they all joined and piled up the logs. In this manner the work went on until each one had two or more acres cut and piled ready to set on fire. The fallows were usually set on fire at the same time, as no one could chop in the dense smoke that arose from the burning brush wood. The first burn usually consumed the greater part of the heaps, after which the brands were repiled and reburned, until all the timber was in ashes. The next move made, in case the season was not too far advanced, was to plant a patch of corn and potatoes ; but if too late, they sowed fall or winter wheat. The process of planting corn or potatoes in new fallows, was to make a hole in the ground between and around the stumps with the " bit " of an axe, drop in the seed, and cover with the foot. The wheat was sowed broadcast between the stumps and raked in with a wooden tooth rake, usually made on the spot.

The next in order was to erect a log shanty near the center of the clearing, or away from the reach of trees which were liable to be blown down. The size of the shanty depended somewhat on the number in the family to occupy it, but usually twelve by sixteen feet square and one story high. The roof single and of sufficient pitch, and covered with either boughs, bark or troughs, which were dug from split logs. The floor was laid on the ground with bark or split slabs. A few stone were laid up at one end, or corner of the house, for a fire place, the ground serving for a hearth, and a hole left in the roof to allow the smoke to escape. The door was usually made of split slabs, and with strong wood hinges, with a heavy latch bar extending nearly across the door, and dropped into a strong wooden catch, securely fastened to the door post. A raw hide thong was fastened to the latch bar, passed through a small hole higher up in the door, so that by it the bar could be lifted out of the notch, and the door opened from without. By drawing in the latch string the door was barred to outsiders. From this originated the poetry of the log cabin and "our latch string is

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HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY.

out" has become a classic expression of cordial hospitality. One or two holes were cut in the walls and covered with greased paper (in ab- sence of glass) to admit light. The cracks between the logs were stopped with split strips of wood and calked with moss from trees. Benches to sit on and tables to eat from were made of split slabs with wood pegs to support them. The beds were either made on the floor or on racks consisting of long pegs driven into the logs at one corner of the shanty and covered with evergreen boughs. The shanties be- ing thus finished, one or two of the men remained to look after their claims, while the others returned to their old homes for their families.

During the absence of the men their wives were busy making clothes and preparing to go to the forest homes. The culinary utensils were limited to a pot, skillet, bake kettle, a few iron spoons, knives and forks, and a few tin dishes.

Parties coming in by the way of Vermont could get conveyances as far as Plattsburg. From that point they made their way through the woods on foot, carrying a pack on their backs, guided by Indian trails or blazed trees, sleeping in hunter's shanties or on boughs gathered for the occasion. This part of the journey was accomplished, if the family was in good health, in from six to ten days. Those who came by way of Albany, came in boats up the Mohawk, Wood Creek, and around by Oswego. Some came across from Fort Stanwix (now Rome) through the woods by Carthage, making their way either on foot or on pack horses, sleeping in shanties or in booths made for the occasion. On ar- riving at their destination they made themselves as comfortable as pos- sible with the means at hand, and soon became accustomed to their lot. Similar settlements were formed within a year or two at Morristown, Black Lake, Heuvelton, De Kalb, Lisbon, Waddington, and other places in the county. The first two or three years of the pioneer's life were the most trying. Previous to the completion of Ford's grist mill at Os- wegatchie the settlers had to procure what little flour they used from Montreal at great expense and trouble ; therefore their food consisted largely of fresh and dried or "jerked " venison, beech nuts, walnuts, butternuts, basswood buds, the inner coat of birch bark, and maple sugar, and occasionally a shortcake, when they were lucky enough to

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THE PIONEER'S EXPERIENCE.

get the flour to make one. Shortcake was considered a luxury of those days, although made from coarse flour, without butter or lard for short- ening, or soda to raise it with. In absence of these ingredients the women were not slow to utilize the means at hand. Deer's tallow was plenty, though too hard and dry to work well in kneading the dough ; but by melting a portion of bear's grease, or raccoon's oil with it, a compound was formed that could be used to good advantage. White lye was also used in place of soda, which was readily made by dropping hot ash cinders into water. The cinders were formed by the sap of green timber dripping from the end of burning logs into hot ashes. After the materials were properly kneaded, the dough was rolled into shape to fit into an iron skillet, when the cake was ornamented by marking the surface with the tines of a fork into small diamond shaped squares and dotting in the center with the same instrument. The skillet was set up to the hearth before the fire at a suitable angle to al- low the heat to strike squarely on the cake. Live coals were also placed beneath and around the back side of the skillet. In this manner the cake was soon baked to a good brown and healthy color. The women were skilled in this way of cooking, as they watched the bak- ing closely, turning it around or over occasionally to give it an even baking. To ascertain when it was sufficiently baked, they dumped it out on a bench and either gave it a few taps with the fingers or punct- ured it with a partridge quill, after which it was rolled up in a dampened towel to soften the crust, broken and served warm with maple molas- ses. The elderly people who were accustomed to feast on this kind of cake in their younger days, solemnly declare there is no cake made even in this day of improvements that equals in flavor their mother's short- cake baked in a skillet before the fire.

