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BOUGHT WITH THE INCOME OF THE
JACOB H. SCHIFF
ENDOWMENT FOR THE PROMOTION
OF STUDIES IN
HUMAN CIVILIZATION
1918HISTORY
OF
CAYUGA COUNTY
NEW YORKHISTORY
OF
CAYUGA COUNTY
NEW YORK
COMPILED FROM PAPERS IN THE ARCHIVES OF THE CAYUGA
COUNTY HISTORICAL SOCIETY, WITH SPECIAL'
CHAPTERS BY LOCAL AUTHORS
FROM 1775 TO 1908
AUBURN, N. Y.
1908
'	J*—
f w-
Monotyped Printed and Bound
BY THE
John P. Smith Printing Company
Rochester, N- Y.
mPREFACE
The History of Cayuga County is as interesting as that of any
other county in the state. It is rich and teeming with events
of Indian days and the pioneer period, the records of which should
be read with the keenest interest by all who are to-day enjoying
the fruits of the sacrifices and achievements of the early settlers.
In this volume an effort has been made to give an accurate
account of the important events and incidents of the early years,
and to perpetuate in print the legacies of lips now silent, in well
authenticated traditions and stories of local interest. For the
records of the past much valuable information has been gleaned
from the papers of careful writers, in the archives of the J^ayuga
County Historical Society, and this has been fortified and
supplemented by the assistance of able contemporary writers.
We gratefully acknowledge the valuable aid of many lovers of
historical literature; particularly are we indebted to Prof. Willis
J. Beecher, D. D., for his admirable history of the Auburn
Theological Seminary; to Lavem A. Pierce, Esq., for his exhaustive
history of the bench and bar of the county; to Dr. B. I. C. Buckland
for the chapter on the medical profession, and to Dr. William S.
Cheeseman, editor of the same; also to Hon. B. B. Snow, for his
valuable suggestions and painstaking revision of the history of
Auburn; to Mr. Charles F. Rattigan, who edited the press chapter;
to Gen. John S. Clark for valuable advice, and to the various
pastors, for information relating to the history of their several
churches. The publishers have given their personal attention to
the supervision of the work, yet with a consciousness that the
greatest vigilance cannot wholly exclude errors, this volume is
respectfully submitted to the public.
The Publishers.CONTENTSContents
xiii
CHAPTER I.
THE HISTORY OF AUBURN.
The Primeval Wilderness and Its Inhabitants—The
Incoming of White Men—Bounty Lands and Military
Townships—The Six Town Lots on Which Auburn
Stands—John L. Hardenbergh—Hardenbergh’s Comers—
The Old Genesee Road.......................... i
CHAPTER II.
The Early Settlers on the Site of the City—Fort Hill
—The Genesee Road—The First Religious Society—
The First County Seat—-The New County Seat at Auburn	19
CHAPTER III.
The First Newspaper in Auburn—Street Improve-
ments—Notable Early Settlers—The Auburn Academy—
Auburn in the War of 1812—Incorporation of the Vil-
age—The Auburn of 1815—Building of Auburn Prison
—Military Companies.  ..................... 19
CHAPTER IV.
The Cayuga County Agricultural Society—Develop-
ment of Manufacturing Industries—Visit of Lafayette—
Auburn Medical School—The Erie Canal and Its Effect
upon the Village—The Auburn and Syracuse Railroad
Company—The Panic of 1837............... 29
CHAPTER V.
Early Inns of Auburn, by B. B. Snow.... 4c
CHAPTER VI.
Village Growth and Improvements—The Silk Industry •
in Cayuga County—Rise of the Woolen Industry—Early
Newspapers—The Patriot War—Auburn Prison Troubles
—Auburn Incorporated as a City................ 57XIV
Contents
CHAPTER VII.
Auburn and the Civil War................ 65
CHAPTER VIII.
Establishment of Free Schools—Fort Hill Cemetery—
Improvements on the Outlet—Auburn Gas Light Company
—D. M. Osborne & Company—The Financial Reaction
of 1873—Establishment of the Letter Carrier System in
Auburn—Notable Modern Events Connected with the
City................................... 82
CHAPTER IX.
The Modern Auburn..................... 102
CHAPTER X.
r The Press, Edited by Charles F Rattigan—Auburn
Manufactories—Banks and Bankers—The Gas Light
Company—Wheeler Rifles.................... 107
CHAPTER XI.
The Schools of Auburn—History of the Auburn Acad-
emy, by B. B. Snow....................... ..	144
CHAPTER XII.
The Auburn Theological Seminary, by Professor Willis
J. Beecher, D. D.—Protestant Churches of Auburn, by
Sylvester J. Matthews, “The Antiquarian’’—Catholic
Churches........................................... 174
CHAPTER XIII.
History of Cayuga County—Sullivan’s Raid—Indian
Reservations......................................  239
CHAPTER XIV.
Early Settlers in the County—Military Tract—Land
Grants............................................. 246Contents	xv
CHAPTER XV.
Formation of the County—Its Soil, Minerals and
Products—The Salt Industry—Erection of Towns..	259
CHAPTER XVI.
Formation	of Towns............................ 263
CHAPTER XVII.
Early Modes of Travel and Transportation—Roads,
Stages and the Grand Canal—Dawn of the Railroad Era 266
CHAPTER XVIII.
Education	in Cayuga	County.................... 287
CHAPTER XIX.
History of the Medical Profession of Cayuga County..	291
CHAPTER XX.
The Bench	and Bar of	Cayuga County............. 308
CHAPTER XXI.
Towns of the County:
Aurelius.................................... 398
Brutus...................................... 405
Cato........................................ 413
Conquest.................................... 414
J Genoa......................................  416
Ledyard....................................  419
Montezuma.................................   422
Mentz......................................  423
Moravia. ..................................  427
Niles....................................... 430
.............................................	431
Scipio....................................   432
Fleming..................................... 433XVI
Contents
Sempronius.......................-............ 433
Locke................. . . . . ............... 434
Owasco..........................................   435
Sennett..........................................  436
Springport........................................ 437
Sterling.......................................... 440
Summer Hill....................................... 442
Throop . . ....................................... 443
Venice.........................................    444
Victory........................................... 445
Biographical.......................................   446HISTORY OF
Cayuga County, New York
THE CITY OF AUBURN
EDITED BY BENJAMIN B. SNOW
CHAPTER I.
The Primeval Wilderness and Its Inhabitants—The Incoming of White Men—
Bounty Land and Military Townships—The Six Town Lots—John L. Hardenbergh
—Hardenbergh’s Comers—The Old Genesee Road.
When the War of the Revolution began, the site of the City of
Auburn was covered by a dense, luxuriant forest. Where the
white man now pursues his varied vocations in the busy hive of a
city, the red man then hunted game in the primeval wilderness.
This spot was a part of the land of the Cayugas. Their wigwams
dotted the wooded slopes and their papooses played amid the trees
where now the children of the white man throng to school. The
smoke of their campfires has faded into the upper blue now dark-
ened by the belching chimneys of busy factories.
From the view-point of the historian, this transformation was
almost incredibly swift, for although a century and a quarter has
elapsed since the Cayugan was monarch of this region, the years
that witnessed his decline and fall were few. In 1775 the tribe
dwelt peacefully upon one of the richest and fairest domains of
12
History of Cayuga County
the earth; in 1779 Sullivan’s raid shattered them as a nation, and
before the year 1800 they had vanished completely from their
western Eden. The war which they did nothing to provoke, the
causes of which they probably never understood, wrought their
ruin.
Soon after the close of the War of the Revolution the whites
began to encroach upon the lake region and the remnant of the
Cayugas retreated before the wave of civilization. The year
1789 found them a broken tribe, bereft of much of their ancient
pride, and they were selling their old hunting grounds and moving
toward the setting sun.
In that year also, the first general subdivision of the western
part of the State of New York into townships was made by Simeon
DeWitt, the surveyor general. According to that survey, the
principal part of what is now Cayuga County was embraced in the
town of Batavia. The town of Aurelius was erected therefrom
January 27, 1789, and comprised all that part of Cayuga County
lying north of a line running from east to west and passing through
the southern part of the village of Union Springs. The eastern
part of the town of Aurelius was destined to become the site of
the City of Auburn.
The town of Aurelius was one of the so-called “Military Town-
ships” of which a full account is given in another chapter, along
with full data relating to the Military Tract and the land bounties
awarded to patriot soldiers of the Revolution.
Care should be taken to discriminate between the “Towns”
which were civil divisions and the “Military Townships” which
were laid out for convenience in distributing the bounties to soldiers
—for instance the township of Aurelius was ten miles square and
included the present towns of Fleming, Owasco, Auburn, Sennett,
Throop and that part of Aurelius lying east of the Cayuga Reserva-
tion. The town of Aurelius, a civil division set off from BataviaCity of Auburn
3
(which seems to have included a large part of the western part of
the State), included all of the present Cayuga County lying north
of the present towns of Scipio and Niles.
The soldiers who composed Sullivan's army in his raid upon
the Cayugas and Senecas to chastise them for their attacks upon
the homes of Americans and for their aid to the British, brought
back East the most glowing accounts of the beauty and fertility
of the country about the seven lakes. The spies sent into Canaan
to spy out the land brought back no fairer reports, and, as this
intelligence began to spread, intending settlers commenced to turn
their eyes toward the lake region. But speculators who held
large numbers of soldiers' claims managed to induce the State
authorities to delay a final settlement until the more favored
districts could be purchased from the Indians. This right was
acquired in 1789 and the surveyor-general proceeded with his
survey, and was instructed to locate the bounty lands in the Indian
territories.
When the Cayugas sold their lands to the State, they reserved
a strip of land some three miles wide on the east shore of Cayuga
Lake, extending from Montezuma to near the village of Auburn.
This was known as the “East Cayuga Reservation. " It is probable
that the Cayugas were herded upon this reservation until they
sold it to the State and were given lands farther west, near the end
of the eighteenth century.
Cayuga County was, at that time, covered by a heavy forest
which could with difficulty be penetrated except by the Indian
trails. In 1791, these trails were widened by a party of wood-
choppers sent out for that purpose, and immediately settlers began
to come in.
But the records which constitute the first chapter in the history
proper of Auburn relate to the six town lots upon which the city
stands. These lots were designated by the surveyor-general upon
his map of the original township of Aurelius by the numbers4
History of Cayuga County
thirty-seven, thirty-eight, forty-six, forty-seven, fifty-six and
fifty-seven. They present the appearance of three tiers of two
each, the first two comprising the northern, the second two the
middle and the last two the southern tier. They were awarded
to veterans of the Revolutionary Army, but none of the soldiers
ever occupied them. They fell into the hands of speculators and
through them passed into the possession' of actual settlers.
Lot number thirty-seven, upon which stands the northwest
portion of Auburn, was granted to George Weaver, a private of the
First New York, July 8, 1790, who sold it to Michael Overacker.
After passing through the hands of Major Albert Paulding, or
Pawling, the title to the lot was made out to Robert Dill, of New-
burgh, Orange County, on December 12, 1791, and a patent was
issued to him by the State. Private Weaver seems to have had
no scruple about issuing deeds of the same lot to different persons,
with the result that the several purchasers became involved in
litigation to establish their respective claims.
Lot number thirty-eight, which constitutes the northeast
corner of Auburn, was awarded to Alexander Mills, a private in
the First New York regiment, but as he had previously disposed
of his claim to his allotment to Major William J. Vredenburgh, it
was drawn by that officer. Gerrit H. Van Wagoner bought the lot
from Major Vrendenburgh, February 27, 1789, and received the
State patent for six hundred acres. He sold the southern half of
the farm to Major Noah Olmsted, Jr., for one hundred and twenty
pounds sterling, December 1, 1794. After selling his claim to
Major Vredenburgh, Alexander Mills deeded the lot to Joseph
Prescott, of New York, for the sum of fifty pounds, who sold it to
John Richardson in 1795 for four hundred and twenty pounds
sterling. So a dispute arose over the possession in which the
primary right was, of course, recognized.
Lot number forty-six includes the western portion of Auburn in
which pre-historic Fort Hill is located. This lot was awarded toCity of Auburn
5
Alexander McCoy, also a private in the First New York regiment.
He was alloted only five hundred of the six hundred acres, and had
no claim to the one hundred acres in the southeast comer of the lot.
It was reserved in the original survey and was known as the “State’s
One Hundred Acres.” Like his fellow-soldiers he deemed himself
entitled to all he could raise on the property and sold it twice; first to
David Howell of Newburgh, in 1789, and second, to John Brown, for
the small sum of eleven pounds sterling. This matter also came up
before the commission established to settle disputed land titles,
and David Howell’s claim was sustained. Robert Dill purchased
the five hundred acres from the heirs of Howell for the sum of twelve
hundred dollars The title to the remaining one hundred acres of
this lot was acquired by General Philip Van Cortlandt, a lawyer of
New York, and was by him transferred to William Bostwick of
Milford, Connecticut, September 19, 1799, for the sum of seven
hundred and fifty dollars.
Lot number forty-seven was drawn by Captain John Doughty.
It comprises the eastern part of the city. Captain Doughty was the
only one of the original owners who personally received the patent
for his award. He sold it to Martin and Josiah Ogden Hoffman, of
New York, for one hundred and fifty pounds sterling. On February
16, 1792, the lot was transferred to Captain John L. Hardenbergh,
of Ulster County, for the sum of one hundred and eighty pounds.
Lot number fifty-six, upon which stands the southwestern part
of the City of Auburn, was granted to Nicholas Avery, a private in
the Second New York regiment, who sold it to Edward Cumpston
for twenty pounds sterling. On September 23,1790, the patent of the
lot was issued to Jeremiah Van Rensselaer, with whom Abraham
TenEyck was interested. Stephen N. Baynard next owned the lot,
and in 1792 sold three hundred and fifty acres of it to Bethel H. Steel.
Lot number fifty-seven was awarded to Colonel Peter Gansevoort
who retained it until January 9, 1805, when he sold it to Samuel
Swift for four thousand dollars.6
History of Cayuga County
Captain John L. Hardenbergh who secured possession of lot num-
ber forty-seven in 1792 was the founder of Auburn. He was not
one of those who came into the wilderness and settled upon the most
accessible or most inviting spot, but actually disposed of his ward
in the towns of Fabius and Cicero to obtain the swampy ground
and heavily wooded tract where he located. Not only had he served
in Sullivan’s army, but he had been a deputy under the Surveyor-
General when the original townships of the Onondaga Military tract
were surveyed and mapped, and when he drew the land allotted to
him as a veteran, he had a distinct preference as to where he would
locate. The wild valley of the Owasco attracted him, although it
did not invite immediate occupation, but the full, quick current of
the river advertised its power in many little cascades and falls,
declaring what it could do for those who would put it in harness.
The facilities which it afforded for manufacturing were plain to the
eyes of Captain Hardenbergh and he decided to build upon its bank.
Captain John L. Hardenbergh is described as being “a tall,
swarthy man of vigorous habits and iron frame,” so that he was an
ideal pioneer. He was of Holland descent and was noted for his
services in the War of the Revolution. The descendants of the
original Hardenbergh family still live in Ulster County, where the
old Hardenbergh mansion, a stone structure, is still standing.
The only road penetrating Cayuga County in that day was the
old Indian trail, which had been widened by a party of wood-
choppers and emigrants under the leadership of General Wadsworth.
That road ran from Whitestown to Canandaigua and entering the
town of Aurelius from the northeast, crossed the site of Auburn
very nearly upon the line of North street and West Genesee street.
It then continued deviously on to Cayuga Lake. For years it was
known as the old Genesee road and along its sides dwelt all the early
settlers of Aurelius.
General John S. Clark claims that the old Genesee trail did not
pass through the site of Auburn, but passing by the foot of LakeCity of Auburn
7
Skaneateles, passed also by the foot of Lake Owasco and continued
on to the foot of Cayuga Lake. In this contention he is sustained
by the journals of the officers of Sullivan’s army. DeWitt did not
mark the trail on his map.
By that road came Captain Hardenbergh, bringing with him
only his daughter and two negro slaves, Harry and Kate Freeman.
He spent several days exploring the valley before he decided upon a
site for his cabin, but at length, chose a dry spot near the road and
situated just behind where the City Hall now stands. There his
primitive house was built by a man named Gilbert Goodrich, while
the Captain occupied himself in cutting down the forest trees to
make a clearing. The cabin was a small but strong structure of
logs, made secure against the attacks of wild beasts and provided
with an old-fashioned Dutch back against which the fire was built
to heat the house and cook the meals. There was no chimney and
the smoke found its way out through a “smoke-hole” in the roof.
Pots and kettles were suspended over the fire by a wooden crane.
It is recorded that Captain Hardenbergh was a hospitable man and
that every newcomer and even the Indians always found a welcome
in his unpretentious abode. And that cabin became the center of the
labors of another Hercules, as the vigorous Captain began the task of
felling the monarchs of the forest, harnessing the strength of the
stream and transforming the swampy waste into productive land.
The Indians were the only occupants of the site of Auburn when
Captain Hardenbergh settled there in 1793. The Cayuga village
of Wasco stood upon the ground now occupied by the State Prison.
Wasco signified “Crossing Place” and the ancient Genesee trail
intersected the river a little west of where North street now crosses
it. The trails of the Indians ran to the lake along both sides of the
stream. The old Indian crossing consisted of large stepping stones
which were at one time bridged by means of bark. The crossing
gave a name to the locality and was known among the Onondagas
as Osco, and to the Oneidas as Owasco. So, Owasco Lake was8
History of Cayuga County
“The Lake Near the Crossing Place. ” Among the Indians the
Outlet was known as Deagogaya, or the place where men were
killed. This was, possibly, a reference to some tragic event con-
nected with Fort Hill.
The dwellings of the village of Wasco were constructed of poles
and bark, which was the Indian style of architecture, if that name
may be applied to their rude and fragile edifices. The fire was
built on the ground in the center, the smoke escaping through an
opening at the ridge. The tribe, or what was left of it, wTas friendly
to the whites, and the Indians subsisted by fishing and hunting.
An extensive cranberry marsh which lay close to the village on the
north, was, at that time, and for years afterwards a favorite resort
for game. Also the Outlet abounded with fish.
About the year 1797 the Indians began to trade with the whites,
some stores having been opened on Captain Hardenbergh’s farm.
In this way the aborigines procured and soon began to indulge in
fire-water. It would seem that no restrictions were placed upon
their purchases of it. This led to their destruction. Their village
became the scene of savage brawls which often called for the
interference of the whites to prevent bloodshed. Finally, one
night things reached a crisis. The village broke into pandemonium
and the whole neighborhood was aroused. The settlers who
hastened to Wasco found the Indians yelling and fighting like
demons, pelting each other with fire-brands and striving to set fire
to each other’s lodges. All attempts to quiet them were unavailing
and before morning they had all fled into the forest from which
they never returned.
Such is the statement, given almost literally, of one historian,
while others assert the existence of the village and give a similar
version of its abandonment. General Clark, however, gives very
little weight to any of these accounts and it must be conceded that
the lack they support of acceptable records. Besides, there is a
large element of improbability in the statement that a whole villageCity of Auburn
9
decamped in a night never to return. A few would surely have
remained; one or two would have wandered back. General Clark
maintains that there was at most but a few huts in the so-called
village, if it existed at all. He states that all the Indian villages
were many miles to the south and west of Auburn, and that the
only Indians who came over this spot in modern Indian days, were
hunting parties. The tribes dwelt on the lakes; the Cayugas on
the eastern shore of Cayuga Lake. He also doubts the existence
of a crossing constructed of stepping stones and bark, because there
was only one place where such a crossing or bridge was practicable
and at that place it was not needed. That place was the shallows
where the Indians came to fish, spearing the trout with which the
Outlet abounded, as they made their way up stream.
Captain Hardenbergh’s first task was to make himself comfort-
able in his new home, the second was to control the power of the
wild stream rushing past his door and compel it to work for him.
With the aid of Thomas Morley he built a substantial log dam upon
the Outlet and employed Eldad Steel and Captain Edward Wheeler
to build a mill for him. It was what was known as a gig mill and
contained one run of stone with a capacity for grinding twelve
bushels of grain daily. The roof was a thatch of hemlock brush.
Before this mill was erected the early settlers of Aurelius were
compelled to grind their grain into flour by the primitive method
of barbarous tribes; that is by a pestle and mortar. The settlers
used a heavy piece of wood suspended from a balanced pole for a
pestle and a scooped-out stump for a mortar. But Hardenbergh’s
first mill was of a fixed capacity while the demand for flour was
constantly increasing, so he erected a new frame mill in 1802, with
a capacity of thirty bushels daily, which was increased the following
year by the addition of an extra run of stone raising the output to
one hundred and thirty bushels per diem.10
History of Cayuga County
CHAPTER II.
Early Settlers — Fort Hill — The New Genesee Road — The First Religious
Society — The New County Seat.
To Colonel Hardenbergh and succeeding captains of industry
the water power of the Outlet was the initial lure of Auburn, but to
the antiquarian Fort Hill has ever been the most interesting feature
of the city. Upon the summit of this hill once stood an Indian fort.
Whether that fort was built by the Cayugas or by some more ancient
tribe has ever been a matter of controversy, such noted men as
Schoolcraft and Squier being unable to agree upon the subject.
Schoolcraft visited the hill in 1845 to examine it for the State, and
the result of his inspection was an expression of the opinion that
the fort was built by the Alleghans, a powerful tribe that occupied
this part of the country prior to the Iroquois, who drove them out.
He classed this fort with similar constructions found in the valleys
of the Ohio and Mississippi and therefore assigned it to the same
origin. Benjamin F. Hall, in an exhaustive dissertation on the
subject agrees with Schoolcraft, but the eminent antiquarian, E. G.
Squier, after a careful comparison of the pottery, pipes, ornaments
and relics of barbaric art found in the fort, with those of both pre-
historic and historic tribes, leans to the belief that the fort was con-
structed by the Iroquois. The traditions of the Iroquois, whatever
they are worth, support the latter claim. The Cayugas maintained
that the fort was constructed by themselves for defensive purposes
during the wars that raged among the Iroquois previous to the
formation of the great league known as the Five Nations.
McCauley, the historian, visited the fort in 1825, and in his His-
tory of New York, gave the following description of it:—“It inclosed
about two acres and had a rampart, ditch and gateway. It is now
nearly obliterated by the plow. In its original state, or the condition
it was in thirty-five years ago, about the time the land was cleared,City of Auburn
11
the rampart was seven feet high, and the ditch ten feet wide and
three deep. Two persons, the one standing in the ditch and the
other within the enclosure, were unable to see each other. The
gate-way was on the northeastern side in the direction of a spring
which flowed close by. The work was three hundred and fifty
paces in circumference.” There were caches inside the fort which
were used as storehouses for grain, and, when first inspected, there
was a moat surrounding it. The fort was a strong defensive structure
against the primitive weapons of Indian foes and its position on the
hill gave it strategic importance.
Hardenbergh s Comers was the original name of the hamlet that
was destined to grow into the village and City of Auburn.
After the question of subsistence, the next two problems encount-
ered by the early settlers were the demolition of the forest and the
construction of roads. Danger from the Indians, which had been
the great terror and menace of the pioneers in the eastern part of
the state, was not apprehended in Cayuga County, and immigrants
came in without dread of foes, ready and eager to overcome
the obstacles presented by the wilderness, and to build up
homes.
Close upon the heels of Hardenbergh, they began to arrive. In
1791a party of settlers left the vicinity of Gettysburg, Pennsylvania,
and after a lapse of two years arrived in 0wasco. Their journey
had not occupied all that time; delays at Ludlowville to perfect land
titles had consumed much of it. But they settled in Owasco shortly
after Hardenbergh located in Aurelius. The party consisted of
three men named Brinkerhoff, Roeliff, Jacob and Luke, Charles and
James Van Tyne; Philip O’Brien; Thomas and Abraham Johnson
and Albert Demaree. Later in the same year, 1793, came the Par-
sell family, consisting of David, Isaac, John and two sisters. Among
the early settlers in Aurelius were two Revolutionary soldiers,
Solomon Tibbies and Jacob Van Dorn. In the same year came
Elder David Irish, a Baptist minister, who preached the first sermon12
History of Cayuga County
to white men in Cayuga County, in 1794. In 1795 came Major
Noah Olmsted, Jonas Huggins, and Gideon Tyler who brought his
family. As early as the last mentioned year, settlers began to
cluster about the Corners because of the operation of the mill. In
that year James O’Brien erected a log house on the site of the present
City Hall, and two physicians, Doctor Samuel Crossett and Doctor
Ellis joined the hamlet. In 1796 Samuel Bristol arrived and opened
the first tavern in the place, his hostlery offering only such accom-
modations as could be afforded by a log cabin. In that cabin he
had a store also, which held the distinction of being the first
mercantile establishment in Auburn, or in the town of Aurelius.
Then came John Treat, Major Walter G. Nicholas, Dr. Hackaliah
Burt, Nehemiah Smith, William Bostwick and Daniel Hyde The
most important arrivals in 1806, were, Doctor Joseph Cole, John
Wagstaff, a coppersmith; Captain William Clark; Benjamin Yard,
carpenter and joiner; Robert Dill, a public spirited man; Samuel
D. Lockwood, lawyer; George F. Leitch, merchant; Captain Edward
Allen, manufacturer; Horace Hills, merchant; Daniel Lounsbury;
Jonathan Russel, a silversmith; Clark Camp, a millwright, and Reu-
ben Swift, a miller. In 1807 came David Brinkerhoff; Colonel John
Richardson, a cabinet maker; Reuben Porter; Elijah Miller, lawyer;
Elijah Jarvis; Elisha T. Swift and Peter Hughes who was the
County Clerk. In 1808, David Hyde and William Brown. John
H. Beach and Doctor Joseph T. Pitney augmented the Corners in
1809. In 1810 John Porter, Samuel C. Dunham and Elisha Pease
came in.
In 1795, Jehiel Clark settled on lot forty-five, and in 1798,
completed the construction of his saw mill and gpist mill, the latter,
a permanent edifice of stone.
The town government of Aurelius was fqrfned in 1794, and the
first town meeting was held on the first Tuesday in April of that
year. It convened in the house of Colonel Hardenbergh—a rank
he subsequently obtained and a title by which he was popularlyCity of Auburn
13
known. When that meeting was held the population of the town
was so small that the majority of the citizens had to accept office to
fill the civil list. For ten years the town meetings were held regu-
larly at Colonel Hardenbergh’s.
In the year 1800 every road leading to Western New York was
thronged with immigrants heading for the Genesee valley and the
rich Military lands. Large numbers of them settled along the old
Genesee trail, the oak openings of Aurelius and the fertile lands of
the southern towns being eagerly sought after. The valley of the
Owasco was not inviting to the early arrivals because of its heavy
forests and low-lying land. In 1800 there were not more than one
hundred and fifty acres of cleared land about the Corners and the
settlement was not large enough to attract recruits rapidly.
The new Genesee road from Utica to the West was constructed in
1797, and the section of it lying between the Comers and Onondaga
Hill is now known as Franklin street. When Jehiel Clark built his
mills he opened up several roads to attract business and make his
location the leading center of the settlement. One of those roads
corresponded nearly to what is now Division street, and ran south
to Grover’s settlement. Another was Clarksville street, now Clark
street. It is not possible to state with exactitude the locations of
all the roads which traversed Aurelius at that date. The old Gene-
see road was the first built and its location is well verified. The
one leading to Hardenbergh’s mill was, doubtless, what was known
as the old Chenango road. The first roads used by the settlers
followed the Indian trails, more or less, as was practicable. And it
might be stated that such trails were not without system. For
instance, it was the custom of the aborigines to have a trail from the
head of one lake to the foot of the next and vice versa. Where a
trail followed a stream or lake it always ran as close to the shore as
possible, lying outside of the close timber growth of the banks and
the ravines.14
History of Cayuga County
In those days the roads were always wet and heavy during the
summer, so that travelling was easier in the winter months, and
immigrants generally came on their sleighs.
Throughout the whole length of the Genesee road no part of it
rivalled in badness that strip passing through Auburn, and its
reputation clung to it for thirty years. This, with the wet lands,
swamps and stagnant pools prejudiced settlers against the locality
and retarded rapid growth for a number of years. It is asserted
that prospectors after looking over the situation passed on to seek
a more inviting section of the country, and that some who had
settled actually left.
Notwithstanding that Hardenbergh’s Comers was not an alluring
place in its infancy and that its reputation had gone abroad, the
settlement continued to grow slowly. The openings in the forest
grew wider before the axes of the woodmen and fields began to
fructify in the midst of the wilderness.
New York was a slave state at that time and some of the settlers
in Aurelius were slave owners. The negroes aided materially in
clearing up the land and some of them actually purchased their
freedom by that means. One negro, Tom Bramin, so earned his by
clearing an eighty-acre lot for Colonel Hardenbergh. The papers
attesting the manumission of this slave appear in the town book of
Aurelius for the year 1803.
The first white child bom in Auburn was John H., son of Colonel
Hardenbergh, who, in 1796, had married a daughter of Roeliff
Brinkerhoff of Owasco. The first white girls were Harriet and
Polly, daughters of William Bostwick.
The first school was located in Hardenbergh’s Corners in 1796,
and the first schoolmaster was Benjamin Phelps. The primitive
school-house was constructed of logs and stood on the west side of
North street halfway up the hill. In 1801 a frame school-house was
erected at the Corners. It stood on a spot which is now covered by
South street.City of Auburn
15
The first regularly formed religious society of the hamlet was
organized by Reverend Davenport Phelps, although missionary
services had been held in the school-house on South street and in
William Bostwick’s large barn, for some time previous, by Reverend
David Higgins, a missionary from Connecticut, who also preached
at Aurelius, Cayuga and Grover’s Settlement. Mr. Higgins began
to hold his meetings in the year 1802.
In 1800 a post-office was opened at the Corners and Doctor
Crossett was the first postmaster. There was a mail every two
weeks which was brought on horseback by Jason Paker. In 1804
mails had increased to a bi-weekly service. The daily mail was
not inaugurated until 1808. Stages were running once a week
along the old Genesee road as early as the year 1800.
The first bridge in Auburn was constructed in 1800, across the
Outlet on North street. Previous to that time pedestrians crossed
the stream on the trunk of a tree thrown from bank to bank; teams
waded through the water.
The first worker in iron who settled at the Comers came in the
first year of the century. His name was Daniel Grant and he
opened a blacksmith’s shop which in 1804 developed into a trip-
hammer forge situated on the corner of Genesee street and Lumber
lane.
In 1801 a lawyer who achieved fame and a large practice in
land titles, settled here. His name was Daniel Kellogg, and with
him was associated Moses Sawyer. Richard L. Smith, then a law
student but subsequently district attorney and editor of the Auburn
Gazette, came also in the same year.
In 1803 Nathaniel Garrow, a man destined to become prominent
in the young community came to the Corners. He purchased the
triangle of ground now bounded by Genesee street, North street and
the Outlet, and embarked in the business of distilling He became
very popular and held several public offices, finally reaching the
dignity of Congressman.16
History of Cayuga County
The Seneca turnpike, which was the great highway of western
New York was constructed through Cayuga County in 1802 and
1803 by a company organized for that purpose. The old Genesee
road, west of the Outlet, was accepted as part of the turnpike with-
out any alteration or improvement, but the line to the east was built
through the woods along a new survey to accommodate Skaneateles
as well as Hardenbergh’s Comers. This road was a very primitive
affair and was long known as the “mudpike.” It was in use eight
years before the stumps were dug out of it.
A famous old tavern known as the Farmer’s Inn was erected at
the Comers in 1804 by Henry Ammerman, and was long a favorite
resort for lawyers, jurors and other court attendants, as well as a
popular hostelry for farmers. John Demaree and Epharam Lock-
hart built a cabinet shop opposite the Farmer’s Inn in 1804, and in
1815a brick shop was erected to the east of it. The first stone house
in the hamlet was built in 1805 by Jeremiah O’Callaghan on the west
side of Seminary avenue, just north of Franklin street.
In 1805 came William Cox, the first tailor of the hamlet; Anslem
S. Howland, the first hatter; and John Walker, who with Silas
Hawley erected the first carding mill on the Outlet. Other notable
settlers were:	Henry Polhemus, Zepheniah Caswell, Robert and
John Patty, who built an ashery, and a tannery, besides conducting
a mercantile establishment; Watrous Pomroy, a carpenter, and
Micajah Benedict, a veteran of the Revolution and a personal friend
of LaFayette.
Slowly, but steadily, the hamlet kept on growing. In 1801,
Abner Beach with his family of two sons and two daughters, settled
on Franklin street hill. In 1802 Philip and Gideon Jenkins,
millwrights, Ichabod Marshall and Captain Edward Stevenson,
joined the little colony.
As the county continued to increase in population the question
of a permanent county seat began to be agitated. For several
years after the organization of the county, the village of AuroraCity of Auburn
17
was used, because of its central location, as the meeting place of the
supervisors and the courts. Aurora was never designated by law
as the county seat. The regular jail for the district was at
Canandaigua, although there was a supplementary house of
detention for debtors at Cayuga. In 1804 a law was passed
reducing Cayuga County to nearly its present dimensions and that
act precipitated a rivalry among several places for the honor of
being the county seat. The law defining the boundaries of the
county contained a provision for the erection of a court house and
jail for the new county at Sherwood’s Comers, and immediately
Cayuga, Levanna, Clarksville, Aurora and Hardenbergh’s Comers
began to urge their respective claims to preferment. The result
of the agitation was that the law was revoked, and on March 16,
1805, James Burt, of Orange County, Edward Savage of Washington
County, and James Hildreth of Montgomery County were appointed
commissioners to visit Cayuga County and report as to the most
suitable site for the location of the county seat. The commissioners
made their inspection in June and reported in favor of Harden-
bergh’s Corners, because of its central location, its position on the
highways and its prospective importance. They further stipulated
that an acre of ground should be donated for the site of the public
buildings, and selected its location on the farm of William Bostwick.
Henry Ammerman, John H. Cumpston, Daniel Hyde and Doctor
Burt pledged themselves-that the State should receive a deed of
the selected site and their promise was duly fulfilled. The site
cost two hundred dollars.
The southern towns of the county were much dissatisfied with
the location of the public buildings and the supervisors succeeded
in delaying the erection of the Court House and jail for several
years, by refusing to appropriate sufficient funds for that purpose.
The citizens of the Corners, however, began the construction of the
buildings themselves, and furthermore, succeeded in securing the
enactment of a law imposing a fine of two hundred and fifty dollars
218
History of Cayuga County
upon every supervisor who should refuse to levy the proper taxes
when legally directed so to do. This ended the trouble and the
Court House was completed in 1809, at an expense of ten thousand
dollars. It was a strong wooden edifice, two stories high, and
painted white. The lower story, which was used as a jail was built
of large upright logs held together by iron spikes. The lawn in
front of the Court House was long known as “ Court House Green. ”
Hardenbergh’s Corners began to grow rapidly as soon as it was
designated as the county seat and at the same time one of the most
famous names connected with the county began to be mentioned.
Enos T. Throop settled in Auburn in the spring of 1806 and became
the law partner of Joseph L. Richardson. He took a lively interest
in the county seat question and was the prosecuting attorney
against the recalcitrant supervisors, pressing the matter to ultimate
success
Hardenbergh’s Corners was an unwieldy name and as soon as
there was a probability that the place would be chosen for the
county seat the question of a more suitable appellation for an
important community began to agitate the citizens. Dr. Crossett
suggested the name of Auburn, which Colonel Hardenbergh opposed,
as a matter of course. He was willing to drop the “Comers” and
retain the name 4‘Hardenbergh ”; some were in favor of “Center. ”
some “Mount Maria” but a committee composed of Dr. Crossett,
Dr. Ellis and Moses Sawyer decided upon “Auburn,” and the
name was adopted, although a meeting was subsequently called
to induce the citizens to reverse that action. This new name was
adopted in 1803, and the archives of the county were removed
from Aurora to Auburn in 1807, by Peter Hughes, then county
clerk. The Court House was not completed until two years later,
so Mr. Hughes kept them in his house in the meantime.
In the year 1810, Auburn had begun to give indications of its
possibilities as a manufacturing center. In that year there were
seventeen industrial establishments upon the Outlet, and althoughCity of Auburn
19
none of them were pretentious, all were active and thriving. Five
of them were saw mills, four grist mills, two distilleries, two card-
ing mills, two fulling mills, one linseed oil mill and one forge. The
number of dams at that date was six. The first dam was built in
1807 by Elijah Swift for his saw and grist mills. The original dam,
on the sight of the big dam, was built in 1808 by Daniel Hyde, who
owned the adjacent land along both sides of the outlet, and who
completed a large grist and saw mill the same year. In 1810 he
built a mill for the manufacture of linseed oil. This burned down
the following year, but was re-built by John H. Beach and David
Hyde. They also started a distillery in 1812. Robert Dill’s log
dam was constructed in 1809 to furnish power for a saw mill and
a forge opposite. When built both of these buildings were sur-
rounded by dense woods. A fulling mill was erected in 1810 by
Robert Dill and John Walker. It was burned down along with
the saw mill in 1816. Jehiel Clark built two dams at Clarksville,
one to furnish power for a grist mill and one for a saw mill.
CHAPTER III.
The First Newspaper in Auburn — Street Improvements — Notable Early
Settlers—The Auburn Academy—Auburn in the War of 1812—Incorporation of
the Village—Building of Auburn Prison.
In 1808 the first newspaper published in Auburn made its
appearance. Henry and James Pace, two Englishmen, who had
been publishing the Gazette, at Aurora, moved their primitive press
to Auburn when the latter place became the county seat, and
started the Western Federalist. The first number appeared June 7,
1808. This was the only paper in the village until 1814 when the
Cayuga Patriot was established. The Patriot was a Democratic
organ and opposed politically to the Western Federalist, the name
of which indicated its political faith. The editor and publisher
of the Cayuga Patriot was Samuel A. Brown, who, it is related,20
History of Cayuga County
never could get his paper out on time, and whose wife, as easy
going as himself, never had his dinner on time.
As the village continued to grow the question of better thorough-
fares and new streets was given some attention. North street was
straightened so as to conform to the western boundaries of lots
forty-seven and thirty-eight. This street and Genesee street were
first laid out in 1791; South street and Owasco street in 1795;
Market street, then known as the Mill road, and Franklin, at first
called the Genesee road, were projected in 1797. East Genesee
street was in use as early as 1791 but was not legally erected until
1802. Division street was laid out in 1799 and Seminary avenue in
1805. Seminary and Fulton streets date from 1806; State and
Chapel streets from 1811. Mechanic street, which superseded old
Lumber Lane, was not definitely located until 1821. After the
town of Auburn was erected the hill at the junction of North and
South streets was lowered about twelve feet, and the levels near the
adjacent bridges were raised about eight feet; the earth carried
from the hill being used to fill in the lower levels. Genesee and
South streets were also graded and much improved over their
original condition.
Among the settlers who came to Auburn in 1811 were Tilliman
Beach, Thomas Cooper, John S. Burt, Chauncey Dibble, Stephen
Van Anden and Doctor A. M. Bennett. In 1812 came Doctor
Erastus Tuttle, Abraham Gridley, John Oliphant, Teri Rogers, and
the two Terrys, Abel and Thadrach. New arrivals in 1813 were
Major Joseph Colt, Daniel Elliott and John and Samuel Dill. The
next year brought Ezekiel Williams, Sylvanus Noble and George
Casey.
In the latter part of the year 1810 the citizens of Auburn began
to discuss the question of an academy, that the youth of the village
might enjoy the advantages of a more extended education than
was afforded by the public schools. The matter assumed definite
shape in December of that year. A public meeting was held, atAewTork, 13. Appleton A. ICity of Auburn
21
which John H. Cumpston, William Bostwick, Robert Dill and
John H. Hardenbergh each offered to donate land for the site of an
academy. None of these sites was accepted at that time, but
subsequently, Robert Dill’s lot was decided upon, and he gave the
trustees a deed for five and three-quarters acres of land. The
meeting appointed a committee composed of William Bostwick,
Doctor Burt and David Brinkerhoff, to solicit subscriptions toward
a building fund. That subscription realized $4,090, all of which
was assured early in 1811. On January 5 th of that year the Auburn
School Association was formed, and consisted of a number of those
citizens who had subscribed to the building fund. The academy
building was erected in 18.11, at a cost of nearly four thousand
dollars. The building was a three-story brick structure sixty feet
long and twenty feet wide, surmounted by a belfry The rooms
were heated by old-fashioned fireplaces, and all three floors were
used as school rooms.
When the War of 1812 began, there were three companies of
volunteer soldiers, with headquarters at Auburn; one was cavalry,
one infantry and one a battery of artillery. The cavalry company
was the first military organization in Auburn, and was recruited
by Captain Trowbridge Allen in 1804. This company was very
popular, not because of its efficiency in drill, but because of its
handsome blue coats, trimmed with red, over buff vests and pants,
and surmounted by headgear ornamented with plumes and horse-
hair crests. It was a notably patriotic body of men, as were all
the companies. Captain James Simpson succeeded Captain Allen,
and was in turn succeeded by Captain Bradley Tuttle who was in
command during the time of the war.
The infantry company was organized in 1806, being an off-shoot
from the company of Captain James Wilson of Brutus. Edward
Stevenson was the first captain of the company.
The artillery company was organized by Captain Thomas
Mumford of Cayuga, but at the time of the war it was commanded22
History of Cayuga County
by Captain John H. Cumpston. Its equipment was two brass six
pounders.
Immediately after the declaration of war, in June 1812, the
governors of the several states were requested to muster their
forces for service on* the borders. The Aurelius regiment assembled
on the farm of Jesse Reed, two miles west of Auburn, and volunteers
were called for, as they were in 1898, for the War with Spain.
Enough privates to make up two companies responded at once,
and there were more officers anxious to go than were needed for
the regiment. The two companies were commanded by Captains
Henry Brinkerhoff of Owasco and Daniel Elbridge of Aurelius,
and were ordered to join the command of General Van Rensselaer
on the Niagara River. The battery under Captain Cumpston
was also sent. The Cayuga County infantry saw war in earnest at
Lewiston and Queenston Heights, where Scott and Wool disputing
as to which of them was in command, sent part of their forces over
into Canada, and failing to support them, left many as prisoners
in the hands of the British. Captain Brinkerhoff was one of the
active participants in the battle, and it is recorded that having
mounted a stump to make an observation, his pedestal was knocked
from under him by a cannon ball.
The artillery company did not arrive in time to participate
in this affair, but was engaged in several subsequent actions. The
company served the country creditably for three months, at the
end of which time it was sent back to Auburn and honorably
disbanded.
A company of regulars was raised in Auburn in 1812, and was
quartered in wooden barracks on Genesee street. This company
was sent to Sackett’s Harbor and formed a part of General Pike’s
expedition against York, in upper Canada. York is now the city
of Toronto, and upper Canada became the Province of Ontario
when the British provinces of North America were organized under
the name of the Dominion of Canada.City of Auburn
23
In 1814 Captain Jack Richardson led a company of rifles from
Auburn to the Niagara frontier, and took part in some of the
severest engagements of the war. This company was with General
Brown’s command when the Americans were besieged in Fort Erie,
and in the famous sortie of September 17th achieved a place for
its banner in the Soldiers’ Hall of Fame. General Porter was
ordered to destroy an advanced work of the enemy, consisting of a
block-house and bastions, from which batteries were playing upon
Fort Erie with destructive effect. Captain Richardson’s company
formed a part of General Porter’s detachment, and as the Americans
charged the works, Captain Richardson, running in front of his
men, exposed himself, a prominent mark for the British bullets,
but went through uninjured. During the combat General Porter
was surrounded and captured by the enemy, but was rescued by
men of the Auburn company led by Lieutenant Chatfield. The
British works were taken and with them a thousand prisoners
and a large amount of stores. Captain Richardson was subse-
quently promoted to the rank of Colonel.
Although far removed from the immediate vicinity of the war,
Auburn was kept in touch with its activities, not only through its
citizen soldiers who were at the front, but because of its location
upon the main thoroughfare of the state, along which bodies of
troops passed to and from the northern and western frontiers.
The soldiers of Van Rensselaer, Brown, Scott and Izard repeatedly
passed through Auburn and often made it a halting place, much to
the delectation of the citizens and to the damage of the streets and
roads which the artillery and heavy ammunition wagons cut into
deep ruts.
In the winter of 1813 the British crossed the Niagara at Black
Rock, destroyed the place and captured and burned Buffalo,
spreading consternation throughout all Western New York.
Fugitives flying from the devastated villages spread the report that
the British were marching into the interior, and couriers were24
History of Cayuga County
dispatched in all directions to warn the inhabitants. The news
reached Auburn in the evening, and a night of alarm and anxiety
ensued. Mayor Olmsted ordered Captains Tuttle and Ammerman
to muster their companies and march at daybreak toward Canan-
daigua. The cavalry company was hastily mustered and marched
west during the night, while Enos T. Throop and John H. Beach
collected all the arms and ammunition available in the village and
encouraged the citizens to volunteer to fight in defense of their
homes. In the morning the militia and citizen volunteers, in all
about two hundred, marched off for Cayuga, the people gathering
upon the hill west of the village to watch their departure. But
there was no foe to be found, as the Auburn forces learned when
within four miles of Canandaigua. At that point they were met
by Colonel Colt and John H. Beach, who had ridden ahead to
reconnoitre, and the troops returned to Auburn.
The village got another scare in 1814, when a bugler, a deserter
from the British, came toward it from the west, blowing blasts up-
on his instrument and inspiring the brief fear that a detachment
of the enemy was descending upon the place.
The Auburn of 1815 has been described as a “Dutchy-looking”
village of two hundred buildings and one thousand souls. But it
was a busy hamlet full of activity and ambition. Immigrants
were coming in so rapidly that land owners were projecting new
streets to provide more building lots. The roads and streets, ruined
by the passage of armies, were being restored by the gratituous road
work of citizens and the proceeds of lotteries. The latter source
of revenue, now illegal, was at that day, and for some time later,
a favorite means of raising money in various parts of the state.
Even Union College, in Schenectady, received great aid from this
source in its earlier days.
A swamp covered all that part of the city where Dill and Water
streets now run. They were not in existence in 1815, but the
swamp had been cleared of its growth by axe and by fire, and theCity of Auburn
25
sun and wind converted it into dry ground. The forest had not
been cleared westward beyond where Washington street now runs,
and Genesee and Clark streets ran into the woods at that line.
South street, now a magnificent avenue of elms and splendid
residences, possessed no attractions in that day.
There were only five brick buildings on Genesee street, and the
huge chimneys of the village indicated that the houses were heated
by old-fashioned, wide, fireplaces. The improvement of the streets
and the prevention of fires were subjects in which the people took
a lively interest, and in order to secure these results the incorpora-
tion of the village was earnestly desired, and efforts were made to
accomplish that end
The village of Auburn was duly incorporated by act of Legis-
lature, April 18,18x5. John H. Beach, who was then Member of
Assembly for this district, secured the passage of a bill to incor-
porate the village. The territory included in the act embraced
lot forty-seven and the eastern half of lot forty-six, and the free-
holders and inhabitants of that district were constituted a corporate
body and invested with all the powers of village government. The
elective officers of the village were five trustees, three assessors, a
clerk and a treasurer, who were to be elected on the first Monday
in May of each year. The president of the village was one of the
trustees, chosen by themselves, 'the first Board of Trustees of
Auburn was constituted as follows: Joseph Colt, President; Enos
T. Throop, Bradley Tuttle, Lyman Paine, and David Hyde.
One of the first acts of the new government was to provide
adequate fire protection. The trustees issued an order that every
owner must provide each of his buildings with a ladder and also a
leather fire bucket for each fireplace in the building. Failure to
obey this order laid the owner liable to a fine of four dollars for each
lacking bncket. Also a fire engine was ordered in New York and
shipped by boat up the Hudson. At Newburgh the boat became
ice-bound and Gershom Phelps was sent to bring the engine to26
History of Cayuga County
Auburn with a team. A peculiar feature of the fire ordinance of
the village was that the president was to act as fire chief, and wear
a white belt, a badge on his cap and carry a trumpet. The trustees,
whose badge of office was also a white belt, were to carry canes and
form the water carriers into orderly rank. Then there were fire
wardens whose duty was to aid in extinguishing the fire and after-
wards to gather up the fire buckets and other implements of the
department. Those who worked the engine were the only ones de-
signated as firemen.
Prior to the date of its incorporation as a village, Auburn had an
unenviable reputation for mud. Sidewalks were few and, where
any were found, consisted of slabs thrown down in the spring, but
regularly consumed for fuel in the winter The new village gov-
ernment gave the matter of sidewalks early attention, and, in 1816,
issued an order directing the construction of brick or plank walks,
eight feet in width, on both sides of Genesee street, on the west
side of North street and on the north side of Center street.
Small as it was in 1815, Auburn was then the largest and most
important place in western New York, and it possessed natural
advantages that gave promise of continued supremacy. Its un-
developed resources were inestimable and it lay upon the principal
highway of travel and commerce, besides being surrounded by a
peculiarly fertile country, that was filling up rapidly with settlers.
Rochester was then but a cluster of log cabins on the banks of the
Genesee; Syracuse was not even a hamlet; Canandaigua and
Geneva were not only very small but lacked indications of growth.
For some years prior to the incorporation of Auburn as a village,
the Legislature of the State had been considering a proposition to
erect a new prison in some place in western New York. The
people of Auburn were desirous of having the prison built in their
village believing it would stimulate and increase business. Conse-
quently the claims of Cayuga County were presented to the
Legislature by John H. Beach, who was perhaps the leading memberCity of Auburn
27
in the Assembly in 1816. Cayuga County was at that time a
Democratic stronghold and that party was in control in the State,
the attitude of the Federalists during the war with England having
cost them political supremacy. So, when the question of a location
for the new prison came before the Legislature the claims of Cayuga
County received very friendly recognition, and it was finally decided
to build the prison in Auburn. The citizens had agreed to donate
a site and two were offered, one being the present location which
was chosen. The donors were Samuel Dill, David Hyde, John H.
Beach and E. S. Beach. The land was conveyed June 22, 1816,
and called for six acres and twenty perches, with sufficient land for
roads six rods wide on three sides of it. The plans for the prison
were drawn by J 0. Daniels and were approved by Justice William
Brittan of the Court of Chancery. The contract for the masonry
work was let to Isaac Lytle, of New York City, and work upon the
stone foundation was begun at once. The construction of the
main building with its enclosure and of the outside wall to the
height of four feet was completed in the year 1816.
The first criminals were consigned to the prison in the winter of
1817 and fifty-three were received from adjacent county jails, and
confined in the south wing, just completed. These were employed
to aid in the work of construction, as were other convicts subse-
quently received; the State Commission being authorized in April
1817, so to employ them. The plan was not well advised and led
to trouble. The regular workmen and mechanics developed sympa-
thy for the convicts working with them under duress, and turbulent
times resulted. There was at least one riotous affair, and on another
occasion the convicts set fire to the buildings. The knowledge that
they had outside sympathy rendered them rebellious and hard to
manage, and the citizens finally became alarmed lest some day the
convicts should break loose and have the town at their mercy.
This led to the organization of the “Old Auburn Guard” which was
formed in 1820 under the command of Captain Joseph Colt. It28	History of Cayuga County
was armed and equipped by the State, and had an armory in the
upper story of the stone building built upon and within the front
wall of the prison. This guard did good service during the burning
of the north wing of the prison in November, 1820, when it marched
the convicts to their cells at the point of the bayonet. Also, as a
result of the surveillance of the guard, the discipline in the prison
improved vastly, and dread of an outpouring of the convicts gradu-
ally passed from the minds of the citizens. In 1817 the first prison
dam and raceway were constructed; and the prison was entitled to
half the power furnished thereby.
In April, 1818, the Legislature appointed a board of inspectors
to manage the prison. The board consisted of John H. Beach,
Elijah Miller, James Glover, Archie Kasson and George Casey. They
appointed William Brittan the first agent and keeper of the prison.
In 1823, the prison was practically completed and contained
185 cells besides wooden workshops for coopers, blacksmiths, shoe-
makers, tailors and spinners. The cells were seven feet long, seven
feet high and three and one-half feet wide, and were separated by
walls of solid masonry one foot thick. An areaway, ten feet wide,
ran between the cells and the outer walls, so that the guards could
keep a strict watch over all movements of the prisoners.
The location of the prison in Auburn was not an unalloyed
benefit to the place. The large amount of money paid out in the
village during the construction of the prison was a great stimulus
to business, and the location of the institution in Auburn was an
advertisement that drew the attention of all classes, over a wide
area, to the beauties and advantages of the young village, not only
as a place of business but also as a place of residence. These things
led to a veritable boom, including increase of population and the
establishment of the first bank in Auburn; but evil results followed.
One of these was the fear that released convicts of both sexes would
remain in the village, a menace to its morality and property. A
second evil was convict labor. The employment of prisoners uponCity of Auburn
29
custom or contract work immediately made the convicts competitors
of the honest tradesmen of the village, and the latter resented the
invasion of their field of labor by such competitors, and censured all
who countenanced such a condition of affairs. The result was that
much ill feelifig was engendered and many worthy tradesmen left
Auburn for other places. The growth of the place and the expansion
of business, however, in time checked this exodus. But, though
the effects of prison labor were only transient in Auburn, it was a
question that, later on, absorbed the attention of skilled labor, not
only throughout the State, but over the entire nation.
The large disbursements of money by the State Commissioners,
when they began to build the prison* led to the establishment of
the Bank of Auburn, which was chartered May 31, 1817 with a
capital of $400,000, in shares of fifty dollars each. The stock was
all subscribed by the citizens and the bank was organized in July,
with Thomas Mumford, president, James S, Seymour, cashier, and a
directorate consisting of Nathaniel Garrow, Archie Kasson, Joseph
Colt, Horace Hills, Walter Weed, George F. Leitch, Enos T. Throop,
David Brinkerhoff, James Porter, John Bowman, Hezekiah Goodwin
and William McCarthy, along with the president and cashier. A
room in Demaree’s Tavern was fitted up and equipped for a banking
office, and there the first regular banking business in Auburn began.
CHAPTER IV.
Development of Manufacturing Industries—Visit of LaFayette—Auburn Med-
ical School—The Erie Canal-—The Auburn and Syracuse Railroad Company—The
Panic of 1837.
On February 4, 1818, the Agricultural Association of Cayuga
County was formed, and on the 20th of the following October the
first fair of the county was held in Auburn. In addition to the
exhibits of stock and agricultural products two features of that
fair were unique. One was that the bells of the village rang for30
History of Cayuga County
half an hour at sunrise, and the other that in a procession, which
was part of the programme, Comfort Tyler of Seneca Falls, the first
man who put a plough into the ground of New York State, west of
Oneida County, drove an ox team and plough.
Two industries both of which are now defunct in Auburn, flour-
ished on the Outlet in the first half of the nineteenth century. One
was the manufacture of cotton goods, the other of paper.
In 1814 John H. Beach and Elijah Miller began to build a cotton
mill at the lower falls, and in 1817 had it in operation. In 1822
the Auburn Manufacturing Company purchased the mill and began
to weave a cotton ticking that was noted, for years, as one of the
best upon the American market. In 1827 the property passed into
the hands of a company composed of Nathaniel Garrow, George B.
Throop, Robert Muir and Eleazer Hills. After some years they
became involved financially and sold out to George F. Leitch.
Further changes carried the mill into the hands of Benjamin W.
Bonney in 1845.	1853 the property was transferred to the
Auburn Bank which immediately made it over to Lorenzo W. Nye.
The old building now forms a part of the plant of the Nye & Wait
Carpet Company.
The Auburn Paper Mill was erected on the south bank of the
Outlet in 1828-9 by Thomas M. Skinner, George C. Skinner and
Ebenezer Hoskins. George C. Skinner was the practical man of
the company, and under his direction the mill prospered for a few
years. But when the hard times succeeding the panic of 1837 came,
the founders of the enterprise were unable to continue operations
and, in 1839, the mill passed out of their hands. In 1840 the title
was transferred to the Cayuga County Bank. After passing through
the hands of several lessees it came into the possession of David S.
West, in 1848. He organized the Auburn Paper Company in 1849,
with a capital of $20,000, which was increased in 1854 to $50,000.
The mill was destroyed by fire in 1868.City of Auburn
31
In 1815 William Hayden started his factory in the old fulling
mill of Jehiel Clark, for the manufacture of woolen cloth, and in
1817 Nathan Garlick built a new grist mill on the east bank of the
Outlet. In 1824 a substantial stone mill was erected by John H.
Hardenbergh on the site of the old frame mill. The stone structure
is still standing but the mill was enlarged by a brick addition in
1886, ^hd is now operated by Charles W. Brister. In 1829 Aspah
D. Leonard and Alvah Worden began the manufacture of burr
mill-stones in their machine shop. In 1831 a steam grist mill was
started by Walter Weed in-his brick building on the eastern corner
of Genesee and Owasco streets. The capacity of the mill was about
eighty barrels a day.
The original Auburn market was opened in 1820 by Edward
Patten. It stood upon the west side of the North street bridge.
It is claimed that the first canal boat used upon the Erie Canal
was built in Auburn in 1822.
In 1823 the town of Auburn was erected.
In 1824 Doctor Erastus Tuttle, who had been physician and sur-
geon of the State Prison for nine years, established a medical school
in Auburn, hoping to obtain a charter for it from the Legislature.
He lectured to a small class of about a dozen students that autumn
and winter, and in January, 1825, explained his project at a public
meeting, receiving hearty indorsement. William H. Seward,
George B. Throop, Horace Hills and Doctor Ira H. Smith, along
with Doctor Tuttle himself, were appointed a committee to me-
morialize the Legislature on the subject and obtain a charter. Lec-
tures were continued by Doctor Tuttle and medical coadjutors
until 1829, when the ambitious founder of the institution died.
Doctor John H. Morgan then sought to carry on the college, and as-
sociated some able men with him, but the establishment of a medical
department in Hobart College influenced the Legislature to deny
Auburn's application for a charter, and interest in the institution
died out, and the project failed.32
History of Cayuga County
In 1825 the first Auburn band was organized, funds therefor
being provided by a subscription among the citizens.
In June, 1825, Auburn entertained a distinguished visitor in
the person of Lafayette. His visit was made the occasion of much
ceremony and the village exerted itself to pay him honor. He was
met at Cayuga by a committee of Aubumians and escorted to their
village where he was received by the military companies, Free
Masons and Revolutionary veterans, who had been arranged along
the road by General Brinkerhoff and Colonels Lewis and Gridley.
Then, as he passed under an arch reared and decorated for the
occasion, he was saluted by a battery of twenty-four guns, and
greeted by the ringing of the village bells and the cheers of the
assembled populace. After a parade and an address of welcome
by Col. John W. Hulbert, Lafayette was dined in an open-air
pavilion, and suitable toasts and patriotic speeches followed.
A religious newspaper, entitled the Gospel Messenger was started
in Auburn, by Reverend Doctor John C. Rudd, in 1826. It was de-
voted to the cause of the Gospel and to female education, and
represented no sect, although its founder was the rector of St.
Peter’s Church.
In 1820 the population of Auburn had increased to 2,233; in
1825 it was 2,982; in 1830 it had risen to 4,486, and in 1835 the
village boasted 5,368 inhabitants. During those years commercial
prosperity had kept pace with the increase in population, and
twenty years after the village had been incorporated it presented
an appearance vastly different from the Auburn of 18x5. Resi-
dences, churches, public buildings, stores, mills, hotels, had been
built, old buildings had disappeared, or had been enlarged and
improved; enterprise, progress and prosperity were evident on every
hand. Streets were leveled and macadamized, shade trees were
planted beside the walks; private enterprise and public spirit united
to the great advantage of the community.City of Auburn
33
The year 1829 was one of unusual activity in building. In that
year the paper mill, the second church, six cut stone stores and
many fine residences were erected. In 1832 the Episcopalians
and the Methodists each erected a new church building, and in 1833
a new stone jail was built in the rear of the old wooden Court House.
In the latter year also were erected Demaree’s block of cut stone,
afterwards designated as the Auburn House block: the Cayuga
County Bank building; the Chedell block: the Hyde & Watrous
block and a large number of brick and frame buildings. In 1834 the
Baptist church on Genesee street, now Traub’s Furniture Emporium,
was built, and in 183 5 as many as eighty new residences were erected,
besides the four-story stone block built by William H. Seward,
Nelson Beardsley and others.
In 1836 the people of Auburn were enthusiastic over their village
and its prospects, but during the years that had been contributing
to their prosperity there had been forces at work which were
destined not only to give the place a temporary set-back, but to
rob it permanently of the hope of becoming the foremost city of the
State, between New York and Buffalo. The temporary check was
given by the financial panic of 1837 which was followed by a dozen
years of hard times. The construction of the Erie Canal eight miles
distant from the village was perhaps the initiative in depriving
Auburn of its prestige. The consolidation of the several lines of
railroads connecting Albany and Buffalo, and the construction of
the direct line between Syracuse and Rochester in the late 5o’s
completed the isolation of the city.
If these great commercial arteries had been laid through or near
the village the effect upon the growth of Auburn would have been
positive to an extent even greater than the negative result of the
course that was pursued. The village and city has prospered, but
these great commercial highways diverted trade and patronage from
it to Syracuse and Rochester.
334
History of Cayuga County
When the project of constructing the Erie Canal began to attract
the attention of the State, the citizens of Auburn took a keen interest
in it, and put forth every effort to have the artificial waterway pass
through the village. Under the act of the Legislature for the
improvement of internal navigation, Joseph Colt, Elijah Miller and
John Haring were appointed commissioners for Auburn, and a public
meeting was held to discuss the subject. That meeting passed a
resolution advocating the construction of the canal, and then the
villagers began to exert themselves to secure its favorable location
through Cayuga County. But it was argued: Auburn sat upon a
hill; it was not in the direct line of the proposed route; it was not a
desirable port; Myron Holley, one of the Canal commissioners on
location resided at Lyop.6, N. Y, and, of course, favored his own
village. Moreover, when Auburn was given the State Prison she
had agreed not to demand the canal. So the location of the canal
through Cayuga Cohnty was fixed eight miles to the north of “the
loveliest village.” /When the direct line of the New York Central
Railway was built it followed the same route.
No sooner was the hope of securing the Erie Canal blighted,
than the energetic citizens of Auburn took up the subject of lateral
canals, running north and south, and making connections with Lake
Ontario and Lake Erie. In 1822 a proposition was made to con-
struct a canal from Port Byron to Auburn: meetings were held,
speeches made, and an influential committee appointed. But time
passed and nothing definite was accomplished. In 1827 the subject
was revived and a new committee appointed. George T, Olmsted
was employed to make a survey and take levels. Then the Auburn
and 0wasco Canal Company was organized and $100,000 was
subscribed to carry through the project. The company was incor-
porated April 20, 1828.
Then the project of communication with Lake Erie was agitated,
and the matter even reached the Legislature, but still nothing was
done upon either canal.City of Auburn
35
In June, 1835, the Auburn and Owasco Canal Company was
reorganized and a great celebration was held in Auburn preparatory
to the inauguration of the Auburn and Owasco Canal. Work on the
big dam commenced, Captain Bradley Tuttle having the contract,
and an excavation was made on the old Walker lot as a start on the
basin of the canal that was to be. But again, and finally, work and
interest ceased, and the whole project was abandoned, about the
year 1840. The stringency of the times and the heavy losses already
incurred by subscribers to the project were given as reasons for the
failure of the enterprise, but the age of railroads was commencing,
and the people of Auburn forgot the canal while looking forward to
the more rapid means of transportation to the lakes and large mar-
kets. The Canal Company sold out its property on the Outlet: but
if they had not built the canal they had at least given Auburn a
magnificent dam twenty feet in height and adding greatly to the
utilization of the water power of the stream.
The State Railroad Convention was held at Syracuse, October
12, 1831, to consider the advisability of constructing a railroad
from Buffalo to Schenectady. Delegates from many points along
the central belt of the state attended the convention. Those who
represented Auburn were Parliament Bronson, John M. Sherwood
and Nathaniel Garrow. The convention favored a road following
the Erie Canal as far west as Rochester. This decision gave Auburn
no cause for rejoicing. The result was that a meeting was called,
January 6, 1832, at which a resolution was passed, “That in order
to sustain the present prosperous and flourishing condition of our
village, and to provide for its continuity and augmentation, an
application be made to the Legislature of this state, at its present
session, for a charter to construct a railroad from the village of
Auburn to the Erie Canal. ”
The application was made, and Senator William H. Seward
procured the passage of the required charter. But before this
charter was acted upon the Legislature refused a charter for the36
History of Cayuga County
proposed railroad from Buffalo to Schenectady, so the Auburnians
changed their plans and decided to build the road to Syracuse
instead of Port Byron, and thus place their village directly upon the
great railroad that must some time run from the Hudson River to
Buffalo. A public meeting was called and twenty-five citizens were
appointed as a managing committee and authorized to take steps
to procure a charter.
The Auburn & Syracuse Railroad Company was incorporated
by act of Legislature, May i, 1834, with an authorized capital of
$400,000. Then the promoters began to encounter difficulties.
Many believed that the road would never be built; the broken
country it must traverse presented many difficulties to be overcome;
it was feared the line could not compete with the Grand Canal,
which had packet boats for rapid transit passenger service; the
proprietors of parallel stage lines were opposed to it, and, at Albany,
it was referred to as a foolish dream. It seemed a wild fancy that
a railroad could be operated through the hills about Auburn.
Subscription books were opened nevertheless, but nothing could be
accomplished in the way of selling stock to voluntary subscribers,
so the friends of the road started to work to force success. They
traveled over the proposed route time and again, stirring up the
citizens of the villages between Auburn and Syracuse, impressing
upon them the importance of the project and inducing them to take
stock. In this way the stock was all subscribed, but citizens of
Auburn took $350,000 of it.
The company was organized January 20, 1835, with Elijah
Miller, president; Asaph D. Leonard, secretary; George B. Throop,
treasurer. The directors were: Nathaniel Garrow, John M.
Sherwood, Stephen Van Anden, Abijah Fitch and Edward E.
Marvin of Auburn and Vivius W. Smith and Henry Raynor of
Syracuse.
Surveys were speedily made and the work of construction was
pushed ahead vigorously the ensuing season. The road wasCity of Auburn
37
practically completed in 1838, and the first excursion train upon it
made the trip on January 8, 1838. This train was drawn by horses,
under the direction of Colonel John M. Sherwood. Twenty-three
miles of the road were then completed. On June 4, 1839, a second
excursion went from Auburn to Syracuse to celebrate the completion
of the road over the whole distance, but this train was pulled by
the engine.
In 1836 the Auburn & Rochester Railroad Company was incor-
porated and this road completed a line from Albany as far west as
Rochester. But the subsequent projection of the direct line of the
New York Central from Syracuse to Rochester, diverted some of
the advantages which had been won for Auburn by its energetic
and progressive citizens.
It is stated that during the prosperous years from 1830 to 1837,
the enterprising and ambitious citizens of Auburn were vividly
picturing the future city as a great metropolis, perhaps the capital
city of the state. But while they were working strenuously and
legitimately for progress and supremacy, bankers, politicians and
speculators were crazily tearing away and destroying the foundations
of prosperity all over the country.
When Andrew Jackson annihilated the United States Bank, by
vetoing a bill to renew its charter, politicians and financiers believed
the occasion a most opportune one for the establishment of banks
throughout the different states. Immediately there developed a
craze to possess bank stock, and in New York State the Legislature
was besieged with applications for bank charters. When a charter
was granted, commissioners were appointed to distribute the stock,
and, invariably the bulk of it went to the political friends of the
commissioners. This increased the pressure upon the Legislature
for more charters and the result was tainted politics and commercial
disorder.
This pernicious activity was regarded as a sign of prosperity.
Even the bankers were carried away with the hilarious spirit of the38
History of Cayuga County
glorious times and loaned large sums of money to wild speculators.
Speculation was not in stocks as it is to-day. The speculation of
the early thirties was in public lands, which were sold and re-sold
over and over again, at ever advanced prices, fictitious values being
established and a chimerical wealth built thereon. In 1829 the sale
of public lands amounted to $2,300,000; in 1836 it had risen to
$24,877,000. There was a law that all, except actual settlers, must
pay for their land in gold, but the law was ignored, and fortunes
represented only by paper came into existence. More expensive
tastes, higher living accompanied those golden days, and physical
wealth was dissipated. Unrestrained speculation, undue extension
of credits, unproductive investments and large, unwarranted
expenditures, culminated in the panic of 1837. It was not to the
conservative business men that the banks had intrusted their money,
but they were sufferers with the general public in the disaster that
followed. To Auburn the year 1837 was a period of business
reverses and calamities. On May 10th every bank in Albany and
New York suspended specie payment, and the panic which resulted
spread quickly over the entire state. The pressure was too much
for the Auburn banks, and they appealed to the people to sustain
them in pursuing the course adopted by the New York and Albany
banks.
Ninety-six business men signed an agreement to take the bills of
the local banks at par in their stores. The trustees of the village
agreed to accept the bills in payment of taxes, and pledged the
corporation to guarantee their ultimate redemption. A public
meeting was held and a committee appointed to impress upon the
Legislature the necessity of restraining the banks of the state from
issuing one, two and three dollar notes, and to ask for lenient treat-
ment of the banks of Auburn for suspending redemption of their
bills in specie. These things the committe succeeded in doing.
But while this aided the banks it did not help the people. Almost
all currency of smaller denomination than five dollars disappearedCity op Auburn
39
from circulation and much inconvenience, annoyance and even
suffering resulted. To relieve the situation the trustees of the
village authorized the immediate issue of eight thousand dollars in
checks or notes of the denomination of one, two and three dollars,
and put this money in circulation through the stores of Robert Muir,
Henry Ivison, Jr., and Nehemiah D. Carhart, retaining the funds
arising from the sale of the notes for their redemption. Business
houses and corporations adopted the expedient of the trustees,
greatly reducing the financial pressure in Auburn and the surround-
ing country. The Auburn and Syracuse Railroad Company issued
twenty thousand dollars of checks, or shinplasters, upon its own
treasurer, ranging from twenty cents to one dollar, having been
given the assurance that the merchants of Auburn would accept
them, at a slight discount. With these checks they paid off the
hands employed in constructing the road. The Auburn Paper Com-
pany, Charles Coventry, Asaph D. Leonard and others also adopted
the shinplaster system. Emanuel D. Hudson who then had the con-
tract for provisioning the prison, acted as his own banker. He
issued promissory notes, payable upon demand, and indicated his
ability to pay by piling up five hundred dollars in specie in his office
window, with the result that his credit was always good.
But the brave and intelligent efforts of the business men of the
village could not ward disaster from their doors. The scarcity of
money produced a ruinous depreciation in property values. Auburn
was not an exception to the fictitious prosperity that had pervaded
the country, which not only vanished but carried substantial wealth
with it. The reaction left many capitalists unable to save their
investments, and there were deplorable failures. A general retrench-
ment followed, and large numbers of workingmen and mechanics
found themselves out of employment. The spirit of enterprise,
that had lately been a peculiar characteristic of Auburn, disappeared
and the summer of 1837 was a dark contrast to that of 1836 with
its energy, activity and promise.40
History of Cayuga County
CHAPTER V.
EARLY INNS OF AUBURN.
BY B. B. SNOW.
The burning of the St. James, formerly the American Hotel, was
an event in local history worthy of record. The American was the
connecting link between the primitive inn or tavern of our fore-
fathers and the hotel proper of modern times. It was a distinct
institution of its kind in our community, which had many cherished
associations, especially for the generation immediately preceding
our own. But such associations were with the American; the St.
James did not inherit them.
When the hotel was purchased by Anthony Shimer, in 1870, the
name was changed to the St. James; this change was an indication
that the age of taverns had passed to be followed by the age of hotels.
The American Hotel had many interesting historical associations.
Its register could boast the names of distinguished native and foreign
celebrities who shared its hospitalities, and its halls had been the
scene of many events of more or less local importance.
Local histories are authority for the statement that Samuel
Bristol opened the first public house or tavern in Auburn in the year
1795, in a log cabin on the southeast cornerof Genesee and North
streets. It seems to have run a short career as a tavern, for as early
as 1805 it was vacant. The statement that Bostwick built and
opened a tavern about 1799 is probably erroneous. He did build a
“new frame tavern’’ in 1803-4 at the comer of Genesee and
Exchange streets, which may be claimed as the pioneer institution
of its kind in Auburn. It was large and commodious, with ample
barns and sheds, “affording good accommodations for man and
beast.” On July 4, 1805, the first public ball in Auburn was given
in Bostwick’s Tavern, commencing at 3 :oo P. M. and “closing with
the approach of night,” in accordance with the notions of proprietyCity of Auburn
41
entertained by our ancestors. The celebrated Lafayette ball was
also given here in 1825. Bostwick kept the tavern until May 1,
1816, when he sold it to Canfield Coe, who enlarged it by quite an
extension on Exchange street. He conducted the house for about
eight years when he transferred it to Emanuel D. Hudson who fur-
ther enlarged and improved it, putting it in about the condition it
was in later days. Hudson christened it the Western Exchange,
which name it bore until 1868 when it was tom down. Benjamin
Ashley was the last proprietor.
Next in importance, if not in the order of time, was the Center
House, which was located on the point of the flatiron where
Genesee and Market (then Center) streets meet. This inn was
begun by William Smith in 1805 and completed by David Horner in
1806, who conducted it about six years. Charles Reading bought it
in 1812, and kept it about four years. In 1816, Silas Hawley was
the proprietor, and to him succeeded Deacon Henry Amerman as
appears by the following notice found in one of the papers of that
period:
“Henry Amerman, would inform his friends and the public that
he has purchased the tavern stand, lately occupied by Silas Hawley,
in the village of Auburn, near the bridge, and has opened it for their
use as a public house. From its central position, its large accommo-
dations and his assiduous attention to the cares of those who call
upon him, he hopes to merit the favors of his friends and the public
generally.
“No noisy rabbles will be allowed a place in his house whereby
the rest of the weary may be disturbed.
“Liquors and other refreshments of first quality will be furnished.
“Auburn, January 7, 1818. ”
Deacon Amerman kept the inn till 1822, and was succeeded by
Andrew Browm Abijah Keeler advertises the Center House for
sale or rent, April 23, 1828. The last proprietor was Rodman
Seargent, in 1829, when it was bought by Ezekiel Williams, who42
History of Cayuga County
built the block of stores now standing upon the site of the old inn.
The building itself was removed to Fulton street, where it still
stands and is occupied as a residence by William Lamey. This
tavern seems to have been popular and well patronized in its day.
Judge Richardson, in partnership with Enos T. Throop, opened their
office here for the practice of law. The First Presbyterian Church
Society was organized in the “long room,, of the Center House in
1810, and the first Sabbath school for white children was organized
in 1819, a similar school for colored children having been previously
organized. Here is a curious advertisement of Albert Hagermen,
a barber, under date of February 10, 1818, to the effect that “as he
wishes to attend Sunday school, he will attend customers until
9 P. M. Saturday evening and until school commences Sunday
morning, and not after. ”
Next in order was the “Farmer’s Inn, ” which was built in 1801,
and opened as a tavern in 1806 by Captain (afterwards Deacon)
Henry Amerman. This was the favorite resort of farmers, who
were summoned to the village to attend court as jurors, witnesses,
etc., Captain Amerman sold out to Mathias Hufman in September,
1816, and a little more than a year after became proprietor of the
Center House. Hufman sold to Timothy Strong, and the property
afterwards passed into the hands of Emanuel D. Hudson, who built
the present brick structure known as the Radney House, about
the time that the freight depot of the Auburn & Syracuse Railroad
Company was located a few doors west—where the skating rink
now is.
In 1808 a tavern was built on the south side of Genesee street
about midway between Exchange and South streets, by Watrous
Pomroy for Jonathan Russel. Mr. Pomroy opened it and kept it
for about two years, when Captain Robert L. Tracey bought and
conducted it. In 1816 it was known as Power’s Tavern, and James
C. Field locates his store as opposite thereto. Captain Tracey died
and Zenas Goodrich, who was the proprietor of a tavern on NorthCity op Auburn
43
street near the railroad crossing, hereinafter mentioned, being a
widower united his fortunes with those of the Widow Tracey, and
thus became proprietor of this house, which in the fall of 1816 took
the name of Goodrich Inn. January 6, 1818, Zenas Goodrich ad-
vertises for a “good steady sober man as bar-keeper, ’’ which would
indicate that special qualifications were required for this position
even at that early day. In 1824 it was known as John Griswold’s
Hotel, and Wilber Dennis locates his store three doors east of it.
Holt and Curtis took the management in 1825, in which year the
village trustees met there and ordered certain houses to be removed
from the south side of Genesee street as being encroachments upon
the street. The management subsequently passed into the hands
of several different parties, among whom were Harlow C. Witherell
and Jonas White, Jr., and in 1835 'the house gave way to make
room for the present Exchange block.
In 1810, DeWitt Clinton visited Auburn and in a letter giving
some information as to the village, mentions the fact that it contains
four taverns. These must have been the three hereinbefore
described, Bostwick’s, the Center House, the Farmer’s Inn, and
the Willard Tavern of which more hereafter.
Coming down to a later date we find the following:
“the AUBURN COFFEE HOUSE
“The large white building on the hill a few rods east .of the
postoffice in this village, and but two doors from the Bank of Auburn
has lately been fitted up for the accommodation of the public. The
subscriber has been at great expense to render his house commodious
for the traveler.
“Private rooms can be furnished for Ladies, Gentlemen and
Families; and no pains will be spared to make the sojourning
comfortable. Order shall be preserved through the house. The
out buildings are convenient and the stabling good.
.. .	,	_	’	“LAWRENCE LYNCH.
Auburn, December 6, 1817.44
History of Cayuga County
The Lynch Coffee House was what is now the eastern part of the
National Hotel. The Bank of Auburn was opened in the brick
building which now forms the western part of this hotel. The bank
must have been located here but a short time previous, as an election
of directors was called to be held at the Western Exchange, Nov. 13,
1817. This brick building was known as Demaree’s Tavern. It
would seem that Demaree was too much of a Teuton to keep a
Yankee tavern. The house was better adapted for a boarding house
than for a tavern and leaned rather to the order of a boarding
house, especially in the later stages of its career. It must have been
opened as a tavern but few years at most before the date of the
location of the bank there, and was probably continued as a tavern
up to 1836, when it passed into the hands of Saterlee Warden, who
occupied it as a private residence It continued a private residence
up to 1854, when it was purchased by E. B. Parmelee and united
with the old Parmelee Tavern, under the name of the National
Hotel, which name it still bears.
Smith and Parmelee became the proprietors of the Lynch Coffee
House, succeeding Brigham Fay about 1829. ' Mr. Smith (who was
the Martin Smith of the old tavern at the head of 0wasco Lake,
where the Cascade House now stands), remained only a year or two,
but Parmelee conducted the house as Parmelee’s Tavern until his
death. This tavern was very popular, particularly with farmers.
In the papers of this date appeared the following:
“ ENTERTAINMENT ”
“Allen Warden
“Respectfully informs his friends and the public that he has
removed to the village of Auburn, and has opened
A PUBLIC HOUSE
in the White Building, which is pleasantly situated near the State
Prison, where he trusts his accommodations are such, his assiduityCity of Auburn
45
to please, together with a stock of excellent liquors well laid in
and moderate charges that he will merit and receive a share of
public patronage.
“N. B. A few genteel boarders will be accommodated on
moderate terms.
“Auburn, Jan. 19, 1817.”
This was the old Prison Hotel, corner of State and Chappel
streets, opposite the prison gate. One of his decendants is authority
for the statement that Watrous Pomroy opened the tavern and kept
it the first year. This I think must be a mistake, for the house was
built by Isaac Lytle, who was a contractor for building the Prison,
and work upon this institution was not commenced till the summer
of 1816. The tavern and adjoining buildings were burned on Sun-
day evening, August 24, 1828, and in the next issue of the paper,
T. J. McMaster, foreman, in behalf of the firemen attached to
Engine No. 2, acknowledged the “attention of the Trustees and
Fire Wardens of the village, the Hon, G. Powers and other citizens,
in providing timely and necessary refreshments at the fire.''
The tavern was rebuilt, but lost its reputation and stood for
some time unoccupied, when on another Sunday, some years ago, it
slowly burned to the ground, the efforts of the firemen to extinguish
the flames being apparently aimed to make the work of destruction
more complete.
On the opposite corner where the New York Central passenger
depot now stands, James Hickson, about the same time built and
opened the Red Tavern, a name which explains the significance
of Mr. Warden's, White Building, while east of the Warden tavern,
on the north side of Chapel street, adjoining the present railroad,
was Thomas Hickson's tavern.
There seems to have been at an early date a tavern at the south-
west corner of North and York streets, which was known as the
Goodrich Inn, kept by Zenas Goodrich. In 1829, it was known as46
History of Cayuga County
Champlain’s Tavern. March 4, 1818, Zenas Goodrich advertises
for sale, the well known farm and tavern stand, situate one mile
and a half north of Auburn, on the old Genesee road, (North street)
containing eighty-four acres of land, with stone quarry. A few
rods beyond stood another tavern on what is now the Sears farm.
Both have long since disappeared.
Mention should be made of the old Sexton tavern, which stood
near the southeast corner of Genesee and Division streets, opposite
the present works of the E. D. Clapp Manufacturing Co. May 10,
1817, John M. Daboll advertises that he has taken this tavern of
Z. and D. Hall and locates it as three-quarters of a mile west of
Auburn. Sexton seems to have occupied it as early as 1828, for
the One Hundred and Fifty-eighth Regiment is ordered to
rendezvous at Sexton’s Inn, September 10th of that year.
In 1833, the Demaree block on Genesee street, near the entrance
to Market street, was built, and in August, 1839, the three stores
in the center of the block were fitted up and opened as a hotel by
Horace A. Chase. This was known as the Auburn House. It was
for many years a popular house, its large and commodious assembly
room making it an especial favorite with the dancing public. Jenny
Lind patronized this house in her visit here in 1851. About 1854,
it was abandoned as a hotel and a school was opened there. It was
burned in the winter of 1856, if I recollect right, and being refitted
has since been occupied by stores.
This record would be incomplete without some mention of the
Bank Coffee House, located on Genesee street, some four or five
doors west of the comer of State street. Here the Auburn Artillery
are ordered to Rendezvous July 16, 1828. Bacon and Maxwell are
the proprietors. Here “the Old Line Mail, Pilot, Eagle and Tele-
graph Stages from the east, the Pilot and Telegraph from the west,
and the Ithaca, Homer and Canal coaches arrive and depart daily.”
Colonel Wm. H. Seward, Thirty-third Regiment Artillery, orders
a court-martial at the Bank Coffee House in May, 1830. ColonelCity op Auburn
47
Seward seems to have been so faithful and deserving a soldier as
to have secured promotion, for under date of February 19, 1825, is
an order of Colonel Gridley, Wm. H. Seward, Adjutant, calling a
meeting of the One Hundred and Fifty-eighth Regiment at the
house of Azor Brown, which was situated on North street where
the Columbian block now stands. This house seems to have been a
unique institution, peculiar to those days, part garden, part theatre,
and part eating house. Here in 1820, the celebrated Edmund Kean
played Othello.
At this time and for some years previous “coffee house” was a
favorite and innocent sounding synonym for tavern, and every
place of any importance had one or more “coffee houses. ”
It is said that there were no less than fifteen taverns within a
radius of five miles of Auburn, exclusive of those within the corpo-
rate limits of the village. There were eight between Auburn and
Cayuga Bridge, in fact the famous Genesee turnpike was literally
lined with them. All the principal roads leading into the village
were lonesome if one could not find a tavern as often as once in
three miles. What supported such a multitude of these houses?
Transient travel mainly. Emigrants on foot, on horseback, in
wagons, poured in a steady and continual stream from the east to
the then wilderness of western New York and Ohio. Stages
loaded within and without with prospectors or with settlers, tore
through the country at the rate of three or four miles an hour in
“good going” and stopped at each tavern to water the horses, if
for nothing more.
Another important interest was teaming. Loads of merchan-
dise, in transit from Albany to Buffalo and intermediate points,
and returning cargoes of grain were constantly passing over the
great turnpike. In the then condition of the turnpike, three, four
and often seven or eight horses were required to drag the loads over
the heavy roads. At Reed’s Tavern, a short distance west of
Auburn, as many as one hundred of these draught horses were often48
History of Cayuga County
stabled in a single night. Man and beast must be fed and sheltered,
and the tavern rose to the emergency. True, the income was not
extravagant, a shilling for a “meal, ” six-pence for lodging, eighteen
pence for stabling and feeding the team, three cents for “three
fingers of whiskey. ” sixpence for a draught of brandy, was a slow
process of accumulating a fortune, but the age of millionaires had
not set in.
When the canal was completed, the tavern became nervous and
settled into a decline. When the railroad came thundering through
the tavern gave up in despair. The old stage coach was stored
away in the shed and the grass grew green in front of the tavern
where but yesterday the swift wheels of the coach raised clouds of
dust. The numberless hosts from the old world were flying through
the land on swifter wheels. The age of steam had dawned and the
tavern of the early day had fulfilled its mission.
For the benefit of those whose memory does not extend back to
the palmy days of the rural tavern, the following description is
ventured of one which is typical of all those old caravansaries.
A long, two-story frame building, set flush with the highway,
with a “stoop” or platform extending the entire length, for
convenience of getting into and out of the stage-coach. A door,
midway of the long front, opens into a hall, which extends through
the main building to the dining room in the rear. At the left as
you enter, a door leads to a plainly furnished ladies’ sitting room.
Just beyond this door the stairs, leading to the “long room which
usually comprised the entire second floor of the main part.
Opposite the door to the ladies’ sitting room, a door from the hall
leads to the bar room, but an outside door, usually at the end of
the house, is the more common entrance to this popular resort.
On one side of this room a large open fireplace affords ample room
for big blazings logs in winter. The bar in one corner exhibits
decanters labeled “Whiskey,” “Brandy,” “Gin,” “Rum,” etc.,
in gilt letters. To add to the effect, between the decanters ofCity of Auburn
49
liquors are ranged glass cans of striped peppermint, or red-tinted
wintergre,en candies, and lemons. The assortment is completed
by a few clay pipes, dull blue paper packages of fine-cut smoking
tobacco, and perhaps on the top shelf one or two boxes of cigars,
these latter only in later times. Adjacent to the tavern in the rear,
or across the way in front, stood the commodious barns, and ample
sheds, under which any one might shelter his team and feed without
cost, if he brought his own fodder. Prominently in front of the
tavern was the well, with its wooden pump and pail for watering
the horses of any who chose to avail themselves of the privilege.
If the “lay of the land” admitted, as was not unfrequently the case,
the waters of a spring on a neighboring hill were enticed through
pump-logs to the end of the long stoop where a “pen-stock” poured
the limpid water into a log trough set at a convenient height for
watering a horse. Not unfrequently three or four speckled trout
would be imprisoned in this trough, so plentiful were they in our
streams in the early days. One thing more must not be forgotten.
In front was-the sign post. This was a post some twelve feet in
height, surmounted by an oblong or an elliptical sign-board, decor-
ated usually with some kind of trimmings, and here appeared the
name of the proprietor, “CANFIELD COE, INN.” Sometimes
simply the proprietor’s name, sometimes simply: “ TAVERN. ”
Sometimes in black letters on a white background, sometimes in
gilt letters on a dark blue background. Such was the tavern.
The host of the tavern of early days is an extinct species. He
was a man of character, and respected in his community. He
neither desired, nor sought promotion outside the line of his work.
His aim in life was to make his guests comfortable and “keep tavern”
well. He silently disappeared when the old-fashioned tavern gave
way to the hotel.
Who were the frequenters of the taverns in those days, aside
from the transient guests? Everybody, more or less regularly, who
lived in the vicinity. Day time and evening during the dull season
450
History of Cayuga County
of winter, the oracle of the village occupied the best seat in front of
the fire, and others were ranged around in the order of importance.
The Ishmaelite usually stood leaning against the bar, or hanging
on to the mantel over the fireplace, but rarely said anything unless
spoken to. Politics were discussed, and crop prospects and local
matters talked over. A game of checkers was usually in progress in
some part of the room. When “the spirit moved,’’ one would
approach the bar and take his bitters, drawing from the depths of
his pocket the required three coppers to pay the expense. Then he
resumed his seat or went home. He rarely asked anybody to drink
with him. It was a free show and any one was at liberty to buy his
own whiskey.
Was there as much drunkenness in those days as at present?
Upon this point opinons differ—the weight of evidence seems to be
that there was not. The tavern had not become a resort for drink-
ing, saloons were unknown. Still every household had a supply of
liquors. A barrel of whiskey was regarded essential to the campaign
of haying and harvesting, as much so as a mower and reaper is to-
day. Nearly everyone drank more or less, but the number who
drank to excess was limited. With the decline of patronage from
teaming and staging, resulting from the completion of the canal, the
taverns which continued in operation were forced to resort to various
devices for keeping up their income. Dancing parties became more
frequent and at these and other gatherings immoderate drinking was
rather encouraged, especially at taverns of waning fortunes. The
natural result was the agitation of the temperance question. On
the 2d of April, 1828, a number of citizens of a neighboring village
met “according to previous agreement for the purpose of considering
whether anything can be done for the suppression of vice and
immorality, and particularly intemperance.” “After much discus-
sion a committee was appointed to draft resolutions,” which were
reported and adopted. The first was as follows:City of Auburn
51
“Resolved, That we will not use distilled, spirits as a fashionable
beverage, or suffer them to be used in our families or by our work-
men, unless it shall appear to be necessary for the preservation of
health.”
A prominent physician being a member of the committee per-
haps accounts for the saving clause in the resolution.
Regarding the dancing parties of early days given at the tavern,
it should not be understood that these were always scenes of dissipa-
tion. On the contrary, public dances in those days were quite the
thing, and our best citizens did not hesitate to countenance and take
part in them. Particularly in our rural taverns the entire neighbor-
hood turned out to these festivities. The Fourth of July was a
favorite day for a ball. Carriages would come streaming up to the
tavern at noon, and early thereafter the “long room” would be a
place of gayety which often continued until sunrise of the following
day. These were not “Germans,” but old-fashioned, solid dances,
“Money Musk,” “Scotch Reel,” and later the staid cotillions inter-
spersed with “The Tempest,” “Spanish Dance,” etc. The lady or
gentleman who could not spring at least a foot from the floor and
“cut a pigeon wing,” was not counted an expert.
The following notices which appeared in a journal of the early
days will bring back pleasant memories to some of the older
residents.
“MR. ANDREWS’ PUBLIC.
“Mr. John C. Andrews respectfully informs the Ladies and
Gentlemen of Auburn that his first Public will take place on Thurs-
day, the 20th inst., at the Western Exchange, at 6:oo o’clock P. M.
“Parents and guardians are respectfully invited to attend.
“Auburn, nth March, 1828.”
“AUBURN ASSEMBLY.
“The Managers give notice that the third COTILLION PARTY
will be held at the Western Exchange on Thursday evening, January52
History of Cayuga County
29, 1830. Carriages will be in readiness at 5:00 o’clock P. M.”
These cards of a later date may not be without interest:
“DOCTOR PERES’ COTILLION PARTY.
“You are respectfully invited to attend a COTILLION PARTY
at the WESTERN EXCHANGE, in Auburn, on Thursday next,
at 7 :oo o’clock P. M.
“October 31, 1842.
“Carriages in attendance at 7 :oo P. M.”
“W. B. SMITH’S
“SCHOOL AND POLKA HOP.
“THE LAST FOR THE SEASON AT THE
“AUBURN HOUSE SALOON.
“Your company is respectfully requested at the Auburn House,
on Monday evening, March 9,1846, at 6 :oo o’clock.
“The Polka, Polka Quadrille and Love Chase Waltz, will be
performed by a number of Mr. Smith’s pupils during the evening.
“Auburn, March 2, 1846.”
The “Third Annual Ball of the Auburn Guards’’ is announced
for January 22, 1847, at the Auburn House.
Mr. A. M. Cobleigh announces that his dancing school will
commence at the Auburn House Tuesday, November 7, 1848, and
adds this modest note.
“A. M. C., deeming it unnecessary to enter into particulars with
regard to the advantages his school may possess, or dwell upon his
own qualifications as a teacher, would simply refer those who may
be desirous of patronizing, to his former friends. At the same time
he would suggest, that a teacher of dancing should not confine his
exertions merely to the movements of the feet, but should endeavor
to give to his pupils that confidence and ease, With a graceful carriage
of the body, so necessary for their intercourse with genteel society. ”City of Aub.urn
53
The American Hotel was built in 1828-30, upon the site of the
old Willard Tavern. This tavern must have been built prior to
1810, as it doubtless is one of the four referred to by DeWitt Clinton
in his letter descriptive of Auburn in that year. The first proprietor
whom I have been able to trace was Watrous Pomroy, who took
charge about 1810, and continued proprietor during the war of
1812-15. A recruiting officer was stationed here at this period.
Mr. Pomroy was succeeded by Zadoe Hall. The inn though limited
in accommodations, was popular with the traveling public and well
known throughout the length of the turnpike. Loring and Emmory
Willard being the proprietors for many years, Emmory being the
proprietor from whom it took the name of “Willard’s Tavern. ”
Loring transferred his interest to Emmory in 1824, and in August
1827, Emmory sold the property to Justus S. Glover, father of Mrs.
C. H. Merriman, for $5,000.
In 1828, Issac Sherwood, who was an inn-keeper at Skaneateles
and his son John M., both of whom were interested in the important
line of stages through this section, projected the American. The
Willard Tavern building was removed to Clark street, where St.
Mary’s church now stands. When that lot was purchased for the
church, the old tavern building was removed to West Seymour
street, opposite, but a few doors east of the present Seymour street
or No. 5 School.
The American was a “four-story” stone building, nearly square,
with two piazzas extending across the front and east sides, supported
by columns of the Ionic order of architecture. The top of the sec-
ond piazza afforded an uncovered promenade for the fourth story.
A modest cupola completed the architecture of the hip roof. The
central entrance opened into the main hall; on the left front was
the guest’s parlor or reading room, on the right the bar room. The
ladies’ parlor was on the second floor. The second and third floors
were devoted to boarders and transient guests, the fourth to servants
except that when the house was overcrowded, it was utilized for54
History of Cayuga County
guests. The front hall opened into the dining room in the rear.
The house stood well up from the street. Steps led to the front
entrance and another pair to the front entrance of the bar room.
In the southeast comer of the basement was the stage office, the
realm of the dignified Consider Carter, in the palmy days of staging.
When staging ceased, the office was transformed into a barber shop.
There was no long room or ball room, but a select few were occasion-
ally granted the use of the dining room for a social hop. It will be
seen at once that the American differed materially from the old
tavern. Its habitues marked the distinction more forcibly. The
magnates of the village, men of leisure in those slow-going days,
sauntered up and seated themselves upon the veranda for social
converse. Judges holding courts and lawyers from a distance made
it their headquarters. The style of the house, its appointments,
the character of its guests, rendered the American rather forbidding
to the masses. Of course its charges were higher, and it lacked the
democratic element which characterized its compeers and made
them successful. The American was never a pecuniarily profitable
institution, after stage coach travel ceased, about the year 1842.
In the papers of the day are found frequent notices of political
caucuses, notices of foreclosure sale under mortgage, and other
notices of transactions at the different public houses of the city,
but rarely one at the American.
The house was quite a favorite place for boarding, especially
with those who were disposed to pay liberally. I am told by a
gentleman who boarded there in the early days of the hotel, that
bottles of brandy were placed upon the dining table, at intervals
of three or four feet, and that this was the uniform practice in all
first class hotels of the day. The bottles were rarely touched,
however, except by a transient guest.
The American Hotel was opened to the public on the first day of
January, 1830, as appears from the following local in the Cayuga
Republican of January 6, 1830:City of Auburn
55
“ The new stone edifice recently erected in this village by the
Messrs. Sherwoods, has been opened for company by the name of the
American Hotel, under the superintendence of Mr. Thomas Noyes,
formerly of Rochester. On New Year's day by invitation many
gentlemen visited the establishment and dined with Mr. Noyes, and
in the evening several who had been detained by attendance at the
Anti-Masonic Convention also went over, and were cordially re-
ceived and entertained. All felt highly gratified at the politeness
and hospitality of the host, and expressed many good wishes for the
success of the establishment, which is indeed a credit to our village.
In short, we doubt whether any place in Western New York can
boast of two more splendid and well kept public houses than the
Western Exchange and the American Hotel.’'
It is not necessary to trace the different proprietors of the Ameri-
can down to the time of its dissolution. Joshua Jones succeeded
Noyes. Wm. B. Wood was an early proprietor and was succeeded
by William Gamble in 1846, who adds to his modest card “N. B.
Passengers conveyed to and from the cars—Free.” Jonas White,
Jr., succeeded him, and after White came Benjamin Ashby, who
was the irate projector of Alvah Rude from the front steps, on the
day of the Kossuth reception. Hiram L. Swift was proprietor in
1864.
When purchased by Mr. Shimer about 1870, it was unoccupied.
The last proprietor, Mr. S. P. Chapman, who took it of Mr. Shimer
in 1870, struggled hard to restore the fading fortunes of the house
but in vain, and in 1879 he abandoned it in despair. From that
time on it remained untenanted as a hotel. The furniture, beds
and bedding remained as if awaiting the coming of a new lord—but
none came. Meantime the owner entered upon a series of archi-
tectural experiments, extending the front out flush with the street
and fitting up three stories therein. Unostentatiously and slowly,
but persistently, the work went on, with the avowed determination
of the architect that he would run her clean through to Clark street.56
History of Cayuga County
But, alas! his ambition was checked before fruition. One dull,
sombre afternoon in March, a dense smoke was seen issuing from
the rear, which soon burst into flames. The elements seemed to
regard the situation with complacence. The wind started up
sufficiently to encourage the flames, and then died down. Lest
adjoining property might suffer, a heavy rain set in, and continued
until the fire had exhausted itself, and nothing but the blackened
stone walls of the old American remained.
The curious throng who had gathered to witness the holocaust,
sought shelter in their homes from the drenching rain, and darkness
closed down around the flickering flamelets, which seemed deter-
mined to enjoy to the utmost the last revel in the old hotel.
The American was no more.
The tavern of the past was an index of one phase of social life,
peculiar to a past generation, which no longer exists. The slow-
going means of travel made frequent houses of entertainment a
necessity. The more expeditious canal, followed swiftly by the
hurrying railroads, blighted forever the prospects of the tavern,
and its doom was fixed. Scattered all over our country to-day
may be seen these sleepy old monuments of a bygone age, some
hastening to decay, weatherbeaten, neglected, solitary—others
transformed into pleasant, rural homes, not one of them a tavern as
of old. Were the proud stage coach of three quarters of a century
ago to come rattling over the Genesee turnpike to the Auburn of
to-day, the.passengers would find no vestige of the hospitable inns
they were wont to see, unless possibly some might recognize the old
Parmlee Tavern in the homelike National Hotel.City of Auburn
57
CHAPTER VI.
Village Growth and Improvements — Silk Industry—Early Newspapers —The
Patriot War—Auburn Prison Troubles—Raise of the Woolen Industry—Auburn
Incorporated as a City.
The War of 1812 left a spirit of militarism in the country from
which Auburn was not exempt. But as years rolled by the old
militia system lost favor, the public regarding it as more or less of a
farce. The Legislature would neither do anything to improve the
obsolete military regulations, nor to institute a new system, so the
people of Cayuga County undertook to rectify the matter so far as
they were concerned. Five companies were recruited to form a
regiment of artillery, in 1829, and the organization was known as the
Thirty-Third Artillery. The officers were: Colonel, William H.
Seward; Lieutenant-Colonel, John Wright; Major, Lyman Hinman,
Adjutant, Oscar S. Burgess; Quartermaster, John H. Chedell; Pay-
master, Nelson Beardsley; Surgeons, H. L. Markham and Blanch-
ard Fosgate.
The gun house was situated on the north side of Water street,
near State. This regiment seems not to have excited the public
sense of ridicule. But it was short-lived, going out of existence in
1842. But this cannot be said of the regular militia, which had
become an object of derision all over the state. So ridiculous did
the old system become that bodies of men, fantastically dressed,
found delight in holding parades to mimic the militia. Two such
were held in Auburn: the first September 11, 1833 and the second
on the 18th of the same month. It is claimed that the parades of
these fusileers, .so called, caused a revision of the old military laws.
The Cayuga County Bank was established in 1833, although its
charter was applied for in 1825. A full account of this institution
is given under a separate head.
In 1837, on the night of January 21st, Auburn was visited by
a destructive fire, which consumed fourteen buildings in the58
History of Cayuga County
business district. The night was intensely cold and the fire buckets
and engine were ineffectual against the flames. Most of the
buildings were low, wooden structures, but a great quantity of goods
was consumed as well as the fourteen store buildings. The loss
was estimated at $100,000. The fire burned from near North street
westerly on the north side of Genesee street to within about four
doors from State street.
The streets of Auburn were first lighted on the night of
December 31, 1836, by oil lamps.
The town hall was completed in 1837 a. cost of $30,000, and
an ordinance was enacted requiring all the butchers in the village
to rent stalls in the lower story of the building, and there expose
their meats for sale. Vegetable wagons were to stand on the sides
of the square in front of the town hall until 9 o’clock A. M., and a
market clerk was appointed to see that the market laws and regula-
tions were observed. This system lasted only eight years. In
1845 J°hn E. Patten started an independent market and the court
sustained his rights in a suit brought against him by the village
trustees!
During the year 1838-9 the management of the Auburn prison
fell under public censure. Captain Elam Lynds was then the agent.
He was a veteran of the War of 1812 and had ideas of his own
regarding prison discipline and feeding of the convicts. He
abolished the table system and served their meagre rations to the
prisoners in their cells, where they were compelled to eat their food
without knife or fork. The convicts vainly protested against the
new rule, and finding their complaints unheeded, became rebellious.
This gave the keepers a pretext for using the lash, which they did
unmercifully. The citizens petitioned the prison inspectors to
remove Lynds, but the request was ignored. Then the Grand Jury
took up the matter and indicted the agent of the prison. The
indictment was quashed, but the public kept up its fight, and their
cause was unexpectedly strengthened by a death in the prison whichCity of Auburn
59
seemed to require legal investigation. An inquiry developed the
fact that the convict had been flogged repeatedly for inability to
work, yet he could not work because of sickness. The agent and
two inspectors of the prison resigned and Dr. Noyes Palmer was
appointed agent, May 9, 1839. The mess table was restored and
humane discipline inaugurated.
It has been claimed that the controversy over the prison affairs
led to the defeat of the democratic party in the county at the
election in the fall of 1838. However that may have been, it
certainly developed much bitter feeling and was the cause of the
publication, temporarily, of The Corrector, a weekly newspaper,
the mission of which was to defend the prison authorities.
Some of the warlike sons of Auburn went into a foreign land
to do doughty deeds in 1838. William Lyon Mackenzie had
stirred up the Patriot War in Upper Canada, and had made a trip
through New York State exciting sympathy for the Revolutionary
party in his country. At Auburn he succeeded in organizing a
lodge of “Reubens,” as they were called, the members pledging
themselves to go to the assistance of the Canadian rebels. It was
a secret organization and Colonel Ward was the first presiding
officer. Many such lodges were formed along the northern frontier
of the state, and in November, 1838, a small army of “Reubens”
made an attempt to capture Prescott, opposite Ogdensburg.
Several Auburnians were with the attacking party, which was
driven off. About two hundred rebels and invaders then made a
stand in the old windmill, a short distance below Prescott, awaiting
the assistance of the Canadians, who failed to come to their aid.
Four men from Auburn were in the windmill:	E. P. Senter, Oliver
Lawton, Asa Priest and Bernis Woodbury. The windmill was
assaulted by regulars and militia and the patriots were compelled
to surrender, so that the four men from Auburn became prisioners.
They were tried by court martial and sentenced to death, but
through the intervention of Governor Seward, Senter and Lawton60
History of Cayuga County
were permitted to return home, but Woodbury and Priest were
transported to Van Diemans Land for twenty-five years. Priest
died on shipboard but Woodbury lived through the quarter of a
century in the British penal colony and returned to Auburn in 1864.
In the fall of 1838 William H. Seward, the most notable man
that Auburn ever produced was elected governor of the state of
New York, by the young Whig party. In 1839 two distinguished
Americans visited the village. In the month of July of that year
Henry Clay was entertained by the Whigs, and shortly afterward,
Martin VanBuren, then President, was entertained by the Democrats.
Auburn occupied a prominent position in the state in those
days. She had bravely met the financial calamities of 1837,
indicating to other communities an expeditious method of meeting
the emergencies of that disastrous time; Seward, her favorite son,
was in the governor’s chair at Albany; national statesmen recog-
nized her political importance; and in the remarkable campaign
of 1840 she was one of the principal theaters where was played the
strange political comedy that characterized the presidential contest
between the Whigs and Democrats that year.
But, that the people were not entirely engrossed in the problems
of the hard times and in politics is evidenced by the fact that the
Auburn Literary Association was organized in December, 1838.
The society existed until the breaking out of the War of the Re-
bellion which deprived it of many of its active members.
Outside of Cayuga County, few, to-day, are aware that Auburn
was once One of the centers of silk culture and manufacture in the
United States. For some time prior to 1837 a man named John
Morrison, a native of Edinburgh, Scotland, was connected with the
carpet-weaving shop in the prison. He was thoroughly acquainted
with the silk industry, having served an apprenticeship therein,
in England and Scotland. Upon his suggestion the cultivation of
the mulberry tree was commenced in and around Auburn. David
West was the first to make the venture. He purchased twoCity of Auburn
61
thousand mulberry buds and planted them in the spring of 1837.
Others speedily followid his example, and the trees throve. Lorenzo
Pease, a missionary in Cyprus, sent his father, Erastus Pease, a few
hundred eggs of the silkworm, and cocooneries were built and the
infant industry fairly started. The first crop of silk proved to be
of superior quality, and the silk growers, elated with success, went
into the business on a larger scale.
At first the silk was reeled and spun at home, but in 1841, the
manufacture of sewing silk was begun in the prison, under Henry
Polhemus, who was then agent and warden. A single throwing
mill was started, but, by the end of the year, five were in operation,
and in 1842 the number had increased to, ten, and in 1843 two more
were added. Only three silk mills in the country were then
employing more operatives than the prison in the manufacture of
silk, and Auburn was the principal cash market in the United States
for cocoons and raw silk Mr. Polhemus paid cash for all he could
get, and the certainty of a market induced farmers to turn their
attention from other crops to the cultivation of the mulberry tree.
Cocooneries were built in and around Auburn by the principal
producers, but barns, sheds, and even their houses were used by
small growers for the breeding and feeding of silk worms.
The product of the prison spindles was a soft, but strong and
brilliant silk, which sold at seven dollars per pound. In comparison
with foreign silk it did not suffer, even though it was manufactured
on imperfect machinery by the inexperienced hands of convicts.
Notwithstanding the quality of the silk, the industry was short
lived in Auburn, and its downfall came from a peculiar cause. The
merchants of New York City, interested in the import trade, fostered
a prejudice against it, and the fact of its being manufactured by
untrained and perhaps careless convicts militated against the best
results in the manufactured products. At all events it lost prestige
on the market, and in 1845 the price fell from seven to five dollars
a pound.62
History of Cayuga County
A blow was also given to the industry from another quarter-
one recalling the story of the wooden nutmegs. When the demand
for mulberry trees became so enormous as to tax the sources of
supply, some Eastern speculators procured great quantities of slips
from forests trees and sold them for mulberry sprouts to the unsus-
pecting growers.
The purchase of cocoons and reeled silk was discontinued by the
prison authorities, the spindles within the walls were stopped, and
producers abandoned the culture of the crop. So, within five years
after its inception, the industry died out in Auburn, and the best
cash market for silk in the northern states was demolished.
In 1841 a notable movement was started in Auburn and Cayuga
County, for the abatement of the intemperate use of intoxicating
liquors. Distilling had long been one of the best paying branches
of business in the village, but societies were formed which undertook
with great earnestness to arrest its growth and at the same time
reform inebriates. The aid of the law was invoked, and the courts,
the trustees of the village and the poormaster joined with the
temperance people to effect reforms. A notable society which
took a prominent part in this crusade was “The Washingtonians'’
which gathered into its ranks all the temperance people and did
effective work.
When Congress, in 1842, placed a tariff on woolen goods of
foreign manufacture, an impetus was given to that industry in
America. Then it was that some enterprising men in Auburn began
to consider the proposition of establishing a woolen mill. The
Outlet was ready with superabundance of power and the village
lay in the center of a wool-growing district. In March, 1844, the
matter was laid before a few prominent Auburnians by William H.
Seward and others, with the result that it was decided to take
immediate steps to start a woolen factory. William H. Seward
Amos Underwood and Eleazer Hills were deputed to prepare articles
of association for a manufacturing company with a capital ofCity of Auburn
63
$100,000, and the corporation known as the Cayuga Factory was
formed on April i, 1844. The capital required seemed large for
those stringent times, but the citizens viewed the project favorably
and the necessary capital was subscribed in the belief that the
enterprise would prove of great benefit to Auburn and Cayuga
County, which produced annually about four hundred thousand
pounds of wool. The company, however, did not progress, and the
matter lay in abeyance until 1847. In January of that year, Harvey
Baldwin, of Syracuse and Doctor C. D. McIntyre of Albany, both
of whom were large stockholders in the big dam and contiguous
property, offered to sell a mill site at a nominal price and also to
subscribe $20,000 towards the stock of the company, if Auburn
people would go ahead and build a mill. Then the Auburn Woolen
Company was organized with a capital of $100,000. A site was
purchased from the Auburn & Owasco Canal Company with one-
third of the hydraulic power of the dam, and the erection of a mill
was commenced the same year. But, when the building was
completed there was no money left with which to purchase ma-
chinery, so thet capital stock was increased to $158,000. The mill
began operations at once and for a time, was successful, but times
changed and it passed into the hands of Philadelphia parties who
then sold it to Bush & Munkittrick, who transferred it to C. N.
Fearing in 1859. He operated the mill until 1863, and then
organized the second Auburn Woolen Company with a capital of
$100,000, which was subsequently increased to $200,000. Fearing
was president of the corporation, and Wm. G. Wise was superinten-
dent until 1868 when he was succeeded by Samuel Laurie. T. M.
Clark is now superintendent of the mill which is owned by Eastern
capitalists.
When the telegraph became an assured success a great impetus
was given to journalism. In the month of May, 1846, telegraph
lines reached Auburn and in that year two daily papers were
started; one was the Cayuga Patriot and the other The Auburn
Advertiser.64
History of Cayuga County
In 1816 the Western Federalist, of which mention has already
been made, passed into the possession of T. M. Skinner and William
Crosby. They changed the name to the Auburn Gazette which was
a well-edited paper, devoted to the policy of DeWitt Clinton. In
1819 the name was again changed and it became the Republican.
In 1824 the Free Press was started by Richard Oliphant, and
was at that time the largest sheet published in the state west of
Albany. It was in reality a Whig sheet, although that party had
not yet come into existence, but it advocated the principles subse-
quently adopted by the Whigs and later by the Republicans. It
supported John Quincy Adams for president in 1828, and Henry
Clay in. 1832. The Cayuga Patriot was the Democratic organ and
represented the leading politicians of Auburn who were then of that
political faith.
In 1833 the Free Press and Republican united under the name
of the Auburn Journal.
In that year also the Cayuga Democratic began its brief career,
edited by Frederick Prince.
All of these-were weekly publications, at first, but about the
year 1838 semi-weeklies and extra editions began to make their
appearance. It was not until 1846, however, that local daily
papers were seen upon the streets of Auburn.
For a decade after the financial panic of 1837, Auburn, like the
country at large, endured hard times, yet during all those years the
village continued to grow. In 1835 the population was 5,368;
in 1845 it had increased to 6,000; and in 1848 the estimate was
8,500. In the last named year the village received its city charter.
The first charter election was held on the first Tuesday in April,
1848, and Cyrus C. Dennis was elected the first mayor.
At the time of incorporation the city consisted of four wards,
which were subsequently increased to seven and still later to ten.
The charter has been revised several times.Gen. William H. SewardCity of Auburn
65
CHAPTER VII.
AUBURN AND THE CIVIL WAR.
It is not within the scope of this work to discuss the causes that
led to the Civil War, nor to record the national events that char-
acterized the four years' conflict. The story has been written more
thoroughly and exhaustively than that of any war in the world's
history. Every state in the Union has in its archives complete
records concerning every regiment, company and soldier. They
contain reliable information relating to all matters regarding the
army and navy. The innumerable military organizations through-
out the country have preserved the experiences of their members,
and the thrilling stories of camp and field. These, with the official
documents and records in the possession of the National Government
form a vast treasure house of historic material relating to the Civil
War. The province of this work is to briefly enumerate the organiza-
tions from Cayuga County that, one after another, responded to the
nation’s call for defenders, and to note the more prominent local
events related to the great rebellion. Auburn was the center from
which regiment after regiment was recruited and sent to the front.
The echoes of the enemy’s guns fired against Fort Sumter were
heard all over the land and roused the patriotism of every loyal
heart. The call to arms was promptly responded to by thousands of
citizens who were ready and anxious to render service to their
country. The Empire state, true to her record in the past, stood
in the front rank with the loyal states in furnishing her quota of
the 75,000 volunteers first called for by Abraham Lincoln.
Cayuga County acted promptly. One of her citizens, Captain
T. J. Kennedy, had in fact anticipated this action of the Govern-
ment by several months, and had written to Governor Morgan as
early as January 6, 1861, for permission to raise troops. The
566
History of Cayuga County
Governor replied on the 17th of that month that, “If the necessity
arises your services will be accepted/ ’ Captain Kennedy’s was,
undoubtedly, the first offer of military service from this section.
The Captain, anticipating action, sent out at his own personal cost
recruiting agents to the different villages in this vicinity—Aurora,
Springport, Jordan, Seneca Falls, Skaneateles—and opened a re-
cruiting office in Auburn, and he exerted every effort in his power
to impress his fellow citizens with the existing danger.
Our citizens were slow, however, to believe that the rash act of
secession would be followed by war, and Captain Kennedy was
considered by some as too enthusiastic. He, however, proceeded in
his work and on the day of the attack upon Fort Sumter had one
hundred and seventy-five recruits drilling in an open field near the
city. The events thus justified his sagacity, and wisdom, and he
immediately applied to the Governor for arms and equipments; but
they were not ready. The South had been actively preparing for
war for over six months, while the North had remained idle, in
fancied security. There were no guns, no harness, no general
equipments for Kennedy’s fine company of recruits. The Governor
stated these facts and inquired if the men would accept rifles and
go out as infantry. To this forty consented, and by energetic
efforts on the part of the captain and his assistants, a full infantry
company was enrolled which joined the Nineteenth Regiment at
Elmira.
Efforts were made to recruit the Forty-Ninth Regiment to ten
full companies, pending which the Legislature authorized the enlist-
ment of twenty thousand volunteers and voted three million dollars
to arm and equip them. This compelled the abandonment of the
plan to fill up the old regiment, and efforts were at once directed to
perfect organization under the State call.
The citizens of Auburn met at the Court House to devise plans in
aid of enlistments, April 20, 1861, and while they were assembling
the news reached them of the attack upon the Massachusetts troopsCity of Auburn
67
in their passage through the city of Baltimore. The effect upon the
people was electrical. General Jesse Segoine, C. S. Burtis, C. C.
Dennis, T. M. Pomeroy, S. Willard, Richard Steel, Reverend D. K.
Lee, E. B. Lansing, and others addressed the assembly, and their
impassioned utterances aroused the people. They resolved to
maintain the Union and give it every possible support. An im-
promptu fund of four thousand dollars was raised for the support of
the families of the volunteers, and its distribution was entrusted to
Charles P. Wood, John H. Chedell, and the mayor of the city,
George Humphrey.
The following Sunday, Auburn presented a scene of patriotic
enthusiasm. At the several recruiting stations, large crowds
assembled and many enlisted. The streets were filled with squads
of soldiers under drill. Patriotic discourses were delivered in the
churches and in one (the Catholic) sixty recruits left in a body and
enlisted under Captain Gavigan. Three full companies were that
day completed. Captain Kennedy had a surplus of fifty-six men
who were transferred to a company being organized by Captain
Theodore H. Schenck. Captain Charles H. Stewart in a single day,
April 24th, recruited his company to the maximum strength.
Captains Solomon Giles of Weedsport, James E. Ashcroft of Seneca
Falls, Nelson T. Stephens of Moravia and James R. Angel of Union
Springs were each at the time recruiting a company for the regiment
then organizing.
The popular sympathy for the volunteers found expression in
various ways; banners, swords, books, flags and pistols were presented
with formal ceremonies to the several officers. The Sons of Tem-
perance placed a splendid brace of pistols, with rosewood cases, in
the hands of Captain Baker on the 22nd and on the same day, that
officer was publicly presented with a sword. Captain Kennedy was
presented with a brace of pistols, at the armory, on the 23rd. Cap-
tain Gavigan, Captain Schenck and their lieutenants and under
officers all were furnished with swords and revolvers by their68
History of Cayuga County
admirers and friends. Captain Kennedy received a magnificent
Bible from the Board of Education of Auburn, of which he had been
a member, and his men were given one each. Captain Stewart was
presented publicly with a handsome copy of the Book. Five
companies had been mustered into the Service and were awaiting
orders to move. The movement began April 24th.
Fully eight thousand spectators witnessed the departure of the
first battalion from Cayuga County for the seat of war. The com-
panies that composed the battalion were those of Captains Baker,
Kennedy, Schenck, Gavigan and Ashcroft, and their first destina-
tion was the military depot at Elmira. The companies of Captain
Stewart and Ammon were mustered into the service, May 6th, and
proceeded also to Elmira.
The Nineteenth Regiment comprising the foregoing companies,
was mustered into the United States service on the twenty-second
day of May, as the Nineteenth New York volunteers, and was
officered as follows:
Colonel, John S. Clark; Lieutenant-Colonel, Clarence A. Seward;
Major, James H. Ledley; Adjutant, Henry M. Stone; Surgeon,
Theodore Dimon; Quartermaster, John Chedell; Quartermaster-
Sergeant, Dennis Scheil; Sergeant-Major, Charles Tomlinson.
The company officers were:
Company A—Captain, John T. Baker; Lieutenant, Charles
White; Ensign, Martin Laughlin; Sergeants, Charles Tomlinson,
John T. Potter, David McCreary, Barnett Nagle.
Company B-—Captain, T. J. Kennedy; Lieutenant, John Poison;
Ensign, Henry C. Day; Sergeants, Andrew Cowan, William H.
Genett, David C. Hutchinson and William H. Barnes.
Company C—Captain, James E. Ashcroft; Lieutenant, Samuel
C. Day; Ensign, Charles B. Randolph; Sergeants Charles C. Graves,
Adolphus W. Newton, Alonzo Jordon, and Edward Manning.City of Auburn
69
Company D—Captain, Owen Gavigan; Lieutenant, William
Boyle; Ensign, Luke Bannock; Sergeants, Patrick Dwyer, and
Daniel Downing, Patrick Handlan and Daniel McCarten.
Company E—Captain, Theodore H. Schenck; Lieutenant, David
A. Taylor; Ensign, Edward C. Burtis; Sergeants, Henry F. Rider,
Austin Haynes, Charles A. Henry and James Harris.
Company F—Captain, Nelson T. Stephens; Lieutenant, Watson
C. Squire; Ensign, Edward D. Parker; Sergeants, Edward B. Warren,
David F. Bothwell, Bama C. Goodrich and Robert Haynes.
Company—G—Captain, Charles H. Stewart; Lieutenant, John
Wall; Ensign, Antonio E. Robinson; Sergeants Lewis Manders, John
White, Charles B. Quick and George E. Sherwood. '
Company H—Captain, Solomon Giles; Lieutenant,. Augustus
Field; Ensign, Marquis D. Nichols; Sergeants, Chas. M. Whiteside,
William A. Hedges, Willis Watson and Montraville M. Hedges.
Company I—Captain, John H. Ammon; Lieutenant, George W.
Thomas; Ensign, Randolph B. Kimberly; Sergeants, Horace Silsby,
William A. Kelsy, Thomas J. Lomore and James S. Fuller.
Company K—Captain, James R. Angel; Lieutenant, A. H. Carr;
Ensign, Lester W. Forting.
The uniforms supplied to this regiment were made from cheap
shoddy and called forth such a storm of protest from indignant
citizens as led to a correction of this shameful attempt on the part
of the manufacturers to make large profits at the expense of the
soldiers.
At Elmira the regiment was presented with handsome regimental
and national flags, sent by the the ladies of Auburn in care of Charles
C. Dwight and B. F. Hall.
Northern people, generally, thought the war would be a trifling
affair of short duration, and the first seventy-five thousand men
were enlisted for only three months. It speedily became apparent70
History of Cayuga County
that time would be consumed in recruiting, equipping and transport-
ing the regiments to the field. So, on May 4th, President Lincoln
issued a call for volunteers to serve for three years. The quota of
New York State under this call, was 25,000 men, but they were
not called for until July 25th, after the first battle of Bull Run.
On September 2nd, a public meeting was held in Auburn, at
which Colonel John A. Dodge proposed a plan to establish a military
depot in the city, and to arm, equip and drill soldiers here, and thus
protect subsequent volunteers from such impositions by contractors
as the Nineteenth Regiment had been forced to endure. The propo-
sition was laid before Governor Morgan by Doctor Willard, T. M.
Pomeroy; William C. Beardsley and Colonel Dodge, and the
Governor authorized Colonel Dodge to carry out his plan.
These proceedings greatly accelerated the work of enlisting the
required volunteers, as confidence was restored regarding the treat-
ment the soldiers should receive.
Then the Seventy-Fifth New York Volunteers was raised. It
mustered 900 men and, on November 30th left Auburn for New
York City to report for active service.
The Field and Staff officers were:
Colonel, John A. Dodge; Lieutenant-Colonel, Robert B. Merritt;
Adjutant, E. B. Lansing; Surgeon, Michael D- Benedict; Quarter-
master, Lewis E. Carpenter; Chaplain, Thomas B. Hudson.
The Company officers were:
Company A—Captain, Clinton D. MacDougall; Lieutenants,
Robert B. Merritt, James H. Hinman; Second Lieutenants, Erastus
E. Brown and B. F. Thurber.
Company B—Captain, Truman K. Fuller; First Lieutenant,
Wm. H. Stevenson; Second Lieutenant, Anson Tuller.
Company C—Captain, Wm. H. Cray; First Lieutenant, Chas.
Wilson Drew; Second Lieutenant, Augustus W. Benedict.
Company D—Captain, Chas. C. Dwight; First Lieutenant,
Andrew S. Coming; Second Lieutenant, George D. Robinson.City of Auburn
71
Company E—Captain, Luther Goodrich; First Lieutenant, Wm.
L. Stanford; Second Lieutenant, Francis A. Hopping.
Company F—Captain, Henry Bates Fitch; First Lieutenant,
William Ellis Avery; Second Lieutenant, Horace B. Fitch.
Company G—Captain, John E. Savery; First Lieutenant, Lewis
E. Carpenter; Second Lieutenant, William D. Hamilton.
Company H—Captain, John Choate; First Lieutenant, Elbridge
C. Miles; Second Lieutenant, James E. Whiteside.
Company I—Captain, Lansing Porter; First Lieutenant, E. B.
Lansing; Second Lieutenant, William H. Hosmer.
The regiment was assigned to duty in the Department of the
South.
Kennedy’s Independent Battery was raised at the same time as
the Seventy-Fifth. Captain, T. J. Kennedy received permission to
raise the battery and had one hundred and twenty-five enrolled
inside of sixty days. The organization was named “Kennedy’s
First Light Battery, N. Y. S. Volunteers,” and was mustered into
service for three years on November 23, 1861. Its officers were:
Captain, T. J. Kennedy; First Lieutenants, Andrew Cowan and
William P. Wright; Second Lieutenant, James A. Woodruff; Ser-
geants, H. C. Vaughn, Nathaniel Thompson, O. Van Etten, James
B. Wood, John E. Johnson and H. S. Steele. The battery left for
the front on December 2nd.
In the meantime the Nineteenth Regiment had been reorganized
as the Third Artillery and in February and March, 1862, about
ninety recruits went forward under Lieutenants Allen, Boyle and
Kirby, to fill its ranks to the desired strength.
In 1862 military districts were formed throughout the state,
one of which comprised Cayuga and Wayne counties, and in it the
One Hundred and Eleventh Regiment was raised.
Its Field and Staff officers were:72
History of Cayuga County
Colonel, Jesse Segoine; Lieutenant-Colonel, Clinton D. Mac-
Dougall; Adjutant, Henry H. Segoine; Surgeon, William Vosburgh;
Quartermaster, James Trulan.
The Company officers were:
Company A—Captain, Aaron P. Seely; First Lieutenant,
Samuel B. McIntyre; Second Lieutenant, Ezra A. Hibbard.
Company B—Captain, John S. Coe; First Lieutenant, Jacob T.
Van Buskirk; Second Lieutenant, John Tremper.
Company C—Captain, Ed. A. Thomas; First Lieutenant, Ira
Jones; Second Lieutenant, Theodore Lamson.
Company D—Captain, Sebastian D. Holmes; First Lieutenant,
Hasseltine S. Moore; Second Lieutenant, Erastus M. Granger.
Company E—Captain, Isaac M. Lusk; First Lieutenant, Andrew
D. Soverill; Second Lieutenant, John A. Lanig.
Company F—Captain, Benjamin W. Thompson; First Lieu-
tenant, Robert C. Perry; Second Lieutenant, John H. Drake.
Company G-—Captain, Lewis A. Husk; First Lieutenant, John
I. BrinkerhofE; Second Lieutenant, Edgar J. A. Hueston.
Company H—Captain, Ezra H. Northrop; First Lieutenant,
Frank Rich; Second Lieutenant, Reuben J. Myres.
Company I—Captain, Sidney Mead; First Lieutenant, Merrill
W. Murdock; Second Lieutenant, Arthur W. Marshall.
Company K—Captain, S. A. Tremaine; First Lieutenant, George
M. Smith; Second Lieutenant, A. B. Capron.
The One Hundred and Eleventh Regiment went to the front in
response to a call for more troops in July, 1862. This was followed
by another call for three hundred thousand more in August and the
One Hundred and Thirty-Eighth Regiment was raised in the
Cayuga-Wayne district, under command of Joseph Welling of
Wayne County. Its official organization was as follows:
Field and Staff officers of the One Hundred and Thirty-Eighth
Regiment: Colonel, Joseph Welling; Lieutenant-Colonel, WilliamCity of Auburn
73
H. Seward, Jr.; Major, Edward P. Taft; Adjutant, William R.
Wasson; Sergeant-Major, Lyman C. Comstock; Quartermaster,
Henry P. Knowles.
The Company officers were:
Company A—Captain, James W, Snyder; First Lieutenant,
James H. Hyde; Second Lieutenant, Rufus M. Campbell.
Company B—Captain, Truman Gregory; First Lieutenant,
Nelson F. Strickland; Second Lieutenant, William E. Greenwood.
