The growth of a century: as illustrated in the history of Jefferson county, New York, from 1793-1894, Part 23

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

USA > New York > Jefferson County > The growth of a century: as illustrated in the history of Jefferson county, New York, from 1793-1894 > Part 23

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I have placed our volunteers, both of the Revolution and of the rebellion, first in the honor line, as is right and just, but back of both periods stood the loyal masses of our countrymen and our countrywomen an im- pregnable reserve, doing the no less useful and equally as important duty of sustaining the armies in the field and the families at home, with a devotion that stamps them as worthy co-patriots in the best work of the ages. The home heroes and heroines were found in the mansion, on the farm, by humble firesides and in all the ranks and activities of life. Their patriotism was proof that faith in God and love of justice and liberty had raised up a people with high aspirations and clear views of duty, and a sterling character that knew the right and dared to maintain it, both in peace and in war. Self-government with equal politi- cal privileges and an equal interest in public affairs, lay at the basis of this precious safe citizenship.

The monuments we raise to our Union heroes are not memorials of conquest, but signify the nation's appreciation of the vic- tors who saved it in the supreme crisis of its fate. Those who matched our valor on every battle-field of the war did so with a courage as true and a heroism as pure as our own. They faced death for a cause they held dear, and died like brave men in the defence of what they believed to be their precious rights. That they were sadly wrong is the world's judgment, but at the same time, as soldiers they won the admi- ration of friend and foe. We are all Ameri- can citizens now, and juster judgments have followed the lapse of years. We have come to realize that those who struck at the life of our Union, did so through passion and the teachings of a wrong public senti- ment-fruits of a false theory of freedom that deluged our land in blood, and left us a nation of mourners.

I do not know how we can better honor

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THE WATERTOWN MONUMENT.

the heroes we have assembled to commemo- rate, than by resolving to strive for a pure and safe civilization. If their deaths on fields of honor for our country lead to higher aims, juster estimates of duties and claims of citizensliip, a nearer approach to the noblest ideals' of a Christian walk and life, and so add to the happiness and great- ness of the United States of America, for which they yielded up their precious life, then, truly, will their deeds

" Down the steady breeze of honor sail,"

as among the greatest benefactors of their kindred and country. The family circle is what parents make it-by example, by cul- ture, by love and by Christian teachings. The county is what the towus make it, and the State is measured by the strength of the counties. The nation's roots strike back to the homes, and units of wisdom and man- hood there never fail to make their com- manding influence the controlling forces of the nation. We should bear in mind the great truth that righteousness exalteth a nation, and that the sentiment of honor ennobles the citizen. Material wealth often weakens the resolute character of a people, while thrift and toil develop the highest type of manhood. Hence it is that our ceremonial this day is in harmony with the best ideals of four races. We are paying merited honor to patriots who are sleeping in their "windowless palace of rest;" to comrades who are doomed to a life of pain: to all who helped to save the Union and free the slave. No loftier purpose can call the people of a free county together. We must ever remember that our hero-dead are voice- less, and that their example gloriously adds to the moral forces whose ceaseless currents purify the world. A nation is not worth saving that does not hold sacred the sacri- fices made by its willing defenders. But Americans will never. cease to fittingly honor their immortal volunteers. This spot will hereafter be a place dedicated forever to freedom and free men. Round it chil- dren and youth, beauty and manhood will yearly gather, and their loyal hands will lovingly decorate it with flowers on each returning memorial day. This foundation will soon be crowned by an emblem as sacred, and in honor of a service as glori- ous as any that ever commemorated the brave deeds of patriots in the history of mankind. One by one the heroes of the war pass to the realms of rest, and very soon the last veteran will live only in his- tory. We do well to honor the dead and the living in the matchless generation that beheld the wonders wrought by their sacri- fices and sanctified by their blood, and this memorial will stand for ages as a tribute to the American volunteer-that rich product of our American civilization, As the eye falls upon it in its beauty, in a land of peace and joy, there will spring from its associa- tions the inspiring assurance that we as a

nation are "equal to the present, reaching forward to the future."