During the second year the settlers raised small patches of corn, po- tatoes, turnips, etc., which greatly added to their comfort. The native leek that grew so abundantly in the woods, filling the atmosphere with its odor, was used during its season in place of onions. The use of leeks caused the breath to smell very rank, and the milk and butter made when the cows fed on leeks had also a rank taste and smell. The only way to tolerate this sniell or taste, as the settlers used to say, was by " biting a leek."

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HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY.

During the third season, the settlers usually raised sufficient hay to winter a yoke of oxen and a cow or two, by browsing them a portion of the time on birch and basswood tree tops felled for that purpose. The few vegetables that were raised in addition to a small quantity of of milk distributed among the families of the neighborhood was highly appreciated. The deer, at first, furnished venison for the greater portion of their living and thus proved a great blessing to the pioneer, as this food often kept them from starving. Yet, after the first few years, in some other respects the deer were very annoying, as they roamed over the fields by night, trampling down and browsing off the tender grain, vegetables, etc., often to the entire destruction of the crops. Their presence also drew the wolf, bear and panther, which prowled around the settlements to the terror of women and children. Most any night the scream of the panther, the growl of the bear, and the howl of the wolf could be heard in different quarters of the forest. Families that were separated by a belt of woods never visited each other after dark, except on urgent business or in case of sickness, when they carried a blazing torch, which was a protection against wild animals. The panther or wolf seldom interfered with the freedom of settlers, except in case of extreme hunger, or being wounded or having their young near by ; there- fore, on the whole, these animals were considered harmless. There were, however, many instances of fierce encounters with wild beasts, a few of which are recorded in the history of the towns herein.

After Mr. Ford had got his grist mill in operation to grind grain for the settlers, and roads cut through to various places, emigration was greatly stimulated thereby, and the borders of the various settlements were rapidly enlarged. Oxen, cows, sheep, pigs and poultry were soon brought to the settlements, which added materially to the prosperity and stability of the neighborhoods. The settlers began to build log houses with double roofs and Dutch chimneys to take the place of the shanty. The Dutch chimney was introduced into the country by the Hollanders in settling Manhattan Island, and was so well adapted to the wants of the people living in a forest country that its use became general with all classes of settlers. As the introduction of the log house and Dutch chimney was considered an advanced step in civiliza- tion over the rude shanty, it may be well here to give a description of

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THE PIONEER'S EXPERIENCE.

each. The information does not come to the writer at second hand, as he was born and lived in one a number of years. Logs were selected that were uniformly straight and nearly of a size. The sills were laid on a few flat stones and the floor sleepers being " sided " were notched into them. Each tier of logs was locked together at the corners by " V " shaped notches, and carried up seven to eight feet, when small peeled logs, straightened one side, were notched into the side walls to support a chamber floor. Above this floor, the body of the house was continued to four feet higher to give chamber room. The plates were thoroughly pinned to the logs beneath and notches made six feet apart termed " bear's mouths " to receive jack rafters, which were elevated to one-third pitch. Ribs or small poles were pinned across the rafters about two feet apart and covered with long shingles. The shingles were " rove " cooper fashion or across the grain, about half an inch on the heart edge and about five-eighths of an inch on the sap edge ; they were some fifty inches long, four to six inches wide and laid twenty to twenty- four inches to the weather. They were not shaved, as it was claimed that the rough surface just as it was split, would shed water much better than if made smoother and uniform. The shingles were lapped one inch on each other, the thin edge on the thick, clapboard fashion, the lap side changed each course, and fastened with six-penny nails, which at that early day were wrought by hand in a forge. This style of shingling was forced to go out of use here when suitable timber to make them from had been exhausted, but they are now in use in some parts of the Southern States The gable ends were carried up either with logs or boarded up and down. The windows, usually three below and one above, were cut in the walls, and only a single casing on each side to stiffen the walls, and filled with a single sash about two by three feet, having lights either four by six inches, or four and a half by seven inches. The door was of the usual length, but considerable wider than now built, for the convenience of taking in large logs to burn. The side jambs served as casing and the log or sill answered as a threshold. The hinges and latch fastening were similar to those described as used in the shanties. The lower floor, when the settlement was not near by a saw mill, was made of split basswood about three inches thick, but the chamber floor was usually made of inch boards. A hole about six

