USA > New York > Tioga County > Owego > Owego. Some account of the early settlement of the village in Tioga County, N.Y., called Ah-wa-ga by the Indians, which name was corrupted by gradual evolution into Owago, Owego, Owegy and finally Owego > Part 24
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Part 1 | Part 2 | Part 3 | Part 4 | Part 5 | Part 6 | Part 7 | Part 8 | Part 9 | Part 10 | Part 11 | Part 12 | Part 13 | Part 14 | Part 15 | Part 16 | Part 17 | Part 18 | Part 19 | Part 20 | Part 21 | Part 22 | Part 23 | Part 24 | Part 25 | Part 26 | Part 27 | Part 28 | Part 29 | Part 30 | Part 31 | Part 32 | Part 33 | Part 34 | Part 35 | Part 36 | Part 37 | Part 38 | Part 39 | Part 40
Gen. Vincent Mathews came from Orange county, N. Y., to New Town (Elmira) about the year 1789, and was the first lawyer there. He represent- ed Tioga county in the asembly of 1794-5. He was the first state sena- tor chosen to represent the western district of New York and served from 1796 to 1803. He was also district at- torney of the seventh district from 1813 to 1815. In 1809 he was elected to congress. In 1820 he removed to Rochester, where he died. In 1792 he was adjutant in lieutenant-colonel Samuel Tubbs's regiment. In 1798 he was appointed captain of the new troop of horse, and in 1800 was promoted to major of the second squadron of cav- alry in the counties of Ontario, Steu- ben, Tioga, Onondaga, and Cayuga.
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In 1809 he became lieutenant-colonel commandant of the 10th regiment, and in 1814 brigadier-general of the first brigade of cavalry, and remained in command until his death in 1820.
In April, 1800, an act of the legisla- ture arranged the military of the state into five divisions. Tioga was one of the nine counties in the fifth division. The cavalry in the Fifth division was divided into two squadrons, the second of which was composed of Ontario, Steuben, Tioga, Onondaga and Cayuga counties, commanded by major Vin- cent Mathews.
The following is the roster of a cav- alry company organized in Tioga county in 1807. copied from the origi- nal, which is still in existence:
"We whose names are hereunto sub- scribed do enlist ourselves and hereby become members of the troop in the Second squadron of the Fifth division in the cavalry of the state of New York. commanded by Capt. Joshua Whitney, and in all things conform ourselves to the rules, regulations, and restrictions pointed out by the act of the Legislature of the state of New York organizing the militia of the said state.
Oct'r 3d A. D., 1807.
Anson Camp Edmund Palemere
James Pumpelly
Joel Gaylord
Caleb Leach. Jr.
Joseph Berry
Elias Shipman
William Bell
Elijah Shoemaker
Daniel Huntington
Andrew Purdy Joel Rich
Charles Taylor
W. 31. Horton
John Shoemaker
Jno M. Roe
James Herrick
Stephen Ferris
Benjamin Shoemaker
Alfred Scofield
Jos. B. Nutter. Trumpeter
Capr. Joshua Whitney came in 1786 from Hillside, Columbia county, N. Y., to Binghamton with his father, whose name was also Joshua Whitney. Capt. Whitney was a merchant at Bingham- ton. In 1798 he was appointed first lieutenant of the cavalry company of which Vincent Mathews was captain.
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In 1807 he became captain of the troop in the Second squadron of the Eighth regiment of cavalry. He was promoted in 1810 to colonel of a new regiment of cavalry known as the 13th regiment.
In 1810 when Joshua Whitney was promoted, John H. Avery, of Owego, succeeded him as captain of the car- alry company and served until 1817, when he was appointed major of a new regiment of cavalry, to be organ- ized from part of the Eighth regiment and consisting of the troops in the counties of Broome, Chenango, Cay- uga, and Cortland and to be denomi- nated the Thirteenth regiment of cav- alry.
