The growth of a century: as illustrated in the history of Jefferson county, New York, from 1793-1894, Part 100

Author: Haddock, John A., b. 1823-
Publication date: 1895
Publisher: Albany, N. Y., Weed-Parsons printing company
Number of Pages: 1098

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BROWNVILLE.

river, near Watertown, and made liberal offers of land for the public use, but the per- severance and intrigues of Mr. Coffeen suc- ceeded in fixing the site at Watertown.

After the opening of the land office at Le- Raysville, Mr. Brown continued for two or three years devoted to his private affairs, meanwhile having received, unsolicited, commissions of captain and of colonel of the 108th regiment of militia. His promotion in the line of military life is said to have arisen from his avowed aversion to frequent and expensive military parades in time of peace, calling off the inhabitants from their labors in the fields, and encouraging habits of intemperance, which in those days were too frequently the accompaniment of such gatherings. His views on the subject of military organizations approached quite nearly to our present system ; and in select- ing him for office, the people were convinced that while he omitted nothing conducive to the public safety, he would cause them no needless expense of time or money for parades. In his public and private conduct and daily life, they saw him in possession of sagacity and intelligence, that led them to place confidence in his resources, should emergency call for their exercise, and the in- tegrity of his personal life convinced them that the public trusts with which he might be honored would be faithfully preserved.

On the declaration of war, General Brown was appointed, by Governor Tompkins, to the command of the militia on the frontier, from Oswego to St. Regis, and spent the summer in organizing and directing the military movements at Sackets Harbor, Cape Vincent, and various points along the St. Lawrence river; nor did this season pass without incident, to call into exercise those traits of decision, energy and tact, which were signally displayed at a later period in the war.

The plan which he proposed was, to take Prescott, and, by intercepting the communi- cations of the St. Lawrence and the Ottawa, to deprive Upper Canada of aid, and capture it in detail. His scheme was not adopted, and the expenditure of vast sums and much blood on the Canadian frontier, effected com- paratively nothing. On the 29th of May, 1813, General Brown was hastily summoned to defend Sackets Harbor from an attack which the enemy had planned against that place, in retaliation for our descent upon Little York. The successful result of his plans in this engagement, led to his pro- motion as a Major General in the regular service, and opened the way to that career of victory which in this and the following year, distinguished the American armies under his command on the Niagara frontier. Among all the men who came to the front during the War of 1812, Gen. Brown achieved the most enduring record.

A series of resolutions was passed by Con- gress, November 3, 1814, the first of which was as follows

"Resolved by the Senate and House of Representa- tives of the United States of America, in Congress assembled, That the thanks of Congress be, and they are hereby presented to Major General Brown, and through him to the officers and men of the regular army and of the militia under his command, tor their gallantry and good conduct in the successive battles of Chippewa, Niagara and Erie, in Upper Canada, in which British veteran troops were beaten and repulsed by equal or inferior numbers; and that the President of the United States be requested to cause a gold medal to be struck, emblematical of these triumphs, to be presented to Major General Brown."

Similar testimonials were voted to Generals Scott, Ripley, Miller, Porter, Gaines and Macomb.

This medal bears his profile (after a paint- ing by Sully) upon. one side, and upon the reverse it commemorates the battles of Chippewa, Niagara and Erie. The New York Legislature passed a series of resolu- tions in December, 1814, expressing their ap- probation, and presented a sword to General Brown and to the several commanding offi- cers in those campaigns.

In the discharge of his official duties, Gen. Brown removed to Washington in 1821, where he continued to reside until his death, which occurred February 24, 1828, from the effect of a disease contracted at Fort Erie. For some time previous his physical powers had been impaired by a paralytic stroke. His death was announced to the army by an order of the Secretary of War, and the burial ceremonies were performed with all the formality and dignity that his exalted rank demanded.

A monument has been erected by Congress over his grave, in Washington, having for its device a broken column, and upon the east side of the base the following inscription :

Sacred To the memory of Major General Brown, By birth, by education, by principle, Devoted to peace. In defence of his country A warrior. To her service he dedicated his life. Wounds received in her cause abridged his days.

In reviewing the life of General Brown, we are struck with the evidences of integrity and talent, and with the ability which he evinced in the various stations of public life he was called to fill. He left a name unsul- lied by any money-making or selfish scheme, and after handling millions of the public money, none of it was ever found adhering to his fingers.

The following are some of the inscriptions upon tombstones in the Brownville cemetery: Maj. Gen. Jacob Brown. (Buried in Washington, D. C.)

Pamela Williams, Wife of Maj. Gen. J. Brown, Born Dec. 13, 1785. Died April 14, 1878.

