History of Wayne, Pike, and Monroe counties, Pennsylvania, Part 47

Author: Mathews, Alfred, 1852-1904. 4n
Publication date: 1886
Publisher: Philadelphia : R.T. Peck & Co.
Number of Pages: 1438

USA > Pennsylvania > Monroe County > History of Wayne, Pike, and Monroe counties, Pennsylvania > Part 47
USA > Pennsylvania > Pike County > History of Wayne, Pike, and Monroe counties, Pennsylvania > Part 47
USA > Pennsylvania > Wayne County > History of Wayne, Pike, and Monroe counties, Pennsylvania > Part 47

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sheriff, was chosen president for the ensuing year ; Russell F. Lord and Virgil Grenell, vice-presidents; Abraham Swart, correspond- ing secretary ; E. B. Burnham, recording secre- tary ; and S. D. Ward, treasurer. Abiram Winton was continued as general agent. Mr. Swart declined the office tendered him, and Marshal Wheeler was substituted as correspond- ing secretary. His report of the fair of 1853 was very full and interesting, bristling with practical hints and sensible strictures upon the shortcomings of the judges in the several de- partments. His report concludes as follows : " All together the last has been the best fair ever held in the County. It is, however, earn- estly hoped that next October will beat this. The hints given to certain committees have all been made for the good of the Society, and free from any ill will. Will they be taken and acted upon ? If 'yes' be the answer, then we shall soon have fairs in this County not to be equaled in the State."

The officers selected for 1854 were C. P. Waller, president ; Z. H. Russell and Virgil Grenell, vice-presidents ; Marshall Wheeler, corresponding secretary; and E. O. Hamlin, re- cording secretary. During the December Term of court, 1853, a large meeting, called under the auspices of the society, was held at the court- house. It was addressed by Judges James M. Porter and William Jessup.

The fair of 1854 was held October 4th. It was a very satisfactory exhibition, and the at- tendance was unusually large. At one o'clock in the afternoon the regular business meeting of the society was held. It was addressed by E. F. Stewart, Esq., of Easton, Pa., and J. W. Fowler, of Poughkeepsie, N. Y. Edward O. Hamlin was appointed a committee to draw up and publish an address to the citizens of Wayne County on the importance of the Agricultural Society to them, and William H. Dimmick was invited to deliver the annual address in 1855. The following officers were chosen for the com- ing year : President, Captain Aaron Flower ; Vice-Presidents, Hon. N. B. Eldred and Samuel Allen ; Corresponding Secretary, E. O. Ham- lin ; Treasurer and General Agent, Abiram Winton ; Managers, George G. Waller, W. R.

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Stone, John Carr, Platt Darling and Gabriel Howell. In submitting his report the secretary, Hon. E. O. Hamlin, took occasion to compli- ment Miles L. Tracy, Thomas J. Ham, William H. Ham, Jason Torrey, Robert N. Torrey and William Henry Stone for services both on the day of the fair, and also in preparing the pro- ceedings for publication.

The exhibition for 1855 was held on Wed- nesday, October 17th. The day was unusually fine and the attendance very large. Among the more notable premiums awarded was one to Mrs. Sarah Benjamin, aged one hundred and ten years, for the best specimen of tow cloth and yarn. The president, Captain Flower, was unable to be present, and Samuel Allen, one of the vice-presidents, acted in his place. The following officers were chosen for the ensuing year : President, Thomas H. R. Tracy ; Vice- President, C. P. Waller and Gabriel Howell ; Corresponding Secretary, Charles Avery ; Re- cording Secretary, Wm. H. Ham ; Treasurer, Elkanah Patmor ; Managers, G. G. Waller, P. W. Lerch, Henry Bishop, Lucius Collins and Abiram Winton. It was decided that the fair for 1856 should be held two days instead of one ; but it so fell out that no exhibition was held at all. One of the provisions of the by- laws of the society was that the sum total of the premiums offered in any one year should not exceed three-fourths of the money in the treasury. When the time arrived for advertis- ing the premium list for 1856 the treasurer re- ported that he had been unable to secure the balance in the hands of his predecessor, and that hence there was nothing in the exchequer available for the purposes of the society. The new board of officers made several attempts to secure a settlement with the derelict agent, but without success, and they were finally obliged to abandon the idea of a fair. The annual meeting was held, however, on the 17th of Oc- tober at the office of the president, C. P. Wal- ler, and committees were appointed in every township and borough in the county to sccure subscriptions in aid of the society. A new list of officers was elected, as follows : President, L. . L. Deming ; Vice-Presidents, Myron Jakway and Jacob L. Keen ; Corresponding Secretary,