Company C—Captain, Loyal W. Alden; First Lieutenant,
Harvey Follett; Second Lieutenant, Marshall B. Burke.
Company D—Captain, Charles L. Lyon; First Lieutenant,
Anson S. Wood; Second Lieutenant, Samuel C. Redgrave.
Company E—Captain, Selah Cornwall; First Lieutenant, Seth
F. Swift; Second Lieutenant, George C. Stoyell.
Company F—Captain, Charles Burgess; First Lieutenant, Geo.
W. Bacon; Second Lieutenant, Sullivan B. Lamereaux.
Company G—Captain, William Wood; First Lieutenant, Wm.
Hawley; Second Lieutenant, Seymour Woodward.
Company H—Captain, John L. Crane; First Lieutenant, Tunis
Vosburgh; Second Lieutenant, Daniel B. Harmon.
Company I—Captain, Hugh Hughes; First Lieutenant; Orson
Howard; Second Lieutenant, Philip R. Freeoff.
Company K—Captain, Irwin Sawyer; First Lieutenant, Dennis
E. Flynn; Second Lieutenant, Geo P. Knapp.
The military district of which Cayuga County was a part had
now raised four full regiments and a battery of artillery, besides
supplying many recruits to fill-up old regiments, but still the quota
was not complete, and, to prevent a dreaded draft, efforts were
made to encourage volunteers. The stores of Auburn were closed
at four o’clock daily in order that the energies of all might be
directed toward filling up the required quota War committees
were appointed to aid in the work, and flags of recruiting stations
waved in all parts of the city. The supervisors of Cayuga County74
History of Cayuga County
met and offered a bounty of fifty dollars for volunteers. Captain
Charles C. Dwight, of the Seventy-Fifth, then in New Orleans, was
communicated with, and offered the colonelcy of a new regiment.
He reached Auburn, October 20, 1862, and by November 22nd
the One Hundred and Sixtieth New York Volunteers were ready for
the field.
The Field and Staff officers were:
Colonel, Charles C. Dwight; Lieutenant-Colonel, John B. Van
Patten; Major, William H. Sentell; Adjutant, Gorton W. Allen;
Surgeon, Cyrus Powers; Assistant-Surgeon, David H. Armstrong;
Chaplain, William Pultman; Quartermaster, Dighton H. Winans.
The company officers were:
Company A—Captain, William Potter; First Lieutenant, William
J. Van Deusen; Second Lieutenant, James B. Vaughn.
Company B—Captain, H. P. Underhill; First Lieutenant, L. L.
Wheelock; Second Lieutenant, James Kelly.
Company C—Captain, B. B. Rogers; First Lieutenant, Robert B.
Ennis; Second Lieutenant, James V. D. Westfall.
Company D—Captain J. D. Bunerd; First Lieutenant, Myron H.
Shirts; Second Lieutenant, E. H. Sentell.
Company E—Captain, Henry Moore; First Lieutenant, James
Gray; Second Lieutenant, Nicholas McDonough.
Company F—Captain, Josiah C. Jewett; First Lieutenant,
Gideon F. Moorey; Second Lieutenant, Edwin Kirby.
Company G—Captain, Malcolm Wright; First Lieutenant, Hor-
ace Silsby; Second Lieutenant, A. S. Stillman.
Company H.—Captain, Daniel S. Vaughn; First Lieutenant,
Charles R. Caltord; Second Lieutenant, Miles I. Jones.
Company I—Captain, Allen L. Burr; First Lieutenant, Newton
Dexter; Second Lieutenant, Robert R. Seeley.
Company K—Captain L. B. Hunt; First Lieutenant, George L.
Merrill; Second Lieutenant John H. Shaver.City of Auburn
75
In April, 1863, John N. Knapp of Auburn was appointed provost-
marshal for this military district. James M. Servis of Wayne was
made .commissioner of enrollment and Doctor D. R. Davis, of
Seneca Falls, surgeon. An enrollment of the district was made,
and on July 13, 1863, a draft was ordered to fill the places of the
two-year men whose term of service would soon expire.
While the balloting for this draft was going on in Auburn the
terrible Draft Riots were in progress in New York City, but there
was no disturbance here. The result of the draft was about 2,000
conscripts, who must go to the front or purchase their redemption
at a cost of three hundred dollars. Fifty so purchased their release.
The failure of the draft to provide sufficient soldiers led to another
call for three thousand men, and another draft was made on October
17th. Cayuga County offered a bounty of three hundred dollars
for volunteers, and issued bonds to raise the necessary funds. In
this way sufficient recruits were obtained to fill up the quota from
this district demanded by the draft.
Another call for troops came in February, 1864, and the quota
of Cayuga County was filled inside of twenty days. Most of the
recruits raised to fill the several calls of 1864 went to fill up gaps in
old regiments.
On January 24, 1865, Captain John N. Knapp resigned the office
of provost-marshal and was succeeded by Captain B. B. Snow, who
began a last draft on March 15, at the Court House in Auburn.
The One Hundred and Ninty-Third Regiment was organized in
camp in the spring of 1865. It was officered as follows:
Colonel, J. B. Van Petten; Lieutenant Colonel, John C. Gilmore;
Major, Alfred Morton; Adjutant, Thurlow B. Wasson; Quarter-
master, Charles H. Bailey; Surgeon, David H. Armstrong; Chaplain,
W. D. Chase. Captains; John Jones, Edwin C. Knapp, Wm. H.
Porter, A. H. Preston, Joel Reed, James H. Hitchcock, Sidney W.
Ainsworth, Orrin D. Staplin, Wm. L. Yeckley and Wm. H. Harris.76
History of Cayuga County
Six regiments besides Kennedy's Battery were raised in this
military district, namely the Nineteenth, the Seventy-Fifth, the
One Hundred and Eleventh, the One Hundred and Thirty-Eighth,
the One Hundred and Sixtieth, and the One Hundred and Ninety-
Third.
The Nineteenth, New York Volunteers were mustered into the
United States service at Elmira, and from there proceeded to
Harrisburg, in command of Colonel John S. Clark. From Harris-
burg, Colonel Clark took his regiment to Washington, leading his
men through Baltimore in defiance of the hostile mob. The regi-
ment then became a part of General Patterson's command in the
army of General McDowell, and proceeded by way of Baltimore to
Harrisburg, to Chambersburg to Hagerstown and Martinsburg.
There Colonel Clark resigned from command of the regiment to ac-
cept the position of aid-de-camp on the staff of General Bangs,
and was succeeded by Colonel Seward. At the expiration of the
three months for which they had enlisted the soldiers expected to
return home, but although the men had been sworn into the United
States service for only three months, the intent of the authorities
had been that they enlisted for two years. So, when the time ex-
pired those who were not willing, voluntarily, to serve out their
time were coerced into service for the balance of the two years.
The regiment was sent to Hyattstown where it remained until
September 24, 1861, when it was moved to Muddy Branch where a
large number of desertions occurred during October and November.
On December 1st only 425 effective men remained. In September,
Colonel Seward had resigned and was succeeded by Major Ledlie.
On December 11, 1861, the Nineteenth was converted from
infantry to artillery to form a part of a regiment, 1,900 strong, the
design of which was to defend the capital.
To Washington therefore went the Nineteenth to be absorbed
into the Third Regiment New York Volunteer Artillery. On March
22, 1862, the regiment was changed to light artillery and providedGen. Clinton D. MacDougallCity of Auburn
77
with new uniforms. On the 24th they received marching orders.
In April, Captain Ammon and his company distinguished themselves
at the bombardment and capture of Fort Mason, which guarded the
entrance to Beaufort harbor. On August 6th, Captain Wall and
Captain Riggs also achieved renown by their defence of Washington,
North Carolina. The Third Artillery did effective service in the
expedition to Goldsboro, in connection with General Burnside’s
operations against Fredericksburg, Va.
When Colonel Ledlie was promoted to the rank of Brigadier-
General, Colonel Stewart took command of the regiment and proved
a most valuable officer.
When the regiment returned to Auburn in May, 1863, the
members of the old Nineteenth having served the time for which
they enlisted, Colonel Stewart applied for, and was granted, per-
mission to recruit for the regiment, and about 300 were added to its
strength. Subsequently the Third Artillery participated in many
important engagements, although the batteries were sometimes
widely distributed. Sixty-four battles in all are credited to Colonel
Stewart’s regiment.
The Seventy-Fifth New York Volunteers also saw a great deal
of severe service and won imperishable renown during the war. The
regiment was first sent to defend Fort Pickens, Fla., where the
command arrived December 14, 1861. Opposite Fort Pickens,
across the channel, stood Fort McRae, near which lay General
Bragg with a strong rebel force, and the first service of the Seventy-
Fifth was of a defensive character.
They remained there until August 31, 1862, when they embarked
for New Orleans, arriving September 3d, They were placed with
the command of General Butler and were brigaded under General
Godfrey: Weitzel. Then they went out on the celebrated “La
Fourche Expedition. ”78
History op Cayuga County
On January ioth, General Weitzel was sent out to capture the
rebel gunboat Cotton, and in the enterprise the Seventy-Fifth lost
Lieutenant, Janies E. Whiteside, and one private besides having
sixteen wounded.
Next came the march through Louisiana and the desperate
fighting against Fort Hudson where the Seventy-Fifth distinguished
itself, bearing the brunt of a whole day’s battle and suffering
severely in both killed and wounded. When the town was taken
the Seventy-Fifth led the victorious army into the rebel strong-
hold, a position of honor won by its valor and heavy losses.
On August 31st, a column was sent out to regain possession
of the seaports of Texas, and the Seventy-Fifth formed a part of the
command. The expedition was unsuccessful. Then a descent into
Texas by land was undertaken and the Seventy-Fifth was included
in it, but the rainy season coming on forced the abandonment of
the campaign.
Shortly after this the Seventy-Fifth was mounted and attached
to the cavalry force of General Lee at New Iberia. This, however,
gave the men no advantage as they were put on shipboard the
following May to join the Department of the Gulf, as infantry.
There the regiment was brigaded under Colonel Merritt, in the
19th, corps commanded by General Franklin. On July 13th, they
sailed for Bermuda where they encamped close to the rebels.
On August 14th, the regiment was transferred with the Second
Division to the Shenandoah Valley where they joined the army of
General Sheridan and participated in the operations of the celebrated
campaign of that famous general. The last battle in which the
Seventy-Fifth was engaged was at Cedar Creek, October 19, 1864,
although it did not return home until September, 1865.
Captain Kennedy raised an independent battery, but for want
of guns and equipments was compelled to change it to an infantry
company in the Nineteenth Regiment. Subsequently he succeededCity of Auburn
79
in getting his company mustered out of the infantry and realized his
original idea of an independent battery. He reported with his
command at Washington in December, 1861. Here he received his
equipments and was ordered to report to Captain Ayers of the
regular army at Baltimore. The battery participated in the move-
ments of the army to Alexander City, Fortress Monroe, Hampton
City, Newport, Youngstown and Warwick River; at Lee's Mills the
battery did effective service During the siege of Yorktown, Capt.
Kennedy accepted the position of major in the Third Artillery, and
his battery was placed in charge of Lieutenant Andrew J. Cowan,
and continued in service with the army of the Potomac.
The One Hundred and Thirty-Eighth Regiment was recruited
in the military district including the counties of Cayuga and Wayne.
The Colonel, Joseph Welling, was from the latter county and the
Lieutenant-Colonel, William H. Seward Jr., from Auburn, Cayuga
county. The field and staff and company officers have already
been mentioned.
The regiment left Auburn on Friday, September 12, 1862, and
proceeded to Washington, where the men were destined to experi-
ence a long term of garrison duty and become very familiar with the
use of the pick and shovel, road-making being their first arduous
duty in the line of service.
The regiment was incorporated into General Haskins' Division,
Twenty-Second Army Corps, the duty of which was then the defence
of Washington, and their various garrison duties gave the soldiers
an inside view of nearly the whole chain of forts about the national
capital.
Early in their fort life, men of the One Hundred and Thirty-
Eighth became known as “Seward's Pets," not because William H.
Seward Jr., was their Lieutenant-Colonel, but because his father,
Secretary Seward made frequent visits to the regimental head-
quarters.80
History of Cayuga County
In the fall of 1862, the One Hundred and Thirty-Eighth was con-
verted into the Ninth Heavy Artillery and eventually became noted
not only for its size, but for the fighting qualities of its men.
During all of the year 1863 and on into May, 1864, the regiment
was held in the forts about or near Washington, but in that month
in became a part of the Sixth Army Corps and was ordered to the
front.
On May 24th, Colonel Joseph Welling resigned his command of
the regiment and was succeeded by Lieutenant-Colonel Seward.
The regiment was then a part of the Second Brigade, Third Division,
Sixth Army Corps, of the Army of the Potomac. Colonel Keifer
was Brigade Commander, General Ricketts Division Commander
and General Wright, Commander of the Corps.
The Ninth Heavy Artillery reached the front in time to partici-
pate in the fighting from June 1st to nth about Cold Harbor, and
drew the highest commendation from General Ricketts, and the
whole corps was complimented by General Meade..
From Cold Harbor the Sixth Corps took up the march to Peters-
burg where the Ninth Heavy Artillery again did splendid service.
But on July 6th, they were ordered back toward Washington to
intercept General Jubal Early in his raid against the capital.
This brought them into the battle of Monocacy where, on July 9,
1864, General Lew Wallace with, at most, 5,000 men delayed Early
for full thirty hours, but got his little column bruised and broken
by the heavy division of Early’s army—the army that had been
Stonewall Jackson’s. The terrible task thrown upon General Wal-
lace came about in this way: Lee was occupying all of Grant’s atten-
tion while Early stole up the Shenandoah Valley with 25,000 men
and forty field guns, to capture Washington. Wallace was ordered
to hold him in check until re-enforcements could arrive and he did it.
During the battle General Ricketts was wounded and Colonel
Seward, after receiving a bullet, had his horse shot under him,
and his leg broken by the horse falling upon him.City of Auburn	81
The historian Lossing says of this battle:	‘‘So ended the battle
of Monocacy in the ultimate defeat of the few national troops there
engaged but in triumph for the national cause; for the check given
to the flushed invaders by Wallace in that gallant fight of eight
hours which gave time for re-enforcements to reach Washington
saved the capital. But for that check of thirty hours, the capital
would have been Early’s prize. In view of these circumstances
the battle appears as one of the most important and brilliant of
the war. ”
General Grant in his memoirs says:	“General Wallace contrib-
uted on this occasion by the defeat of the troops under him, a
greater benefit to the cause than often falls to the lot of a commander
of equal force to render by means of a victory. ”
In August the regiment with part of the Ninth Heavy Artillery
was again headed south, under General Philip Sheridan, and on the
29th of that month took part in the battle of Winchester. The 19th
of October the regiment considered the most important date in its
history, for on that day was fought the great battle of Cedar Creek,
in which the Union forces under General Wright were surprised by
Early, and driven in confusion from camp and field. In that battle
the regiment retired slowly and reluctantly, and when Sheridan
came up in the afternoon and took personal command, drove the
rebels into a disordered rout.
From Cedar Creek the regiment proceeded to Petersburg and
participated in the operations around that stronghold until the
surrender of Lee at Appomattox. The men returned home during
the latter part of July, 1865.
682
History of Cayuga County
CHAPTER VIII.
Establishment of Free Schools—Fort Hill Cemetery—Improvements on the
Outlet—Auburn Gas Light Company—D. M. Osborne Company—The Financial
Reaction—Establishment of Letter Carrier System—Notable Modern Events.
In 1849 an act of Legislature established the system of free
education to the pupils of all public schools in the State of New
York, and the law aided very materially the efforts of those in
Auburn who had been working for some years to improve the
educational advantages of the children of the poor. The schools
of Auburn are referred to at length, in a special chapter, in another
part of this work.
The Fort Hill Cemetery Association was organized May 15, 1851,
and incorporated under the state law of April 27, 1847. The first
Board of Trustees was:	Enos T. Throop Martin, Thomas Y. Howe,
Jr., James C. Derby, Benjamin F. Hall, William C. Beardsley,
Nelson Beardsley, Isaac S. Allen, Cyrus C. Dennis, Zebins M.
Mason, John H. Chedell, M. S. Meyers and John H. Haight. The
trustees were divided by lot into three classes, serving one, two and
three years, respectively, so that each year there would be an
election of one-third of the officials. Thomas Y. Howe Jr., and
George W. Hatch made a conveyance of the hill to the trustees for
the sum of one dollar, naming certain other considerations in the
deed. The hill was consecrated as a cemetery July 7, 1852.
The work of laying out the cemetery in lots and improving it
generally was then undertaken. The mound in the center of the
fort, supposed to have been an ancient altar, was selected as the
site for a monument, or cenotaph, to the memory of Logan, the
famous Indian and friend of the white man. It was erected in 1852.
Modem names have been given to different parts of the hill,
excepting the old fortification in which the mound builders are
recalled by the name Fort Alleghan.City of Auburn
83
Mount Auburn is the bold bluff to the right of Cayuga avenue
as it enters the cemetery. Mount Vernon lies to the west of Fort
Alleghan. The name suggests its origin. Mount Hope is situated
on the southern declivity of the hill, and the three glens, Glen Haven,
Glen Cove and Glen Alpine, lie upon its southern slope.
As far back as 1830 the mill owners of Auburn were considering
plans for increasing the hydraulic power of the Outlet, by deepening
the channel. They were also debating upon the practicability of
storing up that power when the lake was at high water, that they
might use it during the dry season. The surplus water accumulated
in the spring, flowed away rapidly, and before the end of summer
the stream became low and feeble.
In 1830, some mill owners determined to apply to the Legislature
for an act to enable them to erect a water gate in the Outlet, near the
lake, so as to maintain an average depth of twenty inches of water on
the shallows, during the entire year. But the Auburn and Owasco
Canal Company promising to deepen the Outlet at the lake, the
matter was left to that corporation. Nothing was done, however,
and conditions remained as they were until 1847, when the scarcity
of water in the autumn became a serious question not only to the
mill owners, but to the State Prison and the Erie Canal, of which the
Owasco was a feeder.
An examination of the Outlet revealed several impediments in the
channel and a serious obstruction at its head. This was a sand bar
about thirteen hundred feet wide. The Auburn Woolen Company,
~ William Beach & Company and Josiah Barber united in an effort to
improve the water power of the stream. The bottom for a distance
of one thousand feet above the dam of the creek was lowered four
feet Below the level of the dam; and at the same time an artificial
channel through the sand bar was attempted, but the latter under-
taking proved futile, as the sand assisted by the current rendered
a permanent channel impracticable.84
History of Cayuga County
In 1852 the problem was again attacked, and this time the aid of
the Legislature was invoked. On April 9th of that year an act was
passed appropriating the sum of seven thousand dollars for the re-
moval of the sand bar at the foot of 0wasco Lake and the improve-
ment of the Outlet. Work upon the Outlet was commenced almost
immediately and by the autumn of 1854, the value of the undertak-
ing had made itself apparent by the supply of water contributed to
the Canal at Port Byron, when the new cut at Owasco Lake was
thrown open. In 1855 the Canal Commissioners completed the work
of cutting through the sand bar. In 1868 further improvements
were made.	.
In 1851, Thomas Y. How Jr., secured a charter to construct a
system of water works for the city of Auburn. He proposed to
bring the water from Owasco Lake, but met with so much opposi-
tion because of the scarcity of water for power purposes in the dry
season, that he never carried out his plan. In 1859, however, a char-
ter was granted to the Auburn Water Works Company, but the di-
rectors did not organize until 1863. In December of that year they
raised the required capital, $100,000, and elected Edward H. Avery,
president, and Albert H. Goss, secretary and treasurer.
The construction of the pump house, dam and raceway was
completed in the spring of 1864, and the company was laying water
mains in September, 1865.
The Auburn Gas Light Company was organized January 11,
1850, with a capital of $20,000. The first officers were Captain
George B. Chase, president; Benjamin F. Hall, secretary,; Z. M.
Mason, treasurer, and Thomas Hoadley, engineer and superinten-
dent.
Illuminating gas was first manufactured in Auburn at the mills
of the Auburn Woolen Company, by Thomas Hoadley and Michael
Kavanaugh, and it is said that the success of the first trial of the
gas led to the formation of the Auburn Gas Light Company.City of Auburn
85
The company was prepared to light the city September i, 1850,
but that very night their factory burned down. They were in
operation, again, however, by October 1st. In i860 the company
put up a plant for the manufacture of gas from coal. They had
previously manufactured from “Whales Foots” and from rosin.
A great addition was made to the manufacturing interests of
Auburn in 1858. In that year the most important industry in the
city was started, and it still continues to be the largest single factor
in the business life and prosperity of Auburn. This is the Inters
national Harvester Company, which had its inception, in the year
mentioned, when the firm of D. M. Osborne & Co., of which the
individual partners were D. M. Osborne, C. C. Dennis and Charles
P. Wood, began the manufacture of the Kirby reaper and mower.
The benefits of such an industry as this are almost incalculable.
The products of its factories are shipped all over the world, and bring
into Auburn money from the outside which adds continually to her
material wealth. Subsequently the company absorbed the Cayuga
Chief company and a corporation was formed with the following
officers: D. M. Osborne, president; A. G. Beardsley, treasurer and
John H. Osborne, secretary.
In 1905 the company changed hands and became the Inter-
national Harvester Company, an extended notice of which appears
in the Chapter on Manufactures.
The record of Auburn in her relation to the War of the Rebellion,
and of her sons who participated therein, appears in a separate
chapter devoted entirely to that subject. So referring the reader
to that department of this work, the subject of Auburn’s peaceful
achievements and reverses is here pursued.
The immediate effect of the war upon Auburn’s business interests
was beneficial, as it was to every manufacturing center in the state.
Large sums of money were distributed to producers of all kinds to
supply the necessities and waste of war, to laborers engaged in the
productions of such supplies, to manufactures whose factories could86
History of Cayuga County
not supply the demands made upon them, to public carriers whose
facilities for transportations were overtaxed, as well as to the families
of soldiers in bounties and wages. The result was an unparalleled
demand for workers which drew tens of thousands from rural dis-
tricts to the cities and towns, the centers of manufacturing activity.
Accommodations had to be supplied for the rapidly increasing popu-
lation and so the villages and cities grew rapidly in area. Auburn
shared in this growth and accumulation of wealth, along with other
communities. In the decade from i860 to 1870 her population and
material wealth were doubled; her churches and business establish-
ments became metropolitan, and mansions arose along her avenues.
But taxes and living expenses had also increased greatly and
when the reaction of 1873 occurred, a period of hard times succeeded
the years of plenty. The demand for manufactured goods had
fallen off and many men formerly working full time at liberal wages,
found themselves out of employment. During the prosperous
years property values had advanced; with the stringency those
values decreased rapidly and many fortunes were lost or greatly
diminished.
Auburn suffered less, however, from the reaction of 1873 than
from that of 1837. Conditions internal and external were different.
The place had gained in size and correspondingly in financial
strength and stability, and the establishments of national banks
in 1865 had put the financial affairs of the country upon a sounder
basis than they were in 1837. The old banks were conducted on a
specie basis, and when a pinch came were among the first to retrench,
depriving business men and industries of that accommodation which
they needed most when hardest pressed. In 1873 the banks acted
generously with their customers.
In 1866 the Merchants Union Express Company originated in
Auburn. The idea was to interest business men of the country in
such a company, so that it could be established and maintained in
competition with the old express companies, and yet carry goods atCity of Auburn
87
lower rates than those then existing. At a conference composed
of Elmore P. Ross, William C. Beardsley, John N. Knapp and
Elliott G. Storke, a prospectus was adopted in which the plans and
purposes of the proposed company were fully set forth. The
prospectus also contained a proposal for the formation of a joint
stock association of the merchants and business men of the country.
The plan met with instant favor and a corporation was formed
with Elmore P. Ross, president; William H. Seward Jr., vice-
president; John N. Knapp, secretary and William C; Beardsley,
treasurer; Theodore M. Pomeroy was attorney for the company.
The nominal capital of the company was fixed at $20,000,000,
upon which assessments were to be made only as necessity might
require to meet the demands of the business as it developed. The
company began operations in the fall of 1866.
The new company had to compete with three old companies, the
Adams, the American and the United States, and these carriers
began to cut rates until goods could be shipped by express almost
as cheaply as by freight. This swelled the express business until
it embarrassed the railroad to handle it, and they for self-protection,
raised the rates upon all express packages from three hundred to
six hundred per cent.
After a war of two years, during which the young company
had expended about five million dollars, and the competing express
lines had also lost heavily, a compromise was made and the Merchant
Union united with the American Express Company, under the name
of the American Merchants Union. Later on the name reverted
to the American Express Company.
Auburn not only retained the growth which she acquired during
the war, but has since increased steadily in population, industry
and wealth. The financial panic of 1873 was not disastrous to the
city, and the hard times of 1876-7, which produced so many failures
and defalcations throughout the county, found no victims in
Auburn.History of Cayuga County
: In 1876 the Cayuga County Historical Society was organized
with Theodore M. Pomeroy as president, and on February 18, 1877,
the society was incorporated. In the latter year, Division No. 1
of the Ancient Order of Hibernians was organized.
The Auburn City Hospital was incorporated in July, 1878.
On February 28, 1879, the Governor signed the new city charter
for Auburn, increasing the number of wards from seven to ten,
and materially changing the organization of the city government.
,No wards have been added since that date.
In 1880 the letter-carrier system was inaugurated in the city,
five carriers being put into service. Owing to the irregularity of
the street numbers, the system did not work smoothly at first, but
the Common Council ordered a re-numbering of residences which
removed the difficulty.
In the same year General U. S. Grant visited Auburn and
addressed a large audience in the Osborne storehouse on Seymour
street.
In September, 1880, the Forty-Ninth Regiment was disbanded,
•and in December definite action was taken to organize a separate
military company. On the 17 th of that month, the organization
was effected. Gorton W. Allen was elected captain; W. M. Kirby,
first lieutenant; and Henry S. Dunning, second lieutenant.
Wm. M. Kirby became captain, January 3, 1881, Mr. Allen not
caring to serve. The company was mustered into service May 24,
.1881, with fifty-eight men, and on June 8th, was given the name
of the “ Wheeler Rifles, ” in honor of Mayor Wheeler.
- In September, 1880, was commenced the work of replacing the
wooden pavement of State street, from Dill street to the bridge,
with Medina sandstone. The work was continued until frost pre-
vented its further prosecution that year.
On October 10th, St. Joseph's Cemetery, (R. C.), near the foot
of Owasco Lake was consecrated by Bishop McQuaid.City of Auburn
89
During the summer of 1880, the D. M. Osborne Mower and
Reaper Company, commenced a series of additions to their work-
shops on the west side of Mechanic street, and built two large store-
houses on the east side of the Central railroad, north of Seymour
street. In 1881 they began the erection of their extensive rolling
mill works in the northern part of the city.
The years 1881 and 1882 were noted in Auburn for their great
industrial and commercial activity. In addition to the improve-
ments already mentioned as having been projected or completed
in 1881, the belt street car line opened, the track through North
to Franklin street having been removed and connection being made
through Seminary avenue. The roads were consolidated and placed
under the management of a company of which D. M. Osborne was
president. On May 12th, the big bell was placed in the City Hall
tower, but was pronounced inadequate. On June 17th, following,
the present bell weighing 6,300 pounds was substituted and has
since done duty as a fire alarm bell.
On August 10th of that year the first train over the Ithaca,
Auburn & Western Railroad ran into Auburn in charge of Colonel
F. T. Peet, the superintendent of the road.
In the summer of 1881, the great Second Ward sewer was com-
menced, and was completed the same year at a cost of about $30,000.
During the latter part of that year the New York Central Rail-
way Company demolished the old workshops north of the depot and
utilized the site for sidings.
On April 17, 1882, the cornerstone of the new county clerk’s
office was laid. The building was completed and occupied in March,
1883. In that year also the Madison Avenue School building was
erected; Ross Place opened, and the suggestive name of “Love
Lane” was changed to “Linden Place.” In that summer the stone
freight house of the New York Central Railroad was commenced.
In 1882, the D. M. Osborne Company commenced building their
railroad along the bank of the Outlet to their works on Genesee street90
History of Cayuga County
from the New York Central Railroad depot. The work was nearly
a year under way, the dummy making its first trip, October 5, 1883.
Early in the summer of 1883, the First Presbyterian Church
parsonage was begun. On July 17th, the cornerstone of the Second
Baptist Church at the junction of Genesee and Owasco streets was
laid. This edifice occupies the site of the ancient and somewhat
disreputable pile familarly known as the “Codfish block/’ which
residents in the immediate vicinity were glad to aid in purchasing
and donating to the church, thereby ridding themselves and the
street of a nuisance. The church was completed and dedicated
April 13, 1884,
On September 9, 1883, the Soule Cemetery in the town of Sen-
nett, east of Auburn, was dedicated. It was a gift to the city from
Lyman Soule.
Notable improvements in lighting and drainage were completed
in the year 1883. The South street, Hamilton avenue and Mac-
Dougall street sewers were built during the summer, connecting with
the great second ward sewer.
In October, the Thomson-Houston Company commenced string-
ing wires in the streets for the electric light, and on November 28,
following, the first electric lights were lighted, although D. M.
Osborne had been using them in his works for nearly a year previous.
On January 28, 1884, the Common Council adopted the Thomson-
Houston system, but the proprietors of the Brush-Swan system
having made a proposition, the Council, on February 1, got into a
squabble over the two systems. After much argument, extending
over the winter and summer, the Common Council, on October 9th,
ordered a contract to be made with the Thomson-Houston Company
for lighting some of the principal streets. The Mayor vetoed this
order, but the Council passed it over the veto, and the contract was
duly executed. The official lighting of the streets by electric light
commenced December 15, 1884.City of Auburn
91
On April 4, 1884, the Hardenbergh House in the rear of the City
Hall was sold to Max Volkman, who converted it into a hotel and
opened it as such on June 28, following.
On June 3rd, the cornerstone of the First Baptist Church was
laid. The church stands on the corner of Genesee and James streets,
and was first occupied for service June 28, 1885.
The cornerstone of the Young Men’s Christian Association build-
ing was laid September 30, 1884. During the fall of the year, the
Genesee street sewer from about the middle of the Exchange block
to the Outlet was enlarged and deepened so as to drain the cellar of
the building.
On November 30, 1884, Willard Chapel on West Genesee street
was dedicated. On October 27, 1885 the society was organized as
a church.
On September 14, 1885, the first stone of the Aurelius avenue
bridge was laid; some eight years after the structure became a live
question. On June 4, 1877, the Common Council adopted a resolu-
tion to build a “two-arch stone bridge” at the Aurelius avenue
crossing. The project was contrary to the conception of the Mayor
as to a due regard for the interests of the tax-payers and on the
twelfth of the month his veto was announced. However, a contract
was let, but the unsatisfactory progress of the work led the Common
Council to annul the contract in November, 1885, and take the
matter into its own hands. Litigation with Contractor Perkins was
the final result.
Among the public improvements of 1886 were the commence-
ment of the Methodist Episcopal Church building at the corner of
Washington and Wall streets, the Hollister block on the old Harden-
bergh homestead, the Lewis block adjoining the old stone mill on
West Genesee street, the Tallman block on Dill street, the banking
house of the Bank of Auburn, adjoining its old home, and the paving
of North street.92
History of Cayuga County
On September 24th, the ground was broken for the new High
School building. During the year Green street was extended from
Clark street through to Genesee street and opened to public travel.
Westlake avenue was also opened to the public from Fort street to
Court street.
During the summer of 1887, the New York Central passenger
depot was renovated and greatly improved. In that year, also,
the supervisors let the contract for the building of a new county
jail.
On February 17, 1887, a preliminary meeting was held by a few
prominent citizens to consider the advisability of establishing a
Board of Trade in Auburn, and on March 9th, following, the
Auburn Board of Trade was duly organized, and by-laws adopted.
Cyrenus Wheeler Jr., was made president of the organization, and
A. W. Lawton, secretary. Rooms were secured in the Bank of
Auburn building, and the organization immediately took up the
task of booming the city. The mails to all parts of the country
were burdened with information as to the business advantage"*
and facilities of the city.
The first month of the year 1888, brought the first bank failure
in the history of Auburn. On January 23rd, the First National
Bank suspended payment and closed its doors. This was followed,
in March, by the failure of the house of Dunning & Co., one of the
most extensive wholesale dealers in hardware and iron in Central
New York. Then, in April, the street car line went into liquidation.
But the depression was only temporary and the worst that can be
said of that year is that it was one of subdued prosperity.
During the summer months the navigation of Owasco Lake was
put upon a permanent footing by the establishment of two lines of
steamships, the Moravia from Cascade and the Lady of the Lake
from Ensenore, which made daily trips, when the wind did not
blow too hard, from their respective ports to Port Townsend. ThisCity of Auburn
93
led to the organization of a yacht club, the following year, and
suggested the building of a lighthouse at the end of the pier.
On June 5, 1888, the High School building was dedicated, on
which occasion addresses were made by Mr. T. M. Osborne and
Honorable Andrew D. White.
On September 4th, the cornerstone of the new government
building (the present post-office) was laid with elaborate Masonic
ceremonies and a poem by Albert L. Childs.
A bronze statue of William H. Seward wras unveiled in Seward
Park, in the presence of a vast concourse of people, on November
15, 1888. The weather was disagreeable, a drizzling rain falling,
but this did not prevent the people from assembling to showT their
esteem for the memory of the great statesman. William M. Evarts
delivered the oration.
During the late fall of 1888 and the early winter of 1889, an
episode in the literary history of Auburn was occasioned by the
publication of a weekly paper, named after the city, under the
management of Wm. P. Allen. Its career wras limited to fourteen
numbers. It was purely literary, reformatory and progressive in
its aims, and sought the best talent for its contributors. It made
friends rapidly, and had it survived the ordeal of teething, its long
life was assured. But “whom the gods love die young,” so did
Auburn.
On February 1, 1889, the moulders in the malleable works of
the D. M. Osborne Company struck for an advance in wages.
Soon all the moulders in the employ of the company wTent out, and
on the 9th of the month the woodworking and machine shops were
obliged to shut down for lack of castings. The company imported
some moulders, but as these joined the strikers, arrangements w^ere
made to have the castings made abroad. This intention was not
carried out however, as differences were adjusted and the men
resumed work on the 19th of the month.94
History of Cayuga County
During February and March the tall poles of the Overland
Telephone Company were set up in the streets, and the line was
opened to the public on the 17th of April.
On April 1st the little Ann Cray Hermitage on Exchange street,
and the brick parsonage on South street were demolished to make
room for the extension of the cabinet warehouse of G. W. Richardson
& Son.
During the year the large Barber Woolen Mills on Washington
street were occupied by Dunn & McCarthy, shoe manufacturers,
the Barbers continuing their business on Garden street.
Nye & Wait completed a large addition to their works in 1890 as
did also Richard Eccles. The Canoga Woolen Company moved
into the building formerly occupied by the Cayuga Woolen Com-
pany, having purchased the plant of the latter company and em-
ploying two hundred and twenty-five men in addition to the number
at its other mill.
Wegman & Co., piano manufacturers, moved into the Logan
Silk Mills building in 1890 and were employing seventy men. The
shoe manufacturers, F. A. Barber & Co., Cowles & Young and Dunn
& McCarthy, were all employing more operatives than in the
previous year. McIntosh & Seymour added largely to their engine
works.
Probably the most expensive building erected in Auburn in 1890
was the new brewery erected by William Sutcliffe on Clark street,
reported to have cost $150,000. This building is now occupied by
the Independent Brewery Company.
During the fall of 1890, a large sewer was built from the Outlet
up East Genesee street as far as Evans street.
The two improvements of most general interest and importance
in Auburn were the change from horse power to electric motor on our
street car lines during this year, and the extension of the system to
the lake, also the building of the new bridge on Genesee street. A
handsome new brick building was erected for the power house of theCity of Auburn
95
railway company just north of the New York Central passenger
depot. On January 17th, the first electric car was let loose from
the power house, and cautiously felt its way down Seymour street
and up State street. Since then there has been regular service of
these cars on the Genesee street and Seymour street routes, and the
business of the road has greatly increased. Regular trips to the lake
were begun in March.
On July 17th, began the demolition of the old Genesee street
bridge. This bridge was built in 1828. After the old wooden
bridge had been torn down, it was perceived it had been the prop
and stay of two brick stores on the north side of the street which
bulged perceptibly towards the south. The Common Council, after
viewing the structures themselves and having an expert examine
them, condemned them as unsafe and ordered them demolished.
The owners of the buildings also hired an expert who pronounced
the buildings all right, but the Mayor, scenting a lawsuit, vetoed the
resolution of the Council and the buildings still stand. Several
accidents occurred, only one was fatal, however. On November 3d,
John Rowan was killed by the falling of one of the heavy iron
girders, occasioned by the breaking of the chain with which it was
hoisted.
On August 12th, the first passenger train ran over the Ithaca,
Auburn & Western Railroad to Ithaca. What we have gained by
the connection is offset by the loss of the old Ithaca, Auburn &
Western, which ran to Venice and Genoa. Train service on the
latter road was stopped in January and in April the company
commenced to take up the rails and the ties.
On November 19, 1890, it was announced that the American
Harvester Company had been formed in Illinois, with a capital stock
of $35,000,000; the object being an amalgamation of all manufacto-
ries of mowers and reapers in this country under one management.
D. M. Osborne & Co. of this city were included among the organiza-
tions represented in the new combination. On December 29th, a96
History of Cayuga County
committee representing the American Harvester Company visited
Auburn and looked over the plant here. Great interest was excited
among our citizens and the employees as to the probable outcome of
this visit, and speculation was rife as to whether the plant in this
city would be closed or not. This continued until the 9th of January
when it was announced that the American Harvester Company had
died prematurely because of its illegality.
Various matters of weighty interest were discussed in our local
legislatures. The Board of Health had not only the Auburn hog,
the bone-yard and other nuisances to occupy its attention, but fell
into a dispute over its own membership. The Boards of Charities
and Police were engaged in the game of advancing and retiring
Chiefs of Police and Superintendents of Charities. When the Mayor
was in town George Fullmer was Chief of Police; when the Mayor
was out of town, and Alderman Hoyle was Acting Mayor, John A.
Davis was Chief. Davis was first discharged on August 31st, for
alleged willful neglect of duty. He was reinstated on October 21st,
but only held office one week, as the Mayor returned on October 28th
and turned him out again. Commissioner Lewis was re-elected
again in the spring together with B. F. Winegar in place of T. K.
Smith.
Various votes in favor of city ownership of water works were
taken in Common Council all of which were vetoed, and it was not
until February 2d that a sufficient number of aldermen were present
to pass the resolution over the Mayor’s veto. Thereupon the
advocates for and against the water bill prepared by the city attor-
ney changed their place of contention to the committee on cities
at Albany, and sundry debates were then conducted by our city
attorney on one side and Ex-Senator Woodin and other citizens, on
the other. The bill was reported favorably in the Senate and
Assembly, and having passed both bodies was signed by the Gover-
nor and became a law.City of Auburn
97
The State enumeration made in February showed a population
for Auburn of 26,180 as against 25,858 by the United States Census
of 1890. The county showed a decrease from 1890 of 843 ; the state
a net increase over 1890 of 481,877. A reapportionment bill based
on this enumeration was passed at a special session of the Legislature
called on April 25th. The State wTas gerrymandered somewhat.
Our district consisting of Cortland, Cayuga, Tompkins, Wayne,
Ontario and Yates was christened the “Wishbone” district. Cayuga
got only one assemblyman instead of two heretofore.
On June 7th, the proposition of municipal ownership of wrater
works was submitted to the people and carried in the affirmative by
by a vote of 2,829 to 634. On August 15th, the Common Council
appointed Messrs. Laurie, Wait and Moses as commissioners. The
latter on the 23rd of January made a report to the Common
Council recommending the purchase of the present water works
plant for the sum of $425,000 to take effect on July 1st. This was
ratified by the Common Council and by the stockholders of the
Auburn Water Works Company.
Two new newspapers were established during this year, not
to mention the sheet designed to boom Auburn Heights namely,
the Patriot edited by Lewis Schewe and the Auburn Gazette edited
by Fred Mohr. The latter paper advocated Henry George’s theory
of a single tax. On June 24th, the Advertiser having purchased a
Cox duplex press came out in a new dress of an eight-page paper.
The old seminary building wvis nearly torn down. As if to empha-
size the disappearance of the old landmarks the large elm at the
corner of North and Seminary streets was cut down during the month
of November. One of the local sensations of the season was the tilt
between the Reverend Levi Bird and the city officials. Mr. Bird
preached a sermon against the city officials, not only generally but
specifically, pointing out their shortcomings and alleging that they
were individually and collectively guilty of drunkenness, Sabbath
desecration and other crimes and misdemeanors. The city officials98
History of Cayuga County
said nothing in defense, but before Mr. Bird knew it, he was indicted
by the October Grand Jury for criminal libel. His trial was set down
for the ioth of December. The court room was crowded with men
and women including a large part of his congregation. The de-
fendant, through Mr. Drummond, who consented to act as his
counsel, made an apology and promised not to do so again, and
the indictment was dismissed.
In 1893 the one hundred and first anniversary of the founding
of Hardenbergh’s Corners in 1792 passed into history. The question
of celebration had been mooted from time to time during the years
1891 and 1892, and even a committee of this society was appointed
to consider the matter, but the movement took no definite shape
until a large and enthusiastic meeting of citizens was held at the
Court House on May 23, 1893, when committees were appointed
and an organization perfected.
As a lasting memorial, the Common Council on June 19th,
adopted on official seal for the city from the design of Frank R.
Rathbun. Two calumets crossed, signify the totem of the Cayugas,
the elder freeholders of this region, the bowed arm and hammer
and the motto Pax et Labor signify Auburn’s mechanical industries.
Five thousand medals of this seal were struck off; one was given to
each of the school children, and they were also sold for twenty-five
cents apiece.
The anniversary exercises commenced on Sunday, July 2nd,
when special religious services were held in St. Peter’s Church, in
which all the clergy of the city participated, also the Mayor and ex-
mayors of the city and the Common Council.
The second day of the celebration opened with a heavy thunder
shower. The children’s parade, which was appointed for this time,
had to be postponed until the next morning. In the afternoon the
literary exercises were held in the Genesee Rink. The rink was
crowded, despite a violent thunderstorm which burst at the time
set for this part of the program. Judge Charles C. Dwight pre-City of Auburn
99
sided; John W. O’Brien, Esq., read an historical sketch of Auburn,
and President, J. G. Schurman, of Cornell University, delivered
the oration. Both were admirable productions and were listened
to with rapt attention.
On the morning of July 4th, took place the parade of the school
boys of Auburn, numbering over 2,000, with a few from surrounding
towns. Every school in the county had been invited to send repre-
sentatives. In the afternoon a monster procession paraded, con-
sisting of militia, firemen from this and neighboring cities and
bands of music.
There were likewise floats representing the Empire State, Liberty
Bell, the Santa Maria, Hardenbergh’s mill, Hardenbergh’s log hut
decorated with coon skins, and other devices, historical or amusing.
This was followed by a long line of vehicles, each representing some
one of the different industries of the city. It was much the longest
procession ever witnessed in Auburn’s hundred years of history.
The fireworks in the evening were not a success. A vast mass of
people filled Genesee street from North to Market street, and waited
patiently from eight to ten o’clock to witness them. A searchlight
added some interest to the scene as it fell here and there upon this
mass of humanity. Over $3,500 was raised by subscription for this
celebration, and enough remained over after all expenses were paid
to send a handsome present to President Schurman for his kind
services.
The streets of Auburn were never so thronged with people as
during the days of this celebration.
According to Lamey’s Directory census, issued soon after, on
this anniversary year the population of Auburn had increased to
thirty thousand people.
Another subject which agitated the city fathers was the subject
of lighting the city. A contract with the Electric Light Company
for two years for $25,000 per year, was finally authorized on August
21st, lighting to commence on January 1, 1894.100
History of Cayuga County
The Electric Light Company were a little late in getting their
plant in readiness for January ist, and, as the contract with the Gas
Company expired on that date, parts of the city were left in darkness
several nights. The Common Council thereupon assembled and
annulled the contract with the Electric Light Company and made
temporary arrangement with the Gas Company. Negotiations then
followed with the Electric Light Company, as the result of which a
modified contract was agreed upon, by which the moon was to be
relied upon for nights when it consented to shine, the Chief of Police
to determine the proper degree of brilliancy with which to irradiate
the city.
The Common Council directed A. Shimer to take down the
Princess Rink. It had been condemned as a dangerous structure,
at which the aforesaid proprietor was very wroth, and commenced
to build over against his said rink a stone wall.
The Fifth Ward sewer was completed in September, 1893, a
total cost of $26,222.11. About the same time, work on the First
Ward sewer was commenced.
The business interests of the city stood the summer panic well,
none of them being forced to the wall at that time. The Birdsall
Company finally succumbed on October 9th, and a receiver was
appointed to wind up its affairs. It was announced in September,
that the affairs of the Auburn Woolen Company were to be wound
up by voluntary liquidation. On February 26th, Samuel Laurie
and John W. Martin, were appointed receivers of this property.
Receivers were also appointed for the Sutcliffe Brewing Company.
The great plant of D. M. Osborne & Company started up in
October and has been running since. On February 26th a solid
train of thirty-one cars with the machinery of this company left
Auburn for the New England states, where a large trade is
developing.
The paving of Clark street, the repair of the old street roller,
the commencement of the Bradley Memorial Chapel for Fort HillCity of Auburn
101
Cemetery, the completion of the Welch Memorial Building, the
success of the Auburn Gun Club over the other teams of the state,
the conference of the African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church,
held in this city in September, the annual convention of New York
firemen held here on September 20th, also belong to the events of
the year 1893.
In the year 1897 the Auburn. Press Club was organized with
William I. Donnell president and Victor T. Holland secretary and
treasurer. In the same year the Auburn Telephone Company was
formed with Senator B. M. Wilcox, president.
When the Spanish-American War broke out in the spring of
1898, the Wheeler Rifles went to the front as Company M., in the
Third Regiment, New York Volunteer Infantry. A full account
of the operations of this company appears in a separate chapter.
In that year the work of paving the streets of the city was
commenced. Orlando S. Lewis was then mayor and his regime
was noted for a great improvement in the thoroughfares of Auburn.
He was the leading advocate of the project, but was ably seconded
by George R. Peck of the Advertiser.
Auburn held an Old Home wTeek celebration from June 24th to
29th, 1906. Elaborate preparations were made for the week-
holiday and invitations were sent to the absent sons and daughters
of the city, far and near, to come to the festival. Every day of
the week had its programme of entertainment and amusement.
On Sunday there were religious observances; on Monday a re-
ception and games; on Tuesday a great school parade, an alumni
banquet at the High School and a life-saving exhibition by the
Fire Department. On Wednesday a grand union picnic was held
at Lakeside Park, where speeches and fireworks added to the
entertainment. Thursday was historical day, of which a dis-
tinctive feature was a grand military reception and ball at the
armory. On Friday a great Civic, Military and Industrial parade
was held.102
History of Cayuga County
CHAPTER IX.
THE MODERN AUBURN.
Auburn is delightfully located on an undulating town site over
seven hundred feet above sea level, on both banks of the Owasco
River, a short distance below the foot of Owasco Lake, a beautiful
sheet of water over a mile wide and stretching eleven miles to the
south, in the heart of the famous “lake country” of Central New
York. The “plain,” like the “village,” is mere poetic license,
since Auburn sits serenely fair upon her seven hills, like the Imperial
City itself, for we familiarly say “East Hill,” “West Hill,” “Fort
Hill,” and the others, even “Capitol Hill.”
A fertile agricultural region surrounds the city, and within its
very borders are found inexhaustible supplies of limestone, the blue
and the gray in patriotic union, and of gravel, sand and brick-clay
building materials on the spot. Owasco lake is the City’s reservoir,
hundreds of feet deep and impounding the waters of two hundred
square miles of watershed, from which a municipal water plant
furnishes water for domestic and fire purposes through sixty-five
miles of street mains under the Holly system.
Citizens have added to these natural advantages the dams at
the waterfalls—some nine wfithin the city limits, with a total descent
of one hundred and fifty feet—and the manufacturing plants, which
have made the wealth of the city, and the transportation lines,
urban, suburban and interurban.
The local electric railway runs by two routes to the foot of
Owasco Lake, where beautiful Lakeside Park, a high-class resort
maintained by the railway company, Island Park with its new
summer theater, the Owasco Country Club and other attractions
draw thousands daily in the season.City of Auburn
103
The Auburn division of the New York Central Lines, in connec-
tion with its new passenger station and freight houses, affords
excellent facilities for transportation east and west, putting the
city in close touch with Syracuse, Albany and New York, and with
the foot of Cayuga, Seneca and Canandaigua lakes, and their
first-class steamboat lines, and with Rochester and the west.
The Lehigh Valley railroad, which also has new passenger and
freight stations, besides connecting directly with the coal fields
of Pennsylvania, gives an outlet to Fair Haven on Lake Ontario,
and by one route along the west shore of Owasco Lake reaches its
numerous cottage sites, and by another route for forty miles along
the east shore of Cayuga Lake brings the city into communication
with the resorts of that lake and with Wells College, Cornell Univer-
sity and Ithaca, and affords an alternative route to New York.
The Auburn & Syracuse Electric Railway furnishes a half-hour
high-grade service to Skaneateles Lake and Syracuse over a scenic
route. The Auburn & Northern Electric Railway is building a line
seven miles to Port Byron, connecting with the great trunk lines
across the state. The New York, Auburn & Lansing Railroad is
building a line from Auburn to Ithaca, and other electric roads are
projected to the south and to the west.
Two telephone companies, the Bell and the Automatic, local
and long distance, the Western Union and Postal Telegraph com-
panies, and the American, United States and Interurban Electric
Express companies complete the facilities for intercommunication.
The city has experienced its civic awakening, and with a re-
formed charter and all the dignities of the larger cities it is rapidly
becoming cosmopolitan. With a population approaching 40,000
it takes pride in several miles of smooth pavements and many miles
of macadamized streets, in electrical subways throughout the
business center and spreading into the residence quarters, many
fine business blocks, thirty-five stores, fifteen public schools with104
History of Cayuga County
handsome brick buildings, more than twenty beautiful stone and
brick churches, Music Hall, the Burtis Opera House and the grand
Burtis Auditorium, seating nearly five thousand, at which the best
musical and theatrical attractions are presented. The United States
Court House and Post-Office, the State Prisons and the State
Armory, quarters of the Wheeler Rifles, Second Separate Co. N. G.
N. Y., the County Court House, the City Hall and the Public Library
are a most creditable line of public buildings, while the two hospitals,
two orphan asylums, the Home, etc., are most beneficent charitable
institutions. The grounds, buildings and equipment of the Auburn
Theological Seminary are of the highest order, and the new buildings
of the City Club and of the Woman’s Educational and Industrial
Union are unsurpassed in their classes.
The residence portion of the city consists of detached houses and
spacious grounds very largely open to the streets and neighboring
yards without fences, producing with the wide streets the effect of a
great park. The streets are bordered with grass plots and lined with
beautiful trees. Then there is Seward Park, the Y. M. C. A. field
and park, floral circles, etc., for the further pleasure and adornment
of the city, besides several beautiful cemeteries, of which Fort Hill,
in the southwest part of the city, is pre-eminent, occupying the site
of a pre-historic Indian fortification and adjacent lands.
The financial interests of the community are cared for by two
national banks, two private banks, two savings banks, and a new
trust company.
The Auburn Light, Heat and Power Company furnishes electric
light and electric power and steam heat to individuals and corpora-
tions and lights all the streets and municipal buildings with electri-
city under a city contract, and the Citizens Light and Power Com-
pany provides competition in electric light and power, while the
Auburn Gas Company supplies illuminating and fuel gas to private
consumers.City of Auburn
105
The Auburnian has every facility for keeping abreast of the
times, for the Rochester and Syracuse morning papers are laid on
his breakfast table, the New York dailies are here at noon, and the
afternoon brings forth the two local dailies, the Advertiser and the
Citizen, produced along the most advanced lines of the newspaper
business. The Cayuga County Independent and the Auburn Journal
are weekly and semi-weekly papers.
The library in the Dodge Morgan Building contains 26,000
volumes and 8,000 pamphlets. It is open for the free use of the
public, as well as the faculty and students.
The Seymour Library Association maintains a free public circu-
lating library, established in 1876, through the munificence of the
late James S. Seymour. The library contains about 15,000 volumes,
is located on Genesee street, and is a magnificent building, which
with the site was a gift to the association by Mr. Willard E.
Case, in commemoration of his father, Theodore R Case.
There is also a free reading room and library supported by the
Women’s Educational and Industrial Union for the special use of
women, and for a number of years General W. H. Seward, has pro-
vided a free reading room for men, which is one of the noblest of
gifts to the workingmen and youths of this city. There are many
other organizations in Auburn both social and fraternal.
The handsome armory erected in 1873, *s built of native lime-
stone and finished in ash at an expense of $90,000. It is the head-
quarters of the Wheeler Rifles or Second Separate Company. This
company enlisted in the Spanish War as Company M, Third New
York Volunteers.
Two Grand Army posts, Post Seward and Post Crocker look with
jealous care to the interests of the veteran soldiers and their families.
The Cayuga County Historical Society first came into existence
in March 1876, mainly through the efforts of the late Reverend
Charles Hawley, D. D., who served as its president until his106
History of Cayuga County
death in 1885. The present incumbent of that office is Willis J.
Beecher, D. D.
The United States Court House and Post-Office was erected in
1888. It is built of gray stone and red brick, and is one of the
handsomest buildings in Auburn. This city enjoys all of the advan-
tages of a free postal delivery, has six sub-stations, twenty-two reg-
ular carriers, several substitutes and nine rural delivery carriers.
The County Court House and City Hall are handsome buildings
of Grecian architecture. The county clerk’s office was erected in
1882. It is of brick three stories high and contains the offices of the
county clerk, county treasurer and superintendent of the poor,
the county judge’s chamber and the supervisors’ rooms. A modern
jail is in the rear of the county building which also contains the
residence of the sheriff.
The Y. M. C. A. occupies a handsome building in the center of
the city. It has a large membership and maintains four depart-
ments of work, Physical, Educational, Social and Religious. The
Physical Department has a well equipped gymnasium, including
an excellent swimming pool and bath, and also a magnificent ath-
letic field. The Educational Department maintains a library and
reading rooms, and numerous evening classes in various branches of
study. The Association also possesses a beautiful wooded park
adjoining the athletic field; both field and park were the gift of the
Misses Willard of this city.
There are about two hundred different streets in Auburn extend-
ing in the aggregate over one hundred miles in length and crossed
by four hundred and seventy-five cross-walks.
An active Board of Health looks with vigilant care after the
public sanitary interests.City of Auburn
107
CHAPTER X.
THE PRESS.
REVISED BY CHARLES F. RATTIGAN.
John Delano, on the 20th of July, 1798, published the first
number of the Levanna Gazette and Onondaga Advertiser, at Levanna,
the first paper published in the State, west of Whitestown, with
the exception of the Ontario Gazette, published the year previous,
at Geneva.
The second paper published in the county was the Western
Luminary, at Watkins Settlement, now Scipioville, by Ebenezer
Eaton, on March 24, 1801.
On the 30th day of April, 1806, the brothers Henry and James
Pace, established the Aurora Gazette, at Aurora; but not succeeding,
they removed their office here, and on the 7th of June, 1808, issued
the first number of the Western Federalist, which they continued
for eight years. It was printed upon a blue sheet, about the size
of cap-paper, and very coarsely executed.
The Paces were of English birth, with decided sympathies
with the mother country on the questions which led to the War
of 1812. Their radical Federal doctrines were not well received
by many of their readers. Yet, as their’s was, for some time, the
only local paper having the monopoly of legal advertising, and
printing their small sheet quite cheaply, they held the field, until,
by the competition of the Cayuga Patriot, and the growing unpopu-
larity of Federalism, they were forced to yield to the Auburn
Gazette, in 1816, a neutral paper, noticed in its proper place.
The fifth paper published in the county was the Cayuga Tocsin,
at Union Springs, in 1812, by R. T. Chamberlain. But business
interests soon induced its transfer to Auburn. The Patriot, being
then well established, so held the field as to leave little chance for108
History of Cayuga County
the success of another Democratic newspaper, and the Tocsin
was soon discontinued.
The sixth paper in the county was the Cayuga Patriot, first
published by J. G. Hathaway, who was succeeded in 1814 by
Samuel R. Brown. It was politically opposed to the Federalist,
advocating the doctrines of the party which sustained the war,
supported Daniel D. Tompkins, in opposition to DeWitt Clinton,
and was the organ here of the party of which Enos T. Throop was
a leading representative. It was a small quarto, coarsely printed,
but conducted with fair ability, and well received. It made such
rapid inroads upon the field hitherto occupied by the Federalist,
as, within two years, to compel its discontinuance. Its office was
over a wagon-maker’s shop, near the river, on the west side of what
is now Mechanic street. A young man, who afterwards became
one of the leading journalists of the country—Thurlow Weed—
worked here, and gives us a graphic sketch of the editor, his
consort, and the village:
“Nor shall we ever forget the upper story of a wagon-maker’s
shop, where the Cayuga Patriot was printed, for there we worked,
and laughed and played away the winter of 1814. Samuel R.
Brown, who published the Patriot, was an honest, amiable, easy,
slip-shod sort of a man, whose patient, good-natured wife was cut
from the same piece. ” He adds that “Auburn was then a small
village, without sidewalks, or a pavement, and, save Sackett’s
Harbor, the muddiest place we ever saw.’’ Richard Oliphant,
then a lad, was a typesetter in this office, and Mr. Weed compli-
ments him for his skill and fidelity, which his after-life fully
exemplified.
James Beardsley published the Patriot in 1817; David Rumsey,
father of the Supreme Court judge of that name, in 1819; and in
that year U. F. Doubleday purchased the establishment. He had
had some four years’ previous experience as a publisher, and in
his hands the paper prospered. He published it for eight years,City of Auburn
109
when, on April i, 1827, Isaac S. Allen became, with him, an equal
partner, under the firm name of Doubleday & Allen. They pub-
lished the paper for four and a half years, or until September 21,
1831, when, on Mr. Doubleday’s election to Congress, he transferred
his interest in the paper to Mr. Allen. The latter continued the
publication until December 30, 1833, when Willett Lounsbury
became a partner, under the firm name of Allen & Lounsbury, by
whom the journal was published about nine and one-half years,
and until Mr. Lounsbury’s death, which occurred suddenly on
May 18, 1843. Mr. Allen then purchased the interest which Mr.
Lounsberry had held in the paper, and individually continued its
publication until June 12, 1845. Mr. Doubleday was employed,
at this time, to write, each wreek, the leading editorial, though
then the Agent of the Auburn Prison. At the latter date Mr.
Doubleday became again the sole owner of the paper, Mr. Allen
retiring.
On November 17, 1846, Mr. Doubleday, being about to remove
to Illinois, transferred his interest in the Patriot to Henry A. Hawes
and Henry M. Stone, who published it under the firm of Hawes
& Stone, until its consolidation with the Tocsin, Second, in June,
1847, the combined papers receiving the name of the Cayuga New
Era.
Auburn Gazette was issued in June, 1816, by Skinner & Crosby
—Thos. M. Skinner and Wm. Crosby—Mr. Skinner being the
manager and principal owner. He came here from New London,
Conn. Frederick Prince, who had worked in the same office with
Mr. Skinner came on with him, and worked in his office here for
many years.
The Gazette was ably and carefully conducted, and, for the time,
neatly printed. It was independent in politics, with a leaning
towards the Clintonians, and so continued for two years, when its
title was changed to the Cayuga Republican, a decidedly Clintonian
sheet. The nominal publisher was Augustus Buckingham, an110
History of Cayuga County
employee in the office, but who had no interest in the paper. His
name was so used because he was free from any taint of Federalism,
and as a measure of business and political policy. A few months
later the name of Frederick Prince appeared as publisher, Mr.
Skinner appearing only as printer, though the sole owner and real
publisher of the paper, Mr. Crosby being dead. The paper soon
became a leading and thorough party organ, and secured for itself
a liberal patronage. It was continued by Mr. Skinner for fifteen
years, under the title of Cayuga Republican, when, in May, 1833,
it was united with the Free Press, the new paper taking the name
of the Auburn Journal and Advertiser, published by Oliphant &
Skinner—Henry Oliphant and T. M. Skinner—both experienced
and successful newspaper publishers. They continued its publi-
cation for six years, when Mr. Skinner retired.
The Cayuga Republican was always a well-conducted and
printed journal, received with favor by its readers, and liberally
patronized. Its editors were seldom announced, or publicly
recognized. Richard L. Smith and G. A. Gamage are the only
ones so made known. The latter gave to the paper, for one year,
his entire time, and, while in his charge, it gave clear evidence of
his erudition, his elegance as a writer, and skill as a journalist.
But original articles, except an the eve of elections, were not then
common. The matter consisted mainly of extracts from the city
papers. Editorial and local departments were not then regularly
maintained.
During the great agitation which the subject of Anti-Masonry
produced in Central and Western New York, from 1827 to 1837,
this journal was the organ of the Anti-Masonic party, and so con-
tinued till its union with the Free Press, in 1833. At this time
there were no regular book stores in the village, and Mr. Skinner,
and later, U. F. Doubleday, maintained very creditable book and
stationery stores, in connection with their newspapers.City of Auburn
111
The Evangelical Recorder, a religious weekly magazine, was
started in January, 1818, by the Reverend Dirck C. Lansing, as
editor, printed by Thomas M. Skinner, and discontinued at the
end of the first year for the want of patronage.
In 1818 Henry C. South wTick issued here the Advocate of the
People, and continued it for a short period only, the ground being
then fully occupied by the Patriot and Republican.
In the order of dates the Free Press was the next paper issued
here, by Richard Oliphant, in 1824. He continued it for five years,
and then sold it to his brother Henry, by whom it was continued
four years, and in May, 1833, it was united, as stated, with the
Cayuga Republican.
The Free Press was always a creditable and well-managed
journal, the largest in the state west of Albany, and the political
rival of the Patriot, then the leading Democratic paper, and edited
by that close thinker, cogent reasoner, and forcible writer, U. F.
Doubleday.
The Gospel Messenger was started in Auburn in 1827, by Rev-
erend John C. Rudd, D. D., rector of St. Peter’s church, and for
several years principal of the Auburn Academy. The Messenger
was published weekly, and while primarily devoted to the Episcopal
polity, was liberal to all sects. It was very ably edited, Doctor
Rudd having been one of the clearest and most forcible of writers.
The place of publication was first changed to Geneva, and thence
to Utica.
The Gospel Advocate was commenced by Doubleday & Allen,
January 1, 1828, Reverend L. S. Everitt, Universalist, editor; 8vo.
form, semi-monthly, continued for three years. Reverend 0. A.
Brownson was one of the contributors.
The Diamond w^as commenced in 1830, and continued for a
brief period only.
In 1834, Frederick Prince started the Cayuga Democrat, the first
of a series of subsequent journals that bore the word “Democrat”112
History of Cayuga County
as their prominent designation. It was, however, not a success,
for in 1835 he started the Attburn Miscellany, and in 1839 he became
foreman of the Western Banner, started in that year, with Francis
S. Wiggins, editor, the printing office having been purchased of
Mr. Prince. Subsequently, the name of the paper was changed
to the Auburn Banner, and in 1841 it was sold to the Methodist
Book Concern, in New York.
Frederick Prince had a long and an exceedingly varied
experience, as printer and publisher, both here and elsewhere.
Returning to Auburn, in 1833, he started the Auburn Democrat,
followed in 1835 by the Auburn Miscellany, and in 1838 by the
Auburn Daily News, the first daily paper published in the county,
and continued it for seven months, with a brief subsequent revival.
He sold his office, in 1844, to the proprietors of the Western Banner,
and became their foreman; but soon removed to Port Byron, and
established the Port Byron Herald, issuing it for two years, but
continuing a job office there until 1849, when he closed his eventful
career as printer, editor, author and publisher—the most eventful
experience of any of the publishers of the county—and came here
to reside. He was for many years clerk of the village, the second
clerk under the city charter, and for several subsequent years.
As a writer, he inclined to romance, and some of his stories were
published in the Cabinet, in 1822. His “Tales of Fort Hill” had
a marked local celebrity, and have been again and again republished.
Henry A. Hawes learned his trade in the office of the Banner,
and, on its sale, engaged with Mr. Oliphant, on the Advertiser,
the foreman then being O. F. Knapp, and Cornelius S. Underwood
was an employee. Mr. Hawes was subsequently employed on the
Patriot and the Tocsin, and in the book publishing house of Derby,
Miller & Company. He was partner of H. M. Stone, in publishing
the Democrat; also of Stone, Hawes & Company, in publishing the
New Era.City of Auburn
113
Cornelius S. Underwood was for many years prominent amongst
the printers of Auburn, in the capacities of journeyman, foreman
and proofreader. In the latter capacity he had few equals. His
perceptions were quick and accurate, and his knowledge of his art
complete. He held that position for several years in the book
publishing house of Derby, Miller & Company, and afterwards
held various civil and military positions.
T. B. Barber learned his trade in the office of Henry Oliphant
and learned it so well, that it will be no disparagement to his
brethren in the craft to say that few, if any of them, could show as
many neat specimens of workmanship as have come from his hands,
in the various offices in which his artistic skill has been manifested.
His were the aptitudes of the artist, with which but few are favored,
and his true employment would have been that of the designer
or engraver.
The Primitive Christian, by Reverend Silas E. Shepard, Disciple,
was commenced in 1835, and continued for six years. It wTas
devoted to the advocacy of the religious views of that sect. Nearly
a full year’s issue is devoted to a discussion of their respective
beliefs, by the editor and the Reverend G. W. Montgomery, which
is very interesting.
The Chronicles, by Ezra, the Scribe, were published here at
this time, but their author and publishers were kept secret. They
were ingeniously and forcibly written, and very severe upon the
alleged barbarities of the officers of the i\uburn Prison. The
excitement was so great and general as to change the party politics
of the county. Libel suits grew out of it without discovering who
wrote them. After many years it was discovered that they were
written by Reverend Silas E. Shepard, the then editor of the
Primitive Christian. This is no doubt authentic, as it appears
in a full biographical notice of him, published at Troy, Pa., after his
death, which occurred there on the 18th of October 1907.
8114
History of Cayuga County
The People s Library was started in 1836 by Francis S. Wiggins,
but was soon discontinued.
The Conference Record was begun here by Reverend J. S.
Chamberlain in 1837.
On April 5, 1839, the Cayuga Tocsin, Second, was started, and
became the organ of the “Free Soil” or “Barnburner” division
of the Democratic party, the Partiot being the organ of the con-
servative or “Old Hunker” division, distinctions which were kept
up until 1847, when a partial truce was made, and the two papers
were united, under the title of the Cayuga New Era.
The Tocsin was first published by Miller and Hine. Gelem
Hine had published the Genoa Spy, and the materials of that office
were carted here and used in the Tocsin office. The paper was
next published by Miller & Stowe, and afterward by Merrill &
Hollett, T. Y. How, editor. It was a wide-awake journal, and the
political sparring between it and the Advertiser and the Patriot,
was sharp and severe.
The Northern Advocate, Methodist Episcopal, was started by
Reverend John E. Robie, in April, 1841, with Reverends F. G.
Hibbard and William Hosmer editors. It was continued as a
private enterprise until May, 1844, when it was purchased by the
Methodist General Conference, and continued here as the Northern
Christian Advocate for twenty-eight years, under the following
editors:	Reverend Nelson Rounds, from ’44 to ’48—four years;
Reverend William Hosmer, from ’48 to ’56—eight years; Reverend
F. G. Hibbard, from ’56 to ’6o—four years; Reverend Isaac S.
Bingham, from ’60 to ’64—four years; and from ’64 to ’75 by Rev-
erend D. D. Lore, D. D.—eleven years, and until his death. The
paper, however, was removed to Syracuse in 1872, three years
before that event, on the establishment of the Methodist University
there. While published here, the work was executed by William J.
Moses, who was the agent and business manager of the paper. The
Advocate has always been a very successful enterprise.City of Auburn
115
The Star of Temperance, was started by L. W. Dewey, in 1845,
and removed to Rochester, about 1848, leaving an opening for the
Cayuga Chief, which soon followed.
The Auburn Journal and Advertiser, weekly, was, as stated,
first issued here in May, 1833. In March, 1846, Mr. Oliphant
issued the weekly under the title of the Auburn Journal, and
commenced a daily under that of the Auburn Daily Advertiser,
the latter the second daily paper printed here.
The telegraph wires were brought into Auburn in May, 1846,
and wrought a marvelous change in the transmission and publica-
tion of news. Hitherto, from one to two days had been required
for the receipt of news from the sea coast, which now was instantly
transmitted; and at business centers a daily journal became a
necessity.
The Cayuga Tocsin therefore, quickly followed the Advertiser
in issuing a daily paper. Both those papers had anticipated the
completion of the telegraph to this point, by receiving their dis-
patches by mail, first from Utica, and then from Syracuse, as the
telegraph was extended to those cities.
On September 14, 1846, Mr. Oliphant, whose health had failed,
sold his papers to Henry Montgomery, by whom they were pub-
lished until May 26, 1848. The latter did not make the enterprise
a financial success, but made an assignment to Chas. T. Ferris.
Mr. Ferris subsequently bought the establishment, and published
the papers until August 22, 1849. He then sold to George W.
Peck, Oscar F. Knapp taking a one-half interest therein, Mr. Peck
and Mr. Montgomery editors; and Mr. Knapp business manager,
the firm being Knapp & Peck. Afterwards Mr. Peck became the
editor-in-chief.
In the History of Caguga County, published in 1879, the follow-
ing paragraph occurs in the chapter on the press, edited by the
late Elliot G. Storke:116
History of Cayuga County
“The Auburn Daily Advertiser and the Auburn Journal have been
published the longest of any in the county under one ownership,
and have been signally prosperous. They hold a prominent place
among the larger and more important journals in the interior cities
of the state.”
Oscar F. Knapp and George W. Peck, the early owners of the
Auburn Daily Advertiser and Weekly Journal, continued the
business under the firm name of Knapp & Peck—Mr. Peck as
editor and Mr. Knapp as business manager—without interruption
until the death of Mr. Peck in July of 1877. Mr. Peck’s twx> sons
then inherited his interest, and Mr. Knapp divided his interest
with his son, making four equal partners in the concern, but not
changing the name. The firm of Knapp & Peck continued until
September, 1883, when Edward H. Thomson was admitted to
partnership, and the title underwent its first change in all these
years, becoming Knapp, Peck & Thomson.
At the present time the personnel of the Advertiser is as follows:
Horace J. Knapp, George R. Peck, Henry D . Peck, and Edward
H. Thomson.
George W. Peck from eighteen to twenty-two years of age,
was employed as an apprentice and compositor on the Quincy,
(III.) Herald; for about three years on the St. Louis Daily Repub-
lican, as a compositor. He was next engaged for one year on the
Cortland County, N. Y. Whig, and coming thence to Auburn worked
here, in turn, for Henry Oliphant and Henry Montgomery, on the
Advertiser. He was next employed in the editorial department
of the Lockport Daily Courier, and on August 22, 1849, he bought
the Advertiser, as stated. Some years later his health failed,
and his disease—hemorrhoids and nervous dyspepsia—induced
manifest and repeated instances of mental derangement, with an
impulse to self-destruction which he finally effected, in his own
library, on the 28th day of July 1877, by a pistol shot through the
brain.City of Auburn
117
Kendrick Vail took his first lessons in his art in the office of the
Advertiser, under Montgomery, and has devoted thereto his subse-
quent life, in the various capacities incident to the business,
as compositor, foreman, proofreader, pressman, editor and pub-
lisher; understanding practically and thoroughly all the depart-
ments of the business, whether of book, or newspaper publishing.
He had the principal charge of the press room in the publishing
house of Derby, Miller & Company, was one of the publishers of
the Daily and Weekly Union, and was business manager of the
firm of K. Vail & Company, publishers of the Auburn Daily Bulletin,
which will be hereinafter noticed. He retired from the newspaper
business about 1880 and has since died.
Andrew Shuman, then sixteen years of age, began his second
year’s apprenticeship with Montgomery on the Advertiser, in 1846,
and remained nearly three years. In 1848 he published, “on his
own hook,” a small weekly paper entitled The Auburnian, doing
the work on overtime. Kendrick Vail, a fellow apprentice, soon
became partner, and their paper was a brisk and lively little sheet.
But it involved too much labor for the limited time of the young
men, and they continued it for four months only. Young Shuman,
though but eighteen years of age, in 1849 formed a partnership
with T. W. & Emma Brown, in publishing the Cayuga Chief, and
continued it for one year. Feeling the need of a more thorough
culture, he spent the ensuing twx> years at the Clinton Liberal
Institute, fitting himself for college, and entered Hamilton in 1851.
While there he made the most of his time and his vacations, even,
were spent here in writing for the Advertiser. In 1853 he was offered
the position of editor of the Syracuse Daily Journal, which he
accepted and creditably filled for three and a half years, going
thence to Chicago to accept the editorship of the Chicago Evening
Journal. In politics he became equally conspicuous and successful.
He was state penitentiary commissioner of Illinois from 1865 to
1871, and lieutenant-governor of that state.118
History of Cayuga County
The Cayuga New Era was started in June 22, 1847, and pub-
lished for nearly ten years. Merrill, Stone & Company were the
first publishers, and its editor was Thos. Y. How. It was after-
wards published successively by Stone, Hawes & Company, Finn
& Hollett and Wm. L. Finn, and discontinued in 1857.
John S. Jenkins, an elegant and forcible wTriter, and the author
of several valuable works which were published here, held for some
time the position of editor of this journal, and his articles merited
and received the marked attention, both of their local readers and
of the press of the country.
The New Era was designed to heal the old divisions in the
Democratic party on the question of slavary extension; but time
only widened the breach, and increased the bitterness of the contest
which culminated in the formation of the Republican party, and
in i860 in the election of Lincoln, to be followed by the disastrous
and terrible events of the ensuing four years.
The Auburn Daily Bulletin, the first of that name, was issued
as a campaign journal in 1848, by Stone, Hawes & Company.
Auburn's Favorite, by N. R Caulkins, in 1847; The Masonic
Union, by Finley M. King in 1850, a few monthly numbers only
were issued; the Spiritual and Moral Instructor in 1851; the
Farmer and Mechanic in 1856, changed in 1857 to The Teacher's
Educational Journal, both by R B. Becker; and the Spiritual
Clarion in 1857 ; were unsuccessful experiments, and of little public
importance.
The Cayuga Chief, owned, edited and published by Thurlow
W. Brown, was an outspoken, original and vigorous temperance
journal, commenced here January 4, 1849, and continued for eight
years, when it was removed to Wisconsin, and continued there
under the same ownership. Emma, sister of Thurlow W., was
early associated with him in the literary and business management
of the paper here, and so continued after its transfer to the West.City of Auburn
119
Thurlow W. Brown, and his sister Emma, were “ peculiar
people.” They were independent and fearless in the advocacy
of what they believed to be right. They had decided talents, and
great industry and perseverance. As serial writers they had few
superiors, and Thurlow W. Brown was also an effective public
speaker. He published a very readable volume on his favorite
theme, “Temperance Tales and Hearth Stone Reveries.”
The Christian Ambassador was first established in New York
city, as the successor of the Christian Messenger, on the fourth day
of December, 1850, and Reverend J. M. Austin was appointed its
editor. It was, however, removed to Auburn early in January
following, and conducted here for about twelve years, under the
able supervision of the same editor. It was published in the in-
terest of the New York Convention of Universalists, by a stock
company. The enterprise was very successful.
The circulation rose to over 8,000 weekly, and gave the patrons
great satisfaction. It earned, bought and paid for the entire stock,
and the establishment was then turned over to the State Convention,
agreeably to the original plan, and the latter became its sole owners
and publishers. At this time Mr. Austin resigned his position as
editor, to accept that of paymaster in the army, which he held until
the close of the war. Reverend T. J. Sawyer succeeded Mr. Austin
as editor, and the Ambassador was removed to New York.
The Auburn American, daily and weekly, was issued by Wm.
J. Moses, in February, 1855, and continued under that name until
June 20, 1859, when its title was changed to the Auburn Daily and
Weekly Union, Moses & Vail publishers.
The American was the organ of the political party of that
name, while the latter existed, and ably advocated its principles.
The Union was continued until March 6, 1861, when the
papers were sold to Knapp & Peck, who, for a short period, issued
their weekly under the title of the Auburn Journal and Weekly
Union, and their daily as the Advertiser and Union.120
History of 'Cayuga County
B. F. Hall was chief editor of the Union, and Chas. A. Warden
city editor, and their departments were conducted with signal
ability. Though Judge Hall had been the recognized editor of our
journals here to a limited extent only, he, nevertheless, per-
formed much valuable work in that capacity, and largely con-
tributed to give interest and value to our local press up to
twenty years ago.
The Northern Independent was established in August, 1856, by
Reverend Wm. Hosmer, aided by a Publication Committee of the
Methodist Episcopal Church. It had its origin in the anti-slavery
zeal of its projectors, who regarded the regular church organs as
too cautious and not sufficiently outspoken on the slavery question.
It was vigorously conducted and well supported, until the causes
which gave it birth had ceased, when it was discontinued.
Reverend Wm. Hosmer, its projector and principal editor, was
for about twenty years prominently connected with our local press,
in the capacities of editor and author. His convictions were
earnest and sincere, and at all times plainly expressed. He was
an ‘ ‘ agitator and reformer ” of no mean ability, and as such always
stood in the front ranks—boldly confronting the opponents of his
opinions, and challenging their admiration by the firmness and
consistency of his course. Slavery and intemperance were espe-
cially obnoxious to him, and no one ever contended against
them with greater zeal and energy. He lived to see the former
die; but the latter will probably live, despite the. efforts of philan-
thropists, while evil exists in the world.
The Orphans' Friend was first issued in August, 1857, more than
fifty years ago. It was an effective advocate of the noble charity
in aid of which it was established.
The Auburn Democrat, weekly, was started in August, 1857,
by Stone, Hawes & Company, by whom it was continued about five
years, and until Mr. Stone entered the army. The establishmentCity of Auburn
121
was then transferred to Wm. S. Hawiey, wdio issued the Spirit of
the Times for about eighteen months. Mr. Hawley also issued one
number of a daily of the above title, but this enterprise failing to
receive proper encouragement was abandoned, as was his wreekly.
The People's Union, an advocate of political reform, was pub-
lished during the local canvass of 1862, the contributors to which
were Michael S. Myers, Warren T. Worden, C. L. Adams, and others.
The McClellan Banner was published during the political
campaign of 1864, by P. W. Rhodes and C. L. Adams.
The Semi-Weekly Herald, Democratic, was published in 1865,
for about six months, by N. T. Hackstaff and G. E. Bostwick.
In September, 1868, another Democrat was issued by Charles
F. Durston & Company The establishment, however, was the
next year transferred to J. N. Bailey, who published it under that
title for four years, when the paper wras sold to Wm J. Moses.
The Auburn Morning News, daily and weekly, was first issued
here in July, 1868, by Dennis Brothers & Thorne. Its editor-in-
chief was Wm. H. Barnes; Charles A. Warden, city editor, and
Theodore H. Schenck, literary editor. It was the advocate of
Republican principles and conducted with energy and ability.
No expense was spared to give interest and value to the journal.
Its proprietors, however, were without experience as publishers.
The disbursements of the establishment were not justified by its
receipts, and, after sacrificing largely, the papers were discontinued
in January, 1871.
The Auburn Daily Bulletin was started February 16, 1870, by
K. Vail & Co. William J. Moses was the directing spirit in the
enterprise, and it was published from his printing establishment at
27 and 29 Clark street. Mr. Moses was in editorial charge and
Kendrick Vail was the business manager. The paper entered the
field as a local independent newspaper. At that time the Asso-
ciated Press service had a monopoly of the telegraph news service
and the Bulletin had to depend on its local news and editorial122
History of Cayuga County
strength to win public favor. Charles A. Caulkins, who had a
reputation for originality in handling local matters, was the city
editor.
From the same publication office, the Auburn Daily News, a
morning newspaper was published beginning July 16, 1872, and the
weekly edition of the News was begun August 12th of the same
year. The publishers of the News were the Auburn Printing Com-
pany of which Mr. Moses was president and H. L. Storke, secretary
and treasurer. In politics it was vigorously Democratic, Mr. Moses
at the time being very prominent in Democratic state politics.
Mr. Moses was the editor-in-chief of both publications, but he
devoted most of his attention to the morning edition and his editorial
opinions were widely read and quoted. He wielded a vigorous pen;
he always stood for the advancement of Auburn and wTas very
devoted to its public institutions, especially educational. As a
writer he had a clearness of statement that made his editorials
forceful and he could crowd into a dozen lines as much common
sense argument as many wTould take a column to present. The
point was never obscured by useless verbiage or attempt at orna-
mentation; there was no mistaking his language or meaning.
The Morning News, though it had the advantage of the Asso-
ciated Press service wThich was very important in those days and
was ably edited did not prove a financial success and was discon-
tinued after a more or less precarious existence of six years. The
subscription list of the News was merged with the Bulletin and the
evening paper became the News-Bulletin.
Mr. Moses took over the business management of the consoli-
dated papers and a few years later, that he might give his whole
attention to that department, made Edward M. Allen, who came
here from Utica, managing editor of the News-Bulletin. Mr Allen
had for a time been editor of the Evening Auburinan, which was
established originally as the Item, in June, 1877, by Urban S. Ben-
ton, with offices in Exchange street. The Auburnian was takenCharles F. RattiganCity of Auburn
123
over by a stock company and it had considerable success for several
years, but in January, 1885 it was purchased by Mr. Moses and
merged with his paper under the hyphenated name of News-Bulletin-
Auburnian.
The consolidation gave the Bulletin, which in the meantime had
grown in circulation and influence under the combination of two
such men as William J. Moses and Edward M. Allen, the largest
circulation attained up to that time by any paper in the city.
The early 80’s were trying years for all the newspaper publishers.
Following the success of the Auburnian, there came dissensions in
the company and the result was the establishment of the Evening
Dispatch, as a fourth evening paper—the Advertiser, Bulletin,
Auburnian and Dispatch.
The Dispatch after a hopeless struggle to get a foothold as an
evening paper entered the morning field and with the United Press
dispatches made a very creditable newspaper. But it could not
command sufficient patronage and it followed the Dennis brothers’
Morning News and Mr. Moses’ later venture to the .newspaper
graveyard in 1890.
Edward M. Allen continued in editorial charge of the Bulletin
until his death in 1893. He was a born newspaper man and under
him the Bulletin attained and held an important position in the
life of the city. On his death Charles F. Rattigan, who began news-
paper work on the Dispatch in 1884 succeeded to the managing
editorship and continued in that position until it was merged with
the Auburn Citizen, October 2, 1905.
The Citizen was established by a stock company organized by
T. M. Osborne and Mr. Rattigan. The building No. 34 and 36 Dill
street was purchased and equipped with the latest machinery,
the old Bulletin printing plant, which was established over half a
century before being dismantled. The subscription list of the
Bulletin was taken over by the new company and greatly added to
by new subscribers and on this consolidation the Citizen took the124
History of Cayuga County
lead in circulation attaining over 5,000 circulation within its first
year of publication. While Messrs. Osborne and Rattigan are both
prominent in Democratic politics the paper is fair in its treatment
of all parties and is classifiable as an independent newspaper.
AUBURN MANUFACTURERS, BANKS AND
BANKERS, GAS LIGHT CO.
Auburn is situated in the center of a rich agricultural district,
to which the city owes no inconsiderable share of its commercial
prosperity, but the manufacturing interests are what have made
it really great. It is advantageously situated upon the Owasco
Outlet, the waters of the stream falling one hundred and eighty
feet on their rapid journey through the city. To this source of
power, constant and reliable, has recently been added the might
of the cataract of Niagara. The Auburn Light, Heat and Power
Company has a contract with the Niagara, Lockport & Ontario
Power Company for light, heat and power, and a sub-station has
been erected within the city limits for the purpose of transforming
the electric current transmitted from Niagara Falls to a pressure
suitable for working purposes. But besides these two potent
agencies manufacturers may develop power cheaply from coal, or
from gas produced by the coking process, so that Auburn offers an
inviting field to industrial enterprises.
The scores of manufacturing plants now in operation in the city,
give employment to about 7,000 people, and the large amount of
money paid to these has a great effect upon all other commercial
interests.
Railway facilities for transportation are excellent and whether
the manufacturer desires to bring in raw material or ship the
finished product of his factory he is not handicapped by burden-
some freight rates.
The largest and one of the oldest enterprises in the city is that
of the International Harvester Company. This great industryCity of Auburn
125
had its inception in 1858, and D. M. Osborne founded the business
which has grown to such colossal proportions. In that year the
firm of D. M. Osborne & Co., was formed, which comprised D. M.
Osborne, C. C. Dennis and Charles P. Wood. The latter retired
in 1862 and C. C. Dennis died in 1866. Then John H. Osborne and
Orrin Burdick were admitted to the firm. The business grew
rapidly from the very commencement and inside the first ten years
the force of twelve men, with which the firm started, had increased
to several hundred. They manufactured the Kirby reaper and
mower, and the machines were of such superior quality that they
took the market everywhere. The Cayuga Chief and the Dodge
& Stevenson machines were rivals for the trade, but the latter
company failed and the D. M. Osborne Company absorbed the
Cayuga Chief. Then the business was extended not only all over
the United States and Canada, but into the countries of Europe
and to Australia and New Zealand. During the life of D. M.
Osborne he was the guiding spirit of the industry, and upon his
death he was succeeded by his son Thomas M. Osborne, as presi-
dent of the company and Edwin D. Metcalf as treasurer.
For more than forty years the company continued operations,
growing larger and stronger, extending the factories and increasing
the output. Finally, in 1903 the business was sold to the Inter-
national Harvester Company, which now operates the several large
plants that go to make up the works of the concern, These cover
more than one hundred acres of ground, and being located in
different parts of the city, a regular incorporated standard guage
railroad is maintained to transfer materials and finished machines
from one part of the works to another. They have their own
rolling mills and operate their own malleable works to manufacture
the iron parts of their machines. Also, they have their own twine
mills and shops in which lumber in the rough is worked into the
desired parts of the implements for which they are intended. The
output is now about 500,000 machines yearly. Employment is126
History of Cayuga County
given to 2800 men, and Samuel V. Kennedy now has charge of the
manufacturing departments of the East.
The Nye & Wait Carpet Company:	In 1852 Carhart and Nye
leased Josiah Barber’s factory and ran it until 1858, when the
partnership was dissolved and L. W. Nye bought the building
erected in 1816 by Elijah Miller and John H. Beach. In this
building L. W. Nye conducted a cotton factory until 1868. In
1869 it was partially destroyed by fire, but was rebuilt in 1870.
In 1871 the firm of Nye & Wait was formed, the partners being
L. W. Nye and Wm. F. Wait. In 1876 George H. Nye, son of L.
W. Nye, became a partner in the business. The present company
was incorporated in 1889. The plant has been greatly enlarged
over the original factory and a force of three hundred and fifty
operatives is employed. The product is a superior quality of
ingrain carpets.
A modern development from this company is the Axminster
Carpet Company, of which Mr. George H. Nye was the principal
promoter. Axminster rugs are the staple product of this factory.
Mr. Nye is president of the Cayuga County National Bank, and
Mr. Wait, president of the Cayuga County Savings Bank.
The Columbian Rope Company, is of such importance, and
does so much business as to demand a special notice. The plant
is one of the finest in the state and they manufacture Manilla and
Sisal rope, jute and American hemp twines, tarred lath and
fodder yarns. The manufactured goods are shipped, not only all
over the United States and Canada, but into South America, Mexico
and other foreign countries. This company was the first to intro-
duce the manufacture of jute into this part of the state, and this
department of their business promises to increase rapidly, as it is a
new industry in this country. A very efficient fire department is
maintained in connection with the plant. The officers of the com-
pany are:	Edwin D. Metcalf, president; T. M. Osborne, vice-
president; Edwin F. Metcalf, general manager; F. W. Everett,City of Auburn
127
treasurer; Harold G. Metcalf, assistant treasurer and manager of
manufacturing; George Underwood, secretary.
Dunn & McCarthy:	In 1866, Dunn, Salmon & Co. manu-
factured shoes by convict labor, in Auburn Prison. In 1876 the
firm name was changed to Dunn, Barber & Co., and a factory was
erected on Garden street in which to carry on the business. In
1879, the firm became Hughitt & McCarthy. Subsequently,
John Dunn Jr., came into the firm and it assumed the present
name. They sold the Garden street property to Barber & Co.,
and purchased the extensive Barber factory property on Wash-
ington street, including the woolen mill and carpet factory. To
this plant they added new buildings besides remodeling the older
buildings to make them adaptable to the manufacture of shoes.
The main building are 350 feet each in length, four and five stories
in height. About 2000 operators are employed. They make
a comprehensive variety of ladies', misses' and childrens’ fine and
medium shoes. The plant runs full capacity nearly all the time
—the result of the quality of the Dunn & McCarthy shoes
and of the demand for them.
The individual members of the company are John Dunn Jr.,
Charles A. McCarthy and E. F. McCarthy.
D. Wadsworth & Son; In 1818, Joseph Wadsworth, grand-
father of the present proprietor of the celebrated scythe factory in
Auburn, founded this business. In 1829, he bought the land where
the plant now stands and converted an old carding mill, which stood
upon the property, into a scythe factory. In 1845, David Wads-
worth, son of the former, became proprietor. In 1876, David
Wadsw'orth Jr., became a partner with his father, and for years
has been the guiding genius of the business. From i860 to 1867,
most of the buildings constituting the plant, were erected, but some
have been added since. The plant consists of a hammer shop,
450 by 100 feet; a grinding shop, 250 by 30 feet; a polishing,
painting and packing shop, 200 by 50 feet; two frame storehouses,128
History of Cayuga County
30 by 60 feet and 36 by 24 feet, respectively. All the buildings
are of one and one-half stories. A force of one hundred men is
employed and the yearly output of the plant reaches from 25,000 to
30,000 dozens of scythes; 3,000 dozen hay knives and 12,000 dozen
grass knives. The trade of the company covers not only the United
States, but extends into Russia, Germany, England, France, the
Argentine, Australia and South Africa. The company has been
uniformly successful throughout its long career.
Wegman Piano Company:	This enterprise was established in
Auburn, in 1887. The building is 266 by 300 feet, and employment
is given to a force averaging about eighty workmen. Their pianos
are shipped all over the world and hold a foremost place upon the
market everywhere; about 1,200 instruments are manufactured
annually at this plant. Honorable W. C. Burgess is secretary-
treasurer and general manager of the business. The present com-
pany was incorporated in 1894. Mr. Burgess has been connected
with the establishment since 1887, and has held his present
position since the incorporation.
The Auburn Leather Goods Company:	This enterprise was an
outgrowth of the Auburn Leather and Brass Manufacturing Com-
pany, of which Frederick G. Ten Eyck, the proprietor of the present
concern was a member. In 1904, the old company separated into
two, the leather and brass interests each forming a new enterprise.
In February, 1907, F. G. Ten Eyck moved into the present brick
factory on Mill street and has enlarged the business materially
adding new lines and running entirely on special orders, which
gives a clear idea of the popularity of his goods.
Auburn Button Works, J. Herman Woodruff, proprietor;
This great concern which employs an average force of three hundred
people and whose plant occupies ten acres of ground on the Outlet,
was established in this city in 1876, as Woodruff’s Button Factory
Previous to that Mr. Woodruff had commenced the manufacture
of buttons in New York City. But being a native of Auburn, andCity of Auburn
129
knowing the manufacturing facilities of the city, he speedily trans-
ferred his operations to his native place. At first he occupied the
old building of the Auburn Paper Bag Company, but subsequently
erected the present plant on Washington street. A vast variety
of buttons are manufactured which are disposed of largely through
Mr. Woodruff’s Newr York agency. He also manufactures type-
writer keys, gun butts, pipe stems and an innumerable number of
fancy articles. His two sons, Charles H. and Douglass, are asso-
ciated with him in the business.
The Bowen Manufacturing Company is represented by George
W. Bowen, who removed his business from Seneca Falls to Auburn
in 1894. The business was carried on in Auburn until 1903, in the
plant now occupied by Eccles & Co. In the last-named year, Mr.
Bowen moved his to present location on Canal street where he has
erected, in 1906-7, a splendid brick building, 138 by 67 feet, in area
with an L 60 by 40 feet, all four stories. He has a floor space
of 50,000 square feet and the new building is so situated that every
floor is a ground floor with respect to the street, and can be reached
by a team. The product of the plant consists of oil cups, grease
cups and sheet steel stampings. A force of one hundred and fifty
men is employed and the industry is in a most healthy condition.
The site of this plant is where the old Beardsley Book Bindery
stood. That edifice was built in 1848, but was torn down in iqo6
by Mr. Bowen to make a way for his fine new structure.
Bowen & Quick:	In 1902 this firm purchased Spencer’s Thresh-
ing Machine Works at Union Springs, and, in 1903, moved into
Auburn and purchased the plant they now occupy at 185 Clark
street. The plant is mainly devoted to the manufacture of pressed
steel specialties. The members of the firm are George W. Bowen
and Charles B. Quick.
The Stone Mill, as it is familiarly called, is not only one of the
landmarks of Auburn, but is also one of its important manufactories,
although it does not now betray the distinctive stone features wdiich
9130
History of Cayuga County
gave it its name. Brick additions have crowded up and obscured
some of its ancient features and the old stone process of grinding
grain in its interior has given wTay to the roller process. The stone
mill was built in 1826, by John H. Hardenbergh, son of Colonel
Hardenbergh, the pioneer of Auburn, and stands upon the site of
the old log mill built by the latter when the land was a wilderness.
In 1865 the mill was owned by Wm. Hills. In that year he sold it
to Orlando Lewis and F. C. Hall. In 1870, Lewis purchased Hall’s
interest. In 1875, he remodeled the interior and in 1885 the brick
addition was added to the mill. During the later years of Mr.
Lewis’ life, Charles W. Brister was his partner in the business, and
when he died in 1907, the mill passed into the possession of Mr.
Brister, the present proprietor.
Auburn Woolen Company:	The historic plant of this company
came into their hands in 1894, when the present corporate body
was organized. In 1895, T. M. Clark, formerly of the Sawyer
Woolen Mills, of Dover, N. H., came here as superintendent, and
since that date the business has been very prosperous. The plant
is extensive, comprising a main building, 55 by 229 feet, six stories
high; with an addition, 50 by 89 feet, three stories high; the drying
and dyeing house, 40 by 195 feet, three stories; the repair shop,
40 by 145 feet, two stories and attic; the storehouse, 54 by 93 feet,
three stories and basement; the boiler house, 40 by 50 feet, two
stories and attic; the engine room, 12 by 55 feet; two boiler houses,
and adjuncts for coal, lumber, etc. Nearly all the machinery in
the plant is new having been put in by the present company. The
dye house is a new building and there has been a large expenditure
for general improvements by the present owners. The products
of the looms of the Auburn Woolen Company are goods for mens’
wear, meltons, suitings, coatings, under-collar cloths, tibbits and
various styles of fancy woolens. An average force of three hundred
hands is employed.
American Wringer Company:	The large and admirablyCity of Auburn
131
equipped plant of this company is located on Washington street
by the Outlet. The local branch manufactures wringers, mangles,
clothes dryers, mop-wringers, and washing machines of every
description. The company also operates an immense plant at
Woonsocket, R. I. Much of the success of the enterprise is due to
A. G. Beardsley the general manager and trustee of the company.
Captain H. J. White is superintendent of the Auburn plant, which
does a large business.
The E. D. Clapp Manufacturing Company, is one of the largest
and most important companies engaged in the manufacture of
carriage and special forgings in this country. The enterprise was
founded in 1864, by E. D. Clapp, and the business was first carried
on in the south wing of the old stone mill. In 1868 the founder of
the business moved to a new brick building on Water street, and
in 1874 he built a large factory at the corner of Genesee and Division
streets, where the company is still located. The forge shop is
two hundred and fifty feet long and ranges from forty to sixty feet
in width, and is equipped with twenty-five drop and trip hammers
with presses and finishing machinery.
E.	D. Clapp died in 1889 and was succeeded by his son D. E.
Clapp as president of the company. F. A. Eldredge has been
secretary and treasurer since 1891.
F.	V. Vandenberg’s Boiler and Sheet Iron Works were estab-
lished in 1896 by the present proprietor and his brother, but since
1897, Mr. F. V. Vandenberg has conducted the enterprise alone.
He employs a force of ten men and manufactures boilers for factories
and for house heaters. The present foundry was erected in 1905.
Leather & Brass Manufacturing Co. of Auburn. This business
is an outgrowth of the Auburn Leather and Brass Company formerly
conducted by the Ten Eyck brothers. They separated in 1904,
one taking the leather goods and one the brass. Frank E. Ten
Eyck is a noted inventor and has already patented eleven
inventions in brass. His factory is fully equipded for the successful132
History of Cayuga County
prosecution of the business in which a regular force of ten men is
employed.
McIntosh, Seymour & Company, 91 to 105 Orchard street was
established in 1886. These works are among the largest and most
important in their line in New York State. Their compound, auto-
matic, cut-off engines embody all the valuable improvements of the
times with many special features of their own, which greatly
enhance their desirability. They are essentially first-class, high-
speed engines, suitable for electric light plants, and other uses when
high speed is desirable. The manufacturing plant covers an area
of six hundred by one hundred and twenty-five feet in dimensions
in which employment is given to about two hundred skilled
mechanics.
Messrs. John E. McIntosh and J. A. Seymour are notable inven-
tors and their productions are unexcelled anywhere. The individ-
ual members of the firm are John E. McIntosh, J. Alward Seymour,
William J. Ferrey, Harte Cooke, and William B. Morrison.
The Geiser Manufacturing Company of Auburn is a branch of
that company with head offices at Waynesboro, Pa. John A.
Barnhart is manager of the Auburn office which is exceedingly
successful under his direction. The company builds road locomo-
tives, portable engines, gasoline engines, stationary engines,
threshers, steam plows, grain drills, saw mills, clover hullers, etc.
The Auburn plant is used principally as a repair shop and distri-
buting center, and is a valuable auxiliary to the home plant as well
as an important addition to the industrial life of Auburn.
American Axminster Industry:	This company was organized
in November, 1902, with a capital of $100,000. They manufacture
fine chenille rugs, turning out an average of eighty-five per week,
and give employment to about seventy women and fifteen men.
The officers of the company are A. F. Firth, president; W. H. Battie,
vice-president and treasurer; F. J. Collier, secretary and attorney;
William T. Reed, manager. Mr. Reed is an expert in the manu-City of Auburn
133
facture of rugs, having been connected with that industry ever since
his boyhood days, and under his supervision the products of this
factory are justly renowned for their excellence.
Henry & Allen Manufacturing Company, was incorporated in
1893 and has grown to extensive proportions now employing a force
of three hundred hands and keeping fifteen travelling representa-
tives. The output consists of agricultural implement supplies and
drop forgings. These productions reach all portions of North and
South America and Europe. W. H. Henry and Hon. Gorton W.
Allen constitute the company; both are men of wide experience in
industrial affairs. Hon. Gorton W. Allen was one of the com-
missioners at the World’s Fair, Chicago, receiving his appointment
from President Harrison. Their enterprise is one of the most
important in Auburn.
C. A. Koenig & Company:	This well known brewing house was
founded in 1868, and is located at the corner of State and Grant
streets. The plant has an area of thirty thousand square feet of
floor space, the building being a three-story structure. The capa-
city of the plant is one hundred and seventy-five barrels, and a
regular force of thirty-five men is employed in the business. They
bottle ale, lager and porter, and the trade of the house extends over
a large section of the state. The head of the house, Honorable C.
A. Koenig, has been prominent in public affairs of Auburn for
many years and is the present mayor of the city, an office to which
he was elected in November, 1907.
Richard Eccles Company:	This enterprise was founded by
Richard Eccles in 1880, who began business in the old Reynolds
building on Mechanic street He subsequently moved into the
plant now occupied by Henry & Allen, and as the business continued
to grow, he purchased the plant of the Auburn Manufacturing
Company in 1893, and there the business is still conducted. On
April 15, 1905, the Richard Eccles Company was incorporated with
Richard Eccles, president; William W. Eccles, treasurer; and134
History of Cayuga County
Andrew H. Johnson, secretary. The plant covers about five acres
of ground, a force of one hundred men is employed, and the pay roll
of the company amounts to one thousand dollars a week. They
manufacture carriage, wagon and special forgings of all kinds used
by carriage and wagon makers, and do an extensive business through-
out the United States and Canada; in fact their trade reaches to all
parts of the world.
Richard Eccles, the founder of the house, was born at Chadwicks,
Oneida County, N Y., in 1842. He worked in the Remington
Arms Works at Ilion, N. Y., from 1861 to 1865, at which date he
came to Auburn. He is not only a practical mechanic but also a
superior business man, as the great success of the Richard Eccles
Company attests.
The Eagle Wagon Works:	This company was incorporated in
March, 1905, the officers being F. E. Swift, president; T. M. Osborne,
vice-president; C. F. Baldwin, treasurer and Courtney C. Avery,
secretary. They manufacture contractors’ wagons and employ a
regular force of sixty workmen. The trade of the house covers the
United States. In 1903-4 the fine brick factory was erected. It
is a two-story structure three hundred and sixty by eighty feet,
with a shipping shed one hundred and thirty by thirty feet. The
company purchased the plant in the fall of 1906. They have track-
age on both sides of the plant and so are provided with superior
shipping facilities.
The Cold Spring Brewery is one of the important industrial
establishments of Auburn, and was founded in 1891 by William
Wildner whose sons now conduct the business. The plant is located
on York street and comprises two buildings, one of one hundred
and twenty by forty feet and one of sixty by forty feet. Every part
of the plant’s equipment is modern and up to date and its capacity
is constantly taxed to supply the demand for its products, as only
the purest spring water and the choicest hops and malt are con-
sidered good enough to be used in the manufacture of the beersCity of Auburn
135
shipped by this house. Wildner Brothers is the name of the firm
under which the business is carried on.
BANKS AND BANKING.
The National Bank of Auburn:	Prior to 1817 there was no
banking institution in the City of Auburn, and the necessity for a
bank had become pressing. Previous to that date prominent
merchants had in some cases acted as bankers for their friends and
customers. The growth of the village and the large disbursements
of money made by the State Commissioners during the construction
of the Auburn prison led to the organization of the first bank in the
village. In the year above mentioned, John H. Beach, Joseph Colt,
Eleazer Hills, Daniel Kellogg, Enos. T. Throop, Nathaniel Garrow
and Glen Cuyler made application to the Legislature for a charter
for a bank in Auburn, and the Auburn Bank was charted May 31,
1817, with a capital of $400,000 ; shares at fifty dollars each.
The bank was organized in July with Thomas Mumford, presi-
dent, James S Seymour, cashier and a directorate consisting of:
Nathaniel Garrow, Archie Kasson, Joseph Colt, Horace Hills, Walter
Weed, George F. Leitch, Enos T. Throop, David Brinkerhoff,
James Porter, John Bowman, Hezekiah Goodwin, and William
McCarthy. Beach, the original promoter of the scheme, was not
placed on the board of directors, until the bank had been in
operation for three years.
Those directly interested in the bank as well as the general
public were anxious to see it in operation as speedily as possible, but
a bank building had to be erected. While waiting for that to be
accomplished the cashier procured a safe and opened his office in
the Western Exchange, where he signed the bank’s first issue of
bills. A room was then fitted up in Demaree’s tavern for a banking
office and there did business until the bank building was erected
in 1818. This was a brick building which is still standing beside the
bank’s new edifice, and is occupied by tbe gas company’s offices.136
History of Cayuga County
When national banks were instituted in 1865, the bank became
the National Bank of Auburn. The present building was erected in
1887 and has been occupied by the institution since October 17th of
that year. The present officers are:	E. H. Avery, president; Fred-
erick Allen, vice-president; and George B. Longstreet, cashier.
The Cayuga County National Bank:	This bank, which to-day
is strong and admirably conducted was organized March 14, 1833,
The charter had been applied for in 1825, but it required the inter-
vening eight years for the Legislature to grant it. The authorized
capital was $230,000, but when the books were opened at Coe’s
tavern, more than $1,200,000 was subscribed in three days. The
stock was accordingly distributed pro rata, and the board of direct-
ors was organized as follows:	Isaac S. Miller, E. Hills, Levi Lewis,
Stephen Van Anden, N. Garrow, Rowland Day, Peter Yawger,
George B. Throop, John Seymour, Wm. H. Noble, Robert Muir,
Charles Pardee, and Sherman Beardsley. The officers were:
Nathaniel Garrow, president; George B. Throop, cashier, and
Lewellyn Jones, teller.
The bank building was erected in 1834, but was improved in
1878 and extensively remodeled in 1906. It has a depth of one
hundred and forty feet and is forty-five feet wide, and is considered
one of the most attractive and elegant bank interiors in the state.
Legitimate banking in its widest sense is carried on and a safe
deposit department and a woman’s department are features of
the institution. With its capital, surplus and liabilities of stock-
holders the bank has a financial strength of half a million dollars to
guarantee its ability to meet all legitimate banking demands.
This bank was organized as the Cayuga County Bank, but
adopted its present name in 1863, when it became a national bank.
The capital was reduced to $200,000 in 1874.
The presidents of the bank have been:	Nathaniel Garrow from
1833 to 1839; John Beardsley from 1839 to 1843; Nelson Beardsley
from 1843	^96; George H. Nye from 1896 up to the present.City of Auburn
137
The cashiers have been:	George B. Throop from 1833 to 1840;
Josiah N. Starin from 1840 to 1873 ; A. L. Palmer from 1873 to 1896;
Charles Haskins from 1896 up to the present.
The Cayuga County Savings Bank was incorporated by a special
act of the Legislature in 1864 as the Mutual Savings Bank of Auburn.
The first trustees were:	James S. Seymour, Augustus Howland,
C. C. Dennis, E. P. Ross, Edwin B. Morgan, C. H. Merriman, Chris-
topher Morgan, Benjamin B. Snow, William H. Seward Jr., T. M.
Pomeroy, Horace T. Cook, Samuel Adams, Guernsey Jewett,
Horatio J. Brown, David Tompkins, Daniel Hewson, and Morell S.
Fitch. The organization was effected February 1, 1865, and C. C.
Dennis was elected president; H. J. Brown, vice-president; W. H.
Meaker, secretary and treasurer, and R. C. Steel, attorney.
The name was changed to its present form July 1, 1875. The
Bank commenced business with the Auburn City National Bank
and removed with them to their new building in March, 1869. They
purchased their new bank property in 1872 and have occupied it
since July 31, 1873. H. J. Brown became president July 10, 1866.
He was succeeded by Horace T. Cook. Then came Cyrenus
Wheeler Jr., then William H. Seward, then William F. Wait, the
present incumbent. David Wadsworth Jr., and Edwin D. Metcalf
are the vice-presidents and William H. Meaker is treasurer.
William Henry Meaker, treasurer and manager of Cayuga
County Savings Bank was bom in the village of Owasco, Cayuga
County, July 23, 1836, and educated at Cazenovia Seminary,
New York. After leaving school he served five years as a drug
clerk, coming to Auburn March 22, 1854. From December 4, 1855
until 1871 he was bookkeeper of the Auburn City Bank and then
became teller. On February 1, 1863, the Cayuga County Savings
Bank was established by him, and he has since been its treasurer
and manager, also continuing as teller of the Auburn City National
Bank for six years thereafter. He has been in active banking
service and banking business longer than any other banker in138
History of Cayuga County
Auburn at the present time. Mr. Meaker served as city clerk from
March, 1861 to March, 1862, but otherwise never occupied public
office. He wras for several years treasurer of the Auburn Theo-
logical Seminary, which office he relinquished in 1897 owing to his
increased duties from the rapidly enlarging business of the bank.
He is a member of the City Club and the Masonic fraternities,
being Past Commander of Salem Town Society and trustee and
secretary of trustees, of the Auburn Home for the Friendless.
The Auburn Savings Bank was organized under a charter granted
by the Legislature of the State of Nevr York, March 19, 1849, as the
Auburn Savings Institution. The name was changed to its present
form April 24, 1869. The first trustees wTere Charles B. Perry,
Nelson Beardsley, Daniel Hew^son, Thomas Y. How Jr., C. C.
Dennis, John Olmsted, John L. Watrous, Sylvester Willard, James
O. Derby, Spencer Parsons, Samuel Blatchford, and J. N. Starin.
Judge Charles B. Perry was the first president, and Charles P.
Wood, the first treasurer.
This bank began business on May 19, 1849, 'm the second-story
front room over the store occupied by A. W. Hollister & Co., on the
north side of Genesee street. In 1859, the bank was moved to the
ground floor at 72 Genesee street.
In i860, Sylvester Willard, M. D., succeeded to the presidency
He was succeeded by E. R. Fay in 1894. The bank has occupied
the present building on the corner of Genesee and South streets
since 1871. The present officers are E. R. Fay, president; E. H.
Townsend, secretary and treasurer; William S. Downer, assistant
treasurer.
Auburn Trust Company:	The Auburn Trust Company was
organized in 1906, and was incorporated under the laws of the State
of New York on August 27th of that year. The company has a
paid-up capital of $150,000 and a surplus of $150,000. Although
the institution is of comparatively recent origin it has more than
sixteen hundred depositors and its deposits exceed $670,000. ThisCity of Auburn
139
exhibition of public confidence is easily accounted for. A glance at
the names of the officers and directors of the Auburn Trust Company
reveals the source of its strength with the public, to say nothing of
the fact that it has resources of $1,000,000. The president is John
M. Brainard. The secretary and treasurer, who has the practical
management of the bank in his hands, is Ralph R. Keeler, who had
twenty-one years’ experience in banking, before entering upon the
duties of his present position.
Ralph R. Keeler was formerly of the village of Moravia, in this
county, and for years occupied successive positions in the National
Exchange Bank, the Cayuga County National Bank, and the
National Bank of Auburn, which last institution he left to become
the secretary and treasurer of the Auburn Trust Company.
The officers and directors are:	John M. Brainard, president;
Henry D. Noble, first vice-president; George W. Benham, second
vice-president; D. E. French, third vice-president; Ralph R. Keeler,
secretary and treasurer.
Directors:	Henry D. Noble, G. S. Fanning, George W. Benham,
Sanford G. Lyon, Ralph R. Keeler, Wilbur B. Barnes, L. W. Mott,
Frank A. Eldredge, J. S. Gray, William B. Hislop, Charles S. Cay-
wood, Thomas H. Garrett Jr., F. T. Pierson, George W. Bowen, W.
H. Moffit, D. Edwin French, James C. Bishop, Willard E. Case,
Hendrick S. Holden, Thomas F. Dignum, Franklin P. Taber, Julius
Kraft, John M. Brainard, Douglas A. White, P. M. Herron.
Wm. H. Seward & Co.’s Banking House was organized in i860,
as a private bank under the name of Wm. H. Seward Jr. & Co., by
General Seward and General Clinton D. MacDougall. The original
partnership continued until 1869 when Theodore M. Pomeroy was
admitted to the company. In 1870, General MacDougall withdrew,
and in 1876 the firm name assumed its present form. Since then
changes have occurred in the personnel of the partnership, but Mr.
Seward has always been at the head of the institution, and it has140
History of Cayuga County
always been prosperous. The present members are:	William H.
Seward, Joseph C. Anderson, and William H. Seward Jr.
Edwin R. Fay & Sons, Bankers. This is a private banking house
which was established in 1892, by the present head of the firm, E. R.
Fay. His partners are Edwin R. Fay, Fred H. Fay, and Charles R.
Fay. They do a regular banking business, and pay interest on
deposits.
THE AUBURN GAS LIGHT COMPANY.
This company was organized under an act of the Legislature
passed February 16, 1848, and on January 14, 1850, the directors
of the company assembled at the office of Benjamin F. Hall to
organize the board for the transaction of business. There were
present:	George B. Chase, Philip R. Freeoff, Henry G. Ellsworth,
Paul D. Cornell, Zebina M. Mason, Adam Miller, Roland F. Russell,
William H. Van Tuyl and Benjamin F. Hall. Roland F. Russell
presided at the meeting and Benjamin F. Hall was chosen secretary.
George B. Chase was elected president of the company, Benjamin F.
Hall secretary, Zebina M. Mason, treasurer, and Thomas Hoadley
engineer and superintendent.
A committee was appointed to negotiate a lease of state land on
the south side of the Outlet for a site for a gas manufactory, and the
secretary was instructed to issue certificates of stock to the stock-
holders. The capitoal stock of the company was $20,000.
By September 1, 1850, the company was prepared to light the
city, but that very night their factory burned down. They were in
operation, however, by October 1st.
In 1861 the company put up a plant for the manufacture of gas
from coal. Up to that time they had made it from ‘‘Whales Foot77
oil and from rosin.
In 1864 the name of Henry S. Dunning begins to appear in the
record of the meetings of the directors of the company, and for
thirty-eight years thereafter the destinies of the Gas Light Company
were practically directed by him and his son and successor, DavidCity of Auburn
141
M. Dunning. From January i, 1865, until January 1, 1869, Henry
S. Dunning was secretary, treasurer and superintendent of the
company. On the latter date D. M. Dunning became secretary
and treasurer, his father continuing as superintendent until January
1, 1871, when D. M. Dunning assumed all three offices and filled
them continuously until 1902. Henry S. Dunning died in March,
1871, and thereafter D. M. Dunning became the guiding genius of
the Gas Light Company, until it was sold to outside parties in 1902.
From 1869 to 1871 the plant of the company was greatly
enlarged, and from time to time thereafter improvements and
additions were made to keep pace with the demands of the business.
During the first fifteen years of the life of the company a great
deal of experimenting was done, and dividends were not always
declared, but the capital was increased from time to time to keep
the corporation alive. From 1871, however, until 1902, when D. M.
Dunning was at the helm, regular half-yearly dividends of four per
cent, were paid, without a single omission. In 1869 the capital
stock was increased to $100,000, and in 1873 it was raised to $150,-
000, at which figure it remained until 1902.
The stock of the company being a good investment, the stock-
holders invariably held it, so that it remained in the same hands,
and as men died off it passed into estates or the hands of widows
By the year 1900, there were barely enough male stockholders to
form a board of directors. Also the demand for franchises of one
kind or another were being sought, and following the advice of Mr.
Dunning, the directors decided to sell. Mr. Dunning opened nego-
tiations with three different parties who were desirous of acquiring
the Auburn gas business, with the result that the company sold out
to Edward H. Palmer of Geneva for the sum of $350,000. All those
holding stock in the old company brought it in and it was turned
over to the purchaser.
Soon after the sale to Mr. Palmer a competing franchise was
granted to Syracuse parties, who built the large gas works at the142
History of Cayuga County
corner of Clark and North Division streets and laid distributing-
mains throughout the city. Active warfare was at once commenced
with the old company and prices wure reduced for a time. The
inevitable result was the consolidation of the two companies, Mr.
Palmer purchasing the stock of the new company, and under his
management the gas business of Auburn is now maintained. He is
giving the city excellent service and supplying a good quality of
gas. The gas is manufactured at Geneva, N. Y., and is a by-prod-
uct of the Interurban Coke Works of that city. It is brought to
Auburn through a six-inch pipe, under a heavy pressure, which is
reduced at the storage holders where it is stored in this city.
WHEELER RIFLES.
Company M., Third Regiment N. G. N. Y., locally known as the
“Wheeler Rifles” or Second Separate Company, was organized May
24, 1881, following the disbandment of the old Forty-Ninth Regi-
ment New York State Militia in August of the year previous. The
new Company took its name from the Hon. Cyrenus Wheeler, Jr.,
then mayor of the City of Auburn, who took a great interest in the
growth of the young organization.
The first officers of the company were Captain Wm. M. Kirby,
First Lieutenant, F. H. Griswold, Second Lieutenant H. S. Dunning,
First Sergeant F. A. Wright, Quartermaster Sergeant C H. Carpen-
ter, Sergeants G. H. Nye, Francis Vincent, W. G. Cowell and S. L.
Bradburn and Corporals W. H. Olmstead, G. E. Congdon, J. D.
Murray, B. A. Ferris, G. W. Nellis, C. J. Barber, F. A. Smith and
Isaac W. Haight. The company attended its first tour of duty at
the State Camp at Peekskill in July, 1882 and its last tour at that
post from June 28 to July 5, 1896. The company was on duty at
the switchmen’s strike at Buffalo from August 17 to 27, 1892. It
volunteered for duty in the War with Spain and left Auburn for
Camp Black, Long Island, May 1, 1898. It was mustered into the
United States service as Company M. Third New York VolunteerstCity of Auburn
143
on May 17th. On September 13th, the company returned to its
home station and was mustered out of the United States service
December 15th of the same year. In the reorganization of the
National Guard, following ’98, the company was designated Com-
pany M., Third Separate Battalion N. G. N. Y. July 21 to 28, 1900,
the company as part of the Third Battalion performed a practice
march along the shore of Lake Ontario from Oswego to Fair Haven,
and in 1903, 1905 and 1907 attended the Fourth Brigade camps at
Farnham, Erie County. The company has always given much of
its time to rifle practice and for the last three years has won the
highest figure of merit in the state at rifle shooting. In January,
1897, Captain Kirby was promoted to state inspector of small arms
practice with the grade of major. He is by brevet a lieutenant-
colonel. Lieutenant C. J. Barber succeeded to the Captaincy in
June, 1897, and served as its commanding officer until his retirement
in March, 1904. He was succeeded by Captain Jennings, who
was promoted June 15, 1904. The company now has no assistant
surgeon, Lieutenant A. F. Hodgman, being promoted to captain and
assistant-surgeon of the Third Regiment November 1, 1907.
To comply with the United State Army regulations in relation to
the organized militia, the First, Second and Third Separate Battal-
ions of the Fourth Brigade were united to form the Third Regiment
N. G. N. Y., in command of Colonel Wm. Wilson, G. O. 14, A. G. O.
March 30, 1907.
The present Company is in a flourishing condition and for the
last three years has had no difficulty in keeping its enlistments up to
the full strength allowed by the State. Its present officers are:
Captain E. S. Jennings, First Lieutenant W. C. Case, Second Lieu-
tenant C. T. Whelan, First Sergeant C. M. Vernier, Quartermaster
Sergeant F. S. Johnston, Sergeants C. A. Hickok, B. C. Mead, C. T.
Holden and Frank Abar, Corporals W. H. Styles, A. D. Stout, W. L.
Holder, C. J. Earley, F. W. Andrews, C. B. Howk, A. M. Koon and
M. E. Keating.144
History of Cayuga County
CHAPTER XI.
schools of auburn.
An Account of the Public Schools of Auburn, and A History of the Academy
by B. B. Snow, to which is added a sketch of the High School.
One hundred and twelve years ago, or in 1796, Hardenbergh’s
Corners consisted of a few scattered cabins in the midst of a forest.
The dwellers in those primitive houses were pioneer settlers who had
located their dwellings about the “Corners” not so much for sociabili-
ty as to be near the grist mill of Captain Hardenbergh.
Near where the Church of the Holy Family now stands, on the
wTest side of North street, there stood in 1796 a small log building
which wras the first institution of learning in the place; the humble
precursor of the superb system of schools which are to-day the
pride of Auburn. In that little log school-house Benjamin Phelps
was schoolmaster, but the number of his pupils could not have
been large, for the first white child was not born at Hardenbergh’s
Corners until 1798. The “scholars” must have been children who
came into the wilderness with their parents. The qualifications of
schoolmaster Phelps are not recorded. Like that other Cadmus
who first taught the Greeks their alphabet, his fame rests upon his
having been the original preceptor. Also he rang the first school
bell in Auburn, and it was a cow bell with wThich he called his
pupils into the primitive school-room. He was succeeded by Doctor
Hackaliah Burt, a very popular man who was distinctly identified
with the early history of the hamlet.
While Doctor Burt was teaching in the North street school, a
second school was opened in a log cabin out on Genesee street where
Division street now crosses it. Jehiel Clark, an enterprising miller
from Ballston, N. Y., had erected a flour mill and a saw mill in theCity of Auburn
145
western part of what is now the City of Auburn, and was endeavoring
to make his village a rival of Hardenbergh’s. This second school
was established to provide educational facilities for the progeny of
his borough.
In 1801, Hardenbergh’s Corners took a forward step and erected
a frame school-house on the east side of South street. It contained
but one room, but was painted yellow, and was the pride of the
Corners. Doctor Steadman was the first schoolmaster in this
building. The second was David Buck who was succeeded by the
pioneer teacher, Benjamin Phelps, in 1806.
The fourth school was opened in 1801 in a log building on the
north side of what is now Franklin street, between Holley and
Fulton. Benjamin Phelps conducted it for a time, but it was
abandoned and the building became a dwelling house.
The inefficiency of the early schools was a matter to deplore,
and as the village grew, leading men began to give the subject of
education serious consideration. The school buildings and their
equipments were inferior and the teachers had no training in the
art of instruction.
All this led to the establishment of the academy, the history of
which, here given, is from the paper of B. B. Snow, in the archives
of the Cayuga County Historical Society.
In the early years of the present century, the State of New
York, as it became settled, began to be dotted all over with acade-
mies. Near the close of the Revolution the New England states
had begun the establishment of these institutions of learning,
notably the Phillips Academy at Andover, Mass., founded in 1778,
and the Phillips Exeter Academy at Exeter, N. H., founded about
the same time, both of which have been and are still eminent for
their excellence. Doubtless similar institutions less noted were
to be found in many New England communities, for whatever his
faults, Pilgrim or Puritan, the New Englander has always been a
10146
History of Cayuga County
staunch advocate of education. It was this spirit that those who
migrated to the wilds of New York brought with them.
The little hamlet which in later years grew to be the village and
still later the City of Auburn had been planted here in the wilderness
scarcely a score of years, when the question of providing suitable
facilities for educating their children confronted the pioneers.. In
the interval between the advent of Colonel Hardenbergh in the spring
or early summer of the year 1792 and the year 1810, Auburn had
become the county seat of Cayuga County. The rude cabins of
the early settlers had given place to more stately mansions. The
forests had been cleared away and many of the industries essential
to a civilized community had been established. DeWitt Clinton,
who visited the village in 1810, says:	“It contains three tanneries,
three distilleries, one coachmaker, two watchmakers, four taverns,
two tailors, six merchants, three shoemakers, two potasheries, two
wagonmakers, three blacksmiths, two chairmakers, three saddlers,
three physicians, a Presbyterian clergyman and an incorporated
library of two hundred and twenty volumes. ” A somewhat curious
conglomeration of the contents of the little village. He adds that
it has “about ninety houses, a post-office, the Court House and the
County Clerk’s Office. Auburn has no Church. The Court House is
used for divine worship. ’ ’
Another authority adds the following industries for the same
date:	“Five saw mills, four grist mills, two fulling mills, two
carding machines, one smithy, and one oil mill”—the last being for
the manufacture of linseed oil from flaxseed, which was an important
product of this section in the first half of the century.
It is possible that the village at this time contained some four
or five hundred inhabitants. The schoolmaster had already come,
and a few rude school-houses had been erected in the village and
vicinity. But among the pioneers were men who knew the value
of better schools, and some who had more or less academic training
in their youth in the distant homes from which they came, and noneCity of Auburn
147
who did not appreciate the advantages resulting from a substantial
education.
So in the fall of 1810 these men came together and,
“Resolved, That an Academy would not only be conducive to
the happiness and prosperity of the village, but of great and lasting
benefit to its immediate vicinity, and the neighboring and adjacent
towns and villages.”
This resolution savors a little of the disposition to advance the
material interests of the village rather than the intellectual, but
the true spirit of the prime movers manifests itself a little later when
the organization is completed.
This was before the era of free schools, and the question at once
confronted the projectors—Whence are the funds to carry out this
undertaking? A committee consisting of William Bostwick, Dr.
Hackaliah Burt and David Brinkerhoff, was appointed to solicit
subscriptions to a building fund. The shares were fixed at $20
each, and it was a condition of the subscription that it should not
be binding until at least one hundred and fifty shares had been
taken.
The committee evidently acted promptly and vigorously. On
the seventh of December, 1810, the chairman of the committee,
William Bostwick, started the ball by a subscription of $200. He
was followed by Robert Dill with a subscription of $400. On the
fifth of January, 1811, less than a month from the time they started
the subscription list, the committee reported two hundred and five
shares taken, amounting to $4,090. A list of the subscribers is
appended. It contains one hundred and nineteen names and the
subscriptions vary from one share to twenty.
On the fifth of January, 1811, the subscribers organized under
the title of the “Auburn School Association,” setting forth their
object in their articles of association as follows:
“WE, THE SUBSCRIBERS, taking into consideration the
necessity of LITERATURE to the welfare of society, that it affords148
History of Cayuga County
nourishment to virtue, and the only means of rational and social
happiness; and having also considered that the present state of the
population of the village of Auburn and its vicinity requires a
literary institution equal in magnitude to an ordinary academy,
which by its respectability may hereafter induce an incorporation,
have associated and do hereby associate ourselves for the purpose
of forming such as institution, and have contributed for that purpose
the sums annexed to our respective names.”
The organization of the association was effected with Elijah
Miller, David Buck, Noah Olmstead, Joseph L. Richardson, John H.
Cumpston, John Sawyer, Jehiel Clark, David Hyde and David
Horner as the first trustees.
On the thirty-first of January, 1811, Robert Dill conveyed to
William Bostwick, David Higgins, Hackaliah Burt, Elijah Esty and
Thomas Wright, in trust for the stockholders of the association,
five and three-quarters acres of land on the west side of North street,
including the present High School site. The lot fronted on North
street, from the center of the present Chapel street nearly to the lot
occupied by Mrs. S. W. Reed and extended west forty-eight rods.
By the terms of the articles of association, Mr. Dill was to have
fifty shares of the stock of the association, valued at $20 each, in
consideration of his donation of the site.
The trustees at once took measures to secure the erection of the
needed building. Messrs. Bradley Tuttle and Jehiel Clark took the
contract and during the summer and fall following completed it at a
cost of about $4,000. It was accepted by the association, February
3, 1812. Mr. Hall in his history of Auburn, thus describes it:
“The Auburn Academy, standing at the west end of the broad,
well shaded field that ran back nearly to the present State street,
was a plain, old-fashioned, three-story brick building, sixty feet
long by twenty wide, surmounted by an open belfry. The walls
outside were pencilled, the woodwork was white and the shingled
roof colored brown. The first two stories were divided into roomsCity of Auburn
149
each by a hall through the center; the upper story formed one large
room, into the sides of which seats were fastened and the floor of
which was covered with long, double writing desks, with benches on
each side. The primary department was on the first floor. The
various rooms were warmed by roaring wood fires in the quaint old
fireplaces, the large room having one of these at each end. The
writing desks were furnished with tops covered with loose sand, in
which the first searchers after knowledge took their first writing
lessons. Discipline was maintained with the ferrule, and disorder
punished, either by shutting up the disobedient in a closet in perfect
darkness, or by subjecting them to solitary confinement in a deep
hole left by the builders in the wall next to the fireplace/’
The building being in readiness for opening the school, on the
twenty-third of January, 1812, the trustees advertised for teachers
as follows:
The Western Federalist, Wednesday, April 22, 1812.