Col. Edmund Kirby, Born in Litchfield, Conn., April 8, 1794. Died at Avon Springs, N. Y., Aug. 20, 1849. He served in the Black Hawk War in 1832, and Mexican War, 1845-1848.

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Eliza Brown, Wife of Col. E. Kirby. Born Aug. 18, 1808, died Jan., 1864.

Brig. Gen. Edmund Kirby, Jr., Died May 28, 1863, from Wounds received at Chancellorsville, May 3. Aged 28 years.

William E. Everett, Born at Watertown, April 17, 1826; Died at Saratoga Springs, Sept. 19, 1881. In 1851 he was appointed Chief Engineer of U. S. Navy. Invented the machinery That laid the first Cable across the Atlantic.

Pamela W. Kirby, Wife of W. E. Everett, Born Jan, 9, 1831, Died January 23, 1878.

COLONEL EDMUND KIRBY.

AMONG the prominent citizens of Brown- ville at an early date, was Edmund Kirby, afterwards Colonel Kirby.

He was a son of Ephraim Kirby, an officer of the Revolution, and afterwards judge of the Supreme Court of Connecticut. Colonel Kirby was born at Litchfield, Connecticut, April 18, 1794; entered the army as lieu- tenant in 1812; served during the war on the Northern frontier; joined General Brown as

aid in 1820; from 1821 to 1823 discharged the duties of adjutant-general; in 1824 was appointed paymaster of the army, and returned to Brownville, where he married Eliza, a daughter of General Brown. From 1832 to 1840 he was engaged in the Florida wars with the Indians; was chief of the pay department during the Mexican war; volun- teer aid to General Taylor at the storming of Monterey ; aid to General Scott at Vera Cruz, Cerro Gordo, Contreras, Cherubusco, Chapultepec, and the Mexican capital, always distinguished for courage and bravery.

In 1848 he returned to his home in Brown- ville; was enthusiastically received by the citizens, a large cavalcade going out to meet and welcome him on his approach to the village. The seeds of disease were im- planted in his system by the hardships of war in a tropical climate, which had so im- paired his health that he sought relief from the medicinal waters of Avon Springs, where he died August 20, 1849, aged 55. His re- mains were brought to Brownville, and laid in the village cemetery with fitting military honors. A plain shaft of Quincy granite marks his resting-place, and bears silent testimony to his heroic deeds. By his side in the village cemetery lie the remains of his gallant son, Brigadier-General E. Kirby.

COLONEL WILLIAM LORD.

THE undeveloped resources of this county, when new, offered at the beginning of this century, strong inducements to the indus- trious and enterprising New Englander. Among those attracted hither from that land of steady habits, none was more enterprising and industrious than Colonel William Lord, born in Woodstock, Vt., in June, 1792. In the strength of his young manhood, with habits of economy and thrift, and with a body hardened by toil upon a rugged farm among the highlands of Vermont, about 1816 he came into the Black River country. An uncle of his having settled upon a farm near the village of Brownville, he was led to make that place his headquarters. The first winter he taught a country school in what is now East Houndsfield, and such was his in- dustry that after making due preparations for his school duties, he passed his evenings and holidays in making the wooden ploughs then used by farmers, as the iron or steel plough was not then invented. So skillful did he become that he gave up teaching, and erecting a shop in the village of Brownville, and gave his whole time to making plows. One of these primeval soil-disturbers is now preserved in the museum at Washington, D. C., alongside of some of the best modern steel instruments, to show by contrast the wonderful progress in the construction of tools. [See p. 253].

At this early day the only foundry for cast- ing iron was at Watertown Centre, where

Mr. Bingham, with the blast of a blacksmith bellows, melted small quantities of iron, and cast a few plow points. This slow process did not suit Mr. Lord's wants and ideas of business ; so he erected a small foundry, the draught driven by a tube-bellows worked by horse-power. His business continuing to in- crease, he invited a skillful mechanic, Mr. Alanson Skinner, from New Hampshire, to join him; and they erected upon the bank of the river at Brownville, a large stone build- ing for a foundry and machine shop; and here (the cast iron plow having been invent- ed), they supplied, under the firm name of Lord & Skinner, all this region with the best iron plows, stoves, and all kinds of cast-iron and machine work.

Appropos of Mr. Skinner's name, an anec- dote, showing Irish wit, is told. A Hiber- nian, who had become vexed with some of the chief business men of the place for what he thought their picayune dealing, was met upon the outskirts of the village by a stranger, who inquired for the whereabouts of A. Skinner. Pat replied: "You go on over that bridge, and the first man you meet will be a skinner, and every other man you meet will be a skinner, bad luck to them."