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HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY.

feet square and three feet deep was dug in the center of the house for a cellar, and a floor plank over it was left loose, which served as a door. People who were particularly nice hewed the walls of the house inside, and outside "chinked " the cracks with splints and calked with moss, or plastered them with clay morter

The Dutch chimney was constructed by building a wall about ten feet long by seven high in an opening left in the end wall of the house, flush with the inside. It was either laid in clay mortar or banked up with earth on the outside. A hearth of flat stone was laid opposite this wall and extended about six feet back. The flue was laid on girts, connecting the chamber floor beams to the end wall of the house over the fire-place. It was laid up with small split sticks crossing each other at the corners. The lower end was about ten feet by four, and tapered up to the top to about two and a half by three feet square, extending a few feet above the peak of the house, and plastered inside and out with clay mortar. A tram pole, usually ironwood, three to four inches in diameter, was placed just beneath the flue and parallel with the chimney back, resting on girts, which could be moved in or out to accommodate the kettles hanging thereon to the size of the fire. There were three kinds of hooks to suspend the kettles over the fire. The primitive one was a sapling with a hock or branch at one end to pass over the tram pole, and at the opposite end a notch was cut to receive the bail of the kettle. The second style was made of iron bent over at each end, and of different lengths; by using several, hooking one in the other, the kettle could be adjusted to the desired height above the fire. The third style was more expensive, as it was made of a flat piece of iron about three feet long, one end turned over to fit the tram pole and the other turned up as a guide for an adjustable rod to work in ; a piece of round iron was of the same length, had one end turned over to fit a kettle bail, and the other end was turned up the opposite way to fit into holes that were punched along the flat part of the iron. By placing the adjustable rod into a hole, below or above, the kettle could be readily placed at proper height above the fire.

There soon came a time when the settlers had to do something be- sides building log houses or procuring food for their families. The clothing which they brought with them was fast wearing out, and

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THE PIONEER'S EXPERIENCE.

necessity compelled them to devise some means whereby it could be replaced ; and, besides, payments had to be made on their contracts in order to hold possession of their lands. For a number of years after the close of the Revolutionary War money was scarce and difficult to obtain. The only articles that commanded cash were black salts, square timber and West India pipe staves. Merchants in Ogdensburg erected pearling ovens, bought the salts and made pearlash, which article brought cash in Quebec. Lumber merchants also bought square timber and staves in winter, made them into rafts, and in the spring floated them down to Quebec where they also brought the gold. The merchants paid the settlers for their timber and salts part cash and part in goods. By this arrangement the settlers could work during the summer and fall chopping down the forests, burn the timber into ashes and with it make black salts for marketing. This served a double pur- pose ; first, by clearing the land for a crop, which was usually fall wheat, and second, with the proceeds of the salts they could purchase clothing and make small payments on their land. In the winter most of the settlers were engaged in lumbering, and although not very re- munerative, yet the proceeds greatly assisted them to " make both ends meet."

Apart from the hardships and privations which the pioneers were to endure, it would appear to the people of the present day that they would be very lonely, surrounded as they were by a dense forest which virtually cut them off from the outside world. This was not the case ; they actually enjoyed life better than they do at the present day, for there was no display of pompous etiquette to mar the friendly feelings which bound them together as a neighborhood, wherein each depended as it were, upon the others. They were always ready to lend a helping hand to the needy in sickness or in health, and their doors were ever open to welcome the stranger. They raised flax, and sheep for wool, which they spun into yarn, wove into cloth and made into garments, with a view more to the comfort of the wearer than to conform to fashion. The social gatherings, apart from those for worship, consisted in frequently going from house to house, which was very enjoyable. In such visits they usually passed their time in singing, dancing, story- telling or riddle- guessing. The women and children were often con-