Charles Avery ; Recording Secretary, William H. Ham; Managers, P. W. Lerch, Henry Bishop, Lucius Collins and Abiram Winton. The date for the next fair was fixed for the first Wednesday and Thursday in October, 1857.

But the society had received its death-blow. When the subscription committee tried to re- awaken an interest in the association, with a view to a resumption of the annual fairs, they were met with expressions of distrust in the manage- ment and a general fire of adverse criticism which soon drove them from the field. The extreme stringency of the money market also had a depressing effect upon the effort to raise funds by voluntary subscriptions. The panic of 1857 was one of the most disastrous in the history of the country, and Wayne County suf- fered her full share of the trouble. The reports of the agents of the society were of such a dis- couraging nature as to completely dishearten the board of managers, and before the time ap- pointed for the eighth exhibition the project had been totally abandoned. While the society was in existence it accomplished much good for the stock-raisers and farmers of Wayne. Its officers, as a rule, were selected from among the very best citizens of the county. It awakened a commendable spirit of competition among our husbandmen, and the strife to obtain the best seeds and the purest bloods became general. Its collapse just in the period of its greatest use- fulness was an event to be sincerely deplored.

Of the present Agricultural Society of Wayne County, although it has had an un- interrupted and successful history of a quarter of a century, neither the limits of this article will permit nor do the necessities of the case require so detailed an account as has been given of its predecessors. Its inception may be traced to an editorial article which appeared in the Wayne County Herald of October 31, 1861, in which, after dwelling at considerable length upon the benefits to be derived from such ill- stitutions, the writer (who was afterwards for twenty-two years secretary of the society) says,-

" ... We suggest that the Agricultural and Mechanic Arts Association of this County, which, for some reason,

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WAYNE, PIKE AND MONROE COUNTIES, PENNSYLVANIA.

was allowed to go down some years since, be revived, in order that these evidences of improvement may be brought more plainly into publie notice, and our agriculturists stimulated to still greater efforts to make their business profitable. Several leading farmers with whom we have couversed express their readiness to take hold of the matter, and there is no reason why it should not be done at once. Officers might be clected this fall, and all other necessary steps taken to insure a successful, beneficial and creditable fair next year. Let us hear from our farmer friends in the back townships, and if the suggestion meets with general approval, we are ready to lend our influence to get the institution fairly started at the earliest possible day."

The next issue of the paper contained a for- mal call for a meeting of those favorable to the resuscitation of the Wayne County Agricultural and Mechanic Arts Society, at the court-house in Honesdale, on Monday evening, December 2, 1861, when such measures would be taken to that end as should seem advisable. The call was signed by A. Flower, E. R. Jones, E. H. Clark, Wm. F. Wood, C. P. Haller, H. R. Stone, Wmn. Hartwell and Thomas Ham. Of those public-spirited men, only W. F. Wood and E. R. Jones are now living. The meeting was held pursuant to the call and was attended by a large number of the leading farmers of the county. Hon. E. W. Hamlin, of Bethany, was called to the chair. The vice-presidents were E. R. Jones and Chauncey Deming, and C. P. Tallman, now a respected octogenarian, of Preston, was chosen secretary. Its deliberation resulted in a determination to organize a new society rather than to resuscitate the old one, and a committee of five, consisting of Samuel Allen, C. P. Waller, Ephraim Pulis, A. Flower and E. W. Hamlin, was appointed to draw up a constitution and by-laws for the government of the proposed association. An auxiliary commit- tee of one was selected in each township, to co- operate with the central committee in furthering the success of the movement.