The firm continued prosperous for several years. About 1837 the partners dissolved, and Mr. Lord took his oldest son, Gilderoy, as partner, and the business was continued with great energy and success. The manu- facture of all kinds of stoves was carried on,

BROWNVILLE.

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COLONEL WILLIAM LORD.

and a store was opened for the sale of stoves and all kinds of hardware. About 1845 the building of a railroad from Rome to this county was mueh discussed, and Mr. Lord, seeing at once the advantage of such a high- way, gave the subject such thought and study that he became one of its most enthu- siastie supporters, and at a publie meeting at the court house, March 21, 1848, he offered a series of resolutions pledging the meet- ing to use all proper means for the con- struction of the road from Rome through to Cape Vineent. These resolutions were en- thusiastically adopted, and no doubt formed the turning point in this great projeet. Such was his enthusiasm that he became a most successful solicitor of stock, and with others seeured sufficient to warrant the construction of the road. He was soon elected one of the directors, and surrendering his manufactur-

ing business to his sons, he served the road faithfully in whatever way he could be use- ful. He continued to serve as direetor until advancing years rendered his labors burden- some, and he resigned. He was always ready to aid in promoting education or liter- ary eulture, and in his later years solaced his leisure moments in literary and poetical com- position, taking an active interest in the great events of the day, especially all that re- lated to the War of the Rebellion. His tastes were decidedly for military matters, and in his younger days he was colonel of the first rifle regiment raised in Jefferson county.

Soon after his settlement in this place, the War of 1812 was imminent, and from the proximity of the hostile Canadian dominions, some of the more timid settlers fled to their safer New England homes, or places farther

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inland, and Mr. Lord was urged by some of his timid friends to leave also, but he replied that "the place for a man in time of danger was where he could best defend the country, and that he had come to stay, and the cowards might go."

He served some time in the militia called out to defend the border, for which service he was in after years given a pension, and it was in that service he became a friend and associate with Gov. John A. Dix.

In politics he was at first an ardent Whig, and latterly a Republican. In religion he was in his later years an active member of the Episcopal Church, serving as senior

warden in St. Paul's for many years. He was married in 1816 to Miss Charlotte Thomas, of Mather's Mills, near Belleville, and nine children were born to them: Gil- deroy, William, Pamelia, Elisha, Newton B., Nathan, Hiram and Fazetta. Of these, only two survive, Mrs. P. B. Bosworth and Mrs. Morrison.

Mr. Lord died April 9, 1874, reaching nearly the ripe age of 88 years; to the last his mind was active and clear, thus closing a long life of industry and good works. He was a man well known and universally respected. His industry was great, and his abilities of a high order.

FAMILY SKETCHES.

SAMUEL KNAPP was born in Litchfield, Conn., March 5, 1782. His ancestors were among the early settlers of Massachusetts. They came to this country about 1630 or '35. The subject of our sketch, in company with two brothers, John and Silvanus, re- moved from their place of birth to Lewis county, New York, about the year 1800. While he resided there he became acquainted' with Miss Abia Thompson, to whom he was married April 28, 1808. About two years after his marriage, he, in company with his brother John, removed to Brownville, where he continued to live until his death, Decem- ber 18, 1862. He was a successful, enter- prising farmer, in which occupation he was engaged the greater part of his life. He was one of the founders of the Methodist Episco- pal Society, and also a member of the first board of trustees.

John C. Knapp, the only son of Samuel, was born in Lewis county, September 9, 1809. He followed the occupation of his father until a few months before his death, which occurred April 22, 1886. He was highly es- teemed by his neighbors for his sincere friendship and honest counsel in time of need. He was for years one of the principal mem- bers and supporters of the Methodist Episco- pal Society of Brownville.

ROSWELL BOSWORTH, from Massachusetts, settled near Smithville, in the town of Adams, about 1811. He was a farmer and a deacon of the Congregational church. He had eight children. Reuben S., son of Roswell, was born in 1819, and was educated in the Black River Literary and Religious Institute. Mr. Bosworth has been a lecturer on natural sci- ence, was a teacher in the Farmers' College, near Cincinnati, 10 years ; in the Normal School in Terre Haute, Ind., one year; in the Watertown High School and in the Adams Collegiate Institute, 10 years. Presi- dent Harrison was one of his pupils in Farm- ers' (Indiana) College. Professor Bosworth married Pamelia R., daughter of Col. Wm. Lord, of Brownville, and they now reside in the Lord mansion. The professor is now a manufacturer of telescopes, and has for

several years been one of the most intelligent and respected citizens of Brownville. From his youth he took more pleasure in scientific pursuits than in the accumulation of money, being one of those brave souls who well understood the benefits of knowledge, and willing to pay the apparently high price de- manded for its acquisition. The Professor is not very closely engaged in the business affairs of life ; but his mind is very active, his judgment excellent, his general knowl- edge superior. His modesty has been bis greatest drawback in life. Had there been more brass in his make-up he would have been as well and favorably known to the world at large as he is to the county of Jefferson. Mr. and Mrs. Bosworth reared one daughter, Miss Kittie, who was a great favorite, but died in her 20th year, greatly lamented.