A vivid picture rises before me, comrades, sharply outlined in memory's mirror. I see great masses of armed men marching to their place in the battle line. Batteries of artillery take up their positions of advan- tage, and are made ready for action. Squadrons of cavalry form in easy reach, and await coming events. The rapid dis- positions of a great army are made with skill and courage. The hour for bloody work has come. The silence is broken by the signal guns ordering the battle to begin, and death and carnage sweep over the beau- tiful plain. Through cruel days the conflict rages. The harvest of death is large; the wounded crowd our hospitals; the brutal havoc of war goes on with unabated fury. The best blood of Jefferson county mingles with the dust on this memorable field.

Mangled heroes are about me now who fell before the hot fire from the hills above the plains of Fredericksburg. The deadly charge, the fearful slaughter, the hopeless repulse and the retreat are facts of history. This is one of many pictures that have a place in the historic gallery of our nation, in which the volunteers of Jefferson county acted a noble part. To-day, eight and twenty years after that bloody battle, some of the soldiers who stood there in serried ranks in battle array, meet around this spot to take part in the historic ceremonies of the hour. This picture of peace where chivalry is honored, and great deeds and great men are commemorated, stirs the blood of every veteran and citizen in our county.

The gift of this monument is a deed in keeping with the spirit of those it will com- memorate. It is one thing to be able to do such a thing, and quite another to have the patriotism and desire to do it. Our neigh- bors who have so honored our county and themselves, are with us now, and nearing the sunset of good lives. Let us hope that it may be their lot to live to see this monu- ment unveiled, and afterwards to long en- joy the respect and love of all among wliom their closing days are to be spent.

Fellow citizens, a new morning has dawned upon our nation. The spirit of concord holds sway over all our broad land. The pursuits of peace engross the energies and inspire the hearts of our people. A vast future opens before us. We sow the seeds of a higher civilization when we raise monuments in honor of past sacrifices in behalf of patriots whose services saved the Republic. Let us unite in the wise spirit of progress, and so act in our homes, in our public duties, and in all the broad circle of our citizenship, as to prove worthy the civilization our soldiers and sailors have preserved to us.

Col. Shaw's eloquent address was listened to with breathless attention, and at the end was greeted with great applause.

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THE GROWTH OF A CENTURY.

J. MORTIMER CRAWE, M. D .*

J. MORTIMER CRAWE, M. D., son of Ithe- mer B. Crawe, M. D., was born in Water- town, May 23, 1831. He was educated at private schools and the Jefferson County Literary and Religious Institute; studied medicine with Dr. H. G. P. Spencer, and attended lectures at Jefferson Medical Col- lege, Philadelphia, sessions of 1856, '57, '58 and '59. He first settled in Hamilton, Mad- ison county, N. Y., in September, 1859. His health failing, it was thought a change would benefit him, and he moved to Cbam- pion, Jefferson county, the following May, and in July, 1861, he returned to Madison county on a visit. There were a number of cases of diphtheria in the village, and being solicited by some of his old patients, whose families were afflicted, he consented to take charge of them, and finally concluded to remain permanently. In September, 1862, he went to the front as assistant surgeon of the 157th Regiment N. Y. Vol. Inf., raised in Cortland and Madison counties. When the army advanced that fall on Thorough- fare Gap, he was placed in charge of one of the reserve hospitals at Fairfax Court House. Here he remained until March, when, his health having failed, he was ordered to Washington, where he was directed to re- port to Dr. Climer, in charge of sick and disabled officers, and by him was sent home on sick leave. He remained at home two months, and rejoined his regiment at Aquia Creek, below Washington, on the eve of the march for Chancellorsville. Here, with his wounded, he was made a prisoner, remain- ing with them on the field for three weeks, when, an exchange being effected, he re- turned to his regiment. His health having been affected by the anxiety and exposure he had endured, he was sent home on sick leave. After a short time, learning that the army was about to move, he rejoined his regiment, and with them participated in the march to and in the battle of Gettys- hurg. Having, by order of the medical director, been detailed both at Chancellors- ville and Gettysburg, as an operating sur- geon, he was detained there in charge of the sick, and as recording officer of the 11th corps hospital for about a month, when he was ordered to report to Gen. Halleck at Washington. He found that his regiment had proceeded to Charleston, S. C. He served in that department until February, 1864, when he was promoted to the full rank of surgeon, and sent to the 128th Regt. N. Y. Vol. Inf., in General Sherman's com- mand at Savannah. Dr. Crawe served with his regiment as medical inspector and brig- ade surgeon until August, 1865, when they were mustered out of the service at Al- bany, N. Y.