On the 1st of January, 1862, the committee (Wm. H. Ham having been added thereto) met at the Allen House, and, after consultation, ap- pointed Mr. Ham a sub-committee to prepare a charter for the society. On the 15th another meeting was held at the Allen House, when the committee reported a constitution drawn up

in full and signed by fifty-two of the leading citizens of the county as corporators. It was adopted and ordered to be presented to the court for confirmation. February 24, 1862, the charter having been granted, the corporators met at the Allen House and organized the first board of officers, agreeably to its provisions, as follows: President, Hon. E. W. Hamlin ; Vice- President, P. W. Lerch ; Secretary, Wm. H. Ham ; Treasurer, S. D. Ward. The constitu- tion provided for a managing board of fifteen directors, the terms of five of whom should ex- pire every year, and the vacancies thus created be filled by an annual election. The first board of directors was elected and classified as follows :

For one year-S. K. Vail, E. H. Clark, A. K. Hoxie, E. K. Norton, William Hartwell.

For two years-E. W. Hamlin, Sam'l Allen, E. R. Jones, P. W. Lerch, Orrin Lester.

For three years-A. Flower, C. P. Waller, Ephraim Pulis, W. H. Ham, A. B. Walker.

The stock of the society was placed at five dollars per share, and committees were appointed in the several townships to secure subscriptions for the same. Subsequently Nelson D. Allen was made general agent of the society for the sale of its stock, and a large proportion of the three hundred and fifty shares disposed of dur- ing the first six months were sold by him.

March 13, 1862, the board of directors met at the Allen House and adopted by-laws for the government of the society. At this meeting a committee was appointed to locate a favorable site for exhibition grounds, and receive propos- als for the sale or rent of same. The work im- posed upon this committee proved to be impor- tant and arduous. It eventually involved not only the selection of suitable grounds for the annual fairs, but the inclosing of the same, the construction of a half-mile track for trials of speed, the erection of convenient and commodi- ous buildings for exhibition purposes, officers' rooms, etc. They worked with a will, how- ever, and by the time fixed for the first exhibi- tion, had everything fairly in readiness. The grounds selected comprise twenty-two acres and eighteen and one-half perches of level bottom land, situate about midway between Bethany

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and Honesdale, on the Dingman's Choice turn- pike, and a mile and a half from the corpora- tion limits of the county seat. It is a beautiful spot in the summer and autumn. On either side rise high hills covered with dense forests, which, at the usual season for the holding of the exhibitions present a combination of colors of the most charming description. Skirting the grounds on the east is the sparkling Dy- berry Creek, which, joining the west branch at Honesdale, forms the Lackawaxen. Looking south, the graceful spires of the Honesdale churches are seen towering toward the sky. On the north the roads branch, one winding up the picturesque valley of the Dyberry, and the other climbing the steep hills to Bethany. At their junction, on an elevated plateau, command- ing a full view of the grounds, is situate the hostelry of Martin K. Kim ble, which was the life- long residence of his father, the original owner of the tract, and one of thesturdy pioneers of Wayne.

The society at first leased the grounds for a term of five years, at a rental of seventy-five dollars per year, with the privilege of purchase at any date within that period, at the price of eighty dollars per acre. Having occupied it under the lease from April, 1862, to April, 1867, the society bought it outright on the 17th of April, 1867, paying to Messrs. E. B. and G. W. Kimble, the owners, $1769.25, agreeably to the terms of the contract. The fence in- closing the tract was built under contract by William F. Wood, and cost seven hundred and fifty dollars. The buildings, sheds, stalls, etc., were erected at various times, at an aggregate expense of about three thousand dollars. It was the intention of the directors to procure a tent for use at the first fair, and through the agency of Judge Dickson, then living in Phil- adelphia, a large second-hand canvas was pur- chased of the old circus firm of Gardner & Hemmings, for which one hundred and sev- enty-five dollars was paid, but which, unfortu- nately, did not reach Honesdale nntil after the exhibition. It was used at several subsequent fairs, and found very convenient, but finally be- coming tattered and dilapidated in appearance, passed into the hands of the junk dealer. The grounds presented an animated appearance dur-