JOHN KEELER ADAMS was born in Onon- daga Valley, N. Y., in 1803. He emigrated to Brownville about the year 1826, and was employed in a machine shop owned and oper- ated by Lord & Skinner. At 30 years of age he married a daughter of Hon. Fleury Keith. He died in 1860, leaving a widow and daughter, who now reside in Cape Vincent. Mr. Adams was a man of more than ordinary education and ability for the times, having been educated at the celebrated academy in Onondaga Valley, and was, in consequence, kept almost continually in office. He was for many years postmaster, justice of the peace, commissioner of deeds, and was en- trusted with the settling of many estates. Politically, he was a Democrat of the Jeffer- sonian school, and had he lived would have heen a stanch war Democrat. He always wielded a strong political influence, and had he the inclination, might have aspired to many higher official positions.

JOSIANI BONNEY was born in Cape Cod; Mass., and in 1808 settled on a farm in Brownville. He served at Sackets Harbor in the War of 1812, and died in Brownville in 1848, aged 61 years. He married Betsey Morse, of Vermont. Of their five children, George married Betsey, daughter of William

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and Henrietta (Gould) Knox, of Brownville, and they had children as follows: Brayton and Amelia G. (deceased), Emma S. and Madison. Their daughter, Emma S., mar- ried Oscar C. Wilson, and resides on the homestead farm. Madison Bonney, of Brownville, married Ella E., daughter of Benjamin S. and Annie E. (Irvine) Horr, of Stone Mills, and their children are : Florence M., Mabel I., George S., Raymond H. and Grace G. William Kuox, father of Mrs. Betsey Bonney, served in the War of 1812. He was born in Tunbridge, Vt., and when 19 years of age removed to Sackets Harbor, and cut the first tree where that village now stands.

JAMES WOOD's daughter, Mrs. Abel Davis, a very intelligent lady, now in her 80th year, residing in Jewettsville, has given the writer many reminescences of her father. She was the fourth child of James and Caroline Wood. They came into the Black River country about 1804, having kept a tavern in Watertown, near the site of the old Gilson hotel, now the Woodruff House. Mr. Wood was a soldier in the War of 1812, and his children tell of their mother baking bread for the soldiers at Brownville. But Mr. Wood is best remembered from his connec- tion with the James Wood Falls, between Watertown and Brownville. He built one of the first saw mills on the site now occupied by the Farwell & Rhynes mill. He after- wards built a cloth dressing and wool card- ing establshment at Brownville, being the first to introduce into Northern New York weaving by water power. He was a pro- gressive, stirring man, the contemporary of Adriel Ely, Ely Farwell, the Loomis family at Brownville, and those other prominent ones who were veritable "heroes of discovery."

One of his later attempts at erecting build- ings and dams was at the Falls which still bears his name, where he had erected a saw mill and ran it several years, when he con- structed a large woollen factory, 350 feet long and'80 feet wide. It was nearly com- pleted, and he was awaiting the arrival of his machinery from the east, when a tremen- dous spring freshet came and swept away in one night the dam, the saw mill and the woollen factory so completely that not a sliver of the whole concern was left. So noiseless was the destruction that Mr. Wood was unaware of his loss until he went out at sunrise to go to his factory.

The stone house he had built for his family and the large stone barn near the house, yet stand, probably two of the oldest buildings on the Brownville road.

Discouraging as had been Mr. Wood's ex- perience upon Black River, he sold the "Jim Wood" Falls property and followed down the stream to Dexter, where he built a dwelling and a saw mill. This last was con- sumed hy a fire, which also destroyed $5,000 worth of fine lumber. After this disastrous fire he gave over the lumber business to his two sons, He afterwards built the propeller

James Wood, the first vessel of that char- acter upon Lake Ontario, and also built and ran boats on the Oswego and Erie canals.