He was one of the founders of the re- organized Jefferson County Medical Society; was elected in 1868, and served as censor from its organization to 1872, and from 1880 to 1886; was treasurer in 1873, vice-president in 1874, president in 1885, and was delegate to the State Medical Society from 1886 to 1890. Dr. Crawe was made permanent member of the State Medical Society in 1879, and was one of its delegates to the American Medical Association in 1878, of which he was made a member. In 1884, becoming disgusted and dissatisfied with the action of the State Society in regard to its Code of Ethics, he, with Dr. C. M. John- son, of Watertown, then delegate from Jefferson county, and the lamented Dr. Ira H. Abell, of Antwerp, ex-delegate, in con- nection with many others, withdrew from the State Society and founded the New York State Medical Association. Dr Crawe was its first vice-president. He was appointed pension surgeon in 1869, served some years and resigned. When boards for the exami- nation of pensioners were formed in 1881, he was solicited and accepted an appoint- ment on the board for Jefferson county, and was its president for four years. He still continues in a large and active practice in partnership with his son, Dr. J. M. Crawe, Jr.

Upon his mother's side, Dr. J. Mortimer Crawe is descended from distinguished an- cestry. Early in the 17th century, one of the best known esquires of England was Humphrey Mortimer, a man of great wealth - gained principally in manufacturing cloth. He had 20 sons, and they were all reared in habits of usefulness, and brought into the business of their father, either as factors in his cloth houses in London, Mar- seilles, Cadiz and Brussels, or in preparing the secret dyes that had proved the founda- tion of his great success. He sent his cloth to his wholesale honses in his own ships, and the cloths were sold at auction on the docks, the ships in turn receiving cargoes destined for London, and these cargoes also sold at auction on arrival. His family re- ceived their education in the best English schools, and later in France received that peculiar polish and suavity which in the last century, and even now, characterize the French gentleman or lady. That great revolution in France, the horrors of which are so forcibly described by Dickens in his " Tale of Two Cities." drove the Mortimers out of France, for though they were not nobles, their society and friendships were with those whom the Reds opprobriously termed " Aristocrats," and they were glad to flee from threatened death. Mrs. Ithemer B. Crawe's mother, Mrs. John Mortimer, escaped from Paris disguised as a waiting-maid in the suite of the Dutch ambassador. The friends known in those

· For a lengthy historical acoount of Dr. Crawe's distinguished father, see chapter upon the town of Pamella.

& Mortimer brawe h, 20

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BIOGRAPHIES.

dreadful days were ever welcome by Mrs. Crawe and her distinguished father, when- ever they ventured into the wilderness of Northern New York - for many noble men and women of Bourbon faith came into this then remote region, seeking sympathy and aid from Mr. LeRay, who had early estab- lished himself at LeRaysville, and lived as comported with his ancient lineage and wealth. Among others came that Madame de Ferret, once a maid of honor to Marie Antoinette, the gracious lady and unfortu- nate queen. Such exiles found ready wel- come from the Mortimers, and from their daughter, Mrs. Crawe.

[: Having often seen Mrs. Ithemer B. Crawe

in her earlier married life, when I carried the village paper, she always impressed me as of French extraction, for she had the thousand graces and marked characteristics of the educated French lady. But she was of English birth, though educated in France, and was a most interesting personality - one of those who made Watertown, even in its earlier days, distingnished for the culture and mental ability of many of its early settlers. The memory of such has left a sweet and lasting impression, and after seeing the great world in all its phases, the observer recalls the face and manner of some of these earlier ones, who would have graced the highest society in any land.

GENERAL WILLIAM H. ANGELL.