The cavalrymen wore dark gray coats, and caps with leather sides and bearskin tops and they carried swords in steel scabbards.
The first company of artillery in Tioga county was organized at Owego in 1810. It was the first battalion of the Sixth regiment. David Fleming, of Flemingville was captain, Samuel W. Avery, of Owego, first lieutenant, and Noah Lyman second lieutenant. In 1812 Capt. Fleming went to fight in the army and Mr. Avery succeeded him as captain and served until 1815, when he resigned and was succeeded by Daniel Brown.
Capt. Fleming came from Newton, N. J., and settled in the town of Nich- ols in 1806, removing thence two years later to Flemingvile. In the war of 1812 he was captain of the third com- pany of the Third regiment of heavy artillery, and established a recruiting rendezvous at Owego.
The company was encamped in the village park under tents, awaiting or-
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ders. There was some complaint among farmers because the soldiers stole their chickens at night. Some chickens were stolen from the hen house of Jacob Swingle, a blacksmith, who lived on the east side of the Owe- go and Ithaca turnpike, a few rods south of the Huntington creek. The second time that some soldiers visited his premises he shot at them as they were climbing a fence. One soldier was shot through the abdomen with buckshot, and when the company went to join the army the injured man died at Binghamton while on his way.
In an advertisement signed by Capt. Fleming, dated Oct. 5, 1812, in the "American Farmer." the name of which paper was a few years later changed to the Owego Gazete, he of- ferred a bounty of $16 for every able- bodied man from 18 to 45 years of age who would enlist in the United States service, in addition to monthly wages and clothing, and when discharged af- ter having served five years the sol- dier was to receive three months' pay additional and 160 acres of land; and the comforting assurance was also given that in case of death the heirs of the soldier would be entitled to re- receive the extra pay and land.
Capt. Fleming fought in several bat- tles, the last of which were those of Fort George and Erie. His son, Robert 1. Fleming, was 12 years old and ac- companied him as his waiter, and he was a witness of these battles and those at Sackett's Harbor. He also drove a team in his father's company, and was sometimes sent in pursuit of deserters.
Robert L. Fleming was in 1835 elec- ted by a vote of the field officers briga-
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dier-general of the 9th brigade of New York state artillery, composed of regi- ments in Broome, Cortland, Chemung, Madison, Tompkins, and Tioga coun- ties, and he held command nine years. In the civil war he assisted Col. Kane in raising the Bucktail regiment in Elk county, Pa., and accompanied the regiment to Washington. Gen. Flem- ing was sheriff of Tioga county in 1840. He died Feb. 26, 1877, at Flem- ingville.
Capt. David Fleming's wife was a sister of Gen. John Laning. He died Feb. 4, 1862, at Flemingvile.
The uniforms of the gunners of the artillery company were black coats and high hats, with brass plate and feather.
Several years after the war of 1812 Ira Johnson, a miller at the Canawana flouring mill, was captain of an inde- pendent artillery company. The uni- forms were blue, trimmed with yellow and red. Frank Truman was a lieu- tenant in this company.
The first cannon made at Owego was cast at the old furnace in Main street, near where Spencer avenue now is. There had been a cannon here owned by the state, but it was taken back to Albany. As the time was near the fourth of July and there was no big gun with which to celebrate, some men and boys raised funds to have a new cannon east. This gun was a three-pounder, about four and one-half feet long, with a three or four inch muzzle and about eight inches in di- ameter at the butt end. It was not mounted on wheels, but was fixed on a block.
At about this time the powder used at Owego was kept in a small powder
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house about eight feet square, which stood in a field forty or fifty rods north of Main street and opposite the north end of Ross street.
Another and larger cannon, which was used for firing salutes on public occasions for many years was drawn by breast straps that went around the shoulders of the men who drew it. Samuel Winship and Elisha Forsyth were gunners for an artillery com- pany and had charge of the gun.