Academical Tuition.—Auburn School Association.
With much satisfaction the trustees of the Auburn School Association, inform
the public that their new building, commonly called the Auburn Academy, is
nearly completed and will be opened for the reception of scholars immediately on
the procurement of suitable instructors. Those adequate to the undertaking in a
first-rate academy, by producing proper credentials, and applying to the trustees,
will find liberal encouragement. Three or four wanted, whose competency is
required unquestionable as respects his or her abilities or character. All applica-
tions or addresses to any or either of the trustees will be attended to.
By order,
J. H. Cumpston, Sec’y.
Auburn, January 23, 1812.
“Meantime the educational interests of the community seem
not to have been wholly neglected, as appears from the following
advertisements in the local paper:
The Western Federalist, Wednesday, April 22, 1812.
EDUCATION.
Reading at 12s. Penmanship, 14s. Arithmetic, Geography, the English
Language and Elocution, 16s. Surveying, Trigonometry, the Latin and Greek
Languages at 24s per quarter. Correctly taught at his School apartments, by
the public’s most humble servant,
Ebenezer Dutton, A.B.
Auburn, March 23, 1812.150
History of Cayuga County
The Western Federalist, Wednesday, April 22, 1812.
CAYUGA ACADEMY.
Young gentlemen may study with advantage in this institution under its
present arrangements most of the sciences usually taught in the Colleges of the
United States.
In the division of it appropriated to the instruction of young ladies, various
branches of female education are satisfactorily taught.
The several studies of the first division during the last year were Reading,
Penmanship, English Grammar, Arithmetic, Geography, the Latin and Greek
languages, Logic, Rhetoric, Geometry, Trigonometry, Surveying, Mensuration and
the elements of Euclid.
And those of the young ladies’ department were Reading, Penmanship, English
Grammar, Arithmetic, Geography, Ornamental Needlework, Painting, Drawing,
etc.
The number of students in this academy during the late years, was one hundred
and ninety.
The price of board varies from 1 dollar 25 cents to 1 dollar 75 cents per week,
according to the requirements of the student.
The liberal patronage this institution is receiving from gentlemen in various
parts of the country encourage its immediate guardians to spare no efforts to render
it, in every respect, deserving of the countenance and support of their fellow citizens.
By order of the Trustees,
E. Burnham, Clerk.
Aurora, April 21 , 1812.
The Western Federalist, Wednesday, September 16, 1812.
ONONDAGA ACADEMY.
The public are informed that an academy will be opened at Onondaga, on the
first Monday of October next, under the direction of the Rev, Caleb Alexander,
late principal of the academy at Fairfield. All branches of study usually pursued
at colleges will be taught here; and the trustees flatter themselves that from the
known abilities of Mr. Alexander, the convenient situation of the institution and
their own personal attention it will become as useful a Seminary of education as in
the Western district. Convenient board will be provided for scholars from abroad
at as low rates as can be afforded. Price of Tuition for the languages and higher
branches of Literature, dolls. 4 per quarter; Grammar, Geography and Mathematics
and other Academical studies, dolls. 3; Common Reading, Writing and Arithmetic,
dolls. 2.
By order of the Board,
Wm. H. Sabin, Clerk.
Onondaga, September 7, 1812.
The efforts of the trustees to secure a teacher proved successful,
as appears from the following:
The Western Federalist, Wednesday, June 17, 1812.
To the Public:	Sensible that those belonging to this village and every friend
of science are interested in the prosperity of the institution commonly called ‘‘TheCity of Auburn
151
Auburn Academy,” of which we have the honor of direction,it is thought expedient
to give an account of what has been done since its erection. An instructor (Mr.
J. Foote), who was graduated at Yale College the last commencement, has been
employed for one year from the first of May. Previous to opening his school it was
resolved that the Lancastrian system of education should be introduced, and that
he should visit the Lancastrian school in Albany, for the purpose of obtaining the
requisite information. Upon his return, testimonials were exhibited of his attend-
ance in the above mentioned school, and capacity to organize a school upon the
same plan. The school in this village will open on Monday next, in the lower
rooms of the academy, until the upper one can be prepared. As to the particular
advantages of the new system we can only mention a few; excepting we shall soon
convince every parent, by the improvement in his child in whatever may render
it more agreeable to himself or useful to society. In spelling, a pause is made
between each letter, by which a proper sound is given it; and syllabic reading is
used, which is of the greatest utility. Scholars begin to write as soon as they
begin to read, and become so habituated to it, that good writing, which is very
desirable, is much promoted by the Lancastrian system. In consequence of
monitors and monitresses, who are ambitious to advance the scholars under their
care, the small scholars receive more attention than they could from the instructor,
while the latter can devote his to the monitors and monitresses. The offices and
badges which are obtained by merit, produce that ambition and emulation which
are necessary to mental improvement. With regard to the Lancastrian system of
government, neither the feelings of sensibility nor parental affection are wounded by
corporeal punishment; but the most cordial attachment exists between the in-
structor and pupil. Punctuality in attending school is obtained because the
monitors are pleased with the teaching, and the small ones being taught by them,
in preference to the instructor, while the honors of the school are conferred on those
who constantly attend it. We will not however, be particular, but it is evident
such a school must be of the greatest utility to this village. The assimulating
influence of it will be very great; in consequence of children assembling in the same
room, being instructed by the same person, and having an opportunity to acquire
a knowledge of those branches of science by which the mind is expanded and public
happiness increased. Attachments formed in youth being the most permanent, a
society of young people will be formed, among whom friendship will be enjoyed and
the social virtues cherished. We anticipate the time when the public advantages
of this institution will afford pleasure to the proprietors, sufficient to compensate
them for whatever exertions are now made to establish it. Let each individual
reflect how much depends upon his individual patronage. The institution is now
in its infancy; it now wants your support; though in a short time it may support it-
self ; and the reputation of it be such that your children will be proud to declare
the place of their nativity and the academy at which they were educated. For
the trustees of the “Auburn School Association.”
Dr. Horner, Pres’t,
J. H Cumpston, Sec’y.
Auburn, June 12, 1812.152
History of Cayuga County
The school was opened Monday, June 15, 1812, as appears from
the following in the editorial column of the Western Federalist for
Wednesday, June, 1812 :
COMMUNICATION.
On Monday, went into operation, instruction in the Academy in this village,
under the tuition of Mr. Foote (a regular graduate of that ancient seminary of
Connecticut, Yale College), from whose talents in literary science, much is to be
appreciated of advantage to the pupils. The highly celebrated system of Mr.
Lancaster, which is acquiring such fame throughout Great Britain for accelerating
instructive knowledge to the infantile mind, is to be put in immediate operation;
from which we may anticipate everything that is profitable to children in the early
parts of scientific knowledge, and consolatory to their parents. We doubt not
succeeding generations will be filled with plaudits of the name of Lancaster, as well
as the promoters of this institution (sic) in this new part of the world.
The encomiums bestowed upon the Lancastrian system of
teaching which has been adopted, warrant a brief notice of it,
especially since it has long been out of use. It takes its name from
Joseph Lancaster, of England, who adopted it from a system of one
Dr. Bell. The latter got his idea from the natives of India. Lan-
caster pushed the system vigorously in his own country, where it
became very popular with the laboring classes. In the early part
of the century, Lancaster came to this country and introduced his
system here and in Canada. It was received with much favor, and
the reputation of its success doubtless induced the trustees to give
it a trial. But it seems to have had a brief career. The main
features of the system were the employment of the older scholars
as monitors, and an elaborate system of mechanical drill by means
of which these young teachers were made to impart the rudiments of
reading, writing and arithmetic to large numbers at the same time.
One of our older residents tells me that a feature of the system in
spelling was to put stress upon each letter of a word and add to it
by a marked gesture of the forefinger as each letter was named.
Lancaster died in New York in 1838, from the effects of an accident.
On the twelfth of January, 1813, a new Board of Trustees was
elected in which appear the names of E. H. Throop and Horae
Hills, and two only of the original trustees, Elijah Miller and DavidCity of Auburn
153
Homer are retained. Whether this should be construed as indica-
ting a change of policy, I have no means of determining. It would
seem, however, that Mr. J. Foote, “a regular graduate of that
ancient seminary of Connecticut, Yale College,” did not prove a
success; at least he did not continue throughout the year for which
he was employed. In March, 1813, the trustees advertised as
follows:
The Western Federalist, Wednesday, March io, 1819.
Auburn Lancastrian School will commence Monday, the 15 th inst. in the
upper room or hall of the academy prepared for the above, under the direction of
Mr. Anson Munn, who has produced satisfactory credentials to the trustees of his
competency. Those wishing to send or attend, will apply to Mr. Munn, at the
Lancastrian Hall, who is authorized to receive scholars from the above date at the
following price, viz.:
dollars cents
For A, B and C Monosyllable at.............................1	00 per quarter
Trisyllable with the use of slates and pencils -	-	-	150
Reading and Writing -	-	-	-	-	-	2	00
Reading, Writing and Arithmetic -	-	-	-	2	50
As Mr. Munn with the assistance of the trustees furnishes all necessaries in the
school-room, any damages by the scholars must be paid one day after the same
are assest.
Mr. E. Dutton continues teaching the higher branches, as also the lower in the
usual or common mode at former prices. (See rules and regulations of the Auburn
Lancastrian and Academical schools.) A deduction of twenty-five per cent, per
annum on Mr. Dutton’s bills will be allowed (to stockholders only) on their prompt
payment three days after the presenting such bills. Each share to represent a
scholar.
D. Horner, Sec’y.
Auburn, March 8, 1813.
Mr. E. Dutton is doubtless the same gentleman who was con-
ducting a private school in the village at the time the academy was
opened. The patrons of the school seem to have been dilatory in
the payment of tuition and are sharply reminded of it in the follow-
ing notice in the Western Federalist, Wednesday, February 17, 1813.
Notice:	All persons indebted to the trustees of the Auburn School Association
for tuition, are hereby notified that Reuben Porter is authorized to receive payment.
And that all accounts remaining unpaid after the first of March next will be put in
suit.
John H. Cumpston, Sec’y.
Auburn, 15, 1813.154
History of Gayuga County
The slender record upon which I have thus far mainly relied
for the facts which I have presented here fails me. The years 1814-
1815 and 1816 are a blank except as tradition comes to the rescue.
I find by the records at Albany, that the Auburn Academy was
incorporated by the Regents of the University, February 14, 1815.
How long Mr. Dutton conducted the school I am unable to ascertain.
Mr. Hall’s history records that:	“In 1816, the wind, entering a
broken window, carried coals from a fireplace out into one of the
rooms and the building was burned to the ground.” This was
doubtless in the winter or spring of 1816.
Noble D. Strong was principal when the building was burned.
July 30, 1816, Mr. Strong publishes a card, thanking those who
have intrusted him with the instruction of their youth since the
destruction of the academy, as their patronage has partially atoned
for his loss in the conflagration. He requests his patrons to pay
up by August 3rd, as he intends to leave town on the fifth. It
seems however, that Mr. Strong was retained as principal, for a
later notice is to the effect that “Noble D. Strong, being again
engaged as principal of the Academy, will open a school on the first
day of October, 1816, in Mr. Van Anden’s brick building a few rods
west of the Turnpike bridge.” This was the store next east of the
present Cayuga County Bank building.
February 18 and 19, 1817, the semi-annual examination of the
Auburn Academy is advertised to be held at the Court House,
Noble D. Strong, preceptor.
On the fifteenth day of September, 1817, William Bostwick,
David Higgins and Hackliah Burt convey to the trustees of the
Auburn Academy the lands conveyed to them in trust by Robert
Dill the thirty-first of January, 1811.
I find no mention of the academy for some time, except a notice
dated March 4, 1818 for a meeting of the trustees on the eleventh
with reference to a further endowment. A similar notice dated
April 26th, calls for a meeting May 8th. Nothing seems to haveCity of Auburn
155
resulted from these meetings and the school seems to have been
discontinued. In the interim private schools flourished. Noble
D. Strong advertises to open a select school on the fifth of May,
1817, limited to sixteen scholars, location not given, and April 8,
1817, he advertises to continue his select school under the name of
the ‘ ‘Auburn Latin School. ” C. TenEyck opens a school November
3, 1817, in the building west of C. Coe's hotel. Wm. M. Colton
announces that he will open a school February 2,1818, in the school-
room recently occupied by Mr. Howard “in a yellow building a few
rods south of the Presbyterian meeting house.” This building
stood at the junction of Fanklin and Market streets on the site of
the present City Hall.
November 5, 1819, E. Howard advertises that he has “opened
his school as formerly on the academy green, having obtained
permission from the trustees; scholars will be received who do not
belong to the association.” It might be inferred from this that
heretofore the privileges of the school had been limited to mem-
bers of the association.
In the Cayuga Republican of February 27, 1822, the following
editorial appears:
“We most sincerely congratulate the citizens of the village and
the county adjacent, that there is apparently a spirit awakened
among us to do something to revive the academic institution in this
place. The concerns of this institution have been too long neglected
and we hope the time is not far distant, when we shall behold it
arise from ruins and under brighter auspices than ever before become
a highly ornamental and useful establishment. And, as the subject
is agitated, we hope something effectual will be accomplished. By
notice in this paper, it will be seen a meeting of citizens is requested
on the subject, at Coe’s hotel, on the seventh of March next.”
In the same issue, D. Homer, secretary, calls a meeting of the
trustees at Coe’s hotel on Thursday, March 7th, at six o’clock P. M.,
and Jos. T. Pitney, D. Brinkerhoff and Ezekiel Williams call a156
History of Cayuga County
meeting of the inhabitants of the village of Auburn and its vicinity,
at the same time and place, “for the purpose of conferring with the
trustees of the Auburn Academy, in relation to the affairs of said
institution and for devising ways and means for the rebuilding of
said academy. ”
I find no report of the proceedings of this conference, but it
evidently resulted in some decisive action, as would appear from
the following notice:
AUBURN ACADEMY.
This institution, the operations of which have been suspended for several years
on account of the loss of the building by fire, will again be opened on the 23rd
of October inst.
The circumstances under which it is to recommence, are such as to promise
special advantages to the youth who may resort to it for instruction.
Mr. N. D. Strong, A. M., formerly preceptor of this institution and late of the
Cortland Academy, is elected principal. As a scholar and a successful instructor,
Mr. Strong is too well known to need our commendation. His literary attain-
ments, his experience in the business of instructing and his talent for government
entitle him to our highest confidence; and we doubt not but under his management
and superintendence the institution will soon attain a standing among the first
in the country for celebrity and usefulness.
Tuition at $3.00 to $4.00.
Board can be had as low as at any academy in the state.
For admission and board apply to Mr. Strong.
John H. Beach,
Horace Hills,
Joseph T. Pitney,
Auburn, October 15, 1822.	Executive Com.
The school seems to have been continued * for Mr. Strong adver-
tises an examination of the students of the academy, Thursday
and Friday, Febiuary 19 and 20, 1824. It would appear that some
disagreement arose about this time.
Mr. Horner as secretary, calls a meeting of the trustees at Gris-
wold’s hotel for May 14, 1824 at 3 :oo P. M,, “on business of import-
ance to the institution.” This meeting was successively adjourned
to June 3rd, June 26th, July 31st and August 5th. If anything
came of these repeated meetings or possible failures to meet, the
chronicler of the times neglected to make it public. The citizensCity of Auburn
157
seems to have become impatient at the delay of the academy
trustees. The Cayuga Republican of October 20, 1824, contains
the following:
AUBURN ASSOCIATE ACADEMY.
The inhabitants of the village of Auburn, sensible of the importance of estab-
lishing and maintaining in the center of the county a literary establishment,
founded on the basis of morals and religion, and conducted on correct and liberal
principles, have associated themselves together for that purpose.
On the 30th of September last they adopted a constitution, and chose the
following gentlemen trustees of the academy, to wit:	John H. Beach, Elezar (sic)
Hills, Horace Hills, Samuel Cumpston, John H. Hardenbergh, James S. Seymour
and William Brown.
The board of trustees have appointed the Rev. Noble D. Strong principal of said
academy. They are happy to state their entire confidence in his qualifications for
the office; and they trust they have made such arrangements as to protect and
secure, as far as is possible, the morals of the youth intrusted to their care. For
this purpose they have appointed the following gentlemen a visiting and examining
committee, to wit:
Rev. James Richards, D.D., Rev. Professor Henry Mills, Rev. D. C. Lansing,
Rev. C. P. Wyckoff, Conrad TenEyck and Ebenezer Hoskins Esquires.
The first term commences on the 20th of October, instant. Terms of tuition
$3 and $4 per quarter.
Board can be obtained in good families on very reasonable terms.
By order of the board of trustees,
M. L. R. Perrine, Pres’t.,
Samuel Cumpston, Sec’y.
Auburn, October 18, 1824.
This notice is repeated in the issue of November 24, 1824, with
the following addition:
N. B. The school is taught in the building of the Theological seminary, where
Mr. Strong has been teaching for two past years.
We certify that we have for some time been acquainted with the Rev. N. D.
Strong, and. believe him to be highly qualified for the business of instruction and
cheerfully recommend him to the patronage 2f the public.
James Richards,
D. C. Lansing,
Henry Mills.
Auburn, November 17, 1824.
Through the courtesy of Mr. James Seymour Jr., I have been
given access to some papers left by the late James S. Seymour,
among which I find a subscription list, dated November 12, 1824,
signed by John H. Beach and others, reading:158
History of Cayuga County
“We whose names are hereunto subscribed promise to pay the
amount by us subscribed to the trustees of the Auburn Associate
Academy for the purpose of enabling them to furnish the room now
occupied by their teacher with stoves, tables and benches, etc.”
And another dated January 2,1826, reading:
“We the subscribers agree to pay the amount by us subscribed
respectively to James S. Seymour, treasurer of the “Auburn
Associate Academy” for the purpose of defraying the contingent
expenses of said society.”
The amount subscribed on the first paper was $30, all of which
is marked “paid.” The second subscription amounted to $59, of
which $57 seems to have been collected. Mr. Seymour as treasurer
methodically accounts for the $87. The chief items of expense were
$15 to Orson Bennett for stove pipe. Isaac A. Selover, $16.56 for
fitting up academy room. J. T. Pitney for rent in 1826, $30, and
the balance went to Horace Hills for four months’ use of large
stove $3, and other items.
The school seems to have been conducted in the Theological
Seminary building in 1824, and in Dr. Pitney’s rooms from November
7, 1825 to May 7, 1826, and was probably discontinued when the
academy was rebuilt.
In the same issue which contains the announcement of the
“Associate Academy” appears the following notice:
AUBURN ACADEMY.
The trustees of the Auburn Academy announce to the public that their school
which has been taught for two years past by the Rev. Noble D. Strong is removed
from the Theological seminary, and will be opened on Monday the 22d inst. at
their academy rooms, situated on the west side of North street, opposite the
dwelling house of Mr. E. Williams. Their school will be placed under the immediate
care and superintendence of Mr. John A. Savage, A.B., late principal of the academy
at Delhi, in the county of Delaware. From the well established reputation of Mr.
Savage as a preceptor, the trustees entertain the highest confidence that perfect
satisfaction will be given to all who may place their children under his tuition.
Terms of tuition $3 for English and $4 for Classical students. Boarding at aCity of Auburn
159
moderate price may be secured in respectable families, for scholars coming from a
distance. Application for admission to be made to the trustees or preceptor.
By order of the board,
Auburn, November 16, 1824.	D. Horner, Sec’y.
The foregoing notice is republished, April 4, 1825, with the
addition to the effect that “the Principal has employed a gentleman
well skilled in the art of penmanship, who will attend statedly at the
academy room. The price of tuition will not be increased in
consequence of this arrangement.’’ The “academy rooms” were
doubtless in the building on the “academy green,” referred to by
Mr. E. Howard in 1819, a wooden building situated on the north
side of Academy street where the old “Stone Bottom” subsequently
stood.
Whether the organization of the Associate Academy was a
result of a disagreement, between the trustees of the academy or Mr.
Strong or other cause I have been unable to learn. Mr. Strong, who
had for many years been identified with the interests of the academy,
does not appear to have renewed his connection with it. He, how-
ever continued to teach in Auburn, as I find a notice May 3, 1826,
that the summer term of the Associate Academy will commence
May 15, at the academical rooms opposite E. Hill’s store—N. D.
Strong, principal, and one of November, 1827, of Mr. Strong’s
“Select School.” Meantime the trustees of the academy advertise
September 16, 1825, that the academy will be opened under the
superintendence of Rev. Bennes Glover as preceptor, October 2nd,
at their academy rooms near the Presbyterian church. This was the
building before mentioned as standing on the site of the present
City Hall. This notice was continued until October 26, when the
trustees announce that “the academy has been opened under the
superintendence of the Rev. John A. Savage as preceptor” in the
rooms above specified.
On the twenty-fourth of April, 1826, the trustees announce that
the academy will be opened May 1, “under the superintendence of
Mr. Ballard as preceptor,” in the same rooms.160
History of Cayuga County
Two months later, on the fourteenth of June, 1.826, John C.
Rudd, announces that ‘'the subscriber, having been appointed
principal of this institution, may be expected to enter upon the
discharge of his duties about the fifteenth of July. As soon as
practicable after his settlement in Auburn he will present to the
public a plan of the school he proposes to superintend with an out-
line of the studies to be attended to. In the meantime, he deems
it respectful to offer some evidence of his fitness for the charge he has
undertaken. As soon as it can be done, he will make arrangements
for the establishment of a female school. John C. Rudd. ”
Here follow a half dozen testimonials, of which the following
is most interesting:	From Major-General Winfield Scott, of the
United States Army:
“Eliz. Town, June, 1826. With Dr. Rudd, who proposes to
take charge of the Auburn Academy, I have had the pleasure of an
acquaintance of many years, during which he has taught a classical
school at the parsonage house in this place. His zeal and abilities
as an instructor, together with his attention to the morals and
manners of his scholars, have been warmly commended by all who
have visited his school. This humble testimony to his merits I
have frequently given to friends in distant parts of the Union. It
is now cheerfully offered to the public.
Winfield Scott.”
Following the testimonials is a note from Doctor Rudd to the
effect that “For further information reference may be had to Mr.
Edward Ballard, now attached to the academy.” It would seem
that Mr. Ballard had been “attached” to the academy simply to
keep it in existence till Doctor Rudd could take charge. It ap-
pears from Mr. Hall’s history of Auburn that Reverend Doctor
Rudd was rector of St. Peter’s church in this city from December,
1826, to September, 1833, so that here in Elizabeth Town he was
acting in the double capacity of rector and teacher.B. B. SnowCity of Auburn
161
On the eighth of August, 1825, Dr. Rudd advertises:
“School for Young Ladies—An apartment in the Auburn
Academy is now devoted to a female school. The various branches
of education usually taught in such schools will be attended to by
the principal, assisted by a lady who has had experience in teach-
ing, John C. Rudd, principal. ”
On the twenty-eighth of March, 1827, Doctor Rudd announces
that “The semi-annual examination of the students in the Auburn
Academy will commence on Monday next, April 2, at ten o’clock
A. M., and be continued daily through the week. Trustees, parents,
and friends are invited to attend. ’ ’
Evidently the trustees had been bestirring themselves, for near
the close of this year a new academy building was completed.
Whether it was the popularity of the school under Dr. Rudd’s ad-
ministration, or the danger that the site would revert to the Dill
estate, if the terms of the original gift were not complied with, does
not appear, but doubtless one or both of these causes had much
to do in securing the new building. It would seem that some
arrangement had been made with the heirs of Mr. Dill by which
some funds were realised from the sales of portions of the original
lot. I find deeds of about this date, from the trustees to various
parties of lots on North, Chapel and Garden streets, parts of the
original grant, from which they realized nearly $2,500, which sum
doubtless went into the building fund. These sales reduced the
size of the lot to what it was when it passed into the hands of the
Board of Education in 1866.
In the Cayuga Republican of November 7,1827, a notice is pub-
lished to the effect that “The new building erected by the trustees of
this institution not being completed the schools are reopened in
the old building for the present. ”
“To accommodate those who wish to patronize the female school
attached to the academy, two teachers are provided. Miss Ray
opens her school in the north room of the building and Miss Haines
11162
History of Cayuga County
commences her's at the corner of the Episcopal church yard. -The
principal of the academy will bestow an equal portion of his time
daily upon each of the schools, as well as upon the other departments
of the institution. ”
On the twenty-eighth of November the following notice is pub-
lished :
AUBURN ACADEMY.
The new building erected by the trustees of this institution is now so far com-
pleted as to permit the schools to commence there on Monday, December 3rd. No
efforts will be spared by the principal to make this institution worthy of the public
patronage, and to secure to those who become members of it an honorable and
gratifying improvement in Literature and Science. The various departments will
be provided with competent teachers. Besides ample provision for a common
English school, there will be a separate department for the Latin and Greek Lan-
guages. As soon as a sufficient number of scholars present themselves a destinct
department will be formed for methematical studies and a thorough course for the
more advanced students in Arithmetic. Early measures will be taken to secure
instruction in Chemistry and Natural Philosophy, with apparatus for lectures and
experiments in a room to be fitted up for the purpose. There will be arrangements
made as early as practicable for the establishment of female schools upon the most
advantageous plan, under suitable teachers. Temporary apartments are provided
for these schools until the rooms designed for them are completed. In addition to
the general inspection and superintendence of the school the subscriber will devote
a portion of his daily attention to the examination of classes from the different de-
partments, in his own room, where he intends to adapt his instructions to general
improvement and with a particular view to the aid of young persons, of both sexes,
in the necessary qualifications for teaching common and district schools.
Auburn, November 28, 1827.	John C. Rudd, Principal.
Doctor Rudd was a fluent advertiser but his English was not
quite up to the standard of the present day for men in the station
he occupied.
In the same issue is a notice of Mr. Noble D. Strong's select
school, which is interesting as giving a list of the text-books used
in such schools. They are:	“Goodrich's & Morse's Geography;
Dabol's & N. Pike's Arithmetics; Murray's or Kirkham's English
Grammar; Adams' Latin and the Gloucester or the Valpey's Greek
Grammar; Hardy's Corderi, and Viri Romae; Historia Sacra; Caesar;
Cicero (Orations and De Oratore); Livy; Horace; Salust (sic) and
Ticitus; Greek Testament; Minora; Majora, Xonophon and Homer;City of Auburn
163
Playfair’s Euclid; Gummere’s Surveying; Day’s Algebra; Simon’s
Conick Sections; Bowditch Navigation; Ferguson’s Astronomy;
Enfield’s Nat. Philosophy; Tyler’s History; Blair’s or Jamieson’s
Rhetorick, Pailey’s Nat. Theology; Evidences of Christianity and
Moral Philosophy; Hedge’s or Jamieson’s Logick; and Stewart’s
Metaphysicks. Reading, Writing, Spelling, Speaking, Composition
and Bookkeeping will be attended to. ”
This is a somewhat formidable course for a secondary school,
more even that that proposed by the modem “committee of ten.”
The school being installed in its new quarters, continued under
the principalship of Doctor Rudd until 1830, when a notice dated
May 25, announces that the school has opened under the superin-
tendence of Doctor Taylor. This was the venerable Doctor Oliver
S. Taylor, who died in this city in 1885, in the 101st year of his
age. Doctor Taylor seems to have continued with the school
until 1832. In 1831 Doctor Rudd seems also to have been
connected with it.
In April, 1832, the trustees published the following notice:
AUBURN ACADEMY.
The trustees of this institution have the satisfaction of informing the public
that they have placed it under the care of Allen Fisk, Esq., late of Troy, as principal,
who will enter upon his duties on the first day of May next when the several depart-
ments of the academy will open for the reception of students. The various branches
of literature and science taught in such institutions will receive the due proportions
of attention (sic.) To the study of Latin and Greek classics a conspicuous place
will be assigned; and the course pursued as extensive and thorough as that of any
similar school in the state. Instruction will also be given in the French and Spanish
languages, some knowledge of which the increasing demands of commercial inter-
course render essential to a finished education. The mathematics, especially in so
far as connected with surveying, engineering and other departments particularly
interesting, at the present day, in this part of the country, will not be neglected.
Lectures on Geology, Chemistry, etc., will be given whenever the exigencies of the
academy require. Particular care will be bestowed upon the preparation of young
persons, whether male or female, who may wish to qualify themselves to become
teachers. All the departments, English, Classical and Female will be under the
immediate direction of the principal and established in strict conformity with the
regulations of the Regents of the University. The well tried reputation of Mr. Fisk
as a gentleman and a scholar, his long experience and success as a teacher, connected
with the fact that his attention will be devoted to the institution as an instructor by164	History of Cayuga County
profession.igive the trustees great confidence in recommending the Auburn Academy
to the patronage of the public generally, and the inhabitants of this village in par-
ticular. Terms of tuition from three to five dollars per quarter.
By order of the board,
J. M. Sherwood, Pres’t.,
Horace Hills, Sec’y.
Mr. Fisk continued with the school until 1836 when he was
succeeded by William Hopkins.
The following editorial from the Cayuga Patriot of May, 1833, is
interesting as giving some idea of the methods of the school and the
esteem in which it was held:
AUBURN ACADEMY.
“A public examination of the pupils in the English and Classical
departments of this institution was held at the academy on Friday
last. The performances were highly creditable both to the teachers
and the pupils. In fact no less was expected by those who have
noticed the improved appearance of the Auburn Academy the past
year,—the wholesome discipline, correct views and unremitted
attention, observable in this institution since it has been in the
charge of its present enlightened principal. It is with great pleas-
ure that we feel warranted in asserting that the prospects of this
academy were never better—its conditions never more sound, or
more worthy of public confidence; for never before has it been so
directly and constantly under the eye of its chief executive officer.
The principal, Mr. Fisk—who has the reputation of being very
domestic—resides with his family in the academy building. The
advantages of thus making the school the home of its guardian, and
throwing around it the sanctity of the family character, will be
obvious at once to those who understand the influence of these
circumstances, both upon the teacher and the learner. The former
becomes doubly interested in keeping the moral atmosphere of the
institution pure and wholesome; and the latter is awed by the recol-
lection that he is, for the time being, a member of his teacher’s
family, and consequently treading upon consecrated ground.City of Auburn
165
“But to return to the examination. There were two classes in
Virgil, one in Caesar, two in Latin Reader, two in French, one in
Greek, one in Algebra, one in Natural Philosophy and two in His-
tory, besides those in t he more common branches. The skill and
promptness displayed in the classics and in the higher English
departments, deserve much commendation. Several pieces of
original Composition were read, that would do no discredit to more
advanced authors. The declamations also, were listened to with
evident satisfaction; and if discrimination were not invidious, those
of Masters Harris, Hulbert, Sherwood, Richardson, Hills and Miller
might be mentioned as ev ncing much promise But what appears
to us as particularly deserving attention in this school is its classifica-
tion and, so to speak its internal policy, exhibited on the merit roll.
As this system has not, we believe, been generally introduced into
schools in this vicinity, a brief explanation may be acceptable to
some of our readers. The school is divided into classes, according
to the ages and requirements of the pupils. These classes are
successively called on to recite, and at the close of the recitation, the
numbers are marked, in the daily record, No. i, 2, 3, etc., according
as they happened to stand. At the next recitation, No. 1 passes to
the foot of the class, and No. 2 takes the head, thus all if they get
their lessons perfectly, will successively obtain the mark of No. 1; if
any fail, the more studious will take advantage of that failure. At
the close of the term, the result of these daily records are brought
together and from what is called the merit roll, where the members
of each class take rank according to the number of primes affixed to
their names respectively. This roll also exhibits another daily
record, that of the attendance and conduct of every pupil; and as
this roll is submitted to the inspection of the trustees of the school
and the parents of the scholars, at the examination, we think a
better method could hardly be devised, either to encourage the good
or to awe and restrain the bad. Every one can see who has been166
History of Cayuga County
punctual in attendance, regular in conduct, and diligent in study.”
—Cayuga Republican, May 15,1833.
Mr. Hopkins continued as principal of the school until March 27,
1854, when he resigned and Mr. J. H. Kellom was at the head of the
school for the month following. May 22, 1854, Edwin Pierce was
chosen principal but declined. June 5, 1854, J. T. Carey was
chosen principal, and conducted the school till March 20, 1856, when
he resigned and Rufus Sheldon succeeded April 3rd. George W.
Lawton succeeded Mr. Sheldon, May 18, 1856. Mr. Lawton re-
signed July 15,1861 and his brother Charles D. Lawton succeeded to
the crown; the latter conducted the school till April 5, 1864, when
he resigned. In the fall of 1864, Charles W. Bowen was chosen
principal, and conducted the school until the spring of 1866 when it
closed to be succeeded by the High School the January following.
I pass over the long and bitter controversy which preceded the
transfer of the academy property to the Board of Education, on the
sixth of April, 1869, as it is a matter of record elsewhere. There
are, however, some facts pertinent to this record, which I have
gathered from sources other than the newspapers files, which may be
added as they throw some light upon the internal economy of the
school.
With the exception of the decade between 1839 and 1849 when
the Auburn Female Seminary was in existence, both boys and girls
seem to have attended the school whenever there was accommoda-
tion for both. The boys usually predominated in numbers.
A published list of the pupils of the school in 1823, gives a total
of 130 names, of which thirty-seven were “misses” and ninety-three
were “masters.” Seven of the “misses” and thirty-three of the
“masters” were classical scholars. Among the familiar names are
Eliza Homer, Huldah Paine, Mary Pitney, John C. Beach, Dudley
Everts, Blanchard Fosgate, Charles J. Hulbert, Enos T. T. Martin,
John Patty and Warren Worden. Mr. Noble D. Strong, A. M., was
principal.City of Auburn
167
The number of pupils attending the school from time to time
varied from about one hundred to one hundred and fifty. In the
report of the school for the year 1854, the principal gives the total
attendance for the year at two hundred and seventy-six, of whom
one hundred and forty-nine were in attendance on the thirty-first
day of December of that year.
The receipts for tuition were $1,425.43. The rates for tuition
per quarter were:	For common English, $3.50; for higher English,
$4; for ancient languages, $6; for modem languages (extra), $3.
There were three terms of fifteen weeks each at this time, making
forty-five weeks of school. But this was reduced to forty-four
weeks the following year.
The academy was always mainly dependent upon the receipts
for tuition to pay current expenses. A small sum was received
annually from the literary fund of the Regents, which in later years
was swelled by a contribution from the State, for the instruction of a
class of common school teachers. Usually the principal took the
entire income, less expenses for necessary repairs, and paid his own
assistants. The academy had to compete with private schools of
which there were a number and some of which offered advantages
little if any, inferior to those of the academy itself.
At length, after the passage of the Free School Act, and the
“Act to Regulate Free Schools in the City of Auburn,’’ passed in
1850 a marked interest was developed in the district schools of the
city. Heretofore these schools had been little if any better than
the rural district schools of the period. But a new impulse was
given to them by the Free School Act. Mr. Lewis Paddock was
principal of the present Fulton street school, then known as No. 1
or the “Bell School House. ” Mr. Levi Johnson had left the academy
where he had been for many years assistant under Professor Hop-
kins, and was in charge of the Genesee street school, then known as
No. 2. Mr. Charles P. Williams was principal of the North street
school, then known as No. 4, and Mr. John S. Bristol was principal168
History of Cayuga County
of the present Seymour street school, then No. 5. With the excep-
tion of Mr. Johnson, these gentlemen had all been educated at the
academy, and all were excellent teachers. The high standing which
their schools attained drew to them a large proportion of the chil-
dren pursuing elementary studies. And facilities were also therein
afforded for the study of Algebra and Natural Philosophy, usually
classed as advanced studies.
The steady increase in popularity of the public schools told
heavily upon the attendance of the academy, and it was simply a
question of time when it should succumb. The venerable and con-
servative element in the Board of Trustees rallied to the support of
the old organization, and yielded only when overpowered by num-
bers. A younger generation imbued with the progressive spirit
of the age was unyielding in its determination to keep pace with the
advance column, and at length the academy, as such, ceased to
exist. Its fellow institutions throughout the state, with rare excep-
tions, so far as I know, sooner or later met a similar fate.
From 1867 to 1888, the old academy building, erected in 1827,
was used for the High School; since 1888 it has been the Grammar
School.
The new High School'was first organized in 1866, in No. 4,
North street school, with Warren Higley as principal, and a registra-
tion of seventy-three pupils. It was moved into the academy
building in January, 1867.
The present High School building was first occupied in 1888, with
W. P. Thomson as principal and a registration of three hundred and
fifty-eight. The enrolment the opening week of 1906 was four
hundred and fifty-six.
The first class to graduate after the High School was organized
consisted of two members; Arthur S. Hoyt and James P. Hall. In
1906 the graduating class numbered fifty.
The number of teachers in 1868 was four ; in 1906 it had increasedCity op Auburn
169
to fifteen; and the growth of departments has been commensurate
with the increase in teachers.
Following is a list of the teachers in the High School since 1866.
TEACHERS IN THE AUBURN ACADEMIC
HIGH SCHOOL. 1866-1906.
Warren Higley, Principal	-
Sarah E. Sedgwick	-
H. S. Bamum -	.....
Henry A. Duboc ------
*R. W. McIntosh ------
♦Ursula L. Sittser ------
♦Grosvenor Hopkins	-
♦John E. Myer, Principal	-
*E. A. Charlton, Principal -
Rev. Richard S. Holmes	-
♦George W. Elliott	-	-
♦Helen W. Porter	...................
Iva P. Pomroy -........................
H. Clara Post	-	-
♦Annis D. Kenney ------
S. Belle Sherwood ------
♦Charles R. Williams, Principal -
Sophia S. Storke ------
Mary A. Hemingway -----
Julia C. Ferris ------
I. Adele Smith	-	-	-
Mary E. Stevenson	-
Byron Wells, Principal
♦Ella L. Richardson	-	-	-
Professor Frank Goodrich
E. T. Tomlinson, Principal	-
Hattie L. Cole
1866-7
1866-7
1866—7
1866—7
1866-7
1866-7
1866-	7
1867-	8
1868-	9
1868—9
1870-	1
1871-	2
1872-	3
1873-	4
1874-	5
1877-	8
1878-	9
1878-9
1878-9
1878-9
1878-9
1878-	9
1879—	80
1879—	80
1880—	1
1881—	2
1881-2170
History of Cayuga County
Elizabeth M. Alexander ------	1881-2
M. Franc Burhans	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1881-2
Harry O. Jones -	-	-	-	-	-	1882-3
H. Clyde Johnson -------	1882-3
M. Ernestine Lawrence ------	1882-3
*George R. Cutting, Principal -----	1883-4
Warrington Somers ------	1883-4
Carrie F. Barnes	-	-	-	-	-	-	1883-4
Elizabeth L. Lamey -	1884-5
Katharine Keeler -------	1884-5
Frank Strong	-------	1885-6
Hattie A. Nortdwn -------	1885-6
Emma M. Cowles -------	1885-6
William P. Thomson ------	1886-7
Otis Strong ---------	1886-7
Florence Smith -	-	-	-	-	-	1886-7
Julia Robinson -------	1886-7
Elias L. Elliott -------	1887-8
Carrie F. Spencer -------	1887-8
Cora C. Staples -----	_	-	1888-9
*Charlotte Westcott -------	1888-9
*Helen Anderson	-	-	-	-	-	-	1889-90
Ellen L. Clothier	-	-	-	-	-	-	-	1889-90
George M. Turner -------	1889-90
Alice M. Clark -------	-	1889-90
Nellie S. Rulison -------	1889-90
Lena F. Brown	-	-	-	-	-	-	1891-2
Robert L. Slagle -------	1892-3
Gertrude A. Reimann ------	1892-3
Harriet A. Fritts -------	1892-3
Mary S. Trowbridge ------	1892-3
Robert K. Duncan	-	-	-	-	-	1893-4
Frances H. Manny	-	-	-	-	-	1893-4City of Auburn
171
Helen H. Cowing
W. A. Deering	-
George W. Latham
Frances Metcalf	-
May E. Loveless	- -	-
Floyd J. Bartlett, Principal
Florence Seely	-
Sophia Voorhees	- -	-
Carlton J. Lynde	-
J. Isabelle Ives
S. Claire Norton	-
Emma F. Young	-
Andrew R. Warner
John B. MacHarg	-
May W. Jewett	-
Ida M. Hemans	-
Mary E MacCauley
Helen K. Bandler	-
Edgar S. Mosher	-
Jessie T. Ray	-
Edith Reimann
Bert E. Lee
Estelles G. Robinson
Ribert P. Sibley
M. Louise Slee
Edward M. Roeder
Charles G. Burd
Mary Whitson
♦Deceased.
-	-	1894-5
1894-5
1894-5
1894-5
1894-	5
1895-	6
1895-6
1895-	6
-	-	-	1895-6
1896-	7
1896-	7
1897-	8
-	1899-1900
1900-	OI
1901-	02
190T-02
-	1901-02
1902-	03
1902-03
1902-03
1902-	03
1903-	04
1903-04
1903-04
1903-	04
1904-	05
1904-05
1904-05
The vocational studies which are gradually being added to the
regular work of the schools, will cause a startling comparison to be
formed between “what once was, and what now is. ”
Pedagogy and Psychology have routed from their exclusive172
History of Cayuga County
strongholds “The three R’s” and the “Greek and Latin” of the
early days, and have left a horde of barbarians to rush in and
struggle for the supremacy. Forge, hammer, lathe, sewing-machine
and dishpan, now mingle their dissonant sounds, with the cadence
of the “loftiest measure ever moulded by the lips of man. ”
“O tempora, O mores!” exclaim those who have watched
the setting sun.
The old regime will ever be revered for the great development
of culture and scholarship which it fostered, but its exclusive sway
was certainly detrimental in preparing students for the conditions
and modes of living and business which the last quarter of a century
has produced.
A finer class of students and of men will never be produced, than
those of the old academy days, but just as fine and far better
equipped to meet the requirements of the present and future, the
High School is sending forth yearly.
The new addition which is soon to be erected, will enable the
High School to extend its usefulness to a degree that cannot but
give great satisfaction to its loyal alumni, and to the City of Auburn.
On the night of January 17, 1903, a fire which started on the
south side of Garden street crossed over and attacked the High
School building. The roof and the assembly room were completely
destroyed and the lower floors also suffered damage, but the records,
pictures, library and school apparatus were saved.
A unique and admirable custom of the school is that each year
the graduating class donates a class window. Those in existence
at the time were destroyed by the fire of 1903, but were replaced
by the Board of Education.
The Auburn Academic High School ranks with the best in the
state and the citizens are justly proud of the institution.
The following table shows the schools in Auburn, their location
and number of teachers engaged, with number of pupils attending
same (1908).City of Auburn
173
School					No. OF Teachers	No. OF Pupils
High School	-	- -	_ -■	_	IS	473
Central Grammar School	-	-	-	-	6	208
Fulton Street School -	-	-	-	-	19	586
James Street School -	-	-	-	. -	13	378
North Street School -	-	-	-	-	IO	255
Seymour Street School	-	- /	-	-	IO	235
Grover Street School	-	-	-	-	11	3 °°
Franklin Street School	-	-	-	-	9	258
Division Street School	-	-	-	-	IO	242
Madison Avenue School	-	-	-	-	6	168
South Street School	-	-	-	-	7	158
Evans Street School	-	-	-	-	5	159
Genesee Street School	-	-	-	-	- 6	142
Bradford Street School	-	-	-	-	. 6	132
* Orphan Asylum School	-	-	-	-	2	51
Manual Training	-	-	-	-	5	
^Ungraded School	-	-	-	-	1	13
j Training School	-	-	-	-	1	IO
Music . - -	-	-	-	-	1	
Drawing	-	-	-	-	1	
Penmanship	-	-	-	-	1	
§ Evening School	-	-	-	-	11	179
Total	-	_	_	-	- 156	3.947
^School in Cayuga County Orphan Asylum Building
fSchool in Fulton Street School Building.
XTraining School in James Street School Building.
\Evening School in Central Grammar School Building.
Note—Fourteen Public School Buildings.174
History of Cayuga County
CHAPTER XII.
THE AUBURN THEOLOGICAL SEMINARY.
BY PROFESSOR WILLIS J. BEECHER D. D.
At the close of the War of the American Revolution, Onondaga
County and the parts of New York further west were mostly
unbroken wilderness. But the influx of population was rapid.
According to Hotchkin’s History of Western New York the popula-
tion was about 63,000 in 1800, about 220,000 in 1810, about 507,000
in 1820. A differential characteristic of this immigration was that
it was mainly of American people. The English, French, Dutch,
Scottish and German elements in it came not directly from the
home countries, but from New England and Eastern New York and
Pennsylvania and New Jersey. They had already become mingled
in blood, and modified by their New World surroundings. They
came in small groups, and settled mostly on the farms.
As the churches multiplied, the question of the means for train-
ing ministers to serve them came to the front. In 1809 the General
Assembly of the Presbyterian church sent down to its presbyteries
the question whether one theological seminary should be established
for the entire church, or one seminary for the North and another for
the South, or a seminary for each of several great regions The
New York presbyteries west of the Hudson voted for more semin-
aries than one. They recognized the fact that a single large plant
has some advantages, but it seemed to them that the advantages of
the other plan were greater. They feared that if all the students
from the interior went to some place on the Atlantic coast to study,
they would not return in sufficient numbers to serve the inland
churches They held that a seminary ought to be a center of lightWILLIS J.BEECHER.D-D.City of Auburn
175
in the region where it was located, and that it would be unwise to
place all the light in one region, leaving the rest of the country in
darkness. Further, they saw that if there were but one seminary
for the whole church, that seminary must needs stand for some one
type of orthodoxy, while it seemed to them desirable that the
church be hospitable to more types than one. They claimed to be
as strictly orthodox as their forbears from New England or Scotland
or Holland, but they thought that the church ought to be more
broadly inclusive than any one of these types.
There was then a certain idea of church unification in the air,
and these peculiarly Americanized immigrants had come into
peculiar relations with this idea. For a good while the Presbyterian
General Assembly had been exchanging delegations with the Con-
gregational bodies of New England. The two churches were study-
ing the art of co-operation, and were not averse to the idea of ulti-
mate consolidation. In those years began the great inter-denom-
inational organizations, such as the American Bible Society, the
Board of Commissioners for Foreign Missions, the American Tract
Society, the American Sunday School Union, the national temper-
ance organizations. Facts like these indicate the spirit of the time.
The most unique of the movements of this kind began when the
Middle Association of Congregational churches, covering the region
from Syracuse to Geneva, offered itself, in 1807, for membership
in the Presbyterian church, and was accepted. The example thus
set was eagerly followed. In a few years most of the Congrega-
tional churches of Western New York and Ohio came into organic
relations with the Presbyterian General Assembly. Many of the
local churches retained their Congregational form, but they were
organized in presbyteries and synods and an assembly that were
strictly Presbyterian.
It was in part due to this condition of things that these people-
desired more seminaries than one. They believed that the Presby-176
History of Cayuga County
terianism of this inclusive type could train its own ministers better
than they could be trained for it in some other region.
They were in the minority. 'The vote was overwhelmingly in
favor of one seminary for the whole church. The minority loyally
accepted the result, and sent their contributions and their young
men to Princeton. But a vote does not always express the real
mind of a community. Princeton was opened for students in 1812.
The church waited respectfully for nine years, and then, in the fol-
lowing nine years, opened six additional seminaries, one for each
of the great regions lying between the Atlantic and the Mississippi,
this number including only the seminaries that still exist and are
vigorous. Of these six Auburn was the earliest.
Probably no one man ought to be called the founder of Auburn
Seminary. The needs of the situation were apparent to many, and
the idea of an institution to meet the need came independently to
different persons. But doubtless the Rev. Dirck Cornelius Lansing
comes nearer than any other to deserving the title of founder. His
account of the matter is as follows:
“Late in the autumn of 1817, and early in the winter of 1818, I
enterprised the establishment of the Auburn Theological Seminary.
After having matured my plans in my own mind, and prepared
myself to meet as well as I could the objections which I apprehended
might be offered, I unfolded my views to a few friends-—particularly
some liberal and wealthy individuals of my congregation, whose
confidence and co-operation I secured—and then began to speak
more openly of my plans. ”
Mr. Lansing and the First Church of Auburn brought the matter
before the Presbytery of Cayuga. The Presbytery carried it to the
Synod of Geneva, the motion in synod being made by the Rev.
William Wisner, pastor of the Ithaca church. In February, 1818,
in its meeting at Rochester, the Synod decided to establish a semin-
ary, provided the project should meet the approval of General
Assembly. The Assembly in May took non-committal action, andCity of Auburn
177
the Synod, at a meeting held in August at Auburn, voted to go
forward. At this meeting a delegation was present from the Synod
of Albany, one of its members being the Rev. Dr. Henry Davis,
president of Hamilton College. It was decided that the new insti-
tution should be exclusively a theological seminary, designed for
college graduates, and not a mixed academic and theological school;
and that it should be located at Auburn provided the citizens of the
locality would provide a site, and would raise $35,000 toward the
expense.
It should be noted that Mr. Wisner became pastor at Ithaca in
1816, that Dr. Davis became president of Hamilton in 1817, and
that in the same year Mr. Lansing became pastor of the Auburn
church, returning to this region from his pastorate in Boston. The
nearly simultaneous arrival of these three forceful men was an
important fact in the early history of Auburn.
At the meeting of the Synod held early in 1819, it appeared that
the requisite funds had been subscribed, and that an acceptable site
had been secured, six acres by gift from the heirs of John Harden-
burgh, and four acres partly by gift and partly by purchase from
Glen and Cornelius Cuyler. The Synod took measures for procur-
ing a charter, organizing a corporation, and erecting a building.
The ground was broken November 30, 1819; the charter was enacted
by the State Legislature April 14, 1820; the cornerstone was laid
May nth of that year, and the commissioners and trustees organ-
ized the twelfth of July. Dr. Davis was the first president of the
board of trustees, and the Rev. Caleb Alexander the first president
of the board of commissioners. A faculty was chosen, and the
seminary opened for students in the autumn of 1821.
The contemporary newspaper accounts of the ground-breaking
show that it was in many respects a typical occasion. The work
was done by the citizens, including the farmers from the vicinity.
At noon they were reinforced by “about forty of the laborers in the
different mechanical arts” from the prison. These came marching
12178
History of Cayuga County
with precision, in an elaborate spade drill, preceded by a bugle and
carts and the officers of the prison. They were received with
enthusiasm by the citizen-laborers. Half an hour before sunset the
whole body, about two hundred men and twenty-three teams, with
music and the prison guard, marched through the village, and were
formally dismissed with thanks and refreshments. From this time
for several decades the prison and the seminary were the two best
known institutions of Auburn, the prison being its great industrial
center during the period before the farm machinery industries were
established. Five years after the prison men assisted in the ground-
breaking a Sunday-school was inaugurated in the prison by the men
of the seminary, and it remained effective for fifty years.
The building was of Cayuga County limestone. It faced on
Seminary street, well back from the street, with its center opposite
Seminary avenue. It consisted of a square center, with high base-
ment and four stories, flanked to east and west by dormitory halls
of three stories. It was intended for future enlargement by the
building of four-story wings at the ends of the halls. The con-
templated west wing was actually erected about 1830. In 1874, on
the building of Morgan Hall, it was demolished, and the materials
used in the constructing of St. Lucas' church. The original building
stood until 1892. Then its materials were built into the Welch-
Willard edifice, and the site was graded down several feet, thus
removing the very ground on which the building had stood.
The seminary was founded by the Synod of Geneva, but it was
never owned or controlled by that body. The charter placed the
control in the hands of a board of commissioners elected by ten
designated presbyteries, with such other presbyteries as should
afterward be associated with them for the purpose. The seminary
was to be absolutely owned and controlled by the Presbyterian
Church, exercising its authority through its presbyteries. In this
it differed from Princeton and other seminaries in which the author-
ity of the Church is exercised through the General Assembly, but itCity of Auburn
179
differed much more widely from the seminaries which are controlled
by their own directors or trustees, independent of ecclesiastical
authority. The charter provisions were at once interpreted and
supplemented by the regulations adopted by the governing boards.
Under the constitution thus framed all the professors and two-
thirds of the commissioners must perpetually be ministers under the
jurisdiction of the presbyteries. In addition to this judicial safe-
guard administrative safeguards were provided. One-third of the
commissioners were elected each year directly by the presbyteries;
and these commissioners elected the trustees and the professors,
and controlled the appropriations of funds. If the presbyteries
disapproved what was going on in the seminary they could change
any ordinary majority in the governing boards in a single year.
This constitution was subsequently changed in slight details. Legis-
lative modifications were made in 1857 and 1899. In 1873 the
governing boards gave to the Presbyterian General Assembly a
restricted right of veto in the appointment of professors. But there
was no essential change till 1906, at which date a new legislative
charter was procured. In 1907 the directors published the regula-
tions which obtain under the new charter. This revised constitu-
tion simplifies the organization, and eliminates ecclesiastical con-
trol. The boards of commissioners and trustees give place to a
board of directors. Authority is largely vested in the president.
The presbyteries have the power to change annually six or less of the
twenty-eight directors, each presbytery having the power to change
its representative only once in three years. These provisions render
the administrative control of the presbyteries merely nominal.
And the new charter and regulations repeal all the requirements to
the effect that professors or members of the governing board must
be under presbyterial or other ecclesiastical jurisdiction.
The original faculty consisted of three professors, of whom the
Rev. Matthew La Rue Perrine, D.D., was the senior. He was then
forty-four years old. He came to Auburn from the Spring Street180
History of Cayuga County
Church in New York City. His name seems to indicate Huguenot
descent. He was bom in New Jersey, and educated at Princeton
College. His chair was that of church history and ecclesiastical
polity. For two years he also gave instruction in theology, until
the seminary secured a professor in that department. He remained
in the service fifteen years, until his death in 1836.
The Rev. Henry Mills, professor of Biblical criticism, was thirty-
five years old. He was bom in New Jersey, and a graduate of
Princeton College. He studied theology with Dr. Richards, after-,
ward his colleague in Auburn. Apart from his proficiency in the
languages of the Bible, he was a scholar in German and a translator
of German hymns. He was professor in Auburn forty-six years,
till his death, being emeritus professor the last thirteen of those
years.
The Rev. Dirck Cornelius Lansing was thirty-six years old. He
was of patrician Dutch descent, bom in Lansingburg, N. Y., and a
graduate of Yale College. He was dainty and aristocratic in dress
and presence. As a public speaker he was sparkling, dramatic, and
wonderfully effective. He had a fervid appreciation of Christianity
as a religion for all mankind, and of the importance of Christianizing
these pioneer regions for the sake of the regions beyond. At twenty-
one years of age he was minister of the newly gathered church on
Onondaga Hill. He was afterward pastor in Onondaga Valley , and
the founder of the Onondaga Academy. He returned to Eastern
New York, and afterward was pastor of the Park Street Church in
Boston. But the call of Central New York and the regions beyond
pursued him, and he returned in 1817, and became pastor in Auburn.
On the founding of the seminary he became professor of sacred
rhetoric and pastoral theology, serving, without salary, for five
years. Later he was a trustee, and served the seminary in many
ways.
The Rev. James Richards, D.D., was elected professor of theology
when the other three were elected, but at that time he declined.City of Auburn
181
Afterward Mr. Arthur Tappan of New York endowed the chair in
the amount of $15,000. Dr. Richards was again elected and
accepted the election, beginning service in 1823. He was then fifty-
six years old, of New England birth, and an honorary graduate
of Yale. He came to Auburn from a long pastorate in Newark, N. J.
but with a distinguished reputation as a theologian and a teacher.
He served as professor twenty years, till his death in 1843.
From 1823 the number of students increased rapidly, and the
increase does not seem to have been checked by the fact that Dr.
Lansing retired from the faculty in 1826, and from that time for
nine years the entire work of instruction was done by the three
remaining professors. The catalogue of 1827-28 shows an enroll-
ment of seventy-six students, the largest in the history of the semin-
ary except for the years 1893 to 1899. E°r the following seven
years the average enrollment was fifty-five, the falling off being
probably due to the founding of Lane Seminary, and to the con-
vulsions in the Presbyterian Church, the convulsions that culmin-
ated in the disruption of 1837. In 1835 the numbers rose again, and
maintained themselves, though with fluctuations, till the death of
Dr. Richards in 1843.
In 1835 the chair of sacred rhetoric and pastoral theology was
filled by the election of the brilliant and distinguished Dr. Samuel
Hanson Cox. He resigned after two years, and the chair again
became vacant till 1839, when the Rev. Dr. Baxter Dickinson was
elected. He was then forty-four years old, a native of Massachu-
setts and a graduate of Yale. He came to Auburn from six years
of service in the Lane Theological Seminary. He resigned in 1847.
He was one of the leaders in the formation of the New School Pres-
byterian Church. In 1837, while professor at Lane, he wrote the
famous “Auburn Declaration,” a statement, adopted in a conven-
tion held in Auburn in that year, of the theological platform of the
Presbyterians of the synods in New York and Ohio.
In 1837 the Rev. Dr. Luther Halsey had succeeded Dr. Perrine182
History of Cayuga County
in the chair of church history, coming to Auburn from the theologi-
cal chair at Allegheny. On his retirement in 1844 Professors Dick-
inson and Mills were left alone to keep up the work. Union Semin-
ary in New York had been opened, and was drawing strongly upon
the constituency of Auburn. Auburn had but little endowment.
Its brilliant success had been due largely to the fact that its original
professors had persistently remained in the service, raising by their
personal efforts much of the money needed for current expenses,
determined to keep up the seminary at any cost of toil or self sacri-
fice. It was hardly to be expected that they would have successors
who would be at once men of equal influence and equal devotion to
the seminary. There came a time when the terms of service of the
professors were brief, and when there was a falling off in numbers
and interest.
In 1844 the Rev. Dr. Laurens Perseus Hickok was chosen to
succeed Dr. Richards. As a scholar in philosophy he was a man of
international reputation, and his strength drew students to some
extent. The classes of 1851 and 1852 were full classes. But in
1852 he left the seminary, to become vice-president of Union
College.
In those years there were many changes in the faculty. In
1847 Dr. Dickinson withdrew from the chair of sacred rhetoric.
The same year the Rev. Samuel Miles Hopkins was made professor
of church history. The Rev. Joseph Fewsmith became professor of
sacred rhetoric in 1848, and the Rev. William Greenough Thayer
Shedd in 1852. In 1852 the Rev. Dr. Clement Long succeeded Dr.
Hickok in the chair of theology. Some of these were men of ability,
but their terms of service were too short to count. During the year
1854-55 the doors of the seminary were closed.
The thirty-three years had been especially characterized by
religious earnestness. The establishing of the seminary had been
largely due to the powerful religious revivals in the region. InCity of Auburn
183
August, 1817, Pastor Lansing received one hundred and forty per-
sons to church membership at one time, and it was shortly after that
that he was thinking out his plans for the seminary. Revival work
was a potent influence in the training of the first twenty or more
of the seminary classes. The Rev. Charles G. Finney visited Auburn
more than once. The students participated in the choral singing
and the meetings and the personal work. There may have been
mingled good and evil in the methods that were used. Certainly
there were differences of opinion concerning them in the seminary
faculty. But when those students became old men, their revival
experiences in Auburn were the experiences they remembered most
vividly.
The early Auburn classes were well represented in the foreign
mission fields, and on the Western frontiers of the United States.
They found the work in the Hawaiian Islands, for example, already
begun, but the men who accomplished the great results there were
Titus Coan and Lorenzo Lyon and their seven or eight colleagues
from Auburn. An “Auburn band” did especially strong work in
Missouri, though it is probable that no records exist giving an
account of that work. But it was not in these lines of work alone
that the earnestness of the Auburn men made them leaders. When
the seminary closed in 1854 there were about six hundred of the
alumni, and they were serving in the faculties of colleges and semi-
naries, and in influential city pastorates, as well as in hundreds
of humbler churches.
In these conditions the interest in the seminary was too strong to
permit the doors to remain closed. Certain men of wealth and
liberality had become interested in the seminary. Any list of these
that could be given here would be so incomplete as to be unfair, but
any such list would include the names that were in i860 inscribed
upon the halls of the seminary building—those of Sylvester Willard
and Theodore P. Case and William E. Dodge. It was clearly under-
stood that any professors who might be elected ought not to be184
History of Cayuga County
burdened with the duty of soliciting funds, and other provision was
made for raising what might be needed. The first financial secre-
tary was the Rev. Frederick Starr. In later years he was succeeded
by the Rev. Simeon Sartwell Goss and the Rev. Alfred Martin
Stowe. It should be noted, however, that up to 1872 the total of the
amounts given to the seminary through Professors Hall and Hunt-
ington and Condit was larger than the total given through the
successive financial secretaries.
In the fall of 1855 the seminary reopened with a full faculty of
four active professors. Dr. Mills of the original faculty still remained
as professor emeritus. Professor Hopkins remained in the chair of
church history. Thirty-four years old at his original election, he
had now reached the age of forty-two. A graduate of Amherst
College, he had taken part of his theological course in Auburn, but
had graduated from Princeton. His term came to be the longest
served by any Auburn professor, extending to forty-six years of
active service, with eight years more as emeritus professor.
The Rev. Dr. Edwin Hall, the new professor of theology, a
graduate of Middlebury College, came to Auburn, at the age of
fifty-four years, from a long pastorate in Norwich, Connecticut.
He had a national reputation as a pastor, a preacher, and an organ-
izer of church work, as a leader in temperance reform and an author
in the field of New England history, and as a theologian. He served
twenty-two years, being professor emeritus the last year of the
twenty-two.
The Rev. Dr. Jonathan Bailey Condit was a native of New
Jersey and a graduate of Princeton College. He had held two
pastorates in New England, a chair in Amherst College, and a
pastorate in New Jersey. He became professor of sacred rhetoric
in Auburn at the age of forty-seven years, having held the same
chair at Lane the preceding four years. He was active as professor
in Auburn eighteen years, and professor emeritus the following
three years.City of Auburn
185
The Reverend Dr. Ezra Abel Huntington became professor of
Biblical criticism in Auburn at the age of forty-two years. He was
a graduate of Union College, and had served for eighteen years as
pastor of the Third Presbyterian church of Albany. He remained
in the chair through thirty-eight years of active service and eight
years as professor emeritus. The management of the affairs of the
seminary, external as well as internal, devolved largely upon the
members of the faculty. This burden gradually slipped from the
shoulders of his older colleagues, and was carried mainly by Dr.
Huntington. To his wise pilotage the seminary largely owes its
successful passage through the times that included the Civil War,
the reunion of the Presbyterian Church, and the transfer of the work
of the seminary from the old building to the Dodge-Morgan Library
and Morgan Hall.
Having again a permanent faculty, and funds to meet immediate
needs, the seminary soon had full classes. In 1861-62 there were
more than seventy students. Then the Civil War reduced the num-
bers. Many of the students enlisted, and the supply from the col-
leges diminished. Then the drift toward the largest cities and the
largest institutions set in, and was to the disadvantage of Auburn.
The numbers fluctuated. The minimum was reached in 1870-71
when there were only thirty-five students.
The facilities of the seminary were, however, steadily enlarging.
Dr. Huntington raised the funds for an additional chair in Biblical
study, and in 1865 the Rev. James Edward Pierce began work in
the Old Testament department, at first as instructor, and after-
ward as professor of the Hebrew language and literature. He
was twenty-six years old, a graduate of Middlebury and of Auburn.
It was an admirable choice, but death claimed him after only five
years of service. I was the successor of Professor Pierce, beginning
my work in 1871, at the age of thirty-three years, and serving
thirty-seven years, until my resignation in 1908.
When the time for the semi-centennial of the seminary ap-186
History of Cayuga County
proached, its friends were cherishing large hopes. Measures were
then in progress for reuniting what had for thirty-three years been
the Old School and New School Presbyterian churches. It was
believed that this would enlarge the constituency of Auburn. The
reunion was to be celebrated by raising a fund of five million dollars
for endowing institutions, and it was hoped that Auburn would
profit by this. As a foretaste of the coming prosperity Mr. William
E. Dodge and Colonel Edwin B. Morgan agreed to erect an adequate
library building for the seminary. The exercises by which the
semi-centennial was celebrated were the most protracted and impos-
ing in the history of the seminary. They included the laying of the
cornerstone of the new building, a dinner for four hundred guests,
and four or five gatherings with addresses by a large number of dis-
tinguished men. The Old School presbyteries of Central and West-
ern New York promptly accepted an invitation to elect delegates to
the board of commissioners, and so did the presbyteries of what had
been the Synod of Albany.
The hopes raised by this condition of things were not at once
realized. Some of Auburn’s new friends, particularly in the Eastern
presbyteries, proved efficient; but to balance this, certain earlier
friends felt called upon to signalize their loyalty to the reunion by
showing cordiality to Princeton and Allegheny. In the raising
of the five million dollar fund Auburn was not utterly left out, but
the net result was to divert money from Auburn to other objects
that were more conspicuously advocated. In its relations to the
enlarged church, Auburn was much in the position of a small town
which has bonded itself to build a railway connecting it with a large
city; with the effect that the new railway facilitates the removal of
trade from the small town rather than to it.
Thus it happened that when the governing boards met in May,
1872, they found themselves confronted with a serious problem.
Unless the endowment could be increased the seminary could not
be continued in operation. Very earnestly they set themselvesCity of Auburn
187
about the solution of the problem. Meanwhile Colonel Morgan was
also studying the situation. He felt an interest in the seminary,
and was willing to build here a monument for his son Alonzo D.
Morgan, either in the form of a building or in that of an endowment;
but as a condition of this he desired to make sure that the affairs of
the seminary should be managed on a worthy scale, and with some
reasonable expectation of permanency. His representatives made
frequent visits to Auburn. In some of these visits they sought the
assistance of the professor who was then superintendent of the
buildings. They brought an architect to study the buildings and
the site. They decided that it wTas necessary to erect a new dormi-
tory building, and ultimately to remove the old one, and that noth-
ing less than the erecting of such a building and the doubling of the
invested endowment would serve the need then present. Then Mr.
Morgan made several informal offers that were intended to chal-
lenge the interest of the friends of Auburn. At last he made to the
governing boards a formal alternative offer, which they accepted.
Either the seminary was to be removed to Aurora, in which case he
promised a site and an additional endowment of $400,000, or else
$300,000 must be raised within sixty days, one third of it to be used
in erecting a new dormitory in Auburn. In case this was done
Colonel Morgan promised to give one fourth of the $300,000.
So Morgan Hall was built, and was first occupied by students in
the autumn of 1875. At the same time the invested endowment
was so enlarged as to render the salaries of the professors less
inadequate.
In 1873 the Rev. Dr. Herrick Johnson succeeded Dr. Condit as
professor of sacred rhetoric and pastoral theology. He brought to
the work a high reputation, and served in it with distinction till his
removal to McCormick Seminary in 1880.
In 1876 the Rev. Dr. Ransom Bethune Welch followed Dr. Hall
in the chair of theology. He was a graduate of Union College and
Auburn Seminary, and had been for ten years professor in Union188
History of Cayuga County
College. He served acceptably in Auburn till his death in 1891.
The Welch Memorial building is his posthumous gift to the
seminary.
In 1880 the Rev. Dr. Anson Judd Upson became Dr. Johnson’s
successor in the chair of sacred rhetoric and pastoral theology. He
had served twenty-one years as an especially honored professor in
Hamilton College, and then ten years as pastor in Albany. For a
long term he was Chancellor of the University of the State of New
York. After ten years in Auburn his health failed, but he remained
on the roll twelve years longer as professor emeritus.
In 1884 the Rev. James Stevenson Riggs, a graduate of Prince-
ton College and of Auburn Seminary, came into the faculty, at the
age of thirty-one years, as adjunct professor of Biblical Greek. In
1887 he became professor of Biblical Greek, though that chair was
never endowed. He succeeded, on the retirement of Dr. Hunting-
ton, to the chair of Biblical criticism, which had been since 1865 the
New Testament chair of the seminary. He is still at the head of
that department.
In 1887 the Rev. Dr. Timothy Grenville Darling became
professor of sacred rhetoric and pastoral theology. He was then
forty-four years old, a graduate of Williams College, an alumnus
of the Princeton and the New York Union theological seminaries, a
pastor of many years’ standing. After three years he was trans-
ferred, on the death of Professor Welch, to the chair of theology,
which he filled till his death in 1906.
For the years 1890-1891 Professor Darling continued to lecture
on pastoral theology, while for several months the department of
homiletics was in charge of the Rev. Dr. Alonzo H. Quint, a well-
known leader among the Congregationalists of New England, whose
temporary service is remembered with delight by those who were
associated with him.
The year 1890 was an important year in the history of the semi-
nary. From the time when Morgan Hall was built the seminaryCity of Auburn
189
classes had met in rooms in the old building, the building being
otherwise unoccupied. It was a case of growing discomforts. Dr.
Welch, not being physically robust, was doubtless more sensitive to
this than were his colleagues. In his will he gave proof of his
loyalty to the seminary and to his associates by leaving a generous
amount for the construction of a suitable building for class-rooms.
While waiting for the realization of this benefit, another idea came
to the front. Dr. Huntington in his advancing years had gradually
laid down the task of caretaker for the administration of the semi-
nary, and the responsibilities of that kind now devolved upon the
younger men in the faculty. The suggestion was made that pos-
sibly, if a president’s chair were endowed, Dr. Darling’s friend, Dr.
Booth, might be persuaded to accept the presidency of Auburn.
Members of the governing boards fell in with the suggestion. In a
short time $50,000 was pledged. Dr. Booth was elected, and
promptly and peremptorily declined to consider the matter, and
the subscription was suffered to lapse. Subsequent events proved,
however, that the attempt had not been unwise nor fruitless.
In 1891 the Rev. Arthur Stephen Hoyt, a graduate of Hamilton
and of Auburn, at that time forty years old, was chosen professor of
sacred rhetoric and pastoral theology. He had been for some years
professor in Hamilton, and had previously served as pastor in
Illinois. He is a native of Cayuga County, and passed his boyhood
in Auburn. He is still the occupant of the chair.
Meanwhile the friends of the seminary were studying the problem
raised by the will of Professor Welch—that of a new building for
class-room purposes. An adequate chapel was also among the
urgent needs of the seminary. It came to be held that a composite
building uniting the facilities for class work and for chapel uses
was, all things considered, the best. Miss Willard and Miss Caroline
Willard, the daughters of those staunch benefactors, Dr. Sylvester
Willard and his wife Mrs. Jane Frances Case Willard, were willing
to erect the chapel. Mr. Henry A. Morgan, characteristically,190
History of Cayuga County
without solicitation and with the stipulation that his name should
not be mentioned in the matter, supplemented the gift of Professor
Welch to whatever amount might be needed for the class-room
part of the building. ^The cornerstone of the Welch-Willard build-
ing was laid in October, 1892, in the presence of a large gathering,
including the members of the Inter-Seminary Missionary Convention
which was then in session in Auburn.
Other good fortune was in store for the seminary:	Under
medical advice it was decided that the Rev. Dr. Henry Matthias
Booth must change from the lifelong pastorate to which he was so
devotedly attached, and must take up some different form of work.
Auburn was not slow to seize upon its opportunity. The lapsed
subscription for endowing a president's chair was revived, and in
1893 Dr. Booth became the first president of Auburn Seminary.
He was then fifty years old, a graduate of Williams College and of
the New York Union Seminary, and for twenty-four years pastor of
the church at Englewood, N. J.
The same year Professors Hopkins and Huntington became
emeritus professors, each at the age of eighty years. Dr. Hunting-
ton was succeeded by Dr. Riggs, and the commissioners elected the
Rev. Dr. Theodore Weld Hopkins to succeed the retiring Professor
Hopkins. The new Professor Hopkins was then fifty-two years of
age, a man who had gained distinction as a scholar and author. He
remained but two years.
In 1895 the Rev. Edward Waite Miller was made instructor in
church history, and the following year he was elected professor.
He is a graduate of Union College, and of Auburn in the class of
1891. As a student in Auburn he was instructor in Greek, and as a
graduate student was assistant to Professor Hopkins in the year
1891-92. He is still in the chair of church history.
For some years before the inauguration of Dr. Booth the attend-
ance at the seminary had averaged higher than in the preceding
years, and various encouraging influences had set toward the semi-City of Auburn
191
nary. The new regime began auspiciously. The president had
prestige, and a host of friends. With the new building the Auburn
plant would be one of the best in the country. The superiority of
the Auburn plan of church control through the presbyteries was
conspicuously illustrated by means of the struggles which some of
the other seminaries were having with the General Assembly. In
view of these and like considerations it is perhaps not surprising
that the number of students rose at once to ninety-four, and that the
average number during Dr. Booth's administration was about one
hundred and ten, the maximum, in 1895-96, being a hundred and
twenty-three.
Dr. Booth died suddenly March 18, 1899. His successor, elected
the same year, and still holding the position, was the Rev. Dr.
George Black Stewart. He was then forty-five years old, a graduate
of Princeton College and of Auburn Seminary. He came to Auburn
from a long pastorate in Harrisburg, Pa.
There were ninety-one students the first year of President
Stevrart’s administration, seventy-two the second year, and an
average of a little less than sixty for the remaining seven years.
The sudden falling off in numbers in 1900 was not due to the change
of presidents, but to causes which affected alike most of the theo-
logical seminaries in the country.
The past nine years have been marked by rapid changes. The
most important is the far-reaching change in the constitution of the
seminary, made in 1906, and already mentioned in the earlier part
of this paper.
In 1904 the seminary received from the Regents of the University
of the State of New York the authority to confer the degree of
bachelor of divinity, and that degree was conferred by the seminary
for the first time at the Commencement of 1906.
There has been some increase in the endowment of the seminary,
though a much larger increase in its rate of expenditure. Changes
have been made in the seminary campus. It was newly arranged192
History of Cayuga County
and planted in 1893, when the Welch-Willard building was com-
pleted and the ground graded, and it has since then steadily in-
creased in beauty by the process of natural growth. A handsome
dwelling house for the president is now nearly completed. The
seminary has acquired three lots, with dwellings, fronting on
North street, which constitute a virtual enlargement of the cam-
pus. One of these dwellings has been fitted up as the Silliman
Club House, the cost being the gift of the Hon. Horace B. Silliman.
In the early years of the seminary the students boarded in com-
mons, in the basement of the seminary building. This was given
up later, perhaps given up and resumed more than once. In the
times of depreciated currency, after the Civil War, a boarding club
was again organized, as a means of economy in living. It was in
operation when Morgan Hall was built, and the basement of that
structure included a commodious dining-room, with full conven-
iences for housekeeping, but in a few years the club boarding plan
was abandoned. The plan of the Silliman Club House differs from
that of its predecessors in the fact of the house being outside the
dormitory building, and in certain social features. The students
and their friends have found it very delightful.
The faculty has been largely increased. In 1901 the Rev. Halsey
Bidwell Stevenson was appointed librarian, and held the position
till his death in 1907. His successor is the Rev. John Quincy Adams.
In 1902 the work of the New Testament chair was divided, the Rev,
Harry Lathrop Reed being made assistant professor. Beginning
with 1904 Mr. Stevenson acted as assistant in the Old Testament
department, his salary being paid from a special gift made for that
purpose. In this work Professor Reed succeeds him for the year
1907-08. In 1904 the department of theology was divided, the
Rev. Dr. Allen Macy Dulles becoming professor of theism and
apologetics. The Rev. Dr. Herbert Alden Youtz has been elected
Richards professor of Christian theology, to succeed Dr. Darling, his
work to begin in the autumn of 1908. The Rev. Dr. William JohnCity of Auburn
193
Hinke has b,een temporarily appointed “Assistant Professor in
Old Testament,” his work, however, being exclusively in the depart-
ments of practical theology and theology.
This brings the history of the seminary up.to the present. Its
permanent funds, as reported by the treasurer in 1907, amount to
$761,462.73. It would take $300,000 to replace the campus and
the seminary plant standing upon it. My colleagues in the faculty
are men of character and intellectual ability and industry. Our
publications within the current three years include nine volumes of
some importance. In the eighty-seven years since the seminary
was opened for students about two thousand men have studied in
its classes. Nearly half of these are now living, the large majority
of them being engaged, somewhere on the earth, in some form of
the work of the Christian ministry.
PROTESTANT CHURCHES OF AUBURN.
BY SYLVESTER J. MATHEWS.
(“ The Antiquarian. ”)
One hundred years ago, 1808, Auburn was a village of near
a thousand inhabitants, who were strangers to the sound of '‘the
Sabbath bell. ” Although there were several religious societies
meeting for divine service at irregular periods, as yet there had not
been erected a church edifice in the place, but in 1811 an acre lot
was cleared of the trees and conveyed to St. Peter’s Protestant
Episcopal Church Society by Mr. William Bostwick, donor of the
site, who was enabled with the assistance of a donation of $1,000
from Trinity Church, New York, and the warm co-operation of his
fellow Episcopalians in the village, to erect a small, but strong and
graceful wooden church, the first in Auburn and in fact the first
within the precincts of what is now Cayuga County to erect a belfry
from which came the pleasant tones of “the Sabbath bell,” sum-
moning the people to worship, and a gentle reminder that there
should be one day in seven to think of something else besides
“Business is Business. ”
13194
History of Cayuga County
To make a long and most interesting story short we will here
below abbreviate:
1805, July 1—Parish incorporated.
1810, March 1—Gift of church lot to the parish by William Bostwick,
Esq.
1812, August 22—Bishop Hobart consecrated the first parish
church.
1828, November 28—Rectory purchased.
1830,	September 2,—Last official act of Bishop Hobart.
1830,	September 12—Bishop Hobart died in the rectory.
1831,	August 7—First visit of Bishop Onderdonk.
1832,	February 5—Church destroyed by fire immediately after
extensive enlargement and repairs.
1833,	August 8—New church consecrated by Bishop Onderdonk.
1838—Feast of All Saints, Diocese of Western New York estab-
lished, and Bishop De Lancy elected in Trinity Church, Geneva.
1839, May 9—Ascension Day; special convention of diocese in St.
Peter's, Auburn. Consecrated and first official acts of Bishop
De Lancy.
1843—Diocesan convention in St. Peter's Church.
1847—Diocesan convention in St. Peter's Church.
1848, March 19—Ordination of deacons, Bishop De Lancy the
Bishop of Connecticut presenting candidates and preaching
sermon.
1850—Extensive enlargement of church.
1864—Enlargement of rectory.
1865, January 8—First official act of Bishop Coxe.
1868, March—Church taken down and material used in construc-
tion of present chapel.
1868,	April 13—St. Peter’s Chapel first used for worship.
1869,	January 13—Bishop Huntington elected in St. Paul’s Church,
Syracuse.City of Auburn
195
1869, April 8 —Bishop Huntington consecrated in Emmanuel
Church, Boston.
1869—	Bishop Huntington’s first visit to St. Peter’s.
1870—	Easter. New church used for worship.
1870—Church consecrated by Bishop Huntington. Bishop Coxe
present. Sermon by Rev. Dr. Morgan of St. Thomas’ Church,
New York.
1873, July—Tower and spire completed through munificence of
General John H. Chedell.
1874—Diocesan convention.
1875, July 4—Chime of bells secured.
1876—Centennial year. Through the bequest of General John H.
Chedell of ten thousand dollars, and the subscription of others,
the final indebtedness arising from building the present church
was discharged.
1879—Diocesan conference.
1883—Chancel enlarged, with robing room, and organ chamber.
1887—Easter. D. M. Osborne memorial organ presented.
1887,	January 14—Diocesan convention.
1887—Gift of six silver plates from Honorable Justice Samuel
Blatchford, Washington.
1888,	November 1 and 4—Twenty-fifth anniversary of Doctor
Brainard’s rectorship.
1894—Parochial endowment begun.
1899—Extensive repairs and rebuilding of church tower, owing to
careless workmanship, at a cost of seven thousand dollars.
List of rectors from the retirement of Rev. Mr. Phelps in 1812 to
1826 Rev. Mr. Phelps, Rev. William A. Clark, Rev. William
McDonald, Rev. William H. Northorp, Rev. Lucius Smith, Rev.
Samuel Sitgreaves. In 1826, Rev. Dr. Rudd assumed the rector-
ship, and during his term the adjoining house and lot was purchased
for a rectory and also the building of a new church to take the place
of the old one destroyed by fire. Rev. Mr. Rudd retired from the196
History of Cayuga County
rectorship in 1833 and was succeeded by Rev. William Lucas, who
died in 1839. Rev. C. W. Hackley came next but remained only a
short time and was succeeded by Rev. William Croswell, priest and
poet, whose services lasted four years.
The next rector was Rev. Samuel Hanson Coxe Jr-, he was
followed by Rev. Walter Arault in 1847, and remaining until 1852.
The Rev. E. H. Crissey came as rector in 1853, remaining until
1859. The Rev. Charles Platt came next in i860, but his rectorship
was brought to a speedy close by a call to a chaplaincy of a regiment
during the war.
Rev. Joseph Peirson was next with a short rectorship of two
years, ended by sudden death. Rev. Mr. Peirson was succeeded by
the present rector, the Rev. John Brainard, D. D. In 1863 the
rectory was remodeled and appears as at present.
In April, 1868, five years after the coming of Doctor Brainard,
the picturesque, four-pinnacled-towered old church was tom down
and the present substantial stone edifice erected.
Doctor Brainard is a man of marked ability and broad views and
held in high esteem by the clergy of all denominations in the city;
He is continually growing in the love of his parishioners and doing
a noble work for the church which up to 1900 he had managed
single-handed and alone in one of the largest and most influential
parishes of his denomination, when after much importuning by his
parishioners, he was prevailed upon to accept the services of a
curate when he came in the person of that gifted young clergyman
the Rev. Leonard J. Christler who after serving six years accepts a
call to a field in the West, where he is looked upon as an embryo
bishop. His successor is the Rev. Norton T. Houser, B. D., whose
advent met with a most favorable reception.
st. John's episcopal church.
Up over the hill like a beautiful star in the East, the cynosure
of all eyes, rises St. John’s the fifty-year old offspring of old St.
Peter’s by the fostering care of which has been made possible theERASTUS CASECity of Auburn
197
building up of one of the leading architectural attractions of the
city on that magnificent site donated by the late General Chedell
in the 6o’s.
The organization of St. John’s Church took place on Easter
morning, April 13, 1868. After morning service for St. Peter’s
Church and the election there, the rector repaired to the school-
house where the first Easter election was held and the name of St.
John’s parish selected, the Rev. John Brainard presiding. The
services so well and happily begun, continued under the care of the
rector of St. Peter’s, with every token of promise and success.
In October, 1868, Rev. James Stoddard was elected as its first rector
followed by Rev. E. B. Tuttle, Rev. Charles B. Hale, D. D.; 1871,
Rev. W. H. Lord; 1878, Rev. Francis A. D. Launt; 1884, Rev.
James B. Murray, D. D.; 1891, Rev. C. N. C. Brown; 1894, Rev.
Lewds Post Franklin; 1901, Rev. Samuel Macpherson.
FIRST PRESBYTERIAN CHURCH.
Rev. Asa Hillyer, pastor of the Presbyterian Church at Orange,
N. J., in 1798 preached the first sermon ever delivered in what
is now the City of Auburn. During the next three years there
was occasional preaching by missionaries touring through this
portion of the country on horseback, among them being Rev. Aaron
Condit, Rev. Dr. Perrine, Rev. Seth Witherston, Rev. Jedediah
Bushnell and Rev. Solomon King.
The first Congregational Church of Aurelius was organized with
Rev. David Higgins as pastor September 7, 1801. He had four
preaching stations, Hardenbergh’s Corners, now Auburn; Half
Acre; Grover Settlement, now Fleming and Cayuga, preaching at
each place once in four Sabbaths.
September 17, 1810, a meeting was held at the Center House,
which was located near the junction of Genesee and Market streets,
and the First Congregational Society was organized, and in the
following July the church was organized in the same place, under
the direction of the Presbytery of Cayuga. Rev. David Higgins198
History of Cayuga County
became its first pastor and continued in that relation until February
16, 1813, when he accepted a call from the church at Bath, N. Y.
His successors were:	Rev. Hezekiah Woodruff, who remained in
office until 1816; Rev. Dirck C. Lansing, 1817 to 1829; Rev. Josiah
Hopkins, 1830 to 1846; Rev. Henry A. Nelson, 1846 to 1856; Rev.
Charles Hawley, 1857 to 1885; Rev. W. H. Hubbard, 1886, still
pastor of the church.
During the ministry of Rev. H. N. Woodruff* a County Bible
Society was organized under the auspices of the Presbytery of
Cayuga, February 22, 1815.
In the spring of 1814 active measures were taken looking towards
the erection of a church edifice. It was the same year that Auburn
was incorporated, having a population of one thousand, about
thirty shops and stores on Genesee street. John Hardenbergh gave
the lot for the church, and the sum of eight thousand dollars was
pledged. During the summer of 1815 the work of building was
begun and the church was dedicated March 6, 1817, by Rev. D. C.
Lansing. The total expense of the construction of this church was
between sixteen and seventeen thousand dollars, and it continued
to be used by the congregation until 1869 when the church was
removed to the comer of Capitol and Franklin streets where it
serves as the church building of the Calvary Presbyterian Church.
The cornerstone of the present First Church edifice was laid
April 27, 1869, and dedicated December 20, 1870, the total cost of
the building having been one hundred and forty thousand dollars.
The first Sunday-school in Auburn was organized in the church
in the winter of 1817.
The origin of the Auburn Theological Seminary and its location
in Auburn were largely due to the untiring efforts of Dr. Lansing
while pastor of the church.
The pages of the history of the church have been brightened by
the record of frequent revivals of religion and large accessions to
the membership of the church. This has been the prominentCity of Auburn
199
feature of the church since its founding. Its ministry has been
characterized by earnest efforts in all great moral reforms. Dr,
Hawley, when pastor, won national reputation for himself and the
church by the outspoken stand that he took in favor of the Union
and against slavery in 1861. Twelve days before the attack upon
Fort Sumter Captain Terrance J. Kennedy, a member of the
church, drew up an enlistment paper, and signing his own name to
the paper opened his place of business on State street as a recruiting
office. The Sabbath following the attack upon Fort Sumter,
Dr. Hawley preached a stirring sermon declaring that the Lord was
on the side of the Union and before nightfall three full companies
were awaiting orders. The first regiment of volunteers recruited
was afterward known as the '‘Old Nineteenth” and assembled in
this church for religious services before leaving for the field.
The present congregation, realizing the possible needs of the
future has raised fifty thousand dollars as a permanent endowment
fund, the income only to be used in the work of the church. At the
present time the organ is being rebuilt and largely increased so that
it will be, when completed, one of the finest organs in the state.
There are many organizations in the church, all of which are
active and progressive. The Sunday school is thoroughly organ-
ized in its various departments, and meets in seven different places.
The church has always been blessed with liberal contributors
to its support and advancement in material things from the days of
John Hardenburgh until now. During the past sixty years the
Willards and Cases have been most liberal contributors to the pros-
perity of the church.
SECOND PRESBYTERIAN.
The Second Presbyterian Society of Auburn, was organized by
the members of the parent church on December n, 1828, The
cornerstone was laid June 17, 1829, with appropriate exercises by
Drs. Mills and Richards of the seminary. The Presbytery was
induced to take this action by the petition of sixty-six individual200
History of Cayuga County
members of the First Presbyterian Church, who believed that the
rapid growth of this church, the corresponding increase in the
population of the village, the establishment of the Theological
Seminary in 1820, combined to create a demand for a new church.
Consequently the purchasing of a lot on South street, and
erecting a house of worship was rushed through and finished and
dedicated August 9, 1830. The first elders were William Brown,
Abijah Fitch, John I. Hagaman, Horace Hills, Truman J. Mc-
Master, George C. Skinner and Henry Teft.
The Rev. Daniel Axtel was ordained and installed pastor of the
new congregation in 1830. He served five years. His health
failing he was dismissed January 10, 1836. The Rev. Leonard E.
Lathrop was installed November 12, 1836, and remained until Sep-
tember, 1851, after an able and useful pastorate of nearly fifteen
years.
Rev. Edward D. Morris was installed January 18, 1853. His
pastorate ended November 30, 1855.
Rev. Professor Ezra Huntington, D. D., of the seminary sup-
plied the pulpit for the next three years. Rev. Henry Fowler was
ordained September, 1858, and terminated 1861. Rev. Samuel
Boardman, D. D., served the next pastorship from 1862 until 1877.
Rev. W. H. Albright was called in 1879; after and over a decade
of pastorate he was dismissed. Its next pastor was Rev. Edward
D. Sprague, D. D., from 1887 to 1895. Then came in 1896 Rev.
J. Wilson Brainerd who served for nearly a decade.
CENTRAL PRESBYTERIAN.
The Central Presbyterian Church came into being amid the
conflict of opinions and the clash of arms of our great Civil War,
when a meeting for organizing was held on December 16, 1861.
The society was regularly formed according to the statute, and
trustees were chosen. Meanwhile regular services were being held
in the rooms of the Young Men’s Christian Association; the first
meeting was conducted by Professor S. M. Hopkins. The newCity of Auburn
201
congregation worshipped in this room for most of the year 1862,
and there was held the first communion on January 18, at eleven
o'clock in the evening, preceded by a meeting of the sixty chartered
members in the morning and evening service.
On the night of October 31st, there had been a fire which con-
sumed a block of buildings on the southwest comer of William and
Genesee streets, and this location was chosen by the new church for
the erection of an edifice. Four lots were finally purchased and a
basement chapel constructed for temporary use, covered with an
inexpensive roof in the faith that with increased strength would
come resources for completing the building, but in 1868, a majority
was found to be in favor of a more desirable location and after
discussion the present site on William street was chosen. By 1869
subscriptions were secured for a new church sufficient to justify
breaking ground and the cornerstone was laid August 12, 1869.
October 25, 1870 the new church was dedicated.
In 1885, the extensive addition in the front of the Sunday school
room, parlors, chapel, etc., was undertaken with an expenditure
of over $70,000. During the past season extensive and tasteful
renovation has been made. The pastors of the church have been:
Henry Fowler, 1861 to 1871. Henry F. Hickok, D. D., 1872 to 1875;
Samuel Duffield, 1876 to 1878; Charles G. Hemingway, Ph. D. D.,
1879 to 1891, and Frederick W. Palmer, who preached his first
sermon as pastor March 19, 1893.
CALVARY PRESBYTERIAN.
Calvary Church has been organized as a church over thirty-five
years.
Calvary Church was first organized as a church November 30,
1870. The Rev. H. S. Huntington was installed as the first pas-
tor. His pastorate continued until November 26, 1875, when he
resigned. From that time until May 1, 1875, the church had no
pastor. At a meeting of the society February 22, 1876, Mr.
Woolsey Hopkins, a student in the senior class of the seminary,202
History of Cayuga County
was unanimously called to the pastorate. Rev. Mr. Stryker
accepted the call and began his ministry on May 30, 1876. This
new pastorate was made possible through the generosity of
two friends of the church, Theodore P. Case and Dr. Sylvester
Willard each of whom gave five hundred dollars toward the pas-
tor’s salary for the year.
On the first of September Rev. George B. Stewart became stated
supply of the church. He resigned in December, 1884. Rev. Frank
Hinman succeeded him in May, 1885. The next was Rev. A. S.
Hasler; he remained till 1893. After an interval of six months, the
Rev. E. H. Adriance came in June, 1894. The church and Sabbath
school have about five hundred members each. The church edifice
was formerly the First Presbyterian which stood on the comer of
North and Franklin streets from 1819 until 1869, when it was
demolished and reconstructed on Calvary Hill.
WESTMINSTER PRESBYTERIAN.
In the spring of 1883, through the combined interest and labor
of the Sunday schools of the Second and Central Presbyterian
Churches a Sunday school was opened on Baker avenue to meet the
needs of the rapidly growing western part of the city. The first
session pf the school was on Sunday, May 27th, with an attendance
of seventy-five taxing the capacity of the room. The interest
continued and increased, and it soon became evident that larger
accomodations were needed. At the invitation of the superinten-
dent, Mr. A. J. Barber, the four Presbyterian churches of the city
appointed representatives to advise in the matter. The committee
thus constituted undertook the work of raising money to build a
suitable chapel. Their efforts were successful; a site was purchased
at the corner of Genesee and Delevan streets and the present brick
structure erected. In view of the large contributions made by Dr.
Sylvester Willard the trustees decided to name the chapel, Willard
Chapel. The services of dedication were held November 30, 1884.City of Auburn
203
For several months from this date services for public worship
were held in addition to the Sunday-school with preaching by local
pastors and the professors of the seminary. In June, 1885, Mr.
Albert S. Hughey, a recent graduate, was engaged to supply the
pulpit for one year. On October 27, 1885, in response to a petition
by a large number of persons interested, the Presbytery of Cayuga
met in Willard Chapel and effected the organization of a new
Presbyterian church with forty-four members, naming it West-
minster Presbyterian Church. Mr. Hughey continued his labors
until March 10th when he was ordained and installed as pastor.
His pastorate closed December, 1889. The succeeding pastors
have been Rev. E. W. Twichell, 1890-2; Rev. O. T. Mather, 1893-7,
Rev. Tracy B. Griswold, 1898.
FIRST BAPTIST.
The First Baptist Church of Auburn, N. Y., was constituted
February 17, 1819, by a council composed of delegates from the
First Church of Aurelius, and the churches in Mentz, Brutus and
Owasco, convened for that purpose.
As a preliminary step to the formation of a church, a number
of brethren had met in the house of James Randall, September 4,
1817, and formed themselves in a body, afterwards known as the
‘‘Auburn Baptist Conference. ”
The conference thus formed continued its meetings for prayer
and praise until December 17, 1818, when meeting as before at the
house of Mr. Randall, they agreed that the time had come when
it was their duty to be known as the Church of Christ and appointed
a meeting to be held on the twenty-sixth day of the same month
to perfect their organization. At this meeting a vote was passed
calling a council to meet with them in the Court House on the day
appointed, which after a proper examination recognized them as a
Church of Christ in Gospel order. At the nineteenth annual meet-
ing of the Cayuga Association held in Throopsville, September 15
and 16, 1809, this church was received as a member of that body.204
History of Cayuga County
From their organization in 1817 until December 1818, they had
remained destitute of the stated ministry of the Word; but about
this time an arrangement was made with Elder Elkanah Comstock
to supply them one-half of the time, which continued about ten
months.
Their first pastor was Rev. C. P. Wyckoff, who was called early
in 1820, and preached his first sermon in the Court House, then
occupied as their place of worship, June 4th of that year. In 1825,
during Mr. Wyckoff’s pastorate their first edifice was built, being
erected on the site of Richardson’s furniture store at the junction
of South and Exchange streets. They occupied this place of
worship for eight years. Rev. Mr. Wyckoff relinquished his charge
in 1830.
He was succeeded by Rev. John Blain, who remained for three
years. During his pastorate there was great increase in religious
zeal which continued to extend until the winter following when
God visited the church with the most extensive and powerful
revival of His work ever enjoyed by that body during any period
of this history. One hundred and fifty-seven were added to the
church by baptism.
This revival was the cause of building their church on Genesee
street in 1833. The edifice was of stone, eighty feet long and sixty
wide, equipped with organ, bell and a handsome spire. They
occupied this edifice for fifty years.
The next pastor, Rev. J. M. Graves, came about this time and
remained for two years. The Rev. S. S. Parr followed in 1835,
and served his church until 1838, having been greatly pleased in all
his efforts to promote the interests of the church and the Redeemer’s
cause. After the close of Elder Parr’s, labors the church did not
immediately secure another pastor, but were supplied by Brother
Wilson, whose labors proved both acceptable and profitable.
Rev. James Johnson took the pastoral charge in 1839 and
continued one year. Rev. Alfred Pinney followed in 1841, wfio205
City of Auburn
remained two years, during which time ninety-five were added to
the membership. Rev. J. S. Backus, D. D., was called in 1843 and
continued seven years. Rev. W. P. Pattison succeeded Dr. Backus
in 1851, remaining to 1855. Rev. A. M. Hopper, D. D., became
pastor in 1857 and remained two years. Next followed Rev. P. P.
Bishop from 1861 to 1868. Rev. W. H. Maynard, D. D., accepted
a call in June, 1869, serving until January, 1875. Rev. Willard H.
Robinson was called in June, 1876, serving until 1881. Seventy-five
were added to the church during his pastorate.
For the first seven months of the year 1882, Professor A. S.
Coats of Rochester Theological Seminary supplied the pulpit. A
call to the pastorate was extended to the Rev. Joseph K. Dixon in
1883.
The unlimited growth of the church and the constant increase
of the congregation in 1883, resulted in a site being purchased on
the corner of Genesee and James streets at a cost of $18,000 and
erected a new and beautiful house of worship costing upwards of
$70,000. The church was dedicated on Sunday, October 10, 1887.
Rev. Dr. Strong preached the morning sermon. The dedicatory
service proper in the evening was by Rev. Wayland Hoyt, D. D.
In June, 1889, Rev. Dixon received a call to a larger field.
From this date the pulpit received supplies by Rev. Dr. Maynard,
Rev. A, S. Coats, Rev. Dr. Judson and others, until November 10th.
A call was extended Rev. Dr. Robert G. Seymour, who entered
upon his duties the 17th of November, 1889, and remained until
1891.
In 1882 came Rev. Giles H. Hubbard, D. D.; he increased the
membership from four hundred and seventy-five to six hundred
and seventy-five.
The indebtedness of the church when he took charge was
$20,000 which has been cleared, besides extensive needed improve-
ments being made. He served eleven years.206
History of Cayuga County
In the Sunday school the interest has kept pace with that of the
church. In 1891 there were three hundred and sixty-four members;
now there are over five hundred.
In 1904, Rev. A. W. Bourne came to keep up the good work
with the same energy and won the highest appreciation of our
religious community. He is still with us.
SECOND BAPTIST.
The Second Baptist Church is the outcome of a small mission
Sunday school, established in Francis street in May, 1867. The
organization of the school was the result of the devotion and zeal
of two Christian laborers, E. L. Ford and Stephen C. Hoyt. These
gentlemen being members of the Young Men’s Christian Association
the school was early adopted by that body and under its supervision
passed the first of its history.
In June, 1868, the mission was by mutual consent given into the
hands of the First Baptist Church, it being thought that it would
prosper better under some distinct denominational control; a small
body it was, but the experience of the past year had proved that a
school was needed and could be sustained in this part of the city.
To be specific, there were present the first Sunday after this change
of management, twenty-five scholars and five teachers. E. L.
Ford assumed the position of superintendent. Later the school
removed to the house of Thomas Hale on Augustus street, a member
of the First Baptist Church, who kindly offered his rooms for the
use of the school free of rent. From this small beginning the school
constantly advanced in numbers and efficiency until the fall of 1869,
when funds were raised and a handsome chapel put up on the
comer of Owasco and Lasette streets. In these quarters the school
prospered yet more remarkably, reaching an attendance as high as
one hundred and seventy-five.
In the fall of 1875 after nearly eight years of service, Brother
Ford was succeeded by Brother A. W. Chappel as superintendent.
At this time an additional room was built on the rear of the mainCity of Auburn
207
building. In April, 1878, Charles A. Cobb was elected as superin-
tendent. In the summer a library was added. In the fall, Rev.
Judson Davis was engaged as stated supply and regular preaching
services were held at the “Mission Church. ” The success of these
meetings encouraged many to believe that a Second Baptist Church
could be organized and sustained here; the result was that April
29, 1879, such an organization was effected. Prominent among
these who labored there was Rev. Edgar Smith.
On April 20, 1882, plans were adopted for a new brick church
on the comer of East Genesee and Owasco streets, so on September
25th ground was broken, and work commenced; July 17, 1883 the
cornerstone was laid, accompanied by appropriate services. The
dedication of the church took place on April 13, 1884. The whole
cost of the church was $34,689.40. Rev. Wilkins continued as
pastor until October 22, 1885, when he resigned and removed to
Iowa. The next pastor was Rev. O. E. Coxe. He remained until
February, 1888. Rev. Frank D. Penny of the Hamilton Theo-
logical Seminary succeeded and remained five years. Rev. Penny
was succeeded by Rev. F. Webb in September, 1893, serving three
years; Rev. Arthur C. Watkins came next and remained one year.
In October, 1897, Rev. Amos Naylor came to the pastorate.
IMMANUEL BAPTIST.
The Immanuel Baptist Church is an offshoot of the Second
Baptist Church, Auburn, N. Y., believing as they did that the
time had come when a third Baptist Church should be founded.
Consequently, on April 12, 1888, nine members of the Second Baptist
Church stated that with “malice to none and charity for all” they
desired letters to form a new church, which should occupy the
unworked field in the southeast part of the city.
On April 19, 1888, forty-four letters were granted to join the
nine of the new organization. At first meetings were held in private
houses. On April 15th the company of believers formally organized
under the Centennial law. College Hall was secured as a place of208
History of Cayuga County
meeting and on Sunday, April 29th, prayer meeting was held and a
Sunday school organized. On the following Sunday another prayer
meeting when three deacons, a clerk, and a treasurer were elected.
It was then a name was decided upon and proved to be the
Immanuel Baptist Church.
On Wednesday, May 6th, the first preaching services were held,
conducted by Rev. F. W. Lockwood of Rochester Theological
Seminary. Sunday, May 10th, six trustees were elected and imme-
diately thereafter a certificate of organization was filed in the
county clerk's office. The remaining three Sundays of May arid
the first Sunday in June, Auburn Theological students conducted
the services in the hall.
On May 24, 1888, a unanimous call was extended to F. W.
Lockwood of Rochester Theological Seminary to spend in labor
with them the remaining three Sundays of his vacation which was
accepted and he began his labors June 10, 1888. The seminary
chapel, through the kindness of the trustees of the seminary, was
tendered them when they held regular preaching, Sunday school
and prayer meeting services. Meantime a site for a church was
looked for in the field they intended to work, and the old Mission
Chapel on Owasco street was looked eagerly at but they Were un-
able to secure it. Finally, they purchased a lot on Owasco near
Bradford street and in 1888 erected a neat little church wherein
they worshipped God.
This organization was formerly recognized as a regular and
independent Baptist church on August 7, 1888, by a council from
the Baptist churches in Cayuga Association. On that evening
appropriate services were held at the First Baptist Church, Rev.
A. H. Strong, D. D. of Rochester Theological Seminary preaching
the recognition sermon. The dedication of the church was deferred
by the unanimous choice of the congregation until the debt was
paid; therefore, the dedication did not take place until Wednesday,
June 26, 1901. The chief address in the afternoon was made byCity of Auburn
209
Rev. Amos Naylor of the Second Baptist Church. Among the
pastors of the church have been Rev. Lockwood, five months; Rev.
H. C. Buckholdz; W. L. Swan, four years; J. C. Brookins, five years:
H. S. Burd, two years.
ST. LUCAS’ GERMAN EVANGELICAL.
In 1873 to 1877, when the German Protestants of all parts of
Germany began to increase in the city of Auburn, the true Christians
felt the necessity of forming themselves together for prayer and
praise. For years they held private meetings in different houses.
They sang their German carols and hymns. Prominent members
read some portions of the Bible with prayers and sermons. From
time to time they called a minister from Syracuse or Rochester to
render a sermon, baptize their children, and celebrate the Lord’s
Supper with them.
In 1879, after they were organized as St. Lucas’, German
Evangelical Church and became a member of the German Evangeli-
cal Synod of North America, by the influence of some pastors of the
said denomination they called Rev. George Feld from Buffalo,
as their pastor. He accepted and became the first preacher of St.
Lucas’ Church. During the time they were laboring zealously for a
new edifice they held their meetings in the old seminary. Finally,
their noble efforts with the help of other churches enabled them to
purchase a lot on Seminary avenue where they erected a house of
worship in 1881. Rev. Feld remained until 1895, when he was
forced to relinquish his charge on account of failing health. A
word in regard to the faithful and good work his wife accomplished
would not come amiss in recording the short history of this church.
She did much to keep the German language alive among the children
and young people.
In July, 1895, the Rev. Adelbert E. Helm of East Eden, Erie
County, N. Y., responded to an urgent call from the congregation
and became the pastor of St. Lucas’. He began his duties August
24, 1895.
14210
History of Cayuga County
The German Protestant people gained new interest in their
church work. The edifice was put in repair, a new pipe organ
purchased and most of the debts paid. In March, 1901, Rev.
Helm tendered his resignation but the congregation declined to
accept and entreated him to remain. During the three years’
pastorate of the present pastor, Theodore Braum, the society has
become possessed of one of the finest parsonages in the city.
CHURCH OF CHRIST.
In 1829 Deacon Peck and Edward Allen residing in Clarksville,
now West Auburn, entered as charter members into the formation
of the Disciples of Christ of Throopsville.
These men soon began to hold meetings in their homes, then in
a cider mill in Clarksville and in the stone school-house on Division
street. They continued with the Troopsville church until a suffi-
cient number of neighbors had joined them for an organization in
their own community. Accordingly they effected a temporary
organization about 1845. In 1849, the organization was completed
and the church incorporated as the first congregation of Disciples of
Christ of Auburn and Clarksville; at the same time steps were taken
to build a new church, and a wooden building was erected in 1851
on the present site of the church. James A. Garfield preached here
while on his way to Williams College. When Mr. Garfield was in
the city in 1879, in a political campaign, he worshipped in the
Division street church.
For a number of years the church had no pastor except the
resident elders; these looked after the interests of the congregation
and did the preaching. Two of them W. J. Lathrop and F. M.
Hyatt soon developed into regular preachers and left their business
for the sacred calling. Traveling evangelists made frequent visits,
preaching in the houses of members of the society.
FIRST UNIVERSALIST.
The organization of the Universalist Society of Auburn, took
place on April 12, 1821, in the school-house on the academy green.City of Auburn
211
Following this event they held public worship in the Court House,
academy and various other public places until they succeeded the
Baptists in their abandoned church which stood on the site of
Richardson’s furniture store, junction of South and Exchange
streets, in 1834. They had previously reorganized April 24, 1833.
They remained in this church until 1847, when they moved into
their newly constructed edifice on the comer of South and Lincoln
streets.
The first pastor employed under the organization of 1833,
was George W. Montgomery, D. D., who commenced his labors in
September, 1833, and closed them in 1843. He was succeeded in
October, 1843, by N. L. Hayward, who served them one year, when
in September, 1844, failing health compelled him to leave and
finally leave the ministry and seek a home in the far West.
John M. Austin assumed the pastoral care of this church in
October, 1844, and discharged those duties till June 29, 1851, when
he resigned and became editor of the Christian Ambassador, a de-
nominational journal of this persuasion then published in Auburn,
when after twelve years as editor, he was appointed paymaster in
the army with the rank of major. At the close of the war he re-
turned to Auburn where he engaged in literary and missionary
work until his death in the 80’s.
It was during his pastorate that the present church edifice was
erected, which for over two decades was one of the leading attrac-
tions of Auburn church architecture. During Dr. Bartholo-
mew’s pastorate a re-modelling took place resulting in a stately new
front, with the tallest and most graceful of Auburn’s many spires.
After Rev. Austin came W. R. G. Mellen, who served them four
years and was succeeded by D. R Livermore, who remained from
November 1855 to October, 1856. He was the husband of the late
Mrs. Livermore who later became a distinguished public lecturer.
Rev. D. K. Lee, D. D., took the pastoral charge in July, 1857.
He remained eight years and removed to New York in 1868. He212
History of Cayuga County
was succeeded July 7,186 5, by Richmond Fisk, D. D., who remained
till the fall of 1868.
Rev. J. G. Bartholomew, D. D., commenced his labors October
29, 1868, and remained three years; J. J. Twiss, February 1, 1872
to October 16, 1872; J. W. Keyes, April 6, 1873 to September 30,
1876; Lewis L. Briggs, February 1, 1877 to April 25, 1880; T. E.
St. John, June n, 1880 to September 26, 1881; M. W. Tabor,
February 26, 1882 to March 25, 1883; J. J. Brayton, June n, 1883,
to June 3,1888; John M. Bartholomew, a son of J. G. Bartholomew,
D. D., October 7, 1888 to May 3, 1891; Ora M. Hilton, March 6,
1892 to July 31, 1902; Arnold I. Yantis, present pastor, September
1, 1902.
The Sunday school connected with this church was started in
1834, by Rev. G. W. Montgomery, in the old red brick church,
opposite to where they now are. Mr. Montgomery was superinten-
dent during his pastorate of ten years and had with him as teachers,
Mr. and Mrs. Ethan A. Warden, Mrs. Bacon, Mr. Sheldon and others.
The Sunday school has not only sustained itself but in many
instances it has contributed liberally towards supporting the church.
Here is a church unique in many ways, for it has able men
among its members who do not believe in leaving the pastor to do
much that is not within his province to do, but are willing workers
in Sunday school work, and are firm believers that the Sunday
school is really the backbone of a church.
Here Sabbath after Sabbath can be seen classes of many of
Auburn’s brainest young men lined up for instruction in many lines
not obtainable in Sunday schools of other denominations.
WALL STREET METHODIST CHURCH.
At a session of the Oneida Conference held in July, 1854, Rev.
B. I. Ives was appointed to the First Methodist Church then located
on the comer of North and Water streets with the understandingCity of Auburn
213
that a mission be started in the northwestern part of the city. He
held the first services for this purpose in an old stone school-house
on Division street. The meetings were held in this building for
some time. The school trustees were requested by the teacher in
charge to stop these meetings, which was immediately done. For
a time after this, services were held in Alonzo Munsell’s dwelling on
Wall street. Brother Ives was appointed to the Wall Street Mission
in July, 1856.
On August 25, a meeting was held at the above-mentioned place
and a Board of Trustees was chosen consisting of the following
members: William Barnes, A. Munsell, T. J. Francis, W. H. Holi-
day and J. W. Haight; the last two mentioned were members of the
First Church. In September, Rev. Ives and Munsell were chosen to
procure a place for public worship. They obtained the use of the
old brick building on the comer of Washington and Seymour streets.
They had thirty-seven members to start with. At the conference
held in the following April, eighty-one members were recorded.
In the meantime Rev. Mr. Ives had been appointed chaplain of the
prison, and at this conference Wall street was left to be supplied.
The Rev. Fitch Reed had been presiding elder for the first year,
but now the Rev. William Reddy was appointed. Rev. Ives was
secured to supply the church. During that year forty-five names
were added to the church roll. He was again appointed at the next
conference but at the first quarterly conference, owing to Mr. Ives
being unable to supply the church on account of his duties at the
prison preventing, the Rev. E. Owen of Wyoming Conference was
invited to become pastor. This change was a dissatisfaction and
members divided into parties, and remained so until the next con-
ference which was held in Auburn with Bishop Simpson presiding.
Rev. William Reddy brought him down to look over the territory
and the result was that the Rev. E. C. Curtis was sent to Wall street
church. Shortly before this the congregation had been turned out
of the old school-house; Rev. Mr. Curtis made his first move by214
History op Cayuga County
buying the building and moving his congregation back to their old
quarters. The trustees had already bought the lot where the church
now stands. There were then one hundred and twenty members.
The Official Board at a meeting held June 27, 1859, decided to
commence the erection of a house of worship and elected the follow-
ing building committee: Alexander Thompson, chairman; Horatio
Hamlin, J. H. Hoskins, Myron Cowel, James Maltbie, A Munsell,
L.	Coons, and I. T. Davis. The building cost $3,000 and was dedi-
cated in the spring of i860. Bishop Taylor preached the sermon,
and Rev. Ives made the prayer dedicating the house to the worship
of God.
Rev. Hiram Gee was appointed presiding elder and the Rev.
M.	I. Keam was the new pastor. At the close of his pastorate the
Rev. Keam united with the Episcopal Church.
The Rev. William Cobb followed in 1863. The Rev. R. Town-
send came next and gave the church two years of hard and suc-
cessful work. Rev. J. T. Wright was then the presiding elder liv-
ing on Wall street and his family were members of Wall Street
Church.
The years 1867-8 gave them two preachers, the Rev. S. Stocking
and Rev. S. M. Fiske.
The Conference of 1869 was held in Auburn and was the first
session of the Central New York Conference. Rev. U. S. Beebee
united with it at this session. It appointed the Rev. B. I. Ives for
presiding elder and Rev. I. H. Barnard was assigned as pastor.
Next on the list was Rev. T. B. Sheppard. During his third
term he was transferred to fill a vacancy at Ilion, and Rev. Daniel
Cobb of the Minnesota Conference was secured to fill out the term.
The time of holding conference was changed to fall, and Rev. T. R.
Green was sent to Wall street. The Rev. B. Shove became presiding
elder in 1873. Rev. Mr. Green was released owing to poor health
and Rev. William Searles preached during the summer, and at theTHEODORE P. CASECity of Auburn
215
next conference Rev. U. S. Beebee was appointed pastor. After a
term of two years he became presiding elder.
The next pastor was Rev. T. Stacy. During his pastorate the
church was enlarged. Rev. Stacy stayed three years and was
followed by Rev. H. B. Cassavant, who remained one year.
Next came Rev. Theron Cooper for presiding elder, and Rev.
R. D. Munger for pastor. Mr. Munger was followed after two years
by Rev. I. T. Brownell who was obliged to relinquish his charge on
account of poor health; his wife died during the first year. The
Rev. H. A. Crane of the Syracuse University was secured to fill
out the year. Dr. L. C. Queal was the next presiding elder. Dur-
ing his time the old church was remodeled, 1887, and a practically
new church with a graceful spire and three thousand-pound bell
was resultant. Dr. Queal had charge and Bishop Andrews and
Dr. C. J. Little were preachers at the dedication. The church
complete at that time cost $14,000.
The Rev. Mr. Sharpe was here for three years. Rev.M. S. Wells
came in 1888, and remained five years. This brings us down to
1893, when Rev. R. D. Munger was appointed presiding elder and
Rev. H. C. Moyer pastor. The Rev. C. E. Jewell, E. Brooker,
H. C. Mayer, two years; A. N. Broadway, two years. The present
pastor, Rev. Mr. Cooper, a newcomer.
FIRST METHODIST EPISCOPAL.
The First Methodist Episcopal Church of Auburn, was organized
April 24, 1819. Auburn was then included in the ‘4 Cayuga Circuit; ’ ’
in 1820 it became a separate charge and its first pastor was Gardiner
Baker. The society then comprised fifty-one members and they
erected a plain wooden chapel on the site of the parochial school
building on Chapel street, in which they worshipped until 1834.
In 1832 John Seymour and Tallmage Cherry erected with their own
funds a substantial stone church on the corner of North and Water
streets at a cost of $13,000, which was dedicated February 6, 1833.
Rev. John Dempster officiated. The society bought the building216
History of Cayuga County
one year later. In April, 1867, the church edifice was destroyed by
fire and the loss was a serious one to the society as they had just
completed extensive repairs, and paid off all indebtedness upon it.
Rev. William Searles had just been assigned to this charge and he
found his people without a place of worship. The loss was promptly
remedied, a lot was purchased on the west comer of South and
Exchange streets, and a church edifice erected upon it at a cost of
$40,000; the new church was dedicated January 7, 1869.
After removal to the new stone church on North street, the
the Chapel street property was sold to the Roman Catholics.
Of the early history of the church but little can now be obtained
as the records have been lost.
Among the first pastors of the North street Church were: Rev.
John Dempster, Rev. George Peck, Gardiner Baker, Joseph Cross
and Thomas Peame, but the exact dates of their respective pastor-
ates cannot be given.
The Rev. A. J. Crandall was appointed in 1844, to the charge,
and remained two years. During his pastorate a great revival of
religion occurred under the labors of that remarkable man, Rev.
John N. Maffit. The revival affected not only the interests of the
Methodist Church, but all denominations became united in the
services and several hundreds were converted and united with the
various churches of Auburn.
Rev. D. W. Bristol followed Mr. Crandall in 1846, remaining
for two years, until July, 1850, when Rev. David Holmes was
appointed at the session of conference as his successor. Mr. Holmes
served two years and during his pastorate, revival services lasting
several weeks were conducted by Rev. Benoni I. Ives, whose splen-
did singing and earnest exhortations attracted, and held the crowds
of people who attended and gained for the church nearly one hun-
dred additional members.City of Auburn
217
After the two years’ pastorate of Mr. Holmes was closed, Rev.
A. J. Dana was appointed to succeed him and occupied the pulpit
from July, 1852, to July, 1854.
As his successor came Rev. B. I. Ives, who during his second
year of service organized the Wall Street Methodist Episcopal
Church. This was in 1855, and Mr. Ives remained until the follow-
ing year when having received the appointment of prison chaplain,
Rev. Wm. Reddy was appointed and assumed the care of the church
in July, 1856.
At the end of nine months Mr. Reddy was made presiding
elder of the Auburn district in April, 1857, and Rev. A. S. Graves
was appointed by the bishop presiding at the annual conference
to fill his place.
After a pastorate of three years, Rev. D. W. Thurston was
appointed and served from i860 to 1862. Rev. D. A. Wheadon,
D. D., was sent to the church in 1862, and served until April, 1864,
when Dr. William C. Steele became the pastor of the church.
Mr. Steele remained three years and left in April, 1867.
It was during the session of conference of this year and month
that the old North Street Church was burned, and the news having
been wired to Conference the presiding bishop made some changes
in his appointments, that were just completed that he might send
Rev. William Searles to the aid of the afflicted church, which was
without a place of worship. Under the leadership of Mr. Searles
the present fine church was erected and dedicated in January, 1879.
The pastorate of Mr. Searles extended over a period of two
years, and he was then succeeded by Rev. E. Horr Jr., who served
the church from April, 1869 to October, 1872.
Rev. William H. Annable was at this time sent as shepherd of
the flock and served earnestly and faithfully for a period of three
years, when Rev. William Searles was sent again to the church
for a second period of service and remained two years.
In October, 1877, Rev. John Alabaster succeeded Mr. Searles218
History of Cayuga County
and remained as pastor for the next two years, when John F.
Clymer was appointed to fill the place. He served most acceptably
until October, 1881, when Rev. H. F. Spencer became pastor and
served during the next two years.
In October, 1883, the Rev. Dr. Luke Queal came to the church
as successor to Mr. Spencer and served for two years, when he was
succeeded by Rev. George Avery, who came in October, 1885, and
remained until October, 1887, when Dr. O. H. Houghton came to
the church and remained until October, 1892, a pastorate of five
years, which was the full time limit as extended by recent act of
General Conference.
At the close of Dr. Houghton’s pastorate the church was without
a pastor until February, 1893, when Dr. H. R. Bender was trans-
ferred from a Pennsylvania conference and filled the pulpit for
another five years.
The next incumbent was Rev. C. M. Eddy, who came in 1898.
Along in the 8o’s, Thomas Jones of the firm of Jones &
Merritt Biron, contractors, then one of the leaders of the church
workers, erected at his own expense a twelve-thousand dollar
addition in the rear of the already spacious edifice, thereby giv.
ing increased facilities especially for Sunday school work.
TRINITY METHODIST.
In the month of August, 1885, Rev. I. C. Queal, D. D., then
pastor of the First Methodist Episcopal Church on Exchange street,
Auburn, consulted with the official members as to the propriety of
purchasing the property on the comer of East Genesee and Evans
streets for the purpose of building thereon a chapel for Sunday
school work and occasional services in connection with the First
Church. A committee was appointed consisting of Thomas Jones,
John F. Driggs, C. A. Porter, and C. E. Parker, and the property
was bought September 2, 1885, of F. A. Sloan for $4,000.
The house was finished for a double tenement. About the
first of May, 1886, work was begun upon the chapel under the super-City of Auburn
219
vision of Mr. Thomas Jones and the same was completed the follow-
ing October.
In the meantime it was suggested that there were Methodists
enough in this part of the city to organize as a church, so with the
approval of Dr. Queal a meeting was called at the house of C. A.
Porter on Franklin street, at which time the following trustees were
elected: C, E. Parker, C. A. Porter, A. S. Martin, W. D. Tuller,
and R. T. Broad.
A charter was at once filed in the county clerk’s office, the
society taking the name of Trinity Methodist Episcopal Church
of Auburn, N. Y.
Rev. Arthur Copeland was appointed by the conference, October
15, 1886, the first pastor and his work was crowned with success.
At the end of the first year the number of members reported was
one hundred and forty.
Rev. Copeland was followed in 1889, by Rev. Charles E. Babcock
according to the plan of the Methodist itinerancy that did not allow
a minister to stay more than three years on a charge. The east
half of the house was used as a parsonage.
Rev. Mr. Babcock held the pastorate for two years which also
did Rev. Levi Bird as he came in October, 1891, and left in October,
1893, after a three years’ successful pastorate, the latter staying two
years, the work of the church progressing meanwhile in all its
branches.
After a decade of itinerary with several of the ablest preachers
of the denomination, “Little Trinity around the comer” (on Evans
street) is placed in charge of the Rev. Mr. Skinner, a more than
energetic pastor, who during a three years’ pastorate has rushed to
completion, from the laying of the cornerstone to dedication, one
of the most beautiful and unique up-to-date temples of worship in
the state, at the dedication of which on Sunday, September 29, 1907,
the Methodists of this locality during Conference Week had “the
time of their life. ”220
History of Cayuga County
The total cost of the church and parsonage, outside of the site,
was $55,000, and the cash and subscriptions before the dedication
amounted to $34,000, leaving a balance due of $21,000. Of this
amount there was still due when the evening service came $9,500
but when the last gift had been made at the close of the night, not
long before the midnight hour, the balance needed to free the
church and start it clear had been subscribed.
ZION M. E. CHURCH.
Over in the middle distance of the landscape as viewed from
Fort Hill and other high places of observation in the city appears
most conspiciously the graceful spire of one of the most picturesque
and best equipped church edifices outside of the larger cities, wherein
the colored population of Auburn can worship in “a church of our
own.”
A little over a half century ago the Afro-American race of Auburn
had no permanent plan of worship and no regular pastor. It was
their custom to hold meetings at some house, and perhaps some
travelling preacher would come and hold a sort of revival meeting.
This church was organized in the late 40’s, by the Rev. Mr.
Johnson with a few families and began worshipping in an abandoned
wooden school house on Washington street which was erected by
the then village of Auburn for a separate school for colored children,
and later turned over by the new city authorities to the colored
people for church uses. After Mr. Johnson, came as pastors, Rev.
Joseph Johnson, John Thomas, Rev. Inskip, Rev. Anderson, William
Cromwell, James Green, Rev. Bosley, Solomon Jones, and Singleton
H. Thompson, each of whom served them three years, and Revs.
Phenix, Lacy, and Wright one year. Later, we find Biddle, C. A.
Smith, Gibbs, Castor, Walker, Daingerfield, Thomas, King, Ely,
Cephas, and again C. A. Smith, and others whose names are not at
hand.
During the history of this organization they have been blessed
with some noted ministers and bishops. With the influence ofCity of Auburn
221
prominent leaders this society was able to honor God with a new
house and August 9, 1891, they laid the cornerstone of the new
M. E. Zion Church on a new site on Parker street, Bishop Thomp-
son presiding and Rev. J. R. Daingerfield as pastor. On the twenty-
second day of November, 1900, with Rev. C. A. Smith as pastor,
they celebrated the fifty-third anniversary of the church.
CATHOLIC CHURCHES.
BY LOCAL PASTORS.
CHURCH OF THE HOLY FAMILY.
The Holy Family Church of Auburn, N. Y., was the cradle of
Catholicity in this part of the state. The first Catholic settlers in
Auburn were John O’Connor (a man of means and of much mental
vigor, grandfather of the present pastor of the Holy Family Church,
Rev. John J. Hickey) and Hugh Ward. They came in 1810. They
lived here six years without seeing a priest, and then the Rt. Rev.
Bishop Connelly of New York, at their request and expense sent
them Rev. John Gorman who journeyed from New York by stage
in 1816. For a number of years after this mass was celebrated at
the O’Connor home on Water street which stood next to the Watson
homestead near the site of the Burtis Auditorium. Catholics came
from Geneva, Seneca Falls, Waterloo and Ithaca to worship here.
In 1820, Father Gorman came to Auburn and said mass in the
Court House, baptized children and performed other ministrations.
There were few Catholics then living between Albany and Buf-
falo, and St. John’s Church at Utica was built in the 20’s to^serve
them. The first trustees were John and Nicholas Devereaux of
Utica, John O’Connor of Auburn, Morris Hogan ofjNew Hartford,
Oliver Weston of Johnstown, Thomas McCarthy of Syracuse, John
McGuire of Rochester and Charles Carroll of Genesee River.
In 1825, Father Kelly came from Rochester and ministered to
the wants of the few families.
In 1828 Rev. Dr. Farron came from Utica a few times to visit
the Catholic pioneers. A few months later Father McNamara dis-222
History of Cayuga County
pensed his labors here. Then came Father Hayes from Salina and
said mass in the Court House. In 1829, Father O’Donaghue took
up his residence in the village and purchased from the Methodists
their abandoned meeting house which stood on the site of the present
Holy Family school on Chapel street.
The church was dedicated in September, 1830, under the name
of the Church of the Holy Family with John O’Connor, Hugh Ward,
James Hickson, Thomas Hickson and David Lawler as the first
lay trustees. The Rev. Father O’Donaghue became the first resi-
dent pastor. Father Connolly was his successor and he was
succeeded by Father Grace who died here in 1844; Father Bradley
came next. Rev. Thomas O’Flaherty succeeded Father Bradley
and remained here until 1856 when the Rev. Martin Kavanaugh
came for one year. Rev. Michael Creedon succeeded him in 1857.
In 1861, Father Creedon built the present beautiful church edifice
which stands on North street Later he was removed to Elmira
and was succeeded by Rev. James McGlew. He remained pastor
for two years when Rev. Father O’Flaherty became pastor for the
second time. He was succeeded by Rev. Martin Kavanaugh, in
1869, who during his pastorate built the present school-house on
the site of the old one and was again appointed pastor. He remained
until 1874, and was followed by Rev. Edward McGowan, who served
the pastorate until 1877, when he was succeeded by Rev. William
Seymour, who remained in charge of the Holy Family Church until
his death which occurred in 1895. Father Seymour built the present
parochial residence and enlarged the Sisters of Mercy Convent.
The deceased was succeeded by the present pastor the Rev. John J.
Hickey through whose energy and enterprise most of the improve-
ments which have taken place in the church and its surrounding
property are due. Father Hickey purchased the property on the
comer south of the church, removed the unsightly buildings, and
he has one of the finest church lawns seen anywhere. He remodeled
the whole interior and exterior of the church edifice and schoolCity of Auburn
223
building, including the erection of the two handsome church towers
and the large and commodious sacristy. The church interior with
its elaborate decorations and furnishings, including a number of
mural paintings by Munich artists, the magnificent stations of the
Cross in the form of artistic statuary, the extensive system of electric
lighting consisting of one thousand incandescent lights, etc., is one
of the finest in the state. The installation of a superb chime of
bells and Munich stained glass windows will be shortly added by
Father Hickey to make the equipment of this beautiful church
unusually complete. Numerous other improvements have been
made which greatly beautify that part of North street on which the
church is located.