WE regret our inability to present a picture of this gentleman, so long and prominently indentified with the business and social interests of Jefferson county. He is remembered with pleasure by the older citizens, for he was a man of great business capacity and force. Many build- ings in Watertown are still witnesses of his manner of construction - notably the Taggart Bros'. mill at the lower falls, and the water reservoir, now over 40 years in use. He was born in Burlington, Otsego county, N. Y., in 1797, one of a family of ten children. When only ten years of age he left home, and thenceforward earned not only his own living, but helped to care for the less able members of the family. At 14 he gave his father $200 for his " time " - that is, for the time he would be a minor, and therefore his father would be legally entitled to his earnings. The General came into Jefferson county about 1815. He first located at Smithville, where he went into business with Gerret and Jesse Smith. When less than 20 years of age he bought over $5,000 worth of goods, and from Smith- ville went to Clayton. Several years later (about 1834) he was at Sackets Harbor. In 1824 he had married Miss Harriet Warner. Seven children were born to this union, four of whom are still living. While at Sackets Harbor the General became asso- ciated in the management of the Sackets Harbor Bank, which was later merged into the Bank of Watertown, of which, about 1842, General Angell became sole owner. In 1858 his beloved wife died - a lady well remembered in Watertown for her devotion to charity and Christian works. The de- serving poor never had a better friend, for what she gave was given with a grace and gentleness that made the action doubly en- dearing.

In 1860, General Angell married Miss M. Louise Judson, cousin of the late Gen. R. W. Judson, of Ogdensburg. She was an ac-

complished lady, the pattern for a kind, dutiful wife. In 1861, at the beginning of the civil war, the General removed to New York, where he becanie interested in several city contracts, and in 1862 he removed his family to that city, which was thenceforth his home. By nature he was too active to relishi a life of idleness, and he took up several means of acquiring wealth, among others extending the circulation of his bank from $29.000 to $80,000. He was also largely interested in the Continental Steel Works at Maspeth, Long Island. In 1863 the im- position of a tax of 10 per cent. upon the circulation of State banks, drove them out of business. In 1871 General Angel had accumulated enough means to make home comfortable, and in that year he removed to Geneseo, expecting to spend there several years in the enjoyment of needed rest and a release from the cares of business. But his hopes were to be disappointed. On the 1st of July, 1872, he was taken ill, and after great suffering, died at Geneseo on No- vember 26, 1872.

Viewed in the light of his varied and eventful career, General Angell was a char- acter difficult to reproduce. He had a noble soul, which scorned little things. He was undoubtedly superior to the average able business men of his day - and had he made New York city his home early in life, in- stead of Watertown, he would have taken rank with George Law and the elder Van- derbilt, for he was their superior in shrewd- ness of management, in perspicuity, in ability to predict the rise or fall of cereals or articles of general consumption. He was a firm friend, and he had many friends, for he was a friendly man, democratic in his ways, easily approached, never elated by success. nor intimidated by adversity. From 1820 to 1861 he was a conspicuous figure in Jefferson county, and his removal was a source of sincere regret.

J. A. H.

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THE GROWTH OF A CENTURY.

ABORIGINAL TRACES.

IN the olden times Northern New York was disputed ground. The Iroquois claimed it, and appear to have had the best right (for they were of Central New York). It was also claimed by the Algonquins of Canada; by the French Colonists of the Lower St. Lawrence, and by the earliest Dutch and English settlers of the Hudson. It was surrounded by the war-trails of the Indians, and by the war-paths of the armies of Colonial times. Hence, from its first discovery and exploration by Samuel de Champlain in the summer of 1669 to the close of the war of 1812 with Great Britain, it was the theatre of continued strife be- tween contending powers. Of the history of this long period ninch has been written, but much more of it is yet buried in our colonial archives.

There are probably few who have not dwelt with peculiar interest upon the glimpses we catch through the mists of the past, of whole tribes of men who have van- ished from the earth, leaving no heirs or representatives to inherit the richer hlessings of our age; of nations whose part in the great drama of life must always be the theme of conjecture; whose sages are for- gotten, and whose warriors sleep unhonored in the obscurity of oblivion. Few are the monuments we may interrogate, and doubt- ful the interpretation of the enigmas which the scattered traces of their existence offer, nor can these furnish the basis of a well- founded conjecture of the people, or the period, or in some instances of the objects with which they were related. At most we can but offer a few facts, and leave the field of conjecture open to those who may have more ample means of comparison, and the leisure and talent to devote to this in- teresting field of inquiry. The general in- ference which has been reached by those whose researches have been especially de- voted to this study, is that none of the re- mains of art in this section of the State can pretend to the antiquity that belongs to the mound builders of the Ohio valley; that they indicate at most but a slight attain- ment in civilization; that they denote no further object than self-defense, or simple sustenance; and that they evince no general plans, no organized system, beyond what the necessities of the moment suggested. Further than this we know nothing. The enclosures hereafter described exhibit that similarity which leads us to believe them the work of the same race, for a common object - protection against a contemporary foe; thus showing that wars are coeval with the first dawnings of civilization.