ing the summer and fall of 1862. There was much to be done to put them in order, and many stockholders of the society and friends of the movement turned in with a will to do it. " Frolics " were frequent, the refreshments for which were generously prepared by the ladies, and the best of spirits constantly prevailed. A grand picnic within the inclosure wound up the series of gatherings which had accomplished so much. It was a most enjoyable party, and was regarded as a happy augury for the future of the society.

The first fair was held on Tuesday, Wednes- day and Thursday, October 7, 8 and 9, 1862. The weather throughout was delightful and the attendance quite as large as could have been ex- pected, taking into consideration the state of the country, then in the midst of civil war. The exhibition itself was entirely satisfactory. A notable incident connected with this fair is wor- thy of record here. As the date fixed for tlie exhibition approached, it was discovered that, owing to the advance in the market value of gold and silver coin, the great bulk of specie had disappeared from circulation, and that, even if a sufficient amount of it could be obtained for the use of the ticket-agents in making change at the gates, the very considerable premium at which it was held would make its use in ex- change for bills an expensive luxury. In this emergency the secretary bethought him of a plan to meet the difficulty. He caused a large number of tickets to be printed "good for 5 cents," "good for 10 cents," and so on. These, signed by the secretary, were used freely during the fair, and found to be a great convenience. These cards were the pioneer "shin-plasters," which subsequently came into such general cir- culation during and subsequent to the war. Af- ter the cxhibition the society had several hun- dreds of dollars, face value, of thiem printed on bank-note paper, and, until they were finally all redeemed, they passed current among the mer- chants and tradesmen of this section.

During the first year of the society's existence the extraordinary outlays required for buildings, track, tent, premiums, etc., were so much in ex- cess of the income from sales of stock and re- ceipts at the annual fairs, it was found necessary

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to provide the need ful fuuds by loans. These were readily obtained from the bank and private indi- viduals at the ordinary rate of interest. One of the first to accommodate the society in this di- rection was the venerable widow of Judge Na- thaniel B. Eldred, of Bethany, who furnished the board of directors with one thousand dollars and allowed it to remain in their hands for sev- eral years. The cash required for the purchase of the grounds was mainly raised by subscrip- tion at the time. Directors E. W. Hamlin, E. G. Wood, Richard Henwood and C. P. Waller cauvassed Houcsdale for that purpose and secured eight hundred dollars within two days. Small- er amounts were obtained iu the same manner in outlying townships. The soliciting com- mittees were named on the 14th of March, 1867, aud by the 1st of April the required cash was in the treasurer's hands. At this time it first appears to have occurred to the managers of the society that they were entitled, under the State law, to au anuual appropriation of one hundred dollars from the county treasury. The point being suggested, Mr. Hamliu was appointed a committee to look into the matter. He reported at a subsequent meeting that he had been uuable to find any such law in the statutes of Pennsyl- vania, and that, in answer to a communication from him on the subject, the secretary of the Monroe County Agricultural Society had writ- ten that he was not aware of the existence of such a provision in the acts of the commonwealth. The law was afterward found, however, and a formal demand for one hundred dollars per year for the seven years' existence of the society (in- cluding 1868) made upon the Board of County Commissioners. By agreement a case stated was submitted to the court as to the county's liabil- ity, and a decision rendered, Judge George R. Barrett presiding, in favor of the association. Under it the society received seven hundred dol- lars from the county treasury iu 1868, and has been paid oue hundred dollars per year from the same source ever since.