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HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY.

veyed to and from the place on sleds or travois drawn by oxen. This seeming equality of the people and their social and friendly intercourse existed for a time, and until strangers of some means came to the neighborhood, purchased the improvements of a few of the settlers, who were thus sent further into the wilderness. The places thus left vacant in the neighborhood were filled by those unaccustomed to pioneer life, creating, as it were, a coldness or indifference on the part of the new- comer to entering into full fellowship with the pioneers. This caused distrust on the part of the latter, which grew stronger as wealth in- creased, and caste in society was soon clearly visible ; this distinction has kept pace with the prosperity of the country ever since; and hence the good old days of the pioneer's life have passed away never to return.

The experience given in the foregoing narrative is applicable to most of the early settlers in the older towns in the county ; hence it is not necessary to allude to similar experience in the history of the towns.

CHAPTER X.

ERECTION OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY.

Causes Leading to the Organization of St. Lawrence County -- The Erection Act- Name -- Rivers -- Lakes -- Geology and Mineralogy-Mineral Waters, etc .-- Analysis of Water from Various Sources-Soil and Timber -- County Officers Appointed -- County Clerk's Office Building-First National Celebration -- Location of County Seat-The First Court House -- Hasbrouck's House -- The State Road.

T' HE causes which led to the organization of St. Lawrence county are set forth in a petition, which is preserved in the archives of the State, and which possesses much value, as it contains the names of nearly all the citizens then living in the county. Up to March 6, 1801, the people of this section had to go to Montgomery, Oneida and Herki- mer counties to transact legal business. Owing to this fact a petition, which is said to have been intended as a preliminary to the location of the county seat in Lisbon, was made to the Legislature that the said ten

107

ERECTION OF THE COUNTY.

townships, previously described, be incorporated into one town by the name of Lisbon, and that the same may be annexed to the county of Clinton. Lisbon was accordingly erected by an act of the Legislature, and a town meeting held, when a full set of officers was elected. This move gave the people relief so far as town officers were concerned, yet they were obliged to go to Plattsburg to attend court or transact busi- ness of the county. Therefore a petition was circulated that fall throughout the townships asking the Legislature that the territory above designated be set off into a county, with all the rights and privi- leges as other counties have in the State, and to be called St. Lawrence. The petition also set forth that one of the old stone buildings of the Oswegatchie Fort could be used for a court-house, clerk's office and jail until the county decided to erect suitable buildings for that purpose.

The petition having received the signatures of 156 representative men of the proposed territory, was presented to the State Legislature on February 8. 1802. The prayer of the petitioners was granted, and the act to erect the county was passed March 3, 1802.

And it was further enacted, that all that part of the said county lying westward of the boundary line of the townships of Lisbon and Canton, shall be and is erected into a town by the name of Oswegatchie; and the first town meeting in the said town shall be held at the house of Nathan Ford ; and the said township of Lisbon and Canton shall con- tinue and remain one town by the name of Lisbon. And that all that part of the said county, known as the townships of Madrid and Pots- dam, shall be, and hereby is, erected into a town by the name of Madrid ; and the first town meeting in said town shall be held at the house of Joseph Edsall. And that all the remaining part of the said county shall be, and hereby is, erected into a town by the name of Massena ; and that the first town meeting in the said town shall be held at the house of Amos Lay.

And it is further enacted, that the freeholders and inhabitants of the several towns erected as follows: Lisbon, Oswegatchie, Madrid and Massena, shall be and are hereby empowered to hold town meetings, and elect such town officers as the freeholders and inhabitants of any town in the State may do by law.

And it is further enacted, that there shall be held, in and for the said county of St. Lawrence, a Court of Common Pleas and General Ses-

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HISTORY OF ST. LAWRENCE COUNTY.

sions of the Peace, and that there shall be two terms of the same courts in every year, to commence the first Tuesday in June and the second Tuesday in November in every year, and each term may continue to be held until the Saturday following inclusive. All having the same ju - risdiction, powers and authority in the same county as the Courts of Common Pleas and General Sessions of the Peace in other counties of the State.

It was also enacted, that until legislative provisions be made in the premises, the said Court of Common Pleas and General Sessions of the Peace, shall be held in the old barracks in the said town of Oswegatchie, which shall be deemed, in law, the court house and jail of the said county of St. Lawrence.

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Our county and its people : a memorial record of St. Lawrence County, New York, Part 9

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