The cannon was used for firing sa- lutes on the fourth of July and other public days and also at political gath- erings. In 1836 the cannon was claimed by both Democrats and Whigs. The Whigs were preparing to fire it on the village park and the Democrats tried to prevent them. Dr. Ezekiel Lovejoy placed himself at the muzzle of the gun and dared the Whigs to fire. The Whigs finally suc- ceeded in driving the Democrats away and fired the cannon, while Ezra S. Sweet, one of the Whig leaders, stood on it.
There are not many people now liv- ing who remember the old days of general trainings at Owego, for the last general training was held more than sixty years ago. A general train- Ing was the great holiday of the year. exceeding in interest the celebration of the fourth of July.
The officers of each regiment were required to have a three days' drill in the month of August and the com- panies had a day's "company training" after the officers' drill. Then came the "general training" in September. The company trainings were held at different places about the county, near where the members lived.
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The regiments were formed of eight or ten companies-each company numbering from sixty to a hundred men. About one-half of the companies were uniformed rifle companies-the other half ununiformed militia, with rifles or muskets. These militia com- panies generally appeared dressed with the best they had, without re- gard to fit or color.
The first general trainings were held in the western part of this vil- lage where the electric light power house is now. This was long before the hydraulic canal, or race, was built. Later the trainings were held where the Tioga county fair grounds and the land east of it are now. In those days there were no houses between William street and the Owego creek. Still later general trainings were held on judge Drake's flats, north of where the Erie railroad now runs and on Gen. Fleming's flat at Flemingvile and in the town of Tioga where St.Joseph's cemetery is now.
The last trainings were held on the ground in east Main street where St. Patrick's church and the buildings west of it now stand and the lots east of the church nearly to Ross street, on all of which lots there were then no houses. At that time Col. N. W. Davis was commander of the 14th regi- ment. The last general training of Col. Davis's regiment was at Union in October, 1851.
General training day was the ex- citing military event of the year Nearly every one abandoned his occu- pation to be present. All men between the ages of 18 and 45 years were compelled to go through
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military drill or else pay a poll tax. Clergymen, men holding civil offices, drivers of mail coaches. ferrymen, college and theological stu- dents, and professors were exempt from military duty. The trainings were in September and October, when the cider season was open. Farmers brought barrels of new cider, tapped them, and did a rushing business, while hucksters gathered to sell cider. gingerbread, apples, honey, etc., to vis- . itors, many of whom brought their lunches. Hawkers also sold razors, tinware, etc.
At these trainings there were a few companies of uniformed riflemen, but the great mass of soldiers appeared in whatever garb they pleased, but were required to carry a musket or a rifle. Sometimes young fellows would carry broomsticks and pitchforks in- stead of guns, in order to make them- selves ridiculous, which resulted in their paying fines, but they did not mind that so long as they had their fun. Sometimes fellows from the ru- ral districts calling themselves "Raga- muffins" and the "Slab Raft company" would burlesque the whole thing. dressed in all sorts of tattered cloth- ing and dilapidated hats, carrying old pitchforks. rakes, scythes. brooms, and dilapidated umbrellas, with some- times a flintless minsket. They marched in awkward order, some bare-footed, in a go-as-you-please way. and went through military evolutions in a manner suitable to their appear- ance. A day of hilarious skylarking was generally ended in an evening of still greater hilarity, in which the "flowing bowl" was "tossed" ad libi- tum.
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At a general training in 1834 or 1835 a sham battle was fought on the field east of where the Tioga county fair grounds now are between a com- pany of gray coats and an artillery company. The two companies were drawn from the regiment and the rest of the regiment were spectators.
The review at general training was made by the reviewing officers riding down the front of the regiment from the right to the left, the troops stand- ing in single file, the regimental offi- cers in front, the cavalcade passing to the left of the line and turning to the rear of the line returned to the right and to the centre of the line and formed in single file facing the sol- diers, the generals advancing a short distance in front of their staffs.