In the town of LeRay, a short distance below the village of Black River, and on the road to Watertown, was formerly the trace of a trench enclosure. The work was irregularly semi-circular, inclosing about

one and a quarter acres of ground, and a short distance from the bank of Black river, the side towards which was open, the ends of the embankment extending a short dis- tance down the slope, and curving inward as if to prevent the flank from being turned hy an enemy. A portion of the bank and ditch outside may still be traced in the road, but as early as 1854 the greater part has long been leveled by cultivation. In the fields adjacent were the traces of hearths, numerous fragments of rude pottery, bones of animals, and stone chisels. Human bones have also been found in the vicinity.

About a mile north of this, is another and larger enclosure, which, like the first, con- tains in and around it the usual Indian relics. It occupies a plain but little elevated above a flat that was once flowed by a beaver dam, making a shallow pond several acres in extent. The remains of the dam were traceable on West Creek, which has its source not far distant.

Two trench enclosures formerly existed near Sanford's Corners in LeRay, but no trace of the original works remain. When first seen, the bank, measured from the bot- tom of the ditch, was six feet high. An unusual amount of relics have been afforded by the adjacent fields, and several human skeletons, all buried in sitting posture, have been exhumed. Like most others, they were built near the banks of a stream of water, and had at irregular intervals, gate- ways or passages. The ground within and around was formerly a pine forest which extended many miles in the direction of Carthage.

D. S. Marvin, Esq., read before the His- torical Society, March 15, 1887, a paper re- lating more especially to the Perch River mounds. He said : Perch lake is a small Jake situated in the northwestern portion of the county, connected with Ontario by its outlet, Perch river, which is about six miles long.

The basin of the lake was probably at one time an arm of Lake Ontario itself, and since isolated by elevation.

It seems to have been in past times a favorite winter station of the aborigines. The scenery is picturesque, some of the shores wooded and somewhat bold. But the objects that arrest our attention and interest ns the most, are the so-called Indian mounds, observed along both shores of the lake, and more or less down the outlet. They are situated upon the bluffs overlook- ing. the water, and reach back from the lake sometimes a hundred rods : they num- ber some two hundred in all. These mounds are all round, usually front 50 to 90 feet in circumference ; some of them double, and so near together that their edges coalesce. They are elevated or raised ahove the summits of the hills they occupy from

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ABORIGINAL TRACES.

two to four feet. Where the land has not been cleared, ordinary forest trees of all ages are seen growing upon the mounds, ranging from yearling growths to trees several hundred years old. The debris usually observed about old Indian villages is found buried in the soil, old bones and broken pottery.

The broken pottery observed was of the usual patterns, but it is only sparingly ob- served, for around some of the mounds none could be found. A few of the small mounds were flat-topped, but the usual shape and appearance is a ring of earth, with a depressed or basin-shaped center.

In opening cross sections, or digging trenches from the outside to the center of the circles, as the centers are approached, remains of fires, charcoal, ashes, etc., were observed, sparingly though, in the case of the largest mound. There was observed no disturbance of the soil below the level of the natural surface. The dirt of which the mounds had been constructed is the com- mon country soil, none of it seemingly brought from a distance, similar in charac- ter and composition to the soil of the adja- cent land, made up of clay, sand and small fragments of the underlying limestone, belonging to the Trenton group, as near as I could determine from a cursory examina- tion of the contained fossils, with here and there an occasional transported or drift pebble. The only observable difference was a darker color, caused by an increase of decayed organic matter and burned earth. No graves or human bones were observed. No lines of entrenchments were to be seen. Nor have there been any metal objects or utensils found.

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The growth of a century: as illustrated in the history of Jefferson county, New York, from 1793-1894, Part 23

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