act knowu as the "Susquehanna Dog Law," ex- tending the provisions of the same to the couuty of Wayne, and providing that the surplus funds accruing from its enforcement should be appro- priated for the benefit of the Wayne County Agricultural Society. This amendment, pre- pared by the late Judge Waller, was, largely through the influence of the Hon. J. Howard Beach, who was then in the legislature, and had been president of the society. passed, and received the Governor's signature. It was not until 1876, however, that the society received any direct benefit from the act. The county declining to pay over the surplus, as required by law, on the 3d of January of that year Messrs. Hamlin, Whitney and Secretary Ham were appointed a committee to look after the interests of the soci- ety in the premises. As a result of their inves- tigation of the condition of the " dog fund," made during the annual settlement, five hundred dollars were checked from the surplus to the benefit of the association. July 28, 1877, one hundred and twenty-five dollars were so paid ; December 3, 1867, six huudred dollars ; January 5, 1878, six hundred dollars, and in January, 1879, three hundred dollars. The law as to the appropriation of the surplus was then changed, the school fuud becoming the benefi- ciary. The tax on dogs was, however, so re- duced iu the same enactment that sufficient moneys have never since been collected to dis- charge the claims for sleep damages, to say nothing of the accumulation of a surplus.

In addition to the regular annual fairs of the society, which have been held in every consecu- tive year since 1862, the society has, from time to time, opened the grounds for trials of speed, stock sales and other purposes of interest to the farming and stock-raising community. Many public meetings have also been held at the court- house in Honesdale, under its auspices, and farm- ers' clubs organized iu accordance with its sugges- tions. It was the custom, for several years, to provide for an annual address on some agricul- tural topic, to be delivered ou the fair grounds during the exhibitions, aud a great deal of prac- tical iuformation was thus imparted to the thousands in attendance. Among the speakers

In March, 1867, a movement was inaugurated in the board of directors which finally resulted in securing a handsome yearly addition to the funds of the organization. A committee was appointed to draft an additional section to the | on these occasious have been Horace Greeley,

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Bayard Taylor, Hon. George R. Barrett, Wil- liam L. Headley and others of note. Most of the addresses were subsequently printed, either in the newspapers or in pamphlet-form, and given an extensive circulation throughout the county. In the matter of printing the society has ever pursued a liberal policy, issuing a pamphlet every year, and, by all other available means, seeking to awaken and continue the interest of the people in its success. In 1870 a somewhat extended historical sketch of the county, writ- ten by the secretary-Thomas J. Ham-was printed in connection with the society pamphlet and distributed gratuitously to every farmer in Wayne.

The annual fairs have invariably been cred- itable, so far as the merits of articles on exhi- bition were considered ; but the attendance has fluctuated greatly on account of stormy weather and other unavoidable circumstances. Since its organization the financial transactions of the society have aggregated about one hundred thousand dollars.

The following is a complete list of the per- sons who have been directors of the society since its organization, in the order of their elec- tion :

S. K. Vail.

E. H. Clark.

A. K. Hoxie. W. N. Alberty.

E. K. Norton. John Male.

Wm. Hartwell.

Dr. Jos. Jones.

E. W. Hamlin.1

Thos. Y. Boyd. Henry Ball.

E. R. Jones.

J. D. Blake.

P. W. Lerch.

Horace Weston.1

Orrin Lester.

M. B. Allen.

Aaron Flower. Jos. Atkinson.

Chas. P. Waller.1

George Fitze.

Ephraim Pulis. John F. Lee. Wm. H. Ham. Allis Whitney.

A. B. Walker.

John Jackson.

J. Howard Beach. S. D. Ward.

Robert N. Torrey. George E. Moase. H. H. Webb. E. B. Gager. Augustus Hartung.

N. A. Munroe. Virgil Gaylord.

E. G. Wood.

John McFarland.

Isaac N. Chalker.

Wm. Stephens. Perry A. Clark.

Henry Jennings. W. H. Fitze.

Richard Webb.

L. G. Clearwater.

Richard Henwood.

D. M. Eno.

Geo. WV. Kimble.

J. E. Woodmansee.

Ezekiel Reed.1

Henry Hartung.