The soldiers were then formed into platoons and marching from the right, passed the reviewing officers, the mu- sic leading. Each officer saluted with his sword as he passed the generals- and each platoon presented arms. The review being completed, the col- onel performed several evolutions with the regiment to show that it had been properly trained. The regiment acted as escort to the reviewing offi- cers on their return to headquarters in the village.
When the review was finished ranks were broken and soldiers and specta- tors swarmed into the village,the busi- ness streets of which were filled with a solid mass of people and peddlers' carts.
There were no brass bands for regi- ments in the country in those days. The music was furnished by a martial band, composed usually of about eight
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bass-drums, fifteen snare-drums, and fifteen fifes.
One of the independent rifle com- panies in Owego was organized in the spring of 1825 from young men in the 53d regiment by Stephen T. Smith, who came here from Orange county and who was landlord of the old Franklin house in Front street that year. He had a fencing school, and fencing ex- ercises were held in the village park. He also excelled as a snare-drummer. The uniforms of his rifle company were green. The advantage in joining an independent company was that members were excused from serving on juries, and after fifteen years' ser- vices were exempt from all military duty.
Capt. David Nutt was for ten years captain of the company whose green coats were trimmed with yellow. Charles Deuel, of Catatonk, also raised an independent rifle company. The uniforms were blue coats and white trousers trimmed with yellow.
About the year 1840 the general trainings practically ceased, the mili- tary having been converted into a na- tional or state guard. Under the new arrangement difficulty was exp- Erienced in filling the companies, and when later exemptions from military duty could be obtained upon payment of seventy-five cents, company train- ings also ceased.
In 1856 the soldiers of the war of 1812 in Tioga county became active in an effort to obtain pensions. On Feb. 2 in that year a meeting was held at the old court house at the corner of Main and Court streets when an or- ganization was formed called the "United Brethren of the War of 1812."
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Capt. David Fleming was chairman and Col. Henry McCormick secretary of the meeting. The war veterans present were twenty-three in number, as follows:
David Fleming. Adrian Ryerson,
Ezra S. Madan. Stephen Butler.
John Giltner.
James Segar,
William Ilyde.
Reuben Coe.
Marshall Anderson.
Peter Jones.
Anthony M. Tyler.
Jared Foote.
Henry MeCormick.
Thomas Humphrey.
Robert 1 .. Fleming,
Henry Primrose.
Joseph Walcer.
Solomon Stewart.
James Ireland.
Moses Shoemaker.
John Shelman,
Daniel Armstrong.
James Baker.
Col. McCormick was chosen presi- dent of the association. At the next meeting in the following July resolu- tins were adopted, asking the mem- ber of congress to use his influence in favor of the enaction of a law grant- ing pensions to soldiers and officers of the war of 1812.
Four years later, Jan. 5, 1860, at another meeting, of which Col. Mc- Cormick was chairman and Thomas Farrington secretary, resolutions were adopted "expressive of the sense of the meeting in regard to the claims of the soldiers of the war of 1812-15 in this state and in the United States." The old soldiers present at this meet- ing were as follows:
Daniel R. Park. Lyman Perry,
John Shelman. Silas Dodge.
Thos. Ilumphrey. Ezra S. Madan.
Daniel Armstrong. Abel B. Fuller.
Jared Foote. Joseph Watrous,
Anthony M. Tyler. Stephen Butler. Lyman Bradley. W. Hutchings.
Resolutions were adopted asking congress to pass a pension law "ap- plicable to the soldiers of the war of 1812-15, similar in its effects to the pension law existing in regard to the soldiers of the revolution."