ST. ALPHONSUS* CHURCH
In the year 1853, about twenty German families decided to have
their own church and a pastor of their own nationality.
For some years the Redemptorist Fathers of St. Joseph's German
Church, Rochester, N. Y., visited Auburn about once a month to
attend to the spiritual wants of the German Catholics, until in the
year 1854, a small wooden church was built on Wall street, near
State. The first resident pastor was Rev. Jacob Kunze, who stayed
about six months ; then the German parish was attended by the
Redemptorists of Rochester.
In 1855, Bishop Timon sent as pastor, Rev. Dom Guymer, who
left the parish in 1856, and St. Alphonsus parish came again under
the pastoral care of the Redemptorists of Rochester until the year
1869.
Of these priests Rev. Van Emstedd deserves special mention.
Under him the snug little brick church in Water street (that had
been built by the Second Adventists in the 5o’s and abandoned
after being “tired out a’waiting”) was bought. In 1866, the sacra-
ment of confirmation was administered, for the first time, in the
German church by Bishop Timon of Buffalo.224
History of Cayuga County
In 1869, Rev, Charles Vogel, a highly educated and worthy
priest, became pastor of St. Alphonsus’s parish. With the help of
charitable Protestant Americans this pastor was enabled to make
many improvements, conspicuously a handsome steeple, from the
belfry of which peals forth the pleasant tones of a thousand-pound
bell, the bell being paid for mostly by a “chip in” by nearly every
business man in Auburn, and when in 1874, Father Vogel left, the
church was free from debt and the parish was in a very flourishing
condition.
In the year 1874, Rev. Constantine Ulrich was appointed pastor
by the Rev. Bishop McQuaid. This priest paid special attention to
the Christian education of the children and under great difficulties
made divers attempts to have a parochial school, until he succeeded
in buying the Carhart property on the comer of Franklin street and
Seminary avenue at an expense of $8,700. During Reverend
Ulrich’s pastorate an addition was built and other improvements
made to the church.
In June, 1887, Reverend Ulrich became pastor of the German
parish at Webster, N. Y., and Rev. Joseph Netzel succeeded him
in St. Alphonsus. The same year the school was re-opened with one
hundred and twenty-six children under the directions of the Sisters
of St. Joseph of Nazareth Academy, Rochester, N. Y. In 1890,
an addition was again built to the school-house.
In April, 1896, Rev. Joseph Netzel was appointed pastor of St.
Francis’ Church, Rochester, and Rev. Herbert Regenbogen, former
assistant in St. Michael’s Church, Rochester, succeeded him. Rev-
erend Regenbogen was educated in Germany and Switzerland. He
studied theology in Germany and philosophy in Switzerland, and
was ordained by Bishop McQuaid. Since his coming, the children
of St. Alphonsus have been housed in an elegant new brick school-
house with all up-to-date appointments, fronting on Franklin street,
and in other ways materially improved the church property. FatherCity of Auburn
225
Regenbogen is beloved by his parishioners and most highly esteemed
by the general public.
st. mary's church.
In the year 1868, the Rt. Rev. B. J. McQuaid, D. D., found it
necessary to make a division of the Holy Family parish in order to
meet the demands of the Catholic population of the City of Auburn.
On the 15th of August, in accordance with the Rt. Rev. Bishop's
plans, a new parish was organized under the title of “St. Mary's of
the Assumption," with the Rev. Thomas Meagher as pastor, r A
temporary location at 34 State street was secured and there services
were held for a short time. But in a few weeks more room was
needed and “Tallman's Hall" was used. Shortly after the lot on
which St. Mary's church now stands was purchased and thereon
a small wooden building was erected, 70 x 50 feet, known as the
“Shanty Church."
Little by little the new parish increased until at the advent of
the Rev. Myles J. Loughlin, D. D., as pastor in September, 1869, a
new and larger church was deemed necessary.
Dr. Loughlin came, not a stranger, to his new appointment
formerly having been an assistant at the Holy Family church and
at one time a resident of the city—cultured and enthusiastic, he was
impressed with the needs of his people and after considerable diffi-
culty and disappointment he entered upon the erection of the
present beautiful edifice at the comer of Clark and Green streets.
At first it was determined to erect a brick structure; other counsels,
however, prevailed. A stone building was deemed more fitting
and finally agreed upon. This was in 1871.
Another lot adjoining the one purchased by Father Meagher was
bought and the work of erecting the new church began at once.
During its construction, Dr. Loughlin toiled and labored as ardu-
ously as any workman upon it. For over six years he acted the
part of superintendent, architect, builder and pastor, and scarcely
15226
History of Cayuga County
a day during this period ever saw him absent from his labors. So
intimately was he connected with it and so untiringly did he work
that it was said there was not one stone of the entire structure
which he did not select for its place.
As soon as available the basement was used for church purposes.
Here for five years the young congregation assembled to attend
mass, and to hear the word of God. Finally in April, 1877, the
church proper was dedicated by the Right Reverend Bishop with
imposing ceremonies and into it the delighted people went with
gratitude to God, and proud of their fine church building and be-
loved pastor. The accomplishment of such a work is a strong proof
of the greatness of the sacrifice and the power of united action in
the work of God.
But too arduous and exhausting had been the labors of Dr.
Loughlin. The strain had been too much and was more than he
could stand. Almost worn out he was transferred, at his own
request, to the quiet mission of St. Rose of Lima and in the following
spring he died, after a brief illness, in St. Mary’s Hospital at
Rochester.
The present pastor, Rev. Wm. Mulheron, was appointed by the
Bishop to carry on the noble undertaking of his predecessor, to
complete the work for which Dr. Loughlin laid down his life. On
the 7th of September, 1877, Father Mulheron assumed charge of St.
Mary’s, and a better choice could not have been made.
Coming under most adverse circumstances with an enormous
debt of $60,000 upon the people, and a financial depression then
passing over the country, ordinarily a man would hesitate under-
taking such a task. True the church was built, but the furnishings
were inadequate and not in keeping with the beautiful edifice; an
unsanitary school building, a poor and dilapidated convent for the
sisters, a parsonage hemmed in on all sides—these were the con-
ditions under which Father Mulheron commenced his labors at St.
Mary’s. With a loyal and faithful people, and with implicit trustCity of Auburn
227
and confidence in God, he set about to lift the debt and improve the
church property. And now after thirty-one years of persistent
effort, St. Mary’s church and surrounding auxiliaries are regarded
as a credit to pastor and people, an ornament to the city and an
honor to religion.
The church is built entirely of gray limestone. Its style is a
modification of Gothic architecture in the form of a Latin cross,
with nave, side aisles, transepts and apse. The ceilings are groined
and enriched with foliated bosses, and the capitals and corbels are
finely ornamented. St. Mary’s people are to be congratulated upon
the possession of such a magnificent church. It would, indeed, be
hard to find a more beautiful structure. Its interior is art crystal-
lized, its architecture is devotion idealized, its symmetry is art
immortalized. Outside it hangs together like a picture, inside it
pours down on you all the grandeur, devotion and magnificence of a
cathedral. Some one has said that art is frozen music, but art and
architecture such as St. Mary’s are religion, not frozen, asleep, per-
haps, but with open eyes. Look at it; go into the church, and
everything there, the walls, the pillars, the triple arch, the altars,
the ceilings, furnishings, all speak mutely but eloquently of God,
of Jesus, of heaven and its inhabitants.
It will not be amiss to enumerate some of the work performed
under Father Mulheron’s administration. The present school
building was erected at a cost of $8,000, the mortgage on the lot of
$6,000, paid off. The Francisco property, between church and
school, was bought for $10,000. New pews were placed in the
church, altars remodeled, the interior decorated at a cost of $4,000,
new and modem heating apparatus were installed in church parson-
age and school, a new church organ, one of the finest in the city
was procured for the sum of $6,000. The new parochial residence
cost $10,000 The Shimer property on State street, which enhances
the beauty and appearance of St. Mary’s, was purchased for $5,000.
These items, and many others that might be given, together with228
History of Cayuga County
the annual running expenses of church and school for the past
thirty-one years make a grand total of over $400,000 which have
been received and disbursed during Father Mulheron’s pastorate.
The debt on the church property is now reduced to $12,000, which
by the generosity of St. Mary’s people will in a few years, be entirely
liquidated. A tower upon the church with its chime of bells is only
lacking. It is the fond hope of pastor and people that the comple-
tion of the tower and the acquisition of the chimes will in the near
future be accomplished and acquired.
And notwithstanding all this, although deeply involved in tem-
poral affairs, Father Mulheron, during all these years, never lost
sight of the spiritual welfare of his flock. He has been ever ready
day and night to attend to their many wants. Nowhere, it can be
safely said, have better opportunities been presented for the practice
of religion than those held out by Father Mulheron for his people
both young and old. Under his supervision various societies were
organized. He has always taken a deep interest in the welfare of
these societies and his efforts in their behalf are recognized and
appreciated by all. His religious zeal and activity for the welfare
of his parishoners have resulted in the following organizations:—The
Young Ladies’ Sodality, which, by the way, bears the reputation of
being the largest in the diocese, if not in the state or nation; the
Children of Mary, the Holy Name Society, the Rosary and Scapular,
and the Boy’s Sodality of the Holy Name of Jesus.
Father Mulheron has always had the interests of Catholicity at
heart. He was instrumental in establishing the Auburn Orphan
Asylum, fully recognizing the necessity of such an institution in our
city, where the fatherless and motherless little ones might receive
proper religious training under the guidance of the Sisters of St.
Joseph. He threw his whole soul and energy into the work, and
ever since its establishment has been its loyal and devoted friend.
About four years ago, under his direction and supervision, St.
Edward’s, a combination church and school, was erected in theCity of Auburn
229
southwestern part of the city, at a cost of over $14,000, for the
accommodation of his parishioners in that vicinity. At present it is
attended from St. Mary’s, but in course of time will have its own
pastor. He is now busily engaged in looking after the interests
of the Italian population of the city. A site has been purchased in
lower Clark street, in the center of the Italian colony, on which has
already been built a parochial residence, costing nearly $3,000. It
is expected that in a very short time the work on the new church, to
be known as “St. Francis of Assisi,” will be commenced. To both
these enterprises St. Mary’s people, although taxed heavily to meet
their own demands, have contributed generously and in the same
kindly and charitable spirit that has been so characteristic of them
in the past.
The following priests have been assistants at St. Mary’s for
periods ranging from a few months to five years, and have ably
assisted both Dr. Loughlin and Father Mulheron in all their under-
takings:—Rev. Dr. Massino, once president of Allegheny College;
Rev. Dr. Lynch, afterwards pastor of Ithaca; Rev. Eugene Pagani;
Rev. Father Connelly; Rev. W. Morris, now of Denver, Col.; Rev.
Father Sturton; Rev. Father Russell; Rev. Joseph Hendrick, the
present pastor of Ovid; Rev. James Day, now of Mount Morris; Rev.
James Hickey, at present pastor of Holy Apostles’Church, Rochester;
Rev. Father Donnelly, of Victor; Rev. James J. Dougherty, now of
Canandaigua; Rev. John J. McGrath, pastor of St. Aloysius’, this
city; Rev. John Quinn, now of Mount Reid,; Rev.James J. Gibbons,
at present pastor of Newark; Rev. J. Francis O’Hem, of the Cathe-
dral, Rochester; Rev. John B. Doran, of Groton; Rev. E. J. Dwyer,
now assistant at the Holy Family this city, and the present assist-
ants, Revs. John R. Fitzsimons and P. J. Smyth.—By P. J. S.
st. aloysius’ church.
St. Aloysius Church, 162 Van Anden street, the fourth organized
church of the Roman Catholics of Auburn, was organized in 1901230
History of Cayuga County
by the Rev. John J. McGrath, the present pastor of this one of the
most rapidly growing parishes in the state.
Father McGrath is a graduate of the Troy Seminary. He was
ordained priest by Bishop McQuaid, September 21, 1889, and prior
to his appointment to St Aloysius in 1891, was for one year at the
Cathedral in Rochester, and for five years assistant at St. Mary’s in
Auburn. After leaving St. Mary’s he was for five years at Moravia,
Since his appointment to the pastorate of St. Aloysius, he has
erected a magnificent combination church and school-house, a
parish house, a convent and a parish hall (“The Grand” on Wall
street in rear of the church) at a cost of many thousand dollars, and
many days of volunteer labor by willing workers, whereby the
people of St. Aloysius are possessed with an aggregation of up-to-
date church work facilities not to be found in many other parishes.
st. hyacinth’s church (polish).
St. Hyacinth’s Roman Catholic Church, Auburn’s sixth and latest
organized Catholic church was formed in 1905, and the next year
an elegant $30,000 brick church and school-house combined erected,
besides providing liberally for a priest’s residence. Rev. St. J. Szupa,
pastor of St. Hyacinth’s Church, received his early education in the
parochial school of Buffalo, after which he took his college course
at the Polish Seminary and College, Detroit, Mich. He then
went to Rome, Italy, and took a three years’ course in the Polish
college there. Returning to America he completed his studies by
a two-year course in St. Bernard’s College, Rochester, N. Y. He
was ordained in 1905, and was then appointed to organize a
parish, which grew into that of St. Hyacinth, his first and only
charge. It is evident that Father Szupa is the right man in the
right place, and that St. Hyacinth will soon become a most import-
ant parish.Indian Days
231
CHAPTER XII.
History op Cayuga County.
The first inhabitants of Cayuga County of whom there is any
authentic record were the Indians whose tribal name the county
bears. How long they had dwelt upon their wild and beautiful
domain, before the white man came, no man can say with certainty.
As to how they came into the region of the seven lakes there is only
the evidence of their own mythological legend. That, so far as it
relates to places and their own achievements, is, probably, as
credible as much of the ancient history of Old World peoples. Their
story is colored with the pigment of superstition and the interjection
of the supernatural, but the same may be said of the records of the
Greeks and Romans.
According to the story, the remnant of a tribe of Indians, after
a bloody war with a stronger tribe, fled from the northern shore of
the St. Lawrence, ventured out upon Lake Ontario, and finally
landed at Oswego. That was in a time so remote and vague that its
words are like the whispers of the forest. Some estimate it as close
to a thousand years ago.
The place where they landed and the stream they named Swageh.
Ascending the river a short distance, they encamped on the high
ground and there took up their permanent abode, finally becoming
known as the Onun-da-ga-o-no, or Onondaga nation; the name
signifying ‘‘People on the Hill.” From this name and the location
of the tribe came the Indian legend that they were actually called
forth from the bowels of the earth at the foot of the hill where they
first rested after the flight. Hawen-ne-yu, the Holder of the
Heavens, released them from their subterranean prison, so the
legend runs.232
History of Cayuga County
As time elapsed the tribe became very numerous, and large
bands separated from the parent colony, at different times, going
far into the forest to find new hunting grounds and establish new
tribes. One of these parties settled upon the Mohawk river and
founded the Mohawk tribe; another developed into the Oneidas; a
third into the Onondagas; a fourth into the Cayugas, from which the
Senecas were an offshoot.
The Cayugas, according to their own tradition, were led in their
excursions into the wilderness by Ta-oun-ya-wat-ha or Hi-a-wat-ha,
a sort of demi-god partly human and partly divine. They reached
Cayuga Lake through the Seneca River and made their home upon
its banks becoming lords of the adjacent wilderness. On their
journey from Oswego to Cayuga Lake they encountered many
marvellous experiences, according to their chronicles—experiences
surpassing those of the Trojans in their journey from Troy to Italy,
and rivalling those of the fabled Perseus.
When they had reached the foot of Cayuga Lake they found the
marshes swarming with all kinds of aquatic fowl including geese,
ducks, plover and snipe. These birds were kept in a sort of con-
finement by a pair of monstrous eagles, of tremendous strength and
appalling appearance. These terrible guards would not permit any
of the water fowl to leave the marshes, but herded them there and
feasted upon them at will. When the Cayugas approached the
marshes the eagles barred their way, refusing to permit them to
proceed farther. This led to a terrible combat, for, of course, the
Indians attacked them, and after a dire conflict killed the pair.
The result of the battle not only proved the valor and prowess of
the Cayugas, but conferred a great benefit upon all Indians, for the
water fowl being liberated, took wing, with great clamor, and
spreading upon all lakes and rivers afforded food for red men every-
where. But the Cayugas had no sooner destroyed the terrible eagles
than they were beset by another foe. Upon the marshes dwelt aIndian Days
233
monster mosquito. The Indians could not defeat him in com-
bat; in fact he killed several braves, who risked an encounter,
piercing them with his invincible sting. Failing to conquer him they
were compelled to appeal to the Holder of the Heavens to come to
their aid. The divinity came in response to their prayer, and
before him the mosquito fled. But Ha-wen-ne-yu pursued chasing
the monster around lake after lake and over the surrounding coun-
try, finally overtaking him at the Seneca River, where he slew him.
But the blood flowing from the death wounds of the great mosquito
gave birth to innumerable swarms of small mosquitoes which may
be seen to this day.
The wandering band entered Cayuga Lake from the Seneca River
and-settled upon the eastern bank. They were a nameless offshoot
from the parent tribe at Oswego, until they settled, when they
became known as the Cayugas or “People at the Mucky Land. ”
Their original name was also pronounced Gwe-u-gweh-o-no.
It was not long before the tribe “swarmed” as its parent had,
and the offshoot proceeded west to Seneca Lake, settled thereon
and founded the Seneca nation. Some historians assume that the
original band separated, one part going on into the Seneca country.
There is no account of battles with human foes, no recital of
wars with the possessors of the country they had invaded, yet the
Allegans, a fierce and powerful tribe, are supposed to have inhabited
this land at one time. It is claimed by archaeologists that their
territory extended from the Ohio River into Western New York,
and the story of their overthrow is that the Huron-Iroquois and
Algonquins united to make war upon them, and that after a pro-
tracted conflict lasting for about one hundred years, the Allegans
were driven out. That race is said to have been the one popularly
known as the mound builders.
From the time the Cayugas settled upon the land until the
advent of the Jesuit fathers, little is known of them, except that234	History of Cayuga County
they lived their savage life, hunted, feasted, fought and loved in
their wild way in their wild domain. Their wars with the neigh-
boring tribes were finally terminated by the formation of the great
Indian League known first as the Five Nations, and later as the
Six Nations, after the admission of the Tuscaroras.
The Five Nations were known by the general name or title of
Iroquois. The word is of French origin or is the French form of
the Indian word Iroquoie. It has been supposed that the French
gave the name to the five tribes, related not only by blood, tradition
and treaty, but also by languages which were but different dialects
of one parent tongue. But some philologists boldly affirm that
there are traces of the Iroquois speech in the ancient Sanscrit, and
are ready with many arguments to sustain their contention. Some
Iroquois traditions bear a startling resemblance to passages in the
Book of Dzyan, supposed to be the oldest book in the world, and
some Iroquois’ words in both formation and meaning suggest their
origin in the great language of antiquity.
The word Iroquois means “the chain that can never be broken, ”
and while this may have referred to the great Indian Confederacy
of the Five Nations, it may have had a more ancient and mystical
significance. It is generally conceded that the ancestors of the
American Indians came from Asia, and probably were Hindoos.
The Iroquois call themselves “The People of the Long House,”
which, no doubt, was a metaphor representing their great League
as a lodge extending from the Hudson to the Niagara, and in which
dwelt all the five tribes.
The first mission founded among the Cayugas was in 1656, and
soon after the establishment of the Onondaga Mission from which
missionaries were delegated to labor among the Cayugas and
Senecas. The Cayugas had been represented at the first missionary
conncil at Onondaga, when they were received with much formality.
Saonchiogwa, the head chief of the Cayugas, was very cordial to the
“Black Robes,” as the priests were called and assured them of hisIndian Days
235
desire to receive them as brothers. A representative Cayugan in his
nation asked that one of the fathers might be sent to them, assuring
them that a chapel would be built for their use. The request was
granted, and Father Menard was sent to the Cayugas, arriving in
August, 1656. He found, however, a great antipathy not only
to the faith but to his own person. This dislike had come
to the Gayugas through the Hurons, who insisted that the mission-
aries brought them sickness and misfortunes. But the principal
men of the Cayugas, from motives of policy, did not break with the
missionary, and set their Huron slaves to work to build a chapel,
which at the end of two days was completed and ready for occu-
pancy. Father Menard spread the floor with “beautiful mats” and
arranged two images in the chapel, one of our Lord and the other of
our Lady. The effect, Menard relates, “so greatly surprised our
barbarians that they came in crowds to consider it and gaze upon
the countenances and movements of the two images.” Many con-
verts were made not only of the Hurons and slaves, but also from
the natives of the country. Many brought their children to him
for baptism and aided him in teaching them prayers while repeat-
ing them after him.
The first person baptized was a man eighty years old. The
second was a cripple deformed by a cancer, who had been a renowned
warrior and who was much esteemed by the Cayugas. His conver-
sion to the Christian faith led many others to embrace it, not only
by his influential example, but through the zeal of his discourse.
But Menard met the difficulties common to all the early French
missionaries. He said: ‘ ‘ Our faith is accused of being the murderer
of all who profess it, and the cause of all the evils both public and
private with which they were afflicted: that the children died two
years after baptism and that those who adopted the Christian faith,
either broke a leg, or pierced their foot with a thorn, or became
emaciated, or vomited up the soul with the blood, or were attacked
with some other signal malady. ” These superstitious notions of236
History of Cayuga County
the Indians often put the lives of the missionaries in jeopardy.
Menard was accused by some of being a sorcerer, by others that
he had the power of life and death over the people; that he could
if he so willed heal the sick, and if they died he was responsible for
their death. Some of the more suspicious desired to remove him,
but were restrained by others.
Menard gained many converts, however, at his first visit, but at
the end of two months left for Onondaga. He returned to the
mission after a brief absence, accompanied by several Frenchmen
and also by many prominent Cayugas who had visited him at
Onondaga to urge his return, and resumed his labors. A war which
broke out between the French and the Five Nations in 1658, caused
the missionaries to return to Canada. This war lasted two years.
Though the influence of Garacontie the chief sachem of the Onon-
dagas and a firm friend of the missionaries, a delegation headed by
the Chief of the Cayugas, Saonchiogwa, was despatched to Montreal
to negotiate peace. They arrived in July, 1660, without previous
notice to the French that they wished for peace. Presents were
bought as pledges of this desired peace and they were explained by
Saonchiogwa who stipulated that, “A black gown must come with
me, otherwise no peace. And on his coming depends the lives of
twenty Frenchmen.” The proposal was accepted and Father
Le Moyne, who had visited them several years before and was well
known to them, was sent. Le Moyne remained for some time
with the Cayugas assisting in caring for the sick and finding an
ample field for the exercise of his zeal. The missions were now
interrupted by eight years of war between the Iroquois and the
French. Upon its termination in 1668 the faithful Garacontie
succeeded in re-establishing them. Father Etienne DeCarheil
arrived at Cayuga on the 6th of November, 1668; a chapel was
built for him and the mission dedicated to St. Joseph. Father
DeCarheil experienced great difficulty in overcoming their super-Indian Days
237
stitions but this danger passed and he lived and labored among the
Cayugas for sixteen years.
Father DeCarheil writes from Cayuga under date of June, 1670,
that this canton has three important boroughs or villages; Cayuga,
Thiohero and Ontare or St. Rene.
In 1671, Father DeCarheil on account of ill health, was obliged
to take a rest for a year. Father Refeix of the Seneca Mission
supplied his place during this time.
In concluding the history of the missions of Cayuga, so long the
scene of Father DeCarheil’s labors, it is unfortunately true that in
spite of the fact that he labored so faithfully for their good they at
last plundered him of everything, in 1684, and drove him from the
country.
The two head chiefs of the Cayuga canton, Orehaoue and
Sarennoa, instigated doubtless by English intrigue, led this move-
ment in 1683. Colonel Thomas Dongan, governor of New York,
had so far succeeded in destroying the influence of the French with
the Iroquois, and though himself a Catholic, he directed all his
efforts to expel the Canadian missionaries, and to inspire the
Indians against them. He promised to send them Jesuits in-
stead and build them churches; as a result the Oneida and Seneca
missions were broken up a year before the expulsion of Father De-
Carheil.
The Jesuit Fathers found the Cayugas to be the fiercest,
the boldest, the most politic and the most ambitious savages to
whom the American forest has ever given birth and nurture. They
called themselves the “People of the Long House” and they were
the most renowned and formidable of all the native tribes of this
country. In stature they were erect and commanding; in demeanor
reserved and haughty; cool, deliberate and cunning. The great
Iroquois Confederacy continued until its power was broken by the
War of the Revolution. The Cayugas had several towns and many
large villages laid out with considerable regularity. They had238
History of Cayuga County
large square houses with compartments and each house contained
many families. They were comfortable and substantial. Colonel
Stone in his Border Wars of the American Revolution states
that ‘ ‘ In some instances the Indians had frame houses which were
painted. As they did not have saw mills I think their ‘frame
houses’ were simply of hewn timber. ”
We learn from the journals kept by officers of the Revolution
who participated in the Border Wars, that the fatigue parties who
were sent out to destroy the Indian villages found at the towns
apples, peaches, potatoes, turnips, onions, pumpkins, squashes and
vegetables of various kinds and great plenty, and Mons Fellows,
in his journal, informs us that they found not only what are men-
tioned above but peas, beans, cabbage, carrots, parsnips, cucumbers
and watermelons. At Kushong they found fowls which they
confiscated. As their lakes and rivers were filled with the choicest
fish (among which was the salmon) and as their forests abounded
with game in endless variety, the Indians, evidently, had some of
the luxuries of life. Mary Jemeson includes in her losses sustained
by the Indians when Sullivan’s army was in the Genesee County,
horses and cattle; other writers mention hogs and milch cows. In
1687, DeNonville, Governor of Canada, made a raid upon the
Senecas, with an army of French and Indians. In that raid it was
claimed they destroyed 1,200,000 bushels of com.
Wonder is often expressed as to how those Indians acquired
their agricultural habits and the knowledge of house building. It
must not be forgotten that the Jesuit Fathers began to teach them
considerably more than a century before Sullivan raided their
country, and it may be presumed with perfect safety that the
missionaries endeavored to teach the Indians how to build houses
and raise crops. Also French traders mingled with the Indians,
some of them even married squaws, and for their own advantage
would build cabins which the Indians would imitate.Indian Days
239
CHAPTER XIII.
Sullivan’s Raid—Reservations.
The punishment of the Iroquois having been ordered by Congress,
in 1779 General Washington planned a campaign to cut off their
settlement, destroy their crops, and inflict on them every other
injury which time and circumstances would permit. General
Sullivan's army did its work well among the Senecas and Cayugas
and while the slain were comparatively few, this campaign was dis-
asterous in its consequences to the doomed Iroquois.
On September 20, 1779, six hundred men under the command of
Lieutenant-Colonel William Butler were sent out. They camped
one night where Waterloo now stands. The next morning at
seven o’clock they broke camp and marched nine or ten miles to
the foot of Cayuga Lake, where they crossed by wading in the water
up to their breasts. The lake or outlet was about seventy rods
wide at that point. This portage was some three miles north of
Cayuga village. It was part of the great Indian trail, and where
the crossing of the northern turnpike was subsequently located.
There was on the east side a town called by the Indians Ti-o-he-ro,
and by the Jesuits, St. Stephen, which was destroyed. That after-
noon they reached Ge-waw-ga, (now Union Springs) having marched
eighteen miles that day. In Thomas Grant’s journal I find:	“Sep-
tember 22nd, marched this day at 6 :oo A. M., about two miles to the
Cayuga Castle, an Indian town of that name, containing in number
about fifteen very large square houses. I think the buildings supe-
rior to any we have yet seen.”
Our old ideas of bark cabins and cheerless wigwams as the homes
of the Indians may be correct as regards some tribes and sections,240
History of Cayuga County
but are evidently far from the truth so far as the Senecas and
Cayugas are concerned. The troops found near Great Gully not
only the town we have mentioned but two others: Upper Cayuga (so
named by General Clark of Auburn) was on the south side, about two
miles back from the lake; East Cayuga (so named by General Clark)
was on the north side in the southeast comer of the town of Spring-
port. We find this in one of the journals: “September 23rd. This
day the troops were employed till three o’clock in finishing the
destruction of the com, and burning the aforesaid mentioned towns
within. ” Another writer gives us this:	“The most part of the day
taken up in destroying scattering towns, com, etc., within two or
three miles, all around this town” which he in a former sentence
mentions as “large and commodious,” consisting of “fifty houses
mostly well built.” He evidently regarded Cayuga Castle, Upper
Cayuga, and East Cayuga as one town. They constituted without
doubt Goi-o-gou-en, the capital town of the Cayugas where the
Jesuits had a mission in the seeventeenth century. There are
evidences which prove quite clearly that after Sullivan’s army
passed through here, the site of their capital town was changed and
was at one time about two miles north of Union Springs. There is in
the rooms of the Cayuga County Historical Society a map drawn by
a brother of Colonel Hardenbergh about 1794, and we find thereon,
in the vicinity of the plaster mills, “Present site of Cayuga Castle.”
It could have remained there only a few years for we shall find that
after 1795, the Richardson lands were outside of the reservation of
the Cayugas. Their castle was certainly near Great Gully in 1779
and after 1795.
At three o’clock on the afternoon of the 23rd, the army resumed
its march and went three or four miles to Chonodote or Peach Town,
remarkable for a large peach orchard. One writer states there were
one thousand five hundred peach trees besides apple trees and other
fruit trees. Chonodote or Peach Town stood on the present site ofIndian Days
241
the beautiful village of Aurora. A journal reads:	“September
23rd. This town contained about twelve or fourteen houses, chiefly
old buildings; part of the com destroyed this evening. September
24th. This morning the troops were employed in finishing the de-
struction of the com and peach trees. At 10:00 o’clock in the
forenoon fire was set to the town, and the detachment once more
took up the line of march.” The journal continues “September
24th, marched this day sixteen and a half miles and encamped on a
pleasant hill, near a fine creek, about an hour after dark.” The
“fine creek” mentioned was Salmon Creek and the pleasant hill was
north or west of Ludlowville.
Under date of September 24th: “Nine miles from Chonodote, we
crossed a stream of water, which fell over rocks eighty feet perpen-
dicular; three miles from this, we crossed a second stream, which
fell about fifty feet perpendicular, which empty themselves into
Cayuga Lake.” The first fall mentioned was in Genoa, the other
was southwest of Lake Ridge. These falls clearly define the route
which the army followed in passing through this section. The
Kings of Genoa have always claimed that one of Butler’s men died
and was buried on their lands by the Indian trail, near the lake, and
that his grave, now obliterated, was for many years known and
marked. We take but little stock in traditions, but this one prob-
ably is true. The army certainly passed through their lands. If
this tradition is reliable this nameless soldier who sleeps in his un-
marked grave was the first white man who died within the limits
of our county, of whom we have any knowledge.
Once more and for the last time we come back to this journal:
“September 25th. Marched this morning about 6:00 o’clock and
encamped at an Indian town nine and one-half miles above the head
of Cayuga Lake”—which was about two miles above Ithaca on the
inlet. On the morning of the 26th they marched southwesterly,
and rejoined the main army on the 28th at Elmira.
General Sullivan in his report sums up the result of Colonel
16242
History of Cayuga County
Butler’s raid as follows: “He destroyed in the Cayuga Country five
principal towns and a number of scattering houses, the whole making
one hundred in number exceedingly large and well built.” He also
destroyed two hundred acres of excellent com with a number of
orchards one of which had 1,500 trees. The red men were driven
from their beautiful country, their habitations left in ruins, their
fields laid waste, their orchards uprooted, and their altars and the
tombs of their fathers overthrown. Some one has said when the
invaders entered the land of the Cayugas and Senecas the Garden
of Eden was before them: but behind them they left only wilderness.
We who have applauded Sherman’s “March to the Sea” cannot
criticise Sullivan’s expedition, or the great general who ordered it.
Sullivan’s expedition played an important part in our early
settlement. The soldiers who came into this matchless country
in 1779, must have been charmed with its beauty and fertility. In
fact some of the soldiers selected large ears of com and carried them
home in their knapsacks to New England and hence when the lands
in the “Military tract” were allotted to the soldiers of the Revolu-
tion, “Soldier’s rights,” as they were called were much sought for,
and soon this lovely section, which had been the home of the Indians
was changed from a wilderness to the abode of civilization, by the
hardy pioneer.
The condition of the Cayugas, when Sullivan’s army had finished
its work was sad and hopeless; as they were without houses to protect
them or food to sustain life, they went to Niagara where the British
had a fort. Having lost everything in their efforts to serve the
Crown, it was in honor bound to aid them; consequently huts were
built for them near the fort, and their wants partially supplied;
but the winter of unusual severity which followed, combined with
scurvy, fire-water and other causes, largely reduced their numbers
while they were supported by the British on the border. Early in
the war, Sir Guy Carleton, who represented the British Government,
promised the Mohawks that their losses should be made good toIndian Days
243
them; and subsequently General Haldimand ratified the agreement.
Accordingly during or about the close of the war, a large tract of
land was ceded to them, on the Ouise or Grand River, which flows
into Lake Erie about forty miles west of the Niagara Falls in Canada.
When asked how much they wanted the Mohawk chief laconically
replied “Six miles on each side of the river from its mouth to its
source;” and there they went under the leadership of Brant. Many
of the Cayugas, weary of their miserable condition at Buffalo Creek,
joined the Mohawks and settled with them permanently.
Eilgland acknowledged the independence of the Colonies in 1783.
In 1784 a treaty of peace was made with the Indians at Fort Stan-
wix; and the Cayugas (excepting those who had made a settlement
in Canada) returned to their old home.
On February 25, 1789, the Cayugas at a treaty held in Albany
ceded their extensive territory within our limits to the State for
the consideration of $50.00 in silver, $1,125.00 to be paid them
June 1st, and the annual payment of $500.00 which they were to
receive forever. But they reserved ninety-eight square miles upon
Cayuga Lake, also one mile on each side of Seneca River at Ski-yase
(now Waterloo) “where the Cayugas have heretofore taken eel”
and one mile square near Canoga, for the Cayuga chief, called Fish
Carrier. It is said Fish Carrier was opposed to the treaty, and the
fact that this land was given to him suggests that it was used like
Credit Mobelier Stock in Congress, “where it would do the most
good. ” The treaty provided that “the Cayugas and their posterity
forever, shall have the free right of hunting in every part of said
ceded lands and of fishing in all the waters within the same. ” It
was also stipulated that “the Cayuga Salt Spring and the land to
the extent of one mile around the same” was to remain for the
common use and benefit of the people of the State of New York
and of the Cayugas and their posterity forever. The amount which
the Cayugas received for their lands ceded did not equal one cent
an acre. When the reservations were made, the Cayugas petitioned244.
History of Cayuga County
that a generous grant of land should be made to Peter Ryckman,
a Dutchman, who they claimed was their adopted son. The State
accordingly gave him a mile square near Cayuga village; also
15,680 acres on the west bank of Seneca Lake. The entire tract
of land last mentioned was twenty-five square miles; but of this
three hundred and twenty acres were given to Joseph Poudre, a
French trader, who had married a Cayuga maiden and who resided
at Kaghsion Creek, south of Geneva.
As nearly as can be described the reservation of the one hundred
square miles was located as follows: “Beginning on the east side of
the town of Ledyard in the center of the highway running froip
Sherwood’s Corners to Aurora, and running thence west to a point
about three miles west of Cayuga Lake, thence northerly to the
village of Seneca Falls thence along Seneca River to the Cayuga
Salt Springs, below the village of Montezuma, thence south-
easterly to a point in the town of Aurelius in line with the east line
of the town of Springport and thence south to the place of begin-
ning, containing one hundred square miles (exclusive of the water
of Cayuga Lake). Excepting and reserving therefrom the mile
square gift to Fish Carrier, and Peter Ryckman’s mile square.”
We have found that in 1789, the Cayugas had a reservation of one
hundred square miles; of this in 1795, by a treaty held at Cayuga
Ferry, they ceded to the State all but two small reservations, one
containing four square miles in the southwest comer of Springport
and the northwest comer of Ledyard. It is distinguished in some old
maps as the “Resident Reservation.” The other was a mile square
some two or three miles northeast of Union Springs and was called
the Mine Reservation. For the lands ceded in 1795, the Cayugas
were paid $1,800 and were to receive $1,800 annually forever. The
price fixed by the State for the land to be given up was four shillings
per acre—and the annuity was to be at the rate of six per cent.
The law provided that the purchased lands should be surveyed into
lots of two hundred and fifty acres, that white citizens who were inIndian Days
245
possession of anyone of said lots January i, 1795 under a lease from
the Indians, or by their free and voluntary consent, should have a
pre-emptive right of purchase of it, that the remainder should be
sold at Albany at public vendue, lot by lot, provided that none of
said lots shall be sold for less than sixteen shillings per acre. A
purchase of sixty thousand acres or more at fifty cents per acre,
which by the law could not be sold for less than two dollars (and for
which we did realize on the sale thereof in the following year, over
eight hundred per cent, profit looks like a profitable transaction on
the part of the State but a little rough on the helpless “wards of
the nation.”
By the law of 1795 those who had a pre-emptive right of purchase
were to pay for their lands the average price of the lands sold at
auction. On May 30, 1807—eighteen years after the large reserva-
tion was formed, and twelve years after the treaty of 1795, the
Cayugas parted with their last acre for on that day they ceded the
Mine and Residence reservations to the State which paid them
forty-eight hundred dollars. The Oneidas, Onondagas, Senecas
and Tuscaroras still retained their reservations—in part at least—
they are not landless. But the Cayugas have not within their
native boundaries even a burying ground which they can call their
own.
BOUNDARIES OF THE CAYUGAS.
The boundary lines between the several Indian tribes were as
clearly defined as between larger nations but were sometimes
changed. In 1779 the Senecas occupied all of New York west of
Seneca Lake. The lake formed the western boundary of Cayuga
and Lake Ontario the northern, its eastern was a line running
between Owasco and Skaneateles lakes. The southern line was in
Pennsylvania. In view of these facts, when Butler and Dear-
born were sent out from Sullivan’s army with their detachment, one
to go on the east side of Cayuga Lake and the other on the west,
they went on the same mission—to lay waste the Cayugas.246
History of Cayuga County
CHAPTER XIV.
Early Settlers—Military Tract—Land Grants.
Captain Roswell Franklin of Litchfield, Conn., has the repu-
tation of having been the first settler in Cayuga County. Unfor-
tunately he settled on the Reservation. It seems that quite a
number who came about the same time also located there. The
Indians complained to Governor Clinton, who issued a proclamation
directing them to remove, but they disregarded it; he sent a sheriff's
posse in 1791 to eject them, and some fourteen families were forced
to vacate. This was a serious loss to them. Roswell Franklin
committed suicide and was buried near Payne's Creek, south of
Aurora but all trace of his grave was lost long ago.
The earliest settlement of Cayuga County and Sullivan's expe-
dition are linked together by a little romance. One morning in
November, 1778, the family of a Mr. Lester, residing at Nauticoke
on the Susquehanna, was awakened by the dread war-whoop. A
band of Senecas had come on its mission of death. Mr. Lester
was murdered and his wife and little child were taken into
captivity.
When our army was in the Genesee country in 1779, Mrs. Lester
escaped, came into camp with the child in her arms, and returned
with the expedition. She subsequently became the second wife
of Roswell Franklin, moved here with him and was the first white
woman who had a home in our county.
Captain Roswell Franklin’s first wife was murdered by the
Indians and his family taken captive at the Wyoming Massacre.
After many vicissitudes in 1789, he located together with a number
of his friends upon the land lying between the Cayuga and OwascoEarly Settlements
247
lakes, having leased them from the Indians. Captain Franklin,
Elisha Durkee and others in the fall of 1788 had made a survey of
these lands, dividing them into lots of one hundred and sixty acres
each. This company was known as the Little Lessee Company,
to distinguish it from the one which about the same time had leased,
from the Indians, lands west of Cayuga Lake. Captain Franklin
erected a rude structure as a temporary shelter. It consisted of a
simple framework of poles covered on three sides with split slabs,
and a roof of bark. In September of this first year, the hut of poles
and bark gave place to a substantial log dwelling which has been
properly distinguished as the first house erected by a white man
within the limits of Cayuga County. It is said that every white
man within the present bounds of the county, was present and took
part in its erection, seventeen in all, and that it required two days
to complete the work. The names have been preserved with that
of the master builder, John Harris. The complete list is as follows:
Roswell Franklin, Sr., Joseph Atwell, Levi Atwell, H. Spaulding,
Ebenezer White, John White, Job Pixley, Daniel Guthrie, Ebenezer
Guthrie, Seth Phelps, John Richardson, Thomas Manchester,
Edward Payne, Hulbert Atwell, John Harris, ------ Harris, Dona
Brownwell.
Their nearest grist mill was Tioga Point, over eighty miles of
crooked Indian path—one foot wide. “The coast was clear and
the land was good. ” Everything put in the ground grew, and the
situation of these early settlers began to be cheerful and flattering.
But as yet they had no title to their land. The lease obtained from
the Indians was void, as the State had obtained by treaty and pur-
chased the territory known as the Military tract and had divided it
up into lots and apportioned it to soldiers of the Revolution.
Moreover, it was found that when the state surveyors came on to
lay out the lots according to the treaty his house and half his
improvements fell within the Indian line. Many of the settlers
had located on the Reservation. The Indians complained to the248
History of Cayuga County
governor who issued a proclamation warning the people to leave
the reserved lands. No attention was paid to this order. The
Indians continued their complaint until Governor Clinton sent a
sheriff and a posse of fifty men to dispossess the intruders. They
did it thoroughly—turned some fourteen families adrift and burned
their homes. Franklin was near the line and petitioned the sheriff to
let him remain until Spring, this was granted provided he could
satisfy the Indians. Before the time had expired he had agreed
with a neighbor in whom he reposed confidence to procure a title
to that part of the lot not within the forbidden limits with the
understanding that the man was to have half the land for his
trouble. It turned out that the whole lot of six hundred and forty
acres which Franklin supposed was to be negotiated for, was bought
under him and measures instituted to dispossess him. Tired of
carrying the burden he had borne so long and bravely, one day
early in the spring of 1792 he took his gun with him into a neighbor-
ing woods and shot himself dead.
The first settlers of this county, and of this part of the state
suffered greatly from the uncertainty of their land titles, being
frequently ousted from their possessions by previous claimants, but
despite this fact, twelve years after the first settlers came within the
present limits of Cayuga County more than one thousand five hun-
dred inhabitants had located here. Many came from Pennsylvania
and the New England States. Among the earliest settlers from
Pennsylvania were Roeliff Brinkerhoff, Jacob Brinkerhoff, Luke
Brinkerhoff, Thomas Johnson, Abraham, Bodine, Charles Van Tine,
James Dales, Isaac Parcell, Jacob Loyster and Andrew Johnson
with their families, who left Gettysburg April 30, 1793. They
reached this county on the Fourth of July, having been two months
and four days on the way. They eventually settled near the foot of
Owasco Lake. Other residents of whom we find account were
Adam Fries, Daniel Miller, Elija Price, Benjamin Depuy, AndrewAbijah FitchEarly Settlements
249
Van Middlesworth and Jacob Van Dorn. They organized a religious
society connected with the Dutch Reformed Church.
Emigrants came into the new settlement quite rapidly in 1795-6,
and in the summer of 1797 they erected a church edifice. It was
built of hewn logs, twenty-five by thirty feet with a gallery on three
sides with slab seats. It stood a few rods south of the bridge on
Brinkerhoff Point, six miles from Auburn, and was the first church
edifice erected in this county. A number of Quakers or Friends
headed by Paulina, wife of Judge Walter Wood, located at Aurora
in 1795. Benjamin and Mary Howland came in 1798 “bringing a
family of five children, and a herd of twenty cattle,” also sheep. In
the front room of Benjamin and Mary Howland’s new home which
they built about two miles west from Poplar Ridge on the state
road, the first Friends meeting in this county was held in 1799. The
following persons including their family circle assembled twice a
week: Allen Mosher, and Hannah, natives of Dartmouth, James
Wood and his wife, from Aurora, William and Hannah Reynouf
from New York, Sylvanus and Lydia Hussey from Dartmouth,
Content Hussey, called Aunt “Tenty”, from Dartmouth, Samuel
Haines from New Jersey, John and Dina Wood, Jethero and Sylvia
Wood, Joshua Baldwin, his mother and Anna and Elizabeth his
sisters from New York, Isaac and Ruth Wood, parents of Judge
Wood, from Dartmouth. After a year the rooms proving too small,
a log house was fitted with partitions, to be closed during meetings
for discipline and thither the meeting was removed, to remain until
the meeting house was built in 1810.
Cayuga County formed a part of what was called the “Onondaga
Military Tract” embracing the present counties of Cayuga, Seneca,
Onondaga, Cortland and parts of Wayne, Steuben and Oswego
which was set apart for the payment of land bounties to the soldiers
of the Revolution, Congress having enacted on September 16, 1776,
a law making provision for granting lands to the officers and soldiers
“who shall engage in the Military Service of the United States and250
History of Cayuga County
continue therein until the close of the war, or until discharged by
Congress, and to the representatives of such officers and soldiers as
shall be slain by the enemy. Such land to be provided by the
United States with all the expense necessary to procure such lands
viz., to a Colonel, 500 acres; to a Lieutenant-Colonel, 450 acres; to a
Major, 400 acres; to a Captain, 300 acres; to an Ensign, 100 acres;
Non-Commissioned Officers and Privates, 100 acres.”
By an act of August 12, 1780, Congress made the following
provisions for higher officers, namely, to a major-general, 1,100
acres; to a brigadier-general, 850 acres.
The Legislature of this state on March 27, 1783 after referring to
the above action of Congress resolved as follows:	“And whereas
the Legislature of this state are willing to take upon themselves the
said engagement of Congress, so far as it relates to the line of this
state, but likewise as a gratuity to the said line, and to evince the
just sense this Legislature entertains of the patriotism and virtue of
the troops of the state, serving in the Army of the United States.
Resolved therefore, that besides the bounty of land so provided as
aforesaid, the Legislature will by law provide that the Major-Generals
and Brigadier-Generals now serving in the line of the Army of the
United States and being citizens of this state, and the officers, Non-
Commissioned Officers and Privates of the two regiments of infantry
commanded by Colonels Van Schaick and Van Cortland such officers
of the Regiment of the Artillery commanded by Colonel Lamb, and
of the Corps Sappers and Miners as were, when they entered the
service, inhabitants of the state; such Non-Commissioned Officers
and Privates of the said last mentioned two corps, as are credited
to this state as part of the troops thereof: all officers designated by
acts of Congress subsequent to the 16th of September, 1776; all
officers recommended by Congress as persons whose depreciation of
pay ought to be made good by this state, and who may hold com-
missions in the line of the army at the close of the war; and the
Reverend John Mason and John Gans shall severally have grantedEarly Settlements
251
to them the following quantities of land, to wit:	To a Major-Gen-
eral, 5,500 acres; to a Brigadier-General, 4,250 acres; to a Colonel,
2,500 acres; to a Lieutenant-Colonel, 2,250 acres; to a Major
2.000	acres; to a Captain and Surgeon, 1,500 acres; to a Chaplain,
2.000	acres; to every Subaltern and Surgeon’s Mate, 1,000 acres;
to every Non-commissioned Officer and Private, 500 acres.
On March 20, 1781, the Legislature of the state of New York
authorized the raising of two regiments for the defence of the
frontiers, and offered a bounty to the officers and men, equal to five
times the grant of the United States.
An act of March 28, 1783, provided that the bounty lands in
this state should be laid out in townships six miles square; each
township to be divided into one hundred and fifty-six lots of one
hundred and fifty acres each. Two of these lots were to be reserved
for the use of a school or schools and two for the use of the minister
or ministers. Every settler was obliged to improve five acres out
of each one hundred awarded to him, within five years after
this grant was made if he purchased from the original grantee, but
if the grantee reserved his land, he was given ten years in which to
make such improvements.
There was great delay in surveying the land and making the
awards, and the soldiers clamored loudly for their rights. The
law was changed and modified until finally the Legislature empow-
ered the commissioners of the Land Office to direct the surveyor-
general to lay out as many townships in the Military tract as would
be sufficient to satisfy the claims of all who were entitled to grants
of land.
The several townships were to be mapped and subdivided into
lots of six hundred acres each, numbered from one upward. Fifty
acres in one corner of each lot was made subject to a charge of
forty-eight shillings to meet the cost of the survey, and if not paid
within two years the land was to be sold. Furthermore, six lots
were reserved in each township, one for the promotion of the Gospel252
History of Cayuga County
and public schools; one for the promotion of literature and four
to equalize fractional differences and to compensate for land covered
by water.
One million eight hundred thousand acres were set apart for
this purpose on the Indian lands in the western part of the state.
The tract was surveyed and mapped as speedily as possible, and
on July 3, 1790, twenty-six townships were reported as surveyed,
mapped and numbered. The townships were as follows, in the
order of their official number:
Lysander, Hannibal, Cato, Brutus, Camillus, Cicero, Manlius,
Aurelius, Marcellus, Pompey, Romulus, Scipio, Sempronius, Tully,
Fabius, Ovid, Milton, Locke, Homer, Solon, Hector, Ulysses,
Dryden, Virgil, Cincinnatus and Junius.
Galen was added in 1792, to meet the demands of grants to
hospitals, and Sterling was added in 1795, to satisfy additional
claims for bounty lands. This brought the number of Military
townships up to twenty-eight.
In February, 1791, the commissioners began to draw lots for
the claimants, and the distribution was continued at intervals for
a period of two years, and great annoyance arose from conflicting
claimants. Some of the soldiers sold their grants as soon as they
got them, some even before the drawing; others sold their awards
to different purchasers, and the result was a large amount of litiga-
tion extending over several years.
In 1794 an act was passed to prevent any more of the frauds
by which titles to Military lands had been decided to be illegal.
This law required that all the existing deeds, conveyances and
contracts for the Military lands should be deposited with the clerk
of the county at Albany. Any not so deposited by a specified date
were to be declared fraudulent. Cayuga County as it exists had
not then been erected and there was no local registry office for deeds
of these lands within its borders.
So general and widespread was the confusion in land titlesEarly Settlements
253
that the courts could not dispose of the accumulated cases, and the
Legislature was compelled to appoint a commission to hear and
settle all cases of disputed Military land titles. Even then years
lapsed before the docket was cleared and those titles finally settled.
The “balloting book” containing the names of the several
claimants and the lots drawn by each, also the “book of awards” in
which were entered the findings of the commissioners and the
dissents therefrom, are filed in the office of the county clerk of this
county, and date back to 1798.
Very few of the Revolutionary soldiers, who were entitled to land
grants in this county ever settled here, most of them selling the right
to their awards. A few, however, became actual settlers.
Among the early emigrants there were evidently some friends
and admirers of Aaron Burr, for it is stated upon good authority
that when he set out upon his mission to conquer Mexico there were
men from Cayuga County among his adherents at Blennerhasset.
SOME EARLY SETTLEMENT ON THE OLD GENESEE ROAD IN AURELIUS,
CAYUGA COUNTY, N. Y., IN 1791 AND ’92.
Paper read before the Cayuga County Historical Society by David M.
Dunning, Auburn, N. Y., February, 1890.
My attention having been called by our townsman, General John
S. Clark, to the existence of an old journal of travels, kept by Doctor
Alexander Coventry, one of the original settlers near Geneva, N. Y.,
which described several trips over the Genesee road in 1791 and ’92
from Geneva to Hudson, it occurred to me that such portions of this
journal as pertained to the present site of Auburn and some of the
earlier settlements in this vicinity might prove of local interest at the
present time.
Doctor Coventry was a native of Hamilton, Scotland, studied
medicine and graduated, received his diploma as M. D., emigrated to
the United States, and settled first in Columbia County near Hudson.
In 1791, himself, and one John Cully made a journey of explora-254
History op Cayuga County
tion on horseback to the Military Tract, via Cherry Valley and
Owego.
They left Geneva on their return, July 7, 1791, via the Genesee
road opened a year or two previous.
The journal kept of this trip and several subsequent trips is in
possession of Dr. Coventry's descendants, now residing at Geneva,
N. Y., General Clark having made a copy of the same from which
he has kindly permitted me to quote.
On the day referred to, July 7, 1791, the journal first describes
the trip from Geneva to Cayuga Lake, and the difficulties of crossing
the same in a scow with their horses to Harris's who had already
made a settlement on the east side of Cayuga Lake, and kept the
ferry at this point; Mr. Harris was the first settler on the Genesee
road in the present Cayuga County.
The journal continues the journey eastward as follows:	“Met
Mr. Ten Brock at Harris's and we set out together, about 11:00
A. M.; found a large wagon road, which went due east and was
good riding for about a mile where the oak grows, which is a clayey
soil, beyond that it is linden, maple, beech, etc., a good soil,
but deep sod for about three miles or less, when you come to
open oak woods, and there is a small hill somewhat stony on your
right hand, and here the lime stone lies in clusters in some places;
towards the east end of this, you come to the appearance of an
Indian clearing, with a bunch of young poplars to your left; a little
further on, you come to a house which is about 5 miles from Cayuga
ferry, and mostly due east; this house stands on the eastern edge of
the oak woods; after a few rods, you cross a small brook, and about
two miles further through linden, beech, and maple, you come to the
Outlet of Owasco, which is a considerable creek about 3 rods wide.
Here cross the Outlet in lot 46, after which the road runs to the
north."
The journey is thence described from the Outlet north and east,
giving a general description of the soil, timber and lay of the land,Early Settlements
255
until their arrival at the settlement of Mr. Buck, near the present
village of Elbridge, with whom they remained over night.
Mr. Buck at this point was the first settler on the Genesee road
between Onondaga Hollow and Seneca Lake.
Beyond this the journal of this trip contains nothing of local
interest, except their meeting of Captain Hardenbergh at his sur-
veyor's camp, at Onondaga flats, and his joining them on a visit to
the salt works about six and a half miles to the north, which was the
present site of Syracuse. On their return from the salt works, they
were very kindly entertained by Captain Hardenbergh and his
companion Mr. DeWitt.
An important feature of this trip is the establishment of a settle-
ment in July 1791, about two miles west of the Owasco Outlet, and a
few rods west of a small brook. The location can be no other than
the present site of the large brick farm on the north side of Genesee
street, near the western city limits, and the date was, at least, one
year prior to the settlement of Hardenbergh at the crossing of the
Owasco Outlet, which has heretofore been supposed to be the earliest
settlement on the present site of Auburn.
It was also the only settlement at that time between Cayuga
Lake and Elbridge, a distance of some eighteen miles.
It is to be regretted that Doctor Coventry did not mention the
name of this early settler. The large brick house, now standing
upon the spot, was built by Zenas Huggins, about the year 1804,
and was occupied by him for some thirty years thereafter, being
well known as one of the old country taverns on this important
thoroughfare. Investigation in reference to this early settlement
discloses as follows:
The early town records of Aurelius in describing a road survey in
1795,	which was a change in the old Genesee road, show that John
Huggins, then lived at this point, and other records in 1795 and
1796,	mention John Huggins Senior, John Huggins Junior and
Zenas Huggins, as early settlers.256
History of Cayuga County
And examination for titles shows as follows:—
First we have the Book of Awards, which is a record of the Board
of Commissioners, appointed by the State to settle all disputes
among various claimants to lots in the Military Tract, many of the
soldiers having sold their lots over and over again.
This gives lot 55, Aurelius, which covers this spot, to John M.
Mason of New York City, on April 4, 1800. Next we have a deed
December 3, 1802, from John M. Mason, D.D., of New York City to
William Huggins, merchant of Granville, Washington County, N.Y.,
for one hundred and fifty acres, taken in a square from the north-
east corner of this lot, the consideration being $375.00. The title for
this one hundred and fifty acres then passes from William Huggins
of Granville, Washington County, N. Y., to John Huggins Jr., of
Aurelius, N. Y., on March 28, 1803, for the same consideration; and
John Huggins Jr., sells, the same year, from this one hundred and
fifty acres the fifty acres on which this early settlement was made,
to Zenas Huggins, who occupied it as before stated for some thirty
years.
Some years ago, while driving over these premises, which are
now a portion of the Dunning farm, with our venerable friend, the
late Doctor Richard Steel, I mentioned the fact to him of the early
settlement there in 1791, and the record of John Huggins there in
1795, and asked him if he could throw any light on the question as
to who was there in 17 91.
He replied that it was a somewhat remarkable coincidence,
under the circumstances, that he should know anything about it but
the Huggins family came from Granville, Washington County, this
state, where he, (Doctor Steel) was bom in 1796, and had lived until
he was thirteen years old, and he had often heard, during his boy-
hood, of John Huggins, who was unfortunate in business affairs,
and to escape imprisonment for debt, went off into the Genesee
country for retirement. Doctor Steel himself came to Auburn in
1817, but said that he had never mentioned this circumstance toEarly Settlements
257
anyone, although he had known for years the two sons, John Jr.
and Zenas, of whom he spoke very highly as prominent men in
the early affairs of our country.
Of course, this does not fully establish John Huggins as the
1791 settler, but the probabilities are very strong that he was the
man.
On Doctor Coventry’s return to Geneva in March, 1792, the por-
tion of his journal while passing through Aurelius is missing, but
he made the trip east again in April, 1792, and thus describes
the journey, after leaving Cayuga Lake, which was on Thursday,
April, 26, 1792:
“Set out about 11 :oo A. M.; found the road pretty wet, but not
so bad as I expected. Two new settlements made since last winter.
A good deep soil, but clay bottom west of the Outlet, but as soon as
you cross that, it is in general a most excellent soil, with a free lively
soil at three feet depth, and deep black on top; considerable hemlock
wood, and the country more uneven, and some places, pretty stony
for this country. Causeways and bridges float off, and a number
of trees fallen across the road so as to render it impossible for
carriages, without a deal of trouble. Arrived at Buck’s about an
hour before sunset.” From this we find two more settlements
added in the spring of ’92, on the eighteen-mile stretch between
Cayuga Lake and Elbridge probably neither of them, Hardenbergh
nor Dr. Coventry, would have mentioned the name.
Another eastward trip was started on Saturday, 7th of July,
1792, which possesses an item of interest for us as it makes the
first reference on record to the settlement of Hardenbergh, the
journal reading as follows:
“Set out about 10 A. M. for Albany, found the road good for
about six miles, then muddy to Cayuga Lake. The boat being
on the other side, was obliged to cross the lake in a canoe, with one
Parker. It was considerable rough; paid 2 s. ferriage and baiting.
17258
History of Cayuga County
Baited again at Major John Hardenbergh’s, when met VanCeldon,
and rode to Buck’s which reached after sunset. ”
This reference to Major Hardenbergh, would seem to locate him
at his forest home on the Owasco Outlet, as early as July, 1792,
which is about one year prior to the time heretofore accepted as
the date of his settlement here and as given by so good an authority
as Hall’s History of Auburn. This date, I understand, has been
confirmed by family papers and letters, recently discovered.
General Clark has collected many interesting facts in reference
to the arrangements for, and the opening of the Genesee road, in
1789 and 1790, which it seems was commenced by state aid, but
very materially assisted by emigrants to the Genesee country in
which the Wadsworths, who settled there in those years, rendered
valuable assistance. This material would form a valuable historical
paper of itself. This road was the first public road opened in New
York State west of Utica.
I notice one especially interesting point of local history to us
from Judge Porter, who was prominent in the early history of the
Genesee country where he had some milling interests near Canan-
daigua; Judge Porter made several trips between that point and
Albany in those years, and in after years gave an account of the
opening of the Genesee road, in which he writes as follows:	“In
February, 1791, I left again for the West; I made the journey in
company with John Fellows, son of General Fellows, and two
others, in a two-horse sleigh.
“At that time the only white settlements between Westmore-
land and the Seneca Lake, were at Onondaga Hollow, where
General Danforth and Comfort Taylor had settled, and at what is
now Elbridge, where Mr. Buck had located himself. On this
journey we encamped for the night in a fine hemlock grove, on the
east side of Owasco Outlet, where Auburn now stands. ” That
was ninety-nine years ago this month. Perhaps this is the anni-
versary of the occasion.Mineral Resources
259
CHAPTER XV.
Formation of County—Its Soil, Minerals and Products—The Salt Industry—
Erection of Towns.
Cayuga County was formed from Onondaga March 8, 1799, and
then embraced Seneca and Tompkins counties. Geographically,
this county lies about equi-distant from Albany on the east, and
Buffalo on the west. It is the easternmost of the lake counties,
having Skaneateles Lake on its eastern border, Owasco Lake in the
interior, and Cayuga Lake upon the west, with Lake Ontario on its
northern boundary. The counties of Oswego, Onondaga and
Cortland being on the east, Tompkins on the south and Seneca and
Wayne on the west. It extends from north to south fifty-five miles,
with an average breadth of fourteen miles, and embraces an area
of seven hundred and sixty square miles, exclusive of one hundred
and sixty square miles of the waters of Lake Ontario, or 486,400
acres.
The drainage of the county is in a general northerly direction.
The waters are discharged into Lake Ontario with exception of the
streams diverted southward by the table lands in the town of Scipio
and the watersheds of part of Sempronius and Summer Hill. The
surface of the county generally is either level or rolling and is sus-
ceptible of easy cultivation. The only exceptions are the hills that
border the valleys of the Salmon creeks in the towns of Venice
and Genoa, and those in Niles, Moravia, Locke, Summer Hill and
Sempronius.
Cayuga County is noted for its beautiful lakes, of which the
most important are Ontario, Cayuga, and Owasco. Cayuga Lake
on the southwestern border of the county is forty miles long and
in places, exceeds three miles in width. It is three hundred and260
History of Cayuga County
eighty-seven feet above tide water. Owasco Lake is seven hundred
and seventy feet above the sea level and has a length of ten and
three-fourths miles with an extreme width of one and a fourth miles.
It lies entirely within the county. Cross Lake, which is about five
miles in length by one in width, is formed by the widening of the
Seneca river over a shallow basin. It lies in the northeastern
part of the county. Besides these there are Duck Lake, Mud
Pond, Otter Lake, Parker Lake and Summer Hill Lake.
The Seneca river is the largest stream in the county, although
the Owasco Outlet is the most useful—itself a branch of the Seneca.
The Seneca receives the entire drainage of the immense watersheds
that feed the Canandaigua, Seneca, Cayuga and Skaneateles lakes.
Its volume varies considerably with the seasons. The principal
streams in the south part of the county are the Cayuga Inlet and
the Big and Little Salmon creeks.
The soil varies greatly in different parts of the county, and is
consequently adapted to the successful cultivation of the various
products adaptable to the belt of Central New York. The four
southeastern towns, Moravia, Locke, Summer Hill and Sempronius,
as well as a part of Niles, are better adapted to pasturage and dairy
products than to grain, while the towns to the north of and including
Owasco, Fleming and Aurelius—excepting the Seneca River basin
— are largely composed of drift hills, bearing a deep soil. They
were formerly covered with a heavy growth of timber, and they
are still undiminished in productiveness after being cultivated for a
century. They produce grass and cereals with equal luxuriance,
but this is the great grain producing section of the county.
The principal fruit producing localities lie along the borders of
the lakes, but fine fruits are grown in nearly every town in the
county.
Valuable minerals underlie the soil in some parts of the county.
In the town of Brutus, plaster beds have been worked and there isMineral Resources
261
no doubt but that the native material is here for a large industry
in this product, but it is not carried on. Sennett is rich in lime-
stone, and in Auburn the Onondaga limestone has been quarried
extensively for public and private uses. Montezuma is underlaid
with the rocks of the Onondaga salt group, the red shale of which
makes it appearance along the canal to the west of Port Byron.
This group contains all the gypsum masses of Western New York
and furnishes all the salt water of the salines of the counties of
Cayuga and Onondaga. Several brine springs exist in and about
the village of Montezuma. The springs were known to the Indians,
who showed them to the first white settlers. The brine was origi-
nally obtained by digging small holes in the ground a foot or two
in depth in the marsh at the foot of the ridge upon which the
village of Montezuma is situated. Subsequently, wells were sunk
to the depth of forty or fifty feet by the whites, from which brine
was obtained in sufficient quantities for the manufacture of salt.
Salt Creek, a branch of the Seneca is so called because salt water
was discovered therein in 1807. The brine obtained there was
similar in quality to that derived from the wells at Montezuma.
In 1810 a well one hundred feet deep was sunk by the Cayuga
Manufacturing Company on the west side of the ridge where Monte-
zuma now stands. Near the surface a saline brine was encountered,
but the great productive fountain was reached at the depth of one
hundred feet.
Another well, sunk on the east side of the ridge pierced the great
fountain of brine at a depth of eighty feet. At a depth of one
hundred and fifteen feet the brine yielded eighteen ounces of salt to
the gallon, in a third well.
In 1823, the salt made at the Montezuma Springs amounted to
nearly twenty thousand bushels, of which one thousand were
obtained by solar evaporation. That was the highest point reached
in the production of salt in Cayuga County. The industry gradually
decreased until it became extinct. Several causes are given for the262
History of Cayuga County
failure of the salt industry in this county, the principal of which
were the lack of suitable pumps and the fact that rent must be paid
to the owners of the ground. At the Onondaga Springs, the ground
is furnished free of charge by the State. The Montezuma brine is
however, somewhat inferior to the Onondaga. Its saline properties
are about seventy per cent of that of the Geddes solution and about
sixty-five of the Liverpool product. Also it contains more trouble-
some impurities.
In 1840, the Legislature made an appropriation for procuring, if
possible, a supply of brine from which salt could be manufactured
advantageously. A shaft was sunk to a depth of two hundred feet
and opened a vein of brine much stronger than any before found in
this county. But nothing came of the project, although it is said
the well was carried down to a depth of six hundred and fifty feet.
In 1858, the State appropriated seven thousand dollars to develop
the Montezuma salt springs, and Colonel John S. Clark and William
H. Carpenter of Auburn were appointed to superintend the
operations. Two borings were made, but in neither was the brine
of sufficient quality to warrant the erection of works. A third
well was sunk one and a half miles southeast of the village and
brine was obtained which was claimed to be equal to that of Syracuse.
Two long blocks were built and the manufacture of salt was started
in i860. In 1862, Truesdale & Loomis were producing a salt of
superior quality and the industry promised to become a factor in the
commercial life of the county, but in 1863, an iron attachment
to the pump fell into the well. It fitted the bore exactly and sealed
it up forever.
About that time the competition of Michigan and Canadian salt
began to render the manufacture unprofitable and it was abandoned.
In 1871, the State again attempted to foster the industry and
appropriated three thousand dollars for that purpose, but after
sinking a well to the depth of one thousand feet without promising
results this effort also failed.Formation of Towns
263
CHAPTER XVI.
Formation of Towns.
After the formation of the county in 1799, the several towns
were set off as follows:
Aurelius, a “Military Township,” January 27, 1789. Auburn
was formed from Aurelius, March 28, 1823. Brutus was formed
from Aurelius, March 30, 1802. Cato was formed from Aurelius,
March 30, 1802 Conquest was formed from Cato, March 16,
1821. Fleming was formed from Aurelius, March 28, 1823.
Genoa was formed from the Military tract as Milton, January 27,
1789, but the name was changed April 6, 1808.
Ira was formed from Cato, March 16, 1821. Ledyard was
formed from Scipio, January 30, 1823. Locke was formed from
Milton, now Genoa, February 20, 1802. Mentz was formed from
Aurelius as Jefferson, March 30, 1802, but the name was changed
April 6, 1808. Montezuma was formed from Mentz, April 8, 1859.
Moravia was formed from Sempronius, March 20, 1833. Niles
was formed from Sempronius, March 20, 1833. Owasco was formed
from Aurelius, March 30, 1802. Scipio was formed from the Mili-
tary tract, March 5, 1794. Sempronius was formed from the
Military tract, March 9, 1799. Sennett was formed from Brutus,
March 19, 1827. Springport was formed from Scipio, January 30,
1823. Sterling was formed from Cato, June 19, 1812. Summer
Hill was formed from Locke, as Plato, April 26, 1831, but the name
was changed, March 16, 1832. Throop was formed from parts of
Aurelius, Mentz and Sennett, April 8, 1859. Venice was formed
from Scipio, January 30, 1823. Victory was formed from Cato,
March 16, 1821.264
History of Cayuga County
The government of Cayuga County was organized May 28, 1799,
at the Court House at Aurora, by the assembling of the first Board
of Supervisors. There were only seven members in that first board
namely:
Joseph Grover, of Aurelius; Thomas Hewit, of Milton; Jacob
T. C. DeWitt, of Sempronius; Silas Halsey, of Ovid; George Bailey,
of Romulus; Abraham Mariele, of Ulysses; and Walter Wood, of
Scipio.
The first board of the county, after the separation of Seneca
County from its western border in 1804, met at Scipio, and was
composed of ten members. They were Joseph Grover Jr., Aurelius;
Augustus Chidsey, Scipio; Elijah Price, Owasco; Rufus Sheldon,
Brutus; Silas Bowker, Locke; Charles Kellogg, Sempronius;
Richard Townley, Milton; John Ellis, Dryden; John C. Barnes,
Cato; and Isaac Smith, Jefferson.
In 1818 the Board of Supervisors still consisted of but ten
members, namely: William Allen of Scipio, William Clark of
Genoa, Nehemiah Wisner of Aurelius, James Leonard of Mentz,
Charles Chamberlain of Locke, William Satterlee of Sempronius,
Elijah Devoe of Owasco, Rufus Sheldon of Brutus, Augustus F.
Ferris of Cato, and John McFadden of Sterling.
The town of Auburn was first represented in the board in 1824,
Elijah Miller being the first supervisor from the town. In that
year there were eighteen towns represented, Conquest, Ira, Spring-
port, Victory, Venice, Ledyard and Fleming, having been erected
in the meantime.
The records of the proceedings of the earlier board of supervisors
indicate that the principal sources of local taxation were damages
claimed by land owners for new roads through their lands, bridges
over streams to perfect those roads, the support of the poor and
bounties for the destruction of wild beasts.
One of the sources of amusement and profit of the early pioneers
was hunting. The woods abounded with game. Deer, squirrels,Formation of Towns
265
bear and wolves roamed the forest in incredible numbers and there
were myriads of foxes, rabbits and raccoons. When the settlers
began to raise crops and keep barnyards nearly all of these became
very destructive. The wolves, powerful red-haired beasts, were
dangerous, and the deer, squirrels and foxes were a constant menace
to the crops and the barnyard. The squirrels became such a pest
that whole townships would organize in grand hunts for their
slaughter, but so prolific were they that these hunts were kept up
for about thirty years. To exterminate the wolves a bounty was
offered and paid. So it came that this bounty was one of the items
for which taxes had to be raised.
Before the erection of the County Poor House in 1825, the
expenses of the towns for the support of the poor were nearly equal
to all other outlays. It would seem that all the “hardy pioneers”
were not self-supporting.
The heavy expenses for the support of the poor led the super-
visors, at their session in 1825, to proceed to the erection of a county
poor house. It was built upon the farm of Thomas Stevenson in
the town of Brutus. The building was completed in 1826, and
fifty-two inmates were received. In 1827 the number had risen
to one hundred and fifty. Pauperism was much greater in those
days, per capita, than it is at present.
For several years after the organization of Cayuga County, the
village of Aurora, which was then central and nearest the most
populous towns, was its capital. It was never so designated by law,
but was the place where the courts were held and where the super-
visors convened; besides, it was regarded as the leading market
town of the county. But when Seneca County was erected out of
Cayuga in 1804 several other places set up claims to the county
seat. Auburn was finally decided upon and county buildings
planned. The Court House was completed in 1809. The archives
of the county were moved to Auburn in 1807.266
History of Cayuga County
CHAPTER XVII.
Early Modes of Travel and Transportation—Roads, Stages, the Grand Canal—
Dawn of the Railroad Era.
The modes of travel and transportation of the early settlers
who came to Cayuga County, were circuitous, rude and toilsome.
The late John I. Brinkerhoff in a paper which-he read before the
Cayuga County Historical Society of Auburn upon February 15,
1883, says: “They came with tented wagons and brought with them
as much as they could carry of provisions and household stuff that
would be necessary for them by the way. Gangs of men were
working in Pennsylvania opening a road through the wilderness to
the Genesee country, New York. Trees were cut down and logs
got out of the way with now and then a corduroy bridge over swampy
places, so their wagons could pass. Their progress was very slow,
sometimes they would come to the end of the road,—that is they
would come up to a company of men who had not got through their
section and they would halt and help these men through to the next
section. They did not find commodious hotels on the way, but every
family who had got up a log house would take in all their little house
would hold. So when near night they came to one of these houses,
they would take bedding enough out of the wagons to cover the
floor, and the women and children would sleep in the house, and the
men would sleep in the wagons, and when night overtook them,
and there was no house, the women and children would sleep under
the tents in the wagons and the men on the ground under the wagons.
After they arrived and built themselves a log house, then began the
work of clearing and planting for sustenance.’’
“Provisions for the first year or two after their arrival were
scarce, especially grains, and they had to economize pretty close.”David WadsworthTravel and Transportation
267
As for meats, the game in the woods, and fish in the lakes and
brooks furnished that until they raised beef, pork and mutton,
so they never were in a starving condition. Mr. Brinkerhoff
says: That his eldest brother George, when seventeen years of
age killed sixteen deer the first season after they came here and
about the same number the next season. They were two months
on the road upon that journey. I do not know how early they
could send anything by mail but for a time they had to send
by messengers, or go themselves. For a number of years,
and I think up to the time navigation commenced by the canal,
their wheat market was at Utica, when they had more than they
needed for home consumption; their threshing and marketing was
done mostly in winter. They generally had sleighing during the
winter months and sometimes in part of March. It would take
about four days to take a load to Utica and return. They threshed
by flails or tramped the wheat out with horses.
In 1791, a company was formed and duly incorporated, called
the Western Inland Lock and Navigation Company. The object
of the Company was to improve the facilities for transportation of
goods and produce, and settled effects between the then growing
West and East, and this company undertook to open a route by
water from Schenectady to Seneca Lake. The condition of the
route, although it had been known and used by the Indians for ages
and also in later times by the pioneers in their journeys to the West,
we find at this time to have been as follows:	On account of the
long distance round, and the difficulties attending the navigation of
the Hudson river and the Mohawk between Albany and Schenectady
the water was abandoned, and a land route, sixteen miles, adopted
between those two places. On the Mohawk from Schenectady to
Little Falls, a distance of fifty-six miles, no serious obstructions
were found. The stream was broad and in many places deep, with
an easy current and a smooth, unruffled surface.268
History of Cayuga County
Arriving at Little Falls a carry or portage became unavoidable.
Light boats and canoes were carried by hand, while the heavy boats
and bateaux were drawn three-fourths of a mile around the falls by
ox teams over a difficult and rocky pathway.
The boats or bateaux used in these early days were generally
from twenty to thirty feet in length, and four to six feet broad, flat
bottomed and of light draught.
Upon the upper edge, and upon both sides of these boats ran a
wale or plank their entire length, upon which the boatman, whose
power alone propelled the craft, could walk.
The mode when moving against the current was to place one end
of a pole upon the bottom of the stream and the other against their
shoulder, and then by pushing, the boat would glide along under
their feet, while they walked its length, much the same as a tread-
mill is moved by the animal propelling it.
After passing Little Falls, the next obstruction to free naviga-
tion was the shoals or rapids, at German Flats, as they were then
called, now Herkimer.
From the latter place to Utica an easy passage was found.
From Utica to Rome, however, the river was more shallow and was
obstructed by logs and trees felled into it by settlers as a more
expeditious manner to dispose of them than to burn them.
At Rome or Fort Stanwix as it was then known, a carry was
necessary to reach Wood Creek, a small stream, which instead of
emptying into the Mohawk, less than two miles distant, with an
elevation of land of only two feet between them, flowed by a
circuitous route of nearly thirty miles into Oneida Lake, and thence
by the Oswego River into Lake Ontario.
The portage at Fort Stanwix was called by the Indians, De-o-
wain-sta, the place where canoes were carried from one stream to
another.
Through Wood Creek, therefore, and Oneida Lake, lay the route
of these bateaux, by which they reached the Oswego River, thenceTravel and Transportation
269
into Seneca River, passing Montezuma which was the stopping
place for Cayuga County, and pursuing the course of that river in
its windings and through the marshes into Canadaigua Creek which,
being followed, would bring them to Seneca Falls, to find the last
obstruction in the passage to Seneca Lake.
In this condition of navigation through Central New York, a
bateau could with difficulty transport, with a crew of three men,
between Schenectady and Seneca Lake, in fifteen to twenty days,
one and a half tons of goods.
Many pioneer settlers reached their chosen lands for settlement,
in the summer season in small boats or canoes containing their
family and effects, over this long and tedious route. Others came
in winter, upon rude sleds drawn by oxen through the wilderness
over the narrowly cut out roads, with little else than the cutting
done upon them, and in many places nothing but Indian trails or
blazed trees to guide them through the forest.
A letter is here given which brings up a view of Cayuga County
ninety-three years ago. It was written by Samuel Coonley to
Joseph Smith of Washington, Dutchess County, N. Y., and who
was the great grandfather of Mr. C. E. Almy of Auburn. Coonley’s
Comers, between Levanna and Aurora, are named after Samuel
Coonley, who wrote the appended letter.
Scipio, May 21, 1814.
Dear Sir:
I embrace the earliest opportunity to inform you of our safe
arrival at this place on Tuesday the 10th inst. after a journey of
Seven days. We found bad roads but had tolerably good weather
and endured the fatigue of the journey as well as could be expected
and we still enjoy a reasonable state of health hoping these may
find you and yours enjoying the same inestimable blessing—I have
made some enquiry about land since I have been in the Town tho’
not so much as I wished by reason of the difficulty of obtaining
such things as we really stand in need of—there is one farm adjoining270
History of Cayuga County
me of (I believe) something rising of One hundred Acres under good
improvement the price will be probably about Thirty Dollars per
Acre—another of one hundred and Thirty Acres under tolerable
improvement buildings poor within about one Mile for about
Sixteen Dollars pr. acre thought to be a great Bargain—with
Several others in the Neighborhood—the few days we have been in
the Town it has been remarkably wet which makes Farmers back-
ward with their planting. The Season very Healthy—I must for
this time conclude (being joined by my Family) in tendering you
my warmest acknowledgement for past favors and desiring your
future health and prosperity which is the earnest desire of
Your Sincere Friend,
Saml Cooniey.
Please to write by the bearer Humphrey Sharpsteen.
The Western Inland Lock and Navigation Company pursued a
vigorous policy and in two or three years constructed locks at Little
Falls, some of which are still visible, improved the condition of
the river at German Flats, removed obstruction between Utica and
Rome, built a canal at the latter place to connect the Mohawk and
Wood Creek, and shortened the distance to Oneida Lake, by
straightening Wood Creek nearly one-half, so that enlarged boats
with five men could transport between the extreme terminal points
of their improved navigation, twelve tons in ten days.
These limited improvements were said to have doubled the
value of the lands lying contiguous to their line of inland navigation.
For many years this was the popular route to the West through
Cayuga County.
The success of this enterprise had its effect, together with the
increase of population, and the extended area of cultivation, in the
ultimate construction of the Grand Canal, which became daily
more and more apparent, a public necessity.
In August, 1816, the Grand Canal project had been so fully
discussed, and so well understood, that we find records of favorableTravel and Transportation
271
legislation and a commission duly appointed to cause books of
subscription to be opened at various points along the line, to solicit
donations of land or money to aid in its construction.
A committee for this purpose, in the village of Auburn consisted
of the following named gentlemen, viz.: Joseph Colt, Elijah Miller,
and John Haring.
The work was at length commenced and the first spade in its
construction was thrust into the ground at Rome near the old
United States Arsenal by the Honorable Joshua Hathaway. The
receipts of aid for the construction, by donation, were however in-
sufficient for the proper prosecution of the work, and an applica-
tion was presented to Congress, praying for aid, but President
Monroe expressed it as his settled conviction that Congress did not
possess a constitutional right to appropriate money for internal
improvements.
This decision of the President was a great disappointment to
the friends of the project, and drew from a resident of Auburn the
following words, which should be printed in letters of gold and
treasured in the archives of the Empire State:
. “If Mr. Monroe thinks, that by his refusing any assistance to
the people of this State, in the execution of the grand project which
is now in the full tide of successful experiment, he can damp the
ardor of the people, he is greatly mistaken, and every attempt to
discourage their operation will but stimulate them to still greater
exertions. Rich in population and resources, united by ties of
common interest, commanding the internal commerce of a vast and
fertile region—New York—single and alone, has breasted herself
to the mighty work. She will triumph in its accomplishment—and
the glory will be her own.* ’ So spake and wrote Thomas M. Skinner.
In July, 1820, the Grand Canal had been so far completed as to
allow boats to run between Montezuma and Utica three times a
week, taking two days for the trip, and fare four dollars. Stages272
History of Cayuga County
were found in waiting at the principal places on the canal to convey
passengers to villages on the turnpike.
The locks at Little Falls were completed and the water let into
the canal, on the 18th of November, 1821, which extended the trip
of the packet boats from Montezuma to Schenectady.
On the 29th day of September, 1825, a meeting of the citizens of
Auburn was held at the Western Exchange tavern, kept by Holt
and Curtis, with Doctor Erastus Humphrey in the chair, and
William H. Seward, secretary. That meeting passed the following
resolution:
Resolved, That we hail with great satisfaction the approaching
completion of the Erie Canal, the most Splendid Work of Inter-
nal Improvement Undertaken in Any Country, and that we will
heartily concur with our fellow citizens in other parts of the state, in
celebrating the same.
Resolved, That Jno. W. Hulburt, Elijah Miller, Erastus Humph-
rey, S. W. Hughes and G. Ash Gamage, Esqrs., be appointed a
committee to correspond with other committees and report at a
future meeting.
The final completion was in October, 1825, which was duly
celebrated at the principal places along its entire length.
The celebration for Cayuga County was at Port Byron on the
twenty-seventh day of the month. Auburn was fully represented
by her ablest and best men, with Myron C. Reed of Auburn in the
chair as vice-president of the day, and who addressed the assem-
blage. On this festive occasion an ox was roasted whole; toasts
and speeches and the firing of cannon, were amongst the demonstra-
tions of general joy.
Port Byron and Weed Basin vied with each other many years as
to which should be considered the landing place or port of entry for
the village of Auburn. Stages were placed upon both routes to
connect with the packet boats. Heavy public wagons to transportTravel and Transportation
273
merchandise and products between Auburn and the canal, formed a
business for a large number of persons many years.
Uncle “Nat” Williams was one of the favored and favorite of
those hard working teamsters. This was Auburn’s outlet for pas-
sengers and property except by the lines of stages of which we shall
speak directly, for nearly fourteen years.
The roads through our county when first cut through the forest,
followed as closely as practicable, the old Indian trails, and in 1790
and 1791, a party of emigrants under the direction of General Wads-
worth, improved the road through the wilderness, between Whites-
town and Canandaigua.
In 1797, a law was passed authorizing the raising of $45,000 by
lotteries to improve the various roads of the state, and the sum of
$2,200 out of that fund was appropriated to the improvement of the
great Genesee road.
The great Genesee road through Cayuga County was substan-
tially the old road from Skaneateles or Mottville by Franklin street
to Auburn and thence nearly on the line of West Genesee street, to
Cayuga ferry about one mile north of the present village of Cayuga.
In the same year, 1797, the Cayuga Bridge Company was incor-
porated, called the Manhattan Company, consisting of John Harris,
Thomas Morris, Wilhelmus Mynderse, Charles Williamson, and
Joseph Annin, the latter sheriff of Cayuga County in 1800, the year
of the completion of the bridge. The cost of the first bridge was
$25,000, and the total length of it one mile and eight rods.
In the year 1800, an act passed the Legislature incorporating the
Seneca Road or Turnpike Company. This road as cited in the act
was to run between the house of John House, in the village of Utica
and the Court House in Canandaigua, substantially covering the
ground of the great Genesee road.
The trustees of this company were Charles Williamson, Benjamin
Walker, Jedediah Sanger, and Israel Chapin.
The act required the road to be six rods in width and twenty
18274
History of Cayuga County
feet of it in the center to be covered with broken stone or gravel to
the depth of fifteen inches. Toll gates were to be ten miles from
each other, and the toll for a two-horse vehicle, twelve and a half
cents; four-horse, twenty-five cents. No persons passing to or
from public worship on Sunday, going to their common labor on
their farms with their cattle or teams, carrying firewood, going to or
returning from milk for the grinding of grains for family use, going
to or returning from any funeral, shall pay any toll in the town in
which they reside.
The Cherry Valley turnpike was also laid out in the year 1800,
which ran from Cherry Valley in Otsego County to the outlet of
Skaneateles Lake, there to connect with the great Seneca turnpike
to the West.
An act passed the Legislature in March, 1804, giving Jason
Parker and Levi Stevens the exclusive right to run stage wagons
for seven years on this new turnpike, between Utica and Canan-
daigua. This was the first line of stages that ever ran through
Cayuga County.
The number of passengers in each wagon was limited by law to
seven adults, and the stages made two trips per week. In 1805, the
year following, a line was extended eastward from Utica, by
John Post, who fitted up three stage boats or bateaux with seats
and oilcloth covering. These boats ran to Schenectady assisted by
the current of the river, and were brought back by men with poles
as has been heretofore described.
The surplus product of the county, and the merchandise used,
were often taken to and from Albany by teams over the new and
imperfect roads of the day. These long journeys consuming more
than a week’s time were, however, not without interest.
A neighborhood of farmers would set out together, with loads,
assisting each other as occasion required, over hard roads, and
heavy inclines, congregating at noontime, by the side of some
shaded stream or bubbling spring to bait their teams and enjoyTravel and Transportation
275
their luncheon, and at night to assemble at the wayside inns of the
period to enjoy the hospitalities of mine host.
In 1809, Isaac Sherwood of Skaneateles became the partner of
Jason Parker of Utica, in the stage lines through this county
carrying the United States Mail.
In 1816, a line of stages left Canandaigua and Utica every week
day to run through in thirty-six hours. The proprietors of this
line were Thomas Powell, Jason Parker, I. Whitmore, Aaron Thorpe
and Isaac Sherwood & Co.
In connection with this line of stages another company ran East
from Utica a tri-weekly line for Albany.
The parties above mentioned, constituted the proprietors of
what is familiarly known as the Old Line Mail, upon this growing
thoroughfare, and who maintained undisputed and unmolested
occupation and control up to the year 1828, nearly or quite twelve
years, when the Pioneer Line, in opposition, was placed upon the
route.
The history of this bitter opposition is not without interest, and
a portion of it is here submitted. The public mind in the year
1828, was unusually excited and disturbed; the tariff question,
the temperance question, and political anti-Masonry, swept through
the country like a whirlwind, and that was probably one of the
most vindictive seasons of political warfare ever known to the
state.
During this season of excitement, the question of a more strict
observance of the Sabbath, was another theme for discussion in
the streets, debate upon the platform, and discourse from the pulpit.
Public journals espoused the cause—some for it and others against
the wisdom of the course pursued by its advocates; public meetings
were held throughout the country and a call for a convention was
made to be held in Auburn, on the 13th of February, 1828, at which
twenty-two delegates appeared. A few of those delegates had been276
History of Cayuga County
engaged in stage business, and the remainder known as men of
extraordinary zeal in matters of religion.
The citizens of the village were astonished to find as the result
of the deliberations of this body, the appointment of commissioners
to establish a line of stages from Albany to Buffalo which should
travel six days in a week only; to which line of stages the persons
present as members of the convention and as individuals, pledged
their patronage, support, influence and exertion, declaring it to be
the cause of the Lord Jesus Christ, and that it must prevail.
The commissioners so appointed were John T. Norton, of Albany;
Jonathan Crane, Schenectady; Elizur Goodrich, Abram Varick, and
Edward Vernon, Utica; William Brown, of Auburn; William Tilman,
Geneva; H. W. Taylor and Walter Hubbel, of Canandaigua; A.
Champion, William Atkinson, Josiah Bissell, of Rochester, and
Thaddeus Joy, of Buffalo. A convention was also held in the city
of New York at which two hundred and fifty delegates were present,
two-thirds of whom were clergymen.
This convention formed and organized a grand national society
for promoting the observance of the Christian Sabbath, based upon
the principle of requiring from each member a pledge in writing to
patronize those lines of conveyance by stages, steamboats and canal
boats, which travel six days in the week only, to the exclusion of all
others.
Subscriptions were circulated through the state and large sums
of money raised for a new line of stages between Albany and Buffalo,
to be called the Pioneer Line, which was in due time placed upon the
route, not, however, before offers were made by the proprietors of
the old line, to sell out their entire stage property, and retire from
the business, leaving the field open to the new line, but their offer
was rejected and the gauntlet thrown down for the terrible stage
war that followed.
The old line proprietors consisted of the following parties, viz.:
Jason Parker, A. Shepard, S. D. Childs, and S. S. Faxton of Utica;Travel and Transportation
277
Isaac Sherwood of Skaneateles; J. M. Sherwood of Auburn; C. H.
Coe of Canandaigua; Adams & Blinn of Rochester; B. D. Coe of
Buffalo; E. Phillips of Syracuse; S. Goodwin, Madison; William
Storey, Cherry Valley; Asa Sprague of Schenectady; and A. Thorpe
of Albany.
Auburn was the grand central battle ground for the rivals, for
during the ten preceding years, lines of stages had been placed upon
the new and improved lateral roads leading to Homer, Ithaca,
Levanna and Aurora, as well as to Oswego and other points in the
northern part of the county, so that here a large amount of travel
concentrated to take passage east and west by the through lines.
The Pioneer Line interest obtained control of the Western Exchange
hotel, the best then in the village, and hoped by refusal to accom-
modate old line passengers and by turning Sherwood’s horses from
their stables into the street, to steal the march upon their rivals.
A few days, however, sufficed to fit up the brick block standing upon
the north side of Genesee street, opposite the old Bank of Auburn,
as a hotel, which was opened by John H. Bacon and Thompson
Maxwell, as the Bank Coffee House, and the general headquarters
of the old line.
The people of Auburn did not remain quiet spectators in this
grand stage tournament, but came to the rescue of the Sherwood
Line, in large respectable numbers. A public meeting was held in
the Court House yard, in front of the Court House, on Saturday,
23rd of August, 1828, with Henry Polhemus in the chair and
Barnabas Smith as secretary. The Reverend M. Jefferies of Mentz,
stated the object of the meeting.
A series of resolutions were adopted from which we extract the
following:
Resolved, That as the sense of this meeting, all associations
and combinations of men, formed to prescribe and dictate to others,
in what manner they shall observe and keep the Sabbath, are
subversive of the free exercise of the right of conscience; that the278
History of Cayuga County
members of this meeting, hereby enter their solemn protest against
the forming or organizing any religious party in politics.
Archibald Green, William H. Seward and Doctor Campbell
Waldo, were appointed a committee to prepare and publish at
length in pamphlet form the proceedings of the meeting.
A paper published in Auburn by U. F. Doubleday called The
Gospel Advocate, under date of September 13, 1828, had the fol-
lowing allusions to this subject:	“The Pioneer line of stages,
had it been started on the principles of fair competition, would have
excited no emotion beyond the individuals concerned, but when it
was established for a religious purpose and in tones of authority
demanded the patronage of the religious part of the community,
thus endeavoring to enlist the prejudices of society against individ-
uals who had long been faithful servants of the public, it excited
the just reprobation of an insulted community. ”
A new outfit of splendid light stage coaches carrying only six
passengers, built expressly to contend with the Pioneer Line, were
gotten up by J. M. Sherwood & Company, called the Telegraph Line
and placed in service. This popular line was manned by their most
experienced and careful drivers, and their best and fleetest teams,
and ran night and day, and met with unqualified success.
A stage journey under such circumstances was far from being
unpleasant; on the contrary at certain seasons of the year, when
the roads were in good condition, and the woods were clothed in
their livery of green, the fields waving with their bountiful crops or
dotted over with flocks and herds, it afforded to the stage passenger
a moving panorama of Nature’s loveliness and beauty entrancing
to behold.
The facilities for expression of public sentiment through the
columns of the press, were not then as now, and the popular voice
usually came through public meetings by resolutions.
A meeting was called June 9, 1828, at the Bank Coffee House,
with Lyman Paine in the chair and Parlament Bronson, secretary.Travel and Transportation
279
The object of the meeting was expressed in the resolution following,
which we select from a series passed at the meeting:
“ Resolved, That it is expedient to erect a new hotel in this
village on a scale suitable to the wealth and importance of the
village, and that the following gentlemen be appointed a committee
to select a site: Allen Warden, Joseph T. Pitney, J. H. Harden-
bergh, Amos Underwood, Elijah Miller, Ezekiel Williams, Abijah
Fitch, J. M. Sherwood, Hugh Watson, Lyman Paine and P.
Bronson.’ ’
The committee agreed upon the site and the American Hotel,
later the St. James, was erected by J. M. Sherwood and
opened on the first day of January, 1830, by Thomas Noyes, from
Rochester. Offices in the hotel were prepared for the immense
stage business of the time, in which, for several years, was seen the
bland and courteous agent, Consider Carter. The building of this
new hotel, the inauguration of the Telegraph Line of stages, the fail-
ure to secure the mail contract, combined, seemed to be the turning-
point in the destiny of the Pioneer Line, for it now began to wane
and soon to show the sere and yellow leaf and finally break down,
and withdraw altogether, leaving the old line for the next seven
years and J. M. Sherwood & Company, masters of the situation up to
the eighth of January, 1838, when his stages were withdrawn from
the road, and many of his horses, and placed upon the Auburn and
Syracuse railroad. These stage teams drew the cars upon wooden
rails, between this place and Syracuse, up to the fourth of June, 1839,
when they in turn gave place to the iron horse east of Auburn.
In the month of February, 1828, the Committee on Canals and
Internal Improvements submitted a report to the Legislature in
which they say in part: “that in particular districts and for particular
objects within this state, improvements by railroad can be usefully
extended but that they can bear a fair competition with well located
and well supplied canals remains to be proved; and while railroads280
History of Cayuga County
are of minor consideration to canals, yet as tributaries to them they
will become of vital importance.”
In conclusion they state that the convicts unemployed upon
contracts in the prison can be used in building the railroad and as
the ground and material between Auburn and Weeds Basin are of
the most favorable character for the construction of the proposed
road they unanimously direct their chairman to prepare and ask
leave to present a bill for that purpose.
Various plans and projects for a railroad to the canal were sub-
mitted and discussed by the people. The one from Auburn to
Syracuse was finally adopted.
A public meeting was held at the Western Exchange, in January,
1832, at which a resolution was passed that an application be made
to the Legislature for a charter to construct a road to the canal.
Wm. H. Seward then in the State Senate, procured the passage of a
bill for the charter which was obtained on the first of May, 1834.
The organization of the Auburn and Syracuse Railroad took
place in January, 1835.
Honorable Elijah Miller was elected president and A. D. Leonard,
G. B. Throop, N. Garrow, J. M. Sherwood, S. Van Anden, Richard
Steel, John Seymour, Abijah Fitch, E. E. Marvine and Allen Worden
of Auburn and Henry Raynor and V. W. Smith, of Syracuse,
directors. E. F. Johnson and Levi Williams were appointed
engineers and Levi Lewis superintendent.
The survey commenced in the April following, and about six
months’ time was consumed in surveying and locating the road.
Contracts were let and the work of construction commenced in
December. The first payment made to contractors was in January,
1836.
The progress of the work on this road was attended with difficul-
ties and embarrassments greater perhaps than any other line of road
ever built in the state. It encountered the financial disturbance
of 1837, the extraordinary advance in the prices of provisions, laborTravel and Transportation
281
and material, enough to dishearten and discourage any but the men
of indomitable energy and perseverance constituting its board of
directors. Later in its history we find in the board the names of
Amos Underwood, Alfred Conkling, J. H. Chedell, Thomas Y. How
Jr., John Wilkinson, C. C. Dennis and George H. Wood. The track
was laid with wooden rails so that on the eighth of January, 1838
several cars of excursionists were taken to Geddes by J. M. Sher-
wood’s stage teams, which continued to be the motive power as
before stated, up to June 4, 1839, at which date the wooden
ribbons had been removed and iron rails substituted so that a
locomotive engine, the Syracuse, with Mr. Perry, who was then
master mechanic, as engineer, took a train with officers and invited
guests to Syracuse. The Auburn and Syracuse Railroad was first
conceived as a link in the line of transportation from the head of
Owasco Lake and a feeder to the Erie Canal. Its terminus in Auburn
was to be on the southerly side of the Outlet, near the stone mill,
there to connect with the Auburn and Owasco Canal.
The large building on the southerly side of East Genesee street,
known to many as Richardson’s livery stable, was built by Charles
W. Pomeroy, for the freight depot and was for several years used
for that purpose, and there are residents of this city who will re-
member seeing cars across the bridge near the mills.
This railroad, by its charter, was allowed to carry freight, a
privilege denied for several years to all other roads running parallel
with the canals.
William G. Fargo, of express notoriety, commenced his eventful
life in the transportation business in this Genesee street freight
depot as agent. He was followed by Deacon S. W. R. Arnett, who
in due course of time was succeeded by George C. Skinner, who if
occupied the position up to the time of the consolidation of the
Auburn and Syracuse with the Rochester road.
The freight cars used at this time upon the railroad had but282
History of Cayuga County
four wheels each, and were considered fully loaded when they had
received thirty barrels of flour or three tons of goods.
These cars were drawn by horses owned and driven by Jebez
Gould, from the freight depot to the car house on Van Anden street,
one at a time.
At the latter place, they were coupled up into trains of twelve
or fourteen cars, ready for the engine which took them to Syracuse,
to be delivered into the company’s canal warehouse where, for a
time, Henry Underwood of Auburn was agent. Uncle Nat Williams
withdrew his teams from the road to the canal, and in consideration
was appointed freight conductor on the Auburn road, and as no
other road was permitted to carry freight, he was undoubtedly the
first man who held such a position in this state. Mr. Williams
retired on the fifth day of September, 1841, and J. Lewis Grant was
appointed to succeed him, that being his first engagement upon any
railroad.
The location of the passenger depot on its present site was by
Legislative enactment, the result of a long and heated quarrel
among the property holders and others in the village. On account
of the heavy grade and sharp curves it was found impossible to run
the engine through the streets to the depot on Genesee street.
The question then arose as to where a depot should be located.
Some advocated Seymour street, others Van Anden street, and,
singular as it may appear at the present day, quite a large number
of people advocated the south side of Dill street opposite Tallman’s
livery stable. Appeal to the Legislature resulted in a law which
remains to this day upon the statute books, fixing it where it now
stands.
The first telegraph office in the city of Auburn was opened in
the old depot in May, 1846, and the first attempt to use it for the
movement of trains on the road resulted in a collision between two
passenger trains in the curve a short distance east of Fairmount
station.Travel and Transportation
283
The train due from Rochester at four o‘clock in the morning,
had not arrived at half-past five, and as the engine to leave Auburn
must be in Syracuse to return with a train at seven, it was ordered
to go without the Rochester train, and leave Syracuse on time com-
ing west. Meanwhile, the Rochester train came in and was ordered
to run to Syracuse, where the up train would be held by the tele-
graph until it arrived. The telegraph operator did not appear in
the Syracuse office until after the up train had left and a collision
was the inevitable result; splinters were plenty but no one seriously
injured.
During portions of the year when freights were light and less
than a full train was received during the day, for transportation,
the cars containing it were attached to the passenger trains. The
passenger cars, with a single exception, stood upon four wheels,
with three compartments in each car, with seats for eight persons,
four on each seat, face to face in each compartment, without
sufficient room to move about or stand upright.
Side doors opened into each compartment through which the
conductor or collector, as he was then called, could enter in dis-
charge of his duties. His only mode of reaching these doors was
by hanging upon a hand rail outside and near the top of the car
while his feet rested upon a narrow foot piece along the length of
the car of not more than four inches in width. Conductor George
Williamson, one cold, snowy night lost his hold upon the handrail
and fell near Marcellus upon a bank of snow at the side of the road,
from which he rolled under the wheels of the train at full speed,
and received his death wounds. In the year 1839, the Auburn and
Syracuse received the first eight-wheel passenger car, with an aisle
through the center and platforms at each end, built by Stevenson
& Company, stage coach builders in New York City. For several
years this was the only eight-wheeled car between Auburn and
Albany. There are some persons who will remember the old
“diamond” car from the peculiarity of its construction. Soon after284
History of Cayuga County
the receipt of this new car, a circumstance of startling interest
occurred that cast a gloom over the whole community. Samuel
Wildrick, a favorite conductor, was crushed between this car and
the depot doorway at Syracuse, the space being less than four inches
wide, which caused his instant death. This took place as the even-
ing train was leaving for Auburn, and he was not missed from the
train until it had proceeded some three miles on its way, when it
was backed up to find the lifeless remains of the conductor in the
depot.
The company owned three locomotives built at Paterson, N. J.,
by Thomas Rogers. They had only two driving wheels each and
weighed ten and a half tons, only about one-quarter of the weight
of those now in use.
The train capacity of the engine was fourteen small cars, con-
taining in all a total of four hundred and twenty tons or about
four eight-wheel carloads of the present time.
The attempt was at first made to run the engines upon the
wooden rails or ribbons but it was found impossible to keep them
upon the track, and the idea was abandoned and the flat or strap
rail was laid upon the timbers. Then followed the era of snake
heads with all its attending results for a period of eight years up to
1847. Some may hot be familiar with the term snake head.
The flat rail used was two and a half inches wideband three-quarters
thick, laid upon one edge of the six-inch square pine timber and
nailed down with spikes about one and a half feet apart. The
weight of the train had the tendency to roll the iron upward and in
so doing the spikes at and near the ends would break off or pull
out and allow the rail to stand up like a section of a large hoop,
sometimes a few inches only and often one to two feet.
These were called snake heads and woe to the engine or train
that encountered one of them the contrary way. During the years
of 1847 an(i ’48 the flat rail was taken up and the road re-laid with
“T” rail, the pattern now in use.David Wadsworth, Jr./Travel and Transportation
285
The emigrant traffic westward was at this time very heavy, it
having wholly left the canal, and a law was passed, allowing all
railroads to transport freight, by paying to the State the same rate
of tolls exacted upon the canal, which together with prosperous
passenger business, gave a traffic to the railroads that they were
poorly prepared to take care of.
New engines of greater weight and capacity were in demand,
and the enterprising firm of Dennis, Wood and Russell, C. C. Dennis,
Charles P. Wood, R. F. Russell, of the commercial iron works of this
city, constructed two; one of which, the Buffalo, went to the Attica
road, and the other the Wyoming, was purchased by the Auburn
and Syracuse Company, said to be one of the best of its capacity
ever used upon the road. The engine was the first ever built in this
country to work its steam expansively, by what is known to me-
chanics as lap and lead of main valves, a plan now universally
in use. The superintendent of construction of this engine was
William S. Hudson, with the firm of Rogers, of New Jersey, whose
engines have a world wide reputation.
The first engine having driving wheels six feet in diameter, in
use west of the Hudson River, was built for the Auburn and Syracuse
Railroad, in 1848, by Thomas Rogers, of New Jersey, and was named
the How after Honorable Thomas Y. How Jr., then and for the
remaining years of the corporate existence of the company, its
treasurer.
This engine was considered an unlucky one, and many mishaps
occurred to it and to the trains to which it was from time to time
attached. Upon one occasion it left Syracuse with a train of four
coaches and one baggage car, being in charge of William Delano as
engineer, and Thomas Hooper as fireman, and upon it for the novelty
of an engine ride, were Howard Delano, brother of the engineer, and
one of the directors of the road, C. C. Dennis. While running at a
speed of fifty to sixty miles an hour, it left the track one mile west of
Sennett station, completely wrecking itself and the whole train.286
History of Cayuga County
.The engineer and fireman were both killed. Mr. Delano slightly
injured, and Mr. Dennis seriously, but who miraculously escaped
with life, but somewhat disfigured forever afterward. The superin-
tendent at this date was Elijah P. Williams; his assistant, J. Lewis
Grant; the master mechanic, Melancthon W. Mason; conductors,
W. H. H. Smith, Henry M. Frink and John H. Hudson; engineers,
L. P. and G. W. Howard, E. R. Smith, R. D. and F. W. Grant and
William Delano; the ticket agent A. G. Smith; track master Absalom
Backus; conductor of work train, Matthew Sittser.
The Auburn and Rochester road was completed into Auburn the
fourth of November, 1841, it being the last of the seven links in
the chain of railroad between Albany and Buffalo.
Through tickets and baggage checks were then unknown, and as
each one of these seven roads was managed and operated separately
the passengers and baggage were unloaded at every terminus and the
passenger compelled to select his baggage and have it duly chalked
to the next place, to which he was also required to purchase a new
ticket. This troublesome practice however, soon gave way to
through baggage cars and through tickets for passengers in through
cars. The consolidation of the Auburn and Syracuse with the
Auburn and Rochester road took place in July, 1850.
The tolls on railroads for carrying freight were removed by a
law passed in December, 1851, leaving all roads to carry goods of
every description independent of the canal, to which they had for
several years paid tribute.
At the opening of the Rochester road into Auburn, Robert H.
Higham, Esq., was the superintendent and at that date, and soon
after, the names of the following gentlemen will be remembered as
conductors upon that road, and favorites with the traveling public,
namely Harvey Neal, William Blossom, Jo. Holland, Job Collamer,
Horace T. Cook and the veteran John Houghtaling, who was
promoted from the baggage car and at one time the oldest in service
of any conductor in the state.Public Schools
287
CHAPTER XVIII.
EDUCATION IN CAYUGA COUNTY.
The mental development of the citizen is, or ought to be, the
most important consideration of the commonwealth, and in this
regard Cayuga County is not behind any part of the state. In
the City of Auburn, for instance, the Board of Education has long
been composed of men selected for their peculiar fitness for the
position. Political and religious opinions are forgotten in the
desire to have capable men in charge of the educational interests
of the city, and it may be fairly stated that this loyalty to the
welfare of the growing generation is a characteristic of the whole
county.
In early days circumstances were not favorable to mental
progress. The country was new, the people poor, and their sur-
roundings demanded that their greatest efforts should be put forth
to meet the wants of their physical natures. In those days also
an education signified merely the ability to read, write and cipher.
Any schooling beyond that, except for a professional man, was
considered superfluous, if not derogatory. To fill the mind with
a few facts, like a cistern with water, was the idea of education a
hundred years ago. The hard-working people had not caught the
idea that the mind of man may be so cultivated as to become an
unfailing spring that cannot be pumped out like a cistern, and
consequently they had not the true conception of the meaning of
the word. Neither did they guess that true education develops
moral force.
But in this our forefathers were not guilty of a fault. Their
position and condition as inevitably excluded mental light as did
the forest the light of the sun.288
History of Cayuga County
To cut down the forest, to sow seed and raise what crops they
could to make a living, was the ever-present problem in the early
days. Muscle, not mind, was at a premium. To be able to fell a
tree was more important than to solve a quadratic.
The children of the first settlers of Cayuga County opened their
eyes upon rude surroundings. Those settlers lived in log houses
and generally were descendants of pioneers in other places, who
had combated similar difficulties. Their education was very
limited and if any of them wished to give their children some of
these advantages which they themselves never enjoyed, how were
they to do it? There were no competent teachers and no suitable
books. But what they could do they did. They erected the log
school-house and employed such teachers as circumstances
provided.
The first school-houses in the county were rude buildings.
The windows were small and far between, extra light being supplied
by the capacious chimneys and crevices in the walls and ceiling.
The floor and ceiling were of rough, loose boards through which
the wind circulated freely, providing a ventilation much too good
in cold weather. The cold, draughty room made the broad, open
fireplace so distinctly a center of interest as to suggest the origin
of fire worship among suffering heathen tribes. Around the
blazing pile, the pupils upon their entrance would range themselves,
and by repeated turnings would at length warm themselves and
their coarse home-made clothing sufficiently to enable them to
endure their chilly benches for a time, but for a short time only.
This, of course, refers to the winter season.
When the county was first settled and for many years after-
wards, books of any kind were a luxury. The library at home was
made up of the Bible, a hymn book and an almanac. The school
books were the reader and arithmetic with a ‘‘copy book” to
write in.Public Schools
289
The teachers of those days were an incompetent class. Poorly
educated themselves they could not teach others what they did not
know, and having had no training in the art of teaching they were
poor instructors.
From 1789 to 1838 the State, from time to time, from the
avails of lotteries, appropriations of public lands and from revenues
derived from United States deposit funds and other sources, had
been accumulating a fund, the income from which was annually
applied to the support of common schools. In 1838 this fund had
reached to nearly $800,000.
From George Clinton down, every governor and secretary of
state has advocated and encouraged the highest possible standard
in our common schools. Laws for their betterment have been
enacted and changed from time to time to make them more effective.
The first general law was passed in 1795. It appropriated $50,000
annually for five years to support the public schools. Previous
to this monetary aid the State had, in 1789, devoted two lots of six
hundred acres each, in each township of ten miles square, to the
support of literature; this was the first step toward the grand
system of schools which the State can boast to-day.
In 1835, eight academies, one in each senatorial district, were
designated, and in 1838 district school libraries were established.
In 1841 the supervision of schools was confided to county super-
intendents. In 1843, this was changed to a separate superintendent
in each town. In 1856, the office of school commissioner was
created and is still retained.
Free schools were established in 1849, to be abolished in 1851.
In 1853 the establishment of free union or high schools was author-
ized by law. The real foundations of successful schools were laid
between the years 1830 and 1850. Improved school books were
introduced and the range of studies greatly enlarged.
The county supervision of public schools, established in 1841,
and the organization of teachers' institutes were most efficacious
19290
History of Cayuga County
agencies for the betterment of schools. The first of these institutes
was held in Cayuga County in 1842, and there was an attendance
of more than five hundred teachers at the first three sessions.
By an act of Legislature, passed in 1843, the boards of super-
visors of the several counties were directed to appoint county
superintendents of common schools, and Elliot G. Storke was
selected for that office in Cayuga County. Then real improvement
in the character and conditions of the public schools of the county
was effected. The investigations of the superintendent disclosed
the fact that there were at that time two hundred and twenty-two
district schools in the county, besides four in Auburn, but that
only one out of the whole number contained more than one
room. He also found that the school buildings were rudely
constructed and greatly out of repair. The further fact was
also revealed that the better classes refused to allow their children
to be taught in such uncomfortable and unhealthy buildings, and
in many instances the children of poor people did not attend school
because the parents were unable to incur the expense of tuition,
yet were too proud to endure the reproach of being exempted from
that expense by the district trustees.
This condition was not peculiar to Cayuga County, but extended
all over the state, and appearing in the reports of many superin-
tendents, led the Legislature to take positive, remedial action.
The office of county superintendent was abolished March 13, 1847,
and thereby this county lost the valuable services of Elliot G.
Storke. The office of school commissioner was substituted for
that of superintendent.
With the establishment of normal schools to supply trained
teachers; with a free school system; with buildings suitable for
their purposes, and with valuable text books, the schools of Cayuga
County compare favorably with those of any other part of the
state. The City of Auburn is especially noted for the high efficiency
of its schools, which are treated fully in another chapter.Medical Profession
291
CHAPTER XIX.
HISTORY OF THE MEDICAL PROFESSION OF
CAYUGA COUNTY.
BY BENJAMIN I. C. BUCKLAND, M. D.—REVISED BY WILLIAM S. CHEESMAN, M. D.
In a history of the Cayuga County Medical Society, it is inter-
esting to contrast this age of wonderful achievements with the
environment of the stalwart medical pioneers who came into the
woods of this beautiful lake region of Cayuga and Owasco a few
years after John Hardenbergh from the east and Roswell Franklin
from the south with flintlock on shoulder and axe in hand blazed
a trail through the primeval forest. Substitute for our electric
trolley and steam railroad system, the ox cart of the pioneer plod-
ding slowly westward toward Cayuga bridge along the blazed Indian
trial; for our automobile and bicycle, the ox team and saddle horse.
For the telegraph, telephone, and daily paper, with its hourly
report from the whole world, transmit all news and information
by fire signals and smoke signals from hilltop to hilltop across
the country, or by the swiftest messengers of those days, the Indian
runners. Take away the stethescope, microscope, fluroscope,
hypodermic syringe, anaesthetics, and the compact medicine case,
containing all the luxuries of modem pharmaceutical preparations,
and replace the bulky saddle bags containing calomel, opium,
antimony, guiacum, Peruvian bark, roots and herbs for decoctions,
and the lance for bleeding. Then turn out the electric light,
and by the smoking gleam of the pine knot see the old-time doctor
equal to us in natural ability and professional enthusiasm. Faith-
fully he stands by the bedside of birth and death with willing
hands and sympathizing heart, casting his bread upon the troubled292
History of Cayuga County
waters or pouring the oil of human kindness upon the tempestuous
waves of frontier life—such is the type of men who in the primitive
surroundings of a wilderness elaborated the principles of our
Society, which have been the backbone of medical practice in this
county for the past century.
On the fourth day of April, eighteen hundred and six, the
Legislature of the State of New York passed a law to incorporate
county medical societies throughout the state, for the purpose
of regulating the practice of physic and surgery. It required
nearly a decade to unify the opinions of medical men and politicians
as to the essentials of this law and to secure its enactment.
They builded better than they knew, for they thus established
the medical profession upon an honorable, educational, and legal
foundation. Let us recognize and emphasize the fact, that this
was the first law in the Empire State to establish a regular legal
standard of physicians and surgeons.
Physicians recognized by the State were in popular parlance
called “regulars, ” and in later years by other schools nicknamed
“ allopathists. ” This law marked the parting of the ways of the
educated physician and the popular charlatan. Agreeably to
this ordinance, twenty physicians of this county held a meeting
August 7, 1806, at the tavern of Daniel Avery, in Aurora, and
organized the Cayuga County Medical Society.
Cayuga County had been formed only seven years before from
the great Montgomery tract of forest land of Central New York,
out of which Onondaga County had been taken one year earlier.
The southern part of Cayuga County, with its fertile fields
and fruitful Indian orchards, its healthful uplands covered
with valuable timber, between the lakes, had been favorably re-
ported by the soldiers returning from the war of exterminating
the Indians in Sullivan's campaign in this section. Early settlers,
therefore, selected here their homes, and most physicians firstB. I. C. Buckland, M. D.Medical Profession
293
located in this part of the county. Aurora is historical, not only
as being the birthplace of our medical society, but also for being the
site of the first settlement made in Cayuga County (in 1789).
Hardenbergh’s Comers had now been settled a dozen years—
years of strife and bitter contention with Aurora for the advantage
of becoming the county seat. When at last victorious, the inhabi-
tants held a public meeting for the purpose of selecting a more
euphonious and dignified name for the Corners. At this meeting
Doctor Samuel Crossett, the first physician to settle in the county,
proposed the name “Auburn, ” derived from Goldsmith’s poem.
Colonel Hardenbergh, the first resident and founder of this city,
opposed the choice of this name on the ground that Auburn was
synonymous with deserted village and the name would injure the
town; in place of it he suggested ‘1 Hardenbergh ” or ‘ ‘ Mount Moria, ”
while Captain Edward Wheeler proposed to name the place “Cen-
ter. After a stormy debate “Auburn” was selected.
Although a subsequent meeting was held to induce the people
to reverse this decision, the doctor’s diagnosis has never been
changed. The significant point of this interesting clause of early his-
tory is that this pioneer physician, Doctor Samuel Crossett, should
have received the honor of naming this baby city, and thus scored
for our profession a historic victory in civic affairs.
It is interesting to note from chronological data that our medical
society is older by ten years than the village of Auburn, and forty-
two years older than the corporate City of Auburn. Also it is the
oldest medical society in Western New York.
But let us return to the first meeting of this venerable society,
on the eastern shores of Cayuga’s water, amid the murmuring pines
and hemlocks of the primeval forest, and review in the light of a
century’s experience the work of these medical pioneers.
The minutes of the first meeting show that the following officers
were duly elected from the twenty members present:	Frederick
Delano of Aurora, president; James McClung, vice-president;294
History of Cayuga County
Jacob Bogart of Fleming, secretary; Consider King of Ledyard,
treasurer. Doctors Delano, Smith and King were appointed to
draw up suitable by-laws for the society. The next meeting was
voted to be held at the public house of Levi Stevens, in Scipio,
November 6, 1806. The proceedings of the meeting were ordered
to be filed according to law in the county clerk’s office.
In the archives of our society as well as on the county records
are found the following names of twenty physicians and surgeons
who one hundred years ago founded our medical society:
Silas Holbrook, Moravia; Barnabas Smith, Poplar Ridge;
Frederick Delano, Aurora; Parley Kinney, Sherwood; Jacob Bogart,
Fleming; Ezra Strong, Scipio; James McClung, Genoa; Consider
King, Ledyard; John Post, Milton; Josiah Bevier, Owasco; Isaac
Dunning, Kellogsville; Asael Cooley, Fleming; Ebenezer Hewitt,
Genoa; David Annaball, Moravia; Mathew Tallman, Scipio ville;
Luther Hanchet, Scipio; William C. Bennet, Aurelius; Joseph Cole,
Hardenbergh’s Comers; Nathan Branch, Cayuga; Nathaniel Asper-
wall, Genoa.
The hardships of our profession, its nerve strain and overwork,
inevitably make the life of a doctor of few days and full of trouble.
It is history repeating itself therefore, to state that in a few years
we find new members, with new theories in the chairs and new dis-
cussions on the records.
For this pioneer band had gone the way of all the earth. But
the work they aspired to accomplish as a medical society and not
the achievements of the individual is the theme of this historical
sketch.
At the next meeting of the society, November, 1806, there were
thirteen present, who adopted the by-laws, elected Doctor Barnabas
Smith, of Poplar Ridge, delegate to the first meeting of the New7
York State Medical Society. Doctors King and Smith were author-
ized to fix and obtain at an expense of eight dollars the present seal
of the society. A tax was also levied of four dollars pet capitaMedical Profession
295
to establish a medical library for the use of the society. Doctor
Iddo Ellis, Joseph Cole, Ebenezer Hewitt, Nathaniel Asperwall,
and Consider King were elected as a Board of Censors, to examine
and judge of the qualifications of all persons desiring to practice
medicine in the county. Medical societies were legally authorized
to grant licenses and diplomas, through their board of censors and
to recognize those legally granted in other states; to see that they
were properly registered with the county clerk; to enforce all
medical legislation, to prosecute irregular and illegal practitioners,
and protect the people of the state from quackery.
The first candidate granted a license to practice medicine by
this society was L. Q. C. Fuller, who presented himself at the first
quarterly meeting, was examined by the censors in open session of
the society, and was declared by them qualified to practice physic
and surgery agreeably to the laws of the state.
He was required to take the following oath:	“I, Doctor L. Q.
C. Fuller, do solemnly declare that I will honestly, virtuously and
chastely conduct myself in practice of Physic and Surgery, with the
privileges of exercising which profession I am now to be invested,
and that I will with fidelity and honor do everything in my power
for the benefit of the sick committed to my charge. ” He then
delivered a dissertation on typhus fever and was admitted to the
society on payment of a membership fee of five dollars and two
dollars for his diploma.
Medical meetings were to be held quarterly, on the first Thursday
in February, May, August and November and provided for dis-
cussion of papers on current medical topics and dissertations by
professional men of ability.
For the first decade meetings were to be held, and the library
to be located at Scipio, this place being a compromise in the
rivalry between Auburn and Aurora for the possession of the
medical library, the medical meetings, and the establishment of a
medical college. The first meeting of the society held in the village296
History of Cayuga County
of Auburn occurred on the sixth of February, 1817, at the inn of
Canfield Coe. There were ten members present. The library had
been transported there, and all books in cloth and board had been
re-covered in calf and sheep. The expenses for same were audited
and paid at this meeting. At the next quarterly meeting in May
at this place the following amendment was added to the by-laws:
“Any member of this society who becomes disorderly from the
intemperate or excessive use of spirituous liquors, shall be suspended
six months, and for the second offense shall be expelled from the
Society. The members of this Society shall be the judge of the
conduct of their officers and members and shall punish by fine,
suspension, removal from office, or expulsion. ”
The membership fee was fixed at five dollars and a fine of one
hundred cents was imposed on every member who failed to attend
the annual meeting. The following unique regulations relating to
the library, I also quote from the by-laws:	‘ ‘ Every book shall be
returned at the end of six months, and all books shall be returned
at the annual meeting. The fine for detaining a book longer than
this stipulated time shall be twelve cents for the first day and one
cent daily until returned. The fine for damaging books shall be as
follows:	For every grease spot, blot or stain, the sum of twelve
cents; every leaf tom one inch, twelve cents, and for every addi-
tional inch, twelve cents. All other damages to the books shall be
appraised by the Society. ”
At an enthusiastic meeting held at Aurora in 1811, five years
after the society was organized, a committee empowered with all
the authority and influence of the society was appointed to act with
the trustees of the Cayuga Lake Academy at Aurora to secure an
appropriation from the Legislature for the purpose of establishing
a medical college at said academy. This project failed, but was
not abandoned, for five years later, at an annual meeting in Auburn,
another committee, with similar power was appointed to apply to
the Legislature for a grant for a medical school at Auburn. TheMedical Profession
297
State Prison having just been located here, this committee suc-
ceeded in securing from the Legislature an appropriation of all the
unclaimed bodies of deceased convicts, at the prison, for anatomical
study, and the use of the prison hospital for clinical study; but no
money was appropriated for building a medical school. A special
meeting was held in January, 1820, at which the prison physician,
Dr. Erastus D. Tuttle, was appointed to go to Albany at an expense
of fifty dollars to the society, to persuade the Legislature to favor
and assist this project. A petition and resolutions were also adopted
at this meeting explaining in detail the feasibility of this medical
college and the many medical educational advantages possessed by
the City of Auburn. Two hundred copies of the same were ordered
printed at the society’s expense to promote this object.
vSo sanguine of the ultimate success of securing the necessary
money and the charter from the State was Dr. E. D. Tuttle, that he
erected a building on Genesee street in the City of Auburn, and with
the abundance of anatomical and clinical material at the State
Prison, and with the assistance of the members of this society as
lecturers and teachers, conducted a creditable medical school in
Auburn from 1825 to the year of his death in 1829. This Auburn
Medical School, is still registered in the Medical and Surgical
Register of the United States by R. L. Polk & Co., as “Number
228, Auburn Medical School, Auburn, N. Y. ”
Dr. John S. Morgan succeeded Doctor Tuttle as prison physician
and continued the medical school on North street for a number of
years, while the Legislature was annually besieged by the society
for a charter. Hobart College was established about this time at
Geneva, and through political sagacity obtained from the State
in 1836, the money appropriation and charter for the medical school
our society had started, and for which they had again and again
attempted for twenty years to get the State’s charter and support.
The medical school took with it to Geneva, Dr. Frank H. Hamil-298
History of Cayuga County
ton and Thomas Spencer, prominent members of this society—
men who in after years became distinguished.
Geneva was a small town for such an institution, but still suc-
cessfully retained the medical school for thirty-six years, when
in 1872 it was again moved and located in the city of Syra-
cuse, where for a number of years it was maintained by the mem-
bers of the Onondaga County Medical Society, who furnished it
gratuitous service as instructors and lecturers, until it wras adopted
as a medical department by the university of that city. It is favor-
ably known to-day at home and abroad, for its high standard of
requirements, as the College of Medicine of Syracuse University.
In 1830, the society instituted a plan of making a medical
topographical survey of the county. The object was to ascertain
the influence of climate, soil, different occupations, the moral and
physical causes in the production of disease. Elaborate reports
were made during the next five years, on lakes, rivers and marshes,
and inhabitants; the quantity and quality of the diet of the labor-
ing classes; the diet and mode of rearing children; moral and edu-
cational influence, the effect of religious enthusiasm, and intem-
perance in the use of ardent spirits; on the welfare and health of the
people. The interest of the medical profession in this survey
centered in the inquiry into the diseases of each locality, popular
opinion respecting them, and the modes of home treatment, with
popular ideas and superstitions regarding age, sex, and diet, as
causes of disease. The prevailing opinion of professional men
was also to be recorded in these reports and the most approved
methods of treatment then known to medical science.
For the purpose of pursuing this scientific investigation two
physicians were appointed from the members of this society residing
in each of the towns of the county.
An historic landmark at the close of the first quarter of the
century is here found recorded in the following list of physicians.Medical Profession
299
Only three of those elected on this Medical Survey Committee
were charter members of the society.
John G. Morgan	and Ches. Bradford were	appointed for Auburn.
Wm. C. Bennet	“ Noyes Palmer “	Aurelius.
Henry Follett	“ W. H. Williams “	Brutus.
Nathan Boyd	“ Thos. B. Hoxsie “	“ “ Cato.
Alvah Randall	“ David B. Wait	“ “ Conquest.
Isaac Brown	“ Hiram Bennet	“ “ Fleming.
D. R. Pearl	“ David D. Jessup “	“ “ Genoa.
Allen Benton	“ Jno. Thompson	“ “ Ira.
Alex. Thompson	“ Thos. Siveter	“ Ledyard.
David G. Perry	“ Edward Finn	“ Locke.
Ira Doty	“ Hiram Eldridge “	“ “ Mentz.
Josiah Bevier	“ Abel Baker	“ Owasco.
Chas. G. Toan	“ Stephen Mosher “	“ “ Springport.
Andrew Groom	“ Phineas Hurd	“ “ Scipio
Uriah Veeder	“ Dr. Proudfoot	“ “ Sterling.
Sylv. Willard	“ Curtis C. Cady “	“ “ Sennett.
Silas N. Hall	“ David E. Lord	“ Sempronious.
Consider King	“ Jared Foot, Jr. “	“ “ Venice.
* Dr. Frederick Delano, the first president of this society, was
a prominent surgeon for the first quarter of a century in south-
ern Cayuga County. He came to Aurora from Orange County
in 1792, one year before John Hardenbergh came to his Comers.
He was one of the founders in 1801 of Aurora Academy, the
oldest in the county. In 1804 he, with other physicians, per-
formed the autopsy on the body of Delaware John, an Indian
who had murdered Mr. Ezekiel Crane, an early settler, near Seneca
Falls, the previous year.
This first murder trial was held at Aurora, which was the first
county seat of Onondaga County, and when Cayuga County was
organized, its first court house was also erected at Aurora. It300
History of Cayuga County
was made of posts set in the ground with poles covered with brush
resting on them.
The Indian was convicted of murder and sentenced to be hung
in the glen in the rear of the present site of Wells College. He
wished to be shot like a warrior, with his rifle in his hand, but the
Court denied him these honors of war and he submitted to his
fate with the stoicism of his race. This was the first case of capital
punishment with an autopsy in Cayuga County. Tradition says
that the doctors secured the autopsy by purchasing the body from
the Indian himself with a jug of rum, which he received and enjoyed
before the day of execution.
Doctor Delano preserved the skeleton for anatomical study, and
on his death it passed into the possession of his successors, Dr.