R. R. Bryant. Philip R. Murray.

Geo. Sandercock.1

J. J. Fulkerson.

G. H. Bunnell. E. P. Jones.

J. W. Seaman. E. H. Ledyard.

A. R. Peck.

S. H. Vail.

Ensign Egelston.

The following table shows the officers of the society, chosen at the annual elections, from its organization in 1862 to this date (1886) :

1862 .- E. W. Hamlin, president ; P. W. Lerch, vice-president ; W. H. Ham, secretary ; S. D. Ward, treasurer.

1863 .- E. W. Hamlin, president; P. W. Lerch, vice-president; Isaac F. Ward, secretary ; J. McIn- tosh, treasurer.

1864 .- E. W. Hamlin, president; C. P. Waller, vice-president ; Thos. J. Ham, secretary ; Thos. J. Ham, treasurer.

1865 .- E. W. Hamlin, president; C. P. Waller, vice-president ; Thos. J. Ham, secretary ; Thos. J .: Ham, treasurer.

1866 .- C. P. Waller, president; E. R. Jones, vice- president ; Thos. J. Ham, secretary ; Thos. J. Ham, treasurer.

1867 .- E. W. Hamlin, president ; E. R. Jones, vice- president ; Thos. J. Ham, secretary ; Thos. J. Ham, treasurer.

1868 .- E W. Hamlin, president ; E. R. Jones, vice- president; Thos. J. Ham, secretary ; Thos. J. Ham, treasurer.

1869 .- E. W. Hamlin, president ; E. R. Joncs, vice- president; Thos. J. Ham, secretary ; Thos. J. Ham, treasurer.

1870 .- J. H. Beach, president ; E. R. Jones, vice- president ; Thos. J. Ham, secretary ; Thos. J. Ham, treasurer.

1871 .- J. H. Beach, president ; E. R. Jones, vice- president ; Thos. J. Ham, secretary ; Thos. J. Ham, treasurer.

1872 .- Dr. Joseph Jones, president ; E. W. Han- lin, vice-president; Thos. J. Ham, secretary ; Thos. J. Ham, treasurer.

1873-E. W. Hamlin, president ; W. N. Alberty, vice-president; Thos. J. Ham, secretary ; F. W. Grenell, treasurer.

1874 .- E. W. Hamlin, president ; W. N. Alberty, vice-president ; Thos. J. Ham, secretary ; J. K. Jen- kins, treasurer.

1875 .- E. W. Hamlin, president; W. N. Alberty, vice-president; Thos. J. Ham, secretary ; J. K. Jen- kins, treasurer.

1 Died in office.

R. P. Patterson. Thos. Charlesworth.

Samuel Allen.1

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1876 .- E. W. Hamlin, president; W. N. Alberty, vice-president; Thos. J. Ham, secretary ; James B. Eldred, treasurer.

1877 .- E. W. Hamlin, president; W. N. Alberty, vice-president ; Thos. J. Ham, secretary ; James B. Eldred, treasurer.

1878 -E. W. Hamlin, president; W. N. Alberty, vice-president; Thos. J. Ham, secretary ; James B. Eldred, treasurer.

1879 .- E. W. Hamlin, president ; W. N. Alberty, vice-president ; Thos. J. Ham, secretary; James B. Eldred, treasurer.

1880 .- J. Howard Beach, president ; W. N. Alberty, vice-president ; Thos. J. Ham, secretary; James B. Eldred, treasurer.

1881 .- J. Howard Beach, president; W. N. Alberty, vice-president ; Thos. J. Ham, secretary ; James B. Eldred, treasurer.

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History of Wayne, Pike, and Monroe counties, Pennsylvania, Part 47

Author: Mathews, Alfred, 1852-1904. 4n Publication date: 1886 Publisher: Philadelphia : R.T. Peck & Co. Number of Pages: 1438

Author: Mathews, Alfred, 1852-1904. 4n
Publication date: 1886
Publisher: Philadelphia : R.T. Peck & Co.
Number of Pages: 1438