In March, 1867, the Owego Gazette published a list of the survivors of
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the war of 1812 then living in Tioga county, with their ages, as follows:
Henry McCormick . 76 Capt. Whitney . 80
Ezra S. Madan 82 Henry Primrose SO
Lyman Bradley 76 Nathaniel Ketchum . 77
Ezra Hall 75 Salmon Stewart . 79
Jared Foote 78 John Giltner 77
J. Thornton 81 Billings Hodge 93
Edgar Eldridge 79 Joel Gould . S9
James Baker
71
Wilbur Gould
67
Daniel R. Park 83 Daniel Wait . 52
Peter Ross . 73 Henry Jacobs 83
The Gazette said: "These men
served their country at their own ex- pense even to the extent of furnishing their own uniforms and muskets and have never received a cent of remun- eration from the government. They are now old, many of them are poor, and all are entitled to pay for their services and liberal pensions."
Survivors of the war of 1812 were not pensioned nntil 1871, fifty-six years after the close of the war.
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Early Steamboating on the Susque- hanna River-The Cadorus, the Pio- neer, and the Two Susquehannas Are Built for Commercial Purposes and to Run between Wilkes-Barre, Pa., and Owego-Later, the Picnic, the Lillie, the Owego, the Lyman Truman, the Marshland, and the Glenmary Are Built for Pleasure Boats, Running from Owego to Hia- watha Island.
In the early days the Susquehanna river was the outlet for products of southern central New York to a south- ern market, and Owego the point to which vast quantities of lumber, plas- ter, salt, and other merchandise were brought from all over the territory north for shipment in arks and on rafts to Philadelphia and Baltimore. An immense amount of merchandise was brought down Cayuga lake in boats to Ithaca and conveyed thence to Owego by teams.
James Pumpelly, who was in those days not only one of the wealth- iest men in this part of the state but also one of the most enterprising in public matters, was a leader in the project of building a railroad from Ithaca to Owego, to relieve the ex- pense of traffic by teams, and also in the project of building steamboats to run from Owego to southern points, to carry merchandise.
Owego was then the highest navi- gable point for any steamboat that might be built to transport merchan- dise up the river, but in unusually high water the trip could be made as far as Binghamton. The first steam- boat was built in 1825, but the railroad was not opened until 1833.
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The first steamboat in America was built only a little more than one hun- dred years ago. It was constructed in 1804 by John Cox Stevens, of New Jer- sey, on the Hudson river. It had a bladed screw propeller, which was, driven by a Watt engine, with a tubu- lar boiler of Stevens's own invention.
The same year Oliver Evans had a stern-wheel paddle boat on the Dela- ware and Schuylkill rivers. It was driven bya double-acting high pressure steam engine, which was the first of its kind, and was geared to rotate the wheels, by which the boat was moved on land and driven in the water when the power was transferred to the pad- dle wheel at the stern.
The paddle wheel boat was invented by Robert Fulton in 1803, as an experi- ment. The experiment proving satis- factory he set in operation the first successful paddle-wheel boat propelled by steam in 1807. In August of that year he made a trip in his boat, which was named "Clermont," from New York to Albany, making the distance of 150 miles in 32 hours. The return trip was made in 30 hours, a rate of just five miles an hour. The boat was of 160 tons burden and was the first one that was used for commercial pur- poses.
In 1825 there was much rivalry be- tween the cities of Philadelphia and Baltimore, each seeking to divert the trade of the Susquehanna river valley from the other city. In that year three steamboats were built for the express purpose of experimenting on the Sus- quehanna river, to establish, if pos- sible, the practicability of its naviga- tion by steam. The "Cadorus," built at York Haven, Pa., by John Elgar, a
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Quaker, was constructed mostly of sheet iron. It was sixty feet long, with nine feet beam with a stern wheel, which was driven with a ten-horse power engine, capable of sending it against the current at a speed of four miles an hour. With fifty passengers on board she drew but eight inches of water.