Elisha Morgan, Dr. John Gridely, Dr. Alexander Thompson, and
subsequently to Dr. Elijah P. Baker, who had it appropriately
buried in the glen some seventy years after the autopsy.
Doctor Delano was a skillful surgeon. He performed success-
fully the operation of lithotomy on two young girls in Scipio as early
as August 3, 1816. He was again elected president of the County
Society in 1819 and 1820, 1822, 1823, 1824. He died at Aurora,
July 26, 1825, at the age of sixty, having practised medicine
thirty-three years at this place.
Doctor Joseph T. Pitney was the next surgeon of prominence
in the County Society, which he joined in 1812, serving as secretary,
censor and president, several different terms during an active
membership of thirty-five years until at the January meeting in
1847, we find the following record; '‘Resolved, that Joseph T.
Pitney be exhonorated from any further tax in support of this
Society and that he remain an honorary member. ”
At the time young Doctor Pitney began his practice in Auburn
there was an epidemic which tested the combined skill of the earliest
resident physicians, Dr. Samuel Crossett, Dr. Hackaliah Burt, Dr.Medical Profession
301
Joseph Cole and Dr. Erastus E. Tuttle. Among those who died
was Robert Dill, one of the distinguished early settlers.
The crude methods of treatment of those pioneer days are
interestingly illustrated by the following case. The mother-in-
law of Robert Dill, while on a visit at Hardenbergh ’s Comers in 1814
had an acute attack of rheumatism. The following popular mode
of treatment was adopted. A hole was dug in the garden five
feet in diameter and four feet deep and into this pit the old lady
was seated in a chair, covered with blankets and steamed with
hemlock and medical herbs. The result of this treatment on this
patient is not recorded. Research does not reveal that this was
Doctor Pitney’s case, but it does reveal that this patient was his
own prospective mother-in-law. For' we find recorded that on
a beautiful Sunday afternoon on the ninth day of the following
June, Doctor Joseph T. Pitney was married to the charming widow
of the late Robert Dill. One of the many major operations per-
formed by Dr. Pitney, was successfully tying the subclavian artery
on the left side above the clavicle, for aneurism, in the case of a
Scipio woman in 1841. Doctor Joseph T. Pitney died in Auburn,
April 20, 1853, after practising surgery over forty years.
Lansing Briggs was bom the next year after our medical society
was organized. During his infancy his parents moved from the
eastern part of the state to Scipio, where he was reared and edu-
cated. He early became a medical student of Doctor Phineas
Hurd, while teaching in Scipio, and later in 1829, he studied medi-
cine with Doctor Joseph T. Pitney, of Auburn. He graduated at
the Berkshire Medical Institute at Pittsfield, Mass., and com-
menced the practice of his profession with Doctor John G. Morgan
in June, 1831, in an office at No. 1 North street, Auburn, N. Y.
Asiatic cholera became prevalent in America the following
summer and Doctor Briggs was commissioned by the health depart-
ment of Auburn to visit Rochester and other cities where the
disease was prevailing, to personally study sanitary measures of302
History of Cayuga County
prevention and treatment of this scourge. Doctor Briggs practised
medicine twenty years before he made surgery a specialty. The
practice of surgery of all this region of the country had up to this
time been monopolized by Doctor Pitney, whose health was now
failing, and that practice gradually fell into the hands of Doctor
Briggs.
In 1848 Doctor Briggs returned from a European trip filled
with professional enthusiasm over the successful experiments in
anaesthetics by Sir James Y. Simpson, which at that time were
interesting the profession of all Europe. Although chloroform
had been discovered as a chemical product in 1831 by Samuel
Guthrie, of Sacketts Harbor, N. Y., not over fifty miles from our
county, the honor remained for Doctor Briggs in the seventeenth
year of his professional life to bring back 3,000 miles from Europe,
the knowledge of its newly discovered anaesthetic and he was
first in this part of the state to introduce its use in the practice of
surgery. Doctor Briggs was also first to perform the capital
operation of ovariotomy in this county, which he did success-
fully October 3, 1867.
Frank H. Hamilton, M. D., a surgeon of national reputation,
was a student at the office of Doctor Briggs. Doctor Hamilton’s
early professional life was spent in Auburn, associated with the
Auburn Medical School as student, instructor and lecturer and
with this society as censor, secretary and librarian. He joined
the Medical Society August 1, 1833. The next year he won a cash
prize of $25.00 given by this society for the best essay written
by any member. When the Auburn Medical School was absorbed
by Geneva’s victory in obtaining the charter and appropriation
from the State Legislature, Doctor Hamilton went to Geneva
College as lecturer on surgery. In after years he won distinction
not only as a professor of surgery, but also as an author of several
surgical works of authority on both sides of the Atlantic..
The building of the Erie Canal opened a thoroughfare acrossMedical Profession
303
the county, diverting the western emigration from the Genesee
turnpike through Auburn and over Cayuga bridge to the canal
towns. Weedsport thus became the chief commercial center
from which Auburn received and sent all shipments of merchan-
dise. The construction through the swamps and lower water
levels of the state increased the demands for physicians to attend
the settlers who suffered not only from ague, typhoid and malarial
fevers, but also from contagious diseases. Asiatic cholera, small-
pox and other dreaded diseases were thus transported along the
new highway into the country. The center of civilization of the
county, until this time, had been in the healthful highlands along
the southern lakes. Here were the churches, schools, and all
the improvements. Newspapers were established and published
consecutively at Levanna, Scipioville, Aurora and Union Springs,
until the canal opened.
The diversion of interest from the southern part of the county
to the new canal sections is illustrated by the location of the
following officers of the medical society elected at an annual meeting
in 1835:	George W. Fitch, of Montezuma, president; Hermon
D. Eldridge, of Port Byron, vice-president; William W. Williamson,
of Weedsport, treasurer; Frank H. Hamilton, of Auburn, sec-
retary; A. P. Thompson, of Aurora; O. W. Blanchard, of Victory,
Samuel Gilmore, of Fleming, and Dennison R. Pearl, of Genoa,
were elected censors.
Public interest was deeply stirred in the middle of the century
by the trial of William Freeman, a quarter-blood Indian and negro
who murdered the family of John G. Van Nest near the foot of
Owasco Lake on March 12, 1846. On the part of the people this
trial was conducted by Honorable John Van Buren, attorney-
general of the state, and for the defense by Honorable William H.
Seward, ex-govemor of this state. The distinguished lawyer for
the defense at this trial first employed the plea of moral insanity
as a defense against a murder charge, establishing it by expert304
History of Cayuga County
testimony of twenty physicians—members of the Cayuga County
and New York State Medical societies.
Dr. Blanchard Fosgate was a prominent witness in this trial;
he had been the prisoner’s physician at the jail and in the prison
where he died August 21, 1847. He also assisted at the autopsy.
Doctor Fosgate commenced the study of medicine at the early age
of thirteen. He was an active member of our society for forty-
five years and for twenty-two years the secretary of the same.
He was the first to discover and publish to the medical world the
antidote caffein in opium poisoning. He also originated the well-
known domestic medicine “Fosgate’s Cordial.”
Homeopathy was introduced and practised in this county in
1841, by Dr. Horatio Robinson. Doctor Robinson graduated
from the Berkshire Medical College at Pittsfield, Mass, in 1826,
a few years before Doctor Briggs and Doctor Fosgate, and had
practised the regular system of medicine in the eastern states
about fifteen years. He studied the new system of “Similia simi-
libus curantur” with a German doctor at Seneca Falls at a time
when it had only thirty or forty followers in the country.
He was succeeded in his practice by his son Horatio Robinson
Jr., with larger range of practice and popularity and later by his
grandson, who is still an active practitioner.
In the earlier history of medical affairs in this county the
medical society passed a resolution to publish in the secular papers
such of their ethical principles as they deemed it advantageous
for the public in general to know. The following quotation will
illustrate some of their published declarations:	“A physician can
not pass successfully through his career without the aid of much
fortitude of mind and a religious sense of all his obligations, of
conscience, honor and humanity. His personal character should,
therefore, be that of a perfect gentleman. The confidence of the
people can not be awarded to any other.
“A physician in indigent circumstances is not permitted toMedical Profession
305
embrace or exercise any business which could degrade the character
of his profession, such as keeping a tavern, gambling, victualling,
or play-house.
“Any low trade or mercenary occupation is incompatible with
the dignity and independence of the medical avocation. In such
derogatory situation a physician forfeits the privileges of his
profession.
“The vital importance of the medical profession requires that
it should be practised with fidelity to its scientific principles and
approved doctrines; with honor to all its members and with justice
and humanity to the sick. A departure from the above principles
constitutes quackery. Any physician or surgeon who divides
his responsibility with a known quack, and associates with him
in medical consultation, receiving a fee or the usual charge for
such services, or practises with nostrums, secret medicines, or patent
remedies is guilty of quackery.
“Public advertisements, inviting customers afflicted with
defined diseases; promising radical cures; engaging for no cure, no
pay; offering advice and medicine to the poor gratis; producing
certificates and signatures, even of respectable individuals in sup-
port of the advertiser’s skill and success, and the like, are all abso-
lutely acts of quackery which medical institutions should always
repress, and punish by the rejection or expulsion of those who
commit them.”
The discussion on medical ethics, and varied opinions on new sys-
tems of medical practice, and the strenuous efforts to quell quackery
and reform the practice of medicine in the ante helium days devel-
oped new legislation in medical matters, so unsatisfactory to mem-
bers of the medical society that they sold their library at auction,
and took no interest in society meetings for a dozen years.
The Auburn Medical Association was then formed and had a
short and uneventful history during the early 50’s.
Asiatic cholera appeared in the county in 1850; and among the
20306
History of Cayuga County
many fatal cases was that of Dr. Leander B. Bigelow, physician
at the prison and a prominent leader, for twenty-five years, in
civic, social and medical affairs.
The Civil War called many physicians into service, prominent
among whom were doctors David H. Armstrong, Theodore Dimon,
D. Dudley and Cyrus Powers.
Many others who served in the rank and file in defence of the
Union afterwards entered the medical profession.
After the war the medical society was reinstated and has con-
tinued on a prosperous career of professional fellowship and regular
meetings to the present time.
At a meeting of the society held at the Court House in the
City of Auburn, July io, 1867, I find the following resolution re-
corded, which I am pleased to use as historical evidence to prove
that our society is not only the originator of the medical depart-
ment of the Syracuse University, but also the founder of the
Central New York Medical Association:
“ Resolved That the Medical Society of Cayuga County propose
through its secretary to the Onondaga County Medical Society,
to unite with them in forming a Medical Society of Central New
York, to hold meetings alternately at Syracuse and Auburn, the
number of meetings annually to be determined by the society when
formed. ” Amended with the addition of Seneca, Wayne, Ontario
and Monroe counties to the list.
At the January meeting, 1868, the secretary read his corres-
pondence with the above-named medical societies all of which
gave evidence of a cordial approval of the proposed plan. The
president then appointed Doctors Brinkerhoff, Button, Hall
and Hoffman as delegates to meet with similar delegates from
the other county societies for the purpose of organizing the pro-
posed consolidated medical association.
The Medical Association of Central New York was formed
that same year, 1868, with the following officers:	Edward W.William S. Cheesman, M. D.Medical Profession
307
Moore, of Rochester, president; T. S. Brinkerhoff, of Auburn,
secretary; Alfred Mercer, of Syracuse, treasurer.
The records of this society also show that the Cayuga County
Medical Society has furnished the following presidents:
Samuel Gilmore, of Fleming, 1872; Benjamin A. Fordyce, of
Union Springs, 1877; Theodore Dimon, of Auburn, 1882; Joseph
P. Crevaling, of Auburn, 1886; William S. Cheesman, of Auburn,
1896; John Gerin, of Auburn, 1902.
We have also furnished eighteen vice-presidents and about
forty active members for the support of the above association.
The last quarter of the century the society has kept abreast
with the advancing medical spirit of the age. As the decades
have passed with their medical discoveries and new inventions,
our methods of treatment, our policy, and our estimation of vital
questions of professional import, have been readjusted.
Our laws and by-laws have from time to time been revised to
meet the exigencies of this local progress.
At the centennial meeting we entered a new regime of govern-
ment amalgamating the county districts and state societies into
closer affinity, giving greater privileges to the members and a
wider range of influence and power to the organization. As the
first fruit of this professional amalgamation there has this year
been placed on the statute book of the state a new medical
practice law, which is the culmination of what the state society
has endeavored to effect for more than twenty-five years.308
History of Cayuga County
CHAPTER XX.
Bench and Bar.
THE BENCH AND BAR OF THE COUNTY OF CAYUGA.
BY LAVERN A. PIERCE.
The writer of this article is of the belief that the history of the
bench and bar of a county is unjust and of little practical value
unless it includes as full information as it is possible to obtain of
every man—living and dead—who is, or has been at any time a
resident jurist or practitioner within such county, and that sub-
stantially the same recognition should be accorded each. This
method of treatment of the subject committed to my care very
properly eliminates eulogies and fulsome flattery of friends as well as
disparagement and criticism of enemies, and confines my efforts to
a limited biographical review rather than extended personal nar-
ratives of the individual success or failure of my professional
brethren yet living.
I trust, however, that I may be pardoned if I shall record at
greater length the life and achievements of those of our members
who now “rest from their laborswhose conceded ability, public
service, and earnest life work secured to our bar the high reputation
it has for many years enjoyed in the state. In this view this article
is prepared.
The “Onondaga Military Tract” so called, was composed of the
present counties of Cayuga, Seneca, Onondaga, Cortland, and por-
tions of Wayne, Steuben and Oswego. In 1794, Onondaga County
was erected and included the present counties of Cayuga, Seneca
and part of Tompkins. In those early days the courts possessing
and exercising the jurisdiction now vested in and exercised by theBench and Bar
309
county courts, were known as Courts of Common Pleas, and the
“first judge” of that court, in each county, was to all intents
and purposes the county judge.
Seth Phelps, a resident of Aurora, although not a lawyer, was
appointed “first judge” of the Court of Common Pleas of that county
on March 14, 1.794, and filled the office until the erection of Cayuga
County in 1799, on the fourteenth of March of which year he was
appointed “first judge” of the Court of Common Pleas of Cayuga
County and served until February 26, 1810. The early courts of
both Onondaga and Cayuga counties were held at Aurora, which
was for several years one of the half shire towns of the county,
Cayuga Ferry, now village, being the other.
Judge Phelps held the first Court of Common Pleas in and for
Onondaga County, in a com house in the village of Aurora, in 1794,
assisted by John Richardson, Silas Halsey and William Stevens,
judges of the same court. The first session of the Oyer and Ter-
miner was held in a private house in that village on July 21, 1794,
the presiding judge being the Honorable Egbert Benson of the
Supreme Court, at which term a single criminal case was tried.
The first term of the Circuit Court was held at the home of Judge
Phelps, in the village of Aurora, on September 7, 1795, and was
composed of the Honorable John Lansing, Judge of the Supreme
Court, presiding and Seth Phelps, John Richardson and William
Stevens, judges of the Court of Common Pleas. A Circuit Court
does not appear to have again been held in what is now Cayuga
County, until June 12, 1798, when a term was convened at Aurora,
the court being composed of the Honorable James Kent, Supreme
Court judge, presiding, and Seth Phelps, William Stevens and Seth
Sherwood, judges of the Court of Common Pleas. This term was
held in what has facetiously been called “the first court house
erected in the county,” which was composed of crotched posts
set in the ground supporting poles covered with brush, in which310
History of Cayuga County
primitive structure courts were held in the summer season and
justice dispensed for several years.
In 1796, the courts were held at Manlius in what is now Onondaga
County; in 1797 at Ovid in the present county of Seneca, and in
1798 at Manlius, Ovid and Aurora.
The first court held in Cayuga County, after its erection, was a
Court of Common Pleas, presided over by First Judge Phelps, at
Cayuga Ferry, (now village) on May 21, 1799, Seth Sherwood and
John Tillotson being the associate judges. At this term the ‘ liber-
ties of the gaol” in and for the county, were established at Cayuga,
in the school-house in which village the courts were mostly held until
1804 when the “gaol of liberties” were formally transferred to
Aurora. The first jail was erected on the lake shore at Cayuga, at
the end of the bridge crossing the lake, the lower floor being below
the bridge level and used for a jail and the upper floor as the bridge
toll house. There were no doors in the lower part of the building
and prisoners were conducted to the jail through a trap door in the
floor of the toll house (which was also the roof of the jail) by means
of a ladder.
Seneca County was detached from Cayuga, March 27, 1804,
which necessitated a change of the place of holding courts to a more
central position in the county, and a statute was enacted fixing the
site of the court house at Sherwood Comers, directing the raising
of $1,500 for the the erection of a court house at that place, and
appointing commissioners to carry the provisions of the statute into
effect. This law was very unsatisfactory to a large majority of the
residents of the county, whose opposition was so manifest and
decided that the appointed commissioners took no action to carry
its provisions into effect and it was, shortly after its enactment,
repealed. Under subsequent legislation commissioners residing in
other parts of the state were appointed to locate the county seat
and in June of 1804, agreed upon and designated Hardenbergh’s
Comers—now the City of Auburn—as such county seat and theBench and Bar
311
site of the court house. The land on which our present county
buildings are located was purchased and the first court house erected
there—being completed in 1809, the first floor being used as
a jail and the second as a court room. The first term of court in
Hardenbergh *s Comers was held in the new court house—before its
completion—in May, 1808, by the Honorable Elijah Price, presiding
judge and Barnabas Smith and Charles Kellogg, justices. The
first Circuit Court was held in July, 1908, Judge Ambrose Spencer,
presiding. The present court house was erected in the late 3o’s
since which time the Supreme, County and Surrogate courts have
been held herein.
THE HONORED DEAD—SUPREME COURT BENCH.
Throop, Hon. Enos T. Born at Johnstown, Fulton County,
N. Y., August 21, 1784; education, common school; read law in
the office of George Metcalf, Esq., in Albany, for seven years,
commencing (at the age of fourteen) on October 17, 1798; ad-
mitted to the bar of the Supreme Court in January, 1806 and com-
menced practice in Auburn in March of that year. Postmaster,
1809 to 1815. Appointed a judge of the Supreme Court, for the
Seventh Circuit in 1823. He is recorded as having discharged
the duties of his high office with great honor and credit to himself
and satifsaction to the bar. He held the additional offices of
county clerk; member of the Fourteenth Congress, representing
the counties of Cayuga, Seneca, Tioga and Broome, a double
district sending two members; lieutenant-governor and gov-
ernor of the state of New York; naval officer of the port of New
York and charge d’affairs to the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies.
He died at the home of his nephew at “Willow Brook” on the
shore of Owasco Lake on November 1, 1874.
Maynard, Hon. John. I am unable to procure information
of this jurist other than that he was a practitioner in Auburn,312
History of Cayuga County
elected a judge of the Supreme Court in 1847, and died in office,
March 24, 1850.
Dwight, Hon. Charles C. Bom in Richmond, Berkshire
County, Mass., September 15, 1830; graduated from Williams
College in 1850; read law in the office of Amos Dean, Esq. in Albany
and was admitted to the bar in 1853; commenced the practice of
his profession in Auburn in 1859, in which year he was elected
county judge, and served until the commencement of the Civil
War, when he resigned and enlisted, being commissioned captain
of Company D, Seventy-Fifth New York Volunteers. In 1862
he was appointed assistant adjutant general of volunteers and
assigned to duty on the staff of General Lewis G. Arnold, at New
Orleans.
In the same year he was commissioned colonel of the
One Hundred and Sixtieth New York Volunteers, which regiment
was mustered into the service on November 22, 1862. In 1863
he was appointed judge of the Provost Court at New Orleans
and in 1864 was detailed to, and acted as, commissioner for the
exchange of prisoners in the Department of the Gulf. He resumed
practice in Auburn in 1865, was elected a delegate to the Con-
stitutional Convention of 1867, and in 1868 was appointed a
justice of the Supreme Court to fill the vacancy caused by the death
of Justice Henry Welles; elected Supreme Court justice in 1869,
again in 1877, and again in 1891; assigned to the General Term-
Fifth Department—January 1, 1888, as associate justice; appointed
presiding justice, January 1, 1890; assigned to, the Appellate
Division—First Department—February 21, 1895, as associate
justice, but declined the appointment. His term expired by
constitutional limitation December 31, 1900. He died at his
residence in Auburn on April 8, 1902, beloved and respected by
all who knew him.Bench and Bar
313
FIRST JUDGES OF THE COURT OF COMMON PLEAS OF CAYUGA
COUNTY.
Phelps, Hon. Seth. Settled in Cayuga County in 1791;
appointed first judge of Onondaga County in 1794; of Cayuga
County, March 14, 1799, and served until February 26, 1810. He
was a captain in the Revoluntionary War; state senator from
1798 to 1801 and again from 1810 to 1813. Removed to Ohio
in 1819 and died at Parkman in that state in February, 1823.
Wood, Hon. Walter. Born in Dartmouth, Mass., August
17, 1765; self educated; read law in White Creek, Washington
County, N. Y., where he was admitted to the bar; commenced
practice in Cayuga County—at Aurora—in 1795; appointed first
judge February 26, 1810—succeeding Judge Phelps—and served
until March 13, 1817, when he removed to Montville (this county)
where he died September 8, 1827.
Miller, Hon. Elijah. Bom in the town of Bedford, West-
chester County, N. Y., April 11, 1772; self educated; read law in
the office of Daniel Shepard in Aurora, this county; admitted to
the bar in May, 1799 and commenced practice at Cayuga; re-
moved to Auburn in 1808; appointed first judge, March 13, 1817
and served six years, displaying marked judicial ability. He
died at his residence in this city on November 13, 1851.
Powers, Hon. Gersham. I am unable to secure any data
relating to this jurist other than that he was appointed first judge,
January 31, 1823, and served four years.
Richardson, Hon. Joseph. Came to Auburn from Frederick,
Maryland, in 1806 and formed a partnership with Honorable
Enos T. Throop, which continued for nine years during a portion
of which time he filled the office of assistant attorney-general
of the state; he was brigade paymaster during the year of 1812:
appointed United States district-attorney of the Ninth District
composed of the counties of Cayuga, Chenango, Madison, Onon-314
History of Cayuga County
daga and Cortland on April 17, 1815; appointed first judge January
8, 1827 and served for twenty years until the constitution of 1847,
with its attendant legislation, changed the office to “county judge’’
and made it elective. He died at Auburn in 1855.
CAYUGA COUNTY JUDGES.
Hurlburt, Hon. John P. I am unable to secure any infor-
mation concerning this jurist other than his election to the office
in June 1847, an(i service for four years.
Humphreys, Hon. George. Removed from Auburn to the
village of Cato, where he commenced practice in 1844; elected
county judge in November, 1851, and served eight years. Mayor
of the city in 1861-2-5. No other information obtainable.
Dwight, Hon. Charles C., whose biography has been given
as a Supreme Court justice, was elected county judge in November,
1859 and served part of one term.
Hughitt, Hon. William E. Bom in Genoa, Cayuga County,
N. Y., October 22, 1832; graduated at Amherst college in 1855 and
commenced the study of law, the same year, in the office of Under-
wood & Avery, at Auburn; admitted to the bar in 1857; elected
county judge in November, 1863 and served fourteen years. He
united business pursuits with his practice, being interested in the
banking business of the city and a director and officer of one of its
banks for many years. He was a careful, conscientious lawyer of
marked ability and an impartial, honest and able jurist. He died
at his residence in this city on April 12, 1897.
Searing, Hon. Adolphus H. Bom August 25, 1855, in the
town of Scipio, Cayuga County; educated in the common schools
and at Swarthmore College, Pennsylvania, and graduated from the
law department of Michigan University at Ann Arbor, in 1882;
commenced practice in the City of Auburn that year; elected special
county judge in 1889, and county judge in 1901, succeeding Judge
Day. He died in office at the City of Auburn, March 26, 1907.Bench and Bar
315
SPECIAL COUNTY JUDGES.
The gentlemen who have filled this office and who now “rest
from their labors'’ are as follows:
Charles J. Hulburt, elected in 1852; Fayette G. Day, elected
in 1857; Amzi Wood, elected in 1863; William B. Mills, elected in
1872 and Reuben F. Hoff, elected in 1874.
Although the office was created in this county by an act of
the legislature passed April 10, 1849, the term being three years,
I am unable to find that any person was elected prior to 1852.
SURROGATES.
Prior to 1821, surrogates were designated by the council of
appointment; from 1821 to 1846 appointed by the governor and
senate and since the latter date have been elected.
Moses DeWitt and Thomas Mumford, the latter a resident of
Aurora—were surrogates of Onondaga County from 1794 to 1799,
when Cayuga County was erected.
Cuyler, Hon. Glen. Was the first surrogate of Cayuga County;
at the time of his designation he was a resident of the village of
Aurora, where he had practised from 1794; designated surrogate
March 14, 1799, and served until February 5, 1811; again designated
February 26, 1813, and served until February 28, 1815. He died
at Aurora, September 21, 1832.
Burnham, Hon. Eleazor: came to Aurora from Bennington,
Vermont, in 1798 and entered the office of Judge Walter Wood, as a
student; admitted to the bar and practised in Aurora until he was
designated surrogate, which office he held from February 5, 1811 to
February 26, 1813 and again from February 28, 1815 to June 7,
1820. He represented this county in the Assembly in 1826.
Wood, Hon. Seneca, who was a son of Judge Walter Wood,
held the office from June 7, 1820 to February 14, 1821.316
History of Cayuga County
Cuyler, Hon. Benjamin L. Born in Aurora, Cayuga County,
September 15, 1797; self educated; read law with his father, Glen
Cuyler, in Aurora where he commenced practice in 1819; appointed
surrogate February 14, 1821, and held the office until his death,
June 30, 1826.
Porter, Hon. John. Came to Auburn from Massachusetts and
commenced practice in 1812; appointed surrogate March 12, 1828,
and held office for eight years; he was elected to the State Senate
in 1843 an(i served three years; appointed district-attorney Febru-
ary 14, 1821 and served until 1828. In 1834, he formed a co-
partnership with Nelson Beardsley, Esq., which continued until
1838 when Benjamin F. Hall was admitted as a third partner.
Their practice was very successful and Mr. Porter is recognized by
former histories as having been a leading and very successful
member of our bar. He died in October, 1873.
How, Hon. Thomas Y. Served from March 18, 1836 to April
14, 1840, when he was succeeded by George H. Wood, who served
until February 15, 1844, being succeeded by Charles B. Perry,
who served from February 15, 1844 to June of 1847, when he was
succeeded by Jacob How.
Woodin, Hon. William B. Bom in the town of Genoa,
Cayuga County, September 25, 1824; graduated from the academy
at Homer, Cortland County, in 1841; represented the Second
District of Cayuga County in the Assembly in 1855; elected
surrogate in 1859 and served until 1871; State Senator in 1871,
and was chosen president pro tem of that body; re-elected in 1873,
serving as chairman of the committee on cities; again elected in
1879. He was a lawyer of conceded ability and had the reputation
of being the most brilliant orator the county had up to that time
produced. During his service in the Senate he wTas the conceded
“Nestor” of that body. He died in Auburn, November 1, 1893.
Davie, Hon. John T. M. Was one of the older practitioners
of the city when the writer was admitted. He was a man of con-Bench and Bar
317
ceded legal ability and ranked high as a member of the bar He
possessed great judicial ability and all of the time that he could
spare from his duties as surrogate was given to the hearing of
references sent to him because of his extraordinary and conceded
fitness to satisfactorily discharge the duties of a referee. He was
elected surrogate in November, 1871, and died in office on October
11, 1883.
SPECIAL SURROGATES.
The office of special surrogate, like that of special county judge,
was created in this county at the same time (1849) an(i in the same
manner. I am unable to find any record of the election of a special
surrogate until 1852, and am therefore led to the belief that the
first incumbent of this office was elected in that year.
Those members of the bar—now dead—who have been elected
to and discharged the duties of the office, with the date of their
election, are as follows:
Solomon Giles, 1852; Campbell W. Haynes, 1855; John T. M.
Davie, 1861; Gardiner C. Gifford, 1867; John T. M. Davie, 1870;
Richard C. Steel, 1871.
THE CITY COURT OF THE CITY OF AUBURN.
This court was created by the charter of 1879 and superseded,
as to civil jurisdiction in the city, the then existing courts of
justices of the peace. Its presiding officer is designated the “city
judge. ”
Woodin, Hon. Edwin A., was the first city judge and the only
person who has held that office that is now deceased. He was
bom in the town of Scipio, Cayuga County, February 12, 1865;
education common school; read law with his father, Hon. William
B. Woodin and was admitted to the bar at Rochester in 1871,
in which year he commenced practice in the City of Auburn which
he continued until his death on January 20, 1886. He was elected318
History of Cayuga County
city judge in 1879 and served one term of four years; he was an
active politician and held several minor offices, among them
supervisor of the second ward in 1877-8, and chairman of the
Republican County Committee; he was a Knight Templar and a
charter member of the Wheeler Rifles of which he was president
until the amended military code abolished that office and made
captains the presiding officers of military companies. Mr. Woodin
was a man of great executive ability, absolutely fearless and
possessed of good judgment. He enjoyed a very successful prac-
tice in his chosen profession and ranked high at the bar. In 1877—
associated with the Hon. John D. Teller—he represented the city
before the State Board of Assessors on its appeal from the action
of the Board of Supervisors in equalizing taxes. He was appointed
city attorney in March, 1884, and held that office until his death.
All who knew him well admired his ability, trusted his fidelity and
honored his integrity.
THE RECORDER'S COURT.
This court was also created by the charter of 1879, and super-
seded the then Police Court held by the police justice. Its juris-
diction is criminal.
Cootes, Charles E., was the first recorder, and the only person
who has held that office that is now deceased. He came to Auburn
from Cazenovia, N. Y., in 1858, and entered the Theological Sem-
inary as a student in 1861. Before the completion of his studies
for the ministry, he left the seminary, commenced the study of
law and was admitted to the bar. Elected city clerk in 1863 and
served one year; subsequently elected police justice and resigned
before the expiration of his term on account of impaired health.
Appointed chief of police by Mayor Ross and served in 1874,
and by Mayor Walley and served in 1878. Elected recorder
in March, 1879 and served one term of four years. He died at
his residence in the city on April 16, 1883.Bench and Bar
319
DISTRICT-ATTORNEYS.
Those who have filled this office (now dead) with the date of
their appointment or election, follow:
William Stuart, March 2, 1802; Daniel W. Lewis, March 9,
1810; William Stuart, February 12, 1811; Vincent Mathews,
March 12, 1813; Daniel Conger, April 17, 1815; Joseph L. Richard-
son, January 11, 1818; John Porter, February 14, 1821; Theodore
Spencer, March 12, 1828; Richard L. Smith, January 21, 1832;
Michael S. Myers, January 25, 1838; Dennison Robinson, January
27, 1841; Luman Sherwood, January 3, 1844; Ebenezer W. Arms,
January 3, 1847; Theodore M. Pomeroy, November, 1850; Solomon
Giles, November, 1856; George I. Post, November, 1859; Richard
C. Steel, November, 1862; Charles C. Dwight, March 27, 1866;
Willim B. Mills, November, 1866.
Allen, William. Bom in Greenfield, Saratoga County, N. Y.,
September 25, 1817. The following year his father moved to the
old town of Scipio—now Ledyard—this county; self educated;
read law in the office of David Wright in the City of Auburn; ad-
mitted to the bar in 1837 and formed a partnership that year
with Mr. Wright; he was thereafter associated with John Porter,
Alonzo G. Beardsley and Theodore M. Pomeroy in the firms of
Porter & Allen, Allen & Beardsley and Allen & Pomeroy. He
later abandoned general practice and made a specialty of patent
law; appointed postmaster in Auburn in 1861 by President Lincoln
and held the office until 1869; he was director of the National
Exchange Bank; a trustee of the Auburn Water Works Company
and of the Auburn Manufacturing Company. During his latter
years he travelled extensively seeking relief from asthma from
which he was a great sufferer. He died in Auburn, January 7,
1881.320
History of Cayuga County
THE BAR---DECEASED MEMBERS.
Aiken, Leonard O. Bom at Antrim, New Hampshire, Sep-
tember 14, 1805; read law with Jonathan Hussey at Moravia and
later with the Hon. Freeborn G. Jewett at Skaneateles, Augustus
Donnelly, and Judge C. Edward Reed of Homer, Cortland County;
admitted to the Court of Common Pleas in 1828 and to the Supreme
Court July 30th of that year; commenced practice in Moravia in
1831, retired in 1875, and died in the late 70^.
Austin, Mortimer V. Bom in Moravia, this county, in 1842;
common school education; read law with E. C. Brown in Moravia
and later with Cox & Avery in Auburn; admitted to the bar in
1868, from which time until his death on June 24, 1899, he prac-
tised his profession in the city; elected police commissioner in 1886
and mayor of the city in 1887, which office he filled for two years.
Barker, Hon. George. Bom in the town of Venice, Cayuga
County, November 6, 1823; graduated from the Aurora Academy
in 1843 5 rea(l law with David Wright in Auburn; admitted to the
bar in 1847 and practised in Auburn until the following January
when he removed to Fredonia, Chautauqua County; elected district-
attorney of that county in 1853; in 1867 a member of the consti-
tutional convention; elected a justice of the Supreme Court in
November, 1867 an(i re-elected in 1876. During the greater part
of his last fourteen years on the bench he was a member of the
General Term, Fourth Judicial Department, and for several years
its presiding justice.
Baker, Charles M., was an active and successful practitioner
in the City of Auburn from the time of his admission in the late
70’s until the year 1901, when he suffered a stroke of paralysis
which incapacitated him from further work. For five years he
was a patient at the Auburn City Hospital and Geneva Sanitarium,
in the former of which he died on September 19, 1906.Bench and Bar
321
Bradford, Thomas J. Read law with N. Lansing Zabriskie
in Aurora and later with Milo Goodrich in Auburn; graduated
from the law department of Union College and was admitted to
the bar in 1876, in which year he commenced practice in Aurora
and continued it for several years after which he removed from the
county. The place and date of his death I am unable to ascertain.
Beardsley, Alonzo G. Bom in the present town of Venice,
this county, on July 11, 1820, and came with his parents to Auburn
in 1836; read law with John Porter, Esq., with whom he formed a
co-partnership on being admitted to the bar; practised until 1848,
from which year he gave his entire time to the interests of cor-
porations with which he had become identified. In that year
he was one of the incorporators of the Oswego Starch Factory
and was elected its secretary and later its treasurer which dual
position he filled for more than fifty years. In 1858 he formed a
co-partnership with Cary S. Burtis and Franklin Sheldon for the
manufacture of mowers and reapers which business was later
incorporated as the Cayuga Chief Manufacturing Company and
was later consolidated with the D. M. Osborne Company upon
which consolidation Mr. Beardsley became the first treasurer of
the new company. He was one of the organizers of the Auburn
Water Works Company and its president until the plant was pur-
chased by the city. For more than forty years he was a director
and vice-president of the Cayuga County National Bank and its
first cashier. He was a director of the Exchange Bank and for
many years was associated with George Casey in the manufacture
of planes. He died at Auburn, August 14, 1906.
Beardsley, Nelson. Bom in Oxford, Conn., May 30, 1807;
graduated from Yale College in 1827 and immediately thereafter
removed to Auburn and commenced the reading of law with John
W. Hurlburt, Esq., finishing his studies in the office of Honorable
William H. Seward; admitted to the bar in 1830; practised until
1843, when he abandoned practice to accept the position of presi-
21322
History of Cayuga County
dent of the Cayuga County National Bank, which position he held
until his death in 1894. He was a director and officer in several
other banks in the city for many years.
Beardsley, William C. Bom at Stewart’s Comers in the
old town of Scipio, this county, March 27, 1816; educated in the
common schools and academies at Aurora, Cayuga County, and
Homer, Cortland County; read law with his brother Nelson
Beardsley and Honorable William H. Seward. After his admission
to the bar he was appointed a Master in Chancery the duties of
which position he discharged for several years, but preferred an
active business life to that of practising law. For many years he
held the positions of cashier and president of the Auburn Exchange
Bank; he was trustee of the Auburn Savings Bank from 1878 until
his death; one of the original stockholders of the Cayuga County
National Bank, and treasurer of the Merchants Union Express
Company until its consolidation with the American; he was promi-
nent in the reorganization of the Grand Trunk Railway in Michigan,
and a director of the Grand Trank Railway of Canada; he was
one of the first trustees of the Fort Hill Cemetery Association
and filled such office until his death, serving a portion of such time
as its president; postmaster 1841 to 1845; hi J^52 he was a presi-
dential elector. He died at his residence in the City of Auburn,
where he had lived for sixty years continuously, on January 25,
1900.
Blatchford, Hon. Samuel. Born in the City of New York,
March 9, 1820; graduated from Columbia College in 1837; admitted
to the bar as attorney in 1842 and as counselor in 1845 hi which
year he came to Auburn and formed a co-partnership with William
H. Seward and Christopher Morgan; removed to New York City
in 1854; appointed United States district judge for the Southern
District of New York in 1867; promoted in 1878 to Federal Circuit
judge and appointed in 1882 associate judge of the United States
Supreme Court. He died in Newport, Rhode Island, July 7, 1893.Bench and Bar
323
Bronson, Parliment, came to Auburn from Vernon, Oneida
county, N. Y., about 1825 and formed a co-partnership with
Richard L. Smith. He is said to have been a highly educated and
profound lawyer and to have enjoyed an extensive and remunerative
practice. He died June 20, 1857.
Brown, Erastus, E. Bom in Jordan, Onondaga County,
October 26, 1836; read law in Auburn; graduated from the law
school at Poughkeepsie in i860, and was admitted to the bar in
1861 in which year he commenced practice at Moravia; removed to
Lincoln, Nebraska, in the spring of 1870, where he enjoyed a suc-
cessful practice until his death.
Brown, William. Read law wdiile a minister of the Gospel,
was admitted, came to Auburn in 1813, and engaged in active
practice until 1830, when he removed to Brooklyn where he died
in i860.
Byrne, Walter Aloysius. Bom in Auburn November 22,
1869; educated in the common schools of the city and St. Mary’s
parochial school; graduated from the High School in 1887, and
entered the law department of Cornell University at Ithaca in the fall
of that year, graduating in 1889; he continued his studies in the office
of Payne & O’Brien at Auburn until his admission to the bar in
April, 1891; practised his profession in our city for seven years, then
entered the office of Justice William H. Kelly in New York City
where he remained until failing health compelled his retirement
from active practice. He died in the city of New York, October
28, 1901.
Capron, A. B. Came to Union Springs from Cortland County
in i860 and practised there until 1862 when he enlisted and died
in the service.
Converse, Howell B. Bom in the town of Mentz, Cayuga
County, June 17, 1838; common school and academic education;
read law with Finlay W. King in Port Byron, and was admitted to324
History op Cayuga County
the bar in i860; elected and served as coroner in 1866-7; justice of
the peace, 1868-9; served some years as justice for sessions; elected
to the Assembly and served one term. In 1899, elected supervisor
and served until his death in 1901.
Collins, Noyes S. Bom in Camden, Oneida County, N. Y.,
in 1851; graduated from the Albany Law School and was admitted
to the bar in 1875, during which year he commenced practice in
Union Springs removing from there a few years later. The date
and place of his death I am unable to ascertain.
Cook, Horace T. Bom in the town of Aurelius, this county,
July 22, 1822; educated in the common schools; read law with
George Rathbun and later with William H. Seward; admitted to the
bar in 1844; he practised in Auburn and served as justice of the
peace until elected county treasurer in 1848, the duties of which
office prevented further active practice. Mr. Cook filled the office
of county treasurer continuously from 1848 until his death in 1897,
discharging its many and arduous duties with rare ability and
fidelity.
Cornwell, William I., came from Dutchess County to Weeds-
port in 1830 and commenced practice in 1836; he was a member of
Assembly in 1846-7 and state senator in 1848-9; canal appraiser
from 1852 to 1856 and auditor of the Canal Department from April,
1855 to January, 1856. He died at Weedsport in 1897.
Cropsey, John E. Bom at Marlboro-on-the-Hudson, New
York, December 2, 1826, and came with his father's family to the
town of Locke, this county, in 1829; educated at the village school
in Milan—now Locke—and at the Cortland Academy; read law
with Orlem White at Milan; admitted to the bar at Ithaca, Tompkins
County, in 1855; he practised in the villages of Milan and Moravia
and was a justice of the peace of the town of Locke for sixteen years
and a supervisor in 1863-4. He died in the town of Sennett on
October 19, 1903./£Bench and Bar
325
Durston, Charles F. Born in England in 1836; educated in
the common schools and at the Cazenovia Academy from which he
graduated and studied for the ministry; commenced the study of
law in the office of David Wright, Esq., in the City of Auburn in
1861, and completed his reading in the office of Warren T. Worden,
Esq., with whom after his admission to the bar he formed a co-part-
nership which continued until 1872; later formed a co-partnership
with Charles L. Adams and was a member later of the legal firms of
Durston & Pingree and Durston & Warren; city clerk in 1864.
Appointed agent and warden of Auburn State Prison in July, 1875,
and served two years. Again appointed July 1, 1887, and served
until May 1,-189-3, when he was transferred to Sing Sing Prison,
as agent and warden, which position he held until his death on
October 12, 1894.
Ellis, Elias M. Born at Aurora, this county, September 1,
1846 and educated at the Cayuga Lake Academy in that village;
read law with Oliver Wood and was admitted to the bar June 7,
1869; practised in Moravia two years when he removed to Levanna,
this county, and continued his practice until July 1, 1874, when
he entered the employ of the Cayuga Railroad Company with
headquarters at Ithaca and later died there as I am informed.
Fosgate, William. Bom in the town of Florida, Montgomery
County, N. Y., April 3, 1812, removing to Auburn with his parents
in 1822 ; educated in the public schools of the city; read law with
Hon. William H. Seward and after being admitted to the bar was an
active practitioner in the city until his health became impaired to
such an extent as to compel his retirement; he filled the position
of master in chancery acceptably for several years and was clerk
of the village of Auburn in 1838. When in practice he had the
reputation of being one of the most brilliant lawyers in Central
New York. He died at his residence in this city, August 19, 1897.
Goodrich, Hon. Milo. Bom in Homer, Cortland County, N Y.,
January 3, 1822; educated at the academy in that village and at326
History of Cayuga County
Oberlin College, Ohio; read law with Judge Barton at Worcester,
Mass., and was admitted to the bar of this state in 1844, commen-
cing practice at Dry denTompkins County; removed to Auburn in
the spring of 1875, where he continued active practice until his
death in 1876. He was a member of the Constitutional Convention
of 1867-8, and of the Forty-Second Congress. He was a lawyer of
eminent ability and an acknowledged leader of the bar of this
county.
Hall, Hon. Benjamin F. Bom in the town of Whitehall,
Washington, County, N. Y., on July 23, 1814, and came to Auburn
in the fall of 1835; he had completed three years of law study in
Washington County and finished his reading in the offices of Judge
Elijah Miller and his successors in practice, Seward & Beardsley,
being admitted to the bar in 1837; the following year he became the
junior partner in the law firm' of Porter, Beardsley & Hall in
which he remained until the close of the year 1841 when he formed
a partnership with John P. Hurlbert; in 1846 the firm was dissolved
and Mr. Hall practised alone until March of 1861, when he was
appointed chief justice of the Territory of Colorado and discharged
the duties of that responsible and high judicial office in such a com-
mendable manner that upon his retirement he was presented with
a resolution adopted by the bar and entered in the minutes of the
court containing the following clause best evidencing their respect
and admiration for him as a jurist and the extraordinary success of
his administration.
“The results of your administration of the law here for nearly
four years fully vindicate your policy and judgment. It devolved
upon you when you came here to lay the foundation of a future
civilization and to erect upon it the edifice of a systematic and
enlightened judiciary. That you have succeeded in this to a
remarkable extent the records of this court attest. You leave
behind you the evidence of unusual foresight, untiring industry,Bench and Bar
327
great legal ability, purity of intention and of an inflexible purpose
to be faithful to your trust.”
In 1840, he was appointed an examiner in chancery serving for
three years; in 1844 he represented the county in the legislature;
in 1852 he served one year as mayor of the city. After his return
from Colorado he was tendered the office of consul-general to
Valparaiso, which he declined, but later accepted the position and
served as superintendent to commercial statistics in the state
department under Secretary Seward. He died at his residence in
Auburn, September 6, 1891.
Hills, Harold E. Bom in Auburn in 1859; education com-
mon school and Cornell University; read law with Charles F. Dur-
ston and later with Richard C. Steel and was admitted to the bar
in 1882; elected city clerk in 1881 and served one term after which
he practised in the city until his death on May 13, 1893.
Hoff, Hon. Reuben F. Born in Union Springs, this county,
on December 6, 1840; graduated at the University of Rochester; read
law with John T. Pingree, Esq., at Auburn and was admitted to the
bar December 6, 1866; commenced the practice of his profession at
Union Springs, in 1870; elected justice of the peace in 1871 and
served four years; elected special county judge in 1874 and served
until January 1, 1878; was appointed postmaster in Union Springs
by President McKinley, in 1896 and filled that office until his death
on March 27, 1908.
Howland, Horace V. Bom in Foster, Providence County,
Rhode Island, March 8, 1820; self educated; came to Auburn in
March, 1849 and began the study of law in the office of Seward,
Blatchford & Morgan; admitted to the bar November, 9, 1849.
In April following he commenced practice in the village of Port
Byron; he was a member of the convention for the revision of the
State Constitution in 1873. In 1880, he removed to Auburn and
formed a co-partnership with Mr. E. O. Wheeler which continued
until the death of the latter in 1889. In 1894 he formed a partner-328
History of Cayuga County
ship with Mr. Frank D. Wright and Frank C. Cushing which con-
tinued until his death on April 20th of that year. He was respected
and held in high esteem by all who knew him; no lawyer ever
practising in this county possessed in a higher degree the respect of
both bench and bar; he was grandly equipped for the discharge of
the duties devolving upon a member of his profession and remark-
ably successful in the litigation of which he had charge; he was an
acknowledged leader of the bar for many years before his death.
Hunter, James. Bom in New York City in August, 1814;
education, common school; read law with Stephen A. Goodwin,
was admitted to the bar and formed a co-partnership with Warren
T. Worden, continuing until 1854, when he removed to St. Joseph,
Missouri, and there continued his practice until the breaking out of
the Civil War when he enlisted and served until its close in the
Union Army, holding the rank first of captain and later major. At
the close of the war he returned to Missouri and served as district-
attorney of Buchanan County, postmaster at St. Joseph during
the administration of President Grant and collector of the port of
St. Joseph during the administration of President Arthur. He
later returned to Auburn and died at the home of his nephew, Mr.
John L. Hunter, on November 9, 1903.
Hurlbert, Hon. John W., who was a representative in Congress
from Maine, from 1814 to 1817, came to Auburn in 1817 and at
once took high rank as a trial lawyer in criminal cases, to which
his practice was largely devoted, he being retained for nearly every
defendant put upon trial for crime in Central New York. He
died on October 19, 1831.
Hurlbut, Daniel L. Bom in the town of Venice, Cayuga
County, November 30, 1852; removed to the town of Genoa, and
later in 1872, to Dryden, Tompkins County, where he read law
with Milo Goodrich and came to Auburn with him in 1875. Ad-
mitted to the bar in 1876 and commenced active practice in our
city. In 1877 he formed a co-partnership with George UnderwoodBench and Bar
329
Jr., which continued for five years. In 1892 he formed a co-
partnership with J. Henry Kerr which continued until his death,
on February 19th of that year. He was an able lawyer and his
death was deeply regretted by members of the bar and his many
friends throughout the state. He was a member of the Common
Council—representing the third ward—in the years 1898-9.
Hussey, Jonathan F., was the first lawyer practising in the
village of Moravia; he was bom in 1787; read law with Judge
Walter Wood at Montville and was admitted to practice in 1817;
he made a specialty of the titles of real property iu the southern
part of the county and built up a large and very lucrative practice.
He died October 9, 1852, at Utica.
Knapp, John N. Bom in the town of Victory, this county,
November 8, 1826; attended school in that town until 1844, when
he was selected by the Board of Supervisors as one of the three
pupils allotted to Cayuga County for education in the State Normal
School at Albany and was the youngest member of its first class,
graduating in fifteen months after entrance; he commenced reading
law in Victory and continued his studies in Auburn after his grad-
uation and thereafter commenced a course of study at the Albany
Law School. Before finishing his course he was appointed to a
position in the United States Treasury by its secretary—
Honorable James Guthrie of Kentucky—which he accepted and
shortly after was promoted to the position of special agent. He
was admitted to the bar in 1856 and in i860 was a delegate to the
National Democratic Convention held at Charleston, South Caro-
lina, where he earnestly advocated the nomination of Senator
Stephen A. Douglass for president. On the commencement of the
Civil War, he became a Republican in politics and was a member
of the war committee appointed to raise troops in the Twenty-
Fourth Congressional district and took an active part in the work.
In 1863 he was appointed provost marshal in which position he
rendered valuable service to the Government. At the close of theBench and Bar
331
came to Auburn in 1817, continuing his studies in the office of
Lockwood & Throop; admitted to the bar in the spring of 1825;
practised for a year in Auburn, then removed to Aurora and
formed a partnership with Glen Cuyler, which continued until
the fall of 1828, when he was elected county clerk and returned to
Auburn; served as county clerk for nine successive years; January
25, 1838, he was appointed district-attorney and served three
years; was inspector of state prisons from 1842 to 1844; postmaster
two years, during President Polk's administration (1847-9) anc^
during his long life held several minor offices. He remained in
active practice until his death in 1884, at the advanced age of
eighty-three years.
^Newgass, Louis. Bom at Kaiserlautem, Rhenish Bavaria,
Germany, January 10, 1854; received a classical education in Ger-
many and came to America, December 22, 1870; he learned the
English language in the night schools in New York City, where he
was employed for a time as the French correspondent for a large
banking house; read law with J. B. Kline, Esq., in Ithaca, N. Y.
and was admitted to the bar in 1880, commencing practice in
Auburn the same year. In 1886, he was appointed justice of the
peace, to fill a vacancy, and was elected the same year to fill such
vacancy for the unexpired term of two years; he was twice re-elected
for full terms of four years after which he was appointed confidential
examiner in the insurance department at Albany which position
he filled until his death, as the result of a railroad accident, on
December 11, 1900.
O’Brien, John W. Born at Auburn, N. Y., October 13, 1853,
and received his education in the city schools, graduating with the
class of 1869 and later from Hamilton College in 1873, following
which he held the position of principal of the Griffith Institute at
Springville, N. Y. for two years and was then employed as instructor
in mathematics and ancient history in the Brooklyn Polytechnic
Institute for one year; he graduated from Columbia College Law332
History of Cayuga County
School in 1878 and was admitted to the bar the same year, fol-
lowing which he removed to and practised for about three years
in Colorado during a portion of which time he was the prosecuting
attorney of Lake County; after which he came to Auburn and formed
a co-partnership with Hon. Sereno E Payne which continued until
his death in 1895; he held the office of city attorney for two terms
and was a member of the Board of Education for three terms during
two of which he was its president; he also served his college for
several years as a lecturer on legal subjects.
Paddock, Sumner L. Bom in the City of Auburn in 1851;
education, common school, graduating from the High School in 1873 ;
read law in the office of James Lyon, Esq., and was admitted to the
bar in 1877 in which year he was elected city clerk and served for
three years. His health becoming impaired he went to Denver,
Colorado, where he died on November 3, 1881. Mr. Paddock was
never an active practitioner.
Parker, Hon. John L. Bom in Moravia, this county, March
28, 1825; educated chiefly at the Moravia Institute; read law with
Jared Smith and Leonard O. Aiken in Moravia, and was admitted
to the Supreme Court, July 4,1848, and to the United States Circuit
Court in 1879. In 1848, he commenced active practice in Moravia
which he continued until within a year of his death which occurred
on October 10, 1892; he was justice of the peace twelve years;
superintendent of schools in 1851-2; president of the village in
1880; in 1863-4 engrossing clerk in the Assembly of which body he
was a member in 1865-6-7; during his last two terms he was chair-
man of the committee on railroads; for several years he held the
position of agent in the special service division of the United States
Pension Department. He was a respected and leading member of
the bar and his death was deeply regretted by a large circle of friends.
Pingree, John T. Bom at Salem, Mass., September 10, 1835;
graduated from Williams College in 1856 in the same class with
James A. Garfield; studied law at the Albany Law School fromBench and Bar
333
which he graduated and was admitted to the bar in 1858, commen-
cing practice in Albany, but later removing to Auburn where after
several years of practice he formed a partnership with Charles F.
Durston and remained an active practitioner until his death on
June 27, 1883. He was a courtly and polished gentleman, a brilliant
trial lawyer and possessed great legal ability. He was the nominee
of the Democratic party for Supreme Court justice in 1877, but
was defeated by the late Charles C. Dwight by so small a majority
that the result was in doubt for several days after the election.
Pomeroy, Hon. Theodore M. Bom in Cayuga, this county,
December 31, 1824; educated at Elbridge Academy and Hamilton
College, graduating from the latter in 1842; read law with Hon.
William H. Seward, was admitted to the bar, and commenced
practice in Auburn in 1846; district-attorney from 1850 to 1856;
member of Assembly in 1857; a member of the House of Repre-
sentatives from 1861 to 1869, serving on the committee on foreign
affairs and as chairman of the committee on expenditures in the
Post Office Department in the Thirty-Seventh and Thirty-Eighth
Congresses; on the committees on banking and currency, and
unfinished business in, and as speaker of the Fortieth Congress;
he was the first city clerk of Auburn, serving three years, and its
mayor in 1875-6; delegate to the Republican National Convention
in 1876, and served as temporary chairman; state senator in 1878-9.
Although Mr. Pomeroy was a bom orator and pre-eminently.
fitted and qualified to attain high rank as a trial and consulting
lawyer, after his service in the Senate he devoted his time and
energy to a business life, being connected for several years with, and
general counsel of the American Express Company, and later with
the banking house of William H. Seward & Co., of which he was a
member at the time of his death, March 23, 1905.
Post, Hon. George I. Born in the town of Fleming, this
county, April 2, 1826; educated in the public schools of that town
and Lima Seminary; read law first at his home and later with334
History of Cayuga County
George Rathbun and Porter, Allen & Beardsley in Auburn;
admitted to the bar in 1855 and commenced practice in Auburn the
same year; alderman of the third ward in 1858-9; elected district
attorney in 1859 and served three years; elected member of Assem-
bly in 1862 and participated in the famous three weeks’ struggle for
the organization of the House during which time a tie vote of sixty-
four was maintained; at the close of his legislative term he took an
active interest in the construction of railroads, being closely identi-
fied with the organization and construction of the Lake Ontario
& Western and the Southern Central railroads.
In 1872 he represented his district in the convention which nom-
inated General Grant for presiden the second time. In 1875, he
was again elected to the Assembly and re-elected in 1876, after
which he again turned his attention to railroad construction, becom-
ing a director of the Boston, Hoosac Tunnel & Western Company.
He died at Fair Haven in 1890.
Rathbun, Hon. George, was one of the older practitioners in
the City of Auburn and the acknowledged leader of the bar "of the
county for many years. He enjoyed a large practice extending
throughout the state; he was an able and safe counsellor, a skillful
trial lawyer and uniformly successful in the litigation entrusted
to his care, postmaster 1837 to 1841; he represented his district in
Congress with marked ability and universal satisfaction; he died
at the end of a long and useful life, in Auburn in 1870, honored and
respected by those among whose his life had been passed.
Rathbun, George O., a son of the Honorable George Rathbun,
was one of the leading lawyers of Cayuga county for years; he was
the junior partner of the firm of Wood & Rathbun which firm had
a large trial practice. Mr. Rathbun was possessed of a remarkable
memory which made it almost impossible to suprise him on the
trial of cases and a very dangerous adversary as he was able to cite
authorites from memory alone, on any legal question that might be
presented. Many times the writer has verified such citations by330
History of Cayuga County
war he entered upon a business life and became identified with the
American Express Company, of which he was a director at the
time of his death; he served on the staff of Governor Dix (during
his administration) with the rank of brigadier-general, from June
i, 1873; he was for many years a member of the Republican State
Committee and at different periods its chairman and treasurer.
Appointed postmaster in Auburn in March, 1890, by President
Harrison, but resigned before the expiration of his term and was
appointed internal revenue collector upon the death of John B.
Strong, which office he held until his death, December 9, 1893.
Miller, George W. Bom in the town of Cato, this county,
and admitted to the bar in 1850. His entire life thereafter, was
devoted to the practice of his profession in Ira Center in that town,
being the only lawyer ever residing in that village.
Morgan, Hon. Christopher. Bom at Aurora, this county,
June 4, 1808; commenced reading law in the office of Seneca Wood
at Aurora, and finished in the offices of Judge Elijah Miller and
Honorable William H. Seward, in Auburn. After his admission to
the bar he practised with Ebenezer W. Arms, at Aurora, for several
years; was elected a representative in Congress in 1837 and re-
elected in 1839, after which he removed to Auburn and formed a
partnership with Samuel Blatch ord and Clarence A. Seward;
he was secretary of state from November 2, 1847 to November
4, 1851; mayor in i860. He died at Auburn in 1888.
Murdock, George W. Bom in the town of Mentz, this county,
February 22, 1861; came to Auburn in 1888; education common
school; read law with Charles F. Durston, Esq., and was admitted
to the bar October 4, 1892, after which he practised in Auburn
until his death on November 27, 1903.
Myers, Michael S. Bom in Waterford, Saratoga County,
N. Y., April 15, 1801; educated in the public schools of that town
and at the academy at Fairfield, Herkimer County; commenced
the study of law in 1816 with John Cramer, Esq., of Waterford;Bench and Bar
335
reference to the authorities and never but once found him in error.
He died at Auburn, December 19, 1898.
Rich, Frank R. Bom in the village of Cato, Cayuga County,
N. Y., February 3, 1835; common school education; read law in
the office of his father, George R. Rich, in Cato, and was admitted
to the bar in 1855, in which year he commenced the practice of
his profession in his native village which he continued until his
death on March 26, 1883. He was never a candidate for public
office, but served as United States loan commissioner for many
years. He served through the Civil War, being captain in the
One Hundred and Eleventh Regiment, New York State Vol-
unteers, and also was a member of Cato Lodge, No. 141, Free and
Accepted Masons, of which lodge he was Master for several years.
Mr. Rich was a careful and very successful practitioner and
attained a high standing among the members of the bar of our
county. His early death caused deep regret among his many
friends who had learned to love and respect him as an honest and
upright man.
Rich, George R. Bom in Fort Ann, Washington County,
N. Y., in 1809; came to the town of Ira in 1834; self educated; while
engaged in farming he read such law books as he could obtain and
was admitted to practice in 1842. In 1840, he commenced an active
clerkship in the office of Judge Humphries and was admitted to
practice in all the courts in 1848; he was loan commissioner for the
county for eight years commencing in 1859. After a long and
successful practice he died in the village of Cato in 1889 respected
and loved by all who knew him.
Seward, Hon. Clarence A. Bom in New York City, October
27, 1828. When seven years old both of his parents died and his
distinguished uncle, Honorable William H. Seward, received him into
his family in which he was brought up as one of its members. He
graduated from Hobart College at Geneva, in 1848, following which
he read law in the office of Morgan & Blatchford in Auburn, was336
History of Cayuga County
admitted to the bar in 1850 and formed a co-partnership with Mr.
Blatchford with whom after four years’ practice, he removed to the
City of New York and continued practice. When Mr. Blatchford
was elevated to the bench, Mr. Seward became the active senior
member of the law firm of Blatchford, Seward, Griswold &
Da Costa, which attained high standing in the New York bar. Mr.
Seward made a specialty of patent law and the law of common
carriers as applied to express and railway companies and it was
generally admitted that he had no superior in his chosen branch of
his profession. His firm for many years had charge of important
American interests in the banking houses in London and Paris and
their practice extended to every state in the Union. He was judge
advocate general of the state for Governors King and Morgan;
lieutenant-colonel of the Nineteenth New York Volunteers; a dele-
gate to the Republican National Convention in 1878, and a presi-
dential elector and president of the electoral college in 1880. In
1865, after the attempt to assassinate Secretary Seward in which
attempt his cousin Frederick (who was the chief assistant of his
father) was severely wounded, Mr. Seward was called upon to
temporarily conduct the affairs of the department which he did
with signal ability having charge of many important diplomatic
negotiations and affairs of state, in which his services were recog-
nized as of invaluable value to the Federal government. Upon the
secession of the State of Virginia and while many of its citizens
were considering withdrawing, forming a separate state and joining
the Union freed from other alliances, Mr. Seward was selected to
confer with them upon the subject and his efforts resulted in the
formation of the loyal State of West Virginia. He died at Geneva,
N. Y., July 24, 1897.
Sackett, Gary V. Bom August 9, 1790 at Thetford, Orange
County, Vermont. In the early part of the year 1800 his father
removed with his family to Cayuga County settling upon a farm a
few miles east of the present village of Cayuga; self educated; inBench and Bar
337
1812, he commenced the study of law in the office of Thomas
Mumford, Esq., in Cayuga, was admitted to the bar and practised a
short time in this county when he removed to Seneca Falls, Seneca
County and formed a law partnership with Luther F. Stevens which
continued until 1826 at which time Mr. Sackett ceased active
practice’ and thereafter devoted his time and energy to a business
life in which he was very successful, accumulating a large fortune.
He died at Seneca Falls.
Seward, Hon. William H. Bom at Florida, Orange County,
N. Y., May 16, 1801; educated at and graduated from the academy
at Goshen and Union College at Schenectady; read law one year
in Goshen then entered the office of John Anthon of New York
City, and finished his studies with Ogden Hoffman at Goshen;
admitted to the bar at Utica, N. Y., in 1822 after which he formed
a partnership with the Honorable Elisha Miller—then county judge
—-and commenced the practice of his profession in Auburn on
Januaiy 21, 1823 ; elected state senator in 1830. In 1834 he was an
unsuccessful candidate for governor, being defeated by William L.
Marcy, but in 183.8 he was elected over the same competitor and re-
elected in 1840; in 1849, he was appointed United States senator
and filled the office for twelve years; he was a prominent candidate
for president at the Republican Convention of i860, receiving one
hundred and eighty-four votes on the second ballot, but was
defeated by Lincoln on the next ballot, who in the organization of
his cabinet made Mr. Seward secretary of state, which position he
held during both Lincoln, and Johnson’s administrations. At the
close of his official duties he made a fourteen months’ tour of the
world, visiting Japan, China, the Eastern Archipelago, British
India, Egypt, Palestine and the principal nations of Europe. He
died at his home in Auburn on October 10, 1872. The inscription
“He was faithful” upon his monument is the realization of the wish
he expressed in his argument to the jury in the celebrated trial of
the negro Freeman for murder, in the following language:
22338
History of Cayuga County
“In due time, gentlemen of the jury, when I shall have paid
the debt of nature, my remains will rest here in your midst, with
those of my kindred and neighbors. It is very possible that
they may be unhonored, neglected, spumed. But perhaps, years
hence, when the passion and excitement which now agitate this
community shall have passed away, some wandering stranger,
some lone exile, some Indian, some negro, may erect over them
an humble stone and thereon this epitaph—'He wras faithful.”’
His reputation was international and his public life commanded
the attention and respect of the civilized world. In the opinion of
the writer he was the greatest statesman this republic has ever
produced; his services were invaluable to his country, and his
memory will be cherished by Americans to the end of time.
Shurtleff, Asaph W. Bom in Hatley Stanstead, near Que-
bec, Canada, April 22, 1833; self educated; came to Red Creek,
Wayne County, in 1850; read law with Solomon Giles in Weedsport,
from July, 1853 to January, 1858, at which time he was admitted
to the bar in Auburn and commenced practice in Weedsport as
a partner of Mr. Giles. One year later he went to Kentucky,
where he remained until the commencement of the Civil War,
when he returned to this state and on April 28, 1861, enlisted in
Company H, Nineteenth New York Volunteers for three months;
discharged from the service because of disability on October n,
1861, he returned to Weedsport and resumed the practice of law
and shortly thereafter went to New York City where he remained
for ten years, resuming practice in Weedsport in 1873 which he
continued until his death, September 6, 1907. He served as
president of the village several times and was for many years
a member of its Board of Education and Academic Board.
Sittser, Calvin N. Bom in the City of Auburn, May 18, 1819;
common school education; read law with Clark & Underwood in
Auburn and was admitted to the bar in 1845; continued with that
firm until its dissolution in 1852 when he formed a co-partnershipBench and Bar
339
with George Rathbun, continuing until the death of the latter
after which Mr. Sittser practised alone until his death, March 16,
1893. He limited his practice to office work and the preparation
for trial of cases in which he was the attorney. In his many
years of practice he never tried a case in courts of record, always
employing counsel to conduct the trial. His ability in his limited
sphere of legal work was conceded by his brother members of the
bar, and he commanded the respect of those of his fellow citizens
who knew him. Until his death he wore—as he once told the
writer—the proper clothing of a solicitor of law of the old school—
a swallow-tail coat with gold buttons, and a high silk hat which
made him a conspicuous figure on the streets of the city, easily
identified by strangers in search of him.
Smith, Jared M. Bom March 17,1815; graduated at Hamilton
College, the valedictorian of his class; read law in the office of
Honorable Millard Fillmore in Buffalo; admitted to the bar and
commenced practice in Moravia in September, 1842, which he
continued until his death, May 23, 1846.
Smith, Richard L., came to Auburn from Washington County,
N. Y., in 1820 and formed a partnership with James Porter; mem-
ber of assembly in 1830 and 1836; appointed district-attorney,
January 21, 1832, and served until 1838, in which year he died.
Steel, Richard C. Bom in the City of Auburn, October 29,
1837; on completing his studies in the common schools, he entered
and graduated from Union College. Admitted to the bar in 1861,
commenced practice in that year in Auburn; elected district-
attorney in 1862; served one term, was re-elected and served until
March, 1866, when he resigned. He was supervisor in 1868-9-70.
Mr. Steel was an active practitioner from the time of his admission
until his death on November 28, 1886. He was a lawyer of con-
ceded ability and one of the leaders of the bar. He was for many
years the attorney and consulting counsel of several of the leading340
History of Cayuga County
corporations of our city and in the conduct of their litigation was
uniformly successful.
Stephens, Nelson T. Bom at Genoa, Cayuga County, Novem-
ber 20, 1820; education, common school; read law with Leonard
0. Aiken in Moravia, and was admitted to practice in the Court
of Common Pleas in 1844, and to the Supreme Court in 1846.
In 1852 he went to California and a year later returned to Moravia
and practised in that village and the villages of Genoa and Milan
for several years; he enlisted and served as captain in the Civil War,
after which he practised in Auburn for a short time and then
removed to Kansas and was elected judge of the Supreme Court
of that state, which high office he satisfactorily discharged the
duties of until his death.
Throop, George B. Bom in Johnstown, Montgomery County,
N. Y., in 1793; came to Auburn in 1815; read law in the office of
his brother, Enos T. Throop; admitted to the bar and formed a
co-partnership with Samuel D. Lockwood, which continued until
1819; postmaster 1815 to 1823; state senator from 1828 to 1831
inclusive; in 1833 he became cashier of the Cayuga County National
Bank which position he filled until 1840, during which year he moved
to Detroit, Mich., where he died in 1849.
Underwood, Hon. George, Sr. Bom at Cooperstown, N. Y.,
January 4, 1816; graduated from Hamilton College in 1838; ad-
mitted to the bar and commenced practice in Auburn shortly
thereafter; member of assembly in 1850-1; mayor of the city in
1854; he made a specialty of corporation law and was for many
years the attorney of the Auburn & Syracuse Railroad Company.
In 1848 his condition of health became such that he was compelled
to cease active practice and seek a climate better suited to his
condition and where it might be reasonably expected his health
would improve; he spent that winter in South Carolina and Havana,
but receiving no benefit, returned to Auburn on May 1, 1849,
and died on the evening of May 25th, following. He occupied aBench and Bar
341
high position at the bar and his was a commendable, useful and
honorable life.
Van Laer, Herman E. Bom in Auburn, May 9, 1853; educated
in the public schools of the city, with special instruction in Phila-
delphia, Pa., and Detroit, Mich.; read law with Richard C. Steel,
in Auburn and was admitted to the bar in the early 8o’s. He prac-
tised one year in the city and then removed to Topeka, Kansas,
where he died on June 28, 1897.
Wade, Rowland D. Bom in Moravia, this county, February
21, 1840; educated at the Moravia Institute; upon the commence-
ment of the Civil War he enlisted and served until July 22, 1862,
when he returned to Moravia and shortly after commenced the
study of law in the office of John T. Pingree, Esq., in the City of
Auburn; admitted to the bar, June 7, 1867, from which time
until his death in 1882, he was an active practitioner at Moravia.
He was elected justice of the peace in 1871 and filled that office
for several years. With the single exception of Oliver Wood,
Mr. Wade was the greatest practical joker the writer ever knew.
Walker, Levi. The only lawyer ever residing in the village
of Summer Hill, where he practised from T831 to 1838 when he
removed to the village of Genoa and subsequently came to Auburn.
Some time later he removed to Michigan where he died in 1899.
Wheeler, Eber O.; read law with Horace V. Howland, and
after being admitted to the bar removed to Austin, Minn., where
he practised his profession until 1880, when he returned to Auburn
and formed a partnership with Mr. Howland and remained in
active practice until his death on January 10, 1889. He was not
a trial lawyer but possessed conceded ability in the preparation
of cases for trial and was an able and energetic office lawyer.
Willey, Abraham R. Bom at East Haddam, Conn., Septem-
ber 3, 1823; came with his parents to Cayuga County in 1824;
self educated; read law with March & Webb, of Oswego, N. Y.,
and was admitted to the bar in 1858; commenced practice at Fair342
History of Cayuga County
Haven in i860, which he continued until his death. He was a
veteran of the Civil War, serving in Company I, Ninety-Third
New York Volunteers and a member of Hudson Post, G. A. R.; he
served as collector of customs for the port of Fair Haven during
the first administration of President Cleveland.
Wood, Amzi; was an active practitioner in different parts of
Cayuga County for many years; was American consul at Mata-
moras, Mexico, for several years, resigning the office at the close
of the Civil War, when he was appointed minister plenipotentiary
of the United States to Bankok, kingdom of Siam. On receiving
this appointment he started for his post but was taken seriously
ill in New York City and his recovery being long delayed, he felt
compelled to resign. He died in Auburn, June 30, 1893.
Wood, Etsel. Bom in South Amboy, N. J., April 25, 1835;
self educated; read law in the office of D. A. Robinson, in Union
Springs and was admitted to the bar in December, 1866, in which
year he commenced practice in Union Springs, which he continued
until his death in 1893.
Wood, Oliver. Bom and educated in the common schools
of the county of Cayuga, admitted to the bar and practised in our
county continuously until his death in 1882. When the writer
commenced the study of law in 1876, Mr. Wood was the senior
partner of the law firm of Wood & Rathbun, which until its ter-
mination by his death, was one of the leading firms of the city
enjoying a large and varied practice. Mr. Wood was the trial
lawyer of the firm and while very gruff in his manner and treat-
ment of witnesses and opposing counsel, being the terror of the
younger men, he possessed a large heart and was keenly alive to
the necessities of his friends which he never hesitated to relieve
as fully as it lay in his power, many times to his own detriment.
The writer respected and loved him for the many acts of kindness
he received at his hands while a student.\Bench and Bar
343
Worden, Warren T. Bom in Milton, Saratoga County, N. Y.,
November 7, 1806; educated in the public schools and Union College,
graduating from the latter in 1829; admitted to the bar in 1830,
and commenced practice in Auburn which he continued until his
death, January 30, 1891; he was a leading member of the bar of
Central New York and acquired a large and lucrative practice
extending throughout the state, in which the leading and most
eminent counsel that could be procured were his opponents; in the
conduct of his cases he was uniformly successful and his originality
and ability as a trial lawyer were universally conceded.
Wright, David. Bom at Penn’s Manor, Bucks County, Pa.,
April 18, 1806, where he was educated in the Friends’ School and
came to Cayuga County in 1826; read law with Isaac and Seneca
Wood in Aurora and was admitted to the bar in October, 1832; he
commenced practice in Aurora where he remained until 1839 when
he removed to Auburn and formed a co-partnership with Theodore
M. Pomeroy which continued until the latter ceased active practice;
he was an able lawyer occupying a prominent position at the bar,
with a constantly increasing practice attention to which had in 1874
so far underminded his health as to necessitate his retirement from
active legal work. He died in Auburn, February 24, 1897.
Wright, Frank D. Bom in Moravia, this county, June 24,
1828; graduated with high honors, from Union College in 1851;
road law at Moravia and was admitted to the bar in Auburn in
1852; commenced practice at Dryden, Tompkins County, and later
removed to Waverly, Tioga County where he continued his practice
until 1867, when he came to Auburn and remained in active practice
until his death on May 2, 1906. He was a member of the firm of
Howland, Wright & Cushing, Wright & Cady and Wright, Cady &
Wright. He was an able, skillful and astute trial lawyer and noted
for the great zeal he displayed in the interests of his clients. Supe-
rior mental ability and indefatigable energy made him a remarkably344
History of Cayuga County
successful practitioner. In the memorial adopted and entered
upon the minutes of the court, his brethren of the bar said of him:
“As a man and professional friend we admired him for his
integrity, purity of life and kindly and sympathetic nature.”
A marked trait of Mr. Wright and one that endeared him to the
younger members of the bar, was his willingness at all times, upon
their request, to give consideration to matters they had under
advisement and aid them with his counsel and advice, declining to
receive compensation for his time, and the writer of this article has
on many occasions been the recipient of such kindly consideration
from him and owes some legal victories to his valuable aid and
advice.
Avery, Edward Henry. Born in Columbus, N. Y, August
18, 1824; educated in the public schools of the city, and at Yale
College, from which he graduated in 1844; read law in the offices
of Clark & Underwood in Auburn, and was admitted to the bar
in 1848, commencing practice at Bath, N. Y., where he remained
three years after which he returned to Auburn and formed a part-
nership with the Honorable George Underwood Sr. Three years
later Mr. James R. Cox was taken into the firm which enjoyed a
large and lucrative business until its dissolution by the death of
the senior member in 1859, after which time, for many years, the
firm of Cox & Avery, its successor, was ranked among the leading
law firms of Central New York. Mr. Avery served as the president
of the Auburn Gas Light Company, the Auburn Water Works
Company, and many other corporations in the capacity of trustee
or director, in the activities of which business life he developed and
demonstrated great executive ability and in May, 1883, was ten-
dered and accepted the office of president of the National Bank
of Auburn; retired from his law practice, and thereafter devoted
his entire time and abilities to the duties of his office. He died at
his home in the city on'May 5, 1908.Bench and Bar
345
King, Finlay M. A prominent practitioner in Port Byron
prior to 1854, and subsequently (1861-3) Grand Master of Masons
of the State of New York. I am unable to obtain specific infor-
mation of the professionallife of Mr. King, but in the History of
Freemasonry by Ross, I find the following:
“In private life Brother King seemed pursued by misfortune.
He was a good lawyer, brighter—it is said by some—-than the
average, yet he never seemed able to command a sufficiently wide
circle of clients to make life other than a struggle for subsistence.
He tried for years to build up a practice at Port Byron, but failed
and in 1854 he essayed his fortune in New York, establishing the
firm of King, Smith & Co., at 9 Nassau street, with little success. ”
1 am unable to obtain specific information or reliable data regard-
ing the following lawyers who have practised in our county, now
dead. In addition to those hereinbefore noted as having held
offices and not otherwise referred to because of lack of data.
Hardenbergh’s Corners. Zephaniah Caswell; Moses Sawyer
and Walter B. Nichols, all prior to 1805.
The City of Auburn. Hemy Bronson; Daniel A. Baldwin for
several years a police justice for the city; Edwin Baldwin, city clerk,
1872-3-4; Paris G. Clark; Fayette G. Day, for many years a justice
of the peace; P. Fred Deering; Lucius L. Foot; Stephen A. Goodwin,
who practised prior to 1854; William R. Hallock, for many years a
justice of the peace; William W. Hare, who was a resident of Groton,
Tompkins County, but maintained an office with Michael S. Myers
in the city, at which he spent half of each week for several years, and
who died at Groton on May 5, 1907; Elbridge D. Jackson, who was
an active practitioner for several years and in 1885, removed to
Minneapolis, Minn., and later to Nevada, where he died; Fred M.
Kennedy, for many years a justice of the peace; Samuel D. Lock-
wood, a partner of George B. Throop in 1817-19; Edward E. Mar-
vine; William B. Mills, who was special county judge in 1872 and
district-attorney for one if not two terms, who removed to Denver,346
History of Cayuga County
Colorado, in the late 70’s, and continued in active practice there
until his death, attaining high rank and being one of the leaders of
the bar of that state; James Porter, who was in practice here in 1820,
and later removed to Onondaga County where he died; N. Homer
Potter who for several years had desk room in the office of Mortimer
V. Austin Sr., and later removed to his farm in the southern part of
the county where he died; Charles L. Price who read law with Mr.
James Lyon and shortly after his admission to the bar received
injuries in a railroad accident resulting in his death; Albert L.
Sisson who was city clerk in 1868 and for several years police justice
of the city; Theodore Spencer; Edward A. Thomas, a partner at one
time of Mr. Lyon and mayor of the city in 1872, who later removed
to the state of Pennsylvania where he died; James A. White.
Aurora. Silas Marsh; Daniel Shepard; Alvah Worden, be-
tween 1795 and 1809; Isaac Wood, Thomas Wood and Seneca
Wood, sons of Judge Walter Wood, who were in practice prior to
1840; Thomas Mumford, who practised from 1794 to 1799, and died
in 1830.
Cato. Stephen Olmstead, 1863.
Cayuga Ferry and ViLLaGE. L. C. Foote, 1820-1825; Vincent
Mathews; Reuben S. Morris, 1800; William McCay, 1820; L. W.
Owen, prior to 1830; William Sisson, prior to 1830.
Fair Haven. Thomas C. Bridges.
Genoa. Henry A. Maynard, early 8o’s.
King Ferry. Charles K. Niblo, who read law with Wood &
Rathbun in Auburn, and after being admitted to the bar com-
menced practice in the village of Northville (P. 0. King Ferry)
which he continued until his death.
Milan Village (new Locke.) Isaac Sisson; Orlen White;
James Youngs; Glen Gallup, all between 1828 and 1859.
Meridan. James W. Bonta; Madison Youngs; between 1843
and 1853.
/Bench and Bar
347
Moravia. Thomas F. Frost; William H. Price, 1848-1853;
Charles D. Tallman, prior to 1832.
Port Byron. Finlay M. King, was practising in i860.
Union Springs. Nathan Roberts, 1860-1864; Daniel A.
Robinson, 1862-1870; Caleb Winegar, 1845-1870.
Weedsport. Patten R. Cook; Campbell W. Haynes, 1855;
John S. Jenkins; James Luckey; Theodore Fopple; between 1827
and 1850; Solomon Giles, 1853; Darwin C. Knapp in 1866 and
L. B. Little, police justice in 1874.
THE BENCH AND PUBLIC OFFICIALS OF THE PRESENT—
SUPREME COURT.
Rich, Hon. Adelbert P. Bom in Cato, Cayuga County,
May 16, i860; educated at the Cato Union school and academy and
at a private school; read law with his father, Mr. Frank Rich, in
Cato, and was admitted to the bar at Rochester, N. Y. in April,
1882, in the fall of which year he commenced the practice of his
profession in the village of Cato, of which village he was president
of the Board of Health in 1881 and 1882, and a member of its Board
of Education from 1881 to 1884, in which year he removed to the
City of Auburn and continued his practice with John A. Dutton,
Esq., as a partner and later formed a co-partnership with E. C.
Aiken, Esq., which continued until 1901. He was a member of
the Board of Health of the city for several years Elected and
served as special county judge 1883-6; district-attorney, 1887
—1893; elected justice of the Supreme Court in 1901 and was
temporarily assigned to the Appellate Division—Second Depart-
ment—-as associate justice in December, 1904, where he is yet
serving. Justice Rich is a member and Past Master of Cato Lodge
No. 141, Free and Accepted Masons. His Auburn office is at
Supreme Court Chambers in the Court House.348
History of Cayuga County
Justice Rich is a member of the City, Country and Masonic
clubs of Auburn; the Genesee Valley Club of Rochester, and the
Republican, Crescent Athletic, and Brooklyn clubs of Greater
New York.
COUNTY COURT.
Greenfield, Hon. Hull. Born at Moravia, Cayuga County,
August 7, 1850; educated at the Moravia Institute; read law in the
office of Honorable S. Edwin Day, in that village; admitted to the
bar of the Supreme Court at Syracuse, N. Y., November 21, 1871,
and thereafter admitted to practice in the Federal courts. Judge
Greenfield commenced practice in Moravia where he formed a
partnership with Honorable John L. Parker which continued for
several years and upon its termination removed to Auburn and
continued his practice as a member of the firm of Greenfield &
Aiken. He was clerk of the Ways and Means Committee—House
of Representatives—from 1900 to 1906 ; appointed county judge,
on the unanimous request of the bar of Cayuga County, to fill the
vacancy caused by the death of Honorable Adolphus H. Searing,
on April 17, 1907, and was elected to that office for a full term in
November of the same year. Judge Greenfield is a director of the
City Club, a member of Sylvan Lodge No. 41, Free and Accepted
Masons of Moravia and of Auburn Lodge No. 474, Benevolent
Protective Order of Elks of Auburn. His office and chambers are
in the Cayuga County Clerk’s Building.
SURROGATE.
Woodin, Hon. Walter E., is a son of the late Edwin A. Woodin
and a grandson of the late Honorable William B. Woodin. He was
bom in, and has always resided in the City of Auburn; education,
common school; read law in the office of Honorable George B.
Turner in that city, and was admitted to the bar at Rochester,Bench and Bar
349
N. Y., in January, 1898; commenced the active practice of his pro-
fession the same year; appointed clerk of the Surrogate’s Court in
1895 and served four years; elected surrogate in 1901, and re-elected
in 1907. Office and chambers in the Court House.
SPECIAL COUNTY JUDGE.
Lewis, Hon. Danforth, R. Bom in the town of Niles,
Cayuga County, November 2, 1867; education, common school and
Cazenovia Academy; commenced reading law in the office of Under-
wood & Storke, in Auburn and later (1906) graduated from the law
department of Cornell University in Ithaca; was admitted to the
bar the same year and commenced practice in Auburn which he
has since continued; elected and served as justice of the peace from
1897 to 1901; elected special county judge in 1901 and has since
continuously filled that office having been twice re-elected. Practice
general. Judge Lewis is a member of Auburn Lodge No. 431,
Free and Accepted Masons; Auburn Lodge No. 474, Benevolent
Protective Order of Elks and Ensenore Lodge No. 438, Independent
Order of Odd Fellows. Office over No. 85 Genesee street.
SPECIAL SURROGATE.
Millard, Hon. Henry Floyd. Bom in Bagley, Somerset-
shire, England, November 18, 1871. education, common school;
graduated from the law department of Cornell University in Ithaca,
N. Y., in 1898; admitted to the bar in Rochester, N. Y., in June,
1899, and commenced practice at Fair Haven, this county, which
he has since continued. Elected and served as special surrogate
in 1905-6. Re-elected in November, 1907; practice general.
Mr. Millard is a member of Lodge No. 481, Independent Order of
Odd Fellows, of Fair Haven—of which lodge he is a Past Grand
Master—and a director of the relief association of that fraternity
in this county.350
History of Cayuga County
city court.
Drummond, Hon. Richard C. Steel., is the present city judge;
he was bom in the City of Auburn, January 2, 1879. He is a son of
Honorable Robert L. Drummond and was educated in the common
schools of the city, graduated with high honors, from Hamilton
College, with the degree of A. B., in 1901, and later received the
degree of A. M. Graduated from the Albany Law School in 1903,
was admitted to the bar and commenced practice in Auburn the
same year; elected city judge on the Democratic ticket in 1903;
re-elected in 1905 and 1907. Judge Drummond is a member of
several college societies; a member of the examining committee of
the Albany Law School; secretary of the executive committee of
the Cayuga County Bar Association and a member of Seward
Camp No. 11, Sons of Veterans. He is a member of the law firm
of Drummond, Drummond & Drummond, with offices over No. 59
Genesee street.
recorder's court.
Stupp, Hon. Frank J.: the present recorder, is not a member
of the bar; he was bom in New York City, March 26, 1844; his
father’s family removed to Auburn in 1848, shortly after which
Frank returned to New York and made his home for several years
with an uncle; educated in the common schools in New York City
and Auburn. In 1861 he enlisted in Company D, Forty-Ninth
Regiment, National Guard of the state, and served until the com-
mencement of the Civil War; July 16, 1862 he enlisted in Company
G, One Hundred and Eleventh Regiment, New York Volunteers,
and served until the close of the war. During this service he was
carried on the rolls of his company in the National Guard, as an
active member, and upon his return was elected and served for one
year as first sergeant; then elected first lieutenant and served
about two years; then elected captain and served until NovemberBench and Bar
351
1872, at which time he was appointed on the staff of Colonel C. D.
MacDougall, as quartermaster of the regiment, and served until
1877, when he was appointed a keeper in the State prison and served
for about nine years; elected first sergeant of the Wheeler Rifles,
Second Separate Company, National Guard of the State of New
York, and appointed armorer of the State armory, in February
1882, which positions he held until May 17, 1901, when at his re-
quest he was honorably discharged from the service. Elected
recorder on the Democratic ticket in 1903, and re-elected in 1905
and 1907. Mr. Stupp is a member of St. Paul’s Lodge, No. 124,
Free and Accepted Masons, of Auburn, of which he is a Past Master;
David’s Chapter No. 34, Royal Arch Masons; Salem Town
Commandery No. 16, Knights Templars, of which he is a Past
Eminent Commander, and all of the Scottish Rite Degree bodies,
making him a Thirty-Second degree Mason; he is a member of the
Mystic Shrine of Rochester, and Auburn Tent No. 125, Knights
of the Maccabees of Auburn, of the uniformed rank of which
fraternity he is Commander.
DISTRICT-ATTORNEY.
Burritt, Hon. Robert J. Bom in the town of Ira, Cayuga
County, May 20, 1874; educated in the public schools of the City
of Auburn, graduating from the High School in 1894; read law
in the offices of Cobum & Hunter and completed his studies in
the Albany Law School, from which he graduated and was admitted
to the bar of the Supreme Court in 1898, and to the United States
District Court in 1899. He has practised since his admission in
Auburn. Appointed assistant district-attorney and served from
1900 to 1906, in which year he was elected district-attorney. Mr.
Burritt is a member of Auburn Lodge No. 431, Free and Accepted
Masons; Auburn Lodge No. 474, Benevolent Protective Order of
Elks, and of the City Club.352
History of Cayuga County
ASSISTANT DISTRICT-ATTORNEY.
Clark, Albert H. Bom at Dryden, Tompkins County, N. Y.,
June 2, 1877» graduated from Cornell University in Ithaca, with the
degree of Ph.B. in 1898, and continued his legal studies for two
years in that university, when he took his examination and was
admitted to the bar of the Supreme Court at Saratoga Springs,
Saratoga County, N. Y., September 4, 1900, and to practice in the
United States District Court, in 1901, during which year he com-
menced, and has since continued, practice in the City of Auburn.
Appointed assistant district-attorney in 1906. Mr. Clark is the
junior member of the law firm of Dayton & Clark, with offices over
133 and 135 Genesee street.
JUSTICE OF THE PEACE.
Clements, Harry V. Bom in the City of Auburn, December
20, 1881; education, common school; graduated from the High
School in 1899 and from the law department of Cornell University
in Ithaca, in 1904, in July of which year he was admitted to the
bar of the Supreme Court at Rochester, N. Y., and to the Federal
courts in 1907. He commenced and has continued the practice
of his profession in the City of Auburn. Elected justice of the peace
in 1907.
REFEREE IN BANKRUPTCY.
Brainard, John Morgan. Bom in the City of Auburn,
December 21, 1863; graduated A.B. , from the High School in 1880 ;
from Trinity College, Hartford, Cohn., with the degree of B. A.,
in 1884, and with the degree of M. A. in 1886. Read law in the
offices of Howland & Wheeler, and was admitted to the bar of the
Supreme Court, at Rochester, N. Y., in October, 1886, and to
practice in the Federal courts in 1892. On his admission he com-
menced the practice of his profession in Auburn. Mr. BrainardBench and Bar
353
is the junior member of the law firm of Taber & Brainard, with
offices over 122 Genesse street, of which firm he is the trial lawyer.
He is also president of the Auburn Trust Company. Appointed
referee in bankruptcy in the spring of 1899, and has since contin-
uously discharged the duties of that office.
UNITED STATES COMMISSIONER.
Avery, Charles I. Bom in the City of Auburn, county of
Cayuga, March 10, 1859; educated in the public schools of the
city and at Cornell University in Ithaca, N. Y., from which he
graduated in 1883 ; read law in the office of Charles M. Baker, Esq.,
in Auburn, was admitted to the bar at Rochester, N. Y. in October,
1885, and commenced practice in Auburn the same year. Mr.
Avery is the present United States commissioner, which office
he has filled for several years, and is a member of Auburn Lodge
No. 431, Free and Accepted Masons. Practice general; offices
over No. 124 Genesee street.
THE PRESENT BAR.
Adams, Charles L. Bom at New Paltz Landing, Ulster
County, N. Y., December 24, 1833, and came to Cayuga County
with his father’s family three years later; educated in the public
schools of the village of Moravia; read law with Nelson T. Stephens
in Moravia and was admitted to the bar of the Supreme Court at
Ithaca, N. Y, in 1859 and later to practice in the Federal courts.
He commenced practice in Auburn in i860 and was a partner of
Michael S. Myers, Esq., for ten years and of Charles F. Durston,
Esq. , for twelve years. He served as United States commissioner
for thirty years and retired from active practice several years ago.
Aiken, Eugene Clarence. Bom in the towm of Scipio, Cayuga
County, May 6, 1856; a graduate'of the Auburn High School and of
the University of Rochester; read law in the office of Honorable
Sereno E. Payne in Auburn; admitted to the bar of the Supreme
23354
History op Cayuga County
Court, at Rochester, N. Y., in October, 1879, and later to practice in
the United States District and Circuit courts. Mr. Aiken com-
menced, and has since continuously practised his profession in the
City of Auburn; his practice is general; he has served as a director of
the New York, Auburn & Lansing Railroad Company; president
of the-Auburn Telephone Company, which was organized by Judge
Rich and himself; member of the Board of Education for six years
during one year of which he was its president; president of the Com-
mon Council in 1905 and mayor of the city in 1906-7. He is a
member of the City Club and of Auburn Lodge No. 474, Benevolent
Protective Order of Elks. Offices 209-212 in the Metcalf Building,
No. 141-143 Genesee street.
Aldrich, Calvin R. Bom in the town of Conquest, county of
Cayuga, November 15, 1837; education, common school; read law
in the office of Horace V. Howland, Esq., in Port Byron, N. Y.,
admitted to the bar in Rochester, N. Y., in 1867 and commenced
practice in Port Byron where he is yet located. His practice is
general. He has filled the office of loan commissioner and repre-
sented his town in the Board of Supervisors.
Allen, Louis Edward. Bom in the City of Auburn, Cayuga
County, December 16, 1877; graduated from the High School in
1896 and from the law department of Cornell University in Ithaca,
N. Y., in 1901, during which year he was admitted to practice in
the Supreme Court at Rochester and commenced practice in Auburn;
admitted to practice in the Federal courts in 1902. Mr. Allen has
served as president of the Civil Service Commission—Municipal—
and is a member of the City Club and Auburn Lodge No. 474,
Benevolent Protective Order of Elks in which lodge he served as
Esteemed Lecturing Knight. He is a member of the law firm
of Van Sickle & Allen with offices over No. 140 Genesee street.
Practice general.
Anderson, James J. Bom in the City of Auburn, Cayuga
County, March 27, 1879; educated in the public schools of the cityBench and Bar
355
and at Hamilton College from which he graduated in 1900; read
law in the office of Greenfield & Aiken in Auburn, was admitted to
the bar at Rochester, N. Y., in October, 1892, and commenced
practice in Auburn which he has since continued. Mr. Anderson
has represented his ward in the Board of Supervisors and from 1901
to 1904 was a member of the general and executive committees of
the county Republican committee; he is a member of Auburn
Lodge No. 474, Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, Auburn Cycle
Club and the City Club and the junior member of the law firm of
Treat & Anderson with offices at No. 1 Temple Court. Practice
general.
Austin, Mortimer V., Jr. Bom at the village of Moravia,
Cayuga County, N. Y., September 14, 1875; educated in the public
schools of the City of Auburn; graduated from the law department of
Cornell University in Ithaca, N. Y., in 1898, was admitted to the
bar at Rochester, N. Y., in 1900 in both the Supreme and Federal
courts, and commenced practice in Auburn which he yet continues;
practice general; a member of Auburn Lodge No. 431, Free and
Accepted Masons. Offices over No. 79 Genesee street.
Avery, James Carrington. Bom in the City of Auburn,
County of Cayuga, on March 10, 1859; educated in the public schools
of the city and at Cornell University, in Ithaca, N. Y.; read law in
the office of Charles M. Baker, Esq., in Auburn, and was admitted
to the bar at Rochester, N. Y, on October 9, 1885, since which time
he has practised his profession in the cities of Buffalo and Auburn.
Practice general; offices over No. 124 Genesee street.
Bacon, Irving. Born in the town of Victory, Cayuga County,
April 7, 1873; educated in the public schools of that town and at
Colgate University, from which he graduated in 1898; read law in
the offices of Underwood, Storke & Seward in Auburn, was admitted
to the bar of the Supreme Court at Rochester, N. Y , in May, 1901,
and to practice in the United States District Court in October,
1902; commenced and has continued the general practice of his356
History of Cayuga County
profession in the City of Auburn. Offices in the Auburn Savings
Bank Building, comer of Genesee and South streets.
Blauvelt, Arthur E. Bom in the town of Aurelius, Cayuga
County, N. Y., December 9, 1873; common school education:
read law in the office of John Van Sickle, Esq., and later with Payne
& Van Sickle, in Auburn and was admitted to the bar at Rochester,
N. Y., November 22, 1898, during which year he commenced .and
has since continued the practice of his profession at Port Byron,
this county. Mr. Blauvelt served as clerk of the committee on
merchant, marine and fisheries of the House of Representatives,
from January 1, 1898 to December 19, 1899, at which time he was
made assistant clerk of the committee on ways and means which
position he is yet filling; he is also private secretary to Honorable
Sereno E. Payne, representative in Congress of the Thirty-First
Congressional District, which position he has held since January 1,
1898.
Beardsley, Porter. Bom in the City of Auburn, county of
Cayuga, March 16, 1863; educated in the public schools of that
city, at Phillips Academy, Andover, Mass., from which he graduated
in 1882, and at Yale College, from which he graduated in 1886.
Read law in the offices of W. E. & F. E. Hughitt in Auburn, was
admitted to the bar in Rochester, N. Y., October 5, 1888, and
immediately commenced the practice of his profession in his native
city, which he yet continues. Practice general; Mr. Beardsley
served his city as park commissioner in the years 1904-7; he is
a member of Psi Upsilon college fraternity. Offices over No. 41
Genesee street.
Bryan, James Stanislaus. Bom in the City of Auburn,
comity of Cayuga, September 2, 1875; educated in the public schools
of that city and at Union College; read law in the offices respect-
ively of Honorable Adelbert P. Rich and Honorable James W. Hart
and completed a course of study in the Albany Law School; ad-
mitted to the bar of the Supreme Court, April 15, 1903; and to the
rBench and Bar
357
Federal courts later in the same year. Commenced and has since
continued the general practice of his profession in the City of
Auburn. Offices in the Smith Building, comer Genesee and
Exchange streets.
Berry, Charles R. Bom in the town of Fayette, Seneca
County, N. Y., July 23, 1825, and received his education in the
public schools of Aurora, Erie County, N. Y., supplemented by a
course of instruction in the Aurora Academy in this county. Read
law in the offices of Honorable Horace V. Howland, in Port Byron,
Cayuga County, and was admitted to the bar in Rochester, N. Y.,
in September, 1858. He commenced, and has since continued,
practice in Port Byron.
Mr. Berry has served his village as a trustee for several terms
and as a member of its Board of Education. He is a member of
Port Byron Lodge No. 130, Free and Accepted Masons, of which
he is a Past Master; Morris Chapter No. 156, Royal Arch Masons,
of which he is a Past High Priest and Salem Town Commandery
No. 16, Knights Templars of Auburn.
Cady, Frank E. Bom in the town of Sempronius, Cayuga
County, N. Y., October 26, 1856; attended the public schools,
receiving a common law education; read law with Oliver Wood,
Esq., in the City of Auburn, N. Y, and was admitted to the bar
at Syracuse, N. Y., in 1883, during which year he commenced, and
has since continued, the practice of his profession in our city.
In March, 1883, Mr. Cady was elected city judge, and served until
March, 1891. Practice general; offices over No. 8 South street.
Case, Willard E. Bom in the City of Auburn and educated
in its public schools by private tuition, and is a graduate of the
law department of Hamilton College; read law in the offices of
Avery & Paine in Auburn and was admitted to the bar upon the
completion of his studies and commenced practice in the city but
later abandoned his profession for a business and scientific life.
He is a member of the New York Electrical Society—of which he358
History of Cayuga County
is vice-president—American Society of Electrical Engineers; Electro
Chemical Society of America; Metropolitan Club of New York City,
and the City Club and Country Club of Auburn. Mr. Case is a
scientific writer of note and several of his papers have been read
before the Royal Society of London, England.
Clark, Paul R. Bom in Waverly, Tioga County, N. Y.,
October i, 1868; educated in the public schools of the City of Auburn
and at Yale College, from which he graduated in 1892; read law
in the offices of Payne & O’Brien in that city; in 1893-4 he was
the private secretary of Congressman Payne and while in Wash-
ington completed his legal studies in the Columbian Law School;
admitted to the bar in 1894, in which year he commenced practice
in Auburn and was appointed assistant district-attorney and served
until March 1895, when he was elected recorder and filled that
office until January 1, 1899, when he resigned and was appointed
postmaster of the city, which office he yet holds. He is a member
of the law firm of Payne, Payne & Clark, with offices over No. 131
Genesee street.
Coburn, Frank S. Bom in Clayville, Oneida County, N. Y. ,y
and educated in the public schools of the City of Auburn, from the
High School of which he graduated in 1879; read law in the office
of E. A. Woodin, Esq., in our city and was admitted to the bar
of the Supreme Court in March, 1883, and later to practice in the
Federal courts. He commenced and since his admission has con-
tinuously practised his profession in Auburn. He served as a
member of the Board of Supervisors in 1884-5 and has held the
office of county attorney for several years. Practice general.
Mr. Cobum is a member of Auburn Lodge No. 474, Benevolent
Protective Order of Elks. Offices over No. 55 Genesee street.
Cox, James R. Bom in the city of New York, January 15,
1821; educated in the public schools of that city, Canaan, Conn.,
Pittsfield, Mass, and Whitesboro, N. Y. Read law with Honorable
William H. Seward in Auburn, commencing in 1842, finishing hisBench and Bar
359
studies in 1845 i*1 which year he was admitted to the bar and com-
menced practice in Auburn. He was admitted to practice in the
Federal courts in i860; to the Supreme Court of the United States
in 1875; to the courts of Louisiana and Texas in 1872 and to the
courts of Mexico, in which he practised for several years, in 1873.
Mr. Cox was an active practitioner until about the year 1894, when
the infirmities of age and impaired hearing compelled his retire-
ment from the active practice of his profession. During his long
years of active life he was associated in practice at different times,
with Parliment Bronson for a year and a half; George Underwood,
Sr., until his'death in 1859, and Edwin H. Avery until 1874.
Curtis, Frank S. Bom in the town of Moravia, Cayuga County,
on June 12,1855; educated in the public schools of that village and
at Cornell University in Ithaca, N. Y., from which he graduated in
1880, with the degree of B. S. He read law first in the office of
Sylvester Brown in Ithaca and later with Honorable S. Edwin Day
in Moravia, completing his studies in the Albany Law School from
which he graduated and was admitted to the bar, at Rochester, N. Y.
^ in 1883. He commenced practice in Moravia and for years enjoyed
a large business in the Surrogate’s Court of our county which he
made a specialty; he served as president of the village Board of
Health and as justice of the peace for many years; as special surro-
gate in 1885-9. He was a member of the Blue Lodge, Chapter,
Commandery and Consistory, Free and Accepted Masons; the first
Noble Grand of Moravia Lodge No. 510, Independent Order of Odd
Fellows; district deputy of that fraternity; a Knight of Pythias
and member of the Improved Order of Red Men. A few years ago
Mr. Curtis became insane and is now an inmate of one of the state
hospitals.
Cushing, Frank C. Bom in Goshen, Orange County, N. Y.,
February 23, 1852; educated in the Hammondsport public schools
supplemented by private tuition; read law with Judge Bradley in
Coming, Steuben County, and was there admitted to the bar in360
History of Cayuga County
1876, and commenced practice, later removing to Auburn where he
has since remained in the active practice of his profession. He was
the junior member of the firm of Wright & Cushing for several years
and of the firm of Howland, Wright & Cushing. Practice general.
Office over No. 61 Genesee street.
Day, Hon. Samuel Edwin. Bom in the village of Moravia,
Cayuga County, January 20, 1840, and educated in the public
schools of that village and in the Moravia Institute; read law in the
office of Leonard O. Aiken in Moravia, was admitted to the bar of
the Supreme Court in Auburn, June 6, 1861 and to practice in the
District Court of the United States, November 22, 1872, and to the
United States Supreme Court, November 13, 1876. He com-
menced, and has since continued, practice in the village of Moravia;
he served as president of his village and a member of the Board of
Supervisors of the county for several years. In November, 1877,
he was elected county judge upon the Democratic ticket although
the county was a Republican stronghold, and at the expiration of
his term was re-elected, serving twelve years with great honor to
himself and satisfaction to the bar. An upright, conscientious,
Christian gentleman, an able lawyer and jurist and a respected
and honored citizen—more cannot be said of any man.
Judge Day is a Past Master and member of Sylvan Lodge No.
41, Free and Accepted Masons of Moravia and president of the Bar
Association of the county. The writer does not believe that there
is a member of our bar who is held in higher esteem by his profes-
sional brethren (among whom he has not an enemy) than Judge
Day.
Dayton, Harry T. Bom in Brooklyn, N. Y. on June 26, 1869;
educated in the public schools of that city and at Rutgers College,
New Brunswick, N. J., from which he graduated in 1892; read
law in the office of Honorable George B. Turner in Auburn, was
admitted to the bar of the Supreme Court at Rochester, N. Y., in
1894, and to practice in the Federal courts in 1898. He com-Bench and Bar
361
menced, and has since continued, practice in the City of Auburn ;
served as clerk of the Surrogate’s Court in 1892-1895, and as dis-
trict-attorney, 1900-1906. Practice general. Mr. Dayton is a
member of the Chi Psi fraternity and senior member of the law
firm of Dayton & Clark with offices over No. 133 Genesee street.
Drummond, Robert Loudon. Bom in the City of New York,
August 21, 1842 ; brought up on a farm in the town of Victory, this
county, attending the neighborhood school during winter sessions
until he was sixteen years old, and working on the farm in the sum-
mer seasons. He then attended the Union Academy at. Red Creek,
for several terms where he prepared himself for a teacher with the
intention of later completing his education by a collegiate course;
taught school for several years, holding among other positions that
of principal of School No. 4, in the City of Auburn. Upon the
breaking out of the War of the Rebellion he enlisted in Company
H, One Hundred and Eleventh Regiment, New York Volunteers,
with which he served in Barlow’s Division, Hancock’s Corps, Army
of the Potomac. Just after the battle of Hatcher’s Run, on October
30, 1864, he was taken prisoner by the Confederates and confined
in prison at Petersburg and later in Libby Prison and at Salisbury,
from which place he was released on March 2, 1865. His long
imprisonment had so undermined his health that upon returning
from the war, he found himself unable to carry into execution his
long-cherished hope of a collegiate education, his physicians for-
bidding his entering upon a course of preparation. ‘Upon a partial
recovery of his health he took up the study of law, which he
completed by a course in the law department of the University of
Albany from which he graduated in 1871, and was admitted to the
bar in May of that year, and shortly thereafter commenced practice
in the City of Auburn which he since continued. In November,
1878, he was elected district-attorney and was twice thereafter
re-elected, serving continuously for nine years during which time he
holds the enviable record of not having a single conviction reversed362
History of Cayuga County
on appeal. He served as school commissioner for the first district
of Cayuga County from January x, 1866 to January 1, 1869; was
for many years a trustee of Calvary Presbyterian Church, its
treasurer and one of its ruling elders. He is a trustee of the Auburn
Theological Seminary and of the Auburn Home for the Friendless;
some of the best years of his life have been given to its Sunday-
school and its temperance society. Mr. Drummond is the senior
member of the firm of Drummond, Drummond & Drummond—his
partners both being his children—with offices over No. 59 Genesee
street. For several years he has made a specialty of the criminal
law, but the practice of the firm is general.
Drummond, Nelson L. Bom in the City of Auburn, County of
Cayuga, December 21, 1880; educated in the public schools of the
city and at Hamilton College from which he graduated with the
degree of A. B. in 1902; graduated from the Albany Law School
in 1904 with the degree of LL. B. and was admitted to the bar the
same year and commenced practice in Auburn. He is a member
of the Delta Kappa Epsilon (college) fraternity; a Knight of
Pythias; member of Auburn Lodge No. 474, Benevolent Protective
Order of Elks and of the Cayuga County Bar Association. Mr.
Drummond is the junior member of the firm of Drummond, Drum-
mond & Drummond.
Elder, William Seward. Bom in the City of Auburn, Cayuga
County, July 12, 1872; educated in its public schools, Williams
College and Harvard Law School. Read law in the offices of
Underwood, Storke & Seward in Auburn and was admitted to the
bar of the Supreme Court, February 1, 1898, and later to practice in
the Federal courts. He commenced, and has continued, practice
in the City of Auburn; he served as justice of the peace 1898-1902
and as city attorney 1906-7; is a member of Auburn Lodge No.
431, Free and Accepted Masons, the Bar Association of the county
and the City Club. Practice general. Offices over No. 124 Genesee
street.Bench and Bar
363
Fay, Fred Hollister. Bom in Elbridge, Onondaga County,
N. Y., February 6, 1857; educated in the public schools and at
Hamilton College from which he graduated in 1877; read law in the
Office of Honorable William E. Hughitt, in Auburn and was admitted
to the bar at Rochester, N. Y., in 1879 and commenced practice in
Auburn. Mr. Fay has not been a practitioner for several years
and is engaged in the banking business, being a member of the
firm of Edwin R. Fay & Sons at No. 72 Genesee street. The
only public office he has filled was as a member of the Board of
Education.
Harter, Ralph Amenzo. Bom in the village of Moravia,
Cayuga County, N. Y., March 8, 1876; educated in the public
schools of that village, graduating from its High School in 1895,
and at Hobart College from which he graduated in 1901; read law in
the office of Honorable S. Edwin Day in Moravia, was admitted to
the bar of the Supreme Court at Rochester, N. Y., July 31, 1905,
and to practice in the United States District and Circuit courts
November 17, 1905. He commenced and has continued practice
in Moravia; appointed justice of the peace to fill the vacancy
caused by the resignation of James Wright, Esq., and was later
elected to the office for a full term which he is now serving; a
member of Sylvan Lodge No. 41, Free and Accepted Masons of
Moravia; of St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church, being its youngest
member of the vestry, and vice-president of the Business Men’s
Association of his village. He has twice served as president of the
Alumni Association of the Moravia High School. Practice general.
Hart, Hon. James W. Bom at Malden-on-the-Hudson, Ulster
County, N. Y., July 21, 1866; educated in the public schools of
the City of Auburn, graduating from its High School in 1887;
read law with Honorable William E. Hughitt and in the offices of
Underwood & Storke, in Auburn and was admitted to the bar in
Rochester, N. Y., October 9, 1891, since which time he has been
engaged in the practice of his profession in Auburn. In 1892-3364
History of Cayuga County
he served as assistant district-attorney of the county and in 1900
was elected city judge, which office he discharged the duties of
until 1904. Judge Hart is a member of the New York Commandery,
Military Order of Loyal Legion; Auburn Lodge No. 431, Free and
Accepted Masons, of which he is a Past Master; City Club; Past
District Deputy of the Thirtieth Masonic District, State of New
York; vice-president Cayuga County Society for the Prevention
of Cruelty to Animals; secretary of the Cayuga County Historical
Society and treasurer of the Auburn Business Men’s Association.
Practice general. Offices, Auburn Savings Bank Building.
Hopkins, Woolsey R. Bom in the City of Auburn, Cayuga
County, December 9, 1850, and educated in its public schools,
and at Hamilton College from which he graduated in 1871, with
the degree of B. A. For two years after his graduation he travelled
abroad and on his return read law in the office of A. E. Patterson,
Esq, in Buffalo, N. Y., and attended the Albany Law School,
from which he graduated in 1874, with the degree of LL. B., and
was admitted to the bar the same year, commencing practice in
Buffalo. In 1884, Mr. Hopkins came to Auburn and formed a
law partnership with Honorable Peter A. Hendrick, which con-
tinued until the removal of the latter to New York City. In 1891
he was elected city judge on the Democratic ticket and served one
term of four years on the termination of which Judge Hopkins
abandoned active practice and has since resided on the shores of
Owasco Lake enjoying himself in the pleasures of rural life in close
contact with nature.
Hunt, Thomas Merrick. Bom in Janesville, Wisconsin,
June 92, 1864; educated in the public schools and at Williams
College, from which he graduated in 1887; read law in the office of
Honorable John D. Teller in the City of Auburn and was admitted
to the bar at Rochester, N. Y., in October, 1889. He commenced
practice in Auburn which he has since continued; clerk of the
Surrogate’s Court in 1890. Mr. Hunt is the junior member of theBench and Bar
365
law firm of Teller & Hunt, with offices over No. 43 Genesee street,
and makes a specialty of corporation law.
Hughitt, Frederic Eugene. A son of Judge William E.
Hughitt, bom in the City of Auburn, Cayuga County ; educated
in its public schools and at Williston Seminary, Easthampton,
Mass., from which he graduated in 1877, and at Amherst College,
from which he graduated in 1881. Read law with his father in
Auburn and was admitted to the bar at Rochester, N. Y., in 1883.
Practice general. Offices over No. 41 Genesee street.
Hunter, John L. Bom at St. Joseph, Missouri, January
25, i860; read law in the office of Honorable Sereno E. Payne,
in Auburn, was admitted to the bar of the Supreme Court, at
Buffalo, N. Y., in 1884 and to the District and Circuit courts of
the United States in April, 1905. Commenced, and has since
continued, practice in the City of Auburn. Mr. Hunter has served
in the Common Council, representing the second ward, as a member
of the Board of Supervisors from that ward and as deputy county
treasurer. He is a member of Auburn Lodge No. 474, Benevolent
Protective Order of Elks. Practice general. Offices, Metcalf
Building, No. 141-143 Genesee street.
Jennings, Joel Bradford. Bom in the town of Venice,
Cayuga County, October 10, 1843! educated in the public schools
of that town and the town of Moravia; studied law in the Uni-
versity of Michigan from the law department of which he was
graduated on March 4, 1875, with the degree of LL. B., and was
admitted to the bar of the Supreme Court of Michigan at Ann
Arbor in that state on March 20, 1875; admitted to the bar of the
Supreme Court of the State of New York at Rochester, October
6, 1876, and commenced, and has since continued, the practice
of his profession at Moravia, which village he has served as its
president. Practice general.
Keeler, Lynn H. Bom in the village of Moravia, Cayuga
County, in 1878; educated in its public schools, the High School366
History of Cayuga County
in Auburn, from which he graduated in 1897, and Cornell University
in Ithaca, N. Y., from which he graduated in 1901; read law in the
offices of Underwood, Storke & Seward in Auburn and graduated
with the degree of LL. B. from the law department of Harvard
University in 1904; admitted to the bar of the Supreme Court at
Rochester, N. Y., in March, 1905, and to practice in the United
States District and Circuit courts later in the same year. He com-
menced practice in the City of Auburn, which he has continued.
He is a member of the City Club and of the Owasco Country Club.
Practice general. Offices over No. 91 Genesee street.
Kenyon, Benjamin. Bom in the town of Scipio, Cayuga
County, June 19,1885; education, common school; graduated from
the law department of Cornell University at Ithaca, N. Y., in June,
1907, commenced practice, in the City of Auburn, in which he is
yet engaged. Mr. Kenyon is a member of Cayuga Lodge, No. 221,
Free and Accepted Masons of Scipio, this county. Practice general.
Kerr, James Henry. Bom in the City of Auburn, Cayuga
County, September 27, 1865; educated in the public schools of
that city, graduating from the High School in 1883, and at Williams
College, from which he graduated in 1887; read law in the offices
of Howland & Wheeler and later in the office of Daniel Hurlbut, in
Auburn; was admitted to the bar of the Supreme Court at Roch-
ester, N. Y., in April, 1892, and to practice in the District and
Circuit courts of the United States in 1898. Commenced, and has
since continued, practice in the city. Mr. Kerr was appointed city
attorney and served one term of two years; re-appointed in 1908
and is now filling that office. He is a member of the City Club and
Auburn Gun Clubhand the junior member of the law firm of Turner
& Kerr, with offices over No. 81 Genesee street. Practice general.
Kingston, John Francis. Bom in Syracuse, Onondaga
County, N. Y., November 27, 1874; educated in the public schools
and at Skaneateles High School from which he graduated in 1893;
he obtained his legal education in the law department of CornellBench and Bar
367
University in Ithaca of-which he is a graduate; admitted to the bar
at Rochester, N. Y., in November, 1898; commenced, and has
since continued, practice at Weedsport; he has filled the office of
justice of the peace of his town and is a member of Weedsport
Lodge No. 385, Free and Accepted Masons, of which he is Master.
Practice general. He is the junior member of the law firm of
Parsons & Kingston.
Knapp, John Wiltsie. Bom in the town of Geddes, Onondaga
County, N. Y.; educated in the public schools, graduating from
the Syracuse High School in 1898; read law in the offices of Hiscock,
Doheny, Williams & Cowie in Syracuse and graduated from the law
department of Cornell University at Ithaca in 1903; admitted to
the bar of the Supreme Court July 10th, of the same year. Later
admitted to the Supreme Court of the State of Michigan and prac-
tised at Menominee, in that state. He later came to the City of
Auburn and commenced, and has since continued the general
practice of his profession. Office over No. 93 Genesee street.
Laird, Louis K. R. Bom in the town of Scipio, Cayuga County,
September 3, 1872; educated in the public schools of our city,
graduating from its High School in 1892, Hamilton College from
which he graduated in 1896, and the Albany Law School from which
he graduated and was admitted to the bar of the Supreme Court,
at Albany, in July of 1898. Admitted to practice in the District
Court of the United States in October of the same year. Com-
menced, and has since continued, the practice of his profession in
the City of Auburn. Mr. Laird is the attorney of the Cayuga Con-
struction Company, a member of St. Peter’s Protestant Episcopal
Church; St. Paul’s Lodge No. 124, Free and Accepted Masons;
Hardenbergh Lodge No. 748, Independent Order of Odd Fellows
and Seward Camp No. 11, Sons of Veterans. His offices are in the
Metcalf Building, Genesee street.
Leary, Frank M. Owing to the reluctance of this gentleman
to furnish me with any data regarding himself I am limited to the368
History op Cayuga County
statement that he is an active practitioner in our city, to which he
came from Ithaca, several years ago, with offices in the Metcalf
Building, Genesee street.
Leonard, George H. Bom in Seneca County, N. Y., and has
resided in the City of Auburn since 1893; educated in St. John’s
Military School at Manlius, Onondaga County, N. Y., and a graduate
from the law department of Cornell University in Ithaca, N. Y.,
in the class of 1893; admitted to the bar in 1894 and for a time
practised his profession in our city. He preferred a business rather
than a professional life and has not been in practice for several
years, and is now the manager of the Auburn Automobile Company
located at 54-60 Water street.
Lyon, Charles Francis. Bom in the City of Auburn, August
14, 1873; educated in the public schools of the city—graduating
from the High School in 1892—and at Williams College from which
he graduated in 1896; read law in the office of his father, Mr. James
Lyon, and was admitted to the bar at Rochester, N. Y. , in January
1899, commencing the practice of his profession in our city imme-
diately after his admission. He served as a member of the Park
Commission of the city for two terms. Mr. Lyon is the junior
member of the law firm of Lyon & Lyon, with offices in the Cayuga
County Savings Bank, and is the trial lawyer of his firm.
Lyon, James. Bom in the South of Ireland in 1838, and came
to America in 1856, settling in Onondaga County; he commenced
the study of law, later reading in the offices of Porter, Allen &
Beardsley in the City of Auburn; admitted to the bar at Rochester,
N. Y., in December, 1863. Commencing in 1864, and continuing
until the close of the Civil War, he was a civilian clerk in the Military
Department of Newbem, N. C. Upon the conclusion of his service
he returned to Auburn and resumed the practice of his profession
which he has since continued. In 1866—7, he served as city clerk
and in the latter year was appointed city attorney which office he
held for about twelve years, discharging its duties with markedBench and Bar
369
ability and rare success. He has for several years been the attorney
of the Cayuga County Savings Bank and has satisfactorily filled the
office of president of the Bar Association of the county of Cayuga.
Mr. Lyon is the dean of the bar of our county, a self-made man,
and a lawyer of ability and probity, respected and honored by all
who know him. I deeply regret that the lines upon which I am
writing this article deprive me of the liberty of speaking of this
gentleman in the commendatory terms which his life and acts in
our community entitle him to and which it would afford me great
pleasure to record. Mr. Lyon is the senior member of the law firm
of Lyon & Lyon.
McLaughlin, Patrick. Bom in Ireland, April 2, 1842; edu-
cated in the public schools of Cayuga County and the Cortland
Academy from Which he graduated in 1865; read law in the office of
Honorable William E. Hughitt in Auburn and was admitted to
the Supreme Court bar at Owsego, Oswego County, N. Y., in 1872,
and later to practice in the Federal courts; commenced practice in
the City of Auburn in 1872, which he has since continued; he served
as a representative of the first ward on the Board of Supervisors
some ten years ago and was for five years of his practice a law
partner of Honorable Robert L. Drummond. His practice is
general and his office over No. 87 Genesee street.
Mead, Benjamin Charles. Bom in the town of Fleming,
Cayuga County, N. Y., February 17, 1873; educated in the public
schools of the City of Auburn, graduating from its High School in
1891—and at Harvard College from which he graduated in 1896
with the degree of A. B. and from its law department in 1901 with
the degree of LL.B. Admitted to the bar of the Supreme Court
at Rochester, N. Y., November 12, 1901, and to practice in the
Federal courts in 1902. Mr. Mead commenced practice in Auburn
immediately after his admission which he has since continued; his
practice is general and his offices are over No. 125 Genesee street.
24370
History of Cayuga County
Mead, Sherman B. Bom at Five Comers, Cayuga County,
N. Y., November 19, 1841; educated in the common schools
Groton, and Ithaca, Tompkins County, N. Y., and in the Oneida
Conference Seminary from which he graduated in 1867; read law
in the office of John T. Pingree, Esq., in Auburn and was admitted
to the bar of the Supreme Court at Syracuse, N. Y., November 8
1870 and to the bar of the Supreme Court of the state of Minnesota
in 1873. For many years he has been engaged in the active general
practice of his profession at Five Corners in our county. He is a
member of Genoa Lodge No. 421, Free and Accepted Masons,
located at King Ferry.
Mohr, Frederick A. Bom in the City of Auburn in the early
70’s, and later removed to Canada with his father's family where in
the province of Ontario, he received a common school education.
In 1866, he returned to Auburn and graduated from its High School.
He followed a business life until he had accumulated sufficient funds
to enable him to obtain a legal education and in 1900 commenced
study in the law department of Syracuse University in Syracuse,
N. Y., from which he graduated and was admitted to the bar in
1904, commencing practice the same year, in the City of Auburn,
which he has since continued. His practice is general ; office in the
Metcalf Building, Genesee street. For two years Mr. Mohr served
as secretary of the Municipal Civil Service Commission.
1 Morley, John Sprague. Bom December 7, 1826, in the town
of Pornpey, Onondaga County, N. Y, and came with his father’s
family to Cayuga County, in 1831; educated in the public schools of
Fayetteville, Onondaga County, and at Hobart College, Geneva,
from which he was graduated in 1846; read law in the offices of
Nixon, Leavenworth & Comstock, in Syracuse, Onondaga County,
and was admitted to the bar in November, 1849, being a member of
the first class examined for admission after the adoption of the Code
of Procedure. He commenced practice in the village of Jamesville,
Onondaga County, which he continued until 1853 when he openedBench and Bar
371
an office in the village of Meridian, this county, where he engaged in
active practice until the debility attendant upon old age compelled
his retirement. For more than twenty-nine years he satisfactorily
discharged the duties of justice of the peace of his town and for
thirty consecutive years filled the office of president of his village.
He enjoys the respect and confidence of the community in which
he resides and while he is sitting in the shadows—waiting—he may
properly feel that his has been a commendable and well spent life.
Mosher, Edgar Seeber. Bom in Brookfield, Lynn County,
Missouri, February 18, 1878. Educated in the public schools of
the City of Auburn, graduating from its High School in 1896, and
from Cornell University in Ithaca, N. Y., from which he graduated
with the degree of A. B., in 1900; he read law in the offices of Honor-
able A. H. Searing in Auburn and Newman & Blood in Ithaca, and
received his degree of LL. B. from his university and was admitted
to the bar of the Supreme and Federal courts in 1902, commencing
practice in Auburn which he has since continued. Mr. Mosher had
charge of the public speaking department of the Auburn High
School in 1902-4 ; was president of the Cornell University Republi-
can Club, 1901-2; president of the Theodore Roosevelt Club of
Auburn, 1902-4; president of the Auburn Young Men's Christian
Association, 1905-7. He is a member of Auburn Lodge No. 431,
Free and Accepted Masons and its present Master, Hardenbergh
Lodge No. 748, Independent Order of Odd Fellows of Auburn and is
one of the present public health commissioners of the city. Mr.
Mosher is the junior member of the law firm of Pierce & Mosher,
with offices in the Smith Building, comer of Genesee and Exchange
streets.
Nellis, George Webster. Bom in the town of Herkimer,
Herkimer County, N Y., August 12, 1856; educated in the public
and High schools of Herkimer and Auburn; read law in the office of
Richard C. Steel, Esq., in Auburn and was admitted to the bar of
the Supreme Court at Utica, N. Y., January 7, 1881, and later to372
History op Cayuga County
practice in the Federal courts. He commenced practice in the city,
being associated with Mr. Steel until that gentleman’s death in
1886, when he formed a law partnership with Mr. Robert L. Drum-
mond which continued for two years, since which time Mr. Nellis
has practised alone; in 1894 he was elected district-attorney and
served two terms; he has represented his ward in the Board of
Supervisors and his party in many legislative and judicial conven-
tions. He served in the Spanish-American War as first lieutenant
and captain. Mr. Nellis is a member of Auburn Lodge No. 431,
Free and Accepted Masons; David’s Chapter No. 34, Royal Arch
Masons; Salem Town Commandery No. 16, Knights Templars;
Damascus Temple, Mystic Shrine of Rochester and the Masonic
Club of the city. His practice is general, and his offices are located
over No. 75 Genesee street.
Odell, Samuel. Bom in the town of Skaneateles, Onondaga,
County, N. Y., in 1868; education common school; came to Auburn
and read law in the office of Mr. Frank S. Wright; admitted to the
bar in 1903 and commenced practice in the city which he continued
until about a year ago, when rapidly failing health compelled his
abandonment of the arduous duties of his profession to seek relief
in the Adirondacks. His physical condition growing worse he
returned to Auburn and about three months ago was confined to
his bed with no hopes of recovery.
Parker, Amasa, J. Bom in the town of Cato, Cayuga County,
N. Y., November 19, 1857; educated in the public schools of his
town and at the Weedsport Academy from which he graduated in
1874; read law in the offices of Frank Rich, Esq., in Cato village
and Frank M. Parsons, Esq., in the village of Weedsport and was
admitted to the bar of the Supreme Court at Buffalo, N. Y., in
June 1878, and later to practice in the Federal courts including the
Supreme Court of the United States; Mr. Parker served as special
county judge from 1883 to t888, and is a member of St. Paul’s
Lodge No. 124, Free and Accepted Masons of Auburn, of which heBench and Bar
373
is a Past Master, and of Auburn Lodge No. 474, Benevolent Protec-
tive Order of Elks. He also served the Masonic fraternity as Dis-
trict Deputy Grand Master of the Thirtieth Masonic District. He
enjoys a large and lucrative general practice with offices over No.
119 Genesee street.
Parker, Clarence Gray. Bom in the village of Moravia,
Cayuga County, N. Y., August 27, 1867; educated in the public
schools of that village, and H. Curtice's private school; read law in
the office of Honorable S. Edwin Day in Moravia and graduated
from the law department of Cornell University, at Ithaca, N. Y.,
from which he graduated in 1891, and was admitted to the bar of
the Supreme Court at Buffalo, N. Y, in January, 1892, and to
practice in the District and Circuit courts of the United States in
November, 1898. He commenced, and has continued, the practice
of his profession in Moravia. He is a member of the Auburn City
Club and of the Independent Order of Odd Fellows, both Lodge and
Encampment. Mr. Parker is the junior member of the law firm
of Wright & Parker.
Parker, Wing Taber. Bom in the village of Moravia, Cayuga
County, N. Y., December 13, 1849; educated in the public schools
and institute of that village from which he graduated in 1869; read
law in the offices of his father, Honorable John L. Parker, and Hon-
orable S. Edwin Day in Moravia and was admitted to the bar of the
Supreme Court, at Buffalo, N. Y, June 9, 1871, and to practice in
the United States District and Circuit courts at Utica, N. Y.,
January 19, 1901. In 1874, he went to New York City as managing
clerk in the offices of Wingate & Cullen and while so engaged
participated in the defense of Richard Croker under an indictment
for murder. He afterwards commenced practice in Buffalo, N. Y.,
but upon the request of his father returned to Moravia and was
associated with him in practice until his death in October, 1892,
since which time he has continued practice alone. He is a Master
Workman of the Ancient Order of United Workmen and has served374
History of Cayuga County
for many years as a warden of St. Matthew’s Episcopal Church of
Moravia. He organized, and since 1897 has been president of the
Syracuse, Skaneateles & Moravia Railroad Company.
Parsell, Henry D. Bom in the town of Owasco, Cayuga
County, N. Y., May 17, 1861; education common school and aca-
demic, graduating from the Auburn High School in 1882; studied
law in Washington University in St. Louis, Mo., from which he
graduated and was admitted to the bar of the Supreme Court of
this state at Rochester in 1890, commencing practice in the City of
Auburn; he has represented the town of Owasco in the Board of
Supervisors and the tenth ward of the city in the Common Council.