His restless ambition at last led him to Michigan, where he was a commission mer- chant in lumber at Detroit. He died in that city in 1852, and his remains were brought to Brownville and interred in the village ceme- tery. No man excelled James Wood in en- terprise and fearlessness. Had his financial capacity been equal to his progressive genius, he might have ranked among the ablest and most successful men in the county.

MICHAEL VAN SCHAICK came into Brown- ville in 1817, and was engaged in farming. He married Caroline Truax, and they reared a large family. His wife died at the extreme age of 104 years. She had a sister who also lived to be 104. They were all a wonderful long-lived family. Another sister, Annie V., married first, Levi Livermore, and after his death she married Thomas Warren. She is now his widow, residing in Dexter with her daughter, Mrs. James Gilmore, at the age of 95, and is as smart as if only 50.

Michael Van Schaick had a brother named Henry, residing in the town of Adams, whose son, Emery Van Schaick, was the man murdered by Duncan, who is now serving a life-sentence at Auburn, the details of which crime will be found more extensively set forth in the sketch of Judge Emerson's official acts, page 376n. The parents of this unfortunate victim are yet living near Adams Centre.

JOHN COLE, a native of Montgomery county, came to Brownville in 1802, among the early settlers, and located upon a farm near Perch River, now known as the Cole farm. In the early days the town meetings were held upon this farm. Mr. Cole died here at the age of 81 years. He married Polly Waters, and their children were: Walter, Samuel, John, Betsey, Abigail, Margaret, Clarissa and Polly. John married Elizabeth, daughter of Seth and Mary Cole, of Bennington, Vt., and they had children as follows: Mary, Elizabeth, Caroline, George, Jane, Edward and Byron. The latter, born in this town, where he now resides, married Annie, daughter of Clement and Betsey (Hamilton) Hawley, of Perch River, and they had four children, viz: Earl B., Josie M., Grace D. and John. Francis Cole, brother of John, the early settler here, served in the Revolutionary War, and was made prisoner by the Indians at Fort Stanwix, when 15 years of age, and was taken to an island in the St. Lawrence river, and sold or given to a merchant in Lower Canada, where he re- mained many years. He finally removed to this town, and later to Watertown, where he died.

WILLIAM PENN MASSEY, son of Solon and Mary Esther (Boult) Massey, and grandson of Hart Massey, was born in 1824 on his father's farm, two and a half miles from Watertown, on the Sackets Harbor road. He died at Brownville in 1885, aged 60 years. He was

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educated at the select schools of Brownville, and at the Black River Institute, at Water- town. In 1846-47 he attended medical lectures at a university in New York city, where he graduated in the latter year, after which he practiced his profession in Brown- ville with remarkable success until his death. Politically he was a stanch Republican. He and his amiable wife were prominent mem- bers of the Presbyterian Church. He married, May 8, 1848, Adaline A., daughter of Charles and Addie (Macomber) Smith, of Utica, N. Y. She is now deceased.

CHARLES WELCH, a native of New Hamp- shire, came to Brownville in the early days, when there were but two log houses in Water- town. He died in Brownville, aged 88 years. He married Eunice Cole, and they reared a number of children. Nathan married, first, Susan Anderson, of Clayton, by whom he had seven children, viz: Lyman M., Eliza, James S., Olive, Anderson C., Owen E., and John H. His second marriage was with Jane DeLong, of DeKalh, St. Lawrence county, and their children were Susan, Ida, Charles and Lewis. John H. Welch married Nancy, daughter of John and Hannah Gunn, of Herkimer, N. Y., and their children are Stella, Maggie M., Arthur J., Clark N. and Mabel S. He served three years in the late war in Co. I, 10th New York Heavy Artil- lery, and was honorably discharged at the close of the war.

NATHANIEL PECK, who served at Sackets Harbor in the War of 1812, was born at Dan- bury, Conn., in 1782. His father, Eliphalet Peck, also a native of Danbury, served with three brothers in the Revolutionary war, and was taken prisoner in New York city by the British. Nathaniel married Abigail, daughter of Samuel Starr, of Brownville, and they had eight children. Spencer S. B. served in Co. B, 177th New York Vols., in the Port Hudson campaign. He owns the homestead farm of his great grandfather, Samuel Starr, and ad- joining the farm once occupied by his grand- father, Nathaniel Peck.

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The growth of a century: as illustrated in the history of Jefferson county, New York, from 1793-1894, Part 100

Author: Haddock, John A., b. 1823- Publication date: 1895 Publisher: Albany, N. Y., Weed-Parsons printing company Number of Pages: 1098

Author: Haddock, John A., b. 1823-
Publication date: 1895
Publisher: Albany, N. Y., Weed-Parsons printing company
Number of Pages: 1098