In the spring of 1826 Captain Elgar made his first trip from York Haven to Owego. He reached Wilkes-Barre April 12. His arrival was greeted with the ringing of bells and the firing of cannon. The next day an excursion of Wilkes-Barre citizens was made, by invitation of Capt. Elgar, to Forty Fort. The boat arrived at Towanda May 8, and her coming was received with firing of cannon and the ringing of bells. A public dinner was given for Capt. Elgar the next day, at which the judges of Bradford and Dauphin counties presided. Speeches were made, in which Capt. Elgar was com- plimented for his enterprise. A few days afterward he came to Owego and continued his trip to Binghamton. Upon his return he remained at Owego several weeks.
Capt. Elgar experienced much diffi- culty in running his boat, for want of wood. His fuel was dry yellow pine or pitch knots which he bought of far- mers along the route, and some of it was drawn to the river for several miles. While at Owego the "Cadorus" was tied up in Hollenback's eddy, above Ross street.
Capt. Elgar returned to York Haven, after an absence of four months. In his report to the company he declared his opposition to any further attempts to navigate the Susquehanna river by
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steam, as he believed it to be entirely impracticable, as the river was too shallow except during a few months in each year.
The second steamboat, the "Sus- quehanna," was built at Baltimore, Md., in 1825-6 by a stock company, which was anxious to secure the trade of the Susquehanna river to that city. She was commanded by Capt. Collins, of Baltimore. Her entire length from stem to stern was eighty-two feet and her stern wheels were each four and one-half feet in diameter. With an en- gine of thirty-horse power and with a hundred passengers on board, she drew twenty-two inches of water- fourteen more than the "Cadorus."
The state appointed three commis- sioners to accompany the boat on her trial trip. She started on her trial trip up the river, arriving at Nesco- peck Falls, opposite Berwick, Colum- bia county, Pa., in the afternoon of May 5, 1826,. The ascent of the rapids at that point was looked upon as a difficult and hazardous undertaking. The three commissioners and all ex- cept about twenty of the passengers left the boat there and walked along the shore.
A quantity of rich pine wood had been procured as fuel. With a full head of steam the boat slowly began the as- cent of the rapids. When she had reachde about the middle of the falls she struck a rock, and the boiler im- mediately burst with a tremendous ex- plosion. It was said that the engineer was dissatisfied with the slow pro- gress of the boat, so to increase the force of the steam he sat down on the safety valve, whereupon the boiler ex- ploded.
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Two of the passengers were in- stantly killed and others were serious- ly injured. William Camp, of Owego. was one of the injured passengers and he died a few hours after the acci- dent. The engineer was also fatally injured. There was a tradition among river raftsmen that Mr. Maynard, the engineer, had said that he would "run the boat up the falls or run her to hell," but this appears improbable, for Stewart Pierce's "Annals of Lu- zerne County," says of Mr. Maynard's death: "He died in the triumph of a Christian faith. He was a resident of Baltimore and a class-leader in the Methodist Episcopal church."
The "Pioneer," the third steamboat, made its experimental trip on the west branch of the Susquehanna river. Her officers made an adverse report, and for nine years no further attempt was made to navigate the river by steam.
The next steamboat intended for commercial purposes, and the first one built at Owego, was constructed here in 1835 and she was also called the "Susquehanna." The object of her construction was to transport goods and passengers to Wilkes-Barre and intermediate villages, and to tow back coal from the mouth of the Lacka- wanna river.
July 16, 1834, a committee, com- posed of John R. Drake, Stephen Strong, William A. Ely, Henry W. Camp, Stephen B. Leonard, and Thomas Farrington, met at the old Owego hotel and appointed Mr. Camp and Mr. Ely a sub-committee to obtain subscriptions for stock. Three days later a similar meeting of citizens of Wilkes-Barre was held in that city for the same purpose, and a committee
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composed of Col. John L. Butler and six other men was appointed to meet the Owego committee at Towanda "for the purpose of consulting in regard to such measures mutually as might be considered beneficial to the citizens of the two places respectively." The meeting of the two committees was held Aug. 11, and the "Susquehanna Steam Navigation Company" was or- ganized.
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