Is a member of Auburn Lodge No. 431, Free and Accepted Masons.
Practice general; offices in the Auburn Savings Bank Building,
comer of Genesee and South streets.
Parsons, Frank M. Bom in the town of Camillus, Onondaga
County, N. Y., August 19, 1848; educated in the common schools
and at Baldwinsville Academy, from which he graduated in 1865
and later, to the extent of his financial ability, took private tuition
from leading educators, and taught school in the counties both of
Onondaga and Cayuga. He read law in the office of William B.
Mills, Esq., in Weedsport, this county, and was admitted to the
bar at Rochester, N. Y., October 19, 1871, commencing practice
immediately thereafter in Weedsport, Cayuga County, in which
village, the City of New York and at Syracuse, Onondaga County,
he has since practised his profession. In 1879 he was elected
special county judge and served for three years; in 1886 and 1887
he served in the legislature of the state, the first year being appointed
chairman of the committee on privileges and elections of the
Assembly and the second serving as a member of the committee on
internal affairs. He also served as justice of the peace and town
clerk of his towTn; confidential clerk to the attorney-general of the
state for several years; deputy attorney-general; secretary of the
State Excise Department; president of the village of Weedsport;Bench and Bar
375
president of the Republican Club in Brutus and as delegate to many
conventions of his party and to the National Convention of Repub-
lican clubs. He served as the attorney of the West Shore railway
during its construction and has been prominent in many other
minor positions. He is a member of Port Byron Lodge No. 130,
Free and Accepted Masons and the Weedsport lodges of Odd Fellows
and Knights of Pythias. Mr. Parsons is the senior member of the
law firm of Parsons & Kingston with offices in Weedsport.
Payne, William K., a son of Honorable Sereno E. Payne, was
born in the City of Auburn, Cayuga County, N. Y., educated in the
public schools of the city and at Yale College from which he grad-
uated in 1895; studied law in the New York Law School from which
he graduated in 1896; admitted to the bar at Rochester, N. Y., in
July, 1898, and commenced practice in Auburn. He was appointed
clerk of the ways and means committee of the House of Repre-
sentatives in 1905, which position he is yet filling. Mr. Payne is a
member of the law firm of Payne, Payne & Clark.
Payne, Hon. Sereno Elisha. Born at Hamilton, N. Y.r
June 26, 1843; educated in the common schools—graduating from
the Auburn Academy—and in the Rochester University at Roch-
ester, N. Y., from which he. was graduated in 1864 and commenced
reading law in the office of Cox & Avery in Auburn; admitted to
the bar in Rochester, N. Y., in June, 1866, and immediately com-
menced the practice of his profession in Auburn. He served as
city clerk from 1867 to 1869; member of the Board of Supervisors
from 1869 to 1871 and as district-attorney of the county from
January 1872 to January 1879. From 1879 to 1881 he was a mem-
ber and president of the Board of Education of the city. In the
fall of 1882 he was elected to represent his district in the House of
Representatives in which body, with the exception of a single term,
he has since continuously served. Mr. Payne is a trial lawyer of
exceptional and conceded ability, possessed of strong constitutional
vitality which enabled him alone to dispose of an unprecedented376
History of Cayuga County.
amount of criminal trial work during the six years he served as
district-attorney against the leading members of the bar of Central
New York. At one extraordinary term of the Supreme Court held
by the late Justice David Rumsey, continuing for six weeks, Mr.
Payne tried five capital cases in each of which a conviction of
murder was had, three of them being in the first degree. A memor-
able and leading case tried by him during his term of service and in
which he succeeded in procuring a conviction was that of The
People vs. Baker which involved the question of the legality of a
divorce procured in another state in which the defendant had no
domicile and was not personally served with process, which was
relied upon as a defense to an indictment for bigamy, and is reported
in 76 N. Y. at page 78.
The superior qualifications of Mr. Payne as a statesman were
early recognized in Congress at the forty-ninth session of which he
took a commanding lead of his colleagues in the committee on
elections and his eloquent and convincing argument in both the
committee and House in the contested election case of Romeis vs.
Hurd resulted in the unseating of the latter, then known as the great
and eloquent free trader of Ohio. In the Fifty-First Congress he
was appointed on the ways and means committee, on which he occu-
pied second place and has ever since been a member of that import-
ant committee being now its chairman and leader of the majority on
the floor. Many of the important features of the McKinley Bill
protecting New York interests were due to his untiring activity
and influence. Mr. Payne is the senior member of the leading law
firm of Payne, Payne & Clark.
Pierce, Lavern A. Bom in Syracuse, Onondaga County,
N. Y., October 11, 1850; educated in the common schools of Che-
mung County at the city of Elmira; came to the county of Cayuga
with the family of his father in 1864, where he remained upon a
farm, until 1869, when he came to the City of Auburn. In 1876 he
commenced reading law in the offices of Wood & Rathbun andBench and Bar
377
completed his studies in the office of Mr. James Lyon and was
admitted to the bar at Syracuse, N. Y., in 1879. The following
year he was appointed and served as city attorney for two years
when he removed to and continued practice in the city of Austin,
Minn., returning to Auburn in the fall of 1887, and resuming prac-
tice. In 1889 he was appointed attorney for the Board of Excise
of the city and the same year formed a co-partnership with Mr.
Lyon which continued for several years. In 1890, he was again
appointed city attorney and served a little more than half of his
term, when the increasing business of his firm made his resignation
necessary. On October 1, 1894, he was again appointed city
attorney and by reappointments continuously served until Janu-
ary, 1904. Mr. Pierce was chairman of the Republican county
committee in 1881, a charter member of the Wheeler Rifles, and
present member of the Wheeler Rifles Veterans; of Auburn Lodge
No 431, Free and Accepted Masons of which he is a Past Master.
District Deputy Grand Master of the Thirtieth Masonic District
and a member of the Masonic Club of the city and a trustee of the
Masonic Temple Association. He is the senior member of the law
firm of Pierce & Mosher.
Price, Herbert. Bom at Staffordshire, England, July 29,
1857; educated in the public schools of the City of Auburn; read
law in the office of James Lyon, Esq., and was admitted to the bar
of the Supreme Court at Rochester, N. Y., April 7, 1882, and later
in the same year to practice in the Federal courts. He commenced
and has continued the practice of his profession in Auburn. Mr.
Price has served the second ward of our city as its representative
in the Board of Supervisors. His practice is general; office over
No. 89 Genesee street.
Quigley, Daniel P. Bom at Skaneateles, Onondaga County,
N. Y., in 1869; common school education; read law in the office of
M. F. Dillon, Esq., in Skaneateles, and was admitted to practice at
Rochester, N. Y., in 1899, commencing practice in Auburn which378
History of Cayuga County
he has since continued. Mr. Quigley is the junior member of the
law firm of J. F. & D. P. Quigley, with offices over No. 53 Genesee
street.
Quigley, James F. Bom at Skaneateles Falls, Onondaga
County, N. Y., August 30, 1871; educated-in the public schools of
Skaneateles and in its High School from which he graduated in 1891;
read law in the offices of C. R. Mulford, Esq., and M. F. Dillon,
Esq., in Skaneateles and was admitted to the bar of the Supreme
Court at Syracuse, N. Y., in November, 1904 and later in the same
year to practice in the Federal courts. He commenced practice at
Weedsport, Cayuga County, and later removed to Auburn where
he continued his practice. Mr. Quigley is the senior member of
the law firm of J. F. & D. P. Quigley.
Raines, Francis C. Bom in Rome, Oneida County, N. Y.,
October 25, 1871; educated in the public schools of that city from
the academy of which he was graduated in 1893; read law in the
office of Eugene A. Rowland, Esq., in Rome, and Asaph W. Shurtleff
in Weedsport, this county; admitted to practice in the State courts
at Syracuse, N. Y., in October, 1898, and to practice in the Federal
courts in 1902. Commenced practice, which he has since continued,
in the City of Auburn. Mr. Raines served as local counsel to the
Department of Agriculture in 1905-6 and has been the local State
Civil Service Examiner since 1903; practice general; offices in the
Flint Block on Genesee street.
Reigle, Frederick Seward. Bom in the City of Auburn,
Cayuga County, N. Y, August 21, 1880; educated in the public
schools of the city, graduating from its High School in 1897 after
which he entered and graduated from the Auburn School of Busi-
ness ; commenced reading law in the office of Amasa J. Parker, Esq.,
in Auburn, in March, 1901, finished his studies in the Albany
Law School from which he graduated in June, 1904, and was ad-
mitted to practice in the State courts July 5th of the same year,
and to the District Court of the United States in April, 1906. AfterBench and Bar
379
admission he formed a co-partnership with Mr. Parker which con-
tinued until September i, 1905, since which time he has practised
alone. Mr. Reigle is a member of Cayuga Lodge No. 143, Knights
of Pythias of which he is Vice-Chancellor. Practice general; office
over No. 120 Genesee street.
Rich, Fred R. Born in the town of Cato, Cayuga County,
N. Y., October 8, 1872; educated in the public schools of that town
and in the High School of the City of Auburn and Fairfield Seminary;
read law in the office of the Honorable Adelbert P. Rich and com-
pleted his studies in the Albany Law School from which he gradu-
ated and was admitted to the bar in Rochester, N. Y., in June,
1896, after which he commenced the practice of his profession in
the City of Auburn. Mr. Rich has served as assistant district-
attorney of the county and is a member of the law firm of Rich &
Rich, with offices in the Metcalf Building, Genesee street. Practice
general.
Rich, Charles F. Born in Cato, Cayuga County, N. Y., June
17, 1857, and received his education in the public schools of that
village; read law in the office of Frank Rich in Cato; admitted to
the bar at Rochester, N. Y., October 10, 1879 and commenced
practice in the village of his birth which he has since continued.
He has served eight years as justice of the peace; ten years as clerk,
and two years as president of his village. He is a member of Cato
Lodge No. 141, Free and Accepted Masons. Practice general.
Rosecrans, John. Bom in Moravia, Cayuga County, N. Y,
June 22, 1845, m public schools of which village he received his
education; read law in the offices of Wright & Parker in Moravia and
Frank D. Wright, Esq., in the City of Auburn. Admitted to practice
in the courts of the state at Buffalo, N. Y., in 1872, and later to the
Federal courts. Commenced practice in the city of Auburn which
he has since continued. Mr. Rosecrans for many years served as
justice of the peace and is a member of St. Paul's Lodge No. 124,
Free and Accepted Masons in which he has filled the chair of Senior380
History of Cayuga County
Warden. Practice general; office in the Auburn Savings Bank
Building, comer of Genesee and South streets.
Sawyer, John Halstead. Bom at Ausable Forks, Essex
County, N. Y., April 6 1872; common school education; read law,
in the offices of Lyon & Pierce in the City of Auburn and completed
his studies in the law department of Union College, from which he
graduated, and was admitted to the bar, at Rochester, N. Y., in
1896, since which time he has practised his profession in our city.
He is now serving as executive clerk to our mayor, Honorable C.
August Koenig. Mr. Sawyer is a member of Auburn Lodge No.
474, Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, in which for two years he
held the office of Loyal Knight. Practice general; offices over No.
133 J Genesee street.
Seekell, Arthur Malcolm. Bom in Seneca Falls, Seneca
County, N. Y., July 5, 1864; educated in the public schools in
Mynderse Academy (Seneca Falls) from which he graduated in
1862 and in Hamilton College, Clinton, N. Y., from which he was
graduated in 1887; read law in the offices of Charles H. Ray, Esq.,
in Lyons, N. Y., Etsel Wood, Esq., and Reuben F. Hoff, Esq., in
Union Springs, Cayuga County; admitted to the bar at Rochester,
N. Y., April 2, 1894, since which time he has practised his profession
in the village of Union Springs. Mr. Seekell has served two terms
as president of his village and two terms as a member of its Board
of Education. He is a member—and Past Master—of Warren
Lodge No. 147, Free and Accepted Masons and a member of Union
Springs Chapter No. 179, Royal Arch Masons. Practice general.
Seward, William H. Jr. Bom in the City of Auburn, Cayuga
County, N. Y., November 10, 1864; educated in the public schools
of the city and at Yale College from which he was graduated in
1888; read law in the offices of Seward, Da Costa & Guthrie in New
York City; completed his studies in the law department of his
college, and was admitted to practice in the State courts at Roches-
ter, N. Y., in June, 1890, and later to practice in the FederalBench and Bar
381
courts. Mr. Seward commenced the practice of his profession in
the city of New York thereafter removing to the City of Auburn
where he has since continued practice. He is the junior member
of the leading law- firm of Underwood, Storke & Seward, with
offices over No. 120 Genesee street.
Skilton, Frank Avery. Bom in the city of Troy, Rensselaer
County, N. Y., February 13, i860; educated in the Spanish schools
of Mexico, Cazenovia Seminary and Michigan University of which
he is a graduate; studied law in the United States Consulate in
Mexico City and at Albany Law School from which he graduated
and was admitted to the bar at Albany, N. Y., in May, 1882. He
is also admitted to practice in the courts of Mexico. Mr. Skilton
was educated for the practice of international law, but the loss of
the sight of one eye led him to abandon active efforts in that
branch of the lawr. He makes a specialty of conveyancing and
Surrogate’s Court practice, and is a member of Seward Camp
No. 11, Sons of Veterans. Office over No. 53 Genesee street.
Slade, William. Bom at Kelloggsville, town of Niles, Cayuga
County, N. Y., October 19, 1840; educated in the public schools and
at Homer University, from which he was graduated in 1858; read
law in the office of Honorable Charles C. Dwight in Auburn and
completed his studies in the Albany Law School, from which he
graduated and was admitted to the bar at Albany, N. Y., in 1862.
He is now located in Kelloggsville and his practice has been con-
fined to his home county. He served several terms as a justice
of sessions and for many years has been a justice of the peace
in his town. Poor health has compelled, for the last few years,
the abandonment of active practice by Mr. Slade although he
yet practises his profession as fully as his physical condition will
permit.
Storke, Frederic Elliot. Bom in the City of Auburn,
Cayuga County, N. Y., October 27, 1855; educated in the public
schools of the city—graduating from its High School in 1871—and382
History of Cayuga County
at Amherst College from which he was graduated in 1876; read
lavr in the office of Honorable John T. M. Davie in Auburn and was
admitted to the bar of the State courts at Rochester, N. Y., in
October, 1879 and to practice in the Federal courts in 1889. From
the time of his admission to the bar, Mr. Storke has been an active
practitioner in our city. He is a member of the law firm of Under-
wood, Storke & Seward, of which firm he is the trial lawyer. He
served as a school commissioner of the city from 1885 to 1897.
Taber, Franklin R Bom at Moravia, Cayuga County, N. Y.,
January 16, 1853 ; educated in the public schools of that village and
in the Moravia Institute of which he is a graduate; read law in the
offices of Honorable John L. Parker in Moravia and Honorable
John T. M. Davie in Auburn; admitted to practice in the courts of
the state in January, 1875, and later to practice in the Federal
courts. He commenced, and has since continued, the practice of
his profession in the City of Auburn; he has served as special
county judge of the county and is the senior member of the law
firm of Taber & Brainard, with offices over No. 122 Genesee street.
Practice general.
Taber, John. Bom in the City of Auburn, Cayuga County,
N. Y., May 5, 1880; educated in the public schools of that city—
graduating from its High School in 1898—and in Yale College from
which he was graduated in 1902; read law in the offices of Taber
& Brainard in Auburn and completed his studies in the New York
Law School from which he graduated and was admitted to practice
in the courts of the state, at Rochester, November 15, 1904, and to
practice in the Federal courts the following year; commenced
practice in the City of Auburn and is a member of the law firm of
Taber & Brainard. He has served as a member of the Board of
Supervisors representing the second ward of the city.
Teller, John DuBois. Born at Sandy Hill, Washington
County, N. Y., May 11, 1845; educated in the public schools, by
private tuition and at Williams College from which he was graduatedBench and Bar
383
in 1867; read law in the office of Hughes & Northrup in Sandy
Hill and was admitted to practice in the State courts at Schenectady
Schenectady County, N. Y., April 5, 1870, and to practice in the
United States District Court at Auburn, November 5, 1876 and in
the Circut Court of the United States at Auburn, March 7, 1881.
Mr. Teller commenced practice in Sandy Hill in 1870, which he
continued until December, 1872 when he removed to Auburn where
he has since been an active practitioner. Although political^ a
Democrat, Judge Teller was elected police justice of the city which
office he discharged the duties of from 1877 to 188c, and in 1883
was elected surrogate, in a strongly Republican county, and at the
end of his term re-elected, serving in such office for six years. He
has been prominent in the councils of his party and its candidate
for the office of supreme court justice. Judge Teller is a member
of the City Club of Auburn; the Delta Kappa Epsilon a college
fraternity at Williams College and is the senior member of the law
firm of Teller & Hunt, the members of which are the attorneys of
several railroads and other corporations.
Treat, G. Earle. Bom in the City of Auburn, N. Y., July 5,
1875; educated in the public schools of the city—graduating from
its High School in 1893— and in Williams College from wThich he
was graduated in 1897; read law in the offices of Honorable George
W. Nellis and Honorable George B. Turner in Auburn and was
admitted to practice in the courts of the state at Rochester, N. Y.,
in 1900, and to practice in the Federal courts in October, 1905.
Commenced, and has since continued, practice in the City of Auburn.
Mr. Treat has served as clerk of the Surrogate’s Court of Cayuga
County and is a member of Auburn Lodge No. 474, Benevolent
Protective Order of Elks, of which he is a trustee. Mr. Treat is the
senior member of the law firm of Treat & Anderson.
Treat, Stuart R. Bom in the City of Auburn, N. Y., January
6, 1877; educated in the public schools of the city and at Colgate
University from which he was graduated in 1899; read law in the384
History of Cayuga County
offices of Dayton & Woodin in Auburn and was admitted to the
bar at Rochester, N. Y., in 1902, immediately following which he
commenced the practice of his profession in our city. He is the
present clerk of the Surrogate’s Court of Cayuga County. Mr.
Treat is a member of Auburn Lodge No. 474, Benevolent Protective
Order of Elks and of the Delta Kappa Epsilon a college fraternal
society at Colgate University. Practice general; office with the
surrogate in the Court House.
Tryon, Oscar. Bom in the town of Fleming, Cayuga County,
N. Y., August 12, 1855; he received his early education in the public
schools of that town and after in the High School of the City of
Auburn from which he graduated in 1878, in the fall of which year
he commenced a course of study in the Bryant & Stratton Business
College, Buffalo, N. Y., on the completion of which he commenced
the study of law in the office of Frank D. Wright, Esq., in Auburn
and was admitted to the bar at Rochester, N. Y., in October, 1884.
He commenced practice in Auburn which he has since continued.
Turner, George Brinkerhoff. Bom in Fair Haven, Cayuga
County, N. Y., November 2, 1848; educated in the public schools
and at Cornell University, Ithaca, from which he was graduated
in 1873; read law in the office of Honorable William E. Hughitt,
in Auburn and was admitted to the bar at Buffalo, N. Y., in 1875,
following which he commenced, and has since continued, the practice
of his profession in the City of Auburn. Judge Turner served as
special and acting surrogate, upon the death of Honorable John T.
M. Davie, from October 23, 1883 to January 1st, following; was
elected in 1889 and re-elected at the end of his term, serving for
twelve years, and represented the ninth ward of our city in the
Board of Supervisors for four years; he is a member of the Sons of
the American Revolution and of Auburn Lodge No. 474, Benevolent
Protective Order of Elks. He is the senior member of the law
firm of Turner & Kerr. Judge Turner served his University asBench and Bar
385
president of the Alumni Association in 1881 and as an Alumni
trustee from 1892 to 1907. Practice general.
Underwood, Hon. George. Bom in the City of Auburn,
Cayuga County, N. Y., July 17, 1855; educated in the public schools
of the city—graduating from its High School in 1870—and at Yale
College from which he was graduated in 1875; read law in the office
of Honorable Milo Goodrich in Auburn and was admitted to practice,
in the State courts at Rochester, N. Y., in October, 1877, and in
the Federal courts, including the Supreme Court of the United
States, in 1886. From the time of his admission Judge Underwood
has been an active practitioner in the City of Auburn. He served
as commissioner of public schools, 1881-4; president of the Board
of Education 1883-4; city attorney from March 12, 1888 to June 4,
1888, when he resigned; county judge of Cayuga County, 1890-
1902; he is the senior member of the law firm of Underwood, Storke
& Seward, which has existed since 1896. Prior to that he was a
member, from 1890, of the law firm of Underwood & Storke, and
of the firm of Hurlbut & Underwood from 1878 to 1883.
Van Sickle, John. Born in the village of Cayuga, county of
Cayuga, N. Y, February 10, 1863; educated in the public schools
and at Cornell University, Ithaca, from which he was graduated in
1885; read law in the office of Payne & O’Brien, in Auburn, and was
admitted to practice in the State courts at Rochester, N. Y. in
October, 1888, and later to practice in the Federal courts. He
commenced and has since continued practice in the City of Auburn,
having been a member of the law firms of Payne & Van Sickle and
of Payne, Van Sickle & Payne, from 1895 to I9°5 and is now the
senior member of the law firm of Van Sickle & Allen. He served
several years as a member of the Board of Education of the city.
Practice general.
Whelan, Charles T. Born in the City of Auburn, Cayuga
County, N. Y., June 25, 1877; educated in the public schools of the
city—graduating from its High School in 1895—and at Williams
25386
History of Cayuga County
College from which he was graduated in 1899; read law in the offices
of Payne, Van Sickle & Payne in Auburn and was admitted to the
bar at Rochester, N. Y., in October, 1901, since which time he has
practised his profession in our city; he has served as justice of the
peace two terms, is a member of Auburn Council No. 207, Knights of
Columbus in which he holds the office of Grand Knight and is
second lieutenant of the Second Separate Company (Wheeler
Rifles) National Guards, New York, and is a state civil service
examiner. Practice general; offices in Temple Court, Genesee
street.
Wood, George P. Bom in the town of Springport, Cayuga
County, N. Y., May 31, 1841; educated in the public schools of that
town and in the Friends’ Academy in the village of Union Springs.
In 1865 he commenced reading law in the office of his brother—
Etsel Wood, Esq.,—in Union Springs and finished his studies in
the law department of the University at Albany, N. Y., from which
he was graduated in 1869 and was admitted to practice in the State
courts at Albany in May of that year, and to practice in the United
States District Court at Utica, N. Y., in May, 1899; he practised
for a time with his brother, then opened an office for himself and has
since been an active practitioner in the village of Union Springs.
Mr. Wood is a justice of the peace of his town, which office he has
filled for five years. Practice general.
Wright, Frank S. Bom in the City of Auburn, N. Y., February
23, 1852; educated in the public schools, graduating from the High
School in 1878, when he was appointed clerk of the Surrogate’s
Court and commenced reading law in the office of Honorable John
T. M. Davie—then surrogate. Three years later he was appointed
crier of the Supreme and other courts of record of the county serving
for three years; admitted to practice, in the courts of the state, at
Rochester, N. Y., October 6, 1882, and thereafter to practice in the
Federal courts. He remained in the office of Mr. Davie until the
death of the latter in October, 1883, and the following JanuaryBench and Bar
387
opened an office and has since continued practice in the city. He
served as a municipal civil service commissioner, during the admin-
istration of Honorable Thomas M. Osborne, 1904-5. Although
Mr. Wright is a general practitioner, he makes a specialty of probate
law and Surrogate Court practice. Offices in the Metcalf Building,
Genesee street.
Wright, Charles Albert. Bom in the village of Moravia,
Cayuga County, N. Y., October 30, 1871; educated in the public
schools of the village, graduating from its High School in 1891, in
Auburn High School from which he graduated in 1893, an<i in
Williams College from which he was graduated in 1897 '> rea-d law in
the Offices of Wright & Cushing in Auburn, finishing his studies in
the law department of Columbia University, in New York, from
which he was graduated in 1902, was admitted to the bar at Roches-
ter, N. Y., and commenced the practice of his profession in the
City of Auburn, which he has since continued. Mr. Wright took
an active part in athletics while in college, and is known through-
out the state as one of the best football players that Columbia ever
enjoyed the services of. He is a member of the Independent Order
of Odd Fellows and “a jolly good fellow.” Practice general; offices
over No. 61 Genesee street.
Wright, James. Bom in Canada, June 9, 1844; educated in
the public schools of New Hampshire, graduating from the New
Hampshire Conference Seminary at Tilton in that state in June,
1867; read law in the office of E. H. Benn, Esq., in Elmira, N. Y.,
and was admitted to practice in the State courts at that city in
May, 1872, and to practice in the District Court of the United States
at Buffalo, N. Y., in 1896. He commenced the practice of his pro-
fession in Elmira which he continued until 1881—serving in 1878
as its city attorney—when he removed to Weedsport, this county,
where he has since practised. Mr. Wright is a veteran of the Civil
War, a member of the J. E. Whiteside Post, of Weedsport, of which
he has been Commander; Weedsport Lodge No. 385, Free and388
History of Cayuga County
Accepted Masons of which he was Master in 1884-5-6; Weedsport
Lodge, Knights of Pythias, of which he has been Chancellor Com-
mander and of the Weedsport Lodge of Odd Fellows which he has
served as Noble Grand. Practice general.
Wright, James A. Bom near the village of Moravia, Cayuga
County, N. Y., May 4, 1838; educated in the public schools and at
the Moravia Institute from which he was graduated in 1859, follow-
ing which he taught school for some time and then read law in the
offices of E. E. Brown in Moravia and Wright & Waters in Cortland,
N. Y., the senior member of which firm was his brother, the late
Frank D. Wright; admitted to the bar at Binghamton, N. Y., May
10, 1864. He first located at Waverly, Tioga County, N. Y., where
he practised until April, 1868, when he returned to Moravia and
formed a co-partnership with the late Honorable John L. Parker
which continued until 1870, since which time he practised alone,
until the formation of the law firm-of Wright & Parker, of which he
is the senior member. He served as special surrogate for one term
and was a justice of the peace of his town for many years. Mr.
Wright is the author of A History of the Town of Moravia which
because of its fullness and accuracy arid the pleasing manner in
which it is written has had a large sale and is highly prized by
residents of the town.
Zabriskie, N. Lansing. Bom in Flatbush, Long Island, N. Y.,
February 18, 1838; educated in the public schools, at Erasmus Hall
Academy and Union College frorii.the latter of which he was gradu-
ated in 1857 and the following year cottimenced reading law in the
offices of Lott, Murphy & Vanderbilt in Brooklyn, N. Y., finishing
his studies in the law department of Columbia University from
which he graduated and was admitted to the bar at Brooklyn in
1861, in which year he commenced practice in that city, which he
continued until 1867 when he removed to Aurora, this county,
where he has since resided. Mr. Zabriskie has not practised law
for the last twenty-five years, devoting his time and ability as aBench and Bar
389
financier to the banking business in which he has for many years
been, and is now, engaged in his village.
FORMER MEMBERS.
The following gentlemen have at different times, within the
memory of the writer, been members of the bar of Cayuga County
and active practitioners among us. So far as I have been able to
procure the proper data I shall accord them the same consideration
that I have given to our present bar members and as to those re-
garding whom I am without reliable information, I must content
myself with reference to them by name, with their present location
where known.
Allen, Hon Frederick I. Bom in the City of Auburn,
Cayuga County, N. Y., January 19, 1859; educated in the public
schools of the city, fitted for college at Phillips Aacdemy, Andover,
Mass., and was graduated from Yale College with the degree of
Ph. D., in 1879; read law in the offices of Hon. William E. Hughitt,
and with Hurlbut & Underwood, in Auburn, and was admitted
to practice in the State courts at Rochester, N. Y., in October,
1882, and later to the Federal courts including the United States
Supreme Court; commenced practice in Auburn in October, 1882,
making a specialty of the law pertaining to patents, until he was
appointed commissioner of patents, in 1901, on April 1st., of which
year he removed to Washington, D. C., and discharged the duties
of that office until June 1, 1907. He is nowin practice in New
York City, being the senior member of the law firm of Allen, Ely,
Billings & Chester, with offices at No. 2 Rector street.
Bodell, Frederic George. Bom in the City of Auburn,
Cayuga County, N. Y., April 6, 1878; educated in its public schools,
graduating from the High School in 1896; studied law at Cornell
University, Ithaca, N. Y., graduating from its law department
in 1900, in August of which year he was admitted to the bar at
Rochester, N. Y., and commenced practice in our city, continuing390	History op Cayuga County
the same until April i, 1901, when he removed to Syracuse, N. Y.
Mr. Bodell is the junior member of the law firm of Parsons, Hall
& Bodell, with offices in the University Building. He makes a
specialty of patent law and practice.
Burby, William H. Bom in the village of Fort Edward,
Washington County, N. Y., March 24, 1863; educated in the com-
mon schools at Fort Edward, the Claverack Academy and Fort
Edward College Institute, from the latter of which he was grad-
uated in 1879; read law in the office of A. D. Wait, Esq., in Fort
Edward and was admitted to the bar at Albany, N. Y., in May,
1885, remaining with his preceptor for six months and then opening
an office in the City of New York, where he practised for a year
coming to Auburn in November, 1887. In our city he served as
attorney for the board of excise and in 1891 was appointed city
attorney, serving until June, 1894. He continued practice in
Auburn for some years and then removed to New York City.
He is now located at No. 898 Park Avenue, Brooklyn, N. Y.
. Collier, Hon. William Miller. Bom in Lodi, N Y., No-
vember 11, 1867; educated in the public schools and at Hamilton
College, Clinton, N. Y., from which he was graduated in 1889
with the degree of A. B., and in 1892 with the degree of M. A.
He obtained his legal education in the law department of Columbia
College, New York, from which he graduated and was admitted
to the bar in 1892, commencing practice in that year, in Auburn;
he served as referee in bankruptcy for the Northern District of
New York in 1898, and in January, 1899, was appointed by Gov-
ernor Roosevelt a member of the State Civil Service Commission,
in which position he served until 1893, when he resigned. In
March of that year he was tendered the position of solicitor of
internal revenue but declined it and later accepted the position of
special assistant to the attorney-general of the United States,
and was assigned to act as solicitor of the newly created depart-
ment of Commerce and Labor. In the spring of 1905, he wasBench and Bar
391
made envoy extraordinary, etc., to Spain, in which high position
he is yet serving. Mr. Collier is the author of Collier on Bank-
ruptcy, The Trusts, What Can We Do With Them? What Can
They Do for Us?, Collier on the Civil Service Law, and editor of
The American Bankruptcy Reports. He served for some time as
special lecturer, in the New York Law School, on the law of
bankruptcy and is a member of all the New York clubs, political
and social. His location is at Madrid, Spain.
Collins, Noyes S. Born in Camden, Oneida County, N. Y.,
November 13, 1850; studied law at the Albany Law School, from
which he graduated and was admitted to the bar at Syracuse,
N. Y., in 1875, commencing practice in the village of Union Springs,
this county, where he remained in active practice until the year
1885, when he removed to Palatka, Florida, and engaged in the
banking business; he later removed to Lake City, in the same
state, and there founded and for some time conducted, a local
bank. The writer is informed that he is now engaged in the active
practice of his profession at either Lake City or Palatka, Florida.
Cox, William C. Bom in Auburn, Cayuga County, N. Y. in
1846; educated in the public schools of the city and at a private
school in Cornwall, Orange County, N. Y., near West Point. When
the Civil War commenced he endeavored, unsuccessfully because
of his age, to enlist in the Federal army and went to Philadelphia
where he succeeded in getting into the navy and served one year.
He returned to Auburn in 1863, and commenced the study of law
in the Albany Law School after graduating from which he con-
tinued his reading in the office of his father, Mr. James R. Cox,
in Auburn, and was admitted to the bar in 1867. He remained
in Auburn until about 1882, when he removed to New York City
where he is now engaged in practice with offices at No. 5 Cortlandt
street.
Decker, Frank Norton. Bom in the town of Clay, Onondaga
County, N. Y., February 14, 1882; educated in the public schools392
History of Cayuga County
of his town, the Baldwinsville grammar school and Phoenix High
School, from which he graduated in 1902; obtained his legal educa-
tion in the law department of Cornell University, Ithaca, N. Y.,
from which he graduated and was admitted to the bar at Rochester,
N. Y., in August, 1905. He practised for a time in our city the,
removed to Phoenix, N. Y., where he now has an office although
most of his time is devoted to his duties as managing clerk in the
offices of Fowler, Crouch & Vann, in Syracuse. Mr Decker makes
a specialty of corporation law, bankruptcy and surrogate’s practice.
Dutton, John Anthony. Bom in the town of Ira, near the
village of Cato, county of Cayuga, N. Y, September 16, 1862;
educated in the public schools of that town, including the Cato
High School and at the Monroe Collegiate Institute at Elbridge,
Onondaga County, from which he graduated in 1884; read law in
the office of the Honorable Adelbert P. Rich, in Auburn, N. Y.,
after which he took a post graduate course in law in the New York
University Law School, from which he was graduated, and was
admitted to practice in the State courts at Buffalo, N. Y., June 15,
1887, and later to practice in the Federal courts. He located in
Auburn where he practised his profession until November, 1889,
when he removed to the city of New York, where he is yet engaged
in active practice with offices at No. 76 William street. He is the
junior member of the law firm of Hurry & Dutton. Mr. Dutton is
a Past Master of Chancellor Walworth Lodge, No. 271, Free and
Accepted Masons; the present District Deputy Grand Master of
the Fifth Masonic District; first vice-president of the Republican
Club of the city of New York, and ex-president of the Patria
Club of that city: a member of the bar associations of the city
and state of New York and of the Federal Bar Association.
Elliott, Chester M. Bom at Milford, Otsego County, N. Y. ;
educated in its public schools; read law with Honorable Horace V.
Howland, in the village of Port Byron this county; was admitted
to the bar at Rochester, N. Y., in October, 1874, and in 1895, wasBench and Bar
393
admitted to practice in the courts of the states of Kentucky and
West Virginia. Mr. Elliott commenced practice in Port Byron
and later for some years practised in Syracuse, N. Y., being a mem-
ber of the law firm of Northrup, Elliott & Northrup, and Notting-
ham, Pierce & Elliott. Mr. Elliott was counsel for the People’s
Building. Loan and Savings Association, and the Eastern Building
and Loan Association of Syracuse, from 1894 to 1898, during which
time he tried cases for these companies in twenty-two different
states; during the last three years he has been assistant solicitor
for the Lawyers’ Title Insurance and Trust Company, 37 Liberty
street, New York City, from which position he resigned in December,
1907. He is now located at White Plains, N. Y., and is the senior
member of the law firm of Elliott & Vander Roesh. Mr. Elliott
makes a specialty of real estate and corporation law.
Hendrick, Hon. Peter A. Bom in Penn Yan, Yates County,
N. Y., July 8, 1856; educated in the public schools and academy
at Penn Yan, and at Fordham University from which he graduated
with the degree of A. B. in 1878 and A. M. in 1880, and from which
he received the degree of LL. D. in 1908; read law in the offices of
Pingree & Durston in Auburn and was admitted to the bar at
Rochester, N. Y. in 1880, in which year he commenced practice
in Auburn which he continued for six years—during two of which
he served as city attorney—when he removed to New York City
where he has since practised, being the junior member of the law
firm of Dumin & Hendrick. In November, 1906, Mr. Hendrick
was elected a justice of the Supreme Court with a majority of 83,000
and took office January 1, 1907.
Hicks, Frederick Charles. Born in the City of Auburn, N. Y.
October 14, 1875; educated in its public schools—graduating from
its high school in 1894—Colgate University from which he graduated
with the degree of Ph. B. in 1898: Brown University from which
he graduated with the degree of A. M. in 1907; studied law at
Georgetown (D. C.) Law School from which he was graduated with394
History of Cayuga County
the degree of LL. B. in 1901; admitted to the bar at Rochester,
N. Y. in 1900. He commenced practice in Auburn in November,
1904, which he continued until July of the following year. Mr.
Hicks served as special examiner, New York State Department of
Public Instruction in 1896-7-8; assistant chief, Division of Maps
and Charts, Library of Congress 1898-1904. He is now the librarian
of the United States Naval War College at Newport, Rhode Island
which position he has filled since July, 1905. Mr. Hicks is the editor
of Selected Official Documents of the South African Republic and
Great Britain and A Typographical Description of Virginia, Penn-
sylvania, Maryland, Etc., Reprinted from the Original Edition of
1778; author of articles and reviews in Annals of the American
Academy of Political and Social Science, American Journal of
International Law, American Political Science Review and the
Library Journal. He is a member of the District of Columbia
bar; Rhode Island Library Association; American Society of Inter-
national Law and American Political Science Association.
Knapp, Charles R. Bom in the City of Auburn, N. Y.; edu-
cated in its public schools and at Yale College from which he was
graduated in 1895; studied law in the law department of Cornell
University, Ithaca, N. Y., from which he graduated and was
admitted to the bar at Rochester, N. Y., in July, 1899. He com-
menced practice in Auburn from which city he removed to the city
of New York where he now resides. He is not now practising.
Knapp, James T. Bom in Syracuse, Onondaga County, N. Y.,
March 4, 1880; education common school; studied law at the
Albany Law School from which he graduated in 1901, continued
reading in the offices of Hiscock, Doheny, Williams & Cowie in
Syracuse and was admitted to practice in the courts of the state at
Albany, N. Y., in January, 1902, and to practice in Federal courts in
1904. Mr. Knapp commenced practice in the city of Syracuse
removing to Auburn in the spring of 1905, where he continued
practice until August, 1906 when he removed to Waterloo, Iowa,Bench and Bar
395
where he is now pursuing his profession. He is the junior member
of the firm of Pike & Knapp.
Rich, Burt T. Bom in Cato, Cayuga County, N. Y., October
8, 1872; educated in the public schools of Cato, the Auburn High
School and Fairfield Seminary; read law in the office of Honorable
Adelbert P. Rich, finishing his studies in the Albany Law School
from which he graduated and was admitted to the bar at Rochester,
N. Y., in June, 1896, commencing practice in Auburn the same year
which he continued until about three years ago when he went to
the city of New York where he filled the position of assistant attor-
ney of the New York City Railway Company until a few weeks ago
when he resigned and became associated with the law firm of
Townsend & Wynne, Bank of Commerce Building, No. 31 Nassau
street, New York. He is yet a member of the firm of Rich & Rich
of our city.
Root, Francis S. Bom in the village of Port Byron, Cayuga
County, N. Y., in 1869; common school education; studied law in
the law department of Cornell University, Ithaca, N. Y., from which
he graduated, and was admitted to the bar at Rochester, N. Y., in
1895, commencing practice in Buffalo, N. Y., which he continued
until 1898, when he removed to Port Byron, this county, where he
practised until 1905, when he removed to the city of New York
and is now located at No. 119 Nassau street. He served as presi-
dent of the village of Port Byron, justice of the peace, and member
of its School Board. Mr. Root makes a specialty of real estate
law.
Searles, Theodore J. Bom in the village of Weedsport,
Cayuga County, N. Y., May 20, 1851; educated in the public schools
of Ithaca, N. Y., and Brown’s Business School in Auburn; read law
in the office of Honorable John T. M. Davie, and with the Honorable
Edwin A. Thomas in Auburn, and Beach & Bailey in Rome, Oneida
County, N. Y. Admitted to the bar at Buffalo, N. Y., June 7, 1872,
in which year he commenced the practice of his profession in our396
History of Cayuga County
city and continued the same until 1899, when he abandoned law
and after a course of study, entered the ministry, filling the pulpits
of the Presbyterian churches at Rose, Wayne County, N. Y.^ for
five years, and Corfield, for two years. He is now located at
Ontario Center, Wayne County, and serving as the pastor of the
Presbyterian Church at that place.
Snow, Benjamin Bradford. Bom in Orleans, Barnstable
County, Mass., January 4, 1830; educated in the public schools and
at Hamilton College, from which he was graduated in 1850; read
law in the offices of Allen & Pomeroy in Auburn, N. Y., after receiv-
ing a special course in law, the last year of his college course, under
the instruction of Professor Theodore Dwight; admitted to the bar
at Rochester, N. Y., in December, 1852, and the following year
commenced the practice of his profession in Auburn, which he con-
tinued for about three years when he was appointed deputy county
clerk and served until 1859 when he was elected county clerk which
office he filled until i865e He never resumed practice after his
election as county clerk. He w~as provost-marshal of the Congres-
sional district composed of the counties of Cayuga, Seneca and
Wayne in 1864-5, an(i superintendent of the public schools of our
city from 1870 to 1901, in October of which year he removed to
the city of Rochester, N. Y., where he now resides. The high
reputation enjoyed by our public schools throughout the state is
due in a great degree to the marked ability and untiring energy of
Mr. Snow during his thirty-one years of service as superintendent.
Turner, James Eli. Bom in Cato, this county, August 23,
1872; educated in the public schools of that town, the Cato Union
School and Weedsport Academy from the latter of which he gradu-
ated in 1890; read law in the offices of Honorable William B. Woodin
in Auburn and Charles F. Rich, Esq., in Cato, finishing his studies
in the law department of Cornell University, Ithaca, N. Y, from
which he was graduated in 1894, and admitted to the bar the same
year at Rochester, N. Y. He commenced practice in the village ofBench and Bar
397
Cato which he continued until about one year ago when he removed
to the city of New York being now located at No. i Madison avenue.
He served as justice of the peace of his town and special surrogate
of the county. Mr. Turner is a member of Cato Lodge No. 141,
Free and Accepted Masons of which lodge he is a Past Master.
Warren, Lyman E. Born in Cortland, Cortland County, N. Y.
September 4, 1848; common school education; read law in the office
of Honorable Horatio Ballard in Cortland and was admitted to
practice in the courts of the state at Binghamton, N. Y., in Novem-
ber, 1869, and later to practice in the Federal courts, including the
Supreme Court of the United States, and the courts of Connecticut
and New Jersey. He commenced practice in our county in 1883,
and removed to the city of New York in January, 1888, where he is
now located at No. 261 Broadway. While in Auburn, he was a
partner of the late Senator Woodin, and for many years after com-
mencing practice in New York a member of the law firm of Warren,
Warren & O’Beime. He is now alone; practice general.
Wilcox, Dudley K. A son of Senator Wilcox, was born in the
City of Auburn, August 2, 1878; educated in the public schools of
that city—graduating from its High School—and at Cornell Univer-
sity, Ithaca, N. Y, from the law department of which he was
graduated and admitted to the bar at Rochester, N. Y., com-
mencing the practice of his profession in Auburn which he con-
tinued until May, 1906, when he removed to Thurman, Colorado,
where he is now located, doing a general practice.
Worden, Warren A. A son of the late Warren T. Worden, was
bom in the City of Auburn, N. Y. July 14, 1847; educated in its
public schools and at Hobart College, Geneva, from which he was
graduated in 1869, with the degree of M. A.; read law in the office
of his father Warren T. Worden, Esq., in Auburn and was admitted
to practice in the State courts at Syracuse, N. Y. in 1871, to the
United States District and Circuit courts in 1871; the Supreme398
History of Cayuga County
Court of the United States in 1873; the courts of the state of Wash-
ington in 1891, and to the United States District and Circuit courts
of that state in 1892. From 1871 to 1876, he practised his profes-
sion in the City of Auburn; from 1877 to 1885, he served as United
States Consul and then located in Tacoma, Wash., where he yet is,
serving as a United States master in chancery and referee in
bankruptcy.
Boyle, William M. In New York City. Am unable to learn
his address.
Parker, Joseph. At No. 3321 Davenport street, Omaha, Neb.
Raeish, James A. With Wilson, Cobb & Ryan, Third National
Bank Building, Syracuse, N. Y.
Symonds, Jos. H. A. In New York City: I understand in the
office of District-Attorney Jerome.
Tracy, Rollin. At No. 52 Broadway, New York City.
Whitney. Mark L. Unable to secure any information.
CHAPTER XXI.
Towns of the County.
AURELIUS.
Aurelius was formed January 27, 1789. Brutus, Owasco, Cato
and Jefferson (now Mentz) were set off March 30, 1802; Auburn
and Fleming in 1823; a part of Springport in 1833—and part of
Throop, in 1859. It lies near the center of the western border of
the county, on Cayuga Lake, and has a rolling surface, which
inclines to the north and west. Owasco Outlet runs through the
northeast comer, and Cayuga Brook and Crane Creek with
several other small streams rise in the town. These afford a num-
ber of excellent water privileges along Owasco Outlet. For the
most part the soil is a heavy clay and gravelly loam.Towns of the County
399
Cayuga village is on Cayuga Lake two miles south of the Outlet
and was incorporated in 1858. It is an important station on the
New York Central Railroad and is connected with Ithaca, at the
head of the lake, by a daily line of steamers. The tourist leaving
Cayuga for a trip through the lake is sure of beholding some of the
most charming scenery afforded by any section of the state. Cayuga
contains about five hundred inhabitants.
The celebrated Cayuga bridge, one mile, eight rods long, was built
across the lake at this point in 1797, by Swartwood & Damen
of New York and Joseph Annin and others of Cayuga. It fell in
1804, was rebuilt in 1812-13 and finally abandoned in 1857. Until
the canal was finished the road leading across this bridge was the
grand highway of emigration. The county seat was located here
on the first organization of the county. The Indians here made a
treaty with the governor of the state, in 1794, selling their reserva-
tions with the exception of four square miles on the shore near
Lavona.
Cayuga is one of the earliest settled villages in the county and
from a very early period possessed extraordinary mercantile and
commercial advantages, from its location on the great thoroughfare
of travel and emigration from east to west, and the seat of one of
the most magnificent local enterprises of its time—the Cayuga
bridge. But the want of mill sites, of which it is entirely destitute,
has been a serious hindrance to its growth; and thus we find that
to-day its business is practically confined to the nature of its im-
mediate population. A more delightful residence one could
scarcely desire.
The first merchant was John Harris, who opened a store in 1789,
and kept it till 1814. His store stood on the lot next south of the
Presbyterian church. He sold his stock to Elisha Hills from Au-
burn and removed to the west side of the lake. Hills kept store
about ten years and sold out. Dr. William Harrison opened a
store about 1806; he kept it about ten years, selling out and400
History of Cayuga County
returning to Whitestown, whence he came. Daniel McIntosh, a
Scotchman from Albany County, opened a store about 1800, and
kept it until about 1S36, when he sold to his son-John, who con-
tinued till about i860.	' *
Dean Mumford opened a store about r8oo, and-kept it about
eight or ten years and sold out when he removed to Seneca Falls.
Dr. De Mun kept a drugstore at a very early date and was the first
man to experiment with gypsum in Cayuga. . He pulverized it in a
mortar. Emory Willard opened a store about 1812-14, and kept
it until his removal to Auburn about .1819. Loring Willard kept
store a-short time about 1816-17. Erastus Partridge opened a
store about 1821; about 1840 he admitted E. H. Waldo to partner-
ship and removed with his family to Seneca Falls, when he engaged
in-the banking business, retaining his interest here until 1850.
Samuel Fitch and Jotham W. Shank bought out Partridge &
Cook and kept store some three years. *• John L. De Camp, opened a
store in 1843 , and kept it till 1846. Dr. John A. Thompson opened
a store about 1847 and kept it four or five years. ' Pomeroy &
Messdreau. opened a store in 1848, and after about two years sold
out to Messereau, who continued the business for two or three years.
- The first physician was William Franklin who came in 1797 and
practised until his death in 1804. The next was Jonathan Whit-
ney, who came in 1798 and practised until his death in 1858.
Nathaniel Kellogg came in about 1813, and practised a few years;
he died in Mount Morris many years after. Doctor Voght practised
here several years and removed to New York. Noyes Palmer from
Cazenovia practised a few years and died in Springport years after-
ward. Doctor Cox practised here a few years and removed to Gene-
see County in 1837. J°hn F. Todd succeeded Palmer in 1836 and
practised till 1841. Isaac Shaw practised from 1844 till 1855.
Andrew S. Cummings came in 1841 and practised over forty years,
dying in the 8o’s. Doctor Seward came in 1844 and stayed oneTowns of the County
401
year and then removed to Liverpool, where he practised for over
forty years. Daniel Hutchins came and stayed two years.
The first lawyer was Elijah Miller, father-in-law of Governor
Seward, who practised here till the court house was located at Au-
burn, when he removed there. Thomas Mumford came in 1795 and
practised till his death about 1830. Reuben S. Morris came in 1800.
Wm. Sisson studied with Thomas Mumford and practised two or
three years. There has not been any lawyer in Cayuga since the
death of Thomas Mumford.
The Presbyterians were the first religious body to cultivate this
field in a spiritual sense. The Presbyterian church of Cayuga was
organized May 30, 1819 in the school-house. In 1821, during the
pastorate of Reverend Midad Pomeroy a meeting-house, a small
plain wooden structure without a steeple, was built and dedicated
February 26, 1823, Mr. Pomeroy serving as pastor until 1833,
when he resigned, but in 1840 he was installed as pastor for the
second time and remained until 1852.
In 1854, Reverend Timothy Hopkins succeeded and remained
till i860. During his pastorate the church was repaired and
cushioned, an organ purchased, and the parsonage bought.
This church has been from the first self-sustaining and although
never rich it has contributed freely and regularly to spread the
Gospel at home and abroad.
The First Methodist Episcopal Church of Cayuga was organized
in 1830 by Reverend Mr. Moore, a local preacher. Their present
house which is a fine brick structure was built in 1868, at a cost of
about $9,000. Their parsonage was built in 1870 at a cost of $3,000,
including the land.
St. Joseph’s Roman Catholic Church was organized in 1853 by
Reverend John Toucey with some ninety members. Right Rev.
Thomas A. Hendricks, now Bishop of Cebu (Phillipine Islands),
was once pastor of this church for several years, in the 8o’s.
26402
History of Cayuga County
St. Luke’s Episcopal Church was organized in 1871 by James A.
Brown, the first pastor who remained till 1873. This church edifice
was built in 1871 at a cost of $5,500.
Fosterville in the north part of the county contains a church
and about twenty houses. Aurelius in the southeast part is a
small hamlet.
The first settlers in Aurelius were squatters on the reservation
of the Cayuga Indians, which included one hundred square miles
and extended on both sides of the lake from Aurora to Montezumk.
This reservation was made in 1789, in which year the Cayugas
relinquished their claims to all other lands in this state by a treaty
held at Albany, the consideration being $500 down, $1,500 to be paid
the following June and a perpetual annuity of $500. In 1794 the
Cayugas relinquished their claims to this reservation with the excep-
tion of two plots in Springport, one of two miles square upon the
lake a little south of Union Springs, and the other one mile
square, three or four miles northeast of that village. The first
settler was Colonel John Harris, who came from Harrisburg, Pennsyl-
vania in 1789, and settled three-fourths of a mile south of Cayuga
on a farm later called Old Indian orchard or Davis farm; some of the
trees were standing as late as the 9o’s. Harris kept there the first
ferry across Cayuga Lake in conjunction with James Bennett who
settled at the same time on the opposite side of the lake. He was
an Indian interpreter and acted as such at the time of the treaty at
Cayuga in 1794, at which time he moved to the site of the village
where he kept a tavern on the site of the Titus House. -Harris con-
tracted the first marriage in 1789, with Mary, daughter of John
Richardson who came here the same year as Harris and settled on
the site of the village, later the Squire Whitney place. He removed
after several years to Wabash, Indiana. A son of Harris, John Jr.,
bom in 1790, was the first child bom in Aurelius. Harris opened
the first store in 1789 and the first inn in 1790.Towns of the County
403
About 1796, Honorable Joseph Annin, one of the proprietors of
Cayuga and the first sheriff of Cayuga County, settled where what
is now the Kyle place.. He removed to Milton (now Genoa) and
subsequently to Onondaga Hollow where he died in 1815. His
remains were brought to Cayuga for interment. While in Genoa
he was state senator in 1803-4-5-6.
Hugh Buckley settled about 1796 at the head of the old bridge
where he kept the gate, a tavern and the first jail in Cayuga County.
The latter was a log structure and was built against the bank of the
lake, the top being on a level with the embankment. The prisoners
were let down through a trap door in the top. Its use as a jail was
authorized March 25, 1800. The following year Buckley added
to his already numerous vocations that of teaching, he being the
first school teacher in the town. He subsequently kept a tavern and
died of the epidemic in 1813.
Dr. Jonathan Whitney came in from Stockbridge, Mass., in
1798 and settled at Cayuga on the Lake road on what was after the
Madame Lalliette place.
Joseph Davis came in from Washington County in 1799, and
settled two and one-half miles northwest of Aurelius. He died in
the town in 1804.
In this year (1799), the County Court House was erected and
the Court of Common Pleas was held at Cayuga. In 1804, the
court was removed to Aurora, and in 1809 to Auburn, where in that
year the Court House which was authorized March 26, 1805 was
completed.
David Hulin the pioneer blacksmith was among the first settlers.
He located on the shore of the lake just west of where the Titus
House now stands. He made a latch for the first frame school-
house, built in 1804, and stamped his name and date of its erection.
Hezekiah Goodwin of Connecticut settled soon after 1800,
about four miles west of Cayuga. He took up about four hundred
acres, and carried on an extensive business buying and selling cattle.404
History of Cayuga County
distilling and making black salts. He sold out about 1833 to the
Hunts and removed to Seneca Falls, where he died about 1840.
William Guy moved in from Scipio in 1801, and bought the west
half of lot 34. In 1823, he sold seventy-five acres to Ralph De
Camp, and subsequently removed to Livingston County. De Camp
came in from New Jersey in 1816, and settled at Auburn, where he
was engaged in the construction of the prison which was begun the
following year.
Loring and Emory Willard, brothers, came from Chenango
County about 1801, and settled at Cayuga; Loring was commissary
for the army during the war of 1812-14. He died here in 1845.
Both he and Emory were young single men when they came here
but married and had families. About 1807, they built a distillery
which they sold after about a year to Daniel McIntosh who soon
after converted it into a tannery and ran it as such a good many
years.
During the War of 1812, Loring Willard was engaged in pur-
chasing supplies for the army and forwarding them to Oswego, and
other points where wanted, and when an attack upon Kingston
was in contemplation, under orders he purchased all the boats that
could be obtained for transportation, took them to Oswego, and
then under cover of night sailed out of Oswego, and delivered
them, some forty or fifty in number, to Commodore Chauncey, at
Sacketts Harbor. They were “Durham boats” and would carry
thirty to fifty tons; but the expedition was abandoned, and the
boats never used.
Jeremiah Hallock came from Long Island about this time and
settled one and a half miles east of Cayuga where he died in the
40’s.
The first settlement at Fosterville was made about 1803, by
Captain Abner Wheaton and Jacob Saunders, where they lived and
died at a good old age.Towns of the County
405
A man named Perry came in about 1806 and kept tavern,
opposite to and to the north of where the Titus House now stands.
He died about 1812.
David Dodge came in from Vermont about 1808 and settled at
Cayuga. He taught school several years. He died in Montezuma
in 1857. Ossian G. Dodge the noted mimic and comic singer was a
son of his. Charles Lalliette a highly accomplished French gentle-
man came in from Brooklyn in 1810. This was his summer resi-
dence, his winters being spent abroad teaching dancing school. He
died in 1836.
John Moffitt, a Scotchman, started a brewery in 1813. He
removed to Ohio in 1839 and died there in 1862.
BRUTUS.
Brutus was formed from Aurelius, March 30, 1802, and Sennett
was taken off in 1827. Its location is on the east border of the
county, north of the center, and its surface is level on the north and
west with an average elevation of about ten feet above the level of
Seneca River, which forms its northern boundary. The parts
lying along the river are quite marshy. Isolated drift hills,
from fifty to seventy-five feet above the general level render the
surface in the southeast broken and rolling. Bread Creek and Cold
Spring Brook, both of which are tributary to Seneca River, are the
principal streams. The former is a canal feeder, and along its
course are deposits of limestone and plaster, which are quarried
to considerable extent. The soil is a fine quality of sandy and
gravelly loam, intermixed with clay and alluvia.
Weedsport village was incorporated April 26, 1831, and is on the
Erie Canal and the direct line of the New York Central Railroad	It
is eight miles north of Auburn, twenty-one miles west of Syracuse
and sixty miles east of Rochester.
The first settlement in the present town of Brutus was made by
William Stevens, from Massachusetts in 1800, on the south bounds
406
History of Cayuga County
of the village. The settlement was called “Masidonia.” and went
by that name till after the Erie Canal was finished in 1821, when the
subsequent growth of the village was along the banks of that great
commericial highway. In 1816, this section of the canal was com-
menced and made navigable as far as Utica in the year 1821.
Previous to that, communication east and west was had by means
of the public roads which were very bad, until the building of the
Montezuma turnpike by which travel was somewhat facilitated.
Elihu and Edward Weed, sons of Smith Weed a wealthy Albany
merchant, settled in the village and built a “basin,” on the south
bank of the canal, large enough for the mooring and turning of
boats. They also put up a storehouse and the place became known
as Weed’s Basin. In 1822, the Weeds advertised their storage
and forwarding business at Weeds’ Basin adding by way of post-
script: “A post-office has lately been established at this place by
the name of Weedsport Post Office, of which Elihu Weed is Post-
Master. ”
After the canal was finished, Weedsport became the canal land-
ing for Auburn, which created a large amount of business for the
place in the way of shipping and teaming. Warehouses sprung up
and the little village assumed a thrifty and prosperous appearance.
But on the building of the Auburn & Syracuse Railroad in 1840,
nearly all of this storage, carrying and forwarding business was
diverted from the little town, which, having depended on this for
its existence, seemed destined to go into decay. The storehouses
once filled to their utmost capacity stood desolate and empty and
the place looked ruinous and forlorn. It then fell back on its
resources as the natural depot for the produce of the surrounding
country, and the place for its exchange for merchandise and mechan-
ical work. Thus left to its natural growth it was many years before
the empty buildings were re-occupied and new ones erected to
accommodate the increasing business of the place. Surrounded by
a rich agricultural section, its growth was increased, although nearTowns of the County
407
villages were formidable competitors for the country trade, so that
in 1846 it had about regained all that was lost by the diversion of
the Auburn trade in 1840. Since that time it has grown steadily
though not rapidly, and is now one of the best market towns in that
section of the state.
Its extensive storehouses, large dry goods establishments, manu-
factories, elevators along the canal, two newspaper offices, bankers,
are conclusive proof of its prosperity.
The Weedsport Union School was established about 1846 by the
consolidation of the several districts. The school building is a
substantial brick building. The course of instruction is ample and
the attendance full. The location is healthy and the climate
salubrious.
As before mentioned the first settlement in the town of Brutus
was made by William Stevens, from Massachusetts in 1800, and
among other early settlers, were Caleb, Nathan and Jonah Rood
and a Mr. Powers from Saratoga County, who located at and near
Weedsport; John Hamilton, from Washington County, who settled
on lot 64 in Marph, 1802. Edward Horton, Peter Douglass and
Samuel Moore from New Jersey on lot 86; Adam Helmer from
Herkimer County on lot 67 in 1804, and a Mr. Van Dyck and
Daniel Miller from New Jersey on lot 76 in 1805. The first birth
was that of Barnett Stevens, November 13,1801. The first marriage
that of Peter Douglass and Polly Hamilton, January 12, 1804; and
the first death that of an infant child of Sunderlind Sweet in 1800.
Harriet Phelps taught the first school in 1806. Walter and Elihu
Ward kept the first store, and Lewis Putnam built the first sawmill
and grist mill on Bread Creek. Nothwithstanding its being a
canal town it is a village of churches, which are well supported.
In the order of their organization they are:
The First Methodist Episcopal Church w^as organized by the
Reverend Samuel Bibbens in 1816; in 1863 it erected its second and
present commodious brick house of worship at a cost of $18,000,408
History of Cayuga County
and in 1874 improved it by the addition of galleries and an
alcove in the south end at a cost of $3,000.
The First Presbyterian Church was organized from members
mostly from the Congregational Church of Brutus, now Sennett.
This house of worship which was built in the south part of the
village, was consumed by fire in 1855, and rebuilt the same year at
a cost of $12,000. In 1872 it was repaired and newly furnished
at a cost of $8,000.
The First Baptist Church was organized in 1837. Their first
pastor was Reverend S. Adsit Jr. In 1840, they opened their new
and attractive chapel. In 1870, the church was practically rebuilt
at a cost of $10,000.
The first priest known to have held divine service for the Catho-
lics of Weedsport was the Rev. Thomas O'Brien, who came here
from'Clyde. This was in 1852 , and subsequently the Rev. Michael
Walsh, also of Clyde, ministered to the Catholics of this locality.
About this time St. Alphonsus' Church of Auburn received its first
resident pastor in the person of Rev. Zacharias Koons and he was
also charged with the Catholics of this vicinity. As the Weeds-
port section of the Erie Canal was then being enlarged, Irish emi-
grants began to locate here in large numbers, and Father Koons
suggested the advisability of erecting a church as services had here-
tofore been held in private houses. In accordance with this sug-
gestion a lot on the south side of Green street, near Willow, was
leased from Elihu Weed, and a small rough-boarded structure was
put up in the spring of 1854. The exterior was never painted and
the interior was unfinished and scantily furnished, and in conse-
quence it became known as the “Shanty Church." Although
Bishop Timon of Buffalo administered the sacrament of confirma-
tion in this church, there is no record of his having dedicated it; and
the little house of God was perhaps blessed by its founder and
named “St. Joseph's Church” in honor of the foster-father of our
Lord.Towns of the County
409
Among the Catholic pioneers who lived here at that time and
contributed to the erection of this church are the following: James
Bell, Nicholas Bucher, Michael Burke, John Cloonon, Joseph Cogan,
Patrick Daly, John Fitzpatrick, John Fitzsimmons, John Griffin,
Patrick Hines, James Hoar, John Mclnemey, Mrs. Bridget Kearns,
Margaret Kruse, Robert Moriarty, John and Richard O'Connor,
John O'Donnell and Patrick O'Neil.
The Rev. Michael O'Loughlin followed Father Koons in ’55 and
was succeeded by Revs. Dominic Geimer and Patrick J. Byrne in
'56 and '57 respectively. By 1858 the little church on Green street
had grown too small and the necessity of a larger structure was felt.
St. Alphonsus' Church was then without a regular pastor and the
Rev. Michael Creedon of the Church of the Holy Family, Auburn,
was selected to build a new church. The Presbyterian church had
burned down in 1855, whereupon that society decided to rebuild
in a more central part of the village and abandon the old site. This
site at the comer of Seneca and Hamilton streets was purchased in
June of 1858 and the new church put under roof the same year.
Father Creedon’s ministry ceased the following January as the
church he was erecting in Auburn demanded his continued presence
there. He was succeeded by Rev. Michael Purcell and Rev. John
Constant of Clyde, the latter of whom completed the new church
which was dedicated by Bishop Timon of Buffalo in the summer of
1859. At the same time the sacrament of confirmation was admin-
istered to a large class of children. On this occasion the bishop
was entertained in the house at present occupied by Patrick O'Neil.
The Rev. Daniel Moore was appointed to Weedsport in the early
part of 1862, and was the first resident pastor. His successor was
the Rev. J oseph Albinger who arrived in June of the following year
and purchased a house at the comer of Bell and Horton streets
which served as the first parsonage.
Father Albinger, or Father Joseph as he was familiarly known,
was the first priest to say mass within the limits of the present410
History of Cayuga County
parish of Cato. This was said in the house of Jeremias Conley,
about one-half a mile north of the village of Meridian. Father
Albinger later went to Dansville and then to Mount Vernon, this
state, where he died as pastor of the Church of Our Lady of Victory.
Rev. James H. Leddy assumed charge in the fall of ’63 and was
followed by Rev. C. Wensierski, C.SS.R., who remained about eight
months. Rev. N. Byrnes was pastor for about a year and a half
when Father Purcell came for the second time and remained in
charge until the autumn of ’68. Rev. James O’Connor was then
appointed and lived here for about a year. This priest encouraged
the Catholics of Cato to build a church of their own, and he pur-
chased the lot on which St. Patrick’s Church, Cato, now stands and
also an old church in Ira village which he intended to move to
Cato in the spring. Before he could carry out his plans the bishop
appointed him to Ovid: later he was sent to Rochester and is now
pastor of Seneca Falls. Rev. Anthony Cassessi came in November
of ’69 and he was stationed here about three years; he was succeeded
by Rev. John C. Kenny who remained about the same length of
time. During the latter’s pastorate the transept, vestry and vesti-
bule were added to the church, the interior was improved with a
choir-loft and the parsonage put in good repair. He also extended
his activity to Cato and as he found it too expensive to transport
the old church purchased by Father O’Connor, he sold it, and began
the erection of a new church in ’74 and completed it the following
year. Father Kenny left in September of ’75 and his place was
temporarily filled by Rev J. A. Connelly until the advent of Rev.
Charles H. Horan in November. The latter’s ministrations lasted
until May, 1881, when the Rev. David M. O’Donohoe took charge.
This reverend gentleman found the situation far from pleasant;
there was a debt of about $2,200 and the credit of the congregation
was greatly impaired Endowed, however, with a resolute will he
set about paying off the debt and cancelled a large portion of it in a
short time.Towns of the County
411
In October, 1883, an elevated plot of ground was purchased on
the Oakland road for a consideration of $1,200. This land has been
devoted to cemetery purposes and is under the control of the St.
Joseph’s Cemetery Association which was incorporated with the
following original trustees: Rt. Rev. B. J. McQuaid, D.D., presi-
dent; Rev. David M. O’Donohoe, vice-president; Hugh Riley,
secretary; James D. Kanaley, treasurer; James Bell, John Hickey,
Patrick Hickey, John Lawler, Michael Grace.
In 1884, the contract for a new parsonage in the rear of the
church was let to Michael Grace for $1,800, a modest sum for even
those days. In 1898 the Morehouse-dwelling and lot adjoining the
church on the north were acquired, thus rounding off the church
property to a harmonious whole on all sides. On November 5,
1905, the mortgage that had been held against the congregation
for so long a time was publicly burned before the church doors and
proved to be an event of great rejoicing to all concerned. Many
other improvements were made during the administration of
Father O’Donohoe, and when he died February 9, 1907, the church
was not only in an excellent state of repair but was entirely free
from any incumbrance whatever.
The pastorate of this reverend gentleman is also remarkable for
its length of time, as it extended over a period of twenty-six years.
He was a man of magnificent presence and an orator of singular
ability and power, and his death was mourned by the entire village
regardless of denomination. He is buried on the beautiful crest
of St. Joseph’s Cemetery among his people of Weedsport, whom he
loved so well and whom he served so long and faithfully. After his
demise the congregation was attended from Rochester until his
successor assumed active charge, June n, 1907.
Prominent among those who were actively connected with the
church and who have likewise passed away are:	Hugh Riley, John
Lawlor and Michael McCarthy.412
History of Cayuga County
On January i, 1908, the church had a membership of three
hundred and fifty-seven: one hundred and twenty-nine women and
one hundred and forty women and eighty-eight children.
Weedsport also has the rare distinction of being the birthplace
of two priests active in the service of the church: Rev. James A.
Hickey of Rochester and Rev. Francis Kanaley of Buffalo. It is an
interesting coincidence that the present pastor is a classmate of the
former and was the preacher at the first mass of the latter.
The present officers of the church are: Rev. Joseph J. Ruby,
pastor; Messrs. James L. Kanaley and George D. Cusic, trustees;
Messrs. John Connors and Edward Graney, ushers.
The cemetery officers are: Rt. Rev. B. J. McQuaid, D.D., presi-
dent; Mr. James D. Kanaley, treasurer; Mr. John E. Lawler,
secretary.
St. John’s Episcopal Church was organized in 1866. Their
house of worship was erected in 1868.
As a newspaper town Weedsport ranks wrell. Competition
shun this staid old town for it knows that the printers here
are “here to stay.”
The Cayuga Chief was started June 16, 1867, by H. D. Brown &
Co. Dr. Ira D. Brown one of the proprietors, who was editor-in-
chief of the Oswego Daily Times for eight years, was editor until
his death a decade ago. The paper still continues to be published.
The Weedsport Sentinel was started in 1867. George R. Nash
became the publisher and proprietor in 1872. It is still published
under the firm name of George Nash & Co.
While some of the other towns of Cayuga County enjoy the dis-
tinction of having been the home of some of the great men of na-
tional reputation, Weedsport enjoys the distinction of having been
the home, in their younger days, of two of the smallest women of
world wide reputation—Mrs. General “Tom Thumb” and Mrs.
“Commodore Nutt,” two midget sisters.Towns of the County
413
We are informed by Mr. A. D. Putnam, son of the late Lewis
Putnam of Brutus, a descendant of the original Putnam who took
up a tract of six hundred and forty acres a mile square in the
original town of Brutus, that these little midgets were members
of the family of John Wood, who made Weedsport his home when
not on the road with his midgets or his panorama of Bunyan’s
Pilgrim's Progress. Wood was the promotor of the “Cardiff Giant”
humbug, also owner of Wood’s Museum of Philadelphia. His
remains lie here in our cemetery—were brought here from California
some years ago.
CATO.
Cato was formed from Aurelius March 30, 1802; Sterling was
taken off in 1812, and Conquest, Ira and Victory in 1821; a part of
Ira was annexed in 1834. It lies on the east border of the county,
north of the center and its surface it level in the south, and rolling
in the north. The ridges run north and south, and rise about fifty
feet down the valleys and one hundred and fifty to two hundred
above Lake Ontario; Seneca River forms the south boundary.
Cross Lake on the east border is a shallow sheet of water of about
five miles long—Seneca River flows through it; Otter Lake and
Parker’s Pond in the north part discharge their waters into Seneca
River. The soil is a sandy and gravelly loam, mixed with clay.
Meridian village, formerly “Cato Four Comers” in the north
part, was incorporated October 17, 1854. It is situated near the
north line and is two miles on the Southern Central Railroad, and
eight miles north of Weedsport. It is a quiet, attractive and
thrifty village of eight hundred inhabitants, with nicely shaded
streets and good walks. It contains three churches, a district
school, two hotels, machine shop and foundry, printing office, and
a variety of mercantile establishments
Cato, an enterprising village of about six hundred inhabitants,
is situated in the northwest part lying partly in this town and414
History of Cayuga County
partly in Ira. It is on the Southern Central Railroad and is the
natural center of fertile country, abounding in fruit, grain and other
products. It has many elements of an attractive < village. It
contains three churches, a union school, several stores and
manufactories.
conquest.
Conquest was formed from Cato, March 16, 1821, and took its
name in commemoration of the victory achieved by those favoring
a division of the town of Cato over those who opposed it. It is
situated on the west border of the county, north of the center.
The surface is rolling with north and south ridges. Along the
Seneca River in the south part the land is marshy, and along the
small stream that flows through Mud Pond is a swamp a quarter
of a mile wide extending north and south. Duck Pond in the
northwest is about a mile in diameter. Howland’s Island in Seneca
River contains 2,700 acres, one third of which is swampy and sub-
merged during high water. The soil consists of a sandy loam
intermixed with clay with underlying red shale.
George Snyder from Schoharie County, and Israel Wolverton from
Tompkins County, were the first settlers. Both settled in the year
1800. The former on lot 37, the latter on lot 4; other early settlers
were James Perkins, from Onondaga County, on lot 3, Ephriam
Witherill, from Tompkins County, on lot 4 ; Theophilis Emerson, on
lot 27, and Clement B. Emerson, on lot 15, in 1802; Digar Wilcox
from Saratoga County, on lot 74; William McCollum and John
Crowell, from Newburgh, on lot 76 in 1805, and Williani Crowell,
on lot 77, in 1807.
The first child bom was Amos Wolverton in 1803; the first
marriage that of Gilbert Perkins and Betsy Snyder, and the first
death that of a traveller and stranger at Mosquito Point. The
first school was taught by John Perkins at Conquest Centre, in 1807;
A Mr. Twitchell erected the first sawmill, in 1808; and AbramMichael GraneyTowns of the County
415
Cherry the first grist mill in 1810. Ephraim Witherill kept the
first inn, in 1803 ; Jonathan Davis the first store at Conquest Centre,
in 1827. Cherry’s grist mill was long known as the ‘4Pepper Mill”
from the fact that the first store was kept in it.
The settlers joined forces and made a large canoe capable of
holding sixty bushels of grain and in this the entire grists of the
neighborhood were carried to Springport by way of Seneca River
there to be ground. It took four days to make the journey. In
1813, John Filkins took a load of wheat to Albany and was obliged
to sell the wheat and one horse to get home. In 1804, John
Filkins built the first house, sawing out all the lumber with a whip
saw. The first church (Protestant Methodist) was formed at
Conquest Centre, in 1803, Reverend Joshua Beebe being the first
settled pastor. Conquest Centre, a small village, contains two
churches and about forty dwellings.
Spring Lake, formerly known as Pineville, is an attractive little
village of about two hundred inhabitants. It is pleasantly situated
on Duck Lake Outlet which is however of little hydraulic im-
portance.
Howland’s Island, in Seneca River derives its name from Hum-
phrey Howland who acquired title to it by buying soldiers ’ scrip and
took possession of it about 1823. Previous to Howland’s connection
with it it was known as Walnut or Hickory Island, and was occupied
and improved by families of “squatters” named Stone, Spiller,
Hyde, Butterfield, Campbell, Herrick, Woodward, Chaddock,
Harris and Springstead, there being two families of the latter
name. They had established themselves as a colony and built
houses and a school supposing that no one owned the island. They
were forced to yield to Howland’s superior claims, and, though each
was paid something for the improvements made by him, they
relinquished with reluctance the possessions which years of priva-
tion and toil had secured, and which they had fondly hoped to leave
as a heritage to their families. Harris, who was a minister, preached,416
History of Cayuga County
taught school, did the cobbling and made himself a useful man
of the island. On the death of Mr. Howland, his son Penn came
into possession of the island and that, with hundreds of thousands
of dollars besides, was soon squandered by improvidence and mis-
management.	,
The property was sold on a mortgage in the spring of 1855 to
Penn Howland's bondsman, Hiram Sibley of Rochester, who leased
it for a term of years to S. B. Tyler, who at once began a thorough
system of improvements. He took down over twenty miles of old
and brokendown fences, removed old hedges, and dilapidated
foundations; cleared, burned, ploughed and planted waste lands
which were overgrown with bushes, and weeds; cut ditches over
seven miles in length through the lowlands; built eight miles of
new fence; and set maple trees on each side of the highway—
adding six hundred acres more tillable land than when he com-
menced work on the island. The temperature of the island from
its insular position is some degrees higher and vegetation ^ome days
earlier than in the surrounding towns. Exactly in the center of
the island is a circular basin covering an area of about fifty acres
and lying about six feet above the river bottom, remarkable for the
prolificness of its soil.
From the hillsides and higher parts of the tablelands issue
springs, about a dozen in number, with such force as to indicate
their connection with the waters of. the southern lakes in the
county.
GENOA.
Genoa township is the central portion of what was originally
organized as the town of “Milton," 1797, ten years prior to the
formation of Cayuga County. The population of Milton in 1800
was 3,353. Locke was taken off in 1802; the name changed in
1808, to “Genoa," and in 1810 with its limits reduced by a town-
ship, the population was 5,245.Towns op the County
417
Genoa lies in the southwest comer of the county, is four miles
across in latitude and ten miles long. Cayuga Lake is its western
boundary. The land along the shore rising rather abruptly a mile
inland, abounds in deep ravines, sporting slender streams whirling
and eddying over the shale rock of which the base of the soil is
formed. From thence to the summit ridge, the rolling surface rises
gradually to an elevation of six hundred feet above the lake, the
soil, a rich clay loam, forming pleasant-situations and beautiful
landseapes.
From the summit ridge still eastward, the declivities appear
in rapid succession, often from fifty to one hundred and fifty feet,
to Little Salmon Creek. The east branch, Big Salmon Creek, is
divided from the west branch by beautifully rolling lands, exten-
sively known as the “Indian Fields” the site of an Indian village.
The eastern part of the town may be regarded as the third undulat-
ing swell of land, still rising from the lake; the soil predominating
to a rich, friable, sandy loam.
Genoa village, on Big Salmon Creek, contains two churches, two
flouring mills, machine shop, one hotel, a village school, a printing
office and several stores, and a vigorous grain and country produce
trade. Population about three hundred. Northville (King’s
Ferry) four and a half miles west of Genoa, in the northwestern
part of the town, has two churches, one hotel, one school, and several
stores. Population two hundred and fifty. Five Comers, contains
a church, a school, and about fifty dwellings; East Genoa and
Little Hollow are hamlets. The town has two landings on the lake,
King’s Ferry and Atwaters. The pioneer history of Genoa has
been almost wholly left to pass away with the heroic fathers and
mothers, whose memory alone is the stereotype whence we might
print, were they still accessible, interesting and reliable sketches,
now gone forever. The following notes of the first settlers have
been carefully sifted out of the traditions obtained from more than
a score of the “oldest inhabitants,” now living in the town. All of
27418
History of Cayuga County
them are sons and daughters of honored pioneer settlers, several
were youthful witnesses of the “first ground broken” in their
respective parts of the town. John Clark from Washington County,
N. Y. was the first settler within the present limits of the town in
1790.	Ebenezer Hopkins and Joseph Hadley settled over in what
is now Lansing, in the same year; also the Cases, Gilberts, Thurstons
and Jonathan Brownell, and Thomas Manchester settled north of the
present town line (now Ledyard) in 1790. Ebin Guthrie, John
King, Nathaniel Walker and others came from the Wyoming valley
in 1791. David King had first come to Springport, in 1790, where
David King, Jr. was bom December 16, 1790, the first white child
born in the “Settlements.” The next year 1791, Governor George
Clinton ordered the “squatters” all driven off the Springport Reser-
vation, by a sheriff and posse of fifty men. King and some twelve
or thirteen other families were turned adrift and their houses burned.
Several of them settled over in Genoa; King early in the fall of
1791.	Samuel Clark came on to “Indian Fields” over in Venice
and his son William was one of the first on the “Fields’ ’ in
Genoa. William Clark came from Washington County, N. Y.,
early in the spring of 1792, William Miller Clark at the same
time; Daniel Heath also. John Kelsey and his son Ansel from
Susquehanna came as early as 1791, and bought two hundred
acres where the Presbyterian church in Genoa village now stands,
Gamaliel Terry, a soldier in the Revolution, came in 1792, from
Salisbury, Conn. Captain Robert Moon who was taken prisoner
in the War of the Revolution and sent to England with Colonel
Ethan Allen, came in 1793—and drew two military lots;
five sons and two daughters came with him. Benjamin Close,
John Moe, Jonathan Mead, John Weeks, and Daniel Wilson,
came in the same year (1793) and probably the first Presbyterian
church of the town was organized soon after at Northville. The
years 1790-1-2 and 3 had brought twelve families into the town.
In 1794, there were thirty-four families in the town. Jabez Brad-Towns of the County
419
ley, the first settler at Northville had come from Lee, Berkshire
County, Mass., in 1794, and Dan Bradley was bom to him May 1,
1794. Dan was the first male child bom in the town; Herman
Bradley, Elnathan Close, Israel Mead, and Samuel Wilson came
in the same year. Paul Barger and William Jessup from England;
the Hendersons, Armstrongs,. Smith, Tidds, Barreses, Thorps,
Woods, Palmers, Wilsons, Bothwells and others came in Lyons,
from 1794 to 1800.
LEDYARD.
Ledyard was formed from Scipio January 30, i823;-and was
named after Benjamin Ledyard agent and clerk for the apportion-
ment of lands in the Military Tract. It lies on the east bank of
Cayuga Lake southwest of the center of the county. The surface
inclines toward the west, its extreme east border being elevated
five hundred or six hundred feet above the lake level. Generally
the hill slopes are gradual and the streams are small, rapid brooks,
the principal one being Paine’s Creek which flows through a narrow
ravine in the south part. The soil is very fertile, being a sandy,
clayey loam.
Aurora village on the east bank of Cayuga Lake was incorpo-
rated May 5, 1837, and is beautifully situated, and commands a
view of the most picturesque portions of the lake, which here
widens out to about four miles. Among all the villages of this
section of the state which are celebrated for their beauty, there is
nothing to surpass the little village of Aurora. It contains some of
the most elegant country residences west of the Hudson and all that
taste and wealth, aided by the lavish hand of Nature can do to
beautify the place has been done. With its charming bay, beautiful
walks and drives, splendid mansions and cultivated society, we
know of no more delightful retreat in the whole circle of states. Here
began the first settlement of Cayuga County and, around it as a
charmed spot, the best influences of civilization have lingered and
lavished their countless blessings.420
History of Cayuga County
Aurora was the first county seat of Onondaga County and in
1799, when Cayuga County was organized, the Court of Common
Pleas was held at Cayuga Ferry (later Bridge); but in 1804 the
county seat was moved back to Aurora, and here the first court
house was erected. It was made of half a dozen posts set in the
ground with poles resting on them, covered with brush. The first
house in Cayuga County was erected by Captain Franklin and every
settler within a distance of fifty miles assisted in the undertaking.
They numbered thirteen and were assisted by several Indians. The
house was situated a little north of the old residence of Jonathan
Richmond and was about fourteen feet square.
Jonathan Richmond settled in Aurora in 1791, Walter Wood>
in 1794, Eleazur Bamham in 1799, and Christopher Morgan in 1800-
The Cayuga Academy was founded in 1799, though not chartered
and built till 1801. Under the direction of Salem Town this
academy afterward became the pride of the place, and was one of
the principal institutions of learning in Western New York. In
1798, Mr. Morgan opened his store which, passing into the possession
of his sons at his death was by them conducted, and still later and
up to the present time by his grandsons. It is the oldest mercantile
house west of the Hudson.
In 1803, an old Indian named John, murdered Mr. Crane, one
of the oldest settlers of Seneca County; and after a hard struggle
was captured and had his trial at Aurora in 1804, before Judge
Tompkins. He was sentenced to be hung. The sentence was car-
ried into execution, notwithstanding his desire to be shot. This
was the first case of capital punishment in Cayuga County. In
1797, the Free and Accepted Masons formed an organization and
in 1819 they erected a fine lodge building. In 1817, Roswell
Towsley built a mill in the village, and in the same year the
first church was built. About 1822 the first steamer commenced
its trips on Cayuga Lake, adding new life and vigor to the place.Towns of the County
421
Millard Fillmore received his education in Aurora and then
commenced the study of law, with Judge Walter Wood. The vil-
lage has had the honor of being the residence of such men as
Salem Town (of old time spelling book and reader memory),
Palmer the sculptor, Henry Wells, founder of the express business,
Honorable E. B. Morgan, Rev. Dr. Cuyler, the eminent Brooklyn
divine, Dr. Alexander Thompson, a name well known to the hor-
ticulturists of New York and a number of others of later date.
“Wells College,” the gift of Henry Wells, Esq., to the cause of
female education, beautifully situated in the south part of the
village, was commenced in April, 1866, and completed in 1868.
It is built in the Norman style of architecture with tucked joints,
fourteen gables, and two towers. The entrance is through a fine
portico, with groined arches and the students’ rooms, parlors, etc.
are large and convenient. A fine view of the bay and lake may be
had from nearly every window in the building.
On August 9, 1888, the main hall was destroyed by fire. This
calamity which seemed irreparable at first soon proved itself a
blessing in disguise. The real strength and real life of any college
is best seen in the character and devotion of its students, graduates
and friends. And in this respect, Wells never appeared to better
advantage than at the time of this disaster. Scarcely any of the
old students failed to return at the opening of the term in September,
and of the new ones enrolled, the few who voluntarily withdrew
were nearly all in the preparatory grade. For nearly two years
the devotion of teachers, students and friends, carried the college
through the most critical period of its existence, and planted it on
firmer and more generous foundations than it had ever had before.
The Village Hotel was chartered by the trustees and re-christened
the Wayside Inn. The original Morgan homestead was brought
into service as the Tabard Inn. The palatial residence of Mrs.
Henry Morgan was occupied for the time as the Annex and Morgan
Hall was made to answer most of the needs of instruction.422
History of Cayuga County
The new building which stands on the site of the original edifice
was commenced soon after the fire. It was so nearly completed
by the spring of 1890, that the commencement exercises for that
year were held in its music hall, and in the following September
it was fully occupied for college purposes. Complete as was the
first structure in all its appointments, the second still better serves
the purposes for which it was built, since it was planned not only
in the light of twenty years' experience and with the specific aims
of Wells fully in view, but after a careful study of the equipment
and working of the best institutions for women in other parts of
the country. Its cost, which with its furnishings, was upwards of
$160,000, was met by the generous contribution of friends.
The village was incorporated May 4, 1837, but chiefly to secure
the name and prevent its incorporation by Aurora, Erie County.
The churches are: The Presbyterian, Methodist Episcopal, St.
Paul's Episcopal and St. Patrick's Catholic.
MONTEZUMA.
Montezuma was formed from Mentz, April 8, 1859. It lies on
the west border of the county, in the northwest angle of the great
easterly bend of the Seneca River The great swamp known as
the Montezuma Marshes, extends along the river. Cayuga Brook
is the principal stream. Brine springs exist along the Seneca River.
The soil is mainly a clayey loam.
Montezuma village is in the west part of the town, on Seneca
River and is the point of junction of the Cayuga and Seneca canals,
Salt was made at Montezuma as early as 1798; but about 1840
the business was abandoned in consequence of the brine being too
weak to compete successfully with the springs of Salina and Syra-
cuse. But since that time stronger springs have been discovered
and the manufacture of salt resumed irregularly. The springs are
the property of the State.George Morgan WardTowns of the County
423
Settlement was first made in 1798, by Peter Clark, from New
York City, Comfort Tyler, and Abram Morgan who settled at
Montezuma for the purpose of manufacturing salt. The first church
was formed in 1819, and the “Church of Aurelius and Mentz” was
adopted as its name. The first pastor was Reverend Ichabod Clark
who was voted twenty-five dollars for his “labors among us in the
Gospel. ” The church took early and strong ground against the
practice of dancing, for at a meeting held March 9, 1820, the com-
mittee voted adversely and fellowship was withdrawn for indulging
in that pastime. February 21, 1820, it was “voted that we believe
it to be a disaplinable evil for our brethren to attend a Free Mason
Lodge. ”
St. Michael’s Church (Catholic) was organized about 1865.
Montezuma sent over one hundred men into the field during
the Rebellion of whom many died. La Due Watting and Mosher
died in Andersonville Prison, and Franklin Reed, Harmon A. Mor-
gan, George White, Henry Mink and others were slain in battle.
Most counties have what is termed “The Banner Town,” but
to Old Cayuga is left the unique distinction of having the “Flag
Town” of the State. Its location on the edge of what is called
the Montezuma Marshes enables it to make the greatest flag
display to be seen in any of the inland towns of the country. In
fact they have flags to bum during the season of their grand
illuminations which are seen for miles around.
MENTZ.
Mentz was formed from Aurelius as Jefferson, March 30, 1802,
and its name was changed April 6, 1808. Montezuma and a part
of Throop were taken off in 1859. The town lies northwest of the
center of the county on the Seneca River, and its surface is generally
flat, with a few low- sand ridges near the south border. A swampy
region borders on the river. Owasco Outlet is the principal stream,
and flows through the center. Red shale, gypsum, and limestone424
History of Cayuga County
constitute the underlying rocks. The soil is a clayey, sandy,
gravelly loam.
Port Byron (twin sister village of Weedsport), three miles away,
is near the center of the town on the Owasco Outlet and Erie Canal,
one mile south of the New York Central Railroad, and seven miles
north of Auburn, with which it is connected by stage. It is situated
in a valley on whose surrounding hills some of the primitive trees
are yet standing. It occupies the greater part of lot 73, in the
former township of Aurelius, that lot having been the purchase of
two brothers, Aboliah and Elijah Buck, who settled on it in 1798.
Among other early settlers were Philip King and Seth Higby, from
Saratoga County, on lot 72, and Josiah Partridge from Massachu-
setts,; on lot 73, in 1797; Daniel Loveland from Vermont on lot 49,
in 1799; Peter Ransier and Moses Lent from Owego on lot 62, in
1800; James Dixon, Joseph Hamilton, and Ira Hopkins from Wash-
ington County and Caleb Hopkins from New Jersey on lot 85, from
1800 to 1804.
The chief natural advantage of lot 73, now Port Byron, was the
excellent water power afforded by Owasco Outlet, which is a never-
failing stream which here in its course through this lot has a fall from
ten to fifteen feet, constituting the only water powrer in the village.
This valuable water privilege was soon transferred by the Buck
brothers to one Akin, on condition that he should erect a mill
thereon. The condition was fulfilled and the mill duly put in
operation, whereupon a thriving settlement was formed under the
name of Buckville.
The Erie Canal was built about the year 1815, and its course
was directly through this lot, from east to west. This was con-
sidered a grand enterprise, and such indeed it w;as, and it gave a
new impetus to the thriving little town of Buckville, as it did to
many others along its course. The village soon became one of the
best grain markets in that section of the state. Storage and for-
warding houses, dry goods stores, groceries, and mills soon sprungTowns of the County
425
up and the population began to increase. In 1825, the name of
the place was changed to Port Byron and a village charter was
granted it under that name March 2, 1837. Churches and school-
houses were put up and the population increased to 1,500.
In 1828, Mr. Beach settled in the place, purchased the water
power on the Outlet, and built a raceway two miles in length
thereby securing a head of twenty feet. Mr. Beach put up a mill
with ten run of stone, capable of manufacturing five hundred
barrels of flour per day; this was then and for a number of years
thereafter, the largest and best constructed mill in the state. The
building was one hundred and twenty feet long, fifty feet wide,
with a storehouse attached, eighty by forty feet and an overshot
wheel twenty-two feet in diameter. It was situated on the
west side of the Outlet and on the south bank of the canal, and had
a branch canal under a portion of the storehouse, which afforded
great facilities for loading and unloading boats. The building cost
$60,000, and employed twenty to thirty hands. A cooper shop,
two hundred feet long, built of stone, was connected with it and
supplied a part of the barrels used by the mill. The employment
which this enterprise furnished, and the traffic which it built up was
of great importance to the prosperity of the village. In 1833, the
place contained three churches, nine dry goods stores and four
taverns.
The direct line of the Central Railroad, from Syracuse to Roch-
ester, was built in 1851 and operated detrimentally to the interests
of the place, by dividing its trade with other towns along the route
and carrying much of it to Syracuse. About 1856, the enlargement
of the Erie Canal was determined on. A part of the inhabitants
of Port Byron advocated enlargement on the existing line, while
others insisted it should take a new route through another
portion of the village. The latter were finally successful and a new
channel was cut directly through the most beautiful part of the
village, destroying much of its beauty and injuring its business to426
History of Cayuga County
some extent. The canal is now seventy feet wide, seven feet deep,
and its banks are laid up with round stone all through the line,
while in the village they are faced with cut stone. There are four
iron bridges spanning it at this place, and there is here a large
double lock with a lift of about twelve feet.
The first school was established in 1800. In 1857 a charter was
obtained for a school under the title of the ‘ ‘ Port Byron Free School
and Academy” and in 1859, a lot of one and a half acres of land
was purchased and a substantial brick building, sixty by fifty feet
and three stories high, was erected capable of accommodating four
hundred or more pupils.
It cannot be definitely ascertained when the first religious
services were held in town; but judging from the following extract
from Spofford's Gazetteer in 1824, it must have been at a very early
day, of a primitive character, and under somewhat romantic cir-
cumstances.
“ There is a very large hollow buttonwood tree in this town in
which Elder Smith preached to thirty-five persons at a time, and
says the tree could have held fifteen more; he says its circumference
three feet from the ground is thirty-three feet; and a correspondent
informs me it measures more than seventeen feet in diameter.”
The First Presbyterian Church of the town of Mentz, located
in Port Byron, was organized about the beginning of the present
century as early as 1801, as a Congregational church, and was
changed to the Presbyterian form of government in 1811, when the
Presbytery of Cayuga was formed, and it was not until the year
1843 “that they had become settled in a permanent home of their
own when their present edifice was dedicated.
The First Baptist Church was organized May 18, 1830, with a
membership of forty-eight. The first pastor was Elder John
Jefferies, who continued his labors about two years.
The Methodist Episcopal Church was incorporated June 10,1850.
St. John’s Roman Catholic Church was organized about 1858.Towns of the County
427
Henry Wells, the noted expressman and later founder of Wells
College, Aurora, came into town with his father's family after the
opening of the canal and for some three years mended shoes for
the residents of Port Byron. The Wells family lived in a small
wood-colored house, since raised, repaired and modernized. Henry
remained in town about three years, and for years after he was
bank messenger on Hudson River steamboats between Albany and
New York.
Brigham Young the Mormon president was an old-time resident
of the 2o’s, doing all around job work for a dollar a day, also repairer
of old furniture in a little shop in the rear of his house.
MORAVIA.
Moravia was formed from Sempronius, March 20, 1833. It
lies in the southeast part of the county, upon Owasco Lake and
Inlet. The surface consists of a rolling upland, broken by the
deep and narrow valleys of Owasco Inlet and its branches.
These valleys are three hundred to four hundred feet below the hill
summits, and are bordered by deep and in some places, perpen-
dicular sides. Upon the streams in the ravines are several beau-
tiful cascades furnishing abundance of water power. Mill Brook
below its junction with Trout Brook flows over a precipice eighty
feet high. Upon the east tributary of the Inlet, near the south
border is a cascade known as Dry Falls, from the circumstance
that in the summer the stream ceases to flow. A little below the
cascade is a circular recess in the face of a perpendicular precipice,
forty-two feet deep, and surrounded by a limestone arch fifty-five
feet high and about one hundred and twenty-five feet long. Upon
this arch rises a lofty hill, covered with primitive forest trees. A
large spring of carburetted hydrogen gas, highly inflammable, exists
on the lowlands near the lake. Among the hills the soil is a gravelly
loam, mixed with clay and in the valleys it consists of a rich loam
compound of gravel and disintregrative slate and limestone. In428
History of Cayuga County
this town is one of those numerous valleys which are a peculiar
characteristic of the surface formation of Central New York. From
its contiguity to the neighboring lake it has been long known as
Owasco Flats. The land is elevated some three hundred or four
hundred feet at the head of the lake, and the decline to the valley
is in some places so precipitous as to make the passage of vehicles
impossible. The Flats stretches southward from the lake for a
distance of five miles when the valley narrows into a winding ravine
thus continuing for many miles, occasionally expanding its confines
to give place to a quiet hamlet. These fiats were partially culti-
vated by the Indians prior to white settlement, and still bear traces
of ancient occupation.
In this valley, three miles southeast of Owasco Lake is situated
the pleasant village of Moravia It is located on Mill Brook whose
rapids and cascades furnish at this point an abundant water power.
As early as 1789, several settlers from adjoining townships came
to the valley, then mainly a rich meadow, and obtained a good
supply of hay. Among them were Gideon Pitts, and Jonathan
Brownell, from Genoa, and Jonathan Richmond of Ledyard. The
following year the same persons visited the place and planted about
eight acres of com, and afterwards cut another crop of hay. But
the first permanent settler was John Stoyel, an enterprising New
England farmer who moved to the valley in 1791, and afterwards
purchased a large tract of land including the site of the present
village of Moravia. Three years after he wras followed by his
brother Amos, Winslow Perry, and Jabez L. Bottom. In 1794,
they were followed by Gershom Morse and Moses Little, and in 1795,
by Cotton Skinner. The first birth was that of Seth, son of Winslow
and Rachael Perry, in 1794; the first marriage that of Jonathan
Eldridge and Sally Perry, in 1795; and'the first death that of
Cynthia Wright, April 5, 1796. The first school was taught by Levi
Goodrich, in 1797. Zadoc Cady was the first inn-keeper, in 1801,
and David Wright the first storekeeper. John Stoyel built theTowns of the County
429
first mill. In the town of Sempronius, a district ten miles square,
in January 1794, were twenty-six persons; in 1810, 3,137; in 1820,
5.033-
In 1810, the village contained six frame houses, and about one
hundred inhabitants. It increased about one hundred in the suc-
ceeding twelve years, and in 1833, there were over four hundred
inhabitants. John Knapp established a large tannery in the place
in 1830, and a large cotton mill was built by a company in the
following year, both of which contributed greatly to the material
prosperity of the place. In 1833 the village suffered from an inun-
dation which destroyed considerable valuable property. About
the year 1818, Jethro Wood, a resident of Moravia, constructed
the first plow ever made of cast iron. Elias Rogers was at
that time engaged in making steelyards in the village for which
he cast weights, melting the iron over a blacksmith’s fire in a kettle
fixed for the purpose. Wood learned of this and called on Rogers
to make a set of patterns for his newly invented plow. Rogers
complied and afterwards yielded reluctantly to Mr. Wood’s impor-
tunities to cast him a plow. The thing was considered foolish and
visionary—as have been most of the great reforms in mechanics—
by all who heard of it, but the plow was finally cast over a black-
smith’s fire, on the premises of Elias Rogers. It was tried on a piece
of land since owned by Abel Adams and was found to be a suc-
cess, so far as the general principles involved in its construction
were concerned. From this humble effort sprang up a large and
flourishing manufacturing business, which became an important
feature in the manufacturing interests of Moravia and the country
at large. Arrangements were made whereby Mr. Rogers supplied
the inventor with plow castings for a year or two, having built a
furnace near the stone mill bridge, the machinery being driven by
water drawn from the sawmill dam of Deacon John Stoyell.
Getting into some difficulty regarding the water privilege, he re-
moved to Montville, built a log furnace, and began with Mr. George430
History of Cayuga County
Lathrop the manufacture of plows. This was the first regular
establishment for the manufacture of cast iron plows, of which
any account is given. This building was soon burned down and
another one put up on the same site, and afterwards the location
was changed to the foot of Montville Falls. Here the plow busi-
ness began to .be made a distinct branch of business, thousands
being turned out annually. They sold at fifteen to eighteen
dollars apiece, Wood receiving one dollar on each plow. This
indefatigable firm continued their business up to 1833, when
in the fearful storm of July in that year the establishment
was swept away and the business connection of this firm with
it ceased.
The village has several times suffered from floods, but still has
held steadily on its way and is now the most important place in
that section of the county. It contains two banks, four churches,
machine shops, two good hotels, a printing office, an agricultural
society, and several blocks of business houses.
Here are the names of some of the most prominent families :
the Wrights, the Parkers, the Thomases, the Days, the Laws, and
others from nearby towns who later found it pleasant to
dwell among the Moravians.
One mile east of Moravia is the little village of Montville, where
the stream has a fall of sixty feet furnishing a good water power
that has been improved to some extent.
NILES.
Niles was formed from Sempronius, March 20, 1883. It lies
southeast of the center of the county, between 0wasco and Skane-
ateles lakes. The surface consists mainly of a hilly and rolling
upland, whose extreme summits lie seven hundred feet above
Owasco Lake. Toward Owasco the declivities are gradual, but
toward Skaneateles they are more abrupt. Dutch Hollow Brook
flows north through near the center and is bordered by steep,Towns of the County
431
high banks. On the highest point of land, three miles east of
Owasco Lake, is a quarry of superior flagging stone. The soil is
a gravelly and clayey loam.
Kelloggsville, in the southeast part contains two churches
and about forty dwellings. New Hope, in the southeast part
contains a church, grist mill, sawmill, and about a dozen dwell-
ings; Niles in the north part, West Niles, Twelve Comers, and
Nine Comers, are hamlets.
The first settlements were made in 1793, the earliest settlers
being Garret Connover, and his sons John and Aaron, Isaac Selover,
Janies Brinkerhoff, and William Bowen. The first child bom
was Sally Ammerman in 1798.
IRA.
Ira was formed from Cato, March 16, 1821, and a part re-annexed
to that town in 1824. It is located on the east border of the county,
north of the center. The streams are creeks and small brooks and
the surface is rolling, the summits of the ridges rising seventy to
seventy-five feet above the valleys and two hundred and twenty-
five to two hundred and seventy-five feet above the level of Lake
Ontario. Red sandstone underlies the soil, which is very pro-
ductive, sandy loam.
Ira Centre, the only village, contains two churches and about
one hundred and fifty inhabitants.
The first settlements were made by David, Eleazur and Andrew
Stockwell, three brothers, from Whitehall, who settled on lot 58;
William Patterson on lot 32, and Henry Conrad (a German)
on the same lot, all in 1805. Among others who were early settled
in this town, we may mention Daniel Parker, on lot 69, John C.
Bames, and Reverend Silas Bames on lot 70 and Zadoc Bames on
lot 83, all from Marcellus, and Edward Wood from Sennett, on lot
89; in 1802, Archibald and Charles Green, on lot 70; in 1803, Eli
Mattison and Abraham Wiley, from Connecticut on lot 34; Henry432
History op Cayuga County
Ferris and his son Augustus, from Saratoga County on lot 71 in
1804 and Thomas Barnes from Washington County at Ira Comers
in 1805. David Stockwell kept the first inn, in 1800; Dr. Squire, the
first physician, taught the first school in 1805; Samuel and Israel
Phelps kept the first store at Ira Comers in 1813, and John
Hooker erected the first grist mill in 1818. The first child bom
was Polly, daughter of David Stockwell, in April, 1802. The
first marriage was that of Eleazur Stockwell and Margaret Noble,
March 7, 1802, and the first death that of the wife of Reverend
Silas Bames, in 1802. The first church, Congregational, was
formed at Ira Comers, July 7, 1807, by Reverend Francis
Pomeroy. Reverend Silas Bames was the first preacher.
SCIPIO.
Scipio was one of the original towns, having been formed March
5, 1794. Sempronious was taken off in 1799; a part of Marcellus
(Onondaga County) in 1804. Ledyard, Venice and a part of Spring-
port in 1823. It is located on the west shore of Owasco Lake,
south of the center of the county and has a rolling surface, the high-
est summits being five hundred feet above the lake, a steep bluff
twenty to fifty feet high extends along the lake and from its sum-
mit the land slopes gradually upward for about a mile. The streams
are nothing but mere brooks and the soil is a clayey loam.
Scipio Center, contains two churches and about one hundred
inhabitants; Scipioville near the west line is about the same size
as also is Sherwoods near the southwest comer. The Square in
the northwest part, and Bolts Comers, in the south part are
hamlets.
In 1790, the first settlements were made, Elisha Durkee, Henry
Watkins, Gilbert and Alanson Tracy, Samuel Branch, Ebenezer
Witter, and Gideon Allen, being the pioneers. The first child bom
was Betsy Durkee, December 9, 1790. The first marriage was that
of William Allen and Betsy Watkins, June 25, 1793. WilliamTowns of the County
433
Daniels taught the first school in 1798, and Doctor Strong kept the
first store in 1808. The first religious services were held by Elder
David Irish in 1794 and the first church (Baptist), was formed the
same year.
FLEMING.
Fleming was taken from Aurelius March 28, 1823, and named
after Colonel (later General by courtesy) George Fleming an officer
of the Revolution, who had settled in Scipio, died in 1820 and
was buried in the North Street Cemetery, Auburn. It lies south
of the center of the county, and west of the foot of Owasco Lake.
It has a rolling surface, inclining toward the north and east. The
slope of the lake banks continues upward about three-fourths of a
mile. The highest parts of the town are one hundred to one
hundred and fifty feet above the lake and eight hundred to one
thousand feet above tide. Cram and Wheeler creeks are the main
streams. The soil is a gravelly loam with occasional intermixture
of clay and sand.
Fleming, near the central part, is a small village. Owasco Lake
is a Lehigh Valley railroad station.
The first settlements were made in 17 90-1; among the early
settlers were Bergaman Irish, Joseph Grover, Edward Wheeler,
Ichabod and Abel Wilkinson, and James Harrington. The first
birth was that of Aurelius Wheeler, in 1791, and the first death that
of Mrs. West, in 1792. John Herring taught the first school, in
1794; Abel Wilkinson kept the first inn, in 1792, and Joseph Grover
kept the first store in 1797. The first religious services were held
by Elder Daniel Irish, (Baptist) about the year 1794.
SEMPRONIUS.
Sempronius was formed March 9, 1799, and a part annexed to
Marcellus (Onondaga County), March. 24, 1804, and Moravia and
Niles, March, 1833. It lies on Skaneateles Lake, in the southeast
28434
History of Cayuga County
part of the county. From the valley formed by the lake and Inlet’
the hills rise abruptly to a height of eight hundred to one thousand
feet, and from their summits the surface spreads out into a rolling
and hilly upland, the highest points being seventeen hundred feet
above tide. Mill Brook flowing west, Bear Swamp Brook north
and Fall Brook south, have worn deep valleys in the deep deposits
and shale. The soil is a good quality of clayey, sandy and gravelly
loam, mixed with disintegrated slate and limestone.
Dresserville on Mill Brook, in the south part, containing about
thirty-five dwellings, is a small village. Glen Haven, is a celebrated
water cure establishment near the head of Skaneateles Lake. It
is beautifully situated in the midst of romantic scenery, and is
supplied with pure, soft spring water.
The first settlement was made in 1794, by Ezekiel Sayles, Jotham
Bassett and Seth Burgess. Benjamin Sayles was the first child
bom, in 1794. The first marriage was that of Samuel Rin and
Matilda Summerston, and the first death that of Samuel Rin.
Cyrus Powers taught the first school in 1800; John Husted kept
the first inn and store, and Artemas Dresser erected the first mill.
The first church (Baptist) was formed February 29, 1798, Reverend
John Lasure being the first preacher.
LOCKE
Locke was formed from Milton (now Genoa) February 20’
1802; Summer Hill was set off in 1831. It lies in the south part
of the county, on the high ridges bordering on Owasco Inlet, which
flows through it near the center, in a narrow valley bordered by
hills ranging from two hundred to four hundred feet above its level.
The summits widen out into a beautiful undulating region, with a
mean elevation of one thousand feet above tide. The soil consists
of a gravelly loam, interspersed with clay.
Milan village three miles south of Moravia on a branch of Owasco
Inlet, near the center of the town, is a smart little hamlet containingTowns of the County
435
several stores and mechanics’ shops, and two churches. Centerville
is a hamlet. Ezra Carpenter, James Cook, James Durell, and
Solomon Love made the first settlement, in 1790. A daughter of
James Durell was the first child bom The first store was kept at
Milan by Aaron Kellogg; James Cook was the first innkeeper; Mr.
Durell erected the first grist mill, and Lyman Brown the first factory,
in 1810. The first Methodist Episcopal church was organized
in 1819. Traces of an Indian burial ground are still visible, cover-
ing about two acres of ground, between two deep gulfs, half a mile
west of Milan. The graves are distributed in rows east and west.
This is one of the very few relics of the aborigines extant in this
historic region.
OWASCO.
Owasco was formed from Aurelius, March 30, 1802. It lies
southeast of the center of the county, and east of the foot of Owasco
Lake. The surface is rolling, with a northeasterly inclination. It
slopes gradually upward from the lake, till the highest summits
reach an elevation of five hundred feet. The only streams are
Miller’s Brook in the north part and Owasco Creek (Dutch Hollow
Brook) flowing west across the south part. The soil consists of a
clayey loam.
This town was, during the latter years of his life, the home of
Ex-Governor Enos T. Throop, who lived to the advanced age of
eighty-three in the enjoyment of health and activity crowned with
the clustering honors of a long life of public usefulness, after most
of his political compeers had passed from the scenes of earth.
Along in the 70’s he died, and was buried in St. Peter’s church-
yard, Auburn, a short time before the laying away in the nearby
Fort Hill Cemetery of another Aubumian, William H. Seward,
another ex-govemor of the Empire State.
“Willow Brook” the old Throop homestead which had years
before been deeded to E. T. Throop Martin, a nephew of the ex-436
History of Cayuga County
governor, has long been historic ground, for it was a sort of Mecca
for some of our nation’s most eminent men have entered in and
trod its grounds and floors. Notably in one day in the late 6o’s
Secretary Seward piloted President Andrew Johnson’s presidential
party of which were General Ulysses S. Grant, Admiral Farragut,
General Sheridan, General Custer, and eminent Americans, the
Mexican minister, and several other noted foreigners. Here Martin
Van Buren, once president of the United States, used to come up
to see Enos of “old chum” memory, and in later years it was the
home of Generals Upton and Alexander, and other officers of the
regular army whose names are conspicious in Civil War history.
Owasco village in the southeast comer contains three churches,
one Reformed Dutch, one Methodist Episcopal, and one Baptist,
about seventy-five houses, a town hall, school-house, but no tavern.
It is a pleasant village with population made up mostly of retired
farmers who have moved in to spend their last days.
The first settlements were made in 1792, the pioneers being
Samuel and Benjamin De Ruy, Moses Cartwright, and Jacob and
Roeliff Brinkerhoff. The first inn was kept by Cornelius Delmater,
in 1800; James Burrows kept the first store, in 1807; and David
Bovier built the first mill, in 1798. The first church was formed
in 1798, by Reverend Abram Brokaw
SENNETT
The town of Sennett was formed from Brutus, March 19, 1827,
and was named from Judge Daniel Sennett, an early pioneer. A
portion of Throop was taken off in 1859. It lies on the east border
af the county, near the center, and has a level or gently undulating
surface, the ridges rising in long gradual slopes, fifty to one hundred
feet above the valleys. Small brooks are the only streams. The
soil is a deep, fertile, clayey and sandy loam, and is under a high
state of cultivation.Towns of the County
437
Sennett village is a station on the Auburn branch of the New
York Central Railroad, and contains two churches and about fifty
houses. This village was the early home of two of Cayuga County’s
millionaires, (Dr. Sylvester Willard and Lyman Soule), who became
residents and later public benefactors of Auburn.
The first settlement was made in 1794, by Ebenezer Healy,
Joseph Atwell, Thomas Morley and Thomas Morley Jr., from
Connecticut, on lot 21. Judge Daniel Sennett, Amos Bennett,
Jacob, Rufus, and Daniel Sheldon from Connecticut, settled on lot
99, in 1795. In 1797, Jacob Hicks, a Revolutionary soldier, having
drawn lot 99, settled on it. Benjamin Miller, also a Revolutionary
soldier, settled on lot 17, and Jabez Remmington and Hezekiah
Freeman from Vermont, on lots 21 and 10. The first child bom
was Sally Smith, in 1795; the first marriage that of Nehemiah Smith
and Mindevill Morley, in 1794, and the first death that of Thomas
Morley, in 1795. Betsey Morley taught the first school, in 1795;
Joseph Atwell kept the first inn, in the same year, and Sheldon &
Lathrop kept the first store
The first church (Baptist) was formed September 12, 1799, by
Reverend Manasseh French who was the first preacher.
The First Presbyterian Church was organized in 1805 as the
First Congregational Church of Brutus.
SPRINGPORT
Springport was formed from Scipio and Aurelius, January 30,
1823. It lies on the east shore of Cayuga Lake southwest of the
center of the county. The surface rises in gradual slopes from the
lake shore to the eastern border where it attains an elevation of
four hundred to five hundred feet. Valuable beds of waterlime and
plaster and limestone quarries exist on the shore of the lake and
along the ravines, and are extensively worked. Two immense
springs flow from the ground in the village, , furnishing a valuable
water power, and giving the name to both town and village. They438
History of Cayuga County
are about ten rods apart, and from the waters of the larger a mill
pond covering several acres has been formed, affording water power
sufficient to run a flouring mill with six run of stone, a plaster mill,
sawmill and various other machinery. The water of the smaller
spring propels the machinery of a planing mill, sawmill, and tannery.
The soil is of a superior quality, being of a sandy and gravelly loam,
in places mixed with clay.
The lake is so deep as to rarely freeze over, and the warmth of
the water modifies the intensity of the winter frosts, essentially.
Both climate and soil are admirably adapted to fruit growing to
which considerable attention is paid.
The culture of grapes is carried on in some parts of the town with
signal success.
Union Springs village, is beautifully situated on Cayuga Lake
south of the center of the town and on its western border, and
derives its name from the springs before referred to. Much specu-
lation has been indulged in as to the origin of these springs, but
nothing satisfactory and conclusive has yet been determined as to
their source. It has been thought that they come from Owasco
Lake, which is considerably higher than Cayuga Lake, but geologists
claim that the formation of the rocks in that locality will not admit
of such a theory. A singular circumstance exists in the fact that
from two to four miles east of Cayuga Lake, large streams have
been found forty-five feet under ground running from east to west.
Edward Richardson dammed up the north spring about 1790;
and a log grist mill was built there not long after; but the other
spring was not used until several years thereafter.
The view of the town approaching toward the lake is remarkably
beautiful as also is the viewr approaching from the lake; opposite
the village lies the little island of Prontenac.
The island is three-quarters of a mile from the village, contains
about an acre of land and was used as a place of burial by the
Indians who inhabited the country around. Street has immortal-Towns of the County
439
ized the little isle in one of his most musical and delightful poems
entitled ‘ ‘ Frontenac. ’ ’
Sweet Sylvan Lake! one single gem
Is in thy liquid diadem;
No sister hath this little Isle
To give its beauty smile for smile,
With it to hear the blue birds sing—
“Wake, leaves and flowers, here comes the spring”
With it to weave for summers tread,
Mosses beneath and bowers overhead,
With it to flash to gorgeous skies
The opal pomp of autumn's dyes,
And when the winter’s tempests blow
To shrink beneath his robes of snow.
Frontenac was deeded to Union Springs by the Commissioners
of the Land Office acting under the provisions of the legislative
enactment, on condition that it should be kept and maintained as a
park and pleasure ground; relics of Indian warfare and the chase,
with many human human bones, are still found on it. Not long
after the deed was granted the villagers held a public meeting and
settled a plan, for the improvement of the island. The underbrush
was cleared away, gravel walks made and seats provided, making
it a charming retreat.
Like most of the early setled towns in the county this owed its
location and subsequent growth to its water power. The first mill
was erected about the time Hardenbergh’s mills were put up in
Auburn, and previous to this some of the early settlers had to go
eighty miles to get their grists ground. The first permanent settle-
ment was made by James Carr, Frederick Gearhart, Thomas Thomp-
son, William S. Burling, Dr. John Mosher, Dr. Stephen Mosher,
John Earl, William Barker, and Captain Cozzens, all of whom440
History of Cayuga County
settled about the same time, 1800. The first school in town was
kept near Union Springs by Anos Comely; Thomas Collins was the
first innkeeper, and Laban Hoskins and Walter Low were the first
storekeepers, in or about 1810.
Mr. Winnegar located in the place in 1810, and in 1830 started
a factory. Five years later a woolen mill was put up on the south
pond. From the date of the first settlement the growth of the
town became sure and steady, owing to its water power, and the
large gypsum and limestone quarries near by.
Sometime previous to 1835, George Howland of New Bedford
erected the flouring mill at the north pond. The mill is built of
limestone, four stories high with six run of stone; adjoining it is a
sawmill and a plaster mill, the three being connected with the lake
by a canal so that the products of all can be shipped without trouble
and expense of cartage.
There are five churches in the village, viz.: First Presbyterian,
Reverend Mr. Foss; Methodist Episcopal, Reverend E. E. Benson;
First Baptist, Reverend W. W. Wilber; Grace Episcopal, W. H.
Casey, rector; St. Michael’s Roman Catholic, J. F. Milligan, pastor.
When the Cayugas sold their lands to the State they refused
to part with a strip four miles wide, running from Aurora to Monte-
zuma. In 1789, William Richardson and several others had settled
on this Reservation; the Indians entered complaint against them,
and the powers of the State compelled the intruders to seek else-
where for place of settlement. Thus the land in this locality was
not settled permanently, as the section lying farther to the south.
STERLING.
Sterling, named from William Alexander, Lord Sterling of
Revolutionary memory, was formed from Cato, June 19, 1812.
It lies in the extreme north part of the county on Lake Ontario and
has a rolling surface, with a trifling inclination toward the north.
The summits of the ridges stand two hundred to three hun-Towns of the County
441
dred feet above the lake, and Big Bluff on the lake shore has about
the same elevation. Little Sodus Creek with its branches flowing
into little Sodus Bay, and Cartwright Brook, flowing into Blind
Sodus Bay are the streams. Little Sodus Bay is about two miles
long and one wide, and is one of the best natural harbors on the
south shore of the lake; a swamp covering several acres, extends
along the lake shore east of the bay, and another lies on the south
border of the town. The soil is a sandy and gravelly loam, and in
some places is stoney and difficult to cultivate. Outcrops of Medina
sandstone and Oneida conglomerate are quarried in the town for
building purposes. The former is extensively used for the under-
pinning of houses and farm buildings; and it has been observed
that hogs are fond of licking the stone whenever they have access
to them. It causes them to foam at the mouth, and hence they can
be fattened only with difficulty.
The Southern Central Railroad crosses the town diagonally
from south to north, its northern terminus being Little Sodus Bay.
The Lake Ontario Shore Railroad crosses it in the northern
part from east to west.
Fair Haven, a prosperous village of over one thousand inhabi-
tants, is situated in the northwest comer of the town on Little
Sodus Bay and is the terminus of the Southern Central Railroad.
It contains three churches, a union school, printing office, several
stores and two hotels.
The village extends the whole length of the bay, and to some
distance above it. The gently sloping shores of the bay, which is
a pretty sheet of water, present many fine sites for residences.
Several coal companies are doing business at this place, and
heavy shipments of coal are made to Canadian ports.
Sterling Centre is situated on Little Sodus Creek, in the central
part of the town, and is two miles northeast of Sterling Junction,
and one mile east of Sterling Valley station. It has a population
of about three hundred and contains three churches, a union442
History of Cayuga County
school, four stores, one hotel, one tannery, one grist mill, a furnace,
three blacksmith shops, a harness shop, tin shop and shoe shop.
Sterling Valley is situated on the north branch of Little Sodus
Creek, one and one-third miles north of Sterling Valley station.
It contains one church, several manufacturing and mercantile
establishments, with a population of nearly two hundred.
Martville is situated in the southeast part of the town, on Little
Sodus Creek. It contains two churches, a district school, a hotel,
two stores, a sawmill, a grist mill and sawmill combined, shoe shops,
wagon shops, and blacksmith shops, and about one hundred and
fifty inhabitants. Sterling Junction, North Sterling, and Sterling
Valley station are small hamlets.
SUMMER HILL.
Summer Hill was formed from Locke, as Plato, April 26, 1831,
but its name was changed March 16, 1832. It is situated in the
southeast comer of the county, and has a rolling surface, ten hun-
dred to eleven hundred feet above tide. Fall Brook, the principal
stream, flows south through the east part and its valley, three
hundred to four hundred feet below the hill summits, forms the
only break of any account in the general surface level. Summer
Hill Lake is a small sheet of water in the northeast part and
discharges its water into Fall Brook. The soil is a clayey and
gravelly loam, with clay predominating.
Summer Hill village in the south part contains about one hun-
dred and seventy-five inhabitants.
The first settlement was made in 1797, by Hezekiah Mix, from
Genoa, on lot 37, near the village. Soon came Nathaniel Fillmore,
father of Millard Fillmore, once President of the United States,
who was bom in this town. Martin Barber, William Webster,
Joseph Cone, William Honeywell, James Savage, Harvey Hough,
and Joseph Walker. Nathaniel Fillmore taught the first school
in 1804.Towns of the County
443
The matter of the first birth in the town is unsettled, some
claiming that Millard Fillmore was the first child bom in the town,
others granting the priority to Anson Cone; the first marriage was
that of Ebenezer Crowe and Rosanna Mix, in 1803, and the first
death that of Amos Mix, who was killed by the falling of a tree, in
1798. Joseph Cone kept the first inn, in 1803; Charles Cram the
first store, and Ebenezer Bennett the first mill in 1816. The first
church (Baptist) was formed in 1807 with Elder Whipple as the
first pastor.
THROOP.
Throop was formed from Aurelius, Mentz and Sennett, April 8,
1859. It is an interior town, lying northwest of the center of the
county. The surface is generally level, though broken in a few
places by sand and gravel ridges, one hundred to one hundred and
fifty feet high. Owasco Outlet and Cayuga Brook are the principle
streams. The soil is a sandy and gravelly loam.
Throopsville village on Owasco Outlet, three miles from Auburn,
was named after Enos T. Throop, in 1812, when he was county
clerk, and had acquired the mill and other property for the purpose
of booming the town. This was long before “Ene” or any of his
chums ever dreamed that here was a future governor of the Empire
State (in the 3o’s). In the fall of 1814 Mr. Throop was elected to
Congress and about this time it became pretty hot in the political
field and the boom in the village cooled off. After a period of over
eighty years we find it a place of about two hundred and fifty
inhabitants, two churches, two mills, foundry and machine shop,
and two or three smaller manufacturing enterprises, and some very
pleasant residences. But the old town has a bright future in its
new trolley enterprise now nearing a reality.
The first settlement in the town was made on lot 2, in 1790, by
Ezekiel Crane and his son Shadrack, from New Jersey. Among
others who early settled in the town were Isaac Bamum, Otheniel444
History of Cayuga County
Palmer and son, from Connecticut, Israel Clapp from Massachusetts,
on lots 2 and 4; Jonas Ward and his son Caleb from the same state,
on lot 92 in 1796; Christopher and Reverend John Jefferies, from
Saratoga Springs on lot 16; Ephraim Wethey from Dutchess County;
Mannook Clark from Oneida County, on lot 14, in 1801. The first
marriage was that of Shadrack Crane and Hannah Palmer; the first
birth that of Ezekiel Crane. Edward Carpenter taught the first
school, in 1800. Israel Clapp kept the first inn, in 1800; Luther
Hamden, the first store in 1804, and Prentice erected the first saw
and grist mill in 1798. The two churches are a Baptist and a
Disciples.
VENICE.
Venice is an interior town in the south of the center of the
county, and was formed from Scipio, January 30,1823. Owasco Lake
borders on the northeast comer and Salmon and Little Salmon
creeks flow south in deep valleys which divide the surface into
well defined ridges. The surface is a rolling upland with the highest
summits three hundred to four hundred feet above Owasco Lake.
The declivities on the lake and the west bank of Salmon Creek are
steep but generally the hillsides are long narrow slopes.
Venice village, in the north part, contains one church and about
thirty houses. Poplar Ridge, on the highest summit, in the south-
west is about the same size; East Venice, and Venice Center are
hamlets.
The first settlement was made in 1800. Henry Hewitt, Ezekiel
Landon, Samuel Robinson and Zadoc Bateman at Stewart's Corners;
Samuel Childsey and Amos Rathbun, at Poplar Ridge; Luke
Taylor and Thomas Cannon, all of wdiom came between 1790 and
1800, were the first settlers.
Lemon Cole was the first child bom; the first death was that
of a Mr. Herrick, a pioneer, killed by the falling of a tree. The
first inn was kept by Samuel Robinson and the first mill was erected
at Venice village, 1835. The first church (Baptist) was formed atTowns of the County
445
Stewart’s Comers (now Venice) in 1800 by Elder Irish. On the
ridge east of Salmon Creek near the south border of the town are
the remains of an ancient fortification. Upon the creek near the
center of the town the whites at their advent found extensive fields
cleared and cultivated, near which was an Indian burial ground.
VICTORY.
Victory was formed from Cato, March 16, 1821. It lies on the
west border of the county, northwest of the center, and has a gently
undulating surface, the highest points of which are scarcely fifty
feet above the general level. Red and Little Sodus creeks are the
principle streams. The underlying rocks consist of red shale and
blue limestone deeply covered with drift deposit. The soil is a
gravelly and sandy loam and a swamp in the southwest part covers
several hundred acres.
Victory village near the center contains about thirty houses and
Westbury, three miles away, on the line of Wayne County, about
fifty houses.
John McNeal from Montgomery County, commenced the settle-
ment of this town, in 1800, together with John and Samuel Martin
from Ireland, on lot 65, Patrick Murphy from Ireland settled on
lot 54, in February, 1806; Matthias Vanderheyden from Albany
County, on lot 62, and Asheal Carter from Vermont, on lot 66, in
1810; John Ramsey, William and Daniel Griswold from Herkimer
County on lot 25, in 1811; Jacob and Martin De Forrest from
Washington County; Conrad Phrozine from Newburgh, on lot 43;
Manasseh French from Scipio, Judge C. Smith from Saratoga
County, on lot 42, Philander Phinney from Saratoga County, Silas
Kellogg from Brutus on lot 39, and Ebenezer Bird from Onondaga
County, on lot 29, all in 1812. Mrs. Jane Wood was the first child
bom, in 1804; and the first death was that of John McNeal in
1800. The first church, Methodist Episcopal, was formed in
1813; Reverend Zenas Jones the first pastor.Biographical.
David Munson Osborne. To write a brief biography of a
successful man that will please a thoughtful reader is a difficult
task, because the mind searches the pages for clear information
regarding the sources of the man’s success, asks what quality of
intelligence made him conspicuous, seeks sure knowledge of the
workings of his mind, even hungers for a glimpse of his heart. And
it is scarcely possible to satisfy this craving without going into the*
minutest details. Nevertheless it is hoped that these pages will
reflect a faithful portraiture of David M. Osborne—his character
and qualities—besides furnishing a record of his life and the work
he accomplished.
David Munson Osborne was bom at Rye, Conn., December 15,
1822, and was the son of John Hall, and Caroline (Bulkley) Osborne.
He passed the first fifteen years of his life on his father’s farm, and
at that early age went to New York and took a position as clerk in
a grocery store. So his opportunities for early education were
limited indeed, but he sought to improve them by attending night
school. But if denied the companionship of books and boys which
make youthful days pleasant memories for later years, he learned
to work, and laid the foundation of that self reliance which enabled
him to breast the storms of a strenuous business life.
When he was but seventeen his father died, and to his struggle
for personal success was added the responsibility of taking care of
his younger brothers and sisters—a responsibility imposed by him-
self. All through life, even after he had a family of his own, he
never lost his affectionate interest in his mother and sisters.
446Biographical
447
He quit the grocery business to enter a hardware store, and
through that change became acquainted with James Watrous, of
the firm of Watrous & Hyde, hardware merchants, who owned a
store in Auburn, and with whom his employers did business. In
1848 Mr Hyde died and Mr. Watrous went to New York and offered
the junior partnership in his firm to Mr. Osborne, for whom he had
conceived a great liking. The offer was accepted, and in this way
Mr. Osborne’s fortunes were cast in this city, whose name he was
destined to make known over two continents.
On September 3, 1851, he married Eliza Wright, daughter of
David and Martha (Coffin) Wright of Auburn.
In 1852 Mr. Watrous retired from the hardware business, and
the firm of Osborne, Barker & Baldwin was formed. This part-
nership was of short duration, and Mr. Osborne started in business
by himself. He bought a piece of ground on the comer of Genesee
and Mechanic streets, put up a building and began the manufacture
of straw cutters and com shellers. That building is now part of the
building occupied by the offices of the International Harvester Com-
pany. In the erection of the building he was assisted by Henry
Kosters, who remained in his employ for many years and who was
honored not only by the friendship but by the confidence of Mr.
Osborne.
To those who desire minute knowledge, yet entertain the opinion
that success is nothing but the luck to bask in the constant smile
of Fortune, these figures will be interesting:	In February, 1854,
D. M. Osborne’s pay roll footed up $74.14; in 1886, it was
$47,423.97. But between these years he had performed the labors
of a Hercules and had seen some dark Saturdays. In April, 1855,
he carried over a cash balance in his ledger of $3.05. The next
month there was a deficit of $4.66. One Saturday when the faith-
ful Kosters came for his wages, Mr. Osborne had only five dollars
which he divided evenly with the workingman.448
History of Cayuga County
D. M. Osborne owed none of his success to luck. It might
truthfully be said that he never had any luck—didn’t believe in it;
never gambled; would not speculate. He made every dollar he
ever owned by hard, honest work; not manual labor, although he
did plenty of that, but the work by which his vigorous mind created
wealth from ideas.
His first attempt as a manufacturer was not a financial success
and regretfully he left Auburn to renew the attempt in Buffalo.
At that time he had his wife and two daughters to support and was
thousands of dollars in debt, but he courageously ventured into a
strange city to strive for success.
In that year William Kirby had patented a combined reaper and
mower, and was employed in a manufactory in Buffalo where the
Forbush machine was being made. In looking about for a place in
which he could begin the manufacture of straw cutters and other
implements, Mr. Osborne decided upon the one where Kirby was
working. So these two men met. The firm that had made Kirby’s
first machine was in financial difficulties and was willing to sell a
half interest in the patent rights. From talking with Kirby Mr.
Osborne came to believe there was a great future for his machine,
and encouraged the inventor to go ahead. The result was that
seven machines were built for the harvest of 1856, the first one
being tried out on the Sherwood farm in Cayuga County. The
success of a year’s trial satisfied Mr. Osborne of the merits of the
machine, and he borrowed $4,000 to buy an interest in it. In
1857, he made enough to pay off his debt, and completed arrange-
ments for increasing the manufacture of the machine.
In the fall of 1858 he returned to Auburn and on December 8th
of that year the firm of D. M. Osborne & Co. was formed, his partners
being Charles P. Wood and Cyrus C. Dennis. They began business
in the building erected by Mr. Osborne a few years previous, and
from that nucleus grew the great Osborne Works, as they are stillBiographical
449
popularly known, although they have become a part of the system
of the International Harvester Company.
The success of the business of D. M Osborne & Co. was due,
primarily and mainly, to the enterprise and ability of Mr. Osborne.
He was the head of the company in fact as well as in name; accus-
tomed to toil and responsibility all his life he shouldered the heavy
burdens of the business, and his judgment was the court of final
resort for every perplexing problem.
In those days industrial establishments were not divided into
separate departments each with a separate head, and the fact that
Mr. Osborne was the head of all departments is a signal proof of his
wonderful capacity. From the wholesale manufacture of machines
to the sale at retail of a single machine, he knew all that transpired.
The yearly reorganization of the shops to meet the demands of a
rapidly increasing business was all planned by him and carried out
under his eye. There were trials of machines in the harvest fields
and trials over patent rights in the courts, and both of these had
his personal attention. With a limited capital, acquired by his
own efforts, he had to combat rich competitors, some of them none
too scrupulous. He had to be ever on the alert for new inventions
so as not to be left behind in the pursuit of customers, and those
customers were a class particularly harassing to a man of active
temperament. Sometimes he had all of these things to combat at
once, and that constant cares neither soured nor hardened him
proved the high quality of his mind and the richness of his
character.
In 1862, Mr. Wood retired from the firm and John H. Osborne
became a partner.
In that year D. M. Osborne went to London, England, to exhibit
his machines at the third great World’s Fair, and get European
patents. About that time, also, branch offices were opened in this
country in Philadelphia, Cleveland, St. Louis and Chicago.
29450
History of Cayuga County
In 1866, Mr. Dennis died, and his place in the firm was filled by
C.	H. Burdick, who had long been with them and who had acquired
some reputation as an inventor.
In that year there was held in Auburn the second great national
trial of mowers, reapers and other agricultural implements, under
the auspices of the New York State Agricultural Society. There
were forty-four mowers and thirty reapers in the competition, and
D.	M. Osborne & Co. were awarded a first prize and a second prize.
The judges remarked upon the immense establishment of D. M.
Osborne & Co., which indicates that their plant was large for
those days, although it has since vastly increased.
In the first ten years of manufacturing reapers and mowers, Mr.
Osborne attained prosperity, but he continued to prosecute the
business with undiminished energy and zeal. Business seems to
have been a pleasure to him, and this was doubtless the reason why
its responsibilities and worries failed to effect his naturally genial
nature.
In 1875 the Cayuga Chief Company assimulated with D. M.
Osborne & Co., and the business was carried on under the latter
name, D. M. Osborne being president of the new corporation,
John H. Osborn, secretary, and A. G. Beardsley, treasurer.
In 1876, Gordon, the inventor of the Gordon binder came to
Auburn to build his machine for D. M. Osborne & Co. This self-
binding harvester proved a great success during the years of 1877
and 1878, and the business of the company increased with enormous
strides. New buildings became necessary, and these were erected
on the west side of Mechanic street, doubling the floor space of the
company’s shops. In 1881 a rolling mill and malleable shops were
added and finally a railroad was built connecting all the shops of
the concern. Mr. Osborne insisted on making from the raw material
everything used in the construction of his machines, not only because
it was economy to do so but because he then knew that every pieceBiographical
451
was of the best quality and make. So the railroad became a neces-
sary accessory to transport material between shops.
But the self-binder which proved such a bonanza to D. M.
Osborne & Co., was also the source of the worst shock that company
ever endured. Wire was first used as a binder to replace the primi-
tive straw band on sheaves. Despite the utmost care bits of the
wire would find their way into the grain, and with it into the mills,
ruining the machinery. So the twine binder superseded the wire,
and the Appleby machine came to the front. Here, it is conceded,
Mr. Osborne made the one error of his business career. Heeding
mechanics, who, he thought, knew their business, he tried to use
an attachment on his wire binder, trusting it would do as good
work as the Appleby binder. He put out his machines with this
attachment in 1882, and the experiment proved a failure, entailing
not only an enormous loss in money, but in prestige.
Then it was that the calibre of the man became manifest.
With an honesty that would shame many a captain of industry
and Napoleon of finance, he replaced every machine sold in that
season without cost to the purchaser, and, with a pride in his
business that proved honorable success dearer to him than dollars,
he went out into the fields himself, and from Texas to Dakota
worked to bring his machines to the front again.
He retrieved the error, but he overworked, and made the first
break in his naturally strong constitution.
David M. Osborne had little, if any, ambition for public prefer-
ment. His heart and mind were in his business, and he was essen-
tially a business man. Yet the city of Auburn did itself the honor
to elect him mayor in 1879, recognizing, even if tardily, the debt it
owed him for the vast benefit derived from the great industry he had
developed in the city. But it is doubtful if he derived much per-
sonal pleasure from the dignity of the office. Auburn was dear to
him, and every act of his honest soul was intended to benefit her.
So those criticisms to which all officials are subjected were ungener-452
History of Cayuga County
ous and cruel to him. He was one of the earliest advocates of good
roads, and his endeavor to give Auburn good city streets aroused the
resentment of the taxpayers, and the street roller which he had
purchased was ridiculed until it gravely withdrew from sight,
awaiting the wave of intelligence that should roll it out again.
Schooled to be on the alert for the new, imbued with the spirit of
progress, he was perhaps somewhat advanced to hold office in a
place that, bearing the name of “city,” was only just outgrowing
the characteristics of a village.
In politics Mr. Osborne was a Republican, but politics were not a
creed to him; he followed the line of right. In 1882, he voted for
a Democrat for Governor, but in 1884 he was a delegate to the
National Republican Convention at Chicago, which indicates that
the party to which he nominally belonged did not lack confidence
in him.
The worldly man would unhesitatingly pronounce the life of
D. M. Osborne a successful one because he accumulated a fortune,
and the philosophical man would concur in this verdict, but for a
different reason. In building up for himself he did a great deal
for others. The City of Auburn, for instance, would not be the
flourishing city it is to-day, but for the great enterprise which he
founded and nursed into permanent strength. By adding to
industrial wealth and prosperity, he aided many to add to their own
prosperity, which is the best and truest charity. Yet he was also
charitable, as the word is generally understood, and did much for
the many who seem to spring up and cluster about a successful
man, as saplings spring up about a great tree, drawing sustenance
from its roots and sheltering under its branches. He hated every-
thing small, mean or ignoble, but loved truth, honor and justice;
and such men are usually intense and sensitive. To the world he
presented a kindly dignity; to his own an affectionate guardianship.
He was honest to a fault. If that phrase ever applied to any man
it did to him. He gave every man credit for intelligence, but was soBiographical
453
honest himself that he could not understand how any one could
differ from him honestly on a question where he could see a space
between right and wrong. But he thought kindly of all men. He
knew nothing of the creed of to-day which rates every man a rogue
until he proves himself honest. Mr. Osborne credited every man
with honesty until he forfeited that good opinion. He was a success-
ful man because he lived a clean, useful life, the influence of which
still exists and is not latent, even though it may not always be
referred to its true source.
David M. Osborne died July 6, 1886. His surviving children
are: Emily, bom in 1853, married Frederick Harris, of Springfield,
Mass., in 1869; Thomas Mott Osborne, bom in 1859, married Agnes
Devens of Cambridge, Mass., in 1886; Helen, bom in 1864, married
James Jackson Storrow of Boston, Mass., in 1891. One daughter,
Florence, bom in 1856, died in 1877.
Robert Loudon Drummond, lawyer, of Auburn, N. Y., was
bom in New York City, August 21, 1842. In the spring of 1845 the
Drummond family came to Cayuga County and settled upon a farm
in the town of Victory. In those days boys were required to help
with the farm work during the summer, so that until his sixteenth
year the youthful Drummond attended school in the winter months
only. He then took a course of study at Red Creek Union Academy,
speedily preparing himself for the vocation of teacher, with that
quick and accurate intelligence which has since reappeared as a
rich legacy to his sons. He taught school for a few terms, in dif-
ferent positions, among them that of principal of Public School No. 4
in the City of Auburn.
When the Civil War broke out, Mr. Dmmmond enlisted as a
private in Company H, One Hundred and Eleventh New York
Volunteer Infantry. The regiment was brigaded under Sherrill,
Hayes and MacDougall, in Barlow's Division, Hancock’s Corps,454
History of Cayuga County
Army of the Potomac. After a period of faithful service, Mr.
Drummond was taken prisoner in front of Fort Alexander Hayes,
on October 30, 1864, and was confined successively at Petersburg
and Libby prisons, Va., and Salisbury, N. C., until March 2, 1865,
when he was released by the advance of Sherman’s army as it came
sweeping from Atlanta to the Sea.
After the war, and while he was recuperating from the effects
of his long imprisonment, Mr. Drummond commenced the study of
law. Subsequently he took a course in the Albany Law School,
from which he was graduated in the class of 1871. He was admitted
to the bar May 18th of that year, and immediately began the
practice of his profession in Auburn, and with such success that he
has long been regarded as one of the ablest advocates in Western
New York, while, to-day, the firm of which he is the head ranks
with any in the state.
Mr. Drummond has always taken a keen interest in the public
affairs of the city and county, and often an active part. He served
as school commissioner of the Northern District from 1866 to 1869,
and in 1878 was elected district-attorney, retaining the office for
nine years and achieving a high reputation for ability and the just
discharge of the duties of prosecutor. Not a single conviction was
reversed during his long incumbency of the office.
Although bom and educated as a Democrat, he cast his first
presidential vote for Lincoln in the fall of 1864, on the front line
of the Union Army, and until Cleveland’s second campaign Mr.
Drummond was in accord with, the Republican party, but in that
campaign he again cast his political fortunes with the Democracy,
and since then has favored the Democratic principles and policies
and has twice been honored by that party with the nomination for
member of Congress. He ranks high as an orator and his services
are always in demand during political campaigns. He takes a
pardonable pride in the fact that his first public speech was made
standing amid the horrors of the Confederate prison at Salisbury,Biographical
455
N. C., and addressed to Major-General Bradley T. Johnson, com-
mandant of all the prisons of the South, upon the occasion of his
visit to that prison. He has also delivered several lectures, notably
Personal Reminiscences of Prison Life During the War of the
Rebellion.
On October 14, 1872, Robert L. Drummond married Anna E.
Burke, daughter of Nelson R and Fannie Burke, of Cato, in this
county. They have a family of four sons, namely, Honorable
Richard C. S. Drummond, city judge of Auburn, Nelson Loudon
Drummond, Alexander M. Drummond and Robert Wilfred Drum-
mond. The Judge and Nelson L. are members, with their father, of
of the law firm of Drummond, Drummond & Drummond; Alex-
ander M. is one of the instructors in the department of oratory at
Cornell University, and Robert Wilfred is in his senior year in the
Auburn Academic High School, preparing for entrance to Hamilton
College in the fall of 1908.
A clear sense of his duties as a man and a citizen has always char-
acterized Robert L. Drummond, and all efforts directed toward
the betterment of ids fellowmen have ever found in him a friend and
helper. He served for many years as trustee and treasurer of
Calvary Presbyterian Society, as well as one of the ruling elders of
the church and superintendent of the Sunday school and Temper-
ance Society connected therewith. He was at one time one of the
trustees of the Auburn Theological Seminary, and for many years
has been one of the trustees of the Auburn Home for the Friendless.
He has been remarkably successful in different ways, so that, while
still a vigorous man, he enjoys the fruits of his labors, and, better
still, realizes the fruition of the fondest hope of every man—that of
seeing his sons achieve advancement and win high honors among
their fellowmen.
Hon. Richard Caldwell Steel Drummond, son of Robert
L. and Anna E. (Burke) Drummond, was bom in the City of456
History of Cayuga County
Auburn, January 2, 1879, and was prepared for college in the
local high school, graduating with the class of 1897. He then
entered Hamilton College and after an unusually brilliant college
career was graduated in the class of 1901 with the degree of A. B.
During his course in Hamilton he carried off many prizes and
honors. He won the Truax Greek scholarship, the McKinney prize
in debate, and the Curran medal for excellence in classics, and he
played on the college football team during the entire four years,
and was captain of the track team in his senior year. He was also
editor-in-chief of Hamilton Life, the college weekly, and of the
1901 Hamiltonian, the annual publication. Immediately after
graduating from Hamilton College he entered the Albany Lawr
School and was graduated in 1903 with the degree of L.L. B. In
1904 he received his A. M. from his Alma Mater, Hamilton College,
and at the designation of the faculty delivered the oration in behalf
of the candidates for the degree, at the 1904 commencement. Upon
his admission to the bar, in 1903, he at once took up the practice
of his profession in company with his father, Robert L. Drummond.
Even then he was prominent in legal circles and public affairs.
In the fall of 1902 he was nominated by the Democratic party
in Auburn for the office of city judge, and was not only elected,
but sprang into fame as an orator and a formidable champion of
the Democratic party. That election was invalidated because of
being held too soon under the new city charter, but Judge Drum-
mond was re-elected by a largely increased majority in the fall of
1903, to take office in January 1904. In the fall of 1907 he wTas again
returned to office, and his popularity added greatly to the strength
of the Democratic ticket in that contest. When first elected city
judge he was the youngest man on the bench in the state of New
York, perhaps in the United States, and the fine judicial develop-
ment of his mind at an age when young lawyers are usually seek-
ing for recognition indicates a useful career.Biographical
457
Judge Drummond . has kept in close touch with Hamilton
College since leaving its halls. He is trustee of the Delta Kappa
Epsilon society; a member of the Alumni Association, of the Theta
Nu Epsilon fraternity, of the Pentagon Senior Society, of Phi Beta
Kappa, and of the Advisory Board of the Athletic Association of
the College. In connection with his profession he has been secre-
tary of the executive committee of the Cayuga County Bar
Association, and a member of the executive committee of the
Albany Law School Alumni Association. He is also a member of
the Sons of Veterans, the Young Mens’ Christian Association and
the Calvary Presbyterian church, and has been president of the
Men’s League of that church.
On September 14, 1904, Judge Drummond was married to Miss
Lura Belle Wills, daughter of James G. Wills, one of Auburn’s
prominent contractors. They have one child, a daughter Elspeth,
bom October 16, 1905.
The desire is strong to write more glowingly of this brilliant
young jurist, but every reader who considers his achievements and
remembers his youth must appreciate what might justly be written.
And, withal, he is democratic, affable, courteous; wearing his
honors without ostentation, which is, perhaps, the truest indication
of worth.
Nelson Loudon Drummond, second son of Robert L. and
Anna E. (Burke) Dmmmond, was bom in the City of Auburn,
N. Y., December 21, 1880. After a thorough preparation in the
Auburn High School he entered Hamilton College and was graduated
in the class of 1902, with the degree of A. B. He then took a course
in the Albany Law School and was graduated with the degree of
L.L. B. in the class of 1904. He was admitted to the bar the same
year, and immediately entered the law firm of Dmmmond, Dmm-
mond & Dmmmond, with his father and brother.458
History of Cayuga County
Mr. Drummond is a member of several societies and fraternities
of Hamilton College, among them the Delta Kappa Epsilon, the
Theta Nu Epsilon, and the Pentagon, a senior society. Besides
his college affiliations he is a member of the Benevolent and Pro-
tective Order of Elks, the Knights of Pythias, the Sons of Veterans,
the Cayuga County Bar Association, and the City Club of Auburn.
In politics he is a Democrat and takes an active part in the work
of the local organization which has sent him as delegate to city,
county and judicial conventions.
Nelson L. Drummond is a young man of unusual promise, and
has already attracted attention by his ability both as a counsellor
and as an advocate in the courts. His mentality is fortified by a
commanding presence and fine physique, and he has won the respect
of lawyers ripe in years and experience.
David Wadsworth Jr. In 1818, Joseph Wadsworth, grand-
father of the present proprietor of the Wadsworth Scythe Works
in Auburn, founded this business. In 1829 he purchased the land
where the plant now stands, and converted an old carding mill,
which stood upon the property, into a scythe factory. The industry
grew and prospered, and in 1845, David Wadsworth, son of the
founder, became proprietor. In 1876, David Wadsworth Jr.,
became a partner with his father, and for years he has been the
guiding genius of the business of which he is the representative.
Between the years i860 and 1867 most of the buildings con-
stituting the splendid plant of the scythe works were built, but
some have been erected since that period, and many improvements
have been made, from time to time. The plant consists of a ham-
mer shop four hundred and fifty by one hundred feet in dimensions,
a grinding shop two hundred and fifty by thirty feet, a polishing,
painting and packing shop two hundred by fifty feet, and two frame
storehouses sixty by thirty feet, and thirty-six by twenty-four feet,
respectively. All the buildings are of one and one-half stories.Biographical
459
A force of one hundred men is regularly employed, and the yearly
output of the plant reaches 25,000 to 30,000 dozen of scythes, 3,000
dozen hay knives and 12,000 dozen grass knives. The trade of
this house covers not only the United States and Canada, but
extends into England, France, Germany, Russia, Australia, the
Argentine and South Africa.
Because of the quality of its goods, honorable methods of dealing
and splendid business management, this house has enjoyed a long
and prosperous career. From grandfather to grandson the busi-
ness has descended; for a period of ninety years it has flourished,
and during that time it has encountered dull markets, hard times,
money stringencies, financial panics, but, like an ocean liner pur-
suing its way through gale and storm, it has outridden them all,
and its reputation has grown with' the years.
David Wadsworth Jr., was bom in the city of Auburn, New
York, April 22, 1852, and was educated in the local schools and at
Aurora Academy, of which Warren Higley was then the principal.
In 1871, his connection with the scythe works commenced, and in
1876 he became a partner with his father, and the firm name became
David Wadsworth & Son. His father died March 11, 1905, and
since that date he has been sole proprietor.
On March 21, 1877, David Wadsworth, Jr., married Mary
Cramer, and they have a family of three children, namely:	Mrs.
Mabel Pomeroy, Miss Anna Wadsworth and David Wadsworth
Third.
Mr. Wadsworth is regarded as one of the best representatives
of Auburn’s commercial life, and he takes a close interest in the
city’s welfare. He was a member of the board of alderman from
1884 to 1886, and was water commissioner from March, 1904, to
March, 1907. He was mayor of the city during the years 1901-3,
and was a mayor of the people, conducting his office regardless of
politics.460
History of Cayuga County
The Wadsworths have been manufacturers in this country for
more than a century The great-grandfather of Mr. Wadsworth
had a factory in Grafton, Mass., before the beginning of the eight-
eenth century, and was the inventor of a trip hammer. In the
year 1800, his son Joseph Wadsworth, who founded the Auburn
business, was making scythes in Massachusetts. The family is a
notable one in this country which owes so much of its greatness to
inventors and manufacturers.
J. Herman Woodruff. The Auburn Button Works, of which
Mr. Woodruff is the proprietor, is one of the best known and most
stable of the industrial enterprises which spread the name of
Auburn afar, and form the basis of her commercial prosperity.
This great industrial house which furnishes employment to an
average force of three hundred people and whose plant occupies
ten acres of ground on the Outlet, was founded in this city in 1876
by J. Herman Woodruff, and was then known as Woodruff’s Button
Factory. A short time prior to that date, Mr. Woodruff had com-
menced the manufacture of buttons in New York City, but being a
native of Auburn and knowing the facilities for manufacturing in
this city, he speedily transferred his operations to his native place.
At first he occupied the old building of the Auburn Paper Bag
Company, but the rapid development of his business demanded
more capacious quarters and in 1878, in association with his brother,
E. Woodruff, he built a factory on Logan street, which was occupied
until 1900, when he purchased the Stevens plant on Washington
street. This plant he remodelled and improved to adapt it to his
paticular business. A vast variety of buttons are manufactured,
which are disposed of largely through Mr. Woodruff’s New York
agency. He also manufacturers typewriter keys, gun butts, pipe
stems, electrical goods, and an innumerable number of fancy
articles. His two sons, Carlton H. and Douglass are associated
with him in the business.Biographical
461
J. Herman Woodruff married Caroline P. Beardsley and they
have a family of seven children, the two sons mentioned above
and five daughters, namely: Anna, Hermina, Carrie Belle, Dorothy
and Mildred. Mr. Woodruff’s parents were Harmon Woodruff, a
life long and highly respected merchant of Auburn, and Jane (Cook)
Woodruff. His mother was a daughter of Philip Cook of Cohocton.
J. Herman Woodruff was educated at Phillips Academy,
Andover, and at Yale College, graduating from the latter institution
in the class of 1863. He has been, all his life, essentially a business
man, and his great success is due entirely to his admirable manage-
ment and honorable dealings. He is a cultured, courteous gentle-
man who is highly esteemed by his fellowmen for his sterling quali-
ties as well as for his successful business career.
General Clinton Dugald MacDougall, marshal of the
United States for the Northern District of New York, was bom in
Glasgow, Scotland, June 14, 1839, and came to America with his
parents in 1842. After receiving an academic education he studied
law, but instead of pursuing a professional career decided to engage
in business, so he became a bookkeeper and then a bank teller.
In i860 he joined General Seward in forming the banking house of
William H. Seward Jr. & Co., and was a partner in that house
for ten years.
But although General MacDougall has been connected with
several business enterprises and has had unusual opportunities to
enter high political offices, his highest achievements and his place
in history were won in war. In 1861, he enlisted in the Seventy-
fifth Regiment, and was elected Captain of Company A. In May,
1862, as he was returning to camp in the night, after scouting after
the rebels near Pensacola, Florida, he was mistaken for the enemy
by Union pickets, and severely wounded. While at home, recover-
ing from his wound, he assisted in raising the One Hundred and462
History of Cayuga County
Eleventh Regiment, of which he became lieutenant-colonel, after
declining the colonelcy, because he considered himself too young,
being then but twenty-three. His regiment was assigned first to
the Twenty-second Army Corps, and after a year's service became
part of the Second Army Corps in General Hays' division of Han-
cock’s Corps. On January 3, 1863, Lieutenant-Colonel MacDougall,
was made colonel of the One Hundred and Eleventh. He did
gallant service at the battle of Gettysburg where he lost seventy-one
per cent, of his regiment in two days' fighting, and where he was
himself wounded. In that battle, after the death of Colonels
Willard and Sherrill, he commanded the Third Brigade, Third
Division, Second Army Corps, and was especially mentioned by
General Hancock in his report to the War Department. On the
reorganization of the army he commanded the Third Brigade,
First Division, Second Army Corps and later commanded the First
Division of that Corps, being in command at the grand review of
the Army of the Potomac by the President and cabinet, in Wash-
ington, in May, 1865. He served with distinguished gallantry
throughout the war, during which he had six horses shot under him
and was wounded in four different battles:	at Gettysburg, July
3, 1863; Bristow, Virginia, October 14, 1863; at^ Petersburg,
June 22, 1864, and at Sutherland’s Station, April 2, 1865. He
commanded the post at Centerville, Virginia, from January 3, 1863,
to June 25, 1863. In March, 1865, he was brevetted brigadier-
general, there being no vacancy in the full rank, and in June of
that year he declined a lieutenant-colonelcy in the regular army.
He was appointed postmaster at Auburn, in 1869, and was elected
to Congress in 1872, representing the counties of Cayuga, Wayne
and Seneca, and was re-elected in 1874. In 1876 he declined the
office of treasurer of the United States and also that of commis-
sioner of internal revenue. In the same year he declined the
appointment of commissioner of patents, and in 1877 was made
marshal of the Northern District of New York. During the admin-Biographical
463
istration of President Hayes, he was tendered the post of consul
general to either England or France, or the consulate at Cairo, but
preferred to remain United States marshal, to which position he
was re-appointed by President Garfield. He twice declined to be a
candidate for State senator, and refused the appointment of clerk
of the United States Court for the Northern District of New York,
tendered him by Judge Alfred C. Coxe. In 1888, he was a presi-
dential elector on the Republican ticket. On January 3, 1901, he
was again appointed to his old position of United States Marshal
for the Northern District of New York by President McKinley,
and was re-appointed by President Roosevelt.
General MacDougall was vice-president of the board of trustees
of the New York State Soldiers’ and Sailors’ Home for some years-
and is now the president of the board. He is a member of /the
G. A. R., the Loyal Legion, the City Club, the 0wasco Country
Club, and is governor and vice-president of the Country Club and
trustee of the City Club. He has one son, William Dugald Mac-
Dougall, a lieutenant-commander in the United States navy, and
has two daughters: Mrs. William Watts Carr, of Radford, Va., and
Mrs. Lyman H. Balcom of Bath, N. Y.
Gorton W. Allen is a prominent citizen of Auburn, of which
city he has been a resident since March 1, 1861. He has been well
known for the work that he did as one of the commissioners for the
World’s Columbian Exposition, held in Chicago, in 1893.
He was born at Lawrenceville, Chester County, Pennsylvania,
December 20, 1840, and is the son of Daniel D. and Mary Wair Allen.
Daniel D. Allen was a native of Saratoga County, N. Y., who
removed to Pennsylvania in 1830.
Gorton W. Allen came to Auburn in 1861 and entered the law
office of Parker, Allen & Beardsley, William Allen, of this firm,
being his uncle; after spending about a year in the law office he was
one year in the employ of the Cayuga County National Bank. In464
History of Cayuga County
October, 1862, he enlisted in the One Hundred and Sixtieth New
York Regiment of Volunteers, and was appointed its adjutant by
Colonel Charles C. Dwight.
The regiment was sent to the Department of the Gulf in Decem-
ber, 1862, and did valiant service in the campaign that resulted in
the fall of Port Hudson. Gorton W. Allen served on the staff of
Brigadier-General Godfrey Maitgel until after the capture of Port
Hudson, after which he was detailed by Major-General Banks as
clerk of the provost court at New Orleans, where he spent a year.
He resigned from the service in 1865 and returned to Auburn
where he engaged in the manufacture of steel plows in connection
with D. M. Osborne and E. D. Woodruff, this business was disposed
of in 1868 and he became connected with D. M. Osborne & Co.,
he was afterward treasurer of this company for some ten years.
On November 1, 1890, he resigned from that company and spent
practically three years in the work of the Columbian Exposition.
He was appointed one of eight commissioners at large by President
Harrison and upon the organization of the National Commission
was elected its fourth vice-president, he was a member of two of its
most important committees, those of ceremonies and electricity.
He was also one of the managers of the New York State Board of
Managers for the State exhibit, which made the greatest display of
any state in the Union, not excepting the state of Illinois.
Mr. Allen, in 1894, again engaged in manufacture at Auburn
and has been since that time the treasurer of Henry & Allen, who
have built up one of Auburn’s important industries.
In 1865, Gorton W. Allen married Miss Caroline Bulkley Osborne
who died in 1888, leaving one son, Munson Osborne Allen, who died
in April, 1891, just after he reached his majority. In November,
1891, Mr. Allen married his second wife, Ada R. Myers. of Auburn.
Courtney C. Avery, secretary of the Eagle I Wagon Works,
is a native of Wyoming County, Pennsylvania, but has resided inBiographical
465
Auburn for the past twenty-two years, having settled here in 1886-
For many years he was in the employ of the D. M. Osborne Company
as advertising manager, and when that corporation sold out to the
International Harvester Company, the Eagle Wagon Works Com-
pany was formed of which he is secretary.
Courtney C. Avery married Carrie L. Bryden, and they have
two children, namely: James C. C. and Rosamond B. Avery. One
daughter, Alice, died at the age of thirteen.
In addition to being the secretary of the Eagle Wagon Works,
Mr. Avery is the outside representative of the company, and travels
all over the country in the interests of the business. He is essen-
tially a business man.
Frederick G. Nash, one of the best known decorators in Central
New York, and commissioner of police in Auburn, is a native of
England, but has lived almost his entire life in America. He came
to this country in 1879 an(l after a sojourn of four years in Canada
and Syracuse settled in Ithaca, N. Y., where he remained for
eight years. In 1892 he came to Auburn and during most of the
sixteen years that have elapsed since then he has been a factor in the
business and public life of the city. He has done a great deal of
decorating in Auburn, but his reputation as a decorator has
extended his business all over the state and even beyond its bound-
aries. His work has uniformly been done for patrons of more than
ordinary discernment and who speak enthusiastically of his Taste.
There are many exhibits of his work in Auburn in both residences
and churches. In Rochester, in the homes of Mesdames Sibley
and Lindsay and many others; in Syracuse, the residence of A.
E. Nettleton, and others. Mr Nash also finished and decorated
the home of Senator Sawyer, Justice Henry Brown in Washing-
ton, the magnificent country house of David B. Ivison, at Ruther-
ford, N. J., the city residence of Mr. Ivison in New York City, the
homes of Birdsye Blakeman in Stockbridge and New York City;
30466
History of Cayuga County
the residences of Dr. Frederic Dennis and Warren E. Dennis, of
New York City, and the residences of John A. Dix and Mr. Sage
of Albany, besides many clubs and public buildings in various
parts of the country.
From January, 1907, to October, he had the entire charge of the
decorating and painting of the fine residence built by Mr. D. P.
Montague of Chattanooga, Ten.
In public affairs Mr. Nash is a man who represents the people
and their interests. He has been alderman of the fifth ward since
January 1, 1906, and was appointed commissioner of police by
Mayor Koenig, January 6, 1908.
F. E. Swift, president of the Eagle Wagon Works, was bom in
the city of Auburn and received his early education in the local
schools. In 1879 he entered the office of the D. M. Osborne Com-
pany as a clerk and remained with them for twenty-seven years,
being superintendent of factory and manager of the sales depart-
ment when the company sold out to the International Harvester
Company. For some years also he was a director in the Osborne
Company. In 1905 the Eagle Wagon Works Company was formed
and Mr. Swift has been its president from the beginning. He has
also been president of the Auburn Young Men’s Christian Associa-
tion for some time.
F. E. Swift married Lizer A. M. Perry of Michigan. His parents
were Seth F. and Phoebe (Coddington) Swift.
E. S. Newton, manager of the Burtis Auditorium and the
Burtis Opera House in Auburn, has been a resident of this city
for the past forty-one years. For seventeen years he served as
cashier of the National Exchange Bank in which he commenced
his business career as an office boy, successively filling every
position in that fiduciary institution up to that of cashier. AfterBiographical
467
serving faithfully for these years, Mr. Newton resigned and has
since devoted his attention to the management of his own affairs
and also the Burtis interests. He has been solicited many times
to accept public office and has been mentioned for the position of
state bank examiner, for which he is eminently qualified, but in
all instances he has declined such honors.
The Burtis Auditorium of w'hich he is so justly proud, is a magni-
ficent theatre one hundred feet wide, with depth from footlights
forty-two feet, containing twelve dressing rooms lighted by elec-
tricity and all modem and up-to-date facilities, in which only high
class companies are engaged. The Burtis Opera House is also a
modem establishment catering to the best element and taken to-
gether, these two institutions furnish Auburn with places for public
entertainment unexcelled elsewhere. Mr. Newton is a member
of the City Club and identified with other social and benevolent
institutions.
Charles Broughton Quick was bom in the city of Auburn,
April 15, i860, and received his education in the city schools,
graduating from the high school in the class of 1880. After grad-
uating he accepted a position as bookkeeper in a dry goods house
at Warsaw, N. Y., where he remained from January, 1880 until
July, 1881. He then returned to Auburn and became assistant
city treasurer under Colonel J. E. Stroke, which position he filled
until 1883, when he became cashier in the telephone office. A few
months later he was appointed deputy collector of customs, and
remained in the Collector’s office for six months. In 1884 he
became stenographer for A. W. Stevens & Co., manufacturers of
threshers and engines. He remained with Stevens & Co. for
eighteen years, being secretary of the company during the last five
years of that period. During ten years of the time he w^as with
Stevens & Co., he was engaged in the grocery business with his
father Isaac W. Quick, and after leaving the company, he engaged468
History of Cayuga County
for a year in the grocery business with C. G. Meaker. In 1902,
m connection with his present partner, George W. Bowen, he
purchased the plant of the Spencer Threshing Machine Com-
pany, at Union Springs. In 1903, they came to Auburn and
estabilshed their present business, that of the manufacture of agri-
cultural machinery and pressed steel specialities.
In 1902, Mr. Quick married Bessie Meeker. His parents were
Isaac W. and Vallonia (Broughton) Quick.
David Montgomery Dunning was bom in the city of Auburn,
December 30, 1844, and is a son of Henry Silas, and Jane (Wads-
worth) Dunning. Henry S. Dunning was bom in the town of
Aurelius, Cayuga County, N. Y., September 6, 1816, his grand-
father, Silas Dunning, having settled there in the latter part of
the eighteenth century, when his father, Ira Dunnittg, was three
years old. It is quite safe to say that the Dunning family is as
old as any in the county, for the great-grandfather of David M.
Dunning settled in Aurelius about the time that Hardenbergh
located upon the bank of the Outlet. Also the family has been
a distinctive force in the life of the county Henry S. Dunning
was a justice of the peace, a member of the board of supervisors,
president of the Cayuga County Agricultural Society, and super-
intendent of the Auburn Gas Company from 1864 to 1868.
The family dates back to Revolutionary ancestors who lived
on Long Island and in New England.
David M. Dunning was prepared for college at the old Auburn
Academy in the class of 1868, after which he entered Union Col-
lege, graduating with the degree of civil engineer. He then became
a member of the engineering corps of the Southern Central Rail-
road, then in process of construction, but after a time resigned
that position to become treasurer of the Auburn Gas Light Com-
pany, of which his father was superintendent, and, later on, when
his father’s health began to fail, he took up the duties of super-Biographical
469
intendent for the company in addition to those of the treasurer-
ship. He finally became the largest stockholder in the company
and was its guiding genius until its sale and transfer on January
x, 1902, to the Auburn Gas Company. Always interested in
agricultural and horticultural work Mr. Dunning has established
on the Dunning farm—his birthplace—in the western part of the
city, a large dairy farm, also extensive horticultural gardens from
which contributions to the World’s Fairs at Chicago, St. Louis,
and many other exhibitions have given it a wide reputation.
Mr. Dunning has been connected with other enterprises in
Auburn and also with its civic life. Before he went to college
he was city surveyor for a year (1865) > he has been alderman from
the seventh ward; is a trustee of the City Hospital, of the Auburn
Savings Bank, of the Central Presbyterian Church, of the Fort
Hill Cemetery Association, and of the Cayuga County Historical
Society of which he was secreatry and treasurer for a number of
years. He is also a member of the City Club and of the Masonic
fraternity in which he is a Knight Templar. He took a great inter-
est in the rifle practice of the old Forty-Ninth Regiment and held
the rank of first lieutenant on the staff of General Chedell and
subsequently the rank of captain and inspector of rifle practice.
He resigned from the brigade staff in 1875, but continued as in-
spector of rifle practice, and his team, in competition at Creed-
more, carried off the prize against sharpshooters from New York
and Brooklyn.
David M. Dunning married Alice. J., daughter of Charles B.
Hutchinson. They have seven children living, namely, Alice
M., Charlotte, Mary G., David M. Jr., Edith E., Amy L., Charles H.
Wilbur B. Barnes, contractor and builder is one of Auburn’s
best known business men. He was bom in this city and educated
in the local schools. When he entered upon the active duties of
life he became a partner with his father, D. W. Barnes, who estab-470
History of Cayuga County
lished the present business in 1843.	1883 the firm became D.
W. Barnes & Son, and so continued until August, 1906, when the
senior partner retired and W. B. Barnes became sole proprietor.
This house has played a very prominent part in building the City
of Auburn, having erected many of its finest edifices besides scores
of other buildings. The Government building, the Theological
Seminary, the High School building, the First Baptist Church,
several of the public school buildings, and many of the finest resi-
dences in the city were erected by them.
Mr. Wilbur B. Barnes has taken an active part in the public
affairs of Auburn and has served three terms as supervisor from the
fifth ward, was commissioner of police and of charities for four
years, and when the Republican party needed a strong candidate
for mayor in 1902, Mr. Barnes was induced to accept the nomination.
He is a member of the Masonic fraternity and of the City Club.
Wilbur B. Barnes married Violet Wigand of Auburn. They
have a family of four children, namely: Willola, wife of Dr.
Stanley R. Meaker; Florence, Karl and Bernice. Mr. Barnes’
parents were David W. and Phoebe (Barker) Barnes. The family
is one of the oldest living in Auburn to-day. It is also one of the
most highly respected.
C. E. Almy, assistant superintendent of the D. M. Osborne
Works has been connected with this important industrial enterprise
for twenty-five years. He has worked up from a clerk to the posi-
tion of assistant superintendent of the works. Mr. Almy has a
practical knowledge of the business, and this with his ability as a
manager has made his services of inestimable value to the corpora-
tion. He is a descendant of one of the oldest Holland families in
the state and is one of Auburn’s enterprising and substantial citi-
zens. At the present Mr. Almy is a member of the Board of Educa-
tion. He was elected to fill out an unexpired term and then re-
elected to a full term of three years, in May, 1907. His parentsBiographical
471
were Henry and Hulda M. (Sharpsteen) Almy. Henry Almy was
a native of Washington County, N. Y. The Sharpsteens were
residents of Dutchess County for generations. Mr. Almy married
Frances R. Calhoun and they have three sons:	Henry C., Willis
E. and Robert L. Almy.
J. Lewis Grant, superintendent of the Water Board of Auburn,
is a native of Toronto, Canada, but has resided in Auburn since i860.
He was educated in this city and has been connected with the
water works since 1878. He was made superintendent July 1,
1894, and under his regime the City of Auburn has had a splendid
water service. The city gets its water supply from 0wasco Lake,
a distance of two and one-half miles, and there are two pumping
stations at the lake. Auburn has many miles of water mains, and
it requires a large force of employees under Mr. Grant’s supervision
to cater successfully to the needs of the public.
Mr. Grant married Aella B., daughter of M. S. Cuykendall of
Auburn. They have one daughter, Elizabeth Mr. Grant’s father
was superintendent of the Northern Railway of Canada, and of the
Lake Shore for many years, after which he was connected with the
Merchants Union Express. J. Lewis Grant is a member of the
Business Men’s Association and of the Universalist church of which
he has been treasurer for nineteen years. He is also a member
of the City Club and was its treasurer for fourteen years.
Selah Cornwell Tallman was born in the town of Scipio,
Cayuga County, N. Y., December 20, 1855. After completing his
literary studies at the Auburn High School he learned stenography
by study from text books, and attaining proficiency took a position
with C. Altman & Company, manufacturers of agricultural ma-
chinery, Canton, Ohio. This was in 1878, and he remained with that
house for a year and a half, when he went to Syracuse as private472
History of Cayuga County
secretary to William A. Sweet. His next position brought him
back to Auburn in the employ of Sheldon & Company the axle
manufacturers with whom he remained two years. In 1881, he re-
ceived the appointment of official stenographer of the County
Court and Surrogate’s Court and served in that capacity for
twelve years, until 1893. During part of that time he served also
as extra court reporter in the United States and the Supreme
Court of the State of New York. At that time also Mr. Tallman
was engaged in business for himself. He sold the Remington and
Smith-Premier typewriters, and carried on an extensive portrait-
copying establishment in partnership with the late W. I. Bennett,
under the firm name of S. C. Tallman & Company.
In 1893, J. K. Tallman, Mr. S. C. Tallman’s father, died. He
had conducted an undertaking establishment and a large livery
business at Nos. 17-25 Dill street. S. C. Tallman took up the
undertaking department of the establishment in partnership with
his brother Humphrey A. Tallman, under the name of H. A. & S. C.
Tallman. Humphrey A. Tallman died in April, 1898, and Mr.
Tallman purchased his interest in the business and has since con-
ducted both branches of the establishment, and employs about
twenty-five men and nearly half a hundred horses, besides auto-
moblies. His turnouts are as fine as any in this part of the country.
The undertaking establishment was moved to Clark street in Febru-
ary, 1906.
In 1878, S. C. Tallman married Tillie C. Bradford, of Cincinnati,
Ohio, and they have two sons, J. Bradford, and Carl Cornwell
Tallman. His parents were John K. and Mary (Cornwell) Tallman.
Mr. Tallman is one of the most public spirited and progressive
men in Auburn, and is identified with many of its best business and
social organizations, including the Business Men’s Association,
the Historical Society, the City Club, the Elks, the Royal Arcanum
and the Auburn Automobile Club, of which he is president. He
is also a director of the New York State Automobile Association,Biographical
473
and an honorary member of the Onondaga County Undertakers,
Association. He is and has been for several years a trustee of
Fort Hill Cemetery.
C. F. Baldwin, treasurer of the Eagle Wagon Works is a native
of the town of Venice, Cayuga County, N. Y., and was educated
in the Auburn High School. After spending a year in the Internal
Revenue office, he entered the employ of the D. M. Osborne Com-
pany and remained with that company for twenty-four years. He
began as timekeeper and was treasurer when the business was sold
out to the International Harvester Company. In 1905, the Eagle
Wagon Works was formed, and since that date Mr. Baldwin has
been its treasurer. He is a director of the Cayuga County Savings
Bank and served for one year on the Board of Education, and is a
member of the City Hospital Association.
C. F. Baldwin married Fannie R. Elliott, and they have two
children, Amy E. and Elliott N. Baldwin. Mr. Baldwin’s parents
were William N. and Lavina (Foote) Baldwin. His mother was a
daughter of Dr. Jared Foote.
Captain Edgar Stilson Jennings, of the Wheeler Rifles entered
the National Guard service as a private in the Second Separate
Company on March 3, 1891. He was promoted as follows: corporal,
May 19, 1894; sergeant, May 9, 1896; first sergeant, April 30,
1898; second lieutenant, May 4, 1899; first lieutenant, June 22,
1899, and captain, June 15, 1904.
In the armies of the United States, he is listed as First Sergeant
Company M., Third Regiment, New York Volunteers, May 1, 1898;
Second Lieutenant, June 21, 1898; First Lieutenant, November 11,
1898 to December 2, 1898. He is a member of the Naval and
Military Order of the Spanish-American War, and Past Commander
of the Auburn Post Spanish-American War Veterans.474
History of Cayuga County
Hon. W. C. Burgess, secretary, treasurer and general manager
of the Wegman Piano Company, has been a lifelong resident
of Auburn, where he was bom and educated. Prior to 1887,
he was engaged in the music business, first in Ithaca and then
in Auburn. In 1887, he became associated with Wegman & Hen-
ning, who had established a piano business in Ithaca in 1882. A
conjunction of that firm and Mr. Burgess resulted in the formation
of the house of Wegman & Co., in Auburn, in 1887. In 1889, Mr.
Henning retired and in 1894 the Wegman Piano Company was
incorporated. This company gives employment to a force ranging
from seventy-five to eighty workmen and mechanics. Their plant
has a street frontage of two hundred and sixty-six feet and is three
hundred feet deep. Their pianos are shipped all over the world
and they turn out about one thousand two hundred annually. The
Wegman Piano Company was incorporated in March, 1894, and
Mr. Burgess became general manager in 1895. Under his manage-
ment the enterprise has been very successful.
Besides managing one of the large industrial plants of Auburn,
Mr. Burgess has also taken an active part in the public affairs of the
city. He has been supervisor of the second ward, commissioner
of excise, alderman from the second ward for five years and mayor
two years. He was elected mayor in November, 1901, and admin-
istered the affairs of that office during the years 1902 and T903. He
is a member of the Masonic fraternity, of the Benevolent Protective
Order of Elks and of the City Club. He has twice served as Exalted
Ruler of Auburn Lodge No. 474, Benevolent Protective Order of
Elks, and is now District Deputy Grand Exalted Ruler for Cen-
tral New York.
W. C. Burgess married Carrie Heiser, and they have four daugh-
ters: Lila, now Mrs. Harrison G. Sells; Edna, now Mrs. LeRoy
Porter; Helen M., and Inez. Mr. Burgess’ parents were Robert
O., and Helen M. (Carr) Burgess.Biographical
475
A. H. Hamilton, pharmaceutical chemist, microscopist and
hand writing expert, is one of the most widely known citizens of
Auburn, because of his connection with many celebrated cases that
have- attracted much public interest, and because of his success
along the different lines of his attainments. He was bom at Weeds-
port, Cayuga County, N. Y., and received his preliminary educa-
tion in the schools of his native place. He then took a course in
Columbia College, making specialties of chemistry and micro-
scopy in addition to pharmacy. In 1885 he came to Auburn and in
^>1887, purchased the business long known as Steel's Drug Store.
The business was founded in 1817, and was conducted for many
years by Dr. Richard Steel, who sold out to his son Joseph Steel,
from whom it passed into the hands of A. H. Hamilton.
Besides conducting a thoroughly up-to-date drug store, Mr.
Hamilton makes a specialty of chemical and microscopical work,
and has a private laboratory and consulting room designed especially
for his expert work in which he has a deservedly high reputation.
He is also recognized by the courts as one of the ablest, if not the
ablest handwriting expert in this country. Letters from eminent
lawyers accord to him the credit of being the ablest and most reliable
writing expert yet seen in the courts. His system of tests differs
very materially from those usually employed, and is far more
accurate and convincing. He has placed the subject in the list of
sciences, a dignity it never possessed until he founded it upon
principles and rules. His method is to make the theory of the
case come to and harmonize with the established facts, and not, as
is too often done, force the facts to a desired theory.
Fred G. Ten Eyck, proprietor of the Auburn Leather Goods
Company, and manufacturer of a general line of leather packings,
is a native of Auburn, and prior to starting his present business in
1904, was connected with the Leather & Brass Maunfacturing
Company. In February, 1907, he moved into the new plant which476
History of Cayuga County
he now occupies on Mill street, and has enlarged his operations,
adding new lines, and opening an art and fancy leather department
in which he carries on the manufacture of leather goods for interior
decorating, ladies’ wear, purses and a great variety of fancy articles
in leather. Vests for automobile owners, chauffeurs and men engaged
in outdoor pastimes or business, are a unibue departure in leather
goods. All his goods are high class, and have attained such popu-
larity on the market that his factory is kept running full time
filling special orders. The factory consists of a three-story brick
building sixty by sixty feet in dimensions.
Fred G. Ten Eyck’s parents were James H. and Lida A. (Good-
win) Ten Eyck. His father died, May 14, 1907; his mother is still
living. He married Anna Jane Donley, and they have one daughter,
Ruth G. Ten Eyck. Mr. Ten Eyck is a member of the Masonic
fraternity and is a genial as well as an active business man.
Michael Graney, Freight agent, N. Y. C. & H. R. R. at Auburn,
has been connected with the railroad business in this city for over
thirty years. He is widely known to be one of the most trustworthy
and able men engaged in furthering the traffic interests, in a practi-
cal capacity, in this state. He has vastly improved the system here
in Auburn since assuming charge in 1899. Under his supervision
the new freight house was built in 1905, and the new station in
1905-6. The new freight house is of brick and is five hundred by
forty feet in dimensions. About the same time the yards were
enlarged, and the improvements in buildings and yards cost about
$300,000. Mr. Graney is a public spirited and progressive citizen
and is highly regarded in Auburn. He ‘is a member of the Knights
of Columbus and a director of the Auburn Business Men’s Associa-
tion. He is always in the front rank of those who have the city’s
interests in view and lends his aid to all creditable enterprises.
Mr. Graney’s family consists of his wife, formerly Miss Agnes Cullen,
and two sons, Paul, aged thirteen, and John, aged ten.Biographical
477
W. Thomas Wooley, city engineer of Auburn, is a native of
Albany, N. Y., where he was bom January 15, 1877. He attended
the public and high school of his native city, and later the Rensse-
laer Polytechnic Institute, class of 1900,graduating as civil engineer,
also taking a degree as an architect. After his graduation he was
engaged for a time as consulting engineer upon large contract works
more specifically where engineering was a feature. On January 3,
1908, he was appointed City Engineer of Auburn, by Mayor Koenig,
who desired to secure the very best talent obtainable for this
important position. Mr. Wooley is one of the founders of the
Albany Society of Civil Engineers, secretary of the University Club
of Albany, a member of the Masonic fraternity, secretary of the
West Garden City Realty Company of New York, and a member
of the Theta Xi, his college fraternity; also of the City Club of
Auburn, N. Y. He was architectural draughtsman at the state
capital in the office of Isaac G. Perry, and with Hines, his successor,
in the same capacity and also as assistant structural engineer.
His family is an old one in New York State, and of honorable
and representative antecedents.
John D. Murray, Superintendent of Industries at Auburn
Prison, is a native of Scotland, and a member of the historic Murray
clan, whose fame in the annals of Scotland equals that of Bruce or
Wallace. Mr. Murray has been a resident of Cayuga County since
1871, and for a number of years was a salesman for the old hardware
firm of Terrell, J ohnson & Co. After severing his connection writh
this house he engaged with Choate Brothers as bookkeeper with
whom he also remained a number of years. He then in 1897
received an appointment in Auburn Prison as an officer and in May,
1892, was promoted to the position of Assistant Superintendent of
Industries for the prison, and in 1903 was further promoted to the
superintendency. In the year 1907, Mr. Murray sustained a severe
bereavement through the death of his eldest son, Douglas Murray,478	History of Cayuga County
and then two days later of his daughter Grace, a very popular and
accomplished school teacher in Auburn. Douglas Murray
at the time of his death was in the employ of the Government at
Washington. He was well and favorably known as a member of
the Bulletin staff here for a number of years, which he left to accept
a position in Washington in the stereotyping department of the
public printer. He died in Washington. Mr. Murray has three
children living, namely: William M., John D. Jr., and Isabella.
He is a member of the Elks and is accredited with being one of the
most efficient public officials connected with Auburn Prison.
Alfred C. Thompson was bom in Norwich, Conn., March 12,
1867. After completing the common school studies, he took a
business and commercial course at Baltic, Conn. In 1884 he
entered the Norwich (Conn.) Free Academy, graduating in 1888.
During his academic course he was manager of the baseball nine,
captain of the football team, and president of his class. In 1888
he entered Yale College. While at college he played center on
his class football team, rowed on his class crew at New London,
and won his “ Y” as a member of the ’91 Yale-Mott Haven team.
Also, during his college course he studied law one year with Hon.
W. C. Robinson and Hon. E. J. Phelps, both professors in
Yale. He also studied military science and received a cadet-
ship. He was graduated from Yale with honors in 1892. During
the summer of 1899, he took a course in psychology, biology,
pedagogy and anthropology at Clarke University (Worcester,
Mass.) and holds the university’s certificate for the work done.
During the summer of 1900 he took a course in psychology, peda-
gogy and political economy in “ Ludwig-Maximilians-Universitat, ”
Munich, Germany. He also attended the Twentieth Century
Lecture Course in Boston during the winters of 1902-3 and com-
pleted a course in Sloyd with Mr. Gustaf Larsson at the Sloyd
training school, Boston. Mr. Thompson has held the followingBiographical
479
school positions:	Principal of Hopkins Academy, Hadley, Mass;,
principal of Rutland, (Vermont) High School; superintendent of
schools, Palmer, Mass.; superintendent of schools, Wakefield and
Lynnfield, Mass., and is now superintendent of schools, Auburn,
N. Y. Mr. Thompson has traveled extensively in his own country,
in the British Isles, France, Switzerland, Italy, Austria-Hungary,
the German Empire, Belgium and the Netherlands. He has
appeared upon the lecture platform and has done considerable
literary work. In 1896, Mr. Thompson was married to Miss Lina
Mariane Cook, at Hadley, Mass. Two daughters have been bom
to them, Mariane and Elizabeth. The latter died May 9, 1905.
W. R. Meaker was bom in the town of Owasco, Cayuga County,
N. Y. , and received his early education in the public schools.
He then learned the trade of plumber with J. Harrington, with
whom he remained fifteen years, after which he started in business
for himself in 1897. The firm, at first, was Meaker & Donovan,
but at the end of the first year Mr. Meaker bought out his partner
and has since conducted the business alone. Mr. Meaker’ s parents
were Ellis and Mary E. (Bray) Meaker. Ellis Meaker was a native
of Owasco and his father was one of the early settlers of Cayuga
County. W. R. Meaker married Anna Connor and they have
two children, Gertrude and Alice. Mr. Meaker is a member of the
Masonic Order, of the Elks, and of the Masonic Club.
George H. Leonard was bom in Seneca County but has resided
in Auburn since 1893. He was educated in St. John’s Military
School, Manlius, N. Y., and Cornell Law School, graduating from
the latter with the class of 1893. He was admitted to the bar
in 1894, but chose to follow a business career. He has, however,
given a great deal of attention to military affairs and has been a
member of the National Guard for fifteen years. He is at present480
History of Cayuga County
battalion adjutant under Colonel William M. Wilson. When
the War with Spain broke out in the spring of 1898, he went to the
front, as an enlisted man, with the Third Regiment, New York
Volunteers, which was assigned to the Second Army Corps. He
received his first lieutenant’s commission in 1899. In 1904,
Lieutenant Leonard embarked in the automobile business, and
conducts one of the best garages in the state. He is a member of
the City Club and of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks.
In 1893, Lieutenant Leonard married Sarah Frantz. They have
two children, Marjorie and Virginia.
Dr. A. J. Tuxill, veterinary surgeon of Auburn, is a native
of England. He received his education at the University of New
York, and secured his degree of V. S., in 1894. Dr. Tuxill then
commenced the practice of his profession in Ontario and Onondaga
counties. In 1899 he opened an office in Auburn and has since
practised here, enjoying a large and lucrative clientele. Dr. Tuxill
married Miss Metta Parsons, a graduate of the Auburn City Hos-
pital class of ’99, and they have two children, Mary Jennie, bom
April 16, 1903, and Beulah Parsons, bom Feb. 24, 1907. Mrs.
Tuxill comes from an old Monroe County family the “Whitbesks, ”
whose ancestors came over in the Mayflower. Her grandfather
upon her mother’s side took part in the great Chicago fire in which
he lost his life. Her ancestors were noted for their longevity and
prominence in local affairs.
Henry A. Hompe, the well-known contractor, painter, and
decorator of 15 Exchange street, is a native of this city, and has
been for many years identified with this business, which was estab-
lished by his father (the late M. H. Hompe) a short time after
serving with his company (Captain Gavigan’s) throughout the
Rebellion. Martimus H. Hompe was a native of Holland. HeBiographical
481
came to Auburn in 1856, and was for a number of years in charge
of the old furniture establishment of Robert Peet on Market street.
When the first call for volunteers came, he enlisted and participated
with his company in all the engagements of Company D, Nineteenth
New York State Volunteers, and after he was honorably discharged
at the close of his service he returned to the furniture business for
four years with Mr. Peet. Mr. Hompe then started in business in
house painting and decorating. The business prospered and he
did the work upon many of the principal structures and mansions
of Auburn, among others the Auburn Savings Bank, and the D. M.
Osborne residence. In 1879, Henry A. Hompe, was admitted to
a partnership; their location then was 3 5 Market street; here they
continued to prosper exceedingly, employing from forty to eighty
men daily during the season. In 1907 the elder member of the
firm retired and it is now conducted at 15 Exchange street and is
still known as Hompe & Co., the partners being Henry A. Hompe
and William J. Aldrich.
Henry A. Hompe has a family of five children. Henry
Alexander, a graduate of Williams College, who is representing
Allen & Bacon, a well-known publishing house in the southern
states with headquarters in Wilmington; Isabella, a graduate of
Wheelock Kindergarten Training School and now under engagement
with the Auburn Board of Education at the Division street school;
George, a graduate of the Academic High School, now in the employ
of a large wholesale grocery establishment in Auburn, and two
younger children, Louise and Robert, attending school.
M. Curry Turpin, superintendent of the Auburn Light, Heat
& Power Co., and of the Auburn Subway Electric Company, is a
native of Richmond, Va. After a preliminary education he at-
tended the Alabama Polytechnic Institute, Auburn, Ala., and later
Cornell University, class of 1902. After leaving Cornell, Mr. Turpin
studied electricity practically with the General Electric Company
31482
History of Cayuga County
at Schenectady for one year, and was then sent by that great com-
pany to their Philadelphia office where he remained for three years
as assistant district engineer. On January i, 1907, he was offered
and accepted his present position in this city, where he has done
much to improve and facilitate their extensive operations. Mr.
Turpin is a member of the Auburn City Club, Owasco Country Club,
and the Order of Elks. He is also identified with other social and
local affairs. The Auburn Heat, Light & Power Company is a
corporation which supplies Auburn with heat, light, power and
steam, and also acts as a distributing agent for power sent here
from Niagara Falls.
John J. White, one of the best known insurance men in Auburn,
is a native of Rhode Island but came to this city at the age of seven
and was educated in the local schools. Before engaging in the
insurance business he was assistant superintendent for the American
Wringer Company for twenty-two years. He is manager for the
National Protective Legion, a life, accident and weekly benefit
company, which was organized under the laws of the State of New
York in 1890. Mr. White was placed in charge of the Auburn
branch in 1905, which had then been established for seven years.
The home office of the company is located at Waverly, N. Y. It
is a fraternal organization of 255,000 members, and it possesses a
unique and attractive feature in that it declares and pays dividends.
Mr. White is well and widely known in several social and fra-
ternal orders. He is a member of the Benevolent and Protective
Order of Elks Auburn Lodge No. 474; of the Woodmen and of
the Sons of Veterans and also of the Foresters. He is State Chief
Forester of the Woodmen. He is also widely known and very
popular as an entertainer and amateur actor, and gives perform-
ances all over the state. He had charge of the last great minstrel
show given by the Elks in Auburn, which was considered one of
the finest ever presented to an Auburn audience. For someBiographical
483
time he had the management of the Dabinett-White Military Band
and also of the Second Separate Company Band. In some of
his theatrical specialties he is ably assisted by his daughter, Miss
Helen Janet White. Mr. White was alderman for the seventh
ward two terms and served seven years in the Second Separate
Company. He is at present the national president of the District
Managers’ Association of the United States of the N. P. L.
Glenn F. Briggs, wholesale and retail shoe dealer, Auburn,
N. Y., has been a traveling representative for Dunn & McCarthy
for over twenty-four years. He opened a retail store at 81 Genesee
street in 1892, which he still owns, and his wholesale warerooms at
36 Clark street were established January 1, 1907. Mr. Briggs
conducts a specialty business, selling Dunn & McCarthy’s shoes by
catalogue. His trade extends throughout the entire United States.
He also visits the leading Western trade centers in the interest of
Dunn & McCarthy.
John H. Post, was bom in Throopsville, Cayuga County, N. Y.,
and received his education in the common schools of his native
town and at the Auburn High School. After spending three years
with the Dunning Hardware Company he was two years in the
wholesale saddlery hardware business in Syracuse. He then
entered the employ of Choate Bros, hardware merchants, and
remained with them for eight years, when he became a partner in
the firm of Post & Duncan, which succeeded Choate Brothers, in
April, 1905. In July, 1906, Mr. Post bought out his partner’s
interest in the business and is now sole proprietor. This house
was established in 1843, by Joseph Choate & Sons. In 1856 the
firm became Choate Brothers. In 1871, they moved to the present
business stand and were the proprietors until April, 1905, as stated
above. Mr. Post is a member of the Benevolent and Protective484
History of Cayuga County
Order of Elks and the Royal Arcanum. His parents were John
H. and Rachael (Dunning) Post. His father was a native of
Cayuga County. His grandfather, John Post, was one of the
early settlers on Owasco Lake. Post and Peterson once owned
nearly all the land on the west shore of the lake. John H. Post
married Mary Brightman of Auburn, whose parents were natives
of England.
H. H. Fell, of 61 Franklin street, is one of the best known
plumbers of Auburn, who does a large business in sanitary plumbing,
gas and steam fitting, hot water heating, tin and sheet iron work.
In 1903, he succeeded his brother E. M. Fell in the business at 61
Franklin street, and it has grown steadily under his management.
He employs from four to seven men according to the season of the
year and personally supervises all work himself. He is a native of
Cayuga County as was his father before him. His grandfather
Moses T. Fell, came to this county from Bucks County, Pa. H. H.
Fell’s parents were J. E. and Lydia S. (Powell) Fell. His wife was
Carrie Baldwin, a native of the town of Venice, and educated at
Auburn.
James K. Bust, carriage dealer, was bom in Tonawanda, N. Y.,
April 8, 1863, and received his education in the schools of his native
city. After a large experience sailing on the lakes he settled in
Weedsport in 1894, and embarked in the carriage and wagon busi-
ness. He remained in Weedsport for fifteen years, and then came
to Auburn in 1902, starting in a modest way at his present stand No.
6-8-10 Dill street. At first he dealt in wagons and sleighs only, but
his business increased rapidly and to-day he carries a large stock of
carriages, sleighs, wagons and horse furnishings and occupies two
large floors with his varied stock. Mr. Bust is a member of Weeds-
port Lodge No. 385 Free and Accepted Masons, and is widely known
as a thoroughly upright and reliable business man.Biographical
485
Dan C. Pitt, manager of the Auburn Branch of the Standard
Oil Company, was born at Wells, Pa., in the year 1863 and was
educated at Elmira College, Elmira, N. Y. His entire business
life has been spent in the employ of the Standard Oil Company with
which he has been associated for twenty-five years; first in Elmira,
then in Spracuse; and finally as manager in Auburn—a recognition
of the ability and fidelity he had shown in previous positions.
The public mind is becoming enlightened, even if slowly, as to
the true source of the great success of the Standard Oil Company.
That phenomenal success has not been produced either by the
miracles or the machinations of a master mind, but by the active,
honest, able efforts of a large number of capable men managing,
with consummate ability, the various departments and branches
of the corporation. So, Mr. Pitt is in charge of the Auburn office
with its nine sub-stations and its territorial district embracing one
hundred and twenty-four towns. The sub-stations are located at
Geneva, Canandaigua, Lyons, Locke, Levanna, Skaneateles, Weeds-
port, Seneca Falls and Ovid. Mr. Pitt exercises a close personal
supervision over each station, and the business done in every town
in his territory, traveling much of his time and seeing that the public
receives the best possible service, and his company the best possible
results. A large variety of oils and oil consuming utensils are sold,
including stoves, heaters, lamps, and everything that goes there-
with. The Auburn office is under the direct supervision of the
Albany office of the Standard Oil Company.
Mr. Pitt married Jennie Lougher, and they have one son, Dan
C. Pitt, Jr. His parents were J. L. and Irene Pitt of Wells, Pa. His
fraternal organizations are the Oddfellows and the Masonic frater-
nities, his affiliation with the latter being as a member of Auburn
Lodge No. 431 Free and Accepted Masons. He has been in charge
of the Auburn office of the Standard Oil for the past eight years.486
History of Cayuga County
Lewis F. Leonard, dealer in coal, has built up a lucrative busi-
ness in Auburn. His office is at 8c Genesee street. Mr. Leonard
keeps a number of assistants and several teams busy. His yards
have a capacity of three thousand five hundred tons, and he handles
only the choicest productions of the Pennsylvania mines. Mr.
Leonard is a native of Owasco, bom December 23, 1871. He
received his education in the public schools of Auburn and also
graduated from the high school and after this spent four years as a
bookkeeper in the employ of G. W. Richardson & Son. After sever-
ing his connection with Richardson & Son, he was associated with
his brother Edward in the bicycle business until July 1, 1898, when
he succeeded O. C. Hall in the coal business. Mr. Leonard is
recognized as a business man of the strictest integrity and sagacity
and his coal business is one of the most important enterprises of
Auburn.
J. Arthur Hungerford of 95 State street, the representative
man in his line in Auburn, established his present business in April,
1904. His great specialtiesa re roofing and comice work, and he has
done this work on nearly all the best buildings in the city. He
employs on the average, a force of thirty men and superintends every
contract himself, insuring thorough and satisfactory work. Mr.
Hungerford learned his trade in Syracuse and had twenty-one
years’ practical experience in the business in that city before he
started in Auburn. He is equipped in every way to handle
contracts of -any size and has gained the reputation of being
a thoroughly reliable and honorable business man. Mr. Hun-
gerford married Alice Duplisa and they have a family of
four children. His parents were Edwin F. and Louise (Bears)
Hungerford.
Fred L. Swart, optician, comer of Genesee and Green streets,
Auburn, is a graduate of the Philadelphia Opticial College, class ofBiographical
487
’91. Mr. Swart has been very successful in his profession, and is
recognized by his colleagues as being one of the most expert and
scientific in the profession. He has been repeatedly elected to
important official positions in the State and National Optical
Societies. He has served as president of the State Optical Society
which position he resigned after two years’ service, also vice-
president and treasurer of the National Optical Society, and
refused election as president. He is alderman in the ninth ward,
City of Auburn, and has been elected three timesto that position.
Alderman Swart is also identified with local, social, and bene-
volent institutions. He is a high-up Mason, a Shriner, an Elk, and
a member of the City Club. His family consists of a wife and
two children, both boys, who are named Leland and Robert.
M. S. Goss, has been continuously before the public as a coal
dealer for more than twenty-four years, and in that time has built
up a large business in Auburn. His office is on Genesee street,
and his yards are located on Baker Avenue, with direct communica-
tion with the Lehigh Valley Railroad. Mr. Goss was bom in the
town of Aurelius, Cayuga County, N. Y., and was educated in the
district schools of Aurelius and the Auburn High School.
J. C. Weeks of Auburn, is a native of Cortland County. He
lived in Scipio twenty-five years and Auburn has been his home
since leaving that town. Mr. Weeks has been successful in estab-
lishing important business interests here. He is identified with
the Birdsall Engine Company and is one of the proprietors of the
Auburn Draying Company. He also owns a magnificent stock
farm near Auburn, known as the Evergreen Stock Farm, upon
which he keeps a herd of seventy-five very fine imported stock.
He and his father have owned this farm for forty-one years. Prior
to that time it was in the possession of Harvey Close for sixty-five488
History of Cayuga County
years, so that the farm has been owned by only two families in
one hundred and six years, or since the days of the first settlers in
this section. Improved methods of sanitation and cleanliness are
strictly enforced upon this model farm and its productions are
unexcelled. Mr. Weeks has a family consisting of a wife and five
living children, namely: May, Frank, Alice, Grace and Ruth.
John L. Alnutt, contractor and builder, was born in the town
of Aurelius, Cayuga County, where his early life was passed upon
a farm. He received his education in the public schools and Oak-
wood Seminary. He then learned the trade of carpenter, and with
the exception of a year spent in Omaha, Nebraska, his work has
been in and about Auburn. During the past ten years he has
followed contracting, erecting some of the best public and private
buildings in the city. Mr. Alnutt is a member of the First Baptist
Church, and served one term as president of the Young Men’s
Christian Association. He is also president of the Auburn Mutual
Fire Insurance Company, and is a member and past director of the
Auburn Business Men’s Association. Mr. Alnutt married Arvilla
May Garling, daughter of William Garling of Seneca Falls, N. Y.
They have one son, Henry R., who is a student in the Auburn
High School
Charles A. Wright, was bom in the town of Moravia, Cayuga
County, N. Y., October 30, 1871. He was prepared for college at
the Moravia High School, 1891, and the Auburn High School,
graduating from the latter with the class of 1893. He then took a
course in Williams College, graduating with the class of 1897. In
1899, after studying law for two years with Wright & Cushing, he
entered Columbia College Law School. Mr. Wright passed his
bar examinations in 1901 and was graduated in 1902. After being
admitted to the bar he immediately began the practice of his
profession.Biographical
489
Daring his college career both at Williams and Columbia, he
took an active part in athletics and was particularly distinguished
as a member of the football teams. On January 25, 1902, Mr.
Wright, married Mary D. Babcock. In the fall of 1907 he was
nominated for city judge by the Republicans of Auburn. Mr.
Wright is a son of James A. Wright, Esq., of Moravia.
Frank E. Ten Eyck, president of the Leather & Brass Manu-
facturing Company of Auburn, N Y., is one of the best known
inventors and workers in brass in the state. In 1898 the Leather
& Brass Company was formed by him, and started operations in
Seneca Falls, but moved to Auburn in 1901, and was incorporated
at that time. The Leather & Brass Manufacturing Company’s
factory is located at No. 24 East Genesee street. Mr. Ten Eyck
opened this factory in 1907 and equipped it for the manufacture
of brass specialties, of which he has eleven different appliances of
his own invention, but makes any article required He does a
large business in automobile specialties. In 1894, Frank E. Ten
Eyck married Maud Lewis and they have one daughter, Lida M.
Auburn Business School. This is the largest and most
important business school in Cayuga County, and was founded in
1890. In 1896 the present principal and proprietor, Mr. H. F.
Crumb became its head, and each year since that date has witnessed
an increase in the reputation of the institution and a corresponding
increase in the number of students availing themselves of the
superior business training to be obtained at this school. The
definite object aimed at in Auburn Business School is to educate
young men and women to such a degree of proficiency as to make
them good, efficient office employees. How well that object is
being attained is proven by the ever-increasing popularity of the
school. Mr. Crumb never sends a young man or young woman to490
History of Cayuga County
a position unless he is perfectly satisfied the student is thoroughly
able to meet the most exacting requirements of the place, and this
care on his part has given the school a deservedly high reputation
among business and professional men.
The worth of the school under Mr. Crumb’s management is
well illustrated by its growth. When he took charge the school
had about seven hundred square feet of floor space, and a small
class of students. To-day over 2,200 feet of space is occupied
and the daily attendance exceeds one hundred pupils.
H. F. Crumb was born in Delaware, Ohio, and was educated
at the Ohio Wesleyan College. He has been actively engaged in
business school work since 1885, and is keenly alive to American
business methods and interests. He realizes that technical educa-
tion, no matter how thorough, is not all the equipment necessary
for a student preparing for an office position, but that character is
an indispensable qualification for success. Industry, honesty ,
fidelity, are inculcated in this school with as much zeal as short-
hand or bookkeeping.
Charles E. Tuxill, president of the Tuxill Realty and Improve-
ment Company has offices at 307-308 and 309 Auburn Savings Bank
Building. Mr. Tuxill has been engaged in the real esate business
for eight years, and has been particularly successful in developing
properties. He opened up “Tuxill Square” in this city, upon
which he has a beautiful home. He also opened up Woodlawn
avenue and other smaller tracts. He is also interested in Rochester
real estate where he has constructed and sold over sixty-five
houses.
In February, 1907, he was the promoter of the Tuxill Realty and
Improvement Company which was incorporated at that time with
a capitalization of $100,000.Biographical
491
He is a member of the Masonic Lodge and is also an Elk. He
is a member of Trinity Methodist Episcopal Church, of which he has
been a trustee since 1903, and has been on the official board since
1897.
Robert Schicht, printer and manufacturer of paper and cigar
boxes, established this business in 1871. His plant occupies over
ten thousand feet of floor space and is fully equipped with the latest
printing and box making machinery. He employs between twenty
and thirty people.
Mr. Schicht is a native of Austria, but has lived in America since
1866. He is a member of the Order of Elks and of the Knights of
Pythias. For three successive terms he represented his ward as
alderman in the city council and later was elected and served a
term as police commissioner.
Mr. Schicht married Mary J. Rhoades and they have three chil-
dren, all of whom are married, namely, Mrs. Albert I. Mahar of
New York City, Mrs. Frank E. Wilkinson of Auburn and Wil-
liam A. Schicht who is now associated with his father in business.
William A. Schicht was connected with the Cayuga County
National Bank for eight years as bookkeeper and was teller in
the Auburn Trust Company before forming his present business
relations.
Anton Mantel was bom in the Tyrol, Austria, and came to
America in 1868, settling in Syracuse, where he remained eight years.
In 1874, he came to Auburn where he has since resided. He worked
for Clark & Barnes for a time and in 1877, started in business for
himself as a shoemaker. He had learned not only the trade of
shoemaker but also that of mason. In 1879 he opened his
saloon, and in 1883 built the Mantel block at 17 Water street. In
1906-7 he built his fine brick bam on the Outlet near Garden street,
and is a large property owner in the city.492
History of Cayuga County
Anton Mantel married Amelia Englert of Cayuga County,
February 2, 1875, and they have a family of five children, namely,
Marie, now Mrs. Kaiser, Elizabeth, now Mrs. Snyder, Frank A., a
graduate of Cornell University, Othelia and Pauline.
H. E. Yorker, of 7 South street, electrical engineer and con-
tractor, established himself in the electrical business in Auburn,
November 17, 1903. He was at that time a graduate in the science
of electricity and has had a practical experience of fourteen years
in electrical work. In January, 1905, he changed the name
of his establishment and now conducts the business under the title
of H. E. Yorker, Electric Company. He does all kinds of electrical
contracting, but makes a specialty of electrical decorations for
celebrations. He also deals in electrical supplies of all kinds and
does a large business. He has had a large experience in installing
electric plants all over the country. Mr. Yorker is a native of
Syracuse and was educated in that city. There also he learned
the electrical business, having taken it up immediately after
graduating from the High School.
Mr. Yorker married Radie Gibson of Syracuse, and they have
one daughter, Leuella.
Dobbs & Son, florists, Auburn, N. Y. This business was
established in 1885, by D. M. Dunning, but was purchased by the
elder Dobbs in 1892. The firm became Dobbs & Son in 1905, the
partners being George Dobbs and William G. Dobbs. They have
a very fine greenhouse, known as West End Gardens, at 145 S
Division street, a notable feature of which is a magnificent display
of hot house grapes, to which one department is entirely devoted.
William G. Dobbs is a member of the National Organization
of American Florists and Ornamental Horticulturists and of the
Benevolent Protective Order of Elks. Mr. George Dobbs is an
Englishman by birth. He came to America in 1880, and has beenBiographical
493
a florist for over thirty-five years. This firm took three diplomas
and a medal at the Chicago World’s Fair, Pan-American and St.
Louis expositions for their exhibit of indoor grapes.
A. C. MacColl of Auburn, fiscal agent for the Mexican. Lumber
Company with office in Temple Court is among the enterprising and
progressive business men of the city. He is a native of Caledonia,
N. Y., and attended school there. For sixteen years Mr. MacColl
travelled in the interests of the lumber business. He was identified
with the International Lumber Company in 1906, following which
he became one of the organizers of the Mexican American Lumber
Company. The operations of this company extend throughout the
United States and Mexico; we find among its officers and directors
such well and favorably known men as W. H. Hollister, H. A. Smith,
C. J. Lewis, E. A. Stevens, Henry Danziger, Fred F. Irish and others.
Mr. MacColl is a member of the Masonic fraternity, and iden-
tified with leading social and commercial interests here,
George T. Clarke was bom in Bristol, Somersetshire, England,
and came to the United States by way of Canada, in 1887. He
settled in Auburn in the same year and worked for D. M. Osborne in
the rolling mills for four years. He was subsequently a keeper in
the Insane Criminal Asylum for three years and eight months,
after which he was engaged in the shoe business for a time and
spent about nine years in the Clapp Manufacturing Company, after
which he became gardener for D. M. Dunning and there learned the
business in which he is now engaged.
In February, 1903, Mr. Clarke embarked in the business of
florist and has a finely appointed greenhouse on Clark road near
the city line. He is a member of the Odd Fellows, the Maccabees,
Sons of St. George and the Society of Ben Hur. Mr. Clarke married
E. Caroline Tutcher and they have two children, George Reginald494
History of Cayuga County
and Winifred Alice. Mr. Clarke has built up a very fine trade
He caters especially to weddings, receptions and funerals and is
very highly regarded wherever known.
W. C. Hunter is the proprietor of the leading cleaning and
dyeing establishment in Auburn. In 1901 he came here from
Rochester where he had charge of the Leary Dye House, and pur-
chased the long-established Preuss Dye Works. Since becoming
proprietor he has enlarged the works, and has installed the necessary
machinery to dye or clean anything from a feather to a carpet.
He occupies the whole block at 15 Water street, a three-story
structure which extends to the Owasco Creek in the rear. During
the past six years besides doubling his business in Auburn, Mr.
Hunter has established branch receiving stores in Syracuse and
agencies in the surrounding towns. His leading out-of-town store,
being at 446 South Selina street, Syracuse. The material received
at his store in Syracuse and other agencies is sent by American
Express to the works in Auburn and quickly returned, perfectly
cleaned or dyed as ordered. His French cleaning process has
become well known throughout Central New York. Mr. Hunter
is a practical expert in dyeing, having learned his trade and the
business in the immense Parker Dye Shops, Toronto, Ontario,
where from four hundred to six hundred hands are employed and
of which Mr. Hunter’s uncle is superintendent. He worked in this
dyeing establishment for five years, (between the age of sixteen
and twenty-one) and then came to this country and has established
himself in a growing and lucurative business in which he is so expert.
He married Christina MacEachem and they have a family of
three children, namely: Ruth, Charles, and Gordon.
D. A. Donovan. In these days when every municipalhy has
its board of health and the State is constantly striving to look afterBiographical
495
the hygiene of the people, the importance of sanitary plumbing
cannot be overestimated. In this department as well as in general
plumbing, and steam and gas heating, D. A. Donovan has attained
to a high reputation in Auburn. The plumbing and heating in
many of the best buildings in the city were installed by him.
Among them may be mentioned the residence of John H. Osborne,
the H. L. Romig block and residence, the Cayuga National Bank
Building, besides scores of others.
Mr. Donovan was bom in Auburn in 1867 and educated in the
local schools. He began his trade in 1882 and in 1889 started in
business for himself, and has become one of the foremost and best
known plumbers in Central New York. He is a member of the
Plumbers’ Board of Examiners, and also of the Benevolent Protec-
tive Order of Elks and the Knights of Columbus. His business
premises, at 26 Dill street, are one hundred and seven by twenty-
three feet in dimensions and thoroughly stocked with a full line
of plumbers ’ goods.
The Auburn Creamery Company was established February s,
1903, but passed into the possession of the present proprietors,
J. H. Lewis and E. J. Bisgrove in 1906. Their establishment in
the city is situated at 53 North street, besides which they have a
creamery in Owasco, which is used as a receiving station for milk.
Their great specialty is ice cream in which they do an extensive
wholesale business, extending from the Newark valley on the south
to the lake on the north.
Mr. Lewis is a native of the town of Sennett, Cayuga County,
N. Y., and has been engaged in the milk business fiftteen years or
more. In 1896, he took a course in the Dairy Department of
Cornell University, and is an expert in his business. He married
Jennie Taylor and they have one daughter, Dorothy. His parents
were Edwin and Sarah Lewis. His father was a native of England,
but came to America at the age of fourteen. He died in 1904.496
History of Cayuga County
Sarah Lewis is also of English descent and is still living. Mr. Lewis
is a member of the Masonic fraternity.
E. J. Bisgrove is a native of Cayuga County and has been
engaged in the dairy and ice cream trade all his business life. He
was one of the original partners in the Auburn Creamery Company
when it was formed in 1903, and is a thoroughly practical man.
He has been a member of the Wheeler Rifles for three years. His
parents were John and Elizabeth Bisgrove, both of English
descent. His father is living but his mother is deceased.
The Robinson Monument Company. This business was estab-
lished by W. G. Robinson in 1869, and has grown to extensive pro-
portions. Mr. W. G. Robinson the founder, was an artist of great
ability. Among the many memorials that he designed is one that
is of national character and reputation; we refer to the celebrated
Seward Monument located in Seward Park, Auburn, wdiich is
recognized throughout the country as being one of the finest and
most perfect works that has ever been turned out in this country;
but the life-sized statue of Christ on the Paul Cook Woodruff
monument, in Fort Hill Cemetery, is his best piece of work, and is
greatly admired by artists and critics. After many years of
business activity, W. C. Robinson died in 1906, deeply regretted
not alone for his superior artistic attainments, but also for his
many personal characteristics, which endeared him to all who
had the pleasure of his acquaintance. He was succeeded by his
son, Homer L. Robinson, who has been the piactical manager for
over twenty-one years, and who has made a study of the business
in all of its details.
John E. Bristol is a native and lifelong resident of Auburn.
He was prepared for college at the Auburn High School, class of
1873, and then entered Rochester University where he remainedBiographical
497
one year after which he began to teach school in which occupation
he was engaged for two years. He then returned to the University
and finished his sophomore year and two terms of his junior year,
when in the spring of 1878, his father purchased the old grist mill
built by Jehiel Clark in 1805. John E. Bristol, joined his father in
the milling business and was connected therewith until October,
1907, when he sold out his interest in the Bristol Milling Company
which had been formed December 1, 1906. In December 1907, he
became interested in the Johnson Manure Spreader which is man-
ufactured by the Glen Wagon Company of Seneca Falls, N. Y., and
is the local agent for this spreader in Cayuga County.
John E. Bristol married Luella Bettys, and they have a family
of three children, namely, Ruth, Howard and Homer. Mr. Bristol’s
parents were John S. and Salome (Culver) Bristol. John S. Bristol
was also a school teacher and taught for many years, prior to 1865,
in the old No. 5 School in Auburn. He was bom in Pennsylvania,
but came to Auburn when seven years of age.
S. B. Wheeler, one of the leading plumbers of Auburn, suc-
ceeded the old firm of Hum & Wheeler in 1904, when he bought out
his partner’s interest in the business. He occupies two adjoining
stores at Nos. 85 and 87 State street, one of which is used as a sales-
room and one as a factory. He employs a force of twelve practical
plumbers, and has a large patronage among the mill and factory
owners of the city. An interesting and special feature of his estab-
lishment is a power pipe cutting machine, capable of cutting an
eight inch pipe. It is the largest pipe cutter in the city and the only
one with motor power attachment. This attachment Mr. Wheeler
had installed in March, 1907. In addition to his regular business
as a contracting plumber, he carries a full line of plumbers’ goods.
Mr. Wheeler is a member of the Master Plumbers’ Association,
and is a reliable business man, as well as an expert plumber.
32498
History of Cayuga County
The Independent Brewing Company, located at 117 to 127
Clark street, Auburn, N. Y., is not only one of the largest establish-
ments of its kind in this city, but in this part of the state, and
judged by the quality of its products, it is second to none in the
country. The plant is a splendid brick structure of stone and brick,
admirably equipped with the best modem machinery and appliances
and has a capacity of sixty-five thousand barrels of ale and. beer .
per annum. Special brands manufactured by this house are:	Old
Times Lager, XXXX Pale Ale, High Hop Ale, and Private Stock
Lager. They have an agency in Rochester which is in charge of
Mr. O. S. Oppenheimer. The Rochester branch is the distributing
center for a large territory throughout which the goods of this
company are the most popular because of their purity and excel-
lence. It is the high quality of their ale and beer which enables
them to compete successfully with all rivals.
The Independent Brewing Company was established in 1856,
and was incorporated in 1902. It has been under the present man-
agement since July 1, 1904. The officers of the company are:
William Franke, president; O. S. Oppenheimer, vice-president; A. J.
Lauer, secretary and treasurer, Mr. Franke, who is superintendent
as well as president is not only a practical brewer, but is an
expert in the business and personally superintends the brewing of
every barrel of beer and ale made in the establishment. He has
been in the brewing business over thirty years and his record is one
of honorable dealings and honest success. He was a master
brewer in several large Western breweries before coming to
Auburn in 1904. He is a liberal supporter of the Church and
takes a warm interest in education and in everything tending
toward the advancement of the city.
Mr. O. S. Oppenheimer has been with the company for seven
years, six of which he has been in charge of the Rochester branch.
He formerly resided in Auburn, and was connected with the Auburn
office for one year.Biographical
499
Mr. A. J. Lauer is a native of Chicago, and has been in the brew-
ing business for twenty-two years. He began the business when
sixteen years of age and was connected with breweries in Chicago
and Milwaukee before coming to Auburn. During his last six
years in Milwaukee he was manager of a brewery in that city. In
Auburn he is known as one of the most active and at the same time
one of the most generous of its business men, and is respected for his
work in behalf of Church and charitie's. He takes great interest in
the Charity Ball, and in many ways gives aid to his fellowmen. He
is a member of several prominent and helpful organizations.
Besides their brewery business both Mr. Franke and Mr. Lauer
have large property interests in Auburn and, naturally, are keenly
alive to the welfare of the city. Both are stockholders in the
Auburn Trust Company, and both are heavy taxpayers.
D. W. Haley & Son. This firm conducts one of the largest and
best laundries in Auburn, which was established by D. W. Haley in
1890, at 32 Market street. In 1894 the business was moved to
the present location at No. 10J Market street, where they occupy
three floors and basement and employ thirty-one hands, and two
wagons. D. W. Haley conducted the business alone until 1904,
when his son, A. W. Haley became a partner, and the firm assumed
its present style and name. D. W. Haley is a native of Madison
County, N. Y., and married Alice Moore, a native of the north of
Ireland. A. W. Haley was bom in Cortland County, N. Y. The
family came to Auburn in 1890. D. W. Haley is a member of the
Masonic fraternity and Knights Templars; also of the Odd Fellows,
Maccabees, and Royal Arcanum. A. W. Haley is a member of the
Knights of Pythias. The family lives on the old Peet farm on
East Genesee street which Mr. Haley purchased about the year 1900.
Cayuga County Dairy Company. This splendid institution
was founded in the fall of 1906, and the plant was erected and500
History of Cayuga County
equipped in the summer of that year The establishment consists
of a three-story brick building, containing twelve rooms and is
fitted up throughout with the most modem machinery and appli-
ances for handling and purifying milk and perfecting all its products.
Pastuerized dairy products are the great specialties of the company,
and not only pure milk, but cream, butter, cottage cheese, butter-
milk, ice and ices are manufactured, and sold both at wholesale
and retail. The officers of the company are T. M. Osborne, presi-
dent; E. N. Ross, vice-president; T H. Garrett, Jr., treasurer;
F. S. Jacques, secretary and general manager.
James Ray, banker and steamship agent, 90 Clark street,
Auburn, N. Y., is a native of sunny Italy, but has resided in America
since 1890. He came to this country when a boy and by his energy,
ability and honest dealings he has built up a substantial business
and at the same time acquired a high reputation as a man and a
citizen. He conducts a private banking office and has a bond
deposited with the State authorities as security for deposits and his
financial responsibilities. He is also a prominent steamship agent,
and is manager of Postoffice Station No. 5, in Auburn. In addi-
tion to all this he is official court interpreter for the City of Auburn,
and is of great benefit to all the sons of Italy living in this part of
the state. He takes a warm and liberal interest in public affairs
and gives his aid to several worthy organizations and movements
for the public benefit. He is a member of and an active worker in
the Imperial Order of Tacoons; he was the founder of the
Christopher Columbus Society, and is president of the Italian
Catholic Society in which he takes a strong and never flagging
interest. His liberal and intelligent work is highly appreciated
by the general public outside of his own countrymen.
William F. MulleiJ, undertaker and embalmer, of 30 Clark
street, Auburn, succeeded to this business in 1903, prior to whichBiographical
501
time his father had been the head of the business and the leading
undertaker of Auburn since 1872. Michael Mullen, the founder of
the business, was a highly respected citizen of Auburn for many
years, especially respected and esteemed for his sterling honesty
and integrity. William F. Mullen is a native of Auburn, attended
school here, graduating from the High School, A. A. H. S., class of
’88. He is a member of the Knights of Columbus, Catholic Men’s
Benevolent Association, and is one of the most enterprising and
public spirited of Auburn’s business men.
F. A. Signor, Auburn, manufacturer of ladies’ and children’s
goods, established the business here in April, 1907. Prior to this
time he had heen identified with the dry goods trade. He was a
member of the firm of O’Brien & Signor, No. 3 State street, and
had been for a number of years one of the best buyers and judges of
salable designs and fashions in merchandise located in Auburn.
But desiring a more extended field for his energies, he sold out his
interest in the mercantile firm and began manufacturing the line
of goods which since has become so well known. The> embody
many styles, all attractive and of fashionable designs which make
them popular and salable. Mr. Signor occupies spacious quarters
at No. 2 Exchange street, where he has retail parlors adjoining his
wholesale department, and every facility is at hand to successfully
conduct the business; a considerable force of hands are employed.
He has established a high reputation for his goods and his patronage
is steadily growing. Personally he is a popular and highly respected
business man and citizen.
D. E. Jones, master mechanic of the extensive Osborne works,
has been a resident of this city for the past twenty-four years.
Sixteen of these he has passed in the employ of this great industrial
enterprise. Mr. Jones is a native of Madison County, N. Y. He502
History of Cayuga County
became identified with Birdsall & Co., after locating in Auburn,
with whom he remained eight years as engine builder. In 1891,
he accepted a position with the Osbornes, beginning with them as
a dye-sinker, he was soon promoted to take charge of the mechanism
of the rolling mill plant. After one year he was made general
foreman of the machine shop, and one year later was promoted to
the important office of master mechanic of the entire works. In
this position his splendid mechanical ability has been of incal-
culable value to this great company. He is chief engineer of the
Owasco River Railroad, which connects with the Lehigh and New
York Central. Mr. Jones’s family consists of his wife and three
children, namely : Mabel, Adelbert and Henry.
P. J. Shea, caterer and manufacturing confectioner established
his business in Auburn in May, 1899. His well appointed and finely
equipped store is located at 99 Genesee street in which he fur-
nishes employment to nine assistants. He manufacturers candy
and makes a specialty of catering for parties and receptions,
taking charge of such functions personally. He also manufactures
ice cream for both the wholesale and retail trade. Mr. Shea is a
member of the Order of Elks, and of the Auburn Board of Health,
to which he was appointed in 1907. His parents were Jeremiah
and Mary (McGuire) Shea. He married Helen Quirk of Auburn.
Murphy Brothers of No. 1 State street, Auburn, conduct the
leading hatting and gentlemen’s furnishing business of this city.
They established it in 1903. The firm is composed of Stephen and
Edward J. Murphy, both native Aubumians, popular and energetic
in their business relations and courteous to all. Their trade has
naturally become an important factor in the commercial affairs
of the city. Stephen Murphy, is a member of the Knights of
Columbus and is identified with other local social and benevolentBiographical
503
affairs; he is the practical manager of the establishment. Edward
J. has for some time been manager of the Novelty Theater in
Troy, N. Y., but has recently been appointed manager of the
Novelty in Auburn. He is an Elk and enjoys a very excellent
reputation as a successful manager of institutions catering to the
public’s amusement. Both members of this reputable house are
representative business men and highly regarded as citizens.
T. D. Mooney has for the past ten years transacted an exten-
sive business as a stock broker at No. io State Street, Auburn.
His offices are equipped with direct wires to New York and Chicago,
and Mr. Mooney has a large patronage which includes many of our
prominent citizens. He also represents the Celia Commission
Company. T. D. Mooney is a native of Auburn, and enjoys an
enviable reputation for honor and fair dealing. He maintains
branch offices at Ithaca and Watkins, N. Y.
John Holihan, proprietor of the oldest established plumbing
shop in Auburn, was bom in this city, May 12, 1852, and received
his early education in the city schools. Here also he learned his
trade, and in 1878, he started in business for himself on Genesee
street. In 1893 he moved to his present stand at No. 31 State
street, where he occupies two floors, one hundred feet in depth.
Mr. Holihan has carried through, with perfect success, some of
the largest plumbing contracts in Auburn or this part of the State.
Among them were the plumbing in the State Armory, in the Auburn
Savings Bank building, in the City Hospital, and the heating system
placed in Auburn Prison in 1906, when the heating in the warden’s
office and departments was changed from steam to hot water
heating. In 1892 he did all the plumbing and installed the heating
in the Court House and jail. Mr. Holihan’s parents were Thomas
and Catherine (Howard) Holihan. Thomas Holihan came to
this country from Ireland in 1848.504
History of Cayuga County
John P. Donahue, Comptroller of the City of Auburn, was
bom September i, 1879. He attended the local schools and early
in life began to exhibit those well-known characteristics which
have brought him to the attention of men high in the confidence
of the public. We refer to his indefatigable energy and per-
severance in all matters.
After leaving school, John P. Donahue worked as a messenger
boy for a time and then served with D. M. Osborne as office boy.
Here his activeness and attention were recognized without delay,
and he was promoted from one position of trust to another, until
when he resigned to assume charge of the office to which Mayor
Koenig appointed him January 6, 1908, he was storekeeper of
the Osborne works of the International Harvester Company. Mr.
Donahue is a typical Auburn boy, courteous and pleasant, but
rigid in the conscientious discharge of his duties. He is a member
of the Knights of Columbus, Democratic in his political affiliations,
and a most popular and efficient official.
The Geiser Manufacturing Company, J. A. Barnhart, Mgr.
This flourishing enterprise took its place among the notable
industries of Auburn eight years ago. having been established in
this city in 1899, as a branch of The Geiser Manufacturing Com-
pany of Waynesboro, Pa. The plant occupies a ground space
of forty thousand square feet, and its products are steam and
gasoline engines, steam plows, threshing machinery, saw mill
machinery, grain drills, and well pumps, and so superior is the
quality of their goods and so high their reputation that no
jobbers or middle men are required to place them on the market.
All their products are sold direct from the factory.
Mr. J. A. Barnhart has been manager of the Auburn works
since their establishment in 1899, and to his care and ability is
directly due the success of the enterprise. The Auburn plantBiographical
505
is used principally as a repair shop and distributing center, and
is a valuable auxiliary to the home plant as well as an important
addition to the industrial life of Auburn.
Mr. Barnhart is a native of Pennsylvania, and is a member of
Auburn Lodge, No. 421, Free and Accepted Masons. In politics
he is a Republican.
E. J. Nolan one of the best known manufacturing confectioners
in Western New York is a native of Auburn and was educated in the
schools of this city. In 1898, he established the business which he
still conducts at No. 15 Genesee street, and which i:s popularly
known as the New York Store. He occupies three floors of the
building and gives employment to eight people in his business. He
- manufactures candies on a large scale and carries on both a whole-
sale and retail business, his jobbing trade being especially large and
covering an area of twenty-five miles in all directions about Auburn.
Mr. Nolan’s parents were Charles and Eliza Nolan. He married
Elizabeth Brady and they have two children, Marie and Bemadine.
Mr. Nolan is a member of the Knights of Columbus.
R. S. Dahn, florist at 204 Clark street, Auburn, N. Y., has con-
ducted this business for over three years. His greenhouses have
about six thousand feet of glass and cover nearly an acre in extent.
Here Mr. Dahn raises everything in flowers for all occasions, cater-
ing especially with beautiful and artistic design wrork for weddings,
parties, and funerals. He employs several assistants who are
skilled in this work, and his trade extends throughout Auburn and
vicinity. Mr. Dahn is an enterprising and honest florist and
deserves whatever success he has achieved in the business.
James L. Byrnes, real estate dealer, Auburn, is a native of
this city. He has, however, for several years been dealing exten-506
History of Cayuga County
sively in realty in New Jersey, near New York City. In that busy
field he gained large experience in the modem methods of handling
properties advantageously for clients, and he also gained a wide
experience and thorough insight in present and prospective values
of property. Mr. Byrnes is probably without a rival as an authority
on valuation of real estate in Auburn.
Since opening an office in Auburn, Mr. Byrnes has built up a
large clientele which extends throughout Western New York and
which is daily increasing. He is well established, popular and
thoroughly upright, is a member of the Knights of Columbus, and
is looked upon as one of the most prosperous, progressive and able
of the young business men of this city.
F. B. Vandenberg conducts a thriving enterprise at 23 Burt
avenue, where he manufactures boilers for factories, and for house
heaters as well as doing all kinds of sheet iron work. His factory is
ninety by fifty feet in dimensions and he employs a regular force
of ten men and is thoroughly equipped for handling any contract in
his line of manufacture. He established the business in 1896, and
the business has steadily increased ever since owing to the superior
work turned out and the fact that Mr. Vandenberg gives every detail
his personal attention.
* F. B. Vandenberg is a native of Auburn. His father came from
Holland and settled here over fifty years ago. He was a carpenter
and well known in his day.
S. H. Barrett, merchant and plumber at 14 and 16 Genesee
street, Auburn, is a native of New York. He came to Auburn in
1863, and for a time was engaged with the firm of Baldwin &
Chedell. In 1863, he went into business for himself which he
has since conducted, being now the longest established plumber
in this city. Mr. Barrett has done much notable work in Auburn;
the greater number of the most important public edifices, man-Biographical
507
sions and homes that have been erected in this city in recent
years have been installed with plumbing, light or heat under his
supervision. He is an expert plumber and sanitary engineer and
during the many years that he has conducted business in Auburn
he has gained an enviable prestige. Mr. Barrett's establish-
ment on Genesee street is extensive and up-to-date with a fine
showroom stocked with elegant fixtures, bath tubs, etc. He
does both a wholesale and retail business.
Mr. Barrett takes great interest in Auburn's progress in every
way. He always advocates good measures and conservative
principals and delights to honor those who have aided in further-
ing the development of this his adopted city. He has many friends
and enjoys the highest respect of all.
William Byrne, bookbinder, is not only the leading man in his
line in Auburn, but is the oldest, and his business is one of the oldest
of any kind in the city. The exact date of its inception is difficult
to determine, but M. Ivison owned it in the early part of the nine-
teenth century, probably one hundred years ago. He sold out to
Luther Howard in 1825, and Howard was succeeded by Lindsley &
DeCamp. Then came Howe & Husk, which changed to Hurd &
Husk and then to J. M. Hurd, who was mayor of the city. He
was succeeded in the business by D. J. Meeker, who sold it to Mr.
Byrne in 1865. The business was then conducted at 87 Genesee
street, but was moved to its present location over the Advertiser
office in 1866.
William Byrne was bom in Ireland in 1838, but came to America
with his parents who settled in Auburn in 1848, the year it was
incorporated as a city. He married Mary A. Clark and the living
children are Margaret, Mary, Kathrine and John Joseph. One son,
Walter, a lawyer, of New York City, is deceased. (See Bench and
Bar Chapter.) Frances Henry, William J., and Henry A., three508
History of Cayuga County
other sons, died after reaching manhood. Two daughters also are
deceased, namely, Rose A., and Elizabeth.
Cold Springs Brewery. This enterprise was established in
1892 by William Wildner, father of the present proprietors, William
G. and George J. Wildner. The plant consists of two buildings,
one hundred and twenty by forty feet, and sixty by forty feet
respectively, and is thoroughly equipped for the successful conduct
of the business. The capacity of the brewery is six thousand bar-
rels and ten men are employed. The Wildners brew nothing but
high grade ales, stock and porter, and this is one of the few breweries
that is not controlled by any trust. They depend solely upon the
quality of their goods for supremacy in the market and the result is
indicated by a constantly increasing business, year after year.
William G. Wildner is a member of the Protective and Benevo-
lent Order of Elks, the Eagles and of fhe Knights of Pythias.
George J. Wildner is a member of the Elks, the Auburn Turn
Verein, and the German Society Hari Gari.
Joseph A. Kilmer, electrical and gas contractor, established
his business under the name of the Gas Appliance Exchange in
Auburn, in 1905, and has already built up a large trade and patron-
age in the city and surrounding country, his operations extending
as far west as Canandaigua and as far east as Oneida. He installs
either gas or electrical plants and fixtures in any kind of building
and his usual working force is fifteen expert men. He has made
some large installations and his reputation for superior work places
him in the front rank of electrical contractors in the state.
Mr. Kilmer is a native of Auburn, and was educated in the local
schools. Subsequently he took a thorough course in an electrical
college, besides which he had three years practical experience with
the Auburn Gas Company before he established his present business.Biographical
509
Joseph A. Kilmer married Janet E. Houghton. His parents
were George A. and Delia B. (Gill) Kilmer. George A. Kilmer
was bom in Cayuga County and the family ranks among the oldest
and most respected in the county.
Joseph A. Kilmer is a member of the Benevolent and Protective
Order of Elks, and of the Auburn Business Men’s Association. He
is also prominent in musical circles and is a member of the “Har-
mony Four” male quartette, and of the choir of the Second Presby-
terian church. He has taken the tenor role in a large number of
excellent local concerts and his highly prized services are always
in demand.
W. H. Meagher, a leading undertaker of Auburn, established
his business enterprise here in 1904. Prior to this time he had
conducted a successful business in Skaneateles for ten years, but
desiring a larger field of operations he selected Auburn and located
at No. 10 East Genesee street. Mr. Meagher is a graduate from
the Renonard School of New York City, and is a very expert under-
taker and embalmer. He is a member of the New York State
Embalmers’ Association and of the New York Undertakers’ Asso-
ciation. Since establishing business in Auburn he has built up a
large undertakng and embalming patronage. He is a member of
the C. M. B. A., K. of C., the N. P., L. M. W. of A., etc. His
family consists of his wife and four children, namely:	Margaret,
Catharine, Mary, and Rosamond.
Timmons & Byer, No. 42 North street. This is one of the young
houses in its line in Auburn, but has already taken front rank for
superior work and business prosperity. The firm was formed in
April, 1907, the individual members being William H. Timmons
and William R. Byer. They are both practical plumbers and
experts in their line. They take contracts for all kinds of plumbing,510
History of Cayuga County
and gas, steam and hot water fittings. They have a working force
of six experienced men and are able to handle contracts promptly,
also they carry all their own supplies and customers do not have to
wait for fittings to be forwarded. Mr. Timmons is a native of
Auburn and has fifteen years’ experience in his business. His
parents were Edward and Mary (Cosgrove) Timmons. He married
Emma Gill. Mr. Byer is a native of the town of Sterling and has
been in the plumbing business nine years. His parents were James
and Elizabeth (Roberts) Byer. He married Nettie Vincent.
Thomas Henry Collins, proprietor of the Hotel Vendome,
was bom in Union Springs, Cayuga County, N. Y., and received
his education in the schools of his native place. He passed the first
fifteen years of his life on the farm, and then after some years,
became a clerk in a hotel. After clerking two years he was
appointed to an official position in Auburn prison where he
remained for five years. He next embarked in the liquor business
and in October, 1905, became proprietor of The Vendome, which
he has made one of the popular hotels of Auburn. The house
contains forty-six rooms, and is highly popular both with local
patrons and the traveling public. The Vendome is popular not
only because it is admirably conducted, but also because of the
proprietor.
Thomas H. Collins married Rose McFadden, and they have one
daughter, Agnes.
Bell & Stoner. This is the oldest livery establishment in
Auburn and was founded by Robert Bell, grandfather of the present
head of the firm, in 1862. The firm became Robert Bell & Son, then
T. J. Bell & Co., then R. L. Bell, and finally Bell & Stoner, the
present proprietors. The firm dates from May 7, 1906. Mr.
Stoner had a livery on Water street and the two establishmentsBiographical
511
were consolidated on that date. Their stables are very large,
having a frontage on Garden street of one hundred feet and running
back to Academy street. These stables are noted for their fine
turnouts of coaches, cabs, buggies and sleighs, and the reliability
of drivers and attendants. Mr. Bell is a member of the Order of
Maccabees of the Benevolent and Protective Order of Elks, Auburn
Lodge No. 474, and of the Masonic fraternity, in which he has
passed to the thirty-second degree. He is also a member of the
Auburn Business Men’s Association. Mr. Stoner also is a member
of the Elks. Both the Bell and Stoner families are decendants of
old settlers in Cayuga County.
The Ehle Electric Construction Company, Daniel Ehle, man-
ager, has been established here for some time, and has become
known as a most successful construction company in electrical
lines. Mr. Ehle, the manager, has had extensive experience
covering the past fourteen years, during which he has been
identified with, much notable work. He learned his trade with
the Standard Electric Construction Company of Rochester, N. Y.,
one of the largest and most successful electrical companies doing
business in Western and Central New York. Mr. Ehle has
installed many important plants with electrical power and light,
among which we mention here the Diamond Novelty Company
of Syracuse with two hundred lights and seventy-five motors;
The Auburn Hame Company, with switchboard and four hundred
lights; The Leonard Garage with two swithboards and motors
for power and light. Mr. Ehle has gained a substantial patronage
for his house, and is popular in Auburn. He is a member of the
Knights of Pythias. He resides in Auburn and his family consists
of wife and one son, George.
Joseph H. Warne was born in Auburn and educated in the
city schools. After leaving school he took up the plumbing trade512
History of Cayuga County
with Carpenter & Irish and remained with that house for ten
years. While with Mr. Irish he did work on many fine contracts
in prominent buildings. On July i, 1906, he embarked in business
for himself and now employes a force of four men and has already
achieved a reputation of being an able and reliable contractor in
plumbing, steam and gas fitting and hot water heating. His
shop and office are located at 21 E. Genesee street. Mr. Wame
married Elvina L. Dare of Auburn, and they have one daughter,
Josephine. His parents were Gilbert F. and Margaret E. (Dougall)
Wame. His .grandfather, John Wame, came from England and
settled at Yonkers, N. Y., in 1812. In 1836 he came to Cayuga
County and settled in Auburn on the Steel estate on North street.
The Auburn Extract Company was founded by J. G. Marshall
and was incorporated in 1902, and re-incorporated in 1908. The
individual members are J. G. Marshall and P. F. Gillette. J. G.
Marshall is a native of Ithaca and was in business in Cortland
and Utica before coming to Auburn. He is a member of the
Masonic fraternity and of the Bevenolent and Protective Order
of Elks. Mr. Marshall married Alice E. Jones, of Ithaca, who
died in the spring of 1907, leaving two children, Harold and Pauline.
Mr. Marshall’s parents were William and Laura (Gardiner) Marshall.
Mr. Gillette was bom in Cortland, N. Y., but has resided in
Auburn since his eighth year. He married Susan Jones and they
have a family of four sons and one daughter. Mr. Gillette’s parents
were Frank and Felicia (Palmer) Gillette.
Wall & Heverin, bottlers. This firm was formed January
1, 1906, succeeding to the business formerly conducted by James
H. Holmes. Both members of the firm formerly worked for Mr.
Holmes, and are thoroughly familiar with their business. in all
respects. The bottling plant is a three-story structure fifty by
eighty feet in dimensions and is equipped with the most modemBiographical
513
machinery and appliances for bottling. Their specialities are
pure beer, mineral waters and sodas. Their products are popular
on the market. They bottle such celebrated brands as Schlitz
Milwaukee beer and Smith ales of Philadelphia. A number of
assistants and several wagons are utilized and a large business
is done. Both members of the firm give their personal attention
to the business and are reliable and honorable in all their dealings.
They have both phones.
Adams & Son. This well-known firm of manufacturing con-
fectioners has been doing business in Auburn for the past twelve
years, having succeeded C. R. Hemenway in 1896, who founded
the business about the year 1880. Hemenway started the busi-
ness in the old St. James Hotel block, which was destroyed by
fire, after which he moved to the premises now occupied by Adams
& Son at No. 125 Genesee street. The firm consists of Jacob
Adams, who is a practical manufacturing confectioner, and his
son, C. R. Adams, who is the business manager of the enterprise.
Jacob Adams is a native of Auburn, and married Martha Graham.
C. R. Adams, who was also born in Auburn, married Anna Barn-
hart. After his school days he entered into business with his
father. He is a member of the Masonic fraternity, Auburn Lodge
No. 431.
Dr. William S. Cheesman, of Auburn, was born in Brooklyn,
N. Y., February 10, 1853, son of William S. and Mary (Shaurman)
Cheesman, • His advantages for securing a superior education
were good, and he improved them to the utmost. He was a student
in the Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute, where he received practical
training not excelled in any school in the country. In 1875 he
graduated from Princeton with the degree of A. M., after which
he studied with Dr. Henry B. Sands, of New York, and later in
a college in New York City, from which he was graduated in 1879
S3514
History of Cayuga County
Dr. Cheesman was resident doctor at Bellevue Hospital for a year
and a half, and afterward took the practice of a friend who was
going abroad. He came to Auburn in 1881, where he has since been
established. His reputation as a surgeon, to which branch of his
profession he has given particular attention, extends throughout
the county. He is a member of Cayuga County Medical Society,
of which he has been president, member of the Central New York
Medical Society, Fellow of the New York Academy of Medicine,
and is surgeon to the Auburn City Hospital. Dr. Cheesman has
spent a year in foreign study, chiefly in the hospitals of Berlin and
Vienna. He is a constant contributor to the medical press of
the country, his writings appearing in various periodicals. He is
also a member of the State Medical Society, and an honorary mem-
ber of the Onondaga Medical Society. His great success in the
practice of medicine and surgery has placed him in an eminent
pasition in his profession,
General William H. Seward. The head and representative
of the Seward family in Auburn to-day is General William H.
Seward, a banker and business man widely known and highly
esteemed for his ability and strict integrity, whose activity and field
of usefulness have for many years extended far beyond the limits of
his cherished home, bringing him in frequent contact with many of
the most important men of affairs of our country.
He was bom June 18, 1839, Auburn, N. Y., in the homestead
erected in 1816 by his maternal grandfather, Judge Elijah Miller,
now known as the Seward Mansion.” He was the third and
youngest son of William H. Seward, Secretary of State, and of
Frances A. Seward. In 1857, desiring to support himself and
gain a business knowledge, he secured a clerkship in a large hard-
ware store in Albany, where he remained two years. In 1859 he
relinquished his clerkship to become the private secretary of hisBiographical
515
father, then a United States Senator in Washington. Here he
made the personal acquaintance of many of the most distinguished
public men of that day. On June 27, i860, Mr. Seward married
Miss Janet M. Watson. During this year, in connection with his
early friend, Clinton D. MacDougall, he projected and organized, in
Auburn, N. Y., the banking house of William H. Seward & Co.
Early in 1862, he was appointed by Governor Morgan one of the
war committee of his Congressional district, of which committee he
was made secretary; during this summer he was engaged in enlisting
and forwarding troops. In August, leaving his business interests
in trustworthy hands, he accepted the appointment of lieutenant-
colonel of the regiment then organizing, the One Hundred and
Thirty-Eighth New York Volunteers, soon afterward changed to the
Ninth New York Heavy Artillery; in September, 1862, his regi-
ment was first assigned to duty in Haskins’ Division, Twenty-second
Army Corps, defences of Washington, where, under the direction of
the engineers’ department, Lieutenant-Colonel Seward took an
active part in the construction of several of the large forts of the
Potomac; among them, and the most important, was Fort Foote, at
Rosier’s Bluff, where he mounted and used the largest land ordinance
then known to the service. This fort is one of the few of those
historic landmarks of the Rebellion still standing. In the spring of
1863, Lieutenant-Colonel Seward was sent by President Lincoln,
under the direction of the War Department, on a delicate secret
mission to New Orleans and to General Banks, then operating on the
Bayou Teche in Louisiana; this service was satisfactorily accom-
plished, but not without much danger and hardship. In May, 1864,
the Ninth Artillery, under Colonel Seward’s command, he having
been promoted to colonel, joined the Army of the Potomac at
Hanover Court House, and became a part of the Second Brigade,
Rickett’s Third Division, Wright’s Sixth Army Corps, under General
Grant. From this time forward he participated in many of the
engagements around Petersburg and Richmond, among which was516
History of Cayuga County
the battle of Cold Harbor, where he led in person a successful assault
on the rebel earthworks in front of his command with a loss to his
regiment of one hundred and forty-two killed and wounded; for gal-
lant service in this engagement General Rickett’s Division received
special commendation from General Meade. On July 6th, with one
battalion, four companies of his regiment, Colonel Seward was hur-
riedly sent, with part of Rickett’s Division, to Frederick, Maryland,
to oppose General Early, who was advancing upon Baltimore and
Washington. At the battle of Monocacy, which took place July 9th,
and proved to be one of the most obstinately contested battles of
the war, lasting most of the day, he was wounded in the arm and
sustained a broken leg by the fall of his horse, shot under him on the
final charge. General Lew Wallace, in command of the Union
forces, in a dispatch to Washington, reported Colonel Seward “as
having acted with rare gallantry.” Soon after his services were
emphasized by an autograph letter from Secretary of War Stanton,
inclosing his appointment as brigadier-general of volunteers for
“gallant and meritorious services.” As soon as his wounds per-
mitted he was sent to Martinsburg in command of the First Brigade,
Third Division, Department of West Virginia, then operating in the
Shenandoah Valley, and for a short time, after the capture of General
Crook, he was in command of the same division at Harper’s Ferry.
His military service ended with his resignation at the close of the
war, when he resumed the place at the head of his banking house,
which, through his energy and foresight, is now, after a prosperous
existence of more than forty-six years, recognized as one of the
strongest institutions of the kind in Western New York. Several
years ago General Seward established in Auburn, and has since con-
ducted at his own expense, free reading rooms for workingmen,
which have rapidly grown in popularity, until the average attend-
ance each season has reached forty thousand.
He has always been active in building up many of the industrial
and charitable institutions of his home city, among them theBiographical
517
Auburn Water Works system, the Oswego Starch Factory, the City
Hospital and many others.
He has done much towards the development of the city’s real
estate, has erected several business blocks and built many small
houses for workmen, which were sold on such liberal terms that
over two hundred and fifty people, with very small means, were
enabled to secure permanent homes for themselves and family.
In politics General Seward has always been an active, enthusi-
astic and generous adherent of the Republican party. While
frequently mentioned by his friends for political honors, he has
usually declined, prefering a business life to the perplexities and
obligations of a political career; in 1884 he was a prominent candi-
date for governor at the Saratoga convention, and was earnestly
pressed for that position by his party associates and friends. He
has twice been nominated an elector-at-large on the Republican
State Presidential ticket, and was made president of the Electoral
College at its session in Albany in 1889 by the unanimous choice of
his associates.
He has been president of Auburn City Hospital and the Cayuga
County Savings Bank, and vice-president of Wells College, and is
still a trustee of each of those institutions. He is a director in the
American Express Company, and a member of the American
Geographical Society, Loyal Legion, Union League Club of New
York City, United Service Club, G A. R., Grant Monument Asso-
ciation, American Historical Society and trustee of the Central
Presbyterian Church, Auburn, N. Y.
No stranger meeting this kindly gentleman would detect in him
the stem warrior; indeed, a man might make several guesses before
naming his business. Neither the camp nor mart have left their
mark upon him. All his life he must have possessed that rarest
quality of good sense with quick preception which enabled him to
close successfully with difficulties and responsibilities as they came
to him. He is younger than his years, sprightly and genial; he is518
History of Cayuga County
broad minded and liberal, perceptive and reflective. He knows
and yet loves the world for the good there is in it. There are three
English words which contain the essence of all the commandments;
they are, Home, Country and Fellowman. Measured by these
great standards of duty General Seward stands tall. And this is the
verdict of many tongues.
Thomas Mott Osborne. It is somewhat early to write the
biography of a man who is only in his prime, but there are many
apparent reasons why a history of Cayuga County, embracing
up-to-date events, should take take some recognition of a citizen
who has long been intimately connected with the best interests of
Auburn, who has twice been mayor of the city, and who occupies a
high and responsible position in the state.
Thomas Mott Osborne, son of David M. and Eliza (Wright)
Osborne, was bom in the City of Auburn, N. Y., September 23,
1859. He attended the public schools of his native city, and
travelled extensively in his boyhood days, making a trip around the
world at the age of eighteen. He was prepared for college at
Adams Academy, Quincy, Mass., and entered Harvard University
in the class of 1884. During his college course he wras prominent
in various societies, and was one of the founders of the Harvard
Co-Operative Society—thus early in life evincing those constructive
qualities of mind which have since developed into a distinctive
part of his character.
After graduating from Harvard he entered the service of D. M.
Osborne & Co. as clerk in the collection department and later was
placed in charge of the office at the rolling mill and malleable
foundry and afterwards served as assistant superintendent, thus
getting wide opportunity to study the business and gain a practical
knowledge of farm machinery, but within two years was called
to the presidency of the company, through the death of his father.Biographical
519
That position - he filled from 1886 to 1903, and during his
incumbency the business of the concern increased enormously—
more than one thousand per cent.
In 1903, the Osborne Works were sold to the International
Harvester Company, and Mr. Osborne has since devoted much of
his time to matters of political import and public interest, and to
literary work for which he seems to have a fondness and is particu-
larly well equipped, having the advantages of a superior education
and wide experience to fortify a really fine natural talent. He has
not, however, completely severed himself from business affairs, but
has interests in several different enterprises, although he takes no
active part in their operations. He is president of the Auburn
Publishing Company, of the Cayuga County Dairy Company, and
the Buffalo Transparent Products Company, and vice-president of
the Columbian Rope Company and the Eagle Wagon Works.
In the fall of 1902, Mr. Osborne was elected mayor of Auburn,
on the Democratic ticket, carrying every ward in the city,—every
election district but one. He was re-elected in 1904 by a majority
of one hundred and forty-six, although President Roosevelt carried
the city by two thousand at the same time. In both of these con-
tests he received many Republican votes which party pressure or
political sentiment drove back to their old alignment during 1905
and when he ran for a third term, in the fall of that year, he was
defeated by a small plurality. It is worthy of note that his father
D. M. Osborne, a Republican, was also mayor of Auburn for two
terms, and it is doubtful if another city in the state has had the
unique experience of having both a father and son, of different
politics, for chief magistrates.
Mr. Osborne is a Democrat—untrammeled. Even personal
preferment counts less with him than principle, and while he would
naturally rejoice to see the party prosper, it must do so along right
lines and under high-minded leaders. Both by nature and train-
ing he is a builder, not of wood and stone, but of those ethical520
History of Cayuga County
structures which are the fortresses of civilization and national life;
and political or social ramshackle is as unsightly as an architecture-
less building. So, although he was a delegate to the National
Democratic Convention at Chicago in 1869, when the free coinage
of silver was made a paramount issue, he did not acquiesce, but went
as a delegate to the National or “Gold Standard” Democratic
Convention at Indianapolis, which nominated Palmer and Buckner.
In 1906 he was a delegate to the Democratic State Convention at
Buffalo, but declined to endorse the methods there pursued, or the
Gubernatorial nominee. Still he has not sought to force his opinions
upon his party, nor has he harshly criticised moves and methods
which he could not approve. He has: however, consistently
declined to follow^ the multitude down brambly by-ways, and seems
to foster a patient hope that they will come back.
Mr. Osborne is a patron of music and the arts, and his interest
in educational affairs has always been most earnest. He was a
member of the Auburn Board of Education from 1885 to 1891, and
from 1893 to 1896, and was instrumental in having the school
buildings properly lighted and ventilated. Also, he took an active
part in carrying to success the project to erect the present High
School building which was completed in 1888, and at the dedication
of which he delivered the principal address. He is a trustee of
Wells College, Aurora, N. Y., and has served as trustee of Hobart
College, Geneva, and Hackley School, Tarrytown, N. Y. He has
done much to foster the George Junior Republic, at Freeville,
N. Y., of which he is president of the Board of Trustees, and has
made it possible for some worthy young men to take college courses
which they could not have obtained otherwise. He builds intelli-
gences, adds recruits to the army of civilization. But his benefac-
tions are not ostentatious. No public institution bears his name.
He is a builder of minds and character, of vital and not inert fabrics.
His influence is an active, and not a passive force. The glory is
not all confined to the actor.Biographical
521
Organizations whose aim is the extension of commerce and the
betterment of commercial conditions, also enlist his services, and
he is a member of the American Economic Association, the American
Free Trade League, the International Rights Association, the
American Social Science Association, the Prison Reform Association,
and several others.
Among his social affiliations are the Harvard clubs of New
York, Buffalo and Syracuse, the University clubs of New York
and Chicago, the Tavern Club of Boston, the City Club of Auburn,
and the Unitarian Association of Boston, of which he is one of the
vice-presidents.
In January, 1908, Governor Hughes appointed Mr. Osborne a
member of the Public Service Commission. As the commission
is virtually a court, and as Mr. Osborne was appointed for a term
of three and one-half years, this recognition by a Republican
governor is a distinct tribute to his learning, ability and integrity.
Notwithstanding the heavy and constant draughts upon his
time by the many responsibilities he has shouldered, Mr. Osborne
manages to spend occasional hours with his pen, and his article on
the Public Service Commission, in the Atlantic Monthly for March,
1908, and another in the May number of the same magazine, on
the question:	“Has the Democratic Party a Future?” give an
idea of his ability to deal with large subjects. A small volume,
Adventures of a Green Dragon, is the result of a trip abroad in
the summer of 1907. The story not only reveals the sunlit view-
point from which the author studies his fellowmen, but is so
sprightly, so full of lurking humor, gives such vivid photographs
of Europeans at home for American eyes, that it seems regrettable
it was published for private circulation only.
Thomas Mott Osborne married, in 1886, Agnes Devens, of
Cambridge, Mass., now deceased. Their children are:	David
Munson Osborne, second, born in 1887; Charles Devens Osborne,522
History of Cayuga County
born in 1888; Arthur Lithgow Osborne, bom in 1892, and Robert
Klipfel Osborne, born in 1896.
Edward J. Jewhurst, chief of the Auburn fire department,
was born in the City of Auburn, July 20, 1853, and is the son of
Edward and Jane (Lynd) Jewhurst. The father was an old resident
of Auburn, bom at Rolvenden, Kent, England, about 1823, that
place having been the home of the family for many generations.
He settled in Syracuse when about twenty years of age, and was
engaged as a dealer in horses, being one of the oldest and most
prominent horse dealers in the town. When he first came to
Auburn, he engaged as coachman to one of the old residents, that
having been his employment when in England. He afterward
had a large stable for the sale of horses, and was also lessee of the
Driving Park here, as well as at Syracuse, training trotting horses
at both places, being well known to all owners of good horses
throughout the state. He is still living, but has retired from active
business. Mrs. Jewhurst is a native of Londonderry in the north
of Ireland, and comes of Scotch parentage. She moved to Auburn
with her family when quite a child. Mr. and Mrs. Jewhurst have
four children, all of whom are living, namely: Edward J,. the sub-
ject of this sketch; Mary, wife of John Hunter; Joseph L., of this
city; and Sarah L., wife of Adelbert Sadler, of Elgin, 111.
Edward J. Jewhurst received a good practical education at
the public schools of his native city, after which he learned the
printing business, working on the Northern Christian Advocate,
at that time printed by Mr. William J. Moses. He was also with
Mr. Moses on the Bulletin, and was fourteen years in the Advertiser
office. For two years he was in the oil region in Titusville, where
he worked in a store, and afterward returned to Auburn, re-engaging
in the printing business up to the time of his permanent connection
with the fire department.Biographical
523
His first connection with the fire department was as a volunteer
in the spring of 1869, joining the Logan Hook and Ladder Company.
He remained in that until he went to Titusville, and on his return
joined the Cayuga Hose Company, then newly organized, serving
in all the offices of that company, including second assistant
foreman, first assistant, and also as foreman, the company electing
its own officers. In 1879 he was appointed first assistant chief
of the department; and in August, 1880, he was appointed chief
of the department, to fill a vacancy caused by death. To be chief
of the fire department means to be the head of all the companies
of the department in Auburn, to which responsible position Mr.
Jewhurst has been appointed every year since 1880.
Mr. Jewhurst was married May 18, 1877, to Miss Helen A. Steel,
of Weedsport, daughter of William Steel, an old settler of that
place, a soldier in the late war, who was taken prisoner, and con-
fined in Andersonville Prison, where he was starved to death.
Mr. and Mrs. Jewhurst have four children, two girls and two boys—
Jennie L., William J., Sarah L., and John H. The family are
attendants and supporters of the First Presbyterian Church of
Auburn.
Hon. C. August Koenig, mayor of Auburn, was bom in
New York City in 1867, and is a son of William and Kate (Fleige)
Koenig. He received his education in the public schools and at
a boarding school near New York, and also took a course in the
scientific school in that city. His father, William Koenig, founder
of the brewing business, now conducted by Mayor Koenig, was a
native of Germany, bom July 21, 1831. He became a brewer by
trade, and coming to the United States worked in New England
and subsequently engaged in business in New York City. In 1868
Mr. Koenig came to Auburn and was engaged in business until524
History of Cayuga County
1891, when his son, C. August Koenig took charge. Mr. Koenig
died August 14, 1901. The brewing business is located at 245
State street comer of Grant. The plant covers an area of 30,000
square feet of floor space and its capacity is about one hundred
and seventy-five barrels per day; a force of forty hands are regularly
employed.
Mayor Koenig has large property interests in Auburn and has
served the city for four years in the Common Council and entered
upon his duties as Mayor, January, 1908. He was elected upon
the democratic ticket over a very strong opponent and by a hand-
some majority. Mayor Koenig is giving Auburn a model regime
of city government.
John F. West, president of the Cayuga Construction Company
of Auburn, came to this city as local manager for the Clemfcnce
Construction Company of Syracuse in 1907. Upon February 1,
1908, the Cayuga Construction Company was organized, and took
over the business here of the Clemence Company; they leased the
plant for five years and are doing a very excellent business. They
take contracts for building all descriptions of edifices from the
ground up, also excavating and stone work, and furnish all kinds
of lumber and mill work. Their office, yards and mill are
located at 143 to 153 Kelsey street where they employ about twenty-
five hands. The officers of the Cayuga Constmction Company are:
John F. West, president; John E. Strickland, treasurer; and Louis
K R' Laird, attorney. Mr. West resides in Auburn. His family
consists of his wife, formerly Miss Rose O. Loomis, and four children,
namely, Lulu, Clauda, Minnie and Arthur.
Mosher, Griswold & Company. This firm was originally
established in 1838 by F. L. Griswold, who died in December, 1879,
after which the business was conducted by his surviving partnersBiographical
525
who adopted the firm name of Barker, Griswold & Company, the
individual members being Justin L. Barker, who died in 1904,
Frank H. Griswold, who died in 1898, and Charles P. Mosher.
George F. Eldred and Collins L. Griswold were admitted in 1894,
and in January, 1905, the firm name became Mosher, Griswold &
Company.
Much of the success of this notably reliable house in gaining
public confidence can be attributed to the sterling business prin-
ciples upon which it was founded and which have been strictly
adhered to from its inception by F. L. Griswold, down to the pres-
ent day—a period of seventy years. The public has thoroughly
learned the fact that any merchandise purchased from this estab-
lishment can be relied upon as being absolutely as represented. :
Besides the large stock of ready made clothing constantly
carried by this house and manufactured by them, they do an
extensive custom business, importing much of their fabrics direct.
The premises occupied comprise two large stores, each having a
frontage of twenty-two feet and a depth of about one hundred and
eighty feet; two entire floors and basement in each store are utilized
in the business.
The present members of the firm are Charles P. Mosher, Collins
L. Griswold, and George F. Eldred. The house employs a large
force of people in its manufacturing department and a competent
staff of salesmen. The head of the house, Mr. Charles P. Mosher,
is a man of advanced ideas, and is identified in many ways with
the best interests of Auburn.
William T. Read, manager of the Axminster Rug Company,
in Auburn, is a native of England. He has been connected with
these important works since 1902, and prior to taking charge here
had been ever since a boy associated with the rug manufacturing
industry of England, and therefore is thoroughly practical in
every detail pertaining to the business. In the works in Auburn526
History of Cayuga County
the Axminster Rug Company furnish employment to a force of
about seventy women and fifteen men, and turn out over eighty-
five chenille rugs per week. The plant is most advantageously
located for shipping purposes and is large and commodious, cover-
ing over one acre of land in extent. Mr. Read resides in this city
and his family consists of wife and two children, namely, Charles
Thomas and Oswald William.
Cyrus O. Cook, pension attorney and government claim agent
at Auburn, was bom in Troy, N. Y., July n, 1846, and is the son
of James N. and Eunice (Underwood) Cook, natives of Rensselaer
County. The Cooks were of Revolutionary antecedents, and the
Underwoods came to this country from Scotland in the early part
of the seventeenth century, and located in Massachusetts where
they became prominent in the affairs of that state.
Cyrus O. Cook received a common school education and early
became interested in the political issues of the day. He enlisted
in February, 1862, though only sixteen years of age in Company
K. of the Seventy-Fifth New York Volunteer Infantry. They
were first ordered to Pensacola, Florida, and then his company
was ordered on detached garrison duty to Fort Pickens, Santa
Rosa Island, where they were on duty until the following September.
They were then sent to join the regiment at the barracks below
New Orleans where they were soon made a part of the Reserve
Brigade, First Division, Nineteenth Army Corps, and then went
up the river. During this trip Mr. Cook was taken seriously ill
and was left behind at Carrollton. He soon recovered and joined
his regiment at Thebodeaux, where the regiment was camped for
the winter. In 1863 the regiment participated in the siege of Port
Hudson from May 27th to July 9th. Here Mr. Cook was wounded,
having his right thumb cut off close to the hand, so that he was
ordered to the University United States General Hospital at New
Orleans. After three weeks here he *was given charge of one of theBiographical
527
largest wards in the hospital, containing sixty-three men. After
six months of this work he was ordered to the Veteran Reserve
Corps when he managed after a little sharp practice in using his
disabled hand, to get back into the ranks, keeping his hand covered
when he was examined. At length he rejoined his regiment at
New Iberia but was soon ruled off on account of his hand and with
other veterans was transferred to the Fourteenth New York Cavalry
and went on Banks’ second expedition with the cattle-drivers
of the Second Brigade. He then after the defeat at Sabine Cross-
roads was sent back to University Hospital and after a partial
recovery was given a position as orderly of the hospital. This he
retained until December 8, 1864, when he was honorably discharged
on account of general disability and the numerous wounds he had
received.
Mr. Cook was married September 13, 1865, to Miss Alice Goff
of Jordan, N. Y. They had a family of nine children, namely,
Rose, Clara E., Amos W, Eddie J., who died when four years af age
Pearl, Edith, Lyla, Keta, and David, who died November 7, 1893,
at the age of three years. Mr. Cook is identified wTith the Grand
Army of the Republic, Crocker Post, and has been pension agent
since 1887 and since then has assisted many hundreds of veterans
in obtaining a pension. He is a member of the United American
Mechanics, Pride of Cayuga Council.
Harvard Dental Parlors, 141 Genesee street, Auburn, were
established in 1899, and have since become known as the leading
dental parlors in the city. Only the most expert and careful
dentists are employed, and they handle the most sensitive teeth
without pain to the patient All the work in the line of filling,
crowning, cleaning and extracting is done painlessly and in the
most conscientious manner Their crown and bridge work is the
triumph of dentistry and their artificial plates are made to look as
near like the natural teeth as possible.528
History of Cayuga County
Cyrenus Wheeler was bom March 21, 1817, and was a native
of Bristol County, Mass. He came to Cayuga County in 1835 and
settled on a farm in Venice. He had a fertile, constructive mind
and soon began to invent devices to facilitate farming operations,
such as seed-planters, feed cutters, etc. He also patented several
devices for the improvement of mowers, and greatly increased
the utility of that machine. Although his machine was known
by his name, it became more widely celebrated, about i860, as
the Cayuga Chief. The Cayuga Chief interests united with
D. M. Osborne in 1874. It is said that the inventions of Mr. Wheeler
for the improvement of reapers and mowers were at one time
used upon every machine in the United States. He was enthu-
siastic in pushing forward his patents and for thirty years he
followed his machines through the harvest fields, and traveled
over all the grass and grain growing states and territories.
In Auburn he is remembered quite as well for his public services
as for his business success. He was elected mayor of the city in
1881, and was re-elected not only in 1883, but also in 1885. Then
again in 1889 was once more elected, so that he served as mayor
of the city for eight years. He took great interest in military
matters and the Auburn Military Company was named the Wheeler
Rifles in his honor.
Erast us Case, third son of Elisha and Delight (Griswold) Case,
was of English descent, and of the sixth generation of the American
family. He was the founder of the Case family of Auburn, N. Y.;
and in the endeavor to give some idea of this truly remarkable man
we cannot do better than quote what has been set down regarding
him by his grandson, Willard E. Case.
* ‘‘Six of the seven sons of Elisha Case reached mature age and
filled honorable positions in society. But the spirit of enterprise
characterizing the New Englander in general, and the Case genera-
tion in particular, led them successively to seek other homes for aBiographical
529
more extended sphere of action; and so it came to pass that of this
family of fourteen children, only the youngest remained in the
homestead, with filial devotion to care for his aged parents, and
to lie down with them at last, in the burying place of his kindred.
‘ ‘ Of one of these sons a personal sympathy induces me to speak
at length although my regard for his character has a more sub-
stantial basis than the affectionate reverence of a grandchild.
Erastus was a man of no ordinary ability, for in him were combined
the traits of foresight, wise calculation and indomitable energy.
He delighted in difficulties as one who mastered them and danger
only added zest to his undertakings. At the same time he was
prudent and far-seeing. In the prosecution of large business enter-
prises, though decided and courageous, he was wary, and those
whose opinions differed from his concerning the management of
affairs had often to regret their neglect of his wise courses. He
was a pioneer in the railroad building of this country, haying assisted
in the construction of the Lake Shore & Michigan Southern Rail-
way Company, and also a director therein. He was also prominent
in the organization of the Oswego Starch Factory, at Oswego, New
York. He was a member of the First Presbyterian Church, of
Auburn, and donated not only his services but largely to
the founding and erection of the Auburn Theological Seminary.
“He belonged to that class of men who can best be described as
world builders. To him occupation for its own sake was pleasure;
but in a life full of activities he could always pause to smooth the
way and lead into safer paths those who were struggling with mis-
fortunes. His singularly affectionate and helpful nature, threw
the aegis of protection over every needy person that fell in his way,
and the testimony of the Rev. Prof. Condit, who conducted the
funeral services after his death, was well merited when he said:
‘I found in Mr. Case a true and steadfast friend,' and others added,
‘such he was.’ In personal appearance he was portly and dignified,
and his handsome gracious countenance was a true index to his
34530
History of Cayuga County
heart. Important offices were often pressed for his acceptance,
but being unsuited to his tastes were usually resigned to others.
“It may not be amiss to notice one feature of his mentality
which I do not attempt to explain but for the truth of which I
vouch. From his earliest childhood he was a “dreamer. ” Often
in his sleep, revelations were made to him of what afterward, with-
out his instrumentality, became facts; and although I do not know
that these dreams ever influenced his course of action, and although
he was frequently amused by the peculiarity, yet he never failed
to treat the subject seriously. In his later years these dreams were
fewer and less trustworthy, and he used to say that his power was
failing. Nevertheless, not long before his death, he narrated at
the breakfast table a dream so improbable and yet, with which he
was so evidently impressed, that every member of the family became
interested in watching for its fulfillment. To their amusement,
as well as his own, only a day or two elapsed, before every minutiae
of the dream was accomplished. ”
Erastus Case married in early manhood, Mary, the second
daughter of Colonel Theodore Pettibone, sixth in descent from
John Pettibone, who was described, in 1658, as a freeman of
Windsor, Conn. The children of Erastus and Mary Case were
Jane R and Theodore P. Case. Jane F. was bom January 3, 1813,
and married Dr. Sylvester Willard, September 30, 1830.- Theodore
P. Case was bom June 8, 1818, and married Frances Fitch, January
1, 1856.
In 1843, Erastus Case moved to Auburn, N. Y., where he resided
until his death. His selection of Auburn as a permanent home and
the consequent planting of the Case family in this city are to be
attributed to a desire to please his daughter. In the year men-
tioned he removed to Chicago, where he had business interests,
accompanied by his wife, son and daughter and her husband, Dr.
Sylvester Willard. Later, in returning to Connecticut, his wife
and son, Theodore P. Case, had their attention called to the familyBiographical
531
residence which now stands on the corner of Washington and
Genesee streets in Auburn, it being for sale, and they then decided
to purchase it. In that house Erastus Case and Doctor Willard
originated and perfected many of their successful business plans
and ideas.
Erastus Case was a robust man up to the time of his death,
which occurred suddenly in 1857, when he was sixty-seven years
of age. To his children he left not only a large estate, but a memory
which is revered as a father’s by his grandchildren. His widow
survived him until February 15, 1870.
Theodore P. Case. Seldom has a biographer the pleasure of
writing of such a man as Theodore P. Case. Not because he stood
conspicious among the giants of achievement, but because he made
no effort to achieve yet did more for man than many a Hercules
piling up material mountains
In this country almost every man throws his energies into some
field of activity. Theodore P. Case had no vocation. Inheriting
a large fortune from his Wonderful father, he might have become a
great captain of industry, or devoted his life of leisure to public
affairs; he could have excelled as a professional man.
Physically he was not strong, but to his fine mentality was
added the strength and refinement of scholarship and culture.
His ambition was not to hoard up wealth, but to increase his store
of knowledge and to do what he might to elevate the world, or at
least that part of it lying within his horizon. Like the lily of the
field he neither toiled nor spun, yet he had glories of his own.
The value of such a character and such a man is not appreciated
as highly and widely as it should be, yet the voices of the wise are
beginning to cry out for such personalities, knowing them to be the
salt of the earth. Justice Brewer, in a recent address at Cooper
Institute, emphasized this sentiment, pointing out that material532
History of Cayuga County
success, no matter how gigantic, is not true greatness. There must
be the leaven of the humanities to sweeten and exalt the race.
The ideal must refine the gross. He is, indisputably, the loftiest
manner of man, who having the means to become what he may,
elects to use that means for the benefit of intellectual and moral
forces. Therefore the life of Theodore P. Case, and the deeds he
did without ostentation, are worthy the thoughtful consideration
of the wisest.
Theodore P. Case was the only son of Erastus and Mary (Petti-
bone) Case, and was bom at Canton, Conn., June 8, 1817. The
family is of English descent. About the year 1845, he came to
Auburn to reside, and this city was his home during the remainder
of his life. On January 1, 1856, he married Frances Fitch, daughter
of Abijah Fitch, of Auburn. She was bom January 16, 1834.
Their children were two sons, Willard Erastus Case, bom February
19, 1857, and Howard Eugene Case, bom September 15, 1861.
Theodore P. Case’s tastes and habits were scholarly with an
especial preference for languages. Besides having a knowledge
of Latin and Greek he spoke French, German and Spanish with
fluency. Of an investigating mind there were few discoveries in
general science with which he was not familiar, and his leisure was
usually occupied in the study of such subjects. In one word he
might be described as a savant, for his mind was completely ab-
sorbed with the intellectual to the exclusion of the sordid. As heir
to his father’s estate many business affairs presented themselves
to him, but, beyond acting for some years as a director of the Lake
Shore & Southern Michigan Railway Company, he did not respond
to any of them. To increase his own wisdom and to contribute
to the welfare of his fellowmen and his country seems to have been
his unwavering desire. He was a consistent member of the First
Presbyterian Church of Auburn, and assisted largely in building
its present edifice. The spire and organ of the church were gifts
of his. Case Memorial Hall of the Auburn Theological Seminary,Biographical	533
now removed for a later structure, was named in commemoration
of his gift to that institution. At a later period, when the theo-
logical seminary was in distress from a reduced income he, by the
gift of a handsome sum of money, was largely instrumental in
securing its retention in this city.
An instance of his patriotic regard for his country and interest
in his fellowmen was furnished during the War of the Rebellion.
A draft w7as imminent, causing grave apprehension among fathers
and husbands who could ill afford to be taken from their homes.'
Mr. Case promptly donated a large sum to be paid out in bounties
to volunteers, so that, if possible, the draft might be averted and
the county's quota of soldiers made up from among those who were
freest to go.
Theodore R Case died in the month of May, 1891, and was
buried in Fort Hill cemetery. He was a rare man and unique, but
men of his mould are all too seldom seen. A most appropriate
tribute to his memory is the Case Memorial Library, a gift to the
City of Auburn hy Willard E. Case, in commemoration of his
cultured father.
W. J. Henry, manufacturer, Auburn, of Henry & Allen, is a
native of this city. Prior to engaging with the Honorable G. W.
Allen in the formation of their present enterprise, Mr. Henry was
for fifteen years successfully identified with an important manu-
facturing establishment as its superintendent. Since the forma-
tion of the present corporation of Henry & Allen the business in
which they are engaged (the manufacture of agricultural imple-
ments, supplies and drop-forgings) has grown into a very extensive
concern, employing over three hundred hands with fifteen travelling
salesmen upon the road. Mr. Henry possesses great executive
ability and a thorough knowledge of the practical details of his
industry. As a citizen he has ahvays been willing to lend his
influence toward the furtherance of any good object having in view534
History of Cayuga County
the welfare of Auburn either socially or politically. He has served
as water commissioner, is a member of the City Club, and a life
member of the Elks. He married Miss Myer and they have a
family of three children, namely, William, Earl and Paul.
Thomas Ringwood is one of the important factors in the com
mercial life of Auburn by reason of his Merchants’ General Freight-
ing, the office of which is situated on Garden street, near State.
This was formerly the Webster Truck Company, but Mr. Ring-
wood bought it out and took control of the business January i,
1908. He is also a general contractor, making a specialty of exca-
vating, and is in a position to handle contracts of any size. His
reputation for ability and business probity are well known and
appreciated in Auburn. Mr. Ringwood was bom in the town of
Scipio, Cayuga County, N. Y., and has resided in Auburn since
1897. He is a woodworker by trade and was entirely engaged in
contracting prior to engaging in the trucking business. He is a
member of the Foresters and has been treasurer of the local branch
since its organization here. His parents were James and Elizabeth
Ringwood. He married Kitty Grannon, of Fleming, and they have
a family of seven children, namely Elizabeth, Anna, Joseph, Kitty,
Leo, Louis and Thomas.
W. F. Donovan of Auburn was bom in the city of Oswego,
and received his early education in the schools of his native city.
In 1902, he opened the Tile Front Caf6 and liquor store at No. 19
North street which he still conducts. Prior to coming to Auburn
in 1898, he lived in Syracuse for eight years, and there learned and
pursued the trade of electrician. Mr. Donovan is a member of
the Benevolent Protective Order of Elks, and is a Republican in
politics. He caters to a high class patronage and is popular in the
city.Biographical
535
Thomas W. Stafford, physical director of the Young Men’s
Christian Association, Auburn, is a native of Canada. He is a
noted athlete and has developed himself so superbly, that although
not over the average size—his strength and endurance are phe-
nomenal. Mr. Stafford was for seven years a member of the Leaders
Club at Hamilton, Ontario—a well-known athletic club, and he also
took a course at Barton’s Summer School a very celebrated train-
ing school for athletes. His first charge as physical director in a
Young Men’s Christian Association, wTas at Wausau, Wisconsin,
where he remained some time. He then accepted a position with
the Young Men’s Christian Association in Auburn about 1903.
Professor Stafford is especially noted in quickly ascertaining wherein
a pupil is defective or weak in his physical makeup and his method
of training is to develop these weak points. In this his work has
been particularly effective. The Young Men’s Christian Associa-
tion in Auburn is especially well equipped for such work; boxing,
wrestling, fencing and all the other health-producing sports are held
daily, and there are the swimming pool and shower baths. Also
half a mile from the building they have a splendid athletic field, with
a quarter mile track, base ball diamond, tennis court and grand
stand with a seating capacity of one thousand. There is also a
club house equipped with shower baths, lockers, etc. In winter the
field is flooded for skating. Altogether Auburn’s Young Men’s
Christian Association is a very desirable place for young men to
become identified with.
Lee Roy Carl, contractor and builder, was bom in the town of
Montezuma, Cayuga County, N. Y., July 4, 1854. After leaving
school he learned the carpenter’s trade, working with his father
and others until he became master of his trade. For six years he
was engaged in building churches and assisted in erecting some of
the finest edifices in this part of the state. In the spring of 1887,
he came to Auburn in the capacity of foreman for a large con-536
History of Cayuga County
tractor, having practical charge of much of the work done. During
this time he superintended many large contracts, among them the
Burt is Opera House and the McIntosh & Seymour Works. In
1893 Mr. Carl entered into partnership with Edwin Craven, and
soon became recognized as one of the leading contractors of the
city. For the past three years his office and factory have been
located at 12 Green street. His factory is equipped with the best
modern machinery for woodworking, and he employs a force of
competent mechanics and workmen so that he can carry through
any contract speedily and successfully. His work on interior finish,
cabinet work and handmade furniture is highly spoken of and he
also makes a specialty of building houses and selling them upon
easy terms—an important consideration in a growing city like
Auburn.
Mr. Carl takes an active part in the affairs of life. He is a Pro-
hibitionist in politics, a member of the Masonic fraternity, and of
the Methodist Episcopal Church. He is a class leader and local
preacher, and is also superintendent of the Wall Street Methodist
Sunday School.
On October 23, 1875, Lee Roy Carl married Sarah Helen Clark.
They have one daughter, Mrs. Alida F. Filkin. Mr. Carl’s parents
were William H. and Hannah F. (Morgan) Carl.
Evans W. Mosher, of Aurora, Cayuga County, N. Y., is the
son of Allen and Marion (Wheeler) Mosher. He has been con-
nected with the First National Bank of Aurora for thirty years
and has been its vice-president since 1904. The First National
Bank of Aurora was established in 1864, with a capital of $100,000,
which was reduced to $50,000 in 1888. The presidents of the
bank have been Henry Wells, Edwin B. Morgan and N. Lansing
Zabriskie. Mr. Mosher is a trustee of Wells College. He married
Mary E. Weeks and they have three sons; Allen M. Jr., Evans R.
and Ralph E.Biographical
537
Sylvester Willard. Dr. Sylvester Willard, has been dead
eighteen years, \ et his name is a familiar sound to every Aubumian;
indeed, a stranger might get the impression that he still lives,
hearing him spoken of so frequently and familiarly. Many men
win an earthly immortality, but the personality of the man
vanishes; Doctor Willard is both immortal and living.
The Willard family dates far back into English history, being
recorded several times in the Domesday book, which had its origin
early in the Norman period. In 1616, Richard Willard of Hors-
monden, Kent County, England, died, leaving a will which is still
preserved and is fairly legible. His youngest son, Simon Willard,
who was a captain in the Kent militia, emigrated to America in
1634 and settled at Newton, now Cambridge, in the Massachusetts
Colony. He was a man of activities and engaged largely in the
fur trade with the Indians; also he assisted the “Apostle” Elliot
in his endeavors to Christianize the savages. As a result of his
success in business affairs and his interest in the welfare of the
colony, he was called to official positions in both the civil and
military life of the young colony. His military training in England,
and his forceful character fitted him admirably for a military com-
mander, and the rank of Major was conferred upon him, which
placed him next in power to the governor of the Colony. He took
an active part in King Phillips’ War of 1675, and led the Colonial
forces against the Narragansetts in 1676. When seventy years
of age he was again called into active service, this time against the
Nipmuk Indians, who had been joined by several smaller tribes
and were devastating the country in all directions. The allied
savages had surrounded the town of Brookfield, threatening its
quick destruction, when Major Willard heard of the plight of the
little place, from an escaped prisoner. By a rapid march he reached
Brookfield just as the one fortified building in the place had been
set on fire. He quickly drove off the mauraders, preventing a
massacre, and was joyfully welcomed by the grateful inhabitants.538
History of Caytjga County
Sixth in descent from Major Simon Willard was Colonel Daniel
Willard of Say brook, Conn., who married Sarah, daughter of Rev.
Robert Silliman of Say brook. Sarah Silliman was a first cousin
of the first President Silliman of Yale College.
Their youngest son Sylvester Willard was bom at Saybrook,
December 24, 1798. Suffering the loss of both parents on the same
day, at the age of fourteen, he took up his residence in the home of
his elder brother, Dr. David Willard, of Milton, Conn., and there
pursued his academic studies, subsequently receiving his medical
education at the Medical College of New York City. After com-
pleting his studies he began the practice of his profession at Brutus,
a small town contiguous to Auburn, but his practice soon extended
over much of the county, his visits being made on horseback. For
nearly ten 3, ears he continued his practice in Cayuga County, but
finally his marriage to Frances F. Case, only daughter of Erastus,
and Mary (Pettibone) Case, brought about his change of residence
to Canton, Conn., where his wife’s parents resided.
In 1840, he went to Chicago where his father-in-law had large
real estate interests, and practised medicine and remained there
for three years. Chicago was then but a village of about five
thousand inhabitants, and its low-lying, marshy site was not attrac-
tive. When his father-in-law, Erastus Case, removed to Auburn
he came with him and settled in the Case homestead, corner of
Washington and Genesee streets.
In Auburn, Doctor Willard devoted himself to the practice of
medicine and assisted his father-in-law in commercial affairs, and
for more than forty years was engaged in large enterprises, not only
in this city but in other places. About the year 1848 he assisted
in organizing the Oswego Starch Factory, and was not only the
first president of the company, but filled that position for twenty-
five successive years, resigning only because of the demands of his
private affairs upon his time. He was president of the Auburn
Savings Bank for nineteen years, and a trustee of Elmira CollegeBiographical
539
for several years. For forty years he was a trustee of the Auburn
Theological Seminary, and was secretary of the Board of Trustees
for the greater part of that time. He was president of the Cayuga
County Bible Society for twenty-one years, and an Elder in the
First Presbyterian Church for more than forty years. Also he was
superintendent of its Sabbath school for twelve years. He always
retained his membership in the Cayuga County Medical Society
which took official notice of his death.
Political offices never attracted Doctor Willard and when prof-
fered were always declined, although he was a staunch patriot and
. had his political views. He was a Whig until the formation of the
Republican party, after which he adhered to that party.
Outside of his business interests he devoted his attention to
those private and public benefactions and labors which have kept
his name and memory alive and cherished even among those who
never knew him. His gifts of money, time and thoughtful care
were not stinted and benefited many religious and charitable asso-
ciations and persons. In all his relations he was ever the honorable
man, a dignified gentleman and a sincere Christian. He died
March 12, 1886, and his wife, who had been through life a partici-
pant in her husband’s generous deeds, died June 9, 1890.
George Hyatt Nye, banker and manufacture of Auburn,
N. Y., was bom in this city and received his education at Burlington
Academy, N. J., the Aurora Academy, New York and Phillips
Exeter Academy, New Hampshire. His father was Lorenzo Nye,
who was prominently identified with manufacturing enterprises in
Auburn for over fifty years, and whose name is one of the most
familiar on the pages of Auburn’s history. So it was natural that
George H. Nye should also become interested in manufacturing.
In 1871, Lorenzo Nye and William F. Wait formed the firm of Nye
& Wait. In 1876, George H. Ny£ became a partner. In 1889,
the Nye & Wait Carpet Company was incorporated and since that540
History of Caytjga County
date George H. Nye has been the president and treasurer of the
company. Mr. Nye’s official connection with banking began in
1891, when he was elected a director of the Cayuga County National
Bank. In January, 1893, was made vice-president of the bank
and in. January, 1896, he became its president and has filled that
office ever since. It is to his splendid management that the bank
is largely indebted for its great success and stability as well as for
the facilities accorded to business men by the modem banking
methods instituted by him. Since he became president the interior
of the bank has been remodeled and there are few banks, even in
large cities which can compare with it. Mr. Nye is also a trustee
of the Auburn Savings Bank and is one of the men who have given
Auburn’s financial institutions their high standing. In addition
to his large banking and manufacturing interests, Mr. Nye takes
a warm interest in the general welfare of Auburn and its affairs.
He is prominent in social matters and was for several years president
of the City Club, and also one of the founders of the Country Club.
He served in the Wheeler Rifles and the Volunteer Fire Department.
In 1904, Mr. Nye in association with Mr. Wait brought the Thread
& Thrum workshop here from Massachusetts. In 1907, the
Nye & Wait Carpet Company associated Andrew G. Robertson in
their business in the manufacture of seamless Wilton rugs, the
mechanism and fabrics being the patents of Mr. Robertson. It was
through the efforts of Mr. Nye that the American Axminster Indus-
try was established in Auburn, and he was for some time president
and treasurer of the company, although not now connected with
it. In 1881, George H. Nye married Miss Mollie A. Wilson in New
York City. Their children are, Frances,.who married William K.
Payne of Auburn; Caroline, married to Lyman Rhodes of New
York City; Jean, Maud, Mollie, Katharine and George H. Nye, Jr.
Mark Conklin, architect, was born in Auburn and received his
early education at the High School from which he was graduatedBiographical
541
in the class of 1893. He then took a course in architecture at
Harvard University, completing this course in 1898. He then
established himself in his profession in his native city. Here he
has demonstrated an architectural ability and skill which places
him among the leading and most successful architects of the state.
His designs exhibit careful study and are models of originality,
economy and beauty. They embrace both public and private
buildings of which over three hundred can be seen here in this city
alone. Outside of his professional duties Mr. Conklin is interested
in local, social and fraternal organizations, is a member of Company
M. Third Regiment N. Y. N. G. and much interested in anything
that has the welfare of Auburn in view.
Abijah Fitch was bom in Cooperstown, N. Y., in the year i8oo>
On February 10, 1821, he married Lanah Wilson, in Lansingburg-
N. Y., and subsequently settled in Auburn where he became a pros-
perous and prominent man. He was a distinct figure in Auburn
for many years and took an active part in the projection of the
Auburn & Syracuse Railroad, assisting most materially in carrying
through that project. Also he accompanied Secretary Seward in
his memorable trip around the world at the time this country pur-
chased Alaska. He had a family of twelve children, eleven of whom
grew to maturity. He died in Auburn, N. Y., in 1882, and was
buried in Fort Hill Cemetery
Charles Fitch, son of Abijah and Lanah Fitch, was bom in
Auburn, N. Y., on July 1, 1830, sand died in East Orange, N. J.
on April 21, 1882. He is buried in Fort Hill Cemetery in Auburn.
He was married at Elizabeth, N. J. in St John's Episcopal Church,
to Lucy Cleveland Milligan on June 2, 1861.
Frank J. Stupp, recorder, is now in his sixty-fourth year.
Recorder Stupp was bom in New York City on March 26, 1844,542
History of Cayuga County
and moved to this city with his parents in 1848, when he was in
his fifth year. Since that time Auburn has been his home, although
he spent a small part of the time away from the city. Recorder
Stupp is known widely and his career in the army and long service
in the National Guard of the state has won for him a name and
reputation of which he is justly proud. When the first call came
for 75,000 volunteers in the Civil War, Judge Stupp, then a mere
stripling was in New York and he lost no time in getting into Com-
pany E of the Fifty-Fifth New York of the State militia. His
father, however, objected to his boy going out at the time, but later
Judge Stupp enlisted in a cavalry troop and afterward in Cowan’s
Battery but it was not until 1862, after his father had three times
kept him from going to the front, that he enlisted with the One
Hundred and Eleventh New York, in 1862. He served through the
war with that regiment, and returned to the city* at the close of
the war. This regiment was in hard fighting. It was a part of
Hancock’s Second Army Corps and because of the way it moved it
was known as the “Foot Cavalry.”
Judge Stupp in the Battle of Gettysburg in July, 1863, was shot
in the face and was left on the field for dead. The wound was a
bad one, but he recovered and in November, after spending the
intervening time in the Fort Schuyler hospital, rejoined his regiment.
Judge Stupp’s wound was of such a nature that his tongue was
partly carried away and he was for weeks unable to talk.
After the war he was captain of the Willard Guards, which was
Company B of the old Forty-Ninth Regiment, National Guard,
and later was quartermaster of the regiment under General C. D.
MacDougall then colonel of the regiment. The Wheeler Rifles,
now known as the Second Separate Company or Company M of the
Third New York, was organized in May, 1881, and in February of
the following year Judge Stupp joined the organization, remaining
with it until about five years ago. He was made first- sergeantBiographical
543
shortly after joining and continued as such practically all of the
time that he was in the guard.
His first political experience was in 1899, when he was the
Democratic candidate for Mayor against Orlando Lewis. He was
beaten by less than a half dozen votes, and his friends always
charged that he was counted out. In 1902 he was chosen recorder
at the same time that Richard C. S. Drummond was named as city
judge but after the election it was found that there had been a
mistake made as the offices, because of a change in the charter, did
not become vacant for another year. In the following year, 1903,
Judge Stupp was re-elected, and was again re-elected in 1907.
Judge Stupp is a strong Mason. He is a member of St. Paul’s
lodge, No. 124, Free and Accepted Masons; a member of David’s
Royal Arch Chapter of Salem Town Commandery. No. 16, Knights
Templar; of Damascus Temple of Rochester, and of the Scottish
Rites. He is a member of Auburn Tent, No. 125, Knights of the
Maccabees, a member of the Knights of Pythias, and is captain of
the uniformed rank of the Knights of the Maccabees. He is also
a member of the Masonic Club.
N. Lansing Zabriskie was bom in the town of Flatbush, Kings
County, Long Island. He was educated in Erasmus Hall Academy,
and Union College, graduating from the university in the class of
1857. He then began the study of law in the offices of Lott, Murphy
& Vanderbilt, of Brooklyn, N. Y., and also took a course in the
Columbia Law School, then under Professor Dwight, graduating in
i860. He was admitted to the bar the same year, and practised
his profession in Brooklyn until 1867, when he moved to Aurora,
and made that village his permanent home. He continued the
practice of law in Aurora for a few yrears, but gradually relinquished
the active duties of that profession, his other interests drawing so
heavily on his time that he could not devote the necessary attention
to legal affairs.544
History of Cayuga County
Since the year 1870, Mr. Zabriskie has been quietly, but actively
engaged with his personal affairs, although some of these are of a
semi-public character. He has never held any public office except
that of justice of the peace, but he has become so intimately asso-
ciated with the best interests of Aurora that the public mind regards
him and the village as inseparable. He has been president of the
First National Bank of Aurora since 1882, and of Wells College
since June of that year. He has been for many years a trustee of
Cayuga Lake Academy (one of the old state academies), now
Somme’s School, and is still a member of the Board of Trustees of
the corporation and has been chairman of the board for four years.
In 1870, he became a ruling elder in the Presbyterian Church of
Aurora, and has held that position ever since—a period of thirty-
eight years. He is also a trustee of the church and takes a vital
interest in its work and welfare. Business, education, religion—all
find him an earnest and generous patron.
Mr. Zabriskie was one of the trustees of the old Dry Dock, East
Broadway & Battery Railroad, in New. York City, and was also
a director of the Times Association. When that newspaper wTas
sold to outside parties the real estate was retained by the old com-
pany which re-organized as the Park Company, and Mr. Zabriskie
is president of the Board of Directors.	■	- ■
N. Lansing Zabriskie married Louise F., daughter of Colonel
Edwin B. and Charlotte F. Morgan. He has two sons, Alonzo
Morgan Zabriskie and Robert Lansing Zabriskie, both residents
of Aurora. Mr. Zabriskie’s parents were John B. and Abbie L.
(Lott) Zabriskie. His grandfather Zabriskie was one of the four
graduates who constituted the first class that was graduated from
Union College. The family lived in Flat bush long before Revolu-
tionary days, and is properly classed as one of the oldest families
of the state.Biographical
545
Colonel Edwin D. Metcalf, of Auburn, New York, was
born in Smithfield, Rhode Island, March 14, 1848, of English and
Scotch descent and is endowed with a combination of English
determination, Scotch shrewdness and Yankee enterprise. He
received his early education in the academy at West ford, Mass.
Afterwards he took a course in Eastman’s Business College. His
first business experience was with a large furnishing house in Provi-
dence, Rhode Island, where he spent seven years. In 1874 he
located in Springfield, Mass., and soon established the business
houses of Metcalf & Luther, Springfield; H. S. Martin & Company,
Chicopee, Mass.; and the Holyoke Furniture Company, Holyoke,
Mass.
In 1878, he travelled extensively m Europe, and upon returning
to Springfield became interested in several railroad enterprises,
as president of the Massachusetts Construction Company. He
was president of the Springfield & New London Railroad, vice-
president of the John Hancock National Bank and a director
of the Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company. He
took an active part in politics in Springfield and besides being
mayor of that city served several terms in the state legislature,
both as representative and senator. During the regime of
Governor George D. Robinson he was assistant quartermaster-
general and served upon the governor’s staff with the rank of
colonel.
In 1890, Colonel Metcalf became connected with the D. M.
Osborne Company as vice-president and general manager and
settled in Auburn. All the great enlargements of the plant of that
company between 1890 and 1905, were made under his administra-
tion, and the business of the company increased enormously. Its
progress is best shown by exact figures. In 1890 the company
made 20,800 machines; in 1905 the output for that year reached
232,329 machines. To accomplish this, the manufacturing, sales
and collection departments were completely re-organized. New
35546
History of Cayuga County
buildings were built almost annually. Machinery rearranged so
the work would pass through the factory in a more economical
manner and while the cost of manufacturing was continually being
decreased the employees received more pay for their services than
ever before. A detailed cost system was established, unnecessary
duplication of work eliminated, molding machines introduced,
compressed air and utilized to minimize the amount of labor
required. No expense for new tools ever stood in the way of their
adoption if a certain per cent, of economy could be shown as a
result of using them.
When the D. M. Osborne Company sold out to the International
Harvester Company, he organized the Columbian Rope Company
of which he is president, his son Edwin F. Metcalf being general
manager and another son, Harold G. Metcalf, assistant treasurer
and manager of manufacturing. The great model plant of this
company was built under his direction and is one of the finest
manufacturing plants in the country. Buildings with about eight
acres of floor space were erected in 1903, and in 1907, an entire new
mill for the manufacture of jute goods was built, giving about four
acres of additional floor space to the original plant, while the
adjoining land is laid out and maintained like a private park. The
number of employees ranges from eight hundred and fifty to
twelve hundred, and rope and commercial twines of all descrip-
tions are the staple products.
In addition to being president of the Columbian Rope Company
he is president of the Auburn & Northern Electric Railroad, a
director of the Auburn & Syracuse Railroad, Cayuga County
National Bank, Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance Company,
vice-president of the Cayuga County Savings Bank and president
of the Auburn City Hospital. He is a member of three clubs in
Auburn, one in Syracuse and one in Springfield. Has been presi-
dent of the Auburn Business Men’s Association three years and
declined a re-election.Biographical
547
Since coming to Auburn eighteen years ago, he has taken a very
prominent part in the industrial and commercial life of the city,
and is regarded as the foremost exponent of Auburn’s business
interests, and a central figure in every movement undertaken to
promote the city’s welfare.
Mr. Metcalf’s highest ambition for years has been to improve
everything he owned or became connected with. He is a believer
in home industries and through his ownership of local railroad,
commercial, bank and manufacturing stocks and real estate, he is
the largest resident tax payer in Cayuga County, and yet he inher-
ited no estate, but starting as a poor boy, carved out his own
fortune.
In September, 1873, he married Carrie W., daughter of Samuel
W. Flint, of Fall River, Mass. Their children are Edwin F., Harold
G., and Stanley W. Edwin F. Metcalf married Bertha, daughter
of Judge Adelbert P. Rich. They have an infant son, Edwin Rich
Metcalf.
Abel Hyde Clark was bom in the village of Maine, Broome
County, New York, September 9, 1834, and is the son of Ezekiel
Hyde and Nancy Williams (Clark). His father was a tanner and
early settled in Maine as it was the center of the hemlock country,
and hemlock bark in those days was essential for the proper tanning
of hides. There he built and for many years operated a tannery.
Bark becoming scarce, and the long haul too expensive, he built
a new tannery in Vestal, Broome County, which he operated down
to the time of his death and which was afterwards sold out by his
heirs to the United States Leather Company. The subject of this
sketch received his early education in the local schools, and after-
wards was sent to the Owego Academy, where his school education
was completed. He began his active business life as salesman
in a hardware store in New York City. After several years’ service548
History of Cayuga County
in that capacity, through the influence of his eldest brother, Julian,
who was then superintendent of the Auburn & Susquehanna
Railroad Company, he received a railroad appointment with head-
quarters at Elmira. This was during the War of the Rebellion.
In February, 1864, he married Helen S. Manning, daughter of
David R. Manning, one of the pioneers of Broome County, and
shortly afterwards settled in Waverly, N. Y., where he engaged in
the monument and stone business for seven years. During that
period he made the nucleus of his fortune in the judicious purchase
and sale of village real estate. In 1871 he moved to Auburn and
founded a lumber business under the firm name of D. C. Stoner
& Company, with offices on Seminary avenue, and from that in-
ception has grown through his able management the largest and
most important lumber business in the city. From time to time
as the enterprise grew, he purchased his partners’ interests until
he became sole owner of the business and afterwards conducted
it in his own name until February 1, 1902, when he took in part-
nership his two sons, Mortimer M. and Paul R., and formed the
Clark Lumber Company, under which name the enterprise has
since been carried on. The new company still occupies the old
stand on Seminary avenue, which has been materially increased
by the acquisition of the Keeler property at the comer of Seminary
avenue and Franklin street. The company has also acquired
other lumber yards and with their extensive yards and trackage
do the bulk of the lumber business in Auburn, and now own three
of the five yards in the city and carry on both a wholesale and
retail trade.
Besides his two sons who are associated with him in business,
Mr. Clark has one other son, Julian Hyde Clark, who resides in
New York City.
Mr. Clark is a Republican in politics and has always taken an
active interest in the welfare of his party and has frequently been
sent as a delegate to Republican conventions. In 1888 and 1889Biographical
549
he was a member of the Board of Aldermen of the City of Auburn,
and was one of the three water commissioners having charge of the
entire water supply of the city during the years 1901-1902-1903.
He was a charter member of the Auburn City Club, the principal
social organization of the city, and for many years was a member
and took an active interest in the Cayuga County Historical Society.
He has always been affiliated with the Universalist Church and
since his residence at Auburn has been an attendant at the First
Universalist Church and for twenty years has been a trustee of the
church, and for several years chairman of its Board of Trustees.
His family dates back beyond Revolutionary days in America,
the pioneer having settled in Connecticut, in the early part of the
eighteenth century. His father was bom in Cooperstown, and his
maternal grandfather, Isaac K. Williams, represented that district
in Congress for two terms, when the district embraced all of Western
New York. Mr. Clark, although seventy-three years of age, is
still hale and hearty, and actively engaged in the management
of his business enterprises.
Edwin Flint Metcalf was bom at Springfield, Mass., August
21, 1876. He was educated in the public schools of Springfield,
until 1891, when his parents moved to Auburn, N. Y., where he
continued in the public schools, going from there to a private
school in Duxbury, Mass., and finishing at Harvard University.
In 1897 he engaged in a commercial life and entered the employ
of the Columbian Cordage Company, at Auburn, N. Y, manu-
facturers of Manila and Sisal rope and binder twine. He was
afterwards made a director and also assistant treasurer and held
this office during the continuance of the company.
In 1903, Mr. Metcalf purchased the old fair ground property
in the west end of the city which property was later purchased
from him by the same interests that had conducted the Columbian
Cordage Company,, and on these grounds the plant of the Columbian550
History of Cayuga County
Rope Company now stands, devoted to the manufacture of Manila
and Sisal rope and also commercial twines made of jute, American,
Russian and Italian hemps. Mr. Metcalf was made a director and
assistant treasurer of the new enterprise until in the summer of
1904 he was made general manager of the company, which position
he still holds.
He is a director of the National Bank of Auburn, trustee of
the First Presbyterian Church, vice-president of Foster, Ross &
Company, and a director of the Business Men’s Association. He
is a member of the City Club of Auburn, Owasco Country Club and
the Syracuse Harvard Club.
On October 31, 1906, he married Miss Bertha L. Rich, daughter
of the Hon. A. P. Rich, and to this union one son, Edwin Rich
Metcalf, was bom, March 15, 1908.
Fred F. Irish, plumber, gas and steamfitter, is a native of
Jordan, Onondaga County, but has been in business in Auburn for
thirteen years, and his patrons speak of his ability in very high
terms. Mr. Irish conducts business at No. 22 Clark street; a fine
line of sanitary plumbing, steam and water heating goods are kept
in stock, and a competent force of skilled plumbers and fitters
employed. He gives special attention to all orders for work, and
contracts receive his personal attention. He furnishes plans
and specifications cheerfully, and his reputation as an expert has
given him a prestige in Auburn that has brought him a lucrative
business.
Mr. Irish has been a member of the Examing Board of Plumbers
for six years, and is a member of the Masonic fraternity—Auburn
Blue Lodge, the Salemtown Commandery and Ziarra Temple,
Utica. He married Gertrude Helen White, a teacher in the Auburn
public schools, and their children are Helen, Marian, Ruth and
Francis.Biographical
551
Nicholas Poolos, who conducts one of the finest delicatessen
and fruit stores in Auburn, is a native of the ancient and historic
city of Sparta, in the kingdom of Greece; a city which will ever be
remembered as the home of Leonidas and his three hundred brave
men who made Thermopylae immortal.
In the year 1886 Mr. Poolos came to Auburn, and in 1890 he
established his present business. He is a practical confection
manufacturer and makes all kinds of candies and ice cream. He
also deals in everything carried in a first class delicatessen store,
including tropical and California fruits of all kinds. He has been
able to introduce European ideas in his manufactured goods,
producing excellent novelties previously unknown to the American
market and his establishment is unique in this regard. He deals
both at wholesale and reatil and supplies many dealers with his
confectionery. During his eighteen years of business in Auburn
Mr. Poolos has built up a high reputation for honorable business
methods, as well as a large patronage and his stand at No. 45
Genesee street is regarded as headquarters for the best of every-
thing in his various lines of goods. He is a member of the Benev-
olent and Protective Order of Elks and is a highly respected business
man. His brother, George Poolos, who is in the store with him,
came to America in 1892. He is a member of the Maccabees.
Courteous attention and promptness in business distinguish this
house. The interior of the store is very attractive and well kept.
Its soda fountain, ice cream and numerous delicacies are also
worthy of distinct mention.
George S. Cady, Moravia, manufacturer of portable and sta-
tionary saw mills, farm wagons, land rollers, feed mills, mill ma-
chinery, farm sleighs, farm machinery, water motors, waterwheels,
etc., is a native of Sempronius, Cayuga County. He attended
school there and was engaged in farming and contracting up to
the time that he became identified with the steamboat business552
History of Cayuga County
upon Skaneateles Lake. He owned and ran the steamboat Ossahinta
for fifteen years and also was interested in furnishing supplies
such as telegraph poles, railroad ties, etc. to different companies
during this time. Mr. Cady has been many years an important
factor in the councils of the Republican party. This influence
he has always exerted in a most conscientious and honorable man-
ner, believing that men of principle and of tried worth and ability
should be elected to public office and has exerted his influence
in that direction. He himself has never sought or accepted public
preferments, although repeatedly solicited to accept nomination.
At present he has, however, consented and i& serving Moravia as
one of the trustees of the village' Mr. Cady has been a Mason
since his twenty -first year, and is identified with the Independent
Order of Foresters. He has one son, Le Roy Cady, now identi-
fied with him in the manufacturing business in Moravia, wThich
Mr. Cady purchased in 1903,and in which they employ a force of
twenty-six men.
Benjamin I. C. Buckland, M. D., one of the most prominent
physicians of southern Cayuga County for the last quarter of a
century, is descended from a long lineage of New England
ancesters who came from England in 1636 and settled in Massa-
chusetts, at Rehobath and near Boston.
His great-grandfathers both paternal and maternal did valiant
service for their country in the Revolutionary War, at Bennington
and at Bunker Hill. When the Declaration of Independence had
finally transformed the colonies into the United States, they
established their pioneer homes among the healthful Berkshire
Hills of Cheshire and Pittsfield, Massachusetts, and at Guilford on
the fertile foot-hills of the Green Mountains of Vermont. These
Stalwart New England ancestors were all of them well-educated.
God-fearing men, and many of them were prominent professional
men.Biographical
553
Dr. Buckland was bom in Cayuga County, at the old homestead
near Weedsport, at the beginning of the Civil War. He was
thoroughly educated by his father in the local schools, attending
in his early youth the Monroe Collegiate Institute at Elbridge,
N. Y., then the leading college preparatory school in Central N. Y.
He graduated with honors from the Port Byron Academy
and won in competitive examination a scholarship and entered
college at Cornell University. After completing his course of study
at Cornell, he attended the University of Michigan at Ann Arbor,
where he continued his favorite studies in geology, history, litera-
ture and medicine. On June 27, 1884, Doctor Buckland graduated
with honors from the medical department of the University of
Michigan and returned to Cayuga County. He married Miss
Avis M. Wyckoff, and commenced the practice of medicine on
July 4, 1884, at Fleming, N. Y, where he still continues in active
practice and enjoys the respectful esteem of an ever-widening
circle of loyal friends.
In the line of his professional calling, Doctor Buckland has
been a leading member of the Cayuga County Medical Society
since July 9, 1884, having twice been honored by the society as its
president. At the one hundredth anniversary of this society during
Old Home Week at Auburn, he was selected to give the historical
centennial address before the medical fraternity at their banquet
at the City Club.
He is also a member of the Central New York Medical Associa-
tion and of the Medical Society of the State of New York.
Doctor Buckland is the official medical examiner for all the old-
line life insurance companies m his home town and also for several
fraternal insurance companies.
President Cleveland during his last administration, appointed
Doctor Buckland as an examining physician and surgeon on the
United States Pension Board at Auburn, N. Y., which position he
filled with credit through that administration.554
History of Cayuga County
Colby's Telegraph School is the acknowledged leading
telegraphy institution in Central New York. Its graduates all
occupy lucrative and responsible positions throughout the country.
That the Colby School has attained an enviable reputation for
its thorough and practical methods, has been due to the fact that
graduates of the institution have secured responsible positions and
have in every instance filled every requirement, and in many in-
stances have been advanced to fill vacancies that usually require
men of years of practical experience to hold. Colby’s graduates
have yet to have the first failure recorded against them. These
gratifying results are attained by the very thorough methods em-
ployed in the school, combined with the fact that Mr. Colby is
himself a practical telegrapher and railroad man, having spent some
twelve years in the employ of the leading railroads and com-
mercial companies.
Mr. Colby has in practical operation in his school miniature
semaphores, regular switchboards, all the regular forms used in
railroad work, and in addition to all these features he has a direct
wire from the Lehigh Valley Railroad offices in this city, which
is an exclusive and a very valuable adjunct in the work of training
his students in this line of instruction. The course of instruction
as taught at this school will equip any young man of ordinary
intelligence and with common school education to fill a position
paying not less than $45, and in some instances as high as $80,
per month. Once qualified, a graduate has a trade which will
equip him for a life work.
The railroad work is such that there is a constant demand for
competent men, and the demand is increasing every year. This
employment puts young men in line for promotions in a class of
wrork where men of ability receive salaries ranging into the thou-
sands of dollars. But the knowledge of the work as taught by the
Colby School is essential to begin with.Biographical
555
To any young man with the qualifications mentioned no greater
opportunity nor a more opportune time than the present was ever
offered to gain for himself, in a few months' study, and a small
investment, instruction that will place him not only in a permanent
position, but will pave the way for untold advantages which the
untrained man may never hope to secure.
The success attained by graduates of this school have led some
of the leading business men of this section to place their stamp of
approval on the methods employed and the results obtained, and
Mr. Colby takes great pride in his reference to these men as well
as to the many graduates now accupying positions throughout
the country.
To any who are interested in the work, or have any idea of taking
it up, full information will be furnished upon application, either
by letter or in person, to Colby's Telegraph School, 106 Genesee
street, Auburn, N. Y.
E. B. Peck, chief engineer of the International Harvester
Works, at Auburn, is one of the employees of this great corporation
who has demonstrated his ability to do things. Mr. Peck entered
the rolling mill branch of the establishment over twenty-seven
years ago, in a minor capacity, and by hard work and earnest en-
deavor won promotion until in 1900 he was . appointed chief en-
gineer of the entire plant, with supervision over some thirty-five
assistants. He is married and has one daughter, Mabel.
Mr. Peck is prominent in Masonic circles; is Past Master of
St. Paul Lodge No. 124, Auburn, N. Y., having held the chair of
Master during the years 1895 and 1896; is a Scottish Rite Mason
and held the highest office, that of Past Grand of the Consistory,
and is a thirty-second degree Mason. He is a member of the
Masonic Club, and of the Masonic Relief Association. He is also
past president of the N. A. S. E., No. 5, Auburn, and for the
past twenty-one years has been treasurer of the Lodge. He is556
History of Cayuga County
First Patron of Auburn Chapter No. 169 of the Eastern Star, and
past president of the Osborne Works Engineering Club. Mr. Peck
is an unassuming but practical man, a thoroughly experienced
and competent engineer, and is held in the highest esteem by all.
Samuel Van Dyke Kennedy, manager of the Eastern works of
the International Harvester Company, was bom in New York
City, and educated in the public schools of Connecticut. He
learned the trade of machinist in the works of Russell, Birdsell
& Ward, of Portchester, N. Y., and after serving his apprentice-
ship, went to work for the Colt Arms Company at Hartford,
Conn.; subsequently he worked for the Whitney Arms Company at
Whitneyville. About 1880 he went West and was engaged by
Hendey & Meyer, of Denver, Colorado, with whom he remained
two years. Again changing his location, he connected with the
Minneapolis Harvester Works, and remained with that concern for
eight years, For the next three years he was assistant superin-
tendent of the Deering Harvester Company, of Chicago, and from
that time until he came to Auburn, he was general superintendent
for the Walter A. Wood Harvester Company of St. Paul, Minn.
In December, 1896, he was engaged by Colonel Edwin D. Metcalf
for the position of general superintendent for D. M. Osborne &
Company, and filled that position until January, 1903, when he
became general superintendent for the Osborne Works of the Inter-
national Harvester Company, and so continued until 1906, when
he was made manager of the Eastern works of the company,
which position he now fills.
Samuel V. Kennedy married Cora B., daughter of John D.
Noxon, of Great Barrington, Mass. They have two children,
Francis S., and Samuel Van Dyke Kennedy, Jr.
Mr. Kennedy is a member of Auburn Lodge No. 435, Free and
Accepted Masons, and of the Engineers’ Club. He is also a member
of the Auburn City Club and the Masonic Club. He is a man ofBiographical
557
fine executive ability, as his position indicates, and is much respected
in Auburn. He holds the respect and confidence of the employees
of the International Harvester Company to a degree not usual
with officials of large industries.
Frederick A. Dudley, Republican, who represents Cayuga
County in the Assembly, was bom in Madison, Connecticut, in
1842, and was educated in common schools, at Lee Academy,
and finally in Yale Medical College, from which he was graduated
in the class of 1862.
He was in the United States Volunteer Army during the Civil
War from 1861 to the close of the war in 1865. In 1864 and 1865
he was surgeon of the Fourteenth Connecticut Infantry and was
wounded at the battle of Gettysburg. He was captured at the
battle of Hatcher’s Run, Virginia, and was a prisoner in Libby
Prison, Richmond, during the winter of 1864-5.
Dr. Dudley has served as supervisor of the town of Genoa
since 1898, and was chairman of the Board of Supervisors of Cayuga
County in 1901. In 1906 he was elected Assemblyman from
Cayuga County by a plurality of 3,796.
Speaker Wadsworth in 1907 appointed Dr. Dudley a member
of the following Assembly Committees: Canals, Affairs of Villages,
State Prisons, and Soldiers’ Home.
Christopher B. Morgan. A full history of the Morgan family
would require almost a history of southern Cayuga County, so
intimately has that family heen associated with all local affairs
for over a century. Christopher Morgan, the founder of the
family, came from New England and settled first at Cayuga Bridge.
In 1801 he came to Aurora, and on June 3rd of that year opened a
store which has been conducted by him and his descendants,
continuously, ever since, and which is now owned by his great-
grand son, Henry Morgan.558
History of Cayuga County
One of Christopher Morgan’s five sons was Richard, the father
of Christopher B. Morgan, who was bom at Levanna, in 1842. He
came with his father to Aurora in 1848, and after granduating at
Cayuga Lake Academy, entered the house of Morgan at eighteen
years of age and has been a business man in that village ever since.
He was appointed postmaster at Aurora, by President Lincoln,
and has been the incumbent of that office for more than twenty
years. For a time he was in Michigan, and his father was appointed
postmaster in his stead during that time. He was re-appointed
by President Harrison and has held the office continuously ever
since, except during Cleveland’s administration. He was once
Master of Scipio Lodge, No. no, Free and Accepted Masons;
declined all political preferments, but gave much time and money
for the advancement of others, and for the best interests of his
party in town and country.
Christopher B. Morgan married Lucy M. Avery, who died in
1904. Their children are:	Emily A. Stanton, of Cleveland, Ohio,
William A. Morgan of Boston, Mass., and Henry Morgan, mer-
chant and proprietor of Wayside Inn, Aurora, N. Y. In 1906,
Mr. Morgan married Ida Lincoln Coggshell of New Jersey.
Christopher B. Morgan has worthily maintained, through a
long business career, the name and honor of one of the oldest and
most notable families of Cayuga County, and he is widely known
as a generous and broad-minded man, as well as an enterprising
and progressive citizen.
Charles F. Rattigan, son of the late Charles Rattigan, was
bom November 13, 1865, No. 20 Logan street, Auburn, N. Y.,
and still resides in the old homestead. He graduated from the
Auburn High School in the class of 1884, and in the fall of that
year began his career as a newspaper man, as a reporter on the
Evening Despatch. After six months on the Despatch he went
to the Bulletin, on which he served first as reporter, then as newsBiographical
559
editor, and finally became managing editor, which position he
held for several years prior to the establishment of the Auburn
Citizen by a stock company which purchased the Bulletin and
merged it in the new paper. Since that time, Mr. Rattigan has
been managing editor and general manager of the Citizen
Since he became of age, Mr. Rattigan has been active in Demo-
cratic politics. He was schooled in the Bulletin office under the
late Wm. J. Moses, who was probably the most astute politician
of his day in Central New York. Mr. Rattigan has worked long
and earnestly for the betterment of his party, and is an uncom-
promising advocate of clean methods, sound principles and popular
rule—so he holds the confidence and esteem of the best men of
his party, and is regarded as a safe and worthy leader
In 1896 Charles F. Rattigan married Caroline L. Meyer, and
they have a family of three children, namely, Caroline, Charles
F. Jr., and Elizabeth.
Colonel Edwin B. Morgan was bom at Aurora, Cayuga
County, N. Y., May 2, 1806, and during a large part of the nine-
teenth century was one of the prominent figures of the county.
He was educated at the old Cayuga Lake Academy, and at the
early age of thirteen was a clerk in the store of his father, Major
Morgan. At twenty-one he succeeded to the business which
included many lines, especially the buying of wool, grain and pork
from the farmers. In 1850 he was nominated for Congress, but
lost the election by fourteen votes. In 1852 he was again nomin-
ated and carried the election. He was re-elected in 1854 and
again in 1856, his majority in the last named year reaching nine
thousand. He took a great interest in the cause of education
and was an unusually progressive man. He was one of the original
proprietors of the New York Times, and was for a time president
of the Times Association. He was one of the originators of the
Wells, Fargo Express Company, was its first president and held560
History of Cayuga County
the office for four years. He was also a stockholder in the Adams,
the American and the United States express companies; also in
various banks and railroads. He was one of the largest stock-
holders in the Oswego Starch Company, of which he was a director.
For thirty years he was president of Cayuga Lake Academy, and
was one of the original trustees of Wells College, was its vice-
president for years, and contributed $100,000 to its endowment.
He was trustee of the State Agricultural College at Ovid, and of
the Peoples College at Havana. He was one of the first Board
of Trustees of Cornell University; was also a trustee of the Auburn
Theological Seminary; with Wm. E. Dodge he erected the seminary
library building, and he contributed $75,000 toward the con-
struction of Morgan Hall. He was one of the original trustees
of the State Inebriate Asylum at Binghamton, and he contributed
toward the Brazilian explorations of Prof. Har;. He lived to a
ripe old age, universally respected and esteemed. His death
occurred October 13, 1881.
Wells College, the gift of Henry Wells to the cause of female
education, is beautifully situated in the village of Aurora, N. Y.
The original building was commenced in 1866, and completed in
1868. It is built in the Norman style of architecture, with tucked
joints, fourteen gables and two towers. The entrance is through
a fine portico with groined arches, and the students’ rooms, parlors,
etc, are large and well appointed. A fine view of the bay and
Cayuga Lake may be had from nearly every window in the edifice.
On August 9, 1888 the main hall was destroyed by fire. This
calamity proved a blessing in disguise, as it rallied the friends of
the college to its support with renewed ardor. Nearly all the old
students returned in September; the trustees chartered the village
hotel and renamed it the Wayside Inn; the old Morgan homestead
was brought into service as the Tabard Inn; the residence of Mrs.
Henry Morgan became part of the college under the name of theBiographical
561
Annex, and thus temporary accomodations were provided for the
students and teachers. The new building was commenced promptly,
and was nearly ready for occupation in the Spring of 1890.
The commencement exercises of that year were held in the new
Music Hall. Outside of the furnishings, the building cost nearly
one hundred and sixty thousand dollars.
In 1904 George Morgan Ward, D. D., L L. D. became president
of Wells, and during the four years, since elapsed, the college has
risen to the front rank among American seminaries. It classes
with Vassar or Smith in the standard of its matriculation and in
its curriculum; and because the number of applicants for admission
far exceeds the capacity of the buildings, the college is enabled to
select the very best students. It is therefore a distinct honor for
a young lady to matriculate at Wells. Then, the course of study
must be pursued faithfully in order that the student may remain
in the college.
These facts are fast becoming known, and earnest students, in
increasing numbers, are seeking admission to the college because
of the distinction which its name confers. To meet this demand
much has already been done in adding to the capacity and ap-
pointments of the institution. During Dr. Ward's regime several
new buildings bave been added, including a science hall, gymnasium,
and power house and two small dormotories. The grounds have
been liberally enlarged by two separate purchasers, and a spacious
dining-room is now in course of erection.
Dr. Ward is a native of Massachusetts, and is a graduate of
Harvard, in arts, of Dartmouth, of Boston Law School, of Andover
in theology and a special student of Johns Hopkins. For six years
he was general secretary for the Christian Endeavor movement,
traveling most of the time. Subsequently he became president
of Rollins College, at Winter Park, Florida, and under his direction
that institution was extremely successful and prosperous.
30562
History of Cayuga County
In 1900 Dr. Ward was invited to take charge of the church at
Palm Beach. He accepted the call and preached there for four
years. In 1902 he resigned the presidency of the college because
he found the double work too much for his strength. Then in
1904 he came to Aurora to-take the presidency of Wells College.
In June, 1900, Dartmouth College conferred the degree of
doctor of divinity upon President Ward, and he has also been
honored with the degree of doctor of laws.
The regime of Dr. Ward at Wells has already become an epoch
in the history of the college, through his advanced ideas and the
enthusiastic support given him by the trustees. Not only have
the buildings been added to, but the endowment of the college has
been increased more than one hundred thousand dollars, the
number of students has nearly doubled, and the institution has
taken a rank second to none in the country.
Benjamin Hutchings is a native of England, but came to
America in 1885, while still a youth. Four years after coming to.
Auburn, or in 1889, he purchased the old Worden blacksmith shop.
In 1900 he rebuilt and partly enlarged the shop and increased the
facilities for doing work making the establishment the most impor-
tant in its line in the city. The shop is forty-two by seventy feet
in dimensions and two stories in height. He also bought out the
Auburn Rubber Tire Works in 1901, and consolidated the two
enterprises. He makes a specialty of rubber tires and repairing
of all kinds of vehicles, but also builds carriages, wagons and sleighs
to order. An especial feature of his business is the expert horse-
shoeing department. All defects arising from improper shoeing
are remedied, and imperfections in gait, etc., are overcome whenever
possible. In .fact a reputation in this line has been established
which extends throughout this and adjoining counties.
Mr. Hutchings has always taken a lively interest in the welfare
of his adopted city and has been for years a factor in public life.Biographical
563
He is a Republican in politics and has served his party on county
committees. He was alderman for the seventh ward during the
years 1906 and 1907. Mr. Hutchings married Emma J. Hazlitt
and they have three children, Florence Emma, Bertha May, and
Benjamin James.
T. M. Pomeroy, who conducts the leading hardware store
in Auburn, was bom in this city, January 14, 1874, and received
his education at the Laurenceville School and Hamilton College.
He began his business life in the banking house of Wm. H. Seward
& Co., but subsequently entered the hardware business. In
1906 the house of T. M. Pomeroy & Company, of which he is
the head, was incorporated. They carry on a large business in
hardware, both at wholesale and retail.
Mr. Pomeroy is a member of the Benevolent and Protective
Order of Elks, of the City Club, and Country Club of Auburn,
of the Auburn Automobile Club, and of the Alpha Delta Phi society
of Hamilton College, of which his father was a member in his college
days. T. M. Pomeroy married Mabel Wadsworth, daughter of David
Wadsworth, Jr., of Auburn. His parents were Hon. T. M. Pomeroy
and Elizabeth (Watson) Pomeroy.
Frederick A. Sefton, M. D., was bom in the town of Stock-
port, county of Cheshire, England, July 29, 1857 His father was
James Sefton. His mother’s maiden name was Catherine Goodwin,
and their ancestors lived in Lancashire and Cheshire for three or
four centuries. Mr. James Sefton belonged to the firm of Orrell
Brothers, manufacturers of cotton-spinning machinery, the Orrells
being his brothers-in-law; and in this business he continued until
1865, when the sudden termination of the Southern Rebellion
in the United States so largely affected the English cotton interests.
About that time Mr. Sefton came to America.564
History of Cayuga County
Frederick A. Sefton was a boy eight years old when the family
came to this country, and received his education mostly in the
public schools of Holyoke, Mass., and in the Pinkerton Academy
at Derry, N. H. Afterward he spent four years at Bowdoin
College in Brunswick, Me. Following his graduation there in
1880, he studied his profession at the College of Physicians and
Surgeons in New York City, and also in the medical department
of Yale College. Having finished his course there in 1884, and
duly received his diploma, Dr. Sefton went to London for a year's
practical experience in the hospitals, after which he returned to
this country, and practised for a time in New York, until invited
to undergo the Civil Service examination for the post of assistant
physician in the State Asylum at Auburn. He passed, and was
for six years chief assistant in the hospital, then resigned his
place in order to take charge of the “Pines, '' in 1891, where he has
since remained doing an admirable work for unfortunate humanity.
Henry D. Titus, of Auburn, is the able superintendent of the
Auburn Division of the Lehigh Valley Railroad, and has long been
identified with practical railway interests. He was bom in the
town of Victor, Ontario County, N. Y., June 5, 1849. His great-
grandfather was Benjamin Titus, who was bom on Long Island.
A more remote ancestor than Benjamin was Samuel Titus, who
came from Suffolkshire, England, and settled on Long Island
about 1664, where he and his descendants lived for some genera-
tions, engaged for the most part in agricultural pursuits. They
were Quakers in religion down to the grandfather of Henry D.
Titus, a second Samuel Titus, who married “out of meeting,"
which caused a break in the religious unity of the family.
Mr. Henry D. Titus was appointed acting superintendent of
the Southern Central Railroad, January 26, 1885; and two years
later, at New Year's, 1887, when the road was leased to theLehigh
Valley Railroad, be became superintendent of the Southern CentralBiographical
565
Division of the Pennsylvania & New York Canal and Railroad
Company, holding the new office till December i, 1888. From
January 1st of the same year till March 16, 1892, he was superin-
tendent of the Auburn Division of the Lehigh Valley Railroad
Company, when for five months he served as superintendent of
the Auburn Division of the Philadelphia & Reading Railroad.
In August of that same year, 1892, he was appointed superintend-
ent of the South Central Railroad for Charles Campbell, its trustee,
but on December 5th of that winter he resumed his former position
as superintendent of the Auburn Division of the Philadelphia
& Reading Railroad, and held it till August 1, 1893, which time
the Lehigh Valley Railroad Company again took possession of the
property, Mr. Titus retaining the same position which he holds
at the present time.
It is noticeable that, while apparently holding many different
railroad offices during these thirty years, Mr. Titus has virtually
been in charge of the same section of road, the variations being
in the corporate ownership rather than in the road itself. The
Southern Central Railroad was organized in 1865, and its con-
struction begun two years later. It was finished from Owego to
Auburn in February, 1870, from Owego to North Fair Haven
in November, 1871, and from State Line to North Fair Haven in
April, 1872. In May, 1892, Mr. Titus was also made superintend-
ent of the Auburn, Ithaca, and Cayuga branches of the Phila-
delphia & Reading Railroad; and on August 1, 1893, he became
superintendent of these branches of the Lehigh Valley Railroad.
Frank H. Barrett, wholesale and retail cigar and tobacco
dealer, 1 North street, Auburn, has been engaged in this branch of
business for the past fourteen years. He has the largest trade and
the best equipped store in the city—its location being so central—
and ‘‘Barrett's’* is popular with the best class of people who appre-
ciate high grade goods. Mr. Barrett is a native Aubumian, bom566
History of Cayuga County
January 28, 1876. His ancestors were Vermont people, noted for
their thrift and business acumen. Mr. Barrett is a member of
different social organizations and his family consists of wife and
one son, Cecil Baxter.
Benjamin M. Wilcox, of Auburn, N. Y., was bom in Fleming,
Cayuga County, in .1854, and is the son of Joseph and Lydia (Martin)
Wilcox. Both his parents were bom at Frome, Somersetshire,
England, the father being engaged for twenty-one years in coal-
mining in that country. Coming to America in 1853, Joseph
Wilcox settled first in the town of Fleming, and moved to Auburn
in 1865, engaging in the business of a contractor, and also running
a farm.
Benjamin received his early education at the common and
high schools of Auburn; and at the completion of his school life,
in 1870, accepted a position as messenger in the county clerk's
office, in which capacity he remained until July, 1876, when he
was appointed deputy county clerk and clerk of the Board of
Supervisors. In the fall of 1882 Mr. Wilcox was elected to the
office of county clerk, commencing his duties in January, 1883,
and was subsequently elected for three consecutive terms, which
was the first time for over half a century that any man had been
able to hold an office for more than two consecutive terms. Upon
his retirement from this position the bar of Auburn presented Mr.
Wilcox with a very fine testimonial in recognition of his useful
services, efficiency, and unfailing courtesy in the performance of
his onerous duties.
Mr. Wilcox has always taken a very active and prominent part
in politics, having been chairman of the Republican County Com-
mittee on several different occasions, also serving as secretary for
the same body. The good work he has done for his party has
been duly appreciated by them. He has served in both branches
of the state legislature,Biographical
567
In religious belief Mr Wilcox is a Methodist, and is a member
of the First Methodist Episcopal Church of Auburn. He is also a
prominent Odd Fellow.
William Richards Laird, M. D., was bom in the town of
Fleming, Cayuga County, N Y., October 19, 1845, and is the son
of Andrew and Abby Maria (Richards) Laird. The family, as the
name would imply, is of Scotch descent, the grandfather coming
from Scotland when he was foui years old. His wife, who was
a Miss Jeannette Hamilton, was also of Scotch ancestry, and was
bom on the high seas, coming over to this country. Mr. Andrew
Laird was bom at Mayfield, Fulton County, N. Y., May 11, 1814,
and was there engaged in the business of a carriage manufacturer,
coming to this country when he was nineteen years of age and
settling in the town of Springport. He afterward removed to
Union Springs, and carried on his business there for nearly fifty
years. He was well known and highly respected in all of the
southern part of Cayuga County; and, although not an office seeker,
he was a strong and prominent Whig, afterward becoming a Repub-
lican, and was also one of the earliest and most active supporters
of the temperance cause. He departed this life at Union Springs
in 1879. Mrs. Laird was the daughter of Simeon and Mary (Chid-
ester) Richards, and was also bom in Cayuga County. The Rich-
ards family was one of the early pioneers, removing from Saratoga
to Cayuga County in 1805, settling in the town of Scipio, where
they engaged in the pursuit of farming. Mrs. Laird died in Decem-
ber, 1848, at the early age of thirty-seven.
Dr. W. R Laird received his youthful education at the common
school and academy at Union Springs, and at the early age of
eighteen years, which was toward the close of the Civil War, enlisted
in Battery B, Third New York Light Artillery, being detailed
for duty on the southern coast, serving for one year, when he was
discharged under general orders at the termination of the war.568
History of Cayuga County
In the year 1865 he entered the wholesale house of Hayden &
Letchworth of Auburn, where he was employed as salesman and
bookkeeper, remaining with that firm until October 1, 1869,
at which time, his health failing him, he was obliged to seek the
mild climate of the South, going to Spottsylvania Court House,
Va., remaining there until the year 1874. In that year he returned
to New York State, and went into the office of Dr John M. Farring-
ton, of Trumansburg, N. Y., to pursue the study of medicine.
He subsequently entered the University of Buffalo, and, after
graduation in the class of 1880, located his office at Auburn, where
he practised until 1883, when he took the post-graduate course
at the University of New York, which included an extensive
hospital course. He then returned to this city, and has remained
here ever since, having gained a large and lucrative general practice.
The Osborne House, Auburn, N. Y, is so well and favorably
known to the traveling public that little can be said about this
famous hostelry that has not already become known. But it
may be interesting to those who have not visited The Osborne and
partaken of its hospitalities to mention here that since Thomas
F. Dignum became proprietor he has had the interior practically
remodeled and redecorated, and an elegant and modern grill
room has become an attractive and popular adjunct of the house.
The offices, dining room, bar and billiard room are up-to-date in
every respect, and the hotel is classed as second to none in Central
New York. So popular has The Osborne become that its patronage
overtaxes its capacity, and in the near future it will be greatly
enlarged by the addition of a new building abutting the present
fine structure. The new edifice is designed primarily as a modem
theatre, but it will add largely to the capacity and attractiveness
of The Osborne. This enlargement of the hotel and notable
addition to the architecture of the city are the direct result of Mr.
Dignum’s able management of The Osborne; the ever increasingBiographical
569
business of the house making greater accommodations desirable.
A superior hotel is a most important factor in the commercial
life of a city which lies near a larger one, and the enterprise which
aims to make The Osborne House as good as any in the state is
highly commendable. Mr. Dignum is identified with different
local, social and financial institutions in Auburn, and is justly
popular in the city, with the business interests of which he is so
intimately connected.
George F. Fordyce, sheriff of Cayuga County from 1904
to 1908, was born in Venice, Cayuga County, and has made one of
the best sheriffs that this county has ever had. Prior to his election
to this office, he had been a member of assembly for four terms,
and has also held the office of supervisor, of which body he was
chairman. In politics Mr. Fordyce is a Republican, and has always
been an active worker for his party since he reached his majority.
Mr. Fordyce has also served as chairman of the Republican County
Committee and in other important political positions. He is
relied upon to aid all measures tending to the welfare of good
government and has served the public faithfully and well. Sheriff
Fordyce, in completing his term of office last year, carried with
him the highest regard of the public, who thoroughly appreciate
his able management of the sheriff’s office in Cayuga County.
Michael Patrick Conway, M. D., was bom October 3, i860,
in Ithaca, N. Y., where his father, Patrick Conway, was a merchant.
Dr. Conway was educated in the public schools of Ithaca, the
Catholic University of Ottawa, Canada, the medical department
of the University of Michigan, at Ann Arbor, and the College of
Physicians and Surgeons, Baltimore, Md., graduating as doctor
of medicine in 1883. He practised in Auburn four years, then
took a post-graduate course at the New York Polyclinic Hospital,
returning to Auburn after an absence of two years. In 1890 he570
History of Cayuga County
visited the hospitals in London, Dublin and Paris, attending the
Tenth International Medical Conference at Berlin, and was honored
with membership. He also attended the annual meeting of the
British Medical Association, held in Birmingham, and was elected
an honorary member. In 1896 he again visited Europe, spending
his time in Prance, Switzerland, Germany and Austria, and made
a special study of the Carlsbad Springs, in Bohemia. Dr. Conway
served as health commissioner of Auburn from 1884 to 1890;
he has been excise commissioner three terms, member of the
Democratic State Committee from 1898 to 1902, and was a delegate
to the National Democratic Convention held in Kansas City,
July 4, 1900. He is a member of the medical staff of the Auburn
City Hospital, Medical Society of the State of New York, Central
New York Medical Association, Cayuga County Medical Society,
and is surgeon for the Auburn Division of the New York Central
Railroad. He is president of the Board of Water Commissioners
for the City of Auburn and takes an unusual interest in the duties
of his office.
Emmett Rhodes, of Auburn, was bom at Pompey Hill, Onon-
daga County, N. Y., February 17, 1855, and is the son of George
Andrew and Charlotte C. (Young) Rhodes. His father was bom
in the town of Lansing, Tompkins County, the family being among
the early settlers of that town.
The home of Emmett Rhodes being situated two miles from
the nearest school, he received his early education under the tuition
of his father. At the age of sixteen years he left home, and by
industry he secured money enough to enable him to attend the
high school at Ithaca, N. Y. On the completion of his school life
he began teaching school in Pennsylvania, and was later occupied
in the same profession in this county for several terms, until the
year 1879, when he went to Ithaca, and engaged in the fire insurance
business He afterward moved to Canandaigua, where he boughtBiographical
571
out the firm of Couch & Co., but, selling out, was appointed special
agent on the road for the Continental Fire Insurance Company,
spending most of his time at headquarters in Wilmington, Del.,
and Baltimore. In 1885 he accepted the position of general agent
of the Equitable Life Insurance Company, with headquarters at
Auburn, in which city he has built up a splendid business for the
company.
Mr. Rhodes was united in marriage April 21, 1881, to Miss
Louie Miller, of Aurora, N Y., and has three children—Edith,
Clarence Dana, and Harold E. Rhodes.
Mr. Rhodes is a member of the First Methodist Episcopal
Church, of which he is a trustee and treasurer of the Board of
Trustees, and also of the church. He is also a member of the In-
dependent Order of Odd Fellows, and of the Auburn City Club.
Mr. Rhodes has always taken an active interest in the work of the
Young Men’s Christian Association, and has been a member of
the Board of Managers most of the time, and president of the same
for the last two years. During the two years of his presidency
the Board has cleared off an indebtedness of twenty thousand
dollars which was incurred in the erection of the present fine
building, which cost $75,000.
He has taken an active part in Republican politics in the city
and county, and has served as delegate to many of the conventions.
J. Fitch Walker, a leading real estate dealer and insurance
man of Moravia, was bom in this town October 31, 1846, and is
the son of Thomas . M. and Maria (Carpenter) Walker, and a lineal
descendant of James Walker, the precise date of whose arrival
in New England is unknown to the present writer, but who is
supposed to have come in the wake of the “Mayflower,” his name
not being in the list of passengers of that historic vessel. Gene-
alogists note several of this patronymic among the early settlers
on the shores of Massachusetts Bay. Thomas M. Walker was572
History of Gayuga County
bom at Killingly, Conn., about 1812, and when only a boy came
to Moravia to live with his uncle, Thomas Morey. He pursued
the occupation of a farmer, and at the time of his death owned
one of the finest farms in the town. He also engaged in the produce
business, buying and shipping his goods by canal, in which under-
taking he was very successful. He died in i860. Mrs. Walker
was bom in Rhode Island, and settled with her family in the town
of Sempronius, her father being one of the early pioneers of this
vicinity. Mr. and Mrs. Thomas M. Walker had three children,
namely:	Mary, wife of the Hon. Mortimer V. Austin, of Auburn,
N. Y., J. Fitch Walker and Ellen, wife of Edgar Alley, now
deceased.
J. Fitch Walker received his early education in the district
schools of Moravia and at the old academy. He afterward went
on the farm, and managed that for a time. He then came to
Moravia, and was here engaged in building and in the sale of real
estate until 1876, when he opened a real estate and insurance
office, being the only one in that line of business in the town.
He at first represented only one insurance company, but is now
agent for ten of the strongest and most reliable companies, including
the Aitna and the Hartford of Hartford, Conn., the German-Ameri-
can, the Niagara, and the Pacific, of New York City, Royal of
Liverpool, Commercial Union of London, London and Lancashire
of London, Norwich Union of Norwich, and the Travellers’ Accident
of Hartford. Mr. Walker also does a large business in loaning and
collecting money, besides dealing in all kinds of agricultural im-
plements.
He was elected constable of this town for eleven years, part
of which time he was deputy-sheriff. He has also been elected
justice of the peace for several terms, having served in that capacity
for a number of years, and is the oldest justice of the peace here in
point of service. He has served as president of the village, and has
been for some years vice-president of the Indian Mound CemeteryBiographical
573
Association, and was active in the organization of the Lodge of
Royal Templars of Temperance, being the first presiding officer,
Mr. Walker has always been actively identified with the Repub-
lican party.
He was married April 7, 1866, to Miss Dorlesca Hoagland, of
this town, and has three children, namely: Florence, wife of John
Murdock, of Venice Center; Thomas M., and Lee. Mrs. Walker
is the daughter of Alfred Hoagland, an old resident of this town,
who was born in 1809, and who served in the civil war. He is of
the old Knickerbocker stock of New York. Mr. and Mrs. Walker
are attendants and supporters of the Congregational Church, of
which Mrs. Walker is a member. Mr. Walker has always been a
practical temperance man, and ready at all times to do work in
its cause, but is not a Prohibitionist.
Frederick Cossum, was born in Cleveland, Oneida County
in the year 1842. His father, Francis Cossum, was bom in England
and came to this country in young manhood, having been married
before immigration to Susannah Crump. At first Mr. and Mrs.
Cossum lived in Cleveland; but in 1846, when Frederick was only
four years old, they came to Auburn, so that he was educated
in the schools of this city, including the old academy.
Though the War of the Rebellion broke out when he was }^et
under ninetoen he at once enlisted, September 1, 1861 in the
Seventy-Fifth New York Infantry, as a private, sailing from New
York to Key West, Fla. His first experience of active battle was
in the bombardment of the island of Santa Rosa. Next came the
contests at Thibodeaux and Brashear City, and the two days'
fight at Camp Bisland, La. From May 29 till its surrender, the
regiment took its part in the seige of Port Hudson. Already the
youthful soldier had been made corporal and sergeant; and in the
war records, on file at Washington (volume 33, page 519), may
be found this entry:	“Cossum, Sergeant Frederick, Seventy-574
History of Cayuga County
fifth Regiment, New York. During the assault on the works at
Port Hudson, in June, 1863, he was wounded, and went to the
rear; but three successive times he returned to the fight, and was
finally carried forcibly from the field, after receiving five wounds. ”
This bravery won for him his commission as first lieutenant. The
regiment was presently sent from New Orleans to Washington,
D. C., by water, and was next heard of September 19, 1864, in the
battle of Winchester, designed to protect the capital from General
Early’s raid. There Lieutenant Cossum was shot through his
left arm One month from that day he was again in active battle
at Cedar Creek, and the day after at Fisher’s Hill, these battles
being followed by a series of skirmishes up and down the valley,
some of them very fierce, which lasted to the close of the cam-
paign. The young hero was then rewarded with a captain’s com-
mission ; but, as the war was over, he did not care to accept the
title, unaccompanied by corresponding duty. The National
Tribune, speaking of Lieutenant Cossum a few years later, called
him the luckiest man in the army, as he had been wounded seven
times, yet had not lost an arm or a leg
His four years of patriotic service having now expired, Mr.
Cossum found employment in Auburn, in the hardware business,
with Choate & Brothers, and then with Sartwell, Hough & Co.,
when they began the manufacture of shoes in the same city. After
this he was associated with the Honorable Homer A. Lockwood
and others in buying stock and in publishing the Auburn Daily Item,
whereof Mr. Cossum was financial manager from 1870 to 1881,
when he sold out his interest in the journal, and went into the
paper business, helping to establish the new firm of Wicks &
Cossum, with Forrest G. Wicks, the owner of an extensive paper-
mill at Shaneateles. Two years later they took into partnership,
M. S. Cuykendall. In 1887 the junior partners bought out Mr.
Wicks, and the name of the firm has since been Cossum &
Cuykendall.Biographical
575
Mr. Cossum has been elected by the Republicans alderman
from the second ward. At the spring election of 1894 he was elected
by a very large majority a member of the city’s Board of Education.
In the erection of the beautiful new school-house, known as the
James Street School, he took an active part, bending every effort
and with success, to have a desirable, first-class building. Mr.
Cossum is a Grand Army man, serving Seward Post for seven
terms as its commander. He was a charter member of the old
Avery Post, and mustered in the members of Seward Post at its
organization. He has been an aid on the staff of the National
Grand Commander-in-Chief, and one of the forty-five delegates
to the National Encampment allowed by the rules of this state.
Under the new law of 1893 f°r the relief of distressed veterans,
Mr. Cossum attended to the disbursement of over eighteen hundred
dollars to claimants in his neighborhood.
In 1866, August 15th, Mr. Cossum married Catherine E. Vorhis,
of Auburn, daugh er of Joseph B. Vorhis, representing one of the
old Holland families.
James A. Wright, attorney and counsellor-at-law, Moravia,
N. Y , where he has been in active practice since 1869, was bom
near the village of Moravia, May 4, 1838, and is the son of Chauncey
and Mary (Locke) Wright. The father was bom in Williamstown,
Mass., in 1796, and came to Moravia with his parents in 1797.
The paternal grandfather, David Wright, who was one of the early
pioneers of this county, bought land just north of the village, where
he made his home, farming his land and plying his trade of a shoe-
maker. He was a well-educated man, and in addition to his other
duties found time to teach the younger generation in the village
school He opened the first store in Moravia in 1800, near the
Quaker meeting-house. David Wright died August 17, 1869,
at the advanced age of ninety-five years and six months, and left576
History of Cayuga County
the following family:	Irene, wife of Peter R. Robinson; Mrs.
Cynthia Howard; Chauncey; Riley E.; and Sophia, wife of Isaac
Cady.
Chauncey Wright was educated in Moravia, and after the com-
pletion of his schooling learned the trade of a brick-maker, and
carried on a large brickyard near Moravia for many years, he being
the first man to engage in that business in the locality. Later in
life he retired from active affairs, and took up his residence on the
farm. Mrs. Wright was a daughter of John Locke, and was a
native of Moravia. She was a finely educated woman, and for
several years taught school. She reared a family of four children,
namely:	Franklin D., an attorney of Auburn; Caroline, now
deceased; James A., the subject of this biographical sketch; and
George L., now a resident of New York City. Both Mr. and Mrs.
Wright were among the early members and ardent supporters of
the First Congregational Church. The parents of Mrs. Wright
were John and Esther Locke, who came here from Connecticut.
Mr. Locke was accidentaly killed on February 22, 1807. He left
a widow and the following family of children:	Esther, wife of
John H. Parker; Lucy A., wife of Allen Wood; Betsey, wife of John
Kies; Mary; James; John; and Henry Locke.
James A. Wright received his early education in the district
schools of his native village and at the Moravia Institute, a promi-
nent local institution of learning, of which his father, Mr. Chauncey
Wright, was a trustee for many years. In his early manhood
James taught school for some time, and afterward read law with
Wright & Waters, of Cortland, N. Y., the Wright of that firm
being his brother, F. D., who is now located at Auburn. On June
6, 1864, he was admitted to the bar by examination held at Bing-
hamton, his first location for business being the town of Waverly,
N. Y., where he practised until April, 1868, when he returned to
Moravia, and formed a partnership with J. L. Parker, the association
continuing until 1870, since which time Mr. Wright has practisedBiographical
577
alone. Mr. Wright has been a justice of the peace for twelve years,
and was elected special surrogate of the county on the Republican
ticket, which office he filled for one term, giving general satisfaction.
Mr. Wright has always been an active worker in the Republican
ranks since the days of Abraham Lincoln, for whom he cast his
first presidential ballot, and has stumped the country during many
of the active campaigns. He has a very large practice, to which
he gives most of his attention, and is noted as being one of the most
forceful and well-read lawyers of the Cayuga County bar.
October 24, 1868, Mr. Wright was united in marriage to Miss
Ella E. Rose, of Waverly, N. Y., three children being the fruit
of the union, namely: Charles A., who is now a lawyer
practising in Auburn, N. Y.; Nellie R., who received her educa-
tion in the Moravia High School; and Harry F. Wright. The old
homestead is still retained, the family making it their residence,
a home of refinement and cultured taste. Mr. and Mrs. Wright
are members of the Congregational church, in which body Mr.
Wright has held various official positions.
Mr. Wright is the author of a History of the Town of Moravia,
a book of two hundred and eighty-nine pages, duodecimo, which
was published by himself. It is a work of much merit, and has met
with a large and ready sale. He has gathered together incidents
in the history of the town from living members, which would
otherwise undoubtedly have been lost. It is a most pleasingly
written book, giving full facts in regard to the settlement of the
early families of the town. It has been purchased by residents of
the town, and also by others who have now left this vicinity and
gone elsewhere, but who still feel a great interest in their native
place. Mr. Wright is a scholarly man and a deep thinker, and is
held in the highest esteem and respect by all members of society.
Richard Morgan was bom in Aurora, Cayuga County, N. Y.,
March 21, 1818, and came of good old New England stock, his
37578
History of Cayuga County
great-grandfather, Christopher Morgan, having been bom in
Groton, Conn., in 1747. Major Morgan, grandson of Christopher,
settled in Aurora, N. Y. and had five sons, all of whom were
notable men in Cayuga County. One of these was Richard
Morgan. He was educated in the Aurora Academy and at a
private school at Owasco Lake. At the age of eighteen he
entered his father's store as a clerk and became a partner
when he attained his majority. In September, 1837, he married
Eliza W. Avery, who was also of New England ancestry.
They had two children, only one of whom, Christopher B.
Morgan, grew to maturity.
For a time Richard Morgan followed farming at Levanna,
but in 1850 he entered into partnership with his brothers,
Edwin and Henry, in the historic Morgan store at Aurora. In
1856 he became sole proprietor, and in 1863 took his son,
Christopher B. Morgan, into partnership. In 1882 the son
succeeded to the business. Richard Morgan was postmaster at
Aurora for some time during his son’s absence in the West, and
was one of the most active and honored of the business men
of the county in his day. He was also highly esteemed for
his qualities of heart and head and was a worthy repre-
sentative of the Morgan family. He died November 23, 1890.
John Bruton, was bom in the town of Venice, Cayuga County,
N. Y., September 23, 1863, and was educated in the local schools
of that town and the town of Locke, to which he subsequently
moved. He followed farming for some years; indeed he has been
interested in farming all his life, and owns a fine farm in the town
of Genoa. His first business, aside from farming, was the produce
business in which he engaged for some years and then became
proprietor of a hotel at Genoa. He next conducted the Empire
House in Auburn, and then the Avery House. After conducting
this hotel for three years he sold out, only to buy it back after aBiographical
579
year's absence. He resumed control of the Avery in January,
1908, and has remodeled and refurnished it throughout. The
Avery contains sixty-four rooms and under Mr. Bruton's
management and with reasonable rates it is now one of the
popular hostelries of Western New York.
Eugene F. Hill has been in the carriage and wagon business
in Auburn for the past sixteen years, and his business career has
been successful and honorable. He is a native of Madison County,
N. Y., and was engaged in the carriage business in the City of Oneida
for many years prior to settling in Auburn. Here he opened his
first stand on Dill street as the Auburn Carriage Company. Sub-
sequently he bought out his partners and removed to his present
premises at 19-21 Water street, where he occupies three floors,
with storerooms, blacksmith shop, repair shop, etc.
Mr. Hill’s parents were Isaac F. and Mary Ann (Van Sice)
Hill. Isaac Hill was a native of Vermont and a son of Wait Hill,
an old settler in that state. Eugene F. Hill married Anna V.
Mumey, a native of Canada, of Scotch descent.
Auburn Silk Mill, incorporated February, 1908, and located
in the old Bulletin building at 29 Clark street is starting with every
prospect of becoming a most important industrial enterprise.
The officers are well-known Aubumians noted for their enterprise
and business ability and are as follows: Thomas H. Garrett, Jr.,
president; Louis E. Jenkins, M.D., vice-president and secretary,
and Richard S. Kidney, treasurer and manager. They are manu-
facturers and dealers in brood silks. A force of twenty-five opera-
tors are employed and thirty-six looms utilized. They sell mail
orders direct and through C. J. Bonnet, Kobhe & Co., 41 Greene
street, New York. Richard S. Kidney is a native of Auburn and
was educated in the schools of this city, and at Princeton
University, graduating in the class of 1907.580
History of Cayuga County
James A. Garrett, proprietor of the Garrett Cafe No. 78 State
street, Auburn, is a native of the town of Waterloo, Albany County,
N. Y., where he was bom in the year 1868. At the age of eighteen
he was a chef in Albany and was so employed in the Capital City
for some years. He came to Auburn in 1892, in the employ of
Averill & Gregory, as chef in the Avery House. He was after-
wards chef in the Osborne House, and in 1902, he opened his cafe
on State street. In 1907 he doubled the capacity of his restaurant
by taking in the adjoining.store; also he remodeled and fitted up
the whole establishment so that now he has a capacity for seating
sixty guests. The restaurants are decorated in Colonial color
design with tarazia Mosaic floors arid furnished with Mission furni-
ture. Electricity and all modem and up-to-date appliances and
improvements are utilized. His cafe is highly popular and has a
large public patronage. It has the reputation of being one of the
best, cleanest and most up-to-date in this part of the State. Mr.
Garrett is also the inventor of a new patent side steering device for
motor boats—which for simplicity of construction, and practica-
bility is unexcelled. Mr. Garrett is a member of the Order of
Elks, the Knights of Pythias, and the Maccabees.
James G. Copp, sanitary plumbing and steam heating, 16 Clark
street, Auburn, is one of the leading and most practical plumbers
of this city. He was with John Holihan for twenty-four years
and supervised some of the finest plumbing work done here, in-
cluding the county jail, the sheriff’s residence, the Auburn High
School, the Osborne residence, the remodeling of the State Armory
and others. He is a native of Cayuga County, his parents being
George and Mary Etta (Spooner) Copp. He married Alice M.
Carroll and they have one daughter, Florence. Mr. Copp is a
member of Auburn Lodge, Benevolent and Protective Order of
Elks, and a Republican in politics.Biographical
581
The Auburn Woolen Company’s factory located near the
'‘big dam,” so called, was the first woolen mill in Auburn and
was erected in 1844.
This enterprise is one of the largest and most important of
Auburn’s industries. Since 1844 it has been several times enlarged
and has been owned and operated by several parties.
The plant has now one hundred and twelve broad looms, gives
employment to three hundred operatives and the principal products
fine woolen goods, are men’s wear, woolens including meltons,
suitings, coatings, undercollar cloths, Thibet, etc. The officers
of the present company are Jesse H. Metcalf, president and
Stephen O. Metcalf, treasurer, both of Providence, R. I. The
mill is under the management of T. M. Clark, superintendent,
who came to Auburn in 1895 an(i has been in full charge of the
mill ever since. He has been in the woolen business all of his active
life as were his father and grandfather before him.
Hon. Enos Thompson Throop was bom at Johnstown, Mont-
gomery County, New York, August 21, 1784. At the age of four-
teen he went to Albany, and commenced the study of the classics
and law in the office of George Metcalfe, an eminent lawyer of
Johnstown, who had a few months before removed to the state
capital. Completing his studies under other instructors and with
other connections, he was admitted to the bar in Albany, January,
1806. Two months later he came to Cayuga County, but did not
fix his residence at Auburn until November of the same year.
The controversy concerning the location of the county seat was
then at its height, and Mr. Throop was instrumental in effecting
the selection of Auburn for that purpose. The following year
he entered into partnership with the Honorable Joseph L. Rich-
ardson—afterward, for many years, first judge of this county. This
business connection was dissolved in 1811, upon his appointment582
History of Cayuga County
to the office of county clerk. About this time he purchased the
mill property at the village now called Throopsville; shortly after
which purchase the inhabitants, at a public meeting, named the
place Throopsville in compliment to him. In the fall of 1814
he was elected to Congress from this district. Mr. Throop had been
opposed to the election of Governor Clinton in the campaigns of
1817 and ’19. Upon Clinton's re-election, in 1819, it was intimated
to Mr. Throop, that, unless his opposition ceased, he would be re-
moved from the office of county clerk; but the intimation not being
heeded, his removal followed. In April, 1823, he was appointed
circuit judge for the Seventh District, which position he held until
the fall of 1828, when, receiving the nomination for lieutenant-gov-
ernor, with Mr. Van Buren at the head of the ticket, he resigned,
in order to render himself eligible to the latter office. In the
ensuing campaign he was triumphantly elected. Mr. Van Buren
resigned the governorship in March, 1829, in order to accept a
position in the cabinet at Washington, and Mr. Throop then became
governor. He was re-elected in 1830. In the winter of 1833 the
position of naval officer of the port of New York was tendered
him by President Jackson and accepted. This office he retained
till 1838, when he was appointed charge d'affaires to the kingdoms
of the Two Sicilies. Upon the election of Harrison he resigned,
returned home, and retired from public life. Betaking himself
to his quiet retreat on Owasco Lake—Willow Brook—he sought
among agricultural pursuits the rest and happiness best fitted
to grace his declining years. A few years later he transferred
his property to his nephew, Honorable E. T. T. Martin, and re-
moved to the vicinity of Kalamazoo, Mich., where he indulged
his rural taste by purchasing, clearing and cultivating a large
farm. He subsequently returned to Willow Brook to spend the
remaining years of his life.
Governor Throop was one of the earliest settlers of this place
and one of the most active citizens of that early day. He wasBiographical
583
a member of the first Board of Trustees of the village. He was in-
strumental in changing the politics of the county from Federalism
to Democracy. He was the second postmaster of Auburn; and he
took an active part in the establishment of the Bank of Auburn.
To Governor Throop the author of The Lives of the Governors of
New York pays this will-deserved tribute:
“Starting in life without adventitious aid, self-reliant, enter-
prising, and persevering, he achieved for himself an honorable
fortune. Force of character and energy of purpose enabled him
to triumph over every'obstacle that impeded his way to distinction.
Integrity, without spot or guile, was the pole star that guided
his footsteps. He has filled, in every instance with credit, several
of the most important offices in the State and under the General
Government, and now, as he approaches the close of his well
spent life, he presents an example to the young men of New York,
worthy of imitation and full of encouragement. ”
General William M. Kirby enlisted at Auburn in the Third
New York Artillery in January, 1862, as second lieutenant of
Battery K. After the usual experiences which befell the volunteer
soldier he, with thirty-two comrades, was captured at Newbem,
N. C., February 2, 1864. His first day as a prisoner was far from
pleasant, as the captives were marched twenty-five miles with
scarcely a halt. They were taken first to Kingston and four or
five days later they were forwarded to Richmond, where the
enlisted men were sent to Bell Island and the general was confined
in notorious Libby Prison. There he remained until May 7, when
with others he was shipped in a box car to Macon, Ga. They were
ten days in making the trip. He was confined in Camp Oglethorpe
until August 12, when he was again moved southward to Charles-
ton, S. C., where he was confined in the workhouse, the common
jail and the marine hospital. Yellow fever broke out in the city
and the prisoners were again moved, this time to Columbia. The584
History of Cayuga County
move was made so suddenly that a prison pen was not constructed
until after their arrival and they were turned out in an abandoned
com field which was later known as Camp Sorgham. There was
a second growth of pine on the field and from this the prisoners
made themselves frail shelters, but as there was not enough for
every one, many burrowed in the ground for shelter while still
others were compelled to sleep in the open air, exposed to all the
vicissitudes of the weather.
There wasn’t any fence about the camp and the general de-
termined to attempt an escape. Several attempts were planned
but all proved abortive until November 2Qth. Every morning
a party was paroled to leave the camp to cut wood for fires and
other purposes and this was taken advantage of to get away.
In company with Colonel Thomas H. Butler of the Fifth Indiana
Cavalry and Captain Sidney Mead of the One Hundred and
Eleventh New York Infantry he went to the place where the
paroled party was bringing in the wood. They engaged the guard
in conversation and gave him the idea that they had been paroled
to go out with a party which had gone and left them. Friends
assisted them in their scheme, officers who had been paroled
chiding them for being lazy, thus carrying out the deception that
they, too, had been paroled. This was a critical time but the men
retained their nerve. Fortunately the guard could not read and
the bluff worked. They succeeded in getting across the dead
line and away to the woods.
After taking some letters from various officers’ friends in the
north they entered a swamp at three o’clock in the afternoon where
they remained until after dark. They were joined by Lieutenant
C. D. Oliphant of the Thirty-fifth New Jersey Infantry who had
also managed to evade the guard and the journey northward was
commenced. It was after nine o’clock when they left the swamp.
From this time on it was a constant succession of adventures
and hardships. They were compelled to travel at night, hidingBiographical
585
in the woods during the day or in places provided by negroes.
Almost all the food which they had was supplied by negroes and
whenever the slaves were approached they always gave liberally
of their best and never once betrayed the confidence reposed in
them. Colonel Mead had made a previous attempt to escape and
had been recaptured by dogs, so the party had a terrible dread of
canines and the bark of one was enough at any time to send the
fugitives to cover and to seek for water by means of which to
obliterate their trail. They were forty-six days on the road, during
which they traveled three hundred and fifty miles. Ragged and
footsore they at last reached the Union lines.
William F. Wait is the practical working member of the
Nye & Wait Carpet Company, which was incorporated in 1889
with a capital stock of one hundred thousand dollars. Mr. Wait
was bom in the village of Hagaman’s Mills, near Amsterdam,
N. Y., in 1846. The family name in America dates back to the
Colonial days in Rhode Island. William Wait, the father of
William F. of this biographical notice, was a carpet-maker, and
in 1847 came from Hagaman’s Mills to Whitehall, where he con-
tinued on in his old business until his death in 1865, just as his
son William was attaining manhood. The mother, Mary Haigh
Wait, was a native of this country, but of English ancestry, her
parents having emigrated from the old country to America, and
settled in Glenham, Dutchess County, N. Y. She is still living,
and is passing her declining days with her sons, William F. and
Horace R. Wait. She is an old lady, much respected, and is a
faithful and consistent member of the Baptist Church.
William F. Wait received his early education in Whitehall,
and when still young learned from his father the art of carpet
weaving. At that time only hand looms were in use. The Jac-
quard apparatus, however, then controlled the pattern, substan-
tially as it does to-day, and the same materials were used; but the586
History of Cayuga County
motive power was very primitive, and since then there have been
great changes also in the process of yam-spinning. In 187.1,
when twenty-five years of age, Mr. Wait came to Auburn, and
there formed the partnership of Nye & Wait. L. W. Nye, the
senior partner of the firm, had already been engaged in the same
manufacture in the Barber Mills; but, as the old cotton-mill he
owned had been destroyed by fire shortly previous to the advent
of Mr. Wait, he was not so employed when the latter came to
Auburn. The two became acquainted through the influence of
mutual business friends in New York City. At once, with typical
American energy, they fitted up the old mill with new power looms
and machinery for spinning both the worsted and filling; and the
new factory soon gave employment to fifty work-people. From
time to time its owners have enlarged the plant. Their factory
is on the north side of the city, and is fitted for both steam and
water power, though the river generally supplies all the power
needed through the Owasco Outlet. The employees of the firm
have increased sevenfold in number, many of them being skilled
workmen; and the pay-roll is correspondingly large. The original
partnership continued unbroken until the centennial year, when
they took into the business Mr. Nye’s son, George Hyatt Nye,
though without changing the firm name. Nor was there any
change in this respect when the elder Mr. Nye died, nine years
later, in 1885; but four years afterward the business was incor-
porated with G. H. Nye as president, and Mr. Wait as vice-president
and also as manager, for, owing to his large practical knowledge,
he has always been in charge of the manufacturing department.
Frederick Tomlinson Peet was educated at Brooklyn Poly-
technic and Churchill Military Academy at Ossining, N. Y. On
the day that Fort Sumter was fired on, in the early part of 1861,
he joined the Seventh New York State Militia, and the same day
started with the regiment for Washington. He served with theBiographical
587
Seventh Regiment until it was mustered out of the United States
service, when he joined the First United States Sharpshooters
as second lieutenant, Company H, Colonel Berdan commanding.
He served with them and with the Army of the Potomac, in the
Fifth and Third Corps, until July of 1862. He served through
the Peninsula Campaign, under General McClellan, at the siege
of Yorktown, in engagements on the Chicahominy, and at Hanover
Court House, Savage Station, White Oak Swamp, and Glendale,
or Frazer’s Farm. He was severely wounded June 30, 1862, at
the last-named battle, and was taken prisoner and sent to Libby
Prison at Richmond. Through the kindness of Colonel Chilton,
chief of staff of General Robert E. Lee, who sent his medical director
to look after him, he was sent home on parole to await exchange
of prisoners. Some months later he reported for duty at head-
quarters of the United States Marine Corps, Washington, and later
joined the Marine Battalion, and was sent to Folly and Morris
islands, Charleston Harbo . S. C. He served until Fort Wagner
was taken, and until the battalion was ordered North. He served
on United States ship “Ossipee, ” temporary duty, Stone Inlet,
S. C., also on United States ship “Niagara, ” in European waters,
and was promoted to be first lieutenant while on this cruise, He
was also on duty at Washington, Philadelphia, Brooklyn, and Mare
Island, Cal., from which place he resigned his commission, and
bought a ranch in Los Angeles. A few years later he returned to
his home in Brooklyn. He was made Secretary of the I. & W.
Railway Company, built the extension into Auburn, and was
general manager for several years, making Auburn his place of
residence. Mr. Peet is a member of the Grand Army of the Re-
public and of the military order of the Loyal Legion.
The pater-lineal ancestry of Mr. Peet is traced in the following
paragraphs to the immigrant progenitor of the family in America:—588
History of Cayuga County
Frederick Tomlinson Peet, Auburn, merchant, bom in Brooklyn,
N. Y., August 7, 1841, married January 4, 1887, Mrs. Cornelia
(Sartwell) Chapman, daughter of Henry J. Sartwell, of Auburn,
N. Y., son of
Frederick Tomlinson Peet, of Brooklyn, N. Y., bom in Bridge-
port, Conn., December 21, 1799, married March 12, 1822, Elizabeth
Lockwood, daughter of Lambert and Elizabeth (Roe) Lockwood
(granddaughter of the Rev. Azel Roe, of Woodbridge, N. J.),
died December 18, 1866; son of
William Peet, 2d, bom in Stratford (now Trumbull), Conn.,
June 1, 1763, married December 25, 1785, Mrs. Jemima Darrow,
widow of Edmund Darrow and daughter of Zechariah and Emma,
(Lewis) Tomlinson, died February 7, 1850; son of
William Peet, bom in Stratford, Conn., January 29, 1743,
married Beulah, daughter of John Nichols, died in Old Farms,
1786; son of
Thomas Peet, bom July 15, 1698, in Stratford, Conn., married
January 7, 1724, Phebe, daughter of Abraham and Rachel (Kellogg)
Nichols, died October 12, 1760; son of
Benjamin Peet, 2d., bom August 31, 1665, married Priscilla
Fairchild, daughter of Thomas and Katharine (Craig) Fairchild;
son of
Benjamin Peet, of Stratford, Conn., bom in England, married
Phebe, daughter of Richard Butler, died May 1, 1704; son of
John Peet, of Seven Oaks, or Duffield Parish England, who
sailed from London in 1635 in ship “Hopewell” (Burdock, mas-
ter), and settled in Stratford, 1638, married Sarah, daughter of
Richard Osbom, in England, died in Stratford, 1678.INDEX
A
Adams & Son..................
Adams, Charles L. .	.
Aiken, Eugene Clarence
Aiken, Leonard O...............
Aldrich, Calvin R..............
Allen, Gorton W................
Allen, Hon. Frederick I. .
Allen, Louis Edward	....
Allen, William.................
Almy, C. E.....................
Alnutt, John L.................
American Axminster Industry
American Wringer Company .	.
Anderson, James J..............
Auburn Academy, List of
Teachers................ .
Auburn & Rochester Railroad
Auburn & Syracuse Railroad .
Auburn Business School
Auburn Button Works .	.
Auburn Creamery Company, The
Auburn Extract Company, The .
Auburn Gas Light Company .	.
Auburn Leather Goods Company
Auburn Lighted by Electric Light
Auburn Savings Bank .	.
Auburn Silk Mill............
Austin, Mortimer V..........
Austin, Mortimer V., Jr.
Avery, Charles I. .	.	.	.	.
Avery, Courtney C.	.	.	.	.
Avery, Edward Henry	.
Avery, James Carrington
Auburn Theological Seminary
Auburn Trust Company .	.
Auburn Woolen Company .	13
Aurelius, Town of .............
Aurora Village .	.	.	.	.	.
B	PAGE
Bacon, Irving..................	355
Baker, Charles M....................320
Barker, Hon. George.................320
Baldwin, C. F.	 473
Baldwin, Daniel A................345
Baldwin, Edwin...................345
Barnes, Wilbur B....................469
Barnhart, J. A...................504
Barrett, Frank H.................565
Barrett, S.H.....................506
Beardsley, Alonzo G.................321
Beardsley, Nelson ..................321
Beardsley, Porter...................356
Beardsley, William C................322
Beecher, Willis J., Prof.........174
Bell, Robert.....................510
Bell & Stoner....................510
Bench and Bar, The...............308
Berry, Charles R.................357
Bisgrove, E. J...................496
Blatchford, Hon. Samuel	.	.	.	322
Blauvelt, Arthur E...............356
Bodell, Frederick George	.	.	.	389
Bouta, James W...................346
Bowen & Quick....................129
Bowen Manufacturing Company	.	129
Bradford, Thomas J...............321
Brainard, Rev. John, D.	D.	.	.	196
Brainard, John Morgan	.	.	.	.	352
Bridges, Thomas C...................346
Briggs, Glenn F.....................483
Bristol, John E.....................496
Bronson, Henry...................345
Bronson Parliment................323
Brown, Erastus E....................323
Brown, William......................323
Bruton, John ....	.	578
Brutus, Town of .	.	.	.	.	.405
Buckland, B. I. C., M. D. .	292, 552
(590
PAGE
513
353
353
320
354
463
389
354
3I9
470
488
132
130
354
169
37
36
489
128
495
512
140
128
;	90
i38
579
32°
355
353
464
344
355
174
I38
,o, 581
•	398
1, 4i9592
INDEX
PAGE
Burby, William H..............390
Burgess, Hon. W. C............474
Burnham, Hon. Eleazor .	315
Burritt, Hon. Robert J.	351
Bryan, James Stanislaus .	.	356
Bust, James K.................484
Byrne, Walter Aloysius	.	.	.	323
Byrne, William................507
Byrnes, James L. .................505
C
Cady, Frank E. ......	357
Cady, George S. .	.	.	.	.	.	551
Calvary Presbyterian Church	.	.	201
Capron, A. B..................323
Carl, Lee Roy.................535
Case, Erastus .....	196, 528
Case, Theodore P. .	214, 531
Case, Willard E...............357
Caswell, Zephaniah..............345
Catholic Churches ..............221
Cato, Town of.....................413
Cayuga County Dairy Company .	499
Cayuga County National Bank .	136
Cayuga County Savings Bank .	137
Cayuga Indians....................231
Cayuga Missions...................234
Cayugas, Boundaries of ...	245
Central Presbyterian Church of
Auburn .	  200
Cheesman, Wm. S., M. D. .	306, 513
Church of Christ................210
Church of the Holy Family .	.	221
Churches of Auburn, Protestant .	193
Clark, Abel H................88,	547
Clark, Albert H...................352
Clark, Julian H...................548
Clark, Mortimer M.................548
Clark, Paul R.....................358
Clarke, George T..................493
Clark, T. M..................  .	581
Clements, Harry V. .....	352
Coburn, Frank S...................358
Colby’s Telegraph School .	.	.	554
Cold Spring Brewery, The	134,	508
Collier, Hon. William Miller .	390
Collins, Noyes S.............324,	391
PAGE
Collins, Thomas Henry	.	.	.	.	510
Conklin, Mark .	.	.	.	.	.	540
Conquest, Town of .	.	.	.	4I4
Converse, Howell B............323
Conway Dist. Company .
Conway, M. P., M. D..........569
Cook, Cyrus 0................526
Cook, Horace T...............324
Cook, Patten R...............347
Cootes, Charles E. .	.	.	.	318
Copp, James G................. .	580
Cornwall, William 1...............324
Cossum, Frederick.................573
Cox, James R......................358
Cox, William C....................391
Cropsey, John E...................324
Crumb, H. F.......................489
Curtis, Frank S. .	  359
Cushing, Frank C.............359
Cuyler, Hon. Benjamin	L.	.	.	.	316
Cuyler, Hon. Glen.................315
D
Dahn, R. S........................505
Davie, Hon. John T. M.	.	. .	316
Day, Fayette G....................345
Day, Hon. Samuel Edwin .	.	360
Dayton, Harry T..............360
Decker, Frank Norton .	.	. .	391
Deering, P. Fred	.	. .	345
DeWitt, Moses .	.	.	.	.	315
Dobbs & Son.......................492
Donahue, John P..............504
Donovan, D. A................494
Donovan, W. T................534
Drummond, Nelson L...........362
Drummond, Hon. Richard C.
Steel.................350, 456
Drummond, Robert Loudon
................ •	361, 388,453
Dudley, Frederick A..........557
Dunn & McCarthy..............127
Dunning, David M.	132,468
Durston, Charles F............• 325
Dutton, John Anthony .	.	.	.	392
Dwight, Hon. Charles 0.	.	312, 324INDEX
593
E	PAGE
Eagle Wagon Works, The	.	.	.	134
Eddy, Rev. C. M.................218
Education In Cayuga County	.	286
Ehle Electric Construction Com-
pany, The ....................511
Elder, William Seward .	.	.	.	362
Elliott, Chester M..............392
Ellis, Elias M..................325
E
Fay, Fred Hollister.............363
Fell, H. H. ........	484
Fillmore, Millard...............421
First Baptist Church .	.	.	.	203
First Methodist Episcopal	Church	215
First Presbyterian Church	.	.	.	197
First Universalist Church	.	.	.	210
Fitch, Abijah.............248, 541
Fitch, Charles..................541
Fleming, Town of .................433
Footy, Lucius L. .....	345
Foote, L. C.....................346
Fopple, Theodore................347
Fordyce, George F. .	.	.	.	.	569
Fosgate, William................325
Franke, William ....	.	498
Frost, Thomas F.................347
G
Gallup, Glen .....	346
Garrett, James A................580
Geiser Manufacturing Company 132, 504
Genesee Road, The Old	.	.	.	253
Genoa, Town of..................416
Genoa Village...................417
Giles, Solomon,.................347
Goodrich, Hon. Milo.............325
Goodwin, Stephen A..............345
Goss, M. S. .........................487
Graney, Michael .	.	.	.	414, 476
Granfield, Hon. Hule .	.	.	348
Grant, J. Lewis	 47	x
H	PAGE
Haley, D. W. & Son.............499
Hall, Hon. Benjamin F.	.	.	.	326
Hallock, William R...........354
Hamilton, A. H................ .	475
Hare, William W..............345
Hart, Hon. James W...........363
Harter, Ralph Amenzo .	.	.	.	363
Harvard Dental Parlors	.	.	.	527
Haynes, Campbell W...........347
Hendrick, Hon. Peter A.	.	.	.	393
Henry & Allen Manufacturing
Company.................133
Henry, W. J..................533
Hickey, Rev. John J..........222
Hicks, Frederick Charles	.	.	.	393
Hill, Eugene F...............579
Hills, Harold E..............327
Hoff, Hon. Reuben F..........327
Holihan, John................503
Hompe, Henry A...............480
Hompe, M. H. .	.	.	.	.	.	.	480
Hopkins, Woolsey R...........364
How, Hon. Thomas Y...........316
Howland, Horace V. .	.	327,	356
Hughitt, Frederic Eugene	.	.	.	365
Hughitt, Hon. William E.	.	.	.	314
Humphreys, Hon. George	.	.	.	314
Hungerford, J. Arthur ....	486
Hunt, Thomas Merrick	.	.	.	.	364
Hunter, James ...................328
Hunter, John L...................365
Hunter, W. C.....................494
Hurlburt, Hon. John P.	.	.	..	314
Hurlburt, Hon. John W.	328
Hurlbut, Daniel L. .	.	.	.	328
Hussey, Jonathan F...............329
Hutchings, Benjamin	.	.	.	.	562
I
Immanuel Baptist Church .	.	.	207
Independent Brewing Company .	498
Inns of Auburn, Early ....	40
Ira, Town of......................431
Irish, Fred. F....................550594
INDEX
J	PAGE
Jackson, Elbridge, D..............345
Jenkins, John S...................347
Jennings, Captain Edgar Stilson	.	473
Jennings, Joel Bradford	.	.	.	365
Jones, D. E.......................501
K
Keeler, Lynn H.................365
Keeler, Ralph R................139
Kelloggsville.....................431
Kennedy, Fred M...................345
Kennedy, Samuel V. .	.	400, 556
Kenyon, Benjamin.....................366
Kerr, James Henry....................366
Kilmer, Joseph A..................508
King, Finlay M............345, 347
Kirby, General William	.	.	.	593
Kingston, John Francis	.	.	366
Knapp, Charles R...............394
Knapp, Darwin C................347
Knapp, James T.......................394
Knapp, John N........................329
Knapp, John Wiltsie .	. ' .	.	367
Koenig, Hon. C. August	.	.	.	523
L
Laird, Louis K. R....................367
Laird, William R., M. D. .	.	567
Lansing, Rev. D. C...................180
Lauer, A. J..........................498
Leary, Frank M.................367
Led yard, Town of..............419
Leonard, George H	368, 479
Leonard, Lewis F.....................486
Lewis, Hon. Danforth R.	349
Lewis, J. H..........................495
Little, L. B.........................347
Locke, Town of	......	434
Lockwood, Samuel D...................345
Luckey, James .......................347
Lyon, Charles Francis .	.	.	.	368
* Lyon, James..........................368
M
McCay, William.......................346
MacColl, A. C........................493
MacDougall, Gen. Clinton D. .	76, 461
page
McGrath, Rev. John J.	.	.	.	.	230
McIntosh, Seymour & Company .	132
McLaughlin, Patrick	.	.	.	.	369
Macpherson, Rev. Samuel .	.	.	197
Mantel, Anton .................491
Marsh, Silas ......................346
Mar vine, Edward E..............345
Matthews, Vincent...............346
Maynard, Henry A.................  346
Maynard, Hon. John	.	.311
Mead, Benjamin Charles .	.	369
Mead, Sherman B.................370
Meagher, W. H.......... 509
Meaker, William H...............137
Meaker, W. R....................479
Medical Profession, History of .	291
Mentz, Town of..................423
Meridian Village................413
Metcalf, Col. Edwin D.	.	.	142, 545
Metcalf, Edwin F................549
Milan Village...................434
Military Tract, The *	246
Millard, Hon. Henry Floyd	349
Miller, Hon. Elijah .	.	.	.	.	313
Mills, William B................345
Mohr, Frederick A.......... 370
Montezuma, Town of ....	422
Montezuma Village...............422
Mooney, T.D.....................503
Moravia, Town of................427
Moravia Village.................428
Morgan, Hon. Christopher	.	.	.	330
Morgan, Christopher B.	.	.	.	557
Morgan, Co. Edwin B. .	.	420,	559
Morgan, Richard.................577
Morley, John Sprague	.	.	.	.	370
Mosher, Edgar Seeber	.	.	.	.	371
Mosher, Evans W.................536
Mosher, Griswold & Company	.	524
Mulheron, Rev. William	.	.	.	226
Mullen, Michael.................500
Mullen, William F. .	.	.	.	500
Mumford, Dean...................4°°
Mumford, Thomas.................315
Murdock, George W...............330INDEX
595
PAGE
Murphy, Edward J...............502
Murphy, Stephen................502
Murphy Brothers................502
Murray, John D.................	477
Myers, Michael S. ...	330, 345
N
Nash, Frederick G..............465
National Bank of Auburn	.	.	.	135
Nellis, George Webster	.	.	.	.	371
Newgass, Louis .	.	.	.	.	.	331
Newton, E. S. .....................466
Niblo, Charles K...............346
Nichols, Walter B..............345
Niles, Town of.................430
Nolan, E. J. ......................505
Nye & Wait Carpet Company	.	.	126
Nye, George Hyatt..............539
O
O’Brien, John W................331
Odell, Samuel..................372
Olmstead, Stephen	. *	.	.	.	.	346
Oppenheimer, O.S...............498
Osborne, David Munson	.	.38,	446
Osborne House, The.............568
Osborne, Thomas Mott	.	.	102,	518
Owasco, Town of................435
Owasco Village.................436
Owen, L. W.....................346
P
Paddock, Sumner L..............332
Paris, G. Clark ......	345
Parker, Amasa J................372
Parker, Clarence Gray	.	.	.	.	373
Parker, Hon. John L............332
Parker, Wing Taber	.	.	.	.	373
Parsell, Henry D...............374
Parsons, Frank M...............374
Payne, Hon. Sereno Elisha	.	.	375
Payne, William K...............375
Peck, E.B......................555
Peet, F. T.....................586
Phelps, Seth..............309, 313
Pierce, Lavern A.	.	.	.	.	.	376
Pingree, John T................332
	PAGE
Pitt, Dan C		• 48s
Pomeroy, Hon. Theodore M.	333> 342
Pomeroy, T. M		• 563
Poolos, Nicholas		• 55i
Port Byron		. 424
Porter, James		. 346
Porter, Hon. John .	. 316
Post, Hon, George I. . . .	• 333
Post, John H		. 483
Potter, N. Homer .	• 346
Powders, Hon. Gersham .	• 3i3
Press, The		107
Price, Herbert		• 377
Price, William H		• 347
Prison, Auburn		26
Q	
Quick, Charles Broughton .	• 467
Quigley, Daniel P		• 377
Quigley, James F		. 378
R	
Raeish, James A		• 398
Raines, Francis C		• 378
Rathburn, George O. .	• 334
Rathbun, Hon. George .	• 334
Rattigan, Charles F. .	122, 558
Ray, James 		. 500
Read, William T		• 525
Regenbogen, Rev. Herbert	224
Reigle, Frederick Seward .	• 378
Rhodes, Emmett, . . . .	• 57o
Rich, Hon. Adelbert P.	347> 372
Rich, Burt T		. 395
Rich, Charles F		• 379
Rich, Frank R		• 335
Rich. Fred R		• 379
Rich, George R		• 335
Richard Eccles Company	• I33
Richardson, Hon. Joseph	• 3i3
Ringwood, Thomas .	• 534
Roberts, Nathan		• 347
Robinson, Daniel A		• 347
Robinson Monument Co., The	. 496
Robinson, W. C		. 496596
INDEX
PAGE
Robinson, W. G........................496
Root, Francis S.......................395
Rosecrans, John.................379
S
Sackett, Gary V.......................336
Salt Industry, The....................261
St. Aloysius’ Church..................229
St. Alphonsus’ Church .	.	.	.	223
St. Hyacinth’s Church .	.	.	.	230
St. John’s Episcopal Church .	.	196
St. Luca’s German Evangelical
Church ..........................209
St. Mary’s Church.....................225
St. Peter’s Protestant Episcopal
Church ..........................193
Sawyer, John Halstead .	.	.	.	380
Sawyer, Moses.........................345
Schicht, Robert.......................491
Schicht, William A....................491
Schools of Auburn..................144
Scipio, Town of....................432
Searing, Hon. Adolphus H.	.	.	314
Searles, Theodore J................395
Second Baptist Church	.	.	.	.	206
Second Presbyterian Society of
Auburn........................199
Seekell, Arthur Malcolm	.	.	.	380
Sefton, Frederick A., M. D.	.	.	563
Signor, F. A.......................501
Sempronius, Town of	.	.	.	.	433
Sennett, Town of...................436
Seward & Company, Wm.	H.	.	139
Seward, Hon. Clarence A.	.	.	.	335
Seward, Gen. Wm. H.	64, 514
Seward, Hon. William H.	.	.	20, 337
Seward, William H., Jr.	.	.	.	380
Shea, P. J.........................502
Shepard, Daniel....................346
Shurtleff, Asaph W.................338
Sisson, William....................346
Sittser, Calvin N..................338
Skilton, Frank Avery	.	.	.	.	381
Slade, William ...	-381
Smith, Jared M.....................339
PAGE
Smith, Richard L...................339
Snow, Benjamin Bradford .	160, 396
Springport, Town of................437
Stafford, Thomas W.................535
Steel, Richard C...................339
Stephens, Nelson T.................340
Sterling Centre....................441
Sterling, Town of..................440
Sterling Valley .	.	. .	.	.	442
Stone Mill, The ...................129
Storke, Frederick Elliot	.	.	.	381
Stupp, Frank J.....................541
Sullivan’s Raid....................239
Summer Hill, Town of	...	442
Swart, Fred L......................486
Swift, F. E..................... .	466
Symonds, Jos. H. A.................398
Szupa, Rev. St. J..................230
T
Taber, Franklin P. .	.	.	.	.	382
Taber, John .	.....	382
Tallman, Charles D. .	.	.	.	.	347
Tallman, Selah Cornwell .	.	.	471
Ten Eyck, Fred G..............475
Teller, John Du Bois	.	.	.	.	382
Ten Eyck, Frank E.	.	.	.	.	489
Thompson, Alfred C................478
Throop, Hon. Enos T.	.	.	311, 581
Throop, George B..................340
Throop, Town of..............443
Timmons & Byer...............509
Titus, Henry D....................564
Towns, Formation of	.	.	.	.	263
Travel and Transportation, Early 266
Treat, G. Earle...................383
Treat, Stuart R.................. 383
Trinity Methodist Church .	.	218
Turner, George Brinkerhoff	.	.	384
Turner, James Eli	.....	396
Turpin, M. Curry..................481
Tuxill, Charles E.................490
Tuxill, Dr. A. J..................480
Tyron, Oscar .	  384INDEX
597
U	PAGE
Underwood, Hon. George	.	.	.	385
Underwood, Hon. George,	Sr.	.	340
Union Springs................43 8
V
Vandenberg, F.B...............506
Van Laer, Herman E............341
Van Sickle, John..............385
Venice, Town of...............444
Victory, Town of..............445
W
Wade, Rowland D. .	. .	.	.	.	341
Wadsworth D,, & Son. .	.	.	127
Wadsworth, David	.	.	.	266,	458
Wadsworth, David Jr.	.	.	284,	458
Wadsworth, Joseph.............458
Wait, William F. ..............585
Walker, J. Fitch..............571
Walker, Levi..................341
Wall & Heverin .	.	.	.	.	512
Wall Street Methodist Church .	212
Ward, George Morgan, D. D. 422, 561
Warne, Joseph H................511
Warren, Lyman E..................397
Weedsport..................... •	4°5
Weeks, J. C......................487
Wegman Piano Company .	.	.	128
Wells College....................560
West, John F. .	  524
Westminster Presbyterian Church 202
Wheeler, Eber O. .	.	.	.	. .	341
Wheeler Rifles...................142
Wheeler, S B.....................497
Whelan, Charles T................385
White, John J....................482
White, Orlen.....................346
Wilcox, Benjamin M...............566
Wilcox, Dudley K.................397
Wildner, George J................508
	page
Wildner, William .	. . . 508
Wildner, William G.	. . . 508
Willard, Sylvester, M. D.	232, 537
Willey, Abraham R.	• • • 34i
Winegar, Caleb . . .	• • ■ 347
Wood, Amzi .	. . . 342
Wood, Etsel ....	• • • 342
Wood, George P. .	• • • 386
Wood, Hon. Seneca .	• • • 3i5
Wood, Isaac ....	• • • 346
Wood, Oliver ....	• • • 342
Wood, Seneca ....	• • • 346
Wood, Hon. Walter .	• • • 3i3
Wood, Judge Walter	• • • 346
Wood, Thomas	• • • 346
Woodin, Hon. Edwin A.	• • • 3W
Woodin, Hon. Walter E.	• • • 34S
Woodin, Hon. William B.	• • • 3l6
Woodruff, J. Herman	460
Wooley, W. Thomas	• • • 477
Worden, Alvah	• • • 346
Worden, Warren A. .	• • • 397
Worden, Warren T. .	• • • 343
Wright, Charles A.	... 488
Wright, Charles Albert .	• • • 387
Wright, Chauncey	• • • 576
Wright, David	• • • 343
Wright, Frank D. . .	• • • 343
Wright, Frank S. . .	. . . 386
Wright, James	• • • 387
Wright, James A. .	... 388
Y	
Yorker, H. E . . . .	. . . 492
Youngs, James	• • • 346
Youngs, Madison . . .	• • • 346
Z	
Zabriskie, N. Lansing	• 388. 543
Zion M. E. Church	220598
INDEX
ILLUSTRATIONS
PAGE
Beecher, Willis J., D. D. ...	174
Buckland, B. I. C., M. D. .	.	292
Case, Erastus .	.	.	.	.	.	.	196
Case, Theodore P................214
Cheesman, William S., M. D. .	.	306
Clark, Abel H....................88
Drummond, Robert Loudon .	.	388
Dunning, David M. .	.	.	.	132
Dwight, Hon. Charles C. ...	324
Fitch, Abijah ..................248
Graney, Michael.................414
Howland, H. V...................356
Kennedy, Samuel V...............400
MacDougaH, Gen. Clinton D. .	.	76
PAGE
Metcalf, Edwin D..............142
Morgan, Edwin B...............420
Osborne, D. M................... .	38
Osborne, Thomas Mott .	.	.	.	102
Pomeroy, Theo. M..............342
Rattigan, Charles F...........122
Rich, Adelbert P..............372
Seward, Hon. William H.	20
Seward, Gen. William H.	.	.	.	64
Snow, B. B.................. .	.	160
Wadsworth, David..............266
Wadsworth, David Jr. ....	284
Ward, George Morgan, D. D.	.	.	422
Willard, Sylvester, M. D.	.	